Jon Dale

The Tribes Q&A ebook is here and it's free

Dozens of volunteers (including me), worked together with Seth Godin to put together this ebook as a companion to his newest bestseller Tribes.

Download TribesQA.pdf

Yours to share or print or email, but please don't sell it or change it.

Not only is there a juicy insight on every page, but according to Seth he's comfortable saying it's the best designed PDF he's ever seen, worth making into a template for your next project.

Enjoy it.

Dozens of volunteers (including me), worked together with Seth Godin to put together this ebook as a companion to his newest bestseller Tribes.

Download TribesQA.pdf

Yours to share or print or email, but please don't sell it or change it.

Not only is there a juicy insight on every page, but according to Seth he's comfortable saying it's the best designed PDF he's ever seen, worth making into a template for your next project.

Enjoy it.

Why Guy Kawasaki is Wrong about Twitter (or Why I Don't Follow Everyone that Follows Me and You Shouldn't Either)

Guy Kawasaki recently wrote a post where he makes the case that the best way to get followers on twitter is to 1.) follow everyone that follows you, 2.) have fake conversations with important people so you'll look important and 3.) tweet lots of links to things that "might" be interesting.  While his strategies are obviously effective if your goal is to "get lots of followers" I think what he's proposing is unhelpful and promotes an underlying misconception about the best way to use social media.

Let me start by saying have a huge respect for Guy and love his writing...I just think he's wrong on this point.

As Seth Godin points out in this video having tons of followers on twitter is worthless.  What matters are the real relationships...and the exchange of worthwhile ideas.

When you visit the twitter profile of Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble or Barack Obama and see that they're "following" thousands of people, you instantly know that they're not really "following" any of those people (admittedly Obama may be a little busy preparing to lead the free world).   Guy admits this in his post when he says that following his strategy you'll have to focus on messages sent directly to you.  This defeats the purpose of "following" someone in the first place...and I think points to a deeper misunderstanding of social networking.

Social networking is important when its real and it's a useless distraction when its fake. 

The question to ask is not "how many followers do I have?" but "Are there people out there who I would go out of my way for and I know would go out of their way for me?"  The way that you earn that is by going out of the way for them.

When I visit the profile of someone like Steven Bristol (of Less Everything) or Tim O'Reilly (of O'Reilly Media) and see them followed by hundreds or thousands of people while they only follow a fraction of that...I see someone that has genuine influence in the twittersphere.  People want to follow them because they say things that matter, not because they "return the follow." Rather than filling my tweetdeck with useless tweets just designed to attract followers, I know when I read their tweets I'm going to be reading content that's genuinely interesting to me.

So here's my plea (to all those folks that have started following me because I follow them or those folks who are ticked because I'm not following them after they started following me).  Let's not treat Twitter like MySpace.  Please, only follow the folks that are actually interesting to you, that you actually care about...and remember, if we see that you're following thousands of people...we don't believe you.

(In the interest of full disclosure...I follow Guy Kawasaki on Twitter...but I don't really believe he's following me...and I hope this post doesn't hurt my chances if I approach Garage Technology Ventures for funding of my next project)

Seth Godin Presents Tribes (Video)

Seth Godin presents the thinking behind his new book, Tribes, to an invited audience in New York on 21st October 2008. This presentation includes a Q&A session with the participants in Seth's invitation only online community www.triiibes.com.

Can Seth Godin Change the Way Publishing Works?

In a remarkable move sure to make Tribes one of the best selling audio books ever, Seth Godin announced  today that his new book, Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us, is available as an UNABRIDGED audiobook on iTunes for less than a dollar.

He went on to say, "The souvenir, dead tree, printed hardcover edition is easier to take to the beach (Amazon)."

As I mentioned in a post earlier this week...I believe this may be the most important book this decade...and this may be one of the most important shifts in book selling strategy ever.  I've long agreed with Seth that we should offer digital version of books at greatly reduced prices and then offer the traditional paper versions at higher "souvenir" prices.  The increased buzz from audio listeners will result in even more sales of hardcover version. This is the first major release I've seen offered this way.

Here's a link to Tribes on iTunes: http://snurl.com/tribesaudio

And here's Seth's full announcement on his blog.

Why I Don't Moderate Comments and You Shouldn't Either

I avoid moderation at all costs (I don't moderate any content on any of the social networks I manage, my facebook page, blog comments...none of it).

The main reason you'd moderate is to stop people saying crazy things or posting inappropriate content.

The problem with moderating is that it makes your readers feel like you don't trust them...don't you love the way they compare your receipt to what's in your cart at Sam's Club as if you're trying to steal from them.  Moderation also robs your users of the instant gratification of seeing their content on your site.

