Addressing the HR Dilemma

(alt. title@ “how Gary Neville ever managed to play for Manchester United”)

Wanted; serious media hound, must possess exquisite writing skills which are perfectly adapted and adaptable to the needs of our clients (from corporate brochure to rap), must enjoy granular, detailed work such as formatting and proof reading, must possess and be prepared to nurture a deep pool of media contacts (from daily newspapers to the most obscure subscription trade title) and – most of all – must be prepared to take direction and work as part of an extremely structured team. Hobbies and interests? If you must, but see below for hours of work; and make sure it’s nothing too dangerous as we don’t provision much time for illness or injury. Hours of work, 9h until 18h (that’s just the weekends, we reserve the right to finish later during weekdays). In short, we are looking for a PR apprentice who is capable of and prepared to learn the roles of our esteemed industry.

Also wanted; social media guru, must live and breathe new media, possess a large and lively personal social media profile, must be prepared to improvise, work independently and convey the essential in 140 characters or less. Neither structured pros nor proof-reading nor formatting are likely to feature heavily as part of the role. Working hours are not structured, but you will be expected to deliver insight and response in real time from your mobile (wherever you may be; whether queuing for lunch or moshing at Glastonbury). Speaking of moshing; do people still do that? We are very interested in your hobbies and interests you see. In fact, your outside interests could actually be good for business, especially that of our clients; particularly if you regularly blog about them. Oh, yes we are quite relaxed about your blogging and Tweeting on company time; in fact, depending on your aforementioned outside interests, we’ll actually require you to furiously blog and Tweet on behalf of our clients. To summarise, just about as far a departure from the traditional PR apprenticeship as you could imagine.

And here’s the dilemma . . . agencies need both of these people. Despite the demise of Rupert (or perhaps because of it) traditional print and online media is not about to disappear. The proven skills required to deliver compelling PR will still be required; and that includes an attention to detail and pure copywriting skills. However, agencies also need social media experts to help give a voice to their clients’ products and services, to help position them across the increasing range of user generated content platforms and to continually monitor online opinion and feedback on the same.

So what’s the solution? I realize that this will prompt hails of “cop out” but I actually believe that there are two approaches to this dilemma. The challenge is basically to figure out which to apply to which candidate:

· Approach 1. The apprenticeship; social media mind sets should be coached and trained to deliver a minimal level of detail, copywriting and structure. They should also be required to undertake ‘due diligence’ in terms of media knowledge, press contact and drinks with the usual array of trade press misfits (insert your own).

“Traditional media mindsets” should likewise be supported to understand and participate in a minimum level of social media life (i.e.. on a personal level through Twitter, online communities etc.) and learn to effectively select and communicate the benefits of various platforms.

· Approach 2. Play to their strengths; in footballing terms, Gary Neville was never going to make a centre forward (despite his finishing), and Romario never likely to track back and defend. They were specialists, and what amazing specialists they turned out to be (well, Romario).

While Manchester United and FC Barcelona can afford such luxuries, can PR agencies afford employees who are not going to “track back”? In this case, adhere to deadlines, write up minutes from meetings or, even, proof read? I believe that agencies can employ specialists; but on certain conditions:

• The size of the agency or department; while such social media specialists are great within a structured and functioning team, they are going to be of less use in a start up environment where staff are expected to do everything from cold calling prospects to making the tea.
• What is the social media specialism? Does it fulfill a current or future client need, is it really a specialism we are talking about, or simply someone who never learned to punctuate
• Does this person possess experience or knowledge that is not currently covered by the existing more generalist staff. This is a vital consideration if you decide to accommodate a genuine specialist, in order to avoid resentment amongst the incumbent team.
• Finally, above all, do you want to see this person working for the competition? If not than you’d better him or her!

So that’s the agency dilemma and my dual approach (cop out) to addressing it. Specialists (particularly social media ones) can cause disruption and resentment within a team due to the nature and relative informality of their work. They can also prove a secret weapon for agencies who can genuinely harness them.

I’d love to hear any feedback on the dilemma and my suggested approach; at what size can a team/department start considering social media gurus as stand-alone hires? How can you tell if the candidate before you requires Approach 1 or Approach 2? What’s the best way to incorporate them into an existing team to maximize performance and minimize disruption? How should they be trained and measured?

If nothing else, let me know your thoughts on my incorporation of Gary Neville in yet another blog about PR!

 

Edelman Technology–our predictions for 2011

following Monday’s insight from the analyst community on the trends and expectations for the year ahead (check out the full post here), we thought we’d have a bash ourselves at predicting the future. so here are our suggestions for the year ahead – let us know whether you agree with us, or think we’re miles off the mark…

(also – to anyone reading this in December, you have *not* got an eye condition; those floating white dots across the screen are snow. it’s festive.)

