And with so many people today talking about global warming, I thought it important to touch on a subject that affects each of us who spend our days in front of the computer. Bloggers, business owners, web and graphics designers – all of us can take something of value from this video…

And, it’s hilarious…

Please, don’t thank me for the public service announcement. Just doing my job as a steward for humanity.

But really, this video could open a whole interesting discussion, huh? Let’s just see where it goes…

Denise Wakeman of Blog Squad fame asked that question of Chris Garrett. The conversation that grew created a bed of blogging tips. Watching the interview (5 1/2 minutes) Chris makes it pretty clear that a successful blog, like a successful business, is built on planning, focus, clarity and knowing your audience.

Whenever a client or prospective client ever asks me about marketing, I always begin my answer by finding out what they’re clear (and unclear) about in their business. I’ve learned the hard way of the years that you can only market, hence you can only sell, that which you’re clear about. And the greatest clarity I’ve found has come through understanding what problems my prospective clients face.

From the interview…

“If you actually concentrate on the audience and you’re talking to people and actually communicating and you focus on people, then you’re going to attract better attention and you’re going to actually produce something worthwhile. Because it’s all about your audience; it’s all about all about people.

A lot of people think it’s about just broadcasting your thoughts but if those thoughts don’t make meaning to people then you’re going to fail. So you have to give people what they want, how they want it and keep learning and keep promoting.

Another big aspect as people say is content is king. Well, content IS king. But what is a king but a guy in a funny hat? If he hasn’t got an army behind him, if he hasn’t got people saying, “your the king,” then you’ve got nothing – you’re just a guy in a funny hat. So you to make great content but you have to promote it as well.”

Take a watch.

Near the end of the interview Chris talks about the ’so-what’ test. Does your blog stand up to it? What about your business? In other words, are people able to truly care about what you can do for them?

Most of us at SOBCon08 are bloggers, right? So you had to know that we blogged the event. Now I say we collectively as I was too busy jotting notes to live blog and too engrossed in conversation to blog at the event.

So what about the evenings…well, if I was getting to bed before 2am, perhaps. But I wasn’t.

Yet plenty of people either wrote reports from SOBCon08 or were live blogging as it happened. We even had a Twitter feed going at one point. The conversation behind the event didn’t stop – even during it.

So if you missed something or lost your notes at least you can find what you need from the vast resources below.

And if you couldn’t make it to SOBCon08 this year, you’ll find a great list of content that was written during the event. Having gone through all of these posts, photos and videos, there’s enough content here to make it feel like you were there – just without the smiles, hugs and handshakes.

