Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

How do You Look Naked?

When you strip away all the extra stuff, the flash, the hobbies - what is the ONE THING that defines you? Take away ... Your hobbies The way you dress The stuff you own What you say about yourself What others say about you Your company's reputation Your reputation as good or bad company Your pets Your pet peeves What you drive What drives you You significant other Your other significant others ... What's left? Because that's you. [image courtesy of www.PCharlon.es] Read more →

Is Your Business Behaving Like a Non Profit?

One week ago in our hour-long chat on Twitter #kaizenblog we discussed creating buzz for a good cause. Many of us have been involved with non profits at est once in our careers - either as volunteers, employees, or as contributing members in some capacity. Knowing what we know about the humanness that can be transmitted in social media communications and interactions, it would seem that a good cause would be a perfect fit for them. The ability to help spread information in the interactive space is unmatched in other media. How can we teach more organizations that support good... Read more →

Jonathan Bailey, Plagiarism Today

If you have a Web property, your content is being copied. This is how Jonathan starts one of his recent posts about copyright infringements. Jonathan is a game changer with a very interesting story that speaks to how new careers are born out of interest and a desire to be helpful in an underserved or overlooked niche. The reason why I like him so much though goes beyond the technical competence. Spend a few minutes with us and you will discover what it is. ________________ There seems to be a bit of confusion about RSS. Web properties - sites, even... Read more →

How do You Develop a Blog Content Strategy?

This is what gets most people stumped - "but I have nothing to write about," they tell me. Jason Falls reminds us that good communications starts with a plan that has goals and objectives, a solid strategy an an execution on top of that. Seth reminds us of something else though, which is where it all starts. With the right attitude and approach. Not long ago I gave you 50 content ideas that create buzz, and 100 thoughts on marketing - they were by far the most stolen popular posts here. Why? Because after all that, after talking about asking... Read more →

Why B2B Companies Have a Distinct Advantage Online

Beyond online ads, the opportunity for B2Bs is in truly creating, joining, or expanding direct ways to work with their customers. If the goal is broader than just moving existing inventory - service or product that is - it works. Because we know social media is not a new distribution channel for your products, although it can be a way to do that by facilitating distributed conversations about the people who need your product or service - support, peers groups of learning, discussions on relevant topics and trends, ways to streamline service delivery, and so on. This works especially if... Read more →

MyAlltop.com Personal Content Filter

I read what my network shares. The variety you see in what I share is due to the fact that I have a very large - and diverse - network. When MyAlltop.com was first rolled out, I created an account and started adding blogs, then put it on the back burner. I went back last night and started adding more blogs that I read. With new media capabilities, I can now share the blogs I read in many ways: tweeting the posts that make me think and teach me something - I like the fact that many retweet what they... Read more →

Your Database is Stale

Say what you want, social media is not a fad. It's not a useless heap of shiny objects that will go away any day now. The technology will change, you can bet on it. The term "social media" is tired, in fact all the terms that float in the space are stale - that's because they've been beaten into the ground and stepped on by many who have no business - none - abusing such beautiful - and meaningful - terms. Conversation, connection, social Web, engagement, interaction, reaching out, partnership. Half the time, no make that three quarters of the... Read more →

The New Gymnastics of Business: Part 4, Rhythmic Gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport practiced by individuals and teams. It combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, theatrical dance, and the manipulation of what they call apparatuses - ribbon, rope, hoop, ball, clubs. We might think of them as tools. While in traditional gymnastics, the techniques used in floor routines are strung together with the music layered on top, in rhythmic gymnastics, the music, tools, and movement are one. Rhythmic is not easy, even as it looks so graceful and effortless. Mastery with a ribbon, a hoop, or a ball comes with a lot of practice. In some cases, the tool... Read more →

Geoff Livingston, Now is Gone

The field of communications is probably the one that has experienced the most changes with social media. With the risks - perceived and real - of widespread publication, there are also many opportunities. Geoff Livingston has been publicly vocal about putting communications to the service of the message and in stewardship of the product. This is not new, per se, but in social media it risks getting lost in the quest for a personal brand. We discussed his book, Now is Gone, when it first came out. In many ways, the content is still fresh. Geoff has been a constant... Read more →

don_draper, TweetJeebus, and Staying in Character

Don Draper is one of the characters on the show Mad Men, which in a short span from its first airing, has managed to gain quite the following. Watch this video of Draper's Kodak moment with the Carousel, and you will be touched. Despite the man not being a saint, if you do a quick search on Twitter, you will find that don_draper is popular there. The creation of Paul Isakson, who was passionate about bringing the character to life, Draper has now been taken over by someone who understands him. I'm intrigued, aren't you? You may not know TweetJeebus... Read more →