In the past few months, there has been much fanfare about Twitter's imminent demise. However, this has coincided with an unrelated resurgent interest in the medium on my part. At this point, I would hardly consider Twitter to be a doomed phenomenon, not least because it still feels fun and exciting. I feel the same sense of adventure and possibility that I did a few years ago, every time I aim to encapsulate a thought in 140 characters or fewer, and I have come to the conclusion that there's only one way to really save the company: find a way to block all the annoying bots.
Three years ago, I snagged an invitation to attend a tribute for Robert De Niro. I could list a lot of superlatives in praise of his acting chops, but I think we can all agree he is one of the greatest actors of his generation. He oozes gravitas and always seems to be in perfect control of himself. Seeing him in person was an illuminating experience, but not for the reasons you might expect... I discovered that Robert De Niro, the godfather himself, has stage fright.
For nearly two years, I have been working on re-branding the organization I work for (read this article for more information). It's definitely not for the faint of heart. A brand is often confused with a logo, but it is much more. An organization can own its logo, but often the perception of its brand is in the eye of the beholder.