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29 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
He took a couple of minutes to spend time with me and here is the interview. [Feed readers please click through to the post to see the video.] The mission of the United Nations University is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations, its peoples and member states. You can learn more about the United Nations University here. More interviews from this conference are coming up including the Chief Scientist at Reuters and the founder of the Hip Hop Caucus.  To help you stay on top of what is happening and to filter the myriad options, you can now subscribe to the Techno//Marketer podcast on iTunes. Get updates in real time when new videos become available.
You can watch this and other Techno//Marketer videos on your video channel of choice:
Technorati Tags: Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, technology, wemedia, United Nations University, Jean-Marc Coicaud
29 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
He took a couple of minutes to spend time with me and here is the interview. [Feed readers please click through to the post to see the video.] The mission of the United Nations University is to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations, its peoples and member states. You can learn more about the United Nations University here. More interviews from this conference are coming up including the Chief Scientist at Reuters and the founder of the Hip Hop Caucus. To help you stay on top of what is happening and to filter the myriad options, you can now subscribe to the Techno//Marketer podcast on iTunes. Get updates in real time when new videos become available.
You can watch this and other Techno//Marketer videos on your video channel of choice:
Technorati Tags: Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, technology, wemedia, United Nations University, Jean-Marc Coicaud
27 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
I'll be updating this post throughout the day today as events unfold. I'll be interviewing people on video and Twittering as well. Print is dead: Roger Black and Jeff Gomez - A good session from Roger and Jeff with a focus on where media is going. Basically, the content is king and the medium of delivery will adapt to the user's needs. A major question that was posed was "if print is dead, who killed it?". What are your thoughts? This is a great piece of research that was mentioned in the session from Zogby. Print reincarnated Richard Sarnoff and William Weiss - Following up on the first session, Richard and William add to the agnostic approach publishers need to take with media formats. Sticking to print books will not work. Publishers cannot be paperback or hardcover, they need to offer the content in the ways that people want to consume them. Some of those delivery formats may not even exist yet. They're of the opinion that the publishing business will move primarily to digital in the next 5 years. The power to change the world Tons of great thinking in this session as well. More focus on the relationship of mainstream news gatekeepers and new media outlets. Added focus on how the two interoperate. Quote of the session: "The revolution may not be televised, but it will be uploaded" - The Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. Political World - Hype vs. Reality Lead by Brian Reich, author of "Media Rules". Key takeaways:
Pitch it This session is for entrepreneurs to pitch their project to a panel of VC and upper level marketing folks. Key takeaways:
Technorati Tags: Conference, marketing, ...
27 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
I'll be updating this post throughout the day today as events unfold. I'll be interviewing people on video and Twittering as well. Print is dead: Roger Black and Jeff Gomez - A good session from Roger and Jeff with a focus on where media is going. Basically, the content is king and the medium of delivery will adapt to the user's needs. A major question that was posed was "if print is dead, who killed it?". What are your thoughts? This is a great piece of research that was mentioned in the session from Zogby. Print reincarnated Richard Sarnoff and William Weiss - Following up on the first session, Richard and William add to the agnostic approach publishers need to take with media formats. Sticking to print books will not work. Publishers cannot be paperback or hardcover, they need to offer the content in the ways that people want to consume them. Some of those delivery formats may not even exist yet. They're of the opinion that the publishing business will move primarily to digital in the next 5 years. The power to change the world Tons of great thinking in this session as well. More focus on the relationship of mainstream news gatekeepers and new media outlets. Added focus on how the two interoperate. Quote of the session: "The revolution may not be televised, but it will be uploaded" - The Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. Political World - Hype vs. Reality Lead by Brian Reich, author of "Media Rules". Key takeaways:
Pitch it This session is for entrepreneurs to pitch their project to a panel of VC and upper level marketing folks. Key takeaways:
Technorati Tags: Conference, marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, wemedia, miami, community
27 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
27 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
25 Feb This post is from from my other blog here This is not an advertising blog. There are plenty of pundits out there who know much more than I. But, I have an advertising question for you. It's been nearly a month after the Super Bowl bonanza. Which ads do you remember? Which ads did their job and created a lasting impression that lives with you a mere 22 days later? For me, I remember very few of the ads overall. I do, however, still very vividly remember the Audi R8 ad as well as the emotions it conveyed. It also drove me to click through to the site to get more information (sadly I had to look around for it once on the Audi landing page). I loved the ad for a number of reasons. I think it's well photographed, very cinematic and congruent with the Godfather reference. I think it was a great idea for Audi to take this approach to veer away from their usual image (safe, all-wheel-drive, semi-sporty). The R8 is a new kind of Audi. This is a car that competes on the Porsche, BMW M level and the commercial gets to that point. It's in your face, it's aggressive and it puts you on notice. So, which ads do you remember? Did any of them convince you to make a purchase? Did they drive you online?
