The Future of Reputations

Changing Everything?  Was catching up on some reading and ran across this gem of a publication called Edge where earlier this year they had published a series of answers to the question "What will change everything?" What bridges will be crossing that fundamentally really change everything about and around us.  There were articles about social networks, how text will give way to video everywhere, education, computer processing, planetary matters and what we know today or will tomorrow about the brain.  There is a lot there.

The Age of Reputation: The one I got thinking about was was "reputation" by Gloria Origgi, a philosopher and a researcher at the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. Her areas of research are philosophy of mind, epistemology, and cognitive sciences applied to new technologies.

She begins by pointing out that the Internet is really what will change our future most but then raises the question of how it changes things the most. Rather than paraphrase, let me quote the premise:

"The Internet is a complex geography of information technology, networking, multimedia content and telecommunication. This powerful alliance of different technologies has provided not only a brand new way of producing, storing and retrieving information, but a giant network of ranking and rating systems in which information is valued as long as it has been already filtered by other people.

My prediction for the Big Change is that the Information Age is being replaced by a Reputation Age in which the reputation of an item — that is how others value and rate the item — will be the only way we have to extract information about it...The age of reputation will be a new age of knowledge gathering guided by new rules and principles. This is possible now thanks to the tremendous potential of the social web in aggregating individual preferences and choices to produce intelligent outcomes."

Anonymous Powerful Algorithms Give Way:  She notes that the anonymous mathematical algorithm for cataloguing and retrieving information will/is giving way to rankings by people...and in some respects "information" becomes irrelevant, or at least subservient, to rankings by people and then the aggregation of those rankings.  The "new generation of search engines whose ranking procedures are simply generated by the aggregation of individual preferences expressed on these pages: no big calculations, no secret weights...results of a query are organized just according to the « grades » each of these pages has received by the users "

The Human Web:  And so the human web really takes hold in what we often think about as a data driven world.  To quote Gloria Origgi again, "this softer Web, more controlled by human experiences than complex formulas, will change our interaction with the net, as well as our fears and hopes about it. The potential of social filtering of information is that of a new way of extracting information by relying on the previous judgments of others."

For many who have been working in, or thinking about, social media, the premise she raises are familiar.  The social web enables people to connect with other people and share perspectives in whole new and powerful ways. Her conclusions, taken beyond web pages to a reputation based and ranked world are most interesting, I thought.

For another good read, be sure to check out the New York Times article about Web Comments/commenters.....some interesting observations there. ...

And, if you think about the two articles together and put comments in the context of these  "reputation rankings".....well, I am not sure what to think :-) .

Dell Traction on Changes; Blog Council Steps Out

Busy day today for two things that matter to me:  My Company; and The Blog Council.

On Dell:

For those who follow Dell, since Michael Dell became CEO again we have embarked on some pretty major changes to get our "mojo" back, as it was once referred to.  That has included his push to have us take advantage of what we call the connected era to connect with customers online, listen, learn, engage and build relationships with those interested enough in Dell to talk about us online.  

Brian Solis takes a look at our efforts to date and notes "The company is also actively monitoring blogs, social networks, and also Twitter to identify problems and solve them, and at the same time, cultivate a sense of community by genuinely and transparently participating even when there isn't a fire to extinguish."  Read on and you'll see what sounds like a pretty good description of my job.  I said,  "My actions on behalf of Dell are not mere talk and conversation. Everyday we follow up on the online listening and the learnings we get from customers, fixing issues and bringing customers' perspectives inside Dell -- real time, real views and real customer experiences. We believe that is improving our response times, contributing to better products and services and making us a better company, that is directly connecting with customers who care enough about us to talk about us on the web every day."

I've noted before that Brian posts some pretty helpful commentary for public relations folks and is a must read, as listed in my blogroll.

Over at GigaOm, there is an interview with Michael Dell where they chat about everything from smart phones to cloud computing and the mobile web.  here is a great quote:  "What informs that advantage is the connection we have with customers and the information that customers convey to us in the process. By knowing exactly what customers want and being able to build that and provide products and services tailored to customers’ needs and being able to personalize products — that creates significant advantage and significant growth possibilities for us."

BusinessWeek also has an interview with Michael.  Again, a broad range discussion about growth in international markets, consumer business, cloud computing, software as a service and our move into retail. For marketers, here's the quote I like the best: "We're also seeing an interesting phenomenon where the direct business is starting to grow again. A lot of people had written off the direct business. Now the brand is ignited again and we've got some exciting products; marketing is interesting again. "


By the way, BusinessWeek starts the story with "Dell's uneven turnaround may be smoothing".  I must say, thats a little much for me to take.  Michael always said the changes to the business were not "short term fixes" or a short term game.  I recall last summer he responded to Bloomberg when they asked if we were 50% along the way of completing the turnaround and he said, "more like single digits."  You don't turn a 60 billion dollar business around in a quarter or two. Not in this market and sector anyway.

