Planet Mobile Web

In this miscellany: MoMoLo Summer Programme, launch of Capital List (a platform to showcase the best London start-ups to advisors and investors) and call for applicants to Wayra UnLtd  (an incubator for social ventures).

Summer Programme

The word "thrilled" is a bit over over-used in my opinion, anyway, I'm going to try it on for size: Now that Summer is here … you did spot that didn't you … we're thrilled to announce our Summer Programme! We've been working with our lovely sponsors to put together a programme of topical events, as follows.

Next Event. June 3, Mobile Marketing: Truth, Misconception and Wishful Thinking

Mobile is the perfect channel for personal engagement, isn't it? So how come it's so hard to find great examples of who is using it effectively? With the help of our wonderful event supporters Infobip and chaired by Alex Meisl of Sponge (former UK Chair at the Mobile Marketing Association, current board member of the Institute for Promotional Marketing) we'll be looking at the facts, the promise and the success factors for mobile as a medium for marketing.

Registration is open at Eventbrite and there are still some places … http://momolo-2013-06-03.eventbrite.co.uk/ - oh, and if you've never tried Croatian wine, well, your chance to do so during the networking session that follows!

June 24, Mobile, Mapping, Context …

The UK national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey, our venerable supporters for this event, are 222 years old this year. Take a 222 year tradition of excellence in science and graphic design and combine it with modern mobile technology and what do you get?  We'll be exploring topics relating to location and other aspects of contextual awareness in our late June event, registration will open mid June.

July 15, Mobile Operating Systems

Just when you thought it was down to a two horse race in the mobile operating system area, along comes a fresh bright crop of new entrants in the field. We love innovation, right? But can we have it without another round of fragmentation, confusion and expense of cross platform development? With the support of our friends over at Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, we'll be looking at what the opportunities are for new contenders, and what that means for people commissioning and building mobile products and services.

Capital List Launches

If you were there, you won't have forgotten the excellent presentation and chairing by John Spindler of Capital Enterprise at our March "Finance, Incubators and Accelerators" event. If you weren't there you won't have forgotten it either, unless you think it's possible to forget something you didn't know … metaphysics aside, take it from us, it was brilliant.

John's asked us to promote a new Capital Enterprise platform to showcase the best London start-ups to  investors and advisors, called "Capital List" (see what they did?) which is now in private beta at www.capitallist.co.. that's double 'l' mind, and if you like domain hacks - like me - you'll be wondering why John didn't pick  a .st domain name - John's answer to that is that it's because he isn't like me; fair enough, I suppose). Nonsense aside, John's particularly looking for start-ups and advisors to join the beta. Information is a little scant on the site right now … but it's a great opportunity to get in early - email John at john@capitalenterprise.org to get on the list.

Wayra UnLtd Call for Applications

Moving from Capital Lists to social venture technology entrepreneurs … you know about the Telefonica's Wayra Academy, I'm sure. Well, even if you don't, Wayra UnLtd has launched with the objective of supporting social ventures in a new incubator. There's a press release [http://wayra.org/en/noticia/technology-entrepreneurs-set-their-sights-social-change] and you can apply at http://wayra.unltd.org.uk/ (not the url given in the press release). Perhaps I shouldn't have told you that, you wouldn't make much of an entrepreneur if you couldn't have found that out for yourself, now, would you?

That is truly enough snippiness and silliness for one miscellany, we'd be thrilled (really) to catch you at the next event, but hurry, places are filling fast ...

Those of you that have followed the progress of IBM’s Watson, the supercomputer that won at Jeopardy in 2011, will know that for the last year he has been in medical school, helping with the fight against cancer.

IBM has just announced that Watson will now take on the interesting field of customer service, using its incredible intellect to answer customer queries via the web and mobile.

IBM calls it the Watson Engagement Advisor and its an offshoot its Smarter Commerce initiative. Consider that Watson is smart enough to understand the natural ebb and flow of human language and is designed to answer questions in much the same way that humans do, and then quickly sort through a set of known information to determine the best answer, you realize it’s a great fit for customer service

Interestingly, instead of being deployed on a device, Watson is embedded on a brand web site, meaning that you can have a branded experience delivering smart customer service, even greeting customers by name, then providing intelligent support and advice.

