On a daily basis I’m able to organize events on Facebook, discover news and research topics on Google, and share my thoughts on WordPress. Furthermore I’m able to work because the amazing power of the web allows startups like Printfection to thrive. As a result I’d come to think that the Internet has liberated us.

(Via @croatian_beaks)

Though in Consent of the Networked Rebecca MacKinnon takes a deep dive into whether it actually has, discovering that for every story about the web’s empowering role in events such as the Arab Spring, there are many more about the quiet corrosion of civil liberties by companies and governments using the same digital technologies we have come to depend upon. A couple examples include:

1. Flickr removed Egyptian activist Hossam el-Hamalwy’s photos.
2. Shi Tao was jailed in China for 10 years after Yahoo gave his email account registration information to the Chinese government.
3. Sudden changes in Facebook’s features and privacy settings exposed identities of protestors to police in Egypt and Iran.
4. Apple removes politically controversial apps when governments ask, as well as for its own commercial reasons.
5. Google struggles with cencorship demands from governments across the world–many of them democracies– as well as mounting public concern over the vast quantities of information it collects about its users.

So how can technology be governed to support the rights and liberties of users around the world? Cyber power and governance of the internet is one of the great unsolved problems of the twenty-first century. It seems the resolve of citizens like you and I will come to shape the way technology is used.

MacKinnon summed it up best by saying, “Whether we are simply users of technology, investors in technology companies, employees or executives of Internet-related companies, elected officials, or mid-ranking government bureaucrats, we all have a responsibility to do whatever we can to prevent abuse of digital power, and avoid abusing it ourselves.”

Whiteboards are a great way to effectively lead a discussion during a meeting. They can help you present ideas, guide the conversation, and record the conclusions as they develop. As a result a lot of startups have whiteboards dispersed throughout their offices (like Wistia, Highgroove, Swipely, and Safe Shepherd).

(Via @Swipely)

Here are a couple thoughts for getting the most out of using all that whiteboard real-estate during a meeting:

1. Start with the big idea: To get your meeting off on the right foot, start with something compelling and energizing. Preface your discussion by extracting the problem you’d like to solve and write it at the top or center of the board. Then share a key statistic or false assumption that you cross out dramatically!
2. Keep it simple: Try to work in shorthand so that you can keep pace recording relevant ideas. Take enough time to write and draw neat enough (and large enough) for others to comprehend but aim for a steady communication rate over perfect handwriting. One way to speed up your writing is to develop simple symbols that are used whenever someone is whiteboard like boxes, arrows, etc. Remember that not every detail needs to make it onto the board– try to extract key points.
3. Organize the layout of thoughts: Use tools like bullet lists, numbered lists, speech bubbles, and flow charts to separate ideas. If your discussion will have a lot of moving or intertangled pieces you might consider writing on Post It Notes because then you can move them around on the board as the relationships evolve.
4. Think aloud while drawing: If you’re the one whiteboarding try to recap what you just heard someone say as you’re drawing it. That way everyone can confirm they’re on the same page and relate the images to the messages.
5. Encourage participation: Ask others to come up and write their ideas on the board, or hand the marker to someone and pass it around in a circle having each person take a turn at the board. This will promote interactivity and help make people more comfortable to share their thoughts.
6. Bonus! Keep a record: Now that you’ve got an entire brain-dump up on the board be sure to snap a picture of your session with your smartphone. That way you can send it to folks who might have missed the meeting, and you’ll have a record including takeaways and potentially next steps.

