Being Peter Kim

More on social media and socialism

2009-01-05T01:05:00-05:00

Stowe Boyd says that I've gotten into a conflated muddle with thinking on why social media isn't socialism.

I disagree.

To Boyd's post, there's little "shared meritocratic ethos" in today's web; for example, I'm feeling a lot of heat around the idea of getting paid, e.g. Izea and Twply, not to mention Twitter phishing.

In contrast, Jon Burg gets straight to the point about why a complete shift of power to the people should and will not occur.

I wrote it before and I'll publish again - social media isn't socialism.

Socialism, from the wikipedia definition, describes a situation with (1) collective ownership of means of production and distribution along with (2) an egalitarian distribution of wealth.

(1) Each participant chooses their own publishing tools and distribution channels. Investing too heavily in a common system produces negative results, as pointed out by Steve Rubel describing Robert Scoble's diminished brand value.

(2) You and I may share content freely, but not for others to take credit for our thoughts and ideas. If an individual consistently produces valuable content, that person should be rewarded, not ripped off. Plagiarizers redistribute "wealth" by stealing from owners and claiming value as their own.

Individuals need incentive to participate. Competition drives innovation. Cooperation helps sub-groups succeed together.

Did I stutter?

Resolutions 2009

2009-01-01T08:21:41-05:00

I'd like to hear about any resolutions for this year that are on your mind.

I admit: nothing specific comes to mind for me...I will be very focused on building a business this year. Looking back at 2008, I pursued three resolutions successfully but won't declare "mission accomplished" on any of them, because they're worth revisiting continually.

Some things to consider working on, if you're looking for suggestions:

Protect your identity. Download your free annual credit report (US only).
Build your network before you need them. Build your personal brand in conjunction with your corporate brand.
Get yourself fit and help young people get there, too.

Would love to hear what you're planning to work on.

2008: Most Popular Posts

2008-12-29T00:29:00-05:00

Blog content is highly perishable. With this in mind, I've started to highlight the most popular posts around here on a regular basis, so new visitors can explore some older content. And before I go any further, thank you for being a part of the community.

In 2008, the top ten posts on this blog were:

With the exception of #9, all of the posts have been written during the second half of the year - after I changed jobs. Many people have told me that the content has gotten better here and I don't think the timing is a coincidence.

My professional focus has changed and the reason I'm investigating social technologies has a totally different purpose than when I started blogging. I'm not writing research focusing on marketing professionals anymore - I'm interested in changing the world of work.

By contrast, here are the top posts from 2007:

And here are the most visited in 2006, my first year of blogging. Seems even more randomly scattered.

If we stick together over the next year, I hope we can explore some really big stuff. Much bigger than credit card offers to my dog and the latest advertising campaigns. Things that will change the way we think about work, how we relate to each other, and what it means for us personally and professionally.

Thanks!

Advice on family-friendly Belgium?

2008-12-24T00:24:00-05:00

I'll be in Belgium soon for a week on vacation (mostly). If you've been there - or live there - what advice would you give on interesting things to do for a family?

We'll be based in Brussels; Bruges and Antwerp are likely day trips.

To give you an idea of things that have gone over well on past family trips:

Paris: Eiffel Tower, Le Relais de L'Entrecôte, The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Versailles
London: London Eye, Tower Bridge, science museum, giraffe, wagamama, and the Blue Elephant (but the Aquarium was quite awful)
Amsterdam: Walking canals, the children's museum, The Pancake Bakery
Ireland: Castles and countrysides

Unique sites, casual but different dining, museums - what most trips focus on, right?

Since my first trip to Asia in the early 80's, the world has gotten "smaller" for everyone. I see two primary factors: efficient global product distribution and digital content/connectivity. People used to load up their luggage with Smarties in London or Coors in Colorado before returning home. I remember going over to neighbor's houses to watch vacation slide shows. Not anymore. You can get durian at the local Asian grocery or visit Red Square from your desktop.

