Get $195 of Competitive Intelligence for Free. No, Really.
Hey business folks - can you help me out for a few minutes? There's a nifty reward in it for you.
Since I have an extensive background in competitive analysis, I wanted to put it to good use. I created an anonymous survey geared towards businesspeople, to better study current trends. For this first report, I'm focusing on agency outsourcing and social media.
The results will be reported on in the aggregate, and synthesized with other materials to create Trendentify's first Business Trend Report. This report will be available at trendentify.co when it launches for $195, but survey respondents will receive it *at no charge*. Not too bad, no?
Thanks for sharing this with your colleagues! I sincerely appreciate it.
5 Reasons Why Microsoft Acquiring Yammer is Kind of a Big Deal
Business software firm Yammer Inc. (often described as “Facebook for Business”) has agreed to sell itself to Microsoft for a reported $1.2 billion. This is a pretty big deal, and I’m predicting will turn out to be a major coup for Microsoft. Here are some reasons why you should be paying attention to this deal, and Yammer in general:
#1: Yammer really does solve many collaboration issues for enterprises.
At a number of companies I’ve worked at, departments set up rogue Facebook groups and Twitter accounts for collaboration, not sanctioned by the company at large. Yammer lets any company set up official social collaboration channels.
#2: Yammer actually makes it more fun to work.
At iluminage, the beauty startup concept I am currently developing, we use Yammer for sharing industry news, but also to share everything from personal news to awarding praise badges for team members who are making significant contributions. Participating on Yammer feels like fun as opposed to a chore.
#3: Using Yammer can lead to increased team growth.
As I just mentioned, the fun associated with using Yammer makes people more likely to use it, and have it become a modern-age version of the watercooler. “It enables those special connections we had created by bringing people together in the classroom to happen all the time,” says Mike Petersell, Director of Learning and Performance at Pitney Bowes. Bringing productive people together tends to begat greater productivity.
#4: The next generation of enterprise tech is emerging, and Yammer’s a big part of it.
The acquisition gives Microsoft the ability to compete with nimble new cloud-based enterprise software. Some of these include Dropbox, with a private valuation of $4 Billion, and Jive, which has seen its stock jump 50% since its IPO in late 2011. While Yammer can compete quite well with these companies, what’s almost as impressive is Yammer’s ability to act at the platform that other enterprise software can snugly fit into, much like how a Zynga game fits snugly into Facebook.
#5: Yammer hasn’t even scratched the surface of where it can go & what is can be.
Remember before Google went public? It may be hard for some of you to remember, but at one point, Google’s core competency was pure search for web results, and not much else. As time went on and Google’s resources increased, so did its ability to build upon its core competency and create new products. With Microsoft’s resources, Yammer has the opportunity to follow suit, creating more products and increasing the platform’s utility. Two easy examples:
a) Yammer could create private social networks for Microsoft’s (and other large companies) enterprise customers to collaborate and share best practices in a secure environment.
b) Yammer could go after the educational market, rolling out a version of its platform optimized for teacher-student and student-student collaboration. While there are examples of educational institutions using Yammer, including Pepperdine Business School, a push towards dominating the education would seem to be a very viable move for Yammer.
If this was helpful/interesting to you, I’d love if you could share with your networks. And as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Want to become a social media pro? This internship's for you.
I need social media & content development help to promote GOING SOCIAL before it arrives on shelves and online this fall, so I thought I'd develop an internship! Folks, I'd love to really get this out there and find a star in the making that I can really help grow. While I need some grassroots help, it's very important to me to help the right person grow.
Do you know anyone who this might be a fit for? Description below:
Intern: Social Media & Content Development
Looking for an unconventional internship that can really build your knowledge base? Look no further. Jeremy Goldman, serial entrepreneur and social media & communications veteran marketer, is currently seeking a non-paid intern based in or around New York City to support the prelaunch campaign for his coming book, GOING SOCIAL, a social media how-to for business.
