At my agency Strategies 360, we’ve had quite a bit of success in running contests using social media channels. In most instances we’ve seen tremendous growth in reach and engagement, and in just about all those cases, very minimal loss in those gains post contest. I’ve always wondered if I could expect the same types of results with my personal brand running something similar.

So without further adieu, I formally announce my February Facebook Page Music Package Giveaway! I am giving away an 8GB Ipod Touch, 2 GB Ipod Shuffle, and a pair of Zagg Smartbud Headphones. For the full details and to enter, checkout my Facebook page. Simply put, if you haven’t done so already, like my Facebook page, then enter your details into my email newsletter signup form to officially enter. If you already like my page, simply enter your details in the email signup form. I will choose one lucky random winner at the end of the month. That’s it!

Good luck to all and as always, thank you for your continued readership and support!

The whole premise of this blog post was actually inspired by an email my wife copied me on from her trainer.  His name is Spencer Gates and not only is he a tremendously awesome trainer who we’ve both worked with, but he’s an incredibly smart and has an old school, no nonsense approach that I love.  My wife was having some frustrations with watching others utilizing fad diets successfully and wanting to hit her final goals quickly, she sent him an email about this wanting to get his take and be reminded how hard work is the way to go.  Here’s an excerpt from his response he allowed me to share:

“The most important narrative to this discussion is that skinny does not equal healthy in ANY sense. Rapid weight loss via ANY method has been irrefutably shown to be unhealthy from a cardiac perspective, endocratic (hormonal) perspective, and performance perspective; this doesn’t even include the fact that people who rapidly lose weight will almost always, on a 5 year time line, regain more than 70% of it, only to crash diet again, causing more damage. If you’re interested, I can provide you the negative scientific implications with no-carb diets and more importantly the horrible long-term metabolic side effects we are beginning to see from the HCG diet. My point? You are watching people ruin their bodies; ruin their capacity to exercise; implicating themselves in long-term adverse health risks; and set themselves up for a vicious cycle, all because we generally only measure success in terms of how quickly one can lose weight and disregard most everything else.  My views on the matter, while grounded in legit, peer reviewed scientific research, are hotly contested by those who have a stake in these fads, or are so brainwashed by contemporary culture that they’ve shut off their rational thought process.”

I LOVE everything about this.  It’s amazing how many times I’ve seen or had to hear about some “amazing” diet someone went on, watch them actually lose the weight quickly (and unhealthily), only to put it back on over time.  There’s only one diet that has stood the test of time, a healthy diet and regular exercise.  Don’t get me wrong, their are certainly a few healthy diet plans out there, but the ones that are, simply incorporate a routine of healthy eating and exercise.

We live in a world of the need and expectation of instant gratification, taking any shortcut we can get our hands on to get the job done, even if it means negative long term ramifications.  It applies to all facets of life and not just diet or fitness.  Just do a search for “add twitter followers” and you’ll get pages of results promising thousands of Twitter followers instantly.  There’s an entire industry of black hat SEO providers promising front page results.  Their tactics (while possibly proving usefully initially), can lead to damaging long term ramifications.

The fact is, nothing replaces hard work, and their are no shortcuts in life.  The number one trait I look for in those I hire in any capacity is their work ethic.  I’ll take a tenacious hard worker who possibly needs a little training, over an “expert” who calls it in any day.  They’ll pay off in spades in the long term every time.

Thanks to Spencer for allowing me to use a portion of his amazing email, and seriously, if you happen to live in north end of Seattle or higher, I highly recommend his personal training services.  He’s the best.

So here’s my new outfit.  I’m using what I think is the most fantastically simple, clean and amazing theme I’ve come across yet.  The Standard theme is wonderfully minimilist, yet loaded with options and the ability to customize.  I spend countless hours looking at and researching WordPress themes, and considering I invested quite a bit in a custom design last time around, it took a pretty special theme to convince me to use it.

