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A Liz Interview at City University of London!

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The Schools of Business and Publishing

I leave Friday morning to join a collaboration at City University London. I get to meet with members of the Senior & Professorial staff and students of the Cass School of Business, and The School of Journalism and Publishing. The meeting is a two-hour event that takes place on Tuesday, May 13. We’ll be exploring how blogging can make a difference.

I mentioned this to a few of you last weekend in Chicago. It’s something I’m looking forward to — it brings together my background in education, international publishing, and online practice. To say I’m delighted would be an understatement.

I can’t wait to learn what students and professors there are doing. I can’t wait to tell them all about we’re doing. Most of all I can’t wait to have BIG IDEAS about what we might do together.

Is there something important that you think I should tell them?

Business, writing, thinking . . . I’ll be the one with the accent.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to make a difference? Work with Liz!!

As a bonus, I might get to see a few bloggers I know — Joanna Young, Amy Palko, and . . . who knows?

Next week:
Look forward to a series on freelancing by Deb Ng.
Phil Gerbyshak and Diego Orjuela host Open Comments and your computer questions
A new writer named Roads
And other surprises.

Meet Sia — the Heart of a Web Hosting Company

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It’s the People

THC logo

The intimate scope of SOBCon automatically draws a certain kind of people together. I’m the luckiest one because I get to meet them all in conversations as we pull the event together. That was how I met Sia Liolios. Sia is with Top Hosting Centre, a sponsor of SOBCon08.

I wanted to share this lovely person I met with you. Sia agreed to answer some questions about herself and what she does for a living.

Sia, THC, I know you to be lady who cares deeply about your customers. Tell me how your company started and how you came to be a part.

THC doesn’t have an extraordinary birth story. It’s a branch of ProWeb Consultants Inc, the “mother” company if you want, at it was born simply because ProWeb Consultants wanted to take care personally of the hosting solutions for its clients. Many companies want to have all their web services in one place – from design to online marketing and hosting. It made sense to create THC as an option for our clients. Eric Vanier, the CEO and my husband (which tells you how I came to be a part) monitored the Web for a long time and saw a need for better hosting solutions for bloggers – which determined him to make THC public and to launch it as a hosting solution for bloggers and small businesses. We soon saw that this was the best possible choice: bloggers are a rare breed, so human, warm and real. I was “observing” how my husband ran the business for a long time, then I felt a natural affinity for the people who asked for advice and support.

If there is one thing a customer really hates, it is half answers and a closed door when he needs help. We don’t keep our clients waiting for answers and we always help. It is not only our duty as service providers. It’s our mission.

What gets you up in the morning? How do you stay so positive?

My kids – they are quicksilver! It is strange to associate your work with your family sometimes. It doesn’t feel right to think about business and the kids, does it? But in the end, aren’t the kids what we are working for? Aren’t the kids what we are living for?

We run our business with family values in mind and we always think about the possible implications and interactions between business and personal life. Positive thinking and living help keep a healthy balance between the two. I managed to make positive thinking more than just a philosophy: it’s a way of life.

Sia, I never knew a child who wanted to be a web host when she grew up. What did you dream about becoming when you were 8 years old?

I often daydreamed about being on a farm riding and caring for horses. Actually I still do, but don’t know if I still have the energy and strength it takes. Maybe one day !

Do you find that dream of the 8 year old fits with what you’re doing now?

We have many dreams when we are young. Some are forgotten, some cherished like treasures. All these dreams have some common traits: they are bold, full of hope, magic. If I only think about these attributes, I dare say that yes, a childhood dream fits in our adult lives.

If everything moves forward ideally, where will you be three years from now?

Top of the world! Hey, it’s my dream!

How do you hope THC will change the world?

We don’t aim to change the world, we just hope to make it a little better through care, respect, honesty, attention. Everything else (like sponsoring a good cause, donating something to a school, going green) comes naturally, because we care and we want people to be happy.

