Dennis O'Neil - Speaker & Author on Internet Sales, Marketing, and Social Media » General

A Full Day of Brain-Food – TEDx Mid-Atlantic

dennisoneil — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:19:09 +0000

A couple weeks ago, I was able to attend TEDx Mid-Atlantic. For those of you not familiar with TED events, the slogan for the ‘brand’ is “Ideas worth spreading.” In a nutshell, the event is a series of short lectures on various topics, by multiple speakers; all with the purpose of inspiring new ideas and innovation. This locally grown TEDx event hosted by Dave Troy was completely free, and worth a whole lot more.

I was inspired by a number of the speakers there, but wanted to pick just a couple of them to share.

Sandy Wiggins, the former chair of the U.S. Green Building Council, gave poetic and profound meaning to building green. Unfortunately, his talk is not available on YouTube, most likely because there were some pretty big A/V blunders during his time on stage; none of them were Sandy’s fault and he handled all of them with unbelievable grace. Thankfully (at the very least), I scribbled down his final statement… “Sustainability is preserving humanity’s ability to participate in the dance of creation.”

The other speaker I wanted to share was Tony Geraci from Baltimore City Schools whose efforts to bring whole local foods, and a respect for what we eat, into the school system is making an impact. Tony has awesome stage presence and is an enjoyable speaker. His talk is well worth the watch. You can find it below:

Can’t see the video? Click here.

Thanks so much to Dave Troy, all of the speakers, volunteers, and sponsors for a fantastic brain-food filled event.

Lessons from Mr. Miyagi

dennisoneil — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:43:59 +0000

Ever read a blog post or article only to be left unclear about the message at the end? I follow a good number of company/corporate blogs; not because I love all of them, but because I like to see how businesses are using them, and look for what I think are successful implementations. A consistent flaw in many of these blogs is this general lack of a message, or a message that’s so generic it’s almost like the blog is saying nothing at all.

I understand why a lot of corporate blogs are written this way. There’s a fear that if the company says something too direct, or potentially objectionable by a customer, the company could alienate said customer. The flaw with this type of thinking is that in this effort to be all things to all people (which is an impossible goal for anyone, let alone a business), the post says nothing – making it unremarkable and ineffective.

Most of you have seen The Karate Kid with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. At the point in the movie where Daniel is about to begin his training, Mr. Miyagi shares some good advice. He says in his rough English,

“Walk on road. Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later, get squish just like grape.”

What Mr. Miyagi was trying to communicate here is that you can’t walk along the center undecided. If you want to make something happen, and not get squished, you need to make a decision, pick a side, and make a statement.

Balance has its place, but an abundance of balance can also stop something from moving. You want blog posts to move and inspire, and that can’t be done with generic messages. It’s okay to say something that’s not all that popular. Most blog writers are looking for more subscribers, attention, and comments. Posts that make a statement will make all those things happen. So, throw things off balance a little. Pick a side. Say something.

Agree/Disagree? Feel free to “make a statement” below.

Starting Fresh

dennisoneil — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 04:01:59 +0000

I began to get the feeling that my online activities were getting a bit too fragmented. I’ve got wonderful new marketing partners over at Escapade ONeil Media Group, and I’m in great company over at New Home Know-how, but I felt I needed a home base – so here I am.

Here I’ll be writing , and sometimes venting, about technology and how I see it impacting buyer behavior. A lot, but not all, will be centered around my experiences in homebuilding and real estate. This is also the best place for people to find me if they’re looking for a speaker or a trainer, as I’ve been speaking often as of late, and find myself enjoying it tremendously.

If you’ve found my writing helpful or thought provoking in the past, please subscribe. I look forward to good and productive conversation.