Community Involvement Is About Commitment, Not Recognition

Again and again, we hear about “community marketing” or some variation of that term – how businesses are leveraging social media and the web to engage their markets at a deeper level with the strict goal of growing their own business – growing revenue and profits. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that there are… Continue reading Community Involvement Is About Commitment, Not Recognition

Published
Categorized as community

Social Media Is Not A Business Opportunity; It Is A Human Opportunity.

I’ve been thinking about 57 things this week. Specifically, the 57 comments left on my Facebook status update of a week ago, announcing the birth of my son. 57 expressions of congratulations. The number itself isn’t really all that important. In fact, there were dozens of other comments on Twitter, my blog, via email, Facebook… Continue reading Social Media Is Not A Business Opportunity; It Is A Human Opportunity.

We Are The Music Makers…

Last Friday was the first one in five years that I hadn’t sent out a newsletter or posted to my blog. Luckily, there was a good reason: the birth of my son! Owen Blank was born on Thursday morning at 7:25am. Of course, the little fellow is already blogging. Feel free to say hello to… Continue reading We Are The Music Makers…

A New Generation of Media Experts

I’ve recently become obsessed with YouTube. In particular, I’ve been watching people who are creating mini-media brands by reviewing products in very specific niches. Before I dig into the videos themselves, I want to share why I am so enamored with them. An entire generation is growing with the content, marketing, sales, and technical skills… Continue reading A New Generation of Media Experts

Published
Categorized as media

You Don’t Sell To A Community. You Support A Community.

Companies now realize that there is business value in social media. That it is worth an investment of their time and resources, that it can bring them closer to those in their market, and can be a powerful marketing platform. But there is one term that us being thrown around a bit too casually: community.… Continue reading You Don’t Sell To A Community. You Support A Community.

What Motivates Us to Innovate?

I read this news this morning: “About.com is planning a major move into the business-to-business space, launching a number of industry-specific sites.” Now, I know of a lot of major B2B publishers who have been in the online space for more than a decade. And yet, this is the reason About.com is making the move:… Continue reading What Motivates Us to Innovate?

Published
Categorized as innovation

Are You Growing Your Skillset, or Becoming a Cog in a Machine?

I’ve been reading about how companies such as Demand Media, Examiner.com, and Suite101 – those “content farms” – train their contributors on writing and web skills. These companies put a strong focus on creating efficient systems to organize a large group of people to do specific tasks. “Early on we decided there would be four… Continue reading Are You Growing Your Skillset, or Becoming a Cog in a Machine?

Organizational Change

Let’s say you need to move your business in a new direction. You are hoping the evolve the skillset of your staff, revamp your product and service lineup, and find new ways to partner with those in your industry. So you’ve done a lot of research, worked through many different strategy ideas, analyzed the technological… Continue reading Organizational Change