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Showing posts from September, 2013

Steve Jobs On How Content Is Truly King [video]

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Content Truly Is King In the middle of this amazing "lost" Steve Jobs interview is some of the best thinking on content and product development I've ever discovered. Jobs discusses the very important distinction between process and the masterful craftsmanship required to develop great products. Listening to this extraordinary segment I thought Jobs was contradicting Dov Seidman's book How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything . On repeated listening not so much. Jobs is warning against process police taking over and attempting to substitute hollow business process where passion, commitment and genius should rule. Seidman is suggesting that creating the kinds of teams Jobs was famous for leading is the only business process anyone owns. There are no secrets and intellectual property is a poor substitute for fast moving new market creating genius (iPad, iPhone for example). "People get very confused that the process is the content." Content Greatness Unde

State of Michigan to host MiVirtualCareerFair

LANSING  — Job seekers and employers can connect with each other in a live virtual environment through a MiVirtualCareerFair career networking event hosted by the State of Michigan, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 at michiganvirtualcareerfair.com/index.php/ “There are more than 60,000 jobs currently available in various industries on the Pure Michigan Talent Connect website, which connects Michigan employers to qualified talent as well as provides resources for job seekers,” said Joe Quick, Manager of Talent Programs, Michigan Economic Development Corporation. MiVirtualCareerFair allows employers to connect with top talent and gives job seekers the opportunity to apply for dozens of available positions without the inconvenience and expense of traditional job fairs.  Since the first MiVirtualCareerFair event in February 2012, more than 90 employers and more than 10,000 job seekers have been connected. Within MiVirtualCareerFair, employers host exhibitor booths that include links t

Trust Is A CATCH-22

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Pebbles and CATCH-22's What does it mean when a cool idea for a watch earns $11M on Kickstarter? Certainly one clear and loud implication is crowdfunding is ready for prime time, but there are more sweeping and profound implications. Why would anyone make anything without testing and creating a digital market long before materials are purchased to make something material. Pebble's brilliant Kickstarter campaign proves the man, machine, mountain parable. Match the right man (or product) to the right mountain and supply him (or her) with the right tools and the mountain will be climbed. Make the Pebble pitch to Walmart and it is a nonstarter. Pebble Smartwatch 2013 video from Pebble Technology on Vimeo . This "match the hatch" of product to market and marketplace has never been more important. You have one chance to make a first impression so matching your idea to favorable audience is critical. There is a CATCH-22 hidden in our new distribution model. You can't

Developing international IP strategy program is Friday

TROY — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce, East Michigan District Export Council are hosting a program on intellectual property rights in the global marketplace, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 at Michigan State University, Management Education Center, 811 W. Square Lake Road, Troy. This one-day program is aimed at providing companies with tools to develop an IP strategy to support expanded export sales and increased global business activities, while avoiding the pitfalls of IP theft and abuse. The program is open to companies of all sizes in all industries, located across the United States. The cost is $125 per person. To register, visit www.eastmichigandec.org or call 248-975-9609.

Stories - Why So Important NOW

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Stories Matter The web moves in phases. The first phase was presence. In 1999 when I built my first website, FoundObjects.com (now RIP sadly), having a website was sufficient to generate Return On Investment (ROI). The next phase was the battle for commerce. The move from "brochure-ware", websites that were little more than printed brochures that happened to be online, to limited interactivity. Once the conversational door was open the social tsunami began. Where once we lucky few Internet marketers lectured now, in the social era, we listen and curate. Having conversations means we develop different kinds of websites. One easy to spot difference is the ubiquity of social share buttons. Social signals such as Facebook Likes and Tweets confirm our claims and the conversations taking place on our new more social websites. Why Stories Matter NOW No one speaks first, so conversations must be present and robust. Speaking in stories creates more vulnerability than "marketing

Business events in Oakland County

Sept. 18 SOUTHFIELD — Flagstar Bank presents the third annual ‘Speed Networking’ event, which will bring together more than sixty professionals in the business and legal arena for a chance to network, exchange business cards, and promote their services. It is 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Regency Manor in Southfield. Each person will have three minutes to introduce themselves to another professional, and provide a short ‘pitch’ for their products or services before they rotate to the next professional. The event is co-sponsored by the Armenian- American Bar Association, the Chaldean American Bar Association, the Chaldean American Association for Health Professionals, the Hispanic Bar Association of Michigan, the Michigan Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and Steward Media. For more information, contact Derek Dickow at 248-702-5501 or email derekdickow@steward-media.com. To purchase tickets to the event, visit www.neptix.com/events/1449. Sept. 18 WATERFORD TWP.

