Today marks 100 years since the R.M.S. Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, taking the lives of over 1,500 souls  with her in those icy waters. And over the last year or so, the commercial side of the enterprise has been heating up at an amazing pace.

The Titanic has always had an allure about it - an amazing feat of engineering that was brought down on its maiden voyage, tales of heroism and chivalry (women and children first), class struggles and unforeseen safety needs. Indeed, it now stands as one of the greatest lessons of all time of man's hubris in the face of nature, and will forever remind us that we need to plan for the worst possible contingencies despite our confidence in our own technological advances.

Naturally, the 100th anniversary brings about its own special observance from longtime admirers as well as those who may have just discovered the story. The Wall Street Journal tallied some of those events and products ("Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Titanic Business 100 Years Later"), such as viewings of A Night to Remember, memorial celebrations in significant locations like Belfast, Southampton and Cherbourg, a Titanic fragrance from salvaged samples of essences carried by a perfume maker who traveled on the ship, recreations of the meals, and much more.

But one of the more creative acknowledgments of the anniversary has to be from The History Press, a British publishing company that started the @TitanicRealTime Twitter account to chronicle the progress of the ship as if sent from aboard the ship itself. The tweets began exactly a month before and have picked up pace on the last day of the ship's voyage on April 14-15.

Each of the tweets is hashtagged with the appropriate person or category of people aboard from which it would have come. For example, crew members, officers, engineers, the captain, first class passengers, Thomas Andrew (the ship's builder), the bandleader, passengers in the lifeboats, the Carpathia (the ship that rescued the survivors) and more all have their own hashtags. And as the events unfold, we're able to witness the observations firsthand - sometimes very eerily.

Here are some representative tweets from the account (which has over 400 in total):























A chilling and haunting reminder of what happened that fateful night. It's amazing to think of all of the engineering advances that went into what was then the largest moving object in the world. There are a number of things that went wrong on that voyage that led to the death of so many - the way the instructions to port round the iceberg, the reversal of the engines, the safety regulations that didn't keep up with the advances in the ship's size, the speed with which the ship sank, etc. But just in terms of the advance of communication, the Marconi wireless that they had on board seems so primitive compared to what we have at our fingertips with smartphones every day now. Think of how different the outcome might have been with better communication tools!

May we be thankful for what we have at our disposal today and forever remember the passengers, crew and officers of the Titanic.

I leave you with this short playlist of songs that were said to have been the last played by the band as the passengers assembled for lifeboats: "Song d'Automne" and two different versions of "Nearer, My God To Thee" from the 1958 film A Night to Remember and of course the 1997 film Titanic.




In addition to those heartfelt notes and tragic images, I also like to listen to Gavin Bryar's very odd and mesmerizing album The Sinking of the Titanic, with its haunting sounds of creaking metal, muffled voices and wistful strings. Disclosure: this and the links below are affiliate links, so you help me earn money if you purchase them.

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To learn more, check out the Titanic Historical Society or the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO . And don't forget to visit The Henry Ford for their Titanic exhibit running this year.

           

You've probably heard that Pinterest is here and in a big way. If you're not already familiar with it, take a look and see if you can understand what the fuss is all about. The site has been around for a couple of years but only recently took off.

I've been wanting to write something about Pinterest for the last 2-3 weeks, but haven't been able to because of a grueling work schedule, and rather than simply provide you an introduction to the site, I thought I would take a sampling of articles that have been written about it and see if we can explore some topics related to Pinterest instead.

Why It Works
And really, this approach is parallel to the way I think Pinterest is different. Simply stated, the site is a visual bookmarking tool. There are a number of sites and platforms that serve as social bookmarking tools: Delicious is probably the best known one; StumbleUpon, Reddit and Digg are variations on the concept of the merging of discovery, serendipity and search, with tagging as the common thread that runs through each.

But Pinterest has taken to to another level that appeals to some more basic human needs: the ability to browse content in a minimalist, visual way (see "How Pinterest Is Changing Web Design Forever"); and the notion that when we encounter strangers (either online or offline), we make a connection through a common interest and the sharing of that interest.

