Social Media ist ein grosses Gebiet unter das sehr vieles fallen kann, denn das entscheidende Buzzword “Social” beschreibt eigentlich eine Verhaltensweise. Trotzdem werden vor allem Werber nicht müde, “Strategien” und “Techniken” zu präsentieren, wie man dieses “Social Media” zum Absatz von Produkten nutzen kann. Auch die Präsentation von Orange8 (gehört zur Goldbach Gruppe) hatte ihre 5 Erfolgsfaktoren (wie man in Social Media richtig verkauft). Die Wahl der Titel sagt schon einiges über ihre Haltung zur Thematik: Präsenz / Ausdauer / Interaktivität / Kreativität / Analytics.

Etwa anderthalb Monate zuvor habe ich selbst einen Artikel zu Social Media verfasst. Nicht zuletzt um dieser Haltung einen anderen Standpunkt entgegen zu setzen. Auch wir machen mit Brand Experience im weiteren Sinne Marketing. Wir hören aber auch auf den Benuzer / die Zielgruppe. Der Benuzter möchte nicht, das ihm einfach etwas angedreht wird. Der Benutzer möchte, das auf seine Bedürfnisse eingegangen wird. Dann kauft er auch. Entsprechend lauten meine 5 Erfolgsfaktoren (wie man sich in Social Media richtig verhält): Aufmerksamkeit / Transparenz / Aktivität / Selbstlosigkeit / Authenzität.

Lesen Sie den ganzen Artikel: Die fünf Erfolgsfaktoren für Social Media Marketing

Davon abgesehen wurde im “Seminar” nicht viel neues Präsentiert, da es hauptsächlich um Grundlagen ging. Dass ein Bedürfnis dafür da ist zeigten Fragen aus dem Publikum, wie: “Und was macht man, wenn Facebook in unserem Unternehmen gesperrt ist?” und Antworten wie “iPhone?”. Ich persönlich finde ja, ein Unternehmen, das Facebook für seine Mitarbeiter sperrt, hat Social Media grundsätzlich noch nicht verstanden und sollte sich hüten, darin werben zu wollen. Aber das ist nur meine Meinung.

Noch etwas Lustiges, das mir aus dem “Seminar” geblieben ist zum Schluss: Der Sprecher hält einen Vortrag über Social Media, bittet das Publikum aber: “Schreiben Sie sich diese tolle Virale Kampagne auf”. Tatsächlich. “Ich schicke den Interessierten den Link per Mail”, “Sie finden den Link in meinem letzten Twitter-Post” oder “Sie können die Präsentation in unserem Blog downloaden” wäre dann doch zuviel 2.0 gewesen. Hier nun, zu aktuellen Geschehnissen, einer der Links zum schmunzeln: BP Spills Coffee

MIGROS CLUBSCHULE BUSINESS

Ich freue mich in dem ganz neuen Diplomlehrgang neben Jörg Eugster, Peter Hogenkamp, Maya Reinshagen und vielen weiteren Dozenten ab diesem Winter Website Marketing und Usability zu unterrichten.

BESCHREIBUNG
Das Internet ist mittlerweile die grösste Marketing- und Verkaufs- plattform der Welt. Wie nutzt man das Internet kommerziell für seine Zwecke?

Im Rahmen des Marketing-Mix’ werden zunehmend Online-Marketing- Massnahmen genutzt. Doch welche Methoden sind am wirkungsvollsten? Ist es E-Mail- oder Suchmaschinen-Marketing? Wie gut wirkt Bannerwerbung? Auf welchen Portalen gilt es, Präsenz zu zeigen? Soll man bereits auf Mobile Marketing setzen? Ist der Zeitpunkt richtig für Social Media Marketing und wenn ja, wie soll man diese Web 2.0-Instrumente einsetzen? Was für Alternativen bieten sich an?

Im Lehrgang Online-Marketing Manager/in werden Sie schrittweise von ausgewiesenen Experten mit langjähriger Erfahrung in diese Thematik eingeführt. Dabei werden ldie aktuellen Trends aus der Praxis wie Google, Facebook, Twitter & Co. laufend berücksichtigt.

Die Inhalte werden detailliert, praxisgerecht und anhand vieler Beispiele dargestellt, so dass Sie in der Lage sind, diese direkt in die Praxis umzusetzen.

INHALT
Folgende Inhalte bereiten die künftigen Online-Marketing Manager auf Ihre Aufgaben vor.
Online-Marketing-Strategie (8 Lektionen)
Website-Marketing und Usability (8 Lektionen)
E-Mail-/Newsletter-Marketing (8 Lektionen)
Suchmaschinen-Marketing (SEO, SEM), (16 Lektionen)
Web-Analyse (8 Lektionen)
Social Media Marketing (12 Lektionen)
Online-Werbung (8 Lektionen)
Virales Marketing, Sonderwerbeformen (8 Lektionen)
Mobile Marketing und Mobile Apps (8 Lektionen)
E-Commerce und rechtliche Grundlagen (8 Lektionen)
Einführung in die Diplomarbeit (4 Lektionen)

Details und Anmeldung

The internal e-mails have been turned over in the antitrust suits against the company.

So we only can wonder: “Why did he not have a stronger impact on usability issues and who will promote usability after he is leaving the day to day life at Microsoft?

Image Source:

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/

images/gateswinmcnameegetty.jpg

This e-mail is from 2003:

—- Original Message —-

From: Bill Gates
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM
To: Jim Allchin
Cc: Chris Jones (WINDOWS); Bharat Shah (NT); Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta (RESEARCH)
Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame

I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don’t drive usability issues.

