Focus Groups in vogue again, thanks to Super Bowl

I feel so vindicated.  Which almost makes up for yesterday’s Packer-less Super Bowl.

After last year’s event, I announced the Top E-Holes of the Super Bowl.  Most of the winners, especially the Grand Super Bowl E-Hole — Groupon — had declined to conduct Focus Groups to pre-test their commercials.  My rant was about just that; the utter folly and pure arrogance of taking such a huge chance with their brand.  Given Groupon’s $377 million in funding, why hadn’t they spent the mere $20,000  to do a couple of groups? Simply as brand insurance, if you will.  Like duh. Ask the customer?

I would have been happy to take on a juicy new Groupon project, and of course always delighted to visit Chicago when the snow flies and black ice proliferates.

Oh what a difference a little joking about Tibet makes.  After the Groupon social media firestorm, this year smart marketers returned to their tried-and-true market research toolkit.  The Wall Street Journal reports that companies such as Hyundai to Bridgestone to Chevy conducted Focus Groups in advance of the broadcast. Now that viewers are tapping into Twitter and Facebook in mind-blasting numbers (Madonna’s performance during the halftime show saw an average of 8000 tweets per second), checking in with your customers in advance makes even more  sense.

Still, it’s always something. Yesterday’s reigning hashtags #Clint Eastwood and #Halftime in America were today’s brouhaha, both for questions about the star’s politics, and for the commercial’s mysterious removal and return.  IMHO, the spot and Clint were genius — kudos to the creatives at Wieden + Kennedy who pulled off this new classic.  Extra kudos for the concept of Visual Viralizing:  Share the video from the Chrysler YouTube channel and see how far across the country your Tweets and reshares reach. Brilliant.

What would happen if we all took 24 hours offline . . . together?

When it comes to digital media, is it possible to have too much of a good thing? How easy is it for you to go off the grid? You will soon find out should you be brave enough to participate in the upcoming worldwide event called The Big TurnOff. The aim of BigTurnOff is to collectively take twenty four hours off from digital media as a social experiment in order to evaluate the role of and our relationship with technology in our lives.

When the organizers learned about my digital detox –thanks to CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen for her trendsetting coverage of my experience –they approached me for my take on the Big Turnoff. Here’s the recent interview:

On The Grid Guru of New Social media strategist and Guru of New, Sarah Browne, took 40 days off from social media in observance of Lent last year and also recently spent some time offline in Alaska. She was kind enough to take the time to share with us about her experiences with social media abstinence and about her life on the bleeding edge of technology. Here’s what we learned…

BigTurnOff.org: When did you first begin using social media?

Sarah Browne: Actually I crack up when I hear all the pundits act as if social media was just invented. Anybody remember eworld’s Town Square? Compuserve? Prodigy? America Online’s Million-Chatters-A-Day? And of course, BBS, MOO/MUD. I was one of the first AOL Greenhouse Partners, way back in the dino-days of 600 baud, circa 1995. One of the first things we learned from Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, Eileen Bramlet & Company was the value of ‘community.’ Our chat rooms, message boards and content were all powered by our members — some of whom were paid in free (overhead) accounts. Our sites were all about Community, Connection and Conversation. We just didn’t have the cool tools or tech available today. We used to dream of bandwidth.

BTO: What led you to become a social media strategist and expert of the new?

SB: I’ve been an ‘expert of the new’ for (sheesh, dare I say this?) decades. Early on, when I was at Ogilvy & Mather, I was the only one who ever asked — begged — to be put on pitches and new products. Everyone else was hugely concerned with filling up their portfolios — and new products have a long launch time . . . and pitches (see the recent Mad Men) can go poof in moments. But I loved the thrill of starting from scratch, the pulsebeat of innovation and I loved hanging out in corporate labs and research facilities. Ingredients, formulas, technologies turn me on. So for me, social media, in which ‘now is the new wow’ is merely the latest 24/7 focus group laboratory. I never set out to become a Social Media Strategist — I simply sniffed out the next new thing (as always) and applied it when clients asked me to.

BTO: With regards to technology, as the duration of time in product life cycles from bleeding edge to obsolete decreases ever more rapidly, do you find it increasingly challenging to stay abreast of what’s “new”?

SB: Absolutely. We recently snuck away to Glacier Bay, Alaska to go sea kayaking and clap away marauding bears. Connections were iffy and besides, I wanted to go off the grid. I was astounded by how ‘behind’ I was after only a few days. And my 2010 Radar Report, which was produced in January was “old” by February.

BTO: Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the barrage of available information and how do you manage it all?

SB: Yes, I often feel overwhelmed and I am not nearly as uber-engaged as many of my social media cohorts. I have learned that when I get to a certain point, I need to actually make myself shut down the computer and turn off the phone. I really hate Facebook because of what it’s become and really only like the friends/family part of it. I probably have Hidden 75% of my so-called Friends due to their E-Hole behavior. So one way to manage it all is: TURN IT OFF. The other way is to use management features on services like CoTweet, push only certain notifications to your cell and oh yeah, TURN IT OFF.

