For Immediate Release...

Social Media is Flawed, Imperfect and Unique

Sherwood Park, AB - August 20, 2008 - Walter Schwabe, fusedlogic inc's Chief Evolution Officer, is helping Canadian businesses understand social media and how to leverage it to better understand and communicate with customers.

Schwabe admits that "social media is flawed, imperfect and unique, just like all of us. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work." He goes on to explain that this is the reason why businesses need to understand social media and develop a social media strategy to generate a return on their investment and avoid common pitfalls.

The McKinsey Quarterly reports in the results from a recent survey that “the Companies that are deriving business value from these tools are now shifting from using them experimentally to adopting them as part of a broader business practice.”

Most social media strategies consist of launching blogs, wikis, flickr photo streams, Facebook groups, MySpace profiles, LinkedIn profiles and the like. Unfortunately, social media is not an exact science, and many companies are struggling with their respective strategies. The great thing however, is that a growing amount of research that fusedlogic inc. continues to accumulate suggests that with the right plan, businesses can generate a return on their social media efforts. However, the return may not be what one would commonly expect.

What businesses are finding out, however, is that social media success is, first, not that simple and second, they’re not sure “what” social media success looks like. At least not consistently enough to say there’s one secret formula. Reality is, there isn’t “one” secret formula. Rather, there is a set of engaging elements that should be a part of your strategy. Key elements, such as the ability to share content, communicate with others, scrutinize the content or brand openly, a way for the participants to take ownership of the brand, are just a few. Schwabe adds, “Scrutiny, as well as brand ownership, is what often-times has organizations running scared. Taking left hooks online or giving up control of their brand typically isn’t in their DNA. But being brave is a necessity for success.”

In addition to his social media strategy work, Walter Schwabe is a Technology Columnist for the just launched today, Propel Magazine and Troy Media Corporation. Watch for his four article series on social media including excerpts from personal interviews with thought leaders Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki.

About fusedlogic: fusedlogic inc., one of Canada’s leading social media strategy firms, was incorporated in 2000. fusedlogic matches Web 2.0 and social media strategies with client dreams to SHIFT markets. They accomplish this by educating organizations on how to effectively engage the online community.

For more information, please contact:

Jen Schaefer
fusedlogic inc.
780-640-2331
jen[at]fusedlogic.com
www.fusedlogic.com

Leaving the monolithic leadership model...

Can government actually leave the monolithic leadership model behind? Wow, that's a big question. One that has no easy or simple answer. Government is aware of the changing world of social media and Web2.0, there are even signs that this is starting to infiltrate the halls of power across North America today.

My hope is that large organizations and governments alike recognize that Web 2.0 is really more about a shift in culture rather than the tools. By recognizing this key fundamental, the already collaborative approach that is the Social Web will begin to further influence the coming together of all levels of government, (or all departments within a large organization or business).

Improved service delivery, improved collaboration, improved communication can all be a result of embracing a culture shift. The question still remains, can government embrace the deep rooted change required to be successful?

I'm an optimist in general and for that reason, I believe that not only can government embrace this change and shift its thinking, but further I believe that government is starting to realize it has no choice, the citizenry demands it. This isn't a matter anymore of "if" we should. This is a matter of it's Those nay saying voices that still echo in the halls of power are fast being drowned out by those who are saying "yes we can!"

Big Corporations are AFRAID!

Yes that's right, the dinosaurs are afraid. Many are running scared. Why? Simple, they want to "manage or control" the conversation and their corporate structure is less than transparent. Not to suggest that they're hiding something illegal, but most internal corporate environments are filled with political turf wars, that many corporate cultures are less than open, empowering and engaging.

Culture is extremely important in the context of developing a winning social media strategy, especially for a large corporation. If the culture itself enters the social media world with doubt, fear and barriers, it's my opinion that the overall strategy will most likely reflect these same elements.

Do you think "corporate culture" plays a key role in the development of a social media strategy?

