Posts Tagged ‘leadership’

Twitter Link Roundup #120 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Thursday, February 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 Australian Magician James Galea performing an unbelievable magic trick with a deck of cards. How does he do that?

The Zappos Effect: 5 Great Customer Service Ideas – http://hub.am/yh0hLq

5 Ways to Use Social Media and Your Online Presence to Drive People Offline – http://bit.ly/wuUkMf

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Should I Get Married? – http://bit.ly/y3eS9q

Functions over Titles – http://awe.sm/5fI9Z

Agreeable Guys* Finish Last – http://bit.ly/zqA34S

10 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Politicians – http://bit.ly/z68bxM

Ron Conway is a Silicon Valley startup’s best friend – http://bit.ly/xtt9L7

Zap your brain and get focused quickly. If it were only this easy – http://bit.ly/yl5kYS

The Three Things That Got Fab.com Two Million Users In Seven Months – http://read.bi/wdzAyR

Functions over Titles – http://awe.sm/5fI9Z

Does Startup Density Predict Success? – http://bit.ly/x8RfdY

Between failure and Facebook – http://bit.ly/wAE6BD

The Zappos Effect: 5 Great Customer Service Ideas – http://hub.am/yh0hLq

4 Entrepreneurial Lessons Learned From Self-Publishing My First Book – http://bit.ly/AmJBHT

Agreeable Guys* Finish Last – http://bit.ly/zqA34S

Hit men, click whores, and paid apologists: Welcome to the Silicon Cesspool – http://bit.ly/yGFips

We assume that brainstorming works pretty well to solve most problems. But does it really work? – http://nyr.kr/AbiEmG

The mad dash to remove something before the deadline – http://bit.ly/A94VTR

The Three Things That Got Fab.com Two Million Users In Seven Months – http://read.bi/wdzAyR

Is Bitcoin, once the next shiny thing, on its last breaths? – http://bit.ly/wf8fBR

50 Fresh High-Quality Free Fonts for Your Designs – http://bit.ly/wKvinq

20 Free Fonts Used In Iconic Movies – http://bit.ly/zQudPt

12 Things I Have Learned After 7 Years of Freelancing – http://bit.ly/xUtycT

50 Useful and Fresh Photoshop Tutorials – http://bit.ly/xhiFE2

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10 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Politicians

Monday, February 13th, 2012

‘Tis the season. Not for giving gifts or reflecting on peace on earth. This is the silly season where we have to opportunity to elect our next President of the United States. Every four years, our country engages in a ritual which will impact the course of our economy, our social policy, and our governmental priorities. More importantly, this quadrennial exercise will determine the content of our newspapers, blogs, TV newscasts, and radio editorials. Writers will fulminate, pundits will issue declarations, and talking heads will revel in the traditional aspects of the sport known as Presidential Politics.

What can entrepreneurs learn from politicians? Historically, the political industry has pioneered strategies for marketing, partnering, business development, social media use, and audience engagement. Brand-building is key to successful political campaigns as it is for businesses, and politicians build their own personal brands using tactics that all of us use everyday. In short, small businesses and startups can draw many valuable lessons from politics, politicians, and political campaigns. In previous posts i have written about how we can learn from kidsdogsmusicians, chefs, and athletes.

As we speak there are still four candidates actively competing for the Republican Party nomination for President, and while we find ourselves by turns, laughing at them, swearing back at them on television, or nodding in agreement with their ideas, we do have to admire them for their passion, their dedication, and their persistence as they each create a distinct brand and pursue their share of the elector market. So, let’s take a look at the politicians and see what they have to teach us!

1. Politicians compete. Politics is a cut-throat industry, rife with cheating, back-stabbing, and intrigue. Not that those are necessarily ‘bad’ things, right? While i do not espouse the use of dirty tricks or underhanded strategies to gain advantage in business, we do stand to learn from successful politicians and their ability to put themselves forward in the best possible light, while painting the most unflattering picture possible of their opponents. In politics at its best, this competition takes the form of a debate about ideas and convictions and, at its worst, it can get viciously personal and destructive. While rejecting the negative approach we see so often in politics, entrepreneurs can and should learn from those politicians who compete by emphasizing the values they represent, the superiority of their ideas, and the benefits that come with their service.

