How many times have you looked at your Kindle Screensaver and thought: Wouldn’t it be cool if I could add my own images there?
Maybe you thought of family photos, famous paintings/drawings, comic books or branding opportunities. Well good news everyone, there’s a hack for that and it is relatively simple to do.
Read More Post a comment (0)“You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, not look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books. You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, you shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.”
-Walt Whitman from Song of Myself in Leaves of Grass
Today is Walt Whitman’s birthday and the quote is as relevant today as it was over a hundred years ago. It’s an ironic blurb to quote because doing so betrays his words.
Read More Post a comment (0)I just completed the Roseville Memorial Day 10k and finished 3rd overall in 45:14 (not my fastest ever, certainly fastest in a while though). This was an unexpected but welcome victory for me. I really thought I’d be slower since I’ve been spending most of my time cross training for an upcoming triathlon and adventure races. More important than my time, the award, or any of the race-centric objectives, was the realization I had about these little victories.
Crossing the finish line feels as it usually does, really stinkin’ good. I feel great for completing the race and having a good time busting butt to make it happen. Today, after finishing the race ahead of friends, and seeing my time improve, I felt really good, but what made the feeling far sweeter was knowing that friends and loved ones were there with me and we’re all enjoying the struggle and glory of the moment together. Diane having completed her 5k, cheered me around the last bend and that inspired me to push it to kick it up a notch and sprint past a guy. Dawn waived me down and had brought strawberries, blueberries, water and Gatorade for me. Dave and Julie were somewhere behind still in the race. Knowing that all these people whom I care about are there is truly awesome (not to be confused with 90′s California “awesome”, rather I’m in awe and truly appreciative).
Read More Post a comment (0)1. Social Media Metrics are next to useless unless you can definitively track them to business objectives. They make you feel good, but like so many virtual achievements, these feelings alone does not lead to revenue. It amounts to social masturbation and is preventing you from doing real things in your real life and business. Plan first. Know what to measure and remember why you’re measuring it. If you can’t connect the dots (whether personally or professionally), ask yourself, why are you doing it?
2. Buying into points and metrics built into the networks,platforms and tools does not guarantee success. In fact, in most cases, it leads to failure. We live in the age of Free Love digitally speaking. Likes, follows, and re-tweets are given away easily, in some cases automatically and therefor have little value. Liking, following and re-tweeting requires very little TEE (time, effort, energy).
This is especially true for the feed activities of social media. Those who issue their vote or approval risk nothing, not even their word or reputation, there is little value generated to others. Compare this to a lengthy review or blog post, and you’ll see the clear difference between a bumper sticker sentiment, and a long, thorough and accurate account of an experience with your brand. Which has more weight? Which has more value? One requires time, effort and energy and puts reputation on the line, the other sacrifices little to nothing.The answer is clear as is the implication.
Feed strategies are lowest on the totem pole of social media yet most people spend a majority of their resources on Twitter and Facebook updates. Why? It feels like work. It feels like they’re doing something. They look busy. I’m not interested in spending time looking busy. I prefer to be effective and take the rest of the day off.
A better tactic: Find those who take the time to talk about/with you in paragraphs and connect with and encourage them- be they naysayers or evangelists.
Read More Post a comment (0)It is in Heroik Media’s best interest to improve image and competitive climate of social business. So, to that end, we will make a substantial effort to raise the bar, increasing the expectation placed on the local social media and business community by advocating for more critical thought and authentic contribution. We will call out and seek to put an end to the everyday BS (Business solutions, Broken Systems and Bubble Speak) to drive progressive change and innovation while improving the quality of service and contribution for those in the region.
To steal a line from Sam & Dave, this is all code for you to Hold-On- Cuz I’m Coming
Read More Post a comment (0)
In the realm of physical fitness, there are traditional measurements that have proven to be reliable in helping achieve goals like losing weight, gaining muscle, and increasing cardiovascular performance. Metrics like calories, BMI, heart rate (BPM), weight, and of course time, all play a role in judging performance and deciding where we are getting the most bang for our buck. We have similar metrics in to measure business efforts as well. Social Media channels and networks however, create their own metrics that cannot be traced to our primary business objectives. In the fitness example, Imagine a new program that added new metrics like counting glances and giggles from pretty women you see while working out, or drops of sweat, etc. These are poor indicators of physical fitness and they distract from the objectives we seek to achieve. Likes, Follows, Re-Tweets and Sentiment are similarly distracting and equally useless.
