Recently the Altimeter Group issued a report that showed that "66% of companies cannot link social to business goals."

Just when the Fortune 500 took a deep breath after years of implementing six sigma, ERP, and cloud computing -- along comes social -- social media, social business,...

Retail is changing. Some companies are getting it right (H&M, Tory Burch). Some are colossal failures (JCPenney). One thing is clear: today's digital consumer is expecting their favorite retailers and brands to know how to operate in the social and mobile environment. They're not just looking for the best shopper...

Bitcoin has taken a huge hit in recent days but it is still a billion-dollar currency on a wild up-and-down ride and Silicon Valley, financial institutions, commodity traders and others are paying attention.

For those who don't know, Bitcoin is "a decentralized digital currency based on an...

Did you know that the U.S. Army publishes one of the very best social media handbooks on the planet -- covering everything from "Army Branding" to "The Enemy Is Listening?"

Didn't think so. In fact, every armed service in the Department of Defense has a social...

The financial services industry has struggled to integrate social media into its regulation-laden information ecosystem. In addition to the need to document everything and protect privacy, most financial services professionals still think social media -- Twitter specifically -- is superfluous.

That ended this weekend.

The Cyprus 'surprise'...

SXSWi (South-by-Southwest Interactive) starts this week.

Thousands of digerati from all over the world will gather to discuss tons of topics including the current state of social media, digital marketing, and even two or three sessions on big data. My best guess is that the term "data-driven...

The Social LA digerati were out in force this past weekend in Los Angeles with two hugely successful events -- Getting Social at the Getty (#GettySocial) and the 3rd Annual Streamy Awards at the Hollywood Palladium, hosted by Chris Hardwick.

More than 400 people throughout the...

The volume of data is growing and getting bigger every day. Big data is really big. IBM says that every day, we're creating 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. Everything is moving to the cloud. Mobile (and tablets) are everywhere and getting smarter by the minute. Everything is (almost)...

Two things are happening in this year's race to Super Bowl advertising greatness:
1. Early social buzz and engagement are critical. Nearly everyone's released their ads and ad teasers early this year. That's because YouTube research shows that ads that ran online before the Super Bowl in 2012...

Anyone who's ever been responsible for the sales teams of a company knows how hard it is to sell with integrity and elegance. Every business is dependent on good business development and yet it remains an enigma as to how to create a stellar sales organization. It takes training, motivation,...

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate made history by swearing-in a record-breaking 20 female senators -- four Republicans and 16 Democrats -- in office. And in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, among the senators there was unanimity in predicting, and hoping, that there will be a female...

I believe that 2013 is the beginning of a global jobs surge. An HR consultant I know said it was like a switch was flipped over the holidays -- all of a sudden, job postings were increasing and some of her clients were getting two and three job offers a...

Social Media is growing up. We're seeing that the power of social media marches on in business, entertainment, sports, government and education, and is becoming more entrenched in internal business processes as well as outward communications.

Today sees the announcement of the new Twitter Nielsen TV Ratings,...

As 2012 winds down, most corporations are in planning mode for 2013 and beyond. The question I'm being asked by senior teams I work with from Fortune 500 companies goes like this, "At the 30,000-foot level, what are the two or three critical success factors we should be focused on...

What if we could really achieve repeatable and scalable results in terms of widespread global development, entrepreneurship, mitigating poverty, and harnessing nature's power, by unlocking the big data of the NGO-big charity-donor-recipient ecosystem, using social and mobile to target and mobilize, and then storing it all in the cloud?

Think...

I have been on a mission to help senior management teams at Fortune 500 companies learn about the power of real-time social media. It hasn't been easy. There are still so many misconceptions about what social media is; why it's changing everything (really? yes, really); and how to get on...

It's election season (duh!) and we're told the focus is on the economy and jobs. Yes, the unemployment figures went down at the end of September to under 8 percent, which is better than before. But there's no doubt about it, the economy and jobs picture in America is still...

Social Media Week 2012 kicked off on Monday. So you know, Social Media Week "is a worldwide event exploring the social, cultural and economic impact of social media. Our mission is to help people and organizations connect through collaboration, learning and the sharing of ideas and information."

It...

If you don't know who Psy Park is, you're living under a rock. He's the South Korean artist who's created Gangnam Style, the latest dance creation sweeping the globe. Stop reading NOW and watch his video. It will make you smile.

Psy was interviewed by MTV...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States will convene the first-ever Ask Me Anything session on Reddit."

You know that social media has power when the most powerful leader on the planet is using one of the most-popular-yet-less-well-known social media platforms to communicate (and upstage the...