Labels: fun, meme

Labels: fun, meme, social media, Twitter

1. When I was a junior in high school, I was called out of a classroom by the vice principal - normally the school's disciplinarian and someone with whom I had previously had no significant contact. Mr. "C" as he was known, informed me that I was a unanimous choice of the faculty and local American Legion to be our school's representative at Boys' State.
   
   
2. When I was in college, I spent my first three years on the drumline of the BU Marching Band, I was part of a service fraternity that supported the university's music organizations, so some sort of participation was required, so my senior year, I opted to become the announcer for the marching band. It was a nice mashup of my music interest and voiceover aspirations. Plus, I regularly brought down the house with such gems as, "Welcome to Nickerson Field at Boston University. Be sure to try our Charles River Chowder."
   
   
3. I have a hearing problem - severe enough that I may be getting hearing aids soon. My problem is a combination of tinnitus (pronounced TINN-it-us), a high-pitch ringing or buzzing that never ceases, and a hearing loss of higher pitched sounds. It means I have a hard time hearing whispers, higher pitch voices such as women, and at times, general conversation. I'm losing the ability to hear leaves rustling in the wind and when the peepers come out at night (because that's similar to the sound I always hear in my head). Ironically enough, my favorite composer is Beethoven, who also suffered from the same thing before going completely deaf. I can't really complain when I know that he produced some of the world's most beautiful and enduring music without the benefit of being able to hear it. We'll see how the hearing aids work out (hopefully).
   
   
4. I don't buy new cars, and when I purchase I car, I'll only pay below the market rate. I know some people saw the photo of my car parked in my garage during the snowblower plea and questioned my situation. When I was considering a car, I knew I needed an AWD vehicle and it came down to Subaru, VW and Audi, as I wanted a sedan, not an SUV. Turns out the Audi was cheaper than the VW - and since my dad works at an auto auction, I got a sweet deal.
   
   
5. I hold or have held memberships in a number of unusual groups - The Wodehouse Society, the Titanic Historical Society, and the Boston branch of the English-Speaking Union. I have just finished a 5-year stint as the founding head of The Beacon Society, a non-profit that promotes childhood literacy through the Sherlock Holmes stories.
   
   
6. I rarely watch late night TV anymore, but Johnny Carson is still my hero. The Tonight Show isn't the Tonight Show without him. I always admired his quick wit, charm, and regular guy approach, not to mention his ability to keep the humor and attention focused on his guests, not on him. Whether it was Midwest grandma or a Hollywood starlet, all were equals when they were on the panel with Johnny. One of the greatest compliments I receive is when people tell me that I remind them of Johnny.
   
   
7. I was on As Schools Match Wits, the nation's longest running high school quiz program. I'm still kicking myself over one stupid answer that I gave that potentially cost us the title, but maybe I can redeem myself on Jeopardy some day.
   
   
8. I had a hard time coming up with a final one, but in the spirit of keeping this interesting, I'll end with this throw-away: if someone offered me the opportunity to become a game show host, I'd take it.
   

Labels: fun, meme

My first consulting gig was doing corporate development on a 3-person team for Boston Healthcare Associates. I was still young and a bit unsure of myself, as I had never done that kind of work before and was responsible for the strategic and financial well-being of my clients.

Andy had an open-door policy and even when he was extremely busy, he always took a few moments to welcome me into his office and make me feel as if I was the most important thing on his agenda. I was talking with him about some doubts I was having, and he said something that sticks with me still:

"Just tell yourself 'I have arrived.'"

That's it. Plain and simple. It's the premise behind The Secret. But it takes a bit of self-confidence before you can really embrace it. And until this year, I didn't really appreciate that.

The other thing that Andy taught me was the importance of listening. One of the main tenets of joining a social network or community is that you must listen first. Andy would sit in a conference room with clients or employees and would let everyone speak. He only offered his opinion at the end of the meeting, and it always seemed that his comments were the most insightful and comprehensive. He didn't open his mouth just to hear himself speak, he really had a reason for speaking.

In the spirit of keeping the meme alive, I'm going to tag a few folks - people that I'm thankful for this year. I've many, many people in mind, but I do want to keep this succinct. I'll be sharing another post shortly about my recent experiences meeting so many wonderful social media mavens in the Boston area.

Julia Roy - no, I'm not tagging Julia because she's been after me to put her on my blogroll, but rather because she is one of the shining examples of someone who combines passion, intelligence and humor to great effect. Her personal brand is sassy yet serious, playful yet intelligent, and always engaging. She uses Seesmic to her advantage and has great boots. I'm very sad that Boston is losing her to New York, but thanks to new media, we'll still be able to benefit from her uber-presence.

