Word of Mouth Has Changed, Sort Of

“You have to see this!”

Well before computers were making our lives easier by making them harder, people reacted to content. Word of mouth was simply that: people spread the word to each other by talking (talking was an ancient method of communication where two or more people stood in the same room, and then by things called telephones and used voices to convey messages back and forth. Sounds crazy, I know, but apparently back then is was perfectly acceptable. Crazy pioneers)

Things shifted in the mid/late 90’s where we started to scale word-of-mouth with the use of email. We could now tell multiple people without having to re-tell the story and if we really wanted to be the talk of the town, we simply “CC’d” everyone, so all the replies went back to everyone again! Since I run a “viral marketing” company, whatever that means, my job was to ensure it was easy for our client’s projects were easy to pass around by viewers. The “tell-a-friend” script became popular until people started abusing it and it was a great way to get your domain blacklisted.

Paying to Speak? No Thanks C.A.P.S.

I received an email a few minutes ago from a great friend, that I’ll leave out of this because I’m about to rant… he forwarded me a “Request for Speakers” email he received from the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers about their upcoming annual conference. He thought the theme suited my style (one of the reasons I think he’s great) so I clicked on the link.

I’m not a members of C.A.P.S. but thought I could bring some value to an event with an audience of speakers since I talk both about “Viral Marketing for Speakers” and that social media thingie… besides, with a book coming out in the fall I’m always interested in spreading the UnGospel and potentially waiving my fee. I’ve gotten high paying keynote gigs using multiple online methods and thought I could share those tools with my fellow Canadian audience.

30 Quick Tips For Speakers (now 35!)

I’ve done the “speak for free to five people in a room that holds 100″ thing (proof), I’ve been paid keynote fee’s and everything in between, I figured it was time to share what I’ve learned.

1. Don’t be a “speaker”. Be an expert who speaks. Speakers are a “nice to have” but experts are a necessity

25 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

I originally filled this out on Facebook in February after swearing I never would. So here is your un-asked for look into all things me (things in brackets are updates):

1. I hate things like this, but then I end up reading them and giggling and learning. So I guess I kind of like these things. Shut up.

Social Media Importance Explained

If you’ve ever had to justify the use of social media to someone, just show them this video: