Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Ten Signs Your Business Hit The Wall

It was more than thirty years ago since Pink Floyd released that album, and I can still remember it as if it were today. Yes, we were very, very young. Our developed appreciation of music came from spending time with an older group of friends. The album, which was about war, artistry, and alienation and written mostly by Roger Waters, seemed to be a musical departure from earlier ones. At least that's what my friends said at the time. They called it more "commercial". The opening scene, as I thought of it, was very dramatic and had neighbors in a... Read more →

Why Everyone is Now Talking About Klout

And you still don't know what you don't know. Ever since I published my post a short two weeks ago, and Joe Fernandez, CEO, Klout, was kind to discuss the company's and tool's genesis at lunch the day the post published, many have entered the fray. Geoff Livingston was writing about it on the very same day, too. Of course, it is a bigger conversation than any one tool, and there's room for everybody to comment and add their experience. This not being a popularity contest, or a contest of any kind, big props to Geoff for staying ahead on... Read more →

Love Drop Launches, Nate St. Pierre Reveals why he does it

We met during a boycott. It's not often you can say something like that. It was during the Fast Company Influencer Project that Danny Brown introduced me to Nate St. Pierre. Curious, I participated in his initiative, and the resulting conversation, then connected with Nate by Skype to learn more about his projects and vision. Last year, we talked about his first project, It Starts with Us and the concept of dropping a love bomb to someone in need of a word of comfort and support. My take -- and I suspect his as well -- is the tools are... Read more →

Back to Products and Tangible Output as Content

Why are 3D printers on the trend watch list? Because while we enjoy connecting and relating on the basis of service, we still live in the real world and like to hold, touch, and use real things with a dimension to them. Service can differentiate you from the pack and support your business as content, so imagine what innovative products can do as content. Some of those things used to be called necessary evils -- cars, especially those, and homes, on top of that list. Utilitarian kinds of goods one had to have. Which then became status objects -- the... Read more →

Integration Key to New Customer Service

Like many of you with a Skype account, I received a communication from the company after it experienced a widespread outage recently. The outage was so widespread, than many compared it to that of 2007. To refresh your memory, this is what happened as reported by customers back then. We discussed how integrating all customer touch points lets you deliver good service and provide an experience worth talking about and sharing. More and more regular people get to recommend one provider over another to their networks, which is why understanding what triggers influence has become such a popular topic lately.... Read more →

My Year in Review

As I was reflecting about what's next and the projects I want to accomplish this year, I came across this post by Felicia Day about five things of 2010 in my feed. In it, she reviews her year. And as these things go, by sharing her lessons, she managed to inspire similar thoughts and connect with others. I related particularly to #1 and #3 on her list -- improv and listening to your gut will save your life, and indeed it has numerous times and will yet, and knowing yourself is your greatest strength. I've been very lucky, because since... Read more →

Happy New Year 2011

I've been thinking recently about the psychology of second acts -- you know, coming back to rebuild a situation, relationship, or organization, in the same way you went about doing it the first time or with the first one. Rarely a second act is different from a first one. Why? Because we get very good at what worked and we're uncomfortable with uncertaintly. It sounds like many organizations -- the people in them, it is about people -- are clinging onto the way things have been done before, just with new tools and technologies. This shows up in how they... Read more →