Originally posted on Crain’s Business Blog. An article in Business Week has been spinning in my brain: “B-School all A-Twitter Over Social Media.” It’s terrific to see a new skill set being taught to business school students, adding a layer of marketing, public relations and customer service into the quantitative minds of MBA seekers. I think this is a fascinating trend. Why?  We may very well see a shift in the expected skill sets of future Social Media Directors, compared to those folks who lead social media efforts within major corporations.

What does this mean for your business or the business you run for your clients? Simple. Metrics.

Today, a handful of people use social media tools to build communities and get the conversation flowing about any given product or service. What will change is the expected analytics behind these activities. MBA grads with social media training will be coming to the table with a different set of core principles for every project. Yes, understanding the flow of conversation and sentiment related to a company will be a major success metric, however, getting to some kind of conversion rate that moves the bottom line will be just as, if not more, important.

With this new set of professionals in the social media mix, I predict more testing, contingency planning and growth expectations according to the level of social media engagement. I’m not saying these are necessarily correct, however, this is the same type of metric shift I saw towardthe end of my stint at Orbitz. A bevy of MBA grads joined our team, and as I trained them on our systems, I realized there was a common thread. Questions were very linear. There was an expectation of cause and effect. X action should lead to Y results and adding an element of Z changed the mix by a set number of percentage points on the bell curve.

Today, amassing a large Twitter following is considered a huge win. The future? I predict a large Twitter following to be a requirement, with the addition of segmenting those followers as part of a larger marketing campaign.

Your move. Who are you going to hire to help you make this happen?

Originally posted on Logic + Emotion.

An individual who aligns themselves with a larger organization and has established a reputation, let’s say in a niche is no longer representing themselves, they represent themselves, and the organization they work for. In other words, they become ambassadors for both.

Now here’s the challenge: being a visible ambassador which connects the internal with external means drawing attention to yourself—a role which has traditionally been limited to a select few, such as a CEO, or formal spokesperson. In either of these roles, visibility is expected and it’s part of the job.

Today’s corporate ambassadors can be anyone and the really good ones build bridges to multiple kinds of valued stakeholders (just like traditional ambassadors). But, despite becoming a more common role, corporate ambassadors face huge challenges. Colleagues will justifiably question the motives and contributions of ambassadors. In fact, less experienced ambassadors often make the mistake of either putting their wants and needs before the needs of their “embassy” (the organization). Even if this isn’t the case, often times the perception of self promotion can be difficult to manage. So how does one manage corporate ambassadorship in a networked economy? While I’m still growing here myself, I have a few thoughts:

Co-Brand

Be generous with your equity. If you’ve decided to work with a larger organization instead of being in business for yourself, be sure to send the message that you are proud to represent the organization and align it with your own identity.

Share

Ambassadors are often well connected, networked and plugged into a number of communities which may be valuable to the organization they align with. Like traditional ambassadors, they can establish trust and build equity by leveraging their networks to the benefit of the organization. In other words, connections = wealth and sharing that wealth creates value for all.

Work

Corporate ambassadors carry the weight of an interesting burden—they have to prove they are willing to put in hard work, just like everyone else. Be sure to get the basics of your job description done and done well, then pursue ambassador duties after business is taken care of (hint, I’m writing this on a Saturday evening).

Represent

Ambassadors are expected to represent and to do it well. When given the opportunities to engage in public in both digital and offline venues, be sure to balance individual personality with corporate responsibility. Be yourself, but be a representative because you’re both.

Engage

With power comes great responsibility and a really good corporate ambassador is willing to engage, to make themselves accessible both internally and externally. Ambassadors don’t live in ivory towers, they go out into the world and connect. They listen, and then engage in ways that are mutually beneficial.

If this post resonates with you, then it’s possible you’ve stepped into this role either purposefully or accidentally. Or perhaps you’ve lived it in the past before deciding to go off on your own. In either case, I’m fairly confident that it’s something that will become more norm than exception and above all a delicate balancing act to say the least.

