Another in the series “How to be Taken Seriously.” This time, we’ll focus on not being full of shit. I’ve got an exercise for you. For the next seven days, make a concerted effort to count how many people with whom you come in contact who end your conversation with “I’ll call you,” or “Let’s get coffee!” or “We should connect for a drink!” In two weeks, go back and visit the list you made, and see how many of them followed up on their suggestion. The answer will more than likely be “none.” We live in a world where 99% of the people you meet are full of shit. It just is. It’s not up for debate, it’s not [...]

I love the fact that I sit on boards. It means I get to give away super-cool free stuff. Today, I get to give away a Winter Jacket (just in time) at ScotteVest. Like the kind I have. Want to win A Fleece 5.0? ScotteVest? Perfect for winter? Here’s all you have to do: Someone tweeted me this morning with a speaking opportunity – But they did it to @peter. When they didn’t get a response, they tweeted to @shankman. By this point, I was notified by more than one person that this tweeter thought I just wasn’t replying. *Facepalm.* So it occurred to me that I might want to do a better job branding my Twitter name. That’s where you [...]

I woke up on a random morning last week and did what I always do – Fed the cat, made coffee, stumbled towards the shower, and eventually, sat down at my desk, and launched Chrome with the five tabs I’ve programmed to open at startup. Two of those tabs are Facebook. Facebook.com, and my (I hate this term) “like page.” I go through the people in my network, then look at any posts or comments on the “like page,” and respond accordingly. This is a daily thing. I do it every morning, whenever morning happens to fall in the part of the world I’m currently in. This morning, though, something was different. I’d been invited to try Facebook’s new “Timeline” [...]

The following story is entirely true. More importantly, I swear on my entire professional reputation and all I hold dear to me that the story below was in no way staged, planned in advance, or in any way faked. This is real. And most importantly: This is AMAZING. When my alarm clock went off at 3:30 this morning, I knew I was in for a long day. I was catching a 7am flight out of Newark to Tampa, Florida, for a lunch meeting in Clearwater, then heading back to Newark on a 5pm flight, getting me in around 8:10pm, and with any luck, to my apartment by 9 or so. We all have days like that, they happen from time [...]

Here’s the top ten things that need to die a quick and painless death on Twitter. With your help, we can kill them. 10) Please vote for my company X every day for the next 14 days to win Y! Thanks! 9) Anything that ends with the words “Please RT!” 8) #fb. Wanna post on Facebook? Do that. This right here? This is called Twitter. Different mediums, different message. 7) Anything passive aggressive. Got something to say to someone? Man (or woman) the hell up, and just say it to them. The world doesn’t need to know about your issues. 6) Checkins on Foursquare from any place other than a place that a) has an a-list celebrity b) has you [...]