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Twitter Link Roundup #127 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, April 13th, 2012

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

The video above is an 11 minute short about a 9 year old boy in East L.A. who built a very elaborate cardboard arcade inside his father’s used auto parts store. It’s a fascinating look at curiosity, drive, and flash mobs.

The Economic Clout of Women-Owned Small Businesses – http://bit.ly/HD6PRT

Compete on Know-Why, Not Know-How – http://bit.ly/HzMo34

10 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Academics – http://bit.ly/Im4slR

10 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Academics – http://bit.ly/Im4slR

Did everybody see what just happened? The pendulum has swung – http://bit.ly/HRw3oW

Good & useful post for entrepreneurs about founder stock vesting & things to consider – http://bit.ly/HCLVz0

Good look at how the office has changed and why companies favor collaborative space – http://bit.ly/HRAO1Y

Compete on Know-Why, Not Know-How – http://bit.ly/HzMo34Facebook acquires Instagram – http://bit.ly/IbmV45 & http://on.fb.me/IbnbA2

The purchase price for Instagram (by Facebook)? 1 billion dollars – http://bit.ly/IbnJ9d

Zynga Spends Big to Keep CEO Safe – http://bit.ly/HGQcCc

How to Fail: Mark Pincus – http://buswk.co/HBM9c4

Harsh words, but good observations from Seth Godin – Is everyone entitled to their opinion? – http://bit.ly/I3BmoE

Why a remote workforce is bad for startups – http://bit.ly/IjNscp

Things To Consider Before Saying “I Do” To Investors – http://tcrn.ch/HuaHEP

The Economic Clout of Women-Owned Small Businesses – http://bit.ly/HD6PRT

Can Brands Market on Facebook Without Actually Spending Money on Advertising? – http://bit.ly/Izn5NX

Ten benefits to using Springpad’s social notebooks – http://bit.ly/HKIC9L

PR people continue to struggle with social media – http://bit.ly/HRuV4O

Thoughts on the Future of Social-Digital Agency Services – http://bit.ly/HvhIRI

Less marketing douchebaggery. More Tanks (or how to get more likes on Facebook) – http://bit.ly/IjPvx1

Unilever continues to blaze path – crowdsourcing sustainability suggestions – http://bit.ly/HrGhP2

The funny side of advertising: 20 amusing and clever print advertisements – http://bit.ly/HEJc7q

30 Cool and Stylish Curly Fonts – http://bit.ly/HvkaaX

10 Tips for Writing for Designers – http://bit.ly/Hvk6bc

11 Extremely Useful Fresh Free Fonts – http://bit.ly/ItZGPk

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Posted in Awesomeness, business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Interviews, marketing, Reviews, social media, start-up tips, Strategy, Technology, writing | No Comments »

Twitter Link Roundup #126 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

The image above shows the amount of caffeine in various types of coffee and tea. More interesting facts about the health benefits (and risks) of tea and coffee in the Other section below.

Fall In Love With Your Business, Not Your Business Plan – http://bit.ly/H5aib0

Design is Marketing – http://bit.ly/I0QCUz

The Dirty Little Secret Of Overnight Successes – http://bit.ly/HfUrro

How much does Pinterest actually make? – http://bit.ly/H59xyN

Design is Marketing – http://bit.ly/I0QCUz

Forget Self-Improvement – http://bit.ly/H59Vxk

The Education of Google’s Larry Page – http://buswk.co/HoYgHC

Fall In Love With Your Business, Not Your Business Plan – http://bit.ly/H5aib0

Some Thoughts about Selling at Startups – http://bit.ly/H36Mu6

The Dirty Little Secret Of Overnight Successes – http://bit.ly/HfUrro

Study: How one dresses impacts how they perform – http://bit.ly/I0R0lP

Getting the Feedback You Need To Raise Capital: Thick Skin Needed – http://bit.ly/Hi4Ay0

Eye Movement Study Reveals Six Must-Know Things About Facebook Brand Pages – http://rww.to/HVnEms

Design is Marketing – http://bit.ly/I0QCUz

Interesting case study of what happened when Pepsi gutted its advertising – http://bit.ly/H7Yncs

More on Pepsi’s market slide (with useful insight about ad strategy) – http://bit.ly/H7YtkA

30 Attractive Rounded Fonts to Download – http://bit.ly/HPC0qU

40 Stylish Fonts For Professional Web And Print Design – http://bit.ly/HWBmDV

Redesigning With Personality – http://bit.ly/HESUKQ

Drop Caps: Historical Use And Current Best Practices With CSS – http://bit.ly/HkF1PT

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Posted in Awesomeness, business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Interviews, marketing, Reviews, social media, start-up tips, Strategy, Technology, writing | No Comments »

Twitter Link Roundup #125 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, March 30th, 2012

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

The video above is the world premiere, of Woflgang Amadeus Mozart’s old piano, of a new composition found in a notebook in an attic, believed to have been composed by 10-year-old Mozart. The composition is called “Allegro Molto in C Major”. The composition is performed by Austrian musician Florian Birsak.

Lean Marketing Tips: Hyperlocal Marketing Channels – http://bit.ly/GSoFiR

4 Code-Free Steps to Launch Your Business Website – http://read.bi/GVCtW6

Jackpot! 50 (mostly) free social media tools for brands – http://bit.ly/GKGNLF

Why the Best Product Doesn’t Always Win – http://bit.ly/GXxTsR

Agile is a Sham- http://bit.ly/GWykzT

Why Youth Has An Advantage In Innovation & Why You Want To Be A Learn-It-All – http://bit.ly/GUbydB

Never Make Counter-Offers – http://perfor.ms/xtPlDd

5 Key Talents of Successful Startup Founders – http://on.mash.to/H0Nfvg

Bill Gates: We need crazy energy entrepreneurs – http://bit.ly/GRNmwj

Why the Best Product Doesn’t Always Win – http://bit.ly/GXxTsR

Spotify Is Raising At A Stunning $3.5 Billion Valuation, Multiple VCs Say – http://read.bi/GSiyGY

What Every Start-up Should Know about PR – http://bit.ly/GRNVX1

Turning down Zynga: Why I left after the $210M Omgpop buy – http://bit.ly/GZPhcb

4 Code-Free Steps to Launch Your Business Website – http://read.bi/GVCtW6

Why Premature Hype Kills Start-ups – http://bit.ly/HdmFCe

Solving the Wrong Problem – http://bit.ly/H1AxfY

Jackpot! 50 (mostly) free social media tools for brands – http://bit.ly/GKGNLF

Do you really need a full-time hire for that? – http://perfor.ms/GPFhmQ

Do you telecommute to work? There are many benefits [INFOGRAPHIC] – http://bit.ly/H0hhfO

Digital advertising is broken – http://bit.ly/GWDKLt

Facebook Sets High Asking Price for Log-Out Ads: $700K a Day – http://bit.ly/GRMurr

Interesting perspective on truthiness in advertising – http://bit.ly/GZ4PO2

Is Pinterest the next Facebook? – http://bit.ly/GTT5eU

Will CPE (Cost Per Engagement) advertising ever take off? – http://bit.ly/HgOuH9

I lost interest in Pinterest. – http://bit.ly/HmD6aS

Hot Girls in Demotivational Posters – http://bit.ly/GLjWOg

Going Viral on Pinterest: Driving Big Traffic and Making Pinterest a Real Marketing Solution – http://mz.cm/GKH2WV

Is Klout “score marketing” the path of least resistance? – http://ow.ly/1J8KRh

Google’s Punchd wants to replace loyalty cards with an app – http://lat.ms/GKxj2Z

Google Research: Even If You Rank #1 Organically, You Can Double Your Clicks With Paid Search – http://selnd.com/GZxpgT

Vision vs Research – What are focus groups good for? – http://bit.ly/GROiAM

Google spending big money on traditional advertising – http://on.wsj.com/GUc2kt

Magazine print circulation is mostly dead and digital isn’t growing fast enough – http://bit.ly/H22kR7

Nielsen TV ratings are “a bit of a joke and need to be replaced” – http://bit.ly/GLjAr5

QR Code-Enabled Condoms Let You Check-In When Having ‘Safe Sex’ – http://su.pr/1jMmQd

Twitter Data Scientist Takes on McDonald’s Entire Menu, Survives – http://bit.ly/GT2fId

