Updates from July, 2009

• 

  Vulgar display of (Social Media) power

  Stii 2:29 pm on July 24, 2009 | Comments: 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: bloggers (6), Blogging (8), facebook (4), rant (2), Social Media (4), twitter (16)

  I see this happen more and more every day in the social media space. People try and get other’s attention by hitting them with a fist in the face and then say “sorry, but I was just trying to get your attention…”. Well, hello! A simple tap on the shoulder would’ve done the trick, you know!

  
  (this is a great, great album by Pantera, BTW)

  The problem is, if you continuously hit people in their face, 2 things are bound to happen:

  1. People will see it coming and duck the next blow.

  2. Keep it up long enough and people will ignore you or start to avoid you.

  Either way, you are not going to achieve your desired goal. So the next time before you hit someone in the face to get their attention, rather try and talk to them instead of about them. Talking about them, when they are in the same proverbial room as you, is nothing but a vulgar display of power. Just a thought…

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• 

  Why all the Twitter hate lately?

  Stii 10:00 am on July 15, 2009 | Comments: 10 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: analysis, business model (2), morgan stanley, report, twitter (16)

  Is it just me, or is there a barrage of haters throwing stones at the little bird? And I’m not talking the usual Techcrunch comment trolls, I’m talking high profile suits.

  First we have the “dooming” Morgan Stanley report(The report is in PDF format). The one written by a 15 year old intern. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying the young chap is incapable. Au contraire, read the report! It is not bad at all. What is shocking though is that the only thing said in the report about Twitter is:

  On the other hand, teenagers do not
  use twitter. Most have signed up to the service, but then just
  leave it as they release that they are not going to update it
  (mostly because texting twitter uses up credit, and they would
  rather text friends with that credit). In addition, they realise that
  no one is viewing their profile, so their ‘tweets’ are pointless.

  Three sentences in a single paragraph of an entire report and the headlines spells doom for Twitter. What a lot of the Doomsayers do not realise is that MOST of Twitter’s userbase starts out this way. They register an account, then think “This is useless” and leave. They do not return for months. Eventually, though, they will revisit Twitter. That is how it was for me and a lot of other regular Twitter users I know of. The point these suits miss is this very significant paragraph:

  Most have signed up to the service

  A lot of these teenagers WILL return at some point. They should pay attention to the other interesting facts in that report…

  The second article was a Reuters article. The headline reads: “Want to buy Twitter? As far as anyone knows the site has yet to earn a dime.” Now, there is no arguing that fact. No-one is disputing it. Yes, I can understand that there are very few people who would invest in something that has no plan to be profitable. Someone is funding it, so why is this such a big deal for everyone?! Why the hell does it concern people so much? It is not as if it is their own money or tax money that is being used to fund Twitter, is it? NEWSFLASH: Twitter turned down various very lucrative offers. Not that long ago either! So, Moneyweb et al, stop bothering yourself so much with how Twitter does or does not make money! If their money dries up, then we’ll start to worry… Okay?
  
   
• 

  We search less, we find more

  Stii 10:36 am on May 27, 2009 | Comments: 3 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: google (8), groovy (4), search (4), SEO, social network (2)

  I read this interesting article on MyBroadband about Google vs. Facebook. Basically what they’re saying:

  Internet users are increasingly looking for answers to their search questions, not just a list of sites in response to a query.

  We’ve grown accustomed to knowing how to optimize our search queries, simply to get the best result. Then you have to deal with the overeager SEO experts who have optimized the least ideal sites for the highest result, resulting in frustration. Lets not go into that other than saying searching is not finding answers.

  To find answers, the best place to go is probably a social network. You ask a question, you find answers or at least the best route to the answer. If the humans on the other end of the network don’t know, they normally know of someone who does.

