Movember

Just found out about this great drive to raise awareness around men's health issues. It's called Movember and encourages all men to grow a mustache this month, specifically to help raise awareness and $'s for prostate cancer.

We don't have a long history of prostate cancer in our family, but my dad was diagnosed a couple years back and it was quite scary. The key to his diagnosis and recovery was that he regularly had his prostate checked and kept meticulous records. Remember that you are never too young (or old) to have your prostate checked.

So go out and grow that stache. And Happy Movember.

http://bit.ly/diAM8l

Let's Make 11/11/11 Nigel Tufnel Day

What a brilliant idea. This is the perfect day to celebrate the lovable lead guitar player who coined the phrase, "these go to eleven" in the movie, This is Spinal Tap. Join this group on Facebook and spread the word.

An anecdote from my own life is that I intended for this to be my senior quote, which was misinterpreted by the Brother in charge of the year book and was translated to "Ours go to heaven". Must have been my British accent.

It's Been a Long Time

It's been a long time since I last blogged, but today I am going to get back on the horse. I don't have a whole lot to say other than I am going to start doing this more often. :-)

I am one of those folks who fell victim to the common blog malaise that after a certain amount of time, you just kind of fade away. If I'm still blogging more than 6 months from now, you'll know that this time, I've been able to overcome it.

Cheers!

Insigniaproducts.com Usability Testing

Insigniaproducts.com usability testing is now under way through May 8th. We are conducting usability in an open and transparent way, tapping into the social network of our brand. I invite you to join. Click the link http://tinyurl.com/czdpfk to take the usability survey.

Thanks in advance for helping out.

Open Principles and Insignia update

So, I have been incredibly lame over the last couple months not having posted anything to my blog. It has been a long time recovering from the workforce reduction here at Best Buy, but I feel like today is a new beginning. We’ve finally turned the corner and are moving forward again. And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that I finally filed my taxes last night.

Today, I want to focus on the Insignia Open Principles experiment. We are getting close to usability testing and plan a soft launch of the new site by the end of April. For those of you who I have engaged on usability testing, I promise that it will be coming soon. I appreciate your patience.

I think the best thing about this experiment is that the community of passionate and engaged supporters is growing with each day. And, each new member brings with them a unique and valued perspective that will make our web experience even better. The list of iterations I have in mind for this site is growing faster than we can get our current site up and running. I cannot wait for launch day!

I am also starting to get a lot of questions within the four walls of Best Buy on “how we did it”. That is, how did we break the mold and deliver a web experience that is materially different from what preceded it. How did we incorporate social media in a meaningful and sustainable way? Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way:

• Successful adoption of social media is about how you approach your business rather than how you apply the tools. If you believe in openness and transparency, and model the behavior, then all else will follow.
• This is about leading. Have a clear vision for the future and rally others around it.
• Don’t get caught up in the hype. That’s about following.
• Don’t let the media part fool you. This is not about advertising.
• Let go. We spend a lot of time as successful business people learning how to manage outcomes and take control of situations. Unlearn this quickly. Learn how to facilitate outcomes and focus resources.
• Focus outward rather than inward. Find your “brand champions”, engage them and reward them. They will reward you over time.
• Just do it.

A Profound Thought

Ideas are starting to roll in on social media. Thank you!

A question that is consistent among my friends and colleagues in the social media space is, "why is it so hard to convince others (non-users) of the value of social media?" While I do not have an answer for this yet, one reader likened the current adoption stage of social media to the Internet circa 1993. Here is what he had to say:

"My father's business doesn't allow people to go on Facebook during work hours. That's an example of not 'getting it.'

It also sounds a bit like 1993 or so, Mosaic and the birth of e-commerce. Employees were not allowed to browse the Internet while at work. Funny to consider that now."

Will we look back one day and consider it funny that not every company had Twitter?

Social Networking and Media Companies

So the last couple of months have been rough in terms of getting new content up on my blog, but I am recommitting to it now that we've come out of the Holiday season (and birthday season in my household). One of the things that I am currently thinking about is how media companies and producers of content can best use social networking tools to engage their audiences and strengthen their brand. This could be anyone from NBC to Disney to specific shows or movies to individuals (actors, musicians, on-air personalities, etc). My premise is that Twitter is the ultimate star gazing tool, allowing you to follow your favorite celebrities, shows, etc. with up to the minute detail. What are the opportunities and pitfalls media companies should engage in or avoid? Please leave your ideas in the comment section here and I'll summarize in a future post along with my own thoughts.

Some food for thought:

1. A Wired blog post that highlights how enterprising individuals and brands are harnessing the power of social media to manage their lives and business, interact with their customers/communities or even create new businesses.

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/02/twitters-hackab.html

2. A blog posting that highlights the benefits of a tool that Best Buy is using to aggregate the social media activities of its employees and openly share that with its customers and other interested community members. This is a powerful tool to create brand transparency and humanize the organization.

http://www.toprankblog.com/2009/02/social-hub-best-buy-connect/