The honest broker

Filed: Sat, 28/01/2012 - 10:42. :: Seth Godin

It really is a choice, one or the other. Either you happily recommend the best option for your customer, or you give preference to your own items first. Either you believe in what you sell, or you don't. Either you...

Those Five-Star Reviews

Filed: Fri, 27/01/2012 - 21:04. :: The Flack
How important are consumer-generated reviews in your purchase-making decisions? If you're like me, the answer is VERY. When assessing hotels, the write-ups on Virtual Tourist and Trip Advisor invariably make or break my booking. The reviews on Yelp play the deciding role in tipping the restaurant scales. Same with Fandango for movie reviews.

Reconsidering Gartner's Cycle of Hype

Filed: Fri, 27/01/2012 - 10:22. :: Seth Godin

One theory of technology marketing and acceptance goes like this: A technology causes a media hypestorm and rising expectations. Then it crashes to Earth as the popular press and the public discovers that it's not all the hypesters said it...

Who cares?

Filed: Thu, 26/01/2012 - 16:06. :: Seth Godin

Unless someone does, things start to fray around the edges. Often it's the CEO or the manager who sets a standard of caring about the details. Even better is a culture where everyone cares, and where each person reinforces that...

Looking For A Content Marketing Writer?

Filed: Wed, 25/01/2012 - 14:08. :: PR Communications

Wow, I cannot believe that one of my talented former interns and a great writer cannot get a job... please, please, if you are looking for a great content writer who is just starting out, ping me and I'll put...

Solving problems (vs. identifying them)

Filed: Wed, 25/01/2012 - 10:27. :: Seth Godin

Often, we're hesitant to identify a problem out of fear we can't solve it. Knowing that we have to live with something that we're unable to alter gives us a good reason to avoid verbalizing it--highlighting it just makes it...

Pando's 'Cuda

Filed: Tue, 24/01/2012 - 22:23. :: The Flack
In case you hadn't noticed, a very refreshing bi-product has risen from the ashes of the rather acrimonious breakup between TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington and his wealth-creating nemesis, AOL. The tech/social news-savvy site PandoDaily, led by former TechCrunch ed-at-large Sarah Lacy (aka @sarahcuda on Twitter), burst onto the scene only a week or so ago and already is a must-follow in my stream.

"It's completely up to you"

Filed: Tue, 24/01/2012 - 10:06. :: Seth Godin

... and that's the problem. I was picking out the mat for a framed photo and there were a thousand colors to choose from. The framer uttered the scary invocation, putting the choice back to me. So many things are...

My Big Messy Social Life

Filed: Mon, 23/01/2012 - 15:49. :: The Flack

My social life is a mess. And I know I'm not the only one mired in the digital muck. Here's the lowdown, which stands  in contrast to just two years ago: 

I'm feeling pressure to bolster my presence on the red hot Pinterest even though the app (on Chrome) couldn't find the image of Danny Meyer's new downtown dining spot on the home page of Eater.com, which I had hoped to add to my hot NYC restaurant board.

The pricing formula (S&S)

Filed: Mon, 23/01/2012 - 10:32. :: Seth Godin

Years ago, my bosses and I needed to finalize the pricing for a new line of software I was launching. In the room we had MBAs from Harvard (2), Stanford, Tuck and, I think, Wharton. We had three prices in...