Nothing Happens by Itself
Copyright © 2021 Karl W. Palachuk
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I'm traveling!!!
I am in Nashville for a few days, just for fun. Seems a little strange but mostly normal.
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Quick update: Transforming Our Industry into a Profession.
That presentation has a call to action. Please join the movement. New web site coming soon.
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Rethinking Intelligence
Humans have a very self-centered view of intelligence. After all, we think we're the only species that spends time thinking about thinking. So when we think about other animals, we measure their "smartness" against our own. We hear that dolphins are smart, but immediately realize that they're not smart enough to build a hospital or a simple motor.
At the same time, we're told that octopus "brains" are actually distributed as neurons all over their body. Each tentacle can "think" for itself and make decisions that are best for the animal as a whole.
Remember that model: I think that's our future. Not as humans, but as users of intelligence. When we consider the future, we need to realize that distributed, specialized intelligent will be everywhere.
In tomorrow's Killing IT Podcast ( https://killingit.smallbizthoughts.com), we touch on a story about recruiting people on the autism spectrum to help re-think how we fight cyber crime. It's an interesting way of acknowledging that "different" thinking is not wrong or bad - it's just different.
We humans will always be the best at thinking like humans, but we are quickly entering an age when we need to think differently about the concepts of intelligence. Why do we need to do this quickly? Well, because we are entering an era of AI that will dominate the rest of our lives.
Just as we have historically evaluated dolphins and people with autism as somehow being "less good" at thinking, many of us poo-poo the idea that computers and machines can actually have artificial intelligence. But, again, we have to think about intelligence differently. After all, a smart phone is really smart. Just not the way you are.
Perhaps the most prominent example of the new intelligence we are about to see taking over the world is the humble LED screen (TV or monitor). The concept of a screen made from LEDs was around for more than two decades before it became practical. Why? Basically, it was the cost of memory chips. The first proof-of-concept LED screens were not pleasant to watch because the LEDs did not fire in synch. For that, they needed a tiny big of memory behind each LED for caching. As soon as that became affordable, then LED screens took off.
Now think about a future with a little memory in every light bulb, every switch, and every electronic device. Everything you touch will be "smart" some day. Not smart enough to make a toaster - but smart enough to do its job better.
As we begin to create this future, we need to right-size our expectations about intelligence. Things will become very smart in one or two things each. Light bulbs will learn your habits and begin saving your electricity. Clothes will become smart and tell your smart washing machine exactly how long then need to be washed. Everything will become smart in its own way.
The good news, for sci-fi fans, is that we don't have to worry about computers becoming sentient and trying to take over the world. Each piece of each program will simply get smarter and smarter at doing the one thing it's intended to do.
The really cool thing we can look forward to is a future in which our technology becomes aware that we exist, and is programmed to make our lives better. Isaac Asimov's rules for robots are essentially irrelevant in the real world. Today robots are very dangerous to humans simply because they are unaware that we exist. That's why robots don't work side by side with humans in assembly lines. As they gain enough intelligence to be aware of us, the first thing they will do is to get out of our way and not harm us.
Interestingly, we seem to be working on this with cars faster than any other technology. So making human-aware robots on a smaller scale should be pretty easy. And then we'll have general-purpose robots that can do a variety of things, including the ability to learn new chores that were not part of their original programming.
When you think about AI going forward, don't judge whether it's "really" intelligent compared to a human. Instead, consider whether it's intelligent enough to bring additional value to whatever chore it's been given.
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All New Class: Deep Dive into Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn
Arguably the most important social media for your business. So, we've put together a five-week course to help you get the most out of these tools. See longer description below. Starts Tomorrow. Join us!
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That's it for now. I appreciate the calendar updates. Keep 'em coming.
Have a great week.
-- Karl W. Palachuk
:-)
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Social Media Deep Dive:
Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn
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Starts July 6th
Don't Miss It!
Sign up today.
Deep Dive Into Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn
Course 5W24
Taught By: Karl W. Palachuk
Five Tuesdays
- All classes start a 9:00 AM Pacific
Part of the "Social Media Super-Charge" Series for Small Business
Did you know that Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn have all introduced new and potentially important features in the last month?
This course covers three of the largest and most important social media in great detail. In all cases, we present a thorough training on getting the most of these applications. And, for each, we talk about how that specific medium fits into your overall sales and marketing strategy.
