DISQUS

Chris, I've been thinking about this quite a bit more lately and I really appreciate this post. I think you've framed the topic well and its helping me figure a few things out for a future move. The part that seals the deal is good old-fashioned trust. Once you've earned that through hard work, it becomes acceptable to me as a consumer to have a paid post with a disclaimer.

Thanks for laying this out for me to chew on Chris, I really appreciate it.
Regards,
Rick

@Gary Walter
You said it best: "I, for one, am glad to see the disclaimers - it helps me to know that you didn’t enter into this “arrangement” lightly."

That's exactly what I was thinking. I know that Chris had to be thinking long and hard about this kind of post. It's a post that walks a fine line about a topic that has been debated for a long time - anyone remember PayPerPost and the backlash it received?

The difference here is a product that Chris believes in and how the post came about. Did Chris go looking for a product to get paid to write about, or did the product find him and speak for itself? That is the crucial distinction that I guess I'm trying to get at.

While I've still got to think about this more - the way Chris has done this fine by me. The ensuing dialog on the topic is as great as the post!

@Chris
That's interesting. You make a good point about magazine ads posing as articles. It was a new way for advertisers to gain attention, and provide more information about their product.

While I'm open to the concept of in-content advertising, I wonder how it will be perceived by new subscribers. Obviously a reader-base that knows you and understands your objectives will find the piece informative and as many of the comments above indicate - rather helpful.

It seems to me that it becomes a comfort level with change. After all, we've preached about the openness and transparency of social media for a couple years. We like to believe that things really can be free, with no strings attached. We've talked that up as an attribute of social media.

However, your post above is quite transparent. You pointed out the reason for the post, and the relationship with the company. Doesn't that fit with the spirit and intentions of openness and transparency?

While I like as much as anyone the idea that we can continue with a free model, the reality is that times are changing. With those changing times, the attitudes and perceptions about these things will change.

Sorry for rambling, as I said in my comment above, I'm still thinking these things through. I guess that's what this comment really is - thinking out loud about it.

Hmm, I have mixed opinions on paid posts. As someone I respect and trust it bothers me a tad to see a sponsored post, even though I trust your opinion about the product. Disclosure, of course, works well and I would have been surprised if you hadn't pointed that out.

I guess I need to think about this one a bit. Odds are the way we all increase revenue will change and this is one component of making that happen.

At any rate, the post is as informative and honest as every other one you've written Chris. So trust me, any criticism in this comment is partially resistance to change as much as it is curiosity of the same.

The service itself sounds intriguing, and I hope they succeed. It's great to see innovation in any industry - especially when it's put to use in a way to help individuals and in the end, the economy.

Good job Chris. Score one for the big guy. ;)

Great post again Chris - reminds us of one of the core concepts of social media: share.

Rick

Interestingly, I also had this issue. I couldn't log into the admin panel no matter what account I tried.

Luckily, simply deleting the browser cookie for my sight in Firefox took care of the issue and I was able to log right in. Everything's working fine after that.

Rick

Steven, you are quite right about the personal privacy & security aspects of GPS tracking in phones. While useful in situations that might have saved that ZDNet writer's life a year ago when he & family got lost in the mountains, it's just too easy for individuals (let alone governments) to locate each one of us at any minute.

Perhaps you're right on placing too much faith in our online services and such. I guess I look back at when our communities were friendly as we walked down the street during the evening. Or when neighbors would look out for kids from a few blocks over and make sure they got home. Or when people would actually stop and help people having car trouble on the side of the road. Maybe that kind of community is gone forever, but I'd like to believe that it can be brought back.

Rick

Hi Steven! I've followed you over from WinExtra - congratulations on writing here at Mashable.

As for socialization via cell phone - GREAT! I'm all for it! Anything that can get people to interact rather than sit in their basements is a good thing.

Just turn off all the social network notification crap will ya? Like Steven said, we don't appreciate all the Brightkite (and other) location notifications polluting conversation threads everywhere. Especially when the streams are then aggregated a dozen places and end up in 15% of my RSS feeds. Geez!

The only good thing about GPS in the fancy phones is that it can be used for navigation in an unknown city, or for locating me when I'm "lost".

Rick

Heh, "I'll spam you other ways" - that's Chris-speak for bombarding you with great ideas!

Happy Birthday Violette!

What a great time of year for a birthday too - have a very wonderful day!

Barry, great piece on SM by large orgainzations. Yes, I believe that big business needs to be involved in social media. In this case it seems to have made sense for CapOne to create it's own social network for what it was trying to do.

In many other cases, I think there is room for a couple industry-specific (vertical) social networks that multiple 3rd party corporations could leverage together. Providing a place for their customers to easily network and consume products is a smart move.