  This is what happened to me on Twitter the other day. I was looking into the Groovy programming language and although Google returned a myriad of absolutely great results, it was not a quick answer to my question. In fact, Google’s results raised much more questions for me, so you can understand my frustration :/ As if I need more questions :P Instead a friend of mine on Twitter @geniusboywonder said I should talk to @aslamkhn about Groovy and suddenly I’ve got immediate and relevant answers to my n00b, dumb questions without reading through tons of sites. Exactly what I was looking for! I’m happy.

  The interesting part of all this is Google realizes that this is a trend in search behavior. Who could have ever thought that there would come a day when the almighty Google have to be concerned about their search product. Whether you think they are concerned or not, they did raise the issue, which indicates that they are taking it serious. It should be really interesting to see what they come up with :)
  
   
• 

  Jimmy's Sous - sauce with a loyal social media following

  Stii 1:56 pm on May 15, 2009 | Comments: 2 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: facebook (4), jimmy's sous, socialmedia (7)

  Jimmy’s Sous is a delicious sauce. It has its own Facebook group and the followers are passionate! I just read the wall posts (mostly in Afrikaans) and thought I’d translate them to share the passion. It is so cool to watch a totally random product get so much Social Media exposure via their fans. The best advertising any product in the world could wish for!

  

  Right now at this time there are about 229 wall posts and 879 members. It even has it’s own social networking space for fans at ning.com (http://jimmys.ning.com)

  The wall posts are priceless. I cannot repeat them all, but from the first couple of pages, here are some classics:

  Steve Jobs founded the iPod when he messed Jimmy’s Sauce on his walkman.

  Experts predicted that future world wars will be the result of Jimmy’s Sauce shortage.

  One sauce to rule them all, one sauce to find them, one sauce to bring them all, and in the darkness braai them…

  When I was little I dropped and broke my dad’s bottle of Jimmy’s. He broke my arm and sold my bicycle.

  If you give a Daschund Jimmy’s Sauce it will become a Doberman

  If you add two spoons of Jimmy’s to any liquor it becomes Johnny Walker Blue Label

  Jimmy’s withdrew from the American market, therefore Wallstreet crashed and hence the reason for the USA recession.

  Jamie Oliver recently admitted on BBC that he puts Jimmy’s in all his dishes.

  The secret ingredients in Jimmy’s is Unicorn tears. That and Fanta Orange.

  Barack Obama isn’t really black. He baths in Jimmy’s every night. That is why he is awesome!

  Few people know this, but an Oscar is actually Jimmy’s in a fancy bottle.

  I’ve been using Jimmy’s instead of diesel in my truck for years. When I drive around it smells like “braaivleis” (BBQ)

  Joost cheated on Amor with a bottle of Jimmy’s… pig

  I can build anything with an A4 sheet of paper and a bit of Jimmy’s sauce.

  Jimmy’s is the semen of the gods.

  So it carries on and on… Here is the link to the Facebook group. Enjoy if you understand Afrikaans!
  
   
• 

  Pots calling kettles black

  Stii 2:56 pm on April 1, 2009 | Comments: 4 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: gsb, nomadicmarketing, rockstars, socialmedia (7), twitter (16)

  

  Twice I saw this yesterday. The first was by a Social Media “Rockstar” (really, this “Rockstar” meme makes me want to lick a red hot grill at a steakhouse) who was ranting about web celebrities who are clueless. Basically what he was referring to was popular people on Twitter who follows only a small group of people in their inner circle and has a huge following and how wrong and clueless it is to do that in his humble opinion:

  

  You might think that non-reciprocation makes you look like an “influential thought leader,” but to me it looks like:

  1. You’re kind of a noob. Your name might be “big,” but your social media interaction and filtering skills are small.
  2. You’re kind of a snob. You’re more concerned with appearing “popular” than listening and learning from people.