BTO: How do you keep up and help your clients stay up to date as well?

SB: I have my daily morning drill, which includes certain sites from local to global. Some info is pushed to me — New York Times, of course, and some I scurry after. There are a couple of trend sites I like, too, — I am a Spotter for Springwise, for example. And of course, Twitter, mon dieu! In 30 seconds, you know whether there’s been an earthquake in Chile or whether Justin Bieber is now shaving. I try to keep very current in certain categories because of fave clients and often will either email them or blog about their issues. Right now, I have a number of clients who have been in Name Generation mode — so I made sure they knew about the new .co domain that launched last week.

BTO: Can you share your single best and worst experiences from your perspective in being an early adopter?

SB: Microsoft Bob! Front Page! Microsoft has been a longtime client, which meant I’ve been a frequent beta tester for many of their products. It is still amazing to me how a company with such smart employees can come up with such turkeys. I love working with them because of their brainpower but I still have nightmares about Front Page extensions.

And my best experience as an early adopter? It’s near blasphemy to mention the much-maligned America Online. But digital anthropologists will remember that once upon a time, AOL was the rock star, replete with magazine covers, explosive growth and millions of addicted fans. The early America Online also had something all-too-few Internet darlings ever managed to achieve: a revenue-generating business model. I was there for a few of those shining years, soaking up the smarts from more Harvard MBA’s than show at a Crimson football game. There were so many firsts for the fledgling Internets. And so many firsts for those of us lucky enough to be there.

BTO: How do you feel that social media and technology are changing how we approach our lives (both positive and negative) especially with regards to human relationships, for example our definition of the word “friend”?

SB: I struggle with this question virtually every day. Actually, I’ve struggled with this concept since the dawn of the Interwebs. On one hand, my world is happily jam-packed with friends I never would have made in a completely analog world. On the other hand, the shallow, self-promotion-ness of it makes me crazy and sad. Did you read that New York Times article tying the decline of empathy with the rise of social media? Not sure I totally agree –but I love what the writer said about self-promotion replacing self-awareness. Scarily true.

BTO: What improvements would you make to sites like Facebook when it comes to striking a balance between “open and connected” and user privacy?

SB: I think it’s up to us to find that balance. Facebook is not going to change. Yes, they will make some concessions here and there but ultimately their bottom line is all about 500 million users and how to generate revenue from the teeming masses. Despite all of the Quit Facebook Days and kvetching, their numbers have exploded. But I have noticed some changes being made by (experienced) users themselves. Many are cutting back on authenticity and true self expression; spending less time; being more guarded. Newbies are still bombarding us with new goats from Farmville. It’s like Neopets for grown-ups. But I can’t really complain — I was a big fan of Facebook’s Pirate English. Arrrrlllll, matey!

BTO: Can you tell us a little about your experience with giving up social media for Lent (and perhaps your more recent detox)?

SB: Here’s why I decided to give up Facebook for Lent last year. My reason is a bit different from others who choose to do a digital detox. Most of them are simply and happily addicted to the service and concerned they’re spending too much time online (usually tracking new and old romances.) My problem was that virtually every time I logged on, I’d find myself enraged. The red-in-the face, migraine’s-coming kind. I was furious over the morphing of my cozy mash-up of friends and family into a nest of shamefully self-promoting E-Holes. Plus I knew that it was essentially my fault. This was one prediction the Guru of New got way wrong. I genuinely didn’t foresee that the massive blurring of business and personal would turn my Facebook page into a 24/7 ad for people I wouldn’t recognize at Safeway — many of whom wanted me to ‘uplevel’ my business, sign up for their teleseminar or ‘fan’ their whatchamacallit. Instead of being a daily digital scrapbook Facebook was transformed into Personal Brands R Us. I didn’t want to manufacture a perfect, pretend life for these pretend friends. And I was ticked at the people who enjoyed doing just that.

So being off Facebook for 40 days and nights was a relief. I turned my clients’ pages over to my project manager, tucked my Advil in the drawer and didn’t miss a moment of not ‘upleveling’ my business in any way. Somehow my company has survived the lack of teleseminars, podcasts, MLM and ‘wealth systems’ offered to me via Wall, Status Updates and News.

Off the Grid Guru of New

When we went to Alaska a few weeks ago, one of the best parts of our trip was staying off of Facebook. I do definitely miss seeing pictures of friends and family — and I will admit I love connecting with my sorority sisters and scattered relatives.

Twitter’s kind of a different story. There’s no pretense that someone is your Friend. It’s very cut-and-dried … Follow/Following. No strings attached. And while there are plenty of E-Holes on Twitter, it’s a very ships-passing-in-the-night relationship. I don’t need a detox from Twitter. I’m emotionally detached.

