Getting loads of views, re-tweets and comments – top quality comments – in response to your blog post is interesting, but what I’m more interested in is understanding exactly what made it successful.
If we understand that, then we can share that information amongst each other and all benefit. So let’s do that right now!
“The most amazing discussion I have seen”
The recent post: Share-words: the easiest way for us to recommend you generated a very positive response in a short space of time (relative to other articles on this blog) as measured by the number of views, top quality comments and re-tweets.
However, what has surprised me the most are comments like these:
Lisa Humphries: *The* most amazing discussion I have seen.
Scott Gould: I’ve never seen an opportunity like this online before.
Marko Iljadica: This is a collaborative exercise of EPIC proportions…
Cat Matson: an amazing demonstration of online collaboration is happening here
Raz Chorev: this is what WEB 2.0 is all about – sharing and helping, for the sake of it!
Myriam Thibault: Amazing conversation!
Peter Lawless: Robin, you are a rare voice…
Michael Del Borrello: You’ve triggered such an amazing discussion here!
Mariette Rups-Donnelly: What an extraordinary post and comments.
I’m surprised because with all of the millions of blogs and blog posts, and endless discussions centring on social media, collaboration, engagement and “joining the conversation”, my expectation was that this style of interactive post would be commonplace and the usual course of events.
So, I’m very keen that all of us, including the talented and generous people who have contributed, supported, promoted, encouraged and been a part of this “amazing discussion”, juice the key lessons from this process so that we can help each other succeed.
Let’s discuss and debate this in the comments below.
PS: there were many more people who have helped make the Share-words post useful and successful. Thank you! I really appreciate your support. 
Your opinion
What are the key things that we can learn from the response to this post?
How can we use these key lessons to help each other succeed on and offline?
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45 Responses to this post
May 8, 2010 at 9:29 pm |
Robin, to continue the success of your previous blog post, I think these factors were instrumental in facilitating this great online discussion:
)and took them to an online discussion!
.
* You’ve given some hands on advice.
* You’ve used a community which is close to you, and took our local celebrity (Iggy)- helped him with his challenge, and demonstrated how your advice assisted him.
* You’ve given the readers an opportunity to get help, after demonstrating you’re capable of helping (according to a third party testimonial, from Iggy himself on the blog).
* You’ve taken an offline community (who met online
* It is clear that it’s very easy to give advice. A lot easier than helping oneself. Given the type of discussion, I’ve noticed many consultants giving advice. Advice which is very difficult for us to give ourselves (as Myriam put in nicely, with her lovely French accent
You’ve surrounded yourself with a bunch of helpful people, who’re willing to give without expecting anything in return.
In this case, in your blog, these people (me included) were given advice in return to their helpfulness.
I’ve analyzed your success in retrospect. I hope these points will help you and others to write blog posts with similar success.
Proud to be a part of your circle!
Raz
May 9, 2010 at 5:30 pm |
Thanks, Raz. That’s a very useful contribution.
To your comment, “You’ve surrounded yourself with a bunch of helpful people, who’re willing to give without expecting anything in return.”
What do you think the people who give so generously get out of helping others in this forum? Why do they do it?
Best, Robin
May 8, 2010 at 9:43 pm |
I have been pondering these very questions myself Robin … having watched with excitement at how that particular post unfolded.
Key things I learned …
1. ask and encourage comments and comments on comments. The initial conversation was just between yourself and commenters … but with a bit of prompting from yourself, the conversation opened up
2. Find topics are ‘hot-buttons’ (a hot-button for me is something that people get ‘stuck’ on but desparately want to resolve).’Share-words’ or ‘personal brand’ or what I have always called ‘Core Marketing Message’ are hot buttons – people struggle with them, they value external and multi-dimensional input, but have few places to get that input.
