Be careful who you poke fun at

One should be careful who one pokes fun at. Last week, I publicly made fun of folks wasting their time chasing Pokemon. To me it was like fiddling while Rome is burning.

Pokemon Go is really big. Like bigger than big. Data is emerging that shows the game is catching on more than dating, chatting with celebrities, all things social media. Even bigger than all professional sports combined. It’s hard to process how massive this phenomenon is - and growing. Reddit is one of the most-visited websites in the world.This graph shows the most popular subreddit (sections) on the website for the month of July. AskReddit (a subreddit where celebrities answer questions from the general public) had a staggering 38 million page views from 4.5 million unique visitors in the week after Pokemon Go was released.

See the dark blue line? That is the Pokemon Go subreddit, and the green line is AskReddit. The game wasn’t out the month before. That week after Pokemon Go this dedicated subreddit accrued 92 million page views from almost 8 million unique visitors.

Google Trends graph: the most frequently searched terms from January 2010 to the present day. The first green hump you see on the left there is Game of Thrones which jumps around the same time every year. The red line is ”Gangnam Style.” The purple line is Breaking Bad. The yellow line is the term “Trump” spiking around the time he won the New Hampshire primary. That giant blue line on the far right is Pokemon Go.

This graph shows Android phones that have Tinder installed versus Pokemon Go. New installs went viral. 

A game about chasing things that do not exist has now crushed an app that involves meeting new people and going out on dates.The app has shot past Tinder and looks to rival Twitter for dominance.

Not all countries can install Pokemon Go from the Google Play Store. 

Users are downloading the app’s APK file and loading onto their device via a very cumbersome process. People are doing whatever it takes to get the game and play the game. Despite these limitations, Pokemon Go is installed on over 7% of Canadian Android devices that are in use. 

I made fun of people running around outside chasing things that do not exist. Well the thing that DOES exist? The people doing the chasing. These people exist, big time.

I can’t wait to see what the next seven days does to these numbers. This is bigger than big. And it looks like it is speeding up with no signs of slowing down. I have yet to play the game but I am no longer ruling it out. Ah yes, be careful who you "poke" fun at. 

Maybe I can launch a game called "Eating Crow"?

WHY us?

Simon Sinek "The WHY of the USA"

Two years ago, I did my Sunday blog during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and I called it 

The Declaration of Dependence. 

This morning, our good friend Simon Sinek of Start with WHY fame was my muse for today's holiday blog. If you have not watched Simon's TED.com talk, you should. Today is Sunday, tomorrow is a holiday. No excuses - go watch that TED.com talk before your next day at work. 

Why America is NOT the greatest country in the world, anymore?

Remember this one? HBO is a major media provider, so there is a good chance that you have seen "The Newsroom" series. YouTube says this video has well over 4 million views. So, if you are reading my blog, that you probably have seen this clip more than once. 

If you did not watch Simon's video above, and if you truly never watched the above clip from "The Newsroom" you can continue reading, but it will make more sense if you have watched them. So please, go ahead, I'll wait.

OK, ready?

I found this on the Internet. Now, some of you are cheering and shouting YES! And some of you are now violently ill. I get that. But let's break it down:

• This "hat" assumes that we can "make" our country (or any country) great.
• This "hat" assumes that our country once was great, but for some reason stopped being great, but (have no fear) it can be fixed and made great again (like we took a wrong turn on our family vacation, while driving to Yosemite).
• Did anyone actually look up the definition of the word again before they made this hat?

Examples from Cambridge (get it?  USA <> UK? Oh never mind...) Dictionary Online:

• If you think it's wrong, cross it out and write it again.
• "I never want to see you ever again, " he shouted as he stormed out of the house.
• I'm not going to let him repair my bike again because he made a really bad job of it last time.
• I was very nervous about driving again after the accident.
• If the phone lines are busy, please try again later.

From what I can see, the word "again" is often associated with errors. Mistakes. Negative experiences. Experiments gone wrong.

The Great Experiment is often a reference to the United States. I love the word experiment. A procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.

Two years ago, I blogged on "Dependence Day" in an attempt to tie all things technology to our everyday world. You would not be reading this blog it were not for the Internet. You would not have HBO, or YouTube, or the iPad or laptop or tablet that you are using to read this post (hopefully from the beach). Colleges and Universities would not be "in the cloud" and there would be no Telemedicine, no Netfllix, no Uber and certainly no self driving cars. 

If it were not for "The Great Experiment" of the USA, we would not have 99% of the things that we take for granted. Sure, many other countries might have followed our path. Many others might have eventually went to the moon, and cured polio, and invented the laser. But we did it. The USA. The land of the free, the home of the brave. 

And with our "laboratory tools" such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, our WHY, our HOW and our WHAT have become an amazing TED.com talk with "Ideas Worth Spreading". 

I'm not sure if America needs fixing. I'm not sure if it was ever broken. I am not sure if it was ever great, or if ever stopped being great. What I am sure of is this: I'm glad it exists. 

