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Val Skelton
I am the editor of Information Today, Europe. On the main site, we cover news and publish feature articles by information, research and knoweldge practitioners and thought leaders. On this blog, we aim to cover other topics of interest to our readers.
Homepage: http://www.infotodayeurope.com/
Posts by Val Skelton
The kindness of strangers – marketing through recommendations
Feb 16th
When it comes to social media, personal recommendations are a valuable commodity. The power of ‘like’, ‘share’, ‘retweet’ and +one is that these recommendations mean more when they come from others. People outside the organisation can become our most powerful and influential advocates.
The challenge for information professionals is that there are so many social media tools around. Which ones should we focus on? Do we really need a presence on Facebook, in Google+, on Twitter, in the blogosphere, on LinkedIn etc. The answer is that we must be active on any tool where relevant conversations are happening.
Sometimes relevant conversations can happen face to face. Having heard about Pinterest first through a Facebook friend, and second at the recent NetIKX social media event, it was a real world conversation with Phil Bradley that alerted me to the value of this new social tool. Pinterest provides social bookmarking with images. Although still in beta form, information professionals should be alert to its potential – Pinterest is already driving more traffic to retail sites than Google+.
On Pinterest, users create folders for images, describing their contents using freetext tagging. This is something which information professionals are very good at. You can use Pinterest to search images and to find experts and interested people. It is also an excellent marketing tool, and can draw people onto your website. It has enormous potential to market what it is that we do to a wide audience.
So if someone invites you to join Pinterest, you should accept the invitation and explore its potential as a potentially powerful marketing tool for library and information services.
Libraries popping up
Feb 13th
The ‘pop-up’ movement of restaurants, shops, bars, cinemas, galleries and cafes brings together new audiences for temporary events in what are often underutilised spaces.
London department store Selfridges has opened a pop-up library in a basement space. The library is one element of the store’s Words Words Words festival.
Meanwhile, Surrey County Council is preparing for an increase of visitors to the county who will be attending Olympic Games events in 2012. The Council is planning to open ‘pop up’ information points for visitors, staffed by library and museum staff. Other initiatives planned ahead of the Olympics include free wi-fi being rolled out in all Surrey’s public libraries.
The pop-up movement shows how you can match innovative ideas and projects for your customers with larger scale events and initiatives.
“A good time to be original” – lessons from the movie industry
Feb 8th
In the early days of knowledge management, organisations focused on maximising the value of the workforce. New structures and ways of working were explored. One of these structural models involved the creation of ‘dream teams’ to tackle specific projects. The teams might cut across hierarchies and departments but the members would be chosen as being the most appropriate for the project. The right people at the right time would come together, deliver a project successfully and disperse into new project teams.
This model was often referred to as a ‘film production’ model. A film producer’s role is to bring together the right script, talent, funding, marketing and distribution to deliver a successful project. What, then, can we learn from film producers?
Tim Bevan is co-founder and co-chairman of the UK’s most successful film production company. Working Title, founded in 1992, is responsible for such films as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Atonement; Fargo and Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Tim was the guest at the ninth annual Olive Till Memorial Debate, held at Goldsmiths College in London this month. Interviewed by Mike Goodridge, the editor of Screen International, he shared insights into the business of making movies and some significant transferable lessons learned.
- Don’t be afraid to learn as you go – Try to learn something concrete after every project. His work on an early project (My Beautiful Launderette) not only taught him the process of film-making but also helped him focus on what really interested him – the business and creative sides of getting films made.
- The power of creative partnerships – and of team selection. In film-making, talent relationships are everything. Tim has had long-lasting and successful partnerships with people who trust him and understand how he works. Face to face meetings have proved more informative to him than show reels when it comes to choosing partners. Sometimes completely counter-intuitive appointments are the most successful (Ang Lee was certainly not the obvious choice to direct Pride and Prejudice)
- Challenge and push you team – Despite having trusted teams around you, remember that most team leaders will ask for more budget than they really need! By challenging them appropriately and collaboratively, sometimes wonderful, creative solutions arise.
- Ensure projects are sufficiently resourced- When resources are tight, you might end up having to complete a project simply because you have spent so much on it already and need to claw some back.
- Balance your portfolio – Working Title may be working on 60 projects at one time – although many will never be pursued to completion. They have always balanced box office/commercial hits with other films
- Speed is sometimes the enemy of thought – when it comes to newer technologies such as digital editing, the simplification of the technology means that some processes become less ‘considered’
- Dare to be different – particularly in the current climate, other movie makers might prefer to play safe, creating the same movie over and again. But for those who are steeped in an independent spirit, this is the perfect time to be creative, take a chance and go down a different path.
