From the looks of it, more than five million people are subscribed because he converted his Facebook fans to subscribers. Zuckerberg may already have more subscribers than your favorite celebrity!

To see if you’re subscribed, go to your profile and click on the “Subscriptions” icon in the left sidebar.

Check out what Facebook says about Subscriptions or learn What it Means for Each Type of User.

I’m still trying to decide if I’ll allow subscriptions.

What about you?
Will you allow Facebook subscriptions? Why or why not? And who will you subscribe to?

Today.

Why? Two Three Reasons.

1. In non-technical terms, there’s some weird book-buying algorithm thingee that promotes books to the top of best seller lists if they sell a bunch of books on launch day. Today is that day. Because L. L. is a friend, I’d really like to help promote her book.
2. Lest you think I’m purely altruistic, think again. I enjoy L. L.’s writing. I’ve read Stone Crossings and God in the Yard and loved both. Though I’ve not read the Rumors of Water, I know it won’t disappoint. People I know and trust are already recommending it. (See reviews below.)
3. Plain and simple – I need a jump start to get my writing and creativity in gear. This has been a crazy year and I fear my brain is turning to jelly.

If you’re the least bit interested in writing and/or creativity, would you please buy Rumors of Water as well? Today?

But don’t just take my word for it.

What Others are Saying
Glynn said, “It works. It works stunningly well. It works so well that I think I’ve just finished one of the best books on writing I’ve ever read.”

Brought to tears twice by reading Rumors, Diana had this to say, “…I needed Barkat’s written beauty as much as I needed the warmth of the sun and the view of the mountains…And I needed it at a deeper level than I even knew.”

Charity’s words spoke to me. “I had no idea the book would be framed as a master training program for writers, or that she would address the very issues that keep writers like me from taking their art to the next level.” 

“Barkat acknowledges the realities of the publishing world, the likelihood of rejection, and the need for the writer to be willing to work at the craft,” offers Nancy. She also admits to laughing out loud at a pair of sentences.

 What about you?
Are you interested in writing and/or creativity? If so, please consider buying L. L.’s book. We could have our own online book club and read it together.

If writing/creativity isn’t your thing, tell me about the next book you’ll be reading! 

Last month, I had the privilege of interviewing Guy Kawasaki for a post to appear on The High Calling in conjunction with our upcoming book club series on Guy’s latest book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions.

Guy is a former Chief Evangelist and Fellow for Apple (yes, the Apple), is the Founder of Alltop, and is a co-founding partner for Garage Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm for early stage technology companies. He’s a best selling author (Enchantment is his 10th book) and speaker, a husband, father, ice hockey fanatic, a marketing genius and a Christ follower.

I had such a great time interviewing Guy. He’s so enchanting that I smiled for hours after I interviewed him! Can I just tell you how crazy cool it was?

Three Ways to Be Enchanting

1. Read Enchantment and join in our weekly online discussions. If you’re a blogger, you can also blog your thoughts about each chapter and share them through The High Calling community.
2. Come to our Twitter party tonight (Thursday, May 5th) from 9-10 PM Eastern and ask Guy your own questions. Check out the details at Super Hero Dan King’s Bible Dude site.
3. Finally, click on over to The High Calling to watch the interview and leave a comment here, there or both. I’d love to know what you think!

Here’s a quick look at the first question, just to whet your appetite:
 

What about you?
Who do you find enchanting?

Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Rogercarr.

My brain is saturated.

Here are just a few of the ideas and conversations that have my attention while I endure a very long layover in the Charlotte airport.

1. From David Bullock, profit engineer, “Free is nice, but free does not get me paid.” Nuff said.
2. From Ryan Rasmussen,  virtual worlds guy, “You already have an affiliate program. Provide them with better tools to help them help you.” Immediately I thought of my three words post.
3. Hallway conversations often have more power than the content presented in sessions. Like the 10-year passion plan conversation I had with Jon Swanson, social media chaplain.
4. Thoughtfulness goes a long way and makes a huge difference. I appreciate the fact that Liz Strauss, perhaps the most influential relational blogger on the Internet, was deliberate in scheduling our last session this morning at Hotel 71 rather than at the Summit Executive Centre. We were able to enjoy breakfast together and folks were able to check out/leave throughout the morning, without having to trek back and forth a few blocks with luggage in tow.

I have so much more to process and pray through. I’ll be sure to share additional highlights with you, in the days and weeks to come.

For those of you who also attended, what are you digesting from SobCon09? And for the rest of you, what do you find to be the most effective way to process information, insights and aha’s from conferences you’ve attended? I’d sure love to read your tips in the comments section!

