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BlogWorldExpo and Mobilize Pocket Guides

Two pocket guides for events this week.  Get ’em!  Click on the icons to get the guides.  They’re tuned for iPhone and
mobile, and you can also get a widget for your blog, if you’re so
inclined.

BlogWorldExpo

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The first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event
dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media.
In addition to the only industry-wide exhibition, BlogWorld features
the largest blogging conference in the world including more than 50
seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on
the leading-edge of online technology and internet-savvy business.

Mobilize08

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GigaOm’s next-generation mobile conference, Mobilize is a one-day conference 
designed to bring to you the future of the broadband mobile web. Using
the existing industry as a platform, we will examine emerging ideas and
emerging markets.

Enjoy!

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It’s About Times for VRM

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Great VRM article in the Financial Times by Alan Mitchell.  An excerpt.

"When the UK market research company CCB FastMap asked consumers
which method they most wanted companies to use when communicating with
them – e-mail, phone, letter and so on – 63 per cent ticked the box
that said “Not at all”.

Even where consumers have an existing
relationship with a company, 23 per cent prefer not to have marketing
communications from it. The rate rises above 50 per cent for some large
utilities and banks.

Consumers are also increasingly unwilling to
divulge data. The same research found that 86 per cent of consumers
routinely tick the third party opt-out box when providing personal
information. “People have become less happy about revealing information
and especially allowing third parties to share it,” says David Cole,
managing director of CCB FastMap.

This was not what customer
relationship management was supposed to deliver when it was first
touted in the early 1990s. The more data companies could gather about
their customers, it was argued, the deeper the insights they would
generate. This would lead to longer, more profitable relationships.

Instead,
many companies have found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard
place. On the one hand, most organisations’ transactions with their
customers are too limited for them to get an accurate picture of their
motivations and any data they gather quickly goes out of date. On the
other hand, subsequent attempts to fill these holes by gathering more
data simply intensify concerns over intrusion.

A research
project in vendor relationship management at Harvard University Law
School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society has suggested a way
through the impasse. The core idea of vendor relationship management
(VRM) is simple: the more empowered individuals are when it comes to
managing and using personal data – including the ability to manage
their relationships with vendors – the greater the benefits to both
sides."

The whole article is here.

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On “Free” and Business Models

(Background: "Free: Why $0.00 is the Future of Business" and "Steal This Slide:The Six Kinds of Free")

Maddie Grant has been thinking about what "free" means to associations, which have historically relied on membership dues to provide a sizable proportion of an organization’s annual revenue.  However, over the past thirty years, membership dues have continued to shrink in this regard.

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(source: ASAE)

Membership dues have served multiple purposes, such as enabling discounts on other products that are offered by the organization, or enabling access to "members-only" information or services.  These dues help to fund the "mission" of the organization, whatever it may be. 

These dues also are a way to "value" the opportunity to join the community of like-minded individuals who are members of the organization.

In this context, Grant looks for analogs for each of the six kinds of free, and how they apply to her industry.  Grant asks:

Can these [six kinds of free] be translated to member services?

  • Freemium – Free entry to online communities, charge for "premium" areas/functionality?
  • Advertising – On websites, online communities, e-newletters, sponsorships?Cross subsidies – free initial access to articles, charge for distribution?
  • Zero marginal cost – Webinars, podcasts, other e-learning modules?
  • Labor exchange – Wikis?
  • Gift economy – Any social object that promotes the association / donated labor or barter system?

(N.B. The more this comes up, the more it feels like the discussions that were heralded by Doc Searls circa 2004-2005 regarding blogs, and the different "monetization" models that were being applied to them.  The net of the ‘net: you will likely make money because of something you’re doing, rather than with it.  More on this here.  And a the seeds of the "because effect" were sown here.)

Back to the point above, the one about membership dues being a way to "value" the opportunity to join a community of like-minded individuals who are aligned around a particular mission or affinity.  Does that model still work?  With ambient "community" showing up, well, in practically every system or business plan that is being created, is there value in tithing when an individual can simply find others with similar interests via blogs, or even on Facebook or LinkedIn?  (I don’t have an answer to this quandary and am hoping others with opinions will weigh in via the comments.)

