Smart Bloggers - Servant of Chaos

Guess Who’s Back!

Kaiserluser

Do I really have to tell/warn/excite you? Here’s a hint. He is the branding equivalent of "Intel inside" … he comes with warmness.

Blogger Social Begins

Smart Bloggers

Paris
Originally uploaded by dougmeacham

The official blogger social schedule begins today but there have already been meetings happening. Last night I met up with Todd Andrlik and a bunch of other bloggers, bumped into Ann Handley and Leigh Himel (who just happened to be in NYC).

Today we head to a meeting at Ad Age to discuss the future of the Power 150 (more to come on this). And then the official program commences. Who is here? All these folks! Check their blogs for updates!

Susan Bird Tim Brunelle Katie Chatfield Matt Dickman Luc Debaisieux Gianandrea Facchini Mark Goren Gavin Heaton Sean Howard CK Valeria Maltoni Drew McLellan Doug Meacham Marilyn Pratt Steve Roesler Greg Verdino CB Whittemore Steve Woodruff Paul McEnany Ann Handley David Reich Tangerine Toad Kristin Gorski Mack Collier David Armano Ryan Barrett Lori Magno Tim McHale Gene DeWitt Mario Vellandi Arun Rajagopal Joseph Jaffe Rohit Bhargava Anna Farmery Marianne Richmond Thomas Clifford Lewis Green Geoff Livingston Kris Hoet Connie Reece CeCe Lee Toby Bloomberg Seni Thomas Darryl Ohrt Joe Kutchera Paul Dunay Marshall Sponder Chris Kieff Tara Anderson Jason Falls Paul Soldera Roberta Rosenberg Saul Colt Todd Andrlik Nathan Snell Ryan Karpeles Mike Sansone Jennifer Laycock Neil Vineberg Cam Beck Mike Arauz Matthew Bailey Heather Gorringe John Rosen Cathleen Rittereiser Tamar Weinberg Rita Perea Linda Sherman Matthew McDonald Kaitlyn Wilkins Terry Starbucker
Jennifer Berk Jane Quigley John Wall Scott Monty Kevin Horne Virginia Miracle Amanda Gravel Susan Reynolds David Polinchock Shashi Bellamkonda David Berkowitz Vahe Habeshian

Mindmeld with Mindblob

Smart Bloggers

"Hello this is Belgium calling".

And so began my first actual piece of socialising for Blogger Social. It was my good friend, Luc Debaisieux of Mindblob fame. We had organised to stay at the same hotel here in New York and Luc had promised to call when he got in — and while we have corresponded via email and read each other’s blogs, we had not yet met in person. The time had come.

I hurried downstairs to meet him in the uber-cool lobby of the Paramount Hotel. I scanned the floor to see if he was here and then turned to the lift as he emerged. This was exciting!

We spent a great couple of hours chatting and having a drink — eventhough it was well past his bedtime (it was already midnight Belgium time when we met up). Scott Monty talks about meeting up with bloggers (and other online friends), referring to the meeting as a "preunion" — and this makes a lot of sense. It was like we were old friends (perhaps from High School) who had not seen each other in years. And because, as Luc would say, we were already on the same "wavelength", there was no barrier to conversation. No awkwardness.

It was, indeed, like a mindmeld. This is shaping up to be a fantastic couple of days!

Paull Young Gets Some Air

Smart Bloggers

He has only been in New York for a short time, but Paull Young is already hitting the small screen. Here he is talking Social Media on Fox Business. He cover a lot about social media and small business in a short time, including:

The relevance of socia media in the small business marketing mix
The importance of understanding and listening to your community first
The need to relinquish "command and control" brand messaging.

Words and Prayers for Arun

Life, Smart Bloggers

Personal tragedy touches us all at some stage … but nothing ever prepares us for the devastating impact that comes with the loss of a loved one. And the effects of this ripple out beyond the immediate family — circles of friends, extended family members, work mates, colleagues and even casual acquaintances feel the sad touch of loss.

