Right now, we are in an age characterized by what some people call “hyper-individualism,” where we consider the individual the most important unit of value (as opposed to the cause, the organization, or the company). You can see this emphasis in the products and services we buy: iPods are about your music, wherever you are; streaming media and Tivo are about what you want to watch, when you want to watch it; Twitter is about giving you your very own kind of paparazzi.

Blogger and social media guru Chris Brogan recently posted an article that really got me thinking about this trend. During these trying economic times, he recommends that you treat yourself as a personal brand, like a consultant, even if you’re in a full time working position, because companies are going to treat you like a temporary, as-needed resource. So what we get are hyper-individualistic companies, with “me, now” philosophies and employees who have to think in the same way to survive (and to grow). I count myself as one of these employees.

So we’re seeing this “me, now” philosophy show up in the economy, in business, and at the individual level with social media.

I hate to be a harbinger, but this worries me a bit.

Could the more-for-me, what-I-want, when-I-want-it consumerism/investment strategy that brought down the economy tell us something about the look-at-me, who-I-am-now, as-I-see-fit social media information “economy?”

Let’s make this analogy a bit more concrete and draw some stronger parallels (since we love analogies around here at Intermz).

The economy crashed because it was growing on value in the stock market, housing market, etc that simply wasn’t there–a bubble of perceived (vs. actual) value. That perceived value was created by lots of people wanting to get rich quickly, who invested in increasingly complicated and opaque things, and consumers who borrowed more and more money to buy more stuff they thought they could use their ever-more-valuable houses to pay for. (This economist predicted the 2008 crash a year earlier.) We all had to have more than yesterday, so to slake that thirst, we had to rely on false value; we told the goose to lay gold-looking eggs. Both investors and consumers, often the same people, were focused on more for me now, not some for all of us over time.

So here’s the tie-in: Could it be that social media and its unprecedented emphasis on creating personal value could turn into an unsustainable bubble of its own? And I’m not talking about value bubbles for social media companies like Twitter and Facebook who still haven’t figured out how to make real value (i.e., money). I’m talking about value for each of us, by of us.

If we focus so much on our individual selves, how great and wonderful we are, our “personal brands” as full-time consultants and “presidents of our own careers,” could we run the risk of trying to be perceived as valuable rather than actually valuable? The people who had to have more before the 2008 recession based their decisions on perceived value. A personal brand is but a “collection of symbols, experiences and associations” connected with a person, after all. Does that sound like a focus on real value to you?

I realize I sound really crass at the moment, but I’m worried that we might end up creating individual bubbles that will pop just like the economic bubble did in 2008 because we had to create faux personal value; as more people join the social media, personal-president movement, we might be compelled to find value where it doesn’t really exist–just to stay in the game.

You might retort that the Internet, the big information market, is efficient and will prevent those bubbles from forming, that the market will remove individuals lacking real value–but that’s what many people thought about our economy before 2008, too.

Maybe some, or a lot of us are creating our very own personal bubbles right now.

My advice? Keep your eye on the basics: invest in what you know. In this case, know thyself, and you will know you true, and your potential, value.

And after a few months of head banging, trying to get the market problem to fit the Big Solution, many of these entrepreneurs give up.

I would submit to you, however, that this is the absolutely wrong thing to do.

Instead, you should consider something abjectly blasphemous: changing your solution.

To what?

Start by asking yourself this question: What is your problem?

Let me elaborate.

We at Intermz recently wrestled with our Big Idea. After months of research and design, we launched what we thought would be the revolutionary learning tool, a sort of three-dimensional Wikipedia that could double learning speed and make learning new things as natural as breathing. People would contribute fabulous content that would change the way we learn. We were really happy with it. But when we launched it, no one used it.

What was our problem? To make our big solution feasible, we went with a big assumption: that people would write content.

We realized later that what we were asking people to do was much harder than we thought. Writing compelling content about a topic in terms of a different topic is rare skill. (Maybe 1 out of a 100 people can do it, and far fewer than that will actually do it for free.)

So what did we do?

We reinvented ourselves by setting out to solve our own problem: change our solution from a learning tool to a learning program. We are now going to teach people (students and corporate employees) how to use analogical thinking to get ahead. By doing that, we get to change our product without abandoning analogical thinking, our Big Idea.

