Win this!

Is yours worse? Let me know in the comments. The best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) story gets the HBC120. Check these guys out on Facebook, as well! And hey, it goes for about $230 on Amazon, so this is kind of a serious giveaway here!

So look for me. I’ll be the one who now fits into his size 34 jeans for the first time since 2006.

See you at BlogWorld!

Guess who’s keynoting it?

And guess what – Entering code PETER on this registration page will save you a TON of cash on registration. Seriously. It will, on TOP of the early registration discount. Go register now, and we’ll have a massively good time in LA.

And people did!

So briefly, here’s what people asked, and my answers:

@andreahrizk said that she needs exposure about a shortage of interactive talent in the advertising industry, and included a link: http://imediaconnection.com/content/28737.asp – I think she has a point – Small interactive ad shops can’t offer the same “possibility of instant riches” that tech startups, whether they be in a basement or in the Google offices, can. As such, it’s up to the ad agency to go back to what made them great in the beginning – before “interactive” – If you watch Mad Men, you know that Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Price recruited talent through the excitement of the game – The chance to be creative, the chance to have fun and change how people perceived products and brands. Perhaps we need to go back to basics, and appeal to the creatives’ excitement – not their wallets alone.

@cherylharrison asked me to write her a blog post. You’re reading it! You’re welcome.

@theflaggagency told me that I could book a cruise on the Mekong River or Riviera of Europe. While that’s a good idea, I’m already taking my first actual vacation in about three years in June, and heading to Thailand with someone special. But thanks!

@brokenjules asked if I’d do a Q+A with him or her. I’m doing that under separate cover. Wait for it.

@michaelgruener asked if I know any specific ways to help build popularity and momentum of a social media push for a company with a finite reach. I think one of the best ways to do this for any company is to see what’s going on in the world and attempt to latch onto something newsworthy – but not in a sleazy way. For instance – I can’t see your company right now because I’m at 30k feet and @continental hasn’t added WiFi to their fleet yet (let’s get busy on that, guys, hey?) but I’m guessing by the name (@upRefuse) that you might have something to do with the green world? If that’s the case, simply reading any current magazine should give you tons of of ideas and examples. That rule goes for any company. One of the best ways I know of to come up with new ideas and boosts of creativity is to go for a run with my iPod loaded with the latest podcasts from the BBC, NPR, and the like.

@thebeancast asked for a 1,000 word article entitled “Down and Out on Empire Avenue.” I’ll give you a Haiku, instead. Early Adopter. On Empire Avenue. Can Use Initials.

@cbwebster wants me to come up with a kick-ass in-class project for her business communications class next week. How about working with a local animal rescue organization in your town and helping them come up with a new communications plan that will raise awareness and generate higher levels of donation? Work with them to design a multimedia campaign that focuses on the animals themselves, and what donors dollars can do for them.

@OmniHotelsPR asked me to think about some events that they and I can do together in the fall. That sounds awesome, guys! Email Meagan, my uber-assistant, and let’s get a phone call together. I’d love to work with you guys, perhaps do tweet-ups all over the world! That’s a no-brainer – I love you guys!

@cccreationsUSA asked me to make a Star Wars video to Celebrate Star Wars Day, which is today. I defer to the countless awesome Star Wars videos already out there, including the inclusion of Star Wars in this amazing video from Lego, called Go Miniman Go!

@Drobillard asked to be hired as my personal assistant in Boston. While I’m not currently looking for anyone to hire, perhaps someone in Boston is? If so, why not reach out to @DRobillard?

@BellaBrella asked an interesting question – “How can she improve her image campaign without actually changing who she is?” That’s a good question – If you have to change who you are, then you’re not being true to yourself, and that’s never good. How about rather than changing who you are, changing your audience? Perhaps you’re not reaching out to the right people? If you’re not getting as big of a response as you want, or as large of an audience as you desire, perhaps you’d be better off looking for new audiences? The easiest way to to do that is to continue being who you are, and be more aware of to whom you’re talking – Focus on speaking to the right people – people who appreciate what you have to offer – and by being sincere with them, your rep, and thusly, your audience, should continue to grow.

@thirstybeaverCA (Great name, by the way) is looking for resources on selling ad space on his website, but doesn’t know where to begin. Well, there are tons of sources out there which are great starts, including websites like imediaconnection, adrants, and Digidays, Brian Morrissey’s new project. I’d start there.

