Sounding Off
Sorry for the interruption to normal service, but I just wanted to get a few things off my chest. Hope you don’t mind, and normal service will be resumed tomorrow with a great guest post from Christina Kingston. So…
- To the douchebags on the train that insist on using the external speakers of their iPods, at least put some decent music on. If I must be subjected to your unplugged iPod, can it be something other than the crap you play?
- To the Internet famous who continuously say, “It’s not about me, it’s about you”, start meaning it. Frequently pimping your book, upcoming book, friend’s book, sharing links that just include you and boasting of your numbers (even though it’s “not about the numbers”, right?) just makes you look the exact opposite of what you’re saying. Enough already, please.
- To the consultants that say you can’t measure the ROI of social media properly, quit BS’ing your clients and tell them the truth. Of course you can – if it can be deployed, it can be measured for ROI. And yes, that includes financially.
- To the Twitter specialists who say what you should and shouldn’t tweet about – it’s 140 characters, for crying out loud. There are no rules for Twitter – get over it!
Okay, that’s better. Thanks for letting me unload a little, I appreciate it. How about you – anything you want to sound off about? Comments are yours.
photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar
45 Responses to “Sounding Off”
Thank you Danny! Especially 3 & 4!
‘Nuff Said
Stephanie
No, sir – thank YOU for telling it like it is.
Amen brother. This needs to BE the regularly scheduled programming! : )
@markwschaefer
.-= Mark W Schaefer´s most recent blog post …Get out your dancing shoes, it’s time to blog =-.Wow, that blog title really has me intrigued, Mark – off to your part of the web now
Thanks for coming by {grow} Danny! Always love your insights.
.-= Mark W Schaefer´s most recent blog post …Get out your dancing shoes, it’s time to blog =-.
I’m just glad I don’t have a book… or numbers to speak of… or friends to promote… and rest assured Danny, my iPhone speaker is broken!
Well put, hope that helped!
.-= Michael Schechter´s most recent blog post …Summing Up My 2009 Before The Sun Comes Up =-.Go Danny! And how about those ‘Robo Tweets’? Individuals (not publications) that unleash 6-10 tweets in a row (probably scheduled to shoot out), and do not contribute to any conversation, share ideas or offer up anything new. I often wonder ‘Why are you here if not to engage?’ How naive do I sound? Ranting is good — thanks for facilitating.
Ah yes, the beloved robo tweets – how have we managed so long without them?
Love your brevity, with such power… agree on all points, especially the ROI one. I’ve been saying that forever and I’m so tired of hearing “experts” claim you can’t measure the value of relationships and blah blah blah
Well said, as usual
.-= Maria Reyes-McDavis´s most recent blog post …3 Social Media Steps to take for the New Year =-.I often wonder how many of the “no normal ROI” claims are to simply keep clients in the dark and pockets lined…
You hit the nail on the head right there; that and I think that anyone that claims you can’t measure the ROI simply does not know how to do so.
That should be a red flag for a client.
Very well said. It’s good to rant sometimes!
I’ve wanted to say the same things for the longest time so thank you Danny for being our mouthpiece and the heavy! Very surprising and quite refreshing I must say.
Pai
.-= paisano´s most recent blog post …Stolen =-.I’d LOVE to see your take as a dad ticking off a child on the Dad-o-Matic blog, my friend
First off, thanks to the douchebag on the train who apparently helped tip the cow on this. Great to see this post.
Second, am I missing something? Are folks still having the “can you measure this” discussion? Seriously, WTF?
Jeff, I will gladly swap places with you for a week, my man. Seriously, the offer’s good for a year
I was actually going to link to a serious of posts I’d just come across about ROI and how it’s not measurable. And here was me thinking we’d reached the tipping point on that one. Hey ho…
Danny – you said it all and there is no need to add to it. All I can say is thanks for saying what needed to be said.
This comment is not about me, Danny.
It’s about you. What do you want to add?
.-= Ari Herzog´s most recent blog post …Foursquare, Plancast, and Tungle: 3 Applications to Share Your Activities =-.I am glad to see the ipod / mobile phone on speaker is not just a UK thing. I have a friend who bought several pairs of cheap headphones and when she finds people without headphone she gives them a set, based upon the premise of you must be too poor to afford your own, it kind of works and it shuts people up!
That’s an awesome idea – you’ve just planted the seeds in my head on that!
In China don’t have iPods on such a widespread scale, but they listen to music on their cell phones in public. The quality sounds really bad and it’s normally the crappiest Chinese pop music ever.
.-= Gordie – Lifestyle Design For You´s most recent blog post …How Self-confidence Can Strengthen Your Lifestyle Design And Personal Development. =-.You hit it on the head with number 2. I can’t stand that stuff.
Trying to sell a book on every other post, only pushes me further away from even considering it.
