How to Change the World

Cool Stuff Monday

A buddy of mine found three cool inventions to share with readers of my blog. These inventions can change the world and illustrate how much can be done with innovative thinking.

• Pot-in-pot. This is the invention of Mohammed Bah Abba of Nigeria. He is from a family of pot makers and discovered a way to preserve food despite in the country's high temperatures. One earthenware pot is place within another, and the space between the two is filled with sand. Users add water to the sand, and when this water evaporates, the inside pot is cooled.



• Q-Drum. Hans Hendrikse invented this apparatus to enable people in Africa to transport fifty liters of water in a safer, easier, and more hygienic way. Rather than carrying water on their heads, now they roll it along in a drum made of low-density linear polyethylene.



• Eco-nightclub. An eco-nightclub opened in London near King's Cross. It contains a dance floor that converts the up and down motion of dancers to electricity. The process is called piezoelectricity.

I hope that these ideas inspire you to create inventions like this too. Thanks to Thomas Kang for the idea to do this blog entry.

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Kathy Kruse also pointed out the "Lessons of the Square Watermelon." You'd probably find this interesting too.

Slideshare Announces "World's Best Presentation Contest"

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Slideshare is running the "World's Best Presentation Contest" again. Entries are due by July 31st. I'm a judge again this year along with Bert Decker, Nancy Duarte, and Garr Reynolds. The prizes include a MacBook Air, Amazon Kindle, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, and copies of Presentation Zen. To learn more, go here.

The Art of Change

Over at the Sun Microsystems blog I published an interview about the art of change. It features Ariane de Bonvoisin, the founder and CEO of The First Thirty Days, Inc. She recently published a book called The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Any Change (and Loving Your Life More). Learn about the crucial first thirty days of making a change, "change muscle, and "change quotient" by clicking here.

The Inside Word on Word-of-Mouth Marketing

In this interview Dave Balter explains word-of-mouth marketing. Balter founded BzzAgent in 2002. His company has provided word-of-mouth media services for dozens of Fortune 500 companies and has been featured in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and on National Public Radio. He is also co-founder and current board member of The Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Balter earned a B.A. in Psychology from Skidmore College. He recently published a book called The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II. You can download a full (and free!) copy of the book here.

1. Question: How often do companies successfully engineer word-of-mouth marketing?

   Answer: The phrasing, "engineer word-of-mouth" is very interesting. Inasmuch as it suggests "force" or "manipulate," I'd say that no company has ever successfully engineered word of mouth. However, for those companies that guide or inspire word of mouth by empowering consumers, respecting their opinions, thanking them for sharing their input, and making changes based on consumer counsel ... in those cases, word of mouth marketing is successful all the time, every day.

2. Question: Can a large company do it—or is word-of-mouth marketing only for small companies?

   Answer: Word of mouth happens for companies of all sizes. The iPod and the iPhone were massive word-of-mouth phenomena. So was the Swiffer. Smaller companies, like Webkinz, may need to rely on word of mouth more due to smaller marketing budgets, but the impact is equally valuable.

3. Question: What are the components of an effective word-of-mouth marketing program?

   Answer: The most important thing is that companies tap into consumer advocacy without destroying what makes it so powerful: trust. Effective programs should ensure participants are:

   1. Unpaid. Cash messes with our opinions!

   2. Unscripted. People should say what they really feel, no matter how good or how bad

   3. Open. If someone is involved in an organized word of mouth program, the people they talk to should be aware of that.

   A simple test is to ask yourself: would I feel ok if my eighty-year old grandma knew about this program? That will help guide you.

4. Question: What is the difference between viral and word-of-mouth marketing?

   Answer: Viral marketing is typically reserved for programs where the advertising is talked about as opposed to the product itself. A good example are viral videos, where the humor trumps the brand, ala Cadbury Schweppes drumming gorilla video—humorous partly due to the Phil Collins soundtrack, of course—and the parodies which followed). Word of mouth is the actual sharing of an opinion about a product or service between consumers. Your viral marketing only works if it gets people talking about the product itself. If it doesn’t, you might create some laughter and awareness, but there won’t be a change in sales.