…and we’re putting together a mobile special in case you think it’s a bit thin on mobility right now – watch this space in Jan for the 2011 mobile outlook according to Edelman Tech…

Predictions for 2011:

Larry picks a fight…with God

Larry Ellison will never be accused of being the shy retiring type. In fact one of the well known legends is that he bases a lot of his modus operandi around ‘The Art of War’ and over the years he has picked a fight with pretty much everyone in the industry. Bill Gates, Ray Lane, Craig Conway, Tom Siebel and more recently SAP and HP. Frankly there isn’t anyone really left to fight so the speculation surely must be that the only person worthy of a challenge is God. Given the old joke – "What’s the difference between God and Larry Ellison?…God doesn’t think he’s Larry" – this may not be the case.

Facebook emerges as a powerful content player

Just a stab in the dark, but I’d hazard that before 2011 is out we’ll see Facebook commissioning its own content – or co-creating content at least. The ‘Like’ function is powerful – whether for selling products or amplifying conversation around content. We know that young audiences are watching more online. I wouldn’t be surprised if Facebook will start working closely with production companies to push something like KateModern into stratospheric proportions – the first social entertainment blockbuster.

‘Do no evil’ Google becomes ‘Bad Google’

In some respects it seems almost stereotypical that a company that was once the darling of the industry is now beginning to look over its shoulder, as the mutterings begin to increase. Like Intel and Microsoft before then they have incurred the wrath of the regulators and how the company reacts next year will be interesting to watch.

Hopefully it will have learnt from the mistakes of others, but there’s the danger its senior leadership team has drunk a little too much of the ‘Kool Aid’.’There is no doubt that the ‘noughties’ belonged to Google and today it remains one of the key drivers of the IT industry, but it needs to sustain that growth to justify its market cap. As a result its moved into a number of different areas with mixed results…Google Wave (#fail), Android (#successtodate), GoogleTV (#waitandsee). Similarly it has had the high profile embarrassment around China, which has severely dented its reputation and competitors like Facebook, Youtube and even Microsoft are beginning to make in-roads on its heartland. 2011 may be a sticky year for Google.

We will all be buying coffee via our mobiles by the end of next year

Whether paying for stuff with your mobile, buying online credits, or using Square we’ll be seeing a lot more money changing hands, without touching hands. Much of the rest of the world already is – Africa and Asia are well ahead of Europe and US in this field, (indeed Gartner predict that 60% of this market in 2011 will be in Asia). But there is some key technology coming that will make phones that much smarter and make it that much easier for us all to get involved. Google has confirmed the next version of Android will support NFC (near field communication) chips, and it’s rumoured that iPhone 5 will have this functionality in-built. Nokia and RIM are both also expected to follow-suit.

Creative Agency "ownership" of social media

This year the classic PR v marketing battle was augmented by the arrival of "customer services" onto the scene. The range of customer and support services using social media to support their communications and contacts has led to them claiming ownership (and budget). A valid claim (like all the rest).

Next year customer relationship management (CRM) will join the fray under the moniker "social" CRM, linking customer databases with social media to define whether, when, how often, on what medium companies communicate with their customers.

I see loads of privacy and "ownership" issues but for any company who gets this right it could be huge.

There are however always pitfalls, and twitter is flooded with examples of companies ‘doing’ social media very well and responding to customers and issues, but the actual customer service department in the clients’ back office not following up. To avoid this becoming a fad or people losing faith in social media platforms as a channel, companies need to place the same focus on the back office customer services departments as they do in keeping pace with an external zeitgeist.

Gamification of Life

There’s a lot of chat about the ‘gaming of everyday life’. Truth is ‘social games’ like Farmville  actually aren’t very social (people tell their friends there are playing, but are they playing with friends and telling others? I think not). FourSquare is often touted as the best example of the gamification of life but personally, I don’t think it is a very good game.

To its credit I think it’s a very promising form of direct marketing and I’m sure we’ll see more coupons next year. More interesting – if more niche – social games are playthings like Chromoroma. These sorts of initiatives will continue to garner interest from the press and trend watchers. Whether or not they will engage enough people to become ‘mainstream’ is perhaps unlikely.  But in a game of influencing the influencers – this sort of creative approach will be a top scorer.

Murdoch will just give up with his paywall.

Personally I think it’s all a little too little too late – the industry has sat back and watched itself be destroyed – news on the internet will be, and will always be, free. If you can’t get what you want from The Times you’ll go somewhere else to find it. The quality argument, for me personally, doesn’t stack up, people generally will accept a lower quality if it costs them nothing.

Mobile and application based news might be a short-term saviour, and there will be winners and losers in this area next year. It’s perhaps true that people are prepared to pay for innovation and the novel – but even then, the future of the mobile experience looks set to be a browser/cloud based model. Mobile applications will go the same way as desktop applications at some point in the not too distant future (let’s say 2013 for arguments sake).

