Honestly. I had taken the LSATs, was all set for law school and was about to get my business degree. It was go time. But then I bought a book.

Specifically, I bought Small is the New Big, by Seth Godin. If you haven’t read it (you really should), SITNB is basically collected posts from Seth’s blog, but printed and bound. For me though, it was the entryway into the world of blogging, social media, and everything digital.

Once I realized that you could get the same kind of stuff out of Seth for free on his blog, I was hooked. I started to realize the business possibilities of social media (this was almost 4 years ago) so I started my own blog and started reading others with that level of excitement that’s always present when you find something you truly are into.

Over the years, my interest in purely talking about social media has waned. However, this hasn’t diminished my interest in digital, just shifted it’s focus. I began to realize that solely focusing on “social media” as a thing existing distinct and separate in behaviors and interactions, both on and offline, was myopic. Just as I was going through this shift in thinking, I somehow stumbled upon the blog of (brilliant and super nice, as well) Faris Yakob. Over the course of a few days I must have read more than half of his entire catalog of posts. I began to realize that strategy/planning was where more of my interests lied now. I found more blogs from strategists and have been voraciously consuming that type of content for months now.

These two events, purchasing Small Is The New Big by Seth Godin, and chancing upon Faris’ blog were my pivot points. They essentially changed my life by opening up entire areas of interest to me. In my instance, this happened to be via a few smart people, but I realized that brands and events can have the same effect.

Brands like Harley-Davidson, Apple, Fender, and Ford do this to people. Things like Halo, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and LOST do it too. So does getting a set of chef’s knives, your first lacrosse stick, or a book on how to code HTML.

Pivot points change us, move us in a new direction. It doesn’t matter if it’s a book, brand, or friend, we need to realize that simple things can have profound effects on our lives.

I just don’t like tooting my own horn for a few reasons: primarily because my mom taught me never to brag, but also because “tooting your own horn” sounds kind of wrong.

But there are always exceptions to the rules, especially when a great opportunity comes up. An opportunity like the Assistant Content Manager position at BFG Communications. For this opening, BFG has asked that to apply we use social media, and use it I will.

At the risk of flagrant horn-tooting, I believe I would be a great fit for this position. I eat, sleep, and breathe marketing (yes, I know I’m a nerd), I have a pretty rich history in social media (blogging since 4/07, on Facebook since 10/04, on Twitter since 10/07), and I have solid experience in the interactive space (I’ve worked with great companies/agencies as a freelance digital marketing consultant and account manger on everything from social strategy to SEO, and A New Marketing is listed in the Social Media section of Alltop.com). Also, I’m a snappy dresser, and that’s got to count for something.

If you’d like a better idea of my thinking/ideas, I’ve lined up some posts below. We’ll call it my Greatest Hits, just without the awkward album cover photo.
- A Definitive Explanation of Social Media
- Simple Social Media Truths
- We Are Our Own Worst Enemy
- A Brand Purpose Model
- Your Brands Checklist For Twitter
- Elements of Digital Trust
- The 4 C’s – The New Marketing Mix
- What Community Looks Like

And you can find my resume here.

So…

If you’re not with BFG… Help me out by tweeting the following “Hey @BFGCom I think @MattJMcD is the right man for your ACM position!” or leave some love in the comments below.

If you’re with BFG… I’d love to talk to you more about this position. Feel free to get in touch with me any time. Let’s do it!

Just because no on has said it’s wrong yet, doesn’t mean it’s right. If you think a program/practice is dicey, it probably is. Proceed carefully.

• Craft Beer
• Watches
• Leather Weekend Bags
• Video Games (Console or PC)
• Protein Powder
• Shoes
• Men’s Grooming Line
• Bonsai Trees
• High-End Jeans
• Gin

So if you or anyone you know is interested in making any of the things above, and you could use someone like me. Let me know. I’m all about it.

1. I can feel the rain coming. Not because I’m psychic or anything, but because I have no cartilage in my right knee. After a series of snowboarding, football, and lacrosse accidents, and their subsequent surgeries, I’m now on the fast track for early onset arthritis! Hooray!

2. I don’t really watch TV. With the exceptions of a few shows and sports, TV is take it or leave it for me. I know some people love it, but I could never really plant myself on the couch and watch for a few hours. Which leads me to my next one….

3. I do, however, play a lot of video games. In the absence of TV, video games are one of the ways I fill my downtime void. Xbox 360 and Wii are my systems of choice. If you’re on Xbox Live, my tag is Situation3.

4. I’m still adjusting to the south. I moved to Charleston, SC about 3 months ago to live with my girlfriend and I really love it. The area is great, the people are (almost all) really nice, and the weather is hard to beat. On December 20th it was 75 degrees. That’s ridiculous!

5. I’m an idea guy. Sometimes I wish there was a job where my main responsibility was just to think of cool ideas. I have no problem coming up with stuff, it’s just executing that’s the problem. I have absolutely no ability to do anything with packaging, horticulture, cloud computing, or a number of other things, but I sure do have ideas.

6. If you’re buying at Subway: 12″ oven-roasted chicken breast on Italian herb and cheese. Cheddar jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, banana peppers, ranch, chipotle sauce. Absolutely every time.

