It's not often that you run into a business topic that hasn't already been micro-examined, so when leadership guru Jim Collins and his Great by Choice coauthor Morten Hansen decided to tackle the blurry subject of whether luck—both good and bad—is key to long-term organizational success, I paid extra attention. Their dilemma was how to study it, Collins told me during an interview, much of which appears in three articles in this month's Associations Now and on the ASAE website: "The No-Excuses Guide to Greatness" "The Favorites Game: The Lowdown on Luck" "Building a Great by…
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Most Topular Stories
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Cracking the Role of Luck in Business Success
Acronym8 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pm -
Heroes with a Heart: Nominate a Nonprofit Hero Today!
Amy Sample Ward’s Version of NPTech1 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amWe all know someone quietly changing the world each and every day. He or she is not on the front page of the newspaper, and not mingling with the Gates and Buffets of the world. Everyday people have shown extraordinary commitment to making this world better and actually get to work doing it. The CTK Foundation “Heroes with a Heart” Grant Award asks for your nominations of a “Hero with a Heart,” and gives them a chance to win $5,000 – a simple thanks for the hard work that they do. Grant Details Here’s an overview of awards the CTK Foundation will offer… -
Attention Leaders: YOU MATTER! #LeadershipChat 2/7/12
Angela Maiers Educational Services, Inc.6 Feb 2012 | 12:47 pmFor the past year, my Tuesday nights have been filled with insights and inspiration from the worlds top leaders who faithfully gather on Twitter for one of the most powerful and productive chat streams on Twitter: #leadershipchat The chat is co-hosted by author and CEO of C-Level Strategies, Inc, Lisa Petrilli (@LisaPetrilli) and The Connection Agent, Steve Woodruff (@swoodruff) , and each week they challenge and guide us through the questions that challenge us to be the best leaders in our fields and industry. I have learned a lot from this super smart crew, and I am very very… -
SOPA, PIPA, and the Wikipedia blackout: what it means for associations.
Association Marketing Springboard (Now SocialFishing)18 Jan 2012 | 3:46 amI’m confused. I figured I’d start this post with that, just so you know that I don’t have any answers here. Only questions. At the risk of inadvertently raising political ire from every corner, I’d also like to start by saying that both sides have important points to make. I’m talking about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as House Bill 3261. The Senate version is PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), or Senate Bill 968. I won’t get into comparing the two bills–that’s not my thing. For the purpose of this post I’ll focus on SOPA. -
What does monitoring your brand on social media channels really mean?
Beth’s Blog8 Feb 2012 | 8:49 amSource: journalism.org via Lucy on Pinterest “Listening” or tracking what people are saying about your brand or issue has always been hailed at the first most important step in building your social media or network strategy. Listening is the process tracking brand mentions or related key words and transforming a “river of noise” into insights that allow you to make decisions. Listening can help your organization craft messages/content, keep your finger on how your network thinks about your issue or brand, help with curation of content, identify influencers…
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Acronym
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Cracking the Role of Luck in Business Success
8 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pmIt's not often that you run into a business topic that hasn't already been micro-examined, so when leadership guru Jim Collins and his Great by Choice coauthor Morten Hansen decided to tackle the blurry subject of whether luck—both good and bad—is key to long-term organizational success, I paid extra attention. Their dilemma was how to study it, Collins told me during an interview, much of which appears in three articles in this month's Associations Now and on the ASAE website: "The No-Excuses Guide to Greatness" "The Favorites Game: The Lowdown on Luck" "Building a Great by… -
A Day for Happy Accidents
7 Feb 2012 | 12:35 pmYesterday Jeffrey Cufaude's Twitter feed pointed me to an article from last summer about an interesting experiment at NPR: For just one day, it unshackled its technology staff from its day-to-day responsibilities and allowed them to spend that time working on ideas they were passionate about but couldn't quite find the time for. The "Serendipity Day" was apparently a success, according to the report from Nieman Journalism Lab: 30 employees generated 25 "usable" ideas. Not a bad haul for a day's worth of brainstorming. Serendipity Day is a variation on Google's famous "20 percent time," in… -
What does it take to be an innovator?
3 Feb 2012 | 6:15 amThe following is a guest post from J. Clarke Price, CAE, president and CEO of the Ohio Society of CPAs. One of the most enjoyable assignments I've had in my involvement in ASAE was working on the Innovation Task Force. Figuring out the answer to "How do we cultivate a spirit of innovation in associations?" was simultaneously challenging and frustrating. The challenging dimension was that it was fun to engage association executives in conversations around that question. I've heard lots of perspectives on the question, I've heard lots of examples of how associations have empowered staff to… -
Quick clicks: Two-by-two edition
26 Jan 2012 | 1:32 pmAfter rounding up some of the best blog posts on association management from the past two weeks, I found I had several pairs of posts on matching topics. So, I paired them up on the list below. Enjoy. Community management Did you know that Monday was Community Manager Appreciation Day? Well, thanks to Maggie McGary, now you do. So go give your association's community manager(s) a belated "thanks." Colleen Dilenschneider explains why quality, not quantity, matters most in building your organization's online followers. Fixing problems Laura Otten writes that some struggling nonprofits won't… -
Are We Suffering From Teamwork Fatigue?
25 Jan 2012 | 5:07 amI've read so much contradictory information about whether it's better to work by oneself or in groups that I finally needed some alone time to think about it. Associations Now has done its bit to promote the virtues of introversion: We've run articles on the importance of finding time to think by oneself, on how introverts aren't the insecure souls the stereotype suggests, and on how social media helps introverts better engage with associations. Of course, we run plenty of articles about the virtues of collaboration too—our Volunteer Leadership Issue is, in essence, a handbook for how…
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Amy Sample Ward’s Version of NPTech
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Heroes with a Heart: Nominate a Nonprofit Hero Today!
1 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amWe all know someone quietly changing the world each and every day. He or she is not on the front page of the newspaper, and not mingling with the Gates and Buffets of the world. Everyday people have shown extraordinary commitment to making this world better and actually get to work doing it. The CTK Foundation “Heroes with a Heart” Grant Award asks for your nominations of a “Hero with a Heart,” and gives them a chance to win $5,000 – a simple thanks for the hard work that they do. Grant Details Here’s an overview of awards the CTK Foundation will offer… -
New on SSIR: Data for Promotion, Engagement, and Reporting
25 Jan 2012 | 8:05 amMy latest contribution to the Stanford Social Innovation Review is now published. You can read the post and join the conversation on the SSIR Opinion blog, or read the full post below. —– Inevitably, January is filled with predictions and resolutions. We ponder the innovations and evolutions that may unfold in the technologies we use, and consider the issues we want to tackle in our work and communities. Me? I’m focused on data. This year will, I hope, be the year of data. I see more organizations looking for ways to be data-driven in decision making, communications,… -
Great reads from around the web on January 24th
24 Jan 2012 | 6:00 pmI come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of January 24th). You can join the conversations in the comments, or click through to the original posts to find what others are saying. To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks). Eric Lanke: Stop Calling It Strategic Planning – "So I'm working my way through Humanize, and like… -
Philanthropy and Social Media: New Whitepaper from The Institute for Philanthropy
20 Jan 2012 | 7:03 amEarlier this week, I had the terrific opportunity to participate on a panel at the US launch event for “Philanthropy and Social Media”, a whitepaper from The Institute for Philanthropy and The Indigo Trust. Download the full white paper or share it using this link: http://bit.ly/oii1Vr Below are notes from my remarks. The internet is not new. The last few years, though, have been dramatically impacted by the real-time web. The real-time web is a paradigm based on pushing information to users as soon as it’s available, instead of requiring that they or their software check a… -
Philanthropy and Social Media
17 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pmDate: January 17, 2012, 6 pm EST Location: New York, NY Topic: Philanthropy and Social Media Description: To launch the whitepaper, Philanthropy and Social Media, presented by The Institute for Philanthropy and The Indigo Trust, this panel discussed the impact of social media on philanthropy and giving from various perspectives. In addition to myself, the panel included: Ben Scott (Policy Advisor for Innovation at the US Department of State), Mayur Patel (Vice President of Strategy and Assessment, Knight Foundation), Scott Oki (Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, and Co-Founder of…
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Angela Maiers Educational Services, Inc.
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Attention Leaders: YOU MATTER! #LeadershipChat 2/7/12
6 Feb 2012 | 12:47 pmFor the past year, my Tuesday nights have been filled with insights and inspiration from the worlds top leaders who faithfully gather on Twitter for one of the most powerful and productive chat streams on Twitter: #leadershipchat The chat is co-hosted by author and CEO of C-Level Strategies, Inc, Lisa Petrilli (@LisaPetrilli) and The Connection Agent, Steve Woodruff (@swoodruff) , and each week they challenge and guide us through the questions that challenge us to be the best leaders in our fields and industry. I have learned a lot from this super smart crew, and I am very very… -
The Courage to Teach
31 Jan 2012 | 12:01 pmI am just finishing the final edits on the New Habitudes book (coming very very very soon!) My editor asked me to post some reflections on the chapter of Courage; as it is one of the hardest “Habitudes” to articulate and teach. I am sharing these with you in hopes that you will add to my pepective and understanding. What gives you “your courage to learn and teach?” Here’s how I see it: My Reflections on Courage The heart of education is an education of the heart. The root of the word “courage” is the Latin word “cor,” meaning… -
The 5 C’s of Passion Driven Leadership
25 Jan 2012 | 7:49 pm“Passion is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without passion.” Ralph Waldo Emerson I had the distinguished honor of giving the keynote address this week at the mid winter conference for the Utah Association of Middle and High School Principals. What a pleasure it was to be in the presence of such passionate and dedicated leaders. It was the… -
Passion Driven Leadership and Learning Webinar – Save the Date!
22 Jan 2012 | 9:07 amAs a part of their Leading Innovation-Driving Change Conversation, Mass CUE is hosting a special webinar series prior to their spring conference annual event. I am thrilled to be kicking off the passion driven conversation, and I am inviting you to join me! We know that education and work driven by passion awakens us to new learning and a world bigger than ourselves. Passion makes us curious, compels us to dig deeper, and sustains us as we persevere towards answers to questions that matter most. Explore with us how the principles and practices of a passion-driven work: disciplined study,… -
Project Yesu: Kids CAN Change the World
16 Jan 2012 | 6:05 pmI am thrilled to share this very special guest post from eleven year old Mallory; sixth grader and world-change agent. You will be amazed and inspired as you hear her describe the day she made the decion to change the world. In October 2011 I sat down to write my Christmas list for my parents, I looked around my room and I realized there was nothing I needed, nothing I wanted. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought about the children in Africa, and how they weren’t going to get Christmas presents, and there was a lot of things that they needed. So, I sent my mom an email with…
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Association Marketing Springboard (Now SocialFishing)
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SOPA, PIPA, and the Wikipedia blackout: what it means for associations.
18 Jan 2012 | 3:46 amI’m confused. I figured I’d start this post with that, just so you know that I don’t have any answers here. Only questions. At the risk of inadvertently raising political ire from every corner, I’d also like to start by saying that both sides have important points to make. I’m talking about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as House Bill 3261. The Senate version is PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), or Senate Bill 968. I won’t get into comparing the two bills–that’s not my thing. For the purpose of this post I’ll focus on SOPA. -
Get your Gold Circle Award Submissions in by January 20
10 Jan 2012 | 5:00 amHey SocialFish readers–you deserve to be recognized. Consider this a heads-up. Every year, the ASAE Communications Section’s Gold Circle Award (GCA) competition recognizes the extraordinary communications efforts undertaken by associations. This year’s awards ceremony will be held several months early to coincide with the Marketing, Membership, and Communications Conference, May 23-24. That means you need to get your submissions together now in order to get in under the January 20 deadline. There are several categories where outstanding social media work could potentially be… -
New Infographic: Associations Going Mobile
6 Dec 2011 | 4:00 amI’m doing a session all about mobile with Jeff De Cagna and Paul Gannon at the ASAE Technology Conference on Wednesday morning. Mobile is something Maddie and I think and talk about a lot. And after posting that “mobile apps are a waste of time for associations” on this blog last year, I’ve gotten a number of requests to talk more about it. The post was meant to be provocative. A year later, a lot has changed in the mobile landscape. Still, I stand by a lot of the reasoning in the original post, even as I agree that completely ignoring native apps is also a mistake. -
Deep dive on Social CRM at the ASAE Technology Conference
5 Dec 2011 | 4:00 amThis was originally posted over on the Avectra blog. If you follow Avectra (and if you’re into SCRM, you should!) then you can skip ahead to the next post in your reader. The ASAE Technology Conference is next week in DC–where did November go? Every year, I look forward to a fun-filled, possibly snowy week of techie good times. And this year, I’m even more energized about #Tech11. I’ll be facilitating a deep dive on Social CRM for Associations on Thursday, 12/8, starting at 8:30am. Deep dive means that we will actually have a good chunk of time together as a group to… -
Times are hard. Associations make the world better.
26 Oct 2011 | 5:00 amMaddie and I attended the ASAE Summit Awards Dinner a few days ago. It’s a beautiful event held annually in Washington, DC. We were at the National Building Museum, with it’s spectacular architecture highlighted with uplights, an understated stage set, and beautiful party decor. We had drinks, wine and a three-course dinner. There was a live performance of the national anthem by Northwestern High School’s talented choir, and later a performance by Nashville music star, Gabe Dixon. And a lot of money was raised for ASAE’s Power of A Fund. For the 1,100 people who…
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Beth’s Blog
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What does monitoring your brand on social media channels really mean?
8 Feb 2012 | 8:49 amSource: journalism.org via Lucy on Pinterest “Listening” or tracking what people are saying about your brand or issue has always been hailed at the first most important step in building your social media or network strategy. Listening is the process tracking brand mentions or related key words and transforming a “river of noise” into insights that allow you to make decisions. Listening can help your organization craft messages/content, keep your finger on how your network thinks about your issue or brand, help with curation of content, identify influencers… -
The Five Stages of A Social Media PR Disaster
7 Feb 2012 | 7:43 amSource: tomfishburne.com via Beth on Pinterest Update: Just as I hit the publish button on this post, I got news that Komen’s Karen Handel resigned. Perhaps the sixth stage is fire the staff person who was primarily responsible for the mess. Now that we’ve had a few days to let the dust settle from the Komen-Planned Parenthood firestorm, it is time to think about takeaways for other nonprofits. Deanna Zandt presents an analysis of what made this particular pr crisis different from others and the teachable moments that are useful other nonprofits. The bottom line is:… -
Taking Baby Steps to Social Media Maturity with Your Peers
6 Feb 2012 | 9:42 amFlickr Photo by Johnny Hall Note from Beth: This past year has been a deep exploration into how nonprofits can use measurement and reflection to improve their practices as a networked nonprofit and social media. As part of my work at the Packard Foundation, I designed and facilitated several peer learning groups and exchanges. It was a fantastic laboratory to explore the power of peer learning and the right mix. Also, as a trainer how you create a co-learning opportunity versus the “sage on the stage.” I’ve been reflecting, doing an after action review to… -
Heroes with A Heart Grant Recognizes Unsung Nonprofit Heroes
3 Feb 2012 | 8:56 amHeroes with A Heart Grant Recognizes Unsung Nonprofit Heros – Guest Post by John Haydon If you’re like most people, you get most of your inspiration from people who are quietly changing the world each and every day. They’re not on the front page of the newspaper, and they’re not mingling with the Gates and Buffets of the world. They’re everyday people like you and me who have shown extraordinary commitment to making this world better than when they found it. The CTK Foundation “Heroes with a Heart” Grant Award asks YOU to nominate a “Hero with a… -
Komen Kan Kiss My Mammagram, PinActivism, and Newsjacking for a Cause
1 Feb 2012 | 10:54 pmSource: thefastertimes.com via Noland on Pinterest On Tuesday, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a leading breast cancer charity, pulled hundreds of thousands of dollars in breast cancer screening funds from Planned Parenthood. Each year millions of women are screened for breast cancer at Planned Parenthood, and Susan G. Komen’s funding pays for about 170,000 of those screenings. These services are particularly important for women from under-served communities. The AP reported that Komen for the Cure has decided to halt grants to Planned Parenthood and the decision was…
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Social Media Darwinism
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Gut Feeling or Analytics – which is better?
