“So in your view: who is the coolest company engaged in social media today? Who gets it? Who should Pepsi be emulating? Who should be our role models? Eager for your thoughts.”
Steve, Dell has made huge improvements with social media. The IdeaStorm website, Direct2Dell blogs in several languages, Studio Dell videos explaining things ranging from how to fix X on your computer or explaining why they're selling Linux computers... Another company which has mastered the Internet in my opinion (not really social media) is MLB.com; they're actively encouraging blogging and sharing these days but they're barely getting their feet wet with Facebook and social tools. - Rafael Rojas Cremonesi
Comcast pioneered this amongst the large companies with @comcastcares on Twitter. Others have been mentioned here. I love that Pepsi is using FriendFeed though - I'm surprised more companies don't embrace this. - Jesse Stay
I'd say that answer is different for the different applications: social media as service multiplier: Dell / Comcast. Social Media as media: Whole Foods. Social media for a consumer brand? @wholefoods on Twitter. Big culture trying social culture: IBM, EMC, Dow Jones. - Chris Brogan
@Chris Brogan Completely agree. Each has their own objectives. Dell clearly sets a high standard. Zappos does it really well on Twitter. GE (my old employer) is starting to do some interesting things to. - Josh Karpf
It's not about emulating. Zappos "gets" Twitter because of their business model. Their number one selling point is customer service. Social Media is only one of the methods they use to prove to us (consumers) they care. Even before Twitter, they treated all customers equally regardless of backgrounds, status, stature, etc. When they jumped online with the same mission statement, per se, they stood out because Zappos *shows* us they actually *do* care *by* community engagement. So the real question should be: Do we (Pepsi) really care about consumers and how can we show we care? - Mona N.
Emulation implies that you can lift someone else's strategy whole cloth and fit it to Pepsi. Pepsi is unique (or so they hope), therefor their identity requires a unique synthesis of the various digital streams to create a presence that stands out, yet doesn't scream "HERE I AM". Don't be that guy with the caps lock on;) - A. J. Mahler
Perhaps start another way? What makes sense for the brand & its business model in identifying appropriate social media. BTW good point above re Zappos & how Twitter aligns to their business model. So what's equivalent for Pepsi? No point just randomly going on Facebook or similar though. - Kate
There are a variety of models- even just looking at Twitter... 1. Corporate face with no personality (a bunch of co's that just push RSS and don't interact, but works for DellOutlet coupons) 2. Corporate face with a real person behind it (Pandora, Comcast) 3. Real people who represent the brand to some degree (Chicago Tribune, Zappos CEO) 4. Characters (Chicago Trib's Colonel) 5. Lots of employees online not necessarily representing the brand at all times (Zappos). - Brian Carter
"Built in 1943-45 at the Moore School of the University of Pennsylvania for the War effort by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert (no relation to Columbia University's Wallace Eckert) but not delivered to the Army until just after the end of the war, the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC) was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer. It was 150 feet wide with 20 banks of flashing lights and about 300 times faster than the Mark 1 at addition. Wallace Eckert is cited in the histories as an influence on the designers, as he was for the Mark 1. These US Army photos from the archives of the ARL Technical Library show two early programmers (Gloria Gorden and Ester Gerston) at work on the ENIAC." - Cee Bee
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One reason Iliked Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon was that he put this fact in the book. Most people don't know or care about the role women played in this. - Anika Malone
Important step, but women (in the Navy) also worked on Aiken's Mark I at Harvard. And don't forget what some consider the first-ever programmer, Ada Augusta Countess of Lovelace, working with Babbage - Dennis E. Hamilton
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One nice feature was a prevalence of women software developers in the early commercial days (but at computer companies, not what would become IT) - Dennis E. Hamilton
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Somebody has the most gangsta photoshop skills ever - ♫ Rahsheen ™ ★
either that, or the news cameras were pointed away... - Mohomed=genieyclo
I'm pretty sure he actually made that face... it was when he went the wrong way around the debate table to greet the moderator, switched course and went back around. - mikepk
No, I think it's real, McCain was confused about which direction to exit stage at the end. - Logical Extremes
he did this at the end of the debate after shaking hands with obama and seemed unsure as to which way to go around the seats/desk - Cee Bee
with his tongue hanging all the way out like that?? this is terrible... anyway, 'night ff. I totally shouldn't be up now. - Kamilah Gill
My wife says she saw it from a different angle on a network feed... and it was directed to someone in the audience... I'd turned away from the TV at that point so didn't see it unfortunately or would have posted a note here immediately - David HC Soul
hey, personally (as a non-American), this shot actually makes me wish a little bit that McCain wins...four years of fantastic action shots like that? yowzah!! - Trent Olson
He's behind you! (and I mean,way behind you...) - Dave Lovely
Hahaha...well, I think that picture says it all:p - Patrik Johansson
This was used on Spanish newspaper El Mundo's website this morning too :-) - Matthew Bennett
Should we all stop having fun coz billions are lost in a crisis over which we have no control? Since when is fun != not working? - Shivanand Velmurugan
okay let me take this back please. It is the timing. Nothing wrong with people having fun. - Loic Le Meur
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like not partying will help matters now - we should party now more than ever - Kate
Shivanand, no. But when you're likely about to start putting off people all over the place, and take a serious hit, partying like nothing is wrong is the WRONG message to be sending to your employees and supporters - Duncan Riley
Maybe they should have asked your permission first. - William, CPU Media
I am humored by it, there is always someone screwing up somewhere,it is context that is important here. - dan
Being smart about legal matters can make a huge difference in the value of your company. Each legal decision you make — each strategic partnership, each trademark or patent filing — can add or subtract from it. - Zee.
