As you might have noted if you're a regular reader, I'm one of 50 people selected to participate in Nikon's Picture This program. (Basically, they're loaning Nikon D80's to 50 online personalities for 6 or 12 months... more here.) At any rate, I emailed some questions to Tom Biro, Senior Director, New Media Strategies at MWW Group. He was kind enough to answer them. (Again, note, I am participating in this project and will probably be writing about the experience more as time goes by...) Enough intro writing, though. Here's the Q&A.

1) Did Nikon come up with the idea and bring it to MWW or was it something you guys came up with and approached them about? If the latter, did it take a lot of persuasion on your part or did the past Flickr campaign help show that the idea has merit?

Tom Biro: This was something that we came up with at MWW Group and built with Nikon during our planning last year. I think Nikon really gets the value of coordinating with the blogosphere and working with what the community has to offer. Many of the other ideas Nikon implemented during 2006 were focused on working with this community.

2) How close was Microsoft's Vista incident studied as the plans for the Picture This campaign came together?

Tom Biro: I don't want to say that it was "studied" any more or less than any other campaign of this type, but some of the learnings we got from those efforts were definitely considered with how this effort has been rolled out to date.

3) What would MWW and/or Nikon consider a 'success' at the end of this campaign? Do you think other companies will copy it?

Tom Biro: There are a lot of ways to measure success. In some ways, even in its true infancy of being in the marketplace, I think our efforts have been successful to date. We knew that people would discuss ethical issues (they have). We believed that people, upon receiving their cameras, would be thrilled by them (they have been). And we hoped that the community at large would come together and try and see what they could do on their own (that's happened, too, with the Flickr group, and individual participants finding each other on blogs and commenting / communicating) Do I think other companies will copy this? Well, a lot of what went into it was "common sense" for our team, but we adjusted and tweaked according to what we thought would be acceptable for all parties, and wouldn't be seen as simply trying to co-opt the blogosphere and online communities. Hopefully others will realize that there's a right way to do things, and all other ways.

4) Was it a conscious decision not to have a central place for the 50 participants on a website run by Nikon? I think it would have been a cool idea, but wonder how people would have taken it rather than leaving it open ended.

Tom Biro: In my eyes, yes. While Nikon already has some great places where consumer-submitted content has been placed before (stunningnikon.com, during the campaign last year featuring Kate Moss, for instance), I think that given some of the sensitivities out there with regards to bloggers and others receiving products, even temporarily or on loan, we thought that it was best to let people have their own space and do what they wanted to - or not. Again, this wasn't a "review expected" type of effort. The fact that many participants have already blogged about it, shared photos, or even set up a site exclusively to publish content about their experiences is huge for us. To that note, we're constantly paying attention to what people are saying, and are making ourselves available to discuss issues, walk people through the camera, and more. This isn't to say that there isn't a great idea in three months or based on feedback once everyone has started using their camera, but the community thrives best in an area it is a) familiar with and b) in on its own terms.

5) I know you probably don't want to give away too much of the special sauce for this campaign, but was the delivery of the cameras staggered to maximize any potential ripples in the blogosphere?

Tom Biro: Without too much detail, yes it was. The delivery of actual cameras isn't being "staggered," it's basically as the respondents accept or decline, we send out cameras to those who are participating. A big reason was more so that we could adjust to any other events going on, and ensure that we were properly, and in a timely manner, servicing those participants as they accepted.

6) Does Nikon have any future plans for anything similar - either related to the D80 or not? For example, maybe instead of turning it in after the six months, participants can pass it on to another blog/site? (Thus increasing longevity of campaign with very little extra investment... at least until 50 people buy them, at which point you could send out another 50...)

Tom Biro: I think that based on how these efforts go over the next 6-12 months, we will adjust accordingly and see if there are other opportunities. As for passing along the camera, etc., that's a great suggestion, and point taken.

7) How much is the editorial discount? (Lemme know if you don't want this one public - I'm curious, though, so I can start saving. :)

Tom Biro: You'll find out in a few months!

8) I imagine it was very difficult to find 50 people to participate in this program. (I know I'm very honored to have been picked...) What were some of the things you were looking for when you picked people? Popularity of blog? Passion? A mix of people?

Tom Biro: Definitely a mix of those above. A year ago, we talked about just going to "top" blogs based on some arbitrary list, but we quickly realized what that would turn out to be. It ultimately evolved into a healthy mix of an interest in photography, someone who would put the camera to good use off and online, people with interest in local news (such as yourself and a few other citizen journalism sites), others who were heavily involved in sports, and others who had a big interest in marketing and this type of effort, especially those who weren't afraid to share their opinion in public or otherwise. But no, it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do.

9) Any plans to publish an official list of all those participating?

Tom Biro: Something like that has been requested by a number of people, and I think we'll be making that information known once the group has been finalized and all the cameras are in the market. I think the Flickr group will spell out a lot of this for people, too.

10) Any good or bad feedback you've gotten internally so far?

Tom Biro: Well, without giving up the ghost, let's just say I think we're all really excited about the reactions - both good and bad - so far.

11) You mentioned here that Nikon might work with participants at a later date. Where do I sign-up to be in the coffee table book? ;) Another idea maybe is a print ad with our photos (and websites, of course) at the end of the first six months...

Tom Biro: You just did! I think that these ideas, and many others that have filtered their way in, will all be considered, and I think Nikon truly values the way that existing Nikon shooters, and those just beginning to use their cameras, are doing things. We're definitely open for some great followup and other efforts.

12) I noticed an internal wiki - is this an MWW thing that's used on all projects or something unique to the Nikon Picture This campaign?

Tom Biro: That's something that we use at MWW Group for our internal and / or external teams for collaboration, information sharing, and more. Definitely not unique for the Picture This effort, but something that was well used in our planning process and continues to be as we progress.

Bonus Question:

p.s. - just noticed: this email is: [X] publishable [ ] ask first [ ] private when did you start using that? i really like the idea... something that should be written into email clients maybe...

Tom Biro: A while ago, and I've blogged about it at some point or another. I think that a lot more people should start using it, and it won't surprise me to see it working its way into corporate networks, as everyone's blogging or being a journalist somewhere these days.

I need to add it to my sig and use it. It's a great idea, I think. Hopefully it catches on.

Thoughts/Reax?

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