Silly, right? Crappy acting, and the concept– “Yeah… like someone’s going to break into my house and set up a computer store in my living room just so I can pick out which one I want. Are they going to clean up afterwards?”

But I thought I realized I had to share it, because the concept is NOT that ridiculous! In fact, it’s important for your business.

No, I don’t mean you should get a Windows 7 PC, it’s not about that at all.

There are three sides to this:
1)If Erika came home, and found a PC store in her living room, and a camera crew, she’d probably freak out. If her boyfriend wasn’t home, then she’d probably have kicked the commercial host in the nuts, maced him, and then called the cops.

When someone approaches you at a party, or event, and says hi, and then asks what you do, and you then start shoving your product or services down their throat, you are doing just this. You are alienating them.

I’ve noticed that so many people when asked about who they are, always start off with what they do… sometimes that’s all they talk about. Trust me, there’s more to you than your job or your business.

If you can’t think of stuff to say to people, I recommend going to Amazon or Google and looking up ways to start a conversation. There are tons of books that give you thousands of topics.

That is also another reason to pursue the things that make you happy. If you talk about volunteering, music you like, places you’ve traveled, interesting individuals you’ve met, crazy adventures, people will want to hear more, and eventually they’ll ask about your business. Trust me on this one…. with all my crazy adventure stories, I get peoples’ attention, and despite their curiosity, I make sure to ask plenty of questions about them. Eventually they always want to know what I do.

When you ask questions about them, make sure they are not the same questions that everyone else asked. My good friend David Gonzalez asks a question that really makes people think: What makes you happy?

2) If you follow Gary Vaynerchuk (and if you don’t, you should — his insights on business are really refreshing), you’ll realize that this is the direction that things are going.

In a few years, you’ll say on Twitter that you’re thinking of some new running shoes, and 10 packages will show up at your door, with companies hoping that you choose their shoes.

In the future, you’re going to have to engage people on their own turf. You’re going to have to make it so easy for them to buy that they don’t even need to go to your store, or website. You’ll have to chase them, not the other way around.

Start thinking about that. What are some things you can do with your business right now to make it so that the service makes them fall in love with you, and not want to go elsewhere– even if you’re not the cheapest.

I highly recommend you study Tony Hsieh (one of my couches) and what he’s done with Zappos

3) How’s your website laid out? When this girl walked in, there was no mistaking that she walked into a computer store.

Also, all the makes and models were within a small area, so she didn’t have to get lost walking around. She could play with all of them, and compare them next to each other.

Does your website make it easy to know right away what it is for? Do you make it easy to understand what you do? If you have multiple products or services, do you make it easy to know which one is right for your visitor? Do you have live chat, or at least very fast support so that people can know that they are getting the perfect product for them… as compared to having to guess?

Is the person who’s handling the support or chat knowledgable?

I used to work at CompUSA back in the day… and I kind of hated it. While I had been building computers since 6th grade from scratch, and knew everything about what made a computer awesome for what tasks…. most of the staff were total idiots when it came to computers. They would recommend a computer completely based on which manufacturer’s rep came in and offered the biggest bonuses and incentives for selling theirs.

When I go into a store to pick out a computer (or any product), and so many of them are so similar, and the sales person is just reading the same descriptions that I was… rather than knowing something about…. I get pissed off!

I can read, thank you.

This brings us to another point that I can not emphasize enough– feature versus benefits.

You need to know who your audience is, and you need to tell them why your product is good for them. This is the benefit, not the feature.

They don’t care how many transistors and capacitors and wires it has.. they care that it solves their problem.

The best example to date is the Apple Ipod. They didn’t talk about Fraunhofer compression, or MP3, or what was metal, or how many cables and software you needed…. they just said “A thousand songs in the palm of your hand!” THAT is something that people can understand.

So, don’t break into peoples’ homes. I don’t think it’s a good marketing tool. However, do be interesting and interested, do provide the best service possible, do make it easy to choose, and do use benefits instead of features.

Click the play button, or download it to your mp3 player of choice.
[wpaudio url="http://couchsurfingori.com/wp-content/uploads/movies/05-25-201-The-Epic-Tale-of-One-way-ticket-to-maui.mp3" text="Reading of The Epic Tale of 1 Way Ticket to Maui"]

“Seriously?  I hardly  know what I’m doing next week.”

“Over the last 2 weeks I’ve been thinking about that business idea you mentioned the other month… a lot… and you’re working Terra’s website anyways– why don’t I buy you a 1 way ticket, come stay with us, and if you want to get back, you have to finish the project, and get some sales!”

“Well, damn! For story-telling purposes alone, I have to say yes!”

And thus, I agreed to come visit Craig Allen and Terra Rose Ganem in Hawaii…. Hawaii is one of those places where “You’re supposed to go” — like “You’re supposed to go to college” — it’s the poster-child for vacations.  I’ve always wanted to go, but I never bothered planning.

It was always too overwhelming…. if I would go, what would I do there?  Which Island would I go to?  Where will I stay?  How long should I go for? It’s probably really expensive.  So I never bothered planning it out, or researching it.

Yet, one phone call from a friend, and all those things were cast aside.

I’ve been meaning to write to you about this for the last 3 weeks, ’cause that’s all the notice I had… but there’s been too much reality, and thousands of miles to cover.

“It’s hard to know with you… but are you by any chance going to drive through Dallas on Friday?”  Kathryn asked me.

“No!  I’m driving to Des Moines”

“Dallas is on the way to Des Moines”

“Then, yes, I’m going to drive through Dallas on Friday…. can we make it Thursday then?”

and thus I had a passenger.  My car is generally messy, but lately it’s been more so.  You see, on my drive from South Florida to Austin, to speak at SXSW this March, my trunk decided to stop working.

I have not fixed this issue yet.

Now, instead of everything being scattered across my whole car, it’s all scattered in my front and back seats… which doesn’t make my car very passenger friendly (in all honesty, this happens even when my trunk does work).  Space would have to be cleared out.

While couch surfing with David Gonzalez — I actually just popped in for the evening, because I had my shoes shipped to his house…. I had forgotten 2 pairs in Costa Rica, and Brendan (whom I stayed with in Costa Rica) had agreed to send them — I started emptying out my car, so I can reorganize it and make room for Kathryn.

I was listening to an audio book (Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality – I highly recommend it!), and doing my car-emptying thing, when all of a sudden two cop cars show up, and block me in. Step 1: Pause the audio book.

“Hi there.  How can I help you?”

“I don’t know…. we had one of the neighbors call in.  They think you may be living out of your car.”

“Well…. in their defense, I kind of am.  You see, for the last 5 years, I’ve been traveling around, completely based on ‘Who’s couch am I crashing on next?’  and it’s granted me many awesome adventures– staying with UFC cage fighters, staying at an all girls’ college, finding mentors, meeting heads of industries… and I have all my stuff in my car…. So, you could say that I’m living out of my car.  However… I’m staying right there (point to David’s house), and am about to go on this amazing road trip, but I promised someone I’d give them a ride to Dallas, and since my trunk stopped working, I have to empty stuff out in order to make room for this passenger!”

By the time David came out of his house, waving his arms and shouting “it’s ok! He’s staying with me!”, the cops were already engaged in my story, and were just asking questions about “What are you doing in Hawaii?”  ”What are you speaking on in Iowa?” “So then what happened?”

One lesson that I’ve learned is to be cool to cops… they’re just people. Most people attack them with fear and anger… humor, and dignity are really nice to receive sometime.  Story telling is a wonderful distraction, and I tell them the stories as I would tell them to my best friends.  I entertain, and engage… and you know what?  I’ve been pulled over speeding in construction zones, while speaking on the phone, and the car being a little hazy.