7. I planned on going to law school from the time I was 12 years old. Seriously. I know, I don’t know any other 12 year-olds who want to be a lawyer either, but that was me. Everything I did academically was done with the purpose of going to law school. Until, that is, I decided that I didn’t want to go 12 days before I graduated from Penn State. And the rest, my friends, is history!

Now on to the hard part, finding 7 people who haven’t been tagged yet this late in the game. Let’s give it a shot and See if they’re up for it.

Ashley Boquist
Jen Miller
David Armano
Tom Jeffrey
Chris Simpson
Kaitlyn Wilkins
Jon Burg

Get better at understanding design with Whitney Hess
If you’ve every been “out there” on the internet, you know there’s a lot of really bad user experiences to be had. Sometimes its a simple “Now, where’s the button to…” and sometimes it might be better if they scrapped the whole thing and started over. Check out Whitney’s Pleasure and Pain and learn how to avoid those situations yourself.

Get better at mastering the Jersey shore with Jen A. Miller
I’ve been going to the Jersey shore since I was 2 years old and I still don’t think I know 1/10 of what Jen Miller does. Shes got a great book covering all things Jersey shore and an accompanying blog that goes even more in-depth.

Get better at gourmet meals with Jaden’s Steam Kitchen
I’m not going to lie to you friends, I like cooking. Especially Asain food. Not sure why or how, but I think it’s the most fun. And I get a lot of recipes and ideas from Jaden. She puts a great sense of humor and personality into a place you don’t usually find it. Check out her site and blow your wife/husband/great uncle’s mind tonight at dinner.

Get better at maximizing your gym time with Strong Lifts
I love the gym, it’s sort of like my Zen place. Apparently for Mehdi at Strong Lifts it’s his place to kick ass and take names. Check out his site for easier ways to get stronger, lose weight, and just be healthier over all. Almost 28,000 rss subscribers can’t be wrong.

Get better at incredible customer attention with Frank Eliason (@Comcastcares)
Frank is one of the brightest spots in customer service today. Personally, he’s helped me 3 separate times. And I’m sure if you just start asking people on Twitter, you’ll really see how big his impact is. If you’re a brand, sit back and take notes.

Get better at picking the best wine with Gary Vaynerchuck
If you’re reading this blog, you probably know about Gary V. If not check out the interview I did with him and then go spend some time at Wine Library TV. Simple.

If you’ve been following my tweets, then you already got the news that I got laid off last week. If not… well, then you just got the news that I got laid off last week.

Either way, it means that there are some big changes ahead.

The first of which is my location. In a few weeks I’ll be packing up the car and moving down to Charleston, South Carolina. I love Philadelphia, but I’m ready for a change and Charleston looks like just the place for me.

When it comes to this whole “working” thing, ideally I’d like to do social media projects full time and am really intrigued by the idea of doing freelance consulting. With that being said, if any of you (client or agency side) have any projects that could benefit from my skill set, let me know. You can reach me here via twitter or send me an email.

These are exciting times, and I’m looking forward to see what’s coming around the bend.

I’m sure you know the feeling.

Maybe not belting home runs in a major league ballpark, but going into a slump, having the wheels come off, or just generally falling apart. Also like Utley, you probably also realize that it’s not the end of the world. Just like anything else, there’s going to be ups and downs, good times and well..not so good times. And the truth is, whether you’re cooking, blogging, negotiating, brewing, or brainstorming, you’ll eventually come around.

And how is that you might ask? We’ll here’s a few things that might get you back on track.

Back to basics
The penultimate Slump-Busting technique. Stop trying to add that top-spin, sell that warranty, or get tons of link-love with one post. Just settle down and go back to what worked for you in the first place. Focus on connecting with people and creating value, it doesn’t matter if that value is from a home run post, or an actual home run. Check your foundation, and everything else will follow.

Breathe, Grasshopper
This one might be the easiest. Just slow down and take a breath. Nothing good ever came from panic, fear or anxiety. I’m not advocating full out lotus-position meditation here (although it’s a great idea), just taking a moment to slow down and focus yourself. You’d be surprised how effective this can be sometimes.

Elvis has left the building
Adios. Spater. So long. Farewell. Just get up and goooooo. When you reach the point that you’re thinking “Wow, no more good can come from this”, it’s probably time to take a break. Sometimes this, in conjunction with “Breathe, Grasshopper” is a great quick fix. No matter how focused you are, there’s going to be some drop off after staring at Excel sheets for 14 hours.

Grind it out
A tougher solution, but sometimes the only one. With this approach you just have to keep plugging away and rely on the law of averages bringing you back on par. It can be tough to weather the storm and keep going through the bad times, but have faith that once things come around, it’ll be your hard work that caused it.

…And now for something completely different
If you’ve been doing X your whole life, maybe it’s time for some Y, or maybe even (gasp!) Z. If it seems like nothing else is working then hey, what the hell, right? Turn that foot in, add that paprika, ditch those pivot tables or knock-knock jokes. It won’t necessarily be a better way, but it’ll be a different way, and that might be all you need.

So there you have it. That’s my checklist for getting it going. How about you? (I shared mine, it’s only fair!)