Q. & A. on social media in China

Thanks to Geoff Livingston for prompting a bit of reflection on what it all meant in Debbie Weil Discusses Social Media in China.

China Blogging Tour chronicles my two weeks in China in October 2007 during which I spoke to a number of audiences (primarily English speaking ex-pats) about corporate blogging and social media in the U.S.

I tried to learn as much as possible about the attitudes in China towards the tools and technologies of social media and how they're being used by businesses, both multinational and Chinese. But in two weeks, you can only scratch the surface.

Here is the complete text of my Q & A on social media in China for the BuzzBin (BB) blog:

BB: What’s the state of social media in China?

DW: It's exploding. First, there are the sheer numbers: 162 million Chinese Internet users. That puts China right behind – or almost even with – the U.S., which has an estimated Internet user population of 165 million to 210 million, depending on whom you believe. And yes, blogs are big.

There are 30 million Chinese blogs [links to PDF report], according to CNNIC. But discussion or bulletin boards, known as BBS, along with email and IMing, are even bigger. Everyone in the middle class uses BBS – to express themselves, to network, to learn. [Read about the 2007 Chinese Blogger Conference in Beijing.]

Sharon [links to YouTube interview with her], the guide I hired to take me to the Great Wall, told me she met her husband online, in a discussion forum for those who've studied abroad. Jason Ge, general manager of channel & marketing sales for Sina.com, China's major portal and BSP (blog services provider), told me the site gets 300 million page views a day. Jason and I were on an Ad-tech Beijing panel together, along with Des Walsh.

"... with that many middle class consumers online, Chinese customers are like low-hanging fruit, just waiting for companies to engage with them through blogs, contest Web sites, discussion forums, SMS and other channels. And yes there are Chinese CEO blogs."

As for corporate use of social media - both multinationals and Chinese companies - yes, it's starting to happen. Think about it: with that many middle class consumers online, Chinese customers are like low-hanging fruit, just waiting for companies to engage with them through blogs, contest Web sites, discussion forums and SMS. And yes there are Chinese CEO blogs. Here's my short list of Chinese CEO and corporate blogs.

BB: What was your biggest take away from the China book tour?

DW: The red-hot sense of possibility. I loved it. The energy, enthusiasm and entrepreneurialism amongst the professionals I met – both ex-pats and native Chinese – was astounding. China reminds me of America and the exhilaration of the dot com era. And yes of course it might be a bubble. But it's not going to burst anytime soon.

We know that China’s economy is exploding: the growth is palpable. Factories are cranking; office towers are shooting up; everybody is working 24X7.

[Aside: Remarkably, there was no (apparent) pollution in Beijing the week I was there, Oct. 15 - 19, 2007. Locals said the 17th National Party Congress, meeting that week next to Tiananmen Square, had purposely shut down factories surrounding the the city two weeks earlier. Like much of what goes in China, nobody really seemed to have the answer.]

If I could live a different life I’d move to Beijing or Shanghai, learn to speak Mandarin fluently and work there as an ex-pat. Oh yeah, my take away? I want to go back and dig deeper. You can’t possibly understand China after a two-week trip. Here’s a list I compiled of best resources to learn about social media in China.

BB: How is commenting different?

DW: Again, the sheer numbers. The Chinese are comment crazy. But you need to put commenting in a bucket that includes all kinds of posting online. The population of the US is just over 300 million. The population of China is over 1.3 billion, or 20% of the world’s population. As Sharon Ruwart, CEO of Elsevier Science & Technology China told me after I spoke at AmCham China in Beijing: “Just put two zeroes next to anything you’re accustomed to.”

So instead of 10 comments, think 1000 comments. When she started blogging for Elsevier she posted a first entry that said simply: “I’m starting a blog.” She didn’t publicize it in any way. She immediately got seven comments. Sharon and her husband moved to Beijing three years ago and are among the new group of older ex-pats.

When the Forbidden Starbucks drama unfolded (a Starbucks was formerly located inside Beijing’s Forbidden City palace; it has since moved), it was mentioned on a TV newcaster’s blog, then picked up and discussed thousands of times in discussion groups. The ripple effect? Close to 3,000 comments on one blog post about it.

BB: How do the Chinese fight off authoritarian control of their sites?

