Talking About My Education: New Media and Other Conferences, Seminars and Events

If President Obama is a nerd, then I am definitely a geek. In elementary, middle and high school, I dutifully followed my father's direction to do any and all extra credit. In college, having calculated the cost of each individual course, in fact, lecture, I opted to take four extra classes - one more per year than required. And now, I have become the guru of "continuing education," industry conferences, topical seminars, webinars, podcasts, you name it. Here are some examples:

Upcoming:

Social Media Week: February 1st-5th, 2010

The Official PressLift Launch Event

Recently Attended:

The New Age of Social Media, Monday, February 3rd, 7-9pm. SLC Center - 352 7th Avenue, 16th Floor - New York NY.

This event, in conjunction with Social Media Week, featured a panel that discussed the "truths and myths of social media." They were:

Eric Hamilton - Author, Social Media Branding in the Age of Obama
Ellie Nieves - Founder, Leadership Strategies for Women, LLC
Orietta E. Ramirez - Lawyer, HR Professional & Employment Blogger
Mike Street - Director of Social Media Marketing, Zezza Network

Moderator:
Anthony Quinones - CEO & Chief Creative Officer, Q Ball Media, LLC


Branding The Future With Social Media, sponsored by Pepsi Refresh, Monday, February 3rd, 2010, 10:30am - 12:30pm. New York, NY

The opening session of Social Media Week will focus on a top-level discussion of the increasing importance in utilizing social media to grow and develop corporate brands in the twenty-first century.

SPEAKERS:

Brian Morrisey, Digital Editor at AdWeek, will moderate this panel with panelists,

Lauren Hobart, Chief Marketing Officer of Sparkling Brands, for Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages,
Max Schorr, Co-founder of GOOD, Inc.
Facebook VP of Sales Tom Arrix
Frank Cooper, Chief Engagement Officer of Pepsico.


Social Media Week Official Press Conference, Monday, February 3rd, 8:30-10am. The Paley Center for Media - 25 West 52nd Street - New York, NY

Screening of "The Paper Chase," Friday, January 29th, 2010 - Harvard Club of New York

Baratunde Thurston, America, Race, and One Year Into Our Nation’s First Half-Black Presidency. Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Breaking Business Books: "The Power of Many" by Meg Whitman, Former EBay CEO, on Life and Business, Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

"Over-Under, Sideways-Down" - screening of the 1979 film followed by discussion with director-producer Steve Wax

Keynote speech by Louise Richardson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor University of Saint Andrews - expert on terrorism, January 21, 2010

iPhone workshop at Apple Store, Upper West Side - Monday, January 19, 2010.

Aperture workshop at Apple Store, Upper West Side - Monday, January 18, 2010.

Meeting of the Minds Webcast Series: 50+ Metrics Every Marketer Should Master (an Update)

Sponsored by American Marketing Association and MarketingNPV

Paul Farris of Darden School at UVA will offer an update on the new 2nd edition of 50+ Metrics Every Marketer Should Master – and discuss the additions and changes to the key metrics shaping marketing measurement. He’ll also share with us some new research into who is using which types of marketing metrics and how.

· Which metrics matter most?
· The evolution/update of marketing metrics
· New metrics for marketers to know

Speakers:
Paul Farris, Landmark Communications Professor, Darden School, University of Virginia; Author of 50+ Metrics Every Executive Should Master
Pat LaPointe, Managing Partner, MarketingNPV (moderator)

-- January 14th, 2010 @ 1pm ECT

Meeting of the Minds Webcast Series: Effective Marketing for the Economic Recovery -- Presented by: American Marketing Association in cooperation with MarketingNPV

Speakers:
Dave Reibstein, William Woodside Professor of Marketing, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; Author: Dynamic Competitive Strategy
Pat LaPointe, Managing Partner, MarketingNPV (moderator)

Dave Reibstein of Wharton will share his learnings on effective marketing during the economic recovery. Should we be waiting until the recession is all the way over? Should we be returning back to the original spending levels—slowly, immediately, or even exceeding the previous levels? Should we be spending differently in the recovery stage? Dave will discuss how spending should rise or fall as economic conditions vary, and when marketers should look to reallocate spending between acquisition and retention based on the type as well as the length of the recession.

