dispatches from the new world of work

Cool Friend: Seth Godin

Seth Godin is one of the charter members of our Cool Friends cabal. He's been prolific in the six years since we last interviewed him, publishing at least as many books in as many years. He's also become the "original squid" at Squidoo. Our second Cool Friends interview with Seth covers what he's up to with Squidoo, Kewpie Dolls, neologisms, and, especially, his new book Small Is the New Big. Read the Cool Friends interview with Seth here.

If that doesn't sate you, you can speak to Seth yourself. He's setting up a call-in Q&A session for September 8th. Check out the details here. Go ahead, ask him anything.

Shelley Dolley posted this on 08/16/06.

Comments

Tom/Shelley

Seth is the epitome of a "cool friend" - I know because several years ago I wrote to him about some ideas I was grappling with and he responded to my email with nothing but encouragement and joy for me... Now that is WOW.... We all travel this world with a cadre of helpers - some in the physical world others in our virtual world... Seth is securely in my virtual world... In my physical world I have been encouraged to keep "clear spacing" with ideas that are not always CLEAR to, or readily accepted by, even my most loyal cadre support BUT I always know that Seth is there in my virtual cadre urging me to "purple cow" my "clear spacing"..... What a pleasant way to start this day (ie by reading Seth Godin #2)... Thanks for that Tom Peters and Co....

Richard Lipscombe

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at August 16, 2006 6:16 PM

Interesting comment from Seth when he says, "When it becomes a verb (i.e. to squidoo), we win." Compare and contrast with Goggle's cease and desist orders against people who treat their brand as a verb!

Posted by Mark JF at August 17, 2006 5:21 AM

Love Squidoo Oregon Coast coverage since I lived there for 2 years [1-level Pacific view place still] - fabulous Gold Beach at the mouth of the Rogue River!

Posted by sean at August 17, 2006 8:13 AM

Shelley: "... Cool Friends cabal..."? This sounds ominous and I think we should be told more! Here's wikipedia:

"A cabal is a number of persons united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in church or state by intrigue. Cabals are secret organizations composed of a few designing persons; a political cabal is often called a junta. The term can also be used to refer to the designs of such persons. The term also holds a general meaning of intrigue and conspiracy..."

Posted by Mark JF at August 18, 2006 2:01 AM

I, too have had some good experiences conversing with Seth through email and I have found his books interesting and refreshing. Lately Seth has (from my perspective) become quite authoritarian and opinionated. Once he states something is, it just IS, and he has no room for other ideas. It is almost as if he is saying "prove me wrong" all the time. Maybe he has started believing his own press. It kind of reminds me of one of Tom Peters' posts recently in which he stated that if the reader did not agree with Tom, the reader was just wrong. It is too bad this happens to people who can be so enlightening, but when they start to act like this it just turns me off.

Posted by anon at August 18, 2006 8:31 AM

Interesting remark by 'anon' - probably carry more weight/integrity had it been 'signed'. Whatever.

The smarter a person is... the more often they're right - and, with so much crap around, simply holding that position often leads to charges of 'arrogant'. All a part of being human.

Plus, we're fickle creatures and often turn against stuff which just seems different but isn't - because we, not it, changed.

Personally... I find Godin to be, at times, too much of a smart arse - the promo can be needlessly gimmicky and either detract from or overshadow the core work - which is often flawless and always something worthwhile from which I learn.

And call me old-fashioned, I'd far rather a book-a-year from Peters than five-posts-a-day. (Which begs the question 'wtf am I doing here reading and commenting?'.)

Posted by gulliver at August 18, 2006 12:41 PM

"Doesn't it have the best cover ever?" -Seth, in the softball interview about his latest book.

I caught the same negative Seth vibe gulliver & anon allude to when I read the interview ... I defer to them since am not a follower of Seth as yet!

Posted by sean at August 18, 2006 2:00 PM

Personally, I found the "best cover ever" remark anything but arrogant -- it's about as "serious" as two friends looking in a shop window and one remarking "Aren't those the coolest shoes you ever saw?"

Seriously, I've sometimes been accused of being "arrogant" because I stated my opinion enthusiastically, directly, and unapologetically. If I said "This is the way things are, and you're an idiot if you disagree with me," then maybe the criticism would be justified, or at best I could be considered rude. But when the discussion is in the context of "opinion," then saying "I think you're wrong" is my opinion, and I feel no need to apologize for it. (I think, too, that with me it's sometimes it's the classic businessman-vs-businesswoman thing: "He's forthright; she's a b*tch.")

Posted by Paula at August 18, 2006 5:10 PM

Paula - I'd certainly never call you the B word unless you asked me to in some kind of role play!

Posted by Sean at August 19, 2006 11:37 AM

viagra australia sales Any marketer knows, all interviews are "good" interviews!

Posted by Charlie Wear at August 20, 2006 5:06 AM

Yeah, I find Seth Godin ubercool, too! Will really try to be there during the Q&A session with him on Sept 8. Thanks, Tom for telling us!

buy viagra no prescription australia Posted by Meikah Delid at August 22, 2006 3:44 AM