Twitter success stories: Explaining the ROI of Twitter
Measurement and ROI are constant themes in the social media world. How do you PROVE the value of Twitter? Like most questions in business, the answer is, “it depends,” but I’d like to offer a couple practical ideas that might help you when this inevitably comes up at your company. First, let’s establish a crucial point. […]
Is social media creating a generation of cowards?
I’ve been asked about my perspective on Malcom Gladwell’s article, “Small change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted.”  My take on it may surprise you … and provide uncomfortable reading if you are a parent or social media junkie. Social media and leadership Mr. Gladwell is a master storyteller, but usually starts with the history of fire […]
An open letter to France
Dear Country of France, I’ve crawled around your country about a dozen times over the years and each visit has been filled with beauty, culture, history and fine food. But I have to ask … How did you become such a great nation with such lousy bacon? Indeed, I believe the foundation of American’s strength […]
A place where bloggers are royalty (video)
During my recent trip to France I had a chance to catch up with {grow} community regular and video blogger extraordinaire Michelle Chmielewski, who is now working in Paris. Our friendship started through an innocent tweet (“Go Steelers!”), and has become one of my favorite stories of connecting through the social web. This short video […]
A World Without Flaws – The Social Media Stepford Wives
An email with a subject line of “You Made Me Cry” gets my attention! And that is exactly what Jamie Lee Wallace wrote to me last week after reading the post “Social Media and the Big Conversation Fail.” I guess it hit upon some profound feelings as she thought about the importance of the social […]
Five steps to prepare you for the social media marathon
The world of work is different today. It’s not a 9-5 daily sprint, it’s an always-on, always connected, all-out communication MARATHON. And like any athlete preparing for an intense and extended effort, it takes preparation — some mental, some physical, and some conditioning that only gets easier through discipline and practice. I carry a heavy […]
Social media and the Rutgers suicide
I’m sure you were disturbed, as I was, by the story of a young man who committed suicide when his sexual encounter was secretly captured on a video and posted on the Internet. The tragedy is doubly sobering for me because it occurred at Rutgers University where I begin a social media teaching assignment in […]
This is why you will have a career in social media
I’m about to make a prediction that surprises even me. Social media management will not be absorbed into most company marketing departments and instead will emerge as a stand-alone professional discipline. I know I’m sounding like some wild-eyed social media hype master here but hear me out, OK? I’ve been around long enough to see how […]
Social media and the big conversation “fail”
I am feeling sad and a bit ashamed of myself. Something happened — a wake-up call about this notion of social media “community” and “conversation.” It’s making me pause and reflect on what we’re really all about here on the social web. What I’m about. Last year I collaborated with a bright young woman named […]
Can social media change your company’s culture? I doubt it.
Mitch Joel mentioned to me in a recent exchange that he thought social media was changing corporate cultures. As I pondered this possibility, I’d like to suggest that this scenario is very unlikely, and in fact the opposite is true — company cultures are radically changing the social web! Anybody who has ever worked in […]