Whatcha Talkin Bout Willis?

By this time you have probably heard about Twitter.  If not, here is a quick summary.  Twitter is a site where you, and the rest of the world get 140 characters to answer one question “what are you doing?”

Now the common first reaction by someone who discovers Twitter is to scrunch up their face, tilt their head to the side and scratch it, sigh, tilt their head back again, shrug their shoulders and say “huh?”  “What is the big deal?”

Well shortly thereafter you begin to discover that on Twitter people are sharing thoughts and opinions on everything under the sun in a very concise and easy to understand format.  Better yet the format is constantly evolving.  Twitter also makes it possible to follow brilliant thinkers like John Moore, Pete Blackshaw, and Guy Kawaski, as you follow “what they do.”

Still, the whole thing can seem a bit overwhelming and disjointed.  That is where the new Twitter Search (formerly Summize.com) comes into play.  Simply type in a term and you can search in real time what people are talking about.  Search Dayton, or Obama, or McCain, Pizza, Reds, Apple, whatever - Twitter search will aggregate the results so that you can begin to make sense of it all.  Better yet, it is equipped with an RSS feed so that you can track the conversation as it evolves.  Track mentions of your name, your employer, your friends, and on and on.

So do you wonder what Willis is talking about?  Well I am not sure if Willis (Todd Bridges) uses Twitter, but you can find a whole bunch of people talking about him and darn near anything else by using Twitter Search.  Give it a try, and share the interesting things you find with your comments.

Twitter Search

Linking Up with LinkedIn Dayton

Today I was given the distinct honor of addressing the LinkedIn Dayton networking group at Champps in Centerville, Ohio on the topic of leveraging web based tools to build your personal brand.  I want to thank everyone who attended the event.  I hope you found it to be fun and informative. I know that I had a blast and made a number of professional connections in the process.

I was given this opportunity by responding to a call for speakers put out by Joe Durbin and Michael Morley, who organize much of the LinkedIn Dayton group’s actual face to face meetings.  This was the first breakfast meeting, and they sent out an email request for speakers, which I responded to immediately.  I thank them for allowing me to be the first, and hopefully not the last, speaker.

As for the content of the presentation, I offered my 2 cents on how to leverage the emerging web to build your brand and further your career.  I talked about my recent job changes, and the valuable lessons I learned about the importance of both knowing people, and more importantly, being known.  I have given similar presentations before, but have never related the personal history of how I even got into blogging and social networking relative to the crazy events of my life.

My message in a nutshell was this.  We live in a new age.  40 Years of “doing good work and getting a gold watch at the end” are done.  You have to take ownership of your life and your career.  Building a network plays a huge role in determining your ability to control your future.  This applies to all areas of life, not just finance.  The web makes it easier and more affordable to build your brand, and to leverage your strengths to create your future career.

I spoke about how individuals can leverage everything from Microblogs like Twitter and Plurk, to Blogs using Wordpress, Podcasts, Squidoo, Social Networks, and other free and easy tools to join the conversation and establish an area of expertise.  I tried to deliver enough explantion of these tools to make them understandable, without being too technical in how they work.  We discussed numerous ways to utilize LinkedIn, beyond just an online repository for contact information.  (Research Database, Employment Tool, Sales Information, Communication Vehicle, Information Source) In summary, it was a high level overview of a broad swath of web 2.0 tools that can benefit those who seek to leverage the web as a personal branding tool.

Blogging and social media have changed my life in so many ways.  They led me to my current job at LUCRUM - where we use blogs, social networks, wikis, and podcasts to build the company both internally and externally.  They have generated countless connections with other people around the globe, and put me in touch with some of the most brilliant minds on the planet.  I love what I do, and I am delighted that I not only get to do it, but that people are interested in hearing me talk about it too.

Thanks again to all who came to the event today.  If you have questions about anything I covered, or did not cover, in my presentation.  Please drop me a note.  I am happy to help in any way that I can.  I look forward to the next LinkedIn Breakfast, where I will get to eat, socialize, and enjoy watching the speaker.

David E. Bowman - LinkedIn

If I Was in Charge of Rolling Rock…

Week 2 in my series of “If I was in charge.” I discovered that it is more difficult than I thought to pick a company. Inspiration comes from many sources, and tonight, it happens to come “from the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe.” - Rolling Rock.

So, if I was in Charge of Rolling Rock, the first thing I would do would be to continue to play up the mysterious 33 on the back of the bottle by creating a Twitter type of microblog on the web site. It would ask you to tell your Rolling Rock story, or just share a comment using only 33 words. This would be fun to do, and might create some interesting tales about Rolling Rock.

Here is mine.

I drank my first Rolling Rock in Springfield, Ohio in 1992. My second one had a lemon in it. Delicious. I love the story of 33. Very mysterious. Painted label. Great summer beer.

Now, I would then continue to reposition the brand to be more “Yellow Springs, Ohio” or “Athens, Ohio” and I would redesign the web site to reflect that.  It would be much less branded and contrived, and much more down to earth.  I would make the content far more user driven, and I would find ways to get people involved in the brand.  I would get someone like Trey Anastasio to play a private show at the brewery - inviting loyal consumers to attend and chronicle the experience.   Sticking with the music idea, I might pick a few small target markets, like Dayton, and invest in supporting the local music scene.  I would include bands from these cities in the event with  Trey, using them as opening acts.  I would create a community and then engage them.

So, if you were in charge of Rolling Rock, what would be the first thing you would do? If the answer is drink free beer, than what is the second thing?