During my travels earlier this week, I had the pleasure of listening to Michael Nicholas of Carat present about the fundamental importance of social connections and the impact of groups on individual behavior.  Since then, I keep thinking about one particular point he made -- I liked it enough that I'm bound to steal it and stick it in one of my own presentations somewhere down the line; but in the meantime I wanted to share it with you.  It's good brain-fodder and goes something like this:

You can understand a lot about the importance of social connections by looking at the punishments we bestow upon individuals who do wrong. 

By way of example, Michael pointed out that our criminals are locked up in jails and prisons -- taken out of the community and largely cut off from their normal social connections.  And what happens if you do something particularly bad when you're in prison?  We put you in solitary confinement, cut off from all social interaction.

Think about it; solitary confinement might be one of the most extreme examples, but you can easily find plenty of others if you look around. 

The Amish shun individuals who stray from their society's core beliefs.  A child who misbehaves is likely to get a 'time out,' which generally entails having him sit alone for a short period of time; a rebellious teen might get sent to her room or, if the offense is particularly heinous, grounded. 

The age-old Russian practice of banishing offenders to distant and sparsely populated Siberia has become a common analogy for virtually any fate worse than death (like being reassigned to a remote field office or a back-office department or division of your company.)

Not inviting someone to your party because they aren't cool enough?  Cutting off ties with a friend or relative who offended you in some way?  Yep, all part of the same thing.

Community is important.  It always has been.  In fact, it's fundamental to who we are.  Humans are pack animals, social creatures. 

Is it any wonder that those of us who turn to the web for community get a bit frantic when the social computing tools we use to connect with other people stop working, even if only for a short while? 

For the digitally inclined, a day without Twitter (for example) feels like banishment to Siberia (er, Cyberia), not because we love the technology so much but because it strips us of much needed interaction with our friends and peers.  Sure, this is a trivial instance and not really a 'punishment' even though, at the time, it might feel like the Gods 2.0 are punishing us.  But it seems that the inability to connect with our online network (the people, not the technology) is one part of the bigger whole; and one of the reasons social computing technologies are so important to so many people.

This last bit probably doesn't seem profound -- it isn't -- but the notion of understanding the importance of community by understanding the nature of punishment certainly forces you to consider this whole social media thing from new, interesting angles.

That's what I think, at least.  How about you?

A huge number of people online don’t know the difference between their browser’s address bar and search bar. Let’s keep that in perspective. What will it take for them to learn?

That particular point has created a great conversation over at Read Write Web including an extremely well thought out response from John Andrews.

The path to Amazon.com via Google is a richer experience for her [a user] than the direct navigation path, without much cognitive overhead and without much perceived risk.

To read John’s entire response head on over to Read Write Web. I however believe that another commenter, Jahbuh, got it right when he said;

The answer is very simple - People feel safer with Google correcting their mistakes than the typo sending them to a virus, porn laden site. How many times has a slip of the finger sent you to a site you would never visit? Do a Google search and even if you do a typo somehow Google still points you to the site you want to go to.

I don’t believe it is the advertising industry wanting to take advantage of inexperienced consumers, I don’t think it is a design issue of the navigation bar, and I don’t believe it is user ignorance that drives users to use Google and the other search engines for direct navigation.

I believe the majority of users use the search box for direct navigation because it provides a higher level of convenience and safe surfing. Should a user mistype a URL, if they are using a search engine, it will try to guess what the user actually intended and provide a set of search results that are free of any malicious software while providing the user with the opportunity to avoid any unwanted content.

For a number of years I believe a few individuals in the search marketing industry and some decision makers in companies promoting products that were perceived as malicious made business decisions that allowed them to make a lot of money while hardening users to the dangerous realities of the internet. This type of behavior and decision making is what changed the way users interact with the web.

Using search engines for direct navigation has almost become a common sense approach for many users because so many people in the past were infected with software that they didn’t want and had enormously difficult times removing. Gator was the name that became synonymous with the term “spy ware” and it along with other similar types of software I believe are what really changes the browsing habits of the general public.

What do you think, in this day and age can users really not tell the difference between a search engine’s search box and the navigation bar or is there a deeper relationship between users and search engines?

You’ve probably picked up that this week is about SES San Jose from Dana and Ashley’s “15 Things Not to Miss at SES San Jose” followed by Jessica’s “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” post.  I am also headed out to sunny California next month. There’s plenty to take in on a trip to the Golden State including the beautiful weather, celebrities, good wine, and, of course the Search Engine Strategies Conference.

Here are a few of the sessions I’m planning on covering:

More Customers, Fewer Costs - Why Marketing to the ‘Long Tail’ Makes Sense
Who doesn’t want more customers and fewer costs? Isn’t that a business’ dream? This session will be interesting as there have been recent stories on how the long tail is not as effective as we once thought. I still believe in the long tail though.

