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Outside of Western practices, group singing is an important social and cultural force. Emergent studies in the area of music therapy and music and health demonstrate that group singing can promote feelings of health and wellbeing. Studies provide evidence of the physiological, cognitive and emotional benefits of group singing for an improved quality of life. Considering the potential for young and old across the lifespan, it is proposed that group singing should be encouraged for all people, without placing demands on music reading skills.
Context
In a music psychology study investigating the key emotional experiences associated with music, Sloboda (1991) noted that members of his own choir reported significant physiological reactions such as shivers down the spine, goose bumps, even tears. Though these were responses to listening to music, it is to be noted that overall the interviewees reported Bach’s Mass in B minor to have the most profound effect on them, and this was a piece they had all recently performed. The idea that group participation leads to stronger emotional experiences is gaining currency in music psychology. For instance, Bailey (2005) investigated 121 members of three different types of choirs considering the effects of (1) group singing, (2) isolated listening and (3) social listening. Participation in the group singing was found to be more beneficial than either isolated or social listening on 73% of the items. These items included: (a) improves concentration, (b) is an exhilarating experience, (c) gives me a kind of high, and (d) improves my mood. Isolated listening was considered most beneficial on the remaining 27% of items including: (a) helps to suppress emotions, (b) helps to reduce stress, and (c) makes me feel mentally rejuvenated. These results indicate that group singing promotes heightened arousal on a variety of behavioural dimensions, and that listening is better for resting/recuperation.
Research and everyday practice using music also shows that in Western culture we listen to music to regulate our mood (e.g., driving to work we pass the time, or we listen to a ‘relaxing’ CD in the bathtub - see DeNora, 2000) Indeed, in Western culture we are exposed to a whole raft of commercial enterprises based around the music we ‘use’ in everyday life, but these are almost exclusively in the domain of music consumption for listeners: eg, music suitable to stimulate certain moods in order to buy specific brands of clothing; music to improve our IQ; music for spiritual healing. At best, many of these more commercial enterprises base their products on folk/popular psychology rather than controlled scientific outcome. But, if the participatory activity of singing - especially group singing - as indicated in Bailey’s systematic research, can have both measurable and positive behavioural impact, it is surely an activity we should encourage. The current paper presents the idea that singing is of significance for us all.
Pursuing the details of Bailey’s work a little more, it is important to note that in the perceptions of choral participants from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong and Iceland (n = 224) the holistic health effects of group singing were compared with listening to music, watching television and each participant’s activity of choice. Cognitive, emotional, spiritual, social and physical effects assessed the holistic benefits. The results indicated that group singing was regarded as being significantly more beneficial than the other activity categories. Even when the activity of choice was a physical activity, the participants believed that group singing was more holistically beneficial.
In addition to the compelling results above, Bailey and Davidson (2001, 2002, 2003) emphasized the crucial importance of group singing participation for homeless men. They discovered that singing in a group created a potential for social bonding between the choristers, but more importantly, a social distance seemed to be created from which these otherwise marginalized individuals could begin to develop a relationship with the public and demonstrate that they were much more than their appearance might suggest. Generally, opportunities around performance seemed to promote feelings of pride for social contribution and personal recognition. The recent Australian TV series The Choir of Hard Knocks (ABC TV 2007) provides further, though popular evidence for the social significance of the participatory activity for choristers.
Thus far, we have considered group singing only from the Western tradition. Looking more broadly at music making across human cultures, the social communion of singing with its interaction offering inclusive opportunities can be found in a direct and recognisable way. For example, Blacking (1967, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989) who lived with the Venda people of South Africa, wrote enthusiastically about the significance of human musical communication as observed in the singing and the accompanying dancing activities he was able to experience. By investigating a culture different to his own, Blacking was able to reflect upon the fact that musical activity was used not only as a means of emotional regulation, but for educating individuals towards cultural practice and for forging social relationships. His promotion of the concept of ‘human musicality’ being a crucial feature of being human provides support for the notion that singing activity is not only a natural, but also an essential expressive medium for us all.
Examination of Indigenous Australian culture further demonstrates the strength of the link between music, the human voice, the human body, symbolic function, expression, communication and social collaboration. As the oldest living culture, surviving relatively unchanged for over 40,000 years, virtually all aspects of human behaviour are shown to have an intrinsic link with music: eating, hunting, lovemaking, birth, marriage and death are all collaborative music-filled activities. More specifically, songs include many kinds of vocalisations ranging from growling, grunting, and shrieking to bitonal syllabic chanting (c.f., Oxford Companion to the Body, entry on music and the body, written by Davidson in 2001). The music demonstrates how human communication has evolved from survival function through to the engagement in singing for artistic pleasure. With this evidence, we can argue a case that singing is an essential human activity. But, living the contemporary Western experience, most readers will realise that speaking relative to the Venda experience and the Indigenous nomadic bush peoples of Australia, most Westerners have a very limited exposure to singing or any other musical participation.
Opportunities for most Westerners to participate in singing activities might include: natural mother-infant interactions, pre-school, primary or secondary school activity, being with friends in groups and organisations, attending some ceremonies and significant public events, or receiving a specialised training either privately or through an extra-curricular school programme. The last category is of course usually the consequence of a family interest in learning or a very vigorous school or community programme. Even with this sort of family or community support, we know that fewer than 5% Westerners who do begin music learning experiences actually persist to competence – see McPherson & Davidson, 2006. The reality is, of course, that rigorous and lengthy training is required to develop the musical skills required to play with fluency Western classical musical instruments. For example, to play concert violin to a professional standard, approximately 10,000 hours of amassed practice by the age of 21 years of age is required (see Ericsson, 1996; Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, 1993). This is too daunting for most, especially if the music-making is not to be the main focus of the person’s life. Given the highly compartmentalised lifestyles Westerners lead, most give up their efforts completely when competence is so hard to achieve. Though singing can involve a rigorous training and technique, group singing does not require lengthy solitary practice, and whilst many amateur ensembles need members to be able to read music and hold harmony lines, there are equally many singing groups which require enthusiasm not formal musical skills. It is to this latter instance where I see the most potential for the engagement of many as such groups provide each individual participant with an opportunity for group music-making.
It may seem fanciful to those with hectic and compartmentalised lives to conceive of setting aside time to engage in group singing everyday, but given the scientific and cultural evidence, it would be an ideal situation for self-expression, mood regulation, feelings of being in a better holistic state of positive health and wellbeing as well as social connectedness. The following review provides further evidence to support group-singing experiences.
Singing and early life experience
Researchers are increasingly able to argue that musical capacities and behaviours in humans appear to have evolved as abstractions of essential biological function. For example, observing neonate behaviour and development, Trevarthen (2001/2002) shows that complex social life emanates from activities like turn taking in vocalisations (motherese) experienced firstly through nurturance (mother-infant interactions around feeding), and on through rhythmical play leading to turn-taking and more and more complex forms of social awareness and collaboration. He argues that this ‘intrinsic motivic pulse’ is a proto-musical behaviour. This explanation can account for the ubiquity of music as across human cultures.