• Christine Kane – 5 Reasons I’m Performing at SOBCon08
• Steve Sherlock from Steve’s 2 Cents – SOBCon08 – Initial Feedback on Conference, SOBCon08 (poem)
• The Blog Squad – Chris Garrett Video Interview at SOBCon08 (video)
• Chris Garrett from chrisg.com – SOBCon Event Report Day 1
• Terry Starbucker – SOBCon08 As It’s Happening
• Liz Strauss (THE Liz Strauss) – SOBCon 2008: Feedback on Sunday, Joanna Young at SOBCon08 (video)
• Lorelle VanFossen – SOBCon 2008: FuelMyBlog PreConference Meetup Friends
• Jesse Peterson on Perfectly Peterson – Let the SOBCon08 Live Blogging Begin, Walking to the Hotel, Leaving for the Boat, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 1, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 2 – Anita Bruzzese, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 3 – Brian Clark, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 4 – Lorelle VanFossen, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 5 – Chris Garrett, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 6 – David Bullock, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 7 – Chris Brogan, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 8 – Liz Strauss, SOBCon08 Presentations Part 9 – Wendy Piersall
• Andrew Dubber from – Chicago Part 4, Top 5 Blogging Tools Recommendation by Chris Garrett,
• Shashi Bellamkonda from Network Solutions – Awesome Table Mates (video), Interview with Denise Wakeman of Blog Squad (video), Interview with Jared Goralnik founder of Awayfind.com (video), Chris Brogan Talks About $8 Shirts (video), Interview with Sims Margolis of Utterz (video), Steven Sherlock Talking About PodCampNYC (video), Interview with Tojosan (video), 20 Slides in 5 Minutes (slideshow), SOBCon08 Takeaways, SOBCon08 in Pictures, Chris Brogan Talks About Communities, David Bullock,  Chris Garret – More Bang from Your Blog, 5 Minute Blog Post, Interview with Ria Sharon of Food Allergy Community (video), Brian Clark – Online Business Models That Work, Anita Bruzzese – Managing Your Online Reputation, Live Video on Quik (video)
• Matt Murphey from Matt’s Cuppa & Telecommatt – Live Blogging SOBCon08, Brian Clark – Copyblogger, Lorelle VanFossen, Chris Garrett, Chris Garrett (more), David Bullock, Chris Brogan, Liz Strauss, Wendy Piersall, Decompressing at SOBCon08 (audio), Lunch at SOBCon08
• Michael Martine, the remarkablogger – SOBCon08 Meetups (video), SOBCon08 Boat Cruise (video), The Blog is Now Entering SOBCon08 Mode, SOBCon08 Related Posts and Links, SOBCon08 Reports – Anita Bruzzese, SOBCon08 Reports – Brian Clark on Business Models, SOBCon08 Reports – Chris Garrett, SOBCon08 Reports – David Bullock, SOBCon08 Reports – Liz Strauss, SOBCon08 Reports – Lorelle VanFossen, SOBCon08 Reports – Wendy Piersall
• Rick Mahn – Why Chris Garrett does NOT suck at speaking
• Michelle Divine from Divine Purpose Unleashed – Live Remote Audio Podcasting from SOBCon08
• Stephen Smith from Productivity in Context – Airport Blogging, Friday Morning Zen, Why Chris Garrett Doesn’t Suck,
• Sonia Simone from Remarkable Communications – SOBCon Update: Friday Night, SOBCon Update: Saturday
• Ruth Marie Sylte – SOBCon08: Thursday Recap, SOBCon08: Twitter Updates for 2008-05-03,
• Barbara Rozgonyi on wiredPRworks – SOBCon08 Notes Anita Bruzzese: Managing Your Online Reputation, SOBCon08 Notes Brian Clark: The Triple A Model for Social Media Success, SOBCon08 Notes Lorelle VanFossen | Defining Your Business, SOBCon08 Notes – Chris Brogan: New Media Communities, SOBCon08 Notes Chris Garrett:More Bang from Your Blog, SOBCon08 NOtes – Liz Strauss How to be Irresistable
• Stephen Hopson from Adversity University -SOBCon08 Update
• Todd Jordan – SOBCon08 – Anita Bruzzese, SOBCon08 – Brian Clark – Copyblogger, SOBCon08 – Where I Found More Than A Blogger, Christine Kane – Live Chicago SOBCon08 (video), Christine Kane – Live Chicago SOBCon08 – Live part 2 (video)
• Timothy Johnson from carpe factum – SOBCon08: Final Photo Mashup, SOBCon08: Saturday Recap, SOBCon08: Anita Bruzzese, SOBCon08: Separated at Mirth, SOBCon08: First Night Recap
• Sandy Renshaw from Purple Wren Communications – SOBCon08: Chris Garrett, SOBCon08: Brian Clark
• Phil Gerbyshak of Make It Great – Hanging at SOBCon
• Jen Knoedl – Lorelle VanFossen / Chris Garrett
• Kristen King from Inkthinker & BizChicksRule – SOBCon08 in Chicago: Holy Moly, This is Awesome, Step Out of Your Comfort Zone: On Going to a Conference in a Strange City All By Yourself
• Pete Jones – Pictures are worth a 1000 words…
• Brad Shorr from WordSell, Inc. – Joanna Young, My Pen Pal, SOBCon08 Ramblings
• Becky McCray from Out Standing in My Field & Small Biz Survival – Do you do your homework?
• Brian Kress from Business On The Mound – Business On The Mound Gets To Know Simeon Margolis, Founder of Utterz (audio)
• Susan Reynold’s Tweetstream

So, if you were there, what was the biggest (I know it’s hard to find only one) highlight of your weekend. Doesn’t have to be something Brian or the Chris(es) said. Could be a meal, a conversation or a relationship.

