My High Performance Leadership Project

Since joining Toastmasters International in June 2011, I've wanted to become a DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster) and part of the Leadership Track to take you there includes doing a HPL (High Performance Leadership) Project.  After a lot of thought I decided what I wanted to do and put my guidance committee together and I gave the introduction speech for my HPL project at Word Weavers on 26 March.  The guidelines for the HPL introduction speech indicate that you should share your vision and mission with the club.  The speech is kind of a kick-off of your project within your club. In my case I also wanted to encourage the members of my club to join me on the project, so that they will take an active part in my project. During the project phase I will put a team together and we’ll determine the details of what will be done during the project as well as the timing of the project activities. I’ll have further meetings with my Guidance Committee where I’ll review the project planning, status and how things are going.  At the end of the project I will give a speech with a lessons learned about the project. What follows is based on the text of the speech I delivered. I’ve left in some detail that I had to cut for time purposes from the speech I delivered. 

MY HIGH PERFORMANCE LEADERSHIP (HPL) PROJECT INTRODUCTION SPEECH-  "OUT OF THE STONE AGE" 

Introduction

Fellow Word Weavers, Mr/Madame Toastmaster, honored guests.  At a meeting in January, Norbert said something that really stuck in my mind and that was that he didn’t like the way things were today and would like to be able to turn back the clock 20 to 30 years.  While, people fondly look back at the good old days, I know that I’m guilty of this, I’m here to propose something different today. I’d like to bring Word Weavers out of the Stone Age and into the Digital Age.

About the HPL

“As populations increase and cultures and people become increasingly diverse, more issues – and more problems -- face us than ever before… Many of the critical issues and problems today are the kind government is least equipped to handle… This is why the world needs strong, competent leaders now more than ever before. Progress can only happen when someone assumes a leadership role – when someone decides there is a problem, a need or an injustice, and takes action to solve the problem, fulfill the need or correct the injustice.“ (this statement comes out of the HPL manual)

Toastmasters has recognized the need to develop leaders and the HPL (High Performance Leadership) project is a product of this recognition. Gandi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Mother Teresa are all unconventional leaders who were able to accomplish great things without the traditional political authority that we’re used to seeing in historical leaders. What we’re going to do won’t be spoken of in the same breathe as these great figures but it is something that will help Word Weavers to grow and to prepare for the future.

Vision & Mission Statement

Vision:

To bring Word Weavers from the Stone Age into the Digital Age.

Mission:

Word Weavers, Toastmasters of Wiesbaden, will become commonly known throughout the Wiesbaden/Mainz area to adult residents of all ages. Potential visitors will be able to find us relatively easily within popular search engines and social media sites. We’ll expand the Digital Footprint of Word Weavers.

People Google everything today, so Word Weavers needs to be found on Google.  Google changes their search formula all the time. In fact there are people that are paid tons of money to try to figure it out. But I’ve noticed that there is more and more of a focus on social media in their rankings.  If you Google someone you’ll like find a Facebook entry and a LinkedIn entry and other social media sites in the top returns.

Body

You have probably all heard that Facebook has over 1 billion users and if it were a country it would be the 3^rd largest in the world. It is easy to get lost in statistics and forget about all the people.  Boiled done, Social Media is people sharing things socially, with family, friends, colleagues, and so on. I’d like to share 3 stories with about Social Media with you now.

You might have heard about the Pink Tutu project.  In order to cheer up his wife who was being treated for cancer, Bob Carey, started taking pictures of himself running around in a pink tutu.  The video of their story on YouTube has over 2 million views and Deutsch Telekom has been promoting their story.  Bob Carey not only cheered up his wife and the other women that were being treated for cancer with her, but his story has raised cancer awareness and tells us how Social Media can spread the word and connect with people all over the world.

Facebook was doing lookback videos earlier this year. They showed when users joined, popular pictures and status updates made by the user and many of them were very touching. John Berlin, desperately wanted to see the video for his son that had recently died.  He launched a campaign to do this and I found it on Facebook via a radio station that I listened to back in Detroit. This campaign got the attention of Facebook and he got to see the lookback video for his son. John Berlin showed us that it is possible to get a company to listen to us and he was able to tap into the feelings of parents and non-parents who would want to be able to do the same thing if we lost a child. 

Some of you will remember that I did a speech about the presentation site SlideShare, there were maybe twentysome people there when I gave it.  I also did a workshop for business English teachers in Frankfurt with twentysome people present. I put both presentations on SlideShare and both presentations have been viewed by more than 1000 people.  I love the idea that I can give a speech or presentation one time, that it can be viewed by people all over the world that weren’t there when I gave it. We all want our speeches to be heard and to make an impact. Since setting up my profile on SlideShare, over 26,000 people have viewed my presentations. With Social Media you can put something online or share something where a lot of people look at it in a short period of time or that people can look at over a long period of time after it was initially posted or shared, the best outcome is of course to have a good combination of both.

What we’ll do during the project

·        Update our website to attract more visitors and keep them coming back
·        Establish profiles on popular social media sites
·        Post regular updates where we have profiles

Each and every one of you is doing amazing things. When I look around and I see the growth that all of you have made from speech to speech, this same possibility for growth can and should be our gift to the world.  We don’t want Word Weavers and Toastmasters to be a secret. Toastmasters is re-engineering their educational program to better meet the needs of members and potential members. They’re working to make sure that Toastmasters stays relevant and we can do this via this project And we can let the world know about some of the great things that are happening. This is not just my HPL, it is really an HPL for the club.

Conclusion:

Hillary Clinton once said that it takes a village to raise a child, well, Word Weavers is like our own child, it takes everyone to be a successful club. 

Join me in our HPL, there is room for everyone!

• You’ll learn how Social Media can help Word Weavers to grow and thrive
• You’ll have fun
• You’ll be a part of a great team
• And,You don’t need to know anything about Social Media to start.

I’ll be talking to all of you about what role you will play. 

Together we can bring Word Weavers out of the Stone Age and into the Digital Age.

