Christopher S. Penn – Marketing AI Keynote Speaker

Almost Timely News, 22 May 2022: Training for Reality, Civil Society, Recommendation Engines

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Christopher S Penn
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Almost Timely News

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Almost Timely News, 22 May 2022: Training for Reality, Civil Society, Recommendation Engines
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What’s On My Mind: Training for Reality

One of the expressions I love from the martial art that I practice is that “training should be harder than fighting, so that fighting is easier than training”. The idea is that you go through so much in learning the martial art that if you ever have to actually use it, it feels almost rudimentary.

I’ve had this experience a few times. Early on in our training, we practiced a lot of different breakfalls, ways of falling to the ground safely when you get thrown or otherwise put in precarious positions. I’ve intentionally fallen and rolled up and down stairs, rolled out of moving vehicles, etc. It all seems fairly silly and risky, but I once got hit straight on by a driver pulling out of a parking lot at decent speed, probably 25 MPH / 40 KPH. I managed to roll over and off the hood of the vehicle and sustained only some scrapes, so the “fight” was easier than a lot of the training.

This mindset should extend to everything we do, to all the challenges we’re likely to face in our work, in our personal lives, etc. If you know what problems you’re probably going to face, it’s the height of wisdom to practice for those problems so that when they do arrive, they’re almost trivial.

And yet…

When you look at the state of most professional development and training, a lot of it doesn’t seem to have strong applicability to real life, to situations you face every day. I was talking to a friend the other night about a marketing certification exam and she said she scored badly when she answered questions on the exam with how you’d actually solve a client’s problems. When she thought about it from the company’s perspective, from what’s the “best practice” instead reality, she passed with flying colors.

You can see how problematic that is. What’s best for the company issuing the certification may not be best for us, may not be best for our customers. But that’s what people are being trained towards.

I just finished recording the upcoming Trust Insights Google Analytics 4 course (rest assured you will get an email about it when it launches), and throughout the process, I kept hearing my business partner and CEO Katie’s voice in my head with each lesson. “So what? Why does the customer care? How does this help them with real life?” Keeping that perspective is essential for creating useful training, because without it, you create purely theoretical stuff that your students may not be able to apply immediately, if ever.

The same is true for my hobby coding projects. I pick data sets and challenges that are interesting to me, that solve real problems I want to know the answers to. In the process I learn a ton, and by the time a work-related problem comes around, chances are I’ve faced a more challenging problem in my hobbyist coding.

For example, I was writing a topic modeling and text comparison algorithm to programmatically compare multiple bodies of text together for a fanfiction project. It took me a few weeks to get it working, and sure enough, the next month a client had a very similar need for doing competitive analysis and I was able to reuse what I’d learned for that client with great effectiveness.

If you’ve fallen behind on professional development and training, chances are you did so because the investment of time and effort wasn’t worth the return. For us to get value out of our training and development, we have to see how it’s immediately useful. Our training should prepare us for “fighting”, for application of the training in such a way that it makes our lives easier, not harder. When challenging situations come up, our training should prepare us for them and even make those challenges a little easier for us.

If your current training experiences don’t make life easier for you, it’s time to start looking around for better professional development opportunities. That way, when the car of life plows into you, you just keep on rolling.

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ICYMI: In Case You Missed it

Besides the new Search Console course I’m relentlessly promoting (sorry not sorry), I would recommend reading the piece the Great Resignation.

Skill Up With Classes

These are just a few of the classes I have available over at the Trust Insights website that you can take.

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Get Back to Work!

Folks who post jobs in the free Analytics for Marketers Slack community may have those jobs shared here, too. If you’re looking for work, check out these five most recent open positions, and check out the Slack group for the comprehensive list.

Advertisement: Google Search Console for Marketers

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When you’re done, you’ll have working knowledge of the entire platform and what it can do – and you’ll be ready to start making the most of this valuable marketing tool.

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Thank You Notes

These are the places you’ve had or mentioned me – on your podcast, on your blog, in your newsletter. Thank you!

What I’m Reading: Your Stuff

Let’s look at the most interesting content from around the web on topics you care about, some of which you might have even written.

Social Media Marketing

Media and Content

SEO, Google, and Paid Media

Advertisement: Ukraine Humanitarian Fund

If you’d like to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine has set up a fund specifically for relief efforts. You can donate using a Visa/Mastercard or Google Pay.

Donate today to the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund »

Tools, Machine Learning, and AI

Analytics, Stats, and Data Science

Advertisement: Inbox Insights Newsletter

If you enjoy this newsletter, you’ll also enjoy Inbox Insights, the Trust Insights newsletter. Every Wednesday, get new perspectives, fresh data you won’t find anywhere else, plus a roundup of content we’ve made for the week, like our podcast and our livestream.

Inbox Insights from Trust Insights

Here’s an example issue.

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Events I’ll Be At

Here’s where I’m speaking and attending. Say hi if you’re at an event also:

  • Spark.me Social Media, June 2022, Montenegro
  • MarTech Conference, June 2022, virtual
  • MAICON, August 2022, Cleveland, OH – use code PENN150 for $150 off any conference ticket
  • MarketingProfs B2B Forum, October 2022, Boston

Events marked with a physical location may become virtual if conditions and safety warrant it.

If you’re an event organizer, let me help your event shine. Visit my speaking page for more details.

Can’t be at an event? Stop by my private Slack group instead, Analytics for Marketers.

How to Stay in Touch

Let’s make sure we’re connected in the places it suits you best. Here’s where you can find different content:

Required Disclosures

Events with links have purchased sponsorships in this newsletter and as a result, I receive direct financial compensation for promoting them.

Advertisements in this newsletter have paid to be promoted, and as a result, I receive direct financial compensation for promoting them.

My company, Trust Insights, maintains business partnerships with companies including, but not limited to, IBM, Cisco Systems, Amazon, Talkwalker, MarketingProfs, MarketMuse, Agorapulse, Hubspot, Informa, Demandbase, The Marketing AI Institute, and others. While links shared from partners are not explicit endorsements, nor do they directly financially benefit Trust Insights, a commercial relationship exists for which Trust Insights may receive indirect financial benefit, and thus I may receive indirect financial benefit from them as well.

Thank You!

Thanks for subscribing and reading this far. I appreciate it. As always, thank you for your support, your attention, and your kindness.

See you next week,

Christopher S. Penn

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