About Me 0099: why internet marketing

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

The word “mentorship” usually evokes imagery of an older, more experienced individual imparting knowledge and know-how upon a younger, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed individual — that’s the traditional use of the word that we’ve all come to know and accept.

Alexa Scordato, however, is turning that word on its head with a concept she calls reverse mentorship. Scordato currently serves as the community manager at 2tor, an education technology startup. Fresh out of college, though, she first started her career as an executive assistant at Mzinga, a social software company, where she and Chairman and CEO Barry Libert took part in a reverse mentorship.

Pairing senior executives with digital natives seems like an obvious win for the digitally challenged; you put in a few hours a week, and the youngster teaches you how to use Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter and Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook. The term “reverse mentorship” can be a bit misleading in that way. What it really is, though, is a two-way conversation — digitally savvy newcomers to the business world have the opportunity to impart their tips and tricks for mastering the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet, and senior business leaders act as role models and career coaches for budding professionals.

Over the past few years, Scordato has become a very vocal advocate for reverse mentorship, speaking on the subject at various events, including TEDxBoston and Pivot Conference.

While reverse mentorship may be a concept that’s been in practice for a while, we really like Scordato’s take on the subject. Inspired by her thoughts, here are just a few reasons why your business should consider setting up a reverse mentorship program.

There Are Knowledge Gaps on Both Sides

The beauty of reverse mentorship is that it takes both sides into account, realizing that we all come with our flaws, whether we’re 22 years old and fresh out of college or 60 years old, steering a business.

“There’s a big crisis that I think we’re experiencing right now in the marketing industry, which is a severe knowledge gap,” said Scordato at PivotCon. “There are a lot of very seasoned marketers out there who are struggling to basically understand the new rules of marketing.”

That’s just one side of the story. Scordato also explained that, like many other Millennials straight out of college, she had a lot to work on professionally: “I lacked business acumen. I was fascinated with Barry’s lingo — things like EBITDA and cash flow. I didn’t understand any of it. But it was interesting, because I realized that he was equally fascinated by this thing called Twitter.”

Scordato and Libert paired up each day for 30 minutes before the work day began. Their morning routine consisted of blogging and engaging via social media. Scordato explained the end result, “ got him on Facebook; put his speaking gigs on YouTubeclass="blippr-nobr">YouTube; he’s on LinkedInclass="blippr-nobr">LinkedIn; we wrote 53 blog posts together over the course of a year, and you can tweet him.”

Each employee has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Learn about your employees — what they excel in and where they need improvement — and pair them with others who complement those qualities.

The Future of Business Is Social

Communication models are evolving within organization and outside of them. Communication with colleagues or customers is becoming more direct, making it faster and easier to collaborate with others. Dying are the days where the only means of communication with customers was via a toll-free number or a suggestion box. Many areas within business are embracing social and digital media — CEOs, public relations pros, salespeople and recruiters to name a few.

“The future of business is social,” Scordato stated. “We have to stop thinking about our companies as a corporate ladder. It doesn’t resonate with me, it doesn’t resonate with my peers. If we want to be an organization that really embraces change and adopts and is innovative, we need to think faster, smarter, social.”

The digital age is upon us — it’s time to embrace technology and see what your organization can accomplish.

The Generation Gap Argument is Old

“That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.”/> — John Stuart Mill, British philosopher (1806-1873)

When discussing the evolution of technology, it’s almost inevitable that someone will bring up the argument that there’s an inexplicable knowledge gap between youngsters who grew up with computers, cellphones and other gadgets and old fogies who remember the days when TVs and radios didn’t exist. Sure, there have been many technological advances in the past 50 years, but that doesn’t excuse anyone from learning.

Furthermore, we must remember that each new generation is not a new subset of humans — we are all people, and we all share commonalities. And most importantly, we can all learn from one another.

