PUBLIC MARKS from phdunay

This was one of the most shocking and provocative statements I heard at last weeks World Innovation Forum by HSM. I think I might have even gasped when I heard him say that, but he wasn’t saying it just to be provocative. What he meant was that it could be successful as a product but the problem is there were plenty of existing competitors at the high end of the market that will not be welcoming to the innovation.

The opening speaker last week at the World Innovation Forum was Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor in Strategy and Innovation. In his speech Clayton discussed the principles of his two books: The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the World Innovation Forum by the HSM Group. Participants at the World Innovation Forum came away with new understanding of how businesses can pivot and become more innovative as well as plenty of insights about what the future holds. As a blogger, and member of the virtual media, I was delighted to hear that I was welcome to interview 2 of the guest (my top 2 picks) Malcolm Gladwell and Clayton Christensen.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for websites has been honed into a fine art. While I believe in the power of SEO, there is a new discipline beginning to emerge called Social Media Optimization (SMO). The concept behind SMO is simple: implement changes to optimize a site so that it is more easily linked to, more visible in social media searches on blog search engines such as Technorati, and more frequently included in relevant posts on blogs, podcasts and vlogs. Here are 5 rules to help guide your thinking around SMO for a client's website:

I've been reading all I can about social media and communities. But honestly, I heard more new ideas from Sean than in all of the articles and blogs I've come across on the topic. I conducted an interview with Sean O’ Driscoll to learn what it is like to have thousands of communities to listen to and manage. And I wanted to learn how you harness these communities for product launches as part of an integrated marketing campaign. Enjoy …

The move to bring a measure of predictability to the still-unpredictable world of viral marketing is being driven by clients. They are trying to balance the risks inherent in a new marketing medium with the need to prove return on investment.

I conducted an interview with Chad Stoller, Organic’s Executive Director of Emerging Platforms, to discuss the direction of social media as seen through his eyes and the eyes of his clients. I was curious about what B2B and B2C clients are asking him for as a clue to what we should all be thinking about.

Sometimes for inspiration as a B2B marketer I look to our brethren in B2C marketing. Here's one example worth bringing back for your consideration.

Is a business model that locks in customers and discourages user innovation genuinely sustainable? According to my instincts, and the principles of Wikinomics, I say no. To explore this further, I conducted an interview with Don Tapscott, co-author of Wikinomics. Don helped me understand more about this emerging economy and what role marketing needs to play in it to be successful! Enjoy …

In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell cited the "Rule of 150." The rule states that 150 is the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a "genuinely efficient work relationship." At that size, orders can be implemented and unruly behavior controlled on the basis of personal loyalties and direct contact.

Search engine marketing has become a mainstay of any marketing department and a must-have in any integrated marketing plan. But did you ever wonder what all the new social media is going to mean for the search engine marketing industry? Good, then this podcast is for you! I conducted an interview with Adam Lavelle, Chief Strategy Officer of iCrossing, a search media company that is answering these questions and more.

Most companies are totally unprepared to deal with the new e-nastiness. That's worrisome as the Web moves closer to being the prime advertising medium—and reputation conduit—of our time.

Many large enterprises are now monitoring and listening to online conversations about their brand. In this podcast you will learn what firms like Sony and Wal-Mart are hearing and discovering in the process. WARNING: Some of these findings may surprise you! I conducted an interview with Jim Nail, Chief Strategy officer for Cymfony, a TNS Media Intelligence company that mines both online and offline content for its clients. Jim will provide some practical advice on how you can mine the blogosphere.

Consider Jason Goldberg, CEO of the job-finding site Jobster. He discovered what blogs can do, the hard way. In December, rumors began swirling that Jobster was planning layoffs. On his blog, Goldberg stoutly denied everything. A week later, Jobster announced it was laying off 40 percent of its staff, something Goldberg had to have known all along. The mocking blog entries piled on.

Google users trade personal information in return for free use of Google's online services. This situation creates a perfect market for disintermediators like Seth Goldstein, who think the personal information is worth far more than users are getting back in services from Google and other providers.

Discover for yourself what's new in technology and technology marketing at the must-attend event of the year Software2007. Speakers include Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft; Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com; Hasso Plattner, co-founder of SAP AG; Ed Zander, chairman and CEO of Motorola and many more. I interviewed M.R. Rangaswami, Software2007 executive conference director and SandHill Group co-founder, and Dave Munn, president and CEO of ITSMA, about what you can expect to learn at the conference. Listen to the podcast, and I hope to see you there!

Whether you are a beginner or an expert in wikis, you need to hear Ross Mayfield co-founder and CEO of SocialText Wiki software. He will describe the best way to roll out a wiki, how to build adoption of your wiki, real life examples of successful wikis, and what is the first project everyone tries on a wiki. I conducted an interview with Ross Mayfield, to bring back answers to these and other questions. I hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as I enjoyed recording it ...

Here is a fun stat, there are 200 Billion emails a day, which equates to 30 emails per living person (and I am absolutely over my daily allotment) but worse than that is 70% is reported to be spam. Big deal you say?

If you love Web 2.0 tools the way I do, you probably came to the quick realization that they're powerful tools for creating a community But added together they don't equal a community. You can launch all the Web 2.0 tools you can think of and still not have a community. So the question quickly becomes: How do you create a community

Many marketers are contemplating adding some form of new media to their marketing toolkit this year. How will this fit into their business? How to get started? How to get past the internal legal hurdles? All excellent questions. But when marketers are asked to define ROI for their blog, it's the one question that really throws them over the edge.

A new benchmark report on What's Working In Lead Generation by RainToday can help you refine your lead generation strategy and choose the tactics that will have the greatest impact on your ability to generate leads. You should also use this report to benchmark yourself against industry best practices, which can help you defend your lead generation plans and budget for the years ahead.

Ok, I couldn’t help myself when I saw this statement, in print no less, for not adopting Web 2.0 tactics – so I just had to point this one out: "This group has been burned by being on the leading edge of technology," said a leading managed care provider. “Four years haven't erased the memory of a failed interactive voice-response (IVR) system.” This inspired me to do a David Letterman-style list of The Top 10 Lame Excuses for Not Adopting Web 2.0 tactics:

Jack Welch is arguably the most talked about and widely emulated manager in business history. He's used his uncanny instincts and unique leadership strategies to run GE, the most complex organization in the world, increasing its market value by more than $400 billion over two decades.

Lois just published a book titled Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing, and I was lucky enough to get an advance copy (blogging does have its perks). Her goal was to publish a book filled with insightful examples of conversational marketing at work, and I think she achieved that!

Her view is that the old marketing model is dead, and conversational marketing is king. She has a unique point of view on how to listen to customers, identify what is important to them, and uncover ideas that resonate and spark conversation. Lois just published a book titled Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing - Listen to our podcast!!