Business

Another post unrelated to pure web strategy, however - Speed Networking is pretty good. I tried it today for the first time, and I have to admit, I quite liked it. Here are the rules:

• You have a given amount of time (60 seconds or so) to pitch.
• You then listen to the pitch from the person opposite.

It's that simple.

My advice:

I rarely discover software that I really genuinely like. For every good bit of software, there are 9 that wind me up or do things in such a clunky way I wish I had never bothered. Ever now and then though, you find a gem. Something that's so exciting your mouth drops with excitement and you go beyond generally enthusiasm into the world of oh-my-god-this-will-change-my-life-and-all-those-around-me-quick-call-the-wife-my-mother-the-kids-the-dog-the-old-man-down-the-road-this-is-epic.

Today was one of those days.

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Here's a quick exerice to help you focus your website. After every sentence, item, image or gadget, ask yourself the question "so what?"

It's so easy to keep adding to your site, or writing more content because you think it's what's needed. What really matters is making sure that what's on your site is having an impact. If it isn't, then so what?

Ben

No. This is not a post on firearms (real or fictional), or about the best way to take down a Storm Trooper. This is a post on making sure your website reflects your company's approach.

There are two kinds of company: the ones that try to do a wide range of things, and the ones that focus on a single area of expertise, or a single product, and focus all their energy upon this like a laser. Here's two examples of what I mean:

1. Shotgun

I know a guy who loves to give advice. He just can't help but have an opinion on everything. We all know someone like that. They aren't hard to deal with.

What's far tougher is when we receive really good advice from people who are experts in their field, or whom we consider to be especially wise. But surely receiving good advice can only be a good thing, right?

Sometimes.