@pamasheville asked me to consider voting for Asheville in the Beer City USA Poll. Considering I’m on my way to Asheville, consider it done: http://exm.nr/l0mnCd

@ProSeller1 wants me to help her find one lead in Richmond, VA that’s looking to buy or sell a new house. Anyone in Richmond in that position? Reach out to @ProSeller1.

@wgpr wants to know what Blogs I read. A few off the top of my head include Gawker, A Year To Ten Percent (I write that one, full disclosure,) LeanGains.com, Leigh Shulman, CC Chapman, Fleshbot, Defamer, I Don’t Like You In That Way, Lauren Out Loud, and others.

@agac wants me to follow her. Done.

@homiegcheesefry wants me to tell about my movie project. Well, I’m executive producing a movie currently being shot in Hollywood called “Right Next Door.” It’s a thriller, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. The cast is spectacular, as are the co-directors. I’m humbled to be part of this project, and when it comes out in about 10 months or so, I’ll be throwing one hell of a premiere party, you can count on that. ☺

@cpat71 wants me to learn something from the person next to me. From him, I learned that a pitcher named Francisco Lariano from the Twins got his first no-hitter last night, and also the first no hitter of the 2011 baseball season.

@meducate wants to know the best President’s clubs that Continental has to offer. Well, at Newark, I’m partial to the one in Terminal C closer to gate 81, as opposed the one near security. It’s quieter, more places to work, and more places to grab a few Zzz’s if you’ve had a late night the night before. In Houston, there’s a lovely gentleman named Mike (I believe that’s his name) in the main terminal club East, who makes the best Bloody Mary’s I’ve ever had in my life. Finally, don’t forget about the club in Vegas – it’s a bit far from the CO gates, but it’s better than sitting in the food court and watching tons of overweight tourists eat fast food.

@craig42k wants to know how I best manage my time to successfully achieve my health, personal, and business goals. For that, I point you to this blog post I wrote a few months ago.

@divathatateny wants ideas to promote her upcoming cookbook + CD called “No Singing at the Dinner Table,” by Singing Chef Jackie Gordon. Well – I didn’t know that singing chefs existed. Coming from a family of musicians, and being a vocalist as well, I recommend perhaps a video contest asking people to come up with their own songs praising dinner. The winner gets cooked meal for them and 10 of their friends, courtesy of your chef?

@mikepetrucci wants to know the last time I doodled or sketched something. Here you go, Mike, compliments of Finger Painting HD on my iPad 2.

@boathousebilly wants to know how to increase exposure and membership numbers for his university rowing club in prep for 2012. Two things come to mind – One – Carry an oar with you all summer. Seriously. People like to know why people are doing things out of the ordinary. Tell them you’re recruiting rowers. It’s a great way for people to get into the conversation. Secondly – Let people know how good rowing is for your looks. Have you ever seen a fat rower? Best arms, back, and shoulder muscles of anyone! Play to people’s egos!

@thecleversheep is looking for a sponsor for unplugd.ca – If you happen to fit their profile, I’d check them out, and @thecleversheep, I’d read this blog post first on how you should look for sponsors.

@whisperingsqurl wants to know if I have any advice for a first-time entrepreneur: Yes. Don’t waste time listening to the haters. If you have haters, it means you’re doing a great job. Acknowledge that you have them, then redouble your efforts to do an even better job. Haters hate because they can’t do what you’re doing themselves. That’s all.

@gfriese wants me to continue promoting health and fitness opportunities, especially for kids, at the YMCA. I’ve been a YMCA fan ever since I was seven and got my Tadpole badge for swimming there! The YMCA does amazing things for kids and adults all over this country. I’m a huge supporter, and you should be too!

@click4agoodtime wants his girlfriend to move to NYC. I know your girlfriend. Hey L – GET YOUR ASS TO NEW YORK CITY. NOW.

This was fun! Perhaps I’ll put out another call next week for my trip to Germany. I’ll let you know – If I do, I’ll make it a Google database, so it’s easier for me to answer. Thanks for playing!

Yesterday morning, after hitting the gym at 6am and getting my ass kicked in a lifting session with my devil trainer from Hell, I was home and in the shower by 7:15am, listening to 1010 WINS radio. They were promoting their series of Small Business Breakfasts, where they claim to help small businesses do the things they believe small businesses need help with.

This time, they were talking about social media. (Of course they were. Because it’s a day that ends in “y.”)

They were interviewing Julie Morgenstern, who lists herself on her website as “The Queen of Putting People’s Lives Together.”

