Making Money Isnt Evil

June 23, 2008 · Comments

This is the “jolt” presentation I gave at PAB2008 this year. WARNING: LOTS OF SWEARING and I apologize for that, because I had just listened to Neil Gorman’s presentation and he swore a lot, and well, I took it into my ranting exploration of the fact it’s not evil to make money. It’s just under 10 minutes, captured on Ustream.tv via Christopher S. Penn.

Basically, pay attention to this one thing: it’s not evil to want to make money, but be very wary how you try to do this off your community.

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  • Chris Brogan unwittingly channeling George Carlin. Spooky.
  • Awesome! Bill Hicks would be proud.

    A lot of corporate folks need this kind of kicking around. Although you call this a rant, it's really speaking truth to power.

    Peace!
  • Jon
    This is one of the few messages regarding social media/social networks where I've agreed with more than 80% of the points. Nicely done.
  • I love this quote " I will do this for free but I will make you pay to understand the value"

    Excellent video ! I'm a big girl I can take the swearing.
  • I guess it's just me because no one else had said it, but much of the audio is almost too garbled for me to understand - frustrating.
  • Interesting.There's a good takeaway from this. Here's mine:

    If you're blogging or tweeting, it has to be clear cut why you're doing it, but there also HAS to be an end game result in all of it as well. I do this(Insert social media activity here) because it will____________ and the result of that will be__________

    Nice rant
  • Chris
    I have only watched a few minutes. I will watch more soon.
    I can bet you will discuss no less than 3 topics that I will find
    interesting.
  • This Jolt, like the other Jolts and speaking sessions at PAB2008, is brilliant! Thank you so much for your contribution. We all left the conference inspired and motivated.

    For those of you concerned about the audio... note that audio recordings from the PAB2008 sound board will be released over the summer at the Canadian Podcast Buffet.
  • Wow - you do drink Red Bull!

    In addition to, "use as many microphones as possible", I like your point about:

    - Know the difference between your community and your marketplace.

    Marcel
  • :) nice talk! I think adult language is helpful in this context, as we generally use that language when around friends, and friends generally hear more of what is said.
  • Lots of excellent advice but perhaps may favorite is:
    "center around passion - plan around strategy".

    Without both the passion & the strategy you are lost before you even begin. Need the passion to dream the dream & the strategy to make the dream real.
  • "You can't eat a fucking hug." Awesome.
  • Thanks for making this personal, not just business business business. We all have friends and family that we love and want to integrate our personal lives and work.
  • Yes, fantastic quote (I will do this for free but I will make you pay...). I didn't get whose it was though. Chris, can you clarify?

    This stuff is all so pertinent for me; working in the charity sector. I would love to help charities be more effective and not have to charge them but I need money for electricity to run my PC, and to pay the rent, so I have somewhere to keep it dry! I've always found, when I've provided input free of charge, it hasn't been valued like my paid work is. Funny old thing, human psychology!
  • @Rachel I think that quote is from Mitch Joel. (http://www.twistimage.com/blog/)
  • $&@*#(% love this!

    'Center around Passion. Plan around Strategy.' Pure gold, plain and simple.

    Money making ain't evil. True! But in my view living from a 'connect and serve first' mentality comes first. To do that you gotta know where your business money comes from or 'To a hammer everything looks like a nail' becomes the way you try to do business, and the people you connect with start feeling pounded and leveraged, not connected with or served.

    You recently asked in a Tweet who our fave marketers are. To me, that's a tough question to answer for two reasons.

    ONE: far as I can tell most marketers are themselves confused and doing the 'everything looks like a nail', info-guru routine. I don't want to operate that way so observe at arms-length and take their 'stuff' with a grain of salt, watching for clear signs of 'the real deal'.

    TWO: things are changing so rapidly - and in so many different directions simultaneously - there's multiple (steep) learning curves (platforms,behaviors,apps,outlook,etc) which creates a compound intimidation factor. Add that to the above and you got caution bordering on paralysis without the tried and true means and methods to soothe 'buyer beware'.

    Which is why I'd take a little passionate (real and messy) straight-taking anytime!
  • A few people have asked me if this is my "evil Kirk" moment in time, where I crap on community. Go back and re-watch it. Accept the cursing as part of the moment, but hear what a said. In fact, here are the notes I used to talk from:

    WIIFM- what's in it for me is how people process information, so if you're wondering what's in this for you, plan to focus on-

    3 goals from your media making efforts

    Money. $125? Bullshit. - The $125 fee for PAB is too small for what we got. It's not wrong of Mark and Bob to charge more than that, because there was a buffet *and* a boat cruise built into this.