Follow me on Twitter to keep in touch and let's talk more about the issue above. Also, the first of my (4) articles on social media came out today, if you'd like a copy don 't hesitate to ask.

fusedlogic is on the Twitter Brand Index

Johnathan over at Fluent Simplicity was kind enough to add fusedlogic to his Twitter Brand Index. We thank him kindly for that and I think you'll find it interesting to see all the various brands currently on Twitter, I mean beyond us of course. No doubt you'll recognize many of them.

Also, stay tuned, I'm currently writing a series of (3) articles on social media for Troy Media's technology beat news. Troy Media has well over a hundred thousand subscribers with the overwhelming majority being media and journalists of all shapes and sizes throughout North America...

To that end, as recently as this morning, I finished a phone interview with a world renowned author and entrepreneur...this is going to be a great story.

My next interview is with yet another world renowned author and entrepreneur on Monday...so this becomes an even bigger story, if that's possible. (Tooot, there goes my horn!!!) Toss in a top business executive from a large enterprise in my home province of Alberta possibly and a couple of bloggers and we've got ourselves a ball game.

I feel especially blessed today to say the least...

Technorati Tags: Twitter, Twitter Brand Index, fusedlogic, Troy Media, bloggers

When will social media be profitable?

In many boardrooms, top exec's are struggling with questions around social media and Web 2.0, at least that's what I'm being told...if, and if so, how, why and what to implement are questions of the day.

The tendency to jump in with both feet as part of being a forward thinking organization (or at least to have the appearance as such) is great and why not? After all, there is potential value everywhere. Research, ability to respond to, and engage with, customers, innovate regarding products and services, shift markets with new strategies, the opportunities for value generation are immense.

Unfortunately, quite often the wrong questions are being asked. In the context of a large organization that can be really scary and expensive. For example: When trying to justify the investment of a social media strategy, its development and implementation, a CEO might ask.

"When will this social media initiative be profitable?"

Not an entirely unreasonable question in many cases, however, CEO's and their executive teams need to understand something fundamental about this entire space, culture and community. This isn't a new marketing event. Social media success is a long-term immersing of cultures. The corporate culture with that of the Web 2.0 or social media culture. Clearly most are starting at an obvious disconnect if you consider the question stated above. This will eventually permeate throughout the organization if it's not addressed early.

Social media and Web 2.0 IS innovation. It's innovation related to how we communicate with our customers, innovation in how we engage in commerce related activities with our customers, how we build and grow business models, in this case highly focused on our customers.

For example, micro-hacking sessions are going on as we speak and will be done in an hour or two from now, and as a result, large amounts of caffeine and/or pizza will be consumed. I'm also willing to bet innovation has taken place and a new micro-app will have been launched. The Internet is the raw and real "focus group" of today, if the app is cool...it spreads, if it isn't cool the team will know quickly. No discussion about profitability or break-even points, no business plan constructed or spreadsheets compiled. Talk about innovation on the fly. Now do you have to take into consider the legal ramifications of these moves, in some cases, more than others the answer is yes.

So, how does a slow moving oil tanker of an organization react to that mentality? Should they? Ahh, YES! Large industries are being impacted one micro-app at a time and many of them have no idea at this point. For example, micro-financing. The rumor is that Twitter will soon integrate a micro-finance application called Tipit.to. Is the banking industry aware of the potential impact here? Maybe. We'll see.

The overwhelming majority of CEOs and execs have yet to experience this and still these situations are producing new opportunities for business (it certainly has for my company). Social media is changing the way people are living, growing, engaging and yes "profiting" within the social media and general business spaces.

So where am I going with this? Simple. CEO's and their exec's need to answer their own question regarding the potential profitability of a social media strategy. They need to better understand what the experience is like at least from an observation perspective and when they've done that, their question most likely won't be...

"When will this be profitable?" Rather, "how can we continue to effectively immerse our divisions in this new customer centric philosophy and continue to have more 'meaningful' customer conversations and engagements from which to learn from?"


Technorati Tags: social media, Web 2.0, Canada, branding, strategy

Bank of America fails at social media.

