Media Hacks: A Must Listen

I was trying to catch up blogs and podcasts – which is an endless battle – but one of my new favorite spots to visit is Media Hacks.

New thinking on new media from more mouths.

This is a initiative that has been formed by Mitch Joel, Christopher Penn, Hugh McGuire, Chris Brogan, Julien Smith and CC Chapman. Whenever the group gets together on the phone or in person (whist eating large sandwiches) it usually features three to six of the contributors. They add guests as well.

The Hacks discuss marketing, advertising, media, publishing, digital, entertainment, content and social networking. They talk about the real world. They talk about human behavior. And they make you feel included in the conversation.

Real Issues. Real Solutions.

Media Hacks is not another group of talking heads discussing their lofty lives on top of the digital media space. It is six bright people working hard to improve the landscape, to reflect what is going on in the conversation and offer solutions. They don't always agree, they love to make fun of each other and Julien is usually good for an f-bomb or two.

Each podcast is free for download and runs 40-50 minutes. As Christopher Penn mentions, our time is precious. Well, this is well spent.

E-Books: Free For The Learning

One of my true passions is music. I fought for artists and publishers in the music industry for more than a decade. This was not some clueless struggle against technology or progress but rather a discovery of how the music industry could remain healthy while giving music fans what they want - and were now taking for free.

At the core of any venture is the need to be good at it. Music downloading did not create better musicians and not everyone in the industry is out to steal from artists. But if you let people know the food on the menu is free every Thursday, the line-up will be quite a bit shorter on Friday.

I have all the data from the "I only download some music" group and the "they already make enough money" group but we can save that for another time.

Download Books for Free?

One of the coolest trends lately is e-books. These are tightly packed 30-40 page manuals jammed with information that can help you. E-books offer practical information for your business, industry and career.

E-books are easy to read and re-read and re-read again. If you want to write your own, you can!

Books Are Cool

While the publishing industry evolves, the web has allowed anyone to self-publish. You won’t make money from writing an e-book but it allows you the opportunity to share some information and most importantly give readers a better chance to get to know you.

Plus, writing an e-book can lead to business for your company in the future. But, like with music downloading your e-book must actually have substance and something people want to read.

Can You Be Trusted?

Trust is one of the biggest topics these days so if you can gain trust through sharing information, the chances of building better business relationships will increase.

As one who has a renewed interest in the publishing industry, we must look at the changes in the music industry throughout the last decade. It is imperative that the creators are compensated and protected.

Some samples

If you travel in the world of media, social networking, marketing, publishing or entertainment, here are some gems that may help you.

Download, digest and do.

Blink: A Social Media Guide from The Edge
Todd Defren
It is refreshing to read Todd’s work. Defren is a principal with Shift Communications – a PR agency with offices in San Francisco and Boston.

Blink is crammed with nothing but meat. Todd mentions in the opening that he is not going to waste a lot of time getting to real useable information and he keeps that promise. I would say there is a lot of common sense here but as I’ve previously posted, that too is rare. You may find yourself nodding your head a lot but your next step is to create action in your own life with this information. This is a fantastic book.

Unleashing The Ideavirus
Seth Godin
This is a classic! Seth wrote this in 2000 and it’s still ahead of it’s time today. If you are even marginally in the marketing industry, you have heard of Seth. His work, his energy, his mind, and his contribution to the industry is well documented.

If you haven’t read “Unleashing The Ideavirus” or it’s been a while – it’s worth a re-read. Congrats to Seth for publishing his 3,000th blog post this week. And check out his TEDTalk on sliced bread.

Fish Where The Fish Are
Using The Social Web to Find Work
Branding for the Business Professional
Chris Brogan
If you are even a casual social media participant, you have heard of Chris. He is the president of New Marketing Labs with partners Justin Levy and Colin Browning. Chris travels the world giving presentations to businesses that include practical applications for marketing and social networking. I had the pleasure of spending some time with him at PodCamp Toronto. If you did the same, you know he is the real deal.

Word of Mouth Manual
Dave Balter
With all the tools and tricks and data at our disposal, word of mouth still holds true as an extremely powerful way for people to find out about you and your business. It can work in your favor or work against you. Building positive word of mouth can take time but negative news travels quickly. Dave is the founder and CEO of BzzAgents – a word of mouth marketing and media network so he knows of what he writes.

Trust Economies
Julien Smith & Chris Brogan
Julien Smith was an early adopter to the social space through In Over Your Head which began in November 2004. He is a writer, designer and entrepreneur. He is also one of six contributors to a new initiative called Media Hacks hosted by Mitch Joel with Hugh McGuire, Brogan, CC Chapman, and Christopher S. Penn.

Along with Brogan, Smith has co-authored “Trust Agents” which will be released in August. He is wicked smart and very funny. He has more energy than an NFL franchise and a warning: he will in fact tell you the truth.

Have you written or have you ever thought about writing an e-book?

@knealemann

Media Hacks: A Necessary Initiative

Thought leaders such as Mitch Joel, Chris Brogan, CC Chapman, Julien Smith, Hugh McGuire, Christopher S. Penn and numerous others have stepped up with a necessary initiative called Media Hacks.

This is an open discussion about digital space, social media, marketing and anything else that comes up. Mitch talked about it this past weekend on his Six Pixels of Separation podcast. The idea is to gather thinkers and share ideas, no rules, opinions are allowed and encouraged. And it’s absolutely free.

The magic of this initiative is that others will be invited to contribute to the conversation.

That is the essesnce of social media – you can have information and thoughts from leaders in industry and they want to hear yours.

The Media Hack blog and podcast is coming very soon.

If you have an idea, start sharing!

km

from cc-chapman.com

The Power of How

Have you ever received a call or an email from someone ‘out of nowhere’? Have you ever burned a bridge you later regretted burning? Have you ever called someone you haven't spoken with in a while?

I have often said, never burn a bridge despite all temptation and everyone is a contact. The last few hours of 2008 were topped off with a nice gift from a respected colleague. Mitch Joel published his 09 Blogs To Watch In 09.

It is with great honor that I share the list with Hugh McGuire, Sebastein Provencher, the contributors at MediaShift, Scott Karp, Mark Evans, Roberto Rocha, Michael S. Hyatt and Jay Rosen.

Mitch and I met a hundred years ago. We reconnected through Facebook and I’ve been picking his big brain every since. If we had treated each other badly those many years ago, that connection would not have happened – out of nowhere.

And if you don’t read or listen to Six Pixels of Separation, what’s wrong with you? Ha! You should.

# # #

Another regular stop for me is with Chris Brogan. Chris put out a challenge for all of us to find three words that best describe goals for 2009. You can read Chris’ words here. So I will see that challenge and add my three:

Imagine
The human mind’s imagination has no boundaries. What gets in the way, is the human. If you are in a situation where your imagination is stilted, then find a new situation. If we blame the economy, then let’s all give up now and live in tents. Lose the word “can’t” and get used to saying 'can' and 'how'.

Create
Mark Twain said “actions speak louder than words”. 2009 is about action and if you are with people who aren’t helping you do that, run away from them. They are not helping you. They aren’t going to help you. Move on. If you are the one causing the inaction, get going!

Share
If you are a painter who hides your creations in the basement, it’s safe to say your collection will never been shown at MOMA.

If you feel you are sharing your ideas with negative people be warned that they will suck your soul from your eyeballs. Stay away from these people. Share often, share with those who want to share back. Teamwork is alive and well and this time we mean it.

But don't become a closed-minded bully. In order to imagine, create and share you must be open to allow others to do the same. The next time you get a call 'out of nowhere' from someone who enjoyed collaborating with you, don't be surprised.

I will add one more word for 2009 but this one can be added at any stage and that is impatience. It is a sad waste of talent and time when any of us get sidetracked by naysayers and complainers.

I know I used to be both.

So mark it on your to-do list for 2009 to be that "out of nowhere" person for someone else. The results will amaze you.

Tag, you're it. What are your three words?

km