Casual Fridays

johnmoore of Brand Autopsy often cites whether a book is a Way-Worthy read or not.

Seth Godin suggests good bloggers create tribes.

I think that is why I haven’t been satisfied with this blog the last 2-3 years.  It has not consistently been a way-worthy read and has not created a tribe.

Realizing this, I have a few options:

1. Make no major change of course.  I could keep writing mediocre pieces with a few gems (subjectively speaking) here and there.

2. Scrap it all.  I could consider my four years of blogging (3 1/2 years here) as a fun learning experience, but one which I now leave behind.  Pull the plug, let it die.

3. Grit my teeth and try harder.  I could give all kinds of excuses as to why I haven’t put more time, effort or thought into this blog.  I just don’t see any benefit to that.  Perhaps I should just get a grip and try harder.

4. Carry it forward.  I could look at what I’ve learned from this experience and view this period as a natural progression in the cycle.  Perhaps this horse has led me to a stream it is not willing or able to cross.  Using the same analogy, the best thing may be to dismount – cross the stream – and see if there’s a ride on the other side.

I have a writing project I’m working on currently.  I often wonder if I could finish it and make it better if I didn’t try to come up with ideas for this blog.  The concept I’m writing is so intriguing to me that I may even start a separate blog based on that idea.

No decisions yet, but I thought I’d give you some insight into why this blog is lingering.

MIT has a great resource including free videos of presentations made at MIT by an impressive line-up of speakers. Jack Welch, Jeffrey Bezos and Carly Florina just to name a few.

I’ve known about this for a while and yet I’ve only watched one presentation video.

If these speakers were making appearances here in Tulsa, I’d be paying to go see them. Yet, I find it hard to give up the time and effort to watch them for free online.

Why is that? It’s the same info.

But it’s a different forum.

Part of the appeal in attending a live presentation is knowing you will be surrounded by like-minded individuals. There’s a collective sense of belonging. There’s also the opportunity to connect with other attendees and expand the knowledge gained from the speaker. To tap into the wisdom of crowds.

MIT’s online forum doesn’t facilitate that. Actually, I’ve never seen an online forum that does this as well as a live, personal event.

Online
It may never equal the live presentation, but what if viewers could comment on these vidoes? Rank them? Rate them? What if there was a schedule of weekly chat sessions based on particular videos? How about a subscription-based email list specific to those who have watched specific presentations? Notify me by email when a similar presentation is uploaded and available.
Live
What if live presentations used the pre-registration process as an opportunity to connect attendees with similar interests? Then you give them the ability to contact each other and create a post-presentation discussion group for bloggers, educators, students, managers or small business owners… etc.

I think there’s incredible, untapped value here… and it doesn’t just apply to presentations either.

A little Thursday update because I don’t know if I’ll blog tomorrow.

Just got out of Kem Meyer’s session Got Blog?

It was a great session. Yes, some of the material was basic, but that’s what the session description stated. Still, she shared some great advice to bloggers – novice and veteran alike. Also, I met some other bloggers and we shared ideas with each other.

Another benefit was discovering Kem and her blog. With all of our shared interests, I was surprised we hadn’t crossed paths before. Goes to show sometimes analog still trumps digital.
It has been a great experience here at Willow. I haven’t enjoyed everything, but everything isn’t about me. I’ll probably begin unpacking some of the lessons learned from people like Dewitt Jones, Nancy Beach, Dan Kimball and Donald Miller later.

It’s fascinating stuff and dovetails so tightly with what is occurring in marketing today concerning authenticity, creativity, stories and relevance.

More to come.

This isn’t as profound as the title suggests.
Next week, I’m attending a Chicago conference with a team from Liberty Church in Broken Arrow, OK.   It’s the Arts Conference at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago’s suburb of South Barrington, IL.

This will be my third time to attend one of their Arts Conferences.  It’s always refreshing and energizing.  I can’t wait to come back with stories about my heart and mind were opened to something bigger than I anticipated.

Faith and art have always been central to my identity.  I have long considered myself both a Christian and an artist.  So, this conference strikes the sweet spot.

I’m not sure what my time and Internet connection situation will be next Friday.  If I have the opportunity to blog from Chicago, I will.

