JD Rucker

JD is Founder of Dealer Authority.

He lives in Southern California with his wonderful family and spends way too much time on social media. When not working (which is rare) he works on one of his blogs, including a social media blog, a Christian blog, and an automotive blog.

Fast Company

60 Seconds In The Life Of Social Media–And Where Your Company Fits In

Social media moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Fast Company

To Help Your Business Succeed, Find Your Guacamole

Having killer guacamole is a great competitive advantage for Mexican restaurants–here’s how drill down on your company’s biggest differentiator (or, “guacamole”).

Fast Company

Seven Apps Every Fundraiser Must Download Now

Non-profits, charities and companies holding fundraisers, whether the goal is large or small, can leverage mobile technology to make their event a success. You don’t have to be a tech whiz to take advantage of the cutting edge organizational tools available today. All you need is a smartphone and the willingness to give up some of the paper-based processes of yesteryear.

Fast Company

The Major Players Shaking Up Online Education

It isn’t just the traditional educational institutions that are having an impact. Online-only educational startups are popping up while established companies like Google are making their own play. A look at who’s doing what in the online education space.

Fast Company

Learning From Zynga’s “Draw Something” Debacle

Last month, “Draw Something,” the popular mobile game that prompted Zynga to pay $200 million for creator OMGPOP, lost 5 million daily active users. There are a few lessons that can be learned from this by businesses of every type, not just social gaming companies.

Fast Company

The Next Wave of Pinterest Growth is About to Begin

The social site that was the darling of many social blogs and tech reporters for the last 3 months is starting to fade in buzz and attention after growth leveled off in March. The next boom is about to start, but this time it won’t be nearly as glorious.

Fast Company

Social Media Leadership: It Takes Channels

There are those who are able to make the most out of a single social media channel and become a thought leader or put out amazing messages. For the majority, true social media leadership must happen in more than one place. The art of working the channels helps make take a good social media presence and make it outstanding.

Fast Company

Why Startups Should Invent The Next Hot Sauce, Not The Next Instagram

With companies like Instagram going from launch to a $1 billion sale in less than two years, the urge to come up with the next great idea that leads to quick riches is compelling. Compelling, but misguided.

Fast Company

How “Social Discovery” Is The Next Big Thing In New Media

The concept of social discovery is nothing new. In fact, it was at the heart of the beginnings of social media as dating sites latched onto the idea of meeting new people as the core of their operations and services. Today, online dating is just as big as it’s ever been but social, but people are looking more towards social media to find new things that go beyond love.

Fast Company

Can Google Kill Search Spammers by the End of 2012?

Every few months, we hear about how Google or Bing have a new program or change in their search algorithm that will kill search spammers. These rumors and announcements have often had an effect but it has never been enough to really make an impact. The last two weeks, there have been signs that the latest changes may actually be working. Can they eliminate search spam altogether by the end of the year?

Fast Company

Lessons Business Leaders Can Learn From The Broken U.S. Tax System

If there’s one thing people on both sides of the political fence can agree on, it’s that the tax system in the United States is broken, and while the goal of fixing it is the same, they have completely different ideas about how to fix the problem. Either way, business leaders have something to learn from the disagreements in Washington.

Fast Company

Why Digg’s Rebound Is Significant To Every Social Media Site Today

Once a social media site loses relevance, it’s officially over. MySpace, Propeller, Yahoo! Buzz, Pownce, Mixx–the list of social sites that couldn’t turn it around goes on and on. Digg is proving to be the exception, and it’s an important twist for every social media site alive today.

Fast Company

Connected Cars: The Future Of Communication Or A Plague Of Distraction?

By 2016, over 90% of new vehicles sold in America are expected to come equipped with Internet-connected technology features. As car manufacturers race to build the “iPad on Wheels,” are we heading toward safety through hands-free technology, or a new wave of distracted drivers making the roads more dangerous?

Fast Company

Can Autonomous Cars Really Make Roads Safer?

The first thought that most people have when they hear about cars that drive themselves is that it’s probably a bad idea. Despite movies like Total Recall and iRobot offering a glimpse of safety as a result of auto-pilot vehicles, many are still skeptical. Is that thinking backwards?

Fast Company

Why The Facebook Pages Of Local Businesses Are Mostly Worthless

So much attention has been given to Facebook and social media marketing tools over the last few years that the promise of growth and riches has outpaced reality. Many local businesses pour time into their Facebook pages, but the real value of social media has next to nothing to do with it.

Fast Company

The Psychology Behind Movie Poster Designs

There’s a lot more to movie poster design than meets the eye. Unlike most other marketed products, movies require immediate emotional impact while still maintaining a continuous push to each subsequent level of distribution. It’s enough to make someone with a dual-major in psychology and graphic design wish they’d gone to law school.

Fast Company

4 Social Startups On Track For A Monster 2012

With one month down in 2012, it’s a good thing we waited until February to put this out. One of the four sites below wasn’t even on our radar until late last month. All four are heading in the right direction in a segment of the Internet that has most saying Facebook has muscled everyone else out.

Fast Company

ManageWP Is The Unified WordPress Dashboard We’ve Needed For Years

When it comes to managing multiple sites at once, most bloggers were limited in their choices–especially using Wordpress, which has been conspicuously obtuse when it comes to managing multiple blogs from a single platform. That’s the gap that ManageWP fills.

Fast Company

Remain Diligent: SOPA And PIPA Must Be Squashed, Not Changed

As members of both the Senate and the House start falling back to a more defensible position by considering the removal of the DNS provision from SOPA and PIPA, many voices of opposition to the bills are claiming victory. This is a big mistake.

