Joel-Mark-Witt.com

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What is it in your life that you haven’t done or started because the idea of of doing it is more powerful than the action itself? Sounds like a riddle doesn’t it. Watch this TED talk by J.J. Abrams (film director and creator of LOST) and let me know what you think your mystery box is.

Thoughts?

Two stories.

First, I passed a middle aged woman sitting on the step outside the 7/11 today with a huge wad of scratch off lottery tickets. She was feverishly scratching off the numbers in quiet desperation. You could tell that she was poor. I’m not talking about poor in money – but poor in mindset.

And this isn’t the first time I’ve seen her doing this.

She would rather spend time on a Saturday afternoon scratching off lottery tickets hoping to WIN money – than an hour online or in the library studying how to MAKE money. She’s probably back home right now watching another mindless night of TV.

I don’t say this to judge her. I honestly felt sad for her. I’m sure she feels that her condition is hopeless and she’ll be working hard for money well into her twilight years. But it’s not a matter of her living conditions, job, talents, or skills.

This woman is poor in mind and she will continue to be stuck in the same situation unless she changes the way she thinks.

But that’s actually very hard to do. It means that she can’t be mentally lazy, will have to spend a lot less time watching TV and focus on changing her social circle.

Which brings me to story two.

I was on Twitter tonight and noticed a friend of mine being very negative. I started to realize that this friend and I are on VERY different paths in life. He’s smart, has his own business and probably knows more about social media than I do. But his business doesn’t grow and he feels stagnate in his life.

I’ll jump out on a limb and say he’s got the same problem as the lottery woman. Poor in mind and dwelling on the negative. Not good.

So these two stories have led me to a decision point. Because I’m changing my life in some big ways and am focused on success and helping people realize their full potential – I’m going to stop “hanging out” online with some of my social media friends who aren’t on the same path.

I’m not looking down on anyone – it’s just a change of perspective. I want to associate with others who want to help make a difference – add value – create positive energy – and make a fortune in the process.

So if you are like that – let’s hang out. If not – that’s cool. To each his own. But just don’t expect to become wealthy or enjoy the finer things of life. These go to the people who take control of their thoughts, behaviors and who they hang with.

Meaningful lives don’t happen by accident.

Leave your thoughts below.

*Photo by marfis75

This is an annual tradition I have of thanking those awesome folks in my life who have helped me excel professionally. They’ve inspired me, helped me stay on track and have held me accountable.

A big thank you to all of you.

John Lucchetti
Jordan Brauner
Dan Keebler
Chris Brogan
Justin Kownacki
Adele Berenstein
Paul Travis
Greg Rittler
Brody Bond
Eric Alpin
Erica Hebrank
Jim Gomes
Wahid Tanner
Anne Cauley
Julie Warren
My parents
Aaron Marcus
Justin Rasmussen
Jack Hollingsworth
Taylor Davidson
Joel Andrew Glovier
Nicole Fincham
Eben Pagan
David W Morley

Abe Lincoln was a great leader. Some people love him – others hate him. I find fascinating his concern for his image and using photographs of himself for promotion.

“Land Of Lincoln” Book.

This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask questions while standing at the intersection of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, social media, podcasting, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

Hey Andy.

You were right. I was wrong.

There I said it.

We were at Podcamp DC last year and I was leading the session on finding a place for new media. Andy began to talk about Twitter and the room broke into a huge tweetup discussion.

Twitter this and Twitter that.
Twitter was going to rule the world.
If you weren’t on Twitter you are invisible.

blah blah blah blah….

I remember thinking about the masses of people who had no idea what a tweet was and saying  that Twitter was great if you were in geek circles, but it had little practical use in the real world for marketing and public relations. I was somewhat right at the time.

Not anymore.

Andy disagreed with me then and pointed out how Twitter could be used for businesses, non-profits, and professionals. He explained how Twitter would become the next killer app for marketing, PR, and communications. I wasn’t buying it. He just seemed too entrenched in the application itself. I felt he didn’t see the forest from the trees.

Well Andy my friend – time has proven you right and me wrong.

Twitter is now on a course to rival email in its adoption, usefulness and marketing potential. Andy – you may have been ahead of the curve a year ago – but you were definitely on the right curve.

And I should have known. You’ve been using Twitter to get the word out about the place you work for a while now. And it’s a pretty big operation. I think it’s called NPR perhaps?

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask the questions while standing at the intersection of social media, podcasting, online video, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

* Photo by andycarvin

What do you think about Stephen King and his embracing new technology?

Stephen King is one of those guys I really admire. He is a prolific writer. He’s an awesome storyteller. He’s been married to the same woman for over 30 some years and has raised three kids. He’s been forthcoming about his struggle with drug addiction. He’s survived a terrible car accident in which he was hit and almost killed by a van. King hasn’t moved to LA or New York and has chosen instead to remain in his home state of Maine.

I’ve only read three books by Stephen King – Bag Of Bones, Danse Macabre, and my favorite On Writing. He is obviously a gifted author and storyteller and has sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-400 million copies worldwide.

