Conversation Agent

Noise and Signal Edition

2012-06-02T06:00:00-04:00

The more data you consume, the more confused you become.

Noise and Signal Edition

The three stories that caught my eye this week are:

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At Farnam Street, in an excerpt from Nicholas Nassim Taleb book Antifragile, we learn about noise and signal:

In business and economic decision-making, data causes severe side effects —data is now plentiful thanks to connectivity; and the share of spuriousness in the data increases as one gets more immersed into it. A not well discussed property of data: it is toxic in large quantities —even in moderate quantities.

The previous two chapters showed how you can use and take advantage of noise and randomness; but noise and randomness can also use and take advantage of you, particularly when totally unnatural —the data you get on the web or thanks to the media.

The more frequently you look at data, the more noise you are disproportionally likely to get (rather than the valuable part called the signal); hence the higher the noise to signal ratio. And there is a confusion, that is not psychological at all, but inherent in the data itself.

How much noise do you consume every day? Are you or your organization paying attention to the plethora of explanations and theories inducing an illusion of understanding the world?

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In a collection of thoughts penned by Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) and collected and published by a friend, the great Italian philosopher and poet says:

The common saying that life is a theatrical performance is verified above all in this: that the world constantly speaks in one way, and just as constantly acts in another.

Since nowadays all are actors in this comedy, because they all talk, and practically no one is a spectator, because the empty language of the world deceives only children and fools, it follows that this performance has become something completely inept, and effort that is boring and pointless.

Translated by J.G. Nichols, 2002. We study Leopardi in school at seventeen in Italy. It is the perfect time to engage with the rich topics he brings forth.

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Gerald Baron is back to posting frequently at Crisis Blogger and if you'd like a solid resource to cut through the crisis advice clutter, subscribe to his RSS. In a recent post, her recommends two crisis communication books:

“Practice extreme honesty. We need to be as honest with ourselves as we demand others to be with us. How do we like to be treated when things go sour–when we get laid off, hear bad health news, or have a relationship broken off? We want to be told the truth. We reject people who shade a story…”

[...] While Jonathan is a true expert in media training and response, I also very much appreciate his oft-repeated theme of direct stakeholder communication. There are a great many crisis communication experts out there, but few who go beyond traditional media management to the degree that Jonathan does. In my view, this is probably the number one failing of many PR folks doing crisis communication.

It might be helpful to also revisit with understanding risk communication to avert a crisis in social.

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Knowing how to listen to comprehend is an even more valuable skill today. The second part of this conversation is to hold your competitive edge by talking less and making what you say appropriate.

Are you hiring that way yet?

Follow the discussion over on Conversation Agent Google+ Page.

Have a great weekend everyone.

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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.

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In Times of Change

2012-06-01T05:00:00-04:00

"In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

[Eric Hoffer]

[image by shoebappa]

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Focus on Meaning

2012-05-31T05:00:00-04:00

Things still take time to do.

Technology has accelerated the speed at which we can talk about stuff. Quality products and results still come from quality thinking, doing, and grit.

Relationships take time to set. Good ideas take time to develop and execute. They are more like trees, where a lot is going on underground before you see anything come to fruition.

What grows fast?

Weed-ideas.

They:

may leave unpleasant marks, in addition to being a nuisance. E.g., poison ivy
compete with tree-ideas for nutrients, light, and water
harbor pests like insects and diseases

Weed-ideas tend to be very competitive. They spread fast and are generally a problem in areas where tree-ideas are not plentiful or on soil that has been disturbed.

Too many weeds spoil the meaning.

[image by Eduardo Amorim]

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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.

For in depth content Sign up for the Premium Newsletter.

Content Recommendation Engine Review: Outbrain

2012-05-30T05:00:00-04:00

For the past two weeks, I've been testing Outbrain recommendation engine at this site. The screen shots on this post are from the dashboard documenting the period this site was included in the catalog so I could review part of the product.

Used by almost 1,000 brand publishers in the U.S. and Europe, New York-based Outbrain does links a bit differently than the rest of them.

Instead of basing its algorithm on similarity of topics, serving up stories that are "like" those you are reading, it looks at how likely it is that you're going to stick around on the site. That is the real goal of publishers.

When it comes to sticking on sites, it turns out context doesn't perform as well as other variables like behavior and popularity. This is consistent with my experience at this site. Whenever I add resources on the same topic at the bottom of posts, they don't get a high click through rate.

Outbrain's algorithm measures reader engagement with a site after the click through. How many pages they view from the original page. Then, ranks its catalog of hundreds of thousands of stories based upon the results.

The company classifies its content recommendation algorithms into four major buckets:

Popularity: that is trending up in popularity on the site
Contextual: related to the page the person is currently on
Behavioral: based on audience dynamics. E.g., what people with similar reading habits have read, that is not mainstream popular, and that the person has not read before
Personal: within broad categories the person reads and not necessarily related to the page they are on

The metrics they evaluate against are click through rate (CTR) or how frequently people click on links based on the algorithmic approach, and page views after click or how many pieces of content the person visits on the site after clicking on the link.

