Extend the Conversation

April 26, 2007 · Comments

Talking HeadsThe one message I wanted people to take into and out of the first PodCamp was that these new media tools worked best as a way to “extend the conversation.” By this, I mean that blogging, audio and video podcasting, twitter, second life, and all these other applications give us a chance to reach out to people not in our local area, or to find us relationships hidden otherwise by our day-to-day life. Growing up, I had two choices in life: do what the kids around me did, or do what I wanted to do and be ostracized. I picked a mix of the two.

I did lots of things in private, or with a select bunch of friends, but in the general public, I often blended in, hid what I was passionate about if it didn’t mix with the kids around me. I was a bit of a nerd about things (comic books, Dungeons and Dragons, sci fi, reading), and I didn’t wear that stuff too loud and proud until high school.

But now, with blogging, podcasting, whatever, I can reach people just like me. If I want to go out and find people who really dig Batman, it’d be pretty quick and easy to get done. (Friend in New Zealand who likes Batman: Michael Sampson. Done.)

And yet, that same dislocated community gives me pause. What could I be doing more to highlight the here and now? What could my abilities with blogging/podcasting do for my community? What stories need telling around here? If Silicon Valley and NYC aren’t the newsmakers in my life, who is?

Talking to Ourselves

Read this post, comment, and come back: Top 10 Reasons Why Web 2.0 Sucks.

Read this post, comment, and come back: Superhero, Reveal Yourself.

Charlie tells us we’re talking to ourselves, and I believe this. STRONGLY. I know this because in 2007, I’m still seeing panels at conferences entitled, “Should your company be blogging?” And for a long time, my answer to this was, “Well, duh!” But now it’s not. Now I think some companies shouldn’t be blogging. And yet, there are TONS of people who should be blogging. Oh… get it? People, not companies, write blogs. People we want relationships. Robert Scoble *was* Microsoft to me. Now? Nobody is Microsoft, or Ray Ozzie is, or whatever. But Scoble had the blood.

We’re all just talking to each other, which is swell, but if we want to be relevant, we’ve gotta climb the slippery, shiny, invisible sides of this big bowl we’re all standing in, and we’ve gotta get out there into the crowd. If I had this graphic, I’d post it. The graphic would be a guy throwing a bowl of shiny goldfish into a busy crowd. Think about that a moment. We’re all just goldfish in a bowl until we get there, into the people’s world.

Christopher Penn goes further. He says we should use our powers for good. Get out there. Use your newly minted voice to bring about real live change in the world. Chris practices what he preaches. His Financial Aid Podcast is truly the closest to a white hat financial aid organization out there, in a business that is FULL of black hat practices. Read: scammers. Chris’s show gives you top-shelf financial advice, a little philosophy, and some entertainment. Daily. You want something to hang your hat on? Take his advice to get out there and use your powers for something more than audio and visual masturbation. Make a value to the world.

Extend the Conversation

We NEED to get out there and talk to others, bring more people into the experience. Why? Because we are at a point where we (people who choose to use their voice) are the power. Don’t believe me? Read the fascinating BuzzMachine piece on the obsolescence of the traditional interview.. (Note: when I went to grab this link, I found Jeff Jarvis reporting that NBC has chosen not to air the Presidential debates on the Internet for policy reasons- hummm… OUR Presidential candidates? We can’t hear them because NBC says so?)

Who should you add to the conversation? That’s for you to answer. What are you talking about, and who needs to hear it? I tell you what: you’re not going to find ALL your pertinent audience online already. Lots of folks don’t know how to reach you. Remember, there are lots of Internet dirt roads with lots of blinking neon signs. You’ve gotta go out, hand roadmaps to your new audience, and bring them into the conversation.

Some of this might still have to start face-to-face. Get used to that idea. Show people who aren’t yet aware of your media what it will add to their world. By the way, it’s all about them.