Let’s get over the excuse that there are too many differences between generations, because frankly, it’s lazy and outdated. Scordato sums it up nicely:

“We need to think about reverse mentorship and pairing young people with seasoned executives. We need to stop thinking about it as an ‘us versus them’ conversation. It’s a two-way street. I’m not going to stand here and say, ‘Oh my gosh, these people over here don’t get it. They’re slow. They’re old. They don’t know what they’re talking about.’ And I would expect that people I want to learn from, my mentors, wouldn’t look at me and say, ‘Alexa doesn’t know anything. She’s just one of those Millennials.’ ”

The sooner we acknowledge our similarities along with our differences, the sooner we can begin to learn from each other and bridge the so-called generational gap.

Conclusion

Adopting a reverse mentorship program isn’t a matter of reworking business processes or changing staff. It can be as simple as matching up compatible employees and enabling them to meet during lunch to discuss topics that they’re interested in. The important thing is to facilitate a two-way dialogue between newcomers and veterans at your business to encourage sharing of useful skills and knowledge.

Has your organization tried out reverse mentorship? If so, let us know about the experience in the comments below.

More Business Resources from Mashable:

- 6 Ways to Score a Job Through Twitter/> - Small Biz Checklist: 5 Important Tasks for the End of the Year/> - HOW TO: Boost Holiday Sales With Commonly Overlooked Marketing Strategies/> - Social Point of Sale: The Holy Grail for Location-Based Marketers/> - 4 Job Search Tips for Aspiring SEO/SEM Specialists

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, mikdam

For more Business coverage:

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In this month’s issue of Wired Magazine, writer Ted Greenwald described the trending Silicon Valley meme, “WDYDWYD or Why Do You Do What You Do?” calling it the “hottest team-building meme since Outward Bound.”

The meme originated in 2004 at Burning Man by artist Tony Deifell who posted photos of strangers answering the questions on the Ning social network. The inspiration behind the meme originated with a call he received late one night from a young student working on a school project. She blurted out, “Why do you do what you do?” Deifell was quite taken a back, and like many people faced with the question, he embarked upon an existential meditation.

I couldn’t get the words out in a clear way. I tried to refigure how to make my answer more essential. I realized I needed to be more deliberate in my choices in the world. It haunted me.

Deifell has since carried WDYDWYD from the festival to the Silicon Valley boardrooms of the National Holistic Institute, Google and Twitter. The site, which he describes as an open-sourced art project, is still growing steadily on Ning.

Student Joe Moloughney founded the WDYDWYD Facebook group, calling it a worldwide community art project with 1,500 members. Their Twitter page has over 1,000 followers. Artists like photographer Bill Kennedy, author/cartoonist Hugh MacLeod and French performance artist Séverine Carminati have all got involved.

But this meme is still primarily just on the West Coast. So, what would the East Coast answer? I asked a few prominent East Coasters, “Why do you do what you do?”

Here are their answers:

“To someday be able to answer this question.”

- Ashley Casselman, Senior Associate at the World Economic Forum.

“I am an insecure short girl from Florida. I never considered myself enough.”

-Laurel Touby, Founder and SVP, mediabistro.com

“I do what I do because of the thrill of discovery. And becuase the world is changing at an incredibly rapid rate, and somebody needs to be there to chronicle it.”

- Seth Porges, an Editor at Popular Mechanics

“I love the Internet, sure, but I mostly do what I do because of the people in my industry. It’s a world of movers, shakers, api-makers. Everyone is smart, and on the cutting-edge of what’s next. It’s simply the most exciting industry to work in, and also the most fun.”

-Soraya Darabi, Co-Founder of Foodspotting.

“Because I can’t stop…and I’m not sure I want to.”

- Julia Kaganskiy, Editor of The Creators Project and Founder of the ArtsTech Meetup.

“Because making the world suck less is SO MUCH FUN.”

- Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder of Reddit and Head of Marketing for Hipmunk

“I do what I do because I’m a huge nerd. At RJMetrics, we use technology to solve complex, interesting problems for some of the fastest-growing companies in the world. This makes for nerd paradise, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other job.”

-Robert J. Moore, CEO of RJMetrics.

