Predictions: The Digital Customer Experience in 2010, 2015 and Beyond

Last week I managed to sneak out of the office for a few hours to attend some of the sessions at Toronto Tech Week, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

One of the many well-attended programs included a panel discussion hosted by Sequentia Environics: “Future Forward: the digital customer experience in 2010, 2015 and beyond.”

The panelists included:

• Parth Shukla, Director Interactive & MultiChannel Marketing, Bell.ca
• Sulemaan Ahmed, Director of Digital Marketing at Harlequin Enterprises
• Jay Goldman, Vice President, Marketing, Zerofootprint
• Steve Mast, Vice President and Managing Director, Delvinia
• Brendan Kenalty, Loyalty and Retention Programs, Research in Motion

The panelists were asked their opinions on a number of predictions about the state of the Internet in 2010, 2015 and beyond. Given the pace of change we’ve seen over the past decade and considering the current economic turmoil, it’s a pretty tall order to expect anyone to accurately predict what the world will be like less than 2 years from now, let alone in 7. However the panelists were up to the task and made their best guesses.

The first prediction related to the issue of privacy legislation: “Online behaviour tracking will be legislated against in 2010, unless consumers have given express consent to be tracked.”

On this prediction the panelists agreed that while such legislation is inevitable, it would not be introduced before 2010. Steve Mast suggested that if consumers knew the degree to which their movements are currently tracked public pressure could result in legislation sooner rather than later. Suleman Ahmed wasn’t so sure. He thought it an important issue and the government may eventually introduce legislation however social networking sites indicate that people are more than willing to share the minutiae of their daily lives with the rest of the world.

The next predication was about mobile gaming: “Mobile gaming will consume more time, attention and marketing budget than social networking by 2012.”

Panelists were divided on this one. Steve agreed based on the explosive growth of this market in Europe and Asia but qualified his enthusiasm by saying that the telecommunications infrastructure in North America needs to catch up with the rest of the world before it would take off here. Parth Shukla challenged this prediction by saying that in North America, and especially Canada social networking is far more popular than gaming and doesn’t see that changing significantly. Suleman agreed with him, pointing out that people have been making this prediction since 2001, but suggested that the iPhone could literally be the game-changer that advances the popularity of mobile gaming. Jay Goldman suggested that with more and more games being developed in social networks we would eventually see a hybridization of social networking and gaming.

The issue of data privacy was raised again with another prediction, "By 2015, consumers will be able to register a ‘data passport’ of information about their buying preferences and needs with corporations, allowing marketers to completely personalize marketing communications."

The panel thought that given technical, social and legal implications this is unlikely to happen by 2015. It was also agreed that it could conceivably work but would depend on getting consumers to opt-in and customize the benefits to their wants and needs. Jay pointed out that Microsoft tried this approach with its Passport service, but it didn't fly: consumers simply didn't trust handing over their information to Microsoft. Additionally, consumers would prefer to see relevant advertising but people are inherently lazy and usually won't make the effort to fill out a form to set it up.

Personally, I don’t think this is going to happen for two reasons:

1. Companies are loathe to share information about their customers with anyone else, and they’re not going to want to have to rely on – and pay - a single entity who stores, controls and distributes the information contained in these data passports

2. It would have happened already. For example, an Interac debit card is effectively a consumers’ digital passport, containing massive amounts of data about consumer behaviour, but as far as I know Interac has yet to market and monetize that data in some way to retailers (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).

So, do you agree with the panelists? Don't be afraid to give your opinion. It's not like I'll prove you wrong by saving your answers in a time capsule to be opened in 2020 :-)

Read the rest of the predictions and the panel’s take on them at http://www.glengarrynet.com/clients/seq/SequentiaTTW.pdf

Breaking News: Some Facebook Users May Be Narcissists!

(...and in other news: The Sky is Blue!)

A new study from the University of Georgia suggests that you can detect whether someone is a narcissist based on that individual's Facebook profile.

(I know, I had no idea either!)

"We found that people who are narcissistic use Facebook in a self-promoting way that can be identified by others," said lead author Laura Buffardi, a doctoral student in psychology who co-authored the study with associate professor W. Keith Campbell.

"Self-promoting? Moi?"

The researchers, whose results appear in the October issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, gave personality questionnaires to nearly 130 Facebook users, analyzed the content of the pages and had untrained strangers view the pages and rate their impression of the owner's narcissism.

