I will be attending InterOp for the first time ever in Vegas to see what that is like. And I’m driving over to Blackberry World to see my buddy Jack. But the month of May is filled with events, including the Standlye Cup playoffs. Meanwhile, I am juggling a number of projects. But here’s where to go to help a charity, network and have some fun.

This weekend is BarCamp Sarasota at the G.Wiz science museum.

Then next Saturday, May 7th from 8pm – 11pm is the annual Sea Grapes 2011. It’s a big WineFest as you stroll through The Aquarium.

On May 14, 2011 is an event I have never attended: The Royal Swan Gala. It will be a black tie affair at the Westin Harbour Island benefiting the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Then Linda Conley of Connect Tampa is holding a Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction as a fundraiser for The Stylez G White Better Us Foundation. My friend Leah will be a Bachelorette. This will be on Thursday, May 19, 2011 from 6-10 PM at Hula Bay.

Then of course, Memorial Day is Monday, May 30.

One weekend in June is really busy. On June 25, 2011,
Business Buddies is having their annual Havana Nights event at the Tampa History Center, while the Ryan Nece Foundation event is the same evening. But DISPATCH is playing in Boston, so I am going to be hanging with my niece in New England.

There’s also a wedding on June 4th – big congrats to the bride!

What did I miss?

where they need to be

I took some heat from people on my blog post to the TBBJ. Apparently, I took a personal dispute public. Actually, it was on Facebook and there was some public dressing down at a club, so it was public.

Why do I blog this stuff? As a fellow Cranky Bastard told me, “I set my expectations too high, so I’m always disappointed.” There’s some truth to that.

Why is Customer Service so awful?

Why don’t companies accept criticism as a chance to improve? (What? You think I’m some Outlier? That others don’t feel the same way?)

Hugh MacLeod sent this cartoon out to his email list today. “Business is the art of getting people to where they need to be faster than they would get there without you.” In other words, I may kick you, but I will try to be constructive so you can improve from it. Most people don’t see the constructive parts in what I write. They just see the kick. The kick is to get your attention. If you can’t get past that, then I can’t help you. (Nor do I want to.)

Business is changing faster today than ever before, especially for the print newspaper space. With about 8K subscribers, the TBBJ has to rely on events to stay open. It can get better at events. It has to. There’s too much competition in the event space for the sponsor dollars; the audience attention; and the attendees’ wallets.

TBBJ isn’t just competing with DG or TBTF. It’s competing with hundreds of Meetups that are smaller, specialized tribes that give great value. It’s competing with Camps like BarCamp Tampa Bay, BlogCamp, CodeCamp, and so many more.

In a similar vein, the AMA Tampa Bay is facing a similar challenge from all of the social media “gurus” running seminars, classes, etc. all over the Greater Tampa Bay market. It also competes with the Wealth Annex and Social Fresh for sponsor dollars and attention.

That’s pretty much the problem: Everyone is competing for Attention.

There are two ways to get the Attention: (1) throw such a fabulous event that people buzz about it; or (2) build a tribe through relationships with your target audience. The other way is to just keep throwing shit on the wall to see what happens. That doesn’t work well.

Here are some ideas, Bridgette. (1) Subscriber only events with a speaker. (2) Work with Bright House, since you have the same parent company. How about a TBBJ/BayNews9 business minute every work day? Or better interview a business person every day. Unfortunately, you will take this to mean any advertiser can send anyone over to get some face time. That’s the wrong way to do it! (3) Brand each event better. Instead of “just name tags” what about a TBBJ headline name tag?

It’s 2011. Time to get creative. Stop whining about your critics and your competitors and get better at what you do.

Netscape spent too much time worrying about Microsoft’s Internet Explorer instead of making game changing improvements to Netscape.

But my opinion doesn’t matter, so you probably didn’t read this far.

These are terms being bandied about lately: Community, Leadership and Visionaries.

Community. What is Community? We live in a time when it is as easy to connect to people in Europe as it is to connect to people in our home town. But Community starts at home. It’s where we live.

Some community leaders spend time on their own agenda, but not on connecting with other communities. We are a collection of micro-communities, many times running in parallel; other times in cross-purpose with other micro-communities in our own geographic circle.

One fear surrounding the Internet is that we will become insulated from other opinions and surround ourselves with like-minded people who don’t oppose our world view. That’s not how thinking happens. To poke the box, you need to be able to defend your world view or philosophy or opinion against thoughtful debate. But I’m getting away from my idea for the post.

We talk about Community in grand scale. But it starts in your backyard. (Local is all, right?) It starts with people, because who but people in you backyard make up community?

Leadership is a funny word. It isn’t defined by notoriety or fame or celebrity. A leader is someone who has a vision and, well, leads. She does that by following that vision. If you look around and no one is following, you may not be a leader. Every tribe needs a leader. Someone to be the beacon of the vision, like Steve Jobs or Gloria Steinem or Martin Luther King, Jr.

Visionary is not a title you get to pick for yourself. It’s about seeing the future. It’s about imagining what is to come. It’s also about expounding that idea, spreading it, making it happen.

In none of these cases – community, leadership, visionary – is it about YOU. It’s about the Tribe. It’s about moving forward, paying back, taking a stand, but always about bettering the ball. That’s a volleyball term that means when you make a play on the ball, you improve the position of the ball for your team to make a play. Mothers say to leave the place better than when you arrived.

The next time you are thinking about these terms – community, leader, visionary – remember that it isn’t about you. It’s about those around you, where you live, and what you will be remembered for. It’s about Actions more than Words.

Words are easy. So are Ideas. The stand outs Act, Ship, Create, Do.