Successful Blog

Social Media BookList: Let’s Talk Business, Tweets and Mojo

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors, writers, speakers and coaches. As part of my job I read a lot of books. I am here to offer a weekly post about one that I am working with and one I have put on my reading list. The books will cover topics such as social media (Facebook & Twitter), organization, career building, networking, writing and self development and inspiration.

#MOJOtweet

This week I would like to start with a book I’ve read and working with by Marshall Goldsmith, author of #MOJOtweet published by ThinkAha books.

mojotweet_cover_mid

In this fast paced world we live in and the need for great information that will lead us to action, is sometimes hard to find. Well, in the ThinkAha book series, this problem is quickly resolved by the format used.

#MOJOtweet is written in the template of around only 100 pages and formulated about tweets (also known as AHA’s) in 140 characters. 

You may be asking what is Mojo? Mojo is the moment when you do something that’s purposeful, powerful and positive and the rest of the world recognizes it.

Mitchell Levy, CEO of Happy About, Inc. and publisher of ThinkAha books,  summarizes the essence of the book in the forward, ” Mojo is that missing ingredient that is between you and your life filled with meaning and happiness. #Mojotweet provides that in bite-sized packages.”

Below are just a few of the wise, helpful and inspirational aha’s I found in the this informational compact book, #MOJOtweet.

~ We run everything through two filters: short-term satisfaction (or happiness) and long-term satisfaction (meaning). –>So true! When I first read that I thought, “no I don’t do that”, but when I thought about it again, I realized I certainly do.

~ Mojo is infectious. When people pass their positive spirit onto us; we feel like passing it back. –>Again, great insight in such a short statement. Positive breeds positive. If I am around a positive person, my outlook will change for the better which I will radiate to others around me.

~ When measuring your Mojo, do so in the immediate present, not in the recent past or vague future.–>this is something I struggle with sometimes. I worry about things from the past or worry how to correct things before they even get here…not to concentrate on what is in the now.

You can order your copy or download the ebook of #MOJOtweet.

Marshall Goldsmith, is America’s preeminent executive coach. He is among a select few consultants who have been asked to work with more than sixty CEOs. His clients have included many of the world’s leading corporations. Goldsmith has helped to implement leadership development processes that have impacted more than one million people around the world.

He has a Ph.D. from UCLA and is on the faculty of the executive education programs for Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan. The American Management Association recently named him as one of fifty great thinkers and business leaders of the past eighty years. Read more in his new book, MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It.

Crowdsourcing

The book on this week’s on my reading list is
Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of a Crowd is driving the future of business by Jeff Howe.

The book focuses on describing how to crowds are creating new sources of value than the specific ways to tap into that value. Chapters 1 through 5, the first half of the book, concentrates on providing examples of the crowd sourcing phenomenon. The second half focuses down on the impact of crowds to economic and business organization.

My thoughts: I believe there has always been an influence of the crowd.I remember when my mother would call her friends for advice or ideas for a new recipe, how to decorate, or who her friend used as a dentist. Society has drawn about the advice and influence of others (the crowd) for many years, however, I believe with the invasion of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, the importance of the crowd (crowdsourcing) is stronger than ever.

Jeff Howe is a contributing editor at Wired Magazine, where he covers the media and entertainment industry, among other subjects. In June of 2006 he published “The Rise of Crowdsourcing” in Wired. He has continued to cover the phenomenon in his blog, crowdsourcing.com, and published a book on the subject for Crown Books in September 2008. Before coming to Wired he was a senior editor at Inside.com and a writer at the Village Voice. In his fifteen years as a journalist he has traveled around the world working on stories ranging from the impending water crisis in Central Asia to the implications of gene patenting. He has written for Time Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post, Mother Jones and numerous other publications. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Alysia Abbott, their daughter Annabel Rose and son Phineas and a miniature black lab named Clementine.

You can pick up your copy of Crowdsourcing on Amazon.

I hope you have enjoyed this new weekly blog post. Feel free to share your thoughts with me as I would be open to read them.

5 Ways to Mine Gold When It's Raining

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Last night we went out to dinner, the weather was unfriendly — cold, rainy, with a hard wind blowing us down the street. As we sat in our favorite pub enjoying the haven, we listened as each person commented on the weather as they arrived.

People competed for negative adjectives — awful, frightful, dismal and nasty were just a handful they chose. … And they frowned when they said them.

And each time those remarks were made, I thought I wanted to back off from the speaker. Who wants to be talking with someone who’s mad about the rain? Let’s just say we’re not golden when we’re unhappy with things we’re not about to change.

5 Ways to Mine Gold When It’s Raining Outside

This morning before I even look out the window, I could hear that the day wasn’t bringing any spring sunshine. No folks would be running along the beach. This is not picnic time. I started to form the thought, “another nasty day,” then I stopped myself thinking “nah, think like that and I won’t want to spend the day anywhere near me.”

I decided that today has every potential to be golden.

<a href="http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=469365"> Photo by Pat4 </a>
Photo by Pat4 -- Click image.

I can find gold with everything I try.

  1. I can write with my own light about the people who inspire me.
  2. I can look for the golden opportunities to help other folks shine.
  3. I can mine my archives for ideas that will become stellar blog posts.
  4. I can gather sparks of insight and energy from my friends and the wisdom they write.
  5. I can take the example of the power of the rain outside my window and apply that power in my life.

Nothing wrong with not wanting to be cold, wet, and blown around. I’m choosing not to participate in a day that’s not human friendly. If I don’t have to, I probably won’t join it. But I’ve decided it’s not at all awful, frightful, dismal, or nasty. It’s a chance to see what I make shine inside.

