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!)

10 Ways to Build Your Brand in a Weakened Economy - BrandCurve

Social Media Strategy - Aligning Goals and Measurements - Chris Brogan

Missed Marketing Opportunities - Conversation Agent

Has Web 2.0 mainstreamed? - Jaffe Juice

Brands + Amplification = Influence - Logic + Emotion

“Atomize” Your Content: Share in Small Bits - PR Squared

Who Even Are You? Facebook Friend Request Etiquette - Social Honeycomb

How well do you know your audience? - The Viral Garden

Create your own here.

We give people reasons to visit a web site. We give people reasons to tell a friend about a great product. We give people reasons to try something outside their comfort zone. We give them reasons to keep clicking through, to read the instructions, or to just pick up the box.

And while this seems simple, you’ll soon find you need a better and better reason. “Because I threw enough money at you” or “Because I interrupted so many times, you really couldn’t help it” are not going to be good enough.

It gets called different things, dressed up, and complicated, but in the end our job is simple. We have to give people a reason to do something (buy, join, act, etc.).

And when all you have is a reason, you better make sure yours is a good one.

-Develop a Strong Personal Brand Online Part 2 - Chris Brogan

-How Connected Should You Be? - Brian Branca

-How to Get a Custom Blog or Website Design on a Small Budget - Blogging Expertise

-How to Write a Business Recommendation - Conversation Agent

-How To: Write a Really Crappy Business Blog - Conversation Marketing

-Social Feed Aggregators - Whitney Hess

-Twitter is the watercooler of a new era - CrapHammer

-Add Equal Parts Business and Culture. Blend until Smooth. - Alex Hillman

-The “you test” for social media agencies - Greg Verdino

-The One Video All Marketers Should Watch - David Armano

-Brand Building in the “Application Economy” - Paul Isakson

-Social Media in Plain English - Todd Andrlik

-Add Spark to Your Writing With These 3 Simple Tweaks - Copyblogger

-Potential Employers Are Watching You - Social Media Explorer

-Free Advice - Alan Wolk

-Thinking about Danny Devito - Seth Godin

Sad thing is, once you hit the site the jig is somewhat up. No more mystery after that. Clearly ABC is shooting for some sort of viral initiative here, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Oh well, just like LOST, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
::cue dramatic cut to black::

I love hardcore gaming PC’s. I don’t know, but there’s just something about a computer with enough horsepower to run a small country that appeals to me.

For a long time, these gaming computers looked just like their mundane cubicle-dwelling counterparts. If you think about it, that’s like having a Ford Taurus that runs like a Lamborghini Gallardo. But somewhere along the line, someone decided that these machines need to be as intimidating and intense on the outside as they are on the inside. It’s about time.

Take a long look at the Acer Predator (above), the HP Blackbird 002 (left), the Dell XPS 730 (center), and the Alienware Area-51 (right).

All beautiful, but in a F-22 Raptor sort of way.

The “big idea” here is form meeting function. Just like Apple and Nintendo, these PC makers understand that design matters in this market. It doesn’t everywhere (nails, manhole covers, manila folders), but figuring out where design is really important, and where its superfluous is something that you always have to pay attention to.

I would love to take any of these for a test drive, but doubt I’ll ever have the opportunity. So if you’re out there Acer, HP, Dell, or Alienware and are looking for a few good testers, let me know.

Hey, it’s cheaper than a few plane tickets.

Why do early adopters tell everyone they know about the next big thing, and then complain when everyone starts using it?

Is it still a wiki if only one person edits it?

If you accept a friend request from someone you hate, does that make you friends?

We want brands to join the conversation, but do we really want to talk to all of them?

If blogging gives everyone a voice, why is it still so hard to hear anyone?

If you’re in Second Life more than half the time, is it still second?

Why is the next big thing small now?

If knowledge is so valuable, why is everyone giving it away?

If you can’t find yourself in Google, do you really matter?

Why is it that when you’re completely busy, the first thing you do is tweet about how busy you are?

If people are so lazy, why isn’t RSS more popular?

Which came first? The troll or the message board?

When did something behaving like a virus become a good thing?

If the consumer finding out is inevitable, why do companies still try and trick us?

If a blog has more comments than posts, who’s blog is it?

What did I miss? Feel free to add your own.

First off, if you haven’t seen Paul Isakson’s The Future of Advertising + Marketing, then do it. Now.

A recent post from Paul talks about how a former CD at Urban Outfitters is moving to Anomaly. The best stuff is towards the end when he says “As more and more advertising gets ignored, agencies have got to come up with better, more meaningful ways to help their clients reach and connect with people.” and then wraps it up with “Maybe the title of the post should have been, “The Future of Advertising Is More Than Communications.”

And speaking of communications, the Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni had a great post about RSS, Email, and the whole push vs. pull argument. She talks about how, “It is so much better when you have people sign up voluntarily, when they choose to pull your content and give you permission to occupy a space in their reader and day.”

Both are great ideas. Here’s where things get interesting:

In the middle.

If the future of advertising and marketing is more than communications, and the next step in communications is based on “pull”, then the future is a place where more than just communication is “pulled”. This could be design, production, interaction, delivery, or any other part of the process. All on demand.

How would things change if we could “pull” something like design, and get something how we wanted it, when we wanted it?