Tim Bursch

The buzz today in business is engagement and listening. Social media tools have made it easier for companies to listen to what customers and prospects are saying. Listening helps business monitor complaints, find fans, track competition, and stay in touch with industry trends.

This is great information to have at our fingertips, right?

Here’s the deal though, having spent some time using free and pro listening tools, I see a few problems.

1. Data overload- Yes tools are getting better at helping find data that matters, but there is still a lot of information that needs a set of human eyes
2. Time shortage- Unless you have a huge budget and FTE’s dedicated to online monitoring, you will have extra work on your hands doing this listening work
3. Hearing-impaired- Are we really hearing people on the other side? Or is this like a game of telephone?

We need tools that cut through the data to find meaning. We need technology that helps us connect with relevant conversations. We need deliberate practices that help the human touch come through all of this monitoring, collecting, and tracking.

I’ve yet to find the perfect tool to help a business really hear, unless you count sitting across from a real person.

Any suggestions?

Image credit: dno1967

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We watch the Superbowl most years. Usually to eat and hang out with family and friends. And the commercials.

We screen them for our kids and I asked what they liked best: Doritos. (2 years running)

Why: “They’re funny dad!” My kids tell the story of the Doritos commercials over and over. My kids are teaching me the simplicity of marketing.

• Tell a good story

• Be memorable. Don’t do something average. Throw things. Go crazy.

• Have fun. Business is serious enough, let’s have more fun.

What was your favorite ad and why?

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This is a guest post by Josh Becerra. Josh is a social entrepreneur and internet start-up guy. He is the co-founder of localtweeps.com and buythechange.com. Josh is also part of a Minneapolis Co-working space called The 3rd Place. Check it out. You can follow him on Twitter @joshbecerra.

Today I was sitting in my neighborhood coffee shop as my neighbors filed in to get their cup of Joe before heading into the office. What amazed me is how everyone standing around waiting for their order was glued to their phone. They were probably checking email, reading the morning news, updating their status on Facebook or Twitter, or becoming “Mayor of Lori’s Coffeehouse” on Foursquare.  Nobody was actually talking on their phone…they were just mesmerized by the glow.

This got me thinking about how these days my Twitter stream and Google Reader is filled with research, reports and studies where analysts identify the top trends for 2010. Buzz words like “Hyperlocal”, “Interactive Local Media”, “Mobile Local Media” seem to be on everyone’s top trends list – and rightly so.  Location and geo-targeted advertising has been an elusive revenue stream. But the mix of technology, usage and advertiser trends is pushing the pace of change. Today I can walk down the street with my smart phone in hand and know what businesses are around me, who has something on sale and who is offering coupons.  Using the same technology I have the ability to geo-target my friends so I can always keep track of the people I know.  So what about the people I don’t know – but might want to get to know better – my neighbors?

It seems most people think about hyperlocal in the context of “an individual’s relationship to the people, places, and things that are located around them at any given time via geo-targeting.” So here are my questions:

Is there room for a second definition of hyperlocal as “an individual’s relationship to their neighbors and neighborhood?

And does anyone else care besides me?

Update: Correction- The 3rd Place is in St. Paul, MN

Tags: hyperlocal.

I was listening to the radio recently and the DJ was talking about asking her colleague for feedback on a movie instead of just checking Google. She emphasized the value of the human process.

Everyday we have questions and problems, right? How many times do you just Google it? I know that’s where I turn sometimes.

But what about our networks? The thing about the Human Process vs the Google Process is that you get more depth, insight, and that connection of helping each other. Nothing wrong with Googling for an answer. I just wonder what we miss out on sometimes in our rush for an immediate answer.

So, what do you think? How about we try the Human Process this week at least 3 times instead of a search engine?
Are you with me?

Image credit: jamuraa

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Is everyone included in social media and digital community? That’s a question I have been wondering about lately.

Are we including people on the margins or seeking connections with those who are different than us? My gut feeling is that we have a ways to go bridging the digital divide.

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You should be. I tweet about connecting, business, social impact, and share valueable links.

Feel free to follow me @timbursch

You might also be interested in trying out a simple and easy blogging platform called Posterous. I will be testing it out here.

Thanks for checking it out.

Tags: posterous, twitter.

There was a discussion this week about online vs. offline relationships over at Liz’s blog. I could not join in, but here is what I would have brought to the table.

It’s all real.

Facebook friend= real.

Linkedin connection= real person.

Twitter followers= again, real people.

All online relationships are real. Yes, you might have a difference level of intimacy with people offline.
Do we need to distinguish between online and offline friends? If I meet you on Twitter are you less real? No.
Let’s just work on relationships.

What do you think? Is it necessary to say IRL (in real life)?

Image credit: quinet

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I DO.

What is Glue?
They say, “Glue enables you to connect with your friends on the web around the things you visit online.”
I say, “A social tool that helps me share the web and find new stuff.”

Another tool? Yep.
Let’s say your looking at a really cool website and you want to share it on Twitter. Just hit Glue in your browser and a nifty box pops up with options. You can enter a tweet about the site and they fill in the link. Nice. Want to save the page your on? Click Glue and save to Delicious.

What’s unique?
-Saving and finding more of the things you like (aka: semantic web)
-Hearing about what other people like (books, movies, music, etc)
-Putting some of my favorite tools in one spot (tinyurl, twitter, delicious)
-Getting awesome customer service and help for what you need

What is your favorite social web tool? Be heard.

Tags: social web.

Part 3

Document Management
Do you used .docs or spreadsheets? Most work requires working with MS Office-like apps. Enter Google Documents (GD). (Does Google do everything?) GD has a similar feel to Office. The main reason I am starting to aggregate my documents is access. I can access via the web on any computer. If you collaborate in your work it is convenient to share and start Groups on Google.

A few other highlights from my command center:
-Remember the Milk Tasks (easier to use than Google tasks)
-Chat- I am using Twitter more for conversations, but sometimes Google chat is quick for working through a task with someone.

How do you manage your digital world? Let me know if I can help. Be heard.

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Part 2- Information Flow

Are you an on-line reader? Are you part of a business or organization and want to know what people are saying and writing about? Then Google Reader (GR) is your friend.

SET-UP
Go to GR here to set-up your preferences. When you find sites you like add their subscription. One easy place to find good reads is Alltop. I skim a lot of blogs and read about 20 daily. You can manage your subscriptions to your preference.

TRACKING
I like to know what is going on with certain topics, keywords and names. You can go to GR and set up to receive information by RSS or email. If your topic is really broad you might want to limit your intake to one email a week.

LISTENING
Do you care about your brands? I set up a Google Alert and Twitter Search for my personal and business brands and feed them into Google Reader. This will let you know what is being said out there.

SHARING
GR allows you to share and email articles you think friends or colleagues might be interested in. Links are at the bottom of each post in GR. If you are passive aggressive it’s a great way to just give hints. Ha, not really.

So, GR is a great way to filter incoming info. How do you handle information overload?

Tomorrow  - one last tip on setting up your Google Command Center.

Further reading:

Google Command Center Part 1

Thinking About Starting a Blog?

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