photo by tochis

So, they have talked about it for some time. I just want to say, “it’s here.” Welcome to the age of the conversation. Don’t believe me? Leave me a comment below, and we can talk about it.

The days of standing in an auditorium with a spotlight on stage shouting while the audience obediently listens are over. The era of big broadcast messages on television shows, billboards that clutter every open space, or in the pages of your magazine are reaching the end of their usable lives. People are tired of businesses screaming at them and telling them what to buy, at what price and how many. Now consumers are talking to each other, talking to the businesses, and sometimes even shouting back, a little.

B 2 C (Business to Consumer) is redefined. Under the new definition, Business to Conversation, businesses eavesdrop on the Consumer to Consumer conversation for an opportunity to jump in:

Take Comcast, for example. Have a problem with your cable or internet connection. Jump on Twitter and start talking about your experience. I wager that a friendly tweet will come from @comcastcares trying to help–talking with you about your problems (and not just sleeping on your couch).

Have a problem with Quickbooks? I posted about the diabolic Quickbooks. Within a few hours, Intuit jumps into the conversation pledging assistance.

A friend was raving about a new wireframing application, Balsamiq, through a tweet. They reached out to him and started a conversation about the product. They not only gave him a free license to the product, they offered more licenses to friends. The online conversation that started with a tweet sprang to life as he truly had something to talk about: a great product and a company that engaged.

B 2 C is also flipped to C 2 B. The consumer now has a voice to reach out and talk to businesses. If careful and attentive a business can listen exactly to the needs of their market. What would have required focus groups and millions of dollars in testing is now just a matter listening, which is reserved for the courageous.

After listening to a few raving reviews, I wanted an invite to a cool new application, Boxee, but Alpha testing was backlogged. After my subtle suggestion, Boxee obliged the next day. By gently listening, which in this case required nothing more than a search feed, this company can organically grow their product to interested parties. Compare that with a blairing billboard.

Sometimes the Customers shout a bit more. Glenn Reynolds’ core concept in Army of Davids is that the emerging (conversational) Web and other technological enhancements are allowing the little guy take down giants. For example, conversations between a group of moms in the fall of 2008 forced the Goliath, Motrin, to yank their ads after a short run.

We are truly in a different era that is not fully understood. Some businesses lightly wade into the social sphere to “get the benefits” of the new web, but they are unwilling to truly get wet. Unfortunately, there are some still standing on the dimly lit stage, shouting and no one is listening–they just don’t get it. The age of conversation is here, just listen.

I find myself living in yesterday’s thought sometimes. With 2800 tweets to read, 145 unanswered emails, 2 blog posts to write, 4 powerpoint decks to craft, a dog that needs to go outside, a car that needs an oil change, an economy that is flatly in the crapper, I think about all that I have to think about rather than the time to genuinely think.

Great writers and comedians explore the nuance of mundane life. Seth Godin can observe a Cranium game placed in Starbucks and Seinfeld can exaggerate the pain of saving seats for others in movie theaters. They came to these observations not while looking at iPhones or making voice notes about the other, they observed the skillfulness by observing, pausing and thinking.

This word is squarely my admonition to myself. If I could spend more time with my fingers still and tongue silenced, the quality of my work would increase dramatically. I, of course, love to do, so thinking is a nice luxury. But, more time thinking makes the doing so much more productive. Some people, on the other hand, could write a post about more doing and less thinking, but I will let them think whether or not to do that.

Occasionally, we get the opportunity to be very bold, very audacious, and, well very dumb. Now, it seems that I have one of those opportunities. Let me explain.

Seth Godin has been one of my favorite thinkers and writers for years. His writings have influenced a number of decisions that I have made, and his teachings I have applied professionally since launching on my own earlier this year. He is truly one of the great thinkers in the business realm. Yesterday, he offered to mentor a few people in his office for six months, in lieu of an MBA.

If I had just graduated college, or even just earned my law degree, I would have been the first in line for this opportunity, but I am two years out of law school, starting a new company, and expecting our third child in February. Now, is not what I would consider the best time, hence “very dumb.”

I would be remiss if I did not at least entertain the thought of this opportunity, and this is where you enter the story. Please tell me whether you think it would be a good idea for Seth to hire me. I am going to use your feedback to craft my application.

To apply, I am creating this squidoo lens, and I will, over the course of the next few weeks, populate the lens with tidbits about me. If you have some story, anecdote, factual recount, or gross exaggeration that will help Seth (and I) decide if I am right for the job, then post a “blurb” under the “What Say You?” section. Or, if you prefer, leave a comment on my blog.

Thanks.

Reading this post by Seth today, I thought that the “reviewer” raises a very interesting point about luck in life’s success. In response, I liked Seth’s response:

But I can’t imagine how lonely and depressing it would be to view myself as nothing but a pinball, batted around by forces over which I have no influence.

Unfortunately, I can’t really agree with either. I simply don’t believe in the randomity nor my ability in life to overcome  odds. It seems that success or failure is somehow outside myself.  I agree that I would rather be pressing my nose to the grindstone and receive a windfall than sitting on the couch waiting for a never-realized miracle, but what about those (like my brother) that have always done the right things in life but apparently get screwed?

I do believe in prosperity and oddly enough suffering.  I  believe that my investments pay off but not always in the areas that I expect. I believe that despite my best expectation, I am deserving, at best, to squawk out the most meager of existence, but somehow I am surrounded by luxury greater than most of the history of the world. I believe I am blessed, and hence I am thankful–my life is not a chance nor is it by my own creation.