by Charlene Li

Josh and I will be doing a free webinar “Groundswell: A Framework For Using Web 2.0 For Business Advantage” on Friday, May 9th at 8am PT / 11am ET / 5pm CET.

We'll be reviewing the core ideas laid out in our "Groundswell" book, going through the frameworks and strategies needed to approach and thrive in the groundswell.

We hope you can join us -- and invite your colleagues if you think they would benefit!

Agenda:

• What process should companies use to create social strategies?
• What business objectives can be achieved with Web 2.0 technologies?
• How should you get started? 

Click here to be registered for the Groundswell webinar

As you might imagine, we're ramping up our speaking schedule in March and April in support of Groundswell's April release. Here's where you can see us coming up. Please stop by, share stories, interview us -- we want to connect! All times are local -- any of these may require membership in the organizations running them or an admission fee. All times are local.

Sunday, March 09 SXSW Interactive Conference, Austin, 11:30am, central
Charlene will be speaking on "Social Strategies For Revolutionaries", followed up a reading from her upcoming book, "Groundswell".

Wednesday, March 12 Digital Hollywood, New York, 10:45 am, eastern
Josh will be speaking on panel moderated by Ron Grover: Social Media & User Generated Media Economy: The Content, Personalization, Lifestyle and Advertising

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 ETC CxO Roundtable, Burbank, 8:30am, pacific
Charlene is participating in a roundtable on social networking, how consumers are using it, and how it is changing the entertainment experience.

Tuesday, March 18 Public Relations Society of America Teleseminar, 3:00 pm eastern
Josh will be speaking along with technology journalists. Title: Meet the Media: Technology Journalists

Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9, Forrester Marketing Forum 2008 Los Angeles
A great marketing event. We'll both be doing a presentation there. More details to follow.

Thursday, April 10, TravelCom, Chicago, 9:00 am central
Charlene will be giving the keynote. "Welcome to 2013: The Changes in Technology and Consumers that will Affect Your Business".

Thursday, April 10, Customer Experience (CX) Innovation Summit, Miami, 9:30am eastern
Josh will be giving the keynote at this Blast Radius event.

Monday, April 14, National Association of Broadcasters, Las Vegas, 3:30pm pacific
Josh will be on a general session keynoted by by John Gage, Chief Researcher and Director of the Science Office, Sun Microsystems, Inc. It’s an age where everyone can broadcast their thoughts, ideas and digital creations worldwide over a variety of platforms. Is this just a passing fad or the start of a new era in broadcasting? 

Thursday, April 17, Business Without Borders: Leveraging International Networks, Toronto, 1:30pm eastern
Josh will discuss the impact of social technologies on business relationships and how these types of technologies can be leveraged to create business opportunities. The event is hosted by the Canadian Venture Capital Association.

Wednesday, April 23, Web 2.0 Expo, San Francisco, 9:40am pacific
We will both be speaking on Creating a Coherent Social Strategy for Business. We'll be presenting the major ideas in the book, and are planning other events around the same time -- the Web 2.0 Expo is our coming out party!

Tuesday, April 29, 19th Annual Professional BusinessWomen of California, San Francisco, 2:15pm pacific
Charlene Li will be speaking with Clay Shirky, and Tina Sharkey on "What's the Big Deal About Social Networking?"

If you'll be attending any of these conferences or events and are planning to see us, leave us a comment here and let us know if there are any topics you'd really like to hear about.

by Josh Bernoff

ZDNet is holding a live Webcast Wednesday about how your company can use the social world to improve product innovation. It's free with registration.

Here are the details:

Date: 2/27/2008
Time: 2 eastern, 11 pacific
Participants: yours truly along with Colby Dyess, Product Manager from Endeca

For my portion, I'll be talking about how companies are engaging with their customers to improve product development, with examples from Del Monte Pet Products, salesforce.com, the Swiss mobile operator Swisscom, the French bank Credit Mutuel, and the Canadian retailer Loblaw.

The event is sponsored by Optaros, which was a finalist for a Forrester Groundswell award with its Swisscom Mobile Labs application.

by Josh Bernoff

What does the groundswell of social technology mean for management? That's the question we had to ask ourselves when MIT Sloan Management Review invited us to write up the research in Groundswell.

