Pinterest is the latest growth bubble in social media. It strikes me that it is an example of the power of time travel in marketing! Photo's are the ultimate time travel accessory. When you see a photo it triggers a memory, it takes you to an experience in your life. The photo only acts as a trigger and they give the power to you....the photo allows you to pick the experience and allows you to guide yourself through the experience. Photo's therefore are like the ultimate Dr Who time travel box. It is not whether you are in the photo,...

"Wherever life is, it never retreats" Words of Kevin Kelly during his 2005 Ted Talk on How Technology Evolves. As much as we sometimes would like the world to stop so that we can catch our breath....it won't. I have written about social business a lot recently and that is because I feel that technology evolves then business models adapt to cope with the technology. Social media was a use of the technology. The greater effect though was raising the expectation of the consumer. Now the consumer has found their voice, they want more.....like Oliver Twist! A voice is wonderful...

"We don't use machines because although they seem to help at first, they produce limitations in the long run" The words of Rosa Lladro in a recent interview in Monocle magazine. It struck me as such an important part of business and indeed of using social media. As humans we like structure and boundaries. Yet what makes brands stand out from the crowd is true creativity. True creativity is Not looking at what you are capable of....but what you want to make and making it possible Not having a huge budget and using business consultants..instead of spending big money, spend...

This week's The Engaging Brand podcast covering social media, business ideas and brand marketing tips, is ready to download. Alex Meisl, Chairman of Sponge which he has developed into Europe's market leader on Mobile Marketing with operations in 20 countries, joins Anna Farmery to discuss What is mobile marketing? What actually is mobile advertising? What is the difference between marketing to the different devices? The concept of mobile shopping How 80% of advertisers do not have a mobile site - staggering google mobile website data? Check out GoMo from Google How to make a mobile website How a mobile website...

In 1955 Sarnoff was speaking about mass media and said "We are too prone to make technological instruments the scapegoats...The products of modern science are not in themselves good or bad; it is the way they are used that determines their value" Strikes me in over 50 fifty years, as much as technology advances.....our ability to develop our minds as humans, remains harder! Value in life comes not in using things, not in owning things....but in connecting 'things'. Connecting ideas Connecting technology to how to make life better - for you and others Connecting people through the art of technology

Social business in the future will not be about products or services, it will be about connections. There....my prediction for business over the next decade. Social capitalism will link put emphasis on the role of business within society. Not just about providing employment but in protecting resources and developing commuinity across the globe. Social business will have assets and liabilities.....but these will mainly be in the connections and talents they have access to....rather than in machinery. Social business will work with the customer rather than for the customer or to the customer. Social intelligence will be about seeing how people,...

Accounting for people is much more difficult than accounting for profit. Yet people are the value creators....we are much better at thinking about return on investment of machinery than we are of people. Why? I tend to think it is more emotional, it is sensitive. Yet if someone cannot answer a simple question of how they bring value into the business, then they are not fully engaged. A credit controller is bringing in money to pay the wages, to create the ideas, to sell to the market etc Of course if we don't measure then we can judge on who...

Profit is a strange word. I remember Dad teaching me that profit was the ultimate guide on the strength of the leadership and management of a company. "Profit is a snapshot of employee engagement. It is the sign that people understand their roles, their market and their vision. It is the only business scorecard that you need. It is not a given, it is a reward for what a company has given to society" He was a huge believer that a strong track record of sensible profit over several years, was the ultimate 'prophet' of a company who understand, promised...

If you are passionate about a subject, and you know enough to be a reference for those looking for information about it, you have the potential to be a thought leader in the field. As a thought leader, you can share the knowledge you have so that others can learn from what you’ve already discovered and continue to build upon that knowledge to work on ideas and solutions. The trick is to let people know what you know. If you want to get your knowledge and expertise out into the world, there are multiple ways to show your thought leadership...