What would a VRM social network be?

The Big Bang of Social Networking is a piece by Jim Dwyer in The New York Times that will likely be a subject of a session today or tomorrow at IIW. So here are a few thoughts of my toward that discussion…

1. All of us had social networks before Facebook, Diaspora and Ello existed. We still do. They’re in our heads, hearts, contact lists and address books.
2. Facebook, Diaspora* and Ello are silo’d commercial services. They do serve many social purposes, of course, and a few very well, or they wouldn’t be so popular.
3. If we want real social networks online, we need to start with our own genuine personal ones.
4. To be VRM, they need to support independence and engagement. They should also be substitutable in the same way that, say, browsers and email apps and services are substitutable.

It is essential to start outside the box of thinking that says everything needs to be a service. Inside that box we risk thinking only of other calf-cow solutions to calf-cow problems.

Facebook and Ello are both cows. Even though one doesn’t advertise at us, we’re still calves in its fenced farm.

Unless, of course, we can take our social graphs away with us, to use on our own, or with some substitutable service.

VRM social network solutions to the problems of calf-cow designs need to be first person technologies. At that link, I explain,

Only a person can use the pronouns  “I,” “me,” “my” and “mine.” Likewise, only a person can use tools such as screwdrivers, eyeglasses and pencils. Those things are all first person technologies. They were invented for individual persons to use.

I suggest we start with address books and calendars. Those could not be more personal, yet more social. And, far as I know, nobody has yet done them in a way that’s useful for scaffolding the successor to Facebook on top of them. But that shouldn’t stop us.

* [Later…] This was a copy/paste/rush error.  In fact Diaspora is quite VRooMy. The Wikipedia  entry makes that clear.

 

 

@Capgemini on #VRM: well done!

Just learned about these two new videos by @Capgemini:

• What is Vendor Relationship Management in the New Customer-Centric Age?
• What are the key differences between CRM and VRM?

The introductory copy says,

Both Customer Relationship Management and Vendor Relationship Management want to improve customer relationships but they approach this differently. Find out what are the three main factors that separate them.

Both videos not only explain VRM nicely, but illustrate it on a whiteboard:

Big thanks to @LarrySCohen, @NielsvdLinden, @rickmans, Nick Gill and all the other @Capgemini people behind this. (Though not mentioned in the above links, I also want to throw thanks to @VINTLabs and @Sogeti, both also of Capgemini, and who I suspect are involved too.)

And it would be great if some could come to VRM Day and IIW next week. We’ll set the stage with these videos.

VRM News & Views

First, some VRooMy startups and projects:

• Chekk “Take control of your digital life.”
• Momentum “Own your life moments.”
• APHS invests in Flamingo to develop personal cloud platform Good
  investment news.
• Welcomer Short Overview – YouTube Kevin Cox explains, with visuals.
• pEp – pretty Easy privacy | Indiegogo The name says it all.

Next, I’ve got this idea that whawhat we need for full personal agency is an operating system of our own. Something that’s as personal as our own clothes, and just as wearable and privacy-affording. Also something we wield, like a tool. Or a set of them, which might include, if need be, weapons. So here are some links that point in that direction:

• Let’s create the OS of life | KurzweilAI Very Kurzweil, and not as far
  out there as the usual.
• The OS Fund “invests in entrepreneurs working towards quantum-leap discoveries that promise to reinvent the operating systems of life.”
• Leola Group “…we are building a digital freedom layer of the internet for all people by coding the core infrastructure and initial services for individuals to own and decide where and how to share their data.”
• Open protocols and open people: preserving the transformational potential of social media | openDemocracy By Kaliya, CEO of Leola. Excellent piece. Required reading.

Now for some government stuff:

• Open government and consumers | Open Government Partnership From the UK feds.
• What Germany’s Tight-Laced Privacy Mandate Means For Ad Tech Players That they’ll have to do at least some of the Right Things.

