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Imagine the possibilities of a world in which we are able to make trusted connections between a near-infinite number of people. A world in which transaction costs, time and distance are reduced to almost nil. A world that is instantly available from a smartphone, anywhere, anytime.
This global revolution, enabled by databases, search engines and connectivity, has begun. It’s allowing mankind to break free from the limits of the past. We start doing what we do best: collaborating and sharing, at an unprecedented scale — a significant untapped potential for sharing is unlocked on a whole new level, creating value for all.
Thanks to platforms that connect peers and enable the creation of interpersonal online trust, individuals are suddenly empowered to share goods, knowledge, money, skills, network, content, etc. They regain their ability to contribute more directly to society and the economy, but on a global scale, redefining relationships between economic and social actors along the way.
We are at the dawn of a new era, the sharing age, which impacts all dimensions of our relationships with others....
What we need are people who have a passion for connections. Who understand that there is a point to all of this that transcends clicks and shares and views and downloads and lead gen. And that point — the mission of content — is this:
Content is the emotional and informational bridge between commerce and consumer.
Building that bridge requires more than budget and an editorial calendar and analytics and a strategy. It requires people who care…no, it requires people who LOVE content and what it can do. Not what it can do for revenue and profits and the reduction of customer churn, although those are nice outcomes....
You could sift through piles of dense data sets in an attempt to understand the trends and discoveries that emerged in history, psychology, current events, and even fictional dragons in 2014. Or you could look at these infographics, which visualize otherwise overwhelming data as beautiful charts, graphs, and maps.
Co.Design's Infographic of the Day series regularly showcases the best in data visualization, and this past year saw many stellar examples of the power of the well-designed visualization to illuminate information about nearly any subject, from the serious (the daily activities of Congress) to the frivolous (a visual compendium of the world's best dogs).
We couldn't resist promoting Co.Design's own in-house data visualizations: the Great Wheel of Food Mashups and a map of each U.S. state's weirdest eating patterns (we're a bit food-fixated, apparently). Here, our favorite infographics from the past year.
But before we dig deeper, here are two more facts for you: - According to studies, B2B companies with a blog generate 67% more leads than those that don’t have a blog.
- In another survey, 79% of best-in-class marketers rank blogs as the most effective marketing tactic.
Blogging is practically a given these days, regardless of your title or industry — and for good reason.
Though there are plenty of ingredients required to make it… rather than just write to an abyss, quality blog posts are one that you just can’t overlook.
But what exactly makes a great blog post? Here are eight tips to take your blog from good to great....
Contented marketing success isn't really about marketing at all. It's about courage.
I believe these things: - The best content is content that people cherish, not content that people tolerate. - The best content is content that people want, not content that companies think they need. - The best content is content so useful that people would pay for it if you asked them to do so. - The best content is a Youtility....
Minimalist web designs, when properly done, are always a great source of inspiration. It is very interesting to see how designers approach the task of delivering a project in a simple way. Keeping only important elements in the layout and getting rid of things that are not essential. And remember that you can still use colors in a minimalist website, so don’t worry about having to stick to neutral colors. Check out the examples we have here and give a shot to the minimalist approach in your next project....
Nearly every company, especially in B2B, now practices some form of content marketing. Most of it's garbage, junk—crap. How can you possibly succeed amidst today's deluge of crappy content?
... So what’s with the crappy attitude?
Hang with me. The future’s bright. But here and now, I want to impress something important on you…
Content marketing is not your secret weapon anymore. You might be podcasting, publishing newsletters, offering eBooks, posting videos, etc. Surely, you’re blogging and sharing your stuff with social media.Good for you. These are smart strategies to get discovered online and build relationships. You get that.
But do you get this? Everyone else is doing it too. Seriously, in the recently published research report by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, it says 93% of B2B companies are active in some way, shape or form in content marketing....
Does Medium want to be a platform for writing of all kinds, or does it want to be a magazine-style curated experience for readers? The two are very different, and the potential for conflict is great.
Great content lies at the intersection of your company’s core values and the passions of your audience. Here's how your content marketing can ignite a movement. If you haven’t seen Nirvan Mullick’s short (10-minute) film called “Caine’s Arcade,” watch it now. You’ll be glad you did — and the rest of this inaugural ContentVenn post is going to make a lot more sense. (If you have seen it, read on!) The power of great content marketing
Caine’s Arcade is unbelievably powerful content. It is emotional, heart-warming, and inspired. Caine’s Arcade is so powerful, in fact, that it has spawned a movement. When Nirvan posted the video on April 9, 2012, viewers immediately began donating money towards a scholarship fund for Caine Monroy. Ten days after the release of the film, Caine’s scholarship fund hit the $170,000 mark. That’s powerful content. And it all could have ended there. But it hasn’t. Creating a movement, creating content opportunities
Six months after Caine’s Arcade became a “viral success” it has become a real movement. It’s more than just a Vimeo success story. Today, that 10-minute film has spawned a full-fledged nonprofit with a real mission, real corporate underwriters, and tons more content. Go ahead, check out the Imagination Foundation, whose mission is to “find, foster, and fund creativity and entrepreneurship in kids.” [Here's a powerful and inspiring story and how great storytelling and content can go viral. Lots to learn and potential ideas for nonprofits as well as corporations. Just jump in and enjoy! ~ Jeff]
"Never write more than two pages on any subject."
