TheWayoftheWeb

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Voting open for the rock stars of Web 2.0!

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I’ve posted in preparation long enough – you can now vote for the people you rate as the true rock stars of Web 2.0.

How you define a web rock star is entirely up to you – which is the fun bit. This isn’t a list defined by a company, magazine, or website – it’s purely decided by the voters. Which means it’s already had some surprising results – I wouldn’t have tipped the four or five early leaders to be out in front, for example!

As Ditto’s categories are primarily set-up for general entertainment, I’ve volunteered to collate additional entries and suggestions, and missing pictures etc, (daniel dot thornton at bauer consumer . co . uk).

Are Myspace and Facebook in decline?

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It’s not surprising there’s been a lot of response to the Nielsen Online findings that both Facebook and Myspace have dropped around 5% in UK audience figures for January 2008, month-on-month. Bebo also dropped 2% for UK users MoM for January.

It’s worth noting that the findings come from monitoring UK usage at home and at work, meaning schools, universities and internet cafes are not included. (Would the drop be contributed to by the fact school pupils and students were home more during December)

Interestingly it also coincides with a presentation I attended which claimed a significant portion of people will stick with whatever social network site they first got involved in – and those that do migrate tend to still visit their former social network home, but in less and less frequency.

And the final interesting facet to this is the continued growth of Twitter.

This all fits somewhat with my own habits recently, as I’ve reached a critical mass on Twitter, and I find myself constantly wanting to check the conversations and links being added. Meanwhile there is slightly less relevant and interesting content surfacing on Facebook in relation to annoying application invites for novelty items.

A number of reasons for this spring to mind. Twitter is used incredibly easily on mobile, and strips out anything extraneous to ‘the conversation’. The publicity of a supposed paedophile threat and more realistic concerns over employers checking profiles could have affected sign-ups/usage. Possibly some people have simply decided the profile led social networks aren’t for them, or didn’t see how it can be useful. Or perhaps a time of possible recession has meant people are more conscious of how they spend their time at work – if social networking hasn’t been blocked or banned.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens over the next few months, but some things I do know:

  • Facebook dropped 5% MoM, but was up 712% YoY (UK)
  • Myspace fell 9% YoY (UK). Bebo was up 53% YoY
  • None of those figures mean you can ignore those sites.
  • Those who interact the most, who give and receive the biggest value in terms of interaction, will continue.
  • The niche networks are where growth is predicted.
  • Even with a 5% drop, the market leaders still have a huge potential crowd, as long as they are interacted with in the right way.
  • Twitter will continue to grow for a while yet, as it’ll start moving past the techy early adopters. Particularly around quick and easy mobile updates, which can then appear on Facebook/Myspace/Blogs etc.
  • If the social networks develop again, users will be drawn back. It’s all about developments and friends as reasons to visit.

Drive online website registrations by tackling stress and panic

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They may or may not be beneficial to your health, but stress and panic can be two of the biggest motivators around – particularly with a deadline looming. So why don’t more companies look at how they can answer these problems? As Seth Godin posted a while back, “That thing you’re marketing… Does it add to stress or take it away?”

It seems that there would be a huge marketing advantage in reducing stress and panic across every industry, but some would find it could be their biggest advantage over their competitors, particularly when it comes to markets like insurance or finance.

A great case in point is insurance. I recently needed the insurance documents for my car, which appear to have gone missing when I moved house. And I needed them fast.

So I rang my car insurers at Direct Line. By post the documents take days to arrive. And despite the fact I was personally authorising (and almost begging) them to fax me a copy, it’s against their company policy. (It might be against Data Protection rules etc, but the stated reason was company policy). So their company policy is effectively to ignore the fact a customer is asking them to fax a copy of documents showing details of that customer.

So the next step was to take a look online. Hidden on the Direct Line homepage is an option for existing customers to log in and access and service policies. Which could theoretically solve my problem.

Looking good, isn’t it?

Nope.

Because to register and use this function, I need to include an ‘Online Customer Code’. Which has to be requested and then sent, via post! And to request an online customer code, I need to use my policy number. Which wasn’t in the same location as my computer.

So despite the fact I’ve been a customer for years, and the myriad methods of communication available, I’m still relying on someone printing a certificate, putting it in an envelope, and sending it to me days after I actually needed it.

The solution?
There are lots of methods available, and I’m not a Data Protection expert. But why couldn’t I specify an email address when I first apply for insurance, and have a PDF copy of my insurance certificate emailed to me? I’m far less likely to misplace my laptop/email account than a piece of paper?

