Michael B. Maine's Blog

Fledge Demo Days Stream

Michael B. Maine — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:32:45 +0000

Below you can watch all of the presentations from Fledge Demo Days. I especially appreciate the shout out for my photography towards the beginning.

You're More Beautiful Than You Think

Michael B. Maine — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0000

This is one of the most beautiful art projects I've seen in a while. I also find it especially powerful in that it focuses on what is right about a person rather than what is wrong. Whether it's core to their mission or smart positioning I think it is extremely wonderful to see corporations taking a stand to promote positivity. What does this inspire in you?

Personal Branding 101 Lesson 2: You don't own your brand

Michael B. Maine — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:42:01 +0000

A brand is not a tangible thing. It can be valued, but cannot be owned. A brand is the collective sentiment felt about you or your product. Since we’re talking about personal branding, we're talking about you. When somebody conjures up your name, what comes to mind? Are you reliable, trustworthy, fun, exciting, honest, hard-working, respectful, etc.? At its core, branding is fairly simple—its’ setting an expectation or set of expectations and then either failing to meet, meeting, or exceeding those expectations. Strong brands are strong because we know what to expect from them. Stronger brands are stronger because they exceed your expectations. Participating in their brand says something about us and our tribes. There’s a reason for the saying, “You're only as good as the company you keep.”

Zappos is commonly referred to as the gold start of customer service. They have a brand that is centered around providing a superior experience for the people who choose their business. We can spend money on all sorts of design (and we should), but word of mouth will make or break your brand. Trust is paramount. Don’t try to ‘create a brand’ based on what you think people want. Instead, it will be well worth your time to more fully and deeply understand who you are at the core of your being, learn your strengths, passions, values, and talents, and then work on contributing to the world around you.

In an article that appeared in AdAge, executive vice president of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Services Pete Blackshaw writes:

Zappos is a game changer, and it found value -- and ferocious word-of-mouth and brand advocacy -- in a place most of us leave for dead and certainly don't consider even close to being a media channel: customer service. They took this "cost center" input and turned it into an unassailable asset, fortified by the founder-CEO's sometimes "cult-like" (arguably irrational, by the typical marketing book) obsession with serving the consumer at all costs. It wasn't flaky. He approached this with focus, discipline, real incentives and an obsession over a "different" set of numbers. (Is Customer Service a Media Channel? Ask Zappos, 2009)

Assignment

Your goal for your first assignment is to begin collecting information from which you will learn what your brand really is. The reason this assignment is first is because it might take some time to get the responses you need in order to move forward with what you uncover in the next lesson.

Make a list of ten people. This list should include some people you know well and some you don't. If you can, include family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Try to include both people you are in communication with currently as well as the past. Former partners can be good for this as well.
Make a brief note, email, tweet, Facebook post, or phone call to the people in your list and ask them know you are working on personal or professional development and would appreciate their help and feedback about who you are.

A few examples of notes are:

Dear [insert name here], I am working on better understanding my gifts and talents in the world. Could you please describe me in three words, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
Dear [insert name here], if you had to describe me in three words what would they be?
Dear [insert name here], could you describe a time when you felt we were most connected?
Dear [insert name here], could you describe a time you felt I was most me?

Additional Reading

Is Customer Service a Media Channel? Ask Zappos

Personal Branding 101 Lesson 1: What is personal branding?

Michael B. Maine — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:19:50 +0000

Personal branding means different things to different people. When I first set out to build a set of personal branding resources I thought people might find beneficial, I asked a lot of people where they needed guidance, what their goals were, and where their passions lie. Because of the misunderstandings around the term “branding” and the negative connotations associated with those misunderstandings (as well as how it’s been perpetuated through businesses and individuals who abuse it), I found it difficult to use the term. However, personal branding is the term that describes the process through which you build a truthful reputation. The most commonly accepted definition of personal branding is the one put forth by Dan Schawbel, who says:

“Personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leveraging it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers, and build self-confidence.”

Maybe you’re looking to better understand your strengths and/or values. Perhaps you’re looking to make a transition in your career or are interested in learning how to use traditional and/or social media. Whatever brought you here, I sincerely hope you find real value in reading, watching, listening to, and participating in the journey. To make sure we’re on the same page, here is what I think about personal branding and how I will approach using it to form genuine relationships and build a presence based on your essence.

Personal Branding Is NOT…

Shameless ego-stroking and self-promoting
A buzz word
A logo, tagline, and/or elevator pitch

Why Does Personal Branding Matter?

