Cheryl Rice
July 14, 2010
1. Great insights, Suzi! Sometimes it’s tough to figure out the best way to contribute to the conversation — but trying to force something to “go viral” is a recipe for failure. It’s better to just be honest and authentic, and to share what you know.

   I just watched the follow-up video of the guys who found the Double Rainbow Guy and interviewed him. I was so moved (okay, blubbering) over how much joy he has, with obviously so little “material” wealth. That is far from noise — it’s a great story!

Jonathan Tufano
July 15, 2010
2. Suzi,

   Great post.

   But what does it meeee-aaan?

   This is a fantastic example of the power of authenticity, in today’s world of hollow offers and false claims, authenticity rings true.

   People are desperate for it. They can’t get enough of it. It almost seems to good to be true, but it sure seems like the more real and true to themselves organizations (or people for that matter) are, the more successful they will be, and happier too…

   I’m starting to think that rainbow guy is onto something…

Peter Larson
July 18, 2010
3. Great article, Suzi. Good food for thought for 35+ curmudgeons like me.

   I agree with your spirit in making online conversations what we need them to be (meaningful). That spirit aligns with so much else that we see going on in the world around us; a growing collective realization that we have to find methods to change mechanisms that we once thought were unchangeable. Although the web is changing all the time, I think we still see it as this thing with its own inertia, and feel too small to make it what it needs to be.

   It’s a giant shift for those of the older generations to invest the time in this form of communication. Our good old business world is used to directly correlating action to result. Engagement in the correct online conversations can be more indirect and long-term.

   Sorting through the noise is daunting…we need to each use our own compass to not be overwhelmed, but to see where the meaningful thinking/conversations are and then to be willing to invest the time in them. This is particularly hard…There is so much out there!

Suzi Craig
July 19, 2010
4. Pete: You are spot on in calling it “this thing with its own inertia.”

   Not to overgeneralize but it does seem like the younger set owns the web because they see a purpose in that ownership, just like they see a purpose in getting a degree or buying an iPhone. In talking about feeling too small to make change, do we think the online world belongs to those who are already immersed in its language and culture? If that’s the case, are we battling more than the technology barrier, and also slipping into a Jets v. Sharks atmosphere?

   Or, is it simply that we cannot visualize tomorrow’s manifestation from today’s current potential? Yet, what it will be is 100% up to what we start doing today. Not just that other guy already on here. You, me and that guy.

   Like everything else that requires a new way of thinking, we need to step back and assess where we are so we can distance ourselves from current habits. Great — you’re on Twitter blasting away. But, as our Double Rainbow friend would say: what does it mean?

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Infochemist
February 3, 2010
1. To speak nothing of the tremendous opportunity for industry vertical development.

   We will see teachers far better able to manage class and curriculum based on new apps probably written by BlackBoard.

   Medical professionals will have a great tablet to improve care.

   But most of all, we can all now clearly visualize Captain Kirk acknowledging the Enterprise’s status on a tablet handed to him by a gorgeous and capable ensign.

   

Brent Robertson
February 3, 2010
2. Medical professionals and education are already taking a keen interest in these products. It might finally be the tipping point for the Electronic Medical Record.

Jeff Cotrupe: MarketPOWER, LLC
February 3, 2010
3. I’d say this tablet phenomenon may take on biblical proportions.

   Brent, appreciate the dialogue on Twitter, great piece here and attention-getting photo above.

Brent Robertson
February 4, 2010
4. Thanks Jeff, appreciate the feedback!

Joe
February 4, 2010
5. Nice photo. Where’d you get it.

Bruce Kaechele
February 4, 2010
6. Brent, I hear everything you’re saying and agree that the possibilities are exciting especially in ed and med but (not to be a downer) there is also a scary side to this.

   So far as I can tell, advances in this kind of technology have done nothing to simplify life - in fact, just the opposite is true. In your second paragraph you use the term “deeper entanglement”. This is a perfect description of any teenager’s (the next generation of professionals) daily existence. Have you seen them clutching their phones to their chest no matter where they go? Consuming media at a rate of 10.5 hours per every seven hours of media consumption time each day!? (Source: Jan 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm)

   Some studies suggest that they can handle this level of “entanglement” just fine and their brains are being quickly rewired to do so. Great (read sarcastically) they can accomplish tasks, maybe even memorize/study at the same time as they text and update and listen. (Other studies reveal less desirable side effects.) Is this good? Is this creating linchpins (http://surfthedeepend.net/2010/01/seth-godin-indispensable/) or robots?