Before leaving Austin, I stopped by Craig’s storage unit, and got his BCD (Scuba diving equipment).  Then I got Kathryn, then dropped her off, then camped out in Fort Worth for 2 days working on projects, then I hauled ass to Kansas.

It was a long drive, and I did need to nap on the side of the road for 30 minutes. I arrived at 1:30am, but Deb, the event organizer, said I could couch surf with her, but not to wake her up if I get there as late as 12:30.

I slept in my car.  Woke up early, changed clothes in the parking lot, and befriended the guy the maintenance guy for the parking facility. I actually was in a hurry, ’cause I was speaking that day, and I still needed to write my presentation…. But I love story telling, and I love helping someone get excited about their passions, and open up new possibilities for them.  So… I spent an hour talking to this guy.

The event was the 140Conf.  I am a big fan of the 140Conf, because it attracts an amazing crowd, and Jeff Pulver is just amazing…. Google him, interact with him, whatever… the guy is amazing.  He’s the reason that you can make VOIP calls for free, and he has a heart the size of the United States. I’ve spoken at numerous 140Conf events. In fact, one of the ones I spoke at was the 140Conf Small Town, in Hutchinson Kansas.

At this point in this blog post, I would like to remind you that the title of the book I’m writing is “Creating Serendipity”… and now back to what happened-

When I spoke at the 140Conf small town, I met Joe Cheray. When Joe saw that I was speaking at the 140Conf in Iowa, she asked if I think she should pitch a submission to the 140Conf in Iowa.  She seemed a little nervous, which of course made me say “Absolutely!”

Why would I say absolutely if someone is nervous? Because it’s a chance to confront a fear, and grow! We should all do the things that make us grow (unless it’s things that create Thyroid issues… ’cause that kind of growth is bad, and I was referring to personal growth, not physical growth)

I offered to help out if she needs to bounce ideas, convert her story to a presentation, practice on someone….   She said she may take me up on that.  She had asked me to review a few notes.  But they were her notes.. I didn’t get the entire story until I saw Joe present.

Joe’s story, in a nutshell:  She was in an abusive relationship, her child has cerebral palsy, and is two years slow.  Her man was abusive to her and their son.  She left him.  She and her son were even homeless for a bit.  Her ex’s cat bit her one time, also, breaking her finger, causing nerve damage…. she had to learn how to type using her non-dominant hand.

Joe had asked me and the organizers if I could sit in the front row, center while she spoke.  I agreed, and made it happen, and was there with a smile, and helpful body language.

After Joe’s speech, during lunch, I told her that she needs to speak.  Professionally, and to more people.  That many more people can benefit from watching her present.

Joe started telling me about her schedule, and some other things.  I interrupted and said that there’s two things she should know.  The first one is that I’m always right, thus, I’m right that she should speak more.  The second thing is that I’ve studied a lot about people, and I can tell from her vocalization and body language that she is just making excuses as to why she can’t… she should focus on why she can.

That night, I couchsurfed with Deb, who organized the event.  In the morning, we were speaking about the event, and I asked about what kind of feedback it got.  Deb told me that it went great, but the most touching thing was that as soon as lunch time, 3 people had already said that Joe’s story made them cry.

I told her of my conversation with Joe the previous day.  We tried to figure out what we can do to make Joe want to be a speaker, and to help her be a better speaker.  Deb suggested we connect Joe with Gigi Belcmonico, who teaches The Bombshell Factor… She teaches women how to have more presence, and carry themselves better.

I thought it was a great idea.  I had seen Gigi present at the 140Conf smalltown, but my schedule was so jam packed, that I wanted to say “Great… good idea… good luck with that… but I gotta deal with my own stuff, so, let me know how it goes.”  I didn’t.

I had never actually had a full conversation with Gigi.  We are friends on Facebook and Twitter… but we’ve never had a conversation.

Now, my conversation with Deb was in person, mind you, not over the phone or skype, or social media.  When we finished that part of the talk, I looked at my laptop, and nothing exciting was new.  I looked up at the TV, which had an all day marathon on Nostradamus, which was quite fascinating.

I glimpsed back down at my laptop, and there was something new.  That small red circle with a white 1 in the center of it.  The notification of a new Facebook message.

“Uhhh… Deb?”

“Yeah?”

“I got a new Facebook message”

“Yeah, so?  You always get new Facebook messages.”

“Yeah…. but this one is from Gigi Belmonico”

Silence.  We just look at each other in shocked disbelief, and I continued.

“I don’t even know what it says.  Just thought it was very strange that we just mentioned her LESS than one minute ago, and I’ve never had a conversation with her, and I have a message from her.”

I clicked on Gigi’s avatar to see “Hello Ori !Nice job!!
Ori are you coming through KC today?
It would be so fun to break bread with you! XOXOGigi”

I replied that it wasn’t on my original plans, but sounds fun.

It was a 4 hour drive, and it was not on my way.  I looked at the map, and decided that since I was heading to San Diego before Hawaii, LA would be a good target, and half way seemed to be Colorado.  I figured I would find a couch while driving to Colorado…. but I now had a detour, because how could I turn away such a unique coincidence?

Before leaving town, I had lunch with Deb and Ben. Ben had reached out after seeing my presentation – he was watching the live stream – and loved my message, and antics. So, we met up. Even more awesomeness was that he gave me a tour of his office, which was on the 15th or 20th floor of this building, so had a wonderful view of Des Moines. It was a real treat!

I couldn’t stay too long though, because as far as I was concerned, I was given a sign. I was supposed to go to Kansas City , to meet Gigi Belconico, and convince her to help Joe.

The drive was lovely, and I even got tons of Facebook comments from this lovely photo I shot with my phone:

Have I mentioned that my new phone that I got in March is an Android Phone (Samsung Epic — pretty good… I should probably root it to make it work better), has a camera, wifi, and Facebook?  This has been a blast, because I can share photos and videos from my life as they happen… unlike my old Palm Treo 700.

So, I’m driving South to Kansas City, and I decide this might be a good time to figure out where I’ll stay tonight.

The usual text to Ping.Fm (a site that pushes my text out to twitter, facebook, and linkedin) was sent, but I didn’t actually check to see if people were replying…. instead, I texted my little brother.

In March, he had texted me and said that he had a couch for me for when I made it out to Colorado. My 1st thoughts, when he told me, were “Whatever… I have a huge network all over the globe.  Plus when the heck do I go to Colorado?”

Now I was going to Colorado though… why not get some new blood?  Someone who doesn’t know me from the world of Internet Marketing, or from my antics.

Itay (my “little” (6’2 245 lbs of solid muscle) brother) texted me back a name and a number.  I asked for more details, and he just texted back that she’s a psychologist, and liked my story.

That’s good enough for me.  I called Michele, and left a voicemail. When we spoke, she agreed that I could crash there… even when I told her I probably won’t arrive until 6AM, since a serendipitous pit stop just came up.

I met Gigi for Gate’s BBQ — which is reputed as being some of the best BBQ in Kansas City. We feasted on Burnt Ends.

Pleasantries were exchanged, and I proceeded to tell Gigi about Joe.  Gigi had watched the live stream of the presentations – and thus saw mine – but had not seen Joe’s.  When I told her of the strange timing of her communication to me, and all that preceded that, she agreed to sponsor Joe with some coaching– should they be compatible.

We chatted about other things, and I gave her all sorts of resources that she could use for some of her own goals… we chatted for over 2 hours, and then I recalled that I had to get on the road.

It was a lengthy drive, another 13 hours on top of the 4 I had driven that morning.  That gave me time though to finally finish the audio book that I had started in Austin before getting on this road trip.