Semantic Search: How Will It Change Our Lives?
What? Change my life? That’s a pretty big promise. However, that’s what search does. It works to give the best results, which continually improve based on users needs. Just think back over the past few years; there has been blog search, universal search and local search all up and coming. Sounds like semantic search is next. Wouldn’t you agree?

Storyteller Marketing: How the Art of Storytelling Matches Up With the Business of Marketing
Ahh, story time. Everyone enjoys a good story, but where does that fall into play with SEO and online marketing? I can tell you a story about most anything, but throw in some package testing and spigot lingo and it’s a bit more difficult.

7 Proven Ways To Get Your Website On Page 1 Organically Then Convert
If it was only that easy right? I’m a bit skeptical here. If there are 7 proven ways, then as soon as they tell us, everyone will use them and, well, you can only have 10 on page 1. I hope this isn’t to high level and just about content, links and the stuff we already know.

Identify, Analyze, Act: SEM by the Numbers
Analytics is huge to a site’s success. How your visitors get to, and interact with, your site is extremely important and the stats hold all the secrets. But finding all the bits of gold that is buried in analytics can be tough to find. Hopefully they’ll show some secrets and insight into the best places to be looking. A little sad though that analytics based on Star Trek doesn’t appear on the schedule.

Google Dance
After a few refreshments Thomas will also be getting his groove on at the Google dance; even if he doesn’t know how to groove well.

Getting Vertical Search Right
Yes, it’s the world wide web, but you don’t have to compete with everyone. Being the best in your vertical is all a site needs to do. But how does one target some, but not everyone?

SEO Rehab & Intervention
Let me grab by celebrity attitude and I’ll be ready to go. I know none of my site’s have issues, but I’ll be sure to find issues in your sites.

Advanced Paid Search Techniques
PayPerClick is like the black sheep in SEO. It’s not organic or social, but it is a proven method for generating traffic and conversions. These paid links are OK! Just be careful not to blow your entire marketing budget in a few days or get a bunch of unqualified traffic. There has to be a happy medium.

SearchBash
More groovin and movin and networkin’ with ya’ll!

With all those sessions, the California palm trees and happy cows may not get enough attention. However, with all the knowledge poring in and great networking, there will be more than enough to keep busy.

If you’re going to SES San Jose next month, what sessions are you planning on attending? If you’re not sure, check out the full conference schedule.

Sponsored By: Search Engine Optimization

Analysts are about details. After all, look at the root of the word and you can guess what kind of folks we are dealing with here (if you choose to go further with that one, be my guest ;-)). Funny thing is these folks are making projections based on data? WHAT DATA? Google is notorious (or maybe brilliant) for not giving guidance to these people. Of course, the danger there is that these folks have deadlines to meet and personalities to build. Oh, I’m sorry; they are acting in the interest of the shareholders. I keep forgetting that they all aren’t Mary Meeker-like in trying to build a personal net worth on hype and theory.

Phew. Sorry I sound mad but I am. How can you fault any company for the following results?

• 39% jump in revenue from prior year’s quarter
• US paid clicks up 19% from year before (but down 1% from last quarter)
• They have ONLY added 448 employees in the quarter (how socially irresponsible of Google)

So what effect does this have on the internet marketers of world? Hopefully little in our day to day work. What could happen, however, is that if Google’s stock price suffers greatly due to these assumptions being masqueraded as projections that are not realistic Google may need to change focus. What that means is that they may have to start to work to “Please the Street” and we have seen what that can do to companies. Rash decisions that are short sighted due to short term pressure thus models change then who knows what?

What are your thoughts? Should Google “play the game” with Wall Street so this “disappointment” in tremendous growth is more palatable? Do they continue to turn their back on Wall Street and let the market truly decide?

Not for nothing, but if I was asked to be disappointed about a 39% year over year jump in revenue, I would play the “Aw, shucks, we should have done better” game all the way to the bank.

Pilgrim’s Partners: Discover your Best Leads while reading your Email. Best Contact Form

For those of you with their lives fully diarized, I present today’s Picks.

• Wikipedia is testing a new system that would require approval before any new edits are published.
• Shoemoney’s posted a video sneak-peak of his new suite of tools.
• As we suggest in Radically Transparent, building your own social network platform is normally not the best solution–use existing platforms–as companies are starting to discover for themselves.
• Reputation monitoring again, this time a heads-up from SEW that Google has enabled reviews on the go.

Pilgrim’s Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!

PODCAST - This week the WSJ reported that we are experiencing the worst housing market since Hoover was president.  It's a total train wreck.  Throughout the country, home prices are down 11%-15% from one year ago, and the market continues to soften.  Indeed, experts say that we could be a year or more away from the market's bottom.  And condo owners have it worse than home owners, seeing declines of 21%-28%.