Secret Prize For Top Social Media Buzzer In October

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  Join Cure Cancer Buzz Team We need help from social media and Internet marketing wizards. We are launching two major nonprofit websites in October: CureCancerStarter.org (crowdfunding cancer research) and CureCancerStore.org (shop to cure cancer). Both websites are funded by Atlantic BT and me and 100% of CureCancerStarter.org's donations go to cancer research. This is how I pay back people who've worked so hard to save my live (I'm a cancer survivor) and how Atlantic BT pays their amazing growth and success forward.  Both websites are part of the Story of Cancer Foundation , a 501c3 nonprofit. We need great online marketers to help beat the "cure cancer drum" in October, increase awareness of these two new ideas and demonstrate the power of social media marketing. If you are up for a challenge please join the Cure Cancer Buzz Team Today. If you can tweet you can help cure cancer. We also need great editors, writers, photographers, video artists, artists (see

How to get ahead by showing weakness

Submitted by Dottie DeHart, DeHart & Company Public Relations, DeHartandcompany.com New York, NY  — Do either of these scenarios sound familiar? A colleague sends you a snarky email, so you type a cutting response right back. A Facebook “friend” insults your political beliefs in a post, so you write a scathing comment about their obvious cluelessness. Nobody likes to back down, give in, knuckle under, or swallow an insult. And showing weakness isn’t likely to get you anything but disrespect and marginalization…right? Wrong. Communication consultant Geoffrey Tumlin says being what some would call a “wimp” is often an effective response. And in the right circumstances, it can even be a way to get ahead “Weakness can be a very effective communication tool,” said Tumlin, author of the new book Stop Talking, Start Communicating: Counterintuitive Secrets to Success in Business and in Life “In many scenarios, allowing the other party to maintain what appears to be ‘the upper han

Social Media's ROI Magic: Using SMM As A Tactic

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  Please Join Cure Cancer Buzz Team & Beat The CURE CANCER Drum this October Heroes and Friends of Martin's (FOMs) I'm worried and my friends know it. I've gone and bet the farm again and it would appear we will come in short of our goals. How do I know this? Social Media Marketing. Prior to social media, back when I sold M&M's, our marketing didn't live in the NOW. At Mars we would dutifully benchmark our new Twix campaign based on other similar campaigns and miss more than we hit. Social media can rescue such SWAGs. I put the spreadsheet for this post in a public Google doc here: Buzz Team Analysis on Google Using Social Media To Create ROI I painstakingly visited each current Cure Cancer Buzz Team's social profiles to harvest their followers. I wanted to know if we have enough Cure Cancer Buzz Teamers as of today and the answer is no. If we launch Cure Cancer Starter and Cure Cancer Store in October (looks like Monday the 7th now) we may fall short

Oakland County business events set for this week

Sept. 10 WATERFORD TWP. — Davidson Family Dentistry is hosting an open house and ribbon cutting, 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 5574 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford Township. Reservations requested at 248-977-3006. Sept. 11 SOUTHFIELD — A seminar to assist franchise owners and operators in navigating union protests and strikes focused on quick serve restaurants and other franchises is being hosted by Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth &  Heller P.C., a Southfield-based law firm and Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants, of Brownstown Township. James M. Reid, IV, a Maddin Hauser employment attorney, and Ricardo Torres, a former high-level union official and president and CEO of Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants, will lead the seminar, which is scheduled for 8 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the Skyline Club, 2000 Town Center, #2800, Southfield. A complimentary continental breakfast will be available at 7:30 a.m. Register for the free conference by email to register@maddinhau