News will become hyper-local & hyper-social. A location based service will join forces with a news site for location centric news – what’s happening where you are right now….. bringing you nearer to……

……‘Where’s that ambulance going?’

I don’t think 2010 has quite been the year of location, as many though it might be. Less than 4% of mobile users are using this feature. It’s growing though and expect next year – with the rise in popularity of Foursquare and Facebook places (sorry Gowalla you missed the boat) – for the term “where am I now” to be more popular than ever.

Combine this with the fact that media is looking to innovate, to tap into the power of social, than I can see a very logical next step to be a combination of owned and user generated news to be pushed to users based on location.

What is happening in the world you’re in right now. Whether this is in combination with one of the aforementioned services or a plug-in to a site like the BBC, Digg or the Guardian, I think we’ll start to see this as a powerful service. Indirectly, this may then only serve to fuel citizen journalism, as people are alerted more easily to incidents / events happening close to them.

Someone will figure out how to give everything, no matter how small, an IP address

Long shot this one, and is based on boozy conversations with colleagues on the outerweb and the internet of things, that this could be the next big breakthrough – giving everything a link to the internet.

This could be as simple as me seeing a sofa or salt shaker and “liking” it in real time or adding instantly to an Amazon wish list via a connection to my smartphone. It will happen, perhaps not next year, but it’s always good to have an outlandish prediction – and hell most food products do now have a link to the web via barcodes.

Videogames will shift from products to entertainment services

By the end of 2011, most blockbusters games will turn into an subscription-based service instead of releasing a new iteration each year (i.e.: the Call of Duty franchise). We’ve already seen this happening with the Steam platform offering games as uploads, and annoying retail outlets in the process, but the next year could see this become even more prominent. Gamers are currently predominantly ‘owned’ by their console (although multi-console owners are increasingly more common), but game manufacturers could see a niche in the market for tying them into series through exclusive uploads, game advances and new episodes. Given the dedication the most successful games generate, this would seem a seamless next step.

Cloudy outlook;  another year of unfulfilled promise, the return of hardware storage, and Everything-As-A-Service?

Seriously, can someone just make the cloud revolution finally happen? It’s been on everyone’s lips for years – YEARS – but is 2011 the year the cloud actually becomes the tech saviour it’s lined up as? Granted, there are already plenty of services claiming ‘cloud’ services, but on closer inspection many of these are simply network servers – can we finally envisage a true cloud? If we are to do so, the main obstacle is going to be keeping such services reliable and absolutely, unrelentingly secure – it’s the security issue which has held adoption up in many instances.

And if the security issue does remain unconquerable, we could perhaps see the return of hardware storage with servers and SSDs, as the perceived risks around cloud computing create too many anxieties to warrant full adoption.

If the cloud DOES finally break loose, expect ‘EaaS’ – Everything-as-a-Service – a growing offers with more collaborative tools and more complete applications to be proposed; everything becomes “on demand” with the cloud.

Social media will finally arrive in the enterprise

We’ve already witnessed the growing adoption of social media in the enterprise – for both internal and external usage – and we can expect to see more of the same as IT decision makers start to impact the business strategy discussions.

Once the C Suite understand the role social media plays in business, and how it can (positively) impact business efficiency, we’ll see this boom. Social media is currently viewed as a distraction to staff, but once this misapprehension is dealt with, and its proper adoption, integration and monitoring is understood, enterprises will rush to get involved.

The key issue which needs tackling in 2011 is to dispel the perception of social media adoption being simply an ‘allow or deny’ decision. It is simply not that black and white, and different employees require differing access and controls. The workforce coming into industry now is that which has grown up with the likes of Facebook, and they’ll expect the same in business – and if they don’t get it, they’ll find a way around security to use it none the less. “Allow or deny” is no longer a valid debate.

and the consumerisation of IT won’t be restricted to social media…

…Bring-your-own

We can’t get enough of having a familiar device in our pocket, even in the workplace – we’re moving into the age of ‘bring your own’- your own technology, that is – into work. With more Millennials/Generation Y/the L’Oréal generation, whatever you want to call them, coming into the workplace, we’ll see a shift in the technology we use and how we use it altogether. Businesses will support the idea – in theory. Employees using a familiar device has the obvious efficiency advantages. However, whether organisations, and infrastructure, will be able to support alien devices is another thing. After all, there’s the usual security, technical, data protection and legal issues that cloud computing has been dealing with for years. It will certainly be a step in the right direction, but we may very well get there at a snail’s pace.

with thanks for the following for contributions:

@RogerDara

@cairbreUK

@LukeMackay

@JustinWestcott

@LucyDesaDavies

@wonky_donky

 

The Outernet and Tron: An example

So I guess Tron was the pretty much the first film to tell of how a person went into a digital world completed a quest and then returned to the real world. If you know of any other others let me know.

