Paul McCartney was right: Money can’t buy you love. It just doesn’t work — at least not anymore in an era where we’re getting better at ignoring the marketers obsessed with interrupting us. Smart marketers, however, are finding that it’s much more profitable to put money into the quality of their products and the experiences they offer in order to earn the respect and recommendation of their customers.

Why it doesn’t work:

It’s not scalable. The problem with advertising is that you pay for each impression, regardless of how successful you are. Each investment in the happiness of your fans, however, makes earning new ones a little easier.

It’s not genuine. For enough, you might buy a little attention; but no amount of advertising can establish true love — the kind that makes fans line up for your new products, drag their friends in to see you, or defend you from the naysayers.

It was never for sale to begin with. Social media has opened a window to a process that has been going on for a long time — people have always and will continue to exclusively love companies that treat them with respect and offer extraordinary experiences.

Kelly Morehead from P.F. Chang's talks about how they thrill customers with Twitter. They look for folks tweeting about the restaurant -- and surprising them before they leave. 

Watch the video interview:

BlogWell is all about how big brands use social media. No agencies, no startups -- just big companies sharing what they've learned. Get practical, how-to advice on creating great content, getting management buy-in, educating employees, keeping lawyers and regulators happy, simple and ethical disclosure, and engaging fans.

You'll ask questions, discover new ideas, and get answers from people who have been there, done that -- all in four hours.

Key details:

• Where: Minneapolis, MN
• When: August 13, 1-5 PM
• Cost: $250
• Register: Click here to learn more and register

We're a nation of pet lovers: According to a 2005-2006 study by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 63 percent of U.S. households own at least one pet. Here's how to take care of them (and their owners):
 
   1> On the menu
   2> On loyalty
   3> On the outside
   4> Check it out: TripsWithPets.com

1> On the menu

If you allow dogs in your store or restaurant, why not take it a step further by putting something for them on the menu? Chef Eric May of Charcuterie -- located in Sierra Madre, CA -- created a special menu for the town's second largest species of inhabitants: Dogs. In addition to the restaurant's traditional lineup of sandwiches and pasta, they also offer special dishes and portion sizes for any pets that may be looking for a meal.

The Lesson: If you're opening your doors to pets, why not offer them a few special dishes or products?

2> On loyalty

If you'd like pets (and their owners) to keep coming back, try extending your loyalty programs to your four-legged customers. Red Lion Hotels recently launched a special loyalty program that awards pets 500 points for each stay that can be redeemed for pets-only gifts. And while their rewards program is fairly high-tech and involves a point system, yours could be as simple as a punch card or a series of coupons that frequent visitors and their pets can use toward future visits.

The Lesson: Keep pet lovers coming back with special incentives and rewards for regular visits.

Learn More: Red Lion Hotels

3> On the outside

For some businesses, allowing pets on the premises is understandably not an option or isn't applicable -- but that doesn't mean you can't offer something special with pet owners in mind. Chicago's Shirts On Sheffield, a designer clothing retailer, leaves a couple bowls of water and dog biscuits outside the store. Even though pet owners can't bring animals inside, locals often make an effort to swing by the store during their walks. If a storefront isn't applicable, other options include sending treats with mail orders (because even if they don't own a pet, they'll know someone who does), or equipping your service reps with a few pet toys for house calls.

The Lesson: Don't let a "no pets" policy get in the way of doing something remarkable for the roughly two-thirds of your customers who own animals.

4> Check it out: TripsWithPets.com

If you're a pet lover that likes to travel with your animal, try TripsWithPets.com com to find pet-friendly lodging throughout the country. The site also offers insight into airline pet policies, as well as some tips on traveling with your animal.

Check it out: TripsWithPets.com

Although there’s a lot of buzz about tools like Twitter, the blog is still a foundational component to a healthy social-media strategy. That said, there’s a lot you can do to make your content easier to share and discover.

What to do:

Announce new posts through Twitter. People love to forward good content via Twitter, so be sure to mix in new post announcements along with your regular Twitter updates.

Connect your blog to Facebook. Through Facebook, you can automatically import new posts as “notes” as well as set your status to share links to your new content.

Put it in an e-mail. Email is still the king of easily forwarded content, so offer e-mail subscriptions along with your regular RSS options.

Everyone is talking about Google's new operating system. A threat to Microsoft?

Journalists should note he way Google announced it - in a blog post.  A threat to newspapers?

From the Wall Street Journal's email alert (emphasis added):

News Alert from The Wall Street Journal

Google Inc. is preparing to launch an operating system for personal computers, a direct assault on the turf of software giant Microsoft Corp., which has long dominated the market for software that runs PC applications.

The Silicon Valley Internet giant announced the new move in a blog post late Tuesday night. It said the software, which will initially target low-end portable PCs called netbooks, would be based on its Chrome Web browser and available to consumers in the second-half of 2010.

Yes, folks. The Wall Street Journal is quoting a blog post in what may turn out to be the biggest tech news of the year. (So did the Washington Post, AP, and everyone else.)  And Google didn't even think it was necessary to call the newspapers.

