Cymfony’s new social media study just reaffirms what we’ve already been seeing: Traditional marketers are struggling to come to terms with social media.

Converseon was founded nearly seven years ago based on the premise that traditional communication approaches, technologies and agency models were largely ill equipped to deal with the rise of social media. Clearly not much has changed.

The natural question we may collectively ask is, “why?” Our response is both simple and complex. The simple response is due to a truism of human nature: if one has a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Humans, and agencies, tend to do what they best understand and gravitate away from the new and complex. It has been argued by some that we’re just very good pattern matching machines and naturally are quick to arrange all things new into comfortable old categories.

The second part of that answer is a little more complex. Social media strategies require a view of the world (and a skill set) that transcends traditional marketing disciplines. Speaking from experience, within larger, traditional agency environments, I’ve found that the infrastructure is often so firmly cemented that it can’t effectively accommodate innovation. Compound that with the emphasis on “making numbers” in a public company environment, there is a natural bias towards pushing services with proven revenue streams rather pushing forward with the new and innovative. How many agencies truly have an R&D budget? Some of the larger agencies have created new groups to experiment with innovation. The challenge of infusing it back into the parent though still remains.

When Converseon was first formed, a leading member of the board of a holding company (who I’ll leave nameless) said to us that the unfortunate truth was that it was easier to let a company spin out, be successful and then acquire them, than to innovate from within. The challenges of established, larger organizations collaborating across marketing disciplines, across separate P&L structures, added to the natural inertia of organizations and the fear of the unknown makes it difficult to evolve. For far too many, a new piece of business sets off a wrangling for budgets where the most influential groups (i.e. “more established”) often emerge dusty but triumphant.

So while agencies are increasingly using the right social media words, and issuing press releases about new social media capabilities, there clearly is often far more style than substance. While size and heft is useful when negotiating large media buys, it is something of a hindrance in the more nimble world of social media.

As in biological evolution, different species form in the presence of changing environments. Adaptation occurs through the development of new species rather than trying to morph old species into new ones (although indeed have common ancestors).

At the risk of making Stephen Jay Gould turn in his grave, the advent of social media to communications and marketing is akin of changing of transformation of the Toyonian to the Cambrian period (and the resultant explosion of new forms of life).

And in those periods, it is hard for organisms and organizations to adapt. Even today, there is very little cross pollination across marketing disciplines. PR folks tend to go to PR conferences for example. Direct marketers tend to gravitate to the DMA. Advertising talks to advertising. We’ve created mini, marketing discipline specific echo chambers.

The result is that the disciplines tend to view social media from the biased lens of their discipline. This means 30 second spots on YouTube, or an extension of media relations to blogger relations. These are just incremental extensions of current core competencies. It does not get to the heart of what true social media is: community. The result is some traditional agencies awkwardly positioning themselves as something that they’re not quite. Little pieces strewn together awkwardly that may give the appearance of social media adeptness, but look more like the assemblage of incompatible parts upon closer scrutiny: what we call the Frankenagency.

This is not to say that there isn’t interesting work coming from traditional agencies: indeed there is. And there are some very smart people. However, as the survey and our own experience shows, truly effective social media strategies requires new entities with new skills, technologies, infrastructures and cultures designed specifically for this new environment. It is not simply an “add on” to existing services.

Social media clearly is a different. It isn’t just a new channel or a new technology. It requires new cultures with new skill sets and a break with the traditional command and control marketing structures that have governed traditional agencies over the last generation. Some of our most sophisticated clients understand this. They have an advertising agency, a PR agency and a social media agency. They understand the differences.

These new social media entities, like evolutionary biology, do have common, but diverse, ancestors. Converseon has grown in part because of the alchemy that occurs when bringing together search, public relations, computer scientists, direct marketers, advertising creatives, issues management experts, independent film makers, and more. Out of this combination of the diverse comes mutation; and, from mutation, evolution.

And of course, as brands become more immersed in social media, we are seeing a second law of evolution kicks in: that of natural selection. For as long as brands select and cultivate these new entities, they will grow and evolve and be reflective and natural residents of the new social media world.

Image Dr Frankenstein and his Monster, uploaded by DuneChaser

There’s been a lot of talk about Twitter wasting time and money (it doesn’t). I don’t hide the fact I love the thing, but I was dubious about its potential direct benefit for clients. That was until last week when my client Graco’s PR manager Lindsay Lebresco joined Twitter, and over a few days since I’ve witnessed a bunch of positive results.

