Monthly Archives: April 2010

My Vote For Sale. Price: Engagement.

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Yes, that’s right. My vote in the UK General Election is for sale. It just costs engagement.

When I announced this on Twitter at the end of last week, my friend Martin Howitt immediately replied that my vote should be based on principles – it is a duty and a decision that is not like buying a TV or picking which movie to watch at the weekends. Martin said that not voting devalues us, and someone else concurred, saying I should vote for the party that aligns with my values and the one that stands for what I believe in. I agree with Martin, however:

The reality is my generation doesn’t known what the parties stand for.

When you consider that all the information that most of my generation has ever needed has found its way to us through targeted advertising and customisation, the only bit of information about any political party that makes its way to me is that each party dislikes the other political parties. Continue reading →

Spreadability is Like Scattering Seeds

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[slideshare id=3565713&doc=spreadabilityvsreach-100326135459-phpapp02]

Above are the slides for the presentation I gave at WOM UK last month. If you can’t see them, click here.

What I realised, though, is that in this presentation I didn’t go through some of the failures and the trial and error not only of what we’ve faced with Like Minds, but also with spreadability as a concept across other examples.

Continue reading →

10 Dos and Don’ts for Social Media Campaigning in the General Election

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Campaigning for the General Election in the UK is now officially underway, which coincided at the beginning of this week with two events: the first being the second reading of the Digital Economy Bill, and the second event being the happily coincidental launching of many local Members of Parliament and Councillors into some of the worst Twitter engagement I have seen.

What I’m offering today is a genuine help document for the latter - guidelines for MPs and Councillors and others who are campaigning with Social Media, to help you build relationships, engage without putting your foot in it, and help your local communities. Continue reading →

How Apple Created a New Level of ‘New’ with the iPad

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We all know that Apple’s marketing and buzz machine is one of the best in the world. So when the iPad was announced, there was every expectation that there’d be the same buzz as always: some people love it, some people hate it, but for sure, everyone is talking about it.

There’s only one problem with Apple’s model, and it’s an issue of anticipation and expectation. Namely, it is this:

Apple do such a good job of hyping and showing the new thing off, that when I get my hands on the new thing, nothing is new anymore.

You know what I mean here. I remember touching the iPhone for the first time, and as cool as it was, the demonstrations on the website had done such a good job of showing the device to me, that physically holding it had little new about it. Continue reading →

Creating Conversation Around Brands

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In this video filmed by Contagious Magazine at the WOM UK Espresso Briefing in March, I talk a little about what Spreadability means for businesses and brands today:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7FyBeto2HY

The question is – understanding that knowing what Spreadability is is one thing, and doing it is another – how do we create conversations around brands? Continue reading →

Social Means Celebration – Not Hiding

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I find the Social Media world can be a contradictory one at times.

One of the virtues that is extolled in this social world that we talk about is valuing people for who they are, being relevant to them, and celebrating uniqueness. Yet I find that whenever I talk about how I am a follower of Jesus Christ and a pastor at my church, the conversation goes cold. Continue reading →