Rick

I think that personal networks will eventually become part of the hiring evaluation, similar to your thoughts. I wonder though just how long it will take for many companies to start considering this.

Here in the midwest, it seems that more companies take the conservative approach to most everything. Especially where it comes to newer technologies available to augment customer service or employee relations.

That's what I'm interested in changing where I can. These concepts are important when more and more of our contemporaries have larger more diverse personal networks. Consider how easy it is to find information on many people today - their blogs alone provide a large about of data, and more often link to their social networks.

Very interesting thoughts Chris!

Rick

Nick, you're right on the money on this one. The "social" in the social web is really just people interacting. So using several different services and sites is going to be part of that. Flickr for photos, Twitter for status, YouTube for video, BlogTV for live video, whatever... It'll be the ability of a local cross-platform client that ties it together and also publishes this information on our blogs. Good piece!

Rick

Hi Kailee!
Thanks for your perspective on the topic of social media experts. I certainly wasn't out to insult anyone, but I think in some rare situations there are people taking advantage of unknowing clients, purporting themselves as experts in a "field" that is in constant change.

Heck, I'd love to be a social media guru and market myself as such eventually! However, I think the reality is that our customers and associates (people) are the important part that we are trying to help use the tools that power the social web.

Good luck to you and your agency in assisting your clients succeed! Also, thanks for the link!
Rick

I'm finding that Twitter is less a distraction for me than an excuse lately. I too jump in and out, and when really busy kind of ignore it a bit.

As for other services - I've switched to an email monitoring model of processing my inbox twice a day. I do get email on my phone and will review the subjects to see what's important, but process the bulk morning and afternoon.

I'm in!

Good question Chris. There are audiences in these magazines you mention that may be looking for a way to socialize with peers around the country and the world. I think about AARP specifically in this as I watch my parents prepare for retirement and talk about doing things.

Good brain fodder this morning, thanks!

Regards,
Rick

Shey, you're right on the money - and explained it much better than I did. The fact is reader habits are changing, we do not have any ownership over where they comment, and the trend is to content aggregation.

Either we adapt & grow, or we complain, become discouraged, and ultimately quit. I'll grow, thank you!

Regards,
Rick

Rick Mahn's last blog post..Thoughts on Comment Fragmentation

Interesting... Assuming that he is serious and it is for sale - how does Hugh MacLeod's deleting of his own Twitter account affect the value of Andrew's account?

Honestly, assuming that there is some monetary value attached to a Twitter account of a well known person, wouldn't Hugh's action last week degrade the value of Andrew's?

Of course, in my book a Twitter account in the name of an individual has no monetary worth. It has value to me if it's the actual person using it to share and interact with the community. If Andrew (or Scoble, Brogan, Rubel, Winer) were to sell their Twitter account and another person started to post using it - I'd drop it immediately. I'm interested in the thoughts and interactions of the people I follow, not the name that it's posted under.

Like I said though, interesting...

Trying it out this morning, and liking it so far. We'll see by the end of the day. It needs a few tweaks, but I'm sure users who like it will give feedback on it.

Overall, I see this making FriendFeed more accessable to me. Instead of one of dozens of tabs in my browser, it sits side-by-side with Twhirl on a second monitor. Nifty. ;-)

Thanks for the tip Chris.

Well that makes me a bit self-conscious about some of my posts. I'll admit that Chris is one of my inspirations as I forge my new online presence. Some of my posts might seem similar - sure hope they're not that similar!

At any rate, as Abraham mentioned, in the niche of social media there are many attempting to do the same thing.

Regards,
Rick

Shey, this is a great post. Like Lisa and Derek, this topic has been on my mind for some time and I've been wondering how to explain the technologies and concepts to others. It's at the core of what I'm trying to move into from a pure "IT" guy for a number of years.

Regards,
Rick Mahn
Rick Mahn's last blog post..Happiness CXLIX

Hi there Shey!
Rick from Twitter (http://twitter.com/rickmahn) here. Congrats on finishing up school - something I wish I had done, but didn't have the presence of mind to do at the time. Having goals and keeping them in the plan is always a challenge and I'm glad it's working for you. I've always had trouble sticking to the "plan", but have enjoyed the ride so far.

On a side note, I really like your blog layout, and your writing style. I'm thinking of coming up with a new design for my blog and may want to get a quote and/or design concept from you when the time comes in a few months.

Regards,
Rick Mahn

Rick Mahn's last blog post..Happiness CXLIX

Chris, you're right on the money (pun intended) - the more desperate they are for my attention, the less valuable the message they're trying to sell.

I'm all for ads, it's become the norm. I believe that we have an innate ability as humans to filter out advertising that has no value or relevance in our lives. As such, the ads that are relevant to our needs or interests will be properly designed to attract the attention of it's demographic audience.

Regards,
Rick