If you’ve been to TEDxBrussels before, you will know how electrifying the atmosphere is, filled with energy, inspiration and creativity.  The only problem, you don’t have an outlet for all these ideas that fill your imagination as the speakers impart their knowledge.

To address this issue, the social media team came up with a pilot idea for TEDxBrussels with the cooperation of Accenture, and supported by Swift, ZN and Evernote.  As you know, Accenture is great at “innovation by combination”, building and merging ideas together to create and implement new concepts.  Now, integrate this concept through social media, and you have TEDxBrussels’ REMIXit!

Read more

This month, Hyperthinking is hitting the bookshelves of all good bookstores near you (virtually at least). The book, which puts into words the concept at the heart of the ZN philosophy, is finally here!

For the past few years, I have used my two decades of experience in the business of communication, change and new technology to articulate this concept.

Change is now a permanent fixture on the world we live. News, events and ideas are constantly challenging us to change in a very short period of time while technology rewrites the rules of business and communication. For many executives, this is a real problem.

How do we deal with these conflicting changes and use available technologies to change what we do? What we need is a new way of thinking. A mindset that can enable us to not only survive but to thrive with this permanent change. This is what Hyperthinking aims to do. The book has already received some high level endorsements from experts in a range of industries; here is what they had to say:

‘…HyperThinking is a distillation of his experience at ZN, and provokes us all to benefit from the family of internet technologies, in the way we handle life and work in a rapidly changing world. Profound as well as playful, HyperThinking invites us all to immerse ourselves in the new technologies – and adapt our analysis, thinking and behaviour for the networked world. An important book for all those involved in communicating ideas, policies and activities for their business.’

James Arnold-Baker, former CEO, Oxford University Press and founding of Chairman of Doctors.net.uk

‘…What this book taught me is that we have to live in a world where we cannot rely on traditional thinking patterns – these must be continuously challenged if we want to adapt to the ever-changing environment we live in. This is called hyperthinking, and it is giving people who want to make an impact on the world we live in a competitive edge. Some are natural-born hyperthinkers, others will have to learn it the hard way. This book will give you a headstart…’

Aurelie Valtat, Digital Communications Manager, European Council

‘Phil Weiss invented the concept of Hyperthinking. In these pages he brings his ideas alive and shares the principles with a flair for storytelling and an eclectic mix of sources, examples and case studies. He’s the Tony Buzan of the internet generation.’

Marc Wright, Chairman, simplygroup

As a reader of our blog we are offering you an author’s discount! You can purchase the book with a 35% discount if you buy it online from the Gower site (http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9781409428459) using this discount code: G12GQQ35

Find out more about the book on hyperthinking.net and the Facebook page Start hyperthinking and spreading the word!

And they are just starting. Social media giants Facebook & Twitter, together with “newcomer” Google Plus, are rolling out new and improved features to attract more usage and to dominate the web’s social sphere. If you’ve missed out on social media news this week, here are a few of the new features that came out of your social networks: Read more

If you follow the intense discussion about the future of journalism that is taking place in the media, you will have heard the fears about lack of trust, unreliable information and drop in standards that many editors worry about. There is a recent piece about a glimpse of journalism’s future by BBC’s Paul Reynolds which gives a more nuanced and positive view of the role of the internet in making journalists more responsive and engaged.

But looking back at the origins of the printed media, there are some strong parallels that can be drawn with the internet. First of all, as was discussed by @steffenmoller in our discussion on web2eu, the medium truly was the message when the printed press came along. The ability that groups and individuals had to spread ideas through the printing press was what gave them their power. They could suddenly share information with a much wider audience than before, and this threatened the “powers that be” (church or monarchy).

Secondly, the quality and standards contemporary journalists often cite as a major concern when talking about the internet’s impact on the quality of political discussion was clearly absent, as such traditions had not yet taken root.

Today with the emergence – or establishment – of the internet as the new de facto information source on pretty much anything, new standards are being defined. The web offers a range of ways for people to verify the quality of the information they read. This begins with something as simple as whether or not you trust the author to have verified the facts they are discussing. Secondly, new tools such as ‘structure feedback’ like rating and ranking, and the number of people who start sharing or retweeting a story, can give a more democratic indicators as to how interesting the information is to a large number of people.

The internet also makes it relatively easy for people to challenge a story and offer their own rebuttals and counter arguments. This in no way eliminates the need for judgment, and the important of the ability we require to analyse the quality of information we are being offered, but it means we should no longer defer to the brand of the publication or the name of the journalist alone as an indicator of quality and truth (although this remains an important factor).