Enter Pinterest's solution: Boards. Users can create their own boards around anything that they're passionate about, and Pinterest gives a limited number of categories into which your boards can fit: Art, Architecture, Cars & Motorcycles, Design, DIY & Crafts, Education, Film, Music & Books, Food & Drink, Gardening, Geek, Hair & Beauty, History, Holidays, Home Decor, Humor, Kids, My Life, Women's Apparel, Men's Apparel, Outdoors, People, Pets, Photography, Print & Posters, Products, Science & Nature, Sports, Technology, Travel & Places, Wedding & Events, and Other.

But what's more sticky here than with many of the other sites out there is that in addition to being simple to use and visual in nature, users have the ability to follow individual boards rather than the entire stream of users. This is not to be underestimated, as user experience across the web is changing to accommodate custom content delivery - busy people what only what's relevant to them. And at the same time, they want serendipitous discovery so they can still find new and different things that inspire them. Jay Baer looks at some of these reasons on Convince and Convert. I've seen it at work personally, as one of my pins has been "repinned" some 11,500 times.

And it must be working more widely, for one analyst recently observed that he has seen "some of the strongest user engagement, retention, and virality metrics" there and Bessemer Ventures is bullish on Pinterest.

He Said / She Said
"But wait," I hear you saying, "isn't Pinterest for women?" Shame on you. While it's true that women make up the majority of users (some 70-80%  as of the end of January 2012), as I wrote above, it's about universal human nature and how we connect with each other. For a healthy dose of reality and a digital dope slap on this topic, see Kristy Sammis' article on the Clever Girls Collective, "How to Stop Being a Pinterest Sexist." Even Lance Ulanoff, the editor of Mashable, admits his addiction, noting that when he went beyond the people he was following and looked deeper by categories that appealed to him, a new world opened up to him.

And yet, we're beginning to see a rise in competitors to Pinterest, some specifically with a male slant. Gentlemint is probably the most well known; another is Dartitup. You can even check out "The Bro's Guide to Pinterest," with suggestions as to how to understand and leverage Pinterest if you're looking for a male demographic on there.

Whether or not these other sites are able to match the momentum of Pinterest, the reason we're seeing the competitors is again because the need to share and to bond around common interests is something that humans - both men and women - have baked into our DNA. Did you ever participate in "Show and Tell" in a classroom when you were a child? It's the same thing, only it's happening online. As Clay Shirky recently said during a TED Talk: "We are in a world where most American citizens over the age of 12 share things with each other online."

Now, that's not to say that there aren't differences between how men and women shop online - particularly with smartphones. A recent Comscore study has shown that women are more likely to take a photo of an image and share it, while men are more likely to use their smartphones to find information, either by scanning a barcode or researching product features.

From Show and Tell to Show and Sell
There are a couple of underlying questions in all of this excitement. The first is about Pinterest's business model - how will they make money? They've backed off on the affiliate linking practice that became controversial (or not, depending on who you ask) earlier in month, and according to Bessemer, there are a number of ways for them to make money.

The other question that's being answered daily by brands jumping into the fray is, "how can I use Pinterest for my business?" Of course it depends on the type of business you have and what you wish to give as an experience. Thomas Hawk has an excellent perspective on Pinterest for photographers and artists, focusing on the need to share rather than hoard content.

There are some good resources out there with a number of great examples for businesses. Some of them include:

• How to Use Pinterest for Business (Spiral16)
• 30 Resources, Tips and Tricks for Marketing Your Business on Pinterest (Jeff Bullas)
• 10 Tips on Using Pinterest for Your Business (The Next Web)
• How Brands Are Using Pinterest - And What They Can Do Better (Read Write Web)

To me, the brands that will be successful here are the ones that go beyond just using Pinterest as a storefront and use it to unite people around passion points. And of course, you'll want to use Pinterest to drive sales - particularly if you're in the e-commerce business. But think creatively about how you construct boards: rather than just listing products, center around a theme. Neiman Marcus and Whole Foods do this particularly well:


Pinterest is bound to become a powerful engine for e-commerce, more so than the promise of "F-commerce" from Facebook, I think. The challenge with the Facebook model (for the most part) is that it required users to have the storefront experience in a custom tab on each company's Facebook page - not necessarily something that translates when you're using a mobile version of Facebook on your smartphone (remember the above statistic about shopping and smartphone use?). And just this week according to Bloomberg, there's been a noted shuttering of storefronts on Facebook, largely due to lack of use.

