my 2 cents

Losing the News

A review of Losing the News, by Alex Jones

Readers of this blog know I’m a newspaper junkie.

When I travel, I just have to pick up a copy of the paper in every town I stop in. There’s nothing like browsing through the paper over a morning cup of coffee. Reading the news on Kindle on the train just doesn’t cut it for me.

But I know I’m in the minority and that most Americans get their news from TV and, increasingly, from various online sources including newspaper websites. I know the newspaper business is in deep trouble and struggling for its very survival.

Alex Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (eight years covering media for The New York Times, and currently director of Harvard's the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy) has a new book out that discusses the troubling state we’re in regarding newspapers and the role they play in a free and open society. He laments the decline of good journalism, and while he recognizes the place for citizen journalism, he feels it cannot adequately take the place of trained professional journalists. Citizen journalists can supplement, he writes, but should not replace pros.

In Losing the News, Jones gives some historical perspective of newspapers, in an engaging and fast-reading manner.   He draws parallels to the changing media marketplace newspapers find themselves struggling to adjust to, recalling the fear newspapers had as TV began reporting the news.  Although today’s fragmented news marketplace is unlike anything we’ve seen before,  Jones advises papers to find their own voice and stick with it.  Yes, enhance stories with blogs and online video where it makes sense.  But newspapers shouldn’t try to become Google news.  If newspapers, he says, do well what they do best – in-depth reporting and relevant analysis, written clearly and well -- there will be a place for them in tomorrow’s world. They can’t compete with the immediacy of the web or CNN.  We no longer need newspapers to be first to tell us what’s happening – that’s now become the realm of the internet and, lately,Twitter. But to get the meat behind the 140-character news bytes… that can remain the function of a professional team of journalists at a newspaper.

Jones lays out some possible options for newspapers to consider if they are to survive – which he believes will be the case.   And he thinks publishers will figure out ways to stay in the newspaper business and still make a decent profit.

I hope he’s right.

Losing the News is worth a read.

Losing the News, by Alex Jones     Oxford University Press, 2009  $24.95 (US)

Rules of Thumb

A book review...

A few months ago, Alan Webber, co-founder of Fast Company Magazine, sent a copy of his new book "Rules of Thumb."  Since I read and enjoy the magazine, I agreed to give Webber's book a try.

I finally got around to reading it on a recent business trip and then on the beach on vacation.  It's an easy read.  Alan is a good storyteller.  Stories, well-told, insightful and thought-provoking, are what fills this book and make it enjoyable.

Sub-titled "52 Truths for Winning in Business Without Losing Yourself," the book is collection of brief stories and anecdotes that illustrate 52 rules -- one for each week of the year.  Webber says he spent several years jotting down insights and "rules" on index cards and finally culled them down to 52.

.............................................................................
        A random sampling of the 52 Rules:
            Rule #13: Learn to take "no" as a question.
            Rule #22: Learn to see the world through the eyes of your customer.
            Rule #23: Keep two lists -- What keeps you up at night, and what gets you up in
                            the morning?
            Rule #32: Content isn't king.  Context is king.
            Rule #36: Managing your emotional flow is more important than managing your
                            cashflow.
            Rule #51: Take your work seruiously. Yourself, not so much.
............................................................................           
 
What I like about this book is that it's not a "win at any cost" type of text.  It doesn't present hard & fast things you must do in order to succeed.  Instead, it's a delightful and interesting group of stories that illustrate Webber's points.  It includes real-life examples of how kindness, consideration and empathy, combined with the more traditional "success" attributes like persistance, motivation, innovation, etc. can make you a good manager, leader and a success in business.

What's key, Webber shows, is how important it is to stay true to yourself and your core values.  It's not necessarily about having the most money or the biggest company.  It's more about making a living, yes, but also meeting challenges, attaining goals and, along the way, having fun and doing good.

I won't go into details of the 52 rules here, since I won't do them justice in a few sentences.  I'll just say, it's worth a read.  You'll see for yourself.

"Rules of Thumb" by Alan M. Webber
2009, Harper Collins.  $24.99 US  ($16.49 on Amazon)

Conversation Continues

A little more than two weeks ago, 237 of us published a book about conversations in marketing -- The Age of Conversation 2.  In it are 237 essays about conversation in marketing.

But, so far, it's just a book about conversation.  To be truly effective, the book should be a starting point for many real conversations.

Just for fun, I flipped through the book and stopped at a random page.  I happened to stop at page 217, an essay titled "Determining Your Track to Run On" by Dan Sitter, who blogs at http:/www.idea-sellers.com.

