Author Archives: Scott Shamberg
Today, we have a video blog post from an old friend of mine, Aaron Goldman, sharing one of the “Googley Lessons” from his new book. Lesson #5: Be Where Your Audience Is…
I hearken back to when Aaron was an intern for me at a traditional media agency. If I had known he could rap like that, well, he still would have been an intern.
But get past the terrible rhythm and sideways visor and listen to the message. Great experiences happen anywhere and in order for brands to enable consumer interaction those experiences have to be easy to find. Isn’t that the most important lesson Google teaches? If the greatest piece of content in the world is never seen or shared, is it still the greatest piece of content in the world? Google built a model that ensures it can be found. A model, by the way, that means they are the gateway to the Internet regardless of how people enter. As such, they are friend to brand and consumer alike as they match content with consumer.
SxSW is months away still, but the big ideas that make up the big weekend are already up and ready for votes! There are so many awesome ideas out there that sometimes it’s hard to choose which to vote for! Let me help you. Breaking News: Front Page or Top Tweet is a panel idea discussing the issue of how breaking news should be announced. For anyone who is intrigued about WikiLeaks, loves discussing breaking news on Twitter, or fancies themselves a “Citizen Journalist,” this panel will be right up your alley.
While many people are accustomed to their daily doses of CNN, New York Times or your local news source, the twitter-sphere seems to be finding it easier and more exciting to get it from social networks of choice. With the myriad digital channels that exist today, nearly every traditional consumption pattern has changed in some way. We’ve all grown quite satisfied with the complete control we have over information.
There are definitely two sides to every debate, and this one is no different.
Scott Shamberg | Critical Mass Executive
I never used to think or care much about taking a vacation. It was always the wrong time or I didn’t feel like spending the money. Or maybe I was still shaken by seeing a grown man in a Speedo thong on a cruise once. That’s tough to get past. Thankfully my wife enjoys a vacation as much as the next person–maybe more–and since we’ve had kids I am much better at saying, “Yes, yes I would like to take a break”. But it’s just not as simple as that anymore, is it?
At a time when the term “tele-commuting” is part of the every day vernacular, it is almost impossible to completely disconnect. I’m on the train right now and 75% of the people around me are on a notebook, phone, iPad or other device working. Two people are reading the newspaper (yeah, that industry is in a bit of trouble!) and everyone else is asleep. The truth is you can work anywhere. Just this week, someone who works for me left for a trip to the Grand Canyon. About four day before she left she asked if she could have a wireless card to take with her. “So, you are going to be at the bottom of one of the biggest holes in the Earth, most likely on a pack mule, and you are going to be checking email?” Her answer was, “Well, maybe not while I’m on the mule.” In her mind, it would be easier to check in every once in a while than to come back to a mountain of work.
I agree with that. It’s no fun to get back on Monday and have projects that you have to get to but before you get to it you have to go through 500 emails (this is especially true if you are OCD about your in-box, as I am). Earlier this year I took a vacation to Mexico. I brought my laptop and my phone with me but made a commitment to myself that I would not check email the entire time I was gone. While I did talk to the office a couple of times, I never checked email. I found that I was more relaxed than other trips when I would check first thing in the morning and try to empty the inbox.
An article in the WSJ this week talked about how many people find it hard to relax on a vacation because they are thinking about all the work they are neglecting or all the emails they will have when they get back. The article also states that 49% of employers expect employees to check in while they are away. So is it the individual or his/her boss who is setting the expectation? The article included a quiz to determine what level of workaholic you may be. Go ahead and take it and comment here as to where you place.
I’m no shrink, but my belief is that given the on-demand nature of careers today, it is up to us as individuals to balance work and life. There is a connectivity expectation but if you can commit to disconnecting a couple times per year I think you will be better for it in the long run.
Scott is the SVP of our Experience Distribution practice and a part of the Executive Team, working from our Chicago office.
Scott Shamberg | Critical Mass Executive
Recently I attended an event that was classified as a “marketing forum” designed to match marketers with vendors for two days of one-on-one networking. We met with 38 marketers representing brands from all over the world.
The biggest take away for me was pretty clear – everyone and their mother want to know how to “do” social media. Literally everyone we talked to asked us about social–from Visa to Trump, Western Union to Scotts Lawn Care. Here were the top 3 questions we heard at the event and that we are hearing on a recurring basis from marketers.
1. My executive team doesn’t understand it. How can I convince them?
2. How can I do social media on a local level?
3. Can you tell me how to measure social media?
Clearly brands big and small know they need to participate but are not sure how just yet. But I’m seeing the irony in these brands wanting to understand a new channel built on authentic conversations in a business environment built almost exclusively on short, relatively shallow conversations. Nevertheless, let’s look at those three questions.
Convincing Executives
This is no easy solve. Many CMOs would still rather shoot a commercial than develop a Facebook page. Try the 3 E’s.
EXPERIMENT: Get your execs to play with Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. Let them see for themselves how influential they are.
ENGAGE: Get your agencies involved with your executives when you can and let them do the heavy lifting.
EDUCATE: You know your executives better than anyone. Find ways to get them educated through articles, conferences, examples and stats. The more they know they more involved they will get.
Keep Reading for my Recommendations on Local Social and Social Measurement
13 years old. That is how old David Sills is. He verbally committed to play quarterback at USC this week – in the year 2015. Forget for a second that at 13 years old he is already six feet tall and obviously very athletic. At that age, how can he have such a high level of understanding of the game? If you watch this video you can hear the way the coach is talking to him about reading the safety and defensive coverage. Really? At 13?
So as we prepare for the Super Bowl this weekend, a game that includes arguably the greatest thinking quarterback to ever play, I asked myself what role the web, and associated digital environments might play in the development of a QB. Yes, I stretched a bit to find a digital tie in but bear with me. I’m not Bill Simmons.
I posted the link to that video on FB and Tim Schavitz of Critical Mass fame posted an article in Wired about the realism of video games, specifically Madden football.
“The many hundreds — even thousands — of hours that athletes put into videogame football give them more game experience than Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, or Joe Montana were able to log in previous eras.”
Gaming is now counted as “experience” for athletic training.
When Peyton Manning was growing up, Tecmo Bowl was the game of choice and I’m sure he and his freakishly young looking brother played as much as they could – that is when Archie wasn’t running them through drills until two in the morning and not letting them eat McDonald’s. I believe its possible that Peyton Manning will be able to read the Saints defense on Sunday in part because he memorized the 1989 Bears secondary on Tecmo Bowl.
People go to high school reunions to evaluate other people. I pick evaluate because ‘judge me’ seems a little harsh but lets face it, we are a fickle society.
I tend to play amateur psychiatrist so the thought of walking around a room of people I used to know and of whom I have 20-year-old opinions of was appealing. I looked forward to forming new, cynical & unbiased opinions. Enter Facebook.
I didn’t receive an invitation to the reunion. I was friended by HEHS Class of 1989. Within two weeks I went from having zero high school friends to about 50. That’s a good thing, right? Not so fast. Would Facebook remove the curiosity factor? Would it jade me more than I was already jaded?
I attended the reunion a few weeks ago. It was made up of two separate events. On Friday night was what was billed as a Pre-Reunion Reunion at the restaurant of a classmate. Cash bar, no name tags (which lead to me saying “Who the hell is that?” a lot) and good food. The reunion itself was the next night. Open bar with name tags (but $90 to get in). What is the difference between the two? Friday night I got home at 3:00am. Saturday night I got home at 11:00pm. Enough said.
