Archive for April, 2010

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DR. WHAW? – April 29, 2010


2010
04.29

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This post was written by awesome DR. WHAW? Contributor Rachel Boyman.

Happy Thursday everyone! Behold the list of items I Didn’t Read While Hard at Work (but wanted to) – enjoy!

DR. WHAW? – April 29, 2010

1. LinkedIn Follows Facebook And Twitter Into ‘Follow’ Model by Leena Rao @ TechCrunch

I read about LinkedIn’s new “Follow Company” feature this am and immediately began “following” my company (shouldn’t I get a prize for being first?!). I think this is a great addition on their part–kind of makes you wonder why they didn’t think of it earlier.

2. Kindle Firmware Update Includes Facebook and Twitter Integration by Stan Schroeder @ Mashable

I love to read, and when I received the Kindle as a belated birthday gift, I thought it would simplify how I digest news & content. Then came the iPad, and I felt like my Kindle (which I hadn’t been using all that frequently) became instantly obsolete. This gives me hope that my Kindle will be able to keep up, if not outpace, new mobile devices.

3. Everybody Knows About Twitter – But Only 7% Use It by Frederic Lardinois

How can this headline not get your attention? Great post about a study examining knowledge & usage of Twitter, especially in the context of comparisons with Facebook. Made me think about how at first Facebook felt like a network that you used to connect with your peers & long-lost friends, and then one day, your aunt, your high school English teacher and your dentist were all “friending” you.  I wonder if Twitter will have a similar trajectory.

4. Facebook’s Eroding Privacy Policy: A Timeline by Kurt Opsahl

Today, Nick Bilton of the New York Times created a lot of buzz with a single tweet about Facebook’s thoughts on privacy. Whether you agree that total transparency is better for everyone if it becomes the norm, this is an interesting look at how Facebook’s privacy policy has evolved over the years.

5. iJustine in a bag by iJustine

All this tech & social media talk made me think you might need a laugh. I dare you to try to keep a straight face while watching this video from Justine Ezarik (aka iJustine).

Happy (almost) Friday to all – catch you next week…

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DR. WHAW? – April 22, 2010


2010
04.22

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This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Rachel Boyman.

I’m ready to start pretending its Friday, so here goes kids!

DR. WHAW? – April 22, 2010

1. Facebook’s Instant Personalization is the Real Privacy Hairball by Liz Gannes

All day (and yesterday) I kept seeing tweets on the latest developments from Facebook/f8 – it was driving me crazy that I didn’t have time to sit down (figuratively speaking) and digest it all. Since I use Facebook primarily to connect with friends and family, my profile contains a significant amount of information based on who I am and what I say – which is why I’m particularly concerned about protecting my privacy – and this is why.

2. Debunking the Myths of Telecommute by Sylvia Marino (as told to Patricia R. Olsen)

I’m slightly envious of my friends and family members who have the option of working from home when they need to, making it really easy to fantasize about how great working remotely could be. This perspective from a female executive at Edmunds.com exposes the misconceptions behind telecommuting and reveals the cons that people often overlook.

3. This is What a Tweet Looks Like by Sarah Perez @rww & @raffi’s Map-of-a-tweet

I saw this a couple of days ago and just found it fascinating. I’m no “web ninja”, so an inside look into what a tweet really looks like in code on is pretty freaking cool – it also makes me feel like I’m reading a foreign language.
4. Is This Retweetable? by @Sheamus

Once you join Twitter, it doesn’t take long to notice who understands quantity vs. quality when it comes to tweeting, especially when it comes to retweets — just today I realized that some of the people I follow are better sources of news than the actual news organizations they’re linking to – kind of an organic filter.  Seeing retweets that clog up my feed or repetitive “metweets” make me more aware of what I’m putting out there too.

5. Peace in the home: Sharing an iPad with Your Spouse by Michael Rose, tuaw.com

This might be kind of an odd choice considering it revolves around 2 things I don’t have: an iPad and a spouse, but Rose’s breakdown & clever link inserts were both educational and engaging.  It was a really interesting read and I felt like I learned a lot about user experience on the iPad that is transferable to other devices.

6. 53 Life Lessons from Homer Simpson by Steve Scott

A fun compilation here — this advice is wrong enough that in certain contexts, it sounds right. For example, life lesson #10 (“Son, this is the only time I’m ever gonna say this. It is not okay to lose”) could be interpreted as ‘failure is not an option’ or ‘never give up’…see what I mean?