This is consistent with the observation that when it comes to information, we prefer to discover it, even when it's news, than being pitched with it. Discovery connects with our points of interest and curiosity and is one more reason why PR is about public relationships.

It looks like AI agents as discovery channels is here.

There is a second piece to the tool, a widget, which I didn't get around to installing here (why I said part of the product), which recommends stories on the site in the left column, and stories from Outbrain's catalog in the right column.

Outbrain clients pay to promote their content as sponsored recommendations throughout the network of brands and companies that buy the service. The recommendation engine are drives which to pull and post based on the algorithms.

[Note: FTC regulations apply to product endorsements, like the affiliate links you see on the sidebar here. If you buy those guides, I receive a monetary compensation for recommending them.]

How is sending people to other sites going to help them stick around?

Write and link to helpful content that answers questions potential customers have.

Any and all marketing can be designed to provide an engaging and useful experience, even as each part helps you address a different stage in the buyer's information needs.

When developing content assets for digital media, you should think more about distribution -- how it is publicly shared, built upon, linked to, quoted, etc.

Also remember that although we'd like to think we make individual choices all the time, the reality is we tend to go with what others are saying and doing.

Which is how having widgets on many sites works. Twitter feeds, RSS widgets are other examples of creating a distributed presence. In turn, the widgets send back data that in aggregate provides a fuller picture of what happens to the content across the Web.

Combine access to a source of useful content with discovery and recommendations based on the preferences of others, and you have a compelling reason to go back to that site.

It starts with the content, then picking the right tool.

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Last December, the company closed a $35 million round of funding, bringing its total financing to $64 million.

How does the company make money? Its model is based on a cost-per-click for sites to be listed and included in the catalog. Host sites, or the brand publishers, get a recommendation engine that serves up the content on their site most likely to keep readers engaged.

According to Outbrain, sites get an average 5-10% lift in views. They also get a revenue stream when readers click over to other sites through the widget.

To submit a question or a program use this link.

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Book Review: Marketing in the Round

2012-05-29T05:00:00-04:00

Effective communication has two key components: substance, and style.

How do you develop an integrated marketing campaign in the age of digital media?

This is a big question, and co-authors Geoff Livingston and Gini Dietrich set out to address it in their new book Marketing in the Round.

A marketing round is what it sounds like, integrating all disciplines that generally fall within the discipline in organizations to make decisions and execute on common objectives from one strategy.

The book is divided into three sections:

understanding marketing round and developing a strategy -- this is where you will find definitions and a directory of tools, with considerations on stakeholders, and competitive landscape
approaches -- the authors discuss more in depth tools, tactics, sequencing, and timing
measurement, refinement, and improvements, which includes considerations on respecting and anticipating community and competition

Throughout, you will find sections that address pros and cons, and chapter by chapter exercises to review the information and start addressing your scenarios.

This makes it a handy step-by-step guide for those of you who are starting out in marketing, whether as a job title or as a business owner, and a solid checklist for departments working together (or planning to).

If you're looking for a comprehensive how to book on marketing in the digital age, Marketing in the Round is the book for you.

[Disclosure: I received a copy of Marketing in the Round from co-author Geoff Livingston. I was especially encouraged to see the practical, this-is-hard work and it requires putting-egos-on-hold and collaborate approach in it. This review and recommendation is based upon the quality of the material -- and not on how I obtained it.]

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See the Power of Networks in Less than 11 Minutes

2012-05-28T05:00:00-04:00

RSA Animate illustrates Michael Lima talk on The Power of Networks.

Lima is a senior UX design lead at Microsoft Bing. In the talk, he explores the idea of network visualization as a way of navigating the complexity of our modern world.

Concepts like interconnectedness and interdependence can be represented and seen better in a network-like structure than in a hierarchical one. The ecosystem is a better way to express how things are organized, even though we may not see all the connections.

The human brain is the most complex of systems, which is why behavior is a most fascinating subject to observe and deconstruct. It is often when something is not working that we stop and take a look at this marvel that drives human cognition and abilities.

Businesses can trade models in much simpler ways. There are still relationships between the parts, buy side, sell side, inside business model, which determine how you time the future.

When looking for growth opportunities sometimes, in the haste of finding a cure, we forget to check if there is a disease (i.e., an issue) in the first place.

Give people what they really want and you have value. Do more of what works. Focus on solving the problem(s) that are there, and find a way to address the things that stand in your way. Do less of what doesn't work.

Do you have a business model problem, or do you have a poor communication issue? Are your goals clearly defined and appropriate?

How are you building momentum?

There is power in networks -- they do take time to form and set. Even as it takes us less than 11 minutes to see Lima talk about complexity.

[hat tip Neil Perkin]

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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.

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Commitment Increases Leverage

2012-05-27T06:00:00-04:00

Creativity is the ability to see connections between things, and bring those to the fore.

