Social Media is here whether we want it to be or not. It is not a fad. It is here. More and more tools are pouring into the market, on our computers, on our phones. Social networks, crowd sourcing, restaurant recommendations, job possibilities – All of these are here right now.

I’ve watched this 5 times.  I’m still amazed.  What a great conversation starter for an social media education seminar.

Watch this video and let me know what you think…

While this was the first combined expo for bloggers and new media creators, this was my fifth new media expo. My biggest take away of the event… It is all about relationships. While we may all think we are incredibly “social” through the new online tools, there is nothing as “social” as shaking a hand, talking over coffee, or discussing ideas over dinner. That will always be the best kind of “social” for me.

2009 BlogWorld New Media Expo

Here is the best wrap up of the BlogWorld and New Media expo I attended in Las Vegas. My friends, Rene and Erik have built their DigiRedo into a powerful business as consultants and producers of new media for internal and external communications. This is their view of the expo. And, I agree with them…

Blogworld and New Media Expo 2009 HD from DigiRedo on Vimeo.

“Brilliant!” I say. I wanted to be the first to say that.  I want to talk about why I think it is so good. I’m not telling you the link to the video, because I don’t want you to get caught up in the message and miss the elegance of the method.

Separating the message from the method, here are the reasons the creator(s) got it right. They carefully:

• picked a controversial subject
• leveraged someone else’s celebrity
• kept the call to action very subtle, but clear
• made it easy to spread virally
• made it easy to spend money

Before I give you the link to the video, set your personal beliefs aside for a few minutes [Read more →]

This article in Advertising Age really demonstrates one of my favorite terms – corporate inertia. Nothing new in the concept of corporate inertia – just lots of people with a slow rate of change. Organizations that can adapt quickly to change, win.

This article shows the corporate inertia in the advertising industry. As a podcaster, I “know” there is an incredible relationship that is fostered between the podcaster and the consumer. The strength of this relationship is real, but hasn’t be measured, yet. Advertisers are using the metrics they know. Exposure, Eyeballs,… Advertisers are buying “exposure to” consumers not the “relationship with” the consumer. I do think this will change as the strength of the new media – podcasting relationship will be measured and fed back to the advertisers. The ADM – Association of Downloadable Media is working on this. I’m also sure PodShow, Podango, and Wizzard Media are all gathering their facts and figures to change the opinions of the advertising world.

If a conventional advertising conversion rate of 2% could be upped to 5% through the relationship strength of a podcast, I see huge advertising money moving into the new media arena. That’s why I’m playing in this sandbox.