atNickHodge Episode 10: Theology of the Cluetrain with Stephen Collins (@trib)

Show plan for Episode 10, 7th May 2009 #atNickHodge “Theology of the Cluetrain” 
  1. [at 8:35pm] Theology of the Cluetrain 
    1. Introducing our Special Guest this evening, Stephen Collins from AcidLabs (@trib) 
      1. (ask Stephen his background)
      2. long experience in web, html, ux, ia…
      3. which/what event put you onto cluetrain?
    2. Today: #publicsphere
      1. How is the Govt going with this internet/social thing?
      2. are they doing anything at all?
        1. vs. controlled message of previous+current govt
      3. Is @piawaugh‘s addition of Senator Kate Lundy — indicates what; is it an ACT electorate thing? purely political?
      4. “a brave move Minister, open government” / Yes, Minister (first episode)
    3. The Cluetrain Manifesto
      1. 95 theses as a call-to-action / manifesto : business in the internet age
        1. vs. 95 theses of Martin Luther 1517; start of the Protestant Heritage in Europe (vs. Lollards) fighting against the power of the Holy Roman Catholic Church
      2. The manifesto was written in 1999 by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger. 
        1. Pre-dates Web 1.0 (dot-com boom) Web 2.0 (R/W) and Social Media!
          1. Around David Winer, scripting.com (early blogging in 1996/7)
          2. I first met Dave in 1993.
          3. many of these, IT industry specific; aimed at Apple and Microsoft
      3. 8 “sections”
        1. Theses 1 – 6: Markets are Conversations
          – mass media subverted the “village market” .. internet returns us to this concept. Information in markets drives to better stability
          Thesis 7: Hyperlinks Subvert Hierarchy
          – SM: anyone can reach out, outside PR
          Theses 8-13: Connection between the new markets and companies
          – SM: example, mini-microsoft on recent rounds
          Theses 14 – 25: Organizations entering the marketplace
          – ‘voice’ is the culture, fitting in; not attempting to dominate/control
          Theses 26 – 40: Marketing & Organizational Response
          – authenticity
          Theses 41 – 52: Intranets and the impact to organization control and structure
          – fails to understand flow of responsibility; tied to risk/reward
          Theses 53 – 71: Connecting the Internet marketplace with corporate Intranets
          – voice, again in SM context
          Theses 72 – 95: New Market Expectations
          – expectation change
      4. (John C Dvorak) Is it just a Circle-jerk of Burning Man attendees
        1. and left-wing wingnuts?
      5. OK, voices: the voice of government, plainly sucks. PR speak etc. Messages in 15 seconds
      6. where does the need for transparency come from?
    4. what other books/people have you read?
    5. Current “marketing” oriented approach and “p0wnership” needs to be stopped!
      1. Cultural change
        “connected oriented” <———————————-> “conversation oriented”
        platform of “social media” as a replacement to “msm” (traditional media)
      2. Connection oriented is characterised by the number of people that see a viral ad; inserting this into the high end of the SM world, and watching it expand due to the network effect. Getting as many views as possible. No care as to the actual content of the conversation.
         
        Conversation oriented is people oriented; genuine people, conversation .. Cluetrain

        This has its place, but its not “social media” >> cf “Television department” in Mad Men
         
        I am concerned that the “digitial marketing industry” is too much on the left of the above scale as they do not understand customers or employees.
         

It is a whole-of-organisation cultural change.

The disconnect is here.
 

  • It is all “vendors spruiking their wares”?   

  • what is transparency? 100% transparent is impossible; where is the bounds 
    1. concept of reflective transparency: transparency exists outside the organisation, whether you like it or not
  • how does this apply to a non-commercial organisation?
  • http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/01/1533216  
    1. Sun employee documenting top 10 reasons for Sun #fail vs. SEC implications
    2. @wacom @msretail argument vs. MS policy on blogging (vs. SM)
  • Fundamentalist person-oriented social media
    1. partly due to my own success and persona, personality and cult thereof
  • approach to POSM within large organisations
    1. personal brand vs. corporate brand?
  • finding the middle ground
  • [9:24pm] Ending thoughts
    1. Here is the elevator pitch: For as long as an organisation’s products and or services have existed, constituents have been talking. About the products, the price, the service they get; value, ease of dealing with you. Their personal association with the company.And these conversations are across the range from positive or negative. Traditional marketing aims and claims to penetrate the mind, and have influence over these utterances. Sales people argue and negotiate around them, or to reinforce them. PR works with the influencers to influence.
       