We can all choose to express our point of view on stories and, if we feel strongly enough, and spend the time and energy making our case, we have the ability to be heard. We no longer require a press pass or the access to channels to do this.  A blog and a twitter feed is enough to get your message out.  This is the new reality journalists everywhere need to face.

We are all (potential) journalists now, with a voice.  What will make our story hit the virtual front page of Google or Twitter will depend on a range of factors, and the future will belong to those who understand the new dynamics and use to get their voice heard.  Just like the first journalists, but with a laptop and a connection.

So let’s be journalists, enjoy our new found power to influence the world and tell our story!

Last week, at the instigation of IABC and with some help from ZN, we organized another session of what is now becoming a regular Brussels get-together to talk about social media and the EU.  To get the discussion started, we asked for the contribution of three panellists including Joe Litobarski (Blogactiv, @eurogoblin), Ian Andersen (EU Commission @antusheng) and Steffen Moller (Fleishman-Hillard, @steffenmoller).  My job was to moderate and attempt to stimulate the discussion.  After a relatively slow start, we got off to a very interesting discussion on the role that social media could play in “Saving the EU from itself”.  To spice things up, Steffen and Joe were asked to take a position for and against the motion – I’m not sure who actually ended up defending what point of view.

Soon after this the discussion shifted the the culture and attitude of the EU commission, with frustration expressed by people in and out of the institution about the challenges involved in getting good social media output – let alone good communication – to come out of the institutions.

However, hearing Ian Andersen describe his own experience with a focused, well organised and apparently effective Facebook campaign to recruit interpreters, it seems as the EU has some good stories to tell (or as described by @kosmopolit, “Islands of excellence“).  The debate was followed by some twitter chatter and a few blog pieces, including one by Gellis.

Steffen shared some of the findings from the EP trends survey he’s been involved with, which continued to show how important not only social media but the web as whole is for politicians in getting information and starting to engage. Social networks are now used extensively by 69% of MEPs – up from 31% last year.  This and other trends confirm the importance of the web as an information and communication tool in the EU political landscape.

The key question that was raised about the EU institution’s ability to communicate effectively was whether the culture and structure of the EU are able to take advantage of these new communication tools, or whether they present the real challenge in preventing the organisation from putting its message across before even being able to engage.  There was an almost unanimous feeling that there was a serious problem within the institutions about how communication roles are approached, causing some serious flaws in the way certain campaigns are handled.  What was refreshing, however, was how open those in the room were willing to be about recognising that something needed to change.  Stating that Web2EU can help in this might be a little optimistic, but every little step in the right direction must be a good thing.

Those who want to take part in these discussions and help change things for the better should join us next time.  And even if we see the debate going around in circles a little, perhaps this repetition will help to equip those who want more open communication, more transparency and to make their case a little stronger.

The connecting nature of the web provides invaluable opportunities for business – and for growth. It has never been easier to share information, tasks and responsibilities with people across the world. But how do we make the most of this – and how do we ensure that we capitalize on emerging technology and innovation? How do we ensure that we use the cutting edge of Web development to maximise the potential for growth in business?

ZN will be hosting an event on October 27th 2010, on how the web can boost your business, focussing in particular on how to use the Internet effectively in a multinational environment:

How the Web can help you
grow your business

27 October 2010 at 16h30
ING Brussels (more info)

Please register beforehand through:
ZN site
IABC site

We have invited a panel of experts to share their experiences and tips on the best way to approach an ebusiness project in a large corporate environment. Panelists include:

• Philippe Ruttens – Lead Generation & Online Marketing Manager (Europe) at Iron Mountain
• Eric Godefroid – Director, Citobi
• Michel Stoove – Senior SEM Strategist and Marketing Manager at Iprospect Belgium
• David Dello Stritto – Dep General Manager at Subaru Europe (TBC)
• Philip Weiss – ZN founder and managing director

After an introduction by the speakers, an open discussion with the audience will follow. We will end the evening with drinks and nibbles kindly offered by ING.

The event is free, but you must register beforehand on the ZN site or on the IABC site so that we have exact numbers of attendance, and can share the information with security. Register through IABC to see who else is coming from the organisation and to get involved in the discussions before and after the event.

Feel free to forward this to friends and colleagues who might be interested in joining through the social media sharing links below, or forward the link as is.

