Making people and ideas findable

October 2008 Blog Posts (188)

Counting down hours to the 1st Indianapolis Monumental half marathon

This afternoon, I picked up my race packet downtown. Traffic was decent in spite of all the road construction and lane closures. Just loaded myself up pasta and meatballs and counting down the hours to tomorrow's half marathon.

Since I signed up for the race in August, I have walked/jogged 156 miles. Hope it's not going to be too cold in the morning!

Training has gone well with the loss of just 2 toenails!

Added by Faith Wesstrom on October 31, 2008 at 9:44pm — No Comments

Ahhhhh Trick or Treating!

One thing I really miss about my childhood is Trick or Treating. And back in the day, we did it right. None of this start at 3, end at sundown, mom and dad in the minivan crap. My buddy or my brother and I would head out AT sundown and go until we could walk no further or until our bags were so heavy with loot that we risked losing our hard-earned treasure to a burst seam. The best was when we got home and we started inventorying the… Continue

Added by Rhett N. Cochran on October 31, 2008 at 5:00pm — 3 Comments

What do you know about the International School of Indiana? I am nothing if not transparent.

Fellowship Rejection One:

After getting my degree, I spent a few months trying to get a Fellowship to pay for Doctoral research. Non-profits are primarily using the Internet as a billboard or donation receptacle. I wanted to research how the Internet provides impassioned donors a platform where they could contribute ideas, not just Money. March 8, 2008—a day that will live in infamy.

Fellowship Rejection… Continue

Added by Amy Stark on October 31, 2008 at 8:29am — 28 Comments

Small Businesses: Pay Attention to Social Media! You Don't Have a Choice.

There has been a few discussions surrounding my post about the terrible customer service I had received from my local bank in Anderson, IN: Independent Federal Credit Union. You can read the original post at: An Example of Terrible Customer Service: IFCU.

Ontario Emperor over at Mroontemp (dot) com has a great post… Continue

Added by Kyle Lacy on October 31, 2008 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

Einstein and Business

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

- Albert Einstein

On the recommendation of good friend, I purchased and started reading Einstein, His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson. After starting the book, I can't help but realize the lessons from Mr. Einstein that can be transferred into business.

From the beginning, Einstein was a curious person with a continual thirst for knowledge. I think we tend to forget in business...… Continue

Added by Anthony Ware on October 31, 2008 at 6:44am — No Comments

"Red State Socialism" ... or Data Out Of Context?

I do not know if the information in this picture conveys what I think it conveys, but it certainly is striking to me...

Drop your knowledge on me, y'all -- does this chart mean anything?

Added by Scott Semester on October 31, 2008 at 12:18am — 13 Comments

WERIK Radio

Many big-city radio news programs are becoming shadows of their former selves, getting their news, including traffic reports, from national sources, not local reporters. They've lost the very essence of what made local news so important and relevant 30 years ago.

I would love to see a return to local radio news. Even better, an ultra-localized news service that gives me the news I want, about things that affect only me. I could listen to it on the way to work each… Continue

Added by Erik Deckers on October 30, 2008 at 11:10pm — No Comments

Joe The War Veteran?

First, this video was never paid for by the McCain Campaign and was done by a McCain supporter. Second, it has over 11 million hits. While Democrats may use those hurt by the economic downturn, Republicans are promoting those who are Iraqi war veterans and their personal videos are now popping up promoting McCain. Are Republicans catching onto social… Continue

Added by Steve Stuck on October 30, 2008 at 11:10pm — No Comments

How To Get Listed In Yahoo Without Getting Banned By Google

By now you probably know that Google likes a keyword density of 2-3%, and will often

ban a site for "keyword stuffing" if it goes over that level. In the meantime, Yahoo

likes a keyword density of 7-8%, and it can be difficult to get a decent ranking if

your site falls below that level.

Most site owners will optimize their web site for one search engine, either Google

or Yahoo, and assume they have to forgo the possibility of being listed in the other

search… Continue

Added by Karen Scharf on October 30, 2008 at 10:34pm — No Comments

Women...Don't Gobble the Marshmallow!

In the 1960s a group of four-year olds were tested by being given a marshmallow and promised another, only if they could wait 20 minutes before eating the first one. Some children could wait and others could not. The researchers then followed the progress of each child into adolescence, and demonstrated that those with the ability to wait were better adjusted and more dependable and scored an average of 210 points higher on the SAT’s. The “resisters” had superior relationships with their peers… Continue

Added by Jodi Stone on October 30, 2008 at 9:54pm — No Comments

What Creates a Marriage--Love or Family?

