While listening to the latest episode of FIR Live over the weekend, the concept of “energy efficiency” of marketing and communications campaigns came to mind. No, I’m not talking about how “green” the effort is. This isn’t about recycled paper or carbon emissions. I’m thinking more like the energy efficiency of a furnace. Is 95%…
If you read this space regularly, you know that I’m a bit of a data nerd. I love statistics, charts, and all sorts of quantitative analysis. I probably trust my gut feel more than numbers in the end, but I like to absorb the numbers to fuel my thinking. So it was with great interest…
Over the past few years, a plethora of businesses have cropped up that depend almost exclusively on another company. The most frequent tie-ins include Twitter and Facebook. In recent days, a number of companies that seek to extend Twitter’s functionality have learned the hard way just how risky a business strategy this approach can be….
If you wouldn’t pay for a service, does it have real value to you? That’s the question I often have for those who roundly embrace free services, but balk at the notion of paying any amount for it.
A decade has passed since I co-founded CustomScoop back in the summer of 2000. It’s hard for that reality to sink in. It hardly seems like it has been that long since I worked with my wife and a few others to cobble together the morsels of an idea into a product we could actually…
Over the years, I have periodically hosted dinners with a handful of people — most of whom I knew, a few I didn’t — as a way of bringing smart people together for good conversation. I have also attended countless small group dinners, often at conferences. These events have been almost uniformly enjoyable, often productive,…
So there’s been quite a buzz recently about Philadelphia’s pursuit of bloggers in an effort to collect a “$300 tax.” Like most controversies surrounding social media, there’s some truth but plenty of hyperbole. From the headlines, one might get the impression that the city has imposed a new tax on bloggers. Not true. One might…
Today, I came across a post from popular new media marketing blogger and entrepreneur Chris Brogan titled “Profit from ‘Pick Your Brain’ Requests.” As I read the headline, I thought to myself: “Right on! I love it when people pick my brain because it often gives me great ideas, too!” Unfortunately, that’s not what Brogan’s…
Who among us has not been intrigued by what goes on behind closed doors at our office? Ever wondered what your boss was really thinking? Curious about the dynamics of your organization’s board and ownership? Or perhaps speculated about compensation questions?
In my early years of engagement with technology in the 1980’s, there were quite a few platforms available. A wide variety of operating systems and hardware providers battled for prominence in the marketplace. If you’re of a certain age, you may smile or cringe as you think back to names like Commodore 64, Apple II, Macintosh, TRS-80, Tandy 1000, IBM PC Jr., and Amiga. And that’s just a few of the more consumer-friendly offerings in the marketplace!