We look forward to seeing you there. Stay tuned to the site for more updates. Alternatively, you can use on the comment box below if you have questions.

Last year, I introduce the eBook ‘Your Online Journey Starts here’ at an event in Brussels, with Toyota, Microsoft and VCE (Volvo Construction Equipment) who shared their own experience with online communication.

We have captured a summary of my presentation which gives an overview of some of the key topics of the ebook.  It is intended as a simple introduction to how the internet is changing communication for global communicators, and what they can do about it.  To find out more check the video (below) or download the ebook (below).

Apologies for the poor sound quality!

I am currently stranded in Bangkok – experiencing along with millions of other passengers the joys of our new found Icelandic volcano.  It is, and has been, a fascinating story and there will be a great deal of learning to be dealt with  about how people, organizations and groups communicate in times of crisis. Just to give a few examples, some organizations such as Eurocontrol, have been doing an impressive job at keeping everyone informed by Twitter.  As someone who is in real need of up to date information, I must admit that we can really appreciate the effort made:. My understanding is that Aurelie (member of the IABC group) is involved / behind this effort so it would be great to connect with her after this is over.

On the other hand, it seems that most airlines are doing a disastrous job at keeping their passengers informed about the situation. I am myself flying with Austrian Airlines and they have been slow and unresponsive in communicating.  So in the spirit of engaged online communication, I have formed a passenger group in the hotel where I am staying in Bangkok and they started to post information about developments on a facebook group we created for the occasion: Facebook: Austrian Passengers in Bangkok

Although we only have 22 people from the flight on the group it is the main place to get the latest news from the airline and the manager of Austrian airlines is relying on us to disseminate information to passengers in an effective way.  What makes this even more ironic is that Austrian Airlines has a facebook ‘fan page’ which is, in the spirit of the Nestlé ‘social media suicide’ turning into a forum for people with complaints against them.

What makes this worse is that the local manager told us that they are not allowed to go on Facebook as part of their company policy so neither he nor anyone else is able to respond to a group of frustrated passengers.

More on this when (?) I return.

Our team has just recently launched a website on Carbon Aware Travel Choice - a project that is co-financed by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme for Research.

CATCH brings together government officials, scientists and transport experts of cities in Europe and beyond to communicate on Transport issues. The project specifically aims to support cities to encourage climate-friendly decision-making among their citizens, and to showcase learnings from good and bad examples.

As part of the project the CATCH team is developing an online knowledge engine that will help provide further details on carbon emissions which will also be very interesting tool for legislators on Carbon Emissions aiming to increase awareness of the environmental impacts of mobility, map out potential solutions to their management and to enable travelers to make informed climate-friendly travel choices.

The site includes Web2.0 tools like Youtube channel & Twitter and provides an interactive overview on Stakeholder opinions and current developments around Carbon legislation, climate facts and involvement of local authorities on this issue.

Greenpeace's Nestle Killer campaign logo

From time to time, we come across a story that demonstrates that a worst case scenario can come to life. Nestle is currently going through just that ( http://www.mycustomer.com/topic/social-crm/nestle-debacle-demonstrates-common-social-media-misunderstandings/105610).

The story is that they launched a facebook group which is a general ‘corporate’ one – if you read the information page, it talks about Nestlé, and its Mission is ‘Good Life, Good Food’.

The group has over 93 000 members, so clearly has attracted many people.

As the communication team was getting excited about the success of this open engagement strategy something went badly wrong.

Greenpeace decided to launch a campaign against Nestle called Nestlè Killer – Give the Orang-utan a break, driven from the main UK site: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/. The greenpeace campaign has all the marks of a social media campaign (including a truly gross video – do not watch this before eating!).

But here comes the twist. The greenpeace campaign gradually started to take over the Nestlé facebook group, putting comments, pictures and activating the campaign using the very platform Nestlè had build to show it’s customers how it was delivering ‘Good Life, Good Food’. The result is that currently the site is dominated by posts by anti-Nestlé campaigners. The company is struggling to find the appropriate response – first by deleting comments, then confronting the campaigners and finally apologies and letting all the comments stand. The spirit is one of open and and learning – but it feels a lot like a catastrophic situation out of which there is no easy way out. As this is still unfolding it will be fascinating to observe how this plays out.

Nestle Facebook Fan Page: What should Nestlé do now?

The question is: what should Nestlé do now? Delete? Engage? Change country? Flee the country? They have already said that they had stopped giving business to one the companies that was responsible for the deforestation that is leading to the Orang-utan being threatened.