Further evidence that we're on to something at the So Cal Action Sports group if you want to tap into or leverage the $150 Billion dollar youth market. Shaun White's story and collaboration with non-endemic brands basically sums up the purpose of our group.
Full Fast Company article here:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/132/shaun-white-lifts-off.html
Just got a great blog post from Seth G where he talks about hope:
Not powder or chemicals or rubber or steel or silicon or talk or installations or even sugary water.
What marketers sell is hope.
The reason is simple: people need more. We run out. We need it replenished. Hope is almost always in short supply.
The magical thing about selling hope is that it makes everything else work better, every day get better, every project work better, every relationship feel better. If you can actually deliver on the hope you sell, there will be a line out the door.
Hope cures cynicism. Hope increases productivity. Hope needs no justification.
A timely post indeed; thank you. I would add that hope dispels despair
and leads to faith. Faith conquers fear and doubt-the enemy of creativity
and progress. Faith is the action that compels us to move forward towards
success. Hope and Faith are two key ingredients of success.
Thanks for your words Seth.
Good post by Altitude (full link here)about 15 blogs you might have missed...
Gavin Heaton is decidedly one of my favorites. He always has a fresh voice and a new take on something, and I never get tired of hearing what he’s got to say. The only thing keeping me from stalking him and hanging out on his doorstep is the very long plane ride to Australia. Connect with Gavin on Twitter at @servantofchaos.
Danny Brown has come blazing onto the social media stage with a rock-solid blog that’s always thought provoking and interesting. He’s also a favorite Twitter peep of mine at @PressReleasePR, and I’m particularly excited about his 12 for 12K initiative for 2009.
Always a sure bet for great conversation in the comments as well as the blog itself, David has put together one heck of a pile of good thinking here. Mostly trending toward social media and PR, David clearly digs beyond the surface of issues floating around the fishbowl and makes them into sage discussions about the topics that are really at issue. Good stuff. (Find David on Twitter at @dmullen)
Tim Jackson is the brand manager for Masi bikes, and he’s a living, breathing case study for the power of social media for small business. Tim is a passionate cyclist and a smart marketing mind, and he smashes both together in this very warm and welcoming blog. He shares his travels, his love for Masi bikes, and has built an amazing brand and community by being a great conversationalist. I admire the heck out of Tim. (Tim’s on Twitter, too, at @TimJackson)
You can tell that Ken is one of those guys that chews long and hard on a post before he writes it, and lucky for him he’s got a knack for picking apart some meaty topics. He’s one of the blogs that I often have to read and then sit and think about a comment that’s worthy of the effort he put into the post itself. It’s one part social stuff, one part web technology, and all sorts of smart. (Find him on Twitter at @KenBurbary)
Media Emerging by Scott Hepburn
You want it told like it is? Scott’s your guy. He’s a PR pro by trade but he writes about a little bit of anything new media related. His posts are always insightful, thought provoking, and articulate. And if you haven’t met Scott on Twitter (@ScottHepburn), he’s a riot and a half.
Insights and Ingenuity - Heather Rast
Heather is another new (to me, anyway) voice on the scene, and I met her through Twitter, which led me to her blog. Heather’s writing style is punchy, succinct, and vocal, and she’s got pithy things to say about the worlds of branding and communication in today’s world. Check her out on Twitter, too, at @HeatherRast.
New Media Lisa - Lisa Hoffmann
Another PR wizard, Lisa is emphatically about the human connections behind social media technologies. I’m always refreshed by her common-sense perspective, and she never follows the crowd just because. I love the fact that Lisa posts about what’s on her mind, not just what’s floating around the collective blogosphere. Lisa is on Twitter at @LisaHoffmann (don’t forget the second ‘n’).
Kellye Crane is actually someone that I met first on Plurk, and she’s become a trusted friend and colleague. Kellye finally caved to the pressure to start her own blog, and it’s a great one at that. Kellye blogs from the perspective of a solo PR practitioner, and she’s got sage advice about the worlds of PR and entrepreneurship with a good dose of humor thrown in for good measure. Check out Kellye on Twitter at @KellyeCrane.
The Brand Builder by Olivier Blanchard
I don’t hold it against Olivier that he’s French. Really. And I wish he’d bring back the bad-ass mustache. But aside from those two things, Olivier is a brilliant mind to get inside, and his blog is the result of all that STUFF happening in his head. I love that Olivier doesn’t have any qualms about diving down a rabbit hole and exploring every corner. I leave each read with something new to chew on. You can find him on Twitter at @thebrandbuilder.
You probably know Ann Handley as @MarketingProfs, and as the chief content officer of the jam-packed site of the same name (for which I’m also a lucky contributor). But Ann is an amazingly talented writer in her own right, and when she posts on her personal blog, I literally drop everything and go read.
Sue is another one of my recent-ish Twitter connections (@SuzeMuse) and boy am I glad I found her. She’s not only incredibly personable and conversational, but I’m really liking what I’ve read from her blog thus far. You’ll find a little of everything at Sue’s blog, and her personable writing style makes you just want to hang out and chat for a while.
Adam is finally blogging, much to the relief of his Twitter community that have been dying to get into Adam’ brain beyond 140 characters. He’s got sharp insights about his work in social media and interactive stuff, and again I’m fond of his writing because it’s not “me too” blogging, not by a long shot. Meet Adam on Twitter if you haven’t already at @adamcohen.
And as bonuses from outside the fishbowl:
From outside the world of anything related to social media comes one of my new favorites for finding books to read. I’m an admitted bibliophile, and Books on the Nighstand is giving me fodder for my Amazon wish list in spades. Plus, they’ve got a kick butt podcast. It’s coauthored by @AnnKingman and @MKindness. Be prepared to stay a while.
