december 2007

Just a quick note to all of you, my friends, to have a very happy, successful and healthy new year. 2007 was a very rewarding year for me (started the blog and met lots of interesting people). 2008 has some pretty big changes in store for me, but I'll tell you more about that next week. Trust me, it's all good!

Now, every year I sit down in this last week and set goals for the next year. This process takes a mental and emotional investment to make sure the goals are reachable and that I'll be able to successfully achieve them. A couple of days ago, I found a great post by Keith Ferrazzi, author of the outstanding book "Never Eat Alone". Keith's company has put together a simple little Facebook application to help you make and set goals.

The part of the post that I like the most is his mention of the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal planning. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Using this method for your goal setting, either for your personal goals or goals for your professional life or even your digital marketing efforts, is extraordinarily helpful.

I mentioned Keith's Facebook app (called Goal Post) and I think it's a good example of how to create an tool that users get value from and use the power of the community. If you add the app to your profile it allows you to go in, create goals, set time deadlines and then (this where the community comes into play) you set your accountability buddies. These are friends of yours who you tell your goals and they help to hold you accountable. I think it's quite brilliant and extremely valuable.

Another great post I came across the other day was Chris Brogan's "Hitting your target for 2008". He suggests a couple great books and some even better advice. Chris recommends setting 3-5 targets and are attainable. Make these targets into simple maps and post them where you can see them.

I hope those two items give you some great thought starters for your goal setting in 2008. I hope you make it your best year yet.

Technorati Tags: Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, Chris Brogan, Keith Ferrazzi, goals

Just a quick note to all of you, my friends, to have a very happy, successful and healthy new year. 2007 was a very rewarding year for me (started the blog and met lots of interesting people). 2008 has some pretty big changes in store for me, but I'll tell you more about that next week. Trust me, it's all good!

Now, every year I sit down in this last week and set goals for the next year. This process takes a mental and emotional investment to make sure the goals are reachable and that I'll be able to successfully achieve them. A couple of days ago, I found a great post by Keith Ferrazzi, author of the outstanding book "Never Eat Alone". Keith's company has put together a simple little Facebook application to help you make and set goals.

The part of the post that I like the most is his mention of the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal planning. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Using this method for your goal setting, either for your personal goals or goals for your professional life or even your digital marketing efforts, is extraordinarily helpful.

I mentioned Keith's Facebook app (called Goal Post) and I think it's a good example of how to create an tool that users get value from and use the power of the community. If you add the app to your profile it allows you to go in, create goals, set time deadlines and then (this where the community comes into play) you set your accountability buddies. These are friends of yours who you tell your goals and they help to hold you accountable. I think it's quite brilliant and extremely valuable.

Another great post I came across the other day was Chris Brogan's "Hitting your target for 2008". He suggests a couple great books and some even better advice. Chris recommends setting 3-5 targets and are attainable. Make these targets into simple maps and post them where you can see them.

I hope those two items give you some great thought starters for your goal setting in 2008. I hope you make it your best year yet.

Technorati Tags: Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, Chris Brogan, Keith Ferrazzi, goals

In this fast-paced, wild west world of Web2.0 and social networking, too many marketers are making dumb moves online. These decisions are being rushed into the community without thinking about what the social ramifications are. You know who they are so I won't call them out again. It does make you wonder though, who is the voice of reason/community in these companies? I think it's vital to have a community advocate(s) inside the agencies and company marketing group to ask some pretty simple, but very crucial questions.

Here are five ways companies and agencies can stop doing stupid things in digital marketing. Some of these may seem very obvious, but ask yourself if you're actually doing them all.