So what's to be experienced in Belgium that remains unique, worth being there in person?

Thanks for your advice!

UPDATE: Had a great trip! If you're interested, you can see the slideshow on Flickr.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: A Champion Crowned

2008-12-23T00:23:00-05:00

Congratulations, Craig Daitch!

Craig is the champion in the inaugural season of the Social Media Fantasy Football League (SMFFL).

As such, he gains possession of the league champion hardware from FantasyTrophies.com (pictured at left).

In the championship game, Craig's Beasties defeated Jeremiah's Little Birds, 96 - 83.

Dave Knox's Hard Knox Life takes third place with a 101 - 92 victory over Jackie Huba's Stillers.

Dan Cordella's Munoz Mustache Club secures fifth place with a 90-79 win over Aaron Strout's Mighty Maurauders.

Adam Cohen and Mosi Tatupu's Mullet take the final bracket and seventh place, 72-71 over Laura "Pistachio" Fitton's Purple Pistachios.

In the SMFFL, winning isn't everything - it's the only thing. Besides the trophy. For eleven of us, there's always next year...

Is your community prepared to help?

2008-12-22T00:22:00-05:00

[leave a light on for your network]

Warren Sukernek is looking for a job.

He told me about it and now I'm telling you. Does telling you about this feel like I'm violating his trust? It's OK - he's public about his status.

Warren did something that may seem counterintuitive after receiving his bad news - he reached out publicly and shared it. His network responded in a big way, immediately starting to collaborate in helping him generate leads for a new job.

Today's corporations thrive by limiting information flow between employees. For example, it's rare that you know the compensation of your colleagues. Open-air cubes foster cooperation - and management surveillance. Separation agreements include clauses that prevent retelling of the facts.
Social tools give today's employees the means to connect with others and create a safety net independent of the corporation. Let's face it: your at-work network is weak. In research referenced by my colleague Kate Niederhoffer, the people we're likely to connect with are those in close physical proximity, not necessarily the people who are best positioned to help us.

Be warned: not everyone can succeed like Warren did. So start preparing in case of an emergency; don't wait until the snow has started falling before you run out to buy a shovel. How?

Make connections that matter. If someone declines your LinkedIn or Facebook friend request, that's OK - they likely wouldn't be willing or able to help you anyway. Don't fall into the ego trap of building numbers.
Keep your network primed. You don't want a generator in the garage that won't start during the blizzard because you haven't tried to start it over the year. Stay in contact with your network via regular conversation and participation. Comment on a Facebook status. Reply @ a tweet, even if it wasn't directed at you. The more you give AND take, the more these interactions will come naturally.
Meet people for real. Tweetups may seem silly (the term certainly is) but those personal connections will form the basis of solid relationships. In-person matters.
Bookmark resources. My friend and former colleague Jeremiah Owyang maintains a web strategy job board. He also organized a recent Silicon Valley Tweetup. Other specialized resources certainly exist.

If you lost your job today, would and/or could you go public like Warren has? Would your community be ready to activate and respond? What else do you advise the people you mentor and/or what advice have you received that can help this community be better prepared?

Social Media Predictions 2009

2008-12-15T03:15:00-05:00

Community and collaboration are wonderful things.

Fourteen great minds on social media have shared thoughts on what 2009 may have in store for us. Here's some of what they're thinking:

"Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology - it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful." - David Armano
"You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way." - Rohit Bhargava
"Intimacy touches emotion; emotion powers conversation." - Pete Blackshaw
"Doors are going to close all over the social web. Why? Because the money didn't come the way people thought it would." - Chris Brogan
"The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media." - Todd Defren
"There's a lot of fixing that needs to be done." - Jason Falls
"Dwindling budgets suddenly make low-cost social media look like the pretty girl at the ball." - Ann Handley
"We're going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate 'commitment'." - Joseph Jaffe
"The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity, as people cocoon in the face of the economic crisis." - Charlene Li
"After a pre-qualifying wrestling match..." - Ben McConnell
"These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them." - Scott Monty
"The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies." - Jeremiah Owyang
"Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return." - Andy Sernovitz
"Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter." - Greg Verdino

Everyone's thoughts have been assembled in this PDF. You can also read the document in-line below.