The news said that it was starting to snow.  It was certainly cold, and rainy.  I took a nap, as to not smash into anything, and arrived at 7AM… now one hour farther back in time (Time Zones do trip me out sometimes– for example, right now it’s 1:15AM here in Maui, and in California, where I just was this morning, it’s 4:15AM, and in Austin, where I was a week or 2 prior, it’s 6:15AM).

Michele was cool.  Her home was quaint, and filled from wall to wall with keepsakes and memories from her world travels.  She had been to so many places, that I feel like a homebody!

We chatted for a bit, then I had to pass out. When I woke, I agreed that I’d help her upgrade her router, and fix her internet.  I definitely love to deliver value to those I stay with, and Michele was not a technophile.

Instant Karma — as soon as I finished doing the upgrade, there was all of a sudden an extra Cat5 (network cable) available, and I was able to use that to get on the internet.

I don’t think I told you yet, but my computer has been having issues for a long time.  In February, the fans sounded like wood chippers, and my WiFi was not working too well.

Not too well evolved into hardly ever.  I came up with a workaround, which was getting my new phone on the network, and tethering in that way.  After a while, that stopped working. I was running out of ways to get on the internet, and my computer was running very hot.  It would actually hurt to use it sometimes, and it would crash often (don’t believe all those people that tell you that Apple computers don’t crash).

One workaround that I came up with for the crashing thing, was to put ice trays on my computer, and manually cool it that way. Michele offered me ice-packs (you know.. those silver baggies that are filled with some gel, that you freeze, and they keep stuff cold.) and they seemed to work wonderfully.

What luck, right?  I got ice packs to deal with the over heating, and I got wired internet and an extra cable to get on the web with.  On top of that, I was told by everyone that I’m basically snowed in, and that it would be foolish to try and make it through the mountains.

Michele and I spent the evening discussing her business, and exchanging stories of travel and adventure. The next morning I was off to Las Vegas.

I quickly got a couch offer by my friends Larry & Oksana, whom I met at Burning Man, though I knew of them previously through Craig Allen & Caleb Jennings.  What was even cooler was that Jim Kwik was also staying with them while he was in town to speak at TedX.

Vegas was fun, as it always is.  I told countless jokes to Jim and Alex, and Larry and Oksana. Other than jokes, I got to impress with my eating skills at the all you can eat Sushi place (I can eat a lot more than most people would think I could).

I was considering catching the TedX talks, but I had to get my computer fixed. The matter was no longer acceptable. Even tethering was no longer working, and the computer was running on ice packs.  I would have to go to The Apple Store.

The “Genius” at the Apple Store ran diagnostics on my machine, and basically decreed that I was spot on– dead airport (Mac Wifi card), and a dead left fan. This was the 2nd Apple Store that I hit that morning, because the 1st one was too busy for anyone to see me.  This store did not have the parts, though the guy did write down the part numbers for me.

I called Frys and Best Buys, they were useless. I needed these parts ASAP, so I got on the road and drove to LA.

China, whom I met in Costa Rica, said that I can crash with her at her new home at the ledge of a cliff.  I’ve been wanting to see it, so I coordinated with her, and she texted me the address, and the phone number for the nearest Apple Store.

The Apple store people would not tell me if they had the parts, “A computer has to come in, be checked in by a technician, and be diagnosed before we can tell you about parts.”

After yet another confirmation, I was told that they too don’t have the parts.  One Apple store near by did have the airport card, but no one’s got the fans.

When I went there, they said that they can not sell me the part. They have to install it for me… except that my case was a tiny bit dinged up, so they wouldn’t work on it.

Get this… Apple won’t work on my computer, and they won’t sell me the parts to do my own work on my computer!  It took 4 Apple Stores to figure this out!   Angry? Yes!

I was told that I might have some luck with a 3rd party repair company… and one of my clients actually sells many OEM (generic) parts.  I thought I’d call him.

Once again, no luck… though he did recommend a store.. a store that I won’t name, because the guy I spoke to was really helpful.

He told me that it would be $104 an hour to work on the computer, and that they can’t sell me a part, they have to install it… and unlike the Apple Store, here I would be billed for the diagnostics.  Frustrated, I pleaded my case, “… and then they wouldn’t even work on my computer, but they won’t sell me the parts!  What the heck am I supposed to do?  I mean, I don’t care how the case turns out!  I’ve been building computers from scratch since 6th grade… I just want the damn part!”

“Well… I’m not telling you this as a representative of ___________ (company name), and this is not the company’s answer, nor would I tell you this if you walked in… but if you were my buddy, and we were speaking after work hours, and outside of the office, and you told me that this is what you’re going to do anyways, and you just needed to know where to get the parts… and I was not in the office… then this is what I would tell you.”

He proceeded to tell me a great idea… take the Apple part numbers, put them into Google, and press the Shopping button. I not only bought the 2 parts that I needed, but since I was going to have the computer taken apart, I also got myself a larger harddrive that spins at a faster speed…. thus, my computer should un faster.

My time with China was amazing… she’s also an intuitive reader, and gave me a reading. Between what she read from my energy, and what the cards told her, I was basically very intuitive, empathic, and smart… I have a lot of skills and knowledge, but I need to get grounded, and get past all the noise in my head, and all the other peoples’ energies that I pick up… meditation would help with this.

Additionally, the cards said I need to stop being so self-critical, and I need to trust my heart and intuition more.

When I left China’s place, I went to Hollywood, to SANG – the Speaker Author Networking Group.  I felt like such a mere mortal amongst the superstars that were there.  As Larry Benet, the event organizer, said “70 of the most influential people on the planet” – and invited me to stay for the day (they had more people than 70 during the event, but this was the last day, so some people had to travel back home).

I did not stay, because I had to get my ass to San Diego for the Internet Marketing Party San Diego inaugural event.  I had only dropped by to say hi, and to get Kate Buck Jr, who was in full attendance.

The party was well worth the drive. It was what I wish my 10 year high school reunion had been like.  Tons of talented people who are very business minded, positive, supportive, exciting, interesting, excited, motivated…… Frank Kern was the featured speaker, and I got to get on stage when David Gonzalez (the same one whose house I nearly got arrested in front of in Austin… He is the founder of Internet Marketing Party) gave acknowledgements for those that helped make the party a reality.

It was like a reunion… other than Craig, who was in Hawaii, so many of my friends, and former couches, were there.  I had a most wonderful evening. After a Peanut Butter Burger at 2AM, me and some friends went on the rooftop of a hotel… which was actually locked, but one of our group picked the lock, so we can have this incredible view.  Good times.

The next day, the fan arrived, and my computer no longer needed ice packs! Tethering was also working again.

2 days later, my airport came in, and I no longer needed to be wired in.

I was mostly in work mode, cranking out client projects.  I did not know what I would do with my car yet.  That’s a friggin story!

I thought I was going to lend the car to my buddy Russell… but my plates are expired, and the state of Georgia was being a bunch of pricks.  You see, you can’t get your tags renewed unless you get your emissions done.  If you’re not in town though, you can get an exemption…. or so I was told.

They only give you an exemption if you’re in the military, are a student, or… are on a very specific business trip.

Before heading to Costa Rica in late November, I mailed them everything they needed to give me my business exemption, and they still did not mail me my tags.

This time, I called to see what’s up…. it turns out that business exemption…. your business has to be located in Georgia.

My company is a Delaware company, and I run it from where ever I am.

They do not give exemptions for just traveling, and that since I’m not doing my business in Georgia, that they won’t help me. In fact, when I asked if perhaps I could take an emissions test in California, and mail them the results, I was specifically told that the only way they will renew my tags is if I drive my car to Atlanta, and get my emissions done there.

So.. where to store the car?

After asking, and having some people give replies, I decided that even if a friend wanted to give me their garage, it’s just not worth the hassle….

