Memo from Dave: If you’re focusing on the Groupon CEO’s exit letter, you’re missing the point.

It’s been shared so many times that we’re not going to do it here.

Public Enemy Frontman Chuck D

Andrew Mason was fired from his post as CEO at Groupon, and the Internet was soon ablaze with commentary about how Mason’s parting shot was the “best exit letter ever.” (Chicago Tribune, Phil Rosenthal, Sunday, March 3. Article still behind a paywall, so here’s a link to the front of the site.)

He admitted that he was fired.

He used the word “Love.”

He was forthright and not bitter.

You’re missing the point. And, to explain the photo of Chuck D, “don’t believe the hype.”

Allow me to pick on Tribune’s Rosenthal, since his paean to Mason was entitled “This is the way to exit the stage right.” Rosenthal interviews Chicago workforce staple John Challenger – he is the only workplace expert interviewed – and proceeds to say that Mason “nailed the landing.”

I’m left with the impression that this was a combination of Johnny Carson’s farewell show with Bette Midler, combined with Ronald Reagan’s last address to America, with a dash of one of those full-page ads that retiring sports figures take out in newspapers to thank all their fans.

Let’s talk about leadership

The “best exit ever” is not about knowing how to say you were fired – the best exit ever is knowing when to (borrowing from Mason’s letter, which, I guess, will be made into a Broadway Show) “get out of the way.”

We’ve been critical on these pages of Groupon – and, dare we say we told you so…check out this article.

A true leader – which, for all of Mason’s successes as a business builder, I’ll go out on a limb and say watching  your company IPO and then have 75% of its shareholder value disintegrate does not a leader make – doesn’t worry about how graceful his or her exit looks.

A true leader gets the right people in place and gets the heck out of the way.

“Nailed the landing.” And missed everything else.

The peanut gallery should focus not on what was said and when it was said – it should focus on the rest of the business, and fixing the business model. Or, we too, should get out of the way.

The busier we get, the less we blog. Unless we are launching a blog. Then, the less we blog…here.

Announcing a new site: 10KaYear.com!

Clever little logo, no?

So Dave from Area 224 has been on a variety of breaks lately. Either it’s contract work, or other work, or launching yet another project.

And that was part of the inspiration for the new site – what if some of the things I’ve learned over the past (oh my goodness…) 7 years can be distilled into something you can put to good use?

Okay, that wasn’t all of the inspiration…

In the beginning of 2012, we partnered with a couple friends on the launch of NewFrugality.com – and that continues to go pretty well, thanks. But the tone over there is quite a bit different from what we’re envisioning for 10KaYear. For instance:

Find an Extra $10,000?

That might push the envelope just a little bit – or not far enough. At Area 224, we have focused on working with businesses that are a little bigger than just a mom and pop. And it’s a B2B-focused business we have – strategic communications advisors to emerging brands was our tagline before, and that’s pretty much true today. So if you’re the Area 224 client, $10,000 probably doesn’t seem like a lot of money.

But what if you’re everyone else?

• Solopreneurs – the people who work by themselves, maybe occasionally tapping a colleague on the shoulders?
• Small businesses that are doing six-figures but may never find themselves doing seven-figures?
• And – this is probably the biggest group that will benefit from 10KaYear – the family, the single Mom or Dad, the retirees, the unemployed, the underemployed.

This is the money-saving and business advice site for everyone else.

Just a few days in, we think what we’ve talked about already is a good preview of what we’ll talk about in the days to come:

The Publishing Business Model – heck, everybody says they want to write a book, but does it really make sense? AND, the social media gurus who appear to always be launching their own book – can you replicate their “success?” 

Finding Money in the Couch Cushions – we don’t really think that you can find $10,000 in your couch. But…well, we think we’ve got some cool tips in that post.

“Congratulations, Your Loan Has Been Extinguished” – it happens to some homeowners and it could happen to you. Really.

So there you have it…

Now you know a little about the absence from regular blogging here, and the tone and tenor of the 10KaYear.com site.

We’d love to have you “pay” us a visit. (Get it? It’s about money? I used the word “pay!”)

See you there.

NOW WHAT? It’s December…in addition to shopping and sending cards and all that…you have goals and you need to achieve them.