A collection of VRooMy posts by Don Marti, and links from some of those posts:

• Surfacing, not hiding, the creepy? Who’s on which side in the privacy battle. Ain’t what you think.
• Optimal privacy protection? “why high-value content sites are participating in ad targeting systems”
• Opportunity in surveillance marketing consolidation? “Clearly nobody in the IT industry is ready to give up getting a piece of the surveillance marketing business yet. But for whoever does first, the opportunity is waiting.”
• Snapchat ads and committing to non-targeting “If Snapchat can’t commit to its core feature, the idea that photos disappear after sending, how can the company credibly commit to less creepy, more valuable advertising?”
• Errata Security: Right-winger explains what’s wrong with ComputerCop
• Facebook And Google Are Bringing Walled Gardens Back. And there go lots of little ad companies that aren’t on the inside.
• The Ad Contrarian: Amazing Tale Of Online Ad Fraud Bob Hoffman nails it again. They don’t listen, of course. Why would anyone who makes hay while the sun shines out their butts?
• Hackers strike defense companies through real-time ad bidding | Computerworld
• Customers, not extortionists | rc3.org Rafe Colburn: “I don’t want to have to threaten a company to get decent customer service. If that’s what it takes, I don’t want to do business with the company at all. “

Data stuff:

• With Big Data Comes Big Responsibility – Harvard Business Review One would hope.
• The Dark Market for Personal Data – NYTimes.com More creepage.
• Who owns the data you generate online? – Forum:Blog Forum:Blog | The World
  Economic Forum Tough question.
• Data-Minimization-Study-2014.pdf

Etc.

• Uber Drivers Across The Country Are Protesting Today — Here’s Why — Business Insider As a passenger, I generally like Uber — especially the convenience and the prices. But I sense that it’s coming apart as more cabbies and livery professionals get involved as drivers. They want it to be an improvement in what they already do, but it isn’t, except as a much better dispatch system.
• How to survive do-it-yourself customer service – Business – The Boston Globe

#VRM Tweetings

Here’s a pile of #VRM tweets. One of these days I’ll find the least crufty way to copy and paste them (or whatever works best). Recommendations welcome.

1.  Crypt Ghost Be So ‏@stopthecyborgs  2h2 hours ago

   @PernilleT @NordicDEi Good start but openPDS still runs into the http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1678634 … problem. Also see #VRM & #hubofallthings stuff.

    View conversation

2. 1.  Aurelie Pols retweeted

      T.Rob ‏@tdotrob  2h2 hours ago

      Here’s Why Public Wifi is a Public Health Hazard http://iopt.us/1usjedF  #itsec #security #privacy #vrm

3.  James Ladd retweeted

   Geraldine McBride ‏@geraldineglobal  13h13 hours ago

   Some more Morgo coverage RT @mywaveme: “The rate of company failures is increasing…” http://bit.ly/1ok87a9  #cmr #vrm

4. Marcio Rodrigues ‏@MarcioOnTW  Oct 18

   Content created by the customer belongs to the customer? http://cultureby.com/2014/09/kindle-unlimited-not-quite-unlimited-or-how-amazon-plans-to-kidnap-your-data.html … #custexp #tech #privacy #vrm #innovation

5. Marcio Rodrigues ‏@MarcioOnTW  Oct 18

   White House Launches More Open Data Initiatives http://www.informationweek.com/government/open-government/white-house-launches-more-open-data-initiatives/d/d-id/1316732 … #bigdata #analytics #privacy #vrm
6. People · View all
        
8. Dean Landsman ‏@DeanLand  Oct 17 Twitter: no more respect for the users, arbitrarily adds tweets to the stream. User choice:gone.The opposite of #VRM. http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/17/who-wrote-this-tweet/ …

9. 1. 

10. Sean Bohan ‏@seanbohan  Oct 17

    MT @dsearls @JordanJCaron Take a look @ list of #Intentcasting #VRM developers: http://bit.ly/KNZE40  Not a complete list, but not bad

11. Adrien Blind ‏@AdrienBlind  Oct 17

    “What’s bugging people is that companies know stuff about them that they don’t know” @kaplandaniel #VRM

12. 1. In reply to Daniel Kaplan

       Adrien Blind ‏@AdrienBlind  Oct 17

       @kaplandaniel today at @SocieteGenerale to speak about #VRM (vendor relationship mgmt). Interesting presentation!