Despite the Internet being around for quite some time, the FDA has never issued specific guidance to pharmaceutical companies on how they can communicate about and market their products online, instead stating that the existing guidelines for print and television should be applied. However, there is difficulty in interpretation: if providing the prescribing information on the back of a print ad is acceptable, is that equal to having the information one click away? Instead of official guidance and directives, we learn what is okay – and what doesn’t fly – through the warning letters that are issued to companies. I always compare this to walking through an obstacle course blindfolded. When you hit a wall (get a warning letter), you learn not to go that way.

Social media has created even more gray area and more potential for warning letters, as we saw with the recent letter Novartis received. This HDCU covers some recent news about the FDA and those much-anticipated guidelines.

Last November

As a reminder, it was last November that the FDA held a public hearing for companies, advocacy groups and individuals to weigh in and provide their suggestions to the agency on what the guidelines should entail. Many ideas were put forth, including ways to present risk information in a shortened format. The FDA also accepted written testimony through February of this year; however, the ultimate decision is in their hands.

Crack Down

Despite an overwhelming case load, the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communication (DDMAC) at the FDA has been busy this year: they’ve already issued 45 warnings through August 28, compared to 41 letters for all of 2009 and only 28 for 2008.

On the Record

In a recent interview with Reuters, Thomas Abrams, who leads DDMAC, said the agency aims to release a draft later this year. “We are developing separate guidance that are issue-specific and can apply to the various mediums used on the Internet,” he told Reuters.

Mobile App Gets Approval

In early August, the FDA granted clearance to the health software firm WellDoc to begin marketing its DiabetesManager System, a mobile phone application designed to help patients and health care providers manage Type 2 diabetes. It will be interesting to see if this sets a precedence – should all health-related apps be approved by the FDA?

In the Interim

Given the current environment, it may be tempting for pharma companies to hold off on any new initiatives, especially social media, until the official guidance is delivered. However, there is a serious risk in NOT being involved: it opens the door for someone else to define your brand. We are counseling our clients on how to get involved in social media, following the existing guidelines and applying them to this medium in a responsible way.

There’s an ongoing debate about the distinction between local and hyperlocal news coverage. Is it the geography or size of a place that makes coverage hyperlocal? Or is it the attitude and subject matter? Sarah Hartley, editor of The Guardian Local, defines hyperlocal with 10 characteristics, including author and community participation, independence and passion.

Regardless of how you choose to differentiate between local and hyperlocal, going local is a growing trend on the Internet with potentially huge implications for blogger engagement, pitching and media buys. As news outlets embrace local coverage, bloggers and citizen journalists are increasingly on the frontlines of news gathering and storytelling. This week’s Friday Five looks at that trend and highlights five hyperlocal projects from across the country.

TBD.com

After months of hype, the journalism world was abuzz at the beginning of August with the launch of TBD.com, an all-local news website in the Washington, D.C., area. Owned by Allbritton Communications, the site has an editorial staff of 35, but it relies on Allbritton’s other media properties (WJLA and News Channel 8, now re-branded as TBD) and a network of 147 local blogs for community engagement. Whether crowd-sourcing storm photos, asking readers to “complete this story” with additional details, or posting real time Twitter feeds about commuting disruptions, TBD puts a huge emphasis on mobile apps, social media and user-generated content. Although blog networks, social media and a commitment to linking outward are not revolutionary concepts, TBD is the largest and most ambitious effort yet to create a new model for local coverage in a large metropolitan area.

Patch

On Aug. 17, AOL announced plans to rapidly expand its hyperlocal news arm, Patch.com, to more than 500 communities by the end of 2010. Already in 100 neighborhoods, Patch sites are for communities of 15,000 to 75,000 people. Every Patch site is run by one professional local editor who, along with an average of 11 freelancers, provides original reporting on things like city government, schools and local sports. In addition to being a destination for local news, Patch sites provide data like shopping directories, community maps and contact information for local officials. Patch users are encouraged to upload photos and add events to the site’s community calendar.

