Archive for the 'policy' Category

Steps Toward Social Simplification

Published
by
Ehren
on April 5, 2008
in Ponderings, applications, marketing, policy and web 2.0
. 6 Comments

I’ve been thinking for a while that there are waaaay too many social media / web 2.0 sites springing up. While many people group web-based applications with these sites, I distinguish these sites from social media / web 2.0 sites because I regard web-based applications as a little more focused on a task.

Social media / web 2.0 sites focus on human interaction with one another and after reading blogger and web designer Shey Smith’s post on why We Need Social Media Interpreters, Not Evangelists, I thought that I would point out my perspective from an online marketer’s standpoint or perhaps just marketing in general. I don’t necessarily consider myself an evangelist as Shey points out, but I do take on some aspects of evangelism by promoting the use of particular social mediums for marketing purposes. At the same time, I also do a lot of what Shey points out as interpreting.

Part of my job (and probably a lot of it) involves tracking and monitoring online trends. Sure, management hears about Facebook and blogs all the time in the mainstream media nowadays but they still do not necessarily understand the underlying basis for all of these mediums — they are still trying to catch up with classic question of: How does the internet impact our business model?

So what do I do? I act as a filter — in fact that’s how we all act more or less to some degree. I don’t need to tell them every bit of detail about the Internet and social media. Most of the time, people tell me to stop talking because their head is hurting from all the information!

5 Questions I Ask Before Telling Management About (Yet) Another Web 2.0 Start-up

1. Would any user would even bother with this?

2. Is there something else out there that does just as good or a even better job?

3. Is there a point for any business to get involved?

4. How? How? and Really … How? I want steps outlined.

5. Is it simple enough?

This is really just touching the surface of the whole issue but I guess my question about simplicity is focused on the general purpose. Just as web-based applications exist for a purpose, what is the purpose of social media / web 2.0 sites? Human interaction is the reason I often receive.

I hear review after review of social media aggregators such as friendfeed and socialthing! The purpose of these sites are to bring together all of our social networking data into one place but from what I can see after I begin simplifying the whole idea down to its underlying role — these sites do exactly what almost all other sites already do — draw data from other social mediums and place it on their own. Everyone is trying to become a social media aggregator! The only difference is in presentation and interaction of that data. Aside from early adopters like myself who may leap from one site to another, I don’t see how that helps most users who remain on a few.

Image from Dion Hinchcliffe

The only aggregator of a user’s online social networking data should be the user, not another web 2.0 start-up. I’m mainly pointing at the failure of social aggregators to actually do something useful, but if you want to read more about them, Dion Hinchcliffe has a very thorough article on social aggregation online.

Emphasis on Consumer Control (aka. The USER)

Those who regard social media aggregators as the key to dealing with the problem of so many web 2.0 sites are seriously mistaken. The whole social web/2.0 idea was never about the centralization of data, it was about decentralization and sharing. I think human interaction is a lot more complex and that the social media aggregators are not focusing on those linkages, but rather the the information and data that is flowing from these people through different social mediums.

The first step towards social simplification is data portability. While not the ultimate solution, I think it is important for any user to be able to take his or her data with them and decide what to share or not share — it is integral to any social medium and it will be a defining point for the marketing industry.

The next step is for everyone to have their own “website” where they can define themselves online. The public policy side of my brain (from working in government) asks … does that mean all citizens have the right to an online presence of their own? With data portability — I think the possibilities are available.

At this point you maybe wondering, “And how does the topic of social media interpreters relate to social media aggregation?” — simple: as individuals, we are the aggregators and we are the filters and we are the interpreters. If we want to control our lifestream, it begins with where we decide to interact. If you are a web worker like myself, our lifestream begins on our own website or blog. Forget the aggregators, what better system is there than one that is open source and that you can completely customize on your own?

Now the major question would be: HOW can we help people who aren’t as web-literate to do the same?

Share This

Organizational Happyness - It’s in the Marketing

Published
by
Ehren
on February 20, 2008
in Aspirations, Unthinkables, marketing, policy and politics
. 0 Comments
“It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?” — Christopher Gardner

It’s funny … when I watched Pursuit of Happyness, the most powerful moment in the movie was the point where Chris Gardner was offered the job and he walks into the street and joins the crowds of happy people. It was the most powerful moment for me because I felt similarly when I was offered my first full time position.

