Paul Chaney - Internet Marketing, Social Media Consulting

Say Hello to Say Media and Say Goodbye to Typepad as We Knew It

Ben and Mena Trott, founders of Six Apart, the company that makes Typepad (and Moveable Type) yesterday announced a merger with advertising company Videoegg to form a new company, Say SAY Media. 

Here's an excerpt of the announcement I received via email:

"Today we announced our intention to join forces with VideoEgg to form a new, modern media company called SAY Media. This new company will continue Six Apart's mission to make creators like you more successful. It will continue to help you create powerful and engaging content, and grow and monetize your audience. And it will continue to leave you in control.

"Nothing in TypePad changes today, and SAY Media will continue to provide support to TypePad subscribers, and evolve the TypePad platform. You can choose to take advantage of our strong relationships with marketers to monetize your blogs, or you can keep your blog ad-free."

The announcement has caused some degree of confusion and no small amount of concern among Typepad bloggers, for this reason: Say Media is a "media" company, not a software platform company, which is what SixApart is (was) at its core.

Even though 6A developed an advertising arm, I suspect most Typepad users didn't take advantage of it. We just wanted a simple to use blog that was ad-free. We didn't need all the bells and whistles offered by Wordpress, just a place to share our experiences, express our passions, and build our small businesses. 

Now, that has changed.

Common sense says, if you're a "media" company, you're no longer a "software platform" company. You may have a platform, but you're intent has changed. Thus, the business model changes along with it. Let's put it this way, I will be hard pressed to believe you can do both well. While I didn't see it coming, looking back, I guess this has been part of Ben and Mena's vision for some time. 

To my point, the Say SAY Media site tells the story. They want "passionate, independent media creators." 

How many of you qualify? I know I don't, unless I misunderstand the meaning of the term, which I don't think I do based on this quote these quotes from an Adweek article reporting the merger... 

"Say Media expects to lose some subscribers to the Six Apart blogging platform. Its main focus, Young said, is in those that hope to build media businesses, rather than regular people who write a blog for fun."

And this...

"The absorption of Six Apart gives the company the added reach of the latter's Movable Type and TypePad blogging software. Say Media plans to use those ties with content creators to foster the growth of independent media properties it can package to advertisers."

And this...

"The kinds of people we want to work with are emerging media personalities."

You know I have always focused on how Typepad can be used as an easy to use publishing tool for small business. It became that too. Now, not so much. 

With the advent of Wordpress, maybe the handwriting was on the wall. Maybe Ben and Mena are to be commended, not only for their extraordinary vision in creating one of the world's first blogging tools to be used by the populace, but for seeing that to contend against WP strictly on a blog-to-blog, component-by-component standpoint was fruitless. There was too much at stake to lose by playing that game. So, they changed the game. 

But, what may be good for Ben and Mena may not be good for the thousands of Typepad users who have no intention of becoming media moguls. Time will tell. 

I will say this...I bet Matt Mullenweg is smiling. 

PS: The Adweek article compared SAY Media to Federated Media and Glam Media. That puts things in perspective. It is what they are, but with its own blogging platform. 

Heading Out to Speak at Florida Realtors Annual Convention

I leave today for Orlando to speak at the annual Florida Realtor's Convention taking place this week. Later today, I'll be attending the Orlando REBarcamp held in conjunction with the convention.

It's been a while since I've had opportunity to hang out with my friends in the real estate industry, but am looking forward to it, especially since it will give me the chance to reconnect with some old friends.

I'll try and keep you posted, and plan to do some live-tweeting and blogging during the event. We'll see how that goes, of course.

 

The Rise of Russia's Social Web

When I spoke to the group of Russian college students in Milwaukee recently, I got a small glimpse into what social media is like in that country. What I found is that it is not so different than in the US, but is still in a more nascent, emerging state.

For example, instead of Facebook, Russians have Vkontatke (translated it means "In Contact"). Though you may have never heard of it, the site is the leading social network in the Russian speaking world with nearly 85 million registered users (that's right, 85 million!).

If you visit my profile there, you will see it resembles Facebook in a pre-2006 era. There are no fan pages, the Wall is hidden further down the profile page and it seems quite benign compared to what we are used to with Facebook.

You might say, "What Facebook was, Vkontakte is." I say, "What Facebook is, Vkontakte will become."

How do I know? Three words - Digital Sky Technologies, or DST for short.

To quote from their website, "DST is a leading global Internet holding company that originated in the Russian speaking world. We estimate that our companies comprise well over 70% of all pageviews in the Russian speaking Internet, targeting a potential audience of over 300 million people. Our companies hold the #1 and often also the #2 and #3 positions in all CIS states, including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Armenia."

Vkontakte is just one of the Russian companies DST has invested in. Another is Mail.ru, which is a rival to Yahoo!. The company's investment portfolio doesn't stop at the border either. They have invested heavily in some of the web's largest online entities including Facebook, Groupon, social game developer Zynga and the ever venerable ICQ. (Though we abandoned ICQ long ago, it is the leading instant messaging application in Russia.)

Russia also has its own version of Google, called Yandex. In a recent query of my name, I found that the search engine returned my Twitter account, this blog, my Plurk profile and a YouTube video, which provided evidence that is using the same universal or blended search technology that US-based engines are. (Russia also has a version of Youtube, interestingly called RuTube.)

According to the students, social media engagement is still largely on a personal level (most of Vkontakte's users are high school and university students). However, there are signs that the site is beginning to be used in a business context. For example, recruiters are using the site to post job listings. Advertising is offered as well. And, though few and far between at this point, some businesses are beginning to set up profiles there.

So, you have a fast-growing Facebook clone, a Russian-based investment company that is putting money into the largest social network sites on the planet, its own versions of major search portals, and an economy that continues its march toward a version of capitalism.

That spells opportunity to me and I plan to keep a sharp watch on the growth of social media for business within the country.

Speaking to Russian College Students a Rewarding Opportunity

This past weekend I traveled to Milwaukee to speak to a group of Russian college students who were in the US for about two weeks to study American culture and business. Most of them were either finance or marketing majors, some still at the undergraduate level and some working on advanced degrees.

I worked through a translator, an amazing young lady named Katrina (shown on the right above) who had just graduated with an advanced degree in international business. If she is not the CFO of a multi-national corporation some day, I will be surprised.

Having not had much experience at that sort of thing, needless to say there were a few hurdles to clear. I recall at one point early on Katrina telling me, "We can take a few more breaks." (Meaning I didn't need to speak as long a period of time before stopping for her to translate. Heh.)

I was a bit trepidacious about presenting not only to Russian speaking people, but college students as well. Nonetheless, despite their youthfulness, I found this group to be sharp, engaging, inquisitive and knowledgeable.

I also found out that Russia has its own form of Facebook, called Vkohtakte (which means "in contact"). I am now a member and a few of the students have friended me.

We even took time to do a small group activity on how to use the site for marketing purposes. I was taken aback at how well developed some of their ideas were. Below are images of some of the students white-boarding their ideas.

Though the use of social media is not yet as advanced in Russia as it is in the states, there is growing adoption of the medium for marketing. Vkohtakte, for example, is a few years behind Facebook in terms of businesses adopting its use, but give it two or three years and you'll hardly recognize the difference (other than the fact that one is in English and the other Russian).

One issue Vkohtakte needs to address is spam (so does Facebook for that matter). Users who are not friends can send group invitations to you and some of them are, well, prurient in nature if you know what I mean.

Though the presentation took an entire day, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life in recent years. It nearly rivals traveling to Singapore in 2005 to do the first-ever business blogging seminar to be held in Asia.

I would truly cherish the opportunity to travel to Russia to help introduce social media marketing. But, if not that, I do hope to travel to Milwaukee once again and do the same.

