Is There Any Value in Blogging and Podcasting and All That Media?
The technology behind building a blog or a podcast or a newsletter is easier to operate than ever before. You can get started for very low money and it doesn't require a boat load of technical skill either. But the two questions you should ask yourself are these: do I have something helpful to share and will anyone bother to read/consume what I create.
I don't know that there ever were any "gee whiz" days in blogging and content creation. I feel like more people used to do it because they were told to create something, but really so few people actually liked writing and making media. They saw it as a chore. People did it until they felt they didn't have to any longer. "No one's reading blogs anymore anyway."
That was never true. No one read your boring blog.
Podcasts: The New Rage
Everyone and their cousin are finally launching podcasts. It didn't take off in 2005, like I thought. Nor 2006, 2007, 2009. All the years I figured "Wow, now THIS will be the age of podcasting" ended up being wrong. Because people tend to start doing something only when it's saturated. So now everyone also wants to start a podcast and/or get on Instagram and do what everyone else is doing.
You can do a podcast. It's okay. People are consuming more audio than ever before. (And people are reading less and less.)
You can and should do video, too. Start a YouTube channel and put something up at least weekly.
Will you? Not as likely. Podcasting is another thing people became willing to do because it seems easy enough. Video still seems hard and scary.
None of it matters. Unless.
Blogging, podcasting, video, and whatever other tools you don't seem to want to use to reach people don't matter all that much unless you have something interesting and useful to say. People make the mistake all the time of thinking that what they're writing or speaking about is interesting because it's what they sell. Not many people sell inherently interesting things. And even if something has a little pizazz, that wears off quickly if it's not something anyone wants to buy.
No, you shouldn't bother. Don't make media. Of any kind, really. Just knock on doors and ring phones. It's worked well for decades and decades.
Even though people don't read as many mainstream news sources any longer. Even though people stopped listening to terrestrial radios and podcasting is having its heyday. Even though YouTube serves over a billion hours of video every day displacing a lot of eyes that used to just watch whatever was on TV. Don't think much about that.
Or
You can take a stab at creating something interesting and compelling and worth someone's time. You can write helpful articles and posts. You can record podcast episodes that entertain and inform someone (I just spent the better part of a day in my car and ran out of GOOD podcasts to listen to - because I'm not all that into true crime shows).
You could try to reach the millions and millions of people who are looking for something entertaining and informative. And do it regularly, and across multiple types of platforms. Because that might be worth something to someone.
Or you can wait a while longer. Until no one's doing any of these things either.
If I Were Selling Real Estate Today
The world of real estate has become a lot more software driven in recent years. Sure, ultimately, a buyer interacts with a person, but with the number of real estate apps out there, a lot of up front work happens before a real estate professional is contacted. That's not necessarily bad, but for a lot of Realtors (and other professionals in other industries for that matter), a personable connection with a buyer matters immensely as well.
If I Were Selling Real Estate Today
For years, I've had the pleasure of keynoting various real estate events and speaking at industry conferences. In every interaction, I found a warm, smart, driven person looking for new tools to reach and serve their buyer. My book with Julien Smith, Trust Agents, seemed to resonate with the primary challenge of "how do you build business remotely on the web?" Since that book (over 9 years have passed), I can say that the use of digital tools to evaluate real estate has only grown.
If I were selling real estate today, I'd embrace these apps and I would have a website/blog where I could add some content that my buyers might want. What would I put on that site? Oh, I'm glad you asked.
A Real Estate Professional's Content Marketing Checklist
- Sure, you want to post pictures and videos about the properties. That's a given.
- Take the camera on your phone and shoot a "neighborhood walk through" video.
- Record an audio file where you talk people through how to evaluate a home. Tell them to keep this playing in the car when they're out hunting around.
- Record another video where you list out what people need to bring to closing.
- Find community points of interest and interview people to show off the neighbors.
- Shoot an autobiographical video talking about your passions for serving people and your career so far.
- If you have other skills/talents, like interior design, give people a video of tips for how to spruce up their place. OR, make a video to show homeowners how to prep their house for sale.
Naturally, there are plenty more pieces of content I could recommend. This is a great starter set that will keep you busy for a few weeks.
How to Go About Making All This Content
I'm sure you might have seized up a little upon seeing that list of seven ideas. The thing is, you already have the tools to make this. You have a smart phone. This comes with a video recorder and a voice recorder built in. If you feel like you have to edit the videos a little, you can record lots of little clips and dump them all into either Windows Media Maker (PC) or iMovie (Mac) and trim off the edges a bit. I promise that none of it is rocket surgery. If you know how to cut/paste words in a document, it's almost the same thing.
