This gorgeous, gorgeous piece of work from the smart chaps at Intel is one of the most perfect uses of the Facebook social graph API that I have ever seen.
Click through to the site, give up virtually all of your Facebook access privileges (we’ll come back to that one later) and just sit back and watch as Intel’s application accesses all of your photos, videos, friends, likes and links and displays them all in a glorious installation that even Getty would be proud of.
If you haven’t done this yet, click through and do it now. Once you’re done, come back again – we need to talk.
Right, welcome back. Done it yet? You have?
Perfect.
So exactly why is this beautiful application so damn good? Let’s explore further.
First, the sticking point: all those access points that the app demands.
I must admit that even I wavered there for a second.
Granting ‘access’ I have no problem with, it’s the ‘Post to my Wall’ part that niggles at me. But, forward you go – why? Because Intel aren’t some start-up off the street, nor are they a second rate newspaper looking for a quick way to proliferate their words and stories and, to be completely fair, if Intel do end up breaking my trust after I hit the ‘Allow’ button, so be it! I can still go back in afterwards and disable their access, right?
And of course, let’s be totally clear here: the combination of all of the above along with the fact that perhaps, just maybe, after the clicking of agreement above I might have my very own ‘Museum of Me’, is more than enough to tempt even the most doubtful of Facebook users – the ol’ ego stroke; gets us every time.
Moving on, what makes the The Museum of Me so special in its delivery is that – through the API access you’ve granted above – it delicately creates a uniquely personalised and deeply personal journey through your social graph in a way that one might perhaps hope their life might be celebrated after they’re gone. Through pictures, screens, connections – they whole exhibition is dedicated to you and it could only really be totally appreciated for what it is by you.
Just enough virtual praise to be flattering, just enough branding to be quietly understood and, to top it all, just enough subtlety in the sharing functionality to entice you to push it out to your friends.
You pushed the like button – didn’t you?.
Speaking of which, at the time of writing the app has been liked just shy of 7800 times. 12hrs from now? When it’s gone viral, who knows what number it’ll hit.
For me, the great thing about this work is that the idea is simple, but the execution is flawless. I can’t show you how great it is, because my version wouldn’t work for you. You have to experience it for yourself. And that – in today’s world of mass information and constant personalisation – is definitely worth three minutes of your day.
Yesterday, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney announced that it would allow its advisers to use social media platforms, providing all 18,000 advisers access to LinkedIn and Twitter in June and graduating to Facebook soon after that.
It is the first large financial firm to do so, marking a sea-change in the industry’s resistance to adopting potentially confidentiality-threatening tools. Morgan Stanley’s only real social toe-dipping to date was the infamous report on How Teenagers Consume Media they commissioned from a 15-year-old on work experience.
However, Andy Saperstein, head of wealth management says, “Many of our clients have been demanding social media. Many of our advisers have been demanding it.”
Of course, it’s the clients that probably made the most impact. Staff are one thing, but when the guys who pay you big bucks start to demand something, you sit up and listen.
Finance is a very private thing. We’re eager to broadcast both our passions and our work, but as the ill-fated Facebook Beacon showed, the idea of broadcasting our purchases or wealth (or lack of it) makes us uncomfortable. It’s an example of the technology colliding with a deeply held cultural taboo and a self-protective reflex which kicks in however safe these apps promise to be.
On the other hand, we are finding it increasingly difficult to communicate in a personal, transparent and networked way in some areas of our life and not in others. And this is where the how comes in. Financial companies absolutely need to become more social – people are demanding it, after all – but they will need to do it in a particular and appropriate way. Ironically, transparency will be key – not in the sense of laying bare confidential information, but in being very clear to both clients and colleagues about which purpose each platform will serve and where the public/personal boundaries will lie. Here’s a nice deck from Monica Hamburg with some basic rules for finance professionals:
God knows what their guidelines are going to look like, and it will undoubtedly take some careful revision of existing processes and internal barriers, but this is a heartening example of just how much companies are starting to value social. In the language these folk use, the benefits now outweigh the admittedly big risks.
We’ve worked with big companies in both finance and pharma, so we know this is true. But how could social media add real value to you as a financial client? How would you like to see wealth management companies embrace these tools? And what would you not want to see?
A couple of weekends ago, I went to Paris. It was sunny, it was stylish, and I had a lovely croque madame.
But that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about this poster:
The eagle eyed among you may have noted that this is the poster for The Hangover 2.
