Chris Brogan has jumped the shark and totally sold out

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Apr 9, 2010 in Awakening | 25 comments

Chris Brogan has jumped the shark and totally sold out

Chris Brogan has jumped the shark and totally sold out. He’s a loser. Ignore him, and start working on elevating yourself to social media deity status! Forget Chris Brogan – only YOU can save social media! Go!

…

…

…

Are all the gullible people gone?

Okay, good. For everyone else who remained – which is like 99% of my blog’s readership, the people with brains and a sense of humor – here’s the real deal:

If you’re NOT getting hate mail, you’re doing it wrong. Or more specifically, if you don’t have detractors, you’re not making enough of an impact.

My teacher’s teacher, Stephen K. Hayes, puts this far more poetically and elegantly: the brighter the light, the darker the shadow it casts. The brighter you are, the more you attract those who don’t want there to be brightness in the world.

Ankle-biters, armchair quarterbacks, and “thought leaders” (you know, the people thinking about leading but never quite do it) have always been around and have always been nibbling at the heels of people who do good things. It’s a sign that you’re having true impact when you start to accumulate these parasites, rather like the sign of a seasoned ship is a nice collection of barnacles.

Embrace the fact that you’ve got critics. Embrace the fact that you’ve got people who are, in some cases, very loudly angry at perceived (occasionally delusional) slights. These are good things, positive signs, welcome notices that you’re making a difference, you’re moving the needle.

Now, that’s not to say that you still shouldn’t take note of criticism, especially if it comes in quietly, non-publicly, from the trusted friends and allies who have been with you since the beginning. To those folks, the voices who aren’t afraid to call Bravo Sierra to your face in private – pay attention.

For everyone else, especially for the armchair quarterbacks who show a peculiar lack of accomplishment of their own, be happy about them. Be excited about them! They’re the milestones (admittedly, not the most attractive ones) on the road towards achievement.

Plus, as a matter of perspective, be glad that they’re only social critics. When you reach the level of earth-shaking needle-moving as leaders like the Dalai Lama have, you’ll have people actively working to murder you and everyone close to you on a daily basis for the remainder of your natural life. How bad can a few blog posts or angry tweets be compared to that?

If you enjoyed this, please click here and share it with your network!

Want to read more like this from Christopher Penn? If so, please subscribe right now!

Click here to read my blog on Google Currents on your mobile!

Marketing White Belt Basics for Digital Marketers is now on Amazon & B&N

Watch me speak: Attend virtually!

I recommend: for Twitter audience building.

Fix the latest WordPress hack

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Apr 7, 2010 in Blogging, Technology | 54 comments

Latest update to this is at the bottom of the post.

Both Marketing Over Coffee and my blog are getting nailed with this hack described by Chris Pearson.

Here’s the solution for tackling it, for the moment, until the attack adapts. Log into your MySQL database (most hosts have this via PHPmyAdmin) and execute this query:

SELECT * FROM `csp891_options` where option_name like ‘rss%’ ORDER BY `csp891_options`.`option_name` ASC

You should see only a few entries unless you use syndication software like SimplePie. What you’re looking for is an entry that starts with rss_ and then some random numbers. The text of the entry is encoded javascript, which looks like this:

FFPJ1JpnyfUnpDzz3h9tfaI92uDvyD/Of+r4XyJ2f2Uev6U539WDM39kP10QFLP53+Y5BaX3+0/a03rZ0
0nKX5Na27hXdOSw17TGuO7pDWt/+Na0+lVHHdrWrScqzVqdysqybmiWvILqqXzn5L+ehyvSzriIZHsf
oIiUKwlJvcjvH69FR7SHB4UNXyXOaZw+ivT8dhjkZ6rtGj+PPJRMlCW5ePEZVlLOj8YkgL80/26Luefq
VXgStMY/Afw/

which goes on and on for a bit.

Delete this entry. It should be safe to do so (back up your WordPress first).

Keep an eye on your MySQL database as well for this entry to reoccur since no one is sure how this hack is happening, just that it is.

UPDATE 4/9:

This hack is recurring almost daily. I’m not sure what the entry point is. That said, I have two suspicions I’m testing right now. The first is a note from reader Ivan Walsh who said that I’m getting some bizarre images in my image loader on the front page of the blog. That image stuff is controlled by TimThumb via this theme, so I patched TimThumb manually from their SVN repository to the latest version 1.12. We’ll see if that makes a difference there.

The second update I made is based on a hunch from the database hack itself – it’s inserting as an RSS option. Here’s the thing, which users of FeedWordpress know but not necessarily everyone else – WordPress ships with a version of Magpie. An old, out of date, broken version. If you grab the FeedWordpress plugin from the Codex and follow JUST the Magpie upgrade install, this should get those two files, rss.php and rss-functions.php, up to date. Again, we’ll see if this makes a difference.