As of 6 am EST, Google search found 626 articles about the story (yes, there's some irony there):

For those of you still on the fence about the role of blogs -- there's your answer.

With the economy still sputtering, now is the time to build your army of fans and start some momentum for when the things turn around. While everyone is focused on pulling back and waiting out the storm, you’ve got a huge opportunity to go out and earn a bunch of new talkers.

What to remember:

WOM works regardless of the economy. In boom or bust, people will continue to tell their friends about fantastic products and experiences.

Leadership’s focus is on cost-effectiveness. While your executives are focused on cutting expenses, now is the perfect time to sell them on the inexpensive, effective, and fun word-of-mouth stuff you’ve always wanted to try.

Free advertising will always beat someone who’s paying for it. If you can get really good at word of mouth now, while everything is down, you’ll be unstoppable once the economy picks up again and your customer acquisition costs are a fraction of that of your competitors.

Big companies have this problem (click for close-ups):

• HP: Why is "Basics" the 4th tab?
   
• Apple: Why is "advanced" under "edit preferences" instead of under "advanced"? Or why isn't it called something else?
   
• American Airlines:  Why is "My Reservations" - something I need every time, often in a hurry, under "Book a Cruise"?
  

Lesson: Watch out for simple layout mistakes. These kill customer confidence.

Make it simple for fans and influencers to talk about your stuff and your site with lots of things to share, forward, and use offline right on your website. Without these things, you’re at the very least frustrating your fans and, at most, killing potential word of mouth.

What to do:

Give images to share. Create a special page or area of your site for logos, banners, badges, and pictures that people can use when blogging or talking about you.

Offer text to copy. Write up blurbs of text for different lengths that people can use to describe your company, your products, your events, and anything else you hope they’ll talk about.

Make it easy to print. If someone’s trying to print your site, they’re probably about to share it. Make a clean print style sheet by removing unnecessary images and content.

Just make people happy and give them something to talk about.

One of my all-time favorites is this simple email Zappos has been sending for years:

Dear Andy Sernovitz,

Good news!

Although you originally ordered Standard (4 to 5 business days) shipping and handling, we have given your order special priority processing in our warehouse and are upgrading the shipping and delivery time frame for your order.

Your order will ship out today and be given a special priority shipping status so that you can receive your order even faster than we originally promised!

Please note that this is being done at no additional cost to you. It is simply our way of saying thank you for being our customer.

Thank you!

Zappos.com Customer Loyalty Team

cs@zappos.com

Every time someone gets this email they tell a friend.

RIGHT NOW go find a single, simple thing you can do to thrill your customers.

• On the side of every web page
• In your email correspondence
• Most important: on the Thank You page after every order.  Someone just gave you cash -- why wouldn't they be your friend?

Think about how many fans you'd have if 20% of your customers followed you.  Think about how many new customers you'll get if those fans start re-tweeting and sharing your offers.

Here are some great examples from the very tasty Adagio Tea.  They ask you to be their friend, and let you follow order status on Twitter.

(Check out their entire site  - it's full of smart word of mouth tactics.)

P.S. Ignore these "get a zillion followers" schemes on Twitter. They are mostly spams and scams.

If you can look at your negatives -- the blemishes, the missteps, and the shortfalls -- as opportunities, you can turn an ugly situation into something everyone loves. Here's a few examples of how to do it:

   1> The delays
   2> The errors
   3> The naysayers
   4> Check it out: GraphJam

1> The delays

When you've got something great, sometimes the demand leads to frustrated fans having to wait in long lines or deal with extended shipping delays. If shortening the wait isn't an option, try making the wait more enjoyable. Chicago-based Lou Mitchell's Restaurant and Bakery does it by handing out donut holes to hungry folks standing in line -- something that's become so popular that most of their Yelp reviews are talking about the donut holes, not the long lines. Try sending customers an extra freebie while they wait for a back-ordered product, or send them a sneak peek or remix of one of your classics while they wait for your new release.

The Lesson: If you can make the wait an enjoyable experience, you'll double your word of mouth: People will talk not only about your great stuff, but also about how nice you are during the delay.

2> The errors

When someone tells you about a mistake you've made or a bug they've found, it means they care enough to see something done about it -- a sign of a true fan. The Dull Men's Club, a website that "celebrates the ordinary," rewards people for alerting them of typos on their site with small gifts like mugs and hats. It leads to a bunch of fans scouring their site, checking out pages they might have otherwise overlooked, and identifying all those embarrassing typos. This concept could be applied to beta testing of new products, taste tests of experimental restaurant dishes, or when launching your new website.

The Lesson: If you really want to put your stuff to the test, ask your fans for help and reward anyone who makes it better.

Learn More: The Dull Men's Club

3> The naysayers

Everyone who's anyone has naysayers, doubters, and critics. While simply ignoring them is always a solid option, others are having fun and empowering their fans by engaging them. Mashable did it with their "Troll Week" -- a contest where "useless, good-for-nothing commenters" were called out and rewarded for their insulting, pointless remarks. At the end of the week-long event, they picked their three favorite, super-insulting, ridiculous comments and awarded them prizes donated by sponsors. The result was a light-hearted, fun spin on an otherwise common downside of blog discussions: Snarky, rude comments that get in the way of healthy dialog.

