How 2.0 may help “crossing the chasm”?

Considering that famous book by G. Moore, that en-lighted the real chasm threat in launching new products or services, and achieve them to the next step for huge mass markets, I’m wondering, how could 2.0 could help, improve, support the chasm tomorrow and changes driven by interactivity. According to need of a launch session for new products and services, while these products or services can be sometimes not really ready to be launched, boosted by urgent, economics, and competitive goals (!), we saw it can exist a chasm that even good ideas don’t cross…Targeting a mass market requires talent, good product, and innovation advance to make the difference. But if innovation is a lifestyle for geeks and early adopters, shifting the trial to a mass success needs. Fortunately, geeks and EA are awesome levers to get empowerment for news things to be hugely used. And where can one find geeks and EA, most of the time? Yes, on social web.

We all have the opportunity to see how social sharing and participation can have changed relation mindsets, providing warming contacts, experts advising, communities rising and breakthrough boundaries and time. See how a novel, buzz or information can be built or denied in few seconds, or participate now to empower politics polls and decisions (mentioned that with last Obama’s victory with bulk social web virality). Necessary, but not the only thing to be done. New products/services have to be launched in an accurate, scheduled and secret plan. Too quick sometimes, making the idea real, but keeping bugs for the end users…Look at how cars models, can be back at fixing stations, few moments after their beginning of life…Microsoft products? Found lots of reasons to launch them, and thousands of users not really happy with new releases. I think business cycles now gear up. Innovation cycle, in some sectors can be so short, we mix several phases in one, already thinking to the next step. That’s probably why now, time is a strategic value, and all that can keep us from wasting it, is key. 2.0 and social web can help a lot to “cross” and have quick feedbacks on launch, polls, ideas, improvements, tests and corrections. And usually, addicted people to social web are particularly clever about new things and like to give you, for free, new ways of thinking. Meaning that, if you built a community, to worry about your launches, they will know how to handle it, and will cope with competitors that won’t miss to be cruel. But if you don’t, your products will go on an invisible of ocean, with potential users, who wait like sharks for new food, question is how they will “digest” the straight venue and what they are going to say about success or lead to die?

Chasm might be deep, chasm might be short, but chasm is a strong reality. Imagine you’re subjected to a judgement step, and more you prepare before, more product or service has a chance to succeed. If you want to give chances to survive, well organize first launch as if you were driven in front of the bulk scene: products/services prepared to be understood by many of the target, will get more chances to mass market, than fashion ones, excluding if you’re dealing on a niche market. We saw that maybe target of 2.0 is a new valuable field to get audience, advises and early tests for new services or products. But how can 2.0 helps this to increase the chances to cross the bridge (build one)? On the chasm.

I think it’s in listening and working with early users that you can do it, and social boards, like betas, experts panels and communities gear up the way information turns. The more you listen, the quicker you work with it, the greater chances you’ll have to correct, evaluate misfits, features, quality problems for bulk success. And social web for sure makes you saving time for that, if you can spend some time to build a network and give it news regularly. Each part of the market has its own behaviors: innovators are pure tech lovers, early adopters next, may feel there’s a real use for the innovation in field, and early majority, that’s the main problem, has to be guided by other early majority members, which wait for a main change in their life, because of the innovation. And if this brand new thing doesn’t ensure them, with entourage for done a good tip and be sure they will have all kinds of support, customer care and so long, there’s no chance for tech to be adopted, by mass early majority. And then may enter web 2.0 power: linking people, advises and take the role of customer care…While we saw that innovators/geeks prowl on social networks, no need to be clever to think that they will give all their advises and share their experience to ensure and make a better sale than you…they know the product, they know bugs (!), they can guide you to adopt it by several “old good rules”…And while trust is an essential rule for communities leaders, looking at the most influencers can be really relevant, giving them samples to test and keeping eyes on back timeline. That’s how it goes, that’s now how advertising stands place, while buzz is exploding. Ignoring power of social leaders is like ignoring power of www community As I already said, “customers are the best sellers for a brand”, and to go further, “social leaders are strong guides to burst your brand and your products”, crossing the chasm, convincing early (sleeping?) majority to come and buy.

Social & Business: growing reality

Interesting conference about social exploring all projects for both social and growth development in companies. Accurate and appropriate initiative for HEC business school, that has scheduled and organized the conference on its campus, with several main players from MNC’s.
Obviously a daily mindset I hope for huge companies, that want to “empower” their pyramide of business, and involve themselves by sending back wealth from richest markets to poorest targets, to give up with breakdown between rich and poor…in our final dream of “one world”. Giant building site, isn’t it?
Talking about project, resources saving, medecine equity, media involvement in taking care of desert zones, balancing between students, scientists, experts and executives, two days to make a kick-off for energies, social, resources threats in our planet.

For example, water…
Taking care for rain to come (if we stare at power of only nature in bringing water!), there’s lots of wasted water that stand to be used in an endless cycle. “Water is a local problem”, yes, but rain is everywhere…The main problem is how can we bring them from zones that are near water sources to ones that don’t have any or not really much?
Water can be a source of medical troubles too, not because of quality but underlining that it’s sometimes a rare resource, and too few is a real danger, for some populations.
Seas? well what do we stand to use water from seas, to generate human resources? WaterPyramide, good initiative for bottom of the pyramide people to provide water and energy with a huge plastic pyramide, that transform hot sun effects into  droplets by steam effect…. and then into water…Cute? The main problem from BOP markets, comes from price adaptation…Some say that “it’s not a problem of money, nor of public aids too”. But from production to end user consumer, it seems to be an ongoing value chain, adding costs…to consumer affordability. Freeness? look at the freeness model all around the world (web?), free creates value…Shoul water be free? it is, but no balanced supplied on each spot of the planet…Who has to pay for the pipes, the transportation? Should everybody has to move to “water supplied zones” only…?

…A sample in these amazing two days, for next steps, see further sessions and web site: http://www.socialbusinessconference.org

Good initiative of business school, corps and NGO Corporate Social Responsabilities mindsetting to work much better together, and formerly starting to cope with this serious threat, that could be the next economic war. Long life to such involvements and innovations.

HR 2.0: Talents manage their careers alone while corps are blind

At this point of my career, I’ve used so many times help of HR resources, to find gold members for my several teams, pay attention to them, pay them (!), training, coaching…and fire them!
At-a-glance, the daily lifetime of nowadays corps, with bunch of tasks, questions, answers, chilled by M&A and crisis waves…I must admit that, HR teams, whose we know for often hard jobs for hard times, are quite all the time, considered as suppliers more than strategic units, to serve corps strategies, find bests resources and keep them by their side. And I don’t really know, in fact, what came first:
- bored with HR function which don’t give me nothing relevant in my career?
- HR function bored itself by no consideration at all, from board and shareholders, forgetting strategic and relevant skills it has?

One thing I know for sure: times have changed. And for HR best practices and careers too. When was the last time your corp said to you “oh you’re such a talent, we make anything possible to keep you with us, at any price”. Maybe in the last movie you saw at theatre? your dreams?

Considering that, nothing will ever surprise me when, you see billions of users for social networks, searching…searching what?
To be considered, as a human link, skilled, motivated and find a corp that wants such profiles.
New generations just want to express themselves with new technologies, but bring new value, corps have to care. Working with several windows, listening music, chatting on IM, twitter and networking on Facebook or myspace., everything at a time. That is, in working hours of course, while working…No matter, times have just changed and corps have to adapt their perception and behaviors, if they want to get the best from their best resources. I’ve already posted something on it, describing the necessary evolution for corps, facing 2.0 behaviors and fans. But in the same time, they show their rights and duties, bringing new kind of conversation, confrontations and relations with their management. There’s a time for new ways of communication: social apps. Considering time is faster and realtime a daily tool, they gear up the way we work, speeding HR by the way…They know how to handle with their career, in increasing their times online. Once I was cruising among social apps, some of them can really be useful to find the perfect job and for targeting the best talent or expert.
I mused about several apps, I discovered along my web travels, encounters and social friends recommendations. It gave me the idea of a whole matrix, trying to mix corps skills and HR needs with employees graal quest for their carrer.

In this matrix one can find employees opportunities to raise their career (find a job, change, give some voice, post and appear like an expert, raise a network, write and give advises, shine your brand reputation, last but not least, get a digital trip for your profile): settled in X axis…Then for corps, the ability to detect, track, find rare and targeted talents, skilled resources and experts they need to recruit and keep as human assets: on Y axis…

Obviously I wasn’t able to figure out all apps that exist in the web circles, but main and one we talk about now. Maybe I forgot some (sorry for VC and founders, I may add them later!) but we can underline some remarks about the matrix layout:
- size of network matters obviously, but more targeted and participation counts more than size itself
- target your audience first, starting from your personal goals (advise to employees or corps, any of them has some goals isn’t it?) before collect friends from everywhere; “friends” or “contacts” are like you: human not machines, they don’t like noise or spams…
- jobseekers or headhunters give you lots of informations, but no really surprises: classical methods, classical ads, classical profiles. Mainstream…By the way, competitors may learn a lot each form others (eg for HR strategy), and on your business goals thoughout your HR ambitions; however, they are on the 2.0 market by direct approach of employees, simply by the fact employees life is clearly and free published on the web…Considering that:

• nothing is easier to search and find good ones…for headhunters
• how corps can keep their secrecy about talents and skilled people anymore?

- friendly apps (Facebook, myspace…) can raise your imagination, creativity and original profiles; yes they are useful for original and creative ones, but drive sometimes too crap behaviors. Be careful, for pleasure use but not really for professional networking, I think (tip: doesn’t mean that we can’t find several interesting informations, of course…)
- Blogs, communities for experts, consulting databases online are in the middle of the matrix…perfect way to  mix corps and employees to get in touch: communities like SMT, Customer Collective, sustainable development and lots of others, are really rich of experiences, and generally hit by trust, interest and improvement in other’s knowledge. Clever leverage for professional meets and know-how methods, for the two players of the game
- internal apps at upper-left corner, means corps are equiped with such systems, but serve only their internal needs: wages, contracts, training programs, competences contingency…layoffs; how will it value my career?
- corps that ignore such apps, are in dangerous situation:

• “nothing is more dangerous than be blind about market, customers or competitors strategy”: worth also with ability to wake up each morning with all HR assets and talents, escaped for competitors!
• take time to mesure which one for which use: but take time for sure, stopping considering such tools only for gen Y and playing moments…gen Y (and X) change the future of relations (managers / employees)
• allow and encourage practice and training for professional use; several corps today started blogs sessions with official spokemen to keep relation and timeline with PR, customers and partners; corps that think it’s a wasting time are wrong…and risk others to take the speach for us, with sometimes tough effects…

Times are changing. There’s no doubt about the fact that corps must change too, because employees (particularly younger ones) already did…And if you’re not able in your HR function to understand their moves and these new behaviors, you’ll be “out of the market” for them, leading you to fights, misunderstandings, and desertion. Human resources like stocks? No. But like assets, yes, and the ability to move with them empowers your role and the trust they’ll have, to drive their career (tip: zapping behavior is normal today, there’s no “career plans” anymore, in long term, by crisis and unknown situations). Even if you’re dealing with this, let’s consider it IN the corp, vs moves to competitors. Could you accept giving assets for nothing to competitors? No. Why would it be different with executives…?

Where are the KPIs of Marketing?

According to Marketing fields, I asked myself about the different kinds of KPIs we can find to follow, mesure and value the real interest and performance of marketing. You think you know, obviously, the answer. Don’t get me wrong but, it’s another complicated matter in fact. Never ever asked you anyway? mesure the unmesurable, trying to catch the exact effects of the wide range of marketing, because no one has ever managed with it. Can we define particularly, the differents ways of involvement of marketing in business cases? Do we have words and figures to straightly say in a sentence, how report for marketing efficiency? I still search, by myself…
Overlooking all old rules, I found and tried a whole definition of what could be “marketing tricks”, to nowaday business ; correct me and let me know if you’re not OK with, but, first let me introduce you to these basic rules:

marketing, says one, could be “conception, settlements and control of any resource – social, technical, material, commercial, scientific…- in the aim of optimize the value for the customer in buying a good or a service, compared to the risk” ; we can underline this way 3 main ideas:  marketing is time, marketing is value and marketing is risk.

So we have with these 3 steps in marketing KPIs follow-up:

• Marketing that gives value to customers, with quality, offer in aim of optimize customer satisfaction

• Marketing that minimize the risk for the customer to be disappointed in buying product or service – risk that can be collective by the viral effects -

• Marketing of time, time to be “just in time” and time-to-market wise, with innovation

According to the large responsabilities of marketing, we must now ask ourselves about “who is driven and targeted by these KPIs?” ; we already knows that it can’t be one people or departement, but a wide range of functions in corporation. There’s no less than marketing managers, CEO and general manager, but suppliers around : promotion, sales, delivering – supply chain -, and probably after sales: sales administration, call services and customer relationship management.

I can try to give out a piece of solution, with evaluation of performance monitoring, from different points of view:

- Obviously by customers themselves: is what I have is what I was supposed to, in the value offer of the firm?

• what may pay customer (price edge) for my product or service = value for renunciation?

• what is the difference between “perception of value” and “price”?

• mesure of misunderstanding / gap between “promise” and “received”?

- Performance, from marketing itself, in the added value they have in the value chain of the firm

• evaluation of ROI from “marketing and promotion expenses” and return on sales

• supply chain costs driven by large ranges, several selling channels, compared to necessary depth of the purpose

• contribution of marketing skills in value chain: know-how, know-when, know-with

- Performance, from general board, judging how the firm is understood outside by different leaders: press, customers, suppliers, partners, financials…

• market share

• positionning and changes evaluation effects

• benefits

• shares performance

- Social trace in social community: how is evaluated the effects of the firm’s products, on consuming behaviors?

• notoriety surveys

• social object

• laws and sustainable development framework: social, economics, green behavior

• rise of consumers satisfaction after consuming

Well I dare, but it’s anything like some tracks and thoughts about how we can handle with these matters. The way is long and unfortunately, there’s no really scientist approach, by the difficulty of each concept and define exact responsability in companies. But we know thing must be done, to give the good resources, where we need, and give up the rubbish ones. Companies are rarely endless financial resources, and they have to manage closer, to make shareholders, employees and banks, increasing partnership and trust. Having a strong KPIs board, adding marketing matters, can help this.

I would really be pleased to have some comments, adding advises, and maybe experiences, shared on follow-up. Let me know…

Customers are powersellers of the Brands

Who knows who came first? brands or customers? What we can say is that none of them can exist and sustain without the other. But brands that want to keep their customers “safe” for a long time, one day started to think: well, what about if I decided to care now more closer, about my customers…;-) ? Yeah, no big deal, in fact. But why?

If we look at several argues that lead a company to do so, we have:

- economics needs: customers are now more than stakeholders but close to “shareholders” – we can say that even having any stocks of the company, they draw the line for the brand by their buyings-; they decide to stop or go with fidelity, and have a strong responsability on brand doom. If the customer changes by consuming a brand (in his habits, social behavior…), the brand can be changed too by customers advises: glory or death?

- social effects: brand needs to play a social role, in the several uses it can provide (new we hope…). Making happiness with a new product needs high skill, but make it real and exploit it in a bulk place is another goal. If the customer reaches such nirvana, he can make it viral to others, changing the face of society

- satisfy a need, that was not until this moment: achievement, success, purposed to targets, and accepted by customers. Brand has skills it can exploit, knows how to do it, knows how to promote it, making a real economic exchange: money against user benefit.

- customers that come from others: virality, buzz, leads brand to sell its products, targeting early adopters: customers to follow-up, by their fidelity will be connected to their real interest for the brand…caught, but not for the whole life…

We learned now that, by individual behaviors that grows far, “acting consumer”, wishes to be THE customer and not A customer among several ones. Rumours, buzz, advises, forums…we see now new shapes for relation between customers and brands, that is growing up each day more.  Beyond classical relation between “brand/agency/targets”. Emergency and likeness to express ourselves create other links, that brands can’t see, out of traditional medias : social sharing, communities, collaboration, equal point-of-view and advices are lots of disguised powers, that without any violence, can burst and shoot down brands, without they see it come.

Customer relationship is born. Because some brands want to keep their customers alive and active (weird isn’t it . Quick growth for call centers, in several countries shows us the attention that has been created to exchanges and advises. Relation is not one way anymore, let the new codes come in, and damn to who can’t see them. Social web changes the value chain about knowledge, experts, official speakers and carry out other speech spaces, and lead to failure traditional behaviors: when you want now an information in the quickest way, who can you trust…web. And who writes on the web? Anyone. And before having a question, there’s now already an answer…Magic isn’t it?

According to IBM global business study about consumers, quest for the best price still works…and a good reason to be advised, guided by other buyers. And by the way, to be fed up with a brand, change and provide infidelity. The central fact for concil, prescription and advice is real: now, everybody knows all about everything, in the same time…What was a strategic advantage, few years ago: “information before everyone”; that was. How can brands can manage with the new situation?
Underlying, comes the sustainable HR concepts…Brands that take care of their customers can change them into “powersellers”: a happy and satisfied consumer is so a salesman who sleeps but can wake up as a brand’s soldier. Convincing neighborhood, circle of friends and family. That is to say as doubtless a high potential leverage of conquest for market share and new customers.
Let’s figure out the two faces of customer relationship: a satisfied customer can talk to average 3 or 4 close leads ; an unsatisfied can do it with more than 10, if he’s really upset…And you would still ignore that?

Let me introduce you to Kano’s model graph, illustrated with 3 concepts: unavoidable attempts of customers, normal ones and unsaid. Each of them have a trigger level.

First of all, the basic ones (unavoidable) must be satisfied, supplied to a customer because they are obvious…They are not a real leverage for satisfaction but if you don’t get them…be careful about reactions.
The second ones (performance needs) are explained and requested by the customers, clearly. And satisfaction is directly linked to level of what is supplied: exact proportion. It’s a priority field of development in the consumer satisfaction, for sure.
Finally, last but not least, we go in a psychic face value, because it’s time for surprises! Consumers love to be surprised…and even for a hidden need, the revelation can provide such added satisfaction, that it can improve the brand attraction.

Customers, powersellers when they are satisfied….a real strategic goal if we consider the cost for new consumers. A real aim for fidelity and assets value: not financial ones, but customers, those who write the story of the brand. A strategic key to new markets, with new kind of attention to power of filled and satisfied relations. Are we going to still buy only products or services…?
No more now, we want to buy relation…

Social Media and Politics: natural behaviors

Past the recent twirl around President Obama’s victory, we all could stare the invisible victory of social agents too. Disguising, intruding, tracking the next voice, social media tactics revealed true astonishing functions. “some goodies with no future” some says, “boring timelines and wasting time” others shout. Well, little rivers make big seas. And in this history, the first (Obama), beat the second, far enough. All those little intentions create an invisible force, like a prowling wave, rising, as far as noone could see it approaching. I hope French politics will take some lessons from this, in the aim of spreading use of social media, but to be more modern and in our times, by the way. This could be an “undust” operation for conservatives methods, and progress the explaination for corporations to be more friendly with social tools. As a matter of fact, buzz went in too, because of derivate effects of bulk passion and crowded wires. SearchGurus said it there, and I must admit it convinced me in a short second. Help of Chris Hugues from Facebook, and Rahaf Harfoush, provided the result…global, local, power and voice to people with new wires and ways of communication, those which came more natural for lots of trendy and young electors.

In fact every parts were joined, first, to a forecasted result. Why?

Politics has always been so much boring and sometime useless the people deserted interest and involvement for that matter. But, as if to say and in our daily lives, “a man can make alone all the work and trace the path”, that means that when we find the good one, faith is back. And in politics, as in social media, you can find the good guru, just like an elevator pitch that can burst you far beyond your goal. Faith, belief, trust. values that can give you extra powers. You just have to find the good one, and even you can choose more than one, but these coach. When you head to the poll zones, you have for most of you, already decided, who you’re going to choose, who of them is going to give you the light and coach your life.

It was really natural, people with such ‘heart shout’ for Obama, suffocated economics and fed up minds, that community had a real desire of expression. These are the fact in social media fields with the essence of social media power. And yes politics could use it daily now, in the way it provides new kinds of voices and explore brand new reactions. Even gamers started what we called “communities” by playing in several universes (no they did not encountered politics, but more dangerous creatures , but in the fill of war and the art of mesuring themselves, they learned to fight with the best. No politic game is not what we can call “war”, but it reveals all the characters : the hero, the danger, friends and opposite camp.

Invite your friends in these worlds, find your hero and your way, and draw the line for a future collaboration, elevating yourself and others to new frontiers : set the new line for these “natural behaviors”, now politic world can share with us what people found since years: new kind of shared, talked communication. Web power to the people. from “zero-to-politic” to “politic 2.0″.

Why can’t anyone be a salesman?

Following my last adventures about sales (here), I’ve never grew up thinking “tomorrow, I’ll be a salesman”; not at all. Nor I’ve never lived in an environment with some (no parents on sales business, no brothers/sisters), some friends joined this career later, but no really influences had prepared me to be, in some ways, ‘in the track’ to. But I did. Several days after my previous education, it came, day after day, not that I had no guide – in fact I met some important and awesome people in these skills -, but as if I always prepared to, a kind of doom, no curse at all, just destiny.

In fact, sales jobs are specialist ones, against all beliefs effect on our lives. That’s probably one of the main reasons, anyone can’t be a salesman…Why?

First, when you have a family, you’re always out, travelling by train, car, plane, collecting nowhere destinations and empty hotels; lonely dinners, lonely nights, early wake up, in a certain way, similar to priest loneliness and hopes…You begin to pray for tomorrow’s sales, and have nightmares of white paper and failed sales…

Second, and added to loneliness, nobody believes in your intelligence, in the fact that you’re programed to sell (anything you want!), and one suppose, you’re just good enough to, but not really more. A modern warrior, infantry, keeping the lines, always at war. You must find another reason to believe it’s a noble job (fortunately, real salesman knows with experience how to cope with it and find lots of pleasure and happiness in their daily life!). It’s sometimes hard to be loved to, by your invading mind, big mouth, and teeth too white (!).

Third, you have to be patient, while you’re obliged to listen all customers problems, hoping at the end of the tunnel, one of them will order you, for your talent and understandings. It’s not obvious everyone can spend times to try to understand, thoughts and miseries of people.  But closer climate becomes a trust situation, more sales you will be able to do. Look at what’s up on social networks -even if there’s nothing to buy/sell, what I often ask to me…-; no trust, no exchange, no chat, no answer. No contact, no friends. That is. A kind of confident, before being advisor, doctor…and sometimes best friend.

Look at the final cut: that famous art, selling. It’s a matter of trust. And  not anybody can say, he’s trusty for sure. Trust is a reward, you can’t buy it, I think. So, whatever your intentions, you have to work for it, to get the tools and be the special confident. Be the one who knows all about his customers, when they are, but before too; analyzing personality, to structure, adapt your talk, prepare to argue hard, but to put yourself at the customer’s place; we’re all users of anything, and as famous quote “don’t do others what you don’t want you others do”. It’s a deadly final art in fact, lots of people depends on your skills, in companies.

Now, I made my mind, managed sales teams, lead to business development – the other style of selling with BtoB relationship – but I know what “selling” means, and all the background behind. Believe me it’s a awesome job for who knows discovering tricks&tips and decide to invest for a while. But one thing I’m sure now, is that job is not for everybody. It’s part of the dream to become famous, rich and respected, but prepare you to the hardline before, with simplicity, care and wide opened mind. It’s core of the job, missing it can throw you away and leave you a bitter taste in your career…

Voice of the Brands: whispers in your entourage

How can you say nowadays you’re opened to bring credibility so far to ads and communication, talking about products, you are not ready to buy? How far do you trust to classical tunes and sirens of many brands, even in the best of them, thinking in the same time, they’re gonna give you a former dream of what you don’t really need…? Because you used to be attacked by lots of promotions and messages from outter spaces, by sales machines that don’t necessary laugh. Now you’re deaf, turning the back to boring behaviors leading to a mistrust, going to disinterest for buying anything you don’t absolutely need. Communication break, communication problem of trust. What are next, the main tracks to recover link, warm and demand, for a classical relation between brands – sales aims – and targets, that could refind the sweet and sheltering feeling of consuming?

We all need friends, guides and mentors. So do social media and entourage are. And living their life, those partners can help you, recovering trust and self interest for brands innovation. Here comes the power of “care entourage”, and what we can call “MeCommerce” = Recommendation + e-commerce. This concept, probably coming from “social shopping” links experiences of consumers and potentials goals of buying brands. Aren’t the best advisors, what we usually see in bloggers and influencers, and nearest from you, your entourage, your friends?

The consumer becomes himself a real ambassador of the brand, by consuming and giving others willingness to do the same thing. It’s now a real trend to talk about what we felt, we bought or tried. Posts, pictures, comments, can say often longer than ads. It’s, like all social media behaviors, a matter of trust, of “who believes in you”…The fact is that when times are tough, trust is not obious anymore and it’s more difficult to have all consumers ears and attention. Even you’re not suspicious, we’re fed up with brands that talk about them without anything to say but “buy me”, or any personality in their goodwill. Let’s create brands that speaks about ME, YOU, customers, consumers…a story with taste and flavour. Let’s reinvent the breakthrough, the evangelism of the brands. But it’s a far walk from “here to there”.

When you’ll go to your next dinner, open your ears and listen people who talk about experiences, brands and new boughts they did. You will learn another way of life, another spirit of social warm and share. Then you’ll look at the next ads on TV with a different state of mind…

MeCommerce starts too with stuffs like “market lodge“, application for Facebook, that can make you a potential seller/advisor for products you know/you bought. It’s a more mercantile way we can afford, but as any social shouts of links, runs with the community voice. You can select, grab and share products, in the shape of your tastes and personality, product sized to your mind, according to your values and spirit. And the story begins…whispers around you, that make the tomorrows of the brands, tomorrows influenced by more and more little tiny things, they sometimes don’t see…

Mobile TV: still in the dream window?

A short report to make facts and statements about what we can consider as a real innovation in TV, not in the contents itself, but in the new way people could watch it. Even if we can be full of scepticism regarding our ability/likeness to watch a great blockbuster or sport event in a too small screen, reality makes the dream, in some uses, true. But how deep?

Yes, we have some contents really developped for mobile, yes we have devices more and more cute (Iphone and wider screens for example). We have probably potential consumers generation Y and youngest can mix their instability and skills to do lots of things in mobility situation, and stay in fashion and hype lights with such stuffs. The idea itself, in bulk’s mind, traces its own way. And past major actors in TV – contents and broadcast -, believe maybe in a strong growth potential, that could make them always powerful and protected from nightmares.

See below some elements of 2007 survey by iresearch.com…Too early?

Reading about last IDATE survey about mobile TV, let’s shout some cruel points, that make reality now, of a growing model we see, with no arriving target yet, in the ability to raise profits, in a sustainable period.

It seems all the movers in around the mobile tv business, could not find the rulebook to make, for sure, profits in a long term area. No business model has been revealed, nor proofs about the value chain in the same time. Talking about fans of free models or relevant of paying fees prayers, nobody can find a model that works, in the fact it’s a foggy market…lost in the forest of majors interests, actors, and not the least, uses…Who can let from here to eternity, his usual tv behaviors?

Talking about selling prices, saying what the final consumer expected to accept to pay (between 8-10$ a month), this could not be much comparing to fixed costs and investments costs to supply the service. Talking about free models, regarding to financing by ads revenues, experts say that it’s obvious a potentially huge market but increasing commercial success but not profits, so far…As we can see, it’s a fighting place between editors (tv channels) and operators (broadcast, wires), and the best would be a strong partnership, that could divide the costs, and share them according to each business model. When will it appears? No body can’t really say it, because no bulk signal from consumers has been confirmed yet, waiting so far, prices and uses, according to “users centrics” behaviors.

TV screen can still make us dream and mobile can make us giving the voice.

Evidencesx’s network: episode #4 for social cruise, with “who I know and who knows me”

Here we are, this is the fourth episode for social cruise in the social applications fields. Started with your professional profile and your tastes, we go on the adventure with a question mark on us…who knows me on the web? and who I really know too? Don’t say you never asked it, lost in the deepest forest of wire power. Use your “Google juice”, know your reputation on Naymz, or get your twitter grade, all these schedule’s ways help you to find the truth, and increase your influence on the web.

There’s circles of linked contacts, where you can learn, what are interactions between you and the rest of of the www.

Here you can find several apps to share your “presence” and your linking power. Then, everybody can know how touch you, who you touch and who you know, what you allow to show to others. And you can map your “friends” circle to see which interactions you can find between two contacts, while you think they didn’t met before. Interesting, because of famous quote “together are people who are similar”. Fortunately, Social Media can help you growing, in the quest of meeting new people completely different from you…It’s one of the best exciting stuff, taking risks and discover always new things with new people. A cute app called “lijit“, that can make you graphs, links and drawing representations of your influence, network and links.

You can step and build your own community, skipping toward apps like ning or French affinitiz, an invite your closest members to a smaller circle, to target more and more, the subjects you want to share. As you do, you’re more accurate in the way others know you, and you can discover more things about your new private members. You can do more rooms in Friendfeed, so long in Facebook groups too, to increase the precision of your exchanges. Some say to know really people, you can’t manage more than 150 friends in first sight, or first level, to make a real relation in a sustainable and valuable way. How many of you have more…? Do you use to send and read more of them, when they publish, send, share something? Do you consider you know them “well”? And according to your work, can ou say all your friends can remember and talk about you, your tastes and your profile as well..? No really answers, because of the jungle and the precipitation we do, in adding contacts as we collect bugs or stamps…

“Choose is saying no to others” ; between lots and few, is there any chance to accurate the relation we share and the face we want to show to others? Do you think, people which know you want to make you in relation with others they know, or don’t want to? What kind of echo do you send back, to any contact you have on the web, communities or posts? More you step forward, more you’ll like it, people are awesome in their faculty to welcome…Up to you to be appreciated, in the time you need to…As real life, pay attention to others is such more relevant and valuable than running faster than the wind! Take your time, enjoy people like you would like them to enjoy you, and get the best of them…But most of all “know yourself well” is the mirror of your investment in others…

Ready for the next session ? don’t miss #5 “what I know or what I search”, on Evidencesx’s network, of course !

And for those who missed the former episodes, you’ll find them on recent archives, there#1, there#2 and there#3…