      Citizens, constituents and customers are, or have, moved online. Their utterances, or conversations, about you are now visible to millions, if not billions. A search engine search away. We are hyperconnected and hypershare our experiences. Photos, videos or snippets of life compressed into 140 characters. Literally and Instantly. And they are permanent. And they are findable.Of course there are independent voices; voices traditionally called journalists. There are subjective voices in cacophony: SM from the organisation out. A traditional market, if you have visited one, is noisy.
       
      As a representative of your organisation, can choose to listen, or be a part of this conversation, actively choose to block it out. Ignore it. This choice is ultimately yours to make. Like all business decisions, you will need more information to make a rational choice.  Are your constituents online? Is the effort worth the investment?  Can you risk to your reputation by ignoring it?And here is the most frightening question of all: are they talking about you at all?

      The schoolyard and tea kitchen in our officespaces are online, in the clouds of the internet.

      The voices? Can you hear them?

  • Explaining my Avatar

    Hodge The Cat

    The above avatar is a cartoon drawn by the famous crikey.com.au’s Firstdogonthemoon. (twitter: @firstdogonmoon)

    My request was “a black cat with glasses”. Firstdog stated that a black cat with glasses was a tough ask, but we can see the excellent result.

    The black cat, Hodge the Cat, was one of Samuel Johnson‘s cat. Samuel was a mercurial man of letters from the 18th Century, having created A Dictionary of the English Language. Hodge the Cat immortalized in a characteristically whimsical passage in James Boswell‘s Life of Johnson:

    Nor would it be just, under this head, to omit the fondness which he shewed for animals which he had taken under his protection. I never shall forget the indulgence with which he treated Hodge, his cat: for whom he himself used to go out and buy oysters, lest the servants having that trouble should take a dislike to the poor creature. I am, unluckily, one of those who have an antipathy to a cat, so that I am uneasy when in the room with one; and I own, I frequently suffered a good deal from the presence of this same Hodge. I recollect him one day scrambling up Dr. Johnson’s breast, apparently with much satisfaction, while my friend smiling and half-whistling, rubbed down his back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I observed he was a fine cat, saying, ‘Why yes, Sir, but I have had cats whom I liked better than this;’ and then as if perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, ‘but he is a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed.’

    Glasses, for studiousness and learnedness; both to which I aspire. Black cat to describe my moods, and against a grey background to symbolise the shades of greyness in the world. A cat as obviously, I am a cat person.

    Hodge the Cat symbolises me. Thanks First Dog!

    My second favourite albeit random avatar is Mr Alien Puritan as taken by Delic8genius. There is a story here, but that is for another day.

    crazy hat guy

    atNickHodge 23rd April, “The Lost Uncles”

    All Hail the New Show Name: atNickHodge.

    Comments in the chat stream from Thursday 18th’s #understil 7 (Conked Out and Stoked) ended with a suggestion from @LafinBoy to change the name of the show. Not because Stilgherrian Live! nor being his understudy is a bad thing: just it is just time to graduate. Up the ante. Grow up, maybe.

    After 4.2 minutes of thinking, the only name that fell into my head is “atNickHodge” (@nickhodge). That will do for the moment. At least it is consistent with my strict personal branding guidelines. And I will probably change my mind and call it something else one day.

    Thanks to all my previous guests, and the future super sekrit guests. And a big thanks to @dekrazee1 for her help and support. Oh, and @mrsnickhodge and @yin_0x7f for their guidance. Doing a weekly show seems to add structure into my life; and is becoming a new hobby.

    Onto way more important topics.

    Nick on Gold Beach, Normandy, France
    Nick at Arromanches (D-Day Gold Beach) May 2004.

    The next show is scheduled for 8.30pm, Thursday 23rd April 2009.

    URL: http://tinyurl.com/atnickhodge

    Topic this week: “The Lost Uncles”. It is Anzac Day this Saturday. In Remembrance, I am going to reveal the histories of four individual soldiers from World War 1 and 2; each of which I have a personal connection. This show is not to glorify war; nor create false heroes. It is an episode just to remember four men.

    Three from WW1, one from WW2; Two I am related to, two have other connections; Two survived the war, Two did not. Three were enlisted men, one an officer. One was married and had a child prior to enlistment; two had no children and I am directly descended from one. One I met in person; all are in my being and thoughts.

