So it’s been a quiet few days here. Mainly because I’ve been busy with this special 12for12k event. Since I’m still in catch-up-on-rest mode after 24 hours of fundraising and fun, I’m going to share this interesting video that Nicole D’Alonzo made as part of the 12for12k event. In it she asks the question, “What does social action mean to you?” The answers are interesting (and good to see so much awareness as well). My sincere thanks to Niki for…

If someone tells you that you want something, do you listen? Or do you ignore and think that only you know what you want? If someone asks what you want, do you tell them your ideas and wish-lists? More than likely. We all like to be heard. So why are you telling your customers what they want? Why are you not asking them? Instead of saying, “Hey, this is our new product, it’s just what you’ve wanted”, why not say,…

If someone tells you that you want something, do you listen? Or do you ignore and think that only you know what you want? If someone asks what you want, do you tell them your ideas and wish-lists? More than likely. We all like to be heard. So why are you telling your customers what they want? Why are you not asking them? Instead of saying, “Hey, this is our new product, it’s just what you’ve wanted”, why not say,…

While I don’t use third-party Twitter app Tweetdeck myself (I switched to Seesmic Desktop a while back), I noticed today that both Mashable and TechCrunch now have their own branded versions. It’s basically the same Tweetdeck application but now you can have a dedicated pre-set column for the latest news from both websites, as well as a shiny Mashable or TechCrunch logo on your Tweetdeck skin. But are they worth changing to? Personally, I can’t see the major benefit at…

An initiative to change the world through music, the Playing for Change Foundation brings musicians together to spread the organization’s message worldwide. From community shows to concert halls, Playing for Change events are everywhere thanks to the likes of Youtube, video blogging and more. While this blog mainly talks about social media and its effectiveness as a business and marketing/PR tool, sometimes things just transcend all of that. This is one example and why I’m happy to share it. Besides,…

Seems numbers continue to be a hot topic. I offered my views on the numbers game recently; as did both Dan Schawbel and Kasey Skala in posts of their own (and, I’m sure, many others have done and will do). So, clear to see, numbers matter – how they matter is up to you. As you’ll tell by my original post, my preference is on the quality versus the quantity set of numbers. Here’s a little example why. I’m currently…

While Bing has been making the news recently, new web browser add-on Semanti Smart Social Search looks set to take search to another level again. Released to the public today, Semanti doesn’t seek to replace Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Instead, it aims to offer a truly semantic experience for anyone using these search engines to find information. Not only that, but it offers interaction as well with your friends on Facebook using the Facebook Connect option. More on that in…

I’m from an old-school marketing background. I got my marketing degree back in the early 90′s and it helped educate my views on how to market a message or product, and continues to help me shape strategies today. But there’s one thing that stands out clearly from these early days – the numbers game is utter bullshit. My educator and many of my fellow students subscribed to the theory that numbers are the linchpin of any marketing campaign. The more…

If you’re speaking with a friend about something you like do you also say, “I use it myself – I can vouch for it”? Probably. But if you’re speaking to that same friend a few days later and you ask how he/she got on with that product, do you again say that you use it yourself? No. Because obviously they know that from your first recommendation. So how much disclosure is needed when you recommend something online? Last night Chris…

Recently I wrote about why I was moving my #followfriday recommendations from Twitter to this blog. So, without further ado, here are my recommendations for this week. I hope you check them out – they’re all worth getting to know. Community. Seth Simonds (@SethSimonds). Seth’s an interesting guy. This is someone that shed 45,000 Twitter followers so he could concentrate on a lesser number and connect better. He tries video experiments to show his community the horror of waterboarding. He…