by Jefferson Graham, USATODAY Despite the huge outcry over anonymous comments on websites like Reddit and Yik Yak, Whisper has found a way to make anonymity work. Instead of name calling, bullying, harassment, racist taunts and homophobic slander that has characterized some online comments without names attached, Whisper’s brand is a nice anonymity. “What differentiates us from other platforms is that we only allow you to use anonymity as a shield and not as a sword,” says Michael Heyward, the…

By Martin Zwilling, AlleyWatch Many entrepreneurs think that adapting to the new technologies, like smart phones and Internet commerce, are the key to attracting new customers. In fact, businesses need to adapt just as completely to the changes in the buying and social behavior of consumers. High-technology product startups, without customers, don’t make a business. Today’s customer buying dynamics are all about “user experience,” according to Brian Solis, in his recent book “What’s the Future of Business?.” This thought leader…

by Ohad Rozen, UX Matters User Experience as Competitive Advantage Though it’s taken quite a bit longer than many frustrated UX designers thought it would, the business world is finally waking up to a fundamental fact: when it comes to B2B or B2C Web site design and development, a great user experience is not—and has never been—optional or merely nice to have. Rather, it is essential to a successful customer journey and as vital to organizational success and growth as…

by Richard Nieva, CNET (Excerpt) When Marissa Mayer became CEO of Yahoo three years ago, the former Google executive staked her reputation on one thing: bringing Yahoo, an ailing pioneer of the early Internet, into the smartphone age. To that end, Mayer made one of her biggest moves just over a week ago, unveiling a mobile app called Livetext, a video-chatting service aimed at teens. It’s only the second brand-new mobile app the company has introduced during her tenure. If…

by Zak Stambor, Internet Retailer The Internet pioneer’s acquisition of Polyvore is the latest in a series of moves aimed at helping marketers reach millennials. Yahoo Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer is betting she can turn around the Internet pioneer’s fortunes by figuring out how to help marketers reach millennials. The task isn’t easy, particularly given the company’s dwindling financial results; Yahoo posted a $132.1 million loss in the first half of the year, which compares to a $68.6 million gain…

Via Ellen Huet, Forbes Excerpt: The U.S. ride-hailing market may have room for two players, but apparently not for three. Sidecar, an on-demand car service that trailed far behind Uber and Lyft despite often being the first to build new and creative features, is morphing into mainly a delivery service for other businesses, the company told FORBES. The move suggests that the industry’s established players — Uber and Lyft — have pulled so far ahead that it’s become nearly impossible…

By Jason Miller, LinkedIn We tend to assume that because consumers are consumers, they will naturally consume everything we produce. So it becomes easy to think of our work as just “content.” And to think of “marketing” as the publishing and promotion of said content. In an era when the flow of content is accelerating while the adult attention span is declining, we need to move beyond these assumptions – we need to focus on the human aspects of engagement….

An incredible write up of Brian’s presentation at LinkedIn by Derek Handova at B2B News Network. Wow. Terms like content marketing and more recently “brand journalism” have captured the attention of B2B marketers for some time. However, many people talk about brand journalism but nobody’s doing it. At least nobody’s doing it very well. That could be the one of the takeaways  from last week’s Content Marketing Summit at LinkedIn, presented by Ragan Communications and PRSA. For the first time,…

by John Gray, BETAKit It’s simple in thought, but in reality being innovative is excruciatingly difficult. The GROW Conference is in its sixth year and all about the future of innovation, growth, and entrepreneurship. From August 19-21, Whistler, BC will play conference host for a second year. Once again, GROW is delivering an impressive line-up of speakers, sessions, events, and networking opportunities. After organizer Debbie Landa kicks off the event, Brian Solis will be first on stage to present “Living…