NevOn

Imagine if Chevron had used a blog instead

Listening this morning to a BBC World Service radio interview with Peter Robertson, vice-chairman of the Chevron oil company, I was struck in particular by his commentary about a website where the public can join Chevron in an online discussion about the future of energy.

Overall, I found it a fascinating interview, with its discussion of wide-ranging topics including the future of energy, the evolving role of the energy industry (the oil companies) and corporate social responsibility. From a PR point of view, I think Robertson did a pretty good job for his company.

Concerning the online discussion, Robertson was talking about willyoujoinus.com, a website sponsored by Chevron, that's facilitating some discussion about the future of energy and what people think about it.

From a broad look around the site, and judging from the detailed information in Chevron's Community Guidelines page, this is actually a substantial undertaking (and clearly part of a broad public affairs effort):

The willyoujoinus.com discussion forum was created as a place for individuals and groups to exchange ideas on important energy issues. It is also a place for users to read, consider, respond, and perhaps be inspired to take individual or collective action in an environment of mutual respect.

To contribute your opinions, you have to register. And your comments are moderated:

Experienced outside moderators have been assigned to ensure that postings are relevant and appropriate, and otherwise meet the site’s community guidelines as described below.

All postings will be reviewed by moderators and published on the site within 24 hours if determined to be within these guidelines.

That's fine - comment moderation is hardly unheard of and, as long as the policy is clearly stated, unlikely to confuse participants nor set any wrong expectations.

The concept of this effort by Chevron - provide a place online where people can participate in broadly open discussion on a topical issue - is very good, precisely the kind of thing where a blog could work well as that place for open, even if moderated, discussion.

But willyoujoinus.com is not a blog. Instead it's a beautifully-designed and clearly well thought through corporate website with some blog-like naming (the words 'post' and 'comment' are used, for instance).

It's gatekeeper heaven, too, with its completely un-blog-like methodology of contributing your opinions via a web form that goes off to some unknown person or group of moderators  - what Chevron describes as "experienced outside moderators" (without giving a sense of who these people are: could be the PR agency for all I know) and, elsewhere in the site, as "contracted specialists in community moderation" (sounds scary!).

Imagine if Chevron had used a blog instead. With RSS feeds. With trackback capability. It could certainly still require registration and login in order for anyone to participate, and have comment moderation.

Most important, though, a blog could give this place personality and authenticity - two of the attributes which it currently and starkly lacks. And identify who the moderators are. Build some trust.

You're about 80 percent there with this, Chevron. Why not go the full 100? Put your pedal to the metal!

Engaging podcasts from IBM

I've been subscribed to IBM's investor relations podcast series "IBM and The Future of..." since IBM started this series last August.

Eleven podcasts so far, each one providing a worthwhile learning experience on wide-ranging topics relating to society, business and technology.

The latest one, IBM and The Future of Privacy, is a great example of how any organization can use this medium to address what might seem to be a pretty dry subject in a way that captures and holds a listener's attention. Engages the listener, in other words.

From the broad communication point of view, this series also demonstrates how podcasting can subtly reinforce a company's credibility and authority about the subject being addressed. And it doesn't matter how big or small the company is - you don't need to be a global corporation like IBM to realize the benefits from podcasting.

Not only that, it enhances one's overall perceptive view of that company and how it gives you another choice of getting hold of information and opinion in a way that gives you additional insight into the company and some of its people.

If the podcast is also one element among other open and connected communication channels - as is the case with IBM - then you have another good foundation for building sustainable relationships with your audiences (who then become participants).

Worth subscribing to.

Related NevOn posts:

• IBM's credible message: Blogging means business
• IBM starts investor-focused podcasts
• IBM publishes guidelines for employee bloggers

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SAP enters SaaS market

Yesterday, the German enterprise software vendor SAP announced it is entering the hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS) market with the expansion of its mySAP CRM offering to include a hosted option.

The first service SAP will offer as a subscription is its sales-on-demand solution, with pricing from $75/user a month, and with hosting services from IBM.

In a Business Week article yesterday discussing SAP's move, market researcher IDC estimates that, while on-demand sales made up only about 6 percent of the roughly $9 billion CRM market last year, that percentage could rise to as much as 25 percent in five years. A commentary by Line56 also yesterday says SAP's announcement illustrates a convergence of interests and models as the 1990s best-of-breed concept fades further into the distance.

DestinationCRM.com's report on the CRM market leaders in 2005 says a recent AMR Research report indicated that 47 percent of large enterprises, or companies with more than $1 billion in revenue, were going to look at the hosted model as part of their "going forward CRM strategy." If there is a single one-to-watch on-demand provider, destinationCRM says, it's Salesforce.com.

One to watch right now clearly is SAP. The obvious new-customer target for SAP would be Saleforce.com (whose CRM SaaS pricing starts at $65/user a month). That's not quite how Business Week sees it, though:

[...] While SAP's battle with Salesforce.com is lively, its most ferocious competition is with Oracle, the No. 2 corporate applications company. With the completion of its $5.58 billion takeover of Siebel Systems on Feb. 1, Oracle overtook SAP to become the leading traditional CRM software supplier.

Oracle already has both traditional and on-demand CRM products, as does Siebel. Now, with the combination, it expects to make headway against SAP in both spheres. That's partly because the uncertainty about Siebel's future has been resolved and customers are feeling more comfortable about buying its software again. Juergen Rottler, executive vice-president of Oracle On Demand, says Oracle will be much more aggressive about pushing on-demand services than SAP. "We believe that on-demand is the future of our business," he says.

Ones to watch.

[Technorati: oracle, saas, sap]

FIR Interview - Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek - January 17, 2006

Following today's joint announcement by Intelliseek and Buzzmetrics on the merger of those two firms into a new company backed by media group VNU, Shel and Neville spoke to Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek's Chief Marketing and Customer Satisfaction Officer.

Conversation points: The joining together of Intelliseek and Buzzmetrics; VNU and being acquired; developments in tracking and analysis of consumer-generated media; continuing support and development for BlogPulse and other Intelliseek offerings; the growing impact of video on consumer-generated media; the future of podcasting; Pete's observations about Naked Conversations.

Download the 26-minute conversation here (MP3, 11MB), or sign up for the Interviews RSS feed to get it and our future interviews automatically. For automatic synchronization with your iPod or other digital player, you’ll also need a podcatcher such as the free Juice, DopplerRadio, iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts, or an RSS aggregator that supports podcasts such as FeedDemon. To receive all For Immediate Release podcasts including the twice-weekly Hobson & Holtz Report, sign up for the full RSS feed.

Podsafe intro music - On A Podcast Intrumental Mix (MP3,5Mb) by Cruisebox.

• Related - FIR interview with Pete Blackshaw on August 16, 2005.

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel's and my podcast blog.)

Intelliseek acquired, forms part of new VNU-backed company as VNU looks to be acquired

Two of the leading companies in tracking and analysing what consumers are talking about online have joined forces to create, in the words of the formal press release, the new global standard for measuring and understanding word-of-mouth behavior and influence.

Market intelligence firm Intelliseek has been acquired by word-of-mouth research and planning company Buzzmetrics. The new combination will be known as Buzzmetrics Inc and operate under the Neilsen Buzzmetrics brand, backed by Dutch media group VNU who will own a majority stake in the new company.

Of additional interest to this deal is news today that VNU itself is in the final stages of being acquired by a consortium including some of the world's biggest private equity groups who made a non-binding offer for VNU yesterday, valuing the company at up to €7.3 billion ($8.8 billion).

The Financial Times reports that the bid comes from a group comprising Blackstone, Carlyle, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Permira, Hellman & Friedman, Alpinvest and Thomas H. Lee.

The FT said that a sale of VNU may prompt trade buyers to express interest in parts of the business. VNU comprises AC Nielsen, the market researcher, Nielsen Media Research, which monitors television ratings, and a smaller trade show and magazine division publishing titles including Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.

VNU said it expects to provide more information within three to four weeks, the FT reported.

Related NevOn post:

• FIR Interview - Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek, August 16, 2005

[Update] Shel and I managed to grab an interview with Pete Blackshaw this evening (my time) to talk about today's announcement.

How Google could be the world's most valuable company

Google's share price could rise to $2,000, says the Daily Telegraph.

The Telegraph quotes Caris & Co, a US stockbroker, saying that Google shares had the potential to climb faster with the launch of digital services. Those shares closed at $465 on Friday after the company announced its online video library.

More from the Telegraph:

[...] Google floated two years ago at $80 a share. If its stock does rise as Caris forecasts, it will be worth $400bn (£225bn) and overtake General Electric to become the most valuable company in the world. Mark Stahlman, an analyst at Caris & Co, said: "We believe Google's addressable market has a chance to become much larger, more quickly than initially anticipated. . . [it will be] perhaps a $100bn annual sales company over time."

Goldman Sachs last week raised its share price target for Google to $500. Google pays no dividend and at current levels its stock is rated at 100 times earnings.

Google has its fingers in many pies (and check out what's in the lab).

Does anyone think Googlezon is pure imagination?

