IGO People Checklist

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Most social media from Facebook, Bebo and Twitter caused lots of consternation for organisations especially when their membership mushroomed.  Facebook now claims over 1 million, Bebo over 800,000 and Twitter looking like 26K to 45K depedning on who you read.

Everyone agreed that that they are wonderful platforms but how can organisations take a meaningful role in them was an enigma.  As time passes the fog has lifted here partially as a result of experimentation, new applications emerging and platforms like Facebook taking a deliberate stance by establishing pages for companies and leaving profiles for individuals.  Some of the rules of engagement have come from the community themselves.  Essentially most of these communities jarred with the idea of companies engaging with the fear of over commercialisation.  Now these is an acceptance that if an organisation can deliver value and entertainment then people will give them eyeballs in a pseudo transaction way.

IGO People Website

 

IGO People Website

IGO People

is different.  It was established with the very purpose of creating a medium whereby companies could interact with consumers and indeed a platform where people could group together to create change with an organisation.  For example you have a problem with a mobile provider and getting no where with the company itself, then you can use IGO people to group people together to structure a more cohesive approach.

Like all social media the more you put in, the more you engage, the more you build your network base the better the result.

Below is a lits of some of the ways you could use and enhance your IGO People presence.

Beginner  

  • Set up your organisation page with a vanity URL.
  • Add a map to your profile.
  • Add keywords to your ‘conversations of interest’ in order to monitor conversations that are relevant to your business. 
  • Upload a profile photo, brand information and relevant collateral to your profile.
  • Create your first post by introducing yourself to the community and also describe the activities of your business.  

 
Intermediate 

  • Build Community – Invite your customers to your organisation page via the Go Connect features.
  • Join Groups of interest and add value to these groups.
  • Add organisations to your network.  
  • Comment on other conversations where appropriate.  
  • Post regularly on information that is relevant and of value to your customers. 
  • Import your blog via RSS.   

 
Advanced 

  • Integrate the IGOpeople connect button with website. 
  • Connect your twitter account to your IGOpeople account.
  • Assign multiple representatives to manage your twitter customer service on IGOpeople.
  • Use IGOpeople to manage your customer service, promote and market your products and services , collect feedback and to build social capital.  

Any other experience or more ideas please let me know.  Its worth browsing the site for some nice examples by FBD and Vodafone.

 

Eoin 

Nice job if you can get it – Matt Harding and Cybercom!

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At the very well run Cybercom 10th birthday bash in the Sugar Club guest speaker and internet evangalist Matt Harding spoke about his global travels and his infamous dancing videos.

After leaving his job in Australia to travel, a friend of his suggested he record a dance he used to do at peoples desk to get the to go for lunch with him.  The idea being that he dance in front of famous and not famous landmarks in different parts of the word and then merge it into one video collage with a great backing track.  His efforts caught the attention of Stride, a US chewing gum and they paid for him to do the same all over again.  Since then it has grown in popularlity (over 25 million views) and he has undertaken more commercial sponsorship (ie where he had little control over the content and left it to a large film crew – big change from hand held video recorder).  

One has to wonder how much more there is in an iniative like this but the real value lies underneat.  Social media and web platfoms offer the opportunity to have huge peaks over a short period.  Matt is now extending the dance theme with choreographed dances where he teaches different nationalities to do the traditional dance of another country – i.e. teaching the chinese to do Irish dancing.

Some interesting observations on this whole initiative where the is probably more interesting lessons and value:

  • A great and simple idea (with a lot of work) can attract global attention.
  • Engagement and featuring of people is key – Matt by himself because tedious after a while.
  • Hands off sponsorship can benefit both sides – video product appears untarnished/uncompromised and Stride get copious mentions and kudos.
  • One of the real benefits is the 10,000 email addresses and contacts that Matt now has.  The majority of these are very willing participants in future projects. 
  • Ability to leverage a global audience to do something bigger and more dramatic.
  • People everywhere in the world are happy to partake in online experiments (for a few seconds of fame).

Matts experience, although probably one in a million, does show that you can make a livilihood out of social media but that route will probably only become clear after you do something special rather than a planned programmes.  Lots of interesting crossovers with the Chris Anderson book Free - the content is free but some brand pay for its development.

I will be interested to see how the next set of videos go and if the more professional edge lessens or increases it popularity.

Books I Read – No.2 – Free by Chris Anderson

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I was asked to review the new book Free by Chris Anderson – Wired Editor and author of the Long Tail for Marketing Age Magazine.  You can find the online version of the article here but you may need a subscription so I have included below also. 

