Approach the social web with authentic helpfulness and good things happen
I don’t make a habit of putting my life on display on the blog but I wanted to pass along some news that I’m excited about — and it’s a social media success story, too! In a few weeks I will begin a new stint as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, […]
The most powerful leadership lesson I’ve learned
In graduate school I took a class on “Leaders and Leadership” that I hoped would give me respite from the grind of finance and economics. It turned out to be one of the most interesting classes I ever attended and it set me on life-long study of leaders. When I worked for Alcoa, there was […]
Social Media Overload — Thoughts on Hitting the Wall.
Sometimes it feels like my social media presence is about to fall off a cliff. Over the past months I’ve shared my journey as I’ve slowly figured things out. How to save time blogging. Build a community. Little tips I’ve learned through trial and error. But I’ve come to a place that is uncomfortable and […]
Foursquare case study: Are “swarm parties” in your company’s future?
I’ve been a skeptic about Foursquare but this guest post from small business-owner Helen Wilkinson (above) describes a new perspective on a monetization activity with benefits for all. Enjoy! At precisely 7.52 pm on August 12, 2010, a hearty cheer rose up from our small tea shop on the south coast of England. “It’s a […]
Snooping on Facebook: Not just for stalkers any more
I have one of the world’s best points of brand differentiation — I’m the only business blogger you know old enough to have a daughter-blogger! Lauren is entering her senior year as a journalism major and has been having some intriguing social media experiences. When she told me the following story I was frankly a […]
Can’t find work? Maybe you’re part of the “Unserviced Workforce”
I would like to introduce Stuart Mease of Virginia Tech University to all of you. Stuart is a member of the {grow} community and flat-out one of the brightest guys I know. He made a name for himself with creative applications of social media to economic development and I’m pleased to present this timely guest […]
Ten social media and technology mega-trends to watch
I just read a fascinating (and lengthy!) report from McKinsey on tech-enabled business trends to watch and thought it was important enough to summarize for our community. Here are some highlights from this excellent report: 1. Crowd-sourcing moves into the mainstream In the past few years, the ability to organize communities of Web participants to […]
Can you answer the most painful question in marketing?
The other night I was having a beer with a friend who is a beginner blogger. He was lamenting that he was not attracting many new readers or comments. I let him go on for awhile but finally had to hit him with the most painful question in all of blogging … marketing… perhaps in […]
The Douchebag Manifesto
[youtube https://youtu.be/OewGHfz631s] You probably know by now that I like to shake it up with something light-hearted on Fridays but I think today’s video sends {grow} into an entirely new orbit. A new Twitter friend, Jennifer Kane, gave this speech last year at Ignite Minneapolis. It’s one of the few videos I have seen recently […]
The Anatomy of a Blog Post
I frequently receive questions about how I blog. Where do I get the ideas? How long does it take? Where do I come up with the graphics? The process I went through to create my previous post on “content engineering” was pretty typical so I thought I would dissect it as a way to illustrate […]