How Social Media Killed Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Remember that fun game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? You’d see how many actors it took to connect, say, Stockard Channing, to the ubiquitous Kevin Bacon.  But I don’t hear people talking about that game much. Maybe it’s because we’re all no more than a couple of connections away from Kevin Bacon ourselves.

Me and Kevin? Yeah, you could say we're close

 

Celebrities have seen tremendous financial gains in recent years – Celebrity Reality shows, selling baby pictures to tabloids, etc. – but they’ve also lost something powerful… mystique.

When everyone can be a star, or every star is just a tweet away, it’s hard to be transcendent.  It’s hard to imagine Bogie and Bacall updating their Facebook status. 

Magic and mystery should have their place still, especially in Hollywood. But really, any brand should consider how close it really wants to get to consumers. As consultants rush around telling brands to engage with consumers, perhaps we should consider some of the possible repercussions, especially the loss of magic.  While Scott Monty does a great job tweeting for Ford, would you really want to see @Ferrari or @RollsRoyce? 

By leaving some things to the consumer’s imagination you create the opportunity for developing a Deeply Immersive Narrative Universe (DINU) where consumers can participate and bring something new to the brand.

So, farewell Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, you’ll be missed.

Smart People / Smart Ideas April 2009

It’s that time once again when recap some of the best and brightest in Social Media.  Here’s the Smart People / Smart Ideas Round Up for April:

Smart People / Smart Ideas #141 @equalman says: Everyone is Twittering, But is Anyone Listening? http://is.gd/r0Tk

Smart People / Smart Ideas #142 @lizstrauss wonders: Do Leaders Wear Jeans? If so, what kind? http://tinyurl.com/dn6s3x

Smart People / Smart Ideas #143 @scobleizer has a private note to PR people http://ff.im/1YjBL

Smart People / Smart Ideas #144 @faris reminds us that listening is the first step: http://bit.ly/1EmQ

Smart People / Smart Ideas #145 @thebetsy asks: Does Social Value = [Social + Media ( X stuff)], as X ⇒ ∞ http://tinyurl.com/cylqdx

Smart People / Smart Ideas #146 @JohnLoGioco continues the talk about authenticity and #fiestamovement http://tinyurl.com/dxs5jo

Smart People / Smart Ideas #147 @joelcomm asks: What What do Twitter and donuts have to do with each other? http://twitpwr.com/donuts/

Smart People / Smart Ideas #148 @mikearauz dissects the spectrum of online friendship http://tinyurl.com/djrp4d

Smart People / Smart Ideas #149 @dmullen on the mistakes PR pros (keep) making: http://bit.ly/unLNY

#Fridayfollow: @aaronstrout – His 45in45 series is must reading too: Smart People / Smart Ideas #150 – http://tinyurl.com/ceethe

Smart People / Smart Ideas #151 @sernovitz. on blogs and trust. http://tinyurl.com/cth8j8 [hat tip @gturpin]

Smart People / Smart Ideas #152 @onefloorup: 4 Essential ppl of a Great Design Team http://tinyurl.com/dhfgeo [hat tip @michaelSurtees]

Smart People / Smart Ideas #153 @narciso17 on How to avoid Jumping the Shark http://bit.ly/oyfkP

Smart People / Smart Ideas #154 @asmartbear on “Why U Have 2 Engage in SocMed, Even if U Don’t Want 2” – http://bit.ly/lM16Z ht @spikejones

I may have to retire “Smart People / Smart Ideas” and just call it: What @arauz wrote today: http://bit.ly/Fnq5 [SP/SI #155]

You can follow Smart Ideas / Smart People via my Twitter feed.

Why I don’t follow Oprah on Twitter

See Oprah, listening is easy.

The only thing trendier for celebrities than adopting foreign babies right now is jumping on Twitter. Oprah, Ashton, Shaq, Hammer, President Obama, everyone’s on the Twitter Twain.

