Archive - October, 2010

Why share with one when you can share with the world?

October 28, 2010 in General, Marketing, Raves, Social Networking, Tools, Video with 1 Comment

Are you letting the world get a glimpse of your work?

A friend of mine Regina Iovino, who owns a catering business and restaurant had something funny to share the other day. In the past I have helped her dabble in reaching her tribe. She knows that getting the news out to the world through the web is critical to her success, but like many small business owners she struggles with limited resources and time.

Last week I noticed that she had posted on Facebook a beautiful picture of one of her catering event arrangements.  Like always, it was breathtaking. Right away people were posting comments and liking it.  I sent her a quick encouragement message.   Her reply was funny.  She had posted it by mistake.  She had planned to only send it to the client.  Instead she had accidentally placed it on her Facebook wall.  The results were great.

People ask you questions all the time if you are an expert in your field.  Often they email you them. Instead of just answering individually, take the opportunity to post the answer in a blog or make a forum topic.  Do it in a podcast or YouTube video.  If you have a tribe, share pictures with them about your work.  If your tribe is into your work they will eat it up.  Regina’s tribe sure did!

Fostering a culture of honor

October 26, 2010 in Company Culture, General, Raves, Social Networking with 4 Comments

I have co-lead a volunteer ministry with a group of men for about five years now. In that time we’ve developed a culture of honor. We have standards we hold each other to, and as we all walk in life together and challenge each other to grow, we also are witnesses to each other’s impact. Something that has come out of that is a desire to honor each others achievements. This isn’t a group affirmation thing. It is an honest celebration of the good we see happening in each others lives, and the weightiness of it for good in the world.
As I posted in the previous entry, people who are doing good things need to be noticed. It is not just kind, it is a crucial part of a thriving tribe or community. I try my best to encourage others when I see them posting great art, leaving an insightful comment or just doing great work. It becomes contagious and motivates more good. It is also as simple as write a blog or recommending someone on LinkedIn. Just the other day my colleague and friend Wendy left me a recommendation. It made my day.  How are you honoring others publicly doing good?

Noticing good

October 21, 2010 in Company Culture, Customer Service, Marketing, Rants, Social Networking with 7 Comments

There is always so much going on around us that we don’t have eyes to see. People are innovating and creating great art. Instead we spend our time pointing out the negative. We are slighted in a customer service exchange or something is wrong with our order. We are quick to complain.  What we often seem to not do is notice good.

I am pleasantly surprised at the response when I point out something good being done. People react.  Today gratitude, just as much as promoting, is a new type of currency. Like no other time in history can a compliment in public travel around the world  via word of mouth.  Relationships online and off are strengthened by noticing good.

Cold food or poor service is common.  Remarkability and gratitude are rare.

The Unboxed You

October 19, 2010 in General, Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter with 15 Comments

Something I have always had a hard time with is how we all try to define someone. We all do it. We meet someone and we place them in a box, label it and then limit the ways we interact based on the presence or absence of shared beliefs and opinions.
Personally we learn throughout life to filter what we say because we have learned that we will be accepted or rejected based on who others think we are. You could say we learn to be accepted or get ahead in life by posing. Everyone does it to some degree.

What happens then when we can’t hide behind a facade? Enter the age of social media and online profiles. Yes you can be carefully scripted with your online content but I have noticed that as people become comfortable sharing online, they also relax some of those filters, especially if they are involved in a trusted tribe. You begin to see a more accurate picture of the person.
With the unfiltered content comes a better picture as well as a perspective of who others are. A friend of mine who ran for public office never thought it would be possible to be friends with his opponent. Then he got to know him online. They ended up having more in common than either had every expected.

Here is a funny story. A few weeks back a notice came up on my face book page showing a few things my friend Matt Singley had liked. Nothing unusual there, accept the contrast between the two things. The notice was that Matt liked Lady Gaga and Nick Vujicic. Anyone who knows about the two can agree that there really can’t be two more opposite celebrities. But that is a great example of how you just can’t box Matt in.

So how have you been unboxed online?

Connecting others

October 14, 2010 in General, Social Networking, Twitter with 8 Comments

The other day I was having breakfast with my friend Kevin Miller, Nate Miller, Dan Miller, Jared Miller and Justin Lukasavige. Kevin and I ended up talking about our common friend David Siteman Garland and then realized I had introduced them. I didn’t even remember the introduction.  the introduction resulted in Kevin being interviewed by David on his online show The Rise to the Top (and who knows what will happen down the road).

Several years into social networking now I am becoming less surprised by the connections between people in my network.This is not about social networking though, although it amplifies the process by a magnitude. I have been connecting people my whole life.

Sometimes the connections already even existed and the common link is not discovered until later. What I really enjoy is when people meet through my network and end up doing the great work together with out me being involved other than the original connection.

A quick story. Several months ago I caught a conversation on twitter between some close friends. What was crazy was that one friend was in Alabama (Charissa Cowart) and the other friend (Loyan Roylance) was in my hometown here in the Oregon. Charissa had asked a technical question and Loyan ended up writing a blog post as an answer. They made a connection. This is just one simple story out of hundreds that resulted in a great blog post. I just enjoy bringing people together. The possibilities are so cool. Who knows what might happen once they connect.  It could be as simple as a blog post or even a successful business venture.  Connect others and find out.

Treat them well: earning trust, even as a big brand

October 12, 2010 in Company Culture, Connecting, General, Marketing, Raves with 0 Comments

Today, our world is both community thirsty and wary of corporate promises. How do we earn the trust of our community, especially as a large corporation or big brand?

Last month I participated in the Intel event Appup Elements 2010. Working with Soma Games and The Code Monkeys, I have seen first hand the development of the Intel Appup Store. This event was a celebration and gathering of Appup developers and partners. Intel made it clear that this was a community event but how serious is Intel about developing real community? How far is Intel willing to go to help talented and innovative developers succeed in the app industry? Will Intel be any different than say Apple?

On the second day Intel took all the attendees on a cruise across the San Francisco Bay that ended at an elaborately decorated warehouse in Berkley where a unique party and event was held. The first part of the event was a fireside chat with the Appup program executives lead by Peter Biddle. My friend Chris Skaggs asked at the open mic a very pointed question. Basically he asked if Intel really cared about the developers in this community, or was it all just talk. Biddle replied that the community will be the ones that will best answer that question, and he is right.
Corporations, like all of us, have to build trust before we can have social capital to move our own efforts forward. It is more about giving and promoting than doing whatever it takes to get ahead. It means spending the time, sharing the tools and offering up your best. In return you gain trust, respect and loyalty. At the end of the event I felt like Intel was honorable in their statements about the developer community. A month later I still feel that way.

Is it ultimately about making money?  Yes, but today’s investments, ones that pay off in the long run, are made through relationships and trust.  An that, I believe, will pay off in the end.

Deleting Online

October 7, 2010 in Company Culture, General, Publishing, Rants, Social Networking, Twitter with 6 Comments

Will we get sued? Will someone not do business with us? Will we upset someone?
These are valid questions. They will go through your mind before and after you post a youtube video that is at the edge of what your company might deem acceptable, or you post a tweet or a blog title that is slightly critical of another brand. They are fear driven questions and ones that are great to ask. I wrote last year about filtering your online content. But acting on those questions can be just as dangerous. Do it enough and others on your team will begin to filter out great content. You may never know what things they would have done because they will have that doubt in the back of their mind. Will my post be the one that makes the boss boil? Will I be the target of legal action?

Being cautious is good but not at the expense of creative freedom or reasonable expression. Set standards and then be clear about them. Hire people you trust and then let them create.

I found this great quote from Amber Naslund of Radian6 on twitter the other day “If you don’t trust your employees to communicate with good judgment, you have a hiring problem, not a social media problem”

After re-posting it online I was surprised by the different comments people made, especially on facebook.  I hope some of them repost here.

Meet me in meatspace today?

October 5, 2010 in Social Networking, Twitter with 2 Comments

Meatspace, it is a great term my friend Chris uses. He describes meeting someone in person either known or for the first time. I love it because it vividly expresses what we often miss when connecting today. It is too easy to become familiar with avatars, profile pictures, user names and email addresses. We forget that people are flesh, blood and spirit.

A few weeks ago I traveled to yet another conference. I spoke on a community engagement panel at the Intel Appup Elements 2010 and made some great new connections. Most importantly I made some connections in meatspace. Some of them were friends I’ve communicated with for a long time without meeting in person. A few were reunions.

Make it a goal to make the jump from online to in-person. I do this as often as I can. Something happens when you can look someone in the eye, laugh together and share time and space.

Who will you share meatspace on your next trip, heck today in your neighborhood or company?  Last week I got a chance to visit with Dave and Dana Twichell, both whom, even though I have only meet them twice in person, have become very good friends.  Nothing replaces time spent in person.

People on twitter are stupid

October 2, 2010 in General, Rants, Raves, Social Networking, Tools, Twitter with 4 Comments

OK first, I did not say that.  It was said in a recent conversation I had while attending a conference.  The person who said it does not use twitter and the only time they view twitter is through the main site feed or occasional mentions via mass media.  I commented back that just looking at the main feed is like turning on a device and trying to listen to every radio station and TV channel, then topping it off with eavesdropping on thousands of phone calls.  If that is how you use it, then yes, there are plenty of stupid people on twitter.

Instead, find your niche, your tribe or simply the channel you want to tune into.  It can be a cluttered time waste or a valuable way to receive information, communicate and change the world.

I have listed some ways I use twitter on my  Twitter Tag.  I invite you to check them out.  I guarantee there are plenty of smart people out there for those that want to look.