July 2009

 If you are like most marketers I talk to, you are probably trying to find a reliable way to measure the effects of your social marketing efforts. One of the tactics I typically recommend is to use a listening platform to understand and benchmark the scope and quality of conversations happening around your brand. In Razorfish's recent publication "Fluent"they along with TNS Cymfony introduce a formula that really captures the value of listening platforms for measuring social media. They call it a "SocialInfluence Measurement" or SIM score, and it works like this:

1. Calculate the number of positive, negative, and neutral conversations happening for your brand

2. Use the formula (Positive + Neutral - Negative)/ Total brand conversations

3. Calculate the number of positive, negative, and neutral conversations happening for your industry

4. Use the formula (Positive + Neutral - Negative)/ Total industry conversations

5. Divide lines 2/4 and you have your SIM score

Critics of Smart Grid argue that it is not secure enough to be rolled out yet. They may even paint a doomsday picture similar to ‘Die Hard 4’, with hackers breaking into the grid and controlling the nation’s power system. That kind of extreme scenario is shocking — in essence launching a denial of service (DOS) attack that can imperil critical infrastructure. This year’s Black Hat conferenceplans to showcase similar security threats that can impact smart meters and devices. NIST has put out a 270 page roadmap of Smart Grid standards and protocols that address various aspects of controls, including security. These guidelines can help utility companies, manufacturers, technology vendors, and service integrators to streamline controls when rolling out Smart Grid. However, the implementation of this approach is missing to date.   

If you're the typical CEO, you are carrying a BlackBerry. But not for long. Once the iPhone is able, in a corporate setting, to replicate all aspects of Outlook (email, calendar, notes, and tasks) with high security, the iPhone floodgates will open and you will have a new device. Here's why:

1) User interface. Despite the annoyance of the glass keyboard, the iPhone interface is faster, more intuitive, more flexible, and more versatile. You can do more, with more content, less instruction, and faster speed.

2) Applications. iPhone has a massive head start in the battle for applications. It's possible that your company already has an iPhone application in the market -- servicing your customers. Don't you wish you could see it? And there may already be applications available that will make your job easier -- I predict that corporate dashboards for CEOs will be a small but influential segment of the iPhone apps portfolio. In some markets, it's changing how customers connect to companies -- here's an example around mobile banking. The application revolution has begun -- and it's not on BlackBerry.

3) iPhone will soon be available from more cell services providers -- starting first in Europe. Once the device breaks out of its AT&T cage, the multiplier effect will kick in -- and the flood waters will rise fast.

I forgot to cross-post "Beware of the naked man" last night. Since people kindly left comments to the post, I have to rectify that oversight.

The post is about the role of social media in product requirements. Is it a supplement or replacement for other requirements sources? How hard is it to get good information out of social media?