Archive for July, 2006
The “Social” in Social Software
When something happens to me three times, I have to point it out to others.
I was at a geek dinner the other night, and an interesting person there told me that she used Ask.com for her search engine of choice. Now, I’ve used Ask, and I like it, but it’s not my preferred search engine. However, she told me a bit more of a story about it, about knowing some of the people working on it, and by the end, I was convinced that I’d use Ask.com instead of Google.
At the same event, I met some of the guys from Reddit.com. Now, I’m using THAT site more.
After interviewing Margaret Olson of Plum and David Hayden of JetEye, I use both their products, too.
I think that when you get to know the people behind the software, it matters more to you. What do you think?
The Beauty of Offlining
First off, thanks to everyone for your comments and thoughts and for dealing with one of those annoying cranky creative types. You’re all wonderful people, and I’m sorry if I came off as ungrateful, etc. You’re wonderful types, are the best thing in my day (after my wife and kids), and are the reason I get up and feel engaged and amazed every day. Thanks. We’re cool. Right?
The Beauty of Offlining
I turned off all technology last night around 9PM. I shut off my phone even earlier. My wife and I spent some time together, hanging out, reconnecting, really enjoying each other’s presence. And then when she went off to bed, I didn’t hop on the computer. I thought about things. I put stuff together in my head and brainstormed, and took a step back to look at everything going on.
When you grind, you forget to work smart.
Grinding is exciting, and it feels like you’re making progress, and you get all excited about getting something out there, but of course, it takes up all kinds of time that you don’t have. Entrepreneurs don’t have time. Even when I don’t have money, what I have least is time. I’d pay money for time, and I do. And when I can’t afford to pay money, I try to think up ways to share value back to people. So, I came up with ideas around that.
I wrote a post on Lifehack about mini process flows, and when I was done, I thought, “Well, that’s what’s missing at GNM.
Do you know that when I put out the call to arms back in my post, REVELATION, 40 of you got in touch. 40. Isn’t that just mental? But I wasn’t exactly ready with a plan in hand. I just knew that I wanted you to work with me. I’d experienced your enthusiasm, and I wanted to spin stuff towards you.
Based on last night’s thinking and all my brainstorming, I’ve realized what I think has to be next steps to make Grasshopper New Media something more than an interesting thing for you to read about in my blog.
On tap for the next day or two:
- Nail Down the Launch Properties- I thought I needed executive producers for each channel first, but I don’t. I want those. I want people to say, “I’m your go-to guy!” (girl), but what I need to do is show you the shows, and let you sign on. If you see one you like, you can pick it and commit some of your time to helping make it real. If you don’t see anything you like, recommend a show. If you just want to watch, watch.
- Write the flows- Without process flows to share with people, it takes tons more communication to share the vision. If I show you a process flow that demonstrates the start and finish of each process required to be helpful to GNM, then you’re smart enough to talk with me, improve the flow, agree upon the flow, and figure out what you might want to do.
Oh, and *I* need the flows for me. I am burning time.
- Restructure my evenings- I’m all over the place, as I need to be. I’ve got Wordpress chores, recording chores, sound and video editing chores, and all kinds of other things I’m not really thinking through right now.
- Backchannel Some Thoughts- I’ve got too many things on the go. My advisor warned me about this, but I’m the way I am. I have to throw a lot of things up and manage them. I’ll keep doing that, but NEW ideas have to hit the backchannel for now.
You’re all swell people. I want to promote your efforts so much more. Think of ways that I can help you with that. Let me know. Assume nothing.
That’s a huge thing with me. Assume nothing. I’m not always perceptive. Part of it is the lack of sleep, but even at my brightest, I miss internet-filtered queues to whether or not I’m messing up our friendships or what-not. Just out and out tell me your wants and needs, okay?
I’m back in the game. My date with my wife, going offline, sleeping really well, and having a great shower this morning have fired me back up. Now, let’s get to work.
One Problem With Creative Types
I’m cranky this morning. It’s all my fault, really. I get really excited about my vision, and then I get frustrated when I don’t communicate it especially well, or when I can’t execute it appropriately due to scale and time issues.
I’m maddest when people aren’t the mirror of my enthusiasm.
