Month: October 2007

Facebook and the Z-list

Memes

Card1015 Here is an interesting experiment. With yet another round of Z-list fever starting to take hold, I thought it might be worth taking a new tack. Sure, there is the wiki that Sharon, Becky and I setup … but there have been precious few updates. Why not a Facebook group?

Now I KNOW that many people jumped onto the Z-list bandwagon as a way of driving traffic to their blogs — and yes, it will do this. It will, undoubtedly, also increase the number of inbound links coming to your site, thereby driving up your Technorati ranking. BUT social media is not just about links and clicks (note to the “make money from your blog” folks) — it is firstly about connection and conversation. If you take care of these two points, then the rest will follow (remember it is not just the intention that you have, it is the power you have to serve your audience — a combination of content and context).

So, if you have somehow arrived here thanks to the Z-list, go to Facebook and join this group. From there, use the features and functions of Facebook to reach out to your readers. Get to know them, “friend” them, write on their walls and find out their needs. Then use this to serve them, provide them with content, context and value. But most of all, show yourself — claim the unique difference that is YOU. I hope to “see” you sometime soon!

The latest version of the Z-list I could find is this one (sorry for the long list):

FoodLover
Flapy In Japan
KKJM
Dynasty Chow
Yvy
RyeUrn
MervKwok
Aida
Pelf
Chiwi
Simple American
eastcoastlife
A Journey Called Life
Dead Boredom Seeking Freedom
maverick
fishtail
lynnee
Lucia
Doris
Andy’s Anything Goes
Beng Beng
Kleio
Paris Beaverbanks
Rojaks
Melting Wok
Rasa Malaysia
Organic Income
My Mothering Corner
Mummy In Vain
Lovely Mummy
Desperate Mummy
Judy
Lillian
Ainee
Anonymous
Adam
ToilAh Pek
Blank Canvas
Home Office Women
Shoppingmum
Cyberpartygal
Hochiak! Delicious Asian Food
Blueapron
Make$ Money$
Owen of Ugh
Jules is Utterly Geek
Internet. Serious Business
The Sabahan
Critical Thoughts
Blog-Op
Carols Vault
Blog About Your Blog
Monetize Your Blog
Cosmin PTR
Make Money On The Net
Successful Online Money Making
Turn One Pound Into One Million$
Work at Home Blog
Blogging For Beginners
How to earn money online?
Dosh Dosh
Money Money Money
Money Making Quest
Connected Internet
Mike’s Money Making Mission
Time to Budget
Can I Make Big Money Online
Blogtrepreneur
Flee the Cube
Blogging Secret
Blogging to Fame
Million Dollar Experiment heads Down Under
Quest to make money on the internet
Kumiko’s Cash Quest
Calico Monkey
Internet Bazaar
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes!
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
Two Hat Marketing
darrenbarefoot.com
The Emerging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew’s Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
Conversation Agent
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett’s Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly
Mo-Chuisle
Yuitsumuni
Wuching
Narrowband
DanielNeo
che-cheh

Bloggers Unite — Free Burma

Good Works

Free Burma!

They say that actions speak louder than words, but tomorrow October 4, 2007 we are combining action with words … writing a single blog post with the title "Free Burma". (For those who have not seen the coverage, take a look at the latest update from Amnesty International.

Of course, this applies to those who write or contribute to blogs. But there is more, so much more that can be done (and needs, and SHOULD be done — with thanks to Dina Mehta):

Can a Killer App Really Hurt Me?

Social Media

Smoking Grave
Originally uploaded by PetroleumJelliffe

I just did a little test — ran a search on my blog content for the term "context is king". There were two entries — one here and the other here. There was also a third post, with the phrase in the text — and while I am not really a fan of quoting myself, I kinda liked this one:

… in a Web 2.0 world, where context is king, content still speaks baby … as long as you have the ears to listen.

But why is this important?