BTO: Do you feel that others could benefit from even a twenty four hour detox? If so, would you see any benefit in doing it together with a number of other people who would share in the experience?

SB: I think everybody who spends more than an hour a day using social media could benefit from a detox of some kind. I actually read books — like BIG ones — when I was in Alaska and offline. Of course, I learned about these particular books on Twitter! (Stieg Larsson) But I don’t know if there is any need to detox from our digital tools–checking bank balances; movie times; texting friends; etc. For me, it’s certain social media that’s the devil.

Please don’t ask me to share my 24 hour detox with my daughter, who practically cuddles her iPhone.

BTO: What do you think of The Big Turn Off as a worldwide event? …and/or as a local event held in ways that a smaller local community chooses on their own?

SB: Worldwide. The Big Turn Off needs to be a statement with a capital S. I remember the August when AOL crashed for 19 hours. Quelle freak-out. There can be smaller local events — like local Ted meet-ups during the big event.

BTO: Would you be willing to participate in either a local or worldwide Big Turn Off event?

SB: Absolutely — I’m in.

BTO: One last question… As Guru of the New, would you say we can officially declare Turning Off “The New New Thing”?

SB: Yes — Turning Off will be officially declared “The New New Thing” by the Guru of New on my blog, etc. I’m psyched!

BTO: Wow! That totally rocks. Thanks, Sarah!

Learn more about the Big Turnoff:
BigTurnOff.org
facebook.com/bigturnoff
twitter.com/BigTurnOff
myspace.com/bigturnoff

The Number One Reason The Great Facebook Name Grab Rocked.

Why did the Great Facebook Name Grab rock? It’s more than those 3 million new vanity URLS.

Could it be the 200,000 usernames registered in the first 3 minutes? That’s an amazing 1111 names registered per second, according to the geeks at Mashable, who are much better at math than moi.

Could it be that by 10:01 PM PT, only one frenzied hour after Nerd Night launched, around one million custom URLs had already been nabbed?

Could it be the smooth way it all went down, with nary a bump or crash, despite record traffic?

Or could it be that I got MY vanity URL, beating out legions of pesky Sarah Browne poseurs, porn stars and Prime Minister’s wives?

Nope.  While the above milestones are delightfully droolworthy, the Number One Reason the Great Facebook Name Grab rocked was because we finally had some fun with Social Media again. 

Or haven’t you noticed it’s been stone-cold sober and Provigil-serious in Social Media Land lately? 

But Friday eve, at the appointed witching hour, Geeks galore were gleefully proclaiming their name grabs, tweeting about their victories and it wasn’t all about SEO, boosting Friends/Follows or shameless self-promotion. Yes, there is business benefit in ‘owning’ your Facebook personal URL; so yes, it was smart to spend part of your Friday night clicking, crowing and claiming your name. It also was a blast.

Look no further for proof of this newfound wit and wackiness than this list of Goofy Usernames just nabbed:

• Starting my world domination plans early: http://www.facebook.com/yourlordandmaster
• Cat ran over my keyboard:
  http://www.facebook.com/alksjfalskjfoiwefalsdlasfaslleseouaiwejndlsknjkdfs
• The entire QWERTY keyboard:
  http://www.facebook.com/qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm
• Try harder: http://www.facebook.com/aaaaaa
• Fantasyland: http://www.facebook.com/JackBauercouldwhoopChuckNorris
• Someone who actually wantsto be the customer service guy?http://www.facebook.com/techsupport
• Don’t even ask:  http://www.facebook.com/dballs
• My personal favorite: http://www.facebook.com/rickroll

Guru’s Nudge: Small businesses on Facebook — remember June 28. That’s when you can nab your business vanity URL.

Thanks again to Mashable.

The Great Facebook Name Grab Is Hours Away.

If you’ve logged on to your Facebook Profile anytime in the past week, you can’t miss the drumroll-please message. In a matter of hours, starting at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Saturday, June 13, Facebook is (finally) letting users pick their own Facebook profile usernames on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sure, this technology has long been standard at MySpace, Twitter and Linkedin but with Facebook’s exploding growth, personalizing your Facebook URL smartly ups your personal brand presence. Plus, these enhancements mean an end to that Facebook.com/26537215 numerical gobbledygook and the beginning of a faster, easier way for your peeps to be able to find you online. Here’s what the Facebook blog says about the new vanity URLS:

“Your new Facebook URL is like your personal destination, or home, on the Web. People can enter a Facebook username as a search term on Facebook or a popular search engine like Google, for example, which will make it much easier for people to find friends with common names.”