But this is silly. How could anyone be as excited about my idea as me? For the most part, the people involved with the idea are looking at me nervously, wondering what the hell I’m up to, how this might muck up the things they’re already doing, and why they should bother creating.
Steve Garfield reminded me of this set of numbers (as they relate to new media):
1% of people create.
10% of people consume.
90% of people don’t even know we’re there.
Of those, the one that upsets me the most is 1%. We have these amazing tools. Hell, this BLOG is something we didn’t have a short while back. But now, with audio and video podcasts, we can reach out even further, beyond the walls of the computer, and really contribute to the world around us in a way that blogs started to cover, but that podcasting finishes.
First off, I’m frustrated that the word “podcast” was ever coined. Great work, Apple. Now, the entire universe things you MUST own an Apple iPod to consume podcasts. It’s just downloadable media. You can watch or listen on your computer. The stats say you do. 60% of all podcasts are consumed on the home computer.
Take video. I don’t own an video iPod. I watch that all at my desktop. For audio, sure, I have a Nano, and they’re nice players, but I don’t need it to listen. I could burn them to CDs. I could download them to a USB drive and play them when I get to work. But whatever. That’s a tangent.
I received some criticism 3rd hand. I saw it on another site. It was valid and just. I wasn’t really 100% in my game during that particular segment, but it still bugs me. It bugs me because I want to be at August 2007, when I’ve got 30 shows launched, all with wonderfully talented people. Maybe you haven’t been able to quit your day jobs, but you’re getting side money from GNM. Real money. I want to have dedicated and passionate executive producers curating the fine work of a community just aching to get out and tell the stories of things they love. I mean, this guy is planning a podcast about dead bugs. That’s what I’m talking about.
I’m worried, too. Doing something with lots of people means that THEY have to be powerful, THEY have to be in charge of their creativity. THEY will choose to quit or stay or whatever they choose. I’ve not yet been an employer in my life. I’ve been a manager, but that’s different. That’s not this. Is it?
Creative types are crazy dreamers, and yet, we’re the ones who move things. We spark ideas. But are we ENGINES?
I think so. Warhol thought so. He had The Factory. I have the Grasshopper Factory. I think we can be engines of creativity. But it’s all a matter of people being passionate and sustainably so.
Some days, my email box is full. Today, it’s been a trickle. Maybe I just view silence as the lack of passion? Maybe I’m just finally about to crash after weeks of 4 hours of disrupted sleep.
Startup Practice - Build Consensus, Raise Money
In working on Grasshopper New Media (called GNM for brevity’s sake), I come face to face with all the things I don’t know. For instance, I’m learning about contracts, revenue sharing models, and all kinds of things that have nothing to do with talent and podcasting and love. The beauty is, there are ways to learn this before it becomes painful not to know what I’m talking about with regards to GNM.
Practice Building Consensus
I’ve been writing and speaking for weeks about why GNM Networks is a good business model for all involved. It will reduce friction and improve connectivity between audiences and their entertainers (us). It will provide fatter targets for sponsors and advertisers. It will permit flexibility for consulting and podcast-building for others, and it scales by way of a constant-talent-recruitment philosophy.
I say a lot of the same thing in different ways to dozens of people. What I’m getting back from this experience is honing of message. I’m hearing the negatives. I’m getting all the “devils advocates” out of the woodwork. I f-ng hate devil’s advocates, but they’re part of the process.
But here’s another thing: consensus, especially when one’s a disciple of Covey as I am, involves trying to build synergy instead of compromise. It also means knowing where the borders of the idea end. I’m learning that I have little patience for explaining the passion. I SHOW you the passion, and show how the passion can benefit things, but I’m not going to tell you how to get excited about the project. You either get it or you don’t.
Consensus Comes from Understanding
Perspective is everthing, not perception. I was talking with a small business owner in Boston about PodCamp. He’s already on board to donate valuable goods and money to the event. I’m asking him for more. (Part of my new Ask+ philosophy.) He had lots of great questions back and I had to really turn my head around to his business and intentions to answer his needs. Luckily, I’m sure we can be beneficial to his business. We’ll drive lots of word of mouth and lots of potential sales revenue opportunities (we don’t close business, we introduce prospects). I think we’ll get along great.