The Lesson: Your fans are as annoyed with the naysayers as you are; help them drown it all out with a contest highlighting the most ridiculous.

Learn More: Mashable

4> Check it out: GraphJam

If you're a graph and charts type of person, take a look at GraphJam.com where you'll find goofy pie charts, bar graphs, and histograms on topics ranging from the average time you'll spend at an amusement park doing various things, to a look at the timeline of the scariness levels of a horror movie.

Check it out: GraphJam.com

Here's what happened to my wife:

• Facebook suggests she friends 3 of our neighbors.
• She has never given our address on Facebook or connected to those neighbors in any way.
• She has never given Facebook access to her contact lists or email accounts.

Her assumption:  Facebook was secretly scanning her Outlook and identifying people she received email from. Invasive, scary, and infuriating.

Mobs of other people are equally angry.  Here are a few posts: 1 2 3

But...it never actually happened. 

Those friends uploaded their contact lists, my wife was on it, so Facebook assumed they were friends.

Here's the problem:  Facebook did nothing technically wrong.  They didn't steal data or violate privacy. They actually did a great job of matching people who know each other.

But they did it too well, and it's freaking people out.  This leads to anger, fear -- and legislation. And it's not the first time Facebook has walked into this mess by being insensitive to the perceptions of its users.

Engineers: Just because you can build something doesn't mean you should.

Executives:  It's not about whether something is allowable. It's about whether something is acceptable -- Your users get to decide, not you.

(P.S. Facebook:  You could fix this with a little link next to the suggestions that explains how this works, and give people the option to opt-out. Information fixes fear. You'll make it worse if you bury it in the fine print; that will confirm suspicions that you have something to hide.)

Our new web site is SocialMedia.org.

Members chose the new name at our meeting in New York this spring, and we just went live with our new site. (See the press release here.)

The Social Media Business Council is a brands-only community that helps large organizations build successful social media programs. Members gain instant access and advice from the heads of social media at the world's largest brands and collaborate in a friendly, productive, and private environment.

The Social Media Business Council is a GasPedal project (that's my company). We teach word of mouth marketing and social media to companies of all sizes.

With a community of 60 members and a series of fantastic BlogWell conferences (including a new one coming up in Minneapolis in August), it's an exciting time to be a part of this group. Check out our amazing members:

Abbott Laboratories, AccuQuote, Allstate, Amway, Analog Devices, Ariba, Avery Dennison, Chevron, Cisco Systems, CME Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Community Medical Centers, ConAgra Foods, Dell, Duke Energy, First Data, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Mills, General Motors, H&R Block, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, IDG, Intel, Intuit, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Kraft, Mayo Clinic, McDonald's, Microsoft, Molson Canada, Nestle Purina PetCare, Newell Rubbermaid, Nokia, Novartis, Orange Business Services, PepsiCo, Petro-Canada, Pfizer, Pitney Bowes, Procter & Gamble, Progressive Insurance, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Salesforce.com, SAP, Sara Lee, Starbucks, SunGard, SWIFT, Symantec, Turner Broadcasting System, Tyson Foods, U.S. Coast Guard, UPS, USAA, Walmart, and Wells Fargo.

If you're leading social media at a large company, we'd love to have you join our family. Learn more.

1. You take a picture of something. Hit submit.
2. Amazon figures out what it is.
3. You get a link to the product page on Amazon.

I tested it on the most boring product I could find: A bottle of water. Five minutes later:

Dear Amazon.com Customer,

The Amazon Remembers service has found a product similar to the photo you recently submitted.

You may view the result from your mobile device here: Amazon Remembers B000C4EEC4

If you prefer, you may view the result from your web browser. The result has also been posted to your Amazon.com home page and Your Lists (link available at the top right of any page on the Amazon.com site).

Thank you for using Amazon Remembers.

Retailers: What will you do when your customer can instantly find the real price and customer reviews of everything you sell?

It is more important to get permission to contact them after the event. Then you can talk, sell, and connect when the prospect is actually paying attention.

Do something in your booth that is designed to get that permission.  Get them on a newsletter, offer to send them something, schedule a call.

At the Restaurant Show, I got this free shirt for signing up for an email list. When they follow up with me, I'll know what the topic is and I'll be ready to listen.

Their site went down. Most of us would have bashed the hosting company. Peters' team complimented them instead, and thanked them for getting things fixed. 

Technical Difficulties

If you tried to visit our site yesterday, you may have noticed that we had a day long outage. This is unusual for us and we were scrambling to fix the issue. Our thanks go out to our trusty hosting service, Joyent, for resolving it and getting us up and running again. We appreciate your patience.

Posted by Shelley Dolley

My nature would be to do the opposite, but I'm going to try this for a while. (Read the comments on the post too.)

One of the easiest ways to turn a customer into a fan is to make them feel like they're getting a special deal. Here's a few tips on how to do it:

   1> Give them the change
   2> Give them the insider's discount
   3> Give them something special
   4> Check it out: Add bacon to any website

1> Give them the change

What's a few pennies here and there? If you've ever heard a friendly cashier say, "keep the change," you might know just how powerful the phrase can be. Potbelly, the sandwich chain based here in Chicago, routinely rounds the leftover pennies off your order when paying with cash. It's unclear whether this is a corporate-wide policy, but the location near our office has done it several times to different members of our team -- and they always walk away talking about it, even though it's usually less than ten cents.

The Lessons: Letting your customers keep the pennies is a pretty cheap way to create instant word of mouth.

2> Give them the insider's discount

If you offer an insider discount that anyone can sign up for, try giving it to new customers right away as a special freebie. Jewell-Osco, a major Midwestern grocer, offers a membership card that lets customers take a small percentage off most items in the store. Anyone can get the card by filling out a short registration form, but people new to the area or out-of-town visitors don't have one -- yet the cashier almost always puts in a code to give you the discount anyway. Even though anyone can get the card for free, it makes you feel like you're really getting a deal when you see the receipt outlining how much you saved.

The Lesson: Promote your membership program while at the same time making the customer feel special by giving them the insider's deal.

3> Give them something special

Find a simple giveaway you can offer that will both surprise your guests and make them feel like they're getting a special gift. L'Express, a small bistro in Montreal, sends a big jar of pickles to your table along with fresh bread. The pickles are fresh, unexpected, and make it feel like you're getting a nice gift -- even though you're about to spend $25 on a dish of classic French cuisine. Try a free sample, an extra dish of dessert, or an extended free trial to make your customers really feel like they're getting a unique deal.

The Lesson: It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy -- the smallest giveaway can be a pleasant surprise that will earn you new fans.

4> Check it out: Add bacon to any website

Here at GasPedal, we're generally in agreement that everything tastes better with bacon -- websites included. So just imagine our excitement when we discovered Bacolicio.us, a handy tool for adding a side of bacon to any website by simply inserting the Bacolicio.us url before a domain.

Check it out: http://bacolicio.us/

As always, we’ll get specific and you’ll learn where to start, how to make it successful, and practical, how-to steps you can use the very next day.

Key Details:

• Where: Webinar
• When: Tuesday, June 30, 12:00 PM (EST)
• Cost: Free
• Register: Click here

• Who works on social media
• What department they work for
• How much time they spend using social media
• What they earn

Benefits of participation:

You will receive the top-line research as a thank you for participating. You can use the information to:

• Benchmark your social media team against those of your peers
• Justify your social media budget
• Build the best possible social media team for your needs
• Understand where investment or staffing changes are necessary

The survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete. All of your responses will be kept confidential; results will only be discussed in the aggregate. Company names will not be revealed.

Take the survey:

http://www.blogcouncil.org/survey

But it's old now. It still works, but nobody is excited about it. It's a common problem -- the novelty has worn off and word of mouth is running out.

What do you do? Find a new word of mouth topic.

Ideas: Train participants to run a marathon (Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Fred's Team) or Bike Naked.

Lesson: Word of mouth needs novelty. When people stop talking about you, look for a fresh reason to have a conversation.

You have to sign up in one of their stores. You can't do it online, so you have to be a real-live customer. 

It's a great way to recognize and reward those loyal customers who show up -- instead of a promotion that only reaches prize-grubbers.

Come on and ...

Ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on, ease on down
Ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing
That might be a load
Come on, ease on down
Ease on down the road

Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on, ease on down, ease on down, down the road

Pick your left foot up
When your right foot's down
Come on legs keep movin'
Don't you lose no ground
You just keep on keepin'
On the road that you choose
Don't you give up walkin'
'cause you gave up shoes, no

Ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on, ease on down, ease on down, down the road

'Cause there maybe times
When you think you lost your mind
And the steps you're takin'
Leave you three, four steps behind
But the road you're walking
Might be long sometimes
You just keep on steppin'
And you'll just be fine, yeah

Ease on down, ease on down the road
Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on, ease on down, ease on down, down the road

Well there maybe times
When you wish you wasn't born
And you wake one morning
Just to find your courage's gone
But just know that feeling
Only last a little while
You stick with us
And we'll show you how to smile, yeah

Get 'em up, goin' down, ease on down
Get 'em up, goin' down, ease on down
Get 'em up, goin' down, ease on down
Get 'em up, get 'em up ease on down

American Apparel sells some crazy stuff. Pinstripe bloomers and gold high-waist tights. 

I don't know who buys it.

But I know that thousands of people walk by the store windows every day and ask "Who would buy that?!" -- and remember the store.

And thousands of people email a link to their friends asking "Who would buy that?!" -- and remember the website.

Then everyone buys a plain T-shirt and the rest of the normal merchandise.

Lesson: A little outrageousness gets people to notice your regular stuff.

You can make a living milking a dying cow. But you might make more selling hamburgers.

You'll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal -- and you'll see some brilliant presentations like this one from BlogWell New York:

Molly Schonthal's big idea: "It's a dialogue, not an advertisement"

Molly explains in her presentation that, for the world’s largest manufacturer of cell phones, 'connecting people' is much more than a tag line -- it's a focus of business. Social media communication is a top priority for Nokia, both internally and externally -- and they believe in a system that places the individual first and the corporation second, and through their network of blogs, they encourage social media users to engage in a dialogue rather than promote a traditional corporate presence.