I enjoy your posts daily – thank you
-dino
.-= Hockeydino´s most recent blog post …Truth: Technology Sucks =-.Woo Flippin Hoo! Now these are the kind of posts I would like to read more of. I love it when someone can see through some of the bullshit that floats around. It’s enough to drive a person crazy & then magically make them disapear from your list.:)
A healthy rant is perfectly acceptable. Truth is you can never avoid the things you mentioned. There will always be annoying, self-fulfilling people. I personally know you’re better than that, but it’s good to get it off your chest.
.-= Anna Barcelos´s most recent blog post …Tweetsgiving: What I’m Thankful For =-.The day for auto-filtering can’t come soon enough, still
On most days, I can easily find things to rant about, but for some reason, no matter what’s happening to me this week that is rant-worthy, I can’t seem to muster up the anger. Maybe it’s the hope of a New Year. Yeah, I think that’s it. I feel hope.
I do have one follower who only pimps out #followfriday and #writerwednesday. He pimps me every week, both days, but I have no idea who he is… what his voice is… what his passions or desires are… or how he found me. He’s never talked to me or returned my mentions of him. He simply promotes me and others. Should I rant about this? I do not know. I just find it odd.
.-= Jeanne Veillette Bowerman´s most recent blog post …I will not read your f*cking script or manuscript… until June =-.Now you know it’s unkind to play along with unrequited love, Jeanne…
thank you.
well put!
and, cool cat pic! : )
peace
the interesting thing is that you have the power to change all of the things you list.
we cant change other people we can only change ourselves.
when we change our perspective on the world around us, the world is changed forever.
it’s not easy of course, few things in life that are worthwhile are easy. i don’t profess to be perfect at this myself however each day i try and be better than the day before
on a lighter note, point 1. i recall a website a cpl of years ago where there was a d/l of biz cards templates, which basically you handed to the person on the train, tube, bus who was having the annoyingly loud conversation or perhaps playing crap music. telling them what you thought…..
i wish i could recall the name of it, lost forever…..
.-= mike ashworth´s most recent blog post …Snow bitch gets nailed =-.Very true, Mike, which is why I’ve started cleansing blog subscriptions, Twitter feeds, etc – sometimes there are only so many “chances” to give.
You do realize you’ve made it a mission to find out more about these cards now, don’t you?
You’re so freaking right with your 4 points.
Keep it up!
Regards from La Paz, Baja California Sur, México!
Delightful.
You should sound off more often.
.-= Andrew Weaver´s most recent blog post …4th and 20 =-.Danny, Sound off as much as you want, wish I had the nerve to break out the soapbox more often.
The book pimping, name dropping, number prettying really bugs, as do the constant, instant RTs back and forth without actually reading anything. (Get a small tickle when they RT bad links, like HA caught ya!)
And to #1, wish I had the nerve to do that in real life, like to the jerkwad at the airport watching a movie on his iPhone at full volume. Rude much?
.-= Davina K. Brewer´s most recent blog post …Like a Bad Neighbor: When Direct Marketing Fails =-.“Jerkwad”? I think you’ve just given me a new favourite word
re #2 while I’m not “famous”, I do represent “famous people”-authors, speakers and, I plead “guilty” to having tweeting book links – pimping would be a stretch : ).
-beyond the obvious annoyance, I haven’t found it to be a terrifically effective pub tool (have tweeted web links, twitpics, etc) – and, worse it can make an immediate association w/the “carnival hacker types.
would appreciate feedback re suggestions incl “best practices” – or options or just plain “never do it”?
.-= Jay´s most recent blog post …Service With a Smile!~ =-.Hi Jay,
I think that’s different though – you’re a dedicated publisher whose job it is to promote books for your “clients”. The shameless pimping on every other blog post or opportunity? Oof!
How about trying a #bookchat or #authorchat kind of thing on Twitter? Similar to #journchat and #blogchat, but you can have the authors come on and talk about their work, and for that chat anyone buying the books gets a discount?
Or have in your bio “Book publisher – I will be promoting books in my tweets” kind of thing, so people know what they “sign up for” when following?
Just a couple of ideas
thnx Danny!
good stuff – great ideas
- espec the need to really focus on creating better/more unique hashtags-and hadn’t thought of putting an “announcement” in my bio…
terrific!
peace
Nice rant, Danny. What do all of these have in common? Being selfish. Think about somebody else.
Always good to have a minute to blow off some steam. Keep up the good work.
Bravo Danny! I especially love 2 & 4. I’ve noticed the same thing. I have to say I’ve never experienced the iPod thing. Love the idea of handing out cheap headphones–genius! Now what do we do with people whose volume is up so high, they might as well not use the headphones they have on?
I’m going to start carrying popcorn to flick at them
GRIND IT UP!!!!
.-= Ct Kingston´s most recent blog post …Think Sausage: Visualize Happiness =-.No matter how many times I see it our hear it, douchebag and the even better douchenozzle are just great words. And I know exactly who you are talking about.
.-= Edward Boches´s most recent blog post …Creativity calls for trust. Trust calls for play. =-.“Douchenozzle”? You haven’t trademarked this term yet, have you?
Love it.
Thank you
Cog