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To blog or microblog?

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Saturday morning, before I went into town to see Wicked, I had a little twitter-chat with Steven Streight "Vaspers the Grate" (quotation marks not superfluous) about blogging versus microblogging using Twitter, Jaiku et al.

Personally, I seem to be back in a "twitting" mode after a few months of just occasionally checking in. That, combined with the interchange with Vaspers got me thinking, again, about how blogging and microblogging fit in the total social media scheme, and especially how they both relate (or not)  to marketing communications.

Here’s the back and forth over about a half hour before I had to leave for the play:

vaspers – Marketing experts *have* to be on Twitter. Fear of fast messaging and loss of narcissistic platform (slomo blogs) are two major impediments.
vaspers – "slomo blogs" = conventional blogs, where new posts take a whole day to appear, and comments accumulate less than every few seconds. LOL
sgetgood @vaspers but there is place for both slomo and microblog, it’s not either/or
vaspers @sgetgood – Correct, but for a marketing expert to shun Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce, YouTube seems rather drearily Luddite and egotistic to me.
sgetgood @vaspers agree that is dumb to ignore twitter et al off to read about target
vaspers @sgetgood – I stick to my claim that slowmo bloggers hate the anonymity, loss of ego, loss of message control that microblogging represents
vaspers @sgetgood – I’m not trying to be mean-spirited to non-microblogging bloggers, just wondering why they resist the evolution of blogging
sgetgood @vaspers fear, control issues, attention disorders, difficulty following threads, not good at sensemaking

I agree with him 100% that to ignore the microblogging platforms, and particularly Twitter where so much of the microblogging conversation happens, is extremely shortsighted for any marketer,  particularly marketers in the tech space. The conversation that happens there is just as — if not more — important than the conversation that happens on our blogs, in email and through social networks like Facebook. And the reason some balk is most likely fear of losing message control. Just think about how PR pros stress about each and every word in a PR message. Those same messages that may be becoming the biggest anachronism in marketing communications today.

It’s also hard sometimes to follow the disconnected conversation on Twitter. Nevertheless, that, in my personal opinion, is where the real power of the Twitter network is, and I’ll get to that in a moment.

Microblogging doesn’t replace blogging. Sometimes 140-characters won’t do, and we need the longer format. I know very few bloggers who have completely abandoned their long format blog to just converse on Twitter. Blogs and microblogs have different roles.

The microblog. Twitter. Sure, it’s where you can find out who is free for lunch and literally twitter on about nothing. But it is also fast and close to real-time. Not unlike the old news ticker. In fact, it is where news happens. Follow the thread and you can learn and influence the conversation much more rapidly than ever before.

The blog. The blog is for analysis. It’s where, yes, as long as a day later, a blogger can sit down and put the perspective on the news and comments issued in rapid-fire bursts on Twitter. And it’s where bloggers, and ultimately, reporters will write the longer stories about the things they read in Twitter. Like this post from BL Ochman about Spirit Airlines’ customer service problems, which she initially read about  "via Twitter from Mack Collier."

But the thing I find most fascinating about Twitter is the discovery. Each user only sees the messages from the people he is following. When someone you know replies to someone you do not, you only see half the message. And that is the opportunity for discovery. If it interests you, you can follow the trail back, check out the Twitter profile of the unknown person (assuming it is a public profile)  and perhaps make a new acquaintance.  That is how social networks grow in interesting and unexpected ways.

And the real reason I think marketers who ignore the microblogging tools are missing out.

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The lines they are a-blurring…

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Over at Communication Overtones, Kami Huyse has proposed a "drip theory" for social media adoption. No, not that we are all drips, thank you very much. Her thesis is that social media is adopted slowly, by presenting it to clients/bosses in easily digested bits or drips :

"By adding in a few social media tactics at a time, they start to get the power of the medium and they tend to add a second, then a third element.  Soon, they are converts."

She concludes:

"Progress is achieved by the relentless drip of water weakening the established structure. When the dam finally gives way it looks like a revolution, but it really happened just one drip at a time."

A spirited discussion ensued in her comments, and I urge you to check it out.

Even before her post, I was thinking quite a bit about how companies and agencies adopt, or not, social media strategies. And the conclusion I keep coming to is that the traditional lines between the disciplines of public relations and marketing are blurring. Perhaps into a new discipline, but definitely into a new set of requirements.

Here’s how it goes. A long time ago, when the earth was green….

Well maybe not that long ago.

It used to be clear. We had public relations and we had marketing. PR reached out to the press, which acted as intermediaries between companies and their customers.  There was a process, and everybody understood the rules of the game. It was all about news.

Marketing, on the other hand, developed programs and campaigns to communicate directly to customers. There was a process and everyone understood the rules. It was all about mutual benefit, mutual value.