Your feedback is appreciated and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

BTW - can you suggest a place to publish these ideas for them to be commented and voted on? As you think through the contributions, I'd love for everyone to have a way of seeing what resonates most with the community and also contribute their own ideas. Kind of like a personal Digg or My Starbucks Idea. If you know of a technology, please comment below or message me on Twitter @peterkim. Thanks!

UPDATE: These are now posted on Slinkset, where you can vote on your favorites and submit your own.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Let the Playoffs Begin

2008-12-09T09:35:34-05:00

The regular season of the Social Media Fantasy Football League (#SMFFL) season is complete.

Every season begins with hope. For some teams, like the Mustangs and Favre Beans, bitter reality sets in early. For others, like the Mighty Maurauders and Munoz Mustache Club, you come so far...just to fall short.

The top four teams advance to the playoffs and have a shot at winning the first ever SMFFL season and the hardware from FantasyTrophies.com (pictured at left).

The final regular season standings:

Little Birds (Jeremiah Owyang), 10-4.
Hard Knox Life (Dave Knox), 9-5.
The Beasties (Craig Daitch), 9-5.
Stillers (Jackie Huba), 8-5-1.
Mighty Maurauders (Aaron Strout), 8-6.
Munoz Mustache Club (Dan Cordella), 8-6.
Mosi Tatupu's Mullet (Adam Cohen), 7-6-1.
Purple Pistachios (Laura "Pistachio" Fitton), 7-6-1.
The Viral Gardeners (Mack Collier), 6-7-1.
The Team With No Name (me), 6-8.
Mustangs (Scott Monty), 3-11.
Favre Beans (Joseph Jaffe), 1-13.

The two-round playoffs start this week, with Little Birds vs. Stillers and Hard Knox Life vs. The Beasties. There is a consolation bracket, with Mighty Maurauders vs. Purple Pistachios and Munoz Mustache Club vs. Mosi Tatupu's Mullet, aka the hair battle we've all been waiting for.

Next update at the end of the playoffs, when a champion will be crowned. Your trash talk is appreciated, as always.

A Wiki of Social Media Marketing Examples

2008-12-08T00:08:00-05:00

Over the weekend, I created a framework to port A List of Social Media Marketing Examples into a wiki. I also invited the 166 people who've left comments on that post to become the initial collaborators in the new effort. (At least I tried to...Google Sites seems to have had a delivery problem. If you think you should have a login, try your existing email address - it may already be setup.)

Soon after inception, several people asked about turning the list into a wiki, which is a natural container for this type of information. However, I delayed doing this immediately for many reasons.

One of the benefits of doing so manifests in the framework, which allows users to sort information by different categories. In an early experiment, I had created an alphabetical directory by company name, with 26 pages. Continuing with that approach would've meant replicating efforts to relist examples by channel, industry, or geography.

Let me say thanks again to everyone who's contributed to help create

A Wiki of Social Media Marketing Examples

I'm looking forward to collaborating on this new community resource with you.

Social Media Marketing's New Clothes

2008-12-04T07:36:34-05:00

Lewis writes, "Don't Say ROI Unless You Mean It." Agreed. I see a lot of bloggers wading into unfamiliar territory, starting to spew opinions on measuring return on investment (ROI). It's easy for anyone with an understanding of business finance to see the shallowness of these analyses. But don't be surprised - has not knowing anything about a subject ever stopped a blogger from writing about it?

There is one correct approach to calculate ROI. The result is a financial ratio.

To get to the root of the problem, we first need to go back to school. Marketing has historically been a right-brain discipline, reflected in academic coursework. Left-brained marketers end up focusing on direct and/or B2B - staying far away from social media.

