The above is a screenshot of the console client of me connecting to our Wave Server. If you’re old school, you’ll recognize the telnet-like screenshot. Unfortunately, it is nothing like the slick Wave client that Google provides:

That got us thinking — are there no good Wave Clients out there?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve used Waveboard and I think that federating a Google Wave server is cool but what I really want to do is to share the Google Wave love with those at our company that do not have a Wave account at the moment.

The dashboard is a welcomed service for two reasons:

It is an initial privacy control mechanism. While Google remains heavily dependent on search, Google continues to expand their services offering. In reviewing these services, it has become clear that Google controls every medium of communication with the exception of fax and snail mail:

NOTE: Google has Gmail (Email), Google Chrome (Web Browser), Google Wave and Google Talk (Chat/IM/Video), and Android and Google Voice (Mobile, Phone).

If Google decides to continue their acquisition streak, Google may find themselves in the eyesight of privacy advocates that are worried about Google owning too much information about you. If Google sits on the sidelines, Google may be forced eventually to disclose personal information to their end users or to limit the information that they can collect. The Google Dashboard gives Google leverage over privacy advocates in that they give you control over your information.

It prepares users for Google Chrome OS. A few months ago, Google announced the development of an OS for netbooks (source). Additionally, Google is known for their exceptional user experience. It seems that the Google Dashboard makes an initial attempt at consolidating account preferences into a single view, a feature that one would expect when Google releases their OS.

While the Google Dashboard is by no means perfect, it is a fine start.

Enter KickStarter - an online community where people can “pledge” money to the projects of artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, journalists, inventors, explorers and just about everything in between. KickStarter has two fundamental beliefs:

1. A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.
2.  large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.

Doesn’t this idea sound indicative of social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube? KickStarter has taken fundraising — and turned it viral.

I know what you must be thinking: does this even work? The answer is, simply, yes. Assuming the project is well-promoted and worthy of donations. It’s time for an example: Allison Weiss, a musician based in Athens, Georgia, set out to fund a short EP via KickStarter. She set a goal of $2,000 and a deadline of 75 days to raise the money. Weiss reached and exceeded her $2,000 goal in 10 hours.

Prior to KickStarter, a local musician like Weiss could probably never imagine funding an entire EP within a matter of hours. Weiss used her long list of social media profiles to promote her KickStarter project for the remainder of its 75-day timeline, and the money kept coming in.  Weiss promised that more album tracks would be added as more money was raised. By the end of her KickStarter deadline, Weiss had raised a whopping $7,711 (that’s 386% of the initial goal) and her goal of an 8-song EP is now a full-length album entitled Allison Weiss Was Right All Along, and is due out November 24^th.

What does this mean for the music industry? Record labels will never fold due to social-savvy do-it-yourselfers like Weiss, but these independent artists seem to in much more control of their own destiny. Having an understanding of niche sites like KickStarter and being well-connected in the social space is vital for any aspiring musician.

This seems to be simply another change inflicted upon the music industry because of the internet. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that purchasing and downloading a digital copy of an album was completely unheard of, but today iTunes is the number one music retailer in the United States.

It’s pretty crazy how the music industry has been turned upside down by the internet. They ways we create, share, purchase, and listen to music are completely different than ten years ago. The question is…is this for the better?

Leon Levitt, VP Digital Media at Cox Media Group reviewed the creative displayed on ajc.com & walked us through the McDonald’s Barista Challenge. Key points that Leon stressed were:

• Good, spectacular creative can make a difference
• Old rules still apply: contact drives eyes, eyes drive revenue, good creative will have an impact, don’t apologize for being intrusive

Michael McCathren, Interactive/Digital Marketing Lead at Chick-fil-A discussed the evolution of the Chick-fil-A cows and the emergence of their (the cows) new website: eatmorechicken.com. Michael spoke about taking risks with creative and the importance of helping your clients feel good about taking such risks.

