I was fortunate to participate in Jeff Pulver’s #BrandsConf last week and also cover the event for Sparksheet, the award-winning multiplatform magazine that explores how brands intersect with content, media and marketing. You can read the recap here on the NYC event exploring the humanization of brands. Read More
Tis the season… for conferences. It’s that time of year to and there’s no shortage of conferences to choose from this fall. I want to take a moment to share a few of note with you. Even if I weren’t participating in these events as speaker, I’d be going to them anyway. Because I really think we’re in the midst of a business revolution. A revolution that is being led by the people who have choices to buy from us — or not. Impacted by new ways of communicating — or tuning us out. And with new modes of doing so, thanks to all the shiny new technology and 24/7 social communities. Read More
If you visit my home, chances are you’d realize that pretty much everything has its place and utilitarian purpose. Having moved quite a bit as an adult, I’ve been fairly good at keeping stuff to a minimum and to those things that I really use. This makes even more sense when you learn that I live in an older rural American home, built in 1885. The home didn’t originally have closets, so the only two that exist today were built during recent renovations. Yes, a woman with just two closets. I have, however, a confession that belies this practicality. If you peer into the large freestanding cupboard where I keep my kitchenware, you’ll see it: an old, worn out wooden salad bowl with matching, broken serving utensils. It just sits there lonely, neglected and unused. I paid rather handsomely for it about six years ago in a moment of whimsy, coughing up $52 plus change for an item I inevitably would never use. Why? Because of its back story. Read More
I recently chatted with Raf Stevens about how brand stories are increasingly part of conversations at the board room (and coffee shop) table — no matter what the business or industry. Every brand has a story of relevance and meaning that can help connect with people and impact business. This is why my work is like experiencing “Four Seasons in One Day.” Read More
At first glance, Peter Shankman’s recent post “Why I’d Never, Ever Hire a ‘Social Media Expert’” had
me a little baffled. I usually like his marketing commentary – but likening a social media expert as no different than someone skilled at “taking bread out of a refrigerator?” Whoa, that caught my attention. I think that’s what he intended, since the analogy plays into a knee jerk reaction to warn about a particular type of “guru/expert” character. This doesn’t really accurately reflect the bigger picture he proceeds to paint for the role of social media or the one that actually exists in many cases. Unfortunately, the cautionary “label” potentially risks undermining the great value that someone experienced in the discipline can bring to your business, with plenty of “experts” that actually do fit the bill appropriately.