MediaPace : Setting the pace for business-to-business dialogue

The New Face of Business Communications? :-O

When our COO came to me earlier this week to express her astonishment at the increasing use of emoticons and shorthand in business communications, I found it a topic worthy of further discussion. Should this new trend be reserved for teenaged texters? Or has it found a new home on Wall Street?

Personally, I don’t mind the smiley face in an e-mail every now and then. In fact, I clearly remember its progress on AOL and AIM from the basic happy/sad face to a wide variety of emotions. But would I dare use them on a resume, cover letter or professional letter? Now, even I know better than that. 

According to The New York Times, emoticons “have conquered new landscape in the lives of adults, as more of our daily communication shifts from the spoken word to text.” But now, after 25 years of use (the smiley is older than I am?!), the emoticon has jumped off the page and into our spoken language. “Even grown men on Wall Street, for example, will weave the term ‘QQ’ (referring to an emoticon that symbolizes two eyes crying) into conversation as a sarcastic way of saying ‘boo hoo.’” 

But do they belong in business? After some research, it seems the general consensus is no. Inc. editor-at-large Leigh Buchanan finds them insulting, as if assuming one lacks the emotional intelligence to infer attitude from mere words. So, she continues, “what does it say about a company when employees pepper their e-mail with the sort of juvenile glyphs common in MySpace chats?” My advice: Save the smileys for your cell phones and instant messages if you want to be taken seriously in the business world.

Posted by Kate Patton

Madison Avenue Goes to Brooklyn

Listen up, ad industry folks: Now you can start grooming your future advertising superstars from the moment they enter high school. 

With New York’s Advertising Week in full swing, it was only appropriate for Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz to announce plans on Monday for an advertising-themed Brooklyn high school. The school, dubbed the “Fame” of the advertising world (and hopefully without its own musical), is hoping to raise the presence of African-Americans and Hispanics in the ad industry through its melting-pot central Brooklyn location. According to Advertising Age, it will also “allow students to explore careers in advertising and media while helping to promote diversity in the industry.” Sigh. Makes me wish I could start the ninth grade all over again.

If the New York City Department of Education approves it, the school will open in September 2008 to an estimated 400 students, and Advertising High could not have arrived at a better time.  The curriculum is sure to be focused on the use of Web 2.0 tools in advertising.  While our CEOs are desperately trying to understand social networking sites, widgets, blogs, online video, and wikis in order to reach out to their customers, kids today are already using them in their daily lives. I’ll save you the mention of  Myspace and YouTube for the millionth time, but you know what I am talking about.

So look out advertisers, your world is about to be transformed. And forgive my Madonna reference, but we are living in a digital world… and these are digital kids.

Posted by Jenna Lisanti

What You Missed at ABM’s B-to-B Meets Mobile Media

As digital transformation continues to encourage our technological ventures, I attended yesterday’s Digital Breakfast with Byte – B-to-B Meets Mobile Media eager to learn about what I thought would be a minor supplement to the online phenomenon. One small fact changed my mind. Moderator Michael Lavitt, senior producer at Aviation Week, began the breakfast with this mind-blowing statistic: There are approximately 670 million PCs out there nation-wide, and more than 2 billion mobile devices. If that’s not enough to convince you that mobile media will be the next big thing, consider this: 1.1 billion mobile handsets (more than half the amount already in existence) are expected to be sold in the year 2007 alone.

The audience is out there. It’s rapidly expanding. And it’s ready to include the mobile device as a primary platform for seeking and receiving information. Panelists from ALM, Texterity, FAST and ComVu gathered to speak first-hand about incorporating mobile technology into their business models during the professional development breakfast. And because the device formerly known as a cell phone is offering a lot more than calling capabilities these days – including digital media interfaces, live streaming video, lead generation and more – b-to-b is quickly becoming all ears.

Apple has emerged from the sidelines and recently delivered some of the industry’s most innovative new products. Texterity is using some of these devices, specifically Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch, to deliver entire magazines through a digital interface and portal which utilizes the Safari browser to offer a fully-functional and high-quality reading experience. ComVu is currently streaming live video between mobile devices and computers, its latest attempt to get “your brand in their hand” and further revolutionize news reporting capabilities.   

