Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

What George Washington Could Teach Us About Social Media

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. You get out what you put in, like everything else in life. There are many levels of relationships and degrees of connection. We all respond and are available to different dynamics. ___________________________ It's wonderful what we can do if we're always doing. Social media isn't a quick fix: it takes continuous work. And it's worth... Read more →

Do We Need Editors in New Media?

All we need is love. The two thoughts are related. In the last couple of days I familiarized myself with the work of Kevin Kelly, who helped launch Wired in 1993 and authored Out of Control in 1995, and Clay Shirky whose new book Here Comes Everybody is due in stores at the end of the month. My inquiry originated with the question in the title here - do we need editors in new media? To me the obvious answer is yes. Steve Rubel talked digital curators, online. Yes because we need to design smart ways to save time navigating... Read more →

Home Improvement That Sells

I heard the knock on the door just as I was about to sit for dinner - a warm squash soup with feta cheese. The wind was owling outside and I had had a long day. Here they are, two young men ready to solicit business for their boss: "we do home improvement," they said in unison, "no project is too small." They looked like they had been out all day, in the cold, knocking on doors that would not open. That is interruption marketing. I felt for them, I did. Yet my dinner was getting cold and I was... Read more →

How Social Media is Making Every Day Valentine's Day

So when is the last time you were on a dating site? I don't necessarily mean looking for love. Just a few years ago, dating sites were one of the internet's biggest growth areas. And for some people, they're still a highly focused place to locate eligible people with similar interests. But -- by and large -- the bloom is off the dating site's rose. What happened? The same thing that always happens on the web: change. Dating sites, meet social media. You'll have a lot to talk about. Too much for many dating sites. Destinations such as Facebook, MySpace,... Read more →

Marketing is to Social Media...

What would happen if we stopped talking about social media as if it were the equivalent of a savings account for your marketing messaging? There are many differences between the dynamics you expect with an ad and those of social media. Companies may be finding social media applications are useful marketing tools, but are people finding companies on those applications welcome? Chances are they aren't if the mindset is the usual top down, talk at you, push and pull. Recessions, which are part of the economic engine, tend to bring forth the thrifty in us. Yet, they are the perfect... Read more →

Questions and Innovation

In a recent conversation about innovation, my friend Peter posed a series of provoking thoughts. Innovation, he says, may be associated with learning difficulty, an inability to accept the truth: It's as if you have to hold everything without judgment and then at a point you put the fragments of experience, observation, knowledge, relationships etc. together in such a way that when you look around you're surprised that the whole world doesn't put the pieces together that way. Business love ideas (innovation) but hate thoughts (questions ). Does the intitutionalisation of big "I" Innovation within larger corporates limit the opportunity... Read more →

Corporate Blogs

Corporate blogs are still in the infancy phase. Yet many have been launched in recent years. There are many considerations an organization needs to weigh when thinking about launching a blog -- or encouraging the use of social media tools on behalf of the company. Clearly not every company should have a blog. Last year I wrote about how to build a social media strategy. Without one, there can be no clear path to success. To me the most important point to consider is the organization's cultural readiness. As well, there needs to be commitment to stick with it over... Read more →

Fast Company as New Media in Beta Since 1995

For as long as I've known about the magazine, which is since the first issue, Fast Company has led the pack. They have always been in beta. Because I have been involved intimately for more than seven years as the curator of the Philadelphia readers' network, I have been called upon at various stages of the publication's growth to comment, interact, and provide feedback. Writers and editors paid attention and listened to the community. The Real Time Live events were some of the most engaging conferences I have ever attended to this day. Alan Webber and Polly LaBarre made content... Read more →

007 Franchise

What makes 007 such a strong franchise? It has been 46 years since the first movie was made and it is still going strong with the latest movie, Quantum of Solace, beginning principal photography now. Twenty two movies and no indication of a slow down -- on the production side and in the box office. Clearly, there is a backbone, a story, that keeps audiences coming back for more. The budgets to make the movie are getting much bigger. That equates well with blogging. It takes less to get into the arena, yet to develop a loyal readership, it takes... Read more →

BRITE - Marketing Unplugged

Today a group of senior marketing professionals gathered at Columbia Business School in a workshop format to answer: how are we going to help our companies grow in 2008? To respect the privacy of attendees, I will not name names. The marketers at my table have been an inspiration. Ready to share, learn and confront the issues. A heartfelt thank you goes to them for providing so much food for thought. Of course, you are welcome to continue the conversation here. [with Francois Gossieaux] What are some of the challenges marketers face outside their organizations? Innovation Branding Technology Each of... Read more →