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Snap Chat: Quick Tips for Getting The Most Out of Your Smartphone Camera

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:12:11 +0000

(BPT) – Today, the majority of adults have a mobile phone, and we’re using it for far more things than simply making phone calls. According to a 2012 report from The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, of the 85 percent of American adults who own a cellphone, 85 percent use their cellphones to take photos.

Smartphone cameras are quickly replacing basic digital cameras for snapping photos on the go, and for good reason. Capturing a memorable moment is easy with your cellphone at your side, but if you aren’t sure what you’re doing, you may end up with fuzzy, dark or distorted pictures. To help you get the most out of your smartphone’s camera capabilities, Stephen Sneeden, Xperia product marketing manager at Sony Mobile Communications, offers some expert tips:

Tip No. 1: Get to know your device

Most new smartphone cameras offer multiple camera functions, effects, settings and options. It’s important to learn what’s available on your phone so you don’t miss a beat. Visit the manufacturer’s website or check out tutorial videos on YouTube – many phone makers now make these available to consumers for free.

Tip No. 2: Know when to use certain functions – and when to turn them off

While your smartphone camera may have a flash, zoom and other features, sometimes those functions won’t be optimum for the conditions in which you’re shooting. For example, turning off the flash may help prevent glare, bright spots and red-eye in certain situations. Zooming may cause an image to degrade or blur; you may want to shoot the entire image and then use editing software to crop it for the portion of the image you want to focus on.

Tip No. 3: Consider an upgrade

Technology is ever-evolving, and smartphone cameras are constantly being improved. If you’ve had your phone for a while and aren’t happy with the photos it takes, it may be time for an upgrade. When shopping, analyze key camera elements like megapixel count, sensor quality, user interface and ease of use. Most smartphones have 8 megapixel, primary cameras. The Xperia ZL from Sony outshines that standard with a 13 megapixel camera and HDR (high dynamic range) for photos and videos.

Tip No. 4: Make the most of HD technology

High resolution capabilities are a significant advantage for smartphone videographers. Look for cameras that offer Full HD recording. This function gives you the ability to capture details that translate well on larger HD screens like that of a TV.

Tip No. 5: Download free photo apps

Enhance your phone’s photo capabilities with some of today’s best photo apps that cost absolutely nothing. The award-winning application Snapseed (iOS, Android) allows you to adjust saturation, color levels, brightness, contrast as well as edit and enhance styling with a variety of filters. Quickly crop, edit and fix flaws with Adobe’s Photoshop Express (iOS, Android). Of course, social media junkies love Instagram (Android, iOS) because it’s a snap to share photos across social networks like Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter.

Tip No 6: Don’t forget photo basics

The principles of good picture-taking remain the same, no matter what kind of camera you use. That means it’s important to keep the lens clean, carefully frame the shot, fill the frame with your subject, make sure the image is in focus, pay attention to lighting, and – when photographing kids and pets – get on the same level as your subject.

Modern Problems: Online Security Tips and Reputation Management for Job Hunters

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:21:14 +0000

(BPT) – When you’re job-hunting you go to great lengths to stand out among the hundreds – even thousands – of applicants for a single open position. But while you’re working to catch an employer’s eye, have you considered the importance of protecting your information from unwanted attention? Or the need to manage the online reputation you do want employers to see?

Most job searches today begin online. In fact, Beyond.com recently found that 77 percent of job-seekers are using mobile apps to access the Internet in their search. And unemployed people who search for jobs online get a job 25 percent faster than those who only search offline resources, according to a joint study by the Universities of California and Colorado.

Searching online can be a great way to find your dream job, but it also requires you to take extra precautions to protect your personal information and to manage your online reputation. Enterprising identity thieves and scam artists may take advantage of personal, identifying information posted on job boards and online resume sites. And with social media making potentially embarrassing information and images widely available, it’s important for job-seekers to manage what potential employers may find if they were to perform an online search of a candidate’s name.

Protecting your personal information

When you post a resume on a job board, the information is usually public and viewable by anyone who wants to see it. Some websites allow you to control what is viewable and who can see it, limiting access only to potential employers who have registered with the site. Others do not restrict who can access resumes. It’s important to know the privacy policies and settings of any employment website where you will post your resume or apply for jobs.

Consider how much personally identifying information you will share. Information such as your name and past work history may be essential, but keep in mind that no potential employer should ever ask for your Social Security number or financial information during the initial phases of your interaction. If a response to your resume comes with a request for your SSN or account number, be very skeptical and ask why this information is needed so early in the application process.

While conducting your online job search, it’s important to keep an eye on your credit and financial accounts, because that’s where identity fraud will first show up. Consider enrolling in an identity theft detection, protection and resolution product like www.ProtectyMyID.com. The product is designed to help people minimize the damages caused by identity theft and help members safeguard themselves from identity theft.

job hunting (Photo credit: Robert S. Donovan)

Protecting your current job

Consider how your current employer will react if someone from your company comes across your active resume online.

While your current employer likely won’t fire you just for posting your resume on a job site, the situation can – at the very least – be uncomfortable. Before you begin circulating your resume or posting on job boards, be sure you know how your current employer would react if your information was found online. If you wish to keep your job search private, make sure to review the privacy settings of any job search websites you’re using.

Conduct your search as honorably as possible, sending resumes, emails, etc. on your own time – and not when you’re supposed to be working for your current boss. Likewise, maintain a separate email address that you use solely for your job search; never use a work email address during a job search.

Protecting your prospects

By now you’ve likely read or heard media reports of prospective employers searching social media sites for information on job applicants. It’s important to manage what employers may view in social media. If you haven’t already done so, restrict access to your social media accounts so that your posts and photos can only be viewed by people you’ve granted permission to. Be sure to set privacy settings to their most restrictive.

Privacy controls notwithstanding, remember that when it comes to the Internet there’s no such thing as 100 percent private. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when using social media is if you would be embarrassed to have your mother or boss view the content, don’t post it.

Finally, before you apply for a job, check your credit report. A growing number of businesses are asking job candidates to agree to credit checks. While the National Conference of State Legislatures says eight states currently restrict use of employer credit checks in the hiring process, and many more have legislation pending, you may still be asked to submit to a credit check.

It’s your decision whether or not to agree, and to determine if protecting your privacy is worth the risk of losing a job opportunity. Knowing what’s on your credit report in advance can help you make a more informed decision.

About the Author

David C. Wyld (dwyld@selu.edu) is the Laborde Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.org), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. His blog, Career News 24/7, can be viewed at http://wyld-about-careers.blogspot.com/.

A Summary and Review of The Age of Conversation by Gavin Heaton and Drew Mclellan

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 20:09:14 +0000

Cover of The Age of Conversation

Executive Summary

“Gavin and I concocted the idea for an e-book about this new era of communications we’ve all entered together. But not just any book. It has to be a quick book. Exciting. Sharp. Inclusive. It had to be a book about community and conversation that came from the community and spoke the same vernacular.” – Drew McLellan

Drew McLellan of Des Moines, Iowa and Gavin Heaton of Sydney, Australia posed a challenge for the world’s bloggers – to give some take on “conversation” using either words, pictures, or a combination of the two. With the challenge came The Age of Conversation – a compilation of over 100 responses from professionals worldwide. In this book, the light of conversation is dispersed into it rainbow of colors, tending to the various aspects of the art and subject. From its impact on businesses and personal brands to its evolution since the beginning of history, conversation shapes the world as it is known today and must be understood to properly function in said world. One of the blog authors defines conversation as “the use of speech for the informal exchange of views, ideas or information” (Heaton, 2007). This exchange is the heart of human nature and society, connecting and expanding ideas. The connection of ideas is important in growth. Each individual can in their own right excel in the any given manner. But that progression is enabled by the network and relationships that they build throughout time. Humans are social at the root and though pushed to be individualistic, that individuality proves to be unsustainable without the aid of society. Throughout the blog contributions, there is a common theme that conversations connect people from all geographic dimensions, ages, backgrounds, careers, and lives. This connection allows individuals to thrive because their single ideas become enhanced and even “piggy-back” off those ideas presented by others. Another major theme connecting the blogs is the informative power the individual now has because of conversations via the internet. At one point in time, conversations were limited to the party who possessed the relevant knowledge, thus leaving the conversation vulnerable to the party’s credibility and interpretation of any message. With a plethora of information now immediately assessable to the masses, conversations are no longer in the hands of a privileged few. It rests amongst the crowd, the true creators and enhancers of its existence. The accessibility of knowledge has allowed the human mind and societies alike to grow exponentially, with set thought-patterns being challenged and refined every day. The power of a human mind is great, but the power of all human minds collectively is beyond powerful – conversation allows the capitalization of this power. Lastly, the authors thoroughly carried the idea that conversation is not a casual affair. It takes effective speaking tactics and engaged listening for a conversation to not only be had, but to be useful and spread. An audience must feel the passion that the speaker has on a topic to practically ensure that the message is carried forward in the manner that it was intended. That statement requires the speaker to speak with true purpose along with the listener actually listening. Group efforts are needed for society and individuals, to succeed, leaving the world dependent upon conversation for existence. The world is dependent upon The Age of Conversation.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Age of Conversation

1. The customer is now empowered. With individuals having access to a plethora of knowledge, they are able to make more informed decisions relating to a particular business. Make sure your business is genuine in all that it does accordingly.

2. Conversation equates to knowledge. Engaging in conversation with those in a relevant field will allow a respective business to flourish from acquired ideas.

3. An audience must be transformed to receive a message properly. Just because a business tells a message does not mean that it is understood, or even internalized. Having passion behind a message allows managers to convert the message into a feeling for the customer, which further drives the message’s proper disbursement.

4. Attention is a competition changer. It takes more than just words to inform a customer. A manager must engage them into those words – give them a reason to listen.

5. Business-customer relationships must either evolve or be resurrected. Personalized attention is needed in fostering a healthy business venture and businesses must take that step to get to know their customers on their deeper level.

6. A business’ assumption of their market’s desires is now obsolete. When the markets are directly stating what they need and desire from a business, there is no room for assumptions.

7. Ideas spread like wildfire. The exposing of certain business ideas may be profitable to a business in that they can be revised and built up by the marketplace, turning the idea into a well-rounded plan.

8. The root of human nature is being exposed and should be capitalized upon. If humans are being serviced, it is good to know their nature to assure they are being serviced properly and the effects of conversations show that nature.

9. Establishing credibility begins with a conversation. Since trust requires a direct relationship, the internet allows businesses to establish that trust through virtual conversations with their customers.

10. Business relations are now timeless. Everything a business does is archived for the world to see. Any past business relations can be connected to present information or issues for future benefits.

Full Summary of The Age of Conversation

This publication is unique in its own right, being a compilation of various authors (bloggers) who are speaking on a single subject – conversation. This broad topic has various concepts and applications, in which the true authors of this work have captured. People from various geographical dimensions, career paths, and walks of life have come together to give a full-bodied, complete definition of conversation and how it can be used beneficially in modern times.

The central themes of some of the blog contributions can be found below:

Keeping The Message Consistent Roger Anderson

Transform an audience into message owners. This is accomplished by having a passion behind the message spoken where the audience not only hears but feels a message and it can thus be carried on with the intended passion and understanding the speaker desired.

Scoring a Top Blog Todd Andrlik

Blog creditability is first build with a site that has frequent, relevant, and quality content that is enhanced with various creative elements. These two pieces work together immediately in allowing a blogger to demonstrate leadership and build a devoted audience.

