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The Moment It Happened

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It was Christmas 1982. My parents got a TI-99 computer for me and my brother for Christmas. My little brother was only 8 years old and consumed with tinker toys and legos, so the computer was really for me. Today it is hard to imagine how excited a kid can get with a device like […]

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Facebook’s Google+ To-Do List

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So all the tech writers in the world have been prognosticating about Google+… Google+ this, Google+ that, what it all means, which social networking site is toast, and on and on, ad nauseum. So of course, I am going to jump in and add to the noise. Let me say right up front that I […]

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10 Miles Wide, 1 Inch Deep

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Everything rises and falls on leadership. And of course leadership isn’t easy or everyone would be a leader. In my estimation there are many things that leaders have to concentrate on to be successful leaders, and I want to talk about a few of them in this post. I live in the world of technology […]

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Listen first

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At a conference this past week I was fortunate to speak to lots of great people about their social media outreach. There are many well-intentioned organization/business owners out there who really do want to connect with their customers/constituents using social media, but they don’t know where to start. To me, that’s the easy part and […]

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More ‘you’, Less ‘me’

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I say this all the time… ‘talk about others 10 times more than you talk about yourself’. And that is more true now than ever. I may have heard that from Chris Brogan or some other thought leader in the social media space, but it just makes good common sense regardless of who said it. […]

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Don’t Be A Vacuum Cleaner Salesman

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I spoke at a conference this past weekend and talked to a ton of great people about their social media outreach and how they can use social media to grow their business. As usually happens, lots of people want me to look at their social media sites and give them my opinion. So I discovered […]

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Top 5 Small Business Social Media Issues

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Depending on which survey you look at, the statistics are generally consistent when it comes to small businesses and their use of social media. The bottom line is that the majority of small businesses don’t use social media on any level, and many of those that do don’t have an actual plan or strategy to […]

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Engaging Hearts and Minds

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One of the things I love about teaching is seeing the light bulb go on in the ‘student’s’ eyes. That moment when you know they get it. That’s why I always try really hard to keep my advice simple and easy to understand. We techie people tend to speak in a language that non-techie people […]

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Give them the puzzle box

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I don’t like puzzles so much anymore. You know, the ones that come in a box in a gazillion pieces and you have to put it together? Thank God for the box or the whole process would be unbearable to me. I guess I’m a big-picture guy come to think of it. I like to […]

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The 10 things you need to be doing on Foursquare right now.

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Ok, so you have come over to my way of thinking about Foursquare and you are ready to jump in with both feet. So now what do you do? Read on… 1. First of all, you need to be a Foursquare user. You don’t need to be trying to do anything with your business in […]

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Yes, Mayorships really do matter

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I love introducing people to services like Foursquare. Explaining the badges, mayorships, check-ins, and so forth is pretty fun, and it usually gets lots of laughs and some strange stares from folks who don’t really understand. Invariably someone will say to me, “I don’t get it. What is the big deal about mayorships? That sounds […]

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Dancing With The Social Media Bear

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The late Yitzhak Rabin, former Prime Minister of Israel, used to say that the only problem with dancing with a bear is that once you start, you can never let go. I think that is an awesome analogy and relevant to what it means for businesses today who want to hop on the social media […]

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Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

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Yeah, you’ve said it to your kids, right? “Why do I have to do this mom??” “Because I said so.” That is where I find myself these days when it comes to my consulting business and the advice that I give to people. But I don’t always follow my own advice, for one reason or […]

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When It All Falls Apart

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My heart sank. I mean, like, really sank. I was staring at the blank screen that was my website and wondering how it could all go so wrong, so fast. Like any consultant, my website is my lifeline. It’s where I communicate what’s going on with me, what I am thinking, provides ways for people […]

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Social Media Guidelines for Small Business

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Guidelines? For a small business? You’re kidding, right? No dude, I’m like totally serious. According to a report done in 2010 called “Employer Perspectives on Social Networking”, which compiled data from over 34,000 companies in 35 countries, 75% of employers say they have no formal policy or guidelines for their employees about appropriate use of […]

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Blessed With Hunger

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And I am ready like the young salmon To leave his river, blessed with hunger; For a great journey on the drawing tide. That is from a poem by David Whyte, a poet who lives on Whidbey Island, in Washington State. I had never heard of him until I sat in a session led by […]

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A Social Media House of Cards: Starbucks & Foursquare Get It Wrong Again

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Article first published as A Social Media House Of Cards: Starbucks & Foursquare Get It Wrong Again on Technorati. It was awkward. The looks that we gave each other across the counter didn’t have to happen, but they did. I was eager to participate in the Starbucks/Foursquare promotion but the poor barista had no idea […]

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My Customer Broke Up With Me… and it’s Facebook’s Fault

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It hurts, doesn’t it? You can pretend that you’re fine with it, but I can see through that facade to the hurt inside. When you lose a customer, it just sucks. You take it personally, even if they say it isn’t. Take this conversation into the realm of social media and it’s even more personal. […]

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The 4 Things That Bug Me About Foursquare Users

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You ain’t being fair on Foursquare, are you? So I have been using Foursquare for quite some time, and I must admit, I still love it. I know that constantly ‘checking in’ can get old for some people, but I know that bigger things are coming to Foursquare, so hanging in there right now is […]

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You Can’t Stop, Even If You Want To

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If you get over the hurdle of getting involved in social media, and for small business it is a huge hurdle, then you face the next big problem… not quitting. And that may not be very different than alot of things in life, right? Think about when you first got into Facebook. It was pretty […]

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