So I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours…in the comment box.

(note: image of (left to right) Stephen Smith, Clay & Jared Goralnick from Wendy Piersall on Flickr)

Anyhow, I find Christine’s music full of witty lyrics (free song download) and tons of emotion – like she’s singing from her soul. I’ve only seen her play live twice – once on a rocking boat. And each time at least one of her songs has brought tears to my eyes (no kidding). Spending time with her it’s obvious she’s found an inner peace and a grounded depth that gushes through her personality.

Yeah, I could go on. But let’s leave it at – she’s quite a lovely person and an excellent singer/songwriter. If she’s playing near you, it’s worth a evening to see her play.

Beyond Christine’s music, however, you’ll find a savvy and knowledgeable a niche marketer. She’s learned over the years that she can serve an audience’s needs while maintaining a music career. And like any niche marketer, she’s had to learn how to position herself correctly to reach a market who’s interested in her. In other words, she makes is more possible for people who like her type of music to find her.

At SOBCon08 last weekend, she sat down with Paul O’Flaherty from FuelMyBlog to chat about music, blogging, business and new opportunities for musicians using social media.

From the interview (below): “…blogging for me has enabled my creativity to reach people who wouldn’t in a hundred years go out to a club.”

I’ve posted the interview (less than 15 minutes) below so business owners – musicians and otherwise – can see a successful niche blogger share what she’s learned about social media that’s made her successful. The beauty is I hear a marketer as much as I do a blogger or a musician.

Christine Kane - Broadcast your self LIVE

At SOBCon08, Christine gave away her latest, live 2-CD release titled, Christine Kane: A Friday Night in One Lifetime. It’s great. Includes her ever interesting storytelling between songs. Check it out.

Tons of great stuff came out this video. What did Christine say that you could use in blogging your business? And how can you see applying her experience to your own blog (and business)?

Let’s talk about it.

My friend’s position was that you’re manipulated only if you’re ‘weak of mind.’ He believes that if you’re aware that someone’s trying to manipulate you with subliminal messages, it doesn’t have any affect on you.

My opinion is quite the opposite. I feel that advertising companies are highly advanced at subtly manipulating us through constant subliminal messaging. Those subliminal messages, then, set us up for being highly suggestive to whatever stimulus is meant to get us to buy. Think about the last time a simple conversation with someone brought up the desire to have a Big Mac.

So this weekend, oddly enough, I StumbledUpon this video. In it, a couple of advertising professionals are ‘hired’ to create an ad for a company’s pilot product. It’s nearly seven minutes long, but you have to watch it to the end to get understand what the film makers were trying to show.

So, what do you think? Are we highly subjective to advertising? To media? To what other sorts of stimuli? Or is this just all psycho-mumbo-jumbo?

Any experiences either way, yourself?

You work real hard to position your business just right in your target market only to find that the people buying aren’t in your target market. What do you do?

Well, some businesses decide that should reposition their business to reach their intended target market. MISTAKE!

Why do this? If you already have customers buying, who cares where they come from. Perhaps you miscalculated with your target market. Perhaps you didn’t see how your product or service would benefit a different market. So what!

The difference between success and failure in your business comes down to are you talking to the people who are listening? Or, are you talking to people who aren’t?

My advice, and the advice of Guy Kawasaki in the video below, talk to the people who are listening. Then, readjust your positioning – if even necessary – to reach more of those who are already buying in. Or, as Guy says it, “Take the money.”

