67tallchris's posterous

67tallchris's posterous

Christopher Porter  //  I fail fast, but learn faster. I love to read and try new hobbies. I am constantly learning about social media, and how to help businesses use those and other tools effectively.

I am a Social Media Manager for The J3 Effect, but this blog is not about my work. It is the public voice of my private struggle to learn and grow as a person.

 
Jan 11 / 7:24pm

Tenacious Social Media: Winning the Race of Visibility

I have been working with my friend and co-author Aaron Eden writing a book about social media for Real Estate Agents. As I have been doing research for the book, interviewing former and curret agents, I have picked up a few pointers I would like to share.

Books

A quick preface. These are things I think I need to learn the most, and that is why they were such a revelation to me. I think I am able to learn the things I am ready to learn in that moment, but by tenaciously going after improvement, you can be ready to learn what you need to know, when you need to know it. Enough meta, on with the show :)

Be Consistent

I am not sure how many abandoded blogs there are out there, but I have started and stopped my fair share. If you want to use social media to get business done, it would be nice to know exactly the right place to start, but starting somewhere is better than not starting at all. It takes a while to learn the ins and outs of social media, and being consistent with a platform to make an educated judgment about it can help you to finally shine when you do find that niche that fits both your personality, and your goals.

As I talked with real estate agents that started blogging back in 06' and 07', they felt like they were alone, and the only ones doing it, but have since seen how greatly that early activity paid off. I think investing lots of time in an activity like social media is a risk, but it can often pay off in the form of new clients, closed deals, and great relationships.

Be You, Online

Do you like underwater basket weaving? Put it out there. Aaron and I are talking about putting this example in the book, just for kicks, but it comes back to being real online, and letting people connect with you. If you think writing a blog about basket weaving by a real estate agent, think again. Your attention to detail on baskets directly relates to the closing paperwork on a house, it demonstrates your attention to detail (as long as the pictures of the baskets look nice!). 

I was watching the movie Donnie Darko while house sitting the other day (promise, I get back to the point in a sec), and at the end of the movie, the lead girl waves at Donnie's mom. It really made me think about the power of that simple, brief, connection those two ladies had. They did not know each other, and Donnie had just passed away, yet the girl waved at mom. I felt like the girl broke down the walls in mom, and made a brief personal connection.

By participating in social media, you are inviting people into your life (on some level), to participate, comment, or join with you in your efforts. When you let them in (appropriately), it builds trust, and a real connection, even if it is digital. My challenge to you, put yourself out there, test the waters, and see what happens (and learn quickly from your mistakes as you go).

Winning the Race of Visibilty

Aha, I am coming around to the title of the post. You win, when you are visible to the people that like and trust you, they have the money to buy what you are selling, and it is the right timing for them and you. If you are visible yet crass, other crass people may like you, but you are probably alienating a whole bunch of other people out there. 

The Right Kind of Visibility

I have seen corporations that have put out a certain image, both in social media, and typical marketing, and fail. The marketing department feels like it is in another city, totaly disenfranchised from the pepole "doing the work". Companies and people that win, are those that figure out who they are now, who they want to be, and effectively communicate that to their customers and potential customers. 

I don't like this blog for comments, but I would love for you to jump through the firey hoops and across the hot coals to let me know what you think, and what has worked for you.

 
Jan 8 / 9:05am

Starting off the 2012 Adventure

It has been a bit since I posted here. I have taken to writing blogesque posts on my google plus profile. But I still believe blogs are powerfull, and I have been encouraging businesses to stay consistent with their blogging behavior, so I figured I would eat my own dog food (to steal Google's phrase for living what they preach).

Not Quite Resolutions

My girlfriend has been away for a few weeks, but she has been emailing me one question a day to think about and respond. A recent one was "What are your new years resolutions?" I tend to make drastic life changes when I feel I need to, not in concert with the changing of the calendar year. But I happen to have a few things that do line up with this renewal season (January).

1. Vegitarian (for at least 6 months)
2. Write a Post on here or Google Plus once a week
3. No Coffee
4. Run another Half Marathon

I have lots of other goals, but I thought I might share these with you. I have thought about becoming a vegitarian for quite some time (past 3 years or so). I read Michael Pollan's Omnivores Dilema back then, and was quite moved by the issues he brings up about our food. I wanted to become more aware of what I ate, the ammount of processing my food had gone through, and understand the effects food had on my body. 

So, I started volunteering on my cousins farm (he runs a farm that donates everything to the community food bank, and the owners recieve huge tax benefit from it). We get to eat right of the vine there, and often "make" breakfast/lunch from items right there. It has turned me on to the idea of having a homestead, and living off what I can produce myself. I am not sure how close I will ever come to that, but I love the idea of having a community of people all collaborating together to produce what they need to survive and thrive. Resources I like around that idea:
http://transitionculture.org/ 
http://cobworkshops.org/ 
http://www.arcosanti.org/ 

Be Consistent, and Win

One of the things I have found diffocult for myself, is to consistently do the same thing over a long period of time. I get excited about an idea, and then give up on it, then eventually go back to it with greater ferver. This is true of many things I have dropped and picked back up, and I suppose that is exactly what I am now going to do with blogging.

I now realize the importance of writing consistently, even if it is just for my own benefit. Putting fingers to keys every day, and learning how to get out all the ideas bounching around in my head is a skill in itself, and one that I am going to consciously pursue.  

No Coffee, Really?

This may be a big surprise, considering my "love affair" with coffee for the last 13 or so years (I was a barista for all those years). Coffee is not evil, but it affects people very differently. I can't tell if my body has changed the way it responds to coffee, or if I have just become more aware of it's affects on me, but a few months back, I noticed swings I would go through of highs and lows, energy and drain, and decided to try not having coffee to see if that would change things. IT HAS! I am not as energetic, but I also do not have the same lows in energy level. I am a more consistent Christopher, and I like that.

So I was off coffee for about 3 months, then had a nice soy cappuccino (they were training a barista, it was free, how could I refuse). I did not havenervous energy, but about 2 days after, very readily noticed a chemical imbalance in my brain that took a day to shake. I was cranky, and a bit depressed for no good reason, and it was very much unlike me. I may have coffee again, or once every few months just for kicks, but it will not be a daily, or weekly occurence. 

Running Is Not Life

I refuse to let one activity define me, despite my desire to "fall down the well"(one of my favorite idoms from American Sign Language). I used to go rock climbing all the time, and it defined me, my conversations, what I often thought about. I saw this start to happen with running while I was training for my first half marathon last year. Conversations with friends were often dominated with talk of recent runs, what I was learning about myself and about the activity.

I love running as part of a community activity. By simply strapping on shoes and going for a jog, you become part of a niche of crazy people that do something hard and often painfull just for the heck of it. I love how the activity connects people with each other, gives me something in common with other people, and bridges gaps in age, communication, socio and ecinomic gaps that I did not even think about till I met people in strata other than my own.

But running is not life. Coffee is not life. What I eat does not define who I am.

Life Purpose: Love God, Love People

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength; and love your neighbor as yourself" Luke 10:27

 I often get that list out of order. I love people, interacting with them, talking with them, and connecting with them. But I can not truly love them, without first having the love that God gave me to pour out to them. I am just as messed up as anyone around me, but because I have accepted the love God gives me, I am able to show other people love. Without depending on that love He shows me, I can't really love other people when they hurt me, or fail me, or desert me. 

My adventure this year, will be doing all these goals, and more, while showing the people around me the love God has given me. 

What is your adventure? 

 
Nov 17 / 9:04pm

Why I left twitter, but not forever

This is the confession of a twitter finatic. I used to love that social network, and it still has a place in my heart. I have learned that I truly love interacting with people, and twitter as the netwoking tool I used it as, was becoming more and more of a distraction from my "work". 

There are many ways to use social networks, you could be a broadcaster, networker, social butterfly, explorer or any number of other combinations of twitter personality types. As I have been thinking more and more about the strategy of social media, I realized my origional goal for joining twitter was to learn the in's and out's of the social network, connect with other people in my field, and just generally learn as much as possible. 

That I did. From twitter best practices, to amazing people who I would consider true friends despite never having met them in person. But my initial goal of learning the network was not a sustaining strategy. I could no longer justify hours at a time to chatting with friends, or keeping up on the latest social media trends (despite still needing to be up on many trends, I have been in need of balance).

I am determined to discover how I can be on twitter, yet still get my work done, but that will take some time and effort for me to learn. Now if only I could post to this blog frequently... one hurdal at a time.

 
Jul 30 / 11:53am

Sandals and a Tie

My generation is longing to be themselves, yet also taken seriously.

I want to use my knowledge to help change companies. When I was in the business college at U of A, students would often Facebook each other instead of emailing. We would FB Chat, send messages, and when someone really should have been at a meeting, and was not, publicly post on their wall our disapproval of their not showing up.

Me_bw_sbux
My generation wants to use social networking to our advantage at work. If sales, tap into our friends and associates to make the sale. If meeting a new client for the first time, googleing their facebook or (gasp... Myspace) to see what kind of a person they are, what they look like etc.

Blind dates are a thing of the past (I just went on one recently, gave me some good info to go from, but not much more than first impression stuff).

The business world has changed. There is more information about each of us out there than ever before, and my generation has the first clues how to use it effectively* (caveat at the bottom of the page).

So sandals and a tie. I have always wanted a job where I did not have to wear shoes, where I could stand up or sit down as often as my A.D.D. dictated. Today, I got the first taste of what my ideal job would be. I got to wear sandals, walk around the room a bunch, but sit down and get to business when it needed to happen. I got to teach about the new social network Google Plus to The S.M.A.R.T. Group of AZ.

Me_green_shirt

I decided months ago when I quit Starbucks to join J3 Effect full time that one of the perks of my job was wearing sandals as often as I felt like. This usually means every day, but every once in a while I like to mix it up with big boy shoes. However, I am not going to walk into a professional meeting with a t-shirt and jeans and expect people to take me seriously. Hence, the sandals and tie. (As a side note, I think this is quite a difficult look to pull off, yet I think I was able to make it happen. I will be attempting this more often, and hope to be as far from lame as possible, but I accept the risk of sometimes looking a bit silly, that is the price I pay).

Social media really is about discovering what makes YOU unique. I know many experts in social media do this through unconventional job titles, like ninja, or rockstar. I actually liked this idea at first, leaning towards the ninja more than rockstar status, but I think the freedom social media gives me in expressing myself and my position, is better illustrated in my work. I let my creative mind run free, using as many tools as necessary to capture creative marketing ideas that thunder through my brain.

But I want people to take me seriously. I can play their game, if only breaking a few of the rules in the process. My sandals or the hats I often wear do not define me, nor will the tie I incorporate into my wardrobe inhibit the blood flow to my brain. I will rise above the status quo, but may be wearing sandals whilst rising.

*Caveat is many of my #usguys friends on twitter, and practically so many people I have met in twitter chats. They “get it”, understand how to leverage social media effectively, connect to people/customers/clients and engage. I think the identity issues I am thinking through are indicative of my generation, and the technology is only a part of the driving force behind these issues.

 

 
Jul 18 / 10:02am

#Twaining (Tw-itter+Tr-aining) How Deep Will You Go?


                                                 
Scubadiver_training

Image Credit to Silke Baron

 
Traversing the Twitterverse for the very first time may be likened to plunging into the depths of the ocean for the very first time with nothing but the tanks on your back to keep you alive and a thin, slick second skin to help keep you warm.  Oh, and the reassuring presence of a Master Diver who will open your eyes to the wonders of a world within a world.

Meet & Greet
Twitter is an amazing place to meet people. But just as you would not enter a room at a gathering in real life and not greet others, the same applies to putting in an appearance online.  It is generally considered good manners to start the day by saying hi to friends and acquaintances.  Also, at times, it may be appropriate to introduce yourself with a cursory greeting when ‘overhearing’ and interjecting in a conversation between others with whom you may not have tweeted before.


The Golden Rule
The Golden Rule is quite simply; treat others as you would like to be treated.  No one would deny the pleasure we as human beings derive from the kind or thoughtful gestures of others. It may produce ‘warm and fuzzy’ feelings (strong emotional reactions) when someone else’s intentional behaviour towards us, is perceived to be beneficial to us.  Conversely, it seldom ever feels good to experience actions or words which we may perceive as derogatory, inconsiderate or uncalled-for.  On Twitter, it is important to act with positive reciprocity. By that we mean, to adopt a generous action that benefits someone else because of the kindness they have extended to you. This may be in the way they welcome you to a tweet chat or respond to your morning greetings.  It may be that they share #coffee with you or comment on your blog post. It may be that they are fond of giving +K.  If someone adds a hash tag to their tweet, you may want to add it to yours (they may have a reason you are unaware of).  Whatever the action may be, it is important to respond in kind.
 


Show Tell Do
We believe the best way to learn, is by doing; ("Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand." ~ Confucius) so, like a dive instructor, we’re going to put you in the water!  But first, you need to know what to expect.  We will use the ‘Show Tell Do’ model in each lesson, starting off by modelling a behavior, then discussing it with you in the chat and then encouraging you to try it yourself. Remember to put your own spin on things – make it your own - because each of us brings our unique flavor to the mix and keeps things interesting.

How #twaining Works?
#Twaining is an evolving, informal tweet chat for those who are new to Twitter and want to make the most of the experience. The #twaining hash tag gets added all tweets that take place over the course of the chat and users follow the chat as it takes place in real time by opening a search column in either Tweetdeck or Hootsuite.  It is often helpful to place this search column alongside ones’ Mentions column in order to keep better track of tweets that may be specifically addressed to you by the use of @ and your Twitter handle (or ‘Twitter name’).  We are here to help and if there’s something you’re unsure of or would like to know - ask! As in diving, our motto is “No man left behind" (thanks Kevin~@mediasres for reminding us of this practice)


So Many Voices, Where do I go from Here? – Defining Criteria on Who to Follow:
The sheer vastness of the Twitterverse means it is a space filled with many voices, which at times can be more than a little overwhelming.  Finding suitable tweeps to follow may initially begin with your own interests, simply follow others who share your interests and with whom you engage and whose values you may share.  Along the way, as your network grows, you will discover new and interesting people from all walks of life that may challenge and inspire new ways of thinking for you. Having a strategy in place with regards to who to follow can help to keep your stream uncluttered by ‘pollutants’ – tweets that you’d really rather not have there.  These may be filtered out of course, but selective and not simply reciprocal following may be a wiser move towards keeping it pure in the long term.  This is why automated follow-back tools are generally a way of setting yourself up for headaches further down the line and are best avoided if possible. What criteria will you look for in someone that you may potentially follow?*
*”Home-work’’
Back Story
This whole idea of #twaining (credit Jacqui~@GoSocialSa for the name) came out of an initial conversation Christopher~@67tallchris and Kevin~@mediasres had about helping people jump into chats, and use twitter effectively. We had a few interchanges on twitter about it, then later skyped briefly about the idea. Christopher was already training some team members on twitter, so one day a about 2 weeks ago, a few people ( @johnnywyattj3 @azwildcat05 @tiffanylynne @mediasres @GoSocialSa & @67tallchris) started talking about some twitter chat best practices, how to setup and use tweetdeck (or Hootsuite)
Also, Thank you Jacqui for writing 99% of this, the ideas came from you Kevin and myself, but I very much appreciate your help and support.

 

 
Jul 7 / 9:55pm

A Great Wine's Finish Lasts

Wine-rack-kits
Have you ever met someone, and you knew there was an instant connection. Friendships come from many things, and a few of those things are; commonality, shared experiences, an understanding that passes between the two people potentially deeper than what is usually found in the natural course of human events.

Moving on, but coming back

What is so great about great wines? They have a unique flavor, an unexpected hint of some rare quality. Some are revered for the way they exibit the best qualities that have become associated with that grape varietal (thinking here to the movie "A Walk in the Clouds" and the old old vine that was in the family". It is a cabernet through and through, and has the best qualities of any cabernet you have ever had, but possibly a bit better, or more well defined, or subtler. (this consistent quality is something I am looking to have in my life habits, as an aside).

But there is something more with great wines. I read in Karen MacNeil book the "Wine Bible" that great wines finish last. What does that mean? Why does that make them great? A great wine is consistent, it is the same wine from the first sip to the last (despite decanting and opening up more with oxegen). There may be notes at the beginning sip you do not get at the end, or a smoky hint at the end not present at the beginning, but their character is present throughout the experience. Lastly, and more to the point, they finish last. The great flavor that piqued your intrest in them with that first flush of flavor, lingers long after you set the glass down. As you reminisce, that flavor impregnates on your brain, partly because the flavor still lingers, but it also because it is memorable, disticnct. 

Back to Friendships

My friend Kevin added me on twitter, and I am not sure why. His b+w profile poped up in my new followers column, and I was intrigued. Who is this person? I could tell he was not a spammer (thanks to the heuristics he and I have used for some time, and have discussed at length), but I could not tell immediatly what were his intentions were in adding me, and I thought I would find out. So I started twetting him, and complimented him on his bio. 

What can I tell you about our many tweet conversations, skype calls, and blog post interactions? They are present in my mind long after they are over. I am often amazed by his breadth and depth of knowledge in disparate fields, and humbled at my lack of knowledge, in philosophy, the natural sciences, and many other topics that we relate to when talking about social media ideas and concepts.

I briefly thought my aim should be to become like him, to study philosophy as much as he has, to learn what he has learned so I could become what I admire in him. But after watching a video our friend Karen Sharp shared (great video btw, Go Big, Go go home... Or Go Deep), I realized my unique gift may still need unwrapping, but my talents or gifts are different from his. I am enriched by his friendship because of, and not despite, my lack of experience and knowledge that he has.

I had several reasons for writing this post. One of those is to share how rich a friendship can be across social media, and how much a friendship like that has affected me. Another may be to thank Kevin for the impact he is having in my life, by the example of sharing his knowledge and passion with myself and other (twitter) friends. 

What else can I share, but that I feel I have been blessed with friends. Juan F. Lalinde , while on his wedding, conspired with his wife Laura to bring me back #coffee from their home country of Columbia. Jackie and I have shared long conversations on twitter and email, the list goes on and on.

Guess I just wanted to share with all of you what I have been feeling. Thanks for listening.

Wine Bottles Image source 

 
Jun 26 / 9:32pm

Start Now, Get Better

I have been following a few companies for many years, and have learned quite a bit in the process. One such company, 37Signals has a fantastic array of ideas about doing business, launching a business, and generally doing business things. They wrote a book "ReWork", and one of the chapters (one page long mind you), was this:

Start Something Now

And here is the Quote I liked

What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan… Ideas are cheap and plentiful. The original pitch idea is such a small part of a business that it’s almost negligible. The real question in how well you execute.
 
Start

I think this idea applies to my blog (the one you are reading). It is not the best, it is not even my preferred platform (wordpress would be the answer to that), but I have decided that I switch things too often, and don't stick things through to completion as often as I would like. I will always be me, but I can become a bit more disciplined me. So I have chosen to stick with this blog, learn how to use it effectively, and make it great accepting the weaknesses it has (next up, get posterous to use typekit, I like beautiful fonts).

So this blog is an example of starting something(and it not being perfect, or totally planned out), what else? Well, my youtube videos would be another example. For a long time, I used to sit around and think of great ideas, criticize other peoples work, without being a producer myself. I have decided to stop consuming as much, and be part of the producers. How can I expect to get better if I don't know where I am at?

Also, I have chosen to crowdsource some editing and crafting of my voice. I love community, and want other people to be a part of the creating process, and am willing to be a bit vulnerable in what I put out there, knowing it is not the absolute best work I can do, but looking to the community of friends and readers around me to help make it better.

So, I would encourage you. Start something! Do it now! Don't wait till you have 10 scripts written for 10 you tube videos. Don't wait till you understand everything about twitter to jump in. Be willing to fail, and have your friends graciously come along side you, and tell you when you could have done better. Even be willing to let your enemies laugh at you, and help make your work better (assuming you have enemies, and are aware of them).

-Christopher
@67tallchris

 
Jun 25 / 11:39am

Organizing My Time Online

Thanks to my friend Chase Adams, I was clued in to an amazing time management tool. I think it will be quite handy for many of the things I do online. I say it is a tool, and one that I will keep in my tool belt, but it is most definitely not for every part of my working day (and not for every one, or everything for that matter)
 
Here is the free pdf talking about what it is, how to use it, and all the rules around how to apply it to what you are doing (my friend Adrian told me about the free pdf btw). Let me say, arbitrary rules usually rub me the wrong way (I hat to take managerial accounting 4 times in college, long story, but I don’t like accounting for the same reason, feels like arbitrary rules)
Pomodoro-timer11

The largest problem I personally face is distraction. Since I am a wifi nomad, I live in coffee shops occasionally meeting with clients, but usually just sitting on my computer minding my own business. So often, it is amazingly difficult to not wander from one thing to the next online. If I don’t lay out what i am going to do, almost like military strategy, I can spend hours just reading blog posts, “networking” on twitter, or doing other random things that are in fact good things to be learning about or doing, but not the thing that I actually need to get accomplished.

So how do you plan military strategy online? Pomodoro. Nuff said. Let me know what you think, if you are going to try it, and how it works for you (or possibly not).

P.S. I am also trying to implement the time management method of “Getting Things Done” (a book by David Allen). I read this several years ago, and have not been able to incorporate many of its suggestions into my habits, despite needing them, and seeing their power. I hope to find a happy balance between Pomodoro and GTD, and one day be able to share my experiences with others. Will keep you in the loop :)

Photo Credit: Pomodoro-timer1 taken from <http://www.androidguys.com/2009/10/27/app-review-pomodoro/>
 
May 30 / 11:34am

The Responsibility of Engaging

I broke up with twitter recently. 

We had a falling out.  She was interfering with my other relationships, my work, my life, and I  just could not have that. I told her I needed some space. I did not even talk to her much about it, I just sort of stoped talking to her for a while. 
 
In all seriousness, I did mostly leave twitter for about a two week period recently. I was busy with "work" building listening posts for cilents, meeting with clients to help them with their digital identity, and social media strategy, helping the J3 Effect team build our system in our CRM system, just lots of stuff. (and full disclosure, I discovered Empire Avenue, and was highly intrigued by it, more on that another time).
I am back, but the honeymoon is over, and I am comited to making my relationship with twitter work over the long haul. I have decided, twitter needs my time almost every day (I am going to take one day off a week, Saturdays). I am not availble all the time, but will check my mentions every morning and afternoon, and respond to every mention (within reason, over 100 and I may skip some or wait till later).

Here is the kicker

I believe twitter is one of the most powerfull networking tools in existence. I have gotten to know so many amazing people since I have actively participated on it for the last 7 months, there is no way I can cut off those relationships. I think it will become a powerfull tool for business to disseminate information, work collaboratively on public projects, and connect to customers in a meaningfull way. 
I saw Chris Brogan doing something like this, and got the idea to do it myself. I want to be available on a consistent basis at the very least, and participate on twitter more as time allows, but I think the key to developing and maintaining those relationships will be one thing, consistency. 

Chris Brogan blocks out his time that he does stuff like answer emails, write in his blog etc. I have applied this idea to my twitter time, and will set a minimum amount of participating on it each day. I think a half hour in the morning, a bit at lunch, and a half hour near the end of the day is a good start. I will at the least make time to do that 6 days a week. I will do this for at least the next month, and see how it works out. I will let you know what I think the end of June.
 
May 24 / 1:24am

Can Social Media make a difference?

Can Social Media make a difference?

No

People make a difference. 

I am amazingly drawn to help causes and people in those causes. I get excited when I hear about something cool that I can be a part of. Then, after a bit, that excitement wears off, and I go back to normal life and don't allow that commitment to help someone actually change me. It is one thing to cheer on a cancer survivor on tv, it is another to be in someones life helping them through their situation.

I have committed to running the Disney half marathon with my buddy Jeff Reidy, but that is too far off. You can read about that cause here. I have also been talking to my friend Jason about his cause of educating people about Diabetes, but have not figured out how I can best help him yet. Something my friend Jon said a while back in a blog post has stuck with me, and that is putting skin in the game. 

Here is the one I am going to get behind, right here, right now. I talked to my pastor almost 2 months ago about using social media to help him raise money for their adoption. He has put together a blog, and an easy way for people to donate. I told him I had some ideas that might work, and that was about as far as I got. We tried to get together, and it just never worked out. Well, the deadline is quickly approaching, and I want to make an impact. Time to put some skin in the game.

I want my giving to have a greater impact than what I can do alone, hence this blog post. 

I believe Social Media is about bringing people together, creating communities, sharing who we are, sharing our lives with each other. I feel I have really connected with tons of people recently, and have created great friendships. I shared Coffee and Tea with my friend Kevin across thousands of miles (we sent some to each other), but there is more possible.

I want to test the limits of what a blog, Twitter, Facebook and other channels can achieve. It may not be with this action, but with others to come, and the community that forms around helping others, I think it could change lives. 

Now to the point (skin in the game). I am donating $100 to help my friend Josh Reich and his wife Kaite raise money to adopt a child. I am looking for at least 100 other people that are willing to give at least $10 to help them. Are you willing to put some skin in the game? Donate here, thank you.

-Christopher
aka @67tallchris

P.s. You can use the hashtag #reichadopt to talk about this on twitter, and of course comment here and on Joshes post on raising the money. I only have till May 31'st to find the 100 people willing to help Josh and Kaitie.

Just to clarify, I am not getting paid to help Jeff, Jason, or Josh in any way. Although I expect to share coffee with them over many occasions, and Jason offered to buy me one last time. Next time, next time.