DISQUS

Lots of luck!

Hey Megan

Great perspective on the Web 2.0 angle. I think the YouTube videos were a great move and the numbers are impressive.

User generated content + premium ads seems like a logical path. It's all about where the eyeballs are. From TV to the Web.

It sounds like a little PC on your phone. Is it just me or is Apple too cool?

Hey Maya - I like your framework and how you've applied it. The sum is more than the parts.

I think we produce our best results when we balance our thinking, feeling and doing for any situation.

Nice write up and insights. You frame the opportunity well and I like how you included just enough research and reference to elaborate your points. I like how you termed bloggers as "opinion leaders." Social proof is the way of the online world.

What inspired you?

I agree - simple and effective are key. I'm a fan of text files.

My most powerful tool has been yellow sticky pads. I try to capture one great point or one key action per note. I can arrange them or stick them wherever, whenever. I bring my sticky pad with me to meetings, movies, you name it.

What did you learn that surprised you?

Friends forever. That's cool. I like that. It's funny how much pen pals has evolved over time. Social media breaks barriers.

Are high tech jobs really leaving or is it a maturity cycle and the jobs are moving up the stack? The ebb and flow of a connected world.

Great questions and great distinctions.

Roadtripping's taught me a bunch about being a minimalist and I agree, it's the way to go.

>you can travel just as much by saving up money from another, better-paying job, and just taking off to go vagabonding
Beautiful point and it applies to so many trade-offs in life. When passion and profit collide, great ... but there's more than one way to fund your passion, and more than one way to live your dream. Hail to the pragmatic vagabonder!

Linkin Park's got great energy and You, Inc is a great biz to focus on in today's connected, user-empowered world.

First to market, best in market, or raving fans, one at a time, huh?

Actually yes - the ones with alliteration stick better (Best buy, Dial Directions, SitScape, SpinSpotter) ... as do the ones with a fun name (Intellius, Message Sling ... etc.)

As subtle as it may be, I wonder how important a sticky name is? (in today's info overloaded world)

Yep. I think today's world is about raving fans and interactive channels.

I also think another key is to be an authority site and authority ... people are looking to lighthouses to save them from info overload.

It reminds me of the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding -- there is no room for #2 on the Net ... so there's a whole lot of #1's in a bunch of fine-grained niches ;)

I like the pace and points of the video.

It reminds me that as markets mature, specialize in the niche -- and long-tail your way forward ... and to diversify your offerings to your customers that you already have.

Perfect pic and I like the write up.

What would you say are the vital few (top 5) social networks to leverage?

Memory/resource consumption is a big deal for me. My browsers take over my box throughout the day. I haven't tested Chrome yet, but the first thing I'll compare is resource consumption.

You gotta love intestinal fortitude. Your post reminded me of Death by Risk Aversion (creating passionate users).

Nice quote!

As one of my mentors put it, one question to ask yourself is -- "if this situation were to never change, what's the one quality you need to fully enjoy it?" That becomes your growth opportunity.

As simple as it sounds, it's pretty powerful. That said, I think it's important to evaluate a situation against your outcomes and avoid becoming a boiled frog in the pot.

Sadly, I think the real problem is that there's not enough prescriptive guidance on goal techniques that actully work. For example, while a lot of people may know about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, not everybody knows the real keys to effective goal setting.

Probably the single most important thing behind creating a useful goal is to have a compelling "why". Sure, it sounds obvious once you know it, but if you don't know it, there's a good chance you'll miss your goals. You why is your staying power and your guide. If you have a compelling why, you'll find the strategies.

Now, assuming you have your compelling whys and your ladder is up against the right wall, how do actually carve up an effective plan? Not everybody is familiar with creating work breakdown structures. Not everybody has a reliable mentor or somebody they can model their success from.

I think it really is a case where proven practices go a long way for effective goal crafting and reaching your goals. A lot of action without insight is a recipe for learned helplessness, just like a lot of insight without action, is yet another path to unfullfilled dreams.

I think there's a key distinction on point #3. You need to figure out up front if the meeting is for *rapport* or for *results.*

If it's for rapport, put your git'er done mindset on the backburner, and put your *build a coalition* mindset on.

If it's for results, then yes -- agenda in advance and time-budgets and outcomes (not activities.) If you don't agree to the outcome/purpose, or you're not the right person or the right people aren't at the table, push back until your'e set for success.

I agree -- keep the signal high, the noise low.

Asking questions that make them think is key. For example, a couple of my favorite questions to ask someone of power are:
- what bottlenecks you? (money? the right people? time?)
- if you had a genie, what 3 wishes would you ask?
- if you were a genie, what wishes would be your favorite wish to grant?

I also like the basic ... what did you learn that surprised you that you wished somebody would have told you when you first started?

Being resource starved is a recipe for success:
- you ask resourceful questions to get your brain in gear (rather than ask your brain why you can't -- you ask your brain how you can ... or what if you could ...)
- you turn pressure into results (fight-or-flight is a powerful source of energy, if you focus it)
- you avoid the complacency trap (a pitfall for mature businesses)
- there's no place to go but up
- going up builds momentum

One of the lessons I learned was how to build software faster through resource starvation.
We had tight time budgets and constraints. By splitting the R&D work up into user experience, tech feasibility and business value, we found a better way to rapidly prototype the user experience. By focusing on the user experience first, we churned less on tech feasibility, and business value followed.

http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/archive/2006/12/06...