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.
Attribution on the web is a controversial topic; ideas, stories, videos, graphics are copied and pasted over and over again, propagating their way across the virtual universe. As an entrepreneur and blogger, I am always pleased when I see my articles shared on other sites, or linked to in the social media. While I would prefer for all of those readers to come over to our blog to read the piece, I certainly understand the value of additional reach that can be gained when my posts are re-published elsewhere or when others discuss ideas I may have written about first. The negative comes when those posts or ideas are used without any attribution whatsoever. The formula for plagiarism on the web is sometimes as simple as copy+paste=post.
Last week Maria Popova, the founder of brainpickings.org was interviewed by Brooke Gladstone of NPR’s On the Media about her latest creation, The Curator’s Code. The code, created in collaboration with Tina Roth Eisenberg of swissmiss.com is their attempt at a structure to govern online usage and attribution.
The code is a straightforward way for an author (or curator in some cases) can give honest and proper attribution not just for a source, but also for “inspiration.” It works by sorting all attribution into to basic categories, the “via,” which is the original content that the author is reposting, quoting, or paraphrasing, and the “hat tip,” which is the secondary source where the author may have first learned of the primary material, idea, or article.
Popova and Eisenberg have created two uncomplicated unicode graphics meant to be inserted into text, graphics or video which simply and cleanly indicate to the reader that the content was discovered or created elsewhere. For instance, I would use the following ‘hat tip’ attribution when referring to the On the Media story where I first learned of the Curator’s Code, I would attribute in a footnote or parenthetical, using a ‘hat tip’ like this: ↬Brooke Gladstone, onthemedia.org. But, I would credit Popova and Eisenstein who originated the idea and are the primary source, using a ‘via’ like this: ᔥcuratorscode.org. I could also display as a twofer like this ᔥcuratorscode.org | ↬Brooke Gladstone, onthemedia.org. The unicode character always links back to the Curator’s Code site allowing a reader to better understand the usage of the symbols as well as the philosophy behind the code itself
Simple and elegant, Popova and Eisenstein have created an uncomplicated method for visually and ethically providing attribution where attribution is due. You can listen to the entire interview here or read the transcript here.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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?
‘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 kids, dogs, musicians, 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.
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.
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Attribution on the web is a controversial topic; ideas, stories, videos, graphics are copied and pasted over and over again, propagating their way across the virtual universe. As an entrepreneur and blogger, I am always pleased when I see my articles shared on other sites, or linked to in the social media. While I would prefer for all of those readers to come over to our blog to read the piece, I certainly understand the value of additional reach that can be gained when my posts are re-published elsewhere or when others discuss ideas I may have written about first. The negative comes when those posts or ideas are used without any attribution whatsoever. The formula for plagiarism on the web is sometimes as simple as copy+paste=post.
