As more brands embrace social media as a marketing strategy, many are racing to establish a sizable social footprint. For their marketers, that translates to creative briefs like, “How can you get me to a million Facebook fans fast ?’ ’ or “What bots can I use to fast-track my followers on twitter?&# This inevitably begs the question: “What good are a million Facebook fans if they are not engaged and won’t do anything for the brand?’ ’ Brands must work to inspire fan action, not merely seek fan acquisition. Social media is not a numbers game. MORE >>

In light of all the recent developments around social technology, from the launch of Google + to Facebook’s f8 conference launch of Timeline and Ticker  last week, I felt it especially pertinent to share this interview with Sherry Turkle of MIT. What she invites us to consider is the human cost of our social media engagement which seems all the more relevant as networks like Google+ and Facebook arm us with new tools to become even more effective online storytellers inspiring us to spend more time there. It is such a pleasure to chat with you, Sherry. Thank you for your time. ST: Yes. MORE >>

As many of you know I’m Australian but live in LA with my family. One of the great pleasures of living here is the Thanksgiving holiday. Almost every culture has some annual expression of gratitude but every year I’m struck by the shift in peoples’ thinking and behavior for the few days over Thanksgiving. It’s almost like we each got a permission slip to suspend thinking about ourselves and be demonstrably grateful. Not surprisingly everyone ends up happier. wanted to thank you for reading my blog, tweeting about it or re-tweeting. Simon. Related posts: No Related Posts. MORE >>

www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE. owGykVbfgUE. There is no shortage of great  posts written on the deserved and phenomenal success of the Old Spice social media campaign that followed their hilarious TV. But apart from a good laugh or ten, what can we get from this great demonstration of the marriage between traditional and social media. More importantly, what do we have to do, or how must we think, to give us all a chance at creating similar success with your brand? Well, let’s look at what Old Spice did. LAUGH AT YOURSELF -- Old Spice is a P&G brand. So how did they do it? MORE >>

I’ve written in the past about the great relief efforts of Zynga to aid the earthquake victims in Haiti. At the time I saw this as a powerful demonstration of what could become a consistent and transformative force for positive change in our world. In the shadow of the tragic consequences of the tsunami in Japan , Zynga and its game players have once again demonstrated a leadership position that should serve as an inspiration to other brands. This can serve as a powerful tonic to donor fatigue and fundraising shortages in the face of a series of natural disasters. MORE >>