Eric Karofsky

Archive for the 'Social Media' Category

Social Media as Art

July 24th, 2008 | Category: Social Media

We often think of Facebook, MySpace, and other online sites when discussing “Social Media”. But there are other examples too. One that recently caught my attention is a sound-art-installation called “ROUND” at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.

Through a wireless, hand-held device, ROUND combines real-time feedback from visitors as they walk around the museum. Combined with light background music and robust software, it becomes a living piece of art in-itself.

The artist, Halsey Burgund, has created something important. Just as blogs are becoming a valuable source of news, and as ratings allow people to offer feedback to manufacturers, ROUND allows everyone to become an art critic.

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What is the Role of Newspapers in the 21st Century?

May 09th, 2008 | Category: Internet Strategy, Social Media

Who should create the news? How should it be consumed?

These are questions every newspaper and news organization should be asking. It was the title of a recent presentation that I gave to several international newspaper executives where opportunities were outlined, and followed by rich discussion.

Defensive postures are occurring – ones that foreshadow an inevitable demise. The most recent indication that the newsmedia is changing is today’s announcement that Gannett Co., Hearst Corp., the New York Times Co. and Tribune Co. are creating an advertising network called quadrantOne. The intent is to allow national advertisers to buy space in the companies’ local properties.

Being forced into a network with your competitors is a defensive posture. (The offensive version is called collusion, which is highly illegal). The papers are doing this because advertising is flat. From the Wall St. Journal:

“The formation of the partnership comes as the newspaper industry is struggling with falling advertising revenue, a result both of advertisers defecting to the Web and the weak economy. Difficult industry conditions sparked a new wave of cost-cutting this week.”

Newspapers need to find a way to become relevant again. And there are many options to:

web20circle.gifPresent news in a new format; invite interaction; benefit from the wisdom of users; allowing the users to create the news; and ultimately create a new definition of “news”.

To discuss further, I welcome comments or insight on how you think the newspaper industry should change.

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Facebook Protecting a Competitive Advantage

April 15th, 2008 | Category: Social Media

Many perceive that the core issue in the “Facebook vs. Robert Scoble” debate is about who owns personal data, but in actuality it’s about Facebook protecting a sustainable competitive advantage. By not allowing Scoble to download his contacts, it creates a high switching cost, and therefore creates a disincentive for Scoble to use other social media sites.

For those unaware of the issue, Robert Scoble’s Facebook account was disabled after he tried to take his personal contacts from the social networking site. From UK Techcrunch:

“Data portability from social networks is going to become a huge tech industry issue in the new year. Why? Because well known tech blogger Robert Scoble has had his Facebook account disabled after he tried to pull out his 5,000 contacts (known as a social graph) from the site. This will fire the starting gun on all the debates about who owns your data on a social network, debates which - till now - have seemed rather theoretical, and could even lead to a revolt amongst some Facebook users.” http://uk.techcrunch.com/2008/01/03/facebook-blocks-scoble-for-downloading-his-contacts/

Creating lock-in is a core part of every successful company’s strategy and creates a tangible reason for customers to remain loyal to a company.

Some other places that lock-in is alive and well:

  • Online bill paying: Setting up payees takes time and effort creating a reason to not want to change to another bank
  • iPod and iTunes: Proprietary synching and usability create a simple buying, managing, and listening experience
  • Amazon and Netflix: Recommendations based upon your ratings, as well as wish lists create reasons to keep going back
  • Airline miles: Deemed a reward to you, it serves a dual purpose of creating an reason to choose the airline repeatedly

Contracts, exclusive memberships, loyalty cards, even branding create allegiances that help compel customers to choose the same product repeatedly.

Whether Facebook allows Scoble to take his contact data or not, the real question here is, how can your company create a competitive advantage?

I look forward to comments at eric.karofsky@molecular.com

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User-Generated Content & Business Innovation: A Match Made in Cyberspace

January 02nd, 2008 | Category: Social Media

Recently the Wall Street Journal reported “How Motorola Fell A Giant Step Behind” by forgetting about innovation in the face of widely successful core products, such as the Razr and the StartTac a decade ago. Could user-generated content have helped the company?

First, a definition. “User-generated content (UGC) refers to various kinds of media content that are produced or primarily influenced by end-users, as opposed to traditional media producers, licensed broadcasters and production companies.” Source: Wikipedia, among the most prolific user-generated sites.

The value of user-generated content is among the most common questions that marketers ask these days. Beyond anecdotal answers, we won’t know the value for some time due to its immaturity as a business and technology practice. What we do know, however, is that people use user-generated content when presented. Consider Myspace, YouTube, Flickr and a host of other widely popular sites that have user-generated content as a core theme.

At the business level, “innovation” is a board room topic as companies are diligently trying to increase customer intimacy, product superiority and operational excellence. In fact, last year IBM spent over $300M on its innovation-laden marketing campaign, “What makes you special?”

The problem is that newly promoted executives, with impressive titles such as “Chief Innovation Officer” and “Innovation Czar,” organize groups to ferret out and implement ideas, but have poor success in generating valuable ideas. Most limit their inputs to:

  • Cross functional, “informed” employees whose primary responsibility is to do their jobs, and a secondary goal is to participate simply because their superior asked them to – leading to ineffective participation.
  • Customer panels, which often start producing great ideas, but concerns over follow through and a mismatch of the panel’s expectations and company commitment, often result in a migration towards individual problem solving.
  • Management consultants who are concerned with coming up with statistically valid ideas – leading to watered down, copycat concepts, which are ultimately not “innovative.”

User-generated content can provide a solution. It presents the opportunity to connect with a consumer base – one that is passionate and already using or considering your product. It’s a two way communication; something previously only attainable through market research focus groups and surveys. Two examples:

  • Dell uses IdeaStorm to solicit user input for new products.
  • Eli Lilly and Company helped start Innocentive – a web based community that posts corporate R&D challenges and solicits scientific solutions.

So how could Motorola benefit from user-generated content? Here are some high level ideas:

  • Build a social network: Provide the capability to link Motorola users with free content or services (such as text messaging). Allow users to recommend new product ideas. Create a competition for the wildest communication device and allow users to vote on them. Threadless.com’s whole business model is allowing users to create new t-shirt designs, solicit comments, and then sell the shirts.
  • Ratings and reviews: Hundreds of consumer oriented sites already vote and review Motorola products – why not provide the same opportunity on Motorola.com? By learning from it, answering users, and fostering the conversation, the company can obtain significant insight. CNet allows its viewers to add comments and rate items in this manner.
  • Tags: In the customer support area, allow users to tag responses with self defined taxonomy to allow a more user friendly searching experience. In fact, invite users to answer questions (social network) and rate responses (ratings and reviews). Many development groups use Del.icio.us as a way to share sites of interest.
  • Blogs: Create a blog for the company and use it to test out new ideas, or use it as a communication channel. Solicit input and allow users to comment. The “Official Google Blog” is a great example of this.
  • Games: Create an interactive game. Maybe it’s as simple as giving someone a tool to “build” and customize a phone. Maybe even create a new revenue channel for customized phones or skins. Timberland allows users to “Build their own boot.”

Still not sold on innovation and social networks? Last year, Procter & Gamble obtained 35% of its new product ideas from people outside the company through its program, Connect+Develop. Their short term goal is to increase this to 50%.

Does Motorola exhibit a unique problem? No, they just happen to be among the latest companies to exhibit new product launch problems. I look forward to feedback on how your company has used, or is using these new tools.

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