As a thunderstorm pounds away this morning, I have to admit that I've not been to my Flickr account in sometime. I mostly share pictures on Facebook these days and Flickr was really not about business for me. Sure there are a few shots of business stuff, like travel. That said, it certainly wasn't designed to be a component of any particular event, just a visual representation of activities in my life and that of my family.

I frankly haven't had the time to express my passion for amateur photography lately. You know, the kind of shots you take early on a weekend morning when the lighting is just right and you have no other place to be at that moment in time.

That said, I was looking at how brands are using Flickr. I came across some interesting groups, one that struck me as orphaned was the Bank of America photostream. When you dig deeper you see that they've started a promotion to coincide with the Beijing Olympics called Americascheer.com. It's clear this is about getting people to sign-up for a high-interest Visa to support the team.

Now at first glance, one could argue that this is maybe a decent idea to many mainstream corporate types. Unfortunately from my perspective this needs to be chalked up as a miss. A clear lack of commitment and understanding, even down to the Flickr profile thumbnail icon being blank.

Here's where I think they're going wrong.

1. Clear lack of commitment overall - Their photostream is left for weeks at a time...the Olympics are just around the corner are they not? More activity, engagement and discussion is needed as part of a larger strategy online. This still feels like a big bank going "here you go little minions, have fun..." at least to me.
   
2. Who are the Bank of America customers brand evangelists online and are they involved in the campaign? It doesn't appear so to me.
3. Sure people are cheering for the U.S. team, but does anybody really "love" the Bank of America?
   

This is more about B-o-A pushing as a faceless corporation. The real human aspect of this frankly is the profile of the group's contact. Photo's of a happy family, NOT a faceless corporation allowed me to feel positive about something related to this discussion and it had little to do with the bank...that's the richness that the campaign is lacking in my opinion.

I believe Bank of America could have went further with a more complete overall strategy...that said it's probably a good thing they didn't since this small effort is dismal at best. Oh well, another case study to use and teach others with...

When big brands miss, they miss big...

More and more large brands are taking on the social net and more and more brands are missing their targets...and some are winning and exceeding expectations, (low or cautious expectations I suspect).

When a large brand spends cash in the online world it's typically enough to buy a small country with a two-bit dictator. So missing the point in this arena hurts. Central to the problem is strategy or lack thereof and approach.

Complex organization + Old Marketing Attitude + New Social Media = Complex Expensive Failure

Understanding the social animals and online society or "creative class," "digital generation," "generation now" can be daunting. So seek first to listen, learn and participate by adding value...not ad dollars...

Using analytics to target demographics and audiences is fine to a point, but typically it doesn't tell the whole story. I think it's important to analyze online behaviors, living breathing trends, attitudes, needs...and combine that with understanding who's influencing the discussion. Having the proper strategy is absolutely key.

Just ask GM about whether they like Youtube or not...I talk about this in my presentations all the time...it's the core to everything else...

Social Network User Demographics

Here's some interesting stats...sorry I'm crazy busy today and this is the best I can do...

Edmonton Linkedin Business Event

I was invited to speak yesterday evening to a local group of Edmonton area business people who primarily belong to the same online network. The Edmonton Linkedin Business Network, a group started by Stephen Lau, a self-described workaholic professional in the commercial real estate industry, specifically with "Barclay Street Real Estate Ltd. | ONCOR International" Stephen is also a director with the Hong Kong - Canada Business Association, and if that wasn't enough, he's also an Executive Recruiter with Summit Placement Services.

Anyway, the primary rule to the group is that in order to join you must have a Linkedin profile so that others can connect with you online, thereby growing our networks. I was part of a three speaker event with the others being Evita McConnell, owner of Evita McConnell Graphics and Joe MacKay of Revo Video.

Each of my co-presenters provided a unique perspective and human touch to their message which I really appreciated.

