Drops from the Fire Hose – October 11, 2012

It’s Not About You: The Truth About Social Media Marketing — Tim O’Reilly

Even in ephemeral social media like Twitter, I’m known principally for how often I retweet. I’m constantly looking for value from others that I can amplify.  I have millions of followers on Twitter and Google+ not just because of what I say but because of the people I pay attention to.

In short, the secret of promotion in the age of social media isn’t to promote yourself.  It’s to promote others.  Success comes when your success depends on the success of your customers, your suppliers, your end-users, and when you spend more of your time thinking about them than about yourself.  You can even promote your competitors. In the early 90s, we distributed to booksellers a bibliography of all the best books on Unix – our competitors’ as well as our own. Our theory was that if we helped booksellers to buy the best books, the sales of the entire category would grow.

Which is more important culture or strategy? – 30-Second MBA

Short video clip on the article’s page.