5. Question: How long does an episode of word-of-mouth communication last?

   Answer: At this stage BzzAgents have generated north of 100 million conversations. From the data we’ve collected, each conversation lasts more than six minutes. But this isn’t like traditional marketing—it’s not a one way advertisement. Typically word of mouth dialogues includes discussions about other competitive products, personal experiences, pros and cons. It’s all of the things that help us really understand a product’s value.

6. Question: What does a person do after purchasing a product—using word-of-mouth juice?

   Answer: “Word-of-mouth juice”— do you mind if I borrow that term for the title of my next book? To answer your question, this “juice” is what made the iPhone so amazingly successful. People felt obligated to show someone else. Partly out of excitement, but also to be ‘validated’ for making the decision to wait in line, plunk down the cash, and take the leap to get one. We call this the “pass along effect.” Shortly after purchase, many people generate the most word of mouth about a product—often to see how others react and to make ourselves feel good about the purchase.

7. Question: What is the best way to reward—indeed, if you should reward—people who do word-of-mouth marketing for a company?

   Answer: The best reward is a sincere "thank you." Companies are always surprised at how much advocacy and word of mouth is generated when they listen to, acknowledge, and show appreciation to those consumers who take the time to share their opinions. Products, samples, prizes ... these things all help, but nothing inspires more than listening and thanking

8. Question: What makes a new product like the iPhone become “urgent”?

   Answer: Steve Jobs has figured out a word-of-mouth blueprint that’s pretty incredible. When they launch a product, information is scarce and supply is limited. Before anyone even sees one, they’re talking about how they want to buy it. Of course Apple can pull this off because it makes great products that blow away expectations. Also, Apple develops tremendous advertising, which is worth talking about in itself. Word of mouth doesn’t replace great advertising, it just helps great advertising perform better.

9. Question: How can a company make a sample of its product the most powerful?

   Answer: Every company wants to get their product into people’s hands. Trial is clearly an incredible way to create buyers, but a tremendous amount of sampling is wasted. Imagine you went to a ballgame and there were people outside the park handing out little packs of Tums. The company may give away hundreds of thousands of trials, but how many of the recipients needed heartburn medicine? How many of them were thrown out? Most importantly, how does the company know if people liked them or used them or thought they were a headache remedy?

   So rather than the random shotgun sample approach, companies should start online by inviting people to request a sample and then giving them a way to report back their opinion and, most importantly, how they shared that with others. The result: 100% engagement and data you can actually use!

10. Question: Do you believe in the theory of top-down, elite influencers?

    Answer: I believe in Influentials, Trendsetters, Trendspreaders, Sneezers, Alphas, Bees, Hubs, Mavens. These "special people" do exist—but companies should be careful on their reliance on tremendously influential people to help spread their opinions. Often there’s a mismatch between someone’s enormous network of friends and their interest in trying a specific product and to share it with others.

    Companies should focus on finding people who really want to be involved with their product. They should focus on helping these individuals learn about what makes their product unique and special to share with their networks. However, it all starts with a great product. Few will care if a product doesn’t meet expectations.

11. Question: What exactly does your company do?

    Answer: BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth media company. We have nearly 450,000 volunteers who learn about products and services through our network and share them with their friends in an open, natural way. We do our best to provide something for everyone. For example, people who dig websites and other digital initiatives can hang out in our Frogpond to find out about what’s cool. Do you like tasty food or cool cleaning products? Sign up for our network and you may get into a campaign for Back to Nature Nuts or a new plug-in air freshener, and we’ll send you out some samples to try, and then you share your opinion however you’d like! [You can see how bzzagents review websites here.]

12. Question: What’s your assessment of Alltop’s word-of-mouth potential?

    Answer: When I first saw Alltop [please come back later if the site is slow or down because it's getting crushed by traffic], I was blown away by the simplicity and usefulness of the site. The web is getting harder and harder to navigate and a place you can go to find the best of the best just makes life easier. A few things that make it work so well:

    1. Alltop is worth talking about (it’s made it so easy for me to find great food sites!).

    2. The sites that get listed want to tell their own networks, so it’s naturally viral.

    3. The semi-transparent navigation bar is unique; whether you like it or not, everyone has a perspective they want to share.

