Posts filed under 'Online Communities'
Posted July 11th, 2007 by admin
The Live Earth event on Saturday, July 7, was announced as the most significant musical event in the 21th century by some and completely dismissed by others. In any case, it was a grand effort to raise global awareness of a problem that we can all try to do something about. I watched it from the floor of Giant Stadium in New Jersey.
The ten hours in the hot New Jersey sun were well worth my money – I saw more bands line up in one day than I have across my entire lifetime (not that that’s very long). The crowds that stayed at home and watched the 24-hour broadcast from seven continents (yes, including Antartica) broke the streaming viewership record: more than 10 million hits (as a compared with the previous record holder, the Live 8 event in 2005 which had 2.9 million). And not only did we witness great performances by great artists, we also heard them speak about saving our planet in a generally sincere way.
Some of the celebrities talked about creating a new movement and starting a revolution. That sounds very 20th century to me. My Eastern European upbringing taught me that revolutions have a way to go sour. Instead, I’m all for raising awareness and trend setting as the new vehicles of change in this century. Al Gore laid out his seven pledges that he wants people to sign. I opted to choose my own seven things that I hope to get out of this experience, because it’s not about my signature on a piece of paper – it’s about what I do to help save the planet.
#1 I heard loud and clear from the celebrities who candidly admitted that they sin against the environment daily and pledged to do something about it. It’s always hard to change bad habits and then it takes extra effort to stay disciplined about it. If you ask me, one of the best quotes from the event came from the pretty Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz, comparing environmentalism with working out – “…you’re only gonna do it if it’s convenient for you. Cause the first day you’re like ‘I’m totally gonna do it!’ and then the next couple of days you don’t.”
#2 The variety of performances and appearances are what made this event great. Yes, most people watched because of entertainment, not because they are so concerned about the Earth, but in the meantime they got to hear their favorites deliver a simple message. It ranged from Madonna’s capstone “Hey You” broadcast from London and Melissa Etheridge’s sermon-like performance, through Petra Nemcova’s Tsunami survival confession and Cameron Diaz’s and Leonardo DiCaprio’s presence in support of their friend, Al Gore, to Jon Bon Jovi and Sting’s no commentary style. Seriously, how many blondes will it take to persuade you to change those light bulbs?
#3 Many journalists and bloggers talked about how celebrities are being hypocritical by not practicing what they preach in their over consumption of non-eco friendly goods and modes of transportation. But I think we are also hypocritical because we love to watch them go over the top. Celebrities are ultimately business people who supply what we demand. Why hasn’t Ed Begley Jr.’s house been on MTV Cribs yet? Plus, greening your home seems like a lot of fun to me and it helps save a ton of money. So let’s demand more green and less bling. Soon enough there will be MTV Green Cribs. In fact, there already was a Green Pimp My Ride.
#4 And speaking of rides, I loved the backdrop of the stage made of old tires. Recycle, reuse and renew are the three verbs that I really believe can make a difference. If you are like me and love to build stuff from scratch, finding creative ways to reuse something will leave you with a great feeling. For those who know me, I’m big on renewable energy, too. It’s the way of the future!
#5 One of the most bizarre messages was the Live Earth one-minute spot of livestock ‘pooping’ on camera to emphasize the CO2 emissions that this produces. Most of the crowd turned their heads and looked away. To me this was a good metaphor for the ‘inconvenient truth’ which we don’t want to face. We need to break the nasty habits we have practiced for years or we will see cities like New York, London, Amsterdam and Boston under water within our lifetimes. It will be hard to look away then. Call it awakening, call it preemptive action or call it whatever you want. Just snap out of it already and start making a change!
#6 Save energy and fuel. In my days as a poor student I learned the habits of using public transportation, carpooling and turning off appliances that are not in use. I’m keeping those habits in case I do become rich and famous.
#7 I did notice how overwhelmingly young the crowd was at the concert, considering that Bon Jovi, Roger Waters and the Police were the three major acts. The low TV viewership ratings raise further concern that some people are turning a blind eye. (There were, however, complaints about foul language.) The message needs to reach all generations. The issue has been heavily politicized, but disaster will not care about political views when it strikes. I don’t have the answer for dealing with the political problems of going green, but I hope the message does reach all humankind.
Posted July 9th, 2007 by admin
Colin Smith is a “Do Everything Social Web” guy. He participates in the coolest social networks, belongs to the most cutting edge communities and utilizes the newest services in web. A day in the life of Colin goes like this:
7:00AM: Wakes up and gets ready for work. He logs on to Pownce , MySpace, Facebook and Wallop to see if he has received any messages or files from his friends.
