Mosaic - Meg Kerr

September 24th 2010, our guest lecture was Meg Kerr - Social Media Integration Marketer for Mosaic. She thinks of herself as a lucky person because of all the experience she gets from the job and she gets to travel a lot in many different places which she loves.

   About Meg Kerr

• Twitter: @meg_kerr
•  Linkedin: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/megkerr
• Undergraduate Degree from Western University in Media Information and Technology.
• Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from Fanshawe College.
• With Mosaic since 2006  (full time since 2007)
• Social Media Integration Manager at Mosaic Experiential Marketing: 
• Social media strategy, community management, analytics, blog outreach.

   
  About Mosaic

• Web site:  http://www.mosaic.com/
• Contact In Canada: 1-905-238-8422
• Address: 2700 Matheson Blvd East West Tower, 2nd Floor Mississauga, ON. L4W 4V9
•  Mosaic is an experiential marketing company.
• Mosaic's "Perfect Visit" process is based on five key elements:

1. Calibration of customized service solutions for each client to the specific needs of each store
2. Talent acquisition of profiled specialists which match the “Image and Soul” of our clients’ brands.
3. Thorough training and certification ensuring consistent communication to the ultimate customer.
4. Proprietary technology via hand held devices that provide a visit report that “choreographs” each visit by door ensuring nothing is left to chance.
5. Store level data capture and market insight reporting that  are available “real time” for clients via the Web to allow for ongoing ROI measurement.

  What is Social Media

• "Social media is like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. No one knows how. When finally don't, there is surprise its not better." - Avinash Kaushik, (analytics evangelist ate Google)
• "Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio." - Wikipedia

  4 Social Media Trends
  Trend 1: Real time + Smartphones changes everything

• Technology that allows anyone to share and search for information in real time and from anywhere has fundamentally and irrevocably changed the way we get information.
• It's like traditional word of mouth... on steroids.
• As Smarphone penetration increases, the volume and velocity at which information is shared will continue to accelerate
• Nearly one third of Canadians own a smartphone.
• In Canada, smartphone penetration, while still relatively low, is showing shipment numbers that are actually double the growth of the rest of the world.
• Web traffic on smartphones in Canada grew by 193% in the past year.
• By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide.
• "As recently as the last decade, most of the media of the media that was available for public consumption was produced by professionals. Those days are over, never to return." - Clay Shrirky, NYU professor, author, and super social media guy.
• @breakingnews was the first outlet to break the story.
• Within 10 minutes of the @breakingnews tweet, Google started showing reports from local Orlando news outlets (where the crash occurred) giving details of the crash
• Within 15 minutes;
• We knew what time the crash occurred at
• Apparently what happened
• Other important details (like no alcohol being involved)
• About 45 minutes after the initial tweet, CNN broke the story:
• "Golfer Tiger Woods was injured in car accident near his home, Florida officials say."
• Concern: speed vs. accuracy  

  Trend 2: Location based Services & Geotagging

• The increase in GPS-enabled smartphone penetration is a driving force behind the rise in popularity of LBS-they would not exist without this technology!
• Instead of telling your friends where you are via a status update or Tweet, LBS's like Foursquare, Gowalla and Yelp are making sharing your whereabouts easier than ever and adding rating or gaming components
• They are easily integrated with your other networks like Twitters or Facebook
• Watch for Facebook Places
• Foursquare works by "Checking In" to location from your phone
• Your Foursquare friends are pinged when you check in (and vice versa)
• You get points for checking in to different locations, can unlock badges, and even be named "Mayor" if you've checked into a location more than anyone else
• There is the option to leave Tips for location. For example, "Try the fish and chips, they're amazing!" or "karaoke here on Wednesdays": Where you friends check in, these insider tips will pop up.
• Businesses are seeing the value and partnering with Foursquare to provide special discounts for Mayors or simply when you check in (ie Foursquare)
• There are now 3 million users on Foursquare
• When I did this chat in March, this number was 1 million
• To give you some perspective it took Twitter 2 years to hit 1 million users. It took Foursquare half this time.
• Growth is rapid: Foursquare is now adding about half a million users per month
• Last November, Twitter added the ability to geotagging functionality
• Within the past month Facebook rolled our Facebook Places in the US - should arrive in Canada by end of the year
• TBD what effect this will have on Foursquare, but will bring LBS into the mainstream

  
  Trend 3: Hello World, Goodbye Privacy

•  In order to attract users, sites need to offer ways for members to restrict the information about themselves that gets shared with a wider public. Without effective controls people would be reluctant to sign up
• But if a site allows members to keep too much of their information private, there will be less traffic that can be turned into profit through advertising and various other means, so the network's business will suffer.
•  Twitter is one of the least private networks - it is (nearly) completely open
• You can read any one's tweets, whether you are following them or not
• Tweets are even indexed on Google
• People often link their Foursquare and Twitter account, which means the entire world can find out where they are in real time...this can have serious consequences

  
  Trend 4: Social Media gets less Social

• If the first and second generations of social networking portals were about opening up the world, the third generation is about  closing it again.
• As mass networks like Twitter and Facebook fill up with noise, users are looking for ways to cut through the clutter.
• With groups, lists and niche networks becoming more popular, mass networks could begin to feel more "exclusive".
• People are beginning to seek out exclusive, niche networks.
• Invitation only sites are popping up everywhere, creating exclusive, gated virtual communities that shut out he "masses."
• Gaining entry into this new generation of private online world can involve an intimidating process of review, such as career-orientated sites bluechipexpert.com and doostang.com, where aspiring members must submit their resumes to be considered for acceptance.
• Other sites are blatantly and proudly parochial, such as privateclub.com which is only for New Yorkers in-the-know.

  Socialnomics: Social  Media  Revolutions:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

 

  Delete  all  your  accounts at once via : http://suicidemachine.org/

    
      "FAQ: What shall I do after I've killed myself whit the web2.0 suicide machine?

• Try calling some friends, take a walk in a park or buy a bottle of wine and start enjoying your real life again. Some Social Suiciders reported that their lives has improved by an approximate average of 25%. Don't worry, if you feel empty right after you committed suicide. This is a normal reaction which will slowly fade away within the first 24-72 hours." 

  The Conversation: The Art of Listening, Learning, and Sharing