Comments on: the social marker– the “social object” on steroids

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:10:52 +0000

No reaction on the ‘Taste Tribes’ comparison? Hmm.

By: Brooks Moses

Brooks Moses — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:52:16 +0000

This all raises the question: Just who _do_ you think you are, Hugh MacLeod?

By: vicequeenmaria

vicequeenmaria — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:58:01 +0000

Every time I read about these objects and markers I keep thinking about medieval Book of Hours. They were hand-made ‘private’ objects for the wealthy, handed down in generations but never shared. I think part of what makes social ‘things’ special is that they’re not private. We have our own intimate objects that have individual meaning for us, and then there are shared objects that put us in a broader context with others.

By: Badger Gravling

Badger Gravling — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:32:35 +0000

I can’t help thinking there has to be an in-joke here with established brands about trying to find a Social Permanent Marker…
Or something taking off as being a Social Magic Marker.
And I was doing so well to make a good point for once.…

By: Fabian

Fabian — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:46:08 +0000

Hugh, what an interesting point, and very well explained too.…
Now, the really important point here is: Did he get the girl??
Thanks for posting…

By: Diana

Diana — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:30:48 +0000

I keep being compared to a social marker I don’t want. I just published a children’s book and every single person who knows about it made a reference to me becoming the next J K Rowling. I appreciate the sentiment, but I have no desire for my books to be compared to hers. We’re on totally different tracks. So I plan to become my own social marker : )

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:58:47 +0000

@ Nish Yes I believe you are over-complicating it. If I understand Hugh 'Object' starts the conversation 'Marker' contextualizes the participants. What I'm getting from this blog is the *concept* of Web 2.0 Marketing and Branding, not a tutorial of what to do but a tutorial on what it *is* dong ma? Even if I'm mistaken KISS is the best approach to anything. Oh and as you say you're starting out be aware you *will* make mistakes, don't sweat it. The worst is you'll have to start over.

By: SpaceElevator Guy (Michael Laine)

SpaceElevator Guy (Michael Laine) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 23:39:08 +0000

Nice job!
I have a lot to think about, as a result of this entry, and the follow-up comments enriched the original idea. Thanks to all who participated and moved the conversation forward.
My space-geek friends were all sitting at a restaurant table on a Friday night (a weekly ritual with about 5–15 people), talking about Space/Tech/Software and my perpetual ‘datelessness’. Most of the guys work for Microsoft, so space is their hobby, not their vocation. Since Space is my full-time gig, they were talking to me, and getting an update. The waiter overhears this part of the conversation and leaps in with talk about this crazy new invention called a “Space Elevator”… He starts talking about how it will “change everything” WHEN it succeeds, how revolutionary it is, why it is so important to get-off-this-rock of Earth. My friends and I don’t say a word as to who I am, or what my job is. Instead, we sit back and talk to the kid, and let him educate us on his perceptions, hopes, and fears. It was profound and illuminating.
I have understood the term “social object” for a while now. But the ideas (and yes, with my marketing background i DO think that these are new, and not a rehash of ‘branding’) , the NEW ideas, of “social marker” and “social vector” add some clarity and appreciation for the lesson the waiter gave me. It was profound.
So, thanks to all of you, for helping put this person into better perspective for me. He identified “hope for the future of mankind” with “advanced technology and the people willing to risk the unknown to pursue it”.
I will be thinking about social-object/marker/vector for days.
Take care.
MJL
p.s. We gave him a good tip, but then i went to the car, and got a signed copy of my book, to leave for him. Since i keep a strong distinction between my “public” and “private” life, i left the book with the hostess, rather than give it to him directly. He still does not know who I am, as I have been back to that place a few times.

By: hugh macleod

hugh macleod — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:00:08 +0000

Badger, re. your last point. Mark Earls relayed pretty much the same point to me, over the phone.
Yes, exactly. The context is the brand, the “Brand” is not the brand. Or something like that

By: Gautam

Gautam — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:58:52 +0000

Very interesting… Do we describe social markers or do social markers describe us?
@Vero seems to say that we derive our identity from such markers…being part of a shared context is seemingly a lot like belonging to different tribes. “We are Manchester United fans” “We think Keira Knightly is hot“
As Desmond Morris wrote in his book The Soccer Tribe, each tribe has its own rituals and we derive comfort from following those rituals and belonging to a certain place.

By: Badger Gravling

Badger Gravling — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:41:09 +0000

It’s not often I adopt buzzwords, but Social Marker is a great way of describing what in old money would have been brand strength or reach.
I work on some Social Marker brands which are used both in positive and negative contexts, and it can have amazing effects. And possibly the biggest challenge is to change the perception of a badly-perceived Social Marker.
But that’s where I think the term comes into it’s own. It’s not about the product, or the perceived brand strength or message. It’s about the accepted context of that marker, in that conversation, at that time, and how pervasive it is.

By: Vero Pepperrell

Vero Pepperrell — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:51:06 +0000

The shock comes when the social markers you’ve so actively used on a day to day basis to sound out your surroundings aren’t recognised anymore.
For example, a Christmas party with aunts and uncles you haven’t seen in years. None of them understand blogging, have never used a Wii, an iPhone, have any interest in alternative movie culture or been on many international holidays.
That’s when, without social markers, all of a sudden, you feel very very alien.
Like planting your markers into landslide ground…

By: Ben Rowe

Ben Rowe — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:39 +0000

I guess you can also build a product that rides the wave of the social marker. Like ipod accessories.
And Twitteriffic is a great example of a product built around 2 social markers — Macs and Twitter.

By: Russell Buckley

Russell Buckley — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:46:29 +0000

Interesting.
My kids go to an International school in Munich, Germany, which has children from something like 80 countries.
One of the obvious “social markers” or contextualisers — for adults anyway — is where the kids come from.
So, they’ll come home and say “I was playing with Ahmed today” and as an adult, the first thing you say is “Hmm, that’s interesting, where’s he from?”.
Their reply is always “I dunno” accompanied by a look of bafflement as to why that could possibly be relevant.
I also find it fascinating that if you push them a little with a “what’s he like?” type of question, the fact that he might have say, dark skin or blond hair is about the 5th or 6th descriptor they use.
So, the social marker concept seems to be learned behaviour (anecdotally at least). And maybe the best networkers are actually those most skilled at social marking — well, it’s a theory at least.
Russell

By: Nish

Nish — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:06:34 +0000

Hugh, thank you for the brilliant content. I’ve just recently started reading your material and as a young marketer, in the process of establishing my career, it’s proving to be quite insightful.
Do you think there are different classifications of Social Objects based on their function? I’ve just started to wrap my head around the concept but my thought was that different brands/categories represent different kinds of Social Objects.
For example, beer/coffee/restaurants would be “Social Facilitators” that help people get together but are not necessarily the focal point of the conversation.
There could be a hybrid grouping of Social Facilitators/Social Objects, where in my opinion most sports properties would fall into as well. People get together to watch the game and also talk about the game.
Just a thought. I’m probably over-complicating it but would love to get the opinion of others.