2. Politicians market actively. Politics requires constant and active marketing. During campaign season, this is obvious – just ask anyone in Florida about the recent inundation f television commercials, mailers, robo-calls, door hangers, yard signage, and wall-to-wall billboards. But between elections good politicians continue to energetically market their ideas, their legislative priorities, and their brands. This usually takes the form of public relations – news conferences, press releases, public appearances are leveraged to keep the person or the issue in the public eye and push the priorities and ideas of the politician into the public conscience. Entrepreneurs can draw clear connections to their own businesses, products, and services and can leverage many of the same techniques politicians use to increase awareness, build brand loyalty, and keep themselves top-of-mind with their own audience.

3. Politicians differentiate. One of the keys to a strong political campaign is the candidate’s ability to draw a strong distinction between herself and her opponent. Voters take a risk when electing a candidate – after all, we don’t really know what a candidate will do once they become an incumbent – so it is critical for a politician to show how they are different and to give voters a clear choice. Small business can take a similar approach in the marketplace: by communicating how our offering differs from the competition, our customer can better understand the choices they have and the benefits they can derive by choosing us over the competition.

4. Politicians build audiences. In social media one measure of results is the size of our audience: followers, likes, re-tweets are ways we determine our success. In politics audiences are not just important, they are critical in determining whether an incumbent keeps his job or whether his opponent takes it over. So, needless to say, a politicians ability to build a faithful audience can make or break a career and determine whether their ideas and programs prevail. Our ventures, too, thrive with the support of a loyal audience; ensuring customer satisfaction, creating great word of mouth, and building a fanatical fan base can allow our own businesses to prevail in the marketplace.

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Twitter Link Roundup #119 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, February 10th, 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 fun look at what a movie poster for an Oscar-nominated film would be like if it literally wanted to communicate what the movie was about. More fun posters in the Other section below.

8 Legal Steps for Starting Your Business – http://on.mash.to/AdW6Rn

Could Your Business Survive Without You? – http://bit.ly/ApHXux

Good tips on what to say when you fire someone (all biz owners must be comfortable doing this) – http://bit.ly/z1wLNw

Small Biz and Startup Tips: 5 Ideas to Prepare for an Economic Recovery – http://bit.ly/x64Zme

The Power of the Rule of Three in Marketing Your Small Business – http://bit.ly/wqmtu5

The Perpetually Vexing Problem of Hiring Programmers – http://bit.ly/w5QTm2

5 Reasons The Windy City is a Great Place for Startups – http://j.mp/zh4Zw8

How to build your startup without learning code – http://bit.ly/yPw6Vq

The Chicago FireStarter Venture Capital Fund – http://bit.ly/ytkmoa

The Perpetually Vexing Problem of Hiring Programmers – http://bit.ly/w5QTm2

SaaS: Change starts easy and then gets really hard – http://bit.ly/wZqTSt

Could Your Business Survive Without You? – http://bit.ly/ApHXux

8 Legal Steps for Starting Your Business – http://on.mash.to/AdW6Rn

This was the right response from Path – http://bit.ly/zNiKIi

Small Biz and Startup Tips: 5 Ideas to Prepare for an Economic Recovery – http://bit.ly/x64Zme

The Power of the Rule of Three in Marketing Your Small Business – http://bit.ly/wqmtu5

Good tips on what to say when you fire someone (all biz owners must be comfortable doing this) – http://bit.ly/z1wLNw

Pinterest is quietly generating revenue by modifying user submitted pins – http://bit.ly/xa9Aj5

When did advertising get so small? – http://bit.ly/xd0S8c

Good to see companies focus on real advertising metrics – http://bit.ly/xoHbOU

Silly to reach conclusions based on results of a study surveying 200 people (about twitter addiction) – http://bit.ly/yx4ssE

Is traffic from StumbleUpon just “noise”? – http://bit.ly/x6Sa9W

This was the right response from Path – http://bit.ly/zNiKIi

Yelp advertising is a rip-off for small advertisers – http://bit.ly/yraI9X

Only 1 “Top Brand” Has Created A Google+ Page In The Past Two Months, Report Says – http://bit.ly/yugLbG

