It s a shame I've been sitting on this book for about two years now. A friend of mine gave me Never Eat Alone , by Keith Ferrazzi a couple years ago (thanks Rey), and it s been on my bookcase ever since. It was resting there not because I didn't want to read it, but because I already had so many others in the pipeline. I finally got around to reading it last month and I definitely recommend it. In very simple terms, Ferrazzi explains why networking is important and how to do it. From how to make call lists to planning dinners to personal branding to goal setting, it s all here. He also maintains a valuable blog .
Inevitably there will be times when you have setbacks or things don t go your way. Maybe you didn't get a job you thought you were sure to get. Maybe you lost a job unexpectedly, didn't win a contract, or lost a major client. Your car always seems to break down right after you've had some other unexpected expense. These kinds of situations immediately place us in crisis. They don t feel good, but sometimes they re what we need in order to grow. The beautiful thing about crises is that they force us to take a step back and reevaluate what s going on in our lives and rediscover what we truly want and need. When we get over that initial shock and feeling of disappointment, we might realize that maybe that job wasn't really the best for us anyway. Maybe, just maybe, that wasn't what you really wanted to spend your life doing. Maybe that friend was holding you back instead of pushing you forward. The way I deal with crises of these sorts is simple: If something doesn't go my way professionally, I try to create a situation that would be more rewarding than the situation originally planned. A while ago, I was offered a job that looked very promising. After I accepted the offer, they pushed the start date back three times, later informing me (via e-mail) that they wanted to bring me on in the near future but I should feel free to explore other options. I was extremely disappointed. I felt disrespected and angry, but decided to make the best of the situation and follow my dream of working internationally. I then flew to Santiago, Chile and had great professional and personal experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise. Later, reflecting back on the original opportunity, I realized that working for a company that avoids a start date three times and then can t pick up the phone to explain the situation is probably not where I need to spend my time. Use setbacks as an opportunity to put your goals in order and act on them. In the moment, it s difficult to look at a setback as temporary, but they are. They happen to everybody. It s how you respond to them that will determine how they affect you.
A couple of days ago on Sunday, August 26, we tried something new. By using a combination of social media tools and a physical location, I hoped to minimize one of the biggest issues we face when conducting interviews. When in an interview, the interviewer is supposed to uncover the answers to all the questions the audience might have. However, no matter how skilled or experienced an interviewer is, they can never place themselves fully into the hearts and minds of everybody who has a question.
So I figured, why try to do that at all? I began to wonder in what ways can we allow passive viewers and listeners become active participants. If people are provided the opportunity to to ask questions and leave comments in real-time they are more likely to engage in the interview and leave with a feeling of satisfaction than they would otherwise.
In order to accomplish this, we used Google+ Hangouts On Air to automatically stream and record the interview on YouTube. I then placed the link on the event page, my personal page, and the Menrva Labs page on Facebook. I also embedded the code on my website so viewers could watch it there. Rather than use an expensive camera setup, I picked up the new Logitech C920 HD Webcam from Best Buy. Audio was captured with my trusty Zoom H4n. Lastly, we used Twitter as the platform for people to ask questions. By using the hashtag #menrva and the free service TweetChat we were able to watch questions and comments come in in real time.
Overall, I think it was a success. Thank you to all of you who supported the idea, came to the location, and watched/participated online. I see a lot of opportunities to merge offline and online methods to increase engagement in future projects. Also, a special thanks to Andrew Vanasse, who came out and shot such beautiful pictures. For more of his work, check out his blog and website.
The highlight of the night, of course, was the time spent with Ildikó. Although she's about to travel around the world to talk about The Bearing Project she made time to speak with us and share her story, the inspiration behind the piece, advice, and where she's headed next. Truly incredible person. Checkout her websites to learn more about Ildikó Kalapács and the Bearing Project.
Important Links
An editorial calendar is a document that displays media content over a period of time. They are often used by professionals in traditional media such as television, newspapers, and magazines. Increasingly, however, new media people are finding them useful as well. Bloggers, podcasters, YouTube personalities, and more are using editorial calendars to add structure to their content development, stay abreast of upcoming events, and brainstorm. To make it easy for you, I've developed an editorial calendar template you can download for free. Feel free to use, modify, and share it as you wish. Here are a few ways to put it to good use.
Plan out your content well in advance
Use your editorial calendar to plan your content well in advance. In doing so, you allow yourself to be more clear and consistent. Also, taking this bird's eye view over a period of time will better position you to develop content around important topics, events, dates, etc.
Find experts to provide guest content
One of the best ways to engage with the community and bring awareness to your website, blog, show, etc. is by showcasing guest content. If you know well in advance what topics you want covered, you can begin your search right away and give guest bloggers, writers, and other producers more time to provide quality work. A good place to search quality blogs by topic is Technorati.
Find publications to submit your content
If you find yourself producing especially relevant work, there may be other places to publish it. Magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc. are always looking for quality pieces to feature. They each have their preference in how they like to receive inquiries, but identifying them in advance will help ensure you are able to meet their requirements.
What other ways can you use an editorial calendar?
I've just outlined a few ways to get you thinking about how to use an editorial calendar to increase your effectiveness. What other ways can you think about? Please share with us what works for you or what other ideas you have.