HMS Beagle courtesy of Wikipedia

There are very few tweeting, blogging, marketing, and communicating via social media channels who don’t believe the customer experience through social channels is here to stay. Increasingly, however, the character traits of tweets on twitter get worn in, worn down and they begin to evolve into something fresh and new. How did we get to the latest twitter etiquette from whence we came? Let’s start with a look back at a brief history of, well, how we tweet and microblog – and watch and learn from Darwin along the way.

Public Relations; Let’s face it – your first tweets had an element of your product, your service or something as self-serving as your company’s last press release. But enough was enough and in order to move up a notch in Darwinian expanse of social, you needed to remove your shameless promotion and product-specific information and think different.

Hashtags; When you first used twitter, you may have used one hashtag, or left out hashtags altogether. Then – you evolved your hashtag use to reflect the significant topics that thought leaders and infleuncers were using. You tried one. #score! More and more social tools would identify you and you were added to influenctial twitter lists, dailies like Paper.li, and through the natural order of things, you moved ahead and gained followers.

Retweets; You assembled the tribe and shared your new communication system – “please retweet” – and then one by one, the peers you had contacted, retweeted your message. Like the crew as when Darwin anchored “The Beagle” in the Galapagos – you’d landed, and the more retweets you had, the more influence. But natural selection as it is, meant that the least valued trait would become short lived, and too many retweets became white noise and annoying.

Links and Attachments; As with samples that Darwin brought back home to England, evidence of what you’re tweeting is worth the effort – sharing more than your words – pictures, links and videos made your message more powerful.

Thought Leadership; A term @Rwang0 uses in front of all of his original thoughts – ‘MyPOV’ evolved out of microblogging at events and during sessions. As an example, at the #SAPsummit this week in Boston, those influencers and ambassadors microblogging at the event helped those not in the room to “hear” what was discussed and communicated. And beyond this type of reporting, MyPOV or ^MH will differentiate an original thought from a spoken one. And this takes us nearly up to the present day.

So what does Darwin have in store next for social media? Well, for one, he encountered rough seas, disease, dangerous animals and complicated personal interactions with his crew on the Beagle. Some of that – as with social media – goes with the territory.

Still, he saw the past – from a distance and up close – and synthesized from where we came to where we are. Learning from your timeline of tweets can do the same for you. Don’t get complacent. Test, try and watch closely, learn from the best you see. Then imagine what else is possible.

New Mexico has much evidence of the natural history of man in its pueblos, its archeological bounty, and its settlements of early civilization: cave dwellings -> tribal communities -> and eventual trading posts.  It got me to thinking about some of the intuitiveness of mankind that has been underemphasized in our digitally normalized life.

We stand on the shoulders of prior generations, but in the age of the digital consumer, how much of that is lost?  What is the new normal – doesn’t always require input from the pre-digital world.   Last year’s high school graduating class was the first to be “born digital.”  They were born after the World Wide Web or http “anything” existed.

I’m sure there are many studies, findings and discussions about this; but it occurred to me – watching my own kindergartener – that there’s this notion of a Human 2.0 in our midst.   It is natural for their expectations to be different; they’ve enabled the best digital experiences to rise to the top and have already redefined standards for their generation and ours.

They embody the NetFlix debacle – with the lack of content to “Play Instantly”; suddenly a novel concept emerged: our postman – and he better be here instantly! [the US Mail provided “what’s new” in the digital channels in the form of a DVD doorstop.]

But beyond the under 4-foot tall crowd; we as digital consumers ourselves have succumbed to new norms.

This study by Columbia University’s department of psychology points to the changing nature of human memory – today we don’t necessarily remember the facts and figures of our questions, but we remember the channel in which we are likely to find our answer.

In “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips” in September 2011’s issue of “Science” – Columbia’s Betsy Sparrow says that ‘transitive memory’ is:

“recollections that are external to us but that we know when and how to access.” 

As the level of expectation rises and the barriers blur for what can be available; when, how, who, what and where - what comes to the forefront is the experience of the digital consumer.   They are the channel itself; they continually find new abstract and improved ways to distance themselves from the days of lore.  What impact is this having on new generations of products and services?  Look forward to your comments.

Remembering… the 50 page college paper I wrote about the life of Steve Jobs… granted his greatest achievements were far in the future.