See you tonight on Facebook where I’ll be mightily scrapping with legions of other Sarah Brownes. I got name-jacked on Twitter and if you saw what the current @SarahBrowne was tweeting, you too would be chomping at the bit in this FB Great Name Grab. (Follow me @guruofnew)

Are You A Small Business with a Facebook Page? If So, Good News!
There’s been a lot of confusion about eligibility for usernames for Facebook Pages. Originally, Facebook would only allow Pages created before May 31, 2009 with a minimum of 1,000 fans to be eligible for the vanity URLS. After Admins of Small Business Pages rightfully complained, (me!) even forming a Facebook protest group, the powers-that-be in Palo Alto relented.

So remember this date: Sunday, June 28. On this date, “All Pages created after May 31, 2009 or that had less than 1,000 fans on that day will be eligible to claim usernames on Sunday, June 28.

If you have more than 1,000 fans and the Page was live on Facebook prior to the cut-off date of May 31, 2009, then go for it on June 13 along with your personal Profile.

Guru’s Note: Please check the Facebook blog for Page eligibility updates. Rules and dates keep changing as often as Heidi and Spencer exit the jungle.

Are You An E-Hole? The Six Tell-tale Signs.

Normally, when I’ve told friends “Hey! I’m writing a book”, the response is polite to vague to “I’m so sorry. I’ve given up reading for Lent.” In LA, they’re likely to suggest a fair exchange: I’ll read your book if you read my screenplay.  In Silicon Valley, they look blank until you explain that a book is kinda like a giant Wordle app or literary widget.  In New York, they immediately kvetch about agents while in Paris they offer to read it once smoking is reinstated in cafes.

But this book?  Amazingly, people have not only urged me to write it but to write it laser-fast. Three of my Twitter pals have already asked if the guide will be published in time for Christmas stocking stuffers. I’ve almost been persuaded to write an e-book first and then follow up with hard copy.

Is this because I am such a crackerjack writer? Although I’d love to say yes, the true answer is ‘probably not.’  The fact is, there is a clear and compelling, even urgent, need to make sense of the good, the bad and the blurry of the digital era, particularly the consumer-friendly, tool-rich phenomenon known as Web 2.0.  The Internet does genuinely ‘change everything’ — including the ethics and etiquette of how we use these tools. Countless books have already been published on this subject, many of them scholarly works of genius from academics that probe everything from user-generated content to mass collaboration to digital innovation and citizen marketing.  

If you’re looking for books of this decidedly brainy ilk, click to close and move on to Amazon or your local library. The goal of my upcoming guidebook is quite simple: to help keep you out of online doo-doo and encourage you to dip into this dynamic digital world. And maybe have some fun while you’re at it.
 
Here’s a small sampling from my new book:
How Not To Be An E-Hole:  The Ultimate Guide to Online Etiquette and Ethics.
 

Are You An E-Hole? The Six Tell-Tale Signs.

Sign 1:  Is Social Media all about you?  Social Media can indeed be Me Media.  Today’s tools make it fast and easy to get the word out about your inherent rockstar-ness. Isn’t everybody fascinated by the ham sandwich you had for lunch? Doesn’t the world want to know about your cool car, your hot bod and the gaggles of groupies hanging on your every tweet?  Smart folks see that switching from Me to We is the secret to shining at Social Media.  And yes, it is possible to be an E-Hole in only 140-characters:  http://tweetingtoohard.com/

Sign 2:  OverSharing  Over-sharing can occur on any of the Social Media channels. Over-Sharing is defined as sharing anything from the too-intimate details of your world (tweeting during your during your prostate exam) to the too-mundane (I had scrambled eggs for breakfast) to the too-frequent.

Sign 3:  Are you a FRAMMER?  Friends just ain’t what they used to be. In fact, my buddy Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Correspondent at CNN, who covered my recent Facebook Addiction story, believes the very definition of Friendship is at stake: “What exactly is a friend these days?”  Well, it sure isn’t FRAMMING them. Friend Spam is being spammed by your so-called Facebook Friends including:

• A barrage of shameless self-promoting links, events, fan pages, webinars, promos, etc.
• “Cherry-picking” among a Friends List — picking the most ‘useful’ for marketing and networking.

FRAM hurts more than traditional spam because, after all, it’s the ultimate in permission marketing. You haven’t merely signed up for an impersonal newsletter, you’ve opened the door wide to your life. You’re not an address on some database sold and re-sold by dead dotcoms. You’ve willingly extended an invitation to participate in your own personal universe.

Sign 4:  Uber-Exuberance   Apps, widgets, links, videos, photos — it’s a smorgasbord of Social Media tech and toys out there. Are you so sure all your friends want that ‘growing gift’ of cactus, that beer or cup of coffee you’re dying to send? Does everybody want to take that quiz, play 25 Random Things and beat you at movie trivia?  The sure sign of a Social Media newbie (and often Accidental E-Hole) is assuming everybody will appreciate these occasionally amusing time-wasters.