8 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amSo I was talking with a CMO buddy of mine the other day over dinner and this topic came up. Of course you know as a CMO of a leading Social Media analytics firm – I think you can guess which side of this argument I was on. But seriously, my buddy honestly wanted to know – so what can you do with all this good social media analytics that you talk about? He really didn’t know. So here is what I told him that marketers should be doing with analytics but haven’t truly adopted. I think part of the problem is that some of these tactics haven’t become a standard operating procedure but… -
What Social Data can Teach You about Audiences
1 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amMy son is a senior in high school and I am beginning to help him with his search for the right school. One of the aspects of college life that he is looking forward to is belonging to a university with strong school spirit. So to help with this, I suggested that we use football teams as a proxy to find the right environment. With this in mind, we set out to find a simple list of “2011 NCAA Football Rankings” – an easy Google search is there ever was one. I assumed that the top result, ESPN’s 2011 NCAA Football Rankings, would be the perfect match for our search, until I looked at… -
Trust is hard to come by these days
25 Jan 2012 | 10:00 amFor years I have kept tabs on the Edelman Trust barometer report, which comes out every January in Davos. And this year was no exception. After last year I figured this years report could make an excellent gauge of the economy worldwide! Simply put the report states: Trust is down in every industry and every country across the board by an average of 6%. So what does this mean for marketers and for major brands in an era of social media? Well 2 things … Hidden in the data is the fact that CEOs and Government officials are at the very bottom of the totem pole when it comes to delivering a… -
Brands: It’s not enough to be liked
15 Dec 2011 | 10:00 amImagine a company that has upscale retail locations around the United States receiving tens of thousands of customer visits. Now imagine not having anyone there to greet and interact with those customers. What’s the point of the storefront? Facebook fan pages are much the same thing. But only 0.2 to 2 percent of fans go back to a page. Why? Because there is nothing going on that interests them. Fan pages are a unique marketing canvas to connect with avid consumers. Yet some brands are terribly underutilizing these pages, making them basically brochureware repositories — essentially… -
How important is real-time data? It’s all relative
7 Dec 2011 | 6:35 amThe speed with which social media spreads ideas and information has led many marketers to place a premium on capturing data in real time. But should real-time data be such a priority? Real time means different things to different people when the term is used as a proxy for recency. To an evolutionary biologist, real time could mean thousands of years of species development data. To a 911 dispatcher, real time is a few seconds worth of critical information from a telephone call. What about marketing and advertising? This notion of “relative real time” extends there, too. To a marketing…
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chrisbrogan.com
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Throw Away the Maps
6 Feb 2012 | 1:30 amPeople judge us by the path they’ve seen us walk before. They can’t anticipate our future steps. We, ourselves, look to how things have been, what seems to be the lay of the land, without realizing that the maps are not the territory. Want to succeed at work? Then don’t try to do your job. Instead, work towards something larger, more meaningful, and something that blends your convictions internally with your best ability to help others externally. Want to create something new? Then throw away the old, or maybe join two disparate old things together into something new. The… -
The Next Social Networks
5 Feb 2012 | 1:30 amThe rage in social networks right now is Pinterest, partly because it’s probably the first social network that has a much higher adoption rate by females than males, and partly because it’s an interesting concept: somewhere between visual social bookmarking and scrapbooking. What also might not be immediately obvious is that it’s just “easier” to interact there. In that way, Pinterest has something in common with Instagram, which is community around photos. What I’m interested in, though, is Gentlemint, which I keep calling “Pinterest for… -
Learn From Adele – Build Your Platform
3 Feb 2012 | 1:30 amJacq and I just watched Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (amazon affiliate link), and though every song was just wonderfully done, I found myself fascinated by what Adele was doing in between each song. Because even though most people would be interested in hearing her belt out her amazing repertoire of hits, what I took away from the performance was Adele’s real magical ability: the ability to resonate with her audience. What Adele Could Teach You About Impact I’m writing something about this right now for my upcoming book with Julien Smith, but I had to share some of the… -
Rob Gokee is a Musical Wizard
2 Feb 2012 | 8:05 amI had such a great experience working with award winning musical composer Rob Gokee. We did some musical work together, and the process was so amazing. Rob helped me create my theme song for Shhh! The Secret Show. So anyhow, he and I sat down to do an interview, and it’s a bit long, but it’s totally worth it. We talk about what collaboration feels like at a distance, what it takes to get music like this made for your own show, and a lot more. Rob’s a hero to me, and has been part of the community for a while. I was so fortunate to have worked with him. Can’t see the… -
Build Your Platform – Start
30 Jan 2012 | 1:30 amThe following is part ONE of a series called Build Your Platform. If you find it interesting, please consider subscribing for free to get the rest of the series. This post is long. You might want to bookmark it for later. The age of social media oversaturation is upon us. People are declaring Twitter bankruptcy to go along with their email bankruptcy. They cite not wanting to start on yet another social network as their reason for not getting more involved with Google+. And just as soon as you start getting into Pinterest, you hear about Path, but wait: there’s Gentlemint, which is…
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Chris Garrett on New Media
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When Should You Start Selling from Your Blog?
31 Jan 2012 | 3:18 pmHow do you know when your audience is ready to buy from you? Should you wait to “monetize”? How big does your audience need to be? These are common questions and the answers have been debated over the years. I am going to share an answer I gave George from the Man Up Blog during his blog critique. George spent some time in the dating world, sometimes called the “pick up artist” niche. This is shy dudes learning to pick up the ladies mostly, but obviously the market caters to all genders and tastes. It’s pretty obvious what people want from dating advice, but… -
Why You Shouldn’t Drive Traffic
16 Jan 2012 | 7:58 pmIn the first 7 days of this blogs life, 20,000 visitors checked it out. Sounds like a pretty nice result doesn’t it? I was super happy, but a little disappointed in one specific respect. Only 500 people subscribed. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved and nurtured those 500 subscribers and 500 subscribers in any time frame is not to be sniffed at! My problem was, how can you have 20,000 visitors check out my blog and only 500 of them want to stick around? The cause? I was “Driving” traffic … Big Lessons Learned I had been involved with a couple of successful blogs at… -
How to know what your audience really wants
23 Dec 2011 | 11:53 amYour audience does not want your content. Your audience probably does not want to hear from you at all. If you think that because your website looks great that people will want to visit it … think again. What do they really want? Your audience and potential customers know who they are and probably have a very good idea of their goals. At the very least they know their immediate needs. They are looking for answers to questions, advice, and resources that help people like them get the stuff people like them want. When someone seeks out and clicks on your content it is only as a means to… -
Finding and Communicating Your Value
5 Dec 2011 | 11:06 amMany bloggers don’t have a value problem. They have a great deal to share. I am sure you do – I have never met someone who doesn’t. Why then do people struggle to find an audience. Never mind an audience who knows, likes and trusts them – ANY audience? It’s weird but a lot of the time it is because you have SO much to offer, it’s hard to know who you are for and what specific benefit you provide. A lot of my coaching clients have this problem and, thankfully, there is a solution. The solution is simple, but it isn’t always easy. Check out Ryan… -
How to REALLY make money from a website
23 Nov 2011 | 3:08 pmAs much as I tell people to seriously reconsider buying too much into the hardcore “Make Money Online” hype, I can not argue against its allure and the fact that, well, people DO make money online. The problem is, there are the usual caveats: It’s not fast. It’s not easy. You WILL encounter problems and tough challenges. You might not always enjoy it. These are challenges facing Roman who asked me for a blog critique. He has been building a site all about his experience of creating a website that makes money called “How this website makes money” (how meta).
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Cynthia D'Amour on Leadership and Life
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The Decline of Our Relatonship
3 Feb 2012 | 4:04 amIt’s frustrating. A few years ago, I was very happy. My favorite store started an email list. I signed up. Got periodic special deals. As time passed, so did the frequency of emails. Last few months, it’s almost daily. The big sale of the year. Like the Groundhog Day movie - over and over. Now they want to be my Facebook friend. To invade my life from a different angle. With the same info I already get. Don’t tickle me pink. I’m doing the math… Value of my time to weed through their emails. Compared to the savings I periodically get. It’s not looking good… -
How Does This Work?
31 Jan 2012 | 7:47 amNot sure. Last Friday James and I attended our first Michigan Women’s Gymnastics meet. It was our first live competition. We’ve watched the Olympics through the years. Thought it would be fun to see in person. We were a bit lost at first. College meets don’t run exactly like Olympic coverage. Numbers were everywhere. So were the athletes. We spent the first half of the meet trying to decode the event. How did the meet run? Where should we look to catch the action? How did the scores work? The people around us were clueless first-timers too. We all took took best guesses. -
Do Your Goals Make You Giggle?
30 Jan 2012 | 12:28 pmMine does. James and I vacation at a beach. I worried re missing my strength training. So I asked Mollie. She had the answer - and gave me a new goal. I need to find a beach guys lifting gym. Walk in like I belong there. Workout with total confidence. And real weights - not typical 2-5# weights for women. Bonus points if I find a gym with kettlebells. And show the boys how it’s done. Mollie has been training me hard on them for a few months. And I keep using bigger kettlebells. This concept makes me giggle and grin like a fool. A year ago I would never have even visualized this! My form… -
Seeing Through New Eyes
27 Jan 2012 | 11:58 amStill blue. Yesterday we went to the Michigan Women’s Basketball game. For me, it was a whole new game. Even though we’ve attended for a few years. And I grew up loving basketball. My fitness quest gave me a different perspective. I no longer just watched the game. I also watched how the player’s moved. And compared to training with Mollie. Wow! Look at her throw that ball across the court! Mollie makes me do an overhead throw. With a weighted ball. Wonder how far I could throw a regular basketball? OMG! Look at how much those women are squatting. I sometimes do 100 squats… -
I Just Sang the Blues
26 Jan 2012 | 6:55 pm(Even though my blood runs green!) I am a proud Michigan State grad. My blood is green. I’m a huge Izzo fan. Have wonderful memories of school. Tonight I switched teams. We attended a Michigan’s Women’s Basketball game. Been going to games for a few years. Enjoy watching the women develop their skills. When I first moved to Ann Arbor, I was firmly green. Over time I realized the interesting opportunities the University of Michigan offers the community. More importantly, I wanted to support women in sports. The basketball players are amazing athletes - and the games are fun.
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Church of the Customer Blog
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Playbooks and visual explanations
6 Feb 2012 | 8:30 amBy the time the New York Giants and the New England Patriots took the field Sunday for their Super Bowl matchup, the players on both teams had read, re-read and rehearsed their respective game playbooks dozens, if not hundreds of times. They'd studied each play via multiple diagrams and photographs, stats and descriptions of assignments for every player on the field. A playbook is an apt metaphor for any business team that needs concise, how-to plans to deal with the complexity of systems, processes and moving variables, especially with social business. Whether it's for one of the world's… -
People trust people
1 Feb 2012 | 12:27 pm[Click on chart to see larger version.] The latest edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer study just came out showing CEO's in the dog house when it comes to being trusted. Who do people trust? Academic and tech experts, sure. But the biggest movers in the study are "a person just like me" and "regular employee." Look at your 2012 marketing plan. Are you providing ways for your customers to get together in-person and online to encourage word of mouth? Are you showcasing your best employees in social media, at conferences, and at private events with customers? Source: 2012 Edelman… -
FedEx's apology: expertly delivered
21 Dec 2011 | 8:29 pmWe've seen this before: 1) company makes an egregious service mistake and is outed by a customer via a YouTube video, 2) video goes viral, 3) mainstream media picks up the story and amplifies it, 4) PR nightmare begins. This week's culprit is FedEx. A California FedEx driver is caught on a security-camera video flinging a package containing a computer monitor over the fence of a gated Southern California house. At no time does the driver attempt to ring the bell for delivery. Just a toss over the fence, and he jumps back into his truck. In two days, the video has over three million views. … -
The simplest definition of word of mouth marketing
28 Nov 2011 | 12:38 pmNice video from WOMMA on the basics of word of mouth marketing. Tweet -
14 new statistics about word of mouth marketing
17 Oct 2011 | 11:45 amThe Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has a neat infographic detailing the latest stats about word or mouth marketing, online and offline. Source: WOMMA Note: the WOMMA Summit is coming up November 16-18 in Las Vegas. It's a great conference to learn the latest WOM marketing techniques from leading brands and agencies. Tweet
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Conversation Agent
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Collaboration? You Must be Joking!
8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amI read this post by Chris Saad the other morning in response to Robert Scoble 's mention in a recent post and I keep thinking about the applicability of its concepts not just for Silicon Valley and the tech community. It applies to marketers and communicators as well. [Posted originally on Google+]<rant>1. lead not just cheerlead - how many times do we copy the same concept over and over, or look at short term payoffs when the opportunities are on the making better promises side of the conversation?2. add to the business DNA - nothing dies, not media companies, not blogging, not… -
What a Difference Five Years Make
7 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amHere I am. Writing from my heart more than my head where all the good ideas are and I get the zinger -- yeah, a personality would be great. Seriously? Kidding. I'm sure it would. And I have one. I can go from Zero to Italian in no time. When appropriate. Why do you care? Because that's just it -- online content should have a style and point of view, to get more personality it needs to have guts, and it needs to have time. Guts don't come from charts and stats, they come from people. Time as in face time, as in skin in the game, as in relationships. Or you're just making the seagull move --… -
How Would You Redesign the Sears Customer Experience?
