A few reasons I don’t do print news (or book clubs)

I was briefly brainstorming with a friend and colleague today over business model ideas for our publishing clients. Our company supports magazines with back-end solutions – it’s a volume business. More is better.
But the reality is, today there is less and less print business. There’s less subscribers. We’re all scratching our heads.
I don’t have an [...]

Signal v. Noise

Today, Seth, the ever-inspiring marketing guru posted lamenting about what he considers a world with ever-increasing noise in the form of spam, junk blogs and information void of any ingenuity.
I say cheer up. For those dedicated to digging and exploring and innovating – this is as good as time as any. The more noise there is, the more value [...]

School is cool: Drake J-School Jr. NAC highlights

I wasn’t sure what to expect from today, but my immediate reaction is that the best part of sitting on an alumni council is the opportunity to sit in a room of people passionate about two things:
1.) The university
2.) The industry
For me, that’s a rare thing. There were some really bright people in attendance and [...]

Advertising is a tax

Quote of the day:
“Advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable.”
- Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad

Be a gamer

We don’t stop to think about it much – but it is incredibly refreshing when people actually do what they said they would do.
And I’m not even talking about big projects and cumbersome plans. That’s a completely separate issue.
Rather, I’m talking about returning phone calls on time. I’m talking about showing up at 7 a.m. [...]

A whole site on ideas

Check out Springwise, my latest discovery on the Web. These folks search the world for exciting and promising new business ventures, ideas and concepts.
Recent headlines include wine samples in the form of trial tubes, a vending machine that dispenses sneakers and playground equipment that generates electricity.
Hat tip to Mark True at REL for sharing.
Know of any similar sites?

Sales tips we can all use

I’m reading Jill Konrath’s Selling to Big Companies. Jill is the woman behind the blog of the same name and has offered sales consulting to the likes of 3M, IBM and GE – so she knows her stuff.
Here’s some tips that I’ve gleaned so far that everyone can benefit from:
1.) Focus.
When Jill first started consulting, [...]

Confessions from someone with the word “Internet” in their degree

I have a degree in News/Internet Journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
I learned a whole lot. Worked with smart people. Even won an award or two.
Thus, I was honored when I was recently asked to join the J-School’s Junior National Alumni Council based on my young career in communications and my interest in [...]

How do search engines see your site?

How do search engine spiders see your site?
Check it out the Webconfs.com’s spider simulator.
I guess this only matters if you care if people find you. Personally, that’s not why I’m blogging. But if you’re selling something or desperately trying to get a message out…

Good Time

We all have strange tastes in music. Well, at least we all say that.
I feel extra weird because I struggle defining my own music flavor – no radio station ever gets it right. Sites like Pandora are a cool idea, but I don’t have the patience for it. Even my own iPod rarely plays what [...]