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!

Examples of Twitter #fail happen every day, and I just lived through one. In fact, I didn’t just live through it, I demonstrated twitter #fail myself and now I see how it can happen even if it’s unintentional.  Don’t let this happen to you.

Quick Back Story - I had just gone through a great effort to prepare a one hour presentation over social media.  I spent a lot of time on this over the weekend and gave the presentation Monday January 11^th.  Several people who wanted to come but couldn’t make it asked me to video it.  So I did.  After the presentation I got a great deal of feedback on it’s value from many of the business leaders.  My bucket was full – overflowing actually from all the positive feedback.  I must be on to something meaningful here.  (Side note, For pro marketers and internet evangelists, this is probably just the “regular” stuff, but for many who are on the sidelines watching the internet speed past their business storefronts, this was really insightful stuff.)

With fresh recommendations and praise and the knowledge that I touched many, I set on a self imposed mission to share this good content.

My priority: Get the message out and the content in the hands that needed it most via the power of the social web (exactly what I just presented on).

I just knew this was a eureka opportunity and all I had to do was empower others to put this in the hands of those who needed it.

Naturally the side benefit, I thought, would be increasing my value, starting a meaningful discussion on the topics in the presentation and maybe, just maybe picking up a few followers and friends along the way.  And hey, I thought, I’m not selling anything here, just giving away content – this is the perfect message and the perfect reason to leverage the social web.
Or so I thought.

What I did next, was classic fail (and I didn’t even see it happening).

So, with my blinders on and seeing the world through rose colored glasses, off I went into the twittersphere.

I picked a few friends and invited them to get involved.

@leader4hire - First Tweet (innocent enough)

Then… A few others

@leader4hire Second Tweet (ok, why not)

Then… I remembered a few others and invited them too

@leader4hire Third Tweet (hmm, this feels kinda weird)

Then… I thought, hey, this is showing in my stream and I probably look insincere – I should probably announce that I’m not trying to bend twitter to my will and spam away for attention. I know, it would be best for me to say something like that.

@leader4hire Fourth Tweet (see look, I'm not a bad guy)

And then back to the business at hand, another tweet or two…

@leader4hire 5th Tweet (and maybe one or two more...)

Oh yeah, and these guys too

@leader4hire 6th Tweet (a plot shifting and pivitol moment coming up)

Then… In response to my tweet moments before, someone I respect and enjoy said:

@unmarketing First Tweet (pithy... and... right?)

Uhh *gulp* What?  I’m THAT guy now? Not me… Not me. Never. Why didn’t I see this coming?

@leader4hire 7th Tweet (humbled)

… but but.. Not what I meant

@unmarketing Second Tweet (Back to the basics, remember those?)

Well, but here’s what I was thinking (actually just wanting redemption at this point)

@leader4hire 8th post (doesnt matter now)

Engagement over. Then self loathing, despair and frustration set in there after and go into a ponderous state.

@leader4hire 9th Tweet (humbled and a bit wiser)

Then the light bulb.

I’ve learned something here.  Something very important through a real experience that really was filled with good intentions.  I need to share this story, and show how it happens and how to avoid it.  Thus this blog post was born – as shameful to me as it may seem, it’s a valuable lesson.

I hope my loss is your gain.

5 Tips to Avoid Twitter Fail:

1 – Only single out a few people that you really want feedback from with your @reply message.

As I looked back through my tweets, I had 3 maybe 4  people I absolutely needed/wanted feedback from.  For the others, my motivation was different (maybe it’s useful to them, they probably know somebody that needs it, this guy will probably think I’m smart, I want this persons attention and this is a good way to get it). #Fail happened here.  Don’t do this.

2 – Do not confusion your goal.

If you want honest feedback ask for feedback from ONLY the person (people) you honestly want it from.  If you want to share, openly share it with just one tweet.  The people who care will see it.  If you want to use it for self promotion, consider this and don’t do what I did (unless you don’t care about your image).  Use the tool for good reasons and get good results.  Start combining goals and using the tool for questionable reasons and get bad results… And remember, on twitter it’s not you that makes it questionable it’s what your viewers see that define it as questionable (not authentic, not sincere, etc).

3 – Share you content over time and over discussion like a meal with friends.

My link and to the presentation and video didn’t need to be shared in massive quantities all at once.  The truth of the matter is that I only had a few people I was discussing this presentation with and sharing it with them was expected.  For others, I should have started a dialog and when it made sense, suggested the content for the right reasons – for them, not for me.