Practice. That's what I most want to share with you. Just practice.
As for scheduling, pick a weekly schedule of creating and posting that will let you take a little time to make your content, edit it, and post it. It's that simple (but not easy).
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Use Your Voice
The biggest opportunity all this technology has afforded us is the chance to share what we find interesting and to potentially connect with others we can help or who can enrich our lives or businesses. Formally or otherwise, we have the most opportunity ever, in the history of humans, to connect with people who are into what you are into. It's baffling how few people choose to take advantage of this.
Use Your Voice
On the lighter side, if you really love recreating junk food in your kitchen, you could start the "Not Twinkies" website. If you are a LEGO minifig modifier who takes existing sets to create your own masterpieces, I know for sure there are others who love what you do. There's a bunch of people out there, no matter what, who want to talk about what you want to talk about.
Causes and nonprofits know this. People with medical challenges know this (or should). There's a group or a few strong voices out there speaking about whatever it is you're into.
And you can be very specific. If you're ONLY interested in talking with other female accordion players, there's definitely someone out there waiting for you to gather up ideas and share. If you grew up identifying ramen noodle packs by their colors, not their intended "flavors," there's a group that loves to talk about how orange is the only one to eat uncooked. (My Lyft driver says she snacks on the contents of the orange ramen pack UNCOOKED. "Like chips," she said.)
There Are Only Three Rules
Companies and people alike need to recognize that there are three important rules to this opportunity to interact and to build relationships with others:
- Speak to the buyer’s story
- Invite interaction
- Build to serve
If you want to find these other people with your voice, you have to write (or make video or audio or all the above) in ways that make the person you're trying to reach the hero of the story, or at least make what you're sharing feel very accessible.Blathering AT people without making it easy to connect and interact beyond what you share isn't all that helpful. I find that I have great conversations with people from all walks of life on Twitter or through email, and in all cases, because I've made it easy to connect with me, people feel that they can reach out and ask whatever they want to ask.When I say "build to serve," the point of creating any media whatsoever should be to serve others. If you're writing about insomnia strategies, make it so that others might learn how to get a better night's sleep. If you're selling cloud storage solutions, share information that will help your buyers thrive. If you're going to build content, and use your voice, use it to serve others.
Don't Worry and Be Self-Conscious
The beauty of this time in our lives is that you don't have to be perfect. You just have to be honest about the interaction. If you're a marketing student looking to meet others in your future field, just say that. If you deal with depression and want to know how others tackle the black dog, just say it. It's an unprecedented time to reach out. Yes, some people might fight back against what you want to talk about, but you'll also find those who want to share what you're into.How will they find you? The way I would find you: google. Search. YouTube. I find you because if you publish your words and videos and thoughts and ideas, I'll find your voice on the internet somewhere.That's the big point. So? Get sharing!
Join me for free and get valuable insights that go beyond the articles posted here.
Your privacy and email address are safe with us.
And thanks so much for your support.
--Chris...
