25 Jan 2010

Presentation: Communicating in the Age of Streams

Last week during the launch of Seesmic Look in New York, I gave a presentation on communicating in the age of streams. You can watch the video here or below (if for some reason the embedded video doesn't go direct to my part of the talk, simply scroll to the 1:24:04 minute mark). My slides can be found here. I have embedded them below as well with the YouTube video too.

A quick summary ...

All of us - whether you're a stay at home mom or an executive - are going to have to cope with the firehose. There's more information coming at us than we can handle. Information will scale. Human attention is finite. This presents a major challenges to those of us who are in the attention business. It's like 25 lanes of traffic trying to squeeze into the Lincoln Tunnel all it once. Your marketing campaign is just one bus.

To mitigate this ongoing trend of streams, communicators will need to: 1) be as ubiquitous as possible, 2) adopt multiple messages, stories and formats and 3) make sure you allow your employees to get out there - in other words, use the force, don't fight it.

More in the embedded media below.

12 Dec 2009

Three Observations from Le Web

Earlier this week I attended Le Web in Paris. It was my first time at the conference. Loic and Geraldine Le Meur did an awesome job bringing together a mix of Americans and Europeans for what, as far as I can tell, is the only truly global Internet industry event. Here are my three takeaways coming out of Le Web...

One of the great untold stories is just how much Facebook and Twitter are growing off-site. Facebook announced they reach 60 million through Facebook Connect. Meanwhile nearly half of Twitter's activity takes place away from Twitter.com - they reported. Both platforms are quietly becoming a social operating systems for the web, not just their own sites.

Second, nowadays no two people see the same Internet. This was a key point that Facebook made, saying that we increasingly discover online content not just by algortihms but via the "lens of friends." Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd brought this to life through rich, moving stories. Google's Marissa Mayer went a step further saying that the future of news is a "personalized news stream." This trend has major implications for marketers and PR pros who are accustomed to reaching everyone the same way - it's simply not possible anymore.

Finally there's a ton of energy around the live web. It feels like everyone from Google to governments gets its import. Perhaps Queen Rania of Jordan summed it up best when she said: "real time is the new prime time."

Le Web was a great conference. If you can, I recommend trying to go at least once. Not only was the content good but the networking was too. I got to meet many European startups that are all quietly innovating.

4 Sep 2009

White Paper: Engaging the New Influencers

(download)

One of the most remarkable things my employer does is host a world-class summit for academics every year on new media. We do so even in downturns, like the one we're in now. 

This year's event, which featured both industry and academic insights, was held in Washington in June. Edelman just released a white paper summarizing the day, which you can download or peruse below. Videos from the event have been posted as well. I highly recommend the read. The event included representatives from GE, McDonald's, UPS, eBay, Humana, Starbucks, AstraZeneca, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Whirlpool, the Mayo Clinic and many more companies and NGOs. I am featured in the wrap-up section on what's next.
2 Sep 2009

Lifestreaming: Its Impact on Blogs, Brands and Beyond, a SXSW Panel

  • What is Lifestreaming?
  • Will Lifestreaming kill long form blogs?
  • What does Lifestreaming mean to brands?
  • Lifestreaming aftermath: how to cope with information overload?
  • How to aggregate relevant content from disparate sources?
  • How can you harness the power of the real-time web in a meaningful way?
  • How important is search in the real-time web?
  • How does technology enable Lifestreaming and the real-time web?
  • Is Lifestreaming overkill? Where's the line?
  • What's next after Lifestreaming?
  • Shameless plug for a panel we have submitted for SXSW in March. It features Robert Scoble, myself and Lionel Menchaca from Dell. The subject is lifestreaming. I would love to see this make the slate since it's a big topic with lots to explore. If you agree, then every vote counts. Make yourself heard.

    24 Jun 2009

    Lauren Reeves Twitters the eBay Daily Deals Game

    Lauren Reeves , a NYC model and actress from Alaska (at)laurenreeves on Twitter, tweets from behind the scenes at the eBay Daily Deals event.

    Steve Rubel's Posterous

    Steve Rubel (bio) is SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, a division of Edelman - the world's largest independent PR firm.

    He is charged with helping clients identify emerging technologies and trends that can be applied in marketing communications programs. Rubel also explores these topics on his site and in monthly columns for Forbes.com and Advertising Age. He can be found on Twitter and Facebook as well.

    Steve can be reached via email at steverubel@gmail.com.

    Note: Everything posted on this site is Steve's personal opinion. It does not represent the views of Edelman or its clients.