So what about your business?  If your "traditional" revenue stream began to tend to free, how would you make money?

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Hurricane Gustav Mobile Resources

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On Saturday, we created a mobile resource guide for those affected by Gustav, as many in the path of the storm would not have internet access.  As people begin returning home and begin the process of rebuilding after nearly $8billion in damage, we hope this mobile resource guide will aid the Hurricane Gustav relief efforts. 

There are three versions of the Gustav Mobile Resource Guide available:

The guide offers quick access to…

News – Minute-by-minute updates from government agencies and citizen journalists.

Info – Quick references for how to help.

People and Shelters – Searchable self-reported listings of shelters, resources, aid providers, and evacuees.

Raise awareness about the relief efforts by adding this guide to your blog sidebar. Stay connected to the latest info by bookmarking it in your iPhone or other mobile device.

Mobile version

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Widget version

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Report: How Associations Are Using Social Technologies

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If you’re a member of an association, or are an executive at one, you’ll want to check this out.  Our friends over at Principled Innovation have just published the Association Social Technologies Executive Summary.  Some really great information in here.  A few highlights:

  • 31% of associations have a social networking presence
  • 10% of associations will have a social networking presence "soon"
  • 31% of associations are exploring the idea of using social networking
  • 24% of associations report that their association has a blog
  • 92% of those blogs allow reader comments (sweet! – ed.)
  • 14% of associations report using a wiki

A lot of really, really great stuff in the exec summary; can’t wait for the full report.  Check it out here.

Related: Social Networking for Businesses and Associations

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BlogWorldExpo Unofficial Pocket Guide

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This year, Cerado has built an Unofficial Pocket Guide for the
2008 Blog World Expo to help attendees navigate the conference and connect with one another. It’s powered by our innovative VentanaTM system.

There are three versions of the Unofficial Pocket Guide available:

The guide offers quick access to…

Buzz– The latest blog posts,  announcements, and Twitter comments are the first things you see when you open the Guide.

Network– The Network page lets attendees add themselves to the guide  and link to their Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

Agenda – The Agenda page is your quick reference to sessions. Look here for titles, descriptions, times, rooms, and speaker names.

Help – We’ve included a helpful FAQ to help you keep track of everything that’s going on.

Blog World Expo 2008 will take place September 19-21 in the Las Vegas Convention Center. To reserve your place in the conversation, register now, and get the mobile, iPhone, or blog version of the guide.

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SXSW09 Panels: Human / Social Issues

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This post is one of a series of recommendations arrived at by
going through the entire list of South by Southwest panels that are up
for consideration for 2009.

Important: Would love your support for "FlashMarkets: From the Roman Agora to the Mobile Web." Click here to vote or learn more.

SXSW 2009 Panel Recs: Human / Social Issues

Grokking Bloggers: It’s About Love and Underpants
 Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer inc
"BlogHer’s recent Social Media Study quantified what most developers
and companies already intuited: Blogging is mainstream, addictive and
trusted. Women, in particular, are abandoning other media channels to
get information, and are becoming early adopters of every new Web 2.0
tool. This acquisition of information is only a by-product of acquiring
something more powerful: empowerment. This early adoption of technology
is not about cool-hunting or personal empire expansion: It’s about
love. What does it have to do with Underpants? You’ll have to come find
out."

Why We Love Our Jobs
Pawel Szymcsykowski, Zappos.com
"In the Zappos offices on any given day you’re likely to see people
racing pinewood derby cars, parading in lederhosen or singing karaoke
in the lunch room. Have all the adults left the building? Find out how
Zappos employees manage to be productive while having lots of fun at
work."

Product Management for Humans: What Version Are YOU?
Christine Herron, First Round Capital
"Self-help, self-improvement, self-growth…for the most part, it’s a
bunch of gooey hooey. Cut to the chase! Product and brand managers have
clear, proven techniques for understanding and evolving products,
learning from experience and feedback, and both setting and executing
against a strategic roadmap. Apply them to develop the person that you
want to be. What version are YOU on?"