Ctrl Alt Delete – Our Future Depends On It

Back in mid-90’s I met this cool smart dude when we were both slogging it out in the music industry. He was running a music magazine and working with musicians while I was programming radio stations.

Fast forward a couple or 20 years and Mitch Joel has become a great friend, someone I look to for advice, and always enjoy reading his daily blog posts.

He Started It

This site exists because five years ago Mitch kicked my ass to write and keep writing. And you can call him a 25 year overnight success because he only works every day at his craft while sharing constantly, speaking around the world, and ensuring his digital agency Twist Image remains healthy and strong. Other than that, the guy's a slacker!

He published his first book Six Pixels of Separation which you should have if you don't already.  Now he has released his new book which may scare you then inspire you.

Joel's second book Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends On It is out this week. Mitch and I will have a chat about it here on the site in a while so we can get even more insight from him. We may even talk a little music while we're at it. Pick up the book and let's learn together. Congrats Mitch!

And check out the best book site ever right here.
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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture strategist, writer, speaker, executive coach engaging leaders, collaborative teams, and strong business results.

Mitch Joel | Ctrl Alt Delete

Decisions and Impatience

We live in an instant gratification world where quick wins are lauded and our impatience fills the zeitgeist. Get it now, fix it now, win it now, make that call, close that sale, launch that product, etc. I am working on a new venture and we want stuff done yesterday. In my quest to speed up the process, I often get in the way which is something we all need to keep in mind.

Managing our patience takes skill and dedication. When do you make a quick decision? When do you wait? When does it require more data? When are you getting lost in data and scope creep?

One of the biggest stories this week is the departure of JC Penny CEO Ron Johnson. Mitch Joel features the Johnson story in his new book Crtl Alt Delete and recently wrote about the swift departure, saying; “I hope 17 months doesn't become the norm.” 

Nimble is the norm and impatience is riding shotgun

In some cases, 17 months is too long, in others too short. I worked with a guy who proclaimed his mantra was - ready shoot aim. Make a decision, do it, deal with the consequences. I think some aiming is important but often we get stuck during the indecision stage, so balance is always the challenge. But waiting for the perfect time to move is a deadly pursuit.

Johnson was tasked with turning around an old brand in a very busy sector shrouded in churn and impatience. But Ron was fired and they're bringing back the CEO he replaced a year and a half ago hoping this time it'll work. Cue the Einstein quote.

Culture is king

Zappos is often used as an example where leadership, patience and culture merge into a cool place to work that makes healthy profit. Culture and revenue can live happily together if done right. The Zappos’ family values are; Deliver wow through service. Embrace and drive change. Create fun and a little weirdness. Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded. Pursue growth and learning. Build open and honest relationships with communication. Build a positive team and family spirit. Do more with less. Be passionate and determined. Be humble.

CEO Tony Hsieh admits both fast and slow decisions cost Zappos a lot of money while affecting their culture.


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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture Strategist, Writer, Speaker, Executive Coach engaging leaders to build successful talent and profitable business.

Flickr | Inc. | Tony Hsieh

Inspirational People | Mitch Joel

We recently started a regular feature on this site. The idea came from wondering about the people who friends and readers enjoy and give them inspiration.

There were three simple rules. Is the information valuable to my work or life? Is the author doing actual work to back it up? Do they challenge me, make me think, and/or make me move to do something? If you have someone in mind, send me an email.

Mitch Joel | Six Pixels of Separation

Anyone who knows me in a real way knows that I value Mitch’s friendship and creative mind. He is the President of a thriving digital marketing firm Twist Image. When I started to publish content on a regular basis in 2008 (over 850 posts so far), Mitch reminded me consistency is the key. And he walks the talk publishing seven fresh pieces of content every week. For free!

If you're wondering if blogging and/or podcasting can help your business, Mitch's focus has created opportunities that would not have otherwise happened.

It Takes Work

Each week, Mitch writes and publishes five new blog posts, one podcast, and a list of interesting links. Despite a demanding speaking schedule (go see him if you haven’t, he’s an outstanding speaker), working on his second book Ctrl-Alt-Del, running his agency, providing solutions for clients, and spending valuable time with his family, it’s rare when his input drops below that goal. Did I mention it was all free?

