What a day! I met over a dozen new people today online, and two of them were just astronomical finds! One’s a local guy with enough talent and information and great ideas and resources to kill a guy! It took me almost an hour to utilize most of the good advice he gave me, and I *still* have some left over for tomorrow.
The other came to me from a few tangential directions, and really pretty much has about 30 things I want to talk with him about, ranging from fitness and health goals to my new business, to all kinds of things. It was crazy. We had so much in common as far as interests go around new media and technology. Michael, if he likes Batman, I’m thinking he can join the club.
On top of this, I got more good sponsor news, PodCamp Boston signed up another 10 or so folks, I got a few emails and comments about my New Media School project, and about two dozen more good deals like that. I got to talk with Jon about his movie (and file formats for movies), to Justin about another person in Pittsburgh, and generally to “Hello World.”
And THEN… because today wasn’t magical enough, I spoke to Heidi Miller who runs Talk it Up! and a podcast called Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter. We had a blast! We talked about a million things, it feels like, but her editing will certainly save us, making it feel like an even hundred instead. We discussed new media. Wow, she’s such a professional, and still very fun! We really got along well and had a great chat. I can’t wait to hear what it sounds like.
Throughout all this, I also maintained contact with my Executive Producers on their shows, answered as many questions and queries as I could, and worked hard to get those balls all flying.
Oh, and I gave my family lots of love, starting with a swim in the lake this morning with my daughter and ending with trying to get my son (who has a cold) go to sleep gently, like he usually does. My wife and I watched a little bit of The Show with Ze Frank on the Mac and laughed our butts off.
I started, but didn’t get to complete recording Fat Guy Gets Fit. For any of you who also subscribe to Fat Guy Gets Fit, I’m sorry for the delay. The show will be out tomorrow, barring any insane disasters.
I did, however, capture more raw footage for the New Media School project, about the reality of podcasting versus what listeners hear.
Last note, seeing as I’m writing some kind of “Dear Diary,” was that I really and truly believe what Heidi Miller and I were talking about. I believe in the power of the people around me, the network of friends and supporters and people interested in the crazy dreams I put forth to follow. I’m going to make it a fun ride, kids! I’ll promise you that.
That is Chris Brogan, signing off and going to bed, so you don’t have to.
Chris Brogan
Revelation
I want to tell a new media story for you. Do you have a minute or two?
Background
On June 3rd (my Dad’s birthday, by the way), I presented in front of people at BarCamp Boston. I made a presentation called “Content Networks are the New Blogs.” It was based on this post. The shorthand is this: blogs are dead- GROUP blogs, GROUP projects, COMMUNITY-building media is the key.
I believe this with all my heart, and I believe this is the time for such events. I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen that NOW, today, this very second, it’s no longer good enough to keep your standalone blog. You must throw in with the people around you who do similar things. You must build value. You must deliver something consistent, useful, powerful, that will reach the audience who likes your stuff, in such a way that it engages you.
This is NOT about RSS. This is NOT about user-generated content (delightful, but too random). It’s NOT about recreating the old structures and finding employees and building Rupert’s empire all over again. Similarly, it’s NOT about hippies and kum baya.
It’s about a new media business.
Grasshopper New Media
I’m doing this the way I do everything: rapid prototyping, not letting things like “all the answers” get in the way of a plan, reaching out to the people who matter to me for help, insight, advice, participation. I’m going after this full throttle. Near as I can tell, this idea sums up everything I’ve been putting together over the last several months into one neat package.
Grasshopper New Media shares stories. We’re not the television station; we’re the programming. We’re the stuff you see and hear, not the people who bring it to you. And we’re all about giving voice to those people who don’t always get heard or seen.
Want less flowers? We create podcasts, video podcasts, blogs and vlogs.
“Isn’t that what you’re doing now?”
Sure. Me. I’m doing it. You’re doing it. There are more blogs than humans. Hell, I’ve got a zillion. I write for a zillion more.
Many voices makes it easier to be heard. A chorus will always trump a solo singer, even if her voice is far better than any individual voice in that chorus. I believe it’s time to stand up and build a chorus. Sing deep from within, because this time is unique. (As was 1997. As was 1967. As was lots of times, and more to come.)
How you can participate
I’m working on that. The idea started around my super-secret mom project. I started tentatively reaching out, seeing how others could help what’s normally a standalone project. I think there are ways to get involved, ways to make your voice amplify, ways for those who don’t like standing up on stage to work the makeup and mixing boards, and participate in the school play.
There’s no money yet. I’m not offering people cash. Hell, I’m paying my way and buying up stuff to make this thing happen. When there’s money to be had, we’ll find a way to be reasonable and cool about it. I say “when.”
In the short term, here’s my idea:
Let’s start with blogs. Some of you are here to read about self-improvement. Others are my friendly Lifehack converts, adding to their weekly sampling of Chris Brogan by reading this site. Still more are just like-minded individuals who have their own blogs, doing their own thing.
I want to start a blog for a bunch of us. A content network blog. I want participants who are:
*consistent.
*thoughtful.
*original.
*reliable.
*grammatically useful.
*storytellers in their own right.
I think the topic is something around improving one’s life. If you’re signing on, you have a say in what YOU think the topic should be. Remember, it has to be group-friendly, and sustainable. Writing about OSX will only last so long. Blogging about Britney won’t last either. That’s why I recommend something about Self-Improvement or hacking life, etc.
This is not a democracy all the way, though. There’s editors helping shape the voice. It’s not Digg. It’s not del.icio.us. You’re contributing by writing consistent work that fits with the rest of the bunch. You’re writing the same way you do for your own blog, only you’re working to fit the goals, the style, and the intent of the new site.
That’s one project.
Joining Grasshopper New Media
My related project is to at least be able to point people to stuff that fits well with what we’re doing. If you’re not at all interested in the group blogging concept, but you still have a voice that fits well with what we’re doing, perhaps you’d consider being part of Grasshopper New Media by way of affiliation. This merely means throwing a link back to the mothership on your site (graphics coming), and adding your voice to the conversation.
At the heart of that idea is wanting people to be able to find the shared narrative, the many voices out there saying things that are interesting to them. Maybe you’ll stay on your stand-along blog for a really long time, but my hope is that you’ll consider coming to the group at some point.
Oh, and I want this to be international. I’m anxious to see Grasshoppers in Singapore, in Wales, in South Africa. Let’s do something to turn the new media space into a global event, and not so heavily focused on one country. Let’s focus on making things relevent to “Citizens of the internet.”
You know what else a great site needs?
- Tip feeders. People who read lots of weird sources and share what they’re thinking.
- Editors. People to read this stuff, find typos or sentences that don’t work, and report back, so authors can fix them.
- Evangelists. People to push links towards these projects, to get us seen by your friends and associates.
- Supporters. People who see where this is going and want to participate in some way, maybe not yet defined.
- Developers. People to create good concepts that might make for good new channels.
- Talent. We will forever be in the talent business.
I’m spilling this all out on you because I can’t hold it all in. My head will explode. I’ve got the plan and it’s rolling forward, and I’m looking for folks to sign on in some capacity. If you’re a blogger and want to blog with me, great. If you’re a podcaster, and you want to develop shows with me, wow! If you’re doing video work, I’m anxious to get you involved. Editors, readers, talented passionate people. I want you all.
We want to bring this voice forward, in all its new media forms. And we want to be heard. Let’s see if we can’t make it really interesting in the process, and fun.
After all, we’re grasshoppers.
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Tags: grasshopper, gnm, grasshoppernewmedia, contentnetworks, podcasting, blogging, videopodcasting, vlogging, gathering, socialnetworks
Mail Hacks and Tips
(credit mrjoro.) I’ve got a thank-you note ready to send out this afternoon, only it’s not a pretty little note card with an embossed “Thank You” in flowing script. It’s a piece of my art with my note scrawled along the back. It’s really colorful. I know she’ll keep it.
- First Hack: Snail Mail’s Back– You want to impress someone these days? Send them mail to their physical mailbox. No, not fliers for your crappy credit card. Send them something real. Try doing this with new business contacts you meet. If they list an address, send something there.
- Subject Line Ninja– Use subject lines to their fullest. Here’s a subject line I sent today: “Are we still on for meeting tomorrow at 3?” I forgot who gave me this hack (Gary?), but it was to put: SSIA (subject says it all) in the subject line. That way, people don’t even have to READ the email. They can just read the subject. Think of it as IM for subjects.
- Rules Rule!– Write rules, dammit. Use the filters. You know why they’re there? Because email applications KNOW you’re too busy. Stop manually weeding things out. Oh, and use the THIS IS SPAM feature on things like Gmail and Yahoo mail. I have to pray that this adds to the technology to beat spam. Help out.
- Be Brief– Use short sentences. Make your point. Move on. Fill someone in only if they ask. Give them a “teaser,” if it’s enough for them to make a decision for action. By the way, that’s what MOST email should be about. Action.
- Set a Timer– Allow yourself only brief touches of email while working on things. Switching from your task to email and back stirs your head and takes away your focus. Try setting your email to check less frequently. If you’re freaked out, set special rules that the BOSS’s email sets off a wav file, or a buzzer, or forwards to your cell phone, too. Whatever. Make it stand out, so you know who NOT to ignore.
- Call to Action– End emails that matter with a “next step required” for the other person. If you’re telling someone you just met that it was nice meeting them at the conference, end the mail by saying, “I’d like to talk more with you about Sasquatch. Are you free on Thursday or Friday evening at 9PM for a call?” It gives the other person a REASON to write you back, if only to say that they hate Sasquatch and they were just humoring you.
- Promote Yourself– If you’re running a business, a blog, a podcast, an art collection, put your damned links at the bottom of your email in a signature. Give them a little grab line to make them even more intrigued. Right now, I’m signing some of my emails like this:
——————-
Chris Brogan
12 Week Challenge
Begins NOW at
FatGuyGetsFit.com
——————-
Boy that worked.