Why do I bring up the movie/book? Because it is interesting how Chris Gardner’s quote puts everything in context. We are all striving for our own form of happiness in some sense. Whether this may be in relationships or work or in our daily life, it all ties in together. After reading Seth Godin’s post on Marketing HR which actually talks about recruiting talent, I thought I’d work through some of my thoughts on that issue.

We work because we have to (duh…), but even more so, we work because it provides us with a sense of purpose. There are those who are more driven than others while there are those who carry a powerful sense of purpose with them wherever they go. Why is it that management fails to spot those with purpose? Why is it that management fails to keep talent around?

Simple. Talent is similar to the sense of purpose — it wants to grow and move on or else it will get bored and unhappy. Any owner or manager of a business has the responsibility to ensure that their staff are pursuing whatever makes them happy. It only makes sense doesn’t it? I’m not suggesting that everyone drop everything they don’t like — but rather there should be growth and movement towards a point of happiness.

Business owners and managers believe that they can easily replace skill. Sure of course skill is replaceable but the person isn’t. Every time someone leaves a company — the hit on staff morale is probably ten fold. I’m speculating of course.

Michael Lopp, author of Managing Humans (and blogger Rands in Repose) had a brilliant brief for holding on to talent or rather identifying your employee’s skill and will quadrant:

  • High Skill, Low Will: Boredom is imminent — needs a change of scenery and responsibilit. Stat.
  • High Will, Low Skill: Needs training, needs mentorship. Needs management. The good news is they really, really want it. Savor this because as soon as the skill kicks in, they’re going to start wanting your job. This rules.
  • Low Will, Low Skill: Boy, did you screw up. It takes a fairly concerted effort to ignore the needs of your employee so long that (a) they no longer have the skills necessary to do their job, and (b) they don’t want to do it. Roll those sleeves up, pal. You’ve got work to do.
  • High Skill, High Will: Great job, ummmmm, guess what? No one stays here long.

What is the ROI? That’s pretty easy — loyal staff, more innovative and creative staff, and overall better people and dynamics in the office.

Think about it — we spend all that money and time marketing to consumers about how great our products or services are — yet we don’t pay enough attention internally. This is important for businesses of all sizes because as a business, you want to grow — growth is not just key to the business but to the people who work within the business as well. Not providing and addressing what your employees need and want will ultimately hinder your business inwardly.

Silly isn’t it? Short-term vision that focuses on primarily the balance sheet and numbers can often hurt the long-term potential for greatness. So what do you want to do as a business — be great or merely stay afloat? Greatness requires us to rethink and redefine ourselves on a consistent basis.

Share This

Changing Internet Service Providers - Caring for Customers

Published
by
Ehren
on February 18, 2008
in Mentions, marketing, policy, reviews and technology
. 0 Comments

I’ve been struggling with my internet connection for the past couple of weeks or so.  I had been using Look Communications’ Ultrafast DSL service for about 4 years now and while I was a loyal customer for sometime, I finally had enough of intermittent connections that seemed to occur whenever there was an extreme temperature change.

The straw that broke the camel’s back occurred two weeks ago when I decided to phone tech support about my problem.  I thought they were going to give me the general spiel for troubleshooting DSL problems but instead, I got a message informing me that their office was closed and that their business hours were from 9 to 7pm.  What sort of technical support is only available from 9am to 7pm?  I get home around 7pm!  I realize Look Communications were having financial issues but reducing your technical support to hours between 9am to 7pm only shows that your loyal customers are not number one and definitely not your top priority.  My family did not even get a notice informing me of such a change.

Lessons Learned:  To remind your customers that they made the right choice in choosing you over the competition.

In the end, my family changed over to cable internet with Rogers.  Was it a good move?  So far it seems pretty good although I can’t say I like the bandwidth limitation.  We will see how long Rogers can keep my family and I as customers because as a service provider — loyal, happy and long-term subscribers are who you want as your customers.  They will ultimately spread the word.

But check online — as my sister pointed out to me, Rogers has its share of unhappy customers.  The questions I would ask — can they do better?   Are they willing to put in the effort?w

Share This

One Aspect of Marketing that isn’t Really Marketing?

Published
by
Ehren
on December 4, 2007
in Aspirations, Interests, Mentions, Ponderings, Unthinkables, books, economics, marketing, policy and technology
. 0 Comments

I’m accustomed to reading a lot of business idea manifestos and the more or less revolutionary or evolutionary ideas of people such as Patricia Martin, Seth Godin and Chris Anderson. Whether it is the form of marketing in customer service or the theory behind the long tail, I find a lot of people are so focused on their core business that they really forget about their key business. I got talking with a colleague at work and I explained why I felt independent booksellers in Canada need to get their act together. It’s not that they are not great booksellers, it is just that they slow to realize that customer behaviour is shifting online, or they are reluctant to adapt to this trend.

