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See on Scoop.it – human being in – perfección

The introduction of Google Drive Google’s free Cloud Storage service should have little to do with business and marketing. Storage is like a tool, no different than say a spanner, and when was the last time you saw the launch of a new spanner bringing into question the marketing strategy of the car repair business?

Yet, this is exactly what is happening here. The reason for this is that the launch of GDrive is the clearest signal yet that Google has transitioned from a company which used to make great products we all loved to use to a company that is building an ecosystem we are all being herded into.

Now vertical ecosystems are nothing new. Apples is one, Facebook another and Amazon yet a third. There is some overlap amongst them and some competition but each is geared to do specific things and do them well. Google is unusual in that it’s creating a vertical which is as wide and deep as the web itself. The Google environment different because Google links everything to search.

Google Drive, for instance, allows businesses to enjoy true Cloud portability with on-the-go device synching totally free. The 5GB storage can easily be increased for a competitive monthly fee, GDrive integrates instantly with Google Docs and unlike any other Cloud storage solution to date this becomes a truly Personal Cloud one by allowing selective collaboration of anything in it.

From a business point of view this is great. Google’s computing power coupled to free or very low costs makes for a proposition that is truly hard to resist and that is exactly the problem. Unlike any other ecosystem out there, Google’s environment is search and website ranking sensitive. As Google collects information its different services cross-reference it in ways which they didn’t a month or so ago before the company changes its privacy rules and this is now leading to the building of internal authority rankings for users much the same way that websites had a PageRank. Leer más “Google Drive and the Future of Your Online Marketing | Social Media Today”

See on Scoop.it – human being in – perfección

The notion that discussion is the foundation of community is not a new one. In fact, it’s fairly consistent theme with the some of the most influential bloggers dealing with community management, including Richard Millington over at FeverBee and Patrick O’Keefe at iFroggy. Despite the fact that it’s a topic that has been written about extensively, it’s important enough that I think it’s excusable to be repetitious.

Beyond that, however, I think it is incredibly important for small online communities. Much of the excitement and attention in community management these days is focused on brand-related communities and particularly the B2C space. There’s a lot of discussion about user generated photos, art, and video. There’s a lot of excitement about contests and gamification. And there’s plenty of advice and strategy around content generation and planning. But as someone whose primary focus is on smaller online communities, and specifically communities run by associations or clubs, I often feel that much of this is not relevant, or at least is not where the primary focus should be.

The communities that I am most interested are more about sharing information and learning from one another. Discussion is clearly the most important type of interaction in this environment, but even I sometimes overlook it. At AssociCom, we think think we have some pretty good tools for content aggregation and social curation. These are necessary tools if you have a community in which information sharing is going to be a significant activity. So when describing AssociCom to people we often put a lot of focus on these. However, we sometimes fail to point out that even for information sharing, it is generally not the sharing itself that makes the community vibrant, but the discussions that spring up around that information. And this really is reflected in the way that we built it because content items actually serve as the locus for discussions; we just sometimes forget to point out to people how significant that is. Leer más “Discussion: The Heart of Small Online Communities | Social Media Today”

Via Scoop.it – human being in – perfección

It’s inevitable that I will get the question. You’d think by now that I would learn to expect it…that I would prepare for it…or have a response that would be purely second nature. But I don’t. I’ve no standard answer that automatically inspires anyone in the moment to take action. And, to this day, I neither expect the question nor do I have a rehearsed or standard riposte committed to memory.

So what is “the question?”

The question faces those who see disruption all around them. They believe survival requires change and they aspire to fight for transformation. But, at some point in their quest to pursue a new course, a direction in which they deeply believe, they will ask reluctantly, even desperately, “How do I convince others to see what I see” or “how can I get those in control to recognize the importance of what’s happening around us so that we can move forward in the right direction?”

While my response in each moment always attempts to zero-in on the individual circumstance, the truest, most genuine answer that I can share is that…to bring about change does not take technology, it takes courage. And, this is why change is not a commodity. Change is not easy nor is it formulaic. But I can say this with the utmost conviction, change.is.inevitable and it is yours to define.

We live in disruptive times. As such, everything we know transcends into everything we once knew. How we communicate, connect, discover, learn and share is changing. New and emerging technology is becoming increasingly relentless and it is forcing evolution or complete transformation. And, it touches your personally and professionally. In our own way, we each are gravitating toward dissonance or disarray and it can be distressful. As students, parents, role models, employees, managers, entrepreneurs, artists, or some or all of the above, we will at some point collide with disruption. And in that moment, we will have a choice to make. We either fall down, choose to embrace change, or we will see the possibilities beyond what’s immediately apparent to pave the way toward a more meaningful outcome. Leer más “It Takes Courage | Social Media Today”