PR from the Beach

Creating a Social Business? Remember to ask the right questions

Lost count of the times you've struggled a bit when someone has said: "What are we going to do about social media"? 

Rest easy - because that's the wrong question. The question that today's leadership teams need to be addressing is this: "What do we need to do to create a social business"?  Of course, that question needs to be proceeded by 'Why do we need to create a social business'?  I hope you'll find some signposts to that answer here.

Disruptive technologies come, go - and stay around for a while. Books, telephones, televisions, the typewriter, all changed the way business was conducted.  For the main part however, those technologies were initially retained by few and used as a means of command and control. Hierarchical organisations employed disruptive technologies to increase profits, shareholder returns and, of course, power.

The speed of change and access to the latest disruptive technologies means that they can't be retained or held by a few. Although moves are afoot to try and change this, for the time being at least, the combinations of change, access and low-cost means that the notions we had of business, leadership and social order have changed. Expectations are different. We have not only a right to choose, but a right to demand, cajole, influence and - in some cases - insist.

Social media changes business for good. And not simply 'good' in terms of finality. 

The 'good business' of the future will be just that. Good in terms of its impact on society as well as its contribution. Financially sound and sustainably grown. The integrated reporting and global reporting initiatives will make all organisations accountable for their actions - financial, environmental and societal. In order to report performance effectively and truthfully, many organisations will have to turn themselves inside out, changing from within and working out how, once changed, they can meet their business and organisational goals.

Given the seismic shift in the financial world markets since 2008, it is extremely likely that G3 and other integrated reporting guidelines will become mandatory. South Africa is the first country to have made integrated reporting a legal requirement. This type of initiative, combined with the force of social media, creates a new style of business in which listening comes first.

The new business won't just make and sell things.  It won't even declare itself by putting its ingredients on the pack. The new business will have full support of the community in which it operates.  The resources it uses will be tracked to origin. The packaging - QR code or otherwise - will explain exactly where, how and why it fits into people's lives. It will declare its own risks and benefits in equal measures. It will create and foster a clear understanding with its user community who will report back publicly on their views, experience and satisfaction with the product or service and make suggestions for improvement.

The user will be able to choose how, where and when they make their purchase and whether they do that with hard currency - currently under threat - or network credits. If they are bought with network credits then the network too will assume responsibility as part of the new supply chain. Those supplying goods and services through the network will be held to terms and conditions and, if they are found to be in breach, will be cut off.

Each stage of the process will be designed to foster the trust of all the stakeholders involved. Monitoring and implementing the process will demand a new skill set from everyone involved, not least the organisational leaders who will have not just organisational reputations to defend, but their own personal ones as the line between the profession and the person gradually disappears.

That's one scenario - but keep in mind that it isn't simply social shift we are witnessing. It is a business shift as well.  Welcome to the Brave New World.

This post is taken from a piece I wrote at the back end of last year - and in discussing social business with a few people today, thought I'd dig it out and put it here for them to have a read. Hope it gave you some food for thought too.

2012 - Work it from Anywhere

If you are looking for the latest technology developments to dazzle your friends - or yourself - then look no further than the International Consumer Electronics Show which has just kicked off in Vegas.

One thing's for sure - the interconnectedness of the technologies now available means that we have moved right into a year where we can work anything from anywhere. I can switch on my aircon in NZ - even if I was in Vegas - or turn on the home monitoring micro-camera from the office to see the faces of those who have just triggered my house alarm. I can tap my credit card on my ultrabook to pay for stuff and turn my phone into a gaming console for a quick play while I wait. 

Here are my top five 'most excited about' announcements so far:

1. Intel is to bring gesture based computing to its new ultrabook technology (think Minority Report)
2. Acer unveiled the world's thinnest laptop
3. Huawei reveals its ultra-thin smart phone
4. TV shifts to OLED technology
5. Tobii Technology's eye tracking system that allows users to scroll, play and navigate using their eyes alone

If you like checking out the new and you can't get across to Vegas in the next couple of days (I wish) then you can follow the updates and breaking news on CESweb.org/news or check out the YouTube channel from CES Unveiled. 

