It seems like the pendulum has swung too far on social media.  There are some camps that treat social media as a panacea: “Anyone can do it and it’s free!”

That last part really irks me.  Sure, there are lots of free tools that can help you monitor conversations, distribute content and engage with influencers, but unless you think your time isn’t worth anything, social media is most certainly not free.  Cost-effective, yes, but like most things, it takes time to do it right.  And for most people, time is valuable.

But beyond the financial question, effective social media requires a sound strategy based on developing answers to some key questions:

• What are my business goals?
• Who are the influencers shaping my market?
• What topics are those influencers discussing and where is the discussion taking place?
• How can I contribute to the conversation and engage those influencers?
• What does success look like for my company?

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It’s no secret that tech tradeshow attendance has dropped dramatically in the past two years.  In times past these tech tradeshows were among the only venues where IT professionals could network with their peers and schmooze with vendors.  Perhaps the most stark example of the demise of the tech tradeshow is B2B Magazine’s recent coverage of TechTarget’s recent revenue loss and announcement to cut 2010 events by 25 percent.  TechTarget has long been the success story of the tech publishing sector, and it has built its reputation by creating exclusive, peer-to-peer networking events (e.g. StorageDecisions) for short-term buyers of particular category of tech solution.  Vendors are not able to present at these events, nor can they even attend the sessions – they can only exhibit in a different area of the event that is open only a few hours a day.  For TechTarget, the Q4’09 events revenue dropped nearly 50 percent from same quarter ’08.

While companies are not springing for their employees to travel for peer-to-peer engagement opportunities, IT decisionmakers still have to connect with their peers somewhere.  It’s the perfect opportunity to build and cultivate peer-to-peer connections via vendor forums (see Vyatta’s online community), participation in LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn Answers, Twitter Tweet-Up events and peer-to-peer site sponsorship – such as Intel does with the CIO Leadership Network, run by Evanta.  Contact us to learn more about Eastwick Communications’ specific programs for peer-to-peer engagement.

Recent results from Hitwise (see ReadWrite Web’s March 1 story) confirm that Facebook drives traffic to broadcast news sites, while Google News angles users toward traditional print outlets.  While that may not be shocking, some of the sites that made the top 10 on both sides are surprising.  News aggregators like Yahoo! News and Google News made the top 10 in Facebook traffic, as did disruptors topix and Drudge Report.  On the Google News side, venerable institutions of journalism like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post topped the list, while BBC News and The Huffington Post also placed in the mainstream.  Reuters made the Google News list instead of wire-service competitor The Associated Press likely because of Google’s seven-week suspension of AP content due to a legal dispute that was resolved at the beginning of February.

Does that mean broadcast is still king and Mad Ave can rejoice?  Not quite.  Last week, ABC News cut half its domestic correspondents and closed all its physical bureaus nationwide, except in Washington.  The Los Angeles Times reported this of ABC News’ LA bureau: “The 40-plus staffers were told this week that only a few producers would remain and only two correspondents would be assigned to cover the West, down from a total of six who work out of Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many functions that had been done out of the bureau will be handled by a ‘logistics desk’ in New York.”

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With Richard Edelman and Barbera Bates of Eastwick http://twitpic.com/164vwk 6:43 PM Mar 1st via Twitterrific.

It’s tempting to think about user-generated content, peer influence and viral communications as new concepts.  But the reality is that these social concepts have been around for a long time.  When we were sharing the Architecture of Influence concept with Chris Shipley, she pointed out that housewives in the 50’s were coming up with jingles and entering contests — a form of user-generated content.  The product company — whether cereal or dish soap — got creative ideas and very engaged customers, for little cost.  Tupperware and Amway are two other classic examples of the power of word of mouth and peer influence at work.

And don’t forget the classic chain letter.  I remember painstakingly copying letters and sending them on to my friends, for fear of breaking the chain and incurring the wrath of the broken chain letter gods.  “Do not break the chain!”, the letters admonished, always citing examples of the poor sap who got hit by a truck or some other calamity.  Turns out the concept of the chain letter goes back to the Middle Ages, when a letter, purported to be from an Emperor of Rome, made the rounds in various forms.

As anyone with email knows, the chain letter is alive and well.  There are entire web sites devoted to chain letters.  http://chainletters.net/chainletters/ The web has breathed new life into many classic forms of communication.  It’s easier than ever to come up with your own content and share it with friends and colleagues.  Some might argue it’s too easy.  But either way, the sharing culture is firmly entrenched and here to stay.