So are the ‘right people’ buying into your business? Do you care?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since David Armano talked about it at SOBCon last year. His basic point was that “blogging is a commodity. Anyone can do it. We are human beings with passions and interests that come out in our blogs—not the other way around. Stop calling yourself a blogger. You are a… (designer, businessperson, marketer, artist, baker, mother, grandfather, etc). Calling ourselves bloggers takes away from what makes us unique.â€�

I have to say that I agree. I think the term blogger is overused and often misunderstood. When I talk with businesses about blogging, they often, even after all this time, think of journaling. They haven’t fully appreciated the breadth of what the term blogger can mean.

Sure, I still use the term blog or blogger, but only in select company and mostly as a shortcut. But I don’t really think of myself as a blogger anymore. Rather, I think of myself as a publisher. And I think of my blog as a publishing platform; one that lets me focus on content instead of site structure.

Think about it. Isn’t blogging basically writing and publishing? That’s pretty much the basic thing we do on our blogs.

When I explain it to business owners that way, it makes sense. When I drop the word blog and talk about a simple, easy-to-use publishing system for their business, it makes sense. It gets us past the terminology and misperceptions. It unbridles our conversation. I mean, what business owner wouldn’t want to have an inexpensive, simple and ever expanding way to share their business with potential customers? Isn’t that what a blog can be?

Yesterday Darren Rowse postsed a great article on this same topic. The video that accompanied the post I’ve included below and would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Darren made three points in his post which are each relevant for the business and nonbusiness blogger publisher alike.

1. “Your competitors don’t limit themselves, why should you?”
   Ideally, you’re thinking of your blog as a website – because, that’s what it is. So rather than thinking about how your blog stacks up against other blogs, consider how your blog stacks up in your business niche.
2. “Your readers don’t really care what format your site is.”
   Really, people want great content – whether it’s in an article bank, part of an ezine or posts on a blog. From their perspective, it’s less important how that great content is delivered than what that great content shares.
3. “(Properly) positioning yourself for the future.”
   If you look around the so-called blogosphere, you’ll see that blogs are changing. They’re morphing into new structures with new features and functions. For me, the term blogging can get in the way of this evolution, don’t you think?

So what do you think? Do you think of yourself as a blogger? If not, what do you call yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Below I’ve posted Darren’s video from his post yesterday. It’s just under 5 minutes. Give it a watch and join the conversation in the comment box.

The only problem I see with RSS right now is that not enough people know what it is and how to use it. What’s worse is so many don’t know why they should be using it.

So I’m always looking for simple explanations and tutorials that can help spread the message of RSS.

Just yesterday I found this short video on YouTube put up by the guys from Sketch Basement. While it’s no where near as entertaining or interesting as the widely spread Common Craft video that went around last year, it’s still a nice tutorial for anyone who wants to begin using RSS. Take a peak (4 mins long):

I’d love to know what blog posts, videos, manuals, free ebooks, and audio programs you’ve seen that help explain RSS. Send it forward and I’ll take a look.

And I’d love to know how RSS has changed your business…and your experience of the web.

Ooh, wait a minute. I just found this video. More interesting than the one above. And definitely useful for people who don’t know what RSS is. Thanks to MarketingProfs.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_LUVwvUcN28

As you can see, I love RSS. So I’m still wanting to hear how RSS has changed the way you’re using the web, how it’s changed your business and what materials you’ve found.

Want to know what Web 3.0 is going to be about?

So did an audience member at the Seoul Digital Forum back in May when he asked Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt to define Web 3.0. Schmidt’s first response was that Web 2.0 is nothing more than “a marketing term” – which I partly agree with. I think Web 2.0 used in the mass media to create hype is a marketing term. But when I consider Web 2.0 from a user’s perspective (gotta watch this video as well), I can honestly see the difference from the web of yesteryear.

But Web 3.0 already. My oh my!

Schmidt gave a great answer, which you can watch in the video below. What his answer boils down too is much easier application building along with much more robust access to data. And, of course, that data will be stored in ‘the cloud.’

Take a look at the 2 minute video and tell me what you think…