by John Cataldi | Sep 30, 2013 | Random thoughts - sometimes daily
I have just concluded a 15-minute conversation with a highly respected and skilled, Fortune 1000 CXO that has convinced himself of the impossibilities of a directive given to him by his board. The entire conversation revolved around the unfeasibility that this task could be completed within the timeframe or budgets allocated. He asked my thoughts and I agreed with his grim outlook. I said, “In my experience, if YOU believe something is insurmountable, the likelihood of a positive outcome is negligible. However, I do believe that with the right team, partners and mindset that your directives can be accomplished on time and within budget”. He stated, “How can you say that I would fail, where you believe that you could succeed?” My rebuttal was simple, “Where you foresee an insurmountable obstacle, I see a challenge to overcome.”
A story that comes to mind is that of the “Stuck Truck”. In which an oversized truck becomes wedged midway through a busy DC tunnel during rush hour, by pure chance the location of the trucks dilemma was directly underneath gas and cable conduits that were secured just a few feet above the tunnels ceiling. DOT engineers, a towing crew and police spent hours are trying to figure out how to dislodge the truck safely without causing damage to the tunnel or endangering city workers. Several hours and two failed attempts by city crews resulted in the inevitable conclusion that it cannot be done without cutting away a section of both the bridge and the truck trailer. However, the observations of a 9 year old girl, seeing the incident, asked her daddy, what don’t they just let the air out of the tires? Thus, a little girl was able to solve a traffic nightmare and a perceived engineering impossibility by presenting a solution from a fresh, unbiased perspective.
I am not suggesting that every problem has a simple answer. What I am suggesting is not to look at a challenge with the forgone conclusion that failure would be the only possible outcome. I strongly recommend that you share your challenge with your peers, seek advice even from outside the field of where the problem resides or maybe even “crowd think a solution” though online forums. Inspiration is everywhere, if you can connect the dots between the unconventional thinking / abstract and real world challenges, new perspectives may take the place of previous impossibilities.
by John Cataldi | Sep 24, 2013 | Crowd Funding, Investing / Investors, Rainmaking / Deal Making, Uncategorized
On September 23, 2013, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act or JOBS Act, is a law intended to encourage funding of United States small businesses by easing various securities regulations went into effect. It passed with bipartisan support, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 5, 2012. The sound of “the Jobs Act” going into effect was reminiscent of a 21 gun salute, as the sounds of continued email arrivals entering my inbox began promptly at 12:01 am yesterday morning.
The new rule lifts a longstanding ban on broadly advertising a private stock placement, a restriction that had been in place since the Securities Act of 1933, also known as the Blue Sky law. Companies use private placements to issue stock without registering the offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By avoiding registration, a company also avoids having to make the disclosures necessary if it were offering the stock to the general public. However, with a few exceptions, this stock may be sold only to an institutional buyer or accredited investors — as defined by the SEC is someone with annual income of at least $200,000 or net worth exceeding $1 million who is presumed to be a sophisticated investor. The company must file for a Regulation D, SEC exemption. A Regulation D offering is intended to make access to the capital markets possible for small companies that could not otherwise bear the costs of a normal SEC registration. Reg D may also refer to an investment strategy, mostly associated with hedge funds, based upon the same regulation (Title 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 230, Sections 501 through 508).
What does this mean for startups and other entities looking to legally raise capital?
Companies:
- Still must file a Regulation D exemption;
- Must still file in the states whereas they are looking to raise the capitalization;
- May solicit or generally advertise the investment opportunity;
- Can only take investment dollars from accredited investors, whereas investor introduction came through general solicitation.
Crowdsourcing Portals:
- Has limitations on the amount of capital raised on a per investor basis which are $2,000 or 5% (whichever is greater) for people earning (or worth) up to $100,000, and $100,000 or 10% (whichever is less) for people earning (or worth) $100,000 or more.
- The Jobs Act Bill mandates reviews of financial statements for offerings between $100,000 and $500,000, and audits of financial statements for offerings greater than $500,000 (noting maximum offering of $1,000,000).
- Can’t be used to raise capital for an investment fund.
To my amazement, I have only heard of a few companies preparing to take advantage of this new ruling. Ironically, I found most investment banking firms unaware that that this ruling existed or what impact if any it may have on their bottom line as more companies take their private capital offering into their own hands. It is my belief that in the next 5 years we will see billions in private funding’s under the Jobs Act. Moreover, I can see this ruling being combined with other government backed investment initiatives that could usher in a new economic bubble is several sectors.
