Category

business

Ted Murphy
In business

Happy 10th Birthday MindComet!

Last month I had the pleasure of joining the crew from MindComet on their 10th anniversary cruise (if you are into corporate culture be sure to click on that link!). It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since I started the company. I haven’t been active in day to day operations since I founded IZEA, but the organization remains a big piece of my heart. I have always seen MindComet as an engine for innovation and creativity, it was clear that these value remain when I had the opportunity to speak to new team members I had not met before.

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I would like to give a huge shout out to Marcelle Turner, my beloved sister and current CEO at the company. She took the reigns about a year ago and has done a tremendous job in the role. You have to be a creative type to manage creative types and she is among the most creative people I know.

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Marcelle has ushered in a new age at the company, complete with a new corporate identity that I personally love. Leave it to the MindComet team to debunk my post about flash websites sucking for SEO. Their new site is search engine friendly and allows you to deep link to whatever you want.

If you are looking for an interactive agency drop the team at MindComet a line.

Ted Murphy
In sales & marketing

Don’t Advertise in Phone Books!

Last November I wrote a blog post titled Stop leaving me phone books. In it I explained that I haven’t had a home phone in (5) years, yet I continue to get phone books. My friend Alli pointed me to a site that was supposed to stop the madness… but one year later I came home to two phone books sitting on my porch. Why would the phone company continue to deliver expensive phone books to me? One reason. Advertising dollars.

Phone Book Circulation is Crap

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Credit : funkeemunkeeland

The phone company sells advertising to local businesses largely based on the circulation of phone books. The problem is that nobody with a computer has a use for phone books anymore. The Internet has replaced the need for these prehistoric landfill-busting monsters. I can’t remember the last time that I even opened a phone book, yet my two phone books are being represented to advertisers as market reach. Both books went straight into the recycling bin, what a waste of money and natural resources.

If you are a local business do yourself a favor and invest in online marketing. The more savvy you become now the more effective your efforts will be in the future. It won’t be long until these dinosaurs are extinct.

Ted Murphy
In events

Join Me and Tony Hsieh

I will be speaking at the B.I.G. (Business Innovation & Growth) Summit on Thursday, November 19th at the Hilton Orlando. The summit is a big departure for the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce and I am happy to see some spunk coming out of our local business community. Instead of suits and ties thing jeans, t-shirts and flip flops. This is a business conference designed for today’s creative workforce.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh will be keynoting the event. His session is titled “Building a $1 Billion Business”… hells yeah! Sign me up! I will lead a workshop on building better relationships using digital media. If you are an entrepreneur living in Central Florida you would be a donkey to miss this event. Sign up now!

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Ted Murphy
In gear

Apple Addict

My father introduced me to my first Mac when I was only 8 years old. It was a Macintosh 512k and I remember slapping away on the keyboard like it was yesterday. I would fight my dad for time on it, I grabbed the mouse every chance I could get. I was a MacPaint master. While other kids where making watercolors for their parents I was making bitmap computer art. When HyperCard came out in 1987 I knew I would spend the rest of my life tethered to a computer.

MacPaint

This afternoon Tara and I watched the movie Welcome to Macintosh (yes, I am an iTunes affiliate) and I started to think about how many Macs I have had in my life. I am not sure about the exact number, but through my companies I have bought somewhere between 250-300 Macs over the years. I took a look at apple-history.com to see how many different Macs I can remember buying (or my parents buying before I had my own money). Here is the list:

