Crowdspark Crowdspark CrowdSpark is about telling a story. It is about sharing experiences, business models, and marketing trends and things that are yet to become trends. It s about branding, and how we look at branding, it is about looking ahead, and looking behind us t
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Has Facebook become Spambook?
2008-01-09 03:37:00 You have been bitten by a vampire, so and so’s added some innocuous application that you really could care less about, add this application to spam and alienate the few friends that you have left. This is just a sample of the garbage that now populates the Facebook mini-feed (cynicism aside of course). What was a once a rather gratifying exercise in voyeurism has now turned into a something resembling a flea market escapade. Then there’s the wall which went from elegant simplicity to becoming the equivalent of an elementary school art project and the mini-feed, which is now full of mostly junk interspersed with the occasional treasure of friend related gossip. (more…)
The Pop Shoppe as Social Object
2008-01-07 17:00:00 On what was a pretty normal and sedate work day, a colleague from work brought in a bottle of old-style Pop Shoppe pop (soda to those of you south of the border) , which has recently been resurrected from the graveyard of the 80’s. What struck me as interesting was the excitement that the return of this product inspired in my colleagues. It was almost as if they regressed to childhood in front of my eyes, swaddled in oversized adult clothing as they marvelled at the bottle. You would almost think it was the Coke bottle from The Gods Must be Crazy. While, I’m way too young to remember the Pop Shoppe in its original incarnation and thus couldn’t share in the recollection of fond memories, what really grabbed me where these tiny sayings written on each bottle. The orange ‘pop’ bottle read: “You’re not the boss of me.” and the grape flavour read: “My Dad Is Bigger Than Your Dad.” That got me thinking about how these simple playground bante... More About: Social , Object
The Pop Shoppe as Social Object
2008-01-07 17:00:00 On what was a pretty normal and sedate work day, a colleague from work brought in a bottle of old-style Pop Shoppe pop (soda to those of you south of the border) , which has recently been resurrected from the graveyard of the 80’s. What struck me as interesting was the excitement that the return of this product inspired in my colleagues. It was almost as if they regressed to childhood in front of my eyes, swaddled in oversized adult clothing as they marvelled at the bottle. You would almost think it was the Coke bottle from The Gods Must be Crazy. (more…) More About: Social , Object
A New Start for a New Year
2008-01-07 05:47:00 Ok so it’s 2008, and we’ll let you in on a little secret, we kind of dropped the ball last year. Okay, we didn’t “kind of” drop the ball, we dropped it, and then it rolled under the rug. We turned into one of “those” blogs, you know, the ones that only get updated as often as the weather forecast gets it right. So in the spirit of the new year, we resolved to do better (I know, I know, resolutions don’t work) and after some discussion, we looked back on what we did right, and what we did wrong, and have a new plan as to how we are going to keep things rolling in 2008, without just relying on good faith in our resolution. By sharing our blogging schedule with you, we’re putting it everything on the line that we’re actually going to post on a regular basis. Here’s what you can expect from Crowdspark in 2008: regular posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday covering marketing, customer service and user experience, engagi... More About: New Year , Start , Year
A New Start for a New Year
2008-01-07 05:47:00 Ok so it’s 2008, and we’ll let you in on a little secret, we kind of dropped the ball last year. Okay, we didn’t “kind of” drop the ball, we dropped it, and then it rolled under the rug. We turned into one of “those” blogs, you know, the ones that only get updated as often as the weather forecast gets it right. So in the spirit of the new year, we resolved to do better (I know, I know, resolutions don’t work) and after some discussion, we looked back on what we did right, and what we did wrong, and have a new plan as to how we are going to keep things rolling in 2008, without just relying on good faith in our resolution. By sharing our blogging schedule with you, we’re putting it everything on the line that we’re actually going to post on a regular basis. Here’s what you can expect from Crowdspark in 2008: regular posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday covering marketing, customer service and user experience, engagi... More About: New Year , Start , Year
3 Tips to Get Your Hive Buzzing
2007-06-19 14:31:00 For something to be exciting, to become viral or sought out by others; it has to be unleashed by a positive and sincere enthusiasm from the creator and her internal community who give life to it. [Read More] More About: Tips , Uzzi , Hive
3 Tips to Get Your Hive Buzzing
2007-06-19 14:31:00 For something to be exciting, to become viral or sought out by others; it has to be unleashed by a positive and sincere enthusiasm from the creator and her internal community who give life to it. [Read More] More About: Tips , Uzzi , Hive
