Social networking tools have become commonplace (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.). While these tools allow people to create a surface-level connnection, they are (at best) tools that create very weak ties. Imagine a network 5,000 people wide. All of those relationships must be shallow. In fact, if you have 5,000 people in your LinkedIn network, you [...]

I’ve recently been doing a lot of reading about social capital, and I came across a very thought-provoking quote. Every kind of network can be found among any group of managers, but only certain kinds of networks contribute to early promotion for certain kinds of managers. (Burt, Ronald. Structural Holes. Harvard UP: 1992.) Burt’s quote [...]

In Pixar’s 2003 film, Finding Nemo, there’s a delightful gag that’s portrayed by a cacophany of seagulls. They all cry out “mine!” in an unending chorus as they chase and squabble over their food. Scientists have shown that we put more value on an item because we can call it “mine.” It’s been named by [...]

Can you take a pre-launch fragment of your product and turn it into a commercial success and simultaneously produce major marketing buzz? Last week, Electronic Arts accomplished a marketing coup when it launched the Spore Creature Creator. As a game, Spore has been in-development for about four years. It launches in September. The project is [...]