Crush It!

Gary Vaynerchuk’s meteoric rise to Internet stardom derives from his combining an intimate knowledge of everything to do with wines, with his choice of a social media platform to evangelize that expertise and create a huge following of raving fans: videoblogging at Wine Library TV. But much more important, in my view, is Gary’s infectious ability to inspire people the world over. He is also not afraid to voice his opinions no matter what the so-called conventional thinking is.

Hence you see why I was attracted to Crush It! I’d recently watched a video of a keynote presentation Gary had given in which he challenged the audience to break away from the norm if at all possible. For example, he’s a champion of “FREE”. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, Gary advises internet marketers to give away a large proportion of the material in their high end programs. Period. Remember Yoda’s famous line – ‘Give, then take’. I think Gary would go one better – “There’s no take”.

So what’s Gary’s message done for me already? Easy – he’s inspired me to put myself out there in the public arena more frequently and formulate a plan to differentiate myself and my message so that people will gladly come back for more.

Gary Vaynerchuk is huge on the importance of establishing a personal brand. Taking him literally, because I agree with the business principles he teaches and upholds, I’ve already named myself “The No BS Internet Guy”. In so doing, I realize I might ruffle a few feathers now and then.

No matter what we think of ourselves, our online reputations stand or fall on the judgment of our audience. I want to be known for my honesty and for helping enhance the quality of everyone’s online experience.