New FTC Ruling on Blogger Disclosure is a Defining Moment for Social Media
The FTC has made what some may see as a controversial ruling – that bloggers must disclose if they are getting paid by or are receiving free goods from companies whose product they have reviewed. These rulings are meant to protect consumers, but they also protect the overwhelming majority of companies that are using the social media honestly. Transparency in the social media is the only way to gain trust. If a relationship is based on manipulation it will ultimately fail. As it has often been said, it is not a matter of if you will be exposed but when you will be exposed. Not only is there –ultimately – no place to hide, but the news of your transgressions will fly fast over the internet.
With the Demise of Gourmet Magazine, Radical Thinking is Required for Publishers
The closing of Gourmet and Modern Bride magazines just hit the newswires today. Two more publications that have a clearly-defined audience but weren’t able to provide enough ad revenue. (Some reports say that Gourmet’s ad revenue was down 50% over last year.) Gourmet’s editor, Ruth Reichl had moved the publication beyond just the print media to websites and a television series, but that wasn’t enough to save it.
Is Social Media the Latest Iteration of CRM?
I had a recent conversation with a colleague who has been in the CRM business for many years and began to think about the relationship between social media and the art and science of CRM. When I first got involved in social media it occurred to me that social media is CRM in its purest form. Going back a few years ago, all you could do was “manage” customers through outbound email, mail or phone contact. It was systematic, but – on balance – you were doing more “talking at” than “talking with” customers.
How Obama Dropped the Ball on His Social Media Strategy
One of the puzzling things is how Obama used social media to his advantage during the campaign but has failed to use it successfully now. The techniques that the campaign used were fine when you had a large group of people rallying around one idea. However, once the presidency was in motion, the real conversation should have begun. Every cabinet secretary, under-secretary, administration policy wonk should be in a dialog with the public through social media. None this has happened. It’s like they read Chapter 1 of ‘How to Develop a Social Media Strategy’, but never finished the rest of the book.
