It is always a challenge in my consulting work (and indeed in any business) to present complex information in a clear and compelling way, so that people can see clearly what is going on and come to agreement about what to do. Therefore, I was delighted to have the opportunity recently to participate in Dr. Edward Tufte’s training program, Presenting Data and Information. Dr. Tufte is a world-reknowned expert in the presentation of complex information for analysis and decision-making, and a real innovator in the field.
The seminar was terrific. While I was already familiar with Dr. Tufte’s work, I learned a lot which I am planning to incorporate in my work in the future. You can expect to see more about my thoughts in upcoming posts on my blog.
If you’re interested in the subject, I strongly recommend Dr. Tufte. His books
are terrific: thought-provoking, full of excellent research and examples, and absolutely beautiful. He also has an excellent web site: I particularly recommend its online forums.
It seems like online social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the new hot thing these days. Whether or not you participate in them, you can be sure that the younger generations are. This raises some important questions:
- How do these new media change marketing? How will their growth affect the effectiveness of traditional sales and marketing strategies? What strategies are most effective for promoting your products among social network users?
- How do social networks affect business strategies? Where do they represent new opportunities, and where do they present new competitive challenges?
So I was intrigued to attend the recent SoCon09 Social Networking Conference at Kennesaw State University, earlier this month. I met some very interesting folks and heard a lot about how social networks are changing traditional media, advertising, marketing and brand-building. There’s a lot going on, and some of it is going to change the world in ways you might not expect:
If you aren’t thinking about how to incorporate these new networks in your sales and marketing efforts, you should be. For more thoughts and commentary, see my EarthquakeSurfer blog.
