Justin on May 26th, 2011

Like thousands of other people, I read Peter Shankman’s “Why I Will Never, Ever Hire a Social Media Expert” rant and I was amused.  He makes some good points.  And, considering my own lack of respect for most social marketers, you might think I’d agree with him wholeheartedly. But, surprise: I think he’s ultimately wrong.  [...]

Continue reading about The Real Problem with the Social Media Bubble

Justin on May 24th, 2011

As I mentioned yesterday, I don’t have a marketing background.  I went to art school.  (Although, given the bad rap EDMC — which bought and gutted everything I loved about The Art Institute of Pittsburgh over the years — has been getting regarding their own business practices, whether or not AIP still qualifies as an [...]

Continue reading about 5 Values Social Media Should Borrow from Art School

One of the reasons I’m usually skeptical of social marketing (even though I currently make a living at it) is because, in my heart, I’m not a marketer.  I’m a creator.  And there’s a big difference between the social media practitioners who entered this field from the content creation side first, as opposed to those [...]

Continue reading about The Difference Between Social Media and Social Marketing

God bless Ben Parr, whose Mashable article about the new Bre.ad service (still in invite-only beta as I type this) positions it as an altruistic force for good.  And that may even be what the founders of Bre.ad believe too, or at least what they hope will happen. But let’s be realistic: when has altruism [...]

Continue reading about How to (Mis-)Use the Bre.ad Service for Maximum Profit

Justin on May 17th, 2011

As many of you know, while I make my living in social media / social marketing, I also have a love-hate relationship with the field.  And since the barrier to entry is so low, literally anyone can join our hallowed ranks of gurus, ninjas, pirates and scam artists who pollute the conversation with meaningless bullshit [...]

Continue reading about 10 Ways to Look Like You’re a Social Media Expert