Sign 5: Where are the Privacy Police when you need them?  It’s true: Facebook keeps changing its interface, which confuses the heck out of who can see what. What was private on Tuesday may be part of a News Feed on Wednesday. So if you’re not careful about the changing-rules, your mother-in-law may be able to see the pictures of the dinner party she wasn’t invited to posted prominently in Highlights.  Or your boss might see that comment you made about ‘blowing off work’. Or your sorority sister might post racy stories about an era you’d prefer to forget on your Wall for all to see.  The secret to avoiding E-Holism?  Use the Privacy settings!

Sign 6: Keep It Social, Stupid.   Keeping it social means you never forget these new tools are all about people and being personal. Keeping it social means you avoid using robots as well as acting robotically. So personalize your Friend, Follow and Connection Requests, say no to Auto-DMs on Twitter, and develop new online relationships authentically. Don’t think you can FRAM like mad, never bother to check the youtube links your buddy proudly sent of her kidlet’s concert, and then expect favors, shares and RTs (Re-Tweets on Twitter).  Keeping it social is keeping it reciprocal. Friendship is a two-way conversation, not a Me-megaphone. 

Guru’s Note: Please send me your favorite E-Hole stories. Were you an Accidental E-Hole? Do you know an Intentional E-Hole? Do tell all. Email me at: hello@guruofnew.com or post a comment. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should Sears Go Social?

 

I’m a Sears girl from way back. My Dual Action Agitator copy, in tandem with the poetic “Save $40 off on this big Kenmore Refrigerator” was nothing short of Steinbeckian. My advertising Alma mater, Ogilvy Chicago, worshipped on the altar of Sears.

So of course I was intrigued by the giant’s latest move — launching a new social network called MySears.

Brandweek reports the chain has registered more than 200,000 MySears users since it rolled out the site in late March. The look-alike site for sister chain MyKmart just launched a week ago. Both are powered by Chicago-based technology company Viewpoints Network.

Retail chain passionistas visiting MySears can express themselves via these increasingly ubiquitous Social Media features: taking polls, connecting with your fellow Sears buddies, creating a social profile, uploading photos, tagging, blogging, and participating in (my favorite part) the Ideas section.

Lest your passion for Sears not be completely fulfilled, consumers can also follow MySears and MyKMart on Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter.

According to the Brandweek report, Rob Harles, vp-community for Sears, said the chain’s goal is to glean new insights from customers and give the brand more of a human face. “Ultimately we’re going to try to use this to first and foremost learn about our customers and secondly use those lessons and use that to integrate that into the shopping experience,” Harles said.

Hmm. Translated from the marketing-ese, that sounds suspiciously one-sided. ‘First we’re going to study you and then we’re going to use what we’ve learned to figure out how to sell you more stuff.’  The headline for the site lays it out clearly, assuming you’re there to shop : “Get Advice Before You Buy.”

Obviously I’ve no quarrel with using Social Media to figure out how to better reach customers and improve sales. Profit rocks, especially these days. But it doesn’t take more than 30 seconds of rudimentary Social Media listening tools to tap into the existing conversation about Sears. Much of what’s being said isn’t pretty. Shouldn’t some of this chatter be answered first? (Kind of like cleaning the house before we invite a gaggle of guests over for a big party) Shouldn’t resolving negatives be the first priority of any customer-first company, much less the mission of a new participatory consumer site?

A sampling:

RITBeast: Reminder: Never have any dealings with #sears unless you feel like gouging your own eyes out and stepping on them while being nut-kicked.

legallush: Listening to Sear tech suck dryer lint from my hoses in laundry. Stupid dryer gets hot but doesn’t dry. #sears

glamorousamanda: Rant end. Do not buy products from #Sears. They will not honor their warrenty nor do they care if your home catches fire from products!

MySears Ideas: Listen Sears…….. people WANT to buy from you but you make it harder and harder.

Do we really need all the Social Media window dressing around what should be the main course — serving customers? Couldn’t we just have one colossal: CLICK HERE FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE button, with some seriously vetted reviews posted below it and an in-depth Peer 2 Peer Forum?

This road feels strangely familiar. Over the years, in Customer Experience projects for both Microsoft and Yahoo, we worked hard to ‘put a human face’ on these mammoth empires via an array of social media features. But whatever we tried, all anybody ever wanted to do with these pieces-of-corporate-humanity was find somebody to fix their email, browser, software, personals ad or just plain rant. This is why Yahoo Answers was such an instant hit. Human beings simply want their questions answered, especially when said questions revolve around things they paid for. They don’t necessarily need Friends or Polls or Pictures, unless it’s a photo of that broken microwave door they need replaced.

So what should this new MySpacian MySears do to avoid the fate of the late, not-great The Hub, built and quickly dismantled by Walmart back in 2006?

