Last week my friend (and one of my co-founders on a new company we’re launching in early January), Monica O’Brien, published her first paperback book, Social Pollination: Escape the Hype of Social Media and Join the Companies Winning At It, and I wanted to give a quick shout for her. The book is a thorough guide to social media marketing for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and PR and marketing folks.

Social Pollination is about how small businesses can and should be using social media – starting with creating goals and strategy, to the optimizing the 12 social media success factors on any platform, to measuring social media ROI, all the way to building a social media team when you see that social media is so much more important than advertising for 2010.

In her introduction Monica explains what the concept of social pollination is, and details several common social media mistakes to avoid—not creating a strategy, thinking the tools themselves are everything, gathering followers versus building a network, being too impersonal, being overly controlling of your community, abusing permission, and more.

She goes on to explain the necessity of using social media, how it is changing the way businesses do marketing, and how to properly share your message in a way that consumers trust.

Monica reviews goals and strategy and shows how social media will help you raise brand awareness, demonstrate thought leadership, create a sales pipeline, increase the loyalty of your community, and give you new avenues for customer support, recruiting, and R&D.

She then breaks down the many different kinds of new media, such as blogs, microblogging, social networks, bookmarking sites, and many other kinds of special-interest site and sites for specific types of multimedia. She describes the importance of building a community founded upon relationships, the psychology behind why people will or won’t share your content, ideas for developing your content, keyword research, on- and off-page search engine optimization techniques, and how to measure and analyze your performance.

If you’re new to promoting your business on social media, check out the book on Amazon. And if you’re curious about the process of writing, pricing, and marketing a paperback, Monica has an interesting behind-the-scenes look at her new book on her blog.

###

Additionally, I’ve recently become a staff writer for SocialMediaMarketing.com. You can follow my guest articles there for more about social media marketing strategy if you’re interested. Check out my first few posts at SMM and leave me your feedback:

• Why You Need to Start a Business Blog Now
• The 3 Different Types of Social Media & Why You Need to Use Them
• How Some Airlines Are Failing at Social Media…and Others Are Rockin’
• Social Media is a Blast from the Past

To get you guys thinking like proper renegades, today I share some of the absolute best manifestos I’ve come across. This is my guide to 14 of the best-available ebooks out there—some free and some not—that will help guide you through the long process of branding yourself, creating your own successful freelance business, outsourcing, automating, systematizing, and turning your business into a vast empire with the power of the web, easing into an unconventional nomadic or otherwise remarkable lifestyle and getting the best travel deals while you’re vagabonding around the globe.

Add these to your Christmas gift wish list or use them as stocking stuffers for that special nomad in your life, and check out my page of lifestyle design and digital nomad resources for more tools to help you on your journey.

A Brief Guide to World Domination by Chris Guillebeau

One of the world’s most traveled dudes—Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Nonconformity—offers you a clear alternative to being unremarkably average, giving lessons on how to identify the work you’re most passionate about and how to go about changing the world. Awesome!

Probably the first ebook you should download and consume, right this instant! Download it from The Art of Nonconformity.

New Economy Superstar by Corbett Barr

This isn’t a book about fame or celebrity or making millions. It’s about a new type of success that isn’t reserved for the lucky and well-connected few. This opportunity wasn’t available until just a few years ago, and you’re just in time to take advantage of it. Learn how the biggest opportunity of this generation will make you happy, wealthy and independent!

A great primer for making a successful living outside the corporate career, including interviews with many remarkable people. Download here and visit Corbett at FreePursuits.

Rockstar Personal Branding by Skellie

Personal branding isn’t very different than product branding, except that the entity being branded is you. Just like Nike uses its brand to attach a certain personality and uniqueness to the shoes it sells, your personal brand is made up of the qualities and unique traits you relay about yourself. Your personal brand represents the way you want other people to think about you.

Download for free when you sign up for Rockable Press’ free newsletter here. Also visit Skellie’s great blog Anywired.

The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself by Chris Guillebeau

The greatest benefit of self-employment, or even a side project that produces additional income, is personal freedom. When you can take more control of your choices, you’ll experience an independence that money can’t buy. No one will do this for you. If you want freedom, you’ll have to make it happen for yourself. This guide can help.

Let Chris teach you how to create personal freedom through your own very small business. Get the book here.

How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer from FreelanceSwitch

Covering everything from getting started to expanding your business, if you want to start your freelance career the right way, then How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer will give you everything you need to become the best freelancer in town!

Get 212 pages of expert freelancing advice from Collis & Cyan Ta’eed—the founders of FreelanceSwitch. Grab your copy here.

SourceControl by David Walsh

David is an entrepreneur who’s been pushing the limits of outsourcing for years to build projects and create companies—and he’s blown an absurd amount of time and money along the way. Anyone who tells you outsourcing is simple & cheap is lying to you. After all the chaos, the mistakes, the blown budgets and the wasted hours—yes, it’s simple and a massively profitable. Everything leading up to that point is anything but. He’s taken every lesson he learned over the last 3 years and put it into a 160 page, fully annotated, resource-packed book that is everything you need to start outsourcing successfully. No other resource available gives you this level of detail toward leveraging your time and money.

Get this incredible outsourcing framework for the dangerously ambitious from MuseLife genius David Walsh now!

Not By The Hour: A Guide to Making Passive Income from FreelanceSwitch

Streams of passive income can take a bit of work to get started, some even take a little work to maintain, however they are well worth it. Having a steady source of income is particularly useful for a freelancer as it helps mitigate risk and balance out some of the ups and downs of freelancing. Besides who doesn’t want a source of income that keeps generating with or without your input!

Another useful guide from Collis Ta’eed, founder of FreelanceSwitch. Grab this one for free here!

