Christopher Carfi

New post up at SupernovaHub: "Smartphones Changing the Network."  The key bit, from analyst NPD, via Geek.com:

"The smartphone category grew its share of the overall mobile phone market
six percent annually, having jumped from 17 percent in the first
quarter of 2008 to nearly one quarter (23 percent) of the entire mobile
phone market. According to Rubin, this serves as clear indication of
the rising popularity of the smartphone category that, by many
analysts’ estimates, is already reshuffling the entire market."

Read it.

The folks over at DestinationCRM asked for some initial thoughts on the Social Media Maturity Model.  First, definitely check out Josh Weinberger’s post from June 1 to get the lay of the land. It’s a good guide to the graphic and to the experiment they're conducting.

Next, kudos to Lisa Boccadutre on fitting a whole raft of
information into a very small space. The information density on this
piece is astounding, in that in two pages there are points about time
frames of market uptake of social media, capability changes over a
five-year horizon, strategic evolution, treatment of customers and
evolving social capabilities.

I do have one primary concern: This graphic seems to imply that the
customer will still be on the outside looking in, even five years from
now. Not sure I entirely agree with that.

My key question: What does this look like if the customer moves to
the center of the picture, instead of merely being a target of an
organization’s actions?

So, here we go…

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1p-CoclHwE

The folks from the German-American Business Association were kind enough to invite Mark Finnern (SAP), Jennifer McClure (Society for New Communications Research), Vassil Mladjov (Blogtronix), Mark Simmons (SixApart), Mario Sundar (LinkedIn) and myself to participate in a televised roundtable discussion entitled “Successful Corporate Blogging.”

Here’s the setup:

“Blogs are
changing the way companies are listening and reaching out to their
customers. This televised panel of media experts is aimed to give
insight in how to use blogging as a successful marketing communications
strategy.  Sample discussion topics include: What are the elements of
a successful blog? How can legal pitfalls be avoided? How can ROI be
measured? How can we confront our fear of blogging? What will the
future of blogging look like?”

The panel was followed by a Q&A
session.

Here’s a link to the video.

Bonus factoid: What I learned…it’s a bit disconcerting when a person whom you don’t know hands you a lavalier mic and calmly instructs you to partially disrobe (in front of a roomful of people) in order to run the microphone cord up the inside of your shirt so it doesn’t show up on camera.

Micah (say "Me(ha!)") does some solid thinking about "The Lie of Community."  The thought-provoker:

…and the money 'grafs:

"Create the ability for community members to communicate as they want to.
Brand managers and most companies want to control the conversation. If
your users are truly part of the community, they will do nothing to
hurt and/or destroy the community in which they live.

Trust them to make your product better. Trust them to make your community better."

Which brands that you know have the courage to actually trust their community members?  And which ones are afraid?

photo: wvs

Some thoughts on social media overload over at DestinationCRM.  The lede:

“Is it time to declare email bankruptcy, delete those 1,000 unread messages, issue a public mea culpa, and start over? With an ever-increasing chorus of “overload,” this social media stuff must be irretrievably broken, right?”

Link to article.
PDF of article.

Current issue of CRM Magazine is out and up online and asks "Who Owns the Social Customer?"

Just starting to dig in…

Nifty excerpt in the Technology Review on altruism in social networks.  The excerpt:

Read the Technology Review summary here.

Here's the full paper (26pp.).

Neato.

Very interesting "open-source business card" project being tested over at Kickstarter from VRM colleague (and NPR innovator) Keith Hopper.  Check it out.  Keith says:

This
phenomenon inspired me to shoot texture shots taken as iPhone
close-ups. In order to learn more about effectively framing and
lighting a digital shot, I post all photos without edits, cropping, or
level and color changes.

Trying a new form of innovation/business exploration? Check.  Art?  Check.  Cool stuff?  Check.

I'm in.

Some really thought-provoking bits in here on "thin value" (i.e. inauthentic, brittle, and unsustainable) vs. "thick value" (i.e. more for us = more for you).

Umair Haque at BRITE '09 conference from BRITE Conference on Vimeo.

Really interesting stuff starts about a minute and a half in.

Thanks to Joe Andrieu for the link.

"We hold these truths to be self evident: that all customers are born
free, that they are endowed by the market with innate abilities to
relate, to converse and and to transact — on their own terms, and in
their own ways…"

photo: schaffner