tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41185619530417661192012-02-16T02:52:45.899-05:00Because The Best Information Comes "Through The Browser"Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.comBlogger1541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-88779915674680626412012-02-10T11:32:00.000-05:002012-02-10T11:33:18.154-05:00

(Guest Post) The annual St. Charles Middle School Science Fair in Arlington was held Friday morning, Fedruary 3rd,  in the auditorium, exhibiting the research of the sixth, seventh and eighth grade classes. On display were 39 research projects covering the physical sciences of chemistry, physics, and earth science, as well as the behavioral and social sciences. The Junior Academy of

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-57942660607146862942012-01-31T12:54:00.000-05:002012-01-31T12:54:12.837-05:00

I’ve been working as part of a civic organization and recently noticed some illuminating behavior. One member of our team gets fairly constant praise for average work. I never thought much about it, but then as results got worse, the praise increased. It has gotten to the point where pointless adulation is a significant part of board meetings. Only then did I figure out that the

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-67428415973186338442012-01-18T14:39:00.003-05:002012-01-18T14:39:41.011-05:00

I was listening to Joe Scarborough explaining our current economic situation. He has said repeatedly that our situation comes from choices that were made in the ’70’s, shaping subsequent choices that control what we can do today. In The Direct Economy, I’m showing how our current situation is changing our optimal organization for getting things done. Yet I keep seeing previous

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-29559616498243854232012-01-05T09:01:00.000-05:002012-01-05T09:01:21.769-05:00

Happy New Year! The purpose of education has changed. It’s past time to change the methods and results. For Socrates, a scroll could be read twenty times before crumbling. Read it each time to twenty students and you have squared the impact of the technology. Efficient. It was really expensive to read alone in the Golden Age. In the 1400’s, before Gutenberg, young scholars would go to

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-62554472172605364812011-12-29T11:19:00.002-05:002011-12-29T11:19:59.530-05:00

I was watching a loser grinding to make a mark at a party. The more he tried, the worse he did. It was drunk and ugly. Suddenly I got it. To gain respect, you have to be respectable. Changed my relationship with the word. Previously respectable was nose in the air, Viennese middle class, not much use. Now respectable is a lot less formal. Able to be respected. Familiar territory.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-38808208164772402202011-12-20T15:33:00.001-05:002011-12-20T17:44:25.536-05:00

  I was introduced to Phil Justus of the Rockville Science Center by a friend who is both a volunteer for RSC and a judge for the Washington Academy of Sciences Junior Academy. We are all in violent agreement, that the only reason to learn science is to do science, and the more science you do, the more you learn. Phil had a lovely riff about transforming the typical playground into a

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-88520199455774088842011-12-08T07:16:00.003-05:002011-12-08T07:32:53.751-05:00

Technology is the way we do things. Disruptive means we have changed. Here is a disruptive technology story, from planning for the new year. As a sales executive, I travel to client sites. For the Washington market, Alexandria Drafting Company (who Jack knows as “ADC” from when he was piloting cement trucks) had a great set of maps, either by county or the big book. I needed both since

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-22340506736331323712011-12-02T12:36:00.000-05:002011-12-02T12:36:06.190-05:00

I chair and attend a lot of meetings. I attend a monthly meeting which is a huge frustration. We have an agenda, which I would rate at 25 minutes, which month after month takes over two hours. The new leader, at his first meeting said, “I’ve never seen anything like this!” After a few months he’s been beaten into puzzled acceptance. I got a new glimmer this week while doing some other work.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-50301460146345509302011-11-23T10:15:00.000-05:002011-11-23T10:15:04.621-05:00

Yesterday at Cory Doctorow’s presentation, Bill Van Dyke told me about how the Khan Academy is changing education for the better. Rather than using class time for lectures, students watch ten minute videos and do computerized exercises on their own time. When they get ten answers in a row, they move up a level. The internet teaches, tracks progress, issues achievement badges, shows areas for

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-20611986432439235312011-11-11T14:33:00.002-05:002011-11-11T18:46:57.414-05:00

Stephen Chapman has an interesting post on ZDNet Wikipedia needs to stop begging for donations and start implementing ads  The post energetically extends and embellishes the title. Comments were divided:Jimmy Wales is smarter than you and Wikipedia doesn’t need ads; and Asking for donations feels like the guy who comes up to your car at a stoplight and sprays dirty water on the

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-2136316292739066082011-11-07T16:32:00.000-05:002011-11-07T16:32:13.989-05:00

I was with a friend who sang the chorus of “I don’t do technology” more times than I had verses. He wistfully wondered where all the dialing-for-dollars sales jobs have gone. I disrecall he liked them much, either. Coincidence? James Patterson gets much better rewards from moveable type than Johannes Gutenberg ever did. It’s not the raw technology. It’s what you figure out to do with it. How

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-19965304692138641272011-10-27T16:27:00.002-04:002011-10-29T11:11:35.451-04:00

When learning the long jump, I was taught the jump wasn’t complete until I was out of the pit. That kept me from falling backward and losing total distance. In golf, I get more distance when I exaggerate the follow-through at the end of my swing. The ball also goes in the direction I want. This month, I was working with a team putting together some documentation. I set a delivery date. The

