The Brainzooming Group

I listened in on Dan Rockwell (aka “Leadership Freak”) and his “Writing Blogs that Get Read” webinar. Dan has built a very successful blog and social media presence with a large audience in a few years. “Writing Blogs that Get Read” was his first webinar and targeted at sharing his blogging success ideas.

While Dan Rockwell certainly shared many familiar ideas during the webinar, I kept a running list of ideas we haven’t pursued with the Brainzooming blog. Sometimes it has been because of priorities; sometimes is has been because of conscious decisions we haven’t adopted a particular strategy.

Regardless of the reason, since we share social media lessons from our experience, the page full of alternative blogging success ideas I captured makes sense to feature since it’s new to Brainzooming readers.

18 Blogging Success Ideas You Haven’t Read on Brainzooming

Here are eighteen blogging success ideas Dan Rockwell is using for content development, engagement, audience building:

1. Write each day’s blog post that day to increase the sense of immediacy.
2. Write in a “you” voice, not “I” or “me.”
3. Don’t ever go over 300 words in a blog post. If the topic could be longer, either don’t write everything or break it up into multiple posts.
4. Display your picture prominently on the blog.
5. Don’t feature guest blog posts. Readers want to hear the primary blog author’s perspectives and voice.
6. Contact industry leaders, business experts, and authors to connect and pave the way for interview posts. This strategy makes them part of your audience building effort as they point their networks to your blog when the interview blog post publishes.
7. Aggressively first follow on Twitter (i.e., follow many people first, and more people than are following you) – even after you’ve built a social media audience.
8. Reach out to book publishers to request author interviews. This also increases the range of connections and content opportunities you have.
9. Create awards you develop and sponsor. These grow the number of people engaged with the blog at multiple points in the awards process.
10. Incorporate excerpts from your blog posts into the tweets promoting the blog post link.
11. Keep extensive lists of how your blog promotion tweets perform and repeat the tweets creating the greatest engagement.
12. You can build an audience without paying much, if any attention, to SEO – if you use other social media audience building tactics.
13. Give away incentives for readers leaving comments.
14. Email contributors who leave comments to extend the discussion.
15. Have a specific set of needs you are asking readers and your extended network for help with on a regular basis.
16. Invest time to leave comments on high traffic sites, such as Harvard Business Review.
17. Avoid shifting the URL for your blog as it develops (we’re on our third URL).
18. Have a spouse who reads your blog (mine doesn’t…ever) to provide another perspective.

Blogging Success Ideas You HAVE Read on Brainzooming and Can Now HEAR!

Relative to blogging success ideas you have seen on the Brainzooming blog, you now have a chance to HEAR them as well. I was very excited to be a guest for the first SmallBusinessTalent.com podcast episode. During an interview with the host (and loyal Brainzooming fan) Stephen Lahey, we discussed a variety of ways to make sure a blog makes sense and produces results. It was a very fast paced discussion, and I invite you to listen to the podcast on Stephen’s website, SmallBusinessTalent.com.

You Have to Find What Blogging Success Ideas Work for Your Organization

Ultimately, determining your own content strategy and audience building efforts must make sense for you and your organization’s overall objectives. That’s why there are so many different blogs and so many varied ways of approaching them. - Mike Brown

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the free Brainzooming email updates.

If you’re struggling with determining ROI and evaluating its impacts, download “6 Social Media Metrics You Must Track” today!  This article provides a concise, strategic view of the numbers and stories that matter in shaping, implementing, and evaluating your strategy. You’ll learn lessons about when to address measurement strategy, identifying overlooked ROI opportunities, and creating a 6-metric dashboard. Download Your Free Copy of “6 Social Media Metrics You Must Track!”

Mike Brown

Founder of The Brainzooming Group, and a huge fan of strategy, creativity, and innovation. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

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Even though there are many Twitter chats throughout the week, tweeting during a live event on TV is different because you have a large audience who is also tuned in and reacting to the same content you are.

