WEDNESDAY’S WEEKLY READER

Food for thought gathered from around the web and served fresh to you.

Food for thought gathered from around the web and served fresh to you. This week: How to build a better social media following, what makes content to boost your credibility, why the yellow pages aren’t dead yet, and a look back at Super Bowl ad winners and losers.

Your following equals your giving

Brand marketers want consumers to follow them to build buzz and engagement, but social media users often desire something in return. What they’ve come to expect is a good deal, but many consumers—including the most active users of social sites—are also interested in deeper engagement.

A truth more powerful than your own

“Consumers create content for two reasons: 1. the company failed to adequately answer the questions they have and/or 2. they’re excited (positively or negatively) about the company’s offering,” says Bryan Eisenberg. That’s why consumers are more credible than the company. It is only because companies have spent so many years hyping up their “value” that the consumer B.S. meter has gone into overdrive, and we count on advice from others like us that we can trust.

Rules for ideas worth spreading

Here’s a bonus gem: Seth Godin’s random rules for ideas worth spreading. My personal favorite: “Are you a serial idea-starting person? If so, what can you change to end that cycle? The goal is to be an idea-shipping person.” Which are you?

Tradition teetering on irrelevance?

Every year, a new telephone book, usually weighing a few pounds, lands with a thud on my front steps. While it’s estimated to consume millions of trees a year to produce, the question is: who uses it? Since most Americans now carry mobile phones, do we still need printed phone directories?

How many winners will play Super Sunday?

It’s not just the most-watched television event of the year; it’s also the one day when people actually sit down in front of the TV specifically to watch the commercials. The pressure to be among the best — or most noticed — has led to some of the biggest fumbles in advertising history. Thanks to the Internet, such embarrassments no longer fade away after the final touchdown.