Sometime toward the end of last year, I spent some time with David Passiak (@Passiak), author of Red Bull to Buddha: Innovation and the Search for Wisdom. At the time, he was leading an ambitious project to connect over 20 innovators in the tech startup world and share their perspectives in one, free, book…Disruption Revolution: Innovation, entrepreneurship and the new rules of leadership. The book takes a case study, thematic approach that moves beyond buzzwords and industry jargon [thank goodness]…
#Philoselfie: Science behind selfie-expression
Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year is also one of the most fascinating movements in social is that of the selfie. Part vanity, part communication, part fun, and part absurdity, selfies represent a new generation of #selfieexpression cum egotistical emoticons…but not necessarily in a bad way. Nevertheless, the psychology and science behind selfies are strangely fascinating and therefore I continue to study and report on its evolution. Selfiecity, a new research project, studies Instagram data from five cities around the…
A Return to Simplicity, Empathy and Imperfection in Communication: Human to Human #H2H
Guest post by Bryan Kramer, author of the new ebook, “There is no B2B or B2C: Human to Human” and CEO of PureMatter Marketing has become so complex, in segmenting audiences into âB2Bâ (business to business) and âB2Câ (business to consumer). Being here in Silicon Valley, surrounded by titans of technology like Google, Facebook, Cisco, Twitter, LinkedIn and eBay to name a few, Iâve observed a downhill slope of complexity in marketing communication. This, plus the rise of social, digital…
Hello, It’s Nice to Meet you…Again: Your Digital Reputation Precedes You
My good friend Andy Beal just released his latest book, Repped, 30 Days to a Better Online Reputation. Late last year, he asked me to write the foreword for the book and when I heard what it was about, I was all in. Whether you realize it or notâor even wish to admit itâyou already have an online reputation to protect. It doesnât matter if youâre fresh out of college and hoping your past Facebook indiscretions donât torpedo your career…
GoldieBlox vs. the Beastie Boys â What Constitutes Fair Use?
Guest post by Monica Corton (@momusing), Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs & Licensing Next Decade Entertainment, Inc. Now that the Beastie Boys have gone on the offensive for the unlicensed and unauthorized use of their song âGirlsâ, written by Adam Horovitz and Rick Rubin, as used in the Goldieblox viral video campaign to feature their girls toy line . . . letâs try to unpack what actually happened and why songwriters and music publishers firmly believe that this was not…
The Quality Prism: The secret to co-creating brands through social media
Guest post by Greg Narain (@gregarious) co-founder of Chute, a company that helps brands discover or collect relevant photos from social networks and incorporate the visuals into their websites and apps Brands finds themselves at a challenging crossroads in their evolution. For decades, companies have utilized a command and control model as it pertains to their brands. Billions of dollars have been spent to carefully craft specific messages and deliver them via campaigns. However, as consumers continue to create and…
Apple Still Lives in the Shadow of Steve Jobs and That’s a Problem for Its Future
Don’t be fooled by the coming iWatch. Don’t see Apple’s new TV product as the dawn of a new era of Apple innovation. The new products you’re going to see from Apple this year and next are the final new designs coming to fruition from Steve Jobs’ vision. And, that means that in just a few short years, Apple is at risk of losing its throne as the world’s most valuable brand. Think about this for a moment…what happens after…
Empowering Employees with Social Media Improves Customer Relationships and Grows Revenue
Employee empowerment is about creating brand advocates to scale customer relationships and effectively compete in new digital markets. Organizations can no longer rely on inbound and outbound sales reps, people willing to jump through hoops and obstacles via call centers, or traditional marketing to boost awareness and demand. Customers demand engagement, in real time, and that takes human beings, training, and support. In January 2014, the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the countryâs oldest remaining metropolitan newspapers, opened a technology…
4 Steps to Connecting withâand EngagingâGeneration C
Connected, empowered consumersâalso known as of Generation Câhave come to expect businesses to know them, to understand them, and to deliver what they want, where, when and how they want it. I recently published an ebook with IBM, The Connected Consumer and the New Decision-Making Cycle, that explores the new decision making cycle of connected customers. You can download it for free here. Thanks IBM! The goal of the ebook, and also this post, is to introduce readers to the differences…
Build Experiences Not Just Products
Music is the one thing that accompanies me on my journeys, experiences, as well as my adventures in writing. While earbuds deliver sound, they do not deliver the essence of the song, the waves of sound, nor the soul of the artist. At the same time, I have a hard time justifying the need to buy overly expensive headphones just to enjoy music the way it was written or meant to be heard. One day I was shopping for headphones…