Remembering… when a dear friend from college, at Syracuse, dropped out at 19.  He had discovered a bug in the chip running Apple’s new Mac.  When he called to bring it to Apple’s attention, they said: “no, it’s not our bug.”  After a week of persistent  phoning, he finally got a call back.  “You’re right.  And, by the way, do you want to move to Silicon Valley and work for Apple?”  He did.   He never looked back – and was a lead engineer at Apple on many projects including the iPOD.

Remembering the 2-3 times I saw Steve Jobs speak: the first being MacWorld in Boston in the 80′s.  A friend was sneaking around a prototype of what (I would come to find out) would be the Newton.  The latter two times I saw Jobs speak were in San Francisco when MacWorld moved to Moscone in downtown San Francisco after 2004.  I’d never tire of his: ”But wait: …there’s more..!” I’d passed by Jobs’ home many times while working in Palo Alto for Swisscom’s Outpost in Silicon Valley. 

Remembering my Shiva days in Cambridge, Boston: our company developed FastPath router for the Mac, and NetModem for the Mac.  Working for an Apple-centric company set the stage for believing in great design, and working in a design-oriented tech culture.  It was easy to have fun and enjoy work.  I even got to help design and name a product.

Remembering…my first time on the Apple campus: Cupertino, 1 Infinite Loop, and reading some colleagues / friends’ business cards.  It was the first time I had seen titles like: “Evangelist” in a corporation.  My friend Paul was “Finder’s Keeper” at Apple, since he developed the Finder – along with his colleagues.  Another friend was “Question Authority”.  And he was one.  Also what stood out were the number of Apple employees who were serious musicians and artists, inventors and writers in addition to their day (Day/night – since most would work well into the midnight hours – at work) job.

The stories reverberated throughout my career in technology – working in Silicon Valley – you know that if you walk down the halls of a Xerox PARC, HP, or Apple -you think of those who’ve walked the halls before, and it’s positively motivating.  You go to a Hobee’s in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale or Cupertino, and it’s impossible to imagine the creative conversations going on around you, until you’re there.

Introspection…  About…  (even “About” makes me think of the Apple Mac interface and menus – and clicking on About would usually tell you something cute about the hardware or the software it’s running and.or the development team).  Now ”About” is pretty standard on any machine running any software in the world. 

But to sum up my feelings tonight about Steve Jobs and his legacy – I remember Apple’s first logo which is a quote by Sir Isaac Newton: 

“A mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought – - - alone.”

Its evidence of the natural history of man in its pueblos, its archeological bounty, and its settlements of early civilization include cave dwellings -> tribal communities -> and eventually trading posts.  New Mexico got me to thinking about some of the intuitiveness of mankind that has been underemphasized in our digitally normalized lives. 

We stand on the shoulders of prior generations, but in the age of the digital consumer, how much of that is lost?  What is the new normal – doesn’t always require input from the pre-digital world.   Last year’s high school graduating class was the first to be “born digital.”  They were born after the World Wide Web or http://www “anything” existed.

I’m sure there are many studies, findings and discussions about this; but it occurred to me – watching my own kindergartener – that there’s this notion of a human 2.0 in our midst.   It is natural for their expectations to be different; they’ve enabled the best digital experiences to rise to the top and have already set new standards for their generation and ours.

They embody the NetFlix debacle – with the lack of content to “Play Instantly” – suddenly a novel concept emerged: our postman – and he better be fast!  [The US Mail provided “what’s new” in the digital channels in the format of a DVD]

But beyond the under 4-foot tall crowd; we as digital consumers ourselves have succumbed to new norms.

This study by Columbia University’s department of psychology points to the changing nature of human memory – today we don’t necessarily remember the facts and figures of our questions, but we remember the channel in which we are likely to find our answer.

In “Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips” in September 2011’s issue of “Science” Magazine – Columbia University’s Betsy Sparrow says that ‘transitive memory’ is:

“recollections that are external to us but that we know when and how to access.” 

As the level of expectation rises and the barriers blur for what can be available; when, how, who, what and where become less important and the experience of the digital consumer comes to the forefront.   They become the channel itself; as they continually find new abstract and improved ways to distance themselves from the days of lore.  What is the impact for the next generation of products and services?  I look forward to your comments.

photo: flickr

Volume Purchasing Program

First, the new volume purchasing program or VPP is a way for the consumers of business applications to download sanctioned apps with the advantage of financial terms set on an enterprise level and harmonization of usage.

Can one’s company make use of the store?  Apple requires three pieces of business information: 1) basic company information to validate your business contact information   2) a D&B or D-U-N-S number 3) company credit card or p-Card from purchase department – and voila! the storefront is activated.  From that point forward, you’ll receive redemption codes from each app – and thus can control who gets or doesn’t get access.  Conveniently, 3rd party Mobile Device Management solutions are also available to manage redemption codes separately.

