Part Two of Three

In the book Engage!, I use music as a metaphor for the business approach necessary to execute socialized programs flawlessly. I suggest that today, many organizations approach new media with the style of jazz improvisationalists. They possess an incredible ability to jam independently and also together, but they often drift into wild, wonderful solos that may or may not lead the audience back to the heart and soul of the brand purpose and mission. Instead, I suggest that we assemble a team of virtuosos who can perform the dedicated requirements of their roles to contribute to an organized and powerful performance designed to engage and stimulate its audience.

A conductor who possess social prowess and business savvy is necessary to creating and managing a holistic social media program that extends from the top down, from the center outward, from the bottom up, and also from the outside in.The quest to find the conductor and the members of the orchestra rekindle the debate to who owns social media. But, I argue, that the only the person who masters the majesty of music theory, instrumentation, leadership, artistry, and stagemanship can effectively lead and inspire a band of leaders. Simply said, The person and team qualified to lead social are those qualified to do so.

Again, a hybrid approach is essential. In the very least however, they will possess the ability to understand customer touchpoints, channels of influence, market dynamics, challenges and opportunities that face consumers, and how engagement and the production of social objects trigger measurable reactions that impact the bottom line.

Advertising Must Look Beyond Madison Ave.

Advertising, along with every form of marketing, communications, and s/> [...]

Wed Jul 14, 2010 06:02 am

Starting in mid-March, Yahoo Shopping will no longer be a solo act.  Yahoo announced today that it's arranged to have PriceGrabber take care of some of the technical details, and it'll be able to make one more cutback thanks to the adjustment.

A post on the Yahoo Developer Blog explained, "[W]e have decided to enter into a strategic partnership with PriceGrabber to power the Product Submit functionality of Yahoo! Shopping as of March 11, 2010.  As a result of these changes, Yahoo! will no longer provide the Shopping Web Services API, including Shopping Results (the 'Yahoo! Shopping Syndication Services') to you . . ."

Not all developers are taking the news well, and considering that Yahoo and PriceGrabber haven't offered anything in the way of free alternatives, it's a little hard to blame them.  Yahoo might hurt itself with this move, too, since less interest from developers could equate to less attention for Yahoo Shopping.

Still, Yahoo's accounting department surely had a say in this decision, and it's hard to imagine that traffic statistics weren't taken into account.  So this may help Yahoo save a significant amount of money while also allowing it to make a new corporate friend.

For what it's worth, Yahoo also told developers, "It has been our privilege to provide you with Yahoo!'s shopping syndication product, and we hope to continue our relationship with you in other areas long into the future."

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Tue Jan 12, 2010 14:00 pm

We recently discussed how social media complements the news industry, and how a study has even found news to be a top priority of Twitter users. Facebook wants to let users know that it can also be used to keep track of news, when you set up a news list.

This isn't so much a new feature, as it is a way to use the social network that you may or may not have thought of. Basically, Facebook is encouraging users to set up a list for news, as if they were setting up a list of co-workers, or a list of friends from high school.

"You can even create a 'News' list to filter news-oriented Pages into one view on your News Feed," says Facebook's Malorie Lucich. "Simply add relevant Pages to the list, just as you would with a friends list. The next time you sign on to Facebook, you can click the 'News' filter to see stories from all of the news outlets of which you've become a fan."

"In addition to reading news on Facebook, you can share news with your friends on external sites with Facebook Connect," says Lurich. "Outlets like The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, USA Today and countless blogs have become more social by adding Facebook Connect to their websites and iPhone applications. You can sign in with your Facebook login to see what articles your friends are reading and comment on articles with your authentic identity."

The fact of that matter is that a lot of people around t/> [...]

Fri Jan 29, 2010 13:10 pm