6 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amAs a regular at Brand Autopsy, I remember the "would you miss" series of posts about brands John Moore wrote a couple of years back. The brands discussed ranged from Denny's, Costco, Ace Hardware, Dairy Queen, Crate & Barrell, BusinessWeek, UPS, Pizza Hut, to Walgreens, Polaroid Instant Film, Advertising Age, The Cheesecake Factory, Chili's, Wells Fargo, and more. One of the brands was Sears -- if Sears went out of business tomorrow, would any of us care? Does Sears provide such a unique product and customer experience that we would be saddened if it didn’t exist? How did Sears do on… -
... then I Discovered I am Actually Funny
5 Feb 2012 | 4:00 amSo, I've been thinking. What I'm doing here with this blog is not working. It's not you, it's me. Somehow I manage to scare you off to some site with LOL cats whenever you open your feed. I'm not inspiring you. Or maybe I am, and you're not telling me. I've tried a couple of things to justify keeping up with producing researched and useful content. That only makes the scraping and copying and rewriting gremlins happy and me poor. They don't link anymore in the sphere, those bastards. This is a departure from my usual writing style, I know. I've been slaving on figuring out an angle for the… -
The Weeds and Trees Links Edition
4 Feb 2012 | 4:00 amDo you have poor information consumption habits? Here's how you can tell -- if you're constantly looking for the next thing or shiny object, you're addicted to the fast growth and short term life of weeds. Some of them are pretty. All the action is up top, yet they don't grow strong. Small roots. On the other end of the spectrum are trees. All the action is underground, so you don't really see it while it's happening -- and at least for a while. Yet, once they grow, trees could be there for decades, stretching upward and providing a welcome respite for generations. Weeds and trees Is a…
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ConverStations
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Why There is Always Room for One More Good One
7 Feb 2012 | 6:37 amFans are Fanatics. Searchers Find. Shoppers Discover. Trekkies Trek Ask the sports fans … the crafting hobbyist … the thrift store shopper. Watch the Trekkies. Is there just one place, one site, one convention? Or is it all of them? There’s always room for one more good one. That baseball fan getting ready for her fantasy league draft? She’s not looking at just one site or one magazine. She’s got them all. That quilters in your life? They don’t just go to one store, they know them all. Before you doubt yourself or change what you’re good at because… -
My Facebook: Business Page Public and Personal Profile Private
6 Feb 2012 | 1:03 pmThis weekend, I turned my Facebook profile into a Business page. Most of the connections I had on Facebook were from business contacts, most of what I shared was about business. I was most of the way to a business page already. I had been thinking about making the move for awhile. When Tracy Sestili said Bye-Bye to Facebook, I started making my move by following her lead. (By the way, Tracy is a solid-state, straight-shooting social media strategist – one to follow). Tracy’s steps and reasons are sound. While Facebook is a closed system in many ways, it remains a confusingly open… -
Slide Sunday: Blog Posts are Part of Your Inventory
5 Feb 2012 | 4:50 am“If we must claim an ROI for social media, it will be found in the very fuzzy edges of the inventory we place with care and craft on our social media shelves” - Gerard McLean in Stocking Your Social Media Shelves Slide Sunday: Blog Posts are Part of Your Inventory is a post from: ConverStations Find Your Social Media ROI I hear it from a lot of business owners: "Where is the ROI with all this Social Media?" If this is a question you've asked, maybe we should work together a bit more. We can work together solo, or via a professional learning community. Find and increase your ROI. -
Blogging Like Jerome Bettis Drives
4 Feb 2012 | 4:51 amThe greatest running backs in the NFL seem to have one element in common. It’s a practice rarely seen on highlight reels or still shots. It’s not so much the fancy stuff. Not the stiff arm, the high-leg, or the spin. The one trait all the greats share is one that does NOT stand out. But it’s the one that kept moving them forward. Even when they hit a brick wall of defense, the greatest running backs keep pumping their legs. Short steps. Rapid pace. One after the other. They keep their legs moving. Jerome Bettis was one of the best at this, especially near the goal line. -
Why You Should Blog About Your Business [Guest Post]
3 Feb 2012 | 3:37 amWritten by Joe Pawlikowski Sometimes simple phrasing can make a huge difference. A while back Mike asked the question, should every business blog, and concluded that no, it’s just not for all businesses. That’s a fair enough answer. But allow me to add an amendment. Everyone should blog about his or her business. This doesn’t necessarily mean blogging for your business. But anyone, excepting people with strict non-disclosure agreements, can blog about a business. It can provide plenty of benefits. Blogging to learn All fledgling bloggers stand to learn plenty from the…
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Convince and Convert Blog: Social Media Strategy and Social Media Consulting
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Activation, Comfort, and Other Secrets of Online Community Management
8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amVideo production by my friends at Candidio. Fast, inexpensive, great service. (Abbreviated transcript below. Please watch video for entire interview. Somehow, my side of the video got cut out, so it’s only audio for me!) Jay: Welcome everybody to Convince & Convert. It is Jay Baer joined today by a very special guest, my friend who is the Director of Community and all things fabulous at BlogWorld and also the author of Online Community Management For Dummies, Ms. Deb Ng. Deb, how are you? Deb: I am terrific, Jay. How are you? Jay: I am marvelous. I love your festive red background… -
What Do You Know? Examining the Big 4 Online Answer Sites
7 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amArnie Kuenn is the president of Vertical Measures, a search, social & content marketing company . He is author of Accelerate! Moving Your Business Forward Through the Convergence of Search, Social & Content Marketing. An ideal connection between social media and search might just be “Answer” sites. The essential concept behind an answer site is that visitors can post a question eager to get it answered by someone considered an expert, who is knowledgeable in the subject matter. The response could also be powered by public knowledge with consensus determining the… -
The Only 4 Reasons Agencies Should Care About Their Own Content Marketing
5 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amMimicry is not a strategy. Compulsion is not a strategy. Yet, far too many agencies are devoting resources to content marketing and social media solely because they feel they have to do so. Other agencies have a blog, and Webinars, and an active Twitter feed, so we need some of that too! To what end? What are you really trying to accomplish – as an agency – with all of this content and social media? You’re not selling ads, so website traffic isn’t inherently valuable. Do clicks and retweets or Facebook fans really build your business? Not in a linear way. There are… -
Social Pros Podcast – Super Bowl Social Media Command Center
2 Feb 2012 | 4:24 amThis is Episode 1 of the Social Pros Podcast : Real People Doing Real Work in Social Media. This episode features Taulbee Jackson, CEO of Raidious, the social and content agency that built and is managing the Super Bowl Social Media Command Center. Read on for insights from Taulbee, our “Work It Out” advice segment, and Eric’s Social Media Stat of the Week (this week: The Edelman Trust Barometer). Next week’s guest is Scott Monty from Ford Motor Company. Listen Now Click the play button to listen here: Download the audio file:… -
Why I’m Not Writing a Book This Year
31 Jan 2012 | 4:15 amI was all set to write another book this year. Solo this time, as my book spouse Amber Naslund has her hands full with her new social business consultancy Sidera Works. I loved writing half of The NOW Revolution, and loved even more traveling around North America giving presentations about social media and social business (here are the slides). I spoke in 65 different cities in 2011. It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it. I was ready to jump back into the fire in 2012, with a nifty new topic, interested publishers, and a plan to use this new book as a real springboard to the future. But…
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Copyblogger
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The “New” SEO Secret Weapon
8 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amIf you have a web site, you may have noticed one of two things about the traffic you get from search engines. Your search traffic may have dried up overnight, with once-healthy streams turning into a sad little trickle. Or you may have noticed a nice, steady improvement as you’ve climbed higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages), while other sites that used to outrank you suddenly evaporated. There’s a super-secret new ingredient in SEO. It was always a factor, but it’s become even more important recently, as the Google team relentlessly declares war on what they see… -
8 Quick Tips for Writing Bullet Points People Actually Want to Read
7 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amIt’s a Twitterized world, we’re just living in it. Blog posts, Tweets, quick videos, Google+, the Facebook Timeline, and tens of thousands of images pinned to digital boards are flying past us faster than we can read them. Faster than we can even scan them, depending on the time of day. What does this mean for writers trying to cut through it all? At least two things that I can think of: You’d better know how to write a compelling headline You’d better know how to write bullet points that grab (and keep) your reader We’re not telling you to keep your copy short. -
7 Crucial Tactics for Writing a Wildly Successful Guest Post
6 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amWe all know that guest posts grow blogs. But not many people realize that tactical guest posting grows careers. Most bloggers I see pump out these articles while reciting the mantra “quantity over quality”; there’s no real strategy and there are no real long-term benefits. In this post I am going to show you the seven crucial tactics for writing a radically successful guest post. Done right, these strategies will get you more email subscribers, coveted Google ranking positions, and a big head-start on your content marketing goals. Who am I to teach you about guest blogging? -
7 Smashing Social Media Marketing Links
4 Feb 2012 | 3:00 amThis week on The Lede … What really works on Twitter One thing social media copywriters should never do 9 productive social media hacks A reminder of the power of the original social media If you just can’t wait for The Lede every Saturday, and you want even more practical, useable links than the seven we highlight here every week, follow @copyblogger on Twitter. It’s painless. Really. // 9 Social Media Hacks You Need to Embrace Now Mr. Baer makes a good case that though social media is inexpensive in monetary terms, it can get good and costly when it comes to spending your… -
Whether You Call it Blogging or Not, Online Content Still Rules
3 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amWhat if most of the business world stopped blogging tomorrow? Would you stop as well? No, if that happened, you’d find yourself sitting on the opportunity of a lifetime. Social networking sites would explode with likes and retweets and pins and +1s of your original content all day long. This is why the annual “blogging is dead” claim is so dumb. Even if it were true, your continued content production would dominate the web in every way. So, instead of worrying about the latest claimed trend or alarming decline of the moment, stay the course. Original content creation is the…
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Social media marketing hacks for nonprofits | Powered by JohnHaydon.Com
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The 6th Annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards
8 Feb 2012 | 7:48 amSee3, in partnership with YouTube is excited to announce that the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards is accepting submissions throughout February. This year, winners have the chance to win one of four $3,500 prize donations along with great products worth an additional $3,500 provided by Cisco, free registration to next year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference provided by NTEN, and a special prize to recognize fearless use of video provided the Case Foundation. The winning videos will be announced at this year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference hosted by NTEN and featured on YouTube’s… -
How to manage your Facebook Page content with PostPlanner (video)
6 Feb 2012 | 4:44 amPostPlanner is a Facebook Page content management tool that allows you to schedule posts to a various different Pages that you manage. It optimizes content specifically for Facebook in a few ways: Post photos and videos to your Facebook’s photo albums (wall) as if you posted directly to Facebook. Post long URLs Edit titles and excerpts of posted articles White label the app with your own icon and link it back to your website or Facebook Page In this video I discuss why Hootsuite and Seesmic may not be the best options for posting to your Facebook Page (by the way, I love these tools for… -
Nonprofit Bloggers Give Susan G. Komen Foundation A Huge Spanking
3 Feb 2012 | 6:20 amBy now you’ve probably read about the decision by the Susan G. Komen Foundation to cease giving grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings. This decision, obviously politically motivated, will mostly impact women in under-served communities. The same communities that probably sold the most buckets of cancer that raised $8 million for the foundation. Seriously. Komen gets a spanking One of the best things I love about the nonprofit community is watching my friends serve up a well-deserved spanking! Alison Fine helped open the way with a Causes campaign called… -
Heroes With A Heart Grant Rewards Nonprofit Volunteers!
1 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amIf you’re like most people, you get most of your inspiration from people who are quietly changing the world each and every day. They’re not on the front page of the newspaper, and they’re not mingling with the Gates and Buffets of the world. They’re everyday people like you and me who have shown extraordinary commitment to making this world better than when they found it. The CTK Foundation “Heroes with a Heart” Grant Award asks YOU to nominate a “Hero with a Heart,” and give them a chance to win $5,000 – a simple thanks for the hard work that… -
How to Add Stupidly Simple Polls to your WordPress Blog
31 Jan 2012 | 4:36 amOne way to increase engagement with blog readers is to remove barriers, like CAPTCHAS (hopefully you don’t have these), logging in to leave comments (Facebook, Twitter and recently Google have solved this problem) and actually having to use one’s brain by leaving a comment. Create simple polls with Quipol Another way to engage readers is to use a simple polling app like Quipol. Each Quipol displays one question with thumbs-up and thumbs-down options. Test it out for yourself:
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Dan Zarrella
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[Infographic] How to Get More Clicks on Twitter
24 Jan 2012 | 9:18 pmI’ve often said that the best use of Twitter is as a broadcast medium. You should be creating a ton of interesting content and sharing it with your followers. To that end I’ve done a bunch of research on how to optimize the clickthrough rate (CTR) of the links you’re tweeting. For the purposes of this data, I’ve calculated CTR as the number of clicks on a tweeted link divided by the number of followers the account had when it tweeted that link. Below is an infographic presenting some of my past findings as well as some entirely new data I’ve found about… -
[Infographic] What are the Best Times to Blog?
22 Jan 2012 | 10:54 pmOne of the most popular webinars I’ve ever worked on, The Science of Timing was also one of my favorite. If you haven’t seen it, go check out the on-demand recording now. In it, I present data I’ve collected over three years about the effect timing has on a variety of online marketing activities, including blogging. Below is an infographic that represents a collection of the three most important stats I have about when to publish blog posts. In the webinar, I also make the point that my results are based on huge aggregates of thousands, millions, or even in some cases,… -
[Infographic] The 2012 Republican Candidates by the Twitter Numbers
17 Jan 2012 | 9:59 pmI’ve studied the relationship between Twitter success and politics before, and since this year is a big year in elections, I figured I’d do it again. This time I looked at how the 4 front-running republican presidential candidates are doing on Twitter. I analyzed the obvious numbers, followers, retweets and mentions, but I also looked at a few of my favorite, deeper metrics: retweets-per-follower, link-percentage and reply-percentage. I also looked at Twitter “penetration” in two upcoming primary states: South Carolina and Florida. Notice anything that surprises you in… -
[Infographic] How To Use Contra-Competitive Timing for More ReTweets, Likes, Comments and Clicks
16 Jan 2012 | 11:44 pmOne of the most interesting patterns I’ve found while studying social media and marketing data is what I call in my book “contra-competitive timing.” I’ve found in numerous cases that the most successful times and days to publish new content are off-peak times. It’s like when you’re at a noisy party and it’s hard to hear the person talking to you 2 feet away, but suddenly you say something awkward and the room quiets down. Now everyone can hear you. The same is true with the internet. When there is less other noise to compete with (ie fewer Tweets,… -
[New Data] What Percentage of your Tweets Should be Links or Replies
10 Jan 2012 | 9:25 pmIf you like myth busting social media data like this, be sure to buy my newest book, Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness. One of the social media questions I’m most interested in is about whether Twitter is best suited for conversation or broadcasting. To many people’s surprise, I generally find myself on the broadcast side, and most of the data I’ve analyzed seems to back me up. Just yesterday, I started a little informal Twitter poll and found that respondents were pretty evenly split between broadcasting and conversation. This time, I looked at more than 100k…
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Debbie Weil's Blog
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Why a Short Book? Hint: Quicker to Write and Delivers Same Business Benefits
8 Feb 2012 | 10:30 amThe cool thing about writing a short book and self-publishing it on Amazon Kindle is that you can think of yourself as a Beta Author. Why Beta? Think of it as an Agile Book Launch. Your short book will be provocative, smart and well-written. It will have a sizzling title and a click-inducing cover. But it may be the first in a series of books. You may want to write a longer book later. You may want to revise it. No problem. As an entrepreneurial author, you're in charge. You don't need permission from a big New York publisher. The theory beyond agile software development and lean… -
My Three Words for 2012: Alignment, Quiet and Compassion
1 Feb 2012 | 1:17 amInspired by a number of other bloggers and authors, including Chris Brogan (Temple, Untangle, Practice), Jonathan Fields (Serve, Inspire, Transcend) and Chris Guillebeau (Finishing), I am starting 2012 with three words. I was tempted to say "launching" 2012 because that's what it feels like. More about that in a minute. First, my words: Alignment Quiet Compassion Alignment 2012 is going to be a year of adventure, excitement and hard work. Oh, and lots of unknowns. Why? Because I have launched a new company, Voxie Media. Voxie Media is a new hybrid. It's a next-generation publishing… -
Wake Up and Write For Your Existing Readers (Don’t Look for Readers Later)
27 Jan 2012 | 12:22 pmSeth Godin reminds us - again - of the new way to think about writing a business book. You are writing for the fans and followers you already have. Your tribe. They are the ones who will celebrate with you and kick off word-of-mouth sales if you set your launch price on Kindle at $0.00. As Seth puts it: "Wake up in the morning thinking about what (you) can write for (your) readers." Not the other way around. The old mindset went like this: write your book, get it edited, get blurbs from big names, design a great cover, print, distribute, launch and hold your breath for sales. In other words,… -
Is Publishing a Kick-ass eBook for Kindle One of Your Goals for 2012?