In the ideal case Watson will have access to customer records plus the data stores it was trained on, and will be able to use both in giving a customer a recommendation or help.

Interesting also is the mix of clients trialling Watson’s new capabilities – they include Malaysia telecom provider Celcom, financial firms Royal Bank of Canada, Australia’s ANZ Banking Group, IT services provider IHS, and the consumer research firm Nielsen.

Here’s hoping the folks at IBM have de-programmed the phrase “I’ll have to speak to my supervisor…”.

I can think beyond being embedded on a website, smart uses for Watson would be to hook him up to the brand’s social feeds and provide smart advice via Twitter and Facebook.

With the news that mobile operators such as O2 in the UK are seeing a massive reduction in customers that use call centres, automated and intelligent systems like Watson may become the norm.

Watson and IBM seem to have a considerable head start over their rivals though, and I don’t see Apple’s Siri wining at Jeopardy anytime soon.

What are your thoughts about computer assisted customer care?

If you enjoyed this blog post you may like other related posts listed below.

To receive future posts as you can subscribe via email or RSS, download the android app, or follow me on twitter @andrewgrill.

Related posts

• Why hospitality and social media are such a good fit
• What could destroy Twitter? Great customer service
• Twitter practice with yammer
• The twitter tax and what it really says about your business
• Social Business Patterns – looking at how social adds value to any business

Interesting news today that UK mobile operator O2 is seeing 1 million fewer customers calling their call centres, so they are investing £50M in more digital services.

Quoting from the press release:

O2 today set out bold plans to re-define its customer service offering to better respond to growing demand from customers wanting to be served by digital means. The company expects this to accelerate with the wider availability of 4G services from this summer.

In parallel to O2 seeing more customer demand for digital interaction, the company has seen a decline in voice calls to customer service – one million fewer per month compared to two years ago. In its place, customers are increasingly opting to interact through digital channels, including social media which has seen an eight fold increase in customer interaction over the last two years.

O2’s existing digital channels have become increasingly popular, with MyO2 being used nine million times a month for customers to check their bill, account and tariff information, allowance data, and to buy more ‘Bolt ons’. Web chat services are used three quarters of a million times every month and over half a million answers per month are given to questions on the O2 Community forum.

If any business needed proof that the digital shift has started – it is here.

Consumers want choice, and increasingly are becoming content with a self-service mode rather than calling a call centre and being placed in a queue and made to wait.

The O2 move is part of a trend to digitise the front office. Expect to see more of this in the coming months.

Social business is taking hold!

If you enjoyed this blog post you may like other related posts listed below.

To receive future posts as you can subscribe via email or RSS, download the android app, or follow me on twitter @andrewgrill.

Related posts

• Why hospitality and social media are such a good fit
• Mind the Social Media Gap
• Customer service in the age of social media
• Will we start to see the rise of the social business guru?
• Why are some companies still so scared of social?

This is not specifically about mobile. It is more about the blinkered view of people living, working, reflecting on certain constrained areas in this world (and, no, for once I am not looking at you,...

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You may have seen that I changed the blog template (still all cheapo i.e. free WP stuff) as I thought the old one was somewhat dated (yes, Microsoft, you are leading the new design revolution, it...

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All the way back near when it was founded, I wrote a post about giffgaff, an MVNO with a twist running on (and actually owned by) the UK operator O2 (which is of course now owned by Telefonica). The...

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New Site Added to the Wap Review Mobile Directory

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Mobile Link: m.gethuman.com
Rating:Content Usability
Doctype: HTML
Home Page Weight: 1107 KB (516 KB compressed)
Category:  Search

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Description:

One of the ways that companies try cut costs is by making it hard to reach a customer support representatives. Some of the tricks they use include hard to find support numbers, forcing callers into obtuse automated help systems and long hold times.

If you have ever been frustrated trying to get support for a product or service, GetHuman is the site for you.