Each side had its place, and rarely the twain did meet.

But it isn’t that clear anymore.

When we talk to a blogger, we are talking to both an influencer and a customer. We need to bring both the marketing and the PR mindset, and skill set, into the conversation.

And that makes it hard. Because the traditional PR agency trains and reinforces the skill set necessary to reach out to intermediaries, reporters. Talking to customers? Not the strong suit.

And though marketers are often not much better, talking to the customer is a slightly more natural state for them, so it may be easier to make the transition. Once they stop calling them "consumers" that is.

The fact of the matter is that the lines between the two disciplines are blurring as a direct result of social media. You have to bring both sensibilities to the table. That means understanding that bloggers are influencers, often with as much, if not more, power than the mainstream media. It also means talking to them with enthusiasm, commitment, and caring — just the way you would a valued customer. They don’t need, or want, the studious detachment you practice when talking to reporters. They also don’t want press releases with no cover note (pet peeve).

Learn how to meld the two skill sets when you reach out. It truly is adapt or die.

Or risk becoming the unicorn (YouTube video)

The Unicorn Song
words and music Shel Silverstein, performed by the Irish Rovers

A long time ago, when the Earth was green
There was more kinds of animals than you’ve ever seen
They’d run around free while the Earth was being born
And the loveliest of all was the unicorn

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born
The loveliest of all was the unicorn

The Lord seen some sinning and it gave Him pain
And He says, "Stand back, I’m going to make it rain"
He says, "Hey Noah, I’ll tell you what to do
Build me a floating zoo,
and take some of those…

Green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born
Don’t you forget My unicorns

Old Noah was there to answer the call
He finished up making the ark just as the rain started to fall
He marched the animals two by two
And he called out as they came through
Hey Lord,

I’ve got green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I’m so forlorn
I just can’t find no unicorns

And Noah looked out through the driving rain
Them unicorns were hiding, playing silly games
Kicking and splashing while the rain was falling
Oh, them silly unicorns

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Noah cried, "Close the door because the rain is falling
And we just can’t wait for no unicorns

The ark started moving, it drifted with the tide
The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried
And the waters came down and sort of floated them away
That’s why you never see unicorns to this very day

You’ll see green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born
You’re never gonna see no unicorns

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One more for the road and one for the Roadmap

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I promise, I do have some actual marketing content in this post, but before I get back to the Roadmap, I’ve got one more comment "for the road" about the absurdity that is our national presidential elections.

You may recall my comments in earlier posts about how the media always seems to pay inordinate attention to the appearance and demeanor of female candidates — hair, make-up, nature of their laugh. You know, the really important stuff that tells voters whether a candidate is qualified for elected office. You know, more important than the issues facing our country like the war, health care and the economy.

Well, I must extend kudos to USA Today and reporter Maria Puente for an interesting story on the front of the LIFE section this morning about how style is "an issue for ’08".   The story presented a pretty balanced view of the media’s obsession with the candidates’ (and especially Hillary’s) looks.

But the best was the sidebar on page 2 of the section that dissected what all the presidential candidates are wearing. Absolutely priceless. Absolutely perfect. Here are just some of the gems:

John Edwards

[…] Earlier this year, Edwards was captured on camera fussing over his hair. Then there were jeers when it came out that he spent $400, twice, on haircuts. But Edwards laughed off the criticism, spoofing the kerfuffle with his own video (featuring Hair from the Broadway musical).

Rudy Giuliani

The former New York mayor gets applause for finally giving up on the comb-over and accepting the realities of male-pattern balding. Now if only he could spiff up those oversized, un-stylish suits he sometimes wears.[…]

John McCain

[…] Then it was reported on Radar Online.com that he was miffed at his staff for dressing him like a metrosexual in a "gay" V-neck sweater over a T-shirt. McCain’s campaign did not return calls seeking comment, then or now.

Mitt Romney

[…] Romney criticized Edwards on the haircuts, but then it came out that he had spent $300 on a makeup job before a debate. […]

Go read it.

Now back to the roadmap. You remember, the Marketing Roadmap 🙂

The media landscape is shifting. Right in front of our very eyes. Customers are increasingly taking control of their own brand experiences. Generating the content, deciding what is important. Targeting by behavior is more effective than demographics. It’s not just about viral, it’s about spreading the right message for the right result.

Now, if you’ve been active in social media marketing for the past few years, none of the above is news to you. At all. You already know that the traditional lines between PR and marketing are blurring. We aren’t talking in isolation to influencers (the media) and customers. Intermediation is no longer the name of the game. We can, and must, talk directly with our customer, who is simultaneously both influencer and buyer. Forget about messages. We have to connect with people. Honestly. Authentically. No bullshit.

