Archive for March, 2011

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February Brilliance: Nine Awesome Articles You May Have Missed Because Of Charlie Sheen

March 7, 2011

1. Piggybacking Medicine On Coke’s Distribution Channels

Osocio’s “Colalife at TEDxBerlin”

“The idea is simple. Use Coca Cola’s distribution channels to provide remote communities in third world countries with essential medication and water cleaning tablets.”

Read the rest at Osocio

2. The Cream Of TV Isn’t On TV

Doc Searls’ “Al Jazeera in Egypt is cable’s ‘Sputnik moment’”

“Fifteen years ago, the promise of TV was ‘five hundred channels.’ We have that now, but we also have billions of sources — not just ‘channels’ — over the Net. Cream rises to the top, and right now that cream is Al Jazeera and the top is a hand-held device.”

Read the rest at Doc Searls Weblog

3. Simple Leadership Advice

A VC’s “What A CEO Does” and “What A Management Team Does”

“The best management teams create cultures that people enjoy working in. And from that comes great things. I see that every day. As Scott Heiferman said recently ‘teams win.’”

Read the rest at A VC and A VC

4. Simplify, Optimize And Understand

Hacker News’ “Why Your Startup Needs A Visual Dashboard”

“… But we know this, we know what we should be doing, and we’re getting there. So it’s worth sharing our knowledge to date.”

Read the rest at MyGengo

5. Exceptional Work Requires Effort, Not Money

Chase Jarvis’ “Care, Time, & Vision Beat ‘Budget’ Every Time”

“Whether you like HdSLR’s, projection, pop-up books, or not there are a few essential take-aways from this piece for any creative…”

Read the rest at Chase Jarvis Blog

6. Now Here’s A ‘Big Idea’

Mitch Joel’s “The Time Has Come For The Marketing Hacker”

“Digital Marketing is about many messages (and stories) in many different places (or, as I call it, ‘many big ideas’). It can be text, images, audio, video and it can be in the form of content, contest, advertising or conversation. The line is not as clear as simply saying, ‘it’s online advertising.’ Because it’s not.”

Read the rest at Six Pixels Of Separation

7. The Experience Doesn’t Have To Be Complex

Brandflakes For Breakfast’s “Cookies… Delivered”

“And the one and only thing that you maybe think of even more than sex is… cookies. And then it hits you: a sign with a bag, hanging from a window of a two story apartment.”

Read the rest at Brandflakes For Breakfast

Update: Whoops, looks like they were shut down for not having a permit.

8. The Rewards Of Building A Following (491 Comments!)

A VC’s “Blogger’s Block”

Read the rest at A VC

9. Guilty As Charged

Chris Brogan’s “Why You Aren’t As Successful As You Want To Be”

“If you take your head out of those little numbers, you’ll get a lot more of your head back where it belongs. In the game.”

Read the rest at Chris Brogan

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the Keys

the Keys

Creating Advocacy And Humanizing Your Brand Means Sharing Control

March 4, 2011

Gaga tweeted “she is the future.” And Maria Aragon’s career was born, while Lady Gaga’s brand was further humanized, introducing a remarkable story that we can’t stop sharing.

(In case you missed it, here’s the video that sent Maria jetting to multiple talk shows and has earned her phone calls from agents and producers. As of this post, up to 17MM+ views in two weeks.)

There was no user-generated contest, no copy written, no casting. Just a community member who loved a song and let her passion show. The Mother Monster found it, tweeted the link, handed the keys to the community, and launched a rocket.

She could have just said ‘Thanks!’ As many brands are wont to do in social media. Instead, she rewarded her creative fan with a tweet that compelled millions to click — “Can’t stop crying… This is why I make music. She is the future.”

Last night was the culmination of chapter 1 in this story, as Maria Aragon performed live in Toronto with Lady Gaga, thanks a quick hook-up on Toronto’s Virgin Radio.

This is Lady Gaga’s best video. Better than Bad Romance, better than Telephone.

A single tweet earned Lady Gaga a ridiculous amount of positive press, a new level of respect from her existing fan base, and consideration from a broader market who would normally dismiss the cigarette-sunglass-wearing oviparous pop star.

What could you do to hand the keys to a community member? Sometimes, you have to do more than just say thanks. Trust me, you’ll thank me for it.

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