Tag Archives: Seth Godin

Sharisax Is Out There

The Main Reason You Should Attend a Linchpin Meetup

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By the time you read this article, there will undoubtedly have been way more than 6,000 people who’ve attended Linchpin Meetups all over the world. I attended my first such event in Columbus, OH, on June 14 — The First International Linchpin Meetup Day.

Meetups allow people to form groups with like-minded individuals.

But what is the ONE REASON you should attend a Linchpin Meetup in your area?

EASY ANSWER . . .
You will meet, mingle with, and befriend some exciting artists who are changing the world.

Introducing Columbus Ohio Linchpins

Janine Moon

Janine’s art shows how careers are shaped and developed to better align with the 21st century workplace.

“More than merely employees, organizations need partners — workers who align themselves with strategic direction and dance with the changes of a global economy.”

Her model of Career Ownership is a leading-edge approach to creating a “win-win” for today’s organizations and workers. Janine”s Linchpin delights?

“Career Ownership is a map for going after the Work that is your Art. I love that my new model for 21st century careers is right in line with how Seth Godin sees the world.”

URLs: http://careerowners.wordpress.com; http://workforcechange.com/careerownership

[In the photo above, Janine is on left and I’m on right]

Randy Murray

“I fully connected with being an artist and giving first. I’ve embraced being on my own and this book is one I’ll be giving to friends.”

Randy helps businesses and organizations tell stories that convince and sell. He writes  materials that pierce the complexity and that present people, companies, and products in a way that’s easy to understand, and more importantly, compelling and entertaining. Over more than 25 years, he’s developed a unique approach to business marketing that’s based on business need, technical clarity, and skilled and practiced writing. Randy’s website: Who Writes For You

Matt Herrmann

“The biggest thing I take away from Seth overall is the desire TO DO. Instead  of merely being pulled along, it’s the act of doing or striving towards a goal. And I love it! I also love that Seth responds back to my emails.”

Me in two sentences: (1) Style meets sustainability. The problem is that sustainable items are either too expensive or look awful, Conservance is my attempt to change that: Matt’s website (2) “The one who acts with restraint and wisdom, who chooses to allow others freedom, is truly the strongest of men.”

[Matt designed t-shirts just for the meetup]

Kim Hendrix

Ship! Be an artist, too, but ship my work. Nothing is more important to my ultimate effectiveness at helping make the world a better place for all.


Mary Rose Maguire

Real Artists Ship!

Bootstrap Graphic helps small businesses and entrepreneurs design their unique selling proposition. She does this through brand identity, visual and multi-media design, and communications.

Srinvasa Kalindindi

Linchpin is not one word, but many lessons. It teaches how basic aspects of discipline and perserverance can be tied up with any individual’s goals. To be a linchpin is to lead the life you want. It’s not about things — money or other materialistic-oriented accomplishments. It’s about Passion, Results, and Making A Difference.

Glenn Sewell

“My biggest take-away is that any of us can be an ‘artist.’ We can learn to do anything.”

[Glenn Sewell on left and Brian Lockrey on right]

Wendy Hollinger

“I’ve allowed a portion of my business to be commoditized, which can only contribute to a “race to the bottom.” We’re Problem Solvers, and that is worth more than a day’s pay — something definitely worth promoting.”

Wendy is a creative problem solver who enjoys connecting people. Her business, Phoenix Graphix, has provided exceptional design, marketing, and publishing services for over 20 years.

Benjamin Atkinson – Meetup Organizer

From my conversations with Linchpins at the Columbus Meetup, I see a group of folks who’ve taken Seth Godin’s message to heart. They’ve been given permission to ‘ship’ and they’re on their way. This is dangerous for established companies and industries that prefer the status quo. Many would prefer these Linchpins keep their head down and do a ‘normal’ job. Too late. To Linchpins, work has become their art and art has historically been a powerful rebellion.

