SMACtalk
Brian Fanzo and Daniel Newman
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Top 10 SMACtalk Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best SMACtalk episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to SMACtalk for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite SMACtalk episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
07/31/17 • 39 min
Niche vs Generalist, the debate that seems to pop-up yearly inspired Daniel and Brian to take a very personal and transparent look at their own careers as millennials and although they both are generalists they found success in unique focused pivots.
Brian posted to facebook (see link below) a comment about having a niche being a smart play that exploded with 200+ comments and it inspired multiple videos and blogs by friends and fellow thought leaders so tackling this topic on SMACtalk was a no brainer.
Sit back and enjoy as Daniel and Brian hold nothing back sharing in detail their successes as well as lessons learned both as employees of brands and entrepreneurs.
Daniel shares his most successful pivot, going all in on digital transformation with his book Building Dragons and making it the staple of his speaking and online content.
Brian explains the motivation for his Facebook post and why most companies that reached out to hire Brian in 2017 wanted a generalist or evangelist but the company culture and leadership wasn’t of the mindset to make that type of role successful.
Questions asked and debated on this episode:
- If you have a niche does it make sense to ever pivot to becoming a generalist?
- When labeled something like “A Marketer” how do you change that?
- Why generalists must be able to answer the question “What value/problem do you solve?”
- Can a successful entrepreneur find a home within a brand or company in 2017?
- What do companies need to do to set themselves up to hire a generalist?
- Solopreneur vs Entrepreneur - What must a generalist do to be successful as each?
What are your thoughts? Follow SMACtalk on Facebook or use the hashtag #SMACtalk to let our host know your opinion on the topic and the questions being asked.
Want to learn more about the hosts checkout their speaker pages at:
Brian Fanzo: www.iSocialFanz.com/Speaker
Daniel Newman: www.DanielNewmanSpeaks.com
Links mentioned:
Niche vs Generalist Facebook post by Brian: https://www.facebook.com/bfanzo/posts/10159083771455405?pnref=story
02/01/17 • 45 min
Daniel Newman and Brian Fanzo are both pager-wearing millennials but both approach technology, business and productivity differently. On this episode of SMACtalk Dan and Brian discuss teamwork in this digital age and share a transparent view into their own collaboration over the last 3 years both the good and the bad.
Business Teamwork and Collaboration in a Digital World Still Comes Down To People!
Businesses today know that success in the marketplace requires an understanding of knowledge management and collaboration as well as increased options for flexible work/life balance for workers. Organizational psychology backs up the pursuit of open collaboration, and in many cases, a flexible work environment inspires loyalty and productivity. Combined with a younger workforce interested in new technology, these changes have significantly impacted how people both millennials and not will work together in the future.
Cisco Spark:
Brian and Daniel have teamed up with Cisco Spark to leverage their new collaboration product as it compares to tools like Jive, Sharepoint and Slack.
Check out Cisco Spark Tool here: http://bit.ly/SMACtalkCiscoSpark
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WHAT IS SMACTalk?
S.M.A.C. stands for Social Media, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud and over the two years Dan and Brian have covered topics that included Big Data, Digital Transformation, Social Selling, Data Center Migration, Millennial Marketing, Digital Marketing, live streaming video, customer experience and everything else impacting today's technology world.
- Visit Dan’s speaker page at: www.DanielNewmanSpeaks.com
- Visit Brian’s speaker page at: www.iSocialFanz.com/Speaker
If you want to have SMACtalk live at your event like Dan and Brian did at Superbowl 50, HP Discover, SAP Sapphire in 2016 visit http://SMACtalk.Live or email [email protected] [email protected]
12/06/16 • 38 min
Once upon a time, it felt like the only time an employee dealt with HR was when they were hired, when they left the company and perhaps when they had a question about their insurance or another benefit. All in all, the HR department has over the years earned a reputation as a bit of a stranger to the everyday employee. However, that reputation is changing.
