Matthew Wayne Selznick

Seth Simmonds had a guest post all about big ideas on Chris Brogan’s blog. I confess I didn’t read it… I’ll go back and do so, I promise. I skipped directly to this:

Yeah.

This is a lesson for writers: next time you think you’ve come up with a scene, a character, a plot point that’s totally original, totally out there, absolutely unlike anything else, ask yourself:

Is it stranger than deliberately provoking a thirty pound fish to swallow your forearm?

Take your writing and shove it down a fish’s throat. See what it looks like when you pull it back out. Repeat until there’s nothing in the real world that can top it.

Today, the opportunity to purchase my vested stock in Mahalo.com expires. Letting that happen is a great way to stamp fini on my time with an Internet start-up. I’ve been looking forward to it for three months.

I started at the company as an on-site contractor in April of 2007, became a regular employee in June of that year and, along with about half the regular full time editorial staff, was laid off at the end of October, 2008. Not long, really. Less than two percent of what I confidently assume will be my entire life. During that time, I learned a lot from my co-workers, managers and the officers of the company.

Top Ten Lessons From My Time With a Start-Up

Here are some of the things I learned, beliefs I had confirmed and resolutions that were strengthened by my eighteen months at Mahalo.com.

1. Always Do What’s Right.
2. Fear of Advocacy Reveals a Need for Advocacy.
3. Work to Live.
4. Pay On Time, Every Time.
5. Law Trumps Want.
6. Deeds Trump Charisma.
7. Don’t Build a Mirror by Looking In a Mirror.
8. Flat Hierarchies Require Equilateral Respect.
9. Don’t Ask the Plumber to be the Architect.
10. There is Only One Math.

Practical Take-Aways

I learned a lot about search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, Internet research trends and MediaWiki. It was my pleasure to take part in a discussion with Chris Anderson. I got to hear Andrew Keen present his view of the commons, Internet culture and creativity, and his opinions — entirely in opposition to my own — helped reinvigorate my commitments. I got to spend a lot of time thinking about how people use the Internet and social media. I helped build something, and however fleeting that construct may turn out to be, it was a great exercise.

The Next Chapter

The next chapter is largely unwritten… and anyway, one can only divide one’s life into chapters when each chapter closes, not before. What comes next is, unavoidably, unknown.

It’s my hope that I keep the lessons from this last chapter — the ten listed here and many, many others — at the ready from here on out. I’ll be writing more about how I plan to do that in future posts.

I’m sneaking this little promo into the feed to remind you all that I’m putting on a live virtual house concert on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 3:00 PM Pacific time via streaming video!

Feel free to pop this promo in your own podcasts… or, you can embed this video on your blogs, Facebook and MySpace pages and so on! Help spread the word, and I’ll see you January 25, 2009 at 3:00 PM Pacific time!

 

 Promo: Matthew Wayne Selznick Virtual House Concert 01-25-2009 [1:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (481)

Recently, Richard Skaare wrote on the importance of brevity and clarity. He challenged his readers to write about their life, their resume or their business plan in 140 characters or less.

I took up the challenge and decided there was something very useful in this from a social media perspective. I started the #twesume tag on Twitter.

Post Your Twesume on Twitter

Your mission? Post your resume / mission / elevator pitch on Twitter. Use the “#twesume: ” tag — this will make your Twitter resume easy to search and serves to further refine your statement to 130 characters or less.

Why do this? As Richard points out, “forced brevity sharpens the mind and quickens the soul.” It’s a good mental exercise.

It’s also an excellent way to provide an encapsulated description of who you are and what you have to offer to the world. Once you’ve clarified that in your twesume, you can use it everywhere — your other social media profiles, your e-mail signature, your web site… and of course, it fits nicely on a business card, too!

Give your twesume some time. Make sure it’s something you’ll be happy with for a long time. Sure, you can always post another twesume, but that defeats the purpose. Try to get it right the first time out. Make a commitment to it. This will help you focus your energy and efforts.

Here is my twesume.

What Is Twitter?

Not familiar with Twitter? It’s a social media site that asks a simple, open-ended question of its users: “What are you doing?” Users post their response to the site, to the world and to each other using no more than 140 characters.

That’s the literal description of Twitter. You might ask, what’s the point?

My preferred answer to “what is Twitter” is: It’s like being in the biggest cocktail party imaginable. Conversations between friends and strangers drift through the air around you. You can join in, or you can simply listen. Unlike any real-world party, everything is archived for reference any time you want. Bite-sized pieces of wisdom, inanities, links, references, fun, stupidity and news — a mixed bag, but one from which you can pick and choose.

I’m mwsmedia on Twitter. Follow me! I follow everyone back so long as they’re contributing to the conversation.

For many years, I offered inexpensive web site hosting for folks who needed homes for their do-it-yourself, independent creative endeavors. I hosted dozens of sites by artists, writers, musicians and craftspeople. In 2007, what with the pressures and looooong commute associated with my day job, I announced that I would no longer be accepting new clients and that, after a suitable buffer time, the service would be shuttered.

Little did I know that the very month I completely shut down my web hosting service… I was laid off from my day job. No more pressure (well, from that source, anyway) and no more long commute. A sudden surplus of time and a deficit of income… hmmm.

Web Hosting Returns

So I’ve brought back inexpensive web hosting for DIY, independent creative endeavors back. If you are an independent creative person with DIY leanings, I’d like to help you make a home on the web for your endeavors.

All the information on the the three packages I’m offering is on the Web Hosting page of this site. Packages are as inexpensive as $4.17 per month when you subscribe at the yearly rate.

But Matt, you say, there are lots of places I can get inexpensive web hosting. Why should I deal with you? You’re just one guy.

Well… that’s why. When you subscribe to web hosting at the yearly level, you also get my services at 75% off my normal rates as long as your account is in good standing. Pay by the year, and this “one guy” is included in the deal!

This gives you a chance to not only have a place for your artistic “stuff,” but a deep discount on a guy who can help you in a number of ways, like…

• Story consultation and editing
• Social media advice, outreach and promotion
• WordPress installation and template customization
• Podcasting consultation, production and editing
• Voice over and voice acting

Why Put A Discount On Myself?

Why would I offer myself as a “value add” on web hosting?

I think it makes sense. I need a consistent and repeating source of income over the long term: that’s the web hosting. I also need clients to build my burgeoning freelance business now that I have no regular job. Also — and not the least part of this equation — I have always been an advocate for the DIY ethic, and this lets me take an active role helping DIY, independent creative people.

Going Fast..?

No resource is unlimited; this offer is no different. Depending on the number of and type of hosting packages people order, I can only offer 30 - 50 packages total. Not to get all infomercial on you, but supplies are limited, so act quickly!