If you have ever been in a foreign country you have probably had a conversation similar to this: “You are from California? I have a friend in California, maybe you know him!” We always laugh when this happens because California has roughly 30 million residents and is larger in size than many countries (it is …
"The 4-Hour Workweek" Review
So many people who I follow on the Internet had mentioned Tim Ferris’s “The 4-Hour Workweek” that I thought it was finally time for me to read it. Ferris’s book proposes working with a goal in mind, working less and spending more time on whatever it is that would be fulfilling for you, travel for …
Video – The Making of the Amateur Traveler Podcast
As I was recording and editing the Amateur Traveler podcast this week I took the opportunity to document the process using the new ScreenFlow application on the Mac. I skipped a bit as I spend 6-8 hours creating the show and the total video here is 15 minutes long but it should be long enough …
BzzAgent – Creating Word of Mouth
If you have not heard of BzzAgent it is a company that gets paid by companies to create word of mouth advertising or buzz. I have been a BzzAgent for some time now but had not participated in any campaigns. But recently they had a campaign advertising a new burger (the Smokehouse Bacon Burger) at …
Podcasting – It’s Not an Industry… Not Yet At Least
Michael Geoghegan (who hosts the Official Disney podcast among other things) is stirring up the podcasting community again (like the good friend who comes over to your house for an intervention) with an article titled “Podcasting – It’s a Community Not an Industry“. I agree that “this is the year that podcast advertising takes off” …
World's Worst Podcast… A How To Guide
It occurs to me upon listening to a number of podcasts (I subscribe to around 100 podcasts) that many podcasters dabble with failure but never really fully embrace it. It seems like even the worst podcast has something that someone somewhere would value. But what, I wondered, if we combined the worst part of the …
DYI MBA
You might get the impression from the books that I read that I am working on a “do it yourself MBA by mail” course. The truth is not far from that. As the chief technologist at a community marketing agency and in my previous endeavors I have lived through many of the triumphs and pitfalls …
Free Prize Inside, Purple Cow by Seth Godin
I just finished reading two books by the prolific marketeer Seth Godin: Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside. I had heard a number of people discussing Godin’s latest book and thought I would see what I was missing. Purple Cow is a battle cry to make remarkable products. It is a passionate plea that a …
When Did Amateur Become a Dirty Word?
It seems over the last few years main stream media has increasingly taken the position that main stream media is “professional” and that bloggers and podcasters are “amateurs”. When did “amateur” become a dirty word? I am an amateur, after all I have a podcast that proudly proclaims myself the “Amateur Traveler“. But what’s so …
Video: Neil Howe on Generational Differences
Neil Howe is one of the two authors of the book Millennials Rising. He spoke yesterday at the Sun Worldwide Education and Research Conference 2008. He is an interesting speaker but the topic itself, the difference between baby boomers, gen x-ers and millennials is fascinating. He argues that millennials have gotten criticized for how they …