Trevarthen’s work permits us to theorise that musical behaviours permit a strong base for the construction of selfhood. For example, Trevarthen demonstrates how infants articulate the process of feeding by using their hands to conduct (in terms of musical timing and phrasing) and the vocalisation in their motherese interactions. These behaviours demonstrate sympathy and awareness and sharing with the mother. From these signals (present in all infants, from premature babies as well as congentially blind newborns), it is not hard to imagine how our adult complex repertoire of non-verbal gestures and vocal interactions for subtle social discourse emerge. There is a naturalness to how the voice is used in these pro-musical behaviours, which illustrate the human communicative urge. These ideas are fully supported in other infancy studies by Ayers (1973) and Dissanayake (2000) who underscore that these types of communication enable the infant to engage in practices which allow an emergent sense of self to develop: a sense of ‘me’ in relationship. They are also seen as the pre-cursors so crucial to language development. A reference to the Greek concept of human behaviour of musiké – in which the expressive signals of the whole person are implied – have been incorporated into such understanding of musicality.
Associated evidence arguing a case for the importance of vocalisation as a tool for social communion and the development of self –for confidence, emotional expression is found in Malloch’s (1999/2000) study of motherese. He was able to observe motherese interactions for women with bi-polar disorder experiencing both depressed and hypermanic states and compare these with a control group. He discovered that in the case of the ill mothers, the motherese was not musically timed: the depressed mothers were lethargic; the hyper manic mothers were extremely excited and agitated. At either extreme, infants became distressed when they were not responded to with paced musical phrases with space for response. There was evidence that the infants did not feel ‘understood’ or interacted with. Indeed, the infants were found to initiate vocal play (pro-singing behaviour) and wait for a response of either mirroring or extemporisation behaviour, but these responses did not come where the mothers were ill. Though a lack of timed interactive motherese does not seem to have long-term effects on infants, in the short term, the disturbance to the normal vocalisations upset the development of happy and socially interactive babies.
Toddler observations demonstrate that reciprocated or synchronous imitations of vocal and gestural behaviours as well as pitch, intensity and melodic contour (Papousek & Papousek, 1981) occur spontaneously and appear to be crucial for social sharing with all. Additionally, recent research examining pre-schooler’s collaborative play demonstrates that that the youngsters share vocalised and bodily reactions and experiences, and there is a sympathetic mirroring of types of bodily reactions and responses which are directly connected to the experience of emotion: the enharmonic key changes in tonal music are often associated with ‘shivers down the spine’ or ‘goose bumps’, reflecting psychological states such as excitement, joy sadness etc. (Sloboda, 1991, and Sloboda, O’Neill, & Ivaldi, 2001)). Crucially, the singing/playing that exists is purposeful and intentioned intended? to be communicative and emotionally charged for biological purpose (Bannan, 2003).
So, it seems that from the earliest evidence of human perception and cognition, our responses are rooted in vocalised sensation and an imperative and driven social communication. This is expressed usually by sharing in collaborative goals, and it is a clear means through which the social communication is experienced. Motherese is arguably the most fundamental form of ‘singing’ activity. Though only based in a dyad, it is the root for sharing and social interaction.
We know from the research of Trevarthen and colleagues that motherese is not only significant for the infant, but it is a positive way for caregivers to share emotional and social experiences and so bond with the infant. In all human cultures, motherese and toddler imaginative sing-play is found. Indeed, it seems that in the case of the infant and the toddler, singing-types of activity (motherese/imaginative song) provide a forum for the individual to develop a sense of self in relation to others, and this of course is a potent force for future social life. With such ideas in mind, it is not difficult to understand how and why group singing in a range of groups (adults and children) has been found to have emotional and wellbeing effects.
Singing for quality of life across the lifespan
Linking to the infancy research explored above, Ruud (1997, 1998) writes compellingly about how musical opportunities in Western culture can be crucial for social empowerment, and most specifically for the formation of an identity. He gives examples of how children make their initial step towards selfhood in their peer group imaginative musical play. The development of a specific peer group taste serves as a way of endorsing group identity, as is often shown in relation to musical listening and participation amongst teenagers, with their musical culture representing a separate social world from that of the adult.
Ruud goes on to highlight that music facilitates navigation between a private and public self, whether it is being used for self-regulation reasons (perhaps changing mood) or the presentation of self to a group (e.g., performance). Also, it can be used to reflect internal space – listening to music in the bedroom, or relaxing making music (usually pop and rock) with friends. It can also helps young people to learn to create ‘in’ and ‘out’ social groups (Tarrant, North & Hargreaves, 2002), that is, those with whom to associate and those to avoid.
In the case of singing only, there is sufficient evidence present to show that it can give many opportunities for social empowerment (the homeless men discussed earlier). But, more especially, Faulkner and Davidson (2005, 2006) have shown how singing can form crucial links in the following ways: generational exchange (as a grandfather sings to his granddaughter), communion with nature (singing in spaces and places), testing out of identity (singing in competitions like ‘higher’, ‘longer’ etc.)
Importantly, and from a background of music in therapeutic treatment, Aasgaard (1999) has also proposed the use of music as an inherent component of an institutional or non-institutional setting. He argues that in this empowered position, especially through live performance, music enhances the well being of those inhabiting the space. Aasgaard’s own working space is a hospital. Using a mobile music station he is able to ask patients, visitors, doctors, nurses and administrators to contribute towards creating songs in and around the hospital building. His work offers a sense of community and coherence for all, whether long-stay patients, employees, or day visitors. The songs allow for a shared emotion and understanding, as well as an ownership of the space on which the voice is projected.
At a more intimate level, Aldridge (1999) describes how singing to and with a dying friend heightened intimacy and understanding in a situation where words were too painful, too awkward, or inadequate. The singing by-passed all formal verbal exchanges and enabled emotional intimacy through the harmonic structure of the music. Similarly, Magee & Davidson (2004a & 2004b) describe the use of singing activities with individuals in the late-stages of multiple sclerosis to permit the use the songs for reminiscence value, and to monitor the level of muscle control and strength of the vocal mechanism. Again, the singing enabled expression of emotions around loss and grief which patients had otherwise not been able to express. Also, Clift and colleagues (Clift & Hancox 2001; Hancox 2006; Bamford & Clift 2007) have investigated a choral group within a university context as well as developing a network of ‘Silver Song Clubs’ across the SE of England which are not only becoming increasingly popular, but have also demonstrated positive and stimulated social interaction and increased sense of wellbeing for members (all over 55 years of age). In a related manner, Cohen (2006) has shown that older people who engaged in choral participation for the first time, by contrast to a comparison group who did not sing, had fewer visits to doctors and reported a reduction in the number of over-the-counter medications taken. Relatedly, research with Alzheimer’s disease patients has shown improved cognitive activity with moments of insight and coherence when engaged in singing activities (Bannan & Montgomery-Smith, 2006; Prickett & Moore, 1991).
With findings like those explored above, it is evident that there are many possibilities inside the activity of singing and in the associated social context of the activity. Excitingly, contemporary physiological studies have advanced understanding of the effects of group vocal performance through the measurement of levels of cortisol and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA). Cortisol is a measure of stress and sIgA is an endocrine defence against infection in the upper respiratory tract. Generally, decreases in levels of cortisol and increases in levels of sIgA and are considered favourable. The cortisol results were variable and inconclusive, however, increased levels of sIgA suggest that active participation in singing may enhance immune system functioning (Beck et al., 2000). So singing has a real and positive physiological benefit.
