Archives for 2010

Quick Question on Posterous

Hi guys. Since you helped me immensely when I asked your views on a blog redesign (which will be unveiled soon thanks to Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer), I’d like to ask your views again, if that’s okay?

Currently I have an account at Posterous, which I use for short and punchy thoughts. They’re mainly ideas and views that I always refer to as too little for blogging and too much for Twitter. They also helped provide the content for my free marketing ebook, Why Simple Works.

Thankfully, folks seem to appreciate the short posts as much as the long form that you find here, which is really nice.

I also enjoy the freedom that Posterous gives me, inasmuch I can just throw some thoughts out there that don’t necessarily need to be formulated into a longer post and discussion with definitive answers.

Now, though, I’m curious as to whether the format would work right here? While Posterous is fantastic for such short posts, I’m also trying to integrate my outposts better and make sure I’m giving you the very best of my time and resources. So having another third-party option for you to go to makes me wonder if it’s the right approach?

So, once again, I defer to your wisdom. Which would you prefer – a separate Posterous account as it currently is, or have it all under one roof here (perhaps even in a dedicated section of its own)?

Love to hear your thoughts. Cheers!

The Art of Doing

I’ve been looking at a lot of businesses lately and watching with interest as they adapt (or don’t) to today’s business world.

Some are managing the transfer (Coca Cola, Ford, Four Seasons), while others seem to be struggling (BP, Nissan, Nestle). And these are the big boys that should be able to provide the budgets to create a successful strategy – yet as BP, Nissan and Nestle show, that’s not always the case.

So why are companies still struggling to adapt?

Having both worked at and for large corporations, the answer doesn’t always boil down to poor decision-making by the strategy team; it can have more to do with immovability and a “not quite ready yet” mindset from the decision-makers at the top.

Which is why more companies need to start learning the Art of Doing.

The Art of Doing

One thing that’s clear with any company (or at least any one that wants to be successful and stay ahead of the game) is the want for change. This could be a change in the way you do business; a change in the people that run things; a change in corporate culture; or a myriad of other compartments.

But there’s a big difference between want and making happen.

Both Ford and Nissan wanted to run a successful social media campaign for their latest products; but only Ford really made it happen. Nissan had great early success, for sure, but early success doesn’t guarantee long-term returns – something the negative reaction to the second half of Nissan’s Cube campaign shows only too well.

So how do you switch from want to do?

Make sure your ship is watertight. When you plan something, there are always going to be uncertainties. How you plan for these uncertainties defines your success. Being fluid enough to react to ad-hoc needs is key.
Question interventions. The businesses that are making the successful switch from existing to future are doing so because they have teams that believe in what they’re trying to do. Often those in more expensive suits will question your wisdom; make sure you have answers and questions of your own.
Finite or infinite. A great plan knows that to achieve and measure success, you have to have timelines and guide points. You need to know where you need to be by a certain time, and if you’re not, do you cut the cord or take one last stab at the target?

Get Motion Sickness

In late 2008, the Big Three motor companies – Ford, General Motors and Chrysler – saw their fortunes dip massively as the U.S. economy took a nosedive. As the recession bit, it looked like all three were seriously in danger of going out of business.

It was only a huge financial bail-out that saw GM and Chrysler survive. But Ford didn’t ask for a bail-out; instead, it got motion sickness.

Believing in the company’s new products and the ability to distance itself from the other two strugglers, Ford’s approach to changing things up inside and outside (the strong use of social media and consumer marketers) saw them enjoy a massive turnaround in fortune.

Make motion sickness happen for you:

Ignore the safety harness and take the direction you need to take, no matter how sharp the turn.
Use the accelerator more. Slow and steady might win the race but competition won’t always wait for you to come in.
Ride the dirt track. Just because the same road has always worked before doesn’t mean it always will. Get off the tarmac and onto the mud if you need to.

Every company wants to do. Only the good ones know the art of doing, though. Where does yours fall?

photo credit: otherthings

Walls and Windows

The Berlin Wall was constructed for one simple reason; to divide East and West Germany.

Built shortly after the Second World War, it was a symbol to separate cultures between Western Europe and what was known as the Eastern Bloc.

Walls are solid objects, defined by their ability to separate two factions. They’re built to maintain the status quo.

Windows, on the other hand, allow us to see the world around us and gain wisdom from it.

Business could do with less walls, more windows.

Permission Spamming for Friends

My friend John Haydon posted an interesting status update on his Facebook profile. Short and simple, it said: “Dear Facebook user. Please don’t tag me in a photo or video unless I’m actually in the photo or video. Thanks.”

And it stopped and made me think – are we now offering permission spamming for friends on social networks?

The minute we sign up for a service like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, we offer our details so we can find our existing friends or online connections, and hook up with them on our new network too.

The service we sign up for assures us that our details are safe and they won’t use or give them to third-party marketing and advertising services.

Yet it doesn’t really include that same option for friends.

That then leads to a whole slew of tags or similar on Facebook (just as John mentions) that have nothing to do with us, apart from our connection to that person.

Or there’s the Direct Message on Twitter where latest blog posts are pimped, or services shilled (though to be honest, I’m pretty fortunate in the connections I have on Twitter that they only DM me great stuff that I’d want to know about anyway).

The same goes for LinkedIn, where bulk and copy/paste messages are sent out promoting a service or product that, more often than not, holds no real interest for the person it’s been sent to. There’s also video responses on YouTube and even spam coming through on the likes of Skype and BlackBerry Messenger.

Of course, a lot can be put down to the networks not making it clear to the user that just by using a certain service, friends can be spammed (or the equivalent of unwanted messages).

Take the Facebook Like option, for example. If you like my Facebook Page, then (from what I’ve been reading) any updates on my page could appear on your wall, unless you (or I) have amended our settings so that doesn’t happen.

Now, I don’t want to spam you just as much as you don’t want to be spammed, and it’s certainly not deliberate. But Facebook makes this almost mandatory, which then pisses you off and makes my page offer less value, when I want it to be the complete opposite.

And therein lies the problem with all this new “social” approach, whether it’s networking or media. To be social, we have to open up certain doors.

But what happens when these doors turn our friends into spammers? And how do we differentiate the unwanted spam from the unaware spam? Thoughts?

photo credit: Adam UXB Smith

A Quick Heads-Up on Access to the Blog

Hi guys,

Just wanted to give you a quick heads-up on access to the blog over the next couple of days. I’m in the process of switching web hosts from Hostgator to BlogOnCloud9.

While I’ve been pretty happy with Hostgator, I’m finding that as my blog grows (and the other domains that I currently have live, as well as a couple that will be soon) I need a host that can grow with my needs.

BlogOnCloud9 fits these needs, particularly with their cloud partnership with RackSpace.

I’ll be writing a little bit more about the differences I see (or hopefully see, anyway!) shortly. In the meantime, the blog may have some access issues in the next 24-48 hours. If so, I apologize, and hopefully the benefits of the changeover will make up for any inconvenience.

Cheers!