    Plain and simple: It’s worth yapping about.

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Don't forget to download the full and free version of Dave's new book here for much more information about word-of-mouth marketing. If you want more marketing news, check out Marketing.alltop.com.

One Perfect Day with IGT

Storyline: Gaming company sends corporate plane to bring nerd to Vegas to speak to casino execs. Don't get the impression that this is my usual lifestyle--I'm only blogging about this day because this never happens to me.

The first stop: Executive terminal of SFO. This is north of the airport. Never been there before.

There's a Hertz office there, and it must rent a lot of Priuses. Either that or the Gores were conveniently flying in.

You walk down this hall through no security checkpoint. There's not even a Clear card in sight.

Then you tell the kind folks at this lineless checkin counter who you are.

And the pilot takes to your waiting Piaggio P180--also known as "the Ferrari of the sky."

It's a turbo-prop plane that seats up to nine people. It can go 737 km/hr (458 mph), and its range is 2,595 kilometers (1,613 miles).

This is the plane's all-important snack bar.

A glimpse at the plane's avionics. This is a computer-generated map of the SFO area.

This even beats Cathay Pacific.

Mono Lake from the sky.

Death Valley from the sky.

When I arrived, a limo was waiting for me on the tarmac.

It took me to the Mirage.

Where I spoke to the IGT users conference. IGT is a casino games and networking systems company out of Reno.

These photos shows the state of the art of slot machines.

Then I got back in another limo.

And went to the Atlantic private plane terminal at LAS.

Where another Piaggio 180 picked me up.

It was an older model as you can tell by the cockpit.

This is the view from the co-pilot's seat when we took off.

When we landed at SFO, there was a Nike plane parked on the tarmac.

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Holy cow, what a day! But it's back to commercial travel now for the rest of the year.

Alltop Badge Contest

I am in pursuit of the world's greatest sidebar badges for Alltop, so we're sponsoring a contest here. The top five entries will get a iPod Touch. Legal residents of the U.S. only (it's a long story having to do with tons of legal issues). Looking forward to seeing your entry!

By the way, if you want to match our logo's font, we use DIN Bold.

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Major kudos to my buddies at Eprize for making this badge contest so easy to implement.

Brand Personality

Are you interested in the role of personality in a company's marketing? I recently interviewed Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy PR about this subject. You can read the interview here at Sun Microsystem's small business blog. He covers topics such as the creation and use of brand personalities, good and bad examples, and the role of a CEO in the process. I based the interview on Rohit's new book, Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back.

How to Escape Corporate America

Pamela Skillings is the founder of Skillful Communications, a career and communications consulting firm in New York. Previously, Pamela spent more than twelve years as a marketing executive for companies including MasterCard International, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup. She recently published a book called Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams

1. Question: How do I know if I should get out of the company I work for?

   Answer: I talked to one corporate escapee who made her decision after a senior manager threw a Lucite paperweight at her head. That’s a pretty good sign. But for most of us, the decision isn’t quite as clear cut. No job is great all the time. You have to diagnose what it is that’s making you unhappy. Are you just having a horrible week? Is there something you can do to make your current job more satisfying? If not, you owe it to yourself to get out. If you’re not sure whether you should stay or go, check out my interactive Are You a Corporate Casualty? quiz.

2. Question: Why don’t people who are unhappy leave to find something better?

   Answer: A lot of people stay stuck in corporate jobs that don’t inspire them because they’re afraid they can’t make “enough” money doing what they love. Others don’t believe that it’s actually possible to love your work, so they try to make the best of a bad situation. Then there are those who are spinning their wheels waiting for epiphanies about their true callings before they make a move.

   I can relate to all of these feelings. I worked in Corporate America for more than twelve years. It was fun at first and I learned a lot, but I eventually reached a point where I wasn’t feeling challenged or engaged anymore. For years, I tried to suck it up and make it work. But eventually I learned that my energy would be better spent on figuring out a career path that would make me happier.

