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It’s easier than ever to do it, but it’s harder than ever to make a living doing it.  For example, there is more music being created than ever before, says editor Paul Resnikoff, but paradoxically, musicians are making less than ever before, thanks to a deflated ecosystem once primed by traditional major labels, massive changes in recording technology, trends in pricing structures, cultural shifts in taste, evolutions in genre…

Good brands are bought, great brands are joined. Over the last few months, I’ve interviewed fifteen presidents of fifteen organizations with amazing culture. And upon revisiting each of those conversations, I’ve realized a key insight about belonging. If you want more people to join your brand, you have to understand the human implications of why we join things in the first place. People join where they can belong, make…

The wheels of online commerce run on positive reviews. But there’s a shift. In the past, online reviews were evaluations. How accessible is the place? How long is the wait? How crowded is the bar? How tasty is the food? How speedy is the service? How affordable is the price? But now, online reviews vouch for credibility. Is the place sketchy? Is the experience worth our time and money?…

If you want to start a movement, you have to write a manifesto. A short, concise, inspiring declaration, written in your brand’s trademark language, that gives your values a voice, becomes a powerful social object and paints a compelling, detailed picture of the desired future you want people to join you in creating. Once you put that on wax, everything changes. Holstee never intended for their manifesto to go…

My from POKE said it best: “Digital used to be a thing, now it flows through all things.” Every product is a media experience, every idea has interactivity built into it, every business is an online business, every company is a technology company, every website is a broadcast platform, every blog is a distribution channel, every brand is a media concern, every phone is a computer, every customer is…

Every company wants to create a new social norm. They want to change the way people do something, for better and for always. Wii’s groundbreaking console didn’t just look cool, it got people up off the sofa, broke down the walls that separated players and spectators and turned a video game into a communication tool that family members, both young and old, could socialize around, instead of disappearing into…

Tricking is a shortcut that erodes trust and stains your industry. And it’s everywhere. Creators are tricking people into consuming their content. Movie trailers intercut dialogue from different scenes, use music that isn’t on the soundtrack and show action sequences that don’t make the final cut. But by the time you’ve paid for and watched the film, it’s too late. Companies are tricking customers into buying. Credit cards lead…

“Where has this place been my whole life?” That’s the ultimate. To make people miss you in their past. To deliver such an amazing experience, such a phenomenal product, that not only do they rave and regale and recommend you to the world, they regret not meeting you sooner. They can’t believe they’re just now finding out about you. Finally, a company who gets it. A company who gets…

Target has offered nearly two thousand design options for its gift cards. And as a result, they’re more just plain piece of plastic, they’re symbols of smart design, badges of technological innovation, high touch collector’s items, engaging social objects, artifacts of the holiday season, collaborative employee projects, exemplars of corporate sustainability, patented parts of the company brand, even some cards are presents in themselves, offering the shoppers entertainment, candy,…

It started out as an insurance policy. By adding one additional cookie to the order, bakers protected themselves against accidentally short weighting customers, paying severe government fines, losing a hand to an axe, having an ear nailed to their shop door and becoming known around town as a dishonest businessman. Of course, that was seven hundred years ago. Now they call it a baker’s dozen because they care. Because…