Author Archive

Data Science for the Non-Scientists

on April 15, 2013

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Last week, The New York Times discussed the emerging academic discipline known as Data Science, and how students will be able to become what’s known, according to Rachel Schutt, as “a hybrid computer scientist software engineer statistician.” I have no doubt that data science will supplant computer science as one of the hot degrees for the ambitious and intelligent over the next decade. But what about the rest of us? We’re out of school and in the workforce. Are we also on the road to becoming obsolete?    Read More →

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Why Math Matters: Practical Lessons in Big Data from an Unlikely Source

on November 13, 2012

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I was reminded again of the importance of knowing how to harness and utilize big data in the run-up to this month’s US presidential election. By many accounts, more than $2 billion was spent by the two main candidates this election cycle. On the basis of being able to aggregate and read massive electoral datasets, that money was well-spent. Deciding how to spend that money was largely a function of being able to correctly analyze electoral “big data” – demographics, likely vs. registered voters, the public’s responses to various issues, etc. One side, however, utilized big data better than the other.    Read More →

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How to “Backchannel” Your Way to a Job

on May 17, 2012

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The way that people find jobs, particularly digital jobs, has changed substantially in just the last three years. These days, by the time someone is requesting your resume, they probably know quite a bit about you, not just via Google but also by digging a little on social-media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook.

And in a hyper-connected city like New York, there’s a great chance that you and the recruiter or hiring manager know at least a couple of the same people.    Read More →

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Why Modern Marketers Need to Do More Than Just “Love Data”

on February 21, 2012

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As I wrote in a a post last year, we’ve entered the era of using data to tell stories. Natalie Zmuda’s article in last week’s Ad Age, “When CMOs Learn to Love Data, They’ll Be VIPs in the C-Suite,” did a good job of explaining the other side of the data coin –- using data to inform and power marketing programs. Marketers haven’t been lacking for data; instead, the issue has been about how to contextualize the information and how to separate the truly important from the irrelevant.    Read More →

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Be Prepared: Marketing Effectively for the “Relevant Web”

on April 28, 2011

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As I mentioned in my last post, there’s an ongoing shift toward giving readers a more relevant, adaptive web experience. This trend’s power starts with the fact that it’s beneficial for consumers–and soon this relevancy will be a requirement. For those marketers who embrace the trend, it will also be hugely profitable.

The experiences that a growing Web population expects—on-demand access to content of particular interest to them–will largely shape how people come to accept advertising directed their way. Today, I can set up and read personalized news feeds, follow the musings and links of my friends and colleagues on Facebook and Twitter, and access videos of my choice on Netflix and Hulu. Soon, I’ll enjoy a web experience that doesn’t require me to download or interact with separate sites or applications, each with their own notion of relevancy.

But even in the here and now, companies are learning how to speak (and, more important, be spoken to) in a one-to-one way with customers via social media and other tools. Many companies have someone whose job includes following Twitter feeds that involve their company in order to get real-time feedback. I’d argue that the lessons learned over the next few years will lead to a profound change in the way companies market to their customers–ads will have to become more relevant, conversational, and engaging in order to generate attention and drive action.    Read More →

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Where the Money’s At: Why Facebook’s Valuation Looks More Realistic Every Day

on April 14, 2011

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We hear a lot these days about Internet behemoths like Google, Apple and Microsoft–along with that relative up-and-comer Facebook. The first three companies I mention are worth $186B, $305B and $219B, respectively–they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

But I think lots of people have grossly underestimated Facebook. There’s lots of confusion about a $70B valuation for a company involved in a pretty squishy line of work–”social media.” But people are missing the bigger picture. Facebook has 600 million users, and that figure is growing. People who predict its demise perhaps continue to think of it as just status updates. But it’s a lot more than that, and it doesn’t hurt Facebook’s market share that millennials are happy to concede privacy for ubiquity; indeed, many find the very idea of privacy quaint.

Facebook sits on, I think, a far more valuable data set than the giants–it has a wealth of information about people, information that by and large is contributed voluntarily. Let’s agree that, on its surface, Facebook is as easy a company to mock as it is to admire. Many think that Facebook has taken advantage of unsustainable trends, and like Myspace before it, it’s destined to fall to earth. But that’s a mistake born of thinking of Facebook simply as a way for friends to chat with friends.    Read More →

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Storytelling in the Age of Data

on March 29, 2011

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Today, as always, a big part of successful marketing is about telling stories that resonate with customers and business prospects. What’s changed is that the method for telling those stories is increasingly becoming based on data. In fact, Google recently started publishing a book (with companion website) on that very subject.

Ask yourself: where has the Internet created real value? It’s mainly been in data analysis. The technology platforms for social media, music downloads, movie streaming, ad serving, and site analytics all generate huge amounts of data. Buried inside this data are valuable business insights, if you can tease them out and package them in a way that people understand. In fact, it’s this move towards data insight and analysis that may end up saving some old-school industries. The New York Times in particular does a nice job showing how the 2011 federal budget is allocated and spent. It’s a lot easier to be shown how much money is tied up in non-discretionary spending than to be told about it, and it foretells the role our most important newspapers may play in the future.    Read More →

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Can You Engineer a Better Boss?

on March 17, 2011

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Tom Burg, a twelve-year veteran of Silicon Alley, blogs for us about marketing, the digital economy, and how social media is transforming the way we all communicate.

Google’s in the news for developing a process to improve people management within the company. It looks a lot like the way the company perfects its search algorithms or makes design decisions: analyze the data and completely (some would say blindly) trust the results. Because the performance review system is entirely online, it’s also entirely searchable. The team heading up what’s known as “Project Oxygen” found correlations between the “phrases, words, praise, and complaints” used on in-house surveys, reviews, and nominations to arrive at eight traits that separate good managers from bad.

Those traits, by and large, read like they came from a Reader’s Digest management primer–having a clear vision for your team, helping with career development, and being productive and results-oriented.    Read More →

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Digital Marketing Comes of Age: We’re All Futurists Now

on March 15, 2011

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Tom Burg, a twelve-year veteran of Silicon Alley, blogs for us about marketing, the digital economy, and how social media is transforming the way we all communicate.

Back in the mid-90s, when I started my marketing career, just about everything I knew I learned through textbooks and classes taught by marketing professors who’d last seen the inside of a boardroom back when Bic pens came to market. Marketing itself was heavily based on case studies and focused on market share, with big budgets tied up in campaigns with a life cycle of six months or more. Unless you worked for a company with virtually unlimited budgets, there was no incentive to do quick tests and refine marketing approaches. Incremental progress was limited at best.

Moving to New York City a bit later to pursue a marketing career in the “Internet” seemed like a pretty safe career bet. I got to conceive and explore new business models; it was great fun. Unfortunately, many of those late-90s ideas were either before their time or required what (seemed back then to be) unfathomable amounts of capital to make work. Then came the bust.    Read More →

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Product Management, User Experience, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Usability Testing

Project Management, Program Management, Production, Content Production

Animation, Art Direction, Creative Direction, Corporate Identity, Flash Design/Dev, Graphic Design, Web Design

Content Strategy, Editorial, Copywriting, Copy Editing, Research, Blog Outreach

Brand Management, Business Development, Sales, Product Marketing, Event/Conference Planning, Promotions, Marcomms, Corporate Comms, Direct Marketing, E-Marketing, Public Relations, Market Research

Account Management, Account/Brand Planning, Media Strategy, Communications Planning, Media Planning/Buying, Social Media, Search (SEM, SEO), Web Metrics & Analytics

Web Development, Front End Development

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