Aligned Marketing Blog

Fun post: Here is a long list of websites that have thousands of video lectures from universities and scholars. Browsing through them is a good way to spark your imagination, peak inside the heads of some of the smartest people on earth, learn a foreign language or learn more about something that interests you, like medicine or physics.

• http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/av/index.htm
• 

http://worldlibrary.net/Collections.htm 


• http://freevideolectures.com/ 


• http://videolectures.net/ 


• http://lecturefox.com 

• http://www.youtube.com/user/Harvard 


• http://www.youtube.com/user/stanforduniversity 


• http://www.youtube.com/user/ncstate 


• http://www.youtube.com/user/carnegiemellonu
• 

http://www.youtube.com/user/georgiatech 


• http://www.youtube.com/user/UniversityofMinn 


• http://www.youtube.com/user/pennstate
• 

http://www.youtube.com/user/wesleyan
• http://OCW.ND.edu 


• http://OCW.Tufts.edu
• http://www.learnerstv.com/
• http://oedb.org/library/features/236-open-courseware-collections 


• http://www.careervoyages.gov/education-videos.cfm 


• http://www.sba.gov/tools/audiovideo/deliveringsuccess/index.html 


• http://www.sba.gov/training/index.html 


• http://www.sba.gov/tools/audiovideo/Podcasts/index.html 


• http://www.openculture.com/2007/07/freeonlinecourses.html
• 

http://www.videomd.com/featured_videos.aspx 


• http://www.freesciencelectures.com/ 


• http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/ 


• http://www.nachi.org/advancedcourses.htm 


• http://education-portal.com/video_library/index.html
• http://www.ocwconsortium.org/use/use-dynamic.html
• 

http://www.oercommons.org/ 


• http://selfmadescholar.com/b/self-education-resource-list/
• 

http://www.missiontolearn.com/2009/12/learn-foreign-language-online/ 



Now go learn something!

Steve
800-707-9150

This is the second of two posts on ways to find information and inspiration for creating new marketing video and blog posts. Any one of these activities, we use them all at Aligned Marketing, will produce new ideas to play with, new interests to explore, and new fodder for your marketing videos and blogs.

1. Movies and Books. The formula for a good movie or book is the same. They introduce a likable or sympathetic lead character, introduce danger or threat, which can be in the form of a person, a situation, or both, and then resolve the conflict just when you think all is lost. Use books and movies as an inspiration to write and shoot your own video. What would you do different if you were the lead character? What did you learn about management from watching The Godfather?
2. Traveling is one of the best ways to find your muse. Changing your location changes your thought patterns. New places and new people can alter and refresh the way you see the world.
3. YouTube and Flickr are both loaded with visual stimulation. You can quickly find amazing images of people doing extraordinary things, or just dumb stuff, to tickle your imagination into producing your next great video or blog.
4. If you like technology visit websites like CNET's, Fast Company's, Wired Magazine's or the TechCrunch blog and write or create a video about what you found interesting. If you like current events, visit The Wall Street Journal, CNN or USA Today's websites. Every subject has a few sites that do a great job of compiling and reporting current trends and noteworthy topics.
5. Speaking of trends: Trends are posted automatically on Yahoo and Twitter. See what all the hubbub is about, do a little research and then shoot a video or write a blog post adding your (informed) two-cents to the conversation.
6. Look in the mirror. I know, it sounds strange. It works. Sit in front of the mirror for a few minutes and let the self-reflection bring you to deeper thoughts than most of us have as we sit in front of our computers or ramble through our days. Then write about those thoughts.

I hope these short exercises and tips helps get your imagination brewing and makes the process of creating new, entertaining and insightful videos and blogs a more enjoyable experience.

Steve
800-707-9150

Many people are more comfortable with ideas than they are with data. That's too bad because without good data it's hard to get the funding you'll need to implement your good ideas. The business world is driven by facts, sales projections and generating a return on the investment.

Granted many of the projections are nothing more than educated guesses tied up in your ability to sell and gain a consensus. That doesn't make them useless or wrong, it just makes them, as stated, a guess.

As a creative type person, as a marketer, I had to acquire my taste for numbers. What I found was that the "what-if" scenarios appealed to my imagination. Where as a numbers geek would embroil themselves in the data looking for the one, single, truth, I knew no such single truth existed but found joy in exploring what was possible.

I knew that we could make a reasonable projection based on a certain set of variables and that work would exhaust our capabilities. Working beyond that point is wasted energy but, at times, the politically-wise thing to do.

Ours was a search for excellence, not truth. If you don't believe me review your last ten-years January sales projections. More than likely you'll find half of them are significantly wrong, missed guesses.

If you struggle with data, with facts, then try framing the process in terms your imagination can embrace. Try searching for "possible outcomes" instead of "the number."

Thought of and shared the right way numbers can be fun. If you don't believe me then watch Hans Rosling's amazing presentation about myths and predispositions surrounding the third world.


Steve

If you're thinking of startng a blog one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is: When will I write? It's an important question and not just from a time management perspective. Good writing is clear thinking, so you have to know when your mind works best, when your thoughts and imagination are most lucid.

The easy answer is whenever you feel like writing. We all have our own bio-clock. I write best in the morning, when my mind is clear, my energy level is high and the possibilities are endless. I’ve always been a morning person. I wake up early and widely. New day; let’s go!

Shortly after lunchtime my to-do list mind kidnaps me and I tend to scurry about from one short task to another. The mix of phone calls and emails clutters my cerebral-closet. Staying focused is a bear by late afternoon. It’s NOT my most productive time. By 4:00 I miss my morning and my writing world.

Many people can’t concentrate until the responsibilities of their day are met and the house is quiet. The night is their muse. To them, nighttime is built for dreaming, scheming and reflection on what might have been or what could be. It is a perfect time to write.

I read about a writer (can’t remember and couldn’t locate her name) that said she didn’t consider a story finished until she had a chance to edit it at different times of the day. She needed to see the story from all perspectives. I believe “All her selves,” is what she said. She was a full-time writer, unlike most of us.

My advice is to spend one week writing in the morning and one week writing in the evening. See what feels best and what produces the best work. Similarly, spend a week writing in the morning and editing in the evening and then reverse the approach. Learn by experimenting. Once you’ve settled on an approach, you’ll have more confidence in your ability to produce your best work.

Confidence is a requirement to motivation and success so nurturing your own (confidence) is important work.

Steve

• Imagine it's 1981 - your company is spending tons of money on couriers and shipping documents, and one of your employees tries to introduce you to the fax machine...
• Imagine it's 1984 - the accounting department is using pen and paper for accounting, and one of your employees brings in a personal computer and says this can help us run our business better...
• Imagine it's 1992 – a person comes in and says he thinks this new thing called email could improve communication and efficiencies...
• Imagine it's 1994 – a young employee tries to convince you that the company will sell more if you build  a website on this new thing called the world wide web...
• Imagine it's today and an employee walks into your office and says…

Steve