I almost failed Grade 11 English. Yep, me. Someone who now includes in their professional bio, on the first line, that she’s a writer. Someone who actually makes a living by writing. I was nearly a failure at the English language. It’s true – my grammar was awful, sentence structure was lost on me, and the words just didn’t flow easily. I got tutoring after school and that helped me bring my grade up to something passable. I was so ashamed of my inability to put words together that I essentially stopped writing altogether after high school. I occasionally wrote scripts for some of the TV shows I produced back in the early 90s, but mostly I delegated that work to other people on my team who were better at it than I. After I got out of TV, I was put into jobs where writing was an essential skill. In fact, my first REAL job after I graduated from college the 2nd time was as a web content developer! I started to learn that writing was nothing to be afraid of. Eventually I wrote all kinds of things, from web content to training manuals and business proposals. I got better and better the more I did, and eventually I even started to enjoy it! In 2006 I started this blog on a whim. My first posts were terrible, but over the past 7 years I’ve been able to further refine my voice. Now I love writing – not a day goes by where I don’t write. I HAVE to write. One of the primary reasons that people don’t blog (even if they want to) is because they don’t feel as if they are good enough writers. But the truth is, I believe anyone can write well if they are given the right direction and the right tools. If your writing confidence is holding you back from finally starting up that blog, here are a few tips to get you up and running. Read to Write. I think the single best way to improve your writing is to read a lot. But don’t just stick to one thing – read a wide variety of things. Find blogs that you enjoy, both for subject matter and writing style. Read novels you love, and business books from authors you admire. Read something every single day, and take note of the style of the writing – is it casual? Conversational? Is the vocabulary sophisticated or simple? Then, endeavour to mimic (not copy) the things that you admire. Of course, you want to add your own spin as well, “make it your own”, as they say. Your style and voice will develop over time the more you write. There isn’t a writer in the world who doesn’t read voraciously. Think of it as the fuel for your writing fire. Spelling and Grammar Matter. A Lot. As I mentioned above, my skills in English class left a lot to be desired. My biggest issue was grammar – I could put every tense into a single sentence like nobody’s business! And while I am still not immune to dangling the occasional participle, I have gotten a heck of a lot better at grammar since high school. It takes continuous practice, and Google is my friend. If I’m not sure of grammar, spelling or the definition of a word, I look it up, even to this day. Nothing kills the credibility of a blog faster than sloppy grammar and spelling, so check these things closely before you hit the publish button. And yes, mistakes will happen from time to time – nobody’s perfect. But strive to get better at grammar and spelling if you’re not, and in time, you’ll have more confidence in your writing. Don’t Over-think It. I’m not going to mention any names here (you know who you are!) but I know people who sit on blog post drafts for weeks, even months sometimes. They tweak and fuss to make every sentence perfect. They don’t even consider hitting publish until they have read it through 50 times and revised and polished. Sometimes, the post never even sees the light of day, after all that! Look. Your blog is not War and Peace. Every post does not need to be epic, and it certainly doesn’t need to be perfect. In fact, some of the best blog posts are incomplete thoughts, that can spark great conversations in the comments. Want to know my typical blogging process? Sit down at computer (usually with a coffee). Come up with idea. Start writing. 20 minutes later, stop writing. Read through to check grammar and spelling. Publish. Promote. Your mileage may vary on this system, but it works for me. I spend more time thinking about my blog posts in the shower or driving to work than I do actually writing them. I rarely leave a draft undone. Try just sitting down and writing something, without thinking too much. It takes practice to get faster at it, but I think you’ll like the results. Speaking of Practice… The only way to get better at anything is to practice. If you want to become a better writer, then you need to sit down, every day, for a period of time, and write. At first, it will feel awkward and choppy, like any new thing does. But after a while, you’ll get into the rhythm, and eventually, you’ll get into the zone. The zone is the best place in the world – where everything just melts away and the words just flow. But you will only ever reach the zone through practice and plenty of it. Make a pact with yourself to write for at least 15 minutes every day from this day on. You don’t have to publish all of it (though I recommend publishing a lot of it!). The more you do, the more comfortable you’ll feel. And the more you show it to other people, the more confident you’ll
