Adam Nash of LinkedIn: Gentleman, Internet Tactician

Yesteray, while liveblogging the often tedious Graphing Social Patterns East conference, I digressed into Snark mode while writing about the presentation by LinkedIn’s Adam Nash:

Data viz plans: New apps to (for example) show who’s moved where, understand relationships between people and companies, etc. [I’d love to see my LinkedIn network represented as a Venn diagram.]

Unbelievable quote: “I have a number of interns starting next week [!]” that will explore new kinds of visualizations. [Dude: If it’s a strategic priority, why are freaking interns getting the work? What, you can’t find people via LinkedIn who can do the job?]

I posted the above at 9:45 a.m.

At 6:28 p.m. Adam posted this as a comment on my blog:

Just thought I’d say hi here. Very tight synopsis, although I think those last four paragraphs are actually part of the Q&A rather than the presentation itself.

I’m don’t think I actually said that visualization was a strategic priority – right now, we are very much focused on utility and applications that deliver professional value. Visualizations are extremely interesting, but not one of the top application types that we’re focused on internally. The question was from the crowd, from a developer who focuses on visualization. It’s one of the areas that I am sure developers will be able to expand on with the platform.

Thanks for posting these notes (of this and other GSP talks).
Adam

Worth noting here is how Adam–in a way befitting the professionally oriented nature of his enterprise–responded so perfectly to my intemperate post. He started with a compliment and shifted into a clarification that reframed [and corrected] what I’d written. He ended with another compliment.

This is a near-perfect display of best practices when responding to a negative post: Remain calm and respectful, do nothing to escalate a the exchange, clarify the point, keep it short. He comes off looking good, representing himself and his company very well.

Had he responded to my snotty post in kind, he might have written [BUT HE DIDN’T WRITE THE FOLLOWING, JUST TO BE VERY CLEAR. I WROTE IT–CS]:

Dude: If you’d been listening to what I was saying instead of trying to show off your ‘tude, you’d have noticed I didn’t say data visualization is a “strategic priority” for LinkedIn. Frankly, the fact that we’ve put interns on the task shows we’re paying attention, which is more than I can say for you.

If you want people to actually read your blog, dude–which not many people seem to do anyway–you might want to get your facts straight. You could wind up getting your ass sued. Hey, maybe you can find a lawyer using LinkedIn!

p.s. The rest of your write-ups sucked too

Anyhow: Good job, Adam, and thanks for not feeding a flame war or making me look particularly bad on my own blog.

In fact, I think I’m going to go send you a LinkedIn invitation. If you don’t mind.

Dude.

Advertisement

GSP Liveblog: Can Social Networks Be Used to, Um, Make Money?

The moderator of a panel at Graphing Social Patterns East asks social network honchos: “Does anybody actually show increased sales from social network advertising?”

He has to ask it twice because the panel just double-talks about “engagement” metrics and “getting people into a branded environment” and “very new, not about revenues yet,” “optimizing cross platform media campaigns” and “social influence marketing” and “win-win” and “blahblahblahdon’taskthatplease.”

But social networks need to be part of every advertising campaign anyway! That much they’re sure of!

GSP Liveblog: Widgetmania–Trend or Diagnosis?

Session: Clearspring, “Number 1 widget platform” [note to self: fact-check that claim]

1. “Widgets are the new web page.” And presumably the new widgets are. . .[my prediction: Lifestreams. But that’s another story.]

2. Widgets: “A building block, not a building.” It’s just another way to reach people on the web that complements other things you do. Duh patrol: “Focus on user”

3. Focus less long tail, more “fat tail.” Neither tiny nor huge markets. Sweet spot: ComScore 200. [Note to self: Is “fat tail” a new coinage?]

4. Do A/B testing of widgets, then keep moving fast to improve, develop, punt, etc. Watch metrics–“double down on success.”

5. “You will fail.” Don’t be afraid to fail. The more you fail the more you learn about what might work for you. Work fast, keep going. “Speed over smarts.”

“Speed over smarts” sounds good. Much better than “Slow under dumb.”

GSP Liveblog: The Future of Facebook Commerce

Liveblog from Graphing Social Patterns East is boring even me. My sincere apologies for two dull entries just posted. New format: Three Points

Session: Facebook

1. By using attributes from profiles, marketers can target ads and applications to people by geography, interests, activity on network, etc. Use [Facbeook] people “like you do keywords” when buying Adwords keywords. [Note to self: Icky but fascinating.]

2. Application example: Open Table permits restaurant reservations across network rather than requiring people to visit their site to make reservations. Could be targeted geographically, by interest, by network activity, etc.

3. Another example: Someone “friends” a dentist and their friends see an ad for the same dentist. [Ickier than the rest, for some reason.]

My takeaway: People’s Facebook home pages will soon fill with [more] targeted commercial clutter [than there is currently]. What’s that I hear in the distance? Could it be a death knell?

GSP Liveblog: LinkedIn Presentation

Adam Nash, Sr. Director of Product for LinkedIn [My comments in brackets]

[Intro: A video that shows Toby of The Office, talking about social network abuse at Dunder Mifflin]

What sets LinkedIn apart? Unlike purely goof-with-friends networks, LI is a “purpose-driven Network.” [Which is to say: Business only. Duh.] Based on trust, developing a business profile. Users: Time-starved business folks who value their privacy.

Dataspit:

• 8.6 million monthly page views: 361 pct growth in year. Now fourth highest social network in PVs
• Demo: 41 years old, avg. income $100k-plus
• New[ish] feature: Company posting employee directories on LinkedIn. 65 percent of them have fewer than 200 or fewer employees

LinkedInnies are “suceptive to messages” aimed at small business users. “You won’t find a page with 12 different ad spots.” Advertisers can do broad campaign, or aim at certain kinds of users, or custom segments. All that data in your profile? It’s used to match you with ads.

Members want productivity applications–things that will save them time or do things they can’t now do to reach people.

Open Social based applications to be launched. . . in Q3.

LinkedIn makes money four ways: Ads; classified job ads; premium subscription products for some users; enterprise deals for big companies. [Note to self: Am I paying for a premium subscription? If so, why?]

Data viz plans: New apps to (for example) show who’s moved where, understand relationships between people and companies, etc. [I’d love to see my LinkedIn network represented as a Venn diagram.]

Unbelievable quote: “I have a number of interns starting next week [!]” that will explore new kinds of visualizations. [Dude: If it’s a strategic priority, why are freaking interns getting the work? What, you can’t find people via LinkedIn who can do the job?]

iPhone plans: “It’s a little bit spoiling” that with LinkedIn mobile you can now walk into a meeting and find out about people five minutes beforehand. “We’ll pursue” mobile “very aggressively.”

GSP Liveblog: Graphing Social Patterns

I’m liveblogging from O’Reilly’s Graphing Social Patterns, a social media conference. Try to contain yourselves, please.

5 Things that Win on Social Networks, from David McClure, 500 Hats: [Brackets show me talking, not speakers.]

1. Multiple Social Network Platforms. They are proliferating, as a big Venn diagram illustrates. [Note to self: For whom is this good?]

2. News Feeds let you stay in touch with multiple groups as networks proliferate

3. App-Vertising: Widgets, social apps are new methods that are not annoying to “reach” people. Said he, after misspeaking: “I probably shouldn’t say targeting” people. It’s “reaching people with information on products and services.”

4. Data Portability: Use social content on multiple platforms across web [No longer limited to single-platform interactions]

5. Social Commerce: It’s not happening yet, but “I’m predicting,” said he. The idea is that people will begin making purchases while doing their stuff on social networks. [We’ll see.]