Jackpot! 50 (mostly) free social media tools for brands – http://bit.ly/GKGNLF

Lean Marketing Tips: Hyperlocal Marketing Channels – http://bit.ly/GSoFiR

49 Beautiful Letterpress Business Cards – Dark – http://bit.ly/GSlR5q

+70 Awesome Letterpress Business Cards – http://bit.ly/H0GyMs

40+ Fresh And Useful Adobe Illustrator Tutorials – http://bit.ly/H7oywU

(more…)

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Posted in Awesomeness, business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Interviews, marketing, Reviews, social media, start-up tips, Strategy, Technology, writing | No Comments »

Lean Marketing Tips: Hyperlocal Marketing Channels

Monday, March 26th, 2012

We write often about marketing strategies and tactics for small business and startups. These companies typically have limited budgets, thin resources, and strained capacity which combine to create a challenge for managers and owners: how to develop an effective marketing campaign using tactics that will work for their business.

The Lean Startup movement provides a wonderful template, and Ross wrote a great post in which he discussed how managers can use these principles in their own  marketing campaigns. We have written about many tactics that have worked in our own marketing efforts, such as public relations, goal-setting, branding, etc.

Today I want to focus on tactics with a local flavor. A phrase we hear a great deal is “hyperlocal,” which Wikipedia defines as being “synonymous with the combined use of mobile applications and gps technology.” I would enlarge that scope beyond mobile applications and GPS, and explain hyperlocal marketing as a strategy for reaching a specific, targeted audience located in a very specific geographical location. In other words, hyperlocal is a way for marketers to deliver an effective marketing message to customers in a particular local community.

This is nothing new for marketers; a great example of hyperlocal marketing that has been with us for decades is the Yellow Pages. This still ubiquitous book of business listings, made of the cheapest paper stock available and found on shelves and in recycling bins everywhere, has historically been a great way for businesses to reach local customers – from “AAAA Auto Repair” all the way down to “ZZZZ Welding.” But the world of marketing has grown way more sophisticated, and in the age of GPS and QR codes, small business can leverage some sophisticated tactics to reach local audiences, build awareness neighborhood by neighborhood, and make the most of a limited marketing budget. Here are 5 ideas for hyperlocal marketing that you can consider for your own business:

1. Yellow pages.
If it still works and still fits your budget, why not experiment with this chestnut? For very small sums a business can target a very specific local audience (in many cases right down to the zip-code). If nothing else, using Yellow Page advertising guarantees that your business name is right there along with your competition’s and that you have an equally good chance of capturing the customer who is looking for you. Most of the Yellow Page publishers now include online listings along with the print version, which can also serve to enhance a business’s web presence and SEO efforts.

2. Daily deals.
Groupon, Living Social, Woot, and the like are available in virtually every city in the US and many more cities overseas. For lots of businesses, particularly brick and mortar, these services offer a way to reach a very large audience of potential customers and pay only for those that actually show up to buy. The downside is that many of the folks who actually buy these deals are fickle and may never return once they have used their coupon with you. The upside is that this tactic can be a great way to build your customer base and to get your brand in front of millions of potential customers at a relatively modest cost.

3. Mobile.
Alright, here’s where that mobile and GPS thing comes in. Applications such as Foursquare, Yelp, and Urbanspoon allow businesses to build awareness and reputation online. I don’t know abut you, but when I travel Yelp is a go-to app for me; I need a good place for breakfast near my hotel and I log in and do a quick search. Restaurants near my location pop up complete with photos and reviews and before I know it, there I am sipping coffee and eating eggs with bacon. Yum yum yum and huge value delivered to that restaurant and to me the customer. Foursquare does that but also allows businesses to offer their own coupons and discounts available to anyone who stops by and checks in. Bacon and eggs taste even better when they come with a nice discount, no? In addition, social media platforms such as Facebook and Google+ allow local targeting of online ads. For the marketer, the cost of these tactics is small and the ability to track ROMI in real-time is powerful.

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Posted in business, How To, marketing, social media, start-up tips, Strategy | No Comments »

Twitter Link Roundup #124 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

The photo to the left shows one of the strangest houses that one can find around the world. I hope they have an elevator! More strange houses in the Other section below.