8:00AM: Orders his breakfast at Diningin to pick up on his way to the office. While riding the bus he uses his iPhone to check The New York Times for the day’s headlines, peruses through his unread mail and updates his Twitter status to “heading to the office…sunny day finally!”
8:45AM: Upon arriving at the office he realizes that he forgot to pick up his laundry. He logs on to Domystuff to outsource doing his laundry to someone else. He also hires a dog walker to walk Victor, his French bulldog at noon.
12:00PM: After a long morning of calls and meetings Colin decides to switch it up to CampusFood for his favorite chicken parmesan sub from a pizzeria near his apartment.
3:00PM: Colin catches a break and decides to explore his new neighborhood at FatDoor. He learns about his neighbors’ dog club, finds a golf partner one block from his apartment and joins a peer mentoring volunteer group in the nearby middle school.
6:30PM: Colin realizes he’ll be late to his friend’s birthday party at his favorite bar in town. He decides to buy him and his friends a round of birthday cocktails at BuyYourFriendaDrink. His friend receives a text message moments later with a message saying, “Happy B-Day…working a bit late but will be there by 8 PM”. The text includes a drink code that validates his free drinks at the bar.
Colin is an example of the millions of innovators and early adapters that are integrating their everyday activities with the services and novelties of the social web. I predict that at this pace it will take less than five years for the social web to connect people with every service across all industries.
Posted June 28th, 2007 by Kevin
Last week, Digital Influence Group Chairman, Larry Weber, celebrated the release of his new book, Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business, with a launch party at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, Mass. Drawing on his three decades of experience, Larry provides a roadmap for all marketers looking to harness the power of the social web to enhance brand awareness and create effective customer communities. The early reviews are in and here is what people are saying about the book:
• “The Social Web is an intriguing but scary place for marketers,” said Josh Bernoff, Vice President at Forrester Research and co-author of Groundswell, an upcoming book on business strategy and social technologies. “Marketing to the Social Web is the guide you need to enter this world with confidence. Let Larry Weber take your hand and show you around – you’ll profit from it.”
• “Larry has brought pragmatic and useful recommendations to help brand builders manage the complexity of social interaction in a digital age. I was pleased to read a book that actually suggests how to do something with social networks, instead of just ponder them.” – David Kenny, Chairman and CEO, Digitas Inc.
• “Where’s the allure of social 2.0? Brands can talk…customers talk louder! Digital influence has arrived.” – Jeff Taylor, CEO, Eons and Founder of Monster.com.
• “Larry Weber provides a simple and effective roadmap of the new customer information highway. Marketing to the Social Web is a valuable tool that will give everyone the confidence and know-how to compete in this fast-growing marketplace of ideas.” – Steve Harris, Vice President, Global Communications, General Motors Corporation.
Of course, in the spirit of the social web, we want to hear reviews from some of the lucky few who were able to get their hands on a copy of the book already. We’re happy to answer questions and will keep you updated on the progress of the book as more news becomes available.
If you’re interested in learning more or purchasing a copy, please visit the books site here.
Posted June 26th, 2007 by admin
The Social Web is a powerful vehicle for responsible social change. Thinking of the social web as MySpace and Facebook is like thinking of AOL as the Internet. Have you ever thought about how the Social Web is helping prevent family abuse across the country? How about how the Social Web is empowering activists to rebuild African societies, end poverty and provide education to remote villages around the world?
Thanks to the all mighty Social Web, in just 3 months StopFamilyViolence.com organized people from across the US who sent more than 164,000 messages and made countless phone calls to Congress to pass crucial legislation and extend funding to stop domestic violence. StopFamilyViolence benefits from the support of online communities like Netsquared.org which helps non-profit organizations and passionate activists adopt social web tools. Organizations like Kabissa.org are committed to nurturing African civil society organizations by providing them with information and communication technologies (ICTs) necessary to benefit the people they serve. Kabissa’s programs include: enabling organizations to access the power of the social web, empowering organizations to integrate the Internet into their work, and encouraging interaction between African organizations through their social network.
Cause-related social networks like MyKenyanSpace.com, NABUUR.com, and TakingITGlobal.org are nurturing communities of activists around the world by giving them access to networks of knowledge, mutual support, and financial resources on a scale that otherwise would be next to impossible. I think the day has finally come in which ONE person CAN actually make a difference.
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