The Word Weavers website can be found at:

http://word-weavers.de/

Our Facebook Page is at:

https://www.facebook.com/WordWeaversToastmastersWiesbaden

We have a Flickr group at:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/word-weavers_toastmasters_wiesbaden/

Feel free to follow along as my HPL project unfolds. I will share a lot of my experience and I hope that other clubs can benefit from my experiences.

Note:  I created the graphic above based on using the quote from the HPL Manual.  I believe it is a very powerful statement. 

Now Accepting Applications...

Now Accepting Applications... from Darryl Heron

     I'm pleased to announce that I'm now accepting applications from forward thinking Companies and Organizations to employ my services and experience...

     My company has decided to close down the location that 1,100+ employees are tied to (including myself).  I've worked 16 years for my company, holding several differnt jobs, for several different clients, working on several different projects.  My company was acquired by another company  a few years ago and now it seems that my location and the people tied to it are no longer needed.

     I don't wish to dwell on this decission, but see this as an opportunity to change my lfe for the better. Have a look at my application for forwrd thinking companies and organizations as well as my alternative resume below.

This is not my resume! from Darryl Heron

     If you're a foward thinking company or organization that wants to change the world (or you know some that do), get in contact with me (details are in the application and/or the alternative resume). Contact me ASAP.  Lets Change the World!

Darryl Heron

P.s. Be sure to include "Change the World" in the subject line of any email you send me.  There are 1,099 other people that are also looking for an opportunity to make a contribution.  Let me know what your needs are and we should be able to work something out!

It All Ends Here

After years of waiting, the last Harry Potter film has been released. There has been a big promotional campaign that said "It All Ends Here". Aside from Warner Brothers and the people behind the film wanting to get people all excited about the movie and wanting to see the final Potter film, you have to ask does it really all end here?


Like lots of other people, I recently watched the last Harry Potter film. Although I would have loved to have seen the film with all the fans at LeakyCon (a convention behing held for Harry Potter fans in Orlando, Florida this year) or some other large fan viewing, my viewing at a local theather with 3D is the experience that I had. Like many Harry Pottter fans, I've been eagerly awaiting the last fim, but have also been saddenned to think that this is the last Harry Potter film and that there will be no more. No one likes to see the end of something that has touched them in so many ways. For many of us fans, the characters of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and countless others have transended the written page and become a part of our lives. It is sad to think that there will be no more "new" adventures with the trio.


I was in Paris last week on a business trip and I was amazed at all of the Harry Potter posters that you could find every where in and on the Metro. While saying that Harry Potter took over the Metro might be a bit exagerated, is did seem that every time I turned around that Harry and Voldemort were there, heightening the anticipation for the final film. It will be interesting to see how well the "It All Ends Here" campaign really did and how many people went to see the film because of it. I wonder how many people that are new to Harry Potter will see the movie and how many fans will have realized that the last film is out because of the campaign or how many would have gone to see the movie even without the campaign?

The Harry Potter series and franchise has done so many things. The book series is largely responsible with encouraging tons of kids to read. I'd be curious to know how many kinds really got into reading because of Harry Potter. The series has been an elixiar for the whole fantasy world. It has encougaged countless authors to write fantasy (and non-fantasy as well). While I can't definatively say that there is more fantasy out there because of Harry Potter, I can say that Harry Potter has engaged the fantasy and imagination of generations including millions of readers and viewers of the movies. I believe that it has been largely resonponsible for the reimmergence of much of the fantasy world that is doing well today. Would Twilight and the vampire world be what they are today if the Harry Potter influence wasn't there? The book and film series have shown movie makers and book publishers that there is a huge market for fantasy and openned up the door for many of the projects that we've seen in the fantasy world in the past few years.

While fandoms are not a new thing, Harry Potter has inspired fans to do all kinds of things. A few years ago I stumbled upon a podcast called Harry Potter Prognotications and really enjoyed hearing Greg and Penny speculate on how Harry Potter would end. Later on I discovered MuggleCast, a podcast that was started in 2005 and has over 200 episodes. MuggleCast is the podcast for the fansite MuggleNet. A few years ago the Harry Potter convention was born, and they've been hosted yearly in locations like Dallas, San Francisco, and in the last two years they've been hosted in Orlando. Last year's convention coinsided with the openning of the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter theme park. Midnight Harry Potter book releases became leggendary. I even bought one of the books at a release in 2005 myself.

For me, another interesting aspect has been the whole social media aspect of Harry Potter. The first Harry Potter book was published before many of the social media sites that many of us are familar with but the series and franchise has accepted and used social media like no other book and social media has embraced Harry Potter like few other books and series. All of the podcasts that I mentoned above are using Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler, and a host of other social media sites and tools to let their listeners and readers be a part of the whole experience. Harry Potter has also become an example of how other books can use social media to market and greatly enhance the experience for their readers and fans. It has been quite an experiment to see the kind of communities that have emerged. I wonder how many Harry Potter groups have been set up in Facebook or how many tweats have been Harry Potter related.

As you can see I have embraced Harry Potter and am glad to see that J.K. Rowling has recently announced PotterMore. This really excites me because of the world of possiblities that I can imagine. She'll be releasing all of the books as ebooks and there'll be a whole lot of content released there which will provide all kinds of back story and information that fans will love to know about. Fans will be able to read along with PotterMore from the beginning. The ebooks and PotterMore will allow a totally new experience for readers that are new to Harry Potter and will captivate new generations of fans while quentching the thirst of fans of Harry Potter that have already read the books. I like that J.K. Rowling announced this before the last movie was released, so this is a way for fans to not be as sad as they otherwise would have been, had the movie really been the end of Harry Potter.

So while this might be the last Harry Potter move, this by no means the end of Harry Potter to all the old fans and new fans. The fans look forward to seeing the last film but to also seeing what wonderful things J.K. Rowling has in store for us at PotterMore.

Photo credit: Above is a picture that I took of one of the many Harry Potter promototional posters on the Metro during my recent visit to Paris.

Thank You, Oprah!

After 25 years, the last episode of the Oprah Winfrey show aired in American on Wednesday. 25 years is a long time doing anything, but 25 years in television is quite something. I just wanted to take a few moments to tell Oprah thank you.

