The Flurry Blog

Last year the Shorty Awards began to swell in popularity in the twitter community. I had a few friends that were pretty high up in the running to win including @luckystartups and @savvyauntie. While there was some talk of ulterior motives behind the awards, I thought it just promoted a dynamic and rapidly growing community of connectors.

Suspicions came back, as this year’s awards rolled around. First of all, these are not people in my social circle. I don’t follow celebrities. People I do follow that approach that status are usually offering great value. It had the feeling of the Oscars. Every year I feel as if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is out of touch with the rest of the world, voting for what their tight circle believes should be given the title of best. The Shorty’s gave me the same feeling. Most of the nominated top list I have never even seen let alone gained value or interaction from. Something stank. I began to dig into the Shortys page. On the main Shorty foundation page, sorry.. the Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences (sound similar to anything?), I found the source of all my discomfort in a simple but spooky tag-line “defining media for the new decade”. Yeah. What? I thought the community, the customer, the individual was now defining media. So to say the least I am done with Shortys. In checking my own temperature I shot my friend Ash Shepherd a quick note asking his take. His response confirmed my reaction.

“I thought the Shorty awards were a democratic process whereby Twitter users vote.  How does “the Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences play a vital role in choosing the winners of the Shorty Awards”?  And defining media for the new decade?!?  If anything we have seen the media now being defined by the users and not media moguls and celebrities any longer.  Wait, who did the academy say will comprise their membership? Media Moguls and Celebrities??  Who got to pick this elite group of Media definers?  Themselves. Sounds like the old guard is trying hard to find their way back into the spotlight and control of media.  Weak attempt to promote themselves again if you ask me.”

I asked Ash to elaborate his thoughts here:

Two thoughts really bubbled to the surface for me. The first was the hypocrisy of it all. When I first got a vote for a shorty award I was surprised and excited all at the same time. So naturally I did what you do with any tweet you like on Twitter, I gave it a ReTweet. Imagine my surprise when I saw that doing this action automatically added me to the “egocentric” category for the shorty awards. A nice bit of public shamming that could not be undone. Had I only known it would have been better to create an academy, name myself lord of new media and Arts & Sciences. I would have become a hero and finally gotten some mileage out of those two science degrees.

The second was the double edge of user defined media. So not only can anyone create content these days but apparently if you can create a website and Twitter account you have license to create an Academy.

Your thoughts?

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We are all enjoying changing workplaces. Some of you are working from home a few days a week.  You may even bring your dog to work. Thanks for the hair by the way. (just kidding, I love dogs). We all are benefiting from the changes in the workplace. Bob Cratchit would be envious.

The man with the boots at zappos

Why is it then that some leaders are openly embracing these changes behind office doors but try to portray a different culture to the outside world.  They go to length to hide behind a facade of old school professionalism. They want the outside world, including clients and customers, to think that everything is ties and cubicles all around.  This is a result of fear.  What if our customers think we are slacking off?  What if any sign of staff enjoying their work comes across as lackadaisical?  Fear is driving survival. I stumbled upon one of my new favorite quotes today re-reading Seth Godin’s Linchpin.  “Survival and success are not the same thing.”

So what? As long as you are the best in your industry and your services are remarkable, none of it matters.  Loosen up. Show some skin (or boots). You might be surprised.  You might even get lucky and blow your competitors away.

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What goes through a marketer’s mind that makes them hire a booth babe? I can just imagine.  “Our product is a bit boring so let’s throw some sex at them.”  In the long run it does not pay off.  It is a leftover from traditional advertising.  It cracks me up to see men talking to scantily clad beauties as if the girl was an expert on the product.  Yeah, the customer will remember you but probably not what you were selling.

Here is an idea. Instead tell me a story, engage me in conversation, build a relationship with me.  Most of all let me use your product.  That is how you will make a lasting impression.  Your goal is to gain and hold the attention of your followers, not for two seconds via human billboards.

*Image in gallery above used under creative commons license : flickr user nDevilTV

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Every time I head to a conference or trade show I have that first impulse to make detailed lists of talks to see or booths to visit. It is easy to quickly build the trip in to an itinerary and rigid schedule. I have learned from past trips that the connections, memories and lasting results rarely come from attending a talk or seeing a new gadget. They come from the people you meet. The conversations over dinner and the surprises you could never predict are what give us a return on the time and energy spent traveling to these shows. I am writing this on my way to the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With over 100,000 attendees and 20,000 exhibitors there is no way I could even begin to schedule this trip out. All I know for now is that we plan to meet with good friends and make new ones. What comes of that is a mystery.

An update: We toured the Zappos facility and spent several hours over great food with Clay Hebert, Chris Nordyke, and Donovan Roberson.  Our conversations were genuine and enjoyable.  If it is not about the people you meet, you might as well save your business money, your family the time away, and stay home.

