Socially Speaking

Used to be that ‘Differentiate or Die’ was the survival catch phrase for organizations in just about any industry. Seems now, the word of the day is one that we like very much: interactive. Don’t believe us? Ask around:

“We can have the coolest content or technology, but changing human behavior is hard,” said Mitch Feinman, senior VP at Fox Mobile Entertainment. “But if you give people a reason to participate, they will.”

Eric Bader, senior VP of MediaVest Worldwide had this to say:

“Too much of what we’re seeing is for branding and awareness — it’s the easy model to graft onto digital,” he said. “But what we’re looking for from digital media is levels of interaction.”

“For us, it’s a lot less about finding ways to use mobile but the ubiquity of the phone to allow you to participate in a campaign,” Bader said. “That it’s interactive is more compelling to us.”

And, (fairly new) CBS Interactive president Quincy Smith:

“The real opportunity for media, in this day and age, is ostensibly the interactive platform, not just online, but mobile and gaming. Basically, promise a way for content companies to get closer than ever to their audience, to build community around their audience, to learn from their audience so they can put out better professional content.”

For months we’ve been preaching this: if we’re in the world of two-way (or social) media, then why are so many platforms still linear? Let people participate. And by that we mean more than commenting (although commenting is great). One of Waxxi’s mottos is: The Floor is Yours. That means, when it comes to a podcast or vidcast, it’s not all about the interviewer, or interviewees. It’s what the people (the viewers, audience, listeners, customers) bring to the table; what they bring to the conversation, experience, and content.

In short: Let Them Participate.

Yes, it’s been a while since we’ve posted. We’ve been very bad bloggers, but very busy travelers, presenters, producers and participants. Personally, I’m still trying to figure out how others who have launched companies, and maintain incredibly busy schedules, are able to blog so much, so often. As a social media organization, though, we need to get back in the blogging saddle. So we are. Blog on.