For the launch of our client’s ePrint product we played with this concept firstly using architectural mapping to create an augmented reality display at the South Bank . We then tried to create play with some of the TRON: Legacy imagery to create a visual experience that could be both printed and posted onto the web.

The idea was to highlight how the web is not just encroaching into the external world  but creating links back and forth using wireless printing and posting to social networks. The ‘outernet’ is a phenomena still in it’s infancy but it is certainly fun to investigate.

@naked_pheasant

 

Got customers? Get a tablet

Seems like any company with a strong brand and customer base can be a hardware vendor. Hot on the heels of Amazon apparently launching its own tablet, clothing retailer Next is quietly offering a cut-price iPad wannabe.

Amazon has form with the brilliant Kindle eBook but Next has come a little out of left field. It’s all thanks to Android of course, the iPad-baiting open source OS that’s garnering millions of fans and users around the world.

Android’s modus operandi is the opposite to Apple. Android thrives on anyone and everyone playing with it whereas Apple thrives on being a closed shop,  locking users into its hardware, software, content and payment platforms.

Personally I think it’s a stroke of genius. The price point (£180) is massively undercutting the iPad as well as the sprinkling of Android tablets already announced by the bigger technology companies. Next customers get access to a global community of content as well as a (hopefully) decent device for enjoying media. Next gets the kudos of playing in the tablet market and, if it’s smart, a channel through which to pump content and hopefully generate sales. On this point, Next launched its own iPhone app back in February, and you can bet that feedback from that experience led to the development of its own tablet.

It makes you think who else could enter the tablet market. Banks, motoring organisations, football clubs, in fact any brand, company or organisation that has a decent brand, customer loyalty and a sales channel to get the product to market.

So, outside of the big tech hardware vendors, any guesses as to who will be next?

@paulwooding1973

 

Premium Reality

Augmented reality is set to drive a deeper wedge in the digital divide.

According to Internet World Stats, only 28.7% of people in the world are online. In simple terms, that means if I have five kids only one gets access to the internet. As I sit in a developed economy in Western Europe, the digital divide is not always well recognized or understood. That means that four of my kids aren’t seeing any internet content and getting the benefit of the largest knowledge sharing network the world has ever seen. One child will be given the advantage of the world’s information being organized and widely accessible while the others will be have to get by with what they can access locally.

Most recession-affected countries have proposed some sort of broadband stimulus project to increase the number of people using the internet and develop their digital economy. Emerging markets are rolling out infrastructure to increase uptake and bring more people online.

Discussions around the infrastructure side of the digital divide leads to a lot of trolling through stats and not much understanding of what the gap means. In developed markets the digital divide often means that the less money you have the less likely you are to be on the internet, own a smartphone or enjoy tablet computing. This is a divide between the rich and the poor and Russell M Davies proposes in his Wired column “Imagine the worst bits of Facebook, only they’re everywhere” that augmented reality could lead to a kind of “premium reality” for those that pay for better versions of everyday life.

Augmented reality offers users the opportunity to access information or alter landscapes through digital imagery on mobile devices that interact with their surroundings. Davies notes that this has so far amounted to pizza vouchers and works of art. As the potential of augmented reality is just beginning to come into focus, it illustrates how pronounced the digital divide can become.

Today it means that if you don’t have access to a smart mobile device you are being denied access to some less than essential information but as the technology develops it could mean that you are only seeing half the picture that others are. Once the technology has seen widespread adoption this could mean aggressive advertising models shaping the world you see through your mobile device.

Davis sees this world evolving along a similar path as television broadcasting with advertising cluttering the world of poorer users while those that can pay accessing premium content. He says:

“…businesses will pay to target the rich and end up only addressing the poor because the rich have paid extra to avoid being targeted. So if you’ve got enough money, your world could look like HBO on a Sunday night — high quality and commercial free. If you don’t, it’ll look like the nether regions of your guide — softcore chat offers and lawyers who’ve paid an actor to assure you that they really are lawyers. Which would be fine, except these people won’t be on your telly;  they’ll be in your world.”

This means that the one child in five who gets to enjoy the riches of the internet still might not be getting an optimum experience and getting every advantage the web has to offer.  As augmented reality technology proliferates we will see how access to these new means of information sharing evolves.

@Matthew_Whalley

 

Jonny Bentwood eaten by own twitter algorithm

In a scene reminiscent of the 90s cult classic ‘Lawnmower Man’, it is understood that Jonny Bentwood – pioneer of the celebrated Tweetlevel online popularity contest – has been consumed by his own Twitter algorithm; in the process becoming the first human being to become physically socially networked.

