A Digital Migration; A Physical Migration

Greetings.

I know it's been very quiet here on Sandying. So you'll have to excuse me.  I have important news to share.

First, if you follow me on Facebook, you may already know the big physical change.  I'm moving to the Berkshires at the end of the summer!  I will soon be the residence director of the Thai massage school I studied at earlier this year.

That said, I've had a digital change in progress for quite some time.  My blog is moving to my new digital home: SandyKalik.com.  Come visit me there.  This will be my last post on Sandying.

Thanks for reading!
Sandy

SOS: Save our Scrabulous

According to MarketingVOX and others, Mattel and Hasbro's corporate lawyers gave Scrabulous the ol' cease and desist, threatening my new favorite way to clear my head and play with my friends (AKA waste time).

Came across Jake McKee's write up (click here) of the probable scenario that led to this brand foible, in his post "Confessions of a Scrabble Brand Manager." It was definitely a good laugh, but it's sadly, more than likely how this whole thing happened.

From a branding perspective, this is excellent audience engagement--Scrabulous has 600,000 daily users. Does Scrabble have that many? Before Scrabulous came around, pulling out a Scrabble board at a party or family gathering was the furthest thing from my mind. I would bet 18 to 25 year olds, that magic marketing age group, are now playing more Scrabble because of the copyright infringement.

So I feel compelled to ask: What is the point of a copyright (if protecting it does damage to the brand and sales)?

Social Media Buffet

I am one of those people that goes to a buffet with that gotta-eat-my-money's-worth mentality. Sometimes, I'm meticulous about trying each and every tasty looking morsel. Then other times, I pile on the usual favorites (i.e. mashed potatoes) and eat and eat until I'm so overstuffed I can't eat any more. Wait a second. Take a deep breath. Go back for thirds.

There are long periods of time where I avoid buffets all together--either because it's not worth the cost or because it's not healthy.

Social media is a buffet. With the best of technology and relationships, social media allows you to snack and sample (as Jeremiah Owyang suggested), over do it or skip it for more diet friendly options.

Eating healthy in social media requires a balanced diet of community engagement platforms (Facebook, Twitter, a blog, etc) and real-time networking (i.e. human to human time). Knowing that, and putting it to good use are two different things. If social media is a buffet, I fall into the binge and purge pattern of social media consumption--interested, engaged, participating, overloaded--stop. Ignore it all for a little while. Start over.

This seems to be my natural pattern for social media--binge and purge. So I'm looking for good ways to maintain a steady level, while still leaving room for breaks and snacking elsewhere. It feels funny to structure social media into my day--it's not organic to plan for X amount of blog posts or Z amount of time on Facebook or Twitter, etc. What do you think?

One Post a Day

Where's the Balance in My Day?

I've been struggling to get one post a day (as per the condition of NaBloPoMo)--I find that between work and sleep and eating, there aren't really that many hours in the day. Social media is demanding! (So is that 9 to 5 work structure--Though I know the arguments in support of posting at work, I feel guilty when I do because it takes me away from client related work time.)

I've found that when I get home from work, I don't want to be latched to my laptop. I'm fighting with myself to sit down and write. On one hand, I do want to write and post; on the other, my vision is going fuzzy from starring at a screen all day at work! And on top of that, it seems alocking myself, away from my roommates and boyfriend, so I can engage with this social media beast.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

There's plenty more I'd like to cram into my day, on top of work and a blog post. But I keep coming back to one thing cutting into another-- facebook or in-person. The gym or more sleep?

How do you structure your day in away that you get a little bit of everything that's important (without sacrificing a night's sleep)? Any suggestions?

I want more from my 24 hours!

MySpace Strikes Back: Is Facebook Fazed?

Last week, MySpace got two major media hits for something besides predator scandals. Last week, MySpace got AP and the Wall Street Journal for two unrelated pieces of business news. Interesting, amid the continuing talk of a Facebook buyout.

The first MySpace announcement this week came over a partnership between that News Corp. holding and Skype (AP coverage here). The VP of product development for MySpace emphasized that the internet telephony technology would be fully incorporated into the MySpace experience.

Also in the AP story, but under the Skype news, MySpace signed a licensing agreement with Sony BMG. The agreement will allow for users to include video and music content in their profiles and the two companies will split the ad revenue. This announcement intentionally harkons to the original MySpace idea as a place for bands, though it's got all the spirit of "monetize your web 2.0 content" seminar, with the added bonus of major label quality.

In other MySpace news, Wall Street Journal tells us that games are coming soon (full story here). According to the WSJ piece, causal games accounted for 360 million in revenue last year. No doubt, MySpace is looking to share in the wealth.

Summation and thoughts: With Skype, a music / content deal and games, MySpace is formalizing what the open API did for Facebook. For Facebook, the API enabled users to add fun and greater personalization to their profiles. Personalization has never been lacking from MySpace, but News Corp is working to keep its social network market share and eyeballs for the ads, so it's adding in the fun. Has Facebook noticed the renewed MySpace effort? Perhaps. Will it slow Mr. Zuckerberg down?

Why don't you tell me.

A Moment of Cyberslacking

I'm dedicating this moment to Corinne Heller of Reuters who reported last week that employees spend one-fifth of company time engaging in cyberslacking.

It certainly brings a new life to that old AIM phrase, "wanna cyber?" Why yes, I'll cyber-slack with you. Let's meet at your favorite slack-off spot--Are you a facebook or Myspace kind of guy? Quick! I'll update my profile and you can comment on it on my new advanced wall. Then, someone will see it and send me a direct message on Twitter. We can guess who it'll be. Ready. Go!

Yeah, right.

All of these modes of cyberslacking can be used as a benefit to the company or firm, but perhaps that should be kept for the next edition of cyberslacking.


Coming soon to a portal near you: Cyberslacking--Friend or Foe, and Friend?