Box Scores: June 29-July 5 – Monday Motivation (and lots of it)
Hopefully you folks enjoyed the 4th of July this weekend in some form or fashion. Nothing like some burgers and fireworks to show off our true American spirit, and if that doesn’t make for a good weekend, we don’t know what does (as a side note, to our countless readers in other parts of the world, we hope you enjoyed your weekends, U.S. Independence Day or not). That said, we’ve got Box Scores to help you get back into the swing of your work week. So read up and see what the best of the blogosphere had to offer us last week.
A great way to kick off this week, this post from Valeria Maltoni at Conversation Agent is inspiring and motivational without sounding like it was written by a cheesy motivational speaker (not to be confused with an awesome motivational speaker). Referring to how much passion we bring to projects we work on, Valeria points out that “It turns out that social media is but a reflection of life, just like public relations, marketing, and everything else with them – we get out of it what we put in.” Truth. Are you putting in what you expect to get out of each project you undertake? Think about it…
It’s easy to do what everyone else does. Act the same way every other person around you does. Follow the industry norms and get in where you fit in. But that’s also not as fun. And, really, it’s not the way to innovate. Luckily for us, Jonathan Morrow over at Copyblogger has realized this and eloquently expresses why it’s worth it to be a little different. As he puts it, “The people we pay attention to aren’t the masters of doing what’s “right;” they’re the misfits who have the courage to be wrong. They take whatever everyone else is doing in their industry and turn it inside out.” So…do you have the courage to be wrong?
The folks at PR-Squared have had some recent good fortune and success. And according to one of their more recent posts, that doesn’t give them any time to rest. Why? Because, in their words, “They (you!) scare me. They (you!) can beat me. If I can win what I’m winning, they (you!) can win what I’m winning.” They realize that, while they’re doing some big and exciting things (and doing them well), there will always be the next group or team ready to do big and exciting things too. So…are you working hard enough to stay on top when that time comes? If not, you might want to consider being a little bit more scared (and work a little bit harder as a result), because there are plenty of up-and-coming teams ready to do just that…
-“8 First Step SEO Tips for Bloggers”
Every once in awhile, people just need some good and beneficial information in a nice, easy-to-follow summary. Luckily for all of us, Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger has provided some great first-step tips on SEO to his readers and we wanted to be sure they were passed along to you. After sharing these solid SEO tips, Darren discusses his opinions on the role of SEO for bloggers. His thoughts, as usual, are worth the read. Hopefully you get as much from these 8 tips (and subsequent analysis) as we did.
-“Become A Beacon On The Digital Landscape”
Adam Singer once again posts a typically-insightful post on his blog, The Future Buzz, regarding our role as thought leaders and why it’s important to stand out as a light of information and wisdom to our followers and blog readers. As he puts it, “You must become a beacon or you are essentially at the whim of others who point attention at their own discretion, perhaps shining the light on you for fleeting moments…if you’re lucky.” Why wait for someone to shine their light on you if you’re capable to turn up the power and light the way yourself?… Not sure? That’s what we thought. Don’t be afraid to step up and “become a beacon on the digital landscape.” Because, in the long run, it’s either you or your competitors who will be willing to shine.
Talk about motivation in this week’s Box Scores. From waking up passionate about your work to courageously risking being wrong to shining brightly as a beacon on the digital landscape, the Box Scores mix was full of some great posts from last week encouraging us to work hard and do good things (or, as we like to say at Deep Bench, “Work. Play. Do Good.”). Hopefully you’re as inspired by these posts as we were. If you were, or if there’s any other great stuff you feel should’ve been included in this week’s Box Scores, let us know in the comments section or by hitting us up on Twitter at @deepbench.
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