SMO: What it means and why it matters

(This entry was first published in NetWorked, the digital media blog for the Society of Professional Journalists.)

The Internet may be omnipresent in our lives but it's becoming more friendly. Credit SMO for that.

SMO is short for "social media optimization," a somewhat new and evolving concept employing social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote content on websites, blogs or across other social media.

Until recently, the top tool for spreading the word online was SEO, or search engine optimization, in which words themselves are used to increase Web traffic by serving as online road signs of a sort for search engines to stop, read and announce to everyone else.

SMO, however, assumes that people, not search engines, are better at doing that. It relies on the notion that ideas are more important than individual words and that like-minded individuals will increase the publicity those ideas receive by sharing them with their family, friends and colleagues.

SMO's origins go back to the mid-1990s when audio and video were gaining traction online and the public realized the Internet was destined to become a kind of clearinghouse for people's whole Web identities, not just individual words. Marketing strategist Rohit Bhargava coined the term and proposed a five-point guide for it to increase one's virtual visibility.

In time, the guide grew to accommodate the Web's evolution and its audience's increasing media savvy, so that now the overall strategy for effective SMO encompasses several key considerations for Web content producers:

Linking — It's one thing to have a blog; it's another to have people read it. Adding links that point to other blog or social media content provide attribution and illustrate depth of research. Other sites in turn may link back, thus increasing everyone's visibility.

Tagging and bookmarking — Tags help describe content and simplify online searches. Embedded buttons for bookmarking services such as del.icio.us also point first-time visitors to specific content that they may want to use frequently.

Making portable content — PDFs and video and audio clips, for example, can be carried by other sites and help drive traffic back to the original source.

Encouraging mashups — A mashup borrows bits of content from several sources to produce new information in a unique way, much as human-interest interviews  can be combined to create a news story. Mashups often incorporate audio, video and mapping elements to tell stories.

Becoming a user resource — Posting interesting information, including information from rival publications, can turn occasional readers into devotees. They'll see the information is always useful, accurate, and devoid of fluff and promotion.

Rewarding users — Giving credit to other information sources enhances credibility and distinguishes those sources as credible as well. It's also a way of saying thanks to people trying hard to get their message across.

Participating — Speaking out, engaging in online conversations and sharing one's knowledge or perspective in forums and other Web-based interaction advance ideas in ways mere words on a page cannot.

Targeting the audience — Location matters in real estate; the same can be said about the Web and its vast, ethereal landscape. Finding a niche is essential in an environment where being vague or general invites indifference.

Creating fresh, original content — Inside that niche, original content has a greater chance of getting noticed. That's not to say though that old ideas should be ignored; even just a slight twist, either thoughtful or humorous, can put them in new and interesting light.

Being honest, staying true to one's beliefs — Tricks and gimmicks intended to drive up Web traffic often have the opposite effect and damage audience loyalty. It's better to be honest with the audience and remain focused and on message.

Thinking about SMO always — SMO should not be applied randomly but be used a tool of constant content creation the way notepads and pens have been for news reporters. It should be at the forefront of planning, at the forefront of organization, and include tactics and strategy.

The skinny on Microsoft's new Kinect

For those of you who didn't know the world of gaming had changed in a big way recently, or didn't care, here's the skinny on what you missed.

* Microsoft released its long-awaited Kinect controller-less gaming experience last week. The infrared webcam for Xbox 360 allows body movement, including facial gestures, and spoken commands to direct action on the screen, making Kinect — formerly Project Natal — a major improvement over the wand controllers available with Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Move.

* Kinect costs $150 by itself, $400 if bundled with a new Xbox 360. The games designed to highlight Kinect's capabilities cost $40 to $70, before discounts.

* The name is an amalgam of the words "kinetic" and "connect."

* Microsoft expects to sell 5 million Kinects this year alone.

* The debut of Kinect today in Europe has been hampered by demand in the United States.

* Key technology for Kinect came from a lab at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

* Kinect translates movement in part by measuring light reflection from 48 points on a player's body.

