Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Trends: Connecting Data with Commerce

Commerce in 2013 is about integrating the whole experience around the customer -- social, local, and mobile, bricks and clicks, in real life, in real time, and over time. It's about loyalty, rewards, as well as relationships. In an interview with CNET’s Daniel Terdiman, Square COO Keith Rabois said Starbucks’ customers haven’t seen anything yet, that they can “expect full Square Wallet functionality” in 2013 as well as new features and “major enhancements.” Rabois said Square’s partnership with Starbucks is in its “first inning.” Rewards at the center of social, local, and mobile We already saw how the moving line... Read more →

If You Want to Build a Ship

“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry] +++ An example of teaching them to long for the sea story from my feeds today is a piece of news cast into the "how marketers worry about this" story frame. I cannot help but wonder, since I have held that role, wearing the overall brand strategy hat, if it isn't a case of transference. An agency worrying on behalf of a... Read more →

Rebuilding Community for the Web

Blogging is a form of contribution to the open Web. It's the process of writing to the way things are to design better conversations and build communities of thought and practice. The problem with blogging Is that it needs work. Just when it was becoming useful as a form of thinking out loud, of carrying out conversations with others through posts, across blogs, in comments, etc. it became a tool to convince and convert -- most stopped linking to content other than their own, and advice hit the recycle circuits. The broad expec­ta­tion that regu­lar peo­ple might own their own... Read more →

How Will You Measure Your Life?

[Clayton Christensen, YouTube] We make the most important decisions about life every single day. How do we go about deciding? Is there a thought-out reason behind the plan, or do we go for the easiest choice? Say you are not a deeply spiritual person, you live in the secular dimension, what are your guiding principles? If there ever is a perfect time for reflection, the holiday season presents a good opportunity -- lots of cheer in the air, work projects reach a natural culmination, and we turn our attention to family and friends. Yes, I know about the dangers of... Read more →

CES: The New Hollywood Equation - Content Owners, New Platforms, Agents & Commerce

Early next year, I will be speaking on a panel as part of the Digital Hollywood events at CES (consumer electronics show). The topic of our panel is: The New Hollywood Equation - Content Owners, New Platforms, Agents & Commerce. As the entertainment industry enters its next phase of production and distribution -- where digital technologies are taking an even more central role -- the core relationships among power players are evolving and becoming more complex. Here's the full run down. This topic looks interesting because the direct relationship between people and businesses is now creating a situation where platforms... Read more →

To Sell is Human: the Surprising Truth About Moving Others

When I learned Dan Pink was working on a new book, I reached out to see if we could host a conversation about the topic. Indeed, we are organizing a super cool, invitation-only event for clients at work in about one month. Take a look at my book reviews, and you will see his previous books listed -- Drive, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, for example. Pink brought us A Whole New Mind (one of my favorite books) and Free Agent Nation as live events a few years back. I just finished reading the galley copy of To Sell is... Read more →

Who Has Been Your Biggest Influence?

It's Friday and I thought we could have a fun conversation about what influences us. I'll go first. Who has been your biggest influence? My mother has been my biggest direct influence. I could however say that I have a soft spot for mentors and people who care. I tend to connect with them and stay in touch over the years. What is the expression used in business you dislike the most? We are a family. Even in a family business. I'd much rather use the term "tribe" to describe a group working toward a common purpose. Context matters. What... Read more →

Technology Predictions with Business Impact and Global Trends

How will technology impact your business in 2020? In 2020, tech experts say, computers could learn from experience, much like the human brain. The end of the data center as we know it might arrive. And technology will know the most important things about us to help us become more productive. Find out at thinkGIG. +++ Year-end update of Internet Trends by KPCB’s Mary Meeker & Liang Wu This is a yearly review of Internet stats. Internet growth remains robust and rapid mobile adoption is still in early stages. Find a number of examples of business models that are being... Read more →

The Art of Receiving

"Receiving isn’t easy. If it were, more of us would do it with grace and gratitude. Is there a way to change that? Can we learn to receive so we can be nourished and empowered? These are crucial questions, not just because the holiday season is a time when giving and receiving are part of our daily experience. The ability to receive is, in fact, essential to physical health, psychological ­balance and spiritual engagement." [Ode magazine, The Art of Receiving] +++ “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” [Winston Churchill]... Read more →

Service Experience is Top Consideration When Buying a Car

It's time for a new car, what do you do? Chances are you do a lot of research online, then you take a deep breath... and ask your friends and family for a direct recommendation of where to go. The truth is you can do a lot of browsing and building online and what you've got is a virtual car. That may work for Second Life; in this life, the only place when you can actually buy a real car is through a dealer. Now let's go for a raise of hands -- who loves to visit auto dealers? This... Read more →