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What's your super power?
- Alex3917 18y agoHi, I'm Alex, and I've seen everything on the Internet.
- trapper 18y agoDo you remember it or is it just in and out?
- Alex3917 18y agoI don't remember the specifics of every webpage, but I remember the general idea and enough about the page so that I could find it again. So, for example, if someone wanted to see an example of what the financial assumptions for a startup should look like, I remember that Guy Kawasaki is the one who posted about that on his blog and I could find the link in two or three minutes.
- twoz 18y agoOr we could just use our Google and Delicious utility belts for those of us who don't have your particular superpower. :)
- swombat 18y agoInteresting... and yet, on the other hand, listing your "superpowers" as part of your introduction might well appear extremely arrogant. How do you phrase your "superpowers" in a way that doesn't automatically give you the additional implicit superpower of being an arrogant prick?
- Alex3917 18y agoA) Your superpower should be a statement of fact. B) Your superpower should be something that is potentially useful to someone else. So, for example: Hi, I'm ----, and I build online communities. Hi, I'm ----, and I have the most popular blog on NYC restaurants. Hi, I'm ----, and I connect artists with patrons. (I was there when Seth thought this up. Actually, I think the reason he came up with the metaphor is because I was doing a really bad job at introducing myself to others. So we decided that my superpower was that I've seen everything on the Internet, so now that's how I have to introduce myself to others. At least until I have a better superpower.)
- patio11 18y agoCreate value for the other guy with your "superpower". Hi, my name's Clark Kent, and I'm really handy to know if you're frequently kidnapped. In a business setting, something a little more prosaic. You've probably heard someone say something like "Let me know if you ever have a problem with ..." before, right? People say that because it works. Mental note: if I ever have an X, knowing this guy helps me un-X.
- joshsharp 18y agoI think that's a great way to put it, better than any of the other approaches listed here. Useful without seeming arrogant. Actually, it comes across as being generous. "I do X. Let me know if you ever need ..."
- patio11 18y agoLike most Seth Godin pieces its a little more on the touchy-feely big-thinking than it is on the specifics. Here's what I'd say: have an elevator pitch for yourself, as opposed to just having one for your startup. Here's mine, which has worked pretty decently the last few years for me: Japan and America trade about $200 billion a year with each other. Roughly half of that is technology which didn't exist in 1950. Less than one American engineer in 10,000 speaks Japanese. You're looking at one of them. Were you happy with how your last US/Japan programming project turned out? I wouldn't call it a superpower -- just enough to get people to remember why they have my business card in their folder. They're almost always asking right after they come to a pain point for lack of a bilingual engineer and the great thing about the pitch is it means I've got excellent odds of being the only responsive hit in their business card book. (Sidenote: business cards. They're like the uniform for you super power, I guess. Because he wouldn't be Superman without the big S on his chest telling everyone "Yep, that's right, this guy is Superman".)
- jreposa 18y agoHi, I'm Jason, and I connect people with technology.
- trapper 18y agoWhat sort of human-machine interface are you using?
- joechung 18y agoThis seemed like a roundabout way for Seth to say, "Hi, I'm Seth, and I once sat by a Supreme Court Justice at a conference."
- markessien 18y agoI can grow my fingernails really quick. Not everyone gets the useful super powers.
- Flemlord 18y agoI can throw a playing card more than a hundred feet.