Crowdsourcing has a longer-term payoff than originally thought: study – http://smrt.io/xCfZSm

Pinterest continues to impress with referral traffic – http://bit.ly/zHheNr

Those Millions on Facebook? Some May Not Actually Visit – http://nyti.ms/Af9DAG

Those Millions On Facebook? They Actually Visit, And It’s Not A Huge Deal Anyway. – http://tcrn.ch/yDQUPv

Rice University And OpenStax Announce First Open-Source Textbooks – http://tcrn.ch/ytEUYk

AT&T, Google Among The Biggest Online Advertisers — comScore – http://tcrn.ch/A2fKGT

70 Excellent Adobe Illustrator Tutorials – http://bit.ly/yZimmK

50 Illustrator Tutorials To Create High Quality Icons – http://bit.ly/wNiIP1

How to Stop Yourself from Stealing from Your Design Gurus – http://bit.ly/yhUJ8j

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Small Biz and Startup Tips: 5 Ideas to Prepare for an Economic Recovery

Monday, February 6th, 2012

While economists (as usual) refuse to agree on the specifics, there is a general consensus that the recovery may (finally) be underway. Last week the Labor Department announced that in January over 240,000 new jobs were created and that the unemployment rate was at its lowest level in three years. In addition, tax revenues are increasing as is consumer spending, and exports have grown across many industries.

For small business this is great news. Not just because it means that other companies are hiring, but it means that other companies are spending. One of the most corrosive effects of the weak economy has been the impact on how, when, and where businesses have spent; small business in particular took a hit because of reduced spending. When customers choose to defer spending on services and goods which might not be 100% necessary to their business, many other businesses are impacted. And when companies can be confident enough to start spending again, the trickle effect can have a positive impact on many other companies, too.

Small businesses can and should plan for an improving economy, just as they have for a downturn. In a bad economy we plan and execute tactics to cut back on discretionary spending, reduce labor costs, postpone expansion, defer marketing efforts, reduce inventories, and minimize all extras and perks. In an improving economy, small business in particular can look for ways to leverage the upswing and to strategically benefit from some of the opportunities created when bad times start to get better. Here then are 5 thoughts on ways small business and startups can get a jump on the growth!

1. Look for new talent. In the last few years, layoffs have taken a toll – hundreds of thousands of workers are still on the search for that new job and the pool of available talent is probably the richest it has been in decades. Consider filling any positions you might have left vacant during the downturn, or even creating new ones to take advantage of an uptick. Many positions require training and many new employees can take months to get fully up to speed, so start planning ahead for the growth that may be in store.

2. Invest in equipment. Capital expenditures were among the most commonly deferred costs for many businesses over the past few years, and manufacturers felt the sting. But now factories are gearing up again, with job growth in the manufacturing sector among the strongest last month. Inventories are also on the increase and together these act as a leading indicator and a strong sign of recovery. While credit remains tight, interest rates are at a historical low and government incentives are available making investment in equipment, furniture, and fixtures an attractive proposition. (more…)

Twitter Link Roundup #118 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, February 3rd, 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 a new Super Bowl commercial from Honda, featuring Matthew Broderick and reminding us how much we loved Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

What Zappos Can Teach You About Becoming Irresistible to Customers – http://t.co/3UxbuL0b

Gamification: The buzzword that can ruin your apps and business – http://t.co/bdsJOO6q

Fail Your Way to Success – http://t.co/NZIGRSUA

Got Early Startup Competition? Here’s Why I Think You’re Fine – http://t.co/VvfDsrZP

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Geben Communication - http://t.co/8OpJiC5o

Fail Your Way to Success – http://t.co/NZIGRSUA

Hiring for Lean Startups: The First Few Hires – http://t.co/1T5hVqFh

Outsourcing, crowdsourcing and crowdSPRING – http://t.co/DOAMW5nc

Ignore TechCrunch, Don’t skip your MVP, and be Data-Driven – http://t.co/mqOnDbs5