Adam Naide, Sr. Director of Audience Experience at CNN Worldwide gave the audience a run through of the CNN Challenge which was created to combine the excitement of competitive trivia games with the fun of social online gaming.

Goals of the CNN Challenge:

• Build consumer affinity w/ the brand & talent
• Increase engagement
• Promote sampling of CNN content
• Drive revenue through sponsorship

Below are a few notable tweets from the event:

ewendkos: #aima listening to presentation from Leon Levitt - we can not be too intrusive so long as we have great creative +biz model

JermoH: Summary of Cox’s Leon Levitt: People will respond to great creative. Creative developers, step your game up! #AIMA

DianaBaldwin: Eatmorechicken.com launched last week. Interactive branding. Active branding. #AIMA

GumboShowJoe: #AiMA Michael M from Chick-fil-A empasized that you should push creative and risk with interactive media.

JermoH: cnnchallenge.com looks fun and is going to be a total productivity killer in offices nationwide! #aima

bsteve76: Naide sez CNN tries to be different and provocative w/content. #CNN #aima

To read more of the tweets from this event, checkout the hashtag #aima in Twitter. The next AiMA event will be on Wednesday, Nov. 18 and the topic will be: Mobile Marketing - How mobile is more than texting, tweeting and talking.

•   Describe your agency.

Engauge is a total marketing solutions agency dedicated to delivering transformational ideas that move someone — to act, to choose, to believe in a brand.  We focus on discovering true insights, developing ideas with real impact, and then measuring that interaction and gauging the results.  Engauge’s three Centers of Excellence combine the disciplines of branding, digital, and direct marketing to partner with clients such as Kraft Foods, Best Buy for Business, Chick-fil-A, The Home Depot, Sony, NGK, and Huntington Bank.  We have offices in Columbus, Austin, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Orlando.

•   Describe what you do (e.g., a typical day).

I am the Executive Assistant to Jeff Hilimire, the Chief Digital Officer of Engauge, who has given me the freedom and flexibility to have my hands in a little bit of everything around the office.  I manage several individuals’ calendars and travel accommodations, participate in the proposal stage of many sales processes, assist in research and social media, and coordinate special events in and out of the office.

•   What skills and personal qualities help you to do your job successfully?

An executive assistant is a problem-solver and time-reliever.  The ability to multitask is the single most important quality to have in my position.  It is something that you can only develop from experience.  When 3 executives run to you at the same time with 5 high-priority tasks, you learn to be extremely organized and flexible.  One must also leave the word “no” out of their vocabulary.  I often have to take on responsibility for tasks for which I have no idea how to complete.  But sometimes in my position, I accept responsibility first, and then figure out how to get it done second.

•   What advice would you give to a student interested in your field (i.e., skills they should be developing, experience, coursework, etc.)?

There are so many different disciplines and backgrounds that make up our agency (along with some really random, unrelated degrees) that the “position-matching” degree isn’t necessarily a requirement.  Personality and culture-fit is more of an indicator of success at our agency than any transcript or coursework.  Immerse yourself in the internet and the social space to stay on top of emerging media.

•   Discuss some of the misconceptions students may have about the industry.

Students may think that we are playing on Facebook and Twitter all day.  And while we may like to position ourselves in that light, we actually do spend a lot of time working.  It just so happens to be more fun to work in an environment where people are tuned in and aren’t patrolling your computer monitors for any dangerous signs of being social.  Because we do a lot of social media work for our clients.

•   What is the job market like for students entering interactive marketing?

When looking at any agency I think you will be faced with peaks and valleys in terms or hiring sprees.  A new client demanding more billable hours than we have the resources to accommodate means more hiring.  I would suggest that internship openings are one of the best ways for undergrads to get their foot in the door if full-time positions are unavailable.

•   How did you get your first job?