The argument is that small booksellers do not have the resources for online marketing is valid and very true, and by no means am I suggesting that they take upon online marketing themselves when they are already short-staffed and short on resources. I however must point to the Canadian Booksellers Association and ask why the lack of vision? Why the lack of direction?

The first step towards an online presence IS NOT e-commerce. I think that is where independent booksellers are mistaken. What should be happening is a result-based campaign focused on bringing awareness of independent booksellers across Canada. How? I point to the American initiative — Booksense.com

I’m allowed to make fun of myself — I am in marketing. Sometimes I think this is true of all marketers when we’re so focused on our core business that we forget about our actual business.

Why does it work so well as a first step?

It’s all about making it easier for consumer to find you. Booksense.com just simply asks the visitor to type in their zip code and it automatically brings up the closest local independent bookstores. Is that so hard to create? Instead we have a difficult to navigate website.

My colleague who happens to be a very loyal supporter of independent booksellers argued that people should know about them and consumers should just go find out about them. Very true and ideally, this should work but here’s why it hasn’t worked and it will continue that way until independent booksellers change their strategy.

The first element that is working against an independent bookseller is brand and the fact that I can recognize only Chapters or Amazon indicates that it is one strike against them.

The second element is pricing and well, that’s just not going to be something that can be addressed in the industry.  Big retailers can under cut the pricing of any small retailer easily.  There just isn’t any way around that.  You can only differentiate in order to compete.

The third element is whether or not the consumer is aware. You may judge me however you may want — but I can honestly say that until I finished my publishing program in school a couple of years ago, I did not even know about independent booksellers. I understood that there may be a small bookstore here and there, but I had no idea that there were so many. My friend pointed out that there was a huge marketing campaign to promote buying from local independent bookstores so I should have known. Should — exactly the word that will cause a marketing plan to fail, and precisely how that marketing campaign failed me as a consumer by not equipping me with the freedom and options to shop elsewhere.

Did I notice it? — No.

Have I even heard of it? — No.

Where was it? Where was this campaign that was meant to encourage people to not buy from big box retail stores like Chapters Indigo? If I did not notice it, then think of how many people did not notice this campaign as well? If I did not know about independent booksellers then think of how many people how there that do not know about them as well?

Is it a bookseller’s role to promote themselves to every single consumer? — Definitely not!

Is it a bookseller’s role to ensure that they are easily found by all consumers? — Most definitely.

Ensuring that your business is easily found is my main point in this post. We are too focused on managing the processes of our daily lives and not looking forward. We are too busy focusing on who will buy it rather than focusing on who might be interested in it. We are so focused on the already converted — those who already love books that we forget about those who may just actually buy it if they knew more about it, but it requires more effort than simply promoting a book in the newspaper, hand selling a book, or hoping for a television interview.

We should spread some of that intense focus on to consumers who don’t view books as a high priority. Why? Just because they regard books as a second or third or lesser priority doesn’t mean that they are not a viable customer. Consumers are individuals of a great multi-faceted and multi-layered society, to reach them, we need to actually reach out in many different ways — or at the very least make it easy for these people to find us or the products we create. Is this marketing? To many it isn’t but it really is and ironically it is the most fundamental aspect.

Make life easier for them, help them find your local bookstore, and they may just happen to drop by and purchase a book. I don’t expect the independent booksellers to take action alone, but I do look towards the Canadian Bookseller Association for the leadership.

This was only the first step … there’s more but that’s enough out of me — for now.

Share This

The Cause, the Will and the Climb - CN Tower Climb 2007

Published
by
Ehren
on September 27, 2007
in Aspirations, Interests, Mentions, Ponderings, Unthinkables, fun, hiking and policy
. 0 Comments

The Cause

I never always enjoyed hiking.  That is until I got into photography.  In fact prior to photography I hated nature because nature bothered my allergies and I considered them the source of my allergic reactions.  Photography opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at the world and a different philosophy altogether.  It ultimately led me back to nature where I found myself urning to be in lush green areas and feeling the winds brush against my face atop the mountains.  This is the case only because of two reasons.  One being that I am fortunate enough that my family has always made it a point to travel around and see or experience new parts of the world no matter how close or far.  The second being that if I were not able to pick up a camera and begin experimenting with taking photographs, I would never have ended up enjoying nature like I do today.  Today I tolerate my allergies and only recently found out that in some remote areas where the air is truly clean, my allergies are practically non-existent.