The researchers found that the number of Facebook "friends" and wallposts that individuals have on their profile pages correlates with narcissism. Buffardi said this is consistent with how narcissists behave in the real-world, with numerous yet shallow relationships.

Yes, this should be obvious to anyone but aren't you now curious to log in and check out the profiles of your Facebook "friends" to see just how closely they fit the profile of a narcissist? Or maybe you already knew it and are just using them to get on a guest list.

I for one wouldn't dream of using social networks or blog sites for shameless self-promotion.

What I would like to know is: what does having a photo of my cat for a Facebook profile pic say about my personality?

[Via Physorg]

U.S. Patent Office experiments with crowdsourcing to streamline patent review process

Inventors have a lot of issues with the inner workings of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. There's no question that the application and approval process is overly long, and overworked and uninformed patent examiners often grant patents to dubious or "obvious" innovations. The current system is particularly burdensome for the small technology startups for whom time to market is critical to their success.

Seeking to remedy these problems, in 2007 the Patent Office began an experiment in crowdsourcing with the objective of speeding up the patent assessment and approval process and improving the quality of the applications submitted. Under the program called Peer-to-Patent the patent applications are posted to the web for all to see and those with relevant expertise can pass along their input to the Office and the applicants. This collective wisdom of the crowd helps the patent examiners to identify applications for something that's already been invented or questionable merit.

Not surprisingly technology companies are the biggest supporters of this experiment and include IBM, HP, and Microsoft but clearly the smaller inventors with limited financial and legal resources would stand to benefit from this the most.

The Peer-to-Patent web site is being managed by the New York Law School's Institute for Information Law and Policy.

[CNN via Slashdot]

Facebook's drive for global pervasiveness

BusinessWeek has an article describing how Facebook has raced ahead to #1 in global audience growth, ahead of rival MySpace. Overall its membership grew 153% year-over-year in June, the bulk of that growth coming from outside North America. Those members now account for nearly 63% of Facebook's 132 million users. What's interesting is how they've managed to accomplish this.

Unlike MySpace, which expanded outside the English-speaking world by launching local offices and versions of its site, Facebook built translation tools that allow users to personalize the existing site in their native tongue. This approach gave it an early presence in foreign markets that grew exponentially as users encouraged friends to join the site. Facebook, which had been translated into 20 languages including French, Spanish, and Mandarin, has recently added 69 more.

Let's just hope that their translation engine isn't based on the same technology recently used by this fast food joint in China:
















[Via BusinessWeek and AdFreak.com]

Researchers turn to Second Life to promote healthy real-world lifestyles

The University of Houston is launching a worldwide effort to recruit 500 participants for a study of the effectiveness of health promotion activities. The study will take place entirely within Second Life, the Internet's largest virtual world.

The project is part of the UH Texas Obesity Research Center's (TORC) International Health Challenge, and hopes to offer an enjoyable way for participants to learn about preventing and treating obesity through education, skills training and outreach.

Participants will have the opportunity to earn Linden-bucks (that's cold hard cash for you real-worlders) by participating in virtual activities such as walking on treadmills, riding bikes and eating virtual healthy food. "This is an excellent opportunity to learn and practice these new behaviors in a virtual environment and in real life," said Rebecca Lee, associate professor and director of TORC. "It's also a great place to meet other avatars and share information and experiences."

All that virtual exercise and low-calorie dieting may do wonders for your avatar's figure, but wouldn't would-be participants benefit more by spending less time in front of the screen and more time exercising in the REAL world?

[Via Physorg.com]

McKinsey Global Survey: Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise

McKinsey and Company have released the results of a second annual global survey of the business use of Web 2.0 technologies. The survey was conducted in June 2008 and received responses from 1,988 executives from around the world.

Highlights:

• companies are continuing their investments in Web 2.0
• companies that have derived business value by experimenting with these tools are now adopting them as part of a broader business practice
• 22 percent of respondents expressed clear dissatisfaction with their Web 2.0 initiatives yet still plan to invest more on these tools in the future

Not surprisingly, McKinsey found a direct correlation between the level of satisfaction with Web 2.0 tools and the degree to which their employees were using them. A higher level of usage was found at companies that encourage it by using tactics such as integrating the tools into existing workflows, launching Web 2.0 in conjunction with other strategic initiatives, and getting senior managers to act as role models for adoption.