[The Olive Till Memorial Debate and Bursary are presented by Stewart Till CBE, CEO Icon Entertainment and Deputy Chair Skillset, in memory of his mother]
A blog post about the decline of blogging
Feb 2nd
For the last five years the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Center for Marketing Research has been conducting a study about the use of social media in the 500 fastest growing organisations in the US (The Inc. 500.) The first study, conducted in 2007, found that these companies were much more likely to have adopted blogs than those in the ‘traditional’ Fortune 500.
The latest findings show that the use of blogging in the Inc. 500 companies is declining for the first time. Blogging had declined to 37% from 50% in 2010. Advertising, Marketing and Media companies were the most likely to maintain blogs (72%) and Government Services companies the least likely.
However, as blogging reaches maturity in these organisations, the use of other social media, including Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Mobile apps, texting, Twitter and YouTube, is growing. 74% of responding companies were using Facebook, and 73% using LinkedIn.
90% of respondents report that social media tools are important for maintaining company reputation and raising brand awareness. Slightly fewer see the tools as vital for generating web traffic and lead generation. 73% say the tools are important for customer support programmes.
When asked if the use of social media has been successful for their business, the overwhelming response was that it had been. Respondents mentioned raising brand awareness, networking, thought leadership and the tools’ ability to give the company a ‘personality’.
25% of respondents plan to maintain their organisation’s investment in social media, and 71% plan to increase it.
The report is data rich and interesting reading. It shows that the use of social media in organisations is evolving, with some mature tools being dropped in favour of newer ones. A recognition of their value in supporting networking, and new ways of communicating, means that many organisations are planning to increase their investment in social tools.
Two innovative ideas from public libraries
Feb 1st
Just in case you missed them, two great innovative library marketing initiatives have been picked up by the media recently.
First, on a Harvard Business Review (HBR) blog, Grant McCracken (who by the way describes the public library rather wonderfully as ‘a place of possibility’), described the Stuffed Animal Sleepover at his local library.
Children brought in their toys and left them for a ‘sleepover’. The toys were photographed having adventures (being read to, playing on the computers) in the library at night time. The librarians shared the pictures of their adventures with their children the next day. Through this initiative, the children began to see the library as a place of magical happenings and the library was able to do things that digital experiences could not.
Second, a wonderful idea from Slovenia and picked up by springwise.com. Ljubljana City Library ran an initiative offering mystery book packs to customers. The mystery packages simply had a sticker denoting a literary genre and librarians advised them further on their choices. Each parcel provided three books – a contemporary work, a classic and one ‘easy to read’. As Springwise noted, the book packs provided an example of what public libraries do best. They provided an enjoyable, curated and personalised experience to customers.
Reporting from the front line
Jan 26th
An exhibition at Somerset House in London explores how journalists reported key news stories of 2011.
Sponsored by Sky News (so therefore focusing on the 24 hour news channel’s broadcasting), the exhibition covers the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the UK riots.
What emerges is the role of mobile technologies in documenting important news stories and the editorial (and personal-safety) decision-making processes that go on behind the scenes. Satellite technologies enabled Sky Reporter Alex Crawford to report directly from scenes of conflict in Libya as well as from the Gaddafi compound as the rebels entered. Months later, mobile phone images of the last moments of Gaddafi were broadcast to the world – albeit with warnings to viewers about the disturbing nature of the footage.
In London, another Sky journalist Mark Stone had been tipped off by Twitter and found his way to rioters in Clapham, London. The footage of rioters and looters he filmed on his mobile phone was broadcast by the news channel.
The exhibition does not focus on the role of social media in raising awareness of or organising protests or on the growth of citizen journalism. Nor does it include commentary or analysis of print or radio broadcasts. Instead it explores the immediacy of 24-hour news broadcasting and the role and responsibilities of broadcasters in a world of rolling news and instant editorial commentary.
The co-operative spirit
Jan 19th
The United Nations has named 2012 as The Year of the Co-operative. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the nature of co-operatives as value-based operations in which the bottom line is not the only driver of business decisions.
Co-operation and alternative stakeholder models have featured widely in this week’s media. The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, spoke about the employee engagement model exemplified by John Lewis – a model in which the employees have a stake in the business. There is proof, he told his audience, that engaged employees can help create a more dynamic organisation.
The BBC’s In Business programme has also focused on the co-operative business model. Peter Day reported from the Spanish headquarters of the world’s largest employee owned co-operative business, the Mondragon Group. Mondragon is a highly successful business with a range of enterprises which is owned by 70,000 of its 85,000 employees. Strategic decision making is also done co-operatively. Every member gets one vote in a secret ballot. In order to manage this process Mondragon’s Director of Cooperative Dissemination explains that the business focuses on getting the right information to its members so that people can reach their decision.
Marketing Week has also explored new partnership models this week. Ruth Mortimer summarises why people are exploring the opportunities of alternative business models.