Here's some honourable mentions, including 'print your own objects' now available for the consumer.

 

A neat scanner mouse that will cause more copyright havoc no doubt...

 

And for a general round up of things green, comfort-inducing 'work it from anywhere' innovations, here's their taster:

 

 

Cri-du-coeur for real communication as Cloud outage crashes confidence

Last week - and this weekend - saw major outages at Amazon and Sony. Gamers hoping to get down to some serious wins over Easter were struck by the fail - highlighted here on the Playstation blog, while Amazon's super fail affected sites far and wide, most notably, Quora, Hootsuite and Reddit.

Amazon's latest health reports show that things have improved since the problem occurred and, realisitically, this kind of thing is bound to happen as increasing numbers take to the Cloud as a means to manage server demand. Mistakes happen, sites get attacked, someone unplugs the wrong connection. What counts is the ability to keep customers, users and other stakeholders informed, up-to-date and confident that you can fix the problem as quickly as possible.

If your web presence is your main communication channel and you are rendered invisible by someone else's crash, what can you do?  Hidden among the acres of copy written in the last few days, probably the most useful is over at ZDNet, where Phil Wainewright has some salutary lessons for the user.

But what of the providers themselves?  What lessons should they learn? The greatest cri-du-coeur has been that Amazon failed to communicate clearly and effectively with its customers during the crisis. Personally, I'm not surprised.  Without exception, today's web giants are, I believe, appallingly bad at communicating with their users. For many years they were able to shield themselves behind remote access walls, responding only to emails (eventually), with very little human contact (if at all) and, in latter years, using minimal statements on blogs and webwalls to update users in a crisis. But believe me boys, (as mostly boys you are)  a blog post does not mean you have 'communicated', created trust, understanding or cemented the necessary forgiveness to maintain your licence to operate.

Anyone who has ever tried to communicate directly with Facebook, Google, Amazon or other large web corporates will know exactly the level of frustration I am talking about. In a world where instant two-way communication is the lifeblood of a system that champions trust, engagement, transparency and the user as the vital ingredients of the service mix, our web giants are lacking in their ability to generate and maintain the kind of real relationships they tout so readily on the global stage but which they spectacularly fail to deliver at a user level. 

Their technology may be great but the business model - as far as their public relations and communications is concerned - is more akin to the impenetrable walls of corporate non-communication circa 1950. And we all know how that turned out.

Some day soon, the big guys are going to have to wake up to the fact that they can no longer hide behind nerdy geekdom when it comes to good communications practice. If they don't, then some day soon, they'll suddenly find their licence to operate withdrawn by the users, customers and stakeholders they fail.

Fabulous - if fixable - code is not enough. You have to talk, respond and act and engage - just like the rest of us.

Christchurch gathers in consolation

 

Yesterday's Christchurch Memorial Service saw the end of an indescribably long three weeks, punctuated by unbelievable tragedy, devastation and destruction.

Many have remarked on the resilience of the human spirit and taken great comfort from the selfless humanitarian actions of others. At this very minute, that selflessness is in evidence still at the Japanese nuclear power plant as workers - some of whom have themselves described it as a suicide mission - continue to do all they can to prevent meltdown. It is truly incredible that in the space of just one week, Japan has borne earthquake, tsunami, nuclear accident all now interlaced with frozen snow and ice.

Our own earthquake, less than a month ago, was commemorated at Hagley Park yesterday. The video above was played during the service and provides a grim illustration of the extent of the damage, as well as the task set before those courageous enough to go straight into the debris to search for survivors.  As the brave Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams were applauded on arrival at the service - and how fittingly so, being the heroes that they are - my thoughts were with their colleagues in Japan who, having worked their way through the crumbled ruins of Christchurch rescuing the living and retrieving the dead, now pick their way through the frozen carnage left by our world's most recent natural disaster.

Many have commented that watching the live footage of the tsunami was akin to watching a disaster movie, complete with amazing special effects - simply because that kind of devastation isn't something we recognise as being  'real life'. It is the stuff of imagination, not the grim reality of living nightmare. This was a real and ghastly event, sweeping away real people, real lives and real places.

