The Web 2.0 social media world is a fantastic place to participate, sample, and  ask for creative input from your audience. Crowdsourcing is according to the crowdsourcing wikipedia: “the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call.”  The Ideastorm logo courtesy of Ideastorm.com

Architecture of Participation

According to Tim O’Reilly, the man behind the definition of Web 2.0, Web 2.0 is built on an “architecture of participation.” Consequently, crowdsourcing is a fantastic method to tap into the vast resource that is human capital on the Internet, discover new ideas for products or services, and measure your message. This concept hinges on one idea: harnessing collective intelligence.

Harnessing Collective Intelligence

Tim ‘OReilly posited in 2005 that “The central principle behind the success of the giants that lead the Web 2.0 era appears to be. . . that they have embraced the power of the web to harness collective intelligence.”

Crowdsourcing: Dell’s Ideastorm.com

A great example of mining for ideas on products, services, best practices, policy, and a number of other business concepts is Dell Computers’ crowdsourcing site ideastorm.com. Dell’s tagline for ideastorm “Where Your Ideas Reign.”

Dell’s Ideastorm.com is responsible for the following:

• Users have generated 11,581 ideas at ideastorm.com
• 325 ideas have been implemented by Dell
• Top ideas
• Recent ideas
• Popular ideas
• Implemented idea list

Conclusion

Any entrepreneur, small business, large corporation, or job seeker can utilize “crowdsourcing” for their own purposes. One added benefit of crowdsourcing is the fact that it is an entry point for any job seeker or entrepreneur looking for opportunities. If an individual showcases their expertise and talents they have a solid chance of being noticed and opening the lines of communication with their intended targeted audience(s).

There’s a revolution going on right now and most companies don’t yet understand the shift. Web 2.0, the second generation of web development that facilitates communication, collaboration and the sharing of information, is changing the landscape and tone of business communications. The hard sell, in-your-face self promotion is no longer accepted by this generation. Instead, this world operates by an unwritten policy that says:

1.    Create relationships first.
2.    Give value to your relationships and invest in them.
3.    Your business initiatives will succeed as a result of the investments you’ve made in your relationships.

Makes sense, right? But how does your business give value? And where?

What value should you give? That answer is an easy one. Provide information that aligns with what you want to be known for.

Where do you deliver your value? Everywhere you connect with your customers. But most importantly, deliver value on the home page of your website. Put your blog content on your landing page.

A home page with valuable content demonstrates that you have value.
A home page that is a sales brochure says you have value.

Which do you think is the more effective practice? A demonstration or a statement?

photo credit: JMS2

“A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth.” –Wise man of the villiage to the boy who cried wolf

Many companies have no Twitter strategy nor an idea of the damage they do to their brand on a daily basis on Twitter. They spam and fill their Tweets with noise in a manner reminiscent of the old fable “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. In that fable, a boy tasked with guarding a flock of sheep decided to amuse himself by crying out “Wolf-Wolf” so that the villagers would come running to his rescue.

After falsely crying wolf a number of times, the boy did encounter a real wolf. When he cried out for help he was ignored by the villagers and his flock of customers er sheep ran away.

Where is the Strategy?

A vast majority of companies utilizing Twitter have no strategy and are simply wading into the network without a clue. Some of the most common mistakes:

• Name Holder: Companies that simply establish an account to hold their name so url squatters will not steal it. This is a lazy and simple excuse for doing absolutely nothing
• Mixed Signals: Companies that claim on their Bio their purpose for being on Twitter is to engage, communicate, and connect with their audience–then the company never does engage, communicate or connect with their audience
• About Us: Companies make everything from their tweets to their responses, if they get any, all about their products, services, and proclaimed greatness

Signal to Noise Ratio

Here are some simple steps to fix the problem of tone and noise in a company’s Twitter strategy:

• Signal: For every 10 tweets, 7 tweets should be valuable information (with links) that will help your audience & information that is not about your company
• Noise: For every 10 tweets, 3 should be about your company, they should give value, and they should be informative in nature

• No Hard Sell: NEVER tweet the hard sell, act desperate to sell, or attempt to create (old school) urgency for your audience to buy anything
• Mix: After repeating the formula of 7 signal to 3 noise, your next 10 tweets should be about recognition
• Connect: In this set of 10 tweets, 5 tweets use @company-individual to recognize their work, engage, network, or ask to collaborate
• Recognize: In this second set of 10 tweets, 5 tweets use RT (Retweet) to recognize someone’s writing, open lines of communication, and network to meet companies or individuals

In 2005 social media and Web 2.0 forefather Tim O’Reilly compiled a definition of Web 2.0: now a prophetic warning to the print media. O’Reilly’s Web 2.0 definition:

“Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others, creating network effects through an “architecture of participation,” and going beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences.”