So it’s still a work in progress, so bear with me as I unwrap a few more customizations over the next few weeks.  My goal this time around was to really simplify my blog, and go with a look that was focused on the content, and more clear on who I am and what I do.  Trust me when I say I went back and forth on my tagline “social pro”.  I thought maybe I was entering borderline social douchebag territory, but the fact is, I feel my experience and work history warrant calling myself a “pro”.  Plus it’s painfully simple and lets people know exactly what I do.  Feel free to disagree of course!

I look forward to seeing what 2012 has to bring and continuing to write about my experiences and helping others as much as I can when it comes to social marketing and tech.

More to come soon!

1. Connect in the real world.  You can be the smartest person in the world with great credentials, but without a strong network of the right connections, you will most likely fall on deaf ears.  Get out there and meet some folks, especially those in charge of the events you are interested in speaking at.  Your in person introduction will make that online submission to speak a stronger sell.

2. Get your house in order.  It goes without saying that without a mildly successful blog, social network, or career, you might have a hard time joining the speaking circuit.  The good news is you don’t have to be a Fortune 500 executive or world famous blogger.  Just make sure you have a well contributed, commented on, blog, and an active social audience.  You have to show that you have some sort of audience/credibility first.

3. Pitch something memorable.  I actually worked my way in by coming up with a session that I genuinely thought would attract an audience.  The session was titled “Social Media Solutions On A Budget”.  Find something you are knowledgeable about, and add a spin to the title that will surely not only entice an audience, but the attention of a show’s organizer.

4. Leverage an ally.  If you know someone connected to the show or organizer in any way, make sure you include a name drop in your submission.  The fact is sometimes it’s more about who you know, then what you know, especially when it comes to getting your foot in the door.

5. Kill it onstage.  There is no doubt that the only factor that will really have you maintaining your speaking circuit card is delivering a world class presentation.  I pride myself in giving everything I’ve got when given the opportunity.  Be entertaining, informative, and most of all, HELPFUL.  That is the key.  Be sure to give your audience actionable information that they can walk away with.

I know for many these tips may not seem like rocket science, and quite frankly they are not.  But they are the steps that I have taken and found success with.  For those of you on the speaking trails, would love your tips as well in the comments.

And for those of you wanting to see my walk the talk and happen to be attending SES Chicago 2011, be sure to check out my session or simply stop by and say hello!

Of course SignNow.com is not the first site to offer this, but I can tell you first hand they are by far the fastest and easiest way I have ever found to have a signed document completed and sent…within minutes.

As it stands, you don’t even need an account to use the service and it’s completely free (they do have a paid version on the horizon).  Simply upload any word or PDF to their site right off the front page, and within seconds, your document appears online, with their tools, ready to be signed by drawing your signature, typing a scripted font, or uploading a graphic of your signature.  You can also add additional signees and notes to the documents you upload.

I don’t know how long SignNow.com will be able to sustain offering this service for free, but in the meantime, this is a no-brainer bookmark and a must have tool anytime you need to have a document signed and sent to anyone.  Be sure to check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

It seems silly to imply that producing results requires some sort of “art”, but I can tell you first hand, that there are plenty of large organizations that get in their own way when it comes to doing so.  It was one of the most frustrating things that led me to move on from Microsoft.  Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of incredibly talented and smart people that work at Microsoft, and I enjoyed my time there thoroughly.  But I just got tired of all the process, layers of bureaucracy, and all the roadblocks that got in the way of actually getting work done and making progress.  Great ideas on the front lines would never see the light of day.  (Side note, I exclude Xbox from this opinion as I feel they’ve killed it from day one.)

Of course some people thrive on that sort of environment, but I didn’t.  I hunger for the satisfaction of getting things done on a daily basis, an environment that encourages taking good ideas and acting on them instead of waiting for 17 different managers to review and approve.  We certainly have to have some process and systems of checks and balances, but for the most part, we are laser focused on producing results for our clients and finding creative ways to do so, many times on the fly.

