Ryan C. Miller.com - Social Media, Design, Tech, Commentary - broadcasting from Utica, NY

Knowlege & Mileage: Hiking the Camino Salkantay

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Miller1 Comment

In 2008 we spent roughly 10 days in Peru hiking from outside of Cusco to Machu Picchu via the Camino Salkantay. This video documents our hike and the experience of a lifetime.

Size Vs Passion

Posted on February 24, 2010 by MillerNo Comments

better ideas lead to higher share ratio, regardless of size

Seth Godin had a great post about how a focus on good ideas will always have more value than a focus on getting more fans or followers. Reconciling size versus engagement is something that I know a lot of brands and individuals struggle with online. We all want to be important. We all want to have a million followers. I struggle with this as well. Would I rather have 10 passionate people who digest everything and spread the word than a thousand people who are passive observers? From a long term strategy, yes, but it sure would feel good (at least for a moment) to have a follower / fan count of several thousand.

Without trying to reiterate what Seth says, I’d really like to call your attention to the graph that I grabbed from his post and also direct you there to read his theory (with a little data to back it up) on followers vs. ideas. It’s one of the better posts he’s drafted recently and I think everyone should take a look. Read Seth’s post by clicking here…

Planting seeds or giving away the farm?

Posted on February 21, 2010 by MillerNo Comments

photo by Advait Supnekar

Whether it’s a new product or service - the power of free goes a long way. Think about Sun Microsystem’s embracing of Open Source or VaynerMedia giving away all the assets and source code for a their custom FaceBook tab or bloggers like Seth Godin and Chris Brogan giving away actionable and inspiring info on their blogs every day. Think about HBO giving away the first episode (and soundtrack) for their new series How to Make It In America. All of these examples involve giving away some kind of intellectual property that already has intrinsic value. Whether its a platform, media or a comprehensive how-to - that stuff generates buzz and customers.

In the case of Sun, entire platforms are built and run on Sun’s technology. Giving away the tools helps people to build amazing things to run on Sun’s hardware. In the Case of HBO, giving away the first episode on YouTube as well as the soundtrack (which HBO does a great job of compiling throughout their different programs) generates a lot of buzz. Essentially it’s just digital sampling but it’s counter intuitive to their business model which is based around restricting access to its content. Did it make me want to check out the program? Absolutely. Did it make me want to purchase cable so I could pay to get HBO so I can watch episode two? No. But, did I inadvertently help them with promotion by blogging about the show? Got me there.

Now let’s look at Seth & Chris. Their blogs are two of the most read on the web and each day there are nuggets of great content, served fresh daily. Having that kind of expert share their insights via a blog is worth real cash. Does sharing that knowledge or those assets de-value their core products or services because they’re giving away the blueprints to something that they normally charge for? Hardly. Just because the code, the design, or the pointers that each of these examples give away is freely available doesn’t mean that everyone is going to take the time to deconstruct it and implement their own version. When push comes to shove, lots of people don’t want to mess with learning curves. They agree with the idea, but want to be lead.

I’d argue that this approach does two things. First, these businesses and experts can ‘afford’ to give that kind of quality content away, it makes you wonder how amazing their services are for the people who pony to pay for consulting or a custom strategy. Second, it is a great tool for generating what I’ll call ’soft money.’ Whether that’s fees for speaking at events or the cash people will spend to get their latest book (both Trust Agents & Linchpin are highly recommended by the way) - people will put money where they find value.

What do YOU think? What as a business can you give people to sample? Can you grow your business this way and will more leads be generated as a byproduct of this Thank You Economy? Which industries can get hurt or helped by this? Fire away in the comments!

Shared Items - February 24, 2010

Posted on February 20, 2010 by MillerNo Comments

Best articles, photos, and general signs of cool from my Google Reader Feeds
• Falling Feather

February 24, 2010 - I want to try this just because of the label.

• Vanity Barcodes

February 16, 2010

The Attention Goldrush

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Miller4 Comments

There was a really interesting and insightful video from Gary V. about how the explosion of social media has changed customer expectations. He talks about how brands & celebrities are embracing the same social networks that we are, and that there is also now an expectation of interaction buy the consumer. If I think a product sucks and I talk about it, I could rightly expect that someone at that company is at least listening - and may respond.

The same is getting to be true celebrities, CEOs, and the like - John Mayer, Ashton Kutcher, Bill Gates and other top business peeps are on Twitter and (in theory) accessible. No gatekeepers for them in this medium. But can it last? And because of the openness we’re seeing now, will customers grow to have expectations that can’t be sustained?

Andrew Warner over at Mixergy had an interesting post arguing that it can’t. And I tend to agree, but don’t think it will be true for absolutely everyone. We’re in what I think of as an attention gold rush - where the tools are still new enough that barriers and gatekeepers aren’t a huge issue yet. As this builds (and it will) the competition for attention and competition for that conversation will start to exist, just like in every other medium. Gary is a good example of someone who works really hard to engage 1:1 and say ‘what’s up’ to a good chunk of his audience, but with every appearance on GMA, every new tasting with Jimmy Fallon, the audience grows and I’m sure it gets much harder to scale those interactions 1:1.

But, I think it all comes down to how bad someone wants a passionate online community. I get really excited any time someone like Gary (or Andrew, or Chris) responds to a question of mine or a blog I posted. Because it takes real time to respond directly, those discussions make people feel like they are a valued part of the community. Maybe down the road there will have to be another mechanism that can scale better, but at a basic level, I think nothing creates a brand evangelist or a fan like a conversation. Businesses and people will have to learn to better manage those interactions and scale them up, or customers and fans may become disenchanted if these new tools become the 21st century equivelant of fan mail.

Your thoughts? Is there a good way to scale your social interactions if you’re a major brand or celebrity that hasn’t been talked about? Will interactions and expectations consistently increase or will they bell curve? Hit me in the comments…

Where’s my Fantasy Olympic Team

Posted on February 17, 2010 by MillerNo Comments

I admit it. I don’t play fantasy football. But I’m curious as to why it’s 2010 and we still only get delayed and edited footage from the Olympics via NBC.

Furthermore, why hasn’t the idea of Fantasy Olympic teams taken off? Could that be a key to increasing viewership, knowledge of more atheletes and engagement even before the games start? Here’s my lunchtime thoughts.