Andrew Lark

Chocolate Blog

Paul highlights the blog behind the phone. This is a terrific example of a PR blog. Like Paul, the transparency here is great. It describes the program and highlights their intent. Love the links etc. Great work by H&K.

The blog is definitely a "blogvertisement" or PR blog ("Prlog") that uses blog features to promote the phone. What is missing here is community activation (as far as I can tell) - that is, activating the community of early "chocolate phone" adopters by providing them with a platform on which to engage and participate. It also doesn't link to citizen recommendations on the product.

That said, it's a great example of what it is and not ashamed to be that. It does highlight - in case anyone was confused - that their is a difference between commercial and marketing blogs and citizen blogs.

Back From NYC... What A Drag...

I'm not about to jump into this debate with the same enthusiasim asPaul but being forced to check baggage for a one day trip to NYC is a pain. It added exactly two hours and 44 minutes to my trip. Had to check in earlier and then stand around waiting for baggage. Not such a long wait at JFK but a real pain in San Jose on the return.

This has to be having an impact on carriers' revenue and tourism - especially to and from the UK. I'm the first to want to fly safe - but toothpaste, deoderant and saving creme in small quantities... come on. This does nothing to increase my sense of security - in fact it worsened it. With moves like this I really wonder if anyone has a real handle on airline security. At what price does this false sense of security come?

Finally there is the implementation. On the red eye out of San Jose there was no opportunity to buy fluids beyond security - and plenty of signs at the closed vendor stalls indicated you couldn't take liquid on the plane. It was the complete opposite at JFK, making me wonder if this wasn't more security theatre than anything.

Col. Larson said it best in The WSJ...

"Foiling suicide passengers will require a new approach to security: psychological profiling; better identity verification systems; better technology to detect bombs in the cargo hold (not all of this cargo is checked luggage). The key is to invest in research and development, instead of rolling out systems that don't work but inspire unrealistic expectations. We've seen enough of that since 9/11. We may remain vulnerable for a good while, but this is a fact of life. Knee-jerk reactions to last week's headlines will make us no more secure. In fact, they will make us less secure by squandering valuable resources that could be put to better use."

You'll be seeing more of this...

First it was a presence in Second Life, now it is brand channels on YouTube...

Paris Hilton has launched a brand channel on YouTube... YouTube gets to cover some of its extreme bandwidth costs (which some say are up $1m or more...) and the detrius get concentrated. Although the implementation is a little hard to see - search Hilton and your get a list of videos...

Focusing through the lens of a brand could make navigating the site easier and concentrate viewing - but will that destroy the anarchy that currently prevails, propelling pointless but amusing crap to the front page? Maybe not but the imperative to make money had to come sometime.

Web 2.0 Marketing is, well, different...

In case you were wondering how different, Murdoch sums it up well:

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT THE MYSPACE EXPERIENCE?

Rupert Murdoch: The speed at which it has grown. It has had no marketing. Not a penny has been spent marketing it before or after the purchase, and it just grows faster and faster every week. Now we're taking it out to other countries.

Thanks to Mark for the pointer. If his story was a few days late, mine is ancient... Oh well...

The point I think is that brands that have communities can establish stunning momentum and marketing efficiency over those that don't. But all brands have communities. For so many those communities are sleepers or false in nature. (For some of my purchases I just want to buy, for others, I want to join -- the vast majority of companies today miss the join bit).

One of the priorities then becomes activating the community - and a big part of that comes from empowering communities with tools and platforms on which they can participate. Activated communities have a low cost of customer acquisition.

Ten Things To Track...

Seems that "ten things" is a sure way to attract eyeballs and this one is no exception. A terrific post on "Ten Things You Should Be Monitoring".

Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley But Didn't Know Who to Ask

Lots of great tips here from Guy. The key one for me is admit your mistakes. It's tough moving through an interview - if you don't answer a question well, don't hesitate to take another swing at it. Some others:

• Get on Linked-In. So many of the folks I know are now recruiting through it.
• Don't use a goofy email address.
• Be early for the interview. Guy makes this point well. Being late due to traffic means you didn't plan or you aren't that interested.
• Show massive enthusiasm.

WSJ.com - Moguls of New Media

Good story on the power of communities and participation.

Katie's Other Blog

Katie Paine, of whom I am a huge fan, has another blog that you should take a minute to read. Her description of the blog says it all:

"This is a blog about surviving and thriving. Personally, I've survived one round of breast cancer, two start-up companies, one failed marriage, countless failed relationships, my house burning to the ground and a host of other "character building experiences." As Connie Kaldor says, however, "Just how much character does any one woman need?" This is a dialog about finding the answer to that all-consuming question."

I've learn't so much from Katie on marketing measurement and will keep an eye on this one to learn more. Thanks Katie!

Are We Better Or Worse Than IT...

Are communicators or marketers better or worse than IT professionals in measuring ROI? Looking at this article it seems that they are struggling with the same issues as many of us.

Testing Microsoft Live Writer

I am having a play with Microsoft's new LiveWriter. Looks interesting. If you have Internet Explorer 7 installed, might be worth a dabble. Nice interface but I can't see any compelling reason to move off Zoundry or Ecto at this stage.