August 2010 | Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Blog

August 31, 2010 7:26 AM

Creativity In The Age of Web Analytics

Is Mad Men a true representation of how great creative happens in Marketing? In a typical Mad Men episode, research comes back saying something plain about the insights surrounding a brand. But the creatives, led by a cape-wearing Don Draper,... Read more

August 30, 2010 8:01 AM

The Gentle Art Of The Retweet

As Twitter evolves and grows, the etiquette and "rules" change, morph and evolve along with it. Recently, a very influential person on Twitter sent me a direct message saying that they were insulted because I had thanked a few people... Read more

August 29, 2010 2:31 PM

The Truth Behind "Conversation" In Social Media With Joseph Jaffe

Episode #217 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. This is also Across The Sound episode #8.20. Joseph Jaffe is widely regarded as one of the top... Read more

August 28, 2010 8:30 PM

Confessions Of A Narcissist

How did we all become so self-involved and to what end? Have you ever been in a place where you wind up disgusting yourself (just a little bit)? While floating through the Intertubes today, it struck me how narcissistic most... Read more

August 28, 2010 2:14 PM

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see? My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Rednod, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth:... Read more

August 27, 2010 1:28 PM

Online Video Can Kill Your Credibility

The majority of independent online video content being created is mostly unwatchable. I'm usually not that critical of online video (and, I'm the first to admit that I am guilty of creating some of this unwatchable content as well), but... Read more

August 26, 2010 2:20 PM

Don't Be Evil

All companies have one goal: to make money. Strike that. All companies have two goals: to make money and to make even more money the next year. This means that they all must be evil. All eyes were on Google... Read more

August 24, 2010 8:56 PM

You Are Not Seth Godin

Industries that sell products which can be digitized are grappling with everything from revenue to new business models and the book publishing industry is no exception to this rule. News broke over the weekend that famed Marketing thinker/doer and best-selling... Read more

August 23, 2010 9:03 AM

The End Of Conversation In Social Media

One of the main tenets of Social Media was the reality that brands could join a conversation (to quote my good friend, Joseph Jaffe), but by the looks of things there aren't really any conversations happening at all. It's not... Read more

August 22, 2010 8:18 PM

Facebook Marketing Revealed

Episode #216 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. This episode is proof positive that Social Media and the changes in the Digital Marketing landscape sometimes do... Read more

August 21, 2010 8:00 PM

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see? My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Rednod, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth:... Read more

August 20, 2010 9:27 PM

It's A Cultural Thing (You Wouldn't Understand)

"What are we doing on Twitter?" "What are we doing on Facebook?" "What are we doing on YouTube?" You've heard these questions a million times in a million different meetings. For the past long while, I have raged against those... Read more

August 19, 2010 7:16 PM

Pay Attention To The Future Of The Internet Today

When you think about the Internet, what do you think about? Google and Verizon in the U.S. came together to propose a new direction for both the Internet and the future of wireless connectivity that seems to be ruffling many... Read more

August 18, 2010 9:30 PM

Comments And Conversations

How much value does the comments section of a Blog add to your Social Media experience? Before even getting into the main thrust of this Blog post, let me - personally - state that I am well aware that this... Read more

August 17, 2010 9:18 PM

Make A Fool Of Yourself

Don't be an idiot. Don't be a jerk. But, don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself. I spend a lot of my days trying to figure out what clicks. You can read that last sentence in any number... Read more

August 16, 2010 9:37 PM

Ghost Blogging And Last Rites

If there's one debate that never gets tired, it's the one about Ghost Blogging. We've come to this strange intersection with Social Media where companies want to Blog, but they feel like their CEO (or others within the company) would... Read more

August 15, 2010 8:32 PM

Media Hacks Audio Podcast #34 Is Now Live

Episode #215 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. This also episode #34 of Media Hacks. Hugh McGuire (Book Oven, Bite-Sized Edits, LibriVox), Julien Smith (co-author of... Read more

August 14, 2010 5:05 PM

People Pay For Value - Their Value, Not Yours

Why do so many products, services and brands grapple with such a very basic concept: people pay for value. But, it's their perceived value and not the value you assign to it. Newspapers aren't dying. People are just buying them... Read more

August 14, 201012:52 PM

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see? My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Rednod, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth:... Read more

August 12, 201010:38 PM

Can Social Media Be Trusted?

Have you ever asked a regular consumer where they get their information about your brands, products and services? A lot of brands have done this, but push this question a little bit further: when consumers let you know where they... Read more

August 11, 2010 9:52 AM

Brands Are Terrible At Twitter (Brands Are Terrific At Twitter)

If only 16% of all brand tweets on Twitter are conversational, would you say that brands are totally screwing it up? BizReport just published a news item titled, Only 16% of brand Tweets are conversational. If you only read the... Read more

August 10, 201010:07 PM

How To Beat The Competition

Personally, I've never been afraid of competition. Oscar Wilde once simply stated, "be you because others are already taken." Seth Godin had a brilliant post (as he usually does) on competition: "The number one reason people give me for giving... Read more

August 9, 2010 7:53 AM

When Not Responding Online Is The Right Response

The common online rhetoric is to respond to everything that is being said about your brand. That could be a mistake. With new Social Media monitoring tools - or just some careful snooping around - it has never been easier... Read more

August 8, 2010 1:41 PM

The Great Ghost Blogging (And Ghost Tweeting) Debate (Again)

Episode #214 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. If there's one debate that never gets tired, it's the one about Ghost Blogging. We've come to this... Read more

August 7, 2010 1:48 PM

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see? My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Rednod, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth:... Read more

August 6, 201010:04 PM

The Real-Time Web Is A Big Problem For The Web

As we move closer and closer to the real-time Web, we are already encountering instances where the Web - as we know it - seems old and antiquated. Here's the scenario: this past week, I received a breaking news tweet... Read more

August 5, 2010 7:13 AM

An Open (And Closed) Case For Business In A Digital World

Can a business culture be both open and closed? WikiLeaks scared everybody last week. How is it possible that one individual can become a whistleblower by uploading thousands of documents to a website that anyone can have access to, and... Read more

August 4, 2010 8:25 AM

Blogging Still Matters... Now More Than Ever

Blogging is (still) one of the most powerful Marketing tools. Ever. Period. Hard stop. On November 28th, 2009, I had a Blog post titled, Start A Blog Today, that focused on an amazing video interview of Tom Peters (In Search... Read more

August 3, 2010 8:53 AM

Digital Storyteller

The concept of transmedia and Digital Storytelling is the new Social Media. You can't throw a Digital Marketing Strategist without hearing the words "transmedia" or "digital storytelling" before they plunk against the ground. It's an exciting time to be in... Read more

August 2, 2010 4:11 PM

The Internet As Your Birthright

As much as democracy and the right to a fair trial, so too is connectivity and access to the Internet. The news item titled, Finland makes 1Mb broadband access a legal right, from Cnet was published on October 14th, 2009.... Read more

August 1, 2010 8:37 PM

Debating Old Spice, New Media And Old Media With Joseph Jaffe

Episode #213 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to. Joseph Jaffe is widely regarded as one of the top Marketing Bloggers (Jaffe Juice) and Podcasters (both Jaffe... Read more