Five Things to Think About
Weekends are always a great time for unwinding and reflection. Here are a few topics for you to ponder as you head into the end of your week. Toronto Lawyer Abandons Flooded Ferrari to Rush To Case Many of you have probably heard about the dramatic flooding that occurred in Toronto this past week. I’m thankful that my friends from down there are safe, if a little damp. I loved this story so much. A lawyer abandoned his $200,000 Ferrari when the water got too deep and flooded it out. His reason? He had to catch a plane to Ottawa so he could appear at an important hearing for a client. I love this quote: “I don’t want to sound cavalier, but at the end of the day you’ve got to see the humour in it and not sweat the small stuff. And it really is all small stuff,” he said. “Nobody’s dying, nobody’s sick. The car gets fixed up and there’s insurance for that. I made it for my case and succeeded on my client’s behalf.” That is one heck of a great attitude to have, isn’t it? It’s all just stuff. This is a man with his priorities in order. The Habits of Happiness I love Zen Habits, it’s one of my favourite blogs. In this article, Leo muses about making happiness a habit – by fostering happiness habits, we stand a better chance of being happy overall. I agree with Leo when he says this is a magical list of tips. Read it and be happy! This Chair Will Hug You Each Time You Get a Facebook Birthday Wish You can go ahead and be nonchalant about it, but you have to admit having a birthday on Facebook is kind of fun – friends and family taking some time to stop by and leave a little note on your wall makes you smile. Well, in Brazil, the Outback Steak House has taken Facebook birthdays to a whole new level – with an interactive chair that connects to your Facebook account. Every time you get a birthday wish on your wall, the chair gives you a hug. Having a birthday at a chain restaurant just became fun again, people. 8 Ways to Win At Marketing by Being Useful One of the books on my summer reading list is Jay Baer’s new book, “Youtility”. In this post, he gives some smart advice about how companies can sell less and be useful more. It’s a great read and I recommend you pick up the book too! A Compilation of Scaredy Cats It’s a fact – the Internet is made of cat videos. And this one made me laugh out loud. Watch after the credits for the best one. Who doesn’t love a scared cat! Did you come across a thought provoking article, video, image or conversation this week? Share it in the comments! Have a great weekend!
Social Media and Festivals: Distraction or Necessity?
I had a great question the other day from Nicole of Little Acorn Management: This is actually something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately, given that summer festival season is in full gear here in Ottawa. I’ve been a festival-goer for years, since well before the days of social media. I’ve watched as the way we connect to one another has grown and changed and seen first hand the impact this has had on any sort of large scale event. But time and again, the questions get asked – does social media and this new layer of connection and conversation actually benefit events like music festivals? Or is it more distraction – taking away from the real-time, real-life experience as a whole? If everyone is nose-down in their smart phones, are they really paying attention to the performers? Are they having as rich an experience as they could be if they are more concerned about getting that perfect Instagram pic posted to their Facebook page? Well, I believe there are a few sides to it. Organizers Heart Social Media There’s no doubt that, from a festival organizer standpoint, social media has revolutionized the way we are able to share, in real time, the experience of the festival scene. We can post photos, videos, audio clips and more and really engage with people about what’s happening on site. We can even encourage people who may not have been inclined to attend to show up. I’ve experienced this first hand with my work on the Cracking-Up the Capital Comedy Festival. We’ve been able to leverage social media before, during and after the event to give our audience a great layer of experience, including sharing behind the scenes pieces, which people love. While there are definitely some pitfalls to using social media from an event organizer perspective, overall it’s been a great addition to getting the audience involved in the festival experience. Fans Can Help or Hinder When it comes to fans and their use of social media at festivals, are a couple of sides. Organizers do love that fans can tweet, post pics, and more from the festival grounds. They help extend the experience beyond the gates and can do a lot to extend the brand on behalf of the organizers. On the flip side, it takes just a few unhappy fans to cause a PR debacle that organizers must work to counter. This takes resources on the ground to be listening to the stream, addressing potentially negative issues before they spin out of control (and it can happen fast, trust me). If line ups are too long, or sound bleed is too high, you’re going to hear about it via social media, and fast. It takes a savvy PR team to be able to fix things that are wrong and ensure that communication is happening at all levels. What Experience Do YOU Want to Have? On the question of whether people are missing the true festival experience because they are too busy trying to capture and share the experience with the online world, I do think that there’s a risk here of losing out because of the distraction of technology. While it’s fun to see the odd photo from your friends who are at the festival, I do sometimes wonder if part of their experience is being lost because they are waiting for a photo to upload on the cell network that’s bogged down by the 15,000 other people trying to do the same thing. It’s the same reason I’ve never really understood live tweeting at events – if you’re so busy trying to compose 140 character snippets of what’s happening in front of you, are you really paying attention to the actual live experience? Ultimately, it’s up to each of us to decide how we want to experience any form of entertainment. For me personally, I tend to take one or two snaps, then leave my phone in my pocket (unless I’m posting as part of my job, which is different). I’d rather be face to face with the experience. After all, if I’ve paid $60 or $80 or more to attend a show, I’d rather spend my time enjoying it than surfing Facebook. That’s my take. You may have different reasons. At the same time, companies like my friend Allan Isfan’s FaveQuest are doing some really cool things to bring technology to the festival space in a truly engaging way. What they are doing really works to augment the festival experience, not hinder it. In the end, I think that social media has added a great layer of interaction and sharing to the festival experience for both organizers and fans. It’s allowed me to be able to connect with other people who love music and other forms of entertainment, and the festival vibe and culture certainly transcends the technology. I hope that answers your question Nicole! I’d love to hear your thoughts. Photo Credit: theqspeaks via Compfight cc
Want to Broaden Your Network? Start Close to Home
I’ve been really fortunate to be able to spend some time with old friends lately. I recently had a girls weekend in Toronto with two close friends that I’ve known for more than 20 years. I got to have lunch this past weekend with some great friends that I haven’t seen in ages. It’s always so wonderful to be able to connect with people I’ve known for a long time. There’s a sense of comfort and support, and of course, fun. It’s all got me thinking about the nature of networking these days. We spend oodles of time trying to find new people to connect with. Social media tools like LinkedIN, Twitter and Facebook make it really easy to do that connecting. But it seems like we’re always searching for people we don’t know. In some cases, we don’t even know WHO we want to connect with, or why. It’s a social media connect-a-thon; the more people I can follow, the more will follow me. Unfortunately, at a certain point, the quality of the connections we make has taken a back seat to the quantity of connections we have. When I first joined Twitter in 2007, like many people, I didn’t really know what to do. This was before the tool was sophisticated enough to suggest people to follow, so I just sat there, staring at a basically blank page, wondering how I’d go about finding anyone to connect with. It was like showing up to a party early, and there’s nobody there that you know yet. I felt a bit lost. But wait a second. I DID know some people. I’d just come back from a conference where I’d met some great new people. I figured I could start by following them, so I did. Then it occurred to me that there might be people in my own city using Twitter too. So I clicked on “Advanced Search” and typed in “Ottawa”, and boom. A list of people from my own home town that were on Twitter. I followed. I said hi, and found what are today, some of my closest friends and colleagues. When you’re looking to network online, you don’t always need to look far and wide. Often, the best networking can be done within the circles with which you’re already familiar. So, if you’re looking to broaden your network, start by taking a look closer to home. Past Co-Workers, Future Opportunities Once you get to a certain age, you have usually built up quite a resume of past employers. Most people just focus on their old bosses when they