    Quote from Mitch Joel:

    I would do this for free
    but I make you pay
    so that you understand
    the VAULE
    of what you're getting
    -- Mitch Joel - http://twistimage.com/blog


    Five levels of media brand value (and also 5 levels of where the money is in this model)--

    Awareness
    Attention -- money
    Influence -- lots of money
    Reputation -- downstream money
    Authority -- much more than money

    Competition

    You are competing with text. Ease of use.

    Money. Monetization.

    Making Money Isn't Bad
    HOW you make money is what matters
    WHAT you do with it is what matters

    The Trick-

    Know the context - dinner or restaurant
    Communities aren't banks
    Marketplaces are
    Smart people maintain both, differently.

    HOW to-

    Be Honest, Open, Clear, Human, Real, Powerful, Humble

    Center around passion, plan around strategy

    Learn and Master Systems

    DO more than Talk

    Give Frequently But Intelligently

    Shine Your Light Bright on others

    Give Your Ideas Handles

    Understand the Push and Pull of Community

    Build Conversion Engines to Keep Your Community Pure

    ------------

    Does that help?
  • You did a great job buddy. I've never seen you so potty-mouthed, but that's what Canadian beer does. I'm so happy to see that you made it to Kingston, and equally bummed I wasn't there.

    Anyone want to hire me to travel to conferences? Just asking is all. :-)

    Cheers Chris. I'll see you one of these days soon I hope. Hey, perhaps in Nashville at BarCamp this October???

    Cheers,
    Dave
  • Can't listen now cause I'm at work and I HEAR there's lots of swearing. Will be back to listen later.

    I think tho w/o hearing it, so I'm a little uninformed that sometimes it takes swearing or something shocking to drive home what you're trying to say. :)
  • Social Media Experts...FU*K OFF = Priceless. Good gracious, it was so refreshing to hear someone in the community say that. I am so fed up with seeing all these people pop up, who say they are Social Media Gurus/Experts. Really? Where did you get your license? Did you major in Social Media Studies - shut your face...It's like all this clickbank trash that shows up almost every day with secrets on how to exploit social media to make millions - please, piss up a rope idiots.

    Bought time someone stepped up and slapped everyone around a bit. Thanks Chris. I'll take a ^5 I don't really want a hug.

    Nuff Said,
    4four1ones is OUT...
  • I mean "bout", slang for about in my last sentence. Sorry "bout" that.
  • Yo Chris.

    Great seeing you this past weekend.

    Loved your Jolt. Loved what you brought to the festivities.

    See you soon.

    Tim
  • Even the nicest guy in social media is allowed to throw around a few f-bombs. Great speech with lots of excellent advice. Nice to see your personality come out a little. Rant on!
  • Back for round two (we Canucks are a talkative and uncontrollable bunch after we've gotten a beer or two under our belts, so its said...:).

    Here's quite the post that further 'splains my earlier meaning: http://tiny.cc/mrhkD

    Which is why what you had to say - potty mouthed as it was (and I quote fellow commenter) - was so REFRESHING: you were were speaking for, not at, all.
  • Albert Willis
    I love a good, high-quality rant. Keep 'em coming.
  • Chris is right; making money isn't evil and it doesn't work against any sense of community.

    What *is* evil is the act of shaming people who figure out a way to make money doing the same thing you do for free.

    Some see the true measure of a man (or woman) as the ability to celebrate the success of another.

    Jealous much? Add the movie Amadeus to your Netflix queue NOW. This movie addresses the subject unlike any other. Watch it again and decide whether you want to be Mozart or Salieri.
  • I echo 4four1ones: "Social Media Experts…FU*K OFF = Priceless." Too much focus on making money THE OLD WAY and completely misunderstanding the new media way.

    I'm tired of not enough substance buzzing around the social media industry and I'm glad there are smart people like you with high readership.
  • Hugs not drugs Brogan

    Mike
  • A-F**KING-MEN

    I've been saving this video until I had the time to truly appreciate it. So happy you did this and more people NEED to watch this.
  • Clean audio from the mixing board at PAB2008 can be found at:
    http://www.canadianpodcastbuffet.ca/?p=203
  • Badass!
  • Naja Mohamed
    Ya It's really good and I am very glad to hear that. Thank you Bye!
  • Excellent video! I agree that too many people give away their time because they don't place a value on it.
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