THC, Sia and Eric are making it possible for us to have a second professional signer, so that our deaf participants will be able to fully understand what they won’t be able to hear.

Thank you, Sia! I feel lucky I met you.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Test Drive OneBigPlanet! It’s a Cool, New World of Internet Commerce

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A More Sensible Way to Buy on the Web

onebigplanet logo

Keep an eye out. A new service is coming to the Internet. You’ll find it as part of your social network, and it will make the way you buy things online easier, faster, and more intelligent. It’s the power of OneBigPlanet, a patent pending Commerce and Loyalty platform that leverages the power of the Internet, an intelligent algorithm, Web 2.0 and your personal preferences. I’ve seen it in action.

Here’s a bit of the history and a little about Eric Aubertin, CEO and founder of One Big Planet.

In 2002, Eric Aubertin founded OneBigPlanet Corp., where he pioneered a patent pending Web and Mobile Commerce and Loyalty Platform for social networks and organizations. He had a vision of changing the way people consume and saw a market opportunity to develop an easy to deploy but comprehensive solution that would empower social networking sites, portals, membership organizations and associations to foster strong and long-term relationships, as well as assist them in monetizing their sites. The members would benefit by gaining access to exclusive deals and advantages as well as useful consumer tools and information that would enable them to save money and time.

Previously, as CEO and Founder of eFundraising.com Corp, Eric Aubertin had invented a patented e-mail and web-based fundraising system that was acquired by Reader’s Digest in 2000 for the sum of $27 million

Last Friday, I enjoyed a meeting and conversation with Mr. Aubertin and OneBigPlanet Marketing Services Director, Sonia Gasparini. They showed me around the platform and showed great patience with my curiosity. I was asking questions and having ideas. It’s quick to see how it makes life easier.

Imagine being able to build your own Internet shopping mall complete with

  • Products and services organized in over 20 drag & drop categories.
  • Instant rewards (discounts) tailored to your preferences and interests (no points/miles to collect)
  • Cool tools: Consumer Calendar· Travel Power Search· Restaurant Reservations that remind you and update when you move locations.
  • Personalized for us. Modular for the network who offers it.
  • Consumer information to make smarter purchasing decisions.

You expected those things, didn’t you? So did I. Think of the real power of bringing all of that information AND US together in one place. Consumers get a new way to lead the conversation.

SOCIAL SHOPPING Is Simply Consumer Driven!

I like the OneBigPlanet term for it — social shopping.

  • Share your preferences with friends. Never buy a lame gift again.
  • Participate in consumer forums.
  • Create your own consumer groups.
  • Meet others with similar consumer profiles.·
  • Refer merchants you like.
  • Give feedback so we can improve your future consumer experiences.

    • It was amazing to see how OneBigPlanet simplifies Internet commerce. It’s a dashboard for all things shopping. I’ve been dreaming of a personal assistant to organize my consumer life. This would take over that burden. I’d join a community just to use it.

    Apparently the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agrees with me.

    First and Only Commerce and Loyalty Platform for USCC Employees and Members

    New York, NY – April 22, 2008 – OneBigPlanet®, the leader in Commerce and Loyalty Platforms for social networks and organizations, will implement a tailored member portal for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce(USCC). Employees and member companies will have access to an abundance of unique benefits, deals and Advantages. National associations, state and local chambers will also be invited to share this “One-Stop Consumer Portal” with their respective members.

    In addition to powering the USCC’s Member Benefits Program, OneBigPlanet will offer their member businesses the possibility to position products and services on its member portal. By providing exclusive deals, the USCC’s member businesses will have access to a multitude of social networks and organizations, translating into millions of potential targeted customers.

    At the end of our conversation, Eric and I talked about the future goals for OneBigPlanet. I was interested in what might be the opportunities for small businesses and online entrepreneurs — clients and readers — to participate by offering their products and services in the future. I’ll say I wasn’t disappointed with answers or the possibilities.

    Until I saw OneBigPlanet, I hadn’t thought about how I shop online. How much time would you save if you could do all of your commerce in one place?

