Strategic Social Networking - Archive

Podcast Brings Experience to Social Media Questions

Presaging their inaugural Social Media Analytics Summit in April, Text Analytics News has posted the podcast of their recent Social Media Analytics Panel.

The panel brings together Bill Touhig of J.D. Power & Associates, Robin Seidner of Radian6, and Beyond the Arc’s Steven J. Ramirez. The social media analytics experts share their insights in the 55 minute podcast. The description describes the discussion content:

Analytic technologies and techniques being used to make business sense of the flood of user-generated content
The cutting edges of social media and sentiment analysis – what works, where improvements are being made, and which platforms are leading the way
The comparison between proprietary and do-it-yourself tools for social media analysis
Effective ways for leveraging social media information to get a leg up on your competition

I can’t fit my two pages of notes here, so do yourself a favor and check out the podcast for yourself. A couple of observations stuck with me.

First, with social media data, more is not better. This may seem obvious to some, but it is not the case with other data types, where more volume produces more accurate results. Instead, analysts find that they must narrow the data to exclude the vast amounts of irrelevant input that social media provides. That process adds a lot of complexity.

Second, text analytics is experiencing a talent gap. As Ramirez quipped, if you know young people just starting out, advise them to go into this as-of-yet-low-competition field. Many companies would prefer to save the cost of hiring a consultant, and most business users can probably figure things out. If the analysis needs are comparatively simple, that is. However, companies must invest in tools and training for the best in-house results.

Do yourself a favor: invest in attendance to the Social Media Analytics Summit this spring.

Cynthia Murrell, January 10, 2012

Social Media in 2011 and 2012

In an article on the subject of social media, Social Media in 2011, and 2012, last year was summarized and predictions scored. Google+, after repeated failures, seems to have conquered their woes in 2011. And, Linkedln, the world’s largest professional network, is keeping the market happy trading $20 a share higher than their IPO price. Linkedln is well positioned for future hiring with their massive database of resumes. And last, but not least, Instagram made 2011 the year of the photo with a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures, sent on the fly via your iPhone – and it’s free!

The following are a few interesting quotes regarding social media: 13 Great Social Media Quotes

“The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about positioning, and social media is about becoming, being and improving.” – Chris Brogan, author of “Trust Agents”

“The value of being connected and transparent is so high that the roadbumps of privacy issues are much lower in actual experience than people’s fears.” – Reid Hoffman, founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn

“How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” – Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog

Predictions for 2012 are flying in the wind at this time and one in particular is business and media will take advantage of trans-media web publishing for media coverage such as news, ads, and stories to be accessed on one micro-site. I suppose this simplifies things and in turn saves time, and time is money. Also, another prediction is that network and cable TV will remain status quo. I know sometimes change is good, but in this case web TV is just not ready for the TV viewers of the world.

Sandy McIntosh, January 4, 2012

Social Media Marketing Analytics (SMA) Continued – A Closer Look at Strategic Development and Strategic Connections

With brand monitoring and competitive research, a business can collect a wealth of knowledge – but then what? In “Social Media Marketing Analytics – Strategic Development, Part Four Of An Exclusive 7-Part Series,” Midure explains:

“As I tell every client that comes into our agency, when developing a strategy in the social media arena, simplicity and incremental implementation is key…Start off small and gain momentum such as building a Facebook Page. Then roll in some nice applications as tabs, develop a content calendar and possibly try some promotions such as a sweepstakes. Then dive into Twitter, look into the investment of building a blog as well a backing everything up with some Search Engine Marketing to boost visibility and traffic to your assets.”

Strategic or tactical? Maybe some of each. Jumping into the social media arena requires both.

Strategic Connections are covered in “Social Media Marketing Analytics – Strategic Connections, Part Five Of An Exclusive 7-Part Series”:

“Insights tools such as Alteiran SM2 allow you to uncover what I like to call “power users/sources” because it ranks an individual or entities “popularity/influence…Why is this important? It gives you a great understanding of how viable the user/source is in terms of making a connection. What are the benefits? Marketing effectiveness by taking advantage of the user/source’s avid network of followers/supporters.”

Power users can be ‘Joe Schmo’ with avid Twitter followers, a popular blog or celebrity, or a well-known CEO. Web statistics, like unique site visits, Tweets, or user interactions, make it possible to track how influential these power users are.

Insight tools may make finding these connections easier, but actually tapping into power users’ networks may prove more challenging. In the labyrinth of social media, tracking strategic connections can quickly turn into too many numbers with too little strategy.

Philip West

November 30, 2011

Expanding the Patent Information Community: PatentPoints.com

On August 9, 2011, ArnoldIT and Quasar Capital Advisors made publicly available an alpha test of a free patent information service. PatentPoints.com provides a “vertical file” of curated information about business implications of patents and intellectual property. The information service is built upon the Augmentext technology and candidate articles for the vertical file are identified using the ArnoldIT Overflight technology.