Instant Value Enhancer- Turn Your Blog/Podcast/Whatever Into a “Platform”

The minute you build your experience into a conversation of two-way or more participation, it instantly becomes a stronger value to the community you’re serving. Reach out. Get people to videoblog their contributions. Make THEM part of the show. It’s instant. Reaching out to build your community by giving THEM a voice and a face and a presence is an instant hit. Immediate. It brings more awareness, more attention, new audiences to the experience, because then your newfound stars will bring their friends, family, connections to the conversation.

Know who did this well back in the day and is doing it more now that they’ve relaunched? Scriggity. They’ve understood that it’s all about ME since whenever ago. And YOU, and HER.

Bring more people into the media, energize them, and get the voices moving together.

Many Voices in Chorus vs. Chatter

Gather people to your conversation and combine. Build. Enhance. Make the “show” the “channel” the “network.” Gather all the voices into one powerful, UNIFIED experience that lets your combined audiences feel the larger experience. (But the backwards trick- give us a way to pick and choose, too. I might like some of your shows, but not all. Some of your segments).

A chorus of people approaching something will forever be more powerful than lots of little voices pecking at the same problem. Get together. Join. Gather.

Action

What could you do TODAY to get into this? Here are a few ideas from me. You add some of your own.

  • Identify people in your real world community that you could serve with your blog, podcast, videoblog, whatever.

  • Host a local event at the public library making people aware of social media.
  • Reach out to a similar blog/podcast/video show and work out how to combine efforts. Raise your voice.
  • Start going to local area meetups. They’re out there. Look harder. If not, start one. Meetup.com is a good service for this.
  • Match your passion to your platform. Is text your medium? Why do a radio show? What would your audience want to consume?
  • Educate locals how to use these tools themselves, and start a few blogs/podcasts in your own community.
  • Improve your product. If you text blog, be more concise. Audio? Tighten up. Focus. Video? Get better lighting. Work on your sound. The audience wants TV and Radio quality. Mostly.

Okay, it’s up to you. What will YOU do to add your voice to this? What needs extending in your world? How can we burst through this talking-to-ourselves bubble and reach out to more? Am I wrong? Should we even try to reach out?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Tagged as:

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Thesis WordPress theme

Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.

With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like ChrisBrogan.com, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.

  • Excellent, this is a good action item list.

    One other thought is that these tools help to build relationships so when we eventually meet in real life, the relationship has already moved forward.
  • Super good point, Jeremiah. I used to feel this way about blogs. Now, Twitter seems to have me moving forward on relationships.

    Related: I find that blogs, podcasts, twitter keep me feeling more connected to people I only see twice a year, such that I feel like we're always hanging out.
  • No. I'm tired. My plate is already full. I don't have the energy.

    Probably a dozen or more reasons that people can think of.

    Bottom line?
    I'd say, make this a part of your "outside" conversation.

    It is "okay" to talk to others, outside of this environment, about your passion and interest.

    Sure. They're going to look at you with that look. You know the one "What are you talking about?" or "I'm afraid of the Internet".

    Get over it, and keep on talking, make them "get it".

    Yesterday, I drove up to scope out a potential location for the PodCampMidWest after-event party.

    I could tell that the people I were speaking with used the Internet for e-mail, and occasional browsing, but not much more.

    I turned a few "facts" into language which they could understand.

    I asked them if they had a company website. Yes.
    I said, "Imagine if 300 people were here. 300 people who write about everything that they do, as they are doing it, and post it all online, with links to related sites."

    Imagine 300 people doing the PR work for your business, because you allowed them to come into your place and mingle and have a good time.

    I saw the light-bulb go off in his head.

    He "got it".
  • Hey, Chris, I feel like I know you already through your blog and Twitter ... so I look forward to continuing the conversation one of these days when we meet at a conference.

    Good idea you presented -- bringing your contacts/clients/friends together to discuss social meda. Host your own event if you have to; local libraries usually have a meeting room available rent-free. You don't have to be an "expert" -- just get the conversation started.

    Find out if there is already a Social Media Club (http://www.socialmediaclub.com) in your city. If not, start one! That's what I did, and I can't begin to tell you how many valuable connections I've made and how much I've learned. I'm not an expert; I'm the facilitator. Once you get started, the experts will find you. And most of them are very willing to share their knowledge.
  • Absolutely it is about reaching out, but some people are reachers and some are not.