are looking for new opportunities, but you know what? I’ve gotten more opportunities by connecting with past co-workers than almost anything. Seek out the people you used to work with. Search for them on Facebook. Find them on LinkedIN. But don’t just send a connection request. Write them a note, and say hi. Ask them what they are up to now, and if they are in the same town (or you’re going to be traveling to their town), then invite them to lunch. Social media makes it so easy to connect with folks from your past -and even if every connection doesn’t turn into that next big gig, at least you’ll have fun doing it! Search In Your City New to Twitter? Do what I did, and search for people in your city. You may find some people you already know, and you’ll likely find a bunch that you don’t. Follow them and say hello. Start getting involved in the conversation that’s already going on inside the borders of your own town. Get to know people and then find ways to meet them in person. One other tip – most cities and towns have created their own hashtags. For example, my city, Ottawa, uses #Ottawa and #ottcity. Find the hashtag for your town and save a search on it. It’s a great way to get a sense of what’s happening in your community and to find new local people to follow. Get the Word Out About 95% of the jobs I’ve ever had, I’ve gotten because of a referral. In fact, I think there’s only one case in which I was hired because I’d emailed my resume to an HR person. When you’re seeking new opportunities, getting the word out is critical. Now, I don’t mean tweeting that you’re desperate for a job, because desperation is one of the least effective ways to find work. But I do mean not being afraid to let people know that you’re looking for new challenges. It’s a fine balance, but I find one of the best ways to keep yourself in peoples’ minds is to be consistently creating great content. I can tell you that since I’ve moved back to a 3 times weekly posting schedule on this blog, and a 3 times weekly schedule on our company blog, that inquiries about our services and training have gone up about 25%. You don’t need to be constantly asking for a job. But if you want to find new opportunities, find ways to creatively get the word out about what you have to offer, and your leads will increase. Networking doesn’t always have to be about expanding your reach as far as possible. In fact, I’ve found that by focusing on a more local network of people and on those that I already know, I’ve been able to expand my network in a much more effective way. The connections I am making are more solid and the leads I’m generating are much more genuine. What has been your experience with networking close to home?
Five Things to Think About
Weekends are always a great time for unwinding and reflection. Here are a few topics for you to ponder as you head into the end of your week. The Depressing State of Social Media Marketing There’s been a good discussion going on this week about the state of social media marketing and how brands are actually doing with it (hint: in general, not so great). This article by Mitch Joel discusses his thoughts on why things are the way they are (and also provides links to some of the other conversations going on). It’s worth looking at and worth considering – how is your brand measuring up? 5 New Features Your Non-Profit Needs to Know About I do a lot of work with non-profit organizations, helping out folks like United Way Ottawa, The Cracking-Up the Capital Comedy Festival, and the Canadian Community Support Foundation. Facebook is one of the most effective tools for helping to build communities around causes, and this article delves into some of the new features of Facebook that is making it easier for people in the non-profit world to connect with their communities. Shameless plug: I also teach a workshop on social media for non-profits if you want to learn more. 5 Great Social Business Tools Last week I wrote a guest post on HootSuite’s blog about finding the best social tools for your business. Part of the advice I gave there was to play with new tools. If you’re looking for a few to check out, here are five interesting ones. I plan to spend some time this weekend looking at these and seeing if they might be useful additions to my social media toolkit. Finding Your Passion In World: 20 Awesome Quotes I don’t always dig on quote posts, but I found these ones to be particularly meaningful. Life is to short to do work you hate. So if you’re looking to make some changes, bookmark this and read it on the challenging days. It might motivate you to take that next big step to living your dream! Share it Maybe This makes me smile, and I hope it makes you smile too. It’s the Cookie Monster spoofing Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”. Have a listen to “Share it Maybe”. Did you come across a thought provoking article, video, image or conversation this week? Share it maybe, in the comments? Have a great weekend!
