Happy New Year!

Roberta

I’m having the worst trouble getting off the mailing list of a technology publisher whose offerings include publications on how to maintain network security and discourage hackers. Of all people who you’d think would understand this!

Upcoming article will be “Chadology – Inside insights.”

I often go to the CEOs office with the info on the lack of responsiveness.

This is a very interesting view point on the new IPad. I too think that the IPad is very innovative and could perhaps change the way some people use computers.

Although, I think the IPad may fall short in some ways..heres why..

Personally, I think there is something to be said for opening up a real book or newspaper. Maybe its the aroma of a fresh newspaper or just the simplicity of opening a new book. I have perfect 20/20 vision which I am grateful for but I find that its annoying to read online vs a hard copy of something. I can not imagine what that will be like 10yrs from now.

On the other hand maybe its the nerd in me but im dying to get my hands on one of these IPads. It should defiantly be interesting to watch how the IPad effects the industry.

http://www.webroyalty.com

Hope to see you soon,

Chad

Thank you for your infinite contributions to all of us in Alan’s community.

Much success and health in 2010!
Lisa
http://blog.energizegrowth.com

I will be glad to announce the next concert when it is scheduled both here on my blog as well as my newsletter. You may want to subscribe to the newsletter here: http://www.cbsoftware.com/cbnn/newsletter_signup.php

Thank you for stopping by, your comment and all the best,

Chad

Thank you Bill for the very kind words. I greatly appreciate your note and am humble.

Take care my friend.

Chad

Thank you for sharing your beautiful family and success with us. It’s funny, whenever I think of the Forums, it’s like this; Alan’s Forums (Chad).

Without you there would be no Alan’s Forums, or new web site or the community we all enjoy. Thank you, my friend.

–Bill

Thank you for your comments. I greatly appreciate it.

1. I find the phenomena of smart entrepreneurs having lists of great ideas to follow yet they become paralyzed, quite common among my colleagues and clients (self included). I am convinced that the key is to: 1. pick out two or three to execute. 2. Schedule on your calendar and hold it sacrosanct 3. Create the discipline to hold yourself accountable.

2. In addition to scheduling certain appointments and activities throughout the day, I now schedule my next day activity the evening before and my next week activity during the weekend.

3. Deal!

Thanks,

Chad

Thank you for opening up and sharing your personal goals. This gives me a little insight into the outcomes and benefits of the Million Dollar Club.

Comments:
1. This list is suprisingly similar to my own list. I also struggle with trying to get a few things done, off my “Highest Priority, Number 1, To Do” list. I will follow your advice to pick just 2 and get them done. Following Alan’s advice, I make the most progress when I physically schedule the task on my calender.
2. When will you schedule time on you calendar to accomplish all of these goals?
3. If you want to be held accountable, I will be right here, reading your blog. Good luck with these tasks.

Wayne

Dave – Greatly appreciated.

Thanks for sharing.

Lisa

Thanks for posting and sharing your experience with us.

Dan

From observation of my clients, my answer to your question is: #2 on a long-term basis and #4 on an ongoing basis.

Which of the six components you listed early in this post do you think is hardest to attain?

Libby

Congratulations! Your readers have submitted and voted for your blog at The Daily Reviewer. We compiled an exclusive list of the Top 100 social media Blogs, and we are glad to let you know that your blog was included! You can see it at http://thedailyreviewer.com/top/social-media/4

You can claim your Top 100 Blogs Award here : http://thedailyreviewer.com/pages/badges/social-media

P.S. This is a one-time notice to let you know your blog was included in one of our Top 100 Blog categories. You might get notices if you are listed in two or more categories.

P.P.S. If for some reason you want your blog removed from our list, just send an email to angelina@thedailyreviewer.com with the subject line “REMOVE” and the link to your blog in the body of the message.

Cheers!

Angelina Mizaki
Selection Committee President
The Daily Reviewer
http://thedailyreviewer.com

Thanks for the feedback and your courage to share this. What’s the worst that can happen … a bruised ego. What’s the best that can happen … a great success. No need to hide, just take the first step. Right?

Chad

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
~Teddy Roosevelt

Thanks for the comment and for stopping by. For the sake of others, I just want to clarify that when you say: “Ours works!” you mean your terrific web site found here: http://www.ariestech.com/ which I am somewhat subjective about, having something to do with it

But getting back on track, yes, testing should be a critical phase of web development or software development in your case. I have just delegated the responsibility of quality control to one of my staff members which will help in the testing of the many projects we are working on.

Would love to hear your comments about effective ways of testing.

Ours works! Although that shouldn’t surprise you, right?

I totally agree with you on the importance of making sure everything link works properly on a website.

You may only get one chance to impress someone so don’t miss that opportunity by giving that someone the impression that you don’t check your work.

Here is a story I wrote about back in 2007:
http://www.chadbarr.com/are-you-taking-your-technologies-for-granted/

Interesting that the headlines are almost the same.

As kids in 70-ties, when we flew across the Atlantic, we wondered if it was possible to open the airplane window, so we could get rid of the olive in the food. Go figure!

L

Not much worse than having to rewind messages to try and catch the number the caller speeds through.