Send Your Scammers to Chatbots, Smartphones are Like The Obesity Epidemic - The Brief for 11.09.17
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 11/09/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).The goal of these posts is that there are trends and ideas here that might impact your business now or soon. Think on the stories here and look for ways to adjust your business accordingly. If ever you’re stuck, get in touch with me and I can help.This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Blockchain and logistics are a perfect marriage. UPS is joining blockchain through a trucking alliance.You know that I've shared a resource post about blockchain already. I just added this great podcast miniseries to it. This will REALLY help.Larry Kim's smart. Here's a great post where he analyzed the best possible headlines for your blog posts.Speaking of smart, Amy and Michael Port have put out an amazing TED talk about performing for regular people (instead of actors).We all know we have a smartphone problem, right? Maybe it's even worse than we think.Speaking of which, email scammers are a billion dollar business. Here's a funny way to fight back.My son's a highly functioning autistic guy. That's not why I'm reporting this. Toys R Us now offers a sensory friendly shopping hour.What can you give kids (and you) to succeed? I like this post because it references the mastery approach to learning. This is how everyone should learn.The holidays are coming. I liked this list of tech gifts for under $50 because otherwise, we're all going to get socks!Plant-based proteins are becoming such a huge business. Here's yet another cool story of why.There's no trend for this. I just think this kid is super smart and HOW he sees things is the takeaway.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
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Microsoft and McDonalds Change Core Tenets. Why People Cosplay. The Brief for 10.28.17
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/28/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).The goal of these posts is that there are trends and ideas here that might impact your business now or soon. Think on the stories here and look for ways to adjust your business accordingly. If ever you’re stuck, get in touch with me and I can help.This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
My man John Ackley sent this in saying cryptocurrency miners are hacking WordPress to steal your site's power to mine their Bitcoins.You know I love chatbots, especially backed by artificial intelligence, as a trend. Well,I just signed up to get a chatbot that will try to learn how to be like me and emulate my mannerisms, etc. Just for fun, but who knows? This kind of modeling might actually lead to how we scale our ability to connect with others.CVS is moving to acquire Aetna which signals a new kind of 'vertical' integration that's worth thinking about.It shows a trend of companies shifting beyond their cores to look at other ways to better serve their buyer. Microsoft's cloud business, for instance is replacing their more core Windows and Office business a bit at a time.See also howMcDonald's is shifting emphasis away from speed and value and serving their customers what they most want. This is big. And it's something you can take into your business, no matter the size.We're moving. All of us. We don't want to go to stores any more. Deloitte says this will be big this year.Freelancers want more regulations and rights and benefits. Now that the workforce is 35% freelancers, this seems like a good plan.In other news, there's a call for companies to stop requiring a bachelor's degree for mid-level jobs. I support this. But more so, it's interesting how suddenly companies are waking up to the realization that the degree rarely matches the intent for why businesses have been requiring it: a breadth of experience.YouTube reports that of the billion-plus hours of daily content viewed on YouTube, now a hundred million of those hours occur on a TV set. Meaning, people are tuning into YOUTUBE instead of TV at the rate of 100 million hours of consumption a day.Speaking of YouTube, I stumbled into this nice lady's channel where she does the coolest tutorials. With Halloween upon us, I figured you could get some ideas.I talk about cosplay a bit on the show. This article explains why cosplay is a gateway to confidence. This is what it's about for me. Creativity plus confidence.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
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Spending a Bar of Gold, A Million Arab Coders, and More - The Brief for 10.25.17
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/25/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).The goal of these posts is that there are trends and ideas here that might impact your business now or soon. Think on the stories here and look for ways to adjust your business accordingly. If ever you’re stuck, get in touch with me and I can help.This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Pretty cool on ya, Tesla. Good job helping out a children's hospital in Puerto Rico.Ray Dalio, author of the awesome book Principles(I mean it, get this book) did a cool project where he tested how hard it was to buy things with Bitcoin vs Gold. Which do you think wins?The world communicates so differently that it's going to muck with regulations vs progress. Fidelity's head says that regulations no longer match how we communicate.Lately, I've been pointing out stories that talk about the difference between blockchain and Bitcoin. This is a story around that, based on UBS's assessment.It appears that Dubai is the first government to launch a state-run cryptocurrency. I'd reported that this was coming, but didn't realize it was here so soon.Speaking of the United Arab Emirates, there's also a program dedicated to training a million young Arab coders over the coming years.I've been tracking the reasons people should engage more with rural business environments. Here's one. San Francisco area real estate just sold a house for a million dollars over the asking price.THIS is interesting. What can you learn about communication and conversational design Capital One shares some really interesting stuff here.Speaking of bots (and I hate linking to a press release, but whatever - it came up in my research), Marriott has launched a career chatbot for Facebook Messenger. Look who's innovating more than not lately.Plant-based news! My beloved Impossible Burger is headed back to school. Well, campuses are getting it in more places. Ditto company cafeterias. Will work for Impossible Burgers.Anxiety reduction? Get this. Evidently, SCIENCE says this song is engineered to reduce anxiety by 65%. Get this on your playlist.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
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Leonardo DiCaprio Buys a Lot of Burgers and Could Blockchain Remove Google From Ads?
