And for the following five months, everything seemed to be moving ahead steadily, with no visible change in the interface or service of Delicious.

Until today, that is.

If you head over to Delicious.com, you’ll find that rather than being greeted by a wall of links, tags and descriptions, you’ll be met with a much more visual interface – completely driven by images, as a matter of fact. It’s very reminiscent of Flipboard or other similar iPad apps that rely on a thumbnail and a headline to encourage further exploration.

The images are taken from a new feature on the site called Stacks. Everyone can group their tagged items together in a broader category called “Stacks.” This is akin to what used to be called “bundles” on Delicious. Now, you can share a set of links in a visual way to tell a story, provide context or help walk colleagues or customers through concepts in a step-by-step way. This video from their help page helps to explain it:

Let’s explore why.

This week Google announced the launch of their Google News Badges. Google heralded the launch with the following description:

The U.S. Edition of Google News now lets you collect private, sharable badges for your favorite topics. The more articles you read on Google News, the more your badges level up: you can reach Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and finally Ultimate. Keep your badges to yourself, or show them off to your friends.

You’ll probably feel like the badge adoption seems familiar; after all, Foursquare made this a central part of their service.

The first time you unlock a badge on Foursquare, whether it’s an achievement you can expect (like the “Superstar” badge for 50 check-ins) or one that surprises and delights (“Crunked” for making 4 or more check-ins on one night), the service gives a positive feedback loop that makes members want to use the system even more.

Similarly, Google has created a way to make some fun and competition out of what you already do – that is, read the news. They’ve created categories with badges that allow you to level up and share your achievements if you wish. But, being acutely aware of many peoples’ need for privacy, they’ve also given you the option to turn the feature off. To me, this still makes it a viable system because there’s an element of self-competition here as well. We all like to see our own achievements, whether or not we want to share them with the world.

Google plans further developments to this project as they get feedback and observe the usage. In addition, it’s highly likely that they’re determining news reading habits from the data they’re receiving, which in turn will lead to better optimization or customization of news stories. While you’re already to get customized news categories via RSS readers, custom modules on sites like Netvibes or Google’s own iGoogle home page, Google’s news badge system could usher in the era of truly customized news stories for readers everywhere.

Scott Monty

Image credit: Austin Bryan (Flickr)

We all have a fundamental need to be heard; that implies that we’re acknowledged, certainly. Technically, hearing is simply the process of sound being transmitted and received. Telling someone that you’ve heard them is a good first step, and while that’s an easy way to make a customer feel appreciated by a major brand, there are times when it needs to go beyond hearing and to truly listen: to take to heart what they’ve said and take a harder look at a business practice or service.

It’s a cinch
Case in point: Cinch.

This service launched in 2009 and is basically an audio blogging platform. Think of it as a Twitter for podcasting. It allows people to record and upload thoughts via a voice platform and then to share online. It’s a great service and admittedly one that I haven’t utilized enough. Yet.

On May 31, Cinch announced to its customers via email that it would be changing the service’s URL from http://www.cinchcast.com to the shorter http://icin.ch. Easier to remember, right? And since they have an iPhone app, iCinch seemed logical.

Evidently not.

Customers didn’t take it that way, at least. And while I didn’t see any violent backlash online, the team at Cinch must have gotten an earful, for on June 1 – the very next day – they issued the following email to their customer base:

Yesterday, when we sent out the message regarding our upcoming website transition from http://cinchcast.com/ to http://icin.ch/, we heard back from several of our community members that they did not like the new domain choice. While it was short, they thought it was hard to remember and share with others, and did not clearly represent the Cinch brand.


Well, we took your feedback to heart. We still need to transition domains on June 7, 2011. However, we have decided to transition the Cinch website to http://cinch.fm instead. Again, other than the URL change this transition will be seamless to our users.


Please let us know if you have any questions. We apologize for any confusion.

Best Regards,
The Cinch Team

What did they do that was so remarkable? First, they let their audience know what they were trying to do, namely simplify the domain name to make it easier for the customer. Second, they acknowledged that they heard their customers’ feedback. Lastly, they took it a step further and made it clear that they listened to their customers and provided a solution that not only met the business need but the customers’ need as well.

