Fast Company has a trio of interesting articles I wanted to share with you: Foursquare, Google, And The Search Schism Of 2012. Earlier this week, Google launched Search+, and immediately the tech world cried foul. The new features heavily promote content from Google+, the company’s social network, at the top of its search results, all but turning the search engine into a massive advertisement for one of Google’s own products–a big no-no if you’ve been paying any attention to Google’s antitrust hearings. Today, we see the result of this new world Google has created. MORE >>

? Why social rocks? My first foray into social media some years back, I was confronted with a channel that seemed so vastly different than what I’ve come to know in my years as a digital marketer. became enthralled with the notion of relationships driving business; with transparency and authenticity integral to delivering value. Willy Loman’s character in Death of a Salesman is about a man who is self-obsessed with the notion of greatness, and even in his later years convinces himself that success is directly attributed to “greatness, popularity and personal charisma”. Enjoy this post? MORE >>

QR codes ask a lot of prospective users. Possess a smart phone. Download a QR reader app (or other format like Microsoft TAG). Have the phone nearby and usable when you encounter a QR code (easy in a magazine ad, perhaps less so for QR codes now appearing on highway billboards). Be motivated enough to actually perform behaviors 1-3. While nifty, QR codes are often not the easiest and most convenient method of information retrieval, and when utilized to convey data that could be more seamlessly delivered in another format, they become downright head-scratching. When should it be used? MORE >>

? Last summer I moderated a session at the CMA’s The Science and Art of Social Business called, “Who owns social media?” ” Here was the approach: The advent of social media has sparked a new and ever evolving medium that does NOT carry with it the type of norms advertisers have been used to. It’s evolution has brought about a medium that creates a level playing field among consumers and corporations. It leads us to question whether companies, for all money, branding and vast media exposure have actual influence on the customer, and more importantly, revenue. At them. MORE >>

You can dedicate yourself to learning the complexities of search optimization – though, you may discover that it can easily become a full-time job. For those of you that already have a full-time job, or a business to run, a better option is to learn the basics and apply some logic to achieving practical results. This is much easier than one may realize. Focus on the User Experience for Your Audience. Update Your Articles. The majority of consumers are open to change, so they welcome anything that is new and better. So, here’s an idea. Your earlier work still has merit. MORE >>