    This show is for Lock, Roberts, Mason and Hodge.

    Lest We Forget.

    Please pop this into your diaries. See you on Thursday night.

    #understil 7: Conked Out and Stoked

    Great show, and I hear the chat was humming to. Major ups to @duncanriley for spending nearly 2 hours with me online in a wide-ranging discussion. I hope y’all learnt something!

    Show Notes

    Good evening! Welcome to #understil, “Conked Out & Stoked

     

     
    1. [at 8:30pm] The Overture
      1. Tonight we have special guest: @duncanriley
        1. Duncan Riley, Managing Editor, Inquisitr.com
        2. Also weekly column in crikey.com.au
        3. Notice you are nearly a year old
        4. How many story leads from twitter?
      2. Meta-backchannel Producer is Dekrazee1: thanks! direct Qs to her in the chat, and we’ll get ’em sent to us via the meta Backchannel
      3. As there is no Stilgherrian Live, we’ll see where this ends up tonight. Aim to finish at 9.30pm. But with Duncan, who knows? 
      4. I know we are competing with Jon Hamm and Mad Men 🙂
      5. Red Cordial Catharsis was good for me: got lots of energy into working out what is going on at work, and in this weird space
      6. shout out to @Delic8genius for being a sounding board, with some thinking and support
      7. @fibendall on @cameronreilly also pointed out what is missing in the local SM industry: how to get employees onto SM, safely 

      8. This show, I intend to stick to the knitting: The Employee Experience of Sharing, and other randomness with @duncanriley
        And cover some other streams from previous shows and creek beds I’ve waded through 

      9. Next week: Anzac Day week: “The Lost Uncles” … 4 personal stories, not geopolitics
        1. more than just Gallipoli and the Anzac Birth of a Nation Legend
        2. Not Kokoda. One is a defeat, the other a win. 
        3. step through the experience of 4 personal stories, 3 WW1 and 1 from WW2 

      10. @duncanriley: any family involved in any AU wars?
      [at 8:35pm] Conked Out & Stoked
    2. Who did their homework?
      1.  
        1. Apple and SM … strict policy vs MSFT … open
        2. (cf Cluetrain)
        3. Are Apple’s products good enough to speak for themselves?
        4. What happens when they have an #amazonfail (they’ve had a few, @stevejobs replied to: eg, iPhone price drop of US$200)
        5. @duncanriley .. your thoughts? did you do your homework? 

    3. The Six Tenets  for Employees in Social Media

     

    1.  
      1. The community expect Transparency and Honest Voice
      2. You are always on. No matter the day/time, people will expect you to be a representative when called upon
      3. You are still a person: That said, organisation much leave lee-way for people to be people. During and after work hours. Being a face means your face is first, not the brand
      4. You are just a single voice. Each SM voice is just a voice; not the formal position; just a voice in the caCOphony from the organisation
      5. Listening: Maslow: every SM interaction is tainted by your personal self-interest; pay etc. This is natural. There will be conflicts
      6. It is about your Reputation. Association with a larger organisation is about Reputation / Congruence / same wavelength?
        1. @dek: selling your soul to a large organisation; what does this really mean? (dek sez: Not quite selling your soul, but when someone with a reputation, who was independent previously, joins up with an organisation to use their fame/notoriety to spread the word, I don’t know how to react to them any more. I don’t know where they end and where the corp starts. There is an element of trust erosion – scepticism comes into play. Eg – Scoble with his new gigs last year and this year.)
    2. Social media: no different to real world?
      1. vs: four scientists submitted papers to the Senate Committee on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS, which includes the ETS) 
        1. http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/economics_ctte/cprs_09/submissions/sublist.htm
        2. (they are CSIRO employees, vs. policy)
        3. The rebel scientists cannot comment on their decision because they are public servants. But a CSIRO source said they could risk censure and possible career repercussions by taking such a public stand against the Government’s controversial greenhouse reduction targets.
        4. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/csiro-climate-experts-defiant/1486721.aspx
      2. @duncanriley: notice you did a similar thing when we tested the audio…
        1. what was it that you made that connection? is it just in there?
    3. Social Media. Blerk. Blerk. Blerk.
      1. From ‘social media’ (technology) to ‘sharing culture‘ (activity)
      2. sharing. conversing. knowledge sharing. hyperintelligence. hyperconnectivity
        1. I notice Mark Pesce has shifted from Hyperconnectivity to Hypersharing? 
        2. reference @mpesce share this lecture: http://blog.futurestreetconsulting.com/?p=125
      3. sharing culture is world where people use internet technology to share (read/write. write=share)
      4. We are information rich; time poor. By timely sharing, we save time.
      1.  
        1. success of Google, and why twitter works as ‘lazy web’
        2. sharing is a part of our nature: we tell stories
        3. sharing of stories: Aborginal dreamtime (culture), Arthurian Legends (culture)
        4. usually, held back information (information is power)
          1. now, information is largely free. 5 minute expert on >2million topics, thanks to the wikipedia hive-mind
        5. Time is the new power
      2. maybe, by just sharing, the relationship between people will change. will change the organisations and systems that exist today
      1. http://www.hydrapinion.com/index.php/work/2009/04/13/will-someone-please-burst-the-twitter-bu (Ian Grayson)
        1. Not bursting the bubble, but stopping the shyters
        2. easy: just don’t follow them. Leave in the people you want to listen to
        3. Getting out of our playground. Passive aggressive? Just the natural extension
      2. benefits arise from those who share. Listen to them.
    4. The Challenge for Agencies and Technology Companies
      1. This is not a technology sell. You cannot buy “a social media” no more than you can buy a “web 2.0”
      2. This is a cultural change process; it must be an embedded part of the corporate culture
      3. This is not a part of Corporate Affairs/PR (directly)
      4. As per @fibendall, this is best handled by committed cust service people; or outside enthusiasts – with coaching (PR)
      1. With clear guidelines
      2. @duncanriley: what is the pulse from the US?
         
