The Marketing Message Blog

User Created Content 2.0?

It's inevitable that web content would get better.  No, not more interesting, better looking.  All the amateur video and unfocused photos cry out for improvement.  Jeremy Caplan reports in Time Magazine that we'll see this in Spinning the Web Toward Quality.

User created content is ready for it's 2.0 'closeup.'  An image site called picnik.com can help you edit your photos with very little photography knowledge.  Users expectations will be raised when they see full screen, high quality video coming from Joost and others.  YouTube videos will have the same quaint feeling that TV had in the 1950s.

If you have been using this 'raw' quality to justify your website's cheesy graphics and home-made quality, beware.  Expectations will be rising.

Lease the Good Life! No long-term commitment required!

People used to aspire to the good life as they defined it.  Conspicuous consumption ruled the day.  But no more!  Now, it's all about 'experiencing' the good life—no long-term commitment required.  You can lease the car of your dreams, rent a yacht, take trendy luxury vacations and wear all manner of designer duds on loan.

Time Magazine's, Style and Design issue, Spring 2007 reports on "The Leasing Life" by Alice Park.  This trend has been slowing making its way to a tipping point.  It's really important for small business owners to take note. 

Much has been made about storytelling for the 21st century.  Now the story becomes one that you have to not only make appealing to your customer.  You have to make it easy for the customer to tell that story to all their friends.  That means you need to change your job description.  Think about it.

When is Being Influential a Bad Thing?

According to the article in the NY Times, being influential can be a bad thing—at least when you're in a bad mood. Check out Sunny or Cloudy, Moods Cast an Influence in the Career Couch column by Phyllis Korkki.

It's not your imagination.  When you're in a bad mood or a good one, you influence those around you. Ms. Korkki notes, "in groups, people unconsciously tend to mimic the demeanor of those around them."   If you're a business owner, your negative tone could be sabotaging the creativity of your colleagues! 

When you are the chief promoter, strategy planner and content producer, you need to make sure you are leading your troops to victory. It's easy to obsess and focus on what's wrong to the exclusion of what you and others are doing right.   

The good news is, you can make negativity work for you when you have a killer deadline at hand.  Jennifer George at Rice University tells us that, "people in bad moods tend to be more realistic , more self critical and more attuned to detail."  So you can use a bad mood in a positive way if you work at it.  Nobody said management was easy.

Influenced any spiders lately?

I just finished Cat Seda's new book, "How to Win Sales and Infuence Spiders: Boosting Your Business & Buzz on the Web." (See required reading.)  Seda is a well-known SEO consultant and this book doesn't dissapoint.  It's not a 'techie book' so don't let that scare you. 

I particularly enjoyed the section on "Networking in Social Media."  I've been working with my clients to use Social Media Marketing to their advantage and she offers a good big picture view. 

I would distill the message to be —take an interest in what others are doing and let them know what you like.  It's easy to notice the good work of others.  For most creative and entrepreneurial types its much easier than trying to blow your own horn.  The results are usually better, too.