OK, YouTube is great for parties, vacation videos and has some utility for business, but is it the perfect platform for a company’s multimedia social engagement?

There are a few other video/social platforms that are better suited for an in integrated interaction with audiences. Enter vSocial, a dynamic platform that allows companies to post, share and build communities. As we uncover with vSocial CEO and co-founder Mark Sigal, other tools on the vSocial platform let you build microsites that can be filled with user-generated content.

Boston Acoustics and Denon Electronics currently have such integrated campaigns with vSocial. Denon has launched a site called the Makeshifters, where home theater enthusiasts can provide their own stories of building their home entertainment centers.

In addition to typical sharing of these personal reflections, the microsite informs users about new products, best practices, and acts as a host for other information in an entertaining way. The site was created by the interactive agency The Loomis Group.

Now take this interaction one step further because, after all, hearing is believing when it comes to audio. And the Makeshifters have an answer by tying in retail resellers like Circuit City. Now you have a comprehensive, interactive experience that entertains shares, informs and maybe even sells a few products, right at the finger tips of the users.

Sigal is also a visionary thinker on digital media applications in the social world of the Web. Other interesting items on his blog, called The Network Garden, include an article about creating a path of breadcrumbs and Sigal’s commentary on partnering with CBS Interactive.

SOCIAL MEDIA SEMINAR IN TWIN CITIES

I will be hosting a seminar on social media on Tuesday, June 26, at the Pool & Yacht Club in Lilydale, MN. My colleague Mike Keliher and I will provide an overview of the new changes in business communications while answering questions submitted by attendees at time of registration. Register at www.providentpartners.net/answers.

You know, questions are the first form of user-generated content. The seminar’s focus is to help business owners and professionals understand new media trends and how to effectively incorporate them into their business communications.

Coming from the broadcast journalism world, I find these tools amazing. We’ll tackle practical uses of these tools to help address daily challenges you face.

We invite you to comment on this posting or email us at [email protected]. Every comment generates a food item donated by Provident Partners to a local food shelter — So what’s on your mind will put food in someone’s stomach.

OK, here’s a blog post about a blog post, about a…well, you get it.

The issue: Bob Lutz is the vice chairman of product development at General Motors and the chairman of GM North America. He is also one of the most prominent Fortune 500 bloggers, as he’s the leader of several contributors to GM’s Fastlane blog. Apparently he was really busy during the past couple of weeks. He didn’t post anything on his blog during that time, and some bloggers who keep a close eye on GM thought this was the beginning of the end of Lutz’s interest in blogging.

The squeaky wheel got the grease: Lutz took a couple of minutes away from his day job at one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers — dealing with global supply chains, Al Gore’s global warming alarms, and $3.50 a gallon gas prices — to remind his friendly blogosphere colleagues that, in fact, he is not bored with blogging. He’s just been tending to a few more urgent and important issues.

Now, I’m as big an advocate for new PR techniques as other folks on the social media circuit, but these kind of situations can make some execs say, “Hey, I don’t need the aggravation of blogging.” Part of me says the blogosphere can seem like the tail wagging the dog, that it’s excellent in some cases and a major distraction for many others.

Lutz’s retort was wrapped in a larger blog post, so kudos for the way he handled it. And when I get a bit cynical about the usefulness of blogs for corporations, I give Shel Holtz a read to level set on the issue. His writing about the Lutz situation inspired this post today.

My mom said, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything. In the world of social media, I’ve taken that little maxim just one step further: If you don’t have anything worthwhile to say, listen for a while. I mean, the blogosphere shouldn’t penalize those who put quality before quantity and avoid posting just for the sake of saying something. That “something” too often ends up “nothing,” anyway.

Dozens of times I think, I’d like to post about this or that, but usually a child’s homework, a soccer game, work, driving kids around, basketball practice, workout, or a rare quiet dinner with my wife takes precedence. It’s just that simple, and because of those priorities, it seems odd that a blogger — especially one like Bob Lutz — should take flak. So again, Shel is right in this case: The unfortunate solution is to just get thicker skin and keep the faith.

In the end, there are more positives than negatives to the pursuit of blogging. Just ask Bob Lutz.

I spent most of the week in the New York metro area, first speaking on a panel on the issue of podcasting and blogging at the Business Smart Tools conference in Stamford, Conn., then reporting from the Streaming Media East conference in Manhattan.

Loathe the name podcasting, even though it is accepted as new word in the dictionary. Judging by some of the questions that are prevalent at these conferences, marketers may do well to not use words like “podcasting” when trying to present the idea to management.

The concept may better be positioned using terms like audio, radio, video, or something a bit more retro. I highlight some other ways to describe this wonderfully mislabeled medium in this podcast, er…Marketing Edge show.

I also spent some time at the Streaming Media East show, which was excellent. One of our clients unveiled a fun new presentation tool called Proclaim, which is one of the reasons that brought me to the show.

While there I listened to a great keynote from Martin Nisenholtz, senior VP of digital operations at the New York Times Company. He discussed how bloggers complement journalists, not replace them. Bloggers will continue to act as self-appointed watchdogs of the media, and as traditional journalists increasingly join the blogosphere, it becomes easier for the average Jane or Joe to become part of the news conversation.

Publications will continue to add more multimedia content to their Web sites. “All the news that’s fit to print” at the New York Times takes on a new meaning with the limitless space of Web site, and it also has a way to capture your heart. Check out the Manny Fernandez piece called “Johnny’s Cave.”

This piece shows how powerfully video can tell a story, and with a writer like Fernandez weaving the thread, it simply leaves you numb. This is journalism at its finest.

Sharing is good: It’s the only way to do it in this era of social media. Go ahead. Be social.

Here are links to the video services I mentioned in the podcast:
Brightcove
Feedroom
YouTube

We invite your comments. For each comment we get, we’ll donate a food item to a local food shelter.

Live blogging is cool, but is it rude when you are in the middle of someone’s presentation? Hmmm, my parents would think so. Instant reaction is great theater, but should it be the stuff thoughtful blogs are made of? Are you looking for the silver-bullet marketing tactic or the next big thing? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

In this podcast, I chat with Greg Verdino, VP of emerging channels at Digitas and digital marketing seer (yup, a thoughtful guy and it’s not because he has the same hairline as Seth Godin) about dealing with these issues.

Bottom line for Greg: Every company needs to have a deliberate social-media strategy. These venues — blogs, podcasts, and all the other next big-thing things — are not something to be treated as one-off pilot projects. They should be considered as part of a holistic approach, one that seeks first to understand how the individuals that make up a company’s market are using the new media and then to understand what benefits can be reaped by the company from using some or all of them.

Greg is the author of the informative blog found at www.gregverdino.typepad.com.

Greg and I will be speaking at the Business Smart Tools conference on May 15. So will other marketers from General Motors, Xerox, and answerYES Interactive, among others. Provident Partners is giving away two more passes to this event. E-mail us at [email protected]. The senders of the first two e-mails we receive will be as lucky as Scott Monty of Boston, who won a pass to the conference in last week’s drawing.

We’re also giving away Seth Godin’s latest literary gem on marketing, The Dip. We will name names of the winners soon, and the book is due out May 10. For every e-mail we receive for these giveaways, and for every comment on our blog, Provident Partners will give a food item to a local food shelter.

Video on the Internet is seen by 78 percent of male Web users and 66 percent of female Web users, according the research firm eMarketer. In this podcast, we’ll hear from the senior analyst on video on the ‘Net for eMarketer, David Hallerman, about how is video being used in both the B2C and B2B environments.

It’s not just about pre-roll advertising or viral funnies passed around on by the YouTube crowd. Video is being used as yet another information tool for all kinds of communication. Video case studies, equipment demonstrations, emotional story telling and more.

A B2B video example is below. This is a video case study for an enterprise software company, SoftBrands, whose technology helps run the operations at Tedia, a chemical manufacturer. While SoftBrands is an international player in the enterprise software industry and a key partner of software giant SAP, their story is best told through the experiences of their customers. You can show screenshots all day long and have the best software engineers to walk you through the product, but video used in this context provides a powerful connection to the real-life benefits of the product.

Also in this podcast, we are holding two giveaways. Here they are:

“The Dip” by Seth Godin

We are giving away another copy of Seth Godin’s latest book, called “The Dip.” It’s about successful business people who knew when to quit walking down dead-end paths and start taking the road to fulfilled dreams. Just e-mail us at [email protected] with the words “The Dip” in the subject line. If you’re the first, you win. If not, we’ll make a donation to a local food shelter on your behalf.