DW: They don’t “fight it off” per se. The Chinese government censors the Internet and everyone knows it. The cyber-police are always hovering. Self-censorship comes naturally. But so do entrepreneurialism and a certain amount of risk-taking. Everyone knows about proxy servers like Anonymouse.org. They’re also accustomed to sudden and unexplained shutdowns of sites like YouTube.

That happened while I was there. Everyone felt it was connected to Google’s ill-advised decision to launch YouTube China during the Party Congress meeting in Beijing.* The explosion in the use of the Internet – despite censorship – is a fascinating part of the contradictions that define China.

BB: What should the U.S. learn from China?

DW: Not to be complacent. That our utterly unfettered self-expression is precious. But to look to China for energy and possibility. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is the China Century. If you have a chance to visit, go.

BB: After blogging, what’s your favorite social media form?

DW: My new iPhone. I’m captivated by it: the expanding and shrinking photos; the text messages in bubbles; the voicemail that automatically plays back for you. Oops… wait, an iPhone isn’t social media. My husband says I haven't spoken to him since I got mine a few weeks ago.

I guess I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I’m fascinated by the concentric linkages it creates between and amongst communities. And the blurring of personal with professional. I’m wary, however, about the lack of privacy and of course appalled by Facebook’s recent misstep in how it launched Beacon for advertisers.

I have a Twitter account but don't use it much.

BB: What’s next for Debbie Weil?

DW: I’ve got some big ideas. I plan to go back to China and work with multinationals on implementing social media strategies. But as long as you’re asking… at some point I’d like to move outside the corporate realm. I would like to create the programmatic piece of Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child.

What should these kids do with their laptops? I want to teach kids all over the world how to write clearly by using a blog. How to network and empower themselves and their families by tapping into the global online economy.

I believe in the power of words. Blogs and other online channels are just a new place to deploy them. If anyone’s got great contacts at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, or another appropriate resource for executing a big idea, let me know.

* Has YouTube China been launched - ? I can’t find it. Tudou is the Chinese equivalent of YouTube.

Stellar 'Unreview' of Geoff Livingston's new book: Now Is Gone

I just got back from lunch with Washington's PR and social media impresario, Geoff Livingston, who's a pretty funny guy. He is also author of the newly-published Now Is Gone. He twittered constantly as we talked; I laughed; I told him to stop; he twittered my request. We laughed some more. You get the picture.*

We were planning BlogPotomac (blog site will be up soon!), an advanced-level Unconference on social media to be held in Washington DC in 2008.

Anyways... I've got "un" on my mind. And this blog is social media. It's real; it's passionate; it's in-the-moment. It's persuasive. No sugar-coating and nicey-nice. Oooh Geoff is getting nervous now...  heh heh as Scoble would say.

* Er, what is Twitter? Also see page 118 in Now Is Gone.

So think of the review below as a giant twitter. It's an unreview; it's a bit upside down.

Nine (out of 10) stars for Geoff Livingston's Now Is Gone

First and last, rush online and order this book. It's a gotta-have for your book shelf if you want to understand social media and how it fits into the new marketing mix (and yes, it does).

Heck, put it right next to your computer and stop twittering long enough to read it right now, yes today. It's well-written and a good read. Does Amazon have same day delivery? Can't remember.

Best things about the book

The best things about Now Is Gone are... remember, this is an unreview so they're in reverse order:

• Great cover (love the yellow and black and the swoosh image)
• Lightweight paperback that fits easily in your pocketbook or man-purse or whatever
• A quick read at 194 pages
• Short Acknowledgement
• Includes The Corporate Blogging Book in Recommended Reading (OK, just kidding)
• Well-organized (explains in a logical - and provocative - sequence why social media is being adopted, the impact on business and the challenge of integrating and executing social media strategies)
• Makes the key point (articulately and persuasively) that it's not your customers, it's your community
• Includes clear steps to determine whether your company is ready for social media
  
• Includes numerous well-written case studies. A sampling: GM, Coca-Cola, the Red Cross, Southwest Airlines and many smaller organizations
• Has a companion blog
• Includes a good introduction by Brian Solis on PR 2.0
• Includes Kami Watson Huyse's Seven Categories of Social Media
• Best chapter is Think Liquid - Geoff's last chapter, about what comes next and how to think about it, is provocative and lucidly written. I won't give away the ending.
  

Why not 10 stars?

Nit-picks... hey the book is terrific, OK?