Five Things to Think About
Weekends are always a great time for unwinding and reflection. Here are a few topics for you to ponder as you head into the end of your week. Oh, and Happy Canada Day, my fellow Canadians! Enjoy your long weekend. Jason Silva and Digital Transcendentalism Jason Silva is an artist, television host, and philosopher. He’s got a lot to say, and says it well. You might need to listen to this episode of Tekzilla a couple of times to dig what he’s saying about the digital world and our consciousness, but it’s deep and it’s cool and well, who doesn’t love this guy! Watch and learn. How to Choose The Right Social Media Tools for Your Business Ok this one’s a bit self-promotional, but so be it. I was thrilled to be invited to be a guest blogger on HootSuite’s blog this week. Here’s my post about how to choose the right social tools for your business. The answer is, of course, there’s no single answer. Enjoy the post and drop in a comment if you have your own tips to add! Farewell, Google Reader Our beloved Google Reader is coming to the end of its journey. Ironically, as a result of the publicity that was generated around the sunsetting of this useful tool, there’s been a whole new resurgence of love for RSS Readers, and a lot of people have now gotten into consuming news and information on the web through this handy method. If you’re looking for a replacement to Google Reader, read this – lots of great suggestions here, so you don’t have to give up your RSS habit quite yet. Free Summer School for Marketers Seriously, this is one of the best finds of the month! Mitch Joel, super smarty pants and college dropout, provides an EPIC list of sources for anyone who wants to read, listen, absorb and learn. Lifelong learning is what it’s all about people, so get into this list and subscribe and get your own smarty pants on! This list is FREE education! Do it! Your Blog is Your Rough Draft I just love what Garret Moon says in this post about using your blog as your rough draft for bigger works. Since it’s humble beginnings in 2006, I’ve used this blog as my sandbox. It’s a playground where I can dabble in ideas, share things that interest me. There are so many examples of authors who got their start as bloggers (and still blog continuously today): Danny Brown, Geoff Livingston, Amber Naslund, Becky McCray and Dave Delaney just to name a few. If you haven’t already started blogging, and you want to find your voice, there’s no better way in my opinion. Over to you – any thought-provoking items to share? Add them to the comments!
3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Shooting a Web Video
Will Instagram video kill Twitter’s Vine app? Will short form video be the way of the future? Is there a need for YouTube anymore? These are all things I’ve heard people buzzing about since Instagram made the announcement that it was adding the ability to record and post 15 second videos to its service last week. While the usual over-reaction from the online world continues, I’m thinking about how people are going to use these tools. There’s already so much bad web video out there, I’m sure adding one more tool to the arsenal will only increase that. But it doesn’t have to be that way! There are plenty of ways to make sure that the video story you’re telling is going to be one that’s compelling to people. Here are 3 questions to ask yourself before you dive into the world of web video, no matter what tool you choose to use. What’s Your Goal? It always comes back to this. What’s the goal of your web video? Is it to promote your brand? Get people to buy, sign up, donate, or subscribe? If so, who do you want your message to get to? These are the most important questions to answer, and they need to get answered well before you hit the record button. So stop and think hard about why you want to use video. Then move onto the next questions. How Can I Tell a Story About My Product or Service? This is where you can start to get creative. Creating a compelling video isn’t just about rambling off a bunch of features and benefits of your product or service. It’s not boring narration and generic product shots or smiling customers. It’s about figuring out how you’re going to tell stories about what it is that you’re promoting. What is the nature of your story? Do you need to provide a lot of context and background information? Or can it be summed up in a few seconds? Video is not a brochure – it’s a storytelling tool. Figuring out how to wrap a story around what you’re selling is critical to success in video. Take a look at BlendTec, if you aren’t familiar with them. Their “Will It Blend” videos aren’t your typical sales pitch for a great blender. They show the power of their blender by blending unconventional things – iPads, Justin Bieber Dolls, you name it – and have racked up millions of views and a huge increase in sales as a result. As for short form video, Gary Vaynerchuk is killing it on Vine. He does amusing 6 second responses to people’s Twitter questions (good thing he talks fast!). He’s providing entertainment value to people, nurturing his community, and promoting his brand creatively all at the same time. He’s also doing 6 second wine reviews. Creative and clever, and fun. Nothing wrong with fun! How Can I Make an Emotional Connection? Ikea is another company that does a brilliant job of telling stories about their products. This video is from a few years ago, and basically, the set up is this – Let’s let 100 cats go free in an Ikea store and film the results, and make a commercial out of it. But it was more than that. Cat owners (and dog owners too) know that there’s something very special about the way an animal makes him or herself comfortable in a home. The cats are curious and aware when they are first introduced, and then gradually as they become used to their surroundings, they settle in. By the end of the commercial they are relaxed and happy, some of them already napping. You get a sense of peace and comfort, which is exactly the goal of the video – to show people that Ikea’s products make your home a happy and comfortable place. Not to mention, who doesn’t love a good cat video? This is an awesome use of video – and you can see the final product below, as well as the making of the commercial. When it comes to doing web video, my advice is simple. Focus less on HOW you’re going to do the video. That part comes later. Certainly try out the tools and look at lots of examples and think about creative ways to use them. But don’t do anything until you’ve answered these three things: What’s your goal? What’s your story. How are you going to make an emotional connection? The rest will flow from there.