• Let MySears evolve organically. Let the community spell out over time what it wants and needs from the site and its satellites. Are users primarily interested in broadcast tweets about upcoming sales? Are they flocking to the discussion boards? Engaged communities vote with their attention.
• Manage site expectations. Research whyconsumers are visiting and where they came from. Did the majority find their way there because they think the site is devoted to customer service? Did someone post a Craftsman discount link on a couponing site, sending an avalanche of users in search of it? 
• Accept that consumers create their own uses for sites and social media features – including their own ideas of how products should be tagged –which may have little to do with your intentions for your brand. Just for fun, go visit Amazon’s Customer Communities and check out some of the Revenge-Tags, including some of the DefectiveByDesign tags.
• Find your Frank Eliasons (@Comcastcares) and empower your staff to participate as Tony Hsieh has done so successfully with @Zappos. Be careful of ‘ghost’ tweeters or posters. Don’t rely on your Viewpoints vendor to substitute for real Sears employees. Kudos to BlueCrewGuyinMA, who’s all over the site, answering questions and in general acting as the site’s Go To Guy.
• Encourage usage of the Discussion section, with its fledgling Peer to Peer type forum.  Many of your customer-service seeking users will be satisfied with this kind of help, as they frequently do yield real solutions to customer problems.
• Research potential Passionista segments a la the Craftsman Club and nurture them with ego-rewards as well as discounts and insider information.
• I like the potential of the Ideas section on MySears,which reminds me of Dell IdeaStorm. Like Dell, after the Dell Hell debacle, Sears needs to heal itself before it can roar back. So far, the “We Listened. See Ideas in Action” is empty. Let’s hope this changes soon.
• And finally, have some fun with the site.  The intrinsic beauty of social networking is that it’s supposed to be lighthearted. So have a Tweet-Up in the Craftsman aisle. Partner with Family Journaling site Plumkeeper and have a “Kids Say the Darndest Things (About their Dads)” Contest and invite your Facebook Community Moms to enter. Set up a Linkedin group for Retail Innovators.

So should Sears go social?

Guru’s Note: What I found oddly fascinating is @MySears use of Twitter — particularly its choice of who to follow. Smart Tweeters often check a Twitter ID’s first Follows as it can reveal either strategy or the threat of spam. In this case, @MySears has 923 Followers so far — and is Following 1995. But here’s the reveal: the first SIX of rows of Twitter IDs @MySears has chosen to follow are all variations on Mama: @CursingMama, @PsychoMama, @GeekMama, @Baby_Mama, @TheCreativeMama. So far, none of these Mom-tweeps appear to be tweeting like mad on behalf of @MySears like @ResourcefulMom does when promoting one of her many popular Site-Warming Parties. So one can only assume either all these Mamas are close personal friends of @MySears or that someone has advised them to cozy up to Influencer Moms on Twitter. Given the robust purchase power of the 80+ million Moms in the US who spend some 2 trillion every year, it’s no surprise @MySears would sagely search keyword: Mama.

What’s Wolfram/Alpha and Why Should You Care?

I’m feeling somewhat Ginger-like, with a smidgen of HAL 9000 thrown in.

True Geeks will remember when Segway was dubbed ‘Ginger‘ and Geeks as notable and prescient as Steven Jobs and Jeff Bezos claimed it would be as ‘big as the PC’.

We all know HAL 9000, the soft-spoken. lip-reading computer.

So when I started hearing about a revolutionary new search engine called Wolfram/Alpha and the usual pundits began to wax nerdily eloquent, my Ginger-be-smudged cynicism seeped in. Was this “computational knowledge engine” a Google-killer? Would we all soon be getting answers to our raging questions rather than diligently searching for them? And didn’t we already try the Q & A thing via a perky butler named Ask Jeeves?

The newfangled search engine Wolfram|Alpha is different than Google or Yahoo. Ask it a question — one that involves something like National Pi Day or a wallop of statistics– and it will speedily deliver an answer based on its avalanche of curated data and ‘Mathematica’ technology. One hundred brainiacs, led by Brit Stephen Wolfram, a physics prodigy who won a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” at 21, are sitting in Champaign, IL, feeding the knowledge base reams of data.. As you might guess, science is Wolfie’s strong suit, but it also knows plenty about technology, geography, weather, cooking, business, travel, people, music, and more.

Let’s say you start with some ego-surfing questions. Try your birthday or your name. This is how I discovered Esther Dyson and I have the same birthday and that there are 871,156 Sarahs currently alive in the US. Wolfie will also candidly admit when he’s stumped, and tell you he’s not sure what to do with your input. I got that response when I typed in: “Brett Favre, Packers.” (Truthfully, NO ONE knows what to do with that input.)

Wolfram/Alpha ponies up graphical answers when appropriate, and also suggests other sources of information.

The Geeks on Twitter have been playing with the search engine since Friday night’s official launch via Justin.tv — and as of noon today, Wolfie already had some 4100 fans on its Facebook page. Many are already discovering Wolfram Alpha’s ‘Easter Eggs’ tucked inside its masses of data, just waiting for the perfect question to show off its geeky humor.

