When was the last time you drove off a cliff, hit Continue, and just tried again? If you played video games as a kid, you know the drill. You get stepped on by a giant thing. You crash into a cow. You try again. We had no idea what was around the corner back then. If we died, we didn’t freak out. We didn’t say, “The whole world is falling apart.” We just went again. Because it was fun. That’s what I want to bring back. Right now so many marketers are freaking out about what’s around the next corner. A lot of us are operating from fear instead of opportunity. So here’s the announcement: the theme for Social Media Marketing World this year is retro. We’re taking the ‘90s and gaming and applying it to the modern era of AI. A few ways we’re bringing it to life: → Badges with a ‘90s video game look → A Mario Kart station where you can fly off cliffs together (yes, I know it’s not the ‘90s) → An opening keynote with that same vibe I think we’re at a precipice. We can choose to have fun and embrace change, or we can be scared and do nothing. My hope is that injecting fun into an age of uncertainty gives us room to build things, break things, and figure out new ways forward. Now I want your ideas. How would you bring a ‘90s game theme to a marketing conference? This is Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch. Drop your ideas in the comments 👇 #SocialMediaMarketingWorld# #AIinMarketing# #MarketingConference# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Ten people a day. Every day. For seven months. That’s the math I’ve been avoiding. That’s not light math. That’s heavy math. Brick-heavy. 3,000 minus 933, divided by seven months. More than ten a day. That’s the goal for Social Media Marketing World. And “every day” means every day. Mondays. Tuesdays. Holidays. Here’s what the math did to me: it’s not going to be one big idea that moves the needle. It’s going to be lots of ideas, working together, to get this done. But here’s what I know. We’ve had well over 3,000 people at this conference before. It’s not impossible. I know it’s possible. I also know I’m going to need help. So if you missed yesterday’s video, here’s the deal: → Drop one idea in the comments, starting with “I’d...” → See an idea you’d back? Reply “yes” under it → The ideas with the most yeses are the ones I try first What can we do to move the needle on this conference? Let’s do this. This is Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch. Let me know what you think 👇 #SocialMediaMarketingWorld# #FounderLife# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Social Media Marketing World hasn't had 3,000 people at the conference since before COVID. I have 7 months, 933 people committed, and no idea how to fill the gap. So I'm coming to you. I met with my director of marketing, and it became pretty obvious we need to try something different. Then it hit me: some of the wisest marketers in the world are watching these videos. Why not just ask you? So here's the favor. If this were your conference and you wanted to get to 3,000, what would you do? → Leave one sentence in the comments, starting with "I'd..." → Read the other ideas, and if you like one, reply to it with the word "Yes" → Friday I tally the results And to make it a little fun: if I use your idea and it actually moves the needle, I'll take care of your ticket and your hotel. I'll be talking about the winners, and all the great ideas, right here. So, what would you do? "I'd..." in the comments below 👇

Social Media Marketing World hasn’t had 3,000 people at the conference since before COVID. I have 7 months, 933 people committed, and no idea how to fill the gap. So I’m coming to you. I met with my director of marketing this week, and it became pretty obvious we need to try something different. Then it hit me: some of the wisest marketers in the world are watching this series. Why not just ask you? So here’s the favor. If this were your conference and you wanted to get to 3,000, what would you do? → Leave one sentence in the comments, starting with “I’d...” → Read the other ideas, and if you like one, reply to it with the word “Yes” → Friday I tally the results And to make it a little fun: if I use your idea and it actually moves the needle, I’ll take care of your ticket and your hotel. I’ll be talking about the winners, and all the great ideas, right here on the porch. This is Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch. So, what would you do? “I’d...” in the comments below 👇 #SocialMediaMarketingWorld# #MarketingTips# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Today is the last “Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch.” For more than 60 days I’ve shown up here every single day with whatever random thought was rattling around in my brain. Here’s the truth: it’s not doing what I hoped it would do. What I pictured in my head was a show. Something you’d actually want to come