Creative ways to plug brands on Facebook

Article written and placed in Adotas article in Adotas this week. Discusses ways that brands need to get creative to engage fans on Facebook, and avoid the risk of "hit and run" fans. Engagement is key to a brand's success.

How to make the latest Facebook changes work for brands

Article written and placed in Social Media Today, titled "How to make the latest Facebook changes work for your brand." Check it out.

Google+ -- one week later

I was just writing an email to someone about what I thought about Google+ one week later. Here's what I said, unedited:

1. There's a thrill of the new thing going on. You can start over with your friend lists. Start afresh. And early adopters love new toys.

2. They do photos really well. Sharing with Picasa is really good fun. All my photos are in Picasa. Now Picasa one-click defaults sharing to Google+

3. Google does APIs and tech stuff really well. So I presume that the tools they will make available through Google Labs will be extensive, fun, and flexible.

4. They have a HUGE graph. Imagine the users of YouTube, Picasa, GMail bringing it all together? I spend more time in Google apps than I do in Facebook. Facebook feels like I'm in a separate state. Google+ feels like another little town in my conurbation.

5. Sharing by Circles makes sense. It's what Facebook Groups should have been. But the interface stunk. I like the little animation of dropping Guy's face into different circles. It's fun, and it's really obvious and easy.

6. Google+ seems to have cleverly hit upon a Twitter/stream idea with following etc., and Facebook private sharing. People are "following" me, but I don't have to share with them if I don't want to. They will just see what I make public for them. It's like Twitter is built in. That's powerful, and probably the most important point, so should have been #1.

Google+ -- the thrill of starting over

Your life got messy. You have friends you wish you could just slough off. You're bored with most of them, and others you feel you wish you could ignore without seeming rude. So isn't it fun to start over? There are millions of people joining Google+ and starting over. I've spent the whole morning poking around. I go to peer at Facebook from time to time. Same old, same old. Blech. I'm starting over with Google+. Bye bye Facebook. I'll visit from time to time. But I'm having fun with my new friends on Google+.

I started a Google+ hangout. Nobody joined me, but that's OK. I was in my pyjamas with my hair akimbo, so it's probably just as well. I built my circles of hell and enjoyed deciding who should be where. (Circles feels like Groups should have been on Facebook. Not too restrictive. Easy to drag and drop people in and out. Easy to share with who you want (though I have yet to figure out how to make a post Public). ) I found lots of new people to follow, with lots of energetic chat that felt lively and enthusiastic.

It's fun to start over. I have a whole new circle of friends to play with. I'll bet many others feel the same way. We get bored easily, and for that reason alone, Facebook should be worried.

How my iPad re-kindled my love affair with my Kindle

I apologize to my Kindle. The nice, light, easy to read Kindle that is now sitting comfortably in my handbag. Being a bit of a nerd, I buy all the new toys. And the Kindle was a must-have. But I soon fell out of love with the nasty keyboard, the lack of a touch interface, the flickery screen. But I did become addicted to the instant books I could get to deal with insomnia.

Then I got my iPad. With a Kindle app. Joy.

But about a year later, I have gone back to my Kindle. Why? It's true. It IS readable in sunlight. It It IS light. I CAN hold it in one hand. All the things Jeff Bezos tells me.

But he's getting it wrong. But I wouldn't market it that way. He's comparison marketing to the iPad. That's not the point. People will use both. It's inevitable, and it doesn't really matter. The real dream he should be weaving is about how the world of books is available, instantly; that you can take your entire library on vacation, in your handbag; that you can get your kids a schoolbook instantly for that chapter they had to read tonight, and left in the classroom; that you can get a free sample of anything, and if you like it, buy it. (How many times have I bought a book that I've dropped after the first chapter. Mr Bezos has solved that.)

There are so, so many ways that Kindle is an integral part of my life. Weave the dream, and welcome back Kindle to my bedside table.

Social Media ROI

Which social media monitoring tool should you use?

Read the article here from Fresh Networks. Lots of good stuff to share.

Vitamin Water crowd-sourced their latest flavor

A new Vitamin Water flavor launching in March 2011 -- lime and cherry "Connect" -- was designed by Vitamin Water's Facebook fans. Fans created the flavor, designed the package, and named the product. This is the new kind of focus group -- consulted in during the product development cycle, right from the beginning -- with real "ownership" of the end result. Excellent.

Making Data Relevant: The New Metrics for Social Marketing

Excellent article: Making Data Relevant: The New Metrics for Social Marketing

My first e-book vacation

I just returned from my first iPad vacation. For the very first time, I took not a single "physical" book. Just an iPad, pre-populated with some yummy literary treats. The outcome? Good, but mostly not so good.

Good because it was easy to pack and lightweight and convenient, and I could bring five books and know that if I didn't like one I could try another.

Not so good for more reasons: first, I felt compelled to continue to check my e-mail while I was away. Hard not to. It was just a click away. Second, my kids snuck off with my iPad at every opportunity, to indulge in some Angry Bird baiting or heavy duty Facebook action. And finally, I couldn't take it outside. The screen just doesn't work in bright sunlight. And the beach? Forget it. I have no problem leaving a tatty paperback and a beach towel behind while I have a quick dip. But not my precious iPad.

So I won't be doing that again. Unless it's a solo/grown ups only trip to Florence or similar for the weekend.

Having said that, I'm reading a ton more at home. I've gone from reading about two books a month to four or five. I'm loving loving loving downloading Kindle samples. I am astonished at just how much money I am sending Amazon, and how lovingly they take care of me. They are figuring it out.

So I'm now officially fully embracing the e-book world. Just not on the beach.

Is this really a reason not to crowd-source?

Interesting article here in Mashable about Pepsi's attempts to crowd-source their Superbowl commercial. Just because Pepsi chose to feature in some way (I don't know how prominently) the Doritos/Communion Wafer submission -- a submission that offended Catholic groups -- doesn't mean we should throw the crowd-sourcing baby out with the bathwater. The outcome should not be a judgement on the value of crowd-sourcing.

When a large, savvy, and well-funded brand such as Pepsi chooses to walk on the wild side, and undertake crowd-sourcing, or social media "stunts" of any sort -- they have to take responsibility for their actions. Perhaps "someone" should have thought this through. "Hmm, I love this commercial. It's fun. Irreverent. But, well, might offend some. Should we feature it?"

Crowd-sourcing is exciting. It helps brands think in a new way about their brand. They get to see how people out there in the real world think about them. It shakes things up. I say, bring it on! But be judicial. Know that there will be submissions and content that may not reflect your brand's values. In which case, it's "thanks, love it, but no thanks."