Twitter is still in its earliest stages as a communications vehicle and different people use it in different ways. Some people, like Guy Kawasaki, use it promote their businesses. Because of perceived over-zealousness in that regard, Guy has come under attack recently for his methods. Others use it as a virtual Caroline’s comedy club.

Personally, I think of Twitter as the network breakfast at the world’s most amazing marketing conference. I pick up bits of conversations and information from some of the smartest people out there.  Where I can I add to that conversation. That’s why people like Oprah Winfrey and Ashton Kutcher don’t really interest me from a Twitter perspective. Let’s take a quick look at their stats, as of April 20, 2009*:

Oprah: Followers – 380,494; Following – 10

Ashton Kutcher: Followers – 1,246, 841; Following – 84

 

Again, this is only based on my interpretation of how I use Twitter, but what they are doing would be the equivalent of going to a marketing convention or cocktail party and doing plenty of talking, but very little listening. Sure, if I yell long enough and loud enough directly at Oprah, there’s a chance she’ll respond. But she’s not actively listening.

By contrast, look at the Twitter feed of President Obama:

Followers – 901, 519

Following – 762, 490

The Obama campaign earned many plaudits for their understanding of Social Media throughout the campaign last year. This is a strong example. He’s working on two way dialogue and at least putting out the perception that he’s actively listening.

You don’t have to follow everyone who is following you, but having some level of balance demonstrates you respect not only other people, but the channel as well.

UPDATE: Check out this article on Mashable about the different ways people use Twitter.

*Even while typing this the numbers change amazingly fast for these people.

Smart People / Smart Ideas – March 2009

Here’s the monthly compilation of stories, thoughts, ideas and posts gathered and originally shared via my Twitter feed:

Smart People / Smart Ideas #122 @davidhenderson on Why Big PR Lacks Online Leadership/Expertise http://tinyurl.com/b9gh58

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #123 Check out @Bud_Caddell’s slideshare on the Fan Economy http://tinyurl.com/abmpeq [hat tip to @juntajoe]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #124 @MikeArauz: A Passionate Rant About Social Media http://ow.ly/Goq Good stuff. Worth a  read & a RT.

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #125 @cc_chapman on how to leverage the new Facebook http://tinyurl.com/ckyav8 [hat tip @TDefren]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #126 @dmullen created a Twitter Starter Pack: 50 People You Should Follow http://bit.ly/5cjNI

 

Smart People / Smart Speeches #127 @geoffliving speaks to the National Park Service about social media adoption. http://tinyurl.com/ahxb75

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #128 @tiphereth on: What’s in a name? More on building brand you: http://ow.ly/Yvt [hat tip @servantofchaos]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #129 @TDefren on “Marketing in a Recession” – http://tinyurl.com/dchx4s [PS: Todd is a No.3 seed]

 

Smart People/Smart Ideas #130 @chrisbrogan on blog topics: http://tinyurl.com/dh9qsd

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #131 @PRsarahevans List of 4 Skills PR Pros Need http://bit.ly/3CH03 [h/t @SternalPRRT via @CubanaLAF]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #132 @mattdickman says ‘Social media is a fad. All media will be social’ http://tinyurl.com/cdaf8w

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #133 @mikearauz on social media contracts http://tinyurl.com/dangox  Please tell me you are following this guy.

 

Smart People /Smart Ideas #134 @henryjenkins on brands, fans & spreadable media http://tinyurl.com/cn56fp

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #135 @jowyang on the monetization of Twitter http://snipurl.com/ehegz [hat tip @CarriBugbee]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #136 @awolk praises the effort: Experimenting in Public http://tinyurl.com/dew2j6

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #137 David Sherwin on Wabi-Sabi http://tinyurl.com/ddps7w [hat tip @peterurban] Highly recommend

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #138 Seth Godin on meetings:  http://tinyurl.com/dmbdde

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #139 @jowyang on the Future of PR http://snipurl.com/esk2m [hat tip @ederdn]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #140 @psfk pulls back the curtain on their Social Media marketing efforts: http://tinyurl.com/c8q6qx

Your SXSW Haiku Update

Little known fact: Each year, the organizers of SXSW pick one person they don’t allow to come to the event. Why? In case of some sort of cataclysmic event (Boll weevils, The Jonas Bros., etc.) someone must survive to keep music, interactive and film culture alive. This year, that person is me. But I still want to provide valuable information for the four of you who, like me, aren’t in Austin right now. So, in the name of public service, here’s a preview of today’s marquee event – in haiku form:

 

Session of the day:

Aristotle on Twitter?

Just Plato retweets

Smart People / Smart Ideas from January 2009

Here’s an aggregation of all the Smart People / Smart Ideas tweets from my Twitter account for the month of January, 2009:

Smart People / Smart Ideas #66 @ambercadabra on @chrisbrogan’s 3 word goal meme http://tinyurl.com/837sdl

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #67 @ducttape says you should get closer to your customers: http://tinyurl.com/8epz96

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #68 @awolk on the twitter popularity fallacy. http://tinyurl.com/993pcm [hat tip @bmorrissey]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #69 @chrisbrogan says become the President of your own career http://tinyurl.com/89sje2 [hat tip @knealemann]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #70 @AdamSinger says Blogging is like going to the gym….for your brain: http://tinyurl.com/7j6ex2

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #71 @davefleet has a new blog post: Customer Service Is Public Relations – http://is.gd/eGyF

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #72 Leo Babauta [via @problogger] has The Essential Guide 2 Growing Your Blog on Min. Time http://twurl.nl/jknrbb

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #73 @ducttape  Suggests holding a Testimonial Gathering Party http://tinyurl.com/9augd2

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #74 @bradkay gets philosophical about Twitter http://is.gd/eGUM [hat tip @armano]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #75 @tabone looks at trust in 2009, the Year of the Ox http://tinyurl.com/892apq

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #76 @jasonfalls on actionable social media strategies for 2009 http://is.gd/eBnV [hat tip @ScottMeis]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #77 @kanter has a take on streamlining for Twitter feed http://tinyurl.com/a59trx

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #78 @dmullen on the right way to build a social media online presence http://tinyurl.com/9uy63v

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas # 79 @MattDickman has a list of 5 social media contradictions and how to manage them. http://tinyurl.com/9p23mj

 

Smart People/Smart Ideas #80 @JennyCromie on 8 Sure-Fire Ways To Tick Off the Twitterverse http://tinyurl.com/9c5vwn via @problogger ht @BJ

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #81 @bmorrissey: Blurring of the agency lines http://tinyurl.com/729krf

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #82 @jaybaer says Social Media is an all agency engagement http://tinyurl.com/72qhee [h/t @AmberCadabra]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #83 Mark Hannah says Transparency should be a PR Principle, not a Tactic” http://bit.ly/rOcx [h/t @Pistachio]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #84 @ambercadabra on The Teeter Totter of Influence http://is.gd/fwU2 [h/t @armano]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas # 85 via @peterkim Chris Hall brings a fresh POV http://tinyurl.com/86ezm4 Not bad for the kid’s second blog post

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #86 @TDefren asks why so many PR people still struggle with SM, despite edu opps. http://tinyurl.com/7lgyrx

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #87 @chrisbrogan (but just as important, his commenters) say http://is.gd/fWZs

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #88 Forget about me, listen to the commenters on social media transparency here: http://tinyurl.com/9ns9fk

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #89 @MackCollier on ‘How do you decide if social media is right for your business?’ http://eweri.com/2Co

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #90 @TDefren says you know who the real social media gurus are http://tinyurl.com/78p93k

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #91 @benbarden has 10 ways effectively use Twitter – http://snipr.com/ac9cd [no gimmicks, good advice]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #92 @darrenrowse has “5 Steps for Planning the Direction of Your Blog in 2009” http://bit.ly/XAx1 h/t @ricardojc

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #93 @michaelpinto on Social Media “Experts” http://tinyurl.com/a6mvlu [h/t @lisawilberding]

 

Smart People / Smart ideas #94 @9inchmarketing with an AWESOME video rewrite of Kipling’s “IF” for marketers: http://tinyurl.com/abhcx6

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #95 @thebrandbuilder says Mobile Marketing- The Great Untapped Potential: http://bit.ly/jEct [h/t @jessenewhart ]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #96 @landor_dot_com On democracy in the branding process: http://ff.im/-Igqf [h/t @sdufaux ]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #97 @mikearauz on recombinant culture and branding. http://bit.ly/6BAq (w/ wisdom from Henry Jenkins)

 

Smart People/Smart Ideas #98 @scotthepburn on Should You Have One Social Media Identity or Two? http://bit.ly/RTsQ  [ht @JesseNewhart again ]

 

Smart People / Smart (Courageous) Ideas #99 @tdefren – “It’s time for your next gamble” http://is.gd/gPpz  [h/t @dmullen ]

 

and the winner is… Smart Ideas / Smart People #100 goes to @bud_caddell: branding in the era of the remix. http://tinyurl.com/aa23al

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #101 @rohitbhargava has six non-salesy ways to ask your customers to promote you http://is.gd/hgBy  h/t @dmullen

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #102 @ischafer on ‘Social Media’s ‘Fly Ball Effect” http://is.gd/hiXw [ h/t @miketrap ]

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #103 @GeoffLiving asks: What will you do when social media isn’t special anymore? http://tinyurl.com/bxy8co

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #104 @AdamSinger on Blogger Relations: Two Approaches For PR – http://tinyurl.com/ak2s62

 

Smart People / Smart Ideas #105 @dmullen says Relationships DON’T matter that much in media relations: http://is.gd/hFYJ  Controversial?

 

 

Adding Friction to Twitter

I’ve been thinking a lot about Twitter recently and want to bounce an idea off everyone:

Would there be a benefit to adding a micropayment model to Twitter?

I don’t mean like the current Twitpay tool for sending money to people, but rather hardwiring a payment system into Twitter itself. Something like this:

A one-time, non-refundable, two cent subscription fee for every person you want to follow – one cent to that person, one cent to Twitter. So now, if you’re someone like Guy Kawasaki with 50,000 followers, you’ve made $500 and so has Twitter. Is that enough to retire on, no of course not. But it establishes a level of value for Guy, and begins a revenue stream for Twitter.

For the Twitter user, it’s a barrier, but not an insurmountable one. A dollar for every 50 people I want to follow is not cost-prohibitive, but it would make me slightly more selective. I’d still be willing to take a chance on somebody who looks interesting, but I’m not going to go on a mass following spree for the sole purpose of getting follow backs. And for those abusers who do want to do that, well, at least we, and Twitter, will make some money off of them.

Yes, information wants to be free, but sometimes adding a little friction can be beneficial.

What should brands on Twitter focus on?

There are many things brands can do on Twitter to engage consumers. In a perfect world a brand would have plenty of bandwidth and do it all: Engage consumers, distribute information/news and use Twitter for a variety of market research purposes. But if you have limited resources, which of the following would you focus on:

7 Things You Did Not Know About Me

DJ Francis tagged me for the 7 Things You Don’t Know About Me meme, which is cool, but also tough because if you click on the Author tab above you’ll see I’ve already written seven things. Sure, I could have just done a cut and paste job, but that would have been cheating. Cheating you and cheating me. I’ve decided to order my list alphabetically by height…

1. In college I flipped over my handlebars, faceplanting in the street. As a result, one of my upper front teeth is actually fake. I’ve got a titanium screw that goes into my jaw, and the fake tooth just screws right in!

2. When it comes to sports’ Halls of Fame, I’m a purist. If you have to think about it, or debate it, or look up a guy’s stats – he’s not a Hall of Famer. They aren’t Halls of Really Good, they’re Halls of Fame.

3. I believe that Blade Runner is at least the greatest Sci-Fi movie of all time, if not the greatest movie of all time period. Great director, great cast, based on a great book by a great author. It’s influence is still felt to this day.

4. I don’t know how to drive a stick shift.

5. The one sporting event I’ve never seen live that I would like to? Tour de France.

6. I would give up State secrets for peanut butter.

7. Growing up I loved playing Dungeons & Dragons and (not so) secretly can’t wait for my two boys to get a little older so I can (not so) secretly push them towards playing it. Then I can play it again. That would rule.

Now, I’m going to pass the torch to these people:

Geo Geller –  (@geogeller)

Maggie Fox – (@maggiefox)

Angela Natividad – (@luckthelady)

Zach Braiker – (@quiverandquill)

Andy Carvin – (@acarvin)

Dave Fleet – (@davefleet)

Josh Hallett – (@hyku)

And the obligatory rules:

Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.

* Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
* Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
* Let them know they’ve been tagged

Smart People / Smart Ideas from December 2008

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I interact with social media. What am I giving and what am I taking? How, and what, am I sharing? How am I supporting the efforts of others? To that end, I started doing something on Twitter earlier this month called Smart People / Smart Ideas. Every day on Twitter I saw links from people that I thought were great and found helpful. So, instead of a non-stop stream of me plugging my own stuff, I decided to really focus on highlighting good information from other people.

Turns out I did 65 of them in December. Here they are:

Smart People / Smart Ideas #65 @mikeauraz says http://bit.ly/97RH

Smart People / Smart Ideas #64 @douglaskarr says http://tinyurl.com/9npx52

Smart People / Smart Ideas #63 @JimMacMillan says http://is.gd/dGty

Smart People / Smart Ideas #62 dbrazeal says http://tinyurl.com/6wkao4

Smart People / Smart Ideas #61 @jshuey says http://tinyurl.com/83llbx

Smart People / Smart Ideas #60 @drewkerr says: http://tinyurl.com/7nxncv

Smart People / Smart Ideas #59 @gregverdino says http://tinyurl.com/3rw3ka

Smart People / Smart Ideas #58 @jasonfalls says http://twurl.nl/zh61sc

Smart People / Smart Ideas #57 @ScottHepburn says http://cli.gs/gqYURb

Smart People / Smart Ideas #56 @justinlevy says http://bit.ly/11Gwn

Smart People / Smart Ideas #55 @bmorrissey Q&A w/ @zappos CEO http://tinyurl.com/a7pgoe

Smart People / Smart Ideas #54 @geoffliving says http://is.gd/c9rS

Smart People / Smart Ideas #53 (I love lists edition) @SeanMcColgan http://tinyurl.com/5fqblh

Smart People / Smart Ideas #52 @benmcconnell says http://tinyurl.com/5z5wzh

Smart People / Smart Ideas #51 @shannonpaul says http://tinyurl.com/5eoojp

Smart People / Smart Ideas #50 @smeis says http://tinyurl.com/6hpmdc

Smart People / Smart Ideas #49 @dmullen says http://is.gd/58r2

Smart People / Smart Ideas #48 @DougH says http://tinyurl.com/647xl9

Smart People / Smart Ideas #47 @swoodruff says http://short.to/c64

Smart People / Smart Ideas #46 @lisahoffmann says http://tinyurl.com/6gqm85

Smart People / Smart Ideas #45 @jpostman (courtesy @TDefren) says http://tinyurl.com/6fn4he

Smart People / Smart Ideas #44 @gleonhard says http://tinyurl.com/68ohcc

Smart People / Smart Ideas #43 Tim Devin (via @psfk) http://tinyurl.com/6nm84g

Smart People / Smart ideas #42 @MarketingProfs says http://tinyurl.com/6n4ng7

Smart People / Smart Ideas #41 @gregverdino says http://tinyurl.com/6eb5xb

Smart People / Smart Ideas #40 @adamsinger says http://tinyurl.com/62fkfl

Smart People / Smart Ideas #39 @Jonathan_Trenn says http://tinyurl.com/557p6v

Smart People / Smart Ideas #38 @michaelSurtees says http://designnotes.info/?p=1610

Smart People / Smart Ideas #37 @timoreilly says http://tinyurl.com/66buku

Smart People / Smart Ideas #36 @kenburbary says http://twurl.nl/r45ouq

Smart People / Smart Ideas #35 @juntajoe says http://tinyurl.com/64e55d

Smart People / Smart Ideas #34 @jessestay says http://tinyurl.com/5j9yc9

Smart People / Smart Ideas #33 @mzkagan says http://tinyurl.com/64j4xe

Smart People / Smart Ideas #32 @jowyang says http://is.gd/aQ4o

Smart People / Smart Ideas #31 Michael Rubin says http://is.gd/aGps

Smart People / Smart Ideas #30 @exitcreative says http://tinyurl.com/57vufn

Smart People / Smart Ideas #29 @sernovitz says http://tinyurl.com/6acwut

Smart People / Smart Ideas #28 Mark McGuinness http://tinyurl.com/5mnm78

Smart People / Smart Ideas #27 @sartorialist shoots http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

Smart People / Smart Ideas #26 @daveknox says http://tinyurl.com/55me9x

Smart (fictional) People / Smart Ideas #25 @bud_melman says http://wearesterlingcooper.com/

Smart People / Smart Ideas #24 @mhames says http://tinyurl.com/6zmajc

Smart People / Smart Ideas #23 @prblog says http://tinyurl.com/68fdez

Smart People / Smart Ideas #22 @rohitbhargava says http://tinyurl.com/6pyaxd

Smart People / Smart Ideas #21 James Chartrand says http://tinyurl.com/5v2pbd

Smart People / Smart Ideas #20 Paul Williams [@IdeaSandbox] says http://tinyurl.com/55cq43

Smart People / Smart Ideas #19 @swoodruff says http://tinyurl.com/6dpmun

Smart People / Smart Ideas #18 @shannonpaul says http://tinyurl.com/6r7df3

Smart People / Smart Ideas #17 @ckieff says http://blog.ripple6.com/?p=189

Smart People / Smart Ideas #16 @marketerblog says http://tinyurl.com/6eulxg

Smart People / Smart Ideas # 15 @guykawasaki says http://tinyurl.com/6fxmj9

Smart People / Smart ideas #14 @bud_caddell says http://tinyurl.com/6hlh3n

Smart People / Smart ideas #13 @CBWhittemore says http://tinyurl.com/5f84e9

Smart People / Smart Ideas #12 @warrenss says http://tinyurl.com/6hfn5l

Smart People / Smart Ideas #11 @weatherpattern says http://tinyurl.com/5hk6ta

Smart People / Smart Ideas #10 @MarketerBlog says: http://tinyurl.com/57gfjp

Smart People / Smart Ideas #9 @chrisbrogan says http://tinyurl.com/5vqzu9

Smart People / Smart Ideas #8 @juntajoe says http://tinyurl.com/6s39xp

Smart People / Smart Ideas #7 @leighhouse says http://tinyurl.com/5rlro3

Smart People / Smart Ideas #6 @mikearauz says http://tinyurl.com/5kqx6e

Smart People / Smart Ideas #5 @generalist says: http://tinyurl.com/5ehynb (expand)

Smart People / Smart Ideas #4 Seth Godin says http://tinyurl.com/ak2fa

Smart People / Smart Ideas #3 @TDefren says http://tinyurl.com/5wvztk

Smart People / Smart Ideas #2 @mitchjoel says http://tinyurl.com/6brqp8

Smart People / Smart Ideas #1 @BrianReich says http://tinyurl.com/5qrsa7