If you have been subscribing to this blog, thank you! I hope you will hop on over to my new blog, Nice & Nearly Neat, to check it out and take a minute to subscribe there.

I expect to have the new site up and running in about a week. I hope you’ll stick with me. I’ll share more about what I have taken away from the time off and my future plans.

For those checking this site, stay tuned, I ‘ll let you know when the new blog is live.

That’s what I’ve done with this blog over the past few weeks.

After several months of this blog, I felt that I needed to take a step back to think about where things are and where things should be going.

I’m still working through a few thoughts, but I plan to be back with new content, and hopefully better than ever, in two weeks.

Until then, I leave you with two thoughts…

“You can do nothing about yesterday, and the only way to improve tomorrow is by what you do right now.”
John Wooden

“Learning and progress accrue only when there is something to learn from, and the something, the stuff of learning and progress, is any completed action.”
Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.
“In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best Run Companies”

Photo credit: Voxphoto

Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self, by Alan M. Webber
“Innovation isn’t a thing; it’s a way of being.” (p.150)

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell
“He’d had to make his way alone, and no one – not rock stars, not professional athletes, not software billionaires, and not even geniuses – ever makes it alone.” (p.115)

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, by Alice Schroeder
“To Buffett, it was obvious that the combination of fallible human beings and judgment-free computers in a completely unmonitored, unsupervised environment, meant an almost unlimited potential for things to go wildly out of control.” (p. 557)

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, by Chris Brogan and Juien Smith
“Leaders aren’t simply those who are the best at doing their jobs; they are the best at helping others to grow and gathering those people’s skills to their command when necessary.” (p. 240)

Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, by Hugh MacLeod
“You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don’t make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness.” (p. 39)

What are some of the best books you read last year? What books are on your list to read this year?

Nielsen Notes is a regular series on this blog.

What are you going to do to make yourself and others better in 2010?

Nielsen Notes is a regular series.

If you want to convince your family or friends to take a long trip, you wouldn’t suggest a trip by covered wagon, would you?

No, of course you wouldn’t. Travel by covered wagon is impractical, outdated, and has been replaced by safer, quicker alternatives with greater appeal to the modern person. You would make your argument based on what you know about your audience

A young traveler might propose to a friend a trip by car, discussing the fun that could be had on a cross-country road trip. Making the case to most leisure or business travelers, you would suggest travel by plane, for the sake of speed. For someone afraid of flying, you might recommend a bus or train.

The mode of transportation you recommend and your messaging would differ depending on the audience.

My point here is this: in order to effectively market an idea or a product, you need to know your audience. You can’t use the same message to reach an audience that doesn’t value the same things, that lives with different circumstances. You need to know what messages will reach the market.

Is your target market different than your current audience? Then what are you going to change?

If you want to reach a new audience, you can’t continue to do the same old things that haven’t worked before.

It might mean evolving your brand image or changing your messaging. It might even mean changing your product. Sure, you’ll probably alienate some existing customers along the way, but if you are convinced you need to reach the new market, change is inevitable.

Far too many companies and organizations try to reach new markets without change or adaptability. This is not a strategy for growth.

What do you think? How can we use what we know about our audience to promote change to our brand, to our messaging, to our product?

Photo credit: DaveWilsonPhotography

This Thursday, I will take part in a panel discussion at the Milwaukee Social Media Breakfast. The topic? Snake Oil Salesman or Social Media Expert?

I’ll share my thoughts on the topic here at another time, but if you’re in Milwaukee, I hope you’ll consider attending the breakfast.

My fellow panelists are some really smart people who know what they’re talking about. I know I’m eager to hear what they have to say. They are:

Jeff Larche, @TheLarch — Owner of Digital Solid
Matthew Olson, @_Signalfire_ – Owner and Creative Director of Signalfire, LLC
Sue Spaight, @SueSpaight – VP of Account Management and Digital Strategy at Meyer & Wallis

Here are the basics:
December 10, 2009 – 7:30 am to 9:30 am
The Moct – 240 E. Pittsburgh Ave. – Milwaukee
WiFi and Light Breakfast Provided
Twitter Hashtag: #SMBMke

You can find more details and register here.

I hope to pick up this book and find out more about Patry’s take on copyright issues.

Photo credit: Joe Gratz

I try to read articles associated with headlines that don’t grab my attention at first glance. I try to learn about the interests of those around me. I try to read and explore blogs and articles that aren’t associated with my career or hobbies.

I’ve read in numerous places, that looking beyond our immediate interests can extend our creativity and prompt new ideas. I have experienced this on occasion, and I think it’s a good thing in helping me to become a more knowledgeable individual.

That being said, I think I’m going to try to make an even more concerted effort over the next month to learn about new areas. I think I will try for one new topic per week.

What do you read or explore outside of your area? Do you use other techniques to learn about new things?

Photo credit: -POD-

On more than one occasion, I have found myself thinking about the relationship between the marketing, public relations and communications functions within an organization. Should these roles fall under the same umbrella as they do in some organizations? Should they be found in different departments as they do in other companies? Should someone working in a public relations role be reporting to someone who is more concerned with advertising? Does social media help bring marketing, PR and communications together or does it tear them apart?

Without a doubt, these areas are related. In my mind, integration and cooperation are key, but to what extent?

What are your thoughts? Do you think your opinion is influenced by whether you work in an agency or specific corporate structure?

I continue to work on an arrangement that will allow you to easily view previous Nielsen Notes posts and their respective categories.Photo credit: foxypar4