B(abble)log - Archives
1. Courtesy of Mark Dykeman, we get The Doctor McCoy Guide to Healing Sick Content. No “Bones” about it, there are lots of smart insights.
2. It would appear that web searchers are getting search-savvy and using more and more words per query. Andy Beal reports that we are using longer keyword searches compared to four years ago. The long tail just got a little longer.
3. This week, Gmail went down in flames and in mere minutes, Gmail became Gfail. Iain Tait captures a bit of the brouhaha that unleashed on Twitter.
4. Kim Krause Berg writes an incredibly insightful piece and tells us why the worlds of SEO and usability need to merge.
5. I wrote about them before, but it appears that QR codes are starting to hit the mainstream. Nick Burcher sees a marvelous opportunity for micro-messaging, local info and more. A good read!
6. Here’s a rather interesting story in the “Can’t See the Forest for the Trees” kind of a way. Find out why an attempt to reinvigorate a brand was a customer experience misstep when buyers couldn’t locate their favourite juice.
7. Think e-mail marketing has gone the way of the dinosaur? Think again, and see what we can learn from it.
8. Words. They are very precise little tools that can influence behaviour. Take a peek at “Yes, if… Words of the Enabler” and see if it might coax you to move away from “No, because.”
9. After Deadline is a great blog on grammar from the NYTimes.com. This entry examines if the word none is plural or singular and other hobgoblins of style.
10. Copyranter discovered some very odd advertising indeed from a local Montreal hair salon.
Friday Fun
Michael Bungay Stanier has put out a new movie. (Full disclosure, he’s a client of mine.) It’s thought provoking and inspiring – Find Your Great Work.
Crazy? Impossible? Decide for yourself. Ten men aim to re-invent integral film for vintage Polaroid cameras.
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Social media has changed the music industry. Bands now actively promote themselves on MySpace, interact with fans through dynamic websites and blogs, and use the power of the collective to sell out gigs.
Sweet Billy Pilgrim is a three-piece band from the UK that is one of those bands that is plugged into new media. Tim Elsenburg, the band’s frontman, very kindly took some time to speak with me via email to answer some questions about how Sweet Billy Pilgrim is navigating the waters. We discuss the mythology of the MySpace page, finding your audience and the business model of the new music economy.
You’ve got a new album, Twice Born Men, coming out on March 16th. First of all, tell me a little bit about this project.
We recently signed to David Sylvian's Samadhisound label, and we tend to find ourselves hunching under the umbrella of 'folktronica' alongside UK artists like Adem, Tunng and Psapp. I think we'd need a slightly bigger umbrella (one of those golfing ones?) to account for the influence of atmospheric, progressive pop bands like The Blue Nile and Elbow, but essentially we take acoustic noises and atmospheric electronic ones, and try to mix them all up in as emotive and honest a way as we can.
Twice Born Men is our second record, and it's a sort of concept album, in the loosest sense. It starts at the end of the heart's little journey and then works its way back to the beginning, which is actually the end anyway, so it's kind of like that Elton John song in the Lion King... only longer, and with less lions. There are some tigers though, oddly enough.
Sweet Billy Pilgrim as well as the individual members have MySpace pages. Tell me about the strengths of MySpace from a music marketing perspective.
I'm in two minds about MySpace these days. It seems to me that many of the musicians there have swallowed those (possibly) mythical stories of record companies signing bands on the strength of them having hundreds of thousands of friends, and so they just spend an hour every evening adding people in an effort to look popular. That has the knock-on effect of rendering everyone's Friend Request pages completely ungovernable, so that no one actually has the time or inclination to listen to any of the music anymore.
Without the music element, there is no advantage to MySpace; there are other networking sites with infinitely more elegant interfaces, so basically it's just there as a quick, crude, easily reached reference for people like me who read a review and want to navigate quickly to somewhere they can hear what they've been reading about before they buy it. You can hear a song or two, a quick scan of the biog, and then you're gone.
It surprises me, with the current state of things in the music 'industry', that the musicians are still often the conservative ones when it comes to their aspirations. So many young bands still gaze down in awe at the imagined dotted line that'll lead to the O2 Arena and loads of girls / boys with alcopop-breath. It's not really going to happen anymore, with a few exceptions here and there, and it won't matter how many MySpace chums you have. What we have instead is the chance to put music out there, not as a means to an end, but actually as the end.
