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I Tweet, Therefore I Am

Deep inside the confines of the Beal household, my wife and I often debate what motivates us–and others–to share so much of our private lives on Twitter.

We discuss the notion of being significant with each Tweet, and often joke about those that seem to Tweet as if their very life depended on submitting 140 characters every 5 minutes (sounds like an episode of LOST!).

After reading the Times Online, it seems that there’s some scientific foundation to our light-hearted conversations:

The clinical psychologist Oliver James has his reservations. “Twittering stems from a lack of identity. It’s a constant update of who you are, what you are, where you are. Nobody would Twitter if they had a strong sense of identity.”

“We are the most narcissistic age ever,” agrees Dr David Lewis, a cognitive neuropsychologist and director of research based at the University of Sussex. “Using Twitter suggests a level of insecurity whereby, unless people recognise you, you cease to exist. It may stave off insecurity in the short term, but it won’t cure it.”

While every Tweet may not stem from insecurity–I do enjoy simply having a nice chat with my Tweeps–I’ll be the first to raise my hand and admit that Twitt... read more >>
 

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Is marketing evil?

Marketing works.

If you spend time and money (with skill) you can tell a story that spreads, that influences people, that changes actions. Marketing can cause people to buy something that they wouldn't have bought without marketing, vote for someone they might not have considered and support an organization that would have been invisible otherwise.

If marketing doesn't work, then a lot of us are wasting a great deal of effort (and cash). But it does.

So, does that make marketing evil? In a story about this blog, Time magazine wrote, tongue in cheek, "Entry you'll never see [on his blog]: Is marketing evil? Based on a long career in the business, I'd have to answer 'yes.' "

Actually, I need to amend this. I'll add this entry: Are marketers evil? Based on a long career in the business, I'd have to answer "some of them"... 

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Stop Using Search Engines

Can you?

card catalogI don’t need to tell you that the web is progressively beating the library in every battle for information. The search engine has effectively replaced the card catalog, microfilm reader, magazine stand, and bestseller list.

Representing those born after 1993, the Google generation is trending the future with 93 percent of college students satisfied finding information with search engines, compared to an 84 percent satisfaction rate from librarian-assisted searching.

And that’s if they’re physically entering the library and not calling-in or emailing for help...

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Why Business Blogging Is Not The Only Answer To Attracting More Clients

With the announcement of the winners of the Irish Blog Awards this weekend I am sure that business blogging will be discussed by many businesses large and small. But I’m concerned that they are getting bad advice. In some conversations I have been having with business owners this week it seems as though they are being told [...] read more >>
 
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Like a dream come true

That's the way Derek Sivers (founder of CDBaby) described his mission statement in building the company. "What could I build that would be a like a dream come true for independent musicians?"

What an extraordinarily universal way to construct a product, a service or a business. Notice that dreams are rarely "within reason" or "under the circumstances." No, dreams are dreams. If your business is a dream come true for customers, you win. Game over.

Too often, I hear about businesses that just might be a dream come true for their owners, but hardly for the people they seek to recruit or the customers they hope to snare. What do your prospects dream of? What would get them to wait in line?


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Change, Change and a Little More Change for SMB’s

I follow blogs and I find it interesting when a theme runs through them concurrently. It looks like a coincidence, but I personally don’t believe in luck or coincidences. Having said that, when I see a recurring them like today I pay attention.

What I saw the quick post on change on Seth Godin’s blog then one on change at another place I frequent called Dad-o-matic, I connected it to what I experience everyday working with clients. Change in marketing is everywhere. It’s rapid. It can be surprising. It’s always challenging. What is important to note though is that unless marketers embrace change they will be left in the dust quickly.

I encounter significant resistant in the form of “Well, we’ve never done that before,” which is the response of choice when you mention the idea of blogging to most... 

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Have you found the Keys to your Banker's heart?

Ron Box, chief financial officer at Joe MoneyMachinery, thinks he has. His two strategies:

  • Work with more banks than would be normal for a company of your size - With $20+ million in revenues, Joe's company has active lending relationships with four or five banks at a time. Different banks will have different appetites for deals at different times. Maintaining a stable of current relationships enables Joe's company to source credit when and as needed. What's Joe's secret? Treat each bank as if it were your main banker... 
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Why Facebook Bans Must Stop

Open accessThere is a social problem when 55% of Australian workers call out their employers for banning access to Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites, according to yesterday’s report in the Courier Mail.

Unhappy employees are rebelling.

Almost one in three (28 per cent) hid their screen from their boss so they could network undetected; almost one-in-four 18-to-24-year-olds said they shirked extra work to make time for social networking; and 17 per cent skipped lunch to justify work time spent networking.

A big majority (66 per cent) believed Facebook was for work as well as play and accepted work colleagues’ “friends requests”.

I agree with Laurel Papworth (whose blog and tweets I respect) for saying many companies treat social networks more as parties and less as business resources. “The best and brightest businesses will benefit from harnessing the potential of an ambitious, hyper-connected workforce,” she said.

As proof, I point you to a list that Josh Peters compiled of 30 Facebook applications for business, from blog promotion, to networking and communication, to sharing audio and video files...

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Battle of the Brands

Earlier this year I gave a talk on something I believe is an emerging trend whether we like it or not. The idea of everyday people spending countless hours building and managing their reputations online. I made the comparison of this equity generating behavior to that of brand building. Ordinary people, having micro influence in this macro medium we call the internet.

Since I only had 20 minutes for the talk, I missed out on very important part of this phenomenon. The potential risks and downside of of this activity as it can relate to your full time profession—especially if you are not self employed. Take Scott Monty, who currently heads up social media initiatives at Ford. If you go to Scott's Twitter page, you'll immediately notice a dichotomy between Scott Monty, the individual and Ford the company he works for...  

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Shift Happens Revisted, Again and Again

Web 2.0 or social media is predicated on the use and re-use of information, data, creative output and ideas in ever new versions - Baudrillard would be proud! True to form, then, a newer, cleaner and probably more aesthetically coherent version of Karl Fisch's Shift Happens presentation is now available.

For those who have not seen this, it is a jaw-droppingly powerful presentation of raw facts placed within a context which is knowable (or at least more familiar) to us. It is, at once, a story that we know and one that we struggle to comprehend. And once you have seen it, your concept of "globalisation" is never quite the same again.


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