Created in 2006 by Kayak.com co-founder Paul English, GetHuman is a crowd sourced directory listing the best customer service numbers for thousands of companies around the world. In many cases GetHuman is able to provide a number that bypasses self service and takes you straight to a live representative. Where that's not possible, GetHuman tells you which buttons to push or phrases to say cut quickly through the interactive voice response (IVR) system and reach a human. The site also lists company's email support addresses and live chat URLs.

GetHuman's mobile webapp works well in smartphone browsers and with proxy browsers like Opera Mini. The relatively heavy page weight may be an issue with legacy mobile browsers or for users on metered data plans.

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Screenshots:

 WAPReview.com Some rights reserved.

I am a big fan of Peter Shankman, I count him as a friend. He was part of the Kred leader’s program in 2012 and continues to be a great sounding board for us at Kred.

I also love his Facebook updates – you never quite know what he is going to do next.

Today’s update looked like this.

Now I know Peter flies a lot with United – he would probably be played by George Clooney in a movie about frequent fliers…er that’s already been done.

What Peter’s update shows is that United really do have a strong influencer program.

They know that not only do they have a loyal customer, they have one who is really influential in the areas where the decision about which airline to fly is made.

Amazingly, even though Peter pays a great deal of money every year to fly with United, they have actually got him to “work” for them for a day for free.

Smartly, they understand that for a frequent flyer like Peter, more flights isn’t always what he is after. Also what is the “shrareability” of a free flight?

What IS sharable though is exclusive access to behind the scenes of an airline.

What United is also doing is ensuring guaranteed coverage by a key influencer.

Well played United, well played!

Below are just some of the shots Peter has been sharing on his Facebook page about his experience.

You can’t buy publicity like this, and United haven’t had to. They just asked Peter to tag along with them for the day.

If you enjoyed this blog post you may like other related posts listed below.

To receive future posts as you can subscribe via email or RSS, download the android app, or follow me on twitter @andrewgrill.

Related posts

• Visible Intelligence tool now includes powerful influencer analysis
• So we’re all bloggers now are we?
• New version of Kred launches – Kred Story a rich visual stream for exploring social media influence
• Mind the Social Media Gap
• How to ensure I won’t blog your press release – case study

They link to my For a Future-Friendly Web ALA article. That makes me extremely happy.

This post has been a few days in the making.

The impetus was an event I attended in London on Wednesday sponsored by Microsoft “Social Media – one tool amongst many”.

There was naturally a stellar line-up including Catriona Oldershaw, Alan Patrick, Abigail Harrison and Philip Sheldrake.

The title of the event was somewhat obscure, as the event was really about social business.

Chaired by Dave Coplin, the debate kicked off with an attempt to define what we mean when we use the phrase social business. Each panelist had a slightly different take on the concept which provided a fascinating exchange of views, but a common agreement that social business was here to stay and something that would become increasingly important.

A recurring theme throughout was the need to move beyond treating social business as merely another phrase for social media and instead exploring what it meant for business, employees and customers.

One comment from Philip Sheldrake really stuck with me.

Glancing around the room (the event was held at “Bounce” – the home of Ping Pong), Philip remarked that the audience of 40 or so people could resemble a meeting in 2001 about blogging.

His point was that with social business, we are at the beginning of a new journey.

As I was leaving the meeting, I reflected on this comment.

Having been playing with bulletin boards in 1983, websites in 1994 and social media since 2004, I could totally understand what Philip meant.

Lately I have heard the phrase “social business” mentioned more often.

What worries me though, and the thrust of this piece is that those “social media gurus” (and yes we all know the sort of person we are talking about) will transform overnight into a “social business guru”, and start to provide “advice” on social business without actually knowing what they are talking about.

In a way, I have been waiting for the market to evolve to be ready for social business for my entire career.

As my Twitter bio states, I am “Part strategy, part business, part technology, 100% digital”.

My engineering-marketing hybrid training and experience, coupled with experience in actually running companies, as well as working inside large organisations means that I know first-hand how really hard it is for companies to change culture.

Sadly, Social media has never really got past the marketing department for most companies.

I also don’t see or hear many social media “gurus” presenting at board meetings – they never get that far because the C-suite still don’t see the deep business value of social media.

