October 5, 2006
Why I Do Well On the Web
I think naturally I have many talents that I typically chose not to appreciate or acknowledge. Or, when I do acknowledge them, I usually chalk them up to being a result of luck or naturally given - nothing more. Ever!
And I think nearly everyone suffers from being a genius who poorly communicates their genius. Many power structures and value systems largely exist to PREVENT you from finding out how to express your true genius. Many aim to cure you from being human, or exist just to divert your attention away from reality.
On the web, due to an exposure to a timeshifted aggregated audience I play down the effect of anything I may ever say or do. Largely my actions are purely selfish, because I want to understand me (how do I do well with some stuff and why do I screw up life so bad on other fronts). I am largely expressing my thoughts only (or at least primarily) for me, so I can write with a clarity that I can not easily match when I speak. Writing to myself allows me to erase self doubt.
When I talk to others in person I forget what a meshwork human language is, or what pieces of my experience may overlap with others. For example, I consider many words to be filler largely because based on my set of experience they were words that lacked their intended traditional meaning when used.
Don't get consumed by false stats. Just say no!
What I do find though, is that the more you try to figure yourself out, the more others will appreciate and identify with you. Even if you are embarassingly immature, naive, or ignorant. Everyone starts from somewhere.
Generally people will only find things interesting if it is easy for them to identify and relate to what you are saying. In small groups the nonverbal feedback is so powerful that it is hard to be bad at communicating if you pay attention to the people you talk with, but as the group size scales that gets harder, and it is easier to seem selfish if you take random stabs at reality instead of ebbing and flowing with the group. And I tend to create many akward silence moments.
For example, out of a group of about 12 people the only person who was interested in hearing more of my story about how I accidentally dialed 911 was another person who did the same thing. The web allows you to throw out a lot of "dumb ideas" and let audiences self select the value and relevancy of your information.
But if you can break down your successes, or the successes of others, it is easy to replicate that knowledge and those patterns into new fields you once considered beyond your reach / knowledge / understanding.
As long as you realize you are not growing as quickly as you should be, and have wasted potential the world is going to be an ugly place where your eyes are black, the tide is out, and you reach for artificial engery sources.
But if you can understand how to replicate success, create your own value systems, and can passionately communicate them to others then some of the best things in the world will just come to you...dreams, hope, passion, purpose, business deals, amazing friends, knowledge, self-respect, love, happiness, etc. And they will do so at a faster and faster rate so long as you keep learning and do not let success go to your head. You can have endless growth, as long as you are willing to be uncomfortable and keep redefining growth on your own terms.
Posted at October 5, 2006 1:01 AMHi Aaron,
As a friend of Frank Watson aka AussieWebmaster I heard a lot about you and read your work. I was hoping you could take no more than five minutes to take a look at my questionnaire for a project I’m working on. I'm conducting research about the interactions on Internet forums like www.searchenginewatch.com used by people who are in our profession of online marketing and advertising, for the University of Paris - Dauphine.
The thesis will talk about how things like the following occur through the reputation and social relations that we build on forums.
- technical education that cannot be obtained in colleges or universities
- job offers through social networking
- invitations to conferences and parties through social networking
- proposals to work on side projects like the construction of a new website or company through social networking
My project will try to determine the usefulness of social networking in online forums. I was hoping you could take some time to help answer the following questions. Upon request, I can naturally keep your name and even your company entirely anonymous in my thesis and articles if you'd like. Feel free to leave blank any questions that you don't feel apply to you:
1) How often do you post on www.searchenginewatch.com?
2) I personally learned everything I know about SEO and paid search through work experience, colleagues, and forums such as SearchEngineWatch. I have also found that colleges offer little or no training in online marketing. How would you describe the educational experience you get from SearchEngineWatch?
3) What impact does this learning have on your career?
4) Do you feel that using SearchEngineWatch can help users have more job stability within their company and increase their chances of promotion, due to the fact that they are percieved by the management of their companies as being connected and knowing people?
5) Most people on forums use pen names and SearchEngineWatch seems by nature mostly anonymous. How do you make the transition from being anonymous online to meeting poeple in our industry face to face for the first time, at conferences for example?
6) Why do people usually choose to be anonymous?
7) Are there any examples of projects inside or outside of your job that you have been proposed to participate in thanks to a user of the forum?
8) What's the most valuable thing you gain from logging on to SearchEngineWatch and posting or replying to others?
9) Could you talk about the green reputation boxes on SearchEngineWatch. Why are they important and how does one go about gaining a better reputation?
10) Finally, how would you describe the place of the moderator in forums and how does one become a moderator?
Thank you again for any help you can give me with these questions. I have much respect for your work.
Cheers,
Herve | thegenerator@hotmail.com