I knew the the end of her show was coming but somehow I had it in my mind that the show was going to end in September, so I was a little caught off guard when I noticed at article on Mashable asking what was next for Oprah Winfrey. Since I'm not living in the U.S., I managed to avoid the media blitz that lots of people were tired of I'm sure! If you're tired of hearing about the end of the Oprah show, then by all means feel free to skip this article.

When thinking of the end of the Oprah show, I had to think back to the last Tonight Show featuring Johnny Carson. I'm sure that lots of people will make the comparision because both ended their long running television shows without guests and while some people will probably say that Johnny was better, I have to say that Oprah and Johnny are and were two class acts. In a world where so much is fake they both are genuine and have reached heights that few people will ever reach and that most people can only dream about.

The Oprah Book Club got to be so big that being mentioned on the Oprah show was often enough to get a book into the New York Times best seller list. I included Oprah in 100+ People That I Want to Meet and still I would like to meet her. When she started tweeting, it was certainly a high point for Twitter and you have to wonder how many people checked it out just because Oprah was doing it. How many people have forgotten that Oprah and Whoopie Goldberg were an intergal part of "The Color Purple"?

How many people has Oprah inspired to improve their lives and to chase after that impossible dream? How many people has she helped over the years on her show? Although, Oprah said "I won’t say, 'goodbye.’ I’ll just say, 'until we meet again.’", this was goodbye to the Oprah show. I wish her the best with her future projects and hope that she'll keep making a difference in the world in the lives of millions of people that she'll never meet. Oprah, for all that you've done and continue to do, I'd like to thank you.

Below are some other articles that you might want to read about Oprah and the final show.

"Oprah's tearful final episode"
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/oprah+tearful+final+epsisode/4841920/story.html

"Why did Oprah matter? Will she ever again, on her OWN?"
http://watching-tv.ew.com/2011/05/25/oprah-winfrey-show-25-own/

"LIVE BLOG: Oprah Winfrey's Last Show"
http://blogs.abcnews.com/screenshots/2011/05/live-blog-oprah-winfreys-last-show.html

"Live Blogging Oprah's Final Show"
http://www.aoltv.com/2011/05/25/live-blogging-oprahs-final-show/

"Oprah Farewell Gets Spiritual"
http://adweek.com/news/television/oprah-farewell-gets-spiritual-132010

"Oprah. Uma. Uma. Oprah."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-BJTE56I14

"The best Oprah emails to Opera (the browser)"
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/25/the-best-oprah-email.html

Note: The video clip above came from "The faithful bid Oprah farewell"
http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2011/05/26/local_fans_gather_to_say_goodbye_to_their_best_friend_oprah/

John Lennon- IMAGINE

December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed in New York. I woke up the next morning and turned on the radio and was totally shocked to hear this. This was the first thing that I heard on this day that should have normally be a happy day for me, as it was my 14th birthday, but now it is really the only thing that I remember from that day. In a short period of time following John Lennon's murder, there were attempts on the the lives of the Pope and President Reagan (both unsuccessful). I wasn't arround when President Kennedy was assiginated, but I know that I was so shocked that someone would kill John Lennon and I think that people were probably as shocked when President Kennedy was killed.

In 1980, John released his "Double Fantasy" album. This marked his return after taking a few years off from the music world to be a stay at home father and raise Sean. The album signaled that he was back, it had a lot of promise and gave us a glimpse of where his music might have gone. Looking at the promise that was there after the release of "Double Fantasy", this makes his death that much more traggic.

Being shot down seems like a very ironic way to die for someone that was so peace oriented. It doesn't really seem fitting for someone known for wanting to "give peace a chance" and for saying that "War is Over, if we want it", should die in such a way.

There have been very few song writting teams that have come even close to matching the success fo Lennon/McCartney. Few bands or artists have been nearly as popular and loved as the Beatles. John's post Beatles musical career was pretty fruitful and you have to wonder if he had lived today, if Paul would have had the most successful post Beatles career or if John would have been more successful? You also have to wonder where he would have gone with his music? What projects would he have done? I also wonder, if he was such a controversial person that he was bound to be killed, if not on December 8, 1980 than another time?

I've really enjoyed working on the JOHN LENNON - IMAGINE event at Globaljammerz.com, putting together the daily online radio shows and telling people about the event. I hope that you'll check out my shows that are running at 9 pm (U.S. Central time) through December 12th. I also hope that you'll share what John and the Beatles have meant to you, what your favorite songs are, what your favorite memories and stories are, and I hope that you'll join the other Beatles fans at the Fab Four group at Globaljammerz. It doesn't cost anything to join, so why not check it out. With the remaining shows I'd like to do a couple of requests shows, so I've been collecting songs requests at various places along the web. I'd also like to do a couple of shows of people covering the Beatles and John Lennon songs, so your input is most welcome.

I remember making a vow on the day that I heard about John's death, that his death wouldn't be in vain and that I would someday find meaning in his loss (our loss). Thirty years later I'm still trying to find the meaning and make something out of my life. Who knows, maybe I'll find it by the the 60th Anniversary! I think that John would have loved our social web today and being able to connect with his fans in a totally different way than musicians did in the past would be something he'd appreciate. John, thank you for all the great music. Thanks to you, I can imagine all the people living for today and I can picture myself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies and so much more.

Photocredit: The John Lennon collage is posted in the Fab Four group at Globaljammerz.

Coming: John Lennon- Imagine

December 8th, marks the 30th Anniversary of John Lennon's Death. How do you pay tribute to John Lennon? If your Globaljammerz.com you host a week plus of onlne radio shows honoring the memory of this musical great and since Globaljammerz.com is a social network for music lovers, they'll be sharing their thoughts and memories about John Lennon and you can join in on the conversation sharing your thoughts and memories about John. You can join us in the chatroom when we're hosting the online shows. Of, course you can also play your favorite John Lennon and Beatles songs right along with Globaljammerz on Blip.fm @IMAGINE.