The books suffers slightly by including sections written by different authors. I found it disconcerting to shift from one style of writing to another.

There is no index.

Finally - and this is a mistake Geoff can easily correct - he is too shy to say Buy 'Now Is Gone' NOW in big letters on his Now Is Gone blog and company home page. So you have to hunt a bit to find the Amazon link. There is a clickable thumbnail cover of the book but it's too discrete.

P.S. About the photo of Geoff

Run your cursor over the photo...

Prof. Bill Barnett on using tips from The Corporate Blogging Book to require MBA students to blog

Nothing warms an author's heart more than having a fan approach with a dozen tabs sticking out of your book, so I was thrilled to meet Prof. Bill Barnett, faculty chair of Computer Information Systems at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Bill was attending BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas and sought me out for an autograph and a quick chat. He told me that after reading The Corporate Blogging Book he set up a blog for departmental news and as a recruiting tool. He also requires students to blog executive summaries of reading assignments and to comment on each other's blogs.

Cool idea. Using blogs in academics - and to teach writing - is a huge interest of mine.

Riding China's expat roller coaster: two days vs. two weeks vs. two years

DATELINE: Shanghai (Oct. 22, 2007): I've been here in China, my first visit, for exactly one week. The roller coaster phenomenon goes something like this...

Two weeks in China and you think you can write a book... two years in China and you realize you have nothing to say.

- expat's refrain

1. Scarcely 48 hours after arriving in Beijing I shared what I considered to be my GREAT revelation with an audience at Amcham Beijing: with 137 million Internet users [make that 172 million] and an estimated 30 million bloggers, China's use of social media is MUCH BIGGER than in the U.S. Wow.

The corollary... this is an amazing opportunity for companies - Chinese or multinational. Tap into this online crowd with a corporate or CEO blog and your company can reap the benefits. OK, hmmm... maybe.

2. Two days later, I was back to square one; not sure I understood anything about China and China's use of the Internet as a marketing channel. Censorship is a gray area and quite nuanced. It's confusing.

Note: I had a great lunch with Jeremy Goldkorn, founder and publisher of Danwei.org, who explained some of the nuances. Did a video interview with him which I'll post to YouTube when I get back to the U.S. (YouTube continues to be blocked here in China.)

3. It's now eight days since I've arrived and I'm where I should be... I understand much more than when I left the U.S. on Oct. 13, 2007. But I realize it would take years (perhaps a lifetime) to really understand Chinese consumer and business culture.

Having said that, I'm looking forward enormously to sharing a panel tomorrow on CEO blogging (21st Century PR: Executives and Their Blogs) at Amcham Shanghai with China's word of mouth marketing expert Sam Flemming and China PR / tech guru Will Moss (aka Imagethief).

Useful Links

China's Online Internet Explosion (What It May Mean for the Internet Globally... and for U.S. Users) by Deborah Fallows, Pew Internet - July 2007 (download PDF report)

Social Media Flourishes in China (Jennifer Jones' interview with Sam Flemming on Podtech)

Chinese Bloggers: "Everybody Is Somebody" by Rebecca MacKinnon (Nov. 7, 2005)

I'm in China! Please follow the China Blogging Tour...

First (jetlagged) impressions: China is amazing! Shiny, new, modern, BIG. I''m in Beijing. It's 6:30 AM Monday morning here; 6:30 PM Sunday back in the U.S. Follow the China Blogging Tour!

P.S. This blog is loading very slowly from my hotel in Beijing. Not sure if there is a problem.

First look at the Mandarin Chinese edition of The Corporate Blogging Book

China Blogging Tour: first night in Beijing

Jetlagged... so won't try to be witty. Just a huge thanks (xiè xiè) to Sabrina Dorr with Edelman Beijing for picking me up at the airport. A fun dinner tonight at the cool, crowded and noisy Jin Ding Xuan restaurant near the Lamah Temple.

Photo left to right: Bao Lei, director of corporate communications for Johnson & Johnson's Olympics Sponsorship; Sabrina (aka Sabs) with Edelman; yours truly and Sharon Zhang, also with J & J. Full disclosure: J & J is an Edelman client.

This was a purely social evening but we did discuss corporate blogging and how or why it could benefit a company like Johnson & Johnson, with multiple brands. (See video of Bao signing the new Chinese edition of my book!) Interestingly, neither Bao nor Sharon had heard about J & J's new BTW (By the Way) corporate blog, launched in June 2007.

