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Inner Circle of Friends

by JimRaffel on August 2, 2010

Friends all met through TwitterI’ve got this friend named Twitter, she’s pretty much awesome. Even awesome friends push you away sometimes. It’s OK, she’s in my inner circle of friends and in no time we’ll be best buds, hanging out together again.

While Twitter and I “take a break” I’ve got this other friend LinkedIn. Oh my gosh he is the be all and end all for connecting me with the folks I do (and want to do) business with. This whole time Twitter and I have been figuring out we needed a break, LinkedIn has been whispering in my ear about all the great stuff he and I can do together. Turns out he’s one smart dude and now that he’s in my inner circle, we’ll be spending more time together.

Then, there’s my bi-polar friend Facebook I can’t decide if I love her hate her on any given day. She connects me with friends I have not seen or heard from in a long time. She even shows me pictures of them and their children. So, she helps me keep track of friends from the past – pretty cool really. Well, it would be but some of them play Mafia Wars and never was a more annoying “game” ever invented. Yes, yes I know how to block and filter the parts of Facebook’s personality I don’t care for and I do. The real problem is she frequently changes the terms of our relationship and it all feels very one sided. I’m not so sure she’s in my inner circle of friends.

Finally, there is my therapist and business advisor. His name is Third Tribe Marketing. I pay him to be my friend and I’m OK with that. I sure don’t visit my Doctor seeking advice on my health for free so why should sound business advice and ideation be any different? When Twitter pushed me away I went and spent some time conversing with Third Tribe. He runs a lot of group therapy sessions so I was actually conversing with other people just like me that had come to see Third Tribe(affiliate link) for similar reasons. Sometimes I’m helping them and sometimes they are helping me. Sounds pretty win-win doesn’t it? Third Tribe Marketing is at the center of my inner circle of friends.

I’ve gone back to Twitter but if you follow me there you will see my activity is far below what it was for a while. I’m finding the two way benefit to be more apparent in Third Tribe and on LinkedIn. For me Twitter is fun to hang out with if I am looking for the next networking meetup or want to see what kind of information(links) my friends are sharing. Trending topics become clear pretty quickly with Twitter as well.

Any feelings about my “friends” you’d like to share in the comments?

Popularity: 8%

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Continue Reading 9 comments }Stuff I Like, Twitter, Uncategorized, new media, personal development, social media

Third Tribe Marketing is my Drug of Choice

by JimRaffel on March 4, 2010

If you’re going to be powerless over something why not make it something positive – right? For me it’s this place:

Over the last year I have been replacing negative high risk behaviors with guaranteed negative outcomes with the exact opposite. The Third Tribe community is now one of my favorite places to run and hide when I need a mental break. Why you ask? Well let me tell you why.

In just 30 days as a member I have learned:

  • How to improve this blog in so many small ways.
  • How to Improve my ColorMetrix business site.
  • How to Improve traffic and usability of the ColorMetrix on-line store.
  • …and I’m just getting started!

More importantly I have met so many like-minded individuals. Other bloggers, other marketers, other people struggling to understand how business and marketing in the on-line world really work. I’ve been able to interact with people like Chris Brogan, Brian Clark and other heavy hitters in the world of blogging and on-line marketing.

When I am feeling overwhelmed by my day or just need a ten minute break Third Tribe Marketing is where I turn now. The forums are my favorite place in Third Tribe to spend time. I feel safe there – I will write and share things there that are a bit too raw and unedited for this blog. I learn, I contribute, I share with an awesome community of like-minded individuals.

There is a fee for Third Tribe and I know that turns some people off. That’s OK, the heavy hitters in there (and the not so heavy hitters like me) still have blogs where everything is free. I will continue to write here everyday. I will continue to participate in the comments here. This is my home base and everything I do on-line starts and ends right here. I’m not going anywhere. My Membership in Third Tribe makes JimRaffel.com a better place to be.

The fee is paid monthly so the initial “risk” is fairly modest if you are serious about your on-line marketing activities. In addition to the forums I love so much, there has been some amazing seminar content just in the first month. Topics like:

  • Building a Business Around a Blog Part 1
    (Darren Rowse with Brian Clark)
  • Building a Business Around a Blog Part 2
    (Chris Brogan with Sonia Simone)
  • Building a Business Around a Blog Part 3
    (Brian Clark with Sonia Simone)

Plus coming this month more great educational content has been announced:

  • Building a Business Around a Blog Part 4
    (Leo Baubata with Darren Rowse)
  • Email Marketing Strategies that Work
    (Brian Clark and Sonia Simone)

You don’t just get the audio of the above programs you also get transcripts and worksheets instantly upon joining:

While it could be argued I am writing this post for the affiliate revenue I may earn should some of you decide to sign up, that would be wrong. The revenue will be appreciated to support my blogging habit, but I am much more interested in adding more like minded individuals with different points of view to the community. The forums are already amazing, just imagine how much better they will be with your voice included.

Click the banner and learn a little more.

So, did you go take a look at the community? If so what did you think of Third Tribe Marketing? Also, does a post of this nature bother you? Please let me know!

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Continue Reading 8 comments }Uncategorized