http://www.managingthegray.com C.C. Chapman gives you and your business real world advice and tactics to start leveraging social media in your daily life Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:17:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Managing the Gray continues to be an outlet for me to constructively share what is on my mind and the recent wave of conversation online around charging for content and value is obviously on my mind because I sat down to discuss something else and started talking about this instead. I ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2010/03/04/finding-value/ February is here. The first month of 2010 is behind us, so it felt like the perfect time to check in with you on how your goals are going so far this year. Managing the Gray is here to help give you the kick when you need it in the ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2010/02/01/amazing-things-will-happen/ A new year and a new decade is upon us and my plan is for Managing the Gray to help you not only get through the year, but prosper in it. I'm not big on lists, but a listener asked what trends or predications I had for the new year. Rather ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2010/01/12/what-2010-holds/ The holidays got in the way of getting this out as soon as I wanted to, but I'm excited to share with you an interview with my good friend and author Ron Ploof to discuss his new book Read This First: The Executive's Guide to New Media-from Blogs to Social ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/12/30/ron-ploof-interview/ I recently was asked to take part in the Rule 53 podcast. Rule 53 is a cross-generational podcast that  focuses on leadership, business, technology, and professional development.  Each episode features one twentysomething student or recent graduate and his or her experienced counterpart.  The goal is to help define “Rule 53″, ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/12/09/rule-53/ When I went out to Blogworld Expo , one of the coolest things I got to hear about is what the US Army is doing with their new site Army Strong Stories. As soon as I heard about it I knew I was impressed and wanted to get them on ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/11/10/army-strong-stories/ My good friend J.C. Hutchins new book hits store shelves today called 7th Son: Descent. You should buy many copies of it for every science fiction and thriller lover on your Christmas list! But, today I've got something special for you. A special free 10 chapter PDF of the book for ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/10/27/7th-son-a-new-kind-of-marketing/ Blogworld Expo was a lot of fun, but it seemed that every other question in any conversation was, "So what do you think about the FTC announcing they will be fining bloggers?" If you haven't read about this there is plenty of coverage and here is the actual announcement. For me, it ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/10/20/when-in-doubt-disclose/ Fresh back from Inbound Marketing Summit Boston 2009 and I'm filled with a lot of energy. The people, the conversations and the learning all filled me up and I'm ready to go. While at the conference I took part in a panel (that should be online soon I hope) and gave ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/10/09/buckets/ Every person that creates content of any type online is an "influencer" in my mind and it is to you that I'm speaking today. More and more brands are looking to engaged with influencers both long term and for individual programs and I think that too many people are selling themselves ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/09/18/personal-price-tags/ As you can imagine, life has been a bit busy around here since we made the big announcement about Campfire acquiring The Advance Guard. It is a big change and an awesome one and I finally get to share some thoughts with you about it. I also wanted to talk about ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/09/09/campfire-and-hard-work/ This past weekend I attended Podcamp Boston 4 and had an absolute wonderful time. But, I left with one thing in my head that I had to share with the world and that is the fact that while some people might get in your way during your career, life or chasing ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/08/14/you-are-the-only-one-standing-in-your-way/ Several months ago, I had a friend tell me that he had a book that I had to read and a person I had to talk to. That was the first time I heard the phrase "family first entrepreneur" and it has stuck with me ever since. While I never ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/07/14/marc-warnke-author-of-ono-options-not-obligations/ I was very psyched when the opportunity to interview Chris Anderson here on Managing the Gray came up. Special thanks to my friend Kevin Smokler for making the introduction. Photo by Joi Ito Chris and I got on the phone to chat as we were both getting ready for Father's Day weekend ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/06/24/chris-anderson-interview/ I've been a big fan of Ze Frank since I first heard about it, but I honestly never thought he'd directly inspire an episode of  Managing the Gray. But, I watched a video of a presentation he gave and it really hit home for me. Today is really a straight from ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/06/19/moments/ Before someone reads that title and never listens to the episode the point of today's Managing the Gray is to say that there are a lot of people involved in parenting outside of people who fit into the typical little box of "mommy bloggers." I think Dads are getting the ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/06/17/death-to-the-term-mommy-blogger/ I apologize for the silence around here while I get my software problems solved. It feels REALLY good to be back here on Managing the Gray. Topics on today's show include: My "Social Media is a Small Town" presentation Digital Content Newfront 2009 Current's VCAM (Viewer Created Ad Model) Ubercaster Eric Rice Media Hacks Thanks as always for ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/06/09/small-towns-and-teaching-what-you-know/ I recently gave a presentation in Memphis talking about how more brands need to start leveraging the passion of their consumers in their campaigns. I had a lot of people ask me to talk more about the slides who couldn't be on hand to see the presentation so today I ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/05/05/passion-is-contagious/ Once again, Advertising Age gives me something to talk about on the show today. I think they have stepped up their writing or something because it is certainly getting bigger reactions from me lately. Today I focused on discussing their 5 New Rules for Marketing and what I thought about them. ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/04/16/new-rules-of-marketing/ The hot assignment that everyone seems to be getting or looking for is to develop a social media strategy. Every day I hear about someone having to figure this out for their company and they don't know where to start. So, today on Managing the Gray I thought I'd give ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/04/02/how-to-create-a-social-media-strategy/ Today I'm going to give you the secret of how to be successful with your new marketing programs.   Managing the Gray is here to give you the answers after all isn't it? *laugh* Besides discussing how to break through the clutter, I also talked about our Facebook White Paper that was ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/03/27/breaking-through-the-clutter/ I recorded this show live from Austin on my iPhone during SXSW. I realized I had a few minutes before my next set of plans and figured it would be the perfect time to share some live thoughts on the conference right here on Managing the Gray. Links, People & Services ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/03/20/thoughts-from-sxsw/ There have been a lot of changes happening with Facebook lately and I'm excited by most of them. I wanted to make sure that my  Managing the Gray listeners were up to date on the latest changes. I mentioned on the show we published a white paper this week about the ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/03/11/facebook-pages-media-hacks/ March sure did come in like a lion here in New England. I was ready for spring, but instead we ended up with a dumping of snow yesterday. That is why I'm talking about candy and Austin on today's Managing the Gray. I wanted to share my thoughts on the newly ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/03/03/skittles-and-sxsw/ Today I woke up and needed to record. Of course my computer didn't feel like cooperating with me so I just fired up iTalk and did it that way. First of the morning brain dump on a variety of topics for today's Managing the Gray. Topics and links discussed on today's ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/02/23/taking-everything-up-a-notch/ I first met David Meerman Scott when he interviewed me for his book The New Rules of Marketing & PR. Since then we have stayed in touch and crossed paths more then once at conferences we were both speaking at. He's a very smart and laid back guy and I ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/02/09/world-wide-rave-an-interview-with-david-meerman-scott/ Last night was the big game. The Super Bowl! Of course, being a huge football fan I sat down with lots of great food, a beer and watched the game. But, being a marketing person as well means I watch the game as much for the commercials as well. You'll find ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/02/02/super-bowl-commercials-what-has-been-going-on/ I'm a big fan of any tool that helps me be more productive without getting in the way of living my life. Ever since I discovered Evernote a few months back I've been hooked. It works as my virtual moleskine and allows me to quickly get at things I want ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2009/01/09/interview-with-evernote-ceo-phil-libin/ 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 ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/12/23/heading-in-to-2009/ 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 ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/12/16/mashable-announces-open-web-award-winners/ 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 ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/12/06/social-media-is-like-water/ You want to know what the secret to social media success is? I give it on the show, but I'll tell you here too. It is a simple one, that there is NO silver bullet for success. No big secret right? But, you'd be amazed at how many people and ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/11/21/the-secret-of-social-media-success/ As a blog partner, I'm happy to announce that voting has now begun in the Mashable Open Web Awards. Voting begins now and goes until Sunday, November 30th at 11:59 pm PST. So be sure to take a moment and vote for your favorites in each category. When the winners ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/11/19/open-web-awards-voting-now-open/ I had no plans to record today until I saw someone twitter about this new video from Gary Vaynerchuk about yelling vs. whispering.It is his usual loud, energetic self and that is what I loved about it, but what made me want to record was his comment about "respecting your ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/11/13/is-social-media-in-your-companys-dna/ I got an outreach e-mail a few weeks back talking about how WiMax service was going to be coming to Boston. They contacted me because they knew I loved my Sprint Mobile Broadband and wanted to let me know about this "exciting news." I put that in quotes because I didn't ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/11/11/xohm-bringing-wimax-to-boston/ I'm proud to be one of the partner blogs helping get the word about about Mashable's 2nd Annual Open Web Awards. Last years winners included a variety of tools that I use including Twitter, Facebook and Last.FM. Use the widget below to nominate your favorites. Mashable Open Web Awards http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/11/05/2nd-annual-open-web-awards/ A friend of mine told me about The Novel Adventures this morning. It is a branded entertainment series being produced by CBS and sponsored by Saturn. Here is the first episode: Watch CBS Videos Online While the jury is still out on how they are going to leverage the social media space, ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/11/04/the-novel-adventures/ At a recent conference an audience member asked the speakers a question. Trying to be as helpful as possible the speaker asked "What do you do?" The person froze up and didn't know how to answer. Being a good soul, the speaker asked again, "I mean, what do you do? What ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/10/27/know-who-you-are/ I presented at the New Marketing Summit yesterday and was given a ten minute slot to talk just before lunch. I wanted to make it an information filled ten minutes, so I decided to make a list of ten social media tools that everyone should try in order to get ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/10/16/ten-things-in-ten-minutes/ I have been trying to make sure that I read more and more as it is something that I love, but know that with my schedule must make time for if I'm going to do it. Since I've been reading more I wanted to give you two quick reviews of ... http://www.managingthegray.com/2008/10/10/tribes-and-the-truth-about-you/