James, I have two answers to your criticism about clever patter and anecdotes.

First: the books are supposed to provoke, not answer. Clearly, they haven’t worked on you, but lucky for me, a lot of my readers find that they give them enough of a firestarter that they’re actually willing to go do something about it.

Second: I have a fairly good record, going back to 1994 (eMarketing) of writing books that describe not just worked in the past, but what’s likely to work in the future. If AdWords aren’t permission marketing, then I don’t know what is…

Sweet. Thanks.

“I’ve got 5. ”

!

The question is, could AOL divert its resources towards commanding a smaller world. If their search division is still profitable it’s counter to traditional wisdom to kill it because their still making money on it. But Godin cites the wise decision of Jack Welch CEO of GE stepping in and killing off several marginally-profitable divisions to refocus the resources of the company to command a few niches rather than be mediocre at many. Sacraficing $1BN marketshare would be a tough decision to justify to shareholders but according to Godin, the longterm payoff will be there if there’s a better Dip for AOL to conquer.

I agree that liberal arts education is important – being an ace mathematician and not being able to communicate is worthless. I’m not suggesting specialized tradeschools at the grade schooler level- but at substitute to the norm of going to college… yea.

The story about the 6th grader was meant to show the importance of having kids feel the “rockstar” mastery of something even for a moment so they seek to create that heightened experience in those areas where they excel. I believe Seth was saying he witnessed a visible change in that girl once he saw her sing that part in the play and it bled into other areas of her life growing up and had a positive effect.

It’s not debatable which is worse on the report card as far as the two scenarios- the 1 A and all C’s is clearly a worse GPA. What’s interesting is the pattern throughout the founders I’ve read in the “Founders at Work” series- a lot of them did horribly in school. Whether it’s the maverick mentality that it takes to start something manifesting early in their personality or something else, you’d think if the school system was effective there would be a high correlation between getting good grades and success. But there isn’t so something is wrong.

I’ll give you one of my copies of the Dip- no need to wait for the library, I’ve got 5. I don’t think you’ll find any revolutionary ideas in there that you haven’t already considered. With these types of “anecdotal” books it’s more about what it inspires you to do differently. And it’s inspired two different initiatives for me w/ JumpBox. I’ll check out the Black Swan.

Sean

http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2007/05/why_1_of_search.html

“ComScore released their April 2007 search market share numbers showing that Google increased its market share lead to about 50%. Yahoo has about 27%, Microsoft 10%, AOL 5%, and Ask.com has 5%. That got me thinking. Should AOL and Ask just give up…hopelessly behind with only 5% market share? In a word…NO!

“Each 1% of market share is worth at least $1 Billion in market cap. Google has 50 points of market share and a stock market cap of $150B, or $3 Billion for each 1% of search market share. Other competitors don’t win the same revenues and market multiples, but even at the low end, 1% of market share is worth over $1 Billion.”

One would be hard-pressed to say that AOL should quit because they’re not going to be the best in the search field.

You could say that AOL and Ask are the rock stars for a particular set of users; they’ve identified a niche and rule it. Another view is that they realize that “good enough” wins in certain areas; you can’t possible pre-select the niche, but, luckily, you don’t have to. You simply have to be available and let the niche find you.

And, actually, I do care what grades my doctor got in other classes because I want a generally astute human to treat me, not a specialized fact-machine.

Comparisons to grade school make no sense; encouraging skill specialization in a 7-year old just seems perverse. People really *do* need to have good knowledge of math and history and grammar. This is not encouraging mediocrity; it is encouraging general education and critical thinking skills.

It’s debatable which is worse; all Bs or one A+ and all Cs, but to suggest those are the only choices is a false choice. Same goes for doctors and mechanics.

I’ve read a few books by Godin, and I end up wondering: aside from anecdotes and clever patter, where’s the evidence that what he’s saying is anything more than well, clever patter and anecdotes? Not that his books are without merit, but absent anything more concrete than pithy sayings and large text there is considerable room for skepticism.

I’ve not read The Dip (I’ll wait until the library has it), but from what I gather I think people might also enjoy “Funky Business” : http://www.amazon.com/Funky-Business-Talent-Makes-Capital/dp/0273645919

I’d also suggest people read The Black Swan (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Impact-Highly-Improbable/dp/1400063515/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-9381796-0388920?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180222521&sr=1-1) but it may be the wrong kind of contrarian for some.

It’s a wonderful book, and it’s an opportunity for me to make a difference in my life, if I have the guts to quit!

Great summary!

I am sorry I didn’t meet you in person yesterday – a friend of Francine is a friend of mine! :)

I was proud that so many people from Phoenix showed up.

Here is my take on the day.
http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/get_a_life_blog/2007/05/takeaways_from_.html

Hopefully our paths will cross again in the social media/marketing/entrepreneur circles of Phoenix!

All the best,
-Pam

I wrote up