I suppose it’s pretty systemic for companies as they grew incredibly large to fall prey to more process, layers of management and slower innovation.  However I feel like there are larger companies that continue to innovate and thrive as they grow.  Some of my favorite brands such as Google & Apple continue to do so.  I’d be interested to know how their internal workings have allowed them to continuously push out innovative products and services despite hyper growth.

I suppose the moral to the story is don’t get so caught up in spending countless hours on how you are going to do something, and just get in there and do it.  Don’t let over planning and analyzing get in the way of progress.  I believe the best results often net from learning through a bit of trial and error anyway.

It’s working for us, and I’d love to hear from you and what you might be experiencing.

I’ve always thought $10 bucks or so a month for unlimited streaming AND 1 DVD out a month unlimited was a terrific deal. So much so that I could never understand how they were making any money. So when Netflix recently announced they were raising their prices, I wasn’t really that fazed by it. In fact, I was expecting it. But boy did Netflix drop the ball on their communication strategy.

Straight from their announcement:

By offering our lowest prices ever, we hope to provide great value to our current and future DVDs by mail members.

and

Now we offer a choice: Unlimited Streaming for $7.99 a month, Unlimited DVDs for $7.99 a month, or both for $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). We think $7.99 is a terrific value for our unlimited streaming plan and $7.99 a terrific value for our unlimited DVD plan.

Really Netflix? I know there are plenty of people in the world that you might think this would fly with, but most people can read between the lines. This isn’t about offering added value or choice, it’s about you having to raise your prices because the studios are increasing your operational costs.

Netflix does a lot of things right, but not being open and transparent about their subscription changes are currently hurting them as they are taking a beating in the public’s eye. What Netflix should have done was just been open about the increase in operational expenses they are experiencing due to the studio’s demands, and that in order to continue to provide the same level of service, they have to pass some of those costs on to their customers.

People understand that the prices of things go up. It’s a part of life. Sure they would have still experienced some backlash, but nowhere near the level if they had just come out and had not try to hide it behind silly statements like the ones above.

Transparency and authenticity always reign supreme when it comes to communicating to your audience, and when you don’t, people tend to call bullshit. Netflix is learning that the hard way.

I spent some time thinking through 10 quality sentences, and the exercise was a really good one for me in that it forced me to assess where I’m at in my life with some things.  It also forced me to be honest enough with myself to admit some opportunities for myself.  I definitely recommend you to give it a try yourself and if you do, leave your link in the comments so I can take a look.

That being said, here we go!

1. As much as I’m able to see things through, I’m very much more an idea guy.
2. I’m fiercely competitive personally/professionally and while I lose gracefully, it never sits well with me.
3. I’m extremely generous, sometimes to a fault.
4. I’m not an emotional person outwards, but definitely internally.
5. The occasional time alone is necessary, but I always prefer spending lots of time interacting with others socially and in business.
6. One of my favorite things in the world is to make others laugh, but I don’t take advantage of it as much as I should.
7. I always need something in my life to look forward to, or I feel like something is missing.
8. I can and love getting in front of a room of countless people and speaking/performing, but I’m terrible at networking events.
9. I’m definitely a procrastinator, but do my best work under the gun anyway.
10. I’m typically embarrassed & humbled by praise, but deep down love it to death.

I immediately turned to the web to see what my options were.  I learned that the birth certificate & drivers license wouldn’t get it done so I either had to find a way to get a replacement passport or no trip for me.  Surprisingly, it is possible to get a passport on the same day, but it requires jumping through quite a few hoops.  So here is my step by step process that you can take to get yourself a same day passport.  It’s not a guarantee, but if you take these steps, you have a good shot.