Len Edgerly - Len is one of my surprise friends this year. He's half Denver, half Cambridge and entirely cool. I think we became acquainted over Twitter and we found a common interest in the arts, particularly in literature. In his Video Pod Chronicles episode with NewMediaJim, I recognized the Colony Hotel in the background and mentioned it. What has resulted is a kind of mutual admiration society and a new friendship that I hope to nourish.

Joseph Jaffe - How could I not mention the Interruptor? No, not this one. I'm talking about the founder of the company I work for, crayon. Just a year ago I was only a fan of crayon, but earlier this year, Joseph enthusiastically welcomed me to the team (what were you thinking, Joe?). My time with crayon has been exhilarating and exhausting, but incredibly rewarding. I really feel like I'm part of something big, and I have Joseph to thank for that.

Drew McLellan - Probably one of the nicest guys in the blogosphere, Drew tapped me as one of the original core group to write The Age of Conversation, a groundbreaking book that took the work of 103 authors and resulting in over $10,000 raised for charity. Drew's insights into marketing and branding are always eye-opening for me, and his approachability and encouragement always make me smile.

Thank you all, for being a unique and special part of my social media world. You make it a more interesting place and you inspire many others in your own way. I hope you continue the meme and share your thanks with your own communities.

Labels: age of conversation, crayon, Drew McLellan, Joseph Jaffe, meme, social media

1. In graduate school, I won a student book collecting contest sponsored by the Friends of the Libraries at Boston University. I subsequently joined the group and attended many cocktail receptions, lectures and dinners where I had the opportunity to speak with celebrities at length, including Angela Lansbury, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Claire Bloom, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Roddy McDowall, Saul Bellow, Anna Russell, Michael Chiklis, Dan Rather... At the event with Prince Edward, Lauren Bacall approached me and my wife, saying she wanted to hang with "the younger people."
2. I was trained classically on the accordion. Yes, I can play polkas, but I choose not to. I competed at the state and national level and took home many prizes over the years. I stopped lessons after high school - there's only so much ridicule a guy can take.
   
3. My range of vocal impressions is fairly exhaustive; I'd be doing voice-overs on the side if anyone took me up on it (see the right column under "About Me").
   
4. I am a clothes horse - I own over 300 neckties and 50 bow ties. In order to make it through the "rotation," at my last job, each week I celebrated "Bow Tie Monday."
5. You know Booger from Revenge of the Nerds? His real name is Curtis Armstrong and he and I are friends. If he were here he'd want me to point out that he was also in Ray, Akeelah and the Bee, Moonlighting, Better Off Dead and Risky Business, he's a P.G. Wodehouse and Washington Irving scholar, and he never gets tired of being called "Booger."
   
6. Growing up in rural Connecticut, before I was of legal age to work in typical high school jobs (supermarket, fast food joints, etc.), I spent two summers working on tobacco farms that produced cigar tobacco. The first summer was broad-leaf (the wrapper) and the second summer was shade (the filler). My parents thought it built "character." I think it made me realize I never wanted to do manual labor.
   
7. I was a Resident Assistant on duty the night Warren Towers had to be evacuated due to toxic fumes venting up from the sealcoating of the parking garage beneath. Over 1,500 students were displaced over October 11-13, 1991, as genius contractors thought the building would be at low capacity for Columbus Day weekend, and decided to use the toluene-based chemicals.
   
8. I am an investitured member of the Baker Street Irregulars, a literary society whose members have included Rex Stout, Christopher Morley and Isaac Asimov, and I serve as business manager of the Baker Street Journal.

Labels: age of conversation, conversation, Friday Fun, meme

Doug: [my blog] is here to help me “create with the mind”– that is what “Gischeleman” means– and work on my writing and thinking by doing it regularly.

Greg (a little more unabashed): these are some of the posts that have given me the greatest satisfaction, that I feel are most consistent with my general views on new media and marketing, that come closest to nailing my vision for this blog. These are just a few of the posts that rank among the most popular with my favorite audience of one, ME.

Labels: blogs, brand, Friday Fun, Marketing, meme

I'm Lovin' It
On Corporate Blogging
When Should a CEO Blog?
If Ancient Rome Had the Internet
What Would David Ogilvy Twitter?
Quick Thought on Being Different

Labels: blogs, fun, meme

Labels: fun, meme, Twitter

Labels: blogs, meme, New Media, social media