What Does Success Mean to You?

I've been creating Something to Be Desired for four years now. I consider us to be "successful" in that we've kept the show online and interesting despite numerous hurdles.

And yet, whenever someone asks me what my goals are... I realize I can't articulate them, because I haven't defined them for myself.

Things Are Changing

I've been having a lot of conversations lately with social media folks -- and reading a lot of blogs and Twitters -- that lead me to believe the bulk of the people in this space have a hard time defining what success means for them, and therefore understanding the steps they need to take in order to get there.

Last year, PodCamp Boston exceeded expectations because it had never been done. This year, although attendance was up, it was still about 50% of the registered total. Was that a "success"? It depends on whom you ask.

Most of the no-shows were people "outside the fishbowl" -- those interested parties who weren't yet creating content and therefore weren't 100% invested in having a conversation about it.

"How do we get those people involved?" was the question a lot of us have been asking for a long time, and there still aren't clear-cut answers.

Maybe that's because we're not demonstrating that social media is a "successful" investment of OUR time and resources yet, simply because so few of us know whether or not we ARE successful. It's hard to lead by example when you're not sure where you're headed.

What Constitutes Success For You?

Are you a creator? Does the thrill of making something from nothing give you an unequaled charge?

Are you a collaborator? Do you prefer working with others to make something greater than any of you could have done independently?

Are you seeking an audience? What kind of audience? Is it more important for you to have a wide, "mainstream" appeal in your work, or a smaller, highly-engaged readership / listenership / viewership?

Are you seeking investment? What kind of investment? How much money / resources? From whom? What would you do with it if you had it?

Are you seeking to make a living at what you're doing? To become profitable? What's your break-even point? Where will that money come from?

What do you want to be doing in a year? In three years?

Very few of us seem to know the answers to these questions, which therefore prevents us from being able to take the steps to accomplish them. As a result, I see a lot of rudderlessness throughout the medium. I see disinterest, worry, cynicism and frustration. (I should know - I'm the generator of a significant amount of it.)

So, if that's the case, why don't we refocus for a moment and ask ourselves, honestly: What does success mean to you?

And, to kick-start the conversation, I'll list my POV. To me, success would be:

* Being out of debt
* Making a comfortable living
* Having health insurance
* Working as a writer / director / producer
* Having STBD viewed by 10,000+ people per episode
* Earning enough money from STBD to pay the cast
* Seeing STBD become one of the top shows in modern media
* Collaborating with creative people from multiple fields
* Helping shepherd other people's ideas to fruition
* Investing in / growing other small businesses
* Being able to donate time / resources to charities
* Being able to travel

Yours?

Dropping the Ball

Whoops.

Evidently, there was a disconnect on a freelance job I'm currently working on. I hadn't realized the estimated date of review for the next round of video clips, which was last week, was a hard deadline. Thus, when something else was thrown into the works last week, I missed that deadline -- not realizing it was in pen, not pencil.

Normally, this wouldn't be a large issue. The matter of rubber dates vs. stone dates is forever a complication of freelance, and I've bounced on both sides of the dividing line over the years. If there's a disconnect, a phone call or email and a redoubling of the efforts usually results in a finished (or review) product that's even better than it would have been under normal circumstances. (Catholic guilt dies hard.)

But in this case, I'm not the primary contact for the client. In fact, the client is actually an intermediary as well. There are really four lines of communication involved, and if there's a disconnect in one part of the chain, it extends all the way down.

So, in this case, the best thing I can do is fix the problem without creating additional problems by circumventing the appropriate communication channels -- which is hard to do when I'm so used to working with clients directly.

The Root of the Problem

Of course, ALL of this could have been avoided with one simple action: being AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

Granted, when have I EVER been ahead of schedule on something? But, then, that's precisely the point, isn't it?

Looking back on most of my work for the past few years, I see one startling truism: nearly all of it has been produced either AT (or shortly after) the deadline. While some of this has been undoubtedly due to the complications of the clients, much of it falls squarely on my own shoulders. It's incredibly evident in Something to Be Desired, which -- as Mobasoft's Michael Bailey has mentioned -- "says it comes out on Monday but really comes out on Tuesday."