3. Be the demonstration of the quality of comments you are seeking. The feedback you provided the initial contributors was honest, robust and extraordinarily valuable. That set the tone for future contributors to do the same (anything less would be dis-respectful of the ‘space’ you had created) as well as encouraging people to recommend the post to their tribe through Twitter, Facebook etc.
4. Keep contributing … I think every comment received a reply from your Robin … that created more momentum with every comment … and demonstrated your willingness to *significantly* contribute to the conversation
How can we use these lessons to help each other both online and offline?
1. Be clear about the value you offer. Then offer it openly, generously and vigorously
2. Connect with like-minded people who will respect your contributions with thought, action and exchange. The reason people *don’t* contribute to this level *for free* is because in the past they’ve been taken advantage of … which sucks them dry.
3. Ask questions and see where it goes. Not every blog post or every discussion needs to be a block-buster … but if we seek to add value at every opportunity then that intention will be realised.
May 9, 2010 at 5:52 pm |
Thank you, Cat. Your input here is solid value.
To your comment: “The reason people *don’t* contribute to this level *for free* is because in the past they’ve been taken advantage of … which sucks them dry.”
What are the consequences of this ‘holding back’ of the value we *could* offer – if any?
Great lessons from you Cat.
Best, Robin
May 11, 2010 at 3:35 pm |
Hey Cat, you’re a strategic thinker with strong business expertise…
what do you think is the best way to leverage the success of the Share-words post in future – how can we best apply the success factors for future benefits?
Best, Robin
May 8, 2010 at 10:31 pm |
Robin
I think Raz and Cat make some great points. Not sure about the “celebrity” tag Raz gave me as I don’t see myself as anything more than an active player in this connected community. Cat’s points were spot-on with regards to value, connection (there’s that word again) and asking questions.
For me – and you almost know I’m going to say this – we connected as a group. We connected at an attitudinal level because we decided to keep it positive and help each other. We connected at a behavioural level because we chose to use your blog post as a catalyst to converse about this “hot-button” topic. Finally, we connected at a contextual level because we all wanted to discuss and contribute to this share-words topic.
When attitude, behaviour and context come together like that, we connect – and success ensues.
Thanks Robin for involving me in such a successful piece.
Cheers, just Iggy.
May 9, 2010 at 5:56 pm |
Thank you, Iggy. That’s a really useful framework for capturing what happened here.
In your opinion, is it just luck/chance that these things happen – we’re all in the right place at the right time, or can we plan for these ‘connections with traction’? If so, how?
Best, Robin
May 10, 2010 at 9:39 pm |
Robin
While luck/fate/serendipity all plays a part, I still think its about CONTEXT. By this I mean we ARE all in the same head space, time and place to make the connection.
Cheers, Iggy
May 8, 2010 at 11:34 pm |
What are the key things that we can learn from the response to this post?
Simplicity, functionality, form, relevancy, empathy, listening, interactivity, compulsion, and meaning are powerful pieces in the mix.
How can we use these key lessons to help each other succeed on and offline?
Identify our weaknesses and supplement these with others strengths. Collaboration with like-minded people creates stratospheric synergies & opportunities.
May 9, 2010 at 5:59 pm |
Hey brother,
I smiled from ear to ear when I read your comment – and your thought…
“Collaboration with like-minded people creates stratospheric synergies & opportunities.”
What a gem!
In your opinion, how can we make it easier for these like-minded people to find us?
Best, and with great affection.
Robin
May 9, 2010 at 7:35 pm |
Hi Robin, you asked,
“In your opinion, how can we make it easier for these like-minded people to find us?”
When you put your best foot forward by providing tremendous value in what you do in resolving problems of people, exactly like what you’re doing here, those people will help others find you.
Additionally, ask for the referral, the testimonial, “retweet” on Twitter, “share” on Facebook, comment on blogs in your niche, comment on blogs that compliment your business. Be like you Robin and let people know that you’re there for them outside of business. We won’t know unless we ask and reaffirm our commitment to be of service to people.