Its great to get a deadline for when you need to read and review a book as I find the books I should read mount up on the good intentions pile.  So after a week of no TV and coffee after putting the baby to date, the results are below.

Free – The Future of a Radical Price – Chris Anderson

 

The Past and Future of a Radical PriceA quick search of Chris Anderson’s book shows up free online versions of the book from abridged audio versions to eBooks, iPhone, limited chapters, to limited time offers for the book which in a way explains much about what this book is about – utilising technology to give away something valuable for free while clawing back revenue in another form.  Equally the book has spawned some long debates about plagiarising sections from Wikipedia which shows how raw and recent this debate is.
At first glance this book can appear quiet scary for a variety of industries whose main business model is now under threat but the deeper message is that free (mainly due to technology) is on a rapid rise and with it come huge changes in business structures but also new opportunities.  Change is a painful process but those that can innovate and change will reap reward while those that don’t could witness the demise of institutions like Encyclopedia Britannica who yielded to Microsoft’s Encarta who in turn were usurped by Wikipedia.
One of the things that make this book easy to read is that it discusses many of the free services and products that we consume on a daily basis without really questioning how they justify their existence from Flickr’s photo sharing service to Ryanair’s free flights to free webmail.  In addition the text is nicely punctuated with case studies explaining how a car be free, where stores in Japan give the physical products away free, how digital video recorders can be given away free through to how subtle changes in free bike schemes can result in one being successful in one city and not another (Dublin City Council may be interested in this one).
The book itself is an engaging and accessible read even if the author does take a purist line while staunchly defending the right of free.  It initially covers the perception and history of the word free and he takes good amount of time to explain the 20th Century versions of free which was perceived as gimmicky in that you paid at some later stage.  Early examples of Jell-O in 1902 being marketed with a free cookery book to the 1903 Gillette giveaways of free razors (you paid for the blades) show that free has a long history.  He contends that in the 21st Century that free really means free especially as things become more digital.  This is large due to the reducing costs of storage, bandwidth and processing power in that technological innovations have reduced so far as to be almost free and unmetreable.  The book is peppered with examples to back up his assertions and point to the cliff fall of transistors cost from ten dollars in 1961 for a single transistor to current price of .000055 cents, a widely discussed implication of Moores Law.  His learning is that “When something halves in price each year, zero is inevitable”.
Much of the book builds on the original thesis that ‘information wants to be free’ by Stewart Brand.  The full version of Brands quote talks about information wanting to be expensive because its valuable but the cost of distributing it has reduced so much that is has relentlessly pushed to it to the free model.
 He takes a fairly uncompromising stance on free in the music, publishing and software industries.  This is even more interesting when you consider his role as Editor of Wired Magazine, an industry that has struggled great with the free expectations of the web.  He contends that the celebrity status of the book will boost his charged speaker and consulting business.  To the Music industry he explains that piracy should not be viewed as the killer of the industry but rather its potential salvation and that record labels need to look at their business in an entirely different way.  Music itself will become the ultimate marketing tool while the economic rewards will come from other associated activities such as touring, merchandising and innovative licensing while CD or digital sales will still generate some income.  This is an uncomfortable message for many artists who have relied on the current CD sales model, which in itself is relatively new.
In looking at the software industry Anderson points to the open source movement versus Microsoft and the protracted stages from Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression through to Acceptance that Microsoft have gone through to the point where some of its products are now offered free.
Free is fairly simplistic term and normally people align it to restricted set of examples.  The book contains a lot of good examples of three different types of free models which he breaks into:
Direct Cross Subsidies, where one aspect is provided free but subsidised by another which generated the revenue.  This covers products and services from free drinks at shows (e.g. casinos), free shipping over a certain amount (Amazon) to free parking at shopping centres.  Many of these models are almost direct opposites to each other but have a built in mechanism to generate revenue by selling something else e.g. free software but selling the hardware (IBM, HP Linux Offering) to giving away hardware and selling software (games consoles sold under the cost price).
Three Party or “Two Sided” Markets where one customer class subsidizes another covers common place offers like free credit cards where merchants charged a fee, access for children being free but adults pay, through to giving away free readers (Adobe) but charging for document writers.