This 2-minute podcast explains why this is GREAT NEWS for local candidates.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.
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Begun is currently owned by two companies, leading to an interesting double-deal:

[Rambler Media Ltd] currently holds 50.1% of Begun. The transaction will consist of Rambler buying the remaining 49.9% stake in Begun from Bannatyne Limited, affiliated with the Finam group of companies, immediately after which Rambler will sell 100% of Begun to Google subject to certain approvals and conditions precedent for a total cash consideration of US$140 million, of which US$69.9 million is attributable to Bannatyne, with customary closing adjustments.

Anyone know how similar the Russian language is to Klingon?

What We Do ...

We specialize in contingency-based Manager, Director, and VP-level executive searches for online marketing and ecommerce.  We are in constant contact with the Internet industry's best players, and we speak their language and offer them the best career opportunities.  Period.

Call us at (678) 795-0900 and let us tell your story to the candidates who can take your business to the next level.  Or click here for more information.

UPDATE (July 18):  Please click here for new RSS feed address.

First up, Google.

• Net income of $1.25 billion
• Revenue of $5.37 billion
• Q2 earnings of $4.63 with Wall Street expecting $4.74

The Analysts said:

Analysts noted that Mr. Schmidt had made reference, for the first time, to the “more challenging economic environment” in his prominent statement on Google’s earnings release. They also observed that Google had taken the unusual step of having Hal R. Varian, its chief economist, on the earnings call with investors and analysts.

Google said:

“We’re very well positioned in a slowdown especially if it gets worse,” said CEO Eric Schmidt, who added there would be “a flight to quality” if the economy tanked.

Some of the softness in Google’s advertising revenue, moreover, was self-inflicted. Jonathan Rosenberg, Google’s senior vice president for product management, said that Google had chosen to reduce is advertising coverage — the percentage of Web pages on which it displays advertising — to an all-time low.

“There is some evidence we have been a little more aggressive in decreasing coverage than we should have been,” Mr. Brin said.

Next Microsoft.

• Operating income of $5.68 billion
• Revenue of $15.84 billion
• Q4 earnings of $0.46 with Wall Street expecting $0.47

The Analysts said:

"The core business did well, but we were looking for a little bit more out of the Internet advertising business, and expenses were too high," said Andy Miedler, an Edward Jones analyst.

Microsoft said:

Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said during a conference call with analysts that heavy spending on the division — from data centers to employees needed to sell online ads — is likely to continue. "The Yahoo transaction would have accelerated our progress," Liddell said, "I can’t promise you you’re going to see massive turnaround in the short term."

Pilgrim’s Update: Learn online reputation management skills directly from Andy Beal. Attend the Online Reputation Management Workshop and save $400 when you register today!

A huge trend across the spectrum of professional industries is personal branding. 

Thanks mostly in part to blogs and social media, there exists an exciting new landscape to easily see who the all-stars are in every field.

Simply handing someone a resume is already dated.  If you’re a professional and think a strong resume and great references will win you a high level position in the future, think again.

Blogs enable experts to prove themselves and let passionate people stand out from the pack

Given the choice – who would you rather hire?

• Person A who has a fantastic resume and great references on paper, but nothing else notable.

• Person B who has all that, but also has a blog and has gathered a crowd of a few hundred subscribers and several thousand visitors per month (or more) writing intelligently and poignantly on the industry they are involved in.

It is pretty clear between these two who has true passion for what they do and would make real difference in bringing an organization forward.

A great real world example

I love the blog Futuristic Play by Andrew Chen (go ahead, check it out) – he blogs on metrics, viral marketing, user experience, game design and online advertising.  He has gathered a crowd of more than 4,000 subscribers and is certainly a thought leader in his industry. 

Now, all other things equal, Andrew would dominate someone else with the same background as him if he were going after the same position at at organization.  He doesn’t just “go to work” everyday and create projects, it’s his passion, and it shows.  Andrew loves the industry he’s in so much; he comes home and shares his experiences and advice with others.

Andrew is helping shape the direction of the other passionate people in his industry by having this blog, which is read by his peers, the competition, the media, and people in related industries.  He has influence and has a voice.

His thoughtful blog content and huge gathering of readers are social proof beyond a piece of paper, showing someone who is dedicated, passionate and a thought leader.  Everyone has a degree and many people have great references - but not many stand out.  This is a way to not only stand out, but to build your personal brand, make your voice heard and impact your entire industry.

Social networks and personal branding

LinkedIn is the obvious example of a site you should be on for personal branding in the professional world (here are some great tips for branding within linked in). 

FriendFeed is a service for aggregating everything you’re doing on the social web in one place, and let’s you create your own personal feed for your activities here.

