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Seth Godin - Tribes

Seth Godin is a writing machine - since Permission marketing hit the shelves he has cranked out quite a pile of books such as Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable and All Marketers are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. Some criticise Godin for writing in a simplistic, repetitive way. I wonder if that is part of his formula for success. Easy to read, catchy phrases, isn't that how advertising works?

His thesis in Tribes is that people want to belong, but tribes need leaders and that should be you. The web means you can lead from afar, or the rear - or in your jockey shorts from your spare room.

I like Godin's take on the world. Here is an extract from his blog:


The marketer's attitude

Traditional job requirements: show up, sober. Listen to the boss, lift heavy objects.

Here's what I'd want if I were hiring a marketer:

You're relentlessly positive. You can visualize complex projects and imagine alternative possible outcomes. It's one thing to talk about thinking outside the box, it's quite another to have a long history of doing it successfully. You can ride a unicycle, or can read ancient Greek.

Read the rest



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Seth Godin at TED


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