Social Media Convergence and Virtual Worlds

At this risk of sounding like a buzz word jockey, I feel that 2007 will be the year the we begin to see a trend in social media. A trend where different forms of social media (blogs, podcasts,videocasts,wikis etc.) begin to converge. While this convergence has already begun I feel that the emergence of virtual worlds in the mainstream will expedite this process. Worlds such as Second Life, Kaneva, There and Cyworld (and dare I say Google?) are all, at their core, social networks.


Sure these platforms are 3D and allow for the fantastic but; MMOG’s have been able to do that for a while. There is something different about these new platforms. What is different about these new platforms and why is the mainstream beginning to pay attention?


With PodcampNYC approaching, I looked to some of the people I admire most to help tackle questions surrounding social media convergence and virtual worlds. As this is an unconference, and the rules are quite different than your average corporate affair, things may go in unexpected directions. In fact, this conversation that I am starting right now may morph into something completely different by the time Podcampnyc rolls around, but I think this general topic is something worthy of diving into.


The participants:


Jospeh Jaffe


Greg Verdino


Mark Wallace


Johnny Ming


...and of course me.


More information soon.


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The Long and Winding Meme

I hope that this meme continues. I got a note from Tateru Nino this morning about this post and then another from Greg Verdino when I touched down in San Diego.


I must say this whole thing is quite bizarre :) I wonder if my avatar is parading around in real life and not telling me.


WANTED: One dashing young avatar, blonde, white facial hair....very dangerous!



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Digital Purity

Self appointed film geek Halley presents us with an ironic scenario where she is left in a new media environment with a longing for “being there”.  Knowing Halley personally I am not shocked by her paradoxical post as I feel it is very fitting of the way that I see her.


Her musings turn to the days of “wine and analog” (I of course made up the wine part :) ) and then to an excitement about ubiquitous computing (this is where I see the beautiful irony come in). I have heard talk of computational invisibility, or more accurately a natural approach to technology. While the idealism is compelling to me I have not yet seen such environments (I realize we are talking theoretically for the most part). This is an official call out to the proponents and pioneers of such ideas to present me with actual evidence that this is possible (I would really love it as it perhaps it can drag me out of my Emersonian life of quiet desperation propelled, at times, by “always on” living…not that I am complaining about it :) ).


I am what one may call a digital purist. I was born a musician and learned to record audio on 2 inch tape. I could not have been happier when pro tools came along and allowed for the mind to take flight without worry of analog restraint. Sure, limitations can spur on creativity but in a digital world I feel the playing field is level and all are welcome; only the truly talented will survive. This my friends is the crux of, dare I say, the blogosphere and social media; everyone can have a voice.


In light of this I do not share Halley’s sense of nostalgia, but I do look forward to the same future and have just as much fun watching the present unfold.


To bring it back to the surface, I may need to take Halley’s advice and check out Decasia


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First-Ism

Frans Charming (yes, the international superstar) pointed out a post that Eric Rice wrote about First-Ism. It was a very timely post for me as I am dealing with a few issues of being in situations that border on firsts (with the proper slant of course :) . I am staying vague here as to not expose the situations so, I ask you not to speculate, it is irrelevant).  


Let’s first look at some motivations for being first:



  • Ego- Seth Godin calls them sneezers, others tastemakers. I supposed there is a certain personal satisfaction knowing that you created or uncovered something and spread the word. Sure, this may be rooted in ego but ego is not always bad (it is just bad most of the time :)  ). I know many people who always have to be the first to own the latest (fill in the blank) and if they are not, they won’t even consider X for ownership.

  • Notoriety- The First may not be the best but often it is the most notable

  • Security- No one will ever win the debate about the laurels of being first to market. Sometimes it is good, sometimes not.


(this results in a lovely acronym ENS…pretty deep)



Rice writes this:



I’ll be able to get more stuff done by waiting, watching the first bugs come out. You’ll get it first, and in several months, we’ll all be in the same place, looking at the future. Was it worth it?




Perhaps we will all be in the same place but the deciding factor may not be the fact that you were first.


