im-media-te impact by Brian Reich

03:28 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Baseball Goes Green, But Not Green Enough Yet

Major League Baseball has gone green. Here is how an article in the Washington Post this weekend sums up MLB's efforts:

"Across the country, baseball parks now have recycling bins for plastic cups, and solar panels are providing at least some of the energy. Men's rooms are being fitted with no-flush urinals to save water. Grounds crews are switching to chemically benign cleaners, and vending machines are being made more energy-efficient. Teams are even taking the environmental impact into consideration when they decide how to travel for road games."

Like every other business in the world it seems, MLB has realized that
going green is good for marketing, and good for the bottom line. But are they willing to make the critical changes necessary to the very nature of the game required to have a real impact on the environment?  I haven't seen it yet.

Sure, asking fans to recycle their plastic bottles and generating energy from solar panels make for a good start, but there is so much more that can be done. Consider, for example, the baseball schedule. The vast majority of games are at night, requiring electricity to illuminate the field. If games were scheduled during the day (as all games at Wrigley Field, for example used to be - before lights were installed) then far less energy would be consumed. Also, how MLB sets the matchups each season dictates how teams travel (my Seattle Mariners will travel 55,000 miles this season). While offsetting travel or riding in an alternative fuel vehicle on road trips helps, MLB can also reduce the amount of travel for teams by changing the way matchups are set (or even the way divisions are organized).

If we as a society are going to truly tackle the climate crisis it will be necessary for everyone, especially businesses, to change the fundamental ways in which we operate. Major League Baseball wants to be a leader, but thus far they have only scratched the surface.  I hope they will go even further in their greening efforts, and look at every aspect of the game and how they can change for the better.

10:57 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Service Nation

Richard Stengel, the Managing Editor of Time Magazine, opened this week's issue with a very exciting announcement. See below:

To Our Readers

All the partners are keen to make the summit a place for not only dialogue but also action. To that end, ServiceNation is working with Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch on legislation designed to expand opportunities for volunteering and national service. ServiceNation will urge the next President and Congress to enact that legislation by Sept. 11, 2009. Two weeks after the summit, ServiceNation will engage tens of thousands of Americans in hundreds of events across the country in a national Day of Action to highlight the benefits and goals of citizen service.

[The letter continues, but talks about other subjects not related to ServiceNation]

The organization behind ServiceNation, a group called Be The Change (www.bethechangeinc.org) has a broad vision for how national service can be used to address some of the biggest challenges facing our country. (NOTE: Be The Change is a client and I am helping to organize ServiceNation). So, the summit is just the beginning -- you'll see campaigns related to education, poverty, and other pressing issues in the years to come. But it all begins with service.

I encourage you to check out Be the Change and mark your calendar for ServiceNation. In addition, check back here as I will use this space to highlight some of the innovative ways we are planning to use technology to bulid a community of support for this issue, engage deeply around serious issues, and mobilize the kind of meaningful, measurable action and change this nation needs.

09:40 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Netroots Nation

Have you heard of Netroots Nation?  

Netroots Nation is America's largest gathering of progressive bloggers. This year's convention, which will take place July 17-20 in Austin, TX, features more than 100 sessions focusing on how technology intersects with and is changing democracy in America.

This is a big time gathering and they are taking on a critically important subject.  Yes, its a presidential election year - so there is more attention than ever on politics and the impact of the blogosphere.  And while I always enjoy a good political discussion, there are bigger fish to fry.  Technology is changing the way we govern, helping to address serious social issues around the globe, and driving the future of our economy and our society.  This conference, and the people who will be in attendance, are on the front lines of those fights.

Here is a short list of the speakers: Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Van Jones, Lawrence Lessig, Darcy Burner, Paul Krugman, Harold Ford Jr., James Rucker, John Dean, Brad Miller, Rick Noriega, and of course Kos - the mastermind behind one of the most influential political blogs in the country and a powerful progressive voice.

Go to www.netrootsnation.org for more information, and if you want to register (which I hope you will), let me know because I have a code that will get you a nice little discount.

More later. 

11:15 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Internet for Everyone

Yesterday, at the Personal Democracy Forum in new York, a coalition of media, policy, and advocacy experts launched a new initiative that calls on Congress and the president to act in the public interest by enacting a plan for the wired and wireless Internet built upon the following principles.  The project is called Internet for Everyone (http://internetforeveryone.org/)

NOTE: The organization that launched this project, Free Press, is a client -- but I do not currently play a role in this initiative.

I won't try and summarize all the important points made during the session.  Andy Carvin from NPR did an excellent job of capturing everyone's remarks, so you can see as close to a transcript as you'll find on his Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/acarvin) - look for the #pdf2008 tag, and keep digging because he transcribed much of the content from the conference.

Let me quickly summarize the project:

An open, free, and accessible internet is critical -- not just to those who do things online (like myself) -- but to all aspects of our economy, our governance, and similar.  The future of the internet is the future of all media.  It is also the future of education, commerce, philanthropy and politics.  And it is pretty clear (to me anyway) that leaving the development of a national broadband policy to the cable and telecommunications industry, who have controlled much of the policy making around this issue, is not a good idea.

The initiative is trying to get this point across through four critical points:

Access: Every home and business in America must have access to a high-speed, world class communications infrastructure.

Choice: Every consumer must enjoy real competition in online content as well as among high-speed Internet providers to achieve lower prices and higher speeds.

Openness: Every Internet user should have the right to freedom of speech and commerce online in an open market without gatekeepers or discrimination.

Innovation: The Internet should continue to create good jobs, foster entrepreneurship, spread new ideas and serve as a leading engine of economic growth.

They haven't agreed on the specifics of the policy behind this yet -- and probably won't for a while -- but a broad, bi-partisan, multi-disciplinary group of experts from business, policy, entertainment, and more have come together to help support the effort.  For starters, look at the group that they pulled together for the announcement:

Josh Silver, Executive Director, Free Press
Brad Burnham, partner at Union Square Ventures
Robin Chase, CEO of Meadow Networks, co-founder Zipcar
Van Jones, president, Green for All
Michael Winship, president Writers Guild of America - East
David All, co-Founder Slatecard.com and TechRepublican.com
Tim Wu, Columbia Law professor
Jonathan Adelstein, FCC commissioner
Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
int Cerf, chief technology evangelist of Google
Larry Lessig, Stanford Law professor

Going forward, the group will be hosting public forums across the nation to get citizens involved.  They will be highlighting the challenge that real people face in rural (and other) areas where they don't have access to broadband.  And they will be soliciting input and inviting supporters to take ownership over aspects of the campaig, so that this becomes a true citizen movement.

This is a tremendously important issue.  This initiative deserves national attention - not just within policy circles, but at kitchen tables, in schools and libraries, and among friends over a beer or coffee.  This will be the darling of the wonk establishment, and the media (ironically) will almost certainly help carry the torch.  But, more needs to be done. 

This issue is complex.  People don't make an association between this issue and their daily lives.  The people who don't have access to broadband probably don't fully realize why its such a big deal.  And the people who already have it take it for granted.  

So, for this effort to be successful, we have to own it.  By we, I mean the people who appreciate the opportunities created by free and open access to high speed internet.  The people who recognize and value a spirited exchange of ideas, the opportunity to grow community and conduct business from anywhere, anytime.  By we, I mean you.  

We can't leave this cause to the groups already immersed in this issue, the professional organizers, nor the legislators who will ultimately craft the specific policy.  If needed, we should go door-to-door, recruiting our neighbors and friends.  We must take responsibility for answering all the questions that people have and pushing content out - online and through traditional means - so that word spreads and people make this issue their own.  Most importantly, we can't fall into the trap that so many organizations have fallen into with the rise of the internet, where the activity happens online (but never reaches the real word), we focus on the tools (blogs and wikis and such) and not on the outcomes, and where the same people are talking to each other as they always have (and few new voices finding a place in the discussion). 

I'll make that case to my clients, colleagues, friends, family, and really anyone else who wants to listen.  I hope you will also.

09:43 am | 0 recommendations | 3 comments

The Future of Green... Everything

I have spent the last few days at the Sustainable Brands conference in Monterey, CA. The event brings together some of the most infuential people in corporate, nonprofit, media, and other key arenas for a conversation about how to operate in more environmentally efficient and appropriate ways and what impacts of the green movement have on marketing, branding, and the like. I was a member of the planning committee for the event and led a discussion about social networking.

(NOTE: I suppose I should make a disclosure about the fact that Fast Company was a sponsor - though I didn't actually have anything to do with that).

There have been a few interesting case studies shared, some new research discussed, and a lot of good networking conducted. It is clear that everyone here is interested in more than just being successful in their professional pursuits related to green and sustainability, but fully committed also to improving life on this planet as well. Still, I fear that not enough progress was made here in terms of actually figuring out what the future of green business and communication should look like. I'm concerned that there was too much looking back - reviewing who has been successful (and to a limited extent why) and not enough collaborative learning and problem solving about the major challenges that still exist.

I want us to make progress. I want companies and organizations to look at the challenges that face our world as a result of the climate crisis and commit more time and energy to finding real solutions. I want companies to see the environment as a business, moral, and other imperative - not just an opportunity to make money or please shareholders (and I am not saying all do, but there is definitely some lip service being paid to this effort still). And I want to be a part of that work.

I feel as if I have a pretty good grasp of the challenges that busineses and organizations face. I know what the work companies and organizations are doing around this effort looks like from the perspective of a consumer, a parent, an employee, a consultant, a concerned citizen, a blogger/author/speaker. I have something to add. And I am not along, there are lots of people like me looking to get involved.

So, I want to propose that we organize a real, serious effort to solve the big challenges -- together. I want all the smart, aware, passionate, experienced, committed people who think the climate crisis is one of major challenges to work collectively on this. I want us to go beyond attending conferences and listening to eachother speak about these issues, and instead roll up our sleeves and truly collaborate. It happens a little already, but so much more is possible.

I don't know exactly what it looks like or what form it should take. Maybe it will be an ongoing discussion, a meeting, a summit, an online community, a few additional blog posts, a manifesto, a TV show. It may not require a structure at all to be succesful. Or, it might change structure to accomodate change in the marketplace. But it has to happen.

So, if you are interested in being a part of the solution, to working on these issues, to being part of something a little bigger than yourself, your company, or other group, let me know. I'll start collecting names, sharing them around, introducing people, and seeing where that gets us. And if anyone else is already doing something like this, I hope they will include me as well.

The Future of Green is about working hard, making tough choices, breaking down barriers, putting aside ego and organizational boundaries. It will take everything we've got. And we've wasted too much time already. So let's get started.

09:34 am | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

First Thought Of The Year: Media Rules!

In 2008, organizations will have to do better. They will have to change the way they approach communications if they want to succeed.

When it comes to communicating with an ever-evolving audience, today’s organizations have more than enough tools to get the job done -- television, radio, newspapers, blogs, podcasts, social networks, search, advertising, and much more. But something is missing. Something is not working. The combination of rapid technological innovation and continuous social shifts have left many organizations -- from the largest corporation to the smallest nonprofit -- struggling to stay focused and execute their ideas.

I believe the key is little 'm' media - the information, the experiences, and the stuff that we consume and share every day.

If organizations operate and communicate adopt a little 'm' media-centric strategy, putting information, experiences, or stuff -- not technology -- at the center of their activites they will not only survive, but thrive. If they look for new ways of operating, new models to better serve their audience and live up to the full potential that technology provides as a vehicle for delivering media, they will distinguish themselves and the audience will follow.

Happy 2008. Let's get started.

Brian is the author of Media Rules!: Mastering Today's Technology to Connect With and Keep Your Audience. • brian@themediarules.com • www.themediarules.com

09:20 am | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

Questions for the Crowd

My wife and I are days away from having our first child. We have been getting ready for months - building the nursery, picking out names, buying car seats, strollers, clothes, and everything else you can imagine. I am pleased to say I feel completely prepared, not really nervous at all about what is about to come into our lives. Ok, maybe I am a little nervous, but nothing that will stop me in tracks. Mostly I am anxious (in a good way), curious about what will happen to our lives, excited about having a new member of the family and all the things that I can help teach him/her (we don't know the sex yet), and what I will learn from him/her.

Of course, my head is full of questions about how having a baby will impact my work life. I will take some time off after the baby is born, probably three or four weeks, and then resume what I would imagine is a pretty normal work schedule. But I really have no idea what my life will be like in a few months, let alone a few years. Hence the questions.

Rather than keep all those questions inside, I wanted to ask a few of them to you, my Fast Company extended family. For those of you who are parents, I hope you will respond with your own thoughts and stories -- your experiences and recommendations from when you had kids. For those of you who aren't parents (or aren't parents yet), your experiences and opinions are just as valuable, so please leave a comment or shoot me a note as well.

Ok, here are the questions I keep thinking about:

- How will my feelings about work change? Will I still want to get up in the morning and go to work, if it means having to leave my baby for the day?

- How will my relationship with clients change? Am I going to be at a disadvantage because I won't be able to go out socializing with a client?

- How will my relationship with colleagues change? I work with a lot of younger people -- folks who are just getting married, probably not thinking about kids at all. Are they going to see me differently now that I am a daddy?

- Will I become more creative than I was before? Being a parent means an opportunity to meet all sorts of new people, read different books and watch different TV shows, learn about a whole new category of things. Will that help me come up with better answers and more ideas for my projects?

- Will my work habits change? I have this vision of working between baby naps, early morning and late at night -- wherever I can steal away a few seconds of uninterrupted time. Am I crazy to think I can do that, or that I will want to do that?

I know that parenting, like everything else, is about balance. And I know that most of my questions are heavily weighted towards one extreme or the other. And like I said abvoe, I don't think I am nervous about the changes that will occur - more curious, and excited. My way of learning is to collect lots of opinions and stories and then try to process what wilil work best for me. So, I hope that you will be willing to share some of your experiences about work life after having a baby. And maybe a whole discussion will come from this - I sure hope so.

As for the rest, I will keep you posted.

Direct of New Media, Cone Inc. • Boston, MA • breich@coneinc.com • www.coneinc.com

09:13 am | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

What's In Your Attic?

I put my fax machine in the attic over the weekend.

The fax machine works just fine. There was nothing wrong with it. My wife and I were cleaning out our home office to make room for baby (which arrives in November). And, we just didn’t use it any more. The attic seemed like a natural (final?) resting place.

Farewell my fax machine.

For many of you, this simple step of giving up a fax machine probably seems long overdue. Fax machines, while still a staple of many offices (and homes), are a relatively outdated technology after all – especially in a time when you can create, edit, share, even project whole presentations (even including audio and video) from a device no larger than your palm. You can pitch a story or create a whole media event without ever leaving your email. And of course, if you really need a piece of paper, you can ship original documents all over the world in a matter of hours for little cost, a far better option than a streaky, smudgy, reproduction of the original.

For me, the fax machine represented a type of work that I used to do. When I first started in the online space (after a ‘career’ in politics) the focus was on development – building sites and applications that people would want to visit and spend time with. Putting these projects together required reams and reams of documentation – draft after draft of lengthy blueprints offering each individual item and its proper functioning. For most of my clients, which were not savvy when it came to technology at all, I would have to print out the drafts and fax them off for review and approval. The process was slow, manual, and frustrating.

Over the years, the focus of my work has shifted. I still lead clients through the development of sites and applications, and there is still documentation required to manage those projects. But, I spend far more time helping clients to communicate – to build community, foster dialogue, and support interactions. We work to make information available. We develop experiences that an audience will find interesting. We produce, sell, and distribute stuff – without a single piece of paper.

My clients have also become more sophisticated. They all use email (not all of them use it well, but they use it) and understand that communicating with today’s audience requires a sophisticated, cross-platform approach. They act quickly and decisively, aware that the world is moving faster and faster each day. And they experiment more – no document will fully capture how a site will be developed or a plan will unfold… they’d much rather get hands on.

As a result, the need for faxing has diminished – almost dried up completely.

I admit – it was difficult for me to put my fax machine up in the attic. I have had a fax machine in my home for as long as I can remember – it was as much a part of my work experience over the past ten years as anything. New models came along, new options were available – but the core technology remained the same -- and remained useful. Now, times have changed and there is no need for me to hang on to that particular piece of technology any longer. So off to the attic it went.

Farewell my fax machine.

10:26 am | 0 recommendations | 9 comments

Innovation: Lessons From a Car Shopping Experience

My wife and I are shopping for a new car. We know what features we want and have narrowed the field to three different vehicles -- the Acura MDX, the Honda Pilot, and the Toyota Highlander (ideally a hybrid). This past weekend we set out to test drive all three vehicles to help determine which of the three vehicle best presented those features – and hopefully move us closer to a final decision.

Before I tell you what happened, let me share a quick thought about sales and marketing.

In my view, every interaction between an organization and an individual member of their audience is a transaction, of equal importance to the one immediately prior or the one to follow. Every review, every welcome you receive when you first enter an office, every e-mail or phone call to customer service impacts the decision-making process of your audience on an equally important level. Do that well, and you will be successful. Make mistakes and they will haunt you.

Our experience at the car dealership showed me how true this really is in practice.

Here is what happened:

First we visited the Acura dealer. The dealer was knowledgeable, answered all our questions about the MDX -- even making reasonable comparisons to its competitors (and not all of them favorable, which suggested to me that they were probably true and not motivated completely by the desire to close the deal) -- and didn't try too hard to make a sale. We left with a good feeling about the MDX.

Our second stop was at the Honda dealer. There were so many oddities during our visit that I could go on for several pages, but I will highlight just three of them quickly. 1) My wife and I were sitting in the front seat of the floor model of the Pilot exploring the features when we were first approached by the dealer. My wife asked the woman to tell us more about the car, but the dealer responded instead “Why don’t you go sit at my desk and we can talk” and proceeded to walk across the office to her cubicle – far away from the vehicles. When pressed further for details about the vehicle, the woman said “I don’t really know, the new models just arrived and they haven’t told us anything about them.” 2) We explained our desire to test drive the Pilot, noting that we still had to test drive other vehicles before we made a decision about a timeline for purchasing. The woman responded by asking us to answer a questionnaire (how did we hear about the dealership, what features are we looking for in a vehicle, etc.) – and when our answers did not match with the options provided (the options for buying timeline were today, this week, this month, or two months – and we answered ‘we don’t have a timeline, we aren’t sure when we are going to buy’) she said “well we have to enter something’ and put what she decided was appropriate. 3) After completing a test drive, my wife and I thanked the dealer and prepared to leave. She pleaded for us to wait so a manager could thank us for our visit. The manager approached a few minutes later and said “If I gave you a discount, would you buy?” Some thank you. We explained again that we were not going to buy today and that we had other vehicles to test drive and he responded “Before you go researching things to death, I will give you a Pilot today, for the price I paid for it, no markup. That’s what you are going to be looking up anyway – I’ll just give you that price right now.” We thanked the dealer and walked out, still interested in the Pilot but definitely turned off by our dealer experience.

Our third and final stop was at the Toyota dealer. Just as we had done at the other two dealerships, my wife and I started by sitting in the floor model of the vehicle we were interested in, a 2007 Toyota Highlander in this case, to explore the features. After ten minutes, no dealer approached to offer help. When we inquired about a test drive, we were assigned to a dealer who, like the Honda representative before him, asked us a number of standardized questions about our purchase plans. We made very clear to the dealer that we were interested only in the Highlander and that our goal was to go on a test drive. His responded by telling us that we should instead consider buying a RAV-4, saying it was a vehicle that would match our interests -- which is fascinating, since we had just explained that our interest was in driving a Highlander. He asked us question, after question, after question about our preferences – and again, and again, and again, we reminded him that we had come with a single purpose and that was to drive a Highlander. Finally we were permitted to test drive the vehicle. After the test drive, we told the dealer that we liked the Highlander a lot and asked for a brochure so we could explore features and pricing on our own. Not only didn’t he have a brochure to give us, he again pressed his case for the RAV-4. We got up to leave and the dealer notified his manager with a hand signal. The manager thanked us and pressed us on a timeline to buy -- never emerging from behind the high counter where he sat, never even rising from his chair. My wife and I discussed the experiences on our way home and agreed that we were most enamored with the Highlander, though we would have to find another dealership to visit if we were even going to consider a purchase.