Fast forward to the top of the food chain. CMOs have a shorter tenure than other executive roles. Why? According to Spencer Stuart, the firm that publishes the most widely cited statistics on the subject, CEO and CMO agendas are misaligned. CEOs want to see business results - I'd say now more than ever. Marketers can't counter with, "well, I can't give you a number, but there sure are a lot of people talking nice about us."

Social media is easy to use. If you can type in a box and click a button, you can blog. Click the button that looks like "play" and sure enough the video starts rolling. There is no secret to using Twitter. Being a social media user meant that you were an expert...five years ago. Not today.

Do you know the story about The Emperor's New Clothes? Let's pick it up near the end:

And so the Emperor set off under the high canopy, at the head of the great procession. It was a great success. All the people standing by and at the windows cheered and cried, "Oh, how splendid are the Emperor's new clothes. What a magnificent train! How well the clothes fit!" No one dared to admit that he couldn't see anything, for who would want it to be known that he was either stupid or unfit for his post?

We know the Emperor should've just used some common sense. Calculating ROI from social media efforts is no different.

If ROI doesn't apply to social media marketing, then social media should not be used for marketing.

Slicing and Dicing A List of Social Media Marketing Examples

2008-12-03T16:10:31-05:00

Since starting a list of social media marketing examples, I've seen some great work to frame content for specific uses:

By technology/media type

I posted a framework on Mashable called The 22 Step Social Media Marketing Plan
Ray Schiel has listed almost all the examples by category

By country

Australia: former colleague Steven Noble has bookmarked many examples
Canada: David Jones has set up a wiki
Germany: Benedikt Köhler has blogged a list
Malaysia: A table at GreyReview
United Kingdom: John Welsh has blogged a list

By industry

Haven't seen any yet...

If you are maintaining or know of a segmented list, please let me know and I'll link to you here.

November 2008: Most Popular Posts

2008-11-30T11:30:00-05:00

I thought you might find it useful if I highlighted the most viewed content around here. In November, the top ten posts were:

This excludes the about page. The top two posts consist of content almost entirely from this reader community. Cool.

On a related note, Ari Herzog writes that commenting functionality on the Typepad platform is weak. I switched over the Typepad's new system recently and I can't say it's much better or worse, just different. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, let me know.

Working backwards to the future

2008-11-28T00:28:00-05:00

Have you noticed the increased amount of work being done over the weekends?

Over the weekend of 13-14 September, banking executives met at the NY Fed to discuss a Lehman rescue. Shortly thereafter, Congress met over the weekend to discuss a larger $700 billion bailout package. Granted, these actions are in response to a crisis situation and the weekend work is warranted and bit different than, say, raking the leaves off of your lawn.

Over the past couple of weekends, business has been occupying social media, too. Motrin ran into controversy on a Sunday. The next Sunday, Scott Monty from Ford was trying to drum up support for the auto industry. And Frank Eliason aka ComcastCares on Twitter seems to be helping out all the time.

In the U.S., most workers have been employed for the past 80 years under a mental model of working five days a week, eight hours a day. Working outside of those limits tends to create dissonance with the concept of work-life balance. Most white-collar workers regularly put in more time, but use the old standard to gauge how much extra effort they're contributing.

I shared my thoughts on work with Dan Schwabel recently and believe it's most important for us to be "consciously engaged" with our work, regardless of model. Social technologies allow us to always be on and toggle quickly between work and personal activities. We don't work in big chunks of 5 vs. 2 days or within a block between 8 am and 5 pm anymore - we work and live our lives in much more finely sliced segments.

Interestingly enough, it was Henry Ford who first implemented the five-day work week in 1922, so that workers could not only recover from work, but also have time to purchase goods. Now, it appears that Ford has another opportunity to transform the world of work by trying to save itself in the process.

