Since my computer crashed, I have yet to recover quite a few “summaries” of Seth Godin’s blog posts. Some of them can be found here.
The Bottom Line(s) from Seth Godin – Part Two
So Glad We Can All Agree on This!
That photo represents me in 2010 and 2011, obsessively checking my Amazon rank and blogging incessantly and with the intention of sharing my experiences as an indie author.
As I have stated here and elsewhere, I’ve spent the past few years losing money. I can’t begin to make enough to cover book production and other expenses, let alone live on what I make from selling fiction, at this point.
My Book Review of ‘Direct’
Hi! Today, I’m reviewing Direct. I’m just gonna go ahead and tell you about this book in general, because I didn’t read it entirely from front to back all the way through, because essentially it’s preaching to the choir at this point. I mean, I agree with everything that’s in here pretty much. And I primarily wanted to read this to get to the potential solutions to the problem, the problem, of course, being the middleman that we are always dealing with now. And we are just so used to it that we don’t even think about it anymore. It’s just what we do. And I’ll just read you this one part. She talks about how … the author is Kathryn Judge, and she talks about how Amazon was built on the Walmart model of selling things to sheep cheap.
Further Thoughts About Seth Godin’s Blog
Here are few more thoughts I had while reading Seth Godin’s blog.
About “Life by anecdote”
The truth is pretty much what you’re willing to believe.
Now, what else can I sell you today?
PS: Believe whatever you want.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Shift your tech time horizon”
Learn to use technology to your advantage. And try not hoarding your insights.
And don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Swap the line”
Here’s a utopian/dystopian idea for a possible/improbable way to transact business.
You get to execute it.
Have fun!
PS: Far as I can tell, the rich still get the most benefit from this arrangement. Along with the uber-powerful geek squad entrusted with creating/maintaining it.
Press “1” if you disagree. Press “9” if you’d like to disagree in Spanish.
Press “5” for an endless series of tutorials on how to do the above without buttons.
Note to Seth: Life isn’t always fair. You know that.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “A future of retail”
You won’t succeed in business until you realize your product isn’t about you. And yelling about your product’s greatness won’t build trust with potential customers. Neither will spamming people with “great deals”.
Note to Seth: Interesting, isn’t it, that a certain great big online bookseller decided to open its own chain of bookstores, eh? Then, shut them down! Ahem …
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Contagious commerce”
Early adopters do change the world. Now, if only someone had taken me seriously in 2011, when I said Amazon was creating a bad situation for indie authors in the long run, when they offered us chump change in exchange for being exclusively published (three months at a time) with them.
Funny how being one early adopter can have so very little effect on anything.
And the lesson learned: If you want to change minds, you have to change hearts. You have to be both empathetic and rational. It requires authenticity and resilience. The ability to observe, listen, and plan.
I’m trying. That’s all I can do.
Here’s a link to the source.
About “Zero percent market share”
Being everything to everyone online is a losing strategy.
But, if you want to spend your energies on it, feel free. No one’s forcing you to do anything.
PS: (And these are my notes and my opinion.) Amazon’s the exception. They want to be everything for everyone, while not sacrificing quality or worker health and safety. And look what a great job they’re (not) doing.
Think it helps that they own a whole swath of the Internet?
Here’s a link to the source.
About “The hedonic buffet”
We get to choose what to do and what not to do. The problem often comes in having too many choices. So often we fall back on habit or desperately follow some random person’s advice.
Figure out your “why” (why do you get up in the morning, for instance) and focus on that. Because you are the sum total of your choices.
Here’s a link to the source.