In Order to Succeed You Must Get Out of the Bubble

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 7th, 2009 | Comments

Many businesses look to other businesses in their market and/or geographic area for ideas. In social media we find this is a double edged sword. We recently wrote about the Perils and Rewards of Being First in the market. This was in response to many conversations with prospective clients wanting to understand more about social media but not really wanting to make that dive into resourcing out part of their marketing budget toward Word of Mouth marketing on the social web.

We at ActivatingWOM have been traveling a lot. We are still amazed that geographic markets drive the decision to jump into the social web. When we are talking to clients in the Bay area, where social media applications, networks, etc are born every day, the dialogue is about new analytics and how to maximize new networks before the main stream takes advantage of these tools. In LA it is about how to define your social presence as it relates to fans of various talents and how engagement is measured. In DC it is about identifying policy trends in conversations and identify influencers of various policy discussions.

In Arizona, people are will watching and learning. Few companies are willing to jump out of their bubble and take the social media plunge. Even the various markets mentioned above are still in a bubble. They rarely look at how practices in these various markets can help with their web presence.

I come from an extensive political background. I saw the “bubble effect” often. In various campaigns you tend to surround yourself with like minded individuals who further strengthen your ideals but tend to disconnect you with others outside your bubble. I often challenged organizations and candidates to get out of their bubble. Washington tends to be so deep in the beltway bubble that they hire pollsters after pollsters to get the pulse of the American public.

On the social web, everything is available. Case study after case study is available. What relevance does it have to your industry? No one else in your industry is really resourcing out this work you say? It is time to get out of your bubble. In a previous post we demonstrated various companies’ success on the social web.

If you are a company that has never used Twitter or often laugh at discussions around social media, I have a test for you. Go to http://search.twitter.com and type in a few words related to your product and or services. I guarantee you that there are conversations happening around your services and or products. From Tea to Athletes we manage a wide range of clients who at one time thought the social web was not for them. This simple tests showcases that there are potential customers and/or fans out there. If they are already talking about you, why are you not engaging?

It is time to get out of the bubble, and make the jump. Don’t let bubble vision keep you from success.

Lobbyist and Politicians Embrace the Social Web as the AZ State Budget Crisis Erupts

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jun 30th, 2009 | Comments

The Arizona State Legislature and the Governor have been going at it for months now in a back and forth budget battle. So much so that the Arizona Governor took the issue to the Supreme Court to force a vote by the Legislature. As the deadline grows nearer to a Government shutdown, members of the Legislature, Lobbyists on both sides and even activists have been flooding Facebook and Twitter.

John and Jennifer Loredo have been using Facebook status updates and notes to not only give updates to their followers, but also spur activism on the issues of education:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1534230179

and

Dana Kennedy is actually connecting activist and lobbyists to Jennifer’s note on Facebook to add to the viralocity of these updates:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1534230179#/note.php?note_id=122738646180&ref=mf

State Representative Kysten Sinema gives the blow by blow tweets from the House Floor:

http://twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/2407305658

This is democracy in action. No walls, direct connection of movements to elected officials. Real time advocacy thanks to new media.

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