I stumbled across an interview with Advaliant President, Jivan Manhas, on Bernard Griffiths’ blog. Obviously, with Advaliant being a part of MediaTrust, I have my biases. When you read this interview, what do you get from it?

 

Jivan’s thoughts on why Advaliant is different:

“We are taking advantage of various different social feature sets, semantic A.I. programming as well as a large amount of feedback from our affiliates and advertisers to build out a cutting edge, industry leading technology that will allow us to evolve into the premier online brand for performance marketing.  I realize that is a bold statement but unfortunately affiliate marketing is seen as the ugly step child of the marketing world by many companies and if we want to survive as an industry we all need to take our industry up a few notches and start attracting the big dollars from the Fortune 100 companies.” 

A bold statement, yes, but let’s face it, affiliate marketing has some shady characters. A lot of the reputation the space has been branded with is well-deserved. Advaliant, under Jivan’s leadership, is trying to rise above that, even when that means turning down easy money now with less desirable partners.

What are some of the criteria you look at as an advertiser or a publisher when choosing your affiliate network? 

 

Like many of you, I spend a fair portion of my week working in facebook. Building up your network is starting to yield some nice business opportunities. We’ve certainly seen the benefit here at MediaTrust.

The other day I was going through the “people you may know” section and a person in the social media space was suggested to me as a “friend.” I sent a friend request. I’ve gone through these motions many times before. Usually I get a response that I have been confirmed as a friend and both our networks are another person stronger - mutually beneficial I would think. However, something strange happened. I got a response back from this person (we’ll call him Joe Nobody), saying he didn’t recall meeting me in person and that instead of being his “friend,” I could be added as a “fan.”

I found this puzzling for two reasons. First, most of the connections I have on facebook are people I’ve never met in person. We live in a virtual world. Lots of business and personal connections occur through cyber-space. Why was it so shocking that a person you’ve never met in person would request “friend” status on facebook? Second, the notion that I’m not good enough to be your friend, but I can be your fan is absurd. Are you kidding me? This guy was a virtual nobody. I had befriended him because we had mutual career interests. To be rebuffed only served to illustrate how awful he must be at his job in social media. In fact, further review of his “fans” showed only three people. Oops, I guess others were put off by his ego-driven facebook elitism.

Social media is about collaboration. Haven’t we railed against traditional media because they talk at us and not with us? They want to control the conversation and we want a true open dialogue. By offering someone “fan” status on facebook, you’re eliminating the very component that makes social media important. Someone that claims to work in social media should know this. 

I have a network that continues to grow daily. Some of my facebook friends include: Robert Scoble, Arianna Huffington, Veronica Belmont, Andrew Baron, and Tim Bourquin - all giants in the new media space. They all could have asked me to be a fan, but none did. Instead, they graciously accepted my friend request. Joe Nobody chose not to and now he’s being left out of the conversation. In fact, Scoble commented on his blog a few weeks ago in regards to Twitter that it’s not how many people follow you that’s important, it’s how many people you follow that really helps expand your knowledge. He’s right.

This post can be applied to any company thinking about diving into the social media space. Is your goal to control a conversation? Is it to be the most popular person in the room? Or, is your intent genuine? Do you really want to learn from your network and be a part of the discussion? For Joe Nobody, it was clearly about popularity and who he thinks he is. Don’t be a Nobody.

There is a great article over at Go Big Always today about online media companies dropping the ball when it comes to social media.

“You’d think media companies would be all over social media. I mean, media is their business. No one should be better than they are at leading the way. They’re sitting on a gold mine of assets. Awesome writers, tons of video and images, lots of “Social Objects.” Media companies are the ones who can get the conversations started and keep it going.

But they’re getting their ass handed to them by blogs. Bloggers are on top of the active conversations and participate in the dialogue without forcing you to jump through hoops before you can chime in. They, like companies in other industries embracing social software and principles, are beating the crap out of the later adopters.”

There are essentially two schools of thoughts at work here. The first is that you force participants to sign up to your site - name, email, password etc. This allows you to gather their information and monetize it down the road. The second, better option, is that you let people contribute freely to the conversation with no strings attached.

Instead of forcing them into giving up their personal information, how about giving them something of value in exchange for it? If your site offers something that unique, eventually users will sign up for more access. The true benefit of social media is engagement. When you force people to disclose personal information in exchange for the privilege of interaction, you are putting up an unnecessary wall in front of them. In the end, you’re defeating the whole purpose of utilizing these social tools in the first place.

Media companies have always been shortsighted. You only have to look as far as the RIAA suing their customers to see what I mean. Many companies, unfortunately, still seem to be heading down the wrong road. 

It’s probably no secret to readers that I am a producer for the PodShow network. My show, American Cliche, has been part of their stable of shows for almost two years. During the bulk of that time my main contact there was Richard Brewer-Hay in their talent relations department. Richard was my favorite person at PodShow. Besides being a fun guy to be around, I always knew that when I asked him a question he would tell me the truth, point blank. I respect Richard a lot.

