Posts Tagged ‘gary vaynerchuk’
An Overly Critical Review of Beyond Blogging
I know what you’re thinking: “another book about making money blogging?” Well, that’s at least what I thought when Nathan Hangen asked me if I wanted to record a video testimonial for his new product. Written with Mike CJ, the book actually surprised my cynical self as I saw it was not just another cookie cutter how-to guide that doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It’s beyond that!
Beyond Blogging examines the story of over a dozen A-List bloggers, thanks to a series of interviews and case studies, to bring you the truth behind what it takes to become a successful blogger. (their awesome copy, not mine.) You’ll see a lot of familiar faces featured inside the 200+ page book coming from many different avenues and perspectives: Chris Brogan, Pete Cashmore, Brian Clark, David Risley, John Chow as well as my own personal favorite influence, Gary Vaynerchuk.
Be aware though, it’s not just biographical profiles of successful bloggers. Who wants to read more boasts about how much so-and-so made last year? I sure don’t. What I do want is to pick the brain of some of the top online “rockstars” and easily extract the concepts and philosophies they’ve used in building a business out of their passion. Beyond Blogging does just that!
Typically, I’m quite harsh at reviewing most things and will nit-pick it to death, but I’m at a loss when it comes to this book. Hmm, maybe I can find something bad to say about it…. Oh, I know!
After every interview/case study, Nathan and Mike provide a traffic analysis graph of the subject’s blogs so you can get a better measurement of their impact and a track record of their success. The by-product is that you’ll likely feel even worse about your own blog in the process. “150,000 visitors a month? I haven’t even had that many in 8 years combined on 24 different blogs! I guess it’s back on the bottle for me to drink away my sorrows!”
Feel free to check out the video where Nathan Hangen and Mike CJ talk about how they co-authored the book, the process in putting it together and why you need to go Beyond Blogging.
Be aware I rarely recommend anything, but Beyond Blogging is definitely something I have no problem in putting my lack of a reputation on the line. Buy a copy when it comes out and let me know what you think!
Bathroom Readability Rating: 98/100 (since I do almost all of my book reading on the toilet)
Greatest Liszt Post Ever Written
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher. He was renowned throughout Europe during the 19th century and said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age. As a composer, he left behind a huge and diverse body of work, in which he influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated some 20th-century ideas and trends… one of which was social media.
That’s right! Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the “Neue deutsche Schule von Bloggen Fachleuten” where he cultivated the next generation of “Soziale Mediengurus” in the conceptual art of branding.
Considered by many as the Nostradamus of internet marketing, his teachings and techniques were spurned by peers as having no measurable “Kehren Sie auf Investition zurück”. While contemporaries were off creating short 30 second pieces of music for sale during letter opening (Ring tönt as it was called), Liszt did not charge students for lessons whatsoever – the first recorded evidence of the power of “free”. (note: 160 years before Chris Anderson penned the idea.)
Of course though, as a forward-thinking marketer, Liszt offered his students little technical advice, expecting them to “wash their dirty linen at home,” as he phrased it. The “freemium” model, therefore, was born. Instead, he focused on musical interpretation with a combination of anecdote, metaphor and wit. (note: 160 years before Seth Godin penned the idea.)
Liszt also wanted to avoid creating carbon copies of himself, but after his death, was unable to control the countless students of his work from “scraping” his content relentlessly. Hans von Bülow was the most notable “Seien wollen Sie”. Notoriously tactless, Bülow alienated many musicians with whom he worked. He was dismissed from his Zürich job for this reason, but at the same time he was beginning to win renown for his ability to conduct new and complex works without a score. (note: 160 years before Gary Vaynerchuk penned the idea.)
Unfortunately, Liszt’s contributions in the field of social media marketing has been minimized by bloggers worldwide. With his most notable compositions: “6 Hungarian Rhapsodies”, “8 Variations on a Waltz” and “14 Years of Pilgrimage”, the often-used form of link bait was originated. The Liszt Post.
Predictions & Quotes Made by Franz Liszt on Social Media
His prediction on the state of the blogosphere:
A person of any mental quality has ideas of his own. This is common sense.
His thoughts about marketing through social media channels:
I find little in the works of Beethoven, Berlioz, Wagner and others when they are led by a conductor who functions like a windmill.
His rudimentary founding of the keys to search engine optimization:
Brahms’ Variations are better than mine, but mine were written before his.
His ideology about being part of the community as an “agent zero”:
The principal task of a conductor is not to put himself in evidence but to disappear behind his functions as much as possible. We are pilots, not servants.
His first draft of the now-punchy cliche – “content is king”:
A theatre receives recognition through its initiative, which is indispensable for first-rate performances.