Ning the well known free social network service used by 2.3 million businesses and organizations on the web is shutting down its free service and it’s reported they have laid off 40% of their staff.

Sad to see these folks lose their jobs for sure but on the other hand I think this is a great wakeup call for those who depend on using custom social networks in their business strategy.

This is one reason I believe placing your most important digital assets in someone else basket is NOT a wise strategy. If you realize the…

After all the bad PR Toyota has had lately, somebody over there came out swinging with a new ad series all built around life in the “Daddy Like Swagger Wagon”.

This is a great example of how creating and leading with relevant stories built around the lifestyles of your target market can be a hit like the campaign Toyota did with this targeting young, hip families.

They created an entire  “Swagger Wagon” destination to promote the Toyota Sienna. Notice they led with the lifestyle story not pushing boring specs on vehicle MPG’s, safety features, etc. No! They led…

In December 2004 new kid on the block Facebook reached 1 million active users. Fast forward six short years later and we are talking about over 400 million users who are active!!

Now you tell me how anyone in business who is fairly intelligent can ignore this or not see the significance of what is going on here? Honestly, it does not take a PhD to see this in not just a trend! No this is the END of business as usual forever. This is a new age, a new business era, and huge shift in our culture.

This is…

With so many things available through technology to market and reach your customer directly today…why don’t more business owners take on more of their own marketing efforts?

You would have to have been on another planet this past decade not to know we have entered into a new business era. This is so a direct-to-consumer market now. People want customization and personalization and a one-to-one experience.  The middle man and gatekeepers are dying off by the droves in every industry segment!

One thing I’ve discovered and relate to as a consumer over the past few years is people…

This is my final article of my four part series on Business Suicide Mindsets to Avoid in 2009.

Although I this one is last, it can be just as damaging for a business as the other three I have already covered.

I call this Business Suicide Mentality #4: The “I Don’t Have Too; I Don’t Want Too, I Will Not Change!” Mindset.

Yep, Change…it’s a word we all know yet often we find we are naturally opposed to the meaning of this word.  We find change is disruptive and unsettling, so we resist it.

The dictionary defines change as……

Facebook User Facts February, 2009

• Facebook growing faster with women than men in almost every age group. Women comprise 56.2% of Facebook’s audience, up from 54.3% late last year.

• Facebook reporting nearly 45.3 million active US users in the last 30 days

• Facebook growing in every age/gender demographic. Fastest growing segment: Women over 55, up 175.3% in the last 120 days.

• 45% of Facebook’s US audience is now 26 years old or older.

In my last article on this topic I covered the Business Suicide Mentality #1: The Status Quo Mindset.

Here in part two, I will address The Arrogance Mentality Mindset. This mentality is not as easy to put your finger on at first glance. Rather, it has the ability to rear its ugly head in many disguised forms.

For instance, I had the unpleasant encounter with this mentality during a business cold call activity I was engaged in recently. I had emailed the business owner (whose business I frequent) because I felt for sure I could help him increase his…