Gist shows the future of social media profiling

One of the best side effects of my recent contact management overhaul was the discovery of Gist. Gist is essentially the mutant offspring of CRM (customer relationship management) and RSS aggregation/social media monitoring. It’s one of those tools you never...

How to think like a social media artist

If you want to sharpen or deepen your use of social media, try going to art school. That’s the big takeaway from my first months here at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. I can’t say I’m “going to” art school — my role heading...

Using social media to drive business innovation: insights from Guy Kawasaki and Target’s Michael Axelin

Hearing Guy Kawasaki on the Art of Innovation reminded me of a blog post I wrote last year after attending a talk by Michael Axelin, V.P. of Softlines Design and Product Development at Target (and fellow Oberlin alum). Both talks helped me refine my own thinking on how social media can support business innovation — a key benefit of social media that is neglected in favor of a pure focus on marketing.