Dr. Neil Hair

On Wednesday I delivered a live lecture at the RIT Amph- itheatre on RIT island to a number of guests and my 20 virtual terra- formers. The session was extremely successful and reminded me of the advances virtual worlds have made in recent years in terms of stability and functionality. The event contained the usual mixture of work (asking questions, taking notes) and play - (I’m not sure who brought the huge watermelon cannon to class). It continues to surprise me that organizations don’t make best use of these immersive worlds. Many just don’t get it - or thought they got it in 2007 and then subsequently shut shop when the crowds disappeared (not realizing they disappeared because the value offering of those traditional brick and mortar companies in Second Life was NON EXISTANT). Of course the economic issues haven’t helped - companies always tend to cut the most valuable resource available to them - creative marketing types. First tactics to go are usually those that are the most innovative yet fail to demonstrate performance (again because they don’t understand the metrics). I do though predict a whole hearted return to these environments in the coming months and years. Just as social media has opened up a great deal of opportunity for marketers - so too has virtual worlds that enable deep interaction with customers and other valuable stakeholders. As with social media though – virtual worlds need a plan of action, a strategy, understanding of purpose and tactics – and a heavy heaping of understanding performance metrics of these plans. Which is why I am enjoying this class so much – we aren’t dodging this tricky subject, were tackling it head on. Our terraformers might not always carry watermelon cannons, but I can assure you – they are armed and dangerous in this new brave world.

Next Friday (29th January) morning during Webster Chamber of Commerce's regular breakfast briefing event I will be providing attendees with an overview of social media. The focus will be on how it has impacted business and what role it is playing for advanced users. Should be a great event and I would encourage any interested parties to attend. Event registration can be found at www.websterchamber.com/ . The event starts at 7 and ends at 9am. Hope to see you there!

One of the most useful conferences I try to attend each year - the International Colloquium on Relationship Marketing - is being held in Henley on Thames next year in sunny England (dont worry - in September, when it should still be sunny!). Vargo and Lusch aka Drs Service Dominant Logic will be in attendance as well as the usual RM crowd including David Ballantyne, Roger Palmer, Moira Clark and most likely my good friend from over the boarder Lyle Wetsch. As I have blogged before now, the conference is a single track affair which means should you get a paper accepted for presentation you get to run the gauntlet of excellent feedback (which proved really helpful for my PhD back in the day). I cant recommend it enough. Accordingly, as a heads up, we are proud to host the 2011 ICRM conference at the E Philip Saunders college of business. I look forward to seeing the worlds relationship marketers converge on our shores to discuss progress in the field.

Over the summer one of my other projects was the design of a new course on commercializing virtual worlds. Despite some of the press signaling the end to virtual worlds, usage by the dedicated has continued to grow. Its a bit like saying just because Oprah has got fed up of tweeting that the era of micro blogging has waned. Utter twiddle. Accordingly Saunders has, what I believe to be, the worlds first class that looks exclusively at commercializing new student run enterprises inside a virtual environment. For this purpose we are using Second Life. Second Life retains its popular interest, virtual entrepreneurs are continuing to make real money, and we get to use the RIT Second Life island facilities (which now sports a spangling new business park facility that my students are using). The core aim of the class is to show students how you can apply marketing towards establishing a viable virtual business thus becoming a cadre of virtual terraformers. The deliverables are (expectedly) many. A business plan and presentation aimed at venture capitalists; a personal branding strategy that strategizes the best use of virtual media for putting students in their best light; an e-portfolio charting learning experience and key findings from their travels and of course the intangibles of developing supporting media that can be used in-world (such as youtube videos and the like). Whether Second Life is here to stay is not the question. What will remain however is expertise in researching, planning for and executing a market enabled business plan that graduates will be able to continue to use in any virtual world environment. Yet another course to add to the experiential learning list of a Saunders’ student resume.

So, it's somewhat inevitable that we are likely to suffer from some sort of flu this season on campus - the joys of being in close proximity. I like many have probably found themselves sanatizing their hands as they enter and leave buildings like something out of a bad hospital movie. What I love about the campus spirit of course is the can do attitude of its constituents. Life goes on (we hope) and we have to make the best out of a duff deal. In amongst the 40 emails I have recently received in the nature of the threat an what you can do to prevent it came a request for contingency plans for those teaching this quarter. Got me thinking about the benefits of online learning and how it can affect in class training programs. As you probably know, Im no stranger to the use of Adobe Connect to deliver streaming sessions when needed from where ever to where ever (try hospital maternity ward to my MBA class last Winter for instance with the wife in bed about to bring Lillian into the world). No reason why we cant use the same technology to stay connected if were home recovering from flu. So yesterday I published my contingency plan for my students and enclose a copy of the letter here. Stay happy, healthy, and keep sanitizing those hands..

Dear all, we have been asked to write to our students informing them of contingency plans for an outbreak of the H1N1 virus. First off – I don’t want you to worry. You have more chance statistically speaking of being killed by an elephant in Times Square then you do from this virus. However, that said it’s important we have plans in place to continue with our work if any of us become ill. By now you will have received details of what to do and not do if we have any problems on campus. Stay at home. Here are the steps that we can take if there are any issues (and again, don’t worry – remember the elephant in Times Square).

