Having written a half dozen 24PageBooks in the past few months in preparation for our launch, I’ve come to realize that sometimes even 24 pages can be too many. Which then leads to the realization that almost all how-to, business and lifestyle titles are way too long. Our Writer’s Guidelines suggest that a writer proposing [...]

As we approach the publishing of our first 24PageBooks title, I’ve had feedback from many people regarding our pricing decisions ($9.99+any applicable taxes). Most have been positive once people think through the value proposition. The 24PageBooks concept is simple: Instant Expertise on a specific topic, usually in an hour or less. So that first title, [...]

Turns out the name I like, The Experience Architects, isn’t original. It’s the name of a chapter in a book on innovation written by IDEO GM Tom Kelley back in 2005. I own the book so it’s likely that the term was floating somewhere in my subconscious and surfaced when I was trying to encapsulate [...]

When Facebook changed its privacy controls this week a lot of people saw it as an attempt to open up access to their information by changing the default preferences to allow more of your info to be accessible. This would particularly benefit marketers. I think there is something entirely different going on, a strategic change.
With [...]

This summer I took a long break from blogging and much of social media with one big exception: Facebook. FB has, in just a few months, become the default communications medium for my wide range of friends, replacing email completely. It is also the central place for announcing events, sharing photos, images, articles and video [...]

Catherine Taylor of Social Media Insider makes a point that no marketer should ignore. In her observation of the mommy blogger summit Blogher she notes that brands are building relationships with influencers rather than running ads.
Money quote:
“I’m going to quote a competitor to Mediapost, Advertising Age, but its packaged-goods reporter, Jack Neff, said it best: [...]

Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian Internet company has invested $200 million into Facebook for 1.96% of the company. Facebook is a privately held company which claims that it is increasing revenue 70% year over year.
This deal interests me because I believe that Facebook will be at least as dominant a force as Google in the [...]

I’ve taken a bit of a blogging break due to moving and taking on a big project for an area business organization. However both of these activities have got me thinking about a few things that are very relevant to the conversational marketing theme I’ve been exploring.
Craiglist, local marketing and how it changes the landlord [...]

The conversational marketing model is not really new at all, vis a vis Seth Godin and many others, but it is a major change: When we buy, we discuss the choices with friends and, as Godin points out, we have a lot more friends because of social media. If I’m buying an LED monitor, I’ll [...]

I recently did some housecleaning in my Facebook account, defriending anyone who is littering their social messages with business pitches. I recommend you do the same or Facebook is going to get littered with pitch spam. Several of the people I blocked are friends in real life but insisted on regading Facebook as a place [...]