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.
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.
Apple’s Twin Goals: App Primacy and PC Convergence
October 23rd 2013
Yesterday’s Apple product launch featured improvements to its iPad and Mac products, but it also revealed its strategy beyond products to line-up for growth while depositioning Google, Microsoft and Amazon for what could be a big holiday season.
Why Wednesday is the Best Day of the Week: FutureM w/ Vsnap, Nanigans and ISITE Design
October 14th 2013
Its Boston’s crazy marketing week with FutureM, Digital Pulse, AMA, and Inbound Marketng Summit drawing attendees from around the world to Boston just in time to catch some great baseball. Step this way to get in on a great discussion, followed by beer with Boston AMA.
Four Beautiful Tools to Keep You Poised
September 26th 2013
Welcome to my Quick ‘n’ Dirty Fall edition of digital tools to make it easier to be awesome. These just keep coming up in conversations with friends who ask about managing priories and projects, great design, and making ideas visual. I’d love to hear what tools you like – and if you’ve used any of these.
Social Media Rule #1: Shed Your Idiots Now
September 5th 2013
Are organizations that are fixated on having the right social media policy missing the chance to address larger cultural deficits? Consider sad story of Northwestern University’s School of Medicine, now being sued for the unethical and potentially malicious use of social media by one of its fellows.
New Apple Software Points the Way in Post PC World
July 23rd 2013
Apple’s new Logic Pro and Logic Remote shows an evolving mobile architecture in which the user interface to services is the high ground of business.
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.