I love the new NBC show Parenthood.

So does my wife.  And her sister.  And their cousin.

But how does NBC know that?

I'm on Twitter, Facebook, and writing here.  So NBC could theoretically find me chatting about Parenthood on any of those 3 platforms.

My wife isn't on Facebook or Twitter.  Her sister and cousin are only on Facebook.  And who knows about all their other friