If you want get an idea of which major brands are doing what in China with Sina Weibo, the front-runner in microblogging in that country, AdAge.com has a compelling feature that highlights what Starbucks and many other consumer brands are doing in tapping into China's online culture and connecting with people on their terms: [...] Starbucks is the "clear leader," [digital marketing consultant Eugene Chew] said. "They were one of the first to go into location-based … [Read more...] about The rise and rise of Sina Weibo
Archives for September 2011
Mayo Clinic sets a high bar with social media
Using social media in highly-regulated industries such as healthcare is fraught with hurdles and pitfalls for the unwary communicator, especially where it involves engagement with patients. In an industry that still has no official guidance on how to use social media in major countries, it's little wonder that mistakes can happen and FUD takes centre stage. Still, there are a number of bright spots in the healthcare industry, dominated by individuals in organizations who have simply zeroed in … [Read more...] about Mayo Clinic sets a high bar with social media
It’s time to experiment
Recently I visited PeerIndex at their office in the TechHub in east London (aka Silicon Roundabout). They wanted to interview me as part of their video interview series, to talk about digital, social media, public relations and more. That interview has just been published. (If you don't see the video embedded above, view it on YouTube.) It runs just under four minutes and I offer some opinions and views on these topics they asked me about: Why did people begin to use digital marketing? … [Read more...] about It’s time to experiment
Social trajectories and the ones that matter
This chart showing the share of time spent online by US social networkers is interesting in that Facebook's usage-growth trajectory is consistent over quite a long period, three years or so.The overall picture suggests that there are only two dominant players that matter - Google and Facebook. AOL looks in terminal decline with Microsoft not looking much better. The surprise could be Yahoo which is still up there just behind Google Sites (I'm not entirely sure what "Google Sites" are).What's … [Read more...] about Social trajectories and the ones that matter
The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #618: September 26, 2011
Content summary: Some immediate changes to format as a result of feedback from the listener survey: topic links as Delicious bookmarks, News That Fits up front and listener comments moved back; Ragan promo; News That Fits: discussion on Facebook changes and implications for communicators including listeners' opinions; Dan York's report also on Facebook with a focus on the OpenGraphAPI and control of our data; listener comments and discussion; a teaser of the results from the FIR Listener Survey … [Read more...] about The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #618: September 26, 2011
Famous last words
It's probably no surprise to anyone that Oswald Gruebel, the CEO of Swiss bank UBS, quit his job on Saturday in the wake of the rogue trading scandal at the bank's London office. That alleged crookery looks like will cost the bank its anticipated profit for at least Q3, no bonuses for employees who would normally expect them, and a hole in the balance sheet of $2.3 billion (£1.5 billion / €1.7 billion) or more. So the CEO fell on his sword. He's quoted in UBS' September 24 press release as … [Read more...] about Famous last words
The ugliness of social media
It's a concise article in The Guardian but it's powerful, shining a light on a truly ugly side of human behaviour. The subject is rape and, as the article's subtitle so aptly puts it, how social media channels like Facebook "provide outlets for the worst kind of misogyny." Who likes rape? Loads of people! And they tell the world about it on Facebook. Let's start with the page, "Riding Your Girlfriend Softly Cause You Don't Want to Wake Her Up". Sleep rape too un-violent? … [Read more...] about The ugliness of social media
Rebooting Facebook
As more than 100,000 others did, I sat at a computer last evening to watch the live video stream of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg deliver his keynote speech at the start of f8, Facebook's annual developer conference in San Francisco. Over the course of almost an hour, Zuckerberg laid out his grand plan for the evolution of Facebook that intends to catapult the social networking site back into the mainstream of people's online lives. It's the hotly-anticipated culmination of some … [Read more...] about Rebooting Facebook