Be Careful Who Your Friends Are

As more and more layers of the Google v China spy activity and accusations continue to get peeled back this onion really is starting to stink a bit. It appears as if the victims of “Googlegate” (you like that one?) were not just those labeled as human rights activists. In fact, it has been discovered that friends of employees of many of the companies that were attacked were targeted as well.

The Financial Times Reports

Personal friends of employees at Google, Adobe and other companies were targeted by hackers in a string of recently disclosed cyberattacks, raising privacy concerns and pointing to a highly sophisticated operation, security experts said.

The most significant discovery is that the attackers had selected employees at the companies with access to proprietary data, then learnt who their friends were. The hackers compromised the social network accounts of those friends, hoping to enhance the probability that their final targets would click on the links they sent.

This can certainly be a little disconcerting for those who are friends of these employees of the various companies who say things like “I can’t tell you that or I’d have to kill you.” It’s been said it’s good to have friends in high places but in this world that can be trouble.

McAffe has been keeping tabs on this situation for many reasons. George Kurtz, chief technology officer had this to say.

McAfee discovered that a previously unknown flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer had been used in the attacks. Mr Kurtz said the attackers also used one of the most popular instant messaging programmes to induce victims to click on a link that installed spy software.

Well, that’s what you get when you use IE instead of your own company’s browser, huh? I suspect there were some Googlers getting an earful about that aspect of this story.

So how does this impact those in the Internet marketing industry? Probably too early to tell but one has to suspect that as more and more security holes are discovered and capitalized on there will be more and more need to lock down systems. As systems become more closed it will be harder to reach people with marketing techniques and messages. The reality is that while the Internet marketing industry doesn’t try to make a big deal about it security concerns are a tremendous threat to commerce on the Internet. This quote sums it up.

Sam Curry, vice-president of security firm RSA, said: “This is a loud message for the commercial world, which is: wake up, this isn’t all happiness and goodness and new business.

“Doing business on the internet is as risky as sending ships through the Panama Canal.”

Having never been on a ship or sent anything on a ship that has gone through the Panama Canal I can’t speak to just how bad that is but the point is that doing business on the Internet may look different in the future more because of security and less because of innovation.

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Cup of Joe: Wabi-sabi Isn’t that Green Stuff On Your Sushi!

In college I got a minor in Art History, a topic that I wish I could study more. At the time I had no idea that I would one day work in the marketing industry. Now, I see tons of overlapping concepts of art and marketing. I think I will discuss some of these ideas every now and then in this weekly column. In marketing we use artists and designers every day to create ads and materials. What I am going to talk about is artistic concepts that drive the way we view and talk about the world around us. So if you are looking for design tips, this isn’t the right column!

So to start things off, I think we should get our hands dirty and talk a bit about Wabi-sabi. No, I am not talking about the spicy sushi condiment. Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that is based on exposing imperfections. Wabi-sabi enthusiast will tell you that imperfections are a mark of the true nature of all things, because we all know that nothing is perfect. By exposing imperfections it creates an image of authenticity. Those that adhere to the ideals of Wabi-sabi will find beauty in the scratches on your new iPhone. They point to the weeds in your garden as evidence of rich soil. And, they might also appreciate a bit of gray hair as a sign of wisdom.

Understanding how to appreciate imperfections can be a truly powerful talent. However, merely identifying them can be beneficial as well. Julien Smith, tells us in doing so we can develop a a more defined taste:

Ugly things don’t just make you think; they also unbalance you, and connect with you emotionally over time. All of this makes you different, developing your sense of taste and what you think of as acceptable.

So how can developing a Wabi-sabi mindset help your marketing efforts? Let’s take a look at a few key areas.

You’re not a robot

Most social media marketers will tell you that automating social media is a bad idea. Most of the times they will point toward a breakdown in authentic interaction. But an often overlooked negative aspect of automation is its precision. Automation software rarely makes spelling mistakes. They are predictable, and easily ignored. The problem is that precision lacks character. If you never make a mistake, and always deliver expected content or interaction on time, then you are void of character. Brands need to make mistakes, they need to be slightly unpredictable. In doing so they are revealing themselves as human and truly authentic. They need to be a bit Wabi-sabi.

Imperfections break the mold.