Almost all of the meetings take place at Lau's family restaurant, the Golden Rice Bowl and the food is ridiculously amazing. I had a wonderful sesame lemon chicken last night that I'm still dreaming of. Getting something with sesame seeds on it these days due to allergies is rare so for me it brought me back to sesame seed bunwiches as a kid...

Anyway, if you want to grow you network offline as a result of your online activities this is a great model to follow. You need to have the energy to commit to organizing it, which Stephen has shown a clear talent for as it's hard work to be sure...

By the way if you look "right", you'll see a button to my linkedin profile, feel free to look me up...

Also here are some pictures from the event...notice the great gift the speakers received from Mari-lyn Hudson of Heart @ Work, a local artist and marketer.

DemoCamp Edmonton

Well I'm looking forward to tomorrow evening. In the late afternoon I'm doing a short presentation at the Business Link and then I'm off to DemoCamp Edmonton at the Billiard Club.

Here's the list of attendees, some I know, most I don't and I'm excited to meet and see everyone...There's quite a nice sized group of local tech enthusiasts showing up by the looks of it. Now showing up means that I'll miss story time with my daughter and that's tough to take but hopefully she and her co-pilot Mickey Mouse still learn to fly without me...

Name	Email	Web
Cam Linke	cam.linke@gmail.com	http://camlinke.typepad.com
Reg Cheramy	rcheramy@gmail.com	http://www.zigtag.com/
Mack Male	mack@paramagnus.com	http://www.mastermaq.ca
Aaron Lambie	aaron.lambie@spatialq.com	http://www.spatialq.com
Don Riep	Don@ProTraining.com	www.ProTraining.com
Derek Ball	derek@tynt.com	http://www.tynt.com
Dayton Foster	dayton@tynt.com	http://www.tynt.com
Jack Newton	jack@goclio.com	http://www.goclio.com
Michael Best	michael.best@gmail.com	http://www.pendragon.org/
Shawn Murphy	smurp@smurp.com	http://www.smurp.com/
Eric Warnke	eric@ericwarnke.com	http://solicitingfame.com
Lea Alcantara	design@lealea.net	http://www.lealea.net/
Walter Schwabe	walter@fusedlogic.com	http://www.fusedlogic.com
Sean Healy	sean@odil.ca	http://odil.ca
Lino Ramirez	ramirez AT aranducorp DOT com	http://www.aranducorp.com/blog
Boris Djordjevic	boris@frontech.ca	frontech.ca
Sarah Blue	blue@cambrianhouse.com	http://www.cambrianhouse.com/blog
Peter Urban	peter at smibs dot com	http://www.smibs.com
Mark Bennett	mark@burmis.ca	http://blog.burmis.ca
James Matsuba	james.matsuba@gmail.com	http://www.matsuba.ca/
Anh Nguyen	anh@oomphevents.com	http://www.oomphevents.com/
Kevin Jewell	kjewell@cs.ualberta.ca	http://www.aicml.ca/
George Watts	george.watts@gmail.com	http://www.chartreuseconsulting.com
Will Zaichkowski	willz@Cranialinteractive.com	www.cranialinteractive.com
Craig Hicks	craig@craighicks.com	www.craighicks.com
Mike Totman	barcamp AT mike DOT totman DOT ca	http://www.totman.ca
Dale Hagglund	dale.hagglund@gmail.com
Branden Shortt	branden AT cellphones dot ca	http://www.cellphones.ca
Jock Mardres	jock@awna.com	http://www.awna.com
Wade Muri	wade DOT muri AT gov DOT ab DOT ca	www.innovation.gov.ab.ca
Kyle Fox	kyle.fox at gmail
John Bristowe	john.bristowe@microsoft.com	http://blogs.msdn.com/cdndevs/
Jarett Hailes	jarett period hailes a gmail period com
Jon Smelquist	jon DOT smelquist AT gmail DOT com
Alain Saffel	alain@clearpathseo.com	www.clearpathseo.com
Adam Wolfe Gordon	awg@xvx.ca	http://blog.xvx.ca
Spencer Ord	sord@deloitte.ca	www.deloitte.ca
Scott Francis Winder	scott@beingboreal.com	beingboreal.com
Brant Coghlan	bcoghlan@cs.ualberta.ca	www.aicml.ca
Ken Gordon	kgordon@loapowertools.com	www.loapowertools.com
Your Name	youremail@email.com	yourwebsite.com

Here Comes The Pain!