7. Tweet Tweet Boom Boom: How Tech Start-ups Like Foursquare and Meetup Are Trying to Overthrow Old Media and Build a Better New York by Doree Shafrir

Finally, if you haven’t seen this piece from New York Magazine, it’s worth a read. It’s a bit NY-centric, but it really chronicles some of the more well-known start-ups in NYC and adds additional perspective following this like-minded NYTimes dealbook piece.

That’s all for me – as I say in real life: TTYL!

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DR. WHAW? – April 21, 2010


2010
04.21

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Danny, Measurement, Social Media | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Danny Prager.

It’s been a fascinating day in the digital world, with all the announcements from the Facebook F8 conference. Facebook has moved closer to creating a web that is entirely social– where likes and connections become more important than hyperlinks. Alright, enough with my excitement about the F8 conference, and on to the links.

DR. WHAW? – April 21, 2010

1) First Take Analysis, Facebook’s Crusade of Colonization, Jeremiah Owyang:

If you didn’t have time to follow the conference live, or are looking to understand what all of the announcements mean, this is a great place to start. The Matrix format is really conducive to understanding complex concepts quickly and effectively. Thanks Jeremiah!

2) Fans, CPM, and Academic Rigor, Clay Parker Jones:

Have you heard about the PER statistic in Basketball? I hadn’t until I read this post yesterday. The PER statistic is an amalgamation of the most important individual metrics in each game as proven over the last 50 years of NBA basketball.
It is an amazing celebration of the power of statistics to understand the world around us. Okay, so what does the PER have to do with social media? You may have heard of the social media measurement company who argued that a Facebook fan was worth $3.60? This post argues that “judging fan value by how many free impressions they can create seems like judging an NBA player only by their free-throw shooting ability.”

In social media measurement we need to move beyond valuing fan relationships based on impressions.

3) Yes, I Do Mean Oneline, Polinhock’s Ponderings:

Love this concept of “oneline”, and I think more and more people are beginning to meld their on and offline lives. As communications professionals, we need to think about ways to bridge that on and offline gap. We don’t separate our lives into print, online, and tv so why do our marketing/pr/ and ad campaigns?

4) Introducing Peer Influence Analysis, Forrester

Quantifying peer influence is going to be big business, as people’s influence on each other rivals online advertising.

5) Definition of Lethal Generosity: Unleashing Corporate Superpowers to Do Good, Communcation Overtones

“Lethal Generosity”, coined by Shel Israel in his book Twitterville, refers to the way a corporation can use their skills to advance social good while also increasing revenue. This post offers an interesting primer on “Lethal Generosity.”

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DR. WHAW? – April 20, 2010


2010
04.20

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This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Melissa Cafiero.



Rebecca is kind enough to allow me the next two weeks off blogging duties while I move and transition into my new gig (yeah, she’s awesome). J So, this is the last post from me until mid-May, but I will be back! See you on the other side!

DR. WHAW? – April 20, 2010

  1. What Unpaid Internships Say About Your Company by Ross Perlin – I read several articles recently regarding unpaid internships (are they legal, etc.) so this post, which kind of looks at it from a different angle, was thought-provoking. There are some valid points here. And when you’re in the middle of work, bouncing from deadline to deadline, you don’t really think about how your company is being perceived when it offers free internships. But thinking back to my college days, I vaguely remember having similar thoughts about companies.
  2. Four Search Engines Marketers Should Know About by Monica O’Brien – Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but I haven’t heard of any of these before! Definitely marking this as a favorite. Have you used these; do you have a favorite?
  3. Five Tips for Improving Monday Mornings by Gretchen Rubin – Ugh, Mondays. If you frequently dread Monday mornings, there are some great tips here. Have you done anything differently to help you look forward to Mondays?
  4. Job satisfaction: A study in favor of an uncluttered, detached career by Erin Doland – Have you ever heard of the “detached job (you clock in, do your job, clock out, like your colleagues, but rarely think about work when you’re not there)”? Do you have one? According to a study, it
    “…might be a cause for happiness and job satisfaction.” What do you think?
  5. Top 10 News Bloopers – As always, a good laugh. Some are oldies but goodies.
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DR. WHAW? – April 15, 2010


2010
04.15

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This post was written by DR. WHAW Contributor Rachel Boyman.

Hello DR. WHAW readers!  As promised, here are some things I Didn’t Read While Hard at Work (but really wanted to of course) – enjoy!

1. Questions answered on business blogging by Felix Salmon

Salmon’s a pretty well-known voice within the financial news media, and he posted this after a journalism student emailed him with some questions on business blogging (not sure whether it was an undergrad vs. grad jschooler). It’s a good piece discussing how the Web has unlocked opportunities for bloggers and journalists, and everyone in between working to report on a topic. The comments below the post are also pretty interesting – the one thing missing is the name of the student who submitted the questions (gives credit to the mind that posed the questions Salmon thought worthy enough to answer!).

2. Cisco CTO: Welcome to the Video Revolution by James Rogers @ The Street.com

I spotted this clip of an interview with Padmasree Warrior, Cisco CTO (and avid tweeter which makes sense since it looks like this took place at Chirp). Though most of the technical language is over my head, Warrior touches on a major point – that we’re really at “just the beginning” of the video revolution. Really fascinating when you consider both the speed of Web technology and the fact that YouTube was started more than 5 years ago! Doubtful that anyone would/could argue with Warrior on the Web becoming a platform that will have huge ramifications for industry.

3. How Virgin America Uses Promoted Tweets by Jennifer Van Grove

After watching Oprah’s interview with Sir Richard Branson yesterday, I’m not surprised to find out that Virgin was specifically approached by Twitter (not vice versa) to be one of the 10 initial advertisers of Promoted Tweets. This Mashable article is full of really fascinating nuggets – one of them being that Virgin America plans to use Twitter exclusively to announce & promote a new market next week. This also got me SUPER excited for an upcoming trip in which I’ll be taking my first (virgin?) Virgin flight!

4. Tweet Level by Edelman’s @jonnybentwood & @alexparish

Maybe I’m the last to the Tweet Level party here, but I came across this today and, in addition to checking out my own Tweet Level, had a lot of fun checking out the tweet levels of users and institutions (@whitehouse is very popular with a score of 93.2, but engagement is less than half at 42). One thing that made me sad – Kim Kardashian’s Trust Score is higher than Oprah’s (@KimKardashian = 97.2, @Oprah = 66.3).

5. Bye Bye Tasty Blog Snack by Justine Ezarik (aka iJustine)

I find iJustine’s presence on the Web totally engaging, and her latest blog post is about her decision to move her vlog to a better-branded site. If you haven’t watched any of iJustine’s YouTube channel, I highly recommend you check ‘em out (though I don’t recommend starting out late in the evening – could take you into the wee hours!).

6. My Parents Were Awesome by Eliot Glazer

This one’s just for fun but I love discovering sites who’s genius lies in their simplicity (I mean that in a good way, truly). I came across this blog this morning and immediately added it to my regular blogroll – what a great idea! No surprise Glazer was rewarded with a book_deal.

That’s all for me – going to try to make it an early bedtime night – been a long week but TGIF!

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Is definitive social media measurement spelled SAS SMA?


2010
04.14

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NOTE: These opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer.

I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the recent release of Social Media Analytics by the SAS Institute. Basically SAS has revolutionized social media measurement by making real-time analytics and accurate automated sentiment a reality.

So what does this mean for social media analysis? Is this it?


Why it’s too early to tell:

It’s obviously not the perfect tool. Yes, it’s real-time and can provide analysis faster than manually processing data. But the automated sentiment is still not perfect. Maybe I’m asking too much, and I do admit that this is a huge step forward. But is it perfect? No.

Can the automated sentiment be changed? I wonder if it’s possible to edit posts and how they’re assigned. If I can view a tweet I clearly think is positive and it’s marked neutral, can I edit that? I understand that this tool will learn as it goes, but it still can never be as accurate as humans.

Are actual posts easily viewed? Part of my job is monitoring as well as measurement. If there is a sudden increase in volume, I want to know why. I want to know the actual content driving the surge, not just that it’s 67.5% positive and mostly found on Twitter. Is this easy to view in SAS SMA?

How are searches built and amended? Is there an easy way to view and alter searches to filter out irrelevant content? Some searches are absolutely riddled with junk, and it’s imperative that this be easily weeded out to be sure only relevant content is included in analysis.

Is the topic analysis the same for every search? Not only do topic categories differ for every search, but topics also grow and evolve. Are topics preset or can they be changed as time goes on? How are these determined? It’s always been a big deal to me to be able to analyze social media content by topic as well as by sentiment. The sentiment could be perfect, but flawed topic analysis would render this capability almost useless.

Obviously there is still a lot of speculation, but I am incredibly excited to see this tool in action at some point and compare it side-by-side with other monitoring and measurement tools available.

What do you think? Is this the end-all for social media analysis? What is the tool missing?

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DR. WHAW? – April 13, 2010


2010
04.13

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This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Melissa Cafiero.

I have a bit of exciting news to share before we jump into what I didn’t read while hard at work (but wanted to!) today. I have accepted a job offer with a PR agency in Seattle and my husband and I will be moving to the Pacific Northwest in two short weeks. I’m certainly going to miss Texas (my home for the past 20+ years), but am excited about the new adventure!

DR. WHAW? – April 13, 2010

  1. Analytic.ly Provides Real-Time and Historical Twitter Analysis by Jolie O’Dell – Analytic.ly, a new tool by PeopleBrowsr, aims to help users “visualize, study and measure” conversations on Twitter. It offers custom reports and graphs, stores data to help you spot trends and provides real-time results. The cost? Premium features begin at $20/mo. Check out the screenshots on Mashable – pretty nifty.
  2. Even If You Can’t/Won’t Engage, You Need to Monitor by Danielle Cyr – Before you and/or others in your company start arguing about jumping into conversations and getting engaged, at least do one thing: monitor. See what people are saying (they are talking about your brand) and look at what your competitors are doing. Are they doing something right? What are they doing wrong? What can you learn from them? And don’t use $$ as an excuse. There are a ton of free tools that can help you get your monitoring program off the ground.
  3. Five Things Every Publicist Wants the Media to Understand – Reporters and bloggers call out PR practitioners all the time when we screw up. And sure, we make mistakes and should learn from them, but I love the five bulletpoints: “Reporters help us accomplish our goals, but please remember we help you with your jobs too.” “We are not encyclopedias.”   “We too deal with tyrannical, delusional bosses and soul-crushing demands on our time.” “Our jobs are also in jeopardy.”  “It all comes full circle, baby.”
  4. How to Make Good Use of Time Pockets by Ali Hale – How many times a day do you sit at your computer and think, “Okay, 10 more minutes before my next meeting. I may as well not start anything new because it’s not enough time to get anything done.”? It happens to me all the time! I LOVE these tips, which are also conveniently broken out by Work pockets and Home pockets (of time, not Hot Pockets).
  5. To appreciate, first acknowledge by Mary Ellen Slayter – Isn’t it nice to feel appreciated? What makes you feel like a valued team member?
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DR. WHAW? – April 12, 2010


2010
04.12

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This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Clay Schossow.

Greetings, all!  I ran a 10 mile race on Saturday, so that instantly made me feel that my weekend was a really productive.  However, I neglected to factor in the dehydration into my Saturday evening drinking, so Sunday’s pain quickly erased all of Saturday’s productivity gains.  With that being said, I’m excited to kick off the week and get to work.  Here’s what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Word (but wanted to!), today, and hopefully it gives you motivation for your week.

DR. WHAW? – April 12, 2010

  1. Not Disruptive, and Proud of It — This post from Smart Bear’s founder, Jason Cohen, is a really great defense of creating products and services that are incrementally better rather than aiming for totally disruptive.  He also points out that many of the products and companies (e.g., iPod and Google) that we think of as disruptive started out as just shooting to be incrementally better than their competitors.  This post reminded me of what we’ve always said about our software at NMC — it’s evolutionary not revolutionary.  That philosophy has worked well for us and it’s great to see such a prominent entrepreneur making a case for it.
  2. 4 Reasons Why PR Agencies Are Taking Over Social Media — A short, but insightful piece from Jason Keath.  I’ve always maintained that social media was one of the best things to ever happen to the PR industry in the past several decades, and Jason does a great job of elaborating on this point and explaining why social media and PR practitioners are such a great fit.
  3. 5 Innovative New Business Models to Consider in 2010 — Rohit Bhargava takes a look at five businesses that are making money in different ways and how their models work.  It’s always interesting to see people using new revenue models, and eschewing the commonplace ad-supported or pay to play models.  I always thought Mint.com had an interesting revenue model, and appreciate Rohit opening the shades on several other new strategies.
  4. Google Unveils New Google Docs — OK, this one is kind of cheating b/c I did read and watch it while I was at work.  However, I think it’s a huge deal for those of us who spend a good portion of our days writing and communicating with others.  Personally, I hardly ever use the current Google docs.  They’re hard to format, the collaboration isn’t actually that fluid, and they can’t import cleanly.  This new infrastructure looks really promising and is definitely going to cause me to give another hard look at Google Docs.
  5. Happiness – 10 Key Things We Know — In the spirit of my run this weekend, here’s a list of things from the Saatchi & Saatchi CEO we know about happiness.  You’ll see exercise clocks in at #10, and I have to agree that training for the race certainly helped lower my stress levels; after a busy and crazy day, rather than just going home and stewing, I would get out there and work off the stress.  Also, I love #5: “Expressing gratitude enhances your own wellbeing and that of the recipient.”  This point really made me think of all those people or clients who never say thank you for anything, and it’s true that most of them are generally unhappy.

Well, that’s my list.  A little bit all over the place from business planning to philosophy.  Hope you enjoy it and that your weeks have started off well!

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People (and numbers) can always surprise you


2010
04.12

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I recently ended a long-term, long-distance relationship. It was tough, and it was emotional. I was afraid to lose friends during the process as is apt to happen when these things play out. One of my best friends from college had been best friends with my ex-boyfriend since they were in middle school, and I had a terrible feeling he would choose my ex in the break up. Boys stick together, right?

Absolutely wrong. He recently reached out to me just to let me know that he understood where I was coming from, and while he was sad it had happened, he said he hoped I wasn’t breaking up with him, too. I have to be honest, I was floored. He’s a college boy, and he doesn’t always make the most mature decisions in his own love life. But when push came to shove, he turned out to be a much better friend than I have ever given him credit for.

Hear me, buddy? You know who you are, and even though I always knew you were an amazing friend, I never gave you the credence you deserved.

Thinking about this over the weekend, I thought about how I tend to see things as I first interpret them. During monitoring for brands, I tend to view them as I did the first time I analyzed coverage. Is that always fair? No.

Brands, like people, can surprise you. More specifically what people are saying about a brand can continually surprise you. Numbers can surprise you.

I don’t know if I am the only person that falls into this trap (and I suspect I’m not), but I am guilty of focusing on the same trends time and time again. If one topic is a trend early one month, do I keep my eye on it for the next few months? Absolutely. But does this make me lose sight of other possible emerging trends? Admittedly, yes.

It’s imperative to keep a fresh perspective when you are analyzing data. I find that I struggle with this almost every week. And I still haven’t found the best tricks for dealing with it.

So what do you do? How do you keep a fresh mind and a fresh eye when looking at data and ongoing trends?

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DR. WHAW? – April 9, 2010


2010
04.11

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Marketing, Measurement, PR metrics, Social Media, public relations | View Comments

And I’m back! I apologize for the incredible tardiness of this post. Yesterday my mama was in town to help me with some serious and much-needed spring cleaning. I was pleasantly distracted all day long. Without further delay, I bring you what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work (but wanted to!).

DR. WHAW? – April 9, 2010

1. Measuring Social Media with Web Analytics, Part 2 by Nathan Linnell — Remember this first part of this? It was amazing, right? I highly recommend checking this out. This analyze how to measure social media referred visits that you can tie directly to social media efforts. Is this absolutely the end-all for social media analytics? No, but it’s an awesome start.

2. Social Media Measurement in the Real World by Robin Neifield — There’s been a lot of talk of measuring social media and how it might work, but this is some great “real world” advice about how to actually test out and execute some measurements.

3. How marketers are investing in Facebook and measuring ROI by Boaz Ronkin — This is an awesome little study! During a recent webinar, participants were asked to share their views on Facebook ROI and there were 2,812 individual responses! Holy cow! Check this out.

4. A “reader affection” formula: Gawker creates a metric for branded traffic by Megan Garber — Gawker Media has created what they’re calling a “reader affection” metric. Don’t believe it? I wouldn’t either. It’s not 100% accurate or reliable at this point, but this is just darn cool!

5. Excellent Analytics Tip #17: Calculate Customer Lifetime Value by Avinash Kaushik — This series is just fantastic in and of itself. If you’re interesting in analytics, you should be following Avinash. I particularly liked this post because it takes a look at a customer beyond just one sale or one “hit.”

6. Social media measurement in PR Week by Stuart Bruce — I love this article! I’ve said this before myself, ROI should not be measured in social media if you’re not actually going to measure ROI. It’s such a nice term that people hold onto it, but often what is being measure isn’t actually ROI. Yes, it’s partly semantics, but it matters.

7. The Quest for Firm Answers by Amber Naslund — You must read this! Amber put it all out there and gave firm answers. Are they perfect? No. They are incredibly nuanced, but she wanted to put something on the table about measurement besides “it depends.” This is brilliant and deserves a read and some consideration.

I hope y’all had a fabulous weekend thus far! How is the weather? Any fun spring plans?

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