All right, you boogers. You wore me down. I got SO MANY emails from you saying, "stop just labeling your posts with numbers. It doesn't make me want to click. Well, I get it. I guess. I'm not making this damned show for myself, so I'd better do what you tell me to do. I get it. Okay! All right, already! :) Scroll down!Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/20/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Consider this: with so many information coming at us all the time, solitude is about to become a trend.Speaking of trends, maybe you won't buy those food prep boxes for you, but would you buy them for Fido?Women be warned: female freelancers aren't making what the guys are. And before you say "no kidding," take some action.In the "sad trumbone" department, evidently very few US hospitals can digitally share records. Like...30%.My favorite kind of "duh" news, now that more people are eating plant-based, produce farmers need to capitalize on that.And hey ho, Leo! Leonardo DiCaprio is investing in Beyond Meat.All this talk of food? This is a great article about understanding food deserts, which are still a thing, but they don't have to be.Foursquare (they're still around?) just posted data on America's favorite fast food chain. The answer? Chick Fil'A.I talk a bunch about blockchain technology. Here's how blockchain could remove Google from search based advertising.I'm also keen on chatbots, but would you talk to a robot as your new therapist?. If you want to check it out, go to Woebot and get started on Facebook messenger. (It's interesting.)eSports are bigger and bigger. Now the Pinstripes are investing in their own esports team.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
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What Are You Missing By Not Clicking on Those CBM Posts?
Twice in the last week, I've received two emails from people who get this blog. That's rare for me. The comments were identical, too. Basically "I hate it when you just send 'CBMblahblah' because I don't know whether I should bother reading the post. Fair. Here's what you need to know.
What are you missing?
Nothing. If you don't want to click, don't click. Maybe you're too busy. Lots of people say they are. Until they're suddenly not busy at all.But what you could learn from these stories is a blend of where business, culture, technology, and life might be taking everyone. Those are my filters. Business/culture/technology/life. And through those, I run thousands of articles from which I pick 10-11 that I think might be interesting, and I give you just a bite of context, plus links to what I shared that might be of note to you.The value is there. You just have to choose to extract it.Click the damned link and check out the show. It's VIDEO, by the way. It's not text. And it's fast.Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/19/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Former US president George W Bush says the whole bigotry and racism thing is out of hand - stop it. (I second this.)This isn't just a political view. It costs money. It costs a half a million US dollars just for the security to allow a white supremacist to share his views at a college. A half million dollars is quite a lot of scholarships.It's enough to make you want to leave the planet. Well, good news. Evidently, we can just 3d Print rockets now. Talk about Star Trek.Science fiction often leads to science fact. This really cool bundle offering will give money to Nasa and give YOU a whole bundle of cool sci fi books (Thanks to Gray Rinehart for this story.)Speaking of shared stories, I published a piece about blockchain resources the other day. I got a tweet from Dr. Kirti Patel about her experiences in blockchain as they relate to her own exploration. Very worth checking out.And it's okay to be uncertain about it all. The guy who invented the WWW just told blockchain people to look at potential consequences.Evidently, Google is helping Lyft by giving them a billion bucks to battle Uber.What happens when your home is about to vanish off the face of the earth? Here's what you should pack in your go-bag.Is networking important? Don't ask Jared Leto.In "the marketplace has shifted" news, Amazon says that 63% of people using Amazon in the US are Prime customers.In random news from the land of cannabis, you can get pumpkin spiced cannabis this season.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
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CBM101617
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/16/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Websites are getting too boring and static. What's going to fix that? Chatbots! (Worth reading.)Healthy food from a vending machine? Well. Yes.Speaking of which, WSJ reports a huge push to find meatless protein.Can Buzzfeed make ads more interesting?Face it - Facebook and Google and the Big Guys are now media companies.Delta is the first to do away with some of the more annoying parts of boarding.Adobe is pointing out what you already know.Congrats to Dubai and the UAE for launching a new cryptocurrency.Turns out that Ford's worried you'll love their new cars so much that you might not buy their old cars.Amazon has just announced the 100 hot toys of the holiday season 2017.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
You want to get featured on the Chris Brogan Media show? Drop me an email: chris@chrisbrogan.com and let me know what's news!