The Corporate Branded App Storefront

The second manner in which enterprise apps may reach awaiting tablet or other mobile device huggers is via corporate-branded storefronts.  This is a brilliant concept giving companies the keys to the kingdom.  Increasingly, companies like IBM, GE, Genentech, to name a few, develop corporate apps customized for use within the walls of their own companies, employees, and processes.

It is possible to start a private storefront via Apple’s iOS developer program – which entails hosting and distribution of custom apps.  Take a stroll down corporate apps Main St. and jump into the storefront of your choice to gobble up a conference room booking app for your own company’s facilities.  Swipe over to a biotech firm’s storefront and navigate a database of small molecular compounds (that is, if you have the clearance to use it).

The stores won’t limit use to an Apple device; they are open to all devices large and small, including Android, Blackberry and other tablets and smart phones.  Wondering if your companies’ proprietary app stores are right for you?  It depends on how much you enjoy “appification” of what you do at work.  I, for one, see limitless possibilities.

Having followed Quid co-founder Sean Gourley’s work – from YouNoodle [as their CTO], his popular TED talk, and several in-person conversations – it makes sense that a company he’s co-founded would stake their claim on just that premise.  A new way of analyzing and applying compelling business data – takes an obtuse notion and pinpoints an attainable strategic goal.

Here’s how it works:

Leveraging information about the thousands of privately held companies, Quid uses semantic clustering  to  accurately predict where what your company/product does today may offer possibilities to  address new and different business challenges.  A scatter plot shows where empty zones exist within industries – market opportunities with little competitive pressure and yet offer possible  rewards.

“Most companies cluster around established sectors, but a few will sit in the white spaces between the clusters and can represent the seeds of new technology sectors.” says Kurzweilai.net

Examples of where Quid has applied the technique include seemingly unconnected sectors such as biopharma and gaming, yet a smattering of companies exist to address opportunities in that market.

I found this HBR piece fascinating because private company data that Quid is privy to – both structured and unstructured – analyzed in new ways could lead to your company’s next niche thing!  Continuing with the innovation and strategic opportunity theme, be sure to catch innovation in action for customers, partners, and influencers from the SapphireNOW Conference, here on the virtual platform.

Bill with Charlotte

Charlotte Heiligman-Williams

April 1, 2001-May 12, 2011

Charlotte began her life in very challenging circumstances, having been found living with her littermates under an abandoned building in Harlem. She and her mates were rescued – at the tender age of 8 weeks - by intrepid NYC animal lovers from the nonprofit rescue organization Stray From the Heart. Charlotte immediately became the favorite of one of the group’s co-founders. After spending several months in the co-founder’s house, it was reluctantly decided that Charlotte and her Staffordshire Bull terrier house mates would need to find new homes.  Soon after, one early Fall evening, a friend of the agency took then 5 month-old Charlotte for a walk in SoHo. It was at this time that she was spotted in a crosswalk by her future adoptive family, Margot Heiligman and Bill Williams.

Almost simultaneously, they commented that Charlotte was one of the most beautiful puppies they had ever seen; fawn-like, sweet and gentle. The man replied by saying: “she’s up for adoption-if you are interested; please call the organization-here’s the number.” After little deliberation, they placed the call and the wheels were put in motion to secure Charlotte a new home in the East Village (4th and B). Following multiple interviews, reference checks and home visits, Charlotte, 6 months of age,  joined the Heiligman/Williams household in October of 2001. She was a wonderful addition to the family and her presence was a great source of comfort in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Charlotte has been noted for her poise, elegance and good manners, sweet towards all living things including mosquitoes and excluding cats; and has lived a more cosmopolitan life than most. Her stage debut at the age of four months was made as she was held in the arms of Vanessa Williams - Charlotte was a featured poster pet for a Stray From the Heart gala in New York City. Charlotte developed her keen social skills in the behavioral sink of Tompkins Square Park, where she charmed dogs of all ages, breeds, and sizes, and participated in the park’s annual Halloween Dog Costume Party.

Following her move to the Upper West Side, she notably collided with Kevin Bacon’s black Labrador dog in the West 86th Street Central Park dog run (further lending credibility to the Kevin Bacon Six Degrees of Separation theory). Also in Central Park, Charlotte played a trick on Margot by running out through the park’s gate and across Central Park West’s Monday morning rush hour traffic – and several city blocks further – taxi horns beeping – with another dog’s dirty stuffed animal firmly clenched in her jaw. “Catch me if you can!”