From Aid to Opportunity G Kofi Annan

Technological communication allows customers to make more informed decisions – where information that was once hidden or idealized by businesses is now revealed and can be capitalized upon by the consumer.

The Relationship Renaissance David Armano

The world that we now live in allows us to shift what qualities we have found in ourselves as individuals to help us relate to our counterparts and grow as a community based off that relation.

Face-to-Avatar Ryan Barrett

Social media has left people with less willpower to actually engage in personal interaction and more passion and fascination with the virtual world, where one can play “dress-up.” The author states that eye contact has joined the Land of the Obsolete.

Getting Past the Conversation Bottleneck Cam Beck

There are millions of blogs, but there is some redundancy amongst the crowd. One should regularly challenge their way of thinking and doing in order to enhance the communities that they reach.

Using the Tools of the Web to Build Relationships Online Jordan Behan

The tools of the web can be effectively used by balancing one’s desires and the desires of their audience in any given conversation.

The Ageless Age David Berkowitz

With the archival characteristics of technology, conversations are never ending. Users have access to past conversations relevant to a topic of interest and can connect them to present information/findings accordingly. The author states that conversations now have a longer “shelf life.”

Here’s to the Capital C Conversation Susan Willett Bird

Conversations shape our lives and perspectives. Technology creates a new manner of speaking. However, for this technological conversation to be effective, one must become an expecting listener.

Speaking Through Action Mark Blair

How does one make a presence for themselves in the online world? Pinpoint conversations that intrigue your passions and listen to those whom you are engaging in the conversation with. Look beneath the conversation to deduce the feelings that are driving it.

Technology Is Recreating Business Intimacies Toby Bloomberg

Businesses should utilize blogs to connect to their customers on a personal level even though customer bases now rest on a global platform. This connection allows businesses to understand the individual needs of their market, allowing for proper catering.

Conversation and the Crumbling Wall Between Journalism and PR David Brazeal

Those occupations that were once considered to be deceitful can now build their credibility and rapport using online tools. This privilege has come from the direct connection one can have with their audience, without having to go through any third parties.

Conversations and the Customer Experience Becky Carroll

Conversations shape customers’ opinions of a business. The management of a conversation comes from knowing a particular customer’s lifecycle and their needs within that cycle. This management properly shapes the customer experience, better building a business and its brand.

Branded Communitainment Katie Chatfield

The internet allows its users to create a branded experience of their passions. The proving of relevance and quality allows any passion one might have to be recognized on the world’s stage.

Brevity and Levity – Key Spices in the Conversation Soup Tony D. Clark

A great conversation is known for its concise and attention-grabbing nature. To be successful in conversing, one should express their key points in a manner that will entertain as well as enlighten their audience.

Communicating Our Way to User-Centered Library Service Emily Clasper

Customer demands are evolving with technology. Service-oriented professionals, accordingly, must change their approach in dealing with customers, shifting from utilizing a broad, standard spectrum of solutions to reaching for and respecting individual customer needs.

“Let’s See That Again!” Tom Clifford

Corporate videos must change the concept and desires of its audience. The video must tell an authentic and timeless story, one that will move the viewer towards brand loyalty. Incorporate various facets and dimensions into the video, including customers and employees.

Breaking Marketing Barriers from the Top of a Harley Mack Collier

There is no better way to truly understand and break trust barriers with a customer than by a business representative using their own products within the customer’s space. The author states that Harley-Davidson was well connected to its customers because they ride their own bikes alongside their customers. Advertisement can be viewed as untrustworthy, but personal interaction can yield the trust needed to create a solid customer-business bond.

Using Social Media to Deepen Brand Engagement Peter Corbett

Social media is not a new concept, but the internet allows businesses to capitalize upon certain efficiencies that would have otherwise gone unrealized. To do this, one should allow customer interaction on their product, enable sharing, and ensure authenticity.

Art of Conversations Chris Corrigan

“The web invites us to notice the power of connection and its challenges us to do something with that connection, to extend it back into real world conversation using the age old tools of making a difference – speaking from the heart and listening for understanding to propel real change and deep transformation in our world” (Heaton, 2007).

Seven Ways to Start a Conversation with Advertising Ed Cotton

Advertising used to be a one-way street, with consumers having no say in the advertisements that reached their television screens. Now, advertisements must learn the art of conversation to ensure that customers do not make them an obsolete marketing tool. Advertisements should be purposeful, talk-worthy, and value-adding.

The Dawn of Shared Consciousness Luc Debaisieux

The internet allows ideas to be shared and perceptions to be changed, despite geographical location and within a relativity short span of time. Individuals constantly feed “a fully networked global brain,” causing constant human evolution (Heaton, 2007).

Bring the Love Back Geert Desager

A relationship exists between advertisers and customers. This relationship must be nourished with knowledge from both parties – with customers making their needs and criticisms known and advertisers remaining authentic to their passions while responding to the demands of their customers. Rekindle this relationship by allowing customers to become a part of the advertising process.

Facilitate Better Learning By Breaking The Cycle Rishi Desai

Those engaged in a conversation go through a cycle of listening, participating, and speaking. When a participant decides to go beyond the surface to question the assumptions and feelings underlying the conversation, a deeper insight can be gained by other participants.

Revelation from a Digital Junkie’s Digital Diary Pete Deutschman

Many persons in this day in age are fixated on and flooded with various media. To compete and create a lasting impression in a consumers’ mind, creativity must be used in pushing a “scene” into one that is either seen first or last by a customer within the group of media shown.

Technology is the Thread That Binds Conversation Matt Dickman

Ideas and the communication thereof have been evolving consistently through the hands of time. Ideas now navigate through a democratized and decentralized world via the internet. “Technology is allowing new voices in non-traditional locations to emerge and have influence” (Heaton, 2007).

“We” not “I” – The Human Truths Revealed by The Age of Conversation

Mark Earls

Technology has revealed the true nature behind our natural beings. Humans are a social species, not an individualistic one. With this enhanced connectivity humans now have, the dominating force of technology shows that human nature is influenced by and finds comfort in the interaction with others.

About Conversation Gianandrea Facchini

The author declares that conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. It takes both thoughtful speaking and engaged listening to create a good conversation. The internet is powerful that it does not limit the number of good conversations because two conversationalists are distant in space. The connection of persons all over the world allows ideas and conversations to spread in the learning of various subjects and behaviors.

Give and Grow Bob Glaza

Communities thrive off of conversation. The two closest elements of conversation that help communities grow are feedback and encouragement. With instruments such as blogs, audiences can help their societies thrive by criticizing and adding to any original ideas spread, leading to the proper development of people alike.

The Restorative Qualities of Conversation Janet Green

Qualities that were once eroding from the human race have been rediscovered through today’s enhanced means of conversation. Conversation allows one to slow down and appreciate their simple human nature and the benefits thereof. Through forcing people to see their counterparts through a human lens and being responsible for the messages that they put out to the world, conversation is the foundation of idealizing human behavior.

Sharing Jessica Hagy

Ideas are only useful if they are shared. The idea must not only have the desire to be shared, but have the proper audience platform as well. Despite what challenges may come, ideas should be shared in order to change the traditional thoughts of the world.

The Promiscuous Idea Gavin Heaton

“Whether we like it or not, our brands, ideas, and stories are no longer our own … they are out there promiscuously reinventing themselves word by word” (Heaton, 2007). Collaborations and opinions are running rampant in the marketplace and all original ideas are subject to them. Through these interactions, ideas are turned into stories and these stories are what give conversations life.

The Age of Conversation Makes Me Think of … Bridges Robert Hruzek

Bridges connect two different pieces of land – land that is typically separated by a body of water. “In the same way, two people, even with wildly differing views on a particular subject, can bridge those differences with a single conversation, resulting in common understanding” (Heaton, 2007).

The “Share” Economy Christina Kerley

In a share economy, categorizing factors such as age, region, and religion become irrelevant in the art of conversation. All participants in the global conversation share the goals of personal expression and professional advancements, and these commonalities lessen the barriers to effectively connecting with other conversationalists.

Can I Have Your Attention Please? Jim Kukral

Information must be engaging, not just relevant. Generated content must now go beyond simply placing words on a page, but making those words come alive. Risks must be taken in order to create this attention, but there is nothing to lose except being on the outside of this “new” type of conversation.

How to Think Like A Fool Roger von Oech

Fools are known to say things that are out of the ordinary, challenging people’s set beliefs. It is beneficial to think like a fool within conversations to constantly grow and not become stagnant in thought.

The Video Lounge

Chinese Whispers

The game called Chinese Whispers (also known as “Telephone”) remains an inclusive example of the importance of an effectively communicated message. The first person begins the game by whispering a phrase into the ear of the person which they are next to, but only stating it once. This whisper is then interpreted by the recipient and passed down the line. When the last person receives the message, they are then to state what phrase they received to see how different it is from the original message. With conversation, it is important to assess how effective a message is at being carried to various parties. Passionate speech and engaged listening are two important aspects of conversation needed to carry forth a proposed idea for enhancement, and the objective of this game adequately encompasses that.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

With business conditions today, what the authors wrote remain true because conversation is the foundation of any business’ prosperity. The art of conversation requires thoughtful speaking and engaged listening – two elements that require balance to co-exist. This cooperativeness allows ideas to be originated and manifested within the marketplace, thus establishing brands and customer loyalty.

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1. A concise summary of the carrying themes amongst the various blogs should have been added to the end of the composition. This element would have been helpful to readers to connect the bloggers within a single write-up.

2. A brief background on each author would have been insightful when reading their individual contributions. To know what career each blogger practices in and which culture they are associated with would enlighten readers as to why they honed in on that specific aspect of conversation and the prospective they were writing from.

3. Some blog submissions were completely irrelevant to the topic of conversation. Those contributions, though informative on another aspect of life, should have been removed from the publication.

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1. Conversation shapes the human mind. I’ve always know that the mind was empowered by knowledge, but I idealized that the knowledge always came from books or lecturers. But conversations are humans’ main source of knowledge, learning of the wisdom from those whom we trust.

2. Conversation shapes society. With this new facet of shaping the human mind, the collectivity of all human minds is now empowered by the knowledge obtained through conversations.

3. Conversation is the basis on any successful business. Businesses typically utilized advertisements and business models that were comprised of their ideas solely. To compete in today’s markets, however, customers’ voices must be heard and incorporated within both advertisements and business plans to ensure effectiveness.

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1. Facilitating conversations with those knowledgeable persons around me will now become a priority. Knowing that I can further my career and personal brand by rooting myself within the global conversation is empowering and should be capitalized upon.

2. Using accessible online tools in building my brand is important in competing in today’s marketplace. The world and its available knowledge offer a platform that I can benefit from in establishing my own conversation. My career will be based off of relationships and those relationships can be strengthened by using online tools to create my network.