In this week’s SMACTalk, the third in our series partnership with Adobe Document Cloud, we explore one of the critical topics inside of every business, Digital Transformation. This week Mark Grilli from Adobe and Theo Priestly, known Digital Transformation expert and Technology Evangelist joined hosts Brian Fanzo and Daniel Newman to discuss the transformation in the enterprise; covering where we are now, the biggest challenges for organizations looking to transform as well as some predictions as to the future of digital for organizations, how transformation efforts will continue to evolve and what leaders need to be thinking about to successfully transform their businesses. A few of the questions that Priestly and Grilli tackle on the show include:
- As a subject that seems to have many different meanings, How do you define digital transformation?
- What are the keys to building a digital transformation ready business?
- How much does company culture impact digital transformation success?
- What are the key technologies driving digital transformation?
- Where should businesses that are on the sidelines start with their digital transformation?
While the opinions of thought leaders Mark Grilli and Theo Priestly has many similarities, it was interesting to hear from each their different views on the questions where Grilli provided some wonderful examples of how change is being accomplished inside of an enterprise like Adobe, whereas Priestly brought more of a wider lens few from across the digital landscape. Of course with this topic being near and dear to the hearts of the shows hosts, both Fanzo and Newman found themselves playing the role of host and guest at different points. I guess when the questions are this good, you can’t help but want to answer them. At one point the show even took a little turn from the questions above and went into who the responsible party is for digital transformation, there we got some interesting answers from our hosts and guests, but we won’t spoil the surprise as we want you to listen all the way through. (Hint: it wasn’t the CMO)
What we did realize for sure is that Digital Transformation continues to be a huge undertaking for every organization. However, it’s a critical vehicle for maintaining a healthy business into a very quickly changing future full of new technology, new services and a million other unknowns.
Follow our guests on Social Media:
Mark Grilli on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-grilli-7b5743
Theo Priestly: @itredux
For an audience looking for a business centric multimedia experience on the topics of Social, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud, they will have to look no further than to S.M.A.C.talk LIVE.
Founded in 2014 as a weekly podcast, S.M.A.C.talk was featured as an iTunes “Top 10 New & Noteworthy” for Technology and Social Media. With hard hitting conversations on not only the technology but how it relates to business and the future of work, listeners can count on this podcast for a straightforward analysis that makes the future of technology more accessible and a whole lot more fun.
Find out more about SMACtalk Live: http://www.SMACtalk.Live
If you want to chat about having SMACtalk Live at your event or chat with our hosts please follow them and reach out to them on twitter: @iSocialFanz & @DanielNewmanUV
06/05/16 • 29 min
In This Episode
Enterprise companies are often admired for their access to resources but digital is leveling the playing field for businesses of all sizes. In this episode Brian and Daniel discuss how small businesses are using social, mobile, analytics, and cloud to differentiate themselves from competitors.
How Does Leveraging Digital Benefit Small Business?
What is the best way to get to my customers? A common question asked by business owners. What should be an easy question to answer is often a daunting task for most business owners. A few minutes into this episode Daniel shares how he uses the acronym T.C.I.K. The Customer Is King when making business decisions. Historically small businesses have had to deal with a lack of technology, lack of customer intelligence, lack of ability to utilize data but thanks to the growth of cloud based applications small businesses are no longer at a disadvantage and can serve customers as well or better than larger entities.
Digital is powered by the cloud. Cloud allows us to have services on demand, pay for what we want or need, and be extremely agile accessing applications from wherever we happen to be. Digitally enabled small businesses are well equipped to take on larger competitors.
Why is Social Important For Small Business?
“Social is the great amplifier. Social allows you to not only communicate your message at scale but also crowdsource feedback on your product or service in real-time to then augment content creation and ultimately better understand the customers you desire to serve.” -- Brian Fanzo
Why is Mobile Important For Small Business?
