Category Archive

There is plenty of commentary on Comcast’s recent decision to stop slowing data transfer among users - notably the large files used by folks who use file-sharing applications like BitTorrent. Check out this post for a good summary of the various sides in the polemic. I realize that there was plenty of heat from the FCC on this one, but I see this as yet another example of the immense power of online users - the network or community, in social media speak - and the perils of trying to spar with online consumers. I suspect Comcast’s late conversion to civility and good citizenship has as much to do with their increasingly horrid reputation online (check out the vitriol on this popular site) as their desire to play nice with Kevin Martin at the FCC. Chalk up another win for the consumer.  

My former colleague and fellow Canadian Joe Thornley shared his “do’s and don’ts” for corporate blogs in a recent post, and they provide a very good checklist for any potential company bloggers out there. Since my focus these days in on internal communications, I reviewed the list with an employee audience in mind and - no real surprise - many of the rules still apply. Take a look.

 Do’s 

Listen first -Probably the most relevant tip with regard to internal corporate blogs. Unfortunately, I see a real tendency to want to harness this new channel to push yet more messages to employees. This is the area I will be focusing my efforts in my own company before single post is written. I also intend to increase the ways we can actually “listen” to the workforce beyond rare, formal surveys and polls. Or else, we’re talking to ourselves.

Write about things you are passionate about -Again, this is not the first instinct of many executives when they begin to write for an internal blog. The default is usually to write about corporate news or priorities, and you’re lucky if the folks writing feel strongly about these fairly prosaic issues. It’s also a tough sell to convince executives (or internal experts) to inject their personality into their posts, not just their expertise.

Give without asking for a return -See above…not a normal reaction for executives steeped in discussions of ROI and driving engagement. The challenge is to convince them these things will come, but if and only if they provide something of value to employees through the blog and folks decide to join the conversation. It’s also important to note that a blog will quickly uncover anything that is not genuine or authentic, so any concern for the employee had better be real.

Keep it positive - This may be easier to do in an internal context. In fact, the challenge may be reversed in a corporate setting, working to avoid sugar-coating problems or dancing around unpleasant facts through corporate hype or fluff. There may already be too much positive communication in most corporate settings - and some of it is likely somewhat fabricated or embellished.

Be patient and persistent - No argument here. It takes time to build an audience, to find a voice and to foster a real, vibrant conversation. This holds true for an internal blog even though in theory the employees are a ”captive” audience. Provide relevant and valuable information and allow robust, candid commentary…and they will come.

Dont’s 

Don’t use a ghostwriter -I am a strong advocate that internal authors should essentially write their own posts - even the CEO. Though it’s OK in some circumstances to help them out or do some light editing, they should provide most of the copy in their own voice. Without authenticity, the impact of the blog will be severely limited. This is a tough one for many executives used to plenty of hand-holding and direction in the development of their speeches and memos.

Don’t fake it -I make the case with my peers that to be credible an internal blog must be timely, transparent and candid. As Joe notes, blog readers can be ruthless and unforgiving at the mere hint of a cover-up or lie. Though the criticisms may not be as overt in an internal blog, lack of credibility will quickly corrode the relevance of the blog.

Don’t give up -May not be as relevant for an internal blog, but valuable advice nevertheless. This is not a short-term process with immediate rewards. Like many good things in life, it takes time to develop a good internal blog. After all, this is about building new relationships across levels, locations and communities. That’s not something that can happen overnight - particularly in companies without a tradition of internal conversation.

Read an interesting post by Shel Hotlz, who suggests that corporate websites (using Fast Company as an example) are adopting many of the social network tools into their sites - in essence becoming a mash-up of network and website. No surprise there, really, but what is interesting about this trend is how organizations seeking to foster an online conversation with fans and customers are trying to broaden their net. It’s pretty clear most companies can benefit from having a site that allows their customers to provide input, comments and ideas - and even to vote on what companies should focus on (like Dell’s Ideastorm crowd-sourcing site.) But does it make sense to open the door even wider and encourage casual fans and observers to share their ideas and opinions. To do that, you need a website that is easy to find - rather than a specific corporate web address - and compelling. This takes us back to two of the unsolved conundrums of the Web 2.0 environment - do you build your own network or do you try to piggy-back on existing networks? And do you remain exclusive in an effort to drive relevance and focus, or do you open the doors wide to avoid insularity and irrelevance? We’ll have to wait and see.

Picked up some interesting chatter online about an ex-Apple insider criticizing the company’s philosophy - and restrictive  policies - regarding social media. Check out one of the strings here. Assuming this is credible (I have no reason to doubt the story) this post is somewhat surprising, given Apple’s leadership role in product design and marketing. But if you think about it this angle makes sense, since from everything I’ve read or heard Mr. Jobs runs a fairly tight, autocratic ship and favors a command-and-control (and secretive) PR style that is out of sync with the company’s cutting-edge image. It was particularly interesting to note that Apple apparently discourages its execs (or subject matter experts) from blogging under their Apple identity…if they blog at all, and does not support the use of online collaboration tools. This approach is totally out of sync with the emphasis on transparency, candor and collaboration that underlines the Web 2.0 environment. Add another chink in the shining Apple armour…. 

Check out this post by uber blogger Robert Scoble in Fast Company. Scoble raves about new applications that allow teams to collaborate more easily and seamlessly in a virtual “cloud”. News like this is sure to make those trying to function in command-and-control companies cry in despair. While some workers are building programs online and lifting ideas and visuals from shared sites, others can’t even get access to the internet. Unfortunately, the gap seems to be getting wider.

OK, this post really isn’t about PR. But it is about how Web 2.0 technology and values are getting traction well beyond the fields of marketing and communications - the ostensible focus of this little blog. Witness the agenda of the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos, as outlined in this BusinessWeek article: collaborative innovation. Sound familiar? None other than  Wikinomics guru Don Wapscott will regale the world’s intelligentsia and moguls about topics like collaborative marketing and radical transparency. So if the global business elite can discuss this, why is it still so hard to get through the door at your friendly company around the corner?  

I was not surprised to see the reports today - including this one in USA Today - that Apple (or more specifically Steve Jobs) has decided to loosen the reins on the iPhone and will now allow third-party applications. (Apple will still stick with AT&T as the exclusive broadband/phone partner, however.) This change was all but inevitable. I’ve never met Steve Jobs but he appears to be a very smart guy, so he must have realized a few valuable lessons in the wake of several marketing missteps involving the iPhone:

• The collective insight and innovation of the crowd is invaluable…and difficult to silence or ignore
• Fans can be ardent supporters or fierce critics - depending on how you treat them
• There is nobody more critical than a (product) lover scorned
• Opening up the door to third-party applications can dramatically improve the quality and popularity of your products (see Facebook as example)
• Collaboration and transparency rule - rigid restrictions and insularity are out

 It will be interesting to see how the iPhone evolves now that the doors have been opened a little wider.  

For those cynical (or frightened) about the emergence of social networks and ubiquitous digital content, take a look at slideshare, a very cool beta website that perfectly captures the value and potential of the Web 2.0 universe. The construct of the site is simple - it’s a huge storehouse of slide presentations and photos. You can view and download at your leisure. The site allows you to join groups focusing on specific themes of topics (e.g. Brand Thinktank), view featured and most popular presentations, provide commentary and questions, search via tag…all the bells and whistles that have become common on many progressive websites.

This site symbolizes everything that is good about the Web. For professionals like me - and presumably every college student in the world - this site provides an unbelievable resource for ideas and content. And it’s all totally free for the taking (there is a quick log-in process.) And as befits the collective talent of the millions of folks online, there is plenty of fantastic material on the site. Somebody could quickly and easily build a superb presentation that would literally be the product of a virtual global team. Is all the information accurate? Not necessarily. And are all the presentations relevant or polished. Certainly not. But with a little digging you can find more than you’ll ever need to impress the clients or boss.

The fact that this site exists and is totally free is amazing enough. But it’s one of thousands of similar sites that provide value and content. All of these are testament to the incredible power and potential of the Web in the era of social networks. Happy digging.

The NY Times had a good overview this week on the outcry created by the new Wikiscanner site, which traces and posts the source of changes to Wikipedia, our favorite online encyclopedia. The site matches edits on Wikipedia with the computer network where the change originated - so now it’s much easier for all to see who has posted what edit.  The scanner has brought to light some interesting examples of companies trying to correct or shape entries under the cover of darkness. Given the potential abuses and errors inherent in the Wikipedia model, nobody would argue against the right to post corrections and clarifications - particularly for organizations featured in the listing. But what has raised the ire of pundits is the companies in question did not identify the changes as theirs - the origin of the edits only came to light thanks to wikiscanner. And some of the edits highlighted in the article were dubious at best, more akin to spin and censorship than helpful clarification. Thankfully, it appears the most egregrious edits were removed soon after they were posted, thanks to the in-house Wiki team.  

There are two important lessons here: one tactical and one philosophical. On the former, frustrated organizations should use the public forum available on Wikipedia - or even contact the editors - if they feel there are factual innaccuracies in posts related to their business. But more importantly, companies should know by now that one of the core tenets of the Web is transparency - anybody posting or editing content should identify themselves and be accountable for their comments. This is critical to the credibility of the process - and the information.

From my perspective, the end result of this open-source editing is usually better information. The collective input of the global online community combined with measured input from organizations featured in specific listings usually results in a pretty balanced, useful product.  The process isn’t perfect, but I’ll take this over unfiltered corporate propaganda.

My buddies Jim (VM Foundry) and Paul (GCI Digital Media) discovered a cool program by Amex, which is asking card members to identify and rank projects that will ultimately receive funding from the company. Check out the program here. Beyond the slick aesthetics of the site - which includes video segments hosted by web star Amanda Congdon - it’s pretty impressive to see a company like Amex use its marketing muscle on such a progressive concept. This suggests that more companies are catching on to the wisdom of crowds - and the marketing benefits of fostering stronger relationships with their customers. [Full disclosure: both Jim and Paul provide consulting to the company which pays my bills.]

Much has been written and said about the inherent power of crowdsourcing, or the collective merit of millions of individual online users collaborating or contributing their opinions and knowledge. The reality of this theory really came to me during research for my upcoming trip to Kilimanjaro.

As I confirmed my travel arrangements, it became clear I would have to spend the night at Nairobi’s somewhat notorious airport. So I started an online search to try and find out the do’s and don’ts, and any realistic sleeping options. Not surprisingly, the formal sources (airport website, Kenyan Airlines) had little relevant information - unless you count laudatory and useless promotional materials. But I found several sites where customers had posted their comments and advice, including this one. Though individual comments or suggestions in isolation were of limited use, I was able to get a good, credible picture of my options (and of the definite “don’ts”) by scanning a number of comments. (I was able to confirm that there are sleeping quarters in the airport, what they cost, where they are located and even the best location for a quiet night.) Up to several years ago, it would have been difficult if not impossible to find this information. Just another example of the power of the Web, and of the collective widsom of online citizens.