I've Got You In My Sights

Some of you may remember the tragic shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in January. If not, you can get the background story from this CNN article. Long story short, Giffords (D-AZ), was shot while speaking to her constituents outside a supermarket. She is currently recovering and undergoing therapy at the Memorial Hermann Medical Center in Houston, Texas.

An innocent meet-and-greet turns violent.

A few weeks prior to the shooting, Sarah Palin had begun a new phase of her campaign, called Take Back the 20. Palin made the mistake of using images of gun crosshairs to target the districts of Democrats who voted in favor of the recent health care legislation. Giffords' district falls under this category. A spokeswoman for Palin denies any connection between the violent imagery and the shooting, and Palin herself later denied she meant the image to look like a gun sight. Below is the offending image, in its entirety:

What happens online, stays online.

It is completely foolish to believe that Sarah Palin's staffers never considered this imagery to be violent in any way. The groundswell told Palin's staffers this with an intense backlash against the image. When you Google search "Sarah Palin crosshairs," you will find thousands of blog posts about her insensitivity and foolish behavior. Like I mentioned earlier, if you make a mistake, the groundswell will call you out on it.

In addition to the SarahPAC website, Palin used Twitter to promote the map as well, tweeting "Don't Get Demoralized! Get Organized! Take Back the 20!" with a link to the image. She also tweeted "Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: "'Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!'"

...But she didn't intend the map to come off as violent.

Palin's campaign could have benefited from a policy of controlled transparency, in which information is released in a controlled fashion. In addition, her staffers responded to the faux-pas in the worst way possible - by quickly removing the image from her website with no explanation. No, I'm not saying she should have kept the image live, but she should have publicly apologized for the mistake at the same time. Palin still has not apologized for her mistake, and the TakeBackthe20.com website no longer exists.

If you want more information about the shooting, watch this!

This scandal provides an important lesson - sometimes you can be too transparent. Sarah Palin showed the groundswell that she was fallible... a little too fallible. This illustrates the boundaries between radical transparency and controlled transparency, and when it is appropriate to use one method over the other. Hopefully Sarah Palin and her campaign staffers will learn from this mistake, and listen to the groundswell before jumping in.

Enter at Your Own Risk

In chapter 9 of Groundswell, Li and Bernoff reveal the bonuses of embracing the groundswell. In this chapter, they mention an example from Credit Mutuel, a Canadian bank. Credit Mutuel launched an extremely successful website, called "Si j'etais banquier" (or "If I were a banker"). This innovative campaign prompted customers to enter suggestions on how they would run the bank if they were bankers. Now, I realize this program may not sound that innovative, but it was in a very subtle way. Instead of saying "tell us what to do," the bank is asking "What would you do if you were us?" (pg. 188). See the difference? It's the small details that really matter the most.

While reading this example, I was reminded of another advertising campaign referenced in the Trust Agents book I mentioned a couple posts back. GM tried to embrace the groundswell, and failed miserably. In 2006, General Motors launched a campaign to advertise their new Tahoe truck. In this campaign, GM asked users to take video clips of the Tahoe, mix them into their own media, and upload their videos to YouTube. People did exactly this, but the videos that many consumers produced were negative statements about the Tahoe's environment... not what GM wanted to see. Below is one of the user-generated advertisements:

I don't think this is exactly what GM had in mind...

GM learned from this mistake by creating GMNext.com, which featured a wiki for people to share stories about the cars they loved. This website was an overnight success.

Do you see why the first campaign failed and the second succeeded? Don't worry, I'll break it down for you. The Tahoe campaign failed because GM blatantly asked people to advertise their product for the company. In the GMNext campaign, GM asked people to share their passions. It's another subtle difference, but it had a HUGE impact. GM tried to embrace the groundswell, but instead, they just angered it. GM had not considered the potential effects of agency, in which users can transform the intent of messages as they get transferred through social media. The users who created environmentally-conscious advertisements re-interpreted GM's ideas to reflect their own interests. Li and Bernoff warn their readers about jumping into the groundswell, and advise companies to wait until they are ready to face the consequences.

Li and Bernoff also mention later on in the chapter that in order to successfully implement a strategy that embraces the groundswell, like a creative advertising campaign, you need to be prepared to let some of your control go. They assert two main points: (1) No matter what kind of business you're in, your customers can help you, and (2) embracing your customers takes a balance between skill and humility (pg. 193-194). After you allow customers to make suggestions, you can't just stop there. You need to implement those suggestions, or the groundswell is going to call you out on your lack of responsiveness. By allowing both good and bad feedback to be viewed by customers, you will increase your company's transparency. Consequently, customers will be more willing to trust your company. Showing that you are fallible will improve your reputation as a trust agent.

In short, don't be afraid to dive into the groundswell... but don't complain when things don't go your way!

It's a people driven economy, stupid.

Is social media just a fad? Take just 4 minutes out of your busy day to find out... I bet you'll be surprised! (Full screen it for the full impact.)

How "Connection" Erodes Intimacy

The perceived need to be constantly connected to all of your friends is becoming a problem for face-to-face, personal, and private interactions. The networked public has brought about a general shift in attitudes -- what was once private is now public, and nothing is off-limits. The social networking technologies have even seeped into one of the most private aspects of a person's social life -- their love life.

About a week before finals began in the Fall 2010 semester, a new social network emerged, quietly at first, but then spread like wildfire. I'm talking about LikeALittle. LikeALittle is formatted similar to Twitter, and it has separate pages for different college campuses across the country. The basic concept behind LikeALittle is to provide a space for students to "flirt" anonymously with other students. Here you can see the example that is auto-populated on Clark's homepage:

Who wouldn't want to receive a message like that?