Lots of people these days believe that love, not marriage, makes a family. I’m not one of them. That’s not to say that close friends are really family—that I understand. What I don’t agree with is the conditional marriage concept of staying together as long as both people are happy and in love. Let’s face it, real marriage isn’t all romance and roses. There can be tough times to go through.

The irony is that couples who support this “conditional” marriage end up less happy in their… Continue

Added by Lori Lowe on October 30, 2008 at 7:13pm — 3 Comments

Do you Netflix, take TiVo to be your lawfully wedded partner?

I have been patiently waiting for Netflix and TiVo to form some kind of partnership where I can download or stream Netflix's huge library of Play Now movies straight to my TiVo. Soon, the wait will be over. Netflix on Tivo will be a reality in December.

As some of you may know, I am already a big fan of TiVo's integrated Video on Demand service from Amazon.com. But most of what I watch on my TiVo using Amazon's Video on Demand service I have to pay for separately. My hope is that… Continue

Added by Patric Welch on October 30, 2008 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Social Media Inspired Halloween Costumes

In the spirit of Halloween I thought we would celebrate some social media inspired costumes found online. All it takes is some poster board and a little creativity and you, too, can look like your favorite social media site!

Facebook:

Facebookcostume2

Youtube:

Youtube_costume_2

Twitter:

Twittercostume

Myspace:

Myspacecostume

Flickr:…

Flickrcostume

Continue

Added by Chad Richards on October 30, 2008 at 5:36pm — 3 Comments

Don’t cut that marketing budget yet

I recently did some research on marketing budgets in the wake of the financial crisis. You might be surprised to find out what I found out. And some studies support the moves the biggest names in branding are making in this time of economic uncertainty. You can read the article here and get links to download some actual study results--one for free.

Added by Diane Wieland on October 30, 2008 at 4:56pm — No Comments

The most hillarious thing anyone's ever sent me!

Someone just sent this to me and I rolled around on the floor for 10 minutes laughing. Has anyone else received this? You can go to cnnbcvideo.com to send one to your friends. Whether you're an Obama fan or not you've got to admit it's pretty… Continue

Added by Colin Clark on October 30, 2008 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

Closing Argument for John McCain

I've created quite the stir on Smaller Indiana over the last year. With less than a week left until election day, this serves as my closing argument for my position.

We are a nation in peril. The economic foundation that has provided many American’s a great opportunity is being attacked. Stocks are plummeting, oil prices (until recently) have been through the roof, business credit is frozen, houses have lost over half of their value is some markets, and tax paying citizens… Continue

Added by Jim Brown on October 30, 2008 at 4:00pm — 8 Comments

What counts as an opt-in?

I had to laugh out-loud today when I read the final point of Seth Godin's blog, which stated 'Assume that unless they've notified you otherwise, all prospects are willing to get spam (press releases, phone calls, letters, ads) from you.'

I've tried it all when it comes to reaching out to potential customers (cold-calling, canvasing, mailers, emails, promotional products, etc.) and… Continue

Added by Colin Clark on October 30, 2008 at 3:53pm — 1 Comment

Social Media Failure: Get Up And Dust Off Your...

On occasion I will write a post regarding something Seth Godin has written on his blog (this is an understatement). A couple of days ago Seth wrote a post entitled Failure As An Event. In the post he talks about some of the big failures in his life and the lessons he learned from them.

After reading the post, I started thinking about the concept of… Continue

Added by Kyle Lacy on October 30, 2008 at 2:49pm — No Comments

Study: Marketing Events Increase Purchase Intent

Here's a very interesting article about a study showing how live marketing events can add to your bottom line. This article offers some interesting thoughts for companies looking for new ways or more effective ways to connect to clients. There are a couple examples of what some other companies have done to create a platform for interaction with potential clients. In today’s world there are so many ways that people can be connected. The one that has the most impact is the one that draws their… Continue

Added by Daniel Herndon on October 30, 2008 at 12:59pm — No Comments

Boards and Business Development

Last night, I spent four hours in a strategic planning session for a non-profit board on which I am chairperson. During the meeting, I was reminded about a few business benefits of participating on a non-profit board. Of course the opportunity to impact the people in my community is never lost on me. From a business perspective, you can learn about best practices for business networking and business development. Additionally, you can learn what not to do in a board meeting for your… Continue

Added by Anthony Ware on October 30, 2008 at 12:38pm — No Comments