5 out 6 adults in North America are considering changing jobs
You can expect to have 10 jobs in your lifetime—we no longer identify primarily with our job or company, so we need to know ourselves
The workforce is not secure—you can’t rely on a company to always take care of you
You are more empowered to positively affect you and the people around you
We are increasingly concerned with spending time with people and doing things we love

You Do NOT own your brand?

Your brand is the collective sentiment held by people who know you or know of you.
You have the power to help control that sentiment by building trust, setting proper expectations, and continually exceeding those expectations

Three C’s of Personal Branding

Clarity
Consistency
Constancy

Throughout these lessons, feel free to contact me, ask me questions, correct me, or otherwise engage. I'll do my best to provide the honest information that will provide the most value to you. But please let me know if there is anyway I can provide a better service. I respond most quickly on Twitter at @michaelbmaine.

What Inspires You Alma Lorraine Bone Constable?

Michael B. Maine — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000

I met Alma Lorraine Bone Constable almost two years ago at the Great Hall at Islandwood. She immediately stuck me with her warmth and sense of caring. Since then I’ve spent time with Alma, her family, colleagues, and friends. She attracts wonderful people. I interviewed her almost a year ago and one of the things that stuck with me was her saying she “has unconditional love for everybody.” That’s something I strive for.

Alma has been working with families and businesses in Kenya for quite some time now, developing a solar lighting kit to alleviate the need for expensive and dangerous kerosene lanterns. Rather than dropping technology on people, she’s worked with communities to develop the solutions collaboratively. The product was vetted, tested, and proved in last year’s round of Fledge incubation, and, today, her dream of launching the product is closer to reality. In order to bring the TayaSola Lantern Kit to scale, Alma and her team is launching an Indiegogo campaign to refine the design of the kit, perform additional field testing, and produce and distribute 500 TayaSola Lantern Kits. Please head on over, share, and show your support.

Support TayaSola on Indiegogo TayaSola on Facebook Alma on LinkedIn

What Inspires You Kamal Patel?

Michael B. Maine — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 03:24:00 +0000

When you leave an interaction with someone, they either leave me feeling either more energized or drained than I was before. When I have the chance to hang out with Kamal Patel, co-founder of ÜbrLocal I always feel more energy to go out and do something good. Thanks for sharing what you find inspirational Kamal!

ÜbrLocal Website Kamal on Twitter Kamal on LinkedIn

TEDxBGI Videos

Michael B. Maine — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 07:02:49 +0000

Here is direct access to all of the videos from the TEDxBGI event which took place in January. I've also included the complete live stream in case you want to watch all of the introductions and behind-the-scenes footage.

Playlist of TEDxBGI Videos

Complete Live Stream

Video streaming by Ustream
Video streaming by Ustream
Video streaming by Ustream

Who Inspires You: Rosanne Jantzi

Michael B. Maine — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:26:19 +0000

Who/what inspires you? I love asking this question to people. The answer is always a surprise. Always a gift. The responses are like snowflakes—all of them are a product of their unique journeys and no two are the same. The first time I met Rosanne, we had a conversation about stories, paths, histories, futures, inspiration, leadership, and art. Subsequent conversations with her have all taken divergent, yet relevant paths that leave me thinking about how I can take my passions, gifts, and talents to the next level as well as how to connect them with a larger framework. I asked here who or what inspires her. This is her response.

Michael B. Maine — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:03:44 +0000

Beautiful Child Doing Beautiful Poetry

Michael B. Maine — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:46:01 +0000

The House On Vashon Island

Michael B. Maine — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:53:43 +0000

In my last post, I mentioned there was a house I felt I needed to take capture with photography. Here it is. This is one of my favorites from that day.

Photo by Michael B. Maine

Self Portrait

Michael B. Maine — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:08:48 +0000

I took a little extra time with this blog post. Rather than write it all in one sitting, I‘ve spent hours in reflection and countless others in thought over the image that will serve as its subject. Now, as I put the pen to paper (I literally hand wrote this post before publishing it here), John Coltrane’s “I’m Old Fashioned” is playing on the turntable. I took an extra few minutes and recorded the song directly from that turntable and have converted it to MP3 below. As I venture into this post, I invite you to press play and experience this moment with me—complete with record pops and whispers. If you might, take a few moments to take a look at the photograph and then read the following reflection.

