Influencers Today

To contain the coronavirus, the Education Department in Hong Kong ordered all schools to remain closed after the Chinese New Year. Instead of returning 3 February, schools were to remain closed an additional four weeks. That was extended again – and again. As of writing, schools are scheduled to return on 20 April – a full 87 days after the last school day before Chinese New Year. With very little warning, schools across the country had to find effective ways to continue educating students using a wide range of remote learning tools. Stephen Dare is head of school at Hong Kong Academy, a private, independent school located in Sai Kung – a quiet fishing village in the northeast of the country. With just over 600 students, the school has students from pre-kindergarten through high school. Responding to exceptional circumstances stretched everyone in the community. Teachers had to adjust and rewrite curriculum to engage students joining via videoconference. Parents needed to support children at home for extended periods. Students needed to adjust to new formats for learning. And staff had to work across the board to manage the fast-changing situation. As schools around the world prepare their contingency plans for remote learning, listen to how one leader responded to the challenges. Hear the pain points, lessons, and observations – and learn how a school can adapt quickly to exceptional circumstances.   Biography Stephen Dare, Hard of School, Hong Kong Academy Stephen is entering his 10th year as Head of School. He is passionate about creating opportunities to democratise learning and elevate student voice within schools. He believes that everyone in an organisation has the capacity to contribute to the co-construction of learning experiences that both elevate thinking and promote action in support of broader educational initiatives. Stephen began his career as a preschool teacher in Southeast England, and has worked as an administrator in North and South America as well as Southeast Asia. He is the treasurer of the ACAMIS Board and supports the Next Frontier: Inclusion Design Team in an advisory role. Stephen is an Agency Trainer for the Thinking Collaborative and has embedded the work of Cognitive Coaching and Adaptive Schools into the professional learning culture of HKA, helping to implement the school’s mission and identity. He regularly presents courses on coaching and building institutional trust at international schools and conferences. Stephen initially left his home town for a two-year adventure overseas, and over thirty years later he continues to embrace the opportunities of working in a global culture.

Our world faces significant troubles. Climate change, species extinction, social unrest, political upheaval, new virus strains - it feels insurmountable.  We keep waiting for "them" to fix things. Yet what if we were part of the solution?  Welcome to "Be the Hero" - a new initiative to encourage a small effort on behalf of each individual. The goal is to motivate more to volunteer and address a problem that matters personally.  The crises our world faces demands an army of united people - people who care.  Listen and learn - YOU can "Be the Hero."

How does a CEO make their mark on the company they’re leading? In this podcast Gemma Greaves discusses her challenge when taking the leadership of The Marketing Society, a 60-year-old membership association with headquarters in London. In order to be understood, it’s imperative to be authentic. “Be your true self,” is what Gemma Greaves implores. “The more you talk about the things that affect us the better you’ll be at marketing.” This was the start of a multi-year series of meetings under the headline of bravery. “It gives us a narrative that gives us a unique point of view,” said Gemma. Listen to this interview on how a CEO sets strategy for their global organisation.

The Greater Bay Area represents an ambitious plan to compete with Silicon Valley by pooling talent, financial, infrastructure, and technological economies of scale to build the first true global competitor. The Greater Bay Area (GBA) consists of the mega cities in Southern China’s Pearl River Delta region including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, Zhaoqing, Hong Kong and Macau. In total, the population is more than 70 million, produces 37% of China’s exports, and 12% of its GDP.  Understand the opportunity for your business. After all, we all live in the Greater Bay Area. Join the dialogue on Hong Kong’s integration, and its chances against #ChinaTech rival Shenzhen. Tony Verb is a serial entrepreneur, urban innovator, venture capitalist and film producer, based in Hong Kong. He’s the founder of GreaterBay Ventures & Advisors, an integrated investment and consulting firm, specialised on cross-border innovation and smart cities. Tony is committed to accelerate the growth of technology companies that positively impact urbanisation under the thesis he coins as “Urban Tech with Impact”. The Greater Bay Area of South China, Hong Kong and Macau is the the biggest megacity on the planet and he sees the region as the best place to facilitate and scale the adaptation of urban tech best practices globally.

