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10Video- From Cowpaths to MastadonsSeptember 5, 2008
Hold on to your hats, folks. This is a four-part video covering some of the ideas that I plan to present over the coming several weeks. I’m speaking Monday at the Inbound Marketing Summit. I’m speaking Tuesday at the New Marketing Bootcamp. I’m speaking a few weeks later at BlogWorld Expo. And then in October, I’m doing New Marketing Summit, and then the Marketing Profs Digital Mixer. (I might have even missed a few.)
The following are the raw ideas that will become the basis of the FRONT part of several of my upcoming presentations. What comes after will be the “how to” part, but this is the theory and storytelling part. It seems a bit crazy. For those of you who’ll be in the audience at any of those events, you can nod knowingly when you see where this all grows in the coming days and weeks.
I’m calling this video presentation (totals just a hair over 10 minutes in four parts), “From Cowpaths to Mastadons.”
From Cowpaths to Mastadons - 1 This gets a little crazy, but I’m talking about marketing and how social media impacts it.
From Cowpaths to Mastadons - 2 Where I talk about awareness, and how toilets know more about me than my laptop.
From Cowpaths to Mastadons - 4 -end Gutenberg Presses, pamphlets, newspapers, blogs, oh my.
I’m really interested in your perspective. Feel free to make videos, audio, text posts. Go off and riff on your blog. Whatever. This is what’s on my mind. I’m curious as to how you interpret it.
I’m a big fan of sharing. Feel free to use this post elsewhere for your own purposes (except to make money). Just please add a link back to [chrisbrogan.com] . Thanks!
ArticleJoin the conversation - 10 Commentsbusiness, marketing, newmedia, socialmedia, video10Put Away Your ShotgunsSeptember 4, 2008
Marketers and PR humans: is it *really* working? Is shotgunning your target still giving you the results you need? Have you figured out that what works in one arena doesn’t work in another? I promise, this will only hurt a lot.
“What set Brogan off?” I know you’re wondering. I’ll share.
I just got about 700 words or so from a company that will be exhibiting at a conference I’m attending next month. It was a big fat blurt. We do this. We’re awesome. People say this about us. You can do this, this, *and* this with our product. We’re offering a drawing.
I mean, this individual threw the entire marketing/PR clichebook into one email. Vast in its depth.
I get that #2 takes a bit longer. I understand that. But if you’re going to reach out to the folks actively spending time in the social media space, you might learn how to get involved, build relationships, and market to us in a more personal style.
Read up a little bit about blogger relations. Learn from experts like Susan Getgood and Brian Solis and Lee Odden (and dozens more). Learn WHO you’re pitching, even just a little bit.
These posts are made for sharing. Feel free to repost all or portions of this (as long as it’s not for profit). If you do post it, please make sure you kindly link back to [chrisbrogan.com] and give me credit. Thanks!
ArticleJoin the conversation - 10 Commentshowto, marketing, pr, socialmedia15Big Game HuntingSeptember 4, 2008
I love play. You might not know this about me, but it’s been a foundational truth to my very existence. I believe that play (doing things that relate to diversion, amusement, etc) is a vital element to innovation. For those of you who’ve known me a while, you know I have a thing for grasshoppers. One reason is the whole “grasshopper and the ant” story. I am, most definitely, the grasshopper. What’s on my mind is play.
A year or so ago, in the company of Jeff Pulver (who also loves play), I met an amazing group of people for dinner. The dinner was part of Hubert Burda’s DLD Conference experience. I was there by chance, and because Jeff is that kind of guy.
At this event, besides running into Jeff Jarvis again (I love what Jeff does), I also met Kevin Slavin of Area Code, creator of “big games.” Fascinating. I could have talked with him for hours (and I kinda did). You might know his company. He did things like organize a giant Pac Man game in Manhattan.
In this space, someone I’ve yet to meet is Jane McGonigal, who has a body of work that’s drool-worthy, it’s so full of fun and inspiration.