Solid advice for entrepreneurs – Startups are not a chess game – http://t.co/L8RI5z4y

Got Early Startup Competition? Here’s Why I Think You’re Fine – http://t.co/VvfDsrZP

What Zappos Can Teach You About Becoming Irresistible to Customers – http://t.co/3UxbuL0b

When has a consumer startup hit product/market fit? – http://t.co/Qb5Z5nXX

…Because Most SEOs Don’t Know What Strategy Means – http://t.co/50xVysi2

Gamification: The buzzword that can ruin your apps and business – http://t.co/bdsJOO6q

Tony Hsieh’s new $350 million startup – http://t.co/UbKfBVm0

To-Do Lists Don’t Work – http://t.co/huDb4pCd

Google+ demographics are predictable – http://t.co/4SuDAL0M

Study: Only 1% of Facebook ‘Fans’ Engage With Brands - http://t.co/C0dCY2UH

Not surprising to see ad agencies shedding employees - http://t.co/kGx6Jo2q

Why Necessity Will Soon Make Facebook The World’s Largest Mobile Ad Network – http://t.co/U7pHhIR9

Klout means nothing, because attention is not influence – http://t.co/7KclyNws

Aging in Adland: The Gray-Hair Phobia That’s Hindering Older Execs – http://t.co/btNQGAZJ

Facebook Pads Its Lead Over Yahoo in Online Display Ads With 28% of Market – http://t.co/oseZI92P

Pinterest Rivals Twitter in Referral Traffic – http://t.co/7bEJrlQU

Seven observations on the 2012 Super Bowl ads – http://t.co/AA9QA2ie

…Because Most SEOs Don’t Know What Strategy Means – http://t.co/50xVysi2

A very handy guide to mobile advertising – http://t.co/ffWgOvWb

Report: Search Ad Spend To Rise 27% In 2012 – http://t.co/AyQeTPKA

Pinterest Becomes Top Traffic Driver for Retailers [INFOGRAPHIC] – http://t.co/2I1tXTMc

41 New and Fresh Fonts for Your Design Projects – http://t.co/954Anu7O

55 Fresh And Free Texture Packs To Spice Up Your Designs – http://t.co/sU2LXkZb

Free High Quality Leather Textures for your Design – http://t.co/yeyb7Ftp

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Twitter Link Roundup #117 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, January 27th, 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 is a fun look at bottled water from Apple – if Apple made bottled water. That post, and other interesting posts are in the “Other” section below.

Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (tips for businesses on leveraging crowdsourcing) - http://bit.ly/wxqtb5

Starting a new biz with a friend? Good interview with @mike_samson about biz w/ friends – http://bit.ly/wBFfBv

Women Small Business Owners – America’s New job Creators [infographic] – http://t.co/74nUB76D

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Studyers -http://bit.ly/wy7Qty

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Twittapolls – http://t.co/aFHWJTmq

The One “Process” Every Startup Should Have - http://perfor.ms/jJ3Bzz

Love this post and agree 100% about need to promote intense debate among teams - http://bit.ly/zNbohI

Starting a new biz with a friend? Good interview with @mike_samson about biz w/ friends - http://bit.ly/wBFfBv

ExcelerateLabs ranked in the top Startup Incubators by Forbes – http://t.co/loB7YTes

Silicon Valley’s New Secret Weapon: Designers Who Found Startups – http://t.co/i8Vq3xl3

“If Willy Wonka built a financial institution, instead of a chocolate factory, it would look something like Square.” – http://t.co/icQhWPI3

You’re Mentoring the Wrong Way – http://t.co/2wWUC2ZQ

These Guys Launched A Startup For Entrepreneurs And Then Got Turned Away By Entrepreneurs – http://t.co/YWoM6gI0

When has a consumer startup hit product/market fit? -http://perfor.ms/vWhc5w

How to Develop Your Fund Raising Strategy – http://t.co/l4dOckDn

The best definition of entrepreneurship, in 25 words – http://t.co/lUKmQO0d

Venture capital investing hits 10-year peak, sparking bubble talk – http://t.co/IAI1IJKk

