Managing the Gray – Positive Advice That Everyone Can Use to Succeed

The snow has fallen here in New England (as you can see in my front yard below) and Christmas is just around the corner. That means that 2009 is not that far away so today’s Managing the Gray focuses on a few core things you should be doing in the last days of 2008 to make sure that 2009 is a great one for you and your business.

This episode features a call in from Keith Burtis of Magic Woodworks talking about his new job with Best Buy Remix. I’m very proud of him and asked him to give a call in to tell all the other listeners about the new job.

If you want to see the snow videos I talked about on the show they can both be found on the newly launched One Guy’s Thoughts.

Finally, if you haven’t seen it yet, the Social Media Expert Question video can also be watched. I’d love your feedback on it.

Oh, and if you have a moment it seems that this show has been nominated for some recognition. You can vote for it here if you are interested.

Thank you for all your support this year. You’ve helped make 2008 quite a good year for me and I can’t say thank you enough. Talk to you in 2009!

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The winners have just been announced in this years Mashable Open Web Awards. I’m personally psyched to see that HARO and Evernote won as I was pulling for both of them!

The winners are:

Mainstream & Large Scale Social Networks

Winner: Netlog
Runner-up: Platinum Lounge

Embeddable Widgets

Winner: Qoof
Runner-up: Sprout

Blog Plugins

Winner: ShareThis
Runner-up: AddThis

Social News

Winner: Help a Reporter Out
Runner-up: Hubdub

Social Networking Applications

Winner: Aritition
Runner-up: Digsby

Social Bookmarking

Winner: Diigo
Runner-up: ShareThis

Search & Social Search

Winner: Scour
Runner-up: Artiklz

Sports & Fitness

Winner: Gyminee
Runner-up: FitFiend

Photo Sharing

Winner: ipernity
Runner-up: TinyPic

Video Sharing

Winner: ffwd
Runner-up: YouTube

Start Pages

Winner: Google
Runner-up: iGoogle

Places & Events

Winner: Doodle
Runner-up: Muchmor

Travel

Winner: SpottedByLocals
Runner-up: GeckoGo

Music

Winner: Noisetrade
Runner-up: Last.fm

Social Shopping

Winner: Pikaba
Runner-up: A Full Cup

Fashion

Winner: Coolspotters
Runner-up: Polyvore

Celebrity & Gossip

Winner: Oh No They Didn’t
Runner-up: BollyScoops

Mobile Applications

Winner: Evernote
Runner-up: MocoSpace

Dating & Romance

Winner: Zoosk
Runner-up: DateHookup

Wiki

Winner: Encyclopedia Dramatica
Runner-up: WikiHow

Politics

Winner: Politics4All
Runner-up: CreateDebate

How-to

Winner: A Full Cup
Runner-up: College Cram

Environmental

Winner: Ecomii
Runner-up: Gazelle

Non-Profit Causes

Winner: Stop Political Calls
Runner-up: SocialVibe

Online Games

Winner: Playfish
Runner-up: Power Pets

Niche Social Networks

Winner: The Star Tracker
Runner-up: Wadja

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I haven’t recorded a carcast in a long time and to get technical this would be a truckcast. I don’t think I’ve ever done one for Managing the Gray.

I’ve been using the iTalk iPhone application and working through some problems with it that now appear to be fixed and I love that I can record anywhere I am.

I had this idea about social media being like water. It all came about from me telling someone that too many companies are diving into the shallow end of the pool without thinking about hitting the bottom. As I drove to a meeting that idea kept bubbling and bouncing and I wanted to capture my thoughts and figured why not share them with you.

You’ll hear me call this live brainstorming and that is exactly what it is. It is far from a fully baked idea and I’d love your input on it. Some of my thoughts included:

• Don’t be afraid to dive into the deep end of the pool. Sometimes it makes more sense.
• Always look at the water you are diving into and try to make sure there are not major rocks or sticks that you are going to hit your head on.
• Sometimes going in feet first makes a lot more sense then head first.
• Water by itself can be boring after you have drank it a few times. What can you add to it that makes it more fun and refreshing?
• Water is best when added to other things.
• Water is made into beer.
• When you first walk into a pool or the ocean it is cold and scary, but the longer you spend in it you get more comfortable.

Am I crazy to say that social media is like water? I REALLY want your input and thoughts on this. I’m already putting together the presentation in my head.

Thank you for the continued support and if you have a moment leave an iTunes review. There have been some new listeners around these parts lately and I love hearing from you. Drop me an e-mail anytime.

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