Successful Blog

SOB Business Cafe 06-27-08

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

The Art of Non-Conformity draws up plans for World Domination. Download it. Read the comments. They’ll tell you why.
Greetings from Seattle, Washington. I present to you your own copy of my promised manifesto, modestly entitled A Brief Guide to World Domination.

Win Extra draws the line at pimping ads to your friends.
Not only are your friends now pimping products to you they can also gain points every time you click on an ad they have suggested through this FriendRank system.

Middle Zone Musings draws a picture of humility found in a handshake.
Have you ever experienced a shining moment of glory, only to find out it, er, wasn’t what you thought? Yep; thought so.

Jonathan Fields draws an analogy about being where we are.
When we tweet everything we are experiencing in a conversation, concert or gathering of like-minded people, does the very activity of tweeting somehow take away from our ability to enjoy the bigger activity?

Related ala carte selections include

pingable draws up a list of spectacular free themes.

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

Social Networking: Make It Imperfectly Human for Me

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New York City, Seth Godin, Ann Michael, and a Paper Flower

Favorite Paper Flower by Liz Strauss

In August 1998, I was wandering the streets in New York City. Later that evening our company sales conference would start. As I turned the corner somewhere near 33rd and Park, I was enjoying the view in a florist window. I walked two stores past. Stopped. Something I’d noticed had taken me. I literally backed up ten paces and went into that flower store. I came out grinning.

What had stopped me were handmade paper flowers — taller than I am. I had found a new friend for my presentation the next day. I left the florist with giant flower with a stem down to my ankles and greeted New York like a giant kid with a huge balloon. The flower has shared my office ever since. On occasion, it even sits in my desk chair.

In 2006, I returned to that same New York neighborhood for a Seth Godin seminar. I met Ann Michael. there for the first time. As we walked around the city, I’m sure I told her the story of that flower and the people who opened doors for me — the strange tall woman with a bag in one hand and unhelpful flower friend in the other.

I keep a white silk flower in a blue glass vase on a shelf in my living room. I bought the vase from a catalog. Then I bought the flower. They look stunning together, but they have no story.

This morning at Seth’s Blog something he said in May made me stop, like I did that day in New York City.

If you want to get noticed, don’t be so polished. . . . When in doubt, scrawl make it human.

White rose in a blue vase by Liz Strauss

I looked around for examples in my life — and I found two flowers . . .

That white rose in the blue vase is elegant, but that that paper flower connects me to people — people who’ve seen it in my office or heard the tale of how it got bought. That paper flower calls up so many stories, it could fuel a blog.

When you make a blog, a social network, or product for me, could you make it imperfectly human? It’s human touch that lingers and connects.

What do you have that’s like my paper flower?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Get your best voice in the conversation. Buy Liz’s eBook., now!

Images: Liz Strauss

Part 4: The Last Time with Matt Rissell of TSheets

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Part 4 in a 4-Part Interview with Matt Rissell

TSHEETS logo

Yesterday, Matt Rissell, CEO of TSheets explained how customers online and offline respond to TSheets. Today we’re finding about the guy who made his job tracking time for folks who work offline, mobile, and on the web.

So, Matt, did you dream about Time travel as a kid? Did you wish you had more time to play? How’d you end up in this business?

To be transparent, I remember hearing as a kid that God wasn’t bound by time. God had complete knowledge of what “I was going to do” but still gave me the freedom to choose whatever it was I wanted to create. That baffled my mind and actually still does. I think to some degree, every kid dreams about ‘Time Travel’. I even remember reading a book where a kid found a little shed that when he sat in it, ‘Time’ was normal for him but outside the box time would stop. In other words, when he was in the box, maybe 1 year would go by but when he went out of the shed, no time would have elapsed. This book inspired me to find my own “shed”. So in my 8 x 9ft bedroom- I used a secret closet behind my bed. Whenever I wanted to dream big, I could pull my bed out away from the closet door and squeeze into the closet where there was complete absence of light. And I would sit in darkness – a bit scary if I remember correctly. It was in that closet that I could shut my eyes and travel to any place or any time that I could image. As my favorite place in the world was on the Colorado Uncompahgre Plateau, where I went camping and hunting with my dad– that is where I would often imagine I was.

I ended up in this business not because I enjoyed imagining about time travel or that I liked movies like “Back to the Future”. I got into this business because Time Tracking is a real business challenge and I challenge that I experienced firsthand. One of the criteria that I use before I’ll engage in a business venture is, “will this opportunity create a win/win/win?” What I mean by that is,

Will the person that purchases my product/service truly be better off than without?
Will this have a positive impact on the environment?
Will this business provide a growth opportunity for me in every aspect of my life?

TSheets nails each one of these right on the head!

Why is Time valuable?

Why time is valuable? – I believe that everything becomes more valuable as it decreases in quantity. Simply put: time is valuable because from the second we are conceived, time starts running out. Further, to create financial wealth, we exchange our time for money. Thus, if time is worth more than money and we are willing to track our monetary investments, it seems foundational to track our time investments.

As I had mentioned earlier, Time Tracking isn’t sexy – until you turn it into making money. At TSheets, we are passionate about helping you understand where you invest their time.

Thanks, Matt. I’ve enjoyed every minute, . . . um, er . . . but I didn’t keep track.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Blogging well takes less time. Buy the ebook and find out the secret.

Related:
Part 1: A Timely Interview with Matt Rissell of TSheets
Part 2: More Time with Matt Rissell of TSheets
Part 3: Time Out with Matt Rissell of TSheets

Social Networking: Do You Need a Memory Upgrad . . . ?