In more than a decade, he has only asked his readers for something on three occasions. Once to promote his first book – Six Pixels of Separation, second was to help raise money for the End Malaria effort, and recently to help Light The Night Walk.

Joel is an avid reader, defender of the written word, and open minded enough to take on new ideas and perspectives. And he's a funny guy!

Thanks Mitch, for sharing and inspiring.

Kneale Mann

watchmojo

Media are in the Hands of the Beholder

Stay Tuned. News at 11. Coming Up Next.

I was at a dinner recently with some friends in media I’ve known for years. As it often happens at one of these types of events, we talked shop. The landscape is changing, what traditional media outlets are doing and could do better, the continued infiltration of the social web, mobile and more. If this had been twenty years ago, one may claim it was conversation filled with opinion. But now many of us have actually been working in marketing and media for that long and those opinions have become rather educated.

During the dinner, I recounted a meeting I had a few months ago with someone in the mobile space. He is a bright guy with a growing company but it struck me how much he felt his world was the world. He couldn’t fathom the fact that some people actually aren’t on the cutting edge of technology or living on every word coming from the mind of Steve Jobs. As astonishing as it may be to believe, there are people who actually don’t have a LinkedIn profile. And get this, some don’t blog or listen to podcasts either.

Forecast after this. Stick around for more details. 

As much as we instinctively know it’s not the case, we tend to still think others think like we think and others grasp what we have experienced. Proof of this happens every minute of the day. An event will happen and some will go to YouTube for more information while others will check the Twitter stream. Yet the news agencies will hope we wait for the 11 O’clock news. And millions still do wait for the news report. Those who don't hop on social media claim they may not "get it" while others who are constantly wired up can't grasp why anyone would do it any other way.

Information is fragmented and live. It is inaccurate and opinionated. The speed of content being shared will only increase. While the challenge for anyone creating content is to understand that the audience isn’t waiting by their device to receive it.

Desire and Technology Converge

Mitch Joel once pondered how the world would be without traditional media – television, radio, outdoor and print. I would add mobile devices and the Internet to that list because each is getting as big as the big four. So I think it's a more complex question. As millions flock to the social channels, traditional channels remain alive. There is no one way of navigating all this stuff.

We reside on both sides of the counter - we are both providers and clients - and the noise can often be deafening as we attempt to resonate with others while we try to decipher what we need from each other. I have clients who have found great success with a radio component or print imitative. Television, though expensive, still receives billions in annual ad revenue and they haven't stopped the printing presses just yet.

How do you reach your customer who has so many choices?

Kneale Mann

image credit: lifeonpurpose

Finding Your Digital Audience

Don't Wait For it to Find You

The world is travelling at the speed of light and we are trying to hang on just a moment longer to live in the now which has already passed. We are attempting to digest a mind numbing amount of content.  The Harvard Business Review published a piece dealing with the age old interview question: “Where will you be in five years?”

How About Five Minutes?

Depending on the circles you travel, you can feel completely out of sync with your clientele while it seems your competitors are cashing in. I’m asked all the time if YouIntegrate can help. The first step is to find out what you want to do with these digital channels and how you feel it can help you find your audience.

It is easy to create a profile. It is much more difficult to populate it with content that serves both your customers and your business. And it's even more challenging to have the patience for the time it takes to grow the community. After that you need to tend to its health and longevity. Campaign mentality will not create long-term growth.

You can spend a lot of time and money on messaging and media choices to see very little result. Or you can strike gold and then try and replicated it which is rare. The social web is a warm inviting temptress that can woo us into thinking we’re getting somewhere in short order. But there are no quick wins.

Easy Peasey

It is simple to go online, find a place to land and start barking. It is much more difficult to develop strong B2B or B2C relationships through the social web. This stuff takes time. If you look at how you built your business so far, it is the same process.

