Ross Mayfield's Weblog

Spam on the Rise

In what might be the most telling indicator of today's global economy, strong growth in SPAM sales boosted Hormel's earnings by 14%.

In other news, Typepad launched an open source comment spam fighter, which may strike closer to home.

Interview on Social Media and PR

Justin Kistner of Voce Nation just posted an interview with me on How Social Media Changed PR.

I think what he said would be of interest to some of our other clients as well as to other PR professionals. There is some good fodder in here for further discussions about:

- What is the big shift in PR and why are people split about whether or not to be happy about it?
- What is the role of a modern PR firm?
- Tactically speaking, how has the PR process changed?

Twitter's Business Model: A Gift Economy

Brian Alvey is joking by suggesting that Twitter's business model should be advertising supported only when its not working.  But life actually should imitate such art and I've been saying for some time that Twitter can monetize the goodwill it creates.

Specifically, Twitter should ask for donations with a Radiohead choose your own price model.  Wikipedia's fundraising increases substantially during service outages.  If Twitter is to become a global and dependable utility it will need additional resources over time.  If governed well, I believe an adequate subset of users will gift an adequate subset of monetary resources to not only sustain itself, but become a thriving business.

How much would you pay to Twitter?

P.S. Twitter! (apparently, It's Made of People)

Further, 17% of replies to this question would pay $2 per month, or $7M annual, for what its worth

E2O: Enterprise 2.0 Open

Next month at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference I'm hosting Enterprise 2.0 Open, a Barcamp-style open space afternoon.  This is a great opportunity for people to host sessions that couldn't make it onto the formal program.  But also, I hope, a chance for people in the industry to explore common needs and foster new initiatives.  For example, Joe Schueller of P&G commented on the page:

Ross - this is a fabulous addition to the conference. I do have a topic I'd love to hear more about and understand but am not the person to deliver: is there anyone out there qualified (and willing) to provide some perspective on Data Portability and emerging formats/API's and standards in the social space? Which formats and API's should enterprises be insistent on seeking in tools/platforms to maximize interoperability and deliver on rich user experiences? Where are there holes in existing API's and pseudo-standards that need to be filled in order to jump in to the enterprise?

Anyone want to host a session on these topics?

RecentChangesCamp in Palo Alto this Weekend

I'm in London this weekend on business, so its a shame to miss RecentChangesCamp in Palo Alto.  Hosted by Socialtext, the event is more than a Barcamp for wikis.  It draws people from afar with in interest in wiki spirit. 

If you are in town, definitely stop by.

Slideshare closes $3M with Venrock

Slideshare, to which I am a big fan and advisor, just closed $3M with Venrock.  Here's an announcement:

| View | Upload your own

1,000-squared words.

Playing with Triggit

I twittered that Triggit was the coolest thing I saw at Web 2.0 Expo.  Later on, they won the Launch Pad contest.  I've been watching these guys since they started showing up a Barcamps.  They've hit upon making adding widget content and ads on a blog or site dead simple.

By doing so, they make the act of placing an ad engaging.  When everyone is a publisher, the gestures they make empower influence which is far greater than basic impressions. So bear with me for a while I experiment.  It won't show up in RSS feeds, but basically I'm learning Blinglish on my blog.

London Social Software Dinner

I'm in London next Thursday and co-hosting a social software dinner with the good folks at Headshift.  If you can join us, here's the details:

• Pre-dinner drink and gathering at All Bar One, Shad Thames waterfront, from 18:30.
• Followed by dinner at Cantina, also Shad Thames waterfront, at 20:00.
• Map
• Nearest tube stops: London Bridge, Tower Hill, Bermondsey
• RSVP the old fashioned way by calling Lars at 020 7357 7358

Hope to see you there!