Book Review – A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech
First published in 1983 Whack lists ten “locks” which limit creative thinking:
- The Right Answer
- That’s Not Logical
- Follow the Rules
- Be Practical
- Play is Frivolous
- That’s Not My Area
- Avoid Ambiguity
- Don’t Be Foolish
- To Err is Wrong
- I’m Not Creative
Von Oech continues to explain how each can be “unlocked” in separate chapters. He also includes various exercises to support his explanations. The book gives you the tools to apply its ideas to your problems in order to find creative solutions.
Is Klout Your Twitter’s Credit Score?
Two clients in the same week asked me what “Klout” means as it relates to their Twitter account. Let’s dig in:
Klout.com defines Klout as:
“…the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses over 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score.”
On Twitter specifically, Klout’s influence score is based on a user’s ability to drive action through tweets, retweets, comments and clicks. The factors that Klout considers to create your score:
Use Google Calendar to Manage Appointment Slots
I was a late adopter of Google products and I’m glad I made the change when I did. You can really use Google to manage all of your business’ communications strategies whether you’re colleagues are on the same “network” or not.
Google Calendar recently came out with a new feature: appointment slots. Here’s what you can do with it:
- Show clients/employees your availability (you can already share your busy calendar with others)
- NOW you can let them book an appointment during the times/dates you designate
- Your appointment availability calendar lays on top of their Google calendar to make it easier for them to choose a date/time that fits their schedule