Though “mobile is usually not at the top of a company’s budget and priority lists,” according to Texterity’s Cimarron Buser, sessions dedicated to the technology are important in order to acknowledge changing customer expectations. It’s still relatively early and kinks in the system remain, but it’s never too soon to begin the dialogue with audiences and advertisers to increase your chances of maximizing on this new platform that’s transforming business media.

[Editor’s note: In case you missed the in-person event or live video broadcast, you can catch it anytime, on-demand, via our video archives.]

Posted by Kate Patton

The Virtual World of B-to-B

It’s time for b-to-b to get a life. No, I’m not talking real world, actual, physical life. Second Life is the next big thing, and business media companies are rapidly hopping aboard the bandwagon. This three-dimensional online fantasy world built by hundreds of thousands of Web surfers has a lot going on: virtual shopping, socializing, gaming, etc. But Second Life, created and operated by San Francisco-based Linden Lab, has attracted many of the biggest b-to-b marketers, agencies and media companies out there, including Cisco Systems, IBM and CMP Technology.

But it seems Second Life is about more than building the hottest avatar. It’s actually a valuable tool for education, marketing and event management. According to BtoB, marketers are using the environment to hold virtual trade shows, media conferences and training seminars and communicate with key audiences, while other business media companies are setting up virtual shops to supplement their real-world businesses. 

The American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) cites several reasons why business editors need to get a (Second) Life. Virtual worlds are not only a global phenomenon, but also one of the best ways to reach the next generation. They’re undoubtedly one of the most powerful means of bringing buyers and sellers together.

But with every exciting new trend comes a few downsides. BtoB says that limitations such as security and scalability are turning some business marketers and advertisers away from the new venue. Drew Neisser, president and CEO of integrated marketing agency Renegade, points to issues such as technical glitches, security concerns (like hacking) and difficulties attracting a sizeable audience. Fortunately, these matters have been acknowledged, and Second Life marketers are working on measures to address such issues.

So, in the meantime, I suggest you start working on your avatar.

Posted by Kate Patton

Facebook: From social network to business network

Oh, Facebook. You got me through my college years, allowing me to secretly peer into the lives of anyone I met, and you loyally kept me posted on where my friends were working, whose birthday was coming up, and who was having a party. When I created my account in April 2004, Facebook was simply a way to check out the cute boy sitting next to me in class; today it is a way to meet a business partner for lunch. Three years later and now open to the public, the site has revolutionized the way we view social networking and is not just for college students anymore.

So, with the many social networking sites out there, why are more and more people, especially the professional set, turning to Facebook for their business connections? Let me count the ways…

LinkedIn, another social networking site focused on helping professionals make and maintain business connections, is a type of Facebook for the working world. Users can post resumes and “connect” with colleagues. But let’s face it – LinkedIn is dull. Every so often, I get an email telling me I have a new connection, and then I remember that I actually have a LinkedIn profile. As blogger Jeff Pulver comments on BusinessWeek, “my world at LinkedIn was pretty flat, nonviral, and there was no compelling reason for me to stay and interact with the community.” Similarly, my LinkedIn profile is just hanging out in cyberspace, waiting for new connections to arrive.

Now boasting 33 million users (and 41% of them over 35), the original Facebook college crowd has graduated, and these former students no longer have the same use for the network as they once did. With the introduction of third-party applications and the ability to join work networks and groups, people can actually interact with others who have similar interests and goals in a less formal manner. According to the blog Inside Facebook, a new application is in development that will let users separate their friend lists into different categories, such as “work,” “personal,” etc., thus allowing work and play to peacefully coexist on one site.

It seems that what once started as a domain for college students is now smoothly transitioning into a professional network that the over-30 crowd and even your mom can enjoy and benefit from in the business world. So come on, take a look, you know you want to…

Posted by Jenna Lisanti