This week, Arun Rajagopal’s mother passed away. Through his energy, enthusiasm and good will, Arun has become a loved member of the marketing blogging community — and his loss reverberated around the world. Upon hearing, I paused. Drew a breath. After all, we all have hearts in common … and mine had skipped a beat on Arun’s behalf.

And while I can’t be with Arun, my thoughts are certainly with him and his family at this time. We have also setup a site where, should you wish to, you can leave a message for Arun. It can be found here.

Are You a Talker or a Doer — Do Some Good Now

Good Works, Smart Bloggers, Web 2.0

I have been watching the gang at Decisive Flow for almost as long as I have been writing this blog — which is now well over two years. In start up world, that is about 10 years. And when you consider that Nat and Tim and the gang are based in New Zealand, far away from the spotlight and funding of Silicon Valley, then their successes are magnified several times over.

Why have Decisive Flow succeeded in a world of cut throat agencies, design shops and digitial sweatshops? I would like to say because they are nice folks … because they are clever. Because they do good work. Well it is more than these things … sure good work is important. Sure you need smart folk, good talent and it helps to be pleasant. But clearly, Decisive Flow deliver results. They identify gaps in the market and then seek to fill them. They create value for themselves, their clients and the consumers that they serve. They go beyond the mere creation of websites and applications, tapping into a global movement that aligns personal conviction with global need. It is the difference between talking and doing.

This project is a great example of how content, need, strategy and action come together in a Web 2.0 world. For every 100,000 visitors to THIS site between now and July 1st, one mason will be trained by LJ Urban to build houses in the land locked country of Burkina Faso (in Africa). That’s right … all you need to do is VISIT the site and encourage others to do so. This will make a REAL difference to the lives of a family. Learn more in this video …

And while the first step is to visit, there are many more options for action:

Blog about this site. Let your readers know what is going on. Encourage them to visit.
Write emails to your friends. Bookmark the site. Create traffic.
Visit the blog and comment.
Go the whole hog — buy a house and train a mason

Oh, and obviously, if you have a digital project that you need to activate. Give Tim and Nat a call. I am sure their simple and loveable approach will ring true for your business and your customers.

Last Chance For Blogger Social

Smart Bloggers

Tomorrow is February 15 — and that means you only have ONE DAY to organise yourself, make the commitment and pay for your tickets to Blogger Social. It will be a weekend full of socialising with some of the smartest bloggers this side of Saturn — lasting from Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 6 in NYC.

I have been holding my breath hoping that my buddies Luc Debaisieux (mindblob) and Cam Beck (chaos scenario) can make it. And now, with only a day to go, I am pleased to be able to breathe easy again. Not only can they make it, there will be a host of others, including:

Susan Bird
Tim Brunelle
Katie Chatfield
Terry Dagrosa
Matt Dickman
Luc Debaisieux
Gianandrea Facchini
Mark Goren
Gavin Heaton
Sean Howard
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Drew McLellan
Doug Meacham
Marilyn Pratt
Steve Roesler
Greg Verdino
CB Whittemore
Steve Woodruff
Paul McEnany
Ann Handley
David Reich
Tangerine Toad
Kristin Gorski
Mack Collier
David Armano
Ryan Barrett
Lori Magno
Tim McHale
Gene DeWitt
Mario Vellandi
Arun Rajagopal
Joseph Jaffe
Rohit Bhargava
Anna Farmery
Marianne Richmond
Thomas Clifford
Lewis Green
Geoff Livingston
Kris Hoet
Connie Reece
CeCe Lee
Toby Bloomberg
Seni Thomas
Darryl Ohrt
Joe Kutchera
Paul Dunay
Marshall Sponder
Chris Kieff
Tara Anderson
Jason Falls
Paul Soldera
Roberta Rosenberg
Saul Colt
Todd Andrlik
Nathan Snell
Ryan Karpeles
Mike Sansone
Jennifer Laycock
Neil Vineberg
Cam Beck
Mike Arauz
John Rosen

With a cast like that, it makes you want to race off and register, doesn’t it? Of course, so click here!