Or why not automatically register me for the online service when I set up my insurance? That way, the confirmation would be sent with my certificate (or separately around the same time), and it might prompt me to log in, set a memorable password, and then be able to access it when I really need it?

Either method, or a suitable alternative, would have seen Direct Line get a valid email address to contact me with – rather than having to post endless direct mailings to try and get my home insurance with them (It’s actually already with them, under my partner’s name!), or to take out a loan.

It would have also meant I wouldn’t have rushed around in a panic, turned the house upside down, and now have the stress and panic prompting me to think about changing my insurance company when my policy comes up for renewal. Which is actually just a couple of months away!
And I’d be busy recommending a company that had reduced my stress, rather than made me waste my time on the phone and online to find out my simple problem wouldn’t be solved.

Avoidance:
So to avoid similar feelings towards your company, ignore technology, silos, separate teams etc. And just get together at the start of the consumer/user process and think about what it is that the person will want and need, and also why they might need these things in a hurry at some point. Then just work out if there’s a way to pre-empt these problems without running into legal or Data Protection problems. If so, use it. If not, then make it clear that there is a legal reason for the stress, rather than simply ‘company policy’. Unless your ‘company policy’ is to piss off your consumers.

N:B I fully intended to give Direct Line a right to reply, but it appears you can only contact them via the postal service, or by paying the cost of phoning an 0845 number.

Could technology lead to micro self government?

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A bit of a break from my normal musings on community marketing, digital publishing and journalism, but this idea has been in my head for a while, and I’d welcome other opinions and thoughts…

The idea?

Is there any reason why communities can’t be empowered by a micro-level of self-government, using digital technology?

Or, to put it another way, is there any reason all the people in my street can’t vote on what day the rubbish is collected, for example? Using internet/mobile voting, it could mean that we tailor the services provided by the council to our actual needs, and remove any unnecessary spending. For instance, do we actually all fill our recycling bin, or green waste bin, as often as the ‘normal’ waste bin? Or would we be better served by a collection service for glass?

There would have to be geographic/resource limitations, as I realise at street level, you couldn’t have everyone requesting their rubbish goes at exactly the same time…or everyone choosing a different time and forcing refuse collectors to work 24/7.

But considering the interest when No 10 unveiled its e-petition site, the penetration of internet/mobile connections, and the fact I can invest in everything from shares to bands, sort my banking, pay my bills etc, surely it’s time to update democracy?

The myth of journalism…

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There’s a common romantic myth about journalism, which seems to be particularly relevant when discussing how it will evolve in the face of that ‘internet’ thing which seems to be catching on.
It’s understandable that the popular image of a journalist would be someone hunched over a typewriter or laptop, frantically typing in copy for a deadline just seconds away. It could be in a packed newsroom, or in the middle of a warzone, and there may or may not be a bottle of whiskey beside them. They finish their copy, and it goes straight into a famous publication.

That myth paints the journalist as a writer – which just isn’t true for most journalists.

The process most often seen is:

  • Journalist gets a tip or story from contact.
  • Submits story idea to Section Editor
  • Investigates story
  • Finished copy goes to Section Editor
  • Section Editor makes changes as necessary
  • Copy goes to Sub Editor
  • Sub Editor makes changes in conjunction with design
  • Approval from Editor/Deputy Editor
  • Gets published.

As you can see, writing skills are useful, but not essential. It’s the managing of contacts and finding the story which is the most important skill for any journalist. And I’ve known quite a few great journalists who still struggle to master the full stop, let alone an apostrophe!

And that’s also why I think there will always be a career for full-time, professional journalists (and sub-editors). It takes a huge amount of time and effort to maintain an effective contacts list, and maintain a decent flow of stories. And that’s as true for bloggers as anyone else. The most popular blogs are all able to access information from sources or contacts which aren’t as available to the general population.

And that’s always where the line will blur. The top journalists/bloggers will be working across print/digital, will be able to work across titles/companies, and will be able to command the same pay and respect as at any time before them.

The only reasons to fear the change if you’re a journalist is if you only copy publicly available press releases, or if you really fear the digital world.

(Incidentally, if you fancy reading more about the changing role of journalists, I’d recommend taking a look at HowardOwens and The Journalism Iconoclast – and despite sharing a surname, the Iconoclast isn’t a distant relative, as far as I’m aware!)

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