At a time when we all need to pull together and make the best of 2012’s unpredictable economic situation, any model that uses the brainpower, energy and enthusiasm of every stakeholder within a business seems not only like a good strategy, but a highly necessary one.
The only way is ethics
Jan 12th
The Ethics Research Center (ERC) based in Arlington, Virginia, has just published its latest National Business Ethics Survey® (NBES) – the ‘barometer of workplace ethics’. (You can download the full report, free of charge, here).
The current findings have taken the ERC by surprise – all the metrics have diverged from the patterns of previous years and some interesting mixed messages have emerged. In particular, the ERC notes that two key influences stand out in the unusual shift in trends highlighted in the report:
The economy
The survey’s findings show that companies behave differently in economic hard times and that these behavioural changes are perceived by employees as ‘a heightened commitment to ethics’. More than four in 10 employees (42 percent) say their company has increased efforts to raise awareness about ethics. Employees respond by adopting a higher standard of personal conduct. While misconduct witnessed by US workers is at an historic low, reporting is at a near high.
Active social networkers in the workplace
Active social networkers are defined by the ERC as those who spend 30%+ of the working day engaged in social networking activity. Key findings suggest members of this group have a distinctly different view of ‘ethics’ to those of ‘non-active’ colleagues. They are more likely to report negative experiences in the workplace, and are more likely to experience pressure to compromise ethical standards. At the same time, they are more tolerant of what others may consider ‘questionable’ activities. For example, 42% of them stated it was acceptable to blog or tweet negatively about their employers, compared to just 6% of non-active social networkers. 46% felt it was acceptable to take company software home to use on a home computer (compared to just 7% of ‘others’).
Employers beware!
The report, which is sponsored by large businesses including BP and Walmart, suggests that employers may need to find new ways to work with new types of employees – those who may ignore social media policy but who are equally willing to whistleblow when they are unhappy with the organisation’s own ethical behaviour. As ‘work’ and ‘life’ merge, it seems that some employees at least are setting their own ethical frameworks in the workplace – organisations ignore this group at their peril.
Books to boost the spirits
Jan 9th
As previously featured on this blog, The Reading Agency is a charity with a mission to inspire more people to read more. Research shows that reading improves mental well-being and it was against this background that, in 2011, The Reading Agency launched a promotion called ‘mind boosting books’. Reading groups around the UK identified a range of books to include on a list of recommended reading aimed at people who may have experienced mental health issues including stress, anxiety or depression.
The 2011 campaign reached 50,000 people in library authorities, colleges, prisons and NHS trusts.
For the 2012 campaign (launching this month) The Reading Agency has partnered with Vintage, the publishers of Stop What You’re Doing and Read This which features essays from leading contemporary writers. An additional 26 titles will be promoted during the campaign including classics such as The Secret Garden and The Pursuit of Love. The full list includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry and graphic novels including titles for less confident readers.
The restorative power of reading (in whatever format) is well known to us all, of course and we all have our favourite mood-boosting books (let me nominate Three Men in a Boat as a book that always makes me laugh out loud although I am not sure that this qualifies it for inclusion on the list). Any thoughts or suggestions for mood-boosting reading gratefully received!
McKinsey’s ‘most read’ of 2011
Jan 3rd
The lull between Christmas and New Year is an excellent time to carry out some work-focused housekeeping duties. I took the opportunity to spend a few hours reviewing my RSS feeds as well as many additional subscriptions to e-newsletters, daily updates, and press releases. I took the time to consider which resources had provided real insight and impact in 2011.
One subscription that really did ‘keep on giving’ in 2011 was McKinsey Quarterly. The latest quarterly update features links to the most popular articles of 2011. Appearing in the top 10 list, and first published in January 2011, this article on recovering from information overload was discussed in this blog in February. The popularity of the article suggests that there are many opportunities for information professionals to provide guidance to colleagues on managing information flows.
Some other key themes emerge in the top ten articles, pointing the way to what is exercising those leading teams and organisations.
Creativity – information overload is identified as something that can stifle creativity – but what can spark it? In Sparking creativity in teams the authors review the latest research and present four techniques to improve creativity, including the use of analogies and creating constraints. In Seven steps to better brainstorming the authors recommend the asking of better questions, as well as ensuring that the right people are ecouraged to to participate in the process.
Strategy – in Remapping your strategic mindset, the author describes how executives can benefit from better mental (‘rooted’) maps to help them identify opportunities and threats. In The perils of bad strategy UCLA’s Richard Rumelt summarises the differences between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ strategies and helps readers identify examples of both, while Have you tested your strategy lately provides 10 tests to help executives ensure their strategies are ‘roadworthy’.
All of the top ten articles are well worth reading and McKinsey Quarterly remains on my ‘must read’ list for 2012. Other subscriptions were not so lucky, but that’s another story!