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-88112721354138589412011-10-21T16:35:00.004-04:002011-10-29T11:12:15.712-04:00

I was reading some old notes about why to celebrate failure, a slippery subject, maybe a mental game. Then I realized that if I don’t announce my failures, it’s harder to move on. Can’t have a breakthrough, without declaring the breakdown. Otherwise I spend all my focus grieving, hanging on to a mental closetful of busted attempts. Burn the suckers. Light ’em on fire and dance in the

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-67804744876745759532011-10-11T10:59:00.000-04:002011-10-11T10:59:06.891-04:00

One advantage of posting to the internet is the huge audience. Somebody seems to find value in most anything. What you post is how you are experienced, your electronic personality. A second advantage is the ability to comment, to add to the discussion. Commenting is a developed skill, a habit. You get better the more you try. Comments add different points to the original idea, and often

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-16586505095060698122011-09-20T11:35:00.003-04:002011-10-11T10:50:00.644-04:00

David Sloan Wilson’s Evolution For Everyone is a wonderful, important book on many levels. The book contains the story of a beginning evolutionary biologist’s stories of interesting fieldwork, then becoming an “Evolutionist,” expanding the study of evolution beyond biology, which creates a strain when a new field of study threatens many practitioners of older fields of study. The book tells the

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-37802485225230015262011-09-05T18:10:00.000-04:002011-09-05T18:10:21.026-04:00

I met a “professional mentor” last week. He is going to help some deserving senior managers. Not surprisingly, no one is buying. I’ve been treated to some astonishing mentors. In every case they were working full time on their own needs, and I became a lot sharper helping out. I remember when I came home from college and was pressed into a crew taking up the carpet after the Auto Show in New

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-12378423712922805172011-08-25T14:18:00.000-04:002011-08-25T14:18:39.072-04:00

This one comes from Carol Covin... If you see something good for the group, send it over. “You know how I love stats. Two more ways to track Twitter and Facebook. Best, Carol”  http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/8-ways-to-discover-content-ideas-from-your-readers/ What was the best thing you learned from the post? SalesLab’s Rainmaker series returns to the Capital Technology Management

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-71486235291333664132011-08-23T08:43:00.001-04:002011-08-23T08:45:12.445-04:00

Blogs are persistent, provide a searchable base, and  longer-lived (almost permanent?) record. http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2011/08/19/why-peoples-use-of-blogs-dominates-use-of-twitter-and-facebook/  SalesLab’s Rainmaker series returns to the Capital Technology Management Hub, Tuesday, September 13th with 300 seconds of Mark Your Territory. The featured CTMH speaker will be

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-52252549890797394532011-08-22T17:15:00.001-04:002011-08-22T17:16:18.541-04:00

Julie Perlmutter and I designed a new training for improving corporate blogging operations, modeled after the Sales Lab Status Meetings. This was a one time, interactive presentation for bloggers and managers investigating how to improve their blogging programs. Most of the participants got the BlogLab handout a week before the program. We told everyone it was the handout, with no assignment

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-79558887236754798402011-08-09T09:18:00.000-04:002011-08-09T09:18:31.519-04:00

A post is a sprint. Keeping an active blog for years is a marathon. A sales presentation is a sprint. Winning a sale and delivering the intended result is a marathon. Infatuation is a sprint. A relationship is a marathon. A sprint is a technique, part of a marathon. There are many books about keeping the nose to the grindstone. A lot of rock’n’roll, too. Jackson Browne’s The Pretender

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-88002963134045157832011-08-03T10:42:00.000-04:002011-08-03T10:42:12.939-04:00

If culture is the organizational behavior that is not written in the rules, what happens to your culture when you add a lot of rules? Or, Software is the written record of an organization’s culture. What do you think? Check out Blah, Blah Blog at the Web Managers Roundtable, on August 9. We’ll be investigating how to develop a high impact repeatable blogging operation that makes a difference.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-41529128214998897592011-07-25T16:35:00.000-04:002011-07-25T16:35:43.413-04:00

Newspapers. Do You Get One? is a post by Carol Covin, a passionate polymath and a helluva blogger. She’s an author, a coder, a cancer researcher, a trainer of grandmothers, grandchildren (and those in between), a sharp observer of where we’ve been and where we are going...Nope. This is not going to get it. Let me describe Carol this way – I have never read one of her posts without being

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-62256594962311528142011-07-22T12:14:00.003-04:002011-07-22T12:18:41.281-04:00

Zach Yates sent over a great quote leading to an amazing 2002 blog post, Taste for Makers It takes confidence to throw work away … When people first start drawing, they’re often reluctant to redo parts that aren’t right … they convince themselves that the drawing is not that bad, really — in fact, maybe they meant it to look that way. - Paul Graham, Taste for Makers Taste for Makers is a

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-19293519055318877472011-07-16T20:15:00.002-04:002011-07-16T20:15:12.641-04:00

I see three levels of integrity. Soon after someone learns that integrity is keeping your promises, they reason that if they don’t make any promises, they can have perfect integrity. Then they discover nobody cares. Some never go beyond. The next step is to make and keep appropriate promises, depending on what you can handle and your capability. Finally, because life is