To Find Happiness, Forget About Passion – http://t.co/IAXq064F

Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (tips for businesses on leveraging crowdsourcing) - http://bit.ly/wxqtb5

Online Ad Spending to Surpass Print for First Time in 2012 -http://on.mash.to/w4dv2J

Mobile-Ad Spending Projected to Reach $2.61B in 2012 - http://bit.ly/wFv8KO

Pinterest Demographic Data: The Marketers Guide to People Who Pin - http://bit.ly/x7xkYS

Facebook Now Earns 23% More Per Impression Than In Q1 2011 – http://t.co/czMMI45P

Why Startups Shouldn’t Hire PR Firms – http://t.co/D8kFztzL

Big Firms Try Crowdsourcing – http://t.co/M5XFnBF0

Study: Why Do People Use Facebook? – http://t.co/QEoLTL66

I don’t agree w/ @benkunz – obscure price increases that trick customers are not brilliant – http://t.co/hakIhSHK

Why You Ought to Throw Away Your Vanity Metrics for These 5 Customer Metrics – http://t.co/Tzd95hKL

Google+ demographics are predictable - http://bit.ly/AAjf43

Interesting post from @bbhlabs about the digital revolution & whether we’ve overstated its impact - http://bit.ly/w4bFSJ

Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (tips for businesses on leveraging crowdsourcing) - http://bit.ly/wxqtb5

50 Hilarious Printed Ads Guaranteed To Make You Laugh -http://bit.ly/ABMoaJ

25 New Fonts for Graphic & Web Designers – Download Now -http://bit.ly/zBy2Ou

40 Superb Free Fonts for Your Next Typographic Project – http://bit.ly/zA5WGJ

50 Great Adobe Photoshop Tutorials That Every Designer Should Know About – http://t.co/IB2ngprh

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Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (Pt. 2)

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Last week I posted the first part of this article on crowdsourcing strategies. In the post, I discussed some of the big-picture issues that I believe should be considered carefully when planning a crowdsourced project. Best practices for crowdsourcing require managers to first determine the best venue for their project, effective management of the process, careful quality control, executing a well-planned recruiting strategy, active engagement of the intended audience, express ’training’ of the participants, and the anticipation that pushback may be encountered.

Today I’ll discuss 7 practical measures which managers should take to ensure a successful outcome to their crowdsourced project. These steps, when well executed, will significantly increase the probability of success, will increase the value derived from the project, will save a meaningful amount of time, and will help to assure a high quality work product.

1. Determine project goals and strategy: One of the key tenets of a lean approach to management, is the definition stage; determining a project’s goal is the first and most important step in the process. Specify exactly what you are trying to accomplish with the project and let the specific strategies and tactics flow from that objective. It is important that managers devote the time, energy, and necessary resources to the definition process as every man-hour dedicated will pay off in the end. Pull the team together, clean the whiteboard, and start brainstorming to clarify your intent and to set forth your specific objectives.

2. Define the process and the steps: Once your larger goal have been defined for your crowdsourced project, it is time to plan specific strategy and tactics to achieve it. Ask and answer for yourself these questions: Where will you host the project? Who will you recruit to participate? How will you reward or compensate the participants? Will the process be an open, transport effort or do you need some degree of privacy? There are literally dozens of considerations and contingencies to plan for when crowdsourcing and this planning process will force you to account for all of these.

3. Select the platform: By its very nature, modern crowdsourcing has a technological underpinning; it is the Internet, after all, that enables businesses to reach the large audiences needed for a successful result. Whether building your own site for the project or hosting it on one of the established crowdsourcing platforms, the choice of technology is key. Carefully evaluate the tools and features your project will require; consider the skill sets needed for the participants; and review your goals to make sure the choices you make during this part of the process are serving the ultimate aim of the project.