Concluding comment
With the evidence presented above, a case has been made for the importance of singing across the lifespan. It is important to note that the recent Australian National Review of School Music Education (Pascoe et al., 2005) demanded that an immediate priority should be to improve and sustain the quality and status of music in Australian schools. Part of this priority must be to make sure we encourage singing and maintain and develop this pattern of behaviour across the lifespan. I have not reported research on the beneficial experiences of singing in school, mainly because I have not been involved in this research area (unlike singing for health or singing with people living with various forms of disability). Undoubtedly, for many, singing experiences in school are already good. Indeed, my excellent primary school experiences of singing began my own life-long love of singing. But, as Pascoe and colleagues report, the types and standards of music on offer in school and in general is very variable. There have been recent initiatives to increase opportunities for singing, for example, the Music. Count Us In project of 2007 was a $300,000 Australian Government initiative for schools to learn and perform the song Life is a Song on 30 August. This is a small, but encouraging move. Without doubt, the musical opportunities created and presented in schools have the potential to endorse the cultural value of musical participation for all, for positive social and physical health and wellbeing.
Singing for holistic health benefit has been recognised the UK for some time (Bannan, 2000), and in March 2007 the current author attended a national meeting entitled Sing for Health at the Sage, Gateshead. In addition, the Department of Education and Science has pledged over 10 million pounds over the course of 2007/2008 to develop a National Singing Programme in the UK, encouraging the use of singing to promote social health and wellbeing for all. I would argue that Australian agencies should also consider such forms of support to initiate and develop opportunities for group singing as extensively as is possible.
References
Aasgaard, T. (1999). Music therapy as milieu in the hospice and paediatric oncology ward. In: D. Aldridge (ed.), Music therapy in palliative care: New voices. London: Jessica Kingsley Publications, pp. 29-42.
ABC TV. (2007). Choir of hard knocks. Australia.
Aldridge, D. (1999). Music therapy and the creative act. In D. Aldridge, (ed.), Music therapy in palliative care: New voices. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, pp. 15-28.
Ayers, B. (1973). Effects of infant carrying practices on rhythm in music. Ethos 1: 387-404.
Bailey, B. (2005). Singing out of tune and in tune: An investigation of the effects of amateur group singing from diverse socio-economic and cultural perspectives. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Sheffield.
Bailey, B., & Davidson J. W. (2005). Music as adaptive behaviour, Psychology of Music 33(3): 269-303.
Bailey, B., & Davidson, J. W. (2002). Group singing as adaptive behaviour: Perceptions from members of a choir of homeless men. Musicae Scientiae VI: 221-56.
Bailey, B., & Davidson, J. W. (2003). Amateur group singing as a therapeutic agent. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy 12: 18-32.
Bailey, B., & Davidson, J. W. (2001). Singing as adaptive behaviour. Proceedings of Phenomenon of Singing III, Festival 500: Sharing the Voices. St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, June, pp. 25-9.
Bamford, A., & Clift, S. M. (2007). Southampton silver song club: Reflections on music making with elderly people facilitated by student volunteers. Sidney De Haan Reports 4. Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health, Canterbury.
Bannan, N. (2000) Instinctive singing: Lifelong development of ’the child within’. The British Journal of Music Education 17(3): 295-301.
Bannan, N. (2003). Reverse-engineering the human voice: Examining the adaptive prerequisites for song And language. In R. Kopiez, A. Lehmann & I. Wolther (eds.), Proceedings of the Fifth Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, CD-ROM. Hanover: Hochschule für Musik und Theater.
Bannan, N., & Montgomery-Smith, C. (forthcoming). ‘Singing for the brain’: Reflections on the human capacity for music arising from a pilot study of group singing with Alzheimer’s patients and carers. Journal of Royal Society for the Promotion of Health.
Beck, R., Cesario, T., Yousefi, S. & Enamoto, H. (2000). Choral singing, performance perception and immune system changes in salivary immunoglobulin and cortisol. Music Perception 18(1): 87-106.
Blacking, J. (1967). Venda children’s songs: A study in ethnomusicological analysis. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
Blacking, J. (1971). The value of music in human experience. Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council 1: 33-71.
Blacking, J. (1973). How musical is man? Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Blacking, J. (1974). Ethnomusicology as a key subject in the social sciences. In Memorium Antonio Jorge Dias 3: 71-93.
Blacking, J. (1977). The anthropology of the body. ASA Monograph 15. London: Academic Press.
Blacking, J. (1985). A false trail for the arts? Multicultural music education and the denial of individual creativity. In M. Ross (ed.), The aesthetic in education. Oxford: Pergamon Press, pp. 1-27.
Blacking, J. (1987). A commonsense view of all music: Reflections on Percy Grainger’s writings on ethnomusicology and music education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Blacking, J. (1988). Dance and music in Venda children’s cognitive development. In G. Jahoda & I. M. Lewis (eds.), Acquiring culture: Cross cultural studies in child development, pp. 91-112. London: Croom Helm.
Blacking, J. (1989). The biology of music-making. In H. Myers (ed.), Ethnomusicology: An introduction Vol. 1. London: MacMillan, pp. 301-14.
Clift, S., & Hancox, G. (2001). The perceived benefits of singing: Findings from preliminary surveys of a university college choral society. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 121(4): 248-56.
Cohen, G. D., Perlstein, S., Chapline, J., Kelly, J., Firth, K.M., Simmens, S. (2006). The impact of professionally conducted cultural programs on the physical health, mental health, and social functioning of older adults. Gerontologist 46(6): 726-34.
Davidson, J. W. (2001). Music and the body, In C. Blakemore & S. Jennett (eds.), Oxford companion to the body. Oxford, Oxford University Press, pp. 465-6.
DeNora, T. (2000). Music in everyday life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dissanayake, E. (2000). Antecedents of the temporal arts in early mother-infant interaction. In N.L. Wallin, B. Merker, & S. Brown (eds.), The origins of music. London: MIT Press.
Ericsson, K. A. (1996). The acquisition of expert performance: An introduction to some of the issues. In K. A. Ericsson (ed.), The road to excellence. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, pp. 1-50.
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review 100: 363-406.
Faulkner, R., & Davidson, J. W. (2006). Men in chorus: collaboration and competition in homo-social vocal behaviour. Psychology of Music 34(2): 219-38.
Faulkner, R., & Davidson, J. W. (2005). Men's vocal behaviour and the construction of self. Musicae Scientiae 8(2): 231-55.
Hancox, G. (2006). Music arts and health at Canterbury Christ Church University. Community music-making for children and older people newsletter. Folkestone, Sing for Your Life Ltd. February 2006.
Kreutz, G., Bongard, S., Rohrmann, S., Hodapp, V., & Grebe, D. (2004). Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 27(6): 623-35.
Magee, W. L., & Davidson, J. W. (2004a). Singing In therapy: Monitoring disease process in chronic degenerative illness. British Journal of Music Therapy 18(2): 65-77.
Magee, W. L., & Davidson, J. W. (2004b). Music therapy in multiple sclerosis: Results of a systematic qualitative analysis. Music Therapy Perspectives 22(1): 39-51.
Malloch, S. (1999/2000). Mothers and infants and communicative musicality. Musiace Scientiae, Special Issue: 29-58.
McPherson, G. E., & Davidson, J. W. (2006). Playing an instrument. In G. E. McPherson (ed.), The Child as musician. New York: Oxford University Press, pp 331-52
Papousek, M., & Papousek, H. (1981). Musical elements in the infant’s vocalisation: Their significance for communication, cognition and creativity. Advances in infant research 1: 163-224.
