marketing Archives - Page 21 of 21 by Mark Murnahan

You hate spam, I hate spam … we all hate spam. Right?

I spend a lot of time reading, researching, and finding out about stuff. I like knowing things. While I am reading, learning, and soaking in the glory of this Information Superhighway we have all built together, I encounter a lot of spam. Don’t we all?

We all want it to feel like a global community and we all want to know more about people, things, places and more. We find out how different we are, and we find out how similar we are. We find out what others like, and we find out things they don’t like. Sometimes we mix it up and forget that while we are so vigilant about not hearing the stuff we don’t want to hear (spam), we may miss a few things we do want to hear.

People love to talk about themselves. People with kids love to talk about their kids. People who love food love to talk about the great cuisine they just enjoyed. People with something to sell love to talk about their goods.

We each have a lot to say, and when we can connect it all with a worldwide crowd, it validates us. It makes us feel less alone. It makes us HUMAN!

I have always been careful to discourage a bunch of spam on my blog comments. I want real comments that people will find useful and will build a conversation. At the same time, I have to question what I may be missing.

I wrote a post once upon a time asking for people to share their Twitter usernames. It was titled “Twitter Username Selection: What’s in a Name?” It turned out that even with over 160 comments, it was not entirely a spamfest, but also allowed people to share who they are. It allowed people to talk about themselves. It also allowed and encouraged people to connect.

That is what I am offering now, but in a different way. I want to ask each of you … yes, YOU, to share a little about yourself. What do you like? What are you all about? What do you do for a living? Do you have something to sell? Share it with people here, because you never know whom you may connect with.

Hey, what can be the worst outcome? We have to sort through a little bit of junk to find the prize? They do that at diamond mines, too.

This is my call for spam. Place your spam here. When I say spam, in this case I mean to not be afraid to talk about yourself … I don’t mean to offer your free diplomas or cheap Rolex watches. I mean, connect, share, and don’t be afraid to drop a link or sell us some stuff. As long as it is in good taste, let it fly. This is a mixer, so by all means, MIX!

NOTE: If you are wondering how or if I will moderate this … Yes, I will probably have to shut the comments off at some point or begin some manual moderation. Big deal, I can handle it. As long as it sounds genuine and is not illegal, go ahead and share it with the rest of us!

By the way … aren’t you curious what people will say when they are actually requested to talk about themselves? Be sure to subscribe to the comments!

UPDATE: Take a look at the things we may miss when we become too cynical. There are some really talented and amazing people in this world, and right here in the blog comments! Let us all be sure that we each stop and smell the flowers.

“Get to the point!” was my reaction as I read the article from a “social media expert” bragging about this and that, blah blah, “instrumental in”, yada, yada, “leveraged” that, and etcetera.

Attempting to gain respect by adding ambiguous terms or unrecognized titles is losing ground. It has a lot to do with making people feel smaller than you by using bigger words than they do. Do you speak to people that way? Do you speak to friends that way? People like friends.

Welcome to the human era of communications!

As I read the article, it did not take more than a single line to realize I was reading some garbage filled with a bunch of fancy word plays to distract me from any meaning. What do people really get from a bunch of language that sounds like a resume? I can tell you, but if I did, my language may not be as eloquent as this 1990’s throwback hoping to create allure with a bunch of impressive blather. Do not get me wrong, my linguistics are fine. I can do that, too. I have authored countless marketing articles over the past two decades and three books just this year. I can blow you away with a bunch of word plays, but will you admire my work more if I do?

I am not going to say that you should curse like a sailor and use a bunch of slang, but if you are writing to general public like it is your resume, don’t bother. They probably wrote that same line of junk in their resume, too. If they didn’t, then they likely have a better job than you, and if they did, they have probably held their job for a while.

Maybe it is just me, but I get a little tired of false impressions and a lack of the human aspects in communication. Sure, the “experts” will tell you that if you polish it with some glittery words and make it look really shiny that it does make a difference. That was true, way back then, but then is in the past. People want people, and they want real people they can relate to on some level. Some people will still look at the shiny things and go blind and be fooled. Most of us are smarter than that. I know this because I did the research. I know the people. There are still opportunities to puff out your chest and be the “impressive” one whom everybody will linger on your every word. Those days of false impressions with big titles and clever phrases are fading. Being reliable, having integrity, and being human are more important again … as it once was.

My hands are cold from standing outside where I just smoked a cigarette. I printed the particular article I am referencing so that I could pace my driveway where I could smoke and thump my finger on the pages as I read them with disgust, without carrying my laptop around. I am a real guy … a guy with a brain of my own. I guess I just don’t see a whole lot of value in building myself up to gain your respect and admiration. Sure, I know a whole lot more about marketing, the Internet, and Internet marketing than most of my readers. I got that by working in my industry for a very long time. I was here before Al Gore released the Internet to the rest of the world. I was here when yahoo was not “Yahoo! ®” and I remember when RFC 1939 (POP3) was established. I became successful in my industry by working hard and not showering until I learned that new craze called HTML. If I ever need to be a “Director of Social Media, Instrumental in Blunders” in order to impress you … count me out. I am just not that guy. I evolved. If you want your resume written, I can send you to some swell writers, but I wouldn’t suggest using it as your marketing “hook”.

History is repeating itself, as we knew it would. The people who came up with terms like “instrumental in leveraging” and “received awards for” without telling you that the award was given by their mother are greats in history. They are right up there with the piano keyboard necktie and the Delorean automobile, which both get a lot of chuckles. Maybe that fashion will return, but for now, it is a whole lot more acceptable to just say it clearly and stop trying to impress everybody. Be yourself! Then you can come have a beer and a cigarette with me.

If you have ever felt as if you are not in their league because of the words they so cleverly crafted, do not be fooled! They are probably the ones writing their resume and “seeking a fulfilling opportunity”, which really means they want a job that pays them to be somebody completely different than what it said on their resume.