I know you’re always working to spread the word about your company, so if you’re planning on hitting the road for an event, here are a couple tips to help maximize your impact while you’re there:

(via @yvonnesg)

1. Plan ahead to connect with the right crowd: When you arrive at a new venue the amount of people can be overwhelming. Take some time before you get there to check out the list of attending companies and people. Strategically decide who you’d like to try to connect with and how. You might even reach out about having a quick meeting or grabbing drinks together.
2. Stay on the same page as the rest of your company: Things can get hectic when you have employees attending different seminars and flying in from multiple locations. Be sure to create a way to easily communicate with across your company (so you know someone will be available to man your table from 12-1 or so you can let everyone know easily what time the shuttle is departing). My recommendation is sync up all your phones on a group texting service like GroupMe.
3. Show off your swag at the event: You should definitely wear your own company’s threads while you’re at the event, but there’s only so much impact you can make alone. Be sure to brainstorm additional ways to promote your presence, like t-shirt giveaways. Then get your swag from Printfection ordered & delivered to your hotel.
4. Map it out: Sometimes it can take longer than you’d expect to get between venues at an event. You should definitely create a schedule of the most important parties or sessions for your company and map out the walking distance between buildings you’ll need to be in, so that you don’t show up late.
5. Drink drink drink while you’re there: No, not that kind. What I mean is, stay hydrated with water! Being on your feet all day and chatting it up can take more out of you than you’d expect.

• Completely renovated space in the historic NC Equipment Company’s old bulldozer factory.  An iconic, bright “Lulu orange” tractor is still perched atop the building.
• Two expansive break rooms, fully stocked with healthy treats and coffee.
• Private phone booths for taking important calls.
• Nine collaborative work spaces.
• Large cushy couches and chairs positioned next to bright windows where employees are welcome to brainstorm or relax with tea.
• A courtyard with picnic tables, grill, and umbrellas for our monthly company cookouts.
• An outdoor basketball court.
• Foosball table where we have annual tournaments for the “Lulu Cup.”
• An antique 1920′s York Safe and Lock Vault.
• Daily Nerf wars.

• Lulu is partnered with several local art galleries.  Every few months, gallery organizers will go into their office with truck loads of new art to switch out, which makes for an awesome creative vibe.
• Their open-space environment for easy collaboration and a good laugh with colleagues.
• Their building has an interesting combination of old 50′s era brick walling mixed with sleek hickory railings and modern steel beam work; a perfect mix of old and new.
• The vault could make for a great place to hide your lunch.
• Exercise is made easy, as there’s an outdoor basketball court to help clear your mind.

So there you have it! What’s your favorite part of their space?

(And as always if you’d like to submit your company to be featured, drop us a line at realperson@printfection.com.)

While its IPO may have been over-hyped, there’s no denying that Facebook is a powerful tool in your marketing plan.  So we’ve come up with a couple content ideas for your fanpage to help increase the reach and influence of your brand:

• Share photos of your company at events or parties (and be sure to tag your customers if you can).
• Give a shout out to your most active fan each week.
• Announce and link to new products or features you roll out.
• Be responsive if someone has a customer service question.
• Create an album of photos of fans and employees using your merch and sporting your threads (encourage them to post these on your wall at any time).
• Share relevant industry news, including your own blog posts.
• Be sure to switch over to the new Timeline feature as it’ll show you’re ahead of the early adopter curve, and update your large cover photo as it gives you more room to promote your own branding/image at the top.
• Have clients and fans vote on new features or designs.
• Run a Facebook contest to develop new designs for your tshirts and other swag.

What have you seen work well with your Facebook fanpage?

You’re in marketing so you probably tweet no less than 10 times a day. I understand that coming up with new things to say can be taxing.

(via @andrewnonumbers)

So I’ve composed a couple tweet ideas that should help you get the word out about your brand.  Go on and take a brain break:

• Ask your followers their opinions about 2 different swag store-front designs or 2 different t-shirt designs
• Give a shout out to your favorite fans on #followfriday
• Let your followers know whenever you’ve just rolled out a new product or feature and ask for their feedback
• Pose a trivia question about your company and give the first person to answer correctly a merch giveaway code
• Tweet out pictures of happenings around your office
• Retweet your colleagues’ thoughts
• Share news articles that might be relevant to your customers

Hope this helps. Chirp on my friends!