How's anyone going to make money out of that? We haven't quite got to that question yet, because first we have to find and connect to our audience. I still think it's a very exciting time to be making music, because for the first time we can make that connection. We can provide real context from which people can listen to what we do; background, influences, even personality perhaps, and all via SN.
In addition to MySpace, Sweet Billy Pilgrim is very connected; you’re on Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. How did you decide which social networks you would use to connect to fans?
Just wandered about like lost children until we saw people congregating, and then - like the sheep we are - joined in ! There was no plan. We looked at what other people use, and really the only thing we had to bear vaguely in mind was that we're over 30, and therefore a 'heritage' act in the eyes of the industry (that's a real term, apparently). No point in us hanging around on Bebo or CafeMom, because it'd be inappropriate and a waste of time.
How have social networks changed the relationship between a band and its fans?
Well, there is a relationship now, apart from the one a band and an audience establish at a show, which obviously differs in being a more shared experience. When I discover new music, I'm very keen to absorb as much information as possible about an artist. I like finding out about the records they like, and what guitars they use (I don't get out much). Following a band via social networks is a chance to learn all that, and have the chance to interact with the artist too. I can never understand it when an artist opens a Twitter or MySpace profile and then leaves it to a PR person or manager to update when there's new product or a show to hawk.
I understand that some artists like to be a bit mysterious and intriguing, but we're kind of the opposite of that. We've done some fairly serious electronica festivals, all involving bearded men staring intensely at laptops, and when we amble on and chat to the audience inbetween songs there's almost a collective sigh of relief: We've invited them in.
I think that the social networking side of things should really just be an extension of that. They've invited us into their lives by coming to a show, or buying our record, so it would be a shame not to return the compliment. I get lots of good records recommended to me too, so I'd miss out on all that.
Has the online interaction with fans helped to shape any musical direction/the creative process?
No. Not really. I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to the songs. On one occasion though, it has directly influenced my choice of shirt onstage. Apparently someone has also created a dance especially for one of our songs, which makes me a bit nervous.
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker recently lamented that the entertainment industry has exchanged “analog dollars for digital dimes”. The traditional concept of the album-as-artifact is quickly changing in today’s market of (often) free digital media downloads. Can you talk to me a bit about Sweet Billy Pilgrim’s business model in the new music economy?
I guess we're kind of lucky, in that our appeal - demographically speaking - would probably be to the last group of people perhaps interested in buying physical CD product. Samadhisound pride themselves on beautiful artwork, which certainly helps us to be noticed by the collectors. We do give away quite a bit of music though. I'm not precious about it. The last album went into stores with little or no PR, except for the support of the mp3 blogging community.
I'm not under any illusions that there's a living to be made from my songs, which - in a way - is quite freeing. If people don't want to pay for music, then they won't. All you can hope - naively perhaps - is that they might come to a show or buy a T-shirt, or even buy the next record if they love what they hear.
The important thing becomes getting the songs out there. Onto people's iPods... their Last.fm profiles... their phones... Then there's hope at least! The democratizing effect of the internet and affordable recording equipment means that there's load of great music out there - probably more than ever - but also that there's even more rubbish, so it becomes a matter of trying to stand out a bit.
Word of mouth seems to be the key there, so answering messages, passing on information, sharing free music with the bloggers; just joining in as creative and non-cynical a way as possible does seem to inspire a bit of brand loyalty, to use a horrible phrase. People might talk about us because they like the music, but it's never just been about music, so the details start to matter a whole lot more. Plus, almost everyone I've encountered is really lovely.
What will 2009 hold for Sweet Billy Pilgrim?
I'm going to restart my mp3 blog. I've discovered so many great new bands in the last few years, and I need somewhere to yarn about them. I've just finished a collaboration with Adem for a BBC Radio 3 commission, so that'll be aired in March or April. Then there are a couple of remixes to do and various shows and festivals coming up in the UK.
Related Resources
Official Sweet Billy Pilgrim Website
Sweet Billy Pilgrim on MySpace
Tim Elsenburg on MySpace
Twitter - Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Flickr - Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Facebook - Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Last.fm - Sweet Billy Pilgrim
1. Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, she said shaking her head. This week a small, but meaningful change to Facebook’s Terms of Service (TOS) caused a lot of people to go ballistic. Facebook did an about-face and now Adrants notes that with people deleting their accounts in droves, Facebook is begging people to stay. You know when there are cartoons of Facebook confiscating furniture, the TOS issue is out of control.