29 Dec 2011 | 12:44 pmWe're betting it is. And there are one spot no spots left to pre-register for the next Beta Author Boost, starting in March 2012. Beta Author Boost is a unique writing workshop that enables up-and-coming business authors to write and publish a short, kick-ass eBook for Amazon Kindle in 8 weeks. The first Beta Author Boost sold out in less than 12 hours. The program is currently in full swing with 10 subject matter experts working on a wide variety of book topics. We are having a blast. Writing a book, even a short book, is hard. What if a drop-dead deadline propelled you to finish your… -
Context vs. Content: What Sells Your Book?
21 Dec 2011 | 5:12 amContext is one of those words that sparks a multidimensional image in your head. That is key to understanding why context (who, where, how, what, why) has as much to do with the success or popularity of a new book as does the actual content of that book. Who recommended the book to you? That counts for a lot. You tend to trust recommendations from friends who are discerning and on top of what's new. Where did you hear about the book? Were you online, on a social network like Facebook or Twitter, where it required no more than a couple of clicks to download the book in digital format to…
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Event Manager Blog
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Teaser
8 Feb 2012 | 8:31 amDear readers, you won’t see much of moi for the rest of the week as I am working to launch a cool little project in two weeks time. Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know. Since I know you are curious, here is a little sneak peak: Stay tuned and get ready for a big announcement by the end of the month! No related posts. © Julius Solaris for Event Manager Blog, 2012. | Follow Event Manager Blog on Twitter | Follow Event Manager Blog on Google+ | Add comment | Post tags: -
The Best Posts in January
3 Feb 2012 | 7:08 amHow was your January dear readers? If you did not have the time to stop by we had a lot of action on the blog. We also launched a Google+ Hangout where you can ask your questions and get answers! Here are the most popular posts of last month. The Best Posts in January 2012 1. Event Startups Are Getting Hot Event startups are really taking off these days, here is a summary of the hot startups to watch in 2012 2. Check in Your Guests with CheckInEasy CheckInEasy is a great guest check-in tool we reviewed. Have a look! 3. Plancast Dies Very sad news. Plancast, a great service for social event… -
Eventbrite: More than 1M Customers Checked in on Mobile App
2 Feb 2012 | 8:54 amThis is a sponsored post by Eventbrite. For more information about sponsored posts click here. Eventbrite just released an infographic outlining the most significant (and fun) stats of 2011. There are a lot of interesting figures for the event industry. Online event registration is changing the way we attend events and Eventbrite is leading the way. Mobile Check-ins on the Rise The most interesting figure on the report is the number of check-ins done through the Entry Manager app – a staggering 1,193,756! This really gives you an idea of what is becoming important for our attendees. -
Let’s Hangout Together!
1 Feb 2012 | 6:59 amWe launched a Google+ Event Manager Blog official page a few months ago. We are now ready for our first Hangout. A promise is a promise. Back in November I gave you 3 good reasons to circle Event Manager Blog on Google+, one of the reasons was to have Google+ Hangouts. I am really keen to know you better, dear readers, and answer your questions. So here is how it’s going to work… When is it Going to Happen? Wednesday the 8th of February at 5pm GMT (10am PST/1pm EST). I’ll allocate an hour time but it’s likely it will take around 30 minutes, depending on how many… -
Why I Invested in Eventasaurus
31 Jan 2012 | 3:28 amIt so happens I’ve invested in Eventasaurus. I thought I should let you know. Since last week, I became an investor in Eventasaurus. I’ve also taken up an advisory role with the company. I am writing to let you know about it as I do believe in full disclosure and that you, dear reader, need to be aware of what I am up to. Why Eventasaurus? I got to meet Sam a few months ago and I was impressed by how he nailed a very common problem of the event industry, making sense of all social interaction. I later decided to cover the launch of the private beta and the post got a lot of…
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Face2Face
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How venues can open new revenue streams with wireless access
31 Jan 2012 | 10:16 amHere’s an interesting guest post by Doug Archibald, vice president, sales and service at Ungerboeck Software International- a worldwide provider of mobile event management software for conferences and venues. He’s talking more to the venue side than the meeting planning side, which is a different perspective than you’d usually see here. I hope you enjoy it. As smartphones, iPads, and tablets take over the market share of wireless Internet devices, accessing the Internet at a conference or large-scale event is not only necessary, but expected by attendees. This expectation… -
This should sound awfully familiar
30 Jan 2012 | 4:42 pmBrought to you by the always brilliant Lara McCulloch-Carter, the #EventProfs community, and Plan Your Meetings: Stuff Event Planners Say. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWEgDFsjqaw -
Notes from Sunday at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions
23 Jan 2012 | 4:20 amMy first full day at the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions annual conference, going on now in Orlando, was packed. Some notes on the meeting as a meeting. I’ll get the whining out of the way first: -Yes, I already have stuffed-brain syndrome from having way too much thrown at me in too little time with no connection between session topics and no time for reflection built in. -We hit the “I know you can’t read this slide, but…” wall before the first general session was over. -We hit the “I know this classroom setup makes it almost… -
10 quick meeting planning tips
20 Jan 2012 | 1:58 pmWhile it may not rock your world, this list of 10 quick meeting-planning tips from the AMI blog is a good reminder of what really counts: that it’s all about the attendees, not your organization. It may be simple, but it’s probably not easy! -
Is Pecha Kucha the next mashed potato martini?
18 Jan 2012 | 5:59 amThat’s what Kristi Casey Sanders asks in this interesting post about how what’s hip today might become passé, presentation-format-wise. Plus she includes a great list of tips (and she’s funny).
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FreshNetworks Blog
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Research claims that 25% of tweets are not worth reading. So what?
6 Feb 2012 | 2:55 amTweetImage via Wikipedia According to research from a team at Carnegie Mellon University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology, we think that 25% of tweets are not worth reading. The study found that, when asked to rate tweets by people they follow, only 36% of tweets were marked favourably, 25% were marked less favourably and the balance (39%) received no strong feeling either way. Press coverage of this study has invariably interpreted this to mean that up to a quarter of what we say on Twitter is a waste of time (see the Daily Mail and the Daily… -
What’s hot in social media – January 2012 round up
31 Jan 2012 | 4:46 amTweetWith seven in ten brands saying they plan to increase their presence across social media in 2012 (according to a recent survey by Awareness) we thought it would be a good idea to take a regular look at the current social media landscape. So here’s a quick run down of what we think has been hot in social media this January: 1. Farfetch.com – the future of social retail? 2012 looks set to be the year of the social online retailer. Luxury retailer farfetch.com announced that it saw a 73% rise in traffic from Facebook in the second half of 2011 and it recently raised a second… -
Instagram and the growing power of photography in social media
30 Jan 2012 | 3:18 amTweetInto the valley of Death The Crimean War of the 1850s was a revolution in communication. For the first time reports from the battlefield were returned in what felt like near-real-time thanks to the electric telegraph transmitting messages in just hours rather than them having to be sent by horse across Europe. Many people complained about the impact of this real-time news, and the harm that it did reporting on the events tragedies of the war as they happened. Perhaps more contentious, however, than this written word reporting was the use, for the first time, of war photography with… -
Why Capital One and American Express are the top financial services brands on Facebook
27 Jan 2012 | 4:51 amTweetCapital One and American Express are the top financial services brands on Facebook, according to a chart compiled by social media analytics tool socialbakers. While Capital One’s Facebook page features within the top 150 brands on this list, and the American Express Facebook page is just outside it, the next most successful financial services brand on Facebook is US based direct banking and payment services company Discover, which charts at the 300 mark, saying a lot about the use of Facebook among global financial services brands. In fact, this forms a large part of the… -
Why internal culture is much more important than employee social media guidelines
26 Jan 2012 | 3:16 amTweetImage via Wikipedia January has seen a spate of people tweeting things they shouldn’t – from Diane Abbott to Ed Miliband in the UK to countless people working for brands across the world. We’ve also seen a renewed debate in the UK about how the professions should use social media – notably about teachers befriending their pupils on Facebook. One way that many organisations deal with this is to create social media guidelines but even more important than any guidelines you might right is the internal culture change needed to real to make yours a true social…
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Frogloop
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Top 10 Most Generous Cities in the U.S.
8 Feb 2012 | 12:12 pmEver wonder how charitable your city is? You’re in luck because Convio recently released their report on the 273 most generous cities across the United States. Convio analyzed cities with total population of more than 100,000 based on per capita online giving and the total amount donated through the Convio platform. The average gift size remained steady in 2011 at about $65 with more than $435M donated to charities. The donors in the most generous cities increased their total online contributions by more than 11 percent over 2010, which is pretty impressive considering the tough… -
Upcoming Conference Roundup (February - March 2012)
6 Feb 2012 | 12:26 pmWith the new year in full swing, we're looking forward to all the great events that are coming up this year by refreshing our own 2012 Conferences calendar. Here you'll find a list of upcoming events that are sure to be buzzing with cause-minded folks. And wherever there's a cause to be championed, you'll find the Care2 Team -- this month delivering a trifecta of tips and tactics, with three of our Nonprofit Services directors presenting at three different conferences on three different topics over the next three weeks: -Eric Rardin will be talking about Cause Marketing & High Level… -
Webinar: eCampaign 2012 - Killer Tactics to Drive Elections with Online Fundraising And Social Media
5 Feb 2012 | 2:46 pmElectoral campaigns are important incubators of new techniques and tactics in online fundraising and organizing. From Barack Obama's campaign to the thousands of state and local races across the country, campaigners are relentlessly testing new approaches and refining proven tactics in online fundraising and social media to gain an edge over their rivals -- and in some cases to make history. Join us on February 16, 2012 at 2:00 PM ET for "eCampaign 2012 - Killer Tactics to Drive Elections Using Online Fundraising & Social Media" and hear from two experts who are… -
Lessons Learned When Your Community Revolts
2 Feb 2012 | 6:40 amThere are three pillars to building an online community and engaging on social media channels: 1. Honesty, transparency, and being upfront. 2. Listening and being responsive to members of the community no matter how lame or silly you find the questions or feedback. 3. Thanking your community for their support, feedback and guidance. If you don’t practice these principals every single day somewhere along the way your community is going to revolt. And it won’t be pretty. For example, yesterday, Planned Parenthood released a statement saying that the Susan G. Komen Foundation… -
Year-End Fundraising Up in 2011
30 Jan 2012 | 9:00 amIn January of last year I wrote up a quick summary on how some of our clients' end-of-year fundraising campaigns did vs. the prior year, and I thought it’d be nice to repeat the exercise to see how nonprofits fared in 2011. The results below come from aggregate data from 14 organizations we work with – a big thanks to them for letting us include their data in this post. These aren’t necessarily the same organizations we included in our write-up last year; this analysis compares two years of data for these 14 groups. So without further ado, here’s the scoop: A lot more…
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Jamie Notter
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Start by Looking Inside
7 Feb 2012 | 6:37 amEdelman’s Annual “Trust Barometer” report is out. Maddie broke the news on SocialFishing, pointing out that trust in CEOs dropped precipitously (50% last year; 38% this year), where trust in the “regular employee” was up by a similar margin (34% last year to 50% this year). That’s big news, and it’s consistent with what she and I have been writing about. Obviously trust is an important issue to us–Trustworthy is one of the four human elements we write about in Humanize. There is a 32-page slide deck from Edelman that goes over the main points in… -
Public Discourse on Humanize
3 Feb 2012 | 5:58 amAt one level, getting a book published is a fairly scripted process. You write it, you publicize the heck out of it, you speak on it, and, if all goes well, a bunch of people buy it. Thousands of authors/publishers do this (in roughly the same way) every single year. Of course, when it’s YOUR book, it always somehow feels more unique, unpredictable, even magical. When Maddie and I wrote Humanize, we gave it our all. We wrote from our hearts. We put down on paper thoughts and ideas that tied together years of our personal and professional development, both separately and together. -
Shaking Up Patterns
31 Jan 2012 | 4:31 amThis weekend I taught a three-hour session on Systems to students in Georgetown’s Organization Development and Change Leadership Certificate program. I went through this program 11 years ago myself (though it didn’t have the “change leadership” moniker back then). I love teaching this class and digging into the idea that when we get together in groups, we tend to fall into familiar patterns and system dynamics. The people at the top always feel burdened by complexity and responsibility. The people in the middle always feel torn trying to meet everyone’s needs. -
Humanize and the Millennial Generation
24 Jan 2012 | 12:35 pmTwo weeks ago I wrote a post about an inherent paradox in the conversation about generational differences. The differences we see among generations are both true at the big picture level AND irrelevant at the individual level. Every generation possesses significant diversity and significant “sameness” at the same time. That post was the setup to this one, based on the original question that was posed in one of our Humanize twitter chats, which was “Is the Millennial generation better poised to accept the ideas in Humanize than previous generations.” My answer in the… -
Conflict and Decision Making
17 Jan 2012 | 8:31 amThere is an article in the Volunteer Leadership issue of Associations Now titled, “Balanced Conflict, Better Decisions.” The conclusions in the article concern me. I’m paraphrasing here, but the article says: “Cognitive” conflict is about contradictory perspectives, where “affective” conflict is personalized, emotional, and political. Association boards make better decisions by delegating cognitive conflict to task forces, but dealing with affective conflict at Board meetings. For-profit boards do this the other way around. In a “fair and…
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Going Social Now
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Super Bowl Digital Advertising Madness
31 Jan 2012 | 8:11 pmSuper Bowl is upon us as is the advertising madness around. There are a few key themes that will hold true this year for sure and are already surfacing:1. Releasing ads online early is becoming table-stakes. Nearly everyone seems to be doing this and with good reason. It's about building momentum into the Super Bowl typically done with a mixture of paid and organic promotions of the TV ads online.2. The smarter advertisers are constructing narratives around teasers, the TV commercial and what should happen after the ad airs. Some are even focusing on second screen social TV experiences (we… -
Two steps forward, One step back
11 Jan 2012 | 3:36 amWorking with very large brands in large organizations means not knowing whether you're taking two steps forward, one step back or one step forward and two steps back in any given moment. We all like to say that there's light at the end of the tunnel but working within a marketing organization versus in an agency, the tunnel is much longer and sometimes the light can seem much further away. You're thinking about how decisions you'll make today will effect your brand three or four years hence.Yes, we absolutely live in a real-time world and we have to be hyper-quick. But at the same time… -
TV Ads' New Digital Role, HBR Piece
12 Nov 2011 | 1:38 pmTelevision advertising has undergone significant changes in the last 30 years. However, it is arguably on the verge of its greatest changes ever. From where I sit as the Global Head of Digital at PepsiCo Beverages, charged with navigating our brand's foray into the digital world, I see three big changes:The value we put on an advertisement will change as we seek to account for engagement metrics in the pricing.The narrative arch will change as we think of the advertisement as a trailer versus the whole story.Location-aware technologies will force a greater degree of engagement on a format… -
Physio-Digital + Cause + Shopper Marketing
27 Oct 2011 | 8:29 pmProbably one of the most exciting parts of working at PepsiCo Beverages is in seeing the physical and digital worlds come together especially as the whole cause marketing space gets more directly integrated with brand marketing. This PepsiCo 7-Eleven program is a perfect example of that and one that I find to be awesome. For every 20 oz. Pepsi product bought from 7-Eleven, we will donate five cents to the good cause. If the person also checks in using Facebook Places, we will double that donation. Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to those who are food insecure. Its network… -
A Love Letter from Brand Marketers to Silicon Valley (republished from Ad Age)
26 Oct 2011 | 6:40 pmFor too long, the digital industry has looked at brands like Pepsi simply as a monetization strategy. What's worse is that sometimes our digital friends view us as being uninformed members of the digital ecosystem - something akin to prey. Not only is that perception misinformed, its going to start impacting the bottom-line of many companies in the digital ecosystem.On the brand side, marketers cannot afford to play that role anymore. We need to show a much stronger return on all our marketing investments just as we recognize that traditional forms of marketing (ie banner ads) aren't as…
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HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog
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How to Score Your Leads So Sales Works the Hottest Prospects
8 Feb 2012 | 1:47 pmThe good news about inbound marketing is that it can help you attract high volumes of leads. The challenge then becomes, how do you separate the good, quality leads from the people who are just starting to look around? That’s where lead management, and specifically, lead scoring comes in. With lead scoring, you can attach values to each of your leads based on their professional information and the behavior they’ve exhibited on your website. For example, you would likely rank a vice president-level lead who has spent time on both your products and pricing page higher than an… -
A Marketer's Complete Guide to Launching Mobile Apps
8 Feb 2012 | 10:02 amAccording to former CEO of AppVee and AndroidApps Alex Ahlund, the average cost to develop a mobile app is $6,453 -- and the cost can skyrocket to as much as $150,000 depending on the complexity of the app. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, the money and resources you dedicate to conceptualizing and developing a truly great mobile app can all be put to waste if you don't orchestrate a proper mobile app launch. In fact, in December 2011, the 1 millionth mobile app was pushed to market. To give you an idea of just how quickly these mobile apps are being released, at the end of 2010, there… -
How to Attract the RIGHT Social Media Followers for Your Business
8 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amThe benefits of an extensive social reach are clear, but how do you attract the right followers for your company? As with most inbound marketing, relevancy can make or break the effectiveness of your strategy. So to ensure you have a social media following that helps you advance your marketing objectives, start by identifying a set of core topics that reflect the interests of people who typically become your customers. If you're a HubSpot customer, you can use the Keywords App and the Social Media Prospects App to help with this. For example, we at HubSpot would choose the… -
Why User-Generated Content Is More Important Than You Think
7 Feb 2012 | 11:33 amA certain group of consumers has been gaining attention from marketers recently, because of the strong role they play in the purchasing decision; these power purchasers are known as Generation Y. Whether they're part of the target audience to which you sell or not, this group is worth considering as part of your inbound marketing strategy because there's a strong likelihood they either will become part of your target audience in the future, or because they already influence your target audience now. Let's break down who these power purchasers are, some of the interesting demographics and… -
How to Create Marketing Offers That Don't Fall Flat
7 Feb 2012 | 6:16 amIn marketing, offers are the gateways to lead generation. Without them, site visitors have no way of getting converted into leads. They are also a critical tool for nurturing existing leads into a position that makes them more sales-ready. But gosh, isn't the word 'offer' so utterly vague and abstract? What the heck is a marketing offer, and what are the qualities of a good one? Because we see so many marketers get tripped up on this concept, let's discuss exactly what a marketing offer can be, highlight the characteristics of an effective offer, and explain how you can start using them the…
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Liz Strauss at Successful Blog
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Can You Find Success Following a Firing?