Let me give you my experience from yesterday.

I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack … so I went to Microsoft.com. They have a download place so I went there.

The first 5 times I used the site it timed out while trying to bring up the download page. Then after an 8 second delay I got it to come up.

This site is so slow it is unusable.

It wasn’t in the top 5 so I expanded the other 45.

These 45 names are totally confusing. These names make stuff like: C:\Documents and Settings\billg\My Documents\My Pictures seem clear.

They are not filtered by the system … and so many of the things are strange.

I tried scoping to Media stuff. Still no moviemaker. I typed in movie. Nothing. I typed in movie maker. Nothing.

So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying – where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist?

So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.

They told me to go to the main page search button and type movie maker (not moviemaker!).

I tried that. The site was pathetically slow but after 6 seconds of waiting up it came.

I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download.

In fact it is more like a puzzle that you get to solve. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.

This struck me as completely odd. Why should I have to go somewhere else and do a scan to download moviemaker?

So I went to Windows update. Windows Update decides I need to download a bunch of controls. (Not) just once but multiple times where I get to see weird dialog boxes.

Doesn’t Windows update know some key to talk to Windows?

Then I did the scan. This took quite some time and I was told it was critical for me to download 17megs of stuff.

This is after I was told we were doing delta patches to things but instead just to get 6 things that are labeled in the SCARIEST possible way I had to download 17meg.

So I did the download. That part was fast. Then it wanted to do an install. This took 6 minutes and the machine was so slow I couldn’t use it for anything else during this time.

What the heck is going on during those 6 minutes? That is crazy. This is after the download was finished.

Then it told me to reboot my machine. Why should I do that? I reboot every night — why should I reboot at that time?

So I did the reboot because it INSISTED on it. Of course that meant completely getting rid of all my Outlook state.

So I got back up and running and went to Windows Updale again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker.

So I went back to Microsoft.com and looked at the instructions. I have to click on a folder called WindowsXP. Why should I do that? Windows Update knows I am on Windows XP.

What does it mean to have to click on that folder? So I get a bunch of confusing stuff but sure enough one of them is Moviemaker.

So I do the download. The download is fast but the Install takes many minutes. Amazing how slow this thing is.

At some point I get told I need to go get Windows Media Series 9 to download.

So I decide I will go do that. This time I get dialogs saying things like “Open” or “Save”. No guidance in the instructions which to do. I have no clue which to do.

The download is fast and the install takes 7 minutes for this thing.

So now I think I am going to have Moviemaker. I go to my add/remove programs place to make sure it is there.

It is not there.

What is there? The following garbage is there. Microsoft Autoupdate Exclusive test package, Microsoft Autoupdate Reboot test package, Microsoft Autoupdate testpackage1. Microsoft AUtoupdate testpackage2, Microsoft Autoupdate Test package3.

Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.

But that is just the start of the crap. Later I have listed things like Windows XP Hotfix see Q329048 for more information. What is Q329048? Why are these series of patches listed here? Some of the patches just things like Q810655 instead of saying see Q329048 for more information.

What an absolute mess.

Moviemaker is just not there at all.

So I give up on Moviemaker and decide to download the Digital Plus Package.

I get told I need to go enter a bunch of information about myself.

I enter it all in and because it decides I have mistyped something I have to try again. Of course it has cleared out most of what I typed.

I try (typing) the right stuff in 5 times and it just keeps clearing things out for me to type them in again.

So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven’t run Moviemaker and I haven’t got the plus package.

The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. I thought we had reached a low with Windows Network places or the messages I get when I try to use 802.11. (don’t you just love that root certificate message?)

When I really get to use the stuff I am sure I will have more feedback.

When Todd asked Bill Gates about the e-mail last week while conducting an interview, Bill answered:

“There’s not a day that I don’t send a piece of e-mail … like that piece of e-mail. That’s my job.”

The idea behind the concept sounds tempting at a first glance:
Personalized start pages allow their users to get all of their favorite websites, blogs, news, weather, maps, events, address books, to do lists, email accounts, social networks, search engines, video and photo networks – you name it – in one place, and users then can share the page with their friends.

What are the flaws
Have a look at the screenshot below: E-Mail, Flickr, Youtube, maps, etc.
Now consider the following scenarios and the users’ needs:

1. He wants to check his E-Mail: Where does he go?
   His start page or his E-Mail account?
2. He wants to check out the news on Youtube: Where does he go?
   His start page or Youtube?
3. He wants to upload some images to Flickr: Where does he go?
   His start page or Flickr?
4. He needs directions: Start page or Google maps?

You get the pattern.

So what are the benefits?
That is the big question. Users will fulfil their needs directly. The obstacles of configuring the start page and the loss of time do not match the benefits. A simple start page where a user can assemble all his favorite RSS feeds can offer a quick overview of all the sites’ news, and weather info is a feature many users appreciate. However, most features offered on those sites only mean a click more for the user, and therefore the user would rather go directly to the desired target such as Youtube, the E-Mail account or Flickr.

This is also why Flickr, Youtube, delicious, Facebook and many others got sold or received substantial venture capital. Despite the fact that several Personalized start pages got impressive media coverage, there is little business hype heard.

Lessons learned:
One of the most important factors for being successful is creating a business strategy that fulfils a concrete user need.
And yes, I am still wondering about the business models of today’s personalized start pages.

Who are the players?

Live