21st Century Organization

Understanding Facebook Groups in Business: Invitation to Participate in a Study

With Facebook everywhere colleagues Bill Anderson, Victoria Axelrod and I are planning a study that begins with “Do Facebook Groups support business development?” and “How do Facebook Groups create business value, or not?”

Our interest in the dynamics of Facebook Groups for business began in the 21st Century Organization Facebook Group and watching it's evolution. As we see Facebook inspired people networking and sharing platforms wending their ways into enterprises, to us it makes sense to see what we can learn from business focused Facebook Groups today.

Our study plan is simple and involves:

1. Assemble a group of 10 business focused Facebook Groups.

2. Between November 15 and February 15 track activity using a common measurements form.

3. Co-produce a report.

We have a more detailed study overview to share with anyone interested in joining.

We’re very grateful to Jeffrey Keefer for pushing us to refine our study approach. Also to Niki Lambropoulos, a PhD program candidate at the University of London, for joining the project team as a research methodology advisor.

I’m also delighted to announce that Dave Duarte, based in Capetown South Africa, is our first study group. His Huddlemind Labs Facebook Group will be participating. 

But now we are seeking 8 other Facebook Group owners as curious as we are about the business potential.  We look forward to answering questions about our study approach and filling the remaining study participant slots ready for our planned November 15 start.


Sincerely

~Jenny Ambrozek for Bill Anderson and Victoria Axelrod too

From Social Overwhelm to 8Hands, APML & Lifestreams. Whatever's next?

Can the pace at which technology drives our connectedness and challenges our ability to keep up continue to increase? I fear it can but thanks to Identity Woman Kaliya Hamlin via a Facebook exchange at least I have a meme to describe the condition:

"social overwhelm"

What I didn't realize until Facebook friend Ron Liland pointed me to 8Hands is that a whole new tools genre called "social network aggregators" is emerging.  Already in July Mashable.com listed 20 ways!!  The 8Hands tour video provides a taste. Reflections from an early adopter who discontinued use remind us about smart adoption of new tools.

I've been paying attention to "attention" since hearing AttentionTrust.org co-founder Seth Goldstein speak but what I'd also missed is the emergence of APML, Attention Profile Markup Language and that Google had acquired Jaiku.

My searching around 8Hands, and "social network aggregators" also brought me to "Lifestreams". My reading included Ross Mayfield, Brian Solis and Steve Rubel but it was the title of Stowe Boyd's October 11 post:

"We Build Our Tools And They Shape Us:How Lifestreaming Is Shaping Web Culture"

that caught my attention. Stowe in sharing the abstract for his Web 2.0 Berlin presentation writes:

"What are the long-term impacts of this new medium on media, business, and society?"

Indeed.

In an earlier post regarding Facebook Stowe offered the following observations that I see businesses best heed:

"In the final analysis, Facebook and its cousins are inevitably going to be business tools, because business people are too smart to not adopt better technologies to help them get their work done. In a hyperconnected world, getting things done increasingly means harnessing the network, not just doing piecework.

Again, the companies that get wise to this fastest will be the first to benefit; and those that wait will lose."  ~ Stowe Boyd

~ Jenny Ambrozek

2 Decades from GMR to iPOD & Shared Nobel Prize

In a swirling world it seemed today's Financial Times story "Nobel physics prize shared by men who made iPod possible" deserved a moment's attention.

Consider the timeline.

Late 1980's working independently 2 physicists, Albert Fert, France and Peter Grunberg, Germany, observed the phenomenom known as " giant magnetoresistance" or GMR:

"a discovery in nanotechnology that has led to the miniaturisation of hard disks in laptop computers and music players."

1997- first commercial read-out using GMR allowing:

"hard disk sensors to read and write much more data, allowing for bigger memory, cheaper and more reliable computers."

2001- iPod launched.

"Without GMR it would not be possible to store more than one song on an Apple iPod."

2007- April- 100 million iPods sold

2007- October- Nobel physics prize shared by GMR discoverers.

Interesting side notes to the story:

i. Role of research team led by Stuart Parkin at IBM's Almaden Research Center, California in turning GMR into a a practical device.

ii. Researchers now gone beyond GMR to TMR (tunnelling magnetoresistance) that is being "introduced to the latest generation of read-out heads.

2 decades. A new industry. Hats off to extraordinary minds.

~ Jenny Ambrozek

Challenges in Emerging Brands & Organizations: Delta, Hyundai & Enlyten(TM)

Working to create something from nothing at start-ups during the Internet boom some days a valued colleague (with whom I shared more than one), and I would find ourselves saying:

"This is REALLY hard".

This past week multiple CNBC news stories have reminded me that business challenges come regardless of whether you are a start-up or established company and brand.

1. Health Sports Inc. Maker of Enlyten(TM) Sports Strips(TM)

Darren Rovell story today on new entrant Enlyten(TM) with its electroylyte replacement ingestible strips that compete with heavy weights like Gatorade. Story reports colleges with existing sport drink manufacturer deals are being "discouraged" from talking to the Enlytyen folks. Video is here.

2. Hyundai Efforts to Change Brand with ThinkAboutIt.com

Autos reporter Phil LeBeau described how having worked to improve quality challenges now Hyundai needs to change brand perception.  He reports on a new "Think About It" marketing campaign. Concludes by predicting Hyundai will have to launch a new luxury brand as Japanese auto makers have done with Acura, Lexus and Infiniti to succeed. Video.

3. Delta "Tray Chic"

October 3 story describing a Delta airlines "experiential marketing" campaign that involves offering up-scale food menus.

"The meals will be introduced next month, and by next spring, they will be available on all flights of approximately 750 miles in the contiguous United States. Items will sell for between two and ten dollars."

With my interest in architecting online interaction Delta's focus on "interaction with the product" caught my attention:

'You've really got to talk to people and interact with them face to face. It's not about just ads any more, or advertising or posters. They really want to interact with the product," said Vincenz."

Based on my August experience delivering a passenger to Delta's JFK economy check in Delta has more work to do than improving meals.  Lines were chaotic. Inadequate staff, self check in terminals and signage to make clear where you should go. It was a zoo. We have to repeat the process around Thanksgiving. I'm NOT looking forward to it.

The Enlyten (TM), Hyundai and Delta stories provide considerable food for thought. My bottom-line today though is that as the challenges keep coming in this competitive environment (regardless of an organization's growth stage), recognizing those who can successfully innovate in organizations, and rewarding when positive results appear, are really important.

~ Jenny Ambrozek