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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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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We have all had it happen to us (and I am guilty of doing it to others).  You are at a conference where you have just been introduced to someone, or you are having coffee with a friend. They ask you a question and before you get far with your response they are looking over your shoulder past you, scanning the room for someone more interesting, powerful or better looking. Sometimes it happens between friends. It is just rude.

The most important person in the world is always the one right in front of us. We have to focus.  Without it we are not listening.

My son is into astronomy and we found this great site that allows us to look through live powerful telescopes around the world. Every time it aims at a star cluster or galaxy it takes about 3-5 minutes before the faint light can be gathered and the details of the object come into full view.  Suddenly colors emerge and its shape becomes defined.  It’s the same with people. You will never really hear them or learn from them if you don’t take the time and focus on what they are saying.

A friend recently helped a speaker put on a weekend retreat.  At dinner before the first session the speaker asked my friend to tell him a bit about his story.  What my friend noticed was this man’s intense focus.  He listened to my friend as if he was the only one in the world for that moment.

If we take the time, we will be surprised how fascinating every person we meet truly is.  Without focus we will constantly be missing out.  How many relationships could you build, what trust could you establish by applying this simple principle?

If you missed it here is the first part in the series: Shut up, stop talking and really listen.

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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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Be yourself, be remarkable, be unique. This past week I had the chance to meet a few people from Keen Footwear. Keen’s CEO gave the keynote at the Willamette Innovators Night (WIN) 2009 and did a great skit.  The main point of James Curleigh’s skit was to be an innovator…not an imitator.  I was first introduced to the company by a friend who had a great customer service experience. I am now a big believer in Keen and a recent convert after finding their shoes were the only ones that did not give me pain while I am recovering from foot surgery.  To say the least, they have left an impression on me.  When I came home that night from WIN 09, I posted a few things online about my experience. As I usually do, I look for  a company’s or individual’s twitter account to either engage them in conversation or reference to them in a post on twitter.  It took a bit of digging to find Keen on twitter since there was no link on their home page or blog.  This surprised me at first but, then again, Keen does not do things like anyone else.  I finally did find Keen.  They had one post and a little over 200 followers*.  Their single post is a request for feedback, a great start; “heard a lot about this twitter phenomena – want to know what the “tweeple” want us to tweet. Ideas and suggestions are very welcome”.  In true form they are asking their followers what to do next. So here is my suggestion. Don’t copy anyone.  I hear this all the time “I am on twitter now what”?  I tell people, “be yourself”. I love the movie Hitch. In it Will Smith plays a relationship/dating coach. He guides men through the dangerous world of relationships with women.  His tried and true method has been to drive out the individual and get them to conform to a few key principle that will land them the girl. Like any good PR pro, he teaches them to pose. What he eventually realizes is that true happiness comes when a woman falls in love with a man for who he really is (if he is genuine, kind and honest).  The same works for businesses and personal brands.  Be who you are and no one else (even if it is a bit ugly at times).  Anything else is posing.  A company like Keen has an amazing product to stand on (pun intended) and a great following to go with it.  All they really need to do is find that tribe and join in on the conversation that is already happening.  And like anyone, they are finding ways to reach out to their community with true innovation.

Don’t be mistaken.  While Keen has obvious fans, so do you. I just saw someone comment tonight on Facebook that they have no fans.  I beg to differ.  It might take some digging (not much on Keen’s part) but everyone, if they have a web presence, has some following . When it comes to finding great followers, you are your best researcher .  The ones that will shout the loudest will say the most via the web. We have the greatest search engines at our fingertips.  I look forward to Keen’s next move.

*Looking further I found Keen’s active twitter account @Keen_Shoes via Keen founder @MartinKeen

And a quick side note to Keen – don’t be like everyone else and hire a marketer with 10 years of traditional marketing experience…which would likely result in you doing exactly what everyone else is doing.  Invest in someone that will encourage and guide you in just being you (even if that results in still doing the “Q-tip”), help build on your incredible community, and encourages you to invest in continuing the tradition of developing remarkably innovative products.

Want to know more?

Seth Godin’s Tribes and Purple Cow
Using a social media framework to grow your tribe
Go watch Hitch

*Looking further I found  Keen’s active twitter account @Keen_Shoes via Keen founder @MartinKeen

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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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I found this video via @jdale and @tshuttleworth and I had to share it with you.  I have had several people this week ask me if Social Media is a fad.  Well my simple answer is no.  In fact I agree with the statement in the video that “it is the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution”.  It is changing our habits, how we digest media, how we connect and engage with people and our description of community.  Socialnomics09 did a great job pulling together my favorite quotes and statistics. Enjoy. I would love to hear your comments.

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A few days ago Kevin Miller caught my attention.  He posted a message to Chris Brogan on twitter asking where he could get a deal on a box of 20 of Chris’s latest book, Trust Agents.  He wanted to send them to a few friends.  I can only imagine what will come of Kevin Miller’s gifts.

A while ago I was unexpectedly laid off from work.  I was pretty shaken.  I remember dusting off my tools and putting my carpentry skills back to work to pay the bills.  It was the rainy season here in Oregon, but I felt that I had no choice.  I needed to continue working in some capacity as I waited to see if my job would exist when the lay off ended.  It was a very discouraging time.  I started to reevaluate everything from life goals to job satisfaction.  Throughout the process my good friend, Jon Dale, was there to encourage and listen.  Better yet, he sent me a book.  After opening the surprise package and reading the first chapter, I knew he had seen a perfect opportunity to share a hopeful message that would change my perspective.  He had followed through with action.   The book helped me launch into everything I am doing today.

How often have you read a book and told a friend about it only to find out many months later that they still have not taken your advice and read it?  I do it all the time.  Someone suggests something, but I just don’t have the time to follow through.  On the other hand, I have read every single book that a friend has sent me.  There is something profound about a statement followed up by a package from Amazon.  It says, “I think you need to hear this message so much that I put money behind it”.  We have the power to help others change their lives and perspectives, change their world, and carry on that change.  We have the opportunity to help those around us in a time when bad news abounds and dreams are being dashed.  I’ll bet the pay off will far outweigh the cost of a few books and shipping.

Go ahead.  Give a book away.

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