As you think about your business and your daily interaction with fans, followers, customers and all kinds of stakeholders, consider how often you hear what it is they’re trying to convey versus how you’re listening to what it is they’re saying. Are you acknowledging them simply for the sake of making them feel good, or are you truly building their daily drumbeat of feedback into your business model?

Last year, Nestle found out the hard way that Greenpeace meant business when the latter staged a Facebook attack on the confectioner. Greenpeace objected to the process of harvesting palm oil for the manufacture of Kit Kats and barraged Nestle with plenty of negative wall posts as well as one horrific, if memorable, video. But in the end, Nestle listened to their detractors and changed their business policy to a “zero deforestation policy” to reflect a more responsible and acceptable practice.

So the next time you’re faced with feedback – from fans or detractors – you should ask yourself, “Are we listening?” The benefits could be tangible.

After all, it’s a cinch.

Scott Monty

Photo credit: x-ray delta one (Flickr)

What is it?

Essentially, it is a rewards system that makes what we already do on the web   – create and share content – fun by making it a stock market-like atmosphere. You can earn money (their currency is “Eaves”) by buying other people and you can see your own worth rise by getting other people to invest in you. When tied to other accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn and blogs, your net worth rises based on the content you either create or share. But like the other sites, it’s also a social network itself. It’s a chance to connect and brainstorm with others by finding affinity groups (“Communities”) within Empire Avenue.

How to “win” at Empire Avenue

According to the team at Empire Avenue, there are two ways to win: by being an Investor or by being an Influencer:

While the world may be defined in these two separate buckets – creators and consumers – for most of us in the social space, it’s not an either/or proposition; we’re most likely creating and consuming. But if you’re looking for a hot tip on who’s a mover and shaker and is worthy of your investment, I’d recommend these two points:

1. Think of the people in your networks who are the most active content producers (tweets, videos uploaded or commented on, blog posts written, etc.) and invest in them, regardless of price;
2. Search the “Recent Arrivals” for people you know who fit the description in #1 and heavily invest in them before their price rises. You’ll be in on the ground level and well positioned for a long-term gain.

One point of interest: you can keep your activity to Empire Avenue if you like (investing, giving “Shout Outs,” buying items), but the developers have created a way to make it more than just that: the rewards that you get for EA activity are limited in nature (dividends, currency for taking certain actions, etc.). By linking your social activity from other sites, you see your net worth rise more quickly. The main way the system does this is by using what’s known as gamification. Yes, that’s an actual term. By rewarding people with positive reinforcement for actions taken – much like Foursquare has become synonymous with – Empire Avenue uses a system of Achievements to recognize your progress. Below are some examples.

For a recent and in-depth look at how game theory is affecting the social and mobile space, take a look at what Brian Solis had to say about it (“The Games Businesses Play with Customers“).

Is there more than just fun and games?

But let’s get beyond the surface and look at the practical nature of what Empire Avenue has to offer. Robert Scoble, after interviewing the CEO Duleepa Wijayawardhana (DUPS), determined that one side feature he discovered was that it creates a way to better determine who’s actually providing value in our networks.

Empire Avenue themselves have been pretty smart about their ecosystem, as they’ve already built in a revenue stream: there’s The Shop, where people can purchase Luxury items such as airplanes, homes, boats, etc. For those who really want to rise to the top quickly, they can purchase Eaves with real cash. And I definitely see the potential for brands to enter the fray and sponsor items that they can offer for purchase.

Why I think Empire Avenue is onto something

Other sites such as Friendfeed, Quora or Klout all give us some information or let us interact with each other in some way, but they’re each limited. To me, Empire Avenue is a much more holistic, three-dimensional system that is comprised of all of the digital grunts we get on Facebook and Twitter, as well as deeper forum-related discussions via the Communities, an aggregated stream of their activity, and – most importantly – peers’ ratings of influence and effectiveness (via buys and sells). To see a really interesting conversation that Caleb Storkey had with a few influentials about this topic, check out his post.

That’s a much more realistic and informative way to gauge influence, rather than a simple one-dimensional score such as Klout. I could see companies like Radian6 (recently acquired by SalesForce.com) acquiring Empire Avenue as an adjunct to their business. Think of the value they could add by giving clients a dashboard in which they could actively participate rather than simply consume information about the influencers they’re trying to reach.

How do brands get involved?