Don’t take my word for it, a recent Altimeter study on social business found that

1. Two Thirds of the companies surveyed were active in social with no real link to business goals

2. Only 52% of companies surveyed agreed with the statement, “Top executives are informed, engaged, and aligned with our social strategy.”

One survey respondent was heard to say “Many of our board members and executive leaders aren’t even on Facebook, so social media is foreign to them.”

If social business is to be successful, initiatives need to be developed, and pitched to the C-suite with compelling evidence that they will directly meet the company’s objectives.

My view is that a “guru” is probably not experienced enough, or has the ability to win over a board of directors to social business.

The new breed of social business practitioners will need have a much broader set of skills and experience than a social media guru.

I tested my hypothesis on a number of my peers this week, and we ended up with a simple test.

Would the person charged will selling in the social business strategy ever get to present to the board? Has the person charged with driving social business initiatives ever met the CEO?

This sounds like a tough test, however if, as I strongly believe that social business will absolutely allow companies to leapfrog their competitors (see a Capgemini study proving this), then a social business strategy demands the attention of the board.

This will leave the social media gurus free to keep suggesting to the Marketing Director that they “just need to get more likes with an integrated real-time social media strategy to drive engagement and drive impressions”.

As an aside, the day of the event, Philip launched an excellent book on social business called “Attenzi – a social business story”. You can read my review as well as watch an interview with Philip, where we also explore the issue of social business gurus.

What do you think?

Am I being too tough on the gurus?

Let me know what you think in your comments below.

If you enjoyed this blog post you may like other related posts listed below.

To receive future posts as you can subscribe via email or RSS, download the android app, or follow me on twitter @andrewgrill.

Related posts

• IBM CEO Ginni Rometty believes big data and social will change everything – how about other CEOs?
• Attenzi – a social business story – new book review
• Why hospitality and social media are such a good fit
• Why are some companies still so scared of social?
• Why are clients still scratching their heads about Social Media?

There has been much interest lately around HTML5 and its readiness for production environments and whether HTML5 apps should be used over native apps. This has been due, in large part, to the high-profile defections of tech behemoths such as Facebook and LinkedIn away from HTML5 to native apps for their core mobile services.

read more

Mobile Marketing looks like it is changing and moving on. But separating out fashion and sentiment from hard facts can be a problem. Take the following statements: there's a massive underspend in mobile (compared with other channels, especially print). SMS, once a hot topic in Mobile Marketing is now more or less dead. One is true, the other isn't.

Our wonderful sponsors for this event, Infobip, certainly know a great deal about the mobile space and connecting people through the mobile medium. With their help we'll be looking at what the emerging trends in Mobile Marketing are, what remains the same, what's no longer true. It seems that we have been saying since the dawn of time that mobile is a personal channel, that it's perfect for having a dialogue and that when you get it right, the ROI exceeds other channels. Did that memo ever got circulated? Even now, it's hard to put your finger on who is using these powerful properties of the medium effectively. There are plenty of examples of mobile being used as a replacement for broadcast and push of canned messages. Amazing that "Do Not Reply" might feature in a channel made for dialogue.

This looks like it's going to be a wide ranging discussion, I would not be at all surprised if we touched on Apps as an engagement channel, the role of mobile operators, and how mobile marketing and the retail shopping experience are shaping up to be the next big thing.

I know that our chair for this event, Alex Meisl of Sponge, won't take offence at being described as an Industry Veteran! Former chair of the Mobile Marketing Association in the UK and current board member at the Institute for Promotional Marketing, Alex will be joined by an eminent panel featuring:

Rube Huljev - Global Operator Partnerships at Infobip
Ben Scott-Robinson, Sapient Nitro
Gregor Smith, Comscore
Final panellist TBC


Agenda

6.00 pm Doors Open
6.30 pm Panel Session
8.00 pm Networking
9.30 pm Close


As usual the event is free to attend (but registration is required at  http://momolo-2013-06-03.eventbrite.com and as usual it will take place at the CBI Conference Centre at Centre Point.  In a departure from the usual, though, as Mobile Marketing is mostly about personalization, we will try to personalize this Mobile Monday night with some Croatian flavours in the form of great wines and food, straight from the coasts of Adriatic – and no need to bring your passport!

