Trendspotting: How to Crawl into People’s Heads

Filed Under Analysis, Branding, Customer Think, Marketing, Strategy, Successful Blog, Trends | 5 Comments

Your job — should you decide to keep working here — is to figure out what our customers want NEXT.

Trendspotters

Trendspotters 101 logo

I belong to a networking group which requires endorsements. As I was editing my profile last night, I came across this endorsement from a client.

” . . . Liz can spot an emerging trend before it is even on the horizon. — Blake Education, Australiaâ€?

It’s true I often can. My friend, Chartreuse BETA, is phenomenal at trendspotting, as is our friend, Copyblogger. Scot Karp is excellent at seeing what trends are about to happen. Sometimes it depresses him. Don’t leave out Tom Peters. . . . How exactly do we do that?

What does it take to spot a trend before it takes root and actually happens? What does a person need to watch for? Seeing trends seems to be a factor of intelligence, learning style, and world view. Allowing that you have the prerequisite intelligence — we’re talking business acumen, common sense, and people smarts, not rocket science — the rest is a matter of doing the work and being open to what’s happening. This is lesson 1 on being a trendspotter. Read more

Net Neutrality Is in Jeopardy

Filed Under Analysis, Business Life, Community, SOB Business, Successful Blog | 59 Comments

Net Neutrality

Brian Clark at Copyblogger defines Net Neutrality in way that we can all understand it.

All of your current Internet marketing plans depend on Net Neutrality. And likely a lot that you do online outside the scope of business depends on it too. Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. –The Four Horsemen of the Internet Apocalypse

Why is Brian talking about Net Neutrality?

Because Doc Searls is . . . and so is Jeff Pulver . . . and so am I — on all three of my blogs. Read more

SOB Business Cafe 04-14-2006

Filed Under Business Life, Great Finds, SOB Business, Successful Blog | 1 Comment

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the screenshot to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Brian at Copyblogger catches the New York Times being clever with their headlines. Great analysis. Well-worth reading.

Copyblogger Linkbaiting New York Times Style

God over at the godblog lets us know she enters contests. The latest that she’s signed up for is Valleywag’s coin a Valleyspeak word contest. Win free music. Proof that god likes music. Like the new template, god–you must have a thing for change: seasons, day and night, people getting older . . .

GoodGod Blog Valleywag Contest

If only Rocky could package this post and give it as a presentation to some CEOs I know. They need to learn that people need time and resources to do things right the first time. Lot’s of CEO’s could use a Hillbilly PhD. to get their priorities straight.

Hillbilly PhD Doing it right the first time

The essence of great writing and editing is knowing how to remove all of the words that you don’t need. This post from Jamdo Marketing does a great job of explaining that. (Apologies for that errant “b” earlier.” It’s Jamdo.” Get rid of the letters you don’t need too.)

Jamdo Stripping Excess Words from Your Blog

Freshblog comes through again with some creative hacking for Blogger. Now you can make your posts expand and contract. Congratulations on the new design Freshblog–like your name it’s FRESH . . . I’m looking for my link in the blogroll, I think it fell off by mistake. . . . hope this doesn’t mean that we’re breaking up.

Fresblog Post hackery for blogger

Related ala carte selections include

Marianne Richmond’s article on paying attention had such a strong impact on me last week. I was led to rethink some things in the quality of my own life. This one by Liz, from my writing blog.

Letting me be The Essence of Being Alive

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like.
No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Sob Cafe 04-04-2006
SOB Business Cafe 03-31-06

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