Business Smart Tools Conference

I’m speaking at the Business Smart Tools conference on May 15 in Stamford, Connecticut. This is a great day of sessions with wonderful panels of speakers, including new media executives from General Motors, Digitas and Xerox.

We are giving away three passes to this conference, one to each of the first three e-mails we get. Only one free registration per company, so don’t try to pile on. Just e-mail [email protected] with the words “Business Smart Tools” in the subject line. Hurry –- we’re only taking the first three, and of course, we’ll donate one food item per e-mail we receive regardless of who wins the giveaway.

Any questions? Contact me, Albert Maruggi, at [email protected] or call 651-695-0174. We’re on Skype, too: screen name providentpartners.

Podcast length: 9:17

Podcast length: 9:38

Deloitte –- you may also know them as Deloitte & Touche –- is a global business consulting firm with deep expertise in audit, tax, consulting, financial advisory. Its main asset is knowledge, and it has an integrated approach to how it distributes that asset.

In this Marketing Edge segment, you’ll meet Pat Harkin, national director of marketing for Deloitte Tax. Here is a marketer who combines traditional communications theory with new technologies that embrace his client base, using Deloitte’s greatest asset: knowledge. That knowledge gives the firm’s clients the confidence to move forward toward their business objectives.

As you’d expect, a conservative consulting practice like Deloitte is not Twittering away its assets or blogging just because it can (although they do have some blogs, like its Women’s Initiative WIN Blog).

Deloitte is, however, implementing audio and video formats in a controlled environment, guiding its viewers, readers and listeners through the shoals of their areas of expertise. Deloitte also implements several RSS feeds. One of their podcasts is called Deloitte Insights.

Also in this podcast, the Marketing Edge is giving away a copy of Seth Godin’s new book, The Dip. It’s not available yet, but we’ve pre-ordered and you can learn more about the book at www.squidoo.com/theDipBook.

Why do you want The Dip? It will help you figure out if you can quit what you are doing now and pursue a more rewarding experience. Know when to hold to ’em, know when to fold ’em. The Dip comes out May 10, and you can be one of the first to get a copy by e-mailing [email protected] or calling 651-695-0174. The first e-mail or call we get gets the book. For all other e-mails and calls, Provident Partners will donate a food item to a local food shelf (up to 100 items per month; I still have five kids to feed, too).

Podcast length: 12:25

Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall in the conversation between a big company’s CMO and the general counsel on whether the company should have a blog? I would love it. You have that chance by listening to David Ritter’s presentation at Social Media 2007, a conference for marketers and corporate communication leaders sponsored by Business Capital Edge. The conference takes place April 5 and 6 at the Sheraton in downtown Chicago.

David is an attorney with the firm Neal Gerber and Eisenberg. His presentation — “My employees are blogging: What do I do next?” — has received excellent reviews, and he is our guest on this episode of the Marketing Edge. I’m a cautious counselor on blogging, and David’s presentation is a must for any marketer approaching the “blog now!” Kool-Aid punch bowl. This podcast outlines some of the many parameters marketers need to consider before even approaching a conversation with other senior managers about blogging. There is also room in this debate for those responsible for human resources, as well.

Also, be sure to register for our contest. We’re giving away two full-ride registrations to Social Media 2007. Just complete this quick seven-question form.

Here are a few excellent sites and resources for corporate/employee blog policies, just to whet your appetite:

• IBM’s blogging policy
• Plaxo’s blogging policy
• Sun’s blogging policy
• Business Blog Wire: general articles on the topic
• “The Corporate Blogging Book” by Debbie Weil

Social Media 2007 preview: Nuts about Southwest Airlines Blog

In another preview of the Social Media 2007 conference, I chat with Paula Berg, manager of public relations and strategic communication at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines joined the blogosphere in April 2006, and the blog immediately took off with customers and is flying high today.

The corporate blog at Southwest Airlines is used as a tool to provide a glimpse into the company’s culture and also creates an opportunity for employees to communicate directly and informally with customers. It represents the best practices of corporate blogging, reflecting the company’s culture and leadership. With its customer participation and two-way communication, the blog exemplifies what I call “embrace marketing.” Embrace marketing is fairly straightforward: Embrace your customers and their ideas; they will in turn embrace you back.