MySpace and Facebook are some other obvious examples, and you should have pages there too.  The issue with these sites is if you are going to use them for personal branding and building your professional relationships (you should), it’s time to remove those pictures of you passed out in your friend’s bathroom and update them to showcase yourself in a professional light. 

I would argue though, that your social network and social media pages should function to drive traffic, visitors and influence to a page you control and have built yourself from the bottom up. 

Again, just like resumes and references, now everyone has social network and social media pages, those aren’t standout points anymore.  Having your own unique home on the web (through your own name as a .com or a brand you’ve developed as a .com) demonstrates that you’re willing to go the extra mile and are truly a dedicated individual.  It shows you’re the type of person who will make positive change and be an absolute vital member of an organization.

Journalists can never tell the story as well as industry professionals

While I do read some journalist stories on my industry, I follow blogs from proven industry professionals far more closely and deeply.  The problem isn’t that professional journalists aren’t great writers – they are – but they can never give as intimate and as deep advice and insight as someone working in a specific industry daily can.  

Following those in niches we’re involved with on their experiences day in and day out is incredibly valuable, and something you cannot afford to miss if you want to advance in your field. 

Start now

If you’re at the point that you know enough to be one of these influencers and you’re not, I would pose the question to you:  why aren’t you? 

Personal branding will become more and more important moving forward.  It will separate the good from the great, and those who work to work, versus those who work because they are passionate and game-changers in their industry.

Taking stock in the state of your personal brand on the web and making a plan to advance it is the first step in carving out your reputation as a passionate and unique professional.

Dig this?  Check out these related articles:

Every Marketer and PR Exec Should Have a Blog

5 Things I’ve Learned as an Internet Marketer (that translate everywhere in life)

8 Tips for Success as a Young Executive

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Photo by Eole, under a Creative Commons License

Ten years ago i was leaving university, thinking on how i would get along with Business Management, but having fun with Flash 4 on my spare time, while hanging around in IRC and building personal webpages on HotDog HTML editor. At that time, i didn’t even knew there was a job for a digital marketeer much less in advertising.

A few career changes later and past the dot com bubble, i’m at that point of a career i couldn’t have dreamed of 10 years ago, as Patrick notes. The last 3 years have been a reward for always keeping my faith on the enormous potential of the web. New organizational models, the rise of social media, the fall of traditional media, the birth and rise of Google, it’s been a hell of a ride.

What about you, how was your last decade? How has it changed your career? Do you find yourself at the place you envisioned ?

How do people use blogs?

That's an interesting question that's answered in part by a compilation of a few surveys and reported in the current issue of EContent Magazine.

Eighty-three percent of people responding to a survey earlier this year said they spend up to two hours a week using blogs for professional purposes.    An older survey by Advertising Age (Dec. 2006) showed 12.3% of internet users read blogs, but I'll bet that number has risen considerably as more people blog and more of those bloggers are doing it for business purposes.

EContent reports on a third survey, done last January, that asked journalists how they use blogs in their work.  The results are interesting:

    57.7%   Use blogs to measure sentiment on an issue

    51%      Use blogs to see what mainstream publications are writing about an issue

    38.7%   Use blogs to get ideas to write about

    29.5%   Use blogs to find industry experts for background and quotable comment

Clearly, from these results, we bloggers are having an impact on what's in the media.  And it also looks like a blog is a good tool for public relations purposes.

I'm usually in that group who spends about two hours a week blogging -- reading, commenting and writing posts. It used to be more, but time is so precious and there's so much to read and keep up with on and off-line.

I blog for a few reasons:

1)  It's good for business, since it gives me a higher professional profile and reinforces my credibility as an expert in public relations and marketing communications.

2)  It's made me conversant with blogging and other social media so I can speak with authority when clients ask me about the subject.

3)  It's enjoyable and personally reinvigorating, giving me a chance to write in my own voice and look more closely at the world around me.

Just curious...
        how much time do you spend blogging and why do you do it?

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2) Are You Developing a Social Media Monitoring & Engagement Strategy? | Voce Nation
Mike Manuel’s been busy at Voce. This post shows his comprehensive approach to the much sought after conversation.

3) Blow Up Your Flickr | Cool Hunting
Watch you favorite Flickr pics...full-screen. Beautiful.

4) Havas Media Lab on User-Generated Context | Influx Insights
User-generated content can make magic for brands. Just ask Jeep.

But if you’re trying to incentivize users to generate the content (instead of just facilitating their efforts), the incentives should not suck.

More subtleties from Havas Media Lab: “People are using professional media as a springboard to create context. The value of this context lies (at) the mass network level.” Instead of trying to buy the content, Havas encourages brands to “find a way to open up and play with the crowd.”

tags | public relations | PR | advertising | marketing