Adios Panama Canal: PRC's Colombia Railway Plan
Social Media's Massive Failure, 41,000,006 reasons why I think we're in a bubble
Google’s $125 Million Digital Library Accord Rejected by Judge
133 US cities now have their own broadband networks
Chavez says capitalism may have ended life on Mars
The Stoner Arms Dealers. The War on Terror!
Secret Fears of the Super-Rich
#Emmy. thanks for the links.
ReplyDeleteFrom the NYTimes:
"Libyan woman struggles to tell rape story". How she came to tell the story and the hotel staff where the journalists are staying are Libyan secret service? They not only try to shut the woman off, but also went after the media with knives. Even one woman. Looking after one's own interests at all costs!. Animal Farm!
Bravo to her for standing up for herself. Hope Gaddaffi and the cronies are indicted to the Hague.
ICan
Al-Jazeera doesn't have her story.
ReplyDelete"The Stoner Arms Dealers". Great story for a movie.
ReplyDelete"Panama canal gets a revamp and so does global trade". www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business
ICan
Excellent link fest Emmie! Thank you!
ReplyDeletebusy day! Running errands getting ready for spring!
Thks Emmie. Good catch. Pity we seldom see you these days on the boards.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to share my POV about Social Media's Massive Failure article.
Not that I care much about the advertising business in particular, and I admittedly have 0 knowledge about how the switch to social media has performed so far. However, as a worker in the IT industry, it's always good to know the ecosystem that's building on the 2.0 business.
First, I think the author's case against the relevance of social media as the next step in advertising must be taken with great caution.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the man is an old timer in the advertising industry, and CEO of his own advertising agency that he funded back in 1982.
Obviously, there are good chances that he has a bias when it comes to judging the relevance of a switch from traditional media to social ones.
re:further comment about the "Social Media Massive Failure" article.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think the author's analysis may be biased, I consider he's half-right in his negative outlook on the potential of social media advertising.
I believe the success or failure of companies' moves towards 2.0 advertising depends on how you define the so-called "conversation" which, according to the author, is at the heart of this new strategy.
I see 2 distinct focuses for these initiatives, each with its own potential or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteFirst, there's the seemingly random projects, as illustrated by the Pepsi "refresh project" missed attempt.
These are social efforts unrelated to a company's core business, which attract at customers and non customers indiscriminately.
Well that first type of social advertising is the wrong one in my mind. While people will certainly participate in this online collaboration, they will do so by self-interest only. I doubt they'll be driven by a feeling of sharing a community effort, and I don't think that will improve their opinion of the brand.
Keep in mind also that we're going through times of tremendous distrust towards all big entities, be it political, MSM, business..
ReplyDeleteMore than ever, we (the customers) remain cautious at not being fooled by big shots whose love we know goes to our wallet, not us as people.
No, what may be a sound advertising investment is making the user feel involved in the creation process, and show him that his contribution may actually help shape the company's products.
ReplyDeleteThis second approach of 2.0 tools brings more than a "conversation": it encourages real involvement of the customers in the company's business.
In some (the best?) instances, we could even see it as a "partnership" between the company and its users. Dell's IdeaStorm platform, a community brainstorming tool, is one of such great implementations of social advertising. Make the users see that they can weigh in. And they will care.
Finally, while this kind of strategy makes sense for industries producing "personal" complex end products, it may be irrelevant for many businesses, like Pepsi for instance.
Dude, I hope I'm not being too chatty here. When I begin something, I tend to overdo it a little. Which is sometimes good for me, but a problem at other times.
ReplyDeleteWolfie - Hah, good rebuttal! I don't think you were talking too much at all.
ReplyDeleteI worked in Advertising from 1995 until 2003, at one of those old guard agencies (Young & Rubicam), they had, and continue to have, from what I read, difficulty adjusting to the new paradigms of modern advertising. They missed the boat on Web Advertising completely. They originally tried to create their own internal web groups, often with little success. They eventually moved on, or should I say their parent company eventually moved on to just buying web companies outright. They certainly had the money for it at one time. Now I'm not so sure, I don't think a lot of those old names - McCann, BBDO, JWT, Hal Riney, etc, are going to make it much longer.
I don't miss advertising, no way no how. Toxic business.