With Pinterest, because the mobile versions are just as simple as the web version - and because they're based on image sharing (again, see above), it's more likely that we'll see more retail driven activity.


So that's my current view on some of the things happening with Pinterest. What do you think? Are you there yet? Do you see the value or would you care to debate it? Drop a comment in below. And if you'd like to connect on Pinterest, you can follow me here:

If you need an invitation (as it's still in beta), let me know.

Image credit: Annie Mole (Flickr)

If you're like me, you spend a good deal of time on the road. Whether it's at an airport, on a train or in a car, you're mobile and your digital life is mobile too.

The pervasiveness of tablets and smartphones (in addition to the already ubiquitous laptop) is growing daily. Just this week, Apple announced that it sold 37 million iPhones and 15.4 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone. It means that more of us are doing things on the web (or mobile web, as the case may be) while we're on the go, and there are certain things those of us in the digital world look for when we travel - at least with regard to infrastructure.

The Airlines
To my knowledge, Southwest was the first airline (or at least the most prominent early on) to get involved with social media. Their blog, Nuts About Southwest, has been a perennial leader in the corporate blogging space. They've made great use of Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and more and have always led with a very human and very customer-centric approach.

JetBlue made a name for itself in the social media space after a difficult travel situation thanks to severe winter weather in 2007. Their CEO David Neeleman was direct and honest in his approach, the video of him was sincere and emotional, and JetBlue made it clear that it put customers first. And to think that my colleague Morgan Johnston at JetBlue had started his job on that very day...

Delta got a late start in social media (and was the subject of its fair share of complaints, including a dramatic rant ), but now has @Delta and @DeltaAssist looking after its customers on Twitter. Not to mention some personal interaction from a certain member of the crew from their famous safety video.




The other airline that's going above and beyond in social media is Virgin America. Based out of Silicon Valley, they're in the thick of the action from a technology standpoint. And their use of Groupon, Loopt, Foursquare and more prove it. But their always-on monitoring is essential when it comes to catching consumer complaints, especially after their switch to a new reservation system last year.

Overall, customers want interaction - they want to be heard, certainly, but they also want action - when they take to Twitter to voice a concern. According to an eMarketer article, the expectation that a company will respond increases by age cohort from 38% of 18-24 year-olds all the way up to 65% of those in the 55+ age category. And it clearly matters in terms of satisfaction:


If you'd like to see a comprehensive roster of airlines on Twitter, check out @Kayak's list of some 160 or so.

Staying Powered - and Connected
I've been in the unfortunate circumstance of leaving for a trip without power cord for a device. There are two points of good news: many times, you can charge your phone directly from your laptop using a USB port; and quite often, the hotel will have a power cord for your phone that you can borrow from their lost and found collection (I was once told by a concierge that phone cords are like currency at most hotels).

There are a few gadgets that I'd recommend as well. If you're travelling internationally, it's essential to have an all-in-one adapter that has attachments for every major country's electrical sockets. And because the hotel where you're staying or the airport may not have many readily available sockets to charge your laptop, phone, tablet, etc., it's handy to have a cord with 4 outlets, an all-in-one charging station, or even a PowerSquid that will allow up to 5 others to connect. You'll be the most popular person at the airport! (Note on all of the links in this paragraph: http://cmp.ly/5).

Then again, a number of airports have recognized that passengers travel with gadgets and need places to charge.

Thanks, Delta!

