Using Social Media Locally

To me, this is an excellent 'hit list' of social media tools local retailers and business can do to tap into their more limited geographical markets.  Organizing and implementing a nationwide or even international social media strategy, one that targets millions of consumers, is such a massively different game.  But the large scope of corporate social strategy shouldn't scare away smaller, more localized businesses from taking part.  As the article points out, the question is really how to find the people around you that matter.  Online tools are getting better and better about locating these people and for the most part, with their consent.  And even if a person is not directly interested in your service or product, they could be still interesting in having a discussion with you. Just as you might on the street, find them, approach them, have a conversation. 

Um, what??

Google has always been a pioneer of user and search privacy.  I think that's why this is so shocking.  Google's CEO recently said something along the lines if you don't have anything to hide, why should you care if you search privacy is honored.  In reaction, Mozilla has said, Bing will now become it's search engine of choice.  This is not a light statement as Mozilla's Firefox browser owes Google for a big part of its success. 

To me, this is just broken logic.  It assumes our desire for privacy is based off of need, as if we all are criminals, quietly planning the demise of human kind.  Not true (well, on most days anyway).  Instead the desire for privacy is a fundamental principle in which many internet users place high value, as do most people in general.  It's the satisfaction of being anonymous in an ever more crowded world and it should still remain the user's choice to release their identity.  Not to mention, this is a slippery slope.  We all know that the Federal Government will not stop at just using search queries to find terrorists.

At any rate, I have already moved over to Microsoft's Bing.  I suggest everyone else do the same.

Real-Time Search

Ah yes, the search wars continue.  Google just announced it will be releasing a real-time search feature as part of its traditional search results in response to a similar announcement from Microsoft's Bing.  This basically means users will have the ability to see results as they are happening (such as Tweets and other posts), right in their search results.  Simple enough.  However, as the article suggests, its significance will be large.  Brands will have to be more conscious than ever with how they are being discussed in the marketplace.

While this may seem a bit invasive to some brand managers or senior VPs, it's clearly just another inevitable step towards transparency from the user's standpoint:  something, I'm sure, all saavy web users will appreciate.

Going Mobile

2010 will almost certainly bring us a new variety of mobile devices and applications bred from the deepest pockets of our global conglomerates. Advertising, marketing, consumer demand, personalization, will all continue to grow dramatically with our little devices.  A notable application that will join with the new Google Android mobile operating system, Iphone, and others is Layar.  This application teams up with the system's GPS and Camera technologies to essentially give you heads up display info on shops, stores, buildings, and other location based items in real time.  The purpose is to essentially give you a digital, information read out of your current live environment.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

However, I'm cautious of how consumers will react to the increasing saturation of mobile advertising.  We are all ready inundated with ads on TV, movies, internet, radio, magazines, and pretty much anywhere else you look, which is not my complaint, that's how it works and it does work.  But at the same time, consumers have to filter out a large percentage of the messages they receive, and have become increasingly better at ignoring messages that aren't relevant to them.  And this isn't new, it has just been accelerated.  Advertisers will have to combat this effect by digging even deeper into personalization and customization as not to turn off their fickle audiences, or worse, be ignored.  As for me, I do ponder what's on the horizon.  In 10 years, will ads be streaming across my contact lenses?

Social Business Tool

In some of my interviews, I've been drawn to asking what types of tools or strategies do the particular companies utilize for collaborative purposes.  It strikes me as essential for even small agency types to think and work towards creating efficiency around internal lines of communication.  I'm sure most everyone would agree, but not everyone seems to put it very high on the priority scale. My answers have ranged widely, and even included the use of a shared file server (this is data storage, not a communication strategy). Strike you as odd too? 

As for solutions,  Basecamp has been know as an excellent application for project management and project oriented discussion.  Also, a new application Remindo looks to be more of a social option for companies to substitute for an intranet.  Both truly allow for easy group access to a central knowledge share.  Every company small or large could stand to evaluate such an option if they haven't, especially smaller companies where information and learning can often be lost in the day to day.

Cyber Monday

This 'shopping holiday' has always intrigued me since it's inception about ten years ago.  This year's Cyber Monday was apparently quite successful for many online retailers causing some brick and mortar stores to wonder about Black Friday's traditional appeal.  As for me, I can't begin to see the appeal in waking up at 5 or 6am the day after Thanksgiving to rush out to crowded stores and lines.  Give me a cup of coffee, my laptop and my recliner please.  All that said, all this online activity is great for consumers.  It forces websites and online retailers to focus on competitive deals, website functionality, product selection and customer service.