what did google do? Use the community

Jeff Jarvis is so worth reading when he's on fire, and this post resonates with me a lot.

The link changes everything

The more your customers take ownership of your brand, the less you will spend annoying people with your ads. I can hear your agency: You can’t hand messaging over to the people; they’ll be off-message. Well, tell your agency their message may be off. Your customers have always owned your brand.

All we have to do is find ways to do the same thing with non tech products. Or do we already have the tools for this and just forgotten them? Remember when we had things we wanted rather than things the manufacturers told us we wanted?

build it and they will come

Twitter To Go

How one local coffee shop used Twitter to double their clientele.

Fairly unsurprising story with hard results on how community can coalesce around twitter and a coffee house, but really it's about building communities: twitter was the tool, not the reason. We can't forget that

please tell the truth or you'll get found out

I like Ernie Mosteller and I trust him, here's why...

erniesblog: The Truth. Take our word.

But honestly, what matters more to me at this very moment is the disdain the blow-hard had for the crackpot, when it was the blow-hard who was completely wrong.

Ok, so where's he going with this? Here: It's not just me and Woody Allen anymore. The web means access to information, true and untrue, about everything. If people are so inclined, they can find out anything about anything. And, for the most part, as I've said, they'e not all that inclined -- when you look at "people" as a group. But it doesn't take the whole group. It just takes one or two influentials, and the truth spreads. And because of the web, it spreads quickly. In short, your customers don't have to take your word for anything. They can, and will, either (A) take someone else's word; or (B) find out for themselves.

If I'm creating advertising (and I am,) that says two things to me. One, the product better be able to live up to the truth. And two, my advertising better contain it. You don't want to do it any other way. Take my word on that.

That's the end of a well told story, but the important bit. Advertising needs to be truthful, unfortunately too much isn't as honest as it could be, just as honest as it can get away with.

It's an uphill battle to get your own team onside with why we should be more truthful rather than lie less, but it's something to keep on doing; otherwise we'll find out just how right our mum was. And we hate being wrong...

It's a bit late, but here goes anyway: twitter from Mars

Here's a bit of old news about twitter, communication and space travel...

Russel Davies said: twitter home

Millions of miles away, in the far North of Mars, the greatest marketer of this young century is slowly dying in the cold and dark.

Follow the link, it's far more impressive than this post, but it does indicate twitter's worth to mankind, and kind of balance what I had to say yesterday

It's a simple tool that when used simply and authentically just works.

The authentic bit is the real issue I guess, everyone is looking to game the system, get more, build reputation faster, sell more widgets. Here's an example of how honest communication has advanced the goals of a national entity with the voice of one person from as far away as another planet.

I'm a bit late to blogging about this but I'm sure you'll understand.