Social technologies and today's "always on" culture will certainly need to be factored into the transformation of U.S. automakers - and will eventually impact the way all industries function. I wonder if this means we'll return to six- and seven-day work weeks...if we're not there already. I imagine more telecommuting, microslicing of days, greater use of social technologies for business. These seem to be the hallmarks of the "information revolution" to follow the industrial revolution.

Strangely enough, the cadence of our work seems to resemble life before the industrial revolution, albeit with a much higher standard of living. And I'm not sure if things are getting better or worse.

A ninety second business trip

2008-11-21T00:21:00-05:00

Carlos Whittaker is one of the earliest people on my social graph. I was inspired by a video on his blog last week called My Day In 90 Seconds.

Earlier this week, I applied the concept to a business trip. Video embedded below.

[Click here if you can't see the video.]

Here's what's happening:

Sunday: Left the house at 4:30 am, unseasonably warm 62 degrees. Time check from the BBC World Service. Up the parking ramp, past the 9/11 Memorial. Checking in with Delta. Fly to Atlanta, big plane. Connecting to Austin, little plane. Welcome to Texas! Driving on Congress Street, Traffic by Ben Cyllus on radio. Lunch at Whole Foods world headquarters. Drop bags at hotel and go get hair cut at Birds. Dinner at Freebirds and caught Obama on 60 Minutes.
Monday: Breakfast at Austin Java, then over to the office. View from the 22nd floor balcony.
Tuesday: Jet to JFK. VH1 classic. Arrive in the new T5. Cab it to the W.
Wednesday: Cross street to the Waldorf=Astoria and up to PR Week panel. Taxi to Marine Air Terminal and Delta Shuttle - exit, aft. Back to car, sit in rush hour, and return home again, 7:00 pm and 30 degrees.

I learned how to use iMovie on the ATL-AUS flight and pieced this together in about 30 minutes. Filmed all of the segments using a loaned Nokia N95. You can see the first day standalone in 90 seconds, too.

If you get similarly inspired, let me know!

Comments on The Next Digital Era

2008-11-19T00:19:00-05:00

I'll be in New York mid-week to moderate a PR Week conference panel and asked for your thoughts on the content. Thanks to everyone who contributed! Here are highlights from your responses.

1. What's next for the communications industry?

A mobile, sematic web and the personalisation of data. - Ubergill
Social media fatigue, large-scale burnout as a result of always-on and partial attention deficit leading to relationship breakdowns across the board. - Annalie Killian
Organizations that do not adapt will be seen as disingenuous through no fault of their own. We're really moving to a critical time where customers have outgrown those serving them. - Cory Hendrickson
I think the next big thing is the realization of the power that the little guys now have, that does not require waiting around for traditional media. - Angela Connor
Un-mergers along functional lines that change business models for different parts of the very broad communications industry. - David M
2009 will be about tools to cut through all of the noise and teaching best practices so that our messages resonate. We will see more filters and more strategy behind brand participation. - Aaron Uhrmacher
The biggest (and most painful) next thing for the industry is a complete shift in the skill sets, experience and approach of successful communications practitioners. - Jay Gaines
The communications industry needs to ensure complete marketing integration with all aspects of media, including traditional and online venues. - Julie Arnold
Measurement. Measurement. Measurement. - Jeremy Frank

2. What's the biggest development in the social media space that affects all organizations?

How much search matters, and the fact that everyone is now a publisher and has influence. MSM would never want to lead on that they've lost control...they have. - Adam Singer
At some point we will see a huge enterprise level level of adoption. - Marc Meyer
With the rise of so many individual publishers, it is increasingly difficult for enterprises to "push" their brands onto a market. - James Cioban
In short, the explosion of self-publishing tools, services and technologies. - David Politis
The shift from 'marketing to' to 'marketing with' the consumer, the rise of infinite influencers. - Gunjan Rawal
Wiki will lead the economy to create from shared communication with the user, up innovation in business models, opening our processes and creativity to work together hundreds of creative minds. - Rodrigo
“Marketers as media” will be the norm rather than the exception in communications efforts moving forward. - Nick Mendoza

