I’m really into these music mashups lately. It’s intriguing to hear a band (or artist), who is associated with a particular style of music, step outside those boundaries and sing another band’s song while putting their own unique twist on it. This is one of my favorite songs of all time performed by We Are The Fallen, a band that is new to me. The band consists of the original, reunited lineup of Evanescence, along with American Idol’s Carly Smithson on vocals.

Enjoy the magic that ensues.

This is a guest post written by Shane Bacon.

If you can look past Tiger Woods and all that has happened with him this year, 2010 might be remembered for two things; multiple 59s, and multiple rules violations.

From the famous “bunker that isn’t a bunker” fiasco at the PGA Championship to the recent disqualification at the Canadian Women’s Open by two players for playing the wrong ball and not saying anything about it, it seems that the rules of golf have continued to be stretched thin, but for the first time, the players are the ones that are getting patted on the back when something happens.



You see, as a junior golfer you are told to carry a few things in your bag; balls, tees, a glove and the Rules of Golf. They are essential, because a lot of the times out on a golf course, you don’t have someone around with a radio and a degree in the USGA to tell you what is right and wrong.

So, the question is this; are players lazier these days with the rules, or are some intentionally pushing the limits of the rules because they know they can?

I think most of the infractions we’ve encountered in 2010 have been simple mistakes. From the early months of the groove limitations to the latest missed snooze button by Jim Furyk, you can classify all of these as human err, and nothing more.

But, grounding your club in a bunker? That’s stuff we have been preached not to do for centuries. Playing the wrong ball and deciding not to speak up about it? That’s flat out cheating.

There's an app for that.

Shane Bacon

This is a guest post written by Amber Osborne aka “Miss Destructo”.

If you don’t know her already, Amber Osborne is a walking lesson in branding. She is easily one of the most recognizable people on Twitter because of her signature blue hair, but there is much more behind her crafty online persona. No doubt, she is artsy, eclectic and funky, but she is also incredibly accessible, helpful and fearless. All of these attributes make up Amber’s superhero alter ego, Miss Destructo. A self-proclaimed “destroyer of social media boredom”, Miss Destructo is a talented blogger who helped put Foursquare Day on the map. I asked her to share a little about her keys to branding and developing a workable persona.

So, without further ado, here are Miss Destructo’s Weapons Of Brand Construction:

 
Be Yourself – Have a unique writing style or public image. Even without hearing someone you can already get a sense of their true voice. Be different. I have my six feet of blue hair and biting sense of humor to back me up along with authority in my field of social media. Find something that is unique about you or what you do and make it the first thing people see or know about you. If you have trouble creating a persona, ask your friends what is most unique and engaging about you — whatever it is about you that makes them want to be your friend as well. Use those qualities to make your audience feel comfortable. Be real, be honest and always remember that you are human. You can’t always be superman but you can damn near fly as high as he can.

Network – How do I know SO many people? Years and years of keeping contacts, traveling and meeting people in every single corner of industries from entertainment, marketing and even that kid in high school that turned out to have the million dollar startup. Keep in touch with people that cross your path and above all turn off the computer and get out of the house. I’ve had a blast at conventions, local events and even speed networking. Find groups on Meetup.com that are having events in your area in whatever you are interested in excelling at. Also, helping out with organizing local events can introduce you to key players in your community or in your field. Volunteer at events as much as possible! Again, be yourself and don’t be a pitch. Be a person, learn about people, make a common connection and help each other. Always try to find how your brand can help their brand.

Be Patient – It takes time to build your network, make connections, and figure out what the hell you are doing in general. Especially when you are creating your persona and brand from nothing and without a fancy PR team. I’ve gone through many changes to my brand in the last two years, many huge life changes and even changes to my appearance. Yet, that still doesn’t change who I am. It keeps things fresh for my audience and I am learning continuously day by day from others. We’ve all got to start somewhere. Keep growing, keep learning and keep motivated.

Find Mentors – I wish that there was a tell-all book, step-by-step, crafted around my own personal brand to tell me what move to make next or how to deal with some of the downtime in creating my brand. It doesn’t exist. I have been lucky enough to have influential and caring people that have taught me the ways of the industry. Every single day I am still learning… go to conferences, speed network, ask questions, find emails of those people you admire… ASK QUESTIONS!

Help Others – To create a well known brand, you have to be a person first. Have heart and take those under your wing that may need help or advice. You can’t help or get involved in every project, but by helping one person you are also helping build a positive image of your brand. You never know who you may inspire to do good as well. Keep paying it forward.

Have Fun – Don’t get too paranoid about creating a perfect image. Be a little punk rock… push buttons, raise a little hell and never take “no” as an answer. Anyone that I know in business or in my personal life that swears they never do anything adventurous? I would never want to have them as a part of what I am doing. You have to have fun to create new ideas, inspire and learn about others. I can’t remember how many amazing partnerships have grown from a conversation over beers or karaoke. Always have respect for others and yourself. If you don’t want it on facebook or youtube… you shouldn’t be doing it.

Haters Gonna Hate – Haters; those people that no matter what you do… they want to “poop on it”. As musician and spoken word poet Henry Rollins calls it, “The Bullshit Artist”. They specialize in only one thing… bullshit. This person is so unhappy with their bullshit that they feel the need to paint the world with it… usually picking out one target as their canvas. The bigger you become, the more people like you, there is always going to be a one or two of these in the mix. Don’t let the bastards get you down. It’s tough. It hurts sometimes, but damn it kid… be proud you’ve made someone take notice. Bad or good. Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) has a great chapter in his new book, UnMarketing (amazon link), about haters. As he always says, “Don’t feed the haters” when it’s blatant troll-like behavior… ignore it. If it’s helpful criticism, then jump in, but for the most part I find that haters only make your brand stronger. As Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) told me, “If people are talking about you with that much passion, you must be doing something right.” That really helped me deal with the ugly side of having a public image. Most of the time, I really just want to take these people out for drinks and maybe supply a hug or two. You know what you’ve worked hard for, don’t let ANYONE take that away with a few words.