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-71924783119523275272011-07-12T10:49:00.001-04:002011-08-25T16:43:51.523-04:00

Jeff Cole recommended Wayne Breitbarth’s The Power Formula For LinkedIn Success, so I read it. Took about 90 easy minutes. I have written about improving LinkedIn profiles and given some presentations, so I was interested in how Wayne would approach it. The good news he is concentrating so hard on being useful, his beliefs don’t show up. Whatever you think you want to make of LinkedIn, that’

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-82566671091723754042011-07-06T11:10:00.003-04:002011-07-25T18:53:19.469-04:00

I read two strong books last week, and when someone remarked on the quality of my recommendations, I thought I remembered they were found on a blog post. Sure enough, they were the first two picks on Seth Godin’s Summer Reading List. Steven Pressfield’s The Profession is a near future social fantasy, much like Makers. These books can take our current situation, extend it, and show probable

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-41925162469418984022011-06-07T11:46:00.001-04:002011-06-07T11:50:42.614-04:00

Last week, AOL hosted the National Capital Area Google Technical User Group. In AOL’s lobby, they had HiDef video presentations, the kind AOL has been perfecting since the 1990s. They are getting sharper with new technology and better production values, but the use of post-TV video has been an AOL feature for as long as I can remember. Google’s Arne Roomann-Kurrik and AOL’s Dave Artz were

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-39246810488199157802011-05-31T13:39:00.001-04:002011-05-31T13:40:56.118-04:00

I’m reading Keith Richards’ Life. A powerful book on many levels. Recommended by a client, I was like his wife Patti, saying that everyone knows the Rolling Stones, just don’t know who they are. Keef became credible for me early on when when he explained his fascination with 5 string open guitar tuning. He explained why he liked it, why it is useful, but then acknowledged where it came from..

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-54420420719717268722011-05-13T13:36:00.000-04:002011-05-13T13:36:22.364-04:00

Bruce asked for some pointers about putting up a personal website. He’s a content consumer more than an author, and needed a personal website as a prototype for a new project. That would usually involve getting a domain, server space, hiring someone to do the work, building something, updating, and on it goes. I suggested taking a half hour and putting up a Google Profile instead. “Decide

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-2717952729618680262011-05-09T15:46:00.000-04:002011-05-09T15:46:57.415-04:00

I got blasted on a discussion site. A three week n00b posted that my post wasn't pertinent to what she thought the site should be about. It was her first post on a site where I have been assistant mayor for a couple of years. I didn't respond, what could I say? Then a bud came to my rescue, and explained what I couldn't, without being self-serving. Here's the neat part. Two weeks ago, my

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-61963899477198565112011-05-06T10:24:00.003-04:002011-05-06T11:22:14.689-04:00

I ask that question a lot. Probably my most useful tool. You see, I don't learn much by myself. Most of the really important stuff I know I either read or am told. I even write blog posts reporting the results. I really want to know the answer, as other people regularly tell me things that are better than what I heard. Asking at the end of a meeting uncovers key themes, important details, and

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-14929672510356556132011-04-19T10:06:00.002-04:002011-04-19T11:58:07.907-04:00

I am observing two paradigms of how to use computers, one new, one old. The old one, call it the Microsoft Paradigm, is You can compute with the support of a paid expert. A friend called the other day and I asked if I knew someone who could fix her computer. I asked what was wrong? Nothing, but her old expert was no longer doing that work. I call it the Microsoft Paradigm, not because

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-40306769003653111202011-03-18T19:30:00.002-04:002011-03-18T19:30:38.920-04:00

Paint Branch High School launched their Science and Media Signature Expo March 15th. It is a new take on their traditional annual science fair. “We knew we were losing the students with the traditional story boarded report of past experiments,” said Brian Eichenlaub, Signature Coordinator at Paint Branch. “We wanted as much motion, and actual demonstration as we could get.” “In years past,

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-65080971001518054842011-03-17T13:30:00.002-04:002011-03-17T13:30:42.286-04:00

BK and I were talking about Iowa, (one of the vowel states, according to Sid Pearl.) I said I had a friend, Drew McClelland, in Iowa, a noted blogger. BK asked what Drew blogs about. I hesitated and then said “About...people.” Ever since I have been rolling that around in my brain. Drew's Marketing Minute is chock full of useful observations, great thoughts, and ideas to make me proud to

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-65872516465330396042011-03-14T13:07:00.000-04:002011-03-14T13:07:44.058-04:00

GovLoop is a social network of over 40,000 government stakeholders. They have a history of pushing the limits of value for their members by introducing new campaigns, events, and thinking in cyber and physical arenas They do good parties for grownups.  This week I am honored to be the GovLoop Member of the Week. I've been a twice-a-week contributor for a couple of years, not for any reward,

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-60789405723652044862011-03-10T08:52:00.002-05:002011-03-10T08:53:15.106-05:00

Watching as new ideas turn into businesses or not, I am amused by how the cycle follows falling in love. And how many people keep getting stuck at the same early stage, then bailing out, and starting over. First is infatuation, total concentration on the subject. Then there is a honeymoon period, where support from the world buoys the relationship. Next is a period of learning about each

