Random Blog Posts

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It’s a lot harder to impart knowledge than to pass information. But it’s also worth it, because knowledge sticks. Why does application teach better than rote memorization? Hmmm let’s think. Oh yeah—because application creates knowledge, which quickly remaps neural pathways. Memorization sends us into an information-overload daze, which leads to sad, lonely little neurons. If… Read More

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In business, everyone keeps confusing information with knowledge. They’re different. Even the dictionary says so: Information: Facts provided or learned about something or someone. Knowledge: Information and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Information is ones and zeros. It’s raw data, or a list of facts. It’s… Read More

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My post yesterday really stirred some people up. This is a big blind spot for me. I believe anything worth discussion is worth discussing in a civil manner. BUT, I had to delete a lot of comments. So I figured I’d better explain what’ll make me delete your comment (or Wall post, by the way):… Read More

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Folks sometimes ask where I’m going to be speaking next. Here’s a quick list: In meatspace (live and in person, for non-geeks) How I’ve managed to only get speaking gigs in Seattle this year, I’ll never know. Don’t think I’m a travelphobe—I’m sure I’ll go to a few out of town gigs, too. SocialTech 2012:… Read More

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Breaking up is hard to do. But, as Portent’s President says, people remember how you enter, and how you leave. So ending a business relationship on as positive a note as possible is important. Even if the company in question never hires you back, employees change jobs, and you want them to think well of… Read More

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Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the SEMPO board election. I’m on the board, and very excited! Congratulations to all my fellow board members – I’m looking forward to working with you: Lindsay Blankenship, Director, Search Marketing, Razorfish Chris Boggs, Director Search Media and Thought Leadership, Rosetta Bruce Clay, President, Bruce Clay,… Read More

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I’ve been unfaithful. I wrote two articles for other sites over the weekend: The Challenge of Justifying Enterprise SEO on Search Engine Land. I talk a bit about analytics and data presentation, and how to get your boss to stop looking at you like you’re a nasty toenail fungus. And Building the perfect SEO Crawler… Read More

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We’re starting the first Portent webinar in 50 minutes! In the mean time, here are links to resources I’ll be discussing: A link bundle with all of the goodies I mention: http://portent.co/web1bundle The slides, on Slideshare: http://portent.co/yAaPa5 If you want to view the recording later on, you’ll need to register. Link coming shortly.

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I’ve had a hard time blogging of late. I feel a little hopeless. Like I’m yelling at the top of my lungs and pointing and saying DON’T WALK INTO THE BURNING HOUSE, but there are 10,000,000 other people writing all forms of idiocy. Luckily, I know lots of folks are still scraping my blog and… Read More

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I did a presentation today at Emerging Media Conference: How marketing can change the world. I’ve distilled it down to the essential bits here. It’s not the best organized ever, but it covers the essentials. Give it a read: Streeeetchhh First, a quick mental stretching exercise: “Marketing” is not “Selling stuff”. “Marketing” is: Communications created… Read More

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Watching the argument over online piracy unfold in the US is like watching chimpanzees drive a car. They fight over direction but they don’t give a crap if they take the rest of us off a goddamned cliff with them. Here’s my problem with both sides in this Greek tragedy: SOPA = stupid If it… Read More

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Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian speaks out against internet censorship January 18th was a big day in the fight against Internet censorship legislation. As you may have noticed, major websites like Wikipedia and Reddit took their content offline to protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). These two pieces… Read More

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Writing isn’t a talent—it’s a skill. You can get better at it through practice. If you want awesome verbal pectoral muscles: If you want to get better, you could write a novel, or a textbook. But there’s a much easier way: Freewriting Freewriting is like a verbal sprint. You write a lot, really fast, and… Read More

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Ever notice that companies mirror their leaders in personality, expectations and culture?  I had met Ian Lurie on several occasions over the last couple years and immediately learned to respect his unmatched knowledge, integrity and vision.  His company and, more importantly, the people at Portent mirror Ian. When the opportunity came to collaborate with him… Read More

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If I look at Portent’s growth over the last 16 years, we’ve had what my COO calls the Graph of Shame: Some of that might be due to economic poop hitting the fan. And some of it is natural turnover. But the Graph of Shame is a dead giveaway that a business isn’t scaling as… Read More