Source: Shutterstock With a $1 billion valuation, Twitter is becoming, according to Co-Founder Evan Williams, an information network, a practically priceless exchange for connections, information, and the resulting activity that ensues. Indeed, Twitter appears to have evolved into a human seismograph, a lifeline interweaving people through conversations, reciprocity, and connections inspired by the interests, ideas, passions, causes, and observations that move them. Twitter’s core and most loyal users are at one with the service. Their daily actions hinge on the…
The Greatest Hits of 2009 Part III
Source: Shutterstock What comes around goes around and as we close the chapter on 2009 a new chapter that documents our direction and experiences is already unfolding. Revisiting the stories, lessons, vision that helped get you where you are today may help you surpass not only your expectations, but those of your peers, customers, prospects, and influencers as well. The Greatest Hits of 2009 Part III 1. Significant 2. Reviving the Traditional Press Release 3. This is Not a Sponsored…
Facebook Brings Fans into Focus
Source: Shutterstock As brands and personalities race to establish online communities and host meaningful conversations in Social Media, Facebook continues to pave the roads that connect them. If your customers, prospects, and the peers who influence them are active in Facebook, Facebook Fan Pages are then not a question of if, but when and how they’re implemented and cultivated. Many brands and personalities underestimate the value and reach of social networking, instead opting to drive traffic and activity back to…
The Future of Interactive Marketing
Source: Shutterstock Forrester recently released a new report tracking the future of US interactive marketing through 2014. Authored by Shar VanBoskirk, with Christine Spivey Overby, Niki Scevak, and Angie Polanco, Forrester predicts that interactive marketing is poised to grow at a 16% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Even though interactive marketing will approach $55 billion by 2014, the report also observes that not all industries will keep pace with this growth. Retail and financial services are expected to dominate the…
Live Video Streams Go Mainstream
In April 2007, I wrote a series entitled “You.tv” that documented the transformation in user-generated online video from episodic content to live broadcasting. Over time the You.tv movement would come to be known as lifecasting, live streaming, or live casting, as it shared with viewers everything the Webcam captured, as it happened. Since then, live streaming has evolved from nichecasting to mainstream broadcasting, with more and more individuals, and now celebrities and businesses, live casting video streams to viewers across…
In Social Media, It’s Not Just Business, It’s Business-To-Business
Source: Shutterstock (edited) As some social media experts are now starting to realize, businesses need a little bit more than relationships to justify their spend in conversational marketing. Relationships are difficult to forge and even more burdensome to measure. And while participation and engagement are part of a more effective interactive business communications program now, we can not neglect our responsibilities to the bottom line as well as our dedication to existing customers and prospects. Socialized media affects an organization…
The Evolution of A New Trust Economy
Source: Shutterstock (edited) Social Media is rooted in relationships, the dynamic interaction and collaboration between real people. We learned and continue to learn how to communicate in public forums, evolving our personal views on privacy and uncertainty as we transform from digital introverts to social extroverts. This is our industrial revolution and its reward for participation is relevance. The socialization of online societies democratized the publishing industry and equalized influence. The Social Economy Socialnomics is the study of what I…
Socialized Media: The Powerful Effects of Online Brand Interaction
Shutterstock As we’re learning, many updates on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks are actually invitations for answers regarding brands. We’ve also discovered that 44% of users readily share brand-related information with others. And, as action speaks louder than words, 48% of those who came into contact with a brand name on Twitter and 34% on other social networks went on to search for additional information on search engines. Does this information in and of itself serve as an invitation…
On PR, Social Media and the Evolution of the Web with Robert Scoble
I recently visited good friend Robert Scoble, his lovely wife Maryam and their family in Half Moon Bay. It was an overdue trip, one without an agenda. It was a fleeting opportunity to catch up, talk a bit about the latest book, and also an excuse to have a fireside chat, literally, on the grounds of the Ritz Carlton (overlooking the 18th green and the Pacific Ocean.) Before we could walk over to the Ritz however, Scoble sat me down,…
PBS MediaShift: Social Media Marketing
Mark Glaser (@mediatwit) is the executive editor of PBS MediaShift and also the host of 5Across. MediaShift serves as the guide to the future of the digital media revolution. Over the years, I’ve followed Glaser’s work closely. His astute observation and poignant sense of distillation and direction help his readers and viewers understand change and evolution to make more informed decisions. Recently, we discussed the landscape, market, opportunity and pitfalls, and psychology associated with sponsored tweets, paid posts, disclosure and…