I don't take this as ignorance on their part (both speak fluent English). I interpret it as a deliberately under-the-radar approach to blogging by J & J's media relations team in the U.S. Food for thought (yes, it was delicious)...

Amazon special: deep discount on The Corporate Blogging Book

Exactly how Amazon works is a bit of a mystery.  Periodically books are available as a "hardcover bargain." (There might be a small mark on the book or an Amazon sticker.) Right now there are brand new copies of The Corporate Blogging Book priced at US $6.49, a 73% discount off the regular price. Go get 'em!

Smart, witty and accessible.

- Kirkus Reports
 

Enough procrastinating... what I (didn't) do over the summer

This seems like the perfect way to get back into blogging. Today's Wall Street Journal has a great article that, I suspect, will resonate with many readers: How I Spent Squandered My Summer Vacation (registration required). One of the things at the top of my list was to learn Chinese (OK, a few phrases) via fluenz (a DVD) and chinesepod (a podcast and online lessons). Confession: I didn't do it.

But heck, according to the WSJ, neither did comedian Andy Borowitz learn Italian before a planned trip to Italy next month. Instead, he ate pizza several times as a way to "practice Italian."

Onward... I'll land in Beijing on Sunday, Oct. 14th, Chinese phrases memorized... or not.

Thinking about the next book... on the one-year anniversary of the publication of The Corporate Blogging Book

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of The Corporate Blogging Book by Portfolio on Aug. 3, 2006. Luckily, the book still seems fresh, useful and on the mark (and yes, it's selling well)... for the very many corporate types who are still slowly climbing onto the social media bus. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way.

It's simply a fact. Corporate blogging and the use of social media by big companies is still a new and evolving phenomenon. The rules are being written - and broken - and rewritten as I blog this. It's a grand experiment.

An effective corporate blog is highly creative

Therein lies the kernel of why corporate blogging is so exciting. Because, in fact, it is an experiment. There are no guaranteed results. An effective corporate blog is a highly creative endeavor -- and runs counter to almost every other kind of established form of corporate communications:

• An effective corporate blog is not written by the PR department or agency
• There are no absolute rules for what to blog about, or when
• A top executive may have a hand in the actual writing of the blog (unusual for the exec who is normally separated by layers of approval and/or media training from any sort of authentic public expression)
• In a crisis, the blog may become the number one channel of communication, both to customers and the media
• and finally, the impact of the blog can't always be predicted. More sales? Not in the short run. Feedback from customers that you didn't expect? Often the case. A more powerful way to influence media coverage than issuing a press release? Possibly.
  

5 traits of good corporate blogs

The good ones share a number of traits:

1. The blog author(s) gain confidence and ease in their writing

2. There is no corporate-speak

3. The blog gradually gets traction with readers (yes, it normally takes time to get lots of comments and back and forth interaction with readers)

4. The blog develops a distinctive personality

5. The blog is useful, entertaining and occasionally revealing.

BONUS: And, a new benchmark, is published in several languages.

5 examples of effective corporate blogs

• Dell's Direct2Dell (also in Chinese and in Spanish)
• GM's Fastlane blog (probably the longest running Fortune 500 blog)
• Google's official corporate blog (and additional Google blogs in several dozen languages)
• Kodak's A Thousand Words
• Wells Fargo's Student LoanDown

Note: I was going to include Verizon's policy blog but I can't for the life of me (after several Google searches) find the URL, now that they've changed the name from PoliBlog. Update: OK, found it:  Verizon Policy Blog. Thanks for the pointer from Verizon's blog czar, John Czwartacki.

I'll have to go back and change the URL in my post about the launching of the blog (as will everyone else).

If The Corporate Blogging Book had one more chapter, what should be in it?

I'm thinking about writing a new chapter for an updated version. Nothing definite yet as it needs to be worked out with my publisher. I'll include online video, of course, and Facebook and social networking as it applies to companies. Anything else you think I absolutely should include?

My next book... still gestating

The topic I'm thoroughly intrigued with is CEO blogging. But that may be too narrow, too "inside baseball." Still thinking about it. Again, if you have ideas for what seems like a logical "next book" for me, hey let me know.