I looked up Car Storage, and found a place that will watch my car, disconnect the battery, turn on the engine every month….. all for $90 a month– way less than the cost of any inconvenience any friend would go through to watch the car.

Rob took me to drop off my car, and we then went to Lestat’s – my favorite coffee place.  We also brought with us Craig’s surfboard, which was being stored at Rob’s place.

I bought a surfboard case, and I filled it with the surfboard, and my clothes — for padding.  I will now have a surfboard to use in Hawaii– as will Craig and Terra.

The flight was uneventful, and I landed in Maui.  Craig and Terra found me quickly.  Craig lifted my hat off my head, and Terra put a Lei on me.  It was made of real flowers, and smelled incredible ( I am still sniffing it at the moment ).

So… got my bag, got the surfboard, got some lunch — the Mahi Mahi and Ahi here are fresh, so I had some blackened Ahi — yum!

We then went to the beach, since who the hell goes to Hawaii and doesn’t go to the beach, right?

Following that, was a small nap for me next to the saltwater pool, and then work.

Tomorrow morning I start training with Terra…. she says she can get me to a 7 minute mile!  Currently, I run 11.5 minute miles, and she’s been running since she was 12, so I believe her.

It’s just one more thing to be excited about.

So… here I am… in Hawaii, with no return ticket back to the mainland USA.  My plans are to get a lot of work done, get my run way faster, and learn to meditate.

An entire journey was started because a friend knew that I would go for it, because a 1 way ticket would make a great story.  By the way… a 1 way ticket to Hawaii on a Tuesday was only $240 + taxes (total $268).  So… don’t think that a Hawaiian vacation is out of your reach.  If you want to go somewhere, start by planning what you would do there if you could go… the rest will take care of itself.

Is there anywhere you’ve gone with a 1 way ticket?  Any place you’d want to go on a 1 way ticket?

One minute I’m being reminded that I said I’d run in an obstacle race, and have not taken any action on it (i.e. flaked out), and 2 hours later, I get a text out of the blue asking if I can run in an obstacle race to cover for my friend who already bought the ticket.

Yup.  I love serendipity.

What I don’t love however, is people not delivering on their promises. And Hell Run certainly did not do that!

You see, on their website, they have photos of people covered in mud… yet nobody got anything more than their ankles muddy… and even that was weak.

I’ll tell you the things they did, but when I get to the last one, you’ll see why I bothered to  write this post!

The “Raging River” — that was more of “The Stangnant Cesspool”!  It was a very smelly pond… nothing about it resembled a river, and the only thing about Rage was my nose’s reaction to the stench… or the thought that all these people paid $90 to run in this overhyped race.

Even the KISS tribute band sucked… and only played about 3 songs again and again.

The “Titan Tunnel” which looks on the website to be a concrete tube, was actually a few boxes made from cheap wood, that had a circular hole cut in the front and back.

There were fewer obstacles than they made it out to sound like.  The obstacles were quite lame.  I could have walked over the fire.

The "Real" photo- not nearly as cool as the photoshopped one

You get a drink ticket… they had 2 drinks: Michelob Ultra, and Budweiser.  Your drink ticket only gets you a Michelob Ultra… if you chose a Budweiser for your drink, then you get to pay $5.

Many people complained that there were not enough water stations along the way.

Now, I did have 2.5 weeks to train to get ready for this… and I was running on flat ground at about 11:40 per mile… which I was all right with.  It’s not an 8 minute mile, but that’s ok…. it as better than my 15 minute miles.

So I run this race, and it is not flat ground.  It is hot.  It is humid.  There are lots of rocks….

This is not at all like what I was training on, and to top it off, I launched fast out of the gate, to beat other people from the get-go.

The end result was that I ended up doing a bunch of walking.  Additional time was spent by going through the obstacles…

You can imagine my surprise when after this race which was in no way hellacious or scary or anything like what they promoted… that my run time was reported to me as 11 minute miles.

How the heck could I have walked, and climbed obstacles, and been running hills instead of flat ground, and still beat my best time by 40 seconds?

Something reeked of brimstone (get it? a hell joke)!

I mentioned this to my friends that ran, and they too mentioned that their time seemed way too generous.  Additionally, they informed me that they went onto the HellRun fanpage, and saw that many people were complaining about misrepresentation, and crappy obstacles.

What’s worse, is that the Hell Run people then deleted all the comments up until before (people got to experience the underwhelming obstacles) the race… and changed the page settings to disallow comments.

So… if you are looking for a good race, I hear good things about Tough Mudder, and Warrior Dash.  Hell Run is not one that I would recommend.  It’s weak, and I believe they should give people their money back.

One last gripe… I’ve been meaning to get a nice cape… with all the helping of people that I’m doing lately, there’s been a lot of superhero jokes.  So… when I saw that they give us a cape for participating, I was excited.

What they gave us may be good for a rag… I would not wear it to save anyone.  *sigh*

In summary (and the reason that this is marked in the business category) – Do not misrepresent.  If you promise the world, and not even deliver a block, people will be upset.  If I didn’t do well on the race, I would’ve been ok with that… but them lying on the race times is a lie…. it doesn’t make me feel better about my run times, it makes me upset that I do not know how long it really took me.  If you screw up, and underdeliver, let people vent, do not delete their posts…. give them a ticket to the next race for free.  Do right by people.  Do not lie, and try to cover it up…..  Doing that is what causes blog posts like this that let the whole world know that you are not to be trusted.

The thing is that the organizer doesn’t have the footage for the event for another week… and when she does get it, she’ll have to slice it up, and then upload it… Having worked with other events, I know that she’s probably going to get hammered with requests for “Can I get my video so I can put it on my public speaker page?”

Since I’m a fan of the 140Conf and everything they do (Google Jeff Pulver – the dude is amazing!), I made a tutorial on how to cut your individual clip out of the live-stream, so you can have it and use it right now… that’s where the above clip came from. You can also use this method to record a live-stream (this particular example is using a playback… but you can use this for a one-time event.. like you would use a VCR / DVR).

So, here’s the stream: http://www.livestream.com/dsmamplifiedevents

And here’s my tutorial:

Now.. just a side note– this stream was donated by the company… You should consider if the event you are capturing from is copyrighted… so.. just watch out with that.

I’m not ashamed to ask for help, and I’m sure you’ll see the irony here….

Have you ever been held against your will? Your only choices being to keep suffering, or to walk away from what you’ve worked hard for? Sometimes, if we want another solution – the one that works for you – you have to do what it takes. My troubles began over a decade ago…

The year was 1996, many people did not know what this “Internet” thing is (we were still in Web 1.0 then) . A 19 year old Ori had just finished studying Softimage 3D in Burbank, and was about to buy his first ever “Domain”, i.e. web address. The possibilities were endless.

What to name this thing?  It seemed like fun to have the domain be an acronym of ORI… the final contestants were Obscure Reality Interactive, Omnivorous Rhinoceros Interactive.  Considering that Ori was doing photoshop, 3D Animation, and compositing… i.e. being able to create his own versions of reality, Obscure Reality won.

ObscureReality.com was a cool and appropriate name for young Ori.

When I think back to the days when I was 19, life was so different.  I was going to make movies, commercials, and special effects (A perfect example of a modern version is Freddie W ).  Even then I knew that I can make a website change to whatever it is that I’m doing.

In 1997 I got a job at this studio called Top Dog Studio, doing 3D Animation, and when their editor moved for love, I took over video editing.  I became very close friends with Tim, the head of IT.  The neighboring company, was an ISP, and TIm was in charge of that as well, thus I was given free hosting (which back then was a big deal).

