If you could take any blogger you’ve never met in person out for dinner, anywhere in the world, who would it be? . . . Where would you go? . . . What would you talk about?
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Related articles
Blogging Hypothetical Question 10
Bloggy Life Question 9
More in the Category — Bloggy Questions
Oystein Lund, editor of the Advice Library, is a relentless researcher. He has no fear of finding his way through the labyrinth of Wikipedia. At the Advice Library, you’ll find posts that mash up information from wildly different sources to fuel your idea bank. And he’s happy to answer questions you have about how things work, if you can’t find the answers already posted there. Besides that he’s a great conversationalist, and his writing is actually easy to read.
Notes from Liz: SOB Oystein Lund’s blog is as eclectic, fun, and insightful as the man who writes it. If you’ve been around Successful Blog at all these past few weeks, you’ve had to have caught the depth of his knowledge and his willingness to search out the answers. If not, check his comments on the Wikipedia post (this one is just the start read on down a while), and you’ll see in a flash that he’s the “go to” guy for information — especially when you’re easily overwhelmed or don’t know where to start.
While I was the kid in kindergarten helping other kids zip up their jackets and untie knots in shoelaces, Oystein was showing the other kids all of the cool things in and out of the library that every kid would find fascinating.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Has your SOB Blog Been Introduced to US?
Blog Promotion: May I Introduce You?
We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the screenshot to enjoy each selection.
The Specials this Week are
Darren Rowse is blogging 24 hours straight to answer reader questions. It’s a problogger blogathon.
When is Google not Google? The Strategic Name Development Blog has the answer and the analysis on whether it’s a good idea.
Ed at Technology Evangelist offers a how-to on sending pictures to relatives.
Financial Reflections gives us four solid reasons to care about personal finance.
Shirley George Frazier at Solo Business Marketing continues the conversation on how newsletters keep us close to customers.
Related ala carte selections include
We all have a long way to go to give as much link love as Bora Zivkovic of Science and Politics does for science blogs in this post — which is only one of four 12 soon to be 13 parts.
Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like.
No tips required. Comments appreciated.
Have a great weekend!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
It was an interview with the Chairman of the Board of a publishing company. We had just taken a break. I came back from stretching my legs to find six 4ft. x 8ft. foam core boards that made one GIANT flow chart, supposedly outlining the publishing process in complete and total detail.
I thought, “Ohmygod. They’re one of those kinds of companies.”
He said, “So, what do you think of that?”
I said, “I believe it was very useful for the folks who put it together.”
I usually think of work situations like I would a dating relationship You don’t date a guy thinking you’ll change him. That I took this job thinking I could change this company was just wrong. [Read more…]
Pay attention.
How many times have you heard those two words?
What did they really mean?
To me they meant sit up straight; fold your hands; and be quiet. Look and listen?
I used to think life was all about paying attention. I don’t think that anymore.
Paying attention is passive. I don’t wait for things to come to me.
The world moves faster than waiting allows. If you want to know things, you have to do more than pay attention. Observing only provides half of the story. You have to get out there and find out things. That means you have to be active–get curious. Ask questions. Get interested in everything. Don’t leave an idea uncovered.
Pick a block of time today. Question everything you do. Use curious questions like these to build your business.
We have this way of fooling ourselves into believing that everyone thinks as we do.
After you’ve gotten curious about how you do things, check out whether other people do things the same way as you. That’s the whole point, you see.
I need curiosity to know my customers, my readers. I’m lucky. I’m weird enough that people have made it clear that I’m not focus group material in any way — but my curiosity is influence. It changes how I think and how people see my business. Curiosity connects. It forges links. My curious questions establish my interests and seal my one-of-a-kind value.
Still, you’re one of a kind too. Things you do in your own way or in a way that’s different from many of your customers, deep curious questions you ask establish that. Sharing your curiosity adds value to a business.
As a customer, I value a brand that’s curious about what I like. It makes me curious about the people behind the brand. I want to get to know them and once that happens, I want to do business with them too.
How might you use curiosity to promote your brand?
Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!
Wonder what Successful and Outstanding Bloggers talk about? We talk about business, branding, writing, thinking outside of the box, and how customers think. We also talk about our blogs–a lot.
The 10 Point Plan to Build an Internal Community of Brand Loyal Fans
7 Reasons Why Investing in an Internal Community Makes Solid Business Sense
5 Reasons You Absolutely MUST Share Your Vision Early and Often
7 Steps to a Vision that Grabs a Community by Its Soul
3 Ways Leaders Demonstrate Commitment and Intentionally Build Community
How Will You Find Out Whether Your Community Is Bored, Broken, or Inspired to Take on the World?
How Do You Recognize and Attract Heroes and Champions for Your Brand?