In between NYC and her next home – San Francisco, Charlotte summered in the wilds of Northern New Mexico and was known for barking at cows (kuh-kuh-kuh), horses, and retracing the steps of coyotes. Her half-day long forays into the foothills of Santa Fe often caused her family great concern, but Charlotte always managed to return home before sunset, tired and happy.  As a puppy she took a running dive into one of New Mexico’s few lakes – her speed only eclipsed by her mid-air launch …not knowing that at the end of that really fun pier she was running on was a deep dark lake. Surprise!  She also became an avid tennis player during her Santa Fe summers, a skill she would use as an outlet later (while socializing in Miami, FL).

A family relocation to San Francisco provided Charlotte with ready and easy access to the waters of San Francisco Bay. Charlotte passed many happy days over the span of 5 years sprinting along the shoreline of Crissy Field, jogging in the eucalyptus forests of the Presidio, chasing sticks and rolling in dead fish and the carcasses of shore birds. This last pastime brought her great pleasure; somewhat less so to her owners.

Charlotte otherwise was known for her ability to socialize with people and animals of all dispositions. Among her close friends have included Daisy, Satchmo, Eva, and Bear in Manhattan; Tanner, Zuba, Bella, Rally, an unnamed quasi-domesticated wolf, her step-siblings Elsie and Cassie of the Weir/Chaffe family; all of San Francisco, and new friends in Miami Beach like Zoe and Charlie.

As one of the few dogs on the planet who relished the sound of the trumpet, Charlotte spent many days at Bill’s feet during his practice sessions over the years. And though her obedience training didn’t yield much ROI, she returned from anywhere to Margot’s whistle - she could hear it from many hills and valleys away.

The arrival of Elias on the scene in 2006 brought great joy to the family. Charlotte greeted Elias’s entry into the world by doing what she knew best-licking him incessantly and napping at his crib-side. This didn’t endear Charlotte to Elias initially, but they grew to form a warm bond over the years. Charlotte was an ardent protector of Elias and the family.

Following an active life, Charlotte’s relocation to the humidity of South Florida proved to be a challenge for her, but she ultimately embraced her new environment. The proximity to the ocean provided Charlotte with opportunities to run in ocean water and to seek out new types of decaying matter in which to roll. She continued to enjoy romps with other dogs, displaying her greyhound-like speed and agility. A noticeable decline in her gait during the Fall of 2010 led to a diagnosis of bone cancer, but Charlotte recovered sufficiently from her treatment to enjoy further time in Miami with her family and friends as a newly-three legged creature, still including many a run with Bill. 

Charlotte will be missed greatly by her family and friends. Her elegance, sweet nature and easy manner won her friends and admirers everywhere she went.  And as Elias says: “She’ll still be barking when someone comes to the door.”

SAP CRM Insider 2011

It is my privilege this week to be moderating a panel discussion at SAP CRM Insider 2011 on “How Customers View SocialCRM Initiatives” at the annual event held here in Orlando.

I’ll look forward to a lively discussion around this hot topic – of what has been described at a recent SocialCRM Summit in Madrid, Spain, as - ”…not an extension of CRM, but a new kind of CRM based on engagement.” 

We’ll hear from Kiran Koons, SAP CRM Manager for Strategy and Architecture, Bentley Systems, and learn more about how her company, a software developer, is considering using SocialCRM.

Greg Langston, VP Sales for The Harris Products Group of Lincoln Electric, a company which makes welding products, will share some of his thoughts about SocialCRM, including how a number of customers are now evaluating his company on how well they are engaging in these channels.

Last but certainly not least, Brent Leary, SocialCRM advisor, consultant for CRM Essentials, will share his views on SocialCRM and how SME companies are finding new avenues, channels, and communities to engage within. 

I expect that my panelists and I, and the audience will have a little fun with this topic – for example, I found out, using social media, that one of my panelists was the former quarterback of the Purdue University football team, and that one of my panelists is a Friday night DJ and former trumpet player.

Perhaps if they dug into my own social media footprint, they’d discover that I’m a classical music 2.0 buff and that I love Japanese food. 

In the end, I trust the session will be a bit provacative as I will start off with the premise that “Senior Management doesn’t get Social Media” and expect to hear a wide range of examples of why or why not that is the case.

This is a fascinating topic, one which covers a lot of territory, begs more questions than answers, and of which we are still in the infancy stages. 