Technorati Tags: advertising, marketing, Matt Dickman, Super Bowl, Techno//Marketer, audi, commericals
25 Feb This post is from from my other blog here This is not an advertising blog. There are plenty of pundits out there who know much more than I. But, I have an advertising question for you. It's been nearly a month after the Super Bowl bonanza. Which ads do you remember? Which ads did their job and created a lasting impression that lives with you a mere 22 days later? For me, I remember very few of the ads overall. I do, however, still very vividly remember the Audi R8 ad as well as the emotions it conveyed. It also drove me to click through to the site to get more information (sadly I had to look around for it once on the Audi landing page). I loved the ad for a number of reasons. I think it's well photographed, very cinematic and congruent with the Godfather reference. I think it was a great idea for Audi to take this approach to veer away from their usual image (safe, all-wheel-drive, semi-sporty). The R8 is a new kind of Audi. This is a car that competes on the Porsche, BMW M level and the commercial gets to that point. It's in your face, it's aggressive and it puts you on notice. So, which ads do you remember? Did any of them convince you to make a purchase? Did they drive you online?
Technorati Tags: advertising, marketing, Matt Dickman, Super Bowl, Techno//Marketer, audi, commericals
21 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
A couple of months ago I came across one of the coolest RSS feeds that I've ever seen. Google Hot Trends now offers an hourly feed that shows the top 100 search terms. Every hour a new item is sent to my RSS reader for my consumption. Why is this cool you ask? Imagine the power of the collective, "crowd sourced" data of millions of Google searches aggregated into one place. It's pop culture at its best. Want to get the scoop before mainstream media? Subscribe to this feed. The type of information is unfiltered so you will get things like:
To me, Google Hot Trends represents the real power of collective intelligence. In the case of Google Trends this is information aggregated across the globe, but imagine if you could do this only for technology or social media. The trends that you uncover would be catalysts for innovation and change. What are you doing with your search data?If you are running a web site, what are you doing with your search data? Are you storing it? If you're storing it, are you looking at it? If you're looking at it, are you analyzing it for trends and insights? Search is as key to a site as your navigation. The data is extremely powerful and can tell you what your customers are looking for, what they really want and what you need to create more of. How are you using your search data?
Technorati Tags: 50Matches, Google, marketing, Matt Dickman, Search, Techno//Marketer, trends, data
20 Feb This post is from from my other blog here If you've seen any of my presentations, either in-person or on SlideShare, you may recognize this quote. I think it perfectly and succinctly sums up the position of marketers who find themselves at the crossroads of emerging media. I originally saw this quote in a Tom Peters (one of my heros) presentation and fell in love with it. If you don't like change,you're going to like irrelevanceeven less. ~ General Eric Shineski, retired Chief of Staff, U.S. ArmyMarketers who continue to do the same old thing month after month, year after year are going to find their messages falling flat. It's important to set clear and measurable goals for engaging in new media and look at emerging media to see what fits with your customers.
Technorati Tags: marketing, Matt Dickman, Techno//Marketer, Tom Peters, quote, emerging media
19 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
The following five steps should give you a leg up on your next outreach endeavor:
18 Feb This post is from from my other blog here Setting foot into the blogosphere can be a paralyzing task for many marketers. Despite the technological ease of entry, there are major psychological and organizational hurdles that have to be overcome. This new series will look at the brave marketers who overcome internal and external forces to join the conversation.
The blog has very little direct product messaging outside of a small link in the top right corner to "Shop Kenneth Cole". They've no doubt found that their customers share their social advocacy and it does in fact drive sales. The technology behing the blog itself is WordPress MovableType and rebranded to fit the Kenneth Cole look. The four main categories are navigable at the top of the page (social rights, hard times, well-being and political landscape). I liked the way that they decided to launch this. Every newcomer should consider the following formula for launching a blog on the right foot:
I think this is a solid formula to follow to get up and running. The following points are how I rate the effort overall: Voice Pre-launch readiness Design/look-and-feel Content quality
14 Feb This post is from from my other blog here I (like most bloggers) am on the receiving end of at least 3-5 PR pitches a day. Some of them are really good and on target, but the majority are really tired attempts. Now that I work on the other side of the aisle, so to speak, I want to give a little friendly advice to PR folks doing outreach. Your last contact cannot be your first contact.
Those people who do this right break through the clutter and avoid my dreaded 'bad pitch' folder in Gmail. (I save these emails to show people what not to do.) WAY too often I get a pre-formatted, "personal" email (I won't even mention the numerous emails that contain nothing but a press release). You know what I am talking about. It usually starts looking something a bit like this: Hey [blogger name here],I really love your blog [blog name here]. I think the perspective and insight you have on [industry name here] is amazing. Your last post on [post subject here] was really good. [Insert press release here] Thanks! While this type of outreach does occasionally work, I can immediately tell what's going on. The ones who've taken the time to reach out and connect with me get through. It's more like P2P outreach in that the relationship is two-way and symbiotic. I often follow up with people who do outreach to get more info or see if they have something new for me. Blogger "pitching" is not going anywhere. Bloggers are gaining influence and share of voice in media. The key for PR efforts is to choose bloggers that truly fit your product/service niche and build those relationships over time. Once you have a blogger's attention it's important to offer them easy ways to consume the assets. Logos, video and copy should be online, be embeddable and easy to access (this is the premise of the social media news release). This limits waste and maximizes everyone's time. Personally, I don't think that the wall exists between PR and bloggers the way it does between PR and journalists. We're all in social media and on the same playing field. What lessons would you add to this for people in PR who do this type of outreach?
Technorati Tags: blogs, marketing, Matt Dickman, PR, strategy, Techno//Marketer, outreach, smnr
14 Feb This post is from from my other blog here I (like most bloggers) am on the receiving end of at least 3-5 PR pitches a day. Some of them are really good and on target, but the majority are really tired attempts. Now that I work on the other side of the aisle, so to speak, I want to give a little friendly advice to PR folks doing outreach. Your last contact cannot be your first contact.
Those people who do this right break through the clutter and avoid my dreaded 'bad pitch' folder in Gmail. (I save these emails to show people what not to do.) WAY too often I get a pre-formatted, "personal" email (I won't even mention the numerous emails that contain nothing but a press release). You know what I am talking about. It usually starts looking something a bit like this: Hey [blogger name here],I really love your blog [blog name here]. I think the perspective and insight you have on [industry name here] is amazing. Your last post on [post subject here] was really good. [Insert press release here] Thanks! While this type of outreach does occasionally work, I can immediately tell what's going on. The ones who've taken the time to reach out and connect with me get through. It's more like P2P outreach in that the relationship is two-way and symbiotic. I often follow up with people who do outreach to get more info or see if they have something new for me. Blogger "pitching" is not going anywhere. Bloggers are gaining influence and share of voice in media. The key for PR efforts is to choose bloggers that truly fit your product/service niche and build those relationships over time. Once you have a blogger's attention it's important to offer them easy ways to consume the assets. Logos, video and copy should be online, be embeddable and easy to access (this is the premise of the social media news release). This limits waste and maximizes everyone's time. Personally, I don't think that the wall exists between PR and bloggers the way it does between PR and journalists. We're all in social media and on the same playing field. What lessons would you add to this for people in PR who do this type of outreach?