HighSchoolSports.net

Earlier this year, Gannett Broadcasting announced a deal with DataSphere Technologies to launch neighborhood blog networks in 10 of Gannett’s local markets. In August, Gannett publicized plans to further its hyperlocal push by rolling out more than 100 local sports websites co-branded with HighSchoolSports.net. Gannett’s first sports sites will debut in 38 media markets like Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Denver. Expansion to Gannett’s other local media outlets is expected to be complete by the end of 2010.

Yahoo San Francisco

Word spread in August that Yahoo is recruiting writers to build a local news site for the San Francisco area. After acquiring the Web content farm, Associated Content, in May, it appears that Yahoo is attempting to leverage Associated Content’s registered contributors. In an email blast to the contributors, Yahoo said it is “looking for writers living in or near the San Francisco area (like you!) to write compelling, local content — ranging from highlights of your favorite neighborhood destinations to metro-wide, first-person reporting assignments covering the stories and topics not typically found in mainstream news media.”

Roscoe View Journal

The Roscoe View Journal launched in Chicago on Aug. 16. A hyperlocal news site covering the Windy City’s Roscoe Village and West Lakeview neighborhoods, the Roscoe View Journal is the second hyperlocal site started by Mark Fourcher- the first was Center Square Journal. In addition to the website, Roscoe View Journal is active on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. Although neighborhood volunteers write most of the content, Fourcher says everything is “edited and monitored by a professional editor with real journalist chops.”

Image credit: Cris_33

HP has come a long way from a tiny garage on Addison Avenue in Palo Alto where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard took $538 in working capital and a Sears-Roebuck drill and built what is now the largest technology company in the world. When HP tasked Edelman Digital to build a website for its passionate tech enthusiast community, we looked at our own entrepreneurial heritage for inspiration. After all, Edelman came from humble beginnings as well – Daniel J. Edelman transformed his company from a one-man PR business to the leading independent global PR firm in world.

In 1949, Dan Edelman accepted his first public relations job for the Toni Company (now a Gillette division) and launched the first-ever product media tour with 12 sets of identical twins asking the question, “Which Twin has the Toni?” The campaign achieved unprecedented success. Why? It was creative, personal and told a story. Those are the cornerstones of great PR and now, the essentials of online engagement, such is the case with HP’s The Next Bench community.

HP’s new Tech Community website, called The Next Bench, was named for Bill and Dave Packard’s approach to product development. The idea was simple: if the guy on the next bench wanted the product you were working on, chances are it would be a success. Just as HP continues to look to customers for input on what kinds of product ideas to pursue, The Next Bench strives to carry on that tradition as well.

Today, in an era of information overload and mass personalization, telling the story and integrating customers into that story is more important than ever. Therefore, Edelman and HP agreed that The Next Bench site must [not only tell a compelling story, but also be a place for people to connect, engage and continue to come back ] The Next Bench does just that. It’s a new kind of online media channel – it’s a central hub that serves the function of part newspaper, part blog, part broadcast medium and part corporate newsroom that reinvigorates the way HP delivers news and engages its community.

As Mark Budgell (Twitter.com/MarkatHP), Social Media Lead for HP’s Personal Systems Group explains it, “Story telling is a really valuable way for us to establish lasting relationships with our customers. Our goal when we redesigned The Next Bench was to make it easy for them to find, comment on and share the stories they liked. The new site takes on a simple news blog format that immediately serves up the content and information our customers want.”

Check out the site. Share it with others. Connect with HP. And, we’d love to hear your thoughts, opinions and how we might make this site better for you. www.TheNextBench.com

PSFK, a trends research and innovation company, recently prepared a report for Unicef titled “The Future of Health” in which they explore how advances in technology are impacting healthcare for the masses, particularly in less developed markets. PSFK also invited several leading advertising and design agencies to imagine solutions for healthcare in emerging countries by responding to a creative brief from Unicef that identified their key challenges.

