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Social Networking Conference

July 10, San Fran - Steve Ennen will be speaking on Enterprise Social Networks and Mobile

AlwaysOn Summit at Stanford

July 22-24, Palo Alto - Dan Miller presents NA as one of the most promising companies in the global tech industry

Coffee & Clarity

July 28, Boston - NA hosts fact-filled 90 minute breakfast seminar to bring clarity to social media strategies

5 Things to Know to Get Customers to Your Online Community...and Keep Them There Download

Passing the Mic: How ampifying the voice of the consumer can add value to your organization Download

KristiGrigsby's Blog: Kristi Grigsby

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Lights, Camera, Action!

In my previous post, I recalled my earlier career in the cellular industry. During those years, I had the privilege of being mentored by an extraordinary CFO who taught me that looking at the surface was never enough. The relevancy in that lesson continues today, into this brave new world of social media.

In the emerging industry that we operate in today, we have to be looking beyond the hyped gadgets & gizmos of Web 2.0, beyond the flashing lights of the latest platforms. While we were in the midst of the cellular boom, the coolest new phone didn’t matter if it couldn’t complete the call. It was about usage, it was about behaviors, and most of all, it was about results. Granted, those cool new phones had much to do with fueling the market demand, and they always will. But the success of the industry came from the roots that were planted far beyond the surface.

So, are there any roots being planted today? And if so, are we looking far enough beneath the surface to take notice?

Rate My Space is a success no matter which way you look at it. As we’ve pitched the story to industry influencers, we’ve come across some surprises along the way. One of those influencers, for example, said, ‘I don’t really see anything here. It looks like an old content management system.’

Honestly, I was taken aback from his response, although I probably shouldn’t have been. In reality, that response is probably indicative of an industry bedazzled by flashing lights – much like the premier of a much anticipated Hollywood movie. The hype, the publicity, the trailers, the spectacular marketing that drives that hefty-priced ticket sale.

But taking a closer look behind the curtain can sometimes leave you wondering what all the hype was about. There are plenty of examples of this in the world of social media. Take Bud.tv – the site that launched in February 2007 amidst a great deal of publicity around the expected millions of visitors. But a few months and about $15 million later, reality checks showed less than 100,000 visitors and a crossroad facing Anheuser-Busch management: scrap the investment or revamp the site.

Or Verizon’s community, which made news this month when they announced they were moving the site to Facebook. While the site has since closed, it was by all accounts a beautiful site. But looking beyond the gorgeous flash design, there was little more than videos ranging from chicken farmers to girls in bikinis – none of which had anything to do with delivering corporate results.

And then there’s HGTV.com’s Rate My Space, an online community that has been so phenomenally successful that it fueled a new television series by the same name. By chance, I had the opportunity to listen to a radio interview (Hollywood Confidential) on Saturday – the day before the show premiered – between Leeza Gibbons and Angelo Surmelis, host of the Rate My Space show.

Granted, I was pulling up to Starbucks’ drive thru on my way to my daughter’s basketball game, so I missed some tidbits in between ordering that hazelnut latte, but some of my favorite takeaway quotes included:

‘amazing community of people giving each other advice…’

‘the show will take some of the spaces that received low ratings from the online community, we’ll bring those to TV and use some of the ideas exchanged by the community to spruce up the spaces. Then we’ll post them back online so viewers can return and re-rate them.’

‘this is phenomenal...it’s unbelievable that nobody has thought of this before.’

An old content management system? Hardly.

When Rate My Space aired June 15, it kicked off not only a new era in social media, but also a new awakening as to the business value that should be expected from enterprise social networks.

Posted: 6/18/2008 2:16:04 PM Total Comments: 0

Retro Cellular - and What it Can Teach Us

My early career began in the cellular industry, working alongside a visionary president who assured me, “mark my words. Someday these phones are going to be small enough to fit in your pocket and you’ll take it wherever you go.”

In those days (and yes, I’m aging myself here), the ‘bag phones’ were about the size of the big handbag I’m carrying today, so the thought of ever tucking that phone into my pocket was quite extraordinary.

