DigitalNow Blog

11 Mobile trends for 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:46:00 +0000

"Mobile will start to become part of every business' marketing and distribution strategy in 2011," said Kunal Gupta, CEO of Polar Mobile. "That's where we all spend our time and brands, marketers and publishers will want to capture that opportunity."

According to a report by Polar Mobile, they are 11 major mobile trends to watch out for in 2011:

"Your mobile strategy will go beyond the iPhone and iPad
Android fragmentation will be a major challenge
Tablets will appear in every home
Number of active users will become more important than number of downloads
Social will differentiate the mobile app experience
Mobile exclusive brands and content will have success
Paid content will have limited success due to infrastructure
Mobile apps and mobile web get hitched and play nice together
Apps leverage NFC to become mobile commerce tools
App security and threats will become important
Fragmentation across OS and device will grow exponentially"

How will these trends affect your association? Explore the questions, problems, issues, and solutions in an exclusive community of your peers at digitalNow 2011 - the premier summit for association leaders.

Save $100 when you register before January 31.

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

Catching the Mobile (tidal) wave

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:35:00 +0000

This video highlights some of the changes we saw last year related to mobile phones and computing. Just one statistic you may find interesting:

Mobile phone apps downloaded

2009: 300 million
2010: 5 billion

The question is... where is all of this taking us? Join us at digitalNow 2011 where we will explore "The Many Faces of Mobile," how the Mobile revoution is already changing your organization, and what you need to do to stay revelant and to take advantage of the countless opportunities it presents.

digitalNow 2011" April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

Introducing... the digitalNow 2011 keynote team!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:06:00 +0000

If you've been waiting for our keynote announcement before registering for digitalNow 2011, wait no longer. (And we mean it - seats are going fast!)

This year's keynotes are:

Tomi Ahonen, a six-time bestselling author, independent consultant and motivational speaker in the converging areas of mobile telecoms, internet, media, advertising, credit and banking, social networking and virtual reality. Tomi will present and describe the nearly incomprehensible impact that Mobile has and will continue to have for associations, and will explore and examine the ways in which mobile technologies and Mobile culture are influencing business models up and down the people chain.
Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of the New York Times Bestsellers Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions and The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home. Dan will help association leaders develop targeted strategies based on what motivates the behavior of their boards, volunteer leaders, and members in our ever-changing Mobile world.
Karen Cator, Director of the Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education. In her past work with Apple Inc., Karen directed leadership and advocacy in education, with a focus on the intersection of education policy, research, and emerging technologies. As part of her keynote presentation, Cator will update the association profession on her current work to develop a nationwide database of technologies that are influencing how we deliver education and training in a Mobile world. Her scope includes secondary education, vocational training, and adult training and education within the professional and non-profit sectors.
Dr. James Canton, renowned global futurist, social scientist, keynote presenter, author, and visionary business advisor. For over 30 years, he has been insightfully predicting the key trends that have shaped our world. He is a leading authority on future trends in innovation. Dr. Canton is noted for his fascinating, informative, dynamic and entertaining keynotes. He is also known for the depth of his knowledge of associations and the challenges they face.

Learn more about digitalNow 2011 speakers

View registration rates and deadlines,

or...

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

Mobile phone learning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Mobile Phone Learning is a course taught by Nabeel Ahmad and Dominic Mentor that explores how to use mobile phones for learning.

According to Mentor and Ahmad, the ways in which students from various disciplines learned to apply the information provided was a testament "to the rapidly increasing interest among students from different disciplines in using a ubiquitous technology for anything they can imagine."

The true value of incorporating mobile phones in a learning environment, as stated in the team's recent article at Educause, is that anyone can use the same device in a different way for educational benefit.

Read the article here and gain access to the syllalbus here.

How is mobile techology impacting associations and how can your association take advantage of this ubiquitous technology to advance education? These are just some of the questions we'll be discussing at digitalNow 2011, where experts in mobile, education, behavior economics and more will be providing you the tools and information you need to bring help your organization take advantage of the Mobile revolution.

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

Assocation Leaders Called "Irrational"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:52:00 +0000

(Webster, NY - November 2010) You may think you act from a sense of common wisdom, but according to author Dan Ariely, your behavior is inspired by what he calls “predictable irrationality.” But don’t take it personally; he says that about everybody.