How do you mine gold in your life?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Buy the ebook.

Register for SOBCon09 NOW!!

Go for the Gold Inside You!

11:00 – Liz Strauss on Building a Personal Development Network

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The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS — in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business.

How do we form the best relationships; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success?

Join the Comment Box Conference. Ask questions. Discuss answers. Meet people in the comment box. Find out.

Liz Strauss

Liz is a social web strategist and community builder. Coming from a background of publishing, business, and instructional design, Liz understands how people perceive a blog, a product, and an experience — how the head and heart engage to make a fiercely loyal customer. She can articulate what makes things irresistible — what keeps people coming back — from literacy, editorial, design, and marketing sensitivities. Liz will tell you that brands and social media are the same in that “You gotta live it, walking ever word you speak.”

Today Liz is here to talk about how to build a personal development network of support and growth. Some ideas and talking points might include:

Building a Personal Development Network

1. Start with a personal foundation built on concrete not sand.

  • Qualitative Observations
  • Quantitative Assessment
  • Personal Reflection

Know what you know and never discount its value.

2. Know Your Context — Pick your path.

3. Enlist Developers — Choose unique and valuable guides.

  • People who know you.
  • People who know what you what to learn.
  • People who will tell you when you falter.

4. Regularly Reassess — Seek opportunities to learn what you’re learning.

5. Develop Others — Return the favor and pay it forward.

6. AND THE ONE THAT WAS MISSING — Communicate. Let your network

Let’s let the questions start rolling. I’ll offer the first one!

Liz is a founder of the highly successful business and social media conference SOBCon She has been named to the Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers Top 100 Most Influential Marketers of 2008, the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Social Media, NxE’s Fifty Most Influential ‘Female’ Bloggers

Liz Strauss writes about branding, social media and how businesses can use the entrepreneurial spirit to understand and build successful relationships and communities on the Internet. You’ll find her at Successful-blog.
Follow @lizstrauss at Twitter.

Will I See You at WordCamp Las Vegas Jan. 10-11?

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Flying without a Net?


Just put the finishing touches on my presentation. conversation. It’s called, “From Blog to Community,” but I think of it as “Flying on the Interwebs Without a Net.” No powerpoints, it’s going be the speaker’s version of a blog post.

WordCamp Las Vegas is a two-day event being held at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino, just off the Las Vegas strip on January 10 and 11, 2009. You’ll find the complete schedule here. I’m speaking on Sunday after lunch and I plan on keeping every one fully engaged.

Anyone who’s been to a WordCamp event knows they’re a great deal. $20 gets you a t-shirt and access to some outstanding speakers, including Matt Mullenweg, Aaron Hockley, Lorelle VanFossen, Dave Taylor and many more. And did I say I’d be there?

Let me know if you will be there too!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

SOBCon09 is May 1, 2,3 in Chicago. Register before 2009 and save!

Buyers, Readers, Buzz Snackers and Bandwidth Bandits

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Not Live, but from Blog World Expo

Some asked that I post my slide deck. I’m delighted to say an hour after I put it up on slide share last night it was featured on the front page.

The Presentation had two parts.

The main points of Part One are about stats.

  • Stats are great for drilling down and sorting information.
  • We can learn about past behaviors from statistical data.
  • Statistical data does not aggregate into something human.
  • People don’t behave like stats.
  • People are important for many reasons stated on slide 8.
  • People are also important because they make exclusive relationships, understand / interpret your intentions and can tell you what you’re doing wrong.
  • The web talks a lot about traffic. Traffic comes in more than one kind.

The main points of Part Two are about strategically using stats.

  • Use them to know your position
  • Understand your objective.
  • Know the players and their objectives.
  • Then use statistics to choose your tactics.

The rest supports those points.

Buyers Readers Buzz Snackers Bandwidth Bandits By Liz Strauss

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: strategy business)

Note: Clicking the little screen next to the x/23 pages allows you to see the show full screen.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Forget Brogan, Forget Me While You’re at It! Meet GLENDA at BlogWorld Expo!

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Go for the Gold

I’m writing in response to Brogan’s blog post. He’s only telling his part of the story.

Last year at BlogWorld Expo, the first person I met in the hall was Chris Brogan. I already knew him.

Yet everywhere I went there he was again. In the hallway, Chris Brogan. In the breakroom, Chris Brogan. In the lunchroom, Chris Brogan. I love Chris Brogan. I think he’s awesome, but I was beginning to think there were 55 of him.

Finally, I ducked into the b5 Chris Brogan-less educational session. What a joy! Who should I spy there in the front row, but my dear friend, Glenda Watson Hyatt and her husband! Of course, we had no chance to talk, because speakers were speaking. (Speakers seemed to be doing that in every session.)

Do you know Glenda Watson Hyatt? She’s the one you really want to go to BlogWorld Expo to meet. She’s a published author, an accomplished blogger, and an adovocate of accessibilty rights like no other. She’s also an SOB like most folks around here.

Of course, when I got my opportunity to talk to Glenda, who should be there already romancing her . . . yep, the infamous Mr. Chris.

Glenda_Watson_Hyatt_and_Liz_Strauss_BlogWorldExpo07

We got Brogan to take this picture — the three of us got some quality time talking together.

She’s the gold.

Forget about meeting me. Forget about meeting him. Glenda is the one.

Of course, then, you could meet all of us at BlogWorld Expo. It’s Sept 20-21 in Las Vegas, NV.

I hear the BawldGuy is going to be there too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!