For those other folks getting hacked – are you using TimThumb? Have you patched rss.php and rss-functions.php? Any more success or failure?

UPDATE 4/12:

Neither updating TimThumb nor Magpie made a difference. The hacked string showed up in the database not an hour after. So, now using some .htaccess mojo to lock down wp-admin. We’ll see if this works.

UPDATE 4/12:

After slapping .htaccess on wp-admin, the hack is still re-occurring. The plot thickens.

UPDATE 4/13:

Cautious optimism. Here’s what I’ve done in the last 24 hours since I received a warning via Google’s Webmaster tools that my site has been pulled from their index for cloaking.

• Installed the Secure WordPress plugin and turned all options on.
• Renamed all database table prefixes (which was fairly unpleasant to do by hand)
• Drop all non-essential tables (especially leftovers from old plugins)
• Removed a bunch of plugins I’m not using any more
• Reinstalled a fresh copy of WordPress
• Upgraded my theme to the latest release
• Fixed lingering file permissions highlighted by the WP Security Scan plugin
• Run an optimize on all remaining tables in MySQL

So far, I’m cautiously optimistic – the RSS data entry has not reappeared yet, and it’s been nearly instantaneous in the past.

UPDATE 4/14:

So far, the hack has not re-occurred. Also, Matt from WordPress has come out with an official statement saying that this is a server-level hack, which means that you need to strictly enforce permissions and set wp-config.php to 640 as well as tighten down any other file-based permissions. That makes total sense as the database information is encoded in wp-config.php, so make sure that’s locked down.

So, the recipe for the time being seems to be to lock down permissions using some of the many security plugins out there, tighten down wp-options.php, clean up your database using MySQL’s tools (or phpMyAdmin, depending on your host), and keep an eye on things. If your site runs clean, then make sure that you log into Google’s Webmaster Tools and submit your site for reinclusion in Google’s index. If you kept confidential customer information on your web site, you MUST assume it has been compromised and notify customers as appropriate.

I’ll add this last bit in: I have absolutely no capacity to offer any kind of help, unfortunately, to folks who have had this happen to them. That said, my assistant, Chel Wolverton, is able to help you out with this if you can’t do it yourself.

Get this and other great articles from the source at www.ChristopherSPenn.com! Want to take your conference or event to the next level? Book me to speak and get the same quality information on stage as you do on this blog.

Vox Populi: Q1 2010

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Apr 6, 2010 in Blogging, Social media, Technology | 6 comments

Vox Populi: Q1 2010

One of the things I did at the end of the year last year was to review the top posts of 2009, and that got me thinking: why don’t we do this stuff more often, like quarterly? I think it’s because we, the content creators, assume it’s been seen and seen recently. We just wrote it a couple of months ago, right?

Well, here’s the flaw with that assumption. If you’re active in social media and active in blogging, the people you were addressing three months ago may be just a subset of the people you’re addressing today. Here’s a crude example using Twitter follower counts. This is a graphical illustration of the people I was serving at the beginning of the year and today:

That’s nearly 3,000 new friends who are tuning in at least peripherally to what I’ve created that weren’t tuned in when the ball dropped in Times Square.

It would logically make sense to highlight some of the things they might have missed, wouldn’t it? Make them a Vox Populi list, a list of the stuff that has been most popular on your blog. (for the non-Latin-speaking crowd, vox populi means voice of the people)

If you missed the highlighting tip at the end of last year, it’s fairly simple. Hop into your Google Analytics account and select Content > Top Content. Set your time range as needed (in this case Q1 2010, 1/1/2010-3/31/2010), and then expand the list to show the top 25 items (since the top 10 will invariably include the homepage). Then simply assemble your list, copying and pasting URLs.

So, to all the new friends who’ve signed on in one way or another since the beginning of the year, I present to you my Vox Populi list for the most popular content of Q1:

10. What you need to succeed in social media

9. Renewing faith

8. How to autofollow on Twitter

7. Three nearly guaranteed moneymaking Twitter words

6. How to power up your Twitter

5. Turning your Kindle into the best newsstand ever for free

4. Intelligence in Analytics beta

3. How to back up your WordPress blog in 60 seconds

2. The reason why your personal brand sucks

1. Why Google Buzz is brilliant and deadly to social media

Some other things to think about – maybe do a red-headed stepchild post of the 10 posts that got the least attention for one reason or another. If you manage multiple blogs, aggregate the top 10 lists from each, or highlight selections from each. Whatever you do, use the data, use the analytics you’re gathering for something!

Get this and other great articles from the source at www.ChristopherSPenn.com! Want to take your conference or event to the next level? Book me to speak and get the same quality information on stage as you do on this blog.