First to market can be best if done well. Second to market has the ability to learn from the first and surpass it. Who know what the correct strategy is? I guess it must be taken case by case. What Eric appears to take issue with is the fact that people aim to be first for the sake of being first. What do I say to what he appears to be taking arms against, right on buddy (can I call a fellow blogger a buddy just because I agree with him and we do not know each other, I think so)!



My bottom line; go ahead, be first. Be first at everything you do if that is what your gut tells you, but be calculated. Make sure it is the right move. Don’t be first for the sake of being first.


I on the other hand will, 98% of the time be with Eric waiting to be best (the reason I say 98% is that sometimes mania overcomes me and I can see justifying first-ism if the cost benefit analysis seems favorable).


In light of all this I am going to do a better job of aiming to be best 100% of the time. Sometime it may legitimately mean being first (after all, they don’t give gold medals to the person that runs best…irrelevant metaphor, I realize this…irrelevance is my blogging style. My loyal readers can attest to that).


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Yes, I am adding to the virus...

...but I am doing so from a marketing angle. I am not sure that Dominos, who is behind this campaign, will be very successful with it but, what do you think?


In a way I applaud them for the attempt and it is a bit clever but, were people fooled and if so, might they think they have been deceived into watching an ad? Does trickery make for a good brand message? Does Dominos care?


Thoughts People?












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The Advertising World Is Flatter than Ever

In a roundabout series of events I wound up on a call with the CEO of Ad ECN, Bill Urschel. Although the series of event that led to this informative call were not necessarily common, this set up was not accident.


Allow me to share the events with you:



  1. I posted on a panel that took place at Ad:Tech back in November (http://amediacirc.us/2006/11/06/ad-tech-the-move-to-auction-based-media-and-the-demise-of-the-upfront/)

  2. I was contacted by an account manager from the PR firm, the Antenna Group

  3. After multiple attempts a call was arranged and I got the lowdown on Ad ECN, from the CEO (which is a great strategy. What better way to make someone feel like they are hearing things from the horses mouth and make the feel special than to put them on the phone with the Chef himself)


First of all, what a great way to market! It was not an invasive attempt on the part the Antenna group and overall, it really got me thinking about the product.


Here are a couple of notes that I took. To all media buyers out there, I recommend you give the folks over at Ad ECN a call.



  • Neutral Stock Exchange

  • Rooted on the idea Stock ECN Electronic Communication Network



    • Island and Archipelago



  • Addressing problem of liquidity

  • Only work with Ad Networks

  • Clearinghouse, single point of contact for all ad networks

  • Real time auction

  • All ad buys are done through UI


  • System as series of “Asks” and “Answers”

    • Ask- Here is what I am looking for and what I am willing to pay

    • Answer- Here is what we have that matches your query





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Its still the content, stupid!

I realize this is not a new microsite, and that Adrants wrote about it on December 6th but I did not get to it until now. This Vista touting microsite is pretty darn clever. My first approach to judging a microsite is to think about how it adds value to the brand. The value proposition of this site was not apparent initially but then I took a step back and just watched the content and it was pretty funny.


I don't have time at the moment to do a full write up about all the interactivity of this site but there is quite a bit and I recommend taking a look (if you haven't already)



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The Times Talks Social, How Engaging!

There are a couple a doozies in this one!


This is a really well written article about traditional mediation and how the modern user interacts with media and what this means for media companies and marketers. It also draws the similarities and differences between social networking and its cousin user generated content (which often get uttered in the same breath).


The article goes on to discuss engagement and the value proposition of such immersive environments in terms of their ability to engage.


Here are some key points;




  • "Social networking, on the other hand, is something potentially deeper — it represents a way to live one’s life online"

  • Engagement as "Depth of Participation"

  • The integration of ones favorite media into their "Digital Persona"  this is really key


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Are the masses really ready to converge?

I have had a PC (Mac) in my living room (and Kitchen) for years. In fact, my sole form of media entertainment for five years of my life was solely Internet (I was boycotting cable :) ).


