These are my links for May 29th from 18:05 to 21:31:
- iPlayer Makes TV More Social, Without Re-Inventing The Social Network Wheel – Two articles this week show the close entwining of TV and web as two supporting media: BBC's iPlayer is becoming more social, allowing viewers to connect with friends and live chat. Meanwhile, ITV are signalling the arrival of the world cup with more focus on 'two screen' TV (web supporting TV) experiences: http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-itv-formalising-twin-screen-strategy-first-stop-world-cup/
- Stop The Presses: ‘Sunset’ For Print In Five Years, FT Sees – In the week the iPad hits the UK shops, forecasters are nodding to the end of the print press and distribution chain, as readers and mobile devices signal the end of tree-based media. Business-to-business publications (like the Financial Times) are likely to be the first to fall, with the timescale estimates ranging from 5-30 years. If you're working in B2B markets – are you ready for an online only content and marketing landscape?
- Reputation Management and Social Media: How people monitor their identity and search for others online – According to new Pew Internet research, more young adults in USA are concerned with their online reputation, behaviours include increase searching of their own and their friends names online, and removing tags of themselves from online content.
- Six Spaces of social media – An old (2007) but interesting means of categorising social spaces rather than by type or platform but purpose, like 'secret spaces' and 'publishing spaces'. A good way of thinking about user behaviours within the social platform you are working in.
- Cloud computing is the new way to do business – A good 101 intro to cloud computing with this short video news features from the BBC.
These are my links for January 25th through January 26th:
- Revealed: The most effective Healthcare Engagement Strategies in the world – Creation Interactive are a digital engagement specialist agency, who have a lot of clients in healthcare. I've started working with them recently in the emerging field of digital engagement (which I predict will become big in 2010). Their recent healthcare engagement awards list some interesting approaches global businesses are using in investing in community content and services using social media settings which benefit both users and increases business reach. The win-win of digital engagement.
- Finding The Long Tail In Music – More interesting US led discussion on the long tail – does it work in music? Can musicians succeed without the music machine's marketing muscle? My own research showed a lot of pros and cons, and was inconclusive. Mike Masnick from Techdirt is firmly a new media evangelist, but the overall discussion here is varied.
- HarperCollins Publishers Expands Its Digital Strategy With the Launch of Inkpop, an Interactive Writing Platform for Teens – A somewhat interesting diversion: teen publisher divison of major publisher launches a platform for teen writers (and those writing for teens) to publish short stories, poems etc. and uses community and user rating to seek out fresh talent. The platform itself for me was somewhat drab but functional, but it shows a new openness in publishing to putting editorial out to graze, and letting the market talent scout (thus saving time and money).
- Twitter User Growth Slowed From Peak of 13% in March 2009 to 3.5% in October – Hubspot's latest report on Twitter shows a slow down in new user registration, but an increase in user activity. It's actually really difficult to track Twitter as most people use third party apps to access their Twitter feed (I use TweetDeck). This article shows the average tweets, followers and following which is the baseline means of measuring the success of Twiter. Looking at the graph, it looks like the media spark gave Twitter an almighty boast in mid 2009, before a slow down to earlier, lower levels.
- Why Diversity Can Backfire On Company Boards – Article on how to successful manage the (usually unsuccessful) fusion of diversity in board membership. This applies equally to a corporate, independent small company, or an arts or non-profit board.
These are my links for January 4th from 11:28 to 21:31:
- West Midlands police talk on social media – Very interested to hear this talk from a recent Connected Nottingham seminar with West Midlands police – their online strategy rocks! It's all about cool cop videos, crime detection and prevention and getting people to see the good work the police do.
- Six Social Media Trends for 2010 – More interesting future-gazing on the year ahead in social media (like we can in any way predict it!) with some things I've also mused may become big: location services, user filtering (esp to filter heavy users), and social media moving to mobile devices (due to corporate limitations on social media, coupled with the rise in affordable mobile data).
- The Decade in Management Ideas – Trust Harvard Business Review to offer up this very high-end 'noughties' list of the top trend in Management Ideas – IT/web stuff features strong e.g. Open Innovation, IT as a utility and consumer feedback.
- Why you will regret using Vimeo – Vimeo is a video-hosting website that's like a sort of grown-up version of YouTube with slightly less slack comments. I was previously suggesting to clients to use it for business channels, but this post has put me off – any content in any way linking to a commercial product, or embedded onto a site serving advertising, may break their terms of service. Looks like Blip.tv may be better option.
- A man walks into a bar – Interesting article on some of the issues facing B2B websites using the analogy of a bar "Delivering Excellence in Ethanol Combination Services' – it advises to look at bringing the offline sales team into the online marketing process and avoiding bringing jargon into the website, or trying to hide your services from competitors. B2B websites are not a poor cousin of consumer websites: they can bring in far more revenue focusing on higher-value personal interactions.