back to every day. That’s not what I made. I made 60 days of thoughts. Admitting that out loud is harder than it sounds. I’ve been in marketing a long time. I’m supposed to know how this works. But that changes tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m going to ask you for something I’ve never asked for before. And then I’m going to run with it for months — in public, on this porch, where you can all watch whether it works or it falls apart. I’m not telling you what it is today. I just hope you show up tomorrow. If you’ve been here for any part of these 60 days, thank you. The next thing is going to need you a lot more than the last one did. See you tomorrow 👇 #AIinMarketing# #FounderLife# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Just got back from two days at a wedding, and the whole time I felt this little pull like I should be working on something. A fan, Sarah, recently asked me a question I haven’t been able to shake: “Who do you want to be when you’re 80, and what do you need to be now?” 80 feels far away. But I know people who are 80. So I sat with it. Here’s my honest answer. I feel like I have a lot more to build. I have friends, like my friend at that wedding, who are ready to just have fun. Travel the world, enjoy it all. And part of me wants that. But I know myself. I was engineered to be a maker. There’s so much more I want to build that could have an impact. So at 80, I still see myself building. But also bringing people together and having a lot of fun. Right now it’s building, making, building, making. Not as much fun. And going away to Joel and Erin’s wedding reminded me how much fun, fun actually is. I think this is the entrepreneurial struggle. How do you balance fun and work when work is fun? This is Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch. What do you plan to be doing at 80, and what do you need to do now to get there? Tell me in the comments 👇 #FounderLife# #Entrepreneurship# #WorkLifeBalance# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Someone just compared me to a plantation owner because I use AI. Here’s what she said: “So what you’re saying is, you know and recognize the issues and why people disapprove of AI, but you don’t care, because it benefits you.” Then she took it further — comparing my use of AI to investing in slavery. I told her, “Your logic is deeply flawed.” Think about it. Are cars dangerous? Yet you drive one. Does your smartphone depend on labor in countries with below-human standards? Yet you’re using that phone right now. You can take almost anything and stretch it into a moral indictment. “This house was built with wood. Trees were brought down in a forest, therefore...” You see where it goes. Every single one of us decides to use things that benefit us. That doesn’t mean we’re harming humanity. What I told her was this: “I don’t go around seeking the approval of other people, and I don’t even claim that other people’s opinions are valid.” And that’s the thing — it’s easy to let someone else’s opinion make you feel like the bad guy. I don’t believe her opinion is valid at all. Guard yourself against logical fallacy, folks. There are going to be a lot of people making claims about who you are and what you’re doing to the world. And they’re a lie. You can ignore the lie, or you can call it out. Sometimes I call it out. Am I wrong? Have you faced this kind of logical fallacy? Let me know in the comments 👇 Mike’s Thoughts From the Porch #AIisNotEvil# #LogicalFallacy# #AIforBusiness# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I’m at 10,000 feet, out of breath, holding a bag of Popchips that looks like it’s about to explode. I’m in Breckenridge for a wedding. This place was built in the ‘70s, it’s a ski resort, and it took hours to get up here. You sunburn fast. You lose your breath fast. And I absolutely love being here. But there’s a strange juxtaposition going on. Behind me is all this beauty. On my phone, a lot of people are reacting to ChatGPT’s Astra rollout with “Whoa, this is the beginning of the end.” So I’ve been sitting up here asking a different version of that question. Is this the beginning of the end of us being stuck in front of a computer all day? The beginning of the end of the kind of work we’ve historically had? I think so. I’m still an AI optimist. I still believe we have a chance to work with AI in a way that frees us up to go wherever we want, do whatever we want, and disconnect a little bit to enjoy nature. I also know there’s a lot of fear right now. And sometimes the best thing I can do when I’m not sure what’s coming next is get out in nature and do something fun. It’s a big world out there. This is Mike’s Thoughts From the Porch, recorded a long way from the porch. Are you scared about the repercussions of what’s happening with AI? Let me know in the comments 👇 #AIOptimist# #AIinMarketing# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I’ve