Using simple experiments Dan studies how people – including association leaders and their members - actually act in the marketplace, as opposed to how they should or would perform if they were completely rational. His interests span a wide range of daily behaviors such as buying (or not), saving (or not), ordering food in restaurants, pain management, procrastination, dishonesty, and decision making under different emotional states.

Dan is the author the New York Times Bestsellers Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions and The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home. Dan is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, where he holds appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the School of Medicine, and the department of Economics. He is also a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight.

We Are Predictably Irrational –and why associations should care

Do you know why we so often promise ourselves to diet and exercise, only to have the thought vanish when the dessert cart rolls by?

Do you know why we sometimes find ourselves excitedly buying things we don’t really need? Or at prices that we would otherwise concede are beyond our budget?

Do you know why we still have a headache after taking a five-cent aspirin, but why that same headache vanishes when the aspirin costs 50 cents?

Do you know why people who have been asked to recall the Ten Commandments tend to be more honest (at least immediately afterward) than those who haven’t? Or why honor codes actually do reduce dishonesty in the workplace? Dan Ariely provides answers to these and many other questions that have implications for your personal life, for your business life, and for the way you look at the world.

For businesses, these irrationalities help unlock our understanding of common behaviors and choices in shopping, pricing, investing and saving, employee recruitment and selection, office politics and a myriad of other choices and interactions.

As a bonus you will also learn how much fun social science can be, and how to see more clearly the causes for our everyday behaviors, including the many cases in which we are predictably irrational. Dan’s research on human behavior has been published in leading psychology, economics, and marketing and management research journals, and he will be delivering a keynote presentation at digitalNow 2011, being held April 6 – 11 at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

digitalNow will be dedicated to helping association executives better understand how to be mobile, and how to take advantage of mobile technologies in order to add value and create emotional engagement with members in our ever-expanding Mobile universe. Based on solid research and designed in collaboration with Disney Institute and a distinguished Advisory Group leaders, DigitalNow has earned a reputation as the premier leadership summit for association executives.

Learn more about digitalNow rates and deadlines or...

Want to hear what association executives are saying about DigitalNow? Visit our Testimonials page.

DigitalNow 2011 Call for Papers now open!
Proposals are now being accepted for workshop presentations on April 7 and 8 at DigitalNow 2011.

If you are an expert with new proven research that can help members of the DigitalNow community understand and address these issues, you may be qualified.

Please visit the DigitalNow 2011 Call for Papers site for complete details and application guidelines.

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

The (mobile) world as we will know it

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:30:00 +0000

According to a report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU):

"By the end of 2010, there will be an estimated 5.3 billion mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide, including 940 million subscriptions to 3G services.
Access to mobile networks is now available to 90% of the world population and 80% of the population living in rural areas.
People are moving rapidly from 2G to 3G platforms, in both developed and developing countries.
In 2010, 143 countries were off ering 3G services commercially, compared to 95 in 2007.
Towards 4G: a number of countries have started to off er services at even higher broadband speeds, moving to next generation wireless platforms – they include Sweden, Norway, Ukraine and the United States."

The full report is avaiable here.

Want to learn how the radical growth of mobile will affect you and your ability to deliver member value and maintain relevance? Then you don't want to miss digitalNow 2011 where we will be discussing "The Many Faces of Mobile." digitalNow 2011: April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Registration now open - Early Bird rates in effect!

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

The most powerful strategic tool (Hint: You already own one.)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:30:00 +0000

What if I told you that there was one tool that could help you manage your time, create powerful presentations, and effectively manage projects?

What if I told you that this same tool could also support strategic thinking and help you become a better leader? And by the way - it's free.

The tool? Mind maps. According to Wikipedia, "Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid to studying and organizing information, solving problems, making decisions, and writing."

It might not be high-tech, but you have to admit - a tool that can do all that is worth looking at.

In a recent article, author Frank Bradley shares his experience with Mind Maps and discusses eight ways he uses them in his professional and personal life.

digitalNow is also a powerful tool for generating ideas, solving problems, and studying information. Join us April 6-9, 2011 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Registration is open and early bird rates are now in effect! http://www.digitalnowconference.com

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

Mobile learning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:36:00 +0000

In a recent post, we shared statistics on the growth of mobile, provided by the International Telecommunicaitons Union (ITU).

