Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

SEO Results: Brands Stand Out

I admit it, I've been more into branding than into search engine optimization. When you're raised on the other side of the pond, in a country that is itself a great brand, you become a connoisseur of positioning and the attributes that make a product or service stand out. Made in Italy, as I find out every day, is a fantastic brand. Great brands stand out or in the words of both Marshall Sponder at Web Metrics Guru and Tony Hung at Deep Jive Interests -- brands matter more than SEO results. Both reference a study conducted by Penn State.... Read more →

Interplanetary Play: Company vs. Customer

There was an old vignette that my sister sent me by email a while back. A young couple is driving together and the girl suddenly asks: "Honey, do you know what day it is today?" He scratches his head without looking too uncertain and takes one moment to think -- I did not realize it was so late in the month, I should have had the oil changed and the fluids checked in the car. I wonder if I can make an appointment tomorrow. Meanwhile she is thinking -- it's taking him too long, maybe he's not into me after... Read more →

Ask(?)Away on What's Next in Marketing, now Portable

As we've seen last month with Mark Goren of Transmission Content + Creative, this format works very well to set up the sharing of email conversations online. I've been a fan of fresh thinking my whole life so when I came across Living Light Bulbs I reached out to the author and publisher, Ryan Karpeles. In particular, I was interested in extending the conversation he started at his post on What's Next? in marketing. Ryan is interviewing for a job and has been sharing his take on that experience as well. I know that many of my readers are students... Read more →

Heroes of the Future: we ARE Harry Potter

Harry Potter is the perfect metaphor for the contemporary hero's journey. How many of you have read the books? How many books do you know of that are printed in such large quantities? We are enamored with stories, and for good reason. When the human emotional component cannot process technology and the onslaught of learning anymore, you go back to story. Every so often you come across a concept, a turn of a phrase in a conversation, that will forever change you and the way you think about everything. The energy released by that thought and the revolution it brings... Read more →

Reputation, the One Thing You Cannot Really Buy

I'm in the Big Easy this week for a conference of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). You can view the real time blogging from the conference board here. New Orleans, I'm told, is not what it used to be and is coming back very slowly. The events connected with Katrina have put a really big dent into the city population and, in some respects, its reputation. In the last couple of days I have been following a story at Deep Jive Interests where Tony Hung has been talking about how to make conversational marketing work and providing a... Read more →

Got Music? When Walls are Sound.

Today, the ancient walls of one of the most beautiful towns in northern Italy become the precious frames to the portraits of more than fifty musicians. Wall of Sound is the title of this exhibit that will grace the historical center of Monforte d'Alba, a town in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, Italy until October 28. For thirty years, Guido Harari has been the most famous Italian music photographer. The narrative takes his popular exhibit The Blue Room among its audience as part of the MonfortinJazz 2007 festival. The title of this installation is meant as a tribute to... Read more →

How to Build a Social Media Strategy

According to a report by Melcrum, less than one-third of 2,100 corporate communicators surveyed felt confident about using social media as part of an integrated communications plan. Yet, 60% of respondent felt compelled to press ahead with getting started inside their organizations by the end of 2007, without a clear idea of strategy. Based on real companies' case studies, the report makes some recommendations of issues to consider (bolded). Are those considerations valid for a social media strategy outside the organization as well? Assess your organization's cultural readiness. What are the dynamics inside your organization? Does the view at the... Read more →

Have we Gone too Far or Not Far Enough?

Ah, the webs we weave! Yesterday marked the first day at Supernova where a group of smart and progressive thinkers is having a conversation around the future of work. Deborah Schultz poses some intriguing questions around a behavioral code of conduct that takes into consideration the impact of the network (or the new network, as they dubbed it) on business and relationships. In particular: How will companies and customers find each other in the future? To which I add, who services the new network? I've been thinking about this after a conversation I had with Fast Company Senior Editor Charles... Read more →

Are You a Thinking Blogger?

I first saw this award floating in the 'sphere at The Blog Herald back in February. Lorelle VanFossen's quick and informative post on the topic inspired my response in the comments: How about a blogger who makes you think about something in a way that inspires you to *do* something as a result. “The ancestor to every action is a thought.” If the writing is so vivid, the words so alive, the thinker so inspirational, you should be ready to leap into the world and make something happen. I’m in favor. As a further demonstration that things released online take... Read more →

Ask(?)Away: What's Next?, Ryan Karpeles -- Part Deux

This continues our conversation on What's Next? As marketers, we need to act, innovate, and advance towards the creation of a future, added Ryan. "We can't wait on the bench and ponder the outcome of the game. We have to be proactively involved in changing it." Some customers may be content listening, while others prefer to engage with you. Innovation needs to be externally-driven to work, focused on the customer, said Greg Krauska. And Toby Bloomberg contributed that one of the important aspects of social media is providing customers (and other stakeholders) with the opportunity to engage in an authentic... Read more →