    Reaching out is about changing attitudes, crossing cultures, just because we speak the same language does not necessarily imply we will understand each other, based on social conditioning, values, morals, ambitions...

    it is bridging this that is reaching out I feel, that can be done on the telephone or myspace, or twitter, or down the pub.
  • Dang, my comment got swallowed up in your server crash. Went to the two posts you prescribed and commented-- won't repeat the comments here, except to say that "we are talking to ourselves" has become a major concern of mine, especially with the podcast community.

    This will change-- but for now we can use our superpowers to do what we used to do-- talk to the people that we talk to, but being social media into the discussion-- and bring these people back with you.

    We all joke that "Only my mom reads my blog"-- but does she? What other blogs does she read? What about your Aunt? and the PTA?
  • @Doug agreed to an extent with podcasters, it's still a bit geeky and not transparent technology yet.

    I mean for my girl to dig it, it has to be transparent, just turn a knob and listen (radio/tv I guess).

    Mobile phones and SMS are transparent technology, it is easy, simple. A fridge is simple technology, it keeps stuff cold simply.

    When we have podcasts transparently available in phones/tv set top boxes/car radios we might reach out a bit more?

    Dang i'm in danger of rambling.
  • Great post! I've been thinking along some of the same lines myself--about how to extend my brand beyond the Internet space, I've done it some already--completely by accident but I am looking to be more deliberate about it as well as trying to build more of a community around my site--which has already happened to some extent but want to foster more of that. But yes, good thoughts all the way around.
  • Funny, because one person I think of as bringing "low-tech" or "lesser tech" community to this space is you, Bill. I think your work with Lo-Fi St Louis is definitely top shelf, and worth examination.

    How to extend it out further? Post other people's reports. Recruit a street team of passionate Lo-Fi music fans, of Streeter fans. Bring the noise to more communities. Where's Lo-Fi Seattle? Lo-Fi Boston? Bring out the Lo-Fi Network.

    Thanks for your thoughts.
  • Love the points... I recently asked on my local message board who vlogs and was sad to see that the majority of them had no idea what that was... nor much interest in finding out.

    Gotta change that on the quick fast.... or atleast find a local community that is open to give it a go.
  • We'll call this the the "Brogan Communication Manifesto".
  • @chris-- I don't think podcasting is as complicated to explain as, say, RSS. We need easier ways to get them. *warning client mention ahead* -- Podcast Ready is one of the tools that may just do that, because you plug in you MP3 player and whammo your subscriptions load automatically.

    But we still need to get our moms and little league coaches and PTO buddies to go in and listen-- good content is the key. Give them what they want and they will go for it.

    High school parents? give them Financial Aid podcast-- tell them how to get it. "Heroes" addicts? get them over to the 10th wonder. This is what makes fans.
  • I got out of the bowl, and this is what's happening...

    I recorded audio on my first ever "producing podcasts for others" consulting job this am. It went well. I am both happy, thrilled and scared out of my mind. The client is happy, even before the thing is edited. They have big plans, and if the trial version works well, this could be huge and consume all or most of my time. It could mean hiring other people and being a real business person.

    And, this means no longer being an amateur. It's no longer hoping things will go well, but things are going well, indeed. And it means deciding where you fit into a project that could end up consuming you, in a good way, but consuming you nonetheless.

    I only have so many hours in the day, and that is becoming tragically clear, as I figure out what obligations I can shed and which ones I want and need in my life. And part of social media means being social- something I'm good at, but where do you draw the line between real world and virtual?

    Let's face it- put up or shut up is scary. If you go beyond your comfort zone and bring others into the fold, it means you take on responsibility as well. You need to mentor them. You need to show them the ropes and help them see the value, both personally and professionally. And then when they get excited and say- "Cool, let's do it!" you have to be willing to follow through, as part of that relationship.

    In some ways, when you live outside the mainstream, you can become comfortable in that role. It is awesome beyond belief to find others like us, to form these great and vibrant communities, but you also need to participate, and this takes time and emotional effort if nothing else.

    When you step off the cliff, or out of the bowl, is there any turning back?

    I think our biggest risk is burning out before the potential really comes to fruition- Seth Godin talks about this when he talks about the Dip- can we weather the storm until the momentum carries us forward to true remarkability?
  • I think Doug makes a big point here. I'm going to take a not so huge leap and guess that most people ages 40-65 (yes, baby-boomers, the group with the huge buying power that ruled old media!) are not reading blogs, watching podcasts, posting on twitter. None of my local friends/neighbors are. I can barely get them to use email. I started a niche blog aimed at parents in this age group and got frustrated because there was no clear way to market it to them, if they're not online how can they find me? I'm really curious about Chris Penn's listenership on Financial Aid Podcast (which I love, by the way.) I'm guessing students are the majority of his listeners, rather than their parents.

    Working toward getting this group interested and online is something I'd really like to work towards. I agree with Doug, good, well written, and valuable content is key.
  • Chris,

    What a wonderful post. Manifesto indeed! I've forwarded it along to a couple of "conversation" thinkers.

    Here's a quick story.

    I'd been down on Twitter. After two weeks of playing with it I thought, "Not for me." I met with Robert Scoble two days ago, and at the end of our session, he sent out a Tweet saying that he had just met with me and put in my website address. In the next hour, I received 60 emails asking to be my Twitter friend. I said yes to all.

    One of my new "Twitter friends" went to my blog, and read the post "How Do You See the Obvious" http://blog.creativethink.com/2007/01/how_do_yo... She liked it and wrote it up on "StumbledUpon" (which I had never heard of). In the next three hours, I received 500 visitors to my blog to read that post.

    Needless to say, I'm not as down on Twitter as I was. Interesting dynamic taking place.

    Best wishes to you and your readers!
  • Love Roger's comment- going beyond the social media echo chamber (which as Roger shows, and as Bum rush the Chart s showed, is much bigger than we sometimes think), we just need to tie together communities. I participate in a community blog. I asked all my school parent/homeowner friends in the community to at least read the blog. I post to that blog, and, when appropriate outside of the blog for people to follow links and broaden their sources. How has this worked so far? It's not instantaneous, but I know some of my friends now at least lurk on that blog, and a subset then follow links to other sources.
    At the very least, my profile, or my cmments link, link to my own blog (like it does here-- ahem), which a few people might follow and then through my posts and my blogroll through to other thing. It really is a web.

    Ok, now I'm rambling

    Oh-- and thanks, Annie, apparently I made a good point earlier-- that happens on occasion
  • Chris -

    Great thoughts, great timing on the post. I'm the same kind of nerd, was unabashedly visible with it in school, then dampened it behind a more mundane mask in order to be a "successful professional".

    Now I'm coming full circle. I love those nerdy things and even more, I realize love my fellow nerds wih our special combination of intelligence, creativity, passion and wit.

    So, what am I doing? Well, I've decided to gather a small group of rebels to revolutionize tabletop gaming - if we don't bring it into the digital age so it can thrive and prosper, it will surely die and our grandchildren will never enjoy the unique social experiences of tabletop gaming (D&D, board games, miniatures, card games et al).

    The amazing thing is how the universe seems to be pulling me along, easing the path to make this work...but that's another post. :)
  • Annie:

    FAP Listenership breaks down roughly at 60% students, 20% parents, and 20% industry professionals. 3,500 listeners per episode over a 90 day period, give or take. Top episode has had 33,000 listens. Feedburner pegs about 850 in a 24 hour period.
  • How DO we get past our own noise? How do we ensure there's a vision outside the current circle?
  • "How DO we get past our own noise? How do we ensure there’s a vision outside the current circle?"

    Good question - how do NASCAR fans find other NASCAR fans - and do you really need to be a NASCAR fan to hold a conversation with them?

    My reality check is telling me this.

