I Tweeted about Seth Godin’s blog post on “Trolls” earlier and now, this video regarding new media douchebags has me laughing.
Know people like this? I do. The creator of this video, who can be found at Cinnamon Pants, has a few of these “in Plain English” videos and I love them. A lot. I also love Seth’s post (link above) a lot. These are simple ways to get a powerful message across without trolling or being a “new media douchebag.”
Why do you think the Internet breeds this sort of activity?
Have you ever heard or said this?
I received an e-mail today reminding me of “the fact that social networks exist and that they could be used to enlist bad press against me”. Yeah… like I haven’t heard that one before. It’s in quotes because it’s not what I believe but what I’ve been told.
Here’s why that holds zero validity in my mind.
Using your network to trash talk other people does the other person no harm. Sure, you might think it’ll cause the 183 people that have gone through the same program to all of a sudden go, “Yeah! We agree with them!” but it won’t. In fact, it’ll only do YOU harm by making everyone around you afraid to interact with you for fear of being next on the chopping block.
Or, here’s another scenario. You talk amongst your peeps (who only hear your side of the story) and they are like, “Ohhhh, you’ve been wronged!” and then you feel validated and happy and glad that you put up your threat of bad press. In all reality, those people are probably afraid to voice their true opinion of, “Are you really serious?!?”
Raving fans are raving fans and every time you do something, you’re going to encounter one person who doesn’t get it, who didn’t like it, who didn’t want it or who hits the economic recession and decides to try and cash in on a product they purchased circa September of 2008. Seth Godin calls these critics and critics are good. At least it means you are giving someone, somewhere something to talk about.
Long story short of what I went through to get that e-mail: customer X purchased a spot in a program. Had trouble with downloading videos. I offered DVDs. DVDs were mailed twice times but never received. I offered new, updated program to customer X for free (which contained super slick high-definition videos). Customer X still demanded old, outdated information that isn’t being used anymore. I mailed DVDs of old stuff again. Customer X, one year later, requests refund and states that my lack of compliance would be bad press and that customer X has a network that they can use. I explain refund policy and offer even more training in lieu of the expired refund availability.
So, how would you react if you were me?
I simply e-mailed stating that while I appreciate the existence of such network (I have one of my own), I was not worried about so-called bad press because the raving reviews, the lack of refunds, etc. makes this a success for me. Makes the program a win. You can look at the showcase I have to see what people are doing with what they’ve learned in the program. It’s changing how people service their own businesses.
You get to decide how you react to things each and every day.
This is a scenario that does not happen often but when it does, I’m reminded of how presenting yourself to your network is so vital and key to the success of your business. Threaten others with the misuse of your network and you’ll harm yourself in the end.
Use your network for good, change the world, change the way people think and you’ll be a happy, successful business person.
Well holy purple cow flown out of a dip and into the universe. Ok, that was merely a play on words of Seth’s titles… wait, why am I telling you this bit? He’s famous, you probably have heard of all of his books if not at least one. His name is Seth Godin and he’s a master marketer and a writer like no other.
Let me tell you something interesting though. I had always seen Seth as a master marketer and a writer. Someone who had a lot of knowledge on that specific area and who I turned to for new marketing ideas, thoughts and leadership. After reading “Tribes”, I now see Seth as major agent of change. He can change the way you think, feel and act.
In fact, his words had such a profound effect on me that by page 35, I had the idea for Successocity. By the end of the book, three other things had been born and my notebook filled with scratches.
Okay, so at the very end of the book Seth has a part about passing the book along if you’ve found it helpful. While I am selfish and want to re-read this so am hanging onto my copy, I do want to extract some of my favorite bits and share them with you here.
“What’s interesting about the folks I meet who are engaged and are clearly heretics is that they’ve actively talked themselves out of the fear. I mean, the fear is still there, but it’s drowned out by a different story.”
“It’s the story of success, of drive, of doing something that matters. It’s an intellectual story about what the world (or your industry or your project) needs and how your insight can help make a difference.”
Imagine what the world would be like if we simply rid ourselves of the fear by telling ourselves a new and different story?
People always ask me how I produce things so quickly, put them up without perfection and put myself in the “line of fire” so often. It’s not because I am not afraid… I just know I’m helping people and because of that, I can never fail. The critics will pop up, they are always there, but I keep going.
“The lesson here is this: if I had written a boring book, there’d be no criticism. No conversation. The products and services that get talked about are the ones worth talking about.”
If ever you’ve held back on doing something out of fear that the critics will pop up… ignore ‘em! Move forward and build your uniquely inspired business authentically. Eventually, even the critics will jump on board when they see your magnificence.
“What we did (and what you do is) courageous. It requires bravery. Managing doesn’t, and following the rules to make a living doesn’t. It might be hard work, but it feels safe. Changing things – pushing the envelope and creating a future that doesn’t exist yet (at the same time you’re criticized by everyone else) – requires bravery.”
I think the key thing to note is that regardless, when you put yourself out there, it’s going to require something inside of you that not everyone has. Embrace it and you succeed – back down from it and you won’t.
“When you hire amazing people and give them freedom, they do amazing stuff. And the sheepwalkers and their bosses watch and shake their heads, certain that this is an exception and it is way too risky for their industry or their customer base.”
Instead, hire the people who obviously know what they are doing, empower them and see what happens. I wish more of our clients and the people hiring professional services had this mentality. We could do BIG things for people if they let us.
“Part of leadership (a big part of it, actually) is the ability to stick with the dream for a long time. Long enough that the critics realize that you’re going to get there one way or another … so they follow.”
Ahhhh… So true. This was probably my favorite part of the entire book. For me, it’s saying to people that regardless of what you throw at leaders, they’ll always lead. The really good leaders will keep moving forward and you’ll eventually follow or join too.
Read it? What are your thoughts or favorite passages?