3. What's the most underreported trend in the business world that you think deserves more attention?

The older guard/senior management at large corporation (Fortune 500) are often technology-averse. Look at the picture of the Detroit leaders in the White House last week and tell me how many even can define social computing. - Steve Poppe
The death of conventional communications. The newsfeed will do to messaging what the video did to the radio star. - JoeC
The tension between wanting to promote a company's culture in which employees are active participants in social media and the issues associated with it when an employee participates an is "off-message." - Zach Braiker
At many companies, the personal brands of team members are surpassing the value of corporate brands more and more quickly. The result is a transient workforce. I can only imagine the implications. - Scott Hepburn
As more companies start to "get" social media, they are insisting on building their own communities. I personally believe they should use what's available, where people are already gathering, to hear what folks are saying and join the discussion. - Jeannie Walters
A decline in overhead costs as a huge development for the communications industry. Social media continue to obliterate the traditional economics of media production, distribution, collaboration and R&D. Organizational functions that were once money- and time-suckers become increasingly inductive. - Josh Shabtai

Great insights. Over the past six months, the level of conversation here has increased dramatically. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and letting me share thoughts with you.

UPDATE: You can view cached real-time reactions to the whole conference on Twitter

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: The Final Quarter

2008-11-18T08:36:48-05:00

Week Eleven of the Social Media Fantasy Football League (#SMFFL) season is complete, bringing us to the last quarter of the season.

Munoz Mustache Club and Mzinga Maurauders have climbed steadily out of the bottom of the league barrel and are positioned to play for the championship. The top four teams get to play for it and we have three weeks left to go.

As football fans know, winning the regular season doesn't mean too much unless you can close the deal in the playoffs. Even if you go undefeated.

Our current standings:

Little Birds (Jeremiah Owyang), 9-2.
Hard Knox Life (Dave Knox), 8-3.
The Beasties (Craig Daitch), 7-4.
Mzinga Maurauders (Aaron Strout), 6-5.
Munoz Mustache Club (Dan Cordella), 6-5.
Stillers (Jackie Huba), 5-5-1.
Mosi Tatupu's Mullet (Adam Cohen), 5-5-1.
Purple Pistachios (Laura "Pistachio" Fitton), 5-5-1.
The Team With No Name (me), 5-6.
The Viral Gardeners (Mack Collier), 4-6-1.
Mustangs (Scott Monty), 3-8.
Favre Beans (Joseph Jaffe), 1-10.

Just like NFL teams, some SMFFL teams are in must-win mode at this point. The only team eliminated from contention is Jaffe's Favre Beans. Mathematically, everyone else still has a shot...

Next update at the end of the regular season. Your trash talk is appreciated, as always.

Motrin MANIA!

2008-11-17T00:17:00-05:00

Lots of controversy this weekend about a commercial from Motrin. The discussion on Twitter is particularly active and you can take a peek by searching for #motrinmoms.

Here's what I think about it.

Some of the unsolicited advice being offered to Motrin is good and all brands can pick up a pointer or two. But most of it is just "me too" mantra from individuals trying to look like experts.

Anyone who has managed a brand will tell you that it is impossible to please everyone, all the time. I've had to help manage some brand controversies in my career. Family planning activists and primate lovers, in particular. The world is too diverse for self-interests to not end up colliding.

What are the odds that this one makes it out of the social media echo chamber? Will a mainstream media outlet bite?

Dads wear babies, too. And in my experience, Children's Motrin works pretty well.

But here's the strangest thing about the whole Motrin Moms controversy to me: I thought social media killed the 30 second spot.

I guess not.

Social media isn't socialism

2008-11-16T00:16:00-05:00

If you've started blogging, photosharing, or tweeting to any extent, then you've witnessed firsthand the "social" nature of social media. Individuals post opinions and ideas, share emotions, and exchange thoughts on topics ranging from mundane to profound.

