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The Complete 2010 Social Media and Mobile Jargon Guide

Earlier this year I penned two popular columns in Ad Age dedicated to social media "jargon." Both triggered a fair amount of conversation and no shortage of additions to the list from outside contributors.  I've consolidated the two articles into a master "Year End" list. I put a few of my favorites at the top. Enjoy!

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SPURNED MEDIA: Just like it sounds, earned media that goes horribly negative, invades otherwise pristine search results or bleeds into traditional media. Bad customer service is a top driver of "spurned media."

MAYORAL GRAFT: The all-too-frequent practice of Foursquare fanatics falsely claiming an appearance at a location — a restaurant, bar or coffee shop — in order to secure or solidify early major status.

BRANDONMENT: When consumers un-friend or unlike brands that create lame experiences. Brands that fail to properly maintain and update Facebook or Twitter pages are at high risk of Brandonment.

WIKI-WHIPPED: When you just can’t change your wiki entry, under any circumstance. Often activist groups, detractors or others will completely own your entry.

MOBILENECKING: The alarming tendency to have our necks titled down or shifted sideways -- ever glued to our mobile device. This anywhere, anyplace epidemic is increasingly common in cars, airplanes and crosswalks. Closely related to term "Eyevoidance," where no one looks at anyone anymore.

JACK RIPPER: The device warriors who hog outlets anywhere they can find them -- in the airport, via the USB port of a colleague's computer, even a restaurant reservation desk. They get a charge from a charge.

TAG STAB: The injury inflicted when someone is inappropriately tagged in compromising, unflattering or just plain stupid social “moments.” Mostly unavoidable, unless all cameras are “checked at the door.”

WIKI WART: A bad piece of news or an embarrassing brand episode (e.g., an activist protest or a social-media campaign that backfired) that just won't go away in a brand's Wikipedia description. PR pros often give false hope to brands of removing the warts, but relentless Wikipedia editors put them right back.

OEDIPOST COMPLEX: The curious neurosis that compels folks to sleep with their Blackberry or iPhone. The afflicted can't stop checking -- even in late hours -- for responses to tweets or blog and Facebook posts.

DECIPROCITY: When everything you post actually decreases your friend and follower count. Even when you friend or follow others, the rules of reciprocity just don't apply. Soul searching is typically in order here.

FAUX POST: When you are talking to someone on the phone and they notice an unrelated tweet or Facebook status update from you showing up in real-time. Bad form -- don't do it. (Trust me!)

RUNWAY REBEL: That guy (or gal) who keeps the "electronic device" going well past the airline warnings and prohibitions. We see them everywhere, and no one is innocent here.

GEO CRASHER: A person so intent on following a GPS-powered map or app that they can barely walk straight. Inevitably they crash into everyone — in airports, on sidewalks, in ballroom stalls. According to social guru Kevin Dugan (@prblog), there’s even a Flickrgroup dedicated to this.

APPFUSION: An inevitable outcome of app overload. Very common among iPhone users who download so many apps they can't find their address book. Appfusion can lead to as many problems as the apps solve.

BRAND TEASE: A consumer who "friends" or "fans" a brand, only to never return for a second date. Brands feed the cycle by forgetting to court the consumer with engaging, interesting or sustaining content or value.

CONVERSATIONAL DIVIDE: The huge gap between what marketers preach about social-media "conversations" and the brand's actual customer-service or call-center operations. Stems from cost vs. profit-center tension.

SHELF STORM: When organic search results suddenly go haywire, or shift to the dark side, thanks to the link-love logic of social media. Consider Tiger Woods' search-result shift from 95% positive to 60% hostile (in a matter of days). Or how brands with highly publicized service failures quickly acquire shelf-venom.

APPTOSTERONE: The mojo that fuels intense "mine's bigger/better" conversation about mobile apps. "Dude, you got Bump, but I've got FourSquare." Marketing techies are loaded with Apptosterone.