The first nine weeks of 2011 have left millions of lives changed forever. My hope - and the hope of millions of other ordinary people like me - is that we can work together to help all those affected by these disasters and upheavals to rebuild and rediscover their lives. There have been thousands of heroic actions both here and in Japan and every single moment, every single action merits tribute.

We won't ever be in the same league as the USAR heroes, but we can all do something to help. As has been said: no kindness, however small, is wasted. And to all those in the services - USAR, firefighters, police offices,  paramedics and many, many others -  who selflessly put their own lives on the line, on hold or on the edge when disaster strikes, we owe you a debt of gratitude that we can only humbly acknowledge, never repay. Thank you.

#2010 - A Year in Hashtags

Back at work and wading through remaining relics of last year, I realised 2010 was the year in which hashtags finally made it as the early 21st century headline. As I've been explaining them to people for years, it was great to see this breakthrough point. Whatever was going on, the hashtag became - finally - the defining reference point for the collective consciousness if you really wanted to find out what was going on, who was affected and what needed to be done.

Just days away from the first anniversary of the Haitian earthquake, below are the hashtags that will, for me anyway, signal the step-changes and life-changing events of 2010.

• #Haiti - in January, a 7.0M earthquake flattens poverty stricken Haiti. One year on, the plight of the people living there continues to be dire and help is still needed for the thousands suffering appalling conditions.
• #Chile - in February, Chile is hit by a whopping 8.8M earthquake lasting three minutes. Recovery is faster than for Haiti, but 541 lives are lost, tsunami warnings issued and the rebuild continues.
• #Iceland - the volcanic eruption that paralysed Europe and stalled air travel around the world. The volcano's name - Eyjafjallajökull - was much too long for a hashtag, so either #iceland or #volcano became the mustering point as people wondered if, when and how they were going to get home.
• #Deepwater - when the Deepwater Horizon rig blew out on April 20, the hashtag activity was limited to an active - and angry - conversation among those concerned about what was going to happen next. Amazingly, the companies most closely involved at this point, the owners and contractors respectively - Transocean and Halliburton - deftly slipped into invisibility as 'Big Brother' BP stepped in to try to stem the leak. Very swiftly, hashtags changed with #bpoil, #bpspill, #bpceo, #oilspill among the most used.
• #greece and #thailand both crashed in to the trends maps at the end of April thanks to civil unrest in both countries.
• #allwhites and the Soccer World Cup in South Africa provided welcome respite from the disasters and deaths that had dominated the first half of 2010. Some of my favourite Twitter conversations took place in the middle of the night in June as collectively, Kiwi #allwhites fans settled down to watch the matches together and quip about them online. A personal favourite of mine in June was #wprf as the World Public Relations Forum was held in Stockholm, with much tweeting done by all.
• #wikileaks sprung into action for the first time in July, with the first documents hitting the public consciousness. It was a hashtag we were going to see a lot more of as the year progressed.
• #eqnz - September saw the most devastating natural disaster New Zealand has seen in many years. Civil Defence NZ didn't get the hang of hashtags at all, with ridiculously long hashtags being used by the organisation - even when the community had settled on #eqnz. As the aftershocks continue, the hashtag remains a rallying point for Canterbury - and Civil Defence still hasn't got the hang of them!
• #Chile was back in October as the rescue of the trapped underground miners got underway. Here in NZ, conversation was just as hot and controversial around #paulhenry, after the broadcaster resigned from TVNZ.
• #pikeriver - tragically, in November, our own #pikeriver miners were not to have the same triumphant outcome as those in Chile. Like #eqnz, #pikeriver remains a much-used, much referenced hashtag for those still affected by these two major events, even after the mainstream coverage and commentary has moved on.
• #socialmedia was a continuing favourite in December, but #willandkate got a look in along with #secretsantas and, of course, #christmas.

 

Which brings us to #2011. If #2010 was the year of the hashtag, then by my reckoning, #2011 will be the year of the live tweet chat - so watch out for one you might be interested in and take the opportunity whenever you can to join in. And, as a final note, as we stand at the gate of the year, my hope for you is that all your hashtags be happy ones.

 

 

So has the first Cyber War begun?

Amazon has now had a blip, Mastercard and others have experience distributed-denial-of-service attacks and Saturday's UK Guardian announces that the hackers claim the first global cyber war has begun.

Back in 2006, when I first stumbled on the film 'V for Vendetta' you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who would go along with the conspiracy theories that fuelled the plot. After all, they would say, nothing like that could possibly happen in this day and age - we're much too smart. And besides, ordinary folk just don't get off the benches and do that sort of thing. Interesting then that the Anonymous group, alleged to be behind the attacks, has adopted the Guy Fawkes mask from the film as their collective avatar as they ostensibly stand up against the demise of the WikiLeaks site and arrest of Assange. But are they the 'ordinary folk' behind the mask that they purport to be? Elsewhere the hackers have been described as ordinary people rising up to 'right the wrongs' they perceive to have occurred. There are definitely some serious wrongs going on in this sorry saga, but I do wonder if these 'ordinary hackers' are sincere in their stand for 'the people's rights' , whether they have stopped to consider the consequences of their actions or whether they are merely keen to exercise a little anarchistic muscle.

It might seem inconsequential for most of us - something happening beyond our control out there in cyberspace - where, let's face it, many mostly go to check Facebook, chat on Twitter or email out some Christmas greetings.  Truth is, even if claims of the first global cyber war have been exaggerated, the implications of the online actions of all those involved - from WikiLeaks, to Governments, hackers to downloaders - are considerable.

I've written about this before (back in 2007) and again more recently following the China hacks and we all need to be concerned, aware of what can and can't be done in such circumstances and also - most importantly - that the web is not the bastion of free speech that many of us would like to believe it to be.  Frustratingly, not many people seem to care and, worryingly, there is very little collective business, individual or organisational will to address the problems this sort of denial of service can cause or to address the social and economic impact it will have on the real ordinary people who will find they can't get their money, or buy food or operate within a system increasingly dependent on online interactions. Somehow I can't see the hackers themselves coughing up the cash refused to the hungry, cold pensioner because 'the computer says no'.

I am sure I am not alone in thinking that the players who withdrew services from the WikiLeaks site did so to maintain their political licence to operate, rather than to ensure everyone toed the line when it came to site terms and conditions. Shame should rest on the political masters who may have engineered such reactions.  I am also convinced that at least some of the hackers currently dealing out 'payback' are doing it because the WikiLeaks affair provides a useful sandbox environment that allows them to see just how far they can get. Now, as always, two wrongs don't make a right.

As with all wars, the innocent are the ones caught in the middle and even a cyber war will see casualties mounting. Sadly, I suspect the first great loss will be the opportunity the web provides for Freedom of Speech. Another bleakly Orwellian view I can glimpse is that Freedom of Thought would be the next human right to bite the dust as first the governments, then the web giants, then the hackers seek to control - from behind their respective and particular masks - what we say and do online and off, as well as what we are allowed to hear and see.

 

It's NOT ok to feed the oglers

Long story short, the ladette website nzgirl has launched a 'campaign' purporting to 'raise awareness' for breast cancer, paying $1000 dollars per 50 photos of readers' breasts uploaded to their site.

Over the years we've had astroturfing, greenwashing, pinkwashing - and now we have boobwashing. The site claims it's all in a good cause. The site fails to say exactly which breast cancer charity they will be paying the money to. They also trumpet the fact, via Twitter and elsewhere, they have 'removed' advertising around the publication page. Yeah right. Big deal. It is still a cynical and distorted means to drive traffic to the site - the only 'awareness' raising being done here is for nzgirl, its website and the long-term ad rate it will be able to charge on the strength of distorted visitor numbers.