Self Portrait, Photo by Michael B. Maine

A few weeks ago I decided to take a day and walk around Vashon Island. Months prior I was taking a stroll over there and noticed an abandoned house marked with a sign declaring it unsafe and uninhabitable. It struck me as ironic that the human-made structure was decaying and labeled unsafe amidst the ever-renewing trees, grass, water, and the rest of the natural world surrounding it. To me, the house appears to be at peace, almost desiring to return to a state where it is the provider of life once again. At first sight I knew I had to make time at some point to photograph that scene. Making that photograph was a secondary goal of this later trip. The first was to enjoy a peaceful day away from the computer.

Although I did capture the house scene it was the image above that I feel I was destined to find. When I got home that night I posted the picture on Facebook with the title “Self Portrait” and was quickly asked by several people why I named it that. After staring at the print and reflecting at length, this is what the photograph means to me:

I feel this image accurately describes my presence in this world. More than a mere reflection in the glass, everything in this photo tells a piece of my story. Firstly, everything is apparent, but nothing is fully resolved and comprehensible. Just as you can tell the dark blob of a human figure is my reflection, the distortion and lack of detail keep you from being completely sure who or what it is. You know that is a newspaper, but what does it say? You can stand right in front of it, but even under close analysis you can only make out a few key pieces of information. I think those who know me might find that a fairly clear depiction—every now and then you’ll get a glimpse of the person underneath. But more often than not, you’re left without the entire story. Authentic, yet not fully understood. I’m working on that—working on allowing more of myself to be read.

Notice the blackberry stem. It is neither attached to the ground nor is it draped from the top. However, it is present. The decaying car represents the death of my old hopes and dreams while the grass represents the emergence of new ones. No longer do I find myself with grandiose dreams of succeeding in the corporate structures as it exists today, but rather finding creative ways to build the organizations of the future—the ones that exist with purpose beyond the bottom line. Even beyond the triple bottom line.

I could continue deconstructing this image further, but I’d like to leave at least some of it to your own interpretation. What do you see in it? What does it mean to you?

Why Ice Cube Is Not A Sell-Out

Michael B. Maine — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 00:07:48 +0000

I’ve been listening to a lot of hip hop, jazz, and RnB lately. I forgot how much I enjoyed fully immersing myself in the music as the sound waves beat on my eardrums. My journey started with some of the newer pieces from the likes of Nas and Skyzoo, but soon went back to some of those who changed music forever: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Wu-Tang, The Coup, Public Enemy, NWA, and Common. I then began to think about how times, music, and the people themselves have changed. When discussing and reading about these changes, I often come across such lamentations as “I miss the ‘old’ Common,” or “Ice Cube used to yell out ‘F*** Da Police,’ now he’s starring in family movies?” Many talk about how this transition from producing underground street anthems to living as mainstream celebrities as selling out.

What’s ironic about rapping about the trauma of the streets is that, once one finds success with their music, they are able to transcend the situations that cause that trauma. After all, most rappers talk about how much they want to get out of the hood, not go into it. What I would like to see is work being done to change the systems that create these negative conditions in the first place, rather than focus on how somebody has “sold out” because they’re no longer rapping about crime, drugs, and run-ins with the law.

I love this video because Illdoctrine is able to eloquently say what has been percolating in my head for years.

How To Write A Personal Bio in 8 Steps

Michael B. Maine — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:47:15 +0000

Photo by Michael B. Maine

1. Identify your purpose and audience. Before you begin writing carefully consider who will be reading your bio. Also, spend some time thinking about why are writing it and what you intend to convey and accomplish. I keep two general bios (casual and professional in tone) prepared in the event I have to send one right away. However, when I have the time, I always draft a clean one with a specific audience and purpose in mind.

2. Curate your information. Be critical with the information you include. Allow your audience and purpose guide the information you share. Generally you should include something about who you are, what you're about, important accomplishments, hobbies, and contact information. Spousal information (if needed) should be included only after all of your personal details.

3. Outline your bio. Create an outline of the information you plan on including. This will make writing your bio easier as well as provide you the opportunity to quickly see if anything is missing or doesn't fit. At the very least include:

Your name
What you're about
Claim to fame
Recent and important accomplishments
Contact information

4. Write your bio. Begin writing your bio. Most resources recommend writing the bio from the third person perspective. This is preferred for most situations (especially formal ones), but I think the first person perspective also works well. This is my preferred perspective for personal websites and social media profiles. After all, you are a real person, right? My personal solution: write both versions and keep them easily accessible in a text document. To make things easier for you I’ve started one you can download here.