If you’ve been doing this for a while, you understand how important this new communication is to our brands, our companies, our survival. You’ve sucked that social media kool-aid right down. You get it.

But it can be hard for people to put their heads and arms around when faced with it for the first time. And there’s no real way to cut the learning curve down. You just have to jump in.

Now, I am always suspicious of business experts who don’t actually do what they write about, so I viewed Larry Weber’s new book,  Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business, with a bit of a jaundiced eye. Sure, he has the PR background but I’m not sure he even has a blog…  How much could he really know about marketing to the social web without doing it? Without being in it?

Well, I can’t answer that question, but I just read an excerpt from his new book in BrandWeek, and while I’m not sure I’d get much new information from the book,  I was pleased with the 12 steps he outlined for companies to follow toward an interactive future.

Which makes me think his book might be a good intro for brand marketers and PR execs.  Budget is tight right now, so I don’t plan to buy the book, but I’d love to hear from my readers if it is any good. And of course, Larry Weber, John Wiley & Sons, if you send me a review copy, I will read it.

Books are pretty much the only things I do review here.

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Contests. Sweepstakes. Prizes. Liability? Oh my!

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Contests on blogs. Everybody loves them. The blogger loves them because they often bring new readers. Readers love them because they might get free stuff and a mention on a popular blog. Companies who donate prizes love them because their products are mentioned on the blogs.

It’s a win for everyone.

Except, what if someone has an issue with the contest? What’s the liability of the blogger if someone complains about how the contest was run? It seems so odd to ask this question, given the overwhelmingly positive spirit of most contests on blogs.

I’ve done a contest with some friends through my personal blog Snapshot Chronicles, and it was nothing but fun – for me, for my friends and for the people who entered.

Then again, the prizes, while cool, weren’t of excessively high value. Camera cases, photo frames, pens and ball caps [thank you again Photojojo and HP], not trips to Europe and TVs. This is generally the case with most blog contests; the prizes are desirable but nothing to sue over.

Well, maybe not. Remember, there are folks who enter contests as a revenue stream, not just as a fun activity. For them, it is serious business. And the value of the prizes continues to rise.

What happens if someone decides it wasn’t fair, and decides to raise a stink? What is the liability of the blogger? How can she protect herself? Does the company donating the prize have any liability?

Companies who run contests, large and small, spend a lot of time and money reviewing terms and conditions. Bloggers cannot do the same, but my blogging colleague David Wescott and I decided to do a little research and offer some guidance.

I spoke with Donna DeClemente, a marketer who specializes in helping companies with contest promotions, and David spoke with Stephanie Himel-Nelson, who blogs at Lawyer Mama among other places. Read on for my post and go to David’s blog It’s Not A Lecture for his post.

My interest was both professional and personal. Let’s cover the professional first. If you have a product that is relevant and exciting for the blogger, and you can give him something to give away on his blog, do it! Makes everybody happy, and I love making everybody happy. I recommend this to clients that have appropriate products, and am in the middle of such a project right now – more soon – which is one of the reasons I started thinking about this issue.

Personally. While I do not do contests on this blog, I have done one on Snapshot Chronicles, and absolutely intend to do more. And I like my house, so I’d prefer to keep it. Do I have any liability when I run a contest?

Let’s hear from an expert. I met Donna DeClemente, who blogs at Donna’s Promo Talk, at BlogHer. She attends the promotional marketing law conference sponsored by the Promotional Marketing Association every year to stay up to speed with the regulations, and helps companies and bloggers like my friend Yvonne DiVita create contests and draft Official Rules.

I asked her about the different types of contests.

Donna: A sweepstakes is a random drawing that anyone who meets the eligibility requirements as written in the “Official Rules” may enter. Contests are different from sweepstakes. They are not just games of chance. The winner of a contest must provide a degree of individual skill or uniqueness. A contest also takes more work since all entries must be judged and/or evaluated. A raffle is a type of lottery in which prizes are awarded to people who pay for a chance to win. They are strictly to be used only as a fundraising tool by a non-profit organization. The rules vary greatly from state to state and should be reviewed carefully. A qualifying organization usually must complete an application. Raffles also are not allowed to be conducted or advertised over the Internet. (See David’s interview with Lawyer Mama for more on lotteries-SG)

Give me some general guidelines for holding a contest or random drawing.

Donna: The sponsor of a contest or sweepstakes, whether a company or an individual, assumes full responsibility for the contest. It is very important that a set of “Official Rules” be drafted and everyone who is eligible to enter have access to the rules. Once you have a set of Official Rules, you must follow these rules and not change them during the course of the contest. If you stick by them, then you should be clear of any liability if someone claims fraud or misrepresentation. For example, see the Lipsticking.com sweepstakes.

