Archive for July, 2008

A Twofer on the 101!

Posted on: July 21st, 2008 by Geoff Livingston 2 Comments

Today I accomplished not one, but two of the items on 101 Things I’d Like to Do Before I Die list.

The first — #21, sell my agency — was in the making for some time. Today, I agreed to be acquired by Maggie Fox’s Social Media Group. This is one of those brass ring moments in life that you never forget!

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Thanks to Maggie for letting me join her team. As you can see above, we have fun together so I anticipate the transition from boss to consigliere will be relatively painless.

The first triggered the second, # 101, which was to appear on Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson’s FIR podcast, what I consider to be the heart and soul of the online PR industry. An honor, and a dream come true. Thanks to Shel for making this happen.

What a day, I am forever grateful!

And just think, on August 2, I’ll knock out #56 and see Rage Against the Machine in Chicago. It’s shaping up to be a banner summer on the 101 things front.

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Coffee Is For Closers!

Posted on: July 20th, 2008 by Geoff Livingston

Some recent conversations with that younger generation (Millennials, gawd!), has made me realize they have never been introduced to the ultimate Alec Baldwin scene. The 1992 movie was Glengarry Glen Ross, and the 7 minute scene is sick! Jack Lemon, Ed Harris and Kevin Spacey join Baldwin in this scene.

Any real salesperson loves this scene. Everyone else is absolutely horrified, but this is really sales. Of course, the scene produced the classic phrases “Coffee is for Closers,” and “ABC… Always Be Closing.”

This is Baldwin at his best. It’s just a fricking incredible scene! “I drove an $80,000 BMW to get here. That’s my name!”

Of course, Millennials will probably be more familiar with this Ben Affleck scene in 2000′s Boiler Room, also a great sales scene. But when you see the two one after the other, it’s clear that Baldwin is better, and that Affleck was paying homage to the vintage Glengarry Glen Ross scene.

What do you think?

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Why I Changed Course on Twitter

Posted on: July 15th, 2008 by Geoff Livingston 10 Comments

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For more than a year I followed everyone who followed me on Twitter. Then I stopped following new folks about a month ago. Finally, on what some are jokingly calling “Black Monday,” I suddenly dumped a thousand people I was following.

Why?

Because the experience was awful. I didn’t know most of the people on my Twitter screen. I couldn’t participate in any larger discussions or conversations. And I really hated getting unsolicited DMs from people that I don’t know.

So I reversed my position and purged. I gave up on being the ultimate community personality. I’m just a guy, I am not Chris Brogan or Guy Kawasaki, nor do I think I want to be. These guys are amazing, and they have much more patience and tolerance than I do.

The results, with 600 people I am following, I am enjoying Twitter again. It’s much more pleasant with valid conversations, and has returned my faith in Twitter. I also feel like I am adding more to those that I follow buy actually being able to read their tweets.

There are still some folks I don’t recognize, and I am weeding them out slowly. I will continue to add people, but only if there’s a relationship. Further, I am taking my lessons learned to Plurk, where after the first 150, I am only adding people that I know.

More is not better, I have learned.

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