The power of positive thinking – you’ve heard that before, right? What about the power of positive interaction?

Now more than ever we can create and share in conversations in ways that were never possible before the internet. But what do you bring to the conversation? Is it really a contribution? Is it meaningful? Is it positive? Consider the Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket for a moment.

The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket

Each of us has an invisible bucket. It is constantly emptied or filled, depending on what others say or do to us. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful.

Each of us also has an invisible dipper. When we use that dipper to fill other people’s buckets — by saying or doing things to increase their positive emotions — we also fill our own bucket. But when we use that dipper to dip from others’ buckets — by saying or doing things that decrease their positive emotions — we diminish ourselves.

Like the cup that runneth over, a full bucket gives us a positive outlook and renewed energy. Every drop in that bucket makes us stronger and more optimistic.

But an empty bucket poisons our outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will. That’s why every time someone dips from our bucket, it hurts us.

So we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill one another’s buckets, or we can dip from them. It’s an important choice — one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness.

As conversations become easier to start with tools like Facebook and Twitter consider too, how easy it is to add to or take from someone’s bucket and how that impacts your personal and emotional self (not to mention your personal brand).

The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket is the foundation for the book “How Full Is Your Bucket”. I’ve mentioned this book in earlier posts and highly recommend it. Put the power of positive interaction in action immediately.

You can purchase this book by following my affiliate link here:

While at SOBcon in Chicago, I was talking about project management with the folks at my mastermind table and I went on a quick riff about how I essentially project manage all my projects from book publishing to website launches and marketing plans to business plans and nearly everything in-between.

The discussion was quick, but it’s a great topic to elaborate on.

This article is about project management and includes:

1. A video on what I believe makes a great project manager
2. A basic outline of what a project manager does
3. A few resources to really dig deep and learn about project management processes

This article is based on the past 15 years of launching websites, books, newspapers, magazines, and managing video and photography shoots as well as the management of advertising campaigns among other things link events, business plans, marketing plans.

NOTE: I am not a “Project Manager” by title.  I consider myself to be a Champion for the project and if you are trying to turn ideas or projects into a reality, you should be a Champion too.

This (almost) short video opens up on some of my fundamental ideas on Project Management and sets the tone well for the rest of this article. Watch it to learn about my thoughts on Human Capital.

What Makes a Great Project Manager from Justin McCullough on Vimeo.

In the video, that was not a direct quote from Seth Godin. In Linchpin, Purple Cow, Free Prize Inside (affiliate links) and his blog he talks about championing projects and shipping and I guess I just wanted to name drop

10 Things Great Project Managers Do:

1 – Champions the project.
This includes accepting the responsibility of success or failure of the project from the very beginning. Accept the responsibility right off the bat because you’ll be the first one blamed for it if there are problems or failure, so may as well own it from the start so its easier for you to deal with.

2 – Facilitates communication and becomes the info hub.
You will always be the center of the communication for all internal and external constituents.  Use good judgment and common sense in your communication, maintain a “can do” attitude and always be the first to check in or follow up.  Always be the keeper of current information and share it freely. It helps people understand what you are about and if you offer to help, not just criticize or enforce objectives, you’ll be a friend and ally to the project.

3 – Defines, interprets and shares expectations. Often.
Even the best and most talented minds can be paralyzed if they are unclear on expectations.  This includes responsibilities, process, timeline, tasks, deliverables, budget and PAYMENT for services.  Some of the biggest issues I’ve ever had with experts on a project have stemmed from their incorrect assumptions on when they would get paid or the intent of the project all because I trusted “they were the expert and would know what was expected”.  Appreciate the expertise, but honor the client and the project by clarifying the details and setting expectations.  Those connected to the project will appreciate you for it and know that you run a tight operation that sets the project on the path of success. We all want expectations, so give them.

4 – Asks questions and is not a no-it-all.
Great project managers don’t know the in’s and out’s of every job required to complete the project, but they do know the people involved know their job.  Great project managers ask the right “why” and “how” questions often in order to uncover real issues, real deliverables, real expectations etc.  The why and how aren’t asked so you can learn to do their job, they are asked so you can learn how they see themselves fitting their jobs into the project on time and on budget.  This is a key part of understanding the work to be done as well as the expectations or challenges of the people involved in the project.

5 – Knows the steps, what’s next, and where things are going.
To successfully champion any project you must always be aware of the deliverables, milestones, tasks and pinch-points or bottlenecks in the project.  While you might think “everyone” understands how important the project (the client, the budget etc) is, none of them will be married to the entire project end-to-end like you are, so always know who’s doing what, when, where, why, how and then what’s next.  When in doubt, remember that you are the map and if you don’t know what’s next it’s likely to cause a pinch-point that will cost time and money. Be the map and know what’s next.

6 – Inspects what is expected.
Plotting dates, budgets, milestones and tasks are essential.  Large projects will have many items – enough to warrant project management software, but regardless of size, the tools you use, great project managers inspect what they expect.  The tighter the project is on time and budget, the closer you have to be with your follow-up (inspection).  See, follow-up is a nice way to say it, so follow-up often.

7 – Eternally represents the solution not the problem.
The best project managers internalize the issues and problems and determine next steps and solutions to the problems. As a champion of the project it’s your place to find the solution proactively and keep the project moving forward.  It’s nice when it happens, but never assume someone else will jump in with a solution to bail you out. Again, you are the champion of the project so it is you who represents the solution so always represent that solution so the project can be completed.

8 – Owns the bad news, shares the good news.
Great project managers take the punches and share the successes.  That’s just the way it works so don’t throw your vendors, partners and employees under the bus to save face.  Always own the bad news personally and share what you are doing to fix it. And by all means, celebrate every victory, every win, everything good with the ones who did it – never take the credit for yourself.

9 – Cares.
Great project managers care about the client, the people involved, the project and it’s success.  If you care, it will be obvious.  If you don’t care, it will be obvious too.  When you care it’s much easier to get results.

10 – Knows how to ship.
You must be results oriented and the best project managers help things get unstuck and ship. Everything ships including the final project. Ship on time (or early) on budget (or under budget) and you’ll have a winning project and a remarkably important role in your organization, your ideas, and your success. Focus on shipping and you’ll do great.

Learn More About Project Management and the Process.

I personally try not to use project management software and I have never received formal training in project management which means there are a lot more skilled project managers (as in skilled in the craft, the software, and the formal process) than I am.