Concerns were first raised when semi-digital manifestations of Bentwood appeared on computer screens thoughout the company, during prolonged physical absence from his desk alongside the Edelman Technology team – concerns that were confirmed when he disappeared altogether and became wholly digital.

The first unexplained phenomenon was the appearance of a series of seemingly motivational – yet slightly unsettling – Twitter related posters (right).  These were followed by ghostly bangings from the server room, alongside muffled, digital screams about ‘influence’, ‘popularity’, ‘engagement’ and ‘trust’. White-noise and repeated yells of the word ‘retweet’ have also been heard in what is being dubbed a ‘polterzeitgeist haunting’ by experts.

It is now feared that Jonny has used his integration into the Twitter portal to access other online territories, with the Edelman server under attack, and traditional media lists being erased from client files to be replaced by an audio file of someone reading out complex and often nonsensical algorithms and laughing maniacally.

"At this stage we’re at a loss as to what to do," commented a spokesperson, "this is entirely without precedent and we’re unsure whether to eradicate the threat; monitor and analyse it; or whether this is in fact an innovative route to influencers not seen before, which we can exploit and use to bypass newly evolving platforms being used by early adopters. Harnessing Jonny’s new digital access and power has the potential to put us so far ahead of the curve we may well rebound back onto ourselves and BECOME the curve."

It is understood several Helpdesk tickets have been raised, and allocated to a member of the IT team to handle; although an unnamed IT member said that they were unsure as to how to tackle this threat other than "turning something off and on again and hoping for the best"

 

Bowl of transistors anyone?

In the swanky central London offices of a leading law firm recently, at an event held by BABi, Stephen Leonard chief executive UK, Ireland IBM UK Ltd., reviewed the outcome of an IBM survey investigating whether technological complexity was an opportunity or a threat.

Perhaps not unexpectedly IBM and the views of its existing and prospective customers, comprising 1500 chief executives across 60 countries, supported the notion that existing complexity might be better harnessed with the introduction of additional layers of technology that ‘abstracted the complexity’ from the system.

Without wishing to reiterate the whole presentation – which was compelling – simply put, Stephen postulated that there are now more transistors on the planet than grains of rice. That the disparate systems that use these transistors – everything from CCTV, through traffic, transport, motor vehicle, GPS or smart mobile devices – are complex but disjointed and that by abstracting and integrating the useful information from these systems and combining them together mankind will enjoy a period of sustainable social, environmental and economic well being.

In the UK we’ve suffered a litany of high profile government IT projects either being delayed or going belly up or both placing the onus for overspent and waste on the tax payer.

Surely the answer is fewer systems that are better written, better connected and infinitely simpler rather than more? Whilst this might not be in the most immediate interest of generating short term revenue for Big Blue failure to grasp this will, I fear, find us playing second fiddle to third world countries that are already leap-frogging our old legacy systems – for example going straight to mobile versus fix line phones – challenging our technology thought and industry leadership and positioning the UK, Europe and the US as net importers of technology savvy.

Given the choice of a bowl of transistors or a bowl of rice which would you choose?

@mattwarder

 

The Fire Hose, Ideas, and ‘Topology of Influence’

Ideas and the Fire Hose

Today the connected citizen is drinking from a fire hose of information which is an experience of our own making. In our eagerness to engage online we created more new data in 2009 than had been generated in history to date. But where do all these new ideas and conversations come from to create such a torrent?

Begin at the beginning

Here is my question, if conversations are markets then who starts them? Who starts the idea that starts the conversation? Who said that yellow stuff looks really nice – why don’t we give it a certain prestige in our culture and make it important to own? Even in today’s internet world a small group of people need to hit on the idea to get the ball rolling.

Today using new tools and approaches we can see who starts these conversations quite clearly. Furthermore we can also engage with these online citizens in conversations that build and strengthen ideas, and ultimately aid the dispersion of ideas to wider audiences who have purchasing power, authority or influence.

Defining online conversations and engagement

From our experience in working with HP and other technology businesses we see that people actively participating in conversations within the digital ecosystem can be identified as having certain qualities and characteristics based on their style of online engagement, level of contribution and informed discussions.

These communication characteristics can be divided and define five main categories that form the digital conversation model and its participants. The categories are termed: ‘idea starters’, ‘amplifiers’, ‘adapters’, ‘commentators’ and ‘viewers’. The characteristics of each group are diverse but that is not to suggest that one person cannot occupy more than one role at anytime. We can further understand the digital conversation model, culture and etiquette through the ‘Topology of Influence’ diagram below.