One Customer Doesn’t Make a Market – http://bit.ly/zdUkS6

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Milk & Media Studios – http://bit.ly/zLqWsH

Are You Building A Company, Or Just Your Credentials? – http://tcrn.ch/GJ2pl9

Are Women Better Leaders than Men? – http://bit.ly/wjM6ny

Looking to Get Creative? Skip SxSW – http://bit.ly/z8owbA

Silicon Valley’s Hottest VC Is a Rug Dealer – http://onforb.es/GTFFCZ

Are You Building A Company, Or Just Your Credentials? – http://tcrn.ch/GJ2pl9

One Customer Doesn’t Make a Market – http://bit.ly/zdUkS6

Marketing is the next big money sector in technology – http://bit.ly/GF6GLU

The Hunger Games: Using Social Media Marketing to Bring Fiction to Life – http://bit.ly/GF5FTY

A Short Lesson in Perspective – http://bit.ly/GR2m7W

Facebook’s New Business Pages Means Marketers Must Evolve – http://bit.ly/GF674I

Marketing is the next big money sector in technology – http://bit.ly/GF6GLU

Teens, Smartphones & Texting – http://bit.ly/GP4Gf1

50 Fresh and High Quality Adobe Photoshop Tutorials – http://bit.ly/Ac3sdH

A Collection of Western Fonts for your Designs – http://bit.ly/GONffd

30 Very Useful Photoshop Tutorials for Every Type of Designer – http://bit.ly/GONiHO

What’s Coming Up Next? Use Interactive Infographics To Stand Out! Why? – http://bit.ly/wzzU9U

(more…)

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Posted in Awesomeness, business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Interviews, marketing, Reviews, social media, start-up tips, Strategy, Technology, writing | No Comments »

Free Advice for: The New York Times iPad App

Monday, March 19th, 2012

I am a crank. There, I said it. Around the cS offices, I have a reputation as a curmudgeon and grouch. I have never been slow to voice an opinion, file a complaint, or take a company to task for everything from a unreliable product to poor customer service. This post is intended as the first in a series of “free advice” columns for producers of software and other services on how they can improve their products, marketing, messaging, branding, strategy, tactics… I could go on and on. And I plan to.

I tend to find many of my experiences interacting with products and services to be annoying. Frustrating. Maddening. This seems to happen to me all too often in the world of user interface and user experience. The art and science of UI/UX is a well established presence in software and web design, yet plumbing the esoteric mysteries is beyond the ken of the average entrepreneur or small business person. But, we sure do know it when we see it and, shockingly, in the age of Web 3.x we see it way too often. In many cases the subjective judgment of the end user should create a roadmap for designers and developers, and the very best companies take into account customer feedback and other primary research such as user testing, focus group response, and media reviews of their offerings.

Now, I have been the happy owner of an iPad 2 for over a year now and use it extensively. I send and receive emails; I schedule my life on the calendar. I get directions. I use cookbooks; I do banking and financial transactions; I shop; I watch videos; I listen to music. And I read. Books, magazines, blogs, and The New York Times. I consider it to be the best newspaper in the world and it is my primary source for information on everything from politics, to world affairs, to economics, business, sports, and politics. The Op-Ed page is probably the single greatest source for starting conversations around the crowdSPRING lunch table (that’s right, team. I get that stuff from the Op-Eds). The Times on the iPad probably represents the single greatest time investment I make outside of my work and my family. Get it? I am a heavy user of this product and a loyal consumer of the Time’s content. But. It could be better and it should be better. The Times has some of the highest-powered design and UI talent on the face of the earth working right there in the building; I know because I saw a couple of them speak at SXSW in 2009 (impressive). I do wish that they would spend a little more time iterating and improving – so here’s 5 things I want them to do. For me. That’s right, for me.

1. More and better graphics. What could be more annoying than an article that refers to a specific graphic or image and then doesn’t include that graphic! Well, I’ll tell you one thing that’s more annoying – a regular column about photography titled The Lens Blog that includes absolutely no photographs. And not just once, but week after week. Why even put it in the iPad version of the paper if you’re not going to include the photographs. Jeesh.

2. Let me customize. Yes, the app does let me determine the order of the sections, but why not the page layout? Why not how and where I want to view those images I was complaining about a minute ago? I want to build my own version of the front page with the top articles I like to see and how hard can it be? If Yahoo has been giving me a customizable landing page since 1973, then why can’t the NYT app?

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Posted in business, How To, Strategy, Technology | No Comments »

Twitter Link Roundup #123 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, March 16th, 2012

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

The video above shows a mechanical device for opening and pouring a bottle of wine. It’s complicated, huge, loud and I love it!