Pascoe, R., Leong, S., MacCallum, J., Mackinlay, E., Marsh, K., Smith, B., Church, T., & Winterton, A. (2005). National review of music education: Augmenting the diminished. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training.
Prickett, C. A., & Moore, R. S. (1991). ‘The use of music to aid memory of Alzheimer’ patients. Journal of Music Therapy 28: 101-10.
Ruud, E. (1997). Music and the quality of life. Sandane: Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. Internet document last accessed 13 March 2005 available at http://www.hisf.no/njmt/selectruud97.html
Ruud, E. (1998). Music therapy, improvisation, communication and culture. Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers.
Sloboda, J. A. (1991). Music structure and emotional response: some empirical findings. Psychology of Music 19: 110-20.
Sloboda, J. A., O’Neill, S. A., & Ivaldi, A. (2001). Functions of music in everyday life: An exploratory study using the experience sampling method. Musicae Scientiae 5(1): 9-32.
Tarrant M., North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (20002). Youth identity and music. In R. Macdonald, D. J. Hargreaves & D. Miell (eds.), Musical identities. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Trevarthen, C. (1999/2000). Musicality and the intrinsic motive pulse: Evidence from psychology and infant communication. Musicae Scientiae, Special Issue: 155-215.
Professor Jane W. Davidson is Head of the Department of Music at the University of Western Australia.
Source: Music Council of Australia
A CEO using Twitter to connect with customers? Why?
Tony Hsieh (pronounced “Shay”), CEO of Zappos.com, uses Twitter to connect with customers.
Why would a busy, important, successful CEO want to connect with customers? Make no mistake;
Hsieh isn’t using Twitter for a marketing gimmick, but to make meaningful connections.
The Dallas Mavericks went from being one of the worst basketball franchises in the National
Basketball Association (NBA), to being one of the best and most valuable. The reason is usually
sitting somewhere in the crowds at Maverick games. His name is Mark Cuban.
Mark is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. His leadership lifted them to heights never before thought
possible. How? Mark knows how to connect. Guess where he sits during games? With the fans.
Guess who reads all the emails sent to the Dallas Mavericks? Mark does. He usually wears a jersey,
not a suit and tie. He dresses like a fan and acts like a fan. Mark understands that connecting
with fans is the key to the success of the Mavericks.
Herb Kelleher, a legend of Southwest Airlines.
Herb Kelleher was frequently spotted on Southwest flights, chatting with ordinary passengers. Why?
Surely he had more important things to do? Kelleher was connecting with his customers.
A maverick bought the Mavericks?
What’s the big secret? “It’s the economy connections, stupid.”
To truly appreciate the significance and power of connections, one must understand them in the
context of modern tribal behavior - particularly in the context of the Net. So, what is a tribe?
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another,
connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”
Seth Godin
Known for his brevity, Seth uses the word “connected” three times in this definition. Think that’s
a coincidence? Remember, the connections we’re talking about aren’t the kind you use when
you need a new job or a promotion. In this context, connections are the glue enabling people to
identify with an idea, each other and a leader.
As a business it’s tempting to think of a “tribe” as a “customer
base.” That’s wrong. People aren’t part of a tribe simply
because they buy a product or service. What qualifies them
as a tribe are their connections. Tribes of customers are
connected to an idea, each other, products, services,
employees, etc.—creating a network of connections to the
business as a whole.
Let’s use the Toyota Prius as an example. When someone
purchases a Prius, they’re not just buying a car, they’re
becoming part of the Prius Tribe and all it stands for. Perhaps you’ve noticed the manner in which
Prius owners seem to identify themselves as something “special”? That’s tribal recognition.
Now, think of another business (any business). Are its customers a tribe or simply names in
a database?
People need to feel connected as much as businesses need customers. This is nothing new,
but it leads us to the great “tribal catalyst”—the Net. Without the social tools of the Net, powerful,
online tribes would never have formed.
The Net has provided tools for an exponential explosion of long-desired tribal connectivity.
Social networking tools such as email, forums and blogs began the facilitation of tribal connectivity.
Later, social networking sites like Twitter, FaceBook,
MySpace, LinkedIn and many others rose up to accommodate
increased demand for more elaborate
tribal connectivity. Long suppressed tribal desires
have blossomed as people now belong
to more tribes than ever before, most of them on
the Net.
Caution: don’t read any of this and assume tribal
connections are a quick fix for a broken business.
To implement the concept of tribes, everyone from
the CEO to the janitor should be working to build
meaningful connections with customers.
I found value in a buggy tribe.
A while back, I decided my family needed a small dune buggy. After an exhausting search of
conflicting marketing messages (imagine that), I came across an online forum created by dune
buggy enthusiasts. These people are connected. They’re connected to each other, the forum
leaders, and the idea of having fun in a dune buggy.
This buggy tribe was quite helpful. Its members showed me which buggies to avoid, the best
buggy prices, and which buggies were the best for my budget. Often, they would direct me
away from poor buggies they had purchased, as they didn’t want me to make the same mistake
they had made.
Let’s be crystal clear, my $2000 purchase decision was almost entirely influenced by this buggy
tribe. Why isn’t your business leading a tribe like this, or at least actively participating in the tribe?
Not to market, but to make connections.
Not unlike this buggy tribe, you’ll find tribes of people passionate about products ranging
from condoms to cars and various products and businesses in between. Don’t underestimate
their power.
The entire business should be the ‘customer service
department.’
Many businesses fall into the trap of traditional customer service
thinking. NO! It’s not the responsibility of the customer service
department to make sure customers are satisfied. Wow, that’s
worth repeating!
Obviously, a customer service department is needed, but the
traditional customer service mentality needs to be replaced by
a tribal mentality.
Employees from all levels of the business should actively be
making connections with customers. Not just when a customer is
having trouble, but through every phase of business.
Here’s a great idea: Each day, allow one randomly selected customer service phone call or email
to make its way to the CEO. Let the CEO connect with the customer. Imagine that, a CEO listening
to a customer’s problems and helping to solve it! Where I come from we call it ”tribe building.”
We also call it “common sense.”
The entire business should be the ‘marketing department.’
Building and strengthening meaningful connections = a healthy tribe of customers = effective,
efficient word-of-mouth marketing and so much more.
Too often, we see businesses turn to marketing executives as they look for sales growth. News flash!
Marketing no longer works the same as in years past. Let go of the past and embrace today.
“Everyone is a marketer.”
Seth Godin
If everyone is a marketer, what do employees market? What’s the customer service department
marketing? Incompetence? Lack of caring? No power? Just a kind voice? Fairness?
What are janitors marketing? Sloppiness? Carelessness? Kindness? Pride in their work? Grouchiness?
What’s the CEO marketing? Waste? Extravagance? Arrogance? Out of touch? In touch?
Caring only for the bottom line? Ivory tower syndrome?
What are customers marketing? Fulfillment? Belonging? Joy? Anger? Frustration? Your product?
Your service? Your business?
What are you marketing? Fear? Courage? Competence? Self-interests? Insecurity? Pride?
Butt-kissing syndrome?
Business leaders, let go of your fear, grasp the changing realities of today and fly with Eagles.
Ignoring the power of connections and tribes.
Want to hear a secret? You promise not to tell anyone? Alright, Toyota manufactures higher quality
automobiles than GM, and sells them for about the same price. What? You already knew that?
Darn that Internet! No secrets are safe anymore.