The Will

Fast forward to today.  I have had the opportunity to hike in many different areas and I’ve recently had the chance to hike in the mountains of New Hampshire.  What’s the big deal you might say?  Well, not everyone has that opportunity and I believe that everyone should have the ability to grasp that opportunity if they’d like to.  Often social and economic circumstances do not allow for people to even give a second thought to hiking.  When has walking in the wilderness become a luxury?

The Climb

Therefore I decided to climb the CN Tower this year in an effort to raise a modest amount for the United Way.  I’m also hoping to assemble a team at my workplace to raise more money together.  I hope everyone out there will support my cause or the United Way and help contribute to our community — even if just a few dollars.  If you can’t spare a dollar, no problem … let out a cheer (or roar!) in support of my climb and that’d be just as good :)

Here is where you can go to support my climb up the CN Tower!  Many thanks!

Share This

Back to School-ing

Published
by
Ehren
on September 3, 2007
in Aspirations, Interests, Mentions, Ponderings, Unthinkables, fun, marketing, philosophy, policy, politics, travel and work
. 0 Comments

I just got back from Philly yesterday night after dropping by Buzzy’s on the way home.  Buzzy’s is THE best place for buffalo wings and pizza if you are passing through Niagara Falls, NY.  It’s a small family-owned restaurant that isn’t exactly the most smoothly-run restaurant in the world, but the food makes it all worthwhile!  I wish I had a photograph for you but definitely recommend a slice of their chocolate peanut butter smoothie.  Among all the desserts that my sweet tooth aches for, that ranks number one on my chart.

Top Five Favourite Desserts

1.  Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie (Buzzy’s)

2.  Fried Ice Cream (ranks slightly higher than pretty much any other ice cream related item)
3.  Sweet Potato Pie

4.  Soft-baked Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Farmer’s Market)

5.  Pecan Pie (ranks slightly higher than the rest of the other pies and all other desserts which I find amazing regardless)

What does this have to do with schooling?  Well, nothing but I thought I’d start off sweet and then throw out the hard stuff.  I think funniest things about desserts and school is what I remember as a kid.  What I would do for some chocolate or something to soothe that sweet tooth.

Now what am I taking a school-ing for?  Because I love learning (sans the exams of course).  Of course this will mean that I am ultimately very busy for the next few months but hopefully it will all be for the best and I will come out with some newfound skills and abilities.

While I was travelling through Pennsylvania and its many beautiful cities and small towns, we often stopped for a bite to eat at diners, fastfood chains and the odd tourist attraction.  I admired the number of small businesses that were able to thrive in small town USA, many of which would not be able to in Canada.  These towns were only a mere one or two hours apart but the landscape was different as were the people.

Small towns in Canada should not need to depend on resources that larger cities demand.  One thing that I definitely noticed was the fact that people from all over Pennsylvania would travel through smaller towns, something that does not happen frequently in Ontario.  It’s the unfortunate consequence of our geography when a massive majority of our population lives within the core areas of southwestern Ontario.  There are major implications for Canadians and Ontarians in general when majority of employment is located in southwestern Ontario and people must live near where they work.  I look forward to the time when employers promote and consider telecommuting seriously.  Just commuting alone to downtown Toronto, I lose four hours a day.  That’s four hours I could do whatever else I wanted to keep me being happy me.

Back to school-ing.  Notice in school, we were graded by the exams we take, the projects we finish, and the assignments we hand in?  Perhaps there was a small participation mark but the large percentage of credit was given for work completed.  If school is like that, why isn’t work?  If employers and employees wanted to get the most of their work or free hours, being paid per project is the most efficient and effective manner of operating.  Add on performance measures and you’ve got an operation that will nearly ensure things get done on time or as efficiently as possible.  I wonder how long it will take for companies to start realizing that hourly and salary based work is not the best way to make use of time.

