Columbus - An Historic StumbleUpon

Statue of Columbus in Mexico City

Today, let's not dwell on the controversies, because Christopher Columbus can provide a little inspiration for finding value in unexpected places - you just have to get out there. Our fearless zealot, Chris, was out and about looking for a better route when he stumbled upon this nifty can- of-worms that became America. October 12, 1492, Columbus Day, is as good as any day to consider the importance of exploration… to find something valuable that you weren’t even looking for… but you were expecting. Right?

For Some random exploration, check out Stumble Upon - Here is a link to highly rated Marketing Stumbles.

Lotto says "You Have to Play to Win" - that's good advice for Marketers to explore more (or any) interactive projects.

But where to start? Anywhere! Paul Gillin encourages this so well in his must-read new book, Secrets of Social Media Marketing, when he writes, "...choosing to wait out the market (for safe, obvious choices) is a bad idea, This sector will remain chaotic for years, and early movers are learning the ropes and making the mistakes that will lead to future successes." Have fun by learning and living the fundamentals of the new medium. The cost of experimentation is low. The rewards will be surprising.


Consider extending your existing products in new ways. Hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer suprised themselves by selling over $20 million worth of Smell My Bag t-shirts - most of them virally and cheaply online.