Linchpin Review by Heidi Thorne
January 30, 2010 in Business Development
From @HeidiThorne Linchpin by Seth Godin – Book Review on the Powerful Culture of Gifts
In Godin’s discussion on The Powerful Culture of Gifts, he notes there are three ways people think about gifts: 1) “Give me a gift.” 2) “Here’s a gift. Now you owe me big time.” 3) “Here’s a gift, I love you.” I think it’s very easy for people to slip into the second mode of thinking upon reading about the gift economy. We see this all the time with “free seminars” or “free networking” that are nothing more than sales pitch events. This is NOT giving away your art.
So how can you expect to make a living giving away art for free? That’s where the Circles of the Gift System come in. Godin’s theory goes that in the First Circle of true gifts you give away your art for free to family, friends, co-workers, those that you are close to. The Second Circle is the circle of commerce made up of those who pay for your art, your customers. And now with the rise of the Internet, a huge Third Circle has emerged which is that of your followers and fans–”friendlies”–who can become friends. This Third Circle helps expand the circle of commerce, as well as help you influence and improve the lives of even more people.
I am just beginning to tap into this world of the Third Circle and it is truly an amazing new frontier. Within less than a year, I have made scores of new friends (especially my Twitter “twibe”) and gained so many new resources, I can’t even imagine my future without it.
After reading Linchpin, you understand why Godin was giving us advance reviewers a chance to read and comment on the book. He was demonstrating what it truly means to be a linchpin.
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