Pinterest - How to use this new phenomenon

By now, we all know what Pinterest has become - a huge posting space for hobbyists, cooks, housewives, etc.  I know from my own experience that my wife is addicted to this site, and has integrated it into her own blog.  Now, the big question is - how can corporate America benefit from the high level of users at Pinterest, and also how NOT to be a blatant sales channel:

When dealing with the ever-evolving world of social media, marketers must be nimble and adaptive if they're going to keep up with the migration patterns of their audiences. In that sense, newly ascendant social network Pinterest has much to offer marketers.
Harnessing our fascination with images, relatively new social network Pinterest allows users to display pictures and videos for the whole digital world to see and share.
Users create online pinboards on Pinterest and collect images and videos to pin on their boards—much like old-school bulletin boards.
Now, marketers are also using Pinterest to tell their stories via pictures and extend their reach. By pinning product images, infographics, how-to information, designs, bits of inspiration, and more, businesses are appealing to the human proclivity to look when there's something to see.
The following infographic from Maxymiser on ways that marketers, online retailers, and others can use Pinterest, offering concrete tips. It also touches on Pinterest users' activity on the site and motives for using it vs. other social networks.

Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2012/7478/pinterest-the-who-what-and-where-and-how-you-can-use-it-infographic#ixzz1qECLlJIv

Is Humor lost on Small Business marketing?

Big brands use jokes to market their products all the time. But, sadly, many small and medium-sized (SMB) marketers have lost their sense of humor.
Why is that? Maybe SMB marketers sense they have too much to lose to throw it all away with a joke. "We're running a business here" may be the kind of thinking that squashes their sense of humor. Not to mention... smaller marketing departments are juggling an awful lot of balls. What happens when you complicate things by adding a rubber chicken?
But running your marketing department—and your business—with a smile can increase your conversions, give your public relations (PR) a lift, and humanize your business. So, let's bring back the funny!


Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2012/7296/in-defense-of-fun-humor-is-serious-business-for-smb-marketers#ixzz1pevpI4Rr

The new Blog!

The new and improved Blog is up and running now! Many thanks to Kelley, who developed it and it looks sweet!

Students help to find a kidney donor

It's amazing what people will get behind and push these days, especially our youth. This is a movement near and dear to my heart. Richard Bland is a student at Kennesaw State University here in GA, and his kidneys are failing, so he's in need of a transplant. What's so different about this you ask?

Well his fellow students did what they know how to do - started a social media movement, and well its working! The started the hashtag #SaveRichard, and have gotten that to trend on twitter, had an MTV cast come to a rally, and went national with an article on Foxnews.com: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/14/georgia-students-turn-to-social-media-to-help-classmate-in-need/

You know I love a good kidney story, but what's more is the way that people have bonded together to help one another. As I have said time and time again, if you have ever had doubts about humanity, take a walk in my - or Richard Bland's - shoes and see the true essence of giving in people. It's humbling and uplifting at the same time.

I say GO For It! to Richard Bland and his crew, Bless you all for what you are doing. And to those out there who don't know about organ donation, go to www.donatelife.net or to www.kidneyregistry.org, being a living donor is a life-changing experience. Yes, you donate one of your kidneys, but what you gain in return is the understanding that you have saved a human being's life, and unlike the fruitcake you get every year at Christmas, this gift is the essence of a gift that keeps on giving!

Thanks to you all, have a great weekend, and Donate Life!

Chris

Can ANYONE be Creative?

Great article on the Wall Street Journal on creativity. Everyone has heard the phrase "he/she's the creative one" or "I'm just not creative", well I believe as is in this article that creativity is not an ingrained trait - its a skill. And creativity can come from anywhere - from an office desk, article, random thought, etc.

Please read and let me know what you think!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203370604577265632205015846.html?mod=rss_mobile_uber_feed

Apple and iMarketing

My Father-in-Law lent me the Steve Jobs biography, and as is so typical with me, I became obsessed with this book!  What amazes me about Steve Jobs - and Apple for that matter - is how much that brand has ingrained itself into our society and daily lives.

I remember my first computer - the Apple II, which I thought was an amazing machine.  I didn't know that it was developed in a garage from a hippie drop-out and a self-taught hacker.  But from that beginning, the Apple brand - it's logo, advertisements, etc - became as big as Coke, IBM, Marlboro, McDonald's, etc.  The attentiveness to design - simplicity and utility are critical to every Apple product - message, and positioning that are so associated with Apple really stem from the fanatic attentiveness to every detail that so exemplified Steve Jobs.

From the Apple II, to MacIntosh, iPod/iPhone/iPad/iCloud - Apple revolutionized the way we communicate, socialize, and in effect the way we do business.

For those of you who enjoy the integration of product design, fabrication, placement and advertisement, this book is definitely a must-read.  Yes, Jobs had some serious eccentricities and personality flaws, as many who worked for him will agree.  However, when it came to the brand Apple and its product lines - he was right nearly every time.  The message was clear to me - make things the right way, marry innovation and design in a simple, intuitive way, and always protect the Brand.

I hope you get as much out of this book as I have, please email me your thoughts or post on our Facebook page, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

Happy Secret to Better Work!

Yes, we live in a world where we work - for money, survival, etc. However, it is often said that in order to succeed, we need to love what we do! How many of you say, "i love my job!" or, even worse "I HATE my job!" Here's a video on happiness, success, and the workplace. Let me know what you think of it!

Instagrams!

A peculiar lunch-box sized device called Instaprint popped up at insider events from the Grammy Awards to South by Southwest last year — spitting out Instagram photos into the physical world. Now its creators are working on bringing the box to the masses.

“Holding a physical photo in your hand is something that’s been lost over the last years,” explains Michael Lipton, the co-founder of Breakfast, the four-person agency that created Instaprint. “Nobody probably wants a shoebox of 1,000 of these things, but if they’re at party and can walk away with one, then it’s a nice keepsake.”

Breakfast calls itself a “physical-digital interactive agency.” You may be familiar with some of its projects: It built the blimp for Conan O’brien that automatically checked into Foursquare venues as it floated over them and a tweeting bike for Livestrong. As a side project, Instaprint fit with Breakfast’s agenda perfectly.

The wall-hanging box prints Instagram photos from events as they’re posted. It finds photos using the event’s hashtag, includes likes and comments when it prints, and uploads the collection to a website for browsing later.

It has a similar effect to handing out disposable cameras at a wedding — everyone takes photos, but they get pooled in one place. Meanwhile, guests walk away with a physical artifact.

Read More

Abundance is our Future

So, it's friday people, and we've had our share of bad news this week - tornadoes ripping through the country, gas prices rising, kids shooting others in schools - not one of our top 10 weeks! However, I watched this video, and I have to believe that we as humans have the ability to adapt, improvise, change, and innovate our way to success. Watch this and let me know what you think!