Product Development: 9 Steps for Creative Problem Solving [INFOGRAPHIC]

How to use Twitter [Infographic] | Party Aficionado A few weeks ago, I posted Twitter Tips via @PartyAficionado and @SocMediaTulsa . Many people who follow me are new to Twitter, so I decided to create a list of tips to help them understand the basics of Twitter. After posting Twitter Tips for a few days, I was asked to create a blog post of my tips. I called upon the magical elves at vWorker.com to help me create this cool infographic. It’s the CEO’s job to email the first 1000 signups Until you’ve passed a thousand signups, the CEO should be personally emailing every new user. I’m going to cover: PracticalitiesHow to mess it upCommon objectionsGoals, perks & benefits The signup thank you note It’s not a big message. Hey Jackie,Thanks for taking the time to check out STK. The specifics (like the footer) are just my personal preference[1]. What I hope you’ll extract from the example is the casual tone and brevity. How to mess this up There are only two ways to mess this up and they’re both easy to avoid. The first is to be demanding. You’re just politely putting your hand up and saying: Hey, here I am. The second way to mess up is by forgetting common courtesy. Also, make sure you do it every day. I’ve seen some intros come through with a survey, which I [personally] find to be fairly disrespectful toward your new users’ time (aka my time). Common objections This is an easy list to make because I rattled it off to my investors practically every Friday for a year.

Facebook by the Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC] The Social Media Infographics Series is supported by Vocus' Social Media Strategy Tool, a free, six-step online tool that lets you build a custom social media framework tailored to your organization’s goals. You likely know that Facebook is the world's largest social network with more than 800 million users, but did you know that more than 250 million photos are uploaded every single day? Or that the average American spends seven hours and 46 minutes browsing her friends' profiles per month? Facebook has become an integral part of our lives — some people more than others. It's where we learn what our friends are doing, who they're dating and even what they're listening to. We wanted to dive deeper into the Facebook phenomenon, so we collected some stats about the social network and put them together in one infographic. Infographic designed by Emily Caufield.

How To Build a Web Startup – Lean LaunchPad Edition If you’re an experienced coder and user interface designer you think nothing is easier than diving into Ruby on Rails, Node.js and Balsamiq and throwing together a web site. (Heck, in Silicon Valley even the waiters can do it.) But for the rest of us mortals whose eyes glaze over at the buzzwords, the questions are, “How do I get my great idea on the web? What are the steps in building a web site?” And the most important question is, “How do I use the business model canvas and Customer Development to test whether this is a real business?” My first attempt at helping students answer these questions was by putting together the Startup Tools Page - a compilation of available web development tools. So today, I offer my next attempt. How To Build a Web Startup – The Lean LaunchPad Edition Here’s the step-by-step process we suggest our students use in our Lean LaunchPad classes. (Use the Startup Tools Page as the resource for tool choices) Step 1: Set Up Team Logistics Step 2. For non-coders:

How Businesses Use Social Media for Recruiting [INFOGRAPHIC] Savvy job seekers have turned to digital and social media tools to help them in their job searches, and now recruiters are on board with the power of social media as a recruiting tool. LinkedIn isn't the only social network that helps in the job search process — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ have all been used by people to land jobs in innovative ways. And interesting takes on the digital resume are increasingly popular, with job seekers creating infographic resumes, video resumes and other visual resumes that set them apart from other job applicants. Employers are taking note of the importance of social media in the recruiting process, and the majority of businesses are turning to social media to find and evaluate job candidates, according to this infographic compiled by Career Enlightenment, a resource for online job seekers. Take a look and let us know what you think of using social media to find a job. Social Media Job Listings More Job Search Resources From Mashable

14 Ways To Be A Great Startup CEO Everyone thinks that being a startup CEO is a glamorous job or one that has to be a ton of fun. That's what I now refer to as the "glamour brain" speaking aka the startup life you hear about from the press. You know the press articles I'm talking about... the ones that talk about how easy it is to raise money, how many users the company is getting, and how great it is to be CEO. Very rarely do you hear about what a bitch it is to be CEO and how it's not for every founder that wants to be an entrepreneur. I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about what it takes to be a great Startup CEO that is also a founder. Be A Keeper Of The Company Vision The CEO is the keeper of the company's overall vision. Absorb The Pain For The Team A startup CEO needs to be the personal voodoo doll for a startup. Find The Smartest People And Defer On Domain Expertise A startup CEO has a great knack for finding talent. Be A Good Link Between The Company + Investors Be Able To Learn On The Job

