Marketers Studio - David Berkowitz's Marketing Blog

Watch Bo.lt Strike -- But Prepare to Run

A bolt hits Dallas as a Bo.lt hits the web

Watch Bo.lt Strike -- But Prepare to Run

Originally published in MediaPost's Social Media Insider 

Over the weekend, I was in Dallas and watched lightning strike the city in every direction. I was so mesmerized that I stayed outside on a terrace balancing my camera on the balcony, taking photos I later shared on Facebook and Flickr, and as a time lapse video on YouTube. The whole time, though, I kept thinking, "Is holding on to a metal railing during a storm the smartest idea?"

A different kind of bolt struck the Web last week - a Bo.lt, to be precise -- and I had a similar reaction. It's one of the most fascinating technologies I've seen in a long time, though the risks of getting burned are high.

Its current tagline is, "Make better pages with BO.LT, the page sharing network that's kind of a big deal." On the surface, it works a lot like other page-sharing sites such as bit.ly:  you shorten links through its site or via a browser extension and share them, with tracking built in. Bo.lt adds a layer of personalization, with every URL that you share including your username, such as dave.bo.lt.         

The controversy is linked to the first three words: "make better pages." Consider all the effort you spend creating a website. Bo.lt comes along and tells any Web user, "Make this page better however you see fit." What does it mean to make that page better? Perhaps it's to make it more grammatically correct, as a publisher can do with the Editz (formerly GooseGrade). It's one idea I never liked; I don't want people going over my site with a red pen.

Ever since I became one of the earliest users of Bo.lt, my take on "better" has meant "funnier." For most sites, that's not very hard. Heck, as Bo.lt founder Matthew Roche showed me, someone memorably doctored Bo.lt's homepage. Bo.lt can turn the least sophisticated Internet user into a hacker. You don't change an actual website, but you create a copy of a page and edit that all you want. I took some liberties with the page showing recent Social Media Insider columns, editing the titles, copy, header and footer, images, and just about anything I could. The most significant lock on pages is that one can't edit the ads. I did make the background on the top banner ad prettier, though.

Note one thing you currently can't do -- which will irritate site owners -- is easily click back to the original page. It can be so hard to distinguish Bo.lt links when they're shared through sources like Twitter (with URLs sometimes obscured further by other shorteners) that I've come to doubt that any content shared via Bo.lt is what the publisher intended.

Having spent perhaps too much time testing out Bo.lt, four key questions keep coming up. I've got some initial attempts to answer them, but the answers will evolve along with Bo.lt.

1) Why would any consumer want to use it?

Most won't. Check out that MediaPost page I edited and see how many changes you can spot. Even when one makes simple changes to a page, it still takes conscious effort to do so, and that's more effort than most people will want to invest.

For users who do make changes, they're likely to be the people who enjoy taking control of content to the extent that they like to make it their own. They might want to personalize landing pages by leaving comments or asking the opinions of others.

Then there will always be a subset of users with that bit of a hacker or practical joker in them. Some might use Bo.lt aspirationally, as exemplified by my colleague Megan Conley, who is giving a certain Ms. Middleton a run for her money. Twitter user Shaun Dakin shared a different scenario of a popular consumer electronics product's role in a North African conflict.  These are creative, but even now when Bo.lt has its share of buzz following its launch, these humorous links are harder to find than I expected.

2) Why would any marketer want to use it?

A lot of marketers will be terrified by Bo.lt and won't want to use it at all anytime soon. Some may be open to ideas of crowdsourcing, though, where they encourage users to create their own versions of a page, and the marketer rewards the user with the best iteration.

Another approach came via Bo.lt user Sarah Hodges. She emailed me that community managers can take ownership of content rather than simply curating and linking to it. "Traditionally, we've sent this traffic off into the abyss by linking to third party sites. With Bo.lt, we can now keep these users within our own network, and easily view which types of content generate the best reaction from our communities, helping to sculpt our social media/content generation strategies."

3) Why would any publisher allow it?

Most won't want to. I mean, really, who at MediaPost would want to allow me to do what I just did to their content? And I'm one of the good guys.

Guard rails are coming, though. For instance, Roche indicated that publishers will gain more controls on what can be edited, with a clear revision history to show what edits have been made via Bo.lt.

4) How is this legal?

This is the question that fascinates me the most and the one I'm least prepared to answer. While my mom, who spent much of her career as a real estate agent, routinely answers friends' medical questions just because she's married to a gastroenterologist, I have not been married to a lawyer long enough yet to have such nerve. The answer, as I've heard it from Roche, involves the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which has largely protected YouTube. The rough idea is that Bo.lt need not police every link, but if a copyright holder makes a legitimate complaint, Bo.lt must respect it and remove the offending content. For a real lawyer's point of view, read Andrew Raff's opinion on IPTAblog.

Ultimately, what I love about Bo.lt is that it opens my mind to what can be done online, and with media in general. Everything else -- practical or impractical, legal or illegal, savior or waste of time -- can come later. When lightning strikes, you at least need to watch it, even if you're not ready to brave the weather.

 

Today's Read: 10 Ways to Cultivate Your Community

I took a few minutes to read through 10 Ways to Cultivate Your Community, a new brief e-book by Jeremy Epstein of Never Stop Marketing fame. Actually, at first I skimmed it, which only proved to be mildly useful, but then reading it in full, I started to appreciate how much information's really in here.

If you're a solo practitioner or running your business and really excited to market the business or yourself better, you need to read this. If you're managing communities or social strategy for a larger brand, some parts are less relevant, but there's enough that will matter for your day job, and you'll still likely appreciate the rest for your own career.

The ebook's a free PDF, easily shareable via http://bit.ly/growfanspdf , so read it when you have a chance, and if you like it, thank @jer979.

Meet Your New Boss, The Digital Native

I'm learning even more from Binghamton students and others now that I'm an alum

Meet Your New Boss, The Digital Native

Over the past month, I've met a number of people whom we all need to understand better. Right now they call themselves members of the class of 2011 or 2012 or 2013. Pretty soon we'll be calling them "boss."

Throughout several events and guest lectures, I met students at Yale's School of Management, New York University, and my alma mater Binghamton University. I was supposedly there as a hybrid of a professional and professor, sharing my personal experience working in digital media and the latest social media trends. Each time though, I felt like a student. As my homework assignment, here's what I learned about our future colleagues from going back to school.

1) They are constantly asking questions. How many conferences do you go to where the presenters finish and the only sounds from the audience are the nearly inaudible taps of fingers against the glass of iPhone screens? Students tend to be far more appreciative of the time they have with guest speakers, and once someone starts asking questions, most others can't wait to take part. There's little I enjoy more when presenting than having a ton of material that I can't get to because the audience is too engaged. It goes back to advice I've heard from others that I heartily endorse: no one will leave your presentation thinking, "It would have been great if only there were more slides."

2) They appreciate candid discussion. When I'm speaking at a conference, I may not adhere to a strict list of talking points, but I'm always envisioning that there are three people sitting in my front row: my boss, my head of marketing, and any one of my clients. Many others will add a fourth: their lawyer. In a classroom, the discussion can be a lot more open, from discussing the stories about how a marketing program comes together from start to finish, to dissecting the results and what they really mean. That leads to far more meaningful dialogue.

3) They're all digital natives. I like talking with groups of executives who don't use social media because it reminds me how low social media ranks for many of them on their priority lists. It also makes me feel needed. In class though, there's never any explanation required  on what the current platforms are and how to use them. Granted, they might not know of every last startup that got some fawning write-up in Mashable, and they might not use a lot of the sites or apps everyone's buzzing about that given week, but there's a sense of fluency when you get in the room. It's like the difference between learning a language at a level where every word must be translated versus being able to have flowing conversations. It elevates the nature of the discussion as soon as it starts.

4) They ask the uncomfortable questions, usually about measurement. If you tell a class a Facebook page has 10 million fans, students will keep grilling you about why that matters. No matter how far you take it, they're always asking, "So what?" To me, this is the most amazing thing. While it's a given that these students use social media, they don't think it's a given for brands to participate. Only once you make a strong case for a program will they buy into the rationale for brands, which varies depending on a given brand's goals. This mentality will force marketers and their agencies to use social media in even smarter ways as these students enter the workforce and wind up in management's ranks not too far from now.

5) There's a passion among some students that will inspire anyone working in digital media. My mom had one of the best jobs ever when she was in high school: working in the mail room of "American Bandstand." For some kids today, the equivalent might be working behind the scenes of "American Idol," but they really light up when talking about digital opportunities. I can tell within moments of meeting these students which ones I hope to work with, and I can't wait for them to start making contributions to our field.

I know these students will do plenty well for themselves, but did my assignment get a passing grade? I'm hoping you're grading on a curve, so I have the chance to keep on learning. These students are already some of the best teachers out there.