8 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amOne of the most challenging situations a person can find themselves in is trying to secure a new job after they’ve been terminated from a previous position. While there is hope of locating employment following a termination, the odds are definitely lessened for such individuals, who must fight through the stigma of being removed from a company. The bottom line is resiliency and the ability to best explain away why you were let go. For those individuals who have to deal with such a situation, keep several things in mind: Deal with reality – It is never easy when the pink slip arrives and… -
Five Delegation Thinking Traps that Trip Almost Everyone Who Wants to Scale Up
7 Feb 2012 | 5:39 amScaling Up Requires Pushing Down Lower-Level Tasks In the companies I worked with and for, product development schedules were cyclical, with seriously tight deadlines at certain times of the year and a more relaxing pace when those deadline had been achieved. To even out this ebb and flow of deliverables, we would hire freelancers, off-sire staff, and development groups. Even the most entry-level full-time people were managing and influencing the performance of someone else. The ability to influence another person’s performance in positive ways affected how quickly employees could grow… -
Does Your Business Style Connect or Make People Cringe?
6 Feb 2012 | 5:43 amGet Serious Attention In Amanda Valenti’s recent guest post here about Common Writing Mistakes, she made many important points that I encourage small businesses to take to heart. If spelling, grammar, and homophones are not your strong suites, find someone who can edit what you write. It IS worth it because Amanda is absolutely correct – these types of errors will cost you visitors and business. There is something more serious you must be aware of as well and that is what kind of image you are presenting to the world. Specifically, what you consider acceptable regarding profanity,… -
Beach Notes: After the Storm
5 Feb 2012 | 7:11 amby Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh After the storm, creative thinking … With all the driftwood on the beach after recent big storms, some people see debris spoiling the usually pristine sands. Others see a gift for creativity. What do you see when everything goes pear-shaped and plans fall apart? Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh -
What to do while you are waiting
5 Feb 2012 | 1:00 amMany people have to wait a long time for something to happen. Tom Petty was right: The waiting is the hardest part. It’s easy to become impatient, especially when we cannot see any signs that anything is happening. It’s like the seed germinating within the earth. Although there may be millions of chemical reactions going on beneath the surface, from topside, the soil resembles a mute brown plane, keeping its own counsel. Maddening. The urge to dig up the seed to check on its progress is almost overwhelming, and yet, in order for the seed to bear fruit, we must trust that the process is on…
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Logic+Emotion
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Will The Real Social Business Experts Please Stand Up?
7 Feb 2012 | 10:23 amStop what you're doing and check out this thread (on Google Plus of all places) started by Francine Hardaway. She started it off with a simple question. "Who are the best experts in social business?"What followed was a robust discussion on what social business is, isn't and who's driving the agenda forward in the space both in thought and action. If you're interested in the emerging definition of social business (aka the convergence of enterprise 2.0 and social media) I highly recommend you taking a look. Some of my favorite thoughts:"the thread that social business is not the same as social… -
People, Places & Events
3 Feb 2012 | 11:01 amA few significant events happening over the next few months—here's where I'll be: Chicago: February 6th, Social Media Club, An Interview With Richard EdelmanOur I'll be interviewing Richard Edelman our CEO in our new office space as we host the Chicago Social Media Club. We will be discussing this Year's Trust Barometer findings. If you can't make it to Chicago, we will be live streaming video the interview at 5:00 CST. London & New York: February 13-16, Social Media Week Our London office is hosting a panel titled "Social Business In Action". A topic I'm very passionate about—then… -
How To Be A Social Media Self-Righteous Jerk
1 Feb 2012 | 4:28 pmThe scale above shows the many stages one has to go through in order to become a bona fide self-righteous jerk in social media. Still, there are many people who aspire to reach this peak, but fall short in executing against it. Given this observation, I thought it would be worthwhile to piece together a few best practices which will ensure your status as a social media self-righteous jerk (or SMSRJ). In no particular order: 1. Join The Klout GestapoAll social media SMSRJ's know that Klout is simply evil incarnate and requires a organized force to take on this evil axis of influence wherever… -
Launching a Social Command Center (Without The Center)
27 Jan 2012 | 8:05 am"Social command centers" are all the rage today and it's not without some merit. Many organizations now find themselves in a real-time business environment where news travels faster than sound, and information is set free. As a result, some forward thinking companies have put "monitoring" in place either in-house or in combination with partners. This isn't enough. And to make matters worse, I've seen companies make the classic mistake of buying a tool BEFORE putting any thought into the design that goes into effective monitoring and response, forgetting the 3P's (People, Process, Platforms). -
Trust Shifts From Institutions To Individuals
23 Jan 2012 | 9:44 pmToday I had the opportunity to present to academics and industry experts from the international poultry industry (you can listen to a re-cap via a short podcast from "Agwired" here). During the presentation I was able to share some results from the recently released 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer, in which the overarching theme is a general skepticism toward institutions such as government and big business with signs of hope when it comes to empowered individuals. A Person Like YourselfIn last year's study, it was the expert and even the analyst who enjoyed some degree of trust from the public…
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Mizz Information
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Pinterest Can Monetize My Links All They Want
8 Feb 2012 | 7:16 amThe big news of the week is that Pinterest is apparently monetizing links without disclosing the practice to users. I was going to write a post about why I'm ok with that, but Allison at BlogWorld already wrote basically the exact thing I was going to write so I'll save myself the trouble and just link to her post. In short--Pinterest making money in a way that costs me nothing? Have at it...but a little transparency and disclosure would serve you well in the long run. Then again, maybe not--god knows Facebook doesn't do it and it doesn't seem to be hurting them any. Path, the darling of… -
Want Traffic? You Need Images
1 Feb 2012 | 6:56 amSource: Uploaded by user via Maggie on Pinterest While checking out Google Voice I landed on their blog and was intrigued by the Dynamic View theme, so I'm trying it here on Mizz Information. See those tabs across the top of the blog now--"Classic" "Flipcard" "Magazine" etc? You can click on those to view this blog in those formats. Granted, it doesn't look very great because I seldom use images--something which, if I am serious about optimizing traffic, I need to start doing more because images are the new sharing vehicle--just look at how much traffic Pinterest is driving. I'm conflicted… -
Why Having Staff Be Facebook Emissaries Is a Bad Idea
27 Jan 2012 | 9:24 amLately I've been seeing social media pros suggesting that, in light of recent changes to Facebook's algorithm, organizations start focusing less on Facebook Pages and more on having staff members use their own Facebook profiles to promote the organization's agenda. Call me cranky, but I think this is a terrible idea. The rationale behind this suggestion is that, as Facebook changed its news feed algorithm last fall, admins began to notice that posts from pages were appearing in fans news feeds less frequently than posts from individuals to whom people were subscribed. What does that mean,… -
Community Manager Appreciation Day
23 Jan 2012 | 8:56 amPhoto by elkokoparrilla, on Flickr Unless you are a community manager (and maybe not even then) you probably don't know that today is Community Manager Appreciation Day (CMAD). Well, guess what? It is! Two years ago Jeremiah Owyang suggested that the fourth Monday of January be a day to "take the time to pause, recognize, and celebrate the efforts community managers around the world to improve customer experiences." Three and a half years into my career as a community/social media manager, I can attest to the fact that it's a demanding, exhilarating, exciting, and life-encompassing job. It's… -
Movie Recap 2011
15 Jan 2012 | 11:59 amPhoto by ToastyKen (I originally posted this on my other blog but am reposting here) It's that time of year again...time for my movie recap. In case you don't know this about me, I'm obsessed with going to movies. Not watching movies at home--too many distractions. But going to the movie theater. In 2008 I saw 50 movies. In 2009, I saw 53. Last year I made it to 57. So my number to beat this year was 57. Did I make it? Of course I did! This year's total? 64 movies. Gulp. Next year is going to be a bitch having to top that. Let me just preface this by saying that if you didn't go to a…
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Mashable!
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Twitter Comedy: How to Be Funny in 140 Characters
8 Feb 2012 | 7:37 pmComedy is king on Twitter. Professional humorists and armchair standups alike have amassed legions of followers that hang on every 140-character quip. Twitter humor is a brand-builder, a great writing exercise, and if you’re really good, it might even land you a job (but probably not, so settle down). So, what does it take to get laughs at this 24/7 digital cocktail party? We asked some of the funniest tweeters around for their tips on cracking wise in the one-liner Renaissance. 1. Start by Being Funny in the First Place Bill Corbett knows a thing or two about landing short quips. He's… -
Check in at Walgreens and Receive Tweet Deal Coupons [VIDEO]
8 Feb 2012 | 7:22 pmWalgreens is tweeting mobile coupons to customers who check in on mobile apps including Foursquare, Yelp and Facebook — letting customers in on deals while they shop. The retailer is taking advantage of knowing who is in one of its 8,000 national locations. It is one of 40 companies currently using LocalResponse technology, which aggregates more than 1 billion checkins per month. January check-in tweet deals at Walgreens included discounts on Halls cough drops coupon, flu shots and Energizer batteries, according to AdAge. LocalResponse is a check-in aggregator that collects publicly… -
‘Walk Off the Earth’ Gets 50 Million YouTube Views in a Month [VIDEO]
8 Feb 2012 | 7:02 pmMeet Walk off the Earth, the ultra-talented quintet that turned its version of a sleeper hit into a viral phenomenon on YouTube and earned itself a record deal. The Canadian indie band posted a video covering Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” last month, and it has since been viewed on YouTube nearly 50 million times. The clip shows the band playing on a single guitar. One strums the guitar while the others tap and pluck along. Now the band — which has been together for nearly six years — has earned itself a record deal with Columbia Records. The captivating… -
DKNY Takes Top Honors at Fashion 2.0 Awards
8 Feb 2012 | 6:41 pmAfter nabbing four of the eight awards handed out at last year’s Fashion 2.0 Awards, apparel brand DKNY was once again recognized for its use of digital media, taking home awards for Best Twitter and Best Blog by a Fashion Brand. The honors are well deserved. DKNY’s Twitter account and Tumblr blog, both of which are run by Donna Karan International SVP of Global Communciations Aliza Licht, are entertaining, informative and exceptionally on-brand. The Twitter account features, among other things, live blogs of CW show Gossip Girl each week, and frequently engages in conversations… -
Connected Cars: How to Accelerate Mainstream Adoption
8 Feb 2012 | 6:20 pmSteve Tengler is a user experience (UX) director at Altia, Inc. He spent over 20 years in automotive design at OnStar, Nissan and Ford. Every so often, the media tells us about an automotive manufacturer on the cusp of delivering wireless, cooperative systems. The reader immediately thinks of Knight Rider, and wanders through a fantasy of connected car heaven. However, this type of news is often miles from accurate; connected car offerings in the near-to-distant future are a different reality. This article examines the delays behind that “nearly done” automotive technology, and analyzes…
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NTEN
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How To Track Everyone Who's Anyone To You: Is A Single Database Right for Your Org?
