SXSW Roundup

I wasn’t at SXSW (although I wish I had been), in fact I was following from afar, fervently trying to stay updated with the action via Twitter, and diligently adding the #notatsxsw hastag along with organising a breakfast with some fellow geeks here in Dubai to commiserate (thanks @MissGoogle @DanStuart @PKGulati). But maybe not being…… Continue reading SXSW Roundup

Google Profile + Social Circle = My Online Demise

OK, so maybe the title is somewhat of an exageration, but the recent discussion around the launch of Google’s social network application Social Circles (you can read about it here and here) has got me nervous about how I’m going to integrate this with my existing Google products and reopened the old Profiles wound. I…… Continue reading Google Profile + Social Circle = My Online Demise

Living the Brand – GoNabit.com

There aren’t that many startups in the region who have really proved their worth beyond very small scale operations and beyond this who have developed a brand with both heart and soul, along with a desire to make money. One brand that jumps out of the pack is GoNabit, the leading group buying site in…… Continue reading Living the Brand – GoNabit.com

Best Social Media Campaign of the Year

I was asked to choose my favourite social media campaign of the year for this week’s ‘Communiquestion’ in Communicate Magazine: The Ikea Facebook campaign (not because of my Swedish heritage) because of its ingenuity and simplicity. Instead of building an app, they used the existing functionality of the platform to connect people, the brand, and…… Continue reading Best Social Media Campaign of the Year

Social Dynamics 102: Klout & Quora

As we enter 2011, there are two new brands on the social scene who are starting to have major impact – these are Klout and Quora. The first of these is a measure of our social influence, there are many such sites out there who have developed their own proprietary algorithm to monitor your presence and…… Continue reading Social Dynamics 102: Klout & Quora

Are you the Mayor this Christmas?

I lost my mayorship of the office this morning… 3 days before Christmas, and I’m distraught. The fact of the matter is that I’ve been trying exceptionally hard to compete with a colleague (thanks @ronaldzouein) and maintain this mayorship over the last 3-4 months (between trips to NY, Chicago and Riyadh) and then I woke…… Continue reading Are you the Mayor this Christmas?

Is a Facebook page the new blog?

There is a mad rush going on, a rush as marketers are waking up to social media and wondering what to do – for a long time their agencies and consultants have laid out strategic plans to approaching the social web, many of them based on listening and research as a first step, followed by…… Continue reading Is a Facebook page the new blog?

Social CRM is CRM via new channels

There is a new fad coming… the latest and greatest in marketing with new media… it is called Social CRM. I think actually I might have called it direct marketing to digital natives before someone coined the social CRM phrase – but I’ll give them the credit because it does roll off the tongue a…… Continue reading Social CRM is CRM via new channels

When clients ask for bread, give them cake

Too often I hear account directors and those in client service complain that their clients are not ready, not mature enough or not open minded enough for us to deliver true integrated, multi-channel thinking against their briefs; and for this reason the briefs that are delivered to creative tend to be driven towards more traditional…… Continue reading When clients ask for bread, give them cake