And most recently, by way of turning this story all over the place, I met Austin Hill. He’s one of the guys behind Akoha. Austin and a team including Mr. Alex Eberts are doing something really interesting up there in Canada. And he shared a bit with me.
It’s about play. And it’s the kind of thing that you’ll read about all over the place in not too long. And after that, you’ll see it on TV or in a magazine or something. And after that, you’re going to be one of the wink wink nod nod people playing.
Innovating requires play. Some of us know this, embrace it, and find ways to sneak the play into our otherwise grown up life.
One last thing. I will have parts of the story WITH me at the next few events I attend. I will not just hand them out. There will not be a contest. The right caller won’t get the prize. But I will be handing certain people parts of the story.
And when I’m done delivering those, I will also dispense with 50 very special gifts.
I’m not trying to be secretive to be coy. I’m actually under a FrieNDA for a while more.
But in all my not-exactly-related-to-my-job work, this is one of those things that excites me. And if I share it with you, it should get your mind turning in neat ways, too.
ArticleJoin the conversation - 15 Commentsakoha, areacode, avantgame, biggames, play8Forget Me- Meet Glenda at BlogWorld ExpoSeptember 3, 2008
Okay, I’m going to BlogWorld Expo in a few weeks, and if you’re going, I’d love to see you and connect (not for lunch or dinner - let’s just say hi and check in). BUT, and this is a big but, you should forget about meeting me. It’s easy to meet me. I get around a bit. I throw my own events all the time. You know who you need to meet, REALLY, is Glenda Watson Hyatt.
Glenda’s a published author, an acclaimed advocate for accessibility rights and reform, QUITE the blogger, a joker (see the bottom of this post).
If you’re a business looking to understand the power of the online world — plus the sheer frustration — for bloggers and web citizens with accessibility concerns, and you don’t meet Glenda, you’ve done your company a disservice.
Finally, bring an extra $20 and buy a copy of her book, I’ll Do It Myself. I’ve read parts of it at least a dozen times. When I feel sad or lazy or down in the dumps, I read about Glenda’s personal strength, her conviction, and her family’s love and support, and I find myself giving my efforts an extra push. If you don’t leave Blog World Expo with your own copy (she even signed MINE), then why’d you come?
PromotionJoin the conversation - 8 Commentsaccessibility, blogworldexpo, conference, event, glendawatsonhyatt, leftthumbblogger8Beware of Bubble ThinkingSeptember 3, 2008
People don’t read print any more. Oops, unless they’re rich. People don’t watch TV. Except for the people watching TV. People all use Macs. Unless they are trying out Google Chrome (which released for the PC first). PR and Marketing are the most important part of building a business. Unless…
It’s up to us to keep our thinking open and expanded. Are you watching sources outside your little bubble? How are you challenging your thinking to make sure you’re not contributing to the merry-go-round?
ArticleJoin the conversation - 8 Commentsplanning, Strategy, thinking22Is Your Blog a Media PropertySeptember 2, 2008
There are many ways to blog, and there are many reasons to use these tools to build content for the web. No one way is right. Here’s a blogging tip: decide early on whether you’re writing your blog for your own entertainment or if you’re building something with it.
This fork in the road is a useful one for deciding what level of success you can aspire to achieve. If you’re writing for yourself, that’s excellent! You’ll certainly find people who appreciate what you write about. But if you’re intending to build a media property, either to support your business or as the very core of your business, this requires different consideration. My goal with this post is to point out a few differences between blogging styles, and to give you ideas on how you might build your blog into a media property, should that be your goal.
Quick definition: I intend the term “media property” to mean that the blog stands alone, offers easy and obvious value to its subscriber base, and supports a point of view and subject matter. This can range anywhere from a great personal blog that covers a certain topic area, or it might be a new media property, with several blogs and authors. It could be your company blog, if done well.