Lastly, I want to thank my hosts, Lana and Richard Taylor, who are the couple responsible for bringing me to Milwaukee to present to the group. I also want to thank Katrina, my translator, as she was the one responsible for actually finding and introducing me to Lana and Richard.

Today is Social Media Day...Send Flowers

 
Mashable has officially declared today, Wednesday, June 30, 2010, as Social Media Day. I don't know if that means we should send flowers to our favorite social media person (just send me money), but it does mean that people are gathering all over the world at meetups. (For those of you in Lafayette, we're having one at Burgersmith at 5:30 central. In lieu of money, you can buy me a Louisiana-made craft brew.) 

Here's the blurb...

As far as we know, there is no official Social Media Day. But we do think there should be one. So we invite you to celebrate the revolution of media becoming a social dialogue by attending or organizing a Social Media Day meetup in your area on June 30. What better way to celebrate social media than connecting with other enthusiasts in your area?

On Wednesday, June 30, we’ll be organizing meetups in cities where we have staff using Meetup Everywhere. So come join us for drinks in New York City or San Francisco or anywhere. Because we can’t be everywhere, we encourage you to attend or organize a meetup in your community using our Meetup Everywhere page.

Social media has changed our lives (amen). It has not only changed the way we communicate, but the way we connect with one another, consume our news, conduct our work, organize our lives, and much more. So why not celebrate?

There is a lot of flexibility in what exactly a meetup can consist of. Some groups are organizing social networking hours at their local venues, while others are hosting speakers or panels. We want to give you the flexibility to tailor your meetup to what you think best suits your social community.

One thing that we do ask is that you would upload some of the best photos from your meetup to this event page and Flickr. Also, make sure to use #smday as the hashtag on Twitter and Flickr.

Meetup Everywhere Page: www.meetup.com/mashable

Social Media Day on Twitter: twitter.com/mashSMday

Stay tuned and stay social!

(What's with the llama in the logo?)

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

I can't say this has been a banner summer in terms of speaking opportunities. It's ironic really. When I was working with Bizzuka, I was traveling as often as a couple of times per month. Since stepping out on my own, nothing! Well, hardly nothing. 

Thankfully, that's changing. Here are some upcoming events where I'll be speaking:

Social Media Slowpokes (Webinar)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Part of MarketingProfs Summer Series

Florida Realtors 2010 Convention and Trade Expo
Orlando, FL
August 25 - 29, 2010

Coastal Social
Baton Rouge, LA
September 29, 2010

If you would like to have me speak to your event or group, please contact Jennifer Cook of Five Star Speakers. 

If it is a real estate related event, contact Darlene Lyons at Broker Agent Speakers Bureau. 

BP, Don't Clean Up Your Image, Clean the Gulf Instead

 
The very fact that, in the wake of this huge disaster in the Gulf, there is even discussion about BP cleaning up its image boggles the mind. It's ludicrous, yet both the WSJ and AdAge have both addressed the issue. 

For example, this excerpt from the WSJ: 

Early indications suggest the ad isn't hitting the mark with consumers and crisis experts. "The ad failed to resonate in a meaningful way," said Ju Young Lee, co-founder and chief scientist of Ace Metrix, a Los Angeles research firm that polled consumers on their reaction to it. "In a nut shell," she added, "what consumers are saying is that they have been waiting for BP to say something and, after hearing it, they say they didn't learn anything new."

What? Really? Time is actually being devoted to research on how well Tony Hayward's apology resonated with consumers. You've got to be kidding me! 

LinkedIn Continues to Follow Where Facebook and Twitter Leads

 

LinkedIn, the business-focused social network that sometimes gets lost in the shadow of Facebook and Twitter, has just launched a new feature many will find familiar -- the ability to follow a company. 

Think of it as LI's version of a Fan Page, but using the operative term "follow," borrowed from Twitter.  