       
13. Alexander Ainslie ‏@AAinslie  Oct 17

    @jobsworth Your #Data or Your Life /by @lucymarcus http://bit.ly/1tz30oF  #VRM #SDH cc @dsearls
14. 1. Bill Wendel ‏@RealEstateCafe  Oct 16

       .@adamzais Compare @Jeff_Finn Few 3rd parties developing commercial #realestate solutions vs residential #RE2020 #VRM

       
15. 1. Ruud Knorr ‏@RuudKnorr  Oct 16

       @RheinMaas Visit Kenya and Ethiopia Veiling Rhein-Maas suppliers Start-up Season #vrm

       
16. Sean Bohan ‏@seanbohan  Oct 16

    RT @jemiweb: Germany is setting the rules – rest will follow. Are you prepared? #adtech #privacy #VRM http://www.adexchanger.com/data-exchanges/what-germanys-tight-laced-privacy-mandate-means-for-ad-tech-players/ …

17. Jordan J. Caron ‏@JordanJCaron  Oct 15

    Been a couple years since I read The Intention Economy by @dsearls. Wanted to see what was going on with #VRM http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/vrm/category/intentcasting/ …

18.  Intent Data and 7 others follow

    Michael Zeuthen ‏@mgzeuthen  Oct 15

    Looking forward to connecting with other #VRM‘ers at VRM Speed Networking event tomorrow at 9am PST. http://www.qiqochat.com/213?event_unique1=vSTbBQURKvOwqqpVrQjpbkafv&show_hotline=true …
19. Gonzalo Aguilar ‏@gaguilardelgado  Oct 15

    #VRM What’s this? We are building an app that will surely explain it. And maybe will help users to take advantadge of their #loyalty.
20. James Bryce Clark ‏@JamieXML  Oct 9

    The “I don’t care who you are, terrorist, Fed or http://dot.com , get out of my data” sentiment HAS to favor PDSs, no? #privacy #VRM

21.  Lou Josephs retweeted

    Phil Windley ‏@windley  Oct 8

    VRM+CRM at IIW “come for the #VRM, stay for the #IIW” http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/vrm/2014/10/07/vrmcrm-at-iiw/ …

22. 1.  citizenme retweeted

       Nitin Badjatia ‏@nitinbadjatia  Oct 8

       Is Fitbit selling data? – Fitbit doesn’t plan to share stats with Apple’s new Health app, for now http://nitin.io/1xpTKAU  via engadget #VRM

23.  T.Rob and 1 other retweeted

    Sean Bohan ‏@seanbohan  Oct 8

    RT @dnm54: I’ll be joining @dsearls @nitinbadjatia and scores more folks at #IIW #VRM + #CRM Day http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/vrm/2014/10/07/vrmcrm-at-iiw/ … // cc: @fatemehx2

24.  Heidi Nobantu Saul and 2 others retweeted

    Sean Bohan ‏@seanbohan  Oct 8

    want to learn more about Intention and #VRM ? Check out what’s happening at #IIW Oct 27-30 http://ow.ly/Csmna 
25. Jonathan Butler ‏@jonathanpb  Oct 8

    ‘#CRM needs a hand to shake on the customer side that’s not a captive one’ – @dsearls http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/vrm/2014/10/07/vrmcrm-at-iiw/ … #vrm

Weekend Linklings

Events

VRM Day 2014b- Eventbrite. 41 have registered. Room for 50.  Better hurry.
Internet Identity Workshop XIX #19 – 2014b- Eventbrite. Come for VRM Day, stay for IIW.

Politics and governance, aka #GRM

 snapvote14.com by NewGov.us.
 SNAPvote14 | Indiegogo. Support a Good Thing.

Thinkings

 Hidden In The Myths Of Time | Brian Grimmer Founder & CEO Present Group. Deep thinkings across space and time from the father of the personal cloud company Onexus.
 Doc Searls: Business as Morality – O’Reilly Radar. Some possible moral contexts for VRM discussions, including the…
 Genuine progress indicator – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Shift Happens – Katryna Dow. Thinking from another of our great friends from Oz.
 Iain Henderson – The Personal Data Eco-System | Kantara Initiative. An oldie that’s still a goodie. Dep reading.
 Walk A Mile In Your Customer’s Diapers: Co-Creating The Customer Experience. Big topic.
 kitewheel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Journey-Final. More on that.

