Deborah Schultz

Yup, it is indeed about relationships

I love how this graphic gets right to the heart of things, doesn't it? I am not sure I agree that branding is the nirvana at the center of everything - I think your product & service are. Your brand is a reflection of what your are - you can dress up a pig and call it a pony but it will still be a pig. That said you need to articulate who and what you stand for - whether you are a company or a person. 

The graphic is a nice demonstration of what a company needs to "BE" --something that your customers articulate not you.  Once again it ain't about marketing - it is a strategic shift in how you run your business and relate to your customers.

As I've said and it was much more eloquently echoed  here - There is no such thing as a social media campaign, people!

[nod to the breadcrumbs  via : Francois...Digital Demystified...Branding Blog]

UPDATE: Zag pointed out this is actually from ZAG by Marty Neumeier! Check out their Brains on Fire blog

 

Thanksgiving - a truly Open Source holiday

Thanksgiving could be defined as the one truly "open" American holiday.  I get sappy around Thanksgiving because it has always represented the best of America for me - freedom, opportunity, thankfulness.  It is the least commercial of all our holidays and centers around family and friends without any specific religion or ritual. There are no gifts required  - just company and conversation.

Thanksgiving is the one holiday that everyone celebrates.  As a kid growing up orthodox in Brooklyn, I spent many holidays with friends and immediate family but distance and different observance levels often kept extended family apart on holidays.  Thanksgiving was the one holiday that brought us all together as a family and a country - no matter race, religion or creed.

It is the one time that we put aside differences and allow for everyone to participate as they see fit and contribute in their own way.  There was a time when Memorial day and Veterans day and even July 4th had similar contexts - but they have been lost in sales and shopping and devalued to long weekends at the beach. 

Thanksgiving is the one remaining event every citizen participates in as they see fit.  The holidays' roots are religious in nature but the ritual(s) associated with it are open and therefore enable everyone to participate and put there own stamp on it. 

Thankfulness is a universal human emotion.

[Note: If you like the image - go check it out on flickr it has some great notes over each of the photos]

 

Graphic designer envy

I have often said I need to brush off my dusty inner geek [yes, there was a time I actually played around with html], so I can build some of the stuff I want online and experiment a bit more.  Additionally, the ability to take a complex concept and explain it visually is a real skill and an art; just ask Richard Saul Wurman.  I am always green with envy at my buddy Dave's ability to take social media concepts and articulate them so beautifully and vividly. Good visuals also highlight the importance and tight link between communication, design and user experience.

No sooner do I finally get around to posting my six month old ecosystem bubble slide, when I hop on over to Dave's blog to see his latest gorgeous articulation.  My 'bubble' visual pales in comparison and could definitely use some Armano love [hint hint Dave]

Snackbyte: A view of the ecosystem

I have been meaning to clean this slide up - but with my [lack] of illustrator skills, by the time I do the universe will be radically different.

So, without further adieu, here is my snapshot of the social software and media ecosystem.  I think it is a pretty dynamic universe of cool tools and channels both individuals and company's have at their disposal.  Learning how to weave through this universe is a new, necessary and complex skill, whether you are trying to keep in touch with friends and family or customers.

Facebook SocialAds - the missing feature

Nuf said.

Snackbyte - Once again - i am not a bullseye

As the pundits, brands and geeks all gush on Facebook's SocialAds, Beacon and the future of advertising:

I once again remind you. 

• I am not your bullseye.
• I am not your target.
• My behavior belongs to me.

Stop thinking like hunters.  Getting my friends to hunt for you is still being a hunter.  If you are lucky I will come running.  Or you can look at it this way.

photo credit

Yay - a long awaited Ze

Welcome back our long lost friend. We were tired of watching live streaming geeks in their boxer shorts opening software packages.   {No embeds so click on image to watch}.

And once you are done being annoyed with media giants for trying to short-change their talent pool of writers..hop on over here to get ticked off at VC's.

It's just that kinda day.

Get the message people - Web 2.0/Social Media/blah blah - it ain't a quick fix --it is a disruption of economics, value and distribution!!

Power to the  people!

[I will now put away my revolutionary stance and go back  to my day job, wait, rabble-rousing is my day job..never mind]

Snackbyte: get with the program

Another great video from the team that brought us the "machine is us" - this might be about education--but it really is about the broader implications of how we absorb information today.  Or as my brilliant friend Sean Bohan calls it "velocity and reciprocity".

Snackbyte: I am irregular, dammit

Here are a few must reads that caught my eye:

I am irregular dammit:  Brian points out that we need to be careful about using the term "regular people".  He calls out Anil a bit - and the point is well taken.  As social software tools get more mainstream we can fall into this trap.  From my POV, it all depends on where your starting point. - My "technology changes, humans don't" was created out of a frustration that the echo chamber of the Valley and its technologists tend to focus only on the uber-geeks when developing tools.   Friends and colleagues who live and work outside the geek-zone, have pointed out that the phrase is false.   I use it as a reminder to the geeks.  But truth is, humans change ALL THE TIME.  It is human nature -- that is relatively static --what motivates and makes us human.  As I start my work on the P&G Social Media Lab  [more on this later], I am constantly reminded that there is no such thing as "regular people".  Thanks to Brian for keeping it "real".

Are you a social object? Hugh has been posting a lot on his "social objects" theory of marketing.  I like the concept - but not sure I like the name.  I need to marinate in this a bit more, but I like where he is going with forcing folks to think about the value they are bringing to the table to the customer.