The recent announcement by the Cleveland Plain Dealer that it would soon limit home delivery to just three days a week is further evidence that the traditional marketing playbook is broken. Just ten years ago, circulation at major newspapers across the country was still growing, and big-city papers were seen as monopolies. I can't tell you how many times I'd heard people refer to the newspaper as "the only game in town."

A panel of experts pulled together by SoftwareAdvice.com recently discussed cold calling during a Google+ Hangout, and the results are of interest to anyone looking to develop more B2B leads. The panel looked in depth at three questions:

Conventional wisdom tells us that procrastination is bad. That idea has been drilled into most of us since we were little children and with good reason. People who procrastinate don't get as much done as they should, don't contribute as fully as others, and generally drop the ball when it comes to fulfilling their responsibilities.

What's the name of the sales person who sold you your last car or truck? I don't mean the name of the dealership – that's easy. I mean the name of the person who took you on a test drive, showed you the service department, explained all the features, took your credit application and handed you the keys. Drawing a blank? Not me. 

Today is the first day back at work after the holidays. For me, this is one of the most exciting days of the year. This day brings the promise of new hope, new action, more adventure and better outcomes.

Apart from retail and e-commerce, many businesses slow down in December and early January because of the holidays. One client used to complain that the holidays wasted a lot of time, so his firm used it to spruce up their warehouse, clear out bad inventory and prepare for the new year.

Mashable's Sam Laird recently wrote a blog post (Your Smartphone Knows You So Well It's Scary) about how much information your smartphone holds about your activities. I think all of us appreciate the functionality that comes from location-based apps, but you can count me among those who never considered the scope of the information being collected about us and what we do. 

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion when it comes to talking about graphics or digital artwork with our fellow clients, friends, or for the sake of discussion, family. I often have the same conversation with clients about artwork they already have, except now they need the artwork used in a different way.  Here's a phone call that happens more than you can imagine.Here, I will reiterate the conversation by way of a skit, it's more fun that way! Read on.

A couple of months ago, my very talented art director wrote a blog post about how your work environment affects creativity. "Do creative spaces at work boost productivity? You bet!" must have struck a nerve as it's been Tweeted more than 40 times, which is a record for our little agency.

I got an email the other day from an acquaintance who had just launched a brand new website for his small-motor repair business. Clearly he was pleased with the look of the website, and he proudly pointed out that the site had white papers and videos on it – even a blog. Excited that his business would finally get found online, he sent the link to me and to several other friends asking for our feedback.