Please feel free to comment and share.
by John Cataldi | Sep 17, 2013 | PR Crisis, The Real Mad Men
During a corporate PR crisis, know that without having sufficient pre-planning in place the operational response will break down, customers will see this as a lethargic/half-hearted response or an ignored response and potentially escalate the situation and the brand perception of the company, especially that of management may appear weak, inept and potential civilly or criminally liable.
I have had to manage a few such instances recently to include 1) a major healthcare provider, 2) a Fortune 500 financial institution and 3) a well know fashion well know fashion house. The same techniques can really be applied to any PR or any customer service situation. Remember that there are no easy fixes in crisis management, but the following guidelines should help guide a resolution. If there is a contingency plan, follow it. If not, use the following guidelines to framework for your response.
Step 1. Demand Transparency Internally. If you are the prices manager, the burden of investigation will be on your hands. Take nothing at face value, trust yet verify all of the information received prior to formulating your response. I had client heavily vested into the political arena. I consider myself very much like a lawyer or doctor; I can only help you if you tell me what hurts and where. I require all of my clients to be 100% truthful about their needs and situation. In this case, the client could not stop softening the truth as he called it. Several crises into the project, I began to see character flaws in which my client’s improprieties and lack of candor was the root cause of. Regardless of the money, I require the upmost truth from those I work with. Anything less is not acceptable. I ended up firing the client. If you as a crisis manager are not getting adequate information or responses from your team, escalate to the next level of management ASAP. Do not forget to document everything.
Step 2. Understand what is at stake, Empathize. You need to see every situation through the eyes of your opposition. This may be a customer, partner, environmental group, government regulator or even the media. One of the largest healthcare processors for Medicare/Medicaid ran into a PR nightmare when it was discovered that an excess of $50 MM went uncollected. Jobs of heath care workers, patients and the $1 BB, 10-year contract of this healthcare processor was in peril. In any potential crisis situation where emotions or tempers may be raw it is important to be removed and objective. It is hard for you to address the pain of others without understanding how deep that pain may dwell. There is no one golden bullet statement or action. Tailor your crisis interactions always from the point(s) of the audiences affected.
Step 3. Own it or Assess the Situation! If you know without a shadow of a doubt that you or your company is at fault for the current crisis, then own it! Some good examples of crisis PR that I have working on was a the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill, a 2009 pharmaceutical manufacture that forgets to put the safety seal on a pharmaceuticals or a 2013 major fast food chain gets a report that metal shards were found in a taco meal. In these examples the responsible party was not necessarily clear. So, if your not sure, restate the situation to the respective parties, with empathy. ALWAYS…Tell the truth. By nature, people will avoid pain at all costs.
The following scenario is crisis PR, where guilt is purely by your association with a particular company or individual. The best approach is to own the relationship, have disbelief on the allegations, then create an out. For Example if the press asks about a relationship concerning an individual or company engaged in a (ENTER IN ANY CRISIS HERE – insider trading, embezzlement, etc.)
- Press: Was this man a friend?
- Your response: He is not just a friend he was my very good friend!
- Press: What this man a very good friend of yours?
- Your response: We were lifelong friends
- Press: Did you know that your lifelong friend is under investigations for X?
- Your response: I would be very surprised. I know his family, our kids go to school together, and this would be very much out of character. I will wait and that these allegations have no merit.
This gives the media no place to go because you ripped the Band-Aid off quickly. It may sting ALOT, but the worst of the pain is over.
Step 4. Have a Plan. Now it’s time to really investigate what happened and how to resolve with the least impact to your brand reputation. Always put a timetable with any process and document the progress. Releasing updates in the situations resolution shows strong leadership that is progressing to a resolution. People and press hate double speak, so insuring strong communication with those that will ultimately influence your brand is big. It is when NO action is taken that issues exponentially grow and become viral. Bottom line, if you don’t prepare, you will incur more damage. Don’t forget to continually monitor your situation this can range to viewing all news networks, monitoring social media to having boots on the ground giving near real time updates as the situation unfolds.
Step 5. Create Governance. Best phrased by Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, “If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.” In senescence, crisis PR should never be used as a witch-hunt to serve up a head to the mob. This is on opportunity to my your organization better, by putting in the checks and balances to insure that this particular crisis is not likely to recur.
Step 6. Self-Assess / Create a Contingency Plan. There is nothing wrong with being paranoid and having a contingency plan for the most common challenges that can arise with your particular market. As a benchmark, look at the crisis of other brands within the your industry. Then, you will need to preform an objective PR best practices assessment on how to handle. So, when / if the issues ever arises there is an established playbook on how to resolve without it becoming a PR crisis via proper handling. This will lay the groundwork for conducting a vulnerability audit (the first step in crisis preparedness), what I often find is a failure to address the many communications issues related to crisis/disaster response.
Please feel free to comment.
by John Cataldi | Sep 4, 2013 | Success Principles
Successful entrepreneurs and poker players have so much in common. We understand that risk and reward are measured as the consequence of every action or inaction we decide upon. We enjoy the absolute thrill of winning; regardless of what hand we’re dealt. In essence we make our own luck, not by chance, but from skill. The same principles, which govern the poker room, can also be applied to the boardroom.
If you can’t afford to lose then don’t play. This is my cardinal rule. Never gamble what you cannot afford to lose. You’ll lose your advantage the minute you sit down at the table. Your stress levels will increase and your body language has now become an open book. Other players can now anticipate your actions and can push you into making poor decisions.
Know yourself, your opponent and your odds. I am both a history buff and a student of military doctrine. Sun Tzu, a 6th-century Chinese general wrote the most influential manifesto on military strategy, “The Art of War”. One of my favorite quotations, which applies well to this principle is “ if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in 100 battles… If you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled every single battle.”
Pay attention to detail – keep your eyes open and an ear to the felt. Of course look at your cards, but more importantly study those sitting at your table. Study their mannerisms, their facial expressions and the inflection of their voice. Whether you’re negotiating a business deal or deciding how much you’re about to bet. The key in making the best poker hand fold is a matter of knowing how far you can push a competitor without endangering your bottom line. This is the art of playing the player, not just your cards.
Adapt, Pivot often and overcome adversity. Never play the same game twice. Don’t become a victim of your own habits. Change your strategy, take the road less traveled and take a calculated risk. Sometimes, you will loose. On occasion, you may find yourself in a losing streak. A serial entrepreneur, just like a good poker player, will not have any issues in kicking lady luck in the teeth. Call it intestinal fortitude, tenacity or just plain stupid. Have the mindset is everything you could build it again.
Play from position. You don’t defend a castle from outside its walls. You can’t grow a successful business without exceptional talent. Nor do you play recklessly with a weak hand or an early table position.
Poker is a marathon, not a sprint, as long as you run in the right direction. If I had a nickel for every time somebody told me they tried and failed at their business venture, I would guarantee they were running blindly into the East to catch a sunset. Regardless how passionate you are in achieving your goals, a lack of patience and planning will ultimately result in your demise. Sometimes slow is the best speed to obtain in order to achieve your goals. In the world of poker and business, timing is everything. Your goal is to be prepared when your time comes to “Go All In” and live to tell the tale.
Don’t chase the cards. Play a good hand; if you want to win don’t take shortcuts. Winners don’t play the lottery or bingo. For every $1 you earned it took you $10 to earn it.
Bet Strong but Fold quickly. You were ahead, now you’re behind. This is the game of poker and the game of life. Now you’re faced with two choices, bet or fold. You can 1) play the player forcing them to fold the best hand, which by the way does not work if they’re holding the best hand, or 2) if there’s nothing to gain, and even more to lose, quickly yield and wait patiently for your next opportunity. I have built multiple businesses and leadership teams. I was slow to hire and quick to fire if it was deemed a necessary outcome for the businesses success. This same mindset could also be applied to the businesses strategy and market position. Sometimes the best-laid plans can lead to ruin. When this occurs you can either change direction or fold the business.
Tilt Kills – Never let your emotions cloud your judgment. In business as in poker, emotions have no place in the poker room or boardroom. This is especially true with anger. This is the most destructive of all emotions. Once unleashed, irrational decisions are sure to follow. This is great for your opponents, not so great for you.
Always be professional and make friends. There is never a time where one should be unkind for unprofessional. Around the poker table, as well as in business, people tend to ally with those they like and respect.
Build your reputational bank account. Your reputation in business or the poker table begins and ends with how you play the game. The more successes you’re able to achieve, the easier the game will become. A larger chip stack and a series of winning hands yield the same result as a large bank account and a series of business successes. In both situations your competitors will fear you and your backers will adore you.
Only show your cards when it’s to your advantage. Always set the stage to your advantage. If you want to show your cards to an opponent, be prepared to pivot your game. So the next time you appear weak, when you are strong, your opponent will attack to his detriment.
Chart your progress. Record your wins, losses and mistakes. Quantum improvement begins by understanding the past failures and preparing for future opportunities.
I hope you enjoyed my outlook on poker, business and life. Please comment and don’t forget to subscribe to my blog.
by John Cataldi | Aug 26, 2013 | Crowdsourcing
Learning from my successes and failures in over a decade of crowdsourcing
In today’s interconnected world asking for help is just a click away. I am always amazed at the vast intellect, knowledge and expertise available 24/7 on any given day. In my previous analog business practices, I would rely on such resources as an in-house staff, advisory board, on site consultants, industry analysts or my own rolodex to get the answers I sought for many complex projects I found myself involved. This was until I discovered the power of crowdsourcing.
What is crowdsourcing you may ask? You could very easily be defined as distributed problem solving. It is distributing tasks across a large group of people which allows you to mine the group’s intellect as a collective. The benefits of becoming a proficient outsourcer, unlocks global opportunities with limitless potential. However, like any resource, if deployed unwisely, it can cost your time, wasted efforts and potentially your intellectual property that I can attest to from personal experience. Thus, I wish to give a little sage advice so you could avoid the same pitfalls that I have fallen prey to and enjoy the success of a crowd sourced work environment.
Over the past decade, I have crowd sourced technology, think tank, financing and creative projects around the globe. I estimate my savings to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Moreover, crowd sourcing within a lean / agile development methodology and rapid execution model has led to many success stories for both clients and myself.
Though I believe I could write a book on crowdsourcing; below are the top 10 lessons that I’ve learned from my successes and failures in crowdsourcing.
- Start with a plan, not just an idea. – If you have a plan that means you’ve investigated your vision to see what possibilities are true and which ones are idealistic. Crowdsourcing can only amplify the seeds that you plant. If you have not done sufficient research for planning, how can you tell the good ideas for producers from the bad? This step should take most of your time outside of managing the overall project.
- Be selective on whom you crowd sourced too. Select those that you feel can add value and has a solid portfolio, which is representative of your endeavor. The quality of ideas or talent is much more important than the quantity. Be sure to read all of their reviews, research their portfolio, read their LinkedIn profile and even request references depending upon the project.
- If you’re looking for creative inspiration, start with a brief without too many defined parameters. If you’re looking for ideas, then don’t stifle them in bureaucracy. Produce the frame and canvas by which the art will paint, and allow your artist to paint.
- Set a realistic crowdsourcing budget. Quality work isn’t necessarily cheap. So make the discernment early between quantity of work and quality of the end product.
- Don’t be the source of scope creep. If you ask people to invest their time and efforts be sure that you start with a strong vision. Changing your mind or scope constantly will create doubt and lack of desire for those initially willing to work with you.
- Recruitment is never as easy as you think. Attracting your stakeholders, employees, customers, partners, and funders will take a lot of time and planning. Be sure that you identify your target audiences. Remember, humans procrastinate, so it helps to create a sense of urgency to participate sooner rather than later.
- When crowdsourcing, especially creative or technical projects, plan incentives based upon short-term deliverables. Never incentivized based upon a waterfall delivery schedule. You will always be disappointed. A lean development and incentive program is always best. This allows you to determine early on if the project is going out of scope. Plus, don’t be cheap with your incentives. Make your participants feel special.
- Protect your intellectual property. For anything considered intellectual property, I highly recommend you patent the idea prior to crowdsourcing. If you crowd sourced to another country, ensure that your international, intellectual property rights are also protected. Lastly have anyone participating within the crowdsourcing exercise to sign the proper legal documentation to protect your interests. For example: nondisclosure agreements and vendor agreements with intellectual property provisions.
- Always manage your network. Remember, you are the moderator. Crowdsourcing should not hinder your productivity it should enhance it. Ensuring solid communication, quality assurance and other planned considerations to your crowd sourced networks will give your project a great chance of overall success.
