UnMarket

1. Get a job.
2. -   5. See number 1.

Risk comes when you pursue your passion, your art, your true self. The panic that you feel is simply the symptom of living in a world where safety and mediocrity are engrained and even enforced. As an artist (actual artist, entrepreneur, author, etc.) each of us has to reconcile the panic messages and convert them into motivation. If you feel the panic from risk, then keep at it. The reward is oh so sweet when you push through. Will it hurt? It might. Will you fail? Absolutely; repeatedly. Will it be worth it? Only you can have that conversation with your heart at the end of the day and be brutally honest enough to confess whether you listened to yourself or gave in to the voice of safety. 

As for me? I'm feeling an immense amount of 'motivation'. I'm listening to my heart. And in the midst of panic, failures and uncertainty I am making my art. I am shipping. I am remaining true.

Every group or tribe has their own insider language - its part of what makes them a unique group - and technology startups are no different. As the editor of UnHappening, a non-incubated tech startup, I felt it prudent to share this cypher with you. If you are an entrepreneur who founded a startup, are in a startup or are in any way connected to tech startups (c'mon, we all are....Twitter, Foursquare, Posterous, etc.) then this is for you. However, if you think a sarcastic cartoon is going to really explain these terms then, well, this is still for you.

For the full experience, go HERE.

I need to say a big thank you to Deanne Shoyer, author of Small But Kinda Mighty, for giving me the "Versatile Blogger" award. According to her summary my blog here is geeky, informative and funny. I represent those remarks. Thank you, Deanne. Anyone who can raise twins as a single parent and still blog is a hero in my book! Click her blog link above and check it out.

The rules for receiving this award are to thank the giver (check), share seven things about myself and pass the award onto 15 other blogs. Sounds a bit chain-mail-ish and contrived, but here goes.

First of all, this is the apparent logo that goes with this award. 

However, this is the logo my 2-year old son chose for the award. (Not because he has any freakin clue what "versatile" means, but because he always picks tractors. Period.)

Moving on...seven things about moi. 1: I have several dozen nicknames and I answer to any of them. 2: I'm not sharing the nicknames, because you must find them out or create them yourself. D: There is a right way and a wrong way to open the cereal box. I insist you do it the right way. 5. Je mange France. (I believe that means I speak French). 7. I was told there would be no math.

And finally, the truly important part, here are some very worthwhile blogs that deserve this so-called VBA or at least your time and attention:

Gaping Void - Hugh MacLeod's blog/art/social/business masterpiece. Thoughtful, inspiring and harshly motivating.

Nerd Puddle - Culture as seen through a nerd's eyes. Edited by a princess of the rare species: she-nerds.

Scott Adams Blog - Yes, that Scott Adams of Dilbert fame. Keen, satiric and poignent.

Blended - A blog about bio-adoptive, transracial families (say that five times fast). Open, touching and relevant.

Penelope Trunk - Advice at the intersection of work and life. Stories that make you forget you're learning something.

Seth Godin - The true unmarketer's marketer. This man sends thought fairies out at night to steal mine. And he writes about them. Well.

Soooo... it's not 15. But yet again I was told there would be no math. And also I'm pretty picky. Try these, it's my short list for fun, larnin and edumacation.

There are a lot of fearful and panicked posts across the Internets regarding phone numbers and contact information being published on Facebook. I've written a few posts here at UnMarketing about privacy and social media -- mainly to say that you get what you post (or to what you click "agree"). However, in looking into this Facebook travesty I quickly realized that it's no simple task to remove the imported contacts once you've done it. Getting them there is easy, removing them takes at least 10 or more steps. This is NOT related to your Facebook privacy or sharing settings!!

Following is HOW TO REMOVE IMPORTED CONTACTS FROM FACEBOOK. A step-by-step guide.

Facebook apps, in particular ones on your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android phone, provide cool integration features with your address book. You can pull in user avatar images, phone, email and more. It makes the boring mobile address book a bit more exciting and visual. But what isn't super obvious is that Facebook is doing a TWO-WAY sync back to your online account as well. If you're not cool with posting every contact in your address book to the Facebook juggernaut, then here is how to take back your info.

(Note: you can do this to remove the info from Facebook, yet still leave the sync'd data in your mobile address book. You just can't update the mobile address book automatically anymore.)

Step 1: Open Facebook on your mobile phone and select Options. (This first set of screenshots are for iPhone. BlackBerry and Android screenshots are at the bottom now.)

Step 2: Select "Friends" from the options screen.

Step 3: From the friends screen (be sure you are in the Friends tab) select the Sync button.