Mitch Joel wrote this week about the Mutterings of Twitter. He explained that we can easily pull out our smartphone at the check-in counter the moment our flight is delayed and send out an angry tweet or Facebook status update. The real-time web has given us the ability to publish material for free in an instant. The key is for companies to be with their customers all along so responses to service issues can be addressed. If they aren't there, they can't set the record straight.

Our Need to Connect

The only prediction we can make is that this will only get more challenging. We are not making less mobile devices, we are not shrinking the online world and the ability to grow a personal network is not diminishing.

But what you can do as a manager or owner is find your voice no matter the platform. Yes I can help. Then you can discover the power of sharing it no matter where your audience resides.

Have you found your voice? Have you found your audience?

Kneale Mann

image credit: istock

Sharing in a Narcissistic World

We are connected by no more than six degrees of separation. You may know someone who knows someone who knows me, done. And with close to seven billion of us walking the earth, that remains a fascinating reality.

Johannes Gutenberg was the person most attribute to the invention of the printing press around 1439. It revolutionized the world and allowed ideas to be spread faster between people across vast distances.

Connected by Thumbs

Depending on who you ask, the Internet is somewhere around forty years old. The look, feel and ease we see today began in the early 90’s. The ever expanding electronic web has revolutionized the world. It has allowed ideas to spread in an instant through computers and mobile devices. The digital world is more social. Or is it?

Mitch Joel has been studying the digital space and human behavior for more than two decades. He is the president of Twist Image - an award winning digital marketing firm in Toronto and Montreal and in his spare time he speaks all over the world, writes one of the best marketing blogs in the world and has a podcast and a book of the same name - Six Pixels of Separation. Mitch suggests we may not be as social as all the chatter suggests. He explained during his recent keynote at TEDx Concordia in Montreal.



Kneale Mann

video credit: TEDx Concordia

Motivation Can Be Our Biggest Obstacle

What Will We Do?

I technically own my own business. But really, I am an idea guy with a bunch of years of experience helping clients with marketing strategy and digital presence while ensuring it helps their overall business objectives. And it needs to make sense for their situation and abilities. In other words, theory won't help a soul without realistic actionable ideas.

One issue that is similar to every manager or owner I speak with is there is always pain and there are always items they want to improve, just like me and you. My clients and prospects are always looking for ways to  bring value and increase the revenue line, just like you and me. And I need to continue prospecting and I'm sure you do as well.

You Are Busy Enough

Some have suggested that I must be far too busy to speak with potential new clients or discuss new projects. If your local coffee shop had no customers for the next month, they would have no business. I'm always up for a meeting with someone new to discover how I may help them. How about you?

But wanting to grow and moving forward with the action you need to do it are two very different things. It takes motivation to keep moving forward. And as my friend Mitch Joel says, this isn't just business, this is personal. So if you own your own business, rejection can crush motivation.

Last week I met with someone in the morning who is starting a business and a senior executive from a large corporation in the afternoon and the conversations were remarkably similar. Both want to look at ways to better navigate what they could do to reach their goals. The same is true for the 100 people attending my upcoming social media workshop in March. The same is true for you and me.

Biggest Factor is Motivation

Whether you are a sole proprietor or a c-level executive running a publically traded organization with a global footprint, you must find ways to lead while motivating your team and yourself. Leadership can be a lonely journey within a team environment.

This is particularly delicate if you or your company is active online. You have to stay positive and you can’t post stuff that bums people out. No one wants to read it. You have to find the balance between connecting and selling while you navigate the overwhelming amount of data. Welcome to the human race.

To-Do List Keeps Growing

Much goes into running a business and this becomes especially clear when you are running your own company. You have to be the person finding new customers, developing and revising offerings, creating new content, while delivering the best results for clients.

Context is important but it can distract us. We can get preoccupied by what others are doing and comparing those efforts to our own. We can become unmotivated. We must remember that every situation is different and our perception is often not their reality.

How do you keep yourself and others motivated?

knealemann

image credit: sportsillustrated

Reflective Time

Something happens this time of year.

