David S. Finch

Weekend Reader: Sunday Morning Edition

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10 Common Mistakes In Logo Design : "With the power of the Web, and more eyes watching than ever, it’s important for a business to communicate its unique message clearly. The easiest way to recognize a company and distinguish it from others is by its logo. Below, we go through 10 common logo design mistakes that you should avoid if you want to create a successful and professional logo." [Smashing Magazine]

How to Kick Ass with a Mobile Website : "People browsing your website via mobile devices are an ever-increasing segment of total website visitors. The proliferation of smartphones and increases in mobile browsing are key trends for 2009, with smartphone shipments worldwide set to grow by 23% this year, (despite a 9.1% decline in the mobile handset market). This not just a western phenomenon; in developing nations the cost of a computer makes a web-enabled mobile device even more attractive. With many companies looking to expand into new markets during the recession, this is an interesting point to note. Importantly, as mobile web use grows, the personal experiences of users are more likely than ever to be shared both online and in ‘the real world’." [Marketing Pligrim]

How To Write a White Paper to Attract Clients : "Do you have a new idea, business model, product or service? Do you want to get noticed by using a marketing method that might only cost you time? Try writing a white paper to attract people to your door." [Dumb Little Man]

Cultivate an Active Network : "It’s never the number. It’s what you can do with it. This applies to lots of things. It doesn’t matter if you drive 3000 people to your store, if no one rings the cash register. Who cares how many people follow you on Twitter if you can’t motivate them to participate with you on any level? But how do you cultivate an active network?" [chrisbrogan.com]

The natural evolution from side project to full-time business : "Some have doubted our advice that you should hold on to your day job and start something on the side. They argue building a business requires such persistent effort that you need to devote all your time to it to do it right. And it’s true that building a business requires plenty of time and effort. But the idea that you need to quit your job to do it right is misguided. If you quit your job, you shift everything. You don’t gain time, you lose it. You put a shot clock on your business. You box yourself into a position where you have to profit immediately or the whole thing goes under. You’ve got to make it work now or give up forever." [37 Signals]

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Weekend Reader: Sunday Edition

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The State of PR, Marketing, and Communications: You are the Future : "While the communications industry has iterated with every new technological advancement over the last century, including broadcast mediums and Web 1.0, none however, have forced complete transparency prior to the proliferation of the Read/Write Web aka The Social Web aka Web 2.0. It is this element of fundamental transparency of Social Media combined with its sheer expansiveness and overwhelming potential that is both alarming and inspiring PR professionals everywhere. At the minimum, it’s sparking new dialogue, questions, education, innovation, and also forcing the renaissance of the aging business of PR itself." [PR 2.0 - Brian Solis]

How to Alter Your Work Schedule to Accommodate Personal Projects : "One of the advantages of working from home is the flexible schedule. No matter how many things you need to accomplish, or how many simultaneous projects you have, you can still control when you can perform certain tasks, as well as how long they take. While this is more true of freelancing than it is for employees, it’s this schedule flexibility that makes the prospect of teleworking more attractive." [Web Worker Daily]

What Social Media Isn't : "Social media is everywhere and for a lot of businesses they approach it likes it’s the magic wand that’s going to be the savior to their business. When you begin to talk to them, usually the conversation starts like this. “Can you help us with that Twitter thing and that Facebook thing, not to mention it’s vital if you can produce for us one of those viral videos. Second, this has to help our business look hip and cool and last but not least, we don’t have the time to really be involved in any conversations.” [Social Media Explorer]

Writing Engaging Content : "Social media and the explosion of (potential) digital destinations has bubbled up the question about content. What is best to write about? How much do you need to write to attract readers and buyers? How long should posts be? And occasionally, still, what is a blog? One thing is for sure, everyone is looking for definitions and "how to's". [Conversation Agent]

8 Ways to Create Paperless Business Cards : "What’s that, you’re still printing your business card on paper? That is so last year. These days, business cards are going all virtual and that’s a good thing. Not only are paperless business cards good for the environment, and easier to carry, they’re also unlimited — you’ll never run out when you’re networking at an event or conference." [Mashable]

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Weekend Reader: Sunday Edition

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The A-Z of social media for brands: "You might be familiar with social media, but hopefully you'll give me a pass as some of this stuff bears repeating. However I think this A-Z is going to be more useful if you’re somebody who is trying to convince your boss that adopting a social media strategy is a good idea" [eConsultancy]

Thinking Bigger: Finding Your Next Big Idea : "It can become easy to present stale strategies because you haven’t rebuilt your seedbed of ideas. Pushing yourself to think bigger is just as much preparation as it is discipline. Your creative preparation is often times impacted by your level of exposure. The more your exposed to variety the more easier it can be to push past boundaries and enlarge your ability to think bigger than you have in the past." [Social Media Explorer]