Except it isn’t called that.
It’s called Very Bad Trip 2. Which is brilliant if you’ve just popped over from the UK for the day.
Now three things struck me when I saw this:
Firstly, the obvious. Why don’t the French have a word for hangover? (In reality this is probably to do with the fact that alcohol advertising is banned in France, but given the context, it still struck me as intriguing).
Secondly, possibly more obvious: why have they re-translated the name into another English phrase?
But thirdly, and of far more interest, I was struck with an overwhelming desire to see the film.
Sure, I’d enjoyed The Hangover (sorry, Very Bad Trip) on its first outing, but I was only mildly taken by the thought of seeing the sequel. And then I saw this poster. And I’ll be there munching on my popcorn with the rest of the world.
Now sure, I’ve been seduced by a comical foreign title of a film I may already see, but what stands out as fascinating here is something far deeper:
How much content exists around a product, service or brand that is out there already, that exists, that is waiting to be shared… but never is?
In this case it’s what the French choose to call the film.
That’s engaging, and amusing and bizarre (and funnily enough, those are also things that chime with the film’s target audience).
So what might there be that’s amazing about the employee welcome pack they get at ABC Corp?
What might we learn about the data on the local intranet of our favourite retailers?
What brilliance may be lurking in the applications form interns submit to work in a local charity?
There’s a huge wealth of exciting content in the world already, sometimes surfacing it in the right place could just make an impact…
I remember when Google surprised everyone who was attending one of their conferences that had to do with Android with a free smartphone that had the current Android OS installed on it. They did the same thing when the Nexus was launched much to the delight of the attendees.
At no time when this was happening did anyone do anything but cheer Google on for coming up with a great marketing idea and ya it was a great idea.
I say it again: it’s an interesting dilemma and I consider the two examples to be slightly different; on one side you have a large global search/software company (dressed up as Android) trying to get its (at the time still relatively new) operating system into the homes of developers globally and on the other you’ve got a big gaming brand trying to make the biggest splash at the world’s largest electronic entertainment expo (E3).
Who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong?
Ethics are a constant discussion point here at 1000heads and I’m proud to say that ALL of our staff work hard (and often argue passionately) about what is right and what is wrong.
In the case of Microsoft v Google, where do you stand?
If you don’t already know about Gary Vaynerchuk, you’re in for a treat. Back in February 2006 the New Jersey-based entrepreneur set up Wine Library TV, an outspoken, down to earth, idiosyncratic video blog and online community hub for wine enthusiasts. It now attracts over 80,000 viewers a day, and its founder has become a New York Times bestselling author, one of the top 100 people followed on Twitter and a SXSW headliner.
Vaynerchuk is a notoriously provocative and inspiring speaker (the video of his ‘follow your passion’ speech for Web 2.0 Expo NY is a must-watch). And in his most recent keynote at this week’s Digital Summit Atlanta 2011 the so-called ‘King of Social Media’ has been making waves by declaring that “word of mouth is the currency” of social media and businesses need to stop focusing on the tools, start opening their eyes and ears, and focus on people’s behaviours, motivations and interactions.
“The [social media] platform isn’t broken; the way 99% of people in this room is using the platform is broken.”
This is classic 1000heads territory; but it’s well worth watching Vaynerchuk put it across in his inimitable way. Enjoy.
When international recovery and compression sports clothing brand SKINS wanted to replicate the grassroots loyalty they had secured in Australia and the USA in Europe, they knew that word of mouth chimed with both their early underground viral success and their ambitions to be a challenging and empowering brand.
Proving that with SKINS ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things, 1000heads discovered Quentin Field Boden – a 51 year old UK blogger and amateur road cyclist who had grand plans to ride the entire Tour De France route – and made his dream happen. While Quentin trialled SKINS’ new products by cycling the route three days before the professionals, uploading his experiences and engaging with cross-Channel sports communities along the way, a further set of influential cycling enthusiasts in the UK and Australia were sent SKINS products to trial at home through challenges that reflected the hardships of the Tour.
Spanning three countries simultaneously, Tour de Velo dramatically increased traffic to the international SKINS sites, generated high volumes of positive, independent WOM – and positioned SKINS as the company that promoted the voice of the ordinary fan amidst the saturated brand promotions at one of sport’s biggest events.
