Kyle Bylin, Associate Editor
Reading Blogs - First and for most, I really want to thank everyone for reading this. I mean, this is outrageously humbling. Every single person who is reading this, since your here, there's no doubt in my mind that you’re going to kill it.
Patience and Passion - And that's what I want to talk about today, PP. I really want to talk about this. Patience and Passion. Lets starts with passion, there's way too many people in this room right now that are doing stuff they hate. Please stop doing that. There is no reason in 2009 to do crap you hate. None. Promise me you won't, because you can lose just as much money being happy as hell.
Listen To Your Community - Let’s talk about community. Listen to your users. Absolutely. But giving a crap about your users is way better. People listen but they don't do anything. Doing something. Answering those emails. Giving a crap. Caring about your user base. That's what you need to do. You need to care about everything and it starts with yourself. Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, “What do I want to do every day for the rest of my life?” Do that. I promise that you can monetize that.
Hustling and Building Business - There's a billion seventy year old douche bags that are in control right now. It’s coming, stop crying, and just keep hustling. Hustle is the most important word. Ever. And that's what you need to do. You need to work so hard. Guys, we're building business here, this isn't about parties. We're building businesses. You need to hustle. You have to have; you have to have a business model. Getting a crap load of users and flipping it is not a business model. Make some cash along the way.
What's Your Legacy? - I always say that legacy is greater than currency. Has everybody completely grasped that your great, great, great, grand children are going to watch and see everything you've even done? I think about that every single day. I want my grand kids to be proud of me. My mom did such a good job raising me. Do you know what I hustle about? I hustle about meeting every single person on earth.
Believe In What You Do - You know what I really hope? Is just for people to be happy. Honestly. We are sitting where the gatekeepers are no longer in control. If you’re pumping out good stuff people will follow. But if you for a second. A half a second. Don't believe in what you’re doing. Whether it’s your personal brand or the product you represent. You need to get out now. Please.
The Game Is Changing - We only get to play this game one time. One life. And I just hope that people really understand. I'm excited because, for example Monday, I gave a key note in Vegas to all the franchisee owners of Domino's Pizza. Yeah. I told them two things. One, you guys are screwed. And two, bring back the Noid. Everything I believe in, they can't do. My fundamental hope is that people understand that this is business. Really I do. Way too many people running around town, not understanding what we're doing. Two, understand that the game is changing.
Own Your Content and Your Brand - My content is mine. The way everything is changing is unbelievable. I mean, everybody is going to be consuming content, everywhere. And in different platforms. And the people that controlled it. Newspaper, Television, and Radio are no longer in control. And that is a huge factor that people have not totally wrapped their head around. You need to build brand equity. It’s about brand equity. In yourself, because you never know what could happen. Lehman Brothers....
Networking and Being Transparent - I love people that is a huge advantage for me. Get out there and network. People are the people. People are the people that are going to help you. The only way to succeed now is to be completely transparent. Completely. Everything is exposed. Everything you do. So your legacy is your ultimate life. It’s all you've got. And you can build do so much on that. When you have brand equity, anything can happen.
Using Social Media Tools - What's very imperative to me right now is using the tools. Way too many people are trying to figure out what tools should I use... Should I use Twitter? Pound? Should I use Jaiku? You know. Which tools should I use? All of them. Your user base and the people that care about you. You need to connect with them anyway you can, everywhere you can, as often as you can. That is essential. That interaction is essential.
What We Do Is Real - Look at Reality TV that's about as real as. Pssh. That stuff is not real. But we still like it because it’s somewhat real. This other stuff is very real. The place where we play is very real. And its massive, massive opportunity. I hope people wrap there head around that, because we are going through a gold rush of branding. In the old days to become a brand you needed allot of mainstream media attention. But now, if you get talked about enough in all these social media webs, blogs, you can get there. You can build your brand. Your companies brand. But it all starts with that first moment when you look in the mirror, first moment, what do I want to do?
Time To Do Damage - I don't want to hear about this nine to five bull crap. I don't want to hear about this two job thing. Right, nine to five, I don't have time. If you want this, if you’re miserable, or if you don't like it or you want to do something else and you have a passion somewhere else. Work nine to five. Spend a couple hours with your family. Seven to two in the morning is plenty of time to do damage. But that's it. It’s not going to happen any other way. You’re not going to make stickers and give out swag and everyone is going to give a crap about your site.