The Web & Business Tools Startups Use Most [INFOGRAPHIC] Putting the likes of the super-funded aside (Color, anyone?), most early-stage startups operate on tight budgets and spend their dollars sparingly. A bevy of web services have made start-up costs all the more affordable, but now there's the conundrum of nearly too much choice. The folks at BestVendor surveyed 550 startup staffers — most in marketing and executive administration positions — on their favorite tools for email, accounting, web analytics, CRM, productivity, design, storage, payment processing, operations and so forth. Their answers, in aggregate, speak to the growing trend in startups moving toward predominately cloud-based operations. So what's hot among startups these days? Check out the infographic below for even more insight on the web and business services that today's startups are selecting en masse.

8 Things Your Employees Need Most Pay is important. But pay only goes so far. Getting a raise is like buying a bigger house; soon, more becomes the new normal. Higher wages won’t cause employees to automatically perform at a higher level. To truly care about your business, your employees need these eight things—and they need them from you: 1. Autonomy and latitude breed engagement and satisfaction. Whenever possible, give your employees the freedom to work they way they work best. 2. Without a goal to shoot for, work is just work. 3. Let employees know what you want to achieve, for your business, for customers, and even your community. Caring starts with knowing what to care about—and why. 4. Few things are more stressful than not knowing what your boss expects from one minute to the next. When standards change make sure you communicate those changes first. 5. Robots don't care. Make it easy for employees to offer suggestions. 6. 7. While you should treat each employee differently, you must treat each employee fairly. 8.

HOW TO: Spruce Up a Boring Resume [INFOGRAPHIC] Writing a resume is such a nebulous activity these days. You have to figure out which type of online resume format is best for you, whether to include a cover letter, how to incorporate social media into your resume, if a video resume is a good idea and what you should include on your LinkedIn profile. Above all that, to get the job, you need to beat out all the other creative digital peeps who are producing dynamic digital resumes. Phew — that's a lot of work! We're always finding new resources to help you on your journey to perfecting your digital resume, and we happened across this nifty infographic by the team at Colorado Technical University, which includes tips on creating a digital resume, as well as tips for sprucing up your traditional resume, for potential employers who still like the smell of top-linen paper. [via: Colorado Technical University] Social Media Job Listings Every week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities.

You're Pricing It Wrong: Software Pricing Demystified Advertisement Pricing your own product is always a tricky proposition, and the more critical the price is to your product’s success, the more difficult it is to set. It’s easy to look at another product and say how much you would be willing to pay for it, but how can you know how much people would be willing to pay for yours? There are no absolute truths or perfect formulas for finding the best price, assuming that the “best price” even exists. Instead, take a structured approach to finding a good starting point, and improve it through feedback and testing. But first, you need to understand what the best price actually is. Riding the Demand Curve When we price a product, our goal (assuming we’re running a business) is to maximize revenue. Economic theory suggests that as we raise the price, the number of sales will drop. The sweet point is where the intersection forms the largest rectangle. Once you’ve determined what your product is, you need to consider its value to your customers. 1.

Who’s Using Google +? This post was written by Jenny Urbano, our Social Media Manager. Here at Demandforce, we love seeing and celebrating your ideas! And more than that, we love to hear from YOU. We want to bridge the gap between us and you, so that’s why we’re offering a once in a lifetime opportunity to win a trip to San Francisco, sightsee in this amazing city, visit Demandforce headquarters and share your ideas with us! 6 winners, and a guest of their choice will be flown out to San Francisco, California on March 12-14th, 2014, where they will stay in Union Square, spend a day at Demandforce, have dinner with the team, and explore the lovely City by the Bay! For contest rules, and how to enter, please visit our post in the Generation Demandforce Community here. Good luck!