http://www.acognita.com/index.php/blog/index/ The Acognita Blog - Social Media en daniel@acognita.com Copyright 2009 2009-10-13T00:43:39-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/the_social_media_revolution_-_killer_stats/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/the_social_media_revolution_-_killer_stats/#When:23:43:39Z Statistics show social media is bigger than you think. If you are still a social media skeptic, this video will help to open your mind.  Killer Stats on the Social Media Revolution - from Socialnomics   Stats from Video (sources listed below by corresponding #) By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media Years to Reach 50 millions Users:  Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months. If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia (note that Facebook is now creeping up – recently announced 300 million users) Yet, some sources say China’s QZone is larger with over 300 million using their services (Facebook’s ban in China plays into this) comScore indicates that Russia has the most engage social media audience with visitors spending 6.6 hours and viewing 1,307 pages per visitor per month – Vkontakte.ru is the #1 social network 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction 1 in 6 higher education students are enrolled in online curriculum % of companies using LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees….80%   Read the full related blog post with all 37 stats and citations for each here.   2009-10-12T23:43:39-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/social_media_in_action_-_enterprise_edition/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/social_media_in_action_-_enterprise_edition/#When:20:07:07Z One of the best ways to learn is by learning from the mistakes of others and by emulating their best practices.  The following is a broad overview of best practices.  For starter’s I want to mention a great article published about 6 months ago. 35+ Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action This is an overview of 35 pointed Social Media initiatives, each on a different site.  It’s good as an overview of possibilities, but many of these do not translate well to other sites.  The strategies, tools, and approaches vary with each industry and organization. Here are a 6 examples of large Brands applying lots of Social Media elements.  These aren’t all good examples, but this is a good starting point.  Most brands are not doing as much as these are.  I’ve listed them due to the breadth of Social Media that they are each using.  Interestingly most small businesses (under $5mm in revenue) are not doing social media well.  The reasons for this are varied.  Mainly, in my opinion, it’s due to the fact that smaller businesses have insufficient marketing expertise and small budgets.    Big Rock Brewery: Blogging:  Friends of Big Rock blog. Bookmarking: StumbleUpon account. Meetup: Friends of Big Rock. Microblogging: Twitter account. Online video: YouTube account. Photo sharing: Flickr     group pool. Social networks: Facebook     group. Friends     of Big Rock. MySpace     group. Voting:  Digg account.    IBM: Blogging:  125 corporate blogs. Forums:  developerWorks. Microblogging:     Smart SOA SocialNetwork ((S3N)) Team on Twitter. Online video:     Rational Heroes machinima     videos and Meet     Mr. Fong on YouTube. Podcasting:  developerWorks and     Social     Networking Now Social networks:  Rational Heroes     community space. Strategy:  internal     social computing     guidelines Virtual Worlds:  IBM Business     Center and Rational     Software Conference/Hipihi in Second Life. Wikis:  developerWorks.   Intel: Blogger outreach:  Intel     Insider program. Blogging: Corporate family of blogs.  Inside Scoop lifestyle blog.  Game Faces blog. Microblogging:  Intel Developer Forum and Inspired By Education. Online video:  YouTube     account. Photo sharing:  Flickr photostream. Public Relations:  Social     media news releases. Social networks:    Facebook Intel     Developer Forum, Inspired     By Education, and International Science and Engineering Fair pages. Gateway     2 India on Facebook.  Intel     Studios for unsigned musicians.  Open Port for     IT Pros.  Intel     Software Network Communities. Sponsorships:      PopURL     collection for IT Pros.  Digg     Labs Visual Arc.  Slashdot     meet the experts.   Intuit: Blogging:  TurboTax support     team blog.  Bob     Meighan’s Amazon Blog. Crowdsourcing:  Suggestion box. Microblogging:  25+    employee accounts on Twitter to answer product questions. Online video:  QuickBooks account on YouTube. TurboTax Tax Laugh on YouTube. Ratings and     Reviews:  TurboTax Social networks: Corporate     umbrella fan page on Facebook.  