Binary Perspectives and Media Bytes – Jacobv.com
Google Plus vs. WordPress? Whut?
Let’s face it, with the healthy lead of 750 million+ users, established by Facebook, Google Plus will take a good while to catch up. Even if the mainstream are to ‘overcome social media fatigue’, that is.
So we plod along on G+, in wonderment of the growing ‘circularity’ of the early adoptscoble, et al.
Meanwhile, most of us have adopted Google’s offering, only half-heartedly. Awaiting that ‘Tipping Point’, when the bulk of our Facebook friends make the switch too.
The digital divide
Meanwhile the digerrati and twitterati, tantalize with tales of G+ goodness. Some, even switching to Google’s social network, without the slightest hesitation.
However, unless the mainstream switches over, G+ will remain a niche social networking site, second fiddle to Facebook. Maybe Google should tackle it another way.
Taking on WordPress
Now, I refer to WordPress loosely even if it is the leading content management system worldwide. What I actually mean is that G+ can probably be a very effective content creation and publication platform, if Google makes it easier for content creators to switch to it, making G+ the publishing platform of choice.
There have always been very good reasons why content creators should own their content. Unlike Facebook, whose business model and lead depends on the data that is created and shared within its gates, Google can afford to open up because it plays King, rather well, elsewhere.
Mr. Page, open this gate! Mr. Page, tear down this wall!
I tried live blogging a recent trip with G+. Uploading images were easier and quicker than on Facebook. Love the way the comments are displayed against each pic etc. However, to make me abandon my blog and thumb my nose at those who warn against doing so, here is what I’d like Google to do:
- Play to my vanity: ‘Link to post’ option is great. Do it better by having an option to link to vanity-like urls that are connected to the content creator/owner’s domain. E.g.: www.jacobv.com/gplus/nameofpost.html . Like google apps and email?
- Show me love: Pass on Google juice from posts on G+ to the authors domain. Google knows who I am, where I play. Why not pass on the credit to my domain too? Find a way for this to tie in with the ‘author’ markup so it makes sense for multi-author domains as well.
- A little decoration?: Allow me to ‘Pin’ specific posts on the sidebar OR have an option to switch my ‘Homepage’ on G+ to display my ‘Pinned’ posts first.
- Freedom!: Data Liberation is good. Do it better by allowing me to liberate and back up only my selected posts. Better yet, allow users to schedule automated backups and downloads of their posts and comments AND an easy way to publish them without G+, if they chose to part ways. If I can be assured that all my content is secure and under my ownership, I am more likely to use your platform for all my publishing needs.
- BONUS: Do #3 better by allowing me an easy way to post to WordPress etc., from G+. Always remember to pass on the Google juice to my domain; allowing ‘G+ comments’ to reside on my blog will ease the sharing pain (if any) for Google.
All this should help users rapidly set up an online presence with a powerful, integrated social layer. The intuitive concept of circles could also help individuals switch seamlessly between private and professional realms.
I’m guessing that as more content creators use G+ as their central hubs, the mainstream will interact with and adopt G+ in increasing numbers. Content creators will finally be able to easily consolidate their online presence and activity.
Before we know it, each individual, will have their own open OR private, ‘ Social Web Hub’ instead of being part of a walled-in ‘social network’.
Google has thrived due to its ability to bring us relevant results. Opening up the G+ platform will probably make it easier for them to do this better. Then the new social layer will, perhaps, allow them to do it the best yet.
Does this make sense to you? Any other way G+ can increase mainstream adoption rates? Maybe some of the features are already implemented or underway? Other thoughts?
Evolution: Blog to ‘Aggro-Hub’?
Will Facebook share data with 'Aggro-hubs'?
Over all, the online marketing community over-emphasizes on blogs as being the HUB of customer engagement…though, I admit – with good reason (as of now).
Hubs of the future, may not be centralized and could be a collection of third party sites (which will wax and wane in popularity). We are probably seeing the first indications of the move in this direction when we embed Fanboxes, Twitter feeds and Youtube videos in our blogs.
Traditional blogs (such as this) are too much of work for the average business, who given the opportunity, will jump on to easier ways to consolidate effort.
Today’s blogs could easily evolve to an effortless aggregate of micro-blogs (twitter) and FB updates/albums flicker, Youtube, Linkedin etc. Aggro-hubs!
Think paper.li on steroids and then some!