* Recessions - what type of effects are being felt in your industry?
* How does a recession affect your total spending?
* What steps should you take in the allocation of spending between customer acquisition and retention?
* Should you wait until the recession is over to start increasing your spending?

-- December 15th, noon CST

"Market Forecast: The Economy and Markets at the Crossroads" NYSSA (New York Society of Security Analysts) - The stock market rally that began in early March sparked hope that the global economy has seen the worst of the recession. Yield spreads have moved closer to normal and credit has begun to flow with greater regularity. Yet, there remains significant doubt among many investors that the rise in stocks and the return to some semblance of normality in the credit markets is justified by the current and future state of the economy. Additionally, a high and rising level of concern of many investors is the degree of government activism exhibited by the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress. Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

"Understanding Social Media: An Introduction." Fridays with Vistage - Social Media Webcast with speaker Gini Dietrich. Friday, July 17th, 2009. I thought this would be kind of elementary as it was promoted as an intro to social media for executives. It definitely started out that way and reinforced most of what I already knew from my own experience, from Steve Wax at Campfire and from OMMA Social - among other social media sources; however, as Gini got more specific, there were some interesting tidbits, and I always find that the more you immerse yourself in a topic, the more knowledgeable, fluent and comfortable you become - even if it's your area of personal expertise. Moreover, I discovered after the fact a Twitter discussion community full of social media fluent participants and a total audience of 1,000 people according to one tweet. I'm looking forward to next Friday's installment (and hope to post some key takeaways).

"Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29: A Screening and Q&A with Director Kevin Rafferty '69." Harvard Club of New York - Wednesday, July 15th, 2009.

Advanced Investing Committee Meeting. NYSSA (New York Society of Security Analysts) - Tuesday, July 14th, 2009.

"Inter-Ivy Comedy Night." Penn Club of New York - Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

"What is Twitter, Facebook? LinkedIn? Hulu? And Why are They Important to You?" Harvard Club of New York with speaker Shelly Palmer - Later revised to: "What is Twitter? And how did it become a force in Iranian politics?" - Organized by Karen Levine, Program Committee, Harvard Club of New York

"Advanced Excel for Data Analysis" New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) - Streamline your number crunching process and conduct more in-depth analysis with sophisticated techniques. Minimize manual labor, save time and perform more detailed analysis quickly. Develop more efficient ways to apply commonly used formulas. Discover often overlooked Excel formulas. Analyze data using functions such as pivot tables, sumif, sum+if, transpose, working with arrays, vlook-up, subtotals, and regression analysis. Enhance your spreadsheets with data validation techniques, automation of alternate row shading and much more! Increase your Excel efficiency up to 75%.

"6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times" New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) with speaker Whitney Tilson - During recent years, a flood of liquidity fueled a worldwide asset bubble, in which the most significant element was the Great Mortgage Bubble in the United States. The unwinding of this bubble remains the primary driver of the credit crisis that is reverberating through the global financial system. Value investor Whitney Tilson, co-author of the recently released book More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times, will share an in-depth analysis of the state of the housing market and a prediction of what the future may have in store. This session will conclude with an overview of the current opportunity set, discussing what has already been priced into securities and where the best opportunities can be found on the short- and long-side.

Inaugural Meeting of the Wharton Marketing Professionals Association (WhAM) -- Presented by Wharton Dean Tom Robertson and Marketing Professor Dave Reibstein. Wharton Dean (and former Marketing Department Chair) Tom Robertson launched the Wharton Association of Marketers (WhAM!) in New York on Tuesday, March 17th. Sponsored by the Wharton Club of New York -- WhAM! is the first Wharton alumni program of its kind -- an exclusive network dedicated to the professional, career and personal growth of the best trained, most elite group of marketing professionals in the world -- Wharton Marketers!

In his launch address Dean Robertson also provided an update on the state of the school, followed by Professor Reibstein's update on the University's latest developments and initiatives in the field of Marketing - March 17, 2009

It's Heee-rrre: Hyper-Local Targeting

6 months ago I wrote that the next most important trend in digital and social media would be hyper-local targeting (or micro-geotargeting, if you will). At that time, the poster child was Yelp! With Yelp and a handy-dandy GPS-enabled smart phone, you could walk out of your office and ask the Yelp! application to tell you the closest place to get your keys copied or have a manicure or find out whether there are any dance clubs on the Upper West Side for your friend who wants you to throw her a bachelorette party. A neat concept in June 2009.

The concept did not, by any means, start in 2009. Back in early 2006, in a report I wrote about the mobile landscape, I included the practice of targeted SMS mailings in which a retailer such as Subway could send a text message to a consumer passing by the store at around noon offering a right-place, right-time promotional code for a lunch special. The concept was perfect. How much closer to recency could you get. The logistics were a little clumsy or perhaps hypothetical or vague - involving opt-in mailing lists and limited #s of messages per month from a community of 3rd party advertisers, but the idea was exciting.

I also read, at the time, about a practice in Vegas, whereby your hotel would ask you to sign in via your mobile device when you landed at the airport to expedite your check-in. The hotel was then able to track you as you moved about the strip and send you messages luring you back on-site with offers of free meals if you wondered off to another casino. A little creepy, but pretty cool.

Then, a few years ago, Google introduced the ability to keep track of your friends (or children, as my sister-in-law enthusiastically observed) via Google Maps and the GPS chips on their phones. Slightly creepy, again, but reminded me of the magic map in the first Harry Potter book, so, again, kind of neat - though I did not participate, in part because few, if any of my friends knew about this.

Fast forward to the new decade. I've been using UrbanSpoon since it first burst onto the scene via the iPhone commercial and have dabbled with Yelp! on occasion. In addition, I've become a big fan of the iPhone MobileMe functionality whereby you can locate your phone using its gps chip should it be stolen or lost. And I've been using the GPS function of Google Maps for ages to find myself, find my way out of Central Park, find my way to a restaurant a few blocks away in East Hampton, etc. It all started with my Blackberry, at which time, I found it to be a very neat feature. And, now, with the iPhone, the graphics make it even better as you watch your little blue dot get closer to the little red pin of your target destination.

And now, I have been introduced to "FourSquare" - an iPhone and also Droid application. With this application, you sign-in to a location when you arrive. This act then sends a notification to your friends as to where you are and also tells you which of your friends are at the same location - as well as telling you who is the "mayor" of that venue, meaning that he or she is there the most often. Well, the implications of this application for marketing - both local and behavioral are tremendous - as you can see from the discussion around Chris Brogan's posting on American Express' Open Forum entitled: "Get Ahead of the Location Game." (The link to this article was sent to me by a friend WHILE I was writing this posting!)

The FourSquare application is not yet high profile as far as I can tell, though I am am sure it will come up many times during Social Media Week next week. I heard about it from a recent grad on the Program Committee at the Harvard Club and found that Matt Blank, CEO of Showtime was already aware of at, whereas a senior executive at a major ad agency was not. So I predict that it is something that will be become better known in the next few months. And, of course, it will be come more powerful with more participation.

Some people will scoff at the start, finding it to be odd that you would want to share that information with others - these are the same people who scoffed at Facebook when I joined in 2006 and now spend 6 hours a day with it. And, as with Facebook, I will be careful as to the people with whom I choose to share this info - likely friends and Frolleagues. (Frolleagues are colleagues with whom you are friendly enough to connect on Facebook).

As with Facebook, by the way, a not so ideal impact of the application is that I am regularly reminded that a Frolleague of mine goes to the gym once or twice a day while I... well I go less frequently.

In addition to signing in to locations and tracking your friends' moves throughout the day, FourSquare invites you to comment on nearby venues - it gives you a list of options based on your GPS - and to read tips from others. It also gives you visibility into twitter feeds from people in your nearby location.

As I was writing this blog in my head, I logged onto Yelp! on my iPhone and, of course, they have the same functionality in terms of signing into a location, so there seems to be a coming together of Yelp! and FourSquare. I am not sure of the business models of these apps, but the potential is huge and, after all, Google didn't have a business model for nearly six years!

"The Power of Many" - Life Lessons from Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay

In preparation for attending a recent talk by Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay and current candidate for Governor of California, I did a little background reading. Here are some of the highlights from what she has said or written that I feel are worth sharing:

“Try something. You can always recalibrate and adjust later.”

This reminds me of one my FAVORITE musical lines – from Sondheim’s “Move On” - I chose and my world was shaken, so what? The choice may have been mistaken. The choosing was not.

Focus on the good things can come from an action rather than worrying about what might go wrong.

She was on Goldman Sachs’ board but didn’t feel she had a lot of financial services expertise. She resigned Goldman’s board and joined P&G’s a few days later. She started her career with P&G as a brand assistant for “Toilet Products” including Head & Shoulders. Her first project was to recommend the size of the opening on the shampoo bottle. The answer came from the consumer. They wanted a smaller opening so that could “have more control in the shower.”

Talking about her days at eBay:

The regulation (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) was that if you do not police your site, you can’t be responsible. Her laywers, therefore, advised her not to police the site even though she knew that bootlegged copies of the “Cop Killer” videogame were being auctioned. Henry Schultz of Starbucks, who was an eBay board member, advised her as follows: “Don’t let the lawyers run your company.” I believe that advice came from Schultz; in any case, it’s good advice. Nonetheless, the seminal question that defined eBay going forward did come from Schultz and was as follows: “What do you want the character of your company to be?”

Good question, and the one that every marketer should ask himself. This was a question I asked The California Travel and Tourism Commission, when I worked with them. In this case, the question was about who their audience was. Was it the hospitality industry, tourists, advertisers… Their website did not have a voice. Their printed materials came from Sunset Custom Publishing. I recommended that they look to Sunset for their editorial voice.

This is also one of the key questions a marketer should ask when developing a social media strategy. What is being said about me now? What do I want my personality or character to be? What role do I want to play? Advisor? Helper? Expert? Advocate? Access to inside info and deals?


Meg graduated from Harvard Business School (HBS) in 1979. While this was not the trailblazer generation of female MBAs, women were definitely in the minority. When she joined P&G, she was one of perhaps four women in a class of one hundred. When she started, women were not authorized to travel for business because it was not deemed to be safe. She and her female colleagues got this policy changed!

Sunday night, I saw a film called “Over-Under, Sideways-Down” at the Anthology Film Archives here in New York. The film was produced and directed by Steve Wax, one of the founders of Campfire Media and a client of mine. It was set in 1979, which was obvious from the attire, cars, technology and mindset. When the wife of the protagonist suggests that she get a job as pursuit of a new job seemed fruitless, the husband rejected the idea out of hand. “Who would take care of the children,” he bellowed. “They need their mother.” The film, by the way, which was dated in terms of historic setting, rang completely true and relevant in the context of the economic situation in Detroit, middle-America, and even here in NYC. It was actually quite depressing in its claustrophobic tone.


Meg’s advice: “Always deliver the results.”

“If you are always in the neighborhood of good results, you will always get the credit.”

This last bit of advice came from Mitt Romney, one of her mentors from their days at P&G. (Gives some insight into her choice to go into politics.)


At eBay, she could gauge the state of her eBay community based on the number of emails she received in a day. She had a one-to-one dialog with her consumer base. If there were 200 emails, all was well. If 5,000… well, there was a problem that was pretty easy to identify by scanning a few email headers. Hence, her overriding theme: “The Power of Many,” which is the title of her book, subtitled, “Values for Success in Business and in Life.”

iPhone, iApps, iTunes, iFacts

Several weeks ago, I posted a blog entry about iPhone/iTouch applications that included Fun iApp Facts, Tips for Marketing an iPhone App and Other iApp Observations. As I have attended OMMA conferences, Digital Downtown and had direct interaction with iPhone Apps, I have been updating this blog. However, the entry is getting longggggg, so I am starting anew - appropriately at the same time that Apple is launching a new iPhone. I am blogging live from the OMMA Social conference as a starting point and may also include up-to-date facts from "Marking an iPhone Application."

As of January 5, more than 3Bn iPhone apps had been downloaded - 18 months since intro of app store -- 77 countries -- 100MM+ apps available. (Apple.com)

1Bn apps downloaded between September 28th and January 5th alone, i.e., within 3 months! (Apple.com)

There are predictions that the Android will have 150MM applications by the end of 2010. (January 2010)

300 million Americans have some kind of wireless device. (December 2, 2009 - CEO of Verizon Wireless via Ad Age podcast)

Apple was the first company to market its device in some kind of meaningful way. Up until that point, wireless devices were typically marketed by the wireless carriers. It was during that period that Verizon focused nearly exclusively on its "Can You Hear Me Now?" campaign. Once Apple broke this barrier, consumers started to choose networks based on devices rather than coverage. Verizon Wireless then turned its attention away from the coverage message. However, in the last few months, Verizon has introduced the "We've Got a Map for That" campaign, which I personally think is extremely witty - particularly as someone who has suffered as an iPhone user who had to make the switch to AT&T and has nostalgic feelings for my old network, i.e., Verizon. This, together with the Google Android phone will begin a new chapter in this story so stay tuned.

Personally, I am sticking with the iPhone because (a) there are 100,000 apps - though, really, how many of those do I use? This question echos the fact that although I have up to 1,000 digital television channels, I watch only a handful on a regular basis. Still I do like to know the other TV networks are available to me should I need them (b) as someone in digital media I must use an iPhone or iTouch to stay in touch, and the iPhone is far superior (c) I have nearly two years left on my contract with AT&T (d) I love the Apple stores, and there is one that opened up 7 blocks from my apartment (e) There are a LOT of things I like about the iPhone and its operating system and intrinsic applications. (December 2, 2009 - opening thoughts based on CEO of Verizon comments on Ad Age podcast)

There are now more than 100,000 iPhone applications (November 16, 2009)

6 out of 7 people do not have a smart phone. This offers a potential market for the just released Twitter-only device that taps into local cell phone networks with no monthly fee (New York One - November 5, 2009)

AT&T has renewed its exclusive contract with Apple for the iPhone. However, Verizon Wireless' answer to the iPhone — the Droid — will go on sale Nov. 6 for $200 as the company taps the growing appetite for smart phones that go far beyond making calls. The Droid could help Verizon retain its status as the nation's largest wireless carrier and contribute to a turnaround of its manufacturer, Motorola Inc., which hasn't produced a hit since the wildly popular Razr phone in 2005. The new device also could give a boost to Google Inc., which used the Droid to unveil mapping software that could challenge standalone navigational devices, sending GPS gadget maker Garmin Ltd.'s stock plunging. (Pioneer Press, October 28, 2009)

BusinessWeek reports that there are 1 million mobile applications across 12 mobile application stores, i.e., there are 15MM non iPhone apps and 11 non-Apple application stores (October 23, 2009 - BusinessWeek Behind the Cover Story podcast: The Apps Economy)

100MM people are registered in the iTunes store. 70% (confirm) are in the U.S. (Matt Blank, October 14, 2009)

Showtime keeps a very high split of each dollar spent on a Showtime series purchased on iTunes. (Higher than what Kliavkoff reported for NBC a few years ago.) CEO Matt Blank is thrilled that consumers beyond the network's 17MM subscribers now have access to their programming - for monetary purposes, branding benefits, and word of mouth marketing. Showtime does not monetize programming in the same way as non-premium networks that run advertising. A good Showtime program builds the Showtime brand, which then drives subscription revenue. Showtime was once criticized for this single source of revenue model, but it seems to be serving the network well in these challenging times, particularly given the outstanding lineup of distinctively Showtime original programming. (based talks by Matt Blank, October 14, 2009 and George Kliavkoff, June 15, 2007)

Less than one week after introduction Apple had already sold 1 million iphone 3GS (June 23, 2009)

B2B Social Media - in progress...