The first half of the report details 15 trends that will impact health and wellness around the world, and the second half showcases the agencies’ conceptual ideas for Unicef. As this Check-up only highlights 5 of the global trends, I encourage you to read the full report for additional information.

Distance Learning

The development of faster mobile networks and improved device technology is allowing for an unprecedented level of quality content to be streamed and viewed on handheld devices, enabling “anywhere, anytime” classrooms. For instance, the Berkeley Institute of Design created short videos on maternal health for healthcare workers in India to share through their handhelds, while mobile apps like the Blausen Human Atlas are helping physicians explain conditions.

Handheld Hospital

With the development of mobile applications, peripheral devices and add-ons, patients in remote areas can receive basic services without having to travel to health clinics. One such tool is the Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment project from MIT which provides an eyesight test utilizing the screen of a smartphone. The Japanese firm Scalar Corp has even developed a powerful handheld microscope called the AirMicro that can transmit video to the iPad or iPhone over wireless.

Remote Diagnostics

Web-connected devices are also being used to capture individual health data and communicate it to healthcare professionals virtually anywhere. This allows for distributed care enabling remote diagnoses. The Zargis Telemed platform streams heart and lung sounds using a web-connected stethoscope, while the sensor-equipped headband by Watermark Medical allows for sleep apnea diagnosis from the patient’s own home.

DIY Check-Up

The proliferation of consumer electronics such as mobile phones have allowed individuals to detect early warning signals related to illness or other medical conditions themselves using simple biomedical inputs. By periodically checking their personal wellness, people can better manage their own health before consulting a doctor. One app in development is designed to diagnose respiratory disease using the sound of a cough, and WebMD has created a free app that provides a symptom checker and basic drug and treatment information.

Gaming for Health

In the absence of need, people have a natural tendency to make their decisions based on positive reinforcement. By introducing game mechanics to motivate individuals to make smarter decisions about their health, designers are helping influence and reinforce positive behaviors. Switch2Health is a wearable technology that tracks fitness and provides incentives in promotions and prizes. Bayer has introduced a new blood glucose monitor – Didget – that connects to the Nintendo DS to educate kids with diabetes and rewarding them with virtual currency and access to skills within games.

Originally posted on Campaign Asia.

Edelman and Brandtology’s Digital Brand Index (DBI 10.3) offers insights into how brands are being discussed online in China, tracking over 518,000 conversations to identify the most active channels and the most interesting subject areas.

Here are the key findings:

Offline drives online. Online drives offline. The impact of product launches and the World Cup demonstrates the opportunity for brands to proactively engage and measure online buzz.

518,028 online conversations were tracked, with references to 89 large technology brands, which were contained within 736 influential channels from April to June 2010. This represents one major technology brand mentioned every 15 seconds, compared to one brand mention every 42 seconds found in the DBI 10.2.

The major consumer electronics brands in China, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, Cannon and Asus, continue to rank on the list of the top 10 most talked about technology brands amongst the online channels, as they expand their drive in the social media field.

Canon made DBI’s top 10 ‘buzziest’ channels list for the first time with 15,098 online conversations, and Google, which dominated previous DBI results, dropped to sixth place on the top 10 ‘buzziest’ channels list.

The volume of online buzz for technology brands increased sharply this quarter, partly due to technology brands’ online marketing campaigns around the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which helped drive a record amount of social media traffic. Both consumer electronics and telecommunication carriers including China Mobile and China Unicom launched new products and services around the World Cup through online news portals and video sharing channels.

Samsung worked with three major news portals including Sina, Sohu and Tom.com to launch social ads and initiate online competitions. China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom partnered with phone makers on intensive online marketing of new phone models and services that enabled consumers to watch The World Cup on their mobile phones.

The social networking phenomenon continues.

Social networking websites, especially Sina, Weibo and Kaixin001, have become important channels for IT/ technology brands to effectively reach and engage consumers. So far, 56 percent of all the surveyed IT/ technology brands have launched their own local Sina Weibo brands.

While Twitter dominates in other regional markets in Asia Pacific, Sina Weibo is building a social media phenomenon in China which is reshaping the way technology brands contact and engage consumers. Sina Weibo not only provides a platform to directly listen to and engage consumers, it also dwarfed other channels at promoting events and generating conversations. Sina Weibo generated 31,019 tweets that mentioned Nokia, compared with a total of 16,760 online conversations generated by other channels.

BlackBerry’s official Sina Weibo account has gained more than 7,000 fans since its launch on 16 June this year.

Disclosure: Edelman represents technology brands around the world, many of which are included in the Digital Brand Index.

Making the transition to fatherhood can be difficult for many guys. Women seem to have a built-in support system that creates a well-worn path to motherhood. Guys, on the other hand, have a journey and a role mostly neglected by society.

This disconnect has been reflected online as well. But fathers are starting to realize this, and in recent years, men have been working hard to create resources online for other dads, both new to fatherhood and expert diaper changers. In honor of the Modern Media Man Summit happening in less than two weeks, this week’s Friday Five focuses on highlighting some of the best resources for dads around the web.

Digital Dads

As C.C. Chapman searched the web in 2009, he noticed that there were few sites writing about being a dad, and the ones writing about men’s topics rarely included content for men who were also parents. As a result, he and some other involved dads started Digital Dads, which strives to be an honest view of what it’s like to be a dad in today’s world. C.C. has been a huge advocate for dads online for some time now. He also recently launched Digital Dads TV, a partnership with the Pulse Network, where he’ll be streaming live discussing all kinds of topics related to being a guy.

The Good Men Project

The Good Men Project seeks to start a national conversation about what it means to be a good man. Although this online magazine, book and documentary isn’t for dads alone, much of the content focuses on issues to which dads can relate, including a section of the site dedicated to fathers. I’ve had my eye on this project for a while and I love how they are striving to make men out to be more than the media portrays us to be.

The Art of Manliness

Another resource focused on overall manhood as opposed to just fatherhood (although again, they do have family focused content) is The Art of Manliness. The site attempts to provide men with the resources they need to live virtuous lives. Don’t let the name or the moustaches fool you – this site isn’t frivolous or for entertainment only. Brett and Kate McKay, the founders and editors, are serious about helping men recover some of the skills that used to be associated with being a man. I mean, come on – “How to Make a Corn Cob Pipe?” Not your typical guy-related content.

Dad Blogs

Started by Pete Janelle and Joe Schatz in January 2009, Dad Blogs has been slowly growing into a serious resource for dads to connect with one another online. Although it is a self-described “social networking site primarily for dads and dad bloggers”, Dad Blogs doesn’t discriminate, and has actually seen moms come in to participate in the conversations. Members can contribute blog posts, discuss topics in the forums and network with other dad bloggers.

GeekDad

This last resource is for dads as geeky as I am. Wired magazine’s highly popular blog is for those who are unafraid to pass on a little geek to their children. Covering everything from Comic-Con to games to the latest geeky toys for your little ones to play with, GeekDad takes father/son bonding to the next nerdy level. How often do you get to create your own edible clone trooper army together?

Only a few months ago we were in Austin attending panels, interviewing amazing social media entrepreneurs and hosting AllHat2 at SXSW. Once again, the time has come for us to get ready for Interactive geek week, which starts by selecting the panels we’d like see at SXSW by using PanelPicker. The SXSW PanelPicker allows the community to have a 30% voice in programming for the Interactive, Film and Music festivities. Show your support by voting before August 27 and hopefully your favorite speakers can present at SXSW 2011.

We gathered the best and brightest panels from our employees and clients and we’d love a few thumbs up if you think the panels below might be interesting to attend.

Health: Is There Really an App for That?

