Manage To Change

Web 2.0 Expo: Sessions from Day 2

Highlights from three of the sessions I attended today at the Web 2.0 Expo: 

User-Generated Censorship
Annalee Newitz, wrote an article in Wired, I Bought Votes on Digg, to illustrate how people can manipulate social networks. 

In today’s session, she contrasted the wisdom of crowds with their potential destructive nature.  Annalee went through several sites (Blogger, Flickr, YouTube, Digg, and Wikipedia) illustrating that clear rules, quick follow up, and easy ways for users to filter content (preventing them from “stumbling on to content that upsets them”) can prevent unwarranted censorship.

Web 2.0 Product Management: Optimizing Metrics and Viral Growth
Dan Olsen’s session on Web 2.0 product management was likely the most comprehensive and tangible session I’ve attended.  The only problem was that there was no way to take notes fast enough to keep up with him!

Dan spoke about how the lines between product management and marketing have blurred since many products are spread virally, by the customer not by marketing and sales.  On Facebook, for example, it’s your friends, acquaintances, and colleagues that get you to join, not the Facebook marketing department (if there even is one!).

Most of the presentation was concerned with how to define, measure, analyze, synthesize, implement, and impact metrics to increase ROI. 

If I hear that he’s posted his slides on his website, I’ll let you know. 

Every product manager should look at them!

The Next Generation of Tagging: Searching and Discovering a Better User Experience
This session was fascinating.  Kakul Srivastava, product manager at Flickr, discussed how combining user tagging with finely tuned algorithms can result in “inferred tags.” 

Inferred tags make it possible to disambiguate tagging (know that Washington means Washington DC and not the state, the president, or the mountain). 

How often tags are used (identifying “hot tags”) or if there are spikes in usage or searching helps identify breaking news or items of interest.

Kent Anderson: New Blogger & Scholarly Publishing Innovator

Last night I found out that Kent Anderson from the Massachusetts Medical Society, someone whose innovative and thought-provoking ideas I personally enjoy and find extremely helpful, is blogging at the Scholarly Kitchen for the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP).

In his post today, Kent considers some interesting business models that could apply to the iPod and even to scholarly publishing.

Go over and welcome Kent to blogging! I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

Web 2.0 Expo: Community Building: Good, Bad, and Ugly

Today is the first day of the O’Reilly Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.

The first session I attended this morning was Community Building: Good, Bad, and Ugly. It was moderated by Jeremiah Owyang from Forrester Research and included Dawn Foster (Community Manager for Jive Software), Kellie Parker (Community Manager for PC World and Mac World), and Bob Duffy (Community Strategist for Intel).

Here are some of my rough notes (sorry - don't have the time to pretty them up and form coherent sentences!).

Using social networks as a vehicle for customer service: Customer service was traditionally one on one. A person (usually a company) answered a customer’s question or issue.

Community allows a customer to put their question to a group and get answers from other customers, not just the company. It also enables broader conversation about the issue.

All of the panelists agreed that when it comes to building your own community or joining other communities the answer is to do both. Engage your audience where they are - even if it isn’t on your website!

On the differences between marketing and community building and management...

Community management is less formal. Managers and other company participants engage with customers as people.

This isn’t traditional push marketing. It’s bidirectional. Often companies position traditional assets AT the conversation rather than becoming part of the conversation.

Characteristics of a Community Managers ...

Must be passionate both about the technology and the dialogue.

They should be the product experts not necessarily marketing staff.

They need to be amazing networkers. If they don’t know the answers they need to know how to get them. This also helps bridge the gap between the online and offline communities.

They should be diplomatic, often having to handle difficult customers and participants.

Perhaps the most personally enlightening comment for me was viewing the role of the community manager as both the advocate of the community to the company and the advocate of the company to the community.

That seems to be it in a nutshell!

Working with Publishers 101

Lately I’ve found myself talking to companies that want to work with publishers, but they’re having a difficult time getting any business.

In almost every conversation the same issue surfaces.

The vendor wants to make the publisher understand their unique value proposition.

However, the vendor’s general knowledge of publishing is often lacking and their specific understanding of the publisher they’re “targeting” is virtually non-existent.

The vendor wants to be treated like a partner, but they don’t act like one!

All publishers may create and manage content, deliver it via multiple channels, and engage in marketing activities, but they are all different.

A publisher’s ability to innovate around content is critical, yet many publishers are having a hard time evolving. They know it too!

Many would like to explore vendor partnerships, but few vendors take the steps needed to gain the publisher’s trust and respect.

If you want to work with a publisher, start by remembering these points:

You don’t know everything.

You need to listen.

It’s good that you know your product’s strengths, but you must respect the publisher’s strengths too.

Be confident and offer your expertise, but understand that there is no plug and play.

Your expertise needs to be combined with their experience and reconfigured to arrive at the right solution.

Times are changing. Some publishers will make it and some won’t.

None of them will engage you along the way unless you take the time to understand their business and culture.

(Reposted from June 2007)

Are we on the same page?

Communication, while the single most important contributor to the success of any change, is the hardest part to get right.

Most people understand the mechanics of communication but we can miss some of the foundational concepts that make communication more successful.

Communication is bi-directional.

