Community Guy – Jake McKee

My Sincere Thanks

WARNING: What lies ahead is a sappy, lovefest of a blog post. While it might be all squishy, it’s entirely heartfelt. Consider yourself warned.

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2009 has been an interesting year. I’ve moved across the country twice, seen my (now) three year old daughter blossom into an even more amazing person than ever, began to get to know my little brother as an adult, and undergone some absolutely devastating personal relationship issues.

Through all this, the one constant of this year has been the amazing, and frankly, mostly unexpected rise of Ant’s Eye View. In just under a year, Sean O’Driscoll and I went from “hey I have an idea” to “well look at that, we have 10 employees!” Our business is extremely healthy, our clients are happy, our team is fantastic, and we’re having more fun than we ever have before.

This Thanksgiving, as I consider what I have to be thankful for I’d be absolutely remiss if I didn’t specifically call out four groups.

The Ant’s Eye View Team
When Sean and I first started sketching out the type of company we wanted to build, our primary goal was simple: to build the best team in the world, a team of practitioners who had real life, real world skills in helping companies become more social.

Not only did we build that team, we’ve built it faster and stronger than either of us dreamed possible. Literally every day, I am more impressed with the team than the day before. As each member of the team finds their footing, they’ve launched into true individual and industry powerhouses. In the management philosophy of surrounding yourself with people smarter than you and then helping them get smarter, Sean and I have nailed it. Seeing you all in action at WOMMA last week was truly amazing.

Ant’s Eye View Team: Thank you! From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Sean and I will be working even harder next year to provide you the room to run even further, to have more fun than ever, and to achieve results our team and our clients could previously only dream of.

The Ant’s Eye View Clients
No matter what how great the individuals on the AEV team looked on paper, we were (and are) still a brand new company. The list of clients who gave us a shot this year is truly astounding. The two best assets we have as a company are our people and our clients, and we’ve scored in a big way on both fronts. We wouldn’t have been able to fly like we have if not for our clients putting significant trust in our team.

AEV Clients: Thank you for your trust this year. We sincerely hope we’ve delivered on your expectations and promise you that every day we’ll be better than the day before. If you think we did great work this year (and we hope you do!), then just wait until you see what we have in store next year!

My friend, my partner, Sean O’Driscoll
Sean, this year we’ve smiled with glee, hugged, and shook hands in vigorous celebration many, many times. I will always remember our breakfast at the Marriott in Redmond as the first day of one of the most amazing adventures of my life.

I am counting the days until we raise our glasses at the company holiday parties (yeah,that’s right, we’ve opened not one office this year, but two!), and toast to this year and dream of next. Thank you, Sean not only for your friendship but for the volume of knowledge I’ve already gained by working with you.

Sean: We have much to be proud of, my friend.

CommunityGuy.com Readers
It’s been a tough year on my blogging. Travel, business, and personal life have conspired to make my blogging a bit thin this year, but you’ve stuck around. For that, I simply must thank you. (I should mention that our team is also blogging at the AEV Blog too, if you have a thirst for great content)

Here’s to a happy and safe holiday season, a successful year end, and all of us having an impressive 2010!

The Social Media Guru [video]

This video is absolutely hilarious! (FYI, the language is a bit salty)

USS Green Bay, here I come!

A few months back, some bloggers were invited to fly onto the USS Nimitz, a working aircraft carrier. Reading the stories of the trip (here, here, here), I was jealous beyond belief. You see, one of my life goals is to visit (hopefully via an arrested carrier landing) such a ship. I saw Top Gun in the 7th grade and was convinced for years I was going to go into the Navy. Growing up in Southern California, it was common practice to head to San Diego to see ships come and go, tour ships, tour NSA Coronado, and watch F-14 touch-and-gos at Mirmar.

So you can imagine my delight when Jenn recommended me for the next Navy embark to the new ship, the USS Green Bay. That’s right! In September, I’ll be boarding a Navy helicopter and heading out to tour the Green Bay for the day. (Thanks, Jenn, I owe you one! Sorry about all those nasty things I said about you getting to go to the Nimitz when I didn’t… )

I am really excited to take this trip and will be posting photos, videos, and stories before, during, and after. I apologize in advance for my probable gushing. Hopefully it won’t turn the Navy team off of inviting me to the next USS Nimitz trip! (Life dream, folks. Help a blogger out!)

Here’s the skinny on what the mission the USS Green Bay will focus on now that it’s going into service:

The USS GREEN BAY will be used to transport and land Marines, their equipment and supplies, by embarked air cushion or conventional landing craft or Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical take off and landing aircraft. USS GREEN BAY will support amphibious assault, special operations, or expeditionary warfare missions throughout the first half of the 21st Century.

Healthcare Reform Explained by Dan Roam

Thanks to Lee, I stumbled on this incredible presentation by Dan Roam, author of “Back of the Napkin“, a great book about visual thinking and explanation. Dan explains the current healthcare debate in great detail, yet utter simplicity. This is a must watch (must click?) for all of us.

Great Presentation: Social Media Strategy Instead of Tools

Very nicely done presentation on how to best approach social media.

Absolutely amazing video: U2 Spyplane Ride

A humbling story

I have been “out there” on the Web for years now. Search my name and you can piece together a pretty solid picture of who I am, where I’ve been, and what I’ve done going back years. There’s a lot of downside to this, but without question the biggest upside is that when you have an impact on someone, it’s easy for them to find you and share that impact.

As some of you know, I wrote a book a few years back called Getting Started with LEGO Trains. I’ve always hated it (I’m a perfectionist, and as my first book, I learned a metric ton of lessons for next time), but when I read emails like the one below, I feel really proud of my work.

Allow me to share…

My name is Deann and am writing on behalf of my 5 year old son, Caden. He loves 3 things…LEGO, trains, and directions! My sister gave him your book as a gift and he pretty much gave up his “blankie” and now sleeps with your book. He carries it around the house like it is a part of him.

My son is a very interesting child with an old soul. He is very bright but doesn’t relate well with children his own age. I got him his first big box of LEGOs right after he turned 3 and that has been a life saver. His lego table is our pool table and he will spend a significant amount of time on that or He locks himself in the “train room” and will build and create for hours. He comes up with the most amazing things for his age. He also likes following complex lego directions…I recently purchase the “Emerald Night” and he completed it by himself in a matter of days. He is now in search of a black steam train similar to the Polar Express to build but I do not have a clue where we can find instructions or pieces for that. I am sure he will find away to create one on his own. Anyway, I just want to thank you for writing “Getting Started with LEGO Trains.” Its like you wrote it especially for him.

Sincerely,
Deann
Springfield, MO

Thanks Deann. And keep on building, Caden! Maybe one day you too can work for LEGO. I proved that living the dream is possible!

I want to work at Netflix

As a business owner, I need to set a recurring calendar reminder to absorb the presentation embedded below once a quarter. Seriously, this is absolutely the best story on how to improve and set corporate culture.

Warning: This is a 128 slide deck, but well worth your time.

Friday Fun: Photo Style

Linda Rains snapped this hilarious picture on the Microsoft campus in Redmond. Classic.

Will Wright Smoothness

I swear, as nerdy as he is, I could listen to Will Wright talk about how to design games for hours on end.