    5. Tonight’s case study: #amazonfail … where are the social media respondents from Amazon?
      1. http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html (original source) anonymous “Ashley D” from #amazonfail
      2. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6651080.html
    6.  
      1. #amazonfail twitter storm, blogger storm: not going to common on the root issue.
      2. http://www.inquisitr.com/21785/amazonfail-how-one-company-will-lose-millions/ (6% loss over 2 days; NASQ largely stable) — future quarters will show if any revenue impact.
        1. @duncanriley: I’d be selling AMZN stock when the NASDAQ opens Monday morning US EDT if you hold any, if not for the hit on sales they’re about to take, but because they were stupid enough to do this in the first place, whether you agree with the politics or not.
      3. http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/12/amazonfail_and_the_politics_of_anti_corporate_cyber_activism
      4. the shitstorm in the social media space, without comment on the content. The response.
      5.  http://blog.seattlepi.com/amazon/archives/166384.asp?source=cmailer
        1.  
          1. Pulled in senior people (Sev-1) error 
          2. “I’ve spoken to an Amazon.com employee who works closely with the systems involved in the glitch. The employee asked me not to share his name because of company policies on talking with the media.”
          3. watched it unfold within the organisation, and externally on twitter
      6. ‘glitch’

        1. MSM response from msm-PR. OK, but not the only response
        2. ~50-60K books classified as Adult
      7. the issue is the impact on the reputation of Amazon. Less trust. More difficult to measure, but not impossible
      8. oh, it doesnt matter: social media is small (wrong)
      9. oh, it doesnt matter: it will not effect us financially: the jury is out, but potentially less than the pundits might say
    3. CONKED OUT
        1. History 🙂
            http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0220b174-eb98-11dc-9493-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

    1. Individuals vs. Common Good (Goldman Sachs $5b share offer >> off TARP >> get individual salaries)
      1. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a276IqV3sdnc&refer=home
      2. “return the $10 billion it received in October from the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program and shake off compensation and hiring restrictions imposed on banks that took government aid.”
      3. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein
    2. @duncanriley: small-l liberal, neo-libertarian, neo-liberalist: what is your perspective on #gfc
    3. Ratings Agencies
      1. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/SEC-chief-need-tighter-apf-14938817.html
    4. General Market
      1. The Fed’s snapshot of business conditions around the nation suggested that a slide in areas like manufacturing could be slowing.
        1. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Hints-of-stabilizing-economy-apf-14939304.html
    5. Credit Markets
      1. Credit? what is it and why does it need 
      2. @duncanriley: can businesses startup and survive without credit?
      3. fractional reserve banking: keeping certain amount of holdings vs. loaning out
      4. Mark Anielski as well as some political thinkers such as Rowbotham and some economists (such as Hyman Minsky) argue that this system of money supply has characteristics similar to a pyramid scheme, where the newly indebted are compelled to induce others into debt to pay off their own debts.[41] It is therefore argued by a number of monetary reformers that fractional reserve banking and the associated exponential growth of money in the economy “forces” the economy towards indebted consumerism.[19]
      5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsky_moment (august 2007) … debt vs. financial speculation (housing)
      6. The current problem, according to President Obama is the lack of credit in the system
      7. In contrast, a liquidity crisis is triggered when an otherwise sound business finds itself temporarily incapable of accessing the bridge finance it needs to expand its business or smooth its cash flow payments. In this case, accessing additional credit lines and “trading through” the crisis can allow the business to navigate its way through the problem and ensure its continued solvency and viability. It is often difficult to know, in the midst of a crisis, whether distressed businesses are experiencing a crisis of solvency or a temporary liquidity crisis.
    1. Post-traumatic Stress
      1. The stress the western world experiences as it has not got a culture of stress
      2. Usually life is brutish and short. There are no hospitals, no government looking after you. Life on the whole is pretty darn grim for majority of the population.