As for me, I love LOLcats as much as I love social psychology. Socializing increases the value of content. The channels may have a feedback mechanism, but they're worthless unless put to use.

However, socializing shouldn't be confused with socialism, although some principles seem to apply. For example, social computing has facilitated a transfer of power from traditional media institutions to a widely distributed base of smaller beacons, typically individuals.

But individuals need incentive to participate. And the incentive they seek is typically not monetary. It's more often activation of the feedback channel - that others agree, disagree, share, favorite their content. The system requires individual ownership and authorship to work effectively.

When someone plagiarizes content, the social system breaks down. Individuals who plagiarize seek to claim credit for themselves. Social media is already social and a Robin Hood-style redistribution of value isn't required. But credit and attribution remain key to socializing and increasing the value of content for everyone involved.

So, political scientists, where does social media end up then?

We share ideas in the commons, but seek individual credit, which isn't communism. Not all blogs are created equal.
We participate in content aggregators like Alltop, Social Media Today, and Social Computing Magazine, but retain personal ownership, which isn't quite socialism.
We compete with others by publishing individual blogs or photostreams, but also distribute freely and encourage others to share, remix, and improve upon the original, which isn't quite capitalism.

What I can tell you is that it's important to give credit where credit is due. And while we may find ourselves in the midst of a power shift from institutions to individuals, social media may thrive on socialization, but it isn't socialism.

Whereabouts 11/13-22

2008-11-13T00:13:00-05:00

Some things I'll be doing over the next couple of weeks, in case you're interested in meeting up.

- Thursday, 11/13: SNCR Tweetup at Vox Populi in Boston (Back Bay), 7 pm

- Monday, 11/17: Meet Aaron Strout Tweetup at Guero's in Austin (South Congress), 7:35 pm

- Wednesday, 11/19: PR Week Next Conference at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York, 8 am

I posted earlier about the panel I'll be moderating and appreciate your thoughts on three key questions for the future of PR. Which may also win you a free pass to the conference. Be sure to read the comments - there's a lot of great thinking in there.

- Saturday, 11/22: MIT Futures of Entertainment 3 in Cambridge, 3:30 pm.

I'm very excited to be participating on a panel moderated by Sam Ford of MIT's C3/Peppercom, where we'll discuss "At the Intersection of the Academy and the Industry." My fellow panelists are Amanda Lotz, University of Michigan; John Caldwell, UCLA; and Grant McCracken, MIT. I am clearly from the industry side of the fence here.

BTW I absolutely borrowed this post's title from David Churbuck, who is a very good writer. In the same "very good writer" vein, if Ann Handley has a title I can borrow sometime, I will...

Ego Trap: Social Media Ranking Tools

2008-11-12T20:26:24-05:00

It seems like a new ego trap gets sprung every month. This time, it's social media ranking tools.

What's an ego trap? In a nutshell, social technologies use game mechanics to get users hooked on participation. People often get addicted to ego-stroking system feedback, until they can temper their usage (addiction?) in terms of utility vs. serendipity. Self-promotion lies at the root of ego traps.

I don't think ego traps are inherently "bad." However, I believe that individuals should be fully aware of the implications when participating - particularly what they're trying to accomplish and why. Honesty with one's own ego is the key.

Some people are panicking after submitting their Twitter username and password to a site called Twitterank, which will "determine how worthy of a person you are in Twitterverse," while potentially stealing your password in the process. Clearly an ego trap in action. Why?

There's no practical use of the service except for stroking one's ego.

[Okay, I know the other posts had longer lists, but this one is just too obvious.]

Similar social media ranking tools include egoSurf, Twitter Grader, twInfluence, and [the now defunct] TweeterBoard.

Ranking tools are great when they're used for fun. Be smart and don't give out your password to random sites.

BTW if you want to see if your favorite Tweeter got caught in the Twitterank ego trap, visit http://new.twitterank.com/?u=[username]

Previously: