commbasics

We see rumors and conspiracy theories popping up every day and some people believe them because they fit in a particular world view. Just because it sounds true doesn't mean it is true. There is a phrase that pops up in a lot of blogs, social media posts and general conversation that really annoys me. "The media is not covering this." It doesn't matter what the socio-religio-political position of the person making the statement because it is a universal belief among all stripes that something they consider crucial is being ignored by the news media. This article is to describe why your crucial information is being ignored. You don't actually read general news media so you have no idea if it is being covered or how it is being covered if it is.   Few people actually read legitimate news sources anymore.  More people get their news from click-bait sites or gossip shows like TMZ ; partisan blogs and news commentaries; and social media posts than they do actual...

...,if you see competitors using social platforms and technology making money while you are not; If you want to sell your business to someone for a good price in the next 10 years. READ THIS BOOK! I was given the honor of reviewing Lethal Generosity , the latest book on communication and technology from Shel Israel, before it is released next week. I spent the time to read it through twice (and it is quite readable so that took little effort). I’ve come to the opinion that it might be the most important book a business person or professional communicator could read this year. But before I explain why, let’s weed the field a bit. If you have no plans to sell your products of services to people under 30, ever, don’t read this book.  If you plan to retire or shut your business down in 10 years, don’t read this book. But if you are struggling to understand how to grow your business; if you see competitors using social platforms and technology making money while you are not; If you wa...

Unless you are already mind-bindingly successful and in demand as a speaker, don’t count on being able to get people to pay you to show up and speak… or even speak for free. Every client I have ever had makes one request that can never be satisfied: Obtaining speaking engagements. It’s not that it cannot be done, but that the client either lacks the patience or resources to make fulfilling that request possible. So I thought it might be a good time to actually put down how those engagements actually happen. First, one needs to understand that speaking engagements are generally offered 6 months before the event actually happens because events just don’t start spontaneously. Most of the planning stages begin the day after the event last occurred, subject matter is decided upon and the search for participants in the program begins. Who is chosen to participate generally comes down to the following: 1. Sheer luck.   This occurs when a person originally selected to speak has to b...

This final post of the series looks at how to become a valuable source of information and attract important connections. But first, let’s address whether you should even try. In my previous posts about Linkedin I talked about the value of the platform, the frustrations users are having, changes that Linkedin might consider to reverse those frustrations and how you can screen contacts more effectively to minimize spam. This final post of the series looks at how to become a valuable source of information and attract important connections. But first, let’s address whether you should even try.  A communicator is a person who can bring disparate and anonymous people and groups together through the distribution of information those people and groups find valuable. If you don’t care if they find that information valuable, or you don’t really like bringing people together, you might consider avoiding social media altogether. That is a valid option. There are people that have plenty of bus...

If you walk into a business event with a thousand people and you stand in a corner the entire night not engaging with anyone, the event is useless to you. Same with social media platforms. You only get the value back that you put into the participation. The input on my concern about Linkedin’s future has created a massive response in the past week. More than 30 comments in my Linkedin post a nd a couple hundred direct messages and emails. All of the input is consistent. While comments range from power users who say the will continue to be power users, to those that say they are leaving Linkedin altogether, but the consistently say that the level of SPAM is increasing, which makes the platform more difficult to use. So today I’d like to talk about techniques to eliminate the SPAM and make Linkedin useful for you. If you walk into a business event with a thousand people and you stand in a corner the entire night not engaging with anyone, the event is useless to you. Same with social med...

This is a real problem that could damage the effectiveness of Linkedin and maybe they should start thinking about what to do about it. Last week I published an audio interview with IdaRose Sylvester about her doubts about the value of Linkedin . She echoed some of the concerns that I expressed although I'm not about to give up on the platform as yet. She introduced me to Todd Herschberg, a former Linkedin Open Networker (LION), who she said might have had a different perspective. Not quite. In fact he agrees with her more than me. In this 20-minute interview, we got even deeper into the problems of Linkedin which focus primarily on spam and fake profiles that are proliferating on the platform. This is a real problem that could damage the effectiveness of Linkedin and maybe they should start thinking about what to do about it.  Here's the interview.   Related articles Linkedin Ads? LinkedIn Is Not Facebook, But It Clearly Wants To Be And It's Turning Away Users I...

The rising SPAM flow in Linkedin is causing some of the more valuable members to flee to other platforms. A couple of weeks ago I provided my input on the benefits and weaknesses of Linkedin and promised insights from others. The first to respond was IdaRose Sylvester of Silicon Valley Link. IdaRose is an incredible international networker, an angel investor, former analyst and business consultant and is exactly the kind of person you would expect to be a power user of Linkedin... but she is not. And for good reason.  As I mentioned in my post, the rising SPAM flow in Linkedin is causing some of the more valuable members to flee to other platforms. We recorded the interview. Check it out.   Related articles Is Linkedin a valuable business tool or a spam bucket? One man's view of the state of Linkedin LinkedIn Promises Less Email Spam