Remember Full Service? DING, DING!

  Last weekend I took a road trip with my son Zak to visit some prospective colleges.  Our first stop was The Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio, where I grew up.  The rest of the family was puzzled by the the name, which is “THE” Ohio State University, as opposed to just being […]

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Onomatopoeia Marketing: E-Yes!

An article in yesterday's edition of USA Today announced Volkswagen's newest edition to their fleet, an electric car that is presently known as the E-Up!  It states: "Volkswagen is already calling it the "Beetle of the 21st Century." My first car in 1977 was an "old" 1968 Volkswagen Beetle.  I loved that car.  It took […]

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A Presidential Lesson In Value Marketing

In accepting the apology yesterday of the congressman that called him a liar, President Obama added that most Americans want to see a more civil political discourse.  Obama said, “The media can always be helpful by not giving all the attention to the loudest or shrillest voices — and try to stay a little bit […]

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WordPress Attack Underway: Users Must Upgrade

This post is in response to an alert first published at Mashable.  You can read the original story by clicking on the WordPress logo, or follow me to learn why and how I came to rely on Typepad and their customer service. Typepad recently introduced a blogging widget to make sharing information from the Web […]

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Social Media Greatest Hits – Live!

Live albums were unique to the seventies when rock artistry was arguably at its peak.  These recorded, live performances were the opportunity for musicians to go deeper and push the limits that indulged the audience with the finest qualities of their craft.  I'm no Peter Frampton, and certainly not Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix.  Though, […]

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How to Separate Social Media Pros from Novices

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that social media visibility is merely a stepping stone to your business goals.  As experienced businesspeople, the pros understand this – the novices don't.   Novices tend to scratch the surface, and that behavior is even more apparent on this social media platform. If you […]

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Time is The New Marketing Collateral: How are You Spending It?

Traditional marketing materials – what we sometimes called marketing collateral, were expensive.  I'm talking about brochures, folders with colorful inserts, and postcards.  And indeed the cost of those 4 color brochures and die-cut folders was some serious coin.  We called these pieces marketing collateral because that's what they were – evidence that you had made […]

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Why You Need A Social Media Ritual

Rituals have been used for centuries to for a variety of purposes.  They have been used to celebrate new beginnings, such as a marriage, to mark an auspicious occasion and bring good luck, such as a ribbon cutting that commemorates the grand opening of a new business, and also to remember a passing, such as […]

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How to Know if Your Social Media Friends are Fake

“Fake friend” is just a phrase I borrowed from the film Almost Famous.  I use it to remind you that we all share the same challenge of building relationships with the people we meet through the social media networks.  The networks are committed to a purpose, and that purpose is to get you more friends.  […]

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How to Sell in a Web 2.0 Economy

Yesterday I spoke at the 2009 Snow and Ice Management Symposium – The Four Greatest Days of Snow.  Sometimes you are with a group of people and the collaborative energy is undeniable; this was one of those experiences.   The snow business has changed dramatically since this organization was formed over ten years ago.  Professionalism is […]

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