Last week I mentioned that all the smart phones look the same. It’s because they are all trying to be perfect while forgetting to be unique. When you try something different, you are accepting the possibility of creating new imperfections. You are venturing into uncharted waters where you can define your own normalities. When you are trying to break the mold, you are going to get things dirty and you are going to make an imperfect product. But the beauty is your brand is in charge. You can say that yes there are imperfections, but that’s the point.

Imperfections create authenticity

Wabi-sabi is the leading paradigm behind the distressed furniture fad. Here we see furniture that has been worn and weathered to give an antiqued facade. This faux authenticity is dependent on imperfections. Imperfections create an impression of transience, one that draws the consumer with a “timeless” appeal.

Now before you go and start adding imperfections to everything you see, remember every good artist knows when to stop! If your brand or product is saturated with imperfections it won’t look more authentic, it will just look like….well, crap. So the true art of Wabi-sabi is finding the right harmony between precision and imperfection. I promise, if you can do that you will be on your way to making your brand more authentic in no time!

Facebook Receives News of A Merry Christmas Indeed

While most of us in the Internet marketing “industry” were all aghast at the Facebook privacy problem of ’09, the rest of the world could have cared less. You know those people, right? The ones who don’t live and breathe this stuff to the point that all perspective is lost? These are the ‘everyday’ Facebook users who don’t give a rip about Mark Zuckerberg and the continued search for 7,000 people who care enough to impact any policy changes with the social media giant.

So those regular folks pushed Facebook to a point where it had never been before: the number one site during the Christmas holiday. ReadWriteWeb tells us

Christmas is a holiday that brings people together, so perhaps it should be no surprise that Facebook has become a part of millions of peoples’ Christmas experiences. For the first time in its history, Facebook was the #1 most visited website in the United States on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, according to traffic analyst firm Hitwise today.

Makes sense doesn’t it? Personally I was more prone to using Skype rather than updating everyone but that is certainly a personal preference.

So while the site finished third for the year behind Google and Yahoo Mail it was certainly a milestone to be seen as the Christmas site of choice. Last year Facebook finished second in this contest to Google but was able to flip positions this year.

See what a year of gigantic growth can do for you? Wonder if Santa will be as nice to Facebook next year after the rest of the world catches on that their “goings on” at Facebook aren’t as private as they used to be?

Small Business Marketing Efforts Point to E-Mail and Social Media in 2010

Often we forget the little guy, the SMB, in our discussions of the comings and goings of the Internet marketing industry. Sure there are times like this when a report surfaces talking about their issues and concerns but, for the most part, we like to talk about big brands and how they do the Internet marketing thing well or not so well.

Of course, when you consider that 95% of the businesses in the US are considered an SMB of some shape or size it should make one think a little more about the impact this market segment has in the overall scheme of things. Unfortunately, ‘too big to fail’ bailouts don’t await the little guy. Instead the SMB needs to make due with what they have and be as smart about how they spend their marketing dollars as possible.

The Center for Media Research has released a study by Vertical Response that shows just where many of these ‘Main Street’ players are going with their online dollars. The big winners: e-mail and social media. With only 3.8% of small business folks NOT planning on using e-mail marketing and with social media carrying the perception of being free (which they so rudely discover it is far from free) this should make some in the banner and search crowd a little wary.

I suppose the question is just what does increased use of social media mean? Will there be money put toward it or will it just be that the effort by the SMB social media practitioner (usually also referred to as the business owner) is increased. We’ll see.

This quote from helps to frame something that most know already but have had a hard time changing.

Janine Popick, VerticalResponse CEO and founder, says “… small businesses continue to allocate portions of their budget to… email and social media, despite the downturn in the economic climate… (but) marketers (still) need to help small businesses to see the value of integrating search engine marketing… into their campaigns.”

Honestly, I am a little confused by some of the findings here because in the next breath we see the following:

According to the study, the most important tool for small businesses to succeed in 2010 is search engine marketing, while email marketing, public relations and social media cited as crucial for success.

23.8% of all small businesses reported that search engine marketing was the tool most needed for their business to succeed in 2010.

So which is it? Do they or don’t they use or want to use search marketing? Or is the better question can they or can’t they? Maybe the way that these findings seem a bit muddy is just a reflection of the struggles that many businesses have with the shift from traditional marketing to the online space.