I wrote a post, below, based on Dan's essay in The Age of Conversation 2.  I also sent him  an email to let him know and to ask him to, in turn, pick a page at random and write a post about the essay on that page, and to ask the author of that essay to do the same, etc., etc.

I encourage anyone reading this to do the same -- randomly select an essay in the book, post about it and tag that author to do the same.

If you don't yet have your copy of the book, now's the time to order it online.  Remember, all proceeds from book sales are donated to Variety, the international children's charity.  Last time I checked, nearly 500 books had been sold, earning more than $2,000 for the charity.

Don't be a bystander.  Join in the conversation.
--- David Reich 

------

Determining Your Own Track To Run On
  from The Age of Conversation 2

In his essay, Dan says one of the traits of successful entrepreneurs is the ability to maintain a laser-like focus on what they want and how to get there.

Communication is a key tool to maintain that focus and wise entrepreneurs communicate carefully and with laser-focused messaging to their markets, initiating a thorough dialog with existing and potential customers.  What's the point, he writes, of marketing a feature that your market doesn't think is important?

Asking your customers by initiating a conversation with them -- a two-way street where you listen as well as talk -- can help you be sure your marketing efforts are running on the right track. 

Solid advice, Dan.

It's About Content

Marketers face a variety of challenges, especially in today's world where traditional marketing methods and venues are being turned on their heads as more people shun TV, newspapers and magazines for online channels.

Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett, in their new book Get Content. Get Customers, make a strong case for Content Marketing.  Joe, who blogs at junta42, sent me a review copy recently.

Joe and Newt describe content marketing like this:

"Content marketing is the art of understanding exactly what your customers need to know and delivering it to them in a relevant and compelling way."

Content marketing means going beyond providing product information and,instead, providing useful information that is relevant to your target customers, even if it isn't all about you.  It probably will have greater value if, in fact, it isn't all about you.

Joe says, "The creation of valuable and relevant content is today's competitive advantage."  And creating good content is no easy task, but it can yield good results.

The book is a good basic tool for understanding how social media -- as well as some of the old marketing stand-bys like newsletters and custom magazines -- can be effective and relatively inexpensive marketing tools.  But there's a catch -- Content must be king.

Those of us who blog already know a fair amount about social media and how it works.  A key point of content marketing is something we in marketing blogosphere talk about a lot -- listening to your customers and engaging them in conversation that's truly two-way.  Sound familiar?

Get Content. Get Customers can be a great tool to help convince your client or your boss that social media and the concept of content marketing is right for the organization.  It's not all about theory.  Instead, it's a simple and basic how-to guide to help get you (or your client) started in a new direction.

The book opens with a forward by Paul Gillen, who clearly lays out how and why marketing is changing and why marketers who fail to create relationships with customers will find the going very tough.

It explains why changes in the marketing universe demand that we become content marketers, how to cope with changes in buyer behavior by engaging in a dialogue, and how to make them want to buy from you.

I plan to send copies to two of my clients who have been dabbling with the idea of using social media but have been too timid or perhaps too overwhelmed to take the first steps.  It may help convince them, which will ultimately benefit my business as well as theirs.

I think it's worth a read.

    Get Content. Get Customers.   $24.95   ($17.95 at Amazon)
    by Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett
    Voyager Media, Bonita Springs, Fla.

.

Age of Conversation 2 -- a snippet

Ryan Barrett in Boston had a great idea when she invited us to share snippets of our contributions to the new and improved Age of Conversation collaborative book.  The deadline for submissions just passed and now Drew and Gavin are busy getting everything organized for a planned August 21  publication date, with some 275 authors, up from the first volume's 102.

Under the theme "Life in the Conversation Lane," my essay is called "Today's Conversations: Immediacy and Intimacy."

A snippet...

    Marketers have been conversing with customers for centuries.  Simply go back to the first retail transaction, where a farmer had livestock to sell or a craftsman hawked his wares at a bazaar.  The marketing conversation was pretty simple:

    "I have this chicken for sale.  Want to buy it?"

    "How much?"

    "Two."

    "For such a scrawny chicken? Too much.  I'll give you one.

    "One and a half."

    ... and the conversation continued until both parties were satisfied.

Read the rest on August 21st.

Weekend Fun -- What are you reading?

There's a TV campaign for a credit card company whose tagline is "What's in your wallet?"  Kind of a personal question, perhaps.

So I hope it's not considered too personal when I ask "What are you reading?"

I got tagged by Lewis Green with the question, passed along to him by Mack Collier.  The tag asks me to say what I'm currently reading and what I plan to read next, plus copy sentences 6 - 8 on page 123.

