Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

"Free" Platforms, Online Truth Filters, and Who Owns Your Tweets

The stories I'm sharing this weekend all speak to the value of thinking about consequences -- both intended and unintended. "Free" as a tool sounds great, how does it sound when it's a business model? Who's the watchdog for information freely circulating online and how does lack of filters impact your business? How and when can police search social networks? "Free" Platforms, Online Truth Filters, and Who Owns Your Tweets The three stories that caught my eye this week are: +++ Dalton Caldwell says Fred Wilson is wrong about free. The post in response to a post used to be... Read more →

Promises Technology Offers

+++ "We fear the things – and people – that we do not understand far more than the things we do, even if the latter are much more risky. For this reason, it's not surprising that people fear technology. Its newness is confusing and no one's quite certain what to do with the promises it offers." [Danah Boyd] +++ In the paper linked here, Boyd asks some pointed questions about socio-technical conundrums. They manifest often as emotional responses that affect lives and business trade. We do fear the things we don't understand. Fear engages dynamics that drive scarcity mindset, disconnects,... Read more →

The (new) Marketing Revolution

Is marketing that makes business sense. First a short trip down memory lane to an article by Robert J Keith -- who was then Executive Vice President consumer product area and a Director of the Pillsbury Company -- published in the Journal of Marketing circa 1959. [hat tip and link Mark Earls] The revolution Keith talks about is based on a change of philosophy (in business), and one of its effects will be the emergence of marketing as the dominant function in American business. It is a fascinating article especially due to the clarity of thought and simplicity of presentation.... Read more →

How to Have a Conversation

“Speak clearly; speak easily but not too much, especially when others want their turn; do not interrupt; be courteous; deal seriously with serious matters and gracefully with lighter ones; never criticize people behind their backs; stick to subjects of general interest; do not talk about yourself; and, above all, never lose your temper.” [Cicero via The Economist] +++ When in doubt, get back to basics. Returning to the classics for wisdom about one of the oldest technologies and tools still in use today: conversation. We have conversations to learn and inform, to break down occurences and make sense of what... Read more →

Sephora: It Comes Down to (Good) User Experience, Even in the Store

One of the sessions I attended at WOMMA last November was a case study overview of Sephora social media involvement. Word of mouth works best when you provide a great experience. Period. How do you do that? We all want to be heard and understood. When you're a product company that sells in a highly competitive market like the beauty industry, you focus on impeccable service. Why go to a Sephora store if you don't intend to buy a Sephora product? Because they are nice in addition to being professional and knowledgeable. Sephora is the Apple store of the beauty... Read more →

From Customer Conversation to Conversion

For many organizations, integrating the customer experience with social media remains a challenge. The teams in charge of advertising, product marketing, and public relations are still learning to work together. While those discussions are taking place, the customer is the driver's seat. Marketing that makes business sense, means taking a look at how you design and build the entire organization, nnot just the promotional end of things. Solid execution is key to results. How do you get all your marketing and communication to work together to deliver performance? For starters you design a product or service the market wants --... Read more →

Making Things Operational

Two parts to making things happen: (1.) see things to comprehend, and to be able to leverage the value of our personal insight (2.) develop a keen sense of how to articulate what you want to say to connect with others You do that with a certain degree of commitment and persistence and begin to make the most out of your resources to: - build involvement - gain insight - implement innovation Thus increasing leverage and extending reach. You have a number of tools, technologies, and channels you can employ. Relationships still take time to set -- the same or... Read more →

High Resolution Appreciation

"Almost everybody has Their Thing for which they have high resolution appreciation. The problem is when we want and expect everyone in our domain to have the same exact Thing." [Kathy Sierra] +++ This was a thoughtful comment Kathy Sierra contributed to a conversation about technology at 37Signals. Follow the link on her name, and you will find the whole thread. In light of our need to connect with others to get things done and to pay off our social desire to belong and form community, this short quote leads to a significant insight. When we look to solve problems,... Read more →

The Art of the Start

I'm rereading The Art of the Start written by Guy Kawasaki. The book is still very current in that Kawasaki focuses on his experience to address a series of frequently avoided questions (FAQs). What should we work on and do today, this moment, that can make a difference? The hardest thing of all to starting anything is the starting point itself. We find millions of ways to avoid the hard questions and doing the work. Read the Change This manifesto for a sample of some of the practical tips Kawasaki shares (with plenty of humor) in the book. The gist... Read more →

Story is there to Remind us We're Human

"We all think that an exception is going to be made in our case and we're going to live forever. Being a human is actually arriving at the understanding that that's not going to be. Story is there to remind us that it's just OK." [Ken Burns] +++ The things that matter more to us is the whole, the sum of the parts, where 1+1 equals 3. Stories and shades of gray, and there are hundreds of ways to make them compelling. We do coalesce around stories that seem transcendent, as Burns says in the short video below. Stories ere... Read more →