Monday, August 29, 2011

Use of Social Media in Business Rising

A recent survey released by Constant Contact provides some data from 1500 companies on their use of social media. Not unexpectedly, and like other surveys, it shows usage rising. But its the data that's important.
some of the findings are:

"- - a greater number of small businesses are adding social media to their marketing arsenal. Of the 1,500-plus respondents to the survey, 73% are currently using this form of marketing, and among that group, 80% reported that their usage of social media marketing has increased in the past 12 months. Of the 27% not already using social media for marketing purposes, 62% said they will be using it at some point in the next year."

That means in the next year, we should see usage percentages  rising into the high 90's. But a good deal more research is needed into how it is being used and how effective it is in bringing in business. Bottom line - is it creating greater cash flows?  Here's a summary of the survey.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Collaborative Consumption - A Trend With Legs

The idea of monetizing your assets, especially those that you don't use very much, has a good deal of financial appeal. In a time of recession, it makes sense to bring in some more cash to help pay the bills.

Some sites have been around for a while, like Airbnb and others, that serve to facilitate the rental of assets like homes, cars, cottages, lawn mowers, etc. You name it. Airbnb has taken off globally, and others are following.

One of the issues with renting out personal assets is, of course, security. Many people have rented their homes, for example, only to have them trashed by the occupants. The same can happen with any asset.

Security is an issue, that's clear. However, there are measures the industry can take to mitigate such risks. Some lessons can be learned from eBay, which faces some of the same risks. For example, eBay started a rating system several years ago , where people who have used eBay are rated by those they dealt with according to their behaviour and comportment. In effect, what a rating system does is to create a virtual community, where the participants become "known" to each other and therefore merit greater trust.

Collaborative Consumption is a trend that will continue to grow. But it will require a focus on the creation of reliable and secure virtual communities in which they can function. For more on Airbnb, check this reference.  

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Too Busy at Work? Get Your Own Avatar

Cisco Research says that we will soon will be able to buy a robot that essentially acts as an extension of our selves. An avatar. They've developed prototypes that can do administrative tasks for us, even doctor's rounds.

It seems inevitable since smart robots have been a dream of technologists since technology was conceived. it appears we are getting closer. We already have robots working on assembly lines. Avatars add a personal touch by enabling a direct interaction with us personally.

It's interesting to speculate on the impact this will have on the workforce, even on our daily lives outside of work. Will we be able to replace people with avatars? Will it create unemployment? Maybe these electronic wizards will be able to do our commuting for us. Go to different meetings simultaneously. Hold several jobs.

Within the next five years, we will begin to see some of the answers. Here's a write-up on Cisco's research.

Friday, August 19, 2011

The Millennials Have Gotten a Bad Rap

Finally, a decent and sensible article on the Millennial generation! Common folklore depicts the entire generation as disrespectful of authority, disdainful of rules and process, texting all day and refusing to work when they don't feel like it. This stereotype never did line up with my experience with them during my years as a University Professor.

Drawing on recent research, Rob Preston of Informationweek, dispells some of these misconceptions. The research focused primarily on the relationship between the Millenials and IT departments but extends beyond that. The expectation was that this would be a highly contentious relationship, given the high level of the new generation's technology skills, not to mention their expectations. Not so, says the research. The young people give the IT departments high marks, except for the slowness of response times (which frustrates most of us). They do tend to resolve more issues themselves. But since when has this been a bad thing?

The research also indicates that the 20 somethings generation entering the workforce has a greater respect for their elders than previous generations did. In particular they mention their elders' moral values and work ethic as being good.

We all know that we need to watch ourselves when forming stereotypes. As Mr Preston points out, a generation consists of many different types of people, with different values and skills and personalities. We know this, but often it gets lost in the writings about a whole generation.

The Preston article is worth a moment of your time and some reflection.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Boards Need to Learn From Social Media

The power of social media has been seen clearly in the recent rash of rebellions against established governments, in the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots and of course in the more recent London riots.

But the power of social media extends far beyond such activities. It's reach is wide and always potentially disruptive. A tweet or two on a particular company about any issue, particular one having social ramifications, can spread like lightning, leaving management and the board with a problem at 8:00 AM they didn't know they had when they went to bed.

How to deal with this is an issue that many boards are grappling with. Some are forming policies that enable them to monitor the mainstream media for mentions of the company and then analyze them for potential action.