In 2010 it looks like the rubber is really hitting the road as the Internet marketing industry matures while many may end up just being left behind.

Your thoughts?

Where Can Google Be Beaten?

Ad Age today summarize the state of the search engine marketing industry—and it’s largely good, including the fact that we’ve weathered the recession well so far, we’ve seen tremendous growth over our lifespan and most marketers are convinced of, interested in or doing SEM in some form.

Naturally, the report focuses on the elephant in the room—the biggest search engine in the world. Google dominates the search market in almost every country of the world—but there are a few places where competitors might be able to find a chink in Google’s armor.

Bingahoo is cited as one possible challenger, although by the measure Ad Age is using, a combined Yahoo/Bing share would be 26% to Google’s 65% of the market. However, Bing has shown notable success, including a report from Nielsen in July:

According to Nielsen data from July for the U.S., 27% of Google searchers also used Bing at least once that month, and 39% used Yahoo. Of course, the same holds true for Bing and Yahoo searchers — a majority of them also use Google.

We saw similar reports on low search-engine loyalty back in February as well, even before Bing and its marketing blitz. But the fact that people are at least trying Bing bodes well for Microsoft—since CEO Steve Ballmer pledged to spend up to 10% of MSFT’s operating income a year to pushing Bing to the top of the heap (up to $2b/yr).

The other major area is mobile search. While lots of people do turn to Google for their mobile search, just like they do with . . . “immobile” search—and Android is helping with that—Ad Age reports that the number of mobile Internet devices outweighs the number of computers—which means that lots of mobile Internet users don’t have a desktop habit of Googling. Instead, they may use whatever default their service provider or phone includes (again with the Android).

What do you think? Does it really matter if Google is so dominant in the search industry, or is fine and dandy (as long as they don’t penalize your site)? Can they be beaten?

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Don’t Read This, If You’re a Social Media Guru

There’s not much going on in the internet marketing industry this morning. I suspect everyone ate too much candy.

While they recover from their belly aches, I’m going to do a little "belly aching" myself.

I’ve noticed–as have others–that there’s a growing number of people referring to themselves as social media "gurus," "experts," and "geniuses" (OK, maybe I made up that last one). What’s interesting is that many–note, I said "many" not "all"–of these self-labeled gurus have achieved nothing more than fame for being famous. In other words, peel back that first layer and you discover that they’ve not actually accomplished much in their social media guru career.

In fact, many of them remind me of Lovelace from Happy Feet. He was in the right place, at the right time, and managed to convince his peers that he was a wise and gifted seer. The same goes for many social media penguins.

Sure, they have lots of Twitter follower, but that’s easy to do–when you follow everyone back. Yes, they share lots of links, they speak at lots of conferences, and are the first person to whip out their iPhone at a Tweetup. But, ask them about their business successes and all they can offer up is that they helped such-and-such to "engage" their followers, or added a 1,000 friends to Company X’s Facebook fan page.

Whoop-de-doo!

Where’s the increase in revenues? Point me to some of your client successes. Heck, show me where you’ve personally made money from your social media skillz!

Not that there aren’t any social media experts out there. Of course there are, they just don’t go around telling others how connected they are. They simply roll-up their sleeves and get on with it. They are in the trenches. They’ve used Facebook to add actual dollars to their bottom line. They’ve created a blog that increased the number of newspaper mentions. They’ve measured a decline in customer service costs because of their Twitter account. In other words, they’re so busy making social media work for them, they don’t actually have time to care about becoming the Mayor of the local Starbucks on Foursquare.

So, why am I writing this? As I said, it’s a slow news day. OK, seriously, why am I writing this? Because I see far too many people that are the real experts in social media, but feel dejected, deflated, and despondent, because they don’t have 100,000 Twitter followers, don’t speak at the latest "we’re all great social media pros" conference, and don’t get the recognition from their boss–let alone their peers.

So, this is not so much an attack on social media gurus, but a pat on the back and an "attaboy" or "attagirl" to those of you that have much to show for your efforts–even if the only Twitter List you’ve made it on, is your own. You’re doing great. You’re as much as a guru as anyone else. Keep at it!

