An opportunity to serve

People joke about fearless leaders. But in our case, it’s true. Anyone acquainted with our CEO and founder, David McInnis, knows he makes things happen. It’s awesome to be associated with someone who finds a way to help when it may not be convenient, safe, or cost-effective to do so.

So I guess we shouldn’t have been that surprised (although we were) when he announced he would be out of the office for a while and when asked where the answer was, “Haiti.”

Events unfolding in Haiti are controversial. It’s a corrupt, lawless country made worse by a most tragic natural disaster. Recent days have raised questions about what can be done, who can help, how that assistance can be doled out to those who truly need it, and the dangers inherent in that process.

McInnis is in a unique position to help because he owns a powerful airplane that can land and take off on a short runway while carrying cargo. When he got a call asking for help shuttling supplies from Florida into a rural area of Haiti, he promptly said he would.

Some of us thought he was certifiable. Really? Haiti? What about fuel, accommodations, sanitation, or the occasional flying bullet. But David stopped us all with one quiet answer, “It’s an opportunity to serve.”

And with that he was out the door. Since it’s a cross-country flight just to get to the jump-off point in Florida, they stopped in Seattle to pick up a full load of rescuers also anxious to get there to help.

To David and his faithful pilot, we send loads of good thoughts and admiration.

We look forward to hearing their stories and seeing pictures when they return. Meanwhile, David is sending the occasional dispatch via Twitter at http://twitter.com/giantcranberry.

CompanyPond is now available for boosting your company’s online presence

PeoplePond now has a sister site, CompanyPond. CompanyPond is an easy to use powerful online service that enables search engine optimization (SEO) experts and novices to train search engines to promote the best of their company’s online assets, making them more visible to prospective customers, potential employees and trade partners.

The best use of CompanyPond is to leverage the many PeoplePond profiles of the company’s staff, board members and evangelists. From the press release announcing the launch:

“The incredible SEO benefit of leveraging CompanyPond with PeoplePond to make use of the brand advocates found in employees, partners, stakeholders and evangelists is undeniable,” said David McInnis, the innovative mind who conceptualized both PeoplePond and CompanyPond.

Read the full press release here.

Your Personal Brand and Elastic SEO

In our rush to actively participate in social media and social networking, it is important to stay focused on what we are really trying to accomplish.  Every now and then stop and ask yourself these questions:

• Does my participation in this social media or social networking site add value to my online marketing efforts?
• Am I able to generate content within this space that is relevant to the audience?
• How can I use this tool to extend my brand?
• Am I committed to using this service to advance my brand (specifically am I willing to expend time and creative muscle)?
• Does this service allow me to create outbound links (regardless of their follow/no-follow state)?

With the above questions in mind, I started PeoplePond around a concept I call, Elastic SEO.  By using an elastic approach, I have seen my PeoplePond profile jump to the #2 spot in Google while my social media and networking content has seen a related boost. Read more »