Be sure to check out the Fab Four, the Globaljammerz group for Bealtes fans, where you can connect with other Beatles fans and share your thoughts and memories about John Lennon. You can join us at the Globaljammerz Events page for more details about the various things that we have planned. In Facebook you can join us at the Globaljammerz Facebook group.

If you're you're a member of any kind of Beatles fan club or organization we'd love to have you join us, be sure to let your friends that are Beatles fans know as well. It doesn't cost anything to join Globaljammerz, so why not check them out? If you do decide to join be sure to mention that Darryl Heron sent you.

Globaljammerz is running the John Lennon Imagine event from December 3rd through December 12th, Just imagine the life that was and the life that could have been. We hope to see you there.

Photo credit: The John Lennon photo that appears above is part of a discussion at the Fab Four group at Globalammerz and can be found along with some other John Lennon photos here.

Blog Action Day 2010 Recap

Blog Action Day 2010 is now history and thought that some of you might be interested in reading a little bit about how it went, so I thought that I share some information about it with you all.

I received an email teling me that the main event on Friday had more than 5,600 bloggers from 143 countries participating, reaching more than 40 million readers. This definitely shows that blogging and Social Media have reached a whole another level, think about how many tradtional television shows and traditional publications reach that many people!

Blip.fm and Globaljammerz had an event to go along with Blog Action Day 2010, that I told you about in my post on Blog Action Day. The event ran all weekend long so that it could allow people in all the time zones to participate. Trying to get statistics about Blip.fm has proven more challenging that I had first thought, so my numbers aren't as complete or as in dept as I'd like but I wanted to report on a few things anyways.

First of all, thank you to everyone who participated in Blog Action Day, in whatever form that you might have done so. I also wanted to thank those people that participated on the Blip.fm/Globaljammerz Blog Action Day 2010 Event. As far as I know this is the firs time that something like this was organized on Blip.fm and Globaljammerz, so I have big hope for this to grow in the future.

Over the course of the past weekend I played 31 songs on Blip.fm. I received 20 different reblips, or people replaying songs that I played, often restating part or all of the message that I wrote along with the blip. All of the 31 songs that I blipped were also tweeted on my Twitter account. I received 38 props or kind of a thumbs up from other Blippers for songs that I played and/or the messages that I blipped

What I'm not able to determine is how many songs were played with "#BAD10" in the blip, as was one of the ideas behind having the event, so I'd be curious of someon Blip.fm can find out for me. Looking in Twitter, 8 tweets mentioned me and Blog Action Day and songs that I blipped Using the search on Twitter doesn't seem to pull up any of the blips that I know should be there, I'm not sure why.

I wanted to take a moment and recognize some of the people that participated in the Blip.fm/Globaljammerz event.

• "indyh"gave me the most props for songs played as well as being the first to reblip or replay one of the songs that I played for the event.
  
• The first prop or thumbs up that one of my blips got goes to "sandraew".
• 3 different blips of mine were reblipped by at least 3 people
• "Danimelocoton" reblipped me several times and gave me several props
• "MCDEIBEM" and "DeAnn" reblipped multiple songs of mine
• "indyh", "mairsplaylist", "Loba_Negra", "DeAnn", and "Globaljammerz" gave me multiple props

The idea of having a Blip.fm/Globaljammerz event tied to Blog Action Day only occured to me with a little more than a week before the big day, so there wasn't a whole lot of time to organize and promote the event. Overall, I'm happy with the event that we had on Blip.fm and Globaljammerz. I've learned some lessons on things that can be done differently in the future and see big potential in other events that can be organized in the future. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do for Blog Action Day 2011. If you participated in the Blip.fm/Globaljammerz Blog Action Day, I'd love to get your feedback and some statistics from you to help round out my evaluation of the event.

Photo credit: "Eurasian Coot" courtesy of soikha.

Global Jammerz

There has been a lot of press about Ping, the new social network built around iTunes, but at the moment I'm having fun with Globalhjammerz. GlobalJammerz is a social network built around Blip.fm.

The site is a ning based social network started by DeAnn. I think it greatly complements Blip.fm, allowing more social aspects that aren't built into Blip. I've often seen various blips (songs played by Blippers) and wanted to know more about the DJs but didn't really feel like clicking on their homepage (if they even have a homepage) to find out more about them. With GlobalJammerz you can see the profiles of various Blippers and find out more about them.

They have some groups set up that you can join. This is nice because you can easliy find other people that like the same kind of music you do. Some of the groups are even doing weekly broadcasts over Blip and you can make requests, chat with the people putting on the show, and so on.

GlobalJammerz allows you to upload pictures and videos, as well as having music players at the various groups that allow you to listen to some songs of the various genres. It also allows you to blog and post in forums.

I'm really happy to see this complementary social network for Blip. Since I'm still a newbie there, I'm sure that I have a lot to learn but am looking forward to it!

Here are som other articles that I wrote about Blip.fm

• 2000 Listeners on Blip.fm
  

• Having Fun on Blip.fm
  

• 80's Party
  

100+ People I'd Like to Meet Series

Have you ever given any thought to people that you'd like to meet? If you could meet any living person in the world who would you meet? I decided to put together a list of people that I'd like to meet.

My forth grade teacher, Mr. Hammond, had my class do some creative thinking and I remember him asking us to think about who we'd like to meet and why? This was limited to one person and actually he didn't put the limitation that the person had to be living (in fact he even encouraged us to pick a historical figure for one of the creative assignments, but that is a different post). A colleague of mine at work has a Tim Ferris quote from his 4 Hour Workweek book and in the chapter that it comes from, Tim Ferris talks about how he challenged some students that heard him speak to seek out some celebrity to interview. Thinking about these events motivated me to put together a list of people that I'd like to meet and my hope is that by publishing my list that it would help faciliate me meeting many of them.

Guidelines for my list

Everyone on the list has excelled at one thing or another and I believe that there is something that I could learn from them. The goal with every person is to meet them in person where I could talk to them for at least 5 minutes (of course longer would be better but they're all busy people so they probably won't have a day or a week to spend with me to give me their insights on life!) This means that I'm looking for more than a handshake or a photo opportunity. I'm looking for the chance to ask some questions and to be able to interact with them. The list is not by any means everone that I'd like to meet, nor is everyone that I admire on this list (that would be another post) and although I have done some categorization, I didn't put any real priority into the order that the names appear.