Will Your Customers Define Your Brand or Will You?
Create a Powerful Core Community by Building a Brand Values Baseline
How to Attract the Leaders in the Pack
What Three Values Drive Your Brand?
How to Bring a 2nd Generation of Evangelists into Building a Brand Values Baseline
Values Questions to Make Decisions that Build Your Unique Brand
How to Make Quality the Signal above the Time and Money Noise
What Is the Most Critical Signal When a FAIL Noise Is Sounding?
Influence: How to Persuade Anyone In Business to Do What You Want
7 Steps Get the Best Leadership Thinking from Your Team
Change As Influence: How to Get the Attention of Deniers, Followers, Dreamers, and Leaders?
How to Get Bean Counters and Kumbayers Serving Both the Company and the Customers/a>
5 Critical Questions for Your High Performing Team of Volunteers or Employees
How to Turn Lurkers and Listeners into Advocates
Be Irresistible: Want to Own Your Space? Own Up to Your Highest Standards!
80-20 Rule of Customers: Stop Thinking 20th Century! Attract Only the Top 20%
Get Your Leadership ON: Before You Get Folks on the Bus
Tailoring Twitter: Does Your Twitter Profile Attract the Right People?
Tailoring Twitter: Building a Powerful Network that Fits You Perfectly
Tailoring Twitter: Get Busy Folks to Get Twitter in 2 Minutes Flat!
Tailoring Twitter: The ROI of Curating Content on Twitter
How I build a business and why I do what I do.
1.1 No Mission Statement: One Simple Question
1.2 WHY Doing What We Love Is Solid Business Thinking
1.3: If You Don’t Know What You Love Doing . . .
2.1: The Ideal Customer Test
Week 1: Connecting with the Offline Customer: A Non-Blogger’s Perspective
Week 2: Targeting the Offline Customer: Do You Blog for Non-Bloggers?
Week 3: Reaching the Offline Customer: Do You Promote Your Blog Offline?
Week 4: Attracting the Offline Customer: Why Do You Promote Your Blog Offline?
Week 5: Top 10 Social Media Tips for Connecting With Non-Blogging Customers
Week 6: Welcoming the Offline Customer: Does Your Blog Create A Good Impression?
Week 7: Engaging the Offline Customer: Do You Talk With Non-Bloggers?
Week 8: Offline Customers: Do You Meet The Needs of Non-Bloggers?
Week 9: Offline Customers: Do You Make Room for Non-Blogger’s to Comment?
Branding: 5 Ways to Help You Find Out Who You Are
Questions to Get Closer to Your Brand: Question 1
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 2
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 3
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 4
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 5
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 6
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 7
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 8
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 9
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 10
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 11
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 12
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 13
It’s a cross-blog conversation.
1 Conversation . . . 2 Blogs . . . 2 Directions
121: What Makes Your Heart Sing?
121: What’s the Key to a Promotion Strategy?
121: What’s the Key to a Promotion Strategy?
121: How Do You Get from Strategy to Execution?
121: How Do You Clearly Know What to Do?
121: How Do You Use Social Media to Stay Customer Centered?
121: Help! I’m Lost – My Business Is Out of Control
121: How Do You Write Compelling Conversational Copy?
121: From a Blog Writer to a Conversational Dynamo
121: How a Colossal Mistake Taught Me 3 Keys of Blogging and SEO
121: I Knew Everything about Relationships Until an Audience Came
121: We Met, But Did I Ever Say Hello? [blush]
Change the World: Use and Interpret the Data
Change the World: Each of Us Can
Change the World: A Small Generous Act that I Didn’t Expect
Change the World: Personal Service Counts
Change the World: Share a Mini-Vacation at a Favorite Place
Change the World: Let People Out of the Boxes
Change the World: That One Person Is Better
Change the World: Breaking the Law of My Limits
Change the World: Let Something Dawn on You
Change the World: One Touch on a Shoulder
Change the World: Give When No One Notices
Change the World: With Our Own Story
Change the World: Help Mihaela Protect Children Using the Web
Change the World: Positively Surprise a Grownup
Change the World: Don’t Hesitate to Ask or Offer
Change the World: Don’t Hesitate to Ask or Offer
Change the World: The Power of WE
Change the World: Doing What’s Humanly Possible
Change the World: See the Innocence
Change the World: Just Show Up . . . BE There
Change the World: The Power of Conversation
Change the World: Believe in a Dream
Change the World: Inspire Someone
Change the World: Swear Off Slaying Kittens
Change the World: Tell a Friend to Remember
Change the World: Have Purely Selfish Reasons
Change the World: Be Nice!