2013: Art? Travel? Something else? What’s on the list?

Less than a few weeks left in 2012 and, no matter what your goals are, staying focused is of the utmost importance.

How can you do that – especially in the wild, crazy social media world we’re in? Good question – and here are a few ways to stay sharp.

1. Visit the Right Kinds of Sites

Yeah, it’s easy to get pulled into discussions about things like the Fiscal Cliff. And then you start looking at the news coverage and believing that things are heading to heck in a handbasket…making it tough to, as CNBC says, “Rise Above.”

No matter your goals – new clients, a new job, or just finishing the year on a positive note – it’s important to avoid the time suck that can be the wrong kinds of websites.

We love using a 10-minute rule on surfing. Set a timer, surf with specific reading in mind, then move on.

Sites we recommend for this sort of thing:

Danny Brown is one of our favorites, and he has launched something cool called “Help Me Be Inspired.”

If you are studying the Social Media and Digital space, check out V3IM and the inimitable Shelly Kramer.

Communications and PR professionals just starting out can learn from industry veterans like the team at SpinSucks or Culpwrit (where they have a great post on your Personal Brand).

There’s a theme to these: they’re all tremendously positive sites – they’re not starting fights, rather helping to lift everyone up through real-world advice.

 2. Don’t Be Afraid of Something New…

This isn’t about signing up for clients that will drive you crazy, or taking the job that you HAVE to take because, well, you HAVE to take it.

It IS about broadening your horizons just a bit.

Is there a project you can sign up for – even if that means you have to spend an extra hour a day learning Excel, or Photoshop?

Is there a side gig you should consider – because your downtime isn’t productive?

And, should you learn a new language – not because you have to, but because…you want to see if you can?

NOTE TO SELF: You have that Pimsleur Russian thing sitting over there. Fire it up.

3. 2013 Planning AND 2012 Finishing

Time to level-set, too. Some things won’t happen this year – but that doesn’t mean that they cannot happen next year.

Maybe the plan was to write a book – but there’s no way you can finish it now. That’s okay…just get it slotted in for 2013. BUT make sure you revisit the plan for this book-writing.

If the plan was to focus on money, you can visit sites like New Frugality and get tips.

Whatever you’ll miss the goal on for this year, do ask yourself if it’s important for next year. If it is, plan it.

 Stay positive and sharpen your focus for the balance of the year. You’ll be glad you did! 

 By the Way…

If you’re up to learning something new – and that something is Digital Marketing – take a look at this top-notch class from 312 Digital. Use the code “Area224″ and you’ll save $100.

I’m on a break from negativity, too. In fact, I want to stick a fork in it. Because…It’s done.

Thanks, Girl-meets-art; used with Creative Commons License

Really, though, you can listen to outside forces that tell you everything sucks, or you can choose to ignore those outside forces entirely, and move the heck on.

I’m choosing the latter. It’s hopefully going to bring more positivity to my life.

So this isn’t a missive that says you should give up entirely on social media – considering the fact that a blog can be considered one of the pillars of your social media strategy, I’d be flying in the face of convention if I gave it all up.

But I’m taking a break from Facebook, and, even more importantly, from being so gosh darn negative.

Why, Dave, the sudden about-face? 3 Reasons:

1. Everyone’s life looks better than yours…

But, in real life, it isn’t.

I’ve always had a saying about business travel: Those that don’t travel for business are jealous of those who do. And those who do travel for business are jealous of those who don’t.

The old, negative me would look at a Facebook post and say “For the love of Mike, why are you traveling AGAIN? Shut. Up.”

The new, positive me…actually, I don’t want to make them envious of MY lack of travel – I mean, a Foursquare check-in from my living room seems rather much – but, there is something to be said for not having to cope with ANOTHER airline delay. Or a botched hotel check-in (which is much more serious than a botched Foursquare check-in).

People aren’t sharing their travel stories to spite you. Really, they’re not. They’re just…being “social.” It’s nothing personal.

2. The internet is filled with half-truths, lies, hyperbole, and so much more!

Hey, I bumped into one “internet-famous” person online recently who came clean. They used to make a lot of money, now they don’t. They used to live in a big house, now they’re not. They used to be married and now, well, they aren’t. This was someone that, in all candor, I would look to for advice, back when the perception I had of them was high-flying success.

