chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in Small Town Superheroes

Re: Small Town Superheroes

gucci continental wallet — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:05:28 -0000

It's good! Chris.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

lv — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:40:09 -0000

I haven't. It's something to think about though.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Online Store — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:54:03 -0000

Just imagine doing something for someone and feeling good about it in the end.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Philippine Real Estate — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:41:45 -0000

Must appreciate guys who do heroics in their own way. I would consider them small time heroes.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

JimMacLeod — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:27:36 -0000

It's great to see everyone's comments on the topic of promoting your "real world" community online. It raises some good points. I've been a "regular" at many different comic stores over the years, and it's amazing how some stores have owners or staff that are "above" mainstream comics. The good shops stick around and they keep my business. My regular shop is in Salem, MA, but I'll take a trip up to Amesbury one of these days to check out Mick's store.

@Sven, I'd love to hear about that particular era of Marvel Comics.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Michelle Kafka — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:23:48 -0000

No I haven't. It's something to think about though.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Kathleen — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 07:54:45 -0000

I wrote about how I achieved enlightenment as a result of an interaction with a ladder salesman at Walmart. There are Buddhas everywhere! (here's my junk: http://www.yogamansfield.co...

Thanks for this post!

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Josh Peters — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:41:52 -0000

I do!

I try to do it at least once a month (missed dec though) in a series about small, local business and how social media can help them. First I covered local coffee shops, and the last one was about <a href="http://shuaism.com/2009/01/..."local pizzarias. In each one I linked to the one(s) I patronize the most.

I see the SB as the backbone of not only our national economy, but our local economy as well. One of my goals for this year is to do more with this series and keep promoting local businesses.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Sheila Scarborough — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:53:36 -0000

Thanks for this, Chris. When I blog about travel I do like to include local businesses, but it frankly hadn't occurred to me to write about any where I live, in Round Rock (just north of Austin.)

I see an opportunity, though - a new coffeeshop sort of place is opening soon on Round Rock's nice little Main Street (Friar Tuck's Pantry - http://www.friartuckspantry... and I've spoken with the owners about doing some weekly Jelly Coworking there once they're up and running. Now I'll think about a good blogging angle, too. Thanks!

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Daniel M. Clark — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:52:00 -0000

"Have you written about the stars in your town?" - not yet, no. In a coincidence too good not to mention though, I have it on my list of Things To Do to do a write-up about a local comic shop, Comics Warehouse, here in Albuquerque for my Kids and Comics site. I've been shopping there since I moved to this town a couple of years ago, and everyone there is super-cool.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Leigh Ann Barrick — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:02:56 -0000

Mick,

Earlier you stated that " one of the best things about comic shops is the variety of people who have conversations with each other. " You are so right.
Providing an environment and creating communities where everyone feels comfortable in their own skin is essential to our well being. Too often people worry about how they are supposed to act, what they are supposed to say, or unfortunately, become intimidated before interacting at all. By being aware of positive areas/social communities/friendly familiarities, we create conducive conditions around us. People enjoy coming to the Toy Soldier because of you. They appreciate the way you make them feel along with the personal customer service you consistently provide. Any one can have a book store, game store, video store or coffee shop...but not everyone has the ability to create "likability". Thats an innate skill and one in which others could learn from you simply by visiting. For each new comic fan you meet, your super powers become that much stronger thus increasing your brand.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Steve Ritchie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:32:37 -0000

Not to turn this into a Marvel thread, but... After growing up with comics in the late 70s and 80s, I sort of lost touch with comic books after the mid 90s. But my girls have gotten into the 90s Spider-Man and Fantastic 4 (and Superman and Batman) cartoons showing in reruns, and I have had a lot of fun getting re-acquainted with the stories. They got me the new Marvel Chronicle book by DK for Christmas. Fantastic stuff.

I would certainly love to see a post from Sven about the marketing efforts in the 90s.