However, I have launched about 200 websites, several newspapers and magazines, several books and many many many advertising initiatives that have all gone well without project management software or certification as a project manager. I think you can too.  This is one area where a desire to succeed and learn means you don’t need to be certified in order to be great at it.

In my experience, most clients don’t care how you deliver on their goals and objectives. They only care that you meet and exceed their goals and objectives. In my opinion that’s all that matters too.  My hope is that this article will help you understand the core aspects required to champion a project and become a great project manager.

If you want to dig deeper into the formal processes of project management, here’s some good content to sink your teeth into.

• 11 Things Every New Project Manager Should Know
• 20 Things Every Project Manager Should Know and Do
• Wikipedia definition of Project Management
• Project Management 101
• Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager
• The SCRUM Process
• The Stage-Gate Model
• The Waterfall Model

My personal methods are something of a mashup between the Agile Method and 37 Signals approach mixed with SCRUM and Stage-Gate processes.  These techniques have been folded in over the last 8 years or so, but prior to that I was literally just learning as I went and still delivering so don’t get tied up on ingesting all this at once.

Good luck on your project management efforts and don’t hesitate to share your experiences or ask for help.

Miss Destructo!!

A streak of blue blur zips past you. “Holy molten yam showers, it’s Miss Destucto” you think to yourself, “we’re all safe now!”

After watching Miss Destructo’s impact on 4/16, also known as “Four Square Day” and seeing her meteoric rise within Social Media, I fully expect Miss Destructo to be a respected and in demand figure in the shaping of the future of social media.

Miss Destructo’s story is an interesting one of unemployment, a passion for yams, and energy, lots of energy.  I first learned of Amber a few months ago thanks to Trey Pennington’s post and audio interview on how Amber got a job in this stinky economy.  Listen to her Yam-tastic story or watch her tell it herself on video, or read the yampossible blog post here.

As you can see, yams are a bit more popular today than they were a year ago when she first started tweeting about it!  In the last three months, @brucesyams has grown from 61 followers to 368 followers as of today.  Not bad for a can of yams!

What Miss Destructo Does (that you can do too).

• Lives out-loud and in-front of people
• Connects individually one-on-one
• Follows her passion and heart
• Says “yes” to opportunities, PR, and projects
• Shows up, every day, even when its bad weather (emotionally)
• Continues to learn, grow and share
• Helps others

Thanks for being you Amber, I hope others follow your path and change the world by 2012.

Ok, so in all fairness, the title should probably be:

Online Campaign – How Blue Sky Factory, Chris Brogan and Christopher S. Penn nearly got it right, but failed in my case and how everything here can make your next sales push a success.

But that title is just too long.

We all make mistakes and sometimes, the mistake is farther down the chain than we realize or have control over.

I believe that is precisely what happened in my case.  And IF it happened to more people than just me, you can bet the good guys: Blue Sky Factory, Chris Brogan, and CS Penn are holding the bag – their fault or not.

This is a detailed look at trust, marketing, and execution on an online sales push from some of the biggest names in Social Media – the good and the bad and how you can learn and apply this to your sales and marketing efforts.

Follow every bit of this through (except the last part) and you will succeed in your next email sales push. The sections I call “What’s Happening Here” should provide the key elements for you to model in your online campaign and sales efforts.

Nearly everything here is actually a success story other than the fifth area below.

First – Chris Brogan eNewsletter

Subject line of email from Chris: “Email marketing and the folks at Blue Sky Factory”

This is a great little sales piece from Chris.  It clearly identifies his role in the email, why I (we) received it and who it benefits and why.  On top of that, a nice bit of positioning and display of influence by offering an exclusive ebook download and discount to use Blue Sky Factory as a benefit to loyalty with Chris.  Well done.  This is the right sort of email marketing and who would expect less from Chris?

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Chris leverages his list of readers, his name, and his promise to help others in exchange for our attention in the trusted environment of his newsletter.

2) Chris offers value with an informative eBook and a nice discount if you use Blue Sky Factory for email marketing services.

3)  Chris gives clear calls to action if you are interested in either the eBook or professional services of Blue Sky Factory.

4)  Blue Sky Factory gets great promotion, visibility, and an opportunity to grow their email marketing list via the eBook link and an opportunity to make sales (which I’m sure they did).

5)  It’s understood Chris gets something from Blue Sky Factory for the effort (obviously).

This entire sales push is based on the value of Chris; his audience, and his usage of the Blue Sky Factory services, and his brand promise.

All this is very good marketing, strategically and tactically.

Second – Blue Sky Factory eBook Offer Web Page

Title of Page: Blue Sky Factory presents: The Ultimate Guide to Email

The offer page from Blue Sky Factory is a wonderful sales page that explains the value of the eBook, who will benefit from reading it. (I downloaded the ebook and would explain the value of the content, but Acrobat says its damaged and wont open – so I’m not sure, but I assume it’s high value content). In true Hubspot fashion, you have to complete a lead generation form to gain access to the ebook.  Give up some information about you including email marketing volume and a clear message to indicate how you would like to be sold to.  Well done.  Of course, you expect that a sales push from Chris is going to be this well done.

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Offering value to Chris Brogan’s audience as a thank you for responding to his sales message.

2)  Lead generation. Lots of lead generation from the Blue Sky Factory.  Each email they get could turn into cash and lots of cash if people convert and use the service.

3)  Trust Building.  Thanks to Chris’s endorsement, there is little resistance to the lead generation form and Blue Sky Factory gets trusted implicitly as a result.

This sales and lead generation page is well done. Excellent response items and a clear way to identify the person responding and how to sell to them.  Excellent execution.

Blue Sky Factory undoubtedly grew their permission marketing list and prospect list quite a bit.  So far, Chris Brogan, Blue Sky Factory and the reader (prospects) are all winning.

Third – Christopher S Penn Follow Up and Thank You Email.

Subject line of email from CS Penn: “Thank you for downloading the Ultimate Guide to Email!”

This well thought out and drafted email from Chris S Penn clearly identifies his role at Blue Sky Factory, an oddity with the eBook and how to fix it, and sets a clear expectation to expect follow up from a Blue Sky Factory sales rep.  Excellent writing, not pushy, and relevant.  Very well done.

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Immediately touching you as a result of the free eBook offer to personally tie the prospect to the company and to the next step in the sales process.  You have to create the connection with the prospect or your lead gen form and recipient become a number with no personal contact other than the eBook.