The driving force behind the Southwest blog is the customer. Paula believes the blog should reflect the whole company, not just one individual, and that the culture within the blog should remain intact, no matter who the CEO might be.

Today’s podcast covers:

• Why Southwest chose to launch a public blog
• Lessons learned along the way
• What parameters or policies should be in place?
• What steps are being taken to help the blog stay strong?

The Social Media 2007 conference, sponsored by Business Capital Edge, is being held April 5 and 6 in Chicago. It will cover essential issues about corporate blogging and podcasting and will include presentations from Southwest Airlines, attorney David Ritter, and examples in my presentation of how companies are using podcasting in B2B and B2C environments.

Provident Partners and the Business Capital Edge are promoting this great event by giving away two registrations to the conference. Complete the seven-question form to enter the drawing. If you’re curious about whether your company can benefit from integrating blogs or podcasts into your marketing mix, this is an excellent conference to attend. It will save hours of research and put you in touch with those who have first-hand experience with these new social media.For more information and to register, go to Provident Partners Social Media 2007.

Want to help out a food shelter? Contribute! Give us some feedback by leaving a comment on the blog, e-mail us at [email protected] or call us at 651-695-0174. We will donate a food item for each comment we get. Thanks for listening.

The Social Media 2007 conference, sponsored by Business Capital Edge, is being held April 5 and 6 in Chicago. It will cover essential issues about corporate blogging and podcasting and will include presentations from Southwest Airlines, attorney David Ritter, and examples in my presentation of how companies are using podcasting in B2B and B2C environments.

Provident Partners and the Business Capital Edge are promoting this great event by giving away two registrations to the conference. Complete the seven-question form to enter the drawing. If you’re curious about whether your company can benefit from integrating blogs or podcasts into your marketing mix, this is an excellent conference to attend. It will save hours of research and put you in touch with those who have first-hand experience with these new social media.

More on corporate blogging from the Social Media 2007 blog and our earlier podcast, the “Great Blog Debate.”

This year the talk is about how marketers can either leverage or participate in social media. I use the two words to indicate a school of thought. The “leverage” school I’ll define as more aggressive, more sales oriented. The “participate” school I define as one in which the marketer is on equal footing with others in the social group. This second school requires a different perspective for marketers and management within corporate America.

For example, blatant sales blogs that don’t disclose their corporate sponsors or connections to a PR firm are often exposed for attempting to deceive the reader. Corporate blogs don’t succeed at trying to be passed off as objective, consumer-generated conversations. Instead they cast doubt on blogs in general.

Those companies seeking to participate in social media do so first by changing their perspective of “typical” marketing. This change requires a dialogue, not one-way communication, and a commitment to realize that companies don’t control the message and certainly don’t control the market’s perception of them. Instead, marketing is conduit for dialogue of mutual reward. The company gets first-hand opinions from their audiences, and the audience gets a candid discourse with the company.

Each party has a responsibility to be civil, and the result of this environment greater trust, better product information, and stronger relationships to the brand. This type of relationship is not for every company, and that’s what most marketers are trying to figure out: Is it right for my company?

Get real about the virtual world with Linda Zimmer. In another preview of the NewComm Forum, I chat with Linda, who’s president and CEO of MarCom:Interactive. We discuss the real world of marketing opportunities in the virtual world of Second Life. Linda has a detailed understanding of this virtual world, and she will highlight aspects of that new 3D social networking venue.

Linda says the new media reality is in the hands of anyone and everyone. Established media as we know them are losing their audiences as those people shift to the newer forms of what is referred to “communal” media and stay ahead of a rapidly shifting media and its behaviors. Linda will present “Why you should be marketing in a virtual world” at 10:45 a.m. on March 8 at the third annual NewComm Forum, March 7-9 in Las Vegas, sponsored by the Society for New Communications Research and Lawrence Ragan Communications.

I am presenting on March 8 at 3:00pm on Interaction and engagement: New media as the key to buyers’ hearts. You can catch a seek peek on this podcast.

Want to help out a food shelter? Contribute! Give us some feedback by leaving a comment on the blog, e-mail us at [email protected] or call us at 651-695-0174. We will donate a food item for each comment we get. Thanks for listening.