If you work in marketing you probably wake up every morning asking yourself, “What would Don Draper do?” Luckily this Tumblr blog has you covered. But if that simply won’t cut it, I suggest Don-ning (get it!?) your office with these 5 Mad Men worthy items, sure to help you capture a level of success similar to the brilliant ad man’s.

1.) Grab the iRetrophone (a fully-functional, stationary iPhone dock with working handset) to assist in seeding your PR stories across the country.

2.) Be sure you always have drink glasses and a heavily stocked liquor cabinet, to get through the day.

3.) Snag a heavy duty mid-century stapler for creating a book of all your emails.

4.) Don’t forget the cat-eye glasses for seducing your co-workers.

5.) And finally, be sure you’ve got a  postage scale handy to weigh the amount of fan-mail you receive each day.

Or, on second thought, just buy yourself this poster and get on with creating amazing advertising campaigns!

Attention! By now you’ve probably heard Colin Powell‘s 13 rules of leadership (like “It ain’t as bad as you think” and “Share credit“). If you haven’t, you can catch them here.

In his latest book (It Worked For Me) he expounds upon them, but also includes a couple new ideas. And while at times I feel like the Army, with its strict hierarchy, is as far as you can get from the startup office battlefield, I do think these tips apply:

1.) It’s important for you, as a founder and leader, to consistently embed your own sense of purpose into the heart and soul of every employee. Be sure you’re constantly talking with your people, explaining the importance of what you’re doing- whether it be alleviating a pain-point for your customers or creating products that delight. When it’s clear that you’re excited to get up in the morning, your company will feel more compelled to jump in line behind you. And bear in mind that purpose is more than a simple mission statement. Colin explains, “Purpose is the destination of a vision. It energizes that vision, gives it force and drive. It should be positive and powerful, and serve the better angles of an organization.”

2.) In a startup you generally end up wearing lots of hats. Some of those hats might not be very enjoyable- like being responsible for literally taking out the trash. To that, Colin says, “99% of work can be seen as noble…Every job is a learning experience, and we can develop and grow in every one. If you take the pay, earn it. Always do your very best. Even when no one else is looking, you always are. Don’t disappoint yourself.” When you’re working at a startup, you’re responsible for your own success or failure; no one has time to breathe down your neck. Be sure to set high standards for yourself, as the company and you, will be better off for it.

3.) Sometimes it’s hard to tell where your time is best spent, particularly as a founder. Should you be the road talking to customers or raising funds? Should you be in the office inspiring employees and managing projects in the pipeline? Should you be crunching numbers in your office? Colin very simply states, “Always be at the point of decision.” And he gives an example, “One week into the war, the public mood had become unsettled and the media was becoming critical. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and I realized we had to act to settle things down. The point of decision for us at that moment was not in our offices or in situation rooms monitoring the war, but down in the press room.”

So there you have it, a retired 4-star general and former US Secretary of State probably does know a thing or two about leadership, even in startups. Carry on!

(via @smukt)

Remember those summer reading lists your school and library used to give to you? This is sort of like that, but way better. We’ve curated a list of top titles to help you take your company to the next level. We’ve included a range of topics: everything from motivation and psychology, to making big decisions strategically and innovating, to exploring the day to day grind of operating a business starting from scratch. Forge ahead:

1. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Main idea: Get a minimum viable product to the market, Pay attention to customer feedback, Tweak the product to improve it, Pivot if necessary
2. The Innovator’s DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen Main idea: Associate, Question, Observe, Network, and Experiment (These are habits that can be learned and mastered through practice.)
3. Little Bets by Peter Sims Main idea: At the core of this experimental approach, little bets are concrete actions taken to discover, test, and develop ideas that are achievable and affordable.
4. Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard by Chip Heath, Dan Heath Main idea: The challenge is to direct the Rider (our rational side), motivate the Elephant (our emotional and instinctive side), and shape the Path (he surrounding environment in which change initiatives will be conducted) to make change more likely.
5. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh Main idea: Make customer service the entire company, not just a department. Focus on company culture as the #1 priority.
6. (Extra Credit: The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk)

Knowledge is power!