Obviously, Christmas is not celebrated by everyone but the business world is ruled by two dates around this time of year. And if you have spent any time doing any last minute shopping, we may wonder how far from the original meaning of the Holidays some have gotten. We push envelopes with communications and information but some traditions are deep rooted such as turkey and stuffing and brightly wrapped gifts.

Celebrations increase and the mood leans positive. I have too many people to thank here and would hate to miss someone but the number of people who I have had the privilege to meet through business and the social web is absolutely astounding. And if you have spent any time doing any last minute shopping, one could certainly wonder how far from the original meaning of the Holidays most have gotten.

Review. Recharge. Reload.

There is hope for a fresh new year around the corner and some new challenges to tackle with renewed energy. The world has limped through tough economic times – and perhaps simply because I’m looking for it – many look to 2011 with optimism.

I loved Mitch Joel’s post today about the myth of a work/life balance. This is our lives, this is our work, this is our world. I do take it personally and so should you. But in all of this, we can build that community and kick some serious backsides together.

Happy Holidays :-)

knealemann | email


image credit: pluggd

Do You Know Why?

How and What Come Next.

On any given day, like you, my mind is filled with ideas. Each is fighting for prominence in my consciousness. Sound familiar? But after attending The Art of Management this week, those ideas seem a bit more organized.

Malcolm Gladwell, Simon Sinek, Mitch Joel, Nilofer Merchant and Michael Eisner all presented brilliantly. Unfortunately I had to leave before Mr. Gladwell but I have seen him speak and present before and do so
if you ever get the chance.

And I can't forget the entertaining host Ron Tite who kept it all together and shared several excellent presenations throughout the day.

You can read the Twitter stream here - #TAOM

Michael told engaging stories about his years at Paramount and Disney and dovetailed them into all the projects he’s working on now. As always, Mitch shared many examples of how the adoption of digital and social media continue to enhance our experience, our commerce and our lives. He also shared a shaving trick, ask him about it if you get the chance. Nilofer discussed that the future will not be created, it will be co-created with true collaboration.

The presenter I knew the least about before the event was Simon Sinek.

They tell us that we need to do better PowerPoint presentations. Don’t put a lot of words on the screen, don’t bore people with charts and graphs and tell stories. Agreed! Well, Simon did an hour with three markers and an easel. Try that at your next meeting.

Sinek's message is clear – find the why and you will change your focus, your business and your life.

We aren't too bad at finding the how (objective or strategy). We are even better at finding the what (tactics and execution). We prefer to make stuff over planning how to make stuff. But few of us can aptly articulate the why which is our purpose.

If we can find why we are doing it, what and how become much clearer.

Simon talked about leadership in a simple yet powerful way.

There are only two ways to lead – by force or by inspiration. Strong leaders know why they do what they do and inspire people who believe what they believe.

Do you know your why?

knealemann | email



Join me for Movember.
image credit: simon sinek - the golden circle

Management is an Art

Libraries, stores and hard drives have been filled with books and videos and instructional lessons on business management.
.

This is a science that is almost as impossible to master as parenting.

I have had some fabulous mentors in my career who taught me the essence of management from a technical and strategic standpoint as well as the people perspective.

It is not enough to devise an over arching business plan, you need to cover each component in such a process. Those include an organizational map, financial preparation, marketing and media strategy and most importantly a people plan.

People study human resources for years and still don’t master it. Top sales people crash and burn as sales managers. And right brain thinkers shrivel up and rot under the crushing avalanche of meetings and protocol.

It helps to learn from others who have varied experience. That includes an event I have the pleasure of attending this coming Monday (November 15th) in Toronto entitled The Art of Management

It's black belt keynote presenters back to back to back during this one-day event. The impressive list of speakers is; Mitch Joel, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Eisner, Nilofer Merchant and Simon Sinek.

You can get more details on the official site - The Art of Management.

knealemann | email

Join me for Movember.

image credit: valerieherskowitz

Is Your Business Social?

They're talking about you anyway.

Relationship and conversation are mentioned relentlessly on the social web but what do they really mean? Are we friends simply because we follow or connect?