The Zero Hour Workweek by Jonathan Mead

Learn Jonathan’s story of liberation and his journey to getting paid to be himself (by doing what he loves). Discover why the world needs you to do what you love and how to find the intersection between what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about, and what people will pay you to do.

I was honored to be featured as a Zero Hour Case Study for Jonathan’s 0HWW book. Check out some of my thoughts on how to get paid to be you.

How to Be Remarkable by Colin Wright

Colin wrote this book to share some valuable tidbits of knowledge with everyone because he firmly believes that if the world has more inspiring, ambitious and remarkable people we’ll all be a lot better off. John Bardos, Diggy, Kristin Norris, Carol Segrave, Carlos Miceli, Anoush Rima Tatevossian, Amber Rae Lambke, Paul Smith, Christophe Galland, Jenda Michl, Alan Perlman, Sean Ogle, Robert Granholm and JD Bentley all contribute useful lessons to this great compilation.

Download this free ebook from Colin Wright at Exile Lifestyle.

Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World by Anil Polat

Anil’s blog series on overcoming obstacles to traveling the world turned out to span 2 months, generated over 100 comments, and had his inbox filled with messages from people who wanted to, had, or were currently overcoming the 7 obstacles themselves. Hear personal stories and advice from other world travelers … and build your knowledge of how to prepare for and sustain long-term travel.

Anil interviewed me to get my personal experience and advice for other long-term travelers too!  Download the book here and visit Anil at foXnoMad.

Life Nomadic: The Life Changing Guide to Travel by Tynan

Life Nomadic is a book that will change the way you think about travel. Rather than think of it as an expensive luxury, you will understand it for what it is: a surprisingly affordable necessity for fully experiencing life. In 2007, Tynan sold everything he owned and began traveling the world. He became a nomad. This book is a collection of the travel strategies, tips, and philosophies that he’s accumulated since then.

Download Tynan’s helpful and revealing guide to the nomadic lifestyle at Tynan.net.

007 Lifestyle: Living Like James Bond by Derek Johanson

This is a definitive guide to living a kick-ass, real lifestyle just like James Bond’s. Derek will share with you the essential ingredients of how he lives the ultimate 007 lifestyle. Follow this guide and you will feel like 007. Your friends will be jealous as they watch you travel the world with ease and take control of women’s hearts effortlessly. You will be able to design a lifestyle that rocks your boat. You will have more options and freedom to pursue your goals and ambitions. You will become a positive influence on others to live happy and fulfilling lives.

You can read more about the ebook and see Derek’s recent MI6 Report where he interviewed me for the 007 Lifestyle series here. Also find Derek at Live Uncomfortably.

How to Make Money with Your Travel Blog by Nomadic Matt

Matt makes over $3,000 dollars a month from his travel websites and has been for many months. That is enough to keep anybody traveling and being a digital nomad for a long time. Even if you don’t want to be a digital nomad, it’s still a nice side income. This ebook has all of his tips, tricks and advice on how to build a successful blog, rank high in Google search results, and how to make money through advertising.

Check out my recent interview with Matt Kepnes and see Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site for more info.

Frequent Flyer Master: Free Travel Anywhere by Chris Guillebeau

Chris has traveled to about 120 countries so far and has roughly 80 more to visit every country in the world. He has a war chest of Frequent Flyer Miles on eight different airlines and all three airline alliances. Between earning and redeeming, over the past year I’ve been through well over half a million miles. My current balance is 676,583 miles in eight accounts. Learn how to go anywhere in the world for nearly free using Frequent Flyer Miles, even if you don’t travel very often.

Chris even guarantees that his book will earn you at least one free plane ticket! Check it out here.

What are your favorite guides for creating a remarkable life? Be sure to check my resources page for more useful lifestyle design and digital nomad resources.

I just returned from a short excursion to Laos with my buddies Dwight Turner (InSearchOfSanuk.com), Mark Weins (Migrationology) & Joel Bruner on Saturday (see some of my travel photos here; more about Laos soon) and I have a busy week ahead facilitating introductions, doing interviews and prepping for events, but I wanted to drop you a quick update.

Hope you’ve had a chance to see my cool interview over at Barefoot Geek. David Turnbull is a fantastic writer, a Buddhist blogger, and had some really interesting questions for me.

Thursday is #BeerCamp with the BarCamp Bangkok crowd over at Lub D Hostel, and Friday I’ll be helping Dwight out at the LUSH 2 party, Bangkok’s Twestival celebration, where we’ll be raising money for two orphanages near the Burmese border. Dwight only books the plushest places—LUSH will again be at the poolside rooftop bar at Fraser Suites on Sukhumvit Soi 11—and by making it easy to give to charity and have fun at the same time, he’s making a big impact here in Thailand. He was a natural choice to mobilize Bangkok to participate in Twestival—an international, social media-powered event to inspire giving all over the world. If you’re in BKK, I hope you’ll join us.

A shoutout for the Under 30 Rock Star Business Series

Additionally, I want to tell you about another young social media gangster who’s also got a big social change footprint. My friend Greg Rollett from RockstarLifestyleDesign.com truly lives up to the name—no bullshit. He’s been published and featured all over the place, including top blogs, several books and on FOX News (check out his recent inteview at Business Backpacker). Greg is just 26-years-old and he’s already leveraged his personal branding success to kickstart some incredible social change initiatives like the Rock for Hunger project—a campaign to benefit the homeless and raise poverty awareness in Orlando, Florida.

