It’s Seth Godin.
Or Chris Brogan.
Or the smarties at Copyblogger.
Or David Siteman Garland.
Or any of the other fantastically talented and open bloggers that share and give their ideas and expertise away everyday.
As a blogger, a marketer, a person, this is the resonating mantra. You must give and give and then give some more.
And, in turn, you build relationships and trust and value and from that you will also earn the chance to ask for something in return.
Why Apple just did technology a favour
The iPad is shiny, new and everything Apple fanatics like myself love! But it’s received more than its fair share of flack since its release only hours ago.
The reason for this flack is because it did NOT surpass expectations; it flew in right under the radar, right into the “Land of That’s What We Were Expecting”.
But despite the fact that the iPad (horrible name and all) will likely be met with lacklustre sales (see why below), this “revolutionary” piece of technology does service the industry plenty. By pushing design, touch capabilities and tech portability to new heights. It re-emphasizes what the iPhone established with its innovative design and supreme usability. We’ve seen tablets before but the iPad opens the door for better portable alternatives.
The iPad now offers netbook manufacturers the greatest advantage in my opinion. For those who cannot afford the iPad, for those who find it too much of an inconvenience to use or carry, for those who cannot understand the perceived added value inherent in any Apple product, netbooks are the logical and smart alternative.
Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post on eReaders, it will be the tablets and the netbooks that spell doom for the single-purpose eReaders, Mashable agrees! If eReaders stand any chance, it will be by responding accordingly to the very threatening iPad. Take notice Kindle, it’s time to step up.
So, even though I’m about to tell you not to buy one, the iPad, well Apple, has done technology another favour. To all the naysayers and Apple un-enthusiasts, Apple will once again be forcing the market to push its own offerings, as it did with the iPod, MacBook and iPhone.
And why you shouldn’t buy one
What? But she loves Apple?!
It’s true, I do love Apple from the pod to the phone to the mac computers. But, I have to pass on this one, especially on the first generation device.
As most have concurred by now, it’s just a really big iPhone. Same apps, same OS, same SDK and extremely similar specs with flash drive capacity at 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. With the touch screen, accelerometer, WiFi, coming soon 3G and a host of other similarities, I would opt for a netbook or go-for-gusto and get a MacBook/Pro.
Not to mention the iPad doesn’t offer multitasking or (at this time) a camera or video-capturing capabilities.
An iffy bright side to all this is that the price actually seems a little low for Apple’s typical new product launch scheme. Is this an indicator of an uninspired tablet not worth more? Does it forecast a flat outcome for sales? To purchase or not to purchase? What do you say?
In Gist’s own words, it
helps you build stronger relationships by connecting the inbox to the web to provide business-critical information about the people and companies that matter most.
In my words, Gist consolidates your inbox with online connections and information.
Think: Gist = Inbox + Social Media (+ News).
The whole concept of Gist revolves around aggregating information and churning it through a process of organization and prioritization, as founder T.A. McCann describes in this intreview featured on The Rise to the Top. The result is meant to automate the process of siphoning through relevant contact information (and any relevant data available online related to those contacts) and provide the user with the ultimate knowledge for any given contact.
Here is my current dashboard on Gist:
On the left, a list of my contacts. In the center, a “live feed” filtering social media, RSS and other news updates. And to the right, more clutter that I have yet to add to.
The inherent problem with this dashboard is its glaring inability to focus my attention and effectively deliver information with clarity. I see a lot of content — some of which, I am sure, is highly important — but all of which is lost in an unintuitive design.
Here is a view of my “profile” page:
The above page gives you a look at the type of information you would be able to retrieve about one of your contacts. You see all my links, related search results found in Google, a What’s New section gathering information from various feeds, and a plethora of many more goodies.
I can publicize a limited version of my profile for all to see but otherwise a personal connection is required. But the catch here is that most of the information in the profile was added by me barring the search results. So, the point is that the usefulness of this application is heavily dependent on what I already know about another person. Not as intuitive as I would like!
So, maybe you’ve heard of Xobni. No?
How about LinkedIn or Salesforce? I’m getting there now, right.
If still not, then I’m certain you know Outlook (Exchange) and Google.
Gist is aiming to bridge the gap between these services. A one-stop-shop connectivity and productivity tool to offer you the best of all available information.
The concept — born out of Web 3.0 — is intriguing but right now it definitely screams “beta”. I can’t definitively say yet if I can use this tool to my advantage but I will continue experimenting.
What I do see is that Gist seems to have the idea but not the execution. Now we wait. Wait for information consolidation, control and personalization — i.e. the future.
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sin⋅cer⋅i⋅ty [sin-ser-i-tee] –noun freedom from deceit, hypocrisy, or duplicity; probity in intention or in communicating; earnestness. |
Without question, sincerity is most powerful when trying to connect with an audience. If your speech, presentation, copy or message is derived from an earnest place, your audience will be aware of it.
Learning to be sincere means understanding the power of compassion, the unfairness of reality and the power of desire. It’s about connecting with the human condition.
Exercise sincerity within your daily life. Then exercise sincerity in your marketing. People just want the truth, and if you present them it sincerely, they will surely return the favour.
What is RSS?
RSS = Really Simple Syndication.
What is Really Simple Syndication?
Consists of a web feed that allows regularly updated online content to be delivered to subscribers via any number of “readers” in a consistent format. Need more?
Why you should care?
Engaging online is the cornerstone to being successful online. Engagement means providing meaningful content and information on a regular basis to your target market. If you engage with this market then ideally you want them to follow every word you publish. Enter RSS.
With RSS, you ensure that you deliver your best content to your most important followers — i.e. the ones that act as your best marketers on-the-ground. And they are the most important because they wouldn’t bother subscribing to your feed(s) if they didn’t deeply value what you had to offer.
The online platform is information overload. So, RSS really is simple — offer valuable content with express delivery.
I’ve never used an eReader. Never even seen one in person. So this post is already beyond judgmental.
But, I am the target market for the eReader. I love to read. Visit Amazon (and Chapters.ca!) regularly. And I appreciate all literature.
From Kindle to the new Skiff, I’m not ready to trade in my book for the electronic reading device. I’m also not ready to add another portable device to my current setup, which includes an iPhone and MacBook.
iPhone has multiple electronic reading applications available for download, a couple of which I have tested out, and the only perceived advantage that I can extract from an eReader would be screen real estate and screen resolution.
Within time, all such devices will be equipped with over-the-air book download capabilities and perhaps this is why I fail to see a lasting competitive advantage with these products. The feature set is far too niche to offer long-lasting usability (in comparison to smartphones) and once these readers begin diversifyng their offerings they will fall too close to being a portable computer / mp3 player / book reader etc. And the problem here is that these already exist — enter the laptop or the smartphone.
With tablet computers on the horizon as the next electronic craze and netbooks creating a notable frenzy, the eReader is not sustainable for me because there just isn’t a strong enough differentiator especially when everyone is looking for the all-in-one device — not the all-in-one device plus an eReader.
Today. Yesterday. 2 weeks ago. Never.
Pick the most accurate response for you and if it isn’t 5 minutes ago then you’ve failed.
Whether you’re selling a product, communicating a message, designing an ad or just lounging on your rooftop patio, you shouldn’t just be thinking about them but thinking like them.
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1. What do they care about? 2. What do they want to know? 3. How will they react? 4. And Why to all the above? |
Ask yourself these 4 questions any time you do anything that will touch your target, and you will intrinsically learn more than ever anticipated.
Let me begin by stating that I love Godin’s blog, mainly for its bold, inspirational properties but also for its necessary doses of reality. It was his blog that drew me to Tribes — what I like to think of as a harsh expose on what it takes to be a leader in a corporate world that emphasizes and rewards the status quo.
What’s a Tribe?
If you don’t know yet, it’s possible you may want to consider moving out from under that rock.
But, as a simple equation:
| Tribe = people + shared interest + way to communicate |
The Message
Right on the cover: We need you to lead us. So, naturally I asked ‘why?’ 12 pages in, I finally receive my answer in the form of Godin’s thesis — to sum up, it’s all about change.
I feel like the most important message this book has to offer is not the concept of tribes but actually the concept of leadership. Yes, I understand that the two are undeniably intertwined but, more importantly, the former is impossible without the latter.
Godin wants me, you and your grandmother to embody that change and ultimately prove that success is derived from leading a movement not from conforming to bureaucracy.
The Sub-Messages
There is so much going on in Tribes, I found it hard to narrow down the core sub-messages. But I think once you cut through some of the clutter, the following takeaways are invaluable:
- Destroy the status quo to win
- “Heretics are engaged, passionate, and more powerful and happier than everyone else.”
- Leadership is not management its about being an agent of change
- Don’t be a lurker, Be a Leaner
To make sense of this, you’re going to have to start reading! What you do need to know is that all the messages above (and all the messages throughout the book) are centred on change. Without change, they are impossible.
The Criticism
As with much of Godin’s writing, Tribes is an inspirational read. But if I were to use one word to describe the book, I’d choose “schizophrenic”.
It’s certainly a harsh criticism given that I’ve spent much of this post bolstering the text. But the presentation of Godin’s concepts and inspirations is too highly dependent on idea-hopping. From one idea to the next and then back to the original; it makes Tribes a difficult read. As Godin totes, ‘marketing is about storytelling’, but even though I know I’m not picking up a novel, I found myself constantly wishing the text was a more cohesive story.
His method of offering information in bite-sized morsels leaves something to be desired as the book fails to gel as a singular text. His lacklustre transitions are balanced with purposeful ambiguity, so there is a diamond amongst all the rough.
The End
The content fights the format. And that struggle is a glaring punch to the face. But Godin has much to say, most of which is more than worth hearing, so I recommend Tribes to any and all marketers if only because it may transform you into a leader.
(What I’m Reading Now: The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Dan Kennedy)
Change is feared. We fight it as individuals and as organizations. As employees and as employers.
But why do we feel the need to be so undeniably afraid of the very thing that will bring us progress, growth and success? Because it can also bring more work, decline and failure.
If all you do is remain within the bounds that are set to you within a work environment, then you should expect nothing more or less than what has already been accomplished.
To be brave and take the risk of being an agent of change — that is the true mark of a leader. But, unfortunately, too often are those agents shunned aside, devalued and undercut.
We make the conscious choice of being afraid when we can instead make the choice to foster change and nurture success.
I mean did the Three Little Pigs give in when the Big Bad Wolf was trying to tell them what to do? Didn’t think so. So are you really going to let the pigs outdo you?
When a top 10 just isn’t enough, add one more!
11. Event Marketing – I mentioned in number 8 that instead of dumping copious amounts of funds into often fruitless AdWords campaigns opt for holding an event. Events, as David Garland perfectly puts it on his top 10, capitalize on the high value of face-to-face interactions. It envelops a tangible experience for customers, partners and prospects that moves away from digital information overload to concise knowledge transfer. Events are about doing something different. So take that chance to make a lasting statement.
For more on event marketing, see my five part series on Event Marketing 101: Development, Pre-Planning, Launch & Registration, Marketing & Collateral and Execution,.
P.S. Happy New Year and thanks for reading!
