One of the most exciting parts of the State of the Union address last week for me was the proposed partnership between businesses and community colleges to build the skills of workers to match the jobs that are vacant. I thought it was brilliant (and have been contemplating ways to get involved in helping to [...]
Jan112012
Today has been something of a tough day for me for reasons that no one wants to hear about and I won’t waste your time with. But I got to have a nice intermission (mostly – except for those damned text messages from my sister) from the madness that has been my Wednesday to attend [...]
Apr272011
I love getting the little notice in my inbox that someone new is following me. It’s not because I like the numbers but because I assume that someone has looked at my profile and thought to themselves that they’ll get some interesting or fun updates from me that they’ll ultimately find worth their time. In [...]
Apr52011
Sure, Google is so big it’s a verb. Sure, it dominates search. Sure, it’s made people very rich. But it’s also a company that is doing a lot of things poorly. There, I said it. Before you cry out, “Blasphemy!” hear me out. The reason Google got so big is because it has done search [...]
Feb92011
One of the things I preach about the web usability is that you should never have to train someone to
use your website. But this simple rule of thumb can cross over into most things. Chefs shouldn’t
have to explain to you how to eat the food they create. No one has to tell you how to sit in a chair
(unless you’re a toddler, but that’s a different story). You also shouldn’t create an ad that you
have to explain for people to get it.
If only Groupon on it. Not only did they bite it on Super Bowl Sunday, but days later, despite
criticism, they are still re-airing the same mess of crap that they took such criticism for days
earlier without any edits. So they asked for it: yet another blog post about how much their ads
suck.
Jan252011
There has been a lot of discussion about the future of the social media strategist – especially on social media, on Mashable (The Future of the Social Media Strategist), and others. Well, I can’t exactly be quiet about this as it is something that impacts what I do for a living. I am not a social media strategist, though the core of that job is something that I do. I am a digital marketer. I take the goals of the company, break it down to strategies, and then tactics, and engage in those marketing tactics to get the results defined in the earlier steps. Marketing is about creating results by communicating. It’s content, whether words, pictures, video or something else. Social media is often a big part of it, and I’m glad because it’s work I enjoy.
Social media is fun for me because it’s so ubiquitous, instantaneous, and personal. It’s a 1-to-1 relationship with the world. It’s full of surprises, and it’s full potential is far from being realized. Evolving, exciting, engaging. Some pretty great E words.
Dec222010
First, let me say that these are my top 10. I’m not using any studies or data from so-called “reliable sources.” Who needs those? I’m talking about the memorable moments of 2010, which means it’s my memory. They’ve made an impression, made a difference, and helped to sculpt in some way what defines 2010. There is, of course, an digital media slant to it, but isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? These aren’t ranked, per se, but I have put them in an order I’m comfortable with.
Nov152010
One of the things that makes Conan a success, even on a network that most people don’t even know they get, is that he gets it. By “it” I mean this place and time. Well, I know that doesn’t clarify anything, so I’ll break it down.