I'm delighted to report that  you can now read the results. MIT Sloan Management Review has published our article, "Harnessing the Power of Social Applications." And while most of the articles in MIT SMR are behind a paywall, they are making this one available for free. [Note: as of April 1 the article is no longer available for free -- the link will send you to an excerpt.] Thank you, MIT SMR!

A quick aside. MIT and Harvard have a vigorous intellectual rivalry here in Boston (culturally, it resembles Red Sox/Yankees) -- many of the local professionals are alumni of one or the other. I went to MIT as a Ph.D. student way back when; Charlene, of course, earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. So having our book published by Harvard Business Press, and then getting an article into MIT Sloan Management Review, is a pretty sweet twofer.

While the article is was free, MIT SMR hasn't give us the right to copy it, so I can tell you about the article but not include excerpts. That said, here are some of the ideas we explored in the article, which jumps off from where Groundswell ended.

The article includes mini-case studies include CBS/Jericho, salesforce.com's IdeaExchange, the Chevy Aveo Livin' Large Campus Challenge, Fiskars' fiskateers.com community, Dell's community forum, and Best Buy's Blue Shirt Nation social network for its employees. (Some of these are also in the book, some are unique to the article.) But we stick to our central framework -- you choose your application based on your objectives -- an idea we debuted on this blog half a year ago and which remains at the heart of our analysis.

The article also includes data on use of social technologies across countries, and which applications are best for which departments within companies. Plus little tidbits of advice for the kind of managers who read MIT SMR (e.g. Line up executive backing, smart small and then expand). But our main point is that the cultural transformation that comes from embracing social applications is the best way to once again get the customer at the heart of decisions in the corporation.

I've seen a lot of advice for companies in the blogosphere, much of it really useful if mostly tactical. We tried to look bigger, at what really happens as medium and large size companies make social apps part of the way they do business. I'd love to hear whether you think we're on target. Go read the article and let us know.

by Josh Bernoff

I am delighted to be part of a series of events looking at the Cluetrain Manifesto ten years later.

Cluetrain was ahead of its time. It changed everything. A lot of what they said was prescient, given how little evidence there was to back it up at the time. Now that we are living in the cluetrain world, what's the right way to think about it? That's what I'll be talking about.

The first event, called "There's a New Conversation," is in New York on next Wednesday afternoon, February 13. You can still sign up.

Speakers include:

• Doc Searls, co-author of "The Cluetrain Manifesto" and fellow at Harvard's Berkman Institute
• Peter Hirshberg, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Technorati and Chairman and Partner at The Conversation Group
• Ted Shelton, partner at The Conversation Group
• Thor Muller, CEO of Get Satisfaction
• Jake McKee, Principal at Ant's Eye View, and past Global Community Relations Specialist for the LEGO Company
• And me, of course . . .

Location: SAP Customer Center, 95 Morton Street, New York, NY. Price: $76.50. Sign up: Here.

I hope to see you there. Should be an interesting conversation.

by Josh Bernoff

Interested in our report "Objectives: The Key To Creating A Social Strategy?" The report describes the POST method in detail (see previous post).

I'll send a review copy to the first 100 bloggers to email me at groundswell@forrester.com.

Include your blog's URL with your email. Looking forward to hearing your take on this.

by Charlene Li

As a parent, I've been privy to the burning question this holiday shopping season -- how do I get my hands on a Wii? I've had one for a while and can honestly say that it is by far the best console for a family with young kids. (Or even for a family where the only kids in the household are the adults!)

The reality is, Wiis will be nearly impossible to find before the holidays given the overwhelming demand and lack of supply. So unless you're willing to pay a 2X premium on eBay or Amazon, you're out of luck. But I have a family friend who is an expert on finding Wiis using a variety of technologies and techniques -- and I thought I'd share some of his techniques with you.

So herewith are my top ten ways on how to score a Wii in the next week or so, both online and in brick & mortar stores. (Shameless plug: I also have one on eBay as a charity auction.)

=====Online Approaches=====

1) Read Fat Wallet. Fat Wallet has an excellent discussion forum that talks about Wii availability. The very first page has some good general information on online/mobile alerts and general availability. Go all the way to the last listed page (it was #581 when I posted) to find the latest buzz. West Coast folks can really benefit, especially on Sunday mornings when some stores release Wiis. This is the groundswell at its best -- supporting each other on the search for that elusive Wii.

2) Use Wiialerts.com and be near a PC. This service sends SMS/Text messages to your phone when an online store has Wiis in stock. For example, Amazon listed Wiis at 10:20pm PT on November 30th and were sold out within 12 minutes. So it pays to be fast, and connected.

3) If you're always online, use XPBargains.com. This site has a Wii Locator that is regularly updated. The trick is getting notified. A few approaches: 1) Use their RSS feed;  2) Use a Firefox plug-in called Check4Change which refreshes the page every 15 seconds and sends a desktop pop-up when something changes on the site. Highlight the first four lines of the listings and C4C will tell you when the status changes; and 3) Set up a desktop alert via Klipfolio -- XPBargains has a tutorial on how to do this.

4) Buy Wii Bundles. I've noticed that online sites like Wal-Mart (thanks to XPBargains) often have Wii bundles with accessories and games, which can cost +$500. If you're intent on getting a console soon, you're going to be paying that much for just the console alone through sellers one eBay/Amazon. You'll also need extra remots/nunchucks and games anyway, so you may as well buy the bundle. Don't like the games? Retailers like Wal-mart appear to be willing to exchange the games, and you may even be able to return them.

=====Offline Approaches=====

5) Use Salescircular.com to plan offline excursions. This is great because it breaks down the Sunday newspaper circulars by geography and then by product. So I can check California listings for Wiis across all retailers on one page. In general, if a retailer advertises it, they have to have a least a few Wiis on hand. The reality is that it could be 2, it could be 50. You just never know.

6) Set your alarm clock. People are getting desperate out there -- Fat Wallet reported Black Friday-like crowds out there this Sunday morning. Your best bet is to head to stores with early opening hours, like ToysRUs. Plan to get there 2-4 hours ahead of time. Some stores hand out vouchers before opening -- which means you can go home, head to Denny's for breakfast, etc. and come back later in the day to pick up you Wii. Be sure to bring your laptop if you have wireless access -- you'll want to continually check Fat Wallet for access. (Besides, it will keep you warm too!)

7) Recruit at least one other person to go with you, and then Twitter/SMS. If decide to go out for an early morning hunt, then try to find someone else to go out with you. Take separate cars so that you can go to separate stores to check out the situation. Ask the person at the front of the line what the status is -- they will usually tell you if vouchers have been given out, how many units are available. Then text or Twitter your teammates and head off to the next store on your list. Note: If you get there after a friend, don't cut in line! You wouldn't like it someone who was #5 in line suddenly had 4 buddies stroll up an hour before opening, ruining your chances. Do not tempt the ire of Wii-feverish parents!

8) Don't give up too early. You get there with 20 people ahead of you in line. They tell you that employees have shared they have only 20 Wiis in stock. Don't leave yet! On Black Friday, I was at a GameStop in Stockton with family members who were 35 or so in line when only 20 Wiis were available. They didn't hand out vouchers, so they stood in line for an hour. As they snaked up to the front, people were leaving with only a game or two in hand, bypassing the chance to buy a Wii. Two family members got the last two Wiis. So you never know.

9) Rely on the kindness of strangers and by kind to store employees. In many ways, the success of the groundswell -- both online and offline -- is that strangers are so willing to help each other when they are united by a quest, especially when you're standing at 5am outside a store. Bring a thermos of coffee -- and extra cups. Offer to hold places in line for each other for Starbucks breaks. And best of all, share and hear the stories of the people in line. There are other techniques, such as harassing store employees to tell you what time deliveries are made -- don't bother. They can't/won't tell you because of security reasons and frankly, many don't know. And they often have to stand in the very same lines you do to get their Wiis.

=====Shameless Plug=====

10) Buy the Wii I have up for charity auction. I braved the crowds on Black Friday and was first in line at a GameStop that morning, so snagged a Wii. My goal - to sell the Wii on eBay for the Ngererit School in Kenya that my husband and I support. We visited it 5 years ago and were struck by the desperate need for a new building.  So if you're going to just go ahead and buy a Wii at a premiumn anyway, I hope you'll consider buying this unit as the profits go towards funding a school, rather than into someone's pocket.   

by Charlene Li

The video highlights from our Consumer Forum 2007 are now available. Josh and I were keynotes and we spoke in details about some of the key highlights from our book. Below is a summary of the keynote speakers and speech topics. In particular, I highly recommend the speeches by Christie Hefner and Henry Jenkins.

***Note that you need to use Internet Explorer to use the navigation and see the slides.***

I'm going to be running a small workshop on ThursdayWednesday, December 5th in San Francisco entitled, "Social Computing: Tapping Into The Power Of Connected Consumers". We limit attendance at the workshop so that there can be a great deal of interaction with the analysts -- which will also include my colleague Brian Haven.

The agenda closely follows and uses the framework from the Groundswell book -- we'll be looking the process of how to create a social strategy around one of five specific objectives. The day will also include a deep dive into the technologies that support these objectives, tools like blogging, social networking, podcasts, widgets, and wikis.

Closing out the day will be a panel of leading marketers and agencies in the space. The confirmed panelists are:

• Misha Cornes, Group Director of Strategy, Organic
• John Taschek, VP Market Strategy, Salesforce.com
• Ed Terpening, VP Social Media, Wells Fargo

To register or for more information, please email events@forrester.com, or phone +1 617/613-5905.

by Josh Bernoff

This post will be personal, since there are a lot of exciting things happening to me/us right now.

First, we're less than two weeks away from Forrester's Consumer Forum. Charlene and I are both speaking. In case you haven't been to one of these, we try to pack them with as much value and excitement as possible, which means that Charlene and I are both polishing our speeches to a high sheen. Those speeches will be filled with some of the most powerful content from the book Groundswell -- ideas and examples that will be seen for the first time anywhere in Chicago on October 11 and 12. Those of you there will see what I hope is a real, actionable framework for how to create business success in the groundswell based on the four steps in what we call the POST method:

P = profile (what are your customers doing in the groundswell?)
O = objectives (what are you trying to accomplish?)
S = strategy (how are you trying to change your relationship with customers?)
T = technology (what social technologies will you use?)

If your social strategy starts with the T, you should come and find out why we think you're doing it backwards!

Second, at the event we ask pointed questions of high-level speakers. We work hard on coming up with those questions that will really get people to talk about stuff you haven't heard before. If you have a question for these people, post it in the comments below -- if we like your idea, we'll ask them on stage. The speakers are:

• Robbie Bach, President of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.
• Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman Public Relations
• Gian Fulgoni, Chairman of Comscore
• Christie Hefner, CEO of Playboy
• Henry Jenkins, MIT Professor and author of Convergence Culture
• Kevin Johnson, Digital Organization Leader, Services Division at Acxiom Digital
• Christina Norman, President of MTV Networks

Third, we're presenting the Groundswell awards at the event. We've picked the winners and they're pretty amazing applications -- some you've heard of, some you surely haven't. (If you can't make it, watch this space for announcements featuring the winners.) You may see me wearing this bowtie, which matches something else we're working on . . . that you'll see at the event.

Finally, the content for Groundswell is racing to a close. HBS Press has received and shared with us its peer reviews, which were mostly favorable, and had a lot of good suggestions. We'll be completing the manuscript in October, which means you can see it in . . . May of 2008.

If you just can't wait, click here and order one and you'll get it at the first possible moment. (I couldn't believe this is up and taking orders so far in advance.)

We're also trying to figure out the details of how Groundswell can become, not just a book or a Web site, but an ongoing experience for as many social strategists as possible.

I can't wait to see you in Chicago.

Tags: Forrester Consumer Forum, Groundswell awards, POST method, Forrester Research, Groundswell

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by Josh Bernoff

I just finished reviewing the 78 submissions for the Groundswell Awards. All I can say is, wow! People are doing some pretty incredible work out there.

We are still determining the winners. Please don't call or write -- you already sent in your entry, and we have looked them all over in quite a lot of detail. (If you haven't sent one it, get ready for next year, because it's just too late to submit one now!)

But I wanted to share some of what I learned from reviewing all the submissions.

• People still think of social technologies more for marketing (speaking) than anything else, but we got good entries in all the categories. Here are how the submissions laid out by category (some tried in multiple categories, so this adds to more than 100%).

22% Listening
32% Speaking
10% Energizing
23% Supporting
15% Embracing
14% Managing
10% Social Impact

• The diversity is incredible. We saw people using Facebook, MySpace, and their own communities; companies in telecom, financial services, automotive, packaged goods, and academics; and applications aimed at everybody from politically active consumers to young women to stock traders. The social virus is spreading, and nobody is immune. Among our favorites (fun to talk about . . . doesn't necessarily mean they'll win a prize) are a college campus in Argentina that runs itself with an online community and a site for people potty training their kids. One guy sent in his thesis. Plus the site where you can design your own part of the US-Mexico border fence. Of course, some of them were lame-o, but reviewing the whole set was a real eye-opener.