…act like you’ve been there before.

It’s Friday again.

I’m sitting in front of my computer with several ideas to blog.

Honestly, I don’t want to.

Not because I don’t like blogging.

Not because I don’t like writing.

Mostly because they’re good ideas.

Not great ideas.

Not world-changing ideas.

It’s the kind of stuff you’ll read, possibly enjoy, but in the end… you’ll go back to sipping your coffee and checking your email.

What a waste!

(of my time and yours)

CRAP! [sudden realization of how long I've been writing without a true impact]

I used to write because I felt inspired.  My first blog was about spirituality, inspiration, and musings.

Then I began blogging about business and marketing ideas that were bouncing around in my head.  I needed a place for them to crystalize.

Now, I think I blog because it’s Friday.

It’s Friday and I promised my readers I would update on Fridays.

Did you hear that sound?

That was the sound of passion getting sucked right outta me.

I’m not complaining.

Things are good.

I’m not depressed… at all.

In fact, I feel more lucid and excited than usual.

I simply WANT IT BACK!!!!!

So forget Fridays.

If I get inspired on Monday, I’m going to post it.

I think my passion has a short shelf life.  No preservatives added.  Gotta use it now or it spoils.

If I’m not inspired on Friday, I’m not going to try to drum something up.

I love writing.  I love blogging.  I love marketing and business ideas.  Heck, I love ideas!  And I love participating in a community of other idea-lovers.

Well, now that I’ve let that tiger out of the cage, let’s see what happens.

Several Christmas seasons ago, we were spending time with my wife’s family. My sister-in-law Wendy asked her husband if he wanted more egg nog. “Would you like more, Steve?” she asked.

Overhearing this, their young son decided he wanted another glass. Having heard his parents’ exchange, he now knew what to ask for. “Can I have some more steve too?” Of course we erupted into laughter as we saw his child-like logic make an unusual connection. We now call egg-nog “steve” occasionally.

I’m fortunate in life to have a wonderful younger brother by birth, Nick. I was the artist, he was the athlete. But we always seemed to have a great time together (and still do). Nick always wanted a younger brother, so I told him he could order one from the Sears catalog. But that’s another story.

I never had a big brother, but if I considered anyone a big brother – it is Steve. He has advised me on decisions affecting my career, my family, and my spiritual path. Even though his career moved him to Texas several years ago, I still consider him an invaluable mentor.

Now Steve is offering his sage advise to many others. He has been blogging for a while and comments here from time to time. I would encourage you to check out his Waypoint blog. You’ll find good advice as you make decisions on your career, your family, and your spiritual path.

Go get some “more Steve.”

My friend Jason, who is a web developer, asked the question

Is there any value in “brochure” type web sites?

Not much, I think. Here’s why:

My philosophy is that “Mom and Pops” are better served by following a permission marketing approach with websites.

1. How can I create content people will COME BACK to read?

time-sensitive, changes often, relevant, anticipated

2. If I want to do #1, how do I manage it?

content management system, allocate employee time

3. If I’m creating content, how can I best leverage it?

blog, email newsletter, printed newsletter, op-ed piece

4. Can I send email coupons that customers can abuse without it hurting me?

(because they will take advantage)

5. Can I create offers they will relay to their friends?

forward to a friend link, create value

The ever so practical Jakob Nielsen gives his list of Top 10 Web Design Mistakes.

They’re so easy to overcome, yet so often overlooked. In my opinion, at least six of these mistakes are easily fixed with a good blog or simply good content management software.

1. Bad Search
2. PDF Files for Online Reading
3. Not Changing the Color of Visited Links
4. Non-Scannable Text
5. Fixed Font Size
6. Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility
7. Anything That Looks Like an Advertisement
8. Violating Design Conventions
9. Opening New Browser Windows
10. Not Answering Users’ Questions

Concerning #1 and #6, here’s an example from my personal experience. Dentyne-isms are the cute “parables” on the back of Dentyne gum packages. Type “dentyne-isms” into a Google search. The top two links are to this blog. Dentyne’s website doesn’t even show up in the search results.