S

I’ve often had debates like this in my head, so it’s good to see that somebody like you has gone down the same path, and the conclusions you came up with.

I especially like the insight of pushing the envelope. It’s so easy to get caugut up in your own expertise, and forget that you need to go to that uncomfortable place, and try to raise it up a bar.

Keep up the good work!

-John

I was talking the other day with a colleague of mine about one of our favorite topics, Why do companies, especially larger companies, make it a habit of making stupid business decisions? To be honest with you, I’ve never really…

It was a good day after all.

Thank you all for your comments,

Chad

This is a great story and well told. You really had me laughing out loud.

So… how did you redeem yourself? (Or is that a continuing process? )

Dov

She probably thinks your emails are spam.

Dov

However, this is a perfect – and fascinating – example of how artificial intelligence can be used to harness the full productivity of information technology, rather than simply creating more mindless drudgery.

Very interesting post.

Rich

Aaron Wakling

I have used some of Dan Janal’s services, and this approach to raising a few extra bucks definitely runs counter to the type of service he is running. Just think of the demographic of his readers. Would they really be interested in such adds? How do the adds add (I know. That is redundant.) anything to the blog?

I think a key is to ask oneself if the adds provide a service to the blog reader. If not, or if they are likely to detract from the overall message in terms of content and image, then they shouldn’t be there. Conversely, I see nothing wrong with having an affiliate message with Amazon, because it is a useful service for the blog’s readers. Whether the proceeds are donated to charity or not, is not really relevant, but that’s just me. If you provide a useful service, then there is nothing wrong with getting paid for it.

Rich

My preference is to be involved in the project strategically rather than tactically. Therefore, and for most projects, I elect to opt-out of all the detail and leave it to my great team to get the job done. There are times and or for certain reasons that I do want to be involved while the brief email exchanges keep me in the loop.

Doesn’t this create extra work for you? What if it’s just a minor issue that can be delegated or work out between the parties involved? Does a project leader always need to be involved in all the details?

I would think it would be better to empower workers to resolve the issues and then hold them accountable for the outcome. You could delegate certain types of decisions and let them get on with it, no?

I assume you are referring to this article: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne

Years ago I’ve helped implement our ERP distribution software for one of our clients who is a prominent record label in the US. As many record stores started to go our of business, it was fascinating to see how they were “forced” to change their business model and to start selling their music online, through Amazon and especially through digital downloads through iTunes and other such channel.

Chad

“My education was dismal. I went to a series of schools for mentally disturbed teachers.”

“My one regret in life is that I am not someone else.”

Thanks Richard.

This is absolutely amazing!

Laurel has an incredible gift!

Aviv

We enjoyed the show.

Natalie

Talk to you soon!

Natalie

Thanks for the kind mention. It is always a treat to get together with you.

Your travel photo diary is a fascinating fresh perspective for me. Living ‘in it’ you tend miss it.

Dov

Mazel-tov, these are fantastic.

Best wishes for 2008.

Regards
Michael

From my own experiences of maintaining and upgrading a website and blog, I’ve learned that updating content and postings is not outside of my business, it’s an essential part of building relationships with prospects and clients. Asking three questions can make the process of adding new content and posting more manageable:
1) Who am I trying to reach?
2) What are their top concerns?
3) What information, insights, or ideas can I provide that address these needs?

Rather than being concerned about how you look, live in your passion and stay focused on developing new ways to help your readers. This type of thinking adds value to everyone involved.

Now where did I hear this before?

I completely agree that the best time to act is … now. Especially when it comes to your own blog and content such as articles on your web site.

Looking froward to your new blog soon.

Here is what it means. More often than not, when we are doing something new or for the first time, we try to swing for the fences. However, because we’re nervous, and not necessarily good at it yet, we strike out.

I find that it’s much better to simply try to make contact with the ball. If you”ve just started writing articles, try to write something short and sweet and to the point that provides value to the reader. It isn’t necessary to write “War and Peace”.

Small improvements are what set apart truly effective and successful people. Start moving forward and heeding feedback, and before long, you will be achieving much more than you thought possible.

Richard Martin
President
Alcera Consulting Inc.

I think this is another way of saying the best time to act is… now.

I’ve followed your advice for the last year and have produced my newsletter and regular articles monthly. If you hold yourselft to a discipline and produce content on a regular basis, then you can’t help but add to your body of work.

Rich

As a marketing consultant, I see this all the time. Clients have a great strategy, target the right audience, and even come up with a terrific offer. But then in the execution they leave out the most important part, in this case, how to be contacted.

One note about contact information. Let the customer make the choice how to contact you. Don’t do it for them. What that means is that you should put ALL the ways they can contact you on your marketing materials: name, physical address, phone number, fax number, email address, website, etc.

In my experience the worst feeling in the world is when someone says to you “You have just what I was looking for–wish I would have known about you last week before I decided on another solution.” Don’t let that happen to you!

regards,
Linda Popky
President
L2M Associates, Inc.
linda@popky.com

Helping companies improve their return on investment in marketing programs, processes and people.
————————————
50 Woodside Plaza, #102, Redwood City, CA 94061 * (650) 281-4854 * http://www.L2Massociates.com