How anyone can create a successful online business for next to nothing (Part III) – http://bit.ly/yyTI6X

Why Do Some People Learn Faster? – http://bit.ly/wFcigV

Why You Need Marketing Analytics, Not Web Analytics – http://bit.ly/zYurcM

Competitive Differentiation that Matters – http://perfor.ms/wzrk7a7 Rules for Bootstrapping a Business – http://bit.ly/A5uzm7

Repeat after me: business is always about the customer – http://bit.ly/zzdgnG

Women (Entrepreneurs) Who Go Their Own Way – http://bit.ly/wrBdYn

Twitter’s Secret History As the World’s Worst Tech or Media Business – http://gaw.kr/wH6hqq

Why I left Google – http://bit.ly/xDOns2

Competitive Differentiation that Matters – http://perfor.ms/wzrk7a

A Start-Up Ecosystem Forms in Chicago – http://on.wsj.com/y09pUa

How Y Combinator Started – http://bit.ly/yqjidP

Repeat after me: business is always about the customer – http://bit.ly/zzdgnG

Name dropping! Now what could go wrong with Silicon Valley – http://bit.ly/AvdwaV

Hiring of Kevin Rose by Google sends all the wrong signals to Silicon Valley – http://bit.ly/FORxBS

The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time – http://bit.ly/wSMs9S

Secrets of the acquisition process from EA and Zynga – http://bit.ly/wv3Mv0

5 New Spots for Chicago Tech Entrepreneurs – http://on.wsj.com/yBMyce

Startup Recruiting 101: Strategies, Hacks & Don’ts – http://bit.ly/zOrH9P

Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas – http://bit.ly/zXgY76

Why Do Some People Learn Faster? – http://bit.ly/wFcigV

7 Rules for Bootstrapping a Business – http://bit.ly/A5uzm7

How I Changed My Life, In Four Lines – http://bit.ly/yh474X

Apple sold more iOS devices in 2011 than all the Macs it sold in 28 years – http://bit.ly/yJH8Di

A Big Idea: Y Combinator Now Lets Founders Apply Without… An Idea – http://tcrn.ch/yIN4yB

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann’s Lesson for Start-Ups: Go Your Own Way – http://bit.ly/wAReI6

Why are companies defecting from Google Maps? – http://bit.ly/xAXRxU

Why This 29-Year-Old’s Company is Worth $400 Million – http://bit.ly/xVSisb

MEMO TO EVERYONE: You Can’t Beat Apple By Trying To Be More Like Apple – http://read.bi/AmSLDw

U.S. Manufacturers Are Hurting Themselves by the Way They Hire – http://bit.ly/yD0ssP

Yahoo! Crosses The Line – http://bit.ly/zpjLxf

Why You Need Marketing Analytics, Not Web Analytics – http://bit.ly/zYurcM

How Three Germans Are Cloning the Web – http://buswk.co/y7mhHn

Twitter’s Ad Sales Are Booming, Says Gawker – http://bit.ly/yYnJNe

Why Marketers Never Learn From Others’ Social-Media Mistakes – http://bit.ly/zBXNci

Marketing the Viral Effect and Not-for-Profit Gold – http://bit.ly/zpLFbK

How This Man Made Dos Equis a Most Interesting Marketing Story – http://bit.ly/y5JtJm

Why You Need Marketing Analytics, Not Web Analytics – http://bit.ly/zYurcM

Honest ads that say what we’re all really thinking – http://bit.ly/wqvsZM

Trada Has Unlocked The Secret To Google And Facebook Ads That Work – http://bit.ly/zuAQ04

Top Non-Destructive Photoshop Techniques – http://bit.ly/xiqLO1

“Be interested in being wrong.” An interview with Jonathan Ive, Apple’s designer – http://bit.ly/y9top2

PBS Mini Documentary About Typography – http://bit.ly/zBwjp5

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Posted in Awesomeness, business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Interviews, marketing, Reviews, social media, start-up tips, Strategy, Technology, writing | No Comments »

Twitter Link Roundup #122 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, March 9th, 2012

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

The image to the left is a photo taken from inside a musical instrument. More interesting photos taken inside musical instruments in the Other section below.