Remember, registration ends on Friday for this once-in-a-lifetime event. And keep in mind that if money and/or time is tight, you can sign up for either the Friday or Saturday events only. Just love to see you there!

When a Brand Speaks with a Customers Voice

Branding, Smart Bloggers, Social Media

Erin Esurance
Originally uploaded by scottmw1971

Conversations swirl around the touchpoints of a brand. We mention our favourite brands over lunch, we wear them, carry them and sometimes even drive them. And what makes their study so fascinating and the demands of their stewardship so challenging is that they can and do embed themselves very deep in the human psyche.

In the claiming of a brand, we seek to own, consume and digest some spirit that projects beyond ourselves. And the open identification of our selves with a brand allows others of the "tribe" to spot us in a crowd. The brand marks us out to our kin and kind — fugitives, family and refugees all at once.

And yet even as we begin to take ownership of brands, even as we incorporate branded trademarks and language into our everyday speech, there are many companies who fail to notice our actions. They avoid our incantations, turn away from our devotions and swivel their eyes inwards. Meanwhile our efforts of brand cocophany provide the meaningless backdrop for discussions on typeface, look and feel or customer experience. Surely a moment’s attention is not too much to beg?

Ah yes, but what happens when a brand that you have lovingly crafted takes on a life of its own? What happens when your own efforts at outreach fall flat, while the community’s efforts vastly outstrip your own — in popularity, in style and in AUTHENTICITY? What happens when your brand voice sounds better coming through the mouths of your customers?

I only ask because of this discussion started by Chris Kieff around Erin Esurance. Chris nicely documents a series of brand eruptions that have broken out across the social media landscape and charts their effectiveness. It is clear that the work of fans resonates more strongly than efforts of the company and its agency.

So what is one to do? Chris has some good answers. What are yours?

I am the Weakest Link

Australian Blogs, Memes, Smart Bloggers, Social Media

Sparkling Water
Originally uploaded by Othon Leon

We all agree. Well mostly. At least in the places where I roam online. Occasionally there are some disagreements — sometimes gentle argument, but all-in-all there is little dissent. Mack Collier has been pondering the nature of this general affability in the marketing end of the blogosphere, contrasting the inclusive debates engendered by the crowd at The Daily Fix with the scrummage that occurs over at Robert Scoble’s house of rambunctious squattors.

A la Scoble, Mack succeeds in generating quite an interesting discussion (well worth checking out) — and one of the questions he asks is, how does Scoble do it? Fundamentally, I think that Scoble challenges our curiosity. He asks the questions of himself that we find we are answering. He mocks and goads his readers. He dares them and sometimes berates them. MarketingProfs is a whole different kettle of fish.

But the debate is not really about different communities and their style, it is a question of lifeblood. I don’t know about you, but at certain points in time I like to venture far and wide across the blogosphere. I like to run across those weak links. I like to mine the unexpected. It is one of the reasons that I like memes … to me they serve a special purpose in the blogosphere — they introduce new blood into the thinking systems of our social networks. These new sites, in fact, help to keep us all healthy.

This randomness is what appealed to me about the Entrecard widget that you can see at the top of my blog. I don’t have it there for advertising … I have it there for connection. For chance. And while I know that Marcus doesn’t agree, I must admit to finding it slightly useful — and have happened upon a couple of sites that I like.

MarketingFM covers a lot of topics that are obviously of interest to me.

Overall, though, I find my uncontrolled meanderings through Entrecard to be an eye-opener. This is social media in the raw. It is local and it is expansive. It is poetic and well designed. It is real people telling their own stories, making some money and finding new friends, communities and even enemies. It is the space where we live.

It all serves to remind us that our blog is just another drop in an ocean of influence.