2)  Enhancing CS Penn’s personal brand and connection to Blue Sky Factory (if you didn’t already know) allowing him to leverage Chris Brogan’s relationship with us and give him personal access to us – should he choose to do so.

3)  Clearly setting an expectation to be contacted by a sales rep from Blue Sky Factory.

This is a great ‘next step’ item from Blue Sky Factory to move you further down the sales funnel.  And this is all happening more or less on autopilot because it was pre-planned, pre-written, and all the touch points plotted and setup.  Awesome execution of funnel building. Note, the email included sales reps names, company phone number, company website and CS Penns email.  Completely transparent communication here.  Also note, so far there is no “we are the best”, “hundreds of people use us and love us”, “act now, limited time offer, buy buy buy” messages in this email or the sales page or Chris Brogans eNewsletter.

Fourth – Blue Sky Factory Sales Rep Follow Up and Call to Action Email.

Subject line of email from Sales Rep: “Blue Sky Factory / Publicaster Information”

Now, after three touches with the Blue Sky Factory brand, this is the first somewhat typical sales message. It includes a brief message of thanks for my interest as well as various links to the Blue Sky Factory website and more information on their products.  All pretty standard “learn more about us” type information.  Also included is acknowledgment that the sales rep is indeed interested in talking to me about my interest in their product and asks when we can connect to discuss. Presumably the rep has seen all my information from completing the lead gen form on the eBook page, where I actually listed several questions and areas of interest.  However, the rep does not actually directly speak to those items I indicated so I’m not sure if that information is known at this point.  I am provided links to review and a phone number to call.

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Providing more information on Blue Sky Factory and products.  Which move me further along the funnel as I learn and understand more about their services.

2)  Clearly identified the interest to speak to me, learn about my needs, and ideally sell me something.

This email had a lot to review – too much in my opinion and did not specifically speak to my questions from the lead gen form on the eBook page.  This is not particularly bad, just worth noting as an area of possible opportunity on their side.  Again, this email does not have any swanky sales messages “buy now” offers or promises.  It clearly is a request to learn more from me and offer me ways to learn more about them should I decide to follow all the provided links…. Again too many links in this email, so I didn’t look at any of them. However, I did make a note to call the rep as requested.

Fifth – My Call to the Sales Rep

WHO WAS JUST FIRED.

So, now the breakdown. The kink in the chain.  The plot twist.

After all this excellent marketing, a truly well thought out campaign with many pieces of communication and undoubtedly tons of energy and time and at the expense of Chris Brogan’s name and list, the whole thing comes to a faltering halt – at least for me – all because the sales rep had just been terminated.

How much sense does this make? How many people experienced this? 2 (I count as one of them)? 20? 500?… I don’t know, but it goes to show how you can do all the things right to build the funnel, build interest and momentum, and drop-the-ball when it matters most.

The sales rep was professional despite the situation and did give me a phone number to call (which I already had from CS Penn’s email).  The problem though, is that I’m spent for the moment.

The one-shot opportunity the campaign was all about has come and gone.  My emotional well of interest, trust, and value has drained.  Not completely, but certainly no longer full enough for action.

Why did the Blue Sky Factory management team do this? I mean, either fire the person before the push so they are not a link the chain, or wait till after the push to utilize their role in the campaign and at least move the prospects deeper into the funnel and then strategically migrate those accounts.  But do it in the middle of the push? Crazy.

It should be noted that I got Chris Brogan’s Initial email (first step above) and called the sales rep (fifth step above) all within the same business day.  It’s not like I hesitated in my response and drug out my actions over weeks.  We are talking just a few hours here.

The Result:

1)  Lost confidence in Blue Sky Factory and it’s product – their fault or not, no matter, its happened (for me at least).

2)  A mental note registered against CS Penn and Chris Brogan – one that will either be dismissed as a non-incident and no real risk, or one that will fester and grow over time depending on my future experiences.

3)  Lost conversions.  For every prospect this sales rep is associated with is now costing Blue Sky Factory with little hope of the original ROI goals.

The Praise:

I’m sure its understood by now, but I switch gears through out this post between affected prospect and marketer…

1)  Excellent execution on the front part of the funnel from Brogan’s email, through the creation and leveraging of a valuable eBook and to the positioning of the sale from CS Penn.

2)  Remarkably well written sales messages that were not too pushy, did not have false promises, and effectively moved prospects through the funnel of conversion.

3)  Great timing.  Each follow up piece was appropriately timed and deepend the desire to act since it was timely and appropriately messaged.

This was a 98% perfect campaign, but the last 2% is where it failed.

How Blue Sky Factory, Brogan and Penn Should Fix This:

1)  Acknowledge it.  No excuses, just acknowledge it happened – don’t act as if it didn’t happen and don’t make it about me.  It may not be “your” fault, but that’s the burden of leadership. So own it and work with it.

2)  Communicate.  Maintain the same transparency and authenticity of the earlier messages and emails and reach out to each and every one of the people who got contacted by the terminated sales rep.

3)  Care. Show you think my interest is important and that the situation doesn’t define our budding relationship.

4)  Be Trustworthy.  Make every effort to regain the trust you had at the beginning and make it right, make it remarkable, make it deeply valuable.  This is your opportunity to win despite the written off and implied loss of this experience.

5)  Bring me back into the fold and remind me why I was interested and taking action to begin with.

An upset customer has the capacity to be a great customer.  Don’t loose sight of your efforts to get me here and jump in now and salvage all those interested people before it’s too late.

Conclusion:

This was a well planned campaign and you marketers out there should follow these points all the way through. Just don’t fire your sales rep in the middle of it and you should have stellar results!

Disclosure:
I personally like Chris Brogan (we chatted a bit at this years SXSW in Austin Tx and he has RT’d my blog before), and I like CS Penn and I also intend to get to know Blue Sky Factory and still see if there is a fit.  I follow all three on twitter and value their contribution to social media and marketing 2.o.

My hope is that this shines a light on effective marketing, how it can breakdown, and what we can all learn from it… And, I don’t blame any of the mentioned people – just acknowledge that they have ownership in the process and outcome.

While I was at SXSW in Austin I met Michael Procopio, a great guy who is leading the Social Media team of one of the top computer and software makers in the country.  We both sat in on this panel discussion with about 150 others and decided to co-author a blog on this exciting discussion.