4. Create a strong project brief: A well-written brief will contain information not just about the project and the deliverables, but also about the goals for the project, the company sponsoring it, and the intended audience for the end-product. On crowdSPRING designers like to say, “We can’t work in a vacuum” (and, no, they are not referring to working in deep space or at the Dyson factory). The participants in your project need information: specific requirements, clearly established scope of work, defined expectations on deliverables, well-explained schedule, and established awards for participation are not just expected, but are required for success. Without overwhelming the potential participants with reams of data or pages of descriptive prose describe what you need, how it will be used, who you are, and who it is for. Provide examples of similar projects or products; provide appropriate links to other businesses, websites, designs, or samples that you like. In other words, the better job you can do with your brief, the faster you will start to receive submissions and the closer they will be to what your requirements specify.

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Crowdsourcing: a 7+7 Primer (Pt. 1)

Monday, January 16th, 2012

We write often about small businesses and startups and lean approaches to marketing and other business functions. Mid- to large-size companies can also benefit from the lean methodology and one way to do so is by actively leveraging crowds of workers: designers, software engineers, testers, writers, customer support people, customers, market researchers, and dozens of other groups via the Internet.

Crowdsourcing, like many business activities had distinct advantages both strategic and economic, but the process also comes with its own set of unique pitfalls and dangers. Careful planning and good management of the process can mitigate the risks, but it is crucial that managers understand some of the issues and challenges involved as well as best practices for successful crowdsourcing. I’ve created a list of 7 big-picture issues that companies should consider as they plan their crowdsourced projects. Next week I will discuss the 7 steps companies can take to ensure a successful outcome for their crowdsourced projects. Here then, 7 “Big Picture” thoughts on how best to crowdsource your next project.

1. Make a choice and determine a venue: The critical first question for a manager considering crowdsourcing is simple and binary: is it the best choice for this project? There are many ways to complete a project, and determining how to do so is not just a choice of economy, or convenience, but also a choice of value delivered. Crowdsourcing can be of substantial economic benefit, but this comes with some trade-offs as well. You must answer the question for yourself: do the benefits of the crowd outweigh the benefits of a more traditional outsourcing, partnering, or in-house approach?

If the answer too this is a ‘yes’ the next step is to determine the venue for your project. There are dozens existing online communities and platforms that managers can leverage for tasks ranging from transcription to translation (Amazon Mechanical Turk), QA to RD (uTest to Innocentive), and coding to composing (TopCoder to musikpitch); these are readily available and easy to use, but some companies have chosen to host their own crowds and develop their own technical capacity. Keep in mind that the existing services have already done a great deal of the heavy lifting and because of that, they can deliver great value to you. It takes time and commitment to build a community of skilled workers in any domain, as well as more time and money to build the underlying technology, infrastructure, policies and protections necessary to the process. A DIY approach to crowdsourcing makes sense for a long-term approach, but many companies will want to experiment and learn before they decide to build their own.

2. Manage the process: Be certain that you don’t simply throw open the doors to your project without thorough preparation, active involvement, and careful oversight. The assumption that, once launched, a project will run itself is a very dangerous expectation and can easily lead to the failure of the project, as well as a likely inability to repeat the experiment going forward. Actively managing a crowdsourced project is no more or less difficult than managing a project executed in-house, but does come with a different set of hazards. Remember the Internets are a wild and scary place populated with creatures rarely seen in your warm conference room, so keep in mind that a crowdsourced project can get out of hand and without your own diligent participation you risk the success of the undertaking.

3. Control quality: The quality of the final work product is a key goal when managing any product, project, or process and crowdsourced projects require your careful oversight to ensure high-quality. Because many crowdsourcing communities are open platforms which have low barriers to participation, the quality of the submitted work can often be subject to great (ahem) variability. The role of the project manager is to act as gatekeeper, curator, editor, and leader and this guidance is vital to the project’s success. Take care to quickly identify the best work being done and the most talented participants, then take the time to communicate directly with those workers. Just as quickly identify the low-quality work and politely (but firmly) discourage those workers from participating further. Some platforms provide tools to assist with this, but often it will be up to the manager to perform this role.