3. My ideas are better outside of my head than in it! This is a career enhancing statement because my original ideas can be made known and developed through conversations with my local and global peers.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

“The Age of Conversation is a book about the conversations that are transforming the business marketing landscape. It is about how various marketing disciplines such as advertising, internet advertising, public relations and journalism have to change the way they talk to their consumers to be heard. … It is a remarkable book with many authors … everyone is part of the conversation.” - Jeroen (Jeroen, 2008)

“Chock full of insights and thoughts on how to get your arms around the whole Web2.0 idea. This collaborative book is like talking over coffee with over 100 of the thought leaders. Highly recommend.” - Christine M. Brown (Brown, 2008)

It is seen across several reviews that this collaborative work is as personal and life-like as any publication can get, explicitly showing how over 100 people can be a part of one single conversation. The Age of Conversation has given readers the knowledge on how to get into and benefit from the conversation. The business platform has shifted into the virtual world, and the online tools thereof must be capitalized upon accordingly. All facets of a business must change their communication methods in order to be effective in the ever-evolving marketplace. Reviewers are all-around impressed with the genuine and personal insights given of the technologically enhanced conversation surrounding them.

Bibliography

Brown, C. (2008, July 07). Moving from Conversation to Action. Retrieved from

http://www.amazon.com/The-Age-Conversation-Gavin-Heaton/product-reviews/

Drew McLellan. (2012, July 07). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_mcllelan

Heaton, G., & McLellan, D. (2007). The Age of Conversation.

Jeroen. (2008, March 29). One of the most important books many people wrote. Retrieved

from http://www.amazon.com/The-Age-Conversation-Gavin-Heaton/product-reviews/

McLellan, D. (n.d.). How it Began – Age of Conversation. Retrieved from

http://www.ageofconversation.com/category/how-it-began/

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Review of The Age of Conversation by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan,” please email faith.mccoy@selu.edu.

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About the Publisher

A Summary and Review of The Cluetrain Manifesto by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, David Searls, and David Weinberger

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:37:02 +0000

Executive Summary

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, David “Doc” Searls and David Weinberger , is book which entranced business audiences in 1999. The text, a collection of 95 theses and essays from the contributing co-authors, explains the importance of the internet to businesses. The authors organize the theses in a manner which correlates to each chapter. The main premise, “Markets are conversations,” is introduced as the first point in the book’s iconic list and is reiterated throughout the work.

The writers suggest that the human element of this global conversation is the most important aspect of the internet; however, they intertwine discussions of specific technologies on the web which facilitate communications. Levine, Locke, Searls and Weinberger state that exchange of information has improved with emails, web pages, chats, mailing lists and news groups.

The manifesto and its proposed expectations have the power to impact the internet. The text suggests that online marketing is the only way that businesses will survive in the future. It also says that those participating in the great conversation control the information that business traditionally use in marketing ventures. These premises address customization in business resources as different as marketing materials to the end user’s products.

The Cluetrain Manifesto noted a mixed reception after its release. Many readers supported the central dogma and progressive ideas of the authors. Others suggested that the text limited the abilities of the web by describing it simply as a conversation. Overall, the book scales book archives as a controversial piece, filled with colorful language, progressive attitude, and heartwarming touches of the human element encapsulated in charming recollections of the authors’ pasts and hyperbolized scenarios shrouded in irony which reflect their current view on life. Although it is a piece dated by the ever-evolving nature of the internet, the premise remains a relevant strong point in this entertaining business must-read.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Cluetrain Manifesto

1. “#1 Markets are conversations.” This states that people are talking about their needs, their wants, and their goals. The way any company’s products or services help them to satisfy their needs are simply another facet of the conversation. Furthermore, the power of information and persuasion has shifted from businesses to the consumer.

2. “#3 Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.” These aforementioned conversations are not written in the tone of colorful brochures or stifled marketing language as the book suggests. These conversations are the essence of the human element of business as people shop for the safest foods for their families during the health food craze or the latest in home décor.

3. “#9 These networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge.” Although not explicitly stated, even seemingly unintentional, the authors predicted the way of communication on the web. During the creation of this book, weblogs, email, and chat rooms were up and running; however, the wrath of social media had not encompass the globe. As the “Net” continues to expand and the conversation continues to grow ceaselessly, the channels of communication on the internet will continue to evolve with the needs of its people.

4. “#13 What’s happening to markets is also happening among employees. A metaphysical construct called “The Company” is the only thing standing between the two.” All people are apart of the conversation. Furthermore, almost all people produce as well as consume. These producers are employees of companies, and their voice is as loud as the consumers. Happy employees are the voice of a stable organization, just as satisfied customers continue to patronize a business.

5. “#19 Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance.” The internet allows everyone to communicate. Furthermore, companies do not only have to monitor the conversation; they must join the conversation to stay relevant in the minds of consumers. This also allows them to gain important information about their products and the needs of their customers.

6. “#23 Companies attempting to “position” themselves need to take a position. Optimally, it should relate to something their market actually cares about.” This double entendre references both the position that a product occupies in a consumer’s mind and the stance that companies need to take in supporting their communities. By actively participating in the communities which support them, these companies show that they are listening to the conversation.

7. “#52 Paranoia kills conversation. That’s its point. But lack of open conversation kills companies.” Don’t write that! If the boss sees this, he will fire you! It is that very loss of freedom, the sense of confinement, and the threat of censorship that silences the conversation. When companies, whether through their external marketing efforts or internal company policies, try to restrict conversation, they somewhat silence it. Now the positive remarks about this company are lost, and the image of a negative reputation consumes the very conversation which was “suppressed”.

8. “#64 We want access to your corporate information, to your plans and strategies, your best thinking, your genuine knowledge. We will not settle for the 4-color brochure, for web sites chock-a-block with eye candy but lacking any substance.” The public wants to hear from the CEO, the brilliant designers and programmers who normal remain anonymous, even non-existent, to the end user. Consumers today want to know exactly who they are supporting when they patronize an organization.

9. “#82 Your product broke. Why? We’d like to ask the guy who made it. Your corporate strategy makes no sense. We’d like to have a chat with your CEO. What do you mean she’s not in?” Although businesses may feel that this is a bit intrusive, these statements are a reflection of the concerns of consumers. The scenarios are slightly hyperbolized, yet they make the profound statement that people as questions. Furthermore, when people ask questions, they require a human response. At times, a human response encompasses an admission of ignorance, or simply not knowing all of the answers. It is up to these companies to reach audiences by being confident enough to be imperfectly human.

10. “#95 We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting.” The very last point of the book reiterates that people are constantly connecting and the current conversation on the web will survive as long as man exists. Lastly, the people will continue to chatter. Adopting the inevitable now is a decision companies must make to ensure their vitality in the near future.

Full Summary of The Cluetrain Manifesto

Foreword

In the late 1990’s the Internet escaped the secluded grasps of government secrecy and military communication. It was introduced as the new way of the world constantly being expanded and improved by the people, around the people and for the people of the greater global community. The authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto challenged the business world to listen to the deafening chatter which had become the conversation on the web. Thomas Petzinger, Jr. declares, “This book shows how conversation forms the basis of business, how business lost that voice for a while, and how that language is returning to business thanks to a technology that inspires,” as the author of the foreword and promises an entertaining yet insightful read to the global community.

Introduction

Christopher Locke divulges the reality of the world’s attraction to the “Net” in his first contribution to this piece. “What if the real attraction of the Internet is not its cutting-edge bells and whistles, its jazzy interface or any of the advanced technology that underlies its pipes and wires? What if, instead, the attraction is an atavistic throwback to the prehistoric human fascination with telling tales?” (Locke). Furthermore, the internet has reignited a global conversation which spreads information more broadly and quickly than any other medium in the history of man. Although Locke and his team of tech-expert co-authors delve into the sociological aspects of why people adore the web, they bring the argument a little closer to home. There is a direct correlation between human interaction and business transactions. Levine, Locke, Searls and Weinberger come together to give corporations of the late 1990’s a stern warning about the touchy feely human element which will (has) conquered the world of business.

Chapter 1: Internet Apocalypso

Christopher Locke seizes the attention of Cluetrain’s audience for a second time, as he anticipates the end of times for old business and heartily discusses the essence of the human spirit. He states, “We long for more connection between what we do for a living and what we genuinely care about, for work that’s more than clock-watching drudgery. We long for release from anonymity, to be seen as who we feel ourselves to be rather than as the sum of abstract metrics and parameters.” This accurately depicts human nature, yet Locke implies that businesses detest that we are in fact alive. He continues, “We die. And there’s more than one way to get it over with. Advertising has some serving suggestions for your premature burial.”

This portion of the text briefly describes how this relates to the internet. In the section, entitled “Testing, Testing. . .”, he describes the era when the nearly deserted internet attracted well versed programmers and other computer experts. They used the medium as a channel for free uncensored communication. He later introduces the average person into the mix in “Waiting for Joe Six-Pack”. For lack of a better term, Joe Six-Pack is “That Guy”. He is the AOL user, the online shopper and the distracted browser in all of us. Locke uses the wait for Joe’s arrival as a greater analogy to describe the era when the internet made the transition from discipline-specific communication post to the development of its whimsically addictive graphic interface the masses know and love.

Chapter 2: The Longing

David Weinberger makes his appearance in the second chapter with a riveting stance. He concludes his first segment of the chapter by stating, “This fervid desire for the Web bespeaks a longing so intense that it can only be understood as spiritual. A longing indicates that something is missing in our lives. What is missing is the sound of the human voice.” That same human voice needs to eradicate the bounds of management, suits, ties, and memos. It needs to hear the echoes of its own retort, and according Weinberger, the web is the perfect platform to deliver it with perfect clarity.

Chapter 3: Talk is Cheap

What is the price of an email, an instant message, or a post on an open forum? Each of these in essence are only messages, records of the verbalization of thought we’ve come to know as talking. According to this chapter’s author, Rick Levine, the value of messages varies with its meaning. The emails, instant messages, and discussion forums are the new physical format of the conversations that professionals exchange ideas and develop their crafts. He recalls his experiences as a young child in pottery shop, “When experienced potters describe their craft, they often talk about seeing the form they’re creating in their mind’s eye, applying force to make the spinning clay match its virtual, internal archetype.” The creative people and knowledge workers he describes in this piece are no different. They use their conversations to sculpt their work into exact form that end users value as added benefits to their lives. There is a person who has diligently craft the goods and services that you are using at this very moment; within every person is a voice.

Levine discusses the importance of emails, newsgroups, chats, mailing lists, and web pages throughout the chapter. He denotes that although our inboxes may be full of junk mail, these mediums do facilitate the perpetual conversation, which supports business as we now know it. Levine states, “Companies can’t stop customers from speaking up, and can’t stop employees from talking to customers. Their only choice is to start encouraging employees to talk to customers — and empowering them to act on what they hear.” As the section header suggests, silence is fatal commerce. Therefore, the markets, which are conversations, continue on the web. Their presence marks “the end of business as usual,”(The Cluetrain Manifesto).

Chapter 4: Markets Are Conversations

Doc Searls and David Weinberger join forces in the fourth chapter to explain that markets are conversations. This chapter actually focuses on the interruption of the global conversation caused by the industrial revolution. The people who comprised the conversations were working on production lines and in offices to ensure that consumers had products in a time when mass production defined the age. A very different phase of mass consumption is emerging as the people are awakening from their slumbers behind conveyor belts, and are forming empowered markets demanding goods that meet their individualized needs. Searls and Weinberger remark on the voices of the people and their ability to redefine the economy with the introduction of mass customization.