Imagine if you arrived at a private party where you only knew the host and began to hand out business cards. Or worse, how would you feel if you were on the receiving end of this sales pitch?

In Six Pixels of Separation, Mitch Joel refers to praising slow.

These channels are not one-night stands and your business is not a campaign. If you are in the space, spamming and yelling won't work. Simply "being on" Twitter or "having a" Facebook page is not participation.

What Will They Say?

There is a common fear that opening yourself to online scrutiny is dangerous.

The issue is not whether these channels will discuss your business or industry, that's already happening. So do you want in or would you rather hide?

The Power of The Web.

As witnessed by the story of Tanner Bawn last week. Air Canada dismantled his wheelchair on a trip to NYC and were unable to reassemble it.

Then the bumbling began.

The social community had gathered in NYC as a fundraiser for Tanner and the same people created online outrage when this happened. The story quickly spread through the larger Twitter community and Air Canada couldn't ignore it.

Use stories like this as fuel for how you respond to the online reality.

Get involved in the conversations of your customers and potential customers and initiate new ones, then give it time and patience and be human.

Social media are not quick fixes or cheap campaigns to boost outbound messaging but rather essential to business, research, education and integrated activities.

People are social, media are not.
David Armano

It's interesting to note that after all this talk of gadgets and channels, the old adage rings true - treat me like you want to be treated. Your customers concur.

Patience is a virtue not a business plan. It is up to us to change that.

What says you?

knealemann
strategy. marketing. media.

image credit: socialmediatoday

Finding Your Voice on Social Networks

Their Way Is Irrelevant

Yesterday, I hosted a panel at Marcom 2010. The title was “Twitter: How to Engage, Connect and Be Authentic”.

The point of the discussion was not about twitter.com, it was about each person and their organization navigating the two-way online conversation. Great group, we could have spent all day talking about it.

Cave Drawings and Hieroglyphics

Social networking is as old as we have walked the earth but that is not what makes the news these days. The discussion is about a digital revolution that is giving control and customization to each and every one of us. Companies and organizations are grappling with this new two-way conversation. Some are mastering it while others are challenged by it.

We have the world in our pocket on smartphones. Any computer manufacturer in the game will offer a tablet solution by the end of the year. And no doubt there is a team working on audio versions for our vehicles.

We don't have our jet packs yet, but we have our voice and we have our choice.

Hurry Instant Now

This has given us the chance to connect to people worlds apart who share our interests. Businesses, not-for-profits and governments that have embraced it have found ways to directly connect with their constituents.

I spent 22 years in the radio industry overseeing everything from programming, promotion and marketing campaigns and performing on-air shifts. On the eve of my first time on the radio, one of my mentors gave me invaluable advice – find your own voice.

Same with Social Channels

It takes time to find your voice, connect and engage. So if you are unsure you should dig deeper or whether your company or organization should get more involved, start listening and learning.

Marcom keynote speaker Mitch Joel summed up by saying if your products or offering suck, social media won’t save you. So if you think that these channels will be your quick fix, you will be disappointed.

This has nothing to do with the number of followers or tweets you have, it has to do with you being you and digging in and mucking around like we all had to when we started.

Are you read to find your voice?

@knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

photo credit: istock

Connecting The Dots

How Long Has It Been?

Sixteen years ago, I was programming a radio station and I met a guy who was running a music magazine.

Apparently I treated him well (whew!) because three years ago he contacted me via Facebook in his current position of world renowed digital marketing blogger, president of a digital media agency and published author.

Building The Relationship


We have kept in touch, grabbed a meal a couple of times and shared a few ideas back and forth. Last April, he invited me to something called a Geek Dinner. It was a collection of people who had met online and enjoyed talking about digital media and marketing and communications and social networking.

Nice To Meet You. Now What?

During that dinner I met a few very cool people. Over the following few months we stayed in touch, exchanged emails and in some cases met in person and did some work together. We have kept in touch.

Among other client work, I recently became an associate at a public sector marketing company through someone I met that night. Over and above the work with him, he has introduced me to another client. Because of a meeting with someone sixteen years ago, I met someone who asked me to join their agency who in-turn introduced me to another client.

