We are in the business of mashed inbound communication
Metrics and clear minded thinking
I am more-and-more convinced that we need to measure social media against what we would have been doing otherwise. That is profound you know!
At Leicester, we heard the story of The Savile Row tailor who developed a successful blog and was able to move his shop to his house up north. Without the blog, his marketing cost was a shop on Savile Row. Well I would miss living in London. But there you are! Business is business. A blog vs a shop in Savile Row. No contest in terms of costs.
In terms of the other idea I picked up at Leicester, reputation - breaking into the market - was the constraint. Can social media be used to break in to the market - to release the constraint? In this case, yes. A lot of people who buy expensive suits enjoy talking about them and learning more about cloth, cut, etc.
SM costs are negligible - so we just have to look at our gains, how we would have got them the old way, and how much the old methods cost!
The business case for social media
Making the business case for SM is a different matter. Remember every business case is actually three business cases intertwined like a DNA helix:
a) the business case for the business buying the social media
b) the business case for the customer who will spend time on the social media
c) the business case for the person supplying the social media (YOU in other words)
I looked at Neilsen’s site again yesterday. It looks like magic. But lets face it. Unless you are Obama or Coca-cola, you don’t even register on their counts. Neilsen are selling off their excess computer capacity. That’s their business case!
What is the business case for the company buying the social media and for you, if you were able to develop and sell a similar service?
I like data. It is amazing what a bunch of data tells you. Powerful stuff. Unfortunately it is usually in the realm of Emperor’s Clothes. The big boys have staked the ranch against an ego-trip, you know they are wrong, you run the data, then you run . . . Emperor’s Clothes aren’t called Emperor’s Clothes for nothing. Yes data is cool. But it pulls down without replacing it with anything better.
The real issue is getting the Emperor to put on some clothes. Actually, the real issue is social relations have become so distorted, a heck of a lot of people are pretending he has got clothes, and if you are the buffoon who points out his nakedness, even with wad of computer printouts as a shield, it will be “off with your head”!
I am not trying to be pessimistic here. I just don’t want you to be drawn to professional suicide. Data isn’t power - it is a bludgeon. I believe, like the social scientist, Karl Weick, we must define problems in ways that we can do something about them. That’s our task as managers, gurus, or whatever the privileged call themselves these days. If we feel we are in a cul-de-sac, turn, leave, find a better route.
So what is our contribution to the common good?
I got this from David Terrar who was talking at NLabNetworks about his work with the Chartered Accountants. DT and colleagues were asked to set up an online community for the Institute’s 133K members. We would expect the 1:9:90 rule to apply. So we would be happy with 1,3K active members. 12K listeners and occasional participants. 90% inactive or at best lurking. In 4 months, the new “online community” achieved: 3K users, 175 posts and 400 comments.
3 comments per post (on average - probably a J curve). 3 comments per post. This is the magic number and the insight. 3 comments per post.
For everything you say, how many replies do you get back?
We are NOT in the business of content. We are NOT in the business of broadcast (well I seem to be most of the time!).
We are NOT even in the business of sonar radar. When they ping, they don’t want a reply.
When we ping, we don’t want an automatic reply. We want the ping to circulate around a person’s emotional system and come back digested, mashed, and different. We are in the business of MASHED responses.
Going back to Emperors and their clothes
Social Media just amplifies what is already there. We provide an easy way for people to talk to the Emperor.
- We provide a system of inbound communication/
The first time the Emperor appears a little scantily dressed, some people comment. Because they trust the Emperor and the Emperor trusts them, he puts on some more clothes next time he goes out. He even appreciates the 3 comments from the “people” saying where the best tailor shops can be found and gives them some custom. Everyone is happy!