Chapter 5: The Hyperlinked Organization

In Chapter 5, David Weinberger gives us more technical insight on how the internet had already reached business in the late 1990’s. ”The Hyperlinked Organization” is a reference to every corporation’s efforts to reduce paper use by going online. The corporations use intranets, or networks which have limited connectivity allotted to only users and systems within a particular organization. The email eliminated the memo, now intranets are eliminating paperwork. Weinberger states, “Why, your organization has probably already installed a corporate intranet so it can publish the human resource policies that no one read on paper to people who now won’t read ‘em on screen. Excellent!”.

Weinberger also goes into overdrive concerning hyperlinking. All readers have encountered hyperlinks in emails, social pushes, and simple articles. They attract the eye, they persuade the hand to move the mouse to that text, and they send a carefully listening ear to listen to a new voice. Furthermore, Weinberger explains that the constant sampling of information due to instant accessibility contributes to the general time saving advantage that the web provides when exchanging and processing information.

Chapter 6: EZ Answers

Christopher Locke and David Weinberger explore another side of human nature in “EZ Answers”. In this chapter, the writers ridicule the human instinct to classify, predict and critique everything that man encounters. The Internet is no exception to this rule. At this time, everyone wanted to know where the “Net” would lead. The possibilities seemed endless to some, yet to others it seemed to be technological advancement which would fall to the wayside as the telegraph and the Beta Player had done. The duo supports the expansion of the new horizon by removing limits from its horizon. The text states, “Cannonballs have trajectories. The future doesn’t. The future is the intersection of choice and interruptions. The Web — what a surprise! — is more like the future than a cannonball. It will be what we make of it.”

Locke and Weinberger do at least attempt to give weary business professionals piece of mind. They have preached in six compiled essays about the importance of the web in business as markets live on the web, markets are conversations, and people are the voices which compose these conversations. However, they never give “the suits”, as coined by Weinberger in the second chapter, nor their accompanying ties instructions on how to actively engage in these discussions. They simply suggest being relaxed and creative, “You want comfort? Invent your own. Exhilaration and joy are also in order. But face the facts: the tracks end at the edge of the jungle.” The internet was seen as a new frontier in 1999. Today, it is still unconquered.

Chapter 7: Post-Apocalypso

Christopher Locke is left to conclude this entertaining collection of essays in the final chapter, “Post-Apocalypso”. He uses his colorful writing style to express only a few simple premises. First, he suggests that the hard part is over and the internet is here to stay. It is constantly being developed and expanded; people are adopting it at a constantly increasing pace. Next, he reminds the audience that everyone is human and has the ability to speak in gentle familiar terms. This reiterates the fact that people have the voices which engage in the conversations that comprise markets. Lastly, he reminds the audience that the internet is much more than a tool that the business world needs to keep an watch carefully. The internet is place for sharing. He concludes the best-seller stating, “Imagine a world in which the business of business was to imagine worlds people might actually want to live in someday. Imagine a world created by the people, for the people not perishing from the earth forever. Yeah. Imagine that.” The internet is a gift from previous generations which reignited the global conversation, and will continue to carry the voices of future generations throughout the existence of man.

The Video Lounge

“Doc Searls of the Cluetrain Manifesto & Linux Journal: Extended Version”

Doc Searls, co-author of Cluetrain, discusses the evolution of marketing in five minute video. His book, penned with the help of Christopher Locke, Rick Levine and David Weinberger, rocked the business world in 1999 with the premise of giving the consumers control of marketing. He opens this interview “[. . . ] the belief that a captive customer is more valuable than a free one. We never knew what a free customer was. We never encountered one. The internet makes that possible.” He introduces the idea that the internet, which freed consumers, gave birth to today’s view on Customer Relationship Management.

Searls also challenges the definition of authority. He states,

It used to be that there were very few sources of authority. Authority was the Church. Authority was the State. Authority was large companies. Authority was degree individuals at educational institutions. Now authority is much more wide spread. Anyone who has a good idea worth spreading has authority.

Doc Searls uses this very principal to empower the freed consumer to share information with others, as well as sharing information with corporations. This approach of allowing consumers to flock to the companies where they feel comfortable, confident, and void of pressure fuels the flame of VRM, or Vendor Relationship Management. Searls refers to VRM as the reciprocal of customer relationship management, and plans to revolutionize the world of marketing and commerce with a more hands-free approach.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

With business conditions today, what the author wrote is – or is no longer true – because:

The authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto did not predict today’s condition of the business world. Although it is presented as an clever work of rhetoric, it continues to remark on the then present condition of sales, marketing and economics. “Markets are conversations,” as the book denotes in its first thesis, is a fact which is still relevant in today’s business world. It does not, however, fit the dynamic nature of today’s online communication.

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1. The authors of this book continue to reiterate the same idea. This book could be more riveting with simple predictions about online communication spanning one year, five years and ten years into the future.

2. Hard facts and statistics would make the points that the authors make stand out more. In 1999, email, blogs, instant messaging, discussion forums and chat rooms were active. Furthermore, statistics existed at this point which could quantify the active use of these forms of online communication.

3. The entire book used four different voices and perspectives to explain a central dogma. It continues to state that people and their voices make up markets, and corporations should be more aware of the human element of business. Examples of this phenomenon on the “Net” are not referenced in common language, which should reach the people, the mommy bloggers and small business owners. In fact, this is the void that dates this particular text. The use of such technical jargon speaks to the corporate marketers, which describes neither online communities of the late 1990’s or the present.

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1. The Cluetrain Manifesto causes one to compare the economy of the late 1990’s with today’s economy. The text challenges marketing teams at large corporations to tap into the voices of the global community. Today’s economic landscape is much different than that of the Dotcom’s boom in the 90’s. The voices of the global community are now the small business owners and mommy bloggers who are looking to save money. Those who were once the corporate Americans reaching down to the masses are now apart of the masses interconnecting to rebuild a crumbling infrastructure and economy.

2. The conversations of the global community have not changed since the dawn of man. Mediums of communication will, however, continue to evolve. This book reminds its audience that ancient sailors and merchants participated in the conversations that happen in today’s business world. The only thing that has changed is the venue.

3. Believe it or not, the “Net” was once perceived as one of man’s last frontiers. The business world and the Internet’s audiences believed that they could live separate harmonious existences less than twenty years ago.

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1. It is difficult to pinpoint how one will actually apply a “learned” behavior when it is perceived as being an instinctual part of one’s existence. The internet is a resource which is more common and accessible around that world than even television. Furthermore, online communication, the use of technology and its perpetual advancement are second nature to “Millennials”.

2. It is important to always remember that people make up the markets and communities which we ceaselessly segment into demographics and niche markets.

3. It is important to remember that the people who make up the aforementioned communities are not only well-informed consumers. These are also the voices of employees of who ensure the success of corporations. It is essential to listen to both the voices of customers and team members to support the efforts of any organization.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

“So is much of the authors’ view of business, which they often express with about as much sophistication as Holden Caulfield,” states Rob Walker in his New York Time review of Cluetrain. However, he continues, “The Cluetrain Manifesto” suggests that even companies that see themselves as getting the Internet are actually in denial about it, and that’s probably true.” His attitude critique of the book reflected that of the general populous. The book, filled with sarcastic rhetoric, uses seven essays to express that the Internet is the way of the future, yet business are slow to adopt this idea. Katherine Mieszkowski provokes her audience with questions concerning the nature of the this book in her Fast Company Magazine Review “Clued In? Sign On!”. “Do you have a clue about what the power and reach of the Web mean for the future of business? The creators of the Cluetrain Manifesto think they do. And they’re eager — make that determined — to share their point of view [. . . ],” She continues to give this book praises on the basis of its ability to predict the future of business communications. “You might not agree with everything that these Web provocateurs say, you might not like their tone, but you will ignore their ideas at your peril.” Simon Owens reflects on the ways that this book is still relevant in his PBS review, “Cluetrain Manifesto” Still Relevant 10 Years Later”. He asks the authors about their perceptions of today’s online conversations, specifically referencing social media channels such as Twitter. He states,

The last decade — with the rise of blogging, social networking, and YouTube — has seen a vast increase in the level of online conversation mentioned in the book, but the old media filter still remains as a powerful broker for influence and branding. And while there are weekly reports of companies dipping their feet into social media, there are still daily squabbles between the Cluetrain evangelists and those who have so far resisted change.

The Cluetrain Manifesto proves to not only have been correct in its predictions, but manages to still be relevant today according to various reviews scattered across the business journals and blogs alike.

Bibliography

Project. (2009, April 21). Doc Searls of the Cluetrain Manifesto & Linux Journal: Extended Version – YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v28oTlugdU

Levine, R., Locke, C., Searls, D., & Weinberger, D. (1999). The cluetrain manifesto: the end of business as usual. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books.

Mieszkowski, K. (2000, February 29). Clued In? Sign On! | Fast Company. Fast Company. Retrieved March 5, 2013, from http://www.fastcompany.com/39160/clued-sign

Owens, S. (2009, March 27). MediaShift . ‘Cluetrain Manifesto’ Still Relevant 10 Years Later | PBS. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved February 25, 2013, from http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/03/cluetrain-manifesto-still-relevant-10-years-later086.html

Walker, R. (2000, March 26). Biz.Com. The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Retrieved February 25, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/03/26/reviews/000326.26walkert.html

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Review of The Cluetrain Manifesto by Celese Cousin,” please email celes.cousin@selu.edu.

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About the Publisher

A Summary and Review of The Cluetrain Manifesto by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, David Searls, and David Weinberger

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:37:02 +0000

Executive Summary

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Cluetrain Manifesto

Full Summary of The Cluetrain Manifesto

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1: Internet Apocalypso

Chapter 2: The Longing

Chapter 3: Talk is Cheap

Chapter 4: Markets Are Conversations

Chapter 5: The Hyperlinked Organization

Chapter 6: EZ Answers

Chapter 7: Post-Apocalypso

The Video Lounge

“Doc Searls of the Cluetrain Manifesto & Linux Journal: Extended Version”

Searls also challenges the definition of authority. He states,

Personal Insights

Why I think:

With business conditions today, what the author wrote is – or is no longer true – because:

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

2. It is important to always remember that people make up the markets and communities which we ceaselessly segment into demographics and niche markets.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

Bibliography

Project. (2009, April 21). Doc Searls of the Cluetrain Manifesto & Linux Journal: Extended Version – YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved March 2, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v28oTlugdU

Levine, R., Locke, C., Searls, D., & Weinberger, D. (1999). The cluetrain manifesto: the end of business as usual. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Books.

Mieszkowski, K. (2000, February 29). Clued In? Sign On! | Fast Company. Fast Company. Retrieved March 5, 2013, from http://www.fastcompany.com/39160/clued-sign

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Review of The Cluetrain Manifesto by Celese Cousin,” please email celes.cousin@selu.edu.

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About the Publisher

A Summary and Review of The Book, The Dragonfly Effect, by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:57:25 +0000

Executive Summary

Everyone today feels tremendous pressure when it comes to mastering social media. However, most people haven’t figured out how to adapt to change with technology. Today everyone feels that social media tools are the solution to fix any problems that they are facing. Well, except for those who fear that someone else will figure out how to use social media first and gain a competitive advantage. Within this book your will learn about all the inspiring stories of individuals. Jennifer and Andy provide a simple road map to follow when you are trying to accomplish something within social media.