You can download a summary of the report findings here. [NOTE: free registration required for access to the full article]

Web 2.0 and New Approaches to Enterprise Web Application Development

ComputerWorld has an interesting article about how corporate IT departments are shifting to so-called Web 2.0 development techniques. For many projects the traditional corporate waterfall approach that divides projects into distinct phases of deliverables is still appropriate, however IT managers are starting to come around to the merits of the new techniques.

In the context of application development, Web 2.0 means keeping developers closer to their end-users and ensuring heavy user involvement, constant tweaking or "perpetual beta" of Web applications, and reducing the number and complexity of features.

Link

The Evolution of Conduct in Enterprise 2.0 Organizations

The following is an article I wrote for a new online community created by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, which is the largest high technology industry group in Canada.

When first introducing social media to your organization did you encounter similar issues? Was the legal department involved from the get-go, or did it step in only once they heard something was afoot?

Solving the Social Media Conduct Challenges

Every transformational technology introduced in the workplace has had an impact on how we do our jobs but has also challenged the existing rules that govern our behaviour.

Web 2.0 is just the latest technology to emerge in the enterprise that transforms how work is done. The rapid pace of technological change has many organization’s legal and HR departments struggling to understand it and develop appropriate policies to guide and govern it. More often than not the knee-jerk reaction is to "ban it now and sort it out later".

However in social media technologies - control of these applications is more likely in the hands of the end-users, and not within the restrictive controls of the IT department.

The potential for social media in the enterprise – for sharing information, spreading ideas, promoting innovations and collaboration – is tremendous. As employees increasingly clamour to use these tools at work the HR, IT and legal departments need to strike a careful balance between protecting the company's interests and ensuring that social media's greatest potential can be realized – allowing employees to have the freedom to collaborate in conversations in new ways.

A History of Career-limiting Potential

While we would like to think that people are intrinsically good and well-behaved, the reality is that Humans are Human and will always be prone to bad behaviour. History has shown us that every time a new technology is introduced to the workplace rules and guidelines for their use had to be developed and enforced, usually in haste and in hindsight after an unforeseen transgression. Some examples:

• The Telephone. No personal calls, long distance calls restricted to senior managers and usage monitored on the PBX. Don't even think about calling a 1-900 or 1-976 number!

• The Photocopier. Many years ago I worked as a temp in a federal government office where you couldn't make a copy without using a mechanical key device that tracked the number of copies made (for later allocation to a specific cost centre). Other organizations may have had fewer restrictions but you certainly were forbidden from using the copier to create flyers for your church bake sales. Oh, and needless to say the use of these machines to take crude photographs of your posterior was and remains strongly discouraged everywhere.

• The Fax Machine. It's hard to remember a time when these were the backbone of inter-office document distribution. Personal use of the fax machine was strictly prohibited: not only was the thermal paper expensive in its day, but with a limited number of phone lines available any personal faxing would prevent the sending or receipt of vital business faxes. That joke of the day you thought was so funny that you just had to fax to 20 of your friends? Well someone else thought it promoted a hostile work environment!

Email and the Web have become such integral aspects of our workday activities that we forget that they were also once as heavily managed as phones, photocopiers and fax machines. When these applications were first introduced the legal and HR departments had to craft a whole new set of guidelines to regulate workplace behaviour. As a gateway for viruses, porn, and other things NSFW - "Not Safe for Work" the potential for harm was greatly magnified. Instead of merely photocopying a typewritten memo and sending it out through internal mail, now one simply had to click "Reply to All" and instantly everyone got the message. It was now so easy to forward that off-colour joke to your friends in the office, without realizing who else might read it or where it might ultimately end up.

Email and Internet access prompted HR and legal departments to revise the terms of their company codes of conduct, and for some companies it was the first time such codes of any sort were formalized. These codes were designed not just to promote a safe, cohesive office environment but also to protect the company from harm – whether in the form of a harassment lawsuit or the intentional or unintentional release of confidential information.

The New Rules of Work

While the format is different, the arrival of social media in the enterprise brings similar risks and issues. Whether it's a blog post, wiki article, podcast or profile on a social networking site we are still expected to abide by our companies' codes of conduct and harassment policies. We still need to think before we hit Submit, click on that link, or upload that profile pic. Common sense still governs our behaviour. But as history has shown us "common sense" to one person often means "What the #^&! were you thinking?!?" to someone else. Guidelines need to be published so it is clear what is considered unacceptable conduct.

