Insightful interview with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman in which he talks about his background and what it means to be an entrepreneur. Here's a sampling: "This is one of the things I love about entrepreneurship. You're encountering new challenges, and you have to...
My new column is out. The Small Business Edge: Why Solopreneurs and Small Businesses Will Weather the Downturn, looks at why I believe that small business has a big edge in this economy. Five quick reasons: Innovation Networks Competition Nimbleness Flexibility You...
It's never a good idea to get too caught up in our great ideas, inventions, and innovations. Ask Tropicana, the most recent brand to get wrapped up in its righteousness without stopping to take the pulse of its community. Businesses need fresh voices and outside...
I love boards. Not sawed lumber, though I imagine that comes in handy if you need to build shelter from the rain. But those management structures that are designed to provide guidance, oversight, and strategic direction to an organization. I believe that all...
I had the pleasure of speaking about social media to two PR classes at the University of Maryland last week. They're smart students, and they're just starting to explore social media. Almost all of them had Facebook pages, a few were on LinkedIn, a couple on MySpace,...
Why is everyone's first instinct to think that Twitter is silly and self-indulgent? Admit it, you probably felt that way once--or still do. I've been pondering the Twitter start-up barrier the last few days as I pull thoughts together for a conversation I'm having on...
A recent study on social media trends offers some useful insights on small business use of social media. The top line findings--that Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, and Facebook are marketers' preferred social media tools--is pretty predicable. But it's some of the other...
WHY should I join your network? I've seen a number of so-called discussion questions on LinkedIn Groups lately that are are on the theme of "Open Networker -- please link to me" and "I'm building out my network -- please invite me to connect." In none of these cases...
Did GM's CEO have to go? There's been a lot of discussion about the government's move to replace Rick Wagoner as a precursor to any wholesale restructuring by the troubled automaker. My own opinion: He had to go. Reinventing a business is hard work, and it typically...
I'm a huge fan of newspapers, and I love the physical act of reading the newspaper. And yet I cancelled my subscription to The Washington Post today. Newspapers are in a vicious cycle: they are losing readership (and subscribers), so they're cutting back. In recent...