1. Engage internal, non-marketing folks in the process. This is a good idea and pretty cost-effective as well. Invite Jim from accounting or Julie from operations and see what they think of new initiatives. Address concerns directly and get their two cents on what you're trying to accomplish. Their personal interactions online will give you a window into how your customers may engage and react.
2. Get young professionals involved in all aspects of your marketing planning. This is huge. Undoubtedly, you have young people working in your company. Get these people involved in all stages of your planning. Not only will this give them great experience, but they're much more intimately connected to the pulse of social networks. They can tell you if your thinking is lame and will create backlash or if it has a chance to be embraced. Check out the posts on Valeria's blog by young bloggers for some great insights.
3. Remember, "your brand is not my friend". This is Tangerine Toad's battle cry and it is something every marketer needs to keep in mind. Despite how much we think people love us, friendships are person-to-person. Toad's anthem will will keep you at the right distance and in the right mindset.
4. Ask your customers. This one seems obvious, but even the most pro-community sites are skipping this one and creating a lot of trouble for themselves. Had Facebook asked a user panel what they thought about Beacon or social ads, they may have been able to avoid some pretty major PR trouble. CK and Doug have already cancelled their accounts on Facebook and I'm sure others have as well. With the switching cost so low, nobody can afford to take advantage of or take for granted the community of current users.
5. Learn from the past. You'd think more and more companies would at least look at the mistakes that have taken place. From flogs to Wikipedia editing, companies have pushed the envelope and experienced the backlash. Sadly, other companies either don't look or don't care and line up to do the same things. In this digital age, it's nearly impossible to get away with something like this. The trail is there and there are people who love for nothing more than to expose companies trying to pull a fast one on ...

In this fast-paced, wild west world of Web2.0 and social networking, too many marketers are making dumb moves online. These decisions are being rushed into the community without thinking about what the social ramifications are. You know who they are so I won't call them out again. It does make you wonder though, who is the voice of reason/community in these companies? I think it's vital to have a community advocate(s) inside the agencies and company marketing group to ask some pretty simple, but very crucial questions.

Here are five ways companies and agencies can stop doing stupid things in digital marketing. Some of these may seem very obvious, but ask yourself if you're actually doing them all.

1. Engage internal, non-marketing folks in the process. This is a good idea and pretty cost-effective as well. Invite Jim from accounting or Julie from operations and see what they think of new initiatives. Address concerns directly and get their two cents on what you're trying to accomplish. Their personal interactions online will give you a window into how your customers may engage and react.
2. Get young professionals involved in all aspects of your marketing planning. This is huge. Undoubtedly, you have young people working in your company. Get these people involved in all stages of your planning. Not only will this give them great experience, but they're much more intimately connected to the pulse of social networks. They can tell you if your thinking is lame and will create backlash or if it has a chance to be embraced. Check out the posts on Valeria's blog by young bloggers for some great insights.
3. Remember, "your brand is not my friend". This is Tangerine Toad's battle cry and it is something every marketer needs to keep in mind. Despite how much we think people love us, friendships are person-to-person. Toad's anthem will will keep you at the right distance and in the right mindset.
4. Ask your customers. This one seems obvious, but even the most pro-community sites are skipping this one and creating a lot of trouble for themselves. Had Facebook asked a user panel what they thought about Beacon or social ads, they may have been able to avoid some pretty major PR trouble. CK and Doug have already cancelled their accounts on Facebook and I'm sure others have as well. With the switching cost so low, nobody can afford to take advantage of or take for granted the community of current users.
5. Learn from the past. You'd think more and more companies would at least look at the mistakes that have taken place. From flogs to Wikipedia editing, companies have pushed the envelope and experienced the backlash. Sadly, other companies either don't look or don't care and line up to do the same things. In this digital age, it's nearly impossible to get away with something like this. The trail is there and there are people who love for nothing more than to expose companies trying to pull a fast one on ...

• Blogging???s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool The NYTimes looks at blogging as a small business marketing tool. (tags: blog marketing blogging)

• Blogging’s a Low-Cost, High Return Marketing Tool The NYTimes looks at blogging as a small business marketing tool. (tags: blog marketing blogging)

It's always interesting to go through the analytics and dig out data. I wanted to do this recap post to share with you where people are coming from and what posts were popular according to different metrics. Measurement is going to become more and more important in 2008 and it's a topic I'll be covering in-depth. Here are some interesting metrics that I extracted for 2007.