Image credit: Brjoern Ewers

Small Business Tips: Foreign Payments, The Patriot Act, OFAC, and you. – http://bit.ly/xW82GP

This is a good resource for email subject lines: http://bit.ly/yMwZPL

The Importance of Brand in an Era of Digital Darwinism – http://bit.ly/wo6iYn

Selling or Funding A Startup? Tips On Surviving Technical Due Diligence – http://bit.ly/A8h315

I’m getting sick of the bullshit – http://bit.ly/ysF40u

Where Do Good Ideas Come From? – http://bit.ly/yyHVDA

How are VCs paid (and should entrepreneurs care)? – http://bit.ly/w2B2Cy

The safe career path in the future – skip college and start a company – http://bit.ly/wT6yZZ

Why entrepreneurs don’t sleep well – http://perfor.ms/zJPjIZ

Why Startups Should Curate Content – http://bit.ly/yXHwyP

The Importance of Brand in an Era of Digital Darwinism – http://bit.ly/wo6iYn

Google’s Rules of Acquisition: How to Be an Android, Not an Aardvark – http://bit.ly/wLVxma

Entrepreneurs must learn to listen and others must learn to give constructive feedback – http://bit.ly/y9Q9WD

Four Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Warren Buffett – http://bit.ly/xN4EUz

Ambient Social Location Apps Will be Consumer Duds – http://rww.to/we3laJ

Always Go Home with the Lady Who Brought you to the Dance (about startup fundraising) – http://bit.ly/w0OJnx

One Year Later: How Google Panda Changed Our Business – http://tcrn.ch/wacRfO

Fred Wilson’s Latest Advice for Start-up Ninjas – http://bit.ly/wKhpMn

Customer Validation: What To Do Post Product/Market Fit – http://bit.ly/A5JiIo

How to Develop Your Fund Raising Strategy – http://bit.ly/xzXcEz

Have Arrington and Conway screwed up big time with their investment in Highlight? – http://scoble.it/ACh25Z

Most Web Design Agencies Suck – http://bit.ly/w5AI2f

The Importance of Brand in an Era of Digital Darwinism – http://bit.ly/wo6iYn

30+ Extreme and Controversial Ads – http://bit.ly/zdMkIP

Did Facebook Just Kill Earned Media? – http://bit.ly/w6mLYR

Have Facebook Stores Flopped? – http://bit.ly/z02X9a

One Year Later: How Google Panda Changed Our Business – http://tcrn.ch/wacRfO

American Express transforms Twitter hashtags into savings for cardholders – http://bit.ly/A0lI7h

This is a good resource for email subject lines: http://bit.ly/yMwZPL

Google Is About Failure — The Failure Of Brands – http://onforb.es/y8A00y

E-commerce calls to action: 10 best practice tips – http://bit.ly/zL87Ec

The Collapse of Print Advertising in 1 Graph – http://bit.ly/wEET3j

Who Decides What Gets Sold in the Bookstore? – http://bit.ly/zYiF3R

Connecting Nonprofits With Pro Bono Help – http://bit.ly/yhe3Dp

20 Free Sans-Serif Fonts Licensed for Font-Face – http://bit.ly/wqWkNa

[Freebie] 15 Photoshop Watercolor Brushes – http://bit.ly/xpu1AW

50+ Amazing & Clever Examples of Alternative Movie Poster Design – http://bit.ly/zdgKdp

(more…)

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Posted in Awesomeness, business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Interviews, marketing, Reviews, social media, start-up tips, Strategy, Technology, writing | No Comments »

Twitter Link Roundup #121 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

Every day on the crowdSPRING Twitter account and on my own Twitter account, I post links to posts or videos I enjoyed reading or viewing. These posts and videos are about logo design, web design, startups, entrepreneurship, small business, leadership, social media, marketing, and more! Here are some of the links that I’ve liked and shared this past week!

The image to the left shows the Lord Howe stick insect, Dryocecelus australis, which was presumed extinct by 1960 but found again in 2001 on Ball’s Pyramid, the remains of an old volcano that emerged from the sea 7 million years ago.