2. As always, Smashing Magazine does an absolutely smashing job of discussing 9 common usability mistakes in web design.
3. The world of search is evolving very quickly. TechRadar shows how Google and Yahoo are getting smarter and moving toward understanding longer, natural language search strings, location-aware search, real-time local search and a whole bunch more.
4. Over at The Social Path, David Griner provides a slideshow on social media and its role in a bust economy. Sure there’s some bad news, but for people involved in social media, there’s good news as well.
5. David Alston at Radian6 channels his inner Johnny Cash and offers up a rollicking way of spreading the news about some new features. Well done!
6. David Feldt over at Organic’s blog Three Minds (a consistently outstanding blog, by the way) talks about Twestival, and how social media has helped us to connect, exchange ideas and create extraordinary change. I was pleased to play my small part in Twestival Montreal, where we raised enough money for a clean-water well. There are a few of my Flick Twestival Montreal photos here and you can also check out photos by Dallas Curow and Sandman5.
7. Rand from SEOmoz.org invented the word “bucketizing” to describe how to arrange gigantic lists keywords into smaller, more manageable groups.
8. One of the great things about Twitter, is sometimes I’m alerted to gems, like this piece from Jim Tobin at Marketing Pilgrim that discusses why the social media genie isn’t going back in the bottle and why there is a need for specialized SM agencies.
9. This made me smile several times and nod my head… Your Internet marketing campaign is screwed when…
10. My pal Adele McAlear sent me this, knowing my inner grammar geek. If you hate unnecessary quotes, you’ll enjoy it too.
Friday Fun
I missed this earlier and if you haven’t seen it, it will definitely raise some eyebrows – Adfreak’s Freakiest Ads of January 2009.
Sick and tired of spammy DMs on Twitter? Try sending this in response, a gentle reminder that not everyone is fond of automatic direct messages. (Thanks @zoonini!)
Writing is a journey. It goes beyond "content" and filling empty pages. It’s understanding the message and its relevance to the person reading the words on the page. Writing has the ability to transport us, take us away, change us. It connects us as people. It can make us laugh out loud. It can change our opinions. It can seduce and elicit an emotional response. Writing is powerful. Words matter. Use them wisely.
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Writing is a journey. It goes beyond "content" and filling empty pages. It’s understanding
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1. Attention Montreal bloggers, Tourism Montreal, along with AOR Sid Lee, will be hiring bloggers and vloggers as "brand ambassadors" for the city. Lots of people were wondering about transparency and the ethics of paid blogging. Kim Vallee takes a commonsense approach and shares some insights on the topic of Community Managers.
2. That Google just keeps on growing. New this week, it’s launched Social Web Blog.
3. This is so cool!! Eric Brown, a Detroit-area apartment owner is using MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and blogs to reach out his 500 tenants. He uses social media to solve problems, rent apartments and reach out to his Royal Oak community. Learn from his ups and downs.
4. This week Marketing Pilgrim reported that Twitter is gearing up to charge businesses. Brand Republic quoted founder Biz Stone (Isn’t that the best name ever??) as saying 'We are noticing more companies using Twitter and individuals following them. We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts.' Over at Adland, dabitch raises some good questions on the matter.
5. Gary Vee has some harsh words for CEOs, and tells us all why personality matters.
6. At Mashable, Rick Burns has a great post called “Why Every Company is a Media Company." Inspired reading.
7. Forced Tweeting? Read what Jen Reeves has to say.
8. Want your SEO investment to pay immediate dividends? Not going to happen. Read Mark Jackson’s article Give SEO Time at Search Engine Watch.
9. Have you been tagged in Facebook for the 25 Random Things About Me craze? Of course, who hasn’t?! But Slate Magazine digs deep to find out were it all started.
10. For all you web designers out here, Search Engine Journal reports that the Big Three seach engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN) have joined forces to get rid of dupplcate content, often caused by variations of the same URL (www.company.com, company.com, www.company.com/index) Introducing the new <link> HTML tag.
Friday Fun
I leave you this week with these wise words I found via Iain Tait's CrackUnit.
The countdown is on! Twestival Montreal is in two days. Two. So, if you haven't bought tickets, now is the time to do it.
This is "Time Bomb", a promotional video featuring Beck for charity: water. It features well-drilling projects in the Central African Republic. Directed by Simon Willows, it's a really inspiring video.
charity: water promo featuring "Time Bomb" by Beck from charity: water on Vimeo.