The writing team consists of a law librarian, an attorney, and a journalist. The writing team told SSN:

We want to get feedback on the alpha test of the service. Our plan is to create a social component to the information service tapping into the features of Facebook and Google+ (Google Plus). We think that our curated and annotated information will be anchor points for lively discussion of the business and related issues triggered by patent activities.

The idea of curating content and providing commentary that puts complex matters into a business context is an excellent one. However, what sets the PatentPoints.com service apart is its plan to integrate the information into a social network. Legal information is, says Stephen E Arnold, “a magnet for those with familiarity with legal jargon and attorneys who reference cases or documents that are often not easy to obtain with a Web search. Our goal is provide easy to understand information and stimulate a discussion of business issues affected by the surge in patent litigation.”

The service is sponsored by Quasar Capital Advisors, a next generation financial services firm. The system is built on the Augmentext technology developed by Stephen E Arnold, ArnoldIT.com. Mr. Arnold’s Overflight information service is used to identify candidate stories which are then vetted by the editor, Constance Ard, an MLS and law librarian with more than a decade of experience working in law firms.

The service is updated each day, Monday through Friday. The alpha Web site offers a search box so the backfile of content is easily accessible. Like other Augmentext information services, a controlled vocabulary is used to index the content, so a user can search via a controlled term such as “patent research” or a free text string.

The alpha service will accept sponsorships during the alpha test period. For information about how to participate in the sponsorship program, write the PatentPoints team at patentpoints@hotmail.com.

We think the social angle is an important and much needed component to what would otherwise be a complex subject that is having a larger and larger impact on business and innovation.

Benjamin Kent, August 9, 2011

Article One Partners: Crowdsourcing Patent Expertise

July 25th, 2011 | Posted by admin in case study | jobs | networking | News - (0 Comments)

We learned about an interesting social technology application. We read “Are Patents and Intellectual Property the Next Gold Rush?” in the HighGainBlog, published by Stephen E Arnold. He interviewed one of the founders of ArticleOnePartners.com, a fast growing online crowdsourced expert advisory firm. Mr. Arnold spoke with Cheryl A. Milone, Esq. about AOP’s social platform for connecting those with a patent-related question to experts who have particular expertise in the complex field of intellectual property.

One of the passages which struck us as particularly interesting was Ms. Milone’s answer to the question, “Can you give me an example of how the social method works?” Ms. Milone replied:

There is the engineering or technical aspect of a patent. There are financial and business issues. There are risk factors that must be considered and evaluated. In Manhattan, it is possible to locate the expertise needed to tackle a patent matter. However, if one lives in a smaller city, expertise may not be a couple of blocks or a taxi ride away. We tapped the social capabilities of the Internet and assembled an unrivaled, world class team of experts in law and the necessary disciplines to provide the advice, counsel, opinions, and facts our clients require. With our crowdsourcing platform, we can tap the expertise a client requires in a fast, secure, and agile way. Distance is not a factor. Reaction time is accelerated.

What’s interesting is that the AOP approach blends the speed and flexibility of time shifting with the social approach of a large pool of specialists. If you want to know more about the Article One approach, point your browser to www.articleonepartners.com.

A misstep in patents is, as Ms. Milone said, “The present business climate has raised the stakes in what historically has already been a very high stakes game. Obviously a company can be sued and have to pay very sizable damages. The loss in research and development investment is another risk.”

Kenneth Toth, July 25, 2011

MonacoRocks.eu: Open Comments Available

July 13th, 2011 | Posted by admin in case study | Google+ | networking | News - (0 Comments)

My colleague, Stephen E Arnold, publisher of Beyond Search ran a story called “New Vertical Information Service: Monaco Centric Breaks New Ground.” We found the post interesting because it highlighted several reasons why traditional brute force search systems are not working as well as I think they should.

The sharp uptake in interest among consumers and organizations for social media is, in my view, a direct reaction against the failure of the traditional key word search systems. Now I think key word search will be available because it is a utility function. It works quite well when I am looking for a document on my hard drive with a unique word or phrase. Key word search doesn’t work very well in commercial online, which is one reason why ProQuest is working overtime to get a new faceted search system in front of its professional online searchers.

I think the shift from brute force search to social systems such as Facebook and Google+ are clear signals that the era of Excite, Lycos, and HotBot are little used, although revolutionary in their hay day. I also think the shift has some implications for commercial search systems such as WestLaw, LexisNexis, and Questel.

The reason is that it is easier to ask those in a “circle” or “friends” where to vacation. I can see a Facebook social network member saying, “I learned about MonacoRocks.eu. Check it out.” That human reference is similar to the work that a traditional reference librarian performed until the severe budget cutbacks curtailed many essential library functions.

