Christopher S. Penn – Marketing AI Keynote Speaker

Author: Christopher S Penn

  • Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Introduction

    Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Introduction

    We live in an age starved for heroes. The resurgence of hero movies, hero TV shows, hero stories, and the willingness by the media to label anyone with an ounce of initiative a hero shows how badly we need to find heroes in our society.

    But… what if you could have more? What if, instead of fictional characters in tights and capes on a screen, you could find a hero inside yourself? What if you could LIVE the powers of a superhero, brought to life inside your own heart and mind? Would you?

    I’m going to publish a series of 10 blog posts on the topic – the 10 qualities of a superhero. The powers themselves are translated by Senior Master Instructor Stephen K. Hayes from the Enlightened Warrior Gyoja Practitioner Recitation Handbook, published by the Kinryuzan Golden Dragon Mountain Kasumi-An Dojo. These have very, very old roots, and the commentary on them is mine alone.

    The ten qualities of a superhero aren’t a means to obtain superpowers, because you already have those. Today, from a device the size of a candy bar, you have access to the bulk of humanity’s knowledge. Today, from a telephone in a pocket, you can instantly communicate with the other side of the planet. Today, from any broadband computer with a Web browser, you can see and affect events in far away lands. The abilities technology gives us would have been labeled magical a hundred years ago, and sorcery three hundred years ago. You already have the powers; the qualities of a superhero are to help guide you and put them to use.

    Shikin haramitsu daikomyo. Every day could be the day when it all comes together, when everything WORKS, and we begin to bring our potential to life. Get ready to awaken your superhero.

  • Is PodCamp Too Corporate? or, Welcome New Folks!

    Is PodCamp Too Corporate? or, Welcome New Folks!

    Bill Weye on his blog asks a great question – has PodCamp Boston, in effect, sold out, with its huge list of attendees from corporations?

    Gosh, I hope so. But not in the sense he’s thinking. In terms of sponsors and vendors, there are so far three – VON, Blue Sky Factory, and Jay Berkowitz. You’ve heard VON’s commercial pitch – attend Video on the Net for 200 instead of1,695. Blue Sky Factory hasn’t gotten their sponsorcast stuff to us yet, but they’re a mailing list service, the one that powers PodCamp Boston‘s outreach efforts.

    Here’s my thinking about all the corporations, venture capitalists, media, and marketers coming to PodCamp Boston:

    Welcome! Please go meet some new media people, and learn all about new media.

    In the year that’s passed since PodCamp Boston 1, there have been a number of success stories about new media folks being able to make a living doing what they love to do most. At the same time, there are orders of magnitude more stories about people wanting to get connected to resources (money, media, marketing) to share their work who haven’t been able to. At PodCamp Philly, Brian Conley from Alive in Baghdad mentioned very publicly that AIB is desperately looking for donors/sponsors. He and his organization are doing great, very important work telling stories that the mainstream media aren’t.

    It’s my hope as one of the organizers of PodCamp Boston that if we put folks like Brian and AIB in the same room as producers and directors from media buyers, venture capitalists like Openview and Masthead Venture Partners, that new media experts with legitimate, great content can get connected with resource partners. It’s not about selling stuff to PodCamp attendees at all, but rather connecting new people and new media together to make exciting partnerships and friendships.

    If PodCamp Boston didn’t invite people with resources to the new media community, we’d be doing the community a disservice. As Bill Weye pointed out, people come to PodCamp to collaborate and meet others doing exciting things. I hope that idea and feeling extends to new people who want to know more about new media, and isn’t just reserved for people already in the community.

    Finally, I’ll remind EVERYONE of this: the Law of Two Feet – meaning you walk away from what doesn’t interest you – doesn’t just apply to sessions. In every interaction at PodCamp, you have the right to walk away, and should do so immediately. With so many people of so many different backgrounds, you can find plenty of people of similar mind if you choose to do so. I hope you don’t. Corporate or evangelist, early adopter or conservative, I hope you meet some new friends and find ways to help each other in whatever best suits your needs in new media.

