Webinar on Analytics

In this webinar from Harvard Business Review they discuss how you can improve your organization by using more detailed internal analytics.  These analytics focus on identification of talent within employees to find new insights that link peoples' decisions to organizational performance.  Identifying talent allows the organization to focus on enhancing organizational performance.



 Taking Measure of Talent With Analytics 

Does anyone else find it disturbing this got global coverage

Not only wad this covered on national domestic news media it was also covered by the BBC and Al Jazeera

US bargain-hunting turns violent - http://pulse.me/s/3vbxn

Gratitude As A Business Strategy | Fast Company

This article discusses how it's important for businesses to show their gratitude for being allowed to operate  - rather than just taking this for granted or only recognizing their customers during the holiday season.  This needs to be honest, unselfish, respectful acknowledgment of another human being. Consider this as you're getting emails from companies left and right this holiday season - ask yourself when the last time your heard from these people and what is their message really about this time?

Gratitude As A Business Strategy | Fast Company:

Bloomberg booed for bouncing protestors

Mayor Bloomberg, NYPD Catch Heat for Nighttime Raid, ‘Media Blackout’ - http://pulse.me/s/3crU5

Ketchum to the rescue?

Penn State Hires Ketchum - http://pulse.me/s/3c6Xb

Why I don't go camping in the Everglades

Python eats deer in Florida | Gadling.com:

He was coming up on Facebook with a dagger

Social Networking Pioneer Dies Suddenly At 22 - http://pulse.me/s/385kn

Use sprout

Apps have become integral to capably managing social media today. The complicated the mission for companies who are trying to engage with their customers and broadcast their message over these complex, intertwined channels is made easier through these modern web machines.  Sprout Social is one company who's got a tool prepared for this situation; they've turbo-boosted offerings so that companies can integrate all of these interactions in one place.


Its new S2 platform adds "personalized dashboards tailored to each user's specific social media" interface, a Group Support option with different dashboards for each section within a company that wishes to use the social feeds ("beyond the marketing department" as Sprout's press release puts it), and all the necessary permissions controls that mean different groups and managerial levels can have different authorities. 


Their suite includes task or "assignment queues," which means a flagged negative tweet, for example, can be brought to a manager's attention and the queue item kept open until the manager has responded and, perhaps, the marketing team has made a follow-up.

Sprout Social Turbo-Boosts Its Dashboard For Enterprise Social Media

What does your brand's voice sound like?

If you're a retailer and you're not generating a non-stop flow of customized, interactive content, the writing's on the wall: Publish or perish. Publishing has become an essential tool for keeping customers close as they pursue their decision journeys on the way to purchase. Here are four approaches to content retailers are trying. 


The Mass Publisher
Mass publisher retailers create content of broad interest to their customers. They ask, "If we were a cable TV channel or a mass market magazine, what would our content, tone, and the experience we offered be? What would be the on-demand shows or feature articles that get viewed and shared virally? What topics could we own?"


The Problem Solver
This approach aims to make consumers aware of a solution or an aspiration they had not considered. Increasingly these marketers are seeking to help consumers who are already in a market solve a problem. As these customers are searching for answers, retailers intersect with them by publishing text or video content, interactive tools, or gateways to one-to-one help. Like Home Depot how-to videos.


The Social Engager
Social media has enabled people to engage your brand to get a stream of deals, participate in contests, see sneak previews, or receive other regular communications. But delivering on that promise requires creating a robust programming schedule to feed the channel, having the people available internally (with appropriate protocols) to respond to customer posts, and designing experiences that encourage followers to get others involved.


The Personal Concierge
In this approach companies create personalized content to help move each customer through a decision journey from considering a brand to evaluating, buying, experiencing, advocating and, ultimately bonding.





Check out the original article here .... Who's Your Brand's Editor-in-Chief?

Honey Laundering: The New Crime To Buzz About | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

I had watched a documentary on this topic and I don't find this to be too surprising anymore. The current honey industry in the U.S. is absolutely appalling and damaging - much like modern large-scale domestic agriculture has become.

Honey Laundering: The New Crime To Buzz About | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation: "Honey Laundering: The New Crime To Buzz About"

'via Blog this'

Bank of America won't be the only one to learn from this

Bank of America: A Case Study in Tone Deafness - http://pulse.me/s/2LkpC

Socially Responsible Corporate Activism

A new trend that has been rising is the drive to buy American made products.  Building on this momentum retailers and other businesses are shifting their corporate social responsibility initiatives to reflect the sentiments of customers.  One example of this is a new program that Starbucks has started.

As part of a small business support initiative spearheaded by the company's founder Shulz, Starbucks stores will begin to carry a line of red, white and blue woven (made in America) bracelets with proceeds  directly funding micro-loans and sponsorships for small start-ups.  This program is ideal for Starbucks since they are often seen as a big bad corporation that kills small businesses.  This program directly supports small businesses and likely isn't costing Sbux that much to administer.

Starbucks Takes on U.S. Jobs Woes with Loans, Bracelets - DailyFinance

Corporate Socially Responsible Activism?

The businesses that Starbucks is supporting through this campaign will be featured on the company's various social media channels - their stories being used as promotional material for Sbux corporate.  This begs the question of are the reasons for this program altruistic enough?  Can there be altruistic reasons for CSR?  These are things we must consider when trying to make do-good brands famous using social media.

Starbucks Takes on U.S. Jobs Woes with Loans, Bracelets - DailyFinance