Using Technology to Get in Shape
I‘ve lost weight before, 40lbs, actually, back in 2006. I did it with calorie counting, and it worked very well. But in the past few years the weight has crept back on. I always had an excuse – too busy to eat right, too tired to go to the gym. I’ve watched as friends of mine have undertaken some amazing weight loss and fitness journeys lately. My pal Casey Criswell has lost over 150lbs, and taken himself to new heights in terms of fitness. Jeff Pulver has transformed his body and his lifestyle and has shared it with us all, 140 characters at a time. Chris Brogan has been working on his health transformation too, and has been chronicling his journey online. What I’ve learned through watching them share their stories is, this health and fitness thing? It can’t be something you just say you’re “going to do”. You can’t just put “lose weight and get in shape” on a to-do list and then check it off. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, after months of beating myself up for not taking health and fitness seriously, a switch went off in my head. I had been trying to “find the time” to get to the gym or “get around to” eating properly. But that won’t work. This is an entire lifestyle change. And I’m ready to make that change. If you read this blog regularly, you already know that I adore technology. So, like any geek would, I went in search of some tools that could help me make the lifestyle changes I need to make. Here’s what I’ve found, and I now consider it my “technology toolbox” for health and fitness. I’m still learning, but here’s where I’m at so far. Crowdsourcing Support I only had to reach out on Twitter briefly and ask one simple question: I was flooded with responses. I am grateful to everyone who reached out, providing tips, people to follow, and sites to check on. I’ve discovered Nerd Fitness, thanks to Iain Robson, and found some great, inspiring people to follow like Maranda Carvell, Credible Edible, and Yoni Freedhoff. I’ve realized very quickly that there is a great conversation happening on Twitter about fitness and health. It’s an open, welcoming, supportive community, and I’m glad to be part of it. Exercising the Mind One of the issues I’ve always had with exercise is, I get bored easily. I’m okay with taking a long walk or hitting the bike or treadmill at the gym, but if I don’t have something to keep my mind active, I lose motivation quickly. I love music, but for whatever reason, don’t like it at the gym (I’m weird and get bored with it). I love to read using my iPad’s Kindle App, but I have a hard time using that at the gym (I have to use reading glasses now and it just doesn’t work for me to read and walk/bike at the same time). I also enjoy audio books. But I don’t want to be reading one thing on my iPad and listening to something else on Audible, I like to read and focus on one book at a time these days. Enter WhisperSync for Voice. Now, I have the same book in audiobook format AND Kindle format, and I can flip back and forth from one to the other, and never lose my place, and I look forward to being able to catch up on my reading while burning calories! Oh, and right now I’m reading Neil Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” and it’s brilliant. Calorie Tracking I’ve tried a bunch of different calorie tracking apps, but by far the best one I’ve used is MyFitnessPal. It’s free, available across platforms, and super easy to use. It has a huge food database and even a bar code scanner so you can just scan your foods in and go. It keeps me on track and it’s a great feeling at the end of the day when that message appears that I’ve reached or been under my calorie goal! It’s also a social network, so I have friends in there and we can encourage and support each other. Fitbit I invested in a Fitbit One the other day, and boy am I glad I did. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Fitbit is a fitness tracker. The Fitbit One, that I got, clips to your clothing and tracks calories burned, steps, stairs climbed, and sleep. All the information gets transmitted wirelessly to the website or mobile app, and you can track your whole fitness regime automagically. It’s really cool, and best of all it links with MyFitnessPal so I have everything in one place. I can see at a glance how I’m doing in a day, if I’ve reached my goals of 10,000 steps or 10 flights of stairs, if I’m under or over my activity vs. calories for the day, and even gauge how well I’ve slept. This is the kind of tool that is going to really help me stay on track through this journey. The real time feedback is what I need to keep myself making the best choices. And, it’s also got a network so I can play along with my friends. I simply love it! Of course, all of these tools are great, but they only get you so far. Ultimately, I know it’s up to me to make this change, to get up every morning and put on my running shoes and get out there and be active. To make sure that when given the choice between chips and carrots, I choose the carrots. To celebrate even the smallest accomplishments (like how I did 55 ab crunches yesterday – woo hoo)! and to keep going, even on the days when I don’t feel like it. Are you on a fitness journey? I’d love to hear from you. And I’d also like to hear about how technology
Five Things to Think About
Weekends are always a great time for unwinding and reflection. Here are a few topics for you to ponder as you head into the end of your week. Make your Yes count by saying No Why is it so hard for us to say “no”? Saying “yes” to too many things gets us in all kinds of trouble. We should know better, but ultimately, when it comes down to it, we are often fearful of that little two letter word. In this post on The Successful Blog, Molly Cantrell-Kraig delves into how we can be more effective if we choose to say “no” to the right things. Social Media Success and the Second Commandment Bob LeDrew is a smarty pants, and if you don’t already subscribe to his blog, you should go do that right now. This week, he’s over on Spin Sucks (another blog you need to subscribe to right now) talking about how we tend to view everything the social media elite crowd does as gospel, when sometimes their ideas really aren’t that great. Take some time to peruse the comments of this post too – they are wicked good. Thorns or Roses? It’s All Up to You Arlene Somerton Smith is one of my favourite writers. I always manage to see her posts at exactly the time I need them. This one muses on a very simple concept, but one that we often forget. How we handle situations is always about how we react to them. Read this, and adjust attitude accordingly. How to Leverage the Science of Relationships To Gain True Influence I love science, and I love it when people apply scientific concepts to human behaviour online. This is a great article from Tom Martin of Copyblogger on how you can go beyond the faux-influence gauges like Klout and find ways to really zero in on the people that can help you amplify your message. Also, it uses my new favourite word, “propinquity”. Both Sides Now I love Joni Mitchell, and one of my favourite songs of all time is “Both Sides Now”. I came across this a capella cover of her song by Lara Martin, Laura Spink & Melissa Dalton and it completely blew me away. I used to sing in an a capella quartet. One of the things we always strived for (and sometimes achieved) was harmonics – when two or more voices blend so well that extra notes can be heard as they sing. In this amazing arrangement, the three voices achieve so many harmonics that it sounds like six voices. Just incredible. Over to you – any thought-provoking items to share? Add them to the comments!
