Social Media Quicksand

Everyone is sinking in it. And it is only going to get worse.

Social media and other associated tools, apps, tweets, fans, etc are all on the rise. The Tea Party's successful use to help their grassroots rise is a GREAT example.

@jaybaer has this great post about getting on board. The gist is: everyone doing it now is still learning but business needs to get on social media now. Why? Because once everyone is, you won't be so special anymore just because you were on Twitter in 2008.

Jay makes his case about being involved in social media and I think most people agree that folks need to get on social media. However, its seems like we already have winners and losers.

This is a double edge sword.

Everyday, there are little rewards for those ALREADY using it. This is about market analysis. While Jay works with Fortune 1000 companies, most small businesses are really playing catch up to what Jay is talking about. Mind you, there are a lot of folks just getting the trophy for showing up as he says, but the problem is: are customers REALLY jumping on board as fast?

I don't think so. The reality is something more akin to what Charlene Li wrote in Groundswell. Which is REALLY what we are in.

Right now, companies and people are standing above a leaking cistern. The water is only making the bottoms of our shoes wet, but soon, it could be up to our ankles.

Jay gives it 18 months, but the reality is NOW, which happens to be the name of his book, The NOW Revolution. Some of us are soaking wet, others are barely damp.

It really comes down to who your target is. If you don't have customers ripping you a new one on the review sites, it isn't hurting you. If you aren't offering coupons online because your market just isn't there yet, then you are probably ok.

It might have been better to talk about Gladwell's Tipping Point. That is what we are really concerned with when we talk social media adoption aren't we?

I'll be curious to see what Jay's book says in more detail. The @jaybaer and@ambercadabra collaboration is coming out soon: http://nowrevolutionbook.com.

Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna read the book (heck, I read the first chapter and think the cool new ways they are promoting via social media are great). But I think NOW was either a while back or a long way off.

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

Check out my appearance on the The Toddcast Podcast

Click and watch the podcast recording of my appearance on the Toddcast Podcast Such a fun time!

Slow Death or Rebirth for Myspace?

Are we really watching the slow inevitable death of Myspace? With the integration with Facebook complete and the push towards what appears to be a mobile only function , isn't it time to call this one? One report says that Myspace is making $200 million less this year. They are functionally giving up on Myspace Music , which was always their bread and butter. Without the music tie in, why would people BOTHER with Myspace? I'm talking about it because my wife's band has used every medium known to mankind to promote themselves online and Myspace has been nothing but dead weight from the very beginning. Only bands and their most ardent fans go there. The rest are on Facebook. There is talk of selling Myspace, but who in their right mind would consider it? This will have some interesting implications for bands down the road. Many use Myspace as their de facto website, just pushing their domain name onto the customizable site. Now apparently, Reverbnation , a North Carolin

New Life

It's weird, sad and slightly freeing. I've been headed towards a completely different life for a lot longer than I even knew. It took me a while to catch up to realize it was happening. Thankfully, I was cognizant enough to see it finally and mostly ready for it. It's amazing when you have the rug completely pulled out from underneath you. The adjustments are jarring. I made mistakes, but like most I learned from them, adapted, and tried my best to do better. The reason you see that truck next to a storage place? That's the sum of my life right now. Never take for granted that you will work hard for something or someone, and it will end up meaning very little. You are guaranteed nothing, owed nothing, promised nothing. Anything and everything can be taken away in a heartbeat. I wrote this to my kids a while back: I tried to be the best father I could be based on what I knew when I knew it and how I could. One of the lessons for your life needs to be: you need to b

Todd Lyden

Search This Blog