Tom Nixon

Back on Twitter

After deciding it was pointless a few months ago, I have caved in and signed up to Twitter again. Just hate the feeling of being left out.

http://twitter.com/tomnixon

Can't believe it's still so broken. Getting those famous Twitter error messages all over the shop.

Beyond Facebook, the fascist dystopia

At a workshop that we gave to a client recently, partner in crime Ivan Pope positioned social networks as follows (this isn't word for word, but I think it's true to Ivan's thinking and I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong!):

MySpace is like an old-fashioned vision of the future: Heavy machinery; mechanical; steam-powered; clunky; and basically a bit broken.

And he described Facebook as the "fascist dystopia" of social networking, although looking at that Wikipedia definition, I think anti-utopia might be more appropriate, since Facebook tries hard to convey that its interests are with its population (users.)

So the question everyone's asking is: When will we get a truly democratic, open social network?

Part of the answer lies in social networks opening up more. TechCrunch has reports that Google is planning on using its social network Orkut as a basis for a Facebook-beating social networking platform that's much more open and able to integrate with other networks. A platform where you would be able to create applications that leverage the Orkut social network without having to build the application INSIDE of Orkut itself, like you do with Facebook.

This is potentially big news, but it only goes part of the way towards utopia because despite being more open the problem is that its still controlled by one company.

The thing is, I doubt very much that users will care. They certainly don't care about Facebook being a 'fascist dystopia' because its so much more open and flexible than anything they've had before. And I reckon they'll care even less about the lack of TRUE democracy on an even more open platform run by Google, a brand they probably already trust.

So does it really matter? I think it does. I think that social networking infrastructure and protocols need to be as open and free as the glue that already binds the Internet together: DNS; TCP/IP; HTTP; Email etc. To accept that control of what will be a key part of how we use the Net in the future resides with any one company just FEELS plain wrong.

What do you think?

Loving the long tail of gadgets

Bug Labs are my favourite new company right now. The idea is quite simply genius. They're building a hardware and software platform that will allow people to build their own gadgets from individual components like a base computer; sat nav; digital camera; weather station etc etc. These hardware components physically stack together and then there's a software platform so you can program your gadget to do anything you like.

It means that for the first time ever, there will be an opportunity for all sorts of niche gadgets which will never have a mass market (and therefore never even be even brought to market by a major electronics vendor) to become a reality. Each combination may only be used by a handful of people, but when you add up all of those handfuls, there is a potentially enormous market.

The entire thing - hardware and software - is open source meaning anyone can build upon and extend the system. This gives the platform the opportunity to become a widespread standard damn fast because there's no fear of one company having the platform locked down.

The system is currently being beta-tested and should be launching later this year.

Bits and pieces from my social media session tonight

Cheers to everyone that came along, it was really good fun.

Here are some links to the things I talked about:

• My slides (mostly images so might not be much use to you but thought I'd share them all the same)
• The three questions to ask people at a networking event
• Dave Meerman Scott's New Rules of PR e-book
• English Cut blog
• Good article about business blogging, including the Kryptonite Bike Lock fiasco
• Blogger - probably the easiest way to set up a blog
• WordPress - recommended for professional blogging
• TypePad - as used on this blog
• Ning - Build your own social network or pop in and say hell on the Nixon McInnes Social Network (thanks for the reminder, Rosie!)
• Comprehensive run-down of 34 DIY social networking systems
• A couple of photos taken by Alistair on the night
• I think that's it. Send me a comment if I forgot anything and I'll add it in.

Talking social media tomorrow night

I'm going to be speaking about social media at the Brighton Vine meet-up tomorrow night (Thurs 13th Sept). Come along if you're in Brighton and interested in this stuff - it's free.

You know you're a proper business when...

...you get a big bad-boy floor-standing colour laser printer (I think that's the technical term for it anyway).

Demonstrate, don't assert

I seem to be linking to David Maister a lot (hope he sends me a copy of his new book when it's ready, hint hint!)

This is a really good video about how to sell professional services. I love the mantra 'demonstrate, don't assert' - meaning that the best way to win new clients is to SHOW them that you are knowledgeable and helpful by putting in the time and effort up front to quickly give some value to the client when you first start talking to them. Much better than telling the client how great you are / how impressive your client list is / how many awards you have won, which are things that you might be proud of, but don't help the client with his problem.

This is also very relevant on the web. Today, it's not enough to have a website that tells clients about your lovely products and services and the amazing results you will generate for them.  You need to give away knowledge and actually demonstrate that you do indeed know what you are talking about, and that you're living and breathing your area of specialism. Think blogs, e-books, articles, forums...

Cool gadget giveaway at d.construct

If you're going to d.construct this Friday, make sure you stop by the Nixon McInnes stand in the Founder's Room. If you grab a free T-Shirt from one of us (and wear it) you'll be in with a chance to get picked out of the crowd to win a Nintendo Wii. There are only 100 T-Shirts to give away, so if you get one then you'll be in with a good chance of winning - but only if you're wearing it!

Yes, it is a bit of a shameless marketing stunt, but we're doing it so we can meet as many talented folks as possible who we might be able to collaborate with on interesting social media projects: Designers, developers, social media bods, we wanna talk to you! In particular, we're looking for a Social Media-Savvy Web Producer right now.

Or you can just drop us a line at goodness@nixonmcinnes.co.uk

See you there!