Remember the kid from “The Sixth Sense?” He saw dead people. Not a good gift to have, but he was able to learn how to turn it to his advantage so he could help people who needed it.

If you want to succeed in marketing, you need to start seeing marketing. This is pretty easy since it’s all around us. You just need to start paying attention.

Be seeing marketing — and I mean really seeing it — over time, you’ll amass a powerful arsenal of tools to grow your business.

If you feel you really don’t know what to look for, try reading Robert Cialdini’s excellent Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. That will give you more than enough material to work with.

Don’t pay attention to what people or companies say or do from the perspective of a consumer. Watch how they do it. Look for patterns and tactics.

Some questions to ask yourself:

1.) Have I seen this technique before?

2.) What is the desired call to action (what they want you to do)?

3.) How does the market react to this marketing?

4.) How does this particular element integrate into this company’s other marketing?

5.) If appropriate, how can I implement this tactic into my marketing?

6.) How can I test this technique to improve upon it?

See anything interesting out there? Tell me about it! What did you learn?

Fools are all around. They are many.

In fact, there is possibly a fool either reading or writing this blog. Either one is possible.

What is a fool? Glad you asked.

Any one can simply be “not smart.” In fact, I, myself, have been accused of being “not smart.” But a fool is different. Fools are often semi-functional, but their foolishness impedes the work or progress of others.

In the not-too-distant past, I worked with someone who I thought could be a fool. I wasn’t sure, so I had to ask a couple of people I knew to be smart if he was a fool.

Turns out, he was.

But the incident taught me that I need to be better at spotting fools. Here is a handy three-step guide that you, too, can use to spot people who are fools.

1.) Fools are completely convinced they are the smartest people in the room.
One of the easiest ways to spot a fool is that they carry themselves in a manner to suggest that they are smarter than you, although there is no additional evidence to support that belief. If a person isn’t smart enough to carry him or herself with humility and treat other people respectfully, watch out. You may be dealing with a fool.

2.) Loud, obnoxious behavior.
Fools often announce their presence with behavior that causes their foolishness to stand out. They often choose to express themselves loudly or in a manner that attracts undue attention. Foolish non-verbal self-expression can come in the form of tattoos, body piercing, and unnaturally colored hair. This is not to say that all people who engage in such activities are fools.

3.) Obsession with pop culture.
Fools often don’t know very much, thereby making them fools. But what they do know is who got voted off the island, the identity of the latest American Idol, and which celebrities are dating each other. It perhaps might be that the pop culture information filling their heads leaves no room for little else.

This week, I thought I would give a tip of the hat to the blogs I visit on a regular basis.  Here are the top six blogs that I make sure to read as often as I can:

Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik
Web Analytics guru Avinash Kaushik updates this blog every other Monday with intense, educational posts that always help the reader become an “analysis ninja!” If you’re into tracking the results of your online campaigns, website, or blog, be sure to check him out. It’s pretty specialized information for a quite specialized field, but Mr. Kaushik does a great job of making his genius accessible for all.

Seth Godin’s Blog
Marketing maven Seth Godin provides a daily lesson in marketing and entrepreneurship.  His posts can be long or short, but they always provide great food for thought about the way businesses are run.

The Art of Nonconformity
Chris Guillebeau is, to say the least, an interesting guy.  I don’t say that because his stated goal is to visit every country in the world, which would be 197 by his count, by April 7, 2013 (although it is, and he’s already up to 111 as of this writing).  I say it because Chris just isn’t the kind of guy to conform to the concept of “normal.”  So whether travel is your thing (like his) or not, Chris provides great education and encouragement every Monday and Thursday to help you practice “The Art of Nonconformity.”

Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider
Although the blog header says it is for “friends of Scott Kelby,” he writes like you and I are his friends.  He’s just that kind of guy.  If you enjoy photography, you really need to stop by Scott’s blog every day. Don’t miss his incredibly masochistic and therapy-worthy “Embarrassing Photo Thursday!”

Joe McNally’s Blog
Speaking of photography, Joe McNally is one of the best there is.  And it’s not just me that thinks so: he was called “perhaps the most versatile photojournalist working today” by American Photo magazine.  Joe shares his wealth of experience, great road stories, and a technical tip or two whenever he gets time to update his blog.  Also, check out his two books: The Moment It Clicks and The Hot Shoe Diaries.

Income.com Blog
John Reese is one of the smartest guys in the Internet Marketing game.  If you are “in it to win it,” you really need to be reading what he writes.  John will go months without making a peep (except on his Twitter feed), so his is one of the blogs that subscribe to via RSS so I can see when a new post is added without having to actually check the site every day.

Alright, that’s my top six blogs.  Yeah, I know it’s supposed to be a “Top Ten” or something else a little catchier, but why add filler?

So go ahead and tell me what I’m missing.  What are your top four (or any other number of blogs) that should be on my list?  Leave a comment below…

I’ve filled my life with content delivery systems of every shape and kind.  Between my Kindle, iPod, XM Radio (not to mention Slacker and Pandora!), and the Roku Netflix device, there is almost no reason to be alone in my head anymore.  There is almost always some kind of input (with apologies to Johnny 5) coming in.

Problem is, there’s really too much.  It’s an embarrassment of means, but no definable or worthwhile end.  And the sheer volume of content that is thrown into my head every day makes it more and more difficult to actually think.  You know, not simply decision-making thought, but actual, real thinking.  Is that due to my own inability to focus in spite of the noise and make every moment and every input count?  Or can we blame society on this one?

And what does this do to content itself?  I’ve already discussed about how the value of information is declining.  Working writers and photographers already know this.  If everyone is both a publisher and consumer, is there anything special about being a publisher anymore?  They are no longer the gatekeepers of expression in society.

