Despite my better judgment, I’m doing a very introspective post.  It could be because I’m up late thinking about work.  It’s more likely that something is bugging me.  ‘This will surely be one of those posts I contemplate deleting after it’s published but you have to tell the truth to get the truth so here it goes.

I am a marketer, and a pretty serious one.  I am a writer.  I emphasize getting a point across – one on one or in a group.  I am a speaker.  Clearly I like to talk people and I’m pretty good at it.

I am a singer and a songwriter.  I’ve released two albums and am finally back in the studio working on the third.  My albums have digital distribution and can be found online at iTunes, Napster, Amazon, and other marketplaces.  Yeah Madia does music and Madia [a.k.a. logan] does marketing.

I always thought people should pick something, and get good at it.  It wasn’t because I didn’t think people could be good at multiple things.  I did and I do!  I think that when we summarize people in our head, we can only fit one thing.  As people we define other people in a very small box.  I think most mental summaries are a word or two.   Mother.  Musician.  Marketer.  Writer.

We define people by the role we know them to play or the role that is most prominent – and because of that, I conformed to the idea that I have to be one thing now that I’m a grown up and can no longer pass for a college student.  (maybe a grad student…)  People told me I had to pick something.

So I’m coming out to multiple groups that I have worked very hard to keep separate.  Why?

• It’s bound to happen.
• I might as well control the message. (inner marketer)
• If we’re friends you’ll hopefully make my box a lil bigger.
• If we’re not friends, maybe you’ll resist putting others in a box.

If you’re a person of multiple talents, I think letting the walls down is good.  It shows you have multiple strengths and sometimes unique insights as a result of your multiple perspectives.  They told me to pick something… but I’m ignoring that advice.

Remember Michael Porter?  He wrote a couple winners for the Harvard Business Review. Don’t be too hard on the image.  He’s a strategy guy to the core and from the look of it a passionate speaker.

I picked up an old copy of an article he did called Strategy and the Internet.  Some things are dated.  The article was published in March 2001.  It’s astounding that so many things he talked about in the article are still relevant.

“We need to move away from the rhetoric… and see the Internet for what it is: an enabling technology – a powerful set of tools that can be used wisely or unwisely, in almost any industry and as part of any strategy.”

Yes I am the same blogger that talked about being free to experiment yesterday – but the point here is that even if you are testing approaches, you are paying attention to and quantifying the value you hope to gain from your digital marketing.

Porter, also known for developing the 5 forces analysis hits on some other key points that I needed to hear:

• “The most successful dot-coms will focus on creating benefits that customers will pay for, rather than pursuing advertising and click-through revenues from third parties.”  Right on Porter.  We’re all distracted by advertising but for most sites shall not live on ads alone.
• “By creating separate internet strategies instead of integrating the internet into an overall strategy, companies failed to capitalize on their traditional assets…”
• “Virtual activities do not eliminate the need for physical activities, but often amplify their importance.”

Ah sound strategy.  It’s like hearing your parents tell you to do your homework.  You know you should.  You know it’s best and somehow you drag your feet anyway.

I will throw in a plug for Harvard Business Review because… well I like it.  I get it at my f/t for free in the library and I read it all the time.  When I was in business school I signed up for the free online version and still get it so that works too.  They have some new blogs that one could get some value from.  http://hbr.org