In January I got a call from him letting me know that he was leaving PodShow to start eBay’s blog. I was excited for him because it seemed like a great opportunity, but I didn’t really understand the scope of the project. To be honest, I feared this would be a tool of the PR department to try and falsely embrace the conversations happening in social media. However, today I read an interview on Fortune Small Business with Richard. Apparently eBay has agreed to a hands-off approach on the blog. Richard has complete freedom to write whatever he wants, unedited. It was also interesting to learn that he has “all-access” to every facet of the company from the CEO on down.

What does this mean for eBay? It has long been a concern of sellers that their voices have fallen on deaf ears.  In fact, to show their disapproval of fee changes, many top sellers staged a boycott a few weeks ago. According to Richard, eBay Ink, will be direct line of communication for eBay’s users to voice concerns and get a peek behind the scenes at every level. While the blog has yet to launch, it will be interesting to see what the content looks like. Will it really be unedited? There will no doubt be guidelines that Richard will have to follow in terms of what he writes. Or will there? Maybe eBay will use the Robert Scoble/Microsoft model and allow him to exist as an island - far removed from the sharp claws of the PR department.

I hope they do this right. eBay has a real opportunity here to engage their customers. In fact, the best thing a company can do in the digital age is make their customers feel like part of the dialogue. How transparent will eBay actually be? That remains to be seen. However, the fact that Richard Brewer-Hay is leading this charge gives me confidence that it’ll be done right. You can bet that a lot of eyes will be on them as they launch eBay Ink. If it goes well, expect to see more following suit. 

This is one of the most basic laws of the universe based on Karma. “What comes around goes around”. This applies to our everyday lives AND our business practices. I think too many people forget about this principle in creating business partnerships and building teams. Trust me, I have seen this law affect companies that we all know (and shall remain nameless), and they have felt the pain of this invisible law. It is essential to embed this thinking into our company cultures.

There’s an old folk song about a thirsty traveler who comes across a pump in the desert. An attached note explains that there’s a jar of water buried nearby to prime the pump. You’ve got to give before you get, the note says. It is up to the traveler to decide whether to drink the water from the jar or take a chance that the small amount of water invested will result in an unlimited supply of cold, clear water. You’ve got to go the extra mile. You’ve got to give before you get. You cannot expect to receive generous rewards and then decide what to give in return. You must give freely and have faith that the rewards will eventually come. As clergyman Frank Crain once said, “You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.”

This positive message is brought to you by the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Visit them at http://www.naphill.org.

This thought of the day is a core attribute of MediaTrusts culture. Going the extra mile can give you insight and a good reputation, both of which attract opportunity. Many obvious opportunities are found in places no one else has bothered to venture. If you put in the extra effort to make a good project an even better one, or you get to know your equipment better than anyone else on your shift, you will see things others overlook and be in a position to make use of them. Leaders who need a job done think first of people they know who will do it well. If other people respect you for the quantity and the quality of your work, you will find yourself advancing past others who regard their jobs as drudgery. For all the extra service that you’ve rendered, you’ll find yourself more than amply compensated by opportunities others never grasp.

the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Visit us at http://www.naphill.org.

Monday night BT rocked the facebook party at SXSW. Christopher and I showed up at Pangea just around 10 PM. He had RSVP’d, I had not. After a little smooth-talking visual-trickery we got through the Secret Service-like security. Once we got in, we were treated to the best party yet at SXSWi. Wide open bar, amazing setting, great facebook video messaging on monitors throughout. After a few cocktails we watched Chester French, then BT (Brian Transeau) tore the roof off the sucka. Word around the campfire is that they paid BT the paltry sum of $10,000 for his performance - a bargain!

facebook gets it. They are so far ahead of the curve in their space. This event was packed with more thought leadership than I’ve seen in one place. Scoble, Jeremiah Owyang, Kyle Monson, and a ton more. Great music, internet celebrities - what’s not to love?

As we head into the new, very exciting year of 2008, we need to remember and share with our community the “who” and “what” we at MediaTrust believe in and stand for. Our beliefs, philosophy, values are what drives us internally and radiates out through our business partnerships and our community.

What’s in a name?

The name MediaTrust implies an apparent contradiction in terms. The words “Media” and “Trust” are not often paired together because the media industry is not known for trustworthiness and integrity.

We have chosen this name because we are going to change that. Our ancestry is from days past, where handshakes and a man’s word meant something. Our mission is to weave trust and media together into a something that meets the requirements inherent in this new era of Online media.

What is Trust?

trust |trəst| |tr ə st| |tr ʌ st|

noun

1 firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something : relations have to be built on trust | they have been able to win the trust of the others.

• acceptance of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation : I used only primary sources, taking nothing on trust.

• the state of being responsible for someone or something : a man in a position of trust.

• poetic/literary a person or duty for which one has responsibility : ruler ship is a trust from God.