We Met Online

A few weeks ago, I attended an event with the United Way called Schmoozefest and realized that there were twenty of us who had all somehow met each other online. We lived in the same city but social media brought us together faster than any other networking means.

The World Is Small

I can look at almost every project I'm involved with right now and they point to connections made through digital social networks.

But Don't Be Fooled...

The websites simply connect us, the ability to contribute to a relationship is where the work begins.

The next time you wonder if social media – which is code for human networking – works, you might want to go back and see if you can connect the dots. And the good news, you can start anytime.

Do you think it’ll work?

@knealemann
marketing and social media strategy

Reading The Room

Years ago I worked with a sales guy who used to constantly remind me to “read the room”. He felt it was paramount that he knew the dress code of each meeting, who was attending and how the client’s pain was going to be cured.

Room? What Room?

The theory of reading the room or knowing your audience seeps into all that we do. It becomes especially tricky through the digital channels we reside.

Mitch Joel recently wrote a post about the difficulty of scaling your personal brand.

If you build a community then tell that community you don’t have time for them, how long will members remain?

The challenge is that we often want to share information but can’t give it all away for free. Time and money make for a delicate dance.

Defining The Room

I was speaking with a colleague recently who is a VP at one of the major U.S. cellular companies and he shared with me the story of dealing with one of his largest clients. This six figure client owns a big construction company whose world does not include a sales guy in a suit.

My buddy’s boss wanted to meet this client. So he suggested he'd pick him up on the way to the meeting. As suspected, the boss was in need of a wardrobe change. He told him to lose the suit and tie clip in favor of jeans and a golf shirt.

The meeting was held at a construction site - the client’s room - and the language was a tad looser than some would expect.

It Ain't About You

The boss was shocked by the repeated expletives by both men. The client said that his team was very happy with their new digital devices and all was going well. My buddy's boss learned a lesson about clients and suits. Thanks Chuck for sharing that story!

If we pay attention we can often figure out who we want to engage and those we don't, after we read the room.

Is it important to 'read the room'?
What are your thoughts?

@knealemann
marketing and social media strategy

image credit: netmaestro.co.nz

Have You LinkedIn?

"The ability for individuals to build a personal brand
has never been more important."
Mitch Joel

One of the fastest growing sites this year is LinkedIn. If you’re not familiar, this is a business social networking space. Unlike Twitter, you can post your resume and tell as much of your professional story as you want. Unlike Facebook, this is a bit more serious and doesn’t have as many plug-ins and apps.

It’s no surprise that LinkedIn has grown so much lately in lieu of what is going on.

"Your mileage may vary. I will do it my way, as most folks who connect with me eventually come calling to reach someone else that Iʼve added, and I feel good every time I can be helpful."
Chris Brogan

Like Facebook, LinkedIn features thousands of groups which you can join or you can start your own. This is a way to find similar thinking people in similar industries all over the world. It can give you a way to interact with people you would have never met otherwise.

Potential clients, employers and colleagues can educate themselves on you. Clients may want to know how you portray yourself before they let you do their marketing. Someone looking to hire you may want to see what kind of network you have developed or see if there is information you haven’t shared with them.

"Have a strong signal and rise above the noise."
Liz Strauss

One caution, if you have several profiles it is easy for potential employers to access information on you from your other profiles as well. So the pictures of Frank doing a belly flop in the lake at the cottage last summer may not put you in a good light. Then again, they might depending on the client or employer!

Lately, there has been chatter about advertising on LinkedIn and various other social networking platforms. Well it's simple, they need to make money or they will go out of business.

"In the future, social networks will be like air. They will be anywhere and everywhere we need and want them to be."
Charlene Li

Quality online spaces will not survive without cash flow. The venture capitalists need to see ROI eventually. But it is dicey business when the backbone of these spaces is built on community for the purpose of community. These digital spaces are companies. Those involved want to see a profit. Their challenge is to avoid temptation to exploit the users, our challenge it to be aware of that possibility.

