My new column was published today at Lateral Action. This is about the levels of engagement in online conversations. Social Media has lowered the barrier to initiate conversations. Unfortunately, most conversations initiated via social media go nowhere. I talk about how to elevate those conversations and convert them into real relatonships – online and offline. Here is the graphic that will summarize the article
That was the topic of my presentation at the recently concluded #140Conf at NYC.
It was also the day when my new book was released. The new book is titled:
TH!NKtweet 140 bite-sized lessons for a fast paced world.
The entire book was written on Twitter. This is probably the first published book that was entirely written on Twitter.
I am fortunate to have Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki) to write the foreword for the book. I am also thankful to all the wonderful people who provided advance praise for the book. You can also read the early reviews of the book here:
I am also thankful to my friends Karine and Francis from StresslimitDesign for designing the book and my partner Mitchell Levy for publishing it.
More on the series coming soon.
Review Copies: If you are interested in getting a review copy (e-version) please contact me via email and mention where you are “intending to review” the book. I will get one sent out asap.
If you want to get the background of how it all started, please watch my talk at the #140Conf below:
My friend Teresa Morrow is helping to organize two waves of Upbeat Blog Tour. This is the list for the first wave. Thanks to all those that are participating in the blog tour.
1. June 22nd – Starts with Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners writing a book review of Upbeat.
2. June 23rd – Melody Campbell at Small Business Guru will share a video review.
For those of you who are joining late, I send out a newsletter every week.
This week’s topic is:
Please take me from P to Z or Ineffective pre-suppositions
The newsletter will go out on Sunday this time. Apart from one article, I will include a few Aha-Moments (inspired by my close friend Bill Sherman) for the week and a couple of announcements.
There will be more interaction with the newsletter subscribers than here.
Occasionally there will be some pre-announcements of products and special discounts from me or my friends.
There will NEVER be an obligation to buy or participate in anything, of course.
Of the few hundred people who subscribe, more than 50% of the people open the newsletter every week. So what I conclude is:
I must be doing something right to make more than 50% of the people to open the newsletter
There is a lot of room for growth as the other 50% are not opening the newsletter yet
The virtual blog book tour for “Upbeat” is scheduled for June 22nd-July 3rd and July 20th-July 31st. It’s coming up soon, but there is still time to get involved!
2.Your blog URL will appear on the blogs scheduled before and after you on the tour (and we will ask you to reciprocate the same “link love” for your two neighbors on the tour).
3. You will get a copy of Raj’s 90-minute DVD “The Fulcrum Effect” ($97 value) via snail mail as a thank you. Please send me your snail mail address.
5. Your blog will appear in the announcement in Raj’s “Life Beyond Code” newsletter that has a few hundred subscribers that are interested in these topics.
6. Of course, you will get a signed copy of the book “Upbeat” in your snail mail.
Your options:
1.Write a review of the book, Upbeat, on a specific day assigned to you. (preferred)
2.Announce the book in a blog post, on a specific day assigned to you.
3.Post an interview with the author on your blog on a specific day assigned to you.
Interview details:
We suggest that you ask 5-6 questions.
You can come up with your own questions, or choose from this list of sample questions:
A few weeks ago I wrote an article called Skip, Scan, Stop, Save and/or Spread – five ways people respond to your online content. It was well received. I also got a ton of feedback and new insights from the comments and emails.
Based on that feedback, I updated the article and posted as a guest article on one of my favorite sites by three of my friends (Mark McGuinness, Brian Clark and Tony Clark – all super smart people). Here is the link to the article:
A few hundred of you have already subscribed. Thanks to those of you.
I have been blogging since February 2005. Today, this blog has more than 1300 articles on wide-ranging topics. I have built a number of relationships because of this blog and that really has been the best part.
Now, I want to take this to the next level and build a deeper relationship with a few people who want to hear and interact with me via the newsletter.
The newsletter will mostly consist of what I am learning in the marketplace as I help build companies, write books, speak at conferences and meet interesting people. Think of it like a more personal blog.
So, what’s the bribe?
Why should you sign up?
The newsletter subscribers are a special group and my goal is to help them get a big ROII for subscribing to the newsletter. While this will evolve, here is what I am planning:
* Exclusive content for Newsletter subscribers
* Early notice and discounts of what’s coming up
* Deals from my friends and partners that are of value.
Please sign up here and look forward to engaging with you there too.
I was at SOBCon with my old and new friends last week and Upbeat was launched there. To get an overview of what Upbeat is all about, you can watch the four part video interview here. Steve Piazzale asks me a number of questions about the background and the need for a book like Upbeat now
A lot has happened since the launch but as you all know, the real work for me begins now. And, that’s where I need your help.
First, here are the links to where you can buy the book:
For the next three months, all the affiliate revenues from the Amazon link above will go towards creating the next SOBCon. SOBCon is a conference where bloggers take their game to the next level. If more bloggers produce great content, the more readers will benefit. You will be helping some of the best bloggers to increase the signal-to-noise ratio on the web.
Also, my publisher Rvive Books will match the contribution 1-1 doubling the funds raised during this period.
Also, Walmart has offered to match the contribution 1-1 basically tripling the funds raised during this period.
One More Offer
For those of you who have been following the blog for a while know that I am a big fan of “Leverage.” I rarely do anything alone and most of the people that I work with are spread all over the globe. I speak regularly on the topic of leverage – how one can get, grow it and help others get it. In simple terms, the more you increase the capacity of other people, the more your capacity will increase. In other words, if you give more, you will get more. Generosity is an amazing gift you can give to the world AND to yourself. My last talk titled “The Fulcrum Effect” was professionally recorded and produced by my friends at Kreative Vistas. There is only a limited set of DVDs that will be produced and the final sale price has not been set yet. It will be somewhere between $75 to $100 depending on the final production costs.
So, with that in the background, here is the offer:
If you buy 10 or more copies of Upbeat and forwards the receipt to me (Contact Details Here) will get a copy of “The Fulcrum Effect” for FREE. It might take a few weeks for us to send the DVD as it is still in production.
Also, since there are only a limited copies of the DVD, please check back on this blog post, before buying your copies for an update.
Steve Piazzale interviewed me on TV regarding my new book “Upbeat.” Here is the entire interview in four parts. We covered (parts of) two of the five chapters of Upbeat in these thirty minutes. Here it is:
Part 1 (9:39 min)
Note: The interview starts after the intro about the show. The intro lasts for close to 90 seconds.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article called 
I was at 
For those of you who have been following the blog for a while know that I am a big fan of “Leverage.” I rarely do anything alone and most of the people that I work with are spread all over the globe. I speak regularly on the topic of leverage – how one can get, grow it and help others get it. In simple terms, the more you increase the capacity of other people, the more your capacity will increase. In other words, if you give more, you will get more. Generosity is an amazing gift you can give to the world AND to yourself. My last talk titled “The Fulcrum Effect” was professionally recorded and produced by my friends at 
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