I went to Twitter Search and put in a search for people posting new blog posts. Here were the first five I pulled up:
Post 1 comes from someone who’s clearly blogging to provide information. It’s proudly a geek’s blog, and I found the punchy posts informative. Though it doesn’t appear the author is making a play to grow or be a larger media property, I think the basic premises could go in that direction, should that be an interest.
Post 2 is from a site that’s clearly intending to be a media property, with a gazillion ads around the post, and a little bit of informative news. It obviously competes with the Engadget/Gizmodo crowd. Nothing wrong with this, and with the right amount of traffic, this site’s probably making the author(s) a little money, too.
Post 3 is from a game enthusiast’s blog. It’s not intended to be a media property per se, but there’s some opinion information for one to enjoy.
Post 5 was from a company, a market, and it was definitely a media property in support of a business. The post was entertaining. The blog design was fresh. And the information was useful to me as a reader.
From here, let’s talk about what the core components of your blog might be, should you decide to build your blog to be a media property.
Entertain Me - First, if you’re intending to blog in this form, be entertaining. Is the story entertaining? Because without that, there’s precious little else you’ll accomplish. Read Duncan Riley’s The Inquisitr. It is perpetually entertaining. He went with a blend of popular news and tech news. Why? Do they really mix? Who cares? It’s working for Duncan.
Be Productive - If you’re going to put out media, do it all the time. Christopher S. Penn produces information all the time for the Financial Aid Podcast and blog. He’s the authority people go to for quality financial aid information, partly because it’s great material, but also because he delivers it all the time.
Deliver Value - I really love what Mike Gunderoy’s been doing with Web Worker Daily. Mike and the rest of the team there give me something useful every day. In fact, most of the GigaOm sites are winners to me, and I get a sense of value out of the posts there.
Be Unique - It’s important to keep your blog fresh. This is soooo challenging, and yet, lots of people are doing it every day. Be very cautious about not doing a “me too” property. There are clones and clones and clones out there of certain bloggers and blogging theme areas. Please don’t add to the clutter. If you’re writing a “yeah, what ____ said” blog post more than twice a week, you’re not working hard enough. I’m sorry, but that’s not going to cut it in the longer run. Riff off other people’s stuff from time to time. By all means. Linking and sharing on the web is great. But if you’re not breaking new material out and doing your own unique thing, it’ll get tiresome fast for most readers.
Be Responsive - Blogs are a two way communications product. It’s okay to act more and more like a professional media property if you want (cough cough Huffington Post cough cough). But if you’re bothering to use a blogging platform and working within the space, be human and make two way connections on your platform. One person doing this consistently well for years and years is Robert Scoble. He’s always been human, and still participates in the flow of it all daily.
With this in mind, here are a few more steps for moving your blog from something that’s interesting and receives a few comments here and there, to being a product you’re proud to produce, and that provides value to yourself or your company. Your mileage may vary, and feel free to add your own ideas to the comments section.
There are many ways to blog. No one way is the best. Experiment with what you’re comfortable with, and learn from your efforts. And should you find yourself following some of this advice, and you find your efforts are hitting a certain level of response and growth, excellent. If not, share with us what’s going on, and maybe some of the smart people who visit this site can share and help you push through.
These posts are made for sharing. Feel free to repost all or portions of this (as long as it’s not for profit). If you do post it, please make sure you kindly link back to [chrisbrogan.com] and give me credit. Thanks!
ArticleJoin the conversation - 22 Commentsblogging, howto, mediamaking, socialmedia, writing2Social Media Pastor Part TwoSeptember 2, 2008
Go to Jon Swanson’s blog where Jon has written the second part of the Social Media Pastor workflow. Jon’s a real live Pastor. He’ll no doubt take this even further than I could.
