2009 November

Here most of us are, trying to explain the value of cultivating connections with our customers and forging a community of users built on solid product, stellar experience, and authentic communication. For the average marketer (and the average business), the road is a long one full of incremental baby steps and the occasional delay or detour. Still, that beacon of social business shines brightly and encourages us to travel on. But what if you're Ashton Kutcher? An acclaimed actor whose charm and charisma...

I've fallen into a trap. So have you, you just might not know it yet. In some areas of my life, I've let status quo take hold. The norm. The expected. Not rocking the boat, or really taking the energy, time, and attention needed to address some systemic issues that needed to be addressed.  Either those areas weren't causing enough pain (and ignoring them allowed me to focus on those that were), or I focused my energy in other areas instead, creating my own little diversion so as to avoid the sticky...

Gurus, experts, mavens, notables. They all have something you don't. An unwavering belief in self. This belief drives them to read the texts, take the tests, write the papers, debate the issues, write the programs, author the books, and lead the masses. Gurus swallow the little butterflies, pull off the occasional technical faux pas with grace, and are comfortable in their own skin. Are they smarter than you? Who knows, maybe. Are they more experienced than you? Well, certainly their experience...

By now you've heard of Twitter's newest feature, Twitter Lists. You may have even decided to use the feature and have begun creating your own lists, or following the lists created by others (which could certainly save some time, provided you really trust the person aggregating and organizing the lists). I was hearing all about these lists, running across both tweets (where some issued "thank you!" shout-outs for their impressive numbers) and blogs (some served as "how-to" instructions, others...

Eating lunch out is a treat, a nice respite from your packed day and a way to gear down for awhile. But it comes with drawbacks and risks. It can take awhile to get back on track after a noontime detour. Distractions and diversions are like that; we all know that a Friday lunch date with pals means the afternoon is a sure bust. Maybe we subconsciously enable that PM decline. Bandwagon, Meet Your Passengers. Last week we talked about diner-style social media services, how a reputable agency seemed...