CouchSurfin' USA

The people asked for social networking.

And God said, "Let there be networking." And so He created MySpace.

But the people wanted more. And they prayed and thumped their chests and cried out for more.

And so God (and possibly Mark Zuckerberg) created Facebook.

But the people were still not satisfied. Neither the Book of Faces nor the Space of Mine sufficiently appeased their desire to be heard.

And so God created Twitter. And He said, “Go forth and speaketh in 140 characters or less.”

And so, the people tweeted.

But the people still were not satisfied. And so God created…

Couchsurfing? 

What is this “couchsurfing” we speak of?

A recent phenomenon (the first couch was surfed, circa 1999), it all began with couchsurfing.org, “a service in which members offer a spare couch – or bed, or floor space – to fellow couchsurfers, at no charge.”

The concept has since grown to include many other sites at which people can rent out apartments and homes all over the world. (AirBnB.com and iStopOver.com are just two popular newcomers to the scene.) 

Couchsurfing takes social networking to a whole new level. Though some say that the very nature of social networking ironically makes us anti-social (interactions are far more limited across a computer screen), this concept allows for entirely new friend-making possibilities.

Couchsurfing networks bring together the virtual and the real. It also brings together random strangers. (Unlike traditional social networks which help us more deeply connect with people we already know.)

So where will social networking take us next? 

And God said, “Ye faithful social networkers, sit back and think about it.”

-Jamie

 

An Extrovert Goes Mobile

On Wednesday, The Business Development Institute held a program, "Mobile Healthcare Communications: Case Studies & Roundtables," at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.


We asked Supervising Account Extrovert, Jared Shechtman (shown above), to attend and report back to us. The following is his recap, verbatim.

Hope you find it as helpful and enjoyable as we did:


From: Jared Shechtman 

Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 11:45 PM

To: Extrovertic DL

Subject: Recap: Mobile Healthcare Communications at BDI

Hi All -

I had the opportunity this morning to sit in on Mobile Healthcare Communications Case Studies and wanted to pass along some of the learnings.

First observation: the number of people who stare at their mobile devices throughout a mobile healthcare conference is astounding.

Key learnings/notes:

• Protonix just launched a mobile co-pay program allowing patients to text to enroll and receive a mobile based coupon for fulfillment in addition to the ability to opt in for adherence program features.
• Pfizer Australia has launched an app that indicates pet friendly locations (restaurants, beaches, etc.) 

      – A non app version is also available on: http://www.pawclub.com.au
• Pfizer's mobile traffic has increased x4 since last year and is expected to double again by Q3
• A mobile friendly version of pfizer.com launched yesterday
      – Consider mobile using when building all websites, this is an excellent example of online best practices
• Pfizer goals for mobile are to increase visibility, traffic, awareness and to optimize their site
• It was noted that at present Pfizer has been very Apple focused (iPhone apps only) but that will be changing in the near future
      – Being mobile platform agnostic is important as Android continues to increase share. Mobile is moving so quickly new data is coming out almost daily!
• One of the most important keys to any mobile / social push is that applications/assets need support via media and other drivers
• 96% of gen Y (tomorrows customers) are on social networks
• RipRoad in association with Mount Sinai presented a case study on a text based Q&A forum for teenagers that has proven to be highly successful
      – Concept could be applied to a nurse help line offering
• Overall takeaway: Mobile/social will quickly not be thought of as completely separate specialities but will become a standard part of the mix


Lastly, this conference shamed me into finally signing up for Twitter, follow my adventures at JaredS81

Thnx!


Jared


While we're at it, my Twitter address is MDrossman and Dorothy's is Extrovertic. Hope to hear from you soon!

-MD

 

Remembering the Future

Sometime in the early seventies, I discovered a stash of old comic books in my grandparents' house in Flushing, New York. 

They were all circa 1954-1955, mostly science fiction-themed, and formerly (though in hindsight, still) the property of my Uncle Doug, who at the time was serving as a medical officer in the U.S. Air Force in Austin, Texas. 

But my grandmother said to take them. And take them, I did. To a guy who came to our local library, showed a few episodes of "Star Trek," and offered to buy everyone's old comic books for cash. 

God knows how little I got for them. And how much they'd have fetched today. 

The one I remember best took place on Mars in the distant future of 1974. Men and women in fashionable tights used laser weapons to fight off the various indigenous reptilian creatures that were always trying to make a meal of them. 

Imagine that: 1974 was the far off future. Just like Orwell's 1984. And the 2001 of the Kubrick/Arthur C. Clarke film. 

And here we are, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 2001. 

What used to be the future is now the past. 

Nobody is using lasers to defend colonies on Mars from invading reptiles. And fortunately, not everyone is wearing fashionable tights. (Although my daughters and their friends have been known to wear a jeans/leggings hybrid called "jeggings.") 

But with the Internet and all it offers, we've certainly achieved many of the dreams of the science fiction writers of yore. And the pace of technological evolution seemingly compounds every day. 

Tomorrow, today will seem like the Iron Age. 

Here's to the future. Starting with tonight. 

Happy New Year, everyone. 

-MD

 

The Night Before Christmas, v2010

I read an interesting article about how today's kids use various online social media tools to track Santa's location with the help of NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command). With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, I felt compelled to rework his classic poem for the times:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, just Junior’s mouse;

The kid was on the PC, surfing Facebook with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The others were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

He picked up his iPhone, and opened an app,

Up on his screen appeared a new Google Map;

He searched around Twitter, to check out the chatter,

And found out that NORAD was streaming live data.

He reinstalled Windows and updated Flash,

For fear that his father’s old HP might crash.