TRUST LAPSE: The frighteningly popular tendency we have to "open up" our friend network to a cool, unknown social-media service or app. Ego, vanity and impatience often collide with rationality here.

BLOG DODGER: Someone who has abandoned his or her blog for Twitter or some other lower-hassle social-media substitute. This was big in 2009, and we'll likely see much more of it in 2010.

QUAD STALKERS: Folks from your past who "friend" you (e.g., folks you marginally knew from the high-school quad) and who seem to comment on everything you post on Facebook. Mostly benign, but a tad curious.

TWEET-SHIFTING: Delaying or mixing Twitter posts so axe murderers don't know you're miles from home. Increasingly common as a spousal and family covenant among folks who travel with high frequency.

TEXTGRESSION: The curious migration of adults into youth behavior, habits and practices, especially when it comes to texting. Here our language quickly digresses into comedic short-form. R U w/me?

CURBCASTING: The almost unstoppable cacophony of loud voices barking all manner of silliness into the airwaves thanks to Bluetooth devices. You see this on every street corner and curb.

TWITSTOP: A bathroom detour from a meeting or conversation in order to check e-mail, Twitter or the latest and greatest via an app. (Swear on the Bible, I don't do this ... but I'm told lots of others do.)

DIGITAL DETOX: What we all need -- at least in doses. As we've learned, total digital immersion has side effects. Let's all pursue a roadmap for balance in 2010. (This is likely the topic of my next book, so send feedback.)

HASH BRAGGER: A person who consistently (and annoyingly) uses hash tags to brag about exploits, exclusive conferences or envious travel. Often uses multiple hash tags.

APP RAT: A relentless app collector who is known to download apps and then leave them to gather cobwebs. Related to Appotato, a compulsive app addict.

FAUX POCKET PAS: That all too common (and always embarrassing) situation where your iPhone, Blackberry or Droid phone misfires to someone you’d rather not call — often in the middle of the night. Can put major stress on relationships. App-happy children are also known to trigger such misfires.

INSTANTINENCE: The uncontrollable, compulsive and usually ego-dominated need to check “Google Instant” for real-time tweets, blurbs or inane comments or news items about you or your brand.

BRAND STAND: Branded social-media outposts that revolve around the website. Facebook and Twitter are classic brand stands.

TRAIL MARKER: This person takes double-downs on Gowalla and Foursquare (and more recently, Facebook Places) to spot their trail wherever they go. They are easy to spot in bars and restaurants — they always have their heads down and are flustered.

JACKRABBIT: A tech freak who skips from jack port to jack port, almost as though he or she is on a mad quest for frequent-flier miles. Jack rabbits are common in airport lounges or coffee shops.

SNOWCIAL: A social-media meet-up in the snow or on the slopes. There’s actually a conference by this name, sponsored by Vail/Heavenly Resorts & Harrahs. (Full disclosure: I’m an informal adviser and mogul-happy Snowcialite).

TOP SQUATTER: A person who reads, tries or buys anything at the top of the “best of” or “most shared” lists, whether it’s iTunes, apps, Huffington Post, Ad Age or New York Times. This person never slips beneath the fray.

PROUD PADDER: An excessively proud iPad user. Known for over-embellished iPad demonstrations on planes or in public. (Guilty as charged.)

BUCK SUCKED: The condition that typically slaps you in the face when reading your credit card bill and you see dozens of "dollar" charges for music and "what the heck" iPhone or mobile apps. Expect much more of this as it gets worlds easier and more convenient to pay for online content. (Good news for publishers!)

FOUR SQUIRE: A person who uses Foursquare in pursuit of dates or relationship starters (or who knows what else). Beware!

PASSWORD PENITENCE: The need to continually use the “Forgot my password” function on websites, services and applications-often digital overload. (Courtesy of friend John Stieger, consumer-relations leader at Procter & Gamble.)

LIKE MEISTER: That person on Facebook who “likes” everything. Borders on compulsive. Even the goofiest photos get likes.