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CBM101317
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/13/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Well there you go. Bitcoin shot over $5000 yesterday. It's kind of nuts, really. Also, this.And even if you're not sold on Bitcoin, you MUST embrace Blockchain for a lot of reasons. Here's one.Branding has become interesting. Let's talk about Coach's big change with Tapestry.Related to this, there are huge WARS going on. Target and other retailers are joining Google to try and combat Amazon.And speaking of Amazon, a cute attempt by Kansas City's mayor to attract HQ2.Let's talk about the future.The US has lost more and more manufacturing jobs. But do we even want them back? (No.)The future of work will be weird. Wired says you're not ready for working with robots.But evidently it's kind. Ryan Gosling wore a vegan faux leather coat in BladeRunner 2049.The future might be scary as hell. Marvel's New Mutants trailer looks a lot more like a horror movie than a superhero movie. And why that's cool.Finally, in cosplay fun with a soul, New York Comic Con had a great panel on diversity, women of color, and other social issues. Good!Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
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CBM101117
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/11/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Yesterday, Bitcoin ALMOST made it to a record high value. This says we might still get there.Another cool use of blockchain technology? You can create your own loans for people without much of a third part between you.But if you're not ready to invest in cryptocurrency, this investment app by Stash has been a lot of fun.Speaking of investing, you should see what Oracle's planning in the world of blockchain support.And as a small business owner, you might want to check out how the Internet of Things relates to your search value.In Alexa news, the BBC is launching a new interactive show where you can choose your own adventure.And if that's not your bag, Google just bought a podcasting technology that helps delivery highly personalized short form audio content.Keep your eye out for these shifting media experiences. Apple just inked a big deal with Spielberg to create new programming for the Apple TV platform.My random plant-based story of the day is plant based sales tripled since 2016. This is more than a quick fad, at least so it appears.In another effort to fend of "porch pirates," Amazon is willing to deliver packages to your car's trunk. This is one of SEVERAL methods they're exploring for keeping your stuff safe.I'm just helping you out with this one. If you don't yet know what a "porg" is, this is a good start.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
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CBM101017
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/10/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Did you know that the cartoon Rick and Morty is the #1 cartoon with Millenials?They're so big they convinced McDonalds to bring back Szechuan sauce last seen around the time of the movie Mulan, based on an episode of the cartoon.But um, that went poorly. McD's didn't anticipate the fandom. So now they're going to bring it back again this winter so more people can have some.They could've asked a bot for an answer. Evidently that's a thing now.Especially if you like the NBA. Now you can ask Alexa all those basketball stats questions.In other sports news, there's now a big issue where NFL owners and leadership are asking their team members not to protest the National Anthem.Let's talk about the future. Puerto Rico's future. Here's a beautiful 'reimagining' opportunity that bears thinking about.Speaking of the future, there will be one fewer mobile OS in it. Windows Phone is no longer.But in other signs of things to come, Hulu just ordered up 4 new esports shows.In plant-based news, ever want to get some healthy smoothies mailed to you? You can!Lastly, some cosplay. You know I love it. This is the Justice League at NYCC. Cool, right?Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
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CBM100817
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 10/08/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Short form video is all the rage. Well, Giphy is capitalizing on it.That's why movie trailers now START with 5 second ads.Speaking of which, Jeffrey Katzenberg is asking for 2 billion dollars for his new short form video startup.People have asked why I eat plant-based. It's more environmentally driven than anything else.Related, you can make a farm at home with Ikea's new design.Evidently cocaine is back in a big way.Say goodbye to its unicorn status, Jessica Alba's Honest Company just started raising more money and has lowered its expected valuation of the company.The trend to work remotely might be on shaky legs. This article about the reversal is a must-read. By the way, I think it's poop. Remote work is vital. It just requires better leadership and management.Want to teach yourself to code? Download a robot to play with.Still on the fence about Bitcoin and other virtual currencies? Christine Lagarde of the IMF says maybe you should start paying more attention.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
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CBM092917
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for xx/xx/xx. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
I have some correspondents today! Both Jeff Sass and Marc Ensign signed in to help us out today! You'll see them in the show.Want to invest super easy? This Stash app looks pretty interesting.Also, Ikea has acquired TaskRabbit. Why? You weren't going to assemble that bureau. Admit it.Wait. We could make power happen from evaporating water?Hurricane Maria has laid waste to Puerto Rico. Here's some of that.Once again, Walmart steps in to help with hurricane relief.Walmart's done well with their acquisition of Jet and now it looks like Jet is rising above and growing out its service.People have been pretty upset about Colin Kaepernick not celebrating the National Anthem. Here's what US Veterans think of that.Speaking of Colin, two NFL guys saw a kid wearing his jersey at a Gamestop so they bought him an XBox.In the realm of "hey this might be useful," check out Forrester's information on customer purchase journeys.Also, look at how VCs are approaching the recruitment problems facing the workforce.Ever wonder what you should put in the pantry of your fallout shelter? Me neither.Travel anywhere on earth in less than an hour? That's Elon Musk's plan.