I have just finished reading a new book by Philip Sheldrake that looks at social business. I’ve been a fan of Philip’s writing since his first book, The business of Influence, and this book does not disappoint.

The book was released on Wednesday May 15th, and I was lucky enough to secure an advance review copy which I read in one sitting over the weekend.

It is fair to say that Philip’s book is like no other book on social I have read – in a good way. 

Instead of 100+ pages filled with personal views and predictions, Philip has created a story about the journey of a fictitious kitchen appliances company called Attenzi (complete with a back story), and the personal journey of the company’s CEO Eli Appel from becoming a business, into a social business.

On launch day, I grabbed Philip for a quick interview at the Hospital Club in London.  You can watch the interview in full below.

As I have been saying in my previous keynotes, and blog posts on social business, much of the work required in becoming a social business is centred on the cultural and structural changes required.

Quoting from Philip’s intro:

Attenzi – a social business story shines a light on social business that goes beyond the all too typical homages to social media. It’s a relatively short and easy read intended to help readers explore what social business means for their organization, marketplace, communities and career.

The story is designed to galvanize the organization.

As the tale unfolds, you’ll consider aspects of organizational design, business performance management, marketing, public relations, branding, complexity, and the imminent empowerment of the individuals that make up any and all organizations. In fact, although you’ll likely be reading the book in a professional capacity, you’ll be noting the implications for your other roles in life too.

Perhaps most controversially, the story begins to explore the evolution of the customer-centric mindset that has dominated.

Philip has also created twitter handles for the main characters CEO Eli Appel (@EliAppel), COO Marcus Wallinger (@MarcusWallinger) and @Attenzi.  Let’s hope we see some engagement from these characters when the book is out.

You can see who has pre-read the book by simply looking at who is following these accounts already.

I really like the approach Philip has taken, and he has even woven in some personal pain and introspection from the main character Eli as he deals with his divorce, and how proud he is of his socially savvy teenage daughter, Rachel.

Importantly, the book is not a how-to and it does not suggest sites and platforms to use. Instead, it spends quality time building on the realisation by Eli that his business must change rapidly to stay ahead of the curve.

The subtext that I appreciated was the subtle cultural and organisational changes that are required to get everyone on board for the change required to become a social business.

At just over 100 pages (and many pages contain only a few paragraphs), I easily completed it in just one sitting.

As explained by Philip

I wrote Attenzi – a social business story:

• To convey the essence, potential and implications of social business
• To help organizations pursue social business
• To describe what Euler Partners does

The book certainly does this – and more.

I’ll probably read it again soon, as i am sure I have missed many of the finer points that Philip has embedded in his book.

The book will be available from lc.tl/attenzi from Wednesday 15th May and I recommend that you download and read this if you have anything to do with social media or social business.

If you enjoyed this blog post you may like other related posts listed below.

To receive future posts as you can subscribe via email or RSS, download the android app, or follow me on twitter @andrewgrill.

Related posts

• Will we start to see the rise of the social business guru?
• Why are some companies still so scared of social?
• Speaking at the Mindshare Huddle Nov 8th in London
• Mobile operators are starting to respond to social feedback
• Gamifying the enterprise – how to get your employees using social media

New Site Added to the Wap Review Mobile Directory

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Mobile Link: mobile.thewrap.com
Rating:Content  Usability 
Doctype: XHTML-MP
Home Page Weight: 29-288 KB
Category: Movies

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Description:

Since its launch in 2009, The Wrap has quickly grown to become one of the most respected and popular sites covering Hollywood and the movie business. The Wrap was founded by author and former New York Times Hollywood correspondent, Sharon Waxman who currently serves as the site's CEO and Editor in Chief

The Wrap's mobile version is an adaptive site that uses different layouts for various classes of devices. Their are at least three versions (images below) ranging with page sizes ranging from 29 KB for the lightest version to 288 KB for the richest.

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Screenshots:

 WAPReview.com Some rights reserved.