The venue for PodCamp has its own set of needs to be met. So do all the major sponsors. The attendees and participants need to feel important and loved and valid as well.
It’s all a matter of understanding all the parts.
Raising Money
I’ve been asking people for money to support PodCamp. The cause is good because it’s free learning for a community of 200. It’s not like any of my religious friends, who use their money to feed people and rebuild burnt down buildings. But part of what PodCamp will do is help those types equip themselves with other ways to get their message out, and help drive money to their worthy causes. So maybe that’s my angle on that?
Asking for money started out hard. I felt really squirrelly doing it. But I’ll tell you: in requesting money, merchandise and more from potential sponsors of PodCamp, I’m feeling that I understand how to ask for money a little better each time. (I imagine this changes a great deal when you ask for millions). Here’s one thing I learned right away.
Steve Garfield and I were talking yesterday. We agreed that an important skill to master in life (is it a skill?)– maybe a concept– is that people are people. (No, not Depeche Mode- Stop it). People are just the same as you and me. They have feelings. They are richer or poorer. They are just people. You can approach them. You can talk with them. It’s okay.
On the flipside of that, people are people, and you can’t just be rude, or treat them like a human Automatic Teller Machine. If you’re looking for money or support or advice, remember that you’re addressing someone with feelings and wants and concerns.
I ran into that on PodCamp. I accidentally slighted someone of great importance to podcasting and to the New England scene in general. It wasn’t intentional, but it came over pretty poorly, and I felt bad about it. I forget to consider people’s feelings sometimes, because I think that everyone has the same feeilngs as me. Ethnocentricity? Is that the word used when you impose your autobiography over someone else’s situation? I’m guilty.
One thing I’m finding when I ask for money is that I’m immediately concerned with how I’m going to show the person my thanks, and how I can help build their equity back in some way. I hope that goes far in trying to assemble something.
People are the Engine
Another Steve Garfield line: “I subscribe to people.” How damned perfect is that? We were talking in terms of shows and branding and all that, but the new internet methodology means that we can cross-over much easier. It’s the person inside the company that makes the brand now. Scoble is a brand that moved from Microsoft to PodTech. Jason Fried is 37Signals. David H-H is 37 Signals. Dave Gray is Xplane.
I want to keep that foremost as I’m building out GNM Networks. There’s nothing more than a fat guy doing a podcast without all of you passionate cats. (No, I never say “cats” in that context - I’m just funnin’ you.)
Work is afoot. I’m building out two shows at once here, all while growing the business as a whole, laying rails, and putting framework together. One problem I have is keeping this all put together. I think I’ll use Foldera as an organizing system.
I think I need an impassioned, energetic, has-a-few-hours, Chief Wordpress Officer. I’ve got some great people offering me help when they can. I need someone as mental as me running the build-out of those blogs that instrument the podcasts. Hmm.
Practice
The premise here is practicing skills related to your next business is a great way to learn how to operate your business. I think this scales in other ways. What do you think?
Fat Guy Gets Fit
I’m so damned proud of Fat Guy Gets Fit this week. Sure, I’m patting myself on the back, but here’s why. I’m excited that I got to put in a health hack from Kevin Kennedy-Spaien at Health-Hack.com. THIS is the Kool-Aid I’m drinking, kids. THIS is the model that I think works best.
For Fat Guy Gets Fit, I shouldn’t be the brand. I should be the “curator” of a process. Kevin’s the brand. I want Tinkoff to be the brand. I want you to be the brand.
That’s how we roll.
GNM Friends Network: Personal Virtual Assistant
Sarah Deutsch is a talented woman, responsible for managing complex productions staffed by (my words not hers) those theater people, who you know are crazy and not especially task-oriented. So, be amazed that Sarah found the time to launch her own business, Pinkleberry Services, based in Alameda, California. Sarah’s business? Personal Assistant.
Pinkleberry Services is an Alameda-based company, providing personal assistant, concierge and errand services to anyone who needs an extra hand, from working professionals to busy moms.
Have a big project or event that needs to be organized? Need help moving into a new apartment? Just don’t have time to pick up that package that’s been sitting at the post office for two weeks? Give us a call and watch your To-Do List shrink before your eyes!
