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Secrets from the trenches: How to become a Blog Whisperer

I just 700 blog posts on {grow} and I thought this would be a good time to pause and share some of my lessons learned for all you budding Blog Whisperers out […]

To succeed in social media, set aside your marketing plan

Forget your marketing PLAN? Have I gone MAD?? Every good social media plan STARTS with a solid marketing strategy but social media efforts are sub-optimized if a company is too wedded to long-term […]

Bringing down the Twitter snobs

It seems that Mitch Joel and I are becoming the Social Media Odd Couple. I like Mitch. He’s smart. It’s just that I think he is so frequently wrong. Like […]

Bill Piper has no clue what he’s doing in social media

I have this new habit. When I’m alone on a long car trip I will put out a tweet asking people to call me and keep me company. It has […]

Today’s lesson: Yes, I do have limits.

I had a personal milestone last week — a different kind of {grow} experience — and it wasn’t a very good one. The story starts with an 8-year-old boy. Over the past […]

What is Social Media’s Next Big Thing?

One possible answer: The Enterprise. No, no. Not the Star Trek kind of Enterprise (although that would be pretty cool). I mean using social media technologies internally, within the […]

Can you make money from your Twitter stream? Mack Collier just did it.

Very quietly, a significant milestone occurred last Sunday night. Blogger and consultant Mack Collier monetized a Twitter conversation. That’s right. Mack made money from other people’s tweets on a free […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]