This nice No comes from recycling.stanford.eduRemember last year when we went on a mission to “Stamp Out Social Media Poseurism?”
Well, for 2011, we thought we’d shorten the list quite a bit – there are still some traits that drive us crazy, and we’d love to see these types of behaviors curbed. For instance:
Auto DMs on Twitter. Yes, we realize you like to thank us for following you. But do you have to send a message that links to some “make money on autopilot” system?
Social Media “Ninja” or “Guru” or “Rockstar.” We will keep prattling on and on about how much we dislike those terms until you, the populace, stop using them.
Anyone who has all the answers. I’d love to see someone who had all the answers last year at this time tell me that s/he can master Instagram. Or that Angry Birds is the key to any successful campaign.
Social Media “Experts” who haven’t read Groundswell. This book should be on your desk or nightstand. (If you want to argue about this book vs. Wikinomics, we’ll cut you some slack.)
Bloggers who don’t share. You know who you are – we won’t single you out. Instead, for instance…let’s point to a few who do. In 2010, we interacted with Chris Brogan, Danny Brown, Gini Dietrich, Francisco Rosales and Scott Stratten. All have blogs with tons of traffic. All could conceivably be way too busy to comment on a post of ours, or answer a Q&A, or respond to a direct message with a direct message that they obviously wrote. But all five of those did that with this little old blog here.
Autopilot Systems. If you haven’t figured out by now, this whole thing is a process. Pushbutton systems don’t work. Even the best ebooks on any social media marketing system take time to investigate the ins and outs.
So…While we didn’t stamp out Social Media Poseurs altogether in 2010, we made strides, we think.
Dave from Area 224 got the chance to step in as a last-second weather replacement yesterday. Here are some highlights for those who weren’t present…
First of all, thanks to Tim McDonald, who heads up this group, for the opportunity. And sorry that Gini Dietrich couldn’t attend – the snow was pretty bad in Chicago’s North Suburbs, and worse in the city.
As for the highlights, we think it’s going to be the year where Accountability and Transparency take center stage. We think Mobile will dominate. And we love Lean Startups.
For instance:
How’s this for an example of BOTH Accountability and Transparency.
Now, we’ll admit that John Elway – NFL Legend who is now in a senior role with the Denver Broncos – has the celebrity that most marketers don’t. Which means that his Tweets (an example shown here) automatically can get a larger audience.
In this case, though, he is being accountable to Broncos fans: John Fox is the former coach of the Carolina Panthers and a candidate that John will interview to possibly become the next Broncos coach.
He’s also being transparent: you know exactly why John and John won’t meet immediately. You also know that John and John will meet. AND, in other tweets from Mr Elway, you are invited to weigh in and share what you would ask the candidates.
Thanks, eMarketer.com
Mobile: These are some staggering stats.
Ignore mobile phones, mobile browsers and the mobile use of social networks at your peril.
While the growth is projected to taper off, according to eMarketer.com, uh…this is like tapering off after insane hockey-stick like growth.
Facebook’s own Press Room says there are more than 200 Million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
Wowzers.
Lean Startups.
Sometimes, leaner is better. Evidenced by this startup, instagr.am. 100,000 users in their first week. 1,000,000 reported before Christmas. Here’s more from Business Insider.
Not a very complex idea – photos, semi-warped by filters or made to look like old Polaroids, shared with the world.
We’ll see much more stuff like this, IMHO. Startups that don’t take a lot to launch — even from big companies who can make the go or no-go decision after a few days. Invest a little, watch it grow or flop, make your decision.
Final Note:
The snowed-in Gini Dietrich did share one trend via video. Here it is. Hint: she focuses on something we didn’t even mention…
Yesterday was all about Quora. Today, we talk up QR Codes. Is this the year?
Social Media Hall of Fame
Over there is a QR Code. Created in maybe 1 minute.
Try it out, will ya? Snap a photo, follow the link.
WHY?
This could very well be the year that these things reach critical mass. Consider these numbers as reported in this morning’s Vancouver Sun:
Mobile shopping is exploding with one-third of shoppers surveyed using mobile phones to visit retailer websites, according to a ForeSee Results survey.
Another 25 per cent of shoppers surveyed said they plan to use their smartphone for mobile shopping, according to ForeSee’s survey of 10,000 visitors to the biggest U.S. e-commerce websites during the Christmas 2010 shopping period.
Ready for all sorts of Social Media Creamy Goodness? So are we! Time to dive into these relatively new tools – and compare their utility with Twitter. Follow along, young Jedi.
quora.com
First, Quora. Yes, another “Social Media Tool.” Not THAT kind of Social Media Tool – but the type that you can put to good use.
Questions and Answers on Steroids?
Another version of Yahoo!’s Q&A thing?
The LinkedIn Killer?
Honestly, kicking the tires on this puppy has led us to realize a couple of things here. First of all, you can probably get some good answers to your questions, and you can probably position yourself well as someone with something to say, if you use the site.
Secondly, it’s going to be a matter of time before the Spambots and “Social Media Tools” of the variety that try to sell you spambots and push-button systems get a hold of Quora.
From a UX experience, it’s okay. I’m not turning cartwheels, but I’m not kicking my PC yet either.
From a “Why?” perspective – I’m still not convinced.
Twitter had me convinced within a few minutes of its usefulness. Dive in to conversations, make connections, learn from each other. Don’t totally get that yet with Quora.
Hashable. After just one use, I have earned “Hashcred.”
The next question is what I can DO with this Hashcred.
Probably more was written about Hashable after its launch than Quora. Probably less is being said about Hashable now on social media because, well, it’s more of a tool that sits on top of other sites than a stand-alone.
To try this out, I decided to connect an action IRL – in this case, sending mail to @JPedde, whom I owed a Slurpee Coin – and using the hashtag “#sentmail” to tag this action. Below is what transpired on the Hashable site.
Result of a Hashable Interaction
Next, my Twitter account, which was linked to Hashable recently (earning me hashcred), posted a simple message:
Now what?
Well, while the motive APPEARS to be adding some real-life interaction to this online stuff we Social Media Types do all the time…Hashable might add a little less to the equation than Foursquare or Gowalla.
Plus, it doesn’t have all the Question and Answer capability of Quora.
So?
Verdict: Don’t Chase the Category Killers.
Seriously, these could both be great, world-beating tools. Or they could go the way of Netscape.
This brings us back to that advice that we’ve stuck to from the get-go:
Use what works for you. There are no rules. Dive in. Have fun. Don’t like it? Move on to something else.
Time to help online seller Etsy to come to its senses.
An update: a decent amount of social media traffic on this – not a “Trending Topic” but still worth noting that a few influential bloggers have rallied around this cause.
Also, note that, IMHO, this is not a “Freedom of Speech” issue – as the offenders could sell these items on a street corner or in their own store. This is about Etsy doing the right thing – removing “harassing” items that “promote illegal activity.”
Some really tasteless “Rape Congratulation Cards” are for sale on Etsy. As of this writing, the site has yet to pull down the items – and they appear to be standing behind their “we take no responsibility” philosophy.
Here’s a link to the Change.org petition. Let’s see if we can get Etsy to think again.