Useful Links

I love what Jeremiah Owyang and Mario Sundar write about corporate blogging. Practical and provocative. Here are a few of their posts, along with some other resources. I'll add more later.

10 Social Media Strategies for the Fortune 1000 Corporations by Jeremiah Owyang

When blogging is not your full-time job by Mario Sundar

Official Google blog's M.O. (June 15, 2007)

The Corporate Blogging Book is now available in Mandarin Chinese

The Corporate Blogging Book is now available in Mandarin Chinese on amazon.cn and also, I am told, in bookstores in China. I haven't seen the Chinese edition yet and am looking forward to it. I'm planning a book tour of Beijing and Shanghai (Hong Kong also) in October. Philippe Borremans is coming with me. We'll kick off the China Blogging Tour (as we're calling it) with a joint appearance, along with Des Walsh, at ad-tech Beijing on Oct. 16, 2007.

Edelman is sponsoring our tour. Lots more details to come.

P.S. Who will be reading the Chinese edition of The Corporate Blogging Book?

According to eMarketer's article, The Chinese Tiger Roars Online (open access for a few more days), China's Internet population of 136 million is second only to that of the U.S. With an anuual growth rate of 30 percent, it's expected to soon surpass the U.S.

Order your copy of David Meerman Scott's terrific "New Rules of Marketing & PR"

One of the things I like most about David Meerman Scott's just-released book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, is the fresh, conversational voice it's written in. Yes, you can call it blog-like.

David is a friend and colleague so I'm lucky enough to be sitting here with my autographed copy in hand. He writes, wisely, in his introduction:

From the Introduction

"As the lines between marketing and PR on the Web have blurred so much as to be unrecognizable, the best media choice is often not as obvious as in the old days. But I had to organize the book somehow, and I chose to create chapters for the various online media, including blogs, podcasts, online forums, social networking, and so on.

But the truth is that all these tools and techniques intersect one another. Some things were difficult to place in a particular chapter, such as the discussion on RSS (Really Simple Syndication). I moved that section four times before settling on chapter 13."

And he continues...

"As I was writing, I was wishing I could link you (like in a blog) from one chapter to a part of another chapter. Alas, a printed book doesn't allow that, so instead I have included suggestions where you might skip ahead or go back for review on certain topics... You'll notice that I write in a familiar and casual tone, rather than the formal and stilted way of many business books, because I'm using my "blog voice" to share the new rules with you."

I suffered the same challenge in writing The Corporate Blogging Book (which David kindly mentions on page 202). It is indeed much easier to write "online" these days than to write a book so I like David's frank admission of how he handled it.

A super useful read

This is a super useful read for any business person wondering why the heck he or she needs to understand blogs or podcasting or social media press releases or viral marketing. The answer is tied up neatly in David's introduction. And then amply illustrated throughout with specific chapters on audio content, blogs, forums & wikis, going viral, etc.

There's a Foreword by uber-blogger Robert Scoble which is really more about Scoble (and what he did at Microsoft) than about David. But it's a good read too.

The book was officially published on June 4, 2007. Order your copy today on Amazon! It's ranked #112 in book sales as I write -- which is a fantastic achievement. Go David!

David's special offer - valid through Friday June 8th

Purchase your copy of New Rules of Marketing & PR on Amazon by Friday June 8, 2007 and David will send you a CD of his audio seminar on Online News Releases. Details here.

What companies in China are blogging?

I'm writing (or trying to write) a short introduction for the Mandarin Chinese edition of The Corporate Blogging Book - to be published in a few months.

I've got some interesting stats and commentary on the Chinese blogosphere from the folks at Edelman (who not coincidentally are sponsoring my October China Blogging Tour with Philippe Borremans).

Corporate blogs in China?

I'm looking for more specifics: what companies (Chinese or multi-nationals) have corporate or organizational blogs? By that I mean, either multi-author corporate blogs like the Google China Blog or CEO blogs like that of Sam Flemming, CEO of Shanghai-based CIC.

If you can suggest other China-based or China focussed corporate blogs (in English or Chinese), I'd love to check them out. Or if you know of the definitive list, please point me to it. Thanks!

Useful Links

Download Chapter 1 of The Corporate Blogging Book in Chinese.

Download Edelman's January 2007 "A Corporate Guide to the Global Blogosphere." (This is a large PDF file.)

