TetraMesa

The Real Raw Power of Social Media

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I’ve known about the real power of social media for quite some time. (As have we all.) But recently I was deeply reminded of it after struggling with a personal issue. I’m old enough to remember dial-up. And I’ve personally designed, built or managed some of the earliest digital communications platforms. On occasion, those included support groups/forums for people with all manner of issues. The power in these areas isn’t something that AI is likely going to surpass any time soon. And only a few truly authentic marketers can participate. There are just some things that aren’t likely to be handed off to AI agents.

As much as I enjoy some aspects of social media, sometimes over time we tend to forget things. It’s somewhat how we’re designed as people. Our neural pathways are just set up to decay pathways we don’t exercise a lot. And I think I’d forgotten some of the core value of special enthusiast and focused groups. Which is ironic, since I’ve worked on so many of these products across multiple companies.

I’m not sure if now is a great time to be writing this. But I’ve been trying to write more as it both helps me learn better and faster and I’ve always enjoyed teaching and sharing. The hazard right now is I’m a little loopy on pain meds, post ACL surgery after a little ice hockey incident. (The good news was after the fall there was a nice solid wall to stop me sliding.) While I’ve been injured before, plenty of broken bones, etc., this one is a bit heavier. And while I’m always appreciative of the gift of modern medicine, living in a modern economy and the privilege of decent insurance, there’s another benefit. And that’s the information and support available via Digital/social. This is what has me re-thinking about the power of social.

Without the research, the discussion threads, and more I’ve been able to use across Facebook, Reddit and others, there’s no way I’d have done as well as I did my first painful week post-surgery without the help. And I mean help across the board. Information. Intellectual help. Emotional help. Etc. (For the physical help, that goes mostly to my wife who’s putting up with yet another sports injury.)

Anyway, here’s what I’m re-learning as I type this, and since typing is just about the only thing I’ll be able to do for the next week or so, here’s all I’ve come up with this week…

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Intrinsic / Extrinsic Product Values Framework 

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In a prior post about Intrinsic / Extrinsic Product Value Dynamics, we looked at the basic differences between intrinsic and extrinsic values and consumer perceptions. Here, we’re going over some frameworks you can consider using to define and position your products along these dimensions. The idea is to make sure that everything from features to messaging align with intended values.

Please note that this framework is a suggested proposal; not something I’ve seen used or tested. It focuses on creating and expressing value deeper in product features and structures rather than surface level messaging. (Which is of course still critical.) There is no experimental data of which I’m aware that tests on varying such dimensions against each other. (Though in the Value Dynamics article, we did go over examples of successful and challenged products.) My goal is to offer a structure to explicitly consider these dimensions and use them as input to a larger scope product positioning strategy that would include the other usual elements of actual features, pricing, competition and so on.

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Intrinsic / Extrinsic Product Value Dynamics

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As a Digital Product person, do you think about intrinsic and extrinsic values of your product or service? Traditional marketing has generally considered these issues from a high-level marketing and messaging perspective. But how often do you see them considered deep within the features and benefits of digital products? Not much, with the sometimes exception of gaming products and perhaps some health apps. And yet, the full User Experience (UX) that goes beyond the interface imbues our products with features that touch on one or the other or both. Game designers may deeply consider game mechanics, (rules and interactions), and dynamics, (emergent behaviors, experiences), but what about the rest of us?

The question is, when crafting products, are you considering intrinsic vs. extrinsic dimensions? At the highest level of Vision and Mission through Strategy right down to Story Creation and execution, we’re all imbuing our brands with… with… with what? The answer is likely with both intrinsic and extrinsic values; both in fact and perception. The question is: Are we doing so with intentionality.

Sometimes we can get stuck in feature factory mode and this presents a variety of risks. One is the time drain that prevents us from considering bigger picture items. Such as making sure features are truly aligned with our intended intrinsic and extrinsic values. Some of these product value dynamics might be an exercise for marketing more so than product. This can depend on company size, spans of responsibility, and the nature of cross-functional partnerships and team structures. Whomever is responsible for considering such things, it pays to execute such things properly.

