Thursday, August 5, 2010

Link Bait? Is That Like Crank Bait?

So, I' reading Ian Lurie's killer post "Execute or Die" and I'm LMAO! (OK, so I gratuitously used a txtng acronym and a hyperlink to make me seem hipper. And younger.)

After I read it I'm thinking that while I was working for a 501.3c where I dealt primarily with State and Federal employees administering state and federal dollars - there is NO PLACE that "execute or die" is both more appropriate and less relevant than in that world of do-nothings.

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Most of the time you can't even get a timely return phone call from these folks unless they are in their office. And they never are. Can you imagine, in this day and age, the state won't pay for cell phones for the administrators of these programs? And guess what? To innovate and act at most government jobs just gets you "noticed." Believe me, you DO NOT want to have that kind of "notice" if your a low-level government employee.

These people can't make a decision without four committee meetings, a box truck full of doughnuts, fifty seven phone calls, and a barrage of emails stretched out over six months - if you're lucky! And even then the "final decision" is usually something like: "We've decided to set up a committee to look into the ramifications of that eventuality." OMFG! (another gratuitous txtng reference).
 
This starts me thinking, what IS going on? Has everyone gotten so fat and happy that they just think our prosperity will self-perpetuate? Forever and Ever, Amen? Without any real effort or innovation?
What have we become? A nation of Homers? 'Fraid so. Wa, wa, whaaaaa.
 
I'm learning that the best way to make short term money is apparently not to work hard and be the best you can be, but instead to come up with an attention grabbing 'shiny thing' and do the best job marketing it.
 
It's like this blog. I once thought that writing was actually about...well, writing. But it's not. Not any more. Not since Letterman invented the Top 10 List. Now its only about who can distill the most comedy / How-to's / information / products / techniques / suggestions / whatevers into a GD...l-i-s-t! (I don't know if GD is actually considered txt shorthand, or not?)

Thanks a lot Dave!
 
Whatever happened to execution? Planning your project? Research!?! Not really necessary, apparently. It's about DO-ing. It's about Sell-ing.

I'm going to paraphrase this 'cause I heard it third hand:
 
The writer of the bestselling self-help series "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" Robert Kiyosaki was asked by another writer "how can I improve my writing?" And he said "Do you see what it says on the cover of my book: Best SELLING Author. Not Best AUTHOR. Take a marketing course."

He knows he not the best writer! In fact, he knows that the person asking the question is very likely a better writer than he is! But not a better salesman. Not a better marketer. Not a better SELLING author.

Last night I heard something in a webinar that caught my attention: No one knows if the book is any good until AFTER they read it.

Hmmmmmm...so it's a PROFIT deal!

It''s not about producing the BEST product, it's about producing ANY product and seeing who you can get to bite.


It really is Bait!

It's just like fishing, only now it's called "Phishing."

have to admit, my idea of Phishing 

is MUCH, MUCH different... 

1 comment:

  1. After much debate, I've decided to re-introduce the comments section. Please...comment if you dare!

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