Rather than grave dance on someone’s misfortunes – which is not only mean, it’s counter-productive – maybe there’s something to taking the high road?

Guess what? This sort of thing will happen, over and over and over again. The internet is a great thing: you can create the perception that you are both large AND in charge.

World-famous cartoon. Copyright The New Yorker.

But, really. If you’re NOT the real deal, the world will find out. It may be tomorrow, it may be a few years from now.

My own take: “Who. Cares.”

Look, I’ve got my own problems, you’ve got your own problems, and we are (GASP) all in this together. Take what people say with a grain of salt…or a salt lick. Especially online. Easier to be positive that way.

3.  Both sides just spent $2B to tell you the other one sucks.

It’s true: either your guy won or they lost, but, in any event, someone spent a whole lotta money to drill home the negative imagery.

Rather than belabor the point of how negative this campaign was, I’m choosing to focus on those things that ARE in my control.

It’s not about looking at a glass that’s half-full while you’re driving a car off a cliff – it’s more than that. Or maybe not.

In any event, I’m NOT sticking my head in the sand hoping problems will go away. That’s being ridiculous. Instead, I’m getting my head out of the sand and focusing on those things I CAN CONTROL.

And it starts with my mood. My perception. My positivity.

Join me. Please.

It might actually be fun!

In typical Area 224 style, a whipsaw title followed by some unexpected takeaways.

Image of BBW Cover, adjusted for oilpaint effect

I received the latest Bloomberg Businessweek over the weekend, and, when I saw the cover (photo over there), I figured this was going to be an article worth reading.

It was.

The article is called “Everywhere Sports Profit Network,” penned by Karl Taro Greenfield. Here’s a link.

Suggestion: read it, even if you don’t like sports. (Actually, read it ESPECIALLY if you don’t like sports.)

[NOTE: For my money, some of the best writing on the planet is in this magazine. A bold statement, sure, but, if you're a student of the business game, BBW is becoming a must-read. The other must-read is referenced in this article.]

There are some great tips on business contained in that article about ESPN – and I want to give you three takeaways. Plus, as a bonus, you’ll be able to glean why metrics don’t matter.

1. Every Stinking Platform Network

We could have said “Social” or swore in place of the word “Stinking.” But the point here is that they don’t think of properties in terms of whether or not they will translate to the small screen (or website or radio or magazine), they instead think of translating the property to everywhere possible.

Take this example from the article:

“The company has moved aggressively into new media and platforms, without regard for how they may negatively impact the old…

“ESPN’s $5.6 billion deal with Major League Baseball…is typical of the kinds of multiplatform rights packages the company now seeks to acquire. Not only will ESPN continue to televise regular-season and playoff games through 2021, it also gets radio rights, international rights, unlimited highlights and, most important, the right to stream all that content through its mobile applications.”

What does this mean for you, business person?

It’s not necessarily about “mobile,” or “social” – it’s about…well, it’s about thinking creatively about everywhere and everything and how it gets used.

Repurpose. Repurpose. Repurpose.

What you have sitting on the shelf may not be valuable to you right now – but if it gets repackaged, shared in a different way, or presented to a different audience – there may be something there.

2. The Event IS The Thing

When I was reading the article, I couldn’t help but think back to the 2010 World Cup. (Soccer.) ESPN decided to send its big talent to South Africa to cover the event – even though a couple of their big names weren’t soccer reporters.

WHY?

Think about NBC’s Olympic Coverage (covered here a couple weeks ago.) Now think specifically about Ryan Seacrest. Whether or not the guy knows boo about sports is beside the point: he brings that “Big Game Feel” that you want. If Ryan Seacrest shows up, there’s now the imprimatur. It is now a Big Event.

ESPN continues to go out of its way to make events into EVENTS.

[I know what you might be thinking: "Dave, it's ESPN! They spent Billions on Baseball!"]

But that doesn’t mean that your next THING can’t be an EVENT.

In fact, as the article reminds us, this is the network that started in trailers and showed a lot of Australian Rules Football.

Over time, they created a look, a feel, a brand. There’s a “lagniappe” element to it – originally that something extra was…well, everything. Now, it’s a rabid, everywhere-sports-are-there’s-ESPN element.

