It is so easy to sit back and consume without giving much back. Turn on the TV, Netflix, Hulu, play a DVD, watch a video, listen to the radio, podcasts, read content like this on the web. It takes a different sort of person to create something instead.
A few years ago I first heard Garr Reynolds quote Guy Kawasaki, who said, “Eat like a bird; poop like an elephant.” Birds consume bits from multiple sources; when elephants do their business, it’s something… big.
I know for me that some of this tendency to overconsume stems from an insecurity I have about whether I know enough to be relevant to my target audience with the expertise I have to offer. I’ve had more than one friend in this space tell me, “You know enough, and you’ll figure out the rest along the way.”
As I read what I’ve written here, I’m reminded that my high school English teacher would not really appreciate the way I write. He’d call much of what I share “diary” versus “journal”. I don’t know if I’ll shake that or not in my personal blogs; part of my voice involves discussing my journey of learning as I go.
I don’t know if what I share here means anything to anyone. If that’s the case, I’m fine with it. Miles Davis said, “An artist’s first responsibility is to himself.”
I’m going to find ways to create more, even if it means opening up the blog page and typing what comes to mind. There may be misspellings or grammatical errors. The formatting may be off.
Image via Wikipedia
And that also means I’m reading less blogs, unsubscribing from more email newsletters, and possibly not reading as many books as I have been.It won’t be perfect. It doesn’t have to be. The main idea is to get it out.
I encourage you to reach out if you find I’m not offering more content. This is also part of my aim to Serve more in 2012.
Resolutions are not my thing. Since 2010 I’ve used three words to set the tone for my year. That year it was “Be more helpful.” Last year the theme was “Focus, Intention, Deliver.”
2011 has been one of the most challenging years of my life, I think. Most recently, this holiday season has found me the most melancholy that I’ve been in quite some time.
The depression I’ve felt has been seasonal and circumstantial. I’ve shared about this before, and there’s more that I need to share. This post, however, is not the one I’ll do it in.
Instead, as I type this the day before Christmas Eve 2011, with just over a week left in the year, I’ve gotten more in touch with why I’m where I am. Read the rest of this entry »
I really love the @GoogleTalks on YouTube. This one from Conan O’Brien from May 2010, in addition to being wildly entertaining, struck chords with me.
Conan O'Brien (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)
Keep in mind that this was done within a few months of him leaving The Tonight Show. The part where he shows how he responded is what resonated with me. Specifically: Read the rest of this entry »
Let me say this up front – well, reiterate something I’ve said a number of times before:
Your use of social media will vary… and that’s okay. Everyone has his or her own level of comfortability with interacting online and how they approach making connections. In this post, I’ll share my current approach, with respect to LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »
As the world changes, so should the way we interact with it. Very general statement for sure (I sense a few “duhs” coming from those who are reading this.). I find my used of tools to help me get work done also changes.
Sometime ago, Facebook released new profile pages for users. Twitter released its new layout of its website last summer. Google is constantly tweaking its search indexing algorithm.
The beginning of a new year is a time to set goals, resolutions, and so forth. Most new year’s resolutions are broken by the middle of January, and the R-word, as it’s become known, has a bad taste in people’s mouths. Whatever the case, flipping the calendar is a great opportunity to try new things and re-invent oneself. Read the rest of this entry »
Last year I worked for a payroll software solutions company, primarily on their integration between their flagship product, which is based on Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. I enjoyed the experience immensely because it gave me a “behind the scenes” look at how businesses in the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) industry can create and manage customer interactions.
Of course I came from years of experience with social technologies and community management, and I was intrigued at the potential to bring some of that into my work. In my learning, the question of ROI would often come up as businesses and organizations were considering entering the social media space.
“Rushing into social computing initiatives without clearly defined benefits for both the company and the customer will be the biggest cause of failure.” — Gartner.com
In the late 1800s, he got a job working for a business on Wall Street, by fixing their stock ticker when it had broken down and improving it so that it wouldn’t happen again. Years later when he and a partner were about to go into business together, his former boss asked to buy the patents he earned from the stock ticker.
I have this feeling, as I type this on my Droid phone, having just finished Hugh MacLeod’s book, “Ignore Everybody And 39 Other Keys to Creativity ” (affiliate link). That feeling is that sometimes you just need to write something down, if you’re hoping to write well someday.
It’s practice, isn’t it? When I was in the 5th grade, I took up the alto saxophone. It became my therapy, playing the sax. My instructor only encouraged us to practice a few times a week for about a half hour. My family will tell you that I practiced longer than that.
Eventually I got pretty good. I was the first chair among other alto sax players in the band, and people appreciated when I played. Songs were recognizable and enjoyed. I remember getting requests to play the theme to “Moonlighting“.
Mitch Joel is someone whom I admire greatly when it comes to writing. He says he writes every day. It’s no wonder that his blog is one of the best digital marketing blogs out there today.
It takes something like 10,000 hours of doing something in order to master it.
So, if I’m going to become a better writer, then I’d better write.
Organizing New Media Cincinnati events has been something that I’ve grown into, ever since the very first one in October 2007. I sincerely appreciate the NMC Steering Committee members who have been volunteering their time to help make New Media Cincinnati the best version of itself in the area that it can be, and I hope the community can feel their influence and impact.
Back in 2007, these events initially were extremely informal meetups where we’d let people know we were meeting and would see who’d show up. Eventually, we began having more structure around a certain topic, and it gave me a chance to explore different sorts of events. Some of these were conducted well, and these were certainly some great learning experiences.
I’ve been thinking about different types of events I’d somehow like to be involved in, whether organizing, running, or just participating. Read the rest of this entry »
Imagine if you woke up one morning, and your hearing was gone. Would you be able to listen with your eyes and other senses?
Learn To Read People
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with how we communicate. It probably goes back to my time an awkward, insecure kid, looking for as many ways I could relate and understand people better. At a book fair in fifth grade, for example, I got a book about handwriting analysis; i.e., what our handwriting tells us about ourselves. In junior high school, I read a book called Face Language, which talked about how you can discern things from people from their faces. There was another book, I think, called Body Language. Suffice it to say, I’ve been a lifelong student of reading people. I’m still learning.
Listen With Your Eyes
Have you ever heard of method acting? Many actors, in preparing for a role, do things to put themselves in situations like the characters they are portraying. Francis Ford Coppola wanted Matt Dillon to understand what life in jail was like. To help prepare him for his role as “Dallas” in “The Outsiders“, Coppola had him spend the night in jail.
This past Saturday, my family and I went to the “All About Deaf Kids Fair” at Cincinnati Christian University, put on by the Deaf Institute, and it was a great time. The theme was how we communicate in ways that are not just with our ears. They even had earplugs that us hearing people could wear to force us to “hear” with our eyes more. Read the rest of this entry »
I can’t remember exactly what year it was; in many ways, it seemed like it was last week. The crowd was… a mixture of people. I may have been the only one who got to see all of the sessions. The best thing about it was that it was FREE. It’s the Pixelated conference, or, as others have called it… Conference in a Box. Some of these are organized around a theme. The ones I attended relate to communication and telling interesting, compelling stories.
And it’s free for you, too. You see, this particular conference is being held online. RIGHT NOW. In this blog post. Grab some popcorn, sharpen your pencils, and get ready to learn! Read the rest of this entry »
Remember the movie “Grease 2“? Michelle Pfeiffer, Adrian Zmed, etc.? I remember several months that it was being played nonstop on cable (oy!). I developed a huge crush on Michelle Pfeiffer. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. Sort of.
Most businesses, organizations, and people start with WHAT they do, then they *might* get to HOW they do it, but few really can communicate WHY they do it.
Sinek says that many businesses have no idea why their customers are their customers and why their employees are their employees. There are two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or inspire it.
The transactional mindset of manipulations include the following: “dropping price; running a promotion; using fear, peer pressure or aspirational messages, and promising innovation to influence behavior – be it a purchase, a vote, or support” (p. 17).
These manipulations are not necessarily bad, as long as you understand they only work for the short-term, though. For example, while shopping, if I’m in transaction mode, all things considered, I’ll probably look at price. Then I may think about quality.
Why create something unless it’s to share with others?
I’m fascinated by how we can use technology to help tell a compelling story.
Since 2005 our church has been recording sermons and messages and posting them to the website. When the audio consists of just one speaker, producing it for the web is a somewhat straightforward process. I emphasize somewhat because it’s still a little bit involved. Words like “straightforward” and “easy” are all relative, based on the level of experience you have in capturing the audio and editing it to produce a file that you can later upload and share with others.
Some might say that working in the soundbooth at church has ruined the way I look at movies, TV programs, and any other productions. I never realized how much goes on behind the scenes at church until Chuck, my friend and brother in Christ, invited me to start working with him back in the A/V room at church. I hadn’t noticed lighting changes with scenes, for example. I had never worked with ANY mixing board before, much less the 40-track one we have. MediaSHOUT, the system we use to send content through the projector and mixing board was just as daunting.