Step 4: In the sync options window select "Sync Contacts". Note: this is as confusing as it sounds. This will NOT sync your contacts, but rather take you to the Sync Options Screen!

Step 5: Here is where you need to decide whether you want to sync your contacts or not. The first image below shows an iPhone in Sync ON mode. The second image shows Sync OFF mode. You MUST have sync turned off to remove imported data from Facebook online. BUT you don't have to click the "Remove Data" button if you have pulled Facebook info into your mobile contacts! It's your choice.

Step 6: On your computer, go online to Facebook, login and in the top right menu area select "Account"-> then "Edit Friends".

Step 7: In the Friends screen, on the left navigation panel, select "Contacts".

Step 8: On the Facebook Contacts screen you will see a paragraph in the top right about Phonebook Contacts. There is a faint text link at the very end of that section. Select the "this page" text link.

Step 9: Before selecting "Remove Contacts", be sure you followed the steps above and have turned off mobile syncing. Otherwise this is a waste of time. If mobile sync is OFF, then click the Remove button.

Step 10: You will see a confirmation screen. Give Facebook some time and then check back on your Facebook contacts screen to see if the imported data has been removed.

Step 11: Give yourself a personal high-five for wading through it and taking control back over your contacts!

If you have any other helpful tips or tricks for accomplishing this process, then please comment below so others can benefit from your experience.

UPDATE for BlackBerry users:

Open BB Facebook app and click on the Menu (BB icon) button on the phone. You'll see a menu like this:

Select "Options" from this context menu.

Then UNCHECK the "BlackBerry Contacts application" check box. After you do these, then you can follow steps 6 - 11 above online.

UPDATE for Android users:

Open Android Facebook app and tap on the Facebook logo in the top left. You'll get to the Options page. 

Click the physical "Menu" button on your phone, and then tap on "Settings".

Scroll to "Sync Contacts" and tap to view the settings options.

To prevent synchronizing with Facebook online, select the "Don't Sync" option and tap "OK". After you do these, then you can follow steps 6 - 11 above online.

Technology companies, startups, blogs, media and most things that aren’t actually physical or manufactured are so stinkin’ easy to build and launch these days. With open source tools like Wordpress, cloud hosting at Rackspace or Amazon, simple and powerful tech tools like Ruby on Rails or HTML5 and tons of like-minded people who want to participate you can practically launch a new venture every week. I’m not recommending a scattershot approach; I’m just saying that the bar has forever been lowered to the point that most anyone can do it.

The same types of core technologies and inexpensive storage and computing hardware have also contributed to the seismic shift in larger companies and industries. Take publishing for instance. Publishers used to be THE filter for all content that was to be mass-produced and distributed; including books, software, television and more. Sure, you could type a book up, photocopy it and hand it out to friends. But if you wanted to sell even just a thousand copies then you had to go through a publisher. They chose who and what did or didn’t make it. And we had access to what they said was “the best” of the best. And then the Internet.

“And then the Internet” has been the death knell of many an entrenched industry. Especially for industries who closely managed and controlled information. It has fundamentally changed things like retail shopping, news, computer software, music and so many more.

A great example of disrupting a disrupted industry is the app store phenomenon, which if you’ll take a quick trip down memory lane with me the app stores have only existed for a couple of years. With the launch of app stores, like Apple’s iTunes or Google’s Android Market, suddenly any developer with a hundred bucks could get their app published and distributed. Prior to that it took massive companies like Adobe or Microsoft to publish and distribute applications. So the app stores, plus inexpensive technology, removed the production expense barrier and then they furthered the disruption by removing the publishing (or filter) barrier. You no longer have to prove that your app is “good” or worthy or even that someone wants it. You just need to submit and get approved. The cost is low and the access is virtually ubiquitous.

In the app stores example there are tons of developers who simply create and launch a game with stars in their eyes hoping that they will be the next Rovio Angry Birds or Zynga Poker. But dying in a plane crash while simultaneously winning the lottery may have better odds. This very climate of openness has created a very noisy situation wherein there are over a half-million apps and no reasonable way to discover the ones for you. Imagine if you went to the movie theater and there were 500,000 movies to choose from…you’d give up and go home out of frustration. With the imposed filter from the publishers gone, there becomes a problem of choice overload and a vacuum pull back towards sorting and filtering. Ironic in a way, but who does the filtering is what’s so important.

Enter the niche. No, enter the passionate niche.

