Jon Burg's Future Visions

i love BLANK, but I'm inspired by remarkable creativity

If you removed the product, and just focused on fulfilling in a phenomenal way, would social look the same?  Unfortunatley, the answer is often yes.  Without creativity and relatable marketing, would social work?  Probably. 

But isn't social success about MORE than just participating and fostering advocacy?  Shouldn't it be about inspiring a new emotional association?  About being fresh, current and relevant?  About being more than an object?  About having a voice?  About being a relationship of WOW rather than a relationship of convenient satisfaction?  And isn't it sad that convenient satisfaction is a high mark in today's work?

The video below is very well done, and kudos to 22Squared for great work.  But it also highlights the sameness we're seeing right now.  The Facebook application that tells you what kind of XYZ you are... the Twitter account that gives something away and then provides customer support until the next campaign... the brand blog that celebrates the brand accomplishments and the occasional enthusiast... this is all very innovative as a marketing discipline/philosophy.  But where's the creativity?

By the way, why didn't 22Squared make their link at the end of the video clickable?

do you think we care?

You love pirates.  You wish you were a pirate.  So you add the latest Pirate game/application to your social network... and invite all of your 800 friends to become pirates.

Do you honestly think that your friends care?  How many of your friends are interested in becoming pirates?  AT MOST, there probably aren't more than 10.  You've just annoyed 790 of your friends.  Some of them are your colleagues, some are your clients.  All of them didn't care to receive that message.

Social Spam doesn't just come from Spammers.  It comes from friends, and it comes between them.

Oauth on Twitter, friend invites on Facebook, chain mail... think twice before you share it.  If someone asked you to call all your friends and invite them to become pirates, you wouldn't do it.  Even if you love pirates.

Think before you share.  We love you, and we'd love to hear from you, we just don't care about Pirates.  So please, only invite and share with those who you believe care to hear about this from you. 

Please go ahead, be a Pirate.  Enjoy it.  Just keep it to those who want to hear about it.

new rules (rant)

The People
YOU aren't an influencer.  WE are.

You aren't a social guru because you have an opinion and a voice.  You're someone with an opinion and perspective, and we welcome your participation in the dialogue. Gurus are people with extensive proven experience delivering real results.  Gurus don't claim to be Gurus.

The Industry
Brands can't control the message or the format. Brands control their own voice, at best.

All media is sociable.  But that doesn't make is social-worthy.

Social-worthy isn't worth jack if it isn't discovered.

ROI isn't just about sales, but sales sure help.

Social isn't a platform, a destination, a channel or a tool.  It's a communication vehicle, a philosophy and a means of getting from point A to point B.

You don't need a Twitter strategy.  You need a voice and someone who can help you use it.

You have two eyes, two ears, to hands and one mouth. Listen and observe, do at least as much as you say.

Newspapers aren't dead.  Dead isn't the new black.  Sustainable profits are.  This is about making money people!

Mainstream media isn't dumb or useless.  It's a tool.  And you'd be a fool to ignore it.

Two heads are only better than one when both know what they are talking about.  Brainstorms only work when the right people are in the room.

UGC isn't a strategy or a channel, it's a tactical approach.

Lightning only strikes twice when it doesn't look or feel the same.

Relevant industry examples are old. Don't limit yourself to looking over your shoulder, start by looking back in order to look forward.

A strategy is not a group of tactics with a comm's brief.

Don't trust me! Read what everybody else has to say and form your own approaches.  And for Gds sake, go out there as DO it!

Social? Think BIGGER

Lots of people talk about the future of Social, a lot.  Probably too much, myself included.  But this post isn't about Social, media, or the platforms where we talk (this isn't a post about Twitter).

I want to talk about transition.  Transition from a traditional model with deep proven channels at risk, to a new and as-yet undefined model.  Revenue will change.  Your value will change.  Your infrastructure will change.  Your business will change.

This isn't about PR or the Agency, this is about business.  This is about how you make money today, tomorrow and the day after.  This is about how you make forward looking investments in a tough economy, investments that will pay off even after the masses have adopted a new platform or mode of interactivity.

Sure, the trends we are seeing in Social will continue to play out, but Social is not the beginning or the end.  It's part of a much larger story.  Social interactivity, the new connected movements online, are not the future, they are just one piece of it.  Pervasive connectivity will shift the way we socialize and interact with content.  Smart solutions will optimize the way we discover, view, interact with and stay connected with both brands and content. 

Societal trends like the boom of major population centers  will fuel shifts in distribution models.  Product value propositions will change.  Packaging will change (iTunes anyone?).  Price points will change, and attention and trust may well become integral pieces of non-dollar based equity trading.   And of course Promotions will change.  The four Ps are shifting.  By focusing on the pervalent industry buzz (Social), we're missing the bigger picture.  The way that business create equity and profits is changing.

