At first, we were flattered to see that Fairfax Republican Congressional candidate Keith Fimian used a quote from this blog in the very first radio ad of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D).

But when we looked a little closer, we were less amused.

The ad works on a pig theme and accuses Connolly of going after earmarks at a time when the national debt is rising. Pretty standard political stuff.

But then, the radio narrator tells you this: "Gerry Connolly says, quote, 'I want to be there with all four paws and snout in the trough.' "

Connolly did indeed utter that quote during a July conference call with reporters about Republicans and the stimulus package. We put the quote on this blog.

But was he talking about himself? Nope.

He was making a point about Republican Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who he accused of touting dollars for his district after campaigning against the stimulus plan. Here was the full quote from Connolly:

"You can't have it both ways. You can't on the national stage say this is a bad bill ... but when it comes to my district I want a big chunk of that money. I want to be there with all four paws and snout in the trough."

This is pretty remarkable. I guess I didn't need to read it to know we're in for another long election season.

Watch it. Think about it.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all live with this level of enthusiasm? Wouldn't it be great if we could all make it our mission to save the world for another century? Heck, we could set our sights considerably lower and still be better off.

It's not as crazy as it sounds.

And look what else turned up today: Jeffrey Cufaude's post, Playing Your Way to Refreshed Values.

A rich and thought-provoking video that needs to be seen more and discussed widely and, more important, acted on. There's more than enough here to consider about health care and how we provide it, but the presentation is even more important in the context of the health care reform debate playing out right now. First off, when you think about it, Dishman demolishes in only 17 minutes the notion that US health care systems are the best in the world. We have to be willing to accept that fact and move forward. But we've also got to do something about our political system. Here's a brilliant, concise, and compelling statement of a problem and a presentation of a path forward. I've got to believe that Dishman is only one of many who can offer proposals like this. So why is the national debate about the cost, the size of the deficit, the size of government, and the possibility of socialism. What if we elected representatives and senators who made it their business to review ideas like the one proposed here and find ways to bring it about instead of posturing, namecalling, and protecting special interests? Can you imagine what an exciting country we could live in if we would make the effort to put our focus someplace else?

No one would have bet on this, but by all accounts, yesterday's SXSW keynote by Twitter CEO Ev Williams flopped.  Louis Gray sums up what happened succinctly:

After thousands of Twittering geeks and quasi-geeks alike had settled in to the packed exhibition hall and overflow rooms to hear the latest updates delivered straight from Twitter's leader, their excitement soon turned to boredom and finally, severe annoyance, as the interview's pace, tone and content fell well below expectations. After an hour's time, the halls in Austin were more than half empty, and an opportunity to showcase one of technology's biggest successes in the last few decades was for the most part lost.

Time and again, when I ask my readers what they fear most, several mention the fear that, despite their best effort, their speech will fall flat, get no reaction or a bad reaction--that there will be a mismatch between what they see and what the audience sees.  It's poignant here, because so many thousands of people looked forward to this keynote as a highlight of the interactive conference--even Gray's piece is titled, "The SXSW Keynote With Ev Williams You Had Hoped to See."  His long wishlist for the talk indicates that would-be attendees came there--as most audiences do--with many questions they'd hoped the speaker would answer.  And when that didn't happen, many voted with their feet and left.

What could have happened to make this talk work? Here are a few suggestions you can use to avoid just such a fiasco:

1. Engage the audience first.  Any time you have a room bursting at the seams (and overflow rooms needed), or a controversial topic, or major news pending, it pays to let the audience express itself early in the session--even if you only take 10 or 15 questions that you promise to touch on. Let them put their questions on the table early.  You get a sense of the room, they get to choose what's discussed, and everyone benefits.  You'll look smart, inclusive, able to handle risk, and friendly...and you'll have my attention.
2. Think about the energy you'll project.  As has become common in large high-tech keynotes, this talk was a seated interview with a moderator, whom Gray calls on the carpet for asking easy questions.  For the audience that meant:  Not much to look at, and no drama--it's tough to get people excited when you and your sole questioner are agreeing with one another.  And any amount of time the questioner is speaking, the audience is really wanting to hear the main attraction.  Worse for Williams, being seated might just be the last position a CEO should be in when speaking--it diminishes your authority, and even more important, your energy, which starts to slip 10 minutes into the session when you're seated. (That goes for your audience, too.)  By staying seated, he lost the chance to use his body to create visual interest, to move into the audience and to create a sense of excitement.
3. If you're talk is about an interactive technology, demonstrate that quality.  One big downside to the onstage interview (and I've been on both sides of them) is that, at base, it's a conversation between two people with a big crowd of listeners. On Twitter, that would be a direct message--one that excludes all but the two people on stage, putting the audience in a passive role. Williams ran into a buzz saw that's been running for a while now:  Speakers about high-tech wonders are stuck in presentation styles enforced by both tradition and the large crowds they attract.  The audience expects more interactivity, human or technological, in such a talk.  It doesn't have to involve slides. The surprise element of one important person standing up to speak is like catnip for audiences--he might say or do anything.  Want to use technology? Do so in a way that surprises and delights us, then get back to talking.
4. You've got to plan your content.  Sometimes, speakers who know they're about to be interviewed live in front of a crowd decide they need to plan less and just go with the questions.  Big mistake.  You need to make sure the questions reflect what the audience wants, or inject into your answers the news you want them to know, or both.  And what better way to elicit "what will you want to hear from me during the keynote on Tuesday?" than to ask it on Twitter?  Then just be sure the interview or speech answers the major groups of questions--and answer the rest online.

Twitter's my favorite tool of all the social-media tools I use, and yet, in this case, it's less the backchannel than what happened on stage that did in this respected CEO.  Focusing on these four steps, basic as they are, will help you avoid a flop the next time your big speaking opportunity rolls around.

I'm seeing many reports that confirm that Ev Williams' presentation at SXSW yesterday was a flop. Denise Graveline offers some useful tips for making a talk work.

Traditional business cards and CDs-as-business-cards are dangerous because:

1. They assume old-style communication: I have a message for you.

This is a transactional view of communication. If you simply put your card in someone's hand as a way of marketing, chances are it will end in the trash can when your back is turned.

Good reading from Seth Kahan to jolt your Monday. I'm using a card these days as a convenience to others. I know I can't write my contact info clearly; I fear I can't articulate clearly in speech. What I wish I had was a reference to my blog--that would provide a way to continue the conversation.

And check out this post on Lifehacker, which proposes another use for "cards."