Last week Google announced the beta version launch of the latest feature to Google Search, called Google Social Search. In short, the new technology finds content from your social media networks and displays it at the bottom of a traditional search results page. Based on what social networking sites you link to in your Google profile, the Social Search results will update you with relevant content from friends and followers. For example, I typed in ‘climbing shoe’ to a normal Google search and found results from followers on Twitter and blog posts from my RSS feeds.
Some may argue that this will change the way users interact with search results and may limit the effectiveness of traditional SEO. I think it has more importance to how brands and companies communicate their message(s) on the social web.
Social Search makes monitoring, engaging and providing relevant content on the social web even more important for brands that are active in this space. Here is a checklist for brands to keep in mind with Social Search;
- Expand the social media monitoring fishnet to include all products and categories for their business – check out SM2 by Techrigy (we use them).
- Dedicate some man-power to engage with users on the social web and deal with negative social mentions timely.
- Encourage customers to create and share content for products and categories. It appears that most types of social content is searchable, including blog posts, tweets, videos, pictures, etc..
Google Search seems to have fallen perfectly in the time-line of new products from Google – and is likely to be a key component to Google Wave and the centralization of content. For now, brands have just one more reason to keep tabs of their reputation online.
As all PR professionals know, in the final weeks, days and moments of magazine closing or TV spot shooting, sometimes coverage is lost due to unmanageable circumstances. Colors don’t match in a photo, sizes don’t fit models perfectly, or segment times get cut. One never knows, but all I can say is that I am really glad none of my clients were supposed to show up on this Today Show segment, becuase how do you tell your client their product wasn’t shown to over 2 million people because drunk Ewoks went crazy during the live taping.
During these last few weeks of pre-ski season weather and shoulder season depression, many mountain town locals get creative with their training. Lunges in the kitchen, balance boards in the family room, squats at the gym.
Here is another idea, all you need is a bike and an empty gym. I hear its good for the core and the hamstrings.
One, the 3rd annual Backbone Fall Kickball Classic is a low key affair. Yes, we have pizza, Red Vines, beer and of course a 3-foot tall Champions of the Kickball World green trophy. And not just any beer either, this year we were blessed with a special barrel of New Belgium Lips of Faith – Le Fleur Misseur. But the scene is a low key affair, with writers, friends and their kids drifting in and out of the fray.
Backpacker's Dennis Lewon & his pitching coach
Jonathan G and Mike May showing off their facial hair...
The more important point is the second – with a trophy on the line – the bragging rights are serious. So don’t let the low key pretense fool you. People are out for blood.
These guys should be behind bars - CJ, Jason and Metzler
This year, Freeskier Mag came up big, routing Skiing Mag in the first round then easily dispensing with the hosts – Backbone in the finals. Clad in fake mustaches, Backbone reached the finals by taking out the Freelancer/Freeloader/Backpacker team in round 1.
Skiing's Jake Bogoch hands over the hardware to the victors at Freeskier!
Overall, fun was had. Thanks to 50+ who atteneded. Congrats to team Freeskier and lookout for next year!!!!
This week I saw a provocative film chronicling the the disturbing proliferation of natural gas drilling in Western Colorado. While I am an advocate of finding ways to wean ourselves off foreign oil dependence, I do know we have to hold oil and gas companies to a higher standard when they come to our communities. Currently most laws and regulations favor the gas companies and it is incumbent upon individuals to join together in effort to raise our voice and be heard. Carbondale, CO is about to have major fight on our hands and we need to be ready when the natural gas leases in Thompson Creek are activated. The current methods and tactics used to extract natural gas are not acceptable by any standard. Technology exists for safer mineral extraction and gas companies need to comply as well as invest in future technologies. Until we hold them to a higher standard, they will continue their unmitigated process. There are success stories in which strong coalitions were formed, baseline standards for air and water quality were established and local and national politicians were informed. The film Split Estate is a fantastic documentary about the realities of this difficult situation.
While there is interesting discussion on engagement and new terminology created everyday on the ever changing front of social play – what makes virality happen remains a bit of a dark science. There are emerging agencies that can help with virality, but nothing works as well as great unadulterated content that is compelling and somewhat “sticky.”
Yes, you can crowd source to build interaction and explore viral loops – but this quick case study supports the unpredictability of it all. Last winter, Black Diamond received helmet cam raw footage of a skier in AK getting caught in an avalanche and buried while wearing an AvaLung. The skier is quickly rescued by his group – but the footage is powerful and when BD released it on their site, they saw solid traffic.
Scroll forward to two weeks ago, the same raw footage video went viral on vimeo – and the reach has been staggering. While the raw footage is longer to view, it lacks any attachment to commercialism. But why has the now dated, raw video propagated so much more extensively than the initial clean version unclear. In the last week alone we had calls from major networks news and leading talk shows. Either way this is likely the first documented case of a skier getting caught in a slide in AK and landing on the cnn.com homepage…
After 3 years of practice in the rookie leagues, Backbone will be ready to take our kickball team to the big leagues and join WAKA (World Adult Kickball Association).
Kickball has officially gone big time with tournaments all over the country and the season culmination tournament (Founders Cup XII) in Vegas this Columbus Day weekend.
Nathan Wauk / WAKA
So bring it on. We’re ready.
Maybe one day, Dax will fulfill his lifelong dream of playing with his favorite band, The Jonas Brothers.
I need to take a Final Cut Pro class so I can learn to shoot, edit and produce a video for uhhh….a client.
Kudos, to Kootenay Mountain Culture publisher Mitchell Scott on his James Bond impersonation in this video. The Powder Highway promotion is a terrific out-of-the box marketing vehicle that effectively utilizes the social web. Those Canucks are wicked smart.
And, Nate and Penn, I’m going to need a three-month sabbatical next winter. Cool?