Fast Company

Open Source Apps that Make Facebook Better

Open source is a term often associated with developers, tech-geeks, and even hackers. It invokes an oddly negative response among those who don’t understand what it really means. To help introduce open source to the non-tech-savvy world, is there a better way than to show how it integrates with the site that nearly everyone is using?

Ideas

Automated Buses Are Here, Now We Have To Decide How They Will Reshape Our Cities

Ideas

How Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel” Plans To Convert Viewers Into Activists

Ideas

This Map Shows Where People’s “Civic Space” Is Most Threatened

Entertainment

This Chrome Extension Makes Every Trump Tweet A Little More Honest

Entertainment

UPDATED: “Sex And The City” Star Mario Cantone Volunteered To Be SNL’s Anthony Scaramucci–And Now He Never Will Be

Entertainment

Inside The Dumbest First Amendment Battle Of 2017

Co.Design

Product

OMG! Buzzfeed Is Making Appliances Now

Spaces

The Lawns Of The Future Will Be Filled With Cacti

Graphics

Disney Has A Stupidly Simple Fix For Mixed Reality’s Big Problem

Fast Company

Leadership

I’m Glad I Hired One Of My Startup’s Biggest Skeptics

Leadership

These Are The Personality Traits That The Happiest Freelancers Share

Technology

JD Rucker

60 Seconds In The Life Of Social Media–And Where Your Company Fits In

Social media moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

To Help Your Business Succeed, Find Your Guacamole

Having killer guacamole is a great competitive advantage for Mexican restaurants–here’s how drill down on your company’s biggest differentiator (or, “guacamole”).

Seven Apps Every Fundraiser Must Download Now

The Major Players Shaking Up Online Education

It isn’t just the traditional educational institutions that are having an impact. Online-only educational startups are popping up while established companies like Google are making their own play. A look at who’s doing what in the online education space.

Learning From Zynga’s “Draw Something” Debacle

Last month, “Draw Something,” the popular mobile game that prompted Zynga to pay $200 million for creator OMGPOP, lost 5 million daily active users. There are a few lessons that can be learned from this by businesses of every type, not just social gaming companies.

The Next Wave of Pinterest Growth is About to Begin

The social site that was the darling of many social blogs and tech reporters for the last 3 months is starting to fade in buzz and attention after growth leveled off in March. The next boom is about to start, but this time it won’t be nearly as glorious.

Social Media Leadership: It Takes Channels

Why Startups Should Invent The Next Hot Sauce, Not The Next Instagram

With companies like Instagram going from launch to a $1 billion sale in less than two years, the urge to come up with the next great idea that leads to quick riches is compelling. Compelling, but misguided.

How “Social Discovery” Is The Next Big Thing In New Media

Can Google Kill Search Spammers by the End of 2012?

Lessons Business Leaders Can Learn From The Broken U.S. Tax System

Why Digg’s Rebound Is Significant To Every Social Media Site Today

Once a social media site loses relevance, it’s officially over. MySpace, Propeller, Yahoo! Buzz, Pownce, Mixx–the list of social sites that couldn’t turn it around goes on and on. Digg is proving to be the exception, and it’s an important twist for every social media site alive today.

Connected Cars: The Future Of Communication Or A Plague Of Distraction?

Can Autonomous Cars Really Make Roads Safer?

The first thought that most people have when they hear about cars that drive themselves is that it’s probably a bad idea. Despite movies like Total Recall and iRobot offering a glimpse of safety as a result of auto-pilot vehicles, many are still skeptical. Is that thinking backwards?

Why The Facebook Pages Of Local Businesses Are Mostly Worthless

So much attention has been given to Facebook and social media marketing tools over the last few years that the promise of growth and riches has outpaced reality. Many local businesses pour time into their Facebook pages, but the real value of social media has next to nothing to do with it.

The Psychology Behind Movie Poster Designs

4 Social Startups On Track For A Monster 2012

ManageWP Is The Unified WordPress Dashboard We’ve Needed For Years

When it comes to managing multiple sites at once, most bloggers were limited in their choices–especially using Wordpress, which has been conspicuously obtuse when it comes to managing multiple blogs from a single platform. That’s the gap that ManageWP fills.

Remain Diligent: SOPA And PIPA Must Be Squashed, Not Changed

As members of both the Senate and the House start falling back to a more defensible position by considering the removal of the DNS provision from SOPA and PIPA, many voices of opposition to the bills are claiming victory. This is a big mistake.

Open Source Apps that Make Facebook Better

Ideas

Automated Buses Are Here, Now We Have To Decide How They Will Reshape Our Cities

How Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel” Plans To Convert Viewers Into Activists

This Map Shows Where People’s “Civic Space” Is Most Threatened

Entertainment

This Chrome Extension Makes Every Trump Tweet A Little More Honest

UPDATED: “Sex And The City” Star Mario Cantone Volunteered To Be SNL’s Anthony Scaramucci–And Now He Never Will Be

Inside The Dumbest First Amendment Battle Of 2017

Co.Design

OMG! Buzzfeed Is Making Appliances Now

The Lawns Of The Future Will Be Filled With Cacti

Disney Has A Stupidly Simple Fix For Mixed Reality’s Big Problem

Fast Company

I’m Glad I Hired One Of My Startup’s Biggest Skeptics

These Are The Personality Traits That The Happiest Freelancers Share

How Will We Police The Police?