Why Klout matters. A lot.
If you hate Klout … and you probably do … try to take a deep breath and read ahead with an open mind. Nothing seems to get rational people in a frenzy as much as Klout and its attempt to measure “influence.” I have immersed myself in the world of online power and influence over […]
An engineering visionary found his place on the web, and in our hearts
It is almost too much to bear to report that another dear friend, and social media marketing titan, has passed away. Â Imad Naffa, a consistently joyful and inspiring presence on Twitter, died Tuesday, according to a Fresno newspaper account. Imad and I had known each other for about two years and I had previously featured […]
Confessions of a “Type A” Blogger
A guest post from {grow} community member Taryn Erickson A perpetual ‘go-getter’ by nature, when I jumped into the Social Media scene it was a calculated attack. I was on a serious mission: amass followers, craft clever content, lead the industry, innovate online communities, be the first to promote emerging trends. Then, I read “The […]
The hidden costs of social media conversation
It’s all about the conversation. Have you heard that a thousand times? It’s a ubiquitous mantra of the social web to the point where sometimes I think it takes over as the ultimate goal.  It’s not the goal. The goal of any organization is to increase shareholder value … a.k.a. make money. Even non-profits. Whether you work […]
The problem with personas. Remembering Trey Pennington
The death of Trey Pennington shook me up and made me reflect on the role of social media in this tragedy.
A broken heart for the social media community
My friend Trey Pennington, one of the most popular figures on the social web, committed suicide today. I have been trying to figure out how to deal with this tragedy.  I’ve been pushing it down, pushing it down.  I want it to go away.  But I decided that not writing something would be cowardly and a […]
Committed. A {growtoon}.
The Top Five Crowdsourcing Mega-trends
I had my eyes opened to the massive growth of the crowdsourcing industry at a SXSW panel earlier this year. Ever since then, I have been looking for an opportunity to bring more information on this trend to {grow}. I’m fortunate today to have an expert on the subject, David Bratvold, provide a guest […]
American social media usage reaches milestone
Social media usage may have reached a tipping point, according to a new report from one of my favorite sources, The Pew Internet and American Life Project. Fully 65% of adult internet users now say they use a social networking site like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61% one year ago. This marks the first […]
Social media sewage … and hope
I’ve started and trashed this article at least six times. As you will see, I have my reasons to be conflicted about publishing it. Yet I can’t deny this gnawing feeling of disenchantment about the social web that seems to be also reflected in so many other blog posts I have read recently. I am […]