Apparently people really like these dentyne-isms. Right now, the post that comes up in the search results has over 50 comments. It’s one of the top search terms bringing people to my blog.

Read the rest of Jakob’s Top 10 Web Design Mistakes. His details are worth the few minutes of reading.

Want to be an “expert source” for a news story?

Penelope has some great advice for bloggers and non-bloggers alike.

Friday rolled by without a post. Mired in a consulting project, I could not free myself enough time to post. It’s becoming obvious that my system of writing will have to change.

Adjusting back into agency life has been a little crazier than I expected. It has been a blast though. I feel as if I just now got my feet firmly underneath me. Like a football player who has moved up to the next level, the speed of the game had my head spinning.

Well, the game has slowed down a bit.  I’m starting to see things as they develop.  It’s very reassuring.

The last piece of the puzzle is getting the blog back on track.

Thanks for your patience.

Why is this a blog called Casual Fridays and its URL is thepeoplebrand.com?

Why Casual Fridays?

I chose this blog name mostly because I knew I would struggle to post to the blog every day. I figured I could post something each week (though I struggle with that sometimes as well), but I was afraid people would get frustrated six days of the week coming here and not seeing anything new. So I decided I would post on the same day each week.

I noticed there wasn’t much blog activity on Fridays, so I thought I would fill the gap a little. Since I knew I would be addressing business issues, the phrase “casual Fridays” made sense to set the theme and mood of my blog.

Why The People Brand?

The People Brand was the name under which I worked. It was my dba (doing business as). After accepting a position at Hahn Promotions recently, I no longer do business as The People Brand.

I chose TPB as my business name because I felt as though many businesses had lost what they’re all about: people. Your brand isn’t a feature or a positioning statement. It is people. Your management, your employees, your customers and non-customers alike.

Branding is about people. Business is about people. Its about how we treat one another. Its about how we show appreciation. Its about how we make them feel, how we feel, and how we communicate that… to PEOPLE.

Why am I saying this now?

I feel like I’ve strayed away. I’ve been in a rut. From the way I write to the way I read.

THAT’S GOING TO CHANGE.

I’m going to experiment a little… maybe a lot. But I’m hoping the one thing that continually comes across is the message: Business is about people.

I know it sounds cliche… “We’re in the people business.”

Everyone says that.

I want to say it differently. What that looks like??? Well, we’re gonna find out.
Hope you enjoy the ride.

I’m shifting priorities with the new career and it has made life a little chaotic.

This last week, the blog was the ball that got dropped.

My apologies. I’m still a work in progress.

used with permission.

Virtual economies like that found in Second Life have shown that there is an intangible equity that can be monetized.

“But we’re not a video game company.” You say.

This is a lesson for every industry and every company.

We all have virtual equity and operate in some sort of virtual economy. Some call it customer community, customer evangelism, or word of mouth marketing. I would simply say it is your brand… and some brands are basically bankrupt.

Let me ask you this way – can you create an exchange of value which is practically void of tangible currency? Like collecting and trading baseball cards, the social value of scrapbooking, or the water cooler equity of watching the “big game” over the weekend.

Like Jason says in the above comic, “Don’t think of it as pretend money.” This is currency and it is traded every day. It’s as valuable as the credit cards or bank statements we think of as real money.

Illustration based on this Flickr photo by Mark Hurst.

Without a doubt, no other blogger has influenced my perceptions of marketing more than Seth Godin. Before I started reading Seth’s blog and books, I had a pretty narrow perception of marketing. I also had a narrow perception of career and business success.

Here’s what I’ve learned from Seth (in no particular order):

Permission marketing is more effective than interruption marketing.

Getting your message to sneezers is more urgent than getting it to the masses.

Remarkable gets remarked about.

Very good is the opposite of remarkable.

Perfection is the enemy of remarkable.

Survival is not enough.

There’s always a story.

How you tell it matters.

I am a laser beam.

Small is the new big.

Treat different customers differently. (segmentation ain’t just for databases)

Ideas are different than opinions. (which lead to this)

——————–

Seth is labeled as an agent of change. I find that appropriate since I can truly say he has changed the course of my career, which of course changes the course of my life.

Thank you Seth, for inspiring change. I, for one, have benefited from it.