conductance |kənˈdəktəns|
noun
the degree to which an object conducts electricity, calculated as the ratio of the current that flows to the potential difference present. This is the reciprocal of the resistance, and is measured in siemens or mhos. (Symbol: G)
I got into this pdf authored by Jure Leskovec, from Carnegie Mellon, and few guys from Yahoo, a very technical piece of paper which I do not want to even try to comment.
But I loved the image and the metaphor of the conductivity within the social network seen as an electrical plant.
I loved it because it makes me think about the stream of interactions flowing through the social web as well as the stream of news and comments.
And how it has become more and more tough to track them efficiently, to separate stones from gold.
Since 2007, when Buzzdetector was founded, our platform has changed and it has evolved at an astonishing pace and it is a work in progress to stay update to this evolution.
Back to conductance, I love the idea that when you get in touch with someone new to you, it is like getting a small electric shock made of enthusiasm, knowledge, curiosity.
Because this is, or this is what should push our journey into the social web.
Anyway I see a difference between electricity and socialization: the latter is not a straight way but arise from the contraposition of different attitude within ourselves.: like ships moving between different harbours must qualify to moor, we are asked to define ourselves everytime we approach a new SN and get admission if recognized consistent in some way (this image comes from Z.Bauman “Does ethics have a chance in a world of consumers?”).
What’s your take about?
This is the document for the conversation with students of the Master in Communication at the Luiss University.
Enjoy and let me have your thoughts and comments.
I participate to a great conversation, at Chris Kieff blog, about which dept. in a company should own Social Media.
There were a huge number of comments and some unhortodox attribution, like Human Resources.
Of course the discussion came to more common definition of the owner, such as the Marketing dept. or PR dept.
After some days of pondering about the question, I arrived at a completely different point of view.
The correct question is not which is the dept. owning Social Media but who is the person owning Social Media.
In every company, there is someone with a specific attitude toward conversation and relationship (not necessarily working in PR dept.) and this is the person who should take care of Social Media.
Look inside your company and find the best profile for this task, no matter the dept. of assignement, because it’s people doing Social Media not the role in a company.
Just after some of the most brilliant practioners of the new form of marketing got together at the Dachis Group, a new term had been coined: social business. Of course, there are an endless list of definition for social business even if the final goal of a commercial activity, sales, should remain the undisputed goal.
Yesterday, Lewis Green gave his two cents with an articulate definition of Social Business and asked for to his readers their own definition.
So here I’m with my own:
Social business is the mean to create empathy between a corporation, a brand, a person and people and eventually turn people into customers.
With this definition I try to stress to crucial items:
first is that all the activity related to the creation of an empathy not necessarily deliver an immediate return in sales.
Commenting a post by Jason Falls, I wrote:
My take is that if you engaged me today and turn my feeling into a positive one toward, say, a car brand but I have just bought a car, in purely terms of sales you clearly lose your money. But from a wider perspective, if you keep me engaged there is a high chance that my next car will be one of your brand. So Roi purely based on sales could not be the right metric for this kind of activity.
A social business activity can achieve a great success without an immediate return in sales. Of course, this activity should be nurtured along to retain its result. Well, it’s not so different from any friendship.
Secondly, if appropriately cultivated, these activity will deliver sales and these sales will not price driven but driven by empathy.
This is a definition that I really love: the future is not in sell more but sell better. Selling better is possible only with a high empathy.
Which corporation or brands are selling better, today?
To me, Apple and Patagonia are two of these brands.
What about you?
And which is your definition of social business?
Today, I was tutoring a number of PR practioners at the annual Assorel Academy (Assorel is the Association of the Italian PR companies) along with Edelman VP Sergio Veneziani, Senior Account Alberto Mengora, Senior Account Vanessa Carmicino, Business Press president Diego Biasi, Quintessentially ceo Tony Ghirardelli.
One of the participant came up with a question about metrics: the PR guy of his client said that he would have loved to move part of the budget towards Web 2.0 activities but maybe the founder and owner of the company could have disagreed and without a quick result eventually fire him.
Web 2.0 is a brand new field for most of us, just not to say all of us and this is mostly true in Italy where we lack of consistent case histories for a wide range of these activities.
But this shouldn’t be an obstacle to test the tools.
The crucial word, here, is TEST. Even in a disruptive world, we have to pay attention and not just trash what has been done before.
I strongly believe that advertising as we know will die and maybe is already agonizing, but that doesn’t mean that I can step in and say: folks, we change everything ‘cause what have been done before is bullshit.
Being disruptive help to sell a lot of books and get readers on line and get paid at the conference around the globe, but is what our clients need? Or they do need someone to help them leveraging and nurturing their brands and products?
So advice your clients to test is the best advice: it helps them in getting a flavour of what’s going on with the Web 2.0, the social media, the conversation with customers and not jeopardize all the brand assets.
I don’t know if you are aware of the Twestival which will take place on Feb. 12.
And I don’t know if you are aware of the fact that it has a charity goal: to raise 500.000 usd across the world to grant the access to water to everybody.
The peculiarity of the event is that any city hosting the Twestival has its own organization and it is free to choose the best way to gather people and collect money.
This has lead to some discussion about leadership, the need of a leader and his/her role.
At the last LeWeb ‘08 in Paris, one of the most interesting speech came from an Israeli conductor, Itay Talgam: he was showing how orchestra conductors are not the drivers but are there to synchronize members that know exactly what to play and how to play.
Let’s give a look at the video: watch?v=LUiSfwqqFaQ
It’s difficult for anyone in charge, to recognize that the world can go ahead without you and this is mostly true for the world enhanced by the techniques of the Web 2.0 and further.
People gather spontaneously and take an action or a decision and go to implement it. With or without you (the good ol’ U2).
So better leveraging on this emerging attitude than trying to fight against it.
Share an idea, a dream and it will be far easier to make it happen in the era of collective leadership than it was in the past.
My Plurkaddiction is eventually generating some interesting insights about Social Media and their application in the business world.
Along with fellows plurkers Geoff Livingston, Frank Martin , Sonny Gil, Amber Naslund generated a conversation about the impact of Social Media on jobs other than Marketing: Sales and Business development, Customer and client services, Product and Brand managers.
The list is truly comprehensive and I wish to share with you all.
Enjoy the reading.
Ladies and Gents, this is the latest version of the list of contributors to Age of conversation #2.
Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem
Yes, that’s my point.
If you get into Web 2.0 pratices to generate sales, you may be on the wrong track.
I do not mean that at the end of the day, you are not generating sales, but this is not the goal you must have in mind when tackling this world.
We do not forget that sales are and will be more and more related to a brand or a company image, to the post sales experience, to several other factors that are influenced by the customers opinion.
An opinion crucial as never before because it travels across the web all over the world in few seconds, crushing space and language barrier.
So, set up your goal in a different way.
This is the thought I tried to deliver in the workshop about WOM and this is something I can see in this interesting post from Mediapost.
Don’t rely on metrics to claim your community is successfull.
Use metrics to understand your community better.
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