Starting one week from today, Greg is teaming up with Matt Wilson and Jared O’Toole—who developed Under30CEO into a destination site for Gen-Y entrepreneurs and a nationally-syndicated radio show in less than 2 years—to help twentysomethings struggling to succeed in today’s workplace:

You know this economy has been tough on Gen-Y. Many of you may be facing upwards of $20,000 in debt after graduation and a job market that pits you against CEO’s, executives and professionals with a network and resume that make your internship or blog look like a 2nd grade book report. In the last 2 years it has never been more important for you to build a brand, establish credibility and network your ass off just to land any old 9-5.

Through hard work and by positioning themselves as authorities online with social media, blogs and SEO, these three have each developed incredible brands and built successful businesses, and for a limited time they are offering to help 200 others learn how to leverage the power of the web to build their own personal brands and create similar success online with their new 4-week Under 30 Rock Star Business Series. These internet kingpins only put out top-notch quality content, and if you want to learn to have similar success online, you couldn’t ask for three better examples to follow than Greg, Matt & Jared. I highly suggest you head over to their Eventbrite page to learn more about the course. Frankly, this is exactly the kind of interactive course I would teach my clients if I weren’t a lazy loser who doesn’t have his act together, so I can’t recommend it enough!

You’ve got until Sunday, September 13th to sign up, and seats are limited to the first 200 students. The first class will broadcast live over Ustream one week from today, on Monday. For less than a hundred bucks you get all of this:

• 4 Live Interactive Training Sessions
• Week 1 – September 14th – Creating Your Voice With a Blog
• Week 2 – September 21st – Creating Your Presence with Social Media
• Week 3 – September 28th – Rock Star SEO and Internet Marketing
• Week 4 – Advanced Strategies to Blow Your Brand Up Online
• A Private Members Forum
• Unlimited access to recorded training modules after they go over them live
• 100% Money Back Guarantee
• Greg also told me that early sign-ups will also get access to an additional free 30-minute call

The guys will even open up unlimited Q&A after every session to make sure everyone gets their questions answered. I’m definitely interested to learn what they have to teach, so I’ll be there, and if you’re serious about building an online business or just plain kicking ass at your career, you need to grab a seat and take advantage of these three superstar Gen-Y’s knowledge too!

###

Disclaimer: This post does include affiliate links. Greg is a friend, and in helping the guys spread the word about their new course, I will get a percentage of any sales made through my referral links. But I want you to know I only promote services that I truly believe in here—I gave a few moments consideration to joining the legions of folks who promote CopyBlogger’s Teaching Sells program this year for instance, but when I paid for and participated in that course last year I honestly didn’t find that it provided very much value. Greg, Jared & Matt, however, are different: they will be teaching you the strategies they’ve used first-hand to get where they are, and if that’s something you genuinely think you could benefit from, I hope you’ll check out the course, and you can throw a few bucks my way if you choose to sign up through my link. If I didn’t believe in Greg’s product I wouldn’t share it with you here. I’ll see you on the Ustream broadcast next week!

UPDATE May 10: This contest is now closed. The winner will be announced via Twitter & the blog soon. Thanks to all for your participation.

I’ve been back in the States for a few weeks this month—my only brief trip home this year—and it’s been a lot of fun catching up with friends and going to the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in the Southern California desert. But I had very mixed feelings about coming back to the U.S. right now, and my visit has been a little bittersweet.

The U.S. has been hit hard by a down economy, and California is showing visible signs of the recession. Restaurants are empty. Small businesses are closing their doors. A lot of folks are looking for work, a lot are depressed, a lot of people are stagnating.

In this economic downturn, it’s time to take your reputation, and your career, into your own hands. There is no such thing as job security anymore. Pensions and benefits can be taken away at a moment’s notice. And even your retirement savings can’t be relied upon these days.

I believe that entrepreneurship, as risky as it can be, is truly the best solution. As a freelancer or business owner, you take your destiny into your own hands. And if you prefer the “security” of a full-time job, these days you should at least develop a second, side income stream, and actively manage your “employability”. That means staying sharp on developments in your field, keeping your resume fresh, and regularly adding people to your professional network. You should never quit job searching really, because the unfortunate reality is that everyone’s job is disposable.

It’s funny—in conversation you notice there are fundamental differences in the way employees and entrepreneurs think. I won’t say one is better than the other, but I think at least a little bit of entrepreneurial thinking is good for everyone. It keeps you on your toes and makes you realize that you can create your own prosperity if you try hard enough. My mission here at Thrilling Heroics is to help people break out of conventional thinking and pursue their potential, so I expect you guys to be able to hear me say that, or else you wouldn’t be my audience!

Anyways, I’m working on a few things to help everyone kick ass at life just a little bit more. My mission this year, in everything I do, is to empower as many would-be freelancers, entrepreneurs, and other do-gooders to take back their power, to realize they don’t have to be just a cog in a wheel and take what life gives them. You can build an awesome business, you can live a remarkable life, and you can do anything and go anywhere you want! You just have to work for it.

Here we go:

Discount Social Media Consulting for New Clients

It’s no secret that I provide social media consulting and blog development services for select web entrepreneurs and professionals. Just this month I helped Kare Anderson—a dedicated blogger and author who already kicks ass even without my help—launch her new site HowWePartner.com. And I helped coach Eileen McDargh—a professional speaker and management consultant—on introductory ways to utilize social media more effectively for her business. Eileen was completely ecstatic and said this after our first hour together:

“In just one hour, Cody cut through the chaos and confusion of social networks, showing me what I needed to do and—even more importantly, what I did NOT need to do. It was very valuable and worth the time.”

My fees are typically somewhat substantial, because I try to filter out only the most dedicated and remarkable clients, and dedicated people tend to have money to spend on their remarkable projects. The amount of attention and commitment I give to each client makes the investment worthwhile. My job is to follow industry trends in the social media and blogging space, filtering through the noise to find the most important solutions for my clients. I maintain a wide knowledge base and an active network in the blogosphere so that I can provide my clients with relevant news and resources, software and tutorials, and even introduce them to like-minded professionals and key influencers in their niche, to establish authority on the web and improve their business.

Because we’re all feeling the negative effects of this economy, I’m offering a small discount on my consulting for new clients right now. If you’ve got something important to say, I want to help you get the right web technology and social media strategies in place to increase your online exposure. Add me to your team and leverage my expertise in the following areas:

• WordPress
• Blogging
• Social networks
• User-friendly, accessible web design (XHTML, CSS, PHP)
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Personal branding
• Online project management & collaboration tools

I usually bill $95 per hour for my consulting time. But if you book an Introductory Blog & Social Media Consultation with me in the month of May, I’ll give you your first hour of consulting for just $75. I’ll talk with you directly via phone or webcam to understand your specific business situation and your online marketing objectives, and help point you in the right direction.

An Awesome FREE WordPress Theme in the Works

There is a sizable market for my premium web services. But I realize there are also several important demographics out there who can’t afford pricey web consulting and development work, including young professionals like myself who are interested in personal branding and establishing their reputation on the web, micro-business owners and other solopreneurs who are tightening their belts right now.

As a low-cost alternative for these rockstars in training, I’m currently building a killer app—a premium, all-in-one blog design, which I’ll release as a free WordPress theme. “Thrilling Theme” will be my masterpiece. It will serve as the framework for my future web development projects, and it will have everything you could ever dream of! The free theme will include:

• Multiple color schemes and style options to choose from
• An easy way to upload your own custom logo or header image
• Integrated Twitter updates, Flickr photos, and more
• Easy insertion of your Google Analytics tracking code, your FeedBurner RSS feed, etc.
• And tons more. Please share your ideas in the comments!

For do-it-yourselfers, the theme will be available as a free download. For individuals and small businesses that want some basic help getting started with Thrilling Theme as the template design for their site, a basic setup & customization package will be available for a nominal charge. (We’re talking about a complete social media platform—possibly the framework for your online business—for less than 400 bucks!)

What About for Non-Blogging Nerd Types?

Additionally, I’ll be doing as much as I can to provide free, valuable advice on this blog to help as many people break free as well—talking about going solopreneur, building a strong reputation on the web, and taking your business location-independent if you desire. Blogging and leveraging social media has allowed me to make awesome friends in all corners of the globe, and I’ve even attracted clients from five continents! My only desire is that I can help you guys experience similar success.

I have a few projects on my back burners, some things that have been marinating for a while. In the coming months, I look forward to teaming up more with great folks like Lea Woodward, Jun Loayza, Jonathan Mead, Carmen Isais, Mark Weins and Tom Barrett to deliver some fresh, unique perspectives and experiment with some new ideas.

Locally, I’ll continue to work with Dwight Turner of In Search of Sanuk to host charity events and fundraisers in and around Thailand, and I hope to provide discount services to many more non-profits this year. I’ve just partnered with Fusion International on a new project to help them relaunch and revitalize their website focused on victims of extreme poverty, conflict and internal displacement. When you support this site, do business with me, or tell people about Thrilling Heroics, you’ll help me continue to support good causes, and promote events like our Bangkok Tweetup for Charity.

The Part Where I Ask for Your Help

In order to empower as many people as I can this year, I need your help to reach the biggest audience possible. What can you do? You can subscribe. You can tell people about my mission and about ThrillingHeroics.com. You can check out my company, Thrilling Heroics Consulting. But I’ll go a step further: if you blog about my mission with link to this post by May 10th, you’ll be entered for a chance at a FREE 1-hour Blog Consultation. It’s simple:

1. Write about my mission to help as many people become Rockstars as possible with discount consulting. Write about the upcoming free Thrilling Theme. You can even write about the competition itself.
2. Include a direct link to this post or to ThrillingHeroicsConsulting.com
3. To make sure I get your submission, leave a comment on this post and include the URL for your blog post about this competition.

On May 10th, I’ll choose one commenter at random to receive a free consultation with me by phone or Skype. You’ll get a full hour to ask me any questions you like about blogging, social media, and WordPress.

Thanks for staying with me this long. Forget the crummy economy. Let’s all combine forces to do some good this year. Check back soon for more on living a remarkable life.

Feature photo credit: Elmo Keep

Can’t get enough Thrilling Heroics? Follow @codymckibb on Twitter.

From the beginning, Dan has partnered up with big names like Chris Brogan, Neil Patel, J.D. Roth, Jim Wang, Carmine Gallo, and many other valuable contributors, and his team has scored interviews with the likes of Donald Trump, Guy Kawasaki, Om Malik and Gina Trapani. Each issue offers some great interviews and profiles of a few big names, tips for career development, personal branding, and social media.

This month’s edition—titled “The Personal Branding Gold Rush”—has a feature interview with Gary Vaynerchuk, the social marketing guru behind Wine Library TV, and discussions with David Allen (author of GTD), Keith Ferrazzi (master of networking & author of Never Eat Alone) and Robert Cialdini (author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion). From Dan:

“Now is the time for building your personal eBrand. Laggards will be lost in a Google cloud of dust, while early adopters will rank #1 for their name.  Stop watching everyone else steal your gold (your THUNDER) and get involved today.  Many people are scared to develop an online presence, yet it’s the only way you can safeguard your brand and have “job security.”  This issue will highlight Gary Vaynerchuk, who will passionately force you to get involved in the GOLD RUSH.  As you read each page, you will gather the knowledge needed to not let these opportunities pass you by.”

Dan Schawbel’s own successful branding and his relentless work ethic have earned him recognition around the web and print media for his efforts. He’s recently been interviewed at Entrepreneur.com and Business Week (check out Thrilling Heroics’ interview with him in 2007).