  • So about those podcasting associations…

    So about those podcasting associations…

    … with Tim Bourquin’s Podcast Expo coming up, I’ve gotten no less than six emails in the past week (names withheld to protect the guilty) asking me either what I thought of the ADM and APOMP, ADM vs. APOMP, etc., both as a podcaster and as that PodCamp guy along with Mr. Brogan.

    Short version: I’m waiting to see. Until I get a chance to study what these two organizations are doing, I can’t offer a valid opinion. I do think podcasting needs standards, but I also think podcasting needs to move away from the pageviews/downloads mindset and towards metrics that count – funded student loans for me, maybe speaking gigs for Mitch Joel, maybe Webinar opportunities for Bryan Person, etc. At the end of the day, whose name will be on the paycheck or accounts receivables?

    Ultimately, if podcasting is to be a valid vehicle for business, it needs to have more than just eyeballs as a metric. The last time folks tried that was 1999, and we all know how that ended.

  • Decor change

    Got tired of WuCoco, so I changed up the decor around here along with a new mission statement: Awaken Your Superhero. When I thought about it, the moments in my life that have been the most powerful and moving are those when a friend or loved one suddenly stepped outside their comfort zone, stepped up, and became something – someone – greater. I hope to be able to bring that experience to as many people as possible in my lifetime, starting with PodCamps. PodCamp won’t make you a superhero, but it will give you the venue and time to help you find it within yourself.

  • Frankly, I worry when you don't search my luggage

    Adam Curry had an interesting post on his travel experiences recently, especially with his TSA experience. I’ve had some interesting experiences with the TSA, and I generally assume I’ll take half an hour to get through security these days.

    Frankly, I really worry when the TSA doesn’t pull me aside and search all my belongings. If I were a TSA employee and saw the stuff I carry when I travel, I’d probably request a background check and fingerprints.

    On my most recent trip to PodCamp Philly, my luggage contained:

    • A 750 GB external hard drive plus firewire cables and AC adapter
    • A Logitech MM50 media player plus cabling, case, and remote
    • Two sets of headphones, one noise cancelling, plus battery chargers for them
    • A Nikon D40 plus USB cables and battery charger
    • A Sanyo VPC CG65 plus cables and battery charger
    • A MacBook Pro plus cabling
    • A 5 GB iPod plus dock cable, AC adapter, and USB
    • An M-Audio Microtrack plus adapter and charger
    • An Audio Technica PRO/24 condenser mic plus cabling and batteries
    • A Samson C01U large diaphragm condenser mic plus cabling
    • An Airport Express wireless access point plus Ethernet cable
    • Several Ethernet cables
    • Lots of USB to mini-USB cables
    • A Nokia N91 phone plus data cable, car charger, and desktop charger
    • Two USB card readers plus cabling
    • A Plantronic bluetooth headset plus charger

    I worry when security looks at all of that in the X-Ray (because I don’t check the luggage – it’s all a carry-on) machine and doesn’t wonder what the heck I’m doing. And all of that, by the way, weighs only 38 pounds.

  • As shown at PodCamp Philly: Social Networks 101

    Video thumbnail. Click to play
    Click To Play

  • When Business and Charity Align – The Triple Win of Luck of Seven

    CC Chapman just pointed out an interesting project/book called On The Luck of Seven. The author is traveling around the world and pre-selling his book for 11.11. CC pointed out that it was a good cause and worthy of support.

    When I stopped by the site, I saw something else entirely – an opportunity for SEO – search engine optimization. See, the author is doing something smart – he’s letting donors provide link text and links in exchange for donating.

    Those of you in SEO know that quality inbound links cost money –250 or more per link per year.  This site is selling good links for $11.11. It’s a steal just on those merits.
    On examining the site further, it’s got an estimated PageRank of 5, which is great, and decent numbers with Compete, QuantCast, and Alexa (whose data by itself is suspect, but combined with other metrics gives a relative sense of worth).

    Now, it’s not just donation – buyers will also get a kid’s book of some kind. I don’t know what it is, but chances are I’ll flip it to a local charity and bingo – my inexpensive inbound link will transform into a charity writeoff, too.

