You can't understand the social web without being open yourself....

Most of those senor execs running brands who really want to understand "social media" should consider getting some counselling - I'm part way through doing a masters in psychotherapy – (I speak with some experience...)

Counselling isn't for everyone. But by far the biggest barrier for brands in the online world,  are the people they employ.

Brand as conversation isn't complex – its being human (I also happen to write algorithms for hedge funds for fun in my spare time – they’re complex – this isn’t). Only as a happy, calm, honest and open person - someone who has an easy relationship with themselves - someone who can be honest about their deficiencies as well as their successes - can you really grasp the depth and breadth of the opportunity out there.

Why?

First, if you are open, your ideas tend to resonate more deeply with the users you’re trying to empathise with.You can, quite literally sometimes, "hear" people better, when you yourself are open and listening properly.

Second. When inevitable crises arise, you’ll be able to enjoy and learn from the experience, rather than see them as an "audit of your soul" – as you may do now. It is usually only when things go wrong we learn and grow - so although these are times most people try to avoid, with a bit of counselling, you start to figure out they can actually be some of the most rewarding times in life. Bizare - but true.

Third. Genuinely successful people tend to display many of the attirubtes of people who know theselves well, once you start down the road, you'll find you resonate with them more. At a practical level you become more attractive to successful people - someone they want to associate with, hang out with, work with (sometimes even sleep with). Crazy but true. Although it misses the point of the excercise by a country mile - psychotherapy is a career development too.....

Seriously, visit the BACP. Find someone in your area. Book an appointment. What's the worst that could happen?

why your social media marketing won't work....

7 harsh realities in Social Media

View more presentations from Bart De Waele.

I'm reposting a lot of stuff at the moment - this is good - obvious - but good

Clay Shirky Talk...

Best I've seen since Dawkins I reckon

the 6 c's of social media marketing...

This is something I wrote as the first in a series of articles for our company blog / email

The C’s of social media…

Social media is hot. Everyone wants their campaigns to be social – their advertising to be viral - but what do we actually mean by social media?

Social marketing is a phenomena quite unlike any other that the web has seen. Its effects will be felt throughout our society for years to come. We as a species are rediscovering our connectedness and some would argue our humanity. The late, great Douglas Adams put it very well…

“We are natural villagers. For most of mankind's history we have lived in very small communities in which we knew everybody and everybody knew us. But gradually there grew to be far too many of us, and our communities became too large and disparate for us to be able to feel a part of them, and our technologies were unequal to the task of drawing us together. But that is changing.”

For the full text click here

This epoch busting change will affect everyone. The old media (record labels, film studios and newspapers) are already feeling its full force. Many household name brands – EMI, the New York Times, ITV and The Daily Telegraph are fighting for their very survival. Some will not make it into the second decade of this century. These businesses have felt the effect first because of the ease with which their products can be shared. But make no mistake. All businesses in this next phase of the web’s evolution will need to meet similar challenges. It is by no means too late, but it is certainly time to give social marketing some serious time and thought. Take a very simple for instance.....

Right now, it is possible, by using a technology called “facebook connect ” to see in real time, which of your friends (or your friends’ friends) have bought a particular product, and what they thought about it. Yes the technology is in its infancy, no one is using it very well – but its coming - and the effect of this single application alone will be extraordinary - think how powerful the recommendation engine is on Amazon – now image the person writing the recommendation on every ecommerce site you visit is someone you know and trust.

The age of push marketing – where we tell “consumers” what to think about our brands is coming to an end. Have a read of this excellent blog called post advertising to find out more http://www.postadvertising.com/

So it’s a “big” topic – both in terms of scope and impact What I’m going to do over the next couple of month is to introduce you to a few of the pillars of social marketing – the 6 C’s (in a Dodgeball style…). Over the coming weeks we’ll take a look at them, see how they work in practice and what they mean for brands, they are, in order of importance:

- Communities
- Conversations
- Control
- Content
- Continuity
- Context

For anyone wanting to read more widely pick up copies of - Net Gain, Small is the new big or the Cluetrain manifesto - all essential reading for marketers of all ages and creeds.

economic charlie....

The media is reporting the end of the recession - or as near as damn it - are we all crazy?

the government has just printed half a trillion pounds and is throwing it around like its not worth anything (cough...)

of course the economy is looking rosie - its the economic equivalent of a the biggest, fattest line of charlie you've ever seen!

might make us all feel good for 6 months - but its not going to make the next 5 years any easier.

twitter....we reap what we sow

Twitter makes perfect sense when viewed against a backdrop of a society that elevates an ignorant racist to the role of People's Princess #2 (aka Jade Goody)

Instead of leading lives of breathtaking new experience, friendship and fun - discovering all that is wonderful and interesting about themselves and the world - a generation gazes up its own twittering backside as it becomes increasingly detached from the natural world and "reality".

Billions of sad, lonely voices shouting into the darkness of cyberspace desperately hoping some strangers will emerge from the digital shadows to engage with them and validate what is left of their lives.

90% of what we think of as "social media" will be deemed an irrelevant fad in 5 years time. Douglas put it best....here

back to the 60s

In the 60s you had few media choices. We then had an explosion of channels and 20 years later, the splinternet arrived.

But is history is repeating itself?

The faster users, helped by increasingly sophisticated search and filters, pick up on the few, truly brilliant bits of media trending on any particular day, the faster other content is ignored. In other words, instead of being centralied in media channels, power now lies in ideas.

the dove "make over" viral

Its been around for ages and talked about at length, but in a meeting this morning the dove "make over" viral was mentioned and we took 3 minutes to watch it again. If you've not seen it already the clip is here

Every time I watch this I'm blown away by it.

In its simplicity and execution it educates, informs and entertains the viewer - I am more likely to buy a dove product because of this.

The clip is everything inbound marketing should be - forget finding your audience as a PR, there are too many people to keep a track of and in touch with. instead rely on your ingenuity and creativity to come up with a brilliant idea and let an audience find you.