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Instigator Blog

Lean Analytics, startups, angel investing, product management and more!

What are the Social Media Roadblocks for Companies?

December 4, 2009 by Ben Yoskovitz

Seth Godin hits the nail on the head in reference to using the Web and social media for your business: The problem is no longer budget. The problem is no longer access to tools. The problem is the will to get good at it. There also remains a very pervasive fear within companies (especially at […]

Filed Under: Social Media

Where’s the Surprise on the Web?

November 4, 2009 by Ben Yoskovitz

Join me for my latest obsession: Surprise. In thinking about Surprise and how it relates to my business and the Web in general, I realize that there’s absolutely not enough surprise on the Web. How often do you visit a website and get surprised? Sure there are crazy, silly, surprising videos on YouTube. And those […]

Filed Under: Social Media

How Social Media Improves Lead Conversion

October 12, 2009 by Ben Yoskovitz

A recent study by GroupM Search and comScore looked at the relationship between search marketing and social media. It’s an interesting read. The crux of the report is that people who are exposed to a brand via social media are more likely to search directly for that brand (or search terms that are lower level/closer […]

Filed Under: Social Media

You Can’t Build Authority and Thought Leadership via Twitter

January 12, 2009 by Ben Yoskovitz

I’m a big fan of Twitter. It’s clearly gone mainstream in a number of ways and brings significant value for maintaining relationships, finding new ones, etc. But you can’t build authority and thought leadership through Twitter or other microblogging services (or aggregator-type services) like FriendFeed. Not unless you previously had some authority and reputation through […]

Filed Under: Social Media

May’s Montreal Tech Entrepreneur Breakfast

May 9, 2008 by Ben Yoskovitz

Most people will tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So if you’re in Montreal, and you’re interested in technology and entrepreneurship, you should think about joining us for breakfast on Tuesday, May 13th @ 9am at Bistro, Etc. Here are the details: Tuesday, May 13th @ 9am Location: Bistro, […]

Filed Under: Montreal, Social Media

MindValley Launches SocialRank To Aggregate Niche Blog Content

October 2, 2007 by Ben Yoskovitz

MindValley is a San-Jose based company run by Vishen Lakhiani and Mike Reining. Yesterday, they launched SocialRank, along with 30 niche websites. The websites run the gamut of possible content, from more obvious niches like gadgets (GadgetRoll.com) and celebrity news & gossip (GossipStrip.com) to the more obscure, including MathBloggers.com, ChallengeReligion.com (for atheists), BikingCircle.com, TheLibraryShelf.com (hot […]

Filed Under: Social Media

Ignore the Social Media Scoreboard

October 1, 2007 by Ben Yoskovitz

The biggest downfall of anyone getting involved in social media and social networking is the Social Media Scoreboard. The Scoreboard only cares about numbers. The Scoreboard is used to rank us against one another. The Scoreboard provides no actual value. The Scoreboard is a master seducer. It whispers temptingly in your ear, “You need more […]

Filed Under: Social Media

The 10-Minute Daily Guide to Building Your Social Media Profile

September 26, 2007 by Ben Yoskovitz

No amount of effort with social media sites and tools like digg, StumbleUpon, MyBlogLog, Propeller, etc. can make up for a bad blog. A lack of focus, poor writing, over-advertising and a lousy design will sink your blog each and every time, regardless of how much effort you put into social networking and social media […]

Filed Under: Social Media

Stealing Avatars: Identity Theft 2.0

August 23, 2007 by Ben Yoskovitz

Most social bookmarking, social media and social networking sites allow you to include a thumbnail image (or avatar) to go with your profile. For example, when you submit a story on digg, your image appears with it. The best example is MyBlogLog. It grew to huge success, in part because it showed people’s faces. For […]

Filed Under: Online Community, Social Media

Social Networks Are Not Personal

June 19, 2007 by Ben Yoskovitz

They’re professional. There are plenty of social networks designed for personal use, but they all have professional implications and opportunities. And to ignore those issues is a mistake. Your “Stuff” Is Exposed Most social networks have some level of privacy to keep prying eyes away from your profile and content, but don’t assume it’s full […]

Filed Under: Business, Social Media

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Ben Yoskovitz

Founding Partner at Highline Beta, a hybrid venture studio and VC firm that works with large, ambitious companies to identify new areas of opportunity through internal and external innovation.

Previously I was VP Product at VarageSale and GoInstant (acq. $CRM), and Founding Partner at Year One Labs.

Angel investments include: Breather, Spoiler Alert, SendWithUs and others.

My bio »

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