Jeff Widman (.com)

New here? You may want to visit my welcome page. Thanks for visiting!

A friend recently asked how to get her own domain name (I am shocked by how few people do this!):

if you’re a non-techie, this is the simplest way to get yourname.com…
(and retain a Gmail interface)

if you’re a techie…
(you wouldn’t ask)

if you’re heading into the job/contract market, you’d purchase hirefirstname.com…
(much harder to miss-spell if spoken in a voicemail)

This is the first, last, and only episode of the Gen Y Marketing Podcast.

In this twenty minute segment, I interview Charlie Hoehn & Aidan Nulman about:

• Interning for Seth Godin
• Listening to your audience versus doing what you think works
• Generation Y–what’s hype, what’s legit
• How they define marketing
• A bunch of other interesting stuff I can’t remember.

(Hat tip to Brian Russell for the great editing job!)

Download link.

The Gen Y Podcast saga was an adventure in learning by doing. I learned the importance of action–don’t sit and wait. Inevitably you’ll fail. You’ll learn. Then you’ll either kill the project or change it. And do it again. You can’t shortcut this process. At best, you can only pre-think 40% of the process.

I had the proper recipe–recording equipment, smart people, and a little bit of free time. But I was missing the critical ingredient–a problem worth solving. My intuitive side knew this. It hemmed & hawed. So I killed the idea.

Perhaps you’ll enjoy my original thesis:

There are over 100 million websites.

Unfortunately, an abundance of resources does not constitute a solution.

After a point, the proliferation of blogs, tweets, pages, and images actually inhibits problem-solving. Too much noise.

Thus Google rose to prominence. Soon the web hit 2.0, and search diversified into Technorati, YouTube favorites, and SimplyHired. A lot of hype.

But it was all a pull-model. And my on-demand searches still contain noise.

What if the next step is a push-model?

It only works if search is perfect. Search results delivering exactly what I want, when I want it. Nothing else. Otherwise the noise overwhelms me.

You see, wall-able content doesn’t happen everyday. And when it does, we want to know. But technology is limited. That’s why the SEO industry exists.

I wonder. If the next step in search isn’t about technology, but about refining our ability to sift through information. (My brain consistently generates better search terms than my parents.)

I wonder. If the next step hasn’t already happened.

If my generation searches information differently. Sees the world differently.

Generation Y.

Hype. Or truth? Join the conversation.

A friend recently asked about mentoring folks.

Here’s an e-mail I sent several months ago to a guy who is gradually becoming a mentor. We both wanted to make the relationship happen, but we also both lead very full lives.

Thanks for the offer to mentor me a little more–much appreciated and it didn’t slip my mind.
(Apologies if I explained this before.)
I distinguish between advisors, and mentors.
Advisors–generally topic specialists–answer my questions when I need help.
Mentors ask the questions I didn’t think to ask–or that I’m subconsciously avoiding…
You have to know a person to see these unasked/avoided questions. 
There’s a snag though–it takes time.
That’s why I have many advisors, and very few mentors (none right now–most mentors/disciplers prefer face-to-face, and I’m too transitory.)

I mentored four guys every school year the past four years, and we met 1-on-1 every week for an hour (only possible with a school schedule). I learned the value of consistently creating space–conversations happen.
If you’re interested, I’d suggest we commit to a half-hour chat bi-weekly through the end of the year. (Any mentor knows the rewards are high, but so is the commitment.)

If you’d rather stay an advisor than a mentor–that’s perfectly fine… 
(The last thing I want is you saying yes if you’re not interested.)
Jeff

(Title format derived from SAT analogies–it must be PSAT time because this post is drawing over half my traffic.)

When it comes to life, you certainly get your money’s worth!

-Karl Klaesius (friend & mentor)

Life is full.
Of opportunities.
For success. Or failure.
But most often. Simply distraction.

A particular quote keeps showing up in my life:

Be prepared for success.

-Steve Brock (at a KIROS breakfast)

Steve tells this to his clients all the time. So often, they prep for failure–emotionally, architecturally, and financially. Not a bad thing. But they fail to prep for success. So do we.

With success comes attention… and distractions.
But the people who consistently accomplish remain focused on the fundamentals. They do, rather than talk.

Recently, I brainstormed how to leverage some unique relationships I’d built–but I kept running into a brick wall. Eventually, I wordsmithed my own memorable quote:

An abundance of resources does not constitute a solution.

Aidan explains more.

When it comes to social media best practices, I’ve been tempted to think that meeting more people (face-to-face, phone, or Facebook) automagically solves problems. I’ve learned it automatically creates distractions.

Sometimes, preparing for success means learning to politely say no. Even in social media.

(Charlie, you better start practicing!)

Two days ago, my sister and I were talking over the phone:

"Jeff, I’m going to these parties with our highschool friends, and they all ask about you. [Thanks guys!] I try to explain, only I’m not really sure… What is TechStars and what are you doing there?"

Well Michelle, here’s the answer.

(Thanks to our director, the incredible Andrew Hyde–only one hour and two takes!)

Marketing is a delicate craft.
A rhythmic balance between planning and executing.

