Socially Speaking

This was a great discussion. You can listen to, and download, it here. Bonus: a few other places where Seth is popping up.

Another great question (not to mention, answer) from the ‘cast with Seth:

“Does Yahoo! have a chance?”

Well, wait a second. Yahoo! makes millions and millions of dollars every day. They have more register users, I think, than just about any other site in the world. And, they deliver huge amounts of information on finance and everything else. Millions and millions of people have Yahoo! mail.

If someone wanted to hand me the keys to Yahoo!, I’d be happy to show up. They’re not doomed, by any stretch of the imagination.

The real question, I think, should be: what’s Yahoo!’s next Dip, and how do they get through it? Is Yahoo! on a dead end in which they’re going to keep cranking out money but not become a superstar in something new. Or, are there Dips that the people at Yahoo! could focus on and put their huge resources behind, and push through. Or, is it a better strategy for them to do forty things, and hope that one of them pops?

And, based on what I’ve said so far today … the way you win on the Internet and everywhere else is to find an area that people are going to choose to talk about, overwhelm it, push through the Dip and then erect a barrier behind you – what I call the Valley of Death – so it’s harder for the Microsofts and the Googles to catch up with you.

Transcribed from last week’s Waxxi ‘Cast with Seth Godin:

“What was your biggest Dip?”

I’ve had lots and lots of Dips, which is really lucky for me.

There are plenty of people I went to business school with who have been on a dead end ever since. There are plenty of people who I worked with at my first job, who have been at a dead end ever since.What I have tried to do is seek out Dip after Dip.

Now, there have been a few times when I’ve quit in the Dip and regretted it. There have been a few times when I almost quit in the Dip, and managed to just squeak through. Just before I sold Yoyodyne to Yahoo in 1998, the good news is the day before we sold, we were profitable which was very unusual in those days. The bad news is that in the six weeks before we sold, there were three occasions where we almost missed payroll. We were within an hour of not having the money in the bank to pay our employees.

And it would have been really easy in those days to give up. To look around at the well-funded companies that had raised twenty or forty or eighty million dollars. We had raised four. To look at the companies in California that were getting great deals and hook-ups because of who they knew, and we were in New York and knew no one.

It would have been easy in the pressure of the moment to say, “Well, we gave it a good try. Let’s go home.” I’m really glad we stuck that Dip out.

Originally blogged over at The Long Blonde Tail.

Today was an exceptional experience: we had the chance to really riff with Seth Godin for about an hour. I have to say, this was one of my favorite Waxxi ‘casts to date, simply because people seemed to have so much fun (moderator and guest included!).

We talked about working with Hugh, The Dips of Google, StumbleUpon, Squidoo, Yoyodyne, Oprah, Microsoft, Ask.com, Yahoo!, the book publishing industry, and much more. The ‘cast will be live shortly, and we’ll have some transcripts of the conversation here as well.

If you haven’t yet done so, take an evening or a few hours on a weekend day – and read The Dip (a New York Times bestseller, just this week). Then, buy five (or more) copies, and give them away to people you know. The message, and lessons, are relevant to just about everyone.

Thanks again to Seth, and to everyone who participated!

On May 10th, Seth Godin’s The Dip hit #1 on CEO READ.

If you have an entrepreneurial bone in your body, or if you have embarked on a new project (/job/company/career/etc.) lately, we strongly recommend this quick, yet incredibly well-rounded and insightful, read.

Plenty of others seem to like it, too.

PS – don’t forget this date: June 6, 2007 – when you’ll have the chance to pick Seth’s brain.

 

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2123/18449062

This is an incredibly exciting announcement for us: legendary marketeer, writer and speaker Seth Godin will be Waxxi’s next guest. If you’ve never seen him speak, either live or on video, we strongly recommend taking a look at him in action, here at the Googleplex.

Seth’s blogging, books, and speeches have helped transform businesses and organizations by challenging people (CXOs, students, workers, leaders in government and academia, and so on) to think differently, and then do something about it — like going to the edges and being (truly) remarkable.

If you haven’t yet become addicted to reading it, his is one of the most highly regarded business blogs in the world. He’s the man behind Purple Cow, Permission Marketing, Unleashing the Ideavirus – and now, The Dip.

As the title states, The Dip is A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick). We’ll have more coverage on The Dip in future posts, but for now we’d recommend checking out the book’s blog.

On June 6, 2007 at 1:30pm ET, you’ll have the chance to talk to Seth directly (via phone) and/or ask him a question (via IM in the chat room). Here are the details:

WHAT: Waxxi ‘Cast with Seth Godin
WHEN: Wednesday, June 6, 2007, 1:30-2:30pm EDT

HOW: Register here. But hurry! As always, it’s free but spaces are limited.

Bonus read: Guy Kawasaki’s 10 Questions with Seth about The Dip.