Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Business Executions of Connecting Ideas and People

I've been writing about this connecting thing for several years, and in a way all of my posts are about seeking connection points in one way or another. Think about how influence depends on a couple of variables, all dealing with relationships to varying degrees. When treating content as a product, you are connecting ideas with people by building value in it for them. The technologies I review here are executions of the same concept. And I bring conversations with people who are advancing their industries or creating new fields. Marketers and entrepreneurs do the connecting thing when they identify... Read more →

Why You Want to be the Hottest Person on the Team

Or why you care about lists. This is a trend that is not going away -- list-making. People pay attention to lists, spread them, vote their peers in, and ask to be included. It turns out that link-baiting and list-making were meant for each other. Because people care more about their relative standing in an environment, than they do about their absolute standing. Remember the Z-List? How about the controversy that surrounded the W-List on this blog and many others? Did I step on it for that one. On the 100 PR people to follow on Twitter list, I'll remind... Read more →

BlogDash(board) Helps You do Blogger Outreach the Right Way

I caught up with David Spinks about BlogDash at SxSWi. And yes, I did a pretty poor job with framing this interview on my Flip camera [1:12" on YouTube]. More on The Flip here. BlogDash is a platform that allows businesses to reach out to bloggers in a more targeted fashion. As David says, just sending a press release to a bunch of bloggers is not going to work. In addition to the video interview, we also recorded a screen demo. Here are a few of the key features they included in the system that will help you identify, select,... Read more →

Create Demand for Your Content

When you think about your content as product, you create a business asset. You can then start on the path to moving from a cost to a profit center. People who are starting to produce online content often ask these or similar questions: how do I get found? how do I become a thought leader? how do I make people spread my content? Sometimes in a different order or words. My answer continues to be work on treating content as a product by thinking about its value to the people who you are trying to attract. Worry first about the... Read more →

The Quantified Self, Identity, and Value

The quantified self is a way to gain self knowledge through numbers. I first came across the concept within the context of health, as a way to self-track progress towards specific goals. From the site, slightly edited and summarized (emphasis mine): Quantified Self is a collaboration of users and tool makers who share an interest in self knowledge through self-tracking. It's an information exchange about personal projects, the tools people use, tips gleaned, and lessons learned. This happens through blogging, face to face meetups, and online collaboration. There are three main “branches”: 1. the online hub 2. show & tell... Read more →

Starting

[YouTube, 8:26] Committing to anything is scarier than entertaining a thought and standing on the sidelines, waiting for the right moment, whenever that is. When you think of an idea at first, probably while going on a run, or you're driving, taking a walk, or during an activity that doesn't involve thinking creatively. It just happens. You feel a little buzz inside when you think of a really good one that will change things. In some cases, you even start figuring out next steps and warming up to the process. You come to with that grin on your face, like... Read more →

What Happens Now?

She was a funny and intelligent young woman. Full of life. It was just so good being around her. I didn't do enough of that, especially after she moved back to Italy. I didn't spend enough time telling her how much I appreciated her -- and why. She died of cancer last week. Do we do enough to tell the people we admire, those who support us, and even those who don't (see the social media silliness over who is right/real, etc.) how much they influence our thinking? How much we'd miss them? I ran to Nordstrom for a make-up... Read more →

Does Your Brand Have the F-Factor?

According to Trendwatching.com, consumers are increasingly tapping into their networks of friends, fans, and followers, to discover, discuss and purchase goods and services, in ever-more sophisticated ways. As a result, it's never been more important for brands to make sure they too have the F-FACTOR. Purchases -- and business -- have always been social. By focusing on the "social" part, we have somewhat taken for granted or minized the power of media and networks. The F-FACTOR is being fueled by new tools and platforms available, and by the sheer numbers of people now using and contributing to these tools. To... Read more →

Killing Giants is a Way of Doing (and a Book)

Everyone loves a good David vs. Goliath story. I shared mine just a few posts ago. The punch line is that we didn't just talk about vision and core values -- we lived them. We won every single time, because our focus was on developing relationships, partnering with businesses, not ripping kidneys out. There is a time and place for being aggressive where it counts -- being rigorous and excelling in service delivery and counsel. As Stephen Denny writes in Killing Giants (Amazon affiliate link), we are squarely and permanently in the doing-more-with-less era. Things have changed. There is no... Read more →

Are You in Charge of Content Delivery?

The answer may depend on whether you're a small, medium, large... or grande business. Don't assume that the bigger the organization, the more the resources. In my experience, you have as good a shot in a small and medium-sized company than you have in a large one these days. You connect with a different cast/roles on the inside, and need more external partnerships to make stuff happen. In both cases, you need to be social to drive social content effectively. And not be afraid to try things that are different -- and iterate while in market. Everyone who's doing something... Read more →