Services like MonacoRocks.eu, therefore, play a role similar to the vertical file in the library I frequented when I was in grade school a decade ago. A vertical service lends itself for diffusion by referral. Of course, if the content is indexed, a person running a key word search on “Monaco green technology” will get hits. But the curated vertical service makes it easy for me to send a link to a person in my Google+ circle saying, “Useful site. Check out http://goo.gl/.” No search needed.

The Beyond Search post at http://wp.me/pf6p2-4PO offers several reasons why a vertical information service is useful. I agree with the points that key word search is a time consumer, not a time saver for some queries. I like the idea of “selectivity”, which is a fancy way of saying “editorial control.” I also find the reference to “high value content” valid, but I think great care must be taken to make sure that source documents are valid and have provenance. Finally, Mr. Arnold asserts:

the vertical information service lends itself to an “app.” The content on this information service is a harbinger of specialized content collection and curation. I think that information applications for the iPad and other mobile devices become much easier when there is a body of high value, focused content.

I do not agree. I think that an app may be created but I think the value of a vertical information service is to provide the type of content that makes it practical to provide brief, useful guidance to a person looking for a location for a business meeting on the Mediterranean.

I hope that MonacoRocks.eu becomes more socially engaged, but the service is new. I applaud the inclusion of open comments. We came across one Monaco centric site that did not permit open comments. When a site makes it difficult for a conversation to be conducted, our question is, “Why aren’t you social?” It also makes me wonder if the blog or Web site has something to hide.

Bruce Wilson, July 13, 2011

Robert Peck on the Confluent Opportunity Space

“Social Media: Fad or Investment Opportunity?” caught my attention this morning. I am on the look out for hard hitting ideas for maximizing the return on investment (ROI) from an organization’s social media activities.

The article asserted:

Paying a sky-high price for something in popular demand can often be a recipe for disappointment. However, the long-term rewards for the winners in this exciting area could be monumental if companies can capitalize on the opportunities through advertising.

Okay. The angle syncs with my view, but I am not sure I have a “hook” or “handle” to grab. I prefer social opportunity insights to have hard facts or a turn of phrase that adds heft or a sticky grip to an opportunity.

What do I mean?

We read an interview with Robert Peck, Quasar CA (the CA stands for “capital advisors). In 2005, Bob, as he is known to his colleagues, flashed on our radar for his early interest in social content, social media, and social networking. A lengthy interview appeared in HighGainBlog.com as “Exclusive Interview: Robert Peck, Quasar Capital Advisors.” We were surprised at the interest one of his insights triggered. Specifically, he talked about a “confluent space.” The example he used was:

HighGainBlog: So what’s the focus of Quasar?

I kept close watch on some of the new business opportunities that were becoming evident where the Wild West of the Internet was intersecting with more traditional businesses. The burgeoning growth of the iPhone and android mobile ecosystems were tremendous for the Internet, as web sites became more accessible for people on the go. Apps only amplified the robustness of Web offerings and expanded the reach of Internet companies”

HighGainBlog: Can you give me an example?

Sure. You have one example in your hand. The Apple iPad is an exemplary product, and it has made clear that the Internet, consumers, and retail can be combined in what seems to be a category killer. I wanted to work in that type of confluent opportunity space. I needed a new vehicle to explore the intersection points that were being created by companies like Apple and other firms.

Here’s the point for the social space, which we will cover more aggressively in Strategic Social Networking in August 2011.

First, the notion of a confluent space is a good one. The stroke of genius was the insertion of “opportunity” in the phrase. So, what we noted is “confluent opportunity space.” Unlike other terms which are mostly without impact in communicating what makes social network centric options so interesting is the packaging of “confluent” and “space”. Opportunity just drives home the upside. In fact, we think the phrase speaks loudly about what types of investment focus Quasar CA has.

Second, in an unrelated sector such as text mining and text analytics, the phrase explains where important companies like Digital Reasoning will be moving. The phrase makes clear that intersections are more important than narrow vectors of expertise. I would go so far as positing this idea:

A narrow vector company limits itself because without confluence–that is, a social and narrow vector combination–breaking into the niches where revenue is obtainable may be impossible.

Third, high value terminillogy connotes sharp thinking. We have to give Bob Peck an “A” in this department. Last week we spoke with two firms. The sparkle scale was tallying a two or three. Mr. Peck was hitting the high nines. That’s Google scale thinking in my book.

Net net: the value of the social shift in online, business functions, and content is a result of confluence. Mr. Peck’s phrase is more suggestive than George Gilder’s “convergence”. See TELECOSM: How Infinite Bandwidth will Revolutionize Our World [

For more information about Robert Peck, visit his Web site at www.quasarca.com.

Stephen E Arnold, July 12, 2011

Sponsored by ArticleOnePartners.com, the source for patent research