If you’re interested to try out Personal Branding Magazine, a free sample issue is available here. The full issue will be available for subscribers on November 1st. If you’re an entrepreneur or freelancer of any sort, distinguishing yourself from the crowd is a top priority in today’s business world. Dan has been kind enough to include me as a lifetime VIP subscriber, so I can say from experience that every issue is a great investment. And if you needed any more excuse, 50% of the subscription proceeds get donated to the American Cancer Society.

[source: Personal Branding Magazine - Dan Schawbel]

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a new social network/instant messaging mashup that’s being referred to as a micro-blogging tool. It allows users to send text updates (called “tweets”) to all their friends—from twitter.com, instant message (via AIM or MSN Messenger, for example), or even from a mobile phone. It’s like posting an instant blog post, but you’re forced to craft your message with a 140-character limit.

The site asks members “What are you doing?” Answers range from the mundane (“eating a burrito”) to the interesting, hilarious, and even useful (well, okay, once in a while). While some use the service merely to updates friends on their whereabouts and activities, many people are using it to promote their blogs, share valuable links, and otherwise brand themselves and their businesses online.

Below: The default Twitter profile page.

(Click image for larger view.)

Most web nerds like myself are saying Twitter will be big (like, Facebook big) over the next few years, but right now it’s still at the early adopter stage, which means it’s dominated by bloggers, web designers, and technologists. For many Twitterfolk, it has become a primary channel of communication over the last year (*read: easier to reach them via Twitter than via email). I’ve been able to get the attention of a few power users in the “Twitterverse” over the last few months, including great folks like Robert Scoble, Guy Kawasaki, and Chris Brogan, and I’ve even had some pretty decent exchanges with them! If you’re in the technology or internet industry and you’re not using Twitter yet, it is a MUST. What are you still reading this for? Run! Go! Right now!

What About Twitter for Business?

For the rest of us, the question is how does one effectively leverage Twitter for business or personal branding? If used properly, it can easily bring more readers into your camp. I’ve already built a pretty decent sized following myself (follow me here), using the service mostly to share helpful tips and links I find across the web and to promote my own writing. One cool function is that you can easily plug your “tweets” in to the sidebar on your own blog or into other social networks and share your updates with friends that aren’t already on Twitter. (See Twitter badges and WordPress plugins.)

Below: My Twitter replies from other users. Yes, you can
add your own crazy backgrounds too!

(Click image for larger view.)

The BBC and CNN are using it to broadcast breaking news. Companies like Whole Foods, Zappos, Dell, Cisco, Comcast, and more are using it to send updates to their customers. If you provide value, you’ll make fast friends. Aside from sharing my links and blog posts, I also use Twitter to search for people with questions about blogging and answer my clients’ questions about WordPress. If you use it wisely, Twitter can give you a platform to show off your expertise, cultivate a reputation as an authority in your field, and build a loyal following.

Here are 5 tips to go from Twitter Newbie to Twitter Ninja:

1. There are several third-party Twitter clients that will run on your desktop much like your instant messenger does, so you don’t have to be logged in at twitter.com, and they give you quick navigation and search tools at your fingertips. First of all, I would recommend that you lookup Twitter clients and find one that suits you. I use Twhirl (see image at right), which makes my experience much more like a chat client that I can easily turn on and off when I want to.
2. Learn how to us the @replies to send messages to other users, and learn how to use a URL-shortening service such as TinyURL or SnipUrl to condense long hyperlinks so you can fit them within your 140-character tweets. (Twhirl and most other Twitter clients have URL-shortening services built-in.)
3. If you’re a blogger or a social media freak like me, hook up your blog’s RSS feed and feeds from your bookmarking services (del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Google Reader…) to auto-publish to your Twitter account with Twitterfeed.com.
4. Subscribe to keywords if you want to monitor the larger discussion about certain topics across the whole Twitter network. This is how I find a lot of users asking about WordPress, and I just try to answer people’s questions when I can. I’ve made a lot of new friends this way and have even scored last-minute freelance gigs by answering strangers’ questions with helpful advice. (Watch Ed Dale’s awesome tutorial video “Become a Twitter Master with Twhirl” for more about @replies and subscribing to keywords within the Twhirl client!)
5. Once you’re used to how the rules work, check out Lee Odden’s list of Five New Twitter Tools You Should Know to help you find more new people to connect with on Twitter and expand your network.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter and send an @codymckibb to ask your WordPress and blogging-related questions!

Helpful Twitter Articles from Others:

• Why Twitter?
• 17 Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners
• 9 Ways Twitter Made Guy Kawasaki’s Website Better
• Three Ways to Maximize Your Twitter Time for Networking, Marketing and Fun

photo credit: somefool (MatthewM)

Personally, I’m a big fan of productivity lists, how-to’s, and life hacks, so my custom search engine includes a lot of big name sites like Lifehacker, Zen Habits, Tim Ferriss’ 4HWW blog, and many more. Anytime I’m curious how to do something, like how to install a certain software application, how to improve my resume, or how to get the most out of a particular social networking site for instance, my custom-build search engine returns incredible results! And if you like to hyperlink to other resources and articles as additional support when you write new blog posts, this will serve as a fantastic tool for you just like it has for me.