4 – Match what is valuable to you to what will be perceived as valuable to them.

This is the classic advertising snafu – assume everyone is interested and if they aren’t, interrupt them until they notice.  I know better.  The truth is, Scott called me out because this video probably means very little to him AND I hadn’t been talking to him about this presentation. In fact, my only engagement with him has been me complimenting his progress on his book which he cordially replies back to let me know he sees me. However that does not yet mean that he “gets me”. In fact, Scott is not even following me (I didn’t realize that until writing this).  To him, (I presume) we aren’t yet friends and all I was doing was leveraging the network to get his attention.  And in hindsight, that’s exactly what I was doing – I just didn’t realize it because it only takes a second to write @unmarketing in my next tweet.  My thought process – (use goober voice) “hey I like Scott, he replies back to me. I’ll include him in this next tweet. Weeeee”.  Just because it only takes a second doesn’t mean you should do it.

5 – When it feels like you shifted from honest intentions to “seizing the moment” that should be a red flag.

This happened after my 2^nd or 3^rd tweet, which is what prompted me to make the promise that I wasn’t spamming.  I should have seen this as a sign, but didn’t.  Don’t make this mistake. You may not have someone like Scott who sees it quickly, checks your profile, and calls it like they see it.  I was lucky and hopefully before too much damage was done.

Bonus Tip

Be open minded and considerate of your twitter fellows (and their feedback). Good stuff is everywhere and it’s up to you to see it and acknowledge it – regardless of the shape, package, or presentation of it.

The Bottom Line for Me

I got a real life lesson on twitter etiquette and I’m better for it (I think).

I hope I haven’t lost traction with any of my twitter people along the way.  Good intentions or not, lesson learned. Special thanks to Scott.  Not sure how others would have taken it, but for me it was a needed wake up call.  Thanks.

So now, tweet this so I don’t have too

I have a habit of buying many books at once – in bulk.  Thanks to nice folks giving me BN.com gift cards, this is my first load of books for 2010.  Here’s to happy reading!

Justin's "to read" stack - January 2010

What’s your title?  What’s your skill?  Is it one or two things, or maybe three things?  If so, you’re in trouble over the next 10 years.

The days of being a “plumber” or an “artist” are gone.  No more and never again will a person be able to be just one thing and be successful.  Now and moving forward, you must be multiversatile – capable of many things across many fields competently.

You already see it in the local business owner who is the accountant, the salesman, the customer service rep, the help desk, and the human resources department.  But it’s not just for business owners anymore.  Now it’s the regular guys.  The $10/hr guys.

The guys who will get ahead will be the ones who learn to express their ideas in a blog, an audio clip or a video – even if they are not “writers” or “camera men”.  The guys who will win are the ones who learn to setup a website, a hosting account, and a wireless network – even if they are not “programmers” or “network engineers”.  The guys who will have more accounts, more sales and better reputations will be the guys using facebook, twitter, along with teleseminars and local conferences – even if they are not “social media consultants”.

As we go forward, titles are pointless. If you want to win, you must be bigger than any job title and be able to demonstrate the ability to cross a wide spectrum of skills that were never before required.  The good news is if you do it now, you’ll still be with the pack or maybe even ahead of the pack – for a little while.

What are you doing to blow up your job title and explode with success?

Here’s 7 things you can do:

1. Pick a friend in the company (or at another company) and cross train with them
2. Learn twitter, facebook, blogging, or any other current technology
3. Even if it’s not your job, pick a project, make it your own, and run with it.
4. Learn more about leadership, sales, and/or marketing – you can’t go wrong with these skills!
5. Get out – go to seminars, conference, workshops, and events.
6. Become an expert on your business (not your job specialty)
7. Become the in-house trainer on topics / skills.

// Edit // See Bernie Bay’s thoughts on the future of business and predictions on the next decade.

So, two blog post got me thinking about the books I’ve read this year.  One from Annie Sorenson which I misstated the books I’ve read and another from Lauren Leto where I ribbed her for not having any business books on her list.

Anyway, I am often asked “how I know what I know” and while I’d like to take credit for having a huge brain, vast intelligence and an uncanny ability to see the world in a way no one else does, I simply can’t tell that lie.  The truth is, a lot of what I know and the insights I have is because of what I choose to read.  I then apply these insights into my world view and cement them in real life examples of my own – making them my own, but most of what I know is seeded from great books.  I typically read 3 or 4 books at one time.  That seems to keep me the most interested and also allows me to cover several topics at one time.