General Motors (GM) is now on government life support. It’s been sad
to observe the slow death of this corporate dinosaur, unwilling to
adapt to the new ways of the world. Arrogant to the end, GM has been
unwilling to truly connect with its customers, choosing instead to
mass-market automobiles that are unable to compete against its competition.
GM has been good at talking AT us, but not WITH us.
Ironically, all that remains for most business leaders is the illusion
of control. Each day, customers are gaining more of the control
(via tribal connections) that businesses are losing. Many executives
are refusing to acknowledge these shifts in control.
Dell learned about tribes the hard way. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of Jeff Jarvis—maybe
more than once? Dell learned about tribes as they watched their customers form a tribe around
the leadership of Jarvis. What started as a frustrated blog post turned into a large movement
powerful enough to influence Dell.
Abusing social media.
I have way too much fun watching businesses fall all over themselves, looking for a way to “take
advantage” of the connecting power of the Net to market themselves using social media.
Let’s be very clear. The moment a person or business attempts to use social media connections
for the purpose of interruption marketing, they lose. They may not lose in the short-term,
but they’ll certainly lose in the long-term. Ever have a friend who regularly tried to sell you stuff
(network marketing, etc.)? Puts you in an awkward position, doesn’t it? Don’t like it, do you?
Changes the relationship a little if they persist, doesn’t it?
Please don’t make the mistake of using social media connections for interruption marketing.
You can’t build and strengthen connections and frustrate people at the same time. It doesn’t work.
Interruption marketing is a “connection destroyer.”
Another great way to abuse social media is using it for self-promotion. News flash, people don’t
care about you, they care about them. Nobody wants to hear about your stuff, UNLESS it comes
from someone other than you. It’s not complicated. No tricks here, please! Don’t be the embarrassed
company caught paying people to talk nice about them.
Be careful with your connections. Love your connections. Be gentle with them. Just like any other
business asset, true connections take time and money to nurture and build. Don’t destroy them
with shortsighted, half-baked ideas (unsolicited email, etc.).
You still don’t get it?
Just to clarify, we’re not talking about some silly promotion where a customer wins a contest
with his/her idea accepted for a commercial. No, we’re talking about everyone, from the CEO to
the janitor, building real, lasting, deep connections with customers—a powerful tribe.
We’ve seen the Net facilitate an explosion of connections—people connecting with like-minded
people, ideas, products, services, etc. Anywhere people connect, leaders emerge and tribes
form. Astonishingly, where are businesses? Why aren’t businesses attempting to lead a tribe like
the aforementioned buggy tribe, or the “Dazzle Condom Tribe,” or some other tribe (you can’t
count them all).
For years, a customer’s story didn’t really matter. After all, who could we tell our stories to?
We certainly couldn’t connect with each other on the scale the Net allows. Today, the customer’s
story and the business’s story must be similar—otherwise it won’t be credible.
Wait a minute. Do businesses actually believe we
listen to their marketing more than we listen to
our friends (online and off), who have actually used
the products or services we might be interested
in? Astonishingly, I believe they still do! Go figure!
Business leaders, it’s time to wake up and stop
embarrassing yourselves.
Imagine a tribal business.
Imagine a business that works to connect with customers and potential customers. Most businesses
say they want to know customers better—but do they really? They don’t act like it. They send
out goofy, informal surveys and hold focus groups, but how often have you been contacted by a
business truly desiring to make a connection with you for a mutual benefit? Me neither!
When customers feel connected and valued, they’ll evangelize a business. These people will market
products and services for free!
Believe it or not, we customers are smarter than most businesses think we are. Are you an executive?
Get out of the office, lose the goofy clothing and connect with your customers. Why waste money
on consultants? Customers are an untapped gold mine!
Information is power. Customers have it, but they won’t share it unless a true connection exists.
Today? Tomorrow? When?
It’s time for connections, time for tribes, time for Business 10.1. What are you waiting for?
People are connecting like never before. Business connecting with customers is the ultimate recipe
for customer satisfaction and business prosperity. Isn’t that the essence of good business?
Why did we allow the tail of Wall Street to wag the business? It’s time to put things back in order,
connect with customers first, and then great profits will follow.
Do you have the courage to embrace these realities? Do you have the courage to turn your back
on established corporate culture and connect a business to a hungry tribe of customers? I’ve written
nothing new. These are ancient secrets, long forgotten. Deep down, you know this stuff is true.
Your business needs you and, more importantly, your customers need you. Learn more about
connections in the context of tribes. Develop a strategy to implement them into your organization.
At the time of this writing, we’re entering a recession and highly uncertain economic times.
What’s there to lose? Businesses are laying off employees every day, they need a competitive
advantage. Do you have the courage to lead a tribe?
About the Autho r
Ed Welch is an entrepreneur, author of 101 Ways to Destroy Your Tribe, contributor to the Tribes Q&A book,
contributor to the Tribes Casebook and founder of Welch, Inc. One of Ed’s passions is to help businesses adapt
to the evolving tribal nature of people using the Net. He’s a member of Triiibes.com and also writes for the
Tribe Building Blog. He received his formal education from Oklahoma State University in Business Finance and
he’s an enthusiastic student of Seth Godin’s business principles.
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As I’ve started shooting photos more often, I’ve picked up on some interesting patterns: habits, if you like. And, as I struggle to absorb the insane physics of capturing light with some glass and a black box, I accept upfront that the improvements to my actual photos will be slow, incremental, and, largely undetectable to anybody but me — a fact that’s never more painfully clear than when I swoon over the work of the more talented friends who inspire me (Heather, Ryan and Chris each come to mind here).
But, being instantly great at this couldn’t be further from the point. Although I started taking photos to become a better photographer, I keep taking them because I’ve learned to love the process. And, luckily, at least as far as I can tell, dedication to the process can’t help but make you a better photographer — or a better whatever, for that matter.
I lug this clunky camera around with me every day because I want to, and because turning this hobby into a project that I work on a little bit every day ensures continuity and helps my modest bumps in skill to accrete — to make new friends with one other in ways that often surprise me (“Low ISO + giant aperture + standing very still? Wow, check that out!”).
I’m especially learning to embrace a priceless habit of shooting way more photos than I’d ever even process in Lightroom (let alone share with others). So, I’m getting more comfortable with trying different combinations of angle, framing, lighting, aperture, speed, and ISO. The calculus of capturing a “tack sharp” image encompasses an astounding combination of science, observation, and, in the fullness of time, intuition. But, to get there takes time and clicking. So, that promiscuity with the volume of photos I capture teaches me that it costs nothing to just get something in the viewfinder and shoot, shoot, shoot. Maybe something will turn out if I get enough of ‘em, right?
And, even if a given shot is shit — and, most certainly, the vast majority of all my photos are varying degrees of shit — you still learn from the bad ones and no damage is done. Truth is, at the level I’m playing, there’s no real cost associated with failure. Unless, you count the damage of working with unrealistic expectations or the paralyzing joylessness of the conventional wisdom that only some are “Blessed with Creativity...” [insert Tinkerbell glissando]
So, maybe, that’s what really grabbed me last night, when — depending on your perception of how this stuff works — I either started to lose The Fear, or I became one of those horrible little people who doesn’t realize how stupid they look fiddling with a camera.