Quoted in the Wall Street Journal: "Everybody has an online identity whether they know it or not"

I was quoted in today's Wall Street Journal in a well-researched story by reporter Sarah Needleman: How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job (free access to this article - I think).

"Everybody has an online identity whether they know it or not, and a blog is the single best way to control it," she [Debbie] says. "You're going to be Googled. No one hires anyone or buys anything these days without going online first and doing research." -- as quoted in an article by Sarah Needleman in the Wall Street Journal.

That holds true for companies as well, of course. No matter how big your brand, you have a better chance of controlling the online conversation around it by hosting your own blog.

One of my favorite examples is Dell's corporate blog, Direct2Dell, where the Dell folks were able to respond to the exploding laptop battery crisis.

Useful Link

The Blog Is the New Resume

Edelman is partnering with the China Blogging Tour

Hey, this is cool news. Edelman PR is partnering with Philippe Borremans and me to sponsor our China Blogging Tour. It will take place in June 2007, to coincide with the publication of The Corporate Blogging Book in Mandarin Chinese. We'll be visiting Shanghai and Beijing to make presentations and do workshops on corporate blogging and RSS. And documenting our tour with videoblogging and other commentary.

Philippe and I (we think we make a great team, BTW) look forward to a fast learning curve as we tap into Edelman's knowledge of social media and blogging in the PRC. (See Edelman's Corporate Guide to the Corporate Blogosphere.)

A special thanks to Edelman's Asia-Pacific chief Alan Vandermolen for his enthusiasm about our tour. Lots of details to be worked out but looks like we're off to a great start.

Oh and be sure to visit ChinaBloggingTour. We'll be posting lots before June and plan to customize the blog with a spiffy new design.

The Corporate Blogging Book jumps up to an Amazon bestseller (for today)... Happy Holidays!

I've learned not to watch Amazon rankings for The Corporate Blogging Book too closely. They tend to move widely up and down.

For whatever reason, today is a good day! My book is #14 on Amazon's Business / Marketing & Sales bestseller list. Right below Seth Godin's Small is the New Big and just above  Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point.

Happy holidays and a special thanks to all my readers!

A few comments from readers:

"Just started reading your book on the plane this morning (on a short biz trip) and am hooked already." - Ray van Hilst, Director of New Media, Imre Communications

"I keep copies on my desk to give to every new client. It's so great -- I don't have to explain it all. And your book is easy to read."
- Jake McKee, Big In Japan

I always have a stack of copies of The Corporate Blogging Book. I give it to all my new clients."
- Ted Wright, partner, Fizz

 

 

Belgium's De Morgen and De Standaard on corporate blogging for NewsEngine PR's 10th anniversary

Thanks again to my wonderful host Ben Geyson, principal of NewsEngine PR for inviting me to Antwerp to give the keynote at the 10th anniversary celebration of his Belgium-based agency. He and his colleagues (especially Jacqueline De Koninck, Sara Buytaert, Johan Perremans and Caroline Leysen) could not have been more welcoming.

My only regret is that I didn't stay longer in Antwerp to do some sightseeing. Here's the cathedral on a wet rainy night.

Ben got two of Belgium's major newspapers interested in covering his corporate blogging event. Here's a long Q&A with Wim de Preter for De Standaard (links to the paper's TypePad blog).

Below I'm being interviewed by Ronald Meeus (links to PDF of story) for De Morgen.  My keynote was followed by a round-table and then a cocktail party with fantastically good food and wine. Kudos to Ben. This is one of the best organized events I've been lucky enough to be involved with. More coverage here.

Pete Blackshaw on CGM, the future of what's advertising & what's not, transparency, credibility... and more

Just got off a pre-recorded interview with Pete Blackshaw for my new Internet radio show on VoiceAmerica (TM) Business: The Corporate Blogging Show. This edition airs next Tuesday (Dec. 5, 2006) at 12 noon Pacific in the regular timeslot.

Pete is CMO of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, a former brand manager for Procter & Gamble, and a genius when it comes to parsing the woolly world of consumer generated media (a phrase he coined).

Pete gave me one of my favorite quotes in The Corporate Blogging Book.

From page 95:

"Blogs are proof positive that there really is a digital trail to word-of-mouth marketing."
- Pete Blackshaw

I want to share a few highlights of our conversation before I, er, forget them. Pete is the fastest talking and probably the most articulate guest I've had so far. (What does this guy eat for breakfast? He is pumped!) I scribbled notes but still didn't get it all.

