Permission to Slow Down – Copyblogger

A few months ago, I had the immense good fortune to get invited to display my first motorcycle project at a popular show where I live in Portland.

Just finishing the bike was a huge accomplishment for me, so this invitation to the show was a dream come true.

In the weeks leading up to the event, I stressed over the details. I worried that people would see through the glossy paint and realize I didn’t actually know what I was doing. read more

5 Untold Reasons Why Small Local Retailers Are Missing out If They Are Not on Facebook & Twitter

5 Untold Reasons Why Small Local Retailers Are Missing out If They Are Not on Facebook & Twitter

5 Untold Reasons Why Small Local Retailers Are Missing out If They Are Not on Facebook & Twitter

Most local retailers rely on old-school marketing tactics to draw in customers. They often have significant budgets for flyers, posters, marketing mailers, and in-store signages. However, they often undermine the importance of social media. If you are a shop owner looking to draw in more customers, you need business pages on both Facebook and Twitter. Once those pages are created you need to start posting regularly to engage with your local customers. read more

Tim Cook promotes the new AirPods using the iPad meme he started

No doubt anxious to advertise Apple’s new AirPods, Tim Cook has chosen to participate in his own meme cycle.

On Tuesday, the Apple CEO tweeted a photo of himself writing “hello” on an iPad, which spawned a bunch of shoddily Photoshopped memes. On Wednesday, Mr. Apple brought the whole thing home (and killed the joke) with an AirPods version. The tweet went up shortly before Apple announced the new headphones model. read more

How to Measure Your Effectiveness on Social Media

Steadily growing platforms such as Facebook (2.18 billion active monthly users), Twitter (336 million), YouTube (1.9 billion), LinkedIn (294 million), Instagram (1 billion), Pinterest (200 million), and Snapchat (255 million) have ensured that brands use social media as channels for establishing and growing their online presence. read more

Funerals are tough. Ever Loved helps you pay for them – TechCrunch

Alison Johnston didn’t plan to build a startup around death. An early employee at Q&A app Aardvark that was bought by Google, she’d founded tutoring app InstaEDU and sold it to Chegg. She made mass market consumer products. But then, “I had a family member who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I thought about how she’d be remembered” she recalls. Inventing the next big social app suddenly felt less consequential. read more