Getting Granular: The DigitalGrit Blog

Another note on Web 2.0/ Democratization

While doing some research today, I saw a lot of posts that look at another key aspect of "Web 2.0": It's more than just user-created content as opposed to corporate-created content, and it goes beyond "conversation" and further into technology.

One of the key elements to this whole Web 2.0 thing is the shift of power from content-creator to content-AGGREGATOR.  Not only does the end-user decide which of your messages he will read, he also now has the power to determine how good, relevant and important your content is. (And don't think the search engines aren't on to this too.)

The pressure's on to create content WORTH reading/viewing/ listening to.

(JaffeJuice has the best post touching on the topic -- and from the original source, "The Long Tail" - see Chris Anderson's blog.)

Democratization of the Web = Democratization of YOUR BRAND

Corporate America, Time Magazine has just given you your wake up call. (Granted, many of you have been hearing this for the last two years. But the rest of you need get your hands of the snooze!)

With Time naming YOU as the most important person of 2006 (do I hear a Sesame Street tune coming on?) brand guardians need to wake up and smell the revolution.

User-generated media (aka consumer-generated media or CGM) is taking over the Web faster than you can say "email." If you didn't get into blogs in '04 or MySpace in '06, it's time to catch up. CGM puts the web into the hands of the users. So rather than leaving work of the web to professional designers and copy writers, the medium is now controlled by the masses. That is, by the users of Blogger and YouTube and MySpace. The right wing pundit who sounds off on the lefist conspiracy is getting almost as many eyeballs as CNN, and there are as many teens aware of LonelyGirl as "Little Women."

Power to the people.

What does this mean to you as a marketing professional? It means you no longer own your brand. It means you no longer control the message. You could try...but you shouldn't. Your brand is now as much a democracy as the Web itself, and you need to embrace the new regime.

If you love your brand, set it free! Seriously, give it wings and an open forum, and you'll fare better. Refuse the change and you'll be quickly be seen as stuffy and old-school. Attempt to control the message by manipulating the new Web, and you'll really be screwed.

Your best bet is to accept what you cannot change. People are going to write, talk, and even post videos about your brand online. They'll probably say some bad things. Let them. (I mean, they're saying it now...you just don't know about it.)

Your best bet is to let them talk, listen to what they say*and respond appropriately. Never lie or set up fake blogs or personae. Don't use stupid buzzwords and corporate-speak. And certainly don't do anything to hinder the conversation, like blocking comments on your blog. This isn't a fresh,terrifying, new hell -- it's an opportunity to humanize your brand.

Use it well. Use it wisely.

*shameless relevantNOISE plug. It was too easy.

Britney, Steve Irwin, and Dick "The Shooter" Cheney Top Yahoo in 2006

Call it Wednesday fun -- Yahoo announced their top searches for 2006, and it isn't hard to guess what the popular searches for the year were. Britney Spears, for example, has the unique distinction of making the Yahoo list five out of six years. Dick Cheney was a newcomer this year, as were Steve Irwin and Brazillian Ronaldinho. And I'm willing to bet Brangelina and Baby Suri made the list for '06, too. (I've only peeked at it so far. I am *working* here, folks.)

The top search sitelet is here. Have fun.

Major Reorg at Yahoo, 2 Execs Leave

From ClickZ: Yahoo is reorganizing into three major groups -- an audience-facing group, one for advertisers and publishers (led by now-former CFO Susan Decker) and a technology group to be helmed by CTO Farzad Nazem. Yahoo is searching (ha-ha) for an Exec to lead the audience-facing group. All groups report to CEO Terry Semel.

COO Dan Rosensweig and Media Group Head Lloyd Braun (didn't he date Elaine?) will be leaving the company. (And rumors abound that Decker will be the next CEO.)

The hope is that the changes will make Yahoo a better-oiled machine:

The reorganization is intended to make Yahoo a nimbler media company, according to Semel. He said the new structure would increase accountability, reduce bottlenecks and speed decision-making. "We believe having a more customer-focused organization, supported by robust technology, will speed the development of leading-edge experiences for our most valuable audience segments," Semel said.

AdWeek suggests that the move will position Yahoo to surpass Google, not in search, but in display advertising:

While badly trailing Google in search, Yahoo has a leading position in the display category. This week it released research, compiled with ComScore Media Metrix, showing that search ads are more effective when paired with display placements.

Yahoo has sought to turn its wider reach in display ads into a competitive advantage against Google and other rivals. To do so, the company has pushed for better integration between its search and display advertising sales teams.

Get the full 411 from TS himself on Yahoo's Corporate Blog, Yodel Anecdotal.

The Zune Gallery

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not an iPod fan. I'm the only one at DigitalGrit, for the most part, who isn't.

I love my tunes, don't get me wrong -- it's just the whole "everyone has one" thing that gets my back up. Even though Apple has always been the preferred brand of the truly cool kids, the ubiquity of iPods just brings out my (never-latent) inner rebel.

That said, I'm loving the creative Microsoft's done for the Zune. Some of it was featured in last week's Ad Age (it took me this long to skim the issue) and it's really cool. Nevermind the anti-Apple branding - "Welcome to the Social," which I happen to think is a smart differentiator. This is great stuff, no matter who's behind it.

View the gallery at zune-arts.net.

Three cheers for the "other-guy-pod." Do I think this smart campaign will crack into iPod's 75% marketshare? Probably not. But that's probably why I'll get one.

Social Networking for your Cell Phone

MySpace and YouTube on your mobile? Pretty cool. This headline from Reuters definitely caught my eye today:

Oz to Bring Social Networking to Mobile Phones

Privately-held Oz Communications, a maker of wireless messaging technologies, will announce on Wednesday a new product allowing people to access social network sites over their cellphones...

..."Clearly the user experience will not be the same as on a desktop (computer)," Mogensen said in an interview. "But the mobile phone has other attributes that are so appealing we think it will fly."

The growing use of cellphones embedded with digital cameras will encourage its use as a device to share photos and video on the spot, he said...

A social networking service would appear to users as an icon on a cellphone menu. Selecting the icon would bring the customer to a list of the most popular networking sites among hundreds of nascent Internet communities.

"If a new community arrives and becomes a major hit, our solution allows mobile operators to introduce that new community," Mogensen said.

Guess I'd better add Web service to my mobile at long last. Not only does this sound like a lot of fun to mess around with, but it'll be interesting to see where and how the marketing opportunites appear on the very small screen.

The service launches in 2007, and you can view a demo here.