[Failure: the Secret to success, 8:19"]
I'd like to try something different today, maybe it's because I've been spending more time on FriendFeed and Twitter. I'd love it if you did most of the talking here - I know we will all get ideas for follow up projects that way.
Many of you reading have been involved with social media at least a little - enough to want to learn more, experiment with your own formats, enjoy the connections. I've done my fair share of interviews on both sides - asking questions, and answering questions, depending on how the conversation started. One of the most frequently asked questions is:
What makes Conversation Agent (or you overall) successful?
For me, it's a combination of things:
- Reading and learning by doing constantly, and thinking about what others share
- Observing relationships, connections, time, and attention patterns
- Listening actively in the comments and conversations wherever they may be, and listening in the measurements (that is feedback, too)
- Being willing to go where the conversation is
- Collaborating with the community of readers and professionals
- Being absolutely in love with everything about thinking together (writing and talking)
- Experimenting with new formats often (not always, that would get you dizzy) and failing frequently - the more and faster I fail, the more I learn
- Providing a cohesive body of work for those who wish a deeper dive
- Working hard on content so that (hopefully) it's helpful to you
- Researching but also creating and building context
My question back to you:
How do you know what makes you successful? When was the first time you felt you were onto something? Was there such a time? Are you carving a path for yourself to build on that success?
Hint: the more I get to know you, the more helpful I can be in my content and in helping you make connections.
[bonus link, my interview with the talented Patsi Krakoff, co-founder of The Blog Squad on content marketing insights]