3. Inject Personality

Which Metrics Matter to You?

Here’s where we bring back the title of this article. Metrics Don’t Matter? No, they DO matter. Just…the RIGHT metrics.

Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy, Editor-in-Chief at Grantland) has a personality. Sure, it’s not without its foibles – as all personalities are.

But without his personality and years of allowing that to shine through, there’s no Grantland.

And Grantland contributes to an ESPN metric called “users per minute:” the number of mobile users visiting ESPN. This reached a height of 102,000 in June. (60,000 of those were from Grantland.)

You’ve got to have a vision – which Simmons had for Grantland (sports, pop culture, etc.) – and you’ve got to have the personality (and personalities) to pull it off.

“Personal BRAND” may be a whole bunch of BS to you. And, in some respects, that’s okay. But Personality – that can be translated, and effectively so, into your business.

THE POINT: THE RIGHT METRICS MATTER

ESPN translates a combination of all three elements above – Multi-Channel Storytelling, Events, and Personality – into some crazy numbers on all the metrics that matter to THEM.

The fact that Compete.com – pictured over there – has Yahoo Sports (WHAT?) as the top-ranking sports media site is, frankly, of no interest to ESPN.

And the fact that some site ranks you as the 56th most popular social media consultant in Idaho shouldn’t matter to you, either.

ESPN is keeping advertisers happy with engaging content, but they’re only doing that AFTER they’re able to have an engaging value proposition.

YOU can keep your stakeholders happy by…

• ASKING what business problem you can help them solve
• CREATING a valuable way to solve it
• COMMUNICATING that value through whatever it is that makes your business unique.

Go. Read the article, and make some magic happen for the metrics that matter for you.

You didn’t think we’d go there, did ya? Well, actually, we aren’t going there. Instead…

Everyone has gotten into the act, it seems. Not Clint Eastwood’s act (much discussed; his appearance at the Republican National Convention on August 30), but the “5 of these” and “10 of those” list act.

A List of Lists

Inc. Magazine proves that these are popular – why, just look at this screengrab of today’s “Most Viewed” from the inc.com site.

And these sorts of lists were ON FIRE during the London Olympics, with just about everyone getting into the act.

My personal favorite was from friend and fellow marketer Olivier Blanchard, whose The Brand Builder poked fun rather eloquently at this phenomenon. Here’s the link: 10 Lessons or Something, Olympics, Blah Blah Blah.

News Flash: This is Not an “18 Things”…Post

Now that we drew you in with the clever title, what is it we’re really wanting to talk about?

How To Prove You’re Worth It

That’s right, we’re going to give you a couple of tips to prove – to your employer, to your client, to your prospective employer, to anyone – that you are, indeed, worth it. Here goes.

1. Don’t Compare.

Let’s say you’re jumping into the fray on some contract work, and you’re the leader in the clubhouse. How do you come up with a number that isn’t going to make them balk?

Start by not comparing yourself to established players, or competitors, or, for that matter, anyone else.

It’s easy to get caught up in the “well, if the big boys did this they’d charge X” game. But you’re not the big boys (or girls) and that is irrelevant in this conversation anyway, because you’re not competing against them. Even if you are technically competing with them.

It’s about communicating your own unique value.

2. Look. In. The. Mirror.

There’s something compelling about you. Something that makes you unique. Something that will win you this business, this promotion, this chance to prove to the boss that you can do more than just make coffee.

If you haven’t taken a good POSITIVE long look at yourself, then please do so.

3. Communicate the Value of Acting Immediately

Act Now, Operators Are Standing By!

They aren’t, but another way of looking at this…what is the cost of inaction?

(An interesting take is here from Fast Company: “The $1.3 Trillion Price of Not Tweeting.”)

Sitting on the sidelines costs people every day. It cost me: I was prattling on and on about how Groupon was over-valued, and how I’d buy a whole bunch of put options. I didn’t, those options would be valuable right now, and…well, it’s because I didn’t act immediately that I’m missing out.

This isn’t about whether hiring you (or giving you the promotion or letting you take a crack at the project) is better than hiring the other gal. (Or guy.)

