What social media really is.

Ten brilliant people I admire - among them John V Willshire, Mark Earls, Faris Yakob and Neil Perkin - people who always are open for discussions from
across a wide range of communications disciplines in the UK and the US are sharing their thoughts at next tuesdays IPA Social 03. 

Here´s their 10 Principles. I suggest you read them and engage by commenting on each of the participants blogs. 


How newspapers can survive and thrive both off- and online.

Two ideas on how newspapers can survive and thrive off- and online. 

1. Publish daily print newspapers but don´t try to pretend it´s the latest breaking news. Solely focus on indepth stories about current big news and print loads of hard facts/data around each story - as much as possible. Include and profile contributors that initiated or published great comments on your online site - who is not necessary paid for or employed by you.

2. Turn your online site to a filtered news site where you include and implement user generated news at the same level as your paid journalists. Actually your journalists should be more of a conversation starter and filterer on this platform. Make it possible to filter as much as possible; sports, soccer, soccer team, soccer player, contributor and make it possible to follow content and development on twitter, email, mobile app alert and integrate facebook connect or emulate sidewiki . Make it possible to filter on location - as hyperlocal as possible.

I think that was basically it... 

We are no longer in need of facts - Find the ideas and answers!

Just read about Ed Cotton´s thoughts around the new "Did you know 4.0" video and his comments resonated with me; 

"Yes, we´ve heard all of these facts billion times before and it´s basically the same old story. We are no longer in need of facts, the change is undeniable, we don't need to build a case anymore, what we need instead are the harder to find ideas and answers. I think it takes more than a Google search to get those."

There should be more focus on HOW you succeed in a marketplace that´s becoming more and more socialized - instead of focusing on the change itself. A first step might be to stop retweeting/posting facts and start posting ideas. Just an idea...

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"Twitter is the nail in the coffin of Web 2.0"

"Does Web 2.0 Lead to Democracy -- or Feudalism?

Is it possible that Web 2.0 will actually lead to a completely unexpected form of Internet "feudalism" in which an entrenched tech-savvy elite -- people who you follow, not those who follow you -- exert an inordinate amount of power, influence and control over the future growth and development of the Web?"

Andrew Keen also says:
With the end of the industrial revolution, “we” essentially are now “the product”.

> Resistance is always good. But is in fact a valid point here? What do you think. 


Nielsen; The amount of time spent surfing social networking and blogging sites had tripled since last year (US)

"In August 2009, 17 percent of all time spent on the Internet was at social networking sites, up from 6 percent in August 2008.

Among those taking note of this trend: advertisers.  Estimated online advertising spending on the top social network and blogging sites increased 119 percent, from approximately $49 million in August 2008 to approximately $108 million in August 2009 – all despite a recession. Share of estimated spend on these sites has doubled, from 7 percent of online ad spend in 2008 to 15 percent in 2009."




Nielsen; The amount of time spent surfing social networking and blogging sites had tripled since last year (US)

"In August 2009, 17 percent of all time spent on the Internet was at social networking sites, up from 6 percent in August 2008.

Among those taking note of this trend: advertisers.  Estimated online advertising spending on the top social network and blogging sites increased 119 percent, from approximately $49 million in August 2008 to approximately $108 million in August 2009 – all despite a recession. Share of estimated spend on these sites has doubled, from 7 percent of online ad spend in 2008 to 15 percent in 2009."

How users shape the mobile ecosystem

Lesson One: There is no set profile of a “lead user” in the mobile space; rather there 
are a number of different kinds of lead users. 

Lesson Two: Active users of the mobile net are younger and more diverse ethnically 
than similarly situated early adopters of the desktop internet of a decade ago. 

Lesson Three: Even though the mobile internet appears to be the hard-charging next 
thing in the digital world, there is a sizable population that may be slow adopters of 
mobile applications.  

...all stakeholders stand to benefit from discourse that is not just 
about the technical wonders, but also the deeper societal consequences.