Growing pains that is. For many who know me the fact that I've decided to "grow" fusedlogic will come as a bit of a surprise. Why? Because for nearly a decade now I've stuck to my business plan which has been to keep my company small. Seems weird doesn't it? A corporation who uses the term "accelerate business leaders" in its tag line to represent the "growth" that we enable our clients to experience has itself been focused on staying small. This for me has always been a life-balance and harmony issue.

This has also been an internal struggle of mine, again those who know me well also know I'm aggressive and business growth is in my DNA. I've been fortunate to come across great projects that have afforded fusedlogic the ability to stay a boutique firm. That said, now that my daughter is 3 and we're on to bigger and better things like training wheels and still the odd potty training episode...I'm ready in my heart and so is my wife, it's time to turn up the heat on fusedlogic. I'm feeling frisky these days, actually "amazingly excited" is a more accurate term. The opportunities for fusedlogic to grow like crazy are EVERYWHERE and have been calling out to me for a year now...

REINVENT ITSELF: That's exactly what I've done. The NEW PLAN is in place and really since early 2005 I've been researching, studying and experimenting with Web 2.0, social media and all the widgets and online apps I could possibly stand, researching traffic generation etc...I've been watching Google, Yahoo, MSN, and watching for gaps that my clients could exploit...Well I've found more than just one. I continue to search for key people around the world from whom fusedlogic and I can learn from, align and work with. That list is ever growing and it's very cool as it sits today. This reinvention has been in the works for years now...

GAPS: We have and will continue to take our knowledge, our growing global team and bring it to bear on our client's dreams. Applying Web 2.0 strategies and online marketing tactics that work for them, positioning them ahead and away from their competition. fusedlogic is now solely focused on Web 2.0 work moving forward, even though we have sparked growth for many companies doing what many people have tried to describe as the traditional management consulting approach, that's all changed now. We were never really traditional in anything we did...we were always renegades.

STILL RENEGADES: As more projects come in and I expand my team of collaborators with smart, capable and creative minds, our culture will be that of never say die ground breakers...I'll set the tone by pushing hard to keep us brave and mobile, slippery and sleek. There have in fusedlogic's past been some hard times, when I was in a car accident and couldn't work, when my daughter was born, my wife had to spend three months basically in the hospital with hypertension...but we've come through those difficulties and we're stronger than ever...2007 was a record year and 2008 well there's lots of real estate left in this year but so far..."we happy."

OUR CLIENTS: Our clients are awesome human beings and have always been willing participants in new directions, open to suggestions, change and challenges that push their limits of bravery. Growth will come for all of us because in our hearts we're ready, we're ready for the road ahead and even though there will be some bumps, sharp curves and construction zones, we're ready. The growing pains will be something we can and will handle...

So I say, "bring it on boys and girls...let's rock!"


By the way, don't forget to come out to our Yahoo! Canada luncheon on May 21st. RSVP here

You can also register with the Edmonton LinkedIn network as well...

See you there...

Fusedlogic Teams Up With Yahoo! Canada

Yahoo! Canada

Media release – For immediate release

Sherwood Park, AB – May 14, 2008 - how can you connect and generate business leads from 84 million searches a day in Canada?

One of the easiest and most powerful online tools out there today to help businesses market themselves virtually is through Search Engine Marketing . “fusedlogic’s Walter Schwabe, Chief Evolution Officer is extremely proud to present this rare opportunity to learn strategies related to online marketing and Search Engines in particular.from Martin Byrne, Head of Yahoo! Search Marketing Canada.

