TED brings it home - augmented mapping from Bing

If you have heard of "hyper-local" or "augmented reality" meet them combined in Bing's mapping discussed this week at TED:


This is an important video to watch all the way through (it's only 8 minutes) if you want to see what is possible RIGHT NOW. Just another example of how we are truly in the midst of seeing change take place in the world as we know it -- and not just HOW we see it, but how we CAN see it -- right in front of our eyes, and right in the palm of our hands.

Staying the Course is Key

MSNBC had a great article last week about Tech Fatigue. I think one of the most astute lines was:

"We have reached a tech bump in the road, augmented by news-at-the-speed-of Internet, which leads to immediate inflation and deflation of new products even before, or just as, they're released."

Here's what I wrote in response to the some of the other comments on that good article:

"Most commenters are really missing the big picture of the story. It's not just about your iPad or iPod or whatever. It's about those and ALL the gadgets, sites, platforms and tools being thrown at us. This is the best takeaway quote from the story: "we have reached a tech bump in the road, augmented by news-at-the-speed-of Internet, which leads to immediate inflation and deflation of new products even before, or just as, they're released."

The author did a great job in summing up the challenge companies are facing if they don't take advantage of 2.0 customer input and build a trusted brand in this era of information overload and consumer fatigue. Personally, I'm exhausted, not just from trying to figure out my new Droid or now Google Buzz or next Mobile TV (MDTV?), but as a social media marketer, I can't shut down or I'll get shut out."

That's why it's essential for companies to get in and stay in the game. Think of the shelf life of a Tweet. If you catch people reading their newsflow at the time you tweet, they might catch your comment...then it's gone from the top of the newsflow pile. Unless you repost it there, and elsewhere, and catch more attention, but it's like collecting water in a coffee filter. And that's why there's a twofold challenge to keeping your brand present and relevant: being present at right time... and grappling with consumers' information overload.

Hence the point of the MSNBC story: We're ALL on overload. We are drilling down as fast as we can, or trying to learn the latest gadget or gizmo when all of a sudden, WHAM!, the next one comes along. So where do we turn, what do we do?
Some may throw up their hands in frustration and catch a boat to the closest desert island. (Sounds good to me.) But lots of us will just pray for a single easy platform (which is what FriendFeed tried to be, and now GoogleBuzz, or GoogleWave or whatever, hopes to deliver) to come along and just make life and info easier to manage.

But who do we trust? Everyone is promising to be THE panacea.

And THAT's what brings me back the importance of staying the course.

Now more than ever companies have to be present and maintain. Be the rock. The redeemer. Suck up the negative and course correct as possible. Show gratitude and leverage the positive. But stay in the newsflow. Show us you're not going away like a flash drive in the pan. Help me find you wherever I am hanging out so I don't have to do a big search to find that solution or tool I read about on some platform that I meant to bookmark that was going to make my life so easy.

Adjust your Set

I was skimming CSRWire.com - an interesting media platform for social responsiblity content - and came across a post by their CEO, Joe Sibilia, in their terrific TalkBack blog section. Only Joe was writing not about social responsibility but about social media. He wonders if Boomers will adjust to it. He shares examples of those who have adapted and prevailed personally and in business, and others who question the value of sharing...yeah, yeah...the old "what I had for breakfast" content, and dismiss social media with those kinds of digs about it. (I'm so done with that, by the way. See my "Facebook Off" post. Reminds me of that old "Jennifer Anniston's sweater" line.)

Anyway, it was thoughtful post, but with one mistep, I think. He quoted a Social Media Examiner article that suggested a Twitter plan with "up to 20 tweets a day" to grow your business. And those still harping on breakfast commentary content could easily use that as more fuel to justify throwing their hands in the air and stepping away from the keyboard. "I barely have time to email..!" It's not like I have to DEFEND the pervasiveness and benefit of social media (though, that's sort of what I do when I coach executives in it), but I do feel like we are in the middle of a huge sociological shift that we should enjoy observing and being a part of, and not fight the phenomenon.

Here's my comment to Joe's post:

As a boomer who is a social media professional, I can tell you that it IS hard to embrace this world as nimbly and naturally as, say, my teenage nephew or 20-something niece. But as a marketer I see the imperative to keep up with the way the world is going. Debating the very question of "whether we'll adjust" is sort of moot as I think we'll have little choice within the next couple of years. We ARE adjusting, in our own ways. Why, I actually know some boomers with touch-tone telephones! Ha. (or LOL, if you prefer.) There will always be Luddites among us - as there have been for every advancement - but there will always be those like my 80-year old aunt who sends me daily jokes via her WebTV. FYI, the latest research from Comscore shows use of Facebook by boomers up 106% year to year 10/08 to 10/09. And it's sort of a trite research point already that next to teenage boys, moms are the second biggest demographic playing mobile games.

The one thing that I take exception to in your post is that the "be prepared to tweet 20 x a day" was taken a bit out of context from the Social Media Examiners article. They end that article with the reminder that:
"...Although a tweet plan [to schedule and auto-release up to 20 tweets/day] is useful when your schedule gets busy, it’s not a way to avoid real-time tweeting. ...But there are different opinions about scheduling posts. Many people feel scheduling tools take away from the value of real-time interaction on Twitter. And they are right.

You must find a balance to make this work for your business. And you can only find this balance by jumping in, listening to your audience and tweaking the content you share on Twitter to get the best results."

Twitter is just one tactic. But don't forget that you received 20 comments and counting on this blog -- which is another tactic of 2-ways communication. We just each will find the platforms and ways to reach out and find and engage in communities in our own ways. We are a tad starved for human contact, and sadly a lot of us will rely on digital versions of it...boomer or GenXer. The good news is that we are ALSO finding ways, like Tweet-ups and Meet-ups to take our interactions OFFline, too. But we arrange those in-person meetings through...you got it: social media.

Social Media on my Mind

I should be sleeping. It's after midnight and I've been running all around the city for a few days now, participating in every free panel discussion and conversation I can fit in during Social Media Week - the international "convo-bration" of digital word of mouth.

The problem is that I'm kind of wired, partly because of Wired. The magazine hosted a panel discussion this morning that included some brainiac speakers, including Denis Crowley, the founder of FourSquare (don't worry, if you haven't heard of it yet...YOU WILL. Remember when you'd never heard of Twitter?), as well as Tony Jebara, the Chief Scientist at Sense Networks. Tony described the fact that we're basically evolving around our devices. See, the more you rely on Google Maps, for example, which I'm quickly getting addicted to, the smaller your hippocampus gets along with your ability to navigate without your map crack.

I have been having a great time meeting people in person who I only touch-typed before... discovering one of my favorite bloggers and another friend I "met" on Twitter and I all share the same hand therapist for our poor, overworked typing hands, and so on.

I'm thinking I maybe should have majored in philosophy...or anthropology. This is a fascinating time. And while I'm pretty sure we won't all grow extra thumbs as we evolve around our PDAs, I do think we're facing an amazingly fast paced social morph into a vastly different species in most of the planet. Or at least those places where a Social Media Week is filled to capacity.

Stay tuned...

A Different Face Forward - My Melanoma Check Up (or: "Bronzer Beware")

As a “woman of a certain age,” I am used to getting the recommended regular medical tests and checks. But I didn’t know there was more to a skin exam than the occasional inspection done by my dermatologist, when I remembered to even book those check-ups. I was proud of myself for being a little more vigilant than many I know – who had never even done a skin exam let alone been checked between the toes, for example! I felt ahead of the curve by comparison.

Then the experience of two different friends gave me a head’s up about ways to get a better head-to-toe scan. My friend Leslie, who has a lot of “beauty marks,” lives near the Millburn location of MoleSafe and had gotten full body scans and "mole mapping" for herself and even her children. (I found out that skin cancers are on the rise among kids – especially teenage girls who have been allowed to use tanning salons.)
(I cringe when I think of us using those sunlamps as kids.)

I was thinking about checking out the place and then I bumped into my friend Carol, who had just gotten back from a follow up exam since her bout with melanoma a few years ago. Her cancer had actually been spotted by a woman standing behind her on a ticket line. Carol had had a sleeveless shirt on, and a woman tapped her on the shoulder and said, “pardon me for intruding, but has anyone ever checked out the mole on the back of your arm?...” Carol was vaguely aware of it, but it wasn’t in a place she could easily see. She decided to see the doctor…and a surgery with 16 stitches inside and 16 stitches outside basically saved her life the next week.

That was enough coincidence to send me to MoleSafe to see for myself…and have someone see ME better than I could myself! I spoke to Dr. Richard Bezozo, who invited me in so I could help share the experience with my readers. Bascially, MoleSafe is a three-prong protocol for screening: “Total Body Photography, total digital dermoscopy and digital sequential monitoring.” Apparently, that’s the gold standard for screenings that most dermatologists in the rest of the world recommend. We’re behind the curve in the good old US of A for being progressive in prevention. And it’s not like this is an invasive protocol.

Anyway, here's what happens: First, the place is clean, nice, and comfortable (and right near the train from NY.) You get down to your skivvies (you can keep a paper gown on, but I figured mole mapping is once a year and very important, so might as well go for the semi-full monty.) The exam room has a mat that looks like something from an old-fahioned dance less (or these days like a Dance Mat from Wii!)