   What about actual thinking? Actual alone with their thoughts time? Where they consider a subject uninterrupted for a significant length of time. Where they learn about and become comfortable with themselves as individuals - with a brain and an identity separate from their technology enabled network of distractions. When will they do the hard work needed to understand and love themselves for who they are? And, of course, it’s not just teens.

   My fear is that we are heading toward a world of mass psycho-interdependency where, because we are so connected, our inner individual selves get pushed farther and farther down and become indistinguishable from the group’s. Maybe we’re already there.

   **Interesting observation you make about Amazon renegotiating. Here’s a good write up by Bob Lefstez (@Lefstez) on the total impact of the as yet unreleased iPad: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2010/02/03/ipad-impact/

Suzi Craig
February 4, 2010
7. Forrester’s points are well taken on the coming “Splinternet” age and it seems as if the iPad is confirming that reality — the fact that AT&T is the only network available and Jobs’ decision to compete in markets where he could opt to partner (i.e., Amazon) is going to have impact beyond whether or not you are the owner of an Apple product. You really need to think about your choice from all angles.

   I think it’s AWESOME that our technology is amping up and we are on the verge of bringing life-changing technologies like augmented reality down to earth for us to actually put into play.

   Before we get to that vision, though, I’m curious to see how the bumpy ride plays out. I won’t buy an iPad right now because it won’t replace the other devices I already cling to and I’m not ready to add another device to my collection because, for me, I’m not an early adopter. I’m kind of a “pre-teen” adopter. I have to NEED that device in order to purchase it, not just want it to play with it.

   So, here’s my question: if we are in the Splinternet age where the web is creating monopolies and silos, are we also going to cause an even bigger gap with those who are not yet ready to make the leap to bigger technologies? I think there needs to be greater communication to the masses about why the tablets are revolutionary — for the reasons you all have been citing (medical, education, etc.).

   In other words, let’s take the technology out of geek land! Give everyone a reason to care so that when they decide to make a choice on technology it’s not just because it’s an Apple or Sony brand. If Daddy Warbucks is going to force us to choose, it’s up to us to push back and make that choice a real choice with as few comprises as possible. We can’t do that without all the information at our hands, so I charge you early adopters: talk about the iPad and augmented reality and all that cool stuff with people who you think may not care. I guarantee you it’s because they just don’t know why to care.

Brent Robertson
February 4, 2010
8. Bruce, interestingly enough, there have been a bunch of recent studies suggesting that the younger generations being able to multitask (or do multiple things that use the same part of the brain) are just false, actually quite the opposite. One notable, when observing the quality of written papers by MIT students, it was observed there was no connection between paragraphs, in other words, they would write a paragraph, go off and do something else and then return and write the next. Hmmmm

Are we losing ourselves in the race to be connected? « Ladder to the Attic
February 9, 2010
9. [...] an excerpt (full post here): So why all the buzz now? What has changed? And what does this onslaught of tablet PC’s [...]

Dwayne
May 22, 2010
10. I really want one of the new IPADs, but will probably wait. I would be one of the users however that wants to use it as a power user might. For example why not be able to perform graphic design tasks with it? It would be perfect for painterly types of works. With a larger model, web design and coding could be accomplished as the larger typepad wuld make typing easier.

ForceFactor
June 28, 2010
11. Well I do not typically comment on blogs but I discovered yours while I was doing a bit of job researching in Google today therefore i decided I would leave a simple note. I must admit that I’ve gotten a bit distracted going through and reading a few of your posts… I ought to probably be doing work. You have some good insights here, so I’ll add you to my personal Google Reader for the future. Cheers!

Brent Robertson
June 28, 2010
12. Thank you ForceFactor! We hope to keep distracting you with new posts soon.

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Bruce Kaechele
February 3, 2010
1. I’ve heard mostly positive reviews with a few naysayers. Can’t remember which blog I saw this on - one of the many interviews Godin did to launch I think - but one commenter remarked that it is just more “be all you can be” stuff you can find in any self help motivational book. Can you see any truth in that, Suzi? Is it new thinking or repackaged thinking?

Suzi Craig
February 3, 2010
2. The basic concept, that we all need to focus on making ourselves remarkable, is nothing new.

   But, Godin is not interested in being a personal coach. His goal is to connect the dots of “you need to be remarkable” to “because our economy depends on it.” His rally cray is not a personal journey rally cry — it’s a “get off your arse because if you don’t, we’re doomed” rally cry.