He logged onto YouTube as it started to snow,

And widened his eyes at the cool video;

For what on his 20-inch screen should appear,

But an avatar sleigh and eight avatar reindeer,

With an avatar driver, so lively and quick,

He knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

Slower than molasses, his browser it lagged,

He slammed on the table and cursed as he tagged;

“%#^@, Dasher! &*%$#, Dancer! %$#@, Prancer and Vixen!

@$#%, Comet! %$^, Cupid! $#^@!, Donder and Blitzen!

The DSL line, it was pushed to the brink,

“It better not freeze,” Junior heard himself think;

Soon, over Paris, then above Amsterdam,

As seen by millions, on the live Santa cam;
Eight tiny reindeer, a sleigh and a man;

Now up on the roof, the sound of a sled,

Getting snagged in the cable,

As the connection goes dead.

-MD

 

Can We Cut the Cord on Our Wireless Phones?

I often jokingly tell people that my BlackBerry is my second brain and losing it would be like losing my mind. Now I know it is no joke. And I am not alone.

“My Device, Myself,” is the caption beneath a photograph in a New York Times article by Damon Darlin, entitled, “Digital Devices Can Become Objects of Affection.”
 

According to Darlin, we love our devices because they make us better and smarter. I know that this is the case with me. Once, I even pulled out my BlackBerry in the midst of an interview to get the name of a mutual acquaintance (PS: don’t try this, I didn’t get the job. I think they were looking for someone whose primary brain worked better.) According to the article, people literally, “grieve when they lose a personal electronic device.”
 

This “device as self” phenomenon isn’t some little wave cresting but a full-blown tsunami. In fact, one of the key lessons that NYT Tech writer David Pogue, imparts in his recent round-up article, “The Lessons of 10 Years of Talking Tech,” is that “Some people’s gadgets determine their self-esteem.” He adds, “You can’t use the word “Apple,” “Microsoft” or “Google” in a sentence these days without stirring up emotion.”
 

Given the New York Times source, I might be tempted to think this attachment to devices is merely a bicoastal trend. But it is not just the province of the MIT students and tech workers I see glued to their mobile screens when I visit Extrovertic’s new Cambridge office. This “Tech as Self” trend is now deeply woven into the fabric of the American psyche.

Case in point: my recent visit to Milwaukee for the “International City/County Managers Association” annual conference-planning meeting (I know, I know, my life is really too glamorous, I really need to join FourSquare so people can track me).

As an icebreaker at the conference, city managers from around the country were asked to “pick something in your hotel room that says something special about you.” About 50% of the respondents picked a personal digital device. Comments ran something like, “my iPod, which I use when I go running,” “my iPhone, which has pictures of my kids,” and, “my BlackBerry because I can use it to reach anybody, anytime.”

And these weren’t typical coastal hipsters we are talking about. Most of the participants were men in their 40s, from cities that make Milwaukee, Wisconsin seem like a mega metropolis: Brentwood, Tennessee; Coon Rapids, Minnesota; and Sequin, Texas.

The point is tech is defining and intensely personal – and therefore of great interest to marketers as seen by the mushrooming numbers of them lining up for mobile device healthcare conferences. After all, healthcare is intensely personal too. It makes perfect sense to think about sending health messages via mobile devices. However, as we move into this new mobile era, we should remember we are entering someone’s personal space.

Otherwise, we will suffer the fate of Aaron, the “close talker” from the classic Seinfeld episode: the very people we are trying to attract will back away.

Or worse yet, give you a social media slap in the face a la “Motrin Moms.” 

–DW

 

Customer Service In the Age of Twitter

Earlier this month, Mashable announced its 5 Nominees For Best Social Media Customer Service.

It got me to thinking about how important customer service is in today's transformational marketplace.

We live in a world where user experience is everything. It isn't enough for the product to be great. Every touch point connected with it has to be great, as well.

It's no longer enough to sell the benefits of the product. Every contact with the brand must add value that syncs with the brand's personality and literally helps the consumer to experience a transformation for the better.

This goal must be imbued in every channel – from print, TV and point of sale, to online.

The digital realm, of course, is the easiest in which to have a meaningful, real time dialogue with the consumer. Twitter and and social networks like Facebook are particularly useful for demonstrating a brand's commitment to providing beyond the expected levels of customer service.

Take the two examples shown here. HP (at top) has technical support people available on Twitter. They proactively provide proof of their interest in customer satisfaction.

ZocDoc (above), a service that helps patients find doctors and make appointments in the same step, uses Twitter to show empathy for their customers and, in the process, gives the brand a much needed human face.

Check out Mashable's finalists. They have some good ideas about how to use new technology to provide better service to their customers. But there are a  many others out there, too. Some that already exist, and some still waiting to be discovered. 


We'd love to hear any examples you have.


-MD

 

America's Tweethearts Go On Strike

Oh, my god.

As if things weren't bad enough.

251,287 secret state documents leaked to the press. The Korean War on the verge of breaking out again. The economy showing very little improvement. 

And now this?

In an effort to raise $1 million for World AIDS Day (tomorrow), a number of the world's greatest minds are going on strike. 

Yes, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest and…better sit down… two of the Kardashian sisters are removing themselves from all Twitter and Facebook activity until the goal of $1 million is reached. They're calling it the "Digital Life Sacrifice" and the picture above is from an ad promoting the campaign.

I know what you're thinking. 

"Shades of Dr. Evil! They're holding us hostage until we pay the money. How can America get through the day without knowing what Kim Kardashian is having for breakfast?"

Somehow, a bunch of pseudo-celebrities think that the public is so hungry for their every tweet that it'll be willing to contribute its hard earned cash during the Great Recession.

You know what?

They're probably right. 

Well, for the benefit of the charity, anyway, I hope they are.

But the ultimate result would be if America follows Steve Colbert's suggestion on the Colbert Report last night:

The donations should stop at $999,999.99.

Then we'd have the best of both worlds.

-MD