Daniel Johnson, Jr.

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In this hyper-connected era in which we live, how do you reduce the static? Do you ever feel that there is so much static, or stimuli, in your environment, you’re going around in so many directions that you might just run into yourself!

I’m with you. I love that I’m into so many various things; it’s one way that helps me expend the energy and passion that I have for life. I’m reading a lot of books, which are inspiring me in different ways. Managing community is on my mind. I’m looking for work. And there’s everything that goes with family.

July and August are often times when people go on vacation to rest, rejuvenate, and re-create.

I’m looking forward to spending some time in the next several days to do some of this.

What about you? How do you go about reducing the static?

Forest Fair/Cincinnati Mills/Cincinnati Mall via labelscar.com

This afternoon my family and I went to the Danbarry Dollar Saver Cinema at Cincinnati Mall to see the movie Thor.  We thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but our enthusiasm was a bit tempered as we walked through the mall to get to the cinema.

It felt like a ghost town. (more…)

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!

… they buy WHY you do it.

That’s one of the main points I’m getting as I’ve started reading Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

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.

The other, more effective way, Simon argues, is to (more…)

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! (more…)