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-83573962853123531332011-03-01T10:26:00.000-05:002011-03-01T10:26:14.524-05:00

The Washington DC Math, Science and Technology Public Charter High School is one of the top schools in the area. I have been judging at this school for over 6 years. To the Scientists of the Washington Math, Science and Technology Public Charter High School, congratulations! Today we have seen a hundred experiments and projects and much new knowledge. You have proven you can conceptualize,

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-81100330217449085412011-02-15T16:03:00.003-05:002011-02-15T16:08:27.285-05:00

Last week the Washington Academy of Sciences Junior Academy made over 95 awards to scientists at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring Maryland. Remarks from the presentation ceremony.  On behalf of the Washington Academy of Sciences, I would like to congratulate all the winners in the 2011 Montgomery Blair Poster Symposium. Good job!   Now I would like to share with you the funniest

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-64330215698706984072011-02-07T11:28:00.001-05:002011-02-07T11:51:54.617-05:00

Dick's remarks at the St Charles School Science Fair Awards Ceremony. On behalf of my colleagues today and the Washington Academy of Sciences, I would like to thank you for inviting us to today's St Charles School Science Fair. Judging new scientists is fun for us older scientists, that's why my colleagues and I keep showing up year after year. Again, thank you for inviting us.   I would like

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-17141449010648122602011-01-27T11:27:00.002-05:002011-01-27T12:43:00.842-05:00

Steve Rubel's blog A Devaluation of "Friends" May Be Driving Trust in Thought Leaders says “someone like me” and regular employees are losing authority to experts. “Trust in credentialed experts (70%) and company technical specialists (64%) is soaring” I think that is certainly true and a maybe pinhole look at what is going on. Allow me to extend. Readers want credibility and authority.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-5841326413497510462011-01-17T09:42:00.002-05:002011-01-17T11:21:56.184-05:00

Paul Ford has a great post The Web Is A Customer Service Medium. His point is that the web can do fabulous customer service and that is what browsers want. It's a more satisfying way of explaining what is often called information wants to be free. Customer service, or customer care as it was defined at McCaw, often starts as some hero satisfying a customer. Heroes get crushed by big systems.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-32950091997051253982010-12-29T16:37:00.001-05:002010-12-29T16:59:05.784-05:00

I have been known to ask customers and associates, “What was the best thing you learned?” at regular intervals. Jack Gates asked me what I would post as the best thing I had learned in 2010 as we were setting blogging goals for next year. Here are three. Many Landing Pages - When I figure out something to add to a landing page like my Google Profile, I should think about adding it others, like

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-42339309798198450062010-12-22T22:36:00.002-05:002010-12-22T22:38:33.210-05:00

Entrepreneurs, investors, dreamers, and others spend a lot of time trying to figure out the next new businesses. Will Rogers said investing was simple. Buy low, sell high. If it doesn’t go up, don’t buy it. This week I’ve seen several indicators of where profitable businesses are growing, in a stagnant economy with  uncertain capital markets. Filling in existing niches. The web, especially

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-5463520555808701722010-12-15T15:25:00.001-05:002010-12-15T15:28:11.646-05:00

Bloggers are looking to get their message out. After creating a blog, the repeating tasks become posting new and attracting readers. There are many platforms that have already attracted the readers you covet. They probably want some content that will satisfy their current readers and attract more readers. I have watched new managers on previously successful platforms and foundering founders try

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-53617969461231295192010-12-03T15:52:00.003-05:002010-12-03T16:03:28.118-05:00

Bruce is a longtime friend and a now a blogger on Sales Lab Posts.  He has a unique and useful way of looking at the world, read here, here, and here. We were celebrating his most recent post, when he said, “You know, I don’t feel anything when I post. When I make a great (tennis) shot or a great sale, I get a rush. With a blog post, I’m mostly glad it’s done.” I feel the same way. I mostly

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-3297515294920840172010-12-01T08:27:00.004-05:002010-12-01T08:32:01.029-05:00

How does a blogger find a rich vein to write about? When I was building an open source software company, Dana Blankenhorn, the open source blogger, was my mentor. Time after time he would post something that was exactly what I needed to know. I read and met people he identified, went to meetings he recommended, and used concepts, resources, and methods he introduced. After the project was over,

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-65213900989799323862010-11-08T17:52:00.002-05:002010-11-08T20:55:51.040-05:00

“Ten years ago, there was no Google, fifteen years ago, there was no search,” begins John Heileman’s 45 minute 3 YouTube videos about the history of search. (Discovery Science) How we got to where we are, the foundation of social media. I found this through Watch This Documentary: The History of Internet Search and Google blog post by Stephen Chapman, SEO Whistleblower, ZDNet. What I found

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-67338833430757977852010-11-04T12:30:00.001-04:002010-11-04T12:33:03.706-04:00

Guy Kawasaki has a post reviewing Gerry McGovern's The Stranger’s Long Neck: How to Deliver What Your Customers Really Want Online. Three useful ideas from Guy's post: There is always a key task users come to the site to do. That is especially good for me this week, as last weekend I realized most visitors to the Sales Lab site want to know the date and place of our next free show. So I made a