Our experience is probably far from unique, but it was still largely disappointing. My wife and I made very clear what we were looking for from each dealer we visited – there was absolutely no way that they could not have understood what we were asking from them. The Acura dealer responded appropriately, tailoring his sales effort to meet our needs. The other two did not. Whatever playbook the Toyota and Honda dealers (who, by the way, are owned by the same person) are using needs to be changed.

Are our expectations out of whack? I don’t believe so. The most important thing that organizations can do is listen and learn. Customers engage more deeply with organizations that listen to their needs and respond by providing more targeted information or better value propositions. My wife and I are unlikely to engage with organizations that offer cookie-cutter replies or processes. We have high expectations of the organizations we deal with and how those organizations should interact with us. It is about more than just products and service—it is about the total package.

There are numerous pieces to the relationship you have with your audience—how you initially engage them, how each individual transaction is handled (whether that is a purchase or some sort of other exchange or conversation), how you deliver your product or service, and how well you follow up and connect between cycles. Organizations can't control every aspect of their audience’s experience, only the ones they have direct contact with. But you sure as heck better do those well. As an organization, you must plan and execute your efforts so that you remain in control and focused on your core goals, while still giving an appropriate amount of input and deference to your audience.

A car dealer wants to sell you a car – I get that. But when we explain that we want to test drive a certain vehicle and will decide later about a purchase, the immediate response from the dealer should be to facilitate a test drive – not challenge our answers to a questionnaire, not wax poetic about the features of another vehicle. Just let us drive the damn car. In short, don’t differentiate by what you do, differentiate by who you do it for – and how well you do it. And don’t buy a Honda or Toyota at the dealership we visited.

Brian is the author of the forthcoming Media Rules!: Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect With and Keep Your Audience. It will be published by Wiley & Sons in November.

Brian is the Direct of New Media at Cone Inc. • Boston, MA • breich@coneinc.com • www.coneinc.com

09:26 am | 0 recommendations | 6 comments

Innovation: Age of Conversation

(Author Note: This post is partly about innovation, and partly about shameless self promotion)

Today marks the official release of Age of Conversation.

What is Age of Conversation? It is a precedent setting collaborative book-writing effort between 100+ bloggers and other new media types. It is a model for how information will be produced and shared in the future. Oh yeah, and its a book - something you can go online today and buy (with all proceeds going to charity) and get creative insights from the best minds in the new media space.

There is more information online at www.ageofconversation.com.

Keep reading for a little background on how it all came together:

On March 27, 2007, Drew McLellan, who heads McLellan Marketing Group (an ad shop) posted on his blog about a chance to author a guest book. Gavin Heaton, who is the Interactive Director at Creata, then posted a comment hailing the idea but going one better in saying, “Great concept! But you know, what? I reckon between a few of us [marketing bloggers] we could knock out a short book…all we need is a theme and a charity.”

Two weeks later, Drew and Gavin had amassed a theme, pinpointed a charity and made a grand call for authors.

I was one of the authors who responded and I was honored to be accepted into the group. Each of us (103 in all) was given one page to express their perspective on the concept 'Age of Conversation' any way they see fit. My chapter, which amounts to one page really, is listed as No. 80 in the table of contents, and is entitled 'Putting Media Back in the Middle." It's a brief intro to some of the themes that you will get in my book, 'Media Rules!" which will be published by Wiley in November.

All our collective thinking is now available in eBook, softcover and hardcover formats…with all proceeds benefiting Variety, The Children's Charity.

Again, there is more information online at www.ageofconversation.com.

Being a part of this was both an enjoyable experience and a thrill -- knowing that we were trying something new and that the lessons learned from Age of Conversation will start to impact the way marketers communicate online. The only way that we can advance the level of understanding of people in and around the marketing space about the potential for new media is to band together and pool our thoughts. Age of Conversation proves that co-creation and collaboration are alive and well, and can have dramatic and important impacts.

Many/all thanks go to Gavin and Drew for their leadership and investment, of both time and resources, to get this off the ground. I encourage you to go buy a copy (or several) and invite others to do the same.