4. Recruit and manage the crowd: Essential to the success of your crowdsourced project is the crowd itself. Established communities have done much of this work for you, but you will have to take the time to recruit the appropriate talent to participate in your project. If using an established community, marketing your project to the community is critical and you should try to promote it however you can: via emails or messages, newsletter inclusion, or by leveraging any features the site may offer such as internal promotion packages and display placement options. If you are going the build-it-yourself approach careful use of social media tools, public relations, and other word-of-mouth tactics can help you to attract the right workers to participate. Keep in mind that established communities typically have their own rules and policies designed to help you succeed: codes of conduct, user agreements, community policing and enforcement protocols are often in place and if you decide to go it on your own, you will want to make sure you have thought these through and are ready to take action to enforce your policies.

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Twitter Link Roundup #116 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Friday, January 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 contains 160 of the best one liners from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. That post, and other interesting posts are in the “Other” section below.

Small Businesses Spending More And More On Social Media – http://bit.ly/wvg6rw

Give Your Employees Unlimited Vacation Days – http://bit.ly/w2aCvA

Good interview with Mike Samson by @butleronbiz about biz w/ friends – bit.ly/wBFfBv

Five kinds of work to farm out to the crowd – http://bit.ly/Az9JmC

Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips – http://bit.ly/wZETZN

Give the Users What They Really Want – http://perfor.ms/tWUUnD

Good suggestions from @stoweboyd on handling customer service questions and issues – http://t.co/80Fc5ocd

Interesting and good read, especially for women … Confidence is a Numbers Game – http://bit.ly/w1zaqB

10 things entrepreneurs can learn from chefs – http://bit.ly/AyAln3

Mark Cuban’s 12 Rules for Startups – http://bit.ly/wVvAVK

What It’s Like To Be An Entrepreneur – Eboo Patel – http://t.co/ZaotKCvl

What history teaches us about startup incubators – http://bit.ly/w7vLYB

Why You Can’t Hire – http://t.co/5E9bi0tV

Good suggestions from @stoweboyd on handling customer service questions and issues – http://t.co/80Fc5ocd

4 Skills Every Startup Employee Needs – http://bit.ly/ynUZIr

When To Get Rid of Your MVP – http://bit.ly/AgEek6

When Reviewing A New Idea, Never Forget Its First Impression – http://onforb.es/yBYqmJ

The power of failing – http://t.co/KCxzb69f

Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips – http://bit.ly/wZETZN

Five kinds of work to farm out to the crowd – http://bit.ly/Az9JmC

Why do we pay sales commissions? – http://bit.ly/yTEoDi

Give the Users What They Really Want – http://perfor.ms/tWUUnD

Interesting and good read, especially for women … Confidence is a Numbers Game – http://bit.ly/w1zaqB

Give Your Employees Unlimited Vacation Days – http://bit.ly/w2aCvA

Smart: A Man. A Van. A Surprising Business Plan. – http://n.pr/w5KGsB

Good interview with Mike Samson by @butleronbizabout biz w/ friends – bit.ly/wBFfBv

Small Businesses Spending More And More On Social Media – http://bit.ly/wvg6rw

Worst Use Of Social Media of 2012: Boners BBQ – http://bit.ly/zcrHYf

It’s no secret that visitor data measured by Alexa, Compete and others is flat our wrong – http://mz.cm/wXaQ4K

Good LeWeb talk by Jeremiah Owyang about scaling your business to leverage social media – http://bit.ly/x1g7t9

PR to come to grips with Data (or not) – http://bit.ly/yLg6ca

Interesting and good read, especially for women … Confidence is a Numbers Game – http://bit.ly/w1zaqB

Pinterest for Brands: 5 Hot Tips – http://bit.ly/wZETZN

Google’s Results Get More Personal With “Search Plus Your World” – http://selnd.com/ynKBiD

Wow – $99,344,382 pledged on Kickstarter in 2011. The Year in Kickstarter – http://j.mp/xmuEHu

New High-Quality Free Fonts – http://bit.ly/ybWRte

40+ Fresh And Useful Adobe Illustrator Tutorials – http://t.co/Ip3CGZBY

50+ Creative collection of business cards – http://bit.ly/xuaAIJ

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Twitter Link Roundup #115 – Small Business, Social Media, Design, Copywriting, Marketing And More

Thursday, January 5th, 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 is taken in Takotna, Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on March 9, 2011. The green in the sky is the aurora borealis. More phenomenal photos from 2011 are in the Other section below.