In Paid to Think, international consultant David Goldsmith presents his groundbreaking approach to leadership and management, based on research revealing the 12 specific activities that all leaders perform on a daily basis, and he provides you with each activity's accompanying tools and instructions proven to boost your performance and that of your entire organisation.

Companies operating in emerging markets are susceptible to security crises that may have devastating impacts on their assets, finances or reputation. Blackpanda provides bespoke services and solutions that enable their clients to successfully prevent and navigate special risks. They help clients with significant security concerns around their operational risk for their oil, mining, and agricultural investments in conflict zones. Blackpanda’s approach to risk management involves the appreciation that there are various aspects – digital, physical and social/human; these are different “terrains” of a single battlefield, Gene Yu is CEO of Blackpanda Group. His experience in military special forces environment is useful in understanding the inter-dependencies and the necessary joint approach required. Gene will draw on the convergence of his experiences from the military, finance, and tech industries to explain Blackpanda’s approach to risk management in Asia.

Our focus is Hong Kong and our podcast features Antony Dapiran, author of “City of Protest: A Recent History of Dissent in Hong Kong.” “Hong Kong is a city with a long history of civil disobedience.” So begins the book blurb on Amazon.com for a now-sold-out book published in July 2017. It was a timeless observation on the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s Handover. It is a timely observation today with most in Hong Kong wondering what’s next. “We are on the cusp of what could be a general breakdown of law and order. It hasn’t gotten there yet, but the government hasn’t done anything to stop it," said Antony Dapiran in The New York Times on 5 August 2019, "City of Protest is a compelling look at the often-fraught relationship between politics and belonging, and a city’s struggle to assert itself." Listen to Antony as we discuss the changes and challenges facing Hong Kong today. You can follow him on Twitter @AntD.

Addressing income inequality is an issue close to the heart of Emma Dale, co-founder of Prospect Resourcing (www.prospectresourcing.com). She’s a specialist recruiter in the communications and public relations industry. Each year together with Public Affairs Asia they publish the State of the Industry Report (access here: www.prospectresourcing.com/blog/soi2019/). This year the salary report shows men continue to out-earn women for the same or similar roles. In today’s podcast Emma dives into the subject and provides useful advice for negotiating more equitable compensation. She also talks about major trends disrupting the industry – from consolidation to “always on” professionals. Listen and learn about how one professional is out to redress imbalances in pay – and empower female (and male) professionals to better understand their true potential.

DES is one of the largest technology conferences in Europe (visit their website here). Held annually in Madrid each May, the convention covers all aspects of technology and attracts wide-ranging industries. By taking a holistic approach to digital transformation, DES is designed to cater to the business professional no matter which profession they're in. From smart cities to FinTech, cloud computing to education, marketing or professional services - DES has content for everyone.  This past May some 26,000 attended with over 500 presentations given during the conference's three-day run.  Listen to the show's leader Lluis Altes as he discusses the highlights of their most recent event - and what this means for #DES2020. 

WeChat is a wildly successful "everything" App in China. It combines the best of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, WhatsApp, FaceTime and more. It's a complete ecosphere that few need to exit.  It makes China unique. Users want to do business within the WeChat App - and newcomers can't get consumers to download new Apps. To do business in China, you need to master WeChat.  In Hong Kong, David Ketchum and his team pulled together all their insights and recommendations into "The Ultimate WeChat Guide."  You can sign up and download the guide here: https://mailchi.mp/currentasia/wechatguide On today's episode of Influencers Today, David Ketchum walks us through the exciting world of WeChat. Thanks for listening!

I met Jessica Gottlieb in Paris – which is far from her home in Los Angeles. I invited her to attend a Huawei event we hosted. Jessica is an influencer who loves (in no particular order) technology, cars, her children, her hometown of Los Angeles, and her husband. Some 12 years ago Jessica started a blog to chronicle the illness of her dear friend. She was angry and upset – and wanted to share these experiences. She learned a lot about the online community. People were there for her to listen and offer support. Following the death of her friend, Jessica swapped anonymity for infamy and became a very vocal blogger. I’m not allowed to call her Mommy, but she self-identifies as a Mommy blogger. Jessica shares insights and observations about her role, and the oddities of parenting. She’s adept at guarding the privacy of her children – but her universal observations are applicable to all parents. Reading her witty posts I am reminded of Erma Bombeck, the columnist-comedian. Please join me in a fun conversation with a wry observer of the upside-down world of parenthood and Los Angeles.  

In the leafy streets of Central Madrid is the campus of IE Business School – one of the top rated business schools in Europe. This entrepreneur-founded institution provides a wide-range of courses across all aspects of management. Long-time professor Dr Enrique Dans spoke with me about how he’s changed during the course of his career (Twitter @edans). Where he started a few decades back teaching programming, today his focus is on the societal impact of innovation. How do we use technology today? His theory is that the future is already here – but it is unevenly distributed. Some cities, countries, households are more advanced. For others there are regulatory or customs that block the uptake of technology. Later we spoke about how education needs to change. Whereas we used to teach children to memorise key facts, today that’s all at their fingertips. We need teach people how to think critically, how to assess information, and how to put all the data they have to use. Enrique has been writing about technology for years. He posts a daily blog then shares that with his followers on Facebook (40,000), Twitter (239,000) and LinkedIn (125,000). You’ll find his far-ranging observations on technology, education and innovation provocative and interesting. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Dr Enrique Dans.

Keeping track of influencers and their contribution to your programs doesn't have to be hard. Daniel Sanchez co-founded Influencity to help companies engage influencers on Instagram and more.  Influencity.com helps brands to increase their visibility such as their sales through recommendations and opinions from influential people like bloggers, youtubers, instagramers, tweetstars and so on. It lets you identify influencers in any part of the world, categorized them by data like followers, localization, industries, etc. and even influencer audience data, demographics, language, interests, etc. Try it at: Influencity.com Daniel and his colleagues built Influencity to make influencer marketing campaigns easier and more effective using technologies like big-data computing and machine learning. Influencity has more than 4 million influencers already identified and we are able to update more than 400 million users daily. Listen to my talk with Daniel on Influencers Today. 

Over 45 million people in 167 countries are trapped in what is known as “modern slavery,” with seven out of ten of these victims directly related to the private sector. These people, who make the products we buy and harvest the food we eat, are exploited every day for their labor. Despite the best efforts made by governments, the United Nations and NGOs around the world, only 0.2% of the victims around the world are helped each year. The Mekong Club is an association of NGOs and private companies working together to find a solution for modern day slavery. Listen Matt Friedman, CEO, The Mekong Club on the actions you can take to eliminate slavery from your supply chain. Matt Friedman, CEO, The Mekong Club  

"You should write a book," advised Dr Natalia Wiechowski (pronounced Vee-Hoff-Ski). We were in the Speaker's Lounge at #DES19 and it was early in the morning. In the midst of our interview on personal branding, I made the epic mistake of asking about my image. Natalia came in early before networking through the 35,000+ attendees. The day prior she'd been on a panel and given a speech.  Natalia is always busy.  She has 54,000 likes on Facebook and an active LinkedIn community. She's known as a Personal Branding 'Coachsultant' and a global keynote speaker️. She's a LinkedIn strategist, and describes herself as The Middle East's leading 'Edutainer.' Listen to our talk about how she grew her audience and influence.  

Diana Wu David tells a deeply personal and life-shattering story in her inaugural TEDx Talk. She discusses how the suicide of a dear friend forced her to re-evaluate life, work, and priorities.  Building off her lessons and observations, Diana researched and wrote, "Future Proof: Reinventing Work in a Time of Acceleration."  Packed with insights gained in over 100 interviews, Diana provides advice on managing your own career in a time of incredible change.  "The Future of Work" is a rich subject that looks at the many ways jobs have changed. Diana's book reads like an exercise manual to keep yourself and your career relevant. She looks at the skill sets and mindset necessary to succeed.  Learn how Diana transformed a deeply personal shock into a changed career - and how she's built her influence to become an author and in-demand keynote speaker.  This week on Influencers Today we explore the future of work with Diana Wu David. 

The way we work has changed already, and more disruption is on the horizon. Whether participating in the "gig economy" or not, there's no doubt how we work will continue to morph. How do you prepare yourself?  Diana Wu David looked at life differently after her good friend committed suicide. She questioned the logic of adhering to a gruelling travel and work schedule. She made changes - then dove deeper into the subject and wrote a book on the changing nature of work.  This month at Asia Insight Circle we're exploring "The Future of Work." To provide more time to the subject, I spoke with Diana Wu David about her experience - and her book.  Listen and learn how work has changed and what you can do to prepare yourself - and your career - for the future of work. 

Asia Insight Circle is a C-Suite membership association based in Hong Kong. Every month members hear from top business and political leaders on issues of the day.  Gordon Orr, former Asia chairman at global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, recently spoke about "Getting on Boards." He shared his insights into the Board selection process, expected obligations, and how to position yourself for consideration for public, private and pro-bono boards. Following his talk at Asia Insight Circle, he joined us for an in-depth exploration of the board of directors selection process.  Gordon serves as a non-executive director at three companies listed in Hong Kong: Swire Pacific, Lenovo, and Meituan-Dianping. He is also on the board of several private companies in China and in Europe and is Vice-Chair of the China Britain Business Council. Learn first-hand about the Board of Directors selection process, the responsibilities facing Directors today, and how you can be considered for directorships. 

I like when people list their roles. Especially when they're in forward-looking businesses. STARTUP ENTHUSIAST. ASPIRING ENTREPRENEUR. FUTURE VENTURE CAPITALIST. BLOGGER & VLOGGER. SPEAKER. MODERATOR www.cedricbollag.com/ That's Cedric Bollag. He's host of The Start Up Show at Global Tech Box. I met Cedric in Europe a few years ago. He was an aspiring vlogger then. His interviews at major Huawei events helped him build brand (and confidence), but be able to perfect his style. He's an on-camera guy. (I've only got a voice.) But he's actually on -cameras. He has three to five of them going. For a time, each was a Huawei Mate Series. That's great video! See them all on his YouTube channel - and subscribe! The concept of "The Start Up Show" is to hone in on early stage companies. Ideally these are investment opportunities. And he notes that later-stage investors who see new companies on Cedric's show respond better in their first face-to-face meetings. There's a familiarity that comes with seeing the films. Cedric has also been studying. In Zurich. It's post-graduate. He's smart. He handed in his final assignments and is weeks away from graduation. So he runs a business and publishes content. What else does this guy do? I heard venture capital. Speaker? Author? Join me in learning all about Cedric Bollag.

Making breakthroughs in business isn't easy. In fact, it can get quite difficult. Really personal. Ask Penny Power - she's learned a lot of hard lessons, and is willing to share them all.  In this week's podcast we get very personal with Penny Power. She's started businesses and put her all into them - then saw them fail. She's learned (and shared). In the course of her "hard knock lessons" she took notes, then compiled them into a new book.  In "Business Is Personal" Penny writes about the hard work and frustrations - and the successes - that come with business.  In the course of her ups and downs, Penny has become recognised as a mental health expert for her understanding of the struggles of small business owners. To listen to her is to hear first-had the upsets and the small victories that make business so rewarding.  In the New Year Honours 2014, Penny was awarded an OBE for ‘Services to Entrepreneurship in Social and Digital Development’ by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service.  And in her struggles and successes, you hear the lessons that every business owner needs to hear. You're not alone. Penny's by your side.   

In 2008 Charlene Li published “Groundswell,” a seminal work that detailed how companies should understand and leverage new internet technologies – well before many of today’s most familiar apps were invented. Since she’s expanded her library of published works and has carved a strong reputation as an advisor and forecaster of business trends. In today’s podcast, Charlene Li discusses the importance of authenticity and transparency in leadership. The best laid business plans can go awry when leaders only discuss them annually at an off-site. The best managed companies make the mission, vision and values come alive daily in their actions and words.

Every May a diverse group of thinkers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, authors, social influencers and more converge on Dublin for an inspirational symposium. Taking a quick look you might think InspireFest is another technology conference. But if you look a little deeper you'll learn it's that - plus a whole lot more. Founded by Irish entrepreneur Ann O'Dea, InspireFest is entering its fifth year in 2019. Ann is also editor and founder of Silicon Republic - a magazine so old it used to be printed! Today the publisher and conference organiser is known for her work promoting diversity, innovation, creativity, and community.

Andy Brent explores the intersection of marketing and neuroscience, showing how understanding subconscious drivers can create a strong connection with consumers. Every sale has a moment of emotional impact - whether it's an airline ticket or a ball bearing. In his book"The Growth Director's Secret" Andy calls this 'Marketing to Closed Minds.'  "Once autopilot decisions have been made, we are rarely ready to listen to the propositions offered by other brands – our subconscious minds are ‘closed’ to other brands." Yet neuroscience and marketing offer ways to work around this predisposition. To learn more, listen to this podcast with Andy Brent. 

At a recent meeting of Asia Insight Circle, CEO coach Karen See discussed #MeToo and reputation risk. The movement that started from a Tweet in October 2017 has altered the balance of power and provided a voice to numerous victims. The stress and upset damage the victim and end the careers of the perpetrators. How a company responds to cases of #MeToo within their ranks is important. Companies need to know how to manage these cases promptly and fairly. Otherwise they risk getting condemned alongside the perpetrators. Listen to Karen See of Embrace Worldwide on the reputation impact of #MeToo. 

Recently Peter wrote the best-seller "Faster than Normal" - a book based on his life's learnings and his very successful podcast series. This "how to" manual describes ways to manage life's complexities using the tools and techniques Peter developed to manage his ADHD. Instead of viewing a different way of thinking as a disability, Peter sees only the benefits. And teaching millions how to live positively with ADHD has had a profound impact on others. See? He's a nice guy. I met Peter in New York when I wanted to engage an influencer who knew customer service. His mantra was to try and do 1% better than the next person (or company). That little bit extra will make you stand out and be recognised. It has. Peter has 165,000 followers on Twitter (@PeterShankman). He's an in-demand television guest the moment a consumer company comes under scrutiny for failed customer experiences.

Travis Wright is bad, and that's good. He and Joel Comm started a bad podcast that's really proven successful (500,000 downloads each month). Right men in the right place with the right questions at the right time? Probably not. Travis doesn't leave anything up to chance.  Let's jump to the ending - today Travis is co-host of "Bad Crypto Podcast" - one of the fastest growing podcasts today. It's also the #1 source for straight news on the worlds of BitCoins, ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), and all things crypto-currency.  This is one of Travis' nine career lives. He had been in marketing, and had left a great job to start with a new venture. The day before that new role was to start he had the FBI at his door. The man providing seed funding was under investigation for a Martha Stewart-like crime. That painful lesson taught him flexibility and perseverance.  Travis parlayed his marketing experience into a consulting firm, and steadily grew his social following. He counsels companies on their "go to market" strategies and provides keynote talks at mainstream conferences.  And then crypto hit. The surge in global interest in the obscure field left Travis wanting to know more. So he and Joel hit on an open mike concept to discuss out loud all their questions - then find people to get the right answers.  This week episode #219 aired featuring Brock Pierce - the actor from "Mighty Ducks" who is now a crypto investor and expert.   

Everyone in the technology industry in Shenzhen and Hong Kong knows Bay McLaughlin. He's synonymous with Greater Bay Tech and specifically the maker's market (the old school where people actually fabricate something technological, whether sensors, robots, devices, or more.  There's a burgeoning Maker's Movement in the Greater Bay area (Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Macau, Guangzhou). The technology supply chain is well-developed and robust. If you need a circuit board model created in Berlin you might wait weeks. In Shenzhen you wait a day.  Bay McLaughlin and his company Brinc.IO sit neatly at the intersection of technology and influence. His team mates know makers and help them with guidance, cash, suppliers, advice, mentoring, and support. To attract potential partner companies, Bay travels and speaks and uses social media aggressively.  Learn how one man builds business based on raising his profile. And learn more about the robust world of makers in the fastest growing technology corridor in the world.  Thanks for listening to Influencers Today!