been the bottleneck. I’ve told myself “I’m the best person to get this done” more times than I can count. And every single time, the thing didn’t get done. This week I was working on a project with one of my employees. She was stuck. Not happy with how things were coming together. So I threw an idea over the fence: “What if you use Claude to speed this up?” “Yeah, but I don’t have time. It takes time to teach Claude.” I recognized those exact words. Because I say them too. Here’s what I think is really going on. The belief isn’t “I don’t have time.” The belief is “I don’t think anyone else can do it as good as I can.” I can’t because I don’t have time. I don’t have bandwidth. I don’t have energy. Notice what all of those have in common. It’s all about me. I believe I’m the only one who can do this, so I drop a big old boulder in the middle of the road and then wonder how I’m going to get around it. Believing you’re the best and being the bottleneck are two sides of the same coin. What I’m learning is I need to rely on other people, and sometimes tools like AI, to take it further and remove the roadblock I keep creating. So here’s my question for you: When you say you don’t have time, do you really mean you don’t trust anyone else to do it? Let me know how you handle this in the comments 👇 Mike’s Thoughts from the Porch #FounderLife# #Leadership# #AIinMarketing# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Same AI. Same week. Same guy. One was magic, one was a dead end. I’m building a deck to teach Claude Design in the AI Business Society. So I started with Claude. Asked for an outline. Perfect. Then I asked, “Can you help me figure out what I should actually teach?” Dead end. That same week, I’m leading a Bible study on Romans, and Claude was crushing it. Structure, connections, fresh ways to say things I already believed. Here’s the difference. I’ve read my Bible every single day for decades. That thinking was already in me. Claude just helped me reorganize it. Claude Design? I’ve used it. I’ve never taught it. I don’t really know the substance yet. There was nothing for the AI to find. That was the shift for me. AI is strongest where I already have deep expertise and just need a new way to say it, structure it, or show it. Where I’m a newbie, the depth isn’t there. And if I teach from a script AI handed me, I’m a hollow vessel. A thin sheet of paper. I’ve still got to put in the work. Are you using AI for things you already know how to do well, or things you don’t know how to do at all? Where are you finding the most value? Tell me in the comments 👇 More thinking out loud on Mike Thoughts from the Porch. #AIinMarketing# #ClaudeDesign# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Killing fish. Stealing ideas. That’s what I’ve been told because I use AI every day. Here’s the thing: I’m a marketer. In my world, using AI is normal. A brand-new three-year study says 73% of marketers use it daily and 84% of us plan to use it more next year. But step outside marketing and confess you’re using it, and you’re going to get flak. Sometimes from people you care about. Sometimes from people you really respect. And I don’t know what to do with that. It takes me back to the early internet, when people said you were stealing jobs by using it. Now nearly every job runs on it. Same thing when social media showed up — I took plenty of heat for being active there. Now it’s AI. Just about everyone is using it in some capacity. But disclose it, which is exactly what we’re encouraged to do, and the flak comes. If we’re intellectually honest, most of us in marketing are using it every day and plan to use it more. Not because it’s trendy. Because it actually helps. We’re learning things, discovering things, doing things we couldn’t do before. So how do you handle the people who don’t understand? Are you using AI every day? Do you plan to use it more? And how do you deal with the pushback? Tell me in the comments 👇 This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. #AIinMarketing# #MarketingTips# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

My rant was killing my video. I almost scrapped the whole thing. I recorded a ranty video about something I saw in the news that I just thought was crazy. I wasn’t super pleasant in it, but in my mind: “This is going to perform!” I spent a lot of time in the edits app, polished it perfectly, and published it as a trial reel. The retention dropped like a cliff. So I tightened it up even more, convinced this time it would perform. It did absolutely nothing. I was pretty much ready to call it quits. Then I had one crazy idea: What if I edit out the ranty stuff — the stuff I thought was amazing? Boy, am I glad I did. The retention graph turned really, really good. People are commenting, engaging, and it’s getting lots of views. I am so glad I didn’t delete that video. Here’s what I realized: the rant