Blog
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Internet as Social Movement
By Porchlight
"All of this was difficult, amazing, perplexing, astonishing—but so was the laying of the railroads and the sending of telegraph signals across the ocean. And historians of technology like to point out that great fanfare and promises have greeted all sorts of new devices, from the radio to the fax machine. But even before former Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow penned his 'Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace' ('Governments of the industrial world,' it began, 'you weary giants of flesh and steel'), the internet was no mere fax machine. From the first, and in no small part because of its fervent supporters, it has felt less like a technology and more like a social movement—like communism, like feminism, like rock and roll. An ideology we could call webism. While the rest of us look up movie times, buy sweaters, and post jihadi videos, the webists proclaim the new age."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Road to Pandora
By Porchlight
"For those who work in advertising, simply being fascinated with the future isn't enough. We have to glean insight from it and process it and wrap it up in a bright shiny message that sells this incrementally better future to the rest of the human race (or, at the very least, our target market), brought to you on behalf of Brand X. [. . . ] Of course this has never been an easy task. But today, for a number of reasons, advertising the future, and the future of advertising are more difficult and complicated propositions than ever. Because today, not only do advertising people have to fully understand and market the past, present and future of their brands, more than ever they must have a thorough grasp of the seemingly infinite changes that are shaping the future of their industry. This includes everything from the rapidly evolving media landscape to the constant emergence of new messaging delivery vehicles to the very ways in which creative and strategic ideas are developed, shared and created anew.
Categories: changethis
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Blog / ChangeThis
The Fallacy of the Great Idea
By Porchlight
"Many entrepreneurs feel that they cannot start a business without a great idea. They believe it will be impossible to succeed without a completely new concept, as the market will already be cornered by established businesses. Only by venturing into uncharted territory can they achieve their dreams. This is the fallacy of the great idea. [...] The simple truth is that it is quite possible to create a thriving business without a big idea. In fact, starting up with a tried and tested concept is very sensible. The real key to success is focus and brilliant execution. Yes, the world needs people with grand ideas who are willing to take big risks to further progress, but the world also needs small businesses creating jobs, and entrepreneurs should not be embarrassed about not having a claim on originality."
Categories: changethis
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Blog / News & Opinion
The Corporate Lattice
By Porchlight
As a follow up to her book Mass Career Customization, Cathleen Benko and Molly Anderson have teamed up to present The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work. As outlined in MCC, the world of work is changing, not only for companies, but also for individuals: personal values, diversity, and skills are being viewed differently than they once were, and it's changing the structure of people's lives. Because of these factors, more people aren't necessarily "climbing the ladder" like they once were.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Business Book Humiliations
By Sally Haldorson
Penguin's Portfolio imprint specializes in business books, and their Portfolio Javelin blog ("Business, Business Books, and the Business of Books") is a great read for any of us business book geeks. Yesterday, Will Weisser, Vice President and Associate Editor of Portfolio, wrote an entry inspired by a post in the Guardian's blog in which the author, Robert McCrum, confessed, despite his education and exposure to great books, that he had never read Middlemarch by George Eliot (if you too have not read Middlemarch, I highly recommend remedying that this summer--it's one of my favorites. ) McCrum then invites readers to share their book humiliations by listing the books that they regret never having read.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Brains on Fire
By Porchlight
Hooray! The Brains on Fire book! Ever since I first read their ChangeThis manifesto, and heard Spike Jones speak in Milwaukee about the incredible approach people should consider in marketing - creating movements, I was hooked.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
You Call Yourself a Leader?
By Porchlight
We've all seen them, the boss or CEO that lead a company to great heights, then got busted for some ugly personal flaw. This can be a big letdown if you're on the inside, and from the outside, it makes you question the rest of the company's integrity, products, service, and all sorts of things unrelated to the incident. Hopefully, no one reading this has been that person.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Rock and Roll and Business
By Porchlight
Last week, I was excited to see a copy of David Meerman Scott's and Brian Halligan's Marketing Lessons From the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn From The Most Iconic Band In History. I've never been a fan of the band, but have always marveled at the culture surrounding them - truly a unique following, turning each concert into an event beyond just music. In fact, I've attended the parking lot of their concert, but not the actual concert.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Could You Be The CEO?
By Porchlight
A few people mentioned the book Preparing CEOs For Success: What I Wish I Knew to me, and admittedly, I haven't gotten around to it until now, months after its May pub date. What I didn't realize I was missing, was more than just some expert's opinion about the challenges and successes of being CEO. This book is a formal guide for understanding what it takes to be CEO of a company, from personality, to practice, to leadership, to how you are perceived by others.
Categories: news-opinion
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Blog / News & Opinion
Design Is How It Works
By Porchlight
Jay Greene's Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products Into Icons was published this week by Portfolio. It's an interesting overview of companies that have integrated a design philosophy into their business model, releasing products that don't just look nice, but function and satisfy customer interests on many levels. Obvious choices like Apple and Nike are covered, but the more interesting ones were the less obvious choices like Ace Hotels (turntables in their rooms!
Categories: news-opinion