While these days I can diagnose web problems in seconds, 15 years ago, I didn’t know shit! Proof: I was using Microsoft Front Page to create my first sites (yuck!).  Thus, I was thrilled at Tim’s offer to help do the admin stuff. So, I gave him my Network Solutions password, and he made himself admin.

Since prices were so expensive from Network Solutions (and still are), I took them up on an offer to save some funds by renewing my domain for 10 years at once.  In 2009 those years were expiring…. and Network Solutions still wanted $32 a year for a domain, even though standard pricing was already at $10 a year everywhere else.  I didn’t notice this until my domain was about to expire, of course.

Guess it’s time to sell internal body parts to raise the bribe money.  Or… maybe I should just transfer my domain to another registrar?  Well, that sounds like a great idea.. I’ll just log in here, and…

What the hell????

I can’t!  Network Solutions’ site said that I am not the Primary Contact for the domain, thus I can’t make any changes other than give them money, or change where the hosting is.

I was outraged!  After pressing every button, and going through every menu, I called them.  They said that Tim is the primary contact, and I have to  have him fix this.  I hadn’t spoken to Tim in a while, and I didn’t want to call him just to talk business… Since I did not want to lose my domain, I paid them.

A year later, the extortion letters came in again.  It was cutting it close again, but this time I was going to take action. I called people, and got Tim’s new number, and after catching up, I mentioned the whole Network Solutions thing, and “so… can you help?”

“Fuck Network Solutions!  They wouldn’t let me access my domain, my NIC password doesn’t work on there anymore, I lost the domain that my wife and I had for all these years, and they wouldn’t help me out on anything! I’ll try to get in, but… I”m not promising anything.”

This was followed 2 days later by a “They wouldn’t let me in.”

Great… I can’t get in,  ’cause I’m not the primary contact… but the primary contact can’t get in either.

I called them up, and told them my situation.  They basically said I’m screwed… but I can pay them… and they’ll even be so nice as to let me have my renewal at a discount rate of only $20 (Only double the rate of other companies).

My patience expired.. I snapped.  I got mean… that approach didn’t work either… so I hung up, and called back, and spoke to another person (this time trying to keep my cool)… this time I made some progress.

Network Solutions said that I can fax in a Primary Contact Change Form.  Sounds simple, hooray!

Well… when I got it, it said that I need to send them a current utility bill from the address they have on file.  Sounds simple, but Obscure Reality, Inc. doesn’t exist anymore, and I sure as hell am not doing business at the same address that I was 14 years prior.

The good thing is that I still had access to utility bills from that address, because the address I used 14 years prior was my parents’.  ”Mom, Dad, can you scan and send me your latest electric bill?”

They did, but I was getting twitchy about losing my domain, so I paid them “the discounted price” and figured I’d photoshop the document my folks say to look like it was from my company, at a later time.

Well, here we are, 2011…. and one day I just think of it as I jog… “Wonder when domain renewal is?”   Now I actually was doing something with the domain, this time as Obscure Reality, LLC., so the domain was very important to me.

Turns out that it was going to expire in a week. I tried everything on their website, and again, had no luck.  I called again, and here’s the frustrating thing:  Every time I call, and tell them that I want to move my domain to another registrar, they say “Sure.. I can help you with that” and then proceed to try to convince me to stay with them.

It always begins with “Sure.. I can help you with that… if you don’t mind me asking, why are you looking to move your domain?”  ”’cause you guys charge 3 to 4 times what everyone else charges, and I have no control over my site other than being able to pay you, or change name servers” , and this is where there is some variation.

The first person I spoke to for my 2011 attempt said “What if we let you renew for $9.50?”  ”Wow… that’s actually a decent rate… but, nah… I don’t want to have a site that I’m not primary contact of… I’ll think about it.  ”  and I got the form from them.

I went over it multiple times to make sure that I’m following directions properly.  I then took the previous years’ utility bill from my parents’ house, and photoshopped it to be from 2011, and be addressed to me, instead of my dad.  Yes, I had to resort to forgery to get  my domain back.  Ethically, I have issue with this, except that if I’m stealing from anyone, it’s from myself.

I am just enraged at thinking about “What if I didn’t have the skills to do this?”  This was the day before the domain expires.  And… to make things even more frustrating, I noticed that the setting had been to not notify me about expiration!  So.. if the thought to check my domain hadn’t popped into my head, I’d be screwed.

The next day I spoke to someone else, and the speech was the same until “What if we offered you a renewal at $15?”  – I’m supposed to be happy at this?  It’s nearly $6 more than the offer I got the day before!  I was actually calling to see that they got the fax form– which they hadn’t. I was already unhappy enough about having to print something.

They kept trying to sell me, despite me saying that I have 0 interest in staying with them… that they could pay me money for the next 10 years, and I still wouldn’t want to stay with them… they still kept trying (Yes, this is not an exaggeration, I literally said this)!

So, they gave me an additional email address to send my counterfeit documents to.  I sent there, and to the fax number and email again.  They said they will extend my domain by a week, so I don’t have to worry about it expiring.

I kept checking my inbox, and after 4 days I was primary contact again.  In case you’re not familiar with the process of transferring a domain:

1)Unlock domain
2)Request transfer authorization code (known as:  auth code, a transfer key, a transfer secret, an EPP code, EPP authentication code, or EPP authorization code).
3)Fill out transfer form at new registrar- which will then request that auth code.
4)The new registrar will send an email to the primary contact, which will have another code to be entered.
5)Once that admin puts the code in, the transfer should proceed.

Usually Auth Codes are generated instantly– at least whenever I’ve transferred domain names with other registrars.  With Network Solutions I had to wait a day before I got the email.

I only yesterday (5/1/2011) got confirmation that the transfer was successful… from a process that I started on 4/19/2011, and is usually fairly instantaneous.

Will I ever recommend Network Solutions to anyone?  No way.  However, I will take responsibility and boil this down to lessons learned:

1) If you buy a domain, don’t make someone else the primary contact… don’t give someone else your login for your registrar.  If someone else will be a primary contact, then you add them as tech contact… don’t let them do it.

2)If you are renewing something for 10 years at a time, make sure all your contact info is correct.  Heck, make sure even if you renew it for a year.  Make sure that your information is correct.

At the time I registered my domain, Network Solutions was the only registrar I knew of, and prices were high.  These days, their prices are still higher than most other registrars’  - They want $12.99 a year, and they have a floating “Questions? Talk to us live” window that does a great job of hiding the “Proceed without hosting, and get just registration” button.

If you want reliable hosting and registration, I recommend you go through http://WordpressBlogFactory.com – which charge $9.50 a year for domain, and have a free 30 days of hosting, and they preinstall WordPress for you, and even give you a $85 premium theme for free, as well as that they are the only place I know of that does WordPress support.   They are the company I recommend to my students.

As for me, I really do feel free after all these years of having my domain held captive.  It’s good to be able to move on with my life, and have one less thing to worry about.

While I speak at conferences, seminars, schools, and even lunches, one of my favorite events is the 140Conf. Perhaps I am just utterly fascinated by the founder, Jeff Pulver (A coFounder of Vonage, and the guy who went to fight for us regular people, so that Telecoms can’t charge us for calls made over VOIP), who is just so multi-faceted, and so caring.

The 140conf is an event with the slogan “Characters Wanted” — the format is 10 minutes per speaker. You are not supposed to rely on power points… generally it’s about people with cool stories that revolve around innovative use of technology that connects… Social Media is a de-facto technology of course.

I always meet such fascinating individuals at his events, but the interesting thing is not just the speakers… the audience that Jeff attracts tends to be extremely smart! Speaking to them is always a refreshing blast… that, and Jeff always throws a great cocktail mixer.

Get your tickets here.

