Disqus - Latest Comments for tigertwo

Re: It’s All About The Numbers

tigertwo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:50:24 -0000

Thank you for your great comment, Paula. The points you make are absolutely correct. The other thing I see people doing is trying to get involved in communities because they 'should', not because they are comfortable there and it really shows. Overall, social media activity should be steered by your goals and the most effective ways to get there. People will be a lot more effective if they are enjoying the process, are talking to the right people, and are managing their time well.

Thanks again for the comment :)

Re: Seeing Through The Mobile Hype

tigertwo — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:29:47 -0000

Thank you for your detailed an insightful comment. I agree with you that mobile is the way of the future, and I am also aware of the marketing machine that Apple commands which ensures it's products become the norm. But I wouldn't completely rule out the competition. I am an Android user and I have loved the phone and the operating system from the moment I got it. I have tried the iPhones owned by people in the office and they just don't work for me.

I think overall, any business which wants to remain competitive needs to understand how their customers are accessing information, and they need to be prepared for changes. But they shouldn't simply do something because it is in the news. They should do it because it is strategically appropriate for their business, their market and their future. That may indeed be an iPhone app. But it may also be something else.

Re: Tweeting the Trough of Disillusionment

tigertwo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:15:00 -0000

Very true, Oscar, although those who have been using it from the outset, who tend to be the early adopters and trend setters, will move on. It is the way of the world. The blasé feeling will hit some while others are building in excitement.

What will drive the early adopters away is how the use of the tool will change. Remember when email marketing was a new thing? Soon everyone was using it, many poorly, and as a result savvy marketers and technologists found they had to move on if they wanted to create an impact. I feel the same thing is going to happen to Twitter, but it will take time.

Re: Elephant Hors D’Oevres - Keeping Social Media Manageable

tigertwo — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:45:30 -0000

Thanks Ben. And thank you for the image - it's fabulous.

Re: 2009 is the Year of Education for Tiger Two

tigertwo — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:53:12 -0000

Interesting thoughts, Sam and I do hope to be able to prove you wrong (in the nicest way possible of course!). Because of the cost and time involved in a huge campaign, our experience has been that most business simply can't afford to pay someone else (who is obviously trying to make a profit as well) to do it. We want to be able to give these people some basics that they can get on with themselves. I ran several seminars at the beginning of last year which went down incredibly well, so we are looking to build on that.

Also, bearing in mind the economic climate at the moment, money for consultancy is probably going to be less readily available while businesses pull their belts in. But we shall see. It is a direction I am quite excited about, without burning any bridges.

Re: Social Media without conversation isn’t social media - take heed, Nintendo.

tigertwo — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:15:46 -0000

Great questions, Albert and I thank you for posing them. I am sure that we each have a perception about what social media is although there is no hard and fast rules. I am of the opinion that without the interaction then the 'social' part has been removed and it returns to just being 'media'. There is nothing wrong with that of course. Where I have the issue is when an organisation embarks on a campaign using an avowedly 'social' site, but switches off the functionality that makes it such.

I am sure others will disagree, but in my opinion, no, a blog without comments isn't social media. It is a diary or a series of articles which are being broadcast but which aren't encouraging the social and community aspect of blogging. That's not to say there isn't a place for a blog without comments - I have seen several (although often a forum is provided instead) but I don't think it can truly encourage a community. My feeling is that as soon as you take away the ability for the audience to directly contribute, then you are back to broadcast. The fact that someone can talk about that blog elsewhere and link to it doesn't make it social, otherwise every static website on the web would then be classed as social media.

It is interesting, as both of the sites you mention are 'social' in the respect that they allow user interaction with one another (albeit on a limited level) in a 'game style' location. Not having children, I am not entirely familiar with the sites but just looking through them I see how they offer that social side without putting children in danger of passing on personal information. I think that Nintendo could easily make use of this model and with the strength of their pre-existing characters, could probably do it very successfully. My feeling is they would do better with something like this, as the limitations of the sites may not breach their company policy on no blogs, forums etc. However, this kind of limitation would probably only work for the younger audience. If Nintendo wanted to offer a community type site for an older demographic, then I suspect it won't be very successful limiting conversation and they once again find themselves in a position where people can talk.

Yes, participation where your customers play is an excellent entry into social media, but I do feel that in order to do so, there needs to be some adherence to the 'rules' (I use that term very loosely). The problem is, social media can bring huge benefits but with it comes risk. That risk takes the form of letting go of a measure of control to your audience. You can't control their contributions and you can't control what they are going to say. All you can do is provide guidelines and ensure that you remain involved. I get the feeling that Nintendo did want to participate and gain the benefit but they aren't willing to accept the concomitant risk that goes with that participation. As such, perhaps they aren't really ready to get involved with social media yet. The value that can come out of user contribution has been lost, and therefore so has the social part of it.

Your questions have really given me cause to think, so thank you again for them. I'm a regular Marketing Edge podcast listener so your comments here are really appreciated.

Re: The Rise of Social Bookmarking: Tagging

tigertwo — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:29:37 -0000

Delete

*Nancy Williams*
Managing Director
*Tiger Two Ltd*
*Tel*: 0845 838 0609
*Mob*: 07834 561 554
*Skype*: nancy_tigertwo
*Twitter*: http://twitter.com/tigertwo

*Web*: http://www.tigertwo.co.uk
*Blog*: http://www.tigertwotiger.co.uk
*Podcast*: http://www.tigertwotiger.co.uk/podcast
Registered Address: Suite 8 Grove House, Headley Road, Grayshott, Surrey
GU26 6LE Company No: 5492567 Registered in England

Re: The Rise of Social Bookmarking: Tagging

tigertwo — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:29:34 -0000

Re: The Continuing Ethical Debate About Ghost-Written Blogs

tigertwo — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:50:57 -0000

Your comments, as always, are really inciteful and I thank you for them. I agree, nothing is ever black and white, but I think the key to anything is transparency. 'Ghost-writing' is not in itself unethical - it is when that writing is passed off as someone else without any clear indication given.

In a situation where we would provide editorial and/or copywriting assistance, my inclination nowadays would be to state in the 'About' page something along the lines of:

"I receive editorial and copywriting assistance on this blog, as I find it difficult to be here all the time. But all writing is approved by me and I will endeavour to write myself and respond to comments when I can"

At least that way, the reader knows that it may not be the executive themselves speaking all the time, but that he or she is fully cognisant of everything being written. It is the deception which is unethical, not the practice in my opinion.

Re: I Have to Add my Voice

tigertwo — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:03:43 -0000

It will be interesting to see how political marketing changes from here, Oscar. I would be pretty comfortable betting that the Obama campaign is going to lay the foundation for things to come.

Re: The Optimism of the Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin

tigertwo — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:21:14 -0000

Funny you say that, Erno. The last couple of days I have made a concerted effort NOT to look at the newspapers when I am heading up to London and to avoid the crisis filled headlines on Google news and elsewhere. I could feel how stressed and angry it was making me each day. Instead, I focus on reading a book or listening to a podcast. I do feel calmer. It's funny how reading the news can be a destructive addiction (which is why it is so powerful). We all want to be informed, but is it information or bias that we are subjected to?

Re: The Online Reputation of PR is Being Eroded From Within

tigertwo — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:17:03 -0000

Thank you for bringing up the client pressure issues - I know I forgot about that, and I am sure others do. Just like many internet marketing measurables, PR firms can be bearing under the pressure of producing big numbers, even though they probably know that just getting numbers isn't necessarily going to produce good results. Nevertheless, I do feel that those numbers can still be achieved with a little more care, so that fewer bloggers feel the way Chris Lake and others have.

I find this a really interesting conflict, so would be really keen to hear your ideas. See you there!

Re: The Fear Of Criticism (And How to Deal with It).

tigertwo — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:47:31 -0000

Human nature is funny - we want to be talked about, but we don't want it to be negative. That can send people (or more importantly, companies) into an odd state of paralysis. Your point about acknowledgement is really important. If companies had clear strategies in place for dealing with feedback, no matter what the sentiment, then perhaps they wouldn't be so afraid of receiving it.

Re: The Fear Of Criticism (And How to Deal with It).

tigertwo — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:17:27 -0000

I agree, Oscar - the only way to minimise negative criticism is to behave towards your customers and stakeholders in a way that doesn't ask for it. But even then, there will be people out there who don't like who you are or what you stand for and will be happy to say so.

It is a part of being a member of the human race. It is not receiving it that is the problem - it is how we choose to react to it.

Re: A Response to Chris Brogan: Why My Job Needs Twitter.

tigertwo — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:38:13 -0000

My day job is as an online reputation management and social media marketing consultant, so without social media I could argue that I wouldn't have a job. Although I would, as my job would be PR, reputation management and marketing. So in that respect, yes, it completely transforms my day job to the point of actually defining it.

The cats are part of my love of somewhat obscure associations in Flickr. I love typing in a keyword and just seeing what comes up. This was one of the pictures which came up when I typed in "friends" + "global" :)

Re: Back to Basics: The Right and Wrong Reasons for Using Social Media for Business.

tigertwo — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:02:00 -0000

Agreed, Oscar. Unfortunately there will always be that element who will do whatever they can to twist the system.

Re: It’s all about your network

tigertwo — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:21:55 -0000

Excellent insight, Laury. And as for the early mornings - I can be bright eyed any morning as long as I have coffee!

Re: They Probably Can’t Even Tell: Talking to the Unaware Blog Readers

tigertwo — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:05:07 -0000

I think this is a combination feeling threatened by blogging and not fully understanding it. Sure, back in the early days (dare I say - near the turn of the century?) many blogs may have been ranty amateur sites, but technology moves on. That can make people nervous.

Re: They Probably Can’t Even Tell: Talking to the Unaware Blog Readers

tigertwo — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:03:06 -0000

Always a pleasure, David. And I think as time goes on, the number of blog posts in the SERPs will increase - whether the audience realises it or not.

Re: Back To Basics: The Right and Wrong Reasons for Blogging.

tigertwo — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:55:23 -0000

It's interesting, Mark - but I also get a low level of discussion on my blog. It has been going regularly for 9 months now and I have tried all sorts of methods to get people to comment. I am most definitely eager to get involved in discussions with my audience (which I think qualifies me for that point - it is all about your intention as opposed to what actually happens) but I am in a fairly heavily blogged field and much of the conversation occurs elsewhere.

But I am not as worried about that now as I was several months back. I get feedback through a multitude of different media - email, face to face conversation, Skype, Friendfeed, Twitter, social networking sites. It's fragmented, yes, but my stats tell me that people are still reading so I do still keep writing. I think this fragmentation is going to occur more and more as content is 'syndicated' (so to speak) to sites like FF etc.

I agree with your difficulty about accountants not being online. My intention was not to say 'unless you have all 10, don't blog', I think it is more to suggest that as long as you are within the 'good reason' camp then blogging is a good idea. Similarly, if you find yourself resonating with the bad reasons, then perhaps consider another media. Your blogs are always informative and are read by an extended audience (even though your direct audience may not spend so much time on the computer). In that respect, you are reaching referrers and other interested parties, which is a benefit unto itself.

You are forging into an area which hasn't yet embraced social media with the gusto that, say, my industry has. That coupled with 9 of the 10 good reasons above gives you a very solid reason to blog.

Re: louisgray.com: To Blog, or Not to Blog - That is the Question

tigertwo — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:28:28 -0000

I think this is a natural progression - at least among those people who are at the early adopter stages of technology. I do still see that blogging is a useful tool for the 'lay person' (that term is not at all meant in a derogatory fashion) - it is a reasonably easy to understand method of starting conversation with your audience which some people have never tried before. As such, although the blogging craze might be drawing to its natural conclusion, it will settle down as part of the backbone of a good online presence.

Re: State of the Twitter, June 2008 (Scripting News)

tigertwo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:58:01 -0000

In the social media world, the same evolutionary rules of the survival of the fittest apply. If Twitter can't evolve to keep up with the demand then it will naturally fall by the wayside and be replaced. But then, that's what makes the whole thing so exciting.