MY OWN TAKE-AWAY NOTES

Here is just a “taste” of Seth’s ideas for our Brave New World

1 – The only way to get what you’re worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labor, to be seen as indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and  people care deeply about.

2 – Linchpins turn each day into a kind of art.

3 – The death of the factory means the entire system we have built our lives around is now upside down.

4 – The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and create order, someone who can invent, connect, create, and make things happen.

5 – The new dream isn’t about obedience; it’s about vision and engagement.

6 – You weren’t born to be a cog in a wheel; you were trained.

7 – We are surrounded by bureaucrats, note-takers, literalists, manual readers, TGIF laborers, map followers, and fearful employees.

8 – What factory owners want is compliant, low-paid, replaceable cogs to run their efficient machines.

9 – Outsourcing, automation, and new marketing punish anyone who is merely good, merely obedient, and merely reliable.

10 -People want to be told what to do because they are petrified of figuring it out for themselves.

11 -The NEW AMERICAN DREAM: Be remarkable. Be generous. Create art. Make judgment calls. Connect people and ideas.

12-If you are a linchpin, doing the job that’s not getting done is essential.

13- In a world that relentlessly races to the bottom, the only way to win is to race to the top.

14- Being taught to “fit in” does not earn you what you deserve.

15- Here’s what schools should teach: taking initiative, becoming remarkable artists, questioning the status quo, and interacting with transparency.

CONCLUSION TO THE BEGINNING NOTES: Linchpins see the truth, understand the situation, and make things happen.

Now get a copy of the book and read more about (a) art, (b) gifts, (c) emotional labor, (d) attention, (e) passion, (f) feedback, (g) jobs vs. art, (h) edge of the box, (i) lizard brains, (j) shipping, and (k) success

Then put in your own two cents: If you’ve also read Seth’s book, what did Linchpin mean to you?

FURTHER READING: 7 abilities of the Linchpin

Blogging

Beginner Blogger’s Workshop: What do I blog about?

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Q: Why do you want to blog?

A: Because it’s new and I want to do it.

Q: What do you want to blog about?

A: I don’t know. You tell me.

Blogging is a power strategy for Content Marketing, i.e., communicating about yourself and/or your company to win friends, followers, clients, and customers.

Six Q’s and A’s for Beginning Bloggers

1. What is blogging all about & why are so many people doing it?

Blogging is all about putting your unique voice, opinions, insights, and understandings “out there” to (a) build an online presence, (b) establish yourself as a Thought Leader, and (c) begin conversations and relationships.

Lots of people are blogging — maybe over 200 million worldwide — for a host of different reasons. Most are undoubtedly personal bloggers writing diaries for the world to see. More and more, however, companies, institutions, and nonprofit organizations are understanding that there is a Communication Revolution going on and that the way day-to-day business IS and WILL BE conducted is turning to more authentic, transparent, supportive 2-way conversations, rather than the traditional blasting out of messages.

FURTHER READING:

Answer these nine questions before you decide to become a blogger

2. What do I blog about?

Like most marketing campaigns — as well as personal planning — you should decide on an objective:

What you will blog about has everything to do with why you want to start, build and maintain your online diary/report/journal/lecture.

If you are starting a blog for commercial reasons, then you naturally want to focus your communication towards a “target” audience. Noted social media authority David Meerman Scott suggests that all message-makers should have a clear idea of their consumer profile, i.e., specific data about your prospective readers.

Once you know whom you are writing for and why, you want to make certain that you offer content that is as relevant, informative, creative, and interesting as you can make it.

What’s the very best way to write the best blog articles? Write what you are passionate about.

The best way to improve your blog is to listen to your readers and think about them before — and as — you write.

FURTHER READING:

My story of  Peter and “what to blog”

Any and all of Problogger – the hands-down online authority on How To Blog

3. How much effort will it take?

This answer, again, begins with your objective, but I suspect the real question might be: “Do I have to be writing every day to have a successful blog?”

If that is the case, then a simple answer is that Writing Consistently is more important/effective than Writing Daily.

Also, you are the one who decides whether you want short pithy blog posts like Seth Godin and Zahid Lilani or more detailed research reports like Brian Solis or something in between like Adam Singer or Suzanne Vara.

One key is to enjoy what you are doing – or it will show. Start slowly, maybe set a goal of one article a week. When you find that you want to publish more often, then find time to write twice a week . . . and so on. If you are particularly inspired on any day, then try to write an extra post or two that you can publish on a day when you have other commitments.

Another key is to realize that every time you publish new content, you are adding to your site and giving readers [some new] more and more of you. With that in mind, you want to make certain that Everything you publish is something you are proud of.

FURTHER READING:

Spend some time with the bloggers suggested above. Zahid just wrote an article on whether or not Bloggers were Writers

4. If I am not a great writer, how do I get over the fear of writing?

A Great Question! especially if you were never an English major [and what percentage of the world was?].

Here are three things to think about:

  • Writing is compulsory thought. When you put fingers on the keyboard and start typing, you “force” yourself to think.
  • To over come “writer’s block,” I tell my English composition students to have a reader in mind, e.g. your mother, your best friend, your least favorite uncle, etc. You may see how much easier it is to “talk” when you can envision who is listening.
  • Like with any skill, “practice makes perfect” — or at least better.

FURTHER READING:

Conquer the fear of writing

5. How do you get to blogs? How will people get to my blog?

Two questions here: the first is easy; the second is not so.

Finding blogs to read is as easy as going to Google or some other search engine and putting in some key words. I, personally, have not yet written about the “Fear of Writing” so I simply Googled it and came up with the link listed above.

A better way to find blogs, though, is to follow someone’s recommendation. I gave you five suggestions above, BUT all of those marvelous people write about subjects of interest to me, i.e., social media marketing.

If you want to read and or write about dogs, jewelry, moms, or fashion, you will need to find experts in those fields and (a) see if they have blogs or (b) email them and ask for blog suggestions.

SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION: How will people get to your blog, i.e., how will you get readers?

The basic reason why this is not so easy to answer is because it is not easy to get readers, but here are a few “streamlined” suggestions:

  • Write a lot. The more you write, the more Google has to index.
  • Comment on other peoples’ blogs enough and they may come to read yours.
  • Publicize your blog content on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, etc.
  • Invite people to Guest Post on your blog.
  • Starting out, though, I’d suggest emailing all your friends and letting them know what you are up to.

FURTHER READING:

Go online and search for articles “How to Get Readers”: you’ll find countless titles, but Problogger is best.

6. What are the biggest blogging mistakes?

This is really easy. Check the Guest Post by Suzanne Vara: Avoid These 9 Blogging Blunders

And you might want to check out my own 10 Biggest Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies

MORE QUESTIONS?

Great! Ask away in the comment section OR, better yet, add your own answers.

Blogging

How To Choose a Blog to Read

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More than 70% of Web users agree that personal recommendations influence their purchases and selections.

So what better way to find great blogs to read than to LISTEN TO people whom you’ve grown to trust?

Five bloggers who inspire me on my educational journey down Social Media Revolutionary Road

SETH GODIN

Seth Godin is a business genius, who coined the term “permission marketing” [wikipedia entry] whose books have sold millions.

I like reading his daily witticisms because they are typically short, anecdotal, and clearly focused to make one clear point — from a common sense perspective that may too often be overlooked.

This morning I caught up on a few of his recent posts:

ADAM SINGER

Adam Singer is my favorite blogger. He’s a Gen-Y-er with a huge amount of experience in online media/marketing strategizing, and he is very creative and hip. Some of his posts I go back to over and over, for example:

and I particularly like What If

In his most recent post, Tangible Media is Becoming Obsolete, Adam gives nine reasons why digital is better — from ease of use to the building of community.

