The Geeks Have Inherited The Earth

What Would Google Do: Non-Profit Edition

I've been tweeting and yapping to friends about Jeff Jarvis's terrific book "What Would Google Do" even before I've properly finishing the thing. I sat myself down tonight and plowed through the last 100 pages where Jarvis examines different industries including automotive, manufacturing, telcom, healthcare and more to see what Google would do if they were in those businesses.

On one hand, I was really hoping that Jarvis had taken a look at the non-profit sector given my personal history in the sector and my ongoing interest in how non-profits operate. I'll also note that I used to write a fairly well read non-profit marketing blog. Unfortunately, the book doesn't delve into this much, if at all. I thought, instead of a basic set of notes or a book review as I usually do that I'd jump back in time and take a look at the sector with fresh, and "Googley" eyes.

If you haven't yet read the book, the basic premise is that Google fundamentally o…

Run!

I wrote a short piece on my LinkedIn page about transitioning to a startup called "Run!"

Cross posting it here for archiving sake...

I'm a huge fan of Zombie shows like The Walking Dead and it's new spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead. Running is a big part of being in a zombie apocalypse. It turns out, running is also a bit part of working for a startup. After many years and several industries (non-profit, tech, consulting), I find myself back in what I call "startup land' - that magical place where chaos reigns and everyday brings a new set of challenges, each of which feels more important than the next. As it turns out, I thrive on that sort of chaos. Even when I was at PwC working as a consultant, the most interesting projects were the ones where there was total chaos. I'd look around and see everyone scrambling for cover and I'd just revel in the madness. Now that I'm back in the thick of things working for a very small technology company, I fe…

I got it, I got it! (Or How I Knew My Baseball Career Was Really Over)

Have you ever caught a major league fly ball with your bare hands? Me neither.

The chances were slim I’d even be in such a position, but there I was, looking up at the bright Carolina sky, hands outstretched into the air, waiting for my moment of glory.

I’ve been to a lot of baseball games, major and minor leagues, college, high school, and even little league games. Never even sniffed a home run or foul ball. One time, during the 1995 World Series in Cleveland, Ryan Klesko hit a bomb to right field which landed at my feet. I still have that ball. It has an ‘X’ on it. That doesn’t count though. No skill involved in reaching down and picking a ball up off the ground is there?

Catching a ball, sans glove is the work of a real man.

I was a very minor baller once (scouting report: quick hands, OK arm, no wheels). I played baseball from the time I could remember. I was 7, or 8 and used to throw a tennis ball against my grandmothers' house, acting out entire games, sometimes pitching bot…

Marc Sirkin's Mindnumbing Thoughts

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