The Blog Council Disclosure of a Best Practice Tool Kit 

I noted yesterday that the Blog Council has a blog and suggested you keep an eye on it for today.  The Blog Council’s Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit is posted to the site today: http://blogcouncil.org/blog/making_disclosure_and_transparency_easier/
This is a training tool for companies to use to develop their own disclosure guideleines, and its an "open source"  toolkit, meant to continually change and be updated based on community feedback and commentary. 

The Blog Council is not a trade associations or standards body but rather a volunteer group of companies that share perpsectives with each other and hopefully act as "mentors" to support other businesses who want to get involved in blogging and social media the right way.  That's why I am so supportive of our activity there and Johnatdell's leadership on this front...I hope more companies blog and become more social period and this organization is meant to be supportive of that goal. 

Hope you will make sure your voice is heard and contribute in a constructive way to the "Best Practice Toolkit"

Three Dirty Little Blogging Secrets

Graphic =http://www.gapingvoid.com/.

Thank you Hugh, as always for the inspiration and more.

Since visiting blogs, listening and learning from bloggers, and finding my way around social media for the past year and half, I have trouble with three precepts of this "new medium" that you sometimes hear about. I think its fair to set the record straight on a couple matters, at least from my experience and percpetions. They are:

1. The blogger is Not a "citizen journalist" nor does a bloggers' "power" authority or importance arise from that premise

In most situations, bloggers are not journalists. Bloggers are speaking (writing, podcasting, vloging etc) from their heart. Its the old saying in its truest form "perception is reality." Bloggers are real people sharing their personal perceptions and that is their reality. Its why blogging and bloggers are so powerful. No filter, no "fairness." Blogging is people and their naked realities. Those naked conversations are based on how I think, feel and believe.

Journalists attempt to tell stories and glean what the "truth" may be through fair-minded and "objective" reporting. There are some exceptions, of course: a) bloggers who are the closest some countries have to free press, where the state represses freedom of the press; and b)
some of the "a-list" publishers (Engagdet, Federated Media, etc) or bloggers who are actually closer to online freelance journalists, commentators than a personal blogger. Here are some links with more food for thought: http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2008/01/new-thoughts-on.html

http://www.shaicoggins.com/index.php/weblog/why-im-so-bloody-boring-and-other-excuses/

http://mediabullseye.com/mb/2008/01/the-bloggers-double-standard.html

http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2007/12/congratulations-new-rising-voi.html

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/

2. "Lose Control" ? How about Participate. These are different Issues and have different ramifications.

For businesses entering social media and getting involved, it is often suggested you have to understand you have no control. I call this the fear factor....oh my god "lose control" = fear. Im not making an argument about the degree to which companies may or may not control their brand....but anyone curious about this field ought to understand this: participation is very different to losing control. Participation = involvement, it is not rooted in fear. It also leads to different results than "losing control" and fear. Do you act because you are afraid or because you want to participate and "join in"?

3. The "blogging" world is not "fair" (see 1); Its a wild Mob. Wrong, It's a Generous World

I have personally found bloggers of all stripes, once you prove you are serious, genuine and listening (earn your stripes so to speak) to be findamentally generous.

As I mentioned in one of my first posts and in the recent Toronto presentations, the conversations are ultimately "give and take." If you are willing to listen and learn, then you will find people on Twitter, Facebook, in the blogs and elsewhere who connect with you and share. That is an important word, SHARE.

I have learned from so many who have been willing to point me in various directions...it is amazing. This is no angry mob....or some ill-informed populace. It is world filled with great people who are fundamentally generous and willing to help you individually, or as a business, understand and gain even better and more important new insights. Likely more than you can appreciate until you dive in.

So what holds you back from diving in?

Working Conversations/Real Relationships

Web 2.0 tools enable conversations and over time foster relationships. They humanize companies and build trust. Those are the assertions.

They work.

Who would have thought that one of the first people who received a little comment and conversation starter about Dell's next chapter and the new chapter(see 2 posts ago on working conversations) , would go on to comment publicly in a slide share about us and eventually end up in Austin, wearing a cowboy hat (David Armano on left)? I borrowed one, although I have my own...from the same store.

Bringing conversations to life and real relationships allow us to share and grow -- listen and learn. That's what we do every day....RichardatDELL, JohnPatDELL, Lionel, Caroline, Bob, Sean, Geoff + team and many others. David has helped us along the way (he'll see how tomorrow in a power point). We have been listening a lot to learn and grow.

So its my pleasure on behalf of all us at Dell to welcome David and his Logic + Emotion to Austin :-)

PS: I have boots already...I couldn't convince David to buy any. Connie...another conversationalist. Thanks for joining too.

