The Social Customer Manifesto

Defining "You"

In the old world, you were defined by what you consumed*.  In the new world, you are defined by what you create.

*- your credit report, your vehicle, etc.

VRM Update and Overview, May 2008

Headed down to Mountain View for the Internet Identity Workshop, which starts today.  Looking forward to both catching up with a number of old friends, as well as having some great conversation with a number of new ones.

I'll be doing a quick overview of VRM this afternoon.  Click either on the thumbnail over on the right or the embedded slides below to see my slides.

| View | Upload your own

Seeya soon.

The Cuckoo

I have a strong positive predisposition to rational contrarians, and generally like those who use a combination of fact and story to challenge the current status quo.  So, I was very much taken with Alec Muffet's most recent post regarding how we handle the concept of "identity" as is spans both the offline and online worlds.  Alec self-describes his work thusly:

"This is not a white paper. This is an opinion-piece, possibly a polemic. In it I expound what I believe rather than making an argument for you to believe it too."

I'll do the 100-word version here, but you really, really need to read the original source piece, entitled "Hankering for a World Without 'Identity' or 'Federation.'"

Alec makes the following key points:

• We need to be able to control our own identity and related authority, and not be compelled through legal or market means to outsource those tasks to a third party
• There may be other means than the "certificate authorized by a higher power" (e.g. a driver's license) to verify one's ability to do something -- we may be able to prove our capabilities at "time of need" (think about CAPTCHAs or field-sobriety tests)
• One alternative to "credentialling" is relationship-building.  If you have a trusted relationship over time, you don't need any "credentials" issued by a third party...the relationship itself is the credential
• If someone has the tools to manage his or her relationships and those tools are under an individual's control, we may have the basis for what is a new and, perhaps, better way to solve this problem

While there is quite a bit of valid side-bar conversation regarding whether Alec perhaps erroneously lumps some current technical identity efforts with historical lead zeppelins such as Microsoft Passport, the whole piece is worth a thoughtful read, as it challenges some very fundamental human/Western processes on how, and perhaps more importantly when, we prove someone has the credentials they require.

Go check it out.

photo credit: CaptPiper

Red:Green Cards: Instant Conference Speaker Feedback for iPhone

  Red:Green Cards 
  Originally uploaded by christophercarfi.

A couple of years ago, Jerry Michalski introduced a number of people to the concept of "Red:Green Cards," which are described thusly:

Ever wish you could talk back
to the speaker at a conference?
To offer approval
or register dismay?

Use RedGreen feedback cards.

I found the concept to be absolutely fantastic.  It was a clear, yet unobtrusive, way to bring the audience into a conversation, without having to disrupt the flow of a thought and without having to deal with those little voting clicker boxes or microphones.  It was possible to achieve this goal without any kind of intrusive hardware at all, actually.

Red:Green cards are a wonderfully elegant way for an audience to give respectful feedback in real time.

At the iPhoneDevCamp last year, Biggu built a prototype of the Red:Green voting concept for iPhone.  However, it appears that their implementation has been taken down or is no longer working.  (The site was throwing errors the last I checked.)

So, we (re)built the Red:Green iPhone app from scratch.  You can find it here:

http://cerado.com/rg/

It uses the Mobile Safari orientation hacks from the Apple code samples, so it only works on the iPhone.  If you go there from a desktop browser, it'll just show a blank page.

Of course...

- Concept inspiration from Jerry Michalski.
- Code inspiration from Nicole Lazzaro and the TILT iPhone game.
- Implementation adapted from the Apple iPhoneOrientation sample.
- Address bar hiding hack from Christopher Allen.

Enjoy!

Related: By the way...the other fun iPhone-related thing we just did was to create an iPhone-friendly network/directory of female political bloggers.  Currently, there are over 100 bloggers listed from all sides of the aisle.  Here are the coordinates if you are so inclined:

iPhone-based directory of political bloggers: http://blogher.com/politics/
Back story: http://tinyurl.com/5hob7wHer

Here's a link to a video of the Red:Green iPhone app in action.

This...Is (Cerado On) CNN

Cerado got some coverage on CNN yesterday, in a segment about how fast-moving companies are using outsourcing.  Check it out.

One Eyed, One Horned Flying Purple People Keepr

Purple People Eater
Originally uploaded by David Kelly.

Michael Rindley is building his own "people keeper" because he says "social networking applications are handy, but what I’d really rather have is a personal CRM system."

What would your people keep(e)r do?

Hot Links: Social Media, Customers, and Business Models

• "Evaluating New Social Technologies" - Some key tidbits from Groundswell (thanks to Steve G. at PrimeRevenue for the tip)
• "A remarkable number of business people trying to reach consumers tend to forget, they ARE consumers" - Sage words from Paul Greenberg (thanks to Marty T. at Consona for the tip)
• "The Emerging Main Street Web"- Some good thoughts in here on the intersection of social media and (acutal) business models (via Bart)

California Dreamin'

Just back from a great time at the Dream Machines confab at the Half Moon Bay Airport.  Hundreds of vehicles, dozens of planes, stellar weather.  A great way to spend a Sunday.

Link to full Dream Machines photoset here

Reaching Out: Four Retail Companies That Are Reaching Out with Blogs and Social Media

Embracing blogs to connect with a company's network of customers is fait accompli for the tech industry, but what about the rest of the planet that doesn't put its every movement up on Twitter? 

Here are four retailers that are using blogs and social media in an attempt to better connect with customers.

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WalMart

Revenue: $375 Billion
# Locations: 6,800
Notable URL: http://www.checkoutblog.com/
Notable post: "Great News About WalMart's Milk" (over 230 comments)

After several failed attempts at blogging, most notably the reviled "WalMarting Across America" shill blog, the planet's largest retailer might be starting to get its act together.  In 2007, the Bentonville, Arkansas company launched the "Checkout Blog," a group blog penned by nine of its corporate buyers that covers topics from the garden to video games to sustainability.  A definite step in the right direction for the company, with actual employees communicating about their individual areas of interest, with minimal company shilling taking place.

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McDonald's

Revenue: $23 Billion
# Locations: 30,000+
Notable URL: http://csr.blogs.mcdonalds.com/
Notable post: "A Trip Down Memory Lane" (Good handling of a troll in the comments)

WalMart wasn't the only retailing behemoth to receive derision for its initial forays into blogging.  McDonald's, too, had its challenges. (Hopefully, you missed the fake "Lincoln Fry" blog, about a french fry shaped like the 16th President of the United States.  Yes, it was as abysmal as it sounds.)

The company behind the golden arches now has a "Open for Discussion" blog with weekly postings on topics regarding "Corporate Social Responsibility."  While certainly better than the LIncoln Fry, there are still some challenges here:

1)  It looks to me like someone at McDonald's headquarters has committed to some sort of MBO of "one blog post per week."   As such, the posts are infrequent and not heavily trafficked.

2)  While it's great to spread the wealth, all the most recent posts on the site (March-April 2008) are from different authors.  Accordingly, each post is starting with a "who I am and what my role is" statement.  This also means that the revolving cast of characters hasn't a chance to connect with readers.  It's drive-by blogging.

3) To their credit, comments on the blog are open.  However, the paucity of comments makes me think that either (a) the blog is receiving almost no traffic or (b) the comments are being heavily moderated.  The bold TERMS AND CONDITIONS of the blog also state: "McDonald's owns any comments or other content that you post on this site. That means that McDonald's has the right to make, have made, offer for sale, use, sell, copy, distribute, perform, transmit, display, modify, adapt and otherwise use your submission(s) throughout the world in perpetuity in any manner that it sees fit without compensation to you. McDonald's also has the right to use your name in connection with any use of your submissions."  This is not the best method to develop trust and a long-term relationship with a customer.

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Starbucks

Revenue: $9 Billion
# Locations: 15,000+
Notable URL: http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/
Notable post: "Vote For All Day Bold" (Giving contrarian viewpoints their due)   

Of the four retailers profiled here, Starbucks has gone the furthest with respect to using social media to not only connect the organization to its customers, but to enable customers to rally around ideas as a community.  Their "My Starbucks Idea" site is a venue where customers can submit suggestions to the organization, vote on the suggestions of other individuals, and see which ideas are going to actually be implemented by the organization.

The best part of the site is not the technical implementation but, rather, the cultural one.  Starbucks does not seem to be censoring comments about their organization in any way, even when the feedback is less-than-stellar.  For example,  one representative comment on the site states:

"Decaf drinkers want strong coffee also. I go (or used to go) to Starbucks because of the decaf Sumatra, Verona etc. I can get Pikes Piss coffee from Tim Horton's or McDonald's. My grandmother makes stronger coffee. Starting today I am no longer a customer of Starbuck's coffee except for whole beans. I urge everyone reading this to follow my lead and make Starbuck's understand that the reason we (used to) spend our money on their overpriced coffe is because it is the best and no one else offers a strong decaf. There is strength in numbers - walk away today!"

The key thing that Starbucks realizes is that these conversations are taking place anyway.  If this site didn't exist, customers such as the individual above would be making these comments in other forums that were removed from the organization, or on his or her own blog.  With My Starbucks Idea, the organization is getting the feedback in realtime, and has the opportunity to address issues in a rational and constructive way.

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Whole Foods Market

Revenue: $4 Billion
# Locations: 270+
Notable URL: http://wholefoodsmarket.com/socialmedia/blogs/
Notable post: "Slow Down and Green Up" (Rich conversation)   

Although their CEO got himself and the company in some hot water by commenting negatively about a competitor using a pseudonym (n.b. the investigation into his actions has now been concluded), Whole Foods has a farmer's market full of blogs, podcasts and videos they are using to give customers a variety of methods to learn more about the organization.

 

Brotherly Love

In Philadelphia today and tomorrow, co-hosting a two-day social media and CRM 2.0 workshop for a customer with my good friend Paul Greenberg.  Other things going on today: the Pennsylvania Primary and Earth Day.  It's a busy one!