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-12940307699512419592010-11-03T09:49:00.000-04:002010-11-03T09:49:18.302-04:00

I was fortunate to attend Tony Mayo’s wonderful presentation Whole Brain Leadership at the Leadership Breakfast. His content was superb, and go see his show when you have a chance. You will be changed for the better. Can’t be helped. The best lesson for me was about his presentation. He had one very clear idea. Not an easy idea or an especially attractive idea, but one sharp focus. He spent

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-86184799572829678792010-10-25T18:33:00.001-04:002010-10-25T18:36:47.622-04:00

This weekend we went to a function at a resort. In our room was a next-generation, multi-blade razor. The package was a nifty travel case, there were several coupons for more blades and special smell’um. This was the marketing that made Gillette King! I was enjoying the care some marketer had taken to get me to switch products, and looking forward to trying the new technology. The next day I

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-89973129085983899372010-10-07T13:57:00.000-04:002010-10-07T13:57:03.094-04:00

A graphic guide to Facebook profile photos, which includes a portrait-interpretation key (Fast Company)

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-89373440229447962352010-09-24T19:16:00.002-04:002010-09-24T20:18:31.404-04:00

Learning from history, I am often enlightened by how redefining a problem can lead to a relatively easy solution...even after years and years of fruitless work. John Battelle, a social media pioneer, pointed to an article redefining how we can think of cancer, featuring Danny Hillis, who has previously figured out some important things, like how to do parallel processing to extend the power of

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-15977189148488001712010-09-17T15:57:00.004-04:002010-09-30T16:26:58.319-04:00

On the LinkedIn McCaw Alumni group, Viki Andino asked for the McCaw Values from the wallet card. Jan Albert and over a dozen others responded. Choked me up. Took me back to the Huey delivering the cell site on Mt. Tamalpais. Those values are still worth keeping today. Best use of LinkedIn Groups I've seen. Too good to keep inside the group. Thanks! Our goal is to establish our company as the

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-24469353609436571972010-09-07T15:17:00.001-04:002010-09-07T15:25:57.410-04:00

If the right 20% effort gets you 80% of the result, what does 80% effort get you? If it’s a piece of metal twisted back and forth, you can get two pieces, disassembled. If you are navigating a big enough ship into a wharf, you can get a mobile wharf…just before beachfront parking. I am reading that if your immune system doesn’t have enough real work, it can over-optimize your body, creating

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-70716581212554142362010-08-20T11:27:00.002-04:002010-08-20T11:31:39.954-04:00

Will Marshall of Marshall Strategic Marketing  has been getting some spectacular results for his clients. We were talking about how that happens and I realized he is doing something I learned about 30 years ago, finding the Creative Solution. It’s difficult to positively define the creative solution. I get irritated when I am looking for one. I know what I want and it’s aggravating I don’t

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-77068356866722794942010-08-14T10:42:00.002-04:002010-08-14T10:58:38.452-04:00

Robert Collins of It's A Cobol World sent a 1987 Grace Hopper interview  Robert sent: I just spent the last bit reading an interview with Grace. There are some gems in the interview which have nothing to do with COBOL. Her approach to management, sales, leadership, etc. come through quite well in the text. (And is quite revealing about government information technology practices, then and now -

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-46059345936372342952010-08-11T13:03:00.001-04:002010-08-11T13:03:57.050-04:00

Can I get an “Amen” that the economy is slightly askew? Are you spending time wondering what is going on? Here are some emerging patterns that might help. Daemon/Freedom™  is one story in two books about our economy if it was based on social rather than economic resources. It’s also a good shoot ’em up. Actually, the action makes the new thinking easier to understand…and makes me realize we are

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-85118949909002977822010-08-03T14:42:00.006-04:002010-12-04T21:08:10.225-05:00

Dick was interviewed by Tom D'Auria of IMI TechTalk, on KFNX News Talk Radio, Sunday, August 1st. The conversation was about how programming is becoming less complex and how computer software is being fashioned directly by users, instead of professional programmers. These are Dick's notes from the interview. What users are becoming what programmers? 30 years ago slides were made for executives

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-86600578881496483682010-07-26T13:22:00.003-04:002010-07-26T13:24:49.963-04:00

Inbound Marketing – Get found using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah is a fast, two hour read with a lot of good points. We differ about building websites, blogs, LinkedIn,  and generating followers, but our differences are not antagonistic, more matter of emphasis, like the blind men describing the elephant. They also go deep into using Facebook for

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-62007973235499665562010-07-19T17:39:00.000-04:002010-07-19T17:39:49.063-04:00

Pete League sent an email from the Olde Course as he was finishing marshalling at The Open Sunday. I was a marshall near the Old Course Hotel.  Third volunteer gig this year at three majors.  Gallery Guard (marshall) at the Masters.  Green crew at Pebble Beach.  One more at Whistling Straits (green crew) and I'll have my "Pete Slam."  You might remember Pete League as the man who created the

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-9862994987238941542010-07-06T15:52:00.001-04:002010-07-06T15:57:48.030-04:00