Not only will you get to see many amazing speakers, and be inspired, and get to meet many people that are definitely worth meeting…. but since I am passionate about how Jeff Pulver is changing the world, I always make sure to answer all the questions that everyone has (no matter how long it takes) at the 140conf.  So… if you want access to this brain, I recommend you go to the 140 Conf Des Moines.

One person you must meet is Deb Brown –  she specializes at social media strategies for businesses in small towns.  I met her at the 140Conf Small Town in Huthinson, KS, where we both spoke.  Since the theme of that particular 140conf was to help small towns, and we were both passionate about our topics, we got along.  She just has a great energy… makes you smile.   Serious about business.  A no BS person.  Check out her amazing story about volunteering (may make you change your mind about that you can’t make a difference)

I am speaking, but so are all of these amazing people:

Aaron Steinmann -Communication and Marketing Manager for Silos and Smokestacks. Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service. Through the development of a network of sites, programs and events, SSNHA’s mission is to interpret farm life, agribusiness and rural communities-past and present.

Alexander Grgurich -Alexander Grgurich is a young entrepreneur who is passionate about Des Moines. As a college student, Alexander was able to juggle studies and his small business while also getting elected to City Council his senior year. His passion for technology and politics has spurred him to develop a volunteer management application for political campaigns and advocacy groups.

Angela Maiers – Twitter has changed my life; and now I spend a portion of that life trying to help individuals and organization understand the power of this amazing platform. Even more importantly, the power of their voice and place in the world.  When I began my Twitter journey, the farthest thing from my mind was having a global voice. It was a nice place to connect with friends; nothing more or less. Never could I have imagined it would change my life in such profound and prolific ways.  I want to speak at this conference because we have world changing work to do; work that requires human being to do it. If we underestimate our gifts, talents, and contributions, this world can not change in the way we need to to.  If I can help those participating in the conference believe their voice matters, then I have become a part of the solution. I will do what ever needs to be done to make that happen!

Ben Stone -There is a gaping hole in the social media conversation. Nobody is talking about how social tools can be used INSIDE organizations to help organizations leverage the social capital of its members. I want to fill that gap. By 2014, half of our workforce will be Gen Y and they will not be leaving their social selves at the door. From Employee Engagement to Competitive Intelligence, social tools will be the difference makers in the new economy.

Bridget Wagoner – High quality educational systems are fundamental to our progress as a society. Flipping our educational system is an effort that requires collective will and widespread input and commitment. The diversity and progressive nature of audiences at #140 conferences make this an ideal forum in which to challenge fundamental beliefs about education and engender support for and committed action for educational transformation.

Cassie Boorn -Technology has opened up the ability to reach your customers in an entire new way. Small businesses are built on small budgets and limited resources and it is essential that they tap into the opportunities available to them. Cassie Boorn is a Social Media Coordinator at a mid-size PR firm based in New York and works on some of the largest brands in the world helping them reaching consumers online. Cassie currently lives in a small town in Illinois and has had a passion for small businesses, entrepreneurs and teaching people about the social web.

Claire Celsi – Claire Celsi is a public relations professional and Des Moines native. Her consulting firm, The Public Relations Project, assists businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, associations, and educational institutions in developing and implementing social media and public relations programs.  A Drake University alumna, she is a lecturer and adjunct professor at her alma mater, teaching PR and social media courses. Claire also serves on Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications National Advisory Board.

David Murray is Director of Social Web Communications for re:group, an Ann Arbor-based integrated marketing and communications firm. Murray helps clients communicate and navigate their brands through the digital landscape. He is the founder of the Social Media Club Detroit Chapter, he is a member of Detroit’s food blogging team, The Hungry Dudes, and also serves asDirector of Communications for the FutureMidwest Technology Knowledge Conference in Detroit, Michigan.

Aside from being involved in various projects, David is an advocate for education and best practices when it comes to digital and social web communications. He has presented and lead discussions at events across the country including Tedx Lansing, #unGeeked Chicago, SocialBiz World, Social Media Breakfast Toledo, #140Conf Detroit, Ignite events, and more.

David can be found blogging at The Way of theMurr. You can also connect with him on Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook. Currently he lives in Troy, MI with his wife Jenni, and their two cats, Bree and Boo.

Derek Balsey – Derek is the Marketing Specialist / Social Media Manager at Kreg Tool Company and a Board Member of the Des Moines Social Media Club.  Derek’s experience in marketing covers a wide gamut including new-product brand development, print-ad creative, web banner and search advertising, product packaging, point-of-purchase, direct marketing, in-package advertising, direct response TV, and of course social media. Derek has helped Kreg develop an impressive social media presence online including a monthly newsletter being received by over 100,000 Kreg Fans around the globe, a Ning Community with over 30,000 members, and a YouTube Channel with over 2 million views.

Derek is an enthusiastic advocate for integrated marketing plans designed to enrich the customer experience and social media platforms which add measurable value to a company’s bottom line.  You can find Derek tweeting @derekbalsley, on LinkedIn, or helping out his wife Jessica with technical/marketing support over at www.theartofed.com.

Deron Durflinger is the Secondary Principal at Van Meter Schools. This is his 7th year as a principal, and 2nd year at Van Meter.  He is author of the #Vanmeter- Leading the Educational Transformation Blog, and he started the #vanmeter hashtag for Van Meter Schools, which today has thousands of followers and users. Deron is an active member of School Administrators of Iowa, serving on various state level education committees including Iowa’s ARRA EdTech Grant and the Competency Based Learning Advisory Committee. He has spoken at various Iowa school districts and state and national conferences about using social media, in particular Twitter to connect, learn, and lead in the 21st century.

Drew McLellan - Drew McLellan’s a 25+ year marketing agency veteran who lives for creating “a ha” moments for his clients, clients’ customers, peers and audiences across the land. Sadly, for his daughter, he attempts to do the same thing at home. Drew’s favorite tools for creating these moments are vivid story telling, Italian heritage inspired hand gestures and the occasional tipping of a sacred cow. Over the years, Drew has lent his expertise to clients like Nabisco, IAMS pet foods, Kraft Foods, Meredith Publishing, John Deere, Iowa Health System, Make-A-Wish, and a wide array of others. Drew is also one of the world’s top marketing and branding bloggers. He’s written the book 99.3 Random Acts of Marketing, co-editing the Age of Conversation series of books and in 1995, he launched his own firm McLellan Marketing Group. Recently he has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, Business Week and Fortune’s Small Business. The Wall Street Journal calls him one of 10 bloggers that every entrepreneur should read.

Grant Griffiths – n February of 2005 my first blog was born. This blog was used to market and promote my business. Soon blogging became my only form of written advertising because of its reach and effectiveness. What I also discovered was blogging is one of the most powerful marketing tools available for the small business, home business and professional service firm. In fact, I am so sold on the effectiveness of blogging, it is the reason I am co-founder of G2WebMedia.

Gus Wagner -@RocketGroup is my twitter handle and Improving Relationship, Graphic, and Communication Strategies for Clients in Business, Politics, and Government is what I do. In short, we create original, affordable and effective communication tools for the real world, print and web applications. My talk in Des Moines is going to focus on #AstroTurfNetRoots – the process of engaging your audience to the point you will be able to call them to real action when you need it. This is something we do in our government relations activities but the process can work  for business too. Our website is RocketGroupLLC.com and we are based in the capitol of Missouri: Jefferson City. I am really looking forward to returning to the #140Conf and Des Moines!

Jeff Caldwell – Multimedia Editor for Agriculture.com at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, Iowa. Responsible for mobile and social extensions of and outreach for our brand as well as our main website and its community. Enjoy cool music, good books and listening to my 3-year-old daughter yell “Rock and roll, dadda!” Life’s good.

Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry and a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry. Leveraging well over a decade of hands-on experience in Internet/IP communications and innovation, Mr. Pulver is a globally renowned thought leader, author and entrepreneur. His blog is well read within the IP Communications Industry and in high-tech communities around the world. He is the publisher of The Pulver Report and and creator of the industry standard Voice on the Net (VON) events. Additionally, Mr. Pulver is the founder of FWD, the VON Coalition, PrimeTimeRewind.TV, Vivox and is the co-founder of VoIP provider, Vonage.

Jessica O’Riley – Jessica O’Riley has been involved in the Iowa tourism industry for 14 years, starting with a marketing internship at the Iowa State Fair. After graduating from Iowa State University, she joined the Fair’s full-time staff as a Marketing Coordinator. Four years ago, Jessica joined the Iowa Tourism Office as Communications Manager. She works with travel writers, reporters and bloggers on Iowa-related stories by pitching ideas, fact checking and providing photos. She also coordinates the Tourism Office’s social media efforts including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and blog.

Jim Boyd -Is this not the first one in Iowa? Even if it is not, I am always one who looks for opportunities to speak about the message for not only my employer, WHO, but also the organization I feel passionate about, the Optimist Club.

Jody Halsted – Social media is the most powerful tool I use to share my travel stories and connect with destinations to partner with on upcoming adventures. I want to share the useful applications of social media in terms of travel. I think the results of my experiment will be exciting; I can’t wait to have the experience and share it!

Joe Gerstandt - am blessed to do work that I love and be surrounded by good people. I live in Omaha with my wife and our two beautiful and wise girls. My parents still live on the small farm next to the small town in Northwest Iowa and one of our favorite things to do is to visit the farm for a weekend (especially in the summer!). My sister and her beautiful family live in Sioux Falls, SD and we have great fun visiting them as well

Jo Cheray – Joe Cheray is a 39 year old single mom to an 11 year old son with special needs. She spends her time taking care of him, volunteering in the community and running her company Wildheart Social Media out of her home in Topeka Kansas. She caters to small business owners, home based business, and the solopreneur.

John Carver is Van Meter’s Superintendent of Schools and is committed to transforming education. By providing laptop computers to students in grades 6-12, and computer labs for students in K -5 learning now looks different at Van Meter.  John has shared Van Meter’s experiences at both the state and national level and with Twitter he has connected and learned with educators globally.  John is a member of the School Administrators of Iowa and is serves on the State Competency-based Education Design Team.

Jon Thompson - is the owner of Evolve, an IT Support company focused on the under-supported niche of Mac-based businesses in the Silicon Prairie. He arrived in the social media world in the fall of 2009 with his re-entry in entrepreneurship and, while he describes his social media skills as mediocre at best, has seen results.

Karen Smith is a recognized leader in social media at Verizon Wireless. In 2008 she received a mid-year leadership award from the Midwest Area for her initiatives in social media from Verizon Wireless. Karen works within the guidelines of a geographic corporate structure and looks for ways to build local and regional relationships using social media.   As PR manager for Verizon Wireless Great Plains region, Smith is responsible for media coverage about Verizon Wireless in traditional and non-traditional channels.  Smith has been instrumental in Verizon Wireless sponsoring social media communities including Social Media Breakfast Des Moines, iBlogger Conference, Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis St. Paul, and Mobile March Twin Cities.

Karen is an Iowa native, from Waterloo and a letter winner in field hockey at the University of Iowa. She has been spotted on many occasion at Hawkeye football games with her mom who is 86.  Smith began her career with a passion for promoting women’s athletics first in sports information and than in marketing with positions at the College of William and Mary in Virginia and the University of Minnesota where she served as assistant athletics director for external relations.  She joined the wireless industry in 1998, first as marketing communications manager and than as public relations manager.  Her responsibilities also include employee communications and community relations around Verizon’s corporate cause of domestic violence awareness and prevention.

Keri Holmes and Judy Wrolson – Judy started with a home business and transitioned into a store several years later.  Not sure what she wanted to do with social media, she started with baby steps.  Keri Holmes is her designer, gifted sales person and right hand girl.  Together they are utilizing the power of community, years in retail experience and a commitment to keep it fun!

Lindsey Smith – Lindsey is a freelance exhibit developer and curator at Exhibitsmith, specializing in content development and collections management. In addition to her consulting work, Lindsey is the archivist at Des Moines University and the collections manager at the Iowa Jewish Historical Society. Lindsey is co-chair of the Iowa Museum Association Exhibits and Collections Committee and is a TAN advisor for the State Historical Society of Iowa’s Historical Research Development Program (HRDP). She also leads preservation and exhibit development workshops for professional and community organizations, and manages the blog Museum Minute.   Lindsey received a BA in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MA in Historical Administration from Eastern Illinois University, focusing on collections care and management, material culture, and local history. She is currently pursuing a Certificate of Advanced Study in Archives & Records Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Lyz Lenz – I’d love the chance to share how Twitter is connecting Iowa to the greater media landscape and I want to encourage Iowans and the internet to embrace technology in one long awkward smooch.

Melynda DeCarlo – The Meyvn Group is committed to growing individuals, teams and organizations. Persoanlly? My goal is to inspire, learn, share and grow.

Michael Libbie - is the president of Insight Advertising, Marketing & Communications a full service advertising agency with clients in the United States and Europe.  Insight advertising goes beyond creating great print ads, websites, television and radio commercials…we help our clients better understand consumer trends and then create products and services that match the public demand.  Much of that is done by merging traditional and new media.  Our job is to not only be creative but to listen to buyers, consumers and the market.  In addition to the advertising agency Michael is responsible for the Insight on Business News Hour with Michael Libbie seen Monday – Thursday at Noon Central on the Webcast One LIVE Network.

Ori Bengal -Ori Bengal is an author, an award winning photographer and a business consultant.  While seeing the world from various couches, seeking the next adventure, he encounters amazing people and tells “groaner” jokes to all those he meets.  He has trained with UFC fighters, jumped out of airplanes, played bull poker and met many of his own heroes!! Amidst all of his adventures, he has made great friends, helped change lives and consulted with top business leaders.

Patrick Palmer - Owner and Technician at “The Computer Guy” in downtown Hampton, Iowa.  Since the age of 14, Pat has been working with computers, until starting his own small business in 1995 in his basement.  In 2009 he moved from the basement to a retail location.  Pat’s special brand of humor will gently poke fun at his wife Becky for her 2004 “That’ll Never Work” approach to Social Media — but now admits she may have been a been a bit mistaken.  Pat will also give examples of how he has taken ownership of the computer repair market in North Iowa via Social Media and why his wife still won’t let him use the “F” word in front of his mother-in-law.

Rebecca Grunewald – Twitter offered me the opportunity to branch out on my own, outside of my husband’s shadow and beyond my roles of wife and mother. Twitter has been a godsend to me. I have met so many great people, some in real life.   Twitter is great for so many things from opining directly to politicians or journalists, getting breaking news alerts at lightning speed to getting movie and music reviews from your Twitter family to of course, building your own brand through the magic of the Twitterverse. I hope to inspire others to do the same

Ryan Johnson – As info-markers pollute the world of social media with claims of “Twitter Riches” they’ve done a tremendous job misconstruing what Twitter’s real value is in the minds of business owners.  Those of us who really “get” Twitter take it for granted, but the reality is that traditional small business owners don’t need a whole lot to fall into a catatonic state of confusion.  In a tale of two twitter accounts (one a big fat juicy failure) under two drastically different approaches I will illustrate how I came to identify the most undeniable fundamental truth about social media.