With this massive proliferation of "anywhere" technology, it is imperative that we ask, "How will this affect the ways in which we learn?"

David J. Gagnon provides a thorough discussion, titled Mobile Learning Environments in a recent edition of Educause Quarterly.

"Key takeaways:

With one billion devices expected to have mobile broadband Internet connections, the impact of mobile communication cannot be underestimated.
With this growth in mobile devices, it seems appropriate to ask what completely new things might be afforded by mobile media for learning.
The discussion of learning environments and mobile media grants educators an opportunity to adopt methods of situated, contextual, just-in-time, participatory, and personalized learning.
Theory aside, it seems common sense that instruction should be performed in the most authentic context possible to practice and demonstrate useful learning, which mobile learning environments can facilitate."

"The Many Faces of Mobile" is the focus at digitalNow 2011. Hear from thought leaders, technology experts, and learn from the experiences of your peers to optimize your ability to thrive in a mobile world. digitalNow 2011: April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floidian Resor & Spa. Registration now open; Early Bird rates in effect.

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

Five innovators in mobile technology

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:27:00 +0000

Just when you thought you had the fastest, smallest, coolest mobile device on the planet, someone comes along and introduces one that is faster and slicker, nudging you and your new toy to the edge of obsolescence.

Brace yourself, because it looks like that will be the name of the game for a while. More innovators continue to develop more ways to change the way we think about mobile. Christina Warren of Mashable/Mobile gives the low-down on five of these companies:

At DigitalNow 2011, we'll be presenting you with experts in mobile technology, and in the ways association business can be expect to be affected - and what you can do to position your organization for success in a Mobile world.

Learn more at the official DigitalNow web site.

Hear what your peers have to say about DigitalNow.

DigitalNow 2011: April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

The holistic customer experience

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:30:00 +0000

The idea of creating positive and delightful customer experiences has been around for almost two decades now. Are you doing it yet?

With social media at our fingertips and the surge of everything mobile, it's easy to think that just because you have a smart phone app or a Twitter account, you are providing the sort of experience your audience wants and needs to have. According to the Digital Buyer Persona, "Customer experience initiatives can no longer be static types of efforts."

Call it integrated, call it multimedia, call it interdisciplinary - but whatever you call it, "holistic" is the name of the customer experience game.

Learn more about how to design, create, structure, staff, and support the kind of experience you want your members to have. Join us at DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. Registration now open - Early Bird rates in effect!

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

Mobile Mythbusters

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:14:00 +0000

In the wake of any new trend rages a sea of misconception. Mobile technology is no exception. In this article, author Kathryn Koegel debunks the top four myths of mobile. According to Koegel:

It's not an all-Apple world ... and it never will be
Blackberry is not dead
Not all people do all things on all phones
Smartphones are not likely to ever penetrate the entire market

Get the latest and greatest information on mobile technologies, tools, processes, successes, and more. Hear from cutting edge speakers and from your peers. Join us at DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. Registration now open - Early bird rates in effect!

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

DigitalNow 2011 - Registration now OPEN!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:52:00 +0000

We are thrilled to announce that registration for DigitalNow 2011 is now open!

Here's a sneak peek at what you and your colleagues are going to talking about at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, April 6-9 (that is, when you're not eating the fantastic food!):

The Many Faces of Mobile

When you hear the word “mobile,” you may think of technology, such as a cell phone, an iPad, or a GPS. Or you may think of “Mobile,” spelled with an uppercase “M”, a comprehensive label for the unique qualities of the world in which we live: It’s fast, it’s personal, it’s always on and everywhere, ‘round the clock and around the globe.

Mobile is both of those things, but it’s also more than that - It also signifies a quality that your association must develop in order to remain vital in today’s world. You must BE mobile, be capable of changing, adapting, and responding to our Mobile environment.

In order for your association to keep pace, there are some key issues you must understand and be equipped to act on.