I'd prefer to have the occasional comment that I have to delete after the fact than to create a full time job of moderating comments.

If something does slip through the cracks, folks understand that it wasn't you who posted it...and I promise, someone will let you know about it really quickly.

I've got thousands of people on social networks that I oversee and I receive about one content complaint a month.  It's not worth telling your readers you don't trust them to prevent the one idiot who's going to abuse the system.

I can't wait to see the comments this post gets!

Update: A reader sent me this post from Guy Kawasaki: The Top Ten Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption (check out #11)

Why Tribes May be the Most Important Book this Decade

I've just finished reading a pre-release copy of Seth Godin's new book, Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us.  I think it may be the most important book I've read this decade.

In his usual, easy to read, conversational style, Seth provides a manifesto outlining a new type of heretical leadership. As I read through the book I found myself highlighting pretty much the whole thing...almost every page contained nuggets that I had to underline and flag. 

Seth says about leadership, "We hesitate because it feels like something we need to be ordained to do."  He then proceeds to deconstruct the traditional understanding of hierarchical leadership and paint an inspiring picture of what leadership is today.

Whether you are in business, ministry, politics, education or social work...you need to read this book.  It comes out this Friday, my recommendation is pre-order a copy on Amazon today and read it this coming weekend.

I can't wait to read it again, but I couldn't help myself and I've given my early copy away already...but I've got 10 more on order from Amazon.  If you're a client of mine watch your mailbox...there's a copy headed your way.

Why We Love Barak Obama and Feel So Disconnected from John McCain

On September 25th, 1960 Richard Nixon was leading in the race for President.  His opponent, John Kennedy was young and inexperienced and after several radio broadcast debates Nixon was the clear frontrunner. 

On September 26th, 1960 everything changed.  That night 70 million U.S. viewers tuned in to watch the first ever televised presidential debate. Even though nothing in the candidates message had changed, extensive polling of the television audience showed Kennedy to be the winner of the debate by a very large margin. 

What was the difference?  Kennedy embraced the new medium of the day, Nixon did not.    Kennedy loved the camera, and the camera loved him.  Nixon refused to wear make-up and the hot lights had him sweating before the debate even began.  One observer noted, “There was no mistaking the distinction between the ease with which JFK related to the living rooms of America and the sense of desperateness that Nixon's intensity gave off.”

We’re seeing the same thing happen today.  Barak Obama has embraced new media.  He announced his VP choice to millions of Americans via text message before he told the traditional media and each and every one of them felt like they got something special, that they were an insider.  Those folks can say they knew before CNN...you can bet he’s got their vote.  He has more followers on Twitter than any other user (over 70,000).   He takes his message directly to the nation, often completely bypassing the middle-man of traditional media. He’s even been reported to exchange personal emails and text messages.  “His people” feel more connected to him than any other candidate, ever.

Obama gets it.  He understands that new media is a conversation, a tool used for two-way communication.  He’s a guy we can relate to, that’s accessible and we’d feel comfortable having a cup of coffee with (this isn’t about my personal politics but my observations about who’s embracing new marketing effectively).

McCain on the other hand seems to miss it completely.  His web site looks like something from a Mad Magazine spoof and he’s noticeably absent from most of the social networking sites.  I have no idea what McCain is up to these days, but thanks to twitter I know which cities Obama has been visiting.

When it comes to election day the Obama campaign will have built an incredible “get out the vote” machine and I think it will win him the election.  On that day, what would the McCain campaign give to have millions of people who had given their permission for him to drop them a personal note via text message reminding them that it was time to vote?

11/06/2008 - Update: Here's an interesting post election post - Obama vs. McCain Social Media Scorecard

The Two Conversations

New marketing is all about conversations...not the “conversation” where you the marketer shout out your message to as many people as possible, but the conversation where your customers are talking to their contacts about your company.

The first conversation is the conversation that's happening some place else. 

Right now, if you have any market saturation at all, people are talking about your company.  They may be saying good things...or bad.  The question is do you know where the conversations are happening and, when appropriate, are you taking part in them?

The IT guy for a client of mine (a well known author) recently sent me a report showing all the references he’d been able to track that referenced my client over a two week period.  This included twitters, blog posts and news reports.  In 14 days there had been over 100 “conversations” that referenced my client or his work.  Now, the question is what, if anything, should they be doing with that information.