Yesterday evening, the three of us went out for pizza. And, at some point, as my wife and I took turns carrying our daughter home, Eleanor lost a shoe. This happens a lot with a 13-month-old. Of course, we didn’t notice the shoe had gone missing until we got back to the house, where I was quickly re-dispatched on a reconnaissance and rescue mission. Heading for the door, I started to grab my camera — but then stopped and winced a little.
“Oh, Jesus. Really?” some voice whined. “Now you’re That Guy? Can’t you just walk out there like a grownup, retrace your steps, and be back here in 5 goddamned minutes? You really need to drag your giant, douchey camera out for a four-block walk? Who’re you now, freakin’ Diane Arbus? Jeez, get a life.”
But, you know what? I told myself to shut the fuck up. And, I grabbed my camera and started downhill, into the darkness, toward one MIA Croc.
Fortunately, it was an easy enough trip, because there was Ellie’s shoe, upright and undisturbed, on the sidewalk at the end of the block. Of course (having the giant, douchey camera with me), I started snapping some photos.
First, I got a couple eye-level photos of the optimistic little shoe that turned out about as badly as most eye-level shots of the ground do. But, on review [always review the first few shots and zoom way in], I thought the color looked cool on the dark street, so I got on one knee to take another. Yeah, better. But, it still looked like a lame overhead snapshot that was way too dark and noisy. So, I did something that surprised me.
I laid on the sidewalk. All the way down. On my gut on 50° of western San Francisco concrete.
And, I took my time, thinking about the aperture (all the way open for depth of field) and the available light (very little, so I put the the camera right on the ground to steady it). I snapped a dozen or more shots with slightly different settings. No idea what I was doing. People walked by, cars passed, the L barreled by, but I kept shooting until I was satisfied that I might have something. Then, I grabbed the shoe, stood up, and trotted back up the hill, triumphant, with a recovered piece of footwear, plus what I suspected might be at least one pretty good photo.
I like how it turned out.
Yeah, I know, it’s no masterpiece, but I’m proud of it for reasons of my own. Because, last night, as I was splayed prone in the fog along Taraval Street, I realized I was getting a little better at this.
Not because I’d been magically touched with mythical creativity and skill, but because for a moment I was thinking more about how to use what I’d learned to get a good photo than I was about how I might have looked while doing it. And, that felt like a small turning point.
Nobody likes feeling like a noob, especially when you’re getting constant pressure on all sides to never stick out in an unflattering way. And, in this godforsaken just-add-Wikipedia era of make-believe insight and instant expertise, it’s natural to start believing you must never suck at anything or admit to knowing less than everything — even when you’re just starting out. Clarinets should never squawk, sketch lines should never be visible, and dictionaries are just big, dumb books of words for cheaters and fancy people. Right?
I think finding your own comfort with the process (whatever that process ends up being) might just be the whole game here — being willing to put in your time, learn the craft, and never lose the courageousness to be caught in the middle of making something you care about, even when it might be shit and you might look like an idiot fumbling to make it. What’s the worst thing that could happen?
Well, you could quit, because it’s too hard to make stuff you aren’t already great at. You could convert all that pointless effort and practice back into MySpace updates and the production of funny cat pictures. No, it’s not technically the worst thing that could happen, but it’s a damned common pathway for fear to molder back into an emotional impulse to put on jammies and watch Judge Judy.
I’m not doing anything special here, and I don’t claim to have a magic formula for creativity, let alone for getting a half-decent photo of a rubber shoe. All I know is that sticking with things that don’t arrive with instant mastery does have its own reward, even if you’re the only one who ever collects it. Because the more you push through the barriers for these little avocations, the easier it becomes to remember you always have everything you need to just keep banging until you’re satisfied with any work that’s thrown at you.
Next time I need inspiration to get through a bad patch, or to get past that persistent feeling that I’ll always be stuck in the lowest creative gear, I hope I’ll remember to stop and ask myself what exactly is keeping me from just laying on the sidewalk until I get my shot. Even if it’s cold, even if I look like an idiot, and even if I risk missing the first crucial minutes of Judge Judy.
Twitter is an incredible medium for listening, learning, and sharing. And, for those in the media and communications industries, it's also a rapid and immersive education in meaningful, two-way micro messaging that helps both parties walk away with a new form of value. While there are no shortage of posts that offer tips and tricks to help you boost your Twitter followers, it is by no means a popularity contest. The surmounting ploys, friending races, theatrics, and contests to tempt those into following individuals can be fun, but short-sighted, when in fact the true technique for building relationships, regardless of volume, is the genuine act of earning and investing in them. It's rooted in selflessness and rewarded with a rich stream of relevance and a network of valuable contacts that can also help you in the real world. Twitter is a unique and vibrant community that thrives because of your participation and interaction. The Twitter culture evolves and matures though the greater collective of those who invest in the caliber and meaningful dynamic of the micro exchanges and relationships that we earn and forge everyday. Our experience is defined by what we share, learn, and discover, what and who we follow and spotlight, and how we give back to those who help us and others.Brevity speaks volumes.
So, to give back to the Twitter community and start building more mutually beneficial relationships on Twitter, here are the top tips to pay back and pay it forward on Twitter: - Twitter asks what your are doing. Instead answer the question, What do you think we are better off knowing right now? Other questions to consider...What/who inspires you? What just happened? What am I missing? What did you learn today? What's out on the Web worth sharing on Twitter? - Curate and share helpful and applicable content on the stream and apply relevance and/or context. Offer perspective. You are unique and your ideas, opinions, and experience can help or offer value to those who are learning. - The public should feel included in almost everything you share.- Build a brand or a theme that complements who you are and what you do. Earn a reputation and authority based on the niche you establish for yourself, reinforced by the tweets your post and share. Dan Schawbel has tips to help you do this more effectively.
- Engage with individuals in the public timeline around a given topic. But, draw a line between a public @message and a DM. Not everyone needs to follow your 1:1 dialog in the public timeline, especially as the volume increases everyday. Some things are just better left for the backchannel. If it's an A and B conversation, your followers may "C" there way out of it.
- Try to thank or acknowledge, in some way, those who RT your updates or promote your outside activity. Personally, this is an area where I'm working on devoting more time. Everyone who takes the time out of their busy day to share something you posted deserves recognition. - Ask questions and share the results. Twitter is a magnificent forum for sparking conversations that pull responses from your friends as well as from friends of friends. Most vanish without closure or results. Share highlights and observations. - Pay it forward. This is important. About two months ago, I Tweeted, "Remember, Always Pay it Forward and Never Forget to Pay it Back...it's how you got here and it defines where you're going." - Don't just follow the Twitterati. Find and follow everyone who can help you learn and improve your skills as well as the value of your overall network. I recommend using TweepSearch, which is the first search engine that allows anyone to search and discover relevant Twitter bios and location information using keywords. It's ideal for learning more about those following any given username as well. Mr. Tweet is your personal networking assistant on Twitter. It helps you easily build meaningful relationships by looking through your network and tweets. Mr. Tweet will then suggest new and relevant tweeps and existing followers you should also follow.
- 120 is the new 140. Retweeting is one of the most valuable currencies in the Twitter economy. Leave room in your tweets to make it easier for someone to RT and also add a short reaction or endorsement. The magic number seems to hover around 120 characters. - Listen AND respond to those who offer insight tied to keywords that are important to you, not just those who send messages in public with your @username. Follow conversations related to the keywords that are important to your ecosystem. Make new friends. Offer value and insight to those conversations related to your industry. Give back to those seeking guidance. - Don't share anything you wouldn't want a co-worker, your boss, friends, or family to see.- Learn from your tweets by analyzing the statistics associated with your activity. The criteria associated with defining Influence and authority on Twitter are still debatable. However, your numbers of associated followers, RTs, and unfollowers, are undeniable. Tools such as TwitterCounter provides an interactive chart that chronicles the quantity of Twitter followers for any given username. TwitterFriends is one of the most compelling analytical tools for identifying relevant conversationalists, revealing conversation patterns, and visualizing material conversation networks, by Twitter ID. On the other side of the equation, Qwitter is a humbling and instantaneous solution for honing your updates to better match what your friends and followers hope to see or not see. Qwitter will send an email to you when someone unfollows you and will link the action to the most recent tweet that you posted.
- Host or attend tweetups, conferences, events, etc., where your Twitter friends and contacts are participating. It's important to remember, as it's easy to forget, that relationships count online and in the real world. Investing in meaningful relationships requires in-person engagement over time. - Respond to negative criticism as well as the accolades. There may be points worth considering to embrace and visualize a broader perspective. Those who respectfully push back, contribute to what we learn, while also push things forward. But, sometimes there's also a point of diminishing return. Certain individuals are steadfast in their views and it's their right to maintain an opposing viewpoint. Beware: Don't feed the trolls. - Be helpful.- Make this about conversations, sharing, and learning. Tweetcasters and self-promoters are eventually tuned out.- This one is a bit of a controversial subject. Do you follow everyone who follows you back? Some say yes, some say no. It's a personal choice and a topic that usually ignites a passionate discussion. I treasure the tweets of those I follow and everyday, I follow new people whom I believe to add value to my Twitter stream. It's important to listen to those you follow and regard and by amplifying the quantity of people simply to return the favor of a follow, makes it incredibly difficult to actually hear anyone. There are those who follow everyone and that may work for them. There are also those who create an alternative account to simply listen to those individuals whom they appreciate and respect. PeopleBrowsr is an incredible Twitter service that allows you to follow everyone back, but also create a column for "VIPs" to see only their tweets on your visual dashboard. In the end, do what's right for you and your network of friends, followers, and mentors. This is something that I'm thinking about quite a bit these days. - Relationships, whether they're on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social network, are held to the same guiding and ethical principles of those we cherish in the real world. Think of them as investments where the ROI is intelligence, social capital, respect, trust, and friendship. Individuals on both sides must realize mutual benefits and advantages for cultivating short-term or long-term relationships. You are equally responsible for contributing ongoing value.
I've been sharing articles I've read in Google Reader for the better part of two years. I don't know exactly when I started, but I'm fairly sure I'm nowhere near finished. And while I admittedly started sharing to a link blog without having a clear goal in mind, I'm finding that this massive shared items repository is becoming an incredibly versatile information hub that benefits me, the authors of articles I've shared, and the consumers, be they friends in Google Reader, or in many other locations. I believe that while Google Reader has grown in visibility, arguably becoming the most popular RSS reader on the Web, the utility of shared link blogs is less known. Here are ten ways you can maximize your Google Reader link blog - most of which I'm doing, and probably didn't anticipate when I first started sharing items into the ether.
1. Act as a trusted information filter.
Regardless of how fast a reader you are, there is no possible way you can read every single news source and blog on the Web. Neither can anybody you know. And regardless of how closely your feed match percentage is on Toluu, there are feeds you read that your friends don't. By sharing the best items of what you read every day from Google Reader, you are hand-selecting the best of the Web and "endorsing" those items to your link blog subscribers.
Do so with some regularity, and you might be surprised as to how people come to rely on your manual intervention and news discovery. I first became cognizant of this in February when "SeekGround" reported "I discovered that I had shared more of louisgray's shared items than anyone else's in the last 30 days". In May, Duff's Device similarly wrote: "I saw another article that I received from Louis Gray'sGoogle Reader Shared Items again. Thanks for keeping on top of the world for me Louis. :-)"
As of tonight, ReadBurner reports I have nearly 8,500 articles shared on my Google Reader link blog. While there are others who have shared more total items, I know that I have shared those items I believe are most interesting to me, and others I believe are following along.
2. Share your items with Google Friends.
Though Google hasn't nailed the "what is a friend" issue, you can add friends through GMail and Google Talk. If they are also Google Reader users, and share items, you can opt in to seeing their Google Reader shares, and they can see yours. If they subscribe to your shared items, your shares are mixed in with all the other feeds on their list. Of course, if you don't want to see their lists, click "Hide" next to their name, or "Show" to bring them back.
3. Embed your Google Reader link blog to your own blog or Web site.
When I first started sharing to my link blog, I had this odd feeling I was sharing posts and nobody knew about it. After all, the link blog URL isn't the most intuitive on the planet. But you can embed a widget on your blog to display a subset of your recently shared items, and visitors to your blog can click out to items you've shared.
4. Add your Google Reader link blog to your Google profile
Your Google profile is a fairly blank slate, for you to add or delete as you please. While it's very common for people to add links to their Twitter page, their blog or their LinkedIn profile, I'd suggest it's just as important to add your link blog to the page. Mine is here.
5. Share items to Facebook, FriendFeed or Socialmedian.
2008 was the year of personal news aggregators, which took updates on your services from around the Web and put them all in one place. While this trends was best exemplified by FriendFeed, Facebook also offers the option to feature your Google Reader shared items, and Socialmedian will pull them in as news, going so far as to check the shares by topic to place them in the right categories.
You can see my Google Reader shares on FriendFeed here. And to avoid duplication of items, if I share items from louisgray.com, I manually delete them from FriendFeed. Takes seconds, and reduces the noise. (My Socialmedian page is here...)
6. Add your share count to ReadBurner, RSSmeme or Feedheads.
Feedheads, the pioneer in tabulating popular Google Reader share counts, was joined by ReadBurner and later RSSmeme, in early 2008. As some people are turning to ReadBurner and RSSmeme as a democratically sorted Digg or Techmeme, sharing items you like will add your vote to the list.
Be sure to add your feed to ReadBurner here.
7. Replace your bookmarks with Google Reader shared items.
At the end of the year, I said that RSS Has Practically Eliminated My Need for Browser Bookmarks. As I thought about it more, it's my Google Reader Link blog that is essentially my rolling bookmark list, highlighting those items which are the best, and which I will want to return to. While Delicious is also a good Web-based bookmarking system, the link blog is a good way to find recent items of interest.
8. Expand the visibility of lesser-known sources.
Sometimes, I get in a routine of reading my RSS feeds and then sharing, without thinking about how the shares are effecting the downstream author. But I've gotten e-mails saying the shares have generated attention beyond what I expected. Last month, one blogger wrote, "When you pop an article on (the linkblog), I'll get 60-70 hits and get pumped to the first page, that is pretty averge for the support you give me." Earlier this week I got a similar e-mail from a second author, who wrote an e-mail titled "Thanks yet again", adding "Your Google Reader share really lit up that discussion."
In a tech blogging world where there are so many different sources of news, and so many people writing about the exact same thing, you can make a difference by choosing lesser-known sources of news, and highlighting the best content, not just the loudest. I've tried to share items from those who have done original reporting or are thinking differently than the echo chamber, and it in turn can deliver greater visibility.
9. Use your linkblog as your "to comment" list.
As part of my online new year's resolution, I said I would be making more time to comment on other blogs through the year. But as you know, my full-time job doesn't work all too well with browsing the Web and making comments throughout the day. Instead, I've found I'll go back to my own Google Reader linkblog, and open the items in a new tab, and go through to add comments one by one, left to right, so I've given the authors feedback and participated.
10. Create your own leaderboard of news sources.
Google Reader tracks statistics on what your most-shared news sources are over the last 30 days, which can report on who you've found most interesting in the last month. Given each person's individual tastes, the results can be very different than more public leaderboards which tend to feature those who are most popular and have a deeper subscription base. While my own link blog does tend to feature popular sites like TechCrunch, Scobleizer and ReadWriteWeb, I can see that I've also shared a high number from lesser-known sites, including TechWag, Regular Geek, The Future Buzz, Andy DeSoto and Chuqui 3.0. And if you're stat-oriented like I am, you can check in and see how this changes over time. (See my blog leaderboard from last July)
So... are you sharing your Google Reader items? I am. You can find mine here. For the betterment of the community, it'd be great to see your shared item links in the comments
via louisgray.com by louisgray@gmail.com (Louis Gray) on 9/01/09
Brazil to lead the BRIC economies in 2009
Let me start 2009 with a prediction - Brazil will lead the global emerging markets out of the current doldrums to be the top performing emerging market in 2009.
Firstly, let's not forget that Brazilians have known terrible times. Military dictatorship and economic stagnation are recent memories for even the most prosperous, and there are still tens of millions of Brazilians who live on less than $1 a day. The horrible handling of money affairs put Brazil under the microscope of the International Monetary Fund who, in order to ensure repayment of loans issued by the World Bank, sent experts to Brazil, imposed austerity in public spending, tackled inflation by limiting wage increases, and confronted labour unions and non-governmental organisations.
In 1995 Brazil came under the massive stress of the Mexican devaluation, the so-called "Tequila effect," which ricocheted around the world, and caught Brazil in a much weaker position than it is in today - higher levels of debt, low reserves, a fiscal sector that needed huge reform, and a much lower capacity for exports. Brazil dealt with this massive stress effectively and went to work on each one of its weaknesses over the next 13 years.
While having the temptation and the perfect excuse for debt defaults and more borrowings, Brazil proved its seriousness back then by taking the hard, but certain road to progress, keeping its international commitments and gradually introducing strong structural reforms. Since then, it has become a net creditor to the world; it controlled inflation, and avoided an overheating of its economy with tight fiscal and monetary policies during the recent run-up in commodity prices.
This is all paying off strongly today. The Brazilian Government, is now run by a sophisticated technocracy of top economists and international bankers, many of whom held top positions in leading international banks, and has allowed Brazil to move forward with confidence and GDP growth projections of between 4% and 5% for 2009. To quote Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during the G20 talks at the end of last year: "Important banks - very important banks - that spent their lives giving advice about Brazil and what we should or shouldn't do are now broke. Brazil is more prepared than any country in the world to deal with the new global economic landscape, and has been preparing for some time to become a solid economy."
Here are three reasons to be optimistic about Brazil's prospects in 2009:
1. Self-sustaining domestic growth, led by consumer spending
As with all of the BRIC countries, future economic growth depends on strong local domestic consumption, as opposed to exports to the developed world, and the Brazilian Government has recently announced measures to boost domestic spending via lower interest rates, an easing of capital requirements to Brazil's banking system (designed to stimulate housing and car loans) and reducing unemployment via a range of spending initiatives. Brazil's population of over 181 million is:
All the evidence suggests that, provided Brazil can maintain economic growth at its current rate, the domestic consumption story will continue to offer excellent prospects for both foreign retailers and investors in 2009.
2. Massive infrastructure investment
In January 2007, the Brazilian Government launched its "Growth Acceleration Program" to fund housing, education, public health, transportation and energy projects over the next 3 years and allocated 475 billion reals (US$190 billion) for this purpose. Last month, in response to the global financial crisis, this amount was increased by 34% to 636 billion reals (US$254 billion) and was promised to be spent by 2010.
Insufficient infrastructure investment has long been a constraint to Brazil's economic growth, but with a committed program of investment into highways, railways, ports, electricity and housing projects, Brazil will be transformed into a massive construction site over the next two years, creating millions of jobs and supporting the country's ambitious economic growth plans.
Whilst many of the major and most visible infrastructure projects will be funded from Government sources, many opportunities for foreign investors, particularly in property, electricity and roads, are already being snapped up by institutions and foreign investors.
3. Increasing trade between the BRIC countries and other emerging markets
One of the casualties of the global financial crisis, and the cause of why the BRIC and other global emerging markets have been so badly savaged in recent months, is the "decoupling" theory (at least "market decoupling" if not "economic decoupling") which was the subject of much debate and speculation in late 2007 and early 2008.
While economic growth in emerging countries has dropped only slightly, their securities and currency markets have fallen drastically. Presumably, many investors think that the American economic downturn will lead to a dramatic drop in U.S. orders of emerging-market products, which will cause those economies to experience an economic downturn themselves.
But this ignores the fact that Brazilian exports, for example, account for only 13% of GDP, meaning that some contraction in U.S. and European orders can be counterbalanced by domestic fiscal and monetary stimulus. And a new phenomenon that is cushioning the blow for emerging economies is "intra-emerging market trade" which is becoming increasingly important and prevalent, particularly amongst the BRIC countries who have emerged as a new "trading bloc" in their own right.
Increasingly, a growing proportion of the infrastructure needs of industrial goods being bought by some emerging economies are goods produced by other emerging economies. For example, iron ore from Brazil (and coal and oil from other emerging markets) is flowing into China to fuel their massive infrastructure developments and growing consumer demand. Trade between Latin America and China has increased by 13 times since 1995, from US$8.4 billion to US$100 billion.
Brazil is the world's largest exporter of commodities such as beef, iron ore, sugarcane ethanol, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa, all of which have, until recently, been trading near record levels and will continue to soak up strong demand from other emerging, if not developed, economies in 2009 and beyond.
Final thoughts
I should finish by saying that I am not the only person predicting that Brazil is the emerging market to watch in 2009. Since October last year, I have been tracking numerous comments, observations and recommendations from many different investment researchers, stockbrokers and economic commentators who have been arguing the case to invest in Brazil for many weeks now. In fact, the Brazil stockmarket shows better signs of having bottomed than the U.S - since late October, the iShares MSCI Brazil Index ETF (NYSE:EWZ) has gained over 8%, while the S&P 500 is down by nearly 2%. Don't take my word for it - do some googling yourself! You'll find plenty of evidence to support these arguments (and perhaps a few that offer a more gloomy assessment!)
Finally, please remember that the "BRICs dream" (as first conceived by Jim O'Neill of Goldman Sachs in 2001) was never a "2008 idea" or even a "20 year story". It was (and is) an "investment megatrend", a 100 year economic seismic shift that will see the BRIC countries become the largest and most influential economies in the world by the end of this century. To decide for yourself whether the thinking that led to the BRIC acronym remains intact, I urge you to watch Jim ONeill's original video made in 2003 which you can play by clicking on "Web Tour: The BRICs Dream" at this link. I'm sure your faith in the BRIC story, if it has been challenged in recent times, will be fully restored by this measured and prophetic analysis of the original BRICs dream!
Best wishes
David Thomas
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