And for the first time, we had found a cohesive direction that addressed a problem with wallets attached to it. (The training industry has a well established business model with understood revenue sources–unlike our original ad-based public website product.)

So, if your startup is at a crossroads during this economic crisis, and you’re thinking about walking away from your dream, stop and think. Ask yourself, “What is my problem?”

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/thaler_sendhil08/class4.html

His basic premise is that words and ideas influence our thoughts and behavior in fundamental (and sometimes surprising ways) because of how we link those words and ideas with what is already in our heads. Most of these effects occur unconsciously.

We at Intermz obviously believe in the power of idea association, but mostly for consciously tying in new information to old information. However, Kahneman’s talk offers a lot of interesting examples of how powerful our brain’s association and analogy mechanisms are. The link includes a transcript of the entire interview, but you can get at the meat of it by just watching the video.

http://www.answers.com/topic/learning-analogical-reasoning

It supports our belief that analogical learning is an extremely powerful way to get information into our brains.

But we think that couldn’t further from the truth.

We all know Ford’s Mustang sports car. (In fact, I bet a few of you own one.) When Ford decided to name its new sports car back in 1964, do you think they picked “Mustang” on a whim?

Not a chance.

A mustang is North America’s wild horse, which the US Congress calls “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.” Horses are associated with free spiritedness, power and grace–which happen to be desirable qualities of a car.

This association is analogical; a car is not a wild horse, but it has the desirable characteristics of one.

When a toddler won’t eat her food, how do you get her to open wide? You tell her the spoon is an airplane, her mouth a hanger, and make funny noises to get her to pop the hatch. 

This association is analogical; a spoon is not an airplane, but the airplane game makes eating more fun.

And when I needed to teach a young martial artist how to improve his kicking precision, I told him his knee was the cross-hair in his video game; where he pointed his knee was where his foot would go. From then on, he never forgot how to aim. No other explanation necessary.

So what’s my point?

We use analogy for learning and thinking every day, all the time—starting at the youngest age.

And why is it so powerful?

Because when you need to learn something, whether it’s how great a car is, how fun eating Gerber is, or how to aim your kick, you don’t actually have to learn much new stuff. You already know most of what you need to already. You just need a few connections.

But, however much Internet entrepreneurs love the rapid pace of the tech world, I want to share a little advice with you: Sometimes, it’s ok to slow down. Sometimes, it’s better to wait.

We often feel like we need to act and react as quickly as our industry changes. If we don’t, we might feel disconnected, out-competed, or, even worse, irrelevant. Those can all be true. But sometimes moving too fast, making a change before you are ready, can be far more destructive than any of those things. 

Stop and consider this: Many of us are entrepreneurs because when we get an idea, some vision, we can’t help but act. But if we start spending more time reacting to the outside world than acting based on our vision, we can lose our way. Being lost or lead is not why we do this. We are entrepreneurs because we need to define our own paths, our own destinations.

The next time you’re in a panic and feel the need to react, or even act prematurely, stop and think. Be patient while you try to understand what is going on around you, and keep asking yourself (or yourselves) why. Figure it out, and don’t do what you wouldn’t normally do just because you’re under pressure. If you discover you need to respond to outside forces, do so. But you might be surprised how often that is not actually the case.

Remember, great goals are usually only attained by disciplined deliberateness. Steady steps over time. If that approach isn’t exciting and intruiging enough for you and your business, consider that is the reason so many entrepreneurs don’t make it. 

Don’t do what they do.

Do what you do.

In fact, we even talk about Intermz in terms of different things, like glasses, x-rays, and ophthalmologists. 

We also hear people on the news say it: “In terms of Iraq,” “In terms of the economy,” “In terms of women.” 

How often do you use the phrase “in terms?” 

We think the reason people use the phrase so much is that all of us are constantly thinking in terms of comparisons to communicate information. 

We hope using Intermz becomes as natural a way for you to get information using comparisons as it is to communicate using them. 

Over the next couple of days, try noticing how often people say “in terms,” as we get ready for September 15 beta launch. 

You might be surprised.