I met my employer in the exact same place where I will be joining this panel.  Jeff was actually sitting on an Entrepreneurship panel at Emory in the spring of 2008 giving insight into how he built his interactive marketing agency Spunlogic from the ground up – leading to an eventual acquisition by Engauge.  I spoke up after the event, asking the panelists how an entrepreneurial-minded individual could go about securing a mentorship-type role at a company post-graduation.  Fate worked in everyone’s favor that day, as Jeff was actually looking for an assistant at that time to fill this type of role.  A few introductions and interviews later, and I secured an internship that turned into full-time work for an employer and industry that I love.  All from raising my hand at a panel event

•   How do you currently “network” to stay in touch with contacts, etc.?

In less than 140 characters.

•   What advice would you give to a new graduate about how they can best distinguish themselves on their first job?

Take risks, and be genuine.  Ask for help, since no one expects you to know everything.  Remember that everyone was in your spot at one point in time, so the tremendous expectations that you (should) have of yourself are probably higher than the expectations they set for you.  Take advantage of that to impress your employer and colleagues.

•   What are the most common mistakes that new employees make at your organization…is it work-related OR a culture/fit issues?

New employees have to pass the culture fit test well before they start at the company.  The most common mistake would have to be looking at the position as just another job.  Employees won’t succeed if they don’t view this as a passion and a career, and put in the extra effort to treat it as such.

•   Please share the best piece of career advice you have received.

“Passion, Intelligence, and Hard Work are the three most important traits of an entrepreneur.”  That was some of the advice Jeff shared when he sat on a panel and I was in the audience listening.  I think those three traits universally apply to success.

I spoke with the online circulation desk and learned that WSJ.com digital subscribers now have to pay $1 per week or $52 a year to access the content via the iPhone Mobile Reader. Print subscribers can access the content for free while non-subscribers have to pay $4 a week.

It should come as no surprise that the Wall Street Journal has decided to charge for their content. A report this week by the Audit Bureau of Circulations showed that newspaper sales have dropped by more than 10% in the past 6 months in comparison to the same period last year (source). There are two other major factors that are making matters worse:

• Newspapers are seeing a slide in advertising sales (Gannett recently reported a 28% drop in advertising).
• Subscribers are accessing their news content online. They are also expecting to access that content for free, like they currently do with video content from the major television networks.

As a fan of The Wall Street Journal, I can understand the newspaper’s desire to squeeze a few more dollars out of their shrinking pool of subscribers. However, I’m disappointed that they have decided to tack on a “convenience” charge to access their content via the iPhone, especially if you’re already a digital subscriber. Why can’t they simply use my WSJ.com credentials to authenticate me and give me access to the content that I’ve already paid for? While I can use my current credentials and mobile Safari browser to visit the WSJ.com website, the experience is just not user friendly. I think that it is absurd to pay a premium twice to access the same content.

I’m hoping that this experiment will follow the way of NBC’s attempt to improve the bottom line by placing Jay Leno at the 10 PM timeslot.

My first reaction was, “What the heck?” That seems very pointless. Unless you’re in a war zone (literally or figuratively), is there really this burning need to know how long the wait time at the hospital emergency room is…up to the minute? I guess perhaps somewhere, but it seems like pretty high cost to do this.

That said, if you take this odd application of the technology out of the mix, the execution introduces yet another evolution of the digital out of home landscape, which allows for real time information updating on a high reach medium. This presents some interesting opportunities for recency and interactivity within the OOH experience.

An example of how this can be an engaging part of a fully integrated plan might include taking the TGI Friday’s Facebook Fan of Woody campaign, and extending it into the OOH space. Last month, TGI Friday’s set out to grow their Facebook Fan membership through their TV character, Woody…fast. They initiated a TV ad campaign that promoted the challenge, and offered all customers a free burger if TGI Friday’s reached their fanship goal. Friday’s could have utilized these billboards to extend the reach and frequency of the campaign by placing the RSS updating billboards in locations around TGI Friday’s restaurants. The boards could have presented up to date fan page membership numbers and reinforce the message of joining and getting a free burger when the goal was met. This not only drives the desired brand interaction…but it also then could have also driven a burger purchase through top of mind awareness around the stores.