Transforming corporate identities beyond the razzle dazzle

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas certainly was the place this week for many companies to announce a dazzling array of new tech products, alliances and ventures.

The best place I found to keep up with what was going on was the excellent Engadget CES blog which had a non-stop stream of posts. Another good resource - CES Blog 2006 from VNU. Certainly far better efforts than the CES' rather lame blog.

Amongst all the new products and cool things being talked about, I found two corporate announcements of particular interest, one from Eastman Kodak Company and the other from Intel Corporation.

A press release (reg required) on Thursday afternoon from Kodak has Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and CEO, talking about the future of digital imaging and a new alliance with Motorola. Buried down in the body text is this small paragraph:

[...] Perez also unveiled the latest evolution of Kodak’s brand logo. This new look moves the Kodak name out of the traditional yellow box; giving it a more contemporary design, a streamlined rounded look and distinctive letters. This introduction is the latest step in the company’s broad brand transformation effort, which reflects the multi-industry, digital imaging leader Kodak has become.

And here's that new logo alongside the one that's familiar worldwide.

For such a major transformation goal, I found it surprising that Kodak revealed their new brand image in such an understated way. Little specific information in their online press center to give you real insight into their strategic thinking and what this means for organizational change other than the corporate-speak in the press release (so you could think it's no more than a bit of razzle dazzle) and a page about the evolution of the logo over the years.

Perhaps this is indicative of Kodak's corporate style and the way they do things. I found much more information in a feature yesterday in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (where the image above comes from) which gives you quite a bit more insight:

[...] The new mark, based on a customized typeface, is designed to give the company a contemporary look but be flexible enough to apply in new ways and new venues across Kodak's varied businesses - everything from tiny handheld digital cameras to computer software to the letters on Kodak buildings around the world.

The logo is one part of Kodak's larger effort to redefine its brand-name identity, through advertising, public relations, supplier and partner relationships and other in areas. "We want to break out of the box, in a lot of ways," says Betty Noonan, director of brand management and marketing services at Kodak.

While this gives you some more knowledge, it doesn't give you any sense of how Kodak plan to break out of the box or in what ways.

Contrast this approach with that of Intel, who pulled out all the communication stops to get their new message out to the world.

A fortuitous move in a boom-and-bust tech business

Wall Street Journal: Seagate Technology has agreed to pay $1.9 billion in stock to buy rival Maxtor Corp. The transaction unites two of the biggest makers of computer disk drives, a boom-and-bust business in which Seagate has long played the role of consolidator.

I've bought and installed quite a few hard drives in my time. In nearly every case, I've always bought Maxtor drives as I've always felt they were the best brand. Better than Seagate, better than Western Digital, better than any other.

No real evidence to prove they were the best, purely perception and then experience with the brand.

Anyway, as the Journal says, hardware is boom and bust, a commodity business today, and the marketplace is a tough one:

[...] Disk drives are in heavy demand to store data in computers and a growing array of consumer products. But competition is fierce, forcing manufacturers to keep boosting the storage capacities of their products while driving down prices.

By acquiring Maxtor, Seagate hopes to drive a larger volume of products through its network of factories, boosting the utilization of those plants and increasing profit margins. The deal is expected to boost Seagate's earnings per share on a cash basis after the first full year of combined operations, they said, though Seagate may not retain all the revenue Maxtor now generates.

A tougher market still for traditional drive manufacturing with flash-based storage gaining market traction. So Seagate's acquisition could be fortuitous, says Business Week. Or maybe not if a differently-focused market assessment from Forbes is any guide.

I think BW has it right.

Dell's hell as earnings fall short

ZDNet: Dell announced on Monday that third-quarter revenue will fall well short of expectations due to sluggish consumer sales and a faulty component in its OptiPlex desktop PC. [...] The leader in computer manufacturing blames its shortfall partially on sluggish consumer sales in the U.S. and U.K. [...] Dell fell into similar territory in [the previous] quarter's financial earnings report, when it reported it had lost market share in nearly every regional market.

Might this be the twist in the tale of Dell Hell as religiously chronicled by Jeff Jarvis?

One stop for earnings call transcripts

One of the blogs I find of great informational value is The Internet Stock Blog ("news and analysis of Internet stocks, no buy or sell recommendations," it says in its masthead).

Recently, the blog started including a most useful new service - full transcripts of some of the most popular companies' earnings conference calls.

What's especially useful is that all these transcripts are in one place, they're free and you don't need to register anywhere.

One interesting one - the Q&A from eBay's Q3 2005 earnings conference call. Useful to read, especially the Q&A re Skype which you can keep in your mind when you read this story in eWeek headlined eBay CEO: Voice Phone Calls to Be Free Within Years.