    The podcasting and video blogging industry is going to continue to grow.
    Public awareness will continue to climb, however, it will be from things like repurposed content of a radio talk show, or when they figure out that they can watch Heroes online at anytime.

    The voice of the stuff which we're all interested in will continue to remain small, even if we band together...unless, someone with some deeeeep pockets takes it mainstream.

    Sort of like when skateboarding was a fringe-hobby but then the x-gen'rs got ahold of it (read, marketing dollars) and turned it into an extreme sport. These days, it's an Olympic event.
  • Chris,

    I really like this post a lot. I had read "Web 2.0 sucks" yesterday by way of Scoble's linkblog on Twitter. Given some of the recent communications I've had with you, the "we're talking to ourselves" statement "was a whack on the side of the head". As you know, right now in my professional world I'm a blogvangelist. So far, I have taken more of an opportunistic, one-by-one approach with my "Guide to Web 2.0" email, but if it gets the ball rolling and makes me feel like I'm helping, educating and inspiring, it's a step forward. I do think you need to blogvangelize where the audience is either physically, mentally or logistically, logistics meaning their tools. My clients use email that's how I reach them. What I find is that once you start to get the word out, whether or not you are being effective or making an impact, you get more confident and get more ideas and get momentum. It will all build on itself. So my "Web 2.0 guide for investors" email can morph into a blog post, a newsletter, even a Google groups page. Or I can includes links for wikis and social media and netvibe universes.
    Another example was the gang reaction yesterday to a verge-of-quitting Twitterer and how some of us posted tips for how to make it work for her including friends she should follow.
    Sometimes extending the conversation means starting the conversation. Sometimes it means defining the jargon. Sometimes it means having a lot of individual meetings. This post extends the conversation in a very positive way.
  • This is one of the most inspiring blog posts i've seen in a while. Now it's up to "Us" to extend the conversation. Us to figure out who we can reach out too, who we can help add value. Look around, there isn't anybody sitting next to me right now. I have to go out and find them, whether it be online, in the real world, combine them, teach them!

    Chirs you keep amazing me with your writing and ideas. Keep them coming because they are truly inspring me to get off my ass and reach out.

    -Jeff
    http://blog.zemote.com
  • Chris -

    Thanks for this post and encouraging people to step into the ‘messy’ world BF (before twitter). I would encourage us all to keep in mind that it takes time to change a culture and traditional thinking. This is not just about a twitter deal or a vlog or a podcast. It's a new communication system and a very different way of interacting. Worlds are being shaken and people are trying to make sense of it in there own way.

    For Annie a few baby boomers and perhaps beyond who are involved in social media: a scientist at a manufacturing company who has been bloging since 2005 http://tinyurl.com/346lgq, an 81 year old woman who is blogging and vlogging http://tinyurl.com/93wb2 and the CEO of one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world who launched a blog last summer http://tinyurl.com/24sc5p.

    Here’s a suggestion .. let’s start with the next generation of business professionals. (Most kids don't get how social media fits into the bigger picture.) There are a few innovative profs who are bringing it to their students but not enough. Add one more audience to your list to reach out to. Why not a course on social media in marketing? Or one on citizen journalism? Think bigger. Why not an entire discipline? Let me know how I can help.
  • Brilliant post.
    Too many things to comment on. I'm going to bookmark it somewhere prominent.
  • None of the "masses" care about how social media works. Identify people's passions an build a community where they can come to watch, read, hear media you've made, and upload/share their own media and ideas. Concentrate on what people want to talk, read, and hear about and give them the tools to build a place of their own. No one cares how our computers work, we just turn them on and start Twittering. We sit around and push the envelope of all of these social media tools concentrating on the tools themselves. We expect the rest of the world to share our enthusiasm. Real people read, surf, jog, fish, dance, boat, fight, love, garden, camp, decorate, knit, pray, collect, shop and do innumerable other activities that don't inherently involve keyboard input. It's their passions that bring them together. Those passions are where we should put the tools to use.
  • Liz Strauss
    Liz discovers Chris Brogan April 26, 2007. It's history!
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: