Some of the absolute best social media work anywhere is being done by a century-old firm you probably already know. The Hartford’s Achieve Without Limits is taking cause marketing to "at-scale success". Come take a look.
Social Media Greatness Within Reach: Achieve Without Limits
SEO Is to Marketing as Day Trading Is to Finance
Google wrapping SEO in moral terms of "back and white hat" is nonsensical, as SEO gamers are competing in an inefficient market of Google own making. And, once a single firm games Google, its competitors must follow suite or cede substantial website traffic to less ethical players.
Web 3.0: Is this the End of the Digital World As We Know It?
The combination of convenience, more immersive app experiences, and greater device and data interoperability will drive a user experience revolution. I've talked about this since 2007, but it's our industry's story for 2011.
The Darker Side of Corporations “Getting Social”
At first social media looked like a pathway to “hyper-empowered” consumers. But as corporations get good at social, their automation, analytics and use of personal data will produced “hyper-empowered” marketers. Once "brand you" has a valuation, the big brands will make their own influence markets.
Solitude, God and Social Media or: Stop Tweeting and Listen.
Solitude – something freely available to everyone – seems rarer than all our hand-held technical marvels made of the most exotic materials on earth. A look at our digital lives, the night, and why we're better for occasionally departing from the social stream.
SEO Truth: “Faking it for the Algorithm” is a Sucker Bet
When firms start taking meaningless actions to look good for Google, it creates both a distraction and a vulnerability. Here's why following SEO fads is a sucker bet.
Spot Stupid without Reading a Whole Blog Post (Hint: Kill the Ninja)
A "happily ranty" how to on ditching tired social media formulas to write stronger content, and be a social media statesman rather than another social media windbag.
The Future of Digital Strategy: Archive Video from FutureM 2010
If you didn't get to Boston's FutureM conference this year, here's a taste. This session on the future of digital strategy included enterprise marketers from four of Boston's most innovative brands.
Tantrum Over Irrelevant Facebook Research Reveals Gaping Digital Naivety
July 3rd 2014
The media tantrum complex — those who fill continuous air time with breaking news and acrimony have no incentive to point out that the findings of Facebook’s controversial research suggest how little influence its newsfeed really creates, and how flimsy this research is in the first place.
Supreme Court Sides with Individual Rights on Harris v. Quinn and Hobby Lobby
June 30th 2014
After watching a string of technology focused rulings last week, its today’s pair of conventional cases that has my interest. Today’s 5-4 rulings protect individual rights to associate to exercise religious conscience – in ways which limit the influence of unions and the universality of the Affordable Care Act.
Free Webinar: Digital Personalization – Tues. June 10 w/ ISITE Design
June 9th 2014
One key benefit of digital data is that it can be put to work to personalize digital visitor experiences. Three members of ISITE Design will share their insights on planning personalized digital experiences on a free webinar this Tuesday, June 10. (I work for ISITE — and am proud to share the work of my awesome colleagues.)
Google’s “Trust Issue” Isn’t Good vs. Evil – Ask the Clients and Staff Who Fear It Most
April 25th 2014
Evil or not, Google is fearsome. Its staff, Priceline, Expedia and TripAdvisor know this. Sure they still work with Google. That’s the point — we’re most vulnerable to those we depend on and perhaps already trust too much.
News Three Count: The End of America as the Internet’s “Mac Daddy”
March 16th 2014
Taken together, this week’s news shows how the Internet is moving toward a more international “multi-pole” system of of influence, rather than the “America in the Middle” arrangement that has been its history to date.
Zeno’s Marketing Paradox: Native Advertising as a Ramp To Customer Experience
February 5th 2014
From Dell to EdX, Columbia Sportswear to Red Bull — advertising is increasingly less about claiming value, and more about delivering it through memorable experiences. That’s the secret behind Zeno’s Paradox of Marketing.
Is a World Without Ads Possible? We’re already halfway there.
February 3rd 2014
“What if there were no ads?” That was the question content marketers Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi asked in an episode of their podcast, This Old Marketing. It sounds like the start of John Lennon’s Imagine, but for marketers. What if there were just no ads?
The Dramatic ROI of Contents That Invite the World In to Your Innovation
January 25th 2014
A growing number of high-profile organizations – from DARPA to Adidas to the University of Michigan to Netflix and NASA – have run competitions which offer cash prizes to the best solution to a particular problem. Though these efforts may seem like sideshows, they can produce incredible, breakthrough ideas, often at a fraction of the cost of owned efforts.
Join me for a quick free webinar, Tuesday December 10th
December 9th 2013
The nice people at the Online Marketing Institute have asked me to give a rocket fast webinar on ISITE Design’s approach to digital strategy. Details and a the free registration link for friends of UsefulArts are this way.
Lucky or Smart – Will Healthcare.gov Turn Out To Be Either?
October 25th 2013
A lot of opinions have been shared about the Healthcare.gov website — but few from people who have run challenging government IT initiatives themselves. I’ve done that a few times in several states, and the patterns that create risk in this kind of work are evident from a distance.
About Dave Wieneke, Digital Strategist
The future of digital marketing will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialities in user experience, branding, application design, and data are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the frontline of digital marketing, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Marketing today needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise strategy with these new capabilities.