Image by Peter Hutchkins The coupling of the words “content” and “marketing” creates a debate centering on the differences between publishing and selling. By its very nature, marketing is a function of sales. As such marketing communications activities, regardless of form — search, email, publicity (on behalf of a company), content creation, social, events, etc. — all represent activities to engage people in a sales process OR support brand reputation, which in turn, increases the likelihood of further sales, recruitment or investment later in time. I can see why content purists, particularly those with a journalism background, flip their fricking lids at the very phrasing of “content marketing.” After all, they publish quality content. Geoff Livingston on Google+

I’ve been thing about writing and commenting online lately. Probably more than most, I have a history of mixing it up and leaving a comment or three that left heads spinning. In the past year, I’ve made a move to practice more loving (or benevolent) speech online. Choosing to invest in kinder speech, and to not leave a path of strife on the interwebs requires mindfulness and acceptance of my character defects. I don’t pull punches. When it comes to tough discussions, I fight to win. That means someone’s going to be upset most of the time. Geoff Livingston on Google+

The social change side of the Internet was abuzz last week with the GOOD acquisition of Jumo. Everyone wants to know if the addition of the change media powerhouse turn around Jumo’s bad mojo. Not much has been heard from Jumo since it launched in the fourth quarter of last year. The site promised to become the next generation gathering place for change activists. As you can see from the above traffic statistics, hype did not meet reality. Mainstays Care2 and Change.org barely felt its presence. GOOD, however, has a competitive presence. A more social GOOD could become the number one online change network, uprooting Care2 and its 16 million users. But it’s not as simple as that. Jumo has …