Change the World: Take a Moment to Find a Sense of Peace
Change the World: Have a Little Faith in Me
Change the World: Put Your Feelings Back
Change the World: Know What We’ve Got
Change the World: Tell Someone You Know
Change the World: With an Open Heart
Change the World: Learning to Learn
Change the World: Make Something Happen
Change the World: Try One More Time
Change the World: On and On to Learn
Change the World: Truth and Humility
Change the World: One World-Sized Idea
Change the World: Help Others Pursue the Passion
Change the World: Get Some Perspective
Change the World: Start a New Job
Change the World: Turn the You into We
Change the World: If You Can’t Say Something Nice
Change the World: Knowing When Not to Listen
Change the World: Compliments and Apologies
Change the World: Choosing Our Own Path
Change the World: Forget the Kids at School, Say It Out Loud
Change the World: Listen to the Wisdom of Children
Change the World: Give Someone Perspective
Change the World: Learn How to Be Alone
Change the World: Let Them Discover
Change the World: Ask for What You Need
Change the World: Shaping the World in Little Ways
Change the World: Be Disarming
Change the World: Take a Challenge
Change the World: Imagine You’re a Kid Playing Grownup
Change the World: Find the Promise
Change the World: Venture Up the Words
Change the World: Be Awe-Inspired
Change the World: Make the Sky a New Color
Change the World: Love Animals and Learn from Them!
Change the World: Are You Coming?
Change the World: Solve a Problem about Problems
Change the World: What if We Chose a Different Color?
Change the World: Think Unthinkably
Change the World: Be Wisdom Defined
Change the World: Choose the Ending
Change the World: Find Forgiveness
Questions to Get Closer to Your Brand: Question 1
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 2
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 3
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 4
Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 5
Building a Personal Brand – YOU
Brand YOU – Capitalize on Your Strengths
Brand YOU – Making Your Weaknesses Irrelevant
Personal Branding: Strengths Assessment Tool
Brand YOU – What’s the BIG IDEA?
Brand YOU – You Are What They See
Your Resume-The Brand YOU Brochure
Images & Sound-Bytes of a Brand YOU Leader
Brand YOU – Images and Sound-Bytes Tool
Brand YOU – 2 Keys to Leadership
Brand YOU – Handling Problems
Brand YOU – When An Apology Is in Order
5 Sure-Fire Ways to Break the Promise of Your Brand
Job [and Client] Hunting ala Liz
6 Steps to a Branded Business Blog in Record Time
7 Steps to Being Recognized as an Expert
What to Do Before They Ask What Do You Do?
The 10 Skills Most Critical to Your Future
Critical Skill 1: Strategic Deep Thinking
Critical Skill 2: Mental Flexibility
Critical Skill 2: Mental Flexibility Test
Critical Skill 3: Fluency: with Ideas
Critical Skill 4: Part 1-Process Models
Critical Skill 4: Part 2-Designing a Complex Process
Critical Skill 4: Part 3-A Virtual Process
Critical Skill 4: Part 4-Process Design Tool
Critical Skill 5A: 3 Parts of Spectacular Ideas
Critical Skill 5B: Sparking Spectacular Ideas
Critical Skill 6A: Five Tools for Finding Faulty Assumptions
Critical Skill 6B: 5+1 Ways to a Best-Fit Niche for YOU & the Market
Critical Skill 7: The Opportunity Action Test
Critical Skill 8: How to Know When to Act on Your Worries
Critical Skill 9: How to Have Positivity and Confidence Making Tough Decisions
Critical Skill 10: The 4 Keeper Traits of Productivity – Are YOU the New Killer App?
Why? Because – How Much More Do You Need?
Trendspotting: How to Crawl into People – Heads
Find My . . . um . . . Passion – What?!!
Trendspotting – Where 97.9% Fail
7 Steps & the Key to Spotting Trends
Right Brain Creative? Business Needs You
10 Reasons Creative Folks Make Us Crazy
We’re All Creative 1: The Bunnies Prove It
Think You’re Not Creative? That Could Cost You Your Job
We’re All Creative 3: Three Year Olds Are the Masters
Finding Ideas Outside the Box
FIOTB – Tool 1: Content Development Tool
Start in the Middle 1: Write a Three-Course Meal
Start in the Middle 2: Middle Idea Bank
Start in the Middle 3: Alligators and Anarchists
Eye-Deas 1: Have You Started Seeing Things?
Eye-Deas 2: Test Ideas with Photo Searches
Eye-Deas 3-Photo Content Checklist
Eye-Deas 4: Photo Ideas Bank
Monkey on Your Desk? Morph It, Mosh It, Write It Up
Creative Wonder 101 as Promotion and Problem Solving
Have Failure of the Imagination
Thinking Inside-Outside the SEO Sandbox
Finding Fodder for Future Ideas
Ideas When I Get My Hair Cut
Stop. Listen. Hear that Idea?