Build chemistry first, reinforce your relationships with non-business related value, show the love, be kind, be authentic, be altruistic, be a nicer version of you and everything will fall into place.
Implement these actions and this will help you rise above the noise. You can be the ‘signal’ AND THE ‘frequency’. “What’s in it for me – WIIFM” type of thinking is old news. Welcome to the world of “what resonates with me = WRWM”.
WOW is now the new value proposition.
What’s your WOW? If we don’t have people saying WOW about you, then we’re still producing noise.
Resonate.
Thanks brother.
May 9, 2010 at 12:40 am |
HI Robin
No doubt about it, you are a very experienced and polished Facilitator. It’s not rocket science. You identified a problem with a question, provided solutions, and made room for others to step in and facilitate the discussion.
Further to that, your follow up blog now reinforces those KPI’s
My question is this?
If you had facilitated a corporate workshop of this calibre off line, how much money would you have made this week?
How do we convert those online views, retweets and mentions into $$$$$
A few of my blogs have over 7,000 views … it would be nice if that converted into $7,000 in my bank.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not downplaying the remarkable nature of what’s taken place, all I’m asking is how do we convert that into hard cold cash?
May 9, 2010 at 6:11 pm |
Thank you, Catherine.
Part of a productive group discussion is to have a forum where people feel they can contribute their opinions in a way that they will be honoured. You always bring fresh thinking – and I truly value it.
To your question: “How do we convert those online views, retweets and mentions into $$$$$”
This is a fascinating topic – one that I have zero expertise in.
What do others think?
Best, Robin
May 9, 2010 at 3:03 am |
Hi Robin
Like it. Why did it work? The core values “resonated” and were amplified easily (short and easy to digest and spread).
It’s Iggy’s (trusted third party referral) that got me to your blog. I know he’d only send me the link if he thought it was something I’d be interested in.
Revenue – let’s call it marketing. Just working on my blog (and elements for next newsletter) – encourage my clients to speak with you about getting their 15 sec/ 30 secs scripts down pat; to Iggy about connectiveness; to Mahei about corporate conscience/value; to read Catherine’s posts.
Agree with Catherine – lot’s of people looking for free advice – are they “takers” or “amplifiers?”
Somewhere in all of this is a road map or building blocks for clients – in each of those blocks an alliance to refer.
Hmmm – no wonder the old advertising agency model is being challenged.
May 9, 2010 at 6:20 pm |
Hey Scott,
Thank you for contributing your thoughts here. I really appreciate it.
There’s an ease in your notes that speaks of deep experience delivered with a refreshing humility.
What do *you* think drives people to share so much free value online?
Best, Robin
May 10, 2010 at 7:57 am |
G’day Robin
In reply to “why do people share/ FREE on the web”
From a business marketing persective what worked very well was that your feedback to posters had immediate “value” with the greater audience – (which is very much like many of the new online software models of today) – trusted third party advocacy.
Sharing – money is not always the primary driver – often it is a consequence of doing good work.
In terms of why share? – As you know libraries have been written on human motivation – ie makes you feel good; Maslows heirachy etc.
My own personal, probably “hippy” (born in the 60′s) view -
Creativity is universal (not owned) – we simply channel and mould the universal consiouness to a physical expression which others can perceive (at many levels).
Like music – good content resonates – I think “Share Words” struck a chord – the concept combined the emerging trend of short concise messages (twitter trend) with the deep rythmic bass of internet connectiveness – ie universal collective collaboration. (Woo hoo – maybe too much coffee this morning)
Like water – knowledge in meant to flow – any real gift, talent, knowledge, information etc has an intrinsic drive and will naturally spread – it’s how we all progress.
The barriers to sharing are often artificial constructs such fear of ridicule/ failure; must make money (though we all need to eat) or lack of knowledge.
In a nutshell, I think sharing is much more fun (rewarding)- it’s about your audience – it’s like playing in a band and watching your audience have fun dancing; like writing a blog (or book) and watching people respond, connect and engage – or a film, photo, aroma, anything that connects.