Each airline gave us a little overnight kit: Sleep mask, socks, toiletries, etc.

Compare the nice reusable case that Delta provided to United's nylon sack. Delta probably spent at most $1 extra.

But the experience and perception of quality is radically different. 

Details matter. Save money behind the scenes -- never cheapen the customer experience.

Though just over a year old, Hulu has become one of the most popular places to watch videos online. Here's a few lessons they can teach us:

   1> Descriptive URLs
   2> Great widgets
   3> Helpful suggestions
   4> Check it out: Hulu's Father's Day collection

1> Descriptive URLs

Instead of using cryptic and lengthy URLs, Hulu's are short and relevant to the content. For example, the URL to the complete series of Exosquad is simply "http://www.hulu.com/exosquad." Not only do descriptive URLs with important keywords help search engines find your stuff, but they also make it easier for fans to share, both verbally and online.

The Lesson: Make sure your URLs pass the "say it to a friend" test.

2> Great widgets

Hulu's widgets -- portable chunks of code that automatically pull content from one site to another -- are simple and professional looking, two important features to ensure fans will actually use them on their sites. They offer basic widgets for the general website owner, as well as advanced code for experienced webmasters. When making your widgets, remember that a) It can't just be an ad for you, the content has to make their site more interesting and b) It has to be easy -- no code, just cut and paste.

The Lesson: A great widget helps fans advertise for you, for free, forever.

3> Helpful suggestions

Having a lot of content can actually be an obstacle if users feel overwhelmed and unsure of what to check out. Hulu does a great job of constantly suggesting content throughout their site. With categories like "Popular Episodes," "Popular Clips," and "Hulu's Pick" right on the homepage, as well as recommended videos on each page, you're always presented with a manageable amount of suggested new content. The same theory works for the chef's recommendations and house specials on your restaurant menu, as well as featured and highlighted new products on your store shelves.

The Lesson: Don't let all your great content get in the way of a good experience. Pull out the best, most popular, and most recent to make it easy to find the good stuff.

4> Check it out: Hulu's Father's Day collection

To pump yourself up before writing that Father's Day card, check out Hulu's collection of father-son related clips which includes scenes from Field of Dreams, The Simpsons, and 30 Rock. And if you dig that collection, be sure to check out other ones such as "SNL Game Shows" and their "Famous Firsts" collection of pilot episodes.

Check it out: Hulu.com

Applied Materials, AT&T, Autodesk, Avery Dennison, Charles Schwab, Cisco, Community Medical Centers, Con-Way, DaVita, Del Monte, Dell, Dole Foods, Ernst & Young, ExpressJet Airlines, Facebook, General Growth Properties, General Mills, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, IDG Communications, IGT, Insight, Intuit, Kaiser Permanente, Lucy Activewear, Mattel, The North Face, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Progressive, Salesforce, SAP, Symantec, TiVo, Trend Micro, Tyson Foods, University of California, USAA, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, VIZIO, Walmart, Wells Fargo.

It's not too late to register, but you'd better hurry. Seats are going quick.

You'll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal -- and you'll see some brilliant presentations like this one from BlogWell New York:

Marc Monseau's big idea: "The best time to engage in social media is right now, because the conversation is happening with or without you"

In Marc's presentation, he talks about the difficulties of engaging in social media in a heavily regulated industry. The first step Johnson & Johnson took was realizing that the conversation on the web, and in any social media forum, was happening without them, and would continue to happen without them unless they decided to join in. That realization predicated their move into social media to help shape the conversation and share their story.

I consider myself a patriot, but I've never had any real contact with the armed services. I read about it in the paper while I sit on my sofa.

It only took a single day and night on an aircraft carrier to open my eyes. What I learned:

• This is a really hard, nasty, grueling job. 18-hour shifts, deafening noise, noxious fumes, no privacy, no real time off, rough living conditions, and days without sunlight.
• You are risking your life. This is not just about getting wounded in battle. Every day is dangerous. Five died in a helicopter crash a few days before we got there; someone fell overboard (and was fortunately rescued) while we were there. The ship-board hospital was full, even in peacetime. Bottom line: There is no safe way to stand 5 feet from an F-18's engine or to spend your day building bombs. But they do it every day.
• Family sacrifices are immense. I will never again complain about being away from my kids for a few days on a business trip. These folks are gone for 6-8 months at a time. I met so many people who missed the birth of their children. To me, this is the hardest thing I can imagine. You can be a tough-as-nails fighter pilot, but no one can really handle missing their kids' life moments.

They are doing it for us.

This isn't about war. This is about peace. The world is full of nasty people with bombs and guns. They want to hurt us, and they want to hurt everyone. Our service to the world is that we have this massive Navy that we donate to keep the peace, for everyone. 

The world is safer because when a bad person starts playing with nuclear rockets or killing innocents, we can park this incredibly dangerous war machine in their front yard and remind them to calm the fuck down.

