Content Isn’t New, But It Is Changing

You know how I feel about content and content marketing. I literally wrote the book on it.

Any company, organization or individual needs to be strategically thinking about and creating content that is appropriate for them in order to succeed in today’s world.

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Yes I’m Going to SXSW, But Not to Your Party.

It is that time of year again.

The month before SXSW happens in Austin, Texas when tens of thousands of people from around the globe arrive in town. The time when it seems at least half of them will start sending out invites to a drinkup, party or other gathering that they hope you and a few hundred other people will show up at.

I only have to take one look at my inbox to confirm that it is that time of year again.

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Go Behind the Scenes To Create Engaging Content

Every day I’m asked how companies can create content that will be engaging enough that people will take the time to consume and then share it with others.

My standard answer is that there are no silver bullets, but I do think that the more types of content you know about, the more you can consider them every time you get stuck with one of those “well what do I do now?” moments.

Today I want to talk about the power of behind the scenes content and why you should consider it.

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Pinterest 101 Video

Today I was asked by Lynette Young to take part in a Google Hangout discussion about Pinterest.

It is 90 minutes of tips, reactions and a good primer on what we believe it is and isn’t.

Joining me in the discussion was Simon Salt and Jane Ellen. If after watching this you’d like to follow me on Pinterest you can. Enjoy the video.

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My Writing Buddies – Scrivener and Freedom

Writing a book takes a lot of time and focus. Ask any author and they’ll tell you that the daily sit down and write is not the easiest thing in the world. It involves plenty of frustration and procrassination that none of us are very proud of.

Yesterday, I got mad at myself as I had a full day that I planned to dedicate to my new book, but for some reason at the end of the day I looked back and had not written a single word for it. Sure, I got other things done, but still I wasn’t happy.

This morning I was reading the latest from Julien Smith and it kicked me right between the eyes. I’m happy to say that as I write this I’ve already written another 2,000 words for the book.

How did I do it? With the amazing combo of Scrivener and Freedom.

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Pinterest is What YOU Want it to Be

Pinterest is the latest social network to be getting a lot of buzz and rightfully so because it is super easy to figure out, has a simple and effective UI and creates addictive behavior in it’s users. Plus, I think it has some interesting ways brands could use it to find people passionate about their products and once they open up their API some very cool possibilities begin to happen.

I’ve picked on Pinterest for a while now because it didn’t provide anything to me. I didn’t need it because the clipping mentality that they thrive on is something I’ve done in Evernote since I first started using it. I’m constantly clipping images, posts and other things that catch my attention into notebooks within Evernote. I go to them often for inspiration or when I’m preparing to give speeches.

This morning I read Chris Brogan’s thoughts on Gentlemint, which is a Pinterest clone targeting guys and while I agree that niche focused networks are a powerful and useful idea, I’m not sold on the need for one here. Not everything has to be separated in to one bucket for boys and a different bucket for girls.

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