Guy Avigdor is a man on a mission. He's passionate about influencers, and wants the world to better understand their power - and their limitations. Several years ago he founded Klear, an online analytical software that tracks influencers and their followers. Today the platform is one of the world's leaders for anyone considering influencer relations. Klear tracks millions of experts across 60,000 categories, allowing you to find any sort of specialist - from cat lovers who practice yoga and knitting, to aviation specialists with a love of parasailing. Any combination is possible.  In this week's episode, learn how to start your analysis of influencer relations. Then pop over to Klear.com to learn more.   

Kin Mun Lee - aka mrbrown - is a hometown hero. People marched in the streets when his column was canceled. Government censorship was the culprit. Kin Mun was called out by the Prime Minister, too. That earned him attention (if his wildly popular column wasn't enough!). But from there he won the nation's hearts. He speaks openly. He blogs about everything. He's on blogs, podcasts, and YouTube - as himself, and as popular characters he's invented.  It's not just mrbrown in the face of Singapore. He's shared about his daughter and her development - and needs. His family hears him invent imaginary characters on holidays in Rome - then build that persona over time to become famous in his own right.  Underneath that gruff exterior is a whole soul who shares openly and lovingly. He's a great guy to know.  If you're ever in town he resides with science fiction anime character developers on the very edge of Singapore's business centre.  I hope you enjoy learning about the sweet and peppery tastes of Singapore with my good friend, mrbrown. 

"You couldn’t wish for two better people to write this explanation and exploration of new power than Henry Timms and Jeremy Heimans. Heimans founded GetUp!, a non-partisan political engagement organisation in his native Australia. It has more members than all of the country’s political parties combined. Timms is executive director of 92nd Street Y, a cultural centre. He had the idea of #GivingTuesday to encourage philanthropic acts (inspired by the capitalistic Black Friday). Like all good memes, it has been adopted and adapted globally, and is a perfect example of how, as the two men note, “a movement is successful when it moves on its own”." So begins the effusive review in The Guardian for "New Power: How power works in our hyper-connected world and how to make it work for you." The New York Times calls the book, "the best window I’ve seen into this new world." 

Tom Goodwin wants to talk about the future. It's what he's paid to do. "My job is to think, speak, write and make the newly possible happen. My focus is the intersection of marketing, technology and business." But with Tom, the future is less than certain. There are a range of new technologies that will revolutionise our lives - for the good or bad. "We're on the edge of some technologies that could have an incredibly profound effect on our lives," said Goodwin. "AI (artificial intelligence) could mean we create value in new ways, get better jobs and have more money in our lives and everyone is happier or the could mean the fundamental entire destruction of the entire industrial machine complex and a lot of people becoming alcoholic and addicted to pornography and  extremely unhappy." Seems dire? These "either or" views aren't new to him. Tom is author of more than 400 articles, and has made a number of regular television, podcast, and conference appearances. He has over 600,000 "followers" and is one of the top-rated writers on LinkedIn. At the same time, working at a marketing firm Tom Goodwin engages influencers. (Learn more about Zenith Media here.) He's connected to thousands and "crowd sources" insights and ideas from the hundreds of engagements he has daily. Learn more in this week's episode of "Influencers Today."

I led global influencer relations at Huawei Technologies for three years. In this episode, I give up the role of host and get interviewed by Mordecai Holtz about that global program.