Interviewing Tips from Russell Brand
This video, an interview with Russell Brand on MSNBC, is making its way around the Internet this week. Take a few minutes and watch, if you haven’t yet. It’s worth it. Hilarious, yes, but for me, it’s mostly cringe-worthy. Russell Brand is known for enjoying “stirring the pot” with interviewers, but I’ve never seen him throw someone completely off like this. The thing is, the whole mortifying situation could have been avoided, if the hosts had just followed a few simple rules of interviewing. If you’re creating content online, then chances are, at some point, you’ll want to interview someone, be it a written interview for your blog, an audio podcast, or a video. There’s a vast difference between a good interview and a bad one, and 99% of the time, it comes down to the quality and experience of the person asking the questions. Here are a few tips that these MSNBC hosts could have used when preparing to talk to Russell Brand. I hope they are helpful to you, too. The interview is never, ever, EVER about you. Every single question the hosts asked Brand started off with something like “In my experience”, or “The way I see it”, or “Well, I think”. This is one of the worst mistakes an interviewer can make. The interview is not about you. It’s about your guest. Your job is to get them to share their experience. It has nothing to do with your experience. People are watching or listening or reading first and foremost because they want to hear what the interview subject has to say. The interviewers in the Brand interview seemed to think that they were the most important part of the segment. Brand quickly puts them in their place by telling them why they are actually doing the interview (to promote his upcoming show, “The Messiah Complex”). Read the book. At the very beginning of the interview, the host admits to Russell and everyone else watching that she doesn’t know anything about him. I wish I could have seen Brand’s face when she said that. It’s one of the most disrespectful and rude things you can do to first, not know anything about the person you’re about to talk to, and second, to admit it to their face! In this day and age, with Google right at our fingertips and digital editions of books available without even leaving the house, there is excuse…NO excuse for not doing your homework before an interview. With 10 minutes of searching online this host could have found umpteen videos to watch (including other interviews, so she could get a sense of his style and know what to expect). She could have gone to Amazon and spent 10 bucks and a couple of evenings to read the 368 pages of Brand’s book “My Booky Wook: a Memoir of Sex, Drugs and Stand-Up”. I read somewhere that Jon Stewart reads every book of every author he has on The Daily Show. Some of the books he reads are 800 pages long or more, and they are often about heavy subjects like economics and international affairs. But he reads them cover to cover, because it’s his job to know everything about his subject before they come on the show. Taking the time to thoroughly research your interview subject will allow you to be completely conversational, and your subject (and your audience) will have a heck of a lot more respect for you as an interviewer, too. Be prepared. It was pretty clear in the Russell Brand interview that the interviewers were not at all prepared. They didn’t appear to have any questions ready to ask. They probably just figured, because Brand is a comedian, that they could just let him go and riff on whatever. But the truth is, even the interviews that seem improvised rarely are. They have a focus, and a direction, and it’s the interviewer’s job to ensure that the interview stays focused. This means not only doing your homework, but prepping the direction. You don’t HAVE to write down all of your questions, but you should make some notes as you do your research, and at least decide what you want to talk about. Also ask your subject if there’s anything they want to make sure gets covered. Personally, I do write out questions, but I don’t often use them verbatim. The questions are my guide, my roadmap to help me stay on track. Don’t ever try to “wing it” in an interview. Prepare your notes in advance, and use them. It’s okay to have a piece of paper in front of you. Even George Stroumboulopoulous sometimes has notes written on little blue cards when he interviews people. Your interview subject will thank you for helping them to stay on track, the interview will be more clear and less rambly, and there will be way less editing in the end. Ok, so I can’t leave that horrendous Russell Brand interview on its own without posting some interviews that are actually good. This is one of my favourite Strombo interviews. He talks with Quentin Tarantino, who is known as a pretty shy guy (note how he avoids eye contact). George makes him feel immediately relaxed by staying in Quentin’s comfort zone – talking about his movies. Because Tarantino is so at ease, the rest of the interview is insightful, conversational, and a great promotion for a great movie (Django Unchained). Here’s a Jon Stewart interview from way back in 1997, his pre-Daily Show years. Stewart talks to the late, great George Carlin and absolutely nails it. The interview is personal, intimate (it’s like we are peeking in on Stewart and Carlin having a private chat), and you can tell that Carlin is enjoying the conversation immensely. Stewart clearly knows a lot about Carlin, it shows in the types of questions he’s asking. Stewart is also genuinely curious. And Carlin even gives Stewart a wonderful compliment at the end.