These are not designed as a case study on why Twitter = ROI. However, they do point to the type of benefits you can find by investing in the community (a common theme in the social media world).

Twitter For Pitching Conversing

Shortly before our recent Graco Get-Together in DC I made sure I was following all the bloggers I’d be meeting at the event. The conversation below (and that’s what it was, a conversation - not a pitch), led to the first blog post pointing to the new Graco blog.

paullyoung Hi Devra! I work with Graco & I’ll be attending the DC Moms blog Get-Together on Mon. Found you via @mammaloves - nice to meet you! 06:29 PM January 05, 2008

Devra Hi Paull, Oooh Graco! You would have had me at “Pack N Play” LOVED that when my kids were little! Mamma Loves is tops tho! 09:48 AM January 06, 2008

paullyoung That’s great to hear! Did you know the Pack N Play just turned 20? 1 of our first posts on the new Graco blog: http://tinyurl.com/348tym 03:35 PM January 06, 2008

Devra What a riot! Aviva and I both used Pack N Plays extensively. We had them traveling all over the world! We should write up a birthday post! 06:31 PM January 06, 2008

paullyoung That would be great to see, we’d link back too. You could be the first blog linking to us as well (though I imagine a few will after Mon) 06:58 PM January 06, 2008

Devra Okay, then we’ll put up a post tonight! That would be great. I’ll see if we can dig up some pics of our kids in the pack n plays. Fun! 07:04 PM January 06, 2008

paullyoung Cool! John (the author) & the rest of the Graco blog team will be super happy to see it! They’re very attached to the Pack N Play 07:06 PM January 06, 2008

Devra As are Aviva and me. I guess you could call us “Pack N Playmates” Seriously, we’d love to put our hat in the ring to be spokespersons! 07:08 PM January 06, 2008

Twitter to Build a Knowledge Network

Lindsay was live tweeting from the celeb packed ‘Boom Boom Room‘ over the weekend. Here, she was able to rely on her Twitter network to get her ahead when the uber Urbanmama sent her through a detailed ‘cheat sheet’ on how to get the most out of the celeb derby (I think this is in Urbanmama’s nature though - she’s also promised me a list of Brooklyn’s top date spots :))

urbanmama Hey Lindsay, what is your email? Do you have a PDA where you can access links? I sent info on many of the people who had confirmed to visit. 11:48 AM January 11, 2008

urbanmama Lindsay, I forwarded you my little stars primer, but only for those who had confirmed before the sisters left. There are tons more now! 12:30 PM January 11, 2008

Twitter as a Beta Tester

This tweet from Kristen meant that we fixed an important broken link (in minutes) outside of office hours:

Mommy4Cocktails @lindsaylebresco: trying to link to the Graco Baby Blog from the graco baby homepage. Dead link… 05:42 PM January 15, 2008 from web in reply to LindsayLebresco

There endeth the most visible Graco bonuses - but these little examples are secondary to the friendship and relationships developed. Here’s a couple more work examples I’ve had in the same time period:

Twitter to Recruit

The tweet below was for a freelance project and led to a bunch of informed recommendations in minutes. Much easier than finding an unknown through the standard channels.

paullyoung I’m looking for a WordPress Ninja for some freelance work - do you know someone who fits the bill? I owe you big time if you can assist 06:04 PM January 10, 2008 from web

Twitter as a Crisis Warning System

On the same day we saw the above results, we also got a first warning - way ahead of time - about a potential issue involving a 5 star brand we work with. Follow the right people and you’ll be in the know ahead of time.

I know none of this is particularly groundbreaking, but the fact it all occurred in such a short time frame really brought home to me just how much Twitter is enhancing my work. Can you share a Twitter example? No matter how big or small, I’d like to hear it below.

[cross posted on Paull's personal blog Young PR]

This morning Converseon sponsored New York’s first Social Media Breakfast alongside Text 100. Reuters Second Life reporter Eric Krangel (aka Eric Reuters) spoke about virtual worlds, the changing media landscape and his role as a Second Life journalist. You can see all our photos in the Converseon Flickr account.