    Tune in and take a test drive April 29th. Sign up for the videocast now!

    No disclaimer. I’m passing on my enthusiasm for a great idea. Great ideas done well deserve attention.

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz!!
    SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

    SOBCon08 on FuelMyBlog TV!!

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    Paul Gives Great Interview!

    SOBCon08 Logo50

    This morning I had the pleasure of sharing a conversation with Paul O’Flaherty on FuelMyBlogTV. Kevin Dixie, CEO of Fuel, was also there, monitoring the chat room. FuelMyBlog is sponsoring a meetup in Chicago the night before SOBCon08 and will be capturing the attendees in video interviews while the conference is on. During the show this morning, Paul also mentioned other havoc they plan for the Windy City. [They’ll arriving in Chicago from France and Denmark on Wednesday, April 30th.]

    Paul had plenty of great questions about what’s happening at SOBCon08.

    Take a peek!

    Thanks, Paul and Kevin! Can’t wait to see you!

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz!! SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

    Critical Skill 8: How to Know When to Act on Your Worries

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    The Tiniest Bits of Information Don’t Come with Words

    Future Skills

    It was a huge boardroom with recessed lighting and a mahogany table. Beautiful bookshelves surrounded us on three walls. We were called together on serious matter. A huge print run of books was about to be burned. The question at hand was how the unacceptable feature made it into print. I had the luck of being only an observer.

    The questions that were asked were designed to fix the process, not affix blame. Because of that, the meeting moved forward in a team fashion with everyone genuinely invested in finding the process flaw. One person, the newest and least experienced in the room, finally spoke when directly asked what she thought. With her words the answer came. “I always thought that was a little off, but I couldn’t say why.”

    I learned a lot from that sentence that day. She knew all along, but thought that her viewpoint was naive. She didn’t credit her worry as a valid one.

    How to Know When to Act on Your Worries

    What I learned from my colleague that day has proved out over the years. Every time a book had a problem, the people who were working on it, always had some “feeling” that something wasn’t right. Just the act of doing something gives us information, not all of which we can express in words.

    We gather intuitive detail from every experience. Every move that we make is stored in our bodies and our brains for us to use later. Trainers call the familiarity that our muscles get with certain movements muscle memory. Our unconscious also carries experiential memory of our lives. That information is useful in thinking things through, because it’s a true reflection of what we know and who we are.

    Intuitive information can add valuable depth to a decision process. The problem is knowing when we’re working with intuitive information and when we’re working with a simple personal, emotional response.

    One of the best ways is to listen while we give ourselves time to think.

    • Pay attention to random thoughts when you’re away from the problem or situation. Often our worries when we’re inside a situation don’t seem quite so huge when we’re away from the “maddening crowd” of tasks we have to do. The worries that pop into mind when we’re out walking the beach are the ones we should give our time to.
    • Let “high investment” conversations sit for a time. When you find yourself arguing for a point that seems like the only answer, and you know that the person with whom you’re discussing the choice has the opposite view. Decide not to answer for a few hours or a day. If you’re caught up in the argument on a personal level, as time passes the matter will mean less to you. If your argument was purely business, you’ll still feel much the same.
    • Sleep on a problem. Choose an idea that you’re working on. Phrase it as a simple sentence right before you close your eyes. Let your brain work on it while you sleep.
    • Pay attention to what wakes you up in the middle of the night and your first thought in the morning. Those thoughts are things your brain knows you should be acting upon.
    • When you are worried, find a way to act on the situation of concern. If you can do something, thoughtfully choose a an action to change things. If it’s not in your power, go to someone who is able to act and say, “I’m telling you this. It could be important or not. I feel a responsibility to share what little I see. I trust you’ll know whether to do anything.” Once your concern is stated and received, let it go. Trust in that those who can do something will do what they can. More worry will only disable you.