Our Mobile environment demands that we change the way we do everything - to ensure that members become emotionaly engaged and receive the value they demand – and it supports the pressing imperative for ubiquitous communication, learning, innovation, and connectivity. It is the new air we breathe and it permeates all areas of modern-day life.
Some of the assumptions you hold and the practices in which your association engages support the Mobile paradigm, and some do not. Is your strategy for innovation in line with today's world, are traditional learning, revenue, membership, and non-dues revenue sources dried up? Knowing which to keep and which to let go of is critical. Only once you establish a strategy that is well-aligned with this new paradigm will you be positioned to deliver real value in your organization through education, advocacy, networking, partnerships, and governance.
Understanding the Mobile world and aligning your volunteer leadership, staff, and association processes is critical, but in order to sustain that position, and even more importantly to sustain your own mobility – your agility and responsiveness to what is sure to be an ever-evolving landscape - you must create a structure within your association that supports the new imperatives of today. That structure must also be capable of taking advantage of the next upcoming technology revolution that is being facilitated by the advance of a global wireless broadband infrastructure.

At DigitalNow 2011, we will help you better understand how to be mobile, and how to take advantage of mobile technologies in order to add value and create emotional engagement with your members in our ever-expanding Mobile universe.

See the summary of results from our 2010-2011 Association Executive trends and issues survey here.

Save the Date for DigitalNow 2011 - THE summit for association leaders. April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. www.DigitalNowConference.com

DigitalNow 2011 is on the Move!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:42:00 +0000

Proposals are now being accepted for DigitalNow 2011
workshop presentations on April 7 and 8 at

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Visit the DigitalNow Call for Papers site to:

View details

Submit your application

And the survey says...

According to a recent survey of association executives conducted by Fusion Productions:

76% said it was Extremely Important to them to learn how to engage members emotionally and create a sense of belonging

68% said it was Extremely Important to discover new ways to add value in an age of mobile 24x7 access and expectations

83% said it was either Extremely or Very important to them to understand how to create innovation in products or services when obsolescence is measured in months, rather than years

94% said it was either Extremely or Very Important to them to assess how to evolve new business models, not just those based on dues/non-dues revenue

65% said it was Extremely Important to them to create, develop, and sustain relevant, trusted content in a 24x7 world

68% said it was Extremely Important for them to communicate effectively with the next generation of members/stakeholders/workforce - and identify what new competencies will be required

If you are an expert with new proven research that can help members of the DigitalNow community understand and address these issues, you may be qualified to speak at DigitalNow 2011. Please visit the DigitalNow 2011 Call for Papers site for complete details and application guidelines.

And remember to save the date for DigitalNow 2011: April 6-9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Registration opening soon! DigitalNow 2010 content is still available at: http://www.DigitalNowLive.com

DigitalNow 2011: April 6 - 9 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa: Save the Date!

DigitalNow 2010 - a resounding success! Watch videos and download session content from DigitalNow 2010 at http://www.digitalnowlive.com

Follow DigitalNow on Twitter.Contribute to the DigitalNow blog. Suggest a blog topic, or reference an article or other item you think would be of interest to the DigitalNow community. Drop us a line at DigitalNow@fusionproductions.com

Closing the strategy-to-execution gap

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:43:00 +0000

According to a survey conducted by OnPoint Consulting:

49% of leaders surveyed feel that a gap exists between the strategies they develop and their company's ability to execute on those strategies
64% say they don't have full confidence that the gap can be closed
75% believe that their companies have "clear and inspiring" visions

So, if it's not the vision that's the problem, and it's not the strategy that's the problem, why do so many leaders experience frustration with putting plans into action?

Skip Reardon, author of the Six Disciplines blog, identifies eight central factors that differentiate those who perceive a strategy-exection gap, from those who are confident about their abilties to execute. They include: excellence in change management from the top, down; well-coordinated decisions across levels of management; effective human resource systems to ensure proper placement and compensation of employees, and; a proper balance between centralized and decentralized responsibility.

Do you perceive a strategy-execution gap in your organization? If so, to what do you attribute that?

If not, what are the key competencies or factors in place in your organization that support effective execution?

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Closing the strategy-to-execution gap

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:40:00 +0000

According to a survey conducted by OnPoint Consulting:

49% of leaders surveyed feel that a gap exists between the strategies they develop and their company's ability to execute on those strategies
64% say they don't have full confidence that the gap can be closed
75% believe that their companies have "clear and inspiring" visions

So, if it's not the vision that's the problem, and it's not the strategy that's the problem, why do so many leaders experience frustration with putting plans into action?