Stay Tuned

Look in this space for the rest of the series. I'll post links to the articles below as they're published.

• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10
  

Photo credit: "Mount Rushmore 02" courtesy of rweller

100+ People- Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of 100+ People That I'd Like to Meet. Today I'm going to focus on some "Internet Stars" that I'd like to meet

Internet Stars

These are a collection of Web personalities that I'd like to meet. Some of them are writers/bloggers and many have become good at marketing, promotion and other entrepreneur skills.

• Pete Cashmere- Founder of Mashable, he has an insight in to emerging social media companies and trends that many people dream about having. He's on Twitter @ mashable, Facebook, MySpace, and just about any and every Social Media and Social Networking site that exists
  

• Leo Babauta- Is the man behind Zenhabbits. He also started the Write to Done and the mnmlist and seems to have new projects coming out of the woodwork all the time., I've written a Spotlight on him and was fortunate enough to interview him for this blog but it would still be great to be able to meet him. His about page is worth checking out. He's on Twitter @ zen_habits. He even has a Wikipedia entry
  

• Tina Su- Is the women behind ThinkSimpleNow. She introduced me to blog carnivals. She decided to follow the Tim Ferris idea of a mini retirement and spent several months touring India. Her about page is also an interesting read. She's on Twitter @ thinksimplenow, she is also in Facebook and several other Social Media/Networking sites
  

• Merlin Mann- Is the creator of 43 Folders. 43 Folders was one of the first websites to embrace GTD (Getting Things Done) and run with it. He's done tons of podcasts and is a big Mac fan. I wrote a spotlight on 43folders wrote about him returning to 43folders after a period of absence. He's on Twitter @ hotdogsladies. There is a fan site for him on Facebook and he has a Wikpedia entry
  

• Tim Ferris- Author of The Four Hour Workweek. Lots of great ideas in his book. I mentioned him earlier in this post. He's on Twitter @ tferriss and has a Wikipedia entry
  

• Arianna Huffington- The women behind The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post might not be the first internet newspaper, but it has certainly been groundbreaking. There are several twitter accounts for The Huffington Post, but the main one is huffingtonpost. She and the Huffington post have are active in Facebook and made it easy for you to "like" one of their stories and to comment on it via Facebook. There is a Wikipedia entry about her and one about the Huffington Post
  

• Darren Rowse- The creator of ProBlogger and Twitips. He has to be one of the most successful bloggers out there! He is on Twitter @ problogger he is active in Facebook and other Social Media/Neworking sites (basically anywhere he can interact with his audience and readers) and he has a Wikipedia entry
  

• Chris Brogan- Is one of those Social Media stars that many aspire to be. His blog is very popular. He is on Twitter @ chrisbrogan and he has a Wikipedia entry
  

• Guy Kawasaki- Co-founder of the popular news aggregator site AllTop. He is on Twitter @ GuyKawasaki and he has a Wikipedia entry
  

• Jeremiah Owyang- He is a partner at the Altimeter Group. His blog is widely followed within Social Media circles. He is on Twitter @ jowyang

• Seth Godin- Is another of those Social Media stars that many aspire to be. He has a widely read blog. Seth recenty created a lot of buzz when he stated in an interview that he has given up on traditional book publishing because he doesn't believe it is worth the effort when he can reach more poeple via electronic means. He is on Twitter @ ThisIsSethsBlog and he has a Wikipedia entry
  

• Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer- Are the women behind SocialFish.org. They have a lot of knowledge of Social Media within the world of Non-Profits and Charities. They're on Twitter @ maddiegrant & lindydreyer

Stay Tunned...

Be sure to look for 100+ People That I Want to Meet Part 3 and the rest of the series and you can read the intro here. Feel free to subscribe to this blog via email or your rss reader, there are several options available in the upper righthand corner of this blog.


Photo credit: "Cosmic" courtesy of ba1969.

100+ People- Part 3

In Part 3 of the 100+ People That I'd Lket to Meet, I wanted to cover people that inspire and motivate us as well as authors.

Inspiration And Motivation

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you're properly motivated and inspired. I like to think that anything is possible and generally have a positive outlook, but don't we all need some motivation and inspiration from time to time!

• David Allen- Is the legendary creator of GTD (Getting Things Done). He has a couple of websites Davidco and GTDTimes. There are millions of GTD fans around the world that would love to spend some quality time with him. He is on Twitter @ gtdguy

• Tony Robbins- He's an motivational and inspirational great. His website is here. He regularly tweets nuggets you might find useful. He is on Twitter @ tonyrobbins

• Stephen Covey- Author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". His website is here. He is on twitter @ StephenRCovey

• Brian Tracy- Motivational author and speaker, author of numerous books and tape series. His blog is here. He is on Twitter @ briantracy

• Zig Ziggler- Legendary motivational author and speaker. His website is here. His son is on Twitter sharing his insights @ TomZiglar

• Oprah- How can you describe Oprah. She has been a positive force and has an incredible network. The mention of a book on her show is enough to put in on the New York Times Best-Seller List! Here website is here. She is on Twitter @ Oprah

Authors

"the story" has to be one of the oldest forms of communication that we have. Before people were capturing history and stories down in written form, they were verbally passing them from person to person and generation to generation. Literature is full of wonderful authors through the ages (probably the reason that we have libraries!) Good writers can get a message accross to readers in different places and in different times, they can inspire people to take action. For as long as I can remember I've wanted to write, in fact writing the great American novel is one of the goals that I have listed at 43 Things.

• J.K. Rowling- She created the world of Harry Potter. All the stars seemed to collide and the series has become one of the most read and discussed of all time. How many kids have been inspired to read because of Harry Potter? Her official website is here. Although she doesn't tweet much, her official Twitter account is @ jk_rowling

• Dan Brown- Author of the Di Vinci Code, as well as Angels & Demons, both of which have been turned into movies. His website is here. I didn't find him on Twitter, but there are a lot of "Dan Brown"s there so who knows.

