Blog

Nokia Is Stalking My Wife

Phone manufacturers want more – much more – of your attention and your business.

That’s why I think that Nokia is stalking my wife… and she doesn’t even know it.

My wife has developed quite an ability to send text messages on her phone. She is constantly tapping away on that phone like a woodpecker in search of a juicy meal…

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Respect or Attention? Take Your Pick

Remember Rodney Dangerfield? He was the great nightclub comedian who “can’t get no respect.”

Dangerfield built a persona – and a lucrative career – on self-putdowns about his looks, his weight, his wife, his sex-life, his career… you name it.

Dangerfield made it funny and profitable to get no respect. And what he didn’t receive in respect, he earned in our attention… and our laughter.

Not a bad path, if you choose to take it. But is that really what you want from your online business?

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Under the Influence of Attention

How influential are you?

Tough question, isn’t it? I encourage you to give it serious thought.

First, let’s define the term to avoid confusion.

Influence is the ability to become a compelling force on others. It is an ingredient of persuasion.

Influence spreads quickly and easily among an audience. (Don’t confuse this with influenza… That’s something altogether different.)

Influence can bring greater attention to the influencer as ideas and emotions are spread.

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What Are You Trying to Accomplish Today?

Some days, you wake up to challenges…

The alarm clock didn’t go off. The modem isn’t working. The milk has spoiled.

And yet, there are opportunities…

You awake to the feeling of sunshine streaming through a window. You read a newspaper instead of scanning news online. You drink your coffee black.

Each day brings new challenges and opportunities. But what if you could turn those challenges into opportunities for greater productivity?

It’s possible, because I do it every day.

Here’s the secret…

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Finding Treasure Among the Trash

Man, I love this blog.

I enjoy the give-and-take of this group as we hammer-out the challenges and issues in the Attention Age.

Your comments provide great material for Part 2 of The Attention Age Doctrine, which will be ready later this month. Thanks for your contributions and your patience. I promise, it’s going to be great!

As you may realize, one of the best attention-holding features of blogging is the opportunity to keep conversations alive. I do it here as often as I can.

While each blog post may survive on its own merit, it is also possible – and encouraged – to carry thoughts from one post to another as a viral thread.

After all, this is how some of the best ideas are spread.

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Age of the Attention Hog

Local TV news programs often follow a simple directive: “If it bleeds, it leads.”

That’s why crime stories and negative news regularly tops the daily newscasts. “Bad news” almost always steals our attention.

The “good news” about the church that raised $100,000 for a blind orphan comes much later in the newscast – if it makes the news at all.

attention_hog.jpgFrustrating, isn’t it? Why do the negatives often grab the spotlight from the positives? Why is our attention drawn to negative thoughts and events?

Blame it on the “attention hogs.”

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Open Thread – Attention Age Doctrine

As I toil away on research into Part 2 of the Attention Age Doctrine, a creative idea came to mind. How about having an “open thread” on my blog that invites comments from you – my readers – about what you’d like to see in Part 2.   What are some the concerns you have

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We Interrupt This Message…

Information that you think is important to your business, may simply be just an interruption to your business goals.
Trouble is, you won’t realize whether or not the information is important until you’ve given it your attention.

Since the release of The Attention Age Doctrine, I’ve received countless e-mails and blog comments about the distinction between an “interruption” and a “distraction” as it relates to business efficiency. While there are “dictionary differences” between the two, I’ll just give you my quick analysis.

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When Is Enough, Enough?

Most online entrepreneurs just like you either suffer from too little or way too much information: There simply is no in-between.

Where do you stand? How do you figure out which amount of information is “just right?”

Today, we’ll continue the conversation on information overload that we started in an earlier blog post. And, boy, is there a lot of material to cover …

Let’s begin with one of the biggest issues.

I’m often asked by nervous entrepreneurs:

When is “enough” information really enough?

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My Latest Advisory Is Ready

The Attention Age Doctrine ready! Well, to say the last few weeks have been crazy is an understatement. It’s all worth it though because the response is already overwhelming. I’m confident it will be the most important document you read all year. As I type this blog post, I am being told by the office

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