Is TED.com a good thing? I think so. I guess someone out there probably hates TED.com and says it is a terrible idea. But for me, the fact that TED.com was created, the fact that TED.com was "born" and that TED.com then "spread" is a good thing. It was a good experiment.  

We should always seek out and support and spread the good experiments. But the only way to get to the "good experiments" is to go through the pain and suffering of the bad ones. 

And now, through the miracle of "The Internet" (Thank you, USA) here are the last minutes of "The Newsroom" to bring it all home for you. Enjoy. 

What makes America the greatest country in the world?
You do.

The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link billions of devices worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, telephony, and peer-to-peer networks for file sharing.

The origins of the Internet date back to research commissioned by the United States federal government in the 1960s to build robust, fault-tolerant communication via computer networks.

You, as a Verb

You, as a Verb. Part One

I still remember it, vividly. It was a hot Sunday morning in August, 2010. I noted how it was already “hot” as I sat on my deck, having coffee. Little did I know, I was about to have a life changing moment. My “Seth” moment.  

(Please follow the “cut and paste” of my email exchanges below; I sanitized some of it for obvious reasons.)

On Aug 1, 2010, at 8:08 AM, Thomas A. Capone wrote:

I saw you on Ted.com and now I am off to buy all of your books.  I hope to catch you live when you are in the NYC area.  Good stuff. < ...and I hit………*send >

******

*That was it. Done. I just felt compelled to send off this little missive to someone I did not know, so I did. I certainly did not expect a return.  And now, back to my Cheerios.

******

From: Seth Godin  

Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 8:46 AM

Subject: Re: thank you

thanks Thomas!

=============================

Seth Godin

45 Main Street 3R

Hastings on Hudson, NY 10706

******

Wait, what??? In less than an hour, on a Sunday morning, I’m getting a response to “that” email? Was this an auto-responder? If so, why the delay??? And so, I must return the volley!

******

On Aug 1, 2010, at 8:57 AM, Thomas A. Capone wrote:

I don’t know if this is “really Seth” or an autobot, but here goes.......  I never bought any of your books.  After watching you on Ted.com I am now compelled to buy them all.  And I will – promise.  I’ll fax you the receipt.  My question is this: since you have so many books, would you recommend that one read them in any particular order?  I thought that the order that I read them might make a difference, since things do change.  I really am a “salesman” at heart, and I love the science of sales and marketing.  If I could just sell sell sell all day long, I would be a happy camper.  I am now signed up on your blog. Very cool stuff; I am in sync with your style.

So, if this is really Seth, you have a new fan.

If this is an autobot email responder, take the rest of the day off.  Go ahead, Seth will understand.

 

Thomas A. Capone

Chairman & CEO

******

And then……… his return:

Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 9:17 AM

Subject: Re: thank you

it's me

salespeople will like All Marketers are Liars (new title All Marketers tell Stories) the most, followed by the Dip and Linchipin and Tribes and Purple Cow

have fun

Seth Godin

45 Main Street 3R

Hastings on Hudson, NY 10706

fax 914 674 XXXX

******

Oh……….my……….God.  I knew it was “him” since he misspelled Linchpin! A robot would not do that! I am emailing back and forth with Seth Godin. This is...happening.

And so, it began. I have a new pen pal. Sunday, August 1st, 2010. A day, that will live in infamy. No, wait. What is the OPPOSITE of infamy? Dignity, goodness, innocence, morality, righteousness, virtue? Oh, never mind. The ball was now in play!

I did not “know” this man; I knew “of” him. And, I knew enough about him that he must get a million emails from a million people, daily. And here he was, on a Sunday morning, hitting the email tennis ball back and forth across the net. With me.

2149 days have passed since that original email exchange.

A few days ago, my email to Seth:

Date: Fri, Jun 17, 2016 at 7:58 PM

Subject: 4th row

I was in the 4th row at Sales Machine. We were a sponsor.

Why would ANYONE ever agree to follow you on stage????????  ;-)

Simon pulled it off. But really, never follow Seth.

Best,

Tom@NYDLA.org

*******

Date: Fri, Jun 17, 2016 at 9:36 PM

thanks Tom

you're very kind, sir

and I think Simon did great!

Seth

******

Wow, approximately 90 minutes later, I get a response. From Seth. Not an assistant, but him. Maybe one of the busiest, most “in demand” people on the planet, replied to my email. As he has done dozens of times before. Folks, process this. By the way, we were talking about the amazing Simon Sinek of Ted.com fame, who followed Seth on stage.

After 2149 days of “Seth being Seth” he is still Seth. How many keynotes has he agreed to do, since August 1st, 2010? How many (more) best selling books has he published? He commits to writing and posting a daily blog. And to him, daily means - every day. Over the past 2149 days, we have become friends. Over the past 2149 days, we have added Seth (and all things Seth) to the NYDLA.org because it felt like the right thing to do for our global community. Introducing the world to “Seth” and all that he stands for, feels like a duty. My job. Introducing the world to Seth is like giving someone a shortcut to things that matter. Keeping Seth a secret feels, well, wrong. Seth Godin certainly does not need my help to “spread” his brand - but he does not turn it down, either.