And with all this content out there, how does an individual sort the good stuff from the garbage?  Google sure seems to want to help with that — at least according to their own ideas of what is good and evil.  Certainly Digg and StumbleUpon and their peers can claim that role.  But it’s not perfect and not reflective of a wide enough variety of tastes to be considered inclusive.

So it would seem that the problem of “too much” affects both the publisher and the consumer.  But would you go back to having only 3 TV channels and a handful of radio stations?  I doubt it. I know I wouldn’t.

(or, How I Learned To Stop Blogging And Love Twitter)

What is it about Twitter that people like so much?  Where is the utility?  Let’s talk this out together…

Seth Godin says we visit social media sites for four reasons:

1.  Who likes me?
2. Is everything okay?
3. How can I become more popular?
4. What’s new?
5. I’m bored, let’s make some noise.

(I agree.)

He further asserts that Twitter delivers all five, instantly.

(I further agree.)

So let’s talk about how we marketers can use these five aspects of Twitter and other forms of social media to support the conversation that is taking place between us and our customers… 

Who likes me?
Let’s face it, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook are scorecards.  As a marketer, it only makes sense to “follow,” “friend,” or otherwise link to those people who are customers… it could be one step in the journey from “consumer” to “brand advocate.”  So invite people to follow you, and follow them back.  Remember, people won’t care about your brand until you start giving them good reasons to.

Is everything okay?
In my “day job,” our industry has had the unfortunate distinction of  announcing product recalls.  Not a fun time for the company, and especially not for the consumer.  By connecting through social media with your consumers, you can get the bad news (and yes, the good news too!) out faster.  It also allows you to exercise some amount of control of the discussion of those events in those channels.  At least you’ll be able to shape the beginning of the conversation and prevent some of the misinformation that could ensue in your absence.

How can I become more popular?
By connecting to your customers in social media, you’re also beginning to connect them to each other — people who have the same interests.  Not a bad thing. They’re going to see who’s following you and they will find interesting people.

What’s new?
Let’s face it, email is on its way out.  Your future customers (the under 20 crowd) aren’t using it.  So if you want to tell them what’s new, you’d better be talking to them where they’re listening.  That means they want to see about product updates or new products in their Twitterstream.  They want to read about it on your Facebook wall.

I’m bored, let’s make some noise.
It’s not just showing up  in social media, it’s enabling your brand advocates to sing your praises.  So what can you do to equip them to “make some noise?”

Conclusion…
There are two things about social media that I can promise:  

1. It’s not going away.
2. It’s going to look completely different in 3 years.

Having said that, it’s still the place to be.  Go slow, think it through, and be a contributor (not a spammer).

(…and no, I’m not really going to stop blogging!)

I’ve come to believe that there are three types of people that you should have in your business life:  peers, mentors, and students.  Each relationship serves a vital role in your growth as a person.

Peers
You need people in your life to walk beside you, who understand your frustrations, your fears, and your passions for what you do.  People who are learning alongside you, and who can support you as you support them. 

Mentors
You also need people in your life who are farther ahead in their development than you are.  People who take an interest in you (even if it’s just mildly disguised pity), and help you to improve your game in leaps and bounds.  When you find one, make sure to tell them how much you appreciate their knowledge, guidance, and faith in your potential.  It will mean the world to them.  I wish I had done a better job of that in the past.

Students
Want to learn a topic really well?  Teach it.  Memorize it.  Prepare for the questions you’ll get so you’ll know the answers cold.  You’ll quickly learn that the student will see things you’ve never thought of, show that sense of wonder that your mentor saw in your eyes, and keep you on your toes in innumerable other ways.

Conclusion
If you want to fully develop yourself, you must include others in that plan.  Give others the gift of receiving blessings by helping you, and make sure to be a blessing to the people you can help.  Your life will be richer for it.

I was reflecting one recent evening on the pile of books in my “to be read” stack. Actually, there are three stacks, each of which is beginning to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I realized I had a couple different types of reading underway…

The first type of reading is what I’ll call “Reading for Reading’s Sake.” These are books you read for the fun of it: maybe the love of a well-turned phrase, the thrill of adventure or romance, or some other type of feeling. These days, I’m enjoying a thriller by Jack Du Brul, a true-crime book about Las Vegas casino robberies, and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book on the political genius of Abraham Lincoln.

The second type of reading is “Reading for Information.” Books that have stuff in them that you need to know. Right now, I’m going through David Allen’s “Getting Things Done,” and a neat book called “Groundswell.” It’s this kind of books that I’d like to have that gizmo from “The Matrix” that plugs into the back of my head so I could just download it all in seconds.

What’s important for authors — the good but not great ones, at least — is to not confuse the two. Sure, some authors can bridge the gap. Scott Kelby comes to mind, but if you read the reviews of his “Digital Photography Book,” you’ll see that not everyone gets it… thereby proving my point.

How It Relates to Newspapers

Newspapers hit their stride when their publishers remember that their products are for the second type of reading and not the first. Yes, there are some exceptions on the Opinion/Editorial pages, where my columnist friend Kevin Horrigan does outstanding work for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. But for the most part, people read newspapers to know what’s in them.

Newspapers are at their core local news outlets, and should provide that service over as many avenues as possible, and in real-time. Not only should they provide the written word, but audio and video as well. Imagine a clearinghouse of local data: up-to-the-minute stories, video (user-generated?), and audio all focused on the reader’s community. The printed daily would simply amount to a daily “best of” written record for the unconnected.

The reason that I’ve applied this concept to newspapers is that it’s obvious they’ve lost their way. Revenues are plummeting as their readership moves toward all sorts of electronic and new media. It’s time for a redefinition of duties, and a realization that newspapers aren’t simply a printed stack of paper, but a local information delivery vehicle.