If the people do not deign to appraise the emperor of his lack of apparel, mmm . . .
a) no inward communication (how many mashed replies to each outward message?)
b) no inward communication on something that is obviously important (check the last time you updated your own beliefs about what is important!)
c) no one in the “court” wants to pass on messages that imply criticism or they miss any irony completely
These are all signs of an empire running on borrowed time. Now empires are like cars, they run a long time without a service. So, don’t panic. You have time. But don’t kid yourself that you will change the fundamentals with some social media. If things are this bad, keep your head down, buy a copy of “What Color is my Parachute?”, and figure out what you should be doing with your life and with whom!
It’s disappointing to find yourself in the court of an Emperor with no clothes, but it happens. It’s disappointing that’s all. It is not a disaster unless you make it one.
Inward Communication
Now I certainly don’t have the knack of opening up a discussion. There is a personality type “the chair” who is brilliant at that. The flip side, is that they just don’t get anything done on their own. But the front person is ideally a “chair/team player” - the inveterate socialite.
I’m the shaper, completer-finisher type. You can see it in my post. Is what we doing important and are the important things getting done? I tell the socialites to kick me under the table if my timing is off. I won’t necessarily get the replies, but I will read them!
We need a mixture of people in social media and I can see a course on Belbin team roles and social media coming up. We need to get both sides of the coin: a charming environment so the replies come in, backed up by people with a more analytical disposition.
The points
If someone asks what is the ROI of social media, ask back: what do we have to get done in this business, how will we do it, give me 24 hours to sketch out how we can use SM to do it more quickly and more cheaply.
If someone asks what is SM: we use modern internet as a system of inbound communication. We will leave automatic ping-backs to other people. We deal with “mashed” replies - where our consumer has added an opinion or a variation that is deeply valuable to us.
If their eyes glaze over, and they don’t want to know, don’t fight it! You have the answer to your business case! Your next step, then, is to look at the business case of everyone - consumers, rivals to your customer, rivals to you, and position yourself accordingly!
If I am right that we are in the business of mashed inbound communication, then we want to pick our clients. We want clients who can disrupt the current business model (like the Savile Row tailor) by using social media and who ‘get it’ - at least intuitively.
I want a session on July 5 about our clients - who are they, how do we understand their businesses, what can we do to help them.
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NO doubt Jo, very good words … choose our clients wisely for SM yields honestly, it exaggerates, or amplifies what is there.
For a CEO to adopt SM she needs a fantastic product range or balls.
I’ve had the military in the back of my mind for a while - should they use SM?
Then I saw the BBC story on the sticky toffee pudding in Afghanistan. Actually the BBC should have a policy. . . or maybe they do . . how to make out the Brits are a bunch of slow witted morons.
Really, if soldiers were blogging, the food issue would have solved ages ago - or rather 10million foodies and food companies would have solved it. As it stands, it seems it takes a prince to say something.
I think I have the converse view to you. A CEO who doesn’t use SM has no balls. He might think he does but he is barfably obtuse.
Old Mutual, the biggest financial company in Zim (smart guys surviving that inflation) had a vibrant internet before I left 6 years ago. The CEO was quite articulate about the way he would scan it daily and “wait for ideas to settle” before he commented. They had general meetings where people could say what they wanted. The exec’s also had a soccer team who played the “rest of the company”. I suppose either you get it or you don’t. Much of that attitude he learned at MBA School. His number two was also pretty savvy - ex Dean of Science at the uni. Understands communities.
PS sorry I didn’t reply to the comments before - missed them. I agree sport is a good place to learn organizing skills. So are computer games. And the military is better than nothing. At least you learn to “play in position” [position, pace, possession - All Blacks]
We might need to take a step back to show people how much fun it is to work with the troops
PPS The Brits can’t do peacekeeping with other European countries because of the officer-”men” divide. Even the Germans find that strange.
The Military using SM, for what purpose would be the first question…
Actually, we had a British Army officer come to MediaCampBucks, he is an instructor, charged with training our future officers, the future Chief of Staffs..
He is interested in the collaborative nature of Web 2.0, and here I fully embrace the tools, (though I think Web 2.0 is a stupid name). I was using collaborative tools for education years before the term arrived.. however..
