Listening In

The power of listening within this space was stressed when I attended Chris Brogan’s New Marketing Bootcamp.  (note: word has it that Mr. Brogan is taking his Bootcamp on tour next year to over twenty cities.  I recommend you attend.)  Returning home I set up google reader and began tinkering with different searches. Now I’m amazed each day as reader delivers dozens of twitter users with similar interests to me, often within their first few days on Twitter.  And each week at least three new blogs I’ve discovered in keyword searches get added to my A-list.

Knowing how to use a tool and using it well are not the same thing. It takes practice to get to a point where your catching more value in your nets than dross.  I’m learning that search queries need continual refinement.  Searches that take advantage of subtraction save a lot of reader scan time down the road.

My interest in Jungian psychology guides me to focus my queries in two directions.  Certainly I’m looking for like minded individuals, but I think I’m learning more from folks “who have an axe to grind” with Jungian positions.  While I do not consider them enemies, the Dali Lama’s understanding that “our enemy is our best teacher” rings true for me.  How should I, committed to dream analysis as I am, reckon with these prevalent attitudes:  “they’re just dreams,” “I never dream,” “I never remember my dreams,” “dreams are just stupid.”

Over time, listening to the prevalence of these attitudes as they are exchanged in social media has made me reconsider where the bulk of my work actually lies.  No sense preaching to the choir.  Are you using search tools in conjunction with rss feeds in surprising and useful ways?

(Image via Wikipedia)