Monitoring them is easy. The social media all have search and key word functions that can be activated easily and quickly, For example, Twitter searches can pick up tweets about a company that were issued only moments ago. Tools like Tweetdeck enable all mentions to be scrolled on an ongoing basis.

Acting on the mentions is not so easy. It takes people to scan them and determine whether they represent a threat or not. Companies could dedicate a person or a team to watch and analyze the social media 24/7. But this would be expensive. And most mentions are harmless or even positive. It's when they gain traction and have negative connotations that they become a problem. So there is a need for guidelines for determining when social media releases should be considered for action.

Then there needs to be a referral system to the people in the organization who can deal with an emerging issue. The referees need to be ready to act on a moments notice, since the word can spread so fast.

And then there is the question of appropriate responses and who needs to authorize them. This is the toughest part of a policy. But it is policy that is needed. Social media has grown to the point that it not only cannot be ignored, it requires proactive action.

All Boards should heed the call. For the experience of one Board member, check out this blog entry.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Social Media Data Mining Can be Brutal

Some companies are starting to use data from Facebook and others to gather information about prospective employees and others they might deal with. Through personal profiles, postings they place and postings about them from friends, a great deal can be learned. But how accurate is such information? How long should young people, or anyone for that matter, be penalized for past indiscretions, mistakes or bad behaviour? How can companies and others control their use of social media data? Should controls be imposed through legislation?

These are emerging issues that provide a strong indication of the way of the future. There seems little doubt that social media data will be used more and more in future, for everything from employment to credit applications to criminal investigations. Serious errors of identity in any of these areas could be devastating for the victim.

At the recent Blackhat conference, held in Las Vegas, one presenter showed how facial recognition could be used for finding such information as Facebook profiles and pictures of individuals on the internet. He also showed how misleading this information could be. A write-up is found on the Technology Review site.

As pointed out in that same article, other researchers have conducted tests to determine the correlation between a persons character traits as determined through interviews and questionnaires as opposed to the findings from Facebook profiles. They found the correlations to be weak.

While this is an emerging area, it is one of paramount importance.  One can only imagine the horror stories that are bound to emerge as social media data mining gains more prevalence.

Friday, August 05, 2011

New Research Centre for Cloud Data

There is an abundance of data on the cloud, as we all know. Intel has established a new research centre at Carnegie Mellon University to study the potential for use of these data to provide consumer services. It's a concept that has been studied before, but what sets this initiative apart is the scale of the operation, the timeliness in terms of the growth of the cloud, and the focus on all types of innovative services.

One intriguing idea is to provide glasses that can receive data about whatever the glasses are viewing and transmit that information to the wearer. A automated tour guide, if you like. Another idea is to provide a translation service that draws upon materials that have already been translated by professional translators.

With a little imagination, one can envisage all sorts of uses for cloud data in everyday activities. Whether driving, doing housework, cooking, or just relaxing.

For years since the advent of the internet, people have been predicting the use of the internet for purposes of driving such ordinary appliances as refrigerators and oven ranges. That was before the advent of the cloud but the cloud with its proliferation of data changes everything. The new Intel Centre is a natural and timely progression in the evolution of the internet and its uses.  

Thursday, August 04, 2011

Customer Designed Products

In a natural extension of online shopping, companies are now offering customers the opportunity to design their own products before ordering them. It has been possible, of course, to order customised products for years. But the extent of customization has always been limited to a few menu items, and customers didn't necessarily see their product before ordering it.

The big difference now is that customers can use imaging software to do the design, enabling them to see their product online as the add or delete features. There is often a broad range of features that can be modified as well. It's been referred to as me-shopping.

One recent article describes self design in three types of consumer product - Bicycles, wedding dresses and skateboards. It's an option that could easily be offered for other products such as automobiles, furniture and appliances. chances are we'll see more of that happening in the near future.

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Social Media Takes Time

More and more small businesses are taking up social media, but many of them are less than successful with it. One reason for their difficulty is that they often see social media as just another marketing channel. However, social media is designed for interaction, and to be successful with its use, it be viewed as an interactive device. That takes a change in thinking. Instead of simply pushing out advertisements, a business must take the time to post regularly and to respond to the comments and reactions of constituents.This will take a lot more time than simply posting ads.

In order to succeed with social media, even a small business needs to have a social media strategy. As with other important strategies, it needs to be carefully thought out and properly resourced.That's the view in this article, and one that makes good sense.