The ability to convey connections through images, words, sound, and presence creates a very engaging way to develop relationships.

This is one of the reasons why people walk away energized and inspired after a talk.

Remember Ghostbusters? I was watching them again recently, and noticing again the professionalism and skill that went into making the movies.

Acting appropriately is hard work.

I was planning to talk about the importance of commitment, and serendipity had it that I would came across this Esquire interview where Bill Murray talks about the importance of freedom and commitment.

They go hand in hand, planning and serendipity.

With so much semi-processed content in the name of media consumption, Murray's choice of living an engaged life by saying "no" to certain superficial things -- like unfiltered access -- and saying yes to deeper ones -- like commitment to his craft -- is remarkable.

A good example of being present and showing respect with your work.

On choices:

"I think we're all sort of imprisoned by — or at least bound to — the choices we make, and I think everyone in the acting business wants to make the right choices. You want to say no at the right time and you want to say yes more sparingly."

On relationships:

"People confuse friendship and relaxation. It's incredibly important to be relaxed — you don't have a chance if you're not relaxed. So I try very hard to relax any kind of tension. But friendship is different."

On doing:

"Everything happens for a reason" is a kind of self-hypnosis.

[...] It's part of the plan, but if no one acts in the moment of possibility, then it devolves into "Well, then I got hit by a car. Because I was standing in the middle of the road. Well, everything happens for a reason."

Planning and serendipity. The commitment to being in the moment, in conversation, to cease opportunity with business and social increases leverage.

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Resources:

The Value of Not Being Average (Danny DeVito)
What Customer Service and Groundhog Day Have in Common

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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.

For in depth content Sign up for the Premium Newsletter.

Six Figure Businesses, To Think Lists, and the Value of Disassembly

2012-05-26T06:00:00-04:00

Whether you've been thinking of going out on your own or you find yourself there, you can build a profitable business as a small operation. The hardest part is figuring out the gap in the marketplace, and how you can help deliver value there.

The other hard aspect of being on your own is receiving support and continuing to learn. Which is why it is exciting when you find a community of people and many examples of businesses that have been built that way.

When you also work on improving the quality of your thinking, you become even more effective in what you do.

Six Figure Businesses, To Think Lists, and the Value of Disassembly

The three stories that caught my eye this week are:

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In a guest post over at Tim Ferriss site, Chris Guillebeau summarizes 17 lessons learned while researching six figure businesses built for less than $100. His definition micro-businesses is small operations (typically one person) that make $50,000 a year or more (often a lot more):

The constant themes in our study were freedom and value: freedom is what we all want, and value is the way to achieve it. Over and over, I found business owners who had created their own freedom (and a great income) by making something useful and desirable for their customers.

It’s easy to think that these are isolated examples, or that you can’t achieve the same results, but the micro-business phenomenon is happening all over the world in different ways.

Follow the path of these stories and make actionable plans. Pick one thing, get it on the calendar, and do it in the next week. Just do something.

The value of failure is overrated. Learn to succeed from the get go. With more examples of others who have done it, you can figure out what would work faster. Don't forget to read the comments here. There's lots of gold there, too.

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Thinking will allow you to lift the quality of your actions. Make to think lists says Rajesh Setty:

You meet and exceed people’s expectations based on your actions. your quality of thinking definitely influences the actions you take but that is not easily visible to others.

[...] The only way you get better at something is via practice. So, you get better at thinking by…well, thinking!

Follow this link and find a manifesto on Making the Most of Your Time, too.

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Tom Armitage reviews Chip Kidd's The Cheese Monkeys and the value of disassembly – taking apart things you know and learning how to start from nothing:

Taking apart a problem to find the only appropriate answer (though there may, in fact, be many). The value of being challenged to do difficult things, and honing skills. The value of physical skills – literal muscle control – in an era before the technological overhaul of design (and the value, as ever, of being able to draw. Even just trying to draw. It helps me a lot).

And, most notably, the value of criticising the Work as the Work.

[...] As Sorbeck’s students find, it is difficult to learn how to be in a crit, difficult to learn how to respond to one, and difficult to learn how to give one. But it’s all valuable: it is focused on making the work better.

A good case of seeing to comprehend -- understanding the difference between criticism and complaining, criticism and anger.

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Learning to become autonomous, to rely on your own skills can be liberating, and provide a good livelihood in the process. The quality of your actions is directly proportional to the quality of your thinking -- it's a good idea to set aside time to improve that.

Seeing translates into understanding and putting things together better.

Follow the discussion over on Conversation Agent Google+ Page.

Have a great weekend everyone.

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Looking for motivation to connect your purpose and values with forward movement? Contact me today.

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Going From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

2012-05-25T05:00:00-04:00

It involves closing the gap between the promises you make and the promises you keep.

Direction matters, too.

If you don't know where you're going, the speed doesn't make a big difference, does it?

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Looking for motivation to connect your purpose and values with forward movement? Contact me today.

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