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Seth Godin's Blog
Bestselling author, Entrepreneur and Agent of change. Seth's blog can be found at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
April 2008
Wednesday April 30, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 11:03AM EST on April 30, 2008
Owen Wilson starred in a really bad movie that came out a few months ago. Most notable: he didn’t go out to shill for it. No Colbert, no Daily Show, no Larry King. Perhaps he’s nursing a bad cold, but...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:30AM EST on April 30, 2008
Corey found this great insight into the way people think. Twistori looks for certain words in the Twitstream. We're a pretty spoiled bunch (check out the 'wish' column).
Tuesday April 29, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:26PM EST on April 29, 2008
Walter Hunt patented the safety pin almost exactly 160 years ago. It looks an awful lot like a fibula, which, of course, is used to hold your toga shut. My friend Kevin has one (not a toga, a fibula). An...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:49AM EST on April 29, 2008
In radio operator lingo, you look for a strong signal to noise ratio. That’s the amount of good stuff (the message) that comes through the static (the noise.) You can use your squelch button to turn down the static, but...
Monday April 28, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:46PM EST on April 28, 2008
I just discovered that some of you recently received a piece of spam that began, "dear first name". Apparently, it was sent to people who signed up for an audio call I did several months ago. This is obviously not...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:52AM EST on April 28, 2008
Infinite isn’t what it used to be. There used to be an infinite number of stars, and probably an infinite number of kids in high school who didn’t like you very much, but that was about it when it came...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:10AM EST on April 28, 2008
If you have a Squidoo lens, I hope you'll check this out. (Type in the name of a lens, like sinclairlewis or michelangelosdavid or rick-roll). Taking it a step further, the idea of being able to check everything you need...
Sunday April 27, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:05AM EST on April 27, 2008
You would think that the Red parking lot, parking lot #8 at JFK, would be the last place you'd find someone who actually cared, never mind someone who pretended to (a pale imitation). And yet, that's where Greg works. Greg...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 3:48AM EST on April 27, 2008
I spent part of the day in New York yesterday. First stop, an expensive sporting goods store that prides itself on service. I bought some skates, paid and then asked the security guy (the one with all the shelves behind...
Saturday April 26, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 4:14AM EST on April 26, 2008
Just about a year ago, I published The Dip. It turned out to be one of my most successful books. Perhaps you have a copy--which I appreciate more than you can guess. Now, here's the favor: A year later, would...
Friday April 25, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 3:54AM EST on April 25, 2008
Who is Brad Pitt? [insert your brand/name here] Get me Brad Pitt! Get me someone like Brad PItt, but cheaper! Get me a newer version of Brad Pitt! Who is Brad Pitt? [original source unknown]. Of course, it's hard to...
Thursday April 24, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 4:01AM EST on April 24, 2008
This is a truth of the Internet: When traffic comes to your site without focused intent, it bounces. 75% of all unfocused visitors leave within three seconds. Any site, anywhere, anytime. 75% bounce rate within three seconds. By unfocused, I...
Wednesday April 23, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:31AM EST on April 23, 2008
The best way to keep your bank from getting robbed is to not open a bank. Sometimes, in our zeal to avoid loss at all costs, we focus too hard on the false positives (that guy might be a robber)...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:34AM EST on April 23, 2008
Are you better at what you do than you were a month or two ago? A lot better? How did you get better? What did you read or try? Did you fail at something and learn from it? Does that...
Tuesday April 22, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 4:51AM EST on April 22, 2008
You probably get feedback from customers. Sometimes you even get letters. Occasionally (unfortunately), it’s negative. Two weeks ago, I left my car at (an expensive) parking garage in midtown New York. When I got back four hours later, I discovered...
Monday April 21, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:25AM EST on April 21, 2008
Henry Ford left us much more than cars and the highway system we built for them. He changed the world’s expectations for work. While Ford gets credit for “inventing the assembly line,” his great insight was that he understood the...
Sunday April 20, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 12:23PM EST on April 20, 2008
is the buying part. I watched some shoppers leave a clothing store in NY the other day. They seemed wan and a little sad. The same shoppers, when they were waiting in line at the cash register, seemed thrilled. Fast...
Saturday April 19, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:20AM EST on April 19, 2008
My friend Chris told me about a diet he used to use to lose weight. He would eat what he wanted five days a week and fast two days a week. No, that doesn't work. The parallel to marketing seems...
Thursday April 17, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 4:10PM EST on April 17, 2008
You can't hire that guy because he's not as good looking as George. And you can't believe that speaker because he doesn't present as well as George. And that guy? He's short. Short? Well, shorter than George. And you can't...