“Mobile is the ultimate enabler. The ability to share, consume, and engage on the go has allowed for much greater collaboration between colleagues, departments, partners, and more. Mobile technology has made it possible for us to keep the ball moving no matter where we happen to be physically located.” -- Daniel Newman
Why is Analytics Important For Small Business?
“A small business has to be able to learn and pivot as customer needs and wants change. Analytics plays into every business decision. Answers to questions such as when is the right time to hire someone, how is our content performing on social, and how happy are our current customers can all be found in analytics. The information is available. You’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re not looking at analytics. There is no excuse to go on gut feel alone.” -- Brian Fanzo
Why is Cloud Important For Small Business?
“Cloud has been a mythical beast for many small businesses but I think this year we are finally seeing awareness and understanding. Cloud’s impact and necessity is that it impacts every single thing we do. The agility to migrate from an integral business tool such as a CRM to a better fit with little effort is priceless. Cloud is an equalizer. Employees can access tools from anywhere. Businesses can be nimble and pivot when needed. This is the future of business.” -- Brian Fanzo
“Cloud runs every facet of our business now - either indirect or direct. Every part - collaboration, back office software such as accounting, payroll, CRM, and all social tools - all cloud based. My entire business runs in the cloud. Do you know how many IT guys I have on staff to run it? None. You know how much money I’ve saved? Tons. The cloud allows small businesses to become big businesses very quickly.” -- Daniel Newman
How is social, mobile, analytics, and cloud transforming your business?
08/27/15 • 27 min
Highly caffeinated on a Friday afternoon, Brian and I convened on Blab to catch up and discuss digital culture and transformation. In the spirit of embracing change we have completely migrated both SMACTalk and our #CloudTalk chat from Google Hangouts on Air over to Blab because of its ease of use and versatility.
SMACTalk is all about social, mobile, analytics and cloud and these topics remain top of mind for most businesses today.
Digital Transformation is a Top Priority
The C-Suite is paying close attention to the issue of digital transformation. Companies are literally disappearing due to failure to adapt to new standards and technology. It’s important that we discuss now how we survive and thrive as businesses in the digital era.
In 2008 John Antioco, CEO of the now defunct Blockbuster Video, insinuated that Netflix wasn’t even on their radar as a threat. Just six years later in 2014, Blockbuster closed its last store because it missed a critical pivot for their business. Netflix spent its early days saving on overhead by not having brick and mortar costs and ignoring the rivalry with Blockbuster in order to focus on developing their infrastructure. Their tactics proved successful.
Brian points out that a lot of brick and mortar businesses make the mistake of considering themselves not to be digital businesses. The bottom line is that all customers are living and buying in a digital world today. So digital strategy is critical for every business whether there’s a three dimensional storefront or not.
Digital Strategy is Key
It’s not enough just to embrace or to “be” digital. Businesses have to be strategic about their initiatives and what digital can do to help their bottom line.
Brian likes to say “The future of business is community.” And I say that not only is this so, but businesses need strategy in order to find and nurture advocates, reach customers and influence decisions.
As an example, Brian and I recorded this podcast using Blab but we also take pains to ensure people know how to find our website, our social profiles, our podcast elsewhere and so on. This helps us reach more people and further our business objectives. It’s strategic, not accidental.
Brian mentions running into Krista Kotrla at a recent event in Dallas. They discussed content strategy and she said that she creates content based on questions she receives from her community. This may sound elementary but it’s strategic and good for business.
If You Skip Digital, You Miss Opportunities
Again, even for brick and mortar businesses, the digital space is full of opportunities. Social listening, advertising, customer service, talent acquisition... the list of ways to leverage digital for any business is virtually endless. Any business in any vertical can use digital methods to attract and retain both internal and external advocates.
What if your business would like to have employees work remotely? There’s no way you can take advantage of the overhead savings for your business or offer this perk to your employees if you’re not using cloud technology and embracing digital capabilities.
