Introducing: AIKON

I am pretty over the moon about bringing this company out of stealth today!

It's been a lot of work but one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Big shout out to everyone at Team AIKON and MTO for job well done!

It’s a brave new world — one of new digital tools, APIs for everything from NSFW photo scans to full representations of human cells and for the first time ever, a globally connected digital economy. New markets are emerging, and new opportunities are being seized — by some.

But what about all the things the free and open internet promised humanity? What about equal access? What about trust and safety?

In the commercial world’s quest for fortune and glory, privileged players have transferred and consolidated power; while individuals and small teams have seen little progress.

In this new digital terrain, engineers across the globe face overwhelming obstacles that come in the form of technical barriers, security concerns, legal and financial complexity and monetization challenges.

On the surface, it seems that what developers around the world have been after — a truly inclusive, level playing field — has been lost.

For example, an individual Mexican software developer who has created the world’s best AI for identifying cancer in medical scans will have a very difficult time realizing any value for their contribution without an enormous amount of time, energy and money spent to provide and monetize his or her API. Just to get started, there would be costly overhead of an identity and subscription management infrastructure, legal contracts with multiple entities, payment in local currency that might not be stable, security risks to mitigate, payment tracking and a litany of people to hire including: accountants, attorneys and a sales team. And if this developer relied on an API or series of APIs created by different developers, in different countries, the challenges become exponentially more difficult and potentially, impossible to overcome.

That’s not so free and open, is it?

But we’re optimistic. We have a new vision. We’ve drawn the blueprint, and we’re committed to the path.

Read more: https://medium.com/aikon/introducing-aikon-324b43ecfaed

The Social CEO: What You Need To Know

Sir Richard Branson named Top Social CEO in compilation done by Hootsuite and Xinfu (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Let me start off by saying -- this isn't about tweeting. This is about the critical Social Paradigm Shift CEOs and the other C-suite need to make -- and fast.

Almost a decade ago, I created a ‘How to Tweet’ graphic for distribution to CEOs and other senior executives at the Aspen Ideas Conference. Back then, it was just about tweeting, about exploring, about connecting with peers ... Ten long years later and social media has gone from a bleeding-edge, cool-to-use playground for the tech set to a complete and total Social Paradigm Shift affecting nearly every human -- and organization -- worldwide.

This shift has built juggernaut businesses from scratch (Buzzfeed, DogVacay, Dollar Shave Club, just to name a few) and destroyed businesses in the same very short time period. And let us be clear -- we are only at the very beginning of this cultural revolution. The inherently-social, inter-connected global world of digital is the new world and it’s mission critical that your leadership catches hold and doesn’t let go -- ever again.

When it comes to CEOs in particular, an astounding 61% of Fortune 500 CEOs are still not active, according to CEO.com. And after consulting and training CEOs and CMOs for a decade, one of my biggest concerns is that too many still think this is just about tweeting or participating on LinkedIn. That is wrong and let me be clear -- putting-your-business-in-danger wrong.

So, how does a CEO become a Social CEO? Here are the 5 Steps you must take: Read the article on Forbes here.

And after that, if you're READY, join us in our latest course: The Social CEO startingSeptember 5th. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/The-Social-CEO-Course
 

How To Create A Loyal Customer In Under Five Minutes, MTO Agency CEO and Founder, Gretchen Fox

Every CEO, marketer and entrepreneur wants their business to “stand out,” to rise up out of the noise of the competition and grab the hearts and minds of consumers and clients. They want raving fans lining up for their products and services. They want repeat business and loyalty. Who wouldn’t?

When you have raving fans, you get the two most coveted things in 21st century marketing — word of mouth and “social proof,” in the form of positive reviews and spontaneous, unequivocal social promotion. As someone who runs a social media agency, I have seen companies attempt every trick in the book to try to achieve this result. But you know what I rarely see? A company, CEO or CMO that actually achieves the desired effect.

Do you know why?

Read the post on Forbes here.