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Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 09/25/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
So, Bodega took a hit for appropriating a culture. Here's what white people can learn from it.The future belongs to LASER BEAMS. And sharks.I don't like to get political, but I like how this played out.What can you and I learn from an intelligence officer?Android only, folks. But if you're freaked out by ATM skimmer devices, this is a tool.Speaking of mobile apps, it turns out maybe that's trickier than you want.Treat depression with what? Sleep deprivation. I didn't see that coming.I like finding weird books for you to read. Here's one.Let's go window shopping together, shall we?Wes Anderson has a new movie!Finally, if you ever wanted to see a Scottish zombie musical comedy, your wait is up.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
You want to get featured on the Chris Brogan Media show? Drop me an email: chris@chrisbrogan.com and let me know what's news!
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CBM092117
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 09/21/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Looks like it's the end for Toys R Us.In my "I still think Snapchat is dumb" news, evidently female influencers agree with me.I talk to Alexa. But will you buy an oven with Alexa built in?Speaking of voice, Google's adding natural language searching to its enterprise products.First person shooters are about causing damage. This game added an international aid organization.Cool to see that Pret-A-Manger is adding some plant-based locations to their mix.As demands in the US for healthier food grow, big food companies are pushing their junk out to developing countries.Sell services like housekeeping or painting. Evidently this is the list to be on.Coding jobs are harder and harder to fill. Give your kids a head start with these cool bots.What's changed in the land of hotels? A lot and you can watch.Finally, let's just check out the cool booths in Tokyo!Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
You want to get featured on the Chris Brogan Media show? Drop me an email: chris@chrisbrogan.com and let me know what's news!
Please Get My Newsletter
My newsletter is the best work I do every week. You can get yours here.
CBM091817
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 09/18/17. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Voice search is now, but MOST companies aren't ready. The rise of the personal assistant is a now event. Get prepped.Evidently there's tons of cocaine coming into the US but the US Coast Guard says they don't have enough boats and people.1984 is here a little late. Can US Border Agents search your phone?Bring your own everything. This grocery store is aiming for zero waste.When a huge company buys a company that people think of as independent and scrappy, it's going to be weird.More PewDiePie in the news. But this might be more about YOU.BitCoin can't get a break lately. Buy now, maybe?Speaking of, Blockchain is becoming a government strategy point all over the world.Want to go camping? Now this looks like an awesome option.When you're a mega successful Chinese CEO and cool, you can dress up and dance like Michael Jackson at your event.Coke plus coffee hits Japan.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
You want to get featured on the Chris Brogan Media show? Drop me an email: chris@chrisbrogan.com and let me know what's news!
Please Get My Newsletter
My newsletter is the best work I do every week. You can get yours here.
CBM090117
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 09/01/2017. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
In Hurricane Harvey news, Walmart is stepping up and pledging up to $20 Million in relief.According to Natalie Nixon, these are three ways to prep for the future of work, and I can get behind this.Should your AI rat you out to the cops? Maybe? What do you think?Get faster, kids. If your website is old or slow, you'll lose lots of sales.Vegetarian fast food chains? They're coming.Speaking of fast food: how about making quality art using a Big Mac box as a light filter for your portrait work?I have no major news story. I just think this new Lenovo keyboard with a dial thingy looks cool.Not the best conversation person in the world? How about this little deck of cards?Some of my grown up friends still build things with Lego. If you're a Star Wars fan, this 7541 pieces worth of brick porn.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
You want to get featured on the Chris Brogan Media show? Drop me an email: chris@chrisbrogan.com and let me know what's news!
CBM082817
Here are the notes from the Chris Brogan Media broadcast for 08/28/2017. (You can watch this on my Facebook account).This live video was all shot using Ecamm Live (client), the best way to do Facebook Live for Mac.Please note that all links may be affiliate links. If someone is a client, I'll call that out specifically.
Stories Shared
Hurricane Harvey has caused a lot of damage. GoFundMe has built a HUB so you can pick through various recovery efforts to support. Swing by and give $20 or so.If net neutrality matters to you, you have almost no time to file a quick opinion so that your government leaders know.My friend Kathy Donchak sent this in about a successful woman who homeschooled AND launched a beauty empire.Speaking of education, here's a post about how AI is changing education.I love learning new little tidbits and I'm a movie freak. This report taught me about the shepard tone illusion and how it's used in movies as soundtracks and even sound effects.I saw two different posts about beefed up first aid kits and I admit that maybe my little box of Band-Aids isn't really good enough. Here's the Cadillac of first aid kits.In "media isn't where you expect it to be" news, evidently wrestling is getting popular on Twitch.US football season is right around the corner. This new campaign by Tostitos is so dumb that it's definitely going to work. Buy bags with your team's favorite superstitions on them so you can help your team through the season.Hey, if this has been interesting, consider picking up my weekly newsletter. It's all unique ideas by me about how to improve buyer interactions and grow your business. Give it a peek
What ELSE is News?