Cellular phones were little more than an insurance policy…an added peace of mind that, in the event of an emergency, you were ready. Our advertisements focused on the helpless woman stranded on the highway with a flat tire, or the hurried businessman standing next to his broken down car as the radiator spewed steam. With cell phone in-hand, help was only minutes away.

It worked. The thought of instant communication when it was needed the most fueled the initial market demand. But we all knew we were sitting on something much bigger, and it was only a matter of time before the industry exploded. As they say, the rest is history. We all know what happened next.

That feeling of ‘something big to come’ is exactly the same aura we’re operating in today. Social media may still be thought of as a feel-good way of doing business in some circles. In our world, we know it’s about to change everything. As Forrester analysts and co-authors Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff point out in their latest book, we are indeed in the midst of a groundswell with an unstoppable force.

But just as the focus on ‘emergency use applications’ was only a glimpse of the bigger possibilities awaiting the cellular industry, the social media industry holds far more potential than many may realize today. The focus thus far has tended to remain superficial – how many eyeballs and impressions, or what’s the coolest new widget?

Some, like Catharine Taylor and Rachel Happe have begun chiseling away at the cover stories to ask the tough questions that need to be asked: What’s the real value to the enterprise? How can we measure success? The really good news is that those who understand this perspective are beginning to dig deeper beyond the glitz and hype of the latest & greatest to find shining examples of the success we’re all striving for.

Which leads me to my next post. Stay tuned…

Posted: 6/16/2008 5:37:12 PM Total Comments: 0

Twitters, Tweets and Peeps

With all the hoopla surrounding Twitter, I couldn’t resist the temptation to check it out. I took the plunge, albeit skeptical, and surfaced exactly where I had expected. Despite reading an abundance of reviews from Catharine Taylor's 'I'm all a-twitter' ravings to Rachel Happe's 'I love that Twitter has 140 characters or less. Love it, love it, love it!', I concluded that Twitter was a complete waste of my time.

My evaluation was based on some experimental following, and I quickly discovered things I didn’t want to know. I did not want to know, for example, that the reporter I'd been courting to cover a story was jumping on a hotel bed, dropping a strawberry on the floor, and in keeping with the five-second rule, picking it up and eating it.

And I figured that my time sitting in the airport awaiting a flight was better spent calling home to talk with my children than it was enlightening my network of ‘tweets’ that I was 'sitting in the airport waiting for a flight.' Who cares that I'm sitting here, who cares that I'm getting a cup of coffee...surely people have more interesting lives than that, right?

Admittedly, my conclusion was short-sided. Hadn’t I been reading of the growing reliance of Twitter among the influencers I spend my days trying to reach? Hadn’t I been learning that Twitter was quickly becoming a preferred means of communication for those receiving pitches – reporters who prefer to read through 140 characters as opposed to paragraphs of marketing speak (and really, who can blame them!)?

Although short-lived, my initial conclusion was based on the 'Chicken Little' philosophy, which focused on my needs and my own assessment that the sky was falling. When I began to see this new world from the outside, my mental state shifted dramatically. No longer content with sitting on the sidelines, I jumped into the game and began realizing the potential and discovering ways I could make ‘this Twitter thing’ work for my own business goals.

Recounting my experience has made me appreciate the wonderful irony in all of this. My initial tendency to dig in my heels and ‘not go there’ is exactly what the next wave of our social media customers is experiencing, fearing the worst if they open their doors to customer input or risk exposing their skeletons to the outside world.

In my own little way, I have realized what they too must realize: social media is not an option. We must find ways to engage our customers the way THEY want to be engaged…but in ways that keep the integrity (and profitability) of our business models intact. And that's what Neighborhood America is all about.

Posted: 5/29/2008 1:04:48 PM Total Comments: 0

Neighborhood America Wins a Codie!

The excitement continues at Neighborhood America, following an evening in San Francisco that was capped off by the SIIA's Codie Award for 'best social networking solution.'

We've remained in the background for quite some time now, quietly but diligently working to build what we believe is one of the greatest companies ever. After all that hard work, it sure feels great to be recognized by some of the world's most innovative technology providers.

We used to joke that we felt a little like Horton Hears a Who - whispering 'we're here...we're here...we're here' to a world that was too caught up in the buzz to notice. But times they are a changin'!

