Beyond Frequency

Strong Philadelphia Showing At GovFresh Awards

Out of 16 categories, Philadelphia projects won or were runner up nine times in the 2011 GovFresh awards.  It is fantastic to be a part of rethinking and acting upon new thoughts that bring people together for true citizen benefit.

Here’s the link: http://govfresh.com/2011/12/2011-govfresh-awards-winners

Winners

·         City of the Year: New York City / Runners-up (tie): Chicago, Philadelphia

·         Public Servant of the Year: Matthew Esquibel (Austin, TX) / Runner-up: Mackenzie Kelly (Austin, TX)

·         Citizen of the Year: Adriel Hampton

·         App of the Year: (Tie) CitySourced, SeeClickFix

·         Best Government/Citizen Collaboration: OpenDataPhilly / Runner-up: City of Austin, TX

·         Best Use of Open Source: Chicago Lobbyists / Runner-up: DistrictBuilder

·         Best Open and Participatory Budgeting Initiative: Norfolk, VA / Runner-up: 49th Ward Participatory Budgeting (Chicago)

·         Best Open Government Policy: Open Government Initiative

·         Best Open Data Platform: OpenDataPhilly / Runner-up: NYC OpenData

·         Best Civic Hackathon: Hack4Reno / Runner-up: Education Hack Day (Baltimore)

·         Best Civic Start-up: CitySourced / Runner-up: ElectNext

·         Best Use of Social Media: New York City / Runner-up (tie): Williamson County, TX, Philadelphia

·         Best Use of Social Media for Emergency Management: Williamson County, TX / Runner-up: New York City

·         Best Transit App: ReRoute.it / Runner-up: Septa.mobi

·         Best Emergency Management App: CiviGuard – Irene App / Runner-up: NYC Readiness Challenge

·         Best Social Services App: Sheltr

 

OpenData Race With OpenDataPhilly

Great interview of Azavea's Deb Boyer on OpenData Philly and the OpenData Race:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gov20/2011/10/24/open-data-phildelphia-style

Well done Deb!

Thank you Mark Headd for sharing.

The 5 Horseman Of The Brand Data-Pocalypse

I have often been asked about how to measure media or calculate the success of a program, project,  campaign or initiative.  Those questions have become even more prevalent over the past few years as the outlets for content has fragmented.

I have watched the confusion build in friends and colleagues faces as they talk about the rivers of data they see around their content or brand coming from multiple vendors with no connection.  It is as if every day they are Noah and need to figure out what animals to put on the ark because the water keep rising!

I does not need to be so confusing. 

I have a video editor & director friend who has a phrase that he uses when putting a film or TV piece together - "Sometimes you just have to drown your kittens".  It sounds horrible and harsh, but the fact is that sometimes even the most compelling video or breathtaking pictures must be cut if they do not fit the theme of the story.

The same goes with data.  If certain metrics do not fit a story that gives you insight into the specific  business, project, customers, process or product  you are focusing on in a meaningful way, it is likely not worth it.

The fact is, that generating data is the easy part.  The hard part is determining which data will give you the most valuable insight.  That requires asking and answering 4 key questions about the given task at hand, then asking #5 to pick the data elements that are most closely tied to #s 1-4.

1. What does your brand stand for?

2. What is your content strategy to support your brand promise?

3. What do you know and what do you want to know about your customers?

4. What are the tools that you are using and how do they support your brand?

...and after you have clear answers for each of these for the give initiative, then...

5. What are the data points that you have available and how should you apply them?

Quantify When You Qualify

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The realities of our world today include fragmented media choices, a consumer base that demands relevance and that is both difficult to discover and satisfy. That means it is critical to establish, and nurture, lasting bonds with the consumers that are based on a transparent relationship between your brand or brands and their behaviors.

There are few excuses to make today about the lack ability to track behavior and to, therefore, assign accountability metrics for improvement. That includes the normally qualitative world of branding, which are nothing more than the aggregated actions of people related to a company's content, product, service or message.

All of that can be counted.

The trick is in knowing what to count, what to compare it to and what that means. I leave that for another post as it is not trivial, nor do I mean it to sound so. That is, however, more a question of truly knowing the goals of your business because the metrics merely help tell a story for you to evaluate those goals and your broader mission.

