February172012
First. I have XY chromosomes, AKA I am a guy, and I am on Pinterest. These are my predictions.
There is lots of hype right now about a social platform called Pinterest. If you are like me you had heard from girls and guys through the grapevine little tidbits about it that were a turn-off.
“It is for girls”
“You can plan your wedding”
“You can look for cupcake recipes”
And that was my impression and my apprehension towards Pinterest. To be fair,
97% of Pinterest users are female, so there might be some slight truth to those views…for now. In January of 2012, Pinterest drove more traffic than YouTube…Google+…and LinkedIn…
COMBINED. Let that sink in for a moment. Now, I understand there is a seriously steep adoption curve whenever a new platform arises (how desperate were you to get a Google+ invite?), but the number of friends I have seen join Pinterest is much more impressive than any new app I have seen so far.
So what is the point of Pinterest from a business standpoint? Here we go:
- This will be the place for user reviews. Because of this, there will be some serious advertising dollars committed to Pinterest.
- Companies will be able to show off their products and promote product launches (See how Harmonic Media is using it as a work portfolio)
- B2B companies will be able to share their work in an open space based on someone’s interest.
- Companies can look to others for inspiration and collaboration… think about the engagement with your customer! (I have already seen “Pin It and Win It” contests)
- This is a site about what you are using, not doing. (recipe, design idea, marketing ideas or content etc). These pins create a personality of what you are about.
What you need to know to speed up the learning curve:
- You have to be invited (if you need an invite, tweet me).
- Go to the Goodies page to get the “Pin It” button for your browser
- Pinterest is searchable by engines, so there is SEO equity there
- You can pin pictures, as well as videos (flash pictures do not work!)
- Take the same idea of interacting and engaging with others to this platform.
- There is not an official Pinterest Android App
That should get you going and settle your nerves a little. Everyone is still exploring and learning about this, so if you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them below!
You can find and follow me on Pinterest,
Carlo Ritschl
October132011
This guy, Steve Yegge, reminded me of Peter Gibbons, the employee from Office Space with an all around “I don’t give a shit anymore and I’ll lay it out there” attitude. Yegge, similar to Gibbons, has had enough of people doing the wrong things and wanted to give his opinion on how things can be done right. It made me wonder how his superiors at Google were going to view him after this rant went a little more public than he expected.
Do you think he’ll be reprimanded? Maybe. Maybe a little slap on the hand, some help from friends in PR, and probably a little radio silence from Yegge are all in the stars for him. Or do you think his supervisors at Google will wake up to notice that their employees, albeit happy because they came from other companies who treated them worse than Google (who knows by how much), are not pleased with how certain things work at Google?
All things considered, who has a perfect workplace? Or even the perfect boss? There are some pretty great companies out there and before this article, I might have given my right eye to work for either Amazon or Google. But now, I might have to reconsider.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Google and Amazon, Yegge. You make our lives better and much more interesting…
September202011
What am I going to be when I grow up? After attending the BMA luncheon featuring Roy Spence, I began to think that this is not the question we should be asking. It is a question whose answer is completely irrelevant to anyone you do business or have a relationship with. The real question we should be asking is, “Who do I want to be when I grow up?”
Through my first year in the marketing world one thing has become very clear to me. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but many times, the thing that will get you that next project or responsibility is who you are as a person.
“Where your talents and the needs of the world meet, there lies your calling. Your Purpose.”
- Aristotle
Who you are is driven by your purpose. I am sure there are a lot of people out there who are thinking “I could barely figure out my major in college, how am I supposed to figure out my purpose?” I believe that purpose can change and will change throughout a person’s life. However, the foundational values of that purpose never will.
My purpose at this stage of my life is to give people the ability to experience and enjoy their friends and family in the outdoors. Now, if you know me, my job might seem like the polar opposite of that statement. Let me explain.
I understand that I sit in a cubicle and mainly stare into my dual monitors for nearly 40 hours a week, but I am learning tools that will help me later on in my career. I understand that this is a marathon and not a sprint and that I need to do the proper training to win the race. I took this job with my purpose in mind. The cool thing is that through my learning experiences and strengthening of my talents, I have been able to help our operating companies fulfill their purpose and create some unbelievably great friendships as well. The other bonus that has come out of this first job is that I know that I really do love what I do.
Do you know who you want to be when you grow up? If you do, look back, do you know how that happened?
Carlo Ritschl
Marketing Specialist at Republic Financial Corporation
@CarloRitschl
