Successful Blog

Thanks to Week 183 SOBs

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Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

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They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

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Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Sunday May 3: Show the Sponsors What YOU Know

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“SHOW THE SPONSORS” CHALLENGE

Sunday, May 3rd 8:30am – NOON

Meet us at 39th Floor Ballroom at Hotel 71
8:00am Breakfast begins — delicious, healthful hot and cold food on buffet

Here’s where attendees get the chance to “meet the challenge” and show corporate sponsors how social media can connect their product with their customers.

  1. Each of these sponsors will have 10 minutes to present a product they want to promote.

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  2. Teams of attendees will get one product and 30 minutes to develop a social media action plan that builds product awareness.
  3. Teams will then present their approach to the sponsor and the group for open discussion.

This is when the fun learning begins.

The “cut and thrust” of the open discussion will build on the initial idea presented so that everyone can contribute – and learn – how the spark of a social media idea can evolve to play an integral part of a real world product marketing solution.

Cool stuff, farewells, and thank yous. — Terry Starbucker and Liz Strauss

A limited number of separate tickets are available for this breakfast event.

SOB Business Cafe 04-24-09

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Ewa in the Garden … just look!!

iJump brings it together.
What are the new rules of marketing and PR? What does lead generation look like in a social media world?

Location Independent gives outstanding advice.
Obviously, not all jobs are conducive to the location independent lifestyle but more often than you’d think, on-site positions exist, simply because no one has ever considered that there might be an alternative.

Catskill Cottage Seed
I’ve taken the test on three different occasions, as a teen, in my twenties and in my thirties. The results changed somewhat, though not a great deal, each time.

Pluperfecter always makes me think.
Take “social media”, a good thing, and add “marketing” to the end of it, the goal and aim of it: “social media marketing.” Sounds ugly, crass, and bothersome, does it not? I think so.

Related ala carte selections include

The Art of Non-Conformity has 25,000 downloads on this. Do you have yours yet? What are you waiting for?

Oh and..
Only 7 days left to …

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Two Things Successful People Do to Get Where They're Going

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Things in Twos

Yesterday Karen emailed to say that she won’t be able to attend SOBCon. Her company is sending her to California next weekend.
Karen has been a good friend to the conference and an attendee since the beginning. This year she was also going to speak with Glenda on accessiblity. Later in the day, I found out that Saul Colt had a similar situation.

It was the kind of news that happens. That doesn’t make it less disappointing. I got two for the price of one.

How did I get to be so lucky?

Two Things Successful People Do to Get Where They’re Going

Yesterday was a day of twos, I had two speakers to replace and two last minute contracts to write up. I had two kinds of people come knocking — people who wanted to help and people who wanted me to do something for them. The event prep for two events came through — two key things were missing. I had two other projects that I wanted to move forward. The details to be handled seemed to be multiplying by twos every time I communicated with anyone about anything.

I had two choices — to take a nap or to keep going.

At about 2pm, I was going through more SOBCon preparations and my eyes landed on the name of man I admire. I got thinking of something simple and profound he once told me.

Successful people do two things to get where they’re going — talk and move.

It only took those two things to get everything back in order.

I’m pleased to announce that Jeff Willinger will be partnering with Terry Starbucker Friday afternoon at SOBCon to bring a spectacular session on the infrastructure of an online business. And a second plan is in action for Karen’s session with Glenda. Can’t wait for that.

Two more things about talking and moving …

  • Talking needs to be about the opportunities.
  • Moving needs to be invested in a positive action.

Thanks to all of the people who’ve been helping!

What sort of positive talking and moving have you been doing?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Register for SOBCon09 NOW!!

Connecting with New People

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People talking
People talking

Here are some simple to follow steps toward developing your people skills and enhancing your network:

1. Be nice, and everything else will fall into place.

Our friend and mentor Liz Strauss has a motto for SOBCon, “Be nice.” How hard is that? How many people do it? Being nice creates likability and trust. People do business with other people that they like and people they trust. Ask yourself “How friendly are you?”

2. Project yourself in a way that creates a positive attitude in others.

Your handshake is an indicator of your self-image. So is your wardrobe. Everything from your hair to your shoes is an expression of who you are and what your style may be, or not be. Is your image acceptable to those you seek to connect with? Do you make them feel comfortable in your presence. Reach out with your personality in a positive way and help the people that you meet be positive too.

3. Make eye contact.

Making eye contact is a display of confidence and a display of respect for the other person. Do you find it easy to make eye contact? Do you feel suspicious when others do not make eye contact with you?

What are some other things that you can do to meet new people and grow your network?

Questions: Are Social Tools Making Introverts into Extroverts?

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Energy Inside or Out

Today in a telephone conversation with @PJMcGuire, we talked about how people see us and who we are. She mentioned that she had called herself a “people person,” and someone she works with said, “No, you’re more than that, you’re a traditional extrovert. You get your energy from other people.”

I’ve always found the differences between introverts and extroverts to be fascinating — mostly because each group seems to think that the other is flawed. Even those of us who don’t know or don’t understand the basic difference between the two groups seem to think that there is a right way to respond. Meaning another way must be wrong.

Introverts renew their energy by going inside themselves. When they’re bearing stress, they seek to be alone to find comfort and solve problems. Other people’s energy drains their reserve. Introverts are less likely to seek stimulation from others because their own thoughts and imagination are stimulating enough.

Extroverts refuel by being with other people. When the house falls in, they want to talk it out. Hearing themselves talk is how they solve problems. When they’re with other people they get recharged. Extraverts (also spelled extroverts) tend to be gregarious, assertive, and interested in seeking out excitement.

Are Introverts Becoming Extroverts on the Social Web?

Dr. Mike Wesch said, “The media mediates relationships.” As we lose context, we reach out for community. Research shows that younger generations are more extroverted.

It’s not fully understood why some people are introverts and others extroverts. The ratio is changing over time. CPP (formerly Consulting Psychologists Press) is the publisher of the Myers-Briggs assessment and has testing data going back 50 years. It plans to release research showing younger generations are becoming increasingly extroverted. Those born before 1964, including baby boomers, are split about 50-50 between introversion and extroversion, but 59% of Generation X (born 1965-81) are extroverted, as are 62% of Millennials (born after 1981). —Not all successful CEOs are extroverts

I interviewed bloggers daily for over a year. It became clear within a short time that the bloggers I spoke with overwhelmingly described themselves as independent introverts. That seemed to make sense then. Blogging is a writing task that requires reflection. Now I wonder whether that was then and the folks who chose to participate.

Now I see the changes in myself and some of those interviewees as I look across the web. It took me a long time to get to Twitter, but now … beware following me. I tweet a lot when I’m there.

Many of us have been slow to adopt Twitter then become very chatty as we get comfortable there.

People see me as an extrovert, but I’m not. I’ve heard the same from blogger friends. I understand why people think so. I look around and wonder … are the tools making us extroverts or just making us seem so? Are we introverts or have we become something different in this context?

Are introverts becoming extroverts on the social web?

Can we really think of it as being extroverted if we’re not actually WITH other people?

Is it possible for an introvert to become an extrovert — changing energy source from inside to out?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!