PAL PURGATORY: When you put a friend request on hold, sometimes indefinitely, via Facebook or Twitter.

SPOT SCRAMBLER: A person who delays or shuffles tweets or GPS check-ins for reasons of safety, security or just plain paranoia, i.e. you don’t want the world to know you are not at home with the family.

Original Articles: 

The Official Social Media & Mobile Jargon Guide of 2010

The New & Improved Social Media & Mobile Jargon Guide of 2010

10 Must-See Soccer Videos (the perfect World Cup primer)

I've been spending lots of time with my kids educating them about this historic World Cup. So in the process I've identified ten of my favorite soccer clips. A few are consumer-generated, but all are "consumer fortified" (in the forms of views, comments, sharing, etc). A few like Nike's "Good Versus Evil" were not appropriate to share with kids but still made my list. Enjoy, and please send any obvious ones I missed. (For reference, here's a post I wrote in 2006 about World Cup CGM campaigns.) 

Nike Joga Consumer-Generated Media Soccer (2006):  You'll watch this several times - trust me.  This ranks among my favorite soccer and "consumer-generated" spots.  Nike essentially spliced together hundreds of soccer clips from contributors. 

Diego Maradona's "Goal of the Century" (1986 World Cup):  OK, I've watched this one about a thousand times, but it's worth it.  This is from a game between Argentina & England in the 1986 World Cup.  

Nike "Good vs. Evil" -- Good guys take on the bad guys in Rome's Coliseum. Don't show this one to the kids.  I'm serious! 

 

Pele "Head Shot" Goal in 1970 World Cup:  Short but sweet.  Pele was a hero to all my friends while in primary school in the 70s. He was also a Grand Marshall of the Pasadena Rose Parade...quite a thrill for me at the time. 

Nike "Write the Future" (2010 South Africa World Cup)- Pretty amazing. And funny! This is the video clip that's stealing all the buzz (so far) for this year's World Cup. 

Women's World Cup Soccer Final (1999):  I struggled to find a decent version of this on YouTube, but here's a clunky version that captures the full drama of the entire penalty kick exercise with China. I'm especially devoted to this moment because I was actually in attendance.  Truly and amazing and inspiring moment. 

Diego Maradona - La Mano De Dios " -- No soccer list could possibly be complete without this 15 second gem.  

Brazil Score vs. USA (1999):  Another inspiring goal from Women's World Cup (China). 

Best Goal Ever:  This is billed as "the best goal ever" on YouTube. I honestly have no idea who's playing (and don't care), but I'm inclined to agree this is one of the best. 

Great Goal Montage: Awesome montage of great goals across a host of games 

Do Leadership & Social Media Go Hand-in-Hand? Review of Charlene Li's Book "Open Leadership"

I recently reviewed Charlene Li's new book, Open Leadership, for my Ad Age column. Here's a link and an excerpt: 

"Li argues that social media-enabled services and sites can "improve efficiency, communication and decision-making for leaders and their organizations." The book is less a sequential follow-up to her impressive "Groundswell" collaboration with former Forrester colleague Josh Bernoff than a more forceful and practical reinforcement of many of the same themes, albeit with a special emphasis on mission-critical leadership skills. Key ingredients of "open leadership" success, Li suggests, include respecting employee and customer power, sharing constantly to build trust, nurturing curiosity and humility, holding openness accountable, and (are we ready for this everyone?) forgiving failure.

"Importantly, Li aggressively takes off the table all our lame excuses for not having a credible "ROI" strategy for social media. She does acknowledges upfront that the "difficulty with today's new social technologies -- like Facebook, blogs, discussion forums and Twitter -- is that they appear to lack clear, direct benefits compared to more established relationship channels," but she then proceeds to articulate such direct benefits. She offers, for instance, ROI templates like the "New Customer Lifetime Calculation," which smartly marries traditional lifetime value metrics with new value sources, from referrals and insights to ideation and user-contribution systems and support.