We can talk all we want about the short term implications on Twitter and Facebook, but we're only going to be successful when this insight is layered against real business objectives and goals, when businesses are structured to generate revenue in this shifting world and when real bottom line friendly operations infrastructures exist. 

Industry is shifting.

Step out of the bubble and think about business, not brands.  Think about what makes business tick.  This isn't about brands, it isn't about change for the sake of change and it isn't about Social. It's about marketable value.  Find yours, sell for today, build for tomorrow and keep you head above the clouds.  Social isn't going away, and it's true value hasn't yet been tapped, but this is only the beginning.

So I ask you, what transitions do you fear?  What gets you jazzed and excited?  Where is change happening in your industry?  What steps have you seen smart marketers take to shift their infrastructure, their value in an increasingly connected and grounded world?

college vs kindergarten

Inspired by Auren Hoffman's post here.

In college we learned to think critically.
In kindergarten we learned to play with others.

In college we learned to write properly.
In kindergarten we learned to communicate efficiently and make friends.

In college we learned to write a proper 20 page paper.
In kindergarten we learned to communicate our vision with simple finger paint.

In college we learned to research.
In kindergarten we learned to experience.

In college we studied the philosophy of management.
In kindergarten we learned the value of teamwork.

In college we learned the value of professionalism.
In kindergarten we learned the value of relationships.

80% of what fuels your life was learned in kindergarten.
20% of what makes you a professional capable of leading a team, managing others and speaking with executives, you learned in college.

Don't discount the value of college.  But never forget kindergarten.

And never, never, never discount value of real life perspective.

Is SocialSpark Spam?

Let's take a step back.  In theory, all advertising and marketing communications that don't belong in their placements are ineffective.  Good messaging organically fits the dynamic in which it is delivered.

The ethicacy (and possible legality) of sponsored posts that fit is a matter of great debate.

But the value of sponsored posts that have do not fit is a joke.  These posts will not perform for the marketer and will diminish the value of the blog and the blogger to their audience.

With that in mind, where does SocialSpark fit?  Firstly, SocialSpark vets their bloggers and has set some guidelines for participation.  Some of their publically available criteria are listed below:

• Blogs submitted to the marketplace may not include or support: excessive profanity, violence, or racial intolerance, illicit drugs or drug paraphernalia, pornography, adult or mature content, or any other content that promotes intolerance, illegal activity, or infringes on the legal rights of others.
• Minimum Blog Age. Blogs must be live for a minimum of ninety (90) days, counted from the date of the blog's first post, with at least twenty (20) pre-existing posts written in the 90 days prior to registration with the SocialSpark Marketplace.
• You may post a maximum of three (3) SocialSpark Marketplace Opportunity-related posts per blog in any given day. SocialSpark posts may not appear consecutively on your blog. Each SocialSpark post must be immediately preceded and immediately followed by at least one non-sponsored, original content post. The prohibition on consecutive 'sponsored' posts apply to both SocialSpark Direct and Marketplace Opportunities, as well as other sponsored posts from competitive services.
• Interim Posts. Your last non Opportunity-related post must have been within the seven (7) days immediately preceding your Opportunity-related post. After any break in blog activity of seven plus (7+) days, interim posts, that is, posts between Opportunity-related posts, submitted on the same day as your paid Opportunity-related posts will not count towards this requirement.
• Private Posts. Interim posts must not be labeled "Private" or locked out. Interim posts must also be of a reasonable length, at least one (1) paragraph, three (3) to five (5) sentences. If your blog's interim posts lack quality SocialSpark may terminate your account.

So SocialSpark has some quality control.  But does quality control deliver "fits like a glove" integration?

Are SocialSpark's guidelines enough to ensure a good quality fit?  That's for you as a marketer to decide.  But remember, sponsored posts that do not fit do not deliver.

My litmus test: ask yourself, will this generate any value for anyone in the long term?  If the answer is no, it's spam.  If the answer is Yes, but it's evil, then you're probably too focused on buying your success versus building it appropriately.  Stop chasing shortcuts and start earning your place in the conversation.

Recommended Reads
Blog Council on Disclosure
WOMMA on Ethics
Izea's proposed Universal Disclosure manifesto
Andy Sernovitz's Comments and Disclosure Policy (oldie but a favorite)
Lively debate in the comments on TechCrunch - I really hope that whatever agency or communications lead partnered with Commission Junction on these efforts did their homework before writing that PO. I'd hate to be on the other end of that call tomorrow.