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"I’ve spoken with several House Republicans over the past few days and most admirably believe in free-market principles. What’s sad is that they still think it’s 1984. They still think the biggest threat comes from socialism and Walter Mondale liberalism. They seem not to have noticed how global capital flows have transformed our political economy.
We’re living in an age when a vast excess of capital sloshes around the world fueling cycles of bubble and bust. When the capital floods into a sector or economy, it washes away sober business practices, and habits of discipline and self-denial. Then the money managers panic and it sloshes out, punishing the just and unjust alike." - Dave Winer
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That's where you and I disagree Robert. - Dave Winer
Dave: I visited three startup CEOs and a recruiter company. We haven't felt much pain at all yet. We all know it is coming though. - Robert Scoble
Were the startups aimed at consumers or businesses? The biggest impact is going to be on industries focussed on selling to the very wealthy (private schools should probably expect some belt tightening). I just don't think that this is going to precipitate a global downturn. The impact is heavily focussed on the US and UK. Falls in Asian and Euro markets are about uncertainty rather than anything fundamental. Expect the world to keep turning and the US economy to be supported as a result. Optimist :). - mattpovey
@robert do any of them actually have a cogent business plan on how to generate profit that doesn't rely upon advertising or being bought out by google? or are they all "hey this is cool, lets give it a try and see what happens" VC startups? From my viewpoint it's a bad time to be in tech. Jobs are being shed, pay is going down or stagnating, choice in hardware manufacturers is at an all time low... - alphaxion
@Robert, Some areas of Tech have been feeling pain for quite a while. In particular, Semiconductor Capital Equipment has been in the dumps for a couple of years. Major companies such as KLA-Tencor, Applied Materials, Novellus to name just a few, have been having quarterly layoffs and FTO for the past 2 + years. It is not looking any better for this sector going forward into 2009. - Jeff P. Henderson
All three are interesting companies. More later. One is an enterprise company. - Robert Scoble
@Robert, that's what scares me. It's already bad and we probably haven't seen anything yet. - Jeff P. Henderson
What scares me is that the green technology companies that have been springing up over the past couple of years have a really excellent chance to grow and make a significant difference in the world by providing a vibrant new market sector, providing jobs, making technological advances that will benefit everyone. But if the financial markets fail, most of these start ups will lose access to capital and ultimately fail too. - Jeff P. Henderson
I wasn't clear, I meant to say some of us feel the pain already, not that there won't be people losing jobs. The end of a tech cycle starts when new ideas are not as important as who you know. Then all that blows up and we start again. The current crop of gatekeepers are about to lose their sway, but for me it ended when they got ensconced. I've been writing about it for years but you guys didn't believe me. Advertising and the web is pretty much over. - Dave Winer
If unemployment shoots up, and no one has any discretionary income to spend, then the value of advertising on the will drop to a point where it will kill off all but the top few companies that rely on it for their sole source of revenue. Will Google be the last man standing? - Jeff P. Henderson
Dave, May I have some links to read what you have written before about this issue? - Reza Hashemi
Jeff. In my talks with VCs, the only thing that is 'protected' right now is the Green tech. For months many startups have been getting the cold shoulder unless they were 'green tech' plays in which case there has been quite a bit of funding (perhaps even too much, i.e. duplication in certain areas). We'll have to see how it plays out. - Andrew Leyden
Dave: I'm on board with this. It's why I stopped caring about TechMeme and stopped investing so much time in my blog. Change is definitely in the air and a storm is blowing in. We've only seen the first few warning signs, though. Everyone in the valley is boarding up the windows (metaphorically) and preparing for the biggest storm of the century. - Robert Scoble
I live in Beijing and must say that most Red state Americans are clueless about globalization and its effects. The average Chinese farmer has a better understanding than the Congressional representative who keeps on blathering about how great America is while supporting tax cuts and refusing to invest in the country's infrastructure. Come to China and I'll show you what modern national infrastructure looks like. - Paul Denlinger