I'm now reading The Children of Abraham, a 1989 novel by French writer Marek Halter.  It's a fictionalized account of his family's escape from the Nazis and their dispersal throughout the world.  I'm not yet up to page 123, but sentences 6 through 8 of a chapter set in Beirut go like this, picking up dialogue between Halter and an acquaintance of his uncle who was killed in a roadside ambush in 1967 Israel:

    "You haven't found them all?"

    "That's right."

    Hidar relaxed.

    "It's an incredible story.  If you had the notebook, I  might be able to tell you some helpful things about the names you don't know."

Next on my list is John Adams, by David McCullough.

Instead of tagging anyone in particular, I invite any readers to answer the question in the comments below.

Here we go again

Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton must have lots of free time.  Why else would they dare undertake -- again -- a collaborative book project among marketing bloggers?  For Drew, especially, after putting together (with CK and several others) the big Blogger Social event this weekend in New York.  And for Gavin, who will be flying halfway around the globe to attend.

But here they go again -- inviting us to participate and share our thoughts in a new Age of Conversation book.  And this time, 275 of us have responded.  They (we) are:

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

It'll be fun to see what all these great minds have to say about "The Age of Conversation:  Why Don't People Get it?"

Join the rush

What's the rush? 


Today, Saturday, there's a push to move our Age of Conversation collaborative book towards the top of the Amazon standings.  The idea is to get everyone to purchase a book today via Amazon.com.

Basically, by everyone buying a copy on March 29th, we will push Age of Conversation up Amazon's charts, which will get other people's attention and hopefully encourage them to buy.  Wouldn't it be cool if AOC was the #1 selling book on Amazon that day?  Remember, all proceeds from book sales go to help Variety, the International Children's Charity.

Please help us make this day a huge success for Age and for the kids of Variety.

Just click on Amazon via this link, and order a book.  If you already have a copy, buy one for a friend.

Thanks for helping.

Only 5 more days

February 3rd is the end.  Last chance.  No more.

It's not a headline for a going-out-of-business sale.  It's not a come-on for the next "Cloverfield."

Sunday is the last day to cast your vote to help decide the topic of the next collaborative bloggers' book project.

The brainstorm of two bloggers on opposite sides of the earth -- Drew McLellan in Iowa and Gavin Heaton down under -- "The Age of Conversation" was a huge success.  It drew in 102 of us who contributed essays on conversation in business, it got attention in the advertising and marketing trade media, and it raised more than $10,000 for Variety, the international children's charity.

Drew and Gavin are not the types to rest on their laurels.  (What are laurels, anyway?)  Or maybe they're just gluttons for punishment.  So they've announced another collaborative book project, and we're all invited to participate.

But this time, we get to participate right from the start, helping choose the book's topic.

The choices are:

• Marketing Manifesto
• Why Don't People Get It?
• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

The choices are purposefully vague to leave the authors plenty of room for interpretation and the give readers plenty of variety.

To vote....click here and look for the SurveyMonkey survey. 

You DO NOT need to be an author or potential author to vote.  Drew and Gavin want everyone's take on this year's topic.

And if you want to be one of the contributing authors, drop a note to Drew and say, "I'm in."  They'll be in touch once the topic has been decided.

But hurry and do it NOW!  This offer ends February 3rd at midnight. 

He leads with his heart

I met Lewis Green for the first time last May, when a few bloggers got together for a Saturday afternoon in New York. I'd known Lewis for a few months before that, since he was one of the most welcoming and encouraging people as I began blogging.

Several weeks ago, Lewis asked if I'd like a copy of his new book, Lead With Your Heart.   Of course, I said.  The book came by mail promptly, and then it sat on my night table, unread, for weeks as I got jammed with business (thankfully) and holiday family stuff.

I took it with me the other day on the Metroliner to D.C. and I found it a good read with some simple, but essential, lessons for business and for life beyond the office.  A lot of it comes down to doing the right thing or treating others -- customers, employees, vendors, friends -- the way you'd like to be treated.  (Sounds familiar, doesn't it?  But how often is that Golden Rule applied in business?)

The title, Lead With Your Heart,  really does catch the essence of the book.  Maintaining happiness and value in all you do can be a key ingredient for success.

Lewis talks about the importance of building trust, keeping promises, and striving to make your customers, your employees and yourself happy.  And "happy" is not only about making money, he adds. 

The book takes the reader through several aspects of building and maintaining a business, with the perspective of injecting happiness and goodness into each in a real way.  Make money, obviously, but do it in a way that places value on everyone involved in the process.  Provide not only a product or service, Lewis says, but one that is delivered with value and pride.

Lewis closes the book by thanking the reader for taking the time to read it.  A nice heartfelt touch that fits perfectly with the idea behind Lead With Your Heart.

Lead With Your Heart

HRD Press, Amherst, MA

http://www.hrdpress.com