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sometimes it takes getting punched in the face

I am an old man.

And because I am an old man, occasionally people younger than me (usually when drunk), ask me for advice.

This advice asking always amazes me given that I have made more mistakes than good choices in my life, and that while I am currently not in jail (another fact that always surprises me), I am also not the most successful person ever.

In fact, I could potentially put myself in the category of mediocre at best if categorization was called for, although I would certainly get extra points for wearing a pink hat.

Now it might be the constant stream of Bright Eyes and other emo rockers that is streaming out of the computer speakers that is causing me to Jew-up this post or it could be that my left ear is itchy as shit and driving me nuts.

But, I digress.

Seeking happiness.

One’s life can be distilled down into two major components: Life and Work. Now Life includes things like: family, sports, writing, art, etc. Basically, anything that is not Work. Work, on the other hand, includes, well, your job.

And for those seeking happiness, here is the secret.

The source of your happiness can only be one. Work or Life, you choose.

Immediately, the naysayers (amazingly there are a few) will say that happiness is derived in part by created a balance between the two.

You can only balance time, you cannot balance the source of your happiness.

Here are two examples:

My friend Lawren

How Much is a Twitter Follower Worth?November 13

$6.19

I know this because of the enormous research I did over the course of the previous 12 months based on multiple factors including number of followers, percent followed, age of account and 28 other measures.

$6.19

Of course, if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn you can buy.

For some reason, a intrinsic value has been placed on the number of friends or followers we have accumulated in social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.

A week ago or so, I mischievously tweeted:

“base requirements for a SM expert: LI (>500); Twitter (>2000); FB (>1000); and at least 100 pics of you on flickr. (not self or mom taken)” - @micah

For many people, as their stature online grows they assume that their offline value also increases.

It seems that numbers equate to worth. RSS subscribers, pageviews, twitter followers, Facebook friends all equate to true value.

As an individual’s number of followers/friends grows, they become more aware of how people view them and begin to develop a “personal brand.” (”There are 10,000 people that read my tweets, I cant tweet a joke like that!”)

If a person has an intrinsic value online (meaning that they can influence behavior or thought online), should they also be aware of how they are valued and adhere to that?

Take for example

When Being Me is About Being YouNovember 12

Image by micahb37 via Flickr

Until I began to use Twitter and get more heavily involved in social media, I never heard the term “personal brand.” With more than 15 years in marketing (and more than 30 years in marketing myself), I certainly am aware of the concept of reputation management and branding.

Recently, there have been two concurrent discussions occurring around SEO and personal branding. One, here on this blog (SEO is dead), where the basic point is that great companies will learn how to integrate SEO principles into their organization structure, has been interesting. Not surprisingly, as it begins to make it round among SEO consultants, there is a cry of “you idiot! SEO will be here forever!”

Over on my friend Geoff Livingston’s blog, there has been a fantastic discussion around personal branding. Geoff’s point (at least as I think I read it), is

SEO is DeadNovember 9

Yesterday I moderated a panel on SEO and Social Media Marketing at the Thin Air Summit in Denver. Panel went great, the folks on the panel were fantastic. Jeremiah Oywang has a great run down of the panel and the advice given, so I wont rehash it here.

A hour or so after the panel was over, and we were all at a post-conference mixer, I sent out this tweet:

“If you do SEO for a living, you will be out of business or irrelevant in 3 years.” - @micah

Which got a lot more response that I figured, and I was asked to expand on that thought.

Almost as soon as the graphical browser was introduced, people have been trying to make money online. Over the years, online marketing has evolved, with some tactics continuing to have value, and many others falling by the wayside.

Banners - Still work, but the average click through rate on a banner is 0.4%, and there is research to indicate that its possible that 6% of internet users account for 50% of banner clicks. Banners have morphed a bit into rich media advertising, but really are only effective for brand plays (to get marketing touches).

Email - Noise/Signal ratio has destroyed what was once a great communication medium. Does email still work? Sure. Do people spend large parts of thei

Inspiration is an ExcuseNovember 2

That’s right. Inspiration is as much as an excuse as being drunk.

“I would have never grabbed your boob if I wasnt drunk. (I would have thought about it for sure!)”

“I would have spent a couple of hours writing, but I wasnt inspired.”

bleh.

Writers write.

Thats it. Fear is a driver of excuses. You dont write (or do whatever) because you fear the outcome. Or the lack of an outcome. Or the quality of the work. Or the reaction to the work.

But inspiration doesnt do the writing, or excuse the lack of it.

Writes write.

I am learning that I might actually be a writer. Maybe not a great one. I wont turn a phrase or describe a situation, or formulate characters with the same verve or expertise of the great writers. But, I do write.

For the past couple of days, I havent written as much as I would as like.

But, writers write.

I said I was waiting for inspiration. But, that was a lie. I just was afraid that what I was writing wasnt very good. So, I was uninspired.

Today, I decided that I would get back to it. I started Tweeting a little. It’s a like a rapid fire warmup. Drop a couple of thoughts in 140 characters. Got some feedback; a little interaction. The more I tweeted, the more thoughts came through my head.

Then I opened up this blog, and started writing this post. It started slowly. It was hard to go, but now, my words, thoughts and fingers seem to be moving at the right pace