The final category of Freemium is where some customers subsidise another.  This ranges  from the giving away of low quality MP3s but selling high quality box sets (Radiohead and name your price), giving away computer to computer calls but charging for computer to phone (Skype), giving away online games but charging a subscription to do more in the game (Club Penguin) to giving away ad-supported services but selling the ability to remove the ads (Ning).
One would not want to make strategic business decision on the back of Free as the rapid changes that digital is making are still quite new.  However for a thought provoking easy to access analysis of fast moving trends it has a lot of merit.  Change has always been painful, especially when it has financial implications but the one certainty is that Free will bring major changes to most industries and those changes will be more rapid than we have experienced in the past.

ISBN 978-1905211470

Can you automate PR?

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I wrote a while ago about new distribution services that were launched in Ireland mainly aimed at auotmating the distribution of press releases to media and others.  Generally they range from posting press releases on a press release portal of sorts to closed systems where media are given access to closed stories similar to a reuters.  Some are paid for, some are free and they are based on similar international models.  Overall there is a general feeling that they are a useful supplementary service but unlikely to replace the time intensive pitching by public relations executives.  Piaras Kelly also has some interesting insights into the different services.

Over the last week or so there has been more some more interesting additions to the debate.  Last week Jill O’Herlihy from O’Herlihy launched a DIY PR Service whereby they would sell the media contacts for around 8 euro a name and charge a fee for writing the release.  From an initial glance it would cost around 1,000 plus euro for the tools.  This does not account for the time in tailoring the pitch, potential follow up, organising interviews, creating new angles and feedback.  The reality of PR is that its not rocket science and if a company has time they could technically do it themselves although an experienced hand will always do it better, knowing the landscape, subtle messaging, particular media interests etc.  The real value of this service would be getting access to the names and contact details (for future use) but again it is probably something you could do with Irish Media Contacts Directory.  Although they claim they have been given permission to pass on the details I wonder what media think of their contact details being sold so overtly for 8 euro a pop.  It will be interesting to see how the final service looks but if a company only has a couple of hundred euro to spent it might be a realistic choice for them.  Just make sure you factor in a good amount of extra time to do it right.

Today Jack Murray from Media Contacts Directory fame launched a new service called Media Express.  The handbook they produce has always been well thumbed addition in PR consultancies and they have since moved the data online.  Media Express is a further development where you can upload your release and photos, select from a large selection of media lists (e.g. property) and the release will be sent by email to journalists whilst appearing to come from you.  From one test it appeared you could do this for as little as 200 euro.

Interestingly the area where both struggle to automate is the scripting of the press release which naturally does take a human to do and does take time to do right.  Although neither approach will be appreciated by the big PR consultancies as it does have a big impact on the value being offered, focusing on the distribution and media contacts makes sence as the easiest area to drive efficiences and reduce cost. 

I am reading Free, the Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson and undoubtably the public relations industry will have to accept that aspects of their offerings where they place great value will become commodified and most likely free and that chargeable elements will be found elsewhere.  Currently that elsewhere is the messaging development, judgement calls and follow on activities – things that take human interaction. 

 The odd thing about PR and press releases is that when I started in PR about 15 years ago the cost of a typical press release issue was almost the same in pounds as it is in euros today.  The industry became a lot more efficient through technology and today I would imagine very few PR companies cover their full charge out costs on a regular press release.  Consultancies who focus on media out reach alone could be facing tricky times in future.

Regardless of what you think of these services its great to see innovation in the industry.  Overall I believe we are a long way off automating the PR industry but certain time elements and services will be replaced by technology.

Nice position in a recession

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This post is a bit off the normal topic range but with all the doom and gloom and job losses the CEO vacancy in the IIA (Irish Internet Association) could be the dream job for someone looking for a change.  The current CEO Fergal O’Byrne is leaving the IIA after a very successful 4 years to join Wexford based Sonru.  

I have been on the board for over 5 years and have witnessed the great work he has done in bringing the organisation forward.  I have also seen the web of influence and the network potential of such as job, especially for someone who is a self starter.  In this recession the Irish internet industry has a real opportunity to shine as companies looks for more cost effective routes to market.  With this in mind the CEO has carte blanche to make connections, create new initiatives, influence policy and really make an impact.

Fergal has set a high bar and the person who fills his shoes and continues with the development of the Association would need to tick most of the following boxes below:

1) Ability to secure and manage sponsorship and sponsors
2) Experience in building and maintaining a membership base
3) Ability to understand, work on and monitor financial reports and budgets
4) Ability to manage staff
5) Events organisation and management experience
6) Experience in managing an organisation with similar stakeholders and understanding of the political tensions/vested interests
7) Understanding and experience in working in the Internet industry.

