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News and Conversation about Online Communities

Net Neutrality, Mainstream Media, and GoogleDecember 15 2008

The Wall Street Journal article that bubbled up on Twitturly this morning has also made it to the top of Techmeme, warranted a response from Lawrence Lessig and earned a link from John Gruber.

Ok, now I’m just fishing for the Techmeme add.

The good thing about all the stir that the WSJ has created is that Network Neutrality is going to gain a little more public traction, especially if the “unsubstantiated” rumors about shifting interests at Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google turn out to be true.

I believe that a lot of innovation on the web comes from the fact that it is built on “dumb pipes,” and it’s also this fact that creates an economy of abundance instead of an economy of scarcity.

Throughout history, though, the big money has been made with an economy of scarcity. I’m surprised there are any corporate interests that support the idea of network neutrality. It upsets all the classic business rules and *gasp* makes life better for the consumer, the innovator, and the small business.

In my mind, it is not enough to offer high-level “access” to business at the same price, because not all businesses have access to the same fund

Obama continues to bridge the gap between online networking and physical realityDecember 9 2008

It’s been very cool to see innovative social media strategies emanating from the head of the US government. Looks like that’s not going to stop yet.

I just got an e-mail from David Plouffe—and I’m guessing most people who read this blog probably got the same one—talking about a really cool initiative to boost civic engagement that, and here is the key component, utilizes online tools to coordinate offline interactions.

Check it out:

I just recorded a special video message — from a place you might recognize — about this weekend’s Change is Coming house meetings, and why you should join tens of thousands of your fellow supporters.

Watch the video and find a Change is Coming house meeting near you. Or host one yourself and invite your friends, family, and neighbors.

At the house meetings, you’ll reflect on our campaign, discuss the future of this movement, and identify some ways to get involved in your community.

Meeting hosts will report back, and your feedback will be instrumental in guiding this movement through some important and unprecedented territory.

This grassroots organization has always been about more than an election. It’s about transforming our country — a

Beware of the ROI buzzwordDecember 8 2008

Peter Kim wisely warns us: ROI is a term with a real definition. And it’s starting to get thrown around more and more, as some social media types are beginning to look for ways to justify their existence.

In tougher economic times, it’s harder to get away with experimental marketing, especially if it’s hard to quantify:

Calculating ROI from social media efforts is no different. If ROI doesn’t apply to social media marketing, then social media should not be used for marketing.

But I think this is a failure of data analysis, not a failure of marketing. The real questions is: How do we start to quantify and standardize the results of social media marketing campaigns?

Ad models still not the answer for social networksDecember 1 2008

PaidContent reports that MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe has said that he is “cautiously optomistic” about ad revenue in 2009—in other words, the behemoth of a social network is still not looking at a blockbuster business model based on ads.

The good news, according to the source article, is that online ad spending isn’t supposed to take a big dive the way traditional ad spending is expected to. The bad news is that social networks have never been the fertile ground for advertising the way that search has been.

I wouldn’t be surprised if MySpace actually showed a growth in online ad revenue next year, but I think that the real revenue model for social networks is going to be elsewhere. Facilitating user transactions, for example, would be a great source of revenue.

Social Media Brand Monitoring: Bryan Person Interviews Me at the Marketing & Online Communities ConferenceNovember 25 2008

I had the pleasure to present at the excellent Marketing & Online Communities Conference hosted by Forum One Communications a few weeks back, and got a chance to sit down with social media guru Bryan Person, who asked me some probing questions about how companies can stay on top of the buzz surrounding their brand.

It’s worth clicking through just to see the hideous algorithmically determined opening sample frame, where I appear to be poised to hurl. Note that I finally got a haircut last week.

Note to self, audio only next time.