11 Little Secrets

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Apr 5, 2010 in Awakening, Productivity | 38 comments

One of the peculiar habits we have in our hyperactive, short attention span culture is the habit of looking for the big secret. We strive desperately to look for the next big thing, the next big secret, the magic wand that will make everything better. What we tend to overlook – or most of us, anyway – are the little secrets, the little hacks and tweaks you can make to your day, your year, your life to help things operate better.

Most of the little secrets aren’t secret at all, or at least not the knowledge portion. The mystery and power of the little secrets are entirely in the execution of said secrets.

I’ve put together just a few of mine, and would love it if you shared yours in the comments.

1. Take a multivitamin daily before bed. I learned this trick from a friend who said that since most of our body repairs – healing, growth, restoration – happens at night while we sleep, it only makes logical sense to have the proper tools on hand. I find that a multivitamin with a tall glass of water helps get the next day started on the right foot.

2. Get up early. There is an incredible amount of productive time before 9 AM. Thanks to a much shorter commute, I can afford the luxury of sleeping until 6 AM and still take advantage of the early morning hours when the phone isn’t ringing and the inbox isn’t flooding over.

3. Five minutes of spiritual practice daily. Whatever your thing is that refreshes your spirit and reaffirms the rightness and brightness of your presence in the world, do it daily without fail. Even with a nice short commute to work now, I still pack it in before I ever get to the office. For those so interested in my specific practice, go check out How To Own The World by Stephen K. Hayes.

4. Work out before the day starts. I’m one of those folks who just can’t get motivated to work out at night. Whether it’s stuff from the day, fun time with the family, or class, working out at night is draining rather than refreshing to me. Working out first thing in the morning before the day starts is what works best for me. Your mileage will vary, but try to pack 20 minutes of cardio in at least twice a week, if not more. Also, experiment with different kinds of fitness. I’m not wild about running but I love using elliptical machines. I suck badly at basketball but I’m an avid martial artist. Find your thing and do it often.

5. Wonder how I find the time to do as much as I do? No television. Very little general news beyond skimming the headlines and Bloomberg.com. I choose Bloomberg as a primary news source because most investors won’t put up with the useless BS in regular news about celebrities and what’s trendy. Investors want only the stuff that’s going to make them productive, and so do I. That may mean that I’m a fashion disaster and a cultural n00b, but I’ll be a productive fashion disaster, dangit.

6. Twenty minutes a day reading, first thing in the office. Long before the day gets started, I’m hitting my favorite marketing, sales, motivation, economics, and Warcraft blogs to see what’s shaking in the world from the ground level perspective. If you’d like to get a sample of what blogs I read, grab this OPML file from Marketing Over Coffee.

7. Twenty minutes a day creating, first thing in the office. After I’ve caught up on my reading, I create. I might blog, edit a photo, sketch some things in a notepad, but I take advantage of the quiet morning hours to create.

8. Daily review. Except on days when the Internet is fail, I sit down on Skype with my personal assistant Chel Wolverton and review my inbox, calendar, and items that need my attention so that important stuff for the day doesn’t get missed.

9. Coffee and water. It’s no secret at all that I drink a lot of coffee. What is kind of a secret is that I try to balance so that I drink twice as much water as I do coffee daily. It’s astonishing how much a single bottle of water (I keep a 1 liter refillable bottle on my desk) can make a difference in your energy level during the day.

10. Rigorous boundaries. I’m extremely selective in who I actually listen to, in what email is worth my time (see my contact form), and what can happen when. For example, I block out a certain part of my day with family that is inviolable. I leave my cell phone and laptop in my car, and there’s literally no way to reach me during that time. I don’t respond to about 95% of the non-work email I get, either. At this point in my life, time is the most valuable resource I have, and I’m stingy as hell.

11. Daily time with friends. I play World of Warcraft on a daily basis, not just for the fun of virtually crushing my enemies and leaving ashes and misery in my destructive wake (yay Death Knights!), but also because some of the best conversations of the day happen with my friends in guild chat. They’re the trusted folks I bounce things off of, listen to, and share advice with.

None of these secrets is going to be a game-changer for you. None of these secrets will instantly make you rich or powerful (with the exception of #5, because pop culture is a giant time suck), but cumulatively, all of these secrets contribute a little towards helping me do what I do.

Now here’s the next part, the important part. What are the little secrets that YOU use to get more juice for the squeeze (a John Wall trademark expression) out of your day, week, or life? Leave yours in the comments.

Get this and other great articles from the source at www.ChristopherSPenn.com! Want to take your conference or event to the next level? Book me to speak and get the same quality information on stage as you do on this blog.