“Blogger to Expert to Professional Speaker” by Michael Procopio and Justin McCullough.

We were at the SXSW Interactive session – From Blogger to Social Media Guru to Professional Speaker given by Nick Morgan (@nfrodom1) and Tim Sanders (@sanderssays). With a packed room, in a panel style layout with Nick and Tim in the center of the room rotating as they talked, we were given a behind-the-scenes look inside the professional speaking industry.

Tim became a speaker while at Yahoo! Nick is a speaker, author and Tim’s coach. Tim said Nick took him from ~$10,000 per talk to the next level. Turns out “the next level” is a bit more than a step away.  Throughout the discussion, we learned how to go from a $2,000 speaker to a $10,000 speaker and up to $35,000 and beyond.

Tim lead off the discussion by saying, when it comes to speaking, in his opinion there is only one book to read: “Give your speech and change the world” by Nick Morgan
People want a speaker to move an audience to action, which means an emotional topic or talk.

How do you make the journey from blogger to social media expert to professional speaker? That was the discussion. Professional speaker, in this case, is tear 3 or tier 2. By example tier 1 would be former President Bill Clinton or comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

Tier 3 starts at $3500 and up for a one-hour talk. How do you get there? According to Nick and Tim, first write a book published by a major publisher, self-publishing unfortunately doesn’t count. Tim wrote Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends. If you don’t have a book, expect to be limited to ~$2000 per talk.

To get the major publisher, you must follow the rules of publishing and Tim recommends reading and following the advice of Jeff Herman in his book “Write the Perfect Book Proposal”.

There are two types of books that lead to professional speaking opportunities:

• You did something successful and write about how you did it, even if it creates competitors
• Niche – everything you know is wrong, here is what’s right.

Tim urges us to not write another “duh” book that tells us what we already know.  Make yourself and your content outstanding – that’s what it takes to go pro.

Tim is all about actionable content. The gem for me was the answer to the question: “How do I go from speaking for free to getting paid”. Tim gave two points:

• When asked will you speak at our event you first statement is, “My standard fee is x thousand dollars”
• If the ‘will you do it for free’ topic comes up say, “I’d be happy to do this pro bono, just put it in writing that no one else is being paid to speak”.

For the second statement, Tim said you’ll probably hear a bit of silence on the phone and then they will give you a number and you can negotiate from there. He enforced the point saying, “don’t let them disrespect you” and gave an example of the huge dollars an event planner has to work with. In many cases, the large events cost and generate millions of dollars, so your speaker’s fee is really just a small portion of the overall expense. Many times, the event coordinators are just trying to leverage the event and get you for free or as cheaply as possible.  Tim illustrated the point where a planner told him they wanted three free speakers so they could pay the keynote speaker more.

Are you an opening or closing keynote or a panel speaker? That’s the question you have to answer.  Tim and Nick discussed the fact that pro speakers, the ones who make the big dollars, are the openers and the closers of the event. Interestingly, a panel speaker is valued around $5,000 – $8,000 for the hour where as the keynote may be $10,000 or more.  As a point of reference, Tim mentioned that his fee is around $25,000 for a 1-hour gig and comparatively, Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of “the Tipping Point”, “Blink” and “Outliers” is currently charging $86,000 for a speech.

His next point to becoming a pro speaker is to treat speaking bureaus like gold. When you get the speaking engagement above, look up your nearest speaking bureau and take the deal to their office personally. They will get ~25% commission but they will love you and give you more work. Also NEVER accept a job directly, ALWAYS take it to your bureau. Go around the bureaus and they will stop giving you work.

One note about speaking bureaus, their job is to deliver the best presenter, the safest bet, and the best results to organizations requesting a speaker.  If you use profanity or go into inappropriate areas during your presentation, you will most likely be cut from future gigs through the bureau.  In this context, you must package yourself as a safe and reliable purchase.

Money is great to get but you must earn it. First practice, practice, practice including the day of the presentation in front of a mirror. If you screw up once you won’t get any more work from the bureaus, he had examples of well-known people who are struggling to get speaking engagements because of off-hand comments and in one case, slipping the “f” word just one time.

You need to create a brand, that is, a promise of what you will deliver. Once you have your niche or unique topic you must package yourself.  Ask yourself, “what do I stand for”, “what do I represent” and own it.  This means you, personally, may sacrifice how you dress, how you speak, the words you use, and which of your opinions you share.  He talked about how the simple fact of long sideburns cost him $10,000 on each speaking gig because he just didn’t realize it was devaluing him in the bureaus mind.  Tim, as it turns out, once was in a rock band and had long hair in addition to those long sideburns so he has gone through quite a metamorphosis to become the pro speaker he is today. In addition to his appearance, Tim has also removed religion and politics from his areas of discussion – because it doesn’t fit his personal brand, his promise to deliver and he can’t afford to talk about things outside of his personal brand since he understands why the speakers bureaus are hiring him.

Also, create a professional DVD about 20 minutes of you speaking. The short clips are ok, but anyone who is interested wants to see continuous footage so they know what you are like, not just the best clips you have of yourself. One inexpensive way to do this is ask if the venue has IMAG projection, then give the director a $100 Amazon gift card or similar to give you a DV cam master. [Most large corporate events are recorded.] Hire a photographer [Craigslist.org was suggested to get a bargain price] to shoot the audience to get picture of people reacting to what you are saying.

How do you get the first gig? Use your social media network. Probably no one in your network will have a gig, but his or her network probably will.

The Quick Points:

• Get a publishing deal (based on niche topic or unique experience)
• Create a personal brand and promise to deliver it
• Have a DVD and website that shows your on-stage performance
• Offer high value content, no “duh, we already know that” material
• Ask for a fee that matches your role (Opener, Closer, Keynote or Panel)
• Always work your gigs through the speakers bureau
• Don’t be taken advantage of by “free” gigs
• Practice your speech, take it seriously, always improve your performance

Give your best at every gig; you can’t afford to have an off day.

Related items:

• Nick’s blog
• Tim’s blog
• Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur, Pam Slim

One of my business boundary pushing colleagues, Jason Kellie, recently brought up a few thoughts on “books” and “reading” on his blog.

Jason wants to know a few things:

You can see Jason’s answers to those three points on his blog Idea2Opportunity.com.

Jason and I tweet to each other daily, swap emails weekly, and skype occasionally. I respect Jason for his entrepreneurial ways and his willingness to act on his thoughts. He is business savvy, has a record of success, and fearless when it comes to exploring new territory. He also started an awesome CD / DVD company called DittoBite where you can print short-run or just one disk for about $1 and I think that business fits well with the growth in consumer production where “everyone” is now a producer. Jason is also a Linchpin and one of the earliest members of The Linchpin Way community.

Jason, here are your answers…

As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, I believe in reading books. I’m a big reader and shared my 2009 book list as well as my first load of books to read for this year.

Why I read books:

Inspiration

I read books with an open mind so it’s easy to be inspired when the information is let in freely. For me, books inspire me to create, experiment, contemplate, and go somewhere I may not have gone before. Books like Linchpin inspire me to act.

Personal Growth

I want to grow personally and books allow me to learn the truest lessons of the author. Think about that. A book is typically the cream that rises to the top in the author’s mind and you get it just by reading what may have taken them years to ascertain. Talk about short cuts to personal development.

Mentoring

As a mentor, it’s my responsibility to learn, stretch and grow so I can take information and teach others. No new information, no new teaching. Every book I read becomes useful to a future lesson I have not yet shared. Books like Marketing 2.0 inspire me to teach social media for business where as books like All Marketers are Liars inspire me to grow the potential of every marketer and business owner.

Leadership

The only way to see around corners and through walls is to have unexpected insight that most do not have. As a leader, the books I read coupled with my own real life experience allow me to see around corners, develop a broader worldview, and see trends, cycles and patterns that others don’t see because they don’t have the incoming data points to connect. Books like the Long Tail and Tipping Point allow me to better define the “why” behind the “what” and because I know to look for it – I see it when others don’t.

Attention

Yep, I said it. I read books for attention… Well I mean, I read books for the nuggets that are repeatable, easy to share and interesting. I read books for the story-telling value, the ability for me to have unexpected connections to conversations and ideas with other people. No-one likes a no-it-all, but everyone loves a good story (and the story-teller). Books keep me full of good stories to tell.

My reading process:

I have several books I am reading at a given time. As few as three and as many as six. I have my “clutch” book, the one I’m committed to reading the fastest. Then I have my “in progress” books that I want to read, but don’t have a mental timeline in mind. Then I have my “fluff” book that is my time away book (I treat this book like TV time – its entertainment). Then I have my “travel” book which is an audio book in my truck and instead of talk radio or music, I listen to an audio book – even if I’ve heard it already.

I read my clutch book about 20 – 30 minutes daily. I typically read from my in progress books about 5 – 10 minutes daily. I read my fluff book when the moment feels right which is usually a few times a week for about 20 minutes. My travel book is the duration of my road trip so usually at least 30 minutes.

Right now, I am reading 6 books as described above. Also, not that it matters, but I always read two pages at least and when I stop, I always stop on the left page at the first noticeable break or paragraph end so I know where to pick up later. Yes, I am a dork.

Justin’s Top 5 Books

This is tricky and it’s possible if you asked me at a later date I may not select the same books. I have intentionally not included spiritual books that are indeed on my top list.

1. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason – Ground Zero for understanding personal finances.
2. The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino – We are all salesmen and this book is paramount for integrity based selling.
3. How Full is your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton – Truly understand why and how positive interaction will change your life and those around you (it’s a lifestyle).
4. Linchpin by Seth Godin – Own your life and live it fully. Your art is a gift, do the work that matters, don’t be a cog in the system.
5. Purple Cow by Seth Godin – Success follows things that are remarkable. Be remarkable.

What are your Top 5 Books? Tell me below and don’t forget to tell Jason on his blog.

Marketing 2.0 by Bernie Borges

A book review and 9 responses from Bernie Borges on  “Marketing 2.0″ – Bridging the gap between seller and buyer through social media marketing.

Before diving into the interview, first a bit about Bernie Borges and why I think Marketing 2.0 is a great book for any business interested in online growth.

Bernie’s twitter profile reads:  “Author of Marketing 2.0, Social Media Evangelist, Inbound Marketing Agency CEO, Blogger, Podcaster, Speaker, and Entrepreneur”.

From what I can tell, Bernie is not a geek, gearhead, computer nerd, or software engineer, he is a regular business guy working with regular businesses to produce irregular results online.  The sort of results most businesses think are impossible to repeat in their situation. What these business don’t understand is that they can achieve the same success if only they shift to a Marketing 2.0 mindset.

So, if you are a business struggling to embrace the social web, struggling to understand what web 2.0 is all about and how inbound marketing can work for you, then Marketing 2.0 is probably the only book you need to read to get started.

Where as most books educate on specific elements, terms and definitions, Bernie’s book also provides context, logical reasons and actionable information to truly embrace the concepts in your real world situation.  You will have many “ah ha” moments as you see the “why” that is often hidden behind the “what” you may already be familiar with.

In my opinion as a marketer and player in this space, I feel this book is the first book a business should purchase to build their web integrated marketing foundation.  Starting here, with a Marketing 2.0 mindset, will allow all other things to fall into place.  It is exactly this reason that I decided to write this post and interview Bernie.

So, on to the interview.

1) You describe much more than social media in this book.  Why did you take such a holistic approach to marketing?

I originally had another title for the book that pertained to social media. I realized as I was writing the book that it was about marketing as a new mindset. The book is broader than social media, though I focus on explaining how to use social media in a 2.0 marketing mindset.

2) Why are companies struggling to embrace the Marketing 2.0 mindset?

Because they don’t view marketing 2.0 as a mindset. Many marketers still have a 1.0 mindset applied to the new tools on the social web. Without the mindset they won’t get good results.

3) I enjoyed Mike Volpe’s contribution to the Foreward of Marketing 2.0.  As the front runner for Hubspot, what types of people do you think he recommends this book to and why?

Mike wrote a terrific foreword for which I’m very grateful. He recommends the book to social media newbies.

4) You have a whole chapter dedicated to Personal Branding. I found it to be deeply relevant for a person’s ‘personal branding’. I also thought it was just as applicable to companies that are attempting to be more personal with their branding.  How has Marketing 2.0 changed branding for individuals and companies?

Those who understand the rationale for personal branding realize that it’s all about humans marketing to humans in human ways. The corporate cloak is dead. Brands and people who work for brands need to be human. Personal branding is about the convergence of “me” as “me” and as a worker in a company. I’m not two different people. The brand I represent can be represented by me and by the brand in very human ways.

