Christina Loff

Anne Helen Petersen's latest story for her Substack, Culture Study, (subscribe! It's great) on the transformation of People Magazine and the broader implications for media, especially indie publishers. From its glory days to its struggle to remain relevant in a digital-first world, Petersen examines the real effects of SEO and content aggregation. (Bonus: learning what happened to About.com) Petersen linked to another article about how recommendations are usually reverse engineered by "experts" paid to churn content and boost a website's ranking: https://lnkd.in/egUKJU53 As a publisher myself, I found this a sobering read--it feels like the independent publishers out there simply don't have a chance unless we turn into aggregate SEO farms. 📚✨ #MediaEvolution #IndiePublishing #SEO #DigitalTransformation Read Petersen's full story here: https://lnkd.in/emgHqiKE

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A stroll through San Diego led me to Geppetto's, where a life-sized puppet and friendly staff turned me into an unexpected customer. 🌟This IS the magic of independent retail. 🌟 With consumer spending down, small businesses need innovative strategies beyond discounting to thrive without sacrificing profitability. Curious about how #indieretailers are navigating these challenges? Check out my latest article in Total Retail. #Retail #SmallBusiness #CustomerExperience #Innovation #IndependentRetail #SMB #boutiqueowner #retailer #fashion

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Meta just announced a new AI translation tool that automatically translates, dubs and lip-syncs Reels. While the promotion of it has focused on expanding the reach of social media influencers, I think this is going to be huge for reaching culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) audiences in public awareness and election campaigns. The lip-synching is a bit clunky (no doubt it'll get better), but the ability to automatically convert a video of a spokesperson or politician into multiple different language versions for diverse audiences is extremely powerful. https://lnkd.in/gGnEx7pC

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🔴 Nonprofit marketers 🔴 are you wasting money on ads? The team over at GR0WTH DR1VERS just released a new study on Facebook ad performance and the results are... well, not great. Almost all of the nonprofit ad accounts they audited were making common mistakes that result in wasted ad spend. Here are a few takeaways: 1️⃣ Single Message Magic! 🌟 Keep your ads focused! Too many goals in one spot dilute your impact. One clear, compelling message per ad, please! 2️⃣ Mobile is a Must! 📱 Ads optimized for mobile deliver 1.9X the ROI. Think short (15 seconds max), sweet, and super visible on small screens. 3️⃣ Clear Calls to Action 📢 Missing a 'Donate Now' or 'Learn More'? You’re missing out! Direct calls to action turn interest into impactful interactions. If you are running social ads, I'd highly recommend reaching out to Eric and the GR0WTH DR1VERS team for some expert advise.

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Good Nieman Labs profile of New_ Public, based on interviews with co-founder Eli Pariser, who I've been reading since The Filter Bubble in 2010(?), and Deepti Doshi, who joined from running Facebook's Community Partnerships programme in support of Facebook group admins. What I like about New_Public is they're being tech-agnostic as they try to figure out how to build civil online public spaces. It's an approach I used to take with my clients, until they decided to commit 100% to Drupal and Microsoft for online comms and collaboration: first figure out what you want to do, then see if you can build it from existing tools, and only build something new if you can't. Having said that, I was hoping they'd be more optimistic about #AI4communities on the #fediverse, but suspect they're right that decentralization “isn’t meeting people where they’re at". https://lnkd.in/efJNu6ja

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I shared my strategy when working with #PostPamper (San Diego's first postpartum retreat) and major podcast wins for The Life You Can Save on the Remarkable Marketing Podcast. You can listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/gcvCp_nw #publicrelations #pragency

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SoSha's mission is to build a repeatable, organic alternative to advertising and in doing so make organizations understand that choosing to redirect part or all of their ad dollars to curating and engaging their community will help them build a healthy, sustainable growth engine that is built on loyalty and deep networks instead of the transactionality of the existing advertising model. I've just had a fascinating convo with my colleague, Areti Livanos, diving into the numbers we see from our customers and wanted to share these (still raw) but exciting data points.💡 One of the top SoSha users is spending 4 cents per every organic website visit they're generating through organic social shares driven through SoSha toolkits. The two platforms this organization is driving most of the clicks on are Whatsapp and Facebook. While I haven't yet been able to find a reliable source for Cost Per Click for Whatsapp (if anyone has those, please let me know!), the average cost per click for advertising on Facebook is $0.26 – $0.50. So, our customer is generating clicks at 10-20% of the cost of advertising through the power of their own community! Want to know the even better news?! 🤩 This cost through SoSha is likely to go even further down as the organization is continuing to engage their community and increasing the volume of social shares they're driving. 📈