"Why people choose to visit online social sites: Who likes me? Is everything okay? How can I become more popular? What's new? I'm bored, let's make some noise."
Seth Godin

We have hopefully learned our lesson from the dot-com bust that it's not enough to have shiny offices and a cool logo. And if you have LinkedIn, here's hoping it has become a valuable tool for you.

Thoughts?



photo credit: ere.net
disclosure: linkedin is not a client

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.

People Are People

I got an email yesterday from someone who had sifted through previous posts here and found one I did last May about taking the social media experience to the human level. It was inspired by CC Chapman who suggested that once you establish a new relationship perhaps you should just grab coffee and get to know someone better. That is the essence of all this online chatter.

Tools vs. Humans

We have websites and profiles, friendfeeds and tweets, followers and connections, microblogs and status updates; but those are simply the ways in which we reach each other.

Mitch Joel suggests that Twitter may become the next Google. Jeff Pulver thinks that it will be sold to Microsoft or Google in the next 18 months for $2-4 Billion. All could be true, all could be irrelevant. Those are tools and without the human element, we’re right back to the dot com bust.

We Are The Change

The point is we are the ones creating change; we are the ones connecting with each other across different industries from far off locations. Mitch and I had lost touch for 15 years and frankly he’s the one who pushed me in the deep end in the first place. Then he walked away to let me figure it out. Glad he did.

The Web of Social Connections

From geek dinners to podcamps, blog comments to phone calls, tweetups to webinars, the world really is a lot friendlier and a lot smaller than you think.

We all have the opportunity to gain new connections, contacts, colleagues, friends and perspective. There may be a dimension missing from some business plans and that is a better understanding of human behavior. And most of all it means we are just people trying to figure it all out and if we share more often we can help each other do just that.

Whether you meet someone in a coffee shop or through contacts in a social networking site, it’s up to you how much you want to pitch in. If you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much we will appreciate it. #followfriday

@knealemann

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

Many Minds Make Light Work

@carl Dude, how you doing?!
@steve All good ...how's Mary?
@carl Awesome, thanks... Sally well?
@steve Couldn’t be better! How’s the gig?
@carl Good good ...let’s grab a beer some time!
@steve Sounds great, give me a shout.

Carl signs off and wonders why his life is such a mess while Steve seems so happy. Steve grumbles under his breath as he switches off his laptop that Carl has it so good while his life is falling apart.

Take A Peak Inside

As we open the doors wider into ourselves, do we need to put up a higher wall or a braver face? I have received countless emails from people who feel intimated by places like Facebook and Twitter. They don’t feel they have anything to share. We all have something to share.

The Power We Hold

MuteMath writes in the song Peculiar People “With a word we can drown a mountain”. Later in the song they write "we can fly with the wings of eagles". The operable word in both lyics is 'we'.

We are human. We are flawed. We experience life with its joy and bumps. We too often have to paste a smile on our face for the world to see. We often forget others must do the same.

Start With Hello

If you have a social media profile and you dig a little deeper to get to know a new contact, you will experience the magic of the medium. I remember the first time I sent an email to someone I had just met - and they responded! And we started a conversation.

My friends who don't 'get' social media, think that Twitter is a waste of time. But if you've ever experienced it when the conversation flows among several people and new people chime in with thoughts, you know that it's much more than a chat room.

During the Presidential debates, Obama's inauguration, the bailout, and the latest in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the conversation was vibrant and alive.

Let's Collaborate More

If we are spending more time online in social media enviornments, should we not be trying to share even more? But let's not confuse activity with progress. Increased chatter does not guarantee more solutions.

Stretch out those conversations - in public or private. This isn't about showing others how s-m-r-t we are or how well-read we are or how in-the-know we are. If we all lived 300 years, we still wouldn't know it all.

Be Yourself

To borrow words that best describe this, I turn to Seth and Mitch. Be remarkable. Be authentic. Take chances and step out. Enjoy your voice.

We are all stumbling around together. If we aren’t willing to make mistakes, be ourselves and be remarked about, then we may as well turn off the computer.

And the next time someone asks us how we're doing – maybe it's best to simply say “fine thanks, you?”

km

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