What I love most, however, is that Sarah’s opted to go Virtual as well, and she’s expanded her market even further. Her service offerings are mostly location-based at first glance, like waiting for deliveries, painting, errands, and the like, but it’s what you can task Sarah with virtually that becomes the trick.
Serving Suggestions
Pinkleberries go good on party and event planning, meeting and conference scheduling, follow-up phone calling, organizing files, project coordination, meeting facilitator. Are you catching the value here?
Her rates are reasonable and built around an hourly scale, with declining cost over time. I imagine you could work out micro-payments, should the virtual task not be an hour’s work, but that’s between you and Sarah.
Consider Sarah for the jobs she’s listed on her site, but be open to challenging her with the tasks you’ve got in mind that could be just as easily handled virtually and remotely. If you’re not personally interested in the service, consider passing this on to others. Sarah’s drumming up business, and would appreciate the help.
Link: Pinkleberry Services.
Web Innovators Group
Last night, a friend from the day job and I went down to Cambridge to attend the Web Innovator’s Group meeting. It was at the Royal Sonesta hotel, put on by a venture firm. It was truly vibrant to see so many talented, hungry people in one room, excited about their future aspirations, and nervous to pitch their ideas in a room full of investors, technologists, and some of the nicest-but-harshest critics I’ve ever seen. Bubble popping was quite the norm, but it was okay, because it was something those new company boys and girls were going to hear shortly anyhow in the “real” world, right?
I enjoyed getting to talk about PodCamp Boston, and I got to talk a bit about Grasshopper New Media. Folks liked the idea in theory, but I can see that I’ve got lots more refining to do.
It’s SO exciting to be around so many intelligent and passionate people, both in the online realm, but also out there in the wild.
Are you finding passionate people? Are you reaching out to the bright lights around you and online?
Subscribing to This Site
If you’re not a subscriber to [chrisbrogan.com], please consider doing so. It’s really helpful to me, so that I can keep track of how many people visit the site, and what matters to you (via click throughs to stories). Thanks in advance.
Subscription is free. You can do it using any of a gazillion systems.
All About the Basics
My friend Mark is an army Lieutenant. He served two tours in Iraq (if I’m inaccurate, correct me, Mark). His day job is that he is a founder and co-owner of Gaming Green Pages, the phone book for the gambling industry. He’s their lead salesman, as well as all the rest. When I talk with Mark about anything, he very often starts the conversation by saying, “Well, you’ve just gotta go back to basics.”
Mark says sales basics are what drive his efforts. He talks about getting the word out, driving people towards a close, moving them from his first choice of response into what they ultimately settle on. He talks about making sure everyone understands the value. He covers all the bases this way.
When I talk with Mark about finances, he starts with the basics:
- What are you spending?
- Do you take a lunch from home?
- Are you buying coffee every day in the morning?
- What’s your entertainment budget?
- How often are you buying new things?
- How can you have credit card debt? You make a million bucks!
(not exactly).
Mark rapid-fires these at me until I break and tell him that I’m spending too much money and I know it. Now, I’m not at all surprised by this news. My wife and I know what we’re doing. I’ve spoken with others about it, too. But with Mark, it’s never about anything tricky. The other night at his place, we were drinking beers and watching a thunderstorm.
“The minute someone tells me about some wild idea that’s way off the track, I know it’s not the answer. It’s always the basics.”
Even drinking beers at his house was the basics. Instead of buying beer at the bar for $5.50 plus tip, we bought at a store for $7.50 a six-pack. See? He’s always thinking.
Katrina and I were talking about this today. Kat said it: finances are a lot like weight loss and diet. You know what you have to do. You just don’t choose to do it, and that makes the difference.
Today, I took breakfast and coffee from home. I brought a Lean Cuisine dinner (steak tips and portabello with a side of broccolli). I drank iced tea that I brought from home, as well as spring water and free coffee from the office. I’ve spent zero dollars out of my pocket today at work.
Yesterday, I got back to running, following the basics there, too.
There’s something to be said about the basics.
Video Interview about PodCamp
Indigo from StyleFeeder and several other places filmed an interview between Ben Donohue and me where I talk about PodCamp. You can see my interview here.
Nice to get the word out.