"10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics"Fabulous (and more up-to-date) post from Mashable, that looks at more uses of the internet, including the impact of phones: http://mashable.com/2010/07/01/social-media-infographics/

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-43712306693656596952010-07-01T18:33:00.000-04:002010-07-01T18:33:26.324-04:00

businessweek.com — A nice chart of who participates online, and what they're doing -- data from Forrester Research http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_24/b4038405.htm

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-33554109311734184462010-06-27T08:42:00.002-04:002010-06-27T08:50:20.550-04:00

For at least a decade, young guys in black shirts and nose rings have been telling managers, "No, the software won't let you do that." And the managers are stopped. Twelve years ago, I did a presentation, "How To Build Your First Website In Two Hours Or Less" for the Washington Chapter of the The Association of Information Technology Professionals, which resulted in a dozen new sites at the next

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-49980264269494079732010-06-21T12:42:00.000-04:002010-06-21T12:42:20.216-04:00

Ben Huh has a post on Paid Content that begins defining Popular Culture and Internet Culture. http://paidcontent.org/article/419-a-guide-to-the-cultural-battle-that-is-reshaping-the-media-business/ Popular Culture comes from the media barons who think they should tell the audience what to think, Internet Culture is bottom up, fools like me. As the number of people who stumble into Internet

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-67306290183163930442010-06-14T17:09:00.000-04:002010-06-14T17:09:03.950-04:00

The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has a series called Animate using video communication tools to expand message. Thanks to Zach Yates for finding this video. Here is Dan Pink on Motivation in a new type of presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&feature=player_embedded

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-46892153738853242322010-06-07T11:06:00.000-04:002010-06-07T11:06:35.073-04:00

Last week, I heard about another teacher telling students their papers would be discarded if they used Wikipedia. Dana wrote about the teacher in Texas confiscating open source software CDs since they were “stolen” and “unlicensed.” Journalists dismiss bloggers for lack of “professionalism.” People complain about not being able to trust unrecognized sources of information and then complain

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-3103050612537780792010-06-01T07:47:00.002-04:002010-06-01T13:27:48.460-04:00

Quote attributed to Bill Van Dyke. Once upon a time, I was watching an internet industry thought leader. He had a real skill describing a problem, and then giving it a memorable name. He didn’t seem to care if they were real problems. I hadn’t seen them in the wild. He was building his world. The next guy up was running a global web operation for a large corporation. He didn’t have any

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-68512201942417528742010-05-24T09:03:00.000-04:002010-05-24T09:03:00.723-04:00

After you get functionality right, what comes next? Aarron Walter http://carsonified.com/blog/design/emotional-interface-design-the-gateway-to-passionate-users/

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-36312881854853123612010-05-21T11:26:00.001-04:002010-05-21T11:55:41.510-04:00

I’m having a rush of wannabe bloggers launch this month. Here’s the process we’ve developed to get people cruising quickly. First we get past, “No you can’t hire someone to blog for you!” Next, start reading blogs. I recommend using a blog aggregator so the blogs you read don’t clutter your email inbox. I recommend Google Reader, which comes as a free part of also free Gmail. Then subscribe

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-33356122080386827292010-05-18T14:37:00.002-04:002010-05-18T15:27:28.960-04:00

Jack said, “I really liked your criticism model in the sales meeting. Say the name of the person and then say what they did that you liked. It sounded kinda woowoo, but it really worked. “The people who had something to say and the people mentioned knew something important was going on, and the people who missed it, knew they had missed it without anyone making fun of them” That wasn’t woowoo.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-71625206842354734732010-05-12T18:13:00.000-04:002010-05-12T18:13:34.190-04:00

Eric Qualman of Socialnomics has updated his four minute video about the impact of Social Media here When I blogged about the first video, my friend Jason came barreling up the next day and said, "That's the greatest thing I've ever seen on the Internet! Can I steal it?" Steal it from YouTube? But why? That phrase instantly went into my all time greatest remarks. I think this new version is

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-50736333520688874612010-05-11T12:07:00.002-04:002010-05-11T12:07:41.677-04:00

In the Information Age the most treasured gift is information. Blogging, information is often a unique definition, your point of view. Post! Comment! Do It Now!

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-9544785181705906492010-04-30T19:41:00.003-04:002010-04-30T19:44:10.202-04:00

http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/humor.mspx

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-69147149384221934842010-04-21T13:00:00.000-04:002010-04-21T13:02:41.254-04:00

I said, “Thank you” to a server.Response, “No problem.”Full stop, system crash, Reboot.By the time I got back up, she was gone. No further communication. Not much tip, either.When someone takes the time and effort to thank you, if you can’t acknowledge their effort, you are training them not to thank you in the future, not to thank anybody. You are training them that “thank you” can be an

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-21531616722798023482010-04-12T12:10:00.002-04:002010-04-12T12:14:39.339-04:00

Peter Corbett spoke at Joe Shumard’s Internet Implementation Forum at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. I think Peter is one of the smartest people I’ve heard on using social media. This isn’t his whole presentation, just the parts I like best.His company, iStrategy Labs www.istrategylabs.com is a “digital experiential marketing agency.” Google istrategylabs for an incredible demonstration of

