Bob Pearson runs social media at Dell and has some very interesting things to say in this interview. Definitely give this a watch. It’s about 5 minutes long. If you’re short on time, here are some key quotes:
“Social media is becoming who we are.”
“Listening to a community is arguably more important than the number of units sold.”
“We’re finishing what we think is chapter one, which was how do we integrate social media within Dell. Chapter two is how does social media revolutionize the business infrastructure.”
“In a recession, social media actually becomes more important.”
“We want to be relevant in the right communities that our customers care about, and we want to make sure that we’re always having conversations. So we’re not dumping content. We’re trying to have conversations.”
“The corporate homepage at Dell.com is not really the corporate homepage. The homepage today is Google.”

Child’s Play and gamerDNA have teamed up to create a community contest for charity this Holiday Season. Here’s the official press release. Online communities that want to participate will prompt users to take a fun gaming quiz and make a donation if they choose (not required). Participants will receive a virtual badge that can be shared with friends all over the web and the community that shares the most badges will win a game package (Nintendo DS systems and additional games) that will be donated to a Children’s Hospital of their choosing. There is no cost to this program.
If you would like to find out more information or get involved please contact Sam Houston via email:
community@gamerDNA.com.

Calling all IT pros. Check out the newly launched Virtualization Conversation. Share your definition of ‘virtualization’ and get in on the convo. Thanks to IBM and Intel for getting behind this important discussion.

Today we’re announcing that FM and GigaOM are parting ways. We wish Om, Paul and the rest of the Giga Omni Media team the best of luck as they begin a new relationship as part of the IDG family. We’ve had a great 3 years together, building our businesses in tandem and solidifying friendships that will continue past our commercial relationship. More at PaidContent.
It’s always sad to say goodbye to good friends. But we value the well-being of our authors and partners above all else. What’s good for our partners is good for us. Giga Omni Media and IDG are a great match, and we wish them both success. We’re all in this together!

I’ve recently been following John A. Byrne, the executive editor of BusinessWeek, via his Twitter feed. I then noticed a blog post in which he describes why he tweets, blogs and podcasts. His thoughts on this are particularly insightful. Sorry for the lenghty quote, here, but it’s worth a read. John gets it.
Why I Tweet:

For an old print guy, I now podcast, blog and tweet—and I can’t believe I’m using these words as verbs. But there you go. It’s a new and far more creative world out there, and I’ve not merely embraced it. Frankly, I love it.
Why? Because I deeply believe that the analog-to-digital transition allows us to practice journalism like never before. It’s not another way to distribute “content” (a word I despise because it diminishes the craft that journalism is). It’s not another medium (it’s so much more than that.) Instead, it’s a way to deeply involve and engage your audience.
That’s why I really tweet. And blog. And podcast. To get closer to everyone who is informed by the journalism we do, day in and day out. To learn from them. To understand what they want and what they need. I want our journalism to touch and influence as many people as possible because I believe there is tremendous value in what we do. No less crucial, I also believe that what we do can be vastly improved by real collaboration with you—our audience.

ClickZ, among others, covered the recent launch of Intel-sponsored Offworld with this post. Intel has indeed been an incredible marketing partner with several first-of-their-kind social media executions under their belt.
From ClickZ:

Intel has been one of FM’s most active ad partners. The Offworld blog is only the latest of several initiatives the companies have undertaken together lately. One of those was a “crowdsourced PC” project through which Intel and Asus solicited the public’s idea on what the ideal computer would look like. Intel also is an early tester of FM’s Conversational Marketing Toolbox, launched earlier this fall.

I’d also add Intel’s PopURLs Blue Edition and Need a Tech Makeover. This is all great stuff that we’re very proud of at FM – only possible thanks to the vision of a great partner like Intel.

P&G’s Digital Guru Not Sure Marketers Belong on Facebook – that’s the headline published yesterday for an AdAge article in which Ted McConnell, general manager of interactive marketing and innovation at P&G, is quoted about the ins and outs of marketing on Facebook.
This is not really what McConnell said, from what I can tell. Like with many hot-button issues covered by the press, this headline obscures the complexity of the situation by boiling it down to an either-or choice. The thrust of McConnell’s statements should not be read as an all-out indictment of marketing on social networks. They should be read as an indictment of traditional IAB advertising on social nets, but an endorsement of integrated marketing campaigns via social network applications.
There is simply no doubt that social networking is hear to stay. It might not look like Facebook or Myspace in the future, but the activities that happen in social net environments are sure to be a major piece of the media landscape from here on out. And while many brands have yet to dabble in the space, I think the question should not be, “Do I, or do I not advertise on social nets?” The question should be, “How do I advertise on social nets well?”
It seems clear now that banner ads in social networking environments underperform. That notion is quickly approaching accepted-wisdom status, and McConnell’s statements reflect this. He says, “I really don’t want to buy any more banner ads on Facebook.” But he came out vocally for “Facebook applications as a potentially valuable vehicle for advertisers, one in which they can create an environment that’s favorable for their brands and consumers alike.” Amen, brother McConnell.
Taken as a whole, McConnell’s discussion should have generated the headline, “P&G’s Digital Guru Not Sure Crappy Marketing Belongs on Facebook.” Of course, crappy marketing doesn’t belong anywhere.

Check out Offworld, the new site from the Boing Boing crew. Gaming will now get the ‘directory of wonderful things’ treatment. Awesome. Thanks to Intel and the Core i7 processor Extreme Edition for sponsoring the launch!