Tag Archives: TechCrunch

Does Motivation Matter?

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As an entrepreneur and business owner, one has to keep a certain level of motivation in order to keep the business moving forward. Even during the worst of times - say a recession - and the best of times, an underlying, sincere motivation must exist for long lasting success. You must also learn how to keep others motivated, even when it’s the last feeling you have personally.

Motivation has been on my mind a lot lately for both personal and professional reasons. Why do people stay or leave a company, why do some return after they’ve left, what are the motivating factors for work other than for a paycheck? What is it that drives relationship success? What is the motivation for someone to change when something isn’t going well? There are a myriad of answers that could fit - but only you know the truth behind your own motivation.

Tying into this topic, yesterday, Michael Arrington of Techcrunch disclosed that he has invested in some of the startups that he (or his staff) writes about on his world-famous blog. Arrington’s claim is that he has always provided full disclosure, but that he wanted to reiterate his stance because “the policy has changed,” he has begun actively investing again and that in the past, the accusations of conflicts of interest by TechCrunch competitors became distracting. Seems sensible - he’s being up front and disclosing his interests. Others have questioned his motivation - citing potential damage to the blog and its staff, and claiming a “clear financial gain in this policy” - but admit that “Arrington won’t find much public criticism in the Silicon Valley community because he has a thin skin and he keeps a list.”

So what is the true motivation behind Michael Arrington’s disclosure? Does it matter? How much does someone’s motivation matter to you if the outcome is right? Does a company’s motivation (getting you to spend money) to treat you well make you wary, even if your experience is positive and you willingly spend? Does an employee’s motivation to work harder, better, stronger - right around review time - matter, or are you just happy they are delivering results? Does the motivation behind a friend’s change in behavior matter to you if they are now treating you better than ever (say you caught and confronted their bad behavior and that’s why they’ve changed)?

Do you analyze motivation enough - of your employees, your partners, your customers? Understanding motivation - as much as we can - can help us to be better business owners, friends, leaders and partners. How much does motivation matter to you?

 

Persuasive Picks for the week of 03/28/11

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Phil Collins Rolling Stones Cover7 Social Media Lessons From Phil Collins
Marjorie Clayman guest posts on Jay Baer‘s Convince and Convert blog with this entertaining post that draws parallels between Phil Collins‘ career and social media best practices.

Do You Need a Social Media Detox?
Creating a balance between social media responsibilities at work and personal time can be a tricky task, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. GigaOm‘s Om Malik shares this fun info-graphic from Column Five Media that might help determine if you’re in need of a Social Media Detox.

15 Services to Manage Your Social Media Activity
If my previous pick found you in the need of a detox - but quitting cold-turkey isn’t in the cards - then perhaps one of these social media management tools can ease the flow of the information fire hose.

With +1, Google Search Goes Truly Social — As Do Google Ads
Google launched its anticipated “response” to Facebook’s Like button in the form of its new “+1″ button which will appear in Google search results and later as a standalone button that can be added to individual websites. Get the full rundown via this TechCrunch post from MG Siegler.

Our Choice: The Funniest April Fools’ Jokes
Seeing that this work week ends on April Fool’s Day, it’s only fitting that I top off the picks with Mashable‘s selection of online pranks from the likes of Google, YouTube, LinkedIn and ThinkGeek.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 03/07/11

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LinkedIn TodayLinkedIn Today: A Social News Product For Professionals
Earlier this week LinkedIn held a press conference to announce their new product strategy. The announcement included the launch of their new social news product for professional called “LinkedIn Today.” Leena Rao provides details on LinkedIn’s direction via this post on TechCrunch.

Go guerrilla on social media
Business Standard reprints this nice chunk of content from the book “Gorilla Social Media Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shane Gibson that helps marketers to approach their social strategies with gorilla tactics.

70% Of SMBs Plan To Use Social Media
Informationweek‘s Kevin Casey shares the results of a recent Techaisle poll that found 7 out of 10 small businesses plan to use social media in the next year - however, a little less than half of those planning to use it aren’t actually sure how it will help their business.

5 Smart Social PR Campaigns to Learn From
Mashable‘s Leyl Master Black shares five innovative PR campaigns from big brands like Healthy Choice and KFC that have successfully integrated social components.

6 Reasons Your Social Media Sucks
James Kotecki, online content strategist for the Huffington Post lays out the reasons why your social media sucks and urges readers to experiment to find the right combo of tools to make your strategy work.

Persuasive Picks for the week of 11/29/10

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LinkedIn Launches Share Button
LinkedIn might be a little late to the party with the release of its sharing button for blogs and websites, but it will certainly earn its spot among the many ways you can allow your community to share content. Get the lowdown on the button’s release via this post on Mashable.

How Much Time Does Social Media Marketing Take?
Aliza Sherman shares an updated take of Beth Kanter‘s original 2008 info-graphic on how much time per week social media activities take to implement. The difference between the two is interesting and shows how access to better tools can make us more efficient at getting the job done.

Does B2B Social Media Drive Holiday Sales?
Jeffrey L. Cohen, Managing Editor for SocialMediaB2B.com shares a few tips on how B2B organizations can successfully mix a little holiday cheer into their social media relationship-building efforts.

10 Steps To Kickoff A Social Media Campaign
KeySplash Creative CEO Susan Gunelius shares 10 informative tips to help get your social campaigns started off on the right foot in this guest post on BussinessInsider.com.

Me v Gary Vee: Is Social Media Over-rated?
Techcrunch‘s Paul Carr and Gary Vaynerchuk discuss the merits of social media in this Webby Debates video moderated by CNNMoney’s Laurie Segall.

 

 

Persuasive Picks for the week of 08/09/10

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10 signs you’re the social media nerd of your company
Andrew Worob contributes these 10 entertaining signs of “Social Media Nerdism” via his guest post on Ragan.com

The Social Media Imperative
This Adweek.com post from MediaCom North America CEO, Doug Checkeris focuses on the pre- and post-recession buying habits of consumers and how marketers will need to engage in the online social space as a result of the shift.

38 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed
Whats that..? You spend less time in front of the laptop during the summer..? Absurd! Well, if that’s the case, then Zachary Sniderman will catch you up with these 38 resources (some useful, most entertaining) - broken down into Social Media, Tech & Mobile and Business categories.

Top social media campaigns & what you can learn from them
This Smart Company post from Patrick Stafford gives a brief look at 10 recent, innovative, and successful social media marketing campaigns executed by well-known brands.

Twitter Takes Over The Tweet Button From TweetMeme
TweetMeme‘s popular Tweet Button appears on tens of thousands of sites (including ours) and has recently been trumped by a new one created by Twitter itself. The take-over was hostile and, in fact, Twitter actually licensed some of TweetMeme’s technology. TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld explains the details in this post.

Photo Credit: jparise