You Have the Right to Privacy (So Long as you can Afford it)
2007-05-08 20:41:00 I was just having another look at the now infamous Does What happens in the Facebook stay in the Facebook presentation and it got me thinking about online privacy and what a paradox it is. Anything online is easily reproduced and propagated by virtue of the internet being digital and omnipresent in nature. It is therefore a medium which is fundamentally at odds with the idea of privacy because the preservation of privacy requires the existence of informational silos which limit said information from spreading too far. The idea that the real world concept of these “contextual silos” which prevent information from spreading very far beyond it’s original context could be transferable to the web is flawed because digital information is ubiquitous. Anything on the web can potentially be seen by anyone, anywhere at anytime, whereas in real life a night of say, alcohol fueled revelry, would only be witnessed by people present at the event and would be known to only so man... More About: Privacy , Long
Business Plan 2.0: Eliminating the Fortune Telling
2007-05-07 18:21:00 The business plan is sorely in need of reinvention. Much like fortune telling, it continues to be an elaborate, ritualistic and time-honored exercise in pre-cognition. The whole thing is about as reliable as a stock tip overheard at a racetrack. It’s such a meaningless exercise in terms of the depth bankers and investors want from these plans. There’s no crystal ball to assure the future, but they want you to make it look that way. Not to say that there is no value to a business plan, because that would be overstating the case. A business plan is a good exercise in strategic planning that is useful in bringing considerations to the forefront, which might otherwise become nasty future surprises. However, it’s definitely high time that we had second-generation business plans, business plan 2.0 if you will. Above all, the most important thing is (more…) More About: Business , Fortune , Business Plan , Ness , Tune
Business Plan 2.0: Eliminating the Fortune Telling
2007-05-07 18:21:00 The business plan is sorely in need of reinvention. Much like fortune telling, it continues to be an elaborate, ritualistic and time-honored exercise in pre-cognition. The whole thing is about as reliable as a stock tip overheard at a racetrack. It’s such a meaningless exercise in terms of the depth bankers and investors want from these plans. There’s no crystal ball to assure the future, but they want you to make it look that way. Not to say that there is no value to a business plan, because that would be overstating the case. A business plan is a good exercise in strategic planning that is useful in bringing considerations to the forefront, which might otherwise become nasty future surprises. However, it’s definitely high time that we had second-generation business plans, business plan 2.0 if you will. Above all, the most important thing is (more…) More About: Business , Fortune , Business Plan , Plan
He said, She said
2007-04-28 20:12:00 ian writes: “I recently tried to add an additional bank account to my ING Direct Savings account, by sending them a cheque for decently sized chunk of money. After confirming that the cheque had been cashed, I call them to find that they cannot deposit the cheque into my savings account because my bank told them it was tied to a line of credit account.”"Line of credit? I don’t have one of those. It’s a regular everyday chequing account.” “I would suggest calling your bank and sorting this out, and then calling us back.” (more…)
He said, She said
2007-04-28 20:12:00 ian writes: “I recently tried to add an additional bank account to my ING Direct Savings account, by sending them a cheque for decently sized chunk of money. After confirming that the cheque had been cashed, I call them to find that they cannot deposit the cheque into my savings account because my bank told them it was tied to a line of credit account.”"Line of credit? I don’t have one of those. It’s a regular everyday chequing account.” “I would suggest calling your bank and sorting this out, and then calling us back.” (more…) More About: Said
The New Corporate Reality of Blogging
2007-03-23 06:51:00 PR giant Edelman asks Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void to give a talk on the reality of corporate blogging in a post-Cluetrain Manifesto era. A very insightful piece that is well worth reading. More About: Reality , Blogging , Corporate
The New Corporate Reality of Blogging
2007-03-23 06:51:00 PR giant Edelman asks Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void to give a talk on the reality of corporate blogging in a post-Cluetrain Manifesto era. A very insightful piece that is well worth reading. More About: Reality , Blogging , Corporate , Real , Blogg
Monopoly with Real Money
