TechCrunch has edged into the syndicated research business, the traditional turf of analyst firms such as Gartner, Forrester Research, IDC, Burton Group, et al. The idea behind TechCrunch Research is elegantly simple: package up quarterly reports based on the open source CrunchBase wiki database, sell the reports at economical price points and promote the service across the TechCrunch media network. … Read More
Attending BiteBash tonight
I’ll be at BiteBash in San Francisco tonight, “Navigating Your Brand through the Great Recession”. It’s such a timely topic. Bite’s David Hargreaves sums up the risks and opportunities that surround marketing right now: “Harvard Business Review recently reported that companies who slash marketing spending often find that they later have to invest much more than they saved in order … Read More
NCF2009: Where to find the social media influencers
NewComm Forum 2009 is just around the corner. I agree with Tom Foremski that this is not only the largest gathering of social media experts in the US, it is also a favorite of most of us who have attended over the years. I recommend it to anyone serious about meeting, hearing, influencing or simply hanging out with the A-listers … Read More
FTC eyes social media endorsements
Bloggers who are compensated for endorsing products and services could be held liable for any false statements they make, if newly proposed FTC guidelines are adopted. I’m pleased to see some movement beyond voluntary blogger transparency. I’m a fan of voluntary transparency. It puts peer pressure on bloggers to tell you about sponsorships and other compensation. It has uncovered several … Read More
Sway added to Alltop marketing collection
Sway has just been added to Alltop’s Marketing collection. Marketing.alltop aggregates the headlines of the latest stories from the best sites and blogs that cover marketing. It’s an excellent resource on a range of marketing topics. I’m proud that Sway is included. I often use Alltop collections in my online work, and recommend them in my offline life. That’s where … Read More
Measuring up while the chips are down
It’s easy to get caught up in what to say, how to say it — even how many characters to say it in — and completely lose sight of the simple truth that our words are just words, unless they’re backed by actions. This is certainly not a new idea. However, it’s being expressed by lots of different people right … Read More
LinkedIn for influencers
LinkedIn is one of several tools that can help influencers pursue their passion for gathering and sharing knowledge. Here’s some insight from my own experiments as well as conversations with influencers: Starting with basics, treat LinkedIn as a directory for being found. Create a complete profile. Write every section of text for fast, easy reading — and with a eye … Read More
Will social media change the way we measure influence?
Scott Brinker blogged about propinquity and Twitter last week. I’d never heard the word propinquity before. However, propinquity seems to be a label for a familiar concept — the notion that physical promixity promotes relationships. My parents harped about that while I was a teen. Happily, Scott takes a different tack. He suggests that social media applications such as Twitter … Read More
Marketing with a $0 budget
Imagine you’re the marketing lead at a small company and you’re gearing up to launch a product, service, or even the company. One morning, the CEO informs you, “The marketing budget is now $0, and we will figure out a way to get to market.” That’s one of 6 things that CEOs of small companies and start-ups should be saying … Read More
Right influencers and wrong influencers
It’s easy to fall into thinking that focusing on the top 15 or 25 or 100 influencers in a given market is a good idea for every company. That’s not necessarily so, unless you can vet their influence with decision-makers for your product or service in your market. Mack Collier points out a good example: his experience with the “Pepsi … Read More