SUZANNE VARA

Suzanne runs a small business marketing agency from her new home in Las Vegas, and I discovered her blog from a LinkedIn group. Her audience is very similar to mine, i.e., people who are relatively new to marketig online. Her articles are filled with easy-to-read tips on how to get the most out of online opportunities. Here are some of my favorite posts:

Today she discusses the new news about Google Search, and how “nonspammers” can benefit.

LARRY BRAUNER

This is Larry’s birthday week, and to celebrate he has created an amazing opportunity for bloggers across the globe to share their sites on his Facebook Fan Page.

Larry’s blog covers a broad range of social networking topics, but he is most concerned with building “Best Practices” for collaboration and mutual benefits. He is knowledgeable on a diverse array of strategies and tools, especially when it comes to building a successful blog.

Check out Larry’s article on social media basics for 2010.

ZAHID LILANI

Disclosure: Zahid was one of my star students at San Francisco State, and I can safely say that I have learned at least as much from him as he learned from me. Zahid has guest posted for me, discussing Our Facebook Future.

He loves his Iphone, and loves writing about it, so you can find the latest smartphone information — as it is announced — on his blog. Today he talks about Iphone’s responsive touch screen.

“Tomorrow” [sometime in the near future] he and I will be discussing all the ways that Baby Boomers [like me] will want and need SmartPhones in our lives.

Of course, these five are not the ONLY bloggers I read, but all five are great to check out for “Getting Started”

I purposely left off some really popular people/blogs so that my readers can add their 2 cents, so “have at it.”

🙂

Blogging

The “Secret” to pumping your own Google Juice: External Links

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Getting started in Social Media is all about JUST DOING IT!

That’s what I continue to do — and exactly what I suggest to those listening to me.

[Those NOT listening to me get the same advice, and I know it’s just a matter of time until they, too, jump in.]

My TWO Biggies this week: Ning & Squidoo

Ning PSM

My Performance Social Media Ning site

Q: How many times have I heard people praising the opportunities on Ning.com?

A: Countless times — at least a dozen any way, and three times last week:

  1. During a phone conversation with a fellow social media evangelist
  2. During the #smbookclub discussion I moderated
  3. During the SM ROI panel discussion sponsored by Women in Consulting [for which I took videos now on YouTube@sharisax]

The Time for Ning was NOW

And it was quite easy . . . and more importantly for lots of us . . . did not take much time.

So what is Ning and why did I create my presence there?

Ning is a tool/platform that allows you to set up YOUR OWN Social Network — with what appears to me to have different capabilities and ease-of-use than, say, a Facebook Fanpage. To my mind, it is more personable . . . and, well, less Facebook-y . . . which means more of you, and what you want.

While my Ning site is far from “complete,” what it does have now is a FORUM I set up so that “newbies” can ask me [and my interns] questions about HOW TO GET STARTED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA — the question that plagues so many small business people [mostly Baby Boomers] who are gradually “seeing the light” but don’t have a clue where to begin.

There are a lot of people like me “out there” who do want to help. The people I’m meeting are invited to ask me their questions on the Ning forum.

If you are reading this post, of course, sign in to the Ning forum and ask away.

Here’s a question for starters: Just how do external links help pump your Google Juice?

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squidoo books

My first Squidoo lens:

Reviewing and chatting about social media books

My Performance Social Media partner Les Ross has been hounding me for months to begin Squidoo-ing . . . yet another link to drive traffic to my blog.

And yesterday was the perfect day, especially since Squidoo founder Seth Godin announced his own new Squidoo launch Brands in Public. You can read on his blog post about how companies can now aggregate everything being said about their brands in one place WHERE they can comment right alongside.

I do want my readers to check out my own Squidoo site, but I just got it started . . . and that is the key: JUST GET STARTED.

BTW, Good luck to my brother Chuck, who is going to start a Facebook fanpage for his Temple in Hawaii. He told me he was going to follow my advice and learn a new social media platform/tool every week.

Next post: NEWBIES, How to Get Started with Social media for your business