Be sure to tune in live Tuesday Dec. 5, 2006 at 12 noon Pacific to hear Pete Blackshaw on The Corporate Blogging Show.

Pete's observations:

The term blogging may disappear

A year from now we may not be using the term blogging (I agree). It may just be part of customer service, something we expect from a company.

Marketers have a responsibility to self-regulate

We, as marketers (i.e. professionals who do this for a living), need to take the lead in self-regulating how we handle transparency and credibility in the social media space. If it's advertising, it needs to be clear. If it's not, then say so (just as a print advertorial does).

What's advertising and what's not?

Pete gave as an example a video he saw recently on YouTube that was posted by the folks behind the movie "For Your Consideration." (I saw it over Thanksgiving weekend. It was great.)

Was it really a "most popular" video? (He noticed it at the top of YouTube's home page.) Or was it a paid-for placement? He also noticed a movie banner above the video. Watch the video and read Pete's blog entry.

Consumers *hate* to be tricked.

Connecting the dots between a brand and the blogosphere

Pete has been fascinated by one of the videos created for Dove's Real Beauty campaign. It shows a woman getting a high-voltage beauty makeover, set against a great sound track. She is totally transformed, unrecognizable at the end. The kicker: "No wonder our perception of beauty is so distorted."

The video was created by Unilever's ad agency; then uploaded to YouTube where it has gotten nearly a million views. It has also been posted to an astonishing number of women's blogs. (Yes it really makes a point most women can relate to.) The value to the Dove brand: incalculable.

Read Pete's ClickZ case study. He calls this passalong phenomenon "consumer-fortified" media. I.e. it's not consumer-generated per se (an agency created it). But bloggers spreading the video around have embedded it in a permanent digital trail that benefits the brand.

(Note: Unilever is a client of Nielsen BuzzMetrics.) 

Using his personal blog to make the point about why blogging matters

He finished our one-hour show by telling me how he uses his personal blog, Dos Bebes (about his now 15-month-old twins) to illustrate what makes the blogosphere tick: "the emotional gratification to be heard and to connect." It works for individuals; it works for companies who want consumers to pay attention to their brand.

Be sure to tune in on Tuesday, Dec. 5th 2006 at 12 noon Pacific to hear Pete Blackshaw live on The Corporate Blogging Show.

A few tips from SNCR's Inaugural Research Symposium

Having questioned whether live blogging is a good thing or not... I'm here this morning at The Colonnade in Boston to bring you a few tips from the Society for New Communications Research Inaugural Research Symposium.

First, a word of thanks to SNCR executive director Jennifer McClure who has worked incredibly hard to produce this event. (Thanks Jen!) Second, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am an SNCR Fellow (oops, looks like I need to add my bio).

You won't find anything, er, snarky in what I write today, given that I'm not a totally impartial observer.

The New Influencers

Tech jurnalist and consultant Paul Gillin offers a few highlights from his new book: The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media (to be published in spring 2007).

Tidbits from Paul:

- Used to be that a happy customer tells 3 people about your company; an unhappy customer tells 10 people. Now, via blogs, an unhappy customer tells 10,000 people. He shows as an example the by now iconic video clip of customer Vincent Ferrari trying to cancel his AOL account. (Yes, the AOL customer service rep was ultimately fired.)

- "Marketing has become a spread-sheet driven discipline."  But that's not working anymore, says Gillin. He's referring, presumably, to impressions, click-throughs and other Web metrics that online marketers live and die by.

- Refers to P&G CEO A.G. Lafley's keynote speech to the ANA's annual conference and his key point: marketers are most likely to succeed when they let customers be in control.

More later... maybe. I'm gonna just listen for a while.

Useful Links

AOL said, 'If you leave me, I'll do something crazy' - Randall Stross's Digital Domain column in The New York Times (requires subscription).

Backbone Media and Northeastern University's Blogging Success Study (published Nov. 2, 2006)

Guardian columnist Simon Hoggart riffs on The Corporate Blogging Book

Simon Hoggart is the wickedly smart political columnist for The Guardian, one of the UK's most venerable newspapers. He and his wife Alyson also happen to be longtime friends.

He's somehow managed to work in a reference to The Corporate Blogging Book in his Saturday column today (thanks Simon!). As always, he's both funny and right on point.