2007-03-10 20:09:00 I remember endless hours of my youth spent playing Monoploy, gleefully bankrupting friends and relatives alike while I had visions of being the next Trump. I always wondered what playing the game would feel like if those colorful pieces of Monoploy money were real instead. Now a new venture out of Montreal called Weblo promises to fulfill my childhood longings. Weblo is hoping to strike it rich by staking its claim in the cyber gold rush to build and populate virtual worlds and massively multi player online games (MMOG’s). Hoping to cash in on the same trend that has turned Second Life and World of War Craft into the phenomena that they are, Weblo has created a virtual world that is essentially a carbon copy of the real world. (more…) More About: Money , Real , Monopoly , Poly
Monopoly with Real Money
2007-03-10 20:09:00 I remember endless hours of my youth spent playing Monoploy, gleefully bankrupting friends and relatives alike while I had visions of being the next Trump. I always wondered what playing the game would feel like if those colorful pieces of Monoploy money were real instead. Now a new venture out of Montreal called Weblo promises to fulfill my childhood longings. Weblo is hoping to strike it rich by staking its claim in the cyber gold rush to build and populate virtual worlds and massively multi player online games (MMOG’s). Hoping to cash in on the same trend that has turned Second Life and World of War Craft into the phenomena that they are, Weblo has created a virtual world that is essentially a carbon copy of the real world. (more…) More About: Money , Real , Monopoly
Top Ten Killer Tradeshow Tips
2007-03-05 15:00:00 Seeing as conference and trade show season is upon us, I thought it appropriate to share some of my favorite “killer” trade show tips. Here are 10 great trade show tips we’ve come across that are sure to make your organization stand out at that next trade show. What are some of your favorite tips? Let us know in the comments. Market your trade show exhibition. Depending on your budget allocation, market to target customers before the trade show. Use a short clear direct mail/email piece letting target companies know your company will be exhibiting, what the booth number is, where your booth is physically located at the show and what their benefits will be if they stop by your booth. Even better, send out personalized email invitations and get responses on who will be attending and who won’t. Establish a Gender Balance in Your Booth Some people may feel more comfortable approaching your booth if it’s not just full of one gender. It mixes things up, and... More About: Tips , Killer , Ades , Kill , Tradeshow
The Customer is Always Right
2007-02-18 01:40:00 The time-tested saying “The customer is always right” is pretty standard - but what about those times when they’re not. More About: Customer , Right , Custom , Always
Are Marketers Liars? Is Authenticity in Marketing Important?
2007-02-17 00:59:00 Why am I even asking these seemingly obvious questions? (I bet most of you are thinking: “Of course marketers are liars, being inauthentic is their lifeblood.”) Well I was busily attending to the tasks of life in the world of a small company when I got a message from my blogging amigo Chris (the other half of the Crowdspark dynamic duo). He pointed me to an interesting article at Tom Asacker’s blog about authenticity, which got me thinking. Basically Tom makes the argument that Unilever is inauthentic in the way it presents itself because it shows two different faces to the world through it’s marketing for it’s Dove and Axe brands. Tom argues that: (more…) More About: Marketing , Authenticity , Liar , Mark , Liars
Experiencing: Chapters
2007-02-15 08:00:00 Indigo/Chapter s, Canada’s largest retail book chain gets “it”. They understand the relevance of the blog as a means by which they can converse with their customers. In a recent post to my personal blog I recounted my experience at a local Chapters while trying to find a copy of Don Tapscott and Anthony D Williams’ book, Wikinomics. What follows is a brief summary of the experience, how Chapters/Indigo responded to my experience, and how I came away from the experience with a renewed appreciation for the company. (more…) More About: Peri , Erie
The New Rules of Naming
2007-02-07 07:46:00 Seth talks about the new rules of naming. More About: Rules , Ming , Rule , Nami , Naming
The World is in Short Supply of Laughing Children
More articles from this author:2007-02-01 03:29:00 Or so you would think given the number of commercials that use the single giggling child sound effect. Here’s what I’m talking about: Download audio file (LOL.mp3) This sound ships with Trillian as the “LOL” sound, and can be found (I almost expect it) in any commercial that features children enjoying a product or toy. I’ve seen it in Mattel commercials, Fisher Price, Slip and Slide, Mini-Helicopters, even this commercial for GelliBaff, a powder that turns your child’s bath water into a brightly coloured slime, and another powder that turns it back into water. Is the world really so short on laughing children that there aren’t an abundance of laughing children sound clips? Let us know what commercials you’ve found this clip in the comments - links to the actual commercials are a bonus! Or maybe we can all upload clips of laughing children so that marketers will have some obvious alternatives the next time they need to find a single ... More About: Children , World , The World , Child , Short 1, 2 |
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