  I am referring to the “You’re kind of a noob” part.
  See?
  Pot calling kettle black?
  Ever heard of Twitter search to filter? If they use it, they sure as hell don’t have to follow everyone back. God knows how the hell you are going to follow what 11316 people are blabbering on Twitter. Listening? Really? How? Sit the entire bloody day and night in front of Twitter reading?
  Who is paying for that?
  Pot calling kettle black?

  The second time it happened was to myself at yesterday’s Nomadic Marketing session when I accused Dave, Chris and Kerry-Anne of being quiet and scarce. I was very quickly being told “Who are you calling black?!” :P Sorry chaps!
  
   
• 

  Lets define social media once more. Someone must buy it!

  Stii 10:20 am on February 24, 2009 | Comments: 15 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: blogs (2), bookmarks, communities, lifestreams, message boards, micro blogs, networks (2), podcasts, socialmedia (7), vlogs, web2.0, wikis

  It is all starting to look, feel, taste and sound very much like pie in the sky Web 2.0. It seems everyone has his own perception and opinion. Why, dear lord, why? Why, for the love of Jack Daniels, do people try and over complicate things?

  
  (Totally unrelated picture. Sure is cool, isn’t it?)

  What seem to happen is that someone defines social media. They try to be fairly specific and clear about it. Along comes the other experts and add some other bullshit to it to make it sound more impressive. Wash, rinse, repeat. Already I see there is quite a few definitions, all saying something similar but with a slightly different focus. It almost seems that if it cannot be sold, they change the definition until it is sold! Can you say WEB TWO POINT OH? C’mon, give me a HALLELUJAH! Here we go again. Silly of me to think we learned our lesson.

  Suddenly, social media is all about two way dialogues. About blogs, message boards, podcasts, micro blogs, lifestreams, bookmarks, networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs facilitating conversations. About “democratizing” content. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in a conversational format between authors and people. (Source: Web Pro News, Thanks Walter)

  Why not simply say: It is blogs, message boards, podcasts, micro blogs, lifestreams, bookmarks, networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs. Finish. Explained. Done and dusted. A definition every one understands. What is said above is the effects of social media, but it is NOT social media! Don’t you get it? It is two completely different things, really!
  
   
• 

  Last.fm and The Digital Edge

  Stii 10:46 am on February 23, 2009 | Comments: 2 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: digitaledge (2), fast.fm, id3, mp3 (2), podcast (2), social network (2)

  Update

  The page on Last.fm was created and it seems to be working fine. Find it here: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Digital+Edge

  I love listening to The Digital Edge podcast. I normally download the podcast and then listen to it whenever I feel like it.

  Now I’m a keen Last.fm user. I love Last.fm. It is a fantastic social network around music. It not only lets you discover similar artists, but it also allows you to see who else listens to the same music that you listen to. Brilliant! I’m not 100% sure, but I think quite a bit of early adopter users also using it.

  I think Jarred and Saul should capitalize on this. It might be completely worthless or not even possible (I don’t really know to be honest), then again, you’ll never know until you try. I might be completely wrong, but I think it would be extremely simple to do. They have nothing to lose, so why not try. It might even get them a bit of additional exposure and they can contact listeners for feedback, since they would know who some of those listeners are.

  The first thing they need to do would have to be doing their MP3‘s ID3 tags properly. This is more than simple to do using iTunes. Not only will it allow Last.fm to scrobble the podcast, it would also help iTunes to organize it better.

  Next, simply create an artist page like http://www.last.fm/music/The Digital Edge and Bob’s your uncle. (No, not Bob Mugabe! He’s his own uncle.) As I said, I don’t talk of experience here and could be completely missing the plot. Just an idea. Use it, don’t use it. Completely up to you guys!

  
  
   
• 

  Facebook revert back to their old Terms of Use

  Stii 10:04 am on February 18, 2009 | Comments: 2 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: facebook (4), social networking (6), terms and conditions (2)

  If you log into Facebook today, you’ll see that they’ve announced that they reverted back to their old Terms of Use. Pressure, boys, pressure… Get it right next time, okay? Our stuff is our stuff. No matter how lame or great. It is not cool simply claiming rights on it, okay?

  Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.

  If you want to share your thoughts on what should be in the new terms, check out our group Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
  
   
• 

  Facebook shafted you. Legally

  Stii 9:29 pm on February 16, 2009 | Comments: 8 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: facebook (4), law (2), terms and conditions (2)

  Facebook recently “amended” their Terms and Conditions. Paul Jacobson wrote a brilliant article on it, explaining in plain English with accompanying audio explaining everything. Highly recommend you read it.

  Basically, Facebook says:

  By using Facebook, you have already accepted these Terms and Conditions.
  They claim ownership of any photos, text, link, audio, video, designs, ads and anything else that you Post on or through the Facebook Service. (Note: link. As Paul says, if you linked to something, they practically own it.)
  They may use anything of you on Facebook as they please. They may even sell it to third parties should they choose to do so.
  You have ABSOLUTELY no say in it.
  Here is the best part:
  The following sections will survive any termination of your use of the Facebook Service. In other words, even if you close your Facebook profile, they still own what you had on there.

  What gets me about this is not much so the fact that Facebook owns me as it is the fact that they shafted me. Using exceptional sly, sneaky and dirty tactics, they bent over their users and buggered them right in front of the blind girl with the sword and scales. They made it legal for themselves to shaft you, the user. THAT is low. In fact, there is NOTHING lower than using the law for self gain. Exploiting the law might be a better term. Steal my stuff if you have to have it, but at least give me the option to do something about it. Don’t simply claim rights to it which you shouldn’t have.

  I’m not legally sure, so I’ll ask Paul, but is it already too late? Can one still get out of the rule of these Terms and Conditions?
  
   
• 

  Don't talk back at me, I'll smack you!

  Stii 12:46 pm on February 16, 2009 | Comments: 2 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: coca cola, coke fest, social networking (6), socialmedia (7)

  This is what I read between the lines when it comes to big brands. Like @fearsumm one day said: “I can read between the lines. Even if it is only one line, I can read between it”

  Last week, Coca-Cola had a hissy fit about Jason Bagley running an “official-looking” site (mycoke.co.za) without their involvement.

  

  So, who’s fault is THAT?! Why didn’t the Coca-Cola company facilitate such a site from the word go? Could it be that people DO NOT TRUST brands to allow them so-called freedom of speech? If you read this from their official statement:

  The Coca-Cola Company appreciates all comments and feedback received from fans of the MY COKE FEST events and encourages discussion and dialogue about these events in open forums. However, the Company cannot knowingly permit such discussions to take place in conjunction with the unauthorized use of its trade marks which could ultimately result in harm to its brands and image.

  Now don’t get me wrong, I do empathise with that. There are some seriously anal people (a.k.a. Trolls) out there in the world that will try and find things wrong with everything and anything just for the sake of being anal. The question then becomes when and where do opinions cross the line and become trollish flamebait? Who is to decide that?

  Personally, I think that we love our fans to be positively vocal about our brands, but hate it when there are negative comments. Should we not trust our fans to address the negative comments as well? It is virtually impossible to address each and every statement made about you. Coca-Cola would have to have a whole department for community interaction. They should rather just focus on their champions and get them to help respond to negative comments. Users would also be able to identify and deal with trolls much easier.

  Coca-Cola should learn how to effectively use an uncontrollable community to their advantage, rather than forcing them to close down. See, the math makes no sense whatsoever. It is a big enough issue for them to get their lawyers to shut mycoke.co.za down. Do they seriously think they made ANY friends or fans with this type of action? Erm, I wouldn’t think so. I’d love to see them (fans) vent their frustration elsewhere. It should make an interesting read!

  Big brands, specially here in South Africa, still acts a lot like an old school headmaster. You don’t talk back at him. You WILL get smacked if you do. You are, after all, a child who knows nothing. Who needs to grow up?