This book was written by Jennifer Aaker and her husband Andy Smith. Jennifer teaches at Stanford graduate school of business. She was inspired to write this book because of a student named Robert. At the end of the semester she asked every one of her students “What was the most important incite that you learned in the class?” Well Robert told the story of his best friend Sameer Bhatia who was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), which is a cancer that starts in the bone marrow and is characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells. Sameer’s family and friends gathered around to see what they could do to help their friends. However, doctors said that there was a one and twenty thousand chance that Sameer would find a match for the bone marrow industry. So instead of letting the doctors proceed in a way that they recommended, he reversed the rules by starting a business that gets twenty thousand south Asians into the bone narrow registry if his friend has a one and twenty thousand chance. Then the doctor explained that they only had a couple weeks to perform this task.

So they started working with another sets of friends who were working with Vinay, who has also recently been diagnosed with leukemia. The Harness Social Media worked with strategically and resulted in 24,611 registrants south Asians within eleven weeks and wound up finding a perfect match for Sameer and a near perfect match for Vinay.

So this story is what led to the Dragonfly Effect book. The intent of the book is to improve or to save the life of one individual. Also to give tool to for profit and nonprofit organizations so that they can fit their social good goals in line with a business objective.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Dragonfly Effect

1. Managers need to know how to focus. In order for someone to be focused they first have to have a single goal or a concrete goal that they are willing to fulfill. Then those goals need to be broken down into short-term and long-term goals. So, first you want to reach the short-term goals and measure the goals. If these goals result in some positive feedback, then take the next step at accomplished the long-term goals.

2. Managers need to know how to grab attention. If you cannot grab the attention of your audience then this leads to nothing. In order to grab the attention of your audience, start off with what is most important to them. One of the most important things is to pay attention to the views and take into consideration of their prospective. First start off with something that can lead both ways, something that will get the audience taking about. Use graphics and videos to catch the reader’s attention.

3. Managers need to know how to engage. They need to create a personal connection with their audience. Managers could access higher emotions through deep empathy, authenticity, and telling a story that has meaning. They need to basically empower the audience to make them care and what to do something themselves.

4. Managers need to know how to take action. They need to enable others and to empower other to take action along with them. In order for this to work you must use tools and templates and program designs to move people from being customers to becoming part of the team. These people then would further themselves and would want to become part of the cause of this change.

5. Managers need to know the five principles of focus. First is humanistic, you need to know what type of audience is associated with you. Managers need to listen and observe their audience. Second is to make your goal actionable. Third is to make your goal testable, and fourth is clarity. Failures often involve goals that are too high at a given time. The final principle is happiness. Your goal must be personally meaningful. The prospect of happiness will serve to motivate.

6. Managers need to know the four principles of grabbing attention. First, always get personal; using someone’s name or even simply tagging pictures. Second is to deliver the unexpected, audiences always love surprises. By doing this keeps the audience always looking for something new and exciting. Third is to visualize your message, pictures for terms. Finally make a visceral connection. You want to trigger all of our senses; sight, sound, hearing, or taste.

7. Mangers need to know the four principles for engaging. First you want to tell a story. Second is to empathize with your audience’s needs and feelings. If y’all have the same feelings about something this will most likely increase the support. Third is to be authentic. In order for you to engage with an audience the topic must engage in you as well. Have a clear and open mind. Finally the last principle is to match the media. Always remember that media is watching and how and where you say something is just as important as what you say.

8. Managers need to know the principles in taking action. First is to make it easy, if you want your audience to follow you on twitter then include a link just that simple. Second is to make it fun. Having game play, competition, rewards, and always having humor is a great way to take action on a positive note. Third is the need to tailor. What you offer so people will think they have a special advantage. The final stage is to be open, no one needs permission to act. Feedback is motivating for your users, and this allows you to refine what you do.

9. Managers need to know how to use social media. Social media could make you or break you, so with this mangers need to really know how to use it to take action. Social media is the new tool to communication. Facebook, twitter, and YouTube are ways that could better you company and change your business. If managers are not up to speed with the change in social media this could really hurt their company.

10. Managers need to know that it is ok to fail. People fail all the time with some of their inventions and companies. Mangers need to realize that everything in life doesn’t work out for the better of the situation. However, you have to learn from your mistakes and start over again. This is one of the best concepts that managers need to take into consideration.

Full Summary of The Dragonfly Effect

The Dragonfly Effect starts off with an amazing story of two young entrepreneurs who are both diagnosed with Leukemia and are in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Sameer and Vinay are the two boys who only had two weeks to find a donor at most nearly perfect matches. The changes of this ever happening are 1 and 20,000. Yes, I know what you’re thinking absolutely no way that this could happen in two weeks to find a South Asian who has a match nearly perfect. However, tea Sameer, and team Vinay has accomplished this amazing obstacle through on-line and off-line social media such as; Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. They used these social media networks to set up campaigns all around the world. Within a couple of months the team was able to reach 24,000 South Asians bone marrow donors and have them register. This led to Sameer having a perfect match and Vinay having a near perfect match. Though through a tragic ending both lost their lives, but their stories remains a legend and a guide to help save the lives of other individuals. This is the story that has lea Jennifer Asker and her husband Andy Smith to writing this book.

Our generation has a very popular tool and that tool is called social media. This is exactly what this book teaches us how to use the social media tools to achieve goals, to make a positive change. By using Facebook and Twitter, you could access a massive amount of people with little to no cost and still be about to get your point across the entire world.

When using social media there are a couple things people need to know to being successful. The authors explain exactly what these are and that is encouraging readers to focus on a single goal, grab attention, engage people, and empower to take action. The author also explains that the intent of these four basic skills is to create a ripple effect. This will eventually become unstoppable and this will lead to the people feeling empowered. So then after that they will most likely participate in the cause. I asked myself; Why did they choose the dragonfly with all the other insects why that one? Well ”It is the only insect able to propel itself in any direction-with tremendous amount of speed and force-when its four wings are working in concrete” (Aaker, Smith and Adler, 2010 pXII). All four wings have a meaning and principles within the wing itself. The four wings are labeled as: focus, grab attention, engage, and take action. We will talk about each wing and the designed principle for that wing.

Wing 1: Focus

This is the first wing of The Dragonfly Effect. This wing outlines the importance of identifying a single goal, concrete goal. This wing has five designed principles associated with focus: humanistic, actionable, testable, clarity, and happiness (HATCH Principles).

Design Principle 1: Humanistic

In humanistic you need to understand who your audience is. Listen, observe, ask questions, and empathize. You must listen in order to know exactly what your audience is expecting from you. By observing your audience, this leads to knowing them on a personal level and how you’re doing overall. When sharing the same beliefs as your audience this allows you and them to connect more toward each other and feel like a family.

Design Principle 2: Actionable

In this principle you should break your goals down into two parts; which are short-term and long-term goals. The long-term goals should be broken down into a number of short-term goals that are small, actionable, and measurable. Short term goals can be a variety of things as long as there is positive feedback, and then you are able to take the next step. By taking the next step means you will be taken on much bigger goals then later the ultimate goal whatever that might be.

Design Principle 3: Testable

This principle states that all goals should be tested. The most effective way is to measure the progress and the success. Another key factor here is using feedback. Feedback is the best measure to monitor your progress. You could get feedback by handing out surveys and questionnaires, or by having some type of reward.

Design Principle 4: Clarify

Goals must be highly specific. The more specific the goal is the more likely it will be accomplished, with greater satisfaction. However, failure often happens, but for the mere reason that the goal was not clear. In some cases the goal could be vague, conflicting, or too big to accomplish within the time frame.

Design Principle 5: Happiness

Happiness is a great principle to further your expectations. Your goal must be personal and meaningful. This goal must also be considered inspirational to you and your audience. The prospect of happiness will serve people to motivate. When the goal is achieved it should make not only you feel happy, but your audience as well.

Wing 2: Grab Attention

The second wing of The Dragonfly Effect is to grab attention. We must cut through the noise with something personal, unexpected, visceral, and visual. These are the four design principles to achieve this goal. (PUVV)

Design Principle 1: Get Personal

First is to get personal. This could be a personal hook, using one’s name, or just simply tagging someone’s picture. The best outcome is to connect with the audience on a personal level, and those to will want to see your goal or company become a success.

Design Principle 2: Deliver the Unexpected

People like consuming and then sharing new information. Having that element of surprise can result in viral behavior and you need to be very original. The audience is more likely to pay attention when something is unexpected. Having strategies that are the same over and over are rather boring and are likely to fail in the long-run.

Design Principle 3: Visualize Your Message

Pictures trump words in terms of grabbing attention. You want to show the audience exactly what you’re talking about, don’t just tell them. The audience will most likely remember something that they have seen before, something they have heard. You could use videos, graphics, or even something that will surprise them.

Design Principle 4: Make a Visceral Connection

Design your campaign so that it triggers the senses; sight, smell hearing, taste, and touch. You could also use music to tap on emotions. If you could make the audience go through all of these emotions and senses, then your job is complete. With grabbing attention their fill and undivided focus is on you.

Wing 3: Engage

The third wing of The Dragonfly Effect is to engage. After you grad everyone’s attention, you need to engage emotionally. You want to create a personal connection with your audience. Empowering the audience to care enough to want to do something themselves, is what you are trying to accomplish in this wing. Find out what really matters to the audience and build that bond. This wing has four design principles: tell a story, emphasize, be authentic, and match the media. (TEAM)

Design Principle 1: Tell a Story

Start off by finding a compelling, sticky story to convey article information. Stories are basic human needs. When creating a story you want to grab their attention quick, and always keep them wondering what will happen next. By doing this the audience will want to help the cause, or take action in some kind of way. Using interesting video stories will work well with audiences.

Design Principle 2: Empathize

As you engage with your audience, let your audience engage you. In this second principle you want to empathize with your audience’s needs and feelings. Having similarities can increase the support.

Design Principle 3: Be Authentic

You could only engage and audience with something that engages you. Be open, clear, and genuine. When you have true passion for what you are telling your audience about it is known to be “contagious”. Meaning them to will follow along with you and your beliefs.

Design Principle 4: Match the Media

How and where we say something can be as important as what we say. In order to engage in a large audience to take action you must use on-line and off-line media. This is how team Vinay and Sameer was able to get in touch with some many people at little to no time.

Wing 4: Take Action

The fourth wing of The Dragonfly Effect is to take action. You want to enable and empower other to take action. Although it is very hard to get people to take action you must do so. The best way to have people being involved is to ask for their time, not money. To make action easy you must prototype, deploy, and continuously tweak tools, templates, and programs designs. This will move people from becoming customers to becoming team members that want to further the cause that you’re fighting for and to make a change beyond them. This wing has four principles: make it easy, make it fun, tailor, and open. (EFTO)

Design Principle 1: Make it Easy

Make it easy for others to act. Have a big goal that is easy to overcome with everyone doing a small share. People will contribute to a goal when it is simple and takes little to no effort. However, having so many people doing these little tasks will later become one major task and this will get the goal completed. Always allow them to give some type of feedback that could better your other obstacles in the future.

Design Principle 2: Make it Fun

People will put more effort in just about anything when it is experienced to be fun. Consider game play, competition, rewards and humor. Having competition is a good task to get people to work really hard. We all love competition and want to be the best so by doing little games like this could really help toward your goal.

Design Principle 3: Tailored

People gravitate to programs in which they perceive they are uniquely advantaged to have disproportionate impact. Which means that people will more likely participate in any program if they feel to have some sort of advantage over other participants? So having competition will go a long way.

Design Principle 4: Be Open

No one should have to ask permission to act. Let others add to, take from, and alter things themselves. Everyone learns to do things differently and by doing so this allows people to learn new and more efficient ways as well. Feedback is motivating for your users and allows you to refine what you do.

Doing something important, somehow bringing about social change, is a worthy goal and focus. Social power is no different than any other power, use with care. It is very import to know how strong social power is. One wrong word or phrase or act could hurt you for the rest of your life. Social media is changing rapidly and to me it is just beginning. If we do not act and follow our competitors then we are no longer an existence. We must stay focus and stay strong and build a team that is willing to adapt to failure, change, and challenges within the process of getting the job done.

The Dragonfly Effect provides a framework to show how to draw an underlying truths found in psychological research. There are four key skills that will be used to colossal your own result: focus, grab attention, engage, and take action. Another reason to read this book is it might help you become a happier person. The Dragonfly Effect is a road map to doing something purposed, thoughtful, and well designed. This book is designed to help anyone who is motivated to act on, propel, and accomplish social goods. It doesn’t matter if you’re an entrepreneur, an employee of a profit company, a volunteer, or just simply an individual trying to improve someone else’s life; you could learn about the world of possibilities when you figure out how to leverage social media appropriately

The Video Lounge

In this video it introduces both the authors and their occupation. It also explains why they chose the dragonfly instead of another insect. In the video it also explains what each wing symbolizes. It explains how to combine good marketing techniques and to further understand social media and to put to use with social change.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

The author is one of the most brilliant people around because the author uses, the dragonfly, as a symbol and then builds upon this image to create a roadmap of how to change social media for a social good. They do an outstanding job using some case studies of companies and individuals to give the reader some examples of how these companies and individuals used social media to create an impact. They give a good amount of tools, guides, and tips on how to make this task work. The author not only explains the good side of social media; it also shows us the dark side. It gives examples of how social media can be misused intentionally and unintentionally. Some companies and organization have used social media campaigns that caused a protest from participants. Which later can lead to much more problems and bad publicity? Some people use social media to resolve or take charge in some type of action, however often fail to accomplish their goal. I believe that the authors touch on many parts of today’s generations and the problems that occur. They did an amazing job analyzing all the situation and outcomes.

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1. I would have changed some of the case studies. I think that it is ok to tell some stories, however telling too many stories of the same concept may tend to become boring from the readers prospective. They should have elaborated more on some of the wings and the principles within the wings itself instead of all of the case studies on the same situation.

2. The same things fall into place here with all the graphics and drawings. To me the authors did not have to use that many graphics to get their point across. Some graphic are ok, but using to many just seems redundant. Having this many graphics made it feel like a children’s book. We all should know how to read so we don’t need all the little childish pictures for every little example.

3. One major throwback was all the pictures of the authors and of other people. They used too many pictures of themselves in the book and also used pictures of I guess family and friends who were not even mentioned in the book anywhere. To me they need to put picture of the people they are talking about instead of themselves. For instance like Sameer and Vinay, after hearing their amazing story it would have been nice to see a picture of them two.

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1. Before reading this book, the social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube seemed to be a way of breaking down communication between individuals. Now many companies do over the phone interviews, or even over the computer. To me it makes no since, however this book teaches you how to use social media the right way. Benign isolated is not the right way to use social media, but being different and wanted to better yourself or the lives of other individuals is the right way. I feel that our generation has the concept totally wrong, to why there is a Facebook and other social media tools.

2. This book made me think differently about Facebook and other social media tools because knowing how many people you are actually reaching could be a really scary thing. The minuet you post a picture or tweet a saying millions of individuals now have access to what you just started. This is why you must be very careful when it comes to who you allow to see your profile and what you put on there could not always be a good thing.

3. I’m not the type to have a Facebook account or Twitter account and posts every little thing that is happening with me. I’m also not the type of person to just text all day long. Pick up the phone and give me a call if you need something from me. But then I thought to myself this is the communication for this generation. The world of communication is rapidly changing. If people could connect with a large amount of people at the same time, then why not use social media. Instead of running away from the new social communication, I need to be right even with it.

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1. Making sure that I know how to use social media to connect with others; however, using social media to reach a massive amount of people to expand my company or my career for the better. When reaching out to people with the same beliefs as me and to grab the audience’s attention.

2. By helping me learn to take action and also, inspiring me to also help others more. By this I mean just everyday life, helping others with the smallest tasks. This book really gives you a good feeling and makes you want to conquer the world and social media. I wish everyone could read this book and let social media take part and act as what it was made to do.

3. This will also help with my career by being somebody small trying to create a big impact. I now know the key steps in how to design such a major goal. The book could also benefit me or someone who is trying to spread the word about a certain cause and trying to get people to take action.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

“The single best roadmap to social media I have ever seen. It offers both big strategies and small tips that you can use to invigorate your business, increase your happiness, and maybe even change the world.”
- Daniel Pink, author of Drive

“Aaker and Smith created a beautifully visual book that’s visionary yet practical, and that proves that anyone can change the world.”
- Nancy Duarte, Author of Slide:ology

“This book shows you how to align social actions to cause meaningful change And, that’s what really matters in the era of new media.”
- Brian Solis, Author of Engage

Bibliography

Aaker, J. L., Smith, A., & Adler, C. (2010). The dragonfly effect: quick, effective, and powerful ways to use social media to drive social change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Conversation Agent: Driving Social Change: The Dragonfly Effect. (n.d.). Conversation Agent. Retrieved March 20, 2013, from http://www.conversationagent.com/2010/12/driving-social-change-the-dragonfly-effect.html

Gammon, J. (n.d.). Reviews | The Dragonfly Effect. The Dragonfly Effect – Small Acts Create Big Change. Retrieved March 20, 2013, from http://www.dragonflyeffect.com/blog/book/review/

Jennifer Aaker | The Dragonfly Effect. (n.d.). The Dragonfly Effect – Small Acts Create Big Change. Retrieved March 20, 2013, from http://www.dragonflyeffect.com/blog/authors/jennifer-aaker/

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Review of The Dragonfly Effect by Jennifer Aaker, and Andy Smith,” please email Brooke.poirier@selu.edu.

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About the Publisher

A Summary and Review of The Barefoot Executive by Carrie Wilkerson

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:25:58 +0000

Executive Summary

This book is a guide for helping you start your own business. Maybe you don’t feel secure with your career or your future is unsteady. On the other hand, maybe you have a great career but you are ready for a needed change. Any of these are good reasons to read this book. The first thing you should so is choose people to surround yourself with. You want to find like-minded people and an excellent way to find these people are by joining groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. By searching on social media websites, you can find others who are business owners, goal-oriented, or even follow the same leaders as you. Surrounding yourself with people like this can help you achieve your goals.

There are three common mistakes people make when starting their own business. The first is chasing someone else’s dreams. Just because someone else is doing something and they like it doesn’t mean it will be a good fit for you. Instead of diving into something completely foreign to you, branch off and do something that is different from what you are doing now, but is still relatable. The second mistake is investing in too many projects. Having multiple streams of income is fine; you just can’t have all of them in the building phase at the same time. Focus on one first and then focus on the others once the first one is profitable enough. The third is chasing dollars. Chasing something just because it is the in thing right now is not going to build a business for you. Instead, chase something because it is directly related to your core business.

Next, believe that you have the power and skills to do something and take action. That is the only way to make things happen and if you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. Learn as much as you can from those mistakes. Finding a mentor can help you as well a guide you in the right direction. Choose someone who is like-minded with your beliefs and you can enjoy spending time with. They also keep you in check and see things from a different point of view.

Consider how you are going to structure your business. There are many business models but the easiest to start with is a service-based business. You are providing a service that others need. Second is the coaching and consulting model. These are ways that you can turn your experiences into cash flow. Third is the information model which is all about turning your brain into something you can make money on. You can do this by creating information products like videos, audios, self-help products, and how-to products. E-commerce or a store is another business model which involves selling from a physical store or selling products online. The last is affiliate marketing where you earn a commission on products that you recommend to others.

Find out what you are interested in and then consider your market. There are questions you need to ask yourself: does your market have money, are they reachable online or off, and is there pain you can solve for someone. Once you come up with ideas, write them in a journal. You don’t have to use them right when you think of them, but it is important to write them down. Figure out what your motive is for your business because that will help you decide which ideas to act on first.

Once you decide, write down a timeline with a specific date. Figure out what your obstacles will be and write them down. After you write them down, go back and write down ways you can avoid these obstacles from happening. Also, write down some benefits to this idea. This is what will help keep you going. Customers need to be able to find your information so make sure it is online and easy to find. Form a relationship with them and deliver every time. Make them want to keep coming back and they will stay with you for life.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Barefoot Executive

1. Find like-minded people to surround yourself with. You can do this by joining groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The people in these groups are business owners and goal-oriented just like you. If you need some advice or encouragement, they are good people to go to because they know exactly what you’re going through.

2. Don’t follow someone else’s dream. Just because someone else is doing it and is successful at it does not mean it is a good fit for you. Find something that is relatable to what you are currently doing or something that interests you.

3. Don’t invest in a number of revenue outlets at the same time. The book uses the quote “you cannot chase two rabbits at the same time and catch either one” to describe this. Having multiple streams of income is fine; just don’t have them all in the same phase at the same time. Focus on one outlet first and after it is profitable enough, focus on other streams of income.

4. Don’t chase something because it is the “in thing” right now. Chase something because it is directly related to your core business. Pursue it because you have some credibility, flexibility, and sustainability within that representation. There is no easy button you can press to make it happen; it requires work and a method.

5. You need to have the mind-set of success. You can’t accomplish something until you change your mind about what you want to be and what you want to do. Believe that you have the power to do something.

6. Don’t compare yourself to others. As humans, we tend to undervalue our skills and gifts we bring to the world. Realize that you are gifted, talented, and qualified to do what you are called to do. Focus on you, not everyone else.

7. Take massive action. You can’t just think your way to the top; you have to do something to get there. It’s ok to make mistakes because you can learn something from them. Just don’t take on too many projects at once because you may not be able to stay focused and complete them.

8. Find a mentor or business coach. Choose someone who is like-minded with your beliefs and someone you can enjoy spending time with. They see things from a different angle and can help keep you in check. Don’t forget to bring your part to the table. They are there to help you so get into the right mind-set and take actions to complete a task.

9. Do your research. Decide on how you are going to structure your business. Next, think about the things that interest you, what you excelled at in school, what you are trained in, what makes you smile, and what you find yourself talking about when you are with others. This is a good list that will help you decide what kind of business to start. Then, figure out who you want to serve. Do you want to serve one or do you want to serve many.

10. Choose a business model. There is not “set” model that will give you instant success. Research the different models and choose the best one that will work for you. Choose one model first and when it becomes extremely profitable, you can choose to use multiple models.

Full Summary of The Barefoot Executive

Job Security, Tenure, Retirement, and Other Fairy Tales

This chapter talks about reasons for wanting to start a new business. Maybe you don’t feel secure with your career or your future is unsteady. On the other hand, maybe you have a great career but you are ready for a needed change. Any of these are good reasons to read this book. She explains that you need to be the owner of the business because they are in control of who stays, who goes, and how the money is spent. She then goes on to talk about how you can’t compare yourself to others. Don’t make excuses about why someone else is where you want to be and you are not. You can only compare yourself to you because you are not going to do the same things as someone else. Everyone has different situations and experiences that make them who they are. Push yourself to do your best and succeed.

