Socialmediaworx

I’m not even going to pretend to tie these three pieces together, but they’re simply too cool not to share. The first is Pete Blackshaw’s latest AdAge column – ‘Contribution Revolution’ More Important Than You Think.

In the article, titled “The Contribution Revolution: Letting Volunteers Build Your Business,” he puts real backbone — sans Web 2.0 buzzwords or social-media hype — on the argument that customer participation drives tangible enterprise value.

“My job is simply to lay down the pipes and to enable the flow of meaningful contribution by passionate users,” he said. One of his biggest “aha” moments came when he realized that the vast majority of questions asked by consumers are answered by members of the forums. Wilder underscored the unique “nuggets of insights” he finds in these user forums.

Social-media exuberance is at an all-time high, and I worry we may be chasing the wrong prize. Events and campaigns and buzz tricks with unrealistic payout hurdles dominate the social-media landscape, often distracting us from bigger, more sustaining opportunities like the ones Cook outlines. Moreover, we risk cheapening the macro user-contribution ecosystem with short-term success criteria and our sometimes irrepressible desire to bend the message or “influence the influencers.”

Be sure to check out Scott Cook’s article in HBR when it’s available online.

Up next – I’m loving the new spot from Nike, “Fate.”

And finally, this short film from Carlos Lascano is simply gorgeous:

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.