Wednesday April 16, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 1:18PM EST on April 16, 2008
Whether you run a hotel or a retail store or a parts supply store, things change when you find out the Pope is coming for a visit. The fresh flowers get delivered, the beds are made a little tighter and...
Tuesday April 15, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 3:22PM EST on April 15, 2008
This morning at 5:05, I drove away from my house outside of New York City. At 7:25 am, I was at the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. (No, my meeting wasn't at the White House, it was next door, but...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:40AM EST on April 15, 2008
Most power occurs because one side is better organized than the other. Labor is usually less well organized than management, criminals are usually less well organized than the police and customers are always less well organized than producers. The internet...
Monday April 14, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:55PM EST on April 14, 2008
The Acumen charity seminar is officially sold out. Thanks to everyone who signed up. Here are two more upcoming events, including one in my old home town: For Buffalonians! Entrepalooza 2008 And a very cool conference in Boston with Joel...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 4:29AM EST on April 14, 2008
At a seminar at the local library, someone asked, "how do I make a lot of money blogging?" My guess is that at least week's seminar, the one on growing orchids, no one raised his hand and said, "how do...
Saturday April 12, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:16AM EST on April 12, 2008
Megan has a great post about the difference between catchers and throwers, inspired by my post about twits: SquidBlog: Catchers and throwers. I had an interesting interaction along these lines this week. A woman named Jennifer Rosini at Forbes sent...
Friday April 11, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 11:56AM EST on April 11, 2008
I trust Sarah Fishko. I don't know her, I'v'e never bought anything from her and I wouldn't recognize her if we met, but I trust her. Every once in a while, over the last few years, Sarah's voice has come...
Thursday April 10, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 9:35PM EST on April 10, 2008
"We are a service company that happens to sell." Zappos wants you to call their 800 number. They want you to order too many shoes. They want you to return (at their expense) the shoes that don't fit. As a...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 6:35AM EST on April 10, 2008
Rob writes in from Australia, proposing that [dot] com is superfluous, just as www is. We don't say, "Visit us at http://www.askinosie.com," we just say, "askinosie.com." It's pretty clear that we don't need the front matter. In fact, the latest...
Wednesday April 9, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 9:44AM EST on April 9, 2008
The new rules mean that the most valuable marketing event is almost always an inbound phone call. An inbound phone call is the ultimate in short-term permission. The customer or prospect is taking the time to call you. She's focused,...
Tuesday April 8, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 7:43AM EST on April 8, 2008
A quick glimpse at just about any profession shows you that the vast majority of people who succeed professionally also went to college. This could be because college teaches you a lot. Or it could be because the kind of...
Monday April 7, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 1:20PM EST on April 7, 2008
Turns out there are about 8 seats left for my all day seminar. All proceeds go to the Acumen Fund. Not sure when the next one will be! See you in New York on April 30th...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 9:13AM EST on April 7, 2008
You can improve your writing (your business writing, your ad writing, your thank you notes and your essays) if you start thinking like a blogger: Use headlines. I use them all the time now. Not just boring ones that announce...
Sunday April 6, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 9:04AM EST on April 6, 2008
How to sound smart when talking about the Internet: You don't have 'a facebook.' Facebook is a place, a network, not a page. You're 'on facebook,' or you 'use facebook.' 'Friend' is a verb. "I'll friend you," is a totally...
Friday April 4, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 3:10PM EST on April 4, 2008
Too whom it may concern: That's the way the letter of reference started off. I confess, I didn't make it to the second sentence. And that store with the really loud electronica music? I left. But I still remember that...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 5:51AM EST on April 4, 2008
John Moore has a great series about known brands and their importance to our lives. If Pizza Hut disappeared tomorrow, who would miss them? Could you find a replacement pizza? A replacement place to work? What about your personal marketing,...
Wednesday April 2, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 4:15PM EST on April 2, 2008
In a nutshell: don't. Bad situations to wait until the last minute: Catching a transcontinental flight Asking your secret crush to the prom Applying for a summer internship Setting customer expectations Studying for the SATs Saving for retirement Giving up...
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 9:54AM EST on April 2, 2008
If you already own the book, you can enroll. April 9th, everywhere. Details here. See you there.
Tuesday April 1, 2008
Permalink Posted by: Seth Godin at 7:53PM EST on April 1, 2008
I was brainstorming with my friend Jay today and he put this picture into my head. Most of the time we do the work. The work is our initiative and our reactions and our responses and our output. The work...