Social Media Apps: What Goes Around...

Today I learned about a new mobile application called ParkShark.

ParkShark is a "parking space sharing app." Users share their current parking locations, as well as what time they plan to leave the parking spot, and other information such as a photo of their car, a photo of the spot, whether the spot is paid or free, etc. The app then displays those soon-to-be-available parking spots for other nearby users to see, reducing the time they spend fruitlessly circling the area in search of a parking spot.

The goal of this app is to reduce the amount of time, energy, frustration, and gasoline spent by users as they search for parking spaces. In turn, this reduces pollution and congestion, making a happier driving experience for everyone.

Of course, the concept of finding a parking space faster only works if users are first willing to help others by sharing their parking information as much as possible. As more parking-space-occupants share their locations and departure times, more parking-space-seekers can happily find a spot.

To facilitate this sharing process, the ParkShark app uses a rating algorithm to determine which users are good sharers (they share spots on time, and rarely cancel or leave earlier or later than they said they would) and which are not. The app rewards good sharers by telling them about soon-to-be-available spots first, before it displays those same spots to other users.

One Creativity Online commentator calls this, "parking karma in an app." While I don't believe in all the nuances of "karma," per se, I will agree that this app demonstrates a similar principle from Christianity: people reap what they sow.

This principle of sowing and reaping (or, "what goes around, comes around") is the basis for a healthy society. As each of us individually treats others with respect, kindness, generosity, friendliness, compassion, and goodwill, we improve society, making life better for ourselves and for those around us.

In a world where many places have lost this neighborly feel, social media tools can often enable people to rebuild a sense of community - of sharing life together, for their own sake and for the sake of those around them. ParkShark does this by creating "a community of cooperating parking citizens who work for the betterment of everyone's parking experiences."

Other apps like UrbanSpoon and Yelp enable people to share advice that is based on their experiences at various restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. Loopt enables users to see which of their friends are in the same geographic vicinity. Pandora enables listeners to share their custom radio stations with their friends. And social networks like Facebook and Twitter simply allow people to stay in contact with one another.

This idea of rebuilding community is what makes social media tools so successful. And rebuilding community is something that all of us should strive for - as marketers, as businesspeople, as coworkers, as neighbors, as friends and family, and as people.

(Note: It seems that the ParkShark app is currently available only on the iPhone and iPod touch. For the sake of drivers everywhere, I hope that it becomes available on other devices soon!)

Revolution-starters: iPad vs. iBooks store

May you hereby know, in case you missed it, that today Apple announced its much-anticipated new device - the iPad.

The iPad is a half-inch-thick, 1.5-pound tablet device, with a 9.7-inch, LED-backlit, multi-touch screen; 1 GHz Apple A4 processor; 16, 32, or 64 GB flash drive; 802.11n WiFi and optional 3G; 30-pin dock connector; Bluetooth; microphone; speaker; accelerometer; compass; and expected 10 hours of battery life. (If you haven't yet seen the video of Steve Jobs' announcement and the iPad promo video, watch them at www.apple.com/ipad.)

The iPad will enable users to surf the web, access email, manage calendars, search maps, listen to music, and access iPhone, iPod, and iPad apps. All on a device that is a bit smaller - and a little thicker - than a clipboard.

So what makes the iPad anything more than a giant iPod touch?

At this point, it seems to be one particular native app that Apple has created specially for this device: iBooks.

iBooks is an e-book reading app. Users can download books to their iBookshelf from the iBooks store; open a book by tapping on it; view one page or two pages at once by orienting the iPad vertically or horizontally; flip through the pages by tapping either side of the screen or by swiping a finger across the screen; adjust the typeface and font size; jump to a page from the book's table of contents; and view any photos or videos that the author has embedded in the book.

Before the announcement, this new device was rumored to be a tablet that would be "the most important thing that Steve Jobs has done" and that would "revolutionize the publishing industry."

After the announcement, some commentators seemed underwhelmed. A nifty device? "Maybe." Revolutionary? "We're not sure how."

One could make the case that the iPod and iPhone were revolutionary devices. The iPod, while not the first MP3 player, transformed the digital music industry. The iPhone, while not the first smartphone, transformed the communication industry.