While this may seem limited to individuals at this point, Empire Avenue does allow brands to get involved and has a separate business signup process. For well known brands, they lock down the stock symbol or brand name in order to preserve some semblance of order. We started accounts for Ford (FORD) and Lincoln (LINCOLN), linking our Facebook pages, YouTube channels and Twitter and Flickr accounts. We expect to add more content channels as we continue to explore the system. In the meantime, we’ve been lucky enough to see individuals investing in us, but we’ve also taken the important step of interacting with them (just as we do on every other social network) and we’re investing in them as well.

Other brands that have cropped up so far include Oreo, Sears, Audi and Applebees. Stay tuned as the gold rush begins. For a comprehensive roundup of other posts about this topic, as well as a set of recommendations and caveats for what it means for brands, please read – and then re-read – Jeremiah Owyang’s post. And then take a look at Adriel Hampton’s Game Mechanics blog.

I’ve just scratched the surface here; this is a very rich subject and I’ll be interested to see how it plays out. We’ve seen other efforts fizzle out, but to me, this seems to have more potential. What do you think? Have you started an account yet?

Oh, and if you’d care to buy a few shares of me, I’m SMONTY and I think I’m still a value stock.

Scott Monty

SMONTY

Image credit: unlovablesteve (Flickr)

As far back as 2007 ReadWriteWeb was asking the question. In 2008, it was Wired, wondering if the rise of Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and the like would be more en vogue for individuals, who were getting pushed aside as the conglomerate professional blogs were beginning to take prominence. In 2009, Copyblogger declared blogging dead (again) but noted that it would continue to live on. Just last year, Problogger debated the role that email played in all of this, and concluded that it’s not an either/or decision.

And now that we’re into the third month of 2011, it’s time to start the prognosticating once again, led by none other than the New York Times. Of course, it’s not the platform that’s under scrutiny as much as the users, the younger contingent of which are simply too unfocused and undisciplined to be able to focus on long-form content. We recently covered something of this when we discussed the changes in Facebook’s messaging system and its lack of subject line.

Another way to look at this is to separate the message from the medium, as Om Malik does on GigaOm. His contention is that it’s the content that matters, and the platforms are simply the ways we connect with each other. But Malik won’t have us count blogging out – there’s still plenty of room left for long-form content.

Julie Roehm parses out the numbers from the Pew Internet and American Life study that were mentioned in the New York Times article, finding that there’s a great disparity in how different generations consume content and that the older we get, the more likely we are to spend time on longer form content.

Where will this lead us? Are we doomed to sound bites, tweets and trite self-absorbed updates for the foreseeable future? Do we need to force-fit blogs to become more snack-sized as we Tumblrize the world?

For the marketers among us, we need to be prepared for all eventualities in this scenario. Which means the need to cater to the attention-starved while still supporting more in-depth content that conveys a deeper meaning with more context. For example, this would mean creating catchy headlines and could entice views of blog posts or videos. It would also mean creating shareable and embeddable pieces of content within those other formats – content that can live on its own and effectively convey your message.

The bottom line is that as content creators, we face more choices than ever in how we need to convey our stories. Consumers’ preferences are more fickle than ever, so we need to prepare for their changing tastes while unraveling the Gordian Knot of how to engage them more fully.

What’s your plan?

Scott Monty

Whether it was the Jack Benny Show on radio or the amazing Thursday night lineup on NBC in the 1990s, for the better part of half a century, we enjoyed entertainment when the broadcasters decided we should. What’s that, you say? You work on Thursday nights? Sorry, but that’s when our show airs.

To a certain extent, the VCR solved that dilemma, but it was cumbersome and required a commitment from the user. With the advent of the DVR, the process is much cleaner – no piles of tapes, no flashing 12:00 – and viewers can skip over the commercials quickly. Now, with streaming video from the likes of Netflix and today’s announcement from Amazon, the option of play-on-demand is more diversified and available than ever. We can watch programming when, how and on which devices we choose.

Such a variety of choice – being able to view programs on devices such as phones, netbooks, laptops and tablets – fractures our communal viewing habits. Whether we’re commuting, passing time while waiting to meet someone, or simply curled up on the couch, we have own own screens – and many of them. Long gone are the days of a single screen around which we could gather to watch our favorite program.

