I first heard of the “Toys For Tots” Internet toy drive way back in 1998 – through my friend, Rick Beneteau. I’ve tried my best to support this annual event ever since, by spreading word around and contributing a little bit to make life brighter for a child during the holidays.

Thousands of needy children who would otherwise NOT get a single gift at Christmas this year, will hopefully now get several!

Introducing The 10th Annual Internet Toy Drive, in affiliation with the official U.S. Marine Corps “TOYS FOR TOTS” Program:

http://www.internettoydrive.org

We *know* that with Your Help we can go a LONG way into making sure Santa visits EVERY needy child this year!

* ALL donations will be placed on special order forms (credit cards and online checks) on the Toys for Tots secure server. Donors will receive an automated email/tax deductible receipt when their donation/order is confirmed. Mail-in payments are also accepted.

* Donations will be dispersed to the nearest U.S. Marine Corps Base to the donor for the purchase of needed gifts.

Listen to the theme-song for this project! Turn up your speakers and click here

This year’s goal is to raise $100,000 for Toys for Tots from now until December 24th. That can ONLY happen if all of us put our hearts and mouses on the line to put the word out.

Here are 4 simple steps you can take right now that will HELP more than you might imagine:

1. Visit The Internet Toy Drive Website and give whatever you can right now. Even if it’s $5.00, it WILL HELP!

2. Help Spread the Word by telling everyone you know about The Internet Toy Drive. Please send them a link to this blog, or share this letter with them – and invite them to pass it along if they have an opt-in list.

3. If you have an ezine/newsletter, PLEASE feature this message in the weeks ahead.

4. If you have a website, PLEASE grab one of these banners and link to The Internet Toy Drive.

Personally, I’ve always believed that giving is the greatest way to receive. YOU can do a whole lot of good by taking these simplest of actions. But PLEASE do it now – this is just a one month drive!

Let’s Help Kids this Christmas!

“Fame and fortune bring out your true character, good or bad.” – Anonymous

Authenticity, Transparency, Integrity

When the history of social media is written, the triad of words used to reference it may well be these.

In the deeply interconnected virtual Universe we all are a part of, it is becoming increasingly difficult to run and hide. Just about everything we say, do, or even think, is now ‘public domain’ in a disconcerting and scary way.

Welcome to “Life in the fishbowl”

Everyone (at least it seems that way) is watching you. Whatever you do, say or claim is subject to the closest scrutiny and debate. Your smallest move is now visible to hundreds, if not thousands or even millions around the world.

The brand called YOU

Your brand may start out as what you say or project about yourself and your business. But it ends up being what THEY say – ‘they’ being a global audience that’s scattered, and yet intimately connected via social media networks.

Integration is the key

You no longer have a choice. You need to weave this new reality into your view of the world – and adapt whatever you’re doing to leverage off its power. And that boils down to what you let social media become to you.

Mirror – Or Magnifying Glass?

At the simplest level, you can simply be “You” on social media. Let it reflect the diverse unique components that go to make up the incomparable wonder that stares back at you every time you look in a mirror.

Or you can go deeper, and tap into some of the more powerful facets of social media – like human networks, niche interests, sharing tools, and more – to amplify a few of them.

• Make them exciting and fascinating, or horrifying and repulsive.

• Gain mindshare and attention by honing down your focus like a laser beam.
• Build tribes that engage with and follow you – because they like what you share.

Social media can be a mirror – or a magnifying glass. It depends on what you want to do with it.

What DO you?

Had he paid to have “The Social Network“ produced and marketed, Mark Zuckerberg could consider it a wise and fruitful investment.

In two hours, it altered my perception of a driven and greedy capitalist who stole a great idea while stiffing his best friend en route to billionaredom, and turned it into one of a smart, savvy businessman who trusted his instincts and leveraged his judgment about the inadequacy of his partners as hopeless dreamers, to create a behemoth social network… that has since touched and revolutionized the lives of hundreds of millions of people – in less than a decade!

And if that were all that the movie did, it would still be worth shooting. Except that it does a lot more.

So much more, that I consider “The Social Network” among one of the more enjoyable films I’ve watched this year.

Some favorite scenes.

FaceMash has just been coded, and the first few emails go out to friends. The hero’s dorm mates ask, “How many people are you going to tell?” and he replies:

“The really important question is: How many people will they tell?“

That’s how Facebook grew, if you come to think about it. Friends telling friends, who in turn told their friends!

Another one.