/thread hijack

Re: Small Town Superheroes

amanda — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:31:42 -0000

The strength of cafe-shaped businesses (wonderful phrase) is also their weakness; it is hard to make personal contact scaleable. It's worth asking why every business needs to be scaleable - local success (or translocal, niche success for digital businesses) is enough for many business owners. But it often isn't enough for many purveyors of credit, particularly venture capital, or for commercial landlords. Maybe if access to credit, like blogging, becomes more micro-scale and more social (cafe-shaped lending institutions?), socially-networked businesses will be favored by credit institutions that match their configuration.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

digiphile — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:57:53 -0000

Great post, Chris. I'm glad you're thinking about how digital community ties into our real-world neighbors. I've been thinking about the word 'hyperlocal' often in 2009, and not as some obscure, geeky buzzword -- though hyperlocal has certainly merited one or all of those qualifiers over the years. Last year cloud computing and green IT were everywhere, not to mention anything-as-a-service.

Forget the buzzwords.

I think Chris is spot on to turn his attention to what bloggers can bring to local small businesses. Whether it's comic book shops, great local bookstores, bakeries or microbreweries, we now have the ability to give instant feedback through our smartphones on the services, products and people that come within our experience.

All of those reviews on Google Maps, Yelp, Chowhound and the growing location-based social networks add up to something special: a digital neighborhood, with recommendations rolling in in real-time.

Just a few short years ago, a small business still needed to set up a website, hosting, hire a designer and figure out how to update it. That's still important, of course, but the action now is in the social layer of the Web on top of it.

Hyperlocal news outlets are springing up here and there, like MyDedhamNews in my backyard or Rob Curley's growing network of hyperlocal microsites throughout the country.

When you combine that growth with outstanding uberlocal blogs like Universal Hub or Gothamist that monitor, filter, edit and share the best (and worst) of the regional blogs, Twitterers, Craigslist posts, newspapers and video podcasters, it's not hard to see how 'small town superheroes' could thrive in tough economic times.

It's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride while it all shakes out. I'm glad to be along for the journey.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Amber Naslund — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:48:17 -0000

@DJ I sure did talk about comic books. Yep. I'm a girl. I love comic books, have for years. Sue me. :)

There's an element of the comic culture that I think translates so well to all of this social media stuff: storytelling. Comics are graphic stories, and the web is like one giant storybook to me. I'm constantly reading, seeing, absorbing...with both sides of my brain. We comic nerds love debating the undercurrents of our characters, the holes in our plotlines, and speculating about where it's all headed.

Comics move fast. They're in frames, digestible chunks that can be absorbed as such. And to me, much of the beauty of social media is that we can consume the story in frames, issues, and watch as it all morphs in front of our eyes.

But back to Chris' post topic and Mick's comments: comic heads always manage to find commonality in one another. It's uniting in a world when so many other things are divisive. And comic book shops have always had that "come on in and hang out for a while" vibe that so many other retail experiences don't have anymore. It's not transactional, it's social. And it's awesome. Long live our nerdy little hangouts. (Is it Wednesday yet??)

Re: Small Town Superheroes

communicatrix — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:35:05 -0000

Ha! Loved Sven's comment. Because yes, I live in a tiny village (Silver Lake) in a gigundous city (Los Angeles) and the local shopkeepers need all the props and help they can get, even the good ones.

Just wrote about two of my fave places last night. I think I'll try to write more, now you mention it.

Think globally, act locally, and vice-versa.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Sven Patrick Larsen — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:19:02 -0000

I think some of you guys are touching on the fact that comic book shops were an amazing precursor of social media. New comic book day was and still is a terrific example of real world community building. I'm sure many of you have been in a comic store on a Wednesday and been part of the lively discussions about the artistic merits of new releases and related projects/media. One of the great benefits of the web and social media has been the removal of the need for a physical gathering place and the immediate connection that is possible between like minded people. I'm sure this is at least part of the reason for the rise of "geek culture" and the success of mass media like "THE DARK KNIGHT" or 'IRON MAN".