A great way to participate in a large live event Twitter chat is with a group of friends who are on the lookout for each others’ tweets. You can do this through creating a sub-chat inside the bigger chat with its own hashtag. For example, author Jim Joseph is known for his #EXP chats that operate inside a big live event Twitter chat. Through Jim’s custom hashtags, there’s the possibility of both meeting new people and interacting with a small group.

12 Tips for Live Event Twitter Chat Fun

To get the most from a live event Twitter chat, here are 12 tips for having more fun with your experience.

1. A Twitter chat isn’t about making pronouncements or simply blasting messages.

In a discussion-based Twitter chat, a moderator is usually providing questions one at a time for the group’s reaction. When you’re tweeting about a live event, however, there won’t likely be pre-planned questions. Because of that, simply observe what other folks are tweeting. You can answer and respond to other people, even if a question hasn’t been posed.

2. When deciding what Twitter app works best, give Tweetchat.com a try.

One benefit of Tweetchat.com is that it automatically adds the hashtag you’re using within your tweets. This offsets the effects of number 5 (below). Tweetdeck (at least the old version of Tweetdeck) generally seems faster than Hootsuite, but the old Tweetdeck isn’t what it used to be! The refresh speed on the Twitter API is vitally important if you want to avoid being minutes behind in the conversation.  No matter what, expect tweets to run slowly during major events, such as the Super Bowl.

3. Don’t use up all your tweeting energy in the first half / quarter / hour / preview show, etc.

If you’re really focused on a live event Twitter chat, you may be shocked at how tiring tweeting a live event can be. Pace yourself and stick around for the full event.

4. A live event Twitter chat is the perfect opportunity to become an MST3K character.

Discover your inner Tom Servo. Strive for being profound, insightful fun, or snarky – maybe all at the same time. If need be, consider using multiple tweets (and Twitter accounts) to be all these things!

5. Alcohol is an important part of an evening Twitter chat.

And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

6. Since so many people are watching the event, it’s more fun if you’re commentweeting.

People aren’t expecting news reporting regarding the event’s activities; they want to hear your ideas. Your commentweeting is what people really want. Deliver it for them.

7. If you’d like to be more outrageous when you tweet, a live TV event is the perfect time to try it.

The more outrageous you are, the more retweets and followers you’ll earn during a live event Twitter chat.

8. Be aware of good spelling, but don’t slow down for perfect spelling.

Share your ideas as fast as you can. People can figure out small spelling mistakes with few challenges.

9. Tweet short.

As with any other tweeting, if you want retweets, don’t fill up your tweets with all 140 characters. Include only the pithiest thing you have to say in 120 characters and give people a chance to make a quick retweet of your compellingly brief comentweeting.

9. If you’re in a sub-chat (i.e. a focused chat within a bigger event), include the hashtag for the bigger event in your best tweets.

Even through your focus might be on your small group of tweeters, you still want to try to get noticed by those tweeting  with the bigger live event Twitter hashtag. Doing so can bring new tweeters to your group and grow your audience.

10. Follow people you’re tweeting with during the event.

Follow people liberally, or consider creating a Twitter list as another way to track the chat. Additionally, it’s fine to carry on side conversations while the event takes place. While the event brings people to the party, meeting new people you’ll enjoy tweeting with in the future is a big part of the event as well.

11. While Twitter chats are silent, they’re tremendously noisy.

Don’t believe me? If you’re concentrating on an live event Twitter chat, try “hearing” people talking around you and processing what they’re saying. It’s nearly impossible. It sounds stupid, but if you experience deafening Twitter chat loudness, you’re not alone.

If you’re a veteran of a previous live event Twitter chat, what suggestions would you add?

Or if you haven’t participated in a live event Twitter chat previously, what questions do you have? I’d be happy to provide whatever answers I can!   - Mike Brown

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Mike Brown

Founder of The Brainzooming Group, and a huge fan of strategy, creativity, and innovation. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

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It’s fantastic that live event social media coverage of an incredible conference allows you to experience an event live from afar along with the blogs, presentations, and videos recapping the content afterward.