“In my case, the answer comes down to “enlightened self interest”. I am truly focused on the long-term goal of leaving the world a better place than I found it (the wonderful concept of ‘tikun olam’). As a pragmatic capitalist, I believe that can best be done by harnessing the powers of free market forces, and as a believer in democracy, I believe that society then needs to work collectively to tweak the margins to guide humanity in the right direction. As a result, I have created a unique and strange personal world surrounding me…like a high tech PeeWee’s Playhouse. I am an entrepreneur, angel investor, teacher, mentor, speaker, father, futurist and political activist, all of which taken together occupy me 16 hours a day, seven days a week, with an insane work and travel schedule. But I truly believe that I am having more pure fun in life than almost anyone else I know, and this combination of pleasure and purpose is Why I Do What I Do.”

- David S. Rose, Managing Principal of Rose Tech Ventures and founder and Chairman of New York Angels.

What makes our New York answers resemblant of our city? A touch of irony perhaps? A grittier sense of responsibility? A necessity to be edgier?

After asking so many of my peers, I gave it a think. I do what I do because every writer requires inspiration. So my fellow East Coasters, WDYDWYD?

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

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News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

eMarketer, a New York-based research firm estimates spending on US internet advertisements, will grow 13.9 percent to $25.8 billion for the full year. It expects a 10.5 percent increase in US online ad spending in 2011, ...

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

In my exclusive interview with General David Petraeus he was encouraged by the progress made since President Obama's surge of forces into Afghanistan, but is he confident that the Afghan army can take the lead from US forces by NATO's.

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Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off
Hulu sus planes de propio entretenimiento de noticias muestran, pero a nadie ver? Como Peter Kafka en informes MediaMemo, Hulu es actualmente el casting para un presentador de la serie que se publica todos los días, teniendo una 'Daily Show' al estilo de enfoque satírico de las últimas noticias de entretenimiento. Hulu (respaldado por EE.UU. gigantes de televisión NBC ...

 Noticias Alerta: gran crecimiento para los anuncios de Internet a través de 2014: Tecnología Noticias «eMarketer, una sede en Nueva York la firma de investigación estima el gasto en anuncios de Internet en EE.UU., crecerá un 13,9 por ciento a 25,8 mil millones dólares para todo el año se espera un aumento del 10,5 por ciento en el gasto de EE.UU. de publicidad en línea en 2011, ...

Exclusivo:. general Petraeus no es y # 39 ; Claro ' victoria en Afganistán en 2014 ... En mi entrevista exclusiva con el general David Petraeus se sentía alentado por los progresos realizados desde oleada del presidente Obama de las fuerzas en Afganistán, pero es que Confiamos en que el ejército afgano puede asumir el liderazgo de las fuerzas de EE.UU. en la OTAN.

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Over the past few years, Scordato has become a very vocal advocate for reverse mentorship, speaking on the subject at various events, including TEDxBoston and Pivot Conference.

There Are Knowledge Gaps on Both Sides

The Future of Business Is Social

The digital age is upon us — it’s time to embrace technology and see what your organization can accomplish.

The Generation Gap Argument is Old

“That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.”/> — John Stuart Mill, British philosopher (1806-1873)

Furthermore, we must remember that each new generation is not a new subset of humans — we are all people, and we all share commonalities. And most importantly, we can all learn from one another.

Let’s get over the excuse that there are too many differences between generations, because frankly, it’s lazy and outdated. Scordato sums it up nicely:

“We need to think about reverse mentorship and pairing young people with seasoned executives. We need to stop thinking about it as an ‘us versus them’ conversation. It’s a two-way street. I’m not going to stand here and say, ‘Oh my gosh, these people over here don’t get it. They’re slow. They’re old. They don’t know what they’re talking about.’ And I would expect that people I want to learn from, my mentors, wouldn’t look at me and say, ‘Alexa doesn’t know anything. She’s just one of those Millennials.’ ”

The sooner we acknowledge our similarities along with our differences, the sooner we can begin to learn from each other and bridge the so-called generational gap.

Conclusion

Has your organization tried out reverse mentorship? If so, let us know about the experience in the comments below.

More Business Resources from Mashable:

- 6 Ways to Score a Job Through Twitter/> - Small Biz Checklist: 5 Important Tasks for the End of the Year/> - HOW TO: Boost Holiday Sales With Commonly Overlooked Marketing Strategies/> - Social Point of Sale: The Holy Grail for Location-Based Marketers/> - 4 Job Search Tips for Aspiring SEO/SEM Specialists

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, mikdam

For more Business coverage:

I couldn’t get the words out in a clear way. I tried to refigure how to make my answer more essential. I realized I needed to be more deliberate in my choices in the world. It haunted me.

But this meme is still primarily just on the West Coast. So, what would the East Coast answer? I asked a few prominent East Coasters, “Why do you do what you do?”

Here are their answers:

“To someday be able to answer this question.”

- Ashley Casselman, Senior Associate at the World Economic Forum.

“I am an insecure short girl from Florida. I never considered myself enough.”

-Laurel Touby, Founder and SVP, mediabistro.com

“I do what I do because of the thrill of discovery. And becuase the world is changing at an incredibly rapid rate, and somebody needs to be there to chronicle it.”

- Seth Porges, an Editor at Popular Mechanics

“I love the Internet, sure, but I mostly do what I do because of the people in my industry. It’s a world of movers, shakers, api-makers. Everyone is smart, and on the cutting-edge of what’s next. It’s simply the most exciting industry to work in, and also the most fun.”

-Soraya Darabi, Co-Founder of Foodspotting.

“Because I can’t stop…and I’m not sure I want to.”

- Julia Kaganskiy, Editor of The Creators Project and Founder of the ArtsTech Meetup.

“Because making the world suck less is SO MUCH FUN.”

- Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder of Reddit and Head of Marketing for Hipmunk

“I do what I do because I’m a huge nerd. At RJMetrics, we use technology to solve complex, interesting problems for some of the fastest-growing companies in the world. This makes for nerd paradise, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other job.”

-Robert J. Moore, CEO of RJMetrics.

“In my case, the answer comes down to “enlightened self interest”. I am truly focused on the long-term goal of leaving the world a better place than I found it (the wonderful concept of ‘tikun olam’). As a pragmatic capitalist, I believe that can best be done by harnessing the powers of free market forces, and as a believer in democracy, I believe that society then needs to work collectively to tweak the margins to guide humanity in the right direction. As a result, I have created a unique and strange personal world surrounding me…like a high tech PeeWee’s Playhouse. I am an entrepreneur, angel investor, teacher, mentor, speaker, father, futurist and political activist, all of which taken together occupy me 16 hours a day, seven days a week, with an insane work and travel schedule. But I truly believe that I am having more pure fun in life than almost anyone else I know, and this combination of pleasure and purpose is Why I Do What I Do.”

- David S. Rose, Managing Principal of Rose Tech Ventures and founder and Chairman of New York Angels.

What makes our New York answers resemblant of our city? A touch of irony perhaps? A grittier sense of responsibility? A necessity to be edgier?

After asking so many of my peers, I gave it a think. I do what I do because every writer requires inspiration. So my fellow East Coasters, WDYDWYD?

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

Hulu plans its own entertainment news show, but will anyone watch?

News Alert: Big Growth for Internet Ads Through 2014: Tech News «

Exclusive: Gen. Petraeus Not 'Sure' Victory in Afghanistan by 2014 ...

bench craft company rip off

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Over the past few years, Scordato has become a very vocal advocate for reverse mentorship, speaking on the subject at various events, including TEDxBoston and Pivot Conference.

There Are Knowledge Gaps on Both Sides

The Future of Business Is Social

The digital age is upon us — it’s time to embrace technology and see what your organization can accomplish.

The Generation Gap Argument is Old

“That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.”/> — John Stuart Mill, British philosopher (1806-1873)

Furthermore, we must remember that each new generation is not a new subset of humans — we are all people, and we all share commonalities. And most importantly, we can all learn from one another.

Let’s get over the excuse that there are too many differences between generations, because frankly, it’s lazy and outdated. Scordato sums it up nicely:

“We need to think about reverse mentorship and pairing young people with seasoned executives. We need to stop thinking about it as an ‘us versus them’ conversation. It’s a two-way street. I’m not going to stand here and say, ‘Oh my gosh, these people over here don’t get it. They’re slow. They’re old. They don’t know what they’re talking about.’ And I would expect that people I want to learn from, my mentors, wouldn’t look at me and say, ‘Alexa doesn’t know anything. She’s just one of those Millennials.’ ”

The sooner we acknowledge our similarities along with our differences, the sooner we can begin to learn from each other and bridge the so-called generational gap.

Conclusion

Has your organization tried out reverse mentorship? If so, let us know about the experience in the comments below.

More Business Resources from Mashable:

- 6 Ways to Score a Job Through Twitter/> - Small Biz Checklist: 5 Important Tasks for the End of the Year/> - HOW TO: Boost Holiday Sales With Commonly Overlooked Marketing Strategies/> - Social Point of Sale: The Holy Grail for Location-Based Marketers/> - 4 Job Search Tips for Aspiring SEO/SEM Specialists

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, mikdam

For more Business coverage:

I couldn’t get the words out in a clear way. I tried to refigure how to make my answer more essential. I realized I needed to be more deliberate in my choices in the world. It haunted me.

But this meme is still primarily just on the West Coast. So, what would the East Coast answer? I asked a few prominent East Coasters, “Why do you do what you do?”

Here are their answers:

“To someday be able to answer this question.”

- Ashley Casselman, Senior Associate at the World Economic Forum.

“I am an insecure short girl from Florida. I never considered myself enough.”

-Laurel Touby, Founder and SVP, mediabistro.com

“I do what I do because of the thrill of discovery. And becuase the world is changing at an incredibly rapid rate, and somebody needs to be there to chronicle it.”

- Seth Porges, an Editor at Popular Mechanics

“I love the Internet, sure, but I mostly do what I do because of the people in my industry. It’s a world of movers, shakers, api-makers. Everyone is smart, and on the cutting-edge of what’s next. It’s simply the most exciting industry to work in, and also the most fun.”

-Soraya Darabi, Co-Founder of Foodspotting.

“Because I can’t stop…and I’m not sure I want to.”

- Julia Kaganskiy, Editor of The Creators Project and Founder of the ArtsTech Meetup.

“Because making the world suck less is SO MUCH FUN.”

- Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder of Reddit and Head of Marketing for Hipmunk

“I do what I do because I’m a huge nerd. At RJMetrics, we use technology to solve complex, interesting problems for some of the fastest-growing companies in the world. This makes for nerd paradise, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other job.”

-Robert J. Moore, CEO of RJMetrics.

“In my case, the answer comes down to “enlightened self interest”. I am truly focused on the long-term goal of leaving the world a better place than I found it (the wonderful concept of ‘tikun olam’). As a pragmatic capitalist, I believe that can best be done by harnessing the powers of free market forces, and as a believer in democracy, I believe that society then needs to work collectively to tweak the margins to guide humanity in the right direction. As a result, I have created a unique and strange personal world surrounding me…like a high tech PeeWee’s Playhouse. I am an entrepreneur, angel investor, teacher, mentor, speaker, father, futurist and political activist, all of which taken together occupy me 16 hours a day, seven days a week, with an insane work and travel schedule. But I truly believe that I am having more pure fun in life than almost anyone else I know, and this combination of pleasure and purpose is Why I Do What I Do.”

- David S. Rose, Managing Principal of Rose Tech Ventures and founder and Chairman of New York Angels.

What makes our New York answers resemblant of our city? A touch of irony perhaps? A grittier sense of responsibility? A necessity to be edgier?

After asking so many of my peers, I gave it a think. I do what I do because every writer requires inspiration. So my fellow East Coasters, WDYDWYD?

bench craft company rip off

Monday, December 6, 2010

why internet marketing

There Are Knowledge Gaps on Both Sides

The Future of Business Is Social

The Generation Gap Argument is Old

Conclusion

More Business Resources from Mashable:

For more Business coverage:

There Are Knowledge Gaps on Both Sides

The Future of Business Is Social

The Generation Gap Argument is Old

Conclusion

More Business Resources from Mashable:

For more Business coverage:

There Are Knowledge Gaps on Both Sides

The Future of Business Is Social

The Generation Gap Argument is Old

Conclusion

More Business Resources from Mashable:

For more Business coverage:

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