• Stephen King- Chances are that you've probably read one of his books or seen a movie made from one of them, and no, they aren't all horror stories. He has written so many things about such a wide variety of topics, it would be great to get some of his insights into writing, ideas, and inspiration. His website can be found here. When I was on his website, the FAQ section says that he isn't in an social networks nor does he plan to be.

Stay Tuned

So far we've met some Internet Stars, Leaders in Motivation & Inspiration, and Authors, who'll be next? Be sure to look for 100+ People That I Want to Meet Part 4 and the rest of the series and you can read the intro here. Feel free to subscribe to this blog via email or your rss reader, there are several options available in the upper righthand corner of this blog.

Photo credit: "New York City skyline 3" courtesy of davidlat.

100+ People- Part 4

In Part 3 of the 100+ People That I'd Lket to Meet, I list some Actors, Directors, and Comedians. Actors give life to the written words of authors and screenwriters, the good ones have you believing that they are the character they're portraying. Directors have to have a vision of how the piece should look, because stories don't just jump from paper to the movie or television screen or even the stage. Some actors have been able to able to become successful directors. Who doesn't like to laugh? Some commedians have been successful actors, while other have hosted daily (or nightly) television shows.

Actors, Directors, and Comedians

• William Shatner- Captain Kirk of Star Trek (the original series) and pitchman extordinaire. He has a MySpace site, he is on Twitter @ WilliamShatner, and his Wikipedia entry is here.
  

• Sir Patrick Stewart- Captain Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation. A Shakespearian actor, star of many movies, and recently knighted. I didn't find an official website or Twitter account but here is his Wikipedia entry.

• Robert Dinero- He has appeared in so many movies that you're bound to have seem him in at least one movie. I didn't find a Twitter account or official website but you can check out his IMDb biography or Wikipedia entry.

• Robert Redford- World famous actor, director, and the man behind the Sundance Film Festival. His Sundance Institute can be found here. There appears to be a Twitter account set up but it doesn't really seem to be off the ground yet.

• Clint Eastwood- World famous actor and director. You've probably seen one of his Westerns or Dirty Harry movies. I didn't find any official websites or a Twitter account, but you can read his Wikipedia entry.

• James Cameron- World famous director has brought us the Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, and most recently Avatar. I didn't find an official website or Twitter account, but you can read his Wikipedia entry.

• George Lucas- The man that created of Star Wars world and Indiana Jones. He brought us THX sound and ILM. His website is Lucasfilm.com . I didn't find a Twitter account for him, but you can read his Wikipedia entry.

• Steven Spielberg- Director and Producer, with ET, the Back to Future Series, Indiana Jones, and a ton of other movies, you've probably seen one of his movies. He is one of the founders Dreamworks SKG. I didn't find a Twitter account, but his Wikipedia entry can be found here.

• Michael Moore- He is a controversial director of documentaries.He has managed to make this film genre more accessible to the normal person, where more people are likely to watch a documentary and how many would be film makers have been inspired by his success in the genre? His website is here and he is on Twitter @ MMFlint.

• Tom Hanks- I've been a fan of his since I first watched him in the TV series Bosom Buddies. He has been referred to as the Jimmy Stewart, the everyman of the current actors. I didn't find him on Twitter, but you can find his Wikipedia entry here.

• Robin Williams- I remember first seeing him as Mork from Ork on Happy Days and then with his own series. He has been in some amazing movies and people forget how funny he is and has been. I didn't find a Twitter account, but did find a Wikipedia entry on him.

• Michael J. Fox- You might have seen him in the TV series Family Ties or Spin City. I recently re-watched him in the Back to the Future trilogy. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991 and his foundation has funded more than $179 million in research. I didn't find an official account on Twitter but you can read about him at Wikipedia.

• Bill Cosby- He has proven time and again that comedy doesn't need to be vulgar or obscene. There is a good chance that you might have seen an episode or more from one of the televisions series bearing his name. Maybe you've seen him in the television series ISpy. He's also done several memorable spots for Jello. His Wikipedia entry can be found here.

• David Letterman- Not everyone likes his sense of humor, but you have to give him credit for longevity. He has been a staple of late night televisons for decades, with his show airing nightly. He might not have invented the Top Ten list but he sure did make it a popular item that has been adopted by countless people in all kinds of ways and venues. His show's website can be found on the CBS website and his Wikipedia entry can be found here.

• Jerry Seinfeld- Have you ever seen an episode of the Seinfeld television series, it was part of NBC's "Must See TV" on Thursday night for nearly a decade. The show has often been referred to as the show about nothing, but a lot of people tuned in week after week to watch. His Wikipedia entry can be found here.
  

Stay Tuned

So far we've met some Internet Stars; Leaders in Motivation & Inspiration; Authors; Actors, Directors, and Comedians, who'll be next? Be sure to look for 100+ People That I Want to Meet Part 5 and the rest of the series and you can read the intro here. Feel free to subscribe to this blog via email or your rss reader, there are several options available in the upper righthand corner of this blog.

Photo credit: "Red chairs" courtesy of Cancia.

100+ People- Part 5

For as long as I can remember I've been a big music fan. In the movie Eddie and The Cruisers, there is an exchange between Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare) and Frank "Wordman" Ridgeway (Tom Berenger) about how the two go together and need each other. Each by itself is a good medium for story telling and communicatin but the two together are a powerful combination. The song writer(s) might have one idea of what their song means but they can not control what their song will mean to someone else nor what others will do with their song. How many songs have been turned around into totally differnt versions of the same song. Think about the phemnomina of Rap music and remixes. How different would movies and television be without the score and music helps to set the tone and direction of the scenes you're watching. Chances are that you have at least one song that can put you in a good mood no matter what the world may dish up to you the moment you hear that first note or one song that motivates you.

Bands & Musicians

• Led Zeppelin- Lead singer, Robert Plant has one of the best know voices in Rock and Roll. He won a Grammy last year for an album that he did with Blue Grass singer Alison Krauss. Jimmy Page is one of three legendary guitarists that were in the Yardbirds (Eric Clapton, also appearing in my list, and Jeff Beck, being the other two). I didn't find any Twitter accounts but Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant both have official websites and a Wikipedia entry.

