My Thoughts on 2009 and 2010

2008 was such an amazing year, I really didn’t think 2009 could be much better. Boy, was I wrong! 2009 was the most exciting, rewarding year of my life so far, and that makes me so much more excited about 2010.

As you might remember from my post last year, I don’t really make New Years resolutions. I am constantly reviewing my goals… I do it weekly, monthly, quarterly and yes, annually. A year is a good time frame by which to set larger goals, though, so I do like to take a little time every year to review my progress and look at what’s in store for the next year. [Read more...]

Coauthor of the SitePoint Tribune

sitepoint-newsletters.jpgA few weeks ago I was a guest author of the SitePoint Tribune email newsletter, to fill in after Brendon Sinclair moved on after 5 years as the newsletter’s coauthor.

I really enjoyed writing the newsletter and told SitePoint if they ever needed another guest author, or had a more regular position come available, I’d be very interested and would like to be considered.

I’m excited that SitePoint has asked me to coauthor the Tribune with the current host, Miles Burke. I’ll be writing every other weekly issue, starting with the very next issue, coming out this Thursday.

I’ll be writing about the business side of our industry, client dealings, productivity and anything else that comes to mind. If you’re not already getting the Tribune, go subscribe now.

Idolizing Celebrities

iStock_000004580895XSmall.jpgI’ve never been one to idolize celebrities. TV & movie stars, recording artists and other famous people are just people like everyone else. But I think it’s healthy to idolize, or at least admire, some people. It all comes down to the reasons.

As I was reading Darren Rowse’s post about a loving fan that virtually attacked him at Blogworld, I realized there’s nothing wrong with having heroes.

I’ll tell you right now that I practically stalk Chris Brogan (he even said so in my signed copy of Trust Agents). I’d drive half a day or fly halfway across the country to hear him speak. Is it because he’s a web celebrity? Because he has 100,000 followers? Because he’s a “social media expert”? No, it’s because he went out of his way to be a friend to me, for no other reason than he is a good person who truly wants to help people. [Read more...]

Take Responsibility for Your Brand

Seth Godin recently posted about a number of employees from a nameless company that all seemed to abdicate responsibility for their company’s actions. One employee went so far as to say, “All I do is work here.”

I don’t know what company Seth is talking about in his post, but I’ve heard that a number of times myself. It’s not uncommon for employees who know something is wrong to simply cop out by saying “Ah, I can’t do anything, I just work here.”

Well, I completely agree with Seth. If you cash your paycheck then you are responsible. You are as much at fault by saying and doing nothing as the people who are driving your brand into the ground.

Take responsibility for your brand, especially when things get bad. If you care so little about the company you work for and its culture to step in when things are bad, quit. Find a new job. But don’t continue to work there all the while refusing to acknowledge you’re a part of the problem.

Barcamp Birmingham 2009 Recap

Barcamp BHam Group Photo

UPDATE: Both presentations and slides are now embedded and linked below.

This was my first ever Barcamp, so I wasn’t too sure about what to expect. I was traveling to Atlanta on Friday with work, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it to Barcamp Birmingham because we were leaving for the beach on Sunday. My friend Chris talked me into going (and then bailed on me, no hard feelings tho!)

If you’re not familiar with Barcamps, they are a conference without a pre-arranged agenda. Everyone just shows up, some people propose a few topics they’d like to present on, and people decide which sessions they want to see. [Read more...]