The only downside is you get to start kicking yourself while the event is still underway for not having ponied up the bucks to attend.

That was my sentiment with the New Media Expo (#NMX).

The Sunday afternoon tweets clearly confirmed the great content coming out of the Las Vegas event. By Monday, any remaining doubts were erased that the investment to attend the New Media Expo would have been a great one.

So while I wasn’t at #NMX, here are a sampling of tweets from the event. Again, this wasn’t my original content. These tweets are simply a sampling of great content I monitored and retweeted. Thanks to all the live tweeters for their efforts to share these ideas with the outside world!

This first link is to a Slideshare eBook with highlights from a broad range of #NMX presentations.

New Media Rat Pack – Content & Community Visual eBook from #NMX & @… ow.ly/gDbZj #SocialMedia

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

Audience Growth and “Viral” Content

These New Media Expo tweets underscore that it’s a different ballgame for bloggers than for traditional journalists. This point is lost on many traditional media outlets trying to look like social media sites, often with silly results. Social media content creators, however, would do well to consider adopting the ethics professional journalists operate under daily basis. And speaking of “daily,” there is value in writing more – even publishing daily.

RT @socialmediasean: RT @saravodak: “The goal is not to become mainstream media; it’s to be better.” @leolaporte #nmx — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

MT @501ctechdc: RT @ramonray: If your blog traffic is STUCK – 2 reasons – NOT writing enough & the quality of your content is miserable #nmx

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

While I still contend viral content is largely a game of numbers and chance, these tweets provide an underpinning to creating content that will be better received, even if it doesn’t become viral content. The theme of a micro focus inside a macro sentiment provides a basis for both generating and refining ideas that are near this intersection.

5 traits of viral posts: 1 – they live at the intersection of niche and normal. #NMX

— Amy Lupold Bair(@ResourcefulMom) January 7, 2013

RT @resourcefulmom: Getting your post to go viral: focused, small theme, but one that affects hundreds of millions of people. #NMX — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

MT @resourcefulmom: LOVE this tip: 4. Viral posts ride on back of a detachable rocket. If ur audience is small, can only go so far. #NMX — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

Social Business

This slide from the “War of Words: Myth-Busting Social Media, SEO & Content Marketing” presentation by Lee Odden is a wonderful illustration of how social content interacts with traditional marketing to address wherever a customer is in the buying cycle. You can find whole presentation from Lee Odden on Slideshare.

Love this slide by @leeodden#CIOs should partner with #CMO to understand power of marketing #nmx twitter.com/TheRedZoneCIO/… — Bill Murphy (@TheRedZoneCIO) January 8, 2013

These additional #NMX tweets point to how adopting a social business perspective not only paves the way for a different way of creating a brand’s customer experience, it also opens up intriguing possibilities for ongoing content ideas.

RT @mrmikelangley: MT @valaafshar: There are more smarter ppl on the outside,than inside ur company. That’s why social matters. #NMX #socbiz

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

RT @kevin_lee_qed: MT @samfiorella: Lesson from Ford SocMedia: people engage w/ people, not products. Simple truth. #nmx (lesson 4 brands) — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

RT @dsillsby: RT @bobbyisaacson: “Most brands are still using social but not being social.” -@susanborst #NMX #BusinessNext — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

RT @podmedic: RT @valaafshar: Lesson from @danawhite – customer loyalty is based on your response time and execution velocity. #NMX — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

RT @chrisyates11: RT @laurenmacewen: Build customer service issues into your content creation plan #warofwords #nmx @leeodden — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

RT @mompreneurmogul: MT @ariannems: Myth: Quality content isn’t sustainable. Solution: Know ur consumers’ journey. Empathize! @leeodden #NMX — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

RT @laurenmacewen: Creating content is about creating content for an audience to inspire a specific outcome #warofwords#nmx @leeodden — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

