Communication

The Powerful Effect of Simplicity

Suddenly things seem crystal clear to me ... Last week was a crazy one for me. I’ve just started a big new project (which I’ll be sharing soon) and getting to grips with it has been information overload from day one (although all good fun).

Add to that some really bad wisdom tooth pain, a lot of community planning for a special November 12for12k collaboration as well as normal day-to-day stuff and little sleep, and I was feeling a little bit frayed.

Then an email landed in my inbox that changed everything with two simple words: “Thank you.”

The email was from Sasha H. Muradali, a great upcoming PR pro over in Miami who has a pretty cool blog over at Little Pink Book PR. It mentioned her newest post, and the fact that the post was tied to one of Sasha’s earliest ones in April of this year.

It turns out that I was one of the first to share Sasha’s blog post on Twitter, and this email from her was to say thank you for that. And that just floored me and made me smile in a big way. I know Sasha’s a busy person; I know she has a lot of things on the go; I know that the reference Sasha was making was almost 6 months ago.

Yet she still remembered, and took the time to say thanks personally. And these two little words turned a frazzled face into a wide grin. Or, as Sasha herself put it, “all gushy feeling semi-girlie inside” (yes, you got me, Sasha!).

There’s something for us all to learn from Sasha. Agree?

photo credit: annia316

Maybe Some Authors Should Do Their Own PR

For some reason, I’ve suddenly started to get a few pitches from PR agencies and companies regarding business and marketing books. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but as I like to read I’ll take it as a nice bonus.

Going through the pitches, though, I’m beginning to wonder if the authors themselves should start composing the pitches to go with them.

Maybe that would stop some of the less-than-impressive ones getting through. Here are two examples – see if you can spot the difference.

Example One:
“Hi Danny,
I thought you might be interested to hear about a book by one of my clients [insert book title here].” There’s then a slew of recommendations of the book from other business book authors, as well as what looks like standard press release copy. The PR person then signs off the email with the closing comment, “I’ve attached a PDF version of his new book. Have a look and if you enjoy the book would you consider a blog post? Best,”. No name, signature, or where the email came from (except in the email address bar).

Example Two:
“Hi Danny,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and really enjoy it. I particularly found (Post A), (Post B) and (Post C) refreshing as I’d actually left a comment on another blog about the topics raised in these connected posts. I hope you don’t mind me reaching out to you, but I represent an author whose book touches on these subjects and more. I don’t want to send you a long introduction that may not interest you or catch you at a good time. Therefore, if you’re curious about learning more, feel free to reply to this email and I’ll call when convenient. Thanks again, and keep up the great topics, James.”

Whose book do you think I’d be interested in looking at?

photo credit: CarbonNYC

The More We Connect, The More We Lose Touch

?You can?t please everyone, so you?ve got to please yourself.? ? Ricky Nelson.

It?s been an interesting last 24 hours. Abusive emails, character attacks on Twitter and questions about my ethics. Just another day in the life of.

Time is an interesting commodity.

On the one hand, we love it when time passes quickly so we can see a new movie, or buy a new product, or see a new date. On the other, we complain there?s never enough time in the day.

Online connections simply increase this problem. As we connect with new people on new networks, our availability factor goes down.

You don?t mean it to; you try avoid it; but it?s a simple fact that as we connect with more, the less we can offer. This may be less time for people you used to converse with more; less time for generic conversations; and less time for things in general.

Sure, you can use tools to help you manage your time better. Yet at the end of the day, the tools are only as good as the person using them, so perhaps I need to brush up on my time management skills.

Yet the attacks/criticisms that came my way over the last 24 hours would probably have come regardless of time management, by the nature of them. The suggestion of ?having time for some people but not for others? being the main theme.

Again, it comes back to where to try and divert your time. While this isn?t an excuse as such, a lot of my time at the minute is taken up by:

12for12k
Legal clearances for promotional materials for this month?s charity
Conference calls with charity partners
Social change events
Client projects (since all 12for12k efforts are free of charge)

If you add in personal time, offering help where possible to people asking for advice and residency issues in Canada to name just a few, you might see where I can get sidetracked.

As I say, it?s not an excuse but an explanation. I appreciate the connections we have and I?ll try my best to manage them as best I can and help wherever I can. However, there will be times that some people and actions slip through the cracks.

So, here?s a suggestion.

If you?ve sent me something or asked me something and I haven?t responded in a couple of days, send me a nudge. Failing that, email me ? my contact details are on this blog, or my website, or on my Twitter background. I?ll try my damnedest to respond.

And if I haven?t replied straight away, please don?t take it personally.

With regards the ethics question, I certainly don?t always make the best decisions but I always believe that whatever they are, they are for the right and ethical reasons. Of course, it?s anyone?s prerogative to doubt this, but I?m happy to live with my decisions.

How about you? Are you finding yourself with less time for the stuff that needs more time? How are you managing your conversations?

photo credit: Joshua Davis

Community Spirit: The Book (and How To Be a Part of It)

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that one of the key mantras behind it is community spirit. From open comments policy to guest posts and interviews, I want you to be as big a part of it as possible. A home from home, if you like.

It’s now time to take this one step further, and again I want you to be a big part of it.

I’m currently drafting “Community Spirit – Making the Connection in the Conversation Age”. It’s a book about why we’re no longer obstructed by barriers, whether they’re international or cultural.

It will look at using the online (and offline) tools around us to foster true, meaningful relationships – personal, professional, business and more. How listening is the first step to understanding, and how that understanding will help market your or your business brand to a wider audience.

We’re on the cusp of something amazing from a connectivity point of view, and hopefully I can help you along some of the way.

So how can you help?

By leaving your definition of community and the tools that have helped you make meaningful connections. What you’d like to see as the standard for communities worldwide and how they can be merged into one living community as a whole – looking out for each other and offering our helping hands along the way.

I’ll use the best ones as additional chapter topics. You’ll have full credit and byline in the book, and if you have a blog or website, I’ll mention that in the credits at the end.

The comments section is yours for your suggestions. Feel free to mention this post to your friends, or retweet it on Twitter, so others can come and leave their own definitions. If you prefer, you can email me your suggestions instead, with “Community Spirit” in the message header.

Let’s see if we can truly define the community spirit.

Ready to start?