Responsibilities include:
- Developing blog content, including copyediting and copywriting
- Assisting Mr. Goldman with media alerts and press releases; getting them to the right sources
- Working on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, more) to gain exposure
- Media outreach and finding new PR sources
- Compiling press clippings
- Contacting the featured events, companies, people, etc. featured in our blog articles for link backs
- Establishing relationships with other blogs and relevant contacts
Job Requirements Include:
- A high interest in social media & learning “what’s next”!
- A willingness to learn & become a superstar
- Basic knowledge of Microsoft Word
- Excellent writing/verbal communications skills
- The ability to multitask and meet deadlines is key
Bonus points if you’re:
- Personable and outgoing
- Familiar with Excel and PowerPoint
- Experienced with Wordpress
Hours: Flexible based on the candidate. The right candidate will have the ability to work remotely, with check-ins throughout the week and an in-person status meeting once weekly. Minimum of 3 days per week, inclusive of weekends, with days being negotiable.
Here’s what you get in return:
- A considerable amount of practical, highly marketable job experience.
- Career assistance: I make it a point to develop people and introduce them to contacts who can help them further their career.
- Weekly status (coffee, food, or anything else) will be fully covered for you
- While unpaid, this program can be for school credit or experience purposes.
To be considered, please email tpqdv-3076638849@job.craigslist.org and attach your resume. Please feel free to include a cover letter or simply tell us a little about yourself when you submit your resume, including what you would hope to get out of such an internship. Include any links to social networking sites you feel appropriate (blog, facebook, twitter, etc.)
Guess who's in the AMACOM catalog?
One of my favorite business publishers, AMACOM, just released their Fall-Winter catalog! Can't wait for a number of these books to be released - but if I'm being honest, GOING SOCIAL by Jeremy Goldman is probably my most anticipated ;).
You can download the AMACOM catalog (PDF) here.
Helping my wife pick a Twitter handle
For those of you who don't know, Victoria just finished Princeton with her Ph.D in Art History. Very, very proud husband, I am. So, the lovely Victoria is finally getting on Twitter in order to promote her art history and provenance research consulting business. Provenance, of course, refers to the chronology of the ownership and/or location of a historical artifact, including art. Victoria's basically an art detective. It's pretty cool.
Victoria's consulting website is at victoriasearsgoldman.com (if you want to, you can check it out - it's a work in progress and you'll definitely see plenty of glitches). As such, ideally I'd go with @victoriasearsgoldman on Twitter - but that's pretty long. In fact, it's one-seventh of a tweet all by itself! At the same time, I think about brand consistency, and how that's so important to me in general.
Other ideas are @victoria-sg, @VSGresearch, @VSGprovenance, and @VSGartprovenance - but we're going to let you guys decide what would be best! What do you think would be the best pick, A) knowing Twitter and B) knowing what kind of work she'll be doing?
Chris Brogan closed his Linked Account. Should you?
This week, one of my chief influencers, Chris Brogan, blogged about how he had closed his LinkedIn account. Chris was kind of enough to post this screenshot.
My first thought was: wow. Anyone who can generate 143 recommendations is pretty darn impressive.
In his post, Chris indicated that he was closing it because he was having problems accepting people's connections, and had reported the problem without getting a satisfactory resolution. Maybe this is something that only happens to people with 16,000+ connections, as I've never had this problem.
While Chris is one of those guys I always tend to listen to, this is one of those areas where I'm clearly in the opposite camp. LinkedIn is such a valuable tool, it almost brings tears to my eyes. I'm in the "you'll have to pry my LinkedIn account from my cold, dead hands" category.
Chris writes he won't miss it "because it hasn’t done much for me for business." Just my two cents, but I fail to find any type of business that wouldn't benefit from LinkedIn. Can you?
The Facebook Sponsored Stories Lawsuit & Why It's a Big Deal
Quoting here from InsideFacebook:
Facebook today settled a proposed class action lawsuit that contested how the site uses names and images of users in its Sponsored Stories ad product.
The plaintiffs of Fraley et al v. Facebook, Inc. asserted that the social network’s new ad type turns users into spokespeople, and thus entitles them to compensation under California law. The company did not share terms of the settlement in court documents and representatives did not offer comment on the case. Had Facebook not settled, it might have risked what it sees as a major component of its future advertising business.
What's this lawsuit about, anyways? Well, California has a Right of Publicity statute that explicitly forbids a company from using any other person's name or likeness for advertising purposes without clear consent from the person being used. Facebook thought it was immune to this statute as a result of an exemption for topics that are considered newsworthy. Obviously, that argument didn't work.
Sponsored stories have been around for nearly a year and a half now - they debuted in early 2011 - and many advertisers feel they are cheaper and have better CTR thank traditional Facebook ads. Last year, TBG Digital revealed that a test consisting of 2 billion impressions found that Sponsored Stories received a 46% better CTR than traditional Facebook ads. Coupled with a 20% lower CPC, you can see why Sponsored Stories are a big deal. You'll find more on the original TBG Digital study here.
Now that Facebook is a public company, one can only expect greater scrutiny towards the world's largest social network. I think it's well-deserved, but lawyers should draw the line between breaches of the law (like this one) and simply going after the biggest target simply because it's easier to hit.
Related articles
- Facebook to settle class-action suit over Sponsored Stories (macworld.com)
- Facebook settles 'sponsored stories' lawsuit (news.cnet.com)
My Clickfire Media Mobile Panel Today
Today I'll be part of a panel by Click3X & Clickfire Media for Internet Week NY titled "Sweet Mobile Idea: How do you build it to fit your audience strategy?" Clickable thumb with more details below.
If you're interested in live-streaming the event, you can click on this link at 1pm today: http://clickfiremedia.com/iwnymobile/
4 Points About Crediting Pins on Pinterest
When you're thinking about Pinterest etiquette, there are a lot of intricacies. However, the best place to start is to follow this simply adage: give credit when credit is due!
Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
Just as I wouldn't steal pictures from Google Images to use on a blog post of mine -- I would instead buy stock photography and/or give proper attribution - I would hope that a Pinterest user would be sure to note where the original image came from.
Give credit. It's free.
Before pinning something, make sure you are giving credit to the original source! A quick Google search will help you ensure you're giving credit to the person who originally developed the content, not just the person who helped you find it.
Just because you can pin it, doesn't mean you should.
It is unacceptable for users to Pin without giving credit or linking back to the source. There are, of course, other sources that you should never pin from, including confidential or highly proprietary information. As a rule, if pinning someone's content has a near 0% chance of getting the original content developer any residual traffic, do not pin it. For example, awhile back, I saw someone pin another user's Slideshare presentation, slide by slide. As a result, the original content developer basically was ensured that no one would ever go to the original slideshare presentation to get additional information.
Effort's more important than style.
Don't worry about the exact format of how credit is given - just make sure you make an effort! If someone has enriched your life by providing great content, take the 10-15 seconds to run a quick Google search to link back to their Twitter ID, blog url, and so forth. It's a great way to encourage they keep providing great content for you to pin!
Let me know if you agree with my thoughts above. Plus, what are your biggest Pinterest etiquette suggestions? I'd love to hear via Twitter or Facebook.
Here's Why I Use Toodledo for Task Management
Recently, I become somewhat bummed out over my lack of productivity. I don't think I was unproductive per se; I just knew I could be more productive if I got better organized with respect to my tasks. I started looking for an easy to use app that works well with my iPad & iPhone and also had a strong browser-based interfaced as well, in order to keep track of all of my work (and home) tasks. I'm happy to say, I just found a pretty great one in Toodledo.
- Ability to set up tasks & organize into different folders (i.e. home, work, etc.)
- Reminders when a task due date is approaching by SMS, email, or Twitter
- Collaborate with others - i.e. share your list/see others' lists
- Set up notes which can be auto-synced to your iOS device
- Share accomplishments on your social channels & assign yourself new tasks via Twitter
- Get statistics as to how you're working & managing tasks
- Scheduler: When you're feeling indecisive, all you need to do is specify how much time you have available to work and the app will recommend what to do.