Have you ever been to an R/C airplane show? How about a Sci-Fi convention? Or an animal husbandry fair? Maybe a gun show? Or a baseball card sale? How about a gathering for “The Guild”? There are events and magazines and television shows and websites solely dedicated to super-focused niches of ALL sorts. Why? Because people are passionate about their hobby, their niche. The only way that books, or stores, or apps, or clothes or anything really truly makes sense and resonates with an audience is if it connects with that passion. In the open information world of the Internet tubes, anyone, anywhere can share and participate in a niche group. So, why would I buy plain Old Navy generic t-shirts when I can buy Mari-Janes t-shirts emblazoned with my favorite made-up movie product or place? Why buy any business success book when I need online business advice and can buy Tony Hsieh’s “Delivering Happiness” – written by an online maverick? And on it goes. Niche after niche. Industry after industry. The best and the most content will always come from those most passionate about the topic.

The interesting thing is that most truly successful ‘niche’ companies were started simply for the passionate love of the niche. Which of course begs the question, “Do niches create successful businesses or do successful businesses start in niches?”

The best and the most content will always come from those most passionate about the topic.

I think the answer is a little of both. But in today’s Internet age, the caveat is key: the mass appeal option is the long tail, and the niche is the homerun. There are two reasons for this. The first is the business owner. If the business owner eats, sleeps, breathes and lives the passion for the niche then there is little to stop him or her from being successful – whatever success looks like in that niche. The second is the customer. If the customer eats, sleeps, breathes and lives the passion for the niche then therein lies the best possible customer that any business could ever hope for. Together, and the Internet easily brings them together, they represent the sum total of a business that has virtually no down side.

So in conclusion I ask, “Are you building something for your favorite, most passionate niche?” If not, why? And if so, please send me details… because I just may be looking for a handmade, youth-sized, left-handed guitar.

/ - - - - - /

Andy Rosic is a founder of the high school lifestyle blog UnHappening, the mobile game and app startup Thumb Arcade and the self-published app collective Selfpubd. He spends his time thinking about his own niches like mountain biking the Northwest, playing custom-built electric guitars and amps, his crazy high school days and really killer fish tacos. He can best be found and/or followed at http://about.me/andyrosic.

The social spotlights, cesspools and soapboxes have been all aflurry lately with the Big-3-way race in social dominance. No, not the automakers, the Internetmakers.

• Who will create the convergence of every one of your social and online needs?
• Who will win the war for advertising revenue?
• Who will gain more users than actual humans in existence?
• Who will be first to launch an implant into your cerebral cortex...?

The real questions, the ones we should all be asking, are things like:

• Why am I clicking "Like" right now?
• Why am I re-tweeting this (or following you)?
• Are any of these services *really* worth exposing myself so fully to?

Note that I am not saying that these services are bad or useless or otherwise. I use them all (ok, I'm still waiting for my beta invite to Google+). What I am saying is don't "just use them". Think about how you use them. Why you use them. Do you care about the privacy, security or other potential gotchas? Before you or I get swept away in the social marketing melee, let's just make sure that we actually like what we're doing and care about the results. Let's unmarket ourselves and be social because we enjoy it - not because someone else says we will.

I had planned on going through each of these rules one-by-one, but then I quickly realized that the picture did it all for me. It is adapted from a safety warning on a bouncy jump house for children. But the more I read it the more I decided that these lessons are sage and could apply to so many things. One is "Safe Dating" rules for men. If I were you, and I'm not because I'm married, I would live by these like, well, like your life depended on it.

(Also, if you have a smidge of photo manipulation talent, then take the image and repost it with your "Life Rules" instead. Otherwise, comment and just insert a new "rules" title that could apply. Share away... Hysterical!)

I wrote an article for the Shoestring Venture blog, and they published it today! It's about marketing, small business and in particular being online and making the most of new tools online. Also note that SiteFunl is a new product that I and my company have launched. Below is an excerpt from the article, but follow the link to read the entire thing. Thanks.

Any business owner will agree that the best new customers come from referrals. But in many cases, referrals only stretch so far, so fast. But a close second to a live referral is an online review posted by a customer. If someone is willing to take the time to write up a nice story about your business, then complete strangers read that and internalize it as a recommendation…a referral. SiteFunl scours the Internet to pull in all existing reviews for your business (from sites like Citysearch, Google Local, Yelp and others). Don’t have any reviews yet? Now you can ask faithful customers to visit any of these review sites and post a referral knowing that it will instantly appear on your SiteFunl page to build trust. It’s another great reason to interact with current or former customers and generate new leads too!

Also, for you small business owner types, this is a MUST read article for everyone contemplating using a local deal service (like Groupon, Google Offers and similar). Beware of group mentality, guard your loyal fans and protect your margins! (Saving the women and children goes without saying.)

http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/11/google-offers-daily-deals-business-die/

It's another lyric for unmarketing (or being skeptical of what you read, watch or hear). I'm also including the song here for you to sample, but if you like it then go buy the album "London Calling" or just this song by The Clash.

Koka Kola

Elevator! Going up!
In the gleaming corridors of the 51st floor
The money can be made if you really want some more
Executive decision - a clinical precision
Jumping from the windows - filled with indecision

I get good advice from the advertising world
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze

It's the pause that refreshes in the corridors of power
When top men need a top up long before the happy hour
Your snakeskin suit and your alligator boot
You won't need a launderette, you can send them to the vet!

I get my advice from the advertising world
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze

Koka Kola advertising their kokaine
Strolling down the Broadway in the rain
Neon light sign says it
I read it in the paper - they're crazy!
Suit your life, maybe so
In the White House - I know
All Over Berlin (they've been doing it for years)
And in Manhattan!

Coming through the door is a snub nose 44
What the barrel can't snort it can spatter on the floor
Your eyeballs feel like pinballs
And your tongue feels like a fish
You're leaping from the windows - saying don't
Ayaiiiiirrrghhh!*
!!*
!!*!
Don't give me none of this!

I get good advice from the advertising world
Treat me nice says the party girl
Koke adds life where there isn't any
So freeze, man, freeze
Hit the deck!

13_Koka_Kola.MP3

(download)

Click here to download:

13_Koka_Kola.MP3 (2.47 MB)

You are either being tracked by someone, the government or banks or private industry, or you're unwilling to admit you're being tracked.

In the last days and weeks there have been "shocking" revelations that companies like Apple and Google are and have been tracking user location information through their phones. People are outraged, conspiratorially suspicious, disappointed and even meeting to foment revolution... in cellars, to avoid GPS tracking. But I want to know what the big deal is?

After all, we've been being tracked for years; decades even. This isn't new. The US, Russian and other governments have had satellites that, for decades, have been sensitive enough to read the label on a pack of cigarettes lying on the dashboard of a car. True story: I've seen a photo *from space* where this was the case. Between satellites, traffic cameras, ID's like driver's licenses and passports, credit cards, wireline and wireless phone taps and about a hundred other ways our world has become a place with VERY few hiding spots left.

In today's reality, if you really want to go "off the grid" it is a significant challenge. If you don't believe me, watch an episode of CSI or Dexter or any detective type show and you'll quickly see that financial records, security cams, cell phone call records and so much more evidence can be acquired to piece together your actions and even your intent.

So again I ask why do we care if a business is tracking us too? Seriously. I wrote a similar post earlier about Facebook, privacy and identity rights. We're being tracked at practically every turn, so does one more instance matter? I say that it doesn't. So get over it.

For a completely different take on this same title, go read Chris Dixon's view on the two types of people in the world.

(Photo/image originally posted at wired.com. There are some crazy writers and good articles over there - check it out.)

There is something about the adult entrepreneurial spirit or psyche that is very much like a kid's desire to explore new places. One such place that seems universally alluring is under the table. Kitchen table, dining, restaurant, side table or otherwise. Children seemingly cannot resist the urge to crawl under, play under and hide under tables. My kids do it constantly!

But with every child's adventure under the table there comes the inevitable "whack!" It doesn't matter how many times you warn her or try and protect her, she always bumps her head. You can threaten him and block him from getting under there, but eventually you'll look away and under he'll go. Whack!

In the same way, the entrepreneur see's an adventure, an exploration and a challenge. Parents, spouses, friends, colleagues and countless others will gather around and try to keep us from doing it. They'll block our path for our "protection", warn us "lovingly" of the pitfalls and cajole us to listen to "reason". But there is no reasonable explanation for going under the table or for launching a new idea, product or company. It's deeper and a lot less simple than that.

The best answer I can come up with is "because."

Because it's fun.

Because it brings life to my very being.

Because no one else is.

Because it has to be done.

Because of the challenge.

Because...

With every "because" comes the requisite whack! Even as an adult. But just like a kid who keeps going under that table...because...and keeps whacking her head, I keep at the entrepreneur 'thing' and put up with the whacks. I am undaunted. I press on. Because.

Here's everything you ever never needed to know about mobile photo sharing. (This will be obsolete within days, I'm sure.)

Referenced here:

Camera+: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/12501

Color: http://color.com/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/

Hipstamatic: http://hipstamaticapp.com/

Instagram: http://instagr.am/

SnapMyLife: http://snapmylife.com/

Or: Why so many people care that "Color.com" raised nearly $42,000,000 in venture capital.