Do good and it comes back ten fold.
May 9, 2010 at 7:07 pm |
Your post has really caught fire – very cool and clearly touched the right nerve-endings with a lot of people. There are a few things going on as far as I can see:
Posts catch fire – randomly and unpredicted sometimes. But, having said that, you’ve been doing all the ground work weeks/months ahead and so it’s only a matter of time before people feel comfortable enough to expose themselves. You should take a great deal of solace from the fact that people are very happy to engage and talk about their businesses/lives in such an open way. It’s a credit to you as a professional and a person.
It’s a lonely business the online stuff. This may sound like a contradiction – but running one’s own show means that we’re glad of a place where we can get unbiased help and validation. The key area of this is that it has to be safe. And your approach/site is very much that. Going back to earlier conversations we’ve had – it’s the pay back for not lecturing/preaching. You have something of a gold-mine approach; namely, you give your opinion without actually being opinionated. I think the latest post is a great example of your USP.
People are lonely in business – they won’t often admit this, but times are tough so real, genuine discussion that doesn’t try to quick-fix and over-promise is vital.
Just on the subject of advertising models – I don’t subscribe to this view that there are old and new models. There’s just advertising. And, to be frank, online has a long way to go to be able to convert the same way as broadcast media. I often talk about a numbers game – this is exactly what it is. Which leads me into a deliberately and journalistically contrived way to the subject of conversion of page views
Page views and vibe are social capital. It’s a lot easier to enter into commercial negotiation if you have that social capital. Consistency is vital too.
What happens on Radsmarts is there IS consistency in the standard of post, engagement and the contributors/discussions are of a high standard too.
I see the feedback and level of participation as a result of what is obviously a lot of hard work and genuine commitment on your part Robin, and that means a lot to me and I’m positive, by the responses you’ve been getting, it does to others too.
Best wishes,
Luke
May 10, 2010 at 8:07 pm |
This is top-shelf input, Luke. Loved it when you emailed it to me, and thank you for posting it here. Your expression is so clear and valuable.
You wrote: “It’s a lot easier to enter into commercial negotiation if you have that social capital.”
What do you mean by this? How should be be ‘building up’ social capital – views? comments? RTs? etc? Are some ways more credible and ‘negotiable’ than others?
People so often talk of content being everything. From the discussion on this and the previous post, it seems that ‘context’ has a lot of clout too! Thoughts?
Best, and very appreciative of your support,
Robin
May 10, 2010 at 7:48 pm |
Robin – this post is an example itself of what makes a blockbuster post, when compared to your last one.
The last one gave people a clear way to promote themselves – this one does not. The last post had over 100 comments, this one does not.
Ask any blogger what their most commented post is – and they will tell you it is the one where they either allowed people to promote themselves, or get an exceptional level of free help.
Off top of my head, it has happened to:
You
Me
Jim Connolly
Mike Myatt
Chris Brogan
May 10, 2010 at 8:00 pm |
Fascinating, Scott.
Thank you for these insights.
Given the high level of ‘readers helping readers’ in the previous post, what do you think motivates people to do that?
BTW, really getting stacks of value out of your blog!
Best, Robin
May 10, 2010 at 8:08 pm |
LOL – I don’t think it’s fascinating, just the nature of people. Ego motivates us.
The difference with your “Readers helping readers” is that ego got people to the post, and then the community that you have cultivated turned it around. A very useful tactic you’ve discovered there I think.
It’s herd mentality working on two levels. The herd first of all came to new green grass (your blog) – however when they arrived, they saw that the smaller herd that was already there ate the grass differently. Some of them copied it, some didn’t.
May 11, 2010 at 3:32 pm |
Scott, in your opinion, how repeatable is this experience? Should we even seek to repeat it? If so, how?