How did the iPod and iPhone achieve these momentous milestones?

The physical devices themselves were good, perhaps. There is something to be said for Apple's talent for simple, elegant, intuitive design.

But the best-designed device in the world would be useless, were it not for content to fill the device. "Form follows function," after all.

The revolutions sparked by the iPod and iPhone lay, not so much in the devices themselves, but in the information systems behind the devices. The revolution lay in the iTunes Store and the App Store.

The iTunes Store provided iPod users with access to [now] millions of songs - the content which made the iPod worth having. The App Store provided iPhone and iPod touch users with access to [now] tens of thousands of applications - the content which made the iPhone and iPod touch worth having.

If the iPad is to revolutionize publishing as the iPod revolutionized music and the iPhone revolutionized communication, it will be because of the iBooks store.

Of course, for the iBooks store to start this revolution, it will need content: books, magazines, newspapers. Apple cannot provide that content; it must come from third-parties - the authors and journalists and publishers.

And, of course, the iBooks store faces some stiff competition from other eBook providers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble and Google Books.

And, of course, the funneling of e-books through Apple's closed system will exclude those e-books that are available only from sources other than the iBooks store.

But, if Apple is indeed launching a revolution, it will be due to the iBooks store - the distribution system behind the iPad - and not to the iPad itself.

Intrigue, Mystery, and AT&T

Yesterday, while I was on Pandora, this ad caught my attention:



However unexciting this simple ad may be, it caused me to pay attention to AT&T for a few moments. Here's why:

I have no conscious recollection of what, exactly, attracted my eyes to the ad. What I do remember is the phrase that I noticed:

"Only on the nation's fastest 3G network"
It isn't that the words "the nation's fastest 3G network" are all that spectacular. It seems that every wireless provider claims to be the best at some aspect of wireless coverage: "the largest 3G network," "the most reliable 3G network," "the only 4G network." I can't remember which is which, and frankly, I don't care.

However, for the very reason that I do NOT care which wireless provider claims to be the best at what, I did not remember who was supposed to be the "fastest" 3G network, and the ad did not immediately tell me which wireless provider it was.

So, despite my apathy, I had to look for the answer.

And there it was, the logo at the bottom right corner - AT&T.

Now it will be fixed in my memory - at least for a while - that AT&T is supposedly "the nation's fastest 3G network."

Why?

Because the ad raised my curiosity. It didn't say, "AT&T is the nation's fastest 3G network." Instead, it referred to someone as the "nation's fastest 3G network," and forced me to discover who that someone was.

The ad raised my curiosity, forced me to ask a question, and caused me to care about the answer. And because I cared, I intentionally sought out - and paid attention to - the answer.

Well done, AT&T. You made me care - just for a moment. Very clever.

Hindsight Is 20/20 . . . Or Is It?

We say that hindsight is 20/20. That is to say, that when we reflect back upon a situation that has occurred, it is "easy" to see what proper course of action in that situation should have been.

Yet I would say that our hindsight fails us more often than we care to admit.

Too many times, we look back upon a situation and criticize our own actions or the actions of others, without making any attempt to adjust our behavior for the next time a similar situation occurs. If we only use our hindsight to play Monday morning quarterback, and to declare what the "obvious" solution would have been if we had only taken time to realize it, then our hindsight is not really serving us.

Our hindsight is only useful when it translates into insight for future situations.

If we want our hindsight to be helpful to us, we must be intentional about recognizing the thought patterns that let us to a bad choice, and to recognize the situational cues that should have pointed us to the right decision in the first place. We should learn from those mistakes, and look for those situational cues as new challenge arise, so that our hindsight can inform our future decisions.

20/20 hindsight is no good to us until it translates into clearer foresight.

Coca-Cola: Sharing a Little Happiness

Coca-Cola recently made a few little tweaks to one of their vending machines:



Okay, so maybe they made more than a few tweaks.

But what has Coca-Cola really done here?