#Custserv also MT @billdowns: Have your sales team BCC answers to customer questions to ur creators = content ideas. @leeodden#nmx — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

Less costly – there’s ROI! RT @laurenmacewen: Easily discoverable content helps consumers educate themselves #warofwords #nmx @leeodden — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

RT @josieedmee: MT @leeodden: Guy’s social media mktg model: “Provide great content and earn the right to promote from time to time.” #NMX — Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

Guy Kawasaki on Social Networking, Apple, and Marketing Success

Keynote presenter Guy Kawasaki was filled with tweetable one-liners – no surprise there. Here are several that prompted my retweets. The first one sums up his take on four social networking platforms:

RT @hensel: Facebook is for people. Twitter is for perspective, google plus is for exploring passions, linkedin is for pimping #nmx

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

I’ve tried to say what Guy Kawasaki says below in several posts about Steve Jobs and the fascination with doing what Steve Jobs did at Apple. There’s no modeling Steve Jobs because he didn’t have to operate with typical strategies because he was wired differently. In all those time of writing about it, however, I’ve never been able to describe the unique situation with Jobs so clearly:

RT @valaafshar: The odds of having a visionary, smart dictator is small in business – @guykawasaki #NMX

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

Always a challenge to force yourself to accept when you want to do a variety of things:

RT @belindaparmar: RT @bryankramer: Most companies who are successful are known for one thing says @guykawasaki #NMX

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

Two Final Random Thoughts from the New Media Expo

This is one of those tweets that you sort of agree with, and sort of makes sense, but I would never have said it this way:

RT @sinabuns: RT @tamadear: We don’t just need analysts–we need data storytellers. Data without insight is just data porn. @webby2001 #nmx

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 8, 2013

Definitely not the sexiest of the rewteets, but a tremendously beneficial idea, nonetheless. I’d throw in your attention and passion right in there with your time as the most valuable things you have:

RT @jkfleming: RT @ariannems: “Money will come and go, but your time is your most valuable commodity!” @chriscducker #NMX #NMXDucker

— Mike Brown (@Brainzooming) January 7, 2013

I’ve got to find a way to get to #NMX in 2014!

Mike Brown

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the free Brainzooming email updates.

If you’re struggling with determining ROI and evaluating its impacts, download “6 Social Media Metrics You Must Track” today!  This article provides a concise, strategic view of the numbers and stories that matter in shaping, implementing, and evaluating your strategy. You’ll learn lessons about when to address measurement strategy, identifying overlooked ROI opportunities, and creating a 6-metric dashboard. Download Your Free Copy of “6 Social Media Metrics You Must Track!”

Mike Brown

Founder of The Brainzooming Group, and a huge fan of strategy, creativity, and innovation. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

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Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2012 Award Results

A big thank you to everyone who made time to vote for Brainzooming as one of the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2012 on Innovation Excellence. The results have been released, and we are on the list at number twelve globally! Given the lesser presence I had on Innovation Excellence in 2012, it was exciting to be on the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers list again. The selection criteria weighting isn’t spelled out in complete detail, so everyone’s support for Brainzooming on the Innovation Excellence website, Twitter, and Facebook had a real impact.

In the spirit of re-establishing a presence on Innovation Excellence with new content this year, here are two recent innovation articles appearing there exclusively:

• 5 Characteristics of the Best Strategic Thinkers
• Collaboration as an Innovative Strategy to Fill a Market Gap
• Insanely Simple – Don’t Think Simplicity Is Easy!

You may find these two innovation articles beneficial, and the entire Innovation Excellence website, with a wide variety of authors, is definitely worth checking out.

5 Questions to Decide What Awards Your Business Seeks

It seems there are so many awards competitions for businesses, if you want to pursue them. Unless a business person is simply big on expending the time and cost to submit award applications – or the follow-on dollars often resulting from winning – it’s valuable to take a strategic perspective when deciding which business awards to pursue.