After a "flirt" is posted, other students can comment anonymously on it, and users can choose to "like" a post, or even send a private message to the author. Personally, I think it's a brilliant idea! It allows shy students to flirt with other students in their "native language," via the Internet. The site has exploded since December 2010, and I would not be surprised if they released a smartphone application soon. They are constantly hiring new staff.

Most of the posts on LikeALittle are innocent enough. Some examples include: "laughter is the best cure, and you're so good at it. i'd be your girl, if you just noticed it," and "Cute tallish one. I've seen you glancing :) Come say hi already!" However, some of the posts can get inappropriate quickly, which is why LikeALittle recruits moderators to make sure everything stays lighthearted and fun.

Students can use LikeALittle to say things they normally wouldn't in person.

Although I love the idea, I admit it becomes a little problematic. Whatever happened to passing a note across the classroom, or hesitantly asking someone to go see a movie? Sites like LikeALittle make those first romantic interactions less serious, and somehow less real. Because it is completely anonymous, its users are more likely to post things they would not say straight to that person's face.

The LikeALittle creators are taking advantage of the ideas of blurred boundaries, because they know they can reach their target audience at any moment. LikeALittle has also linked with Facebook, which is a smart strategy. By connecting their site to Facebook, the creators of LikeALittle can tap into the network of Joiners (using Groundswell terminology) and encourage them to become Creators or Critics.

The LikeALittle authors have established a community, much like Procter & Gamble's beinggirl.com. Their community was established around the problems young girls face every day. LikeALittle was established around the problems faced by shy students who want to meet new people. Since LikeALittle is not selling a product, they don't run the risk of shouting at their users.

If only it were that easy! (Source: http://globalthoughtz.com)

Personally, given the choice to make an anonymous "flirt" on LikeALittle or to actually speak to my crush in person, I would choose the offline interaction. Because LikeALittle is anonymous, the chances of your crush actually figuring out who you are are slim to none. If you seriously want to try and go on a date or even start a relationship, LikeALittle is not the way to go.

The Importance of Authenticity

While reading Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, I have been reminded in many instances of another book I read for my Organizational Communication class last semester, called Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputations, and Earn Trust.

Trust Agents complements the messages in Groundswell by emphasizing the importance of authenticity. To become a "trust agent," you need to recognize that the web is becoming much more humanized, and you need to use that knowledge to your advantage. Like in Groundswell, Trust Agents also warns its readers not to get caught up in the minute details of the technology and tools themselves.

Don't let the Groundswell overwhelm you -- or you could end up like this!

Chapters 5 and 6 of Groundswell, "Listening to the Groundswell" and "Talking with the Groundswell," respectively, emphasize the importance of tapping into your customer base by listening to what they want, and responding to those requests, and the difference between shouting (mass advertising) and talking (having a conversation).

In chapter 5, Li and Bernoff talk about the importance of listening to the groundswell. According to Li and Bernoff, the Groundswell has radically changed the balance of power. Anyone can start a blog, anyone can create a website. Anyone can publicly say anything they want about any topic! This can be scary to companies -- because their brand, their identity, is no longer in their control. Li and Bernoff state that "your brand is whatever your customers say it is. And in the groundswell where they communicate with each other, they decide" (pg. 78).

Here's an example. Every girl wants a ring from Tiffany & Co., right? Nothing bad can come out of that little turquoise box. This may be true for most people, but if Tiffany can't keep customers happy after the purchase, those unhappy customers could blog about it -- ruining the reputation that Tiffany has established for itself. One rude Tiffany representative could bring down the entire reputation of the company. Do you see how volatile these identities have become?

Every girl's dream... or is it?

For companies, there is only one way to find out how their customers are defining their brand, and that is by listening. There are two main ways to effectively listen to the groundswell - by brand monitoring, or by setting up a private community. Successful strategies will involve both listening elements. A private community gives you all the information you would receive from a focus group, and more. It is essentially a natural setting where consumers talk to each other, and you can listen into their insights. Brand monitoring will allow companies to hear what their customers are saying about their products. The Charter Institute of Marketing provides some tips on how to effectively monitor your brand:

Social Media Brand Monitoring - CIM's Top Tips

Uploaded by HartJayne2432.

If your company does not have a significant online presence, your company will fall by the wayside. Other, more technologically-aware companies will succeed. It's as simple as that. In chapter 6, Li and Bernoff propose a concrete way in which businesses can increase their online presence. One of these ways is to start a blog. However, a blog cannot be written by a company. A company cannot expect its clients to identify personally with a blog post authored by "Kraft Foods." The last thing consumers want is to be inundated with even more advertisements. Like Li and Bernoff say, do not shout at your consumers (pg. 101). Li and Bernoff stress that by creating a blog, "shouting doesn't work ... If you put up a blog, they [consumers] will comment and expect you to pay attention to those comments" (pg. 102). To increase the effectiveness of a company blog, its authors must act as people. Shocking, I know! However, the average blog-reader or commenter (a.k.a. spectators or critics, in Li and Bernoff's terms) would much rather read a post from a human being, not a corporation. Wouldn't you?

Procter & Gamble recognized this subtle difference between shouting and talking. They established an online community, beinggirl.com, which is centered around the problems that young girls face every day. Yes, Procter & Gamble is a for-profit company, so they do participate in some advertising, but it is nice and subtle. Beinggirl.com features a section called "Ask Iris" in which girls can ask a psychologist any question. The only time specific products are brought up in conversation is in the signature: "Good Luck, Iris, for beinggirl.com, brought to you by Always pads & pantiliners and Tampax tampons." In Li and Bernoff's words, "What's delivered here is a big dose of sensitivity with a small dollop of information and a tiny brand message. This really is talking with your customers" (pg. 120).

Don't waste your money on expensive mass advertising. Just listen and respond, and you can invest less money in more effective ways.