If you’ve never seen 30 Rock (shame on you!) it’s a TV show that depicts what takes place behind the scenes of a fictional comedy series called TGS, that airs on NBC. And I believe its characters hold the answer to a crucial problem the startupsphere is facing: we’re sipping our own syrup, which is ultimately holding us all back. Bare with me here….

In the show, Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Baldwin) is a decisive, controlling, suave and occasionally senseless network executive. In one episode he’s devastated that his corporate dining hall has been opened up to other lowly colleagues who are encouraged to bounce their ideas off of him (ultimately though he uses Kenneth the page’s idea which hits a home run). And in another episode, Jack attends a Six Sigma Corporate Retreat and brings along his subordinate colleague, Liz Lemon (the head writer of TGS played by Tina Fey). The problem is, she sticks out like a sore thumb. The other executives disapprove of Liz’s antics during the team building exercises and demand that Jack distance himself from her if he wants to succeed, so he does. However he later makes a fool of himself and Liz with her background in improv jumps in to save the day.

By continually surrounding himself with other wealthy white businessmen, Jack’s clearly exhibiting homophily– or “Birds of a feather flock together. Humans surround themselves with people they think are like them.” according to Deanna Zandt (who’s currently encouraging everyone to join in the one4one game.) The scary part is that we’re often blind to this kind of envelopment– it’s hard to break outside of it, if you don’t realize it’s happening; you’ve got built in natural biases which are hard to fight. Think about it, everyday your Facebook mini-feed is showing you more and more of what you like from people like you, and less of everything else out there.

The thing is, colleagues like Liz Lemon often bring new and important differences of perspective to Jack’s life. Liz provides a balance that is crucial in making things work for the company and really for his own good.  While he worries about the numbers, she worries about the people. While he’s focused on the big picture, she works on the details, and so on.

I’m convinced that everyone needs a Liz Lemon or even more than one– and not just because she says ridiculous things like “High five-ing a million angels.” We need people with different experiences, perspectives, and educations, who solve problems in different ways (and who wear fanny packs) now more than ever. We need people who aren’t afraid to be authentically uncool.

I worry that we’re (everyone in the startupsphere) all drinking the same kool-aid. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve read two separate times about how awesome the “discipline video” on Groupon’s unsubscribe page is. Its praises are sung in Make Something People Love by Alexis Ohanian, and Designing for Emotion by Aaron Walter.

I would hate to think that years from now my children will be reading about such a thing in their history e-textbooks. And if it’s not worthy of their time then, is it really worthy of my time now?

Groupon’s product, their core offering– their emailed deals are SO bad (mostly irrelevant to the demographic they’re reaching) that tons of people try to use their unsubscribe page, which happens to be funny. Does something like that really deserve to be the talk of the town? If you put wings on a wagon it still won’t fly. Why are we praising the bells and whistles when the product isn’t as good as it should be?

I think the “we” is to blame; like Jack we’ve surrounded ourselves with people like us and pay the most attention to the people at the top. Most of us startup folks live in cities, which have been proven to be hot-beds for innovation because of the forced interactions with others not like us. But I’d argue more and more those people are actually like us. Silicon Valley coffee shops are full of entrepreneurs grabbing lattes with other entrepreneurs- they moved there because of it. Hackers are cramming into hostels together, which were started when the creator “realized that “nerds” like herself want to be around their own kind.” We all generally read the same web publications which recommend each other and which all tout the same books offering the same examples of best practices. Many companies are being launched out of startup boxes and have the same backers and advisors offering the same advice. And when this “we” is dictating the standards of content and the future of our industry, and is pushing out ideas like the above, I think there’s cause for concern.

I hate to pull an Apple on you, but I believe we need to push ourselves to “think different” again. I think we could all benefit from adding some Liz Lemons to our pack- perhaps people who aren’t at the top of the industry or who come from a different background and have different interests than us, traveling, picking up books from lesser walked stacks in the library, and holding ourselves to a higher standard.