While companies all over the world are starting to adopt social media, it is still widely misunderstood by many members of their senior management. Erik Qualman , author of Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do businesss, does a nice job of summarizing what the execs at DeminHill meant when they wrote “Why Executives HATE Social Media”. They mentioned their lack of understanding, their inability to release control, and their fear of it all being a fad, all issues that Seth Godin addresses in Tribes. Read More

Picture this: You’re standing in the supermarket in front of the pasta sauces. You decided on the way there that tonight was going to be a carb night. You’ve got the pasta in your basket and the parmesan cheese and now all that’s left is the sauce. Suddenly you’re inundated with choice. You must decide if you’re in the mood for red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, or crème sauce. Your stomach is growling but you can’t make a decision. Read More

Today, I read a fun article by the Harvard Business Review on salespeople's seven deadly sins. Although they listed chattering as the least deadly of the sins, I find it to be one of the most overlooked qualities of salespeople. Amateur salespeople are naturally very nervous to get on the phone. As a result they’ve probably scripted a pitch, or have been given a scripted pitch. A good salesperson might use this pitch for their first call or two, a bad one will use it throughout their entire career. Read More

The other day I blogged about digital “connectedness” and the role of brands in social media. MySpace identifies itself as a platform that creates user experiences around stuff consumers are rabid about and then taps a brand into those experiences. It seems that this is exactly what HBO and K-Swiss have done with their Kenny Powers campaign. Eastbound & Down is a hit TV series featuring the lovable, loud-mouth Kenny Powers. Read More

“What happens when millions armed with cameras, cell phones, and laptops share their lives on Facebook, blogs, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube? People have more opportunities to observe and listen to each other… A big part of word of mouth is small-talk buzz- conversations about products that are simply part of our everyday interactions.” (Emanuel Rosen, Buzz)   Read More