Sam Schill – Everyday: Sam currently works in downtown Ames for Innova Ideas and Services , which is one of the three Sigler Companies based in Ames.   Play: Since recently becoming a Dad his hobbies have changed a bit, but when time allows he enjoys golfing, fishing, Cyclones athletics, singing, reading, and grilling in the backyard.   What are you reading?: Thinker Toys by Michael Michalko  What are you listening to?: Flogging Molly

Sandy Renshaw – Social media has changed my life. I think it must be similar to how people felt when the printing press was invented and the average person finally had access to books. I can fully see the impact use of social media has to help people find and grow a network. When I started blogging, Facebook andTwitter were new. Every year my appreciation and understanding of these powerful communication tools grows. It’s been exciting to see how technology that was new and different – and touted by only the early adopters – has evolved, and now has been embraced by so many. I want to share my experience with others so they can understand ways that Facebook and Twitter can help them connect with other business people they would never meet without these tools. It can have an impact on their bottom line. It’s not just for socializing.

Sara Broers – I want to let people know that it is possible to enjoy social media and even get paid while partaking in the experience. You CAN find a job on twitter.  Growing up in Iowa is an adventure that many people never get to experience. A two time cancer survivor, and having to learn how to walk again at the age of 40, Sara’s story is an inspiration for anyone that has struggled in their life. Iowa is where her feet were planted at a young age and remain there today. Through her faith, family, and friends she has learned to pull up those bootstraps and move on!

Shannon Latham – Shannon earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Ag Journalism/Public Service and Administration in Agriculture from Iowa State University, as well as an MBA from the University of Iowa. Prior to joining Latham Hi-Tech Hybrids, Shannon owned and operated her own communications business. She also worked as an account executive and public relations specialist for The Meyocks Group in West Des Moines, Iowa, and served as president of the Iowa Chapter of National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA).

Shannon McClintock Miller is the district teacher librarian and technology specialist at Van Meter Community School in Van Meter, Iowa.  Shannon is the author of the award winning Van Meter Library Voice blog and enjoys writing for ISTE’s Leading & Learning journal, various blogs, and in other forums. She has had the opportunity to speak in Iowa and around the country about advocacy, technology, social networking, and making a difference in education and the lives of others. She is a member of ISTE, SIGMS, ALA, AASL, and ILA (Iowa Library Association). Shannon serves as the advocacy chair on the Iowa Association of School Librarians and on the Iowa Center for the Book Advisory Council as the public school students and libraries representation. In 2010, she was also chosen to be part of the Cengage Learning/School Library Journal New Leaders Program

Shawn Mullen - I’m a relative newbie to this Web 2.0, Social Media gig. But at 50 years of age, I’ll be darned if I’m gonna miss getting with this program. I’ll admit it…I’m just getting started and am not as widely “linked”, “faced” “blogged” or “tweeted” as others, but I can share my beginner’s experiences in a fast paced, clear and concise presentation. I can also share why, from a business perspective, leveraging LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter is a no-brainer.I’m certainly no expert on the technologies, but I am an expert on my experiences.

Tara Litzenberger – Tara Saylor Litzenberger has always believed in knowing the rules before you try to break them. As part of the communications team for a Great Big Company, she gets a unique view of the concerns and opportunities of using Social Media on an global scale. Tara shares a behind-the-scenes look at company life on her blog, AdventuresInAg.com. She regularly spends time in 3 different states and still brags about the “Best Bale” award she won at company training.

However,  there’s more to using Skype than just being able to give your friends the finger while sending them a file (the file sending is pretty great, because it will resume files if you get disconnected, etc). Skype is a powerhouse of productivity… especially with a little help.

If you have a PC, I have good news /  if you have a Mac, I have bad news:  Skype on the PC has an API (programming architecture) that lets developers create programs that work as part of Skype.  On the Mac, this doesn’t really exist, so there are a few programs that sort of do this, but compared to the selection of PC extras, it is pretty insulting.  https://extras.skype.com/categories/15/good will list the Mac ones, while https://extras.skype.com/ lists all of the extras, 99% of which are for the PC.

That said, some of Skype’s superpowers are Screen Sharing.  There are extras for this, but Skype now has this power built right in.  You can easily switch between video conferencing to Screen sharing.  I actually cover a bit on this functionality in Alternative Presentations That Kick Serious Ass. The short version is that you can use Skype to deliver a slideshow, a video, a mind-mapping session, etc… and while you present it, you use Screen Recording software to create a video of the presentation.  That video can be used for many purposes:

• It can be uploaded to the client so that they can replay it.
• You can study it to see how you can improve your presentation.
• You can upload it to Video Hosting sites (such as Youtube) and use it as a marketing tool.
• You can turn it into a product – depending on what the presentation was of, of course.

Using Skype, both as Audio or Video, you can record interviews, it’s generally my preferred method of choice.

On the Mac I enthusiastically recommend Ecamm Call Recorder which lets you not only record audio, but also video, and will even put the two video calls (yours / theirs) in two video windows that can be edited separately… or as default Skype which is a Picture-In-Picture mode. The software also lets you leave notes, so you can remember at which time you asked which question, etc.

On the PC side of things, I’ve personally used Pamela Call Recorder, which worked exactly the same… except it did not do video, but that was years ago. Now they do video.  Pamela also has an extremely impressive set of features, making it a complete call center.

This video was recorded using Skype to Skype calling with Ecamm to record a testimonial from David Gonzalez:

For editing purposes, I had David paned to the right, and me to the left.  Editing audio to be center-paned is easy enough (In audio Pan means which speaker will the audio come out on, left, right, or center (both). David had actually left his house and walked over to the pool, where the Wi-Fi could barely reach, and yet the testimonial came out just peachy.

This month’s interview with Jason Harty was recorded with Ecamm.  I actually recorded the video, but I thought that for sharing the interview, audio was more practical on this interview.  The cool thing is that Ecamm gives you many tools to output the recording as whatever format you want.

Other things Skype lets you do:

• Get a phone number.
• Get voicemail  through Skype (Skype offers voicemail, certain programs, such as Pamela, let you use Skype as a complete call center, with call forwarding, voicemail, etc).
• Record Audio / Video interviews.
• Record Audio / Video testimonials.
• Create products by recording a series of expert interviews.
• Provide a whole new revenue / services source by leveraging video conferencing (see Working Naked case study below)
• Save you money in travel by leveraging video conferencing.
• Have group text chat.
• Have call conferencing (mixing Skype, cell phones, and landlines)

One of my coaching clients, Lisa Kanarek of WorkingNaked.com was looking for additional ways to grow her business.  I suggested Skype consulting. Between that call, and our next call, Lisa had already gotten a client. In fact, I highly recommend that you contact Lisa for a session. By you using your webcam with Skype, Lisa can recommend the best tools to declutter your office, thus resulting in more productivity.  Lisa is ranked #1 on the internet for Home Office Expert out of more than 67,000,000 links.  That’s pretty impressive.  One of the reasons she is so unique is that she is not just an organizer (in fact, she’ll cringe if you call her that)…. she is a home office expert, a productivity expert, and even has a degree in interior design.  This means that she can help you select furniture, soundproofing, etc… and save you headaches and dollars in having to re-do your office later.

I of course recommended Ecamm to Lisa, so she now offers the video playback to her clients. Our next session is on how to market this service a little more, but considering her brand is about working from home (get it? Working Naked), she can now generate additional income, handle more clients, and stand out from the crowd even more.

As you know, I perform many tasks, but as a webdesigner and marketer, I use Skype quite often to give someone a live video review of their site or marketing materials, and then I send them to a page that has that video.

What is your business, and how could you leverage some of Skype’s powers to add more value to your clients?

This is useful information. If you see its power, please comment below, and share this with the people you know… Knowledge doesn’t change the world if nobody sees it.