Thubten's Home

I gave a talk on social media to the Rocky Mountain Writers Conference in Denver in mid-January. I focused on how social media will impact everything that we do, both as individuals, and as businesses.

This story landed in my email inbox shortly following my talk:

“Dave Carroll recently had difficulty with United Airlines when baggage handlers damaged his treasured Taylor guitar ($3500) during a flight. Dave spent over nine months trying to get United to pay.

“During his final exchange with United’s customer relations manager, he stated that he was left with no choice other than to create three music videos for YouTube exposing their lack of cooperation. The manager responded: “Good luck with that one, pal”. So, he posted the videos on YouTube.

“The first video has since received over 7,500,000 hits and been featured on CNN. United Airlines contacted him and attempted settlement in exchange for pulling the video. Naturally his response was: ‘Good luck with that one, pal.’

“Taylor Guitars sent the musician two new custom guitars in appreciation for the product recognition.”

Dave’s Videos:

Video #1

Video #2

Dave’s Links:

Dave’s Web Site

The CNN Story

What is the moral of this story? The short answer is Google’s motto: “Don’t be evil.”

How does this impact companies, large and small? That will be the topic of my next post.

A video update from the road – Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Boy do I look exhausted!

I had a very enlightening conversation this morning with someone I have known and respected for many years. The conversation did not, however, go as I was expecting it to. He is a pillar of his community, a contribution to those around him, and an inspiration to all who know him. Let’s call him David.

David is a public speaker, and has been for decades, and he’s spoken in front of thousands, if not millions of people. He’s a “go to” guy for anything having to do with public speaking. He offers incredibly useful classes on public speaking and everyone who is anyone in the world of public speaking knows of David, and acknowledges David’s contribution to the speaking world.

In our conversation this morning, during which we discussed briefly the world of social media, David said something, something that revealed that he’s stuck in the 20th Century. “I deliver my message through email, fax and telephone,” he said. “Speakers speak. Speakers don’t Twitter. Speakers don’t Facebook. Speakers don’t LinkedIn. Speakers speak.”

David apparently teaches his students to deliver their messages through email, fax and telephone. David’s students also often write books. Whereas it may be true that speakers speak, they need to have an audience for their speaking. Speaking on a street corner soapbox does not work very well, and hasn’t since the late 19th Century. Direct mail, fax and email are effective, but attracting an audience only through those means is at best, incomplete.

Those who want an audience for what they have to say go where the audience is. The audience is on Twitter, on Facebook, and on LinkedIn, among many many other social media and social networking platforms. They’re on the internet.

A little poking around reveals that David has YouTube videos, a WordPress blog, a Meetup, an online radio show, a Squidoo web lens and an ordinary web site. I’m a little confused how someone who so emphatically rejects social media and social networking as useless distractions for his students can so flagrantly use the tools of social media and social networking to promote his own programs and materials.

If you’re an author, speaker, or someone who has a message to get out into the world, you need to be riding the wave of social media and social networking. Don’t listen to the buggy whip folks. Missing this wave would be an enormous mistake.

Unless David has a trust fund from which to pay you the money you will lose by failing to be actively and aggressively on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, you need to develop and implement your social media strategy.

Get started! Pull the trigger!

Fire. Ready. Aim!

As I continue to learn and grow within the field of social media, my future also expands. This field is constantly shifting and changing, so staying on top of how things are at any moment has been a challenge. There’s always something new to understand.

I’ve been called on more and more to advise companies and solo-preneurs on how to maximize their social media efforts. It’s been great to be acknowledged for the investment I have made in myself and in my networks to get to the place where my knowledge and understanding is not only useful, but helps others reach their (usually financial) goals.

On Saturday, January 16th, I will be speaking at the Rocky Mountain Writers Summit in Lone Tree, Colorado (just outside of Denver). The summit is free for attendees.

If you have an interest in participating in my live workshop, you can find me there. I will also be in the Denver/Boulder area for a week following the summit to meet with folks and discuss the future of social media.

As 2008 was coming to a close, my friends and I were elated that such an awful year was finally over, and a dark chapter in our country’s history was about to finally come to a close. We knew that 2009 would be better. It just had to be.

2009 was better for the country, and for the world, even if only marginally. 2009 was better for me, but not as much better as I had hoped it would be. Lots of ground work was laid for a great 2010, but 2009 was a rough year for me and mine.

2010 is shaping up nicely already! I discovered a new blog theme, Thesis. To gush about a WordPress blog theme might seem a bit much, but what this theme makes possible will allow me to update and redesign all of my blogs, and I’ll be doing my best to update my blogs more often.

Coming to Portland is looking like a very good move. The people here are amazing, and I am loving getting to know our neighbors. Imagine that! Having almost everything within walking distance is a big plus.

Thank you for sharing your vision with me and with your community. I look forward to hearing your amazing success stories this year.

See you at the top!

When I was in high school I was in the marching band, where I played bass drum. I played bassoon in the concert band and electric bass in the jazz ensemble. I was very musical. My music classes, groups and performances made my teen years bearable. A big part of that effect was my friends, nearly all of whom were in the band.