But what I really like about King is his willingness as a writer to embrace technology. He was one of the first mainstream bestselling authors to publish specifically for the web and make money at it. At the time it seemed like such a novelty to me.

And now he is part of the Amazon Kindle 2 launch happening today. King is already an avid Kindle user which again strikes me as progressive thinking from an author and former English teacher. Usually book worms don’t like to change their ways and embrace shiny new things. They typically prefer to relish in the old smell of dead trees.

But not Stephen King. He is one to embrace changing technology.

Walt Disney did the same during his time as Disney studio chief. He was the first cartoon producer to embrace color. When sound came on to Hollywood he also embraced it faster than any of the other studios. Stephen King seems to be cut from the same cloth. He has fully embraced Amazon’s wireless reading device.

To coincide with the release of the Kindle2 – King has released UR, a book written specifically for the new device. All of his other works are also available for the Kindle2.

What do you think about Stephen King and his embracing new technology? Do you agree that it is a good thing? Some fear the Kindle 2 may be the end of actual books  and we will miss some very important aspects of reading from paper. Thoughts?

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask the questions while standing at the intersection of social media, podcasting, online video, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

* Photo by 24hourmoon

I am posting this at exactly 11:59 pm, December 31, 2008.

In one minute it’s over.

Goodbye 2008.

You were a great year.

A soul searching year.

I tried a bunch of stuff in 2008. Threw things against the wall to see what would stick. Very little did.

1) Because I wasn’t throwing anything sticky at the wall.

2) I wasn’t focused on what I really wanted from life.

But I’ve been through the soul search. I’ve read the books. I’ve attended the events. I’ve met the people. I’ve thought the thoughts. I’ve blogged the posts.

And now what is left?

A new direction.

Thinking in a different way.

I know I sound cryptic. But hang in there and I’ll let you know what I’m up to specifically in the next few months. Got some great projects coming up.

In general – I am going to take the business side of social media and publishing seriously. I started 2008 with both feet firmly planted in the new media / podcasting / video space. I’ve left 2008 with both feet planted in the publishing / social media / marketing space.

You’ll see more from me about what this means as time moves along.

And in the spirit of saying see ya to 2008 I’d like to thank the following people for being there along side me in one way or another.

Thanks to:

My beautiful wife – Megan
My sons – Gunnar and Sawyer
My parents
My grandparents
Jordan Brauner
Chris Brogan
Brett Wooldridge
Jeff Pulver
Justin Rasmussen
Larry Genkin
Lenny Fuchs
Tim Ferris
Jason and Sterling
Charles Stricklin
Guy Kawasaki
Mark Cuban
Justin Kownacki
Colin Devroe
Gary Vaynerchuk
Dave Troy
Brian Clark
Andy Bilodeau
Vivian Vasquez
Whitney Hoffman
Alex Lindsay
Kenji Kato
John Foster
Jia Ji

It’s late and I am out of steam and am forgetting folks. So I’ll close with a big THANK YOU to a host of other people. You know who you are… I hope.

Here’s to a great year in 2009!

Happy New Year.

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask the questions while standing at the intersection of social media, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

Abe Lincoln on social media.
I’m currently reading the book “Land of Lincoln.” It has nothing to do with media directly, but it has some great lessons for us who make media for a living.

Abe never missed an opportunity to have his likeness made.
If Lincoln had had a Flickr account he would post his own image all over the place.

Abe traveled constantly and wanted to know as many people as possible.
He would spend months on the road talking with people in person. I know I know. We now can circumvent this whole time wasting task by using online video, chat, email, and phones (excuse me… Skype). But are people that much different than in Lincoln’s day? Don’t we still get more out of a real person face to face connection than our digital transactions?

Abe had a deep sense of history and context.
In simple terms – he was well rounded. Sometime I see us in social media as part of a large bubble. I know a lot of people who don’t even use the internet – let alone social media. I’m talking old and young people. Chris Brogan’s post on programming for the masses concerns me. There are MILLIONS of people who are not literate in this new developing language. How do we communicate with them? What if they never use Twitter? What if what we think is really helping us communicate is actually isolating us from true conversation?

More thoughts to come…

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“If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.”

- Alfred Hitchcock | Check out the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection

I disagree with Alfred Hitchcock.
I think just the opposite is true. Sound is 95% of any great video or film. Sound is a passive medium. You can be looking at anything while you listen. Sound is the first sense that we use in the womb. We heard our mother’s voice months before we ever saw her.

The playground of sound is the theater of the mind.
Sound is all but everything in a movie, tv show, or internet video. If you have a great HD quality picture and crappy sound – you will perceive the image quality to be low. The reverse is true. If you have a 320×480 compressed video image with world class audio – the perceived quality of the image will be high.

Do YOU agree with my 95% statement or with Alfred? Let me know your thoughts.

Follow me on twitter to discuss. Or you can leave a comment on this post.

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask the questions while standing at the intersection of social media, film, TV, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

I had the privilege of sitting on the Podcasting Business panel at Podcamp Philadelphia two weeks ago. There were a lot of smart and talented podcasters with me. You can watch the whole session here: