What Will You Do? Complain or Share?

VP-elect Joe Biden was on Larry King Live last night and despite the fact that he gets a shiny new gig and cool mansion on January 20th, no one seems envious about what is ahead for him and his boss.

Biden he has hope for the future. He isn’t living in lollypop land, there is a steep hill for the world to climb – this is not about the U.S. economy – this is about all of us.

But I keep thinking about how we are writing and talking and blogging and podcasting and whining about this all the time. It is overwhelming.

Here are some facts we know to this point.

We know: There are dishonest people in the world. There are crooks in this world. Some people do enjoy scamming you. The planet has no shortage of horrific things. And not everyone tells the truth.

We know: There are millions of creative generous minds willing to share their knowledge every day. True friends are a phone call away when we need them. Abundance is not measured by monetary wealth. And we all have a choice to either complain or share.

If you feel down or beleaguered, here are some places to visit:

Mitch Joel. Joseph Jaffe. Ted. James Arthur Ray. Seth Godin. Chris Brogan. Gregg Braden. CC Chapman. Jack Canfield. Guy Kawasaki. Marcus Buckingham.

Let’s pick share. I think share is a good choice.

Yup, share wins by a landslide!

km

Preparing The Preparation

A friend was lamenting the other day that she had nothing to add to the social media discussion. She raises her family and posts insightful and hilarious updates on Twitter and she doesn't even realize it. What I reminded her was, she is adding to the discussion!

If all we do is talk about talking about talking with each other and share stories of how we should share – we are what my dad always calls “preparing for your preparation”. If you've ever been through a meeting where nothing is resolved, where every item is pushed to next meeting, and no one knows who does what by when, that is talking about talking.

I love Chris Brogan's blog entitled Share Share Share or as Jeff Parks says; there are no secrets, just information you don’t know yet. I think most of us had to get our heads around truly sharing because someone in our past stole an idea and took credit for it.

I wrote a media industry article last year that was published in the U.S. and Canada. A former colleague called the day it was published to give me praise. I mentioned that I had included some of the discussions he and I had had over the years and I guess I had stolen some content. He reminded me that he shared stuff he had picked up from others over the years - that's how it works.

James Cridland, Mitch Joel, Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, Jeff Parks, Robert Scoble, Seth Godin, Jeff Pulver, Joseph Jaffe, Leigh Himel, Jeremiah Owyang and countless others share with me every day.

I received an email yesterday from a great friend who reminded me that I need to do my part. I am always better at boasting about my partners and my colleagues all the while they are complaining that I need to share more about me. So here goes ...ahem

...more tomorrow

km

Blog Day 2008

Today is the day we celebrate other people’s work. There is an estimated 120 million blogs on the planet and that number is growing every day. You could work 90 hours a week simply reading blogs and never come close to the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg. It’s overwhelming.

We are in an era where content, sharing, and relationships are the medium.

The purpose of Blog Day 2008 is to pick five blogs you read on a regular basis and share them. Here are five (of many) I look forward to reading every day…

Six Pixels of Separation | Mitch Joel
Mitch is the president of Twist Image - a digital marketing firm with offices in Montreal and Toronto. He is a blogger, podcaster, author, creator, thinker and speaker. And best of all, he is a real good guy. Look for his book in 2009!

Jaffe Juice | Joseph Jaffe
Joseph always makes me think and I find myself nodding my head in agreement often when I read his posts. He expands my scope and delivers his material is a personable way. In his spare time, Joseph is a partner with a fascinating marketing company called Crayon

TED Blog | TED.com
Have you ever heard, read, or seen something that you must tell everyone about? Several years ago, a friend told me about TED and my reaction was exactly the reaction I get when I do the same. So if you have never heard of TED, visit the site and let me know what you think. It will change your life.

Scobleizer | Robert Scoble
Robert makes geeks the world over drool. This guy is on top of it way before most. If you are a gear head or someone who wishes they were (me), read Scobleizer.

How To Change The World | Guy Kawasaki
Another big brained dude with lots to say and plenty to make you think. Guy has written several books and when he is not working as managing director for Garage Technology Ventures, or writing his column for Entrepreneur Magazine, he does speaking tours. There is always deep rich commentary on his blog.

If you are reading this, have a blog and are not mentioned please send me your link I’d love to check out your work and thanks for reading mine!



And on a more serious note, imagine for a moment having to endure this, the mayor of your city tells you that you must evacuate your home today. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who may be affected by Hurricane Gustav.

km