I’ve found that books on business, self improvement, sales and just about anything else are truly the cliff notes to success. All you have to do is invest some of your time and attention and a few bucks and you can learn what took someone else countless hours of personal experience and research to create.  Reading books is so much smarter, faster, and more insightful than college classes.  Of course, it’s worthless if you don’t apply what you read or learn and it doesn’t matter if you are reading books that only serve an entertainment purpose.

I think I’ve covered all the books from this year.  The following is my list of books from 2009.

1. Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton. (read this twice this year)
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki with Sharon Lechter (second year in a row to read this book)
3. The Microsoft Edge by Julie Bick
4. Tribes by Seth Godin (very quick book – read twice this year)
5. Innovation by Tom Gorman
6. Multipreneuring by Tom Gorman
7. How Full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton ( I read this at least once a year).
8. The Big Red Fez by Seth Godin
9. Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman
10. All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin
11. Free Publicity by Jeff Criley
12. The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott
13. Unleashing the Idea Virus by Seth Godin
14. Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout
15. Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
16. Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes
17. Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
18. Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz
19. The New Influeners by Paul Gillin
20. No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy
21. What Would Google Do by Jeff Jarvis (have this on audio – 2 times this year).
22. The Google Story by David Vise
23. Purple Cow by Seth Godin (have this on audio – 5 times this year).
24. Small is the New Big by Seth Godin (have this on audio – 3 times this year).
25. Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell (have this on audio – 2 times this year).
26. The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
27. How to Build a Complete Sales Person by Bryan Dodge (have this on audio – 3 times this year).
28. Influence. The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
29. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven ways to be Persuasive by Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini
30. 91 Mistakes Smart Sales People Make by Tim Conner
31. The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Succesful Sales People by Stephan Shiffman
32. Cold Calling Techniques by Stephen Shiffman
33. How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J Fox.
34. Magic Bullets by Michael Kessee and Ankesh Kothari
35. The Dip by Seth Godin
36. What Matters Now by Seth Godin and friends (free ebook)
37. Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
38. The Shack by William P Young

Liesure reading:

1. NEXT by Michael Chrichton
2. Ghost Radio by leopoldo Gout
3. Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich
4. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
5. The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
6. No Survivors by Tom Cain
7. Ghost Medicine by Andrew Smith
8. The Boxer and the Spy by Robert B Parker

So what are you reading?  Do you agree that books are better than college?  What do you recommend I read in 2010?

I’m often asked by business owners, friends and even other marketers about recommended tools for social media and websites.  Here is a quick list of social media search tools you really must know about.

Free tracking tool for your website or blog:

Google Analytics – This free analytics tool will tell you everything you need to know about your website traffic, pageviews, source of visitors, and so much more.  It’s free to signup and easy to use.

BlogTracker by IceRocket – This free analytics tool is geared to serve blogs only.  A good tool that works directly with IceRocket.

Free search tools for your blogs and twitter:

Google Alerts – This is an easy and powerful tool that lets you setup keywords or phrases to keep track of and Google will tell you every time those words or phrases are used in new posts online.  Great way to be notified when your brand name, company, product, blog or real name gets used and where.  Good for spotting trends, seeking out issues for damage control, or staying up to speed on a developing topic.

Google Blogsearch – Pretty straightforward use of Google Search technology only its applied to the spectrum of blog posts as opposed to the entire spectrum of the web.  Search for a keyword of phrase and you will find blogs that match your search.

Blogpulse – A blog search engine that offers a variety of ways to search blogs, see blogging trends and blogging statistics.  This service is offered by Nielsen and reports to have 126.4 Million blogs indexed (as of today).  This tool offers so many ways to slice and dice your data that you really need to see the benefits and uses here.

Technorati – A blog search engine that is free to use and very popular.  It also reports top blogs overall and lets you surf by popular categories.  If you want to know what’s being talked about today, look to Technorati for the jump start.

IceRocket – A blog search engine that also has trending tools and top blogs.  This is a handy reference if you are trying to see things from a different perspective other then Blogpulse or Technorati.

Twitter Search – Search twitter on keywords and see up-to-the-minute tweets on that keyword. Great way to find out who is saying what RIGHT NOW.  Easy to search for your brand, product service, website etc. Also if you are looking to find like minded folks, this makes it easy to find people tweeting on topics that interest you.

This may seem like a short list, and there are many more services available, but this is a practical baseline you should know about.

Feel free to share any additional services you recommend.