I’m now up into double digits with the number of ideas that I’ve shared with bloggers that have been taken to fruition.
I don’t mind sharing, well I didn’t, but am starting to, BUT I see now that the blogosphere is a populated by a different kind of person.
In the internet marketing world, where I started, when we sat down with someone, especially over a meal, and gave freely of our ideas, if you took an idea and ran with it, you invited the originator of the idea to participate. That’s basically what a “joint venture’ is. Basically, not entirely.
What I wasn’t sure of, but am now, was if the new breed of internet marketer, known as bloggers, was the type to use an idea and not even invite participation or if they, as bloggers would seem to be, would be sharers.
Most bloggers are not sharers. Most are users and takers. They take your time and use your idea. They run away to a dark corner and code like hell til they have a new service, project or blog.
That’s just wrong.
From now on, I will be more careful with my sharing, whether it’s in private, on the phone or over a meal. There may only be paid consultations.
I’ve got plenty of ideas left and they’ll pay more than the ones I’ve shared, so it’s not a big loss.
I might have taught you all you know, but I didn’t teach you all I know.
Peace.
PS – I’m taking the day off to go play golf. I will not expand on this post. No names. No fingers to be pointed at a specific site.
You have no idea who these bloggers are. If you think you do, you’re wrong.
EDIT – Notice the phrase ‘double digits’ – this isn’t a specific or one-time thing. It’s over a period of a year. It does not point specifically to anything new, just released or current.
The photo used is to point you to a way to work with bright ideas.
EDIT #2 – This does in no way, shape or form refer to Brian Clark or Chris Pearson and their soon to be launched service.
Hell, I know where Pearson lives and will be in Louisville tomorrow. If I had a beef with him, I’d go by and eat lunch with him at Q’doba and talk it over like adults.
Chris has, thru his Blog Louisville site, made me thousands of dollars by selling ads. Why in the hell would I bite the hand that fed me ?
I’m dumb, but I ain’t that dumb.
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Mike … please ease my worries with this post and say it’s not about me and our recent conversations. |:
Martin,
I was just opening my email client to send you a note.
I actually turned around and came back home to send it, because I was afraid you’d misinterpret this.
This is about something WAY larger than what we talked about.
Doesn’t apply here.
This is about old news. My blog’s a year old this month. Some of the things I talked to people about back then are just starting to show.
Nothing you see on a daily basis is covered here.
Remember – my focal point is the corporate world.
They know who they are. They come by here to keep tabs.
Don’t anybody misinterpret this in our circle.
This was more for my benefit than theirs.
I feel better already, but the 18 holes of golf and the cellphone turned off will make it even better.
If anyone in our current circle is offended, I aploogize for their mistakeness.
This doesn’t apply to current happenings per se.
OK, I’m confused… but I’ll say this.
It’s my idea (been living with for a long time), and Chris was still clueless when I pitched him on it.
Does that help?
Mike: I’ve just stumbled upon your blog. Found it from a link about your 10 post ideas — good ideas by the way.
As the ball gets rolling even faster about blogs, and the corporate media types see it as a real revenue stream, this type of behavior you mention will probably happen more often.
This world of blogs was an off-shoot of the open source movement where people shared ideas and code and expected quid pro quo. It was a community. You could count on it. There was mutual respect.
I think that is changing now. Too many people looking to game the system for a quick buck. Too many people wanting to get something for nothing. The Takers.
Sadly, it happens in all communities, on and offline. Has since the dawn of time. Your frustration comes through clearly in this post.
Well, best of luck to you. Keep your golden ideas to yourself for the benefit of you and yours. Nobody would blame you.
I’m gonna add this in another EDIT at the end of the post, but I’ll also say it here -
This post has absolutely NOTHING to do with Brian Clark or Chris Pearson and their pre-launch of their new service.
It has everything to do with one of the corporate blogs that I do.
After seeing Brian’s comment, I went to see what the heck might have struck him the wrong way and found a comment I made without any thought at Pearsonified.
If you saw that comment and this post and thought I was making reference to them – you are wrong.
Brian Clark and/or Chris Pearson have never received any consulting from me, nor do they need it.
I consider both to be far above any help I could offer them.
Neither is in need of any help from me.
If there’s anything more I can say, aside from the ways I’ve tried to make it obvious that this is a corporate thing, please tell me how to do it.
Read the comment I left for Martin – ” Remember – my focal point is the corporate world.
They know who they are. They come by here to keep tabs.
Don’t anybody misinterpret this in our circle.”
Obviously Mr. Pearson and Mr. Clark are in my circle, even if I have to look way up to see them, so they would not fit within these parameters.
If anybody has any further doubts, please let me know how to clear it up for you.
I’ll do a freakin’ news release if I have to and I apologize to them if anyone thought I was referring to them.
I told you I was confused!
The whole thing was out of absolutely no where to me, but I thought it better that I stop by than the guy who thought you were mad at him.
Kiss and make up time.
Again, I’m terribly sorry that there might have been some that were confused by this.
Had I thought for a second that you guys would be offended by this, I’d have never done it.
Ditto to what Brian said.
Of course I’d misinterpret it – cause the ideas we discussed on the same day as this post were ideas that will take us to the next level in blogging, IMHO.
See it from my POV – we discuss ideas and then this post. It’s easy to add one and one. Seems though, this time it equalled 3.
So I didn’t want to be seen as a “taker” and piss you off.
Anhyhow, it’s all good and now go and hit a few birdies for me
Martin, my friend, what you and I discussed is a nice addition to what we do now. It’s still a great idea and we shared info both ways.
I will be doing it and I hope you do too. BUT it wasn’t my proprietery idea and I’m sure I wasn’t the first to think that way.
What I’m referring to was a fairly original idea. A New twist. A new take.
What I got the raw end of was a nice 5 figure addition to my take every year. A very nice five figures.
What I did for these people was give them a lot of my soul and got nothing in return.
It’ll come back to me in triplicate. It always does. But it’s still hard to swallow, even when you know that.
I’ll try to keep my corporate life out of this realm in the future.
My sincere apologies to all who thought I was stupid enough to fight out loud amongst ourselves.
Please know that I would do that over the phone or thru private email…unless, like the corporate SOB’s that I’m thinking poorly of, you won’t take my calls or return my emails anymore.
Wow, Mike. I’m so sorry you’ve been betrayed like that. (my instinctive ownership of all guilt put a little shiver down my spine — but then I remembered that I hadn’t stolen any ideas from you. And I won’t, I promise!)
Mike,
I heard you were sending me emails, but the old bloglouisville address got KO’d when I moved servers…Try the deuce one (you can find it on my author.php page).
C
Thanks for the support Katie…the corporate world is an ugly place sometimes.
Hey Chris – I’ll do that when I get back. I’m out of town for a couple of days.
The sharing of ideas and thoughts are exciting and scary all at once. All I know is that the next originall thought I have will be my first.
I say this because everything we do is derived from something. Keep sharing buddy. This blog is the ONLY one I have subscribed to because of the great idea starters that it provides.
Don’t let the small minded thieves limit the value that you indeed bring to us that makes this what it is. The best infrmation on marketing and selling on the internet today.
Great job. I hope I to be as smart as you are someday and will repay the source of information back to you when I am.
Joe C.
Hey Joe,
It’s been almost a year and I’m still at it – giving away ideas like…well, like you do on your site !
I sell to masonry and general contractors every day and will read the heck out of your articles on my coming vacation.
Thanks for the kudo’s, it’ll keep me going for another year.
I’ll shoot you an email in a day or three.