Consider these 5 strategic questions to decide what awards your business seeks:

1. Is the award name and business category consistent with our brand’s positioning?

2. Does the awarding organization have both name recognition and credibility with our audience?

3. Is the award selective and distinctive (i.e., not every organization who is nominated wins)?

4. Will competing for the award provide discernible marketing or business advantages?

5. Will winning the award provide discernible marketing or business advantages?

Beyond additional opportunity costs on the time and effort to submit an application, these five strategic questions can help decide when an award makes sense for your organization to seek. The more “yes” answers to these strategic questions, the more strategic sense it makes to seek a particular award.

For Brainzooming, being on the Top 40 Innovation Bloggers list makes a lot of strategic sense, as opposed to another award “nomination” we just received. The award name runs counter to how we position The Brainzooming Group, and one tweet about the contest said a single company had submitted 100 other companies as nominees. Those two “no” answers on questions one and three were enough to tell us to save our time on this business award nomination.

The Fun Awards Season – #EXP Twitter Chats

We’re entering the heavy entertainment awards season on TV. Couple that with the February 3^rd Super Bowl, and you have everything necessary for the fun #EXP (short for “Experience”) Twitter chats sponsored by friend and author Jim Joseph. While Jim bills the #EXP Twitter chats as focused on the marketing during these broadcasts, they quickly extend to hilarious and snarky running commentaries (or commentweeting) on the people, places, and miscues of live television. You have to be on Twitter to participate, but if you are, please join us for the upcoming schedule using the hashtag for each of the #EXP Twitter chats:

• Golden Globes – #GGExp –Sunday, January 13
• Super Bowl – #SBExp, Sunday, February 3
• The Grammys – #GrammyExp, Sunday, February 10
• Academy Awards – #OscarExp – Sunday, February 24

Trust me – even if the broadcasts aren’t entertaining, the #EXP Twitter chats will be! - Mike Brown

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the free Brainzooming email updates.

If you’re struggling with determining ROI and evaluating its impacts, download “6 Social Media Metrics You Must Track” today!  This article provides a concise, strategic view of the numbers and stories that matter in shaping, implementing, and evaluating your strategy. You’ll learn lessons about when to address measurement strategy, identifying overlooked ROI opportunities, and creating a 6-metric dashboard. Download Your Free Copy of “6 Social Media Metrics You Must Track!”

Mike Brown

Founder of The Brainzooming Group, and a huge fan of strategy, creativity, and innovation. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

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Friday’s post featured my top ten list of favorite Brainzooming blog posts from 2012. Today’s post features your top ten list of  favorite 2012 Brainzooming blog posts as measured by Google Analytics pageviews.

While there are pre-2012 posts still drawing significant pageviews, the ten posts on this list all debuted in 2012. Not surprisingly, each post is a numbered list. The preference for numbered lists has been consistent each year, much to the chagrin of at least one reader who told me he is not a fan of big list blog posts. While I understand that, the Google Analytics pageview metrics show most of you do enjoy them.

One intriguing (but not surprising) wrinkle to the top ten list of favorite posts is five are compilation posts. These bigger lists are comprised of links to previous content, much of it originating prior to 2012. These posts play a role since with the Brainzooming blog growing to more than 1,300 posts during 2012, finding, compiling, and organizing content is more important for the blog to continue serving as a robust resource. Who would have thought you could wind up with almost too much content?

The final non-surprise on the list is there is only one article overlapping my personal favorites list: 7 Ways to Lie with Focus Groups. This pattern of minimal overlap between my personal favorites and the most viewed posts underscores how my criteria for selecting favorites are not correlated to pageviews. I select most of my personal favorites based on the backstories behind the posts, which clearly has almost nothing to do with what ultimately generates readership.