      3. Here we are discussing “ETS” “NBN” and other things on our minds

      4. Philosopher John Gray: ‘We’re not facing our problems. We’ve got Prozac politics’

         

      5. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/philosopher-john-gray-were-not-facing-our-problems-weve-got-prozac-politics-1666033.html

        1. “But the actual response, I think, and this is partly to do with the way democracy works and the way the mass-media works, is to avoid confronting these admittedly intractable problems, because there is actually underlying despair. It’s Prozac politics. If you say actually, possibly, we’re past the tipping point for preventing a two-degree change. That’s despair: ‘I can’t get out of bed. I’ll get drunk. I just can’t take it.’ So it’s a very fragile mental resilience we’ve got here.”
    2. @duncanriley: are we heading for a new system?
      Yes, the #gfc is still here.
      Yes, next stage is the devaluation of housing prices in AU, especially if first home buyers scheme is cut back; super changes (less property trust investments) and unemployment rises too far.
      The impact will be in the high end first.
      @duncanriley: your predictions?
      1. Next week: Anzac Day week: “The Lost Uncles” … 4 personal stories, not geopolitics
        1. more than just Gallipoli and the Anzac Birth of a Nation Legend
      Don’t forget to thank @deks and @duncan

     

    Viral is Not Social. It is a Virus

    You are a Marketing Manager. Your budget has been cut dramatically. Solution: look for a mechanism to get your "advertisement" shown to as many people as possible, without paying for TV placement.

    Enter: video viral marketing. Copy an idea, write a short script, film with actors. Pop onto Youtube, initiate the viral campaign.

    The only difference from traditional TV advertising is the cost. Production outlay, and that is about it. ROI: easy: saving hundreds of thousands of dollars on TV (and potentially radio) advertising. In the case of xxxMan (not going to provide too much juice), nearly 45000 views I would consider as epic fail.

    On the face of it, if you present this advertisement as a bit of fun; make it slightly obvious it’s not real. Cool.

    But this is not social media. Or positive in a sharing culture. There is no people to people connection between the company and it’s customers. Sure, it may generate both positive and negative comments in YouTube and the internet. The agency may respond and behalf of the customer. This is not social media nor a sharing culture.

    People trust and like to speak to people. Put the best people in your organisation up front, and support them.

    Viral is not Social, it is just a Virus.

    Oh, by the way: Laurel is right on this matter. 🙂

    Negotiating the NBN

    <speculation>

    1. Announce you have a kitty of AU$4.3 Billion, as a part of $43b over 8 years to create a wholesale, fibre-to-the home network.
    2. Get the whole internet (writ large) industry excited with the measure; yet most question the amount.
    3. Timing: just around the time the Managing Director of Telstra is changing. New MD, new culture
    4. Do not announce plans, technical details nor any details at all.
    5. The exposure of “deep pockets” by the Government forces Telstra (and Optus, and other existing fibre owners) realise that the Government is serious
    6. The Government buys (not builds) part of the existing commercial infrastructure; and exchanges a part of the 49% private ownership to these private organisations.
      1. Note: There are about 10.4 billion listed shares of Telstra outstanding; current “fair market value” is $4.03. This is $42 billion dollars.
      2. Note that Telstra is already part-owned by the Future Fund
      3. Telstra would probably retain part ownership of the new entity, and keep 100% of its Retail network.
    7. Telstra relinquishes their wholesale/infrastructure into the new entity;
    8. End result: a Nationalised Broadband Super-highway; just like roads (at least a majority of the roads). Just what the non- neo-liberal Labor Government wants.
    9. It may not actually cost $43 billion, nor take 8 years. This may just be a smart negotiation tactic

    </speculation>

    Red Cordial Catharsis

    After what I would say has been an interesting week, I spent my holiday on Thursday writing the below notes. These notes were the base script for the #understil episode broadcast on Thursday night. Sadly, due to a combination of Ustream.tv weirdness and user error, the last half was not recorded. Therefore, please review the notes.