This course takes each of the platforms in turn, but constantly reminds you to create an overall approach to branding and social media. Each platform has "secrets" and best practices that most casual users never see. We provide these secrets and best practices as a series of checklists. Some are specific to individual postings; some are based on a weekly or monthly schedule; and some have a larger, strategic approach.
Most small businesses "use" social media, but don't really have a strategy for using social media effectively. That strategy starts with understanding the strengths and weaknesses of various platforms. And it culminates with a unified approach to branding and how your company presents itself across a variety of platforms.
This course is taught by Karl W. Palachuk, a social media influencer who "touches" over one million people per month. Karl has been using these social media for more than ten years, and has demonstrated mastery across all of the major social media that small businesses need to be successful.
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Weekly Agenda
Week 1: YouTube - Setup and Optimizing for Marketing
- “Google Properties” And Webmaster Tools
- Planning Your YouTube Strategy
- One Email; Multiple Brands
- Graphics and Branding
- Creator Studio
- Channel Settings
- Next-Level Branding
- Social Media Link
- Custom URLs
- Paid Membership Channel?
- Monetizing
Week 2: YouTube - Video Upload and Tagging
- Video Uploading Checklist
- End Screens and iCards
- Thumbnails
- Tags/Keywords
- Scheduling, Captions, and Chapter Headings
- Longer Videos
- Link to Adwords Account
- Analytics and Reports
- YouTube in the Big Strategy
Week 3: Facebook - Setup and Maximizing Results
- Facebook Personal and Business
- Graphics Revisited
- Pages and Groups
- Rules for Group Management
- Successful Posting / Cross-Posting
- YouTube in the Big Strategy
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Week 4: LinkedIn - Setup and Effective Use
- LinkedIn Basics
- Three Levels of Connections
- The Greatest Profile Opportunity in Social Media
- Details and Options
- Overwhelm, Minimalist, or Super Niche?
- Sharing
- Fake Profiles Can Teach You a Lot
- Graphics and Branding
- Custom URL
- Premium Options
Week 5: LinkedIn - Optimizing for Sales
- Email Marketing – and Abuse
- Recommendations – Giving and Getting
- Posts, Articles, “Blogging” and Syndicating
- Groups
- Activities and Notifications
- All-Star Status
- Super Search
- LinkedIn in the Big Strategy
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Only $299 per student
Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk
Karl W. Palachuk, blogger and author of the most popular books on managed services.
Includes five weeks of webinars with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor. All classes are recorded for download. All classes include suggested "homework" that is totally action-focused and intended to move your company's marketing forward.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for Sales Managers and Marketing Managers.
A Few Details . . .
- Each course will be five one-hour Zoom webinars
- There will be handouts and "homework" assignments
- Class webinars will be recorded and made available to paid attendees only.
- All calls start at 9:00 AM Pacific Time
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All the Resources That Are Fit to Print |
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Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
Relax Focus Succeed:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
The Killing IT Podcast - New episodes drop every Tuesday
The Cheeky Sales Coach Podcast / Video - New episodes drop every Wednesday
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Selected Recent Videos and Webinars:
Note: We started auto-posting the podcasts to YouTube. Those are not listed here as YouTube Videos since they're listed under the podcasts above.
A quick guide to my Playlists:
- Total: More than 730 videos on the Small Biz Thoughts channel
- 295+ SOP videos
- 45+ Relax Focus Success videos
Plus . . .
- Training, Courses, Seminars on Managed Services
- Product Reviews
- and more
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Small Biz Thoughts Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Gil Cargill on the SBT Roundtable |
On the first Thursday of the month, we hold a special event - The SBT Roundtable.
Our August guest will be one of my favorite sales trainers - Gil Cargill. Gil is always educational and entertaining.
The link is always at the top of the community dashboard.
New Members: We would love to have you join us this week and every week!
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New Members (and anyone who wants a refresher) - Join Kara July 8th
Jump on the weekly call a half hour early for a guided tour of the community and how to find resources. Kara does this every 2nd Thursday. No appointment necessary.
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Members get free classes! New members - remember that you get massive discounts on our classes over at Great Little Seminar. Monthly subscribers save $200 per student. Annual subscribers attend for free. Grab your discount code in the Community and then head to GLS to register for class.
If you need something, please post a question in a forum or email Kara (your Community Manager) or me.
