Link: http://www.Synapse3di.com

Recently we went downtown to deliver hats, gloves and warm coats to a homeless shelter in Denver, and as I watched hundreds of turkeys being unloaded for the annual Holiday feast I thought of all the hungry people out there.  Not those hungry for food, but those who are starving for attention.  As I spoke with the people on the street, I saw the same hunger in their eyes that I see everywhere these days.  They craved someone to just listen to their stories. 

We have moved from the information age to the “Attention Age.”  People don’t crave information any more.  Not in most countries, anyway.  Information is more than abundant, it is rampant.  It’s overflowing from our inboxes,  our physical mailboxes, our news programs and we have access to it anytime we want it-24/7.  We just Google, we CHA CHA, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo and anyone else we wish to ask.  We don’t have to trudge down to the library and comb through encyclopedias or reference books that are outdated.  Information is everywhere and it's at our fingertips.  People are now craving someone to listen.  Someone to pay attention.   Everyone is talking, but no one is listening. 

As marketers, we have always wanted to grab the attention of the world.  As educators, we want to have the attention of the class or audience.  As employers, we want our teams to pay attention to their work.  Perhaps it’s time we start by paying more attention in order to get more of it ourselves. 

Are you still pushing information out to others more than you are listening and gathering the feedback from those same people?  Organizations do surveys to show they are listening. The problem is, if they never get back to the individuals who did the survey sharing the findings and possible solutions, individuals will quit taking the surveys.  Speakers and trainers have audiences fill out evaluations, again without a way to engage in conversation, the feedback is usually useless.  How many companies have “opinion cards” or email addresses set up to take comments or complaints?  What happens when someone takes the time to send something in?  I know I have written to a company or to an executive more than once about an incident that needed their attention, but got no reply—no one was paying attention!

Today, consumers and individuals want to engage. They want to do business with organizations who are listening.  Twitter is a communication tool (a misunderstood and misused tool most of the time) that some marketers and organizations are putting to good use.  Zappos (on-line shoe company) engages people in conversation, listening to ideas and fixing problems, using Twitter.  Comcast has gotten onboard with several of their higher level management members addressing problems, sharing ideas and listening to customers on Twitter.  I have been at conferences where the audience members are using Twitter during the conference to give feedback and send questions up to the speaker, WHILE THEY ARE SPEAKING!  Why wait until the meeting is over to get the questions and feedback, make the adjustments and provide the answers on the spot!  I love it. 

Blogs provide that same opportunity-as long as they allow comments.  I have seen a few people who take the time to write blog posts but do not allow comments.  What’s the point?  Just send an article to an online article warehouse.   Get your customers, employees and audience members talking to you.  Pay attention to them.  Respond, write back, agree or disagree with them, but pay attention!   

Link: http://www.synapse3Di.com

Gina explains what Second Life is and has a warning for the meetings and events industry.  Speakers and trainers, listen up!

Link: http://www.Synapse3Di.com

I can't say that the word "perfectionism" has ever been linked to my name, except when it comes to how to load silverware in a dishwasher...I know it's weird!  Some live by the motto, "Measure twice, cut once." I on the other hand say, "Why measure? Just start cutting.  You can always go back to Home Depot tomorrow for more wood!" I'm not proud of that fact...well actually I am!  Who am I kidding? I love just jumping in and trying new things. I don't start by reading instructions or doing lots of research.  I push buttons, I download applications, I start making mistakes.  I would rather learn by doing, than to spend time reading how to begin doing.

Oh sure this has bitten me a few times, like the time I decided to surprise my husband and put together the BBQ grill before he got home but missed the entire page of directions that showed how to run the wire the opposite direction from where I thought is was supposed to go and we ended up having to undo everything I had done to start over when it didn't work.  But lately, I've become convinced that it is better to be adventurous and make mistakes than to put off doing anything because enough research has not been done. 

I had two speaker friends who after watching my "Gettin Geeky" video series, wanted to do a similar project.  It has been over a month and neither has done anything! When I checked back to see what they had done, I found that both shared the same problem--perfectionism.  One friend said she hadn't taken the time to write the script out and was nervous about doing it in one take without any editing. WHo said you can't edit?  That would take more research and skill to learn to edit or find someone who can do that for her.  The other friend was still researching cameras.  Now perhaps this wasn't really a project that was high priority for either one, but what have you been putting off because you want it to be perfect?  Are you still putting off creating your LinkedIn page or does a blog seem too daunting a task?   

When it comes to using technology, many people put off jumping in because they don't want to do it incorrectly. I beleive it takes practice to do anything well and there are somethings you just have to jump in and begin.  Using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, these are just some of the examples of applicaitons that you have to jump in and begin playing with.  There's no way to get good at these unless you are already doing.  I was on Twitter for four months before I figured out how to really use it for business.  I created an avatar in Second Life, Google's Lively and a few other virtual worlds, just to check them out and explore.  Nothing broke and I didn't have to be perfect! As a matter of fact my Second Life avatar went bald with a clump of hair growing out of the side of my head for a few days when I clicked on something that messed up the hair.  Other avatars walked by typing in, "LOL"-it was humiliating but I survived.  My avatar now attends weekely virtual therapy sessions, and is getting along just fine. 

So my advice to you is quit measuring.  Quit collecting data.  Quit putting it off one more day, and just start cutting!

Link: http://www.synapse3Di.com

Gettin' Geeky is a fun little show where you can learn tech tips, tools, and techno gadgets that will help the not-so-geeky feel a little geekier!

Link: http://www.Synapse3Di.com

After a phone call with a seasoned professional speaker last week, I hung up wondering how people can ignore the changing technology in the days we live in. I mean being busy is just not a good excuse any more. I am amazed by how few speakers and trainers are technologically savvy or even want to be. I still have speakers tell me they don’t have a FaceBook page or they don’t understand how Twitter can help their business. “Those are all time wasters” they say. After all, if you have a website why would you need a LinkedIn or FaceBook page?

To address the time waster comment, let me just say that the telephone can be a total time waster if you aren’t using it right. If you have meaningful conversations and engage people with discussions that actually TEACH them something, it’s not a time waster. If you just Twitter about how cute your kids are and that they are the cutest baby’s on the planet, well then you are wasting your time and especially my time.

It’s about engaging a whole new audience member and using the tools they are using, Just look at the elections this past November. Obama’s camp had a Twitter account, a FaceBook page and even held rallies in Second Life with an Obama avatar appearing on the scene. They were everywhere the young people were. They engaged the youth, they got them to take action. McCain’s camp did not think to use these tools. Hmmm what can we learn from this?

People don’t want to read stupid brochures or text heavy websites any more. Give me a 5 min video instead. Engage me in a discussion on Twitter or your blog. What's your cool quoitent? Are you hanging with the right crowd anymore?

Now about how these tools help your business? For the most part, these are FREE marketing and PR for you and your organization. And If used correctly, they can create an engaging environment for your potential customers or employees to learn, share, discuss and check you out. In your organization, are you banning employees from using FaceBook or Twitter? Is Second Life just too “out there” for you or your stodgy training department?

One company told me they couldn’t use any of these tools because their IT department would have to get involved. Oh boo hoo! Put them to work on the future of learning in your organization or when it comes time to elect the next great company to work for…your ballot box won’t be getting the check mark.