This One Goes to 11 (The Amplified Voice of the Customer Online)

Addressing the voice of the customer online is the single most important thing companies, especially large companies, can do this year.
For all of the talk of people “staying connected” through social media, and the growing interest smart brands have in connecting with consumers online, the area companies should be paying most attention to is the [...]

Disruptions for the Emerging Social Enterprise

I recently spoke with a group of IT decision makers from several mid-sized companies.  Through this group, I came to realize how pervasive the changes social media are having on the roles and responsibilities within companies.
Where online communication may have been the domain of the marketing group last year, this year these IT executives are [...]

Social Media has as Nothing to do with Media

The irony about the term “social media” is that the category isn’t about media at all.  You should fill your social channels with content that appeals to the group you’re trying to engage.  Unless yours is a social community for journalists, then you should think beyond what interests media and find out what your community [...]

Ten Social Resolutions for Marketers in 2009

If 2008 taught us anything, it’s that 2009 stands to be proving ground for the social Web. With declines in viewership, subscriptions and recall of traditional channels, it will be more important than ever for marketers to cut through the noise and separate the hype from the truth about what the social Web is all about. And, [...]

Poll – Attack of the Twitter Phish

Twitter is all a flutter with the recent phishing attack.  Wondering about your views of the news that some users – from @FOXNews to average users are getting their Twitter feeds hacked.
Given the influx of new users to social sites like FaceBook and Twitter, and any hesitancy they may have about the medium, what impact do you think something [...]

Ten Social Resolutions for Marketers in 2009

If 2008 taught us anything, it’s that 2009 stands to be proving ground for the social Web.  With declines in viewership, subscriptions and recall of traditional channels, it will be more important than ever for marketers to cut through the noise and separate the hype from the truth about what the social Web is all [...]

Is Social Media Jumping the Shark?

In my talks with communications teams, I break down the eras of the Web into two categories – a) the days of the ecommerce Web (aka the bubble years) and b) the era we are in now, of the social Web.
There are a number of differences between these two eras of the Web, but lately [...]

Social Media Policy – Fad, Fiction or Fundamental?

I recently traveled to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for the honor of meeting with members of the Army’s public information team to talk about online and social media.  While there, the discussion obviously included a review of Web2.0 tools and how they can be applied in their daily work.
Within the context of discussing the tools, [...]

Are you Listening?

Listening – it’s a skill we’re taught early in life, but it’s the skill that companies can overlook or disregard when developing an online program.
With the diffusion of influence on the Web, which shifts gatekeeper status from traditional media to our personal circles of influence, having the context for the discussions about your company or product [...]

Journalistic Integrity vs. Online Perspective

I was on a panel with two journalist recently. One led a progressive online outlet, the other worked for a traditional print publication with a growing online component.
 
We talked to a group about the obvious struggles that traditional media continue to have with the online medium.
 
Monetization issues aside, the journalist with the traditional [...]