Here are some of the more commonly cited rules for social media that I've come across:

• Know and follow your company's codes of conduct or ethics guidelines – they are applicable to anything you post. Ignorance should never be an excuse so ensure that those guidelines are visible, typically using a link from the home/jumping off page.

• If you're just about to introduce social media to your company, don't even think about launching it under the radar of your legal department. Review the current codes of conduct with them and let them know your plans in advance. Don't assume the legal department will want to stop you; remember, they still allowed email and Internet access didn't they?

• What you read or write on any Blog, wiki, or other form of online publishing is the work of the individual who wrote it. Individuals are personally responsible for their own posts. Don't assume the company will take the fall for you.

• Do not pass off someone else's work as your own.*

• Do not use any trademarks that you do not personally own.

• Remember that confidential company information cannot be disclosed. Even if it's to an internal audience you should think twice about discussing financial results, the direction of the share price, future products, operations, company strategies or roadmaps. In other words, are those subjects you'd otherwise be discussing with this audience at your desk?

• Do not disclose confidential information about other individuals.

• Do not write anything that would harm the reputation of any person or company. If you're not sure what this means, ask the legal department about the difference between slander and libel.

• Respect your audience. Bear in mind that what you think is funny may be offensive to someone else. Don't use ethnic slurs, personal insults or obscenities. Show proper consideration for others' privacy and for topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory. Would you say the same things aloud at your desk and within earshot of others?

Ultimately the guidelines you develop should not have the effect of stifling the use of social media. Social media is all about the open exchange of ideas and collaborating with others and that is absolutely something you want to promote more of. While it isn't always smooth sailing, our past experience with the introduction of telephones, fax, email and Internet access has provided historical context that we are once again evolving our policies and guidelines regarding how employees need to interact with social media forms of communication (blogging, instant messaging, Social media sites (FaceBook, MySpace) wikis, etc. The good news is more organizations are getting it right. Companies like IBM and Microsoft have been encouraging the use of these social tools to alter methods of communication with employees, customers and suppliers.

At MTS Allstream, we have just started to experiment with Blogs and Wikis, and know first hand the importance of setting up a cross functional group of employees from HR, Legal, Marketing and IT to develop appropriate policies and employee conduct guidelines for using social media.


*my thanks to my colleagues for their input to these guidelines.

Addictive Stimulant + Social Network = Engaged Customers

Although it seems like you can't go anywhere without encountering the iconic Starbucks mermaid (except, of course, underwater) the company has been struggling of late. The economic downturn in the U.S. has consumers reconsidering whether they really need that $6 triple non-fat, low-foam cinnamon dolche latte every morning and afternoon, and are increasingly turning to the cheaper alternatives on offer from a resurgent McDonald's Corp.

Critics also say that the Starbucks Experience - the atmosphere of the store, the preparation and consumption of the beverage - has lost its magic in recent years as food and non-food items compete for attention with the core coffee-based drinks.

As part of a larger turnaround strategy, the company has turned to social media to re-engage their customers. At the company's recent annual shareholders' meeting, CEO Howard Schultz announced the launch of mystarbucksidea.com, a social media site designed to solicit ideas from Starbucks customer on what the company should be doing to recapture the "magic" of the coffee experience.

As this article explains, the benefit of this interaction is not so much the ideas that get generated (let's face it, many won't be that great or at all feasible) but the signal it sends: the company is listening to its customers.

To me, three about this site stand out:

• the ability to not only submit ideas to the site but share and discuss them with fellow customers

• the ability for visitors to vote for their favourite ideas, ensuring that the most popular are given consideration for implementation

• the "Ideas in Action" blog where Starbucks product managers discuss how they're bringing the best ideas to fruition, again demonstrating that the company is taking its customers and their suggestions seriously.
  

Mystarbucksidea.com is a great example in the B2C space of social media's effectiveness for connecting a company with its customers; I think there's a lot of potential for similar sites to improve the B2B customer interactions. B2B blogs are fairly common but tend to focus on establishing thought leadership in their industry (e.g. Cisco's Executive Thought Leadership blogs). One B2B community that comes close in concept to the Starbucks site is Intel's Open Port, where Intel customers and developers go to interact with Intel engineers and others in the wider IT community.

Are you a Starbucks fanatic, and did you share your Starbucks idea? Can you think of how a similar application could be applied successfully in the B2B space?


Read: Thousands of Posts Flood Starbucks Site

Welcome

Started this blog to track developments in social media and web 2.0.