I thought was amazing was actually the thing holding me back. This isn’t really about editing. It’s about taking what you love, testing it, and if it doesn’t work — getting rid of it. Because in the end, we all want our ideas to succeed. Is there something in your content that you love, but it might be hurting you? Let me know in the comments 👇 #ContentCreation# #MarketingTips# #CreatorTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Ever feel like your brain is a dry sponge? You squeeze and squeeze, and nothing comes out? That was me recently. I’m getting ready to promote my conference, and my ideas just weren’t going anywhere. Stuck in my own head, not sure where to go. Then I got on a call with my coach — just to talk about next quarter. I wasn’t even asking for ideas. Out of the blue, he starts popping out ideas left and right. Really creative stuff I hadn’t considered. And here’s what happened: my brain felt like it was receiving water. It became malleable. It started expanding. “Oh, that’s a good idea. Oh, that’s a really good idea.” It was as if a dam broke. I got excited again. The realization? I had been working alone. That was the problem. I just needed to talk to someone outside the box — and be open to ideas I didn’t even ask for. I’m learning I need to stop being stuck in my own brain and start talking to other people. When I do, the dam breaks and the ideas come. So here’s my question: where are you stuck creatively? Have you talked it out with someone lately? Let me know in the comments 👇 This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. #CreativeThinking# #FounderLife# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Have you let AI take control of your browser yet? I don't mean just asking it for insights. I mean actually letting it do tasks for you. If not, why? I'd love to hear from you.

One small mistake and you're cut from the team. That's how she was trained. Yesterday, after a podcast interview, an Instagram expert told me how much she loved these unscripted, direct-to-camera videos — but said she could never do it herself. I asked her why. "I like to be in control." She comes from the world of dance, where one flaw in a performance gets you cut. She was programmed, over and over, to be a perfectionist. Here's the ironic part: I'm a recovering perfectionist too. So I asked her, "Are you up for a challenge?" She said yes. I challenged her to record her first completely unedited, raw video within a week — even about this very topic. Because here's the thing: Control is what got her here. And control is now the barrier stopping her from being her true self on camera. She can be bold behind a podcast microphone — but the moment the camera turns on, she wants control. I bet she's not the only one. Do you struggle with control? Is there a reason you're not showing up on camera and saying what's on your mind? As a recovering perfectionist, I can tell you — it's not as hard as you think. It just takes practice. This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. Share your story in the comments 👇 #ContentCreation# #PersonalBranding# #CreatorTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I hurt my shoulder picking up a case of soda off this very porch. The doctor’s answer surprised me: physical therapy. 25 minutes of exercises. Every single day. For five weeks. I started doing them. They’re not fun. And I was very tempted to stop. What kept me going was the doctor’s promise — keep at this, and your shoulder fully recovers. Then it hit me: nobody’s making that promise about these daily videos. There’s no doctor telling me what’s waiting on the other side if I stay consistent. So I have to tell myself. I’m doing the shoulder exercises to get full mobility back. I’m doing these videos to build a platform and make deeper connections with people. Maybe that’s what’s stopping most of us. Not the work — the missing promise. → Nobody will tell you what’s on the other side of your daily practice → So tell yourself, and believe it → Then do the reps, especially on the days it doesn’t feel like progress What’s the practice you’re avoiding because no one promised you the payoff? This is Rainy Thoughts from the Porch. Let me know in the comments 👇 #FounderLife# #ContentCreation# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I didn’t know if this was possible. I didn’t even know who to ask. So I asked Claude. A couple of weeks ago we published our AI Marketing Industry Report, and we gated it. No cookie on the site, you get pushed to a register page. But we’ve got a whole bunch of people already on our newsletter who’ve opted into our other free resources. Making them register again felt wrong. So I asked, “Claude, is this even possible? Can we give those people a special key that opens the report with no extra steps?” “Oh, of course it is.” And it figured out a little something we append to the URL. Then I pushed: “Can we hide that key after the page loads?” “I’m one step ahead of you, Mike. I’ve already figured that out.” It handed me a clear set of instructions for my marketing team on exactly how to add the parameter to our email links. If the key is there — click — you’re in. No register page. In the past, this would have been completely impossible for me. I wouldn’t have known where to start. All I did differently this time was ask, “Is this even possible?” A little side project before the end of my day. I couldn’t believe it. So here’s my question for you: is there something you’ve been thinking about doing, but you have no idea who to ask — because maybe you don’t even think it’s possible? This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. Tell me what you’ve done that you thought was impossible in the comments 👇 #AIinMarketing# #ClaudeAI# #MarketingTips# #FounderLife# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I didn’t think I could publish 30 videos in a row. I’ve now done 57 — and I’m committed to 90. Here’s what I’ve learned along the way. Practice makes perfect. Putting in the reps has made this so much more effortless. I still do practice runs — this video took three or four takes because I hadn’t found my stride yet. Editing matters more than I expected. I didn’t want to do any editing at all at first. Now I pull each video into the Instagram Edits app, chop the front and back, and add captions that pop up one word at a time. That’s it. Minimum viable — and it makes a difference. But the bigger lesson? Engagement is absolutely essential. I always ask people to share something valuable in the comments, and I try my best to respond to everyone. I’m publishing these across six platforms, and it’s a lot of work. I’m still learning the tricks of the trade. So if you’re making videos on a regular basis — what little tips and techniques have worked for you? Share them in the comments below 👇 This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. My lesson to myself: keep practicing, keep doing it. You only get better with time. #AIinMarketing# #MarketingTips# #VideoMarketing# #SocialMediaExaminer#

I let AI take control of my browser. Here’s what happened. My editorial director and I decided to start publishing our email newsletter on our WordPress website. She got it over there, but something was off — the margins weren’t right, and it just looked kind of thrown together. We went back and forth, and back and forth, until she hit her limit: “I can’t really go any further.” So I asked her to put the source code into a Google Doc. I looked at it. I didn’t know what I was looking at. That’s when I fired up Claude Cowork and said, “Go look at the code, go look at the preview of the article, and tell me what’s wrong.” It came back with “I found it.” A margins issue. Fixed relatively quickly. But here’s the big unlock. I then said, “Put together a detailed document I can give to my editorial director so she can understand how this happened and how it will never happen again.” It wrote a multi-page document in everyday English. She’s not techie. She’s not a developer. And now she can fix this herself, time and time again. AI didn’t just solve my problem — it helped me communicate it clearly to my team. So here’s my question: What’s the thing you don’t understand that you haven’t handed over to AI yet? This is Mike Thoughts from the Porch. I’d love to hear your stories in the comments 👇 #AIinMarketing# #ClaudeCowork# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaExaminer#

Businesses are going viral right now holding signs that say, “I will not use AI to promote my business.” The irony? AI algorithms are the reason anyone sees their post at all. 404 Media just reported on this trend — bars, cafes, libraries, hair stylists, all holding up hand-drawn signs saying they refuse to use AI. Stoic faces. Cardboard and marker. Tens of thousands of likes. And I’m sitting on my porch thinking, this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re literally using AI to promote your business right now. Instagram’s algorithm — powered by AI — is the thing pushing your little protest sign to thousands of people. You created something designed to spur a reaction, get reshared, and you’re hoping people scroll through your carousel to discover you have a restaurant. But here’s the truth: it’s magnesium marketing. One bright flash, poof, and it’s gone. They don’t care about your business. They care about the concept you’re standing for. And you don’t even mean it. If you’re a marketer, you’re already using AI — you just might not realize it. I used AI to help me come up with talking points for this video. And I didn’t read any of them. AI is your friend. It’s not here to hurt your business. It’s here to help it. Is this trend smart, or is it crazy? Tell me in the comments 👇 #AIMarketing# #MarketingTips# #SocialMediaMarketing# #SocialMediaExaminer#