Recently I discovered TED.com a collection of powerful talks, presentations , performances and ideas.   This presentation by Larry Lessig on creativity and the law is just one of thousands which are definitely worth watching!

Saturday Night Live aired the perfect tribute to George Carlin last night; playing in its original format the very first episode of that show, with Carlin as the opening act.    And even 30+ years later, his routine on the differences between Football and Baseball had me laughing.  

We will miss the clever comedian, with the amazing command of the English language.  Fortunately, we have a legacy of video and print that will remind us how truely creative he was. 

Here are links to a few of my favorites:

• Seven Dirty Words 
• Ten Commandments
• Some People are Stupid

What are yours?

I have been working on building my web traffic to my business site: www.roundpeg.biz for the last few months, carefully documenting what has worked.

The results have been staggering.  Our Alexa Ranking moved from 7,746,293 to 1,333,762 in six months. How did we drive the traffic?  Blog posts, new content, always new content, relevant links on key sites.

Today, I added two more: Squidoo and Technorati Profile. I will be curious to see the results in the next few weeks.

My goal? An Alexa Ranking under 1,000,000

Kyle Lacy raises an interesting question in his post today.  Is blogging a personal hobby or a business tool?  For me, I think blogs are more then just personal journals these days – They are integral parts of a companies marketing strategy.

And as part of your marketing strategy, a bit of shameless self promotion is ok, if it is mixed with real content. If not, it won’t matter, because no one will see it.    In a permission based world, you earn permission to continue to present ideas and information when your audience considers your content valuable.  And if they don’t believe your are providing value, they will choose, to go elsewhere.

Walt Goshert has written a terrific piece about creating a Unique Selling Proposition. Without it, there is no way to develop truely effective marketing. The one point I would add to his comment is the need to begin the process of developing a USP with Focus, Focus, Focus. For a more detailed look at how important I believe this is, check out my May 24th Blog Post on Roundpeg.biz on how to double your sales.

Lorraine Ball talks with Alan Houser of the Creative Component about web branding and the impact on web design.  She also answers questions from readers about brands in general, logos, web analytics and much more.

To hear the interview go to: The Creative Component

Every now and then, I read something that really impacts my views on marketing.   Seth Godin’s Unleashing the Idea Virus - is one such book.  And although it is not a new work, the ideas are as fresh and practical today as they were in 2001 when the book was written.

As I listened to Seth present his ideas on how to make ideas infectious, I knew it was time for me to re-examine my own marketing programs, as well as the role I play supporting friends and referral partners. I would like to think I am a Powerful Sneezer, but am I?

If you have not read or listened to this book, put it on your must read list.   Discover for yourself  what makes a powerful ’sneezer’, how ‘hives’ work, and how critical velocity, vector, medium, smoothness, persistence, and amplifiers can change your business!

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To learn more go to: Inside Indiana Business

Sure all the “big guys” are using social media more and more (generally, social media can be blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, email marketing, social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo … all the the “new ways” of marketing using the internet).

But how does a small business use social media in their marketing strategy? Read on to find out!

Want to learn more about how to do this? Check out my upcoming presentation: What is Web 2.0 and why do I care!

Using GoDaddy.com I searched 20 potential domain names for a client on Friday. Imagine my surprise when I discovered all 20, the good, the bad and the unusual were purchased just hours after I searched them.

I can understand 1 -2, but all 20? Now how is that possible?

And I am not the only one with this experience. Check out this post by Kyle Lacy.

Like Kyle, I am done with GoDaddy.  Does anyone have another source they use for domain searches?