They’re seated at a table, with lawyers of both sides trading barbs. The twins burst out, “You stole our idea!”

Deadpan, Jesse Eisenberg who plays the uber-rich plaintiff quips:

“If Facebook was your idea, you’d have built Facebook.”

The final scene is poignant, too. It has the battle-weary CEO endlessly refreshing his Facebook page, seeking confirmation of a ‘friend’ request he sends his ex-girlfriend.

And in that subtle way, the director makes another point… no matter how much money you have, in the end we all crave recognition and affection from THAT special person. Without it, the rest doesn’t seem to matter all that much.

There were portions of the movie that were special to me in a more personal sense.

Watching the role of the maniacally focused young Zuckerberg brought back to mind my own youth – as a teenager, preparing for my pre-medical exams. Where the nerd in the movie stays glued to his computer screen, churning out thousands of lines of code, I would have my nose stuck in my textbooks for as long as 16 hours in a day as I fought to beat out the ‘competition’ for 1,000 medical school seats.

The difference lies only in WHAT we focus on as youngsters. The similarity is in the raw ambition, fierce determination and vast dreams we had about our future.

Surely that part will resonate with you, and everyone who watches the movie.

And finally, “The Social Network” got me to dream again.

Big dreams. Bold dreams. Daring dreams.

Because the undertone throughout is this…

ANYTHING is possible.

On Twitter, during the Heart Kids Tweetathon in September 2009, I said:

“Retweets alone don’t matter.”

They really don’t. Neither do clicks on links.

Donations do.

Caring does.

Involvement, too.

Passion helps.

Those are the things that make a difference.

Not more ‘clicks’ on a link to ‘measure your influence’.

Anyone can click. Because it’s easy. And means NOTHING.

That’s why when my new friend Nate St.Pierre (founder of ItStartsWith.US) shared a daring plan to “hijack” the FAST COMPANY “Influence Project”, I got excited about the social media experiment that had devolved (in my humble opinion) into little better than a link-bait viral tactic.

Nate wants to turn that public perception around.

In a style that’s his unique own.

By using YOUR ‘influence’ – to touch people you see, meet, talk to, care about, and engage in your daily life.

Read more about this exciting twist to the “Influence Project”.

I hope you’re curious enough to send Nate your email address to learn more.

He promises to delete the list after the event ends.

I trust he will.

I’m also sure you’ll go back to join his group – and continue to do cool stuff, like the monthly “love bombs“.

All hands to the decks… ship ahoy!

EAVB_UUXUUIGGIE

Social media promotions are double-edged swords.

On the one hand, you have a chance to delight a whole new audience, grab mindshare and win evangelists. But on the other, it’s oh-so-easy to lose fans – as IndiaPlaza.in will very likely discover soon.

I’ve had some pleasant online shopping experiences with them before. And to be offered a gift certificate for Rs.500 was a nice incentive to ‘Like’ them on Facebook.

Well, it seems a few thousand others felt that way – because there are over 6,500 fans on their FB page today.

And then, I got the gift certificate. Went shopping. Selected some books and a phone. Reached the checkout page. And discovered that my coupon IS NOT VALID for these items!

What a waste!

Of my time. Of the hard-earned goodwill. Of an interesting social media campaign.

When a business wastes my time, they lose me as a customer. I have little patience for games like this. As a result, IndiaPlaza.in probably lost out on many future purchases (my online book buying every year alone is quite a nice chunk of change!)

And who knows how many more people will be annoyed by this approach.

Consider the alternative.

• They could have given away Rs.500 on ALL purchases.

• And sent buyers a nicely designed promotion piece when the order shipped.
• Maybe even another coupon, or a thoughtful gift – to say ‘thank you’.

• Offered an email newsletter tailored along related interests.
• Tied in repeat deals with a referral program.

Oh, there are so many options to have scaled this up, and boost life-time value of their already happy clients.

Instead, a narrow-minded focus on immediate profit has likely destroyed a multiple in future value.

I’m planning a social media promotion shortly. In it, I will be giving away my ebook, which sold for as much as $27. And I will be PAYING anyone who reads it $5 out of my pocket.

Why?

Because I can. And it will create interest. A buzz. Get people talking. And most important, because it will change some lives – since the book is powerful, and people will read it.

This recent experience is a valuable lesson for me. Of what not to do.

What are your thoughts?

My daughter and I have an interesting pastime. We take long walks in the evening, and talk about stuff. Just stuff. Some of it is trivial and silly. Other things are profound and deep.

