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How many times have you thought that in the course of your day? I'm not ready quite yet to tackle that problem; I need to research, talk to some people, have a meeting. After I think it over a little I will surely come back with an idea. I'm not ready to start writing that book that is in me. You all know there is at least one book in each of us, right? I'm not ready to go home and enjoy a good day, I have to finish this project first. It will be just a minute, I'll call... Read more →
I read about Paola Antonelli first in Fast Company. Since joining MoMA 10 years ago, Paola Antonelli has had to compete with Picasso and Magritte to capture people's attention. Her shows have done just that. From exhibitions on the future of the workplace to her current show on "humble" masterpieces such as Post-It notes and Bic pens, Antonelli continues to demonstrate to the world the scope and dynamism of design. Linda Tischler dubbed Antonelli Paola the Populist. According to Tischler, The museum champions an innovative spirit, the potential for cultural impact, aesthetic significance, and an affinity with an evolving idea... Read more →
"A lot of the current marketing shtick is about imposing something that isn’t there. Which is what makes so much of it false, shallow and objectionable in the real world. Maybe the job of marketers in the future will be to “articulate what’s already there”." [Mark Earls in Hugh & the Rabbi, episode 3] Marketing is about expressing what a product and service already is in a way that invites those who are attuned to that conversation to join in. You are talking to those people who share that worldview. I am reminded that you can't give away what you... Read more →
BlogTalkRadio is a social radio network that allows users to connect quickly and directly with their audience. You can use an ordinary telephone and computer to create free, live, call-in talk shows with unlimited participants that are automatically archived and made available as podcasts. No software download is required. Your listeners can subscribe to the shows via RSS into iTunes and other feed readers. Since August, 2006, the BlogTalkRadio network has produced tens of thousands of episodes. Today's new media conversation is with Alan Levy, the co-founder and CEO of BlogTalkRadio. He is also the host of the Alan Levy... Read more →
Generalizations are always dangerous. If we're not careful, we sweep the complexity of human interactions under the rug. And we would not want to do that. There is a range and richness in behaviors within various contexts that we'd be hard pressed to document, let alone describe. Indulge me in this post. I will make a leap and jump directly from observation to conclusions. No research, no surveys, no back up aside from gut and experience. The main reason why corporate social media is difficult to do is that social media by definition wants to express voice and opinion. When... Read more →
Ideas spread globally - they always have. Today they spread faster. Outstanding ideas spread exponentially as each person who passes the baton to the next, puts a little bit of themselves in the idea. Great brands are those who let us be ourselves. They are there to help us connect with something more meaningful and interesting about ourselves. To do that, every action counts. Yet, when asked, we might be hard pressed to put our finger on what exactly a company and business needs to do to ensure its long term health. We were having this discussion recently at the... Read more →
I just received my copy of Dan Pink's new book (thank you, Dan), The Adventures of Johnny Bunko - The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need, and I am already writing about it. Dan and I corresponded about manga at the time he went to Japan months ago. The impact of a comic book that teaches lessons applicable to business did not hit me until now that I have the book in my hands. Manga is the word for Japanese (or Japan-inspired) comics. In Japan, manga isn’t just for kids. You can find manga histories, manga how-to guides, and manga... Read more →
The back of a bar's napkin has become a metaphor for improvisational and passionate brainstorming about a new business idea. In the volatile and exhilarating new technology world of just a few years ago, sometimes the business plan itself was but a collection of bar napkins. Why not? If that plan includes a sentence on how the business is going to make money, it works. Management consultant Dan Roam has written the book on The Back of the Napkin. In his ChangeThis manifesto Roam talks about The 10 1/2 Commandments of Visual Thinking. Visual thinking works for many learner profiles.... Read more →
I was watching and listening to the keynote conversation (just click on the links that say 750, 300 or 100 on the side) by Guy Kawasaki with Steve Ballmer of Microsoft at MIX'08 last night, and something jumped at me. At one point Kawasaki says that 14 year olds do not know about the OS wars and the antitrust. They know Xbox and Halo and think that Microsoft is pretty cool. They have no history with OS and productivity. There is opportunity there for Microsoft to ride a different image. Later in the video, Ballmer talks about the Mountain View... Read more →
Anchor and reporter in broadcast journalism Albert Maruggi was Press Secretary for Member of Congress, the Republican National Committee, and Transportation Secretary Skinner in the Bush '41 Administration (that's the senior Bush). He then ran marketing and corporate communications functions for global enterprise technology companies and a venture capital firm. He is now the host of the Marketing Edge podcast which is one of the longest running marketing podcasts (4 years). It contains advice and insight on marketing, public relations, podcasting and communication. Albert and I had the opportunity to meet face to face during my recent trip to Minneapolis.... Read more →
