2010 Predictions in New Media December 16, 2009

December not only means packed shopping mall parking lots and holiday office parties but also the seasonal ritual known as next year predictions. In a year that began with the inauguration of a president who ran a ground-breaking online campaign to social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, exploding with year-over-year growth numbers, 2009 was quite a year for new media.

As for me, I’m thinking that 2010 will be 2009 on steroids, especially when it comes to search. “Building communities” and “engagement” via Twitter and Facebook were key 2009 buzzwords and activities. But as 2009 is drawing to a close and with this year’s successful launch of Bing and Google’s roll out last week of integrating real-time search into results and Google Goggles, a search by images feature for Android 1.6+ phones,

my prediction is that 2010 will be the year where search is ramped up to an even higher level. SEO budgets in businesses are on target to be bigger next year and I predict we’ll see search become less a function of going to a portal such as Bing or Google, but instead, being built into applications making for a seamless search experience for users. As a consequence, as Facebook pages and Twitter tweets will rise to the top of search results, businesses will need to commit more staff resources and budget into their social media efforts. Having the intern in charge of the Facebook page and Twitter feed will no longer make good business sense.

Here are some predictions from around the new media community:

Geoff Ramsey, eMarketer:

While media dollars have imploded, media consumption will continue to explode.

“Due to increasingly empowered consumers and further advances in technology, look for media to become more:

• Distributed—the same content will pop up in multiple locations, formats and channels.
• Personalized—media will be tailored to reflect what consumers have watched, read, experienced and shared.
• Contextualized—when and where consumers get their information will dictate its content and format, and that, in turn, will shape how they interact with and share it.

Each of these trends will lead to more precise targeting, which will also reinforce trend No. 2, the stagnation of media spending.”

David Armano, Dachis Group (Armano has recently joined the PR firm Edelman)

Mobile becomes a social media lifeline
“With approximately 70 percent of organizations banning social networks and, simultaneously, sales of smartphones on the rise, it’s likely that employees will seek to feed their social media addictions on their mobile devices. What used to be cigarette breaks could turn into “social media breaks” as long as there is a clear signal and IT isn’t looking. As a result, we may see more and/or better mobile versions of our favorite social drug of choice.

Sharing no longer means e-mail
The New York Times iPhone application recently added sharing functionality which allows a user to easily broadcast an article across networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Many websites already support this functionality, but it’s likely that we will see an increase in user behavior as it becomes more mainstream for people to share with networks what they used to do with e-mail lists. And content providers will be all too happy to help them distribute any way they choose.”

Pete Cashmore, Mashable:

Cloud computing

“Cloud computing was very much a buzzword of 2009, but there’s no doubt this transition will continue. The trend, in which data and applications cease to reside on our desktops and instead exist on servers elsewhere (“the cloud”), makes our data accessible from anywhere and enables collaboration with distributed teams.

The cloud movement will see a major leap forward in the first half of 2010 with the launch of “Office Web Apps,” free online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote released in tandem with Microsoft Office 2010.”

Sarah Rotman and James McQuivey, Forrester Research:

Growing Popularity of eReaders

(As quoted in InventorSpot.com)

“According to Sarah Rotman and James McQuivey, of Forrester Research, eReaders will be another place for app growth. ‘”As anyone with an iPhone knows, apps are where the magic happens: They make the device infinitely more useful.” Rotman and McQuivey said they ‘wouldn’t be surprised to see Amazon launch a Kindle app store, too, including anything from a social-reading app from Goodreads to an enterprise app fro Microsoft or Oracle would make e-readers vastly expand the possibilities for consumers and businesses.”‘

Joel Postman, Social Media Today:

Augmented Reality Applications Will Start to Go Mainstream

“Augmented Reality (AR) is the ability to place computer-generated information, such as text and labels, on top of live real world data, such as video from a smart phone. Most AR applications in 2009 were quaint curiosities designed to demonstrate the AR concept. It took a lot of hacking and ingenuity to make these a reality since most consumer platforms lagged (but not by much) in features (think video finally coming to the iPhone) required for AR.

