Three Words for 2013: Move, Measure, Meditate

My friends Chris Brogan and C.C. Chapman are vocal proponents of the practice of choosing three words as your focal point and reminder of goals for the coming year. The challenge is to narrow your annual objectives to three words that serve as guideposts to remind you and keep you centered on the things you have decided really matter.  I've tried to master the art of three words a few times in the past, but not every year.  In fact this year I've chosen to focus more on being in control.  That said, there are three words that I do think I should put at the top of my list this year.  As a faithful, fervent fan of frequent alliteration my three works all start with the letter M:

Move.
Measure.
Meditate.

Move.  In many ways, movement is the secret to all success.  We must increase our movement to be healthy.  We must always keep our mind moving to stay sharp.  We must always keep our careers and relationships moving forward.  For a shark, ceasing to keep moving is a literal death sentence.  For a human, lack of movement leads to stagnation, to depression, to frustration.  In 2013 I want to keep moving.  From literally running for exercise, to advancing personal and business goals, constant and positive movement will be key.

Measure.  We live in the age of big data, and as someone who never really was a numbers guy, I've come to gain an appreciation for the value of measurement.  It started with an obsession with fitness trackers.  I wear both a Fitbit and Nike Fuel Band every day, and I pay attention to the data they provide, relishing in the satisfaction of measurable results, and enjoying the discovery of patterns and new personal records.  Now I want to apply that same appreciation of measurement to track and monitor my progress and results in areas beyond fitness, and especially in business.

Meditate.  Over the summer I was inspired to revisit practicing meditation, something I began in High School but let go of sometime after graduating from college.  Over the past few months I've been sporadically trying to reestablish TM as part of my daily routine, but it hasn't quite stuck yet.  It's a shame, because when I do manage a nice stretch of a few weeks of consistent daily meditation I can tangibly feel the results in my improved energy and awareness, and just plain feeling better.  So, as part of my mission to take better control of my time, I want to make the time for meditation each and every day.

There you have it.  My three words for 2013.  I won't go so far as to tattoo them to my forehead, but I will write them on post it notes, and in my notebooks and hope to refer to them regularly as gentle guides toward a productive and fruitful New Year.

How about you?  Have you selected three words?

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New Podcast Fiction: Wunderkind!

For almost two years now I have officially been a podcaster as a co-host of the Cast of Dads podcast along with C.C. Chapman, Michael Sheehan, Brad Powell and Max Kalehoff.  While I love being one of the Cast of Dads, I have always wanted to try my hand at podcast fiction.  Finally, I have have dusted off something I've written that I think will lend itself well to the podcast medium, and I am announcing the launch of a new serialized podcast of an original comedy screenplay, "Wunderkind!"

I am very fortunate to consider many of the highly creative and innovative podcasters friends of mine, including Scott Sigler,  J.C. Hutchins, C.C. Chapman, Seth Harwood, Tee Morris and Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, all of whom have been great examples and an inspiration to me.  I've learned a great deal from listening to them, and have enjoyed countless hours of entertainment from them (along with tens of thousands of their other loyal fans).  They've set the podcast bar pretty high, and I am sure, especially at the beginning, my attempt may be a little rough around the edges, but I am excited to dive in with the story and look forward to honing my podcasting skills along the way.

"Wunderkind!" is an original screenplay I wrote a while back.  It is an inside Hollywood comedy about a young film buff who unexpectedly becomes the next Hollywood wunderkind.  I was inspired to turn it into a podcast after I listened to Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff's fantastic podcast reading of his screenplay "Number One with a Bullet" (affiliate link), the first podcast of a screenplay read in screenplay format.  Listening to Mark, it dawned on me that I, too, had some potential podcast fodder in the form of my screenplay "Wunderkind!"

I hope you'll consider listening to "Wunderkind!", and if you do, I would love getting your feedback.  You can learn more about "Wunderkind!" and listen to it at www.WunderkindPodcast.com, and you can also subscribe in iTunes.

Hooray for Hollywood!

An Entertaining Future is #StillHere (via Dadomatic)

(This post originally appeared at www.dadomatic.com. The creativity and clever use of Facebook Connect by The Discovery Channel, Campfire and JC Hutchins is worthy of noting here as well. If you haven't yet had the chance, I encourage you to visit www.JoinTheColony.com and see for yourself...) 

When we were kids, entertainment was mostly a passive activity.  We plopped down in front of the TV and zoned out on BATMAN and THE MONKEES (ok, I might be showing my age here, but those are the shows I was enamored with…)  Our kids, however, are growing up in an increasingly connected, interactive world, that is changing the shape of entertainment and entertainment marketing.  Already their world is filled with immersive games, and high definition and 3-D images.  They are constantly connected with their friends through their social networks (as are we), so to get our attention marketers really have to raise the bar. 

I Joined The Colony…

As part of a promotion for the upcoming (July 27th) premiere of season 2 of  THE COLONY, The Discovery Channel has created a rather ingenious interactive and very personal experience that makes clever use of our individual social graphs.  If you visit jointhecolony.com and log in using Facebook Connect, you will enter a very real, interactive simulation that blends status updates, news reports, video and more, from your real friends, to tell a detailed and realistic story about a fictional Pandemic.  It is a taste of what the classic WAR OF THE WORLDS radio broadcast might have turned into if Orson Welles had worked his magic today.  Instead of Welles, much of the content at JoinTheColony.com was created by the talented author JC Hutchins, but it appears, quite convincingly, as if the messages, comments and news stories are being presented to you by the people you know and trust.  It is very cool, and worth spending some time getting lost in the fantasy… 

And This Has What To Do With Dads? 

Ok, so perhaps The Colony and Jointhecolony.com are not really targeted to families or kids, and certainly they are not appropriate for young kids… However, I think the way this promotion leverages Facebook and drags real people we know into a fictional but realistic story is a small taste of what is possible, and an indicator of the kinds of interactive entertainment that will perhaps soon be commonplace to our kids.  As parents we already know we have to guide our kids through their digital lives and make sure they understand the implications of their social lives online.  Raising digitally aware and digitally responsible kids will be even more important as they experience creative uses of their social networks, like this one, that may temporarily blur the lines between fiction and reality.  Our kids are going to be exposed to new and exciting forms of entertainment that we might only have dreamed of when we were their ages.  I think that is pretty cool, and look forward to seeing how things evolve.  What do you think?

Survival Of The Fittest? 

I found out about JoinTheColony.com from an unexpected package that I received, and I made the short video below to document my own experiences with this clever promotion.  If you are reading this, then you can assume I survived and am #STILLHERE.  Enjoy!


I Joined The Colony and am #StillHere from Jeffrey Sass on Vimeo.

DISCLAIMER: I am not expected to return any of the items in the package.  I can keep them (and they may come in handy during hurricane season).  CC Chapman, who was involved in the promotion on behalf of Campfire is a friend, and a co-host with me on the Cast of Dads podcast.  JC Hutchins is also a personal friend.  No pets, children, or neighbors were harmed during the making of this video, but some may have been spooked by seeing me running around the backyard in a bio-protection suit and mask…  That’s their problem. 

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 22, Ethan, 20 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab and you can listen to Jeff on the Cast of Dads podcast.

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Tagged as: #stillhere, Cast of Dads, Discovery Channel, Entertainment, interactive entertainment, Jeff Sass, JoinTheColony.com, The Colony, The Discovery Channel, TV, Video

via dadomatic.com

A Cold Beer Is Better Than A Cold Call!

I don't know about you, but I hate making cold calls. I do it when I have to, and I'm actually not bad at it, but I hate it nonetheless. The good news is that Social Media gives us the tools to avoid ever having to make another cold call. Used properly and creatively, the information flow and personal data available via Social Networks is invaluable for business development. As a self-professed Social Media "addict" I work hard to put my addiction to good use for my business. Here is one of many examples of how I have used Twitter and other tools to build a worthwhile business opportunity.

TRACKING DOWN AN EBEL GENIUS

I work at Myxer, and we provide an outstanding platform and large audience for content creators who want to reach their fans with mobile entertainment. Tens of thousands of Indie bands and artists use our free service to create and share ringtones of their music with their fans. I am also an avid podcast listener, and through podcasting I became a fan of the talented musician Matthew Ebel whose music was frequently featured on podcasts I listen to regularly including Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and CC Chapman's Accident Hash. A while ago, I thought it would be great to get Matthew and his music on Myxer and started looking for ways to reach out to him. Then I saw this Tweet from CC Chapman flow by on my Twitter stream:

PUTTING THE "PAL" IN PAYPAL

I had some interactions with CC on Twitter before, so on a whim I decided to see if I could use CC to get an introduction to Matthew. Using PayPal, I sent $10.00 to CC Chapman with a note saying something along the lines of "if you can introduce me to Matthew the first beer's on me!" It worked! Soon I saw this Tweet from CC:

FROM BEER TO BUSINESS

Shortly thereafter I was able to exchange emails with Matthew, thanks to CC, and so a connection was born. Over time, we did indeed get Matthew's great music on Myxer. In fact, this past summer we participated in a fun and timely experiment with him by sponsoring his Electric Bicycle project on Block Island, dubbed the MyxerCycle. To memorialize his electric bike project, Matthew put together a great 5 part video series about the MyxerCycle which you can see here.

I hope this helps quench your thirst for some examples of using Social Media for business and, at least in this case, proves that a "Cold Beer call" is much better than a Cold Call!

If you have never had the chance to see or hear Matthew Ebel, here is a fan-created Music Video (and link to a free Ringtone) of his popular song "Drive Away" from his aptly titled, "BEER & Coffee" CD. Cheers!

More from Matthew Ebel at Myxer

Beer Glass Photo Credit: Okea - Fotolia.com