    I use Google Docs to store the script so I can share with Dekrazee1 (the show’s Meta-Backchannel producer) and potential guests.

    The bolding of text assists me in reading whilst on screen, and where the key points are. Usually, I attempt to flow the words through a river of conversation.

    Thanks to Stilgherrian, Cameron Reilly, Bronwen Clune, Mark Newton, Leslie Nassar and Avril Hodge for the crafting of this show. Yes, I did mis-pronounce Anarcho-syd… whatever, and some other words too. I blame my country school english.

    A shout out to Jeff Sandquist, Frank Arrigo, Mike Seyfang.

    And a thanks to Mark Pesce for speaking inspiration.

    Sorry there were no kittehs!

    Responses  to the IRC Chat

    • People commented I was “selling” or “shilling” Microsoft. Yes, and that is the point made later. There is no avoiding it for employees involved in social media due to Maslowian pyramidical juxtapositioning.
    • Apple vs Microsoft. If you read Cluetrain, it predicts the doom of companies that “don’t get it” (albeit it in the latter points, which many people don’t read) I had framed this whole show on People Oriented Social Media; and in that context, why is Apple successful vs. Microsoft. It answer is no means simple. And really a them vs. us conversation is not correct. It is about products and perceptions of Microsoft. The problem is Microsoft’s to solve; and I am a small part of this long term change.
      • The (first part) of the Episode