It is essential today for us to seek:

• To quantify in a standardized way the normally qualitative areas of brand relationships, brand strength and brand value in real-time, in context

  AND

• To provide a simple way to manage those relationships across media platforms based on that standard measurement.

Google I/O: The Web Is Killing Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, And TV (from TechCrunch)

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Google I/O: The Web Is Killing Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, And TV

by MG Siegler on May 19, 2010

Today at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, Google’s Vic Gundotra put up an interesting slide early on in his keynote. As you can see in the image above, over the past 5 years, the web is kicking ass.

From 2004 to 2009, stats from Forrester say that use of the web is up 117% in terms of how people spend their time in a day. That may not be too surprising, but what’s interesting is that all of the other major forms of media consumption are down or flat during the same period. Listening to the radio is down 18%, reading newspapers is down 17%, reading magazines is down 6%, and watching TV has seen 0% growth.

Obviously, this is all good news for Google, which is all-in on the web. Well, at least until their TV solution launches (maybe later today).

Read more: http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/19/google-web-growth/#ixzz0oVHQ0Kdv

5 Themes On Building Companies From Philly Startup Leaders Starter Stories

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I was honored and excited to be asked by Philly Startup Leaders to record a video for their Starter Stories series that asks entrepreneurs from the Philadelphia region to share their background, ups, downs and current projects. 

Thank you very much Cliff Stevens and Blake Jenelle for the invitation!

Attract, Convert, and Transform: The secret to online marketing success (@shama)

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From Stephanie Diamond's Marketing Message Blog, guest post from Shama Kabani

April 14, 2010

Attract, Convert, and Transform: The secret to online marketing success

Guest Post By Shama Kabani

Did you ever watch TV’s Mad Men?  Those guys had it easy.  When they wanted to sell something, they used a controlled medium where consumers were passive recipients of whatever message marketers wanted to put out there. 

Those days are gone forever.  Today, everyone with access to the Internet can publish their own reviews, commentary, or responses – and marketers who aren’t part of the dialogue are quickly being left behind.

But some things don’t change.  Crafting a solid marketing message that is built on a great marketing strategy is just as important – or maybe more important – today than it was when the Mad Men ruled Madison Avenue. 

So what does it take to create the best marketing message for today’s wired world?  I can’t stress enough how strongly I believe that the ACT Methodology – three basic building blocks – is the key to successful online marketing.

A is for Attract. To attract means to get attention or stand out. Practically, this means attracting traffic to your website—your main online marketing tool. Nowhere is social media marketing more successful and useful than in the “attracting” phase of online marketing. During the attraction phase, you are trying to drive traffic to your site and stand out from the masses.

C is for Convert. Conversion happens when you turn a stranger into a consumer or customer. And there is a difference between the two! A consumer may take in your information or even sample your product, but he or she may not always buy. That’s okay! Over time, that consumer may become a customer. The more expensive a purchase, the longer it may take. This means that you constantly have to work to convert people into consumers and customers.

T is for Transform. You transform when you turn past and present successes into magnetic forces of attraction.

People, especially strangers, crave social proof. Social proof is the theory that we are more likely to do something when we see others doing it. This applies even more when the others in question are similar to us. We often decide what to do (including whether to buy) based on what others are doing. This isn’t the only factor in our decision making, but it is a major one

One of our clients is K9Cuisine.com. They sell premium dog food online. Nothing too glamorous, but their customer service is amazing. They go above and beyond just delivering an order. If a client orders regular shipping, they upgrade it for no extra charge. If a customer says his dog didn’t like a specific brand, they swap it out and help him find something that his dog will like. They’re more than just a dog food seller; they become trusted dog nutrition advisors who care about your four-legged friend.

And they’re great at retelling the stories their customers share with them.  When K9Cuisine.com receives an email thanking them for helping Jack, the loved golden retriever, start eating again after a long illness, they ask the customer if they can share their story with others. The story then makes its way onto their Facebook page and into their tweets. Soon, lots of people know about how K9Cuisine.com helped Jack. Next time they think about Fido needing dog food, they will think about K9Cuisine.com. If they have a great experience, they may tell their friends, and the ACT cycle continues.