Personally, I love the idea. I've longed for LinkedIn to build out its social networking features. If it could function exactly like Facebook and Twitter combined, that would be fine by me. It would sure make explaining how B2B companies can make use of social networking a heck of a lot easier. 

There is one key difference between the LI version and Facebook Fan Pages, these are private. You have to be logged in to see them, so says Techcrunch. 

This post from LinkedIn's blog explains how it all works, so I won't try to replicate the steps. 

What does following allow you to do?

"'Follow Company' helps you be among the first to learn about developments at companies...find job openings...or stumble upon business development opportunities," says the post. "The new feature lets you tap into key goings-on at nearly a million companies that already have their company profiles on LinkedIn and more that are being created every day."

Techcrunch indicates LinkedIn has plans to "wiki-fy" these company profile pages in the coming months, which will allow employees to edit them. 

Many people already benefit from using LinkedIn for recruiting, business development and networking. Many more consider it a bit stodgy and boring, lacking the interactivity and life of its competitors. In my view, the more LI can function like the others, the better off it will be, and the more I will like it. 

(Speaking of acting like the other networks, the other day LinkedIn launched its own URL shortener.)

What Do Kathy Ireland, Vanna White and Paul Chaney Have in Common?

I know what you're thinking...absolutely nothing! Normally, you would be right. However, there is one instance (and only one) where that is not the case. Kathy, Vanna and little old me are included in the May 2010 issue of Personal Branding magazine.

The magazine is produced by personal branding guru Dan Schawbel. Not only does he publish a great magazine, he is an author, blogger, speaker, consultant and, according to Fast Company, a "personal branding force of nature."

What Seth Godin is to marketing or Donald Trump is to fortune building, Dan is to personal branding. Oh, yea, and he's only 27 years old!

Needless to say, I was delighted when Dan offered me the opportunity to contribute to the magazine, which hits the shelves May 1st. My article deals with building a personal brand using social media. 

This particular issue is focused on celebrity spokespeople, and includes interviews with such well-known individuals as Kathy Ireland and Vanna White.  

Others featured in the magazine include: Leslie Scott (founder of the board game Jenga), Dan Heath (#1 New York Times bestselling author of Switch), Daymond John (Founder of the Fubu clothing line), Jalen Rose (ESPN commentator), and Harvey Mackay (#1 New York Times bestselling author of Swim With The Sharks).

Speaking at NewComm Forum 2010

I'm privileged to be speaking Wednesday at NewComm Forum, one of the most long-standing, highly-regarded conferences to be held on the topic of social media. It's an annual event sponsored by Society for New Communications Research (SNCR). 

To say I feel privileged to take part in this event is an understatement. Without sounding too self-congratulatory, it represents a pinnacle in my career I never imagined I could have achieved. And it comes at a good time, considering present circumstances. 

The cast of fellow speakers represents the best of the best, people like: 

• Shel Holtz, Holtz Communication + Technology, Principal
• Katie Paine, KD Paine & Partners, CEO
• Brian Solis, Futureworks, Principal, author of the new book, Engage!
• Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot, Inc., Chief Technology Officer and Founder, co-author of Inbound Marketing
• Shel Israel, author of Naked Conversations and his latest, Twitterville
• Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers and Secrets of Social Media Marketing
• Susan Getgood, Getgood Strategic Marketing
• Jen McClure, Redwood Collaborative Media, CMO & Director of Community Development
• Jenna Jantsch, VerticalResponse, Social Media Lead
• Kami Huyse, Zoetica Media, President/COO
• Dr. Francine Hardaway, Stealthmode Partners
• Francois Gossieaux, Beeline Labs, Partner
• Geno Church, Brains on Fire, Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer
• Maggie Fox, Social Media Group, CEO
• Elisa Camahort, BlogHer, Co-founder & COO
• JD Lasica, Social media strategist
• Jiyan Wei, Vocus, Director of Product Management
• and many more! 

It's truly an honor to be invited and I look forward to kicking off the New Communications and Communities social media education track.