Opps. Rather significant advertising fail. Likely consistent with Turkish Airlines safety record.  

There Is No Need To Suck →

Nice post by Brett King via Huff Post.

Geezeo's Growth Spurt is Just The Start →

Appreciate the support from Finovate. All the people at Geezeo are proud to remain 100% committed to the Financial Services industry. 

Sinking the Bismark. I look at this painting when the competition gets feisty. The little guy often wins.

Watching Death Come Alive

My Uncle David has leukemia. And it will kill him within the week.

About a month ago, via Facebook, my cousin informed me that his Dad, my Uncle David, living in Baja California, was just diagnosed as having Leukemia. Over the weeks that followed, his immediate family began a US trek bouncing from hospital to hospital, inspired by the hope and treatment physicians offered. Odds were in his favor.

From the beginning of Dave’s journey, his wife and kids posted updates on Facebook. The news went from bad to good, to bad again. This cycle repeated for the past month as posts to Facebook were made, and family and friends responded. My father, 83, asked if I had heard the news of his youngest sibling. I told him I was in the loop as I followed the story on Facebook. I saw firsthand how much of the extended family has been brought together and engaged through the many updates.  My Dad has since been watching Facebook for the daily updates. 

On July 24, one of Dave’s friends started a Facebook Fan Page named “Friends of Dave Clagett”. The impedance was the need to raise extra money to support a bone marrow transplant. As Dave’s health improved, he was accepted in to an elite donor program at City of Hope hospital. Seeing the posts on the fan page, you could sense the joy and optimism. Photos of Dave were posted, stories were told and the tone was upbeat and optimistic. Clearly those posting had emotional capital in what they were doing. But you could say the same for the audience.

Things suddenly turned for Dave. Here is the latest post from his Daughter-In-Law:

Dave’s road of Leukemia has been a twisty, windy road. It seems when he has been driving on the road, he has hit a bump or two. Brave Dave kept getting back in the car and on the road he went. Over the last few days Dave’s leukemia decided to go off-road and took a few turns too many. 

This is not easy to write, Dave’s journey is slowly coming to an end. Dave will not be going to City of Hope and he is resting comfortably at the hospital in Palm Springs. Matt and I are leaving tomorrow for Palm Springs.  Marianne is staying at the hospital by his side, so please understand she might not be answering emails for a bit. 

Please keep Dave, Marianne, and Matt in your prayers. 

Love to you all, 

Julie 

I read the post above, just this morning, as did the 45 or so “fans” of Dave. But I am heartened to know that there is a close group of us, that share our sorrow. Many of us have not seen Dave for many years. While it appears these are my Uncle David’s last days, he become so much more alive to me, because family and friends, young and old, took the time and effort to share news, thoughts and emotion, via a silly website called Facebook.

Stop Apologizing For Your Online Life →

Interesting post by Alexandra Samuel for the Harvard Business Review. Take away: IRL = online and offline.

Build Your Short List

Regardless of the industry you work in, do you know who your centers of influence are? If you don’t, you should. I’m amazed out how many people in the financial services industry do not know or don’t even attempt to network. And I am talking about senior managers. 

Social media, combined with traditional networking, gives us unprecedented access to media contacts, industry analysts, key peers and competition. These are people you should have “conversations” with. All the tools are right on your desktop, so there really is no excuse (not enough time is not a valid excuse).

Getting started is easy. Make a list (your Short List) of 20 industry influencers you want to get to know (or you want to get to know you). Research them on Google and LinkedIn and follow them via news alerts. When they “pop up” in the news, drop them a note or email, or comment on their blog. They will take a notice, so make sure you too are accessible. They will reciprocate and suddenly they will take some level of interest in you and your company. Call it PR, social marketing or whatever buzz word you want; it is simply networking through technology utilization.  

I have been with Geezeo for almost a year now, and I can tell you without hesitation, that one key to our success has been our Leadership Teams visibility in the market. The 3 of us make individual efforts to being part of ongoing, relevant dialog in our space and vertical. I hope to soon see our Management Team do the same. It takes discipline and a few late nights, but trust me when I say, there is a pay-off, if you can demonstrate your passion for what you do.

So get out there, and build your short list.

Social Networking Takes Flight →

Mobile warriors take note. You can network on your next flight.

A fun yet insightful video that should give my bank and credit union friends something to think about. And a catchy tune too. Bank 2.0. Beyond the bank. You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Not Out of The Woods Yet →

Libor increase is what worries me. This could drive yet another European banking crisis which could have a rippling effect on world economies.