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.

Three words for 2010

Last year, Chris Brogan, whom I’ve known for years and finally got to meet in 2009 as he was promoting the best-selling book he co-authored with Julien Smith, Trust Agents (affiliate link), encouraged readers of his blog to pick three words for their year instead. These three words serve as a lens from which to view one’s life. It’s an inspiring and popular concept, and it’s one I thought about before posting my own three words for 2010. In that post, I wrote

I think as I approach 2010 with incurable, tough-minded optimism, that the following three words will be my guide, my mission:

BE MORE USEFUL

In everything I do in 2010, any project, task, event, blog post, podcast, update, and so forth… my mission is to be more useful. I will have this in the forefront of my mind. I will work to make the projects I work on the best that they can be, considering how what I do can be more useful to you and others. I will work to say YES as much as I can, but not necessarily all the time.

In general, I think I did a pretty good job. Among many things, I began opening each morning on Twitter and Facebook with “Good morning from beautiful Cincinnati!” followed by something else that inspired me (and others, as it turns out) to take on the day. Whenever I thought it was become cliche, someone would mention that they needed to read what I’d said and that it helped them refocus their day.  Imagine that – a short, almost mundane status update can have that much of an effect on someone’s day.

Three words for 2011

Chris laid out his three words earlier this week.  Others are doing the same thing. The past couple of months since I was laid off have been a time of re-evaluating where I’m going. With that in mind, here are my three words for 2011:

FOCUS. INTENTION. DELIVER.

FOCUS

As I write this post, I find my attention being pulled all over the place. In 2002, I read a book by Ed Hallowell called Driven To Distraction(affiliate link), and I think that phrase itself has described me too well. In the same way, I can also hyperfocus, meaning that once I’m engaged in a task or activity, it’s hard to disengage to do something else. There are a number of techniques I’m employing at the beginning of 2011 that I think will help me. These include

• Blocking off time to prepare for the day ahead
• Blocking off time just to meditate, to train my mind for better focus, and just think
• Blocking off time just for email and other social media, instead of checking it throughout the day
• Keeping notifications (email, text, social media, etc.) off except during the time I’ve blocked off to pay attention
• Blocking off time to read and write more
• Blocking off time for nothing but productive work
• Getting consistent sleep

INTENTION

Similar to what I set out to do at the beginning of 2010, I’m going constantly evaluate every activity I’m involved in, and ask myself

• What purpose is this fulfilling?
• Should my time be better spent doing something else?
• What is the return I’m getting on my time and effort spent here?

In other words, I will combine Focus with Intention, to the work I’m doing.

DELIVER

The choice to have this be my third word comes from two different places.

Last year Seth Godin’s book Linchpin (affiliate link) came out, and I’d heard interviews and participated in a book discussion about the concepts in the book. One thing that stood out for me is the concept of Shipping. It’s easy for me to spend so much time and energy on perfecting what I’m doing that I don’t get anything done. I don’t publish the blog post or release the podcast episode, for example, because I’m consumed with making it perfect.

Secondly, I’ve been listening to the Canadian Podcast Buffet with Bob Goyetche and Mark Blevis for over 5 years. In one of the last episodes of 2010, Mark mentioned his own need to “get over the preciousness” of what he’s creating and just get it out. I felt like I could relate with that all too well.

Seth talks about shipping, and the fear of shipping. In order for software companies to make money, they need to release to their customers. They fix things as they go along. What I’m doing doesn’t need to be perfect. Yes – it’s good to strive for excellence, but there has to be a balance. So, in 2011, I’m going to deliver. More content. More effectiveness.

These are my three words for 2011: FOCUS. INTENTION. DELIVER.

What are yours?

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Geez. It’s October already.

For three years now, I’ve been organizing events for the in-person social networking community I founded called New Media Cincinnati. We actually have the October event coming up this weekend.

My approach in getting the word out about these events has changed over time, from sending multiple direct messages to followers, to using Facebook as the medium to plan and organize the events.  For awhile we even had a wiki set up. I thought I’d share some of  my current approach to getting the word out.

An approach to event marketing

In 2008, I began using Eventbrite to organize, plan, and run the monthly events, which have become known as New Media Cincinnati Second Saturdays (mostly because people always wondered when we met). I’ve enjoyed using Eventbrite, and I’m not ashamed to recommend them (and for you to use my affiliate link!).

One of the main reasons for using a system like this is just to know who is planning on coming to events and having an easy way to follow up with them.  Over the years I’ve understood that it’s important to have a database. As Chris Brogan says, “you live and die by your database.”

Past attendees. For New Media Cincinnati, part of that database is the list of past attendees — registrants, actually, since not everyone who registers always attends.