I highly recommend Google’s Custom Search, and since I’ve already done the work and compiled a master list of over 50 of the web’s most credible and authoritative blogs, I’d also like to introduce my own Thrilling Blog Search engine as an open community tool for the Brazen Careerist network and the blogosphere at large. Try it out. Seriously! It provides some really cool results for all sorts of subjects from personal development to social media to finance. Link to the search engine page here and try a search for “resume,” “savings account,” or “LinkedIn” for example:

If you’d like to utilize this tool for your own blogging workflow, feel free to bookmark my directory/links page, or you can easily add it to your iGoogle homepage or your own website. Be aware that this search engine already crawls several of the most trusted blogs on the internet, but I will be adding to the sites in the future. If you’d like to contribute to the project or suggest a site for addition, you can get in touch with me but be aware there will be a strict review process. In other words, if you email me with a suggestion, you better be ready to pitch your site and why the community will benefit from it!

Here are the top-notch blogs/bloggers that are already a part of this fun customized blog community search tool:

Personal Growth/Productivity

• Lifehacker
• Zen Habits
• Steve Pavlina
• LifeDev
• Life Optimizer
• The Positivity Blog
• Scott H Young
• Duff McDuffee
• Today Is That Day

Career/Personal Branding

• Personal Branding Blog
• Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk
• Life Beyond Code
• Water Cooler Wisdom
• Personal PR
• Newly Corporate
• The Urban Muse
• PR Interactive
• Erik Folgate

Lifestyle Design/Travel

• The 4-Hour Workweek
• Anywired
• The Art of Nonconformity
• Real Social Dynamics
• Ronnie Nurss
• Brave New Traveler

Generation-Y Issues

• Employee Evolution
• Twenty Set
• WorkLoveLife

Personal Finance

• I Will Teach You To Be Rich
• Get Rich Slowly

Freelancing/Entrepreneurship

• FreelanceSwitch
• Escape from Cubicle Nation
• Erica Douglass
• How to Change the World by Guy Kawasaki
• The Anti 9-to-5 Guide
• Instigator Blog
• College-Startup
• Jamie Harrop

Social Media/Technology

• Chris Brogan
• Dosh Dosh
• Copyblogger
• Tobias Baeck
• Paul Stamatiou
• Greg Rollett
• Moving From Me to We
• Paul Woods

Blogging/WordPress

• ProBlogger
• Pearsonified
• Theme Playground
• Blog Perfume
• Lorelle on WordPress
• Thrilling Design

Remember, this is a community project, so please feel free to get involved!

» Add a search widget to your Google homepage.

» Add the custom Thrilling Blog Search to your own site.

» Get in touch if you’ve got a suggested site that will benefit other bloggers and readers.

» Blog about this or tell your friends about the Thrilling Blog Search engine!

These are just the first round of additions to the Thrilling Blog Search community search tool. As I come across more great sites, I’ll be updating the list and the search engine tool. You can view several of my favorite blogs and suggested resources, as well as my custom Thrilling Blog Search tool on my Links Page here.

1. Blogging For Dummies – In this super-easy introductory primer, Susannah Gardner & Shane Birley provide a guide to blogging for business owners and folks with a cause to promote. They teach you all the basics of the “blogosphere,” about the anatomy of a blog, how to stand out in the crowd, find your niche, attract readers, generate revenue from your blog, and much more.



2. WordPress For Dummies – Fellow WordPress evangelist Lisa Sabin-Wilson wrote the definitive beginner’s WP bible! She explores the differences between hosted accounts on WordPress.com, self-hosted WP blogs, and multi-user blogs, and examines all the basics of plugins, templates, moderating comments and spam, and troubleshooting common problems.



3. WordPress Complete – Another introductory look at WordPress, designed to get you up and running quickly with your very own blog. Looks at the main aspects of a blog—users, communities, posts, comments, news feeds—and how to manage them using the open-source WordPress software.



4. Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers – Shel Israel and Robert Scoble (whose blog has over 3.5 million readers!) discuss the benefits of blogging as a communications channel: they’re easily publishable, findable by search engines, social and viral in nature, syndicatable, and linkable!



5. Blogwild!: A Guide for Small Business Blogging – The original blog evangelist, Andy Wibbels, gives a history of blogging, compares the features of several blog software options, provides tutorials for creating and maintaining your own blog, and shares key tips for a successful business blog.



6. ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income – Some sources say Darren Rowse’s two blogs bring in over $20k per month! In this new publication, the Problogger founder teams up with Chris Garrett to look at how bloggers make money, the best monetization strategies, and optimizing your advertising.



7. Building Online Communities With Drupal, phpBB, and WordPress – Robert T. Douglass, Mike Little, and Jared W. Smith look at content management systems, blogs, and online forums, and the most popular open-source platforms that run them.



8. WordPress Theme Design – Tessa Blakeley Silver gives clear, step-by-step instructions and best practices for building your own blog templates for WordPress, including code markup, testing, debugging, and incorporating third-party plugins.



9. Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them – Bob Walsh takes a no-nonsense look at what blogs have to offer, and how to use them for job hunting, business branding, news gathering, and more.



10. Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World’s Top Bloggers – Michael A. Banks interviews thirty of the most influential and successful bloggers, who write about everything from business trends to parenting. Includes eye-opening insights from Dave Taylor, Chris Anderson, Gina Trapani, Frank Warren, Robert Scoble, Steve Rubel, and many others.

Happy reading!

Branding and Credibility

For newcomers, I like to describe blogs simply as a great tool for personal branding or client relations. You can try to define a blog as a “personal publishing platform,” but that description can still be very limiting. Blogs powered by open-source software like WordPress can be built for virtually any application—an online magazine, a technical journal, e-commerce site, an online CRM client, or even a full-blown social network—and blog designs and functionality can easily be manipulated to do almost anything the user could want it to do.

For me, since I began a professional blog less than three years ago, it has opened the door to many opportunities for me. I’ve made friends with readers and other bloggers from around the globe, I’ve met entrepreneurs from across California, I’ve been asked to write for various publications, I’ve had conversations with some of Silicon Valley’s big movers and shakers, and as a freelance web worker, I’ve landed clients in Texas, Canada, and even France because of my visibility through my blogs.