I’m taking it one step further than community and saying, “Experience is the future of business.” I think community is one part of that but an individual’s experience with a brand is multifaceted. As customers we can preview products and services right from our mobile devices. We don’t even have to go into a store or a showroom. We can also connect with a company via their social profiles. We can ask questions, provide feedback and so on.
Small companies in particular are well positioned to leverage the digital space by adopting omnichannel practices. They can guide the buyer’s journey from beginning to end and back again. But they must be careful to see their efforts through and enforce that customer experience and relationship at every turn.
Go For The First Down, Not The Touchdown
Achieving success using digital as a vessel is about strategy and relentless execution. Brian says, “Rather than going for the first down... we go for the touchdown ...we go for the hail Mary every single time. And then we can’t figure out why we can’t embrace change.” We need to understand what digital means and implement it where it makes sense. We need to know not just what’s available but what makes sense for our business initiatives.
When it comes to leveraging digital, it’s a must for every business and it’s about building blocks, not just one thing. If you have just a website, Brian says, you’re not digital. Everyone has a website these days so that’s just not going to get you or your business where you need to be. Businesses need to listen to their customers. Data from digital and social channels is an essential component for business str...
01/18/17 • 28 min
If you aren’t growing you’re dying! One of the oldest adages in business, but true by so many accounts. Even though social media and digital has changed the sales process exponentially, selling is still a core part of almost every business. The companies that are best leveraging new media, social selling and of course traditional relationship selling are going to fare the best, but what do companies need to do to succeed in all of these areas?
In this week’s SMACTalk, the fourth in our series partnership with Adobe Document Cloud, we explore the future of sales and how sales are being transformed across the enterprise. This week Adobe’s very own Lisa Graham and Selling Expert Colleen Francis joined hosts Brian Fanzo and Daniel Newman to discuss the transformation of the way we sell in a modern digital world; exploring the changes in how we sell, and what helps sales professionals rise above the rest. A few of the questions that Graham and Francis tackle on the show include:
- How have sales changed in the past few years?
- What has the impact of social selling been on sales professionals?
- How should sales professionals balance social media and personal selling in the age of digital?
- What can sales professionals do to stay on top for now and into the future?
Throughout the episode, there were countless great examples of the changing landscape of sales provided by both Lisa Graham and Colleen Francis. With Graham doing a wonderful job of using her personal experiences at Adobe as the model, Francis often took her learnings from consulting with companies around the globe to add context and show some of the similarities and differences between Adobe’s sales culture and enterprises across the board. Of course, our hosts Fanzo and Newman couldn’t hold their tongue throughout the episode as they often incorporated their own anecdotal visions as to the changes taking place in professional sales.
One thing is for sure, sales is transforming at a great rate and for individuals as well as companies to stay relevant in sales it is important that they change with the times and get on board with the advice of Graham, Francis and the SMACtalk hosts!
11/30/18 • 20 min
In this episode of SMACTalk, Daniel Newman invites IBM Automation (Client) GM/VP Gene Chao to share his insights on how Customer Experience is being impacted by Automation. On the show, Gene is asked the following questions.
- Do you have a story as a consumer to share about how automation optimized a recent customer experience for you? Or what the organization could've done better? (could be a blind reference)What are some of the pitfalls organizations must avoid when it comes to automation being part of the customer experience? What are good ways to overcome them?
- What do you view as the key factors to automation successfully optimizing customer experiences?
- What's the one thing you advise clients to pay attention to? To avoid complacency? To be prepared for?
- When we think of customer experience and automation, people tend to think of chatbots - but are there other types of automation solutions we should consider?
Packed with insights, Gene helps companies understand the ways that Automation is going to change the way people interact with companies. This isn't just customers, but employees too. But the positive thing is that automation isn't going to displace, but rather drive better experiences and a stronger movement toward upskilling the workforce to help companies transform as quickly as modern technology.