After praying about where God would have me focus my time and attention this year, I came up with my own three words for 2009. They are:

1. Friends
2. Writer
3. Infants

Friends
It seems at every turn in the last few months, I’ve come across books, speakers and testimonies that all highlight the power of positive friendships. As a result, in 2009 I am nurturing a few key relationships with women who understand who I am and the call that God has on my life. I am being vulnerable by sharing my hopes and dreams as well as my fears and failures, trusting that God will use these ladies to sharpen me and bring me into the place of His choosing. It may not seem like much of a business strategy, unless you’ve read Vital Friends, The Power of Who or Say Yes to No.

Writer
I’ve been writing since I was 12 years old – stories, diary entries, devotional thoughts and more. Last month I wrote a post about two women who, independently of one another, affirmed God’s call on my life to write. You can read about that here. In 2009, I am spending more time writing what God has laid on my heart. I am also intentionally developing relationships with people in the writing industry – writers, publishers, agents, editors, publicists and more. Admittedly, I’m not quite sure what God has in store but I fully believe this is a strategic step in line with my calling and purpose.

Infants
I like beginnings – starting new things. It’s actually fun when I get to work with a new business owner or a ministry leader embarking on a new journey. In 2009, I am working with leaders looking for new ways to engage people. So far I’ve:

• Provided leadership coaching for new business owners
• Offered social media consulting for chamber professionals and their members
• Helped ministry leaders develop new opportunities to make broader kingdom impact

My Three Words
Friends. Writer. Infants.

I’m using them to help me stay focused on specific areas of my business. These are the words that will help me use my time most effectively and make sure I don’t get too far off the intended path. Throughout the year, I’ll keep you posted on how I’m doing.

What about you?
What priorities have you identified for 2009 and how are you staying focused? If you had to determine your own three words for this year, what would they be? And what advice or feedback would you give me for 2009, based on the three words I’ve identified?

On the Job Training (OTJ)
For the most part, I’ve relied on OTJ. At first, it was very intimidating to go to the WordPress dashboard and ponder what to write, how often and how to engage readers by selecting relevant topics. You may know how I feel.

I’ve been reading great blogs by Liz and Chris and Jon and Mike and many others. I’ve learned more than I ever thought possible, and I’ve just barely scratched the surface. So this year, I’m going to SobCon09 and I can’t wait! SobCon is billed as the Biz School for Bloggers.

Maybe you’ve recently started a blog, or are thinking of doing so. It’s not too late to sign up to attend! You can do that here.

Want to Learn More about Blogging But Can’t Go?
Maybe you’d really like to learn more about blogging. You’re thinking of starting your own blog to get visibility for your business. Or you’ve just been told that you’re in charge implementing a blog for your company or organization and you don’t have a clue where to start. Or maybe, you’re like me and you’re already blogging, want to learn more but your schedule is already booked for that time or this isn’t in the budget.

Be a Sponsor
Whatever the case, you might consider being a “CultureSmith Goes to SobCon” sponsor. As a sponsor, you’ll receive:

• Daily highlights during the conference (via email or Facebook message)
• Post-conference written overview (I take great notes!)
• Post-conference 1-hour briefing (phone or in person)

If any of that sounds intriguing to you, let’s talk!

Blogging, attending SobCon09 and seeking sponsors. All three have required huge leaps of faith for me. But I’m ready to go to the next level. Are you?

What are you doing to learn more about blogging (or your own industry)? Are you intentional about learning? If so, where and how? From whom? And who do you know that could benefit from attending SobCon or being a “CultureSmith goes to SobCon” sponsor?

Note to self re: key takeways (some not new):

• We have the ability to think positively, even when it’s difficult.
• Personalized praise of employees (and others) is important.
• Bob is an authentic speaker who practices what he preaches, and is a great story teller.
• Try the change in the pocket deal. (Ask me for the full story.)
• Get the books he mentioned, “No Assholes Rule” and The Super Supervisor by the lady who spent her career as an employee in textile manufacturing.

After Bob’s address, I gave this presentation:

Followed by an impromptu Twitter tutorial with Laurie Wieder before doing this presentation. Remember, I’m not a graphics person so don’t harrass me about the slide theme.

For those of you who were in attendance, what did you learn? What were your key takeaways? The slides don’t convey the full conversation. What was your AHA? And if you weren’t there, what do you think?

Today’s been rough. I’ve had to eat crow all morning at home because of personal stuff – mostly pride and coming up on the short end of the stick. I’ve been wrong and I don’t like it when I have to face my faults. It’s painful and frankly, I feel like some of the wind has been knocked out of my sails. I did it to myself.

