• ONLINE SPIN
    Fitbit: Best Personal Tech of 2013
    I acquired some cool new tech gadgets in 2013. Most gadgets were iterative improvements -- like my Macbook Air laptop and an HTC One smart phone.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    2014 Predictions? Bah, Humbug!
    I learned a new word earlier this year, courtesy of fellow Online Spinner Max Kalehoff. To be clear, Max did not invent the word "listicle," but brought it to my attention through his post on the topic. If you want a definition of "listicle," I refer you to Wikipedia, or to Max's article. As far as I'm concerned, a listicle is usually nothing more than a PowerPoint bullet point slide masquerading as journalism or blog post, and it is everywhere in our online content world. At no time is the practice more prevalent then at year's end, with "The Best/Worst …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Pirate Bay, The U.S., And North Korea -- Or, Catch Me Online If You Can
    The Pirate Bay is once again leading governments on a merry chase around the world. In the past week, it has migrated from Sint Maarten to Ascension Island to Peru to Guyana, where it sits as of the time of this writing. I would say it was under attack, but it's kind of unfair to call it an attack when it's so destined to fail. While The Defenders of Copyright pursue myriad legal actions to withdraw domain names from the peer-to-peer torrenting site, its owners simply shift to a new top-level domain with a few clicks
  • ONLINE SPIN
    How Big Will The Digital Video Currency Market Be?
    I believe that the digital video currency market will be much bigger than the TV currency market, and that a market leader like Nielsen is likely to be able to extract more from the digital video market than the company does from TV today. Though, as with every firm operating in dynamic digital markets, it depends on Nielsen's execution. So it could also extract less in digital than TV.Here's why I believe this:
  • ONLINE SPIN
    What Is The CMO's Role?
    There are lots of CMOs in the world, and some do more than others. In the past, I've said you should never trust a CMO who won't go out and sell, but it's more than that. To truly understand what makes a great CMO, you have to understand more about the role they play in your organization -- a role that will be changing over the next few years.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Questions You Ask (And Don't) Reveal The Most About You
    Every hiring manager has a favorite list of interview questions. They fortify the give-and-take of an interview while testing knowledge, skills, personality and interpersonal skills -- all in an effort to predict a job candidate's suitability. I'm always friendly and polite in interviews, and I'm genuinely interested in other people. But I like to get down to business by asking, "What questions can I be helpful answering?" In most cases, the response to that first question indicates within seconds how relevant, prepared and interested a candidate is.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Mary Meeker Is Right/Mary Meeker Is Wrong
    In my daily practice, I interact with many Fortune 500 Companies from around the world. Most of them have embraced digital, social and mobile media as an integral part of their connections strategy. Some of them have done so out of a true belief and understanding of what these touch points add to the consumer experience and engagement with the brand. Others have done so "because I have to, says my agency/CMO/daughter." Consequently, ad spend in all these digital touch points continues to grow at a very fast rate. However, Rick Webb, a partner at VC fund Quotidian Ventures, made …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    WestJet Santa Stunt Leaves Sour Taste
    We've all had that moment: the moment when you go against the grain, when you don't get the joke, when you refuse to go along with the meme or you're the only one pointing out that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes. I had that moment this week, when I finally watched the now-famous WestJet Santa video tearing up my NewsFeed - currently sitting on 15 million views and counting.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Media's Future: The More Things Change...
    Almost three years after my last post to the Spin Board ("It's Not All Changing, But Nothing Is Going To Be The Same"), here I am again. I can't tell you how nice it felt to go back to read that last post, and still feel good about every word (can't say the same for all of them).
  • ONLINE SPIN
    What Big Data Does For Brand Advocacy
    Have you ever had a one-on-one conversation with someone that was so important to you, you felt the need to share it with someone else? What made that interaction resonate so much for you? Brands can have this kind of impact on consumers through big data.
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