Even if we’re trying to “sell” an idea or a project, it won’t be sold by a series of decrees made without opportunity for interaction.

By listening, we develop relationships and refine our understanding. We also build trust. Without trust there is no effective communication.

Communication is informal before it becomes formal.

Informal interactions are what make formal communication effective.

People are more candid one-on-one and in smaller groups and informal settings.

At minimum, strong influencers and those who are exceptionally knowledgeable about organizational history, happenings, and politics should be consulted about ideas before we communicate en masse.

But most important, informal communication is critical to building relationships.

Communication effectiveness increases as relationships develop.

As we get to know people (and organizations), we can revise our approach to account for how they process information.

Understanding our motivations, stress level, preconceived ideas, and biases helps us construct messages more clearly. Learning the motivations and biases of those around us enables us to evaluate their reactions more accurately.

Communication is continuous.

Even if a message has been communicated, refined, validated, and communicated again, we’re not finished.

Circumstances and perceptions change. Busy people forget.

Communication is like a marriage.

Communication is most successful when each party attempts to fully consider the viewpoints of the other.

Focusing solely on our own objectives risks misunderstanding, resentment, and damaged relationships.

And even when those around us aren’t willing to consider our views, we’re not absolved from considering theirs.

It all comes down to how committed we are to making it work.

Flying Back to the States

Visiting the UK always brings little surprises like temporarily forgetting to look on the sides of buildings for street names, having to look in opposite directions than you’re used to for oncoming traffic, and remembering that although we speak the same language (roughly) there are differences between US and UK English.

Just for fun, I thought I’d try to assess some of our language differences on the basis of word economy and precision.

For example, even though baggage reclaim is two letters longer than baggage claim, it’s far more precise. We don’t just get to take any bag we want.  We have to take the one we brought with us! UK wins.

As you can see, we come out pretty even (in my small sample).

Note: I decided lift and elevator were both inadequate since they only define half of the function of the apparatus to which they refer.

See you all when I get to the other side!

Why go to conferences?

London Online started today.

I stayed on the exhibit floor and met with colleagues, clients, and many other interesting people. It was a productive day.

London Online is one of two conferences I attend where I don’t register for the conference itself. I plan meetings and browse the exhibits when there’s free time.

It seems that the learning I previously experienced at conferences has been replaced by doing, reading, and interacting with smart people.

Conferences are a place to meet those smart people.

The connections made there are far more valuable than the curriculum they offer.

Why do you go to conferences?

Which ones do you think offer the best learning opportunities?

Sticky Situations: My Boss is on Facebook!

You’re someone with definite lines between your work life and your personal life. You work hard, but you play hard.

One of your friends convinces you to get a Facebook account.

You’re not familiar with Facebook, or any social network, but you’re adventurous so you sign up.

As you build your profile your friends start to find you. You accept their invitations to connect.

Some of them are out of control, but they’re your friends.  Let’s face it, sometimes you’re out of control.

You click through to your friend’s profiles and are pretty astounded by what you see. “Interesting” pictures and detailed accounts of your friend's antics abound.

Some of those antics involve you.

They send you “gifts” and say things on your wall, things you probably wouldn’t have shared with the world.

But it’s all good – until today when you open your email and see an invitation to “connect” from your boss.

Now what?

Other Sticky Situations

Partnership Gone South

Sparing Feelings or Being Cruel?

Eavesdropping?

Managing Your Boss

To Call or Not to Call

Sticky Situations: Partnership Gone South

You meet someone who is highly recommended by a colleague.

As you get to know each other it seems as though you share the same philosophies about collaboration, clients, and conducting business.

Your businesses are a perfect complement so you enter into a partnership and jointly work with your first client.

Early in the relationship your partner starts to get territorial. It’s “their way or the highway.”

You try to identify how you might be contributing to the issue. You try to adapt your style. It doesn’t help.

You discuss the issue with your partner, but they don’t see it. In fact, they think these discussions are a testament to your fine working relationship - you two can talk about the tough issues and resolve them. But, they’re not getting resolved, just avoided or ignored.

And, they’re getting worse!

It’s starting to impact the client. They’re not just disregarding you. They’ve started acting this way toward the client.

Now what do you do?

Other Sticky Situations

Sparing Feelings or Being Cruel?

Eavesdropping?

Managing Your Boss

To Call or Not to Call

Sticky Situations: Sparing Feelings or Being Cruel?

Have you ever worked with someone that, regardless of your feelings about them as a person, you knew they were completely unsuited for their position?

Have you ever seen someone that others regularly minimize, marginalize, or ignore because that person offers little or no value in their current role?

Do you think people in that position feel frustrated?

Do you think they ask for help?

I bet they do. I know they do.

I’ve seen it.

As managers, we often find certain topics difficult to discuss, but that doesn’t mean our best option is ignoring them. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite.

What’s more humane?

1. Getting an issue out in the open
2. Letting someone struggle alone
3. Giving someone indirect or useless counsel because you don’t want to hurt their feelings

If someone isn’t suited for their job, or is missing vital skills that must be developed, avoiding the issue isn’t going help anyone.

We’re not sparing their feelings by not discussing their situation honestly. We’re sparing our own!

It’s selfish of any manager not to confront these situations honestly, respectfully, sensitively, AND with the goal of resolving them.