What’s the value I create?
The last couple of days I have begun assessing the last year, looking at what happened, what did I achieve and produce, where did I create value. At the same time, I started jotting down some goals for next year (C.C. Chapman recommended starting early, not January 2nd, and what C.C. recommends gets done in this household).
If I mention the word value too often for your taste, please excuse, but I am still reading Steve Pavlina’s book Personal Development for Smart People
One reason that inspired me to write this post is the question, why do almost 1,000 people follow me on twitter.com? What is their reasoning? Am I providing them with value? How? Do the like…
to see the constant conversations with @rednix or @rbw?
to not miss me critizising everything that doesn’t work according to me thinking?
to read my tweets because I am so funny?
to read about my work or my podcast projects?
to read my tweets because I am a running encyclopedia for Friends quotes?
to read about my son, my iPhone or my cooking?
to read my tweets because I have so many followers and the can’t be wrong?
to read my tweets because I am ranked high on some lists (here)?
to read my tweets because I am sometimes quick to post upcoming stories?
to read my tweets because I have such great taste in music?
(feel free to post an answer in the comments)
You see, I have tweeted quite a bit, and just by looking at any list, many tweeple around me, have something the general public knows them fore. Successful reputation management and communications consultant, speaker, author, none of the above but interesting hairdo, software architect, CEO, conference guy, journalist and so on. In your eyes, what is my area of expertise? And if you don’t know how to answer that, what is your interest in my writing/life? By all means, I don’t want you to go away, please stay. I am just wondering if I should get more crisps or post another book report, metaphorically speaking.
Well, now that I know, back to the last year and next year. I like Timo’s post about his reading list. That’s close to two books a month. Not bad at all, though I think we should challenge him to read even more next year. I was just looking at my Visual Bookshelf but it turns out there is no record of “when did I mark this book as read” (and now, I am not going to search the mini-feed). Why is it that one only sees the bad stuff later?
I used to read more, but with the offspring hopping about and unsteady sleep cylces, I think I am about to 20 books for 2008. That should increase in 2009 though, and “Join the Conversation” needs to be among the first titles done in 2009. I wrote a 5-year-plan after reading Getting things Done in 2004/5 and “authoring an article” is still open. While I am happy that an episode of the Kanal 14-podcast was circulated in the current t3n-issue, and that the Speaking English Podcast was part of an ad campaign, and that it is now available via satellite tv, for some reason I want that article published.
Last year was great for the English Podcast as a whole, now doubt. I don’t have the daily figures, but my estimate is that we’ll have 750k total views for the year. And with this number in the back, there has got to come a sponsor aboard. Period. And maybe I’ll do some English teaching too, I am just not sure how that would scale.
Oh, and I think I should be speaking too. Coming back to the intro question, what do you see me speaking about? I have a pretty good feeling it will have something to do with going green. We’ll see. For now, I have decided to speak truthfully to my followers: