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Jan 28th

Interview – David Meerman Scott & Seth Godin on Linchpin

linchpin book coverOne of the greatest influences in my career has been Seth Godin.  Between Seth, Chris Brogan, Brian Halligan and many others, one could wonder what the heck they put in the water out in Massachusetts that helps produce some of the greatest business minds of our era.

I don’t normally completely hinge my blog on other people’s content.  That’s cheating.  But for today, I have to cheat because, frankly, there’s not much I feel I could add to this conversation between David Meerman Scott (another MA resident) and Seth.  It’s one of the most provocative and fascinating interviews I’ve seen recently.  I’m excited to read Seth’s new book, Linchpin, and have already ordered my copy.

The interview is about 13 minutes long, so if you’re busy bookmark it and come back later this evening.  It’s probably the best investment of 13 minutes you will have this week.

If you follow TED Talks, Seth’s ideology reminds me of a talk I watched with Sir Ken Robinson on how schools kill creativity.  I think both of these guys are spot-on in their epiphanies.  The emergence of the social web, free publishing technology and affordable hardware has completely changed the game.

Think about the Linchpins you know
Three years ago, if someone mentioned the name Chris Brogan, would you have had any idea who he was or why you should even care?  If you’re a wine buff, ask yourself this: three years ago, would the name Gary Vaynerchuck have meant anything?

If it weren’t for this blog, my LinkedIn profile or my daily musings on Twitter, would you even know the name Nate Riggs?  I can tell you for sure that three years ago I had little access, even less leverage and no one who really cared about what I had to say.  So, probably not…

Change Artists
Artist has been a hot word since Brogan and Smith wrote Trust Agents, with an entire chapter dedicated to outlining the qualities and practice of the “Human Artist.”  I can’t help but notice the influence of that book in Seth’s definition of “art” in the video:

“The Act of bringing humanity and connection to change someone else.”

There are some the parallels between what happened during the first Renaissance period and this new Digital Renaissance that we are all trying to figure out.  One of the commonalities was the presence of artists, and how their work (the media) helped to enlighten humanity and produce social and cultural change.  From what I can see, Seth busts this idea wide open in Linchpin – and in my opinion, there’s no one better for the job than him.

So what’s your take?  Have we become brainwashed?  Has the education system killed our creativity?  Have you become part of the third group – the Linchpins – who will break that mold?

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  • Thanks, Nate. Here is our little social media experiment at Ohio Hi-Point Career Center. Next year, we are including more students (and teachers!).

    http://www.hipointjourneys.com
  • Nate,

    This is a great informational post, and the video was fascinating as expected! I've ordered my copy of Linchpin as well as Trust Agents this afternoon and am excited to immerse myself in the content. Thanks for sharing this!
  • Great! Thanks Forest. Good reading all around...
  • Thanks for sharing this. As a former teacher and administrator and now someone working in marketing and communications in the education industry, I agree that our system is flawed and needs changed. There are a lot of schools right here in Ohio that have made some significant changes in allowing students the freedom to express themselves and develop their interests before they go off to college or into the workforce without a clue as to what they want to do, but this is few and far between, in my opinion.

    The unfortunate thing is how we fund education, how people view public education, how legislators play games and keep changing standards and funding and using it as a political issue, instead of actually fixing it. I agree with Godin that public schools are meant to create a sense of compliance amongst our youth and maybe that's why politicians don't ever really change education, they just talk about changing it to sound good.

    As an educational marketer I have learned that schools have a huge image problem and lack the resources to tell our stories effectively, but hopefully the openness and inexpensive nature of the social web will open those doors up even more to allow our students to express themselves more and show people what goes on.
  • You bring up really interesting points, Shane. Technology creates access for students and teachers to tell their own stories, yet you guys seem to be one of the only schools who are encouraging and empowering the students to do that (hat tip!). I can't remember the URL of your site for the High Point student blogs., but it's brilliant. Would you drop it here so others could see what your doing?

    I think what you've mentioned continues all the way up to colleges and universities. Sure, you have the a few students who take initiative to tell their stories like Marie Elizabeth and Hannah DeMilta, but I believe what they do on the social web in terms of presence building should be coursework in all schools.
  • Hey Nate,

    Thanks for passing the interview I did with Seth along. It really was fun to do the interview. I am a Seth Godin fanboy myself.

    David
  • Thank you for the comment David. Keep the great content coming! You folks in MA are leading change...
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