5. Proofread and Revise. After you've taken the time to write your bio, make sure it's perfect. Check not only for grammar and typos, but also for flow, ease of reading, and content. A great bio will increase your credibility and provide a more professional appearance if it is free of common writing errors.

6. Proofread and Revise. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Every time I proofread, I find something I overlooked the first time. Normally, I overlook something the first two times. Maybe you're better than I am, but I recommend being safer than sorry. I’ve checked this document three times and I’m sure I could still find an error. People often base their first impression on your bio, especially on the web.

7. Get a third party to proofread it. Once you've checked for errors and content, try and have a friend, colleague, or trusted professional take a look at it. Chances are they will find something you missed or have some insights that could make your bio stronger. Besides, it's always good to have an outside perspective.

8. Maintain your bio. Your bio, like your résumé, is a living document. As you progress in your career and life, make sure your documentation reflects those accomplishments and changes.

Additional Tips on How To Write A Personal Bio

1. Keep (4) versions of your bio.: Twitter, Short, Medium, Long

160 characters
One sentence
100 words
250 words

2. Introduce yourself. There's a good chance that if someone is reading your bio, they don't know you personally. Lead with your name.

3. State what you do. Let people know what you do. This may be a good place for you to exercise the 3 question activity:

Who are you?
What do you do?
Why does it matter?

4. Include recent accomplishments. Let people know that you are currently doing good work. It's great to have important accomplishments documented, but don't allow people to think you are living in the past.

5. Include your contact information. Ensure that people are able to reach you. Save it for the end, but leave out your contact information. If I see your bio out of context, I might still want to be able to reach you. If you are worried about having your personal information floating around on the Internet, get a Google Voice phone number if you don't have a business or professional line.

6. Use both 1st and 3rd person. Most people say to write bios in third person, but I find it awkward to read a personal website in third person. It just doesn't feel natural. However, for professional bios you're sending with cover letters, workshop proposals, etc., keep it formal.

7. Always get feedback on it. If at all possible, get a friend or somebody else you trust to provide honest feedback.

8. Keep it up to date. You're always doing something new. Your bio should reflect that.

9. Use your short bio in your email signature. Use your short bio in your email signature. It’s a good place to share a little about yourself.

10. Write your bio in a text editor, not in Word. I always write documentation in a text editor. The free ones work well (Notepad for Windows, TextEdit for Mac). The files are smaller and it strips the formatting so that, when you send it, it's much easier for the recipient to use in their documentation. It makes copying a pasting a breeze and you’re not limiting your content to specific platforms or programs.

Find Me On Twitter

@RoxontheBox Wins The #MenrvaLabsInspires Contest Last Week

Michael B. Maine — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:39:25 +0000

Last week’s winning tweet comes from Roxy (@RoxontheBox) who tweeted: “My Mother is my greatest inspiration. Despite cancer & a mastectomy she has lived her life full of grace & laughter.” Congratulations Roxy!

All of the submissions were warm and I thank every individual who participated this week. It has been beautiful to share in your experiences and shout outs. I sincerely hope that through the sharing of your inspirations, we all become and remain motivated as well.

We are now accepting shout outs for this week. Remember to tag your tweet with #MenrvaLabsInspires and a statement, picture, video, or link to your original work that shows who/what inspires you and why.

Roxy on Twitter Contest Rules

Photos from the Reel Grrls' Wonder-Oke Event

Michael B. Maine — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:04:33 +0000

What happens when a progressive architecture firm has space and asks, "What's possible with this space?" That's exactly what Olson Kundig did with their "Storefront" space in Pioneer Square. The Reel Grrls accepted this challenge and created a giant snow globe, filmed some work, and culminated their time there with a karaoke party. Here are some of my favorite pictures from that event. The Reel Grrls is an organization that teaches young people (primarily young women) how to be well-rounded media professionals, training them in various aspects of professionalism, technical skills, creativity, and fun. I definitely encourage you to check out their program as well as consider them if you have any video needs. They do good work!

Links:

Reel Grrls Website Olson Kundig Architects

Additional Reel Grrls Media:

10 Reasons Buying an Individual Song or Album is NOT Obsolete

Michael B. Maine — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 02:46:10 +0000

Screenshot from the BI article

Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion and is in no way intended to disrespect the article that appears on Business Insider.

I just read an article by Business Insider entitled 13 Things That Went Obsolete In 2012 that states, "Why would you pay for a song when you can just play it for free through YouTube or listen to it for free on your desktop with Spotify?" I'm sure there is a huge community of audiophiles and music lovers who would beg to differ. One of the associates at my local record store just paid $140 for a rare LP to replace one that was stolen. I do see the benefits to streaming services such as Spotify, XBOX Music, and others. The ability to easily listen to music on many devices, have access to new and old music immediately, and share what you're listening to on social media is all nice, but I am not going to stop purchasing albums anytime soon. And here's why:

Buying individual albums and subscribing to streaming services are not mutually exclusive decisions.
Purchased albums and songs (both digital and analog) work without an Internet connection.
Streaming services often stream the most compressed MP3's that provide sound quality inferior to the uncompressed digital files on CD's or the analog signal from vinyl.
A wall of records or CD's is a great conversation starter. (This is also one of the primary reasons I still prefer physical books).
Cover art and album liners
When you purchase a song or album, you actually own that song or album.
Colored wax
Many LPs now include access to a digital download of all the songs for free.
There is still plenty of music not available on streaming services.
We can choose the artist(s) we support by buying their individual songs and albums.

First #Photos of 2013

Michael B. Maine — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 08:02:20 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised to wake up on the first morning of 2013 to Sunny day in Seattle. I took this rare opportunity in January to walk around and take some photographs on Vashon Island. I snapped about 128 pictures or so, but here are my personal favorites. I hope you enjoy them. Let me know what you think. Happy New Year!

My Favorite Hip Hop Albums of 2012

Michael B. Maine — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 18:45:17 +0000

2012 was definitely not without its great hip hop. To see a complete list of some of the best released last year I recommend you check out the HipHopDX’s Top 25 Albums list. I think they’ve done a good job distilling the hip hop from the rap and the substantial from the formulaic. (Spoiler alert: Seattle’s own Macklemore and Ryan Lewis make the list.) So this post is not intended to serve as a complete rundown of what’s out, but rather my personal reflection of my favorite three. I am not listing them in any particular order.

Life is Good by Nas

The man who forever changed hip hop with the release of Illmatic and later proclaimed that “hip hop is dead” has proved that he’s still on top of his game. With a mixture of jazz, bass-heavy, and club style beats there is very little missing from Nas’ latest work from a production standpoint. All the while he never loses focus of what he’s trying to say: It’s okay to grow up. In this album, Nas expresses that he is maturing without drenching the songs with the clichéd, “I got rims, I got money” stuff so prevalent right now. Lyrically, I would say this is one of the most accomplished personal reflections he has ever produced. One of my favorite lines from the album is “I’m not a whack performer standing with corny hype men, I got the donnism in me I’m here to enlighten.”

Cancer 4 Cure by EL-{

Cancer For Cure (C4C) by EL-P

Definitely one of the most depressing albums I’ve heard in a while, I appreciate how EL-P is able to evoke an appreciation of life in the face of death. As a person who has dealt with a quite a bit of both literal and figurative death in 2012, this album serves as a reminder that, in the face of death, we can find our greatest inspiration to truly live.

Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color by Brother Ali

This one was a surprise purchase for me. I probably picked it up at least four times on four different visits to the record store before I finally decided to walk out with this masterful album. With this piece Ali restores my faith in the idea I have long held that real hip hop can make you want to be a better person. With guest appearances from Cornell West, Amir Sulaiman, Choklate, and Tone Trezure, is a collection of tracks that tell a story of not only struggle, but the role we can each take to make the world a better place. Throughout it all, Brother Ali maintains a humbleness that lends to his credibility and ultimately my appreciation and admiration of this album. Where Nas focuses on his personal journey, Brother Ali takes on national and international societal issues.

Man on the Moon II by Kid Cudi

Man On The Moon II by Kid Cudi

I almost left this off of the list—partly because it’s really difficult to categorize this album in any one genre. It almost sounds like rap. It almost sounds like alternative. It almost sounds like rock. But probably the real reason I almost left this album off of the list is because it hits so close to home. I feel an affinity with this album because of the way I can truly relate to this artist. His talks of goals, determination, and the feeling of loneliness and being lost are things I identify with more often then I’d like to admit. In Man On A Moon II, Kid Cudi picks up where is first solo effort leaves off, pours his heart and soul into his work, and completes to build one of the most fully resolved albums of the year and one that is uniquely him.

#Pic - Shoes

Michael B. Maine — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 17:29:55 +0000