Skellie of Skelliewag.org is another web freelancer, and a very well-known blogger across the web. At her new site Anywired, she shares some tips for how to Earn More Income Online By Leveraging A Blog:

Whether you’re advertising freelance services, starting a website to sell a product or becoming a virtual assistant, you won’t find work if nobody is paying attention to you.

If you can start to think of an active blog as a source of attention you can leverage, it becomes apparent that even a moderately successful blog is an incredible resource for anyone working to earn an income online.

One other great tip she shares:

Your blog is a portable asset. It adds value to your business anywhere in the world (and allows you to avoid “I’m big in Japan” syndrome when you try to find work internationally.)

[via: Anywired]

Thrilling Heroics in 2007

2007 was a fantastic year for the blog. The site became an early participant in the Washington Post Blogroll program. And many things are still in development for the road ahead, but TH has recently been accepted as one of the first handful of Gen-Y career blogs to join the upcoming Brazen Careerist blog network, which should be a great opportunity. Over the course of the year, I also had the chance to interview several interesting individuals to get their perspective on leadership and success, so that Gen-Y readers can learn from their experience!

Thrilling Heroics has seen a lot of change this year as my personal interests and pursuits have evolved. The discussion is geared more toward personal and career development now than it was at the birth of this blog in 2006, but the central mission is the same: TH is a career-oriented resource aimed at college students and young professionals, with a strong focus on leadership, personal development, productivity, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and “lifestyle design,” with the purpose of inspiring and empowering readers to pursue their wildest dreams! In 2008, you can plan to see some further changes around here in content and design, and you will probably see a few guest writers. Click here to learn more about plans for ‘08.

I also have to thank the readers, of course! Thank you for returning week after week. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement, for your patience with me as my direction and obligations change, and for sharing your thoughts on the discussions that take place here. Your comments and your supportive emails keep me going, and they keep the dialogue here interesting! In the next year, I hope to build more community here for you young readers, so please help us to grow the community by sharing the URL with your family, friends, and colleagues. Also, if you are a regular visitor, consider subscribing to the RSS feed to make life easier on yourself. Get posts delivered to your email inbox only when there is fresh new content, so that you don’t waste time visiting the site when there’s nothing new!

Best Posts of 2007

There were 102 posts this year, with over 6,800 unique visitors to the site. We made it onto Tom Peters’ homepage, Yahoo! Finance, and Consumerist.com, among others! This could not have been possible without you, the reader. Thank you! Here are the blog posts that caused the most buzz around the blogosphere this year and inspired the best conversions. Please take a moment to look back at the best of 2007:

Top 10 Most Popular Posts in 2007

1. Learn To Build A Brand That Shouts Distinction, Commitment, and Passion
2. Interview with David Anderson, Founder and CEO of Green Options
3. How To Use Your Peers For Fun And Profit!
4. Karen Seeh, Corporate Sustainability Strategist, Talks About Social Enterprise and How to Break In
5. Global Marketing, Six Sigma, and The Donald: An Interview with 23-Year-Old Personal Branding Expert Daniel Schawbel
6. Six Simple Money Tips to Get You Back on the Financial Track
7. Warren Buffett on Doing What You Love
8. Interview with David Anderson of Palo Alto Investors
9. 17 Ways to Think Your Way to Wealth!
10. Bright Young Minds: An Interview with Duff McDuffee of Falling Fruit TV

2007 Women & Business Interview Series with IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com

• Interview with Michelle Goodman, Author of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide
• Interview with Julie Jansen, Career Coach and Motivational Speaker
• Interview with Alexandra Levit, Author of They Don’t Teach Corporate In College
• Interview with Anya Kamenetz, Author of Generation Debt
• Interview with Pam Slim of Escape From Cubicle Nation

A Few More Notable Posts

• It’s Time for Some Thrilling Heroics: Commit to Pursuing Your Wildest Dreams with Me in 2008!
• The #1 Skill You Need to Succeed at Anything: Learn to Build Relationships
• 10 Great Ways to Distinguish Yourself from One of Silicon Valley’s Top Entrepreneurs
• The Need for Corporate Partnerships
• Keep Your Brand Current
• I Have A Dream…

Happy Holidays!

I LOVE Peters’ writing style. Very motivational, awesome design…. The book is what he calls a “50 List” of actionable steps you can take to build your personal brand. Your personal brand is your “packaging,” your “product” you offer…your reputation, what you are known for.

Peters speaks powerfully to the “Dilbert nation” of cubicle slaves and employees about establishing themselves as Free Agents, with a more vendor-like approach to your jobs and projects. He talks about the loss of job security, the monotony of office work, etc. Tom believes we will see a transformation within the next ten years–the “INESCAPABLE WHITE COLLAR REVOLUTION” as he calls it–and we have to be ready to adapt. This is an INVALUABLE read if you are interested in entrepreneurship, a side business, or just being damned excellent at what you do. It is geared mostly toward a business crowd, and those in management, but he is fond of lists and bullet points and BrandYou50 is a non-traditional book full of actionable items that are applicable for almost anyone who wants to stand out.

Brand You is about breaking bonds and creating unmistakable value-added “products” (projects!) for identifiable “customers.” The products/projects become “braggables.” The customers become Clients/Co-conspirators-for-Cool/Raving Fans/Word-of-Mouth Cheerleading References.

It took me some time, but I wanted to go through the book a second time to put together my own “take-aways.” It’s a shortened version, but what I came up with is basically a cheat sheet that boils it down from 200 pages to eleven. You’re welcome to take a look at the BrandYou50 cheat sheet if you think you might be interested in the book.