We’d really like to see the New York social media scene come together and we think events like this are important for the community - not that virtual relationships moving into the real world is anything new, as this 1997 Wired quote about The Well shows:

In addition to electronic dialog, there should be a strong face-to-face element to The Well. (It was while on EIES that Brand had learned the value of online confrères having physical contact - a group of EIES regulars made a point of meeting offline as well.) He sensed that the most interesting possibility to arise from knitting electronic dialog into the fabric of everyday life would lie not in championing either the virtual or the human-contact model but rather in finding the place where they overlapped. “Brand had an awareness that you had to have that sense of the physical environment and the local culture and flavor for the community to work,” says John Perry Barlow, who joined The Well in 1986.

Thank you to all the friends of Converseon (new and old) who joined us for breakfast this morning; it was great to be able to sponsor a meeting of New York’s finest social media minds.

On a day to day basis our work at Converseon touches on a number of marketing disciplines and draws from widely different areas of expertise. This diversity is on show this week as our team speaks at three events with varying backgrounds and audiences

Search Engine Strategies - Chicago

Constantin Basturea will appear on a panel ‘Meet the Bloggers Who Can Make Your Cash Register Ring!’

There is a significant difference between popularity and influence. And it is important to find out which bloggers generate editorial coverage, influence your existing and potential customers, and drive traffic to your ecommerce or merchant site. While building relationships with these influential bloggers can be very time-consuming and resource-intensive, this session will help you to get started.

PRSA event: Social Media 101: What Every PR Practitioner Should Know - Pittsburgh

Social networks and online communities are transforming traditional PR strategies. The old broadcast system is on its way out. In this interactive session with nationally renowned digital marketing expert, Rob Key, learn how the social media phenomenon is rapidly changing the practice of public relations. In this session you’ll learn about the latest digital tools available to today’s PR practitioner as well as strategies for incorporating social media tactics into your organization’s marketing mix

SNCR Research Symposium

Constantin Basturea will appear on a panel on online communities and virtual worlds discussing our multiple award winning Second Chance Trees project.

The SNCR Symposium & Awards Gala will feature the latest research and winning case studies from around the globe. Learn, discuss and have fun with your peers, industry experts and the most notable thinkers and practitioners in the world of new media and communications.

The following post refers to a Veterans Day screening coming up tomorrow, November 11 for Converseon client Smithsonian Channel.

To help mark Veterans Day the Smithsonian Channel is airing a special block of programming ‘America’s War Stories‘ - highlighted by a new documentary ‘Remembering Vietnam: The Wall at 25‘.

Jan Scruggs, the founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, calls the documentary ‘the best documentary film about the wall I’ve ever seen’. It will go to air on Direct TV at 8pm EST/PST Sunday November 11, but can also be watched online via a live streaming at the Smithsonian Channel website at 9pm EST / 6pm PST Sunday November 11.

I’ve seen the program and found it beautiful and moving. Here is a sample of the online conversation we have seen amongst bloggers we have shared the documentary with to help promote its launch:

From the superb milblog Mudville Gazette

This looks to be an excellent program you don’t want to miss.

We Will Never Forget!

A local DC blogger attended the launch screening on Thursday and wrote a beautiful post about how much the documentary moved them:

The documentary I saw yesterday was about the Vietnam Wall, and it was produced by the Smithsonian Channel on the occasion of the Wall’s 25th anniversary.

People come every year from far away to pay their respects, touch, kiss, make rubbings on, or just gaze at the impassive granite face. The Wall has become an altar of gratitude and brotherhood in a country that seems ambivalent about both. Twenty-five years later, a new generation is dealing with a polarizing war of their own, and seemingly forgetting the lessons of remembrance that places like the Wall have fought so hard to keep alive in everyone’s minds.

That Wall, that strange yet comforting shape rising to meet the heartsick pilgrim, is the true balm that was needed to mend a country even a little bit; to help ease those horrible wounds that still haunt many in their sleep; and the sanctuary in which to seek forgiveness for doing what was asked of them–even if it was against every fiber of their being.

The documentary is beautiful. I cannot do it justice, and I certainly cannot finish writing this with dry eyes.

I urge you to watch it if you can (again, the link for the Smithsonian Channel is here), and remember that the warrior just does as he or she is bid.

Murdoc Online

A preview of what looks to be an excellent program that runs this Veterans Day … if this is any indication, you’re going to want to watch it whatever Murdoc says…

A Soldiers Mind

If you have the opportunity, please take the time to watch, what I’m sure will be a very special documentary.

To get even closer to the show check out this podcast with the program’s producer Lynn Kessler, and view the promo here:

(RSS readers click through for video)

The milblogging community is one of the most vibrant niches of the blogosphere. For a cross section check out some of the great stuff at blogs like Blackfive, Army of Dude, YankeeMom, ArmyWifeToddlerMom and hundreds more at milblogging.com. You’ll notice that the milblogging community is currently united in their support of the ValorIT fundraising drive - read all about it here and lend some support to injured soldiers this Veterans Day.

As per the headline, we’re extremely proud to have been selected by the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association as one of their four WOMMIE Award winners for 2007.

The art of Word of Mouth Marketing online is continually evolving and we’re having a great time working at the coalface. Rob Key will be presenting our case study at the WOMMA Summit on November 14-15 in Las Vegas - but in the mean time you can learn from the great case studies hosted at the WOMMA site. In the meantime, we’re happy to be recognized like this:

“I was thrilled to see the caliber of work considered this year for the Wommie Awards, particularly when comparing them against last year’s submissions,” said Amanda Van Nuys, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Organic, Inc. and Wommie Awards judge. “Collectively, the case studies clearly demonstrate how word of mouth marketing has grown up over the last few years as it transitions from its adolescence and into a more evolved and disciplined marketing practice.”

On To The Friday Links!

This week the Converseon team have had a mix of social networking and smart technology catch our eye. The content below has already sparked some deep thinking and conversation amongst our team, please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Photosynth Demonstration (RSS Readers, click through for video)

This technology is mind blowing. As they say: “Photosynth might utterly transform the way we manipulate and experience digital images”Consumer 3.0: New Trends in CGM

Pete Blackshaw gives a general overview of the current state of CGM marketing, including some links to good examples.

Facebook Facts that will blow your marketing mind

Mitch Joel shares some stats on Facebook from the Canadian Marketing Association conference:

1. The average Facebook user spends about twenty-one minutes plus per day at the online social network.
2. The average Facebook user visits four times per day.
3. Facebook is adding about three hundred and fifty thousand new users every day.
4. Just this morning Facebook surpassed fifty million worldwide community members.
5. Facebook’s size doubles every six months.

Can Facebook feed its ad brains?

Facebook is expected to tap artificial intelligence to deliver ads to its 49 million members. This is a good real world example of the challenges that companies face in serving the right ads to the right people in real time.

A Series of Podcasts with Lee Odden and Mike Moran

Some great discussion here about Mike Moran’s new book “Do It Wrong Quickly: How The Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules”

Explaining OpenSocial to your Executives

A good analysis of what Google’s new OpenSocial can allow you to do to help share great content with your key audiences.

I had the pleasure of participating in the OMMA panel last Monday adeptly moderated by Max Kalehoff with David Dunn of Edelman and Keith O’Brien providing some solid insight. MediaPost provided full coverage of the session. The consensus was, i believe, that in this world of subversive content creation and virality, brands are not quite ready to defend their brand through new and emerging tools.

Of course, I’ve always felt the best defense is a good offense, as indeed if we don’t define ourselves, others will happily define us. With a standing room crowd, the topic is clearly on the minds of many. I predicted that by next year, if the session is done again, that there will be more “directors of social media” in attendance as brands continue to create these internal positions to transcend the traditional marketing siloes that inhibit effective brand defense. We’ll see if the prognostication is accurate over time.

A selection of some of this weeks best from our diverse team. Please leave a comment after you’ve read an article and feel free to leave a link yourself.

Conversational Marketing

Recap of the Federated Media’s conference discussing Conversational Marketing. This post discusses the various aspects of conversational marketing and how it stands to change the future of brand management.

Dark blogs: a bad idea for crisis communication

Shel Holtz on why “dark blogs” (ready to be activated during a crisis) are not such a good idea.

Semantic Web: Difficulties with the classical approach

This article considers why the semantic web has remained as an academic property instead of transforming the way we use the web and considers how the concept can be moved forward.

Unfamiliar with the semantic web?

“The semantic web is a vision pioneered by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, in which information is expressed in a language understood by computers. In essence, it is a layer on top of the current web that describes concepts and relationships, following strict rules of logic.

