Following Gustav

Andy Carvin has put together a fantastic site to keep people informed on what is happening with Hurricane Gustav.  Not only is this about storm tracking, but about how you can help, about getting the word out from New Orleans and other places via social media channels and about being tuned in to know where the most help is needed and when.

For more information, and to sign up, go to The Official Site.  Stuff like this is fantastic, and shows the best of people - wanting to help, and getting others the information they need to help others.  A far and wonderful contrast to people like Michael Moore, who hope for disasters for political reasons.

I like the people I associate with.  They try to do good things, and don't wish for disasters.

Tony

Good Times at NME

Happy to be back from NME in Las Vegas.  It was an incredible show.  While I missed the opening keynote from Gary Vaynerchuk, I was able to catch the Saturday keynote from Steve Woolf and Zadi Diaz of Epic-Fu.  

Also, I got the chance to do an interview with Brandice of Viddler.  It was part of their 2 minute interview series at NME.  I appreciate Brandice and Colin speaking with me about my company's ad creation tool, AdGrinder.  Here is the interview.

See you all at more events, and I look forward to blogging more as well.


Tony

Free Advice

Here's a fun site called Free Advice, which is put together by TanJab.  It's a site that interviews people, soliciting them for free advice.  Mine is below.

Free Advice #24 - Tony from Brave New Media on Vimeo.

Enjoy.

Tony

AdGrinder on TechZulu

Here is an interview I did with TechZulu at the Mashable event at Rubicon Project in July. A lot of thanks to Martine, who did the interview, and Efren Toscano of TechZulu for making it happen. It's a good explanation of what we do.



Tony

Going To NME

Glad to say that I'll be at the New Media Expo in Las Vegas, NV on Friday and Saturday.  I'm looking forward to attending with my business partner, Josh Paul, talking about AdGrinder.com and some of the ways to work it into people's podcasts.

If you're going to be there, drop me a line or call me at 818-237-5200.  I'd love to get together with you at the convention, at dinner or at the slots...ok, the craps table.

See you then.

Tony

Being An Entrepreneur Is Not For Everyone

Adversity:

a state, condition or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune.

Thanks to Merriam-Webster for that definition.  Building a start-up has a lot of this.  I would more categorize it, however, as a feeling of, "Damn it!"  That's a pretty good phrase for moments in the start-up world.  You have great ideas, and lack the cash to implement them.  You have the perfect product, but not enough partners to make a significant impact yet.  You have this internal drive, but you still can't get every door opened.

The reaction to adversity is the difference between the entrepreneur and the wannabe.  The wannabe feels the adversity and complains (oft times loudly) at the unfairness of it all.  The entrepreneur recognizes the adversity, then gets back on the phones, back to the networking, rewrites the code, stays up late, re-examines their position, focuses their attention, gets on the phone again...lather, rinse, repeat.

The reason for this is simple: Vision.  The true entrepreneur (which can only be measured by spirit, and not by money) can see clearly that, while there may (will!) be adversity ahead, that nothing about it is permanent.  Go back and read the definition for yourself.  It is nothing more than a encapsulation of a specific moment in time.  It also says nothing about defining you, only about defining that specific moment in time.

It is not the adversity that defines us, but how we indeed react to it.  That is why some of us are entrepreneurs and some of us are not.  It is not about the success or failure of the enterprise, but what we learned from the experience and how we audited ourselves.  And, in the event of "failure", how long it took us to get back up and start again - with the wisdom that our last effort taught us.

Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone, but it is for me.  I am not smarter, better or tougher than anyone.  Far from it.  I simply recognize that this rough spot is followed by smooth water - I just have to know when to keep paddling the boat or when to let it sink and swim the rest of the way.  Or, if I'm really smart, build a better boat.

Tony

Back To Austin For SEM for SMB

Clear the calendars, and come back to Austin.  Once a year, for SXSW, just wasn't enough, so I am heading back to Austin July 16th and 17th to take part in SEM for SMB - which is specifically geared to help small and mid-sized businesses learn better how to effectively market, brand and reach their goal clientele in the online space.

I'm proud to be running the panel on Online Marketing for 2009 and Beyond.  It's going to be a great exploration of not where we are now, but theorizing and focusing on what is coming next.  Who's on the bleeding edge, how does the content creator find the technology or style that is right for them, how to get out of your comfort zone - just honest conversation from thought leaders on the panel, and those in attendance.  

What this isn't is another panel where a few people drone on for 45 minutes and no one learns anything.  For our panel, Q&A is everything.  Get the conversation going in Austin, and keep it going all year long.  

I hope to see you all there.  And if you don't see me at the convention, it just means I'm at Stubbs...or The Salt Lick...or Iron Cactus...or Magnolia Cafe.  You'll find me at those places as well.

Tony