I've lost several nearest-and-dearest to breast cancer and currently count among my closest friends two survivors and one mid-fight.  I asked them - and those around them - what they thought of this slapstick and juvenile enterprise, thinking maybe it was just me, maybe I'd got a bit set in my ways. Their unanimous verdict was the same as mine - it is unethical, undignified and unacceptable.  

nzgirl has accused detractors and critics of being 'PC' - well yes, I am - Perfectly Cynical in my view of the means, motives and outcomes for this pathetically purile publicity promotion.

To me, it is sadly proof that the young and the bright among us can still manage to stoop to the nasty, tawdry 20th (even 19th) century Phineas T Barnum stunt school of cheap publicity.

nzgirl has succeeded in creating a circus today with the media as ringmaster and the unwitting - and probably well-meaning -  supporters the dancing bares.

In many ways, it's a sad indictment of our society. Long after the circus has left town, the oglers (probably the same ones who line the streets for the Boobs on Bikes debacle every year) will still be pushing up the visitor numbers at NZ Girl, which has effectively bought itself a peepshow for a few grand. New Zealand girls and women deserve better than this, as do all those who have and continue to battle this disease.

 

PS: I've come back to this post this evening, having read two other blog posts on the same subject. First from Lance Wiggs and second, via @CateOwen's tweet, some great observations from Boganette. Both well worth a read.

Would you join 'National Naked Scanner Opt-Out Day'? TSA faces People's Revolt

Today, Wednesday 24 November, has been dubbed 'National Naked Scanner Opt-Out Day' in the USA in protest at the new full-body scanning devices now installed at airports across the country. Travellers crossing the States on one of the busiest travel dates of the year - tomorrow being Thanksgiving - are being urged to refuse the scanner and opt instead for the even less pleasant invasive pat down.

Essentially, the public's agreement for the intense security measures employed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is being withdrawn and the issue is leading, slowly but surely, to a withdrawal on the part of the public of the TSA's 'licence to operate' - in short, it is a real public relations crisis.

Having been travelling the last few weeks, crossing the USA, UK, Europe and finally Hong Kong, the issue of airport security and the way in which it is handled has been much on my mind.  Although I had my share of adventures, I did not experience anything like the search suffered by the six-year-old boy in the YouTube video below.  Social media is being used as the catalyst to encourage people in the USA to take part in the 'opt-out'. How effective it will be, I really don't know - fear plays a part for travellers who are loathe to do anything that might draw attention to themselves, not because they are plotting some ghastly event, but simply because they don't want to undergo the humiliation, rudeness and downright nastiness displayed by some of those responsible for 'heightened security'. It is interesting to see that the 'fear' barrier so cleverly and effectively erected by the powers-that-be since 2001 is now being dismantled as people lose patience with a system that tags them as 'suspects' and subjects them to humiliating and very personal scrutiny just for heading off to visit Grandma.

What has happened, I believe, is that the balance has been lost.  Security in Auckland is tight but polite. We understand the need for vigilance but nobody is treated like a criminal just because they are travelling - something which is, unfortunately, often the case at USA airports. In Hong Kong, Zurich and Geneva again, security was tight, but passengers were treated with courtesy and responded with cooperation, a match which, if anything, speeds up the whole process.

Somewhere along the line, the powers-that-be in the USA have got so absorbed with the implementation of security measures, they have forgotten the purpose - to catch the baddies, not harass the travellers. Even Hilary Clinton has been added to the list of those unhappy with the process. The sad fact is the real 'baddies' will find ways through even the most ingenious and stringent security measures as they have proved in the past. Meanwhile the rest of us suffer indignities, delays and humiliation or, as is the case with the organisers of Opt-Out day, work out a way to redress the balance and have their voices heard.

 

Tweet thoughts from beyond the Grave

Over at Farmville, people are busy putting the finishing touches to their Haunted Houses ready for Halloween.  Me, I've been looking at digital footprints for one reason or another, and I have to say I've been struck by the number of organisations that have sprung up offering digital services for the dead.