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The kindness of strangers by Ed Yourdon used under creative commons license from flickr

I could go in so many directions with this topic.  This last part was the hardest for me to write. We have covered shutting up and focusing, but being a good listener eventually boils down to action.  Action indicates to the other person that you have actually heard them.  However, sometimes the best action is to do nothing.

So you have actually heard what the other person has said.  Now it is your turn.  Most likely they will give you a chance to act.  The action required of you depends on the conversation.  Did they ask your advice? Did someone post a blog and end with a question?  They are prompting you for a response, so turn up the value meter and act.  We all have something to say, but is it of any use?

I asked one of my best friends and mentors, Rick Herbert to chime in on the topic and he nailed it.  Here is what he had to say:

So Action – To Act or not to Act, may be trite but true… does this conversation provoke or require more than words? Is there something I need to do, for this person with whom I have been listening? After hearing their point of view, their concerns, their information, what do I need to do? Purposeful action is determined in the context of the conversation.

Converstaion – convesari is the Latin root.  It means “to live with,” “to keep company with,” “to dwell upon,” “to move to and fro,” and “to turn oneself about.”

Since Conversing is much more than words, we must listen to one’s life and internal movements in order to engage in their lives… we determine our purposeful response based partly on their life and words and partly on what we choose to say, to do or even merely to be in the context of that information.

I have been moved to tears because of conversation.  I have been moved to acts of charity or compassion due to conversation.  I have chosen to become a different person based on what I’ve seen and heard in others.

Purposeful action – always! Regardless of my awareness of reasoning, there is always some compulsion…

Wow, I could not have said it better.  Thanks Rick.  So there you have it. Act.

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That is something my mother always taught us not to say.  It fits here though.  I find that the best listeners are quiet. To some people (I’ll admit I am one) they seem to not be interested in what we are saying.  We are accustomed to others interrupting us as well as diving in to the joint-pontification we all easily participate in.  Really though, they know when to shut up and listen.  If you watch they are often nodding or offering small interjections, showing us they are tracking with us.  Whether you are communicating in a marriage or friendship, the first key is putting a stop to both the flow of your own mouth as well as your mind.  Have you ever been caught not listening after someone has told you a story? I have, and it was usually due to the fact that I was either formulating my response or I was lost in the busyness of my thoughts.  Both of these quickly show we are not listening and usually form an opinion in the other persons mind.  It forms mis-trust and leads to walls in our communication.

In online communication it is important to stop and watch before you engage.  Read through a blog as well as the comments before commenting yourself.  Ask yourself (and this works in any form of communication) if your contribution will offer any value.  If not, then choose to wait or even move on to a more relevant conversation. You are a vital part of the conversation. You have great things to contribute.  Wait and listen first, shut up until you can’t stand it any longer.  Doing this allows us to get a clear picture. Once we shut up we can then move on to the next step. I’ll write about that next: Focus: interpretation and active acknowledgment. Of course this is a huge subject. As I post this series I want to hear your input and stories.

• Part 1: Shut Up: Stop talking and really listen

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Something I come across often is communication breakdown. Whether it is the workplace or online, communication is essential to building and maintaining relationships. We so easily can go about our day misunderstanding each other or simply missing out on the opportunity to make a new friend or strengthen the relationships we already have. I have found a few key principles that have helped me correct some bad behaviors, in stumbling through my own communication issues.

I have written a three part series on the most important part of communication, listening. While I am going to touch on three that I try to practice, I know there are many that I will not touch on. That is where you come in. Tell me some of your funny or poignant stories. I want this to be a chance to learn from each other. Teach us through your own learning experience. My first post will be “shut up: stop talking and really listen”. The second will be “Focus: interpretation and active acknowledgment”. The last one will be the most important and built from the other two, “Action: take it purposefully and make a change”. Keep reading for more details. I can’t wait to hear from you.

Part 1 Shut Up: stop talking and really listen

Part 2 Focus

Part 3 Action

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At the top left hand corner of every New York Times front page you will see the words “all the news that’s fit to print”.   A college professor  of mine Robert Sahr once pointed out  how ridiculous this statement was.  There is no possible way you could fit all the news worthy of print in a hundred papers, let alone into one.  Each news outlet chooses what stories to pursue. Fewer ones make it to print.  I love the New York Times, and I used to be a junkie.  But I began to find that I was increasingly being affected by the stories I was reading.  Did I really need to know about crime and mayhem around the world? Local papers and news outlets are even worse.  Turn on the 11 o’clock news anywhere in the US and you will soon be depressed.  Max Lucodo in his book Fearless tells about Frank Furedi’s study of the increased use of the word risk in British newspapers.  In 1994 risk appeared 2,037 times increasing to over 8,000 times in 2008. A psychologist friend once stated the obvious, “we can not as humans handle all the worlds bad news”.  So I have stopped watching, listening and reading.  I still need to know what is going on in my world.  -My WORLD-  is the key phrase.  That is why I like tools like Alltop.com, Twitter, Google Reader, and yes occasionally Facebook.  I can peruse these news sources -yes I did say sources- and find the news I need for the day.  Rather than going through a media source, where an editor picks my stories for me (and today for not such pure reasons) I can choose my own stories from people I trust. This has revolutionized how I digest news.