   I say the naysayers are naysaying because they’re scared of what he’s asking, or they just don’t understand how he’s tying the implications of one person to the masses. In other words, we are the masses! And, if we want to be just another cog in the wheel vs. a linchpin, that’s our choice. But that choice has consequences and the consequences are severe.

Bruce Kaechele
February 3, 2010
3. Since I haven’t read the book yet (hint, hint) I’m at a disadvantage but…a machine or an economy or a world for that matter can’t survive with just linchpins. Being a cog in the wheel or a brick in the wall is a role that needs filling, too. Because they’re the ones that get stuff done. If everyone is a leader we’ll just spend the dance stepping on each others toes.

   (BTW - I’ve seen linchpin misspelled as lynchpin, the definition of which should be “a person that hangs themselves by thinking they are the only person that matters.”

Suzi Craig
February 3, 2010
4. Yes, you are at a disadvantage because I am holding your next read hostage. But, I am almost done.

   So, from my take, I don’t see that he is suggesting we all become the CEO of Pepsi. What he’s saying is that if you are working at ChuckE Cheese, find a way to become indispensable before they automate your job. The old method of “I’ll just do this crappy job now until I wait for something bigger to come along” is going to ruin you. If you are the best you can be — which goes beyond just doing the job, such as taking care of customers and doing things that need to be done even if it’s ‘not your job’, and finding ways to turn a potentially bad experience into a great one (because you WANT to and not because it will lead to a pay raise) — you are on your way to linchpinning.

   And not lynchpinning because it’s definitely not about holding yourself apart as a star. It’s much more about transferring the hard work from physical labor (which we hold in high regard and which we have a lot of) to emotional labor which starts with yourself but ultimately affects everyone around you. Would you fire the one person at the restaurant who knows how to sober up the chef, can handle the obnoxious customer and trouble shoot when the last order of steaks didn’t arrive? (That’s similar to one of his examples.) You can fire, however, someone who shows up to work on time, does the job that’s expected of them but can’t be relied on to take charge of anything outside their duties.

   What we’re talking about, and this is my rally cry now, is a paradigm shift. You can choose to be a cog and that’s cool. But, if you are hoping to survive in an economy that can easily replace cogs, know your reality.

Tia Martinson
February 3, 2010
5. I view your take on Linchpin holding hands with your post on breaking the rules. I am on my feet cheering you on. Realizing that fulfillment comes from having a voice and a purpose that you can control is light years ahead of the “old American dream” as outlined by Godin. I just received the book from Amazon, so I may have additional comments forthcoming as I have barely begun.

Suzi Craig
February 3, 2010
6. Thanks for your thoughts Tia.

   Funny — I probably have already, for some reason, been sipping the kool-aid on this per my “make your own rules” post and that’s probably why I’m such an ardent fan of Godin’s linchpin rally cry.

   Can’t wait to hear what you think Tia. You are one of my biggest fans and definitely a perfect example of what a lot of people are already doing — taking charge of who you want to be instead waiting for the definition to come to you!

Be indispensable at Work? — Jason Seiden
March 9, 2010
7. [...] Marketing guys. [...]

Courtenay
March 15, 2010
8. This is a great post, and it reflects my actions of the past months. As a result, my company is sending me to your upcoming “Social Media Certification”. I can’t wait!

Suzi Craig
March 15, 2010
9. Courtenay -

   I can’t wait to hear more about your thoughts on this - and I look forward to having you join the class!

   For more reading on Linchpinness, here is a really interesting discussion I jumped into on an another blog: http://jasonseiden.com/indispensable-i-doubt-it-youre-simply-not-that-important/

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xtinar
October 15, 2009
1. Looking forward to connecting with other folks in the class through the facebook group and on twitter! (I had hoped to have a more concrete network of folks after our class this week, but am relieved that we’ll be grouped on facebook soon enough)

   THANK YOU for working with CT Nonprofits and getting all of us together in one room to expand our social media know-how. I’m imagining GREAT things for us nonprofit folks here in CT. Tweetups, cross promotions, and general social media love. And this class will be the catalyst!

   Follow me: http://www.twitter.com/xtinar http://www.twitter.com/wellspringct
   Fan me: http://www.facebook.com/wellspring

Brent Robertson
October 16, 2009
2. I too was very impressed with the organic nature and flow of the class. Everyone contributed a lot, and now we are seeing the class putting these ideas into play. Even with some facing a big learning curve, the participation and activity post-class has been amazing, which is the whole point.

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