Adam Kmiec

As a trained journalist and self-proclaimed newshound, you can imagine my delight when Adam Kmiec said the one thing he can’t live without is…newspapers! Specifically, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (and really, does printed news get any better?) To top it off, Adam’s job title makes his answer particularly delightful. He works for Walgreens as the company’s Social Media Director. A modern day Twitter-Facebook-Pinterest-Istagram-er, who still reads newspapers. Brilliant.

In case it’s your first foray into the “One Thing I Can’t Live Without” series, here’s a brief: our “One Thing” series reveals one thing someone in the multi-channel retail industry can’t work without – and we’re taking that beyond the obvious.

The goal is to bring you some tactical tips straight from the experts’ mouths. Hopefully one or two of them will help you out in unexpected ways. So without further adieu, we bring you Adam’s, “One Thing I Can’t Live Without … ”

1. As an online marketer and retailer, what’s something you can’t live without? And we don’t mean coffee. We mean anything from a technology tool to a partner to a cool trick you do on Excel to a coworker…

I’d say RedBull, but since “coffee” is off the table, I’m guessing that is too. The easy answer is my cell phone, but I bet everyone says that! For me, it’s the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the New York Times (NYT).

2. Why can you NOT live without this?

I rely on Twitter to keep me always in the know. Information is the most valuable currency and in the social space, we need to be not just one step ahead, but several steps. But, the key decisions makers I work with every day rely on the WSJ and the NYT. While the information, news and data may flow slower from those two publications, ultimately they represent a stronger signal for many key decision makers.

3. How often do you use it and how long have you been using it?

I started relying on NYT and WSJ daily in 2002.

4. If lightning struck tomorrow and you suddenly didn’t have this one thing, what would you do to improvise?

The great thing about news today is that there are a myriad of ways to consume it and a plethora of people creating it. My alternatives for news could span to everything from TV and radio to Apps and Twitter.

5. How can other people get this too?

Anywhere – a newsstand, online, however you prefer. Newspapers seem old school today. Mention you still read the Times or the WSJ and you’ll be asked, “Why aren’t you reading Mashable or Techrunch?” Sometimes the best way to leap frog ahead is to remember the value of the past.

BONUS: And what’s the non-work related thing you can’t do your job without? This is where the coffee, or anything else comes in…

There’s so many choices, but I would say my watch. With watches seemingly going out of style, I find the weight of the watch on my wrist comforting. For whatever reason, it balances me. I’ve worn a watch since as far back as I can remember. It’s the only accessory I have and without I’d feel just a little bit incomplete.