I recently started joining classes on Startup School and it is very good. They are using Adobe’s Connect Pro Meeting, so you get a video feed from the lecturer and you get to interact either by typing or speaking/asking questions. See you in class!

The fact that it’s better to have someone else say good things about you is quite well established. But I think this blog post illustrated the differences in a good way:

http://www.quicksprout.com/2007/10/24/the-difference-between-marketing-pr-advertising-and-personal-branding/

Every now and then you see some company that are well known for something specific and it’s not unusual that their slogan is “More than just *something*”. Something being whatever core product or service they are known for. Is this good or bad?

Probably many of these have made a lot of money selling their core product or service and it might still be their main source of income. Naturally they want to expand business and sell other things too, but then they are also entering new territory where they might not have much experience. And do they have a competitive edge over other businesses? It can be risky. What if some of their loyal customers don’t like or don’t identify with the other things they started selling? Worst-case scenario: It kills their core business. But of course it can also play out the other way and result in increased revenue and profit.

What are your thoughts on this?