Marketing

Welcome to our weekly edition of what’s hot in social media news. To help you stay up to date with social media, here are some of the news items that caught our attention. What’s New This Week? Google+ Unveils New Design: The new Google+ design “helps you easily explore content as well as dramatically improves [...]

Today would be his 124th birthday. A fine occasion to think about the effects of industrialization, and what happens when short-term profit-taking meets marketing. Midgeley is responsible for millions of deaths. Not directly, of course, but by, "just doing his job," and then pushing hard to market ideas he knew weren't true—so he and his bosses could turn a profit. His first mistake began when he figured out that adding lead to gasoline appeared to make cars perform better. At the time, two things were widely known by chemists: 1. Adding grain alcohol to gasoline dramatically increases octane and performance, and 2. Ingesting or sniffing lead can lead to serious injury, brain damage and death. The problem for those that wanted to be in the gasoline business was that grain alcohol wasn't cheap, and the idea couldn't be patented. As a result, the search was on for a process that could be protected, that was cheaper and that could open the door for market dominance. If you own the patent on the cheap and easy way to make cars run quieter (and no one notices the brain damage and the deaths) then you can corner the market in a fast-growing profitable industry... As soon as the lead started being used, people began dying. Factory workers would drop dead, right there in the plant. Even Thomas himself contracted lead poisoning. Later, at a press conference where he tried to demonstrate the safety of the gasoline, he washed his hands in it and sniffed it... even though he knew it was already killing people. That brief exposure was sufficient to require six months off the job for him to recover his health. Does this sound familiar? An entrenched industry needs the public and its governments to ignore what they're doing so they can defend their status quo and extract the maximum value from their assets. They sow seeds of doubt, and remind themselves (and us) of the profts made and the money saved. And we give them a pass. Because it's their job, or because it's our job, or because our culture has created a dividing line between individuals who create negative impacts and organizations that do. People who just might, in other circumstances, stand up and speak up, decide to quietly stand by, or worse, actively lie as they engage in PR campaigns aimed at belittling or undermining those that are brave enough to point out just how damaging the status quo is. It took sixty years for leaded gas to be banned in my country, and worse, it's still used in many places that can ill afford to deal with its effects. After leaded gasoline, Midgeley did it again, this time with CFCs, responsible for a gaping hole in the ozone layer. He probably didn't know the effects in advance this time, but yes, the industry fought hard to maintain the status quo for years once the damage was widely known. It's going to take at least a millenium to clean that up. We might consider erecting a statue of him in every lobbyist's office, a reminder to all of us that we're ultimately responsible for what we make, that spinning to defend the status quo hurts all of us, and most of all, that we have to balance the undeniable benefits of progress, innovation and industry with the costs to all concerned. Scaling has impact, so let's scale the things that work. No, nothing is perfect, but yes, some things are better than others. I can't imagine a better person as the symbol a day that's not about honoring or celebrating, but could be about vigilance, candor and outspokenness instead. [Previously: No such thing as business ethics.]

Press release services are dominating the Internet marketing industry. A search for these services will provide you with a long listing of companies based in various parts of the world. Many of these companies offer their services at a fee while others offer them for free. With so many companies claiming to supply the best services it is difficult to make up your mind which way to go. The final decision as to whom you decide to go with rests in your hands. The advertising used by these companies makes you wonder what exactly these services offer. Some companies claim to offer press release writing services only while others claim to offer writing and distribution services. If you aren?t careful you may be forced to do some of the heavy lifting yourself. To make your decision easier, look for the following services in the press release company you choose. 1. Writing and development ? Choose a press release company that will do the writing, editing and development of the press release. As a business owner, you may not have the time or skill to do the writing yourself. You can provide them with the information they require and let them do the writing. The company should also convert the press release into a format that can be easily uploaded into various websites. 2. Press release distribution ? the company you choose should handle the distribution of the press release to the appropriate websites. Many press release service providers have a large network into which they can easily distribute your press release. Some people decide to do this on their own and find they are unsuccessful. Press release service providers will know whom to approach and how to approach them for the best results. This part of the press release development process is a crucial one. It ensures that word of your products or services gets across to the right people. It is better to let the professionals handle this. 3. Response analysis ? This is also important for the success of the press release. The company should provide a way for you to track the responses to your press release. This will give you an idea of how successful this form of marketing is for your business and whether it is worth investing more money into press release services. Take your time and choose the company that meets all your requirements.