1. First step is to find a passport agency that you can get to.  Without one of these you’re out of luck.  Visit this page to see where the nearest agency you can get to is.
2. Once you have your agency identified, call 1-877-487-2778 to schedule an appointment ASAP.  Take the earliest appointment you can get, because then it’s more likely they will be able to get your passport created before they close.  Obviously if you have more then one day to work with, you have some flexibility here.  However if you need it that same day, your only shot is most likely an early morning appointment.  Be sure to write down your confirmation #.  You’ll need this when you arrive.
3. Okay, here’s where I messed up a bit.  Save yourself the time and waiting longer in line by having whatever forms you need filled out and printed prior to arriving.  Depending on your situation, you may need to fill out a few forms.  You can access them here.  You can fill out online and print, or print and fill out by hand.  Regardless of your situation, you’ll need to fill out the DS-11 Application for a Passport.  I had lost mine so I had to also fill out the DS-64 Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport.  You can get these forms at the office and fill out there, but you’ll lose valuable time.
4. In addition to the forms, you will need to bring your state issued birth certificate, not a copy and it has to be issued by the state you were born in.  You’ll also need your drivers license.
5. You’ll need 2 passport photos in hand at the office.  Honestly, the easiest thing to do here is to just go to a Walgreens, or some local drug store that does these.  It’s quick and easy, and you’ll ensure the proper requirements are met.  If you are ambitious, you can do this yourself by following these directions.
6. You’ll need a check, money order or credit card on hand.  For same day passports expect a fee of around $195 (that’s what I paid).  It is quite a bit more then a normal process, but when you’re desperate, it’s not too bad.  Especially considering their are quite a few websites that are actually charging 3x this much for similar services.  DO NOT use these services unless you do not have access to a passport agency.  You’ll be paying way more then necessary, and will actually not be able to get your passport as quickly as you could.
7. You need to print out your travel itinerary showing that you are traveling out of country soon.  This is important as without this, they will not expedite your passport as quickly as you need it.
8. Try to get to the agency 15 minutes before your appointment.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  Be nice!  It sounds silly but the reality is the people behind the counter are pretty much the ones who can and will dictate whether they will accommodate you.  Seems crazy but it’s true.  Be nice, conversational, and you’ll have a good shot of getting what you need as long as you bring everything required.
9. If they are able to accommodate your same day request, expect to either stick around all day, or come back to pick your passport up.  I checked in at 9am, and my passport was ready for me at 3pm.  Most of these offices will not let you use your cell phone or laptop there, so be prepared if you plan on waiting.

That’s it.  I successfully was able to get my passport on the same day using these steps.  If you have any questions, feel free to comment and I will respond.  And if anyone else has experienced something similar or different, would love to have you share.  Good luck!

New Job

Started a new gig back in March.  I’m a Senior MVP Lead for Microsoft Office.  Fancy way of saying I manage the group of individuals that are professionally certified on the Office platform, and are the community leaders who provide insight, guidance, training, etc.  I’m their point person for the company.  It’s a pretty unique job, and I’m still trying to get my sea legs.  It will be awhile, and it’s certainly put the brakes on quite a bit of my social media involvement.  However I’ve got to get back on that bus, I miss it.

New Idea

I’m always going to be entrepreneurial in nature, and I finally got around to getting started on an idea I’ve had for quite some time.  I just finished reading Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk, and while I didn’t learn a ton, it was a bit inspiring, especially reading about his rise to the top.  The key takeaway for me was sticking to the premise of making sure whatever you dedicate your time to, is something you are passionate about.  You can’t fake that.  So I decided to work on launching AdultAthlete.com, a website that will be dedicated for adults who continue to compete in the amateur ranks.  Those that love sport, compete, and live a life of activity.  The site aims to be a place with rich content on a variety of sports, nutrition, equipment, etc., all geared for the 18+ demographic.  Still in the early stages, but I certainly plan to share my journey here as it continues to develop.  Be sure to visit the site for more info, or follow on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Tech Ed 2010 – New Orleans

I’m headed to Microsoft Tech Ed next week in New Orleans.  Never been to this event or the area.  Should be interesting as I don’t consider myself a very “techy” person, coming more from a Marketing background.  Regardless I always love to visit new areas, and I look forward to meeting a new group of people in a different part of the business.  Plus I get to put my video hat back on a help out with some interviews again.  More to share as I’m there next week.

That’s it for now.  I hope to get back on the blogging wagon, and share my insights on social media, community building etc. shortly.  Thanks for anyone that actually has stuck around!

More to come!