The Weather Channel and IBM using IoT and IBM Cloud to "change" the business of weather!
I am very excited for the Partnership of the Weather Channel and IBM! IBM and The Weather Company through WSI, its global B2B division, today announced a groundbreaking global strategic alliance to integrate real-time weather insights into business to improve operational performance and decision-making.
As part of the alliance, The Weather Company, including WSI will shift its massive weather data services platform to the IBM Cloud and integrate its data with IBM analytics and cloud services.
IBM and WSI will deliver new cloud services to businesses in three key ways:
- Watson Analytics for Weather: IBM and WSI will enable easy integration of historical and real-time weather data in business operations and decision making with IBM analytics platforms such as Watson Analytics. The companies will jointly develop industry solutions for insurance, energy & utilities, retail and logistics among others.
- Cloud and Mobile App Developer Tools: Entrepreneurs and software developers will be able to rapidly build mobile and web apps that take advantage of WSI data combined with data from operational systems, connected devices and sensors using advanced analytics through Bluemix, IBM’s cloud application development platform.
- Business and Operational Weather Expertise: Thousands of consultants from across IBM Global Business Services will be trained to combine WSI data with other sources to more effectively interpret industry pain points, providing clients new insights that solve business problems.
Check out https://ibm.biz/IoTandWeather
I am also loving our VINE videos to use social media showcase the power of this announcement. https://vine.co/u/1025833884602232832
A YouTube Video, Harnessing the power of Weather: IBM and The Weather Company, voiced by The Weather Channel(R) Meteorologist Jim Cantore, this video offers an overview of IBM and The Weather Company's alliance to bring advanced weather insights to business.
The Expectations you set can change your "quest" for success! Community or Crowd
The other day my daughter came home with 2 different grades. On one paper, she received a 97 and was upset that she didn't get a 100. On the other she got a 87 -- a "B+" -- and was satisfied because this was a 'hard' class and subject.
I thought about her reaction and ours to these types of situations as well.
Are you expecting success from your social work? Are you expecting a crowd or a community?
As I talk to companies around the world, the big question that I get is: “What is the difference between just a group of people – a crowd and a community?” Sometimes the question is “How do I get a group of people to become a community, and see value in the community itself?
This question has fascinated me for a while as I myself have built communities, and have been in learn mode as well from others researching the power of a community, taking classes, reading everything I can get my hands on, and talking to lots of clients who have been successful!
My conclusions for building a great community vs just a crowd, are below. But in all cases you need to expect great things from working with your community!
- Leadership vs. Equality. The best communities have strong Community Managers who provide leadership and direction for the group. They help establish the goal of the community experience and define the business problems trying to be solved. They help develop and shape the community norm, start conversations, and listen. They attract and build the right content, stories, and subject matter expertise.. Crowds have no leadership that is stable. As such, they struggle with a defined direction and so wander and lose focus. CEMEX, the world's largest building materials supplier, has leadership not just from a community manager, but their leadership is all the way at the very top, their CEO.
- Purpose vs. Pride. A Community is motivated by purpose. They share a goal. For instance, Dogster, the number one community for dog lovers, is driven by the love of dogs. The community states “this vibrant community is a must for any dog enthusiast!” Crowds are run by Pride. Sometimes pride of ownership not purpose.
- Engaged vs. Sporadic. A community is engaged in active discussions and sharing. They comment, debate, and share expertise. They are consistent and responsive. For example, the DeveloperWorks community, is very engaged even though they have over 4 million members. They engage though member driven topics on technology. The engagement is driven by trust in open and transparent discussion (this is what works, this doesn’t) and by perceived value. IBM has experts that are passionate about providing the best support in the industry. With the right people in the community, the value based engagement shines through as the members become community champions – internally and externally. Crowds are in and out of discussions in a sporadic way. They are not committed to the discussions but pepper themselves in and out of the discussions.
- Belong vs. Benefit. A community is powered by belonging so that they can influence. The satisfaction that they get from the community is partially that they are part of something bigger. For instance, the China Deaf Association has a community that centers around providing real-time, online sign-language interpretation to improve the lives of deaf and hearing-impaired people. This 200K member community is driven by belonging to a community of people like them. Crowds wants benefits – or rewards. Crowds like to get; Communities like to give.