Technorati Tags: blogs, marketing, Matt Dickman, PR, strategy, Techno//Marketer, outreach, smnr
14 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
I've received some feedback here and on other blogs about how unlikely it would be to actually use Twitter for customer service. While I think that it is entirely possible to use Twitter (companies already are), especially if your audience is on the service, we need to look more broadly. Don't get hung up on Twitter. A huge part of being a social media strategist and identifying what's next is breaking down new applications into their core pieces. So, let's break down Twitter. First off, Twitter is cleanly designed and the interaction is simple and intuitive. The most important point is that you can send data to it from the web, mobile, IM, email or desktop applications. Alternatively, you can receive data from it in the same manner. You publish how you want, when you want and you receive in the same manner. There are a couple of ways that I can see Micromedia evolving to allow more companies to use a Twitter-like service for customer support.
The common theme is on-demand. The customer's demand. Right now too many customer experiences happen at the company's convenience, but the best service companies act when the customer needs them. I recognize that scaling up is an issue and programs like this should be rolled out in manageable waves, but the move is inevitable. If you don't offer it the next company will.
Technorati Tags: Conversations, customer service, marketing, Matt Dickman, trends, Twitter
14 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
I've received some feedback here and on other blogs about how unlikely it would be to actually use Twitter for customer service. While I think that it is entirely possible to use Twitter (companies already are), especially if your audience is on the service, we need to look more broadly. Don't get hung up on Twitter. A huge part of being a social media strategist and identifying what's next is breaking down new applications into their core pieces. So, let's break down Twitter. First off, Twitter is cleanly designed and the interaction is simple and intuitive. The most important point is that you can send data to it from the web, mobile, IM, email or desktop applications. Alternatively, you can receive data from it in the same manner. You publish how you want, when you want and you receive in the same manner. There are a couple of ways that I can see Micromedia evolving to allow more companies to use a Twitter-like service for customer support.
The common theme is on-demand. The customer's demand. Right now too many customer experiences happen at the company's convenience, but the best service companies act when the customer needs them. I recognize that scaling up is an issue and programs like this should be rolled out in manageable waves, but the move is inevitable. If you don't offer it the next company will.
Technorati Tags: Conversations, customer service, marketing, Matt Dickman, trends, Twitter
12 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
Similar to other forms of social media, listening does not even require you to have an account. You can use the resources that I've listed below (in most cases) without a username and password. The resources here will give you an idea of how your customers and potential customers may be using the service. This will help you create a customer service strategy for Twitter. It's very important to take time with this and make adding value to the community your number one priority. Having great customer service is a huge PR benefit as well as keeping customers happy and loyal. I'm constantly amazed at how many companies get into trouble because of poor customer service. Generally it's things that could have been caught and resolved on the spot had they been listening. This ranges from 800 numbers to support emails to blog posts. It's key that Twitter (or other micromedia) is just one part of a larger customer service strategy. Here are some helpful Twitter tools to get you started on your listening journey. Twittermeter
Twittermeter allows you to track keywords across the public timeline of Twitter. Go in and search for your brand and competitors. If you can't find mentions for your category or niche. I guarantee people are talking, are you listening?
Twitter Karma
Twitter Karma gives you an easy view of who you are following on Twitter and who follows you back. This is a great way to make sure you're listening to everybody you can and that they're listening to you.
Twittervision
This may be the most impressive, explanatory application out there. Showing people this site seems to solidify the ideas and show them the global, real time nature of the service. It also illustrates the challenge of monitoring for customer service.
Tweeterboard
Tweeterboard aims to be a site that aggregates "conversation analytics" (though I think it under delivers on that promise). You can find a username and see how often it updates as well as some reputation information. It also shows who is talking to you and who you are talking to as well as showing the links that the user sends through the service.
Twitterholic
Twitterholic looks at the Twitter timeline and finds the top daily users. This is a good way to see who has influence and is active on the system.
TwitterBuzz
This service looks at the links that are being submitted through Twitter and ranks them by popularity. Note that the high use of TinyURLs (a URL shortening service) makes the links appear very vague and hamper the usefulness of this service.
Terraminds Search Terraminds allows you to search both the public timeline and users. The results are very fast ...