A few AR applications have been rolled out by progressive marketers and other organizations this year, but 2010 will be the year AR explodes. Expect to see applications from major corporations, municipalities, and institutions of higher learning. Some of the most interesting applications will be outside of marketing and promotion. These might include real time campus maps and guided tours; theme park guides; capital equipment location and inventory; and even applications in which the operator makes computer-based notes on top of realtime images, which would be useful for things like home inspection and insurance claims estimating.”

eMail Insider: Email is Still the Killer App November 6, 2009

While the bright shiny apps like Twitter and Facebook are getting all the buzz these days, we’re still getting and reading email. Although social media and mobile are cutting into email’s terrain and numbers, marketers are still using email with some companies now integrating email with social media campaigns, thereby extending the reach of email content into new markets

In this recent emailINSIDER post by George Bilbrey, president of Return Path, he lays out his arguments on why we should remain bullish on email and includes some trends for the future such as the Mozilla Raindrop project and Yahoo’s recent changes.

DC Social Media and Advocacy Analysis Report October 20, 2009

Via techPresident, Marc Ross, Christine Stineman, and Chris Lisi of 2ndSix, Tribe Effect and Chris Lisi Communications have just published a report: Social Media and Advocacy Analysis 2009 looking at how 102 Washington-based trade associations and advocacy groups are making use of 14 core social media tools and platforms.

For the analysis, the researchers identified 14 online advocacy tools, websites and grassroots techniques [Advocacy Center, Facebook, MySpace, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, widgets, email signups, badges, SlideShare and Flickr] and over the period of 08/3/09 – 10/2/09, confirmed each category through the organization’s home page and social user accounts. Existence of a tool was scored 1 point; no tool, score zero. Top scorers included the Sierra Club (#1), SEIU (#2), and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, American Wind Energy Institute, Human Rights Campaign and the National Electrical Contractors Association all tied for the #3 ranking.

My first reaction to the report’s methodology brought up a core concept I frequently share with clients: Just because you have a social media tool on your website, it’s meaningless as to whether an organization is or isn’t communicating effectively unless you are actually using that tool on a time-committed basis with a real purpose and agreed-upon ROI measurements tied into the organization’s business plan. Evidently, I’m not alone in that thinking as techPresident later posted in a follow-up: DC Social Media Survey Touches a Nerve.

Having worked at a DC trade association for several years, I was still interested in learning more about  these organizations use of social media. Beyond the reported number of platforms, what were the specific tools organizations are using? Are smaller organizations utilizing social media?

One source I found was the Association Social Media Wiki. A list of 135 organizations ranging from the big-time AARP to the smaller Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, you can easily find and confirm what these organizations are doing in the social media space. Quick analysis: Large and small organizations are utilizing these platforms, generally using just one tool. Blogs are the most popular followed by wikis and podcasts.

I agree with the report’s findings of trade associations and cause groups still cautiously finding their way through the often puzzling Web 2.0 playing field but I see definite movement and interest on learning more. The recent Buzz 2009 Social Media for Associations was a sold-out success and the attendee list for this week’s TWTRCON DC 09 is showing registrations by many representatives from associations and advocacy groups.

For Gov 2.0, it took a new White House administration to provide the real catalyst for a different kind of communications strategy. Which organizations and individuals will be the catalysts for trade associations and advocacy groups? Stay tuned to this space.

How to Maximize Your Tweets October 8, 2009

While working with clients on their Twitter feeds, I’ve been using these Twitter guidelines that I’ve put together over the last few months. But I’m always looking for new ideas to share, so feel free to add your best Twitter maximization practices in the comments or email me.

Here’s my list:

1. Add your Twitter URL to email sigs and business cards. Link to your Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn etc. profiles. If you have a blog, add a graphic or link asking people to follow you on Twitter.

2. Find the most knowledgable and relevant people in your niche and follow them. Respond to their tweets when possible and if you’re lucky enough to get a response, you may see a surge of new followers.

3. Mix it up. As with blogging, give your Twitter followers a good mix of helpful content as well as slices of your own life. We want nothing more than to connect with each other and giving your followers 140 character bursts of who you are — interests, thoughts, questions, etc. — serves as a powerful connection tool. It’s fine using Twitter to give information about your company but make sure to mix it up with tweets of third-party links and other resources for more reader interest. If you want to find out what your followers are interested in, check out Twittersheep and create a tag cloud from the bios of your network.

4. A great way to get more followers is to promote others. Whether giving them props on their tweet or linking to a choice post on their blog, giving credit to your favorite @username will help get you noticed.

5. Add your feed to We Follow: http://wefollow.com

6. Twit the peak. Post most often to your twitter account during peak browsing hours of your targeted followers. Not sure of the hours, ask yourself when you tend to be online the most. You are more likely to interact with more of your followers online as the same time as yourself, as well as maximizing your tweets’ exposure to more potential followers. Which days of the week do most people tweet? Research shows Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the most popular days.