What’s Old is New Again
But there’s something interesting happening at the same time. While one might expect these fractured viewing habits to lead to more isolated experiences, new communications platforms and technologies are making it possible for us to recapture this collective experience. In a comment on a Facebook post regarding a Freep article (“TV watchers look to Web for instant analysis, laughs“), I called this the “digital living room,” in which we have the ability to have a shared experience once again.

One recent Fast Company articles point out how appointment TV has returned, because of none other than Twitter. If one watches the flow of commentary and topics that trend up during popular shows, it’s easy to see how viewers are sharing their experience with each other and offering their own stream of commentary. Fans who have TiVo’d their programs had better steer clear of Twitter while their favorite programs are on, lest they have a barrage of spoilers come their way. Indeed, American Idol and Dancing With the Stars winners are usually blurted out on microblogging sites first. In another article, Fast Company called Twitter TV’s killer app.

I actually had this experience first hand a few months ago. PBS contacted me and asked that I host a live Twitter chat (promoted through my other blog) during the premiere of a much-hyped new show. The statistics were impressive, showing a very healthy interaction in a limited time period around a very specific subject. Viewers were able to have questions answered by an expert, and they collectively shared their enthusiasm and surprise throughout the course of the show and afterward.

Okay…so?
What does it mean for brands?

The fear of skipped ads has been palpable over the last few years. Advertisers are spending more and more of their budget trying to be creative and break through the clutter. What’s to bring a brand back into the conversation?

One way would be to capture the moment through a chat on Twitter. By selecting some high-profile Twitter user in your brand’s niche, you’d have a credible authority who is able to hold a convincing and intriguing set of conversations around your product.

For additional technology resources, platforms like GetGlue, Miso and IntoNow provide alternatives for a variety of devices and for a variety of entertainment content. Each give viewers a chance to connect and share – but more importantly, services like this give brands a chance to connect as well. I can just imagine a brand that integrates a creative and interactive element around a television program that involves one of its products – either as product placement or as an ad – and requires some action of the viewers. Ideally, this interaction would take place beyond the 30 or 60 minutes of the program and continue into some other meaningful engagement.

Technologically, these are exciting times. When the technology allows us to reclaim some of the round-the-fire element of our humanity, it’s encouraging that we’re not simply living separate yet connected lives.

What do you think?

Scott Monty

Image credit: brizzle born and bred (Flickr)

But somehow, we’ve made it more complicated. Everyone has his or her own preference of how they’re predisposed to communicate and be contacted, and it’s a challenge, to say the least, to manage all of these channels and keep a mental Rolodex of preferences. Is there a solution? I don’t know. But Allen Mezquida shared his latest Smigly animation with me, and it captures it well.

Warning: there may be some offensive language in the video

Do you have a solution? Or do you just muddle along like Smigly above?

Scott Monty

Image credit: Express Monorail (Flickr)

Corporate blogging has been with us for quite some time, with some major companies having forayed into the space in the early to mid 2000s. Yet there’s surprisingly little attention paid to it today. Why is that? Is it that the shiny object / GMOOT (“get me one of those!”) syndrome has worn off? Or is it that there’s a purpose that isn’t served by blogs?

“I was misinformed.”

If you look at the recent statistics shared by eMarketer (“Corporate Blogging Goes Mainstream“), you’ll see that only about a third of companies use blogs. But if you look at the growth over the last three years, the use of blogs has actually doubled (!).

The focus on Twitter and Facebook is understandable: they’re nearly universal, they’re easily accessible via mobile devices, and there’s the ability to instantly connect users’ thoughts, actions, and comings and goings via those platforms. But blogging is more than that – or at least has the ability to be more than that.

“Can I tell you a story, Rick?”
The first thing is, it’s long form content. It gives companies the ability to have a greater narrative and develop more nuance around the message. Stories can be told in serial format so that a predictable cadence is established, with regular posts on known topics. Over time, this builds a relationship and perhaps even loyalty from readers. And fundamentally, marketing is about storytelling.

“In Casablanca, I’m master of my fate!”
While blogs are typically identified by having comments enabled for a two-way dialog, in reality the site owner is really in the driver’s seat and has more control over it. This is a reassuring fact for many marketers, who can decide which comments to publish and what major topics they’d like to cover in their next post. Many marketers still prefer the stability and perceived brand control this gives them – even though we all know that you brand is what your customers say it is. But the other benefit is that when you run a blog, you have the ability to own the platform and content, which isn’t necessarily the case when you’re using Facebook, Twitter or the like. When a crisis is brewing, this means that your blog can become a central hub of all activity – one that you control – that can still be engaging and two-way in nature, should that be required.