My recommendation is whenever possible you should engage in the conversation.  If someone writes a blog posts and mentions your product, why not leave them a comment, thanking them for the mention and give them a coupon for a discount on the their next order (or perhaps a free download).  If someone is complaining about your company (check out the search results on twitter for AT&T), why not take the opportunity to pro-actively engage them and provide excellent customer service before they even ask (the whole world is watching).  Rather than dealing with negative comments once someone gets frustrated enough to reach out to you, why not take part in the conversation where its already happening.

The second conversation is the conversation that probably isn’t happening yet, but should be.  Its the conversation that you host. 

Who better to connect your customers than you, their point of contact. If your customers naturally gather around your product in the real world why not help facilitate that happening in the virtual world?  Threadless gets this...so does Amazon. 

I make purchasing decisions every day and very seldom, if ever, are they influenced by traditional media.  When I’m wondering if I should buy a book that’s been recommended to me, do I go to the New York Times book reviews?  Nope, I’ve never read one.  What I do is look on Amazon at the book reviews to see what their customers have to say. 

You may be thinking, yeah, but Jon you’re on the bleeding edge of early adopters...true, but think about what influences your buying decisions.  Chances are the number one thing is word of mouth.  The same is true for your customers.  Why not create a place for them to connect with each other and prospective customers?  If you're in the simple accounting software business, why not create the online destination for people to gather and ask each other their accounting questions?  Don't try to control the conversation but do take part in it.  What you'll earn is permission to talk to them about what you have to offer. 

Are you taking part in the two conversations? 

Outsourcing Life (or at least the stuff you hate to do)

Ever since reading Tim Ferris' The 4-Hour Work Week I've been intrigued by the idea of outsourcing projects to an overseas virtual assistant. However, like most people I was skeptical that it could be as easy and hassle free as Tim makes it sound.

I've been waiting for the perfect project to send to the other side of the world to test the concept.  A couple of weeks ago, just the right project was sitting on my to do list.  I had an hour long phone interview that I needed a transcription of.  This seemed like the perfect test for an overseas assistant so I started by contacting AskSunday, the folks that Tim endorses.  Unfortunately, they require you to sign up for one of their plans and wouldn't just tackle a single project for me. 

After a little research on Google I found a company in India called Patodia Inc.  On their home page they say their "ultimate objective is 'Client Satisfaction' therefore, if any client is dissatisfied with the work, Patodia Inc returns the payment or doesn’t charge the client for the work done."  It seemed like I didn't have much to lose, so I decided to give overseas outsourcing a try.

The owner Prakash Patodia was easy to reach.  He gave me a very reasonable quote via email, happily had a sample prepared for me and his team completed the final project to my satisfaction in less than 48 hours...at a fraction of the cost of what an American company would have charged for the same work.

The possibilities for utilizing this affordable workforce are limitless. In a recent post Seth Godin gave several examples of how a business could utilize oversees assistance to provide a better customer experience.

If you've got things you know would enhance your customer's experience that you don't enjoy doing or you would do if you "just had the time"...why not give Prakash a call...chances are he can help you.

Why We Love Apple and Hate AT&T

Most readers of this blog know that I'm a huge Apple fan.  So you won't be surprised to learn that in spite of my ongoing battle with AT&T I was lined up with hundreds of others outside an AT&T store in Colorado Springs early Friday morning in an attempt to be one of the first owners of the new iPhone 3G.

As we got closer to the assigned hour (8 a.m.) the store manager kept walking down the line and counting the people.  Each time she seemed to be more and more concerned.  A rumor started circulating that the store had only 50 iPhones available.  Sure that this wasn't the case, I used my Blackberry to email my new friend in AT&T's President's office and received an almost instantaneous response: "I would be shocked and amazed if any store ran out on the first day.  My understanding is that all stores including Apple stores, would be fully stocked. Let me know if you find out otherwise."  I breathed a sigh of relief and assured those in line around me that the rumor couldn't be true...the highest office at AT&T had told me we'd all be getting phones.

Once the line started moving and the first group of customers were inside the store I decided to go up to the front of the line and talk to a store manager myself.  A man who identified himself as the "Market Manager" was standing at the door looking stressed...so I asked him if the rumor was true.  He told me that he didn't know how many phones they had and if he did he wouldn't be allowed to share that information.  While this didn't make much sense it satisfied me that he hadn't told anyone there were only 50 phones so I went back to my place in line.