Just recently I had lunch with the CEO of a leading technology company here in Australia and he was very excited about the direction of his company. But, as I told him, technology is not the answer … having great technology is important and is something that can drive competitive advantage in all sorts of areas (hey, it can even drive sales) — but the technology is only an enabler. Once you have it, if you don’t back it up with a smart content strategy and a clear contextual strategy, you have a dead duck on your hands. And an expensive one at that.

David Armano is also musing on the reasons that execs are stumbling in the Web 2.0/social media world. He was asked about the next "killer app" — and replied "content". And he is right — it is all about content. But it is also, equally, all about context. Finding a way to cohesively integrate content and context — and thereby activating an influence and filtering network that helps shape consumer experience is where the gold dust lies. The technology just makes it work … you can use it to dig yourself a hole — just make sure you don’t fall into it.

OPLC Goes 1 For 1

Good Works

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative is a great example of design-led product development. It has a funky shape, neat features and a bucketload of technology jammed into a small space. There is just one problem … no one has signed on as yet.

This seems to have prompted a revision to the plan to restrict access to the machine (it was claimed previously that the machine would ONLY be available to children in developing countries — not in North America or Canada).

From November 12, the XO Giving site will allow you to purchase two of these cool laptops for $400 … one being donated to a child in a developing nation, the second being sent to YOUR child at home.

While Bruce Nussbaum suggests that it is time to call this project a failure … the optimist in me hopes this is not the case. No matter the reasons for a lack of adoption by the governments of developing nations, the potential for significant social and economic transformation through the OLPC program remains. I, for one, am hoping that this new initiative helps kick-start a change that will roll across the world. If you want to participate … make sure you sign up here. 

BlogWorld and New Media Expo — Some Facts and Figures

Facts & Figures

Mike Sansone reminded me that BlogWorld and New Media Expo is scheduled for early November 2007 … and the time for discounts is almost over. The breadth and range of the speakers on offer demonstrate exactly how challenging “keeping up” with Web 2.0/social media really can be — there are strategists, PR and advertising types, technologists, journalists, podcasters and others who cross all these boundaries. But the real reason that social media is fascinating is not the technology or even the ideas.

It is the people. People like you and me. And people like “Jane Doe”. And there are lot of them:

The last two bullets serve as a powerful reminder of the close link between social media and purchasing. It will be interesting to read Des Walsh’s coverage.

Is Kevin Rudd a Swinger?

Uncategorized

Map view
Originally uploaded by Australian Election Predictor

While there has been discussion about the impact of Web 2.0 on the upcoming Australian election (with the use of YouTube for policy announcements and simplistic debate), it seems to me that most of the political parties are using this time to perform some realtime testing of the technology. Not only are websites being overhauled, there are also Twitter IDs, MySpace and Facebook profiles being created. Not for the first time we are openly wondering whether kevinrudd or johnhoward are REAL or FAKE. Perhaps this is THE moment of authenticity in the election campaign.

While these Twitter profiles have been dormant for some time, I would not be surprised to see them spring back to life when the campaigning kicks off in earnest. The folks who run comms for politicians will be looking for any way to squeeze their message through to a saturated electorate come campaign time … and the Web 2.0 tools provide an unmatched (and IMMEDIATE) channel to do so — so long as a receptive community is already plugged in.

And this may be where there may NOT have been enough focus so far.

Building a digital strategy is much more than using a couple of sites/tools. It is more than a YouTube video and a few thousand viewings. It is about facilitating an experience that CONNECTS a community with the personality, energy, messages and actions of a brand/politician/celebrity through digital conversation. It is about input and feedback … and ownership of the debate. I am hoping to see more of these elements appearing in the next few weeks.

But for those of you who can’t wait, check out the Hill & Knowlton Election Predictor (with thanks to Steven Noble). You can play with the figures and reshape the face of the country — and even add it to your Facebook profile. What do you think, a swing to Rudd — or will it go down to the line? We’ll all know soon enough.