    Helping a cause is nice, but helping a cause and helping your business AND getting a small tax break? It’s a triple win.

    Buy it up now!

  • A Day to Remember, A Day to Act

    A Day to Remember, A Day to Act

    Lots of folks today remembering, looking back at September 11, 2001, six years ago. Remembering what was.

    Remember also who you were and how much you’ve changed, what powers you have now that were unthinkable back then.

    In 2001, there was no podcasting. Blogging was relatively limited.

    In 2001, there was no Twitter, and IM presence was silo’ed heavily.

    In 2001, there was no Flickr. No YouTube. No Blip.tv. No TubeMogul.

    In 2001, there was no Facebook. No MySpace.

    The reach, the powers, the abilities you have as a digitally connected human being six years later VASTLY eclipse what you could do in 2001. You have at your fingertips more tools, more methods, more strategies for communicating and sharing with your world than ever before, more ways to tell your story and experience the stories of others.

    You have the power to change the world.

    Fundamentalism, be it neoconservative ideology, radical Islam, or Jerry Falwell (how’s the temperature down there, buddy?) requires an absence of knowledge. It requires an absence of differing points of view, a willful deprivation of any information that does not conform to a single party line. Now more than ever you have the ability to engage those around you and share your knowledge, share your stories, and in doing so chip away at fundamentalism.

    If you lament 9/11 and what has happened since, commit ever more strongly to using the tools of new media to make the world and your community a better place. Only together, through our direct connections to each other and to the world around us, can we defuse the potency of fundamentalism.

    How do you get started?

    As my good friend Chris Brogan says, “Just press record.”

  • Amish ChrisBrogan

    It’s green. It’s eco-friendly. It’s web 2.0. Howard Greenstein of the prestigious Social Media Club calls it the Best Web 2.0 Application with a positive valuation of $10.5 million.

    It’s… Amish ChrisBrogan!

    [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D10dd0twofw[/youtube]

    Special thanks to Howard Greenstein and Kathryn Jones, as well as Eric Skiff and PodCamp Philly.

  • Have You Gone For a Digital Walk in Your Neighborhood?

    I recently had the experience of throwing a block party in my neighborhood, and was amazed at the number of neighbors who showed up. It was a great experience, and I attribute a major part of its success to one factor: my wife and I take daily walks through our neighborhood. We don’t necessarily interact with everyone or even a significant minority of people along the route on a regular basis. But our consistent presence helped us achieve a level of recognition in our neighborhood, enough to bring everyone together for a party.

    What does this have to do with marketing and new media? If you want to achieve a baseline level of presence and recognition, go for new media walks in the digital neighborhood. Jeff Pulver calls it a social media sunrise. What does that entail?

    Make sure you have presence in major social neighborhoods. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Obviously, vet the neighborhoods before you move in or you could move into a sleazy place like Quechup.

    Maintain the properties you set up. Accept friend invites as appropriate, and leave footprints. Update your status, write a little something here and there on people’s bulletin boards or other presence notifiers.

    Check in daily. Again, not a huge commitment, just make sure you’re logging in so that you can stay in touch. If someone posts a question of interest and you have an answer of value, contribute it.

    Go to block parties. Conferences and conventions like PodCamp Philly and PodCamp Boston are the equivalent of block parties, when everyone in the neighborhood shows up, except for the crazy disgruntled neighbor who is always out in the yard grumbling at the other neighbors. Some conferences cost money, while others like PodCamps just require you to get to them – the actual event is free.

    Throw your own block party. If you live in a neighborhood where there aren’t block parties, or they’re exclusive little ones that not everyone is invited to, throw your own. Amber Rhea is throwing a block party for the sex and erotica community called Sex 2.0, based on the UnConference model. It’s a great idea, and a great way to bring community together.

    The most important thing is to go for a walk regularly. Even if you don’t run into a lot of people each day, your consistent presence will help you be recognized and be able to bring together your community.

    Where will you go for a walk today?

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