Updates from November, 2008

• Being There
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 11:45 am on November 26, 2008 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
  Tags: WOM How-to (384), WOM Trends (542)

  We frequently reference the burgeoning, ever-expanding [and expansive] world where WOMM and Web 2.0 intersect. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, to name a few, make up a large part of our discussion at the Word. With that in mind, it seemed a good idea to take a step back and acknowledge something quite important to the WOMM discussion. Web 2.0 devices, Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn or MySpace, they are only this: devices.
  Chris Brogan, writer on community and social media, makes a paramount point with regards to WOMM in his recent post, ‘Do You Have to Touch Every Conversation’?” We like Chris’ argument a good deal. He writes:
  “You and I are doing business in Twitter. You and I are doing things on XYZ platform. There are gazillions of other conversations that I’m not touching….but is that really the goal? Or is the goal to fish where your fish are, to do what you plan to do, and to do it well?”

  The full story at Chris Brogan:
  http://www.chrisbrogan.com/do-you-have-to-touch-every-conversation/
  

   

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• Being There, Part II
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 11:44 am on November 26, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: WOM How-to (384), WOM Trends (542)

  Perhaps a good addendum to our headline article, we’d like to link to another piece that injects corporate doubts into the efficacies of social networks, this time, from the “approval” vantage point. Simply put, says Nucleus Research analyst Rebecca Wetterman, “I would argue that right now, with the economy where it is, there has to be a clear and compelling case for social networking in your organization…. Otherwise, it’s not going to get approval. Certainly the CFO isn’t going to sign off on something that looks like ‘that Facebook thing my kids are on.’”
  We’re certainly not advocating that CFO’s take a step back and reject social networking tools, but we are acknowledging that this viewpoint is still prevalent. InternetNews.com tackles this topic, with some social networking solutions that look to refute the stigma that social networks remain unready for business.

  The full story at InternetNews:
  http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3786921/Social+Networks+Not+Ready+for+Business.htm
  

   

• Social Networking Startup KickApps Raises $14 Million
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 11:42 am on November 26, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: WOM and Social Networks (492)

  A counterpoint to our first two articles:
  KickApps, the social networking solution for big organizations and entrepreneurial persons, such as the WB, the San Francisco 49ers, Rachel Ray, NPR, Guiness Book and John McCain, has reached a new milestone with its announcement of raising $14 million in new investment capital. KickApps popularity, which is fueled in large part by its appeal to simplicity by way of a WYSISWYG editor, is strong evidence that big organizations are looking to branch out into the social networking realm.

  The full story at TechCrunch:
  http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/25/kickapps-actually-raises-14-million-in-a-series-b/
  

   

• Fighting Diabetes with Web 2.0
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 11:41 am on November 26, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: WOM in Healthcare / Pharma (37), WOM Trends (542)

  Another counterpoint to our first two articles:
  The scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research at the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, Diane Finegood, has reiterated the oft-mentioned value of contagious health behaviors. That is to say, it’s always easier to change a habit if someone else quits with you, or diets with you, et al. Now, says Finegood, the logical push is to expand contagious, positive, health choices into the Web 2.0 sphere. Facebook and other internet marketing techniques are just the beginning.
  “The Internet will be just one plank of Finegood’s planned research, which will assess mentorships and programs aimed at addressing behaviour and overturning what social researchers are calling the “normalizing” effect of living in a society where half the population is obese or overweight.”

  The full story at canada.com:
  http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=8f1a621b-241e-4956-b1d5-aeea007e7ec9
  

   

• Email Solutions as a Thanksgiving Parting Gift
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 11:40 am on November 26, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: Viral Marketing (174)

  The WOMMA Word will be off on Thanksgiving and Friday, so we’d like to offer our thanks right now to our readers via email with a list of some of the best emails making their way around the world right now.
  Hopefully you’ll be able to integrate similar, effective ideas into your own business correspondences. We realize that we all get way too much email, so thanks again for tuning into the WOMMA Word. We’ll do our best to keep you current of all the WOMM news we can.
  Some email solutions here: http://www.pr.com/press-release/118573
  Happy Thanksgiving!

  The full story at PR:
  http://www.pr.com/press-release/118573
  

   

• Millennial Journalists Shop at the New Media GAP
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 12:04 pm on November 25, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: Research (313), WOM Trends (542)

  A new study conducted by Society for New Communications Research and Middleberg Communications unveils the disparity in usage of social media tools between younger versus older journalists. Millennials are pushing the envelope in terms of adoption and a new attitude toward social media and citizen journalism in the newsroom. Perhaps unsurprisingly: the survey makes it very clear that younger journalists entering the workforce are adopting new media and social tools more readily and rapidly than their older peers.

  The full story at New Communications Review:
  http://www.newcommreview.com/?p=1368
  

   

• Putting the “Giving” Back in Thanksgiving
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 12:03 pm on November 25, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: Blog Marketing (170), WOM and Social Networks (492)

  Today WOMMA member company theKbuzz announced its big kick-off for Epic Change’s Tweetsgiving. The idea is simple: use the power of social media (with Twitter, specifically) to spread gratitude while inspiring others to contribute to a great cause - the ultimate goal being to raise $10,000 in 48 hours to build a classroom in Tanzania. Using WOM for good: almost as tasty as turkey and gravy.
  Get involved at: http://tweetsgiving.org

  The full story at Buzz Marketing Daily:
  http://thekbuzz-thekisforkerpen.blogspot.com/2008/11/put-giving-back-in-thanksgiving.html
  

   

• Cirque du Social Soleil
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 12:02 pm on November 25, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: WOM and Social Networks (492)

  Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing recently interviewed Jessica Berlin, social media marketing manager for Cirque du Soleil, about her insights into online reputation management and social media. Jessica openly discusses Cirque’s entrance strategy into the social media sphere as well as how they monitor conversations occurring on blogs, blog comments, forums, et al.

  The full story at Online Marketing Blog:
  http://www.toprankblog.com/2008/11/cirque-du-soleil-social-media-marketing/
  

   

• Reuters Quits Second Life in Real Life
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 12:01 pm on November 25, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: WOM and Social Networks (492), WOM Trends (542)

  While Second Life has a community of fanatically loyal users, it appears that the buzz is waning. Eric Krangel, reporting under the byline Eric Reuters, claims his “beat” was “about as fun as watching paint dry.” Krangel, now with Silicon Alley Insider, writes, “the very things that most appeal to Second Life’s hardcore enthusiasts are either boring or creepy for most people.”

  The full story at The Guardian:
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2008/nov/23/reuters-quits-secondlife
  

   

• Rank My Agent
  
  

  WOMMA Editor 12:00 pm on November 25, 2008 | Comments Off Comments Permalink
  Tags: WOM Trends (542)

  Two new websites provide an eBay like approach in finding a reputable and reliable real estate professional. AgentRank.com and IncredibleAgents.com function as repositories of agent profile pages that allow homebuyers and sellers to find a real estate agent they can depend upon. While people are very quick to hire an agent based on a single word of mouth referral, the power of reviews site allow consumers to see a pattern of success for an agent before signing a sales contract.

  The full story at The Dallas Morning News:
  http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/ptech/stories/11_25_08dnbusRealty.1e4cfab0f.html