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 Claudia Waitman, on September 21st, 2011 
A guest post by Claudia Waitman of Junction International
The world is shrinking. Meanwhile, companies are growing and expanding. However, no matter the size of your business, you’ll likely cross paths with a customer from another culture. To be competitive and one step ahead of the competition, true business professionals need to be culturally savvy.
Not only is it important to be culturally aware when competing for new business and attracting new customers, but it’s also critical within internal business culture at companies – especially when the business is growing into new markets.
A perfect example is India, where people . . . → Read More: Kisses & Bows: Cross-Cultural Consulting
By Maeve Maguire, on September 7th, 2011 
Guest post by Maeve Maguire
I have a client who owns a cooking school, and for whom I am helping write website content. Her customers are mostly women, between the ages of 35 to 70. They hear about her cooking classes from friends who are current or past students, and they usually attend in pairs or groups. Here is a conversation we had:
Me: I see your web designer has included a Twitter icon on your banner. Are you planning on using Twitter as a communication tool?
My client: Yes, I was planning on using Twitter. My web . . . → Read More: If You Must Tweet, Choose Your Tweeter Wisely
By Clemens Rettich, on September 2nd, 2011 
I really want one of those guys they get on certain AM radio stations to announce the title of this series in that super-manly-EQ’d-for-testosterone voice they use for monster car shows.
That would be fun.
This is part 2 of my totally subjective series on tools and techniques that make my online work easier. I am not a full time social media/blogger person, but I use social media to support my work and relationships as a coach, speaker, and teacher. These are the tools and approaches that help me do that in my ‘spare’ time, and still be effective.
LinkedIn Groups. . . . → Read More: Nitro Pack 2: 4 More Social Media Power Tips and Tools
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 August 25th, 2011 
One of the joys (and challenges) of being a business coach is that I get paid to tell the truth, especially when no one else will.
Recently I was with a small business client who prided himself on his ability to “pick ‘em” when it came to employees. The client told me that a new employee was having some difficulties performing, but that she would come around. “I’ve got great people instincts, and I think this one is going to work out great.” Sigh. We’ve been here before.
“No.” I said. “You don’t…” And proceeded to remind him of . . . → Read More: Where are Your Blind Spots?
By Clemens Rettich, on August 23rd, 2011 
Twitter hashtags (the # sign followed by a word, like #business) emerged organically from the early Twitter community as a way to create searchable keywords. If you think a certain term is common enough at any particular point in time (trending in social media lingo) you can turn it into a hashtag. Sophisticated Twitter users create searches based on those hashtags, and your post will show up on those searches.
If I’m not sure where to go eat in a new city, I’ll get on my smartphone, and enter in something like “Where’s a good place to eat in . . . → Read More: Twitter Hashtags: Saying Lots With Little
By Clemens Rettich, on August 14th, 2011 
In this humorous and revealing short article (The Klout Death Spiral) on Social Media Today, Leigh Dow explores the weird and wacky world of Klout.
Klout is a web site that purports to track your social influence on sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Here are some of my thoughts on Klout:
It doesn’t measure clout in any way that means anything to most independent professionals. What matters most to us is how engaged and valuable we are with and to our clients and potential clients. Case in point: in June, I was over the top supporting and acquiring clients. . . . → Read More: Klout and Clout. They are NOT The Same Thing!
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