Blogger ethics and transparency is quite a big thing around here, as well as many other places online. I’ve written about the topic a few times, and read/commented on other posts around the web on it as well. As someone who both blogs and uses bloggers as part of client outreach programs, making sure the blogger is ethical is paramount. Making sure the blogger is also honest about our campaign is also key. Yet there’s much more to blogger ethics…

I had a few emails (and 14 unsubscriptions) after this blog post I wrote yesterday. The emails I received expressed the sender’s dislike of the post, saying that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. I’m guessing the unsubscribes shared that view. That’s fair enough. Opinion pieces often do that – some will agree, some will disagree, and some won’t care either way. And that’s all good, and how it should be –…

Sometimes you want to just throw in the towel and give up. Sometimes you look around and see nothing but smoke and mirrors and a bunch of crap that you know to be nothing but faux genuineness and bullshit. In short, you question why you’re still doing what you do when the charlatans have hypnotized the audience and the click of the fingers to open their eyes again never comes. You wonder if you should just call it a day,…

Back in the 80′s, there was the yuppie movement. Short for “young upwardly mobile professional”, the term represented everything that was bad about greed and personal selfishness. That’s not to say that all yuppies were greedy, but generally the majority stood for all the negative aspects of capitalism gone mad. It was a case of “I’m in it for what I can get and only for me” – basically looking to see where the next big deal would come from…

Social media is crap. Social media is a waste of money and time. Social media can’t be measured so we’re just wasting energy. Social media doesn’t offer lead generation. Blah blah blah. I’ve seen a ton of criticism about social media and what it can and can’t do. People and companies are quick to jump in and castrate those of us using the medium as charlatans and maggots. Generally the excuse is any one of the reasons above, amongst others….

What is trust, exactly? Is it the same for everyone, or can it be different? Can trust in a celebrity, for example, be as strong as trust in a friend or family member? It might seem a strange concept, but if that celebrity has a lot of influence over you then isn’t that just as strong as advice from a close friend? And how about a business? Does the sales or marketing message from a business hold more sway than…

Ideas are gold. Ideas are the platforms for greatness. Ideas are the moments in time that will find the cure for cancer. Ideas are the ingredients that become a recipe to feed the world. Ideas are the words that join a melody and make a grown man cry. Ideas are the architects that build shelters for the abused. Ideas are the intent that lead to mission accomplished. Ideas are gold. Don’t let yours be wasted. Pin it

What’s your take on corporate talk? You know, the words that never seem to go out of fashion when you read a news release, or a job description, or a What We Do page on a company website? Are you a fan of the big words and the sprawling descriptions? I’m genuinely curious, because often I wonder if it’s me who should be thinking bigger and describing things differently. Here’s an example of what I mean: The Social Media program…

My friend and business partner Troy Claus wrote an interesting post the other day, looking at personal versus professional branding. It raises some great questions about focus and recognition, and where the value lies in both. It got me thinking about how the line between figureheads and financial results in business can be a frail one, and how companies need to take a look at how their audience perceives them if they want long-term success. It’s a question that not…

We all know things are tough at the minute. Businesses are laying staff off or closing down altogether, contractors are finding less clients and people are finding it hard to make ends meet. And it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. So here’s an idea. A call to action, if you like. If you’re a business owner that’s in the position to help, reach out to your community. Those contacts you build up every day of the…