He does slip in one remark that's *not* politically correct. We Americans obsess over being politically correct. The Brits - and particularly British journalists - don't care about that sort of thing. Which, frankly, I find rather refreshing.

"My friend Debbie Weil breezes into town next week to promote her new book about corporate blogging. This is the technique that allows companies to adopt the same relaxed, personal tone that a real blog has. The business might be very small - a boutique winery or cheesemaker, perhaps, or it could sell reed baskets woven by HIV-positive Namibians [the, er, un-PC comment] - or it might be vast, so that if you complain to General Motors that your car doesn't work, instead of a word-processed brush-off, you get a message saying, for example: "Oh, man, bummer: (Listen, it's way uncool for GM to sell you something that fails to meet our quality specification targets)." Whether you get your car fixed is another matter.

Apparently there will be something like 80,000 blogs worldwide by the end of this year, and according to the head of Google, Eric Schmidt, the number is doubling every six months. "And do you know what the average number of readers is? One - the blogger!" he said."
- Simon Hoggart, The Guardian Unlimited (14 October 2006 column)

Ed Note: correction - there are currently more than 55 million blogs worldwide. See Technorati's August 2006 State of the Blogosphere report.

Blogger Meet-Up in London on Wednesday 18 October

Yes I'm off to London on Monday for about 10 days. To speak at two conferences (here and here) and to promote the UK edition of my book, published by Piatkus. I've got a live interview set up with Sky News, scheduled for Friday 20 Oct. (eegads... but should be fun).

Neville Hobson and I are planning a Blogger Meet-Up in London on Wednesday evening, Oct. 18th. Leave a comment on my blog here or on Neville's blog here if you can join us. Details TK.

The Corporate Blogging Book is TypePad's Book of the Month

Now this is cool. The Corporate Blogging Book is TypePad's book of the month for October 2006. If you're one of the first 50 new customers who signs up for TypePad you'll get a copy of my new book.

Note that TypePad offers a free trial of their blog hosting service (and yes I highly recommend it).

Skypecast interview with TypePad's Michael Sippey

TypePad's VP and General Manager Michael Sippey will be interviewing me via a live Skypecast call on Thursday Oct. 12th. Hope you'll tune in! I guess we'll talk about the book but feel free to ask me about anything related to social media. I'll try and pontificate... just kidding.

To sign up for the Skypecast call, register here (it's free). Starts 2 PM Pacific; 5 PM Eastern; 10 PM London.

We're at the inflection point for corporate blogging

As I noodle around with a number of presentations** I've got coming up (I've finally figured out Keynote for the Mac), I want to take a stand.

It's the end of marketing, advertising and corporate communications "as usual"

It's not enough to say that blogging is important or that social media tools are going mainstream.

Here's my little manifesto

I'm still noodling with it. Feel free to jump in and add something, help me clarify my thoughts or tell me to stuff it:

The Inflection Point of Corporate Blogging

- Blogs and other social media tools are here to stay

- Blogs are just next-generation Web sites

- Social media tools (RSS, blogs, podcasts, video, wikis, etc.) can be used by any company, large or small, B2C or B2B

- They symbolize community, conversation, mutual respect between users and an ethos of sharing

- These tools are more powerful at informing/influencing/persuading than traditional forms of marketing, advertising and corporate communications

- They help you get found online

- If you can't be found, you don't exist

Conclusion: This isn't optional

You gotta start using blogs, podcasts, online video (social media) today!

Defining an inflection point

Google's acquisition of YouTube yesterday for $1.65 billion is extremely significant. (Watch the CNN video with the announcement.)

Yes, it's a lot of money. Yes it's eerily like the dot com boom days when companies with no revenue were perceived to be hugely valuable.

But I see it as more than that. It's a tipping point (thanks to Malcolm Gladwell). Or an inflection point.

Intel's Andy Grove popularized "inflection point" as a business term. It's really a mathematical expression meaning a point on a curve at which the tangent crosses the curve itself. I don't pretend to understand calculus so don't ask me to explain.

Translated into business, it means something new is happening and there's no going back. No more "business as usual."

Read Andy's explanation here. It's an excerpt from his 1996 book, Only the Paranoid Survive:

"Strategic inflection points can be caused by technological change but they are more than technological change... They are full-s