The Intersection of Online and Offline

There has been some really interesting debate and commentary about yesterday’s Twebinar, put on my Chris Brogan and David Alston, both of which were kind enough to comment on yesterday’s posting. Most blog posts that I found, including Marc Meyer’s were positive - “Twebinar Mashup Was a Success.”

Time lends perspective, and after thinking about it for 24 hours, there were a few things that are buzzing around in my head:

1. This must have been a technical nightmare. Pulling all of the technologies together for the mash-up and counting on Twitter (which has been about as reliable as Paris Hilton at an open bar) must have been extraordinarily difficult. So kudos to Chris, David, SNCR and all of the participants for pulling this off. It has only whet our appetite for more.
2. I read many of the tweets that came out of yesterday’s commentary, and a few folks commented that the subject matters was a little basic, e.g., “social media IS game-changing…duh.” In thinking about this, I realized that the subject matter experts were talking in terms that were understandable to the masses, but I bet that the people who watched the two twebinars were a bunch of propeller-head wanna-bes like me. So that had to have been a tough thing to do as well: have a really kick-ass mashup and have a set of social media thought leaders who were telling us things that we already know.
3. The case studies offered by the guests were compelling and can help those of us who find it difficult to sell social media a little easier to explain to others. I really liked Richard Binhammer’s example that, since Dell began to talk and listen to customers using social media, complaints came down by 30 percent. That is something that can reverberate with anyone who understands a profit and loss statement or lifetime customer value.
4. Finally, Shel Israel traced the roots of social media, but like the title of this blog an the course that I teach, I firmly believe that good social media practices are rooted in good communications practices. Listen to your customers. Practice an open system of communication. Make your employees your ambassadors. A lot of this was possible before, but has been made much easier lately.
5. There were others who made good comments as well and I have listed some of those in an article published today in Media Bullseye.

All in all, not a bad start.

Mark

Today, I had the fascinating experience of participating my first-ever a “Twebinar,” created and co-hosted by CrossMedia.com, on which they “interview[ed] over 30 top names in social media and Internet marketing and get their best thoughts on how tools like blogs, social networks, wikis, and podcasts are changing the way companies do business.” The host and lead interviewer was Chris Brogan, who did a great job of interviewing some thought leaders in the social media space at a prior social media event as well as communicating with the viewers between segments.  And I was fortunate enough to receive a tweet from Chris @chrisbrogan, who reminded me to note forget to mention “..David Alston from Radian6.com. He co-produced this, and did LOTS of work. Great fellow and deserves your attention in the larger write-up, too. : )” Done, Chris.  For all fo the work you put in, it’s the least I can do.

I’ll give a more detailed account tomorrow in Media Bullseye.

This being my first “Twebinar,” I learned that it is a mixture of live video from the moderator (Chris), video clips from contributors (I have listed some below), a running series of tweets (many of which unfortunately dealt with technical issues), and a chat box as well.

Bottom line is that I came away knowing more than I did when I logged on, which is always something that I enjoy. But like any worthwhile endeavor, it took some doing to get me into the meeting. My impression was that the sponsors were overwhelmed by the responses and got caught off guard.

The Gurus Speak

As the theme of the Twebinar was how social media induces “game changing moves,” I’ll simply relay some of the thinking expressed in it. And for those of you who participated, please note that I have paraphrased since I am a lousy typist.

• Sally Falkow of Expansion Plus, in a very simple and elegant statement, said that the “why” of social media is already happening. You are either there or you are not – and your customers are already talking about you.
• Richard Binhammer at Dell noted that by talking with their customers, they have been seen a reduction in negative comments by 30 percent! He noted that political candidates would love to see a number like this (agreed). By listening to customers, “you learn a lot about what makes them happy and what makes them mad. That will result in better products or services.” Well said.
• Kami Watson Huyse brought up a great point that, as a consultant, she does not  try to convince clients to be in social media. If there is something within their company mission that they need to do like relationship building, then she suggests social media. She also brought up a wonderful case study of connecting SeaW orld San Antonio with the VERY vibrant the roller coaster community. Rather than just pitching the roller coaster enthusiasts, she noted that she “started talking to them and giving them the assets that they wanted: statistics, video, photos, whatever they needed to tell the story.” Great point in a time of “blogger spam” debate.  And smart, too.
• Shel Israel – GNTV – Shel gave a terrific example of HR Block realizing that each year, their customers are getting older and this speaks to the need for creating younger users. HRB are very active now in Twitter, Second Life, blogging, are planning “additional social media programs.”

Did the Twebinar have technology glitches? Yeah.

Interesting content and format? You bet.

More tomorrow.  C’mon, @sarahwurrey.  Get posting!

Mark

It’s not often that I pimp something before I have even had the opportunity to participate, but tomorrow, but I will be tuned into a “Twebinar” called “Game Changing Moves - Doing Business With Social Media on Thursday, June 26th at 2:00pm EST.

Several of the names of the participants really jumped out at me, as well as the co-sponsor, SNCR (”Snicker,” of “Society for New Communications Research”).  Interviews will include people like:

• Shel Holtz
• Shel Israel
• Joseph Jaffe

and other big thinkers whom I read and listen to regularly.

I’ll do a write up about it soon after participating, but think that it’s worth registering, listening and, of course, Tweeting.

More later.

Mark

The debate is still raging, but in a balanced and well-written post today, Kami Huyse points out that the Electronic Frontier Foundation has set up a page with legal advice for bloggers. Here are two pretty compelling paragraphs from the EFF guide:

The difference between you and the reporter at your local newspaper is that in many cases, you may not have the benefit of training or resources to help you determine whether what you’re doing is legal. And on top of that, sometimes knowing the law doesn’t help - in many cases it was written for traditional journalists, and the courts haven’t yet decided how it applies to bloggers.

But here’s the important part: None of this should stop you from blogging. Freedom of speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Internet bullies shouldn’t use the law to stifle legitimate free expression. That’s why EFF created this guide, compiling a number of FAQs designed to help you understand your rights and, if necessary, defend your freedom.”

Let the debate continue.

Mark

Just finished (what I think) will be my last piece in a series about managing online reputation. It’s in Media Bullseye, but I am still in shock over yesterday’s news about the Associated Press vs. bloggers battle.

The two issues intersect.

AP could use a lesson in online reputation management, which is the last point that I make in the article.

1. They get a societal license to operate from the people who read their content.
2. The lawyers that organizations have on retainer should all be behind a big piece of glass that should be broken “only in case of emergency.” AP was stupid, and now they have bloggers mad at them. That’s not what a wire service providing content to a dying print industry should do.

‘Nuff said.

Mark

P.S. - if anyone reading this can identify the lawyer in the picture, leave a comment below. You will get invisible extra credit in my next class.