Loyalty is Not Enough in the Age of Consumer Control!

This isn't a new chart, but I presented it yet again today in a speech before C-Suite executives sponsored by the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA) and BGT Partners and it triggered the most and best reactions.  And so I'm sharing it again. Soak in in! 

The Twenty Most Important Social Media Buzzwords for 2010

My, how the digital times are a-changin'. We're downsizing to small screens, friending the world, thinking in 140 characters and downloading -- dare I say -- "billions and billions" of apps designed to make everything we do simpler, faster and more convenient (well, we think). And so, only days into 2010, I decided to kick off the year with an Ad Age column dedicated to the most appropriate buzzwords to describe our curious stampede to the social media and mobile future.  Here's are a few excepts and favorites from the piece. Read the full-article here. Anything missing?  Send feedback here or via my Twitter account (twitter.com/pblackshaw)

• SPURNED MEDIA: Just like it sounds, earned media that goes horribly negative, invades otherwise pristine search results or bleeds into traditional media. Bad customer service is a top driver of "spurned media."

• MOBILENECKING: The alarming tendency to have our necks titled down or shifted sideways -- ever glued to our mobile device. This anywhere, anyplace epidemic is increasingly common in cars, airplanes and crosswalks. Closely related to term "Eyevoidance," where no one looks at anyone anymore.

• JACK RIPPER: The device warriors who hog outlets anywhere they can find them -- in the airport, via the USB port of a colleague's computer, even a restaurant reservation desk. They get a charge from a charge.

• WIKI WART: A bad piece of news or an embarrassing brand episode (e.g., an activist protest or a social-media campaign that backfired) that just won't go away in a brand's Wikipedia description. PR pros often give false hope to brands of removing the warts, but relentless Wikipedia editors put them right back.

• OEDIPOST COMPLEX: The curious neurosis that compels folks to sleep with their Blackberry or iPhone. The afflicted can't stop checking -- even in late hours -- for responses to tweets or blog and Facebook posts.

• BRAND TEASE: A consumer who "friends" or "fans" a brand, only to never return for a second date. Brands feed the cycle by forgetting to court the consumer with engaging, interesting or sustaining content or value.

• APPTOSTERONE: The mojo that fuels intense "mine's bigger/better" conversation about mobile apps. "Dude, you got Bump, but I've got FourSquare." Marketing techies are loaded with Apptosterone.

• TWITSTOP: A bathroom detour from a meeting or conversation in order to check e-mail, Twitter or the latest and greatest via an app. (Swear on the Bible, I don't do this ... but I'm told lots of others do.)

• DIGITAL DETOX: What we all need -- at least in doses. As we've learned, total digital immersion has side effects. Let's all pursue a roadmap for balance in 2010. (This is likely the topic of my next book, so send feedback.)

Again, here's the full article.  Love to hear your thoughts. 

Two Minutes on Social Media With MC Hammer

While attending Snowcial (a relatively new conference that fuses social media and snow sports), I had a chance to interview the superb kickoff speaker, none other than MC Hammer. A social media maven since 2004 (long before most of us), he talked about the role of authenticity, relationship building, and the promise and potential of the social media space. In my view, it's not a coincidence that he has nearly 1.8 million followers on Twitter. This was clear even in his post-speech interaction with all the attendees: accessible, friendly, the opposite of pretentious, and highly attentive to the issues, themes, and topics raised by others at this event.  This two-minute interview is an excellent social media primer. 

The Latest Domino to Fall: The YouTube Video Itself

This morning I decided it was my duty as a digial consultant and author of a book about the viral power of complaints (Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000, Doubleday Business), to take yet another look at that disgusting, now legendary video posted to YouTube by two former (and now being sued) Dominos employees.  Aside from the video itself, the comments are a rich source of insights, ever revealing of brand credibiliy and reputation, and I wanted to give them a good look as well.  Alas, much to my surprise, this infamous video -- this "when bad things happen to brands" case study of the year -- was nowhere to be found.  Instead, YouTube, posted the following curious comment:

This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Kristy Hammonds.