This is about raising the quality of life for everyone. Our economy depends on seaborne commerce.  When you walk into any store, remember that 80% of what you see came there by ship. The current problems with piracy are nothing compared to what would happen if the world's navies weren't out there to keep the peace. Are you really ready to only eat and wear what is made within driving distance?

We owe them.

I could never do this job. I would never want to do this job. I doubt you would either, for 50 cents more than minimum wage. Actually, it comes out to about $2/hour when you realize that they are working 24/7.

But I'm deeply grateful and respectful of those who do. We need them, and we owe them. You wouldn't live the life you do if our friends in the military weren't making these sacrifices for you.

For anyone who serves their country for us, who risks death for us, they should be taken care of. Health care, money, education -- whatever they need, for the rest of their lives. 

In the words of Stephen Colbert, broadcasting from Iraq:

I am rarely at a loss for words, but when I think of all you've sacrificed for your country, it really seems insufficient to say "Thank You" and really inappropriate to say "Holy Shit" -- so I'll just say what I hope you can all say soon, "Honey, I'm coming home."

Thank you.

P.S. You really should watch this documentary.

Related posts from my fellow travelers:  

• All of my USS Nimitz Posts | My Photos
• Guy Kawasaki | Photos
• Dennis Hall
• Carroll “Lex” LeFon (USN, ret.) | #2 | #3 | #4 | Photos
• Charlene Li | #2 | #3 | Photos
• Pamela Slim
• Jennifer Jones | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
• Jen Leo
• Robert Scoble | #2 | Photos
• Chris Pirillo
• Andrew Nystrom
• Jennifer Van Grove | #2 | Photos
• Bill Reichert
• Beth Blecherman | Photos
• Jenny Lawson | #2 | Photos

Creating “community” is a common buzzword in social media. Lots of brands are setting up Facebook groups, forums, and online communities — only to see them quickly grow stagnant. And yet, some brands have successfully established vibrant, engaging communities — including many long before the Internet. Below are a few lessons we can learn from them.

What to do:

Create focused communities. A group focused around a central issue or mission will be much more active than a general fan club.

Offer training and certifications. Use your groups as virtual classrooms for educational training and offer things members can add to their resume.

Reward participation. Promote your active community members by awarding them leadership roles and credentials.

Charlene Li asks a fantastic question: Would you invite 16 bloggers to spend 24 hours with your company? 

The Navy gave us free reign to run around the U.S.S. Nimitz -- during an actual battle exercise -- and we were free to talk to anyone we wanted. We could go anywhere except the nuclear reactor room (which was fine with me).  After hours, our guides went to bed and let us hang out with the crew unsupervised. Most surprising, Rear Admiral John W. Miller, who commands the entire carrier strike group gave us 1 1/2 hours of open Q&A, and Captain Michael C. Manazir was dropping by throughout the visit.

What would happen at your company if you let 16 bloggers talk to anyone they wanted, including the CEO? (Besides needing to send an EMT to resuscitate the panicked PR team?)

• Do you have a culture of openness and trust?
• Do you have something to hide?
• Do you trust your people to know what topics aren't appropriate to talk about publicly?
• Most important: Do your employees have the pride in their work necessary to happily represent you to the world?

Time and again, when companies open the door to bloggers they get good exposure, positive feelings, and open support. When companies shut the door, they create a suspicion that there is something fishy going on.

You should have a blogger day. Open the door and let them tour. Make new friends. The results will be all good.

If you want to radically reduce negative word of mouth, invite people in. Show your critics what you do and why you do it. Next time something goes wrong, you'll have folks asking you questions and asking for your perspective instead of attacking.

Adam Moffat of Molson explains how to do it (come to our next BlogWell case studies conference June 23 in San Fran):

The big lesson: The more you get to know people, the more they like you.

Related posts from my fellow travelers:  

• All of my USS Nimitz Posts | My Photos
• Guy Kawasaki | Photos
• Dennis Hall
• Carroll “Lex” LeFon (USN, ret.) | #2 | #3 | #4 | Photos
• Charlene Li | #2 | #3 | Photos
• Jenny Lawson
• Pamela Slim
• Jennifer Jones | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
• Jen Leo
• Robert Scoble | #2 | Photos
• Chris Pirillo
• Andrew Nystrom
• Jennifer Van Grove | #2 | Photos
• Bill Reichert
• Beth Blecherman | Photos
• Jenny Lawson | #2 | Photos

In addition to our panel’s emphasis on dialogue at work, other speakers' "at work" themes include:

• Simplicity
• Experience
• Revitalization
• Innovation
• Strategy
• Leadership

Key Details:

• Where: Chicago, IL
• When: Thursday, June 18, 8 AM - 4:30 PM
• Cost: $399 for members, $549 for nonmembers
• Register: Click here

You'll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal -- and you'll see some brilliant presentations like this one from BlogWell New York:

Rhonda Lowry's big idea: "Sometimes your fans can create better content than your marketing team"

In her presentation, Rhonda describes how social media technologies have fundamentally changed the media landscape by affording people opportunities to collaborate in places and in ways that were previously unimaginable -- the result of which is often richer and more compelling than the simple sum of individual contributions.