  • Macintosh 512knmp_2000
  • Macintosh Plus
  • Macintosh SE30
  • Macintosh Powerbook 140
  • Macintosh LC III
  • Power Macintosh 8500
  • Power Macintosh 7200
  • Newton Message Pad 2100
  • PowerBook G3
  • Power Macintosh G3
  • iMac
  • iMac (Rev.C)
  • Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)
  • PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard)
  • Power Macintosh G4 (AGP Graphics)
  • iMac (Slot Loading)
  • PowerBook G3 (Firewire)
  • Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet)
  • PowerBook G4
  • Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver)
  • iMac (Summer 2001)
  • Power Macintosh G4 (Mirrored Doors)
  • Xserve
  • iMac (Flat Panel)
  • PowerBook G4 (12.1″)
  • PowerBook G4 (17″)
  • Xserve RAID
  • Powerbook G4 (17″ 1.33Ghz)
  • Xserve G5
  • Mac mini
  • MacBook Pro
  • MacBook Pro (17″)
  • AppleTV
  • iPod (many)
  • iPod Nano (many)
  • iPhone (1st Gen, 3G)
Me in 1999 with a G3 Laptop and Retard Hair

Me in 1999 with a G3 laptop and stupid hair

Yeah, I am a Mac. Old school baby! I know there is a lot of buzz about Windows 7 but I will never be a PC guy. The closest I have ever come was a couple of Power Computing rigs in the 90’s. Apple FTW!

Ted Murphy
In sales & marketing

Me on E!

Last week I was invited to be a guest on That Morning Show on E!. I have been on national television a few times now and it still makes me nervous as hell. I am always worried I am going to say something wrong or just make an ass out of myself. Luckily, I made it through another interview relatively unscathed.

Ted Murphy
In inspiration

Take the Hard Road

This morning I got out of the shower and looked down at my feet. They have seen better days. Two of my toe nails are purple, the bottom of my feet are callused, worn and healing from blisters. My feet have propelled me through four marathons so far this year. Each duel with the road has been long, hard and painful.

I know that my feet are unsightly. I know that the marathon I am running next weekend (NYC Marathon) will likely spawn another purple toe. I don’t care. My feet are my battle scars, a visual reminder that I can overcome any challenge and a testament to my way of life. They inspire me to push myself harder and commit to doing the things that others can’t or won’t do.

Uncharted Territory

Life is full of decisions. Many times those decisions are between a low risk, low resistance, “easy” road and a higher risk, more difficult road. Too often we choose the easy road because the hard road is….well…hard. The hard road is uncharted. It is full of unknowns, seems too far out of reach and requires true commitment over the long haul.

Come to think of it the hard road is not much of a road at all. It’s not paved because so few people take it. It’s more like a faint path straight into a dark forest. The question is are you strong enough to make it through to the other side.

Your Decisions Inspire Others

I could jazzercise instead of running marathons. IZEA could sell display ads instead of battling to mainstream sponsored conversations. But what’s the point? Where is the challenge? Who cares?

I say “I just finished jazzercising.”
You say “Nice leotard.”

I say “I just finished a marathon.”
You say “That is incredible. I am going to start exercising again.”

I run for me. I do it to challenge myself and stay healthy. While my decision to take the hard road was totally personal I also know that my story has motivated many of you to start exercising. By taking the hard road you can inspire others to do the same. Soon, all of us are setting a higher bar for each other and the world is a more productive place.

Go for it

It’s time to get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. It’s time to achieve something you never thought you could. You can do it….take the hard road.

Ted Murphy
In travel

Dinner at Stack Las Vegas

logo_stack_venue_pageTwo of my favorite things in life are good food and smart people… so when Sarah Evans invited me to a VIP social media dinner compliments of Stack Las Vegas during Blog World Expo I was fired up. It isn’t often that you get to enjoy gourmet cuisine in a private room while conversing with people like Brian Solis, Ben Parr, Scott Monty, Rick Calvert, Jason Kintzler, L.P. Neenz, James Andrews, Tamara Knechtel and Manya Susoev .

Jermaine Dupris

Scott Monty, Jermaine Dupri and Me

Kick ass restaurant… kick ass people… sounds like a place you want to be right? It gets even better! In addition to the social media rockstars above we were joined by music mogul Jermaine Dupri and Don Lemon from CNN.

What can a dinner teach you?