PromotionJoin the conversation - 2 Commentsjonswanson, pastor, socialmedia4New Marketing Bootcamp is One Week AwaySeptember 2, 2008
Paul Gillin and I are running a one day New Marketing Bootcamp up at the Sheraton Needham in the Boston area on September 9th. It’s an opportunity for you to come learn about new marketing like social media and the rest of the online marketing spectrum from folks like Harry Gold from Overdrive Interactive, C.C. Chapman from The Advance Guard, Aaron Strout from Mzinga, Laura Fitton from Pistachio Consulting, Cristina Addesa from iRobot, and a few more surprise guests.
We’ve got room for a few more folks to attend, and I’ve got a VIP code ( CHRISVIP) that will take $100 off the ticket. If you’re interested and able to make it, come visit. I promise it’ll be lots of information and loads of fun.
PromotionJoin the conversation - 4 Commentsconference, event, newmarketingbootcamp, nms4610 Communications Objectives of Social MediaSeptember 1, 2008
Douglas Walker has an interesting post where he wants to talk about metrics for social media. That’s great, and I encourage you to go over there and dig in and discuss that, but I have a question for you, for my own understanding. (Remember that I’m a technologist and not a marketer, so I sometimes come at this from a different direction.)
Walker says these are the 10 communications objectives for using social media (in a marketing sense):
Now, maybe this language mirrors Marketing/Communications 101, and because I’m a technologist by trade, I just haven’t heard this. But if not, I found the list an interesting model/framework around which to contemplate the execution of social media marketing. I’m thinking there’s one missing to the tune of something like “community good will” or the like, or whatever one might call it when you’re not trying to sell, but instead are just proving that you’re a contributing human.
And that’s my question to you: do those 10 goals/objectives make sense for how you’re using social media?
I think it’s an interesting and worthwhile list. And like I said, go to Douglas’s site and comment on the measurement aspects, for those of you who are into measuring.
ArticleJoin the conversation - 46 Commentscommunications, marketing, socialmedia22Noise ReductionSeptember 1, 2008
What if there’s a lot of congestion in a certain market? What happens when there are too many of the same conference to attend? Robert Scoble points to the question of whether startups should attend DEMO or TechCrunch50. He cites the extra power TC50 has by way of Michael Arrington’s platform, and what that means to startups. In technology, we find ourselves with a lot more noise to sift through, and several more choices than the typical person. This example says that the possible deciding factor between two conferences is the additional media value of one over the other. I’m thinking there’s something there to consider for other situations and settings.
If there are five realtors in town, with one on top of the heap, sales and marketing-wise, what will you do as part of the rest of the pack to stand out? Would having a media platform behind you help? What if you built the town’s community events calendar and blog? Further, what if you became the place to go for people to see pictures and video of the latest houses on the market. Would having a media property aligned with you make a difference? I suspect it might.
What if you’re trying to differentiate your product in a marketplace of similar products? If you’re Fast Company magazine, you might add a community website ( they did), and start promoting the people in the community around you. Further, you might run a video show that interviews all the interesting tech and business players ( they do) such that people feel like they’re part of the action at your property. Is that play working for Fast Company compared to its competition? I don’t have numbers, but it feels like it’s working.
For every pale imitation and clone out there, someone is shining bright and delivering an original piece of value. Getting there first and doing your own thing well adds value. There are many venture capitalists out there, but only one Guy Kawasaki. For every dozen investors we don’t know, there’s only one Fred Wilson.
It’s not that everyone must blog, but if you’re looking to stand out, to reduce noise, to share your perspective in a crowded space, it can certainly help.
Does every business need to make social media and dive into this space? No. But would you readily throw away a tool that helps your product or service or company stand out, help your customers feel included, and highlight the unique personalities within the organization?
These posts are made for sharing. Feel free to repost all or portions of this (as long as it’s not for profit). If you do post it, please make sure you kindly link back to [chrisbrogan.com] and give me credit. Thanks!
ArticleJoin the conversation - 22 Commentsblogging, differentiation, marketing, socialmediaNext Page
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