VRM +/vs. Marketing

 Unhappy Customer: Comcast Told My Employer About Complaint, Got Me Fired – Consumerist. Source of much discussion on the VRM list.
 The Marketing/Cybercrime symbiosis. T.Rob on a topic close to home.
 2014 Report – Adblocking Goes Mainstream | Inside PageFair. A fair warning to the online publishing and advertising industries, which are kinda the same.
 US tech companies heading for a customer service disaster? | MyCustomer

Developments

 ownCloud.org
 Company – Protonet
 Thingz. Dunno what it is, but it’s run by our friend Don Thorson.

Etc.

 Twitter / Search – #vrm. See what’s up.
 The Personal Data Eco-System | Information Answers. Good things to know.
 Irving Wladawsky-Berger: On the Complex Evolution toward Mobile Digital Payments

VRM+CRM at IIW

Four years and a few months ago, CRM Magazine devoted much of its May issue to VRM. That’s the cover there on the right. It was way ahead of its time. Same goes for ProjectVRM, which started four years earlier.

Now things are starting to shift.

I’ve heard encouraging reports from friends who went to Oracle OpenWorld last month and are headed to Salesforce‘s Dreamforce  next week. They tell me it is now becoming apparent to CRM that it needs a hand to shake on the customer side that’s not a captive one. Specifically —

• That customers need scale across the many companies they deal with, just as companies need scale across the many customers they deal with. So, for example…
• A customer should to be able to change his or her address (plus other form fields) for every company they deal with in one move, rather than one at a time within each company’s separate CRM system.
• A customer should be able to intentcast as a qualified lead, safely and (at least at first) anonymously, outside of any one company’s captive marketplace.
• An individual’s sovereign identity matters more to them — and to the marketplace — than any administrative identities conferred by companies or governments.
• The negative externalities of unwelcome surveillance tend to outweigh whatever positive internalities the practice provides.
• Co-creating the customer experience is better than having one side in charge of the whole thing — especially when the customer has few ways to bring consistency to her experience with many different companies.
• Customers should have clouds of their own (aka personal clouds, stores, vaults, PIMS), and not just those of silo’d services.
• Customers need ways to express their own policies, preferences, terms and conditions, and not be forced all the time to accept those provided by sellers — and that mutually agreeable terms will be far better than the one-sided (and in many cases unenforceable) ones nobody reads because there’s no point to it.
• There is far more leverage on customer retention in the “own cycle” than in the “buy cycle” of the customer experience.

Speaking of which, here’s how that cycle looks, thanks to Esteban Kolsky, who drew the original:

There are now many dozens of developers in or near the VRM space that can be helpful for CRM as well.

Given all the action that’s going on, it would be way cool if we can get players on both sides together in one room to talk and whiteboard our way onto common ground and build new and better stuff there.

So we’re in luck, because that’s what we have with VRM Day and IIW, both at the Computer History Museum in downtown Silicon Valley (101 and Shoreline Road in Mountain View), on the last week of this month.

• VRM Day is Monday, October 27.
• IIW (Internet Identity Workshop) is Tuesday to Thursday, October 28-30.

The two go together. VRM Day is located and timed to lead in to IIW. The topics are ones we’ll want to be working on for the next three days — and beyond.

IIW is an unconference. There are no speakers or panels. All the topics are vetted by participants, who lead discussions and push topics forward in breakout rooms. It’s designed that way so stuff gets done and not only talked about.

While the original focus was (and remains) identity, the workshop is open to anything. High on the list of topics that get worked on, every time, are VRM ones like those listed above.

VRM Day and IIW will provide an ideal week for anybody who wants CRM to truly engage customers to get together and help make that happen.

VRM developers need to know more about how to connect with and help CRM systems and related ones, such as sCRM (social CRM), Customer Experience Management and call centers.

CRM developers need to know more about how to connect with and help VRM developers.

And, since everybody with a wallet is also a customer, that character will be well-represented too.

So I encourage everybody involved in CRM or VRM to come to VRM Day and IIW — with a special shout-out to Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, IBM, Salesforce and SugarCRM. We need you there. And so do you. 🙂

It’s time to make good on the promise we’ve seen coming for way too long.