About a year and a half ago a friend told me that he does not read papers anymore or watch CNN.  It seemed odd at the time because I knew him to be someone who likes to keep up on current events.  He then went on to tell me that he gets all of his news from twitter.  If it is a story that his friends are talking about, he will click on their links and read for himself.  At the time I thought he was nuts, but I have now come to do the same.  I follow people in my network whom I trust.  Most of them have similar interests as me.  If they begin to talk about a story they will usually have a link associated with it for me to learn more.

Beyond this I have what I like to call my own personal newspaper using My Alltop.  It changes every day and the topics range from fly-fishing news to publishing news.  Alltop is one of many ways, and currently my favorite, for people to gather rss feeds into one place where they can digest all of it.  I like Alltop because it has the major blogs that I like most.  I can hover over a headline and easily see the first few lines of the article.  It is also a great way for me to answer people’s question “what blogs do you read.” With one link they are reading what I read.  Of course not all blogs are on Alltop, but they can easily be submitted.  I use Google reader for ones that are not on alltop. There I can also share my favorites with others.  The bottom line to all of this is we can now be back in control of what news we digest.  Instead of depending on an increasingly conglomerate run press for our information, we can search out our own sources.  That is priceless in today’s world.

You can create your own Alltop page here.

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This is what I wrote on a co-post with Chris Nordyke on WeLoveCorvallis.com

I am not a member of a local chamber of commerce.  I do see the worth of new contacts and networking opportunities that my local chamber might offer me though.  I do think the chamber’s goals in helping business and community are essential.  My whole business is built around connecting with others and helping businesses connect with their communities.  So how do I see the mission of the chamber being fulfilled?  Well it is happening outside the chamber’s control.  The Communities they serve are going beyond what a program heavy chamber does.  Things have changed.  With social networking and the explosion of tools for our community to connect and engage we now are seeing spontaneous, organic community involvement like we have not seen in over 200 hundred years.

I witness every day something remarkable.  Business friends and community members see a need or opportunity and take it upon themselves to initiate change.  It did not take a new committee or a board’s approval.  Usually it only takes a quick phone call (usually now a direct message via twitter or facebook), a bit of collaboration and creativity, and the new thing is born.  This past week I looked over the organizational chart of our local chamber.  As I scanned it I instinctively began crossing off duties deemed the responsibility of a chamber staff.  These services were in many ways already being offered via the community. Many others could easily be handled by individuals or groups that are passionate about a service.  If the chamber allowed many of these services to grow organically (which I would argue that they are regardless of the chambers permission) then they could ease the burden of the member dues as well as give the staff time and resources to fulfill their mission better.  Will I become a chamber member?  I guess it depends on what changes the chamber is willing to make.  Only time will tell.

Like I said before.  I am writing this from an outsiders mindset. I would encourage you to convince me either way.

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The world is beginning to fill with self proclaimed social media experts and Trust Agents (even though Chris Brogan and Julien Smith warn against calling yourself such things).  These people can not possibly be experts.  We are all learning in this space. Yes, some have a true uncanny ability to connect and build communities.

An expert though, by definition, is someone who knows everything about a subject.  Social Media is such a new frontier that there really is no way that someone could honestly claim to fully understand it.  It is constantly changing, and rules of the game are continually being remade and broken.

Like climbing guides, a good consultant is someone who has survived a few impressive journeys and now wants to offer help to others.  And like a guide, they usually fail when they become too cocky.  When I was growing up, my dad would tell me stories of pilots who died because they were too confident.  The good ones are always learning, always correcting and experimenting.

Recently I was watching an episode of Globe Trekker.  Adventure diva Holly Morris had chosen to attempt a personal life goal of climbing the Matterhorn. She could have tried the climb alone with some chance of success.  She chose wisely though to use a trusted Mt. Guide, Ricky Andenmatten.  Her guide is what caught my attention.  He was humble, kind, and most of all knowledgeable.  He also offered a sense of safety and confidence to his client.

Guides are simply people who have gone before us.  They come back from the journey and offer us the chance to succeed where we might have failed. They also offer tips for avoiding some of the least obvious pitfalls, as well as nuggets we might miss if trekking through the web on our own.

Guides can range from seasoned veterans to those just starting out.  Right now we have a new frontier still being explored.  Some of us have been to the far reaches and are now offering our help to others. Others are just starting out.  If you have survived, offer what you found, but please leave the expert out of your title.  Let others call you an expert, trust agent, or guru.

*Matterhorn image used under the flckr creative commons nordique

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