Is Blogging in “The Dip”? Are we Throwing the Blogging Baby and Bathwater out?

I’ve been thinking about corporate blogging, social networks, conversations, engaging with people, corporate communications and developments on the web. It all moves fast. DUH!!! I know.

To do my job it’s important to keep up with the rapid changes in tools and opportunities, while also ensuring we keep reaching out, conversing and learning. Rapid changes and opportunities in social networks, blogs and other new Web 2.0 applications add an intellectual and practical challenge everyday. When the ground is constantly shifting it’s tough to keep up with the “flavor du jour” and still improve and build relationships based upon last month’s flavor– but all that makes for a good job and hopefully great work.

On the Decline of Blogs
I have been a little taken aback by the veteran bloggers discussion of blogging’s death. It has been noted that good blogging takes a lot the time and energy (don’t I know that since I do not post here often enough); the “evangelizers” have said all they can; or because the future has arrived and been accomplished. Scoble announced he was taking a break and that recently his 30 minute discussion with an IBM lawyer was more interesting than the average blog (so much for the wisdom of crowds?).

Facebook is It
Scoble and others are declaring Facebook is it, period. Jeremiah Owyang and Brian Solis have written extremely thorough and detailed guides to Facebook as the next big thing in social media. And I have to admit, I personally experienced the deepening of a business relationship using Facebook the other day, something that likely would not have happened on the blogs. Facebook has some great features that further realize the benefits of Web 2.0 and conversations. But it is also a walled garden where you can only converse with select people and in some respects feels a bit like a television station where everyone is broadcasting messages, including me by the way.

Blogs are the Real Conversations
From where I sit, business blogging is just starting, so the future has not arrived. It is just emerging. As for those valuable “Naked Conversations” between businesses and people, I sense they are also just in their infancy. And those conversations are found in blogs – every day, hundreds of them, good, bad, fun and serious. Real people conversing among themselves, and sometimes with businesses. I am not seeing these real conversations at YouTube or using video. Nor do I see those connections at MySpace or FaceBook. Certainly not to the same and open extent I see them in blogs. Are we leaving the promise of blogging behind to pursue the next big thing, without ever realizing its potential?

I’m even wondering if blogging is in Seth Godin’s “The Dip” and is going to need that focus and attention to get it through the dip, to realize all it could be. From my travels around the web, blogging is still producing the most genuine conversations between a business and people who want to talk about that business. But maybe I just don’t get it all yet either?

As Shel Israel recently noted (and reminded me personally, for which I say "Thanks Shel!") “Naked Conversations was essentially about conversations replacing messages because of the internet. We called that part a revolution and we still do. We talked almost exclusively about blogs because they were the only power tool of the conversational revolution at the time. What has changed is that there are now a great many tools and anyone can use any combination of them.” In this vein, Hugh ,over at Gaping Void, made it clear that “Bogging isn’t for everybody, Web 2.0 is for everybody

I just think we need to be careful. Facebook has great features for sure. There are lots of sexy Web 2.0 applications, but let’s not throw baby blogging out with the bathwater. That is where I still see real conversations emerging.

Ad Age: You call that a blog? Something to be said for "citizen journalists"

Everyday I have the pleasure of reading blogs and learning from customers, well-informed business observers and critics, arm-chair quarterbacks and media. Most often it's thoughtful and considered, usually rooted in "real-world" experience and/or substantiated.

I have seen "the wisdom of the crowd" in action; I have had the pleasure to engage in some powerful and wonderful conversations. I have made friends, who I still have not met. I have had the chance to be part of "real conversations" where even though we might have different points of view, we had a meaningful exchange of ideas. I have been wrong. I have corrected others.

Based on my experiences in the "blogosphere" to date, I do not see what there is much to fear about "citizen journalism." In fact, the opportunity to engage and converse, listen, learn and share perspectives is refreshing and rewarding work.

But here is where I do fear: main stream journalists who say they are blogging, in order to provide commentary rather than news, even offering a place for comments....but the comments go to moderation and may or may not appear in print or in the blog. That is not a conversation. Im not sure it is a blog (....i know that last comment raises a whole bunch of other questions....but for now allow me that assumption).

While I have experienced this elsewhere with media outlets, the past is the past for now. This week it happened with Ad Age....so far. Yesterday, Ad Age's blogger Bob Garfield reviewed the new Dell Inspiron advertisements (first entry at this blog) suggesting "color alone would not change Dell's future." DUH!!!!!!! No one said it would.

Then he suggests that color is 1/2 of the Dell turnaround strategy...the other half is Wal Mart. Oh come on, Mr. Garfield. Do your research. Find Michael Dell's leaked memo on the web and in main stream media back issues. Review main stream media coverage from discussions with Michael Dell in New York just a week or so ago, like this one: "Dell Sees `Lot of Work' Left on Turnaround Effort (Update4) July . Back up your opinion with some facts.

