Tedded - Business Book Review

Inspired again by “Marketing lessons from the US election”, Seth Godin

The one thing that I think is the most crucial there is “telling the stories”.

“Telling stories” by Barack Obama led to online donations, permissions, energy from the volunteers from the uncommitted, from tribes.

From Tom Peters’ Re-Imagine

“…an effective leader making the rounds ask one … and only one… question: GOT ANY GOOD STORIES?

Stories… are the “red meat” that animates our “reasoning process.”

Stories… give us “permission” to act

Stories… are photographs of who we aspire to be.

Stories… cause emotional responses.

Stories… connect.

Stories… are us.”

…

Barack Obama’s stories

- Stories of lifes on the street he encountered (he told these stories since primaries and did it emotionally)

- Stories of Red States and Blue States of people who share the same dream, an American dream.

- Stories of change and how everyone of us can change, together.

John McCain’s stories

- Stories of him being a maverick

- Stories of his experience in the senate and in the war (they were like grandkids listening to the war stories from granddads, they were mostly boring, obviously)

- Stories of Obama

- Stories of Joe the Plumber (McCain tried to connect people to Joe the Plumber but it didn’t work, a plumber making $250,000 a year in income does not really relate to most people)

Sarah Palin’s Stories

- Stories of Joe Six-Pack and her records in Alaska, they are always fictional.

…

Obama’s stories win, all the time. His stories are emotional, his stories connect, and his stories are their, Americans, stories.

From my record, the best speech ever in the history of mankind is a man telling a story of his dream, link.

…

According to the book by Robert B. Cialdini, Yes!; “Just because yes is simple and obtainable, we shouldn’t be fooled into believing that anyone can easily secude it from others”

Just now, CNN announced Barack Obama elected president from their projection.

…

Yes, we can…

(Yes, you can, Americans. Now, make the world a better place)

“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.“, Socrates

(image: entelechy-magazine.com)

(disclaimer: I’m no historian or a philosophy student! Just trying to be wise here)

How do you keep your blog going on and on and on and on?

Today, I’ll present you a socratic method to keep your blog going by raising questions.

“This dialectical method often involves an oppositional discussion in which the defense of one point of view is pitted against another; one participant may lead another to contradict himself in some way, strengthening the inquirer’s own point.” (wikipedia, link here)

For example

Today’s blog topic is “Is blogging cool?”

Thesis: “Blogging is cool”

Refutation: Cool is a fine thing

Refutation: Negative blogging is NOT a fine thing

Conclusion: Blogging is NOT cool

Thesis is false, contrary is true

New examination of a claim: “Responsible and honest blogging is cool”

Refutation: Responsible and honest but BORING blogging is NOT a fine thing

Conclusion: Responsible and honest blogging is NOT cool

New examination of a claim:

Responsible and honest blogging with an occasionally friendly and interesting jab at another blogger is cool

duh!

I just came back from the Chinese (Mandarin) class. I used to study once and now, I’m trying to brush it up.

My bet is that everyone of us probably knows someone who can speak Chinese as the second or third language.

I’m wondering about the Chinese (increasing) domination of the world economy. How could that happen or happenning?

I looked back into the history of Thailand, Chinese started migrating to Thailand during the beginning of the 20th century due to high tax and bad economy in China; most Chinese Thai came from Chaozhou district in the Southern China and they used Chaozhou dialect (not Mandarin or Cantonese). You can read the history here.

I’ll get to the point or I’ll be asleep. Anyway, extraordinary things about the Chinese pioneers in Thailand were that they became successful in business really fast and also in politics, to name a few.

Now, Chinese Thais are firmly settled for decades already and top businessmen in Thailand are “mostly” from the Chinese ethnic; Thailand’s 40 Richest - Forbes.com

I’m not a racist here because they are Thai and our society has never been divided ethnically (except a short period during 1930s).

What I want to suggest is that there is a unique capability of Chinese people and they are doing it now to the world like they did in Thailand, and many other countries in the Southeast Asia.

I’m speaking to you from the experience and thoughts from the country that was business-ly invaded by Chinese.

Most of them are “the hardest working people on earth“; not all, but most, stereotype if you like. The poorer, the harder they work. And I strongly believe in this thought.

Modern business and management try to make you a smarter worker instead of a hard worker which is indisputable. But when two people work equally smart, the harder worker wins hands down.

I’d like to read good literatures on “how to work hard”, call me crazy if you want. The closest thing I can think of is that you need to have fun in your work and you’ll work hard. A good example (I like) is by Sir Richard Branson in his book, “Screw It, Let’s Do It - expanded”. He wrote in the beginning of the chapter 2

“HAVE FUN!