Handling Nervousness

I don’t typically get nervous before these kinds of things (I usually get the adrenaline rush afterward), but I did get a little nervous before this interview. It’s really important that you calm your nerves ahead of time because being calm helps you respond to the interviewers questions how you would normally respond to them–accurately and naturally. (Sometimes, nerves can make you say something you didn’t really want or mean to say.) Remember, whatever you say could end up in a widely-read newspaper or blog.

I beat nerves by engrossing myself in something I have already been thinking about, and that’s completely unrelated to what I’m about to talk about. For me, it was basketball; I’ve been trying really hard to improve my offensive game against taller players, so I thought only about that for a little while before meeting Tina. It took my mind off of the interview and put me into a much more relaxed mode. So much of nervousness comes from the anticipation of what’s going to happen. So, if you can forget about what’s going to happen, if you can prevent yourself from anticipating, you can calm down a whole lot. Being relaxed really helped how the interview flowed. I was able to respond faster, more accurately, and probably more intelligently.

Nervousness can be a pretty nasty thing; while you’re being nervous, you’re often wondering if the other person can tell or not, which can you even more nervous.

Do your homework

Read recent articles that your interviewer has written. Get familiar with her beat and the questions she might ask. You want to get to know your interviewer.

If you can, mention some of the pieces of hers that you read, especially if they relate to what you are talking about. During my homework, I ran across a great article Tina wrote about a photographer turned coffee proprietor. She asked him what the switch from photography to coffee was like. He said, “I feel like I’ve gone back to what my photography career used to be like when I used to make black and white prints … It’s doing something that’s handcrafted, that’s hands-on, is as much science as it is art …”

In other words, his response was Coffee in termz of Photography, which was a perfect way to illustrate the concept behind Intermz to Tina; I was able to put Intermz in termz of one of Tina’s own experiences.

Doing these things go a long way toward building report, which will make the interview process more enjoyable for both of you and encourage future encounters. What reporter would want to repeat a dry, one-way interview?

Give your interviewer what she wants

How will you know what she wants? Ask her! In your communication up to the interview, ask her what material you should prepare. She will tell exactly what she is looking for. In my case, Tina wanted me to talk about the site, the business, give her a demo, talk about Startup Weekend (where the team was assembled), who was involved, and where we are going.

I prepared written notes in advance so I would be ready and confident to give her exactly what she was looking for.

And if there’s any other relevant material, like blog entries you’ve written regarding your company, print them out.

Having written and hard copy material ready was really helpful for me because, in a few cases, she didn’t need me to answer her verbally, forcing her to write down what I said; I could just hand it to her. Saves her time. Believe me, this is a good thing.

Now that you know how to give her what she wants, know how to give her what she really wants.

Give your interviewer what she (really) wants

What do reporters really want? They want to write a compelling story. So help them. Give them as much compelling information about you and your company as you can. Don’t continually wait for her to ask you questions.

Stories about your company’s background, how the idea started, and what your dreams and aspirations are, are prime material. Make sure they include people and those peoples’ experiences. Why? Because people stories bring a personality and humanness to her article (and your company). The reason the most influential people are often the best story tellers is because stories are enjoyable and people tend to remember them. That’s also why stories can make great press material. During my interview, I talked about how my parents are all black belts in martial arts and used the martial arts philosophy of adaptation to get my brother and I involved in tons of variegated activities like boating, opera, painting, gardening, and music writing. I then told her how our upbringing ultimately lead to the idea behind Intermz–learning new things quickly by using what you already know.

Having said that, don’t continually talk, either. When she does ask questions, answer them and make sure you answer them thoroughly. This shows that you are listening and believe that she herself, the interviewer, is asking an important question–and not that she is just a way for you to get your company’s name printed in a paper. Pay attention to your interviewer. It’s not entirely about you. It’s a two way street, just like any good social interaction is.

Put yourself in her shoes. Remember that her desire to write compelling story has three main purposes:

1. To give her readership something interesting to read.
2. To help expose your company and what you’re doing.
3. To give her more credibility as a reporter who breaks interesting news.

So, do your darndest to fulfill those purposes. Give the reporter an interesting story about you so she can give the public an interesting story about you and advance her career. It’s good for both you and her.

