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Category: opinion

The Freemium Model In Action | Steens Manuka Honey

steens manuka taster strip

Tasters. Teasers. Tempters.

Steens Manuka Honey is the best tasting honey on the planet. Not only is it rich in medicinal properties (you can put this stuff on your wounds and it will aid recovery) but as a brand they also understand how to entice a customer.

Above is a little strip of card with a sealed packet of the delicious nectar on the reverse. Snap the strip in half and enjoy a sweet sample.

This for me is the correct definition and real-life use of the freemium model—leveraging the quality of the product through a sharable short-form handout.

This has parallels with social media, as every tweet, blog post, video vignette etc is a taster to the larger brand offer. A cheeky flavour to excite those to want more.

Done well, with grace and quality, it’s a simple and sure-fire way to build up a customer / consumer base who advocate you further by distributing your free little contributions.

Develop and dispense tasters.

Simple.

Big thanks to Dom who first gave me the honey strips and a jar to get my hooked. Further thanks to Sheryl for being a wonderful soul through our contact on Steens Facebook Page and for sending me more tasters—my colleagues are going to enjoy these and I’m sure will be converted into customers as well.
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Infographics | The New Social Media Snack / Crack

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=infographics

Lick the screens and spread the linklove for infographics—they are like blue smarties for your eyes and brain.

The search rate for Infographic-related content has been steadily rising over the years (see above) as this wonderful way of visually presenting information and data has really taken hold (see my humble attempt with Ulearn11 | How Twitter Makes An Event Global and Learning@School 2012 | Tracking Twitter Infographic).

I’ve been talking to clients about them probably for about 4/5 years now as an opportunity to present statistical related material in a much more engaging and ultimately shareable way. Think annual/quarterly reports, market/customer research, sector analysis etc

Whether you’re in the education, marketing, shoes etc game, there’s a growing Infographic and Data Visualization library for you.

Their variety is a testament to their versatility, ones like:

—you get the idea… even the Whitehouse is doing it and here’s a blog aggregating the cool ones.

UPS is even using it in their Fast Company ads:

fast company ups infographic

Still not convinced?

Go away…

Still here?

Watch this:

Now get the research/numbers peeps in your organisation to talk to your design team so together they can create some gorgeous infographic offerings. Failing that, take the initiative and impress your boss by doing one yourself—there’s quite a few how-to’s on the web like this, that, and thus (don’t forget to come back and leave a comment sharing what you’ve done).

Have I made you a fan of infographics? What ones have you seen which you want to share? Leave a comment you lovely readers you.

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Next Year Baby | 2012

Every year the ‘noise’ which accompanies the closing of another 365 days and the embracing of a new set populates the blogosphere.

Folks review, take stock, gaze back, reach forward, look inwards, hope outwards… we surround ourselves in pledges as aggrandizement.

2012 will be a year I continue to:

The new focus will be to:

…but most importantly: DO MORE!

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”
Henry Ford

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Steve Jobs | Apple Of My Eye

rowingupstream

This week, Steve Job died. Since then, the world has seen a deluge of tributes, stories, dedications etc. Here’s my humble offering.

About eight years ago I got my first Mac. A Powerbook G4 laptop. It changed my life.

This was a machine which just worked. It begged for use through its slick design and enabled the user to be creative.

Since then I have bought five other Macs (for myself and others). Several iPods. A couple of iPhones. An iPad. And countless of Mac peripheral products and add ons.

Why? Because their stuff makes sense. It just fits. The best tools for my creative needs.

The whole brand and way of doing things is down to a brilliant, selfish and focussed-on-perfection guy who wanted to put a ding in the universe.

Who enabled and vehemently challenged those he employed to forge new ideas and products for others to interact with the world.

Who knew that if you wasn’t pushing against the flow, it was taking you with it, and backwards into the ordinary.

Thank you Mr Jobs. For making amazing stuff, a kickass company and for giving us all permission to think differently:

From Apple Fanboy #1000014852
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Google Plus, Suspension & Real Names | Open Letter To Google

googleplus suspension

Dear Google, I’m forever explaining my name so didn’t take it personally when on August 20th 2011 you gave me notice that my Google+ account will be suspended due to the breach of the real names policy.

I clicked the ‘challenge this decision’ button and hoped some human would click through to the bio link in my profile and confirm my pedigree (like when Facebook suspended me for the same reason but after a brief email exchange let me carry on my merry way).

A week or so later after no response and with a suspended account I went back in to qualify it further—you can see below how many links were given to back up my identity.:
google suspension sites

Over a month has passed and still nothing.

I’m really confused as the rules you’ve laid down state:

“The Names Policy requires that you use the name that you are commonly referred to in real life in your profile.”