She said “Limit your Facebook time to ten minutes a day, every day. You have to run your business, and don’t have time for those kind of distractions.”

*Blink* Excuse me?

I don’t know how Julie puts people’s lives together, the claims on her website say she’s very good, but if she’s giving out that kind of information, I’ve gotta ask what she’s thinking.

Essentially, Ms. Morgenstern just told you to not care about whatever anyone in your competitive circle is doing, at all.

She continues “Also, don’t look at your email for the first hour in your office, focus on running your business.”

Are you kidding me? Let’s translate that: “Don’t look at new potential clients. Don’t look at new orders that you want to fill first thing in the morning. Don’t look at what types of sales and special offers your competitors are putting out via email. Don’t look at what your clients are asking for.”

So don’t do any of this in the first hour, and you’ll be running your business… How, exactly? By sweeping up your office?

Come on, people. A distraction? Really? Perhaps if you think of Facebook and Email as a distraction, you’re simply not schooled in how to use it. Ms. Morgenstern, rather than telling all of us to blanket “use it only ten minutes a day,” and “don’t use it for the first hour,” how about using your platform to teach us how to use both those incredibly powerful tools correctly?

Never mind. I’ll do it.

1) Get the stupid people the hell out of your stream, use your time on those that matter. If you’re spending most of your time on Facebook reading updates on cousin Selma’s Farmville, you’re using Facebook wrong. Drop her from your stream yet still have a lovely Thanksgiving by hiding her. (Click the “X” to the right of the post, click “Hide all by Selma.”) Boom, she’s gone, you’ll never waste time on her again. Want to find out how she’s doing? That’s what Passover is for. It’s coming up in less than a week. Have all your questions ready.

2) Important people on Facebook work like muscles: The more you interact with them, the better results you’ll get. When you’re posting, liking, or commenting on someone’s activity on Facebook, Facebook remembers this, and you see more of that person and less of someone you don’t interact with. Why does this matter? It matters because almost everything you do on Facebook now interacts with everything else you do. So the more you listen, comment, and talk to people within your stream, the more updates from them you’ll see, and the more you have the opportunity to use those updates to your advantage. (“Mark, noticed you just landed that new gig at BigCo! Congratulations! Let’s grab coffee and see how we my agency can help you!”

3) It should never take more than five seconds to decide what to do with an email. Delete, reply, or archive. That’s it. Archive means it’s out of your box. Delete means it doesn’t require anything. Answer means bullet points, then archive or delete. Need to respond to something later? Check out Follow Up Then – Free, automatic resending of emails that are important, to remind you to act on them. By IGNORING your emails, you’re missing out on opportunities. Let me tell you this – And this specifically addresses Ms. Morgenstern’s comment: If I email you at 5am on the way to the gym asking for a price quote or similar, I expect a response by 10am. If you get in at 9, then spend the first hour “running your business,” and finally get around to answering my email an hour later, I’ve already moved onto your competitor EVERY SINGLE TIME. Email IS business. And hey – this is coming from a guy who built and sold a multi-million dollar company that was entirely based on… Wait for it… Wait for it… EMAIL!

4) Be where your audience is, PERIOD. If your audience is on Facebook, and you’re not using Facebook because it’s a “distraction,” I’m sorry, but you’re an idiot. You have all the potential to make all the sales you could ever want, but you’re not even trying, because you’re afraid of being “distracted?” Trust me – When you’re on welfare, you’ll have tons of free time to be distracted. BE WHERE YOUR AUDIENCE IS. Chances are, that’s on Facebook.

5) I’ve said this a million times – Networking is not something you sit down and plan out time to do. If you’re only networking when you go to a “networking event,” good luck with that. You’ll have a nice ranch house in Mediocre Valley. Networking is something you do ALL THE TIME. From blogging to commenting on someone’s stream while on line at the bank, to posting a video while you’re waiting for your oil to change, to waiting for a meeting and offering a coffee to the first person who finds you. THAT’S networking, and you should be doing it twenty four hours a day!

End of the day? I’m not trying to be a cheerleader for Facebook, email, or even social media. (You know my thoughts on Social as a whole – for many, a way to screw up to a much larger audience in a much shorter amount of time.) But the fact is, you want to sell to your customers? You want to make money? You need to be where they are. You need to get the competitive intelligence they’re offering. You need to listen to them. How do you do that? By making sure you know where they are, and being where they are.

Chances are, they’re on Facebook and email. Not using it because you’re too busy “running your business?” Good luck with that. You won’t be running your business for long.