Life on an aircraft carrier is hard.  You're away from home, it's loud, it's stressful, you work constantly, it's dangerous, and there is never a moment of privacy -- and bad guys might be trying to hurt you.

But it was interesting to see how 50 years of experience has taught the Navy how to make it work seamlessly. From videos like this (from Jennifer Van Grove), you'd think it would be total chaos.

But actually, it's surprisingly calm. 5,000 people work in total harmony.  Even though they are living inside a floating airport that can launch and land 25 airplanes in 20 minutes, while being chased by submarines (we were there during a simulated battle).

Everyone used the same phrase: Ballet. It really was like that. Everything happened just like it should, with a surprising amount of cool and order.

Consider that the average age on the ship is 25, and the majority of people are 19 or 20.  They have astonishing levels of competence and confidence.

How do they do it? Here are four lessons I learned on how to keep your cool from the U.S. Navy:

1. Details matter. Everything has a process and a plan. Each little step is there for a reason. There wasn't a speck of dirt or a pencil out of place. Lots of little things done well adds up to big things done well. You saw this in how they cleaned, but you also saw it in how we were briefed, how the safety measures worked, how everyone triple-checked everything. No loose ends, ever.

2. Everyone knows their jobs. People know what to do and how to do it. Whether they are building bombs or making 18,000 meals a day. Everyone has the training and confidence to do something well -- and it gets done well. Everyone has clear objectives and standards to judge themselves by. (If you want people to succeed, they need to know what success is.) On top of that, you can relax a little when you know everyone else has taken care of their piece, and you can focus on your job.

3. Special places matter. In an environment with very little personal space, people found a place to call home. An office, a special table in the mess, a corner of the hangar bay. You need to give people space to get settled. (I never understood companies that don't give you a good permanent desk -- you can't make someone a nomad and expect them to put down roots.) You have to have a place to put a picture of your family.

4. Proven is better than newer. The Nimitz has been sailing since 1975. It works -- really well. My wife wasn't thrilled that we were dropping from the sky to be caught by a wire on a moving football field. Until we realized that this is proven, solid, and well tested. After 35 years, I'm comfortable with it. I don't want to be the guy to debug whatever they invent next. (In 20 years, I'll be ready to trust Lasik.) A video from Guy:

Related posts from my fellow travelers:  

• All of my USS Nimitz Posts | My Photos
• Guy Kawasaki | Photos
• Dennis Hall
• Carroll “Lex” LeFon (USN, ret.) | #2 | #3 | #4 | Photos
• Charlene Li | #2 | #3 | Photos
• Jenny Lawson
• Pamela Slim
• Jennifer Jones | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
• Jen Leo
• Robert Scoble |Photos
• Chris Pirillo
• Andrew Nystrom
• Jennifer Van Grove | #2 | Photos
• Bill Reichert
• Beth Blecherman | Photos
• Jenny Lawson | #2 | Photos

One of my favorite lessons from the USS Nimitz was KEEP IT SIMPLE.

The entire flight deck is organized by a simple table-top diagram called the Ouija Board. It looks like this:

This is an incredibly important job. His job is to make sure every plane is in the right place, fueled, and ready to take off, while making sure the runway is clear, and no one gets run over, during war, at sea.  Imagine trying to park 60 semi-trailers on a 4-way freeway intersection, during a pre-school soccer game, in a thunderstorm, during a Harley rally, and never block traffic.  Except they're airplanes, on a boat, full of bombs.

Look closely and you'll see that he uses metal models, washers, bolts, and thumbtacks. (photo by Robert Scoble)

Why?  Because it never breaks. 

He told us he was offered a multi-million-dollar touch-screen computer system to replace it.  His answer? (paraphrased): How do I fix it in the Persian Gulf under attack, or during a typhoon?  I've got everything I need for $10 from Home Depot.  And a spare set in a tackle-box under my desk.

Another example: The location of every bomb on the ship is tracked, in real time, on these whiteboards (photo by Guy Kawasaki).  Thousand of bombs have to move across dozens of decks and find the plane to get loaded.  You only have minutes to get it right.

And the biggest one of all:  All of the action on the flight deck is controlled by hand signals, in a coordinated series of motions. Why? 1. It's insanely loud and no one could hear you on the radio.  2. You don't want to use radios to tell enemies that you are about to launch an attack.  3. Hand signals always work.  Watch this clip to see how it works:

We have had a lot of success implementing this in our office. It's hardly a comparable environment, but simplicity has improved office-wide clarity and communications.  We're replaced a lot of our software-based project management systems with these:
  

We spend a lot less time managing the software, and everyone can look at the wall to know what is going on. You walk down the hall and instantly know the score.

Lesson:  Technology isn't the answer to everything.  Simple solutions often work better.