You want to get featured on the Chris Brogan Media show? Drop me an email: chris@chrisbrogan.com and let me know what's news!
What I Told the Bloggers at Social Media Marketing World
I wrote this 30,000 feet above the earth. No. I AM WRITING this 30,000 feet up. I just got back from going pee. While I washed my hands, I came up with the first line of my speech for tomorrow.
What I Told the Bloggers at Social Media Marketing World
If I've done it right, this post goes live about 15 minutes into my speech. I'm no Christopher Penn, so it's likely I've done it wrong. But I wanted to tell you about the first line of my speech tomorrow. Or my first lines. It'll go something like this:
I sold cars for a dealership for the entirety of one day. I was 18 and stupid, and they were older and figured they'd give me a shot. They told me to go wander around the used car lot and find someone and sell them a car.
If you were in the room, you'd hear the rest of the story. If not, don't worry. It's not an amazing story. I'm mostly using it to tell the corporate bloggers in the room that most companies treat you (the corporate bloggers) like you're not important. They look at what you do as "lucky magic" and if you land them some business, great. If not, just don't get in trouble.
I already told you/them the other day that corporate blogs are boring. That's also true. Other people have been telling bloggers for years not to mess it up and stuff junk content out all over the web or people will stop caring (even more than they already don't care right now).
But that's all the misery parts of the speech. What will I say to pick them up again?
Blogging is a Beautiful Opportunity
You can create amazing work. But you can do this with paper. Or a violin. It's all in how you choose to do it.
Blogging for business is about converting attention to value. You have to earn the attention, and then you have to deliver that attention to a potential opportunity to drive value.
At my speech which I haven't given, but will be in the middle of giving when you read this (well, actually - who knows when you'll read this. I'm probably NOT still speaking right now), I'll tell people about some mechanics. I'll talk about a blogging frame. I'll talk about checking for a good call to action. I'll talk about the absolute importance of writing unique material and not the same old "me too" junk that people seem to want to blog about.
I'll point them to my own personal patron saint of blogging, and recommend to the non-corporate types a great blogging platform. There'll be all kinds of technical advice I've given a thousand times. No, no comments. Social sharing? Sure, why not?
But really, I think blogging's at a really weird place.
Blogging As a Tool is in a Shaky Place
I can't stop quoting this. Americans (that's where the survey comes from) read for a total of 19 minutes a day. Meanwhile, people (worldwide) consume over 1 billion HOURS of YouTube a day. (See also this gem by Jay Baer.)
I'm told by grown ups who read stats that 1500-2000 words is the new ideal length of blog posts. I've been telling people 300-500. I still FEEL like I'm right, but stats say otherwise. However, what I don't know is whether the stats count things like SALES or just "hey, someone says they read this post." See?
We all say we're too busy. Some lady told me today that she wanted to take advantage of all the stuff I sold but that she was too busy to use any of it. I told her to not buy anything. (For the record, I'm not too busy.)
So if we're busy BUT people are saying blog super long 1000+ word posts, who's reading those? And are they making business happen? I say probably not, but maybe.
And more important, are you using even the most basic details of Google Analytics? No? Then why blog at all? (Oh, unless you're just blogging for love.)
Should You STOP Blogging?
I say no. I thought about it. I liked the idea of the controversial perspective. But no. Blogging can and does deliver magical opportunities that don't come about in any other medium. And you should blog on your own website.But you might start experimenting. More pictures. More video. Podcasts. Live video. Mixed media. New "conversational" opportunities. Bots. Curation.If you're still phoning it in? Oh, then quit. Stop now. It's over. Fake blogging is dead. Was never alive. But even the vague little bit of Google juice you USED to get is gone. It's garbage. Go give it to the SEO wizards or something. Buy some kale with it.Real bloggers? Bloggers with souls? Tell more stories. Quit if they keep you in the used car lot. And look for ways to make it all worth it.