Ustream.TV is catching on like wildfire.  It’s a technology that allows virtually anyone with a $100 webcam to broadcast a live TV show over the Internet.  And that’s exactly what I did for the first time tonight.  You can see the rather rough and raw video at the link below:

Live Video streamed by Ustream

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/legal-marketing-cafe 

Don’t be too critical – I wanted to capture my first attempt so that hopefully we will witness a progression as a better understanding of the interface emerges!

If you’d like to know more about Ustream.TV, check out this 6 minute video with the vision of the two West Point founders.

I’ve been hearing about a web 2.0 site called “Twitter.”  When somebody uses twitter they are said to “tweet.”  I have to tell you that this terminology really didn’t strike me as anything that I would ever be involved in.  However, tonight I signed up for my own twitter account and now I tweet!  As a matter of fact if you go to the calendar page on my website you will be able to follow my twitter account. 

Here’s why I did it.  I continue to study and explore social media and tonight I am listening to a series of videos, one of which is about www.twitter.com.  The forecast is that this is a rapidly growing phenomena and I so I want to understand it. 

Recency often replaces authority.  Google is giving us an in to page one as they continue to change the rules.  How is it affecting media?  When I search for something that is current, I see results on news from places like PR Web.  How do we get there?  We do a press release.  If we want to dominate and play with the big boys we need to write content and do media everyday.  It’s pretty intense.  Twitter will track you as you do that.

I am now set up to syndicate my twitter updates on facebook, my space and my website.  I can simply send a text message and all 3 places will be instantly updated so that anybody that wants to know what I am doing can quickly see that.

Web 2.0 is an exciting arena.  Twitter is just a small part of it.  If you want to try it, go to www.twitter.com and sign up for a free account.

Vivaty is a start-up based in Menlo Park, Calif.  An article in the New York Times today talked about their developing 3-D virtual chat rooms that can be added to web pages and social networking profiles on the sites where they spend most of their Internet time.  They are apparently planning to test the new technology on Facebook this week and then release it in wider form this summer. 

The reason this article captured my attention is because of the following statement:

“…The company plans to make money partly by allowing companies to start their own virtual rooms on their own Web sites, where they can control the decor and their marketing messages.”

One more avenue for interaction on the web.  Why is it important that we evaluate these types of opportunities?  As I continue to conduct both quantitative and qualitative market research on Client Advisory Panel members in law firms throughout the US, I am finding a clear trend.  These participants, who generally represent a firms best clients, are very heavy internet users.  A vast majority spend 2 or more hours on the web daily, and state that they research everything on the web.  Approximately 1/3 of these individuals state that their friends often refer to them as “computer geeks.” 

In light of these findings I believe it is imperative that we continually evaluate new web based marketing opportunities.  Vivaty is simply one of them.

A year or so ago I emphatically rejected the idea of using shills to conduct paid word of mouth marketing for your law firm.  Why?  Because I believe that to be positioned at the top of your market you must endeavor to conduct all aspects of your business in an authentic and genuine manner.  I still believe that.

 However, I intend to further investigate the concept of paid word of mouth.  It is a hot trend in the advertising/marketing world and a burgeoning industry.  What is happening in many agencies is that armies of teen-agers are paid to go into internet chat rooms and promote products and services as well as movies and celebrities.  My big objection is that they do not reveal that they are paid shills.  Therefore, this particular application does not interest me.

There are a few more examples that I believe have better viability because there is an honesty in that the “workers” are obviously paid to promote the word of mouth.  For example, to promote USA Network’s TV series “Traffic” (about drug cartels) they hired a NY agency (Media Kitchen) to affix stickers with the show name, logo and air date to 50,000 real $1.00 bills and get them into circulation in bars in New York and Los Angeles beginning early January.

Trump’s show “The Apprentice” also utilized this strategy when they paid to have 5,000 fake $100.00 bills with Trump’s face handed out on New York City streets two days before the show’s premiere.

I am contemplating the potential for combining our Client Advisory Panels with motivated word of mouth initiatives.  However, I firmly believe that as we test this strategy it must be conducted in an authentic and genuine manner.  

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas to speak to the Network Affiliates Group on the subject of Designing an Experience Your Clients Will Talk About.  The conference was held at The Wynn Hotel which is an experience in and of itself.  Steve Wynn certainly knows how to build hotels. 

In preparation for the presentation I surveyed the group on a number of topics.   Here are the key findings:

• 71% indicated that they have 10 or more brand ambassadors for their firm
• 53% categorized their employees as “highly motivated.”
• Only 35% stated that they have “excellent employee morale.”
• 47% believe that their client satisfaction is excellent
• 53% have very low employee turnover – that is lower than 5% turnover
• Only 24% indicated that they believe they have an “excellent system for hiring the right people.”
• I was happy to see that 65% have a right hand marketing person
• 59% conduct client satisfaction surveys
• Only 41% affirmed the fact that 80% of all decisions are made emotionally.  Some believed that number to be as low as 20%!
• Only 24% have a system in place to keep staff informed of firm progress, goals, challenges and successes

We had some great discussion and I want to thank Harlan Schillinger, Norty Frickey and Tammy Kehe for inviting me to come.  I always walk away having learned far more than I taught.

There was an excellent article in Forbes magazine today about how Facebook and MySpace would like to help grow small businesses.

Ditch your Web site. Facebook and MySpace are eager to help small businesses find friends