If you happen to have a non-3G iPad or a laptop without an air card, you depend on local wi-fi networks for connectivity. I've been in my share of airports that have had plenty of network access, but I didn't want to spring for a Boingo account to get connected. For that reason, it's helpful to know which airports have free wi-fi. Here's a quick list for your reference:

Airports with free wi-fi:
Boston (BOS)
Charlotte (CLT)
Cincinnati (CVG)
Denver (DEN)
Fort Myers (RSW)
Honolulu (HNL)
Indianapolis (IND)
Kansas City (MCI)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Oakland (OAK)
Orange County (SNA)
Orlando (MCO)
Palm Beach (PBI)
Phoenix (PHX)
Pittsburgh (PIT)
Portland (PDX)
Sacramento (SMF)
San Antonio (SAT)
San Diego (SAN)
San José (SJC)
Tampa (TPA)
Washington Dulles (IAD)
Washington Reagan (DCA)


But it goes farther than wi-fi and charging stations. FareCompare has developed a list of the top 12 airports for social media power users, with a list of the top airports that are also known to take good care of their customers. I've reproduced the table here.

City	Airport Code	Twitter Hits	Outlets per Gate	Other Amenities
Atlanta	ATL	14.7 million	8.1	Charging stations, work desks
Baltimore	BWI	7.92 million	7.3	Charging stations
Dallas	DFW	2.7 million	7.2	Charging stations, work desks
Detroit	DTW	3.4 million	6.7	Charging stations, Boingo data ports
Fort Lauderdale*	FLL	120,000	2.65	Fast, free Wi-Fi
Los Angeles	LAX	153 million	5.3	Charging stations, internet kiosks
Minneapolis	MSP	2.11 million	Varies by terminal	Charging stations, iPad kiosks coming 2012-13
New York City	JFK	8.45 million	Varies; Terminals 2, 3, and 5 have the most	Charging stations, work desks, iPad kiosks
New York LaGuardia	LGA	1.05 million	7.2	Charging stations, iPad kiosks
Salt Lake City*	SLC	8.97 million	5.4	Charging stations, work desks
San Francisco*	SFO	110 million	13.6	Charging Stations, lounge areas, work desks
Seattle	SEA	6.68 million	2.7	Charging Stations, fast Wi-Fi

* Airport has free Wi-Fi

The Airports
I've had experience with some airports that are downright personal. For example, I traveled to Kansas City last year and was pleasantly surprised at the greeting and send-off that I got from the Kansas City International Airport (@KCIAirport) on Twitter:
Followed by a warm greeting waiting for me at home (@DTWeetin):
When you're travel-worn and checking in on Foursquare or commenting on a queue, sometimes it's heartening to realize that there are teams of people looking out for you. For example, Logan International Airport (BOS) in Boston has a team of five people handling their social media; @LAX_Official gives travelers in Los Angeles tips, newsletter and other helpful information. For a roster of over 130 airports on Twitter, see @Kayak's list.


What's your experience with regard to social media and travel? Do you have any other examples of airlines, airports or other entities who get it right, campaigns that resonated with you, or personal touches that made the difference in an otherwise difficult circumstance? Please leave a comment with your input.

Image credit: ~Oryctes~ (Flickr)

Ford Motor Company has been at the forefront of social media for some time. The Fiesta Movement, the Explorer reveal on Facebook, Doug the Spokespuppet, Ford Social (formerly known as The Ford Story) and being the first brand on Google+ all stand as examples of Ford's success that spans from clever campaigns to a daily commitment to engage.

Ford played a significant part in how the automotive industry thinks about social media (and in some cases how large companies think about social media) and now, as we near the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), at Ford we have an opportunity to again reinvent how we give our fans a chance to engage in shared experiences around our brand.

The all-new Ford Fusion will be making its debut at NAIAS in January, but starting today, consumers have an opportunity to go behind the scenes at Ford to hear about how we've remade this mid-size car and see the car revealed gradually over the course of the next few weeks - including a chance to drive the car in slot-like environment. If you go to FordFusionApp.com, you can download an iOS or Android version of the app to experience it for yourself.

Each weekday between now and January 9, you’ll be able to launch the experience by finding and capturing a Ford logo using the mobile device’s camera. It works on any Ford logo - the one on your car, online, in print - this is one of the coolest features. The Ford logo will then appear on the screen as a button that starts the program. Operating like a video game, the app then allows consumers to drive a digitally camouflaged new Fusion on a track toward video clips that feature insights on technology and design from key Fusion team members.



