Gary Vaynerchuk recently asked his audience, “am I putting out too much content?”
The answer is no. just like an all you can eat buffet, it’s definitely possible to consume so much that you’ll want to throw up.
Seth Godin has said people email him and say “I wish you would post less”. They love what he puts out, and they don’t want to miss any of it, so they just want him to dial it back for them. That's nonsense. The problem is, once you find a valuable source of content, you’ll feel like you’re missing out if you don’t consume everything you can.
Nonsense. Like an open bar, it’s ultimately the audience’s responsibility.
Over the past few months, I’ve tried a bit of everything at the table, and have an idea of the major narratives to pay attention to, and what type of content I prefer. When I head back to the buffet, I know what I like and get more of it.
For me, Gary’s place moving forward is a well vetted, well informed, well connected and well intended “new media” talking head.
I pay attention to Gary to get an oblique pulse on the evolution of social media advertising and marketing. I learn to appreciate the nuances of dominant and up-and-coming platforms and keep tabs on the evolution of social media without doing the heavy lifting myself.
I get the impression that most of Gary’s audience pays attention to gain intel for offensive strategy for their own business and brand. This is great, but I find even more value from a DEFENSIVE perspective, I’m aware of how we are being sold and can be more diligent with my attention.
1 red and 1 white wine at 10 AM? Gary... do you have anything to do with this?
Here’s the menu at the All you can Vee buffet… Part of a balanced New Media Diet.
PHOTO AND VIDEO
INSTAGRAM: A mix of visual announcements, bold, high photo quality shareable quote memes, and convenient place for most recent link for high production quality video like the newest DailyVee documentary or Ask Gary Vee show.
SNAPCHAT: A great way to keep up on "Snapchat relevance" and capabilities. Also serves as a preview what to expect in terms of higher-production quality content in the next day or so to anticipate what you might be interested in watching.
PERISCOPE: Interesting live action if you have notifications/alerts on, but pretty terrible quality relative even to Snapchat. I find the stream of comments and hearts obnoxious 99% of the time. (@JB, @Kayvon, @tyhan1: may I suggest a toggle/on off button?) The trade off is it is in REAL TIME. Interesting “behind the scenes” feel for the production process for the Ask Gary Vee show and first person perspective for other meetings and events in real time. As I’m writing this, I got an alert, with Gary demonstrating what Periscope is to his barber. This type of thing may seem insignificant... unless you view it as watching the guy who's been ACTIVE at the forefront of Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and sells the use of these platforms (to huge companies that affect our lives) demonstrating the platform to a real consumer who is completely unaware of this... in real time.
“See, now there’s 150… 185… 350 people watching- Say 'what’s up' to Manny’everybody! - See now people are commenting… Crazy, right? It’s the future.”
The #ASKGARYVEE SHOW. Individually, candid responses to questions from Gary’s audience can be hit or miss, depending on what you're into. In aggregate, and on average, the show is awesome. It makes that the book based on it will be as well. The high production quality, easy access through Instagram links help a lot. The kicker for me is that it can be taken in bite-sized chunks. I can watch one Q+A that is just a couple minutes, or watch a whole episode for 10-20 minutes if I have the time.
DAILY VEE. Newer, longer form, documentary style videos that show “a day in the life” day in and day out. Currently approaching episode 20, I’ve only watched a couple of them when he started out because they are a much bigger time commitment. The quality and turn around is through the roof, and constantly improving with time. If you follow the process at all, you will become a fan of DROCK even more than Gary.
"RANT" SHORTS: Occasionally, Gary get’s all fired up about something in a talk or answering a question on his show. These little videos are compilations of quotes across keynotes, conversations, the show etc. that curate and illustrate the theme he’s focused on. DRock and his production team do an amazing job with these. These are a valuable time saver… it’s like watching a highlight reel of a football game. All killer, no filler and you get to see the whole story.
KEYNOTE ARCHIVE RABBIT HOLE: People pay a shit load of money for Gary to speak. Lots of these talks end up online for free. You do the math. Start here.
WINE LIBRARY TV + THE DAILY GRAPE:
See how content media came to be. Old School Vayniaks Gary Mele and Sugar Ray recommended I start here. Check the profile on Gary and Sugar Ray for the link to the viewer appreciation episode they were featured in.
AUDIO
PODCAST: Never tried it but I know it exists... Probably a great version of the show for commutes.
AUDIO BOOKS: Hate books but love the content? Buy the audio version of the books. I know it’s coming cause I watched him record it across all the other platforms.
ANCHOR: I don’t think many people really use Anchor, but I'm aware that it exists and have experimented with it because of Gary.
WRITTEN CONTENT
MEDIUM AND BLOG: Gary’s longer posts are often more refined and developed versions of his audio and video content. If you can’t take Gary’s “Jersey”, the written content is a great option to still get the valuable perspectives.
Here’s one example to get you started: You could listen to Gary rant on Snapchat across all platforms or follow him on there Blair Witch style, but if you don’t have the time or inclination, you can still understand the game in an 8 minute read.
BOOKS:
Oh Yeah.... Gary is also a 4X Best Selling Author. He puts out so much other content I haven't even gotten around to reading them yet. But I just bought a stack of them, as a thank you for all the content he puts out, and as gifts for friends old and new.
If you know a "D and F Student" that is only getting those grades because the school system they are in can't handle their potential, email me their story, and I'll pick a few to mail a copy of Gary's new book to.
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