...After tracing the fascinating story of the most influential writing style guide of all time and absorbing advice on writing from some of modern history’s most legendary writers, here comes some priceless and pricelessly uncompromising wisdom from a very different kind of cultural legend: iconic businessman and original “Mad Man” David Ogilvy. On September 7th, 1982, Ogilvy sent the following internal memo to all agency employees, titled “How to Write”... [Great tips from the master David Ogilvy - JD]
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I’ve had the privilege of my writing being published on Forbes, Mashable, TechCrunch, Time, Fast Company, VentureBeat, Entrepreneur, and several other publications, and if you aspire to see your writing in mainstream publications like these, perhaps there is something in my story that will help you get there.
The writing I’ve had published has brought me speaking opportunities, a book deal, and more than 1000% growth for my business. I’ve been able to interview and network with my marketing and business heroes, all in the last two and a half years. Prior to that, my writing had never appeared in a mainstream publication. I was just a guy nobody had heard of, posting here and there on my blog, with a small handful of readers. This is the story of how everything changed. ...
I was haunted by the sentiment expressed by a young blogger who said he is sick of people in the social media business holding him down. This video is my response. It’s not fancy, but then … neither am I.
Single page designs can be an excellent technique for tackling smaller websites, even those that you might not think could ever be done without multiple pages. There are tons of great reasons for using a single page site, from ease of maintenance to reduced bandwidth needs.
If you’re tackling a shorter site, one that would normally have a handful of pages, consider using a single page, and see if it will make the project easier and more user friendly. Read on for more information on the benefits, when (and when not) to use them, and some best practices you should follow....
Most 16-year-olds are focused on sports or cars or maybe even the SATs. For Tyler Millis and Arjit Kansal, two teens from Fort Meyers, Florida and New Delhi, India, respectively, their passion is PowerPoint. Yep, you read that right: PowerPoint.
The two 16-year-olds beat out 400,000 candidates from 130 countries to be named Microsoft Office Specialist World Champions— Millis in PowerPoint 2007, and Kansal in PowerPoint 2010. The 13th annual competition, sponsored by Certiport, holds a series of tests and interviews for students to show off their knowledge of Microsoft Office products. Only 123 students made it to the final round, with Millis and Kansal taking home the PowerPoint titles and $5,000 scholarships....
Each year, the list of branded social media accomplishments grows longer, and the Shorty Awards are never far behind in recognizing them.
This year's roster of finalists, being announced today, includes nominees in categories ranging from "Best Brand on Vine" to the delightfully meta "Best Use of Social Media by One Brand Responding to Another Brand."
"New platforms continue to emerge and evolve at an unrelenting pace. While most struggle to keep up, Shorty Awards finalists are thriving in this environment," Greg Galant, executive producer and cofounder of the Shorty Awards tells Adweek. "We'll be celebrating their creations on every form of social media."
Check out the full list of finalists below....
Across the twenty or thirty I’ve scoured in the past day or so, the usual suspects appear. In 2014, we are going to see brands “do more native ads”, “Editorial homepages” and curiously uninformative infographics.
To be blunt: the future of content marketing in 2014 looks exactly like content marketing did in 2013. And 2012. And 2011.
Boring. Bloated. Samey. Uninspiring. Lumpen....
Five Steps to Multimedia Storytelling Is a valuable, free course offered through Poynter News University.
TITLE:Five Steps to Multimedia StorytellingTYPE:Self-Directed Course T IME ESTIMATE:This course takes about one to two hours to complete.
ABOUT SELF-DIRECTED COURSES
In a self-directed course, you can start and stop whenever you like, progressing entirely at your own pace and going back as many times as you want to review the material.
Want to spread your wings beyond print reporting, but don’t know where to start? In this course, you’ll learn the basic steps of telling your story with multimedia. You’ll discover ways to map out your story before you head out to do your reporting. And you’ll learn when to use such tools as audio, video and graphics.
WHAT WILL I LEARN? - Upon completing this course, you will be able to:Identify the elements in a multimedia story. - Understand which stories are more suitable for multimedia - Sketch a concept for a story - Identify tools needed to gather content in the field...
Neon Luminance is a brilliant light painting concept created by photographers Sean Lenz and Kristoffer Abildgaard of From the Lenz multimedia productions. The duo used high-powered Cyalume glow sticks of various colors dropped into the waterfalls of Northern California to create an amazing pallet of light paintings. They were able to then capture these brilliant exposures varying from 30 seconds to 7 minutes of submerged trails of light as these sticks floated through the water current. To accomplish the rainbow-like effect seen, they combined several sticks together experimenting with different patterns of illumination. And for you environmentalists, don't worry no harm came to the surrounding nature in this process! The sticks which are buoyant, were never actually opened and all collected at the end of each exposure captured, thus eliminating any toxic gunk from entering the natural water supply....
Create stories that inspire your customers to step out of the status quo, take action, and invest through you into a better tomorrow. Imagine if the power of storytelling could do for your salespeople what it did for Al Gore?
Remember how he went from zero to hero?...
[Terrific blueprint for success in producing various forms of content - JD]
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Fred Mazzella writes a really thoughtful post about the "sharing age." Recommended reading. 9/10