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Alec Wagner

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Owner, alecwagner.com

45 points

Owner of alecwagner.com, a custom publishing service. I have nearly 20 years of experience in print and online publishing, and have worn many hats including writer, blogger, editor, Web content producer, and custom publishing project manager.

WEB: http://experimentalexpatriate.blogspot.com/

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Rebecca Gill

Aug. 22, 2011

Is arguing on the internet a bad idea?

Educated debates are good, but negative smear attacks are not. There is a fine line between expressing an opinion and just being nasty. I am 100% in favor of debates if they provide value.
I have had cases where I have tried to respond to a ... more

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Barry Devlin

Aug. 15, 2011

Does 'big data' need to be better defined?

Sorry Robert - disagree entirely. Big data is a largely useless name except for marketing. Any serious discussion I've ever been involved in on big data starts with a "what do you mean by...?" This indicates to me that the definition is so vague that ... more

Information Technology

Business Intelligence

Alec Wagner asked a question

Aug. 15, 2011

How can a brand turn social media 'likes' into customer 'love'?

Social Media Marketing

Alec Wagner asked a question

Aug. 15, 2011

Does taxing the super-rich stifle job growth?

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Matt Heinz

Aug. 8, 2011

What do you think successful people do that others don't?

I don't know if this directly answers your question, but here are six habits of successful people that could be a starting point:
Focus on what's important (not merely urgent)
Every day there are distractions, fire drills, emails and voicemails that need or want responses. Some of ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Alec Wagner is now following Michael Fox

June 27, 2011

Alec Wagner published a brief

June 23, 2011

A Misconception About UC

Information Technology

Unified Communications

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Jeff Shusterich

June 21, 2011

How can SMBs create & carry out sophisticated marketing strategies given their resource constraints?

The most important thing I find is putting forth an effort in tracking whatever strategy you are using for education and measure of effectiveness.
Some interesting strategies to utilize that are cost effective, which immediately come to mind are:
-Social Media (Such as Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare)
-Text message ... more

Marketing Channel

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Richard Fouts

June 20, 2011

What does the strategic deal between Marketo and ExactTarget signal?

It gives both providers something to sell into accounts where they may not been considered relevant .. so it’s win/win.
For example, now Marketo has clear entre into accounts that may not have been prospects since the account already has a campaign management system based ... more

Email Marketing

Alec Wagner and 2 other people answered this question

June 17, 2011

Would an occasional office nap be good for your productivity?

Let's be honest: Have you ever found yourself nodding off during a meeting, or felt your eyelids getting heavy while sitting at your computer? Obviously, when you feel that drowsy you are not at your peak performance -- so a nap makes a lot of ... more

Human Resources

Company Culture

Employee Engagement

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Larry MacDonald

June 16, 2011

What's the one piece of advice you would give to an entrepreneur who is looking to start a company?

First and foremost: is there current demand and a very large market for your product/service?
Without current demand, you will have to pay to educate your market. Very tough. Very expensive.
Do not confuse a need with demand. Demand means people will grab it from your hand ... more

Entrepreneurship

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Chris Selland

June 13, 2011

Red, Blue or Purple: Do you reveal your political viewpoints openly with colleagues?

I'm generally quite open - while I have strongly-held views I also believe that there are multiple perspectives on most issues and enjoy discussing with others why they may feel differently. I often have the best conversations with those who I don't necessarily agree with. ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Company Culture

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Charlie Judy

June 10, 2011

HR people struggle with the concept of Culture at a company. How do you define it?

What you tell your best friend, your spouse, or your closest confidant about the company you work for - and the people you work with - says more about the organization's culture than maybe anything else. more

Human Resources

Corporate Culture

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Jackie Nagel

May 9, 2011

Assuming a blog is important to your business, how often do you write articles & post them?

This is a question that I was curious about as well until listening in on a webinar entitled "The Science of Timing". The information of timing for blog posting (including frequency), email marketing, twitter, and facebook was fascinating. Here's a quick break down:
http://www.synnovatia.com/blog/social_networking/when-timing-is-right more

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Tom Egelhoff

April 27, 2011

Should HR beholden itself to Company Management or to the Company's Employees?

Well I can see I'm going to be the black sheep in this discussion. The employee, hands down. As a personnel manager for several years I learned two indisputable facts. One, in all those years I never hired a single employee who worked FOR the ... more

General Management

Human Resources

Employee & Labor Relations

Employee Engagement

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by David Mair

April 13, 2011

Why do CEOs feels HR plays a small role in organization's success?