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As we near the conclusion of my Web 2.0 memoir, we're now in the second half of 2011...and it's tough times for ReadWriteWeb. I worry about my relationship with Marshall, as I try to manage ructions within the writing team. It goes from bad to worse when several of our writers get poached by tech blog competitors. https://lnkd.in/eSXQbD2W #InternetHistory #Web20

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Think about the last time someone on your team dropped bad news in your lap. Did you jump straight to damage control? Most of us do. But what if we hit pause and asked, "What's really going on here?" That's cognitive empathy in action - understanding people's perspectives to make smarter decisions. It's not about sharing feelings; it's about seeing situations clearly through others' eyes. Look at Satya Nadella at Microsoft. He turned the company around by prioritizing understanding over immedi... [continued at https://lnkd.in/dpJr7c5K] For more about the "A Practical EmPath Rewire Your Mind" book, visit https://lnkd.in/dkX9qvZQ. This post was generated by https://CreativeRobot.net. #empathy, #CognitiveEmpathyLeadership, #TeamBuildingSuccess, #TransformationalManagementSkills

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In the fast-paced world of media, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle. But I've learned that the most meaningful connections are built on a foundation of trust, empathy, and genuine care. My current role demands me to navigate between the needs of management and the needs of my team, while maintaining a strong personal connection with both. It's a delicate dance(people who know me know about my connection with dance), but it's also incredibly rewarding. Seeing the growth and development of those around me fills me with a sense of purpose and satisfaction. Building strong relationships takes time, effort, and a willingness to invest in others. It's not always easy, but it's worth it. When we create a supportive and nurturing environment, we can achieve great things together. So, here's to the power of human connection. Let's continue to build bridges, foster growth, and make a positive impact for everyone and everything around. More power to Bartergram and the entire Team/Family. #Bartergram #Growth #personalgrowth

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INTERVIEWS OF 2024 SXSW PITCH WINNERS: Dhavel Patel of Lotus Every March in Austin, 50 of the world's most impactful startups showcase their talents at SXSW Pitch. Today we begin a series of short interviews with some of the category winners from the 2024 event. Founder and CEO Dhaval Patel has been growing Lotus for three years. At this year's SXSW Pitch, his San Jose based startup emerged as the winner of the "Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability" category. Patel's short answers to our questions are below. SXSW: What is Lotus?  Patel: A wearable ring that controls objects at home by pointing. See https://www.getlotus.com/ SXSW: What community does Lotus serve? Patel: Folks with limited mobility -- older adults, veteran soldiers, people with disabilities.  SXSW: Who is your all-time favorite entrepreneur? Patel: Warren Buffett. SXSW: Best startup-related advice you have received? Patel: Don't start building first, find the need first. SXSW: Current entrepreneurial trend that excites you the most? Patel: Desire for tech that is intuitive and simple. SXSW: Fail fast or perseverance? Patel: Persevere in failing fast repeatedly. SXSW: Favorite VC? Patel: Andreessen Horowitz. SXSW: Favorite gadget or device? Patel: Apple AirPods. SXSW: Government can best support startups by Patel: Moving faster. SXSW: Most over-hyped technology at present? Patel: AI. SXSW: Most under-hyped technology at present? Patel: Consumer hardware. SXSW: What did you enjoy most about your experience at SXSW? Patel: The people -- each person wanting to make the world a better place. SXSW: What is your best trait as an entrepreneur? Patel: Simplifying complex problems. SXSW: What is your best advice for other startups? Patel: Focus (say "no" to more). Learn more about Dhaval Patel of Lotus plus other 2024 SXSW Pitch winners by listening to the audio of their session at this year's event. See https://lnkd.in/gHtwQB8n Applications for SXSW Pitch 2025 will open in late summer. See https://lnkd.in/gE2hcVPK #sxsw, #sxsw2024, #startups, #founders, Chris Valentine, Dhaval Patel, SXSW, #venturecapital, #entrepreneur, #entrepreneurs, #startup, #founderstories, #sxswpitch, Lotus (Techstars'23), #techstars, #Austin, #ATX, #creativity, #innovation, #hardware, #consumerhardware, #pitch, #accessibility,