Zenspace: Mashable’s 20 Wolfram Alpha Easter Eggs are why I LOVE the Internet — http://tinyurl.com/p24mb8 and http://bit.ly/14rCRW #wolframalpha

nickhebb: Wolfram|Alpha is fun. If this is baby’s first steps, imagine what it will be like when its old enough to drive

Jaielle: #wolfram alpha still needs more work… it can find “square root of ten million” but not “square root of 10 million”

For all its obvious brilliance, I don’t expect Wolfram|Alpha to go mainstream anytime soon. But then I didn’t expect the new Star Trek movie to go mainstream either!

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Aye, Maties! Facebook Lets You Talk Like A Pirate Everyday.

If there’s one burning question that’s plagued our civilization for centuries it would have to be: Pirates or Ninjas?

In the midst of this eternally raging battle, along came a swarthy crew of real Somali pirates and as quickly as you can say yo-ho-ho, all ‘ayes’ turned away from the landlubbing Ninjas. Now Facebook has joined in on the rogue-ishly viral fun with its Easter-eggish language pack switch, which allows you to change your language to English (Pirate). Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and ‘Arrrrrrrr —!’

So don’t wait for International Talk Like A Pirate Day on September 19th — walk the plank today, me hearties!

On Twitter: #pirates, #facebook, #ninjas

Guru’s Note: This feature was available back in September but I only recently discovered it via a Tweet last week. Facebook’s Pirate English is a trip, if a little bizarre when you try to decipher the Blackbeardish lingo on your page. But here’s what I love: I am so heartily tired of the deadly serious tone Social Media has taken. Share has been buried by sell; analytics are intoned like gospel; even the @aplusk (Ashton) versus CNN million-followers contest was blighted by pseudo do-gooder games and Machiavellian manuevers. Folks, this is Social Media. It’s supposed to be at least a little bit lighthearted. I watch as the posts roll in and and OMG, it’s pure pontification. Yes, it is business (in all candor, one I make a good living from) but Mon Dieu! Even the ad world eventually figured out their viewers don’t want to be bored to death. Maybe a bottle o’ rum might help?

Seven Signs You May Be Ready for a Social Media Detox.

I gave up Facebook for Lent.  For forty days and nights, I will not be updating my status, becoming a fan, poking anyone or commenting on 25 Random Things.  I will not be turning to page 56 and finding a sentence, sending good Karma or sipping along with my A Glass of Wine Solves Everything group.
 
My decision has absolutely nothing to do with any religious fervor, other than being fervently grateful to the Episcopalian calendar which served up a handy excuse to log off.  Said calendar also delivered a mighty reason to take a look at Social Media’s impact on my life.
 
What I saw was not pretty. 
 
And yet my addiction is on the mild side, more like a low-grade fever than a full-on infectious case of Facebook-itis. I may have sampled the Social Media Koolaid, but I’m not chugging the stuff like many of the ‘tweeple’ I know.  I’m enamored but not enslaved. In fact, I’ve only made my way through a smattering of Chris Brogan’s 100 Personal Branding Secrets.
 
Still, as a market researcher and passionate digital anthropologist, I knew it was time for a dig. Like Yahoo’s Internet Deprivation Study of yore, I wanted to understand the grisly details of deprivation.  I wanted to know what I would miss about Facebook; what I actually value; what I would be overjoyed to leave behind.
 
By the time I posted my last status update shortly after Ash Wednesday (which I pretty much only knew about because of Joe Biden’s forehead), I realized I was more than ready to not only give up Facebook for a time but also consider a complete Social Media Detox.
 
Ask yourself: Do you need to do a Social Media Detox?  Here are seven signs you might be ready:
 
 
Are you an Early Adopter? 
Ho-hum. Are you sort of over it? Those of us who are perpetually on the bleeding edge of new, sometimes either want to ditch it when the vox populi show up in droves or simply because it’s no longer the pretty shiny new thing.  We thrive on beta. We thrive on sneaking behind the velvet rope. When they let everybody in . . .  On the other hand, there are enough cool new tools popping up virtually every second, especially for Twitter, (Twiddeo) and a parade of nichey new social networks to keep boredom at bay.
 
Does buzz equal biz?
Despite the constant chatter from all directions about ‘putting yourself out there’ via networking, much of this buzz is total BS. Even if you aggressively transform yourself into a social media rockstar via the notorious TweeterGetter, your newfound fame may not automatically translate into mucho dinero.  Those shameless self-promoters swarming over every social network may generate noise but that doesn’t mean they’re doing much real, sustainable business. The dirty secret of social networks? Too many sellers, too few buyers. Consider: What’s the benefit of social media to your bottom line? Show me the money, folks.  
 