Rock It – Get all Herbie Hancock on life — it’s weird, funky and sometimes you have no idea what it’s all about, but just follow the beat and let it guide you. Branding yourself isn’t that hard, you just have to jump into the crowd and surf across those who admire you. Become one with your audience and you will become one with your brand.

[Photo courtesy of @thatgirlallie]

I’m a sucker for a good nerdy t-shirt. They’ve got some really creative and artistic designs over at hideyourarms.com. It’s definitely one of the coolest new sites I’ve stumbled across as of late. Hide Your Arms (@hideyourarms) is a very unique t-shirt and hoodie blog! They cover all aspects of the independent clothing industry, providing news on many clothing styles, with a focus on long-sleeved goods.

This goes to show that there is a place for everyone in the blogosphere. No niche is too taboo and you shouldn’t be scared to narrow your focus and target demographic. There are a variety of untapped markets out there and you always have the opportunity to become a category creator. Identify a need, fill that need with quality content, and the audience will come to you.

This is Alabama Football. RMFTR.

 

It’s that time again! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Sweet Tweets is back. Grab a cold one and enjoy some humor from the twitterverse.

 

C.C. Chapman is an interesting guy. He’s been around all this tech and social media stuff since the beginning and is one of the few who not only gets it, but cares about the bottom line – profit. He gets the human side of business and understands how to translate online “community building” on social networks to real-life portfolio building. I’ve followed C.C. on Twitter for awhile, admiring his game from afar and was excited to finally hear from him in person at Audience Conference.



The thing I like most about CC is that he is passionate. He exudes it. Even if I didn’t know what he was doing, I’d want to be a part of it. That’s the point. He gets audience. He understands his audience. He knows what makes his audience tick and how to keep them interested and engaged. We can all learn from that.

When people feel like they know you and can relate to you, they are more apt to get involved in your ventures. People follow leaders, not products.

As C.C. points out in his talk below, if you’re passionate about something, other people are going to connect with that. THAT’S how you build an audience. Feed your audience. Give them stuff to ponder and chew on. They will, in turn, share THEIR passion with others.

At a certain point, however, we’ve got to stop undervaluing ourselves. Free content is great and I’m a huge advocate for it, but at a certain point it’s imperitive to grasp that the difference between a company and a business is that a business makes money. There’s a certain audacity to “free”. If you don’t value your work, why the hell would anyone else?!

“Don’t be stupid, be human and be passionate.” – C.C. Chapman

While up in New York City for Audience Conference last week, I stumbled upon a billboard of Phil Mickelson in Times Square. As most of you know, Phil makes my stomach churn. I’m just not down with the whole Shooter McGavin/David Simms thing. So, I took a picture of the Barclays ad and sent it out into the twitterverse. I woke up the next morning to find this photoshopped gem in my inbox. I blame @GQMike.

Last night I had to run out late to bring a golf club to my buddy, Ty Tryon, who was leaving early in the morning for Asian Tour Q-School in Japan. The access code to our condo complex was recently done away with and I had no way of getting back in our front gate once I returned at two o’clock in the morning. I waited and waited and tweeted and waited and answered emails and waited and browsed espn.com, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. Thirty minutes later I was still trying to figure out how I was going to infiltrate the Fort Knox my neighborhood has become.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t help but feel “pot committed” after all the time I had invested in waiting. I kept telling myself, “A car is due to show up. It’s bound to happen.” But, I gave up. I threw in the towel too early. I decided to drive down the road and park in a day care center adjacent to our complex. I figured I’d hop the fence and worry about my truck in the morning.

Well whaddya know? As soon as I jumped the fence a car rolled in the gate right in front of me. A few steps later, another car… then another. It was like the floodgates had opened. Oh well. Whatever. There was nothing I could do about it. Inevitably, if I had hopped back in the truck and tried to circle back around, I’d be locked out all night. My time had come. I missed my chance.



The same holds true in business (AND golf for that matter). When you put tireless effort into a project then give up, that’s it. It was all for nothing. You were *right* there. Why couldn’t you hold on for just one second longer?! Then when your miracle comes, it’s too late. You can’t go back. You can’t get back in. You may come to your senses and *want* to get back in, but once you miss the boat, you miss the boat.

This triggered me to think of a wonderful video post Adam Daniel Mezei put out a while back. Adam says,

“Most people surrender the fight too early, giving up “five minutes” before the miracle happens. Like a congenital defect.

Why do we do that? What is our collective problem? Time to check yourself and ask these all-too-critical questions.”

Scot Duke (aka “Mr. Business Golf”) and I have been friends on Twitter and Facebook for over a year now. Scot is the CEO of Innovative Business Golf Solutions, LLC, a business development consulting company dedicated to helping business people learn how to use golf as a business tool. Brilliant idea if you ask me. He also runs several popular online platforms for both players and business professionals within the golf niche. I consider Scot a “connector” because he has a genuine knack for bringing like-minded people together.

The Business Golf Country Club is an online community comprised of business owners, business professionals, golf professionals, club pros, teaching pros, industry leaders, amateurs and brands alike. The ClamBake Cafe is the social media arm of the Business Golf Country Club. Scot and I have a lot of similar views on social media’s place in the golf world and share a common passion for driving innovation within the industry as well as out on tour. Like me, Scot is a strong advocate for a cultural shift in golf. He has a deep love for the game, but isn’t scared to ruffle a few feathers or challenge the traditionalists within the sport. So we sat down to chat on ooVoo…