So that’s DK, my name which:

Now I’ve resisted the urge to make up a name just to get back in there because that would be rude plus I thought there’s enough evidence illustrating the name I’m most commonly referred by.

One thing I need to add is how much I frickin’ love your range of online services:

  • I’ve probably steered tens of thousands of users to you guys through my MediaSnackers work: from CEOs, youth workers, large and small charities, brands, plus all my social media training participants sign up and use Blogger (even UNICEF and Gates Foundation—most of whom had never used it before)
  • I wrote a book and run a business using your Docs
  • Gmail rocks
  • in June I even visited your campus as a guest of one of your employees (who has raised my suspension internally but has had no response) and bought tshirts from your campus shop
  • plus, I’ve been utilising Reader as far back as I remember (luckily had a backup of my rss subscriptions and now using it through another account)

I’m a big fan.

So as a last ditch attempt I’m writing this open letter/blog post as there seems to be no humans in your system responding to my queries and qualifications about my name.

Please Google:

if I can’t use my name and you don’t want me to play then tell me why, then show me how to shut down my account and reinstate the use of the other Google services please*

* this would be so sad as would love to explore it further to see what uses my clients and employers could get out of it plus the teachers we work with could benefit from.

Looking forward to hearing from you and thanks in advance for your time.

Yours faithfully

DK

UPDATE 24.11.11: The lack of response after explorations into contacting Google direct plus so many retweets of this story left me no other choice…

“You’ve successfully deleted Google+ and associated social content.”

UPDATE 27.11.11: seems like when you delete your account it actually remains (although very happy to have my Reader access back):

googleplus deleted account

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Measuring, Metrics & Automation | Asking the Right Questions

measuring tape

How do you measure social media? What are the effective metrics you focus on? And, how do you automate the whole damn process?

Questions I’m currently wrestling with. They act like a fibonacci spiral, floating outwards, replicating into other questions. I like this.

Whilst most look to social media to provide answers, I search it for better questions.

For example, the number of Twitter followers will tell you how many people clicked the follow button not who they are, if they share your tweets / values, how much traffic you get from them, if they even like you, if you’re adding value to peoples lives etc (need to look at the back-end web stats for this or deeper still with funky little tools like Twtrland and Tweetstats).

Measuring social is a design challenge: what is left out is as important to what you leave in.

My approach is by starting with the end in mind, by exploring ‘what does success look like?’.

This is a one of those questions which never fails to connect a few synapses, and in terms of my role it’s the following (lifted directly from my job description):

  • CORE Education is recognised as key player in effective use of social media in business
  • CORE’s profile and reputation for understanding of use of effective social media is increased, especially through increased publication and dissemination activity
  • Social media activities throughout the organisation are embedded and sustainable throughout CORE
  • Improved (wider/deeper) brand awareness enables CORE to reach into existing/emerging market segments (especially into corporate market)

So that’s the result but what now needs to be crafted and applied is a change based approach. A layer of social media monitoring tools / platforms / metrics and some kind of reviewing structure to track impact.

So this is where I am. Opening up this line of questioning and hoping you the reader will offer guidance. Some ideas. Steerage and influence on how you are measuring it for your organisation, what metrics prove success and, how is it repeated.

Also keen to hear from people like Radian6 and Brandwatch or any other companies offering the above (especially for non-profits)…

“If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.”
Jack Dixon

Image credit link
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Working Yourself Out Of A Job (And Other Bold Public Statements)

Do Something That Matters

In two years time I will no longer be the Social Media Manager for CORE Education.

It’s not due to a limited budget or a time-specific contract but making a public statement like the one above focusses intent. Creates an end. A cut off point. A window to get things done.

Of course there’s danger in this. The idea that in two years time my approach would have succeeded, all the tasks will be completed and the organisation will be social media superheros, one and all (especially in this fluid space), is a bold forecast.

The reason for this strategy can be summed up in one word: sustainability.

Some of you will be old enough to remember working in places which had ‘typing pools’. A group of (usually) women whose soul task all day was to type unending letters and transcribe recordings of meetings from others.

With the advent of cheaper technology/software, the distribution of these new tools plus the burgeoning rise of professional development in the workplace, meant typing became a skill which quickly dissolved into expectation and one which now isn’t even questioned.

Social media managers are typists. A function which will soon become obsolete as the understanding of tools/platforms, adoption of practises and their execution become commonplace.

Any approach has to have a sustainable core and a comprehension that the measure of success is not how awesome my job is but how awesome I make other peoples jobs (through their elevated appreciation and use of social media).

This is what matters.

And I have two years to do it.

How much time have you given yourself?