Kristy Hammonds is one of the former employees in question.  The specific nature of her "copyright claim" is yet to be seen, although it could be related to her prior record. What I do know is that there are going to be a ton of surprised folks over the curious removal of this video.  I also predict a viral rush to any TV news clip (see example here) or non YouTube versions of the clip on the web.  Once the viral Domino-effect starts on the web, it's really tough to remove.  The good news for Dominos is that YouTube version generated the lion's share of exposure, generating so much link-love that the video now ranks #3 against general "Dominos" queries on Google.  Now the highly incriminating video hits a dead-end...for now at least.

Irrespective of the damage control tactics employed by the brand or others, this incident represents yet another sobering wake-up call for brands about the power (and potential ugliness) of consumer expression. My Ad Age column this week focuses on the power and potential of "earned media" versus paid media (Earned Media May Be More Efficient, But Its Far From Free), but it also seeks to temper our social media exubberance by introducing a new term into our vernacular: spurned media (earned media that goes negative).  Indeed, expression cuts both ways.

This incident also underscores, once again, the importance of understanding the relationship between business processes -- product quality, customer service, employee training -- and word-of-mouth.  Much as we bear-hug viral "campaigns," the most viral word-of-mouth emanates from more foundational business processes.  Just think about the Taco Bell "Rats" incident.  Hygiene and cleanliness in particular is one of the most viral issues in the fast food industry, an issue I've come to appreciate in monitoring buzz for Nielsen and earlier in my founding of PlanetFeedback.com. 

Put another way, know thy talk drivers.

Is the Future of Marketing About Marketing to Marketers?

Such is the title of my recent column in Advertising Age, and boy has this topic been on my mind for quite some time.  If you take a close look under the hood on so many of these word-of-mouth, viral, buzz building, and social media campaigns, the folks with marketing pedigree and credentials are everywhere. 

In the blogosphere, there are thousands of bloggers who source directly from the marketing and public relations ranks. Double that for Twitter, which seem to matriculate another hundred "social-media experts" every couple hours. Conduct even the most basic Twitter search on user profiles and you'll find nearly 30,000 Twitter users self-identified as marketers. Nearly 8,500 use the term "PR," and another 8,000 use the term "social media."

Look no further than last week's Skittles brouhaha. Or the Super Bowl advertising buzz that I tracked for Nielsen. Or the Motrin Moms controversy many months earlier. Upward of half of the overall buzz came from the folks with marketing industry pedigree or credentials -- and the percentage conspicuously peaked even higher in the early waves of buzz. Put another way, marketers are complicit in pushing the snowball into a "buzzball."

Is this a bad thing?  Well, I hold off a bit on that particular question, but at minimum we at least need to recognize and acknowledge the disproportionate voice of marketers in the conversational stream. Even I'm a bit guilty of over-romanticizing the "consumer voice" when in fact the earliest buzz-building megaphones are being sounded by the folks I regularly rub shoulder to shoulder with at industry conferences.  Not to suggest we don't wear both consumer and marketer hats; I'm 100% aligned on what Dan Schwabel's suggesting about Personal Branding or Rohit Bhargava is putting out there about "authenticity" in Personality Not Included and I'm a proud participant in that tango.

That all this moves the needle is beyond question. Just consider the impact of search. In the pre-search world, marketers could critique one another into submission and no one outside our hermetically sealed silo would have a clue what we are saying. In the post-search world, all the marketer talk, fortified by heavy doses of link love, pushes straight to the top of organic Google-search results, meaning consumers are as likely to see our informed, often critical spin before they see the first billboard, display ad or TV spot. That's big.

At minimum, we also need to acknowledge that this curious trend blurs lines, and muddies the water.  I call this out not to be righteous but only because I truly believe we marketers need to consistently go the extra distance to keep things transparent, clear, well-disclosed, and of course "open."  When the commentators and analysts are becoming de facto media channels (which is clearly happening), we need to dial up the "clarity" levers.