The Readers’ Top Ten Brainzooming Blog Posts for 2012

Here are your top ten favorite Brainzooming blog posts of 2012:

1. Creating Cool Product Names for a New Product Idea – 8 Creative Thinking Questions
2. What to Blog About? 187 Ideas and Topics for Blogs, All in One Place
3. Brainstorming Session Success – 21 Brainstorming Techniques
4. 15 Ideas on What to Blog about from Your Daily Life
5. Extreme Creative Ideas – 50 Lessons to Improve Creativity Dramatically
6. Advanced Twitter for Business – 19 Links to 480 Twitter Tips, Lessons, and Apps
7. Research – 7 Ways to Lie with Focus Groups
8. Extreme Creativity – 10 Brainstorming Questions from Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives
9. Implementation Problems? 7 Signs You’re Understarting, Not Overthinking
10. Creative Thinking Right Now? 188 Tips for How to Be Creative

Plus a Few Other 2012 Favorites

Beyond my previous top ten list, here are a few other posts that stand out for me this year written by others:

• Space and Creativity – This was Woody Bendle’s first Brainzooming post in 2012, and he went on to be the most prolific guest blogger of 2012 . . . and I hope in 2013, too!
• Great Strategic Questions – A 3-Step Strategic Question Formula – This post from Barrett Sydnor is a favorite of mine because the formula Barrett shares for devising strategic questions is absolutely ideal for getting great input from others.
• The Importance of a Passion Project – Alyssa Murfey made her Brainzooming blog debut in 2011 and followed it up with several more in 2012, including this one on her passion project. We hope to grow the collaboration in 2013 to include a presentation on personal branding for both early and more experienced professionals.
• Working Cats: A Day In The Life Of An Executive Cat – If you follow my Facebook feed, you have seen pictures of Clementine, our feline Director of Enthusiasm at The Brainzooming Group. She made her blogging debut on Fully Feline in 2012, sharing what her life is like as a working cat. We will have to see if she has a Brainzooming post in her in 2013!

Mike Brown

Mike Brown

Founder of The Brainzooming Group, and a huge fan of strategy, creativity, and innovation. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

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For past Christmas blog posts, I have shared lists of things bloggers and readers could give one another for Christmas. This year, let’s take a different spin on social media giving!

7 Social Media Christmas Gift Ideas

Here are seven social media Christmas gift ideas anyone active on social networks can give to others. Having received many of these gifts from friends on Twitter and Facebook this year, they are all true blessings.

1. Show up regularly

If you have spent time on social networks and made strong connections, show up regularly to maintain relationships. Various people I’ve known have made huge social media debuts on Twitter, talked frequently across multiple platforms, and then completely disappeared. When you create social network-based friendships, don’t suddenly disappear without saying a word any more than you would disappear unannounced from an in real life friendship.

2. Share a “truer” picture of your life

Everybody uses social networks to try putting the best spins on their lives and successes; Facebook and Twitter are definitely “share success to impress” territory. Give everybody a break and present a truer picture of yourself. It’s fine to share your successes, but don’t share all of them. Also share insight into your challenges, too. Both you and your friends will be more human for you having shared a truer picture of your life.

3. Listen (and not just in a “social media listening” kind of way)

Social media listening is important for social media success. But in this case, the gift of listening is going beyond simply having bunches of social media feeds you monitor. Really LISTEN to people you interact with on social networks. Read between the lines and spot people experiencing difficulties they won’t fully disclose or joys at which they only hint. Reading between the tweets and updates is a gift that is always appreciated.

4. Respond to questions

One of my least favorite things on a social network is when someone asks a question, people follow-up with answers and perspectives, then the person asking the question never responds – to anyone. Maybe they can’t get to everyone, but try to interact with those who offer responses. And if you see someone asking a question – particularly one where they’re looking for information or ideas – respond. . .unless the questioner has burned you before by never answering previously asked questions.

5. Offer your help and your perspective when someone needs it

There are definitely times I share Twitter or Facebook updates with oblique references to things going on in my work or personal life. It’s such a joy when a close social media friend (only a few of whom are in real life close friends) messages to see what’s happening. Sometimes it’s nothing but venting. Other times, it is a bigger deal, and I don’t have anyone to talk with about it in person. It’s wonderful when a close friend reaches out to offer their advice and words of encouragement.

6. Start a conversation with a lurker

Start conversations with people, especially those who need someone to talk with them. Reach out to the people who leave great comments or like your content occasionally, but don’t seem to interact when you see them pop up in your stream. Give the gift of trying to bring lurkers in your midst into conversations.

7. Fewer food pictures, unless the food is really beautiful or really unusual

There’s no need to share pictures on social media of everything you eat. If a dish is exceptionally beautiful, share it. If a dish is very unusual (i.e., it is extreme, surprising, or nostalgic), go ahead and share it. If it’s microwave mac and cheese and you’re simply pissed off about it being the only thing in the house to eat when you’re too tired to go get food, give your friends a break and keep the picture to yourself! - Mike Brown

Mike Brown

Founder of The Brainzooming Group, and a huge fan of strategy, creativity, and innovation. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

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It’s not about thinking outside the box; it’s about thinking all over the place, all the time . . . There could be fantastic things happening for you right now behind the scenes or just outside your view . . . Here’s one for the Seinfeld Fans: iPad + Shrinkage = iPadMini. Really though, how are we going to be happy as a society until there is an iSomething or the other in quarter inch size increments between 3 inches and 17 inches?

Just thinkin’ – people with the best parking spaces leave them the slowest . . . Got a Facebook friend suggestion for someone from college. Why do I feel guilty for thinking, “How is he still alive?” . . . So now when I see an ad for a Tour de France stationery bike, I imagine it infuses doping drugs . . .This just in, from my friend Julie Cottineau:  “Toilets can be an important touch point for your brand.”

I love typos with meaning: “Aspiraction” – Embracing what you want in life and getting off your butt to do something about it . . . Just because you can doesn’t mean you have to. Just because you want to doesn’t mean you should be able to . . . Let’s play Jeopardy – Creativity for $400.  A: Some people specialize in sucking oxygen out of a room. Q: Who are people to not have in a brainstorming session, Alex?

Don’t discount that there’s a very solid reason for why you’re in the sorry state you’re in right now; it’s a wakeup call . . . Somebody endorsed me on LinkedIn for “Facebook cat photos.” Probably not a good sign . . . Our HP printer box was mis-labeled. It said “network” printer, but they meant “NOTwork” printer . . . When the big corporation you run can’t compete, complete a big deal. It’s distracting in oh so many pleasant ways. Until those ways become very unpleasant . . . There is a real need to turn my entire office upside down and shake out the debris of projects past . . . Some things are too good to be true. Then there is a whole other category of things that are too true to be good . . . Here’s everything you need to know about social media responsiveness from @leahbradshaw, “I can’t wait around for an answer from whoever, whenever. I have to respond.”

Things that stop you? Decorum, laws, a sense of right & wrong, fears, a clear head, a promise, bad decisions, no nunchuck skills . . . “I do stupid stuff so you don’t have to.” This from a guy on Oddities who sticks stuff into his face . . . When it rains, it pours. What’s the opposite of that? When it’s a drought, things get drier?

Try not to wear your emotions on your Twitter stream . . . The History Channel had a show on Zombies? That tells us much of what we need to know about deceptive naming . . .There should be a wireless router brand called “FoFum” so it could be “Wi-Fi from FoFum.”

Three words you could think about all day? “Speed never slumps.” That’s Alyson Habetz, an assistant softball coach at Alabama . . . New innovation phrase for the day? “Too Inconsequential to Fail.” There’s nothing but upside in creating small stuff. . . When strategy creation is turned into filling out forms, you will have crappy strategy on your hands . . . Money doesn’t fix bad business behavior. Honest conversations and integrity fix bad business behaviors . . . So many things in life don’t have an end. You just have the daily opportunity to do YOUR best, no matter what anybody else thinks. - Mike Brown

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Mike Brown

Founder of The Brainzooming Group, and a huge fan of strategy, creativity, and innovation. Mike is a frequent speaker on innovation, strategic thinking, and social media.

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