Is this the new look of the web? Personally, I feel this is moving in a great direction, but I’m not 100% sure how successful this application will be. The reason why Google (which is #1 on the internet) is #1 is because of how easy it is to use, and how simple it looks. For someone like myself who spends a great deal of time on the internet, the above video looks amazing – But what about the majority of people. People who don’t spend all day online, and when they are online, just want to check email, Facebook, and a few other things (YouTube comes to mind).

Would you use something like Microsoft’s Pivot? Why or Why Not?

The second I read the post from Chris Brogan this morning entitled :Wire Up Your Customer Base (click to see full post) I knew what I was going to talk about.

When I’m working with clients,  questions that I’m often asked are:

“Why would anyone care?” or “What type of content should I be putting out?”

This post exemplifies exactly what I tell them.

Be authentic, get to know your audience, and offer a remarkable service.

* On that last point, a Remarkable Service is often misinterpreted as something BIG! it doesn’t have to be, it could be a comic book store owner who shares when comics book arrive.

** To get the end of that last point, you really need to visit Chris Brogan’s blog (click here)

Who are YOU?

I mean that, really who are you, what do you stand for, what morals / ethics do you abide by?

For many people, they do not view this question as something that goes with branding their company – Then who’s company is it?

The truth is, you have to be authentic, meaning – You have to be you! That doesn’t mean that your business name has to be Your name, nor does it have to embody everything about you, but it certainly should have the same feel.

(This is not a plug) – Look at my companies brand – Forget the name for this moment, but the colours we have used, and the font. The colours a little loud, but not over the top (we hope). The font is maybe a little dated, but it’s fun, and represents my history of being a snowboarder. Further more, our Brand (which is far more than just a logo) represents many of my core values, and beliefs. It doesn’t encompass every area of my life, but it certainly has a similar feel.

Remember – branding isn’t all about the “logo” it’s much more than that – Are you comfortable associating yourself with your business brand? If the answer is “No” you have some work ahead. For session One (Click Here)

This morning on Chris Brogan.com there was a great post entitled: “I could totally do that.”

I am a huge believer in passing along information that makes me think – makes me go “that’s a cool idea.” The short video is 100% worth watching. If your wondering how to be creative this morning, this Friday, or for a while, these guys might give you a hands up with thinking about what is possible.

Thanks to Chris for finding, and sharing -

Session two of “The art of branding” will continue next week – for now, have an inspired Friday!

I was privileged yesterday to sit-down with a friend who is currently going through many changes at work. He owns the business, and has grown it to be an industry leader in the Barrie area.

“Josh” he started “I love doing what I’m doing, and have made great improvements in developing our systems, and improving the way we work. When I took over the business, I started to put my personal touch onto it, but now am at a cross-roads.”

“A cross-roads?” I stated not very surprised, as he had been hinting at what was coming next for some time.

He continued “Yes, I am thinking of totally re-branding, I don’t feel the name reflects the company that I want, and it doesn’t offer me the base to which I can grow.”

I started by explaining “You know, every great business has a story, and through that story quite often the name of the business shines through. Sometimes it comes through directly, and other times it’s just a glimmer, but this is the perfect starting point for your re-branding. What is your story? Not only in business, but personal as well.”

We continued to chat about how the story of a company will intuitively shape the brand of the business. To often people become so focused on “The Name” that they loose the meaning that will be placed behind the name, or what may be better known as the feeling.

Lesson one: Create a story for your business – but don’t just make one up. Be authentic, be truthful, and build it upon the values and principals that you would like to see your business built upon. Does your brand reflect this?

Remember a brand is much more than just a name.

Have an inspired day

Recently we at Muirhead Marketing we’re looking for a great tool to better watch all the social networking activity across the internet. We wanted something easy to use, but had a lot of horsepower under the hood.

Knowing of a few different models, I sent out a tweet to all my followers and the Twitter universe with the question:

“Know any good social media monitoring tools?”

Within moments, Bam – one answer

Within a few hours, WHaM- multiple answers, with offers to walk me through products.