Do you perceive a strategy-execution gap in your organization? If so, to what do you attribute that?

If not, what are the key competencies or factors in place in your organization that support effective execution?

Posted via email from DigitalNow Lifestream

Latest stats on social networking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:56:00 +0000

According to the latest study conducted by comScore, "social networking sites reach a higher percentage of women than men worldwide. Other key statistics:

Women spend 30% more time on social networking sites than men
75.8% of online women visited a social networking site in May 2010, compared with 69.7% of men
North American women lead the pack - 90.3% of them visited a social networking site in April 2010, followed by online women in Latin America (83.6%) and Europe (83.4%)
Social networking sites now capture the greatest share of all women's total time and attention online (16.3%)
45+ female segment is driving the greatest proportion of growth for the social networking category in both visits and time spent"

Visit MarketingProfs for an indepth discussion and to view charts and comparisons. (Free registration is required.)

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Today's solutions for tomorrow's problems

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:40:00 +0000

The Australian Commwealth Scientific and Industrial Reserach Organization (CSIRO) has recently published a report titled, Our Future World.

The report describes the outcomes from a CSRIO global foresight project and it presents "five global megatrends and global risks that may redefine how people live."

The five megatrends discussed are:

More from less. The world's depleted resources will demand innovations in efficiency.
A personal touch is about the growth of the services industry and innovations in targeted services.
Divergent demographics - some countries have an aging population that is suffereing from "lifestyle and diet related health problems" while others are experiencing population growth and food shortages.
On the move. People move more. They switch jobs. They move their families. They travel more.
iWorld. "Everything in the natural world will have a digital counterpart."

Read the report here.

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Balancing your (community) hats

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:51:00 +0000

Those of you who are, shall we say "seasoned," may remember watching Captain Kangaroo reading a book titled, "Hats for Sale," in which a hat salesman balanced his entire inventory on his head. Today's generation might retitle that book, "Communities to Manage."

Richard Millington, online community consultant to organizations such as United Nations and The Global Fund, says that an effective community manager must wear at least five hats:

"The friend engages people individually.
The recruiter persuades people to join the online community.
The enforcer keeps things clean.
The editor implements much of the community strategy.
The entrepreneur looks for opportunities to add value to the community."

Detailed descriptions of each of these roles can be found on Rich's blog.

Do you have a place to hang all of these hats in your organization? Are several different people working to execute these roles, or is one person doing the balancing act? Leave a comment and share your best practices.

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Getting your app on

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:30:00 +0000

According to Mary Meeker, Morgan Stanley analyst, in five years people will be using mobile technology to access the internet far more than they will be using any desktop devices. And, e-commerce spend seems to be rising in proportion to ease of connectivity. What does this mean to you? If you're not using mobile apps to reach out to your members/customers, now is the time.

MarketingProfs provides these quick get-started tips on how to build the mobile app of your dreams, including:

Create a 'lite' version of your app
Tune in to user behavior
Don't buy into the idea that app development is too much work

Does your organization have a mobile app available already? Do you have one in process? Leave a comment and share your best practices and lessons learned with the community.

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Your next favorite book

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:01:00 +0000

Whether your're intersted in your potential for creativity, in how to create and foster greater productivity, or in learning about the latest in leadership theory, the Harvard Business Review has a list of recommendations for books by today's hottest and most progressive authors, including:

Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead by Charlene Li

The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance byTony Schwartz, with Jean Gomes and Catherine McCarthy

The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Winby Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich

Reinventing Management: Smarter Choices for Getting Work Done by Julian Birkinshaw

See additional recommendations at Harvard Business Review.

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Standardizing the creative process

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:34:00 +0000

In 1981, Motorola developed its Six Sigma business management strategy. The objective of Six Sigma is to improve process quality by removing the causes of error and minimizing variability.

According to Advertising Age, "... marketing spend is the number 1 investment for most businesses - more even than IT or training." So why haven't agencies adopted the Six Sigma approach to standardize the development of marketing communications products and services? According to author Avi Dan, "Some people argue Six Sigma cannot work in an agency or any organization that depends on innovation. These people believe that creative organizations are often built on the principle of trial and error, and the rigorous confinement to the norm is too stifling. Yet others believe that a disciplined process is essential to optimize the client-agency relationship."

Avi suggests that Chief Marketing Officers should embrace the spirit and attitude of Six Sigma, but should apply it with a light hand. He offers these ten suggestions for applying intelligent discipline to the creative process.

Do you currently use a process to help ensure creative quality? Do you think it is advisable? Possible?

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

The Definitive Hamburger

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:28:00 +0000

When McDonald's standardized their menu in the 1950s, they were demonstrating exploitation of a successful formula for the delivery of the definitive hamburger. This exploitation led them into unprecendented growth.

When McDonald's started serving salads in the 1980s, they were demonstrating the kind of exploration necessary when successful formulas no longer support a valid outcome.

In other words, when people wanted hamburgers, McDonalds perfected a method to meet that need better than anyone. And when some of those hamburger-lovers started wanting salad instead, McDonald's found a way to successfully deviate from the formula in order to develop innovations to support continued relevance.

According to LeadershipNow, exploitation and exploration must always occur concurrently; it's what is referred to as design thinking, and it's what helps prepare organizations to meet an unpredictable future.

Let's play 20 questions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:03:00 +0000

Whether you're a software developer working on the next big app, a service provider running a local boutique business, or an association executive providing education and information to a global membership, you are in business - and if you're going to be successful, you need to keep lots of proverbial balls in the air.

Forbes.com offers a review of The 20 Most Important Questions that you should be asking (and hopefully answering) about your business, including:

What differentiates your product from the competition?
How committed are you to making this happen?
How much power do your suppliers have?
What is your end game?

What business are you in, and what crucial questions you are currently working to answer?

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

DigitalNow 2010 - a res

Internet revolution has just begun

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:56:00 +0000

Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations and the new book Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age says that we are seeing just the beginning of the cultural and creative opportunities afforded by our use of the Internet. It's key to note that Shirky doesn't credit the Internet; he credits the creativity and innovation of the people who use - the "souls of the machine."

As part of the senior-project presentations at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program, Shirky "encouraged programmers and Web designers to build online systems that will get visitors talking, sharing, and creating, rather than passively reading and watching."

Perhaps his most provocative point was that in his estimation Americans now spend 200 billion hours each year passively watching televsion - "with 100 million hours of that squandered each weekend watching just advertisements."

Just imagine what we could so with all of that "cognitive surplus" if we learned to redirect it into making creative and innovative contributions online.

"What matters most now is our imaginations," he writes at the end of his new book. "The opportunity before us, individually and collectively, is enormous; what we do with it will be determined largely by how well we are able to imagine and reward public creativity, participation, and sharing."

Read Jeffrey R. Young's complete article at The Chronicle.

Posted from the Fusion Productions InfoStream. To view the original post, click here.

Cool new hashtag tool

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:39:00 +0000

If you'd like to know who's using a particular hashtag, and even see a chart of its activity, then you'll want to visit http://www.hashtags.org.

For those of you who may not be familiar with proper use of hashtags, here's a quick overview:

A Twitter hashtag is a keyword that is appended to all of the posts or "Tweets" that are related to a common topic. This allows users to follow the posts about a topic, rather then being confined to reading the Tweets of people they are following. If you wanted to see who's talking about the World Cup, for example, you would simply perform a Twitter search for #worldcup. The resulting page would present all of the Tweets that have been tagged that way - even if posted by people you're not following.

Using a hashtag is a great way to ensure that you are an active participant in conversations about a specific topic or event. Searching by hashtag enables you to find others with interests common to yours, to do market research, or find a subject matter expert.

A couple key things to keep in mind:

Don't use a hashtag unless your post really does relate to the topic at hand. It clutters up the stream for everyone else
Don't create a new hashtag for a topic or event until you've determined whether one has already been put into practice
Pick one or two hashtags for each Tweet - don't crowd your post with so many tags that you have no characters left to say anything

For those of you who are want to be part of the MPI WEC 2010 conversation, the official hashtag is #wec10 - pass it on!!

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