7. Tweet often. It’s a fine line between too many and not enough but 3-5 a day seems to be a range that works. (According to @timoreilly, the tweet average is 4.22.) The more you tweet, the more opportunities for new followers and search engines to find you. For the time-crunched, try using a client such as HootSuite to schedule your tweets ahead of time to keep up feed momentum.

8. Respond to @Replies. Take the time to respond to replies directed towards you. Whether it’s a RT (retweet) or a general comment or question, respond to as many replies as time permits. Try not to give @replies like “Yes”, “I agree”, “Thank you” which are meaningless to the rest of your followers. Provide some context with your @replies to raise follower engagement.

9. Live-tweet events. Share observations, speaker content, questions, and shout-outs to other attendees. Make sure to add the event’s agreed-upon Twitter hashtag to your tweets to make it easier for others to follow and find you.

9. Ask questions. Whether you’re looking for information on how to do something or curious about what others think about a product, take advantage of Twitters enormous crowd sourcing power and ask your followers for help. Not only will this engage your current followers, but you increase your odds of showing up in http://search.twitter.com where many users go to find relevant tweets.

10. Check out the most popular trends and keywords at What the Trend and Twitscoop: http://www.twitscoop.com

Planet Forward — Viewer Collaboration TV April 2, 2009

A few nights ago, I had an opportunity to attend the first taping of a new PBS series – Planet Forward. Moderated by former CNN special correspondent Frank Sesno, the show’s theme is to promote a discussion about energy and climate change, but in an innovative twist, starts off the discussion in the online community and then goes to broadcast and then eventually back to online for post-show discussion and critique.

PBS started the ball rolling back in early March with a request to the Planet Forward online community for submissions of questions, ideas, videos, podcasts and even poetry, which were then rated by PBS editors and the online community as most popular and deserving to be included in the show. Winners appear on the show and have an opportunity to debate and pose questions to Sesno and panels of industry experts.

This inaugural show featured Carol Browner, Energy Coordinator for the Obama Admnistration; industry experts L. Hunter Lovins, president of National Capitalism and internationally recognized promoter of sustainable development; Shai Agassi, CEO of Better Place, a company focused on building transportation networks of zero-emission electric vehicles; and Jim Connaughton, Constellation Energy executive vice president, corporate affairs, public and environmental policy and former chairman, White House Environmental Quality for the Bush Administration.

I found the show engaging with its lively mix of average citizens and experts, and extremely informative (for example, I learned the famous DC landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl with a 50s-era menu of cheese fries, shakes and half-smoke sausages uses renewable energy sources to power the restaurant. Cool!)

Planet Forward airs nationally on PBS April 15th. It will be fun to see how this show organically grows when it goes back for online discussion and viewer collaboration after its initial airing.

Some things I’ve learned… February 25, 2009

I’ve been doing more tweeting instead of full out blogging of late, and also have been on the road at seminars and with clients. Time to catch up with an actual blog post that’s more than 140 characters.

Here’s what I’ve learned over the last few weeks:

- Digital vs. traditional. Wave the white flag — no longer a debate. This came up at last week’s MediaPost Digital Marketing in a Downturn panel discussion. Razorfish’s Shiv Singh, VP of Social Media, pronounced the end of this seesaw battle over which is the more important media calling it for both. These days, consumers are watching their traditional media tvs while typing a tweet on their laptop and answering e-mail on their BlackBerry. We live in a multi touchpoint information world and it requires multichannel marketing to reach us these days. (Great multichannel marketing resource – Akin Arikan.)

- Social media is marketing. Social media is communication. Social media is… confusing? Answer: All of the above. I’m still hearing clients repeating a similar theme: “We know we need to so some social media but we’re not sure what we want to do.” And for those organizations that have plunged into social media and have blogs and videos and maybe even a Twitter feed on their sites, I’m hearing a need to sit down and actually plan a better strategy to optimize results.

On both counts I’ll give the same advice: First, go back to basics. Why are you in business? What are the goals of your web site? What does success look to you? Answer these three questions and then see how and where social media fits into your organization’s business plan.