After the kids got on the bus, I sat down to check my email and I received this (click to enlarge):

• First, nice reach out. Nice business process. Someone’s paying attention. I’m really wowed when companies are listening – seeing who is using their products or services, and how. I’m wowed when businesses understand what engaging people looks like. The subject said I was a SlideShare rockstar because of this presentation I did on Twitter for Business for the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

• Secondly, I’m curious. Hmmm, I wonder how many views? I click the link and OMG! More than 10,000 views of my SlideShare? That’s insane! I reflect back on my original presentation about SlideShare and how powerful a tool it is. I see this firsthand now.

• Wow! This feels good today. Sort of like a warm blanket on a cold, rainy day (which it is). I think I’ll relish the moment, as I digest my crow.

• Finally, people make a difference. Lee Graham, ACregar and SlideShare’s CTO, Jonathan Boutelle all added my presentation to their favorites. One simple act of adding someone’s presentation can go a long way in building relationships. Further evidence that social media is about engaging, giving.

What are you waiting for? Post some of your own presentations on SlideShare, or “favorite” (a verb) one or two that you really like. And if you’re a business owner, how can you pay attention to what your customers are doing with your products and services and reach out to them? How can you offer a warm blanket on a rainy day? Tell me. I want to hear how you engage people.

I was a SlideShare user/fan before this. Now, I’m part of their Tribe.

Note: This post is not about ego. In fact, I almost didn’t write it because God has been dealing with me lately about my pride. I’m not looking for attagirls here, nor am I bragging. Instead, it’s my attempt to share how a company positively impacted my emotions. On a tough morning. Thanks SlideShare Team.

Unbeknownst to me, Dee waged a Twitter campaign to help me reach 2000 followers. A meeting in Charlottesville had me off the grid for most of the day. When I returned and checked my email, tweetlater digests containing my Twitter user name filled my inbox. And my Tweetdeck revealed that Dee had been busy.

Here’s how it started.

And here’s how it continued. (Read from the bottom up.)

Throughout the day, Dee tweeted and her followers retweeted (RT), asking people to follow me. And they did. Crazy! Thanks to Dee’s efforts and the efforts of her followers and others, I gained nearly 50 followers in one day. 48 to be exact.

And remember, all this was while I was in an out-of-town meeting, clueless to what Dee was doing. She created a conspiracy of delight and others participated!

So what are the takeaways?

1. Helping others is good. Shameless self promotion is bad, especially in social media. If I had said, “hey guys, help me reach 2K followers today,” I’m quite certain that more than a few people would have been turned off.
2. Don’t be afraid to ask. Do you need help accomplishing your goals? Or even better… Do you have a desire to help others? There’s power in numbers but you’ll never know if you don’t ask.
3. Engaging people pays off. I’m hoping that Dee offerered this kindness to me because I’ve been about being real, interacting with others and adding value along the way. If I were “Leisure Suit Larry,” Dee would have probably unfollowed me a long time ago. Don’t be that guy!
4. On the social web, people reach out to help others, often without any ulterior motives. Like Laura Fitton‘s tweet for World Water Day or Susan Murphy‘s 12 for 12 project or Connie Reece and Susan Reynolds‘ frozen pea fund.
5. Social friends’ opinions matter. People have always acted based on the recommendations of their friends. You ate at a certain restaurant; you used a hairdresser or babysitter because someone you trusted recommended them. Today, that principle is magnified through the use of social networks. You buy a book, watch a movie, use a web designer, consider using gmail for your corporate email client or more. It’s really quite astounding. (I suspect that Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s upcoming book, Trust Agents might just have a lot to say about that. You should buy it when it comes out!)
6. And finally, if you’re on Twitter, follow Dee!

What do you think?
Are you engaging people using social media? What can businesses, chambers of commerce and churches learn from all of this? Give it some thought and leave me a comment. Let’s broaden this conversation.

Look what I found:

A simple little tweet about being here, and passing along this link from a post written about a previous visit, prompted two people (the above tweet as well as a direct message from another Orthodontic Arts fan) to have  positive exchanges about their children’s orthodontist office.

How much money would that cost a business in today’s advertising dollars?

Here’s a quick video from my last visit that show how much attention to detail is given to the patient’s experience. Who said, afterall, that going to the orthodontist had to be a dreadful experience? Certainly not the folks at Orthodontic Arts!

Treatment Room or Spa?

Patient Television Monitors are Individually Controlled (Disney, Nickelodeon, Bravo or other channels, patient’s choice)

Somehow, that drill didn’t sound quite so bad!

The Takeaway?
What lessons could businesses you know learn from Orthodontic Arts? When is the last time you can remember enjoying an appointment at an orthdontist or dental office?