Don't miss this episode packed with insights for marketers, technologists and business leaders.
01/04/17 • 38 min
We kicked off 2017 just like we finished 2016 with a lively and passion debate with lots of SMACtalk this time around new years resolutions, making business goals and this culture of no accountability.
This topic was fueled by Daniel's facebook post over the holidays which you can read below and the debate went on to include the importance of business goals, the role of public accountability and the current state of social media and marketing as it pertains to small business owners filtering the noise to work with true experts vs those who just make loud noises.
Here is the Facebook post from Daniel.
"I know this may make me sound like a crotchety old man...
But seriously, wtf is the deal with "It's a new year and I'm going to do all this great shit because it's a new year."
I have a feeling the people that are going to accomplish great things don't wait for some impending calendar date to get started on their route to greatness. Just start...Go...Do...Be... Celebrate the heck out of your wins, but don't wait. Start now...and if the date is June 9, start then, and if the date is November 4, start then... It's entirely in our control. We decide our outcomes and results. If the New Year is your only motivation to start then I'm pretty comfortable that the resolution will be a fleeting moment in a hot steamy pile of failed resolutions from New Years Past... PS: I'll post a Happy New Year pic later. :P
If you want to watch the Facebook Live recording of this episode you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/SMACtalkLive/videos/1835608916719192/?pnref=story
S.M.A.C. stands for Social Media, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud and over the two years Dan and Brian have covered topics that included Big Data, Digital Transformation, Social Selling, Data Center Migration, Millennial Marketing, Digital Marketing, live streaming video, customer experience and everything else impacting today's technology world.
On this prediction episode Dan and Brian decided to stick to the S.M.A.C. as they each shared one prediction around each letter that makes up the show title. From Dan’s very first prediction for social media in 2017 you’ll realize that these aren’t your normal generic marketing predictions.
Also listen all the way till the end as Dan and Brian also share sneak peeks into topics that they’ll be talking about on the keynote stage in 2017 that they’ve not talked about as professional speakers.
Visit Dan’s speaker page at: www.DanielNewmanSpeaks.com
Visit Brian’s speaker page at: www.iSocialFanz.com/Speaker
Dan and Brian spent the first couple minutes of this episode and the last couple minutes paying tribute to the SMACtalk community and all those that have supported them as the SMACtalk download numbers have doubled month over month since September.
Dan and Brian want to wish the entire SMACtalk community a Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays with special shoutout outs to the brands that have sponosred the show over the last two years: IBM, Avnet, SAP, Adobe and 2017’s newest sponsor Cisco.
You’ll hear more about the Cisco sponsorship in the new year including how Dan and Brian are leveraging Cisco’s collaboration tool known as Cisco Spark. You can check out the tool now at: http://brianfanzo.live/cisco_smac
If you want to have SMACtalk live at your event like Dan and Brian did at Superbowl 50, HP Discover, SAP Sapphire in 2016 visit http://SMACtalk.Live or email [email protected] [email protected]
During this episode, Brian and Daniel breakdown their path to success with the groundbreaking Superbowl 2016 #SB50Disrupt campaign and the importance of collaboration and live video content with guest host Ursula Ringham, SAP Change Evangelist.
The #SB50Disrupt campaign, a collaboration between SAP and SMACtalk LIVE, created more than 20 hours of live streamed content over 5 days that averaged xx live viewers per broadcast and generated xx total social impressions.
Tune in to hear Ursula share how she assembled support from SAP executives and partners and how important the role of digital transformation is in business success. Curiosity is the key to change, says Ursula. Keeping current on technologies that are available now and always having an eye on what might be drives innovation at all levels.
http://discover.sap.com/superbowl/en-us/index.html
SAP YouTube Playlist with all 20 hours of Superbowl Coverage of #SB50disrupt https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAN4lvL4kFnjOGeA19iFb8pyZI4-fF6kA
About our guest:
Social media marketer by day, author by night and mother 24×7. I’d write all day but in my current professions—I take what I can get. I’ve lived and breathed Silicon Valley my entire life having grown up in Palo Alto, CA. I attended the prestigious all-girls school, Castilleja and my family was immersed in commercial and residential real estate development and local politics.
I innocently entered the high tech industry at the age of twenty through a summer job at a then small software company, Adobe Systems, Inc. My International Relations Degree from UC Davis provided me with a vast understanding of the world that I call upon quite frequently but it could not seduce me away from the adventures I found at home. For over a decade, I worked at Adobe and Apple in their Developer Relations organizations helping start-ups and strategic accounts bring technologies and products to market.
Today, I am a Director of Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy for SAP. In this role, I stay on top of the hottest social media trends, actively blog, interact on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and Snapchat), and co-host a weekly live-streaming video show. In my spare time, I dream up amazing stories about the insidious side of Silicon Valley and find the time to write them down.
This adventure I call life, fuels my creativity for developing unique stories that I hope you enjoy reading.
10/25/17 • 12 min
Who in the world would eat bugs? On Purpose? If you ask our SMACtalk Host Daniel Newman, the answer would be no one, but if you talk to “Foresight Extraordinaire,” MIT Ph.D. Mitch Joachim, he says there is a problem that we are trying to solve and from a sustainability standpoint eating bugs may have its place. Before you jump or grab your silverware, the context is far more enticing than just bug eating, but the real direction of the conversation is how can thinking outside of what is normal provoke us to solve new problems. In this fascinating episode of SMACtalk, Newman gets Joachim to share the whole “Bug” story and much more about how to keep your business from being disrupted. Don’t miss it, download now!
Mitchell Joachim, Co-Founder, Terreform ONE
Mitchell Joachim is a leader in ecological design, architecture and urbanism. He is a founding Co-President of Terreform ONE in 2006. He earned a Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MAUD Harvard University, M.Arch. Columbia University. Mitchell is an Associate Professor at NYU and EGS (European Graduate School). He previously taught at Columbia University, Syracuse University, Parsons, Washington University, and the Frank Gehry Chair at University of Toronto. He was formerly an architect at Gehry Partners, and Pei Cobb Freed. He has been awarded fellowships at TED 2010, Moshe Safdie Assoc., and Martin Society for Sustainability at MIT. He won the Zumtobel Group Award for Sustainability and Humanityy, the History Channel and Infiniti Excellence Award for City of the Future, Time Magazine Best Invention of 2007, Compacted Car w/ MIT Smart Cities and a Bronze Medal at iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) for Gen2Seat. His project, Fab Tree Hab, has been exhibited at MoMA and widely published. He was chosen by Wired magazine for "The 2008 Smart List: 15 People the Next President Should Listen To". Rolling Stone magazine honored Mitchell in "The 100 People Who Are Changing America". In 2009 he was interviewed on the Colbert Report. Popular Science magazine has featured his work as a visionary for “The Future of the Environment” in 2010. Mitchell was the Winner of the Victor Papanek Social Design Award sponsored by the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austrian Cultural Forum, and Museum of Arts and Design in 2011. Dwell magazine featured Mitchell as one of "The NOW 99" in 2012.
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FAQ
How many episodes does SMACtalk have?
SMACtalk currently has 100 episodes available.
What topics does SMACtalk cover?
The podcast is about Social, News, Cloud, Analytics, Tech News, Podcasts, Socialmedia, Technology, Mobile and Smallbusiness.
What is the most popular episode on SMACtalk?
The episode title 'Elon Musk, Mad Genius or Still Stoned' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on SMACtalk?
The average episode length on SMACtalk is 32 minutes.
How often are episodes of SMACtalk released?
Episodes of SMACtalk are typically released every 11 days, 1 hour.
When was the first episode of SMACtalk?
The first episode of SMACtalk was released on Apr 9, 2015.
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