1.       Email or phone me immediately if you suspect you have a problem. THIS IS MANDITORY.

2.       DO NOT COME TO CLASS. THIS IS SENSIBLE.

3.       I will use Adobe Connect (an online video conferencing package that is web based to record live our usual class session so that you can log in, see and hear the usual lecture and team activities, and participate from your home). THIS IS COOL TECHNOLOGY.

Go to *connect room* and log in using your normal RIT account information. You will be transferred to a live video session that will display powerpoints, and live video recording of the lecture taking place in the usual class. Please note – you can also use this to communicate with your team should you miss a face to face meeting.

You should connect your webcam and your microphone so we can interact as we would in a physical setting. If you do not have a webcam this is not the end of the world, you are though behind the times in this super-connected world of ours. You will though need a microphone.

Step 1. Run the audio wizard in connect to automatically set yourself up for this task. >meeting>manage my settings>audio set up wizard

Step 2. Run the select camera wizard in connect so we can see your beautiful face.
>meeting>manage my settings>select camera

Step 3. Press play in the video box and accept any invitation to start broadcasting your mic and or your video.

4.       Sit back, relax with a hot cup of tea with milk in it, and continue to learn and get your monies worth from the course.

5.       Make sure you start your research papers now. Medical documentation will be required for anyone missing the deadlines.Provided you are physically present during the live connect session there will be no penalty what so ever for your unfortunate predicament. And you never know, I might end up being the one delivering the lecture from my bed to you in the A400 room.

Once again, don’t be alarmed by this message, its sent on a ‘just in case’ basis and I'm quite confident we won’t need to put this plan into action.

Best wishes, keep washing your hands, see you soon.

Prof H.

A new academic year is upon us and I'm teaching evenings this quarter. That doesnt stop the e-family from saying goodnight however and Lillian is pictured here suddenly realizing it was her daddy in the box (aka the laptop screen). Teaching two cracking courses on internet marketing and B2B e-marketing to seniors at the undergraduate level. Ive a number of great local clients to work with on pro bono student consultancy projects and Im fortunate enough to be teaching these both in the state of the art A400 Learning with Technology Center housed in a secret location under the library. One pleasant surprise - almost all of my B2B students have sat classes with me before now. Looking forward to working with them again. Best of the new academic year to everyone!

I was asked to speak a number of times about the twitter outages yesterday and amused myself this morning by reading the comments about these articles. The D&C followship are usually the most virulent and amusing and did not disappoint. Yesterday, I offered comment on how important twitter is becoming to business, no surprises there, and in and amongst the usual 'go get a life and actually meet people' responses from the public, were more comments than usual of people that are 'getting it'. Whilst yesterdays outage might not have affected people for long, one thing is certain, it affected a lot of people. Twitter is being used by business to facilitate and enhance relationships. It is here to stay as are the relationships it helps foster. Organizations and possibly the government as well, need to realize that this service is of strategic interest. It should be protected. Would one counter attacks on email systems these days? Back in the 1990's if email wasnt up - an oh well attitude usually followed. When I see email down at RIT these days little gets done. Its kind of a 'oh well, best I go read the paper' response by many. Twitter will follow in this regard in the times ahead. Twitter down - world gets a life dear D&C reader? No. Twitter down - relationships and productivity suffer. Read the D&C's article here.

You may have noticed a few updates from me recently on the Cisco project via Twitter and Facebook feeds. I have been thoroughly impressed with the quality at which participants have spoken (sometimes candidly) about their use of social media for innovation and collaboration. The list of local, national, and truly global organizations include a pretty impressive 90 companies so far (and no I cant share specific details or contacts with you until the project is complete); the big such as - Xerox, Kodak, 3M, Bank of America, Seagate, KBC Banking and Insurance, BAE, Corus, Telstra, the nimble - Carrot Creative, Logicalis, Tipping Point, Earthscribe, Clearspring Technologies - and the just plain beautiful - Mac Village Productions, Blue Fountain Media, Fixitology, iwritemarketing, Accession Media, Girls in Tech amongst many many others.

The project is soon to come to a close with only a few thought leaders left to interview. Then begins the process of coding and analysis to draw together common themes. Once that is complete I get to represent a great team of researchers in announcing the findings of this study at Cisco's CIO summit event in October in San Diego - a huge privilege!

Ive learned a great deal from my conversations with experts in this area and look forward to crunching over 100 hours of data in the pursuit of a theory of innovation and collaboration in social media. One thing is for certain, passions run very high for this area, there is most certainly a huge competitive advantage to be had by organizations using these tools effectively, metrics ARE available for ensuring successful outcomes, and caveats, of which there are many, have to be avoided. It is proving to be a really exciting project.

I am increasingly bemused by the comments I hear of local people and students alike saying there is nothing to do in Rochester. It’s about time there was a grass roots review of the cool factor in Rochachacha and I’d like to offer a few of my own suggestions as a fresh off the plane immigrant. Have you for instance seen the tree house city in Henrietta? Since a small boy I have been fascinated by tree houses. You can imagine my surprise when I rode down Casa Drive in Henrietta and saw a mini city of tree houses in one back garden. We are not talking one little house up in the sky. No sir, Americans do things BIG. There are several of them connected by rope ladders, an elaborate network of pulleys and the like. Even the creators name is cool. Maurice Barkley. Check out the youtube video for more details BUT go ahead and take a look in person, you wont be disappointed. Please add your additional cool factors for Rochester in this post. I’m always looking for other things to do and truly believe that there are PLENTY of cool things to do in the area.

Check out a short video of it here.