The Power of Micromessaging from the creator of Utterz/Utterli, Simeon Margolis
December 29, 2008 :: Steve FisherHis bio on his personal blog is one line – “Entrepreneur trying to make it in the mobile world”. Many may know Simeon as the “Maestro of Utterz”. Utterz, the micro voice messaging company, was an idea he had that was launched by RPM Communications, the firm he was working for at the time.
In the first part of this three part interview, the impact of micro-messaging tools like Utterz/Utterli and Twitter on the business community and events like the 2008 election. Here is the transcript of that conversation:
Steve: You started Utterz, now called Utterli, while working at RPM Communications. How did you come up with the idea for it?
Simeon: Utterz was really a group effort. The guys at RPM Communications were amazing about giving me the flexibility to run with new ideas. The idea of a voice blog isn’t exactly a new one, but the Utterz product itself was really just a result of surveying our technical capabilities and the competitive environment.
Steve: Seeing that Utterli, formerly Utterz, is a mix of social networking and micro-messaging, what are your thoughts in the evolution of the micro-messaging space with products like Twitter?
Simeon: I think any platform like Twitter or Facebook is just that, a platform. The more people using them, the more they become just part of the drinking water. All the folks in the bubble seem pretty wrapped up in when are people going to ‘get it.’ When is the mass market going to realize how great these tools are and finally latch-on? Personally, I think there are just so many people who want to carry on public conversations or broadcast ‘what they are doing.’ The rest of the space will mature when people are doing what we call microblogging because that’s just the best way they communicate with the appropriate people in any given situation. If that’s getting a celebrity’s tweets or working more effectively with co-workers, it will be water. We need to start extolling the virtues of what water enables, not different flavors.
Steve: With events like the 2008 election season, do you feel that Micro-messaging tools are going to become a key element in the future of marketing campaigns?
Simeon: Funny, I was just having this conversation with some of the faculty at Babson while we were talking about social media and their MBA program. I think social technology in general is quickly changing marketing departments. A lot of people now realize it’s about figuring out how to write the budget and scale a social marketing effort. With this election, a lot of people are sitting up and taking notice. There was a lot of money raised during this election, a bunch solely through social media. It’s getting closer to a predictable, repeatable source of revenue growth. I think we’ll start seeing the kind of budgets thrown at it to shift expectations. That’s also going to change the tools and communities with which we associate so it’s going to be fun to watch.
Steve: According to Gartner, “Social Networks and Social Media” is in the “Trough of Disillusionment”. This is not a bad thing. It is essentially where the hype has worn off that these technologies and that over the next 12-18 months it will be folded into mainstream software development and adoption. Do you agree or disagree and why?
Simeon: I do agree. It’s going to be interesting to watch what companies do with their budgets. Every marketing head I’ve talked to recently has some form of social marketing on their radar and in their ’09 marketing plans. The buy-it or built-it question is still relevant here so there will probably be a ton of money wasted but there’s also going to be a ton of opportunity.
Coming Up in Part Two and Three:
In the next two parts of this interview we get his sage advice on building a successful startup and find out about his new startup, Monkey Bed Media.
Comments are moderated and will appear shortly. See terms.