E-mail signup list. People would also contact me to ask if they could be invited to future events.  Instead of wrangling multiple emails to make sure people got their invitations, I set up the New Media Cincinnati E-mail Sign-up List. I’ve also added it to the New Media Cincinnati Facebook page. I make sure people on this list get an invitation.

E-mail subscribers to the blog. When I set up the New Media Cincinnati website, I added a way for people to sign up to receive updates at the website via e-mail through FeedBurner. Some of these people may or may not already be connected to the group through one of the many other touchpoints, so I make sure to invite these people.

Cincinnati-area LinkedIn connections. The main reason I founded New Media Cincinnati is to take connections made online into the real world. Over time, another reason is to help promote digital literacy in the community. It’s so easy to make connections, and I think that New Media Cincinnati events are a great opportunity for me to re-connect in-person with people in the Cincinnati area I know through LinkedIn.

I’ll leave the mechanics of how this all comes together for another time.  One thing I will say is that Eventbrite definitely helps keep track of the status of invitations, including responses from people who say they are not interested or have otherwise unsubscribed from these types of communications.

As well as those who are.

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Note: I was recently asked to write a guest article for the Career Achievement Network, since they were about to open up their blogging and forums to every member.  I’m crossposting the article here as well, since from time to time I get questions about starting up a personal blog.

5 Ways to Blog for Personal Achievement

“Champion the right to be yourself. Dare to be different and to set your own pattern: Live your own life, and follow your own star.”– Lin Yutang

We’re drawn toward authenticity. Being yourself and communicating who you are effectively remains one of the main qualities of successful people. Online, one of the best and most effective ways to do this is through maintaining a blog.

If you’ve ever wondered what you might say, here are five examples to get you started:

1. Tell a story. Think about a time when you’ve saved the day. Write about what happened and what you did.
2. Document a process. Chances are you know something that could be helpful to others. You can describe the solution to a problem and help others understand it.
3. Share news and information. Found an interesting article? Planning an event? A blog is a great way to describe what’s going on and share what you’re learning.
4. Blog without blogging. Comment on something someone else has said on their blog. Provide thoughtful insight that moves the conversation forward.
5. Ask for input. Let’s say you’re puzzled about something or have an opinion on a certain direction you’d like to take. You can set up the situation in a blog post, and ask others what they think.

These are just a handful of ways you can blog, and I’m sure you’ll discover others as you get the hang of it. Find your voice and be yourself. In time, the content on a blog can become the online advertisement for who you are and what you do. It’s an essential part in establishing your personal brand.

Ready to tell your story?

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If you’re a douchebag in real life, guess what? You’re an even bigger douchebag online because social media amplifies who you are.

You could be a real, genuine human being making an effort to be useful to others.

Or you could be an anonymous troll whose only purpose appears to suck air and tear others down.

Same is true from a business perspective. A lot of businesses are not ready for what social media can do because at their core, they are not ready for what social media will do.

As you think about how you might use social media, don’t forget your people skills.  Dale Carnegie was one of the best social networkers, even though he was around long before the internet. If you haven’t read How To Win Friends and Influence People lately (or ever), it might be time to pick it up. Use my affiliate link if you’d like or get it somewhere else.

inspired from my morning uncaffeinated buzz

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Much of what happens in the new media space is highly experimental; especially when new tools are released. Google Buzz came out last week, and we talked about it at last weekend’s New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday. There are a lot of things that need to be worked through, and there are certainly some promising things for it.

I noticed C.C. Chapman (someone  I so look forward to meeting in-person someday) had started a “Morning Buzz” bit with an extended update over at his buzz page. I thought this was a neat idea and have started to play around with it this way myself. I call these early morning updates “uncaffeinated buzz”, because I write them when I first get up in the morning, before having any coffee.

It feels uninhibited and freeing, and I feel like it’s helping me find (or reclaim) my voice. I’ve thought about bringing these buzz posts over here and using them as blog posts. Or maybe it will just be a bonus for those of you who are following me over there.

Make it a great day!

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I’ve been a part of an interesting discussion on Facebook recently about where to draw the line between personal and business use of social media, and it prompted me to share these thoughts about strategies for managing an online presence.

You are a brand

Everyone who comes in contact with you in-person or online leaves with an idea of who you are as a result of the experience.  While what happens in real-life might be fleeting or temporary, what happens online sticks around.  Many of us have camera phones that can take pictures or video and upload them with ease to the internet.  Did you just get tagged in a career-limiting photo on Facebook? Or did someone capture that great picture of you helping someone out in your community?

Is what you do online adding to or detracting from your personal brand?

