Instigator Blog

When talking about marketing, it’s fairly common to hear, “Show us, don’t tell us!”

But what exactly does that mean?

Well Heidi Miller has a great example over at The Great Big Small Business Show, where they’ve done their 2nd video segment!

Heidi found a great example of “show us” marketing from a billboard in Chicago. Thanks to Becky McCray we get to watch a quick, entertaining and useful video presentation on how to market just a little bit better…

Please check out: Unexpected Marketing: Help Your Customers.

[tags]great big small business show, becky mccray, marketing, billboard advertising, heidi miller, gbsbs, video blog[/tags]

I’m going to be in Toronto on business from November 11-15.

I’m booked on the 13th and 14th (for the most part), but I’m free on the weekend and the 15th. I’ll extend my trip if need be.

Anyone want to get together?

The Internet sucks.

That’s according to Steve Maich over at Maclean’s magazine. Maclean’s is one of Canada’s top news magazines; I always enjoy reading it, with a combination of news, investigative journalism and humor. So where does Steve’s article fit in? Is it news, investigative journalism or humor?

Steve cites things like porn, gambling and crime as reasons why the Internet sucks. He’s not wrong. There’s tons of porn, gambling and a fair share of crime (although I feel like this last one is grossly exaggerated.) The Internet is chock full of crap.

And the spinmeisters of the online world did exaggerate their vision of the Internet.

So, the Internet sucks, right?

Steve’s piece is well worth reading. It’s clearly one sided but it makes me think:

“How can we make the Internet great?”

There’s lots of ways. What sticks out for me is this:

Helping the less technologically-savvy get more involved.

Call them “newbies” or whatever you want, but there are tons of people on the outskirts of what’s going on who have valuable things to say and need to better understand the ways they can do it. Some aren’t newbies to the Internet, but may be unfamiliar with newer ways of communicating: blogging, podcasting, video, etc.

Those “in the know” need to help those that aren’t. By doing so we’re bringing in fresh voices and ideas. Almost every time I’ve helped someone get onboard in a more active manner it’s been rewarding, for me and the person I’ve helped. They’re typically eager, friendly and interested in building a likeminded, open community. What could possibly be wrong with that?

The Internet has improved the way we communicate. It doesn’t replace face-to-face, but it smashes open the door on having meaningful conversations with lots of people at once. The more we help the less tech-savvy folks get onboard, the better those conversations are going to become. And that helps make the Internet great.

Photo by Allen H. Lin.

It’s that time of the month again (the first of the monthy!) … blogtipping day where people make note of 3 blogs they enjoy; give 3 compliments and 1 helpful tip. It’s a fun way to reach out, and potentially introduce people to some resources they hadn’t heard of before.

Blogtipping was the invention of Easton Ellsworth from Know More Media.

Blog #1: Billions With Zero Knowledge (feed) by Austin Hill

1. Austin only started the blog a couple weeks ago, but his voice is coming through already. If anyone can talk the talk when it comes to entrepreneurship, Austin’s the guy.
2. He won’t shy away from a little controversy, and that can be a benefit to the blogosphere, if done correctly. We’re not talking flaming, we’re talking smart, detailed and analytical commentary. Check out Puff The Magic Dragon Lives on CBC.
3. Austin’s a staunch supporter of Canadian entrepreneurship, which we could all use up here in the Great White North. I can almost guarantee you’ll see more writing from Austin about this in the near future.

Tip: The blog’s young so there’s plenty to do when it comes to fixing up the availability of RSS feeds, adding more social bookmarking services, etc. Any new blog is a work in progress…

Blog #2: Mindful Entrepreneur (feed) by Jason Clegg

1. Jason has an easygoing, welcoming writing style. He did write a book after all…
2. He writes a lot of actionable content; stuff that you can do along with him or learn directly from. For example, 30 Day Time Management (No Stats) Marathon.
3. He’s constantly trying to improve his website and business efforts; so things don’t ever feel stale.

Tip: Something about the blog design makes me think too much of Steve Pavlina. I think Jason would benefit from a more unique / distinct image. There’s a couple of other minor things that I think would improve navigation on the site. For example, at the bottom of a post there’s a link “Read More Articles…” which goes to an Archive page. I’d prefer the ability to scroll through the posts instead.

Blog #3: CoolBusinessIdeas.com (feed) by Marcel Sim

1. It’s just plain fun. They post about some of the latest, greatest in new business ideas; from the uber-cool to the uber-absurd.
2. It’s a great resource for a little inspiration. They’ve got a free newsletter that summarizes some of the latest business ideas out there. You might find an opportunity or two, or use it to springboard your own business ideas.
3. The blog design is simple, clean and easy to read.

Tip: I think CoolBusinessIdeas.com could be even better if Marcel and his partners wrote more of their own thoughts on the various business ideas they post about. Aggregating the information is the first step; now let’s hear some opinions and conversation!

That’s it for this month’s blogtipping! I hope you enjoyed it…

[tags]blogtipping, easton ellsworth, businessblogwire, coolbusinessideas, business, ideas, entrepreneurship, jason clegg, austin hill, zero knowledge[/tags]