• Eric Clapton- Even if you're not into the Blues or already a fan of Eric Clapton, you've probably heard a song of his without realizing it. Several of his songs have been in various movie soundtracks in the last few decades. Everybody wanted to do unplugged after he did it. He was another of the famous guitarists that was in the Yardbirds (Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page are the other two). I didn't find a Twitter account and his official website can be found here.

• B.B. King- If you're a Blues fan you've probably already know of B.B. King. Eric Clapton and many other Rock and Roll greats list him as an influence. In fact, King and Clapton did an album together called Riding With The King. B.B. King has an official website and he has a museum that can be found online as well. Although I didn't find a Twitter account, I did see links to MySpace and Facebook from his website.

• Chuck Berry- Chances are you've probably heard of Chuck Berry. Many people credit him with Rock and Roll taking off the way it did, certainly he has influenced a lot of musicians over the years. Chuck Berry has a website a Wikipedia entry and I did find a MySpace account.

• It is really hard to "imagine" music and the world without the Beatles. An uncle of mine once joked about being by the magizine section in a store and hearing some teenager girls saying "Wow, Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings". Unfortunately, only Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as Yoko Ono and Pete Best (their drummer before Ringo) are alive. Paul,Ringo, and Pete all have their own websites in addition to Imagine Peace, Yoko's website. The Beatles, Paul McCartney, and Yoko all have Twitter accounts. I found Wikipedia entries for The_Beatles, Lennon/McCartney, Paul_McCartney, Ringo_Starr, Pete_Best, and Yoko_Ono. Yoko is in Facebook, as well as having a MySpace account. Ringo has a MySpace account.

• At one time people seemed to like the Beatles or the Stones, although Mick Jagger might not ever seem to get his Satisfaction, the Rolling Stone have certainly had some time in the spotlight. The band has a website and Wikipedia entry and I found MySpace and Facebook sites for them as well.

• If you're a Van Halen fan, you've probably given some thought to weither David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar was the better singer. There is little doubt however that Eddy Van Halen is one of the guitar greats. Sammy and Michael have been in Chickenfoot together since leaving Van Halen. I found Wikipedia entries for Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, Micahel Anthony, and Chickenfoot. I also found MySpace and Facebook sites for Chickenfoot.

• I wonder what all will be written about U2, when all is said and done. The Jousha Tree brought the to mainstream success and they've sold out countless concerts since then. I found Wikipedia entries for U2, Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. The band has MySpace and Facebook sites.

• It is hard to imagine the Alternative/Grunge rock era without Pearl Jam. They were also the band that boycotted Ticketmaster. Although I didn't find Facebook or MySpace sites, they do have a Wikipedia entry and Twitter account.

• If you listen to "Classic Rock", you've probably heard Jethro Tull. Many people might say that they're "Living in the Past" but the vocals and flute of Ian Anderson are hard to mistake for anyone else in the world of "Classic Rock". I found Wikipedia entries for Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson. The band also has a MySpace site.

• If you've ever played Six Degrees of Seperation, a game where someone suggests two movie stars and you try to connect them through movies that they'd played in and Kevin Bacon, there is a good chance that you'd use Yes to connect muscians in British Rock. Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman, Geoff Downs, Bill Bruford, and Alan White have all been in one or more of the various lineups of Yes. I found Wikipedia entries for Yes, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman, Geoff Downs, Bill Bruford, and Alan White. I didn't really come accross any MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter accounts for the more promenent Yes and former Yes memebers but with there being so many I might have missed something!

• Aerosmith is another one of the bands that train just keeps rolling for. They were already well known in the 70's and 80's when they decided that they didn't want a "Permanent Vacation" they became introduced to another generation. Liv Tyler, Steven Tyler's daughter, has probably escliped the widespread fame of her father's band and I wonder how many of her fans were introduced to the band via her notoriety. Lead guitarist Joe Perry has his own website, a Twitter account, as well as MySpace and Facebook sites. I found Wikipedi entries for Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, and Joe Perry. Aeroforceone tweets about the band. Steven Tyler has a MySpace site and the band has MySpace and Facebook sites.

• Coming from the Detroit area it is darn near impossible not to be a Bob Seger fan. Did you happen to see Tom Cruise's scene from Risky Business where he danced around to "Old Time Rock And Roll"? Bob Seger has a Wikipedia entry, he is on Twitter, and he has a Facebook site.

• You've probably heard "Hotel California", if not countless other Eagles songs. The band had a bad break up at one point and reported wouldn't get back together till Hell freezes over, well it must have frozen over because they did get back together. Don Henley says on their "Hell Freezes Over" album (recorded during their "Hell Freezes Over" tour) "for the record we never really broke up, we just took a 14 year vacation". Bandmembers Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit have their own websites as well. I found Wikipedia entries for The Eagles, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit. While Don Henley's website said that "He does not communicate via social networking sites and has not authorized any account to be created on his behalf." the band appears to have a MySpace site and Timothy B. Schmit has Twitter accountand Facebook and MySpace accounts. So who knows, maybe Hell will freeze over again before Don Henley does anything with any of the Social Networking sites.

• Kiss has to be one of the first best known bands to understand what a powerful tool marketing can be. For decades their fanbase has been refered to as the Kiss Army and their devotion is legendary. The band was founded with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss all wearing makeup that concealed their faces. In addition to the websites already linked to, I found websites for current and former band members Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer, Eric Carr, and Bruce Kulick. I found Wikipedia entries on Kiss, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Kiss Army, Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer, Mark St. John, Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, and Bruce Kulick. The band has a Twitter account, Facebook and MySpace sites and Ace has a Twitter account.

• Although John Mellencamp's name has changed through the years from John Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp, and finally to John Mellencamp, he has firmly identified himself with the Midwest and his home state of Indiana. I saw him perform during one of his many appearences at Farm Aid. He has a Wikipedia entry, a Twitter account, and Facebook and MySpace sites.

