The buzz words are changing. As the term “Web 2.0” becomes antiquated, and the masses embrace social media, brands, corporations and organizations are starting to understand the implications of the new paradigms of the web.

Transparency is what’s driving consumer decision now, and the trust that is formed through the authentic collective voice of a brand’s management team, employees and customers.

At this point, I’m starting to feel dirty just saying the words “messaging” and “tone” when discussing “campaigns.”

In Boy Scouts, young campers are taught to start a one-match fire – focusing one’s skill on building the framework of the fuel so that it catches with only one match. I’ll do better than that. I’ll give you six matches to start the transparency fire in your organization.

Here are six catalysts to spark your new focus on authenticity and transparency.

Authencity drives consumer choices…

1. Joseph Pine defines the new Experience economy in this TED talk from 2004, and how “Authenticity is becoming the new consumer sensibility.”

… and they trust only human voices…

2. The Cluetrain Manifesto celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a new edition published this year. It describes how consumers are finding trust and truth through human voices within your organization, or elsewhere – that is, however they wish. From the book: “The corporation pretends to speak, but its voice is that of a third-rate actor in a fourth-rate play, uttering lines no one believes in a manner no one respects.”

… and some of these voices are much “louder” than others…

3. Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s Trust Agents just hit the New York Times Bestseller list. It’s a how-to guide, defining and training the individuals in your organization best practices to be honest as they build genuine relationships. From the cover flap: “Trust Agents wield enough online influence to build up and bring down a business’ reputation.”

… so organizations must find a new way to communicate…

4. Shel Holtz and John C. Havens’ Tactical Transparency presents a framework for dealing with all the scary situations that big brands fear as they dip their toes in to Social Media. From the book: “Tactical Transparency provides dozens of case studies and interviews that address the implementation of transparency tools at the highest levels of the organization and the lowest. Transparency succeeds when it is embedded into the culture of a company, not implemented as a program designed to be exercised by only a few.”

… and it must go all the way to the top…

5. Organic’s CFO and COO Marita Scarfi explains the opportunity CEOs are missing if they don’t participate in Social Media and open conversations, in this recent Threeminds blog post. “Being engaged with your customers allows you to produce better products/services which, in turn, leads to improved customer loyalty. Ultimately this helps increase sales and fosters stronger company financial performance (e.g. increased shareholder value).”

… just like these numerous examples of management-level-driven open conversations.

6. The NewPR Wiki lists dozens of blogs written by Management-level contributors, where issues are being discussed, and trust is growing in brands… and the people that are behind them.

One last tip, campers: Campfires start quicker when the team works together, and when the structure of the tinder allows in oxygen… Keep it open.

There is life in the marketing departments of big corporate. There is energy and understanding at the executive level of many blue chip companies. If you’re a part of these companies, welcome to the new paradigm. If you’re a competitor to a member of the Social Media Council, big brand beware. These old dogs are getting a new social life.

I’m excited because more large businesses are starting to accept and embrace the future — transparency, the social web, some even the inevitability of The Cluetrain Manifesto.

I know this, because last week, Bob Pearson (@bobpearson1845), Dell’s Vice President of Communities and Conversations, and representing the newly named Social Media Business Council (formerly “Blog Council”) presented “15 Key Trends & Observations For Leaders Of Great Brands” to Toronto’s Third Tuesday attendees.

Some of the highlights:

3. Realize that your customer does not care where you want them to go.

4. Less than 1% of a customer’s time is spent actually purchasing a product. (99% is spent browsing and socializing) Pearson then asked, “Why would we spend 100% of our budget on that 1%, when the decision-making process is so well underway?”

Pearson also spoke of his agency partners as “Iterative Innovators” in this space, working with the marketing team, but not leading the social media practice — that, he explained, has to come from within the company.

This is a dramatic shift — from digital experts talking to brand managers and delivering the good news (or bad, if you liked the old ways of interruptive marketing) about the new paradigms of the Internet.

This simple presentation speaks for itself. I don’t agree with every small detail here, but the core ideas are light years ahead of most brand managers’ understanding of what the future and the immediate present requires.

Pearson and fellow Social Media Business Council member (from Molson Canada) Ferg Devins are big advocates of the council, proclaiming it an open, honest exchange of experience and knowledge that is “establishing a practice.”

After listening to Pearson, I think the benefits are undeniable.

You can learn more about the Social Media Business Council at SocialMedia.org.

‘Trouble At The Henhouse’ dropped in 1996, just as marketers were starting to try to think about the Internet. In my opinion, this was and is the much-worshipped (by Canadians) band’s best album. But, until today, when ‘Let’s Stay Engaged’ shuffled through my iPod’s earbuds, I didn’t realize they wrote the anthem for today’s best practice marketing strategies ten years early.

Let’s Stay Engaged

It might be late but it won’t be early
you got me to the gate with time for a coffee
it’s getting late sounds like a departure
it’s getting close sounds to me like a departure
Until we meet again lets stay engaged
until then lets stay engaged
Lies over time float to the surface
lies over time they equal surface
lies over time though the reasons desert us
lies over time with no apparent purpose
Until we meet again lets stay engaged
until then lets stay engaged
See the dead art and you see your reflection
fear no art and you fear no reflection
but don’t look at me, I’m not the artist in question
sounds good to me, but I’m not the artist in question
Until we meet again lets stay engaged
until then lets stay engaged

Maybe ‘Henhouse’ was a full brand/marketing/social web/social commerce concept album…

Gift Shop – “After a glimpse over the top/The rest of the world/Becomes a Gift Shop”

Does this refer to Chris Anderson’s “Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business” concept?

They really were Ahead By A Century.

I’ve never used Lolcats on my blog, so this is the first, and last time. Promisses.

Photo credits: Marc Shandro.

Back in May, I tweeted eight “Web Strategy Reminders” that got some great responses. Here they are altogether, with two bonus reminders to allow people to laugh like Count von Count when they’re done.

Web Strategy reminder No. 1: If you’re just adding a “Community” tab to your web site, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 2: If you’re pushing Content out through banners, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 3: If everything you build has a unique interface, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 4: If you start with a tactical gimmick on a platform your market doesn’t use, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 5: If your platform doesn’t separate form from function, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 6: If you’re ignoring the fact that Search is the number one way that users find you, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 7: If you’re not considering how your experience will change over time, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 8: If you’re not implementing a holistic measurement strategy beyond clickstream analysis, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 9: If you’re ignoring the fact that your employees are telling the story of your brand (good or bad) better than your corporate web site, You’re doing it wrong.

Web Strategy reminder No. 10: If you’re excited about your new banner ad pushing to your new television ad on your new Flash web site, You’re doing it wrong.

For years now, usability evangelists have been searching for a Perry Masonic closing remark that would secure a proper judgement from sceptics of the information architecture and user interface design process.

“Why spend time and money on prototyping and usability testing,” the stakeholders ask, “What is the ROI?”

There have been few, if any, strong cases to prove what experience designers have known and espoused since Louis Rosenfeld published his O’Reilly Polar Bear Book/IA Constitution in ‘98.

Now, Jared M. Spool has handed usability experts this elusive case study to tip the scales for any web building jury. He explains here: How Changing a Button Increased a Site’s Annual Revenues by $300 Million.

The main points? Visitors to a major e-com site didn’t want to sign in to buy, they just wanted to get in and out. Spool and his team changed the copy on the registration form (which most users wanted to skip anyway) and cashed in on an additional $300M over the next year.

Information Architecture is good. How good? $300 Million good. Now I hope you’ll get as excited as I do when you get to review wireframes and test multivariate interfaces.