Why You Must Own a Business-and Fast

Choose people to surround yourself with. You want to find like-minded people and an excellent way to find these people are by joining groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. The people you see in your everyday life might not give you the credibility you deserve or need. By searching on social media websites, you can find others who are business owners, goal-oriented, or even follow the same leaders as you. Surrounding yourself with people like this can help you achieve your goals. These people are using social media for the same reasons you are so if you need some encouragement, for example, they understand and can help. Another way to find like-minded people is through workshops and live events. Carrie Wilkerson, the author of this book, has an annual event called “BE U.” Hundreds of small business owners attend every October for encouragement, education, and even entertainment. She invites speakers who she has learned from and a few famous speakers like Zig Ziglar to speak at this event.

Working from home can make you feel isolated and alone so it is important to leave your house. Embrace live events, local networking groups, and social networking. Another way is connecting with people on a forum. You get to choose which forums you want to join, but make sure you don’t join the negative forums with people who are not being productive or profitable with their businesses. One last way to fight that isolation feeling is getting a coach/mentor. Find someone who has achieved success, not afraid to be honest with you, and is where you want to be.

Mistake Number 1: Chasing Someone Else’s Dream

Don’t follow something that is totally unrelated to what you are doing now. This is a common mistake business owners make as well as people in general. Just because someone else is doing something and they like it doesn’t mean it will be a good fit for you. An example the book gives is someone who is learning the family business. Even if it is not their dream, they do it because it’s what is expected of them; it’s their parent’s dream. The author tells us her experience with following someone else’s dream. She heard that real estate was a good source of income so she invested in real estate. The problem was that she didn’t have any experience and didn’t study anything about real estate so she made a lot of expensive mistakes. She now has a client who has a passion for real estate and is very knowledgeable in it. She learned that it’s ok for that to be his dream and not hers. Instead of diving into something completely foreign to you, branch off and do something that is different from what you are doing now, but is still relatable.

Mistake Number 2: Chasing Too Many Rabbits

A big mistake people make is investing in a number of different revenue outlets. All those outlets may have little success but it will be hard to have massive success in any of the investments. Mary Kate Ash quotes “you cannot chase two rabbits at the same time and catch either one.” What you can do is chase one rabbit, catch it, and get the system down. Then, you can chase the second rabbit while the first one is tied up. Having multiple streams of income is fine; you just can’t have all of them in the building phase at the same time. Focus on one first and then focus on the others once the first one is profitable enough. Even though it might be frustrating because you are desperate for money, it works best when you focus on one thing at a time.

Mistake Number 3: Chasing Dollars

Chasing something just because it is the in thing right now is not going to build a business for you. Just because it’s hot doesn’t mean you should pursue it. What you should do is chase something because it is directly related to your core business. Pursue it because you have some credibility, flexibility, and sustainability within that representation. Some people feel that since they have tried so many things that have not worked, they can’t make it in business. The truth is, they have been chasing the small dreams and haven’t tried anything with a whole purpose and whole heart. Stop looking for miracles and instead, focus on the right activities regularly because then you will see improvement. There is no easy button you can press; it requires work and a method.

The Mind-set of Success

Until you change your mind about what you want to be, who you are, and what you want to do, you cannot accomplish it. ”Until you believe it, you cannot achieve it.” You have to believe you have the power to do something in order to achieve great things in your business. As humans, we tend to undervalue our skills and gifts we bring to the world. We compare ourselves to others and that comparison is suicide on the installment plan. Instead on comparing yourself to others, focus on being “the best you that you can be.” Realize that you are gifted, talented, and qualified to do what you are called to do. Don’t worry about what everyone else is thinking because all they are worried about is themselves. A lot of people look for the answer or the miracle but in reality, it’s not there. The magic is in you so quit looking for it. There are many times where you have to believe it before it actually happens.

In order to be as profitable as you can, you have to get in the business motivation mind-set. You have to be hungry enough for it. As a society, we complain about a job, bills, or a spouse. Until you know passionately about why you are building a business, you will be content in your discomfort and will complain about these things for the rest of your life. Also, stay away from the negativity and surround yourself by positive people. Focus on what you are good at and what is positive. Negativity will temper how you function in your business and how you look at yourself. Instead, feed and guard your mind with positive materials.

Take Massive Action

You can’t just think your way to the top. Taking action is the only way to make things happen. If you make a mistake along the way, it’s ok. Learn as much as you can from those mistakes. Everyone makes them so don’t be afraid to “fall on your face” because if you are afraid to make a mistake, you are afraid to live. Take massive action but don’t take on too many projects at once. It may cause distraction and you might not be able to complete them. Be focused on one thing until it’s profitable and then you can focus on other projects.

In order to figure out which project is the most important, make a list. Jot down all the things you want to develop in no particular order. Then, write down how much profit you can expect from each project in the next thirty days. Finally, reorder them in descending order to where the one with the most cash is first. After the first list item is profitable, you can start working your way down.

Masterminding

A mastermind is a group of like- minded people who might be in a different niche or business model, but you come together to brainstorm everyone’s businesses. It could be things like sharing knowledge, asking for help on something, giving an idea to someone else, or sharing connections. It is a way to get ideas that you would not have thought of on your own. Make sure to get into a wise mastermind group with people who are driven just like you.

Finding a Mentor

Find a mentor because you can learn so much from other people. Choose someone who is like-minded with your beliefs and you can enjoy spending time with. Remember to bring your part to the table though. A coach can toss you a ball but you have to be willing to catch it. Even the most famous businessmen have coaches. They keep you in check and see things from a different point of view. In order for a mentor to be any help to you, you have to take actions to complete a task and have the right mind-set. If you don’t surround yourself with people that are encouraging, you won’t succeed.

Do Your Research

Consider how you are going to structure your business. Will it be a corporation, sole proprietorship, or a partnership? Most people need to first make the decision to be a business owner and then figure out what to focus on. Then, focus and commit to business building for four weeks. Decide on how many people you want to serve and do it! Stop asking others what they think; worry about your market, not everyone else. Know that your obstacles refine and polish you into the business owner you need to be.

Service Based: Use Your Skill Set

There are many business models but the easiest to start with is a service-based business. With this type of business, you can start making money within a week because you are using the skills you have and serving people in your area. Examples of this include child care, housecleaning, lawn care, or massage therapy. You are providing a service that others need. This type of business model is very powerful and almost anyone can execute it.

Expertise Based: Coaching and Consulting

Coaching and consulting is another business model. These are ways that you can turn your experiences into cash flow. One thing to remember is that you need to be careful when calling yourself a coach. Do some research into the industry and find out where you would be a good fit. Consultants are a little different from coaches. They use their specific expertise in a business, institution, or organization.

Don’t forget to put yourself into your business. Everyone is unique and it’s important to embrace that. It can be through video, audio, current pictures, and how you write.

Knowledge Based: Information Marketing

The information model is about turning your brain into something you can make money on. You can do this by creating information products like videos, audios, self-help products, and how-to products. Capture yourself using technology and turn that product into something you can sell. This model will help you take your skills, experiences, successes, and the painful things you’ve overcome and turn it into a market. Information marketing means you are selling “information products.” It is information that you are sharing in a form that consumers can buy from you. They are giving you money for the information you are giving them. Some examples of this are teachers, coaches, and authors.

Goods Based: Commerce or Direct Sales

E-commerce or a store is another business model. You can either sell from a physical store or sell products online. These products could be software codes that you write, products you create, odds and ends that you buy for the purpose of reselling, or items you buy from other suppliers. Some examples of E-commerce are amazon.com, eBay, Etsy, and Wal-Mart. The direct sales model is selling a service or product from a corporate entity as an independent contractor. Companies like Mary Kay, Avon, and Premier Jewelry are direct-sales companies.

Referral Based: Commission or Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing basically means earning a commission on products that you recommend to others. For example, when you click on a book that is on someone’s blog, they are receiving a commission on that. Some marketing is involved with this in order to get people to see your recommendations. Online, products usually allow you to receive a 50 percent commission.

Multiple Streams of Income

This advice is not necessarily towards individuals who are just starting out. This is towards people who are already profitable in business or someone who wants to add income in addition to their current job. All of the prior rules the author has mentioned thus far still apply. Investigate what your skills are and what your time, knowledge, software, and space are. Adding a stream of income does not have to require a large amount of time and money.

Who Wants What You Have?

Find out what you are interested in and have passion about because those inner things can be turned into a niche. Before acting on those ideas, you need to consider your market. There are questions you need to ask yourself: does your market have money, are they reachable online or off, and is there pain you can solve for someone.

What if you don’t feel like an expert or if you don’t feel like anyone would listen to you? According to the author, taking the time to build a list, publish a newsletter, name your brand, or build a website sets you apart. It makes you an action taker and an authority. If someone knows more than you in the subject, they probably won’t take your advice. The people who will come to you are the ones who are looking for answers. Expertise is based on experience in a certain subject, not a certificate or a degree. So don’t question your value, believe you are an expert. Your expertise comes from you and that is the freedom of being your own boss.

Ideas to Income

Sometimes you can get confused when you have a lot of ideas and you’re not sure about which business strategy to use. The first thing to do is eliminate some of the unnecessary ideas and focus on what is really important. In order to succeed, you have to do something; find solutions and stop making excuses. Don’t give reasons why this won’t work. Instead, find ways so it will work. Have a journal that you can use to write down all your ideas in. You don’t have to use them right when you think of them, but it is important to write them down. Some of your ideas might not be used until months later and some may work better for other people.

After you write down your ideas and let it “marinate”, figure out what your motive is for your business at this current moment. Then think about what your primary and secondary motives are. This should help you figure out which idea will be the one you act on. Once you decide, write down a timeline with a specific date. Figure out what your obstacles will be and write them down. After you write them down, go back and write down ways you can avoid these obstacles from happening. Also, write down some benefits to this idea. This is what will help keep you going.

Where Will They Find You?

The world has changed in regards to where we look for products and services. More than half of consumers start their purchasing decisions online. If they can’t find you when they are looking for products, you don’t exist. That is why it is very important that you are online. Consumers need to be able to get your information- your location, services, products, hours, and selling proposition.

Building Your Audience

If you want an audience, you need to woo them. You need their names and e-mail addresses and you can do this by using lead pages. Be open and honest with them and use good content, good information, and good social media. Form a relationship and then win them. Make offers and let them know you believe in your business. After you get their business, wow them. Deliver more than what they expect and keep delivering to them over and over again.

Where Will You Find Them?

You can’t sell to an empty room so where are you going to find them? Offline tactics are live business events, networking groups, and trade shows. Online list building is another way to add to your list of prospects. Set up a squeeze page that asks for names and e-mail addresses in exchange for information. Using social media is another good way to meet prospects. Look for groups and discussions to join.

The Video Lounge

This video clip is of Carrie Wilkerson getting interviewed by Live CNN. She talks about the three mistakes people make when starting a business. These are chasing someone else’s dreams, chasing too many rabbits, and chasing dollars. She goes into detail about these three topics in the beginning of her book.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

The author is one of the most brilliant people around because:

Her book makes it seem easy to start your own business. She makes it personal by using her own experiences as examples for the different steps she explains are necessary to run a business. I loved that she had a quote from various people at the beginning of every chapter because it gave some inspiration. It is also a good book for those who already have a business because she has chapters that are about getting more clients and creating new streams of income.