 

By analysing the online conversation culture and engagement etiquette of idea starters, it is apparent that these individuals often form less than one percent of those engaged within an online conversation. Even amplifiers will only usually form between five to ten percent of the online crowd. These two groups are often referred to as ‘influencers’. However, this term is misleading as both engagement etiquettes are driven less by the need to ‘influence’ than the desire to share, educate, inform and entertain within a conversation. The traditional notion of seeking to set an objective and influence the world implied by the term ‘influencer’ misses the point of successful engagement – it renders images of one-way brashness, shouting and persuasion, not the two-way, open dialogue engagement should be. We therefore prefer to see these groups as ‘influentials’ within the process of engagement. This is exactly why understanding the culture and etiquette of individuals participating in online conversations is valuable so we can clearly identify the individual’s role within a conversation and quickly determine their intention, purpose and potential.

‘Adapters and commentators’ are a very important ingredient in the online engagement model as they bring a broader context, scope and refinement to the conversation. Adapters are usually people who read what is going on outside of their traditional sphere of knowledge and take the opinions of others and reform them so that they are tailored to their niche group. Commentators do not usually create new content but instead read the views and opinions of others and take part in the conversation by adding comments. Each forms between 10-20 percent of those engaged online. Although as conversations get bigger and evolve, it is usually the adapters who hold a larger proportion of the conversation.

The final group are the ‘viewers’ who are the majority group with 40 percent and over. These individuals do not create any online content but tend to be a vociferous consumer of information of which they read, learn and share with their peers in the offline world. Although they do not have the same reach as the amplifier, their views are trusted and they are able to promote these ideas in an alternative method. Viewers are not completely passive online; they participate in search engine and Google activity but essentially they do not declare themselves in this type. This characteristic is behavioural as a reader will often remain silent even in an online conversation where they could be an adapter or even an idea starter. A large proportion of viewers are accidentals who Google into a conversation by accident, irregularly or take note and leave. Viewers are often harder to identify as they do not necessarily leave a digital footprint but they are nevertheless important.

Who are idea starters?

An idea starter tends to be an individual who is highly engaged with digital and social media. They use social media as a platform to gather ideas and consume vast amounts of data. As a result they have an intricate network of online relationships but this is not necessarily a mass communications platform; the quality of relationships is at least, if not more important than the individual’s quantity of relationships. An idea starter is not necessarily the individual who has the ‘bright idea’ but they are the one who starts a conversational meme within the online topics of discussion. Just like planting a seed in the best possible environment, the meme experiences germination and growth within the community which reacts through engagement. Increasingly this happens around formalised but not walled communities. The idea is generally started via a blog, ezine or contribution to a forum.

In Jeremiah Owyang’s Dow Jones White Paper on ‘Tracking the Influence of Conversation’, a meme was defined as: “an idea or discussion that grows and spreads from individual to individual into a lengthy commentary.”

The idea starter (Who? When? Where? Why? How?)

This person is typically creative, forms opinions and articulates them well. They get inspiration for ideas from the information they consume from reading, observing conversations, and their own inner tensions. Crucially they have the ability to state a view at the right time and have a profound level of engagement within a community that will interact and respond to their idea. Some of the most engaged idea starters work both as individuals or part of a close team when initiating conversations. This requires a high level of transparency around who and what contributed to a new thought and the traditional respect for the important influences and data sources that were involved in forming the concept.

A good example of a popular idea starter is American blogger and television personality, Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton). Famous for turning his blogging passion into a career and creating a niche for single-handedly making and breaking celebrities in all types of media, Perez Hilton is an ultimate idea starter.

The nature of this engagement is important to the community which tends to see an idea starter as being very authentic on the subject area. This is more than adhering to transparency or having the right qualifications, but it instead relates to their role within the broader conversation topic and whether they have a paid or vested interest. Are they authentic enough to avoid received wisdom? How do they deal with platitudes? How deep is their topic expertise and experience? This is different from traditional journalist objectivity. Many idea starters are typically consultants or advisers within the area of conversation and are often not journalists or analysts. A key characteristic of an idea starter is their willingness to be transparent and contextualise their subjective influences. Their readership is not necessarily large but readers view the individual as trustworthy.

This is where Mashable’s Pete Cashmore (@Mashable) scores high on Edelman’s Tweet Level list, especially when it comes to ‘Trust’. With an average score of 93.6, @Mashable is viewed as a credible authority and a reliable source of information when it comes to getting the latest information on social media news. Mashable has a much lower level of engagement with big communities who follow its conversational topics which highlights just how well received and trusted the site is.

A key source of this authenticity is that idea starters often know how to do something as well as think or comment on it. They are in many ways true innovators sitting at the cross road of tacit and explicit knowledge – this is what gives them their edge and explains the depth of their engagement.

How do they change?