For the cost of a few "extras" and some apparent manpower, and with the element of surprise, they have brought laughter and happiness to potentially thousands of college students. Plus, they continue to bring joy to tens of thousands of other people, as those same college students share the story with their friends, and as viewers watch the video online. (On YouTube, the video already had 81,924 views on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 8:55 AM Central Time. The video was posted on January 12, 2010.)

Do you want your brand to be known as a brand that brings joy to people? What can you do to brighten their lives?

We're on the Same Team

Sometimes an organization can become fragmented. Not by a corporate restructuring or a division into geographic territories or the divestment of some strategic business units. Sometimes an organization becomes fragmented by the mindsets of its employees.

Perhaps you've seen it happen. Perhaps you've been a part of it. Members of different departments (or even of different functions within the same department) begin to see themselves as being on opposing teams. Life within the organization becomes a clash of "the marketing team" versus "the finance team" versus "the technology team" versus "the R&D team" versus "the legal team."

Naturally, these departmental "teams" must have completely opposite goals and completely opposite points of view. Working with anybody from another "team" will inevitably be a hassle and a struggle. A necessary evil.

Members of the "marketing team" enter a meeting with members of the "legal team," dreading the roadblocks that these legal guys will put in the way of the marketers' terrific ideas. Members of the "finance team" walk into a meeting with the "R&D team," ready for a fight over how many budget dollars are reasonable to spend on mere "research." The meeting room is no longer a meeting room, but a battleground. A boxing match.

We forget that everyone within the organization is on the same team.

Hard as it may be to accept, or even to comprehend, our jobs were not created for the success of the marketing team, or the success of the finance team, or the success of the technology team, or the success of the R&D team, or the success of the legal team. Our jobs were created for the success of the organization. We happen to be placed within these departments according to our strengths and to the needs of the entire organization.

We are all working together for the success of the organization. (And, by the way, the organization is successful when it sustainably serves its customers best.)

If we enter a meeting with the realization that everyone in that meeting is on the same team - the "team" of the organization - how does that change the way we approach the meeting? The meeting no longer becomes a contest to see whose opinion can win out, or who can convince "the other side" to give her what she needs, or who can persuade whom to cooperate with his idea. It becomes a discovery of how WE can work together to best serve the organization and our customers.

In that process, we consider what "that department" needs from "this department" in order to do "that department's" job best, and what "this department" needs from "that department" in order to do "this department's" job best. How can each of us do his job best and serve the others in order to achieve the goals of the organization together?

And when we set our sights on achieving the goals of the organization together, the goals of our own respective departments should fall naturally into place.

Einstein Bros. and Soft Openings

Today an Einstein Bros. Bagels is opening on the campus of the university where I work. Since most of the students will not arrive until this weekend (Monday is the first day of classes for the spring), the store has three solid days to practice their craft before their biggest customers arrive.

Thus, this Einstein Bros. location will enjoy an abbreviated "soft opening."

On this, their first day of their "soft opening," the store will not be selling food. Instead, they are giving it away.

The store has been distributing a limited number of vouchers for free samples. Each voucher lists a particular food item and a time of day during which the customer may receive the food item. (Mine says, "Bagel Dog & Choice of Blended or Coffee Beverage, 12:30-12:50") Customers may choose from a selection of 10-12 vouchers, and return to the store at the specified time to pick up the specified item.

This seems like a great idea for our new Einstein Bros. store for several reasons:

1. It gives the new employees a chance to practice, without wasting any food. And even if the trainees don't get a food item exactly right, they (hopefully) will not anger or alienate their customers, since the customers understand that these employees are still in training.


2. It builds excitement for the store, as customers get to taste a sample of the food and drinks that Einstein Bros. has to offer. And even for customers who arrive too late to receive a voucher, the anticipation builds as they await their opportunity to purchase something from Einstein Bros. and taste for themselves.


3. It starts a cycle of reciprocity, that principle discussed by Robert Cialdini that states that people tend to return favors. Giving away free samples helps to build goodwill for a business; when customers get free samples, they often feel compelled to support that business later.

And so, unless the employees drastically mess up the food today and create a huge fiasco of customer fury, today's soft opening seems like a great opportunity for Einstein Bros.

