On Being Omnipresent Online


Chris Pirillo, Web entrepreneurChris Pirillo is a Web entrepreneur and online personality — that’s the only way I can describe him.

He has been online since 1992, and has a well-known site called Lockergnome.com.  In the video below, he says he  “lives on the Internet”  — I can identify with that, especially these days when I feel as if I’m chained to my computer.

The video has some great points about developing a personal brand online and making a business out of running online communities.  Don’t let his campy, half-humorous delivery fool you.  He drops little gems here and there.

My favorite point is where Chris says,  “You can find me pretty much anywhere online. * * * I’m everywhere.  There’s not one website that allows me to have membership that I have not joined.  OMNIPRESENT.  That’s what you have to be these days.”  So true.

PS, check out his use of the word “pancake”  – it’s a little test he throws in to see if people really watched the entire video.

14 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

14 Reactions
  1. Yes. I also believe that it’s really important to be present anywhere and everywhere in the Internet as much as possible if you’re branding something.

  2. Hey Chris,

    Thanks for the enlightening video. It was worth watching twice.

    I liked your points about keeping it real, making it personal, and being omnipresent on the Internet.

    I realize if you don’t you’ll wind up as flat as a pancake.

    Stew

  3. Great post and good insight into your obsession with pancakes.

  4. Interesting video. I love his energy and enthusiasm. Good food for thought.

  5. Chris also runs a fantastic conference called gnomedex every year up in Seattle. For those of us who can’t quite make it there, he livecasts the entire event.

  6. Chris is pretty much the poster child for what one of the new roles we as entrepreneurs have to take on to be successful in a Web 2.0 world – Chief Media Personality Officer.

  7. I spend plenty of time online, but I also try to have offline quality time. I believe in the physical meeting place, the informal chat over a cup of coffee or tea, the networking / mingle meeting, the water cooler conversation at the office, the discussion at the townhall meeting, etc.

    I try to participate “all over the place” in the cyberspace. I spent time at places that I enjoy, e.g. here at Small Business Trends. 🙂

    I live after Chris Pirillo’s statement: “Stay true to yourself.”

    As a contribution to his Pancake! plug at around 14:20, please read my post, Crepe with Blueberries, if you want to get a tasty recipe! 😛

    All the Best,

    Martin
    http://Martin.Lindeskog.name

  8. A ‘lot’ of time spent online is not enough. It has to be a ‘lot’ and a very quality time spent. Just like what you did with your offline activities, Martin! 😉

  9. Rose,

    You are right. I try to spend plenty of quality time online too! 😉

  10. I really enjoyed the parts the making a business of running online communities. I see Martin’s points of making sure you don’t miss offline opportunities. It is funny that we call them “offline”… It is an indicator of where you do spend your time — if you have to say offline activities. Not just Martin, but any of us. I say the same thing.

    Chris’ comments about omnipresent clearly mean where there is strategic value to him and his company, not every possible community. It may be possible to join them all, but not participate in them all.

  11. Hi Chelle,

    Yes, I heard that Gnomedex is really good.

    Chris also livecasts himself at: http://live.pirillo.com/

    I’m not sure I could go that far, with the live casting. I was on a Webex live demo today and my webcam automatically turned on (via the Webex software). It freaked me out. I pulled the little privacy shade down.

    — Anita

  12. Chris,

    I can write well (yes, you got that point across =)), but I’m curious, when you say I would earn a share of AdSense revenue from writing for you, how much of a share are we talking? What’s the difference if I write for you vs. write for my own blog? Can you drive more traffic to my article on your site than I can on my own? Is that the answer?

    JS