Robin
May 11, 2010 at 5:46 pm |
I would presume, yes, we can duplicate. But not right away. I’ve never seen an extremely successful blog post be followed by a more successful one. It needs to rest.
The fact that far fewer people are commenting on this thread (though the numbers are still good) shows this.
May 11, 2010 at 6:25 pm |
Yes, fewer people will tend to offer a narrative view on what makes something successful. It’s much easier for the relative few who have actually participated in the previous blog discussion to venture such an opinion.
Coming in fresh would be much harder, unless of course they are prepared to scan the vast number of comments. That would take a higher level of motivation and willingness to participate. It’s a nice check-point.
Curious to know – how should I capitalize on this ‘series’ of posts – in a way that builds even more value for this community?
Best, Robin
May 11, 2010 at 6:40 pm |
To continue a series – I’d go over again your points on getting more value into your comments.
Many people won’t have read that post, and it means you are re-using your content. Plus it is a pertinent, “how to” for people who are keen to know how to apply what they’ve learned.
May 13, 2010 at 7:31 am |
Love to get your feedback on how *you* think the sharewords post could have been improved, especially from a reader-experience perspective?
Best, Robin
May 10, 2010 at 8:56 pm |
Interesting insights Scott.
In my view I believe the first blog was similar to a palm reading exercise. We all want someone to take us by the hand and show us the way.
However, this blog raises a question for me, and that is how much would this calibre of facilitation cost off line. You can only give away so much, which I believe is the problem with online sharing.
Robins first post read our palm, now I want to know how all this greases his?
Cheers
Catherine
May 10, 2010 at 9:44 pm |
Scott,
I agree with Catherine wholeheartedly and not sure that it’s all about Ego – ALL the time.
I do believe that there is a huge element of altruism in this in that some of us contributed just to help someone else – thats all. There are always alterior motives but I think Robins genuine and honest proposal to assist others was a major factor in getting so many comments.
Sometimes it’s just about people helping people.
Cheers, Iggy
May 11, 2010 at 9:03 am |
Hey Catherine, Iggy,
I don’t know if you saw my whole thing about the herd – but what I said to Robin was that a herd got whiff of some self promotion or self help, so it came to these grasses. When it arrived, it saw that the herd that was already there (us lot) were moving to a different beat – genuinely helping one another.
I agree – the regular people here are a different breed. But the masses of visitors – many of them, underneath the rhetoric, are here for ego. But when they encounter the different culture that exists here, that ego can quickly dissipate.
Scott
May 11, 2010 at 3:30 pm |
How important do you think the ‘sense of community’ is in this situation?
Many people love to belong to a group of ‘like minds’, as Scott would say.
Are we driven to participate because we want to belong to – be part of – a community?
To be noticed; be valued; be missed and to be welcomed back!
Robin
May 11, 2010 at 9:25 am |
Hi Scott
Thank you for the clarification, and so beautifully articulated. In which case I take your point.
I believe so many, (myself included) needed a diamond prod with their message. However, once I received what I needed, I stepped to the side of the board, and watched the players take their place.
However, this is a different forum.
Like a focus group we are analyzing numbers, human behavior, and asking where do we go from here.
I’m interested to hear from RADSMARTS Black Chair.
Cheers
Catherine
May 11, 2010 at 2:07 pm |
Catherine, it’s so interesting to enter this discussion between you, Scott and Iggy. The learning for me is incredible – sit back and let professionals and experts do their thing in a collaborative forum.
But it’s hard to sit and watch. Never the spectator, I just wanted to repeat a comment from the previous (share-words) post in this context.
The issue of ‘dollars for views’ and ‘payment for services rendered’ have been raised, which from a Black Chair (commercial position) perspective is critical.
Quote:
“I’m not charging because I haven’t set this post up as a commercial service.
I wrote the post because I genuinely want to promote those who’s products and services I believe in. People get lost when it comes to selling themselves. I just wanted to see if this online community could and would gather around helping each other succeed where it *really* counts.