@Robert, you are falling into your dooms day mode again. Remember two weeks ago after the RNC when McCain's poll numbers jumped up and you called the election over the the Dems? Things have changed dramatically since then. I hope you are wrong overreacting to the present financial crisis. But I have a feeling you are probably on the mark with this one. - Jeff P. Henderson
@jeff well google has been revising down the return they pay out to those who use their ad network for a few years now. I have said many times to people, advertising revenue alone should never be used as a main source of revenue for a company.. a nice side, yes. But your main? you're asking for trouble. - alphaxion
Paul: I'll be in China in early November. Can't wait to see what's gone on there since I visited in 1995. Jeff: well, it took melting down our freaking economy to get us to stop focusing so much energy on Palin (although now she's imploding far faster than I expected her to do). I hope I'm wrong too. I hope this turns out to be a little tiny squall and we get back on track. I'm hearing it's not, though. - Robert Scoble
"What we need in this situation is authority. Not heavy-handed government regulation, but the steady and powerful hand of some public institutions that can guard against the corrupting influences of sloppy money and then prevent destructive contagions when the credit dries up." Who's left with authority ? - Antoine Bertier
Closing your laptop while in a conversation is an amazing gesture. It says, "what we are discussing is important to me, and it deserves my attention." An equivalent might be to mute the TV that you are watching if someone wants to talk with you. - tagami
My laptop definitely stays open. It only closes for my significant other if she has something really important to say. - Corvida
Hi, I'm Billy Mays... now with the power of oranges!!! And my Apple laptop. - Ernie Oporto
closing laptop lid 4 a conversation?...yeah, I do this when my CEO tells me to "STOP Twittering!" - Elliott Ng
I do when neighbors stop over. It seems rude to not. - Cyndy
Seriously, it gives the impression that it's because they were browsing porn and needed to hide it. - Victor Ganata
I do it with ppl who aren't techies (except my husband, who keeps his laptop open while we talk too). - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
I only close mine at night. I can't talk and type at the same time (I'll start typing what I'm saying instead of whatever I wanted to type), so I usually push it away, but people who close theirs when I show up always make me wonder if they were looking at porn. - eve shot first
I close mine because I will get distracted by the screen every single time. - Orphan Spinster Librarian
I never close my laptop...NEVER. Why would I do that? it would make FriendFeed go away. Also, if I DID close my laptop, what would I stare at intensely to pretend I'm really busy? - ♫ Rahsheen ™ ★
Well people on TV shut down their computers by turning off the monitor - Deepak
well i do that when my wife talks to me, helps me actually *listen* to what my wife is saying instead of reading what's on FF :-), this is a good thing tv shows show it, great marriage/relationship tip - Krishna Gade
depends on what is on the laptop screen and who I am talking to. - Shelly Weiss
No plot, just shiny graphics, tells nothing about clonewars arc ... just something commercial ... - Alemsah
You thought the prequels were good? Really good? I honestly don't know how to react to that. Eps 1&2 were terrible, imo. Episode 3 was ok, but my vastly lowered expectations may have had something to do with that opinion. - Didi Chanoch
@Didi I though the fight scene at the end of II in the arena was amazing. - Steve Rubel
Yeah, well. They all had great fight scenes. But whenever people actually talked, it was terrible. Also: Jar Jar. And Hayden Christensen. - Didi Chanoch
@didi I actually liked Jar Jar. Though the underwater scene was bad. - Steve Rubel
The prequels were a disaster in terms of dialog and story. Lucas really needs to find better script writers. And now we have a Star Wars cartoon that fails to tell any really story at all. It's not entertaining for adults or kids. I hope this is not an indication of how the force unleashed will turn out. - Bob Blunk
most people only have one idea, or talent, in life, and beat it into the ground, it's normal - Gregory Lent
Who needs content, a great story and character development when you have C.G. cheese. Surely it's the eye candy everyone wants. - Stuart Forsyth
he's trying to make the earlier movies look better ;P - Kate