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What Was the Question, Again?

Personal Identity logo

Someone writes a comment, sends you IM, or walks up to you at a trade show and makes it clear he’s met you before. He’s acting like you’re the best of friends. But you have no clue who the guy is.

Been there . . .

Do You Need a Memory Upgrade?

Does that mean we’re losing our memory? It’s probably not memory loss, but it could be sure sign that we need a memory upgrade. Forgetting people and information can be a seriously liability to success these days.

Relationships are build on experiences that went before. We have to remember the experiences for the relationships to move forward in a good way.

Here are three ways we forget . . .

  1. Fading: We meet someone and forget his or her name seconds later. That’s called fading. We didn’t move the name from short-term memory into “working memory.”

  2. Interference: New information can interfere with old information. Old information can also mix up with new information.

  3. Distortion: When we have vivid recollections of events only to find later that the events happened differently.

Ten Ways to Upgrade Your Personal Memory Bank

We all have the power to rebuild our memories by doing simple things when we’re learning new information.

  1. Think about what you’re learning and be sure you’re clear on it. Try to restate when you know in other words

  2. Associate new information with something you already know. “Oh Joe, you’re a friend of Joanna Young! So is Bob Hruzek!”

  3. Being fully present when you lrarn new things to keep old information separate from what you’re learning. Don’t be playing on Twitter the first time you use Plurk.

  4. Break big blocks of information into smaller chunks. Practice one point on this list until you have it as a habit.

  5. Involve as many modalities — visual, auditory, kinesthetic — as you can. See things. Talk about them. Touch them while you’re at it.

  6. Overlearn things by teaching someone else.

  7. Apply the information quickly. When you’re introduced, use the person’s name immediately.

  8. Repeat things that you think you might forget. 2+3=5, 2+3=5, 2+3=5 . . .

  9. Debrief and retell important events with people who were part of them as soon as you are able. That was a fabulous podcast! Let’s debrief on what happened!

  10. Blog your experience. Last night I met Eric Benderoff at the blogger meetup hosted by Gas Pedal.

Doing what you can to “defrag” your brain is also a great idea.

First impressions are important as ever, but they sure lose their glow if on the second go we can’t place the person we met.

Having a great memory is powerful way to demonstrate we value relationships. Everyone likes to be remembered. Nothing beats a second meeting that easily moves the first meeting forward. People respond when we invest in them — they invest back.

How do you keep your memory fast and functioning?

Click for more information on Memory and Information Processing.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Buy the ebook and find out the secret.

Part 3: Time Out with Matt Rissell of TSheets

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

Part 3 in a 4-Part Interview with Matt Rissell

TSHEETS logo

Last week, Matt Rissell, CEO of TSheets had just told me why “tracking time is sexy.” Now we’re back to find out more about his business that serves folks who work offline, mobile, and on the web.


Matt, As a product person, I’ve often found folks use products I’ve made in ways I’ve never imagined. What are the top three ways people use TSheets? Do you find that people online use the product differently than people offline do?

The top three ways people use Tsheets, are:

Business owners tracking the time of their team members / employees
Freelance consultants tracking the time of their billable projects
Businesses using TSheets as a Productivity measurement tool

Since TSheets is Web-based, all of the applications for tracking time are essentially on-line. However, the voice activated time tracking has really surprised me in its applications. Now, many Sales Managers, Executives and all users across the board are using TSheets to track their life. This enables TSheets to become an effectiveness training tool as well as a reflection of priorities. For instance, it’s easy to say that “my kids come first” but when you actually create a project code called “family time”, and go back and see the actual time spent with your family – it can be sobering to say the least.

How do people respond when they find out what you do? Do you talk about your product differently online than you do in person? How does that response about TSheets after they’ve had a chance to use them?

Very interesting question! Yes, they do talk about it differently. When I talk to people in person, they often say, “cool idea”. It’s not something I would use but I’m sure you’ll do great”. When people “discover” us on-line, they say, “I have been searching for you! I am so thankful to find your service. I’ll tell all my friends!” It’s intriguing to hear the difference in the responses.

Tomorrow we find out how a guy ends up in this business and why time is valuable. . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Blogging well takes less time. Buy the ebook and find out the secret.

Related:
Part 1: A Timely Interview with Matt Rissell of TSheets
Part 2: More Time with Matt Rissell of TSheets
Part 3: Time Out with Matt Rissell of TSheets
Part 4: The Last Time with Matt Rissell of TSheets

Answers that Bore Me and So Much Sky

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I've been thinking . . .

about answers.

When I try to listen too closely, hold too tightly, control things,
I find too much work, too many shiny new things.

I piece together meaningless details into huge twisty ideas. I spend useless time pondering questions . . . wondering . . . observing, . . . sorting messages . . .

reading words . . .
reading pictures . . .
reading every person’s actions . . .
As each moment wears on, it wears on me.
Irrelevant details and made up futures pass by in streams and reels.

The questions get thinner until the answers bore me.
Information and expectations crowd and steal my clear thinking.

Then the upward view rewinds and reminds me . . .

chicago-sky-060708.JPG

I run laughing all the way home . . .
all this and so much more is mine . . .
I hear a bell ringing . . .
I see a plane fly by . . .
I see the moon rise . . .

Today’s okay, but I really like tomorrow.
A question filled with possibility
I’ve had enough of answers bore me when there’s so much sky
— Julia Macklin, So Much Sky

How much sky will you give yourself today?

Liz's Signature

Image: LizStrauss