Some points to keep in mind:

• Everyone’s use of social media will vary, and that’s okay. It’s a free world.
• Know your goals in developing and maintaining an online presence. These will dictate how you use the tools.
• Your goals may and probably will change over time. So will your use of the tools.
• Don’t expect to stay on top of everything. You’re only able to sample a bit of information at a time. You can set up monitoring stations, for sure. That’s a topic for another blog post.

Strategies

With these points in mind, here are six strategies you can employ to develop and manage an online presence:

1. Dump it. There are times when you no longer need or want to have that blog, account, etc. It might be worthwhile to just delete the account altogether.
2. Shelve it. Maybe you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling with your blog, account, etc., but you’re not quite ready to delete it. Maybe you’ll get back to it sometime; maybe you won’t. So you leave it alone for another day. Over the past 7 years or so, I’ve created over 10 blogs. Most of them lie dormant now or have moved to another space.
3. Anonymize it. There are advantages and disadvantages of setting up an anonymous online presence. On one hand, you have virtual free reign in what you can say and do without having it come back against you. Some folks opt for this strategy by using a pseudonym or nickname. On the other hand, you aren’t able to transfer the equity in your online brand into your offline career. But maybe that’s not your goal in the first place. Maybe you want to have one account for everyone and another, more private account where you can say whatever you want to say.  I started off using a nickname on some social networks but later opted to use a more distinct form of my real name.
4. Merge them. If you have multiple accounts, blogs, etc., maybe they’ve become overwhelming for you. Maybe you want to present a clearer message across one social networking presence. In this case, it might be worthwhile to merge.
5. Link them. If you still want to keep multiple online identities, then consider linking them to one another, so that others can know where you are. I do that with blogs and in my Virtual Business Card.  Something like this is useful if you’ve signed up with different usernames on different platforms. It’s also useful, for example, if you leave one blogging platform, for another, to cross-link the two.
6. Aggregate them. Similar to linking, another strategy is to aggregate your multiple presences using a tool like FriendFeed. This place becomes a one-stop shop for everything you put online.

So remember that what you do online says a lot about who you are – or who we think you are.  How you decide to use social networking tools is completely up to you, and your goals should dictate how you use them, and there are different strategies you can employ.

Agree? Disagree? Did I miss anything? What other strategies have you found useful?

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Welcome to another post describing how I use social media. In this case, it’s Twitter (again).

Any social networking tool you use should serve a purpose.  You need to make it useful to you.  I’ve found myself re-evaluating how I’ve used Twitter over the past three or so years and have made changes.  Maybe it’s time you looked at how you use Twitter as well.

The title of this post is meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also serious.  I believe that many people who follow me on Twitter might be better off if they didn’t. Your use of social media will vary from mine, and that’s okay.

So, without further delay, here they are:

10. You prefer to get updates from people you follow via a mobile device. I update very frequently, several times throughout the day. You might want to unfollow me via your mobile device, or at least turn off your mobile notifications.  I only have direct messages sent to my phone.

9. You don’t follow many people, and my updates take up most of your page at Twitter.com. Yes, I update a lot, especially at certain times during the week. If this bothers you, you could a) follow more people or b) unfollow me, even temporarily. I believe there’s even a tool called TwitterSnooze.

8. You want updates from those you follow to be on-topic, all the time. I update Twitter with random things I’m thinking of on the spur of the moment. Many people say that’s one reason why they stick around. If this isn’t you, please unfollow.

7. You don’t want to get updates from an event to which you have no desire attending or watching. I have occasionally updated from events, using specific hashtags to contextualize my updates and for easy reference. If this is too much for you, you might want to unfollow.

6. It bothers you to see someone you follow talk about God, religion, or spirituality. I openly share my faith using Twitter. It’s just another communication vehicle for me, and I am the same online as I am offline. Unfollow if this bothers you.

5. You expect me to follow back when you follow me. I’m sorry, but I cannot keep up with all the notification emails, so I’ve turned them off. Send me an “@” mention to get my attention. If that’s not enough for you, you might want to unfollow.

4. You are bothered when I report my location through a service such as Brightkite. I do occasionally update Brightkite with my location, and I find it useful to track where I’ve been that way. You might want to unfollow if this bothers you.

3. You are not interested in hearing about any of the specific projects I’m working on. I openly talk about some of the new media projects I’m working on, including How I Got My Job, New Media Cincinnati, Journey Inside My Mind, Get That Job, etc. If this sort of thing bores you, please unfollow.

2. You find it impossible and maybe even annoying that someone can be determined to make every day a great day. Yes, it’s true. I do tend to ooze positivity. I’m sorry if this offends you. Please unfollow.

1. For some reason, you don’t want to unfollow because you’re afraid it will hurt my feelings. Seriously? Twitter has always been permission-based. Make the tool useful for you. If what I’m saying isn’t interesting or useful to you, then unfollow.  I think too many people in the Twitter space get emotionally wrapped up in who’s following them and who’s not. Maybe it’s got something to do with the ability to send a direct message (DM) to someone. Maybe it’s something else.

So there you have it. I’ve made the decision easy for you. If what I’m doing on Twitter isn’t useful to you, then it’s okay to unfollow. You might consider checking back in from time to time or even using Twitter Search to keep up. I know some people who do that.

[photo credit: johnscotthaydon]

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For the longest time, people keep asking about the ROI (Return on Investment) of social media. I remember in a Community Chat on Friendfeed a few months ago, Olivier Blanchard mentioned he needed to put together a Basics of Social Media ROI presentation to share. While browsing the Marketing Over Coffee website, I noticed they linked back to it.

Here’s Olivier’s presentation from Slideshare:

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My friend and independent musician Drew LaPlante likes to use the phrase, “It’s a beautiful thing.” I could say that about Twitter and Twitter search.

Using Twitter Search to track trends

One way I use Twitter is to track the presence of certain phrases over time. I subscribe to the RSS feeds for searches in Google Reader and let them sit for at least 30 days.  I’m not as much interested in the content of the individual Twitter updates(tweets) as the aggregated information. I find this exercise to be instructive in understanding trends.

What’s being said and how I might help

I had thought of doing this to identify opportunities to promote the How I Got My Job job-hunting success stories podcast. My original hypothesis was that people might be more interested in knowing about the series right when they’ve lost their jobs.

Understanding the stories data can tell

In all the data analysis I’ve ever done at work and in other projects, to better understand the stories data tell, I’ve realized it’s vital to check and verify the underlying data, and make sure assumptions are clear. That way I and others can make better business decisions.

Analyzing Twitter search trends definitely comes with a caveat.  Take this snapshot of Twitter search data, as shown by day of the week, for example:

This chart shows that, over the past 30 days, the phrases “just lost my job” and “lost my job today” have showed up on the Twitter public timeline on Wednesday the most.  Does this mean that more people are losing their jobs on Wednesdays the most? Maybe, but you cannot be sure from this visual alone.

Why? Because aggregate information like this, a gross overview of the presence of phrases or terms, ignores context. What does “just lost my job” mean to you? Does it mean today? Last week? A couple weeks ago? What about those who do not report their job loss on Twitter with these words?

Even so, Twitter search trend analysis like this is instructive to know that people are talking about losing jobs, and it identifies opportunities to share about the series.

The visual above shows the same Twitter search data over the past 30 days, but in this case by time of day. The orange bar shows what time I’ve marked the items as read in Google Reader and can be ignored.  The chart indicates more people mentioning “lost my job today” or “just lost my job” in the afternoon or evening, perhaps, after coming home from their last day of work.

How I use the data

So, what does this mean for me? It seems that promoting the show on Twitter in the afternoon would perhaps reach the largest audience that might be most receptive, and maybe doing this on Wednesday would be best.  I still need to find a way to measure whether these efforts are successful, and this could be done by checking web analytics.

What say you?

I don’t claim that this approach is without flaws, and would love to see how it could be improved.  I would like to better track the effectiveness of promotions and welcome your thoughts.  What do you think of this approach?  What would you do differently? Have you ever taken a similar approach?

April 13, 2001 UPDATE: Christopher Penn shares some additional insight into timing Twitter updates that you should read. Check out “When is the best time to tweet?”

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Every Friday since January 2009 on Twitter, folks are participating in something called Follow Friday. People recommend others to follow among their circle to help expand it. Many folks pick their usual group of friends to recommend, and that’s fine. Everyone’s use of social media will be different, and that’s okay.

Here are some other strategies you might want to consider to help you make the most of your Follow Friday:

• Follow people who are recommending you. Here’s who’s recommending me, for example.
• Follow people who are geographically close to you, since you are more likely to be able to meet up with them in-person. Here are people within 25 miles of Cincinnati, for example.
• Use Twitter’s “Find on other Networks feature to find people you’re already connected with and communicate with to follow. Also check out Chris Penn‘s Synchronizing Social Networks Guide for more useful information in this area.
• Follow people whom you think you can really help with your social media efforts. For example, I produce a job-hunting success stories podcast called How I Got My Job, so I’m following people who have indicated “just lost my job” or “lost my job today” .  Do something similar with your niche.

What other interesting twists can you bring to Follow Friday?

To share this post on Twitter, please use the following text:

RT @danieljohnsonjr: Make the most of your #followfriday: http://bit.ly/follow-friday

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