Then, at about 8:15, the police cars arrived.  Two squad cars sped up to the front of the store and the officers got out and stood by the entrance.  The store manager, a young women, came out and stood with the officers beside her.  The crowd fell silent as she announced that they had only 6 phones left.  They had started the day with only 40 phones.  She told us that any one else in line would be allowed to place a "direct fulfillment" order and would receive their phones in 7-10 days.  Then she dropped the bombshell...she announced that they were expecting another shipment of phones the next morning and they would be available on a first come first served basis.  She suggested lining up again on Saturday morning for a chance to get those phones.

I got on the phone to my contact at AT&T's Office of the President and he seemed shocked that any AT&T store had started the day with so few phones. He asked me to hold while he called other AT&T stores in the area to see if he could find a phone for me.  He came back on the line after a few minutes and sheepishly admitted that every store he had been able to reach was in the same boat.  They had each started the day with less than 50 phones and sold out in less than half an hour.  He then offered to check stores in a wider area for me...and found out the same thing...they had sold out as well.  He assured me that no one in his office knew that the stores were going to be so short of phones.  Then he asked me to hold  while he called the Apple Store in Denver for me...he came back on the line and told me that the Apple store had huge lines but the store manager was sure they had plenty of phones for everyone.

So, I decided to drive to Denver.  Two hours later when I arrived at the Flat Irons Mall the line to get into the Apple Store was so long that it stretched out of the air conditioned mall and into an outdoor courtyard.  As I chatted with those in line a similar pattern emerged. Pretty much everyone in line at this point had been at an AT&T store that had run out of phones...no one was happy with AT&T.  But here at Apple, things were different.

The atmosphere in line was almost party like.  Even though most of those in line with me had already had a disappointing morning there was a shared anticipation of the payoff to come.  Apple store employees came by every half hour or so with status updates and bottled water.  They assured us they had plenty of phones and apologized that the line was moving so slowly due to the AT&T activation process.  After I'd been in line for an hour an Apple store manager came by with cold Starbucks drinks for everyone.  It was really clear that the Apple employees were happy to see us and understood that we were sacrificing our day to be part of their product launch. 

I was in line for five hours before I reached the store entrance. As I waited in the short line inside the store one of the managers came up and asked if I was an existing AT&T customer.  I told him that I was and briefly explained my unfortunate situation.  He asked me if customer service had been able to sort out my problem since he had heard stories from other's in line who had the same issue and AT&T customer service managers had issued them credits.  I told him that I had been in contact with the "Office of the President" of AT&T and that they refused to help me.  At this point the manager gave me a heartfelt apology.  He told me that he was so sorry that AT&T treated customers that way and that it was really unfortunate that Apple's partner for the iPhone didn't value customers in the same way that Apple does.  Here's the thing...I believe he really meant it.  It wasn't patronizing...it was a heartfelt apology.  He then introduced me to another employee and told that employee "look after this guy...he's had long day and he's a really important customer."  Ten minutes later I walked out of the Apple Store with two shiny new iPhones.

So here's my rant:

Is it just me or did AT&T have weeks if not months to prepare for the iPhone launch.  The fact that additional phones had already been shipped with a scheduled delivery date the day after the iPhone launch points clearly to a planned shortage. Did AT&T really want all their stores to run out of phones on the morning of the launch?  Did they think that "selling out" of the iPhone would be good for publicity?  What about the hundred's of customers who spent hours in line only to discover that they were being used as pawns in AT&T's marketing strategy.

As Seth Godin points out in his post yesterday on Scarcity: "The danger [with creating false scarcity] is that you can kill long-term loyalty. You can annoy your best customers. You can spread negative word of mouth. You can train people to hate your scarcity strategy (Apple did all four this weekend)."  Unlike Seth I don't blame Apple for what happened.  The vast majority of folks in line at the Apple Stores were people who had already tried to purchase an iPhone at an AT&T store.  I think the blame lies firmly with AT&T...and that's why the only real problem with the iPhone is AT&T.

The day before the iPhone launch, after hearing my story, the manager of AT&T's "Office of the President" told me that he would love to help me but even he had to follow policy and he refused to issue me a credit.  I was hoping that if I was able to reach someone high enough at AT&T that they would do what they all agree is the right thing and fix my problem.  However, he proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that at AT&T policies comes before people.

In spite of this, because I love Apple, I took 12 hours out of my day to get my hands on a pair of iPhones.

Was it worth it? Yes, I love the iPhone...its probably the best electronic device I've owned.  But after my ongoing challenges with AT&T, unfortunately its bittersweet.

What can we learn from this?

We love Apple because we believe that Apple respects us as customers and as people...we hate AT&T because their actions show they don't. 

So, how do your customers feel about you?

Update: Here's a great post on Consumerist.com that illustrates how Apple bends over backwards to help customers who are having challenges with AT&T.