As I write this, I’m fully aware that the above is in some ways no different from the "seo snake oil" commentaries I have been quick to attack in the past. If you feel that’s the case, go ahead and attack this post. But keep in mind, if you have the time to critique this opinion piece, you might just be one of the ones that I’m talking about. Those that are truly the social media experts are busy building their business, so don’t have time for debates such as this.

PS. I am not a social media expert or guru. I just try to get the job done.

Cup of Joe: The Danger Of Being Oz

Thursday marked the 70th anniversary of the film classic The Wizard of Oz. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Dorothy discovers the true identity of the Wizard. This scene is symbolic of many political and social truths in our society.

Coincidentally, we saw this same scene play out in the Internet marketing industry this week. On Wednesday, Seth Godin, launched Brands in Public. In short the program aggregates mentions of brands from different social media sites to a single page on Godin’s Squidoo. While Godin claims that he consulted many brand managers about this idea and they all supported it, there was a barrage of criticism from folks in the Internet marketing industry. Most of the criticism drew attention to the fact that Godin himself has been a champion of transparent marketing tactics such as “permission based marketing” however, this program seeks to leverage the hard work of other brand builders with out their permission.

It appeared on Wednesday that Godin’s curtain was pulled aside and his true identity revealed. As the scarecrow might say, “You humbug!” Despite all of his high ideals and transparent philosophies, Godin is looking more like a spammer than the international marketing guru we have learned to love. Perhaps, Seth Godin’s true genius isn’t in his books or his blog, but rather in his ability to market himself as a champion of transparency while simultaneously hiding his true agenda behind his own emerald curtain.

In all fairness, Friday, Godin released details about changes that the Brands in Public program will be taking. Now, they will only create a page for a brand if the company requests it, and the company will have joint control of the page. This seems to be in direct response to the surge of criticism on Wednesday. It’s a positive turn of events, but the question that I have now: Is Godin’s curtain now permanently open? Now that we have seen Godin behind the curtain will he begin being truly transparent?

The Biggest Danger of Personal Branding

The biggest danger of personal branding is not in failing, but succeeding. To have a successful, well known personal brand means that you are held at an extremely high level of scrutiny. Your supporters and brand enthusiast will have high expectations that you must reach.

Because of this you must be careful to always be sincere and engage in an honest dialog. If you can do this successfully then when your emerald curtain is pulled aside there won’t be any surprises!

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Twitter Conferences Are In

As part of the Internet marketing industry have you done the conference circuit? Have you been to SES, SMX (put cardinal direction here), Adtech, PubCon etc, etc? On a yearly basis how many of these trips can you justify or get away with? Well, with shrinking budgets everywhere now you have to add the new spate of Twitter conferences to your hit list of things you absolutely have to do to get out of the office learn more about the industry.

TechCrunch tells us of the growing list of conferences that are starting to sprout up as a result of the use of (or confusion around the use of) Twitter for business purposes.

It looks like the trend of Twitter conferences is growing, with more events popping up around the country. As we’ve said in the past and will continue to say, there are tremendous opportunities for businesses, brands, non-profits and individuals to use Twitter as a tool for customer support, fund raising, brand management, advertising, job search and much more.

I have not attended one but I can imagine they must be pretty quiet because everyone is likely to be talking to everyone but those right in front of them. I gotta tell ya that when someone tweets that they are talking to someone I wonder if they are even listening to them or concentrating on their 140 characters of brilliance they are allowing the rest of their audience to ingest.

Of course, if you attended the 140 Character Conference in New York in June the venue itself (which was literally underground) forced Twitterheads to actually listen to others since there was practically no connectivity for the attendees.

Twitter is so fascinating in that it appears that so many folks are finding ways to monetize the service without the service monetizing itself. At least with Google (which face it, is why most of these conferences exist in the first place) makes money and knows that these conferences will only help it make more.

So if you are tired of the usual shows and you need more opportunities to ‘network’ then think about these:

• TWTRCN 09 DC- for non profits and government types. October 22 in Washington, DC.
• 140 Twitter Conference / LA – Endorsed by Biz Stone. Need we say more? September in Los Angeles (for those who didn’t get the LA part of the title).
• 140 Characters Twitter Conference – Jeff Pulver’s deal goes west coast on October 27th in Los Angeles.
• Cool Twitter Conferences- Apparently this is a traveling road show that has stops scheduled in Boston and San Francisco.