3. Question: Can bad jobs be saved or fixed?

   Answer: Yes, sometimes. It’s worth trying if you mostly like your work and your company and can clearly identify the problems that need to be addressed. You should also be aware that sometimes it’s not the job, it’s you. There’s something to be said for being able to recognize when a position or a company is just not the right fit for you.

4. Question: Is there more danger in sticking too long with a job or leaving too soon?

   Answer: No one should quit abruptly without a good career transition plan. However, there are also dangers in staying too long in a job you hate. The longer you stay stuck in a rut, the harder it is to get out.

5. Question: Then what are the components of a good escape plan?

   Answer: The first step is to take a good hard look at what’s missing in your current career and figure out where you want to escape TO when you escape from Corporate America.

   Then you must identify the best route to your dream job. That might mean getting some additional training, updating your resume, or starting your business from your kitchen table in your spare time. The important thing is to take some action and start building momentum. And you can do all of this before you quit your current job.

   A solid financial escape plan is also essential. Money concerns stand in the way of a lot of potential corporate escapees, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Even if you think you can’t afford to make a career change right now, do the math and you might find that your dream career is possible after all. You might have to make some temporary budget cuts or wait until you’ve accumulated enough in your Escape Fund to finance your transition, but you will likely discover that there is a way to make the numbers work if you’re willing to make some compromises.

6. Question: How can I get a job that doesn’t suck?

   Answer: There are a lot of great companies out there, both big ones and small ones. The key is to figure out what’s really important to you at this stage in your life and what you need to thrive. For two years in a row, Google has been ranked as the #1 Best Company to Work For by Fortune. It’s a great company, but it’s not the right fit for everybody. If you’re not comfortable working in a very fast-paced environment, a dream job at Google might feel like a nightmare. And even at a great company, you have to be careful when choosing your specific job role to make sure it fits with your talents and preferences.

   Once you define your priorities, you have to do your homework and identify which companies are right for you. Reading the rankings of best companies is a good start, but you shouldn’t stop there. Reach out to your network and see who can provide the real inside scoop on the companies you’re considering. It’s important to work for a company that you respect. However, when it comes to job satisfaction, it’s even more important to make sure that your day-to-day duties and work environment are engaging.

7. Question: How can I tell if a job is going to be good (or bad) for me during the interview process?

   Answer: Be observant, ask questions, and don’t take anything at face value. Of course the recruiter and human resources representative will tell you that the job is your dream come true. That’s what they get paid for. Often, they’re not trying to trick you; they just don’t truly understand what the job is like from the inside.

   Be diplomatic when you probe for details and save the hardest questions until you’ve got an offer on the table. If things look promising, ask if you can meet with some of your potential peers and team members. This accomplishes two goals: 1) You can get a sense of how crazy your future coworkers are; and 2) You can get a better idea of what it’s really like to work in the department from a non-boss point of view.

   Always remember to keep your eyes open for clues and listen to your instincts. I know what it’s like to end up in a job that’s a terrible fit despite the best of intentions. Looking back now, I realize that it happened because I ignored red flags that I didn’t want to see.

8. Question: What are the downsides of working for a startup or small company?

   Answer: Working for a startup or small company can be incredibly exciting and rewarding. At the same time, it’s even more important to do your due diligence when considering a job offer at a smaller firm, especially if you’re making a move from a larger corporation. Small firms tend to be more vulnerable to market forces, so you want to make sure you know what you’re getting into and believe in the company’s potential. You should also be prepared to make do with less infrastructure and fewer resources. Even senior managers tend to pitch in where needed and wear multiple hats at smaller companies. And make sure you do your homework on your CEO. The leader sets the tone for a small company and often determines success or failure.

9. Question: Is it true that if you “do what you love, the money will come”?

   Answer: Yes and no. Job satisfaction is a wonderful thing, but it doesn’t magically pay your bills. However, people are more successful and often make more money in the long term in work that they love. One of the key reasons is that you work a whole lot harder when you’re passionate about what you’re doing.