5) I triple underlined a passage in your book talking about how we are trained in business to protect (horde) our information, experiences and content and that your advice was to just let the content go.  What would you suggest as a starting point for companies who resist this fundamental shift in thinking and messaging?

It’s hard for some companies to adopt the mindset which calls for letting your content go. My advice is to study what others are doing in their industry. Experiment with content flow and see what happens. It can start gradually and expand over time. I wouldn’t expect overnight results.

6) You have a nice collection of real-life case studies of “regular” businesses putting Marketing 2.0 in action.  Do you have a recent case study you wish you could have included in the book?

Homemaker’s Magazine in Toronto has recently become very active on the web by sharing their content and building terrific relationships. They are building an online community that transcends to their print product.

http://www.homemakers.com/

7) What do you think professional marketers who have already adopted the social web will take away from your book?

Hopefully, they can pick up suggestions about how to convince any skeptics in their company to become a marketing 2.0 company. I also have a chapter on staffing which can be useful to experienced marketers as well as closing the loop between marketing and sales.

You describe traditional media as interruptive media.  If you plug your website, twitter, or facebook on a television or radio spot – is that good or bad or just more of the same “old school” thinking?

That’s not old school. You’re inviting people to connect with you on the web. If you don’t engage with people properly, that would be “old school.” But if you truly engage people with good content, you listen, you invite them to participate in your community, it’s great to promote these channels in any marketing materials you produce.

9) With only 140 characters for a call to action, why would someone read Marketing 2.0 today?

Adopt a marketing 2.0 mindset. Think like a publisher. Build relationships. Earn trust. Enjoy the sales benefits.

Buy the book, Marketing 2.0 on Amazon

Visit Bernie’s website or see Bernie on twitter.

April 12 1892 – April 13, 1973
Henry Darger, an artist, a recluse, and now a mystery. At the age of 81, Henry died in 1973, four years before I was born. Yet, today I am inspired by his story and must share it with you.

Henry Darger: Lived in Chicago, dressed daily in a hand-mended army coat, held a lifelong career mostly as a janitor with only three known photos to capture his likeness. By day a menial worker, a recluse, and dedicated Catholic with daily attendance to mass, but by night an artist, a story teller, author and conversationalist only to himself.

Henry authored an epic journey filling more than 15,000 pages, wrote his autobiography exceeding 5,000 pages, logged thousands of hand written notes, and painted nearly 300 water color paintings and countless sketches and drawings. A prolific expression of art and passion.

In 1909 he began the writing and illustrating of his 15,000+ page epic. No teachings, art lessons, or mentors. He started his own way. Clipped from magazines and newspapers as source material and used these images in future works. In his own ways, these clippings were used and reused as overlays, collages, tracings and inspiration to create the pictures in his head that reflected his vast and complex fictional world.

Henry read every paper published, the morning edition and the evening edition, all he could find as source material. He used butcher paper as his canvas and glued sheets together sometimes 12 feet long – often painted on both sides.

For his epic he wrote his own lyrics to Calvary songs, kept notes on the fictitious cost of the war he was chronicling and included character notes, plot points, and many other notes for his work of passion. He was meticulous and experimental in his approach. But he was also not limited to just the one story in his mind. Along with his autobiography, a short story about a twister, he committed 10 years to journaling Chicago’s weather several times daily specifically discounting and admonishing the local weatherman and his inaccuracies.

It is reported that Henry slept in a chair only a few hours a night, never in a bed. No television, not evenings out, nothing other than his reclusive expression of art and passion. In isolation his work was really never known until after his death. His work never enjoyed by others, his passion never conveyed one-on-one, his gift virtually hidden for his entire life of 81 years.

With almost 300 paintings, more than 30,000 pages of written works, a single typed manuscript of “In the Realms of The Unreal” spanning 15,145 pages, Henry left us with an epic journey that ends with both a glorious victory and fateful defeat – truly two different endings to the saga. Why? We will never know.

Henry Darger died on April 13, 1973 at 81 years old – only 1 day after his birthday.

Henry is now acclaimed as one of the most famous figures in “outsider art” and his paintings have sold for more than $80,000.

Henry lives inside us – each one of us.

We all have a story like Henry’s waiting to be told. Perhaps you are already telling it in solitude or perhaps you are storing up, withholding it because you are waiting for the right time. Learn from Henry, what you need to know, you already possess – the rest you will learn as you go, but go you must. Let your art go.

81 years is too long to wait to see what you have to share with us. Start today and celebrate it tomorrow – with friends.  A great group of friends are coming together to share their talents and gifts and would love to have you at The Linchpin Way.

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement!
Join The Linchpin Way Community.

This is not another Linchpin book review.

I’ve written about Seth before. A full post dedicated to the amazing Box Set launch.  I also included Seth in a post discussing how leaders learn and I tweet about Seth and recommend his books. Seth Godin does good things.

With so many reviews like these, there is little room for another unique book review of Linchpin by Seth Godin. These reviews are outstanding, truly useful, and as you can see, they cover a lot of ground and some were even limited to 140 characters and pdf’d.  From what I can tell, two of those links above will lead you to more than 200 articles about Seth and the book and the number of links grows every day. Many of those articles are by amazing authors and bloggers and include both video and written interviews with Seth himself.

As I said, this is not another one of those reviews.

This article, The Linchpin Way, is for the growing base of people who have already read Linchpin. This is for Linchpin readers and Linchpin leaders. People like me, you and them.

1 of 4 "cube grenades" by Hugh MacLeod

Now is the time to act, unite, and engage. Viva La Linchpin!

Act on your Linchpin mindset with this Linchpin Poll

You know the Linchpin questions and you know the answers – don’t you? Now, ask them yourself in the worlds first user contributed Linchpin poll. You can answer the questions I and others asked.  You can also create your own questions to include in the poll for others to answer – yep, you can modify the poll to include your questions too and see what others say.

You are the Linchpin.  The simple act of reading these Linchpin Poll questions, acting on them with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ will move you closer to complete ownership of the Linchpin mindset and The Linchpin Way.

(start answering or select the blue ‘ask’ tab and add your own questions)

Are you a Linchpin?

Share the poll with others by retweeting this blog post. Or follow @LinchpinPoll on twitter and help others find it. Even easier, here is a retweetable message, just click and it will open in a new window Are You a Linchpin? I just took the Linchpin Poll at http://bit.ly/ctl5SU

Put this poll on your site, inside your blog post or on your Linchpin book review page.  The Linchpin Poll is a great way to introduce people to Linchpin and confirm their Linchpin mindset.  Plus it’s just too easy to use and neat. The embed code is here in this txt file just copy and paste whats in the file and it should work.

“Linchpin” means something.

Linchpin, like Idea Virus and Purple Cow gives us a term, a single word that means something that was previously amorphous and without definition. This is one of Seth’s superpowers; to create a definition, a new term for abstract ideas and previously unrelated concepts.

So, you’re a Linchpin.  Now what?

Unite Linchpin’s by going to the edges.

Right now, all the cool kids are talking about Seth, the book and how wonderful it is. This is great and necessary.  This keeps the book in the media, in the blogs and on the best-sellers lists.  This is all good for us and even the world at large.  There is no denying the power of a Linchpin.  But beyond pushing the book into the hands of the people we love, what else can we do?

The Linchpin Manifesto available for download on Seth’s site is a nice pdf to print and hang on your wall or email a friend or link to from a blog post, but it is not enough.

The Linchpin 2.0 Vision Statement:

We must move Linchpin from a book of ideas into a way of life fully supported by community, fellowship, identity, and purpose.  Linchpins should be identified, connected, cultivated and networked.  There is no excuse to slow the growth of the Linchpin movement or The Linchpin Way.  Linchpin is now an expression, a lifestyle, a way to act, a way to change things and a way to demonstrate our art.

The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto:

(download the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto here).

Where Woodstock united a generation and marked an era, Linchstock will unite a population of artists, creators, doers and those who are indispensable. We have the book, the definition, now we need the place. We must create Linchstock to celebrate our Linchpin way of life. Would you meet me at Linchstock?

Just like Boy Scouts, Diabetics, Authors, Millionaires and Celebrities are in their own club, Linchpins now represent a defined Tribe – a special and remarkable group of change-makers, artists and givers. Now you can relate instantly just by saying you are a Linchpin or desire to be a Linchpin.  Us “Linchpiner’s” would meet up at in special gatherings at industry conferences and in mobs at events like Linchstock.

Every great cause has a flag to fly.  Every great organization has a logo to unify.  We must agree and own the Linchpin Badge and spread it. Do we agree the hand gripping the lightening bolt is the badge? If not it must be created intentionally to be shared with no royalties, rights, or disclaimers. If the hand and lightning bolt is the badge, let it go and spread. Linchpiner’s at Linchstock would be proud to wear their Linchpin Badge.

Become a beacon of light that attracts people.  Influence, educate and change these people through your Linchpin mindset. You must demonstrate The Linchpin Way.  Every Linchpin has the authority to share The Linchpin Way and help others become Linchpins.  Linchstock could be the place to fine tune and expand The Linchpin Way.

With your gift, your tools, your art and your generosity use the internet to communicate and spread the idea of the Linchpin. Now is the time to unite Linchpins into a network. A group, an organization, a club, whatever you want to call it.  Seth can not be expected to do it for us.  There is no road-map. The essence of being a Linchpin means that we can do it for others (as well as ourselves). Linchpiners with a Linchpin mindset will create an open network to facilitate The Linchpin Way.  Seth has given us the tools and he has already given us the permission – it’s built into the Linchpin message. Now is the time to create The Linchpin Network.

Become the standard to measure against.  Imagine a world where even performance reviews included a linchpin section along with communication skills, team work, and areas of improvement. Why not?  Even better, why not have performance reviews go away entirely and only give Linchpin reviews?  Shouldn’t we all strive to be measured against The Linchpin Standards, not the status quo standards?

Make Linchpin a verb:
“Just Linchpin it”.  “That problem is not too big for me to Linchpin”. “I can Linchpin it with my eyes closed”.

Push Linchpin into Wikipedia so the current stub means more than the 1.0 definition of Linchpin. Don’t just stop with Wikipedia – spread it everywhere.

A unifying cry:

We must act on and expand the Linchpin 2.0 manifesto. We must change the one dimensional discussions around the book and its concepts and turn it into the multidimensional thing it was intended to be.  Talking and writing about passion is but a small part of actually acting with passion. To leave Linchpin in its current state is to lock it into “a remarkable book with great ideas” but little more.  We are all very pleased that Seth gave this gem to us. Let’s pick it up and grow it to match what’s in our hearts and minds. We must move the movement.

Share this by retweeting or blogging it or downloading and sharing the The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto pdf. Better yet, rebuild, beautify, and create your own manifesto and set it free. Lets take this to the next level now, not later. There is no reason 2010 can’t be the year of The Linchpin Way… and Linchstock for that matter.

The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto needs you and other Linchpins like you to take ownership.  Who will create Linchstock? Who will create the Linchpin Badge? How will take The Linchpin Network, The Linchpin Way, and The Linchpin Standards to heart?  Who will move the movement?

Who will put the Linchpin mindset into action to bring us all together?

This will not happen overnight and it may not happen in the ways presented here, but it needs to happen.  We need the results this can produce.

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement!
Join The Linchpin Way Community.

Engage others by passing Linchpin along.

Generosity is a way of life. Giving has always been a wonderful thing. Giving Linchpin is a truly powerful thing.

Start by signing and dating your copy of Linchpin and sending it to someone you care about or ask yourself, who do you want to impact or help? Send it to them.

I have a copy of Linchpin going to Marc and Aaron the creators of Urtak. Thank you for giving us Urtak. The Linchpin Poll would not exist without your contribution, your gift, your art.  Look for the book to arrive sometime next week.

Now is the time to share these ideas. Blog about this. Facebook it, tweet it. Put energy and action into these thoughts and ideas. We do not have to wait to start living The Linchpin Way or wait to act on the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto, or even wait to create Linchstock. Let’s get started, let’s start shipping.

Connect with me, comment below, twitter me – whatever it takes. I’m looking for Linchpins to move the movement. Viva La Linchpin!

This short Bio of Seth was borrowed from the99percent.com where they have a great video of Seth talking about the Lizard Brain:
SETH GODIN is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and agent of change. His recent books, which have graced the New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists, include Tribes, Purple Cow, The Dip, and All Marketers Are Liars. Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry’s leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. He holds an MBA from Stanford, and was called “the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age” by Business Week.