• What matters most is results. We said we would recognize the best sites, not the most beautiful. We were strongly influenced by statements of results. Many, many people who are doing social projects out there didn't know what they hoped to accomplish, or couldn't prove they accomplished anything. I find it interesting that the more categories your entry fits in, the less likely it is to have proven business value. In the end, it's business value that will separate the winners from the rest.

Just a reminder -- we'll be announcing the winners at the Forrester Consumer Forum, taking place October 11 and 12 in Chicago. You should come! Why? (1) you'll get to see who won the awards. (2) You'll get to see incredible speeches from Richard Edelman, Christina Norman (president of MTV), Christie Hefner (CEO of Playboy), Microsoft's Robbie Bach, and Professor Henry Jenkins, the fan culture wizard of MIT. And (3) Charlene and I are giving the keynote speech and unveiling some of the ideas from the book Groundswell for the first time.

We'll talk more about the winners right here in the blog, after the event is over.

Tags: Groundswell awards, Forrester Research, Groundswell

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by Josh Bernoff

Quick reminder: the deadline for the Groundswell award submissions is less than two weeks away on September 1.

We continue to get nominations but I know there are more of you out there!

Here's a little hint to help you win: if you can prove your social application has delivered business value, you're way ahead.

Here's the link to the original description, Q&A on the awards and the new category: social impact. Send your submissions to groundswell@forrester.com.

Tags: Groundswell awards, Forrester Research, Groundswell

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By Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

Well, it’s not out yet. But we’re excited – we have a publisher! Harvard Business School Press will be publishing Groundswell in Spring of 2008.

We couldn’t be more pleased. First, the HBS Press imprint stands for a high degree of quality around the world. And second, we’re very excited to be working with the quality editorial team they’ve assembled for us.

Third, HBS Press shares our enthusiasm for tapping the groundswell itself to help research and promote the book, from collecting and vetting ideas on this blog to connecting with all of you to help with promotion as we publish.

For more on the book, click here.

To join our mailing list for information on the book, send an email to groundswell @ forrester.com.

Gotta go . . . back to writing!

Tags: Forrester Research, Groundswell

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by Charlene Li

You may have noticed that the tag line for this blog has changed – a key goal is to help people do their jobs better, to “win” so to speak with social technologies.

To that end, I thought you’d like to know about a few upcoming boot camps Forrester is running. These events are different from large scale conferences – they are typically 1-2 Forrester analysts with a small group of participants, usually around 20 people. We spend an entire day discussing the strategy and tactics needed to win with new technologies. And I personally love the format because it’s a great way for me to immerse myself in the day to day issues that people are facing.

So here are a few highlights of upcoming boot camps – there is also a complete list of all boot camps being offered. I hope you can join us, and please contact me if you have any questions.

Emerging Interactive Marketing Channels Boot Camp
Wednesday, March 21, 2007 in Cambridge, MA 
Analysts: Brian Haven & Christine Overby

This Boot Camp will introduce new marketing channels and provide techniques for successfully exploring and leveraging the marketing opportunities that each offers. Marketers will learn how to determine if each channel is right for their brand and develop a plan for how to get started.

This Boot Camp will include:
•    Interactive sessions covering how consumers have adopted each channel, how marketers use each channel today, and how to best leverage each to target consumers.
•    Sessions covering rich media (video, podcasting, gaming), user-generated content, social media (social networks, wikis, widgets, tagging, etc.), word-of-mouth marketing, mobile marketing, and others.
•    Examples of how marketers, agencies, and public      relations firms have used these emerging marketing channels.

Social Computing Boot Camp: Tapping Into The Power Of Connect Consumers
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 in Miami, Florida
Analysts: Charlene Li & Brian Haven

New technologies like blogs, social networking, and RSS are changing the media and marketing landscape. This Boot Camp will not only introduce these new tools, it will also move you quickly into being an active participant in social media and marketing. You'll go home with a better understanding of how to use social marketing — and more importantly, a workable plan for what to do today. Marketers will learn when it is appropriate to use these tools, how to overcome internal resistance to deployment, and how to measure the results.

This Boot Camp will include:
•    Interactive sessions on consumer adoption and behaviors toward blogs, RSS, social networking,      word-of-mouth marketing, and podcasting.
•    Examples of how marketers, agencies, and public relations firms have used social marketing — and how to avoid the pitfalls.
•    Hands-on training on how to create blogs and RSS feeds, as well as podcasts. In addition to a      technical overview, the training will include best practices on how to manage the internal process of setting up these social marketing tools.
•    A best practices panel of marketers, agencies, and technology providers.

Blogging Fundamentals: Building A Business Strategy
Friday, April 13, 2007 in Miami, Florida
Analysts: Charlene Li & Brian Haven

Blogs are evolving quickly as a communication medium and influencing the development of communications and marketing strategy. With more than 27 million blogs being written today, it is impossible not to find a niche community that can influence customer perceptions of a brand.

As customers increasingly tune out traditional advertising and turn to new communication channels to fill the void, companies must learn how to join in the conversation. Moreover, besides connecting companies and their customers, blogs are also becoming an invaluable collaboration tool within companies to facilitate knowledge management and cross-functional communications.

This Boot Camp will focus on the fundamentals of blogging from a corporate perspective, helping companies develop a blog strategy and implementation plan, including discussion of policy, technology, and process. It will have a heavy focus on hands-on exercises that will complement in-depth presentations on these issues.

by Josh Bernoff

Here are five video conversations with thought leaders in the Boston area, hosted by yours truly. These are a "fireside chat" format -- a coproduction of MITX, a local group that promotes Innovation and Technology activity in Boston, and WBZ-TV, the local CBS channel. (Fair warning, you'll have to wait through a local car ad first.) Just in case you thought all the innovation happened on the West Coast.

Interviews include (I've linked each one to their video below):

• Jeffrey Rayport, former Harvard Business School professor, longtime strategic thinker about the Internet, and CEO of Marketspace LLC, a unit of the Monitor Group.

"[Companies] are orchestrating a portfolio if you will of interfaces or touch points, which they use to orchestrate interactions to manage relationships with customers and markets."

• Sarah Fay, President of Isobar, a unit of the big ad agency Aegis that includes Carat Fusion, iProspect, and Molecular.

"When you put yourself out there with your brand in a place where it can be talked about by the consumer it is a brave move. . . .the fact that you’re willing to put yourself front and center and have them participate with you and talk to each other about you shows confidence and shows trust in your customers and your consumers."

• Henry Jenkins, head of the Comparative Media Studies Department at MIT, chronicler of the fan phenomenon, and author of books like "Convergence Culture."

"Well it is no longer about loss of control; they [media companies] lost control a long time ago. I and any other fan can do with their media anything [we] want and [in] as publicly a way as we want at the present time. There’s very little they can do to stop us as a group."

• Hilmi Ozguc, CEO of Maven Networks, a company whose software powers many of the most interesting video sites on the Web.

"[U]ltimately direct to consumer channels from the big content companies will coexist with secondary distribution through intermediaries. It’s smart business."

• Larry Weber, CEO of W2 Group, master PR expert, and author of the forthcoming "Marketing to the Social Web."

"Just for some context Josh, I believe we’re sort of in [Web] 4.0."

I had a blast talking to these people, hope you enjoy the interviews.

Tags: MITX, Jeffrey Rayport, Marketspace, Sarah Fay, Isobar, Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture, Hilmi Ozguc, Maven, Larry Weber, bernoff, Forrester Research, Groundswell

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Now available -- Forrester podcasts! These free podcasts focus specifically on interactive marketing and feature and feature a series of interviews with analysts and industry leaders who spoke
at our Consumer Forum in October. Note that we are currently testing this new medium and we're trying to figure out what works, what doesn't. So we'd love to get your feedback on them -- either in the comments below or directly to me. And because this is a trial, there's no way to subscribe to the podcasts. Obviously, if Forrester decides to move forward, we'll be adding that capability.

So if you like what you hear, please tell others about them -- the only way we'll get approval to do more of them is if people like you find them helpful.

Note: All of these podcasts (along with greater detail) are available on one page, at www.forrester.com/podcasts/im.

- Humanizing the Digital Experience: These are interviews with speakers from Forrester's Consumer Forum, which took place in October. It features Forrester travel analyst Henry Harteveldt, Forrester customer experience guru  Harley Manning, Jeff Hicks from Crispin Porter + Bogosky, Roger C. Hochschild, COO of Discover Financial Services, and Michelle Peluso, who runs Travelocity. Length 21:00, file size 9.6 MB mp3

- Social Computing: This is an interview between me and my colleague, Shar VanBoskirk, discussing how social computing is changing marketing.  (As you'll hear Shar say, this was done over the phone from my home office, and fortunately, you can't hear my  frequently punching the "mute" button as I'm coughing my lungs out from my cold). Length: 11:19, file size 5.2MB mp3

- Word of Mouth Marketing: Analyst Peter Kim is joined by Dave Balter from BzzAgent, Jon Berry from Keller Fay Group, Sam Decker from Bazaar voice, and Andy Sernovitz from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Length: 18:12, file size 8.3MB mp3

- Reinventing the Marketing Organization: This is also an interview that took place at the Consumer Forum and features interviews with Jeff Hicks from Crispin, Porter + Bogosky and Jim Skinner, the CEO of McDonald's, as well as our own analyst, Elana Anderson. Length: 13:00, file size 6.0 MB mp3

- The Changing Interactive Marketing Organization: How can interactive marketing teams integrate and work effectively with other marketing functions? Shar VanBoskirk joins Jim Cuene, director of interactive marketing at General Mills, and Lance Thornswood from Target Corporation to discuss this. Length: 18:21, file size: 8.4MB mp3

- Tapping The Power Of Consumer-Generate Media: Analyst Brian Haven is interviewed by Shar VanBoskirk on how marketers can leverage consumer-generated medial. Length: 14:15, file size: 6.5MB mp3

- Mobile Marketing: One more interview from Shar VanBoskirk -- this time she talks with Charles Golvin, our lead consumer mobile analyst on how mobile marketing is finally coming into its own.

And if you're technology interests run in more of the security and risk management vein (or you know someone who might be interested), check out Forrester this podcast series on these topics at www.forrester.com/podcasts/srm. Just don't ask me what they are talking about, as listening to those podcasts was a humbling experience!

 

Update 12/31/06: Please note that this specific position has been filled. But there are many other analyst positions still open -- for more information, please visit Forrester's Careers page. Thanks!

We're looking for a media analyst -- location can be anywhere in North America (although I have a personal preference that the analyst be based in Foster City with me!!). The focus is on television and other broadcast and video media.

Note that this position will require the ability to analyze consumer data -- there are data specialists on staff to do the heavy data crunching, but you'll need to feel comfortable working the information. One of the best parts of being an analyst at Forrester is access to our Technographics data, which includes an annual survey of 70,000 North American households. It's a motherlode of data about media use and technology adoption. I have to admit, every time one of the surveys come back, I get giddy with excitement (yes, I'm a data junkie).

If you'd like to know more about the position or have any questions, please email me. Disclosure: I receive a bonus for referrals that are hired.

Senior Analyst, Television,
Entertainment, & Media

Description:

The Senior Analyst conducts groundbreaking primary and secondary research in support of Forrester Research’s products primarily targeted at strategy executives, technology marketers, and market research executives in media and entertainment companies. The Senior Analyst will write, speak, and advise sellers of media services and content at the executive levels on challenges and opportunities — both from the demand and supply side of the industry.  
This position requires significant thought leadership to define the future of the adoption of television technologies like VOD and DVRs, cable and satellite services, and emerging media like online video. The Senior Analyst will analyze markets surrounding the television and online video industries — and the technologies that enable them such as content delivery networks (CDN), video search, and streaming media players and formats: in particular, providing the data and insights that will help market researchers do their job better. The role will require analysis of consumer data and strategic thought in how these changing markets influence consumer behavior, change business models, and impact the overall industry. Key to this role is the ability to engage at very senior levels and have a large impact on all types of clients across many areas of the TV, cable, and entertainment industry.
Responsibilities:

Seniors Analysts work as part of a small, high-performance team and collaborate with team members in all aspects of the job. He or she will:

· Define the future of the media industry for strategy executives by predicting the impact of emerging technologies like HDTV, video on-demand, and DVRs on communication supplier business models.

· Analyze consumer adoption of new technologies to help marketers and product managers understand the best course of action for success. This will leverage Forrester’s rich consumer survey data. The analyst will provide insights and research for tech marketers at networks, service providers, and cable operators — highlighting key trends, opportunities, and challenges.

· Write research on differentiating technology for the changing media industry to help product and technology marketers understand the necessary technology to deliver new media like Content Delivery Networks (CDN) and streaming media players.

· Consult with clients.  Help strategy execs and marketers at networks, cable, and telecom providers identify which technologies matter — and what steps to take today to drive revenue growth and operate more efficiently. Apply Forrester’s research in the context of their specific business environment and help solve their problems. Lead and contribute to custom consulting projects for these clients, including custom consumer research.

· Predict the impact of new technologies on marketers’ internal processes, technologies, product development, marketing, channels, sales, and alliances.

· Meet frequently with leading suppliers to understand and critique their strategy, products, and execution.

· Establish an industry presence as an influential speaker and thinker. Build influence with the press and media.

· Take a leadership role with the team on identifying research areas to focus on and improved ways to be more relevant to Forrester clients.

· Work collaboratively with other analysts on topics such as the digital home, future of online media, and music.

Requirements:

Forrester is looking for people who are inspired and inspiring. Our product is our intellectual capital, so we welcome and reward intellectual excellence, curiosity, and sophisticated thinking and look for:  

· Six or more years of experience in the media industry. The ideal candidate will have one or more of the following: 1) industry background with a cable, or satellite company in strategy or technology; 2) industry background in a TV content or TV network business in strategy, technology, or business development; 3) experience analyzing media industry trends with as a market researcher or a consultant; or 4) experience working for a vendor that serves the television industry.

· Strong background in consumer technologies, like HDTV, DVR, CDN, and online media formats.

· Strong quantitative data experience — understanding of segmentation and ability to work with data to spot and analyze trends. Experience with tools like SPSS would be a plus.

· A strong team player that leverages the strength of other analysts in technology and experience. The role is part business development and subsequently must let clients know the breadth and depth of Forrester analysts and not just be a “one-person show.”.

· Deep intellectual curiosity about the future of media and entertainment. Solid business instincts and a practical understanding of what makes companies tick. A creative view of markets and technologies combined with a fascination with the future. Senior Analysts are expected to take complex ideas and distill them into simple, provocative concepts — and they should be willing to take a stand on winning and losing firms, products, and business models.

· Strong academic record of achievement — an M.S. or M.B.A degree or equivalent experience is preferred

· Excellent verbal, writing, and presentation skills.

· Willingness to travel 20% to 30% of the time.

 Forrester is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a work environment free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment.

<Shameless plug> I’ll be at two Forrester events later this month that you (or your colleagues) maybe interested in attending.

Social Computing Boot Camp: Tapping Into The Power Of Empowered Consumers. This is a small format (between 20-40 people) where participants learn how to implement social technologies like blogs, RSS, social networking, and podcasting within the marketing organization. This day-long boot camp involves a mix of presentations by Forrester analysts, hands-on exercises, and a closing panel from some top technology providers. A full agenda is available on the event description.

Date: Monday, October 23, 2006
Location: Chicago, IL

Forrester’s Consumer Forum 2006: Humanizing The Digital Experience. This two-day conference features a mix of executives from companies like McDonald’s and Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Forrester analysts, and break-out panels that will look at how brands are humanizing the digital experience. I like to think of it as shifting our perspective from creating sites and technologies for “users” to building experiences and relationships with “people” and “communities”. I’ll be leading a break-out track on social computing, as well as a main-tent panel session on “Social Computing And The Consumer-Generated Experience”. 

Here are some of the key questions we’ll be addressing:

• How are mobile devices and social computing — such as blogs, RSS, and social networking — changing consumers' expectations of the digital experience?
• How does the convergence of digital and personal environments — as in the cases of networked homes and socially connected, device-loving teens — change consumers' expectations of brand marketing?
• How should companies use technologies to create emotional connections with consumers?
• Which emerging technologies — interactive TV, video, mobile devices, behavioral targeting — hold the most promise for creating a more "human" digital experience?
• How does technology help retailers and consumer products manufacturers humanize the      brick-and-mortar shopping experience?
• What are examples of digital content, function, tone, and imagery that appeal to consumers' emotions?
• How do brands stimulate word-of-mouth marketing through entertaining, intuitive, or otherwise "human" experiences?
• How do companies monetize the value of a good experience?

Dates: Tuesday and Wednesday, October 24-25^th
Location: Chicago, IL

</Shameless plug>

I’ll be leading two upcoming Forrester events on blogging in the next month, a Webinar on Monday, April 24^th and a boot camp in Cambridge, MA on Thursday, May 11th. Details are below for both events.

So in a shameless plug for these events, I hope you’ll tell others whom you believe would be