Let me know if you guys get any value out of this, or what changes Peters’ work has inspired you to make in your life. Please share in the comments…

What is EMC² Corporation, and what do you do for them?

EMC is the leading information company in the world, selling hardware, software and services globally. We also provide solutions that take both products and services together to solve specific IT or business related needs for customers. My role at EMC has evolved since I started here last July. My previous role was to generate marketing collateral for the launch of new services and solution offerings for the midsize market segment. I already created a series of business plans for the various practices here at EMC to grow their business for 2007. Then I shifted roles to eServices marketing, where I was in charge of our online support offerings, along with training customers, partners and employees on a global scale. At the same time I led a six sigma high performing team to create the new marketing process within my organization. My role has shifted again to eServices, Education Services, and I’ve been tightly aligned with our social media strategy, where I’m able to spread my knowledge [of web 2.0 technologies] across my organization.

What challenges have you faced because of your age?

Leading a team, where others have 7 – 25 years of experience can be difficult as a 23 year old in a Fortune 500 company, but the key is to not let that get to you. You need to show leadership and no matter what obstacles occur; you need to drive the project to completion. The challenges I’ve faced are related to credibility, experience and length of time spent at EMC. As one of the youngest members it can be difficult to sell your ideas and to showcase new ideas like social media to those who have continuously performed tasks in the same way through their lifecycle at the company.

Tell us about the businesses you’ve started.

I had my own website consulting business during college, where I helped companies take their ideas and materialize them into creative web pieces. I also [gained a] strong foundation in the core of marketing [through internships] at Reebok, Lycos, LoJack, TechTarget and smaller firms. I have done marketing plan consulting where I developed complete marketing communication plans that not only uncovered new opportunities but explained how to communicate it to the target audience. Currently, I consider the magazine that I publish my own business, as I gathered multiple authors globally together to collaborate through this medium, while raising money for charity and building a community around the topic of Personal Branding.

What can you share with us about Personal Branding Magazine?

You can subscribe to the magazine through the website at personalbrandingmag.com. There is a lot to look forward to in the next issue, which is due out in November. [Guy Kawasaki contributed an interview with Donald Trump for the first issue!] I say this because I’ve pooled around 40 authors together and now there will be columns targeted at specific ideas around personal branding. My goal with this magazine was to show others how valuable blog posts were and the content they write can be used in new and exciting ways.

What does personal branding mean to you?

I define Personal Branding as an individual’s total perceived value relative to competitors, as viewed by their audience. It’s composed of four main elements: 1) personality, 2) appearance, 3) competencies, and 4) differentiation. As a marketer, I feel that every individual needs to know how to use the principles of marketing and apply them to their own individual career. Personal Branding is the way by which I live, including how I dress, the words that come out of my mouth and my skill set. My philosophy is that it’s what you do that makes you who you are and how you project that to others that makes you memorable.

Can you give us a few of your favorite examples of strong personal branding?

I featured Donald Trump in the recent issue of my magazine because he is a world renowned brand. His brand gives off attributes like high quality and craftsmanship, which are built into his business as well. There are a lot of bloggers out there, such as yourself, that take a niche and have a slogan that really stand out. The idea here is to get noticed for your expertise in a specific field and then to be recognized by others by communicating that message. I think Oprah and Madonna have great brands as well, and the special part of Madonna’s is that she has evolved it over time to match the latest generation of people.

You recently wrote an AWESOME post on the “Beginner’s Toolkit” for establishing a great online brand. What are the most important steps in building a strong complimentary brand offline?

Your brand online and offline should be the same. There are tangible and intangible aspects to Personal Branding, but at the core is your overarching message that you want to convey to your audience. That message should be wrapped around the four elements of Personal Branding and be consistent across all media, both online and offline.Use your brand to network with other individuals who share your passion. Do for them first and then let them do for you later. Personal Branding is all about that mutual relationship or bond that you share through similar brand characteristics or tastes. Anyone can become a star if they have the drive and network to support them.

What’s in your personal press kit?

The Personal Branding Kit I created was my way of showing everyone that we are our own publicists. It captures most of what you see on DanSchawbel.com, but in a way that the media can consume and report on. You will see many quotes, the media I’ve created, my work experience, my speaking engagements and other information that will give you a firm understanding of my brand.

That’s a great idea, to package your resume as a marketing kit! I know you’ve been involved with the American Marketing Association (AMA) and several student organizations. What sorts of activities do you recommend to college students to increase the effectiveness of their personal branding and career building?

Life is about networking, so as you progress through your career you will always want that mentality. You need to keep meeting people and expanding your network, especially because you never know when you might need someone’s help. Getting involved in communities is not only good to connect with others, but it’s fun and can help you learn more about specific areas that you would not normally consider.

What can we look forward to seeing when you launch your new site DanSchawbel.com?

DanSchawbel.com is going to be a revolutionary site, which exposes all aspects of my brand in a format that I preach on a reoccurring basis. The special part of it is that it is written in such as way that it not only showcases my achievements, but serves as a training course on how to build your brand by using the site as an example. I think that most people will be shocked when they see it because I’ve done quite a lot in the past six months to build my brand. The idea is that as you build your brand, your site must adapt to that growth by growing at the same rate.

I want to thank Daniel so much for contributing time to answering my many questions and follow-up questions. He shares a very unique perspective, and serves as a great role model for young professionals everywhere! Here are a few of his great articles that elaborate on the necessity for personal branding:

• “Personal Branding — Changing the Game” on Success.com
• “Online Reputation Management through Personal Branding” on Marketing Chat
• “Gain a Competitive Edge by Establishing a Personal Brand” on About.com
• “Personal Branding – The Future of Recruitment” on MarketingPower.com