So with that as your “teaser”, see you Tuesday, March 22 at 230pm ET during #sapcrm2011 and we’ll share some of the outcomes in a follow up post!

Google Images

We’ve all most probably admired someone we view as a Thought Leader at more than one point in our professional lives.  Some of those figures are household names, others are demigods in their own very specific subject matter, but they can still walk down the street to the corner store unrecognized.  Did it occur to you, on the other hand, that the next great blogger is sitting one row or two cubicles away from you right within your team?

There have been some terrific posts and guidance in a number of Communities about the art and science of blogging, thought leadership, and building your personal brand. 

Blogging is one way to establish one’s self as a thought leader; seeking invitations to blog in online communities or appear on webinars alongside a cadre of respected peers across your industry is another.   Getting off your internal online properties and syndicating your blog in other channels can catapult your profile to new heights. Why not start now?

Vernacular for Thought Leadership Blogging:

• Stick to valuable information which is important to your readers with your unique expression of it. 
• Stay away from product placement, product plugs, and blatant or shameless promotion
• Storytelling is valued, and if that story mentions your customer as an example, it has to be relevant. 
• Labeling a customer as “an SAP CRM customer” (in my specific case) shouldn’t be necessary – in most cases and with some further investigation your readers can glean that for themselves
• Demonstrate the business value of technology; in terms that resonate with business readers
• Become the trusted advisor to your audience and ask for their thoughts, feedback to engage

Syndication for your blog post:

Online Communities – Use technorati, web search, or follow the influencers to guide you to the right communities for your subject matter.  

Ex: Thought Leadership around the Loyalty topic may fit better on “LoyaltyOne.com” rather on the broader “CRMsolutions.com”.

Discussion Groups or Forums – Quora, Focus.com, LinkedIn Answers, Wikipedia – Be the first to write an entry “on topic”; many topics are not yet written

Media Sites: Forbes, Bloomberg, HBR, etc. may have opportunities – speak with your media relations colleagues first to explore unused media credits, etc.

Mainstream Social Channels – Twitter, LinkedIn, Slideshare, WordPress (the most obvious place to start your own blog) are all examples of channels in which to demonstrate Thought Leadership

Guest Blogging – Ask your influencers if they’ll agree to let you guest blog on their site from time to time.

When you blog in a community, be sure to fill out your profile as fully as possible – that is where you start to build your personal brand – and your company benefits, too.  Readers will start to get to know you and your signature style – they’ll “follow” you – and the next time you walk to the ‘corner store’ of your professional peer group, you just might be the one who is recognized.

New World Symphony

The experience of being at a New World concert is about watching the 5 video panels above the stage complementing the music in the hall, or it can be about noticing another audience member a few rows away in this ‘intimate’ space for 756. No concert-goer is more than 13 rows from the orchestra stage, since seating is arranged in 5 clusters around the performers. The experience is also about being outside the building, or being on the roof, or listening to a piece orchestrated to make use of the movable platforms that comprise the new Frank Gehry-designed hall.  A long time collaborator with Gehry, Yasuhisa Toyota of Nagata Acoustics, has received high praise for the sound quality inside the hall.

Adjacent and facing the new hall is SoundScape, a park designed by Holland’s urban designer: West 8, which allows the public to walk past and catch a glimpse of the music experience watching the live concert on a 7000 square foot and high-def “WallCast“™. The outdoor experience brings barefoot kids and dogs to experience something otherwise reserved for a ticket-buying public. A dog was heard howling in the park during a recent piccolo solo on screen.

What this embodies is a larger than lifesized mashup: it’s urban | green space, it’s past | future, it’s sound | visual, it’s soletary | collective, it’s young | old, its digital | analog. Music can be experienced to each his/her own.

What will be ever more remarkable about the new space is the potential. During the opening week there was a mashup commissioned by the New World Symphony and the USC Film School, where student films accompanied New World playing Mussorgsky’s ”Pictures at an Exhibition” for a spectacular feast for the eyes and ears.  Each of the 12 “pictures” was a video which made use of the unique 5 panel spaces above and around the hall.

Considering that arts organizations are undergoing the same transformation that many companies are – when it comes to engaging their new customers/audiences – with “social” comes great opportunity. You could say that this is an organization which put much thought into designing-in the “customer experience” from inception.  An orchestral experience designed for tomorrow’s concert goer: whether that be online, on park, behind the stage; or, perhaps another way that we’ve not even yet dreamt up.