Spreading New Ideas...

I was pointed to a great little article by a colleague "The Challenge of Spreading A New Idea" on Fastcompany.com (they are still around?).

I love this framework and applied it to what I'm working on at Microsoft...

To spread a new idea, connect it to a familiar one, then give it a twist. Here are four examples.

Success: Cloverfield
Breakthrough: Blockbuster event movie shot in digital video
Message: Godzilla meets Blair Witch
Upshot: The film has grossed about $168 million worldwide on a $25 million budget.

(Read More examples)

Here's the CIO Network through this lens...

Jury's Out: The CIO Network
Breakthrough: An invitation only, private online network for CIOs to build peer relationships, talk about issues and get connected to Microsoft execs and product developers.
Message: Unique opportunity to connect with like minded strategic CIOs and get behind the scenes at Microsoft.
Upshot: Will CIOs actually participate in such a forum?

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What Would Google Do: Non-Profit Edition

I've been tweeting and yapping to friends about Jeff Jarvis's terrific book " What Would Google Do " even before I've properly finishing the thing. I sat myself down tonight and plowed through the last 100 pages where Jarvis examines different industries including automotive, manufacturing, telcom, healthcare and more to see what Google would do if they were in those businesses. On one hand, I was really hoping that Jarvis had taken a look at the non-profit sector given my personal history in the sector and my ongoing interest in how non-profits operate. I'll also note that I used to write a fairly well read non-profit marketing blog . Unfortunately, the book doesn't delve into this much, if at all. I thought, instead of a basic set of notes or a book review as I usually do that I'd jump back in time and take a look at the sector with fresh, and "Googley" eyes. If you haven't yet read the book, the basic premise is that Google fundamenta...

The Future of Non-Profit Fundraising is Already Here, and You Are Not Ready

This blog post is loosely transcribed from a talk I gave as part of a Future of Non-profits meet up hosted by my buddy David Neff . I was asked to do no more than 5 minutes and came up with the following. I'm also posting my hand scribbled notes I used to plan the talk, may as well show you my doctor like scribble. The notes were written on my iPad mini using Penultimate in case you were wondering. And now... the talk... Hi everyone and good morning (In my head there is awesome music playing!). My name is Marc Sirkin and I'm currently a Director with PwC, focused on helping organizations transform their digital marketing and social media. I spent 10 years in the non-profit sector, with large health charities such as March of Dimes, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Autism Speaks. Most recently, I've been volunteering and doing pro-bono work for much smaller organizations focused on mentoring and youth. Before I jump in, let me warn you, I'm extremely enam...

Yes, I worked at iXL

ixl Originally uploaded by msirkin . You know you remember iXL... yea you do... we bought every company with a pulse, went public and went bust. I've worked in a bunch of places including a Burger King (the manager told me I can take this job ANYWHERE I wanted - I quit after 2 weeks on Fry duty). I also delivered Domino's Pizza, did 2 ad agency internships and worked at a college bookstore. See more of my bizcards ...

Marc Sirkin's Mindnumbing Thoughts

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