Sure, I’ve led the way a little, but my business model has always been to ‘help the strong succeed’ by demonstrating fantastic value – on the spot – before any commercial transaction ever takes place (if at all).
My purpose is to build long-term relationships, based on trust, that deliver *mutual* value – and this includes being able to quickly and confidently recommend each other as soon as a new opportunity arises – hence share-words!
Does that make sense to you?”
That said, to your question, Catherine…
In terms of the strategy and “where do we go from here”, the next step is to keep unfolding the strategy.
This then beggars the question:
What is your online strategy?
Surely a question that many wrestle with – and one I’m keen to discuss, explore and add value to for the fine souls in this community very soon.
Best,
Robin
May 12, 2010 at 7:18 am |
Hi Robin
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I appreciate the manner in which you’ve articulated your business model.
As to your question where do we go from here? I believe a business model of this ilk would transfer well online. Something to consider is a paid membership site with a blend of virtual and real time facilitation.
A good example of this is Dr Stephanie Burns. A Professional Speaker who rarely does the speaking circuit, is a respected leader in her field, illustrious author and teacher.
She has extended her business with a virtual office, http://www.stephanieburns.com where students participate in a variety of learning programs. Most of which are highly collaborative.
The rchitecture you’ve created here would support such a concept.
Just a thought ~ DMW
May 12, 2010 at 9:23 pm |
I wholeheartedly concur with Catherine’s excellent suggestion. It’s fantastic that there’s serious discussion about conversion to revenue.
I’m very much of the opinion that the many online discussions and platforms, whilst being valuable as an almost ‘forum-like’ arena, are, nevertheless, unsustainbale in the long term. Expertise and selected content is too valuable a commodity to continually give away free.
There’s also the offline conversion model too, which Catherine has already alluded to.
I think it’s very important to be clear in any online business model, just how much value one is going to attribute to consultative input. It may add value online, but the danger is that it devalues the bottom line.
We (isca) give a lot of content away for free – however, we couldn’t sustain any form of business without converting the free content in various forms.
In a recent film production discussion re. content etc. something resonated. It referred to the dichotomy of ‘giving away’ whist the actual hardware used to generate the freebies is major capital spend.
It’s a question of balancing the content in order to balance the books.
Best wishes,
Luke
May 13, 2010 at 7:28 am |
How do you think the sharewords post could be improved?
Catherine, thank you for your excellent feedback with the mention of, and link to Stephanie. She is a high-calibre provider and inspired me greatly early in my career.
My question above is really aimed at making sure we all get the most value and learning out of this sharewords post experience. It’s one of my favourite questions – one that opens a slightly different conversation.
Would love your thoughts?
Best, Robin
May 13, 2010 at 8:20 am |
Hi Robin
Your model has added enormous value to a broad cross section of the business community. Early adopters with an understanding of the emerging media landscape.
I would like to see this BETA expanded. In doing so, I believe the answers you are seeking will emerge.
Hope this helps
DMW
PS… Sending from my iPhone, so please excuse any typos. The screen is teeny bit small …
May 13, 2010 at 8:27 am |
The sharewords beta will be expanded.
Excellent thinking, Catherine. I look forward to some robust discussions focusing how this can happen in a way that provides maximum value to this community of stars!
No typos from you!
Thank you for your leadership in generating worth for us all.
Best, Robin
May 11, 2010 at 12:47 pm |
In the future please can you not post while I’m out of the country – I see I missed a fab post from you. Congrats on the massive feedback to share-words. It’s stupendous and very impressive.
I think the secret of your success and if you want the secret to writing popular blog posts is to be enthusiastic, be genuine and give top tips. Repeat, repeat, repeat. In the end people will believe that you really do care and aren’t just some fly-by-night who’s only saying it so we buy your book/course/whatever else you’re churning out.