10 New Years Resolutions For Small Businesses and Startups – http://bit.ly/t7wmEP

Small Businesses and Startups: Worst. Advice. Ever. – http://bit.ly/v6SwXL

Five Tips To Improve Employee Performance Reviews – http://t.co/qujdIQZk

Radio Still Good Advertising Option for Small Business – http://t.co/oVRqihB3

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: CorpsAfrica – http://bit.ly/x2iA7L

The ideal product manager – http://perfor.ms/uK2qJu

Stop whining and start hiring remote workers – http://bit.ly/vviGal

Good suggestions on handling customer service questions and issues – http://sto.ly/whZCLX

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: Flightwise/ MyRadar Mobile Apps – http://t.co/5TTMqMLJ

crowdSPRING’s Small Business Spotlight of the Week: NinjaDog Concepts – http://t.co/JVMH0TfV

Small Businesses and Startups: Worst. Advice. Ever. – http://bit.ly/v6SwXL

Should Startups Focus on Profitability or Not? – http://t.co/83e0h2kS

Mark Cuban on Why You Should Never Listen to Your Customers – http://t.co/b5DHvVmz

The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives – http://onforb.es/zZqYcZ

My advice to startups pitching the media – http://perfor.ms/vbXP8P

Five Tips To Improve Employee Performance Reviews – http://t.co/qujdIQZk

Some Thoughts On The IPO Market For Web Companies (by @fredwilson) – http://t.co/WzfBvutC

Marc Andreessen: Predictions for 2012 (and beyond) – http://t.co/2Y3XJq2G

The ideal product manager – http://perfor.ms/uK2qJu

There’s Only One Thing In Life You Can Control: Your Own Effort – http://read.bi/u32aYq

CEC’s Startup Forecast – “Never been a better time to start a company in Chicago” – http://t.co/8FckJve9

Mocked And Misunderstood – http://t.co/ubJCMtdq

Experienced entrepreneurs preserve equity – http://perfor.ms/uquQlD

What It’s Like To Be An Entrepreneur – Eboo Patel – http://bit.ly/ynsVZA

Good suggestions on handling customer service questions and issues – http://sto.ly/whZCLX

Stop whining and start hiring remote workers – http://bit.ly/vviGal

10 New Years Resolutions For Small Businesses and Startups – http://bit.ly/t7wmEP

The State of Social Marketing 2011 – 2012 – http://t.co/38z8IOAc

Has Twitter caused journalism to turn narcissistic? – http://bit.ly/vod6qk

Advertising Isn’t Dead – The Creative Process Is – http://bit.ly/u34ztJ

Advertising Firms Need To Be Downsized Before They Become Too Dumb For Their Own Good – http://t.co/niRIhwhx

End of an Era: The Golden Age of Tech Blogging is Over – http://t.co/CvUPSIRf

SEO Pricing: 600+ Agencies Share Costs of Services & Pricing Models – http://mz.cm/yeySyi

How Google+ Is Changing the Web, Even Though No One Wants It To – http://bit.ly/zeoG6J

Mobile Users Split on Check-In Services – http://t.co/deg6RQp4

Social network addiction around the world (Israelis are the most addicted) – http://t.co/RAXUY6kd

So great to see such strong support for interesting KickStarter projects (espresso machine) – http://t.co/tx9eiUln

Strong and prompt response from FedEx – good to see – to the monitor throwing video – http://t.co/1xMPCASl

Good to see Yelp/BWM integration – but are we heading to app overload in cars? - http://t.co/Idyq5U4L

The media’s fixation on size (Google+ vs. Facebook) is misguided. Why do we continue to obsess about size? – http://bit.ly/tSXmCi

Last Collection Of Creative Ads For 2011 – http://t.co/nA8Drm2Y

45 Creative Alcohol Advertisements – http://t.co/aafNlnRe

65 Free Fonts for Graphic Designers – http://bit.ly/vUwZRj

Best Of 2011: 40 Detailed Photoshop Icon Design Tutorials – http://t.co/zhcReo9P

Top 50 Photoshop Tutorials of 2011 – http://t.co/54BJzrkP

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