- Always live up to your end of the agreement. Though you may have several disappointments in crowdsourcing a project, be sure that your end of the agreement is always upheld. Your online credibility is everything in the crowd-sourced world, especially if you’re using an established network that may rate your trustworthiness, communication or overall work effort as a crowd sourced client. Bad ratings make lead to a smaller, less qualified and potentially a more expensive resource pool to crowd source. Moreover, at the end of your crowd sourced project, be sure to thank your for participants. A good reputation starts with an overall good perception of your work ethic. In the end this will perpetuate community trust and goodwill that will make your future crowdsourcing activities a much easier process.
by John Cataldi | Aug 26, 2013 | An Entrepreneurial Mind
Forward by John Cataldi. Overcoming failure, the most important characteristic of an entrepreneurial mind, which Sarah Blakely does extraordinarily well. I am not the author of the following post I have been following Mohammed’s work for sometime. Though Mohammed has never met Sarah, I have on several occasions. I’ve been amazed by her quick wit and an endless energy. She appreciates failure as a fundamental building block of learning.
Guest Post by: Mohamed El-Erian – CEO of PIMCO, Author of “When Markets Collide”
If you haven’t already done so, I would strongly suggest that you become familiar with the story of Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. Not because she is said to be the youngest self-made female billionaire ever, and not because of an amazing business success that runs counter to conventional wisdom about business training and experience; but because she seems to epitomize the combined power of hard work, persistence, innovation and humility.
I have heard Blakely’s story several times, including Sunday on CNN’s GPS show with Fareed Zakaria. Every time, I come away with insights that I am eager to share, especially with my 10 year old daughter.
Blakely’s initial claim to fame and fortune is a product that, in her description, makes women’s figures look better.
The idea came to her as she prepared for an evening out. Frustrated by how she looked in white pants, she took scissors to traditional panty hoses and created what has evolved into a popular range of “body shapers.”
Today Spanx offers a rapidly-growing product offering that benefits from increasing adoption (including abroad). It is opening stand-alone stores (five at last count). It is even extending the concept of body shapers to men’s undergarments. In the process, Blakely believes – and others confirm – those who use Spanx can end up feeling better about themselves.
The journey from initial concept to today’s unlikely reality was a long and difficult one.
Blakely faced many obstacles. She confronted a daunting string of early rejections and skepticism that would have probably derailed many (if not most) others. She had very little money to support her entrepreneurship. She also lacked any formal business training. Yet she managed to overcome all this, and shares with us wonderful stories on how.
So, what made her persevere and prevail in the face of such overwhelming odds?
Having heard her interviewed several times, it comes down to more than steadfast conviction in a brilliant new idea, personal dedication to entrepreneurship, and a desire to make a difference.
Yes, they are all “necessary” conditions; but I doubt they would have also proved “sufficient” given all the headwinds that Blakely faced. Understanding the difference provides important insights for those committed to improving their parenting skills and our education system; and especially so in a world that is yet to overcome harmful conscious and unconscious biases – regarding gender, race, religion, sexual orientation etc. – that are detrimental to empowering, enabling and enhancing human talent.
Through her upbringing and early employment, Blakely evolved her definition of failure from the traditional construct into a more inspiring and constructive one: Rather than interpret failure as the lack of success, she deemed it to be the lack of trying.
This simple and subtle change was the result of a father who encouraged Blakely and her brother to always extend their thinking, activities and aspirations (he would regularly ask his kids at the dinner table about their failures, commending them for trying); and of a job that exposed Blakely to many rejections (that of selling fax machines door-to-door).
One last point. While I have heard Blakely story several times, I do not know her personally. Yet, having come across other very successful entrepreneurs, I cannot but admire the humbleness that comes across whenever she recounts her story – all of which makes her success even more inspiring for the rest of us.
![Micro-Boutiques Targets the Luxury Online and In-store Retail Experience]()
by John Cataldi | Jun 21, 2013 | Consumer Retail, Social Media, Technology Innovations
Consumer profitability takes a dramatic shift from physical storefront to automated retail kiosks that are redefining the retail shopping experience. – By John Cataldi
In the past, the majority of vending sales focused on the “Four Cs” — coke, candy, coffee, and cigarettes. Today, generations Y and Z also known as the millennial and social generations, respectively those born between 1977- present, can interact with the vending machine as a full-service retail fulfillment experience as opposed to the impulse buy of yesteryear. In today’s tech savvy world, vending machines are no longer just for the Four Cs — they now offer a full range of products and services. Today’s mobile consumers are purchasing media, electronics, venue tickets, as well as paying bills, and even paying for parking through a combination of vending and mobile devices.
According to the Vending Times 2012 annual report, the presence of traditional Four Cs vending machines decreased from 185,000 locations between 2007 and 2012, and sales from traditional vending machines sank more than 14% to $49.2 billion in the same period. The major exception to this rule has been highly specific retail opportunities such as DVDs, e-cigarettes, electronics, and luxury goods. Those brands and retailers who have land grabbed high traffic, well-placed automated retail kiosks have seen incredible success, including increased profit and market presence. This sector has added over 40,000 of “new era” retail vending machines from 2009 to present.
According to Best Buy spokesperson, Jeremy Baier, over the past 9 months Best Buy Inc. has installed product kiosks in airports, hotels, and college campuses. The benefits of Best Buy kiosk locations include: no employee costs, a fraction of the overhead, low investor costs, increased brand recognition due to high traffic placement, the ability to address the consumer’s desire for instant gratification, and of course, maximum profits. Best Buy kiosk locations outperformed their big box store locations by an estimated 2,900% given per unit sold.
Other benefits reported by luxury brands and retailers from CoinStar to Xbox are:
- Open boutiques quickly with minimal structural impact
- Generate retail sales 24/7
- Provide internet savvy consumers a wider varity of quality brand name merchandise
- Turn remnant space into a revenue centers
- Increased lease revenue by 20 to 40%
- Offer clear and engaging consumer transactions
- Provide loyalty programs
- Offer social and mobile media advertising
- Access inventory and logistics management remotely
In our electronically, interconnected world the value on human interaction seems less of a consumer need. The value is increasingly being placed on the overall customer experience. According to a 2013 survey by Motorola, over 50% of consumers believe they are better informed than the sales associate and therefore, are becoming increasingly comfortable with sales transactions that do not include human interface. This is extremely evident in the world of ecommerce (online and mobile) and appears to be the trend in this micro-retailing environment as well.
In a semi-downturned economy it is difficult and expensive for brands and retailers to grow awareness and maintain a strong ROI while having to maintain their limiting physical space and competing with pure onlie retailers like Amazon. The answer may just be the micro-boutique, which will help retailers gain a competitive edge, without the high cost of maintaining a physical presence.
Sources: Industry Interviews, Wikipedia, National Retail Federation, The Wall Street Journal, Zoom PR, Red Box Annual Report, Block Buster PR, Best Buy PR, and American Retailer
![Micro-Boutiques Targets the Luxury Online and In-store Retail Experience]()
by John Cataldi | Jun 21, 2011 | Social Listening, Social Media, Social Mobilization, Technology Innovations, US Government
Social Media Intelligence versus the War on Lone Wolf Terror
In a post 9-11 world, the war of terror rages on, billions of dollars are being spent to defend and destroy those that would cause harm to US citizens, her allies, and interests. In recent years, it seems the threat that may cause the greatest harm to our security is not longer Al Qaeda, but potentially those that already reside within our borders. These individuals may have succumbed to foreign propaganda or environmental pressures which inspire them to turn against their fellow citizens in an outward violent act. Unlike an attack by Al Qaeda, a lone wolf or wolves are near impossible to detect by traditional intelligence networks and local law enforcement. Moreover, the lone wolf terrorists that are already domiciled within the borders of the United States have ready access to lethal materials and high population centers. Yet, in a world highly connected via social media, mobile communications, and the internet, could social media be used to sniff out potential terrorists threats? Personally, I believe it could.
As US Citizens, we need to think on a much more localized level, while simultaneously monitoring global conditions. The challenge for law enforcement is that Lone Wolf terrorists may be inspired by global events without actually being directly connected to a specific terror organization or watched intelligence network. In a statement by former FBI Agent Jack Cloonan, “We don't know what a lone wolf; al Qaeda-inspired operative looks like. We don't know where they hang out; we don't know really what motivates them. So when you don't know that, you've got a talent pool of people that is so huge, it stresses law enforcement. We just don't know what they look like and what they want to do."
Here inlays the problem. The US government currently looks at social media intelligence in the same contextual fashion as a Google search. Most recent example is its 2010 contract with Visible Technologies via the CIA technology investment fund, whereas Visible crawls over 500,000 social content sites twice a day, and scores the poster sentiment (positive, negative, neutral) against a predefined contextual document. If the poster has a degree of influence or social following, then they may end up on a watch list by one or more government agencies. This is the same type of technology that many companies use to measure their brand reputation. Where this technology fall short is it sorts more on contextual relevance than actual meaning. Moreover, influence over others means very little if you are a lone wolf.
A better platform would be one that uses contextual search like visible in association with semantic search and scoring. Whereas, the process of semantic search seeks to improve search accuracy by understanding searcher intent and the contextual meaning of terms as they appear in the searchable data space, whether on the Web or within a closed system, which generates more relevant results. Example: Tom Cruise, being the bomb, would not be confused with a man named Tom looking to detonate an explosive device on a cruise. More importantly, this tool should be available to both local and federal law enforcement agencies. Given that if local law enforcement is reporting suspicious activities IE acts of trespassing at city water reserves, and there seems to be a repetitive actions happening in other cities within a given time period then there may be cause for a deeper federal investigation. If this was compounded by lone wolf or wolves social media chatter on “Let’s poison the water supply”, using action words and phrases showing a repetitive intent to comment such and act then the treat matrix would be elevated to mobilize against such a threat while in the planning stages.
How would one build such a system? I spent a lot of time on this issue, given that I have designed several social analytics and engagement tools in the past. Simplistically speaking it would require the following steps.
1) Access to large data pipes of RSS feeds with specialized crawlers designed to target specific sites of interest. Include video and media feeds as well.
2) Create model documents of potential terrorist scenarios
3) Turn the model document into a searchable algorithms using Semantic Latent Indexing
4) Build information capture sites that use the model documents as a guide to search engine optimize a lone wolf into accessing “How to build bad things that hurt people” downloads.
5) Run the search algorithm to find specific “suspects” of interest per potential terrorist scenario.
6) Use an automated reverse lookup or trace route (if possible) to determine origin and potentially identity of user.
7) If user is anonymous, then auto engage the user, using a social bot, or automated response program that uses in part the suspect’s subject matter in conjunction with a preformatted action text in hopes to gain more intelligence on the user to establish true intent, by posing as a like minded individual. Engagement tactic may be to send them to the capture site, capture their IP address, time on site, downloads, to help establish potential threat.
8) Compare data gained in suspect search algorithm with that gained from the capture site.
9) Find affiliated accounts, handles, or suspect’s network of friends via communication threads or social media friends and begin to semantically monitor conversations.
10) Monitor and turn potential treats over to local, federal, or national law enforcement based upon treat analysis.
11) Threats that became creditable would be tagged in the system to better target future threats. The end result would be a fairly accurate profile per threat scenario.
Outside of Al Qaeda terrorists, this type of technology would have a great practical application in local law enforcement in regards to:
1) Potential sex offenders / human traffickers
2) Pre-planned. mass violence – such as the 2007 Virginia Tech Shooting leaving 33 dead
3) Drug trafficking
4) Organized crime
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment and share. If anyone knows someone in government that would want to build such a system, I would be happy to have that discussion in depth, so please contact me.
by John Cataldi | Jun 17, 2011 | Advertising Channels, Mobile Applications (Apps), Mobile Couponing, Social Couponing, Social Media, Social Mobilization, The Real Mad Men
How should retailers react to the Socially Comparison and Savings Apps?!
High unemployment, higher fuel costs, drops in credit, tumbling home prices, job market insecurity are amongst the several economic factors has translated into less than stellar sales for most retailers as they enter into their third quarter. Now retailers have a new “friendenemy” in the realms of consumer intelligence, “Social Savings Applications”, which could help consumers save billions of dollars in aggregate. But is consumer savings a good thing for retailers? Moreover, how should retailers respond to social and mobile coupons?
Though less than 5% of consumers use social and mobile shopping applications to compare small ticket items, as opposed to 30%+ that utilize internet search to price big ticket items, retailers must be made aware that this small percentage has a very high influence within their localized social communities. As an example, Margret, a stay at home mom, communicates daily with other moms within her community. Unlike the average social sphere butterfly having 50-75 social connections that updates their social statues 1-2 times a week, Margret has 135 friends, all active, and socially posts 1-4 times daily. Moreover, her social community has approximately the same following, activity, and shopping habits. So in when Margret shares here shopping experience, she is sharing with her 135 friends times 134 friends of friends, equating to 18,000 socially conscience shoppers. So in essence, a 5% usage, could essentially equate to a 20%+ net brand effect in consumer spending on a localized level.
Outside of the socially conscience, hardcore saver, there are folks like myself that are connivance shoppers. We are in the right place, at the right time, and if I can find a good deal somewhere, I will most likely be back again. A quick and dirty example of such a retail outing, I went to Kmart yesterday, not because I am an avid Kmart shopper, but moreover, I ran out of my favorite workout nutraceutical, Whey Protein, and happened to be passing a Kmart. First of all, as a guy I am genetically wired to ignore most coupons and if I want something, I have an innate need to satisfy my cravings. So I journeyed to Kmart to quench my craving. I found my item, though it seemed a little pricey at $27.99.
I’m not one to round pennies, but I don’t want to fell I am getting a bad deal either. So, I pulled out my phone and scanned the bar code using a price comparison application called “Shop Savvy”, though there are literally hundreds of these apps currently online. What I discovered is that Kmart was about 60% more expensive than approximately 15 other local retailers.
Ok, I was a little miffed, but I figured Kmart’s customer service would match the price, right?! To my dismay customer service could do absolutely nothing, and in the words of Kmart’s customer service manager, “I wish I could do something, but management doesn’t listen to us, it’s out of my hands, the price is the price.” Yet, to my surprise, she then picked up her phone and texted her gym friend and asked where she found the best deals for the brand of protein that I desired to purchase”. In a matter of seconds a response came back that was even cheaper than what I found using my social app, though my shopping app did set the bar for savings.
The end result, I saved 75% off of Kmart’s price. I got my Whey Protein; I scanned the bar code and updated the price so other local shoppers can find the same great deal I did.
The lesson for retailers everywhere:
1) Know what you consumers want. Know the hot items per category.
2) LISTEN to the social sphere, what are people saying about your brand and engage both good and bad experiences. Especially do this prior to bad experiences gain a social following. I’ll write a few posts on social listing and engagement next week.
3) If you don’t have the items and your competitor does, either get the items, or know who does so you can refer your customer. It’s not the ideal scenario, but it does show that you are karmatically working in their best interests.
4) Price your competition’s popular products or services items weekly. You don’t need to always have the best price, just a comparable one.
5) Don’t cut costs in customer service or sales support. Nothing makes me want to shop the competition more than a bad experience.
6) Update social shopping applications with the items and prices that are best or most comparable in the market place. Influencer shoppers like Margret will bring her friends and friends or friends.
In conclusion, immersion in social savings applications early could grow your brand and consumer loyalty quickly. Just as many retailers ignored the internet and social media in the beginning, social savings applications as the former are here to stay. Retailers that ignore social shopping apps do so at their demise.
If you want more information on how you can socially engage your customers via couponing, shopping loyalty programs, and social media, feel free to contact me.
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by John Cataldi | Jun 3, 2011 | Anthony Weiner, Politics, PR Crisis, Social Media
Rep Weiner defends his family jewels from media scrutiny – Weiner Gate, Day 7
Rep Weiner is not giving an inch to the rising media attraction to the identity of the infamous masked wiener, as seen on his twitter account “@RepWeiner”, less than a week ago. What are the hard facts in this case? Who cares! The net result of “Weiner Gate” is that the little known, outspoken congressman from New York’s 9th district has been thrust into the National spotlight, and believe it or not, is gaining positive social stature online.
As a media and political consultant, never have I seen so few inches arousing so much negative media attention while simultaneously gaining a positive social perception. So could this political fiasco for one NY congressman be his golden ticket to reelection in 2012?
According to Twitter Counter and Adreka’s social polling metrics, Weiner’s “Alleged” weiner has gained over 60,000 twitter followers over the past week. Moreover, there is a 58% growing positive sentiment that is socially pro-Weiner, regardless if it’s his weiner or not.
So my Crisis Marketing advice to Anthony Wiener, NY Congressman for the 9th district:
1. Stand erect, take credit where credit is due, even if it’s not you, you need to own this wiener.
2. You and your wife use the media to your advantage to make light of the situation. Can you imagine the sound bite, “the secrets out, my husband has a big wiener”, says Mrs. Weiner on the David Letterman show last night.
3. Run with a plausible conspiracy theory…. “It’s my wiener; it was on my desk top, for the wife only, but someone found it and ran with the joke” or even better a plausible truth… “I posted a response to the one of my twitter followers and accidently attached the wrong file, I am truly embarrassed, but not ashamed of my big weiner”.
4. Follow up with another sound bite: If your think my Weiner’s big, you should see my balls; they have served me well both in an out of politics.
5. Conclude the internal investigation with, let the record show it is my big wiener. I sent the offending falus, by accident when I attached and posted the wrong picture online.
6. End of story.
I am feeling an entire campaign brewing…
You know he’s a swinging dick in congress and he has the balls to match, vote YES for Weiner 2012.Ok, maybe I need to work on this political campaign a little bit more.
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