Then again, maybe that's the bargain we've all struck in this Byzantine conversational bazaar we've buzzed up. Social media both softens silos and mucks up the lines. Web 2.0 marketing is de facto research, and feedback-powered research is the highest form of loyalty marketing, right? Lines naturally get blurry, even confusing, when we're both observer and participant. Inevitably, we end up interpreting the very buzz we created or fueled ourselves.

If you buy into this theory, you really have to think hardder about how to build the likes of David Armano, Steve Rubel, Jeremiah Owyang, BL Ochman, Peter Kim, Charlene Li, Chris Brogan and Susan Bratton into your buzz building or launch strategies, or at least have a strategy for "viral sandbagging" their potential negatives or venom.

This is no cake walk. While there's shortage of easy high-fives from the social-media set on anything that smacks of progressive marketing, let's not forget that these folks know all the tricks of the trade, and can smell an imposter, fraud or half-baked campaign a mile away. Indeed, if you look at the digital trail of road kill (especially in search results) from stupid or unethical marketing practice, the marketing experts -- not Joe Consumer -- were the first to throw the fatal daggers. "Et tu, Brute?" indeed!

I toss in a few final tips on the outreach side, but let me close with this observation.  However this nets out -- even if the net percentage of marketer-initiated buzz increases -- we must keep the space credible and trusted.  Social media is a wonderful thing -- enabling, empowering, rule-breaking -- but at times it blinds us to certain realities. We're a much bigger part of the conversation than we readily concede.  As long as we're open and transparent (and maybe even a bit self-critica) about this point, the odds of preserving trust will go up. 

Some additional comments/observations about this piece.

• Ad Age Column Comments 
• Forrester Blog: Who's Really Watching the Watchmen (David Card)
   

Conversational Caffeine: MyStarbucksIdea.com Tallies The Votes

Just got an email from Starbuck's directed to the folks (like myself) who submitted over 55,000 ideas to the MyStarbucksIdea.com website. The crux of the message is that Starbucks is being responsive to the ideas generated during the campaign. This is important, as "responsiveness" is one of the six drivers of credibility in my book "Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell Three Thousand."   So which idea got the most votes?  Turns out, the big winner was one for Starbucks to, drumroll please..."create a sense of conversation and community within its locations."

One way of doing this would be to use the power of media and wireless new media in particular to foster a sense of conversation about the arts, current events, etc. In other words to stimulate Starbucks patrons that wish to interact as part of a 21st century "cafe society" such as they have in Europe traditionally - people gathering together to discuss the arts, world events and culture.

This idea generated (so far) over a 1030 comments (quite impressive) and the collective output, validation, constructive criticism and reinforcement makes the idea even more powerful.  The other ideas are also worth checking out!  Alas, the power of feedback. Starbucks is far from out of the woods, but this program sets a powerful new bar for feedback and consumer participation. (Oh, and I like the Oatmeal...but it didn't influence this blog post.) :-)

Interactive Marketing: "Yes We Can" (Postcard from the Ohio)

Dawn is breaking, and I'm hours away from heading to the polls for today's "make or break" Ohio primary.  (Yes, I live in Ohio - the hilltop community of Mt. Adams, Cincinnati to be exact.)  Like millions of other voters here, I've been subjected to a barrage of TV ads, media headlines, big events, small events -- you name it -- related to the primary.  I've also had the opportunity to dive fairly deep into all the candidates interactive strategies, especially the Democrats. This is the topic of this morning's Clickz Column entitled "10 Interactive Marketing Tips from Barack and Hillary."  I've been quite impressed at how all the campaigns have taken full advantage of the their websites, especially around what I like to refer to as the "Third Moment of Truth" -- enabling expression, participation, involvement.  Here's brief recap of some key takeaways:

