The magic of social media. A {growtoon}.
May 17th
Join the growtoonists each Friday for a humorous take on marketing, social media, and current business events.
Joey Strawn is a social media strategist who loves enjoying a good book and then drawing in it. Check him out on Twitter: @joey_strawn
The changes to Google+ are great. But they don’t matter
May 16th
What an exciting week of announcements from Google!
Of course many of us in the social media space were focused on the interface improvements on Google+, but the company also announced:
- It is re-charging the crucial Maps effort, including graphics, animations, and local landmarks
- Partnership with NASA on a new quantum computer laboratory to study artificial intelligence
- A host of specialized apps for Google Glass called Glassware, including alliances with Evernote, CNN, and Elle
- A new free photo storage system that gives you an option to let Google select, tag, and improve your photos for you
- A Spotify-like streaming music feature called All Access.
- Significant enhancements to Google Now, a competitor to Siri.
I wanted to stand up and cheer. In fact, I did stand up and cheer. What amazing stuff!
So you might be surprised when a reporter asked me how this will help Google+ win customers away from Facebook and I answered “It won’t.”
Arguably Google+ already had a better interface than Facebook. So why would an even spiffier interface make a difference? It’s not about the interface. It’s about psychology.
In life, we enjoy having choice most of the time. We like picking out a car or a breakfast cereal from a long aisle of choices. But on the web, we don’t want choice. We only have the psychological bandwidth for one Twitter, one LinkedIn, one YouTube. And yes, One Facebook.
Moving from Facebook is not like switching to another website or even another wireless carrier. It’s switching a lifestyle — and that is very, very difficult to get people to do.
According to research from the Social Habit, 80 percent of Americans between 12 and 24 have a Facebook account and are active at least every other day. That is incredible market penetration. Facebook is the largest media entity in history. And their user interface is terrible. Their record on privacy is terrible. Their ads are annoying. None of that seems to matter, right?
What Google does not seem to realize is that they do not have an interface problem. They have a marketing problem. They need to be spending tons of money to connect to “the cool kids” creating influence and lifestyle choices in junior high and high schools. They need to make Google+ teen-fashionable, not more like Pinterest.
I absolutely love what this company is accomplishing. To a large extent, they are creating our future. I’m just not sure if or when Google+ is going to be part of it on a mass scale.
Now I know there are a lot of passionate Plussers out there ready to skewer me in the comment section. That’s OK. All I ask is that instead of focusing on how much you love G+, let’s focus on the concept of platform adoption. Are these changes enough to get Google+ to “tip?
We create content and content also creates us
May 15th
Recently I was interviewed by my friend Elizabeth Sosnow and she asked me about an observation in Return On Influence: “We create content … but in a way, content is also creating us.”
It had been a long time since I thought about this and I thought it was timely to reflect on this powerful concept. I think my friend Jason Falls put it very well when he stated in the book:
“Before the social web, there was always a ceiling or a velvet rope – a limit to where you could go with your influence unless you were somebody famous. Now anybody can be heard. Social media and the Internet makes it possible for every person to be published, find an audience, and become influential.”
Let’s face it, most of the people making an impact on the social web today would not have been heard from even a few years ago, including me. Yes, I create content. But as you see, content is also creating me.
A few months ago, I was cornered at a conference by a lady who kept telling me, “You’re a rockstar! You’re a rockstar!” I realize that “celebrity” is something that exists in a person’s head and there is nothing I can do about it, but this kind of stuff makes me very uncomfortable. I’m no rockstar, trust me. This is a perception … a creation … manufactured entirely by what I publish.
And while I am occasionally unnerved by both the positive and negative extremes of fandom, I realize how very fortunate I am to live in a time when my voice can be heard and I can truly have an impact on a global audience.
And you know what? You can have an impact, too.
If you’re not using this amazing, historic opportunity to publish, you’re missing out on one of the greatest technological gifts of our generation. Free publishing tools. Access to the world. The ability to connect with people nearly anywhere.
If you’re not a decent writer, try video blogs. If you don’t like video, start a podcast. If you don’t want to commit to podcasts, how about slide presentations on Slideshare, or even photographs on Instagram?
This is Jason’s time because he found blogging and committed to it. This is my time because I have the courage to create conversational content.
If you haven’t become a content creator, what are you waiting for? This is your time too! What are you going to do about it?















You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark Schaefer