How to Start Your Business on the Cheap–With Help From the Crowd – http://bit.ly/xszFer

What Small Businesses Can Learn From Jeremy Lin – http://bit.ly/ytKN38

9 Ways Google+ Can Help Your Business – http://bit.ly/wr1nmi

How to tell your customers that you screwed up? – http://perfor.ms/xpHWe9

Secrets to Select and Evaluate Innovative Business Ideas – http://t.co/nTduJ80M

Don’t try to game the system – provide awesome service instead (good reminder from Seth Godin) – http://bit.ly/ymBgLs

Why Cloud Is A Big Deal For Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC] – http://bit.ly/xViGUG

7 Things Your New Website Must Have – http://bit.ly/wdvXOj

How to Make the Move From Big-Business Employee to Small-Business Owner – http://bit.ly/xPdxOR

How to Start Your Business on the Cheap–With Help From the Crowd – http://bit.ly/xszFer

Once you take money, the clock starts ticking – http://bit.ly/AhLVVb

Secrets to Select and Evaluate Innovative Business Ideas – http://t.co/nTduJ80M

How To Choose A Co-Founder – http://bit.ly/AqQAV4

Twitter, the Startup That Wouldn’t Die – http://buswk.co/zUnqtF

A classic startup horror story: the M&A bait and switch – http://bit.ly/ABwzQd

Change Your Employees’ Minds, Change Your Business – http://bit.ly/A2JOUs

Paths to $5M for a startup founder – http://hub.am/z8oapS

Patience & Persistence – http://bit.ly/wuYlyi

“Is this a billion dollar business?:” The tension between market sizing and innovation – http://bit.ly/ygRE6u

How the bathroom can teach us a lesson about right vs. pragmatic – http://bit.ly/zlg2O9

Why Tech Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries Struggle to Raise Funds – http://bit.ly/z92G5s

3 things entrepreneurs need to know about patent law reform – http://bit.ly/ybR4ZK

Kickstart Your Lean Startup With Effective Feedback – http://bit.ly/wvzYrQ

Caterina Fake: Fast Growth for a New Social App Is a Very Bad Thing – http://bit.ly/zfMARM

Fun look at home and office desk/computer setups of the team 37signals – http://bit.ly/xUGFJD

9 Ways Google+ Can Help Your Business – http://bit.ly/wr1nmi

MEET THE NEXT CEO OF MICROSOFT: Steven Sinofsky Is The Heir Apparent – http://read.bi/A13ZH9

How to tell your customers that you screwed up? – http://perfor.ms/xpHWe9

Four Traps That Suck Meaning Out Of Work – http://bit.ly/yvI4Q7

Raising funding as a first-time founder – http://zite.to/yw8vYP

Don’t try to game the system – provide awesome service instead (good reminder from Seth Godin) – http://bit.ly/ymBgLs

Ten Lessons I Learned from Shark Tank – http://tcrn.ch/AesPu2

Banksy on advertising – http://bit.ly/ygGWcg

The Illustrated Anatomy of a Viral Pinterest Scam – http://bit.ly/y11w3h

9 Ways Google+ Can Help Your Business – http://bit.ly/wr1nmi

Leveraging the Social Media: 5 Ideas For Your Job Search http://bit.ly/xASKKM

Creating a Blog using Collaborative Consumption Services – http://bit.ly/xLGeCQ

Caterina Fake: Fast Growth for a New Social App Is a Very Bad Thing – http://bit.ly/zfMARM

Shocking. People click on Facebook ads that show breasts – http://bit.ly/AkaBej

Why Google+ Doesn’t Care If You Never Come Back – http://tcrn.ch/xhPWXY

Illustrator Tutorials: 70+ Awesome Hot New Tips – http://t.co/KnCMr2kO

50 Astounding Adobe Illustrator Tutorials – http://bit.ly/yUseqg

A Showcase of Free To Download Russian Fonts – http://bit.ly/AyESdS

28 Fresh Illustrations to Inspire You – http://bit.ly/yaazsh

1500+ Awesome Multi Color Gradients – http://bit.ly/zE3NIN

The Psychology Behind Movie Poster Designs – http://bit.ly/waahKU

22 Free Elegant Fonts For Logo Design – http://bit.ly/xT0E76

28 Inspiring Typography Examples within Poster Artwork – http://bit.ly/yEqKSf

Beautiful Bokeh Textures For Your Next Project – http://bit.ly/yPFicx

Hey Designers: Do You Want Your Artwork Visible On Google Earth!? http://bit.ly/zLUkqu