    1. [at 8:40pm] Red Cordial Catharsis
      1. This show is going to more personal than the last show. This is all about me. And Social Media
        1. which launches me like a North Korean ICBM/Satellite into the same stratosphere of @stilgherrian and @cameronreilly
      2. The question for Social Media: is this about my employer? when on social media, how much of your employer’s kool aid are you shilling?
      3. Red Cordial & Lemonade.
        1. History.
        2. Link to red cordial and “hyperactivity” more by association rather than specific cause/effect
        3. Red Cordial hyperconnectivity
      4. Catharsis; from the greek to cleanse/purify/clarify
      5. tonights show is “Red Cordial Catharsis”
      6. This tweet, 7th April: NickHodge: @gedulous when I was at Apple, we had to drink Kool Aid. At Microsoft, we drink Red Cordial. They have different effects.
        1. ‘drinking the kool aide’ comes from the 1978 Jonestown massacre in Guyana where 918 people died drinking cyanide; valium; phenergan mixed in with flavor aid. Jim Jones, cult leader; Jonestown benevolent communist community. Apostolic Socialism (@cameronreilly?). Blindly following an authority to the bitter end.
        2. This is *not* a positive brand connection for a Microsoft employee to make, even based on personal experience.
        3. incorrectly found and quoted; this and many other tweets, blog comments, flickr images, vodcasts and podcasts cross the line. What line?
      7. “To a Social Media Practioner” http://www.nickhodge.com/blog/archives/2960
          1. That post may have been wrong. It is time to speak up
          2. what prompted this post?
          3. what did I mean: the professionalisation/businessification/amwayification of social media in marketing and PR
          4. I didnt and dont want to become one of the Social Media formulaic shysters
          5. I use it to connect to people. Friends, associates, family, work
      8. (quote from social media bible #1: Cluetrain Manifesto. Markets are Conversations)
        1. The first of the 95 Theses: People http://www.cluetrain.com/
          1. Defining conversational mechanism, immediacy (vod, pod & twitter)
          2. Blogging: publishing; vod+pod casting
          3. All have feedback mechanisms, different latencies
      9. I am very much a personal brand-ist social media type
        1. People Oriented Social Media
        2. Not a technologist, nor a #fister, nor viral sock puppet
        3. people, first and foremost. see, feel and touch people. Responding human face.
        4. I am a cluetrainer, with a healthy level of pragmatism
        5. Companies are centuries-old legal constructs; to change this we must change deeps parts of our existing system: beyond the scope of tonight’s show. Pragmatism
        6. nickhodge.com first registered in Nov 2000, on the net since late 1996
          1. Personal Branding is the first and only parachute for worker-droids. Was once called your “name” or “reputation”
        7. not @mpesce MSM (TV/radio) hog, spoke to 10,000’s people per year
      10. Clarify my position statement: Microsoft is a surprisingly great employer
        1. Many years ago, I never envisaged working for Microsoft.
        2. I made a considered choice to work for Microsoft. I can see how I am a small cog of a big change.
        3. Perspective: being paid 50% of what I once earned as a sales-pointy-haired-manager-droid. I sold my soul more to be a sales droid than at Microsoft.
        4. interview loop: Frank Arrigo and Jeff Sanquist (2005 Channel 9, Robert Scoble’s boss, dealt with the fallout) “sold me on the new msft
          1. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.04/wired40_microsoft.html?pg=1&topic=wired40_microsoft
        5. Really, really like to thank Mike Seyfang @fang really put me on the Cluetrain road
          1. Homework: Apple. Cluetrain or not? Are their products their only voice? My contention is that they fail this test: yet are highly successful.
          2. vs. Microsoft, “high cluetrain IQ mark” since 2004, high share-of-voice; the market contention not as successful. WTF?
        6. Built audience of >750K touches per year.
        7. Did some pretty non-MSFT random things (eg: interview danah boyd)
        8. Twitter: now at nearly 2500 followers.
        9. Comparing to other organisations, surprising free/liberal
      11. Compliance with the Blog Smart Policy (and other companies have similar)
        1. #1 – Be Smart
      12. For those of us in Person-orient Social Media Front, where is that line between an individual and their company? Does there need to be the question. Is there any answer?
        1. “out of hours in personal time” you would expect your employer not to sit on my shoulder when I vote, act on my personal morals, how I live my left, the choices I make, where I live, products I buy, food I eat.
        2. Works is where I choose work. They choose to employ me for my skills and experience. This is the basis of the employment contract: my time, their money; and their rules on their time.
        3. Not everything MSFT does, nor has done do I necessarily understand nor agree with.
          1. Zune. sw/service good (in US) ; but as a strategy WTF?
          2. Xbox when losing money. WTF?
          3. Why did we functionally stabilize popfly.com?
          4. I contend that no employee would 100% agree with everything. It is impossible
          5. I like google search, email and reader. I like my Mac.
          6. Transparency and honest expectation expects me to call it as it is.
        4. However, this is merely my perspective. I don’t know and see all. No one can. Not even a CEO.
        5. In the hiring process, you get “culturally” assessed and screened by HR and hiring manager
          1. Usually, will this person fit into team
          2. A public face, is also “can this person represent my organisation?”
          3. Aim is to obtain an employee who fits into the org.
        6. My contract says “9:00am to 5:30pm” … and compliance with the codes of conduct, confidentiality, ethics, business conduct — and laws of AU and US.
          1. and contract says “other duties as assigned”
          2. pure 9-5 in social media doesn’t work
          3. even less so than plausibly deniable proverbial weekend bbq
          4. having two personas: work name and personal name: doesn’t work. It smells of fakery
        7. “Public face” of MSFT in the social community means anything I say, is there forever and can be quoted. maliciously
          1. Paid for: media interviews, demos, presentations, dealing with customers
        8. Benefit of “working for yourself”
        9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchosyndicalism
        10. Self-managed individual labour
        11. But, you are many times working for a larger entity. Their money, their rules.
      13. For me, today was a formal leave day. I submitted the appropriate electronic forms, memo + coversheet; had it signed off and everything is kosher.
        1. how would you know that?
        2. Am I now speaking on behalf of my employer or myself?
        3. why would you need to know that?
        4. did that stop me doing work, anyway? (ASP.NET MVC assistance twitter, 22 work emails)
          1. says more about me than anything 🙂
          2. i like to help people and I care about how people’s use msft’s products
          3. to a greater extent, I really worry about what people think of me
      14. As Social media “face” are you “on” 100%
        1. Before, this were CEOs and execs with long PR training and a cadre of PR people
        2. Through MSM, carefully crafted. Risk/reward for this representation.
        3. Company SM types minor Internet Celebs
        4. The Social media paparazzi is here: Valleywag, and others
        5. Quotes like above will come back to haunt you, like naked pictures on Facebook
        6. Even things afterhours that are legal.
        7. swearing? professing your dislike of football? does this cross the line? do people have impressions of Microsoft? do they build up?
      15. Let’s revisit point 94 of the 95 theses:
        1. To traditional corporations, networked conversations may appear confused, may sound confusing.
        2. My contention is that “to the social community, in a ‘the market is a conversation’, the conversations from a corporate may appear and sound confusing
          1. comes from 100% on, expectation of transparency, having a human voice and being real.
        3. A corporation is not, nor ever, of one mind
          1. In the Borg’d-hive mind, there are many, conflicting voices.
        4. The risk is that now the voices are amplified and radiated by @mpesce’s Hyperconnectivity