Some people are naturally super, real and smart – it’s a winning combo in life and on the net. I’d definitely use them as share words for you: enthusiastic, genuine, smart. If anyone used them for me I’d be delighted and if anyone recommended someone for those reasons I’d check them out asap.
There, one comment for two posts. I don’t think I need to say keep up the good work anymore. I trust you so much now I know you will. Thanks!
May 30, 2010 at 1:14 pm |
Thank you, Annabel!
May 13, 2010 at 8:09 am |
OPEN QUESTION:
Just to build on this discussion, and in the interests of improving the learning and ongoing ‘reader experience’ for this community…
How do *you* think the sharewords post could be improved? (i.e. the post and facilitation of comments)
(Sharewords post: http://www.radsmarts.com/2010/05/share-words-the-easiest-way-for-us-to-recommend-you/)
Best, Robin
May 13, 2010 at 6:41 pm |
Hi Robin and all
The original share-words post and Robin’s follow up post clearly position Robin as a highly effective facilitator who achieves a solution for the core of the specific problem at hand.
In terms of improvements – my only comment would be regarding the contributors to these 2 particular posts. Most of the contributors on this post and the share-words post are people that Robin knows(I believe).
How do you make the blockbuster post appealing for an even wider audience, an audience that Robin has never met, heard of nor brought to his website directly?
Is it upto each of us readers/contributors to promote Robin and/or his posts via our own respective marketing avenues, to ensure new blood gets output from Robin’s posts and offerings?
On another note, I’ve recently become interested in learning about social media volume.
A) In regard to Twitter – Does someone retweeting your tweet mean that they personally found it of interest and they recommend it to their own followers? Or do we retweet to leverage of someone else’s fame and fortune? And if we do – does it work? and
B) Does the amount of views or clicks a website gets from a tweet, blog post or a guest blog, indicative of the true amount of people that actually read/saw that particular piece of information as opposed to just passed it on as a person of ‘influence’ mentioned/retweeted it? Does it give rise to the whole ‘a bit of something is better than a bit of nothing’ cliche?
… Food for thought anyway!
May 13, 2010 at 8:22 pm |
Thank you for this valuable input, Janna. You ask some important questions here. It will be interesting to see what others think.
Let’s discuss.
Best, Robin
May 13, 2010 at 9:07 pm |
Hi Janna
In relation to the number of visitors on this blog v blog 1, it appears blg 2 is a more concentrated discussion. A Master Class or Focus Group, either way blog 1 & blog 2 have a two different purposes.
It’s my observation, the purpose of this second forum is to drill down and deconstruct the elements of blog 1.
My concern is should Robin lead with a PR Campaign before the process is complete that too much too soon will skew the findings.
PR before it’s time can derail you. In my opinion, the current pace is nice and steady; everyone is now on board. However it takes a master to know when it’s time to pull out the throttle.
*Tipping my hat to the Maestro*
DMW
Hope this helps
May 15, 2010 at 1:34 pm |
Robin,
great to read so many replies that show evidence of having thought about the questions you asked.
Speaking of which, I think the key thing we learn (you and all your readers) is that there is an ROI (Return On Involvement).
You made a choice to be involved, to be active in responding to all who made a comment on the post. The return was that yet more people read, linked and commented. An ROI isn’t necessarily in cold hard cash. Reputation and respect is the return in the short term. Whuffie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whuffie) does translate into cold hard cash, it may be a one or serveral interactions down the relationship chain.
The key lesson I draw from this, is that we online relationships and networks are nurtured and develop in response to the same stimulus as do offline relationships and networks. We tend to cluster together around those whom we respect, those from whom we learn. Birds of a feather flock together. Finding others who think in a similar vein is the key.
Thank you, and especially thank you to the many commenters for making these posts a treasure trove, not just of ideas, but of people.
May 21, 2010 at 8:35 pm |
Thank you for being a person who takes action and brings value to the table, Ben. I really appreciate it.
Thanks also for the link.
Best, Robin
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