I haven't had a proper play around with it yet, but must say that the Futuris.tk site is very intriguing - here you can send a message to loved ones, posted out when you are dead, or 'future-blog' your thoughts now 50 years ahead. Others like Entrustet, Legacy Locker and My Web Will all look to managing your digital assets once your big Switch Off has occurred and - if there is absolutely no chance of a reboot - your loved ones can activate all the 'deactivates' that will be necessary once your chips are finally down.  Facebook will enshrine your loved one's page for you, if you wish, but if, in real life, you have no close mates or family that can prove their relationship with you to Facebook then, rest assured, your party photos will live forever.

Spooky then, if you have diligently mashed your applications to auto-tweet during your living hours and a spam comment somewhere knocks it into action long after you've gone. Imagine the stick you'll get for not being a proper contributor to the conversation - it's bad enough now if you go quiet for a week or two!

My thought for the day on this one rests with those in the business community currently thrashing out digital strategies - and anyone else who has harnessed the power of their employees as brand advocates on their behalf. Imagine this. You have been asked to run a tweetstream talking about your place of work. You die. It doesn't. Who owns it? Who closes it down? And what if your digital footprint actually has financial value - in the same way as artists, writers, authors and other creative types have assets that increase in value after their demise, so too might the value of that Flickr stream you are so fond of. And if it does - who gets the cash?  If there's a digital will, then there will be a way.

For most, this probably won't seem like a particularly worrisome problem - a bit like cyber-security concerns seemed a few years ago - but believe me, as more advocates are born, so will they die. If I were to blog my thoughts today for use 50 years ahead, I guess it would include a brief sentence: "Remember I suggested you work out how to deal with the digital assets of the dead - bet you wish you had now!"

It has also got me thinking about the point at which people will - to put it bluntly - shut up. Are we going to experience a rash of 'death blogs' as one by one we shuffle off this mortal coil?  Unless they are really from beyond the grave and offer insight into a life beyond, then reflections of what dreams may come from the living - while they remain with us - will, I fear, simply be dead boring. Like the wonderful tombstone above, found here, there must be a time when we simply have nothing more to say.

PS: Would Vampires really want to engage with their Stakeholders?

Scattering the Seed - Will Diaspora exile Facebook? There's a sea change ahead

The new kids on the block are all set to make their first sprint into a new type of web. I know - we've heard that before, but I wonder if the boys from Diaspora will be one of the few to make it. A dozen ago, the lads from Google had not yet grown into the mighty men they have become in today's world and, although I'm not sure if they can take on the web giants, I wouldn't be surprised if a decade down the line, Diaspora has scattered at least a sizeable proportion of the 500 million Facebook users into another type of web engagement where we manage our own social graph.

Next month sees the release of their 'first sprint' and post-September 15 (a date often cited as Google's birthday by the way) I suspect we will see some interesting conversations.  October will see the rest of us able to have a play with the ideas they have come up with during their 'northern hemisphere' summer.

Last week I blogged here about the community pages auto-generated by Facebook and the headaches that will cause not just for organisations but for the individuals whose status updates are being scooped up and used to auto-populate the auto-pages that nobody really wants.

If Diaspora helps people to 'break free' from the Facebook mindset then good on them. I wish them luck - but I am still a little cautious.  I appreciate that their idea is to decentralise personal and social information and have that information scattered on a 'need to know and consent to share' basis, but I still see problems ahead if they do reach the size of Google.  Google's information reach is phenomenal and I've long questioned such access being in the hands of one party. So imagine a network where the information reach is as big -  but it's not train timetables, company details and maps. Instead, it's all personal. It is all about You.  I understand that security will be tight, built in, bolted on, capable of dancing a jig and making the tea, but ultimately, anything is hackable.

So, watch the space carefully in the weeks and months ahead. It may spark and fizzle into nothing, but sometimes sparks take a long time to ignite. One thing is for sure, there's a sea change ahead. It will be interesting to see who battens down their information hatches and who decides to sit astride the bow and welcome the waves.

A gossipy PS concerning Google's birthday: Often cited as September 15, yet Google has doodled its birthday graphic variably on September 7, September 27 and on Google's Tenth birthday timeline, the company is said to have been registered on September 15. So an interesting choice of date for Diaspora's launch don't you think?