These are my links for December 24th from 11:02 to 13:50:
- Social media as a crisis management tool – Some sage advice on using social media to manage problems in your organisation: keep people up-to-date, correct any factual inaccuracies, engage people and make sure the people managing your social media are knowledgeable.
- Build your own community or go where people are? Do both – An interesting view from Fresh Networks on working with social networks: engage with people in Facebook, YouTube etc. but provide another space to link back to which you control – this is a 'hub and spoke' model.
- Black Swans and Strategic Planning – Interesting aricle on strategic planning, knowing the uncertainties and horizon-scanning for current changes affecting your industry. Based on Taleb's "black swan" theory, the most unlikely events (e.g. financial crash) may have the highest impact on your business.
- Social Media Sites: Here to Stay? – Stats on global social media usage and profits. Including Ogilvy's five rules for social media optimisation:
o Make it easy for your audience to tag and bookmark your site.
o Reward backlinks
o Make sure your content can travel
o Enable mashups, applications that combine data from multiple sources into a single tool.
o Increase your site’s linkability.
Image by Tom Fishburne
As a business owner, making good management decisions and delivering strong leadership in difficult times can become complex and distorted; trying to judge actions and their outcomes to get the results you need can seem like staring into a clouded, crystal ball.
Fortunately, help is at hand from a new programme delivered by Business Link to support management and leadership skills.
If you’re a senior manager or business owner, digital consultant can deliver consultancy to you in the following areas:
Digital strategies for service businesses:
- Website planning and digital strategy – essential in planning a website commission or re-launch
- E-marketing strategy (including e-commerce, online editorial and social media)
- Digital skills training: virtual team management, e-comms and blogging
Business strategies for digital and creative businesses:
- Executive coaching and professional development for digital sector managers & leaders
- Innovation, market research and product development for digital products/services
- Business development, visioning and planning
- Performance development – including HR and company skills plans
To give you an idea of how we think and work, here’s a few links to some favourite recent articles on strategy and leadership:
How to be a better leader: give up authority
Adapting to crisis in your knowledge-based business by delegating control
Constant Transformation Is the New Normal
Disruptive innovation guru Scott Anthony on how to adopt now ‘business as usual’ no longer exists
A Checklist to Choose Which Internet Marketing Channel is Right for Your Business
Guide to pricing, resources and strategy for selecting internet marketing platforms
How-To: Using Social Media Strategically
A marketer’s guide to thinking about the key issues in formulating a social media strategy
Funding packages
The training award is worth up to £1,000 .
The first £500 does not need to be matched by you but the second £500 does.
You can opt for any of the following packages of support:
- 1 day of consultancy (includes 1 visit & all expenses)
Package worth £500 – you pay: FREE
- 2 days of consultancy (includes 2 visits & all expenses)
Package worth £1,000 – you pay: £250
- 3 days of consultancy (includes 3 visits & all expenses)
Package worth £1,500 – you pay: £500
Funding criteria
To be eligible to receive this award your business will have to meet all of these criteria:
- Have between 5-249 staff (this can include exec and non-exec board members)
- Be less than 25% owned by a large organisation
- Be based in the East Midlands or West Midlands regions
- You must be a key decision maker, senior manager or owner of the business
- You must have not received LSC Leadership & Management funding since 2007
How to access this support
- Please contact me, Susi O’Neill, by email (susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk) or phone (07981 222799) to express an interest. We can then firstly discuss if I can help with your business issue; if I can we will complete together a referral form which I will submit it on your behalf to your local Business Link.
- A Business Link advisor will contact you to arrange a time to complete a diagnostic review of your business, including a Leadership & Management assessment which will identify gaps and areas for development.
- On completion of your review your Business Link advisor will complete a Development Plan for you, which you will need to approve and send back with other paperwork to Business Link by post. They will then confirm if you are eligible and offer you the grant in a confirmation letter. Please allow at least 1 month between your application and confirmation of the grant.
- Assuming we’ve ended up noting the same gaps in your needs and I can deliver the skills you need, we can then proceed with the consultancy work. You have 90 days from your offer letter to complete the work you need.
- I will invoice you at the end of the work and you will pay me directly then claim the eligible costs back directly from Business Link.
Programme information
This scheme is called the Director Development Programme in the West Midlands. Find out more about the Business Link West Midlands programme here.
In the East Midlands this programme is called Leaders First. Find out more about the Business Link East Midlands programme here.
Ready to demystify your management and leadership issues?
Please email me, Susi O’Neill (susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk) or telephone 07981 222799 for an initial discussion on the programme and how I can help you.
