Fun Anymore [Retired]

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Scott Sigler invades Phoenix in January

Image via Wikipedia

He's coming. And we can't escape. If we're lucky, maybe he won't bring... THE CHICKEN SCISSORS!

Scott Sigler is coming to town. Which is a lot like saying Santa Claus is coming to town, only Sigler actually is and he doesn't weigh nearly as much.

Mark your calendars for the event, Phoenix. The most popular freaking podcast novelist of all time is coming to Phoenix, and he wants to meet and hang out with you. Funny, huh? The "Sigler Stank CONTAGIOUS Book Tour" will hit Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe AZ on Wednesday, January 14th. Hence the countdown clock.

Hence my imploring you to register to attend the event. Oh, it's on Upcoming, too.

Hence my imploring you to buy Infected from any bookstore and bring it with you. You can buy Contagious there at the store. He'll sign both of him. Trust me. He will. I'll be standing over him watching. Not that standing over him is all that hard.

Don't miss it. Or I'll come after you with the chicken scissors...

Friday, December 12, 2008

Free Audio Books for Readers & Sage Advice for Authors

I didn't write that title. Carrie Runnals did. She was gracious enough to interview me recently on her podcast, Words to Mouth.

As anyone who's asked me knows, I can go on and on (and on and on) about the topic of new media, especially as it relates to authors. Yeah, I've to a soft spot in my heart for them. Plus, I (and others) pour a ton of energy in to Podiobooks.com. I'm please it's become the largest portal for free serialized audiobooks on the web. And we have some really cool things coming down the pipe for next year.

But I'll save that for the next interview I'm giving. More on that when I see it out!

Evo spreads the hoppy beer meme

Image by evo_terra via FlickrMy friend Charlie has a beer podcast. It's called Speaking of Beer. And he... speaks of beer. Lots of different types of beer. And when he wants to speak about hoppy beer... he calls in the pro. Uh, that would be me.

I'm the special guest on Show 54: Hopapalooza 3: International Hop Overthrow.

I'd also been drinking already when Charlie and I decided to do a show. Which means I through pretty much all of my "5 Reasons Why Your Podcast Sucks" rules out the window. Hey, nobody is perfect.

But Charlie obviously wasn't too offended. He asked me to help with his video contribution the Beer Safari Holiday Beer Exchange Video Special (or whatever it’s called). I don't think that's live yet, but you can read Charlie pontificating on the event (and more) here.

Speaking of beer... #evfn is tonight. w00t!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

In praise of shortness

Image by noneck via FlickrThere's something to be said for a short show. My podcast listening enjoyment has increased 10 fold by:

Brad P. in NJ for A Whole Lot of Nonsense. I wish I cared as much.
Beatnik Turtle's Song of the Day. I wish I had been as prolific with my music.
The Onion Radio News. I wish I was this funny.
Patrick McLean's The Seanachai. I wish I wrote this well.
Christiana Ellis' Shallow Thoughts. I don't wish I had a puppy, but these are the perfect punctuation between longer shows.

All short. All concise. All worthy additions to your podcast playlist. What short shows (less than 10 minutes) do you recommend?

What the heck is an #evfn?

#evfn is a weekly social gathering organized primarily over Twitter.¹ It stands for East Valley Friday Nights and has been going strong for several weeks now², I think we might have reached critical mass of sorts last night.

It's an interesting off-shoot social media experiment, with roots in various Tweetups, meetups and the like. And it's a complete violation of the 80/20 rule. Social "friending" tends to not care much about the geography of connections. If I look at the friends list of any of my social network profiles, the vast majority of people aren't near me. Sure, there are plenty who prefer to keep connected to local people on line, but they (or perhaps you ) are the aberration.

Yet local events like #evfn work, even though most people in my circle (and the circles of others tweeting about the event) can't make it without hopping on a plane. Yet it prevails. Nifty.

Obviously, local groups have been meeting well before Twitter came along. They've even been using the webbernets to organize. But I don't think that something like #evfn could have arisen without a tool like Twitter. Why? Because Twitter is what #evfn attendees have in common, yet the gathering isn't focused around Twitter. I counted no less than four different and distinct "niches" of people last night. And yes, they by and large clustered together. But there was plenty of flow and interaction among groups. It didn't feel like there were four different parties taking place under the same roof. We were all quite obviously together. That's very different from knitting circles, play dates, book clubs, or fan gatherings. There the organizing principle is what you are there to talk about, do, support or watch. And more power to them.

I think we're to the point where I need to create a home base for #evfn. It's fun enough. :) Next week we'll meet at Whole Foods in Chandler. In the Tapas Bar. And if you think it's odd that a grocery store is the place we're meeting for an event that's largely about tossing back a few good beers, I direct your attention the "Tapas Bar" again. My grocery store can beat up your grocery store.

How are you using social media to generate a localized action of some kind?

^{1 - Best definition I've heard so far. Thanks to Charlie the Beer Guy for tweeting that out.}
^{2 - Thanks to Tyson Crosbie for starting #pfn (Phoenix Friday Nights), which I went to once and enjoyed immensely. I took that inspiration and some Derek Neighbors-style "I'm just gonna do it myself" attitude to put this together. Kudos to both!}

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Launching Social Media Triage™ - Bite-sized Evo Terra goodness

Image via WikipediaIf you've seen a M*A*S*H re-run, you know what triage is. It's providing quick and immediate aid to those who need it the most. It's patching a hole, fixing something that is broken, or getting something working that has stopped.

Social Media Triage™ is no different. Just with less icky stuff.

SMT assumes you're already in the thick of things in the social media sphere, but those things are not going according to plan. Or perhaps you didn't have a plan in the first place. SMT is all about quick and immediate tactical changes to fix what you could be doing better.

SMT is focused. While there is an evaluation of everything you are doing in the social space, it's applied systematically. It's not a re-work of your strategy. It's making sure that your tactics match said strategy. One social media site at a time.

SMT is tough love, with actionable outcomes that are implemented by you on-the-spot. It's about shifting your perspective and getting you focused back on why you started doing this stuff in the first place.

Perhaps best of all, SMT is get-in-get-out. It's an hour and a half of one-on-one consulting time (flat fee of $225) with no required follow-ups or pre-defined retainer arrangements. You pay for what you need, and you move on smarter and wiser for the experience.

Sound interesting? Let's do it.

Tip of the hat to CC Chapman for hearing me out on this a week ago. And to Marcus Nelson for tweeting about unstick.me on Monday. And to Luanne Mattson for being my first client.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Would you recommend me as a speaker?

Image by EricaLucci via FlickrWere you in attendance for one of my recent speaking engagements? Did you find the information I gave valuable? If so, can I get a favor from you?

To be blunt: I want more speaking engagements. They are a LOT of fun for me and I genuinely enjoy sharing what I know with a receptive audience. Plus, there is some business upside in it for me, too. Altruistic? Sure. But I'm not above making some contacts or getting covered for my time/travels either.

I've just updated my LinkedIn profile to include my "work" as a public speaker^*. I'd really appreciate it if I could get a recommendation or twenty from any of you who may have found this site after hearing me speak at a various event. I know my Twitter following has blossomed as a result. So this is my attempt to harness some of that groundswell and further my career as a speaker.

Thanks in advance for your help. Oh, and if you'd like me to speak at your next event, let's chat!

^{* - I put that in quotes because sometimes I'm paid to speak and sometime I'm not. And sometimes, it sure doesn't feel like work.}