Free Quality Photoshop Brushes for Your Design Arsenal – http://bit.ly/xuN7M2

Design before computers ruled the universe – http://bit.ly/yC3KxD

(more…)

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Posted in Awesomeness, business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Interviews, marketing, Reviews, social media, start-up tips, Strategy, Technology, writing | No Comments »

Leveraging the Social Media: 5 Ideas For Your Job Search

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Unemployment rates at 50 year highs. New college graduates moving back in with Mom and Dad. Things are bad out there and jobs are scarce, so where does a savvy job-seeker start? Monster and CarrerBuilder have plenty of listings as does Craigslist, but cruising the job boards is a passive approach: you watch the listings and send in that cover letter and resume when you see one that looks right for you. But, instead of waiting for an employer to publish that ‘perfect’ job description, I recommend the livelier approach: focus on the the active verb in “job search” and start making your own opportunities, start opening your own doors, and start creating your own luck.

Social media platforms provide wonderful channels for an active job search strategy and you can start today. To get the most from these I have 5 tips as well as some specifics pointers for the various platforms:

1. Update your profiles. Accurately reflect your experience, your background and your strengths. Oh, and be sure to get rid of those party pictures from sophomore year. Put your best professional face forward; remember recruiters and hiring managers will be checking out your pages and you should do anything you can to make their decision easier
- Facebook: Choose a great professional-looking photo for your profile to increase your credibility.
- LinkedIn: Make sure that you complete your entire profile so that it shows up on free searches
- Twitter: pitch yourself via your bio, include links to an online resume or CV, even design a new background for your Twitter account to take advantage of all that great real estate to aid in the sale.
- Pinterest: Post your resume, portfolio items, even press clippings to a pinboard titled “Job Search” or some such. Then do the share thing: publish links to your pinboard on your website, your business cards and your resume; be sure tweet it regularly and link to it via FB and LinkedIn.

2. Be social. Every study shows that the best way to get a job is to leverage your existing networks. Put yourself out there – make sure that your friends and associates on all of your networks know you are in the hunt. Lastly, take a risk and reach out to anyone who you think might positioned well to help you – relatives, friends, friends of friends, ex-colleagues – anyone.
- Facebook: Friends, friends, friends. The more you have the more chances you will hear of a new opening and the more people out there who know you are looking. Lots of friends equals lots of opportunity.
- LinkedIn: Join and participate in industry-relevant groups – let people see you active and responsive.
- Twitter: The general rule is that you should follow those who provide value and that you should provide value  in return. In the job search universe, this still holds true – follow people who could lead to that great opportunity and in turn provide them with equal value to help you to stand out.

3. Set yourself apart. When you learn of a job via your SM efforts, be sure that you are right for the job and then start explaining exactly why. Match the tone and style of your communication – whether a cover letter, a formal application, or even a simple Tweet of inquiry – to the job you are applying for.
- LinkedIn:  Use your profile headline to communicates about you and not just your job title.
- YouTube/Vimeo: Use your videos to be memorable – the video at the top of this article was sent to us unsolicited by a young man named Judson Collier who learned of an opening at crowdSPRING via one of our tweets and went above and beyond in letting us know how and why he would be a great fit.

4. Leverage the platforms. Use them for what they’re best at – YouTube is where people go to view videos; Twitter for short communications and to disseminate bits of news about yourself; Facebook is wonderful for content that will help someone get a fuller picture of you, etc, etc.
- Facebook: Use the limited access Friends list and adjust your custom privacy settings to control the information you make public.
- LinkedIn: Use the Professional Summary section to provide even more detail about who you are
- Twitter: Use Twitter search terms such as “Hiring” or “Jobs” and check the results constantly or even create an RSS feed for these tweets.

5. Engineer your opportunities. Use SM to research the companies, positions, and people you are trying to win
- LinkedIn: Add lots of connections in order to increase your first-degree connections in places you want to work. Also, ask friends and colleagues to recommend you to ensure that you look like the top candidate you are.
- Twitter: Follow people in your industry; If you don’t, you will never see their tweets about jobs for people like you.
- YouTube/Vimeo: Before the big interview poke around and see what you can learn about your interviewer – do they have a channel they like? If you have a bit of special knowledge that you can drop in the interview, it will make you stand out.

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Posted in business, How To, inspiration, social media, Strategy | 4 Comments »

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