In the words of Kim (our CEO), we are on top of the world. His note to our teams this morning says it best: "I just want to express how proud we should all be of each other. If there was ever a doubt about what a highly dedicated group of individuals can do...you are the expression of that and the finest group that I am humbled to lead...You are the best in the world. About time the world recognizes it! Congratulations 2008 Codie Award winners."

Neighborhood America is truly a special place.

Posted: 5/21/2008 3:01:20 PM Total Comments: 0

Personal Relationships at a Company Level

One of the leading authorities in the CRM space has cracked. An opinionated critic of a company's ability to 'get' this new world of customer engagement, and one who makes it 'REAL clear' whether he likes or dislikes what a company is doing - from giants like Sony to lesser-knowns like Karma Loop.

Of course I'm referring to none other than Paul Greenberg - someone whose passion, insight and ability to 'tell it like it is' has earned him industry-wide respect...including ours.

In Paul's latest post, he highlights the importance of trust - and reminds us that the most common trusted source hinges on our ability to connect with 'someone like me.' The same holds true at a company level. Paul notes that there are certain characteristics governing his ability to trust a company, i.e. if a company can provide him with what he needs to sculpt his version of a relationship; if he can see that a company's culture is 'like me' and if he can feel a kinship with the company.

These characteristics are not dissimilar to ways in which we all form trust. And chances are, the same applies to your customers. Are you giving them what they need to trust you?

Naturally I cannot end this post without highlighting the fact that Paul's sometimes-tough exterior has cracked. In his words, "even with my vendor-agnosticism a constant suit of emotional armor...and my willingness to judge vendor companies, not by only their culture, but their actions...I have to admist there is one company that has pierced my armor..." We are proud that Neighborhood America is that company.

Read Paul Greenberg's full post here.

Posted: 5/13/2008 10:27:18 AM Total Comments: 0

David Bankston Sets the Record Straight

Taking a break from best practices for a moment, we share a podcast produced by our CTO, David Bankston. David sets the record straight on the much-publicized blunders of CNBC's Jim Cramer.

I can't help but slip in a peek at David's point of reference. Although most have seen or heard the famous 'Bear Stearns is Fine' quote, this is a great reminder that in the world of social media, our blunders have the power to live on - long after we'd like to forget them.

But if you're not engaged in the world of social media, how will you respond? How will you rally your customers when you need them the most? These are questions to ponder as you watch the video and listen to David's podcast.

So, I guess this wasn't a break from 'best practices' after all!

Posted: 4/24/2008 4:19:59 PM Total Comments: 1

Consumer Engagement in a World of Experts

As a marketer, Seth Godin provides continual inspiration and today was no exception. Today’s post, 'Henry Ford and the source of our fear’ stopped me in my tracks for a couple of reasons. Number one, it’s just plain interesting. And number two, it provided the opportunity to segue into a similar thought that we’ve been expressing for a very long time.

And that is this: The ‘Henry Ford’ era also brought about our economy’s focus on specialization. That era remains deeply rooted in our economy as we continue to live in a world of 'experts' who are trained and well-versed at their particular role.

This foundation, however, is in complete conflict with the Web 2.0 world and the need to further engage our customers. After all, in a world of experts, who needs input from mere mortals? I believe that this very conflict is at the core of many organizations that have been slow to adapt to the new world of marketing and social media.

It's a fascinating thought, really, and the conflict penetrates virtually all industries. Would Henry Ford (or his successors, for that matter) ever have believed that sales might fly through the roof if customers helped design the cars that they wanted to buy? Have you ever seen a doctor's face when their patient starts the dreaded sentence...'I was doing some research online and think that maybe...' Or a personal favorite - could a PR agency believe that I - as their client - could suggest better ways in which they might get my company some press?

To help organizations through this conflict, we’ve authored the eBook, When Commanding the Stage Means Passing the Mic. We’re pleased to offer this book to our guests (really…no strings attached!) and encourage you to share with others who may benefit. This free eBook will provide you with valuable insight into how amplifying the voice of the consumer can add value to your organization.

Posted: 4/21/2008 12:05:22 PM Total Comments: 1

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