This doesn’t mean social media tools aren’t valuable –I’ve met terrific people, gotten great projects and leads, mined countless consumer insights, and overall, found the tools to be worthwhile if sometimes overwhelming.  But to be blunt, I have solid skills and talents to back up my putting myself out there. I am not using them to shill for an empty suit.

Who owns your stuff?
Facebook’s recent Terms of Service switcheroo shocked many into re-thinking how they want to use the social network.  Although they’ve since reversed themselves and formed a consumer advisory group, the brouhaha was tantamount to social media shock therapy.  The pivotal question:  who owns my content? Do I want Facebook to ‘own’ it even after I’ve deleted my account?  And for businesses who routinely recommend Facebook as part of a social media strategic plan, what are the guidelines for who owns and retains an advertising or promotional campaign that’s appeared Facebook?
 
Are you blurring your business and personal life?
You may have jumped on to Facebook early on and populated your profile with real-life friends.  Then along comes the barrage of networkers, business colleagues and in betweens. Now you’ve got a quixotic stew of business and personal.  Sometimes it works just fine. It can be a joy to get to know colleagues and clients in a more human way. Last fall’s political campaigns pointed up a growing issue:  For example, do you want your clients to know your thoughts on Prop 8? (I do!) And then there’s its discretional corollary: Do you want your Great Aunt Hazel or favorite high school teacher to see your tipsy party pix?
 
Is social media a time and energy suck for you?
How do you find time to blog, tweet, update Linkedin, Facebook and MySpace, post your pix on Flickr, your articles on Mixx, Digg, Biznik and Kirtsy, your favorites on Delicio.us, your sites on Stumbleupon, your art on etsy, comment on relevant blogs and networking email lists, search for juicy links to share — and oh by the way, also do your real work? Sure, some Tweeters are using a variety of time-saving organizational tools (Tweetdeck, Friend Feed) to manage their activities.  Even so, putting your best business face forward across multiple social media platforms is a challenge. (Quite a few rely on Virtual Admins like the awesome @jkvirtualoffice). 

I don’t know about you, folks, but I need time, quiet and focus to serve my clients well and feel good about what I do.
 
True Value
In the immortal words of Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks:  How can I miss you if you won’t go away?  
Perfectly said, Dan. I’ll soon know what it is, if anything, that I miss about Facebook.
 
Do you have a personal social media strategy?  Should you get one?
Last night, social media pioneer Chris Brogan mentioned on Twitter that he had already deleted 350 of his Facebook friends. I don’t know his reasons but I do know more and more people are re-defining how they want to use social media. They’re pondering social networking’s role in their lives and rejiggering the balance of business and personal. My neighbor here on the Monterey Peninsula, @fuzznfeathers, recently took a short break from Twitter and enjoyed the extra offline time. Jumping off-the-grid results in more time and energy available for face to face connection. According to research I’ve recently conducted, the blend of online + offline touchpoints turns out to be one powerful combo for increasing engagement.
 
What have I learned already?
I already know, mere days after exiting Facebook, that I don’t miss the Frammers who weaseled their way into my list of Friends. I do miss seeing the new pictures of my baby cousins and the parade of polls, surveys and beer-apps from my dear sorority sister, Kimberly. I do miss the pithy and often intriguing posts from Laurie Peterson, Eric Weaver and Katherine Ruppe.   

But most of all, I miss my daughter’s ever-changing profile pictures, usually taken in the dorm around 2 a.m. while she’s avoiding writing a term paper.

Easter’s so close I can almost smell the egg-salad sandwiches.

Facebook Blinks.

Update on Terms
by Mark Zuckerberg Today at 10:17pm

“A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users. Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information. Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.

Many of us at Facebook spent most of today discussing how best to move forward. One approach would have been to quickly amend the new terms with new language to clarify our positions further. Another approach was simply to revert to our old terms while we begin working on our next version. As we thought through this, we reached out to respected organizations to get their input.

Going forward, we’ve decided to take a new approach towards developing our terms. We concluded that returning to our previous terms was the right thing for now. As I said yesterday, we think that a lot of the language in our terms is overly formal and protective so we don’t plan to leave it there for long.

More than 175 million people use Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world. Our terms aren’t just a document that protect our rights; it’s the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world. Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service.

Our next version will be a substantial revision from where we are now. It will reflect the principles I described yesterday around how people share and control their information, and it will be written clearly in language everyone can understand. Since this will be the governing document that we’ll all live by, Facebook users will have a lot of input in crafting these terms.

You have my commitment that we’ll do all of these things, but in order to do them right it will take a little bit of time. We expect to complete this in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we’ve changed the terms back to what existed before the February 4th change, which was what most people asked us for and was the recommendation of the outside experts we consulted.

If you’d like to get involved in crafting our new terms, you can start posting your questions, comments and requests in the group we’ve created—Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. I’m looking forward to reading your input. ”

Guru’s Note: And here I was just about to remove the Facebook Share below.

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