And now, over the past 2149 days, many of Seth’s friends have become our friends.

You, as a Verb: Part Two

You hear it in movies, TV shows, among your friends and you probably say it yourself: "I Googled her before I called her." "I know because I Googled it." "What's the temperature in Fargo? Google it!"

But Google wants you — and the world — to stop using Google as “a verb” for looking up anything on the Internet — unless you actually used Google's search engine to do so.

Google became so good at what they do, that even if you used “another” search engine, you would be thinking you “Googled it”. With Google as the leading search engine, there's little doubt that we mean Google when we say we Googled something. As comedian Ellen DeGeneres said on her show, talking about technology's impact on our lives, "If you need to know something immediately, you can Google it now .... Ten years ago, if you said you were going to 'Google' someone, you got written up by Human Resources."

So, what can be bad about using "Google" as a verb for saying you looked up information on the Internet?

Ironically, because of Google's "significant brand recognition," the company "has started down the path of becoming synonymous with search engine services and, accordingly, towards the genericization of a trademark," wrote attorney Matthew Swyers, founder of a law firm specializing in trademark rights, in an article for Inc. last year.

A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that has become the generic name for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, usually against the intentions of the trademark holder.

And becoming generic is bad because it threatens a company's legal right to a trademark.

Aspirin was originally a trademark of Bayer. Escalator was originally a trademark of the Otis Elevator Company. Even the word Zipper, at one time, was a trademark owned by B.F. Goodrich. Now, because of their respective fame and genericization, they merely refer to classes of products we see every day and do not identify the source of those goods.

Google became “a verb” because they honed their craft. Google became much better than the rest; they were understood to be “so good” that it simply became “the way” to do it.

I feel that there are many life (and business) lessons buried in today’s blog. As you can tell, I have become a huge fan of Seth Godin’s work, and it is still climbing. But the one lesson that stands out to me the most, the one concept that resonates, the one thing about this man that “should spread” (as Seth would say) can be summed up in only one word:

Google: Seth

< Mic drop >

Simon Sinek following Seth Godin on stage

Seedcasting

In late January 2015, a powerful nor'easter affected Canada and the Central and Eastern United States. The nor'easter disrupted transportation, with snow emergencies declared in six states and travel bans enacted in four of these states – Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island – as well as in New York City. Most passenger rail service was suspended, and thousands of flights were cancelled. Schools and activities saw weather-related cancellations for one or more days. The storm was also given unofficial names, such as Blizzard of 2015, and Winter Storm Juno.

This is when I planted my crop.

I came across David Burkus (www.DavidBurkus.com) and his podcasts during my "Mother Nature" imposed home confinement. I played one of his podcasts (originally called LeaderLab) in the background, while working on other things. Wow, pretty good. Then I played another one. Huh, not bad. And another........

So, I found that the “first one” was recorded in January 2010. I went to the oldest one in the archive. I started working my way backwards in time. 

“Honey, I can’t go outside and shovel snow - I’m working on Project Juno!”

Podcast 101, 102, 103…….201…...202…….401……..402……….601…...602...603......

Do the math.  If a podcast runs 30 to 45 minutes, that was around maybe seven or eight podcasts in a day. I had around three days, with no way to leave the house (well, I did not want to leave the house, if a snow shovel was going to be involved).

A few things happened as a result of my “Project Juno”.  One, I made a spreadsheet and listed Name, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profile of all of the podcast guests.  I made it a point to attempt to connect with them.  All of them.

“Hello. I just listened to your podcast with David Burkus. It was amazing, thank for your time.”

Then, I made it a point to meet many of them. Including David himself. Sooner or later, everyone comes to New York. “Well, if you are ever in New York City, I would love to meet with you. Lunch or dinner on me.”  Oh, the power of offering free food and grog in NYC.

And, from time to time, I would throw my fastball:  “I run the www.NYDLA.org  You would make an excellent keynote and/or webinar for our community.”

Boom.

Fast forward to June 2016.  As I look back, more than 50% of the business that we processed in 2016 can be traced back to the seeds that were planted during that blizzard in 2015. My father used to tell me “show me your friends, and I’ll show you who you are” and that always stuck with me. You can pick your friends. You can seek them out.

Webinars. Podcasts. Meetups. Live events. Book signings.

I don’t think that (at the time) I realized that I was planting a crop for future harvest. In fact, I think I was just looking for an excuse to NOT shovel snow. But today, I look back on where new business comes from, where opportunities come from, and from where your next best friendships shall grow.

During “Winter Storm Juno” I planted seeds. Not sure if this strategy will work for growing crops in the mid-western USA, but it worked for me (big time) in growing my BUSINESS.

Last Point: www.DavidBurkus.com is an amazing guy - and he also grabs the check! 

My favorite kind of friend.

http://davidburkus.com/category/podcast/