Can algorithms render humans obsolete?

Apparently not altogether. Read my post on the limits of algorithms for people who still clamor for the human touch:  The ascendancy of the algorithm and human resistance - FierceBigData http://www.fiercebigdata.com/story/ascendancy-algorithm-and-human-resistance/2012-09-06#ixzz25iKRGHh8 

Dissing and defending the dashboard

Are BI dashboards truly pathetic? Dissing and defending the dashboard  offers two points of view.

No more survey response for Office Max

I won't be responding to any more survey requests from Office Max. I explain why in my latest post at level343.com: Survey Says: Triple Fail for Office Max Marketing

What to Ask Yourself About Your Content Marketing

My guest post for Level343.com explains what to expect from content marketing and the questions to go through to be sure it is as effective as possible. "Engagement is what we’re all after, particularly when we publish online and hope to get likes, pluses, comments, and shares. When planning what to include in a piece intended to serve as content marketing consider: who, how, what, which, where, when, and why."  Read more at 
 http://level343.com/article_archive/2012/08/30/key-questions-for-content-marketing/

Sensors you swallow

The cliché advice from doctors who don’t want to be bothered after hours by their patients has long been, “Take two pills and call me in the morning.” But soon it might be: "Take a pill, and we’ll call you." Read more at "Take 2 Pills & They'll Call You"

When people are counting on you

Character in both the sense of behavior and literary persona considered in http://uncommoncontent.blogspot.com/2012/08/its-easy-to-be-evil.html

Getting to "just right"

It's not just Goldilocks who tests out what's too hot or too cold or too hard or too soft in the pursuit of what's "just right." RUTH is a robotic arm that does the same for car interiors, checking what is there against the data of what humans prefer. Read more about it here.

The intelligence behind content is not always obvious

I'm a stickler for correctness, and really have to hold myself back from alerting people about mechanical mistakes that appear in their posts and gaining an unwanted reputation as a grammar or spelling Nazi. Really, the only time people may feel thankful is if you catch it before it is published.

As a general rule, the most professional image for a business calls for correctly written content, but in terms of what actually is good for business there are always exceptions to the general rule.

In The Joys of Yinglish, (pp. 60-61) Leo Rosten  includes a story about mistakes appearing in a sign. I've modified it somewhat, but kept the gist:
The sign of a store read: "EVRYTING FOR THE KICHEN" One of the men passing on the street walked in and told the owner, "There are three mistakes in the spelling on your sign." The owner calmly responded, "I know."
 Surprised, the man asked, "If you know, why don't you correct it?"
The owner said, "Why should I? Each day, several people come in to tell me there are mistakes on the sign. Once they're in the store, at least half of them end up buying something."
So you see in this example, spelling errors prove good for business because they achieve a marketing objective: they get people in the store where they can actually make a purchase.