Idea starters who are very successful face certain challenges as technology evolves and new platforms begin to present complex obstacles. The fact that they become famous means they spend less time creating content, and more time communicating and managing relationships. Additionally they often grow beyond their initial subject expertise and this can erode their authenticity within their community. Furthermore new platforms and popularity encourage greater broadcasting of communication. At this stage idea starters tend to become more reminiscent of amplifiers.

Therefore, the lifecycle of an idea starter is not static. It is a phase that evolves over time in accordance to the demand and engagement of its listeners. It can be short lived but the position, power and status can be regained. It requires control, breadth and depth of thinking, specific expertise, and the ability to position ideas with the right audience at the right time.

Amplifiers (Who? How fast? How long? Where? Why? How?)

Amplifiers are people who thrive by sharing opinions and like nothing better than being the first to do so. They are trusted within their communities and have a large following and readership. They are a hosepipe of knowledge and data. Generally they do not synthesize data or generate new hypotheses for a conversational meme other than to collate and aggregate established thoughts (they create a lot of lists).

Often amplifiers are journalists and analysts as well as celebrities who have strong communication skills and an online presence. Industry commentators and specialists are just as prevalent and are often the most influential amplifiers (see Tweet Level list).

The level of engagement can vary enormously between amplifiers. Web based amplifiers such as Guy Malachi use digital platforms to solicit ideas from their communities and engage in micro conversations for instance. Again, as they grow more popular time becomes a challenge to maintain this level of engagement although many people show a remarkable capacity to keep to personalised communications.

This leads to a rare constituency of online conversations where people can act as both genuine idea starters and amplifiers. This group acts as a bridge between level of engagement where ideas start and the amplification of them into broader internet and real world conversations.

The Special Ones: Idea starters who amplify?

This special combination of engagement is crucial as they accelerate and build conversations with great momentum and they also link the clusters of idea starters to the more aggressive amplifiers. Idea starters tend to enjoy discrete conversations and authenticity above all else. As a result their conversations often live within micro communities and that is where their ideas can stay. When idea starters with the ability to amplify pick up on a meme it can break out of the micro channels to the macro conversations main stream media and word of mouth.

British actor, journalist and blogger, Stephen Fry (@StephenFry), is a good example of an idea starter who likes to amplify. His ability to amplify has grown alongside his fame and his ability to influence a mass audience.

These idea starters who amplify often have similar personal and professional interests and have a thirst for knowledge as well as a desire to pre-empt or be kept in the loop about the next big thing. By driving micro conversations with a wide range of online communities and keeping abreast of potential industry related issues on a personal level, this can help keep them informed and enable them to feed thoughts into professionally related ideas that can help initiate business, drive opportunities or get a real world perspective.

How do they morph over time?

All roles have the potential to morph over time for a number of reasons:

• • The challenge of time and the impact it has on engagement
• • Dedication to an idea starter’s area of expertise. Whether they remain up-to-date and informed about industry changes and have the passion and enthusiasm to remain in the know
• • Encountering new technologies and how engagement continues to evolve over time
• • Maintaining a strong and familiar level of engagement
• • Continuing to engage with relevant people or communities
• • How effectively you find the right people to add to your network

What is the relationship between an idea starter and amplifier?

There is a relationship of reliance between idea starters and amplifiers. One would almost be meaningless without the other. Idea starters would get lost in the noise and amplifiers would not have the thought provoking ideas and content which they so like to share.

Both are renowned for their level of insight, engagement, timing and contacts which gives them a certain level of prestige and influence within their communities. They like recognition and being sought after or being in demand, and therefore feed off each other to make this happen.

This makes these groups the ‘influentials’ in the conversation but they are not the only groups as we shall see but before looking at these next groups a word of caution. Are we getting carried away with this idea of conversation and authenticity? Are we just kidding ourselves that it is not just about influencing after all – by seeking out idea starters are we not looking to further an objective?

We love this quote that highlights John C. Dvorak in PC Magazine view that ‘Cluetrain’ may be cultish. For example,

". . . the apparent faith in this odd vision of an idealistic human-oriented internetworked new world/new economy marches forward. I imagine all these folks holding hands in a large circle, rolling back and forth, with some in the middle of the circle, spinning and chanting and hugging, all naked. I’m betting that most of these folks go to Burning Man and all of them write blogs about it and how cool it was. They link to each others’ blogs and read what they say about each other—all highly complimentary."

It is exactly this notion of authenticity which so annoys Dvorak that makes idea starters so powerful in conversation. In part this means a level of naivety is necessary as Dame Gillian Beer observes, “babies are having new ideas all day long.” To respect this view of worId, to listen with intelligence and bring this understanding from idea starters into our own view of the conversation means that anyone can become an influential. This is what is so exciting for individuals, organisations, companies and governments – they can change their behaviour and become more successful.

Where do new ideas come from?

• New ideas can emerge very slowly. It can be a gradual, ongoing process where new ways of thinking surface.
• Ideas can come via a form of rupture through long walks, chance associations, baths, dreams, inner tensions, irrational situations
• Past ideas can be reformulated in the present. A person may have already thought about an idea and then forgotten it, or they may have written it down. The same ideas can then come to them at a later date where they consider it to be a ‘new’ idea. A person “comes to attention” which is when the idea is ready.
• Education and social surroundings can influence new ideas. You need to leave behind what you have learnt and redefine the way you think to get new ideas. New ideas jostle commonsense and question what you know.
• Imagining a world not like your own world brings about new ideas caused by such paradigm shifts. Ideas do not exist until they are received by an audience. They need to be debated, attacked and rethought

The way ideas start, develop, grow and spread stems within an online community. Understanding the community who starts and amplifies the ideas is key. In building deeper relationships it is important to understand the idea starter and amplifier landscape. Here is a list of the top  idea starter influencers within the general technology conversation on Twitter. As is clear this typology is a new landscape which media (beyond a few high profile examples such as Mashable) hardly represent, while experts such as Chris Brogan dominate and even companies like Google are a major source of ideas. The challenge for the future is to build authentic ideas that allow deeper relationships with these extremely diverse communities.

Tweet Level’s top idea starter influencers within the general technology conversation

 

it’s the concept that counts

This here is an interesting campaign and advertising medium being rolled out by an advertising agency in Amsterdam. RAINCAMPAIGN® is an environmentally friendly technique that consists of “pavement adverts” – ultimately the images appear on the pavement only when it rains, disappearing as they dry. A percentage of profits from each project will be donated to an international rainforest project.

In my humble opinion, it’s pretty cool that even in the somewhat money-grubbing world of media; something environmentally friendly and charitable is still possible without being boringly unoriginal. A couple of brands have already used the technique for their own campaigns as well – including Continental Tires

And yes, I have considered that people are more likely to hurry along in the rain rather than mosey about checking out the pavement but sometimes it’s the concept that counts.

@GabiGarb

 

Web Science takes a big step forward

In 2006, group of academics from the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) and MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), announced an ambitious plan to launch a new branch of science – Web Science.

These were no ordinary academics.  Among the elite group were Sir Tim Berners Lee (the creator or the World Wide Web), Professor Dame Wendy Hall and Professor Nigel Shadbolt of ECS.

This group perceived a need to better understand the nature of the Web and to engineer its future and ensure its social benefit.  The rationale was that the Web is a construct unrivaled in human history and the scale of its impact and the rate of its adoption are unparalleled.  

They recognised a great opportunity to study the Web through a new academic discipline, as well as an obligation to do so.

Web Science came into being in October 2006 with the launch of the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI), which was later to be renamed the Web Science Trust (WST). Edelman was proud to assist in launch of WSRI, which achieved widespread international media coverage at the time.

Such a huge undertaking as establishing a new branch of science was bound to take some time, but the WST has been hard at work these past few years, putting the concept of Web Science on the academic map, developing curriculum, establishing partnerships, growing a support base and engaging in initial research projects.

Two weeks ago, I attended an event at the Royal Society in London, designed to explain Web Science to prospective students and at an undergraduate level.  It was quite exciting to see just how far Web Science has come in a few short years.  The auditorium was full and it was clear there was a real interest in the subject, with a lively discussion following presentations from academics and industry representatives.

Unlike Computer Science, Web Science will have an interdisciplinary approach.  To this end, participation from students with an interest in humanitarian disciplines such as psychology and anthropology will be as important as more apparently aligned areas such as mathematics and physics. 

Yesterday, the evolution of Web Science took a great leap forward with the formation of the Institute for Web Science, which was announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown during a speech in London. Significantly, it will be backed with £30 million funding from the UK Government.

The Institute for Web Science will be led by Sir Tim Berners Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt and will be jointly run by the University of Southampton and Oxford University.

According to a statement issued by the University of Southampton, the Institute for Web Science will be designed to make the UK the hub of international research into the next generation of web and internet technologies and their commercialisation.

Web innovation is viewed as an important issue by the government at present and they have also been consulting with Sir Tim Berners Lee and Professor Nigel Shadbolt on the issue of unlocking government data. 

Recently, the government launched a new site called data.gov.uk.  The site is a refuse of government data and seeks to provide access to interested companies, organisations and developers for with the aim of encouraging the development of new businesses.  It is hoped this will generate tax revenue greater than could have been realised by selling that data for commercial use.

In my opinion, both the funding of the Institute for Web Science and the launch of data.gov.uk are outstanding ideas and that could put the UK at the centre of the Web innovation. At a time when government funding cuts are a central theme from both sides of politics, it’s good to see that a long-term view is also being taken.

@andyrobertson