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

1. Almost every chapter included an insert that was titled “barefoot case study.” Some of these were interesting to read but I believe there were too many. They also were not relevant to what was being discussed in the chapter. I would have added case studies that would have been related to the chapter and reduced the number of them that appeared in the book.

2. I would have split up chapter seventeen because compared to some of the other chapters, it was long. The first part of the chapter talks about using your interests and experiences as ideas for a business. After you have ideas, figure out which market you want to be in. I would have stopped the chapter after that and started a new one for the second part of the chapter that talks about expertise.

3. The author repeats herself a lot. I understand that some of the topics relate to one another but if she already went into detail in a previous chapter, I didn’t think it was necessary to repeat what she had already said. If it was me, I would have mentioned it and given them the chapter number as a reference. This way, if you wanted to go back and familiarize yourself again on the topic, you could without taking away from the new information.

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1. The author convinced me that anyone could start their own business, including me. Before reading this book, I thought it would be too difficult and expensive to start my own business. With the advice that she gives in this book, I feel confident that I now could start my own business if I choose to go that route.

2. I didn’t realize how important it was to find a mentor. The author constantly mentions that having a mentor/coach is extremely valuable. They can give you pointers and help guide you in the right direction since they have been in a similar situation. After reading this book, I now understand that having a mentor is a huge benefit to you and your success.

3. The author made a point that we should not compare ourselves to others. Even though it can be so hard not to do, she has a point. We cannot focus on what we are doing if we keep comparing ourselves to someone else. She wants us to realize that we are gifted and should use those talents to do what we are supposed to do. I am going to try and follow her advice even though it can be hard at times.

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

1. Not taking on too many projects at once. To truly be successful, you need to concentrate on one project at a time. No matter how tempting it is to start on several projects at once to make quick money, I know that after reading this book, it is not the smart thing to do.

2. Setting deadlines for the projects I take on. When starting projects, everyone has the intentions of finishing them but sometimes other things pop up and distract us. By setting a deadline, this will allow me to stay focused and be productive. When I see that something has a deadline, I make sure I do it in time.

3. Believing that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. The author mentioned that if you don’t think you can do something, you can’t achieve it. Turn that mind-set around and believe in yourself. If I believe that I can accomplish any task my boss may give me, I will succeed.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its author:

I found nothing but good reviews about this book. Tom Ziglar, son of Zig Ziglar, says that “A lot of books can fire up an entrepreneur. But a lot of those books leave readers high and dry when it comes to practical application. Enthusiasm isn’t enough. You need a plan and the tools to build with. Carrie Wilkerson’s guidance provides just that. Combine that with her enthusiasm, warmth, and core values, and you have someone very real to learn from. As my dad says, ‘a great book needs to cover the Why and the How.’ This is a great book. I know that when Carrie advises Ziglar, Inc., on marketing ideas, we get results.” (Ziglar).

Laura Frugal from “Frugal Family Tree” said that she learned a lot from this book. It is a book that allows you to take what you what from it and relate it to your life. It reminded her of a journal because there were pages that you could write in and you can relate it to your own situation. It is a book with information that makes you want to take action rather than just read it and do nothing with what you learned (Frugal 2012).

Holly Hanna from “The Work at Home Woman” has been following Carrie on Twitter and has been impressed by her success. The lesson that stood out to her the most was her chapter about chasing too many rabbits. She has seen this happen with other women who take on too much and are only somewhat successful because their focus is on too many things at once. She also loved the book because “it was like having a sit-down conversation with Carrie herself. There’s no fancy jargon used, just good ole down to earth advice that business owners can apply to their own businesses” (Hanna).

Tim Sanders, author of Today We Are Rich and former CSO at Yahoo said “One of the best ways to achieve success is to learn from someone who has already done it. If you are looking to build a viable, sustainable, and lucrative business from home- or anywhere else- Carrie Wilkerson is your example, and her new book will show you the way” (Sanders).

Bibliography

Frugal, L. (2012, April 21). The Barefoot Executive Book Review. Retreived March 19, 2013 from http://www.frugalfamilytree.com/2012/04/barefoot-executive-book-review.html

Hanna, H. (n.d.) Book Review: Carrie Wilkerson’s The Barefoot Executive. Retreived March 19, 2013 from http://www.theworkathomewoman.com/book-review-carrie-wilkersons-the-barefoot-executive

Unknown. (n.d.) The Barefoot Executive The Ultimate Guide for Being Your Own Boss and Achieving Financial Freedom. Retreived March 19, 2013 from http://www.thomasnelson.com/the-barefoot-executive.html

Wilkerson, C. (2011). The Barefoot Executive: The Ultimate Guide for Being Your Own Boss and Achieving Financial Freedom. Tennessee: Thomas Nelson

Ziglar, T. (2012, May 30). {Book Review} The Barefoot Executive. Retrieved March 18, 2013 from http://www.theshoppingduck.com/booksdvds/book-review-the-barefoot-executive/

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Contact Info

To contact the author of this article, “A Summary and Review of The Barefoot Executive by Carrie Wilkerson” please email kayla.meyer@selu.edu.

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About the Publisher

The Bum Belonging to Pippa Middleton is The Most Popular Thing on The Internet

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:18:34 +0000

Snap Shot of Terms used to find AndAnotherThing’s Articles

AndAnotherThing is an office full of writers who write on diverse topics and publish all over the internet. News, nature, science, gossip, art and literature are just a few of the subjects addressed in AndAnotherThing articles. However, over the last 30 days only two matters have registered in the top ten search terms used by searchers to find our articles. You’ll be able to guess what they are if you read this list:

Top Ten AndAnotherThing Search Terms over 30 Days to 12 November 2012

pippa middleton bum ~ Pictures of Pippa Middleton’s Bum | Naked Celebrities
tory paedophile ring ~ Jimmy Savile and the Alleged Tory Paedophile Ring
pippa middleton nude
pippa middleton naked
pippa middleton bum photos
conservative paedophile ~ David Cameron and the Tory Paedophile Ring
princess kate sunbathing ~ Princess Kate Sunbathing Scoop
conservative paedophiles
naked celebrities
tory paedophiles

The British royal family on Buckingham Palace balcony after Prince William and Kate Middleton were married. Detail of the picture: Pippa Middleton and Prince Philip. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Top Ten Search Terms Across All Contributing Writers

Internet Fraud Penalizing
health insurance quote ~ The Best Health Insurance Quote
chia seeds health benefits
how to make your garden soil more fertile
is honey good for you ~ Honey Is So Good For You
bicycle helmet innovation ~ The Invisible Bike Helmet
terraria download
potluck ideas
Vocabulary Workshop Level F Answers
pictures of Pippa Middleton’s Bum ~ Pictures of Pippa Middleton’s Bum | Naked Celebrities

Conclusion

People seem to want to read crap rather than than anything of merit. They want crude and blunt short articles rather than sophistication and unique thought. The typical surfer is an idiot.

Play Pac-man Free! Plus Added Ridiculous Incentives | God Save The Queen and The Fascist Regime

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:38:26 +0000

CLICK HERE to go the the website which provides free downloads of Pac-Man, Centipede, Sonic the Hedgehog and many more retrogames.

WWWW Weird World Wide Web!

In a bid to attract more and more (and more) visitors to its site HELP with Aquarius Men have started offering a range of products free of charge via its advertisers.

Aquarius:SAC-D Mission (Photo credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

Surely you and anyone in their right mind can see that visitors who go there want help with their Aquarius men and there is nothing more important to them. Article continues below this picture of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth of Eng-ga-land. God Save the Queen!

Image via Wikipedia

Surely the partners of difficult Aquarius men have no time for a game of Pac-Man, to collect money-off coupons for this week’s groceries or to play around with their image and make it look pug-ugly. Surely, if they did, this would mean that the world wide web has (as we explained in the introduction) just got weirder. Well, with no more shenanigans, not a tad more malarkey, we can say for sure that even the partners, ex partners and prospective partners of the most difficult Aquarius men are now popping in for advice but then playing a retro-game for free. This is taking BOGOFF (buy one and get one for free) to a new level of utter ridiculousness.

Presidential Briefing in Argentina (Photo credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

Video2mp3: The New Way for New Music Downloads

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:20:33 +0000

Music has become an expensive affair nowadays hasn’t it? iTunes charges you about 99p (and I’m not sure how many US Dollars) to purchase just one song. If you are lucky, then you might end up with a slightly decent ‘Single Of The Week’ on iTunes (which is free) or they have a selection of songs that are about a few months old for 59p. My iPod has 8GB worth of emptiness in it which translates to 2000 songs. Now if I was to pay £0.99 for 1000 songs and £0.59 for the remaining 1000 songs, then that would mean that my iPod is worth a grand total of £1580 on top of the £132 I paid for it initially, which then equates to £1712. And that includes not paying 99p for about 1000 songs and the amount I’d pay for apps to go into my iPod. Now, don’t know about you, but for me £1712 worth entertainment is a bit much. If you lose that iPod, that’s £1712 down the drain.

I must stop beating around the bush and just cut to the chase. What if you can’t afford to pay so much for a bunch of software in your iPod? Here’s the new method which is still in its fledgling stages but I’m sure soon, it will pick up popularity.

http://www.video2mp3.net/ – Video2MP3 is the new method of getting free downloads.

How does it work?

Simple – all you do is go on Youtube and copy the link of the song you wish to download. Do check that it is the right version of the song you are looking for and that the quality meets your ineffable standards. Once you’ve got the link, go to Video2MP3 and put the link in the space provided. Click the button that says ‘High Quality’ ensuring that you get the optimum, and click convert. What you should find, is that after a few seconds, it gives you a button to download the song. You click ‘Download’ and your computer should download the song. If you wish to convert another video from Youtube, click another button that says ‘Convert another video’ and repeat the process above.

Why should I bother?

There are numerous advantages to getting your music this way.

1) It’s free – you aren’t paying for anything!

2) It’s quick – it literally takes seconds (although beware, if you overuse it, the conversion part may take longer so you must know to give it a rest until you continue again).

3) No virus at all – unlike other free downloads, these files aren’t being shared around the world so you have the guarantee that no one else will have used that mp3 file before you.

4) High quality – provided you pick the right link, the quality should be pretty good.

5) Range of songs – there might be parodies you like on Youtube or maybe a remix of this song made by someone on Youtube, or maybe the song you are looking for isn’t popular enough to hit iTunes, you can get the link on Youtube and download it right away!

But, is it legal?

That is the big question. Like I said before, this new method is still in its fledgling stages and you can’t really tell if it legal or not. Technically, if you get Youtube, you are allowed to share what you find on Youtube so it makes perfect sense that you can use Youtube however you want. BUT! The copyright on the song means that you have to purchase it and you could be in trouble. If you think that you aren’t supporting your favourite artist by downloading freely this way, then you can always buy band merchandise or other T shirts and concert tickets that your artist put forth in the market.

So?

The way I look at it, using Video2MP3 may or may not be perfectly legal but it definitely has more advantages than downloading free music off some other sites where the risk of virus and illegal downloading is high. It is better than taking that route but probably not as saintly as choosing to buy music by paying for it. Either way, the choice is yours but this method does need popularity and those who use it, seem to be satiated.

Now that you know about this method, it’s up to you to pick this new way of new music.