Tonight I will do this - a simple action list.

Taken from a blog of someone who has a book coming out which I think I will buy if on Kindle. 

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

Distinguishing the “trivial many” from the “vital few” can be applied to every kind of human endeavor and has been done so persuasively by Richard Koch, author of several books on how to apply the Pareto Principle to everyday life. Indeed, the examples are everywhere.

Think of Sir Isaac Pitman, the inventor of shorthand, who discovered that just 700 words make up two-thirds of our language (further validated by Zipf's Law).

Think of Warren Buffett’s philosophy, quoted by Mary Buffett and David Clark in The Tao of Warren Buffett, “You only have to do a few things right in your life, so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” 

The authors continue, “Warren decided early in his career it would be impossible for him to make hundreds of right investment decisions, so he decided that he would invest only in the business that he was absolutely sure of, and then bet heavily on them. He owes 90% of his wealth to just ten investments. Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.”

Now that IS a book I have read. And took to heart. 

The advice in there is similar to what can happen with software and mobile apps - two things I love - as often you can have an app that tries to do too many things and therefore does nothing well. The same can be said for software and even computer games. Often simple is best. 

Which is something we are finding out at JusTaxi - Manchester's taxi fare comparison app - as under my (and others) thinking we removed half of the screens and at least two features / functions. This resulted in a 200% increase in numbers of people booking the best taxi prices in Manchester on our app.  

On a different but similar vein, about not being overwhelmed, Greg McKeown who wrote this article says - he recommends a simple action list.

1. Before you leave the office today, write down your top six priorities for tomorrow on a Post-it note.

2. Cross off the bottom five.

3. Write down your priority on a Post-it note and put it on your computer.

4. Schedule a 90-minute window to work on your top priority — preferably the first thing of the day.

5. Every time you are about to check email, Facebook, Twitter etc., write down what you are about to do.

Let's see how this goes. 

The First Five Top Things to do with Blogging beyond starting up and getting involved...

At my old agency - Great Marketing Works - we taught companies how to be GREAT at marketing.

Each letter in GREAT standing for something - see here - the R standing for "remarkable" - mainly taken from Seth Godin's wonderful works on the subject - if you have never read his blog - here is a link - which itself is a series of how to guides by example.

But for now, have a think, are your blog post remarkable? i.e. would someone who read them tell someone else, would they share it, would they comment on it?

Are you blogs really GREAT content?

With more and more people realizing that the old game of SEO has played out and that Clay Shirky (et al) were right when they predicted everyone would be a publisher soon under the great book title -  "Here comes everybody" - so the greatness or otherwise of your content has become a big issue.

Be that a PDF for your site, a little bit of link bait for your SEO, a well phrased personal blog to enhance your own expertise level on Linkedin, or now a days a nicely designed infographic for the informational hungry (time poor) visual consumer of today's SO LO MO world.

It's something that I have been thinking about whilst working helping The Apprentice Academy get more social (and help their SEO) and for their brand to become a thought leader in the realm of digital apprenticeships. Which it will - as God is my witness. As our new digital apprentices will kick ass, as I am one of their trainers, and the course looks amazing...

Anyhoo - this below is taken from Heyo's Mike Sweeney - and I like the style and the feel of the piece which raises some great points about blogging.

Most of which I have not adhered to at all in this blog for ironies sake. The first one makes me chuckle in a blog based on The First Five Top Things to do with Blogging.

 

1. Remarkable blog posts focus on one point and one point only.

 

One of the first things I do when I sit down to plan a blog post is determine the one and only point that every reader should take away after reading it. Sure, you’re going to need several supporting points, but if you stay focused on that one objective, your readers will stay focused with you.
For instance, after you’re done reading this post, I want you to think, “Wow. I need to start (continue) creating remarkable blog posts and use these ten tips as a guide, or my material will get ignored.”

 

2. Remarkable blog posts help someone out.

 

If you’re about to hit publish and you can’t say to yourself, “This is going to help at least one person—if not potentially thousands—do something better, learn something new, or discover a new way of thinking about something,” then you’re not doing your job.
The great bloggers understand that educating and entertaining the audience is the best way to keep them coming back.

 

3. Remarkable blog posts follow the same story structure you learned when you were nine years old.

 

A blog post should be written like any other piece of content—it needs a well-defined beginning, middle, and end. Start with an outline (like your fourth-grade teacher taught you) and your final product will almost write itself (almost). Keep it organized, both from a formatting standpoint and from a copy standpoint, and you will keep your reader’s head in the game. Who knows, he or she may even make it through the entire post, which brings me to my next point…

 

4. Remarkable blog posts are skimmable.

 

If you’ve captivated your readers enough that they are hanging on every word of your post, good for you. You’ve definitely created a remarkable blog post.
For the rest of you, make sure your blog posts are skimmable. Your reader should be able to skim the post, pick up the main points, and decide whether he or she wants to dig in deeper on a particular topic. Use methods like bullets, headings and sub-headings, numbered lists, and bolded call-outs to achieve this.

 

5. Remarkable blog posts use headlines that are both relevant and attention-grabbing.

 

My stance on headlines is a little different from others’. Some believe that you should focus exclusively on the attention-grabbing aspects of the headline, most times at the expense of the relevancy of the headline. Not only is that unfair to your readers, but when they do click over and realize that the headline doesn’t match the content, you just lost them.

I used to write my headlines last. That was a mistake. I now write them first, because a great headline can inspire a great post, or even change your initial direction for the post.

 Copyblogger is a fantastic resource for those looking to write great blog post headlines.


So we hope that these top five top tips taken from Heyo's Mike Sweeney are useful. There are 5 more to follow when I can find the time to edit them.

You see this is the other thing about blogging - is that it takes time. Time and effort. Time and effort that should be rewarded. Has to be rewarded. But as a business owner (if you are a business owner reading this) wouldn't it be great to have a digital apprentice to help you / your team on the editing? Or even on some of the production of some of the blogs?

The new digital apprentices from The Apprentice Academy are here to help your marketing team be more productive - so save your time and help you get the most out of this HUGE opportunity that social media is.  

Did you know that 77% of people would rather buy from a brand where the CEO blogs? Amazing isn't it.

But who says the CEO has to edit his own work....or put it out on twitter.

I love the #deadgiveway tune - along with 11 million other people but does this "meme" count as culture? And could my advertising the meme damage race relations?

So are meme's really that powerful that I should stop my charles ramsey appreciation facebook page?

I don't know but reading into it a little more perhaps my harmless fun and exercise in youtube marketing (made for a workshop) might be seen as more than just #greatmarketing but an actual real life statement.

This is what Clair Byrd says about it all and she is the Director of Content and Community for Scoop.it. For her musings on social tech, writing, and cute owl pictures, follow her on Twitter (@theclairbyrd).

"The ubiquitous internet meme comes in many forms — from iterations on top of iterations of a viral video to a random picture of a cute animals with an ironic white Impact caption. They also seem to proliferate like one of those animals with an ironic white Impact caption, if you know what I mean.

The internet meme often gets a bad rap. It gets called a waste of time, a waste of energy, and a waste of brain bandwidth.. really just more noise in an already cacophonous environment. But is this really true? Is meme only a waste of time or is there significantly more to the humble internet meme?

A case for meme

“Culture” is defined as “the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties, especially by education.” Culture varies significantly across the world, just as significantly as the moral and intellectual faculties between people vary, and grows strong in places that foster education between people of like-mind and similar values.

By this definition, the internet is becoming its own global culture. There are (of course) differences, but in essence, the internet is allowing people to come together and develop their intellectual (consider communities like Quora, topic-based communities, etc) and moral (consider the group Anonymous or the internationally-adopted web blackout in protest of the US SOPA bill) faculties.

It is difficult to associate any major internet movement with a particular people or existing unique culture. The internet and the spread of cultural artifacts through its many channels are as diverse as all the people in the world — and through this diversity there is unity forming around similar values (freedom, democracy and expression).

Meme, by definition, is “an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.” Meme is not necessarily specific to the internet — it simply became a household name through the Cheezburger Network. We could define many important cultural evolutions as “meme,” such as 3D imaging in modern film or technology in the classroom. These — now commonplace — ideas have spread from person to person inside of a unique culture.


I propose that internet meme is the currency of a blooming global culture. Internet meme can, and does, educate morality (consider the macings at UC Davis and the massive adoption that meme saw) as well as intellectual pursuits (consider the Advice Mallard), and while there is a ton of crap in the world of internet meme, the same can be said for most more traditionally accepted cultural mediums (has anyone seen this Nic Cage film?!).

The internet is irrevocably changing the way we interact with traditional media that define what “culture” is for us. What is art in this new environment? Do you have to be a classically-trained musician to create culturally-significant music? How is cinema, food, and literature changing due to advances in internet technology? What ultimately count as legitimate “cultural” artifacts and what doesn’t?

While the internet is creating its own culture in cyber space, there is invariably spill over to the real world. People reference internet memes in casual conversation around dinner i.e. they sign #deadgiveaway or do the thumbs up sign (if you don't know what this means - it's all about Charles Ramsey) People share meme experiences with friends and loved ones, and use meme as illustrations of concepts among their peers.

They use meme to make points in arguments, to create conversations, to shame, to uplift, and to showcase triumphs and defeats. This, to me, bears greater cultural significance than simple entertainment on the interwebs™. Internet meme is most assuredly spreading ideas, behaviors, and styles between people — locally and virtually.