    Worrying is not a bad thing. It alerts us to possible problems we might avert. Worrying without acting, however, can cloud our focus, drain our energy, and stifle our ability to think clearly. Channeling the worry into positive action keeps us moving forward with strength and in control.

    How do you decide when to act on a worry?

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Need help sorting what concerns you? Click on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
    SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. All that expertise in one room! Register now!

    Related articles
    The 10 Skills Most Critical to Your Future
    Critical Skill 1: Strategic Deep Thinking
    Critical Skill 5A: 3 Parts of Spectacular Ideas
    Critical Skill 6A: Five Tools for Finding Faulty Assumptions

    Missed Opportunities and High Returns of Attending a Conference

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    With a Little Help From Friends — Old and New Ones!

    SOBCon08 Logo50

    Deciding to go to SxSW was easy. Well it was easy last summer when Sheila Scarborough and I had this master plan. I would go down to Austin and stay at her house. We’ve known each other since two days before forever . . . it seemed a logical next step — everyone says it’s the show for bloggers. Everyone seems to go there. It seemed that I should too.

    Sometime in January, I started to wonder, why was I making this significant investment? Would it really help my business? Adding friends to my Twitter account didn’t seem like enough reason to melt my credit card for a trip to Austin. At best, my answer was nebulous.

    I was torn. I saw serious potential, but I’ve also gone to conferences where no business happened.

    Missed Opportunities and High Returns of Attending a Conference

    I had to be sure before I registered that serious business conversations would happen. I needed a high return on my investment. The registration would be more than worth it, if I could grow my business and add more value to SOBCon08.

    I realized the only way to ensure a high return was to plan one. Here’s how you might do the same when you come to SOBCon08 or any upcoming conference you’re considering.

    • Know what you’re investing in. Ask yourself these questions:
      • Is the value for me in the speakers? the workshops?
        the chance to meet other folks there?
        How can I make the most of those opportunities?
      • What do I want folks to know about me and my business?
      • What do I want to learn from the people there?

      I knew I was going to SxSW to let people know about my business and SOBCon08. Just being clear on that made a difference. It affected what I put on my name tag and which business cards I took.

    • Touch base with people you want to meet and let them know why you want to meet them.
      • Most conferences have blog or a wiki where you can do that.
      • Or write a blog post inviting folks to let you know that they are going.

      I contacted certain folks that I wanted to see — Ian Kennedy, Chris Brogan, Fraser Kelton, Alex Iskold. We made plans.

    • Know which sessions you want to attend. Every conference offers different value in content and session format. I knew that SxSW panels would be podcast later. So I carefully chose the few I really thought were important to see in person.
    • Don’t overschedule. Leave some room for folks you don’t know will be there . . . I got to meet Jason Falls, J.C. Hutchins, David Beaudouin, and Beth Kanter.

    Simple enough suggestions, but I asked — lots of folks came without a plan.

    Frankly I’ve had my share useless, no-return conference experiences. They make it easy enough to convince myself that I can’t afford the time and cost of any conference. One thing they have in common is that I was a passive attendee — not invested in my own attendance.

    It’s the plan that ensures the return. Now I pick the conferences most relevant to my business. Sometimes I suffer a pinch of cash flow, but I make a plan to ensure a return on my investment. My business grows, my network gets richer, and my blog gets more traffic. The plan keeps me focused, organized, and feeling in control of capturing what I’m after.

    SxSW was a high return investment experience. I had fewer than 50 conversations, but they were the right ones with the right people. I came home with two new clients, another sponsor for SOBCon08, and a new project that I’m working on. That would have been a lot of missed opportunities had I not made the commitment.

    Getting a return on our investment is the core of business. Key to investing is identifying true opportunities. Without investing we’re just going, moving forward not growing.

    No one can attend every conference. But when one offers real potential, it’s worth thoughtful consideration. With a plan, we can ensure a high return on our investment. Missed opportunities are expensive too.

    How do you decide between the high returns or missed opportunities of attending a conference?

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz!! SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. All that expertise in one room! Register now!