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A good friend of mine who publishes a blog on supply chain management, economics, and innovation entitled The Global Rail asked me for some tips on promoting his blog. These were top of mind, and I thought I would share them in hopes of hearing your suggestions too! Here goes:

Question: How else besides linkedin and facebook do I drive traffic to my blog?   … I feel a little limited through linkedin and facebook because I am only advertising within my contact circle.

Here are some things you can do, I’ll be paraphrasing Trust Agents (a great book! Just buy it!) a bit …

• Visit, read and add comments to other blogs that discuss your topic of interest – in my friends case, Supply Chain Management (and related topics). Add your contact information (including blog link) but definitely do not promote the blog itself, just get in the conversation. It will take a while to see results but this one is important. Be part of the conversation!
• Join Twitter and use tools like Mr. Tweet to find people with similar interests and follow them. Its a common courtesy to follow those who follow you, so you will soon have some new people to share ideas (ie posts) with. How great is that? Use this platform to share other information about your topic of intersest (in this case, Supply Chain Mgt and related topics), and share something about yourself too! For instance, lots of people are out there right now discussing Supply Chain Management, just look at this Twitter Search. Don’t forget to use hashtags to identify your topic (eg., #supplychain) which is enormously helpful for people looking for the very information you are sharing.
• Use a URL shortener like Bit.ly to shorten your URLs and get tracking for free. This is essential. Otherwise, how will you know which channel is having the most impact?

OK, that’s what popped into my head, of course there’s much more you can do. What has worked for you? What would you recommend NOT doing?

Today, Friday October 16^th is National Bosses Day in the U.S. As I was thinking about the card I got for my boss and the lovely card I received from my team, it struck me: I have been a very lucky guy when it comes to having bosses who have guided and provided me with opportunities to progress in my career. I don’t have any “bad boss stories”, quite the opposite – I’m batting a thousand.

So this post is intended to say thank you to my current and former bosses, you know who you are. When I worked in government you supported me as I built a program for our teams to work more efficiently. When I worked at an agency you gave me the opportunity to grow into my position, take chances with new ideas, build expertise and lead our teams. When I worked at a mid-sized corporation you gave me full support as I became a people manager, and as I began thinking strategically you gave me free reign to explore and lead. When I decided to change domains you gave me the room to adapt and access to people who could help make my ideas happen. I hope I can someday be half the boss that you have all been. I have learned so much from all of you that thank you hardly seems enough.

How has your boss supported you? How have they allowed you to grow and develop? What insights have they given you that you can share?

Wilco: photo by by Joel.Oliphint

If you are a huge fan of Wilco, you have probably already seen them live, so this review won’t be news to you. But as a long-time fan who finally saw them in Columbus, Ohio (on Columbus Day) on a brisk Monday, Oct. 12^th, I can now say that despite the fact that Wilco make fantastic albums (2007’s “Sky Blue Sky” still gets regular rotation in the car), they take that material to a whole new level during their live shows.

Performing over two dozen songs that spanned most of their discography with some emphasis on their new release, “Wilco (The Album)“, Jeff Tweedy and his band played inspired and intense versions of fan favorites like “Handshake Drugs” and “Impossible Germany” with a relaxed air that made it seem like nothing could come more naturally to them.

Tweedy chatted with the crowd, encouraging them to sing in his place on “Jesus, etc.”, and giving them a pat on the back even though he said that the crowd in Austin sang it better, and knew more of the words, even if they were drunker. Tweedy poked fun at a woman with using flash to take pictures, and later mildly scolded someone shooting video. When the perpetrator yelled back “It’s not illegal”, Tweedy simply replied “but we asked you not to”.

Wilco has come a long long way since its alt-country days of well-done albums like “Being There”. Their pop and rock sensibilities kept evolving, finally taking a very experimental turn on “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”. For the next three albums (and two live releases) the band absorbed equal parts Neil Young and Sonic Youth into it eclectic pop mix, finally emerging in the last couple of years with a six piece lineup that can play incredibly moving, memorable songs amidst the arty rock’n’noise chaos. It’s powerful on record, and absolutely stunning live.

Two things to add – Wilco’s Nels Cline continues to be my guitar hero, whether he’s spraying jagged-edge lead guitar all over a tune or just adding texture with his lap steel. He is amazing. Cline has several solo albums, “Draw Breath” is my current favorite.

The other thing – opener Liam Finn and his collaborator Eliza Jane were incredible. Finn, son of the famous Crowded House songwriter Neil Finn, performed intense singer-songwriter tunes with guitar loops, samples and a ferocity on the drums that may make him my new drum hero! His new EP with Eliza Jane, entitled “Champagne in Seashells” is fantastic and well-worth the price of admission.

So I finally saw Wilco, and will definitely do so when the opportunity arises again. How about you? If you’ve seen Wilco, what’s your favorite aspect of their performance?

This is technically my first post on the subject of web. There will be many more. There is much to say, and frankly there’s a lot of other people saying a lot of good stuff. But I have a few points I’d like to make.

The Nick Kizirnis Band will be playing at Gilly’s for the Dayton Music Festival this Saturday Ocotber 3rd at 11:30, directly before headliners The Buffalo Killers!

I’ve got two free tracks from the Into the Loud CD for anyone who would like them. I only ask you leave a comment and let me know what you think of the tracks! If you make it to the show you’ll hear them, if you don’t you can still hear them!

Preferred Company

Fall

Get ready Dayton, Ohio 30 bands, 7 clubs, $10 … the 2009 Dayton Music Fest is THIS Saturday Oct 3rd! Here’s the schedule!  Who is going?

Hi everyone,

That’s right, the 2009 Dayton Music Festival kicks off on Saturday October 3rd across Downtown Dayton, featuring over two dozen bands at seven venues for $10!

The Nick Kizirnis Band will be appearing at Gilly’s at 11:30pm, followed by headliners The Buffalo Killers from Cinci, Ohio!

To get you ready for the show, I’ve got two free tracks from the Into the Loud CD for anyone who would like them. I only ask you leave a comment and let me know what you think of the tracks! If you make it to the show you’ll hear them, if you don’t you can still hear them!

Preferred Company

Fall