TurboTax Support community.     QuickBooks community. JumpUp community for new businesses.    TurboTax Inner     Circle Community. Wiki: TaxAlmanac.   Toyota Motor Company: Blogging:     Open Road Blog. Brand     monitoring:  Client of Nielsen     Online. Microblogging:     Open Road on Twitter. Virtual     worlds: Toyota     Metapolis. Widgets:     Fantasy     Football widget on Yahoo. FJ     Cruiser mini bulletin widget. Corolla     “the help” widget.   Wal-Mart: Blogging:    Check Out, a blog written by     buyers. Fake blog: Walmarting     Across America.  Detractor blogs: Wal-Mart Watch and Working Families For Walmart? Social     networks: Facebook Roommate     Style Match application. The     Hub. Elevenmoms community. Widgets:    Receipes.    Such a list is not complete without noting the pitfalls and landmines laying in the social media grass.  Read Jeremiah Owyang’s A Chronology of Brands that Got Punk’d by Social Media for some amusing and frightening examples of Social Media fiascos.   2009-04-29T20:07:07-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/how_to_add_community_features_to_your_web_site/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/how_to_add_community_features_to_your_web_site/#When:05:43:11Z The options for adding community features to your web site seem to multiply every day.  You know you need to add social features to your web site, but how?  1 - Assessment - What are your goals?  What are the opportunities to enhance your web site’s value with social features and create a community for your clients, users, and/or site visitors?  Review of your goals and the opportunities, then prioritize them so you know which features have the most potential value.  Also determine your desired timing and budget range. 2 - Technology Approach - There are 3 main ways you can enhance your site. One is to pay a developer to do custom work.  Another is to cobble together various single-purpose functions.  The third is to select an integrated platform.  Today, there are many comprehensive platforms wihich range from low cost, all the way up to high-end systems.  Given the variety of integrated solutions, price points, and the benefits they provide, it usually makes the most sense to select a platform.  3 - Platform Selection - With almost 100 options available today, selecting a platform can be an intimidating task.  Find a partner who is familiar with the range of options and who can help you select the platform that best matches your needs and your budget.  We maintain an index of over 80 different platform options as well as separate lists of specific single-purpose technical solutions. 4 - Planning - Next plan out your desired site changes and enhancements by grouping them into phases.  It’s important to group the changes into manageable sets which you can implement incrementally.  This helps you deliver enhancements in a reasonable time period and helps prove the technology and allow the site development team to gain experience at a reasonable pace.  If you try to do too much all at once, it can be overwhelming and often results in missed schedules and cost overruns.  A good rule of thumb is to keep each phase to about 8 weeks in length.  This is long enough to make solid progress, but not so big that the team can get too far off track. 5 - Design - All web site work should, at least, go through a review or redesign that includes visual design, navigational structure, and user interface (UI) design. 6 - Implementation - The technical team takes the plan, the designs, the selected platform, and implements the new functionality. 7 - Training - Be sure to plan for who will update the new features of your web site, write blog entries, moderate group postings, and such.  Training the team is essential to a successful relaunch. 8 - Testing - Plan to test all of your site’s new features and your site launch/release process. 9 - Site Relaunch - If you have prepared properly, everything surrounding your site launch or relaunch should go smoothly. 10 - Site/Community Promotion - It’s time to announce your new site and its new features.  Be sure to set reasonable expectations.  All of the big online success stories took time to build up steam. If you plan ahead, use a good process, and work with a knowledgable team, your web project has the best chance to be successful and get delivered on time and on budget.   Building Community, Social Media 2009-03-23T05:43:11-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/5_tips_for_marketing_on_the_new_facebook/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/5_tips_for_marketing_on_the_new_facebook/#When:20:46:11Z Facebook’s new look is all about Twitter-envy.  So what does this mean to marketers?  Read on.Fast Company’s Kyle Austin jumps right on the new twitter-like features launched by Facebook yesterday and how marketers can best leverage them. #1 - Post Updates Frequently #2 - Take Advantage of Facebook Advertising #3 - Watch Coca-Cola #4 - Use Video #5 - Get Your Employees Involved in WOM (Word of Mouth) Marketing on the Page Read more here about each tip here: Fast Company: 5 Tips for Marketing on Facebook’s New Pages Personally, I believe the new ‘TwitBook’ feature is a very powerful weapon.  Just be very careful you don’t shoot yourself or your brand in the foot with this great new tool. Twitter has proven itself very valuable and Facebook has validated that value by imitating Twitter in their new user interface.  The complaining has already started amongst the Facebook faithful, and I’m sure FB saw that coming, but they made a conscious choice.  The pain is worth the gain.  Twitter is too hot to let it gain a runaway lead.  The Facebook execs are making a huge bet here and Twitter benefits either way. If you are drooling at the prospects of using these features to market to the 150 million Facebook users, remember modertation is key. So are the other hallmarks of social media like authenticty and transparency.  Marketing with social media is not about running around yelling “Buy Me!“.  It’s not about traditional advertising either.  Social media Marketing is about the essence of a good brand, trust.  Back in the early web days we had a client who wanted to acquire an email list and spam the world.  I tried to explain why that wasn’t a good idea.  The same concepts apply here.  Be friendly.  Be helpful.  Be honest.  Then they will trust your brand and they will not just buy when they have a need, they will tell their friends how great you are.  That’s the new social side of marketing.   2009-03-13T20:46:11-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/twitter_is_red_hot_but_will_it_last/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/twitter_is_red_hot_but_will_it_last/#When:03:11:11Z Has Twitter hit the tipping point?  That depends on how you define the tipping point.  In any case there’s no question that Twitter is entering the mainstream consciousness.  The key question is where will Twitter go from here?Twitter is riding the now famous hype curve, but will it flame out or will it persist?  We knew Google had really arrived when people started using it as a verb.  Facebook hit the major growth phase last year and now Facebooking is an accepted verb.  Estimates of Twitter visitor traffic grew by 10 to 15 x in 2008.  Now everywhere i look there is a new article being written about Twitter.  And Twittering or it’s alternate verb form of ‘Tweeting’ is becoming commonplace. But what does the future hold?  It’s hard to say, Twitter is making a lot of good moves, but the Twitter is still not a well-defined or well-understood phenomenon even for its founders.  They are just following their instincts.  Every day new uses and unexpected benefits from using Twitter are being discovered.  I’m very optimistic though.  Let me explain why.  1) A Solid Open API - Twitter has a solid API that enables lots of interesting and creative ideas to be created.  This has already generated over 100 Twitter-based services and applications.  Enabling creativitiy is crucial and it’s why new applications for Twitter keep surfacing. 2) Eco Conscious - No, not that eco.  I’m talking about being eco-system friendly.  This is something traditional business people don’t understand. This is a deep subject so I’ll write a separate post on the value of eco-systems and how sharing the pie creates a much bigger and better pie.  Most dominant companies in the past got that way by controlling their whole market to an extreme.  Think monopolies.  Today we know better.  Fostering an eco-system helps everyone.  Twitter seems to get this fundamental fact of innovative growth. 3) Creative Openness - The team at Twitter has shown strong instincts which are needed to maximize the potential of something so revolutionary.  There is no roadmap for this uncharted territory.  What you need is flexibility and good instincts.  So far Twitter has evolved far beyond what the founders thought it was in the beginning.  This creative openness will be essential to navigating the uncharted frontier which lies ahead. 4) Value - The old saying that ‘success breeds success’ is very true.  The success of Twitter so far, it’s rapid growth and adoption by individuals and businesses, is evidence of real value.  