My very reassuring nurse/“moleographer” had me take a stance with my feet in the position indicated on the mat with hands akimbo (I think that means hands on hip? but I always wanted to be able to use that word in a blog). She took a set of images that way, then a set of images on the otherside, feet in the opposite position.

Then we sat down at her desk while she uploaded the super high res images, then coordinated the pictures to points on a computer image of a body. It was like creating a constellation on paper. I could immediately understand how the consistency of taking the same position on the mat year after year is a lot more efficient than random poses and “eyeballing” things. My molegrapher then carefully did a visual exam of moles that caught her eye and captured those with a dermatoscope – it’s a super magnifying camera with a special light that really shows details of specific moles. She uploaded those images, also correlated on the computer to the ones she’d marked on the figure.
It was fascinating to see super enlargements of my skin on the computer. You might find out that there are some that are “interesting” – and might be reassured about others…but all of them are sent electronically (yes, safe and encrypted) to a sort of radiologist/dermatologist who reviews the dermatascope images professionally. You get a lovely CD of your body mole images to take home and give to your dermatologist. Then, a week or two later you have a report from the specialist sent to you.

The thing is, MoleSafe doesn’t do any surgeries or removals, so dermatologists are still involved in the whole process. I guess It’s like sending a person for an MRI and having then having them come back to the doctor to get treated for the broken leg or tumor or whatever. We need to be our own patient advocates and seek out MoleSafe on our own…or bring it to the attention of our doctors. You can go get one without a referral, and some insurance will cover it when you submit the receipt for reimbursement. Some won’t. But it’s an investment in your life compared to the approach most dermatologists have been using for the past 50 years.
So, I recommend you get on board. Or, get on mat, I guess.

PS: The good news is that I am a-okay, but have a much better sense of what to look for, where to look for it, and why.

PSS: MoleSafe is opening at NYU on 2/3. That should be the eye-opener a lot of people need about the value and legitimacy of this kind of protocol.

3-D'lemma

I had a reality check the other day when it came to the check at a restaurant. Not the price. The reality check was seeing the check. Sigh. I borrowed a votive from the table next to mine and made a vow to head to Duane Reed for the cheap-o reading glasses. Add that to the pile of things I'll have to keep by the bed, by the remote, by my desk. Maybe I should get three pairs...Oh and one for each purse and backpack since lately my friends (who can't laugh at this post since they know who they are) are asking if I have any they can borrow. I'll make it an even dozen.

So what happens when I have to deal with 3D glasses on top of that?

So far seeing a regular screen without glasses isn't a problem (phew!), but I can envision tons of issues when I invest in a new 3D capable TV. For example, how many pairs will come with a set? Any? I hear they go for $30 - $50 a pop...so how many will I need for when I have company? And speaking of company, what about cozying up for a date, watching TV, and looking...well, NOT CUTE! Are there designer frames? I'm just sayin'.... Let alone can two people actually smooch while wearing 3D glasses if the mood strikes during, say, one of DIRECTV's new 3D shows?

Will networks, like ESPN and their new 3D channel, distribute the glasses, or will Comcast or other providers? Who will brand them? I'm thinking its a new market for branded premiums.

What if someone walks off with your 3-D glasses? Can they be tethered to the TV? Will those little chains that turn eyeglasses into necklaces support 3D goggles? And what about prescription 3D? Can I get them at Lenscrafters?

Will I need to have them just to do most things online, soon? I mean, there's already Club Cooee, a sort of 3-D Second Life meets IM, and its fan page already has about 14,000 fans. And there are a ton more online places and ways to wear your glasses. Or not.

You can try to skip 'em and just cross your eyes with some content, and you kind of get a sense of it like in this YouTube video. I know this should work; there's even a drop down menu for about a dozen ways to watch it, but without those actual glasses, it's just not optimum. And frankly, all those options and trying to cross my eyes just gave me a headache.

Or maybe I just need glasses.

E.B.'s Best of the Top Ten for '10

I put all the effort into writing this week into my e-newsletter, with a whole compilation of some of my favorites of the Top Ten lists that came out recapping the last decade. So, to make my life easier, and to offer you one easy resource, here's a link to that newsletter.

From BrandChannel's favorite articles to the top recommendations for Social Media Strategy -- even the best books
for Small Business Owners and the best songs of the year from The MusicFile, it's all the scoop you could want IMHO of mostly business best-ofs.

(Special bonus! See my holiday recap video with my look back at 8 years of Moss Appeal! It's a link within that link, but here it is again.)

Happy New Decade, all. More later.