“Take it anyway.” [sic]
One thing I’ve always found about blogs is their infinite variety. They can be based in text, photos, videos, or a combination of any of them. They can be written by a team or by an executive. The topic can be singularly focused or can be an aggregate of other blogs. They can bring enthusiasts behind the scenes or collect ideas from fans. The point is that it’s a flexible platform that will function any way you need it to. For a great set of examples, check out Mashable’s 15 Excellent Corporate Blogs.

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

There’s no reason your marketing efforts have to be an either/or mentality. If done well, blogging can incorporate the benefits of traditional marketing as well as the new. For example, integrating blog content or headlines into the corporate website in order to keep it fresh. Doing so not only gives customers a reason to return to your site frequently, but also helps with SEO (search engine optimization). In addition, the shorter form platforms (Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, etc.) can easily be integrated into your blog, either through buttons on each post or by making it a part of the commenting platform. I use Disqus, which allows readers to log in with other accounts and share the content out on those other platforms as well. The point is, when you integrate your content plan, it allows your content to spread to wherever customers happen to be searching for it.

“Welcome back to the fight. This time I know our side will win.”
Blogging was something of a curiosity in its first wave. Now that it’s been around for a while and proven its worth as a communications and marketing tool – not to mention the new platforms, content types and technology advances – it’s beginning to mature and defend its rightful place in the pantheon of marketing channels. Now the challenge is for us to determine how best to supply a stream of story-like content and integrate that into everything we do so that the blog is not another site that’s competing for attention, but one that is strategically integrated into many other efforts.

Scott Monty

The role is clearly evolving and is one that many companies, small and large, are currently filling. I was lucky enough to be selected to fill the role of global digital & multimedia communications manager (aka head of social media) for Ford Motor Company in July of 2008, and I’ve witnessed much of the above – and more – in my role. We’re definitely at a crossroads in terms of the maturity and evolution of the function, particularly in integrating this nascent field into more business processes and making it live beyond the realm of just a handful of people within the organization.

Now, Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang) of Altimeter, along with Charlene Li (@charleneli), Christine Tran (@christineptran) and Andrew Jones (@andrewjns), have undertaken what I consider to be the definitive report on the challenges, opportunities and future of the corporate social media strategist. After surveying some 140 social strategists, interviewing 50 corporate practitioners of social media and looking through some online resources, they outlined some major findings, including:

• Corporations have anointed an Open Leader, the Social Strategist.
• They are overwhelmed with six major challenges – with little relief in sight.
• Be proactive – or be relegated to being a Social Media Help Desk.
• Senior management must be selective in hiring this role – then give full support as they evolved the corporation.

Take a look at the report to see what the six challenges of the corporate social strategist are. In addition, Altimeter has 10 executive recommendations for hiring and managing a corporate social strategist that make up a solid checklist for both those new to or seasoned in social media.

Are there other challenges that you’ve seen that should also be noted? What’s your view on the future of this role and the industry?

Also, if you’re interested, I regularly bookmark some of Jeremiah’s writings. You can find those at http://delicious.com/scottmonty/jeremiahowyang.

Scott Monty

Disclosure: I was among those interviewed for this report

In the infographic below, you’ll discover the following:

• Top 10 blogs by traffic
• The spread of pro, part-time, hobbyist and self-employed bloggers
• Breakdown of their age and demographic data
• How often they post
• What languages are most prominent (hint: English is now ranked #2 as the most prominent language of blogs. See if you can guess what #1 is.)
• Revenue earned by bloggers
• Geographic distribution of blogs within the U.S.

Typically, this is a function that was handled by Technorati. It would seem that their report is still a few weeks away. You can check out the archived posts for the State of the Blogsophere in 2009, 2008, 2007 and earlier. But it leads to the question: whatever happened to the prominence of Technorati? It’s a question that’s been asked before.

In the meantime, enjoy the eye candy. Other great infographics are available from BlogHerald here. If you have any observations or insights, I’d be glad to hear about them below.

Scott Monty

Image credit: InfoGraphicsLab.com