Now why the connection between desserts and school again?  Well, it means less time for me to enjoy and make the desserts that life brings to the table.  Only for the meanwhile …

Share This

Marketing and Advertising Ethics - a Question of Face(book)

Published
by
Ehren
on August 23, 2007
in Mentions, Ponderings, Unthinkables, ecommerce, marketing, policy, politics and web 2.0
. 0 Comments

Earlier today I ran across a some news from both ZDNet and TechCrunch about Facebook pushing the perceived boundaries of targeted advertisement further by matching advertisers with the end user via the data collected from the user’s profile as well as from their “social graph”.  TechCrunch suggests that there could be the possibility for Facebook to predict what a user would want in the future through such data exploits.  A the same time, there is speculation that Facebook would continue it’s relatively costly advertisement model which is based on the number of impressions, as opposed to pay-per-click.  Here are my initial thoughts on these matters:

  1. If  indeed Facebook is planning to continue with such a model, I don’t believe it will work as well as people think.  Paying per one thousand impressions (CPM) is an antiquated model in my opinion and does not effectively justify any sort of ROI.  While the big box corporations will jump at Facebook, small and medium sized businesses will continue to spend their money on Google, Microsoft or Yahoo pay-per-click ads.  Sure it’s not as advanced and may not be considered to be as “relevant” to the user as the user-targetting system that Facebook utilizes, but the effectiveness from my perspective just does not justify the cost.  So far I cannot say I have clicked on any Facebook ads.
  2. I personally don’t like data mining and utilizing the acquired user behaviourial patterns and profile’s personal data to have advertisement matched according to me.  It seems a little too much in my opinion, and slightly overbearing.  In fact, if Facebook decides to thoroughly utilize my profile’s data, I think they should provide all users with a big and bold privacy notice letting them know that their personal data is being used for advertisement relevancy.
  3. While majority of people are loving Facebook, I am very hesitant to endorse the web 2.0 company and am actually some what suspicious of its objectives.  Call me paranoid, but I much prefer when I can decide for myself what businesses can see about me (on my website).  I also enjoy the fact that they can’t determine what I want based on my actions.  Businesses should figure that out based on customer feedback, not by collecting data that is considered valuable “marketing” information.  That’s what truly successful businesses do to show that they are human beings, they communicate with their customers.

I may be a big fan of internet marketing, but I believe it is very important to keep the human aspect alive, to maintain client/customer relations and to respect an individual’s right to absolute privacy, regardless of where the boundaries are being pushed today by the most recent  generation of social media savvy people.

Share This

How the Chinese Lantern Festival and Ontario Place is Failing Customers

Published
by
Ehren
on July 29, 2007
in Mentions, Ponderings, fun, marketing, policy and reviews
. 0 Comments

Ontario Place’s Chinese Lantern Festival

Last year the Ontario Place opened its doors for a Chinese Lantern Festival which displayed numerous complex and extravagantly designed lanterns by Chinese Master Craftsmen from the China Colour Lantern Museum of Zigong. My family and I went to check it out and were definitely impressed by the lanterns. What we were not impressed about was the fact that a general ticket costs $25 (seniors and children $20 with children under 4 entering for free) and yet there was only a measly four or five hours to enjoy the exhibit. Keep in mind that there were two IMAX films to watch, each one an hour or so in length and the extremely long lineups for these films. Put that together with events, performances taking place, as well as purchasing some food if you’re hungry, and you barely have any time to check out the lanterns so you end up rushing around or deciding to sacrifice one thing for another.

Should I see the lanterns? Should I watch the movie? Which movie?

I said screw the movie …

This year according to the website, the schedule is as follows:

July 19 - Sept. 3, 2007 — 7pm to 11pm

Sept. 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, 27-28 & Oct. 4-5, 2007 — 6pm to 10pm

Sept. 8-9, 15-16, 22-23, 29-30 & Oct. 6-7, 2007 — 5pm to 10pm

I have heard complaints from this year’s customers about the fact that holding the exhibition from 7pm to 11pm in the middle of summer is ignoring the fact that on a typical summer day here in Toronto, Ontario, the sun begins to set at around 9pm which gives barely any time for people to walk around and admire the lanterns in the darkness of the night.

Ontario Place, why not extend the time to midnight? It is the weekend after all and you are charging people $20-25 to enjoy the Chinese Lantern Festival (emphasis: Lantern). Let people actually enjoy the lantern festival as it is meant to be enjoyed, not a rushed experience. Allow people to get the most value out of their trip to the festival. Why not?

If they’re not satisfied, word will get out (like this) and while your first time customers will continue to grow, past customers that are not satisfied will likely take a pass on it. Customers who enjoy it one year, will take the word and spread it, and they will return again with friends and family.

Forcing your customers to choose between attractions that they paid for is a bad idea.  Chances are that if given alternatives, they will choose not to return.  Sure, there aren’t really any alternatives in this case, but only considering this situation would be poor short-term thinking.  In the long-term, you want your customers to love you!

Monkey King

Share This

Close
E-mail It
Clicky Web Analytics