Top 10 visitor countries

• U.S.
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Australia
• India
• Netherlands
• France
• Germany
• Belgium
• Israel

I always love looking at where people are coming from. I love people bring different perspectives from around the globe to the conversation here. Now here is what you all found most interesting using two metrics.

Popular posts by pageviews

• Just say NO to Quechup (thanks to a link from Robert Scoble)
• Apple changes rules, forgets to tell customers
• Inside//Out: Facebook
• Boomer generation exploding online. Are you ready?
• Twitter for marketers
• Camera phones and marketers
• Starbucks song of the day and physical artifacts
• 20 common mistakes of eager bloggers
• More great environmental, interactive advertising
• Multi-touch interaction, beyond the iPhone

Popular posts by time spent on page

• Should you design an exclusive site for the iPhone?
• Mobile social media booming by 2012
• Why is Ask.com selling the drill bit?
• What my dogs can teach you about user experience
• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
• Wal-mart abandons Hub concept
• Social media is a marathon
• Google extending browser to mobile
• The challenges of cultivating a community
• To blog or not to blog? That is their question.

You can see that using these two metrics you get very disparate results. One of the lists looks more accurate to me, but what do you think?

This is the challenge to marketers. How should you choose a metric to value your traffic? Are we even looking at the right metric? Think about new formats to better reflect the value your users receive. Isn't that the most important metric? If your customer value metric is low, you aren't going to be in business for very long.

What measurements have you put in place? Are you still using traditional metrics and if so, why?

Technorati Tags: marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, metrics, statistics

It's always interesting to go through the analytics and dig out data. I wanted to do this recap post to share with you where people are coming from and what posts were popular according to different metrics. Measurement is going to become more and more important in 2008 and it's a topic I'll be covering in-depth. Here are some interesting metrics that I extracted for 2007.

Top 10 visitor countries

• U.S.
• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Australia
• India
• Netherlands
• France
• Germany
• Belgium
• Israel

I always love looking at where people are coming from. I love people bring different perspectives from around the globe to the conversation here. Now here is what you all found most interesting using two metrics.

Popular posts by pageviews

• Just say NO to Quechup (thanks to a link from Robert Scoble)
• Apple changes rules, forgets to tell customers
• Inside//Out: Facebook
• Boomer generation exploding online. Are you ready?
• Twitter for marketers
• Camera phones and marketers
• Starbucks song of the day and physical artifacts
• 20 common mistakes of eager bloggers
• More great environmental, interactive advertising
• Multi-touch interaction, beyond the iPhone

Popular posts by time spent on page

• Should you design an exclusive site for the iPhone?
• Mobile social media booming by 2012
• Why is Ask.com selling the drill bit?
• What my dogs can teach you about user experience
• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
• Wal-mart abandons Hub concept
• Social media is a marathon
• Google extending browser to mobile
• The challenges of cultivating a community
• To blog or not to blog? That is their question.

You can see that using these two metrics you get very disparate results. One of the lists looks more accurate to me, but what do you think?

This is the challenge to marketers. How should you choose a metric to value your traffic? Are we even looking at the right metric? Think about new formats to better reflect the value your users receive. Isn't that the most important metric? If your customer value metric is low, you aren't going to be in business for very long.

What measurements have you put in place? Are you still using traditional metrics and if so, why?

Technorati Tags: marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, metrics, statistics

• SiliconValley.com - Facebook alarms privacy advocates again More privacy concerns with Facebook. This time for T-Mobile Blackberry users. A bit overplayed as users still need to opt-in to Facebook and download the app. (tags: T-mobile mobile facebook privacy)

• SiliconValley.com - Facebook alarms privacy advocates again More privacy concerns with Facebook. This time for T-Mobile Blackberry users. A bit overplayed as users still need to opt-in to Facebook and download the app. (tags: T-mobile mobile facebook privacy)

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to hit the 1,000 comment mark on this blog. Valeria Maltoni was that lucky soul and as a bonus to her, I asked her if she would like to do a guest post on this blog. She accepted and it fits in great with the Christmas holiday and marketing in general.