• To a lot of their fans, REM will always be that little ole alternative band from Athens Georgia, but their popularity with in College Radio and the mainstream public has grown way beyond that. They have a Wikipedia entry, Twitter account, and Facebook and MySpace sites.

• Regardless of if you like Madonna's music or not you have to admit that she has been good at marketing, promotion, and re-inventing herself. Her career might have gotten an initial boost from MTV, but she's had several totally different looks in her career and has inspired countless artists. I didn't find an offical Twitter account but she has a Wikipedia entry, as well as Facebook and MySpace sites.

Stay Tuned

So far we've met some Internet Stars; Leaders in Motivation & Inspiration; Authors; Actors, Directors, and Comedians; and Musicians, who'll be next? Be sure to look for 100+ People That I Want to Meet Part 6 and the rest of the series and you can read the intro here. Feel free to subscribe to this blog via email or your rss reader, there are several options available in the upper righthand corner of this blog.

Photo credit: "DJ Night 4" courtesy of fangol.

100+ People- Part 6

While there is little doubt that sports is big business, a big part of our societies today, and many athletes are living in the limelight (like it or not), but there are lots of athletes that are playing their sports for the love of the game. How many kids have played sports in their neighborhoods and schools? Sports has the dynamics of of indivituals competing against each other driving to succeed, people coming together and playing as a team, and bringing people together that are fans of the sport. Schools have found that sports are a way of getting students, parents. alumni, and fans to be more active in supporting the said school and building a community around the school. Some sporting events are watched by millions of people around the world. There are so many stories around sports that people can relate to from the Cinderella player or team that comes out of nowhere to play in the championship, to that winning team or athlete that is trying to extend their time in the limelight and success past when logic says that should probably quit. Sports has given us all kinds of motivation and inspiration that people have tried to harness in other aspects of life.

Athletes

• Few people would question you if you were to say that Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game. Nike would not doubt admit that his line of Air Jordon products helped to make them the successful athletic apparell company that they are today. I didn't find a website, Twitter account, or Facebook and MySpace sites, but did find a Wikipedia entry.

• Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game. While at the moment his name has often been mentioned for his extra-marital acitivies, you have to believe that people will eventually be talking about him again for what he is doing or has done in the world of golf. Until the scandal broke, he was an advertiser's dream, representing Nike, Buick, and many other products. It will be interesting to see what develops, how he is able to get beyond where is now, and what lessons we can learn from him. I didn't find a Twitter account, nor Facebook and MySpace sites, but he does have a Wikipedia entry.

• Before Tiger, there was Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear. He has won tons of golfing tournaments, designed golf courses, and in general been a wonderful ambassador for the world of golf. I didn't find a Twitter account, nor Facebook and MySpace accounts, but he does have a Wikipedia entry.

• I lived in Dallas during much of Troy Aikman's professional football career with the Dallas Cowboys and it was exciting to see him lead the team to those Super Bowl wins. I didn't find a Twitter account, nor Facebook and MySpace accounts, but he does have a Wikipedia entry.

• Admiration of my grandfather (in large part), made me a Dallas Cowboys fan from an early age on, so there is probably little doubt that I would come to admire what Roger Staubach accomplished in his years with the team. I didn't find a Twitter account, nor Facebook and MySpace accounts, but he does have a Wikipedia entry.

• Not long before Jordon, the Magic Johonson-Larry Bird rivalry was good for the sport of basketball. The two first became famous meeting in the NCAA basketball championship game with Magic and the Michigan State Spartans, beating out Larry Bird and his Indiana State team. The two of them helped to define the Laker-Celtic rivalry. I didn't find Twitter acccounts, nor Facebook and MySpace sites but Magic and Larry Bird both have Wikipedia entries.

• During Steve Yzerman's playing career at the Detroit Red Wings, the Stanley Cup came back to Detroit, and the city was often referred to as Hockeytown. The Red Wings were a shining star, a real bright spot for Detroit. Steve has left the ice and is now the general manager at the Tampa Bay Lightning. I didn't find a website, Twitter account, nor Facebook and MySpace sites but did find a Wikipedia entry for him.

• Gordie Howe is a hockey legend. In 1998, The Hockey News, placed Gordie third on their List of Top 100 NHL Players of All Time. He played hockey from 1945 to 1998, not too many atheletes can play the sport that they love for such a long period of time. His jersey was retired by the Detroit Red Wings. I didn't find a website, Twitter account, nor Facebook and MySpace sites but did find a Wikipedia entry for him.

• Wayne Gretzky, "the Great One", was rated number one on the List of Top 100 NHL Players of All Time mentioned previously. He is often atributed with one of my favorite quotes that you miss one hundred percent of the shots that you don't take. I didn't find a Twitter account, nor Facebook and MySpace sites but did find a Wikipedia entry.

• Lance Armstrong first caught my attention when I heard that he was recovering from cancer and determined to keep cycling. His 7 victories in the Tour de France, might just be one of those unbreakable records. He started the Lance Armstrong Foundation with a website called Live Strong "to improve the lives of people affected by cancer". Although I didn't notice any Facebook or MySpace sites, he has a Wikipedia entry and a very active Twitter account.

• Reggie Jackson reportedly got his nick name of "Mr. October" because of how he seemed to come alive during the playoff chase in Baseball. He won the World Series three times in Oakland and twice with the Yankees. Although I didn't notice any Facebook or MySpace sites or Twitter account, he does have a Wikipedia entry.

• Sparky Anderson is the first coach to win the World Series in both the National and American Leagues. He led the Cincinati Reds to two World Series wins and led the Detroit Tigers to their 1984 World Series win. Although I didn't notice any website, Facebook or MySpace sites or Twitter account, he does have a Wikipedia entry.

Stay Tuned

So far we've met some Internet Stars; Leaders in Motivation & Inspiration; Authors; Actors, Directors, and Comedians; Musicians; and Athletes, who'll be next? Be sure to look for 100+ People That I Want to Meet Part 7 and the rest of the series and you can read the intro here. Feel free to subscribe to this blog via email or your rss reader, there are several options available in the upper righthand corner of this blog.

Photo credit: "Tribune 1" courtesy of gesinek.