Growing Up

Long ago, there was a young man who thought he liked telling stories. He was pretty good at it.

Then he thought he might like helping others share their stories. He got pretty good at that, too.

Later, he discovered that he had a knack for helping others say what they needed to under duress. And he had a decent sense for how to use online channels to do just that.

And now here I am.

Listen to: Growing Up

Coming of Age

Yes, I’ve been an adult now for nearly half my life, but I’m referring more to career maturity. Many of us spend years toiling and training in other jobs before we figure out what we’re really wired for.

No, I am not leaving my job. Far from it. I am loving it. So much so, that I feel a need to prioritize what I am doing, because there’s just too much fun to be had.

No, I am not leaving Occam’s Razr. But I will be growing and expanding in other directions.

For instance, it occurred to me that I have a pretty decent backlog of articles and essays here that are timeless — not rooted to any particular moment. Many of them deal with the issues of modern media, and the state of journalism, and crisis communications and messaging.

And they don’t belong here.

The ought to be over at Positive Position, and drawing attention to my media training company. And you know what — they will be re-purposed, alongside new material.

It makes no sense to draw people here when there is a better, more purposeful “there” over there. (This will make more sense when I finish my manifesto on Intent.)

There’s really little point in me writing about Social Media over here — I am a happy contributor to Jason Falls’ Social Media Explorer, which gives me a larger soapbox with an audience that’s focused on that topic. I’ll be contributing articles to Ragan.com as well, because the universe at large was never really beating a path to this corner.

Evolution

Is this the end of the “all-purpose blog?” Maybe, I don’t know. I do know that I enjoyed writing about just about anything that tickled my fancy on a daily basis, but ultimately you can’t build a stable and coherent audience that way.

Not that I ever worried about “building an audience,” per se, but now that I do, it’s time to be more intentional about that process. I want to help people — but you can’t help people who can’t find you.

We’re dealing with another evolution, too. There is a greater demand and thirst for knowledge about communications than at any other time in history. The barrier-for-entry is now so low that just about anyone can become a media producer. Yet, the vast majority have no prior experience at the same time when their mistakes can go global in an instant.

Businesses and organizations are looking for people to help them figure out how to communicate in new ways to different audiences — and do so with minimal mistakes. The Alabama Social Media Association has coalesced to fill that need.

I’m honored they asked me to present at their inaugural event, March 30th at the Hill Center at the Alabama Theater. I’ll be talking about the intersection of crisis communications and social media, and how to recognize reputation threats before they explode. (I hope it starts some lively conversations about what can and ought be done in the social space.)

Ike 3.0?

As much fun as I have writing, I believe there are aspects of what I’d like to convey that work much better in a live presentation format. That is part of my evolution as well, getting out and seeing more people, presenting information live. It’s the fusion of what makes me tick – communication, tech geekery, and mentoring.

And now… here I am.