I'm swiftly becoming aware of the likely truth of an old adage -- and if it isn't old, it's still certainly valid -- that the most profound way to change one's life is to simply show up on time. For everything.

What Makes an MVP?

Yesterday, the Dallas Mavericks -- the NBA's best team this past season (67-15) -- were bounced from the first round of the playoffs by the 8th-seeded Golden State Warriors. This is the first time in league history that an 8 seed beat a 1 in a best-of-7 series.

Part of the reason is because the Warriors were coached by Don Nelson, the former Mavericks coach who built that team in the first place and understood most of their weaknesses.

But the bigger reason is because presumed MVP Dirk Nowitzki came up small. Repeatedly.

Keep in mind that the NBA playoffs are a best-of-7 affair, meaning a team needs to win 4 games against their opponent in order to advance. This means a good team can have a bad night and still survive. The odds of an inferior team beating the better team 4 times out of 7? Rare.

So when likely MVP Dirk Nowitzki (the MVP votes haven't been released yet) turns in one bad game after another... after another... after another... after another... basketball fans start wondering what's up. For example, in yesterday's game, which saw the Mavericks ousted:

Nowitzki finished 2-for-13 from the field with eight points, unable to prevent the NBA's biggest playoff upset ever. Nowitzki didn't make his first shot until the final minute of the first half. By the time he made his second, Dallas was already down 23 points.

The bolded text was mine to emphasize a point: Nowitzki didn't score for the first 23 minutes of the game. Knowing his team was counting on him to carry them to the next round, he instead deferred all responsibility to his teammates. In fact, Nowitzki had been complaining about how well Golden State had been defending him all series -- essentially admitting he had no solution for their gameplan.

So, instead, his solution was to stop trying.

Does that seem like Most Valuable Player behavior to you?

What You (May) Have in Common with Dirk Nowitzki

Like basketball, business and art are collaborative works. They're performed by teams, but those teams are comprised of individuals. And everyone on the team is expected to do his or her job in order for the team to succeed.

Dallas won 67 games this year because Dirk Nowitzki did whatever his team needed him to do to win. Then, Dallas was ejected from the first round of the playoffs because Dirk refused to do what his team needed him to do to win.

Why?

Was it pressure? Was it fatigue? Was it a lingering injury that no one knows about?

Was it the fact that the opposing coach also mentored Nowitzki for his first 7 years in the league, and therefore knew how to get inside his head?

Or was it a simple matter of temperament? Perhaps Nowitzki's not cut out for the high stakes, high-pressure, high-visibility role of being the top dog on the top team when the stakes are highest.

You know what? That's okay. It doesn't mean Nowitzki's not a great player. In fact, it might even validate his expected award -- he might BE the league's Most Valuable Player, because when he doesn't show up, his team is in tatters.

But when I think "MVP," I think of someone who gets the job done, no matter what, and helps his team perform even better in the process. I think of someone who helps his colleagues find creative solutions to vexing problems that could spell disaster if left unchecked. And I think of someone who rises to the challenge and performs best under pressure, when one false step could send the entire venture hurtling to the ground.

Does that sound like Dirk Nowitzki?

More importantly: Does that sound like you?

5 Ways Twitter Has Changed My Life (After a Week)

I started using Twitter last Monday.

I was wary. I didn't know if it would be worth my time. I didn't understand how another attention-stealing device could improve my life.

After 8 days of use, here are my five observations:

1. Twitter Is Highly Addictive

This is obvious, because that's what Twitter was built to do. It's designed to enthrall the generation that can't help oversharing with itself, 24/7. But it's WHY in which it's addictive that's unusual.

Unlike a publicly-accessible forum, in which you may or may not particularly care what half the commenters have to say, the members of your Twitter group are all friends you've VOLUNTARILY chosen to "follow." This amounts to a nonstop stream-of-consciousness dialogue with the people whose opinions and anecdotes you inherently care about.

In my case, my Twitter friends happen to be a few dozen of the movers and shakers in the new media space. This colors the information I receive. Instead of inane posts from friends whose lives are no more interesting than where they're eating dinner and what they're watching on TV, I get real-time windows into the offices and mobile lives of the people who are changing the way we communicate.

This enables me to take action or supply information as needed on an instantaneous basis, which means I need to stay connected.

2. Twitter Replaces Multiple Websites and Apps

Twitter is billed as a "better IM" -- or, in some circles, the app that will kill blogs -- but I disagree.

I see Twitter as an ever-updating group chat or forum thread. Here, my Twitter friends can post links to news articles they're reading (or writing), events they're attending, pop culture they're consuming and world events they're considering.

Instead of needing to check Digg, Newsvine, CNN and other rapidly-updated sites all day, I can usually gleam the best of the buzz from my Twitter list. If something's relevant or worth talking about, someone on my list probably mentioned it, and included a link.

Instead of leaving Instant Messenger open all day, I now logon only when I'm looking to communicate with someone directly and privately and may need to transfer files. (I could do most of that directly in Twitter as well, but I have yet to cycle AIM completely out of my bag of tricks.)

And I check MySpace almost exclusively for business purposes at this point, because the people I'm really interested in keeping up with are on my Twitter list -- and I don't need to waste time opening their messages or approving their comments in Twitter; they're just there.

3. Twitter Inspires Me to Do More

Seeing what everyone on my Twitter list is up to reminds me that I need to keep up with their productivity.

At my old day jobs, I paced my workflow against that of my managers. If they seemed to be slacking, I knew I could slow down because the vibe was mellow. If they were stressed out, I knew I'd better keep my head down and get things done.

Now I can gauge the day's workvibe against my Twitter friends. And since the folks I follow on Twitter are all involved in a medium I'm highly interested in, and their work has massive and far-reaching impacts on the medium (and on me), they set the bar pretty high.

Speaking of which...

4. Twitter Urges Me to Be More Relevant

The meta-conversation my Twitter friends have tends to be the kind of conversation that moves a medium forward. At any given moment, a few of them can be asking questions, soliciting advice and making connections. If I'm fast on the draw, I can be part of the problem-solving process.

Twitter is also a great place for self-promotion. Did you just blog about something? Include a link in your Twitterstream. Are you being interviewed at a certain time and place? Mention that to your "followers." New song? New video? New website you've found that no one else seems to have glommed onto yet? Stake your find on Twitter.

Meanwhile, if I've noticed that 3 or 4 of my own most recent Twitter updates are of the "what I ate for dinner" variety, I realize I need to get back to work...

5. Twitter Reminds Me to Get Up Earlier

If I didn't realize I was wasting time by sleeping in before, I certainly do now.

It's embarrassing to see Chris Penn posting a new Financial Aid Podcast, Chris Brogan wading through three meetings, Jeff Pulver flying through twelve time zones and Steve Garfield raising the dead before I've even had breakfast.

Striving to keep up with my contemporaries means I need to get at the workload earlier and hit it harder. Otherwise, the dozens of people who get my Twitter updates will start noticing I haven't been around, and they may presume I'm wasting time... and they might be right.

The Last Word

Despite the downsides to the service -- it's obviously growing faster than it can handle, and it doesn't currently support a lot of features that many of us are striving to find workarounds for (like groups, filtering and "highlight reels") -- the immediate upside is hard to argue.

Twitter hasn't yet changed my life in such drastic tones that I can't imagine not having it around. But it certainly does add a new facet to my daily web life that I'm finding increasingly more dynamic by the day. And it enables me to live at the pulse of the new media lifeline.

I don't believe I'm jumping the gun when I say: The revolution will not be televised -- it will be Twittered.

Creative Treehouse Recap

I'm not sure if the readers of this blog overlap completely with the readers of my STBD Behind the Scenes blog or not. In case they dont:

Ann Turiano (Caroline) and Erik Schark (Rich) from STBD attended the grand opening of Creative Treehouse this weekend. The facility kicked off with a 24-hour creative marathon, which involved over 70 artists creating original work on-site within a 24-hour time limit. Those works went on display (and on sale, as a fundraiser) after the 24 hours were up.

I shot a 5:00 summary / promo video of the event. Very cool stuff. It's great to see Pittsburgh's creative community coming together to embrace a new venue AND a new concept in collaboration.