:-)
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I stayed at the Margaritaville Hotel in Nashville
Sing it with me . . . "Blew out my flip flop. Stepped on a pop top. ..."
:-)
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What's Here?
This calendar lists two kinds of things: LIVE in-person events from any organization that focuses on the SMB consulting community; and MY events, whether live, webinar, etc.
If you have live events on your calendar that may be useful to others in the SMB Community, please let us know. We'd be happy to list them.
Of course: Everything here is subject to change based on Covid. Click the links for the latest details. Please send updates so we can post them.
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July
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
July 8, 2021
Atlanta, GA
InfoSecurity Europe
July 13-15
London, UK
ASCII Success Summit
July 21 & 22
Chicago, IL
Retail NOW 2021
July 25-27
Nashville, TN
Black Hat USA
July 31-August 5
Las Vegas, NV
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August
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
August 2-6
Englewood, CO
Defcon 29
August 5-8
Las Vegas, NV
SMB Roadshow - Manchester, UK
August 10th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Cardiff, UK
August 12th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
XCHange+
August 15-17
San Antonio, TX
SMB Roadshow - London, UK
August 17th
Tentative . . . but count on it!
More info: https://www.smbroadshow.com
Join me Live!
ASCII Success Summit
August 18 & 19
Raleigh, NC
IT By Design Build IT LIVE 2021
Aug 30 - Sept 1
Jersey City, NJ
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
Aug 30 - Sept 1
Gold Coast, Aus
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September
CEDIA Expo
Sept 1-3
Indianapolis, IN
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Sept 2, 2021
Boston, MA
SMB Roadshow - Vancouver
Sept 7th
Vancouver, BC
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Toronto
Sept 9th
Toronto, ON
Join me Live!
SMB Roadshow - Montreal
Sept 14th
Montreal, ON
Join me Live!
Managed Services Summit Live
Sept 15th
London
SMB Roadshow - Providence, RI
Sept. 16th
Providence, RI
Join me Live!
IOTSSA Cybersecurity Expo
Sept 16th
Charlotte, NC
Midsize Enterprise Summit+
September 19-21
Dallas, TX
Channel Live
Sept 21-22
Birmingham, UK
ASCII Success Summit
September 22 & 23
NY / NJ area
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
San Diego, CA
Sept 23-24th
IT Partners
Sept. 29-30
Disneyland, Paris
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October
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Oct 6, 2021
Raleigh, NC
DTX 2021 (Digital Transformation)
Oct. 6-7
London, UK
DattoCon 2021
Oct 11-13
Seattle, WA
SMB IT Professionals National Conference - Australia
Postponed!
Surfer's Paradise
Sherweb Accelerate
Oct 18-20
Hollywood, FL
More Info: https://info.sherweb.com/accelerate.html
Kaseya Connect IT
Oct 19-22
Las Vegas
Channel Company NexGen
October 24-26
Anaheim, CA
Join me Live!
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
October 25-27
Miami, FL
ASCII Success Summit
October 27 & 28
Orlando, FL
I'm hoping there's a trip to the Gold Coast in my future. Stay tuned.
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November
Channel Partners Evolution
Nov. 1-4
Las Vegas, NV
Managed Services Summit Live
November 2nd
Amsterdam
ASCII Success Summit
November 3 & 4
Houston, TX
IT Nation (Connectwise) Evolve Peer Groups
November 15-19
Sydney, Aus
Managed Services Summit North
November 16th
Manchester, UK
ChannelPro SMB Forum - Live Event
Nov 16, 2021
Los Angeles, CA
Women of the Channel Summit West 2021
November 16-17
Palm Springs, CA
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
November 18-19
Schaffhausen, Switzerland
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December
Women of the Channel Summit East 2021
December 6-7
New York, NY
ASCII Success Summit
Orange County, CA - December 8 & 9
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
December 8-9
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
James Kernan's Millionaire Mastermind Event
Dallas, TX
Dec 9-10th
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If you know of in-person events we should list, please let us know.
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January
Send us your updates!
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February
Acronis #Cyberfit Summit
February 17 - 18, 2022
Singapore, Singapore
Xchange+
February 27 - March 1, 2022
Dallas, TX
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March
Cloud Expo Europe
March 2-3, 2022
London, UK
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April
Send us your updates!
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May
Send us your updates!
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June
Send us your updates!
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com. |
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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc. |
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