The key elements that must be included in the rules include the official sponsor, eligibility requirements, the start and end date and time of the promotion, description of the prize(s) and their value, and how to enter. (For example, as Lawyer Mama found when she dug into the issue, some states have very strict disclosure and eligibility requirements and you either have to meet them, or exclude residents of those states from your sweepstakes or contest. Explains why sometimes you see a national contest with various state exclusions or differing terms for different states – SG)

What about the company donating the prizes? Does it have any liability?

Donna: If a company is donating a prize(s) for the promotion and is not the sponsor, than they are not liable. However, it is up to them to provide a detailed description of the prize and the true ARV (average retail value). For anyone that receives a prize worth $600 or more, you must create a 1099 and the winner is liable for taxes.

Should a blogger seek legal advice about her sweepstakes or drawing?

Donna: If you are worried about the potential consequences or your program is really complex or unique, you should absolutely seek advice. But you really need to make sure that any lawyer you retain is up to speed on promotional law, and most small business and personal lawyers are not. They can do the research, but you are probably better off consulting a specialist. I’d recommend that people start by consulting a promotional specialist like me, because we can also help with other aspects of the sweepstakes like fulfillment and contest structure. Typically, I can handle most issues that come up, but if we do need a lawyer, I work with two expert promotional lawyers on a regular basis.

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Check out Donna’s blog and Web site for more information on running a contest on your blog or Web site. And if you have any doubts or questions about a contest you’d like to conduct on your blog, especially if you have a very high value prize, get advice. A specialist like Donna can help, but at the end of the day, if you are doing something very unique, it is probably worth the call to a lawyer. The legal fee pales in comparison to the nuisance of a lawsuit if you have to deal with, in the words of Fake Steve, a “frigtard.”

Some additional resources, courtesy of Lawyer Mama:
http://www.wcsr.com/default.asp?id=534&objId=31
http://promomagazine.com/legal/marketing_staking_states/
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/State-Laws/California/
http://www.ct.gov/AG/cwp/view.asp?A=1772&Q=282452
http://www.dwt.com/practc/advertising/bulletins/09-05_FloridaSweepstakes.htm
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3629/is_199408/ai_n8713060

SUSAN IS NOT A LAWYER
This information is meant to bring awareness to the topic and is not intended to be used as legal advice. If you have questions about any of the information above or related matters, please contact an attorney licensed in your state.(Thanks, Lawyer Mama, for the disclaimer language)

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Social Media Club Boston: Fake Steve, Wal-Mart and Forrester Research

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Last Thursday’s Social Media Club Boston meeting was terrific. And oh so funny.  Kudos to Greg PC for assembling such a great panel, and to the moderator and speakers for doing such a brilliant job.

John Cass has done a great job summarizing the session, so I will just share some photos, soundbites and general observations.

Moderator Monika Maeckle, VP Southwest Region, Business Wire (sponsor of the evening) A delightful and charming woman who did a great job moving the conversation along, involving the audience, but never losing control of the session.

And the esteemed panel:

left to right: Josh Bernoff, Forrester; Dan Lyons, aka Fake Steve Jobs, Forbes Magazine; Steve Restivo, Wal-Mart

As John Cass reported, Dan Lyons was the hit of the evening. Some of his bon mots:

On his Attack of the Blogs article: "I wished I had a do-over."

On Valleywag: "Valleywag sucks."
   

On Jonathan Schwartz, Sun: "How different is Jonathan Schwartz’s blog from a fake blog?"  [Note, if this comment resonates, be sure to check out My Little Pony.]

As John reported in his post, Dan said many people knew who FSJ was well before the New York Times exposed the secret. In a brief conversation after the panel, Dan said he was impressed that they were all able to keep the secret. He said a few of them even helped mess with Valleywag on who FSJ was. Gotta love it. Unless you are Owen Thomas I suppose.

Josh Bernoff was polished and articulate. I really liked his comment that starting a "social media" project by picking a technology is ass-backward. The POST model he shared really resonated:

    First: PROFILE your customer.
 

    Second: Define your OBJECTIVES.

    Third: Develop a STRATEGY — how do you want to change people

    Then, and only then, decide on the TECHNOLOGY.

 

Another great quote from Josh: "Only one group of people that this (social media) is really bad for — liars."

Steve Restivo from Wal-Mart did a great job representing his company, although it was clear that he was constrained by a corporate role, unlike the other panelists, who are encouraged (and compensated I am sure) to have strong public personas. Nevertheless I was impressed by both his acknowledgment of past mistakes like RV-ing Across America and his frank statement that competitor Target does a great job online.

The Social Media Club has chapters in a number of cities; check it out. And if you are in Boston, see you next time.

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