- Collaboration vs. Connection. The best communities collaborate as a normal working style. They feel the value exists with more input and a diversity of debate. For example, Pepsi, a large global consumer products company, has their community focused on accelerating development and project pipelines for innovations and new products. Product innovations increase as people collaborate through discovery and expertise. Crowds want connection; Communities believe in the collective brain!
Numbers of members are not the key metric and does not equal a strong community. A Crowd Mentality is driven by the broad set of people that you have access to, not a relationship with. A community is about having passionate members that belong!
Executive Coach Mary Lynne Heldmann (seen on Oprah twice!) Dishes on her Top 3
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Friday Top 6 Favorite Quotes to Inspire
1. Nobody who ever gave her best regretted it. George Hala
2. Entrepreneur is a state of mind, not a job title.
3. Make your crazy ideas stick.
4. Being you can be your niche.
5. What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail. E. Roosevelt
6. A tweet only lasts 60 minutes.
Kevin Hall, Author of Aspire, Dishes on his 3 Best pieces of Advice!
I had the honor of meeting Kevin Hall, the author of the book, Aspire. This book is the all time best seller for personal motivational books and is well worth the investment. Listen for a little taste of the great insight he offered us at the Senior Leader Session at the Professional Business Women of California session!
Customers expect simple, sophisticated experiences - Some Cool Ones from SXSW!
Experience with new platform technologies and business models is dramatically increasing both the expectations and
empowerment of consumers. They are developing an insatiable desire for compelling experiences across all areas of life.
Increasing technological sophistication is leading to:
- More information to consumers, allowing more choices and enabling greater opportunity to influence organizations
- Higher expectations of integrated and sophisticated — yet simple — experiences
- Decreasing brand loyalty, as consumers have less patience and are more willing to switch interchangeably among
brands.
At SXSW, we saw Mophie leverage a simple "dog" to deliver power at the sound of a tweet! This simple yet impactful experience will remain one of the top at SXSW. The other great example was in Start up WonderWoof. Designing a FitBit for dogs, they have delivered more information to consumers allowing them more informed decisions.
In response, organizations are increasingly pressured to play catch-up and meet the next generation of consumer demands
by providing integrated, customized experiences. Consumers expect personalization across all of their experiences, from
airline counters, to online mega-retailers, to the showroom floors of automobile dealerships. They expect integration
across channels and touch points, and they are quick to change loyalties to organizations that can better meet their needs.
Today, 81 percent of millennial consumers demand improved response time; 76 percent expect organizations to understand
individual needs and 68 percent anticipate organizations to harmonize consumer experiences. In fact, at SXSW at our Millennail panel, Monday night, IBM hosted the first ever new way to startup Gen Y pitch party, attracting over 250 guests. 10 teams participated and only 5 were picked to move on to live in a house in Austin, TX for an exciting reality webseries. They will compete to win software, services, mentorship and a trip to TED@IBM. The documented webisodes will demonstrate how these innovators are working with IBM to transform their big ideas into big change. These types of experiences humanize brands.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, for example, is seeking to engage connected consumers. Xiaomi uses customer
segmentation as a brand differentiator. It sells high-end phones for prices close to cost, less than half the price of some rivals.
The company leverages consumer feedback captured via Weibo (i.e. Twitter-like social media application) to release new versions
of its operating system, which it does on a weekly schedule.
The Xiaomi example demonstrates that, to create an opportunity to provide a differentiated experience in line with consumer expectations, organizations must embrace data and analytics to underpin experience and pursue social media to promote collaboration. They will also need to reduce barriers to engagement and partnering.
Luxury fashion house Burberry, a traditionally conservative brand, digitized its organization to create a seamless consumer experience. Burberry removed organizational boundaries between digital and physical; for example, it equipped employees with iPads to enable online access to leverage consumer data to improve the in-store experience. Through digital-physical integration, Burberry has transformed into a modern, relevant, and hip luxury brand.
Focus on these simple, yet impactful brand experiences!!!
It's IBM at the Jimmy Kimmel Show during SXSW!
Yes, IBM BlueMix, IBM Verse, and IBM's Global Entrepreneur Program played a starring role in the Jimmy Kimmel show.
This short video showcases the energy in seeing IBM showcased with our Partner Mutual Mind and our IBM Cloud!
We featured #GuillerMoInAustin and you too can get tickets to go by heading by the IBM Cloud @Startup Village in the Hilton !! It is a must see event!
How do companies engage millennials? Lanie Abisdris explains! (Coffee Break)
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