Why Personal Brand is Essential To Corporate Marketing Success

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Apr 2, 2010 in Advertising, Marketing, New media, Public Relations, Social media | 35 comments

Plenty has been written about the pros and cons of employees engaging in social media at work, officially or unofficially. Plenty of people have gained and lost jobs through the judicious or indiscrete usage of social media and new media, but by and large, most corporations haven’t truly accepted full employee participation in new media. Here’s a slightly different perspective on personal brand, personal blogs, and corporate success:

Personal brand is absolutely essential to future corporate success, at least from a marketing perspective.

Here’s why. If you have employees who are already engaged in new media – blogging, podcasting, social channels – then they likely already have and belong to other communities. Some of their interests overlap with their coworkers, but not many.

If we drew a Venn diagram (you remember these from school, yes? Logic class?) of the various personal networks and interests of your employees, you’d get something that looks like this:

That tiny little wedge in the middle is the intersection of personal and corporate networks. Companies that force their employees to rigorously keep personal and professional separate or even require employees not to participate in personal media creation outside of work create and get access to only that tiny little wedge in the middle, and nothing else.

Now imagine that a company, instead of discouraging or trivializing employees’ personal brands, encouraged them to actively grow their own networks, to use and leverage social media and new media to the best of their abilities. Imagine a company so forward-thinking that each employee had their own powerful personal brand and the freedom to express it (as long as said employees weren’t doing anything materially harmful in public).

What would that company’s reach be? Well, instead of the tiny intersection in the middle of those three networks in the chart above, the company’s effective reach would be the sum, the union of all the networks. Each employee’s personal network would contribute to the effective reach of the whole network.

More important, those employees have different audiences than your core corporate audience. For example, look at a few of the employee non-work blogs of the folks over at Radian6:

- Marcel LeBrun
- Amber Naslund
- Lauren Vargas
- Teresa Basich
- Robin Seidner
- Robbie MacCormack

Each of these folks has their own audience. Some of their audience probably doesn’t even know what they do for work. By liberally encouraging their staff to be out and about in new media, Radian6′s reach is much greater than its corporate blog, and its reach extends into different audiences.

What would it take to make this happen? A few things.

On the corporate side:

1. Employee education. Not just about what is or is not professional even in a personal blog (hey, you know that party photo you have in your photo feed…), but also how to build and grow audience, how to communicate effectively, how to create interest in what they’re doing on a personal level.

2. An awesome company with amazing products and services that’s worth talking about. Requiring employees to blog about your company usually falls flat. You shouldn’t have to ask if your employees legitimately love working for you – they’ll do it on their own. You can generally suggest (hey, we’ve got a kickass promotion for new customers, please tell your friends) but you can’t force it on your employees in their personal, non-work spaces.

3. An embrace of the 80/20 rule. Google and 3M are most famous for embedding this rule in their cultures, wherein employees have up to 20% of their schedule freed to experiment, to try new things, to work on stuff that isn’t in the core business objectives list. This includes stuff like personal blogs, networking outside of corporate target audiences, and participation in things that at first glance don’t seem to feed direct ROI numbers. As long as your team is meeting or exceeding their objectives otherwise, let the 80/20 rule operate to bring in the benefits of serendipity.

On the employee side:

1. Employees need to exercise profoundly good judgement at all times, even outside of work. Each of us is in sales. Each of us is in marketing. Each of us is in customer service. Each of us is in public relations. This is true no matter what title is on your business card. Wherever we go, wherever we interact with other people (online or offline) we are ambassadors of the company we work for. Does that mean we’re working 24/7? No. It does mean we’re not a public embarrassment, however. If you’re going to participate in new media in any way, shape, or form, recognize that you are also implicitly representing your employer whether you want to be or not.

2. Employees need to look for opportunities to build business. If an employer implements the 80/20 rule, there’s an informal social contract that effectively says, if you’re allowed to do your own thing and build your own brand using some work time, throw us a bone here and there so that we’re getting an equal exchange of value. Put up a navigation bar link on your blog with our top SEO keyword (hey, look at that shiny email marketing link), mention us if it’s appropriate when the topic of our business comes up in conversation, and refer people to sales if you’ve got a friend who really and truly needs what we have to offer.

3. Don’t feel obligated to participate. At companies where you have highly engaged coworkers, you may be asked or even subtly peer-pressured into doing the same things. Don’t. If your heart isn’t in blogging or Tweeting or creating new media, don’t do it, because the outcome will suck. The outcome will reflect your lack of passion, and your time is better spent doing things you love.

If you can match up the power of personal networks and different audiences with a great company, great products, and talk-worthy stuff, your reach and influence will be magnified far beyond what you have today.

Get this and other great articles from the source at www.ChristopherSPenn.com! Want to take your conference or event to the next level? Book me to speak and get the same quality information on stage as you do on this blog.