Warning to All: Print Industry in Trouble

In a microcosm example, the “April issue of Portfolio magazine set a dubious record. With 106 total pages and 21 ad pages it is the slimmest monthly issue ever published by Condé Nast.”

According to eMarketer.com’s “Magazine’s Run Online”:

• In the US 525 magazines were shut down in 2008
  
• In 2009 87 more titles have folded
• In 2008 consumer magazine print ad spending down 7.1% to $13 Billion
• A 2009 ad spending forecast predicts that ad revenue will drop -16.2%

Paradigm Shift: “Architecture of Participation”

O’Reilly’s mantra within his Web 2.0 definition should be the rallying cry manifesto for every entrepreneur, small business, and corporation: Creating network effects through an “architecture of participation.”

Us vs. Them

For companies like Intel, American Express, Clorox, and HP the power of blogging and social networks produces:

• Brand recognition
• User participation
• Measurement of message, products, and services
• Viral opportunities
• Reputation management
• Breaking news opportunities
• Communication and engagement with their audience
• Crowdsourcing for new ideas

Conclusion: The Have Nots

For companies without a social media strategy, with no participation in social networks, and for those companies that do not publish a blog your time is coming. Your De-Evolution will take place as your competitors that are social media Web 2.0 first adopters and the second wave of adopters will fill the vacuum and void left by your lack of participation.

Worse yet, the consumer population looking for your brand online, within these social networks, will assume you don’t care about them or their concerns.

These consumers, made up of your current audience-clients and potential consumers, will hold conversations about your products and services. Some will compliment and evangelize your company-but you will never know it. Some will slam your brand, tell stories of dissatisfaction, and rant about your lack of participation-but you will never know it.

The blinders will remain a comfortable fit.

In the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s kids would flock to Hollywood, California in search of their dreams of stardom in the moving pictures aka the movies. These kids, like Norma Jean or John Wayne, would hit town and immediately begin the process of “being discovered.” The  4 steps they would often take can be equated to today’s job seeker or entrepreneur in their quest to find a job or “stardom” in their field.

1. Go to the Studio

Future Starlet or Star: Often the first (wannabe’s) strategy would be to go straight to Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, or other big studio and beg for a meeting or interview from a movie mogul, director, or talent scout. Banging on doors, collecting names, finding information to follow up was often the best these kids would manage.

Job Seeker or Entrepreneur on Linkedin: Often the first strategy is for job seekers and entrepreneurs to begin to show up on Linkedin, the modern day equivalent of the Hollywood studio. Here are a few steps to take “on the set”:

• Create a powerful profile on Linkedin
• Utilize the Linkedin internal search engine to find names, facts, and contacts of people and companies looking for their talents.
• Connect with targets by joining groups
• Showcase talents by answering Questions and asking Questions

2. Get Discovered

Future Starlet or Star: The next step was for these kids to go hang out in the drugstore soda fountain or by the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel. This was their form of networking to showcase their “look”, their style, or their originality.

Job Seeker or Entrepreneur on Facebook: The next strategy for a job seeker or entrepreneur is to build a Facebook profile. Here they can place pictures, videos, and samples of their writing. They can include links to their Linkedin profile as well as other information resources. Like the Hollywood actor in waiting, job seekers and entrepreneurs can showcase their expertise, originality, and focus.

3. Go to the Right Places

Future Starlet or Star: The next step would be to go to the Brown Derby for lunch or dinner. Ease drop on conversations, ask doorman or bartenders for tips on who’s in the place, and try to find the right people talking about the industry.

Job Seeker’s and Entrepreneurs on Twitter: Twitter is the place for people to find conversations about their industry, jobs, opportunities, and regional areas. Here a person can politely “inject” themselves into conversations, RSS subscribe to conversations, and begin to communicate and network with their targeted audience(s).

4. Hire a Manager, Talent Scout, Press Agent

Future Starlet or Star: Finally the wannabe would begin looking for help via an agent or other representative. The difficult process of trying to break in on their own becomes overwhelming.

Job Seeker or Entrepreneur establish their blog: Tired of sending out resumes, paying for advertisements, and waiting by the phone, these people establish their own blog. The blog becomes their press release, their talent scout, their agent, and their delivery system. It is the hub and centerpiece of their campaign to build a new business or find a new job opportunity. The steps include:

• Writing Articles: showcase talent and expertise
• Sending Articles: leaving links to their articles on other industry, company, or niche blogs
• Creating Video: video clips of themselves giving tips or explaining a process
• Recording Podcasts: recording their own “radio show” filled with information and expertise design to help people while showcasing their talents