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Demystifying Crypto – Tokenomics & Stablecoins

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In past articles, I’ve tried to offer some of the basics of crypto as well as simplified understanding of the blockchains themselves. You can see these here, Demystifying Crypto Basics through Metaphor, and here, Demystifying Crypto – Blockchain Layers.

There are a couple of other fundamental topics worth discussing.

Tokenomics

Let’s talk Tokenomics. Tokenomics is a portmanteau word, derived from ‘token’ and ‘economics’.

Tokenomics is the economic design and structure of a cryptocurrency token, encompassing how it is created, distributed, used, and managed within its ecosystem. It includes factors like supply (fixed or inflationary), distribution and allocation, utility (how the token functions within a platform), governance (voting rights or protocol decisions), and incentives (rewards for participation, such as staking or mining). Well-designed tokenomics align incentives for users, developers, and investors, ensuring the token’s sustainability and growth within its network.

If you’re thinking of building a product or service that’s going to find using its own native tokens or coins useful, you’ll need to go a lot deeper than what’s going to be described here. Consider this as just a primer.

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Strategic Responses to GenAI from Search

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I initially planned to write about how Generative AI (GenAI) might impact traditional search in a classic startup vs. incumbent scenario. Over time, as the landscape rapidly evolved, first I shared thoughts on “Search Tools in a GPT World” and then “Traditional Search vs. GPT Business Models.” This all leads to the obvious question… what are traditional search engines doing and what else might they do to respond?

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Traditional Search vs. GPT Business Models

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What About Business Models?

In the first part of this article series, “Search Tools in a GPT World,” we looked at Search Tools in a product environment where AI GPTs are clearly on a tear. Now we’ll look at how technology and consumer sentiment shifts are impacting economics and business models.

The rise of GPTs introduces significant shifts in business models underpinning search and information retrieval. Search engines operate primarily on ad-driven models, based on traffic, clicks, and ranking. This impacts income to both search engines and the publishers to whom they drive traffic. We’re going to focus on the search engines themselves. In contrast to traditional search, GPTs seem mostly out of the starting gate with pay-per-use, subscription, or freemium models. This may be a reflection of the resource-intensive nature of generating real-time responses. It’s a simpler business model than search, which depends on a complex ad services ecosystem. As well, ads alone might not be sensible from a P&L perspective. Let’s review some of the business models.

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Search Tools in a GPT World

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I’ve always enjoyed search, both as user and builder. So from a product perspective, I’ve been fascinated by its evolution and the recent fires lit under the traditional tools thanks to the ascendence of AIs. This will be a three part series. First, Search Tools in a GPT world, then business models, and lastly, how traditional search might respond.

So… How might the “traditional” Search industry evolve in the face of AI GPTs? Let’s take a historical tour to consider some customer pain points and values that various tools deal with and how these are morphing. It’s not as simple as GPTs are better search and it might be useful to consider other technology shifts. Did Video Kill the Radio Star? Maybe. But video didn’t kill radio. At least, not completely. Yet. OK, yes, perhaps the shift decimated revenues, but niche use cases survived through both television and even through more recent digital streaming. Even satellite radio was also able to find a place. Will the information retrieval industry experience something similar with what’s been billed as an even more disruptive technology? Or is this truly something radically different if we consider this shift on the level of industrial revolution?

Will the future of Search follow a similar path? Perhaps somewhat, but maybe not quite the death blow some have suggested given there seem to be a lot of niche values for Search. AI driven GPTs, (Generative Pre-trained Transformers), are already changing the search landscape. But their evolution is not as simply obvious as “this is a better search” for at least two related, but separate reasons. First, GPTs can likely excel past traditional search for a wide variety of use cases. But perhaps not all. And second, GPTs can and are used for significantly different use cases than search.

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Customer Quests Part 2: Solutions for the Journey

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The Search Problem

In Part 1, we explored the idea of reframing customer journeys as a quests; purposeful pursuits with challenges, obstacles, and transformative moments. Now we’ll look at some ideas to possibly solve challenges along the way and empower customers navigating decision-making complexities. Let’s focus on brands as guides, clearing obstacles and providing tools for success.

The Search Problem Revisited

Every quest starts with a need and evolves into a search. Consumers gather information from diverse sources to evaluate their options and make decisions. This search, however, is often full of friction points that can delay or derail the process. In crafting better experiences, we should understand not just what customers seek, but how they seek it and barriers they encounter along the way. The sources consumers rely on during the search stage can vary depending on the type of purchase, the consumer, and the circumstances.

I’d like to introduce the idea of some general quest archetypes. This first framing of this idea is probably not exhaustive. Individual customer personas are useful, but I’d like to try to focus more on general types as that can also help us figure out what we need to provide. I expect to expand and refine this over time.

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Customer Quests Part 1: Decision Making as a Search Problem

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The ideas for the following thoughts came out of a search project, not a customer journey mapping effort. But the ‘filter bubble‘ idea came up in conversation and it struck me how we often only find that which we’re capable of seeing based on our perspective. And even a subtle shift can make a difference in helping us reach our goals. So here you go…

In Marketing and Product Management we often refer to the Customer Journey. Maybe we should be thinking about a Customer Quest instead. And treat the process as a search problem.

This may seem to be a subtle difference; somewhat more about attitude than a significant departure of definition. But consider the value in just a small shift. Our outlook can impact how we think about and handle customer touch points. A journey is a trip or process of traveling from one place to another, whereas a quest is a purposeful pursuit. For our purposes, the quest is more about the motivation and goal, whereas the journey is just the path we’re following trying to solve a search problem. But we’re often not just following a path. We might be blazing this new trail. Yes, some enjoy the journey. Shopping is fun for some people, maybe a learning or social activity. More so if the category is fun; new skis, golf clubs, etc. For commercial goods and services, we might enjoy the journey as we learn useful things on our quest. Nevertheless, we didn’t choose a meandering cruise with the all-you-can-eat buffet. We’ve got a goal. The cliche for a variety of things in life may be “it’s not about the destination, it’s the journey.” That’s a nice thought. But not always true. Sometimes we just want to get things done. Just mapping a consumer path and trying to inject a marketing message here or there might not be enough.

If you’re still not sure about buying off on this concept, think about your own behavior over the past year or so. Have you started trying out Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc? Have you used them to solve any challenges you’ve had as a consumer of goods or services? If so, why did you try this new tool? What was traditional search or the company’s customer service not doing for you? If you’ve done this, then you’ve experienced exactly the kind of challenge we’re talking about here. There was a search/discovery need we all had that was not being met. (Or was being poorly handled.) And no one was really helping us adequately. We got lucky and the world gave us yet another tool. The lesson though, is that we had existing unrecognized needs. What else are we missing as product creators and marketers in terms of customer information seeking needs? Maybe… maybe just this subtle shift in thinking about this aspect of customer experience can help find out.

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How Badly Will the GPTs Kick Google’s Teeth In

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Notice I didn’t ask “if” newer Artificial Intelligence tools like Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs) will impact Google. I asked “How badly.” While Google isn’t going anywhere, these new tools will chip away at its search market share and perhaps overall value. Google and parent company Alphabet develop properties from mobile operating systems to devices like Nest and Fitbit, Waymo autonomous driving, cloud services, and more. Still, advertising from search, YouTube and their network was almost 80% of their revenues in 2023. Google’s dominance remains and its advertising revenue is still its golden goose. However, GenAI tools introduce a serious competitive threat to the core search business. How badly will Google feel the impact?

Here’s a high level summary of the main points, after which I’ll try to defend each.

  1. Basic Search Needs: AI GPTs are increasingly satisfying basic search needs. While not perfect, they meet many use cases where users are seeking answers; not links to maybe answers.
  2. AI Stickiness: GPTs offer capabilities beyond search, encouraging users to stay in that space. Even with some of the challenges with AI accuracy, people may stick with a “good enough” solution.
  3. GPTs are Improving: These tools are rapidly evolving, fueled by intense investment and innovation.
  4. Google Is Somewhat Stuck: Google’s brand is so tied to traditional search that pivoting may alienate users or undermine its core business.
  5. Everyone is Attacking from Multiple Vectors: Yes. OpenAI’s ChatGPT may have been the alarm bell, but there’s a whole lot more coming; both consumer and business.
  6. Business Use Cases beyond advertising: People are paying premium prices.

That’s the tl;dr. Stop here. Or if you want the backup rationale behind these points, continue…

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