1. What if you Googled your name and didn’t like what showed up in the results? The Wall Street Journal’s Julia Angwin takes a layman’s trip through the world of search engine optimization in “It’s a New Me (As Seen on Google)"
2. There has been a lot of backlash against some of the folks who call themselves social media experts. Dave Fleet offers 8 questions to ask your social media expert. And I suspect more social media companies might start showcasing case studies.
3 My colleague Elia from Rossul Design sent me the news that Google Latitude had launched. It’s an add-on social network service that allows friends to see where you are and could allow marketers to target users' in real-time locations via mobile, then pitch them with local deals. It's intriguing but I'm not sure I want messages from my friends saying “Oh Char, are you at Olive & Gourmando AGAIN? Step away from the brownies, woman!” While Marketing Pilgrim’s Jordan McCollum notes that Google has covered privacy issues, Dan Tynan wonders if Google is taking too much latitude?
4. Ever wonder why pants, trousers and corduroys all sound plural when there is only one of them? Wonder no more. Grammar Gal has you covered. She also takes on scissors and measles.
5. What can we all learn from a restaurant in Bend, Oregon? A lot apparently. In this fascinating look at a restaurant’s demise, Brand Insight Blog examines why trends seldom translate into a lasting brand and differentiation isn’t good enough. Oddly enough, we can learn a helluva lot from cows as well.
6. Over at AdPulp, there is an interesting look at content, and why it matters.
7. Paul Dunay has put together some valuable resources – read Personal Brand Organization Tips.
8. Despite the over-the-top title, Top Ten Secrets to Social Network Superstardom , Marketing Profs’ Paul Chaney offers up some very sage advice.
9. Steve Rubel asks “Is the Google cookie tracking everyone’s surfing habits?” A Google spokesperson has said no they don’t, but Steve still has a few questions. Stay tuned on this one.
10. As a copywriter, I really enjoyed “Practice Pacing the Rhythm of Your Copy” at GrokDotCom. All writing has a meter, so be aware of your copywriting’s tempo and the mood it sets.
Friday Fun
1. This 70s ad for socks is very, very disturbing. (Thanks Copyranter!)
2. I love a lot of these huge outdoor ads. Very clever. Enjoy!!
What if those ubiquitous, generic male and female icons that appear on signs everywhere had a life of their own? In the Pedestrian Project, they do. The familiar icons in real-life settings are strangely mesmerizing.
Thanks to Armin at Speak Up for the heads-up!
Hot on the heels of updating its own favicon (short for “favorites icon”) to mixed reviews, Google confirmed that it was testing the use of favicons in search results for select users. (A favicon is that 16x16 pixel square icon –usually a “mini-logo”- for any given website that appears in your web browser’s URL bar.)
Marketing VOX noted:
The change, if unrolled nationwide, will yield favicons a potentially high number of free impressions resulting from search. It will also add color and variety to Google's search results, which have statistically benefited from "blending": the process of incorporating different media, including images, company reviews, maps and videos, into standard text results.
Colour and variety – why should it matter? Because, we are inherently visual beings. Imagine scanning a list of search results for “winter boots” and you saw a logo that you vaguely recognized – maybe an online retailer like Zappos (which sports a large Z favicon) or a manufacturer like Kamik, whose favicon is an inukshuk.
Would you be more drawn to something that you’ve seen before, even if you couldn’t quite remember where?
The brand-building/web-presence aspect of the favicon is underestimated. When push comes to shove, favicons are visual shortcuts that jog our memory.
These little “brand bits” are everywhere. In the URL area of web browser, in our browser bookmarks lists, in our web browser tabs, in RSS feeds, and on and on. They may be small, but it doesn’t diminish their significance.
Back in November, The New York Times reported that Rosellina Ferraro, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Maryland, and her research into fleeting glimpses of logos.
Subjects were shown 20 photographs of people in various situations and instructed to focus on facial expressions. What they didn’t know was that somewhere in 12 of those photos there was also a bottle of Dasani water. Afterward, each subject was offered a bottle of water from a selection of four brands. About 17% of those who looked at Dasani-free pictures, chose that brand. But about 40% of those who viewed a group of pictures that included a Dasani presence made the brand their pick.
“In essence,” Ferraro says, “we have these brief social encounters fairly regularly, and they may have an impact on our choices.”
So, if Google does roll out a new search results format that includes favicons, those 256 pixels could make a significant difference.
If you haven’t seen it, check out this video in which Derren Brown turns the table on some agency guys.
 to mixed reviews, Google confirmed that it …&topic=Online Content Tips Visual Things){kind=small}
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