• Win on the home (page) front. Both candidates do an excellent job providing enough well-organized content and "click to engage" choices to maximize relevance to as many visitors as possible. Even if you visit for half-a-second, you get a great feel for the things you can do on your second visit. This is important because most brands make consumers zip through multiple levels to get to what they need.
• Engage, enroll, and participate. Unlike most Super Bowl advertisers, candidates are constantly teeing up "things to do." Barack and Hillary both have similar home page utilities to "Be a Volunteer," "Vote Early in Ohio," "House a Volunteer," "Make Phone Calls" or "Find and Plan Events." This, my friends, is what's known as engagement and when millions of consumers are engaging at some level, you know it can work.
• Roll up the TV set. The political campaigns exploit TV wherever they can go, and if your consumers can get it customized, oon-demand, or tailored to specific needs or constituencies on their Web sites via video, so be it. Video persuades, and connects emotionally. Both Clinton and Obama do a superb just exploiting the power of online video on their Web sites, and this has evolved nicely in the past six months or so. They are also both getting much better and making video embeddable and sharable, and they use to power of cross-promotion to power videos hosted on YouTube such as Obama's five million views -- an growing -- "Yes We Can."
• Hablamos con todas audiencias. While most automated teller machines open their first interaction with consumers with question about English or Spanish preference, most big brands give this short shrift. "That's not the focus of our interactive strategy," they'll say. The candidates, by contrast, are doing a great job teeing up parallel content in Spanish, and it doesn't take Bill Richardson to explain why this is important. Both candidates have very strong Spanish language sites, and they've done a commendable job developing tailored content. Blog links also suggest key influencers are paying attention. Both sites also do a nice job appealing to the "long tail" of audiences out there, whether by state, ethnicity, unique need (e.g. hearing impaired) and they do this without the core site looking too all over the place.
• Win with emotion. Obama's site does a brilliant job playing consumer emotion -- even more so than Hillary's. I'm not sure if it amounts to what Chris Matthews described as a "thrill going up my leg," but close. In particular, the use of video during and after the contribution process is very effective, and it almost makes you feel like there's the "emotional wind" behind your back in the giving process. Hillary's site is a bit more functional and operational, but also scores points here and there on emotion.
• Make it simple; make it friendly. I still marvel at the impenetrable unfriendliness of typical brand feedback or survey forms. Obama and Clinton are hardly perfect here, but they at least make their forms feel inviting. Oh, and I don't feel rushed, or forced to write it down in 50 letters before the software caves in on me. It's like the folks who designed the forms have felt the pain and anger over rude employees, lame call-center scripts, and more.
• Reinforce the loyalty immediately. Both Clinton and Obama appear to have solid relationship marketing tools in place to respond immediately to feedback or financial contributions. Both are customized but I give the edge to Obama on personalization and including yet another call-to-action in the follow-up. In my follow-up e-mail, it just felt more personal. Hillary encourages pass-along (e.g. "Click here to send an email to friends and family).
• Customize the loyalty. The Obama campaign goes well beyind reinforcing the loyalty to customizing the loyalty by encouraging people who sign up or give contributions to create their own mini-portal or blog platform via mybarackobama.com. You can blog, check your Barack points, build a profile and more. In some respects, this amounts to user-controlled panel management. Hillary allows users to create their own "groups" but the Obama campaign in on to something in driving deeper, more involved action at the what I call the "Ex-Spot."
• Share the assets. Both campaigns do a nice job empowering enthusiasts to share "official" content in their own content areas. Obama has a robust and comprehensive download areas for everything from Buddy icons to button designs, while Hillary's campaign offers a host of assets to share, embed, and beyond. Key lesson here: If you want to drive buzz, provide currency.
• Blog and promote the content creators and advocates. Both sites do a great job "mashing up" content from external sources, including individual blogs. Some of these are touted in the campaign-sponsored blogs (also a smart idea), but others are featured in stand along areas like Hillary's Spotlight section