December 2006
George Will's bow tie is in a bunch this week because TIME magazine selected "you" as the 2006 Person of the Year. Here's where his argument falls apart...
"There are expected to be 100 million bloggers worldwide by the end of 2007, which is why none (my emphasis) will be like Franklin or Paine. Both were geniuses; genius is scarce. Both had a revolutionary civic purpose, which they accomplished by amazing exertions. Most (my emphasis) bloggers have the private purpose of expressing themselves for their own satisfaction. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is nothing demanding or especially admirable about it, either.....George III would have preferred dealing with 100 million bloggers rather than one Paine."
I'm not sure how Will can conclude that the enormous volume of blogs will not yield a single Franklin or Paine. Surely, out of 100 million writers there must be at least one bright light. As he points out, correctly, genius is scarce. People who exercise discretion in what they read, be it books or blogs, understand that within this huge Internet haystack there are more than a few needles - gifted, thoughtful and passionate people capable of moving industries or societies.
Well known people from various walks of life are blogging these days - examples include billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, ex-Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, TV gab queen Rosie O'Donnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Even Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad feels the need to post his unique musings online (complete with four language options, a question-of-the-day, and a blogroll of Dr. A's favorite sites). These sites are interesting, but they won't produce the next Franklin or Paine. Look at the masses. If you go beyond the "my life and experiences" crowd, you'll find there are some brilliant people online, and they have plenty to say. The next Franklin or Pierce may very well come from this group, as inexplicable and disconcerting as that may be for Mr. Will.
The supply of people with revolutionary purpose, capable of amazing exertions, has not been exhausted. Blogging offers these people the unprecedented opportunity to communicate their unfiltered message faster and further than ever before.
Purpose and energy are not limited to the civic arena, of course. Blogging offers business people a new channel to get out your message. It'll help you connect with current and potential employees, customers and partners. Your posts will be read by more people than you can imagine. We've never had more opportunity to communicate than we do today. Use it!
Posted by John Moran on December 21, 2006 at 2:02 PM
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You have been named TIME magazine's Person-of-the-Year for 2006. Congratulations!
In referring to the various new ways of communicating (e.g.blogs, social network sites, wikis, v-casts), TIME says the story of 2006 has been about "community and collaboration on a scale never before seen....The new Web is a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter....it's really a revolution."
Now that the mainstream media has bestowed its blessing on digital media it'll be interesting to see how corporate attitudes change. Far too many have scoffed at the value and potential of digital communications. These folks will no doubt be scrambling to get on the bandwagon in 2007. The question will be - do they do it in a thoughtful manner or approach it with a "get me some of that" attitude?
TIME's sub-headline reads, "You Control the Information Age." They're right - now what are you going to do about it?
Posted by John Moran on December 18, 2006 at 7:38 AM
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I saw an interesting billboard on the southbound side of Route 495 in Tewksbury, MA. The bold, black letters read, "Bipartisan Computing." The names Microsoft and Novell appear in smaller letters underneath. This apparently is part of a campaign to support the November 2 announcement between the two companies; a deal that Microsoft claimed is evidence of the "historic bridging of the divide between the open source community and proprietary software."
Among other things, the Nov. 2 press release claimed the two sides would work to improve interoperability between OpenOffice and Microsoft Office. For a revealing look at why this is so amusing, read Carol Sliwa's outstanding December 4 article in Computerworld. Thanks to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, Computerworld was able to examine over 300 e-mails and documents between the Commonwealth and Redmond. It's hard to read this piece and come away with the feeling that Microsoft really had/has any interest in bridging divides. Or perhaps they do, as long as they get to be the toll collector.
Then, on November 16, the bridge got a little shakier when Steve Ballmer told a group in Seattle that the real motivation for the agreement was that Linux uses MSFT intellectual property and that MSFT shareholders deserve a return for its innovation. The bridge keeper reportedly added, "We believe every Linux customer basically has an undisclosed balance sheet liability." Sigh, it doesn't appear Mr. Ballmer really gets the collaboration thing.
From a PR perspective, it'll be interesting to see if the mighty Microsoft PR machine can pull off this sleight of hand - getting the world to believe that the most proprietary company on the planet really believes that "computer users are best served by software products that work smoothly together, whatever their source." My guess is that most people will have the same reaction as they did to George Bush's infamous "Mission accomplished" proclamation and Bill Clinton's gem, "I did not have sex with that woman" - Yeah, right!
Posted by John Moran on December 15, 2006 at 11:52 AM
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People are increasingly turning to the Internet for news and entertainment. And, even more significant, people are now both consumers and producers of news and entertainment.
In today's New York Times story "Troubling '07 Forecast for the Old-Line Media but Not for the Online," a report from Fitch Ratings states, "The trend that will continue to affect the media universe in 2007 is the ongoing shift in advertising dollars from traditional media to nontraditional media, most notably the Internet...ad spending continues to follow consumer patterns." In an unrelated story, the Times yesterday reported on a deal between Reuters and Yahoo. Anyone can now upload photos and video to a site called You Witness News. Reuters' editors will then pick some of the photos to accompany their stories. In essence, everyone is now a potential stringer for Reuters. Here's another example of how things are changing, this one is from the Washington Post - sick of losing readers and revenue to the Internet, the newspaper chain Gannett is shifting its focus from papers to the Internet. They've created "mojos" - mobile journalists who are responsible for providing a steady stream of fresh news and content.
What does all this mean for your business? You need to recognize that what is taking place is not an aberration. As the Fitch report says, ad spending follows consumer patterns. Follow the money. Your customers are moving online - you need to be there too. This includes blogs, podcasts and video. The longer you cling to the old way of doing things the further back you'll be. Don't worry about getting things perfect. As the executive editor of the Fort Meyers News-Press told the Post, "We're trying alot of things. Some will work; others won't." That's the spirit!
Posted by John Moran on December 5, 2006 at 8:40 AM
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This day and age we're living in
Gives cause for apprehension
With speed and new invention
And things like fourth dimension
And no matter what the progress
Or what may yet be proved
The simple facts of life are such
They cannot be removed
You must remember this
The fundamental things apply,
As time goes by.
With all the extraordinary things happening in technology today it may seem like those lyrics were written recently. Wrong. These words come from the great classic "As Time Goes By" - a song written in 1931, and immortalized in the Humphrey Bogart movie "Casablanca."
The current hype over the virtual world known as Second Life has marketing/PR types wondering what all the fuss is about and how it can be used to the organization's advantage. Ditto for blogs, podcasts and social networks. Earlier this week, I commented on the tendency that some have to resist new change. The flip-side, and equally dangerous, is to rush into something because everyone else seems to be doing it.
Remember, the fundamental things still apply - whether it's new digital communication or old world stuff like press releases and marketing collateral - you must start with a communication strategy. What do you want to accomplish? What is your message? Who are you addressing? Answer these questions and then execute.
The new world may be virtual, but the stakes are still very real.
Posted by John Moran on December 1, 2006 at 4:07 PM
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