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9 video highlights from the O’Melveny & Myers social media panel

David Vespremi — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:35:43 +0000

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A social scientist, an engineer, a marketer, and a consultant meet at a law firm… and over a few glasses of wine, the conversation turns to social media.

The setting: Venture Capital Alley, aka Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park.
The gracious hosts: O’Melveny & Myers, fresh off their victorious settlement in AMD vs. Intel.
The panelists: Karla Spormann (president and CEO, Tendo Communications), Martin Eberhard (cofounder and former CEO, Tesla Motors), Patrick Ewers (founder, Mindmavin), and Dr. Marc A. Smith (chief social scientist, Connected Action).
The occasion: An opportunity to get perspective from local executives who are putting social media to work for business.

Below are several video highlights from the social media panel:

Dr. Marc A. Smith:

“The clustering of social connections is fascinating and really revealing.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Smith/Martin Eberhard:

“The downside to social media is that you’re going to have a conversation with someone that has a lot of time on their hands. With you. Now. And you may have other things on your agenda and this becomes an issue because then those people feel scorned and they have the same amplifier you have.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Karla Spormann:

“Understand where your audience is and what tools and channels they’re using. Listen first, and then determine whether or not you want to engage.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Patrick Ewers:

“Common ground is about making people think, ‘I am like you.’ And that’s what you want because ‘I am like you’ means ‘I like you,’ and this is important because…once you get to “I like you,” doors open, things go faster, people start looking for excuses to overlook your mistakes.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Eberhard/Spormann/Smith:

“Social media has already overtaken traditional media. General Motors has had more success getting people to understand the Chevy Volt through Bob Lutz’s own blog than through any advertising.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Smith:

“The more your message propagates, the more Google focuses on it.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Smith:

“Most opportunities flow not through strong ties/connections, but weak ties—the ones you know casually. In addition, humans evolved in tribes of 150 or less, so you can really only have strong ties with 150 or fewer people.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Eberhard:

“The social media thing really is about being a human being and this is why the Bob Lutz blog works. He says things in his rough-and-ready way that doesn’t align itself with the marketing speak that’s all over the rest of their website.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Spormann/Eberhard:

“So my advice is if you have done a good job of developing a network of people that are following and into what you are doing, you just kind of need to give the right people a hint that there is something bad being said about you on some other site and let them be the bulldogs.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tendo tip: Tagging walls gets you cred

David Vespremi — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:11:27 +0000

One of the questions we frequently get asked at Tendo is how to put social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to work. By “work,” I mean build maximum buzz with minimum effort. I’ll skip all the usual (and 100% true) caveats about how it takes time, insight, a credible voice, and consistency to build an online following (and the buzz that accompanies it) and skip straight to the juicy part.

Normally, I might post a link to an article on my Facebook page and maybe post to the Tendo Twitter account. The link will show up on my wall for my friends to see and on the Tendo Twitter feed right here on the TendoView.

Yesterday, however, I started tagging specific people and companies in my TendoView wall posts. For example, I tagged Top Gear’s wall in the article we posted about Top Gear’s viral campaign. This time instead of just my 300+ friends seeing it, 3,000+ Top Gear fans and followers saw it on Top Gear’s page.

This has the potential to increase awareness of our content and encourage others to pass along the link. Plus, it’s easy to do. Note that not all people or companies allow tagged wall posts to show up without approval, but enough of them do and will approve the link if it’s relevant, so this is absolutely worth doing.

Here are the nine easy steps to implement this approach:

When writing a blog post, think about the companies and people mentioned in it that add to the analysis.
Before you finish writing, check Facebook to see if the companies/people have Facebook pages (these days, most everyone does).
Friend them. After all, if you’re taking the time to mention them, why not friend them?
When publishing your blog post, be sure to hyperlink thoroughly. This includes linking to the pages of companies discussed, linking to sources consulted or referenced (blogs or online articles), and even linking to prominent persons of interest (for people, look for Twitter feeds or LinkedIn profiles).
Publish your blog post.
Once live, post it as a link with an associated thumbnail image to your Facebook wall. Before finalizing the post type an ampersand, which will prompt you for names of your Facebook friends.
Enter the names of the new companies and people you have friended.
Once you have tagged them, post the link.
If you linked to personal or corporate Twitter accounts, “follow” that person or company. In addition to tweeting your article generally, tweet the article link directly to them, alerting them on Twitter that the post is live and mentions them.

Voilá! Easy, free content promotion that will instantly get a lot more people reading and discussing your article.

After sending along this info, my brilliant colleague, Siobhan Nash (see what I just did there), alerted me to an article, ”Facebook Tagging for Business,” by Jason Falls. While I’m convinced that my “tagging walls” headline is cheekier, I have to give props to Mr. Falls for adding some great insight and perspective with his five tagging rules.

Now, if only my tags were as brilliant as Banksy’s….

Say hello to the new Tendo View!

David Vespremi — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:18:56 +0000

The Tendo View is now something new and different, and yet it remains the same. This issue, we introduced a new Tendo View, a magazine-style page that will host all of the content formerly found under various subheadings on our main page, including our blog, siteseeing, jargon watch, and more in a dynamic, real-time environment. The Tendo View newsletter will continue to exist as a monthly email and will feature “best of” content from the Tendo View site. So, to quote David Byrne, the Tendo View is the same as it ever was … and is completely different at the same time.

Since we’re not prone to shaking things up just for the sake of it, you probably know that this change was prompted by strategic thinking. Specifically, it made sense to deliver content in a compelling way that shows that we don’t just talk the talk when we encourage our clients to get online and engage with their users, and that when we say that great content is the driver of audience engagement, we mean it. Now, whether you’re stuck on a train or waiting in line for coffee, you’ll be able to access to all of the great Tendo content on a single, easy-to-read page with click-through links and embedded rich media. You’ll also be able to follow our Twitter feed and click through to our social media postings on Facebook and LinkedIn. Beyond that, we brought some outside voices to help illuminate and put context around the ideas Tendo stands for and the services we provide our clients. This month we kick that off with a pair of contributed blogs from Martin Eberhard (founding CEO of Tesla Motors) and Joe Pulizzi (the author of Get Content. Get Customers.); both are worth a look.

So, enjoy the new Tendo View and let us know what you think. Whether it’s by commenting on our blog, hitting us up on Twitter, or sending us an email the old fashioned way, we’re interested in hearing back from you. In addition, know that the tried and true Tendo View newsletter is here to stay. If there’s a topic you’d like our esteemed editors to address-or if you have an idea for a contributed perspective–we’d love to hear your suggestions.