This is about how ACTING NOW is the most prudent thing they can do, short- and long-term.

4. It’s About Contribution

We’ve talked to tons of people about their digital marketing, social media, public relations, communications, and general business strategy. Some have signed up with us, some haven’t.

But in looking back, the situations where we DID get the project were the ones where we were able to show what SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTION we would make. “Because we know X, Y, and Z, we can make an IMMEDIATE CONTRIBUTION to the success of the project.”

How will you contribute?

I’m not sure WHAT Clint Eastwood can teach us about marketing.

But I do know: You can prove that you’re worth it.

Scruples? Ethics? A Conscience? Remember Those Things. Please.

(UPDATE: There’s a video, too. See the link at the very bottom.)

In the race to the top of whatever industry you’re in, you will encounter all types. The go-getters, the trend-setters, the over-achievers. Etc., etc.

Hopefully, you’ll also encounter people with scruples, ethics and a conscience.

But something got Dave’s blood boiling

First of all, and this is Dave speaking, I wish James Cordova the best in his battle against cancer. I wish his wife, Tasha, the best as she and her family cope with this terrible disease.

And this blog post is not about them – it’s about the company that is using them to sell product.

Witness this photo, making the rounds on Facebook yesterday:

Company uses dying man to sell product

NOTE: Scroll down if you want to read the full text of the Facebook post.

ViSalus is a Multi-Level Marketing product in the wellness universe. I can’t vouch for whether it’s great or not.

But what I can vouch for is that scruples, ethics and a conscience are all missing from the people behind this marketing campaign.

Rather than a lengthy dissection of what is wrong here…

I want to focus – as a human first, and a marketer second, on some things I’m going to suggest you CAN do when marketing your product or service. Here goes:

1. Show compassion as if the cameras aren’t there.

Cameras are everywhere, but what’s that line about integrity – doing the right thing when nobody is looking?

2. Leave your product or service out of the discussion.

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been part of corporate discussions – LOTS of times – where the people are focused on doing the right thing first, come Hell or high water. Believe me, it has happened. “How big a check can we write for the victims of…?” OR “What if we were to pick up the cost of…?” (NOTE: These discussions actually happened at big, faceless, “evil” corporations. They did. And there wasn’t an executive saying “Let’s leverage this for maximum PR benefit.”)

3. Gut check.

Even if someone IS telling you “it’s okay to use my image and likeness to promote your product,” someone needs to actually ask themselves how this is going to look.

Complete text

• Are you lifting people up just for the sake of lifting people up?
• Are you looking like a good company – or an ambulance-chaser?
• Is this the right time? Or is it too soon?

The company in this example is Marketing Without A Conscience. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have one.

Do the right thing. Know the right time. And ask yourself how this makes you look.

UPDATE: We found this video on August 30. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4meAO0BRos

Two pieces – one old, one new, and both with a hook for you, your brand, your job, and where you’re headed next.

Photo by Neeta Lind - Used with Creative Commons License

If you know me via Facebook, you know that I have a tendency to over-share music. (If you don’t know me on Facebook, here’s a link to the Dave page. And a link to the Area 224 page.) I’m not an expert – but I know what I like and I’m more than willing to share it.

Two songs lately got me thinking – is it time for a remake?

Lindsey Buckingham Remade His Own Song

Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsay Buckingham is a music industry veteran. At age 62, he is still going – sometimes with the Fleetwood Mac folks, and sometimes just by himself.

Rolling Stone Magazine, in its 2011 ranking of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All-Time,” included Buckingham – barely, ranking 100th.

One song of his – well, technically the band’s song – is called “Big Love.” The original video from Fleetwood Mac has an over-produced 80s sound to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjKL469SpR0

Very bland, 1980s pop rock. Right?

A funny thing happened, though, once Buckingham started performing the song live, by himself. The song took on a completely new, raw, powerful, dare I say brilliant sound. Like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naAWX6OsHVI

What did we learn?

By taking away several unnecessary elements of the exact same song, it became more awesome.

Here’s what you can ask yourself – no matter where you are in the world, as a brand strategist, as a job-seeker, as a student of the game or someone heading off into something completely different, what can you take away to make something more…awesome?

• Are you adding 3 steps to a process where only one step is really necessary?
• Are you creating more hoops to jump through – for clients, for prospects, for site visitors?
• Is there a way to practice “addition by subtraction?”

Gotye Remade His Own Song

Gotye by eastscene, used with Creative Commons license

You’ve heard. The song. It’s everywhere.

Gotye. “Somebody That I Used To Know.”

Almost as many views on YouTube than residents of the U.S.A. (300,000,000 and counting.)

You can brush up on your Gotye knowledge if you’d like – here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry, where you learn, among other things, that he’s Belgian (so he’s GOT to be a good guy).

As for the video – here’s a link – if you’re one of those who haven’t actually seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY

No matter what you think of the song, you can’t escape it. And, if the song itself can’t be escaped, neither can the remakes.

We’ve seen this happen before – dozens upon dozens of remakes, on YouTube, from artists looking to showcase their own talent by singing Somesong That You Used To Know. (Google the phrase “Gotye Remake.” I dare ya.)

Sheer brilliance can be found from…well, Gotye himself, who mashed up dozens upon dozens of the YouTube remakes, creating a song called “Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opg4VGvyi3M

So, in one instance, an artist strips his own song bare. In this instance, the opposite – a crowdsourced piece of…awesome.

What Can You Learn from Gotye?

Back in the days when yours truly was a radio sportscaster, I’d have to deliver the same story at 6:05, 7:05 and again at 8:05. In the morning. I’m a morning person, so that part wasn’t a problem – but there was always the threat that you were delivering the same exact story over and over. If the Nets beat the Knicks 101-95 last night, the score won’t change in the next newscast.

But the story could. In fact, I learned, it SHOULD. It had to.

There’s another angle to explore. There’s another side to the story. Even when you’re talking about the same thing, there’s a different way to say it.

• Your company’s pitch: can it be more succinct?
• Your mission statement: can you cut out the BS?
• Your resume: does it do you justice?
• Your relationships: should you move from the text message to the Google Hangout, or from online to off?

Go. Remake Your Own Song.

Not all hashtags are created equal.

One of my favorite sayings is one of my own, probably stolen from somewhere: “the answer is always somewhere in the middle.”

Another saying that we’re twisting a little is one from Chuck D: “Don’t believe the hype.”

Public Enemy Frontman Chuck D

How do the twain come together, and support the premise that you shouldn’t believe the hashtag?

Here goes…

#NBCFail = $1 Billion

You read that right. After first projecting that they’d lose $200 Million on the London Olympics, NBC is now saying that they will break even on the games, bringing in ONE BILLION DOLLARS in advertising revenues.

Whether or not NBC’s Olympic coverage is a success or a failure depends entirely on a little word we’ll call “perspective.” Which brings us to “hashtags.”

For the uninitiated, the “hashtag” is the “pound sign” (“#”) that precedes a statement or saying that is shared on Twitter. When the Olympics started, corners of the internet started complaining that the events they wanted to see weren’t on live – since NBC’s main network was planning on showing the good stuff during prime time. Michael Phelps vs. Ryan Lochte in an epic swimming duel? Mass appeal, according to NBC, so they’ll save that for prime time.

Dumb move, according to the interwebs – if you trust the “trending” hashtag of “#NBCFail.”

Except…well, NBC DIDN’T fail, if you look at little things called “objectives.” To posit a guess, here are a couple potential objectives:

1. Show the good stuff during prime time, when we catch the casual viewer and pull in key demographics, like Moms with money
2. Sell lots of advertising so that people who watch during prime time can connect with brands
3. Make every single Olympic event available online so no one can complain if they have a cable package.
4. Break even on the games.

NBC has gone 4-for-4

We’re living in the instant failure world – where brands get pilloried for not answering to the masses in real time. (Want more on the implications for all sorts of businesses? Read this post from Sidera Works. It’s darn good. Link: )

But I’ve got news for you: brands don’t answer to you, Mr. Consumer. They answer to the bottom line – and what’s in your best interest (“Seeing Michael Phelps Swim”) may not be in the best interest of their bottom-line, and the masses, and the time-space continuum. (London is 6 hours ahead of New York.)

Would I do things differently if I were head of NBC Sports? Sure – in a few cases. But, with ratings up and people able to consume all the NBC Olympics content from anywhere and everywhere…I have no major complaints.

Somewhere in the Middle…

When you’re setting your own marketing strategy, social media strategy, or communications strategy – the extremes aren’t where you want to be. NBC could have kowtowed very early on to the social media diatribes, decided to abandon their ship and cause all heck to break loose. They would have then made a bunch of Twitter people very happy, and they would have “won the Internet.”

They also would have angered the people – and there are lots of them (Ad Age reports that the ratings for these Olympics are the best for any held outside of the US since 1976) – who turn in every four years and want to watch the Gymnastics. Or the Swimming. Or the Track and Field.

Beware the Angry Mob

Angry Mobs like to mobilize online. They can do so quickly, they can be loud and boisterous.

But they don’t pay the rent.

NBC, on the other hand, had a group of advertisers to keep happy, and a formula that they have used quite a bit (the network has carried every Summer Olympics since 1988).

Listen to the feedback, sure, but stick to your knitting as long as you know your knitting is what works.

Humblebragging is a new name for an old idea: sounding “humble” while you’re actually “bragging.” It needs to stop.

STOP.

Welcome to another blog post that will get me unfriended. (You know about unfriending – when you’re “friends” with someone on Facebook and then, all of a sudden, you’re not friends anymore.)

Social Media is the worst for humblebragging – and some of you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror – followed, possibly, by a nice, cold shower.

I know, I know, we’re living with the “Awesomeness Generation” and there are these youngsters entering the workforce who are used to being told how okay they are, then being handed a trophy for showing up. Those of us in Generation X are guilty of allowing this behavior to happen – and we can do something about it, too.

And this whole humblebragging movement is exacerbated by everyone’s bully pulpit (read: your blog, your Facebook page, your book, your speaking gigs, your Tweets). The appearance of awesome is just a few followers, blog comments or likes away.

Humblebragging Basics

I once got interview advice from a friend that sounded like this:

“If they ask you for your weakness, use something innocuous, such as your proprietary filing system that no one else can figure out, but allows you to do tasks in 25% less time.”

That. Is. Humblebragging.

A real-life example came from President Obama, when asked to focus on the mistakes in his Presidency. (See here for one side of the story.)

His filing system is so good that he was able to get Obamacare done!

Or, to be more direct, he was asked to talk about mistakes, and he used something that, in his mind, he got SO right that it couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Humblebragging is not limited to politics. Social Media makes it easy.

Top 400 Bloggers in the World of Metallurgy

Lists like the above – and there are “Top Whatever for Whatever” lists all over the Internet – make the Social Media component of this humblebragging even worse.

The usual formula goes like this: (1) get on a list and (2) Tweet, Facebook and Blog the fact that you’re on the list. The status updates to do that normally sound like this:

“Humbled to be on the Top 400 Bloggers in the World of Metallurgy List with (insert famous person here).” (Link follows.)

Ah, but, see, that’s the point: you’re not humble, you’re bragging. Humblebragging.

Humblebragging Instead of an Apology

This is the other sad reality – often, humblebragging is one way to deflect attention from what you’ve done wrong. And, if you’ve got enough friends, fans or followers, off you go: talk about how you were too busy to get it right, because you were traveling the globe, or you were working with too many clients. Say that your mistake is that you were too busy. Keep fueling your own awesomeness fire – talk about how your dialogue is helping your industry grow – discuss that you learn from mistakes.

But don’t apologize.

Fess Up. Own Up. Shut Up.

Here’s why some folks need to take a long, hard look in the mirror: President Obama is doing whatever he can to get re-elected, and Governor Romney will likely do the same.

You are not these people, you are not in the political arena.

You CAN say that “the biggest mistake of my first term was that I worked too hard and too long to push through a bill that could set us over a fiscal cliff.” You don’t have to worry about getting re-elected, or elected in the first place.

You SHOULD apologize if you didn’t get the facts straight and were able to attach yourself to a firestorm and grow your own list, blog traffic, affiliate revenue or book sales as a result.

You MIGHT want to think about the perceptions of what you say, and how you say it, and whether you’re perceived as the person who talks a good ballgame but doesn’t really know how to PLAY that ballgame.

Stop. The. Humblebragging.