Without further ado, here it is, enjoy and have a happy holiday!

You might think that Christmas was invented by Italians -- green, white, and red (the colors of Italy's national flag) are the traditional Christmas colors as well. One widely held theory is that the holiday was an intentional christianization of Saturnalia, a winter solstice celebration.

In the third and fourth centuries, the church in Rome found itself in fierce competition with popular pagan religions and mystery cults, most of them involving sun worship. From the middle of December through the first of January, Romans would engage in feasts and drunken revelry, paying homage to their gods and marking the winter solstice, when days began to lengthen.

It was the Emperor Aurelian that decreed December 25, then the solstice on the Julian calendar -- as birth of the invincible sun god Mithras in A.D. 273. In designating December 25 as the date for their Nativity feast Rome's Christians challenged paganism directly.

As Tim Manners summarized last December with Coca-Claus in Reveries, Coke's ties with Santa can be traced back to American Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew him for Harper's Weekly in 1862. That Santa was small and his suit was tan. The suit color was later changed to red, and Coke finally debuted its new cheerful Christmas Santa in 1931.

Of all the Coca Cola Christmas ads I have seen so far this year, two stand out for different reasons. Let's take a look at the fist one, which is a version for Northern Ireland:

What's the story about? A little girl's life through the years. Bonus big emotional kick at the end.

Now let's take a look at the second Coca Cola ad:

What do you notice? Brand worship. Clearly this ad also cost to produce. Which one would make you open your wallet more readily? Most importantly, which builds a relationship with the product? The story is not about how great Coca Cola is. The story is how savoring a nice bottle of Coca Cola -- its consistent taste and visual presence throughout your life -- brings back those memories. The customer is the story.

Which is your favorite? Vote in the comments.

Technorati Tags: Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, Valeria Maltoni, Christmas

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to hit the 1,000 comment mark on this blog. Valeria Maltoni was that lucky soul and as a bonus to her, I asked her if she would like to do a guest post on this blog. She accepted and it fits in great with the Christmas holiday and marketing in general.

Without further ado, here it is, enjoy and have a happy holiday!

You might think that Christmas was invented by Italians -- green, white, and red (the colors of Italy's national flag) are the traditional Christmas colors as well. One widely held theory is that the holiday was an intentional christianization of Saturnalia, a winter solstice celebration.

In the third and fourth centuries, the church in Rome found itself in fierce competition with popular pagan religions and mystery cults, most of them involving sun worship. From the middle of December through the first of January, Romans would engage in feasts and drunken revelry, paying homage to their gods and marking the winter solstice, when days began to lengthen.

It was the Emperor Aurelian that decreed December 25, then the solstice on the Julian calendar -- as birth of the invincible sun god Mithras in A.D. 273. In designating December 25 as the date for their Nativity feast Rome's Christians challenged paganism directly.

As Tim Manners summarized last December with Coca-Claus in Reveries, Coke's ties with Santa can be traced back to American Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew him for Harper's Weekly in 1862. That Santa was small and his suit was tan. The suit color was later changed to red, and Coke finally debuted its new cheerful Christmas Santa in 1931.

Of all the Coca Cola Christmas ads I have seen so far this year, two stand out for different reasons. Let's take a look at the fist one, which is a version for Northern Ireland:

What's the story about? A little girl's life through the years. Bonus big emotional kick at the end.

Now let's take a look at the second Coca Cola ad:

What do you notice? Brand worship. Clearly this ad also cost to produce. Which one would make you open your wallet more readily? Most importantly, which builds a relationship with the product? The story is not about how great Coca Cola is. The story is how savoring a nice bottle of Coca Cola -- its consistent taste and visual presence throughout your life -- brings back those memories. The customer is the story.