We are living in the golden age of content, where more material is produced in a day that any one person could digest in a lifetime. One estimate notes there are 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day (see what happens in an internet minute below). "Over the last two years alone 90 percent of the data in the world was generated," wrote Bernard Marr in Forbes.  Among that content are the articles and videos provided by mainstream media organisations. Journalists who once published daily provide hourly updates and court legions of followers. But amid the wash of content, trust in traditional media has evaporated. In a recent Knight-Gallup poll, trust in traditional media slid to its lowest position ever - with media rating just above Congress in trustworthiness. "When people were asked why they don’t trust the media, about 45 percent referred to things like inaccuracy, bias, “fake news,” and “alternative facts,” the latter two being common descriptions given by Donald Trump and members of his administration," wrote Mathew Ingram in Columbia Journalism Review. But there may be a solution. Blockchain is a digital ledger in which transactions are recorded chronologically and publicly. Today the technology is closely associated with crypto-currencies, but in reality anything that can be produced can be verified via blockchain. Listen to today's podcast to learn how #Blockchain can be used to overcome #FakeNews. Po Chi Wu is a TedX speaker, author, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and teacher. Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Dr. Po Chi Wu leads educational programs in innovation and entrepreneurship for undergraduates, master’s degree candidates and corporate executives. A highly successful international venture capitalist and entrepreneur in both the United States and Asia, he brings a unique perspective with more than 30 years of experience with the challenges of innovation and entrepreneurship. For more from Po Chi Wu you can watch his popular talk from TEDx Hong Kong titled "Who Killed Curiosity?" below.

How do you get to the top of the influence game in technology? Tamara McCleary took an unusual route starting with a graduate degree in molecular physiology and a job in nursing. Yet this background in science and medicine turned into a passion for other technology, from artificial intelligence, quantum computing, internet of things, and more. She's a world traveler providing keynote speeches on subjects like the future of work. International branding expert, technology futurist, social media marketing/digital strategy consultant, and Thulium CEO Tamara McCleary is ranked by Klear in the Top 1% of global Social Media Influencers and listed as one of the Top 50 Social Influencers of 2015 to 2018 by Onalytica. Tamara was named #1 Most Influential Woman in MarTech by B2B Marketing and ranked by LeadTail as the 2nd most mentioned person on Twitter by Chief Marketing Officers. Tamara is an IBM Futurist & creator of the trademarked RelationShift® method. Tamara provides advice to C-Suite professionals on the impact of technology and preparing your customers and employees for change. In this podcast she spends a lot of time counseling companies on the best way to work with influencers. Enjoy the show!

Among the warehouses and office corridors of Kowloon is an out-of-place, bright red enameled entryway to "The Explorium". It sits to the side of the main entrance to The Fung Group, a diversified manufacturer and supply chain company with roots extending 100 years back into Canton, China. Today the companies manufacture, retail and distribute 4.5 billion items annually. Li & Fung Limited is the leading consumer goods design, development, sourcing and logistics company for major retailers and brands around the world. Li & Fung was founded in 1906 in Canton and is headquartered in Hong Kong. "Explorium" is a living innovation laboratory for clients, partners, employees, influencers, retailers, product developers and more. It's called a "playground for the future of retail." If that sounds like fun, it's supposed to. There is something that a great business mind and a child’s mind share: They explore. They experiment. They try. They fail and they try again. That’s the way they learn and grow. What makes Explorium succeed is the ongoing interaction between traditional business and newcomers. Old and new. Insiders and outsiders. Our guest this week is Richard Kelly whose title is "Chief Catalyst" at The Fung Group. His mission is to facilitate innovation by breaking insurmountable problems into bite-size chunks that can be tinkered and developed in collaboration with multiple parties. He's a keen fan of influencers and regularly includes them in Hack-A-Thons and solution sessions. In many ways, he and his colleagues are creating disruption within the business so it's better able to handle the many disruptions outside the business. How do you engage influencers inside your business? What do you learn when you innovate and fail quickly? What are the difficulties in taking a historic brand and re-imagining? Meet Richard Kelly and hear how he's approached these and more issues in today's episode. [caption id="attachment_377" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Meet me at he Explorium![/caption]