12 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
Similar to other forms of social media, listening does not even require you to have an account. You can use the resources that I've listed below (in most cases) without a username and password. The resources here will give you an idea of how your customers and potential customers may be using the service. This will help you create a customer service strategy for Twitter. It's very important to take time with this and make adding value to the community your number one priority. Having great customer service is a huge PR benefit as well as keeping customers happy and loyal. I'm constantly amazed at how many companies get into trouble because of poor customer service. Generally it's things that could have been caught and resolved on the spot had they been listening. This ranges from 800 numbers to support emails to blog posts. It's key that Twitter (or other micromedia) is just one part of a larger customer service strategy. Here are some helpful Twitter tools to get you started on your listening journey. Twittermeter
Twittermeter allows you to track keywords across the public timeline of Twitter. Go in and search for your brand and competitors. If you can't find mentions for your category or niche. I guarantee people are talking, are you listening?
Twitter Karma
Twitter Karma gives you an easy view of who you are following on Twitter and who follows you back. This is a great way to make sure you're listening to everybody you can and that they're listening to you.
Twittervision
This may be the most impressive, explanatory application out there. Showing people this site seems to solidify the ideas and show them the global, real time nature of the service. It also illustrates the challenge of monitoring for customer service.
Tweeterboard
Tweeterboard aims to be a site that aggregates "conversation analytics" (though I think it under delivers on that promise). You can find a username and see how often it updates as well as some reputation information. It also shows who is talking to you and who you are talking to as well as showing the links that the user sends through the service.
Twitterholic
Twitterholic looks at the Twitter timeline and finds the top daily users. This is a good way to see who has influence and is active on the system.
TwitterBuzz
This service looks at the links that are being submitted through Twitter and ranks them by popularity. Note that the high use of TinyURLs (a URL shortening service) makes the links appear very vague and hamper the usefulness of this service.
Terraminds Search Terraminds allows you to search both the public timeline and users. The results are very fast ...
08 Feb This post is from from my other blog here Twitter has been around (as far as we're concerned) for about a year. It's often misunderstood and frequently maligned by journalists and traditional marketers. Part of the issue is, in my opinion, the name of the thing. Twitter? Tweets? Twitterers? I feel dumb for saying these things and I always get the same reaction from people who I am guiding through the landscape. However, to see the real value of Twitter you have to look past the name to the underlying potential. The underlying technology and architecture is the future of communication. It's a seamless publishing tool that you can use from web, mobile web, mobile app, desktop app, IM, widget, etc. and consume the content using the same methods. (You can check out my full presentation on Micromedia here.) Here is a visual representation of Twitter's publishing and consumption model. The key is choice and flexibility on both sides.
Customer Service Twitter is the ultimate customer service tool. It's live, instantaneous, community driven, open, two-way and multi-way, unfiltered and predictive. This is, however, only for the most advanced, customer-forward companies to attempt to use. You definitely need a black belt in customer service ninja techniques to do this well.
Now comes the hard part. Twitter is live and 24x7. Staffing needs to be done accordingly and it's not something that can be started and stopped. Would you abandon a call center or an 800 number? Absolutely not and Twitter is the same thing. So how does it work? Once you have the account ready and have the staffing in place you can start promoting it. Be sure to give an overview of how to use it, make signup easy, create a video that walks people through the system. Most people will just use the web version. You can use Twitter's API to basically re-skin the system on your site so people don't know they're using Twitter. Create shortcuts for them to make interacting easier (like adding the @ sign for them when communicating directly. Once the messages come in, you have to be monitoring. If nobody is available, set up a responder that kicks them back a message and tells them when you will respond. The key is to ...
08 Feb This post is from from my other blog here Twitter has been around (as far as we're concerned) for about a year. It's often misunderstood and frequently maligned by journalists and traditional marketers. Part of the issue is, in my opinion, the name of the thing. Twitter? Tweets? Twitterers? I feel dumb for saying these things and I always get the same reaction from people who I am guiding through the landscape. However, to see the real value of Twitter you have to look past the name to the underlying potential. The underlying technology and architecture is the future of communication. It's a seamless publishing tool that you can use from web, mobile web, mobile app, desktop app, IM, widget, etc. and consume the content using the same methods. (You can check out my full presentation on Micromedia here.) Here is a visual representation of Twitter's publishing and consumption model. The key is choice and flexibility on both sides.
