Foushy Good Reads Returns!

Rahaf — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:43:32 +0000

What is Foushy Reads?

I’ve been trying to be a little bit more productive on my flights by using the down time to attack my “To Be Read Pile.” I gave myself a goal of reading one book per flight (on flights longer than 2 hours) and I’ve been making tons of headway! I haven’t been posting reviews of everything I’ve read because it’s been a mix of fiction, (romance, biographies, mysteries) but of course, I do try to mix in some “industry” literature.

The first Foushy Good Reads was Mitch Joel’s “Six Pixels of Separation.” I reviewed the book, and Mitch was kind enough to answer some of my questions.

Next up will be Amber MacArthur’s “PowerFriending.” Some other books that I’m writing up include “The Four Hour Work Week,” by Tim Ferris and “Trust Agents,” by Chris Brogan.

I only recommend books I like:

I really love reading book reviews since I’m always on the hunt for a juicy read. One of my favorite parts of getting through a great book is being able to tell someone about it so they can experience it for themselves. I find book reviews so subjective that I have a hard time finding books without getting overwhelmed.

What I’d rather do is find people who have similar tastes to me and follow what they are reading. I’ve liked this approach so much that I’ve decided to do the same with my book reviews. Foushy Reads will only focus on reviewing books that I have liked and will generally have a post reviewing my impressions as well as a Q&A with the author.

Disclaimer:

I’m fortunate to count some of these very smart people as my friends and my policy towards reviewing their work remains the same. I won’t post a review unless I like it and am honest about sharing my constructive feedback. I will also make any association known at the beginning of the review.

Got a great book? Shoot me an email and let me know!

Image: CC Ian Wilson

Good Reads: Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel (Part 2)

Rahaf — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:17:11 +0000

A long, long time ago (October 2009) I attempted to turn my endless hours on planes into something more productive: Kindle Book Reviews!

My first Foushy Read was my friend Mitch Joel’s book “Six Pixels of Separation,” that I reviewed in Part 1.

After finishing it, I had quite a few questions and Mitch was kind enough to answer them for me. So, despite the, obnoxious, long delay, I’m happy to finally be able to share this interview!

On how personal brands impact businesses:

Q: Your book chronicles the rising importance of the personal brand as a way of establishing a unique value proposition. What are some of the fundamental changes that are going to occur for businesses as we move towards a more individual-centric brand landscape?

The changes are going to be radical. When individuals have audiences that rival those of some of the biggest corporations, you can just imagine how this is going to change communications and marketing – both internally and externally. That’s the real shift because of Social Media that few people really do focus on.

When the guy in the mailroom can have 120,000 people following and engaging with him on platforms like Twitter, everything we know about hierarchy and speaking with “one, unified voice” not only goes out the window, but becomes fake to consumers. My hopes are that this new brand landscape will lead they way to more and more real interactions between real human beings, instead of corporate-speak and stock press release quotes.

On being heard in a sea of voices:

Q: With traditional media channels, there was a filtering process that allowed certain companies to be branded as “authorities” with the internet equalizing everyone, what happens to the prestige of the expert? How do you differentiate yourself in an industry filled with “experts”?

One of the trends everyone is talking about is filters and aggregators. It’s important to remember that as more and more people create the content they want in text, images, audio and video and publish them to the world, the more sceptical most people will become.

I think people are going to have their own, inner circle of experts that will trump what we have traditionally thought of “experts” (it turns out that individuals are great at aggregating and editing what’s important to them). Just think about how John Stewart always has those amazingly ridiculous (and funny) titles for all of his “journalist” and “correspondent”.

The days of ABC or CNN telling you who an expert really is may be coming to an end. It looks like each of us will have our own trusted advisors who will acts as our own, personal experts and the currency of their value will be dictated by the word of mouth referrals they receive.

On measuring our own success:

Q: We can’t all be Mitch Joel’s and Chris Brogan! Not everyone can write a book, publish a blog and start an agency, what does success look like for the rest of us?

I think that Social Media is still a great place to tell, share and talk about stories. I’m not so sure that Social Media can be the frontline of success. It’s not for me, and I don’t think it’s like that for Chris Brogan anymore. Much like anything else that is public, you still need the “back-end” where the “action” happens. I think a small few will tweet their way to success, but for the majority of us, it’s always just going to be a great platform to share and connect.

Nothing more, nothing less. Success, as always, will be dependant on how much passion, intelligence and hustle you bring to your game (whatever you game may be). Wow, I sound like Gary Vaynerchuk (I just finished reading his book, Crush It… maybe that’s why?).

On luring readers after a blogging haitus:

Q: I have been guilty of not updating my blog in a consistent basis. Shame! Once we’ve dropped the ball, what are some of the best ways to get readers back?

Be curious.
Read lots of different stuff (online, magazines, books, newspapers).
Constantly write – because you love to write (you do love to write, don’t you?).
Ask questions (and answer them on your Blog).
Use it as a pressure gasket to clear your mind at the end of the day (just be careful not to set off too many other people’s gaskets by your comments
Keep a notebook or a document open on your desktop/mobile device where you can jot down ideas for things to Blog about.

Thanks Mitch!

Stalk Mitch Online:

Learn more about Mitch’s work here.

The Foush » Books