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$10,000 Scholarship in 32 Seconds

My company, the Student Loan Network, is running this scholarship.

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

The video was made around the office 🙂

February 2, 2008

In troubled times, community is everything

I recently had a great conversation with a friend about the role of community in new media, versus monetization and business. How should someone go about building a community, or joining an existing one, and how important is community?

In old, pre-industrial times, community was everything. The idea of being exiled from a community wasn’t simply being shunned – in many cases, it was a literal death sentence. Community provided not only social outlet, but also supplies, skills, trades, and everything you needed in one small group, and as long as everyone put back into the community as much or more than they took out, the community thrived.

Fast forward to the 21st century. We’re post-industrial, where every person is an island, and the Internet gives us global reach. We don’t need community any more, right? Wrong. Community is more important than ever, because in many respects we’re more alone than ever. You’ve likely seen or had the experience of being in a public place with everyone so plugged in that they’ve tuned reality out. I’ve personally seen people walk into streetlights and traffic while using a Crackberry, or nearly get jumped because the earbuds were a little too loud. Others have posted plenty of video about people walking straight into a water fountain while on their phones.

In the world of digital islands, community is vital once again, as we’re in a digital wilderness. Every day, the rules seem to change, new services appear, old ones die, and without community, we’d be forced to try and survive in the wilderness alone. Having a digital community gives us a place of temporary refuge, a sense of belonging, a social outlet, and many of the survival aspects that old pre-industrial communities granted their participants.

Community is especially vital in troubled times, during economic rough patches, during times of great crisis. Your community can help you identify what to do, where to look, and may even provide resources to you as long as you can do the same.

Marketers be warned: if you forsake community for short term monetization, when you hit a rough spot, the community you passed over will not come to your aid. Build community in addition to monetization, and your experience might be quite different – and better.

For example, in the digital community, finding a job is easier than going it alone. I had this experience recently via a friend’s spouse, who lost a job in an afternoon, had him come to the digital community, and using the resources of the group, found lots of opportunities. For my friend Matthew Ebel, I was able to send out a few hundred inquiries to members of my communities on his behalf for audio work. (incidentally, if you’re looking for scoring, audio engineering, or other top quality audio work, Matthew can be reached here) For PodCamp DC, being able to mobilize a regional part of my community to be aware of the event and consider attending is bringing in a few extra folks.

This is the age of the digital hunter gatherer, and we each are trying to find our way in the digital wilderness. Having a community to support us makes the life of the nomad so much easier.

How do you build community? Give. Mitch Joel calls it Giver’s Gain, others call it the Golden Rule, etc. but it boils down to providing your skills and abilities to the community. Not every skill, not everything you do, just that one thing that you as a community member can do very well, such that others in the community can essentially barter for. Chris Brogan’s skill in community development also means he has the ability to share across a wide network. Jeff Pulver can bring innovation to reality incredibly quickly.

Like the pre-industrial community, you have something to contribute. Identify what it is, then jump into the community pool and see what you can help with. In turn, you might be surprised at the help that’s offered to you, too.

Ze Frank, we miss you

A classic.

Click To Play

January 31, 2008

Thanks for being a participant on my blog!

As I did over at the work blog, a quick thanks to everyone who participated by leaving comments on my blog in 2007. Here’s the roll call!

Thanks again, everyone!

January 26, 2008

This will mess with your head

Hat tip to Erik Carlsson for this head frying video.

Nikon D40 + iPod Touch Flash Trick

Occasionally I find myself in environments where I’d like to use the flash because it’s dark, but either I’m so close that the flash will wash out everything, or it’ll give the photo that “frat party photo” feel, neither of which is usually what I’m aiming for. I’ve got a speed flash that can be angled, but I don’t carry it everywhere I go, because at some point I start to look like I need a sherpa. Here’s a fun trick that works almost as well as a real angled flash.

Take your iPod touch or other iPod out (this won’t work with an iPhone). Turn it around so the mirrored back is facing the flash. Now hold it right in front of the flash at a 45 degree angle and you’ll bounce the flash off the ceiling. Bang! Instant flash reflector, and chances are I’m more likely to have my iPod with me than the speed flash.