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-21288692866628065692010-04-07T11:21:00.015-04:002010-04-13T20:57:11.604-04:00

A Cost-Conscious Workshop For Successful Small BusinessesSpring 2010 Networking Event, Arlington Business CouncilMain Ideas What is the core creative idea that will engage your audience? Platforms are just amplification.The Internet is a network of computers. The World Wide Web is a network of links. Do you want to control the platform, or control the conversation?How you use the internet depends

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-54606807632667567812010-04-05T09:17:00.005-04:002010-05-19T17:14:17.867-04:00

Last week my wife told me that college loans will now be handled exclusively by the government. I thought, "Well, that's it for education." The problem is that government is set up on a bureaucratic model, which in the 1700's was the most advanced management system designed to control the Bureaus (regions) of France. There is never enough money allocated for a good program. A typical

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-81253461899543020992010-03-30T09:57:00.001-04:002010-04-24T20:28:44.323-04:00

"How To Take Advantage of the Internet," at the Arlington Business Council's Spring Networking Lunch April 8th, 11:30 - 1:00 will be examining how to use the Internet to drive local business. You will learn how the Internet is becoming a potent force for directed, targeted business growth, and how business owners can take a direct role increasing their results from the Internet. Please join us

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-5258901447732570232010-03-24T08:15:00.003-04:002010-04-24T20:30:17.253-04:00

Today (March 24, 2010) is Ada Lovelace Day, a global celebration honoring women in technology. This is the second year for the event, which is celebrated by blogging about your favorite woman in technology. My favorite, is Julie Perlmutter, who introduces thousands of people to new technology with her Web Managers Roundtable. She enjoys the tribe and the celebration part of the organization, and

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-55106102412085690032010-03-22T10:36:00.005-04:002010-04-24T20:31:16.925-04:00

(Matt Thompson quoted on Twitter) I Googled Matt and found this quote, “Time to stop breaking the news and start fixing it.” What I learned from his sites: Time is just one way to measure news, and newspapers lose to electronic media if timeliness is the standard. However, another perspective for news is context or usefulness. Imagine if that was the standard. It might save or, better yet,

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-43588301907539523452010-03-19T08:18:00.004-04:002010-04-24T20:32:21.873-04:00

Commenting is an honor and a privilege. What readers often don’t realize is how much they can add to a post by commenting. The old model was “broadcast.” Your radio, television, or newspaper communicated “at” you. The result was lowest common denominator news, education, and entertainment. In 1999, the Cluetrain Manifesto started with “All Markets Are Conversations” (meaning two-way), and the

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-90600718925600773102010-03-17T15:08:00.002-04:002010-03-19T10:42:57.843-04:00

A post by Jennifer Leggio, ZDNetHow Cirque du Soleil is using a mix of blogger relations and social network outreach to help grow attendance for all of its home and traveling shows.http://blogs.zdnet.com/feeds/?p=2551&tag=nl.e539

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-76669997915092468662010-03-16T12:05:00.003-04:002010-04-24T20:34:04.367-04:00

Last week at the AlexChamber Government Contractors Forum, Monica Bell gave a textbook recipe for how to restart a company in this ugly economy. I read a lot and talk with many people and it was the first time I had heard the way she did it. Her solution had already worked and was something I could do. Greg Linas had a unique strategy for almost eliminating bid and proposal costs while improving

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-40498311780383470392010-03-14T20:59:00.005-04:002010-04-24T20:37:09.711-04:00

This morning I read Nat Boxer died (on LinkedIn). He was 84, had won his Oscar, and from what I read, still boogieing on, making the world a better place. I could say he was my favorite college professor, or the only one I remember, or the one I think about a couple of times a month, but I realized he is my hero, a model for what I think a man should be. Nat was a working cinema soundman, past

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-10161148195786370482010-03-12T20:13:00.002-05:002010-04-24T20:40:28.346-04:00

Last week we competed in the Amateur Rum Internationals in Nassau. Went diving with a couple from England. Chris had been a dairy farmer for over twenty years, then ten years ago he looked at the economics of dairy farming in England and decided there weren’t any. Took his buildings and converted them into “workshops.” Took two years to figure out the business, another couple of years to pay back

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-31561895223239200832010-03-11T17:45:00.002-05:002010-03-19T10:45:51.587-04:00

Last year, Suw Charman-Anderson started Ada Lovelace Day so people could honor their favorite girl geek. She wasn't going to do it unless she got 1,000 posts. She got almost 2,000.I wrote a short piece about Julie at The Webmanagers Roundtable, and later noticed she was tied with Marissa Mayer, Princess Googly, one all. Go figure.On the day there is an amazing amount of good stuff going around

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-37076098007402067982010-03-10T11:31:00.007-05:002011-10-24T16:08:24.555-04:00

The Web Managers Roundtable is presenting Open Source Content Management Systems: Panacea or Pandora’s Box? A Critical Evaluation of Open Source Content Management & Lessons Learned from WhiteHouse.gov's Open Source Initiative on April 25th. Event Summary Disclosure - Julie, who runs the WMR has been a protégé for over 15 years, and Tony Byrne, the moderator, is a friend and teacher who started

