July, 2016 - Servant of Chaos

Enter the Constellation Supernova Awards

I’m judging the 2016 Constellation SuperNova Awards again this year. It has been a while, but I am excited to see the innovation that is emerging from enterprises around the world. Every year the Constellation SuperNova Awards recognise individuals for their leadership in digital business. and the great thing is, you don’t have to be a North American business. Anyone can enter. Nominate yourself or someone you know before August 8, 2016. It’s a great way to promote your program while also learning from others in the same field. Learn more and apply here.

About the SuperNova Awards

The SuperNova Awards honour leaders that demonstrate excellence in the application and adoption of new and emerging technologies.

In its sixth year, the Constellation SuperNova Awards will recognize individuals who demonstrate leadership in nine categories:

Internet of Things – A network of smart objects enables smart services. (sensors, smart ‘things’, device to purchase, artificial intelligence)
Data to Decisions – Using data to make informed business decisions. (big data, predictive analytics)
Digital Marketing Transformation – Personalized, data-driven digital marketing
Future of Work: Social Business – The technologies enabling teams to work together efficiently. (enterprise social networks, collaboration, digital assistants)
Future of Work: Human Capital Management – Enabling your organization to utilize your workforce as an asset. (talent management, benefits, HR core)
Matrix Commerce – Commerce responds to changing realities from the supply chain to the storefront. (digital retail, supply chain, payments, ‘ubiquitous-channel’ retail)
Next Generation Customer Experience – Customers in the digital age demand seamless service throughout all lifecycle stages and across all channels. (crm, customer experience)
Safety and Privacy – Strategies to secure sensitive data (blockchain, digital identity, authentication)
Technology Optimization & Innovation – Innovative methods to balance innovation and IT budgets. (innovation in the cloud, ENSW cost savings, cloud ERP, efficient app production).

The SuperNova Awards are seeking leaders and teams who have innovatively applied disruptive technolgies to their business models as a means of adapting to the rapidly-changing digital business environment. If you have what it takes to compete in the SuperNova Awards submit your application today: https://www.constellationr.com/events/supernova/2016

The Importance of Brands in the Social Media Sphere

Activism, Branding, Social Media, Storytelling

Facts and figures are boring. Yet almost every B2B brand relies on facts and figures to tell the story of their products or services. Countless whitepapers, videos and presentations wheel out the features and functions or a particular platform, technology or product line, yet everything that we know, as marketers, as data analysts, tells us that there is a better way. A more efficient way. In fact, neuroscience has provided vital clues that help us understand not the power of logic to drive purchase, but the importance of emotion to tip our decision-making.

So at the point of decision, emotions are very important for choosing. In fact even with what we believe are logical decisions, the very point of choice is arguably always based on emotion.

But it is one thing to know something and quite another to do something about it. Just imagine being the marketing director pitching in a new campaign to your CMO where there is little reference to product features and functions. Imagine the questions. The feedback. The personal-professional risk.

This week I recorded a podcast with the NewsModo team. We talked about branding, social media and content marketing. But mostly we talked about how storytelling allows brands to tap into the minds and emotions of their customers. One of the examples I had in mind was this video from the recent election campaign. The video captured my imagination because it’s a great example of how facts and figures can be incorporated into a campaign that drives not just action but activation. In fact, if brands (and political parties) can learn anything from the election results, it is this … listen to your audiences, understand what drives their collective mindset and help or encourage them to act on that mindset.

When you have a moment, check out the NewsModo podcast. There have been some great guests – and it may just inspire your next, best idea.

ISMA: Are Social Media Terms of Service Enforceable in Australia?

Digital Disruption, Social Business, Social Media

You know what it’s like … Gripped by bright and shiny object syndrome, you drop in your email address, add a password and click “sign up”.

This brand new platform is the future. Everyone will be here – but for now, it’s you. The early adopter. Rule breaker and innovation maker.

In a couple of clicks you’ve signed up. Signed in. Checked out and shared with friends.

But what, exactly, have you signed up for?

If you are like everyone else, you’ll have bypassed the “terms and conditions”, and happily clicked the checkbox hovering there on the webpage. Who has time for that palaver? After all, there are budgets, deadlines and dinner dates to meet. And you can trust AppleFaceGoogleSoft, right?

But every click, sign up and social media account comes with pages of legal waffle designed to simultaneously numb the user and dull the senses. At the same time, they bind users into enforceable provisions that can include the text you write, photos you take and the data you reveal about yourself (knowingly or unknowingly). “Fine” you might say as an individual – but what happens if you are a business? What risks are you blithely accepting?

“The terms and conditions from the Apple website took me an hour – just to print out, not to read”, says Sara Delpopolo, Axis Legal principal and lawyer.

As a lawyer, Sara , has spent years navigating the tortuous legal and intellectual property issues resulting from the rise of social media channels. And yet, until recently, there has been precious little savvy legal advice to be had.

After writing a book on the subject, Sara realised that more was needed.

A year or so later, and Sara is standing on stage at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, launching the International Social Media Association (ISMA). With a goal of harmonising laws across jurisdictions, ISMA is putting together positioning papers and growing its membership of leading digital law firms.

In a recent Echo Junction podcast, Sara explained the focus of ISMA and the challenges and legal dangers of social media. It’s well worth a listen.

But it is ISMA’s Terms of Service Whitepaper that should draw your attention. In the first whitepaper to be released by the association, it is shown that the Terms of Service the ten most prominent social media platforms have significant shortcomings under Australian law. “Most Australians do not realise that some terms are completely unenforceable. In short, accepting the platforms’ terms does not mean throwing your rights away”.

“This Paper is a crucial step by ISMA towards achieving what should be expected of the online legal landscape – to protect Australian social media users and assist businesses. Social media is not just about being ‘sociable’; it’s about how society interacts on digital platforms internationally.” Ms Delpopolo explains. The full whitepaper is available to ISMA members.