Read More Post a comment (0)The Rohde Warrior and I recently attended a Social Media Club event in Sacramento; a panel discussion about measuring social efforts to Return On Investment (ROI) for business. The panel and all but a few attendees could not validate their efforts to a measurable ROI. They failed miserably to define a clear path from soft social metrics to the hard numbers the make up true returns. What was worse, is that the crowd turned on the few pointing out these issues. Like junkies in a support group still stuck searching for rationalizations for bad habits, they were jonesin for more validation for their outdated BS Business Solutions, Broken Systems and Bubble Speak. It appears that Sacramento needs to go to social media rehab and give up the addiction to bad metrics and poor practice.
On the whole, I found the group rather Tool centric and twitter obsessed. Their vision didn’t reach past their shoes. The panelists and group, save for a limited few, defended soft metrics with vague evasions fear response and blatant disregard for the always evolving realm of social media and the audience. They seem a siloed group out of touch with business strategy, their audience and customers. From the company viewpoint, it is in Heroik Media’s best interest to improve Sacramento’s business image and competitive climate. So, to that end, we will make a substantial effort to raise the bar, increasing the expectation placed on the local social media and business community by advocating for more critical thought and authentic contribution. We will call out and seek to put an end to the everyday BS (Business solutions, Broken Systems and Bubble Speak) to drive progressive change and innovation while improving the quality of service and contribution for those in the region.
To steal a line from Sam & Dave, this is all code for you to Hold-On- Cuz I’m Coming and to those who thrive in BS and disingenuous practice, get ready to be annoyed. In order to help others get to ROI, we must first dismantle and remove some bad habits and notions that are getting in the way successful social efforts and that journey begins with tough love and addressing some sobering realities.
Read More Post a comment (0)If you remember nothing else or try nothing else, do yourself a favor and remember this:
1. Golden Rule for Personal Growth – Seek to take in and express that which truly serves you and leave and avoid that which does not.
- Like a breath, take in that which serves, expel that which does not.
Negative thoughts and experiences are unavoidable, but through conscious effort you can decrease their effect and the amount of time it takes to push them out of your life.
- Consume that which serves you and pass by that which does not.
We have control over many aspects of our environment, what we eat, what we see, what we hear, etc. Of the elements in your control, which are really doing you good long term? Which are helping you pursue your aspirations? Which feel good in the moment but are getting in the way? Call attention to these elements.
- Do that which truly serves you and prevent yourself from doing that which does not.
Our actions our under our control. Our bodies develop physical habits and behaviors that correspond to our thoughts. Check your posture right now. Slouching? Call attention to it. Bad habits like excessive drinking smoking, over eating, etc. are connected to our thoughts- they are after all behaviors. Healthy physical actions can inspire healthy mental actions and vice versa. Whether you’re looking for a change or stress reduction, or a big slice of Zen, don’t ignore the physical body. Use it to be constructive and allow your physical efforts and aspirations to connect, inspire and synergize with your mental aspirations.
This is my little mantra. It requires discipline and constant effort but it’s worth it and has served me well. Adopt and adapt it to your life and may it serve you well.
Read More Post a comment (0)George Carlin’s positions and observations on the evolution American language should be required study and part of everyone’s general education. If you want to develop a comprehensive understanding of the American economics, law, business, history, media, marketing, you name it; you better have a good grasp on bullshit. It is the glue that binds the books so to speak.
Read More Post a comment (0)The most abundant element in business today is bullshit. Every bubble was built on it. Society has been piling it on for centuries. You and I were born into a system based on it. The dominant business minds of America tell you to be steeped in it. Our top academic institutions bury your noses in it, figuring the closer you get, the better the whiff and the better the odds that you’ll be able to describe its chemical composition and proceed to replicate it. We bathe in it intellectually speaking. The bullshit to knowledge ratio is so weighted with the brown, that the practical and truly useful information you can act upon are like diamonds. Yet our most exclusive institutions, publications, and heck even our dictionaries now proudly present a great body of bullshit.