The purpose of the semantic web is to enable computers to “understand” semantics the way humans do. Equipped with this “understanding,” computers will theoretically be able solve problems that are out of reach today.”

Web 2.0: Big App on Campus

Universities are seeing Web 2.0 as a way to engage students and maybe even get them to choose one school over another. In theory, a social-networking environment will get students comfortable with a school well before they start and keep them engaged in their education, while the application of social media tools can extend their education.

50-Kanye Web Marketing

Did the Web Help Kanye Outsell 50 Cent? You have to love the online buzz (drama) around which rappers will outsell the other. When news got out that 50 Cent said he’d stop recording if Kanye West outsold him, fans took their love of music, not to the streets, but to the computer. (PS: Go Kanye)

Every Friday we’ll be posting a list of links that the Converseon team have found to be the most insightful from the past week. Enjoy!

What Evolutionary Psychology Says About Social Networking

This column sparked a lot of deep thinking and discussion in the office. The author analyzes some evolutionary psychology research that looks at how early humans communicated and interacted with each other for clues about how we communicate today.

Dunbar begins with the premise that back when our Paleolithic ancestors were still more monkey than human, understanding one’s place in the group hierarchy was exceedingly important. Compared to other creatures, primates are unusually social animals. And thus knowledge about relationships — who’s mating with whom, who became allies, who just had a fight — was crucial for primates to maintain or advance their place in the pack. It was, Dunbar suggests, the birth of gossip.

Show Series To Originate on MySpace

An interesting article about how TV producers are launching a series to be shown on MySpace. Producers are looking to generate story lines and even find actors online. Working online also allows them to take advantage of union agreements that allow actors and writers to work on terms more favorable to producers than those governing network programs.

Fifty Most Influential Bloggers

A new list of the 50 ‘most influential’ bloggers. This could possibly be more valuable than many of the ranking formats out there because of its qualitative focus. The ‘who’ and ‘what’ behind the blog are more important than the numbers.

Deconstructing the Incredibly Weak Mobile Web Experience

This year 115 million smartphones will be shipped and that number is expected to rise to 410 million by 2012. This article looks towards the future of mobile web browsing.

Crowdsourcing Site

It’s likely we’ll see more of these sites popping up, it is important to keep track of them and monitor them for your brand. Brands should also consider setting up their own open forums for discussion about their products and services, of course, rather than let third parties control the platform.

Selling Postcards from the Hanging: Reflections on CJU

A look at the changes occurring in affiliate marketing, especially how smaller affiliates will find it harder to continue in the affiliate space.

We often say that we’re in a post marketing discipline definition world where the lines between direct marketing, advertising and PR have blurred. The new agency of the future is indeed a mashup that brings together the best of those disciplines, skills and people. Converseon has grown in part because of the alchemy that occurs when bringing together search, public relations, computer scientists, direct marketing experts, independent film makers, and more.

Finding the best and brightest from diverse areas has been a core focus of ours. While our team may come from far flung places, cultures and backgrounds, the one consistent and essential element we all share is passion.

At Converseon, we believe in the power of social media to bring people together, no matter where they are, through their passion. And in the world of social media, those with passion self-identify through engagement. They raise their hand through their actions and rise to the top. The proliferation of social media has changed the way we find and hire talent. And it’s one of the reasons we continue to bring in the best and the brightest.

In a world united by social media an organization can cast a much wider net in its search for the most talented employees. Every organization wants to work with highly skilled employees who are truly passionate about what they do. Social media allows you to find these passionate individuals, form a relationship and get to know them on a personal basis. The days of a quick scan of a resume and a brief job interview ahead of a hire are coming to an end. As such, I’m pleased to announce that Christin Eubanks has joined Converseon as an Account Executive.

Christin is one of those who have expressed their passion through social media (and it’s how we found her). She comes to us from Auburn University, Alabama, where she was one of the star students of their PR program, including the highly regarded social media class taught by Robert French. Christin visited our New York headquarters after we got to know her through her various online efforts. Her intelligence and passion for social media shine through online – and even more so in person.

Our team at Converseon is continually expanding and social media is leading us to passionate, talented people from completely disparate backgrounds. We’re lucky to have found a supremely talented group of people throughout the USA and the world. Christin is just the latest example of our own mission to assemble an innovative, flexible and highly skilled team sourced from the global conversation.