Shama Kabani is president of The Marketing Zen Group, and author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing, which hits store shelves this week.

Mediavix 1 of 10 Companies Selected To Present At Entrepreneurship Expo

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Mediavix is very excited and proud to have been selected as one of the 10 companies asked to present at the Entrepreneur Expo sponsored by Philly Startup Leaders next Tuesday, April 13. 

You can learn about the expo here.

I am excited about being invited to speak at this event because it is not a pitch-fest, but rather an opportunity to talk about our view of the world and how that translates into our mission.  In addition, we can give a frank account of the opportunities and challenges that we have faced with the ability for real interaction with a diverse audience of large and small business owners, investors, government officials, scholars and students.

For Mediavix, that means talking about our mission to provide simple connections to support a unified media world. 

Specifically, that includes our belief in an open approach to managing brand relationships, forgoing being locked down within one proprietary system and, instead, leveraging the best the Internet has to offer around Discovery, Engagement and Analysis .

If you are in the Philadelphia area on the evening of Tuesday, April 13, I hope to see you there.

10 Reasons Soccer Is Destined For Domination Even In The U.S.

The following is from MediaPost Sports Marketing Blog for Tuesday, April 6, 2009 Original Title: New No. 1 Sport In the U.S - Soccer Author John Rowdy Full disclosure: I am a lifelong soccer player and fan so I had no choice but to share this! It may happen sooner than you think. My bet is that it starts this summer as a storm of soccer is coming our way -- and it's only going to increase from here. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicking off in June in South Africa, all signs point to soccer fever spreading throughout 2010 and beyond. Our coveted American sports should stand up and take notice. Why? Here are 10 compelling reasons. 1. Fans: According to published research, there are more than 75 million international soccer fans in the United States. At a growth rate of 52% and with an increase of devoted fans since 2005, it's the fastest-growing avid fan base in the country. Generally, soccer fans are also considered to be valuable and ad-friendly consumers. More receptive consumers translate to more sponsor dollars, which we've already seen in the case of marketing powerhouses McDonald's and Budweiser becoming FIFA World Cup Sponsors. 2. Appointment Television: The U.S. average household delivery of international soccer events in 2008-09 was more than double versus the previous 12 years. Look no further than the UEFA Champions League final, which for the first time ever, surpassed the Super Bowl as the world's most-watched annual sporting event (approximately 109 million viewers). Sure, it's a global number, but there's a reason Roger Goodell is playing NFL games in London, the NHL plays games in Sweden and the NBA is likely to welcome its first international owner. 3. Media Rights: When ESPN gets involved, you know it means business. Ranked by Fast Company as the most innovative company in the sports industry, ESPN recognizes the growth potential for soccer and even acquired the rights to broadcast English Premier League games for the first time last year, in addition to the World Cup rights for 2010. 4. Media Distribution: According to ESPN, all 64 matches will be aired live and in high definition on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, as well as extensive coverage on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV. Look for the World Cup to be a major player as a part of the ESPN360.com rebranding to "ESPN 3." 5. Media Viewership Trends: Looking back, the 2006 World Cup had a massive multicultural audience. More than 1.3 billion fans watched worldwide, with more than 118 million in the United States. That figure is comparable to either March Madness or Super Bowl viewership, and it's even more than the World Series or BCS. 6. Sponsorship: While the list of World Cup partners and sponsors is impressive, we're more intrigued by the European league deals. For example, the biggest sports sponsorship deal in the world happened last summer when Chicago-based insurer AON Corporation committed more than $125 million over four years to be the new primary sponsor of English soccer club, Manchester United, beginning this year. Why? Because of the global audience. Think about it. More than 300 million people worldwide, claim to be fans of Manchester United -- the equivalent of every man, woman and child in America. 7. Video Game Sales: Earlier this year, EA revealed that FIFA 10 has sold nearly 10 million units since its launch last fall. And while Madden is king in the United States, FIFA 10 is the industry's top selling sports game worldwide. With no official release date yet announced for FIFA 11, expect it to hit stores in the fall, right in the sweet spot before Christmas and right after the World Cup final in July. 8. The Youth Movement: The top sustainable sports in our country have massive financial interests at the youth development level. Baseball, basketball and football are all considered in the group of sports labeled America's pastime -- yet the amount of money and talent being poured into today's youth soccer is on a trajectory of growth unlike any other. For example, US Youth Soccer, the nation's largest youth sports organization, grew from 100,000 players in 1974 to more than 1 million in the early '90s. Today, US Youth Soccer registers annually over 3.2 million players, ages 5 to 19. 9. Brand as Owner: Red Bull is shaking up the sports landscape and MLS has allowed it the freedom to so. With Red Bull Arena, the new 25,000-seat soccer stadium in Harrison, N.J., opening just last month, it is already considered the premier soccer stadium in the United States. 10. Celebrity Status: Tiger, Peyton, Kobe, LeBron -- sports stars are the new global icons. Soccer also has its shares of global super stars, e.g., David Beckham and Ronaldinho. In 2010, look for opportunities for new stars to breakout and/or achieve superstar status in the United States, such as Cristiano Ronaldo. Last summer Ronaldo was transferred to Real Madrid from Manchester United for nearly $132 million, a staggering number for any athlete in any sport. Nike, Castrol and Armani are among just a few of his global sponsors. A common thread in all of the above is the global nature of sports, especially evident with Futbol (soccer). I've always felt that modern sports marketing is a powerful global communication platform between "fans of sport" and corporations. Most recently, the increased viewership of the Vancouver Olympics over past Winter Olympics demonstrated the increasing appetite of the global sports audience. That's a trend we expect to continue in 2010 with soccer fans and sponsors reaping the benefits.

How Do You Combine Mission And Action?

I have been very fortunate to become part of a group here in Philadelphia that is dedicated to figuring out that question...Missioneurs (www.missioneurs.com). 

It is really a conversation and collaboration between those of us on the "for-profit" side and those on the "non-profit" side of the world as we all seek to create new models that drive true value.  It is certainly a journey as opposed to a destination; at least now. 

I was fortunate last week to tape a video segment supported by Philly Startup Leaders called Starter Stories. It is a great series to provide additional real-world stories that can, hopefully, help new entrepreneurs with their endeavors. 

During my segment I spoke more than I thought I would about "solving a problem" being the core of the business. Once you do that, the business model and strategy will always be clear a it is your approach to that core problem that should serve as the compass.

It was then that I realized that those "problems" we seek to solve are our missions as either a for-profit or non-profit entity, but it is the strategy and supporting tactics that ultimately define its success. 

My hope is that we as Missioneurs can work to fill the gaps between existing philosophies with a clear framework for action.  I believe that People and Planet are essential to consider at least in line with Profit.

That, however, is a very known and clear objective of those people and companies that subscribe to the Triple Bottom Line (or 3BL) philosophy of business.  The value judgments of the enterprise or mission go through a filter, I believe, when put in that context to ensure the world is better with than without the mission and the activities that support it.

With that in mind, where I believe the Missioneur movement can be of the most assistance is in providing access to resources as well as clear connections and framework to actually operate in a 3BL fashion.  That is a very big gap in the marketplace of information and, in my opinion, a gap in that connection between mission and action. 

For example, a recent study released by Landor Associates, Penn Schoen Berland and Burson-Marsteller stated that 75% of consumers believe social responsibility is important and 55% said they would choose a product that supports a particular cause versus those that do not.  The study also showed that 70% of consumers would pay a premium for products from socially responsible companies.

What does that mean for the triple bottom line?  How do I as a company, marry my social mission with fiduciary responsibility?  What models can I engage in, perhaps in partnership with non-profits that are experts in certain causes, to advance a social mission and basic product goals.

To me it is questions like those that a Missioneur can help answer.

There is a great deal of rich philosophical discussion to have around MIssioneurship and I look forward to it and suggest the Missioneurs website to keep track.  I do not have much to add to the philosophical discussion right now beyond what has been written thus far, but I think it is imperative that we provide a path from the philosophical to the practical. 

If one of our objectives is to provide support for self-reliant models that allow organizations of any type to pursue their mission, then it is the access to the ‘how’ that we should ensure we address in our own mission. 

As I said, this is a journey not a destination...at least for now.