• poetic/literary a hope or expectation : all the great trusts of womanhood.

The Tenants of Trust in the New Media Landscape

Customers are partners, and strong business relationships are built by earning a partner’s trust.

Business relationships last for years, not days.

Information transparency is not optional. Every customer deserves full disclosure at all times.

A media firm’s obligation to perform: To deliver what they say, when they say it with no hidden costs.

Relationships are founded on handshakes and aligned activity toward a profitable end.

Trust isn’t granted, it’s earned over time by being truthful to your word.

Building Trust in Today’s Landscape

Times have changed, but fundamental business values have not. Used to be, you could trust a man or woman for their word and the look in their eye when you shook hands. Just because there is less personal contact today, it does not men that traditional values can be disposed of.

In this rapidly changing world, virtual relationships do not mean you can ‘get away’ with more or obfuscate the truth. Trust still must be earned, even if there is no physical handshake. Relationships are still built one at a time and are not something that technology will ever replace.

Relationships will always require trust and meaningful dialog between to mutually benefiting parties. Business partnerships are built with care and attention through intelligent dialog and genuine interest from both parties.

Building Trust is a constant, ever-changing process that does not have an end. To grow trust between two parties, you must work together, plan, test, and repeat. Trust requires learning from one another and sharing knowledge to mutual benefit. Trust means delivering what’s been promised and more. Trust means being true to yourself and true to your word.

Our Beliefs

Our belief is that there is a real and logical meeting place where thinking and feeling, intuition and integrity, and intelligence and inspiration come together to profitable outcomes.

MediaTrust holds true that business should be a platform for human ingenuity and innovation, for in this, business serves the human condition best.

Change is constant. By understanding that continual shift requires continual measurement and adjustment, we can arrive at the goal of delivering relevance and genuine human interest.

Our business is a quest of investigation, exploration and discovery…a quest anchored to a consciousness of the role we play as a partner to those who trust us to take them where they want to go.

MediaTrust is a place where ideas are heard, issues discussed, and needs met. Our offices are an environment of collaboration, a place of open communication, intelligent deduction, and creative solutions.

We are new world craftsmen who take the time to understand who you are and what you want to build. Each project is treated as a unique and dynamic labor. We weave a custom solution from our trust of resources, technology, and human ingenuity.

MediaTrust believes that dialog drives change, innovation, and continuous improvement. This dialog between all of us makes everything we do and everything we are, better.

Our concerns are driven by mutual interest, shared values, real and lasting relationships, and our obligation and passion for innovation.

We are clear as to purpose and outcome, strategy, tactics and all that goes in-between.

Trust is our guiding light and it is easy to navigate by. It is either there or it is not. With us, it will always be.

I just finished reading Steve Rubel’s opinion on the concept of Digital Curator. What struck me as interesting is his comment that “curators are not editors.” I would disagree with that whole heartedly. While his premise that “the notion of an editor inherently implies that space is finite. Online it’s not” does make some sense, the role of being a curator is that the audience is expecting you to edit based on perspective. Again, this points to our belief at MediaTrust that relevance is the first and foremost point of reference to our audience. It is our responsibility to edit the amazing volume of information that is available to us and only present what is of value to the community that we are establishing and guiding.

While I couldn’t find the actual publishing date, sometime in the pre-fall of 2006, frog design’s Strategy Director Adam Richardson wrote a very forward thinking article titled “From the Information Age to the Recommendation Age” He sites many of the drivers that have created this role of “digital curator”, but positioned as a trusted advisor. “The key to recommendations are their trustworthiness - the track record and perceived objectivity and competence of the source is paramount.”

In my role as a creative director I am continually asked for my insights, opinions, and recommendations because I can edit a large variety of influencers and trends, and establish a curated view of these items to my staff, my company and my clients. It is this ability to present a collection of information that is relevant and useful that makes me a “digital curator”, as well as the trust that I have built over time with my audience and the usefulness and value of the information I present to them.

Steve Rosenbaum over at Always On seems to agree, and makes a very interesting observation about the changing role of the curator - no longer neccessarily an institutional voice, but an individual one. As he writes its “the passionate individual voice. The single editor-in-chief. The hands on editorial manager who’s taken it on as his or her mission to discovery, sort, and promote the best of the best content within an individual curator’s area of interest.”

As always, we would value your opinion and comments on this and any topics we discuss here on Relevantly Speaking.

Just as in a conversation it’s a good idea to listen more than you talk, it is also wise in relationships to think about the well-being of others more than you think about your own wishes and desires. When you constantly strive to treat others in the same way you would like them to treat you, you become a person whom others like to be around, one who commands their respect, confidence, and loyalty. When you learn to manage emotions and your ego, and when you learn to always consider the needs and desires of others, it is inevitable that you will “bait your hook” with kindness and consideration, and catch more friends than you can count.

This positive message is brought to you by the Napoleon Hill Foundation.