Social Media as philosophy and other developments in social software...

Lisa Devaney's post on TheWall 'Stop Dumping Social Media On Your PR' seems to have earned me a rash of new Twitter followers (thanks to her very generous inclusion of some of my thoughts).
I'll quote a hefty chunk below - since it's so flattering.

As social media has grown over these last five years, I’ve watched several people really embrace the emergent sector and turn it into a profession. Some of these folks I know are getting the tossed around label of social media “gurus” which makes you wary that what they are offering is a new kind of mysterious snake oil. However, it is time to get to know these experts and take the knowledge they have developed seriously.

David Cushman (@davidcushman) is one of the big thinkers in the social media space, who, following nearly two decades of experience working with emap, set out on his own with passion and enthusiasm, and a spark of genius to devote himself to social media. He is now a managing director at the 90:10 Group, offering the kind of deep thinking counsel client’s need to approach social media. I asked David about his approach to social media and for some tips and tricks that might help PRs and clients get their head around it all.

“Our approach is to think consultancy – to get out of the way as much as possible. We use the tools and techniques of social media to solve business problems – creating new efficiencies by working with the crowd (hence the 90:10 name – 90% of the effort coming from outside the org, 10% inside),” he told me.
“Ultimately this social stuff is, like the web, for making things with people who care about the outcomes – rather than broadcasting messages through.”

David offers this advice in approaching social media:

• Social media is not a set of tools or channels – it’s a philosophical approach.
• It is not an innovation in and of itself.
• The innovation and the true value derives from the application of its tools and techniques to support people in solving problems that matter to them

Five years ago, there wasn’t the kind of choices of experts and agencies available, but now, the social media sector is booming and it is time to call on leaders like Maz or David to take a smart approach to what is proving to be the most important channel of influence between a brand and its public. Reputations are being made and destroyed, sometimes in a matter of days in social media, and to just dump such a crucial responsibility onto overworked account executives is a recipe for disaster."

So thanks very much for that Lisa. And if Lisa thinks I understand the space and have a few reasonably wise things to say about it, then all I can say is, it takes one to know one.
While I'm on big-up-me Friday, I also received a copy of a book today which includes a chapter from myself - based on the presentation I gave at BlogTalk in Cork in 2008. I have John Breslin to thank for my involvement in this project.
The book is titled: Recent Trends and Developments in Social Software.
My chapter is: "Reed's Law and How Multiple Identities Make the Long Tail Just That Little Bit Longer."
It's available on Amazon (Prime and Kindle) but the price is on the scary side (and nothing to do with me - honest). At £40-plus those with a clear academic interest in the area - and a good grasp of the tech - are likeliest to get best value from it.

Related articles

• (R)evolution: Frank Eliason on the Social Business and Customer Service (briansolis.com)
• Point of View: David Cushman (zemanta.com)
• Social media, Nokia style (browsermedia.co.uk)
• ULTIMATE GUIDE: How To Create A Business Social Media Strategy From Start To Finish (businessinsider.com)

The 90:9:1 rule reveals ability, not willingness, to participate

I hear a lot about the 90:9:1 'rule' (try working in collaborative co-creation and not hearing it dragged up from time to time.)

You know the one:

1% of people create content, 9% edit or modify that content, and 90% view the content without contributing.

I suspect its assumptions are used to calculate all kinds of 'propensity of your market to join in social media estimate'. I'd hazard a guess Forrester applies it to this, for example (corrections welcome). (Image courtesy Chris Devers.)

Let me say I don't think this is a rule about willingness to participate - it is one about ability to participate.

And that is a critical, critical difference.

It means (and assumes) for example that everyone wants to participate and that it is the lowering of barriers to participation that will surface this.

The barriers could be cultural, technical, linguistic, financial, logistic

Whatever the case, don't kid yourselves participation is for a small elite. It's for whoever you are prepared to help overcome the barriers the rest of us face. It is up to you to lower those barriers.

Afterall, it's a rare human being who doesn't want to join in a conversation that matters to them. You just have to find ways to help them join in.

Internet marketing is not a specialism

Twitter has made me accutely aware of how many 'internet marketers' there are out there.
That I have 'social' + 'media' in my bio seems to attract a steady flow to follow my Twitter account. In that respect Twitter has surfaced the volume of people in this game to me.
I was not looking for Linda... (for Pat Kane fans).

It strikes me as more than a little odd that Internet Marketing is regarded as a specialism - a career even.
I appreciate you can become adept in the mechanics of some tools.

But EVERYONE is an expert Internet marketer. It's a peer to peer realm. My peers are those best placed and equipped to market most effectively to me. That's true for you, and everyone else, too.

Perhaps ALL our Twitter bios and Linkedin profiles should read: Internet marketer, web publisher, online advertising expert, distribution doyen.

And as we understand the power we have wrested from traditional media, we'll add new areas of 'expertise':
Team building (as leader and participant), R&D, new product and service development, self organiser etc

Perhaps, instead, we should start telling people the more specific value we all add?

Update: After discussion below perhaps that question can be couched as "What can you do better than my friend?"

Internet marketers are going to have to become much clearer about what they can do that all of us can't. And fast.

Update: They aren't alone - any mediator faces the same challenge.

Mobile Advertising: Serving people not targets?

What's going on with mobile advertising? A couple of people I thoroughly recommend have come together to try to answer that question with an event in London on June 15 - James Cameron and Jonathan Macdonald.

Mobile Advertising UK is backed by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) UK.

Ogilvy, Mediacom, Mindshare, Alcatel-Lucent, Sponge, Mediaedge:cia, Inside Mobile, Unanimis, ringring media, AKQA Mobile, Vodafone, Telefonica O2, Orange and 3 will all take part.

And I'd have been there joining a panel if it wasn't for the demands of a family holiday.

On top of the conference, the event will host the inaugural EverySingleOneOfUs Mobile Campaign of the Year Awards, designed to recognise the past year's most engaging, creative and effective mobile advertising campaigns (download the entry form here). Image courtesy theworldscreams

Jonathan (who founded EverySingleOneOfUs, and was among the launch team at revolutionary mobile operator Blyk) has come up with a neat twist on the awards theme. It'll be judged on how useful it's been for the people it was intended for - us lot.

"The EverySingleOneOfUs Mobile Campaign of the Year award is the first award in new media to be judged for the benefit the campaign has to the public."

It will be judged for value, relevance, ease of interaction and transparency of offering.

Who dares enter?

Contact James for delegate passes, awards entries and the conference programme.