Wisdom from Hugh MacLeod.
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TEDxOverlake Reflections And Thoughts

tedxoverlake

The TEDxOverlake was everything a TEDx event should be : inspiring, challenging, personal, educational, awakening…

Here’s the experience summed up in a glorious Twitter technicolour :

#tedxol over – brain melted – soul ignited – heart overflowing… thanks to all involved!less than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet ReplyDK
justadandak

I was invited to attend as a back-up speaker (never got on stage as everyone turned up), but the ones who left a permanent mark in my head / heart from the great lineup were :

  • Merilee Wilmore—how even without a traditional education you can have something to teach and share. Provided a great question around what is more important : what you know or who you are?;
  • August de los Reyes—stated that everything we design is alive. There were other gems plus the fantastic quote at the end of this blog post;
  • Christian Long—provocative and engaging. Reminding us all to ‘fall in love an go’ and how failure is a way forward;
  • Susan Scott—wicked thoughts along the lines of ‘leadership is not a title but a behaviour’ plus how radical optimism and transparency would transform organisations;
  • Krissy Moehl—honest, heartfelt, triumphant (in her achievements of ultra-trail running);
  • Alex Kummert—was fortunate enough to share a giggle with Alex over lunch, then he gets on stage and blows my sides off with stories of how comedy has taught him valuable and life-long lessons;
  • Dr. Gary R. Gruber —calling upon seven decades of learning Dr Gruber was a perfect final speaker, leaving us with a wonderful challenge to ‘pay attention to the sacredness of human beings’.

Many thanks again to Greg, Ryan and Megham for hosting / organising the fantastic event (plus the other wonderful backstage peeps).

“The future is a race between education and catastrophe.”
H.G. Wells

UPDATE: All videos are now live

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Starting A New Job | Focus, Worries & Excitement

The video above shows what happens when 5,000 residents of Grand Rapids, Michigan collaborate on proving to the outside world their city is not dying.

It also sums up the outcome I will be trying to achieve with my my new job as Social Media Manager for CORE Ed in Christchurch, New Zealand : a collective adoption and support of a shared goal (in this case, social media use).

How I do this will form part of many future blog posts.

Now I haven’t had a *proper job in over seven years so there are a couple of things I’m worried about :

  1. having a boss—my new one is pretty awesome and we already have a great relationship but it’s still going to be odd to have a line of authority above me (luckily the culture at CORE Ed is very autonomous so I don’t think it will be too much of an issue);
  2. office politics—never been good at this and just not a fan. Luckily the New Zealand attitude is very straight and to the point so again thinking this will be another one to be aware of but not worry too much about;
  3. what to wear—seriously, what do I wear? There is no dress code so I might explore wearing the same set of clothes like my minimalist crush Nina Yau did. What do you suggest I wear for this?

Coupled with the concerns are things I’m really excited about :

  • inspiring change—this is why I get up in the morning;
  • being part of a community—one thing you miss when you work for yourself is that sense of place. Really looking forward to embracing this side of package;
  • theory to practice (on a large scale)—with over 100 employees internally plus all their partners and affiliates etc this will be a big challenge. I can’t wait!

Most importantly I can’t wait to be creative and explore building on the skills already in house to fashion and progress the organisations goals.

*Haven’t had a proper job as been running my own businesses (Phatgnat and MediaSnackers).

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Moving To Christchurch | Post Earthquake(s)

christchurch-earthquake-dust-rising-from-the-city

On the morning of February 22nd 2011 I was in Istanbul and got a text from a friend simply saying “have you heard about New Zealand?”…

Thoughts immediately went to my brother who lives on the North Island and after logging into BBC News a wave of relief settled my nerves as the earthquake I was now reading about was in South Island.

This emotion was quickly followed by one of compassion and concern for the community I had visited a little over a year ago and then a pang of selfish worry””Christchurch was the destination of my outstanding immigration application.

Over the next few hours and days the sad story unfolded as strangers, contacts and the general media tweeted, blogged, and covered their experiences.

A week later my application was approved.

The city is still getting aftershocks, the business district is a no-go area and needs to be rebuilt plus a few of the surrounding communities are still without water and sanitation.

So (the question from my Gran), why am I still moving there?

Apart from falling in love with the country and city, the basic reason for my emigration is adventure.

There was/is nothing wrong with my life other than the nagging feeling of wanting to explore new challenges and opportunities—moving to the other side of the planet creates that situation of starting again, establishing a home, a friendships, a business, a career, a life etc

In some way there’s a synergy between that and the city as it strives to rediscovers itself again. Christchurch will have to be re-imagined. Rebranded. Rebuilt. Relaunched.

Who knows what my attitude will be like when those aftershocks test my metal and I’m under no illusions it will be challenging to be in a place which has experienced such loss and devastation. It is not my city or home yet but it will be soon, and I don’t know how but in some way I’m hoping to positively contribute to the redevelopment.

So here goes nothing.

“When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it.”
Amelia Earhart

Image linklove
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