Have you thought about education lately? When you say the word "education," most people run in the opposite direction. I dropped out of university (and, if I am to be candid, I was dragged - kicking and screaming - through both elementary and high school). But, I still never allowed my school to get in the way of a good education. I always had sparks of curiosity and the desire to be creative in whatever work I was trying to accomplish. I always had a deep passion to learn, read, write and create (regardless of how bored I was in classrooms). Now, many places in the world have an educational system that is in crisis. We are still training people for an industrial work environment that is quickly fading. We are teaching the children of today for a world of tomorrow that will look very different. Nobody knows this better than Sir Ken Robinson. I've had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Sir Ken on multiple occasions and have been fortunate enough to have significant one on one time to discuss education, the work that the we do and what kind of world we're preparing our young people for with him. Recently, TED published a new TED Talk featuring Sir Ken Robinson that you should watch. If you have kids, if you care about your own education, and if you think about the future, please spend 18 minutes watching this... and make sure to share it. How to escape education's death valley... And, if case you missed his first talk, watch this too... Tags: creativity education educational system school sir ken robinson ted ted talk

The world's richest man says everyone needs feedback beyond one-word descriptors.Bill Gates, who recently reclaimed the title of the richest man in the world, took to the stage earlier this month for a TED talk on one of his pet causes: improving the quality of education. Specifically, the Microsoft creator focused on the need of quality feedback for teachers. "We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve," Gates told the audience. He continued: "When Melinda and I learned how little useful feedback most teachers get, we were blown away. Until recently, over 98 percent of teachers just got one word of feedback: satisfactory. If all my bridge coach ever told me was that I was 'satisfactory,' I would have no hope of ever getting better. How would I know who was the best? How would I know what I was doing differently?"Gates feels thorough peer evaluations, as well as evaluations of teachers by students, might help teachers improve in their career. As an example, Gates used the high-achieving province of Shanghai, China, noting their key to success has been "the way they help teachers keep improving." "They made sure that younger teachers get a chance to watch master teachers at work. They have weekly study groups, where teachers get together and talk about what's working. They even require each teacher to observe and give feedback to their colleagues."In other words, real dialogue engendered real feedback.Like teachers, employees need feedback from their boss. Rather than rely on impersonal one-word evalutations, identify specific aspects of the job workers need to improve on.How have you helped your employees improve?

A group of community-minded start-ups hope to ease the burden of college tuition with the concept of crowdfunding.Striking out on your own is hard, but it's even harder with college loan debt. It's no surprise, then, that a number of start-ups have popped up recently with the mission of tackling America's student loan crisis. According to Federal Reserve Bank of New York, this debt has almost doubled since 2007 and is nearing $1 trillion. In fact, it's already surpassed the mark of auto loan debt, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of $783 billion, and credit card debt, which stands at $679 billion. With almost 40 percent of student loan borrowers owing up to $10,000 and 30 percent more owing up to $25,000, these start-ups have their work cut out for them.Here are six hoping to lessen the burden: Campus Slice This "social funding platform helps you slice your tuition bill by getting support from your family and friends," says its website. By setting up an education and funding goal, and then inviting family and friends to help reach them, students can effectively crowdfund their education. Supporters are asked to make small monthly contributions, thereby keeping costs down while providing the student with a steady flow of income. GiveCollege On this crowdfunding site, parents must register their child's 529 college savings plan on GiveCollege's platform, taking care to mention fundraising opportunities--birthdays, holidays, graduations, etc.--and invite friends and family to contribute.By selecting the type of college parents want their child to attend, GiveCollege can predict the cost of the tuition. "We do this based on the college type you chose, your child's age, the average cost of that college currently, and then the average increase in the cost over the past few years," says Angela Merrill, co-founder. GradSave This start-up aims to crowdfund college tuition, allowing young people to receive monetary birthday and holiday gifts that directly go toward college savings plans, CEO Marcos Cordero told Inc. "Friends and family can contribute directly to their savings in lieu of other temporary gifts," so graduates can "focus more on accomplishing dreams of entrepreneurship rather than on paying back loans." Pave With Pave, prospective students can set up an "innovative social-financial agreement." What does that mean exactly? Students accept a one-time payment from backers in exchange for "a small, affordable percentage of income over a period of 10 years," sort of like selling stock in themselves. The success of the prospect is in their best interest, so backers might opt to provide career guidance, mentorship, and network connections. Tuition.io This start-up is "saving students and graduates time and money, while working with the lenders to streamline the entire process so that everybody wins," says founder Brendon McQueen. Like Mint.com but with a focus on loan debt, Tuition.io helps users manage their student loan portfolio by providing helpful reminders, personalized advice, and tools such as customized payment plans.Upstart Similar to Pave, this start-up lets grads barter funds for "a small share of their future incomes," per its website. "The idea of Upstart is, can you provide a window of economic freedom as well as some guidance and mentorship for people that want to take a non-traditional path?" says founder Dave Girouard.