Customer Service Twitter is the ultimate customer service tool. It's live, instantaneous, community driven, open, two-way and multi-way, unfiltered and predictive. This is, however, only for the most advanced, customer-forward companies to attempt to use. You definitely need a black belt in customer service ninja techniques to do this well.
Now comes the hard part. Twitter is live and 24x7. Staffing needs to be done accordingly and it's not something that can be started and stopped. Would you abandon a call center or an 800 number? Absolutely not and Twitter is the same thing. So how does it work? Once you have the account ready and have the staffing in place you can start promoting it. Be sure to give an overview of how to use it, make signup easy, create a video that walks people through the system. Most people will just use the web version. You can use Twitter's API to basically re-skin the system on your site so people don't know they're using Twitter. Create shortcuts for them to make interacting easier (like adding the @ sign for them when communicating directly. Once the messages come in, you have to be monitoring. If nobody is available, set up a responder that kicks them back a message and tells them when you will respond. The key is to ...
06 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
06 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
05 Feb This post is from from my other blog here
Step in to the social media revolution and that has all changed. Micro influencers have the power to reach millions of people around the world. Blogs and other social media outlets are indexed in search results right alongside company websites and portals. The truth hurts, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Where social media shines brighter than any other marketing vehicle is leveraging the truth to create stronger customer relationships and convert bad experiences into great ones. Is this for everybody? No. Companies who don't listen to people in the first place have no place in social media. You know who they are. Companies that have a phone system that bounces you around 15 times and makes you stay on hold listening to some Michael Bolton song 25 times. They have a suggestion box, but never do anything with the information. They have websites that are confusing and provide so little support that you are forced into a forum to find the answer you seek. There are a lot of these companies out there. However, there are a handful of companies that see the value in customer input and take steps to make things better for them. They listen, when you call their 800 number you talk to a person and, even if they don't solve your problem, you walk away with a positive feeling. Supporting customer service is a perfect fit for social media, but it takes planning and strategy to make it pay off. Here are steps that I see from listening through becoming a social customer service expert.
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by 
The best part of the 
If you use another podcatcher you can 
Today and tomorrow I am attending the 
Are you a spotter of trends? Do you revel in knowing things before your friends and colleagues? If so I am going to share a little information that will make you a very happy person. 
My post from last Friday entitled "
Kenneth Cole is the latest major consumer brand to swing into the new media jungle. Their new blog, 
The blog stays true to its mission and the content is very focused. The voice of the brand comes through in the content as well as the auxiliary content. 
To make it crystal clear, if I am reading an email from you right now, I need to have heard from you before. I need to have had an intro email or have seen your name on a comment. Maybe you follow me on Twitter (and I follow you back) or you've added me as a friend on Facebook. 
I debated when I started this series of posts whether I should use a specific service as the example or be more general. I chose to use Twitter because of the traction it has in the market and it's pretty easy to explain. 
In last Friday's post I posited that Twitter, when used correctly, could be the ultimate customer service tool. It's immediacy, portability and sincerity are unmatched. As with other forms of social media I think that the first step for most companies should be listening. It's crucial to wrap your head around how the community works, see who is talking and what they're saying. 
Tuesday I wrote about why I think some marketers aren't jumping in to social media faster. In part, I think the feedback is too honest, some marketers don't want to listen and the last thing they want to do is create two-way conversations. Overall though, customer service is one of the best uses of social media and can have a major impact on corporate brand and reputation. 
The first step is a piece of cake. Go to www.twitter.com and register an account. Point a designer at the page and have them outfit it with a branded background and custom style sheet so it looks like your brand. The account can be protected while you are doing the legwork to set it up and train employees. 
One of the most common hesitations that I see with corporations looking to engage in social media is the realization that conversations are happening all around and that they have no control. This isn't a choice ("We should really let go of control") it's a fact and it's been the case for a long time. But, until now they have been largely undocumented, un-indexed by search engines and not in any way facilitated by the company itself. The conversationalists were only as influential as their personal network allowed.