Be enthusiastic

At the end of the interview, I apologized to her for monopolizing so much of our time with my own talking. She said it was the best kind of interview because she didn’t have to draw things out of me, and because she could tell I was really enthusiastic about Intermz. Enthusiasm is infectious. While reporters aim to take a neutral positions on their stories, it’s hard for them not to pick up on your enthusiasm, which may ultimately come through in her story about your company. Even if she doesn’t get enthusiastic about what you’re doing, at least that energy will come through in your quotes.

Jason Calacanis of Mahalo and Weblogs wrote a really great article on the importance of enthusiasm when talking to the press (or anyone, for that matter).

Answer with complete sentences

This is a tip I got from my dear friend Rebecca Reynolds, a journalist from Milesmedia.com. Answer using complete sentences so that it’s easier for your interviewer to quote you. Remember that written sentences are completely different from spoken sentences. So if your interviewer isn’t able to quote something you said so that it makes sense to a reader, she might not use it–even if it is a great quote.

Also, for less careful reporters, there’s always the chance that they might take your quote out of context entirely (either accidentally or even deliberately).

Balance volume with clarity

This is a really difficult thing to do, especially on the fly, but it’s actually something Tina suggested I do when I asked her if I should keep listing off different uses for our service.

You should try to say a lot of interesting things without overwhelming your interviewer with too many different things. Remember, she has to go back to the office, digest everything you said about your company, and condense it into a compelling story only a few paragraphs long. Keep focused on the stuff that best represents what you are doing, and try not to add anything redundant or confusing.

For instance, when giving an example of how your product or service can be used, stick to one or two interesting ones. More than that, and your interviewer may have to figure out for herself which ones are the best to write about–which may not jive with what you would have picked.

Hopefully, Tina will get to publish our story. If she does, I’ll link to it here.

Good luck, and go get ‘em.

Secondly, we are excited to announce that we will be releasing a private beta of Intermz.com v2.0 to you, our loyal newsletter subscribers, on September 15, 2008.

It will give you cleaner, faster navigation of information on your termz.

It will be built from the ground up for CLARITY.

It’s a private beta so we hope that you, a part of a very limited crowd, will tell us whether we hit this one out of the ballpark, if we’re somewhere in the ballpark, or if we’re off our rockers. We’ll have a support forum set up just for your feedback.

You might remember in a previous newsletter that we mentioned there is scientific evidence that our method works. The method is learning by analogy. If you don’t mind numbers, see for yourself (pg. 10) how powerful Analogy Training can be compared to traditional, Direct Training.

Need to learn a new job skill, a new hobby, study for a class?

Intermz.com is the machine that will help you know it all.

Talk to you soon,
Ted Pin

PS: Will you send this to your friends and ask them to sign up for our newsletter?

PPS: On Facebook? Join our Facebook group! Just search for Intermz.com.

Why

A newsletter is your way to broadcast a message about your product or service to a crowd that has already identified themselves as interested parties. There are three primary reasons to REGULARLY send a newsletter to them:

1. Provide useful information or interesting ideas for people to chew on. The best way to be relevant is to be useful.
2. If you are useful enough, that will spread by word of mouth.
3. Keep your product/service in their minds. Coke doesn’t advertise so they can attract new customers; they advertise to keep existing ones.

How

Keep them short and focused on one point. Long, rambling newsletters are seldom read. Plus, if you put too much into one newsletter, you’ll have fewer opportunities to send more of them. (See point three above.)

Make them compelling by telling a story that makes the reader a character in that story. I recently wrote a newsletter titled “The CLARITY machine.” It drew a comparison about how Intermz.com is like the machine ophthalmologists use sharpen your vision and make the world more clear. It put the reader in the ophthalmologist’s seat by reminding them of the time when the doctor would ask, “Which is better, A or B?” Then it drove the point home that Intermz does the same thing for your learning; you can switch between lenzes until your topic of interest becomes clear.

You can read the whole newsletter at:

http://www.intermz.com/blog/2008/08/16/the-clarity-machine/

When

As regularly as you can. Humans are wired to look for patterns, and when they see one, they lock into it so they can anticipate what will happen next. We are actually pattern recognition machines. If you give them the “next,” which is the next newsletter, it will reinforce your presence in their minds. This all sounds very pop psychology, but it’s true. Repitition is the key to remembering. (Of course, Intermz is the key to learning

Good luck and go get ‘em.