Characters: Jeff Cutler, unnamed people at the tables around the room, announcer/bartender

The bartender wanders across the stage and grabs the microphone. If you looked carefully at his hands, you can see the scars on his knuckles from numerous fights. This bartender used to be a bouncer who worked his way up in the organization. To some, bartending isn’t a lateral move.

BARTENDER: Here’s that writer guy. He twits or tweets, whatever. Give it up for Jeff Culter… Cutler.

Jeff bounces onto the stage wearing his Duluth Trading Company firehose pants and presentation jacket.

He smiles at the bartender and then waves to the crowd. Crowd is an overstatement – there are 9 people in the room, eight of them are awake.

JEFF: Thanks for that warm welcome! I just flew in from Boston and boy are my arms tired….

Then I wake up.

That little sequence is an approximation of the dream that keeps me – and maybe other dedicated content professionals – on task and focused when preparing to deliver information and training. I imagine it’s what Chris Brogan used to feel like before he made it (or is making it) big.

The reason I bring this up is because I’m now doing the mini-Chris Brogan tour around the country. As many of you know, the Society of Professional Journalists has hired me to teach newspeople all around the world how to use social media tools to listen to and engage people.

What’s that mean? Aside from harrowing flights on planes about the size of an Egg McMuffin, it means that I’m meeting some great folks, honing my presenting skills, and staying brutally on top of the latest social media news.

It also means that I get to taste some of the magic that Chris Brogan sees on a daily basis. Guess what, it’s not magic.

Like any other job, it looks attractive from the outside (except maybe for cat neuterer and human paintball target). The flying around the country, the exotic meals in random restaurants and the huge paychecks make it seem so. But here’s the breakdown…

Airport food, Wichita, KS (the people and beer were fantastic), wobbly planes, basic paychecks. It’s not the glamour you might have anticipated.

Yes, I’m not Brogan. But I imagine aside from a much larger check – rumors say it’s above $20,000 a day – it’s a similar grind.

So, before you start having dreams, waking up in a sweat, or bobbing around the midwest in little prop planes, take a look at your current workload and assignments. You might be better off with the day job and letting masochists like me and Chris go chat with organizations about how they can better use social media.

What job do you lust for? Share that in the comments.

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Post tags: automobiles, Chris Brogan, Jeff Cutler, planes, social media, SPJ, trains, work

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I play a little poker and I’m pretty mediocre. I wouldn’t lose a bunch of money, but for a while I was slightly addicted. Not in a bad way…like my Internet addiction (doing email on a rainy Sunday when I could be having breakfast and putting photos of it up on NomX3 or WWJCE)…but I’d play frequently and lose about 52% of the time.

You might look at that figure and think I really stink, but if my math is correct, that means I’m losing about 2% of the time and doing OK the rest of the time. Not horrible at all.

I only got to be that good through the support of a friend of mine. He urged me to watch other players, read books on the game, and to analyze my own strategy.

Chris’ message today is one of support. Of how Andy helped out another player at the table. A big-time poker pro giving someone a little benefit just because he could.

It’s a lesson that if we have the tools at our disposal to help someone – regardless of whether we’ve gotten along in the past or whether our policies/beliefs align – what does it hurt to help out?

To me, this means putting in a good word for someone if you can. Introducing them to smarter people (that’s how we all improve). Going to their events and getting others to go. Making whatever community you’re a part of more cohesive instead of divisive.

Maybe I’m still groggy this morning and it’s making me sentimental.

Or maybe the rain is allowing me to see with clarity that if we don’t do unto others and share our support, friendships and relationships will wash away.

How are you helping support the people in your community?

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Post tags: Boston, Chris Brogan, Las Vegas, nomx3, poker, sitboaf, Tweetups, WWJCE

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You know what I did when I found out that the book had hit newstands? Right, I bought it.

Really. I went to Amazon and dropped about $20 including shipping to buy his book.

Am I going to read it? Maybe. Am I going to learn anything from it. Only if I read it, and then maybe not. But I still felt some glee in buying a copy.

Why?

Because it’s important to support the people you care about. This includes family, friends, lovers and those in your community in whom you believe. Chris is one of these people.

He gives his time and opinion freely. He shares insight and perspective openly. And he’s a valuable connection and friend in the social media space.

Further, I’m a published author.

Maybe you didn’t realize it, but my first book came out in 2000. As an author I know firsthand what it’s like to give birth to a book. It’s amazing and chilling and fun and humbling. And what makes it even better is knowing that people will pay money to read your words.

That’s why I do a lot of the things I do in the social media fishbowl. Seriously.

I’m making a good portion of my income by training people how to tweet better and how to incorporate blogging and content creation into their enterprise. But if you ask me about blogging while we’re at an ice cream tweetup or during a taping of LUNCH, I’ll share my thoughts. That’s what the social part is all about.

I volunteered to show up on Permission TV on Thursday, do a guest spot on Word on the Tweet a week ago, and co-host an event with Ford Motor Company tomorrow in Cambridge.

Somewhere there are maxims and fortune cookies that tell of how great the return is when you give a little of yourself. It’s true. But I’m getting something back that’s greater than my time and attention. I’m getting to be around and learn from some really fun and smart people.

Folks like John Cass – who knows more about business operations and marketing than I could ever learn in two years of MBA classes.

Guys like Matt Searles – who keeps the oddest hours on the planet but has still self-published a bunch of music and shows up to support me at most of my random events.

Women like Laura Fitton – who also has a book out and gives all the credit to her co-authors for making it possible.

And the rest of the community who inspire me with their actions, their words and their presence. The stuff these people share isn’t something you can find in a book.

Or maybe it is. Why not take a quick jaunt over to Amazon and find out.

Kudos Mr. Brogan. Good work.

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Post tags: #trustagents, book, Chris Brogan, community, Jeff Cutler, social media

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In a conversation I had with my GF the other day, she said, “You should definitely hitch your wagon to him.”

She was talking about a friend of mine. A guy who is fairly well-known in the social-media sphere and who has contacts elsewhere in business communities and the technology world.

Preliminarily I agreed. It’s never bad to know more people. It helps you maintain perspective – both personal and professional. It helps you reach new communities and audiences – fairly important when creating content for a variety of consumers. And having a variety of wagons around you – circa the old West – means that you’re ensconced in a protective and nurturing shield of like-minded and similarly driven entities.

But where does the fishbowl effect come in? When does each wagon start to look like the next one?

If you’re focused on the Boston social-media scene, you might ascribe any one of a dozen names to the person my girlfriend suggested. You’d likely be wrong. The person we were talking about was someone I got to know recently and someone who has far less influence than the recognized old-guard rockstars.

This guy has ideas about services and how to deliver them via the Web. He knows how to use and enjoy social media and is looking for partners in his quest.

It’s like watching the start of Lord of the Rings – or any film where a merry band of people gather together to take on the odds as a team.

Now let’s get to the butter.

For a while I’ve been an evangelist of social media tools. I’ve used most of them and have even taught individuals, businesses and educational institutions how to Tweet, Link and ‘Book. That’s not changing, but the thing that is – ever-so-slightly – is my focus on the future.

As Ashton Kutcher and Oprah delve into social media and drag it to the masses, there’s going to be a wave of demand for the skills I’ve built over the past five years.

Instead of being the scribe or content creator, I’ve shifted to the role of content coordinator. I’m now advising people about the content they should have and where they should have it. There’s a greater opportunity in that role – both for financial return and for sharing.

You see, if I just hitch my wagon to the superstars and feed Remora-like off their conquests nobody wins. If I ride alongside them and offer to pull people with my wagon, then the bread gets buttered on both sides for everyone.

The only reason I’m able to pull – and never lose sight of this – is that the rockstars have shared themselves and this is just my way to pay it forward…errr backward.

Look at your vehicle. Is it a wagon? If so, I urge you to offer someone a ride, too. You’ll both get where you’re going a little faster. Trust me.

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Post tags: Ashton, Chris Brogan, Garyvee, greg verdino, Jeff Cutler, jeff pulver, mike langford, social media, steve garfield, twitter

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Wondering why I put a hyphen in social media? That could be an entire soap-box discussion for another day on the benefits of writing grammatically correct missives in a world that’s married to LOL and ROFLMA and thx and bai and other manglings. But not today. Right here and right now I’m going to talk about why a dimmer switch approach is better than just flicking the lights on when you’re going to share yourself with the Webiverse.

Picture a party scene. You’ve been invited because you live in the house next door and you’re not obviously a nudist, a murderer or a Hare Krishna. Digressing again, if you are one of these things I’m sure you have your reasons. Please don’t fill the comment box with the reasons why it’s better that we all go without clothing.

You step up to the front door of the house, ring the bell and wait. When the door opens, do you:

a – run screaming into the house, shouting your name and throwing pictures of yourself and your family to the guests?

b – see the door opening and dive headlong into the bushes at the side of the porch, quivering like one of those cute, but useless, punting dogs that waifish models carry in their purse?

c – thank the hostess, shake her hand, present her with a bottle of Cabernet and then stride into the room observing the scene – looking and listening for clues about the people and the environment you’ve just entered?

While I’m in favor of the the dive-in-the-bushes approach, the preferred way to gain acceptance, develop a valuable following, and create conversations that allow you to learn and grow is by twisting the dimmer switch up to a brightness you and your audience can tolerate.

Don’t blast the spotlight on the room and yourself by running around in an overbearing and annoying manner. And don’t leave the lightswitch off as you avoid the possibility of meeting some great people with fantastic perspectives and ideas. Just twist the dimmer and allow others – and yourself – to bask in the glow.

From what I’ve found, the casual and consistent approach can be explained by many metaphors, but the importance in social media is being yourself and contributing in a positive manner to the conversations going on around you.

You’ll soon find that the light on everyone else you admire and learn from is strong enough to illuminate the value everyone has to share…even you.

What’s your favorite metaphor for participating in the social-media fishbowl? I welcome you to shine a light on your point of view.

-30-

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© Jeff Cutler™ for Jeff Cutler™ - columns, essays and opinions, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chris Brogan, contribute, dimmer switch, guest post, Jeff Cutler, social media

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