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I'm working on a thought leadership piece (with Eva Zivanovic's fantastic Notion insights leading it✨), and I'm feeling oddly upbeat. It's a Sunday/Bank Holiday evening, and I'm just vibing. I've always enjoyed Sundays as a freelancer/business owner, but today especially—it's weirdly satisfying and enjoyable to work knowing everyone's out and about. No emails, no messages, no notifications, nothing. I also found the perfect ambient music playlist for this vibe. The mixes have a really unobtrusive quality, blending into the background without being distracting. They are just really well-curated, unintrusive ambient tunes for a satisfyingly chill writing session. If you need something new for your ears, here it is: https://lnkd.in/e9gQt2sA —— 👋 I'm Anete — a creative B2B SaaS writer who nerds out on products so I can craft content that makes complex tools feel simple and accessible for users. 💁‍♀️ A strategic storyteller dedicated to long-term growth. 💌 If you need help creating documentation, case studies, community content, and blogs that speak directly to your users and drive action, let's connect!

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I spent some time this weekend experimenting with Anthropic's newly released Claude 3.5 sonnet, and I have to say I was pretty impressed. To be honest, I've been considering giving up my Claude subscription in recent weeks, and I'm glad I didn't. Here are a few things I liked: ☑ EXCELLENT writing skills, probably the best out there for an LLM, based on my experience ☑ Finally, Claude has 'vision' capabilities (it can see and transcribe text even from low-quality images) ☑ Exceptional reasoning, skills, and what seems to be a very solid knowledge base ☑ It is lightning-fast, and its responses seem to show an excellent grasp of language nuances, along with a bit of personality and a sense of humour! ☑VERY good at processing complex multi-step prompts 'Mid' but with potential: Anthropic also introduced Artifacts, which lets you see what's being generated in a window beside your prompt. Unfortunately, it's still limited for a few things I was trying out, but I love the concept of a collaborative work environment, and it will get better and more user-friendly soon. Highly encourage you to give this latest version a try - the best way to learn how to use AI tools and what they are good at is to spend some time! https://lnkd.in/gvuVZPPK #Anthropic #AI #Claude #Sonnet

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3 Key Lessons Hello Alice's Founder Learned From Navigating an Anti-DEI Lawsuit At the Fast Company Innovation Festival, Hello Alice co-founder Elizabeth Gore shared insights and advice with other business owners. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/djtejEvQ . . Like 💝 Comment below ⏬ Share ✅ For More Such Updates Follow Us @qnewshub @qnewscrunch . . #qnewshub #qnewscrunch #StartupFunding

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68% of journalists say the press release is still one of the most useful types of content for building earned media coverage and brand equity. But first, you need a news angle. Read when to use and when not in the new 2024 report from Cision. #publicrelations #pressrelease #earnedmedia

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Every week, we do news scans for Heurisay clients. It helps us stay on top of industry/competitor news, reporters' work and industry/news trends. (Last week, we uncovered a new podcast, reached out to the host and secured interest in an interview for a founder. One of the most critical things for an effective/successful #PR program is reading and staying on top of the news.) Here are a few articles we were reading (and news we were following) this week: https://lnkd.in/eitPgFMz (Note: This is starting to get a lot of coverage; we anticipate more thought leaders will be needed to talk about the steps they're taking to ensure ongoing #AI efficacy) https://lnkd.in/eXSjDRh7 https://lnkd.in/egSJmT9m https://lnkd.in/eS39zZxj https://lnkd.in/e9yPtemk

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We need to stop suggesting youth audiences are impossible to reach. How Gen Z news media habits can inform your approach to designing and developing campaigns with and for youth audiences. https://lnkd.in/eqY7ejDE

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