I was re-watching MadMen Season 4 to get ready for season 5, and in the last episode I was struck by a quote that I clearly missed the first time I watched the episode. Faye, after hearing about Don’s engagement tearfully tells him, he only likes “the beginnings of things.” It’s a pretty powerful statement. And it’s completely true. But, isn’t it true of many of us? There’s a certain excitement that comes from the beginning of things. At the beginning, it’s new, it’s fresh…there’s that bit of the unknown that keeps us hooked and leaning forward.
But, what happens when it’s no longer new? What happens when it’s not the start, but it’s the middle, the end or somewhere in between. What happens when the newness wears off. What happens when it all becomes familiar, when we’ve cracked the code and what was new is now the routine?
How, do you make the what’s old, feel like the how it did at the beginning? I’ll give you the answer; it’s actually quite simple: make sure whatever the “thing” is, is worth your long term interest. Don’t pick a job, pick a career. Don’t leave the one you love for the one you like because the one you like will leave you for the one you love. Choose wisely and you won’t be Don Draper, only being great at the beginning of things.
2008 was a big year for innovation. New sites were launched. New products came to market. And, I stumbled upon several things that I should have been on top of from the beginning. See, there are lot’s of things that I’ve overlooked…I’m not on top of everything. It was really hard to limit this list to 10, but here we go.
- AllTop – Guy Kawasaki was brilliant for concepting this idea. Alltop aggregates all the top stories/pieces of content from the best websites…so you don’t have to. Talk about a time saver. The site covers topics from fishing to poker.
- Hulu – Great video content served up in HD. Lot’s of solid older (aka canceled) shows. They let you be in charge of what type of advertising you see. The only thing they don’t let you do is download the video.
- MadMen – How did I miss the boat on this one? I ignored the show when it launched. Didn’t pick up on it, after the first season. But, then I decided to tune in 1 night and after the first episode I saw, I said to myself, “why wasn’t I watching this earlier?”
- Red Bull Cola – Passed on trying it in Vegas. Then went on a mission to find it. Finally I found a can. Drank it…and was blown away. It’s a GREAT drink.
- Internet Activity Index – I pride myself on being on top of a lot of different online measurement tools. How it is I never knew about the Internet Activity Index is beyond me. The index measures what people do online and segments the behaviors across 5 categories.
- Twitterific & Twitterfon – Both are iPhone application that let you interact with Twitter. I’ve found that I need them both. They both rock.
- WordPress – for years, my site was built in Flash. It was sexy, but it was a pain to update. Someone recommended I try WordPress and I’ve never looked back. From the plugins to the themes, the community does a great job of making WordPress fantastic.
- What If Sports – This site let’s you simulate games between sports teams from different eras. Want to see how the 2007 Celtics would do against the 1992 Jordan lead Chicago Bulls? This site will let you do it. This site has helped me end so many sports arguments quickly and painlessly.
- Twitter Grader It’s not perfect, but it’s the best tool out there for measuring how good of a tweeter someone is. Twitter Grader is addictive too. I find myself checking my score weekly. It’s another great tool from the folks at HubSpot.
- Amazon MP3 Store: Should have gotten on this wagon/bus/train a while back. When you consider my hatred for DRM music, it just makes sense. Since discovering Amazon MP3, I’ve stopped buying music from iTunes. In fact, I’ve refused to purchase music from iTunes until it becomes DRM free.
What did you discover this year that rocked your world?
Global Head of Digital Marketing & Social Media at Campbell Soup Co. Running a marathon at a sprinter's pace. Love ironing and my