8 Feb 2012 | 10:08 am[Editor's note: The following is an excerpt of an article in the December 2011 issue of NTEN:Change. Read the complete issue of NTEN's new quarterly journal for nonprofit leaders by subscribing to the journal for free!]By Laura Quinn, IdealwareSince most organizations don’t track just one type of constituent, the idea of a single database for all of them—donors, volunteers, clients, email subscribers, advocates and everyone else—is something of a holy grail. The ability to easily see how all your constituents interact with your organization, and with each other, makes for an attractive,… -
Keeping Them Coming Back for More: Your Communications Arcs
7 Feb 2012 | 3:59 pmKivi Leroux Miller President Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com Story arcs are what keep you coming back to your favorite TV shows: you care what happens next. What does this have to do with nonprofit marketing? Everything! If you have a favorite TV show, you are familiar with the concept of the story arc: what happens last week influences what happens this week, and that influences what happens next week. We can look back at the end of the season and summarize several different story arcs within one show. Smaller one-time events will happen in each episode, but a few larger story arcs continue… -
Social Networking IRL (In Real Life) at the NTC
6 Feb 2012 | 4:12 pm2012 NTC Feature It’s already February, and the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference is only two months away! One of the best parts of the conference is the opportunity to connect with other nonprofit technology professionals, so you can share your experiences and knowledge. We want to make sure you make the most of the social and networking events at the 2012 NTC, so this week we’re filling you in on the NTC Connect Track and other opportunities to connect with the NTC Community. NTC Connect Track To make it easier for you connect at the NTC, we’ve introduced a new event track… -
NTEN's Technology Leadership Academy Returns for 2012
3 Feb 2012 | 1:43 pmWe're excited to announce that the Technology Leadership Academy is returning in 2012. Even better, thanks to the generous support of Google and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we're able to offer the Academy at no charge to qualifying organizations.The Academy gets at the very heart of what NTEN does. We believe that with improved tech leadership, nonprofits like yours will provide more and better programs, inspire more communities, and involve more volunteers to share their time.> Apply by February 24th! With improved tech leadership, our sector will be stronger, more… -
Member Round Up: We've got dancing babies!
3 Feb 2012 | 1:41 pmThis week, our members are releasing new fundraising tools, hosting workshops, and even awarding grants. While we’re encouraged by some statistics our members released regarding nonprofits and technology, we’re also thrilled that anyone could like us this much: Thank you so much for all your help in the NTEN Champions Fundraising Campaign, Corey Pudhorosky! Have more news to share? Drop us a line or include your links in the comments! Charity Dynamics released statistics that made everyone here at NTEN excited! A survey of their clients indicates that nonprofits are going to focus on…
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Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel
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Are You Using The Right Words For Your Brand?
8 Feb 2012 | 10:30 amAre you using the right words to build your personal brand in your resume, marketing materials, and social media updates? Often, there’s a disconnect, or gap, between the words used in resumes, marketing materials, & day-to-day social marketing, and the personal brand an individual is trying to build. Personal brand building is impossible if you’re not using the right words! To make sure that you’re using the right words, I’d like to share a free online tool you can use to visually display the contents of your resume, marketing materials, and social media marketing… -
Interview Rejection To Selection
8 Feb 2012 | 2:30 amPeople unfamiliar with sales techniques usually become depressed by interview rejection and then lose momentum for continuing in their search for employment. From a typical salesperson’s perspective, rejections are not necessarily bad particularly when used as valuable learning lessons. BUT the seasoned sales professional, with a smile on her face, will mentally say, NEXT! Early in my sales career, I learned that it was necessary to make 100 sales calls in order to make 10 sales. It was not motivating to learn I only had a 10% chance for making a sale. We were then told, the more… -
3 Ways To Implement Your Personal Brand Offline
7 Feb 2012 | 10:30 amFor most professionals, personal branding thrives online. Through juggling social media profiles, managing reputation, creating content, and securing our sites, we may forget that personal branding can also be done in person – and can be just as effective, if not more so. Attending an industry event, association meeting, or even a professional cocktail hour in your city can be a great and easy way to transition the brand you’ve created online into the real world. Consider below three ways to implement your brand in person once you’re there: Keep The Conversation Going. Since you’re… -
20 Questions Smart Employees Ask Themselves
7 Feb 2012 | 2:30 amThese 20 questions cover five key areas that are critical to your accurately evaluating how well you’re doing at work. Your answers (or score) predict whether you’re likely to be promoted, fired or kept simmering in the same spot for years to come. Score each question on a scale of 1-10 (10 = AWESOME). Add up your total score in each category. If you are totally awesome, you’ll have a total of 200 points. If you score below 30 points in any category, it’s time to take remedial action. Job mastery How well do I? 1. Exhibit expertise of the particular knowledge and skills that make me a… -
How To Really Impress During A Job Interview
6 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pmNext to a root canal appointment, few things in life are as nerve inducing as the job interview. In this day and age, the face-to-face interview is typically the first time a prospective employee will speak to an actual person. This “actual” person literally has your career in the palm of their hand. They will determine, based on this portion of the hiring process, whether or not the process will continue or come to a screeching halt. Wow! No wonder you’re nervous. Right? Below are a few ideas that will go a long way toward taking some of the pressure off of you and making the most of…
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Presentation Zen
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Hans Rosling: The Jedi Master of data visualization
26 Jan 2012 | 11:31 pmDr. Hans Rosling is one of my presentation heroes; he's been featured or mentioned in all my books and several times on presentationzen.com over the years. If there is a Jedi Master of presenting data clearly, visually, and simply, then it is Hans. He proves time and time again, that data are not dull—and when you are trying to change the world, there is no excuse for boring presentations. Most people are aware of Dr. Rosling through his popular TED Talks, but just in case you've never seen him present, below is a nice 5-minute piece he did on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS. At TED.com you'll… -
New: Presentation Zen (2nd Edition)
18 Jan 2012 | 10:36 pmFour years ago my first book Presentation Zen was published by Peachpit Press. Since then I wrote two other presentation books and a sketchbook/storyboard book and a DVD (plus an additional DVD/Book just for Japan). Although a lot of time had passed, I was still happy with the original Presentation Zen. And yet, the original Presentation Zen book could benefit from a little freshening up in the form of a 2nd edition for 2012. This 2nd edition of Presentation Zen has the same look and feel as the original book and I still did all the design and layout myself. The biggest difference is the book… -
10 great books to help you think, create, & communicate better in 2012
10 Jan 2012 | 4:54 amIn the spirit of personal kaizen, I have listed below a few books that I read (or reread) over the past year that you may want to read as part of your own continuous improvement journey. (Clicking on the book's icon takes you to Amazon.com.) (1) Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. Over the last 10-20 years scientists have made many remarkable discoveries concerning the brain and how it works. David Rock is not a neuroscientist but he is a good "neurotranslator" of the scientific evidence and does a good job of… -
Progress and the intentional selection of less
30 Dec 2011 | 5:26 pmMany people today talk about presentation technology as if it were a panacea for boring lectures and ineffective presentations. Technologies such as our laptops, iPads, and cool software packages are wonderful tools that can, when used well, increase the quality of communication and engagement. This is especially true when we need to engage with people live on the other side of the planet via tools like video conferencing, webinars, Skype, and so on. However, while technology has evolved in dramatic ways over the last generation, our deep human need for visceral connections, and personal… -
Steve Jobs: "People who know what they’re talking about don’t need PowerPoint"
20 Dec 2011 | 5:12 amOne thing we need to constantly remind ourselves is that slides and other forms of projected visualization—no matter how "cool" they may be—are not appropriate for every context. Multimedia is great for presentations before large groups such as keynote addresses or conference presentations, but in meetings where you want to actively discuss issues or go over details in depth, slides—especially the snooze-inducing bulletpoint variety, which are never a good idea—are almost always counter productive. I stressed early on in the first version of Presentation Zen four years ago—and ad…
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Brian Solis
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Meet the Mother of All Processes
8 Feb 2012 | 10:32 amGuest post by John M. Bernard, author of the new book, Business at the Speed of Now, and Chairman and Founder of Mass Ingenuity. Imagine going to work in one of Henry Ford’s factories a century ago, proud that management referred to you a “hand” or a “hammer” or maybe even a “wrench.” The labels reflected Ford’s emphasis on automation and management’s view of laborers as mere cogs in the machine. Screw this nut onto that bolt; weld this strap to that frame; do it over and over and over again until your brain froze with boredom. Of course, management needed workers to get the… -
2011 Was the Year of the Mobile Consumer, What’s in Store for 2012? Value.
7 Feb 2012 | 10:10 amChris Silva, my colleague at Altimeter Group, released a useful report today that I wanted to share with you here. Mobile is important and I believe you know this. However, when we consider mobile, we often think about the experience when and where it begins. But, we often miss the opportunity to lead a more meaningful journey as it may travel from small screen to larger screens across laptops, desktops and beyond. And along the way, we must now determine our role in this journey to provide information, shape decisions, and influence behavior. In Chris’ report, he reminds us that 2011… -
Season 2 Finale: How Yamaha invests in new customer experiences
3 Feb 2012 | 10:52 amThis is it…the Season Finale! And, what a way to end Season 2 of (R)evolution…. In this episode, Yamaha shares what is by far the most expansive view of disruptive technology’s impact on business infrastructure and culture on the show to date. What you’ll see is a genuine discussion with Jeff Hawley and Rick Williams of Yamaha explore how an already successful business is exploring new opportunities to better define the customer experience before, during and after transactions. It comes down to workflow. Nowadays, it either works for you or works against you. Here,… -
Smartphones, Tablets, PCs, The Devices People Use to Discover Information in Social Media (and when)
2 Feb 2012 | 3:13 pmMy friends over at bit.ly published an interesting graph that reveals the devices as well as the days/times that people use different devices and how and when they consume information. As you can imagine, it’s across the board, but as you can see, there are waves that every device follows, except the desktop. Desktops are of course the devices that we can assume people use during work hours. As such, they are most heavily used on weekdays before noon. Interestingly enough, phone traffic peaks at about the same times, but not to similar effects. What’s also telling is that tablets… -
What’s Love Got to Do with It? The 3P’s of Identity
2 Feb 2012 | 6:16 amGuest post by Allison Cerra, author of Identity Shift With the 2012 Presidential election looming, there’s no shortage of polls to help narrow the field of candidates. I find a recent one from Fox News to be particularly fascinating. Among other questions, Republican primary voters were asked which Republican presidential candidate is most likeable and which they would most trust with a nuclear weapon. While Newt Gingrich scored at the top of the heap in earning the trust vote, he scored only marginally well on the likeability scale. The topic was discussed on the network’s “Fox &…
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PR-Squared - Social Media Marketing and Public Relations
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Open Letter to Havas CEO David Jones
8 Feb 2012 | 8:12 amHi Mr. Jones. I caught your MSNBC interview this morning with Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski re: your new book, Who Cares Wins: Why Good Business is Better Business. You made some excellent points re: how transparency, authenticity and speed will win the day for corporations; about how companies who expect to do well must increasingly expect to do good, as it is becomes ever easier for consumers to suss out egregious behavior and punish bad actors (from un-friending to public humiliation). This is all well-worn territory for Social Media geeks, of course, but it’s always good… -
Facebook IPO is Good for Everybody
6 Feb 2012 | 6:35 amDepending on who you ask, the Facebook IPO will result in boundless glory or is destined to be remembered as the final pinprick in an impending burst of the current tech bubble. For my part, whereas in the past I likened Facebook to previous Walled Garden successes like AOL (the AOL of the early 90′s, not the AOL of today – which is a SHIFT client!), in the past 18 months or so I’ve only been impressed by Facebook’s ability to embed itself across the larger, open expanses of the Web. It “rides alongside” us as we surf, versus dictating how and where we experience the… -
Susan G. Komen PR Disaster: Lessons Learned
3 Feb 2012 | 11:27 amWow. It’s been nearly two weeks since my last blog post. Sorry about that. I was out sick. And wow, what a crazy time to sit on the sidelines… Facebook IPO. Hello! More on that in a future post. Susan G. Komen vs. Planned Parenthood. Sheesh! Let’s talk about that! (Caveat: I am a Blue State progressive; whose mother died of breast cancer; who marched on Washington as a college student in support of women’s rights; and whose dear-departed grandmother spoke with horror of the days prior to Roe v. Wade. Got all that? You’ve been warned.) Just as I started… -
It’s the End of the Web as We Know It … or, Speed Kills
23 Jan 2012 | 9:46 amThose of you who follow me on other social nets like Twitter or Facebook know that I am pretty opinionated when it comes to politics. Suffice to say that I am a card-carrying member of the “Liberal Coastal Elites.” (I try not to over-indulge or bore folks with it; and I certainly can play nice with my right-leaning friends.) I bring it all up only as a segue to the fact that I am a big fan of Andrew Sullivan’s Dish blog. Sullivan’s one of the big dogs in blogging; he’s been freshly-empowered by his move to the Daily Beast to experiment… -
Thoughts on a Twitterversary
19 Jan 2012 | 7:18 amLet’s take a ramble. One of those automated spambots on Twitter informed me that today was my 5–year anniversary of microblogging. Wow. Five years. Really? What was I up to five years ago? I was living in Boston, in-between my family’s quinquennial moves to San Francisco. My brain was on fire, as I’d hit upon a worthy successor to the Social Media News Release concept and was just a couple of weeks away from debuting the Social Media Newsroom template. As I look back, 2007 was a prolific time for the entire Social Media industry. It was not only the year Twitter…
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ReadWriteWeb
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Daily Wrap: January's List of Apps You Need to See and more
8 Feb 2012 | 6:00 pmDan Rowinski rounds up the best apps, in our opinion, of January 2012. This and more in today's Daily Wrap. Sometimes it's difficult to catch everything that hits tech media in a day, so we wrap up some of the most talked about stories. We give you a daily recap of what you missed in the ReadWriteWeb Community, including a link to some of the most popular discussions in our offsite communities on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ as well. Sponsor New iPhone, iPad and Android Apps for January 2012 In what is surely a labor of love, Dan Rowinski combs through the mass of apps released… -
Stop Saying "Finally"
8 Feb 2012 | 5:50 pmFIIIINALLY! Google released a Chrome beta for Android! GODDDDD. What took them so long? All the Ice Cream Sandwich users have been waiting, like, FOREVER! Finally, Tweetbot for iPad came out. I've only been asking them for, like, EIGHT MONTHS! Jeez. Apple fiiiinally released iTunes Match after a whole month, and it didn't even work right! Listen to how this sounds. How do we, the tech bloggers, get away with headlines like this? Where do users get off complaining impatiently about updates to a service that costs them $2.99? Or a free service? Let's have a reality check. Remember how awesome… -
10 Ways to Win Over Writers
8 Feb 2012 | 5:00 pmAs a PR person, product developer, CEO or whatever, you're probably more interested in getting noticed by the media than developing a relationship with a particular writer. That's one way to go about it. Then there's that old-fashioned "building a relationship with a real person not a robot" idea. You know, treating people like people and taking the time to get to know them. Oh right, yeah, forgot about that. Writers, like artists, are sensitive to ideas and people. But not every writer will get you or your product - and in the tech world as in any world, each writer has their own… -
Nginx Continues Growth, Adds Commercial Offerings
8 Feb 2012 | 4:30 pmAccording to the Netcraft Web Server Survey for February 2012, Nginx was "the only server to experience a non-negligible market share increase this month" by picking up 0.27 percentage points. Good news for the upstart Web server, just as the brand-new company behind Nginx takes the wraps off its commercial packages. Nginx has had quite the growth spurt over the past year. In February of last year Nginx had 7.57% of the market, or about 21 million domains hosted with Nginx. Microsoft had 20.04%, or about 57 million. Apache was at 60.10%, with more than 171 million domains. Sponsor… -
Do Your Users Get You? Test Them With Solidify
8 Feb 2012 | 3:59 pmZURB launched yet another handy design application to help anyone test Web products they're working on. This one is called Solidify. It takes care of one of the most annoying parts of building an interface: testing clickable prototypes. Solidify lets you build a working test of your design and give it to users to see if it makes sense to them. It also gives you analytics on how your testers performed. Along with the new app, ZURB opened a new apps page showcasing all the great Web design helpers it has made, many of which we've covered on ReadWriteWeb. ZURB's tools let you make simple…
