Here’s a recent email that I received from Barnes & Noble:

The problem is I haven’t purchased a classical CD from Barnes & Noble before…for that matter I don’t think I’ve purchased a classical music CD from anyone…ever. I don’t think I have one piece of classical music in my iTunes library…and I’m probably not about to start now. My wife on the other hand loves classical music. Perhaps if this email had gone to her…

Now…here’s an email I received the same day from Amazon.com:

The main difference…Amazon is actually recommending things to me that I’m interested in. In fact I have four of those books on my shelf by my desk. Sometimes it seems as though Amazon can actually scan my bookshelves and see what I own. Here’s the ironic part…two of those books I purchased at my local Barnes & Noble because I picked them up while browsing the store (I didn’t have the patience to wait for shipping).

Barnes & Noble’s problem is that they don’t seem to keep track of what I’m buying and if they do they’re not using the information to recommend products I might actually be interested in. The result…I treat B&N email as spam. On the other hand, I love to see what Amazon is going to recommend to me next. Amazon takes full advantage of the permission I’ve given them…and I order books from them on a weekly basis…often based on their recommendations. Barnes & Noble only wastes my time with the emails they send.

My suggestion to Barnes & Noble…stop charging $20 a year for a B & N Membership (their discount program that offers an in-store discount)…instead give the membership away for free (with the discount) and use the data I allow you to gather to send timely, relevant recommendations that are based on my previous purchases. Sure…send me those printable coupons…but send them for the latest Grisham novel (I bought the last two from you) not a special on classical music.

Here’s a great post from Seth on Permission Marketing.

I recently started twittering actively.  I was a long time twitter skeptic and then I decided to give it a try.  Rather than making a compelling argument for why you should twitter…here’s my encouragement…give it a try…for a week.  Then, like me, you’ll be able to decide for yourself.

Not sure where to start?  Read Mike’s: The Beginner’s Guide to Twitter.

Have you ever said "Thank God it’s Monday"?  Dan Miller opens his new book, No More Mondays, with this question.  Dan’s first book, 48 Days to the Work You Love, showed readers how to understand their calling and find fulfilling employment. No More Mondays picks up where 48 Days left off and walks you through the steps to converting that calling into a business of your own.  Dan presents a variety non-traditional work models and leads the reader on a journey of discovery to find their calling and the work model which will best fit them.

As a life long entrepreneur I’d recommend this book to anyone who dreads Mondays.

One of my favorite podcasts is Dan Miller’s 48 Days Podcast.

You can visit Dan’s blog here.

FaceBook was never designed as a platform for advertising…it was designed as a cool tool for college students.  But because of the amazing amount of traffic that visits FaceBook the big advertisers line up to spend a fortune advertising there.  Why?  Because they are stuck in the old mindset of how many people can we interrupt with our message? Here’s the problem though…when was the last time you clicked on an ad in FaceBook?  The same thing is true for MySpace…users do everything they can to ignore the ads.

If, instead of asking the question "How many?" companies would ask "Who?" is being reached they’d be more likely to choose a Google AdWords campaign.  Why?  Because an adwords campaign puts your ad in front of someone who is actually LOOKING for your service.  I just visited my Facebook homepage and was presented with a huge ad for Verizon Wireless…the problem, I’m already a Verizon customer.  How much more valuable would it be for Verizon to place their ad on Google to display when someone searches for "wireless service" or "cell phones"?

The same thing is true for local businesses?  The wrong question is "How many people will see my ad?" The right question is "Who will see my ad?"

Update (7/3/2008) Seth Godin just posted an excellent post on this subject here.

I just took took my wife to see P.S. I Love You (probably the best date movie I’ve seen this year).  After the movie we stopped at Wal-Mart and grabbed the soundtrack to the movie. I did this because I don’t have the cable for my iPod with me and wanted to enjoy the music from the movie on my way home (we’re on vacation in Texas). 

Here’s the problem though…the CD cost me $14.88.  After listening to the whole album I realized I only like 4 of the songs…that means I paid $3.72 per song…for songs that I could have purchased on iTunes for $0.99 each.  Or…I could have purchased the whole album for $9.99 on iTunes skipping the inevitable step of loading the CD into iTunes so I can have them on my iPod. I made the comment to the three other folks in the car with me, "I don’t think I’ll ever buy a CD again."  Is music packaged as albums and sold on CD’s really dead…probably not yet, but I think it will be soon.

I have a lot of friends who are professional musicians…I think this change has significant implications for the way they should be creating and packaging their music.

Here’s an excerpt from a great post by Seth Godin.

Seth points us to TOMS Shoes.

Their approach is brilliant for two reasons.  For each pair of these economical shoes you buy…Tom donates a pair to a child in need…no complicated formulas.  The shoes themselves become more than a fashion statement…they become a conversation piece.  Unless you wear Keens when was the last time you had a conversation about your shoes?

Watch the video here and ask yourself "How can I build giving into my business plan?"