I'll start with a hard, direct answer in three parts: (1) HR is a cost center, (2) HR is infrequently well-connected to corporate strategy and fails to report on objectives linked to the organization's, and (3) HR is seen as a tactical, rather than strategic, ... more

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Tim Rutledge

March 23, 2011

Presentation skills: how to handle tough questions?

Excellent suggestions above. Here's one more. Assuming that the questioner is more interested in getting a good answer than in where it comes from, call on other audience members to pitch in with their thoughts and ideas. "Does anyone else want to help Charlie out ... more

General Management

Presentation Skills

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Zaki Usman

Oct. 21, 2010

Do you use open rates in your email marketing campaigns?

Yes, Open rates are indicative of a successful campaign. But its not the most important metric since its prone to error. Some email clients (Outlook, Livemail, Thunderbird) and web-mail services (including Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail) can block images from being rendered. This yields lower open ... more

Email Marketing

Email Marketing Applications

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Eric Britten

Oct. 13, 2010

Thoughts on a lean manufacturing implementation Strategy?

Phil, a few thoughts ....
1. Lean is as much a culture as it is a tool for eliminating waste. Do you just want to update your old system? If so, then you'll put a new process in place that will gradually become outdated like ... more

Implementation Strategy

Lean Manufacturing

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Bill Perlowitz

Oct. 8, 2010

What is the difference between public and private cloud computing services?

By using a cloud, you divest yourself of the diversion of creating and maintaining your IT services and can focus on your mission and your business. Your insight is excellent; any start-up that is investing in their own IT infrastructure is going to put themselves ... more

Cloud Computing

Private Cloud Computing

Private Cloud Computing Servies

Public Cloud Computing

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Joshua Beil

Oct. 8, 2010

How can cloud-computing help my business reduce costs?

Good comments above and I particularly agree with Andrew in that you "pay for cloud computing resources on a usage basis" which helps to contain unnecessary IT costs and also make them variable instead of fixed.
Two other comments:
1) A "usage" basis can also ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

Cloud-based Storage

Alec Wagner asked a question

Oct. 6, 2010

What do you think Facebook will announce at today's press event?

Information Technology

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Ben

Sept. 30, 2010

Who are the market leaders in the business intelligence industry?

Gartner has been answering this question every year. My commentary on their 2010 outlook, along with their magic quadrant, is here: http://bit.ly/b0FN5N .
The short answer is that "they're all good". Their marketing literature will tell a different story, and some have an edge in some ... more

Information Technology

Business Intelligence

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Eric Schoep

Sept. 14, 2010

What is better a mobile website or a mobile application

Good question, tough answer! It depends on the objective of the site. A mobile version of your site will be more compatible across multiple platforms and devices but the functionality of the site will be limited to web development capabilities. A mobile app will often ... more

App Development

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by S. Anthony Iannarino

Sept. 14, 2010

What are the 10 things sales managers should be most worried about in maximizing performance?

I am late to the game here, and there are already plenty of thoughtful responses here without me piling on. But pile on I must!
1. I am worth following?: Am I personally someone that my salespeople should follow and allow to lead them? Am ... more

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Vaibhav Domkundwar

Sept. 6, 2010

How long does it take to implement a marketing automation solution?

I think for an informed marketer who understand demand generation (that is not trade show-based), 1 month of planning of requirements should be enough. Also I'd recommend that planning to happen in isolation of any feature sets that vendors promote as they are most likely ... more

Marketing Automation

Marketing Software

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Dina Giovale

Aug. 15, 2010

Most important supply chain management skills?

Hi Rory,
Institute for Supply Management(ISM) did extensive research with upper level executives, from various industries, on what they wanted from their supply chain staff, at manager-level and above, in order to develop the Certified Professional in Supply Management(CPSM) certification. The following skill areas are ... more

Human Resources

Supply Chain Management

Alec Wagner recommends this answer by Jep Castelein

Aug. 4, 2010

Tips before starting a lead nurturing program?

Lead Nurturing works best if you provide prospects with relevant content, and if you get them to commit more and more to your organization. For example, you could follow these steps:
1. Develop the lead nurturing campaign together with sales
2. Define target groups: different leads ... more

Lead Generation

Following 12 Topics

Email Marketing

Human Resources

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Search Engine Optimization

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