I could, however, imagine a situation in which a strategy like this would not work for a particular restaurant. If the food items are especially difficult to prepare and master, then loudly publicizing the distribution of free food could be risky. If a huge number of customers hear about the opening and then receive free food that is not fit to eat, the restaurant could be stuck with a bad reputation that proves impossible to overcome. A restaurant in that situation may want to open more quietly.

Text Messages and Serving the Customer

A friend of mine told me recently about a smoothie shop in her town that is making good use of mobile technology to serve their customers.

Visitors to the smoothie shop can sign up to receive SMS updates from the store. The shop sends a daily text message to its subscribers, telling them about the special of the day and sometimes offering extra discounts, such as "Visit us today and show us this text message to receive 50% off any large smoothie!"

Social media and other digital communications tools like SMS, Twitter, Facebook, and email can be a great way to offer something extra to your customers and to build a better customer relationship. Here are a few reasons (and rules) for why this works:

1. It's welcome. Perhaps the number one reason why these forms of communication can be successful at building customer relationships is that they require the organization to ask the customers' permission. (Seth Godin wrote a great book back in 1999 that explains how and why Permission Marketing works.) Your customers must opt-in to this service. They - not you - get to choose whether they receive your communications every day (or week, or what-have-you). Customers who view such messages as spam will not receive the service. Those who do subscribe to the service will not view your messages as spam (and if they did, they could unsubscribe).


2. It's expected. Your customers know what messages they will receive from you, and how often, because you tell them before they even sign up. You post point-of-sale advertisements in your shop that tell them how they can "sign up for free [daily/weekly] messages containing [updates/news/coupons/special offers] via [text message/email/Twitter/Facebook]." Or you print this information on your packaging. Or your sales clerks ask them if they would like to sign up as they check out (and then direct them to a paper or digital sign up sheet, rather than putting them on the spot by asking for their contact information verbally).


3. It's easy. Your subscribers get your information pushed to their email inboxes, Facebook accounts, or mobile phones. They don't have to go searching for your news and coupons on your website, via Google, or in your store. And your messages are short, so they don't take long to read. If you have too much to say (i.e. more than 140 characters, whether or not you are using Twitter), you give the customer a headline and a link to a webpage that contains all of the information. If they are interested in the headline, they can follow the link. If not, they can delete your message.


4. It's helpful. You send these messages for the purpose of serving the customer. You give them information that they would like to hear. You give them information that they care about. If your organization serves smoothies, you distribute links to articles about healthy foods and healthy living. If you sell bicycles, you distribute links to news about cycling and cyclists. If you provide business services, you distribute links to information about industry developments and best practices. And, when appropriate, you distribute special offers for your products and services. Every message you send to your subscribers should serve your subscribers.

For building customer relationships, these communications methods can be a great tool. But remember, as with any marketing effort, your SMS and social media communications should serve the customer, not just serve you.

New Year's Resolutions for the Marketer

With New Year's Day comes the tradition of new year's resolutions.

Lose weight; exercise more; eat right; save money; spend less; read more; be more patient with my loved ones; be more considerate; invest more time in people; be less sarcastic; pray more. We set so many goals for ourselves as individuals, as family members, as friends, as human beings.

Do we set similar resolutions for ourselves as workers and business owners and public servants? I should think that we would seek to improve ourselves professionally as much as we do personally.

For myself in 2010, I resolve to adhere to the following principles as a marketer:

1. I will intentionally and humbly listen to my customers' opinions, complaints, and ideas.
2. I will continually refine my actions in order to offer better service to my customers.
3. I will do everything feasible to resolve my customers' grievances, meet their needs, and exceed their expectations.
4. I will look at my product from the perspective of the customer, not only from the perspective of the company.
5. I will view each new technology as another potential tool for serving my customers, not as a new gadget that will help us look snazzy.
   
6. I will approach all of my communications as dialogue, not monologue.
7. I will consider it my purpose to benefit society, not simply to make more money for myself.
8. I will cultivate a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in those working with me.
9. I will appreciate and respect the work of others in my organization.
10. I will seek to build better relationships with other departments in my organization.
    

Happy 2010!