- Twitter has exploded with new users and publicity over the last few weeks. I witnessed this especially in the DC journo community with NBC’s David Gregory, MSNBC’s David Shuster, and Air America’s Ana Marie Cox getting into Twitter a few weeks ago which then generated widespread coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post and Politico. Is Twitter just a fad that will go the way of Second Life? I don’t think so. I hope not anyway. I love the immediacy and variety of information that Twitter offers users and I believe we’re just seeing the beginning of its possibilities – especially with the recent infusion of $35 million of new VC money.

Your YouTube Congress January 13, 2009

We have a new Congress and a new way of doing business. Yesterday it was announced by House and Senate leaders that we can now find our Representatives and Senators YouTube channels (did you know they each had one?) on two new platforms:

The House Hub

The Senate Hub

I sampled what my senator — Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) — has to offer on his channel and it’s fairly substantive. Nine videos and the usual line up for subscriptions, e-mail, friending, and sharing. Senator Webb also puts out an e-mail newsletter and next time it hits my in box, I’m going to check and see if they list this YouTube channel on it. Cross-promotion is key in terms of building video buzz and not taking advantage of a senate office’s enormous e-mail database would be quite the lost opportunity.

NBCU’s Mark Lukasiewicz at CES January 12, 2009

At last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), NBC News Vice President of digital media Mark Lukasiewicz talks to Web Newser about how and why he made the leap from old to new media and how NBCU is gearing up for more web content expansion despite a down economy.

SEO Comes to the Federal Government December 11, 2008

Peter Whoriskey writes in The Washington Post today about the U.S. government’s work with search engine giants Google and Microsoft in opening up previously “hidden” site pages for better SEO. Virtually millions of federal Web pages are largely invisible to Google, Yahoo and Microsoft search engines mostly because the data, while public, can only be accessed after filling out an online form and crawlers generally skip over these kind of databases. To make databases visible, the feds have to make each item into a Web page and then provide a list of those Web page URLs to the search engines.

The Post article notes some grumbling by federal information technology officials over the costs and manpower needed to transition their sites — the Smithsonian alone gave Google 78,000 links. But given that users these days expect immediate gratification to search queries or else will usually exit the site, it looks like a necessary step in the right direction to better serve the public as well as building site traffic.

Andrew Sullivan on Watching Old Media Die December 8, 2008

Last night while checking my RSS feeds, I saw this TimesOnline column by one of my favorite bloggers, Andrew Sullivan, about the looming death of print newspapers. Pretty timely given the latest torrent of bad news coming from the world of legacy media companies: Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun, filing for possible bankruptcy this week; The New York Times borrowing up to $225 million against the value of its mid-Manhattan headquarters building; McClatchy looking for a buyer for The Miami Herald; and E.W. Scripps Co. selling the Rocky Mountain News.

UPDATE: (Within a few minutes of going live with this post, I received word that the Tribune Co. is filing for bankruptcy. Another one bites the dust. UPDATE 2: Given the company’s almost $13 billion of debt along with declining local tv and newspaper ad revenues, it’s a tough road ahead for the Tribune Co. )

Sullivan, a blogger since 2000, gives the history of his blog as to why bloggers hold such an economic advantage over these legacy media companies, despite the best efforts of these companies to beef up their websites:

“To give my own example: I started blogging eight years ago. My once quirky blog, born in time to cover the 2000 election campaign, has steadily grown in traffic over the years, but this year, with the election campaign and a media revolution, it went into the stratosphere. In October last year my blog got 3.5m page views; in October this year it had 23m page views. The story of the campaign, in other words, did find a readership (and page views of big online papers soared as well). The growth just didn’t occur in newsprint, and the next generation of readers – those now under 30 – barely knows what a newspaper is.

Now compare my little blog’s traffic with The Baltimore Sun, a big metropolitan paper with a long history and great reputation, featured most recently in the HBO series The Wire. It had 17.5m page views in October; The Dallas Morning News got 12m; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution got 14m. The operation largely run out of my spare room reached many more online readers than some of the biggest and most loss-making papers in the country. The economics are remorseless: as news goes online, the economic model for papers cannot survive. If advertising follows page views, the game will shortly be over.”

Will large newspapers, even if offered online-only, survive? Only time will tell. But I also agree with Sullivan that blogs are not a complete substitute because most blogs don’t have the budgets and staff to do in depth reporting (Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo and Huffington Post are notable exceptions), and often rely on traditional media sources to back up an opinion or issue. Add this to the tremendous loss to the public discourse and it will be a sad day indeed, should only a few media companies manage to survive.