Mike - to your point on Marvel's Social Media outreach efforts. I had lunch with my friend Dan Buckley (publisher of Marvel) a few weeks and he was telling me that the launch of their digital comics effort (and the overwhelming traffic to their site as a result) really opened their eyes to the opportunities in digital media. I'm sure you can expect a lot more to come from them.

Chris - I'm serious about the tour offer. Just let me know.

BTW if anyone is interested about the rise of "shiny covers" or some behind the scenes stories on Marvel's marketing efforts in the '90s just let me know. I'll be happy to post something for everyone.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

cj Alegre — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:33:32 -0000

Chris:
I thought for a second there you were gonna briefly cover some of the approaches to social media that a guy like Mick could use to promote his business online. So many cafe-shaped businesses out there with so much value and no angle.
I think I'm a bit spoiled...your fault!

Later

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Emily — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:30:34 -0000

I did write about someone, just yesterday in fact. A roving citizenship teacher in the Twin Cities, Teacher Ron. He reaches a whole lot of people, often one by one, always with his unique and engaging sense of humor. His latest project is here http://bit.ly/14EUV, and it's kind of time sensitive.

Echoing @Stacy Lukas and trying to not do the tongue thing you hate - http://bit.ly/ngNQ -, you did ask. :)

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Mick Galuski — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:09:11 -0000

"Did being a little outside the mainstream help us to better understand different viewpoints? Can social media creativity be linked back to the wonders of the creaking stand-up racks at our local pharmacies and 5 & dimes?"

I think one of the best things about comic shops is the variety of people who have conversations with each other. I don't know how many times I've seen doctors, lawyers, grocery clerks, students, machinists, IT, moms and weirdos all talking to each other while standing in front of the comic wall. That's probably something "social media types" can draw some understanding.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Mick Galuski — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:58:14 -0000

Chris! Thanks for the blog entry - probably the nicest things anyone has said about me and the shop!

Re: Small Town Superheroes

DJ Francis — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:45:50 -0000

Man, how many of us marketing guys were/are comic book fans? John Wall left a comment on my post about marketing advice from comic book superheroes citing "The Boys" (http://onlinemarketerblog.c... and I swear Amber Naslund brought up comic books within the last month.

There's got to be a connection between the social media marketing types who also may have been comics geeks (yours truly is certainly in that category) and what Todd Defren describes as the "listening mentality" for social media gurus: http://www.pr-squared.com/2....

Did being a little outside the mainstream help us to better understand different viewpoints? Can social media creativity be linked back to the wonders of the creaking stand-up racks at our local pharmacies and 5 & dimes?

Are we achieving in the business world the great power with which comes great responsibility? Phew, heavy stuff!

(Chris, you've got to read The Walking Dead TPBs and the 100 Bullets series. Fantastic!)

Re: Small Town Superheroes

Marianne Thomas — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:44:13 -0000

Hi Chris; always good stuff to read from you in my Google Reader.

I live in a small town, too, and this idea -- of using social media as a cheerleader's megaphone to spread the good news about what small biz owners are doing - is fantastic.

Thanks for once again sparking my imagination.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

CP — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:37:55 -0000

Mick's store is a treat, and a place I'd love to frequent if it wasn't a few days' drive away. He has the respect of other retailers all over the country (I'm one) because of the cozy, clean, personal shopping experience he created at Toy Soldier. It's a great store with great PEOPLE working there, and a lot of thought goes into everything they do.

Re: Small Town Superheroes

LoneWolf — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:01:30 -0000

I've got to learn how to network like this more (on and off line). I've always been a bit of a loner but there are some great small businesses here in town. My wife is always good at getting to know the people who work at them -- even people in the big places like W*lM*rt.

I need to make more of an effort to connect with the people in my community like this -- and promote them.

Thanks for the encouragement.