This showed me two important things, that I take for granted, but could become critical depending on the style of business your in:

1. Use Twitter as a means of search – Google will bring up the most popular or best crafted sites, but Twitter (or Facebook, and so on) will bring up personal recommendations that you can further explore via conversation.

2. If your in business, use Twitter as a costumer outreach program. I was impressed when I noticed that Radian6 (a top contender in my search) not only responded, but because they knew I was actively looking, decided to follow me, just so they could keep posted on my on-going search.

It’s amazing what can be accomplished in 140 characters

Have an inspired day!

Why comment?

2 reasons:

Number 1,

It allows you to introduce yourself to a new group of people. Your network is not my network, and by commenting on a post, you introduce yourself to my network, and open the door for Us to have a conversation, and for my community to get to know You.

Number 2,

It’s the theory of reciprocity. If you are always just out giving off your own content, and not reading, engaging and talking on others content, why should someone do that for you? Give to the community, and they will give back (most of the time).

Here is an strategy to get you into the mind set of sharing comments.

1. Spend a minimum of twice as much time reading as you do writing (posting) i.e. 1 hour posting = 2 hours reading

2. Once a week choose a topic that you felt compelling, and share that with the bloggers community – i.e. Found this compelling, and insightful, thank you. And then share that same post with your network

3. Once a week make a critical statement (good or bad) about a post that you read. This could be backing what the author wrote, or suggesting an alternative. Don’t be mean, be critical.

Have an inspired day,

Josh

Well that was a show – The 2010 Winter Olympics have now concluded. There was great moments, that as a country we were privileged to share together.

This is what I took away from the last 17 days:

First, it truly is an amazing feat to put all this together.

Second, this was a moment better shared with fellow Canadians.

Third, we are a country that should be proud that we have so many amazing athletes.

Oddly enough, I would be interested to see the ratings of online viewership for this years Olympics as Bell, and CTV did an amazing job of having high-end streaming video online (even the Gold medal match-ups)

This is my questions to you, the reader – What was your favourite part of the games? Then, how can you bring that back into your work-place? I know that sounds like a difficult task, but I’ll give you an example.

“For me personally, watching the final Hockey game yesterday with friends was one of the highlights of the Olympics. I’m going to bring back into the work place the idea of teamwork, excitement, and to allow passion to flow seamlessly into new initiatives.”

Have an inspired day!

Hi, and welcome to Josh Muirhead.ca. The short video below showcases what you’ll be able to experience here. If you have been a long-time reader, or just not knew to Josh Muirhead.ca, feel free to skip this video. You can move down to the latest post that is found below this post, or look to the right, and you’ll notice a list of the latest and greatest (mostly latest, but I hope you feel they’re great)

Finally, I would like to thank all the people who inspire my daily blog posts. First, and foremost Family and Friends. Then, this fine list of people – Mitch Joel, Jeremy Epstein, Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, Marketing Mag (everyone there), Mashable (all great), BNI Networking at Noon (you guys rock!), Andrew Sorlie…Alright this Oscar moment will finish, but if you’re in my life, you can bet you inspired me in some shape or form.

We are always presenting – Think about it

- First date:  that’s a presentation

- First job interview: you bet that’s a presentation

- Presentations in school: that goes without question

So do you give a good presentation?

For most people, getting up and speaking to their peers is not something they dream of.

But you have to do them, so do them well.

First, make it a conversation. The best presentations that I have ever given or watched allowed the audience to participate, and felt like an open conversation. The person giving the presentation controlled the conversation, but allowed it to grow naturally.

Second, have a game plan. One of the worst mistakes you can make in giving a presentation is to wing it, or only review your notes once. You need to know what you’re going to say, you need to know how it should be said, and what feeling your trying to convey.

Third, be flexible. I can’t tell you how often I have seen a presenter try to get back to their slideshow, even though their audience has indicated they had no interest in going there.

Finally, know your audience. This is a mistake that we all make, and one that can sometimes be difficult to determine beforehand. But know who you’re going to be talking to and their level of knowledge on the topic you’ll be talking about.

Have an inspired Wednesday,