Ok, so I kind of leave off mid-sentence and needs some editing, but I have to get some deals on holiday cards at Papyrus before I meet a contact for drinks in Alice Tully Hall and then meet a friend at the ballet. By publishing this to the world wide web, I know I completed something tangible today.

Social Media

What Is Social Media? Social media is a collection of online applications, platforms and media that aim to facilitate interaction, collaboration and the sharing of content. It uses Internet and other digital technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). Social media is intrinsically connected with what is called Web 2.0 in that it facilitates the creation and exchange of user generated content (UGC).

Social media may sound daunting, but is really nothing new. The world wide web had its start on message boards, chat rooms and peer to peer communication. Social media tools are easy to access and not particularly technical. They are fueled by innovations in web development, computing technology and broadband proliferation.

Social media is often associated with the “consumer” space, either being used by consumers for their own purposes or used by businesses that are using it to communicate with their consumers.


However, social media is also used by B2B marketers such as Intel. It is used by companies to increase internal communication, involvement and insight. One of the most powerful aspects of social media is that it allows companies to have dialogs with their constituents and to listen in on conversations among those people. Hence the use of internal social media not only facilitates greater coordination among employees, it gives senior management a better understand of their employees and access to how their messages are being received and to what’s really happening “on the ground.”

Social media has also become an integral part of industry conferences, sales meetings, networking events, seminars, webinars and other professional interactions. Here are some examples:

(1) A leading business school recently rolled out a virtual learning series to its alumni worldwide. Participants call into a conference line, where they listen in on a talk by a professor on a topic of interest. They are able to submit questions for the speaker via email – collected and curated by the moderator. And at the close of the call, they are invited to continue the conversation via the alumni LinkedIn group.

(BTW, I would love to create this program for my own MBA alma mater - so if you read this and went to my school and make it happen before I do, please don't forget about me...)

(2) The American Marketing Association hosted a webinar this week about...

I'm back online - more online dating nuggets

Last night I reconnected with a classmate from college and his wife of three years. Where did they meet? Match.com. More and more often, I am meeting couples who met online. So.... I'm giving it ANOTHER shot. This works out in your benefit, because you get to share some of my favorite excerpts from the online dating ecosystem...

...Starting with this headline:

MY MATCH WOULD BE SOMEONE INTELEGENT ATHLETIC AND CONFIDENT

hmmmm... well I guess there's something for ying and yang.


Chemistry.com tells me that "adventurous, risk taking men and women" - of which I am evidently one - "are not comfortable with public displays of affection."


I cannot quite reconcile the relationship with those two items and welcome your suggestions! That said, I do find it quite interesting. This sheds light on the disconnect I often feel on first dates, when my counterpart expresses surprise that I would share personal information on a social website but demonstrates no reluctance to kiss me in public within three hours of meeting. My comfort levels are, as you may have guessed, the inverse. I had up until now attributed this mismatch to a difference between Gen X and Boomer - albeit young, which may be a factor as well.


I sent a "wink" to someone on Match.com that looked like he might be interesting. I admit that this is a very lazy attempt at online dating, but, hey, I was probably watching TV and eating at the time, so I had limited typing ability. In any case, the response below started out well, a few allusions to my profile, but devolved into a form letter. My dear suitor, (a) less is more; quit while you're ahead, (b) don't underestimate the value of spell check and (c) if you're looking for a long term relationship, don't refer to it as a "L.T.R."

"I am so impressed I think John Bolton is propably the most knowlageble guy ( Or Gal ) when it comes to forign policy . I love tennis aswell and im sure if we ever played I would kick your butt . Im looking for a L.T.R a keeper a woman I wake up next to and think how lucky I am to have such a special lady in my life . A woman who loves to curl up together on the couch for a movie or a show , but loves to be active in all ways . A woman who loves to dress up in something sexy takes my hand and we hit the town , or just stay home in sweats and a tee shareing a pizza and some wine over a great conversation . A woman who enjoys a good physical relationship , im not looking for a buddy never the less friendship is probably the most important part of any L.T.R . A woman who loves children and knows all is right with the world as were lieing in bed between our children as i read them a bedtime story . I always thought a woman like that must be special , what do you think ?"