Marketing automation software provider, Marketo, leaped onto the Nasdaq today with shares jumping by as much as 57 percent after the company raised $79 million in its initial public offering (IPO).

Let’s face it. Today’s marketing tools, tactics, and technologies are wholly unfamiliar to marketing professionals of a bygone era. But so rapid is the evolution of today’s marketing landscape that 40% of current CMOs feel unprepared for the challenges ahead. That’s according to new research from Accenture. “CMOs also said they found it more difficult in 2012 to improve the efficiency of marketing operations (up 8 percentage points compared with 2011) and to improve their workforce’s responsiveness to digital shifts (up 10 percentage points compared with 2011),” explains Ayaz Nanji, a digital strategy and content consultant and a research writer for MarketingProfs. The report, which was used to produce the infographic below, was based on online surveys across 10 countries with 405 senior executives who are described as “key marketing decision makers in their companies.”

Google just wrapped up their developer conference and I’m about to wrap up my coverage . . . for now. Google introduced so many new ideas this week, it’s hard to say which will still be important a month from now or a year from now. But for the moment, there are a few more significant upgrades that I wanted to discuss. First, let’s talk about Google’s move into the world of streaming music. It’s called Google Play Music All Access – which doesn’t exactly roll trippingly over the tongue. Perhaps we should call it GPMAA? Before GPMAA, you could only use Google Play to stream music you purchased through the system. Now, you can listen to just about anything for the low, low price of only $9.99 a month. To get you hooked, you can try it for 30-days for free and if you sign up before June 30, they’ll only charge you $7.99. GPMAA combines internet radio with music storage. When you’re online, you can listen to 20 million songs, just randomly or you can create radio stations based on songs or artists. If you interact with the site, it will learn what you like and don’t like and begin to customize the playlist. If you need music for your daily 1-mile bike ride in the wilderness, you can download songs at no additional cost (I think.) You can also add 20,000 of your own songs which I think is excessive but who am I to judge. You can also buy new songs so I’m not sure how those songs differ from the free downloads. The big news, unlimited skips and no commercials. Sounds worth it for that alone. It looks pretty, but early reviewers haven’t been very kind. There are already complaints about random bugs and the removal of a delete button and other features. Oh well, can’t please all of the people . . . ever. If GPMAA isn’t enough to keep you permanently logged on to Google, their new Google Play game service upgrade should do the trick. The new service let’s you play the same game across all of your devices. Never lose your place, your points, your achievements or leaderboard status. Neat, but it’s really more of an initiative than a new feature since game developers have to add it to their games in order to make it work. Engadget.com says that Super Stickman Golf 2 and World of Goo already have the service – so what more could you ask for? You’re good to Goo. Have you tried the new Google Music service? Tell us what you think of it or any of Google’s new features.

Here are some of the top stories in mobile health that we’ve been monitoring in recent days. Infographic: How Are Healthcare Providers Using Health IT and EHRs? Baylor College of Medicine researchers believe that mobile sensor technology could prove instrumental in helping recovering drug addicts stay clean. QStroke Algorithm May Be Critical in Improving Stroke Treatment Researchers at the University of Nottingham insist that they have created what some are calling a groundbreaking new predictive tool powerful enough to help doctors and healthcare providers identify and treat patients at an elevated risk for suffering a stroke. Innovative Mobile Monitoring Solution Coming to the UK This week, a new partnership was born for the benefit of mHealth across the pond. Want to get the latest mHealthWatch news and insight delivered straight to your inbox? If so, sign up for our free newsletter today!