Have fun, work hard and money will come

Don’t waste time - grab your chances

Have a positive outlook on life

When it’s not fun, move on”

And the furthest thing from reality of Chinese workers is probably Tim Ferris’s The 4 Hour Work Week. Tell this to old Chinese people and they will either LHAO or hit you in the face.

One reason why they work hard that I can thing of and arguments are welcome is…

“Family”

In the past, Chinese normally have large families; lots of kids for farm work and to have as many boys as possible since many kids died from diseases (a few died and there were still enough if you had plenty). Paradoxically, instead of having more kids to help the farm work, more kids led to insufficient money to support and raise all of them.

They need to work hard in order to “survive” since they were young.

Moreover, Chinese tradition strongly believes that you need to support your parents when they grow old. They hold this belief strongly and spiritually. So, not that they can just earn enough money for their spouse and kids and wait for their retirement, they need to support their parents and other less-fortunate family members. I don’t call it a force, or even a virtue, it was just their way of life.

That’s just my two cents

Earlier this morning, I read the blog “smashing magazine” 40 Beautiful Grunge Workshop Tutorials. They are simply great!

And I logged onto PSDTUTS - Creating and Urban-Style Piece of Artwork.

I tried it myself, haha, this is my finished work!!

To be perfectly honest and unbiased, I thought I did alright!

To quote Jack Welch from his book “Winning”

“I’ve heard it said that best practices aren’t a sustainable competitive advantage because they are so easy to copy. That is nonsense, it is true that, once a best practice is out there, everybody can imitate it, but companies that win do two things:

They imitate and improve”

I obviously imitate the original and hardly improve anything yet. We’ll see whether my designer instinct will shine or not. Last time I check, there was no trace of “design” in me!

What do you call a person who, within a span of two days, does the following

1. start using iGoogle
2. learn about RSS and start using Google Reader
3. start a blog in blogger.com
4. sign up SecondLife

?

In two days, am I serious??? who could it be?

a. a cyber geek
(no brainer, wouldn’t that person do it like 5 years ago if he or she is a cyber geek?)

b. an I-have-every-app-in-facebook-already teen
(probably, but not likely)

c. a hibernated grizzly bear just woken up
(nah, being a bear is fun enough, SecondLife is unnecessary)

d. an American Republican
(what? are we actually losing an election?!, noooo, need to do something quick!)

e. none of above

it’s me, yes, me

I have read much about these technology and community-driven internet tools but I have not always been comfortable with interactions over the internet

I used to be addicted to MSN Messenger while I was in U.K.
I was alone in my flat nothing to do and it was my saviour
Lately, I just stop it completely. This is another reason.

So, why did I do the four things listed above?

I was trying to find a reason..

and came up with the precise answer.

“fear of being left behind” to quote the words of Jim Collin in his book, “Good to Great”

That is, companies adopt new technology because others have ones. To put it simply.

The question is, in the world of unlimited tools to expose your feeling, espouse your capability, exhibit yourself

How should we choose?

Choose like you choose you a place to live in physically, home or business front.
- how do you live your life?
routine?, systematic?, in a fast lane?, like there’s no tomorrow?, hedonistic?

- what is the place that you find yourself most comfortable in?
safe and secure or on the edge?, buzzing or serene?, isolated or clustered?

- who else is in your life? and who do you want to have in your life?
just yourself? in a closed family? extended family? with lots of friends? with lots of friends and foes?

- what kind of neighbour would you like to have?
fun or reserved? a few or a lot of them? supportive or critical?

When starting Tedded, I pictured

Ristorante in Venice
(photo: Marie Gunton)

What? How? Why?
(arrogant cocky newbie blogger)

I want a place where it’s bright, busy but not crowded with a breezy atmosphere and a touch of an aesthetic feeling.
A place with an elegant culture but culturally diverse visitors.
A pleace where culturally rich local people enjoy lunch next to the tourists who are excited by the state of being in this atmosphere.

The restaurant is open but the waiter (me) has nothing to serve yet!

I’m reading Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae at the moment and these two sentences struck me

“ads are about you, a blog is about your readers”

The paradox:
The only reader of my blog is me, how about that!

I’m finding the readers now (yes, you, whoever you are). And I’ll contribute, promise

On “how to blog”, after a brief of googling, I came up with three sources:

1. From Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae: honest communication
2. Ten tips for writing a blog post, PROBLOGGER
3. 101 Blog Tips I learned in 2006, Daily Blog Tips

I saw the no.3 of ten tips of PROBLOGGER
“Write less”

You know what, I had written this post for about 4 hours with a detailed insight of expert blogging fully packed with examples, researches, anecdotes, tips, analysis, and so on. It is a top piece of post.
But I deleted it!!!

oops, honest communication, sorry peep Actually, I’ve been trying to find a way to link to other sites! (this is honestly honest)