You'll have a chance to unlock more vehicles and more worlds as the days progress, but it's only through completing the driving experience that you'll be rewarded with more content. Original music, the ability to change the view around the car and sharing functionality via Facebook and Twitter are all part of the experience. Over the course of the 19 weekdays from now until the reveal of the vehicle, more of the digital camouflage will be removed and additional videos will cover the design, technology, engineering, safety features and more of the 2013 Ford Fusion.

The video below will help you get a sense as to how it works. Be sure to pop over to FordFusionApp.com to get a copy for your iPad2, iPhone or Android device. And let us know what you think!


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This infographic was created by Voltier Digital, a content marketing agency based in Florida, specializing on the creation and promotion of impactful content marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes.

We all know the usual names of companies that are doing well in social media. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the lesser-knowns and why they've had success, either on an ongoing basis or with some one-off efforts that stood out.

And since infographics are all the rage, what better way to look at them? Of course, for SEO purposes, I've listed them here as well.

• Dell is presented as a master in the art and science of listening. 
• Morton's made headlines with its surprise-and-delight effort with influencer Peter Shankman recently, but goes beyond that with helpful information regularly.
• Unisys uses social media internally for effective collaboration and a boost to company productivity.
• KLM is using Twitter and Facebook for real-time customer service and encouraging customers to submit ideas.
• ABC is having fun with the way viewers can engage with their new show Pan Am by providing some goodies on Facebook.

Are there other companies that are doing some interesting things with social media that are worth talking about? Drop a comment in below.

Please feel free to share this post or embed the image on your own site. The code is provided below.

Copy and paste the code below to embed this graphic

<a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2011/11/infographic-5-companies-that-are.html"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/CvFTk.png"></a><br><small>Created by <a href="http://www.voltierdigital.com">Voltier Digital</a> for <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com">ScottMonty.com</a></small>

I was recently introduced to a compact guidebook for businesses trying to get a sense of Twitter. The microblogging site that allows you to update in no more than 140 characters at at time is deceptively complex and nuanced - especially for a newcomer.

This short guide, entitled Twitter Business Guide: Communication and Marketing was written by Jean-Christophe Barré and Dr. Andreas Schroeter and in just 32 pages covers some of the things that may be keeping you and your business away from this platform. [Update February 22, 2012: new version has been embedded below and is available here.]

 For someone who is new to Twitter, this e-book will prove a helpful compass as you begin to explore Twitter. Everything from setting up an account to understanding the vernacular, the difference between communications and marketing with Twitter, and some of the tools you'll need to use to make it effective.

Please feel free to download and share this e-book, and by all means, if you have additional suggestions, please leave a comment. Twitter Business Guide

As with any tool or platform, this should be seen as just that. Twitter itself is not a strategy. You should be thinking in terms of how it integrates with the rest of your communications and marketing strategies and how it will help you attain your business goals.

Image credit: clevercupcakes (Flickr)
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Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56. His life's work at Apple literally changed the face of the earth. Undoubtedly, he'll go down in history alongside the likes of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

Let's remember Steve in his own words, "How to live before you die," in his Stanford Commencement speech of 2005:



R.I.P. Steve Jobs. We thank you for the innovation you brought to this world. May we all live such a life.

Often times, we use humor to find common ground. An observational comic can take the everyday mundane things and makes make them seem funny with a unique spin. Or slapstick teams use physical gaffes to go for the primeval notion that when someone else gets hurt, we laugh. Comedy on the heels of tragedy helps forge a bond for those who have suffered together, in an effort to pull them through.

But in attempting to use humor, it's important to realize that it's all based on perspective. When a brand or a cause attempts to use humor - especially in the age of social media, where information, rumors and outrage fly fast and furious - it has to be used carefully.

Now that's funny
There are plenty of positive examples out there. One of the most prominent examples in the past year or so has been the Old Spice Man efforts. By using video and going almost for the absurd, "the man your man could smell like" leaves us wondering "I wonder what they'll do next?"