Do you know Jon (@jnswanson)? I find his writing incredibly peaceful. Jon’s a pastor, and without getting too personal, suffice it to say that he’s a wonderful breath of fresh air to people like me whose spirituality is very personal and not necessarily traditional. I relish Jon’s writings on faith, relationships, community, understanding - his perspective is far beyond his faith and his writing is eloquent. He never ceases to open my eyes or encourage me to embrace a new perspective. Worth a read.
Pretty cool piece done by ZD Net on the future of the Post-it. Watch the video here:
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Chris Brogan wrote a great article titled, "Keep Acting Like YouTube is About SkateBoarding Dogs." This is sarcastic of course as he writes about the importance of considering, learning and getting in the game. I hear the same a lot of the same thing when I talk to marketers unfamiliar with the social media space. Most write off Facbook, Twitter and others as a waste of time. "Who wants to know what you had for lunch anyway?" they scoff. But for those who figure it out, there are opportunities and advantages to getting in the game sooner rather than later.
A summary of Chris' comments:
"YouTube taught Kat how to how to parallel park. She’s not this good, mind you, but she passed her test.
YouTube helped me figure out how to pair my new Jawbone bluetooth headset with my iPhone 3G. That video answered a little technical glitch that was keeping me from getting the job done. The instructions on paper? Not so good. Not as easy.
YouTube is my MTV. It’s my Saturday Night Live. It’s my.. oh, did you click that last one? It’s my movie trailers.
It’s my way to check in with friends’ happenings.
So, it’s a lot of things. It’s education. It’s marketing. It’s conversation. It’s mind blowing.
And it’s a channel for conversation starters, messages, business, and more. You pick what you want to do with it. You decide. But if you’re not thinking about it in 2009, at least giving it thought on your various potential business communications opportunities, you’re missing a chance."
Sometimes it feels like Seth Godin is in my back pocket because he writes about things a lot that are top of mind for me. His recent post on "Who would you meet if you could?" drives home my point about the effectiveness of groups and social networking. He writes: "
Think about this for a moment. If a trusted friend could arrange a meeting between
you and anyone of your choosing, who would you choose? Not for entertainment or curiosity or bragging rights, but to help your business.
Who could help? Someone who could actually aid your marketing or development...
Years ago, I went to the AOL partner's conference. I'm no runner (unless someone is
chasing me) yet I signed up for the early morning run because I knew Steve Case, CEO
of AOL, would be running. I ran with him for twenty minutes, almost killed myself.
Didn't help. (But I'm glad I met him).
If you're an author, can Jeff Bezos at Amazon help you more than a motivated
promotions manager far down the ladder? It's unlikely.[People in charge can rarely help you, because they
are rarely (truly) in charge.]
Billionaires can't help you, either, because they have their defense force fields on
full strength during meetings like this. In fact, the person who can help you the
most is almost always someone who doesn't appear that powerful on the surface.[Remember, it's not just that they can help you.
It's that they want to help you. Famous people qualify
in neither category.]
So, who is it? Hint, it's not the Wizard of Oz or the Pope or Barack Obama. It's
someone not famous, someone who actually makes things happen and someone who
actually cares. Think hard... Got it?
Great. Go meet them."
RT: In case you don't know, RT=Retweet or repeat of something that's already been said. A lot of people have been asking me about how to find others on Twitter. Here's a RT post by buckpost that says it much better than I could. Check it out...
By buckpost | November 26, 2008
One of the most frequent questions I get from people new to Twitter is how do they find other people to follow. After all, Twitter is a particularly valuable tool if you can follow people who can offer information that you find interesting, useful and engaging.
My stock answer is you have to be patient, and that finding people to follower is a worthwhile process that takes time and effort.
That said, there are tools you can use to jump-start things. These include:
1. Twellow: The good thing about Twellow is you can search by category. For example, if you’re interested in travel, you can search for people who have identified themselves as travel people. Twellow lists people by the number of followers they have - the idea being that people with lots of followers are, in theory, more interesting to follow. My experience is while this is useful, you still have to check out multiple pages to find people who meet your interests/need.
2. Just Tweet It: This is a directory in which you have to enter your information and interests. Then, people interested in a particular category can find and follow you. Just Tweet It has a nice, user-friendly interface, and a growing number of categories to meet a variety of interests. It also has a useful directory of Twitter services.
3. Who Should I Follow: If it ever worked, Who Should I Follow would be an interesting tool based on some reviews I’ve seen. Unfortunately, it’s been down for the last month or so.
4. Twubble: Brought to you by @crazybob (aka Bob Lee), Twubble helps you find people to follow by searching through your “friend graph”. The process can take some time so be patient.
5. Mr. Tweet: One of the new entrants to the follow market, it has already generated tremendous buzz as a useful way to find new people to follow currently outside your network. It works based on the idea you’re probably interested in following people who talk about the same things on Twitter that you do. Mashable has an enthusiastic review. Note: Mr. Tweet is being pounded by people looking to get access to the service so there looks to be a long waiting time.
More: Another method I use to find new people to follow is looking at the people who I follow or who follow me, and then looking at their followers. Hopefully, that’s not too confusing!
You're welcome to follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bryanelliott1
Peter Kim, Forrester Research Analyst and SMM expert, does it again with a fantastic list of Social Media Marketing biz examples in his Wiki. This is definitely worth looking at: http://sites.google.com/site/smmexamples/master-list?pli=1