Marsha Collier is a best-selling author who sold two million books focused on technology. She's affectionately called the "Queen of E-Bay" given her range of "For Dummies" books on running a business on E-Bay.  She's also a long term trend-watcher of all things technology, having recently attended her 20th Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. In today's podcast we discuss building your audience, remaining true to your brand, and how to select influencers that resonate with your brand. You can read her blog here: https://mcollier.blogspot.com/ Interested in her weekly live radio program? Tech Radio is a long running consumer technology podcast, hosted by Marsha Collier and Marc Cohen. Tweet LIVE #techradio on Saturdays at noon Pacific time. Marc Cohen spent 30 years entertaining and informing Southern Californians about technology. He is one of the most respected and listened-to technology broadcasters in the country.  Marsha Collier is an award winning tech author who has sold over a million books. She is a respected futurist and is a thought leader in Social Media. marshacollier.com Contact: marcandmarsha@gmail.com Twitter: @MarshaCollier and @realmarccohen Facebook: ComputerAndTechnologyRadiocom

"What problem are you really solving by deleting your social media accounts?" - Friend of the deleted You've heard the urban legends. People going off social. Many of us think we'll walk away from social media accounts. But how many people do? Listen to a first-hand account of living your life after deleting all your social media accounts. Meet our man off-Facebook Lev Janashvili here. And hear more about Jaron Lanier and his controversial new book, "Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now." (Available on Amazon.com) You can learn about Jaron Lanier on Wikipedia. Access the book review on The Guardian here. Time Magazine ran a feature called "The Real Fake News Crisis" looking into the effect of social media on our thinking. Still interested? Read The New Yorker recently wrote on our dissatisfaction with social media: "The Deliberate Awfulness of Social Media"        

Download now I took breakfast at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel with Josh Steimle. He was giving a breakfast talk to C-Suite professionals at Asia Insight Circle. Actually, I'd invited Josh. I knew a network of business leaders who might find him interesting. Man was I right! Josh is a coach to business leaders on how to manage and grow their profiles on LinkedIn. Look him up - he's in a lot of places. He teaches influence. And he is an influencer.   Hi, I'm Josh! Author of Chief Marketing Officers at Work and 300+ articles in Forbes, Fortune, Time, Mashable, TechCrunch, and more, TEDx speaker, event organizer, and executive coach (I help executives with personal branding and thought leadership) While he's an expert on the deeper engagement possible through well-managed accounts, he kindly dialed back and provided us with some basics. Photo (professional, mid-close range, natural) is easiest. Next is swapping the job title (Vice President, Procurement) to a summary of your expertise (International supply chain & logistics professional with four years in-market experience in Asia). Make sure the text "above the More" is pithy and well-written. (Find a business page sub-editor to teach you snappy sub-head writing!) Next we saw Josh 2.0. There are ways to curate your audience - and write for their (not-so-eclectic) tastes. How to manage incoming requests, and how much time to devote to the platform. But next we talked about LinkedIn as part of a corporate reputation program. So tune in. And whether you're a captain of industry or a novice sailor, there're words of wisdom in today's podcast.   PS: I find this interesting. On his LinkedIn page Josh tells us he's Mormon. And I like that. I'm not seeking religious instruction, but I like when people have that strong a self-identity. I identify with pride and belief. The Latter Day Saints are a naturally an evangelical religion, Josh explained. Plus it focuses his prism. I should have asked - how have your experiences and convictions spread into your influence style?

Download now   Influencer marketing breaks into two main fields - influencer advertising and influencer relations. This is the start of definitions in a fast-growing industry. Robert Levenhagen is CEO and co-founder of InfluencerDB. He has worked with companies globally to develop scalable and effective influencer marketing strategies. Robert has co-founded five companies that have helped to make him one of Europe’s leading experts on influencer marketing, including InfluencerDB in 2016; Social Match, an influencer marketing agency that counts Huawei and Lufthansa among its clients; My Style Hit/ Silk & Salt, a fashion blogging platform; and Skincerely Yours and Melou, influencer marketing driven e-commerce brands. Robert has led the development of InfluencerDB’s data science partnerships with several universities, as well data partnerships with Statista and Germany’s top marketing publication, Horizont.

Influencer marketing is projected to grow from US$2 billion revenue in 2017 to $20 billion in three years. Who are the influencers? What is the influence industry? Joel Backaler Discusses Five Trends Driving Influencer Industry. Joel Backaler is the author of "Digital Influence: Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing to Accelerate Your Global Business" published in September 2018 and available on Amazon.com