Explaining concepts to a child, and answering the probing questions that follow, often let me clarify (to myself) some vague and ill-defined positions I’ve accepted earlier.

Yesterday, we discussed competence and excellence. And the Peter Principle… “Each man rises to his level of incompetence.”

I stated my view of the continuum thusly:

Ignorance: Lack of knowledge about something.

Incompetence: Inability to execute with even modest quality or efficiency.

Mediocre: Able to do it, but far below acceptable standards.

Average: Modestly adequate. Tolerable. Barely acceptable.

Competent: Having capacity to do it – and do it well.

Good: Competence, with an edge. Better in one (or many) ways than most.

Excellent: Top notch. Superior quality standards. Hard to improve upon.

World-class: Reaching the highest stratum in the universe.

World #1: THE ultimate best in the world. Usually one. Rarely, a tiny group.

Then, we discussed specific examples. Like cooking, playing chess and writing books. And we mentioned names. Like Diego Maradona, and John McEnroe, and Michael Jackson.

My point was that anyone (barring serious physical or mental impediments that may interfere) can aspire to being world-class, as long as they have the discipline to raise their “level of incompetence” to a higher plane.

It’s just a question of knowing the price to pay – and then choosing to pay it.

Yes, it might take ten years – or longer.

Yes, it demands an obsessive, maniacal focus on one (or a few) things, to the exclusion of much else.

Yes, it means giving up something – which may be more precious, more important, that matters more.

That’s the price one pays for being “world class”. As a Spanish proverb goes, “Take what you want and pay for it, says God”.

Beyond that point, it’s a random variable.

There are 512 world-class soccer players at FIFA 2010, but only one Messi. There have been thousands over the years, but only one Diego Maradona, and one Pele.

Being a Pele or a Maradona, a Michael Jackson or an Oprah Winfrey, a John McEnroe or a Gary Kasparov, isn’t predictable. It’s sheer luck.

What do you think?

1 person emailed me about it.

I tweeted about it to 4,432 followers on Twitter.

4 people suggested ideas that may work.

1 person contacted me with an offer to help.

I blogged about it.

I shared the message with 1,353 via email.

35 clicked the link to read my blog post about it.

3 made donations.

We hit the target.

400 children will benefit from teaching aids.

These numbers are fairly typical of any fund-raising effort I’ve been involved in. And they never cease to amaze and humble me.

Any meaningful change is effected by the caring few.

YOU can be one of them.

Start. Today.

I read the story three times.

First, in the writer’s voice. As if she was telling the story.

Next, in my mother’s voice. As if she was telling it to me.

Finally, in my voice. As if I was telling it to my daughter.

And each time, it was a little different.

Subtly unique.

Personal.

That’s why it’s great writing.

Read it… here.

We’ve heard about ‘writing from the heart’ – but from the soul?

As a young teenager, Harold Robbins was one of my favorite authors. Everything about his writing was stark, visceral and brazen. Reading it was gut-wrenching, and often deeply disturbing.

Talent like Robbins’ is rare. And when I started writing a lot myself, it became apparent why. Writing from the heart, exploring painful or controversial themes, and doing it in a candid, open and forthright manner leaves the writer exposed.

Vulnerable.

Defenceless.

My good friend and professional writer, Becky Blanton, calls this kind of writing “getting past the gatekeeper”.

Great writing that speaks to wide audiences, and does it in an intensely personal way, requires slipping words, thoughts and feelings past that wary, watchful guard living inside your head.

That’s not easy.

Yet, it’s only that kind of writing that can hope to resonate with a reader’s emotions.

Today, by sheer accident, I stumbled onto a blog that’s crafted by a master wordsmith. And – for the first time ever in 15 years of Web surfing – I found myself engrossed in her fabulous writing… for well over an hour!

It began when I set out to help Veena get her third graders teaching aids. Through Padmaja, I came to hear about “The Alternative“ – and saw an author whose shared my niece’s name.

Curious, I explored a link back to her blog, “The Clean Slate“. One of the first posts I read was “Your Story” – and I was hooked.

Hours later, having read a bigger collection of poems, short stories, and poignantly provocative blog posts at one sitting than ever before, I wondered what lay at the root of that appeal and attraction.

Surely, other writers wield as skillful pens as Malavika. But what sets this blog apart was her seemingly effortless ability to “get past the gatekeeper”.

I’ve bookmarked the blog to return to. Learn from. And study to better my writing skills.

If you don’t have as much time as I did today, then at least make sure you read “Rites of Passage” and “Letter to Samantha“.

Yes, Twitter is a waste.

But only if you consider one hour on it a waste… even if it results in 300 primary school kids getting important teaching aids.

Let me explain how I ‘wasted’ an hour this morning on Twitter. But first, here’s the…

Back Story

It started a few weeks back… with a connection on Twitter.

I read a guest blog post by Veena Verma on the Pratham Books site.

It led (thanks to Maya) to an interesting phone conversation with Veena, who lives and works in Mumbai. Her project of working with primary school students with very limited access to educational aids, and her obvious passion for what she does, got me very enthusiastic about helping in whatever way I could.

As Veena was changing over to a new school within the project, she wasn’t sure about what form this support might take – until yesterday, when she wrote to me.

“I am teaching grade 3 but most of my children are at pre-KG (kindergarden) or KG level. I’m starting with the alphabet and phonic sounds. This is a much bigger challenge than the last time around.”

There are 2 things that are ‘top priority’ for her work:

1. A set of math teaching kits to help the 3rd graders construct knowledge about numbers, place values and number operations.

2. A projector, to help build language skills as soon as possible. Videos and songs will be a great resource. A laptop simply doesn’t work, given the class size.

When I heard her estimated budget, I was surprised. Veena’s choice for the math kit provider was Navnirmiti, a non-profit organization itself, and they unhesitatingly offered a 15% discount on already reasonable prices when they heard about her work.

I instantly agreed to sponsor that portion myself.

The projector is a bit costlier, but definitely NOT expensive. And it will be shared among at least 10 classrooms in the area! Who can resist the chance to help nearly 400 young children get an education?!

Together, the entire cost is $750. I want to try and raise it – by Monday. (Call me an ambitious over-achiever, if you like – but donate first, before you do!)

So, I went to Twitter. And posted a tweet, asking for ideas.

Nothing happened until I went to bed.

An Hour This Morning…

Nothing had happened by the time I logged on this morning, either.

That was surprising. So I tweeted about it.

And then, this did:

To cut a long story short, I now have 2 great ideas, and one influential connection, that will together almost certainly get the kids what they need… by tomorrow.

So, yes, Twitter is a waste… if you don’t place much value on the literacy levels of hundreds of children, or the power and impact of a caring network of people, or in the belief of our existence in a inter-connected global community.

Not if you do.

Do YOU want to be a part of this ‘challenge’? Here’s how you can:

* I’m offering ONLY FIVE slots in my 6 week long Infopreneur mentoring program – for donors who contribute $150 to this project. (regular proposed price $1,497 – currently NOT open to registration)

Here are a few comments recent mentorees made:

“Dr. Mani genuinely wants to help and has extreme experience in what he is saying. You should join the course and follow it to the letter.”
Sanjay Wadhwa, Mumbai, India

“The mentorship is wonderful worth doing it.Its very valuable and informative. Thanks Dr. for having me onboard.”
Joshua Mwakazi

“This is the best program and it is worth the value. its simple to understand and helps you build a business from scratch.”
ikechiawazie

“The information here will help so much by saving you time and infusing you with the knowledge you need to get things off the ground!”
Sharon Mosser

“Unlike most guru who are out just to earn your money, dr mani is really here to help you out. he will help you build a strong foundation and mindset which will help you get far in the internet business. there is a easy to follow system in his program and you can approach him any time when you have any questions.”
Gladwin

(Full disclosure: These reviewers did NOT pay full-price, but are early testers of the process, as I’m refining the program and course material)

There are many more along these lines. And not one of the students enrolled have estimated the value they have received as being less than $197 (even though most are only halfway through the course)

How to donate?

Make your payment via PayPal ONLY to info (at) ezinemarketingcenter.com

That’s

Please mention that it is for the School Teaching Aids project.

If you’re not among the first 5 to donate, I may not be able to let you join the mentoring program.

Oh, and if you’d like to donate a smaller (or larger) amount, please do. I’ll keep the total updated from time to time.

And if you want to ‘waste’ a little more time on Twitter, re-tweet a link to this post

UPDATE:

Target amount to raise by Monday: $750
Amount we have raised until now: $750

Yes, we hit our target – and it isn’t even tomorrow yet! YAY!!!

Special thanks: Wendy Landes and Nicole Dean

UPDATE #2:

I might run a special offer for some of my best ebooks, as an additional fundraiser. If this interests you, please stay informed by joining my email list.