Ideas in Your Refrigerator
Finding Fodder for Future Ideas
Right Brain Creative? Business Needs You
Knowing How People Think – As a Business Tool
Ideas When I Get My Hair Cut
Right Brain Creative? Business Needs You
Knowing How People Think – As a Business Tool
A Silly Left Right Brain Test
Power Writing for Everyone–6+1 Traits
Introducing Power Writing for Everyone
Don’t Hunt IDEAS – Be an Idea Magnet
Got the Idea. Now What Do I Do with It?
Before You Publish – Check for Spiders and Opportunities
Writing Ugh! 10 Reasons to Get Jazzed about Writing
Editing: Just Some of My Very Different Thoughts
6-Minute Transition to Writing
Sample 6-Minute Transition
Don’t Fear the Blank Screen – Be a Miner
4 Writing Tips I Learned from Peter Gabriel
Writing for Readers – What’s My Promise as the Writer?
Content or Copy: Ignore the Difference at Your Own Risk
6+1 Traits of Effective Blog Writing
6+1 Ways to Compelling & Elegant Blog Posts
6+1: The Ferrari Analogy for Organized Writing
6+1: Writing Voice the Sound of Your Brand
6+1 Traits: Word Choice – Writing & Business Power Tool
6+1 Traits: Sentence Fluency – I Got Rhythm
Myth Busting -Write as You Talk – OR How to Write Conversationally
10 Sure-Fire Ways to Stop Making Writing So Hard
How Evil Pronouns Cause Arguments
Ever Try Capturing Ideas as They Form?
6+1, 2, 3: Save Me from Beginners and Experts NOW!
6+1: How-to Blogging – Stomp Out Swiss Cheese Knowledge
6+1 How to Write Without Self-Consciousness
6+1 Traits of Search Engine Relevant Content
More Writing Classics
9 + 1 Things Every Reader Wants from a Writer
9 + 1 -The Sequel – When Big Words Go Bad
12+1 Things Every Reader Wants from a How-To Article
The 9 Rights of Every Writer – Peer Pressure Is for Jr. High School
The Problem with Writing . . . 25 Things to Know BEFORE You Write for a Living
Can’t Write? Improve Your Skill Set to Improve Your Job Security
Business Blogging – Business Writing: Can You See the Elephant on the Net?
10 + 1 Things to Make Me Love Your Business Email
10 +1 Sure-Fire Ways to Get My Best Work – and the Best Work from Everyone – Every Time
No One Kills a Messenger who Writes for Readers – 8 Sales Rules for Writing
4+6 Things to a Product Review Even James Bond Would Trust
10 + 1 Reasons to Write Well, Not Perfect-ley OR Save the World with Realistic Expectations
A List Becomes 301 Links in Story - Chapter 1
301 Links in Story – Chapter 2 Lizzie Meets Fred
301 Links in a Story – Chapter 3 Lizzie Reaches the Paris Hilton
301 Links in a Story – Chapter 4 Lizzie, Jean, and Etch-a-Sketch
301 Links in a Story – Chapter 5 Lizzie, Americans, and French Bread
301 Links in a Story – Chapter 6 Intrigue and Romance
301 Links in a Story – Chapter 7 Lizzie, Rue Dante, and Who Hal Is
301 Links in a Story- Chapter 8 Lizzie, Amanda, Arianna, David, and Jeremy
301 Links in a Story – Chapter 9 The Lists of 10 and the CanCan
10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave CommentsIntroducing Customer Think
Customer Think: I’m Not a Kid, I’m a Person
Customer Think: Saying Things without Talking
Just Say YES!
An Open Thought: Please Take the Keys
Did You Drive My Blog Yet?
Bloggy Life Question 9
Do You Know a Customer When You See One?
There – No Putting ME in a Box
Don’t Hijack My Attention
Pick a Number – Just Make Sure It’s a BIG One
Better Than Hi! How Are Ya?
Don’t Pay Attention – Are You Curious?
Customers and Credibility
Quality, Schedule, Budget
Don’t Read Your PR, Read Your Marketing Copy
Getting Customers to Stop by to See You
Helping Clients Get Past Blogaphobia
Feeling a Customer’s First Response
How Was Your Day as a Customer?
How THEY Work -Why the Heck Do I Care?
Customer Solve Your Own Problem
Don’t Read Your PR, Read Your Marketing Copy
Why? Because – How Much More Do You Need?
Do You Know Where Your Eyes Go?
Always Choose for Your Readers, Right?
Airplanes, Airports, and Ideas
Service with a Smile
Much, much more to come. 🙂