Instead of having a conversation about the merits or not of the Dell "yours is here" ad campaign, which could have been joined by others, I felt compelled to correct the inaccuracies and innuendo about the transformation of our company. The latter being worked on hard by a lot of people , who don't treat it as frivolously as the author appears to consider it.

Since Ad Age hasn't posted my comments in the "comment section" after 24 hours I have posted my corrections for Ad Age here. By posting here, Im trying to extend the comment period, allowing Ad Age to prove their seriousness about blogs and conversations (based on technorati data that suggest a blog and comments are most viable within the first 24 hours).

If Ad Age had posted comments and done its homework as "professional journalists" offering an opinion, then we could have had a meaningful discussion about Dell and its move from "speeds and feeds" to lifestyle advertisements. We could have chatted about whether the ads are about the "colors" or are they about the programs overall theme: "yours is here" and personalization -- something that differentiates the Dell brand.

Unfortunately, for now we have to leave the discussion at clarifying what Dell's business transformation is about, ensuring Ad Age understands we have a few more balls in the air than color and selling computers at Wal-Mart. Oh well.

RichardatDell's unposted comment at Ad Age:

Mr. Garfield,

How you draw the conclusion that moving from gray to various colors of computers is half our turnaround strategy, and the other half is Wal Mart, is beyond me.

Just a couple week’s ago in New York Michael Dell said we still had ``a lot of work to do” to complete the business’ turnaround, and responded to a question if we were half way there: ``It is a much lower number. I would say in the single digits.''

Perhaps your focus on Wal Mart aisles and Color blinded you to the rest of the Dell story. As Michael has pointed out on numerous occasions we are investing for the long term, not quick short term fixes because we want to simplify information technology for customers and be first in service and support. And after that, we want to be No. 1 in profitability.

First, lets clarify the Wal Mart part of this equation. Wal Mart is only the first in a global strategy to expand how people can buy Dell, making Dell technologies more available to more people around the world.

Closely related to the retail strategy for consumers is expanding the availability of Dell technologies through Value Added Resellers in the business market, as well as a new product and service line focused and designed to meet the specific needs of small business.

We are undertaking systematic changes to restore competitiveness to the core business, re-ignite growth, and build solutions critical to our customer needs, including expanding into new areas. Our strategic intent is to simplify information technology for our customers by removing cost and complexity. We believe we have a competitive advantage in terms of unlocking value for our customers – giving them the ability implement simpler and smarter technology solutions.

Therefore, some of the additional steps in this transformation have included:
1. Restructured the senior leadership team to enhance accountability, bring clarity to the company’s transformation strategy and move decision-making closer to the customer. In addition to restructuring the leadership team, other aspects of the business are being simplified and better aligned with the current business environment and strategic growth opportunities.

2. Increased investment in technical support resources like Dell Support Center and DellConnect to improve customer satisfaction. These investments have helped the company achieve a 66 percent decrease in the number of times customers are transferred before their issue or question is resolved.

3. Extend our global business and renew growth in established and emerging regions through innovative products tailored to specific customer needs such as the EC280 system introduced for China.

Another initiative focusing on customer needs is the new product and services for small business, called Vostro that includes PCs and printers designed for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees and no dedicated technical staff.

4. Build out a global services business around a strategy of embedding supportability and serviceability into hardware, simplifying and standardizing service options and delivery, and enhancing remote monitoring and resolution capability to minimize IT infrastructure costs for customers. Just last week we made acquisition in this field…with more to come.

5. Dell is putting more emphasis on product design. Here is where the colors fits in, and just one part of more innovative solutions and design for customers including new options like built in web cams, mobile broadband options, the latest in Hi-Def LED display which is thin, bright and designed to be energy-efficient.

Other initiatives that also deserve mentioning include the XPS M1330, the thinnest 13.1 inch notebook in the industy, with biometrics and embedded anti-theft tracking – also available in various colors by the way.

Dell is among the first to introduce flash-based, solid state drives (SSD) to its portfolio as an alternative to hard disk drives on corporate notebooks. SSDs, which have no moving parts, bring a new level of reliability, performance and noise reduction to customers seeking the best in mobility performance.

We are also the first major computer supplier to offer Linux preinstalled on a range of desktops and lap tops, all part of our refocus, listening and learning from customers. By the way, more new consumer products are planned for later this year

I hope that gives you a better feel for some of the business changes and the fact that our strategy includes more components than Wal Mart and colors. Whether you are “inspiron-ed” or not, by the colors or anything else, we would simply request that you at least give fair consideration to the bigger business picture.