Ratings and reviews dominate today’s “social focus” in local search sites. The utility for consumers to rate &/or comment on a business is “meets minimum” functionality for any self-respecting IYP, local or vertical search site.

The participation of consumers in rating or reviewing, while increasingly commonplace, still tends to follow the “passion value-matrix” I’ve blogged about before. While we are definitely commenting more all the time, we’re not extending our opinion broadly enough to cover the majority of local business categories. (more…)

social, local social | No Comments »

Lately, I’ve caught myself lumping all things “social” together (and I’ve noticed this in others). It’s a cursory way to look at the space, and I’d suggest that deconstructing social more finely is important for an informed social strategy for a media business.

Within social, I’d highlight three core social concepts that deserve pulling apart - opinion, self-publishing and discovery, and conversations.

So, this is a blog series, where I go deeper into each of these three segments, with some thoughts on trends and implications. I hope you find it useful in getting your head around a highly complex moving target. (more…)

social, local social, strategy | No Comments »

I’ll be in LA at the Kelsey Group ILM Conference this week, Wednesday through Friday. If you get a chance, do look me up.

This one looks great - you’ll interact with the very best local search thought leaders. Expect quality networking, and enjoy a very well designed conference program. The Kelsey team have outdone themselves on this one.

And, don’t forget, this is L.A., so ya just never know what you’ll encounter…

strategy | No Comments »

The concept behind Facebook’s recently announced “Beacon” is really quite brilliant. Extend the reach of newsfeeds - Facebook’s single most strategic feature - so that your friends can see what you reserve, what you buy, what you do, all over the web.

Direct from the Facebook description, here’s the pitch to website owners: “add 3 lines of code and reach millions of users”

Simply determine which user actions you would like publish to Facebook and add a few lines of code to your web page. Facebook Beacon actions include purchasing a product, signing up for a service, adding an item to a wish list, and more. When a user performs the action, they will be alerted that your website is sending a story to their profile and have a chance to opt out. No additional user action is needed for the story to be published on Facebook, and users remain in control of their information.

Strategically, this is a BIG IDEA. (more…)

social, OpenSocial, facebook | No Comments »

A lot is beginning to be written about the new Facebook “fan-sumer” opportunity. For the uninitiated, it’s basically the way for a business to get inside the Facebook network, create a page, and have consumers “fan” you. Aside from rolling my eyes over an ad concept based on the annoyingly ubiquitous “I (heart) you”, this is a serious move by Facebook to reach out to businesses and brands, and invite them into the conversation.

As Jerimiah Oywayang of Forrester describes it:

Using Facebook, consumers will publicly endorse brands, resulting in the birth of the “Fan-Sumer”, resulting in efficient word-of-mouth marketing in their trusted network. (more…)

social, local social, facebook | 1 Comment »

I wanted to find a pic of the Pied Piper to depict Google’s newly minted leadership role for “openness” - last week for social apps, this week for mobile apps. I ran across this image (via the piper’s image search, natch). It just seemed so darn, umm, relevant!

Is this mystical creature just too good to be true? Can’t you just taste the candyland of opportunity just over that rainbow? Can we trust the piper to do good and not evil?

(more…)

mobile search, strategy, OpenSocial | No Comments »