Blog

Through My Lens – Ocean Avenue

Since I’ve got a photographers eye, I never go anywhere without a camera.

Being able to capture the little things around you and share them beyond your memory is a very powerful and important part of my life.

Earlier this week I spent a few hours in Newport, Rhode Island on Ocean Avenue and I wanted to share a bit of what I saw.

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In Five Years, Where Do You Want to Be?

Yesterday I was hired to lead a conversation with the communications team of a large global company. It was their annual retreat and they brought me in to push and pull them to think about the answer to the question of where they wanted to be in five years.

We talked a lot about technology, but also about the culture shift that had to happen in their company to embrace and utilize the ever growing social nature of the world around them and the constant fire hose of information that everyone is trying to deal with.

It was a great discussion and I hope they got as much out of it as I did. In fact I hope I get to work with them some more in the future as they’ve got some amazing opportunities in front of them that I hope they take full advantage of.

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Entering the Teenage Years

Even with all the success I’ve had in business and my career, the thing I judge myself on most is how well my children turn out.

This weekend my son became a teenager. These are the years when a lot changes, happens and when I believe you start to become the person you will be for the rest of your life. I also think these are the years when I’ll start to know if I’ve done a good job raising him or not.

Happy birthday Dylan. I hope the road ahead isn’t too bumpy for both of us.

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Sharing the Secrets

Last night I had the pleasure of being able to attend the latest event put on by the Transmedia New York City Meetup group. It was my good friend Steve Coulson presenting a behind the scenes look at Campfire’s highly creative and stragic work supporting the first season of HBO Game of Thrones. Thank you Storycode.org for organizing such a great event.

Steve is an amazing Creative Director that any company would love to have on their team because he brings the perfect balance of strategic AND creative thinking that is needed in today’s marketing world. He only has that knowledge after years of work on a variety of projects. Those skills don’t magically happen after reading a stack of books and blogs.

After the event, we talked about how he pulled back the curtain a bit on how much work goes into a successful campaign. It was the type of stuff that isn’t talked about enough and we wondered how much of it should be shared to the general population. As he mentioned in his talk, it is very much like a magicians guild or something similar where you want to share some, but not all of the secrets.

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A Great Weekend in 2 Photos

This weekend was a simple reminder of my favorite thing in life. Spending quality time, with quality people, having a good time. Of course these moments are captured in photographs so that I never forget them.

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Get Educated About SOPA & PIPA

Today around the world, sites will be going black to protest against proposed changes in laws that could effect the entire Internet as we know it.

Known as SOPA and PIPA, they were written to help fight piracy, but in reality could harm more than help. Take a moment to learn more at Google or Wikipedia and then contact the appropriate people in government to tell them not to pass this. Also click on the image above to download a PDF version of the infographic. If you need a funny yet informative explanation The Oatmeal is where you want to go.

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Who Knew Jury Duty Would Open My Eyes?

While everyone else was returning to their offices after the New Years break, I was reporting for duty to the Worcester court house for jury duty.

I was called last year at this time and postponed it a year since I was just starting out on the book tour for Content Rules and didn’t want to run the risk of being sat on a jury and having to cancel dates.

I’ve been called one other time in the past and got sat on a jury that go around, but at the last minute the trial was canceled. This time around I wasn’t so lucky and for the past two weeks have been serving on a civil case in Massachusettes Superior Court and the process has been eye opening on multiple levels.

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Behind the Scenes of Passion Hit TV

In case you missed it, I’ve started a new show called Passion Hit TV.

A Passion Hit is someone who has taken something they love doing and turned it into a livelihood. Maybe they form a company or start an event. Perhaps they realize that doing what they love is the only thing they want to do and they figure out a way to do it.

I wanted to sit down and interview these people for my next book and I believed they’d make for good content to share with you. Each person I talk to has a different story and I’m always looking to interview new people so let me know if you have someone you think would be a good fit.

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Creating With My Hands

I create a lot.

I write, shoot photos, speak, record a podcast and produce a video show. Each of those takes talent and time. I know that I bring those to the table when I’m creating and I bring a unique perspective that is mine to each of them.

One thing I don’t do much of (except in the kitchen where I do it every day) is create with my hands and this is something I will strive for in this new year.

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3 Words for 2012

Resolutions are pointless. You set them and never achieve them. You have the best intentions, but that is not enough.

Goals and rituals have a higher chance of success both in the short and the long term. That is where I like to focus my energy.

I also like the idea from Chris Brogan of selecting three words that become themes for the year to follow. Last year I chose Create, Inspire and Teach and the year before that they were Simplify, Focus and Attack. Looking back, they were guiding themes for each year and continue forward as constants in my life.

This year I had a harder time choosing because I don’t take these lightly, but I’m happy with what I came up with.

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