Which is your favorite? Vote in the comments.

Technorati Tags: Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, Valeria Maltoni, Christmas

• David Berkowitz's Marketing Blog: Facebook Social Ads Need an Opt-Out David posts about how Facebook used his profile in one of their social ads for Blockbuster. The conversation in the comments is very insightful. (tags: david berkowitz facebook social ads advertising)

• David Berkowitz's Marketing Blog: Facebook Social Ads Need an Opt-Out David posts about how Facebook used his profile in one of their social ads for Blockbuster. The conversation in the comments is very insightful. (tags: david berkowitz facebook social ads advertising)

One of the reasons that I include different types of media in my Buzz Friday posts (which I'll post soon) is that it allows you, my readers, to see trends emerge. It also lets you see what kinds of content and what topics take off to the level of superstardom.

Take this example. A photographer named Noah Kalina took a picture of himself every day for six years and stitched them together into a video. The writers at the Simpsons were paying attention when the clip took off and created a parody in their show.

Here is the original by Noah:

And the remake on the Simpsons:

At the root of the original clips is a very personal, voyeur-esque connection seeing him through six years of his life. Trends like this emerge quickly and you have to be on top of things to spot them. How easy do you make it to parody your brand?

So, are you looking around at what's popular? Do you dismiss it or think of ways to weave it into your fabric?

Technorati Tags: marketing, Matt Dickman, photography, Techno//Marketer, video

One of the reasons that I include different types of media in my Buzz Friday posts (which I'll post soon) is that it allows you, my readers, to see trends emerge. It also lets you see what kinds of content and what topics take off to the level of superstardom.

Take this example. A photographer named Noah Kalina took a picture of himself every day for six years and stitched them together into a video. The writers at the Simpsons were paying attention when the clip took off and created a parody in their show.

Here is the original by Noah:

And the remake on the Simpsons:

At the root of the original clips is a very personal, voyeur-esque connection seeing him through six years of his life. Trends like this emerge quickly and you have to be on top of things to spot them. How easy do you make it to parody your brand?

So, are you looking around at what's popular? Do you dismiss it or think of ways to weave it into your fabric?

Technorati Tags: marketing, Matt Dickman, photography, Techno//Marketer, video

Time and attention are both finite and extremely valuable. I think we all can agree on that. In this world of BSOS (bright shiny object syndrome) there is a constant desire to check out the next new thing. However, there is a limit to the number of social networks and applications we can use before we start seeing overlap or clutter. At that point we have a decision to make. Cut and run, or stick it out.

If you're anythings like me, you have probably signed up for your fair share of social networks and new media apps with best intentions of using them to their potential. Service to remind me to wake up you say? Great. A social network for dead poet aficionados? I'll take two!

Sadly, it's just not possible to give every community the time it needs due to a lack of relevance or time. So when you let one of these apps sit for a while, do you think about it again? The popular term for this is fading. Simply add the network-du-jour in front the the word 'fade' and you've got it nailed. Twitter-fade, Face-fade, Space-fade, etc.

This is a natural occurrence in the web world and it's been happening since birth. 10 years ago people signed up for chat rooms and message boards only to abandon them or move on to the next best thing. Today it's social networks and micro-media apps which are being orphaned.

In the first part of this 2 part series, I want to look at what site owners can do when people fade and I want your input too.

Identify and classify your faders Every social network or community site needs to have a plan in place for their members to identify the overall health of the community. There is no right or wrong way to do this either. Simply identify the actions that a user takes which add value and track how your members stack up in a given time period.