Me looking stern and talking communities with chair Andy Wood (Freestyle Interactive), Andrew Thomas (publisher of Communicate) and Keith Bennett (Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance)
I presented a keynote on effective authenticity and took part in a panel on community management, and there was lots to learn from the other speakers and attendees, who were from brands as diverse as Airbus, Lloyds and Greenpeace.
For me, one of the highlights was the panel discussion ‘Surviving the social media thunderstorm’, which considered the threats and challenges of social media for certain industries. Polly Markandya of Médicins Sans Frontieres was particularly eloquent on the challenge of managing social for a huge global enterprise with a small team, and Donald Steel spoke inspiringly about how the BBC approaches UGC with caution and rigour (I’ve written about the BBC World Service’s excellent approach to social before).
Another gem was Cecilia Scolaro from TNT presenting their social media guidelines. We often talk about the importance of a good policy – we create Social Manifestos for clients from Mars to Cancer Research UK – and we also flag up our favourites, such as Coca-Cola’s three page effort. TNT’s guidelines are a great addition, based on clarity and common sense; and, as Scolaro pointed out, they are based on two important assumptions (which are surprisingly rare):
Social media are a good thing
You can trust your staff
Best of all, they’ve been released under creative commons so brands can take them and tweak them for their own needs. Now what could be more social than that?
1000heads’ unique social approach has always travelled well, particularly in North America. Indeed, we’ve been busting our hump helping our clients spread the word in the U.S. for the last six years or so. In that time we’ve worked with some great brands including Miele, Nokia, Veria, HGTV and even picked up some awards along the way.
To support current demand, we’re scaling up with some new ‘heads on the ground in NYC (myselfincluded) with a west coast presence next in line.
So if you’re interested in talking to us about any aspect of social business in North America, looking for work or simply want to challenge us to beer pong on Fridays, then we’d love to hear from you.
For most women, conversation with friends is the most influential type there is, because we make friends with people with whom we identify. We value their opinions, ask their advice and exchange views on everything.
We will always find ways to talk – but with whom, where and for how long is largely dictated by our life stage, not simply our age or SEG. In order to engage women for our clients, understanding and applying this dynamic to our work for clients is key. We talk, but how much and where changes over time. Take my experience:
In my twenties, life was one long social interaction between work colleagues, flatmates, clients, hairdresser, personal shopper and facialist (ok, I’m lying about the last two). Chat usually took place at work or in bars – rarely at home.
Things changed in my thirties, when the idea of a baby ceased to be The Worst Thing That Can Happen and gradually seemed like A Good Idea. Little did I know what I would be sacrificing. When my son was a newborn, my husband escaped on a business trip. I spent four days on my own struggling to come to grips with him (and him me…). I don’t think I spoke to anyone the entire time, and it was pretty much that way for the next four months.
Once things settled, I found I needed to engage with everyone. I had so many questions and so few answers. This was in the days before Mumsnet and there’s only so many times you can read ‘What to Expect’. I spent my time in parks and at baby groups seeking out like-minded women to cure my feelings of isolation and my thirst for shared experiences.
Two years later, what was left of my social life took an even bigger back seat. My time now consumed with a toddler and new baby, meet-ups would often end in frustration and aborted conversation. Instead, I acquired a computer so I could plug into Mumsnet during naptime each day, and keep up sporadic contact with real friends via email.
When the kids started school, I got out of the house again. I worked for a local agency with other parents and chat was family related and child-free! I no longer had the time to engage with Mumsnet, but my income did allow us to see our friends on Saturday nights for a few precious hours.
Now it’s on the up again. Being employed part-time means I can squeeze in the odd lunch or coffee with my girlfriends. We can have three families around for Sunday afternoon and the chat and wine flows while the kids amuse themselves. We are holidaying with two families who have similar interests. I am even a member of a book club that meets every Thursday (and which talks about the book for ten minutes exactly).
To my slight shame, part of me is secretly quite looking forward to the kids leaving home. I know I will mourn their absence, but it will mean exciting new interests, social engagements, trips away with friends, whole afternoons on Facebook if I choose, or three months on a cruise (well, have you seen where they go?).
And, like my lovely Mother-in-Law (who kindly provided me with this lifestyle blueprint), I will probably be letting everyone know about it. All the time…
Think about your life stages. Think about those of your customers. Where are the downtimes, the upsurges, the opportunities? When are they able to talk? When do they want to?
For most women, conversation with friends is the most influential type there is, because we make friends with people with whom we identify. We value their opinions, ask their advice and exchange views on everything.