So a meme counts as culture in the greater global evolution of human culture?

And if so should I really be pushing a meme out there just because I love the #deadgiveaway tune (along with 11,751,434 other people.)

But the underlying theme some believe to be racist as one of the catchphrases - is:

"I knew somethin was wrong when a
little pretty white girl
ran into a black man's arms"

Which is very funny - but I think that because I am black and I have a white wife - who is pretty.

Maybe I feel bad as I not only set up a fanclub for the video and charles ramsey but I know that I will use the "learnings" from all this into one of our great marketing youtube training days.

I don't know either way - it no longer sits well with me so I will delete the facebook account - tomorrow (promise....)

Best go and copy and paste all the learning data shots then :)

Ok Charles Ramsey is a internet sensation - but what can we learn from it all?

Ok it took, what, all of a day (two days if you are based in Europe) for Charles Ramsey to become a household name. The newly minted Internet legend who helped kidnapping victim Amanda Berry make the 911 call heard 'round the world has put a smiling face on a story of unspeakable horrors with his funny TV interviews. (See them all on the NEW Charles Ramsey Facebook appreciation page.)

Although three women and a child were rescued in Cleveland this week, the stories of their kidnappings are really just the tip of the iceberg for Berry and her fellow captives, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.

But... I dare say that's what has made Charles Ramsey and his ebullience during TV interviews go viral. He's a hero with a great attitude and a hearty sense of humor.

And this is what we should learn from it - BE YOURSELF AND BE A HERO - even if the world isn't looking.

And yes, no matter what people want to say, Ramsey is a hero. He's a guy who saw something off and decided not to turn the other way but to put himself out there and help Amanda Berry.

By heading next door with another neighbor (Angel Cordero, who has come forward to try to claim his own bit of the spotlight), by offering her a phone to call 911 and staying there until police came, he changed the course of these three women's lives -- for the better.

He also unwittingly made himself a public figure, a man who is being both celebrated and (sadly) mocked today, but he hasn't backed down. From his pledge to turn any reward for finding the missing women over to the women themselves to his insistence that he is NOT a hero, Ramsey is a man who deserves all the applause he's getting today.

And I have decided that this kind of hero deserves more - so I am making a store for Charles Ramsey - with #deadgiveaway merchandise to get him money he deserves.

And the more canny amongst you will also see this as a #greatmarketing exercise - which it is in part.

But it is more than that - it is to hopefully keep alive his memory - as just take a look at some of the quotes that made us grin along with him:

From his now famous interview with local station WEWSTV, which has even been auto-tuned - and the Charles Ramsey song is now part of the T-shirt rannge #deadgiveway

1. On recognizing Amanda Berry's name:

When she told me, it didn't register ... Until I got to calling 911, and then I'm like, I'm calling 911 for Amanda Berry? I thought this girl was dead!

2. On alleged suspect Ariel Castro:

My neighbor ... you got some big testicles to pull this off, bro.

3. On seeing Amanda:

Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms. Something is wrong here. Dead giveaway.

4. Again on seeing Amanda:

Either she's homeless or she got problems. That's the only reason why she runnin’ to a black man.

From Ramsey's interview with Anderson Cooper 360:

5. On the 911 operators:

We're both calling 911. Now she gets through and I get through. She deal with a moron, me, too.

6. On the cops responding:

They got there so fast because I said moron. Because I said hey, Amanda Berry is right in front of me right now. Here's what she got on and I told him white tank top, blue sweatpants, nice tennis shoes, nice ponytail. What else? Oh, right. She's panicking, idiot. Put yourself in her shoes. Like I said, Amanda Berry, that don't ring no damn bells, you being a cop and all?

7. On how the ordeal has affected him:

See, that's why now I'm having trouble sleeping. See, up until yesterday, the only thing that kept me from losing sleep was the lack of money. See what I'm saying? So now that that's going on, and I could have done this last year, not this hero stuff, just do the right thing.

8. On being a hero:

Bro, I'm a Christian, an American, and just like you. We bleed same blood, put our pants on the same way. It's just that you got to put that -- being a coward, and I don't want to get in nobody's business. You got to put that away for a minute.

9. On why he ran to help:

You have to have cojones, bro ... That's all what it's about. It's about cojones on this planet.

10. On the reward:

I tell you what you do, give it to them. Because if folks been following this case since last night, you been following me since last night, you know I got a job anyway. Just went picked it up, paycheck.


How can you not love a guy like that? He's got heart, grit, and a sense of humor!

And he even turns down the money from the reward. But he can't turn down our money - as it's just for him - Charles Ramsey.

Buy a Tshirt - keep the dream #deadgiveaway alive - be a hero - be yourself - and have fun doing it!!!