I’m pondering the difference between ‘customer service’ and ‘social engagement.’ When we think of the former, we think Marshall Fields and Nordstroms – very early 20th century — the granddaddies of a strong, retail service mo where “the customer is always right.” When we think of the latter, we think decidedly 21st century – social…
DetailsWhat if you don’t write poetry because it’s not black and white and must be interpreted? What if you don’t understand and you’re a straight shooter who doesn’t like ambiguity? What happens when the bleak days of November turn the landscape shades of grey? You feel a dampening, sense a darkening, taste dryness and feel…
DetailsWhen you see an “occupied” sign on a restroom these days, do you think of it differently? Personally, I picture folks camped inside with tents and generators and coing pots and placards. Whatever else the Occupy movement has accomplished, they’ve certainly changed the meaning of the word for all of us. It will never be…
DetailsLast evening I attended a panel, hosted by The Bay Citizen and The Bosmith, about the foodie culture in the San Francisco Bay Area – and beyond. Inevitably, the conversation turned towards the transformative impact social media has had on the foodie movement. With just a simple tweet, hundreds of people can instantly learn where…
Details“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” Lewis Carroll Communication should have a purpose. We should know where we want to go, and what we hope to get out of all the strategies we’re putting into place. Merely setting a goal for the number of tweets we’ll post…
DetailsBefore the digital revolution, the philanthropic world was round. Today, the philanthropic world is flat. Paradoxically, despite increasing marketing efforts from nonprofits, giving in the round world was flat . In a flat philanthropic world, do we have the opportunity to change this? The new world order may finally force us to realize that we’ve…
DetailsThis just in! There’s a new basket into which we can put a bunch of our toys.Right after I posted earlier today on the Top 7 Social Philanthropy Toys for the Holidays it came to my attention that this past week Convio Inc announced the launch of Common Ground Social, a fully customizable all-in-one social…
DetailsHow do children learn best? By playing! When it comes to understanding our missions, most of our potential constituents are children. They don’t know much. The internet now makes it possible for people to learn about us through play. While charities commonly complain that social media strategies don’t make much money; this is just…
DetailsBeware of a half truth; it may be the wrong half. This has always been a favorite proverb of mine. And a recent blog post of Top 10 Business Trui by Scott Gillum, which I referenced yesterday, caused me to wonder how black and white (or possibly gray) these trui might be – particularly as…
DetailsI recently came across a real goody: A blog post by Scott Gillum, contributing author to the Forbes network, offering wisdom collected over 20 years of work with some of the best, and worst, companies in the world. He found certain consistent themes regardless of company, industry or geography. It got me thinking about how…
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