Super Bowl ads tend to be laced with humor, and this year was no exception. But the one that stood out for most, especially with its early airing on YouTube was the Volkswagen commercial The Force. The familiar "Imperial March" from The Empire Strikes Back, combined with the ridiculously large Darth Vader helmet on the boy's tiny frame, along with the universal frustration we've all felt at trying to bring to life our make-believe dreams all come together to create one of the most memorable and funny ads in recent memory.



Ford (my employer) has attempted something this year that has been successful in its own right as well: the Focus Doug campaign, featuring a wise-cracking orange spokespuppet that is anything but politically correct. Directed by Paul Fieg from The Office, Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development (disclosure: http://cmp.ly/5) and starring John Ross Bowie and Paul F. Thompkins, the videos were aimed at a particular audience that appreciates the improv style and straight-man vs. envelope pusher. The series was designed to showcase product features using humor and situations, rather than simply highlighting product features. As an example, here's how Ford demonstrated the text-to-voice functionality in the 2012 Ford Focus:



Even the recent Roast of Charlie Sheen, hosted on Comedy Central, was successful in its use of humor. You might ask "Why? All people did was cut each other down with their remarks." Well, the point of a roast is that you're supposed to say funny and insulting things about the people there, but everyone is in on it; they understand that being roasted is partly about being able to be the butt of a joke for the sake of entertainment.

Roast of Charlie Sheen

This? Not so much.
When a brand or a cause tries to use humor at the expense of others - especially when the others aren't part of the creative process - it can be harmful. Here are a few cases in point:

Ragu
Earlier this week, Unilever brand Ragu reached out to a number of dads and moms online to get their opinions on cooking. C.C. Chapman saw the video and wondered if Ragu Hates Dads, following it up with some free advice and finally recounting his interaction with the brand manager. There was lots of discussion about Ragu's approach, with some not seeing any harm in it. The thing is, C.C. is a dad who cooks for his kids and he didn't take the stereotyping lightly. Opinions fell on both sides, but it was clear that brands need to consider how they're using humor if they're concerned about their reputation.



The Onion
When is it okay to joke about matters of national security? Never, apparently. Even if you're a news satire site like The Onion. This week, the parody outfit tweeted that there was an emergency in Washington, DC:
Needless to say, this wasn't taken lightly. From news organizations to the Capitol police themselves, people were upset - probably not only at their level of gullibility but of the insensitivity of The Onion to stoop to using humor around a scary topic in this post-9/11 world.

The Next Web
Today, as I was on my treadmill, I shared a link with Mark Horvath, an advocate for bringing attention to the problem of homelessness. The link was to a story on The Next Web about a homeless man who is using Square to accept credit card payments. At first, it sounded like someone in Mark's circles, who like Mark, was innovating in this age of advanced technology. Then I actually took a closer look at the article and watched the video, and it was clearly a fake.

Whether the fake video was designed to bring more awareness to homelessness or simply exploited the homeless issue to be funny, it clearly did more harm than good, as noted in a tweet by a follower:


If you're responsible for a brand or a campaign, the next time you think about humor and its spread online, it may be helpful to think about the subject of the joke. Humor should not be done at the expense of others or in a way that can be misinterpreted. It may turn out to be something that isn't so funny for your brand after all.

Do you have any similar examples? Please consider sharing them.

Image credit: jwalsh (Flickr)
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In the last week, we've seen major changes from Google+ and Facebook. You can now add Delicious to that mix. You'll recall that last December, Yahoo! decided to sell Delicious, and then in April, Delicious announced it had been acquired by AVOS.

And for the following five months, everything seemed to be moving ahead steadily, with no visible change in the interface or service of Delicious.

Until today, that is.

If you head over to Delicious.com, you'll find that rather than being greeted by a wall of links, tags and descriptions, you'll be met with a much more visual interface - completely driven by images, as a matter of fact. It's very reminiscent of Flipboard or other similar iPad apps that rely on a thumbnail and a headline to encourage further exploration.


The images are taken from a new feature on the site called Stacks. Everyone can group their tagged items together in a broader category called "Stacks." This is akin to what used to be called "bundles" on Delicious. Now, you can share a set of links in a visual way to tell a story, provide context or help walk colleagues or customers through concepts in a step-by-step way. This video from their help page helps to explain it:






Image credit: Nrbelex (Flickr)