We could have apps that pulls it all together. Software that aggregates all the activity and displays them from one ‘Account’. An Aggro-hub would then be a page (or a series of pages) that contains all the content on third party social platforms, displayed as one entity.
This all kind of exists you say? With embeds etc…but wait, what about ownership of data?
Any such aggregation solution would have to include shared ownership of data with the aggregating ‘Aggro-hub Account’. A customer commenting on a corporate Facebook page may agree (revokable) to some of his data being passed to the corporate Aggro-hub for efficient service and/or loyalty rewards.
There is now sufficient precedent to sharing personal data in return for services – most of us are getting increasingly comfortable in allowing access between various social media accounts and apps.
It makes more sense for many companies to engage with customers on third party social media outposts of the customers choice. Today’s blogs are too primitive (die marketing echo chamber! ). They require skill-sets that are not always inherent in the makeup of many businesses. These blogs demand new skills and expertise (SEO, writing etc.) instead of being able to leverage the skills native to the business or the activities.
No wonder then that the talented photographer is able to generate better response on his facebook album than on his blog. If only he could leverage his Facebook success on his blog…effortlessly, without having to jump through all sorts of loops.
Instead of forcing businesses to do something alien to them (at an added expense), meeting them half way (with aggregated hubs) seems logical.
Of course these Aggro-hubs will also be indexable by search engines. Bi-directional flow of data between social networks and Aggro-hubs would eliminate expenses arising from duplicity of effort across channels too. If you are more comfortable with Linkedin Groups, that is what would be reflected on your Aggro-hub.
Any solution that works for personal and business accounts will probably win a huge following…the next big thing?
Somewhere out there, is/will-be a tech entrepreneur trying to make it easier for businesses and individuals to get their messages out while giving them more ownership over data. You agree that blogs are showing their age?
Not Built to Blog
CIA Leaflet says “You can receive millions of dollars for helping the Anti-Taliban Force catch Al-Qaida and Taliban murderers. This is enough money to take care of your family, your village, your tribe for the rest of your life. Pay for livestock and doctors and school books and housing for all your people."
Blogs are great for all the reasons the one and only Mark Schaefer mentions here. If only more people who should read that post, did!
Trapped in a Time Warp
Now here are some people who would never read that article
- Mr. Leaflet: He’s been successful in fast food retail. A4 flyers have evidently played a central role. Of course, his idea for marketing his new online venture tends to have an unhealthy dependence on flyer distribution. Facebook and Twitter are fads after all.
Maybe leaflets offering bounties is a good strategy in Afghanistan. I’m not sure the same would be applicable in this instance – an online magazine. - Mr. & Mrs. Visceral: ‘We do not do the Facebook and the Twitter’ said the couple expressing a tinge of distaste for the suggestion.
You would think that they would use whatever means to promote the online jewelry site (a highly competitive online niche) they were planning to put together.
For many of us, when faced with potential clients like the above, the choice is often between
Walking away
OR
Investing time in educating the client.
When I chose the latter, apart from extending the sales cycle, the process comes close to being detrimental to my mental well-being. The looming question often is – should I even attempt steer the leaflet to blog transition?
Note that I am using the term ‘blog’ as a synonym for social media as a whole.
‘Broadcast’ frame of mind
A lesson I draw from the CIA leaflet, is to focus businesses to use the media channel their customers are comfortable with, and tend to use more. Once engaged with customers, it is easier to drive them towards other platforms like blog, website etc. To ‘convince and convert’, as Jay Baer would probably say.
I’ve also discovered that not everyone can leverage a ‘blog’ and in some cases a business gains more traction via their channels on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, forums and even Yahoo!answers.
Before we can get there, is still, the issue of getting the leaflet minded to engage customers online.
I have found that this task is especially difficult when businesses are still stuck in an offline ‘broadcast’ frame of mind when it comes to marketing. When the very aspect of social online customer touch point engagement is alien.
These businesses people do see the viability of conducting business online but seem to be trapped in a marketing time warp. The fact that these clients come to me via referrals obliges me to embark on the long educational process. I am often able to find one particular channel the business can thrive on and then build on those successes.
When such folk want you to help them build an online business, what do you do? Your tips to shortening the sales cycle? Challenges like these are begging for innovation after all.
Based in Montreal, I'm a Digital media strategist, with almost 20 years of accumulated experience in SEO, SEM, Social Media, Email Marketing, web design and development (CMS), project management (including offshore-teams), animation (2d/3d- including 8 years at Softimage), video/T.V, and Design (Print). More>>
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