“We get more than 4 million searches a day from Canadians, it’s a high volume business and very interesting.” said Martin Byrne, Head of Yahoo! Search Marketing, Canada. “It’s really important for businesses to leverage Search Engines within their country and yet still be able to advertise to the entire world from their office.”

Consider that there are over 84 million searches performed each day in Canada alone. How does your business benefit from that? Fusedlogic and Yahoo! Search Marketing have teamed up to bring businesses owners from the Greater Edmonton Region this exciting opportunity to learn more about this issue over lunch.

The presentation will focus on how you can use Yahoo! and search engine marketing to increase your brand recognition, credibility and business leads. You will come away from the event with new insight on how to effectively leverage search engines

When: Wednesday May 21st, 2008

Time: 11:45 AM – 1:00 PM

Where: Golden Rice Bowl Restaurant, 5365 Gateway Blvd., Edmonton

Investment: $25.00 per attendee pre-registered, dim sum lunch included.

For more information and to pre-register, please contact:

Walter Schwabe 780-909-9787

seminar@fusedlogic.com

http://www.fusedlogic.com

About FusedLogic

Fusedlogic inc. is one of Canada’s leading Web 2.0 consulting firms, specializing in developing business growth strategies that include Web 2.0 technologies and social networking channels. The eight-year-old Alberta company is owned by Walter Schwabe and is located in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

About Martin Byrne
Martin has spent the last 15 years of his career building online business for a wide variety of Canadian and international organizations.

Initially Martin worked for several Canadian internet presence agencies building websites for TD Bank, BMW Canada, Bank of New York, Deutchbank and more. Martin eventually moved from building online businesses’ to managing them as Director of The National Post’s online news business, Director of media sales operations for Sympatico/MSN Canada and most recently taking on the role as National Director for Yahoo’s Canada’s Search Marketing operations. Martin also holds an executive MBA from the Rotman School of Business.

The State of Web 2.0 in Edmonton, Calgary, Sherwood Park, Alberta

Recently, I've been asked to write an article in a quarterly magazine called "Propel", a Web 2.0 focused publication about to launch this coming June here in Alberta. First of all, I'm honored to be a part of such a cool project and second I'm excited at the prospect of having further opportunity to communicate my ever growing affection for this "Internet revolution" as Seth Godin calls it. My passion lies with explaining to you the small business owner that if you as a business haven't yet figured you should be paying attention to this phenomenon, you're so far behind now it's....well....sick. There's already large 2.0 dot coms being bought out like crazy that's an indication of the maturity of those communities and general state of trends to come.

Another exciting happenstance is that June will be about the time my new book should be launching. Resulting in what I think will be even more excellent opportunities galore as a result of this alignment of the stars. I can literally feel the energy converging in a positive way, things are clicking, falling into place and flowing nicely.

That said, I'm under a steep deadline now like so many other writers. This means I gotta go folks. Have an awesome and profitable day.

Calgary Alberta Real Estate Agent, Facebook Seminar

Jeff, a Calgary Alberta Real Estate agent attended our Disruptor School and was nice enough to send us a video recommendation. Thanks very much Jeff, we were very happy to host you in Edmonton to talk about branding, social media and facebook.

Edmonton Alberta Real Estate, Facebook Seminar

Here's just a bit of tooting our own horn at fusedlogic inc and ClearpathSEO...

Yesterday morning was our Disruptor School Facebook seminar for the Alberta Real Estate industry and Edmonton and Sherwood Park area small business. In the audience we had folks up from Calgary, members of the Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce members, Realtors, Real Estate investors, property managers, the Edmonton Journal, mortgage specialists, McDonald's, sales people from the print and sign industries as well.

Disruptor School Seminar Satisfaction Ratings:

1. A Disaster

2. Forgettable

3. A Good Job

4. Terrific

5. Excellent

RESPONSES:

1 = 0

2 = 0

3 = 9

4 = 42

5 = 70

AVERAGE: Overall feeling of attendee satisfaction: 4.5 out of 5

Every single respondent said "YES" they would recommend this seminar to a business colleague.

92.9 % of respondents said they would attend another seminar.