I have to make the assumption that the only living object on the planet that is happy to see this sight, would have to be trees.

Borders Books in Westfield Mall in San Francisco - March 2011

I think there are many reasons why this came to be.  One is that more and more people (not just Americans) are spending their time looking at lithium battery operated screens rather than a book made from trees.  And yes the above picture was taken by me, this is not an artists rendition, it was taken in the Westfield Mall on Market Street in San Francisco.

I spent my teenage years in Northern Virginia and at some point I went into my first Barnes & Noble as well as my first Border’s books.  To be quite candid both stores looked and acted pretty much the same.  Pretty much same books, same nice staff and relatively the same price.  It is very powerful to think (almost to the point of goosebumps amazing) that in 1995 the idea of taking a picture with a phone and placing it somewhere online as part of some social media campaign was so beyond reach I would have asked you how many fingers am I holding up and do you require medical attention?

Then the internet came.

Out nowhere BN.com was competing with Amazon (I actually had a summer internship with BN.com in 1999).  In Manhattan you had next day delivery service and what do you know, they were competing against Amazon – all without the luxury of Facebook or social media analytics.

Then the Kindle was created.

Barnes & Noble countered again – the Nook.   Amazon has obviously expanded and succeed exponentially by keeping up with what I have to think is not only what people WANT, but what people NEED.  Of course all of this has probably not helped to keep the fastest rate of personal credit card debt in the history of plastic, but alas without competition in the market place and the evolution of online marketing I would most likely be living out of my sister’s basement in Atlanta.

This is not about Amazon’s reach, and for now we will ignore Amazon’s new video streaming service to compete with Netflix (though have you seen a Blockbuster video store around?).  When I sit back and look at myself writing about this…

My desk at Crowd Factory in SF

Come on, that was funny.  My actual desk writing…as I am telling you, ok back my point:

I am anxious to see what’s next.  We have read countless books and blogs about “change” and “first movers” and how certain industries have to keep up, right?  Well if you have not, don’t start now because anything written in there will change next year.

Borders Books missed the boat on all of this, big time and (sorry for the crap cliché) they sunk, fast.   This morning, as if the Overlords of Relevant content were shining upon thee, I see this in my Facebook feed as I was waiting for the bus.

What was word-of-mouth in 2000 has really become social media today. If we have 1,000 people who love your brand in 2000, they could tell two people who could tell two people who could tell two people. Today, if you have 1,000 who love your brand, they could immediately tell 100,000 people who could tell 100,000.

Dwayne Chambers, senior VP-CMO of Krispy Kreme

 

Dwayne is the first ever CMO of Krispy Kreme (mmmm glazed donuts…so good at Penn Station in NYC).  Enough distractions, let me see if I can tie all of this together.  See what happens when you’re not paying attention to what is around you!

Looking at this from the top down, my instincts tell me that Social Media did not lead to the downfall of Border’s Books nor did it cause Krispy Kreme to suffer significant losses in the last 10 years.  But it was those people at places like Amazon and Barnes & Noble and Dunkin Donuts who said “we’re not sure what these tools are for, but let’s try it out, what do we have to lose?”

That was 2006.

Flip the calendar pages, ah there we are: the world as we know it today.  A world where you do not even consider purchasing those shoes, going to that Thai restaurant or even visiting H&R Block to do your taxes without looking for a group discount in your email, searching on Yelp, checking your TwitFace feeds (yea I said it, TwitFace) or entering a contest for a 20% discount off your 2010 Tax Return just to see who can you trust so that you feel better about anything which involves you spending YOUR money.

A lot of companies that kept pace with the changing methods of communication are doing very well these days and those that have not, well, you are not entirely out of the game – yet.  What I am finding is that in the last five years companies (large and small) have been throwing their Social Media Stuff against the wall and measuring results based on what sticks.  Well, now companies like HBO, Microsoft and Sony Music are getting down to the ROI of Social Media and looking at the most personal level possible, measuring user specific clicks and actions.

Without a doubt there are not only individual companies, but entire industries out there that have yet to truly adapt to this form of communication and most have yet to truly understand how to measure the reconciliation of voices.

Like the Amazon’s of the world (and yes I am going to put myself out on a limb here) the products and ideas of Crowd Factory are incredible.  I have never been so excited and honored to be apart of a team that is developing the tools for those that have been keeping pace with the rhythm of social media (Barnes & Noble) but also those that have yet to start dancing (Krispy Kremes).  Those that need to quicken their social engagement pulse can certainly do so, but it takes a little patience, genuine listening skills and the ability to understand the analytics.

Lucky for you, Crowd Factory can help with all three.  This is just another reason why I love my new job.  I get to write about what I love and hear from those that want to see this taking shape – I feel like I am writing about the transformation of the human race and at the same time saving a few trees!