As well as being a very satisfying job it is also great for establishing contacts, working with a good board and great staff, making a difference to members, being part of the internet sector in Ireland.

If you or someone you know fits the bill, please ask them to simply email vacancy@iia.ie with the word CEO Job in the subject line. The full job spec is available on the IIA website.

The closing date is the 21st of August 2009.

3D image technology give lift to photography.

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PR companies generate a lot of really good photography from media launches to product launch shots.  Normally they are only distributed to the media and remain on file server until someone requests them which is a shame given the relatively high expense of them.  This is a legacy from the days when prints were ordered and with each print costing up to 20 euro, executives were reluctant to order what was not going to be reprinted.  Things have changed greatly since then:

1. Most photographers will give unlimited usage of the images and supply them on disk following an asignment.

2. Social media has created a wealth of new platforms to get extra value and better visual understanding of an organisation or the product.

At the most basic level photos should be uploaded to the company website – ideally in a format where they can be downloaded.  Social media sites like Flickr and Pix.ie should also be optimised especially if you have developed a community there.  Facebook, bebo and blogs can really be enhanced by including these images in posts and updates.

To date these images are also mainly 2D static images and give little interactivity or ability to see from multiple angles.  Now you can produce 3D images for free using Photosynth which is technology developed by Microsoft (disclosure they are also a client).  In their own words it ”allows you to take a bunch of photos of the same scene or object and automagically stitch them all together into one big interactive 3D viewing experience that you can share with anyone on the web.”

Photosynth gives the ability to reconstruct the scene or object from a bunch of flat photographs.  The free webbased technology examines images for similarities to each other and uses that information to estimate the shape of the subject and the vantage point each photo was taken from. With this information, it recreates the space and uses it as a canvas to display and navigate through the photos.

In essence you take a bunch of photos (20+) of the scene walking through or around it, upload them to the site (you need to set up a profile but simple enough) and then the technology does the rest.

You are left with an image similar to below:

Photos taken at the launch of airbike.ie showing their range of Yamaha FJR 1300A motorcycles.

Photos taken at the launch of airbike.ie showing their range of Yamaha FJR 1300A motorcycles.

From this you can navagate left, right, upwards or downwards depending on the range of photos you inserted.  You can include the link on a varity of different mediums.

This is one we did for the launch of Airbike showing its Yamaha FJR 1399A motorcycles that they will use to deliver a motorbike passenger service.

How Photosynth is used in communications is very open.  Image you are trying to walk people through a building/hotel/leisure centre or allow them to see a new car from different angles.  Normally this would have involved complicated website building technology.

Once you have created the synth why not include in press release material, blog, email signatures and social media platforms from Twitter (shorten the url) to Facebook.  What I really like about it is that people can choose the angle and the level of interactivity it allows.  

Some tips:

  • make sure you take enough photo (20 -30)
  • try ensure that the background are different enough so photosynth can easily stitch together
  • build in enough time into the photoshoot to take the right amount of shots
  • ensure you have unlimited usage rights of the photos
  • files are large so needs a good broadband connection

The video below gives a good run through the technology.

Someone is watching!

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Courtesy of Mark Tarbatt from Generator for his tweet on the bus shelter that watches.   This Amesty International bus shelter ad uses eye tracking technology to switch the ad content dependent on whether someone is looking at the ad or not.  Its a really nice evolution of a static medium and has a feel of the Minority Report about it.  When you look you see a regular couple, when you turn away it switches to domestic violence reflecting what happens in reality in many homes.

Ad using eye catching technology

Ad using eye catching technology

This is a clever execution but this eye tracking technology could be used in lots of different on street type applications outside of bus shelters e.g. installations in shop windows, on street art pieces that could literally have a conversation with some using eye contact.  Nice one to add to the mix – wond

Facebook Checklist

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Fridays seem to arrive so fast especially when I have set it as my day to blog.

Following on from the checklists that were developed for the Social Media Working group session at the IIA.  This one is courtesy of Matt Matheson in ThinkHouse PR and covers some of the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced things you should keep in mind on Facebook.  Outside of people under estimating how much time keeping a Facebook profile/page fresh, people forget about the simple things they can do to engage. 

Below are some pointers. 

Beginner  

  • Set up a personal profile or a page for a business
  • Find friends and potential contacts
  • Interact with other brands pages and groups on Facebook and watch what they’re doing 
  • Monitor the frequency of brand discussions with http://www.facebook.com/lexicon/
  • Set up an advertiser account for your brand  
  • Create a fan page with a vanity URL 
  • Upload a profile photo, brand information and relevant collateral (Imagery, videos) 
  • Suggest friends become a fan 

 
Intermediate 

  • Build Community – Run Facebook ads to promote your brands page and its fans  
  • Interact with fans by posting newsworthy brand posts
  • Comment and post on other profiles where appropriate
  • Update fans on important brand information 
  • Add relevant applications – RSS feeds from brand newspage/blog
  • Create events for brand events. Upload content (Pictures, Videos, Links) and invite fans
  • Monitor traffic via Facebook page analytics 

 
Advanced 

  • Integrate fan page with website – Include a link to fan page and stream posts
  • Integrate with brand’s other online mediums – Twitter, Blogs, Social Networks etc.
  • Enable your brand’s website with Facebook Connect – http://developers.facebook.com/connect.php
  • Run Facebook specific aspects of brand campaigns
  • Create relevant applications for your brand for campaign

 This is just a snap shot but delighted to have comments on ones that are left out!

Augmented Reality

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Finally managed to play around with the augmented reality tool that has been doing the rounds.  Basically you need a web cam, log on to GE Augmented Reality site and print out the image below.

Augmented reality sheet

Augmented reality sheet

Depending on the selection you pick, there is one for solar and one for wind turbine, a 3D images suddenly unfolds on the screen and replaces the black and white image above.  You can interact with it by twisting and turning the image and can even blow (picked up by the microphone) which spins the turbines. 

Augmented Reality Wind Turbine Example 

 

Pretty cool stuff.  However i have seen lots of clever stuff that is entertaining but nothing else.  This is different.  Mini have used it to allow people interact with a 3D image of the car by printing the simple image on the back of a motoring magazine with instructions.  You simply put the ad in front of a web cam and up pops the 3D image of the car.  The video below is worth watching (although in German – I think).

 

 Depending on the price of this technology it could have loads of really great applications and could be extremely positive for the print industry also i.e. you need to buy the paper to get the initial image that allows you to get the 3D image – nice blend of traditional media and new media working together.

A Source of Inspiration has some other great examples of how this technology is being used now.  Worth investigating.  If anyone know of an Irish company using let me know. 

 

 

http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality

LinkedIn Check List

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I have been fan of LinkedIn for quite some time but have to remind myself about how powerful it can be when you use it they way it was designed. Originally people seemed to use it as a way of creating a digital presence so they would apppear in search engine queries for themselves. As with all social media there is a reasonable investment of time needed both in building your contact base/community, developing content and using it as a networking tool (participing in the community). Having a lot of people linking to you and not actively managing it is only vanity.
Following on from the previous mail on Twitter here are some checklist items for LinkedIn.

Beginner.

  • Set up a profile, including detailed biographical details and photo.
  • Find friends/potential contacts and add people to your network.
  • Allow LinkedIn access to your contacts (via webmail) to speed up process by seeing who is on LinkedIn. 
  • Use search facility to additional people and customise mail invites to them.
  • Ask someone to recommend you.
  • Add any blogs or website information.
  • Analysise other people connections to see if any could be relevant to your company/industry.
  • Ensure LinkedIn details on are your business card and email signature.

Intermediate.

  • Look for relevant groups related to your industry and join them.
  • Recommend someone for their work if appropriate.
  • Allow access to your contacts book and see who else is in LinkedIn.
  • Comment and participate in groups you have joined.
  • Decide on schedule of regularly checking LinkedIn and updating status.
  • Monitor and vet LinkedIn requests.
  • Forward a profile and share connections/recommended contacts with others in your network.
  • Create extra links with people when you receive their busines card by checking to see if they are on LinkedIn.
  • Watch the status updates to see who is linking to who. 
  • Use LinkedIn as a research tool to gain insight into a company before presenting to them.

Advanced

  • Use applications including:
  • - Incorporate your blog feed with wordpress.
  • - Post presentations you have done using SlideShare.
  • - Collaborate online using the Hubble Work spaces application.
  • - Monitor company reputation through Twitter feed with Company Buzz.
  • Spot an opportunity and set up a special interest group. Invite contacts and potential contacts. Keep alive with content & events.
  • If appropriate use LinkedIn as platform for company news.
  • Upgrade free account and utilise InMail and directly contacting prospects.
     

Joy Redmond from Flexitimers did an excellent post on how Karina Heavey set up the 121 Business Network on the IIA website.

Let me know what hints, tips, steps I have left out!!