Related posts from my fellow travelers:  

• All of my USS Nimitz Posts | My Photos
• Guy Kawasaki | Photos
• Dennis Hall
• Carroll “Lex” LeFon (USN, ret.) | #2 | #3 | #4 | Photos
• Charlene Li | #2 | #3 | Photos
• Pamela Slim
• Jennifer Jones | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5
• Jen Leo
• Robert Scoble | #2 | Photos
• Chris Pirillo
• Andrew Nystrom
• Jennifer Van Grove | #2 | Photos
• Bill Reichert
• Beth Blecherman | Photos
• Jenny Lawson | #2 | Photos

• Be less fat
• Keep up with a gazillion blogs
• Clean office

Solution: Attach my old, slow Dell 700M laptop to an elliptical machine.

I use Alltop and Google Reader with the fonts turned up big to get 30 solid minutes of reading done.

Bull.

Check out The Parsinen Law Firm in Minneapolis. Their marketing is so cool that it makes the hippest ad agencies jealous.

They published "Despicable Lawyer" magazine to make fun of the reputation of most law firms. See it here.

Their Little Black Book is a fascinating 100-page guide to every cool friend of theirs. It supports local businesses, shows off the personality of the law firm, and gets people talking about them. (Take a minute to check it out - it's worth it.)

I guarantee that every entrepreneur in town is drooling over the chance to work with them.

Because email newsletters are about a simple bargain: 

1. Send me something interesting once a week and I'll let you email me forever. 
2. If you break the deal by sending me a selfish, salesy promotion, then I'll unsubscribe and you can't email me ever again.

All you have to do is write a paragraph or two every week that's worth a minute of your readers' time (and put your sales copy in the sidebar). Do this and you're guaranteed 52 contacts every year. On top of that, a simple interesting newsletter is the most viral content ever invented.

It's really not hard. Put a subscribe form on your site and send out a how-to tip each week.  We launched the Big Business Blogging newsletter and have 2400 subscribers after 14 weeks. Sign up here.

Congratulations to two of our clients:

• PLI who are celebrating the 6th anniversary of their BtoB email newsletters, with 25,000 readers, mostly lawyers
• TiVo, who has more than 1,000,000 subscribers since that first issue on Nov 21, 2001

Help get your customers on their way to an awesome customer experience by doing your part to get them started. Here's how:
 
   1> Give them a test drive
   2> Let them invite friends
   3> Show them a roadmap
   4> Check it out: Peep research

1> Give them a test drive

Get potential customers going with a free sample, a trial period, or a complimentary starter product. 37Signals is famous for being an early pioneer of what's now known as the "freemium" business model -- where basic services are offered for free while charging for premium or advanced services. Rather than paying for everything up front, 37Signals lets people test things out, get familiar with their tools, and, often, fall in love.

The Lesson: If you've got great stuff, showing can be more effective than selling.

2> Get them to invite friends

Your customers will have a much better experience if they can share it with a bunch of friends. When new users sign up for Facebook, for example, each person they befriend is encouraged to suggest other friends the new user may know. Within a very short time period, these new users have a bunch of connections and a reason to keep coming back. Instructional services such as art, yoga, or similar classes could benefit by applying this concept to help clients invite friends or by making an effort to connect students with similar interests.

The Lesson: It's much easier to start and harder to leave when friends are involved.

3> Show them a roadmap

Don't just hand over the keys to your product to new customers and hope for the best. Instead, give them tips, suggestions, and detailed instructions to ensure they have a great first experience. Socialtext, a company that offers online collaborative applications and tools, sends a thorough list of recommendations for getting your team comfortable with their tools, common ways businesses use their products, and ideas for which tools work best for which jobs.

The Lesson: A lame instruction manual isn't enough. Go out of your way to make sure they get off on the right foot.

4> Check it out: Peep research

You know those little yellow puffs of marshmallow shaped like baby chicks you commonly see during Easter? Well, they're technically called "Peeps" and, as it turns out, are the subject of some extensive studies. Check out PeepResearch.org to learn more about the effects of smoking and alcohol on Peep health, Peep and "Fear Response" testing, and a Peep medical miracle.

Check it out: PeepResearch.org

You'll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal -- and you'll see some brilliant presentations like this one from BlogWell New York:

Megan Parker and Sean Gannon's big idea: "Even the biggest and most diverse brands can use social media to connect with individual fans"

In their presentation, Sean and Megan talk about how, at times, the best and most effective way to tell your story is to take it straight to the people who care. GE launched GEReports.com in October 2008, that, in just a few short months, has seen great success and learned valuable lessons in engaging with those people who are actively interested in the happenings at GE.

Companies waste a lot of money on one-time giveaways and gifts that get thrown away.  The world does not need another custom mousepad.

If you're going to give something away, find something that is going to be saved or displayed for months or years.

This fold-up shopping back from the UPS Store is always in my backpack.

Guy Kawasaki's Alltop stickers get carried around on hundreds of laptops.

A permanent gift turns a one-time expense into a long-term promotion. 

Pan Am died in 1991.

They're still selling souvenirs 18 years later.

When you have a great brand, it extends beyond your products -- it becomes an emotion and a feeling that people want to extend to everything. 

Pantone sell colors. As abstract as it gets.

But the brand is so powerful that people are lining up to buy mugs, bags, and shoes.

You know you've done a good job when your brand has meaning, even on products that have nothing to do with what you sell.

(Thanks, Lisa Gainor)