Monthly Archives: February 2013
I really love Connecticut’s glottal stop
Do folks from Connecticut know that they use a glottal stop in lieu of a hard “T” when saying things like “Clinton” and “kitten,” etc?
Cli-in and Ki-in?
It’s very cute and I wonder what the linguistic heritage is. I assume it’s a vestige of a British lineage.
I am always amazed when ancestral vestigial linguistic traces persist in modern linguistic pools in a country that’s so connected and addicted to a television that generally uses “proper” American annunciation.
The cute thing about Connecticut’s glottal stop is that the rest of their accent is no accent at all. To me, the missing Ts is the only tell that someone’s from CT.
Your fans want to know exactly how you did it
People are obsessed with process. How did you get to where you are and learn what you know? That’s why YouTube is an obsession: it’s all about “how you do it” or “how you did it.” There are two motivations for sharing what’s behind the curtain that I can discern: humble-bragging (hey, look what I can do) and also-ran (hey, look, I can do it too!). Whatever the motivation, be it thought-leadership or surfing the wave, people are never satisfied with just knowing how to do it, they’re fascinated by not only how to, but how you. When people want to know how you did it, they don’t want to just see the final, edited, version — they’re interested in seeing all the struggle, challenge, revisions, and endless iterations it took to finally be ready for opening night. Continue reading
Mea maxima culpa marketing
Something’s always going to go wrong. Murphy’s law demands it. It is your mandatory tithe into the Universe. This is true about everything. I guess character is what shows when things go wrong. And it’s what you do when things don’t go right that defines you. And it’s never the end of the world. In fact, sometimes really messing up can initiate a valuable interaction that wouldn’t have ever happened were the mistake avoided. You’ll always be remembered more for how you handle something than for what you did in the first place. This is what I call “Mea Culpa Marketing.” How to handle something going terribly wrong with as much honestly, aplomb, and grace as you can muster while you’re petty convinced that the end is nigh. And when things go even worse than that, I call it “Mea Maxima Culpa Marketing.” Continue reading
Blog to differentiate yourself beyond your credentials and experience
Edelman recruited me because I blogged about Wal-Mart. Rosetta Stone invited me to blog for them because I blogged about learning German. AdAge invited me to write for their DigtialNext and Global News blogs. Blogging about social media marketing resulted in being invited by Socialmedia.biz and Biznology to blog for them. In the fervor of the presidential elections, I pursued column inches in The Huffington Post. In large part, I can thank blogging for most of my professional success. There is no more efficient way of expressing passion, what you know, and how you think than writing it out. A blog is the perfect platform.
In many ways, blogging made me. My degree is in English and Creative Writing and not in communications, public relations, public affairs, history, politics, languages, or computer science. However, I am a curious man at heart and am fascinated by the world we live in.
Put the work in and differentiate yourself
In any age other than this one, would I have been able to do any of this? This is a brilliant time as the barriers to entry have been demolished if you’re willing to put the work in. However, if you have no passion, really have nothing to say, aren’t interested in anything in particular, don’t feel self-motivated, and aren’t self-taught, you can always go back to school and get your master’s. And if you’re really self-destructive, continue on to a doctorate.
Isn’t it cheating to just go ahead and write your way into the inner circle instead of acquiring proper credentials by jumping through the traditional hoops? Nope.
And I am not talking about microblogging on Twitter or reblogging on Tumblr, I am talking about writing proper analyses of what’s going on in your business or industry — or the industry in which you aspire to work — in your own words and reflecting your own understanding of the space, plus your interpretation of what it means.
Isn’t it cheating to just go ahead and write your way into the inner circle instead of acquiring proper credentials by jumping through the traditional hoops?
No, it isn’t. Primarily because you need to blog your way into the perfect job even if you’ve done your degree in communications (like my partner here, J.D. Lasica).
You need to blog to differentiate yourself well beyond your credentials and your experience. You need to blog to allow people to get to know who you are and what matters to you. I remember when I onboarded with the digital team at Edelman. HR had me take a writing test on a computer in an embarrassing little room.
What this means is that most companies, agencies, and businesses not only don’t know you at all but generally can’t know you.
The only way you’ll be able to effectively push through all the other thousand recent graduates to grab that ring is by blogging your talk. And you don’t need to wait until you’re mid-career like I am, you can start blogging your way into your first job in high school or as a college undergrad. You can even start moonlighting in your industry of choice while you’re getting that degree.
Boost your blogging in 2013
Nothing prevents you from entering into public discourse and conversation with the topmost influencers online. There’s nothing keeping you from becoming a participant in the AdAge Power 150. There’s no requirement at all, and you’ll only be judged by your words, insight, and persistence.
You can and will be rewarded for not holding your creativity, insight, and passion ransom — and don’t allow your university or boss to bogart your best, smartest work.
So, take this opportunity in the new year to either start a new blog or rekindle the flame you once had. Blogging’s not dead, Twitter’s not enough, Facebook’s a walled garden, and Tumblr’s cheating (you’ll always spend more time being derivative instead of being generative and you’ll never know because you’ll feel terribly clever not on your own wit but rather on the coattails of the charm, creativity, and brilliance of other people’s Tumbls).
Good luck and tell me what you think in the comments section below — I would love to help you out getting started!