That value is likely to continue to expand as the creativity of hundreds or thousands of innovative organizations work to build on the foundation that Twitter has built. Only time will tell for sure, but this snowball has all the signs of a truly revolutionary new medium. For the hard-core ROI side of the story here is a great article from August 2008 that makes the case that there is no way Twitter can succeeed.  They make good points, but There are plenty of ‘exceptions that prove the rule’ in all fields.  YouTube got acquired before it ever made a dime.  I figured it for dead.  But Google wanted to be in the video market and Google Video was a failure compared to YouTube.   Social Media, Twitter 2009-03-09T03:11:11-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/the_curious_genius_of_twitter_fastcompany/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/the_curious_genius_of_twitter_fastcompany/#When:15:10:11Z Fast Company interviews Twitter Co-founder Ev Williams about how this hot new business started and evolved.Ev Williams’ first hit business, Blogger, was a side project.  Blogger quickly grew into the most popular blogging platform and was acquired by Google.  Four years ago Ev was involved with a company called Odeo and that generated another now-famous, fast-growing side project, Twitter. This interview reveals a bit more about the phenomenon called Twitter. This excerpt from the interview explains why Evan is excited. Q: What do you think the future will hold for Twitter? A: We really believe Twitter is potentially massive in terms of its impact on millions and millions of people. I believe it’s bigger than anything I’ve ever worked on. We have high hopes for it. We’re not looking to sell it anytime soon. We’re just looking to execute right now and get it to as many people as possible. I don’t know what that number is, but I think it’s as big as the biggest Internet successes out there today. The more I work on it, the more I see opportunity. If you are on Twitter you can get Evan’s tweets by following @EV. The Curious Genius of Twitter - Fast Company.com Micro-blogging, News, Twitter 2009-03-07T15:10:11-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/twitter_buyers_and_investors_are_lining_up/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/twitter_buyers_and_investors_are_lining_up/#When:15:43:11Z Rumors are that Google made an attempt, Facebook admits a recent attempt, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos already invested last June (2008).  The most recent investment is reportedly TechCrunch reported on 1/24/09 that Twitter turned down a $500M purchase offer.  In mid-February a $35 million investment in Twitter at a $250M valuation made headlines. On 3/4/09 Business Week did a feature article on the red hot 3-year-old, and that same day Motley Fool speculated that Eric Schmidt’s recent comments could mean Google will acquire Twitter soon. The latest investment supposedly was too attractive to resist. Twitter reportedly took in about $15 million back in June, 2008.  With the recent $35M and prior investments that comes to about $55 million invested so far.  Stay tuned to see if Motley Fool’s prediction is true.  Personally, I think they will be acquired by Google, but not so quickly.  Co-founder Evan Williams already sold his last business, the famous Blogger, to Google so he’s been there and done that.  He doesn’t likely need the money, but they know each other well.  I predict Twitter will hold out, grow as fast as possible and will probably take something in the range of a $1 to $2 billion offer within 18 months. Twitter Has Potential Buyers Atwitter - Business Week - 3/4/09 As the microblogging service explodes in popularity, the suitors are lining up. Facebook has already made a play—others will likely follow. Twitter Gets Help from Bezos - Business Week - 6/26/08Funds from the Amazon founder and Spark Capital will help the “stressing” microblogging outfit rebuild its technology An index of Business Week articles about Twitter can be found here.   Micro-blogging, Social Media, News, Twitter 2009-03-04T15:43:11-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/co-founder_ev_williams_explains_twitter_at_ted/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/co-founder_ev_williams_explains_twitter_at_ted/#When:20:14:11Z What is Twitter?  Hear what co-founder Ev Williams has to say about it at TED, one of the most interesting conferences in the world.Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter, explains how Twitter came to be and how it continues to surprise him as it evolves.  