The Beer Is Not the Content: People Pay Premiums for Community All the Time
June 12, 2009 :: Joe LoongThere’s been a lot of chatter recently about Web properties resurrecting paywalls around content, ranging from the “definitely doing this” (ESPN The Magazine, a USA Today e-edition), the “possibly doing this” (TV & movie streaming service Hulu), to “nobody knows what the heck they’re doing” (secretive meetings by “newspaper cabals“)
There was also the countervailing sentiment, [...]
Just Because You Give It Away…
June 1, 2009 :: Mike DoughertyThe campaign was clear, very honorable in its intentions, and was giving something away a gift thanks. And this wasn’t just a cheap give away item. It had value both financially and use. The campaign had all the makings of a successful campaign if the appropriate effort was put into it, but what happened?
What’s the Shelf-Life of Social Media as a Standalone Expertise?
May 28, 2009 :: Joe LoongThe week, the people who are usually abuzz about social media stuff were abuzz about the Gray Lady, the New York Times, appointing Jennifer Preston as their first social media editor.
Upholding the grand tradition of new media titles not being particularly clear, there was a lot of speculation as to what the Times saw as [...]
If You Aren’t Excited About It…
May 15, 2009 :: Mike DoughertyIf you’re on the fence whether you’re excited about what you do or if the shine has worn off… pick a side and go there. It’s going to suck at times. It’s going to be exhausting at others. There’s going to be days where you look at your loved one, friend, employees, or business partner and think, “What the hell did I get myself into” and the answer to that question is the very same thing “I love what I do for a living!”
Social Reviews and the Paperless Roof Repair
May 6, 2009 :: Joe LoongI had to get my roof repaired last month. Not a big deal, but it got me thinking about the whole process of finding contractors and services in the modern era.
Now, back in the bad old days, I would have probably started by looking in the Yellow Pages, which, at the time, was an actual [...]
Event: If You Build It, Will They Come? (Yeah.)
January 17, 2009 :: Joe LoongIn a couple of my previous entries, I referenced an event last week, If You Build It, Will They Come?, a look at how Frank Warren of PostSecret, and Rohit Bhargava, author of Personality Not Included, used social media tools to build communities and a measure of stardom around their now-successful blogs.
Event sponsors were Network [...]
Groups, Good Leaders and Bad Apples
January 6, 2009 :: Joe LoongOver the holiday drive, I was catching up on some podcast episodes of the PRI radio show, This American Life. (In addition to a couple of episodes from WNYC’s Radiolab.)
The theme of this particular episode, Ruining It for the Rest of Us, was bad apples — people who spoil things for other people. The prologue [...]
Your Place or Mine? Engaging Customers Where They Are
December 22, 2008 :: Joe LoongI’ve been doing a little more thinking about living in a world where everybody’s a reviewer, and here are a few things that have been shaping my thoughts:
Mike from Helpstream, a CRM-company, commented that companies should go beyond supporting customers on third-party sites, and should have customer service integrated into their own Web sites. (Amazingly, [...]
What I Learned From a Tow Truck Drivers Forum
December 17, 2008 :: Joe LoongEarlier this month, there was a story in the news about a couple in Washington, DC, who suffered a particularly galling insult on top of injury over the Thanksgiving holiday. First, someone stole the wheels off their Audi (it had been parked on the street), and then, while their car was still up on cinder [...]
Has Social Media Made the Holidays Easier, or Harder?
December 16, 2008 :: Joe LoongAs we get into the Christmas home stretch, I wanted to pause and ask a question (not surprisingly, it’s the question that headlines this entry):
Have social media and online community tools made holiday preparations easier, or harder?
My own guess going into this topic is that the effect has been pretty much neutral — a wash [...]