In 2006 I had been creating content through my own podcasts and blogs, and Chuck was well aware of it. In September 2005, after podcasting for less than a month, I recorded and produced audio from a domestic violence awareness walk we participated in. Ever have one of those projects you’ve worked on that you felt just had to be told? Chuck heard this episode and complimented me on it. He said it reminded him of something he might hear on NPR. You can judge for yourself The Cheryl Dawson Memorial Walkathon.
I’ve been spending time in this specific behind the scenes environment for five years now, but for as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by what it takes to tell great stories that resonate with others.
You might say it’s ruined my DVD watching. Well, not my DVD watching. I put the disc in and immediately go to the Special Features so that I can see the “making of” featurette. My family, on the other hand, would much rather I just play the film. Or I’ll look up the Trivia page for it on IMDB.com and share it with my wife, who then says, “Can’t we just watch the movie?”
Seeing how others create inspires me to create more myself.
Can you relate?
This post was written entirely on my Droid phone. Another experiment in content creation!
Both of these games have multiple processes going on at once, and good game play requires adequate attention be given where needed; i.e., a good combo of micro-management and macro-management. For example, in StarCraft 2 you have to get your economy up and going at the beginning. Once you get that going well, you begin building the rest of your base and your battle forces. Eventually, you go in for the attack. At every step you have to make sure your economy is still going strong. When you’re sending troops to attack, you have to make sure your troop production is still going.
I’ve only been playing Lord of Ultima for a couple weeks now, and yet again, timing is key. You have to get your resources going, so you build and upgrade Wood Huts, Cottages, Quarries, and Iron Mines, for example. But you only have so many build and upgrade orders you can issue at any one time, and the higher the upgrade, the longer the process will be.
Similarly, you have a recruitment cap. You can only recruit troops based on the levels of your barracks, training grounds, and other related buildings. When you want to issue commands to raid dungeons, you can specify a mix of troops, but it takes time for them to travel to and from.
It’s also hard for me to receive it without feeling a bit guilty about it. I’ve not done as good a job as I can about expressing gratitude for the help given me.
Which has made me feel even more guilty.
Until about 5 months ago.
Last February, I found out about a book called 365 Thank Yous by John Kralik. In the book Kralik shares his own journey about how he decided to express gratitude with a thank you note, every day for one year. To say it transformed his life is an understatement.
I dove into the book and finished it in two readings.
And I started to write my own Thank You notes.
There’s something about getting a piece of mail that isn’t a bill, isn’t some request from someone else, just saying Thank You. Better than an email, it’s something tangible.
I love receiving mail like this, but I think I enjoy the act of writing Thank Yous by hand. I specifically enjoy thinking of something specific about what you’ve done and sharing what it’s meant to me.
It’s April 2009. I’ve been running the New Media Cincinnati social media group for a year and a half. Still connecting with people in the Greater Cincinnati area. Still passionate about taking online connections in the real world. I decide to take the day off the job that had the commute up to the Dayton area and make time to connect with my online friends in Cincinnati.
I put out the call on Twitter and Facebook, saying that I’d like to meet anyone who’s interested at the Max and Erma’s on Montgomery Road. Among many who respond is Andy Warner, whom I’ve only known on Twitter and Facebook. We’ve never met in person.
Lunch at the Max and Erma’s goes really well. We’re all encouraged to meet together on a day that’s not the second Saturday of the month. Andy and I hit it off well, and over the next several months we continue to meet from time to time. I share my copy of Chip and Dan Heath’s “Made to Stick” with him, because it resonates so deeply with me. Andy even makes it out to a New Media Cincinnati event.
Some months later, Andy lets me know via Instant Message (because we’ve become that great of friends) that he’s moved to Portland, Oregon for a new job.
Many months later he invites me to be on his new podcast, “Mind Tilt.” Andy describes it as “thought leadership at the intersection of sales, marketing and strategy.” Last week he releases it to the public: Read the rest of this entry »
Whether it’s a meetup, happy hour, conference, PodCamp, or something else, it costs you to attend. First, it costs you time. You could be spending the time doing something else that could earn money. That’s the opportunity cost. Secondly, unless you live immediately where the event happens, you require transportation to get there. Gas money, wear and tear on your vehicle, cab fare, etc. And parking fees. Additionally, unless stated otherwise, you may have to buy your own food and drink.
So there’s a cost to consider when choosing to attend an event. How can you decide if it’s worth it to you? Read the rest of this entry »
This week I’ve spent some time letting you in on a secret about why I say good morning online the way I’ve done for over 2-3 years. Just to recap, the first thing I tend to post onto Twitter, Facebook, and now, Google Plus, is “Good morning from beautiful Cincinnati!” followed by something to get me going for the day.
Last time I talked about optimism. Optimism isn’t only seeing life through rose-colored glasses. Optimism is, when faced with a set of circumstances, choosing to see that the best possible outcome is still possible.
“For me, social media has nothing to do with tools and technology. Instead, social media is powerful for its potential for connecting real human beings in the real world — face-to-face.”
– Trey Pennington, May 23, 2011
I sit behind the computer at a blank blog post in the monitor on my left. On my laptop’s built-in display is Mark Schaefer‘s post about Trey Pennington entitled The Problem With Personas. I want to shut both of these down and do something around my home, but I feel compelled to write something. I want to be brief, but I have no idea if I can.
I never knew Trey nor followed him or what he’d done, but it looks like he was well-admired among the social media community. Through Mark’s post, I learned that he committed suicide a few days ago. I am so sad to hear this, and I feel for his family and friends. I know the pain you feel is real.
This is the post you probably wanted to read yesterday morning, 10 years after 9/11/2001. I was away helping run audio and video at an event in Columbus (more on that later) this weekend, and it’s taken me until now to be able to gather my thoughts.
(via The Christian Left's Facebook page - submitted by Larry Fox)
This question came up at the September 2011 New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday event, “Questions From A Hat,” in which attendees wrote questions down and put them in a hat to be selected by the moderator later on. I was in Columbus that day helping run audio/video for another event, but Vickie Sceiferssent me the audio, and I got a sneak preview of it, which will go up soon as a New Media Cincinnati Podcast episode.
In 2008 I had some money saved up and knew I wanted to get a laptop that I could use more for the business I wanted to get going. Circuit City was having a fire sale, and I got their display Lenovo Y430 Ideapad for about $700. The past three years has been a labor of love and frustration. Read the rest of this entry »
Last Saturday at the October 2011 New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday event, I was reminded that I had not yet registered to attend PodCamp Cincinnati, which will be on Saturday, October 22, 2011 at Northern Kentucky University. Daniel Lewis was there to help me get registered.
Each morning for as long as I can remember, the first thing I’ve posted onto Twitter, Facebook, and now, Google Plus, is “Good morning from beautiful Cincinnati!” followed by something to get me going for the day.
Maybe you’ve never noticed that. Maybe you have. I archive my Twitter updates to this blog each week, and I’ve often been able to mark time in them by when I say “Good morning.”
Yesterday I mentioned that there’s a reason why I say good morning online each day the way that I do. Today I’ll elaborate just a bit further.
The primary ingredient for progress is optimism. That unwavering belief that something can be better drives the human race forward. – Simon Sinek, via Notes To Inspire newsletter
There’s a discussion on the wildly popular Passive Aggressive Notes website about remembering birthdays. To be honest, I couldn’t get through all the discussion — let’s just say it’s obvious that people have strong opinions about it.
As I type this we’re weeks away from the holiday season. Already Christmas music is playing on many radio stations, and several stores are in full holiday promotion-mode, yet Thanksgiving hasn’t even arrived. Look for many to send Christmas and holiday greetings over the next two months.
I’m reminded of what Keith Ferrazzi says in Never Eat Alone. It’s encouraging to get a holiday greeting, but it’s something everyone sends and receives. A birthday is something special, however. Even though you share it with many others, that day is special because you were born.
Not that you had anything to do with that. In fact others (like Mom and Dad) had more to do with that than you did. So why celebrate and encourage you for your birthday? It’s not like you had anything to do with it, right?
I celebrate your birthday with you because I rejoice in the life you’ve lived so far. I’m encouraged because, if you had not been born, we would not have become connected. My life is different because you were born. Not just because of that, but because of the life you’ve lived since then.
I write this almost three weeks after attending the very first PodCamp Cincinnati, held at Northern Kentucky University‘s College of Informatics at Griffin Hall on October 22, 2011. This is the first time I’ve tried to share some of my thoughts on this blog. I’d certainly like to share about the specific sessions and content that was shared, but I feel compelled to first talk about how important it is that we even had a PodCamp Cincinnati. Read the rest of this entry »
“Look — if you had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it, or just let it slip?” — Eminem, from “Lose Yourself” in 8 Mile
Daniel Johnson, Jr. uses Eventbrite to organize, plan, and run social media events and has no problem recommending it to you (and using his affiliate link).
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(@ Rave Motion Pictures for The Muppets w/ 5 others) 
