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Greetings, fellow BlogHers! Here in NYC we've just finished up a delicious lunch and are settling in for the State of the Social Media World session, led by our fearless founders Elisa Camahort, Jory Des Jardins, and Lisa Stone. I will be liveblogging this session and trying to update it at regular intervals as we go along (keep refreshing for new content).
Elisa: Overview of the session. Let's start with "What is 'social media'"? Social media can encompass so many different things. We were tasked with discussing issues at our tables during lunch, so now Elisa is calling on folks to share.
First case study mentioned by a participant is Dove's Real Beauty campaign, not just their different approach but also advertising during the Superbowl. Next is mention of using SecondLife for business conferences.
Elisa: Any burning questions from this group? Yes, they want to know how you stay ahead of the curve, using a cutting edge technology that people want rather than something so far ahead that no one will use it.
The second table called on brought up BlogHer as a great example of social media, first, and then brought up Twitter. Elisa asked how many participants know what it is and are using it. Many participants raised hands, but then Marc Levin came up to explain Twitter as a good tool for microblogging. Elisa also pointed out that it allows for group chat/discussion.
Lisa: Points out that the BBC is now Twittering their headlines.
The third table called on asks the "burning question" about how you quantitatively evaluate the success of networking. Elisa points out that there's an entire track about metrics on Day Two.
The fourth table called on is a table of mostly non-bloggers wondering how/why to incorporate blogging. Nicole Perry (sp?) from Cosmo Girl magazine talk about their recent online launch, and says her question is now that they have the blog, how do they make it relevant for their audience and bring in the traffic... and once the audience is there, how do they boost the interact (sometimes posts get no comments, writers are becoming competitive about who gets feedback and who doesn't).
Elisa: Is post success measured by number of comments?
Karen Walrond (representing Weblogs, Inc.) says that some posts get comments due to being controversial, but that she's noticing that some posts are forwarded around a lot, for example, but don't actually have a lot of comments. (So it's a great post, but isn't generating lots of comments.) As an example she cites a post about a Japanese Penis Festival that was getting lots of traffic but not a lot of comments (perhaps because people were embarrassed).
Elisa: Did anyone hear an example of social media that they didn't realize was considered social media? No one volunteers an example, which leads Elisa to conclude that we cannot be surprised. ;)
The conversation turns back to Twitter. It's being used by high-profile businesses as well as just random people. Elisa comments that the capability there is probably larger than what the casual user typically utilizes.
Elisa: Tomorrow's break-outs will address how to be part of the social media culture without being perceived as crossing a line, and/or schilling.
Jory is taking over to discuss the history of social media.
Jory: Let's talk about commonalities between various case studies. [The slide depicts events like the launch of Wikipedia, Heather Armstrong's "doocing," Web 2.0, Sun's CEO blogging, etc.] Web 2.0 is about keeping people, making the internet more relevant for people. The chart shows that companies are warming up to having a blogging presence online. GM took on a blog and it turned things around for them so much. It's a great example of people changing their mode of relating to a company and having their perceptions changed.
In 2004 Kryptonite had to recall their locks because someone figured out they could be unlocked with a regular ballpoint pen (and then it was blogged and spread like wildfire).
In 2006 Wal-Mart had their blog which was supposedly written by "regular people" who turned out to be journalists, and WM experienced a huge backlash due to the non-disclosure.
The point is that bloggers are becoming more savvy, more accountable, as time goes on.
Audience question: Where is the line between being a "citizen journalist" vs. a professional?
Amy Gahran: There is no line, journalism is about practices. Anything online, it's common sense to disclose and not try to hide things that are going to come back and haunt you.
Elisa: Do we need a code for bloggers? PR has a code, journalists have a code.
Elisa Bauer:
