RonAmok!

In his 1996 book, Being Digital, Nicholas Negroponte discusses the  concept of atoms and bits. Since the economics of the past were based on the manufacturing and distribution of atoms, the content that we consumed came in the form of paper, film, vinyl, or magnetic tape. Yet as we began digitizing our content and putting it online, the need to manufacture and transport atoms became obsolete in favor of distributing content as bits.

Bit-based publications have an economic advantage over their atom-based cousins simply because they don’t need paper, ink, trucks, or fuel to deliver their content. The ramifications of this economic reality have been chronicled in Paul Gillin’s Newspaper Death Watch and it was only a matter of time before atom-based publication losses trickled down into the distribution channels.

Out of Town News has been a fixture in the very center of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts since 1955. As someone who grew up in the area, I can’t count the number of times I stopped by Out of Town News, either on my way to or fro the “T” Station to pickup a newspaper. The iconic newsstand recently decided not to renew its lease, and will be vacating its prime real estate — perhaps as soon as the end of the month.

Ironically, when bit-based publication Wicked Local.com asked about the closing, General Manager Kallol Barua said, “Nobody buys newspapers anymore. People are reading everything online mostly.”

The new Economics of Influence is rippling through atom-based information and entertainment industries, as those involved distribution (think the Music Industry) are squeezed in favor of those who distribute as bits. From a nostalgic perspective, it’s sad. Out of Town News occupies a soft spot in my heart. But from an opportunity perspective, we live in very exciting times. The entire way we as humans create, distribute and consume content is in flux. Old industries are dying while new industries are being born. Nobody knows exactly how its gonna shake out, but anyone who has studied history knows that changes like these have always made the society richer as opposed to poorer. You just need faith.

Do you have faith?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/afagen/

Tags: Out of Town News Economics of Influence Paul Gillin Being Digital Nicholas Negroponte atoms bits Newspaper Death Watch ronamok ronploof New Media Evangelist

Seth Godin’s most recent book, Tribes has made it easier for me to speak with my clients. The term is easily relatable, as everyone is a member of some group of like-minded individuals.  If you really want to make a meaningful connection with a person, just ask about their tribes. They’ll open up faster than a ripe banana.

Friday, I spoke with tribal leader (although it says Alumni Relations Officer on her business card) Christina Doherty of Merrimack College. I first noticed Christina’s name when she sent a message to the Merrimack College Alumni Facebook Group, celebrating the fact that the group had just passed 1000 members. Of course your New Media Evangelist couldn’t let this communique go unnoticed, so I contacted Christina to learn more about her use of Facebook.

Christina’s job is “…to engage with the young Alumni…those who’ve graduated in the past 10-15 years.” The term made me wince, because I graduated from Merrimack 23 years ago, and therefore by definition I must be part of the “old Alumni.” But I digress. As a tribal leader, she sought to find a place online for her tribe to gather. A Facebook Group seemed like a natural fit.

When creating the group, Christina noticed that other Merrimack-related Facebook Groups also existed, evidently created by former Merrimackans seeking to connect with past classmates, yet had nowhere else to go.That’s when Christina did something extraordinary, something that all organizations can learn from.

Instead of putting the Merrimack College Alumni Facebook Group out there to “compete” with these other groups, she reached out to them, suggesting that they pool their resources and unify into one. She explained her role at the college, and offered to take over the work necessary for maintaining the groups. Because of her offer, Merrimack Alumni now have a much more robust online community. Christina duplicated the process when creating a Linked-In group, essentially unifying disparate profiles into a single Merrimack Linked-In Group.

Is your company trying to build online tribes that support your organization? Are these  corporate-sponsored online communities competing with or supporting existing ones? Does it make sense to share resources for the greater good of the tribe? Or what if you find a very large and thriving group? Would you, or more importantly, your boss, be willing to take a support role instead of a lead role for the betterment of the group?

Companies looking to form online spaces for their tribes need to take a lesson from Christina Doherty. Find your online tribes. Then, reach out and take care of them.

Tags: Linked In Facebook Merrimack College Tribes Seth Godin

When I first saw Western Digital’s job posting for a  Social Media Manager, I was excited. All companies need dedicated employees to spend time in online communities. But the more I read, the more frustrated I got. It was clear to me that the author of the description had no clue as to what Social Media was all about.

The goals for the job include:

“…driving Web traffic and establishing and maintaining a favorable image of the company and its products with influential consumers, potential customers and the general public through social media channels…”

Hmm…”Driving traffic” wouldn’t be the first metric in my list to determine one’s Social Media Success. Nor would using Social Media to “maintain a favorable image.”

The operative words used here are “drive” and “maintain,” two control words used by traditionals who are still under the delusion that they have control over their brand and messages. Social Media is about transparent online conversations. One cannot “drive” or “maintain” a conversation. Instead, one can only “start,” “participate in,” or just sit back and “observe” them.

It gets even wackier. Under Essential Duties, we find:

• Clear understanding of journalistic media and how they communicate with their audiences. This usually takes several years of working with journalists, understanding their needs, gaining their trust and generating editorial coverage for organizations
• Ability to write clearly and in the accepted editorial style, as well as communicate verbally on a journalistic level is very important
• Clear understanding of social media, including social sites, blogs, forums and the tools necessary to reach online consumer communities
• Clear understanding of online communities, understanding their needs, gaining their trust and participating in those communities

Who exactly is this Social Media Manager supposed to be communicating with? Journalists or Consumers? Doesn’t Western Digital already have PR types to pitch to journalists? If so, why add this as a duty of your Social Media Manager? The Social Media manager should be spending as much time in the community as possible, subscribing to RSS feeds, performing online searches, interacting with consumers, finding content for the company blog, and measuring everything. Let the PR folks deal with the journalists.

Next…what exactly is the “accepted editorial style” for Social media sites? Is there an editorial style guide for Twitter? How about Facebook? MySpace?

The problem with this job — as it’s written — is that it’s asking the Social Media Manager to serve two masters with conflicting priorities: Marketing/PR and Customers. The former wants control and the latter wants to know why they should trust Western Digital.

I feel for the person who takes this job, because without changing the job description first, they’re doomed to fail.

Tags: Western Digital Social Media Manager ronamok ronploof New Media Evangelist