It’s worth a nickel

• getting lots done today and enjoying the pace of things. #
• @robertb83 good luck shipping them! i should just visit you instead! in reply to robertb83 #
• what a fantastic idea! "like juice boxes for winos" (http://bit.ly/bXcMwT). naturally i want some. #
• @socialmedium i totally failed last night. hot, greasy slice of cheese pizza at midnight…. mmmm, so good. in reply to socialmedium #
• @marcusisfresh the only thing missing was you! come on up to beacon on friday for a drink…. in reply to marcusisfresh #
• my friend mike young wants a monocle. yikes. #
• hey mint.com, does anyone over there work in customer service? i can't get any help to save my life! #
• @marcusisfresh you should come out for drinks in po-town tonight!!! in reply to marcusisfresh #
• i like this notion: stop interrupting your customers so much! http://bit.ly/aNnMkj #
• a great commentary on the future of tablet pcs. i love the concept, but they're "not there yet" for me. http://bit.ly/cBxmEi #

• I just unlocked the "Explorer" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/ckXx3F #
• I just unlocked the "Bender" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/bzloxs #
• I just ousted @dswboi as the mayor of Babycakes cafe and bakery on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/bVw0NN #
• @lbenitez you forgot to mention unreadable URLs and a whole lotta downtime … in reply to lbenitez #
• @JoeNBC yup. switzerland 1, spain 0. in reply to JoeNBC #
• @fjania would love to hear how you enjoy ebooks; i'm tempted but i enjoy the tactile experience of the paper/page turning. in reply to fjania #
• how does bp intend to survive this? http://bit.ly/cvfX4m i'm not sure they should. #
• @joshholden oh i'm sure you can bubbly yourself under the right circumstances. in reply to joshholden #
• @joshholden pretty sure you still *are* young, sweetie. in reply to joshholden #

• @fjania you're a liar… you'd have gone home! in reply to fjania #
• night out in nyc… next stop vlada. #
• total twitter silence this week because i'm taking a class at work #
• in new paltz for pride! #

… and I kind of love that headline, because it’s so provocative.

Perhaps needless to say, I don’t actually know any of the children of US Presidents. In fact, most of them died long before I was born, but even the contemporary ones don’t exactly run in the same social circles that I do, and so I’ve never even been given a chance to actually hate any of them.

Having said that, though, I do hate All the Presidents’ Children by Doug Wead.

I rarely refuse to finish a book. I feel that once I’ve invested the time to select, pick up, and begin to read a book, it deserves my attention. It deserves to be read.

Mr. Wead, you’ve challenged that assertion. Your bland, uninspired prose allowed me to quit on page 76. The book jumps around constantly, to the point that I was left uncertain more than once as to whom I was reading about. Pronouns are used indiscriminately, leaving me to wonder if the book was edited at all. I wonder whether the authors close connections to the Bush family are the reason this book was published at all; had it been left to my devices, it would have been tossed into the fire as so much kindling.

In short: don’t bother.

Every once in a while, you find a book that just really inspires. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, is one of those books.

I found myself laughing while reading this book about selling and marketing your ideas! Their combined experience and wisdom made for a great read… which is fitting, since the Heaths suggest that the single best way to sell your idea is to make it into a good story, because that’s how people get attached. They’ve followed their own advice and made what could have been a dry presentation of a framework for selling ideas into a fun book for anyone to read.

I consider this recommended reading for anyone who has ever needed to convince another person of anything. And yes, that’s everyone in the world. Whether you’re actually working in a marketing or advertising role, or you’re in sales, or not… we’re all selling ourselves and our ideas every day.

How often do you read a marketing book that uses urban legends as an example of an idea that sticks? Not too often, but this one does! Here are Chip and Dan’s six principles for ideas that stick:

1. Simplicity. But think proverbs, not sound bites.
2. Unexpectedness. This is how you catch people’s attention, but it’s not how you hold it.
3. Concreteness. Especially when dealing with new information, it must be tangible and accessible, not abstract and theoretical.
4. Credibility. If nobody believes you, it doesn’t matter how good the idea is. There are many ways to establish credibility; find one.
5. Emotions. Engage people’s feelings, and you’re more than halfway there. And it doesn’t have to be only positive emotions!
6. Stories. This is our common human practice. We swap stories, and we’re more likely to swap them if they’re simple, unexpected, concrete, credible and emotional.

Pick it up. Read it. Love it.