One of my friends, Nedra Johnson, played Sousaphone in marching band and tuba in the orchestra. She was happy and fun, and I loved being around her. Nedra has continued expressing herself through music.

We re-connected for a while after I returned from the navy, but drifted apart after I moved to Silicon Valley to pursue my dream job at Apple Computer. We probably wouldn’t have crossed each other’s paths again without the internet and social networking web sites.

First it was on Classmates.com and then on Facebook, we followed one another’s lives, from afar. We haven’t seen each other in person in nearly twenty years, and yet we are closer now than we were in high school.

Nedra has been interacting with me, and with the members of the Facebook Group, “My brother: Citizen Dave,” since April of 2009, when she began sharing with us her brother Dave’s life and experiences, as he received treatment for cancer.

We followed Dave through his treatment, through his going into and coming out of the hospital, through his frustrations with the health care system, through the joys of blue popsicles and ice chips, and through his last eight months of life.

We were told by Nedra today that Dave left his body on Monday. In many ways I was closer with Dave, although we did not know each other, than I have been with many people in my life, past or present.

Being brought in to Dave’s life through Nedra’s Facebook posts has been a gift. I have learned so much about myself, about Nedra and her family, and about life itself.

Nedra’s final post about Dave:

“In Loving memory of my brother, Dafydd Gordan Johnson ♥
~ 4/24/66 – 12/14/09 ~”

Part of why I chose to move to Portland is its large vegan community. There seems to be a vegan restaurant on nearly every corner, and there’s usually a vegan option or two on even the most non-vegan menus.

I started down the path to better nutrition in the later 90s, when I was a Buddhist monk dealing with severe stomach spasms. I read a book by Dr. Peter D’Adamo about his Eat Right For Your Type program, and I was hooked. I followed the guidelines in the book and dropped 50 pounds.

By avoiding corn and wheat in all forms, my stomach spasms stopped. I later visited the D’Adamo’s clinic in New Hampshire and got a “prescription” for my specific needs, and dropped another 50 pounds. This was amazing to me!

Some raw gurus dispute the validity of the D’Adamo’s premises, but I know what happened to me. Regardless of the scientific arguments, I have not had another stomach spasm.

Ever since then I’ve been looking for ways to improve my health and how I feel. I was introduced to the raw/living food lifestyle by friends in Colorado, and dove in immediately. I blogged about my experiences on My Raw Year, expecting to be 100% raw for a full year. That experiment didn’t go to plan, but I learned a lot about raw food and about myself in the process.

I’ve been an aspiring 100% raw/living foodist since then, and have been slowly progressing back to that place. I have yet to find a completely raw vegan restaurant in Portland, something I hoped to find here. If I don’t find one, I’ll likely start one, and will keep you posted on that, too.

I have resumed blogging on My Raw Year, and have just recently posted some recipes.

We have lots of very interesting neighbors. The building is one of the only apartment buildings in the area that accepts dogs, so everyone has at least one dog. Several have cats, too. The residents’ ages range from late 20s to late 60s, with more on the younger end of the spectrum.

There’s a house next door that our living room window looks out on. We can see into their back yard. Their kids are often playing out there, making lots of kid noise. There’s another noise that we often hear, a noise that’s accompanied by a delicious smell, the smell of roasting coffee.

Apparently the couple in this house roast their own beans one batch at a time. The sound reminds me of a vacuum cleaner or hair dryer, but the smell is more like toast. Portland has some die hard coffee folks. That’s for sure, but these are the first I’ve found who roast their own coffee. Too cool!

Belmont Branch Library

My library card was so useful to me when I was in Denver, I thought it only made sense to get myself a card in Portland. Denver has an amazing library system, and I hope that Portland’s is equally good. Here’s a link to an interesting study about who has library cards and what they’re used for.

The closest library branch is at SE 39th and Belmont, just a one mile walk. I’ve already begun walking there early in the morning, like 5am, and taking the dogs with me. They love the long walk, as do I. The streets are not well lit at night, so it can get kind of creepy, especially with all of the spider webs cross the sidewalks.

The selection of books on the shelves at this branch is meager, so I imagine that I’ll use it as a place to pick up the books I reserve on the library’s web site.

What can be done with the seven foot long couch and an enormous big screen projection TV in Portland?

The culture here is all about free stuff finding new homes easily. I posted the TV and couch for sale on Craigslist, and got exactly zero hits. I posted them for free on Craigslist, and had well over one hundred hits within minutes. It was amazing to me how quickly people expressed their interest in helping us avoid having to pay an additional month’s rent at Public Storage.

Out of the several dozen enthusiastically applicants I chose Chad from Vancouver, WA. Spencer’s a vegan with a wife, kids and dogs. He borrowed a truck from a co-worker of his wife, drove down to pick me up at Rocking Frog, then drove me to Public Storage, loaded the TV and couch, waited for me to close out the rental agreement with Monty, then drove with me and the stuff up to his home. We unloaded the couch and TV, and then he returned the truck. Finally he drove me back to Rocking Frog.

From posting the ad to getting dropped off, the entire experience took only about two hours. Free stuff in Portland rocks! I’m happy to not have another monthly expense, especially to store things that have no use to me. I’m glad that I was able to help Spencer transform his family’s garage into an entertainment room.