But that is me. I am a technophile, counter culture junkie or just plain different but whatever the reason my media consumption habits do not mirror those of the masses.


Lately I have been meeting more people like myself.


As windows media center grows in popularity and Apple continue to release things such as front row and iTV, we get closer and closer to the Mecca of media; a place where one box houses all.


A recent article in the Times added to my growing excitement for the day when one box will house all. Netflix, mainstream movie-by mail rental business is making a move to streaming video. That is right, STREAMING, no downloading :)


I have had very bad experiences with Netflix in the past. I would say 20% of DVD’s sent to my house were scratched but I guess that is to be expected.


I think it is time to re think my relationship with the service that just may help redefine the way we watch movies.


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Verdino On Second Life

Greg Verdino of Digitas has been very out spoken lately about  brand presence in Second Life. His most recent statements have been in Mediapost and while I think a lot of what he says is dead on, we are not on the same page in all areas (which I love, it keeps me thinking. Thanks Greg :) ).


Verdino say the following;



A common error is to establish a beachhead and then never show up at it



100% agree!


This is one of the biggest problems that I have with current brand initiatives in Second Life. Many brands are not leveraging the inherent value of this immersive environment. The marketers and media planners that are treating SL as just another media buy are way off the mark.


There are a few issues that Verdino brings up that are very relevant, however I do not feel they should necessarily be deterrents for brands.



  • Verdino talks about the ever present sexual culture in SL. While this is true, this is true in all facets of life and was never more true than in the early days of the Internet. While I think this should be a concern it certainly should not be a deal breaker. If close attention is paid by marketers and programmers, risks can be mitigated to a large degree.


  • Next Verdino says,

    •    Pretty much anything goes, anywhere. "Do I as a brand want to take the risk of a bunch of nude people walking around my SIM while I'm trying to engage consumers?"



  • My response to that is, of course not but, there are certain permissions and policing that can occur. It is not easy to do but again, this should not be a deal breaker (Verdino does not explicitly say these things are deal breakers by the way). In terms of anything goes, well, this is not entirely true.


  • Verdino says;

    •     "It's great for the geek elite, but your mom is not likely to be in Second Life anytime soon."



  • It took my mom a very long time to adopt the 2d web. It was not a matter of her adoption curve, rather it was a function of the tools becoming more user friendly. With the open sourcing of the SL client, I predict we will see a lot of changes. When the entire platforms becomes open source I feel that SL will become much more user friendly.

  • Finally the article mentions that Verdino predicts that other platforms will overtake Second Life. This is a very safe prediction as there are so many emerging virtual worlds. I for one am rooting for Second Life as, the premise on which it is built and the company that founded it are very true and I feel they have a very sincere passion for what they are doing.



Bottom line, Verdino is doing a great job of advising brands on the pro's and con's of Second Life (from what I have seen). Greg, if you read this, I cannot wait for more from you as it keeps me sharp.



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The Good, The Bad, Sears and Circuit City in Second Life

Rule #1 Wait until your initiative is complete before going live.


Rule #2 Get someone else's opinion if you are not sure whether or not you initiative is complete


With the barrage of brands entering Second Life, we are seeing something like a land grab for "I did it first's". If you do it first and do it wrong or incomplete, I say wait and do it second (it is Second Life after all, bad joke).


Enter Sears and Circuit City:


Sears:



  • They have been playing in the 3d space on their site for some time and the build is not terrible, just boring


  • A brilliant groundwork for the future is laid with this build but we are from from the future

    •  Design your own media center, kitchen etc. What a cool concept.


    • I love the fact that Sears is calling out there product RSS feeds as well. Not so revolutionary but, it goes along with the notion that Second Life is and all encompassing medium


    • Finally, I liked the fact that Sears created this as a sandbox, asking for consumer feedback.

    • All in all, a weak yet promising attempt




  • Circuit City

    • What can I say? I think I will abstain for now :)

    • Free iPods (I am not sure that was intentional) but, who really needs that in world?

    • There is also something that is trying to be a digital advisor for home theatres. My advice, just got to the store for now








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