Seth Godin’s Full bio: http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/bio.asp
Buy Linchpin by Seth Godin
Read Seth Godin’s Blog everyday.

JUSTIN MCCULLOUGH is a Linchpin student, a mentor and online enabler as well as the temporary host of some of these Linchpin ideas, the lover of smart people, a fan of great ideas, a reader of insightful books, and a passionate person.  He works for a small niche book publisher and is fueled by a passion to share.  Justin is happily married, a proud father and knows he still has much to learn.

A note from the Lizard Brain. This post took 33 days to create. It started as a “regular” book review. It was drafted and redrafted 4 times. I gave up on it 9 times. I made many excuses to not create the poll, to not create the twitter accounts, to not create the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto and pdf, to not coin many of the terms used in this post and to not add friction to the shiny object (the Linchpin book) we are all enjoying so much.

Who am I to step out in front of moving traffic and think people will stop? Even as I write this sentence I am considering walking away from this article and not posting it.  I fear criticism and disapproval from others including Seth. I fear that others will not stand behind this post or the idea that there is a need to move the movement, to take action and grow and share The Linchpin Way.

I’m on deadline. Regardless of the failure this could be, this is where my passion is and this is my art. I believe The Linchpin Way will help us all.  I’m shipping are you?

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement! Join The Linchpin Way Community.

An internet stranger told me what was happening to my next door neighbor at the Beaumont CVB even though I was 1,800 miles away from home – thanks to the social web.  Interestingly, I was not specifically looking for info on my neighbor.

This is a three part’er – What Happened, How this Illustrates Web 2.0 and Why this Matters to You.

What Happened – How the dots were connected:

Yesterday, I was in Portland Oregon at the airport waiting for my flight to Houston.  I logged into my twitter account and saw a

Chris Brogan - Drive Book Review

retweet of a Chris Brogan blog post about a book review.  As a Brogan fan and lover of books, I followed the link to his book review. From there I looked at Brogan’s earlier post talking about alltop.com and the importance of knowing how you “stack up” on Alltop.

“This is good info”, I thought to myself. (even more info on personal branding with Alltop and why Chris Brogan thinks Alltop is great for bloggers ). So, my interest piqued, I followed the link to the Alltop.com homepage.  I spent about 3.4 seconds scanning the homepage and realized I had read several of those articles already.

I wasn’t finished though, I wanted to see something I didn’t know so I scanned across the top row of navigation links and saw “New Topics” and clicked.  Again, more quick scanning (my emotional investment in all this is really low at his point) then I see “Tourism Industry” and immediately think of my friends Stephanie and Ashley who handle all the marketing and communication for the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau back home in Texas (remember, I’m in Oregon).

Stephanie is a long-time friend and recently gave me a reason to speak on social media so this was a pretty quick connection. Stephanie = Tourism.  In a fraction of a second, I decided that maybe I would learn about or find something interesting in the tourism industry and share it with my friends (neighbors) at the Beaumont CVB.  (side note, my book publishing company does tourist related books all around the country so there was a work connection to this Alltop category as well).

Anyway, off I went into the “Tourism Industry” page and started scanning.  This was all new information and I saw one line of text that stuck out: “A new twist on destination marketing with radio” from Sheila’s Guide To The Good Stuff.  I later discovered that Sheila is a talented freelance writer from Austin TX.

“A new twist on destination marketing with radio” looks good to me. I mouse over it for preview information on the article.

The Beaumont CVB is on Alltop! If you follow the link, Stephanie is the one in the top right.

My mind must have been read.  I was amazed to see how a seemingly random series of clicks led me to see an article directly connected too me.  That’s the power of the social web. It’s also a very telling demonstration of how we are looking at the “world wide web” but seek to make relevant connections to us, our area, and our personal lives.

For the record, it does not surprise me when I come across posts for Seth Godin or Chris Brogan and countless other people because it is expected, it’s normal to see these names dotting the digital map of the internet.  However, it is not ‘normal’ to see your local convention and visitors bureau via Alltop by way of Chris Brogan. At least, not normal yet…

How this Illustrates Web 2.0 – from both the creator of content and the web surfer.

I’m creating right now – this blog post. Right now, you are the web surfer.  In the story above, I went to great length to paint a picture of my thoughts and actions as a web surfer.  Why? Because too many people are still unsure how they fit into the fabric of the social web and I wanted to tell a “normal” story – not one that makes me look like some special web user or social media person.

It is safe to say that the story I just told is a basic experience. Go to a common place, see something interesting, follow the link, read and follow another link (or quit).  I did what you would do.  I shared my thought process, because you are thinking and deciding on what to do next as well.  Nothing new here.  This is normal stuff.

Here’s were Web 2.0 kicks in.

Stephanie, was either invited or created an opportunity to be on KSET AM radio to talk about Beaumont Tourism.  She (or someone else tweeted it on twitter) from which Sheila saw the tweet and, as explained in her blog post, made a personal connection with Beaumont (even though she is in Austin) and followed the link to the online radio show.  According to Sheila, she was already thinking about radio based on something happening in San Antonio and this Beaumont CVB tweet was building on that event in her mind.  She was compelled to sit down and write a blog post sharing her perspective on radio, the internet, and my good friend Stephanie.

Does Sheila (Freelance Writer in Austin TX) know Stephanie (Marketing Director in Beaumont TX)? She may, but I don’t think so.  Do I know Sheila? Not at all.  Was I tracking or searching for Stephanie or Sheila? Nope, I was following interesting links which originated from my enjoyment of Chris Brogan.

As this story reveals, we are all disconnected (or independent) and yet connected through the social web.

Why This Matters to You – online and offline

Now that virtually everyone is online and almost everyone is in some social place (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc) that means the work you do, the things you say and the people you impact could end up online – either by you or by someone else.  This is great for brand development, personal branding, exposure, SEO, business building, marketing, creating friends etc.  But it also means that we have to be mindful of our actions, both online and offline, because “somebody” is watch, listening, or somehow involved and they now have a platform to share their experience – the social web.  If you do good things, the social web will feed you.  If you do bad things, the social web will squeeze you.

So, regardless of whether or not you have embraced the social web, know that the social web has already included you.  And as this story shows, one small informative tweet can go a long way (through Austin TX and into Alltop.com) or if you’re like me, one misstep on the social web can get a lot of unexpected attention.

Bottom line: Since it’s here with or without you, you may as well embrace (and feed) the social web.

Keep doing good!