These are the hacks that rolled off my head immediately, and I’ve talked about some others before. What do you have? Add your 39 cents.
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tag: hacks, email, lifehack, howto, communication, correspondence, promotion
Countdown to What?
I am in the process of switching things up a little bit, but I’m not sure how I want to proceed. I could probably use your feedback, though ultimately, I’ll make a decision based on my gut. Care to read along? First, the housekeeping:
1.) I will be purchasing domain hosting services from 1and1.com. I like them more than godaddy.com for price and services reasons. So far, the customer service is lacking, but otherwise, they’re decent and full service.
2.) When the domain transfers, my email might screw up. In the interim, feel free to send mail directly to: chrisbrogan ahhhhht gmail dohhhht com. (Man, I’m paranoid about robots sniffing that address).
3.) When the domain transfers, I’ll be switching to WordPress for my blogging software. (Ben Wann will help me, because I’m a knucklehead). This just means the “look and feel” of the main page will change a bit.
4.) This *may* muck with the RSS feed. (I have to contact my friends at Feedburner and ask them how to make the transition smooth).
And now, the big questions
So, [chrisbrogan.com] is going along nicely. I’ve got an average feed subscription base around 50 (which is plenty for me), and I’ve got page visits of around 100 people a day (thanks mostly to using Technorati tags at the bottoms of my posts. But, I want to do something different with the format. I’m feeling weird about it being CHRIS BROGAN and not.. a whole host of people sharing ideas about self-improvement and small/medium business ideas. It’s really got me wanting to open it up, to share it. But how? What could we do to become the Digg of self-improvement, or the Slashdot? Not HUGE, but more participatory? Should it even be CALLED chrisbrogan.com?
That’s one question.
I want to provide other content. I’m doing more and more digital art. I want to share it in a few formats. I will be putting up some kind of ecommerce site to buy cards and posters (my posters are set to arrive tomorrow- I can’t wait!). But I think I’d like to get back to some more storytelling, and maybe some sequential art. Wouldn’t it be nice to get some folks to come back regularly to follow a story? I want to do some entertainment in some form or another. With YouTube and other personal media sites becoming so popular, I’d LOVE to contribute my creativity to the mix. So, what? I’ll have to split it out in such a way that the [chrisbrogan.com] stuff doesn’t get diluted by the other.
So…
Some questions:
1.) Which sites are in your Top 10 view/read/visit category? What MUST you see in a given day? Where do you LIKE to go and check out new things?
2.) Should I open my brand up to be more than just my name, and find some kind of nifty monicker to share the wealth with others?
3.) Would you be interested in seeing some kind of “story” be told with my art? Do you follow any web comics currently? Where do you go on the web to be entertained? And finally, do you download VIDEO from the internet?
Thanks in advance. This naval-gazing is all for a purpose. I’m working hard on making better products for people in 2006.
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tags:feedburner, rss, technorati, blog, relaunch
New Project- Open Source Fitness
Have you felt in a rut with your exercise program? Have you recently fallen off the habit of fitness? Want to try something new just to mix it up? I’m going to publish my personal fitness regimen for a 4 day a week program. I want this to be “open source.” This means that I want others to help tweak and add to the idea, and that the idea is “free”. The details are fairly easy to follow. Full Post (In case you can’t see my new expander thingy)The goal of the program is to get back some muscle tone, get my running back into gear, and to lose the almost-20 pounds I’ve thrown on over the last several months. I’m in mediocre shape right now. I’m not couchy, but I’m definitely not last year’s Chris Brogan. So, if you’re in a similar state, you’re probably qualified to follow along. (*blah blah, check with your doctor, etc…not legally libel, etc, blah blah).
The layout of the program will be over four days. I’m going to shoot for M-W-F-SU for my calendar. You can do whatever fits your needs. Because I like full-body programs, I tend to do things where you can work everything nearly daily. If you’re mixing this with some other program, you might have to tinker. Please post any adjustments you come up with, or make suggestions. I want the project to be open source.
Oh, and on these three days, I might want to split some of this into the morning and some into the evening. That’s because fitness should FIT your schedule. Right?
Three of the four days will have calisthenics, stretching, and strength training. I’m going to try like heck to use little or no equipment for this, by the way. I get excited about trying to make do with what you have around. Well, I might suggest things like a stability ball, and I plan to use my bicycle for some of my cardio work, but you could run. But no, you don’t need to buy a Bowflex to do this. : )
The fourth day will be dedicated for a long run. I don’t *really* mean only running. I mean star-dot-cardio thing. It could be your long fastwalk. Your long hike. Your long swim. Whatever gets the heart moving and kicks caloric burn into full gear.
No sign-up necessary. It’s neat to know if you’re “in” or not, or if you want, you can see what I’m doing, and see if you want to jump in. The program will run until Christmas, whether or not anyone jumps in on it.
Monday morning, early, I’ll share the first installment of “Open Source Fitness.” I could use your help. Are you in? Who do you know that might want to check this out? Send them my way. Watch for Monday morning’s post (GMT-5 for you worldwide folks).
Let’s get this thing started.
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