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READY2SPARK
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The epic mistake that many event businesses make
8 Feb 2012 | 7:08 amPin itThis article originally appeared in my Event Solutions ‘Sparks of Attraction’ column. The tyranny of ‘er’ and ‘more’ So, what makes your business different? Most often I hear answers like: “We have better customer service.“, “We’re bigger.” and “We are more creative.” The problem with defining your business with ‘er’s and ‘more’s is that you are creating a comparison to someone else and, by doing so, you’re differentiating on degrees, not on sustainable ideas. Why blend in when you can stand… -
How to win an industry award (by award winners & winning writers)
30 Jan 2012 | 7:20 amPin itIn a recent advisory board meeting I attended, the topic of award entries came up. The perception is that the same names win in their category year after year after year. What do they know that you don’t? How to win an award I asked 4 judges, who are also award winners themselves, and 2 writers, who create award-winning entries for their clients, what you need to know. The answers might surprise you… Meet the Judges Andrea Michaels, President, Extraordinary Events Colja Dams, CEO, VOK Dams Group Tony Conway, Owner, A Legendary Event Janet Elkins, President, Eventworks… -
Google Business Photos – a 360˚ Business Tour for your Google Places
27 Jan 2012 | 10:14 amPin itGoogle Business Photos should be on the radar for hotels, retailers, restaurants, event rental companies and any other business that has a storefront. Last year, I wrote on how to set up you business on Google Places, a critical step for being found in local searches. To enhance your listing, Google also introduced Google Business Photos. These are like Google Streetview for interiors. Google is working directly with local store owners across the US, Australia, UK, New Zealand and France to take complimentary professional interior photographs. To find a Google-approved local… -
Why not being on Google Plus could be your biggest marketing mistake
23 Jan 2012 | 3:21 pmPin itWe have a tendency to cling to what is familiar, even when it can have a detrimental impact on us and our businesses. Most event planners I’ve talked to have been very hesitant to embrace Google Plus, Google’s social networking site. The key reason? It feels like Facebook, without your established network, a few unfamiliar tools thrown into the mix…and, let’s be honest, who needs yet another social network to worry about? Well, Facebook has a pool of about 800 million users, but billions of people perform billions of searches every single day. And that’s… -
20 Ways to Use Pinterest to Build Your Brand
16 Jan 2012 | 6:38 amPin itIt launched in December of 2009, but many small businesses have just started hearing the buzz about Pinterest in the past few months. Still officially in Beta (and invitation-only), Pinterest has joined the weberatti, sitting alongside Facebook and LinkedIn, as one of the 10 most popular social networking sites. It now boasts over 5 million users and has been touted as the fastest growing social network in history. Have I piqued your interest? Brides, wedding bloggers, fashionistas, graphic designers and artists have embraced the site. And more recently, I’ve seen real estate…
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Reid All About It
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Game Thinking: An Epic Win for Associations
8 Feb 2012 | 7:30 amI hear you. “Games, yes! It’s about time we looked at games.” And I hear you too. “Games? You can’t be serious. Not at my association.” Full disclosure, I’m not a gamer, so this is all a bit foreign to me too. I first started paying attention to games two years ago at a TEDx conference where I heard an IBM game designer talk about using games for training and education. Ever since I’ve been intrigued by the idea that game thinking can help associations deliver a better experience. I’m not the only one. Game dynamics was the topic of last week’s #assnchat. It’s tempting… -
Associations (or Any Biz) Can No Longer Ignore Google+
30 Jan 2012 | 5:21 pmGoogle’s recent changes to its search algorithm just threw a wrench into your online strategy. Even the White House took notice. Search users who are logged into Google, that is, anyone who uses a Google app like Gmail or Google+, now have the option to search for “personal results.” Personal results include updates, links and photos shared by people and organizations on Google+, “transforming Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships,” per Google in their post, Search, plus Your World. Also, Google+ Profiles are now… -
Changing My Little Worlds in 2012
21 Jan 2012 | 6:47 amHere I am, running to catch up to the Change the World in 2012 meme that every other association blogger has jumped on already. Two weeks ago I was tagged by Aaron Wolowiec and Elizabeth Engel to give my take on Maddie Grant’s original post, a widely popular one. So where have I been? I’ve been thinking! I didn’t make resolutions this year. Instead, I took my own advice: I’m slowly changing my habits. I’m living the life that the better me would live: committing to daily exercise or yoga, eating more nutritious foods, using my time more effectively (meaning: be more focused),… -
You’ve Got to Read This: December 6, 2011
6 Dec 2011 | 10:06 amBlogs are not dead! That was the verdict from DelCor Technology Solution’s unconference last month: Progress U. – Blogger Summit. I’m go glad I got up to Arlington VA to attend, it was a great day of conversation. DelCor’s publishing a series of follow-up posts from the Summit. The first talks about the state of blog reading and writing today and why blogs are a good idea for associations. DelCor’s second post discusses Six Barriers to Blogging – And How to Bust Them. Don’t let limited resources, organizational culture, staff’s full plates, fear, lack of confidence… -
The Mark of Cain on Association Management
4 Nov 2011 | 4:22 pmThe last few nights I’ve watched news stories about Herman Cain and the National Restaurant Association (NRA). I can’t help thinking about the whole ugly situation through an association management lens. I’m not going to dive into the details or the political ramifications, and I certainly don’t intend to express any political opinions in this post. I’m assuming the best and the worst to get a complete picture for purely hypothetical reasons. Imagine, instead of the NRA, this is your association. A never-ending story about one of your past CEOs (or elected volunteer leader) ends…
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Selfish Giving
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Budlight Combines Superbowl Ad with Likes to Help Rescue Dogs
5 Feb 2012 | 7:51 pmNice Superbowl ad for rescue dogs. It ties into a Facebook Like promotion at Budlight’s page that rewards each like with a one dollar donation to the Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, up to $250,000. I also think it was probably the best ad of the game, admitting that the other ads were pretty lackluster. You can watch the commercial here. It’s great that Budlight chose to support a local organization! Maybe we should get Weego to play for the Patriots next year. Pin It -
Friends of Georgia State Parks: Taking QR Codes to the Park
3 Feb 2012 | 6:55 pmI very much enjoyed speaking to your group today! There was a lot of talk and questions afterward about QR codes. Tonight, in researching for my latest book, QR Codes for Dummies, I found this story on how Fort Smith Historic Site in Arkansas is using QR codes! It’s a great article that I think you’ll find interesting and helpful. Here’s the challenge: to get it you need to scan this QR code! There’s a good lesson in this too. While this article is about QR codes, the magazine it was in, CRM, isn’t quite up to speed on mobile technology and hasn’t optimized… -
Komen Sucks…But So Do You
2 Feb 2012 | 2:06 pmNothing Komen for the Cure does surprises me anymore. They sell deep-fried chicken to raise money to cure breast cancer. They sue other nonprofits that use “for the cure” in any variation in their name. Now, they’re flexing their muscle and shutting off the funding to Planned Parenthood. For Komen, it’s just another day being a big, arrogant SOB that has swallowed too much of its own public relations and is drunk with power and eager to show its fight. Part of me grudgingly admires Komen. Heck, I tell nonprofits all the time they should operate more like businesses. -
Heroes with A Heart Grant Recognizes Unsung Nonprofit Heroes
1 Feb 2012 | 11:00 amIf you’re like most people, you get most of your inspiration from people who are quietly changing the world each and every day. They’re not on the front page of the newspaper, and they’re not mingling with the Gates and Buffets of the world. They’re everyday people like you and me who have shown extraordinary commitment to making this world better than when they found it. The CTK Foundation “Heroes with a Heart” Grant Award asks YOU to nominate a “Hero with a Heart,” and give them a chance to win $5,000 – a simple thanks for the hard work that… -
‘Employee Engagement’ is My New Cause Marketing Buzzword
1 Feb 2012 | 7:04 amI’m trying to learn more about volunteering and employee engagement initiatives for businesses that want more than the transactional cause marketing campaigns I specialize in. These are the days when I wish employee volunteering expert Chris Jarvis lived closer to me and not in the home of terrible baseball, Toronto. The employee engagement side of cause marketing is mostly new to me. Sure, employee volunteers – upwards to 1,200 people for a two day event – were a big part of the Halloween event I produced in Boston for five years. But organizations focused on this area…
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Seth's Blog
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How do they know you're not a flake?
8 Feb 2012 | 2:43 amBefore your link gets clicked or your proposal gets read, a busy person is going to triage it to find out if it's even worth glancing at. Since everyone is now connected, the new permeability has created a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is taking defensive measures. Do I know this person? Did someone I trust send them over? Where does she work? (Ideo? the FDA? The New York Times?) Has she won an award? Is she famous? Are there typos and is the design sloppy? Are they pestering me? Do I already follow this person online? Does music play when I visit the website? Will… -
Horizontal marketing isn't a new idea
7 Feb 2012 | 2:09 amBut it is the new reality for just about every organization. Vertical marketing means the marketer (the one with money) is in charge. Vertical marketing starts at the top and involves running ads, sending out direct mail and pushing hype through the media. Your money, your plans, your control. It might not work, but generally the worst outcome is that you will be ignored and need to spend more money. Horizonal marketing, on the other hand, means creating a remarkable product and story and setting it up to spread from person to person. It's out of your control, because all the interactions are… -
Who is your customer?
6 Feb 2012 | 2:26 amRule one: You can build a business on the foundation of great customer service. Rule two: The only way to do great customer service is to treat different customers differently. The question: Who is your customer? It's not obvious. Zappos is a classic customer service company, and their customer is the person who buys the shoes. Nike, on the other hand, doesn't care very much at all about the people who buy the shoes, or even the retailers. They care about the athletes (often famous) that wear the shoes, sometimes for money. They name buildings after these athletes, court them, erect… -
In search of a timid trapeze artist
5 Feb 2012 | 2:01 amGood luck with that, there aren't any. If you hesitate when leaping from rope to another, you're not going to last very long. And this is at the heart of what makes innovation work in organizations, why industries die, and how painful it is to try to maintain the status quo while also participating in a revolution. Gather up as much speed as you can, find a path and let go. You can't get to the next rope if you're still holding on to this one. -
Will energy consumption stay private?
4 Feb 2012 | 11:45 amIt's clear that the consumption of energy has external effects that impact more than just the person who is paying for it. Geopolitical, health and economic issues come to the neighbors and nearby citizens of entities that are using a lot of power. It was always straightforward to see who was burning a lot of wood or drove a huge car. It's easy to see when a company has a huge smokestake belching carbon. What happens when sensors make it easy to see how efficient a machine is, how much of a resource is being consumed and how much exhaust is being spewed? What happens when Google maps shows…
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Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
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Turn Your Business Into a Community Building Platform
8 Feb 2012 | 5:36 amTurn Your Business Into a Community Building PlatformThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I believe the future of business and commitment building resides in the idea of viewing your business as a platform for your community. The notion of a platform is one that receives a fair amount of play in various contexts. An author is said to possess a platform when they have built a following. Consultants might work with a business owner to build a platform through speaking, writing, blogging and connecting in social media. And finally, many tech firms have built platforms by creating open source… -
Is Your Marketing Producing the Results You Expected
7 Feb 2012 | 5:58 amIs Your Marketing Producing the Results You ExpectedThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Quipol Image:One-Fat-Man via Flickr CC The poll question above is a bit loaded and, not that I want to skew the results, the answer for most lies in the fact that they don’t really know what results they expected or what result they are actually getting. Mostly they know the results aren’t what they had hoped for, but that’s another issue. Setting expectations One of the simplest, yet most effective, things you can do is set expectations or goals for your marketing. You can create… -
This Is a Message from Your Heart
6 Feb 2012 | 5:51 amThis Is a Message from Your HeartThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I had a heart scan the other day – mainly because I’m old and my spouse is convincing in the most loving way. a4gpa via Flickr CCIf you’ve never done it, it’s a pretty incredible experience to get to watch the awesome mechanical miracle that is you heart spray blood in and out through a series of valves, tubes, chambers, levers and doors that any engineer would be challenged to recreate. More often than not the heart is the subject of poems and songs about romance and love but in addition to being a physical… -
Weekend Favs February Four
4 Feb 2012 | 5:32 amWeekend Favs February FourThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from Flickr or from my own travels. First run of the day Telluride Good stuff I found this week: Quipol – Easily create and embed social polls that are very easy to use and very good looking Transcribe – free online tool that makes it much easier… -
Does Your Marketing Make the Grade
1 Feb 2012 | 5:02 amDoes Your Marketing Make the GradeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Laura Fitton (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen) A number of years ago Hubspot created something called the Website Grader, a tool that graded a number of important aspects about a website and concocted a score or grade based on those factors. Although no tool can really accurately measure the effectiveness of a website, the tool had a nice marketing bent to it and was a pretty simple…
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Social Media Explorer
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What Happened To Saying Something Nice?
8 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amSocial media has certainly given the power back to the consumer. But sometimes the consumer doesn’t do nice things with that power. While it could be a matter of perception (the overwhelming sentiment of most brands in online conversational analysis is positive), it certainly seems like the only time we take note of brand mentions online is when someone is whining or bitching about them. AT&T is one brand that gets unnecessarily beaten about its head and face a lot online. I’ve never quite understood this, perhaps because I’m A) Practical in nature and understand… -
Get Out of Your Own Way: 5 Excuses Marketers Use to Avoid Social Media ROI
7 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amYou see it everywhere. Management teams and marketers desperately want to understand how social media is delivering to the bottom line. Marketers are getting tons of pressure from their management teams and are desperate for a way to prove their strategies are working. With so many chomping at the bit to get at true return on investment (ROI), how has it remained so elusive? Has social media become the marketing channel that we know we need to have, but can’t demonstrate why? What if Social Media ROI was really simple, but we let a bunch of excuses get in our way of measuring it? -
Empowering Your Employees With Social Media
6 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amEditor’s Note: This is a guest post by Emily Eldridge, Senior Vice President of Pure. It’s tempting to think that employees’ online discussions about your company should be curbed. Most company policies in the modern workplace exist to protect us from lawsuits – and to ostensibly protect employees from themselves. While it’s understandable to want control over our corporate image, this fear dimishes our employees’ ability to communicate. A stronger approach is to empower our staff to be brand advocates. Advocate for Your Employees Companies should decide whether their… -
How Small Businesses Can Go Big With Social Media Marketing
6 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amIt’s no secret to many of you — it-getters in the sense that you at least read Social Media Explorer and are likely bought in — that social media marketing can have a huge impact on your business. But we still see more case studies from major brands playing in the social channels than we do small businesses. With the fact that 44 percent of small businesses don’t even have a website, much less social media efforts, it’s no surprise that there’s a gap between success cases in small versus medium and large businesses. Small businesses typically face one… -
Integrating Social Media Across The Organization
3 Feb 2012 | 6:00 amOperationalizing social media across the organization is perhaps on of the most challenging aspects of social media for companies and brands. Too many look at social media as a consumer-facing communications channel and forget that departments from HR to research and development and even internal collaboration among divisions can all be helped by social technologies and strategies. We’re addressing that issue at Explore Dallas-Fort Worth in several discussions, one major one led by Zena Weist, Vice-President of Digital Strategy for Edelman. Her experience at brands like Embarq, Sprint…
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Social Business Advisor: Social CRM and Enterprise 2.0
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Do Organizations Need a Chief Collaboration Officer?
8 Feb 2012 | 4:06 pmMore organizations are starting to deploy new collaborative tools and strategies as a core part of their business evolution to connect and engage employees. It’s becoming increasingly difficult (especially at large companies) to oversee these initiatives as typically there isn’t a role devoted to collaboration. Usually collaboration falls on the shoulders of employees with an existing full plate of things that need to get done (such as the CIO). So is it about time for organizations to create the role of the CCO (chief collaboration officer)? In 2010 Morten Hansen and Scott… -
Implementing Enterprise 2.0 at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Pt 4: Financial Impact, Future Changes, and Lessons Learned
6 Feb 2012 | 12:08 amThis is the fourth and final post in a series of posts on how the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (The Foundation), is implementing emergent collaboration strategies and technologies within its organization. You can read part 1 on Business Drivers, part 2 on Organizational and Culture shifts, and part 3 on Technology Adoption and Operational Impact. The Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention, care, and treatment programs. The Foundation, currently working in 17… -
Implementing Enterprise 2.0 at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Pt 3: Technology Adoption and Operational Impact
3 Feb 2012 | 12:08 amThis is the third in a series of posts on how the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (The Foundation), is implementing emergent collaboration strategies and technologies within its organization. You can read part 1 on Business Drivers and part 2 on organizational and culture shifts. The Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention, care, and treatment programs. The Foundation, currently working in 17 countries, was founded in 1988 and experienced significant growth… -
Implementing Enterprise 2.0 at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Pt 2: Culture and Organizational Structure Shifts
1 Feb 2012 | 12:08 amThe first part of this case study on the Glaser Foundation discussing business can be found here. The Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention, care, and treatment programs. The Foundation, currently working in 17 countries, was founded in 1988 and experienced significant growth in the last five years, with its employee base increasing from 200 employees in 2006 to over 1,500 in 2011. This was due in part to increased funding from new global health initiatives, such as the… -
Implementing Enterprise 2.0 at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Pt 1: Business Drivers
30 Jan 2012 | 12:08 amThis is the first in a series of posts on how the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (The Foundation), is implementing emergent collaboration strategies and technologies within its organization. The Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention, care, and treatment programs. The Foundation, currently working in 17 countries, was founded in 1988 and experienced significant growth in the last five years, with its employee base increasing from 200 employees in 2006 to over…
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Splash: Refreshment For Your Small-Staff Organization
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This American Life: On Conventions
8 Feb 2012 | 9:16 amFor the last several years, I’ve been a devoted listener of “This American Life,” a radio show that showcases stories of “regular” people and topics in amazing ways. I’ve consistently listened to it during my commutes, whether I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic or walking a mere 20 blocks to the office. Imagine my surprise when this week’s episode – a rerun – was all about … conventions! As association professionals, whether you work with a large or small organization – conventions and conferences are a way of life. I… -
YouTube’s Do Gooder Nonprofit Awards
7 Feb 2012 | 8:51 amSmall staff associations: now’s your chance to get recognized by YouTube! For the third year in a row, the online video giant is awarding prizes – including grants – to the best in nonprofit videos as part of the Do Gooder Nonprofit Awards. If you’re a member of YouTube’s Nonprofit Program, submit your video by February 29! This is a great opportunity to spread the word about your organization and get some awesome publicity! Keep in mind: it doesn’t matter how small or big your organization is. Great videos deserve the recognition! Click here to view the… -
Slideshows for Small Staffs: Gamification
6 Feb 2012 | 12:31 pmI hope everyone had an exciting weekend! (I know I did, but I realize not everyone is a Super Bowl fan…) We wanted to kick off the week by sharing a few cool slideshows that we recently discovered. The first is especially interesting because it covers gamification in nonprofits – something that is not always widely talked about in the nonprofit sector. Let us know what you think! Gamification in nonprofits View more presentations from Jan Böhm Socializing nonprofits View more presentations from Sidneyeve Matrix Social Media Welcome Mat for nonprofits View more presentations from… -
Friday Top Five: Football or commercials?
3 Feb 2012 | 9:04 amHappy Friday! What’s everyone doing for the Super Bowl? Will you be watching the commercials, the game or both – or neither? I’m excited for a football-themed road race Sunday morning, brunch with friends and then cheering on my team in the game that night! Even if you’re not a football enthusiast, I hope your weekend will be spent happily, with friends and family. Before you start loading up on queso and buffalo chicken dip this weekend (or is that just me?), don’t miss five of our fave association blog posts from this week. Share your own favorites in the… -
Don’t be a spammer!
2 Feb 2012 | 10:11 amThere’s more to a (seemingly) simple e-mail campaign than you might think. Avoiding spam filters, including the right keywords in your message and striking the right tone are each important factors. I’m willing to bet a lot of associations rely on e-mail as a main form of communication. But did you know that a 25 percent open rate is actually a good percentage in an e-mail campaign? So many people just delete e-mails without reading them (I’m guilty of it, as well), and there are a few things to keep in mind when designing an e-mail campaign. For one thing, what’s the definition of…
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Speaking about Presenting: Presentation Tips from Olivia Mitchell
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Find a Presentation Designer Here
25 Jan 2012 | 12:22 pmAre you looking for a presentation designer? I’ve been asked so many times if I could recommend a presentation designer that I’ve decided to publish a list of PowerPoint and Keynote slide design companies and freelancers. I asked each presentation designer to talk about their approach to presentation design and to give me an example of a slide that represents their brand. I’ve used a very traditional method to order these presentation designers – it’s alphabetical based on the principal’s last name. You’ll see a tremendous variety in approaches… -
6 Presentation Links Worth Clicking
14 Jan 2012 | 5:33 pmWhen I was in the States last year, I met up with Nancy Duarte… and she interviewed me. She’s now written up the interview on her blog. Find out more about my story and why I’m passionate about helping people be better presenters – and particularly helping people overcome the fear of public speaking. Here’s the link: Nancy Duarte interviews Olivia Mitchell. And here’s five more links to great writing on presentation skills: Even TED speakers get nervous TED is an elite conference where invited speakers give 18 minute talks on the ideas they’re… -
The sobering truth about what an audience remembers
27 Sep 2011 | 8:40 amLast week I spent three awesome days at the Presentation Summit. In this post, I want to explore what audience members remember from a presentation, using the first three keynotes of the conference as my examples. I asked as many people as I could what they remembered from each of these keynotes. This was an informal, non-random, non-scientific survey. Nigel Holmes Photo Credit: Rikk Flohr – www.rikkflohr.com Nigel Holmes is a phenomenal graphic artist who used to be Art Director for Time magazine. His presentation didn’t start well – there were a few technical hitches and it took him… -
The two types of presenter: which are you?
25 Aug 2011 | 3:03 pmThis is a post written by Tony Burns, my partner and co-trainer. There are two types of people in the world – those who divide the world into two types of people, and those who don’t. I’m one of the former. I find models useful – they show distinctions that can help explain and predict behaviors – and they can help us see other opportunities and ways we can grow. One distinction that, as a presenter and presentation trainer, I’ve found useful, is to look at whether a person is “careful” or “carefree” when it comes to creating and delivering presentations. It’s a question… -
The 5-step cure for boring body language
16 Jun 2011 | 2:05 amCould your body language be more expressive? Do you inhibit your natural body language when you’re public speaking because of your self-consciousness? Or maybe you’ve been told (by a well-meaning but misguided person) that you wave your arms around too much? As a result you’ve shut down your natural gestures and become stiff and boring. The secret to curing boring body language in public speaking is to replicate the state you’re in when you’re in an animated one-on-one conversation. When you’re in that state your gestures unconsciously complement what…
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Twitter Blog
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Post-Bowl Twitter analysis
6 Feb 2012 | 1:06 pmThe results are in: People love to share the experience of watching the Super Bowl with millions of other viewers from around the world. Whether it’s cheering for your team, commenting on the halftime show or discussing the ads, it seems you have a lot to say about this annual tradition—and you’re using Twitter to say it.Here’s a fun fact: in 2008, Twitter’s largest spike in Tweets per second (TPS) during the Super Bowl was just 27. Three years later, fans sent 4,064 TPS, which was the highest TPS for any sporting event at that time.This year, the TPS peak was 12,233 Tweets. The… -
Roar of the crowd: Super Bowl on Twitter
2 Feb 2012 | 11:34 amFrom @TimTebow leading the Denver Broncos to a shocking overtime win (and a new record for sports-related Tweets per second: 9,420) to San Diego Chargers receiver @ericweddle1’s sideline Tweets from the Pro Bowl—we watched all of the NFL post-season’s most memorable moments come alive on Twitter.And while the @Giants and @Patriots’ rematch and halftime show play out on TV, the national conversation is happening well beyond your den: it also happens on Twitter. Follow your favorite NFL players, coaches and commentators during the game, or just search for #SuperBowl to see how everyone… -
Tweets still must flow
26 Jan 2012 | 11:25 amSee below for an update.One year ago, we posted "The Tweets Must Flow," in which we said,“The open exchange of information can have a positive global impact … almost every country in the world agrees that freedom of expression is a human right. Many countries also agree that freedom of expression carries with it responsibilities and has limits.”As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression. Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for… -
Hack Week @ Twitter
25 Jan 2012 | 12:20 pmHack Week is one of the ways we actively promote innovation through experimentation around the company. This week, a wide range of folks here are taking time away from their day-to-day work to collaborate and develop ideas that they are passionate about. Get comfortable with uncertainty; it leaves room for inspiration. #hackweek— benji shine (@bshine) January 24, 2012Employees across the company have formed nearly 100 teams to work on a variety of projects. Some are developing ways that could make Twitter even easier to use; others are testing out a new feature or tool that people might… -
Twitter Translation Center adds Right-to-Left Languages
25 Jan 2012 | 7:00 amBeginning today, right-to-left languages are now available for volunteers to translate in the Twitter Translation Center, starting with Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and Urdu. The Twitter Translation Center takes a crowd-sourced approach to translating and localizing Twitter for people around the world. More than 425,000 volunteers contribute to the Translation Center, and to date have helped make Twitter available in 22 languages. With their help, these will be the next four.As we prepare to add Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and Urdu to Twitter, we’ve developed new ways to ensure that Tweets and hashtags…
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AllTwitter
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BBC Clamps Down On Twitter Use, Tells Journalists Not To Tweet Breaking News
8 Feb 2012 | 9:00 amJournalists for the BBC have been told not to tweet breaking news before they’ve filed a story, as it would slow down the process of getting newsworthy stories into the BBC’s newsroom. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media. -
Twitter Might Be More Addictive Than Alcohol Or Sex
8 Feb 2012 | 6:45 amHow well can you resist your desires? Apparently, if they include checking your @mentions and sending out profound thoughts in 140 characters or less, they’re extremely hard to resist. A new study has been released that suggests that Twitter, email and other online communication is more addictive than cigarettes, alcohol or sex. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media. -
Want To Work At Twitter? They’re Hiring A New VP Communications
8 Feb 2012 | 4:30 amThe rumor mill is churning today over Twitter’s vacant VP Corporate Communications spot, left open when the former VP jumped ship in November. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media. -
Man Convicted For Tweeting A Joke Takes His Case To The High Court
8 Feb 2012 | 2:15 am“Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!” That’s the tweet that got trainee accountant Paul Chambers a criminal record, earning him the title of first British citizen to be convicted for something he tweeted. However, Chambers isn’t going down without a fight, and has challenged the conviction in the UK high court. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media. -
UK Prefers Twitter And Facebook To TV, Reading And Video Games, Says Survey [STUDY]
8 Feb 2012 | 12:00 am65 percent of 16-24 year-olds in the UK rate social media as their favourite hobby, ahead of watching television, reading and playing video games, says a new study. One third of this group spent upwards of three hours at a time using Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites, in a variety of locations, and 6 percent of those surveyed spend more than eight hours each day using social media. continued… New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
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Wild Apricot Blog (RSS 2.0)
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Volunteer Recruitment Resource
8 Feb 2012 | 6:33 amHere's a new volunteer recruitment resource that offers tips and secrets from volunteer managers. -
Setting Up Your Wild Apricot Website Webinar - Tomorrow
7 Feb 2012 | 6:33 amIf you are new to Wild Apricot and want some help setting up your website - sign up for our free webinar tomorrow - Wed. Feb. 8th. -
Inconvenient Truths About Committees
6 Feb 2012 | 6:56 amA new article in our Hub offers tips and strategies for effective committee development and management. -
New Research on Mobile Giving
3 Feb 2012 | 6:30 amHere's a look at key findings and takeaways from a new Pew research report on mobile giving. -
What's New in the Membership Knowledge Hub?
1 Feb 2012 | 10:00 amHere's an update of new resources that are now available in our Membership Knowledge Hub.
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The Bazaarvoice Social Commerce Blog
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Interview: How Kate Spade uses social to “live colorfully” (part 1)
7 Feb 2012 | 12:22 pmScreenshot of the Kate Spade NY Pinterest I am delighted to congratulate one of our most successful clients, Kate Spade, on receiving two nominations in the Fashion 2.0 Awards. The awards honor the most innovative fashion brands for their leadership in developing online communities. It only takes one quick glance at Kate Spade’s Pinterest, Facebook, blog or Tumblr to see that this is a brand that truly loves sharing and receiving inspiration from their customers. I sat down with Johanna Murphy, VP eCommerce, and Marissa Kraxberger, Web Art Director, to learn more about Kate Spade’s social… -
Is the iPad the new cookbook?
3 Feb 2012 | 6:31 amThe iPad, displaying the latest recipe creation on the kitchen counter, has replaced the traditional cookbook, provided one can avoid spilling spaghetti sauce or splattering it with oil. Even just weeks after its release in April 2010, the New York Times saw it “poised to be an indispensable tool” for the kitchen. And now, augmented reality apps like Blippar allow consumers to create interactive recipe books by scanning products while in the store aisle. From the first release of Betty Crocker’s Big Red in 1950, and thousands since, recipe-sharing has gone digital and… -
Finally, augmented reality with real utility: meet Blippar
30 Jan 2012 | 7:39 amIt seems like we’ve been talking about augmented reality for years now. It’s perpetually the next big thing in mobile, and is still at the very beginning of the technology adoption curve. Honestly, I had kind of checked out of the AR conversation—unfairly—after waiting for it to move from flashy demos to actual utility. AR’s utility has only been realized in a few apps, like Yelp’s Monocle, but the wow factor has overshadowed the practical applications of this technology. And then I met the guys from Blippar at CES. Blippar is an app from the UK that succeeds where most… -
Infographic: Millennials will change the way you sell
24 Jan 2012 | 7:01 amThe “kids” who invented Facebook, never call when they can text, and don’t go out without their smartphones – they’re growing up. And soon, your business will depend on them. It’s true. By 2017, Millennials – those consumers now in their mid-teens to mid-30s – will have more spending power than any other generation. This generation, sometimes called “Generation Y,” shops differently than their predecessors. Millennials are hyper-social, constantly connected to social and endlessly curious about what others are doing, buying, and enjoying – strangers as well as friends. -
How patient voices are transforming healthcare
19 Jan 2012 | 8:17 amAlmost everyone has spent time at a hospital. Whether you’re visiting an aging family member, welcoming a new addition into the family, or seeking a routine treatment, the service you receive leaves a lasting impression. No matter the outcome, patient satisfaction along with the quality of treatment has never been more important. We want to feel cared for. We want to be treated as an individual and respected as a patient. And we will share our experience with others. When selecting a health care provider, we often turn to our friends for recommendations, browse for information from…