Yes, the military OR more accurately any learning environment can only yield deeper learning experience from using collaborative channels. I have a slight issue in calling it social media, as it seems to be technologies which have been used for years before the “buzz phrase”.
But the military using SM, really, you mean troops blogging whilst on the frontline, how can a country at war then use effective propoganda to help win the battle?
We must be careful of asking questions that define a problem as intractable.
I would love to talk to this guy. The military is usually ahead of everyone else with regard to management theory. Command-and-control is researched - not just tossed off as an insult.
The rule-of-thumb that I am currently experimenting with is “what would we be doing otherwise?”
I wouldn’t be detracted by the catchphrases. Rather look up Robert/Raymond Katz - 3 skills of management. His conceptual is totally misunderstood. Some people have 0 organizational acumen (and very few HR people have any at all). Or check post 3 on NLabs - Andrea’s 9 competencies - we have lost one. Do people understand the process of mobilizing others.
Yes some people have it. Increasingly the institutions where you learn it have been dismantled. Check “I love bees” for a great example.
I am enjoying reading the blog entries debating the value,measurement, tangibility, future musings and academic theories surrounding Social Media and related buzz words. Sadly I have to admit it makes me feel a little stupid as it’s dialog far beyond what my brain can produce. I use it, apply it, learn from it an try and answer the questions asked of me when the Web 2 beast and related children pops in to conversations. Reading the conversations surrounding the phenomenon helps we define my practice and verbalise why it works and how it can flourish.
For example
A couple of nights ago I was promoting a Facebook group of Pilot Theatre’s Shift Happens event about converging technologies in the creative industries on Facebook. We have a live web feed to Mogulus of the main speakers. I visited 11 groups I am subscribed to and posted a link inviting people to join the group and about the live feed. I made a note of the members subscribed to the 11 groups. With in an hour I had distributed a very specific event to an audience directly interested in the theatre, creative industries and converging technologies… 63,385
I will be monitoring
a. How many join the group not already in Pilot Theatre’s followers list.
b. How many we get watching the stream on the day.
Hi CJ
OK, so your maximum potential reach is 63, 385 and the people they speak to: so about 500K for one hour’s work. That feels good.
These is the question I am going to ask you -
What message do you expect back? And would it be mashed, or just, a click?
What do you mean by “message expected back” and “would it be mashed or just, a click?”
I mean what kind of reply might a person send you? And what will you do with the reply when you get it?
Ahhhh… The purpose of the Facebook message was to get people to join the Shift Happens Facebook group and promote the live stream on the 3 July. It took 30mins and cost nothing. We have already sold out for the real life event and as its my task to run and monitor the Social Media channels on the day any views at all will be a bonus. The event was being filmed and I suggested we stream to the Internet and thats going ahead (so no extra expense)As for the Facebook group any additional members not on our existing lists will be a source of new potential audience members for the live shows or virtual viewers for the live Second Life experience next Spring.
Not the monetary evidence in terms of value but invaluable to see what works and what doesn’t. Its the joy of arts funding you make it go a long way and experimentation comes with the job and love of it.
When we do our next audience survey the social media channels will feature for comment i expect. That will be the only time we ask for feedback. In the mean time its about encouraging participation.
Ok, so my question might be then, what kind of response might people want to make? And how could you encourage it?
[Genuine question: I am not so good at this online]
I know we will talk about this at MediaCamp.
Thinking about what responses the audience of the message want to make is an excellent question. How to encourage it is also an excellent question. I am probably a little nieve and on the bottom of a very steep learning curve so at the moment its shinny things and magpies come to mind. From a theatrical point of view its spectacle and curiosity I’m looking to engage on. I’m in constant dialogue when I meet up with people about Social Media and online communities. To seed a community and inspire a following good content, interesting debate, insightful musings are essential. You can’t make them join in but you can make them wish they could. With Web 2 the beauty is they can. But will they!