Thoughts on Jakob Nielsen's feedback of Twitter

After reading the article in BusinessWeek interviewing Jakob Nielsen on his critiques of Twitter, I thought...

While I agree that not all CEOs should be on Twitter, I do think that companies cannot ignore the power and reach of social networks like it. I actually don’t care to follow too many CEOs. I would rather follow the key people that really are running the business (creative types, people in RnD, the new thinkers that are industry-obsessed about the same things I am obsessed with, etc).

Companies should be using this medium to organically empower people that are passionate about ideals, services and products that all support and align their own purpose. For example, if you produce a widget, why not have someone on your team who is passionate about the industry speak and connect with like-minded people. Building these connections are about establishing brand ambassadors. It’s also about building compassion and passion, sharing information and learning. Take this approach and Twitter makes sense. If you have unrealistic expectations that people will want to follow you just because you are a CEO, well you are missing the point.

Use Twitter to empower those that are most passionate. People will follow.

Profit ruins everything... Unless you have authentic brand!

So here we are again. Another tech company that experienced one-time great success taken over by the immediacy of monetization. Of course with the crippled traditional media market, business people are salivating over anything that reaches the masses and has the capability of filling the advertising void, so I understand why MySpace (and many others) are eager to make their business plans work.

For the sake of full disclosure, I am not a MySpace fan, but value the importance of having several varieties of social networks to hit across all demographic segments. Anyone who thinks one social network can be it all to every audience is a bit naive. Facebook should not be Twitter, and MySpace should not be Facebook. How each network allows you to be social, will attract certain types of people. And that's OK. We all know competition is good.

But back to my point... I am very curious to see how the very networks, which are all about providing an authentic vehicle for people to be themselves, may quickly take a very unauthentic path. What does all this mean? MySpace needs to figure out what it is (beyond just being another social network) before it can reach sustainable success. It won't matter who they put in place or how smart they are. If MySpace doesn't know who it is as a brand, and what its authentic brand purpose is, it will inevitably fail. I can only hope they know this, but are not sharing, and are using their insider understanding to recruit executive talent that align with their purpose. If not, they are especially doomed if the only agreed upon understanding of purpose is to drive profit, and fast.

Good luck MySpace. I need you to make a successful go at this change - there are advertisers looking to target your audience. You just need to clarify who your audience is and what your relationship needs to be with them.

Agency Blues

I gotta say one thing about an ad agency. It should be a house of ideas. A lot of ideas. No single person has all the answers, which is how agencies came to be. If you work at an agency, you expect creative outlets. If the outlets are not present, you will likely move on. So why is it, time and time again, agency owners want to have so much control?

My husband said something to me yesterday that made complete sense, and if – no when – I have my own shop, I will live by this motto.

Someone who fosters great talent, mentors and allows growth of those around them builds a company, in fact a legacy. Someone who does all the work and does not delegate, or spread opportunities to others, or is a control freak, is only building a job for life.

This is soooooo true!

Every agency I have worked with I see owners and partners that can go so much further. Make so much more money. Attract and retain real talent. If only they would foster their creative talent. Not their own talent, but those around them.

I believe that you only learn by teaching. And that means mentoring, knowing when to shut your mouth and when to direct others. I have grown enormous amounts by mentoring other young professionals. Coming up with off the wall ideas and not being afraid to say them out loud, being a sounding board, helping others through difficult dilemmas and situations has all made me as good as I am today.

Now, I don’t think I am high on my self. Trust me I know I don’t know it all. But, I know a lot, enough to be very good. And I want others around me to think this same way. I want confident, hard nosed, passionate people.

So why am I saying this? Because for the love of God can all us agency folk help make agencies more successful by doing this. Otherwise, turnover will stay as high as it is and shit work will continue to get produced.

The Peanut Butter Manifesto

When I read the peanut butter manifesto memo from Yahoo!’s Brad Garlinghouse, I thought it was pretty bold and interesting. Interesting because this memo is a true reflection of how new age companies have made transparency a way of doing business and encourage employees to really live their brand. Bold because forcing focus is the best way to improve business expertise and secure a market leadership position.

Garlinghouse has a true desire to create an authentic environment where passion leads to innovation and success. Many other businesses could learn from his thinking and willingness to put his ass on the line.

Passion and focus are essential for success. Too many businesses, large and small, want to conquer all and over extend product lines and services. While I clearly understand that line extensions increase market share, over extension inevitably leads to failure. Failure happens when companies push unfocused growth over quality and sustainability. Sometimes it’s good not to be the corporate conglomerate monster that gobbles up everything in its path.

Look at the past to predict the future. When a company steps outside of its core competency and only sees the numbers, it will likely take on ventures it has little understanding of or expertise in. Decisive decision making is driven by a clear understanding of what your authentic brand is and everyone gets it. Not leading with authentic passion gives competition a chance to run you over.

I hope that Garlinghouse is able to lead Yahoo! and doesn’t loose his shirt in the process. If he is successful in transitioning the organization, he could position Yahoo! as the new leader.