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-58829758578247073912010-03-08T11:22:00.007-05:002010-04-24T20:47:58.157-04:00

I think we are in a time of discontinuous change. Stands to reason we should be managing for that. My friend Ben, my longest running client, doesn’t make sales…he creates markets. Over the past fifteen years he has done that several times, usually when forced by collapsing employers. He called the other day and said, “Since we last met, I’ve been getting a handle on the block.” First time I heard

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-18927088242054423692010-03-05T18:37:00.003-05:002010-04-24T20:49:07.857-04:00

Gary Vaughan is a retired career FSO, now a Sharepoint guru at the Department of State. We are college classmates. At lunch last month we were discussing the way Microsoft and open source tools are being used for similar tasks on the social web. One output was his commitment to increase his blogging frequency. The second was his post, "Dick Davies Blogging Approach with Open Source Tools"

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-81347560411849414422010-02-24T13:28:00.009-05:002010-04-24T20:20:03.654-04:00

The best way to present new information is a story. The best way to get a listener to focus on your story is to start with a question. Did you ever feel your body lurch to answer when someone asked a good question? In direct mail, a proven start is the “Passover Opening” from “Why is tonight like no other night?” initiating the remembrance of the Passover. The Passover Opening in direct mail is

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-75981957906702293272010-02-21T16:58:00.006-05:002010-04-24T20:17:42.195-04:00

In this LinkedIn, Ning, Social Media reality, succeeding at face to face meetings and group meetings are still very important. On Dick’s Sales Model, I put “Events/Design,” which most people think means talking from the front of the room. Even though Julie once introduced me as a “loud and frequent speaker,” I get most of my value from group meetings from actively working the audience. Last week

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-67750694280253665442010-02-16T10:11:00.004-05:002010-04-23T17:33:08.589-04:00

Just read a great blog post on “It’s A COBOL World” called “A Customer Visit” by an old friend. “It’s a COBOL World” is about COBOL, the workhorse of business computer processing, and the team of writers on the blog are passionate about getting more out of the code.“A Customer Visit” addressed people’s attitudes going into a project and how good attitudes improve the value of the project. As

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-12154526522349680842010-02-12T16:53:00.001-05:002010-03-19T10:51:31.239-04:00

Here's a link to the video of Dylan at the White House this week.What a long, strange trip it's been.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-52694898000662159542010-02-10T17:42:00.006-05:002010-04-24T20:23:29.664-04:00

I grew up practicing direct marketing. It’s a “fire and forget” profession. Send a thousand packages, get a 5 percent to a half percent response. Immediate drop-off. We obsess about improving the list and the package, straining for quarter percent increases. Joe Shumard and I launched the Internet Engagement Forum at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce consciously using social marketing practices.

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-43359394049195205112010-02-06T16:48:00.001-05:002010-03-19T10:53:21.024-04:00

"You can't take advantage of the connectivity, reach and viral nature of the beast without also being willing to connect, reach many people and let others share. It's like wanting to enjoy the sensation of flying over the water in a boat at high speed but without the engine noise. It's the "other people" part of social media that provides its power."

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-79220527348199832802010-02-03T11:41:00.006-05:002010-04-24T20:27:11.665-04:00

The Alexandria Chamber’s Internet Engagement Forum is a project Joe Shumard and I are leading to see how far we can get Chamber members to take advantage of the Internet. At our meeting yesterday, there was a lot of interest in moving forward…by extending current practices. We had several people who were experienced in email broadcast marketing, looking forward to finding better ways to do

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-39876199003893913792010-02-01T16:12:00.005-05:002010-03-19T10:55:53.893-04:00

Two weeks ago, Motorcycle Dan the blogger explained that he is waiting for an avatar to handle his email, scour the web for things that interest him, figure out who to let through on his phone, handle the administrivia of his life. As I listened, I realized I had most of those functions in Gmail, Google Reader, Google Voice and LinkedIn. He said he did too, but he didn’t want to have to manage

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-467906956378514882010-01-25T18:09:00.004-05:002010-03-19T10:56:36.059-04:00

Lewis Howes, www.lewishowes.com, a record setting arena football player, college All-American, and social media explorer has his own YouTube Channel and made a great video."Top 8 Ways To Use Social Media"Your favorite?

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-35672472463830575732010-01-24T19:29:00.003-05:002010-03-19T10:57:49.189-04:00

The OKCupid blog measures the response rates of different types of photos on their site. Cool data! I especially liked learning about the power of the "Facebook photo." http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/2010/01/20/the-4-big-myths-of-profile-pictures/

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4118561953041766119.post-10278120406215550022010-01-22T14:45:00.007-05:002010-04-24T20:09:07.099-04:00

I had coffee with one of my hero consultants last week. Over a decade ago, I watched him work with a customer, and he was magic. In an hour he gently gave the customer a better understanding of how to operate his business that lasted for years. So now he’s older. Just talking to him I can see he is wiser. I am so happy. Sure, sales are harder (for everyone I know), he has restructured his

Dick Davieshttps://profiles.google.com/115626142792356131426noreply@blogger.com1