    1. [at 9:04] The People Oriented Social Media Contract
      1. Juxtaposition: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
        1. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Dunning-Kruger Effect (dumb people think they are smart) Godwin’s Law of Usenet, Dunbar Number
        2. Simple Model to understand people’s physical and emotional/mental needs
        3. The lower levels influence the higher levels.
      2. Everyone who earns money is tainted by the source of the moolah.
        1. money feeds our families, gives us shelter
        2. as I have found, it doesnt define who we are.
      3. The system is fundamentally disconnected
        1. The Social Community expects real people, real voices, transparency, human voice, calling it as it is
        2. Orgs want people to be engaged in SM (sometimes as it is cheaper, sometimes as it is hip, sometimes as it is sold to them, not necessarily because of cluetrain)
          1. following guidelines similar to msft’s
        3. All conversations from an employee will be tainted by Maslow
          1. you cannot always say what you really think (unless you have balls as big as @leslie_nassar)
        4. Companies have codes of conduct
          1. To aid employees
          2. To protect themselves
          3. compliance with the various laws, protect other employees
        5. Individuals are not permitted to be people, and are therefore breaking the cluetrain community agreement
          1. koolaid effect
          2. 100% on
          3. employee needs to retain some form of employment, personal brand
          4. ‘the organisation’ fighting the non-conformists
      4. Result: we have an unresolved conflict. We are not of common mind. There is no contract.
        1. The Cluetrain is largely correct. Maybe more and more right as time goes on. who knows? It is a journey
      5. Employees in Social Communities: My argument now is that there is no line. It has gone. If it did exist, it is disappearing as fast as MSM
        1. There is an underlying web of connection between the voices of an organisation
        2. The organisation you work for shouldn’t but does own you. Social Communities do not see a difference, either. I am not saying this is right – its sad reality.
        3. In the cacophony of voices, there will be a theme of commonality (Maslow), not singular chior. Social Audiences will need to find the signal in the noise. No one voice is the signal. Don’t hold me out as your evidence that msft doesnt get this, likes that, says that google reader is the shiz. That is my opinion.
        4. True Social Conversations involve you, the listener, to clarify. Check. Disbelieve. Research. Use the hyperconnectivity gifted by Ceiling Cat.
      6. Two case examples:
        1. @Leslie_Nassar experience in a microsoft context? (ignore mini-microsoft 🙂 )
          1. Biggest balls, courageous. He will be OK. He’s a grown up.
          2. If I became a “FakeSteveBallmer” or “FakeSteveJobs” or “FakeBillGates”, and dis’d competitors, fellow employees and management?
          3. whilst I might become a social media hero and front-page news, and may partly soften perception people have of microsoft: it actually doesnt comply with msft’s formal policy and codes of conduct
            1. Expect to be counselled and probably shafted for didling expenses later on.
          4. a strange confluence: social media crowd LOL (me included) — but implications are dire. We are dealing with bigger issues
        2. @NewtonMark (Mark Newton, Network Engineer, Internode)
          1. on Insight on SBS, clearly stated “not the statements of employer”
          2. but how much will the real Senator Conroy separate mark from internode. does it matter?
          3. Comes from cluetrain from @simonhackett
          4. Kudos to Internode
      7. I have no magical closing statement or argument.
      8. For me, the situation is clear. I am 100% on. My voice is added to the greek chorus. I will continue to be myself, my voice, my opinion.
        1. I am paid by MSFT to talk about its technology. Please be aware that I sit on the sharp Maslowian Triangle. I will do my contracted job
        2. One day I will step over the corporate line, or an unforeseen situation will appear that may result in a major FAIL.
          1. And When Red Cordial of hyperconnectivity has overtaken the hyperactivity, I will fall on not on my sword, but my keyboard.