There are overnight growth wonders.
(The hockey stick pattern–think Twitter.)

But creating a world-class product cannot happen overnight.
By definition. It takes time, user-testing, iterations.
(How many generations of iPod Nano’s?)

Truly, it is a journey of a thousand miles.
Launch. A little off beat. Improve. Now.

These are excellent first steps. (Sometimes the first step is easy. Sometimes not.)

• <Pause> How are you adding value for your users?
• Focus on substance, then style. Over the past few weeks, I’ve critiqued TechStars investor pitches. As a student of Garr Reynolds, I’m quick to watch slide design, smiling, and body-movements (Never move without a purpose. Never hold still without a purpose.) But listening to David Cohen give feedback taught me to listen for the underlying story-line before worrying about the delivery. (Thanks David!)
• Speaking of listening, lately I’ve noticed brilliant people spouting off a lot of smart ideas. But relatively few have the wisdom and self-control to listen thoroughly, before giving advice. While the shotgunners are valuable advisors, the snipers are true gold.
• Tap into the brainstorming power of millions–a Flickr search I ran for a new project surprised me with the apparent lack of brand potential.
• Do you know how to quickly make it easy for customers to find you? (SEO for podcasts.) When people link to other sites, they often use the site’s name. The words people use when linking to you factors heavily into the Google algorithm. For an upcoming project, I used this social engineering factoid to pick a brand/domain name.

"Do more. Faster." — Painted above David Cohen’s office doorway.

Now.

I didn’t want to post this. It’s basic. We forget. That’s why it’s worth your time.

Last week, a guy I’d never met tweeted that he’d spend a half-hour meeting with any Seattle-ite willing to drive him to the airport.

In that brief conversation, Dave McClure used words like:

Customer acquisition
User engagement
Organic growth
Viral
SEO
Intimidating

Okay, I added the last one. Now don’t get me wrong–Dave is a brilliant (and friendly) guy who gets stuff done. However, I was reminded…

Acquiring customers in a scalable fashion is tremendously important. It’s called “being efficient” and if you don’t figure it out, you’ll go bankrupt. But I wonder–how often do we focus on the tool instead of the goal? (Think GTD software programs. Marketers are not immune.)

Last Sunday, Andy Nulman gave me his definition of marketing:

A lot of people forget that it’s more than just telling a story, it’s about a relationship–between a customer and a business. A win-win relationship.

I used to wonder–why do we focus on the tool instead of the goal?
Anything you create by yourself is a tool.
Relationships require two groups.
That’s why. Difficulty.

Marketing Tools.
Brainstorm.
Create.
Use.

But don’t let people become numbers. Ever.
(They won’t let you.)

Today begins a month and a half of traveling adventures…
My upcoming itinerary:

    -August: Boulder, CO. http://www.TechStars.org/
    -August 25: Road trip home. Boulder–>Seattle.
    -Sept 2-5: Boston, MA. http://www.businessofsoftware.org/
    -Sept 5-12: Washington, DC. Visiting a friend/backpacking.
    -Sept 12-17: Kansas City, MO. http://www.apics.org/education/conference/

Then back to Redmond for a few weeks…

I enjoy blogging.
I enjoy meeting people.

If you want to connect, drop me a line: jeff@jeffwidman.com

It’s been 5 weeks since my last post–I was burned out… I’m refreshed now.  I can once again look at the trees, feel the wind, and say, “Thank God–I’m alive!”

Thanks for patiently waiting.

I’ve asked myself why I blog.
Simple.
Passion demands an outlet.

My friend Delaney recently asked my thoughts on blogging.

I’m concerned about staying on a particular topic, because I have a wide variety of interests, and aren’t blogs supposed to stick to a specific topic? 

The other aspect that I’m worried about is making it something worthwhile for other people to read– Any tips on that?

Write with your reader in mind. Ben Casnocha writes from a Gen Y perspective focused on thought-provoking stuff for the intelligent. I write about marketing from an ethical, story-telling emphasis on being world-class. In business speak, you can focus vertically or horizontally. Vertical is many topics, targeted toward one demographic. Horizontal is one topic, many demographics. For myself, I’ve chosen horizontal. Marketing is my passion. It’s a place I connect with other passionate marketers–corporate, niche booksellers, students, entrepreneurs, hoteliers, etc.

Know that ultimately your passion will come from you–and that’s what will sustain you through blogging when you get bored, writers block, etc. So ask yourself why you want to write. Than ask yourself what problems you can help solve for others. Then find where the two intersect. And start writing there. Write about what interests you. At the same time, respect your readers–take the time to make each post well-written, concise, and worth their time to read. Make sense? Your drive + their time = good blogging.

Recognize that some people blog just to work through thoughts in their own head–that’s part of why I blog about business, to cement internally my philosophy of marketing. But I always delete what doesn’t add value for my readers.

Despite the silence, I’m still here… Working at a camp in North Dakota for the past one and a half weeks–I’ll be here through the end of next week.

While I originally intended to post here, the 26.4 kbps has stifled my online presence–takes 15 minutes just to upload a blog post!

The time here has been well spent in reflection, mentoring young men, and being offline.

See you in a week and a half!