How Apple Creates Suspense, Why Satisfaction Doesn’t Matter, and A Lesson From Star Wars

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Scott Gould

I spoke a while ago on the idea of what I’m calling ‘brand mystery’ – we looked at JJ Abrams’ TED Talk and Lost, and how he tells a story by suspense. He never provides the complete picture, and this is what keeps you hooked. This is contrary to what one copywriter thought when he said “every advertisiement should tell the complete story” – to which I wholeheartedly disagree. Discovering a brand, and unravelling its mysteries, is such a rich experience (and one that I’ve been enjoy since childhood) that it ties you emotionally into it for years to come. Continue reading →

A Tale Of Two Case Studies: Amazon, Pepsi, and Tangible Intangibles

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Scott Gould

2009 ended and 2010 began with two huge headlines for the mainstream adoption of Digital and Social Medias, on the back of what I documented last week as what I consider will be looked back on as a landmark case study with Rage Against The Machine’s Christmas Number 1 victory over the X-Factor. I’ll go into some analysis in a moment, but first, here are the headlines:

2009′s end of year news came in the form of the Amazon Kindle e-book reader: on Christmas Day, for the first time ever Amazon sold more e-books for the Kindle than they sold physical books (Amazon.com). Charlie Sorrel, writing in Wired’s article, points out that this surge most likely comes from customers who received the Kindle as a gift, but acknowledges that whilst this doesn’t mean e-books outsold physical books over the Christmas period, “what this still means is that e-books are now mainstream.” Mashable made a similar remark, saying “e-book sales still pale in comparison to the countless paper books that were sold this Christmas season. We do have to give credit where it is due, though; it is another milestone for the constantly-growing e-commerce giant.” Continue reading →

2010: Make Sense, Or Die

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Scott Gould

Everyone’s giving their predictions for 2010. Here’s mine: Make Sense Or Die.

There’s too much content, both online and offline, for everyone to cohabit – meaning those that lack clarity will, by the end of 2010, die. Furthermore those who aren’t making sense probably don’t have much money left to continue not making any sense, so unless they start making sense, they too will die.

This isn’t just bloggers. This is everyone in the industry of Social Media, Social Business, and whatever else you can put ‘Social’ in front of. The BS wears off this year, because likeminded people who know what they are doing are getting together – and guess what – they have more than celebrity status to back their talk – they have their own actual case study proof.

There’s a gravestone out there with a whole bunch of websites and businesses names on it – and the only way to survive 2010 is to make sense.

Making it tangible, here’s the way I see it:

Make sense by providing frameworks, step-by-step actions, case studies and models, or die by producing rehashes of old posts, non-ordered calls to random actions, and posts with toe-deep analysis, while someone else makes the bold move to do the former.
Make sense by being real, having personality, and most of all, being vulnerable, or die by being arrogant, distant, and unhuman, while someone else makes the bold move and has the guts to do the former.
Make sense by showing us how you’ve walked your own talk, with case studies to prove it, or die by being too much of a celebrity or airhead to roll your sleeves up and work, while someone else makes the bold move to do, and profile how they are doing, the former.
Make sense by sharing content that cost you more than time to develop, or die by keeping it locked up while someone else makes this bold move.
Make sense by turning the microphone on other people and giving voice to their stories, or die by keeping it on yourself while someone else makes this bold move.
Make sense by making Social Media make sense to the bottom line and the early majority, or die while trying to be ‘just like so-and-so’ and becoming another cheap copy of an original, while someone else draws the actual paying attraction by doing the former.

Happy 2010. I’m ready to make sense. Are you?

Leadership and Management in Social Media

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Scott Gould

I’ve been thinking and writing for a little while now about the underlying concepts of Social Media – stuff that I keep on insisting to people are the ‘bigger concepts’ that are regardless of tools, much of which enters the realm of cultural and economic commentary. I started examining the change from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy – essentially discussing the fact that the majority of businesses in Western World now deal mostly with intangibles that are knowledge-based as opposed to production-based. For me, this was ‘The Reason Why Most Companies Don’t Get It‘, because it requires these companies to cease managing people like parts in a production process, and adjust to leading and developing the knowledge skills of their staff in this knowledge economy. Continue reading →

The Problem With ‘The Last Tweet Of 2009′

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Scott Gould

I’ve been seeing lots of Businesses on Twitter saying “this is our last tweet of 2009″, mostly around December 22/23 – before the office closes for two weeks.

Given that Twitter is more about augmented reality than blogging (it’s even changed in some circles from ‘micro-blogging’ to ‘micro-media’), then isn’t saying “this is our last tweet of 2009″ like saying “this is our last conversation of 2009″?

Whilst you might say “this is my last blog post of 2009″, blogging isn’t the same as conversation, so when I see tweets like this, I realise there is a fundamental misunderstanding about Twitter’s use as a platform for ongoing conversation.

In my opinion, this suggests that conversation ends for special occasions, that we cease to talk to one another because it’s the New Yew, or a bank holiday. But the reality is that it is on holidays like Christmas that we talk more, so then why put Twitter away?

I faced this challenge myself on Christmas Day. Should I tweet, or not? Well, if tweeting is like work, then yes I should consider not tweeting. But if Twitter is augmenting my reality, and extending my relationships from just being those in close proximity, then why not wish Merry Christmas to people around the world through Twitter and Facebook?

Do you not use a mobile phone to text people on Christmas, or even call them? I’m not saying you don’t pay more attention to the people you’re spending the day with – but I wonder why many of us have this rather inconsistent and incongruent view.

The future is not set for less augmentation, but more. I certainly felt a few years ago that texting on Christmas day was somewhat rude, but now it’s common place. Should businesses, then, begin thinking like this too?

Perhaps you have a thought to add here?

Give This Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Scott Gould

It’s Christmas. I’ve been celebrating all week with friends, family and new faces. The whole reason why we work so hard is to be able to first of all make a difference, and secondly to enjoy it. So I’m taking the time to do enjoy my labour.

Also, every Christmas my friends and I at The River Church have families and students over for Christmas lunch who are by themselves, or just want to be around more warmth than usual. I always come away having made new friendships and love being able to make Christmas happen for someone else.

If you’re overworked, not enjoying the fruit of your labour, or just caught in commercial Christmas stress, then please take some time out and get around the real cause for Christmas – giving to those who have none. I personally find that more refreshing than any amount of sleep.

You also need to get the rest, because in case you didn’t know, 2010 is going to rock. See that tree there? That’s the Christmas Tree at Bovey Castle – home to the Like Minds Summit in Feb 2010. It’s going to be amazing.

So, Merry Christmas, one and all. And let me repeat again that this is a time for giving to those who don’t have.

Rage Against The Machine: The Case Study In Spreadability vs Reach

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Scott Gould

In case you didn’t know, the UK is experiencing, right now, one of the greatest Social Media case studies ever. The headline and subtext from the BBC is this: “Rage Against the Machine beat X Factor winner in charts: Rock band Rage Against the Machine have won the most competitive battle in years for the Christmas number one”

But the real headline here is this: that 3 months of prime time television marketing and audience engagement are beaten by Social Media. Continue reading →