Many people are debating whether or not we are in a new technology bubble. So, I add my 2 cents. We are definitely in a tech frenzy, but not a tech bubble - and here's why.

• In a bubble all of the companies are getting tons of money and nobody is making it back. That's when said bubble pops and lots of companies fade from our memory.
• In a frenzy tons of startups are vying for capital and investors have money they want to invest, but very few get the money. And it's a tough battle for who does get the funding.

Just because a company with no prior product gets an obscene amount of venture funding, there is no need to run inside because the sky is falling. It just means that the people (who any good investor will tell you is what they truly put money behind) are tried, true and seasoned tech leaders. And their chances of success are higher than most.

What most startups and entrepreneurs miss when they read news like this is the subtle VC marketing going on here. Yes, even VC's use marketing. What they're saying with a big Color investment is, "We just watched Instagram grow into a mobile phenomenon practically overnight, and we think there's room to play here and make money too." It's what I call a VC investor's "hedged bet". Venture finance houses need success, and they need larger successes than say a Wall Street risk taker might need. They can't live on single digit percentage growth, they need to show profits of 10x the initial investment. Ten times! That's tough to achieve betting on complete unknowns. But if you bet on a copycat, then you can at least *feel* a little safer.

There's a reason why there are so many financed group chat apps, coupon apps, location/check-in apps and so on. Hedged bets.

The bottom line my startup owning companions is to not get too hot 'n bothered over Color or other big dollar investment wins. Build and ship and do your art. Success comes through hard work, dedication and unfettered belief in what you are about. And be glad you don't have to stress over producing returns of $4.2Bn or more...

As a follow-up to my prior post, titled "More is... more", I had to share this marketingism gem. I know the US lags well behind many countries in math skills, but it would seem that the weasel marketers out there are still up to their suggestively fact-like ways in hopes that the math illiterate won't notice. 

Have you found any more-is-more marketingisms in your cupboards or on your local store's shelves? If so, please share!

Most of the "famous" or highly followed and re-tweeted and emulated people on Twitter have little of substance to share with us outside of Twitter. By and large they give very poor live interviews, they stumble through award ceremonies, stutter and "um" when stating their minds and really don't impress much. So why is it that they command such a stage on Twitter? How do they maintain or grow the enormous following? And what lessons can we learn from them?

I'm going to highlight Charlie Sheen (@CharlieSheen), even though he is absolutely not the only blathering human who has managed to captivate a large Twitter audience, since he has so recently splatted onto our windshields and is sort of hard to miss. Some of his live speaking downsides include:

• being highly fidgety
• being unable to maintain quality eye contact - if he even looks directly at the interviewer or camera
• a penchant for stammering through sentences
• the tendency to speak in indecipherable run-on sentences
• making up words

His claim to fame this month, not counting the tirades, law suits, drugs, prostitutes and other indiscretions, is that he signed up for a Twitter account and achieved a world record 1 Million followers in 24 hours time. At the time of this writing he is close to 1.5 Million. How did he do it?

Constraint.

No, Charlie Sheen has never willingly succumbed to constraint or restraint of any kind. But constraints, the kind of restrictions you have to work within to complete a project or solve a problem, are what define Twitter. Twitter imposes the ultimate constraint on language and conversation: brevity. You only get 140 characters (with spaces, hashtags, @ symbols and so on). To participate in Twitter a user has to distill down their thoughts, refine their meaning and deliver the message intelligibly. It's almost like poetry. Again no, I'm not saying Sheen is a poet.

Constraint is the mantra of really good designers. Good design teaches us to embrace constraint, because constraints force us to focus and they drive innovative thinking. If you are used to having 25 tools to build something and someone says build it with 2, then you have to get creative. Your creativity and ingenuity have to overcome what you lack.

And that, in large part is what elevates the moderate to poor public speaker (aka stupid people) into beloved Twitter-stars. You may not be one of the highest paid television stars, which would give anyone a jumpstart on Twitter, but you can refine your message. If you want to grow your following, then stop complaining about the weather and other random tweets. There are times to break that rule, especially if your Twitter focus is humor, but for the most part try to use your account like a poetry book. Your tweets have the capacity to move people, to cause them to act, to grow your social network and more.

Now is the time to take your trip into the wilderness, find yourself and then improve your Twitter efforts. Or, and I hate to say it, you can be the Twitter user with very few followers who actually still sounds stupid even on Twitter.

Resources on design constraints:

• "Getting Real" by 37signals, Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, Matthew Linderman
• i-capitaladvisors.com "Design Constraints"
• Business Week "Creativity Loves Constraints"