10. Question: What does it take to work solo?

    Answer: Entrepreneurial attitude is key. The most successful solopreneurs understand that they are running businesses, not just hopping from freelance gig to freelance gig. You also have to be versatile and willing to step outside your comfort zone to handle sales, client management, invoicing, marketing, and other duties that may not be your greatest strengths. You may be able to eventually outsource some of these tasks, but you will still have to understand enough to manage the work effectively. The abilities to prioritize work and manage yourself are also essential. You won’t have an annoying boss to complain about, but you also won’t have anybody else to blame if you screw up.

    On that note, I guess I better get back to work now or my inner boss will get after me.

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For more help in discovering your ideal career, go here and for a river of job listings, go here.

Father's Day Gift Suggestion: Clear Card

If you're searching for a Father's Day gift that a traveling dad (or mom) will truly appreciate the whole year, consider a Clear card. This is the card that involves pre-screening of your background so that you can get through airport secureity faster. My experience is that I get through security at every Clear airport in five minutes or less.

This is a big deal for me--well worth the $100/year that Clear costs. If it allows you to catch one flight that you would have missed (inbound or outbound!), it will pay for itself. Even if it only lets you do more work before you fly, it's worth the money. Here are more details about how it works.

You can get a list of Clear airports here--there are about nineteen of them. You can sign up for the service here, and we'll both get an extra free month if you use my referral code: SCA84218. I'll see you in the Red Carpet Club with plenty of time to spare!

A Blooming Great Idea

This is a cool idea. I would buy one in a second. No picture. You have to trust me and click here. More cool gadget here too.

Launch: Silicon Valley Discount

Launch: Silicon Valley is coming up in less than a week. The regular price is $199, but you can get a discount by clicking here. The event is on June 10th at the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, California. Thirty companies will be launching their products and services to an audience of venture capitalists, press, and analysts. More news for entrepreneurs here.

The Art of Unintended Uses

Most people in the mid eighties used personal computers for three primary purposes: spreadsheets, databases, and wordprocessing. Thank God that Paul Brainerd came up with the idea of PageMaker and desktop publishing, or we'd all be listening to music on cassette tapes. The principle that I learned from Aldus is that ultimately customers decide how to use your product or service, not your marketers. I recently came across a company called VisualCV that offers a "multimedia resume" service to help people find a job, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. VisualCV's service is applicable anytime you want a web page but don't want the hassle or expense of a web site. Here are examples to inspire you:

1. Win a wedding. If the big day is coming up, you can build a VisualCV to try to win a wedding from the Today Show like Annie and Tom did here.

2. Find a date. Maybe you've got no one to marry yet. Then build a pitch to find a date/hero. Or better yet, have those dates put together a VisualCV and pitch you.

3. Display your portfolio. Here's how photographer Mike Fox displays his pictures. And here's how interior designer Michael Anthony displays his restaurant designs.

4. Show off your talent. YouTube is great for some things, but if you really want to show off your acting talent, VisualCV can help too. Check out what Lara Hopewell did here.

5. Showcase your research. Check what Ann Gales did here to tell the world about global health. And what Jeremy Epstein did here for the IEEE Society

6. Make a sales pitch. Kickbutt Sales Training did this and Premier Career Potential did this to provide online sales pitches for their services. These sure beat a PDF.

7. Create a multimedia "About Me." Click on my VisualCV button in the sidebar and, it goes to my profile. It’s a great way for people to get a one-page snapshot of my current activities and to see me in action.

8. Launch a product. Jewelry designer Dina Mackney used VisualCV to launch her Spring 2008 collection. Check out what what she did here to include press coverage and photos of new pieces in the collection.

9. Pitch a conference planner. The next time that you want to speak at a conference, try using VisualCV to pitch the conference planner. This is what Dave Saunders does.

10. Promote your inner rocker. Cliff Sims built this to showcase his band called The Skyline Drive as well as other music-related projects.

You could just use VisualCV for its original purpose: job search. This is what landed Carol Anderson her new position. After all, you could us a Macintosh for spreadsheets, databases, and wordprocessing too.

The bottom line is that VisualCV is more than a resume replacement. It's a kind of website "for the rest of us" so I hope you'll use it in ways that the company never anticipated.

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I am an advisor to VisualCV. And Annie of Annie and Tom, the contestants for the Today Show, is the managing director of Truemors so please vote for them here. More help for people looking for jobs here.