The Ideal Small Business Marketing Plan : "The real debate is not whether or not you need a marketing plan, the question is, what goes in your plan? In my exposure to formal marketing plans, There’s too much focus on numbers and goals, and not enough on what really matters. You don’t need forecasts and metrics, you need foundations and initiatives. Here’s what you should include." [The Marketing Spot]

Why NPR is the Future of Mainstream Media : "Compared to cable news, where most networks are shedding viewers, and newspapers, where circulation continues to plummet, NPR is starting to look like they have the future of news all figured out. Or at least, they appear to doing a lot better at it than the rest of the traditional media. But what is NPR doing differently that’s causing their listener numbers to swell? They basically have a three-pronged strategy that is helping them not only grow now, but also prepare for the future media landscape where traditional methods of consumption (TV, radio, print) could be greatly marginalized in favor of digital distribution. [Mashable]

9 Ways People Respond to Your Content Online: " Use your creativity to generate content that will inspire and transform the lives of the audience in a positive way. Remember that it costs time (and indirectly – money) for your audience to read what you write. And, they expect a good return for that investment. You will know whether you are succeeding in influencing your audience in a positive way because the audience will tell you. No, maybe not directly but by the way they respond to your content. [Lateral Action]

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Weekend Reader: Sunday Late Edition

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10 Easy Tutorials to create a Mobile version of your blog in minutes !: "If you haven’t switched to a mobile version of your blog/site, then you are really missing something. Today a good amount of people search for information on mobiles/mobile search and its not far away when all websites “will have to” go mobile if they want to catch up. As in all cases, the early birds will have their extra share. If you haven’t switched to mobile versions of your blog, here are 25 cool tutorials that will help you do it now." [Daily SEO Blog]

10 Sure-Fire Ways to Maximize Your Online Distribution Channel: "It doesn’t matter what venue you choose to attend, there’s a common question that someone will be asking, “how do I get more traffic to my web site?” Which is often time followed up by the second question, “how can I make more money with my web site?” The answer to these types of questions aren’t found hidden within the hard drive of your favorite influential blogger, but are revealed from a core of principles and disciplines. If you’re consistent in these practices, you can watch your readership grow and traffic increase. Here are 10 ways you can begin immediately to maximize your online distribution channel." [Social Media Explorer]

The Next Media Company: "We talk a lot about what it’s going to take to keep The Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal and all the other papers of the world alive. We talk about the future of publishing books and magazines, and what it’s going to take to change the music industry. Let’s stop for a minute. If you were given a few million bucks from a venture capitalist to build a media company, what would that look like?" [Chris Brogan]

Organic social media vs. marketing campaigns : "mong the boatload of ways you can slice and dice social media from a business perspective, there are these two: Your use of social media can be organic and it can be campaign-based. [Shel Holtz]

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Weekend Reader: Late Edition

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Ingredients for Creativity On the Go: "Whether you’re a location-independent freelance writer or an illustrator who likes to travel, the key to getting creative things done on the go is to be clear in advance about what you want to accomplish. If you’re trying to churn out a final draft of an article, you’ll need a different backdrop and different tools than someone aiming to crank out a rough draft. Before traveling, I take some time to review my creative projects and figure out what stage I want to bring them to. I also make sure to pack the tools for recording random ideas and inspiration." [Essential Prose]

9 Practical Ways to To Help Stay Focused : "Your attention is everything these days. As the media and the people in your environment will always find new ways to distract you from what's important, it's even more important today to maintain your focus. By doing so, you remain to be "the eye of the storm," calm and focused. Being focused is more of an art than it is a science. Here are 9 practical ways to stay focused. [Dumb Little Man]

There Is No Social Media Kit : "We want shortcuts. We want a kit of parts, turn-key, that we can plug and play. (We did love the Chia Pet after all. Just add water.) We’re accustomed to standards and rules of engagement and largely accepted practices that someone has captured in a textbook somewhere. We look to “best practices” and the road that someone has safely paved before us. It’s reassurance for us that we’re “doing it right”. [Altitude Branding]

How to Increase Your Creative Output : "Having a high creative output is a difficult productivity skill to master. Anyone can reduce their internet usage, cut distractions or write to-do lists to double their efficiency. But doubling the amount of code you write or music you compose is much harder. Inspiration is 99% perspiration. Despite the difficulties, I think working hard to boost your creative output is worth it. A higher creative output means better quality work and more work accomplished. [Scott H. Young]

55 Ways to Get More Energy : "If you’re tired all the time, a change in what you eat (diet) or what you do all day (activity pattern) may be all you need to turn things around 180°. You won’t be able to do everything on this list all the time — you’d tire yourself out trying to get more energy — but do try them all to see which ones work for you and your schedule. Add a few of these tips to your regular routine. Or mix them up to keep things interesting. [Zen Habits]

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