* You can stand or sit while playing with Kinect.

* An alleged $2,000 bounty for hacking Kinect to use it on PCs may already have been met.

* Rumors that Kinect does not respond well to players with dark skin appear to have been disproved.

* Electronics manufacturer LG is offering a free Kinect with purchase of a television.

* Gamers have been slow to test Kinect's voice-recognition capabilities.

* Speaking of slowness, Kinect has a bit of a lag time responding to player movements. Individual players should stand at least six feet from the webcam, further if two people are playing.

* With Kinect, Microsoft may have taken a step closer to controlling your living room.

* And speaking of living rooms, Kinect may require you to rearrange furniture before playing any games.

* To that end, interior lighting, your clothes and your pets may adversely affect Kinect's performance.

* Expect Kinect to launch a new fitness revolution, just like Wii did.

* If you thought I was at least as impressed with "Call of Duty: Black Ops" as Kinect, guess again.

Olbermann Agonistes

America's brief national pundocratic nightmare appears over. Keith Olbermann, doyen of television's liberal-leaning wordsmiths and current poster child for media ethics, has been given a green flag to resume table-pounding on MSNBC, ostensibly to help square the media's sails against the starboard tack of neighboring Fox News.

All that remains is for Olbermann on Tuesday to don a hairshirt matching one of his shiny ties and with humility aforethought navigate the rough passage between the media's own Scylla and Carybdis: respectability and ratings.

Recall that Olbermann's hands were summarily slapped last week when Politico pried into a batch of campaign contribution records and found his name among those media mavens who reach from beneath their shroud of self-proclaimed journalistic integrity to pad a few candidates' finances, ahead of the just-ended elections. Recall also the berating he received by MSNBC in the name of company policy and the subsequent silence by rival Fox News, who could have joined the flagellation in response to Olbermann's constant harangues but didn't at the risk of turning unwanted attention to Fox's own policies.

We've had a weekend to mull the media quandary Olbermann brought into focus, a predicament long stewing in the mingled juices of outrage and obligation squeezed from journalists striving for objectivity in the employ of an industry driven by market forces. The responses to his behavior have been predictable. Less so are the pronouncements regarding MSNBC's obligation in the matter.

When Olbermann's "Coundown" launched in 2003, its debut portended analysis from a broadcast professional brandishing wit, insight and, it seemed, a ready copy of Roget's Thesaurus, all of which had been apparent in Olbermann's banter with co-sportscaster Dan Patrick during their turn on ESPN's "SportsCenter" through much of the 1990s. Over time however, "Countdown," which examined five timely events in reverse order, morphed into a kind of counterpoise, with Olbermann devoting more time to commentary that skewered official statements made by the Bush Administration. MSNBC's tacit approval of this transition was clarified by the addition to its programming calendar of "The Rachel Maddow Show," whose host has adopted an unbashed liberal stance on issues, and more recently "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," a political analyst who, if viewed at certain angles, can be seen tilting perceptibly to the left.

One wonders then what all the fuss was about at MSNBC, company policy against overt politicking notwithstanding, after Politico revealed Olbermann's contributions worth about $7,500 to Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona congressional candidates Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords, all three campaigning as Democrats. MSNBC president Phil Griffin said in defense of Olbermann's suspension that the broadcaster violated a specific policy requiring network employees to state their political proclivities "before" writing endorsement checks, this defense suggesting Olbermann's behavior was justified had he filled out the proper paperwork in advance.

The precondition, if any exists, surely is not that simple. However, the solution is overtly so, and it would require that MSNBC balance its scale of ethical behavior in reality and not in a reality-TV kind of way. Olbermann's show is ratings gold for the network (though Fox News is mining platinum, at present) because its host chooses positions, takes stands, tries to be the last and loudest voice in the room, and does not attempt to sneak his behavior or his politics past the network. If this evolution of "Countdown" to support this was a mistake, an aberration of some sort, then MSNBC should at least admit that much; otherwise, the network should give its cash cow more grazing space, well away from other real journalists in the field.