The Browser is Dead. Here Comes the Widget.

A recent CNN article claimed that the Internet browser is becoming the most critical piece of software on a device.
 
I disagree completely.
 
The most critical piece of software in the universe today is the mobile application, or widget. 
 
When a person pulls out their smartphone to check the weather, get the latest social updates from friends, or find their way across the state, they are not using a browser.  They are using a mobile application.   They are using an application that makes grabbing relevant information quick, intuitive, contextual, and seamless.  An Internet browser is none of these.
 
A browser makes you very much aware that you are accessing the Internet to obtain information.   You enter an “address” or URL; you have to search; you sift through garbage on pages.  The nuts and bolts of the web are fully exposed and must be tolerated.
 
On a mobile device, there’s no time for this, and the Next-Generation consumer won’t tolerate it.  Interfaces must be engaging, customizable, and must make sense.  Most of all, they better be reliable and fast.
 
Smartphones are quickly becoming the access device of choice for consumers.
 
So isn’t the mobile app the most critical of all software?

Are Your Company’s Leaders Blogging Yet?

Recently I had the opportunity to work with the president of a large Connecticut company to design an executive blog, in order to provide a new communication channel straight through his company.  Many organizational leaders today are using a blog platform to reach their entire staff effectively and personably. 

Here’s a summary for the concept of an executive blog.  Feel free to reuse in your own presentation!

 

 Why Does Your Organization Need an (Internal) Executive Blog?

• To centralize communications within the organization,
• To reinforce corporate vision, mission and priorities easily, and on a regular basis,
• To communicate important news quickly and more personally than a cascaded email allows,
• To support the corporate culture, reinforcing positive trends and discouraging negative behaviors,
• Because it’s simple, and it makes sense!

 

What Does the Executive Leader Blog Look Like?

• It is internally-accessible and browser-based.
• No login required to read.
• Same access rules as your corporate intranet. 
• Author privileges are secured via unique logins.
• Text editor interface to simplify rich content updates and publishing.
• Readers can search previous posts by keyword, date, author, etc…
• Readers can comment and expand discussion when appropriate.

 

What the Executive Blog IS:

• A platform on which to use written communication to connect directly and effectively with your entire staff on a regular basis.
• A medium where people around the company connect further with your leadership, and for some of your newer employees to get to know the Executive Team.  
• A powerful vehicle to be leveraged when required by authorized guest authors. 
• A tool to simplify and consolidate your internal communication strategy, and to give the executive team a direct channel to the entire organization.
• Likely to be a huge success among employees, especially with those segments of your staff who are more comfortable connecting electronically. 

 

What the Executive Blog IS NOT:

• A complete rehash of the last presentation to shareholders.
• A place for polished and rehearsed “corporate-speak.”
• A replacement for external-facing communications.
• A solution to all of your communication challenges.
• An invitation to open-ended online debate and uncontrolled dialogue with employees.

 

What Would an Executive Blog About (REAL WORLD EXAMPLES)?

• “A Busy Day in New York Tomorrow…” [followed by a list of appointments and some thoughts or expectations for those meetings]
• “[Fill in Employee Name] was a Recent Panelist on XYZ”  [followed by a short video clip from the event]
• “Thanks for Joining Me at the Company Picnic!” [followed by favorite pictures] 
• “Thanks for Participating With Me in the [Charity Event]” – Photo Below”
• “We Need Everyone’s Help in Responding to Recent Regulatory Requests – And Here’s Why”
• “Why Product [XYZ] is Important to Our Company”

Use this platform for informal and personal-level communications that also include interesting information.  To be effective, posts should be regular, but NOT TOO FREQUENT.   Once every two weeks is a good starter.   You want to maintain or increase volume over time, NOT DECREASE.   This would be a sign of declining commitment.

 

What Else Would An Executive Leader Blog About?

My friend Tom Clifford has a great blog post with tips for updating your LinkedIn profile, and the same ideas apply here.   To come up with blog post topics, a leader should draw from the following:

• What they’re reading, and why it’s interesting …
• What they’re thinking…
• An interesting person they just met…
• A website they found useful…
• Asks what employees think about XYZ…
• Wants to make sure employees know about …
• Where the company (or the leader) is helping the community…

Using the above ideas as starters gets the blogger over writers block, provides a formula for quick posts, and gives employees some fresh and interesting reading.  The point in this medium is to connect, and that’s done best by revealing something someone may not already know about you.

Examples of Some Great (and Public) Executive Blogs:

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care: http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/

Marriott International http://www.blogs.marriott.com/

Sun Microsystems: http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/?page=4

JetBlue Airways: http://www.jetblue.com/about/ourcompany/flightlog/index.html

Boeing’s Randy Tinseth: http://boeingblogs.com/randy/

When Viral = Good

“Viral” is such an ugly word…

It’s used to describe rampant and exponential spread; a situation in which the originator has lost all control. This, by inference, is a bad thing.

What about when “viral” = “good”?

Vendors are selling social media monitoring products that emphasize the risks of negative company buzz going “viral”, and the importance of mitigating this risk with (hopelessly optimistic) control and containment mechanisms.

My thought is, “what about the positive power of viral distribution?”

What if some good deed that your company did, or some insight that helped your market, went viral? Wouldn’t that be incredible? Does your company encourage this possibility? Do they discourage it? Are your leaders likely to view viral marketing as a tool, or as a risk to be combated, with cynical monitoring and punishment?

Consider these questions, and then help craft a social marketing culture within your organization that takes a more positive view of the power of viral marketing.