Steve Rubel (Edelman Digital, New York) and Jane Sarasohn-Kahn (THINK-Health)
It seems like there’s an app for everything nowadays. There’s even apps to make people healthier! Steve and Jane will discuss the impact health related apps are having on the consumer and how to develop more effective tools.

Dr. Wikipedia: Can We Trust Online Health Information?

Emily Downward (Edelman Digital Health, Austin)
Crowd-sourcing is great for a lot of things online, learning new things or coming up with a great collective idea. In this panel, Emily will discuss the evolution and management of medical information in this corner of the online world – and how even the wisdom of the crowd (a.k.a., Dr. Wikipedia) may still be missing the right credentials that would ensure accurate information about health is being shared.

The New Frontier of Social CRM in Healthcare

Earl Whipple (AstraZeneca, an Edelman Client)
Social CRM is a discussion happening in almost all social media planning conversations today. Earl will cover the roles that Social CRM plays in online health engagement and how healthcare brands can use social CRM to share information.

Take Two, Don’t Friend Me in the Morning

Libby Pigg (Edelman Digital, New York)
Consumers are talking to companies and brands daily through social media but one major group is missing out on the conversation: health professionals. Libby will talk about the appropriate level of online interaction we should expect from the healthcare industry and will cover the benefits in participating in online conversation.

Hacking the Future

Phil McKinney (HP, an Edelman Client)
Phil will share his predictions for the future of technology. He’ll present on the “must have” technologies for consumers in 5 years, 10 years and even 20 years! Beyond sharing his predictions, he’ll also cover the ways you can capitalize on these trends today.

Why PR’s Future May Not Look Like PR

David Armano (Edelman Digital, Chicago)
The face of PR is changing and the focus is shifting to engagement. David defines the new future of PR and how companies can leverage social media to benefit from online communication.

Sky-Rocketing Popularity of Social Media in Latin America

Thiane Loureiro (Edelman Digital, Sao Paulo)
Latin America is a growing social media market and the audience and tools vary from those in the US. Thiane will talk in-depth about the regional differences in social media in Latin America and the opportunities that are available to companies.

Personalities, Policies & Problems: Companies and Employees 2.0

Dave Fleet (Edelman Digital, Toronto)
Dave will help answer the question everyone is asking nowadays…what is the best way to structure social media within a company? He’ll cover topics from policies to censorship and everything in between.

Habbo Hotel: Developing A Successful Virtual Economy

Sulka Haro (Habbo, an Edelman Client)
Over the last 10 years, Habbo Hotel has made multiple fundamental changes to the virtual economy in order to accommodate competition and end-user expectations. Sulka examines how Habbo Hotel’s economic system has evolved and answers questions about how valuable a virtual currency should be, how many currencies make sense for a virtual world, what users are looking for in virtual goods when making purchasing decisions and the future of microtransactions.

We hope you find these recommendations helpful. Happy voting!

If you’re a woman interested in blogging and social media, you have your choice of events that cater specifically to you. But so far men have gotten the short end of the stick event-wise. Enter the Modern Media Man Summit.

The M3 Summit is an attempt to give men that space to learn and connect with other “media men” in a setting designed with us in mind. As a blogger and a father, I’ve been looking for an event such as this for quite some time. And with great speakers and an awesome lineup of sessions (including a meet and greet with Cal Ripken, Jr.), M3 promises not to disappoint.

But the M3 Summit represents much more than a great event. I’m hoping this will be a watershed moment for dads online, when brands finally start recognizing the important role that dads play. I’ve stated before that I believe this shift is coming. And as dads get even more connected and have a more cohesive voice online, companies are beginning to recognize that working with dads – not just moms – is in their best interest.

I’ll be speaking about this exact subject at M3, and I’d love to get your ideas and your feedback in person. As if this wasn’t enough to wet your appetite, you can listen to an interview I gave where I chatted with the folks organizing the Summit about some ideas to get this process started.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been wanting to meet some of the amazing men bloggers out there, and connect with other guys making a career out of social media. So let’s all get together in Atlanta on September 9. Modern Media Men: Assemble!