The dinner seemed to blaze by, but I do have a few nuggets to share from the experience:

1. Brand backwards.

kris_krossJames Andrews and Jermaine Dupri worked together on Kriss Kross when they were big in the 90s. I mentioned that I was one of those teenage kids that ted_crossthought it was cool to wear my clothes backwards (which my parents just looooved). Jermaine explained that he came up with the idea while he was developing the Kriss Kross brand. They never wore their clothes backwards until it was time to go big and release an album. I would say it worked, their second album Da Bomb went platinum. As a result an untold number of kids spent hours trying to figure out how to pee with with their pants on backwards. Lesson : Sometimes the easiest way to set yourself apart from everyone else is to do the exact opposite.

2. Rock it out.

The food at Stack was incredible. I loved everything that I tried (don’t even get me started on the baked mac and cheese), but my favorite dish by far was the hot rocks appetizer. Thinly sliced raw sirloin was served along with a super heated smooth black rock. I used chopsticks to grab the beef and cook it on the rock to my own liking. I sarahhave been to fondue restaurants and had similar experiences cooking my own food at the table, but did not expect this type of presentation at Stack. The hot rock added an element of excitement and conversation around the table, not because it was unheard of but because it was unexpected in an American bistro. Lesson : The element of surprise is always a good thing.

3. Get real.

I know some people say online life is real life but I honestly believe that nothing can replace face to face human interaction. There is something about sharing a steak, causing smile and snapping a photo together that just doesn’t have an online equivalent. Lesson : If you are truly interested in building relationships for yourself or your company you need to get out there and shake some hands.

4. Be yourself.iphone

I don’t need a body guard. I am nowhere near famous. The only stalkers I have to worry about are the people reading this blog and I have already hired a private investigator to check out all three of you. Jermaine Dupri is another story. He travels with a body guard and I can’t say I blame him. The man is famous… a true celebrity. However, even though he is a celebrity he does not act like one. I was amazed by how personable he was. He barely sat down at dinner because he was zipping around the table talking to people and soaking up information (seen at right with Ben Parr in a heated iPhone debate). He was refreshingly approachable, which is more than I can say for some “social media celebrities” that have let things get to their heads. He even posted the photos we took together to his site before I could post them on my site.  Lesson : You are never too big to be decent, human and approachable.

5. Take more pictures.

I am a dumbass. I should have taken more pictures. Lesson : Don’t get so caught up on the moment that you forget to capture it.

Special thanks to Sarah Evans and The Light Group for making this all happen. You guys rock.

Ted Murphy
In inspiration

Do you eat your own dog food?

I was looking through some old videos today and noticed one that really caught my attention.  About seven months ago IZEA responded to a dog food RFP (request for proposal). The RFP wasn’t really geared toward sponsored conversations… or social media for that matter. But, I am a dog lover and I wanted this company as a new client. Even though it wasn’t a perfect fit I decided to swing for the fences and go for it anyway.

When it comes to winning new business I am a big believer in creativity. You can’t just submit the same boring response as the next guy or you will never stand out. You have to be original, passionate and offer a unique value that isn’t easily replicated.

I preach this constantly to my team at IZEA, but I also practice what I preach. For this campaign we came up with the idea of a dog food taste test (with humans instead of dogs). Not only did I volunteer to make the video, I also volunteered to be a taster. I eat my own dog food….literally.

So…did we win the business? No. Not on that pitch. This particular client (which is not Pedigree) was still figuring out what they want to do with social media and opted for good old display ads. However, seven months later we are still in collaborating with them and it has turned into a great relationship. The lesson here is that a extra effort can go a long way.

How about you? What was the most original business proposal you either gave or received? Are you pumping out templates or customizing to meet your clients goals?

Ted Murphy
In sales & marketing

The Big Box Stores of the Dominican Republic

Today is our last day in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We haven’t left the resort since we got here, but this morning we decided to take a little stroll down the beach. We figured we might find some cool local shops but to my amazement the big box stores had already taken over. All of these were within 100 feet of each other. We bought a plasma TV and a patio set.

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