Content Marketing, UGC and Storytelling = New SEO

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Content Marketing As A Virtual Cycle When the great curator Robin Good's Scoop.it feeds hit 1,000,000 views every content marketer should take note - curation is the key to successful content marketing. I created controversy recently at Phil Buckley's SEO Meetup , the largest such Meetup in the country, suggesting curation should be 90% to 10% creation for successful content marketing. Curation isn't alone. My ratio left out important gears such as social (the blue gear above) and e-commerce (the green gear). Content Marketing's Gears create a "virtual cycle" where the gains and momentum of one creates gains and momentums in others. Content Marketing's Gears, when balanced, function as a positive perpetual motion machine where any turn of any gear helps all gears. TIME is the most difficult dimension to illustrate. Content marketing has a longer gestation. Time is part of Google algorithm. Your website creates expectations. New websites don't have mil

Birmingham publisher hosting celebration of local authors

Grey Wolfe Publishing of Birmingham is hosting a celebration of local authors, with readings, signings and networking, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17 at Troy Community Center, Room #304, 3179 Livernois, Troy. Local author and attorney, Michael Kitchen, will read from his debut novel, "The Y in Life." This is the story about the revelations and consequences of questioning life. Darryl Lawrence was a man who never questioned anything. On the cusp of his marriage proposal to college friend, Lisa Nelson, an event happens that changes his life, causing him to question the purpose of life. His journey takes him to Agra and Dharamsala in India, and to Jakarta, Indonesia. Other featured authors include Ralph Moore, Kevin Lucas, Diana Kathryn Plopa, Christopher Chagnon, Lisa M. Wolfe and the Grey Wolfe Pack Writers. This is a casual, family-friendly, free event. RSVP is required by Sept. 12. Food and beverages will be served. RSVP to info@greywolfepublishing.com or call Dian

Join New Cancer Research Revolution

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Become A Cure Cancer Hero This Fall We need an army of social people to help create a new cancer research revolution this fall. Please consider becoming a "Cure Cancer Communications Hero/Partner" today. Yes, I Can Help "Beat The Drum" About Curing Cancer This Fall! We need help because here are the "cure cancer" websites launching or have launched: 10.1 Launch CureCancerStarter.org - crowdfunding a new cancer research revolution. CureCancerStore.org - shop to cure cancer & create a cure cancer store. We need an estimated 25,000 visitors to these two websites in October to achieve our cancer research goals. 100% of CureCancerStarter.org donations go to cancer researchers such as UNC Lineberger, Duke Cancer Institute, Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo and Carbone Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin. Your HELP tweeting, Facebooking, Scooping and Pinning well help start a revolution (and how often do we have a chance to do that?). Live

Six personality types that can sabotage brainstorming

Submitted by Dottie DeHart, DeHart & Company Public Relations, dehartandcompany.com/ New York, NY (September 2013)—Brainstorming can be a productive way to solve problems; generate new products, services, or processes; and capitalize on golden opportunities. But far too often, say creative problem solving experts Mitchell Rigie and Keith Harmeyer, the process is hijacked by disruptive individuals who undermine collaborative efforts. “Have you ever found yourself in a brainstorming meeting that felt dominated and controlled by an attention-seeking personality?” asks Rigie, coauthor along with Harmeyer of SmartStorming: The Game-Changing Process for Generating Bigger, Better Ideas (Dog Ear Publishing, 2013, ISBN: 978-1457516634, $29.95, www.smartstorming.com   “If so, you are not alone. It seems every company or organization has its share of those idea killers.” “In fact, in our twenty years of brainstorming experience working with many of the top Fortune 500 companies, we

Women Tell All...Almost Luncheon features insight from local women leaders

Achieving personal as well as career success with balance will be discussed during the "Women Tell All... Almost" event hosted by the Auburn Hills and Rochester Regional Chambers of Commerce. The Chambers, in collaboration with leaders from Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, FirstMerit Corporation and the 52nd District Court, will share insights into the professional and personal stories of the panelists that have lead to their advancement within their careers and the community. Women Tell All...Almost panelists include Judge Lisa Asadoorian, 52nd District Court Division 3 serving within Oakland County,  Michelle Hornberger, Chief Strategy Officer of Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in Rochester and Sandra Pierce, Vice Chairman of FirstMerit Corporation and President and CEO of FirstMerit Michigan. These business and community leaders will provide personal insight and encouragement for women of all ages and stages of their careers.  The Women Tell All...Al