Since it’s beginnings in the latter 1990’s The TED conference puts the most interesting people in the fields of technology, education, and design on stage before some of the smartest and most influential audiences. TED - Evan Williams on Twitter Micro-blogging, Social Media, TED Talks, Twitter 2009-02-27T20:14:11-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/is_twitter_a_fad_or_a_phenomenon/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/is_twitter_a_fad_or_a_phenomenon/#When:17:19:11Z It’s still early, but I am convinced Twitter is a major phenomenon, not just a fad.  In fact it could be revolutionary.  Twitter is a new medium cobbled together from various preexisting parts that is much more than the sum of those parts.The phenomenon is  hard to grasp at first, but that has no effect on it’s significance or it’s potential to revolutionize the way people interact.  This isn’t as revolutionary as the web itself was, but it’s way up on the list.  Just how high Twitter will rank will be determined over the next 3 to 5 years as it spreads it’s tentacles into our connected lives. I like to watch the frontiers of technology for new developments and I like to see if I can predict the effects those will have over time.  I started doing this way back when the first PCs were being marketed.  Not the IBM variety.  I’m taking the S100 bus and forward, but that’s another story.  (That was in the late 70’s during my college years.) As a software engineer and then as a development manager, I always wanted to know where things were going.  I wanted to be sure our systems didn’t just meet current needs, but predictable future needs as well. As they say “don’t go to where the ball is, go to where the ball is going to be”. During the 80’s I was working in a large company whose applications were based on mainframes.  I was always working to bridge the gap to PCs.  I watched as the PC revolution came through and peaked.  I felt left behind.  I focused on Windows-based systems, but I wondered if there would ever be another boom like the one that drove the PC.  After some consideration I figured that the pace of change was only accelerating so there should be at least one or two more major waves of change before I hit retirement.  Boy, was that right. This interest in the future is what led to me starting my first major venture called Web Access in January of 1995.  The Mosaic browser that ignited the web boom, was just 6 months old at the time but I could see the potential.  I spent the next year evangelizing and educating people about the potential of the web and the rest is history.  The web grew from a tiny swell to a tsunami of unparalleled proportions in record time.  Now we have Twitter.  It’s not as revolutionary as the web, but I see all the markings of a major innovation with far-reaching effects.  I will do more blogging to help explain the Twitter phenomenon and it’s potential. So, stay tuned.   Micro-blogging, Social Media, Twitter 2009-02-10T17:19:11-05:00 http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/mass_media_and_magazine_influence_continues_to_decline/ http://www.acognita.com/index.php/site/mass_media_and_magazine_influence_continues_to_decline/#When:16:03:11Z Stats released in November 2008 confirm that the influence of Mass Media is declining steadily due to the Internet in general and social media is accelerating the pace. “Peer-to-peer authority is replacing mass media on all fronts. As information sources, family and friends’ advice rose from 44% to 47% as an information source, while coworker advice went from 23% to 30%.“From 2006 to 2008 the mass media numbers are eroding steadily while social media is rising rapidly.  This is a classic pattern.  Think ‘buggy whips’. Magazines down from 23% ro 18%. TV done from 71% to 65%. The only traditional media category that rose is Cable TV News - up from 47% to 49%. But Social Newtorking site interaction grew by 98% during the same period.  These and many, many other interesting stats can be found here - http://www.frankwbaker.com/mediause.htm (Source: Ketchum Global Media Network and Global Research Network partnered with the University of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center on this study.) This is the continuation of a trend that started with the advent of the Web.  Newspaper readership dropped from 58% in 1998 to 52% in 2005.  That decline is accelerating.  Young people now prefer to read news online and never acquire the newspaper habit. Personally, I never learned to appreciate newspapers.  They are bulky, dirty, and generally inconvenient.  I can read the New York Times on my laptop or iPhone much more efficiently, and easily.  I can start reading during my morning routine, and can continue whenever I have a few minutes of down time on my iPhone, or my laptop. Plus, now I can get better news from bloggers which are focused on the subjects I care about.     Social Media, News, Statistics 2009-02-01T16:03:11-05:00