Entries from July 2008 ↓

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Brought to us by Liz Strauss of Successful Blog, and many other contributors.

You’ll find my 25 words of wisdom in there as well.

Writing Project: 25 Words of Work / Life Wisdom - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

The project above by Liz Strauss is one that sure got folks thinking. What can I say in 25 words that will have meaning and impact? She provided a few great examples and many folks have responded already. The deadline is today though; this is a barely under the wire post.

All said, here’s my take:

No person an island they say. Then why do we work so hard to keep folks on their own islands. Consider inviting them to yours.

You’ve just written a world saving blog post or book or both. It’s got to reach the world in short order. How are you going to convince your friends to talk about it to their connections and networks? Is bribery the answer? Offer them some participation prizes? We know that only provides temporary buzz.

It’s war out there. People in your network of friends and business associates are under a constant barrage of information. They’ve seen dozens of blog posts, new books, and freshly launched businesses. Chances are they are weary of it all. What’s a person to do?

Contacts need to become comrades in arms. Their energy and focus on your needs to be such that’d they are willing to help you put the war paint on. When that happens, they’ll be talking up you, your work and more without any prompting.

War paint? Yep. What I found out when working to get to SOBCon08 was more was accomplished by getting folks along side than pushing them to push others. Oh, I did my share of that, but what really worked was bringing my contacts to fight along side for me.

How to get them there is really the question? It’s partially about having something great to say, but it’s equally about sharing your story and making them a part of it.

What really sells people, especially folks like me, is getting involved in the story. What gets me talking about Apple and their products? Oh, good products for sure, but there are lots of good to great products out there. For me it’s the story. I can tell about my Mac conversion; I can talk about how excited Apple is about the users; I can’t help myself.

With my contacts, it’s hard not to share their stories when they share them with me and invite me to be involved. That’s crucial. You can’t just have a story to tell, but it’s got to be one that folks can join in on.

Cancer survivor stories might move us, but how much more moving when told by someone that you know, or someone that asks you to come along side, and lets you know how much it’s appreciated. A story where you get to be part of it.

If you’re paying attention, you’ll realize it’s not really about the book, or the blog post so much. It’s about who you are and how your contacts are part of that. The more involved you can help them to be, the more they are going to want to share on their own.

Honesty and transparency are key. If you’re going to ask folks to get involved, and give you their trust, get them to be part of and share our story, then be up front with them. Ask for their help, tell them the truth, and share the joy of your success.

Do you have cohorts willing to help you put the war paint on and face the world? Are you working on building those types of relationships? Waiting for your best seller to happen? How about getting your support team together while you wait. They are vital to your success.

Want to come along side me? Your support and encouragement is always welcome. Want me along side for you? Tell me your story and get me on board. We’ll go face the world together.

Inspired by Brian Clark.

Social networking and media can fool you. Oh yeah, you’ve got a hundred contacts here, a 1000 there, and more folks are friending you on Facebook every day.

But what’s really happening? Is the world knocking your door down? Are these folks really your friends? The hard truth is that most of these folks will engage you in no more than water cooler chat.

Reality can be rough, but this isn’t out of your control. There’s hope and better relationships ahead. We just have to step off the path a bit.

What can you do? How can you turn contacts into partners, associates, and friends? Investment!

The biggest mistake we make is looking for more when we’re not willing to take the first step. As in relationships of any kind, it takes time and effort to form a bond. This is amplified in some ways by the sheer distances across which we reach with the internet.

Investment isn’t about spending more money, or taking out stock in a the latest Facebook copy cat. It’s about investing in those threadbare connections. Turn the water cooler chat into sharing about plans, dreams, and that secret tattoo.

As a person struggling with this every day, and feeling the pressure myself, I’ve set myself on a path to move through this struggle. There are a few things I’ve done to move things forward.

- send postcards - folks really enjoy these, and they give you a chance to send a hand written and personal note to someone, an individual, across miles, and even across oceans. This is the personal touch that gets remembered and says, “I like you.”

- ask how you can support them - I find myself more and more asking how I can support people. Yes, I fail sometimes, but I’m getting better. But it’s about the effort. Get in there and actually support folks. Don’t just cheer on the sidelines! Visit their blog, link to them, send your friends to their site, pimp out their book, or even consider praying for them.

- pick up the phone - if you can’t be there, the next best thing is a human voice. I’ve witnessed first hand how life changing a single phone call can be. It doesn’t have to be a heavy thing, but reach out, touch someone’s life today. You can’t do business either until you connect.

- when all else fails, visit in person - I’d taken the opportunity this year to do just that. I’ve to meetups, lunches, breakfasts, and dinners, blogger meetings, tweetups, and taken photo walks. Heck, we even stayed at a Flickr friend’s house for a week. Wow!

I’m no genius and these aren’t brain surgery level tips. These are simple and practical things you can start doing today.

To show you I’m serious, email me, DM me, send me a private Utterz, call. Tell me about yourself, how we can connect, and where you’re looking for support. Beyond that, I challenge you to reach out today to one of those people you’ve got in your contact list and let them know you’re more than an avatar.

PS - get an avatar with a smile why don’t you.

So what’s up folks with this splash screen? Seriously? Does someone get here by accident?

One of my favorite games but sheesh, more of that will mean less of me.

If you’ve ever served in the military, you’ve probably picked up a thing or two about just about everything under the sun. You know how to clean up rust, paint, sew on a button, and scramble some eggs. Cleaning and shooting a gun might even be second nature. But what did you learn about leading the online life?

We’ll I’ve put together a partial list of things being in the Navy taught me about social networking. Your comments, lessons learned, and anecdotes are welcome.

1) You can’t go home until the paint is dry - folks want to come on the soc net scene and splash around and think they’ve done it. I got news for your baby; dipping your brush in and calling it done doesn’t work with this crowd. Half done stuff will get you eaten alive.

2) The hours are crazy - oh yeah, social networking isn’t a 9 - 5 and call it a day thing. You’ve got to be available when folks are there to work with. You’ll find too that you can’t just do it part time either and be effective.

3) There’s always someone there to give you a rough time - this is always true in the military and even more so in the world of Twitter and FriendFeed. As a matter of fact, unlike the military where just your unit gave you grief, now they whole world can come out of the woodworks to make your life hell.

4) There’s more than one person in your circle with more expertise - even in a small group, every person has their specialities. In my contacts there are folks that have been online since DARPA started the project, and those that just discovered Twitter today. Just when you think you know enough to be the expert, along comes someone with tons more experience. The web just multiplies that experience, and it gets worse with each contact you add.

5) Your loved ones will hate it - oh, they may be ’supportive’, but trust me, whether you’re out to see, on deployment, or locked in hours long conversations online, your significant other is not happy. You’ll know this is really true when the ring comes off. ‘Nough said.

6) The tech can be cool - few things are as cool as sonar, radar, radio gadgetry and nuclear power. Those things kept me learning for years in the military, understanding how they work. That same coolness factor often draws me to new social networks. I love how things connect, how posts travel everywhere, and how I can chat with video to folks in Australia.

7) There are enemies to fight - duh, of course so in the military, but you’d think if you only added folks you liked, it’d be less so online. But trust me, the crazies seek you out, your friends will go nutz at times, and total strangers will start a personal vendetta against you. Much like international politics it seems.

What about you? Can you fill in three things or more you learned about social networking from your time in the military?

UPDATE: Please check out the follow up post with five more things.

Nope, not dead, just overcome by the offline world. Thanks for your continued support. I’ll be back to regular posting soon.

Thanks,
Todd