Here is an example:

User tracking for month ending 12/31/07: Action Desired step % completed Login Log in in to site 15 times 10% Engagers Log in 6 times 15% Underachievers Log in 2 times 35% Nomads Log in 0 times 40% Slackers

Create a re-engagement plan for each segment You'll find that each segment has its own set of challenges and opportunities and each will respond to different tactics and messaging. Fortunately the web affords us an easy way to test messages and deliver the right one to the right group. For example:

• Engagers: People who are engaged in a community are often your strongest allies. These are your evangelists in the making and are usually receptive to you reaching out to them to see what their interests are and to thank them for participating. Virtual rewards (status on the site, moderation of message boards, etc.) could be a powerful, cost-effective way to reach this group.
• Underachievers: This group is active, but something is keeping them from coming back more often. There is a possibility that you could make an impact here and have ...

Time and attention are both finite and extremely valuable. I think we all can agree on that. In this world of BSOS (bright shiny object syndrome) there is a constant desire to check out the next new thing. However, there is a limit to the number of social networks and applications we can use before we start seeing overlap or clutter. At that point we have a decision to make. Cut and run, or stick it out.

If you're anythings like me, you have probably signed up for your fair share of social networks and new media apps with best intentions of using them to their potential. Service to remind me to wake up you say? Great. A social network for dead poet aficionados? I'll take two!

Sadly, it's just not possible to give every community the time it needs due to a lack of relevance or time. So when you let one of these apps sit for a while, do you think about it again? The popular term for this is fading. Simply add the network-du-jour in front the the word 'fade' and you've got it nailed. Twitter-fade, Face-fade, Space-fade, etc.

This is a natural occurrence in the web world and it's been happening since birth. 10 years ago people signed up for chat rooms and message boards only to abandon them or move on to the next best thing. Today it's social networks and micro-media apps which are being orphaned.

In the first part of this 2 part series, I want to look at what site owners can do when people fade and I want your input too.

Identify and classify your faders Every social network or community site needs to have a plan in place for their members to identify the overall health of the community. There is no right or wrong way to do this either. Simply identify the actions that a user takes which add value and track how your members stack up in a given time period.

Here is an example:

User tracking for month ending 12/31/07: Action Desired step % completed Login Log in in to site 15 times 10% Engagers Log in 6 times 15% Underachievers Log in 2 times 35% Nomads Log in 0 times 40% Slackers

Create a re-engagement plan for each segment You'll find that each segment has its own set of challenges and opportunities and each will respond to different tactics and messaging. Fortunately the web affords us an easy way to test messages and deliver the right one to the right group. For example:

• Engagers: People who are engaged in a community are often your strongest allies. These are your evangelists in the making and are usually receptive to you reaching out to them to see what their interests are and to thank them for participating. Virtual rewards (status on the site, moderation of message boards, etc.) could be a powerful, cost-effective way to reach this group.
• Underachievers: This group is active, but something is keeping them from coming back more often. There is a possibility that you could make an impact here and have ...

• Trends to Watch in 2008 - Advertising Age Top trends (not that earth-shattering) and micro-trends (much more interesting) from AdAge. (tags: adage marketing advertising trends 2008)
• Tweeterboard : Conversation Analytics for Twitter Conversation tracking and metrics for Twitter (hat tip to Jeremiah Owyang for the tip) (tags: analytics twitter statistics reference socialmedia socialnetworking)
• Practicing Simplified GTD A good overview of a simplified DTD process and framework. (tags: GTD Productivity lifehack)

Over the weekend I reached a milestone that, in the beginning of writing my blog, seemed impossible. I saw the comment count here pass the 1,000 mark on 412 total posts. (A 2.4 comment/post ratio.) My friend, and super-blogger extraordinaire, Valeria Maltoni had the lucky 1,000th comment and I'll be featuring her in a guest post on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. I can't wait to see it up there.

I also want to take a second to thank all of the people who have taken the time to stop here and comment over the past year. I value each and every one of your opinions and the fact that you spend your precious time here means the world to me.

Thank you!

Technorati Tags: Conversations, Matt Dickman, Valeria Maltoni