Another opportunity for this technology to be used may be in industries where information is variable, but is still a critical driver of action, especially retail or wireless action. This could include things as basic as up to the minute interest rates or as unique as the number of Wii’s remaining in inventory at the local Target store during Black Friday.

The key to this being successful is in really considering when and where recency of information is relevant…in the right mode. On the go and at or near point of purchase are both interesting opportunities to consider.

RSS Billboard per Ad Age

Facebook

One change that has really got people upset is the new “reconnect” feature. Have you seen it? It’s located in the Suggestions section and encourages you to reconnect with friends with whom you’ve might not interacted with in some time. This seems like a good idea, but Facebook hasn’t figured out a way to exclude ex-lovers and dead friends from this equation (via @Mashable “Facebook Recommends Reconnecting with Ex-Lovers, Dead Friends“).  So, what do you think about the new live feed? Like it, hate it?

More changes are coming. Facebook’s Groups feature is about to receive some updates. Facebook has announced (Giving Groups a Stronger Voice) it will be making a number of changes to improve Groups, including a new design (similar to Fan Pages) and group activities will be delivered to your news feed. I’ll admit that I’ve joined lots of Groups, but rarely have taken the time to visit them. I’ll be curious to see if these updates will increase my usage of the Groups feature. What do you think of the new design?

I’d like to share what you might have missed. Let’s recap!

An important message for the DMA this year was the new face of direct marketing – one that is both direct and digital. This was supported by the opening message from DMA president John Grecco all the way to the closing keynote from our chairman Stan Rapp. iDirect has an important and immediate impact for DMA and its members, and will be an essential piece of support in moving the industry forward.

The Keynote

Stan Rapp (above, standing) kicked off a keynote about iDirect, showcasing iDirect examples from panelists - including Michael McCathren of Chick-fil-A, Mike Metz of Cisco, Oliver Dixon with Ford Motor Company, and Rob Weisberg from Dominos Pizza.

History was made by Dominos Pizza - at the keynote they made their largest delivery in history - 1200 sandwiches of their new oven-baked sandwiches! And, Ford Motor Company selected their next “Junior Agent” from right in the audience. And Chick-fil-A announced their newest digital asset - eatmorchicken.com. The keynote wrapped up with audience questions to the panel; which included “What’s the next big thing?” The response given? “Mobile.”

A few of the Tweets coming from the keynote …

The Book

DMA-09 was also the “official” launching place for the book “Reinventing Interactive and Direct Marketing,” edited by our chairman Stan Rapp for the DMA, and featuring an anthology of writers. Among the authors in the book are two from Engauge - Janet Rubio, the agency’s chief insights officer, and Melissa Read, Ph.D., our vp of research and innovation.

Want the book? Pre-order on Amazon.com at a 34% discount!

Read the Articles

Before and during the show, Engauge contributed several to several articles on the industry media.

“It’s undeniable that the web’s role is more critical than ever in stimulating action as well as creating the interaction that develops brand believers.”– Rick Milenthal, CEO Engauge — Chief Marketer magazine.

Read the articles:

>> BtoB Magazine - Rapp on the “disintegration of integration’
>> Chief Marketer - The Happy Marriage of Direct & Digital
>> BtoB Magazine - The future is both Digital and Direct
>> 1to1 Magazine - Move Marketing Forward by Agreeing to Adapt

The Sessions

Engauge also delivered two regular conference sessions. Both are topics that speak to the agency’s commitment to iDirect as well as the importance of leveraging consumer insights to generation brand engagement.

“Engaging Millennials” / Understanding and Activating New Influencers:
Led by Raghu Kakarala, vp strategy at Engauge

“Data Anthropology” / The Key to Meaningful Consumer Connections:
Led by Engauge’s executive director of brand planning, David Grzelak