Food for thought: The spy who sold out
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Facebook to agencies: how will people share your story?
Is “The Pitch” an accurate reflection of our industry?
Have you been following all the web chatter about how there’s too much chatter on the web? If you missed it, you’re not alone. That’s because the more the Internet speaks (figuratively), the less likely you are to actually hear what it’s saying.
Here’s an overview of what the marketing blogs are saying about the noisy net:
Six pixels of separation
Mitch Joel wants you to Remove the noise. That means following fewer people on Twitter, reading fewer blogs, using or making Apps that help you screen content – rather than subscribe to more of it – and generally, “Become a better filter.”
FutureLab
David Armano agrees: “People in my own ecosystem seem utterly exhausted by the plethora of networks they manage and the number of people within those networks. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, Instant Messenger . . . just how many platforms can we participate in?” The challenge, he says, is not simply to connect more, but to connect more meaningfully.
Mashable
Google is already on it. According to Samuel Axon, the search giant is set to improve filter features on its new social platform “Buzz”. In response to privacy and signal-to-noise concerns, Google will revisit Buzz’s auto-opt-in, remove its Reader and Picasa connectivity, and generally give its new baby a privacy overhaul.
FastCompany
And finally, David Lavena gives council to marketers looking for more signal, less noise: “It starts with the message. Social media offer channels to communicate with a community, but the message must be sincere and provide value for both parties . . . For example, many companies have successfully created blogs that provide objective information to their constituents. Posts shouldn’t be measured for lead generation. Creating a place where people come to rely on you for valuable information is a good thing. Credibility and sincerity translate to help you cut through the noise when it counts.”
Ameet Acharya
February 17, 2010 @ 11:22 am
Ian,
Under FastCompany:
I agree that the success of a blog doesn’t live or die on its ability to generate leads, but it must be a means of generating a bit of traffic. People are interested in what other people are doing or no one would read blogs.
It’s akin to walking by the Eaton Centre mall and seeing a crowd around an artist. Naturally you want to peek in to see what is happening. It’s also the same reason pickpockets love these events, but that is another topic of discussion.
Whilst I am in no way an expert in social media, I do think that this rationale must exist. Why else would we waste time trying to “Digg it”. We want people to notice our blogs, we send it to our friends in hopes of propagating popularity and to get our voices heard. Faking it is a necessary evil to gain traction. The net is noisy, as mentioned by Mitch Joel, so everyone is screaming to get a piece of the action online.
I thought it would be interesting to note that there are companies that specialize in creating buzz through social media networks. I can’t remember some of the company names but their sole mission in life is to create social buzz around your campaign. You want people to notice your deodorant, well I can get 5000 people to start talking about it now.
I do find it is unfortunate that in order to facilitate some buzz we have to go the route of spreading a “rumour”. Just my two cents..
Ian Mackenzie
February 17, 2010 @ 11:40 am
Hey Ameet. There’s a happy medium between bloggers who mindlessly shill their latest posts to their social networks, and bloggers who put their hearts and souls into their work and want to share it.
If you’re developing content solely for the purpose of generating leads, you’re writing ads. Blog posts can be ads. Yup. They can also be editorial – and I think the form leans that way. Of course, some blog posts can be both great ads and great editorial.
Media-literate readers should be able to spot the differences pretty quick.
BTW, how are you managing all the noise of your social networks?
ameet
February 18, 2010 @ 1:06 pm
Ian , I keep it simple.. I contribute and write my stuff only in facebook where friends can see. I stick to reading twitter instead of writing anything in my twitter account and of course I only RSS a few interesting blogs at a time to read.
My social media noise is just white noise.. enough to keep me amused until it becomes boring…then I find other twitter streams and blogs to follow.
Does that answer your question?