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Last night Eastwickers could be spotted rubbing elbows with White Hats at a book signing by Financial Times’ reporter Joseph Menn (pictured center).  His newest book, “Fatal Systems Error,” was released Jan. 26, 2010.  Although non-fiction, it reads much like a James Bond novel, featuring heroes Barrett Lyon, the dashing young computer whiz (pictured right), and Andy Crocker, the seasoned UK Serious Organized Crime agent (pictured left).

Menn shared that he is more concerned with the fact that we haven’t had a 911-like cyber-crime event than the looming threat that we might one day.  Instead, he worries that the eCommerce infrastructure is eroding from within, which could cause a more insidious but substantial problem putting our economic base “in deep yogurt.”

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My entrée into the Eastwick coven earlier this month was greeted by two of my favorite things: social media and a sense of humor. It started with a joy ride on the Google campus, followed by several stolen kisses around the city of San Francisco and a retro tour of the Computer History Museum.

Despite what you’re thinking, these adventures were actually the themes from a series of self-produced videos created by Eastwick employees for a viral video competition. The prize? Whichever team’s video generated the most views on YouTube won tickets to a Sharks game.

And while the “Kiss Cam” video won - hey it was a smart pre-Valentine’s Day strategy - the qualities I observed in my first week have held true. I’m surrounded by smart, savvy PR professionals who share a good sense of humor and a knack for making things stick in social media.

I’m doing my part to bring new tools and tricks to the table (and currently enjoying my Mayorship of Eastwick on FourSquare). To that end, you can stay connected with the whole Eastwick crew on Twitter by clicking here @amyfjackson/eastwick.

And in case you missed the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD21_bAJ4Ic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPp-XOcD42o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y-ffhqDEuc

Increasingly, marketing executives are being asked to show how social media strategies drive sales leads. There is ongoing debate as to whether social media has the potential to serve as a lead-gen tool. On the one hand, some experts don’t think social media channels are scalable enough to drive sales: how much bang can you get for your buck, and can you invest the necessary amount of time to make the channels worthwhile? These points need to be taken into consideration when determining how, and to what extent, companies want to leverage social media channels to share information and receive feedback.   On the other hand, as more and more companies track success of their social media strategies, the indication is that business goals – including lead gen – can be supported. According to a recent BtoB article, a Business.com study did find that “purely” social media channels such as microblogs function strongly as lead gen channels, even to the point of helping build databases of prospects. Entrepreneur also covered this debate recently, citing Charlene Li, co-author of Groundswell, who points to evidence of national brands using social media to drive sales. For example, Southwest posted Twitter specials resulting in $3 M in sales. The potential shouldn’t be ignored, and best practices are cropping up everywhere to help track success of social media programs. This list of 20 metrics is a great place to start, and this list of metrics focuses specifically on lead gen.    Bottom line: an integrated communications campaign helps increase mindshare, site traffic, and can also have a hand in generating trackable sales leads. And while there still may be many questions about social media lead gen, we may as well have some fun trying to find the answers.

Over the weekend, a molehill has started to become a mountain. Or, in the view of some, a mountain became an even bigger mountain.

SageCircle posted a claim that Forrester Research will restrict its analysts from having personally-branded research blogs, implying that the policy will reduce the risk of analysts building their personal brands before bolting from the firm, taking their audiences with them.

Use of social media has become second nature to many, but one look at the range of comments on the SageCircle post reflects how strongly people still feel about the dichotomy of personal/professional social media usage and the tension around a company’s ownership of a worker’s intellectual property. Cries of Big Brother, paranoia and censorship abound, tempered by other statements that it’s good business practice or simply a matter of whose servers hold the data.

Source: speedy2

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On Wednesday, January 27^th, Apple unveiled its latest creation, a tablet computer dubbed the iPad. The device is similar in functionality to the dominating iPhone, but offers the user a 10-inch screen for viewing content. While the possibilities for the iPad platform are seemingly endless with the App Store integration, the merging of print and web content might be one of the greatest. For a decade, a plethora of publishers have attempted to bridge the abyss between the paid world of print and the all-you-can-eat-for-free Internet content realm. No software company or hardware manufacturer has been able to successfully marry the two, until now. In a blog entry prior to the debut, Derek Powazek nails it:

“Tomorrow […] Apple could unleash a device that’s sexier than reading a magazine. A glossy screen like the iPhone, quality content in the iTunes store for a (hopefully) reasonable price, major publishers on board and independent publishers like me able to join in.”

From an initial look, it seems that this is precisely what Apple has done. Only time will tell if the treasured experience of print can translate to Apple’s latest and greatest.