By Clemens Rettich, on November 15th, 2011 
What are you selling?
If nothing, then you are not in business. If only commodities, then you won’t be in business for long.
“But wait,” you say “I am a service provider. I don’t sell commodities. So I guess I’m safe.”
Sorry. A service alone is still a commodity. In the brave new world of social business, anything is a commodity to the extent to which it is a) a transaction that consists only of the exchange of a good or service for money, and b) reproducible in every important way.
So a service which is repeated over . . . → Read More: The Social Market: Relationships, Stories, and Desire
By Clemens Rettich, on October 26th, 2011 
The Goods
Xobni is add-on software for Microsoft Outlook (and other platforms). After installing Xobni, connecting it with your various social accounts, and letting it do its data-gathering thing, it sits to the side of your Outlook window.
Xobni can store all of your data in the cloud where you have syncing capability with almost every device and platform you use (Pro version). It puts any other form of contact data syncing to shame.
When you click on an email in your inbox, in a sidebar Xobni shows you:
The social media accounts that person has (including their most . . . → Read More: My Favourite Social Tool: Xobni
By Clemens Rettich, on September 23rd, 2011 
Facebook is experiencing seismic shocks as it tries one more time to find the perfect fit between our lives and desires, and the larger social (and social business) community.
Unlike various software platforms, Facebook has never really adopted the public version number (beta, 1.0, 1.x, 2.0…) game. It has been more organic and idiosyncratic than that. Certain changes do seem to have been on the ‘new model’ level however: news feeds (that introduction was interesting), fan pages, Facebook chat, the appearance and disappearance of tabbed profiles (Facebook ‘beta’), all might have been seen as new version numbers.
What about . . . → Read More: Facebook 3.0? New Feature Round-Up
By Clemens Rettich, on September 9th, 2011 
As humans we seem to be wired for games and keeping score. Even when there is no material reward, we want to know how we did compared to others.
Perhaps that drive is connected deep down to some kind of evolutionary imperative where competition for food, mates, offspring, or just the number of people watching our backs for saber tooth tigers meant the difference between walking upright or remaining a threatened knuckle-dragger. Accountants and comptrollers aren’t the only bean counters out there. We all are.
Whatever the root of the counting instinct, it is the cause of much distraction . . . → Read More: Vanity, Vanity – What Social Media Metrics Don’t Tell You
By Clemens Rettich, on August 30th, 2011 
There is a constant flow of new tools to support the challenging work of managing your social media work. Managing the lists, posts, schedules, and conversations that create an effective social media presence for a business is a huge time and organizational commitment. Some of the tools created to support that work are wonderful, others not so much.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing about some of my favourite social media power tips and tools. These are all things that make it possible for someone like me, with a family and a thriving business with flesh-and-blood . . . → Read More: Nitro Pack 1: 4 Social Media Power Tips and Tools
By Clemens Rettich, on May 21st, 2011 Each week I bring together a few articles that add value to our work of becoming better communicators in business. Short on time? Watch for the *Must Read* where I think you’ll get the best bang for your reading buck!
3 Simple Changes to Increase Your Subscribers by 50%
Driving up blog readership to increase your reputation and influence is 50% hard work and 50% Voodoo. This writer provides three tips to help you add some fuel to that process. Read more…
2 Blogging Myths: Traffic Measures Success and Content Is King *Must Read*
In the normal way these . . . → Read More: On Message: The Best of Business Communication – May 21
By Clemens Rettich, on April 16th, 2011 
Each week I bring together a few articles that add value to our work of becoming better communicators in business. Short on time? Watch for the *Must Read* where I think you’ll get the best bang for your reading buck!
Stages of Cross Cultural Awareness
Which stage of cultural awareness are you at? If you are at the most integrated stage, you not only acknowledge the differences and frames of perception, but you are able to move between them fluidly. Read more…
8 Strategic Blog Home Pages that Draw Readers Deeper
Does your blog keep readers reading past the . . . → Read More: On Message: The Best of Business Communication – April 16
By Clemens Rettich, on April 1st, 2011
Each week I bring together a few articles that add value to our work of becoming better communicators in business. Short on time? Watch for the *Must Read* where I think you’ll get the best bang for your reading buck!
Don’t End Your Day Without Doing This
How about a ‘press conference’ with a partner or mentor in your organization? This article suggests an interesting way to boost your effectiveness as a learning organization: treat your end-of-day debrief like a post-game press conference. Have someone play the role of the hard-nosed sports reporter, and ask tough performance questions. Read . . . → Read More: On Message: The Best of Business Communication – April 2
By Clemens Rettich, on February 26th, 2011 
In a recent survey, the number of small businesses making a commitment to social media is at 63%, up from 50.5% in 2010. Businesses are seeing the opportunities in online word of mouth, lead generation, keeping up with their industries, and improving customer experience.
So what if you find yourself part of a steadily growing number of small businesses taking the plunge online? You opened a Facebook page or had your web designer include a content managed system (CMS) like WordPress installed on your website.
Now what?
Here are 7 tips to use as a checklist to help you . . . → Read More: I’ve Got Facebook For My Business. Now What?
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