So don’t miss your chance to blow off work get out and learn more about Twitter and the future of communications. Hotel bars in the areas of these meetings can’t wait to serve you!

Internet Marketer Alert! The Government is Coming! The Government is Coming!

It looks like the Internet marketing industry could be staring at an age of government regulation and oversight that could change online advertising in major ways. While this kind of news should come as no surprise based on the new age of government intervention in business it is still enough to make even the most seasoned online marketer take notice.

The New York Times tells of how things could look very different for the online advertisers in the future

The new head of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, David C. Vladeck, says it is time for that to change. In an interview, Mr. Vladeck outlined plans that could upset the online advertising ecosystem. Privacy policies have become useless, the commission’s standards for the cases it reviews are too narrow, and some online tracking is “Orwellian,” Mr. Vladeck said.

Privacy is a serious matter for sure and it should be. Vladeck appears to be on a fast track, however, to creating sweeping change if he gets his wish.

In June, the commission settled a case with Sears that was a warning shot to companies that thought their privacy policies protected them. In just over six weeks on the job, he has asked Congress for a bigger budget and for a streamlined way to create regulations. And he said he would hire technologists to help analyze online marketers’ tracking.

“These are pretty aggressive moves for an agency of a new administration,” said Charles Kennedy, who handles privacy cases at Morrison & Foerster.

Experts are calling for caution as sweeping change could upset the Internet economy. Considering the fact that the Internet is one of the few industries that is performing well in the current economy would it be prudent to just come in after 8 years of a pro-business stance and pull the rug out from under the business? Vladeck has already said that the industry’s attempts to police itself are not good enough and is meeting with industry execs to talk about the issue.

“The frameworks that we’ve been using historically for privacy are no longer sufficient,” Mr. Vladeck said.

As seen in the Sears case where consumers were paid $10 to install software that then tracked them with their consent it is no longer good enough to tell people what they are signing up for and thus be protected under the law.

Sears had included information about tracking in its user license agreement, but that wasn’t good enough anymore, Mr. Vladeck said.

OK folks so it looks like the Internet marketing industry doesn’t have the support of Washington with the current state of affairs. Also, what once was may not be anymore. While it is early, it appears as if Vladeck is bent on making his mark. What is your take on this? Reason for concern or just some DC bluster? Let us hear you. This one could be real important.

Bingahoo Not a Slam Dunk for More Ad Dollars

We know that the ink from Steve Ballmer’s huge pen is barely dry on the documents that christen the new era (or error) of the online marketing industry but inquiring minds want to know whether the masses are on board. In this case, the masses are advertisers who are going to need to gather intelligence regarding the true potential impact of how they allocate search ad spend in the future. This new kid on the block is not even out of the ‘corporate offspring’ nursery unit and polls are taking place as to whether advertisers intend to spend more money with the Baby Micro-Yahooy. ClickZ offers its take

[Advertisers] When asked, in light of the outsourcing agreement, “will you increase your search spend with Microsoft/Yahoo?”, 63 percent said they would not. “No” votes were cast by 169 out of a total 267 respondents.

Since we are somewhere in the range of at least two years minimum from a full execution of this pairing (or execution of the responsible parties) I suspect that there is little concern in the Microhoo camp regarding the early polls.

What is interesting, however, are some of early reasons for this kind of early take on the new entity.

Despite general optimism that the agreement will establish a viable competitor to Google, search advertisers are fearful that some of their favorite Yahoo search advertising functions may disappear. And, ever attuned to ROI, they say it wouldn’t make sense to pledge to increase investment before first testing how their Microsoft adCenter-created campaigns perform on Yahoo and on Yahoo’s syndication partners.

Sounds reasonable enough. Since none of us have a real sense of what this whole offering will look like we can choose to speculate and wring our hands over what may or may not be gained / lost. In the meantime, since most people have a business to run between now and several years down the line it will likely be business as usual. While we remain on the edge of our seats for the inevitable barrage of PR and corporate ‘looks into the future’ that will be thrown into the media hopper by Microhoosoft let’s keep our focus on things that actually are rolled out and usable. Until then what’s the point?

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