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January 24, 2008

Are we in a recession? Yes. Here's how you know

Take a look at these Google search trends for the word recession.

And for just 2007:

You don’t Google it if it’s not on your mind.

January 23, 2008

Google Reader, Your Newspaper, and Chris Brogan

Google Reader, Your Newspaper, and Chris Brogan 4 The first impression I have of Chris Brogan is from a presentation at BarCamp Boston. Actually, the first impression was watching him try to record a presentation by holding an iRiver 1 inch from a speaker cabinet, but beyond that, he did a great presentation on building content networks. One of the takeaway moments of that presentation was when he took a copy of the Boston Globe he’d stolen from his neighbor’s driveway and tore it up in front of the crowd into individual articles. He handed out an article to each person and said, “This is blogging.”

Each person’s blog is, in this model, a newspaper column. People don’t pay to read individual newspaper columnists, in his presentation, people pay for the newspaper, and the ads in the Boston Globe are no different than AdWords or banner ads, really.

What Google Reader does with its shared items and shared items of friends is no less than let you publish your own newspaper. You incorporate the authors you read and like into your own reading, which is your field reporting staff, and then hand-pick all the best stuff out for your friends and the world. That’s the distilled newspaper, YOUR newspaper, the newspaper that you’d gladly pay for if someone actually published it for you. It’s your news.

Your Google Reader Shared Items is every bit a part of your personal brand and worldview as any other form of media you publish. Some people might call it reblogging or lazy man’s blogging, but the reality is that it’s as much work to edit a newspaper as it is to write for one, and Google Reader Shared Items is a newspaper with you as the editor. What you choose to share reflects on your personal brand and what you think is important in the world. Want to check out a new employee? See what’s in their Shared Items. Want to see what’s on your boss’ mind? You know which newsstand to hit.

What’s in the headlines of Your Daily News?

photo courtesy of Mr. Brogan’s Flickr feed.

January 22, 2008

2008 Super Bowl Ad : $2,700,000 per spot

That’s a heck of a lot of money.

Think about what else that money could buy.

January 21, 2008

Prospering in the downturn

It’s absolutely no secret that the US economy is headed to hell in a handbag, and honestly, it’s overdue. We’ve spent the last 20 years inflating one bubble after another – defense in the 80s, tech in the 90s, real estate in this decade – and the time for another correction has come. That said, while I believe that many of the large financial institutions need to get their houses in order and take their knocks, I also desire no harm to come to my family, friends, and community. Here are some thoughts about how to weather the storm and even prosper during it.

First and foremost, get your own house in order. Figure out exactly where you are financially, and do your best to clean house. Cut down discretionary expenses as much as you can without turning to a miserable quality of life. You -must- have three months’ mandatory expense funding set aside, or as close to it as you can. That will give you a cushion of three months to figure out next steps in the case of job loss.

Having a strong personal network is more important than ever. Not just a strong network, but a large one, one in which you participate and try to help as many people as you can and ask them to do the same. With so many social networks and digital communities, this is easier than ever. A strong network will provide you with information you’ll need to make decisions, and will also provide you with leads if you need a job, etc. as long as you bring as much or more value to the people in your network. The key is to get building as fast as possible. Reconnect with old friends, establish new friends. Attend conferences and other meetups, such as PodCamp, BarCamp, MacCamp, etc. that are free or low cost. Look for opportunities to help others.

I strongly recommend Keith Ferrazzi’s book, Never Eat Alone, as a good guide on network building.

Build a strong personal brand. Having a personal brand that’s established, clear, and unambiguous gives you the advantage of being memorable. If you can speak confidently about something you’re an expert in, you’re heads and shoulders above most people who can barely put together two words about themselves. That will translate into more opportunities for you. Be clear about yourself, about your goals, and about your passions, and you will build presence.

I strongly recommend Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation blog for more reading on personal brand.

A downturn is also a crowd thinner – if you’re able to weather the storm, once it’s over you’ll find the playing field emptier than normal. Strategically speaking, as competitors go bust during a downturn, if you’re able to weather it, you’ll pick up marketshare and when business trends upwards again, you’ll be in a much stronger position.

What things will you do to weather the economic downturn?

January 20, 2008

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