 

Mashing it up over Social Agencies and Google +1

Late last week, I had the pleasure of contributing to two features on Mashable. 

In a byline, I mused on what Google +1 is missing now that it's been out for a few weeks:

All of these challenges to the process pale in comparison to a challenge of perception that can shake the foundations of Google’s image. The +1 listings must be different enough for users to care. If the results with the most +1’s are dramatically different from the order proffered by Google’s algorithm, that means either the people or the algorithm are wrong. Which listing should users trust?

Read the full byline at Mashable.

Additionally, I joined a roundtable with Cassel Kroll of MediaVest and Grant Owens of Razorfish to discuss how agencies approach social media. An excerpt:

A few years ago you could get away with people being “too cool” for social media. … You can’t have people like that around anymore. They need to get the core changes in consumer behavior and time spent online and mobile and social media. You need everyone to appreciate what’s happening, and ideally taking part in it.

There's a lot more at Mashable, including several moments from Cassel and Grant where I was sitting there thinking, "Damn, wish I thought of that." Read the post to hear from them even if you're over me. 

Five More Social Trends to Excite You

I listened to all the social media chatter after last week's post on social media trends and I heard you loud and clear: five trends aren't enough. Brilliant social marketer that I am, I'll share five more. Or maybe I couldn't fit all 10 in the previous post and this is a disingenuous way to spin it. Either way, here are five trends marketers need to follow today.

1) Chat Applications

Why does it matter? A new generation of chat applications is reemphasizing social media's focus on communication. These apps are largely on mobile devices but also tap into online social services.

Who it impacts: This can have an impact on a wide range of marketers, and if the consumer usage keeps skyrocketing, marketers will follow.

How big is it? Mobile chat leader BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) reports 28 million active users. Kik, one of the emerging contenders, most recently reported reaching the 3 million user milestone and is adding 10,000 to 15,000 users daily.

Watch out: The deeper brands get into these apps, the more wary consumers will be, and the closer marketers will find themselves to very unpredictable user-generated content.

Best in class: If BBM follows what the rumor mill says and winds up on iPhone and Android devices, it will pad its lead by a wide margin, but watch GroupMe, which is courting Madison Avenue.

2) Social Gaming

Why does it matter? In-game marketing is due for a renaissance now that games are becoming more social, from Kinect to mobile apps.

Who it impacts: Everyone's a gamer these days. If you're not, get an iPod Touch and I'll bet you 99 cents (the cost of countless great games) that you will be.

How big is it? One of my favorite stats of all time is that 125 years worth of Angry Birds is played every day.

Watch out: Some advertising offerings are typical display media or video buys that aren't relevant to gaming. Deep integration requires extensive planning.

Best in class: Zynga has a knack for putting together rich, successful integrations with some of the biggest brands. Keep an eye on Kiip, which just launched, to offer casual gamers real rewards.

3)  Mobile Integration

Why does it matter? If you're working on a social or digital strategy, you must consider where mobile fits in. Mobile will be the biggest driver of social media usage this decade, and the same is true if you drop "social" from that statement.

Who it impacts: This can affect any marketer remotely considering mobile or social marketing.

How big is it? There are more than 5.1 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, equaling the world's entire population as of 1987. Facebook has more than 250 million mobile users globally. If your customers aren't using mobile devices, you're probably marketing to alpacas.

Watch out: Don't just slap a text messaging shortcode or QR code on an ad and call it mobile integration. You have to focus on the consumer experience and adapt your marketing to how your target audience engages with mobile devices and media.

Best in class: It's tough to pick just one here, but check out what Bravo's doing, especially with mobile apps like Bravo Now. To be totally transparent, they're a client, and they're phenomenal at understanding their audience's quickly evolving media consumption habits.

4) Synced TV Sharing

Why does it matter? Practically overnight, there are new and practical ways for consumers to share what they're watching, from updates to actual clips, while accessing social content synced to a show whenever people choose to watch it.

Who it impacts: TV programmers and advertisers should be eager to tap into this.

How big is it? Yahoo Advertising Solutions reported that 86% of U.S. mobile internet users, and 92% of those ages 13-24, use mobile devices while watching TV. Among that set, 56% say they text and 40% use social networks, so the consumer behavior is already here.

Watch out: This column has more readers than most TV-sharing apps have users. This isn't a scale play, yet.

Best in class: Check out SnappyTV, which is arranging partnerships with TV networks to allow users to share a number of clips from shows as they air.

5) Curated recommendations

Why does it matter? There's too much content. Put your friends to work (without their knowledge) to help find the most relevant content for you.

Who it impacts: If you're producing content, then you probably want people to see it. You're not just affected; you're probably afflicted.

How big is it? Last year, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt said we create as much information in two days as mankind did from the beginning of civilization until 2003, according to TechCrunch. Put another way, that's about 5 exabytes of data, which James Huggins notes can store "all words ever spoken by human beings."

Watch out: There's a new line of entrants here, so marketing opportunities are still a work in progress.

Best in class: Flipboard set the bar for curated content on the iPad. For recommendations from my connections' sharing activity delivered to my inbox, I'm liking Summify so far, plus one other in "double secret alpha" mode that you'll hear about soon enough.

There you go: 10 trends in two weeks. Your homework is to share what you're doing with them, whether in the comments, on Twitter, or perhaps even one of these chat apps that everyone's so crazy about. 

 

Five Social Trends To Get Excited About Today

It's amazing what can be crowdsourced today - like the PadPivot on Kickstarter

 

Five Social Trends To Get Excited About Today 

The digitally social world is moving so fast that as spring shows itself, it's time to smell the roses. Here are five trends to get excited about right now, with five more coming soon.

1) Group Buying

Why does it matter? When these deals are truly social, there are countless opportunities to reach audiences and grow sales far beyond the initial audiences.

Who it impacts: Anyone with something to sell online can take part, such as retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), travel, automotive, and many others.

How big is it? Needham & Co. pegs the local daily deals sector at $1.9 billion in the U.S., $3.7 billion globally this year, and forecasts it will grow to $4.5 billion here and $10.3 billion globally in 2015.

Watch out: Sometimes merchants must break the bank to woo customers. Certain sites like Scoutmob allow deal size-caps.

Best in class: LivingSocial is one daily deal site that is still social in name as well as deed, given that deals are free if three of your friends buy them.

2) Social Shopping

Why does it matter? Social shopping is especially exciting now as consumers can solicit instant feedback via mobile devices, and this can change the entire purchase process.

Who it impacts: Retailers and those in the fashion and apparel industries will be most affected, but a range of product marketers can tap into the trend.

How big is it? JP Morgan reported that 30% of U.S. internet users ages 18-34 have bought from a social shopping site. The trend is much bigger when you factor all those who have made a purchase due to social recommendations.

Watch out: Some social shopping apps have small audiences, so find out about reach, the demographic makeup, and their momentum.

Best in class: Go Try It On offers one of the better user experiences, with popular outfits (and models) getting hundreds of votes.

3) Crowdsourcing

Why does it matter? Giving consumers a sense of ownership in the product research, development, marketing, and sales processes can generate long-term loyalty and advocacy.

Who it impacts: Just about any marketer willing to give consumers a stake in their product launches should explore this.

How big is it? Numbers are harder to come by here, but more than $20 million has been pledged to Kickstarter projects as of October 2010, according to Silicon Alley Insider.

Watch out: Participants have a way of taking such projects in unexpected directions, so be prepared, and set fair boundaries.

Best in class: Quirky participants can contribute to various stages of product development and get rewarded accordingly.

4) Social Optimization

Why does it matter? New technologies optimize marketers' paid and earned media campaigns so they can be more strategic with the approach and content.

Who it impacts: Here's a trend that will affect anyone doing any kind of social marketing.

How big is it? Forrester Research reports that 82% of U.S. adult internet users are active in social media, so there's that universe for starters.

Watch out: These technologies hold promise, but most are less than a year old, so prepare to test and learn.

Best in class: For earned media, check out SocialFlow which times posts to when your audience should be most responsive. For paid media, there's Taykey which aims to find more people who are especially likely to become fans or followers.

5) Check-ins

Why does it matter? A new age of check-ins has dawned where it's less about finding friends near you (which relatively few people seemed to do) and more about finding deals and recommended locations.

Who it impacts: It's helpful for marketers that have their own locations, such as retail and travel brands, but creative options abound for just about anyone.

How big is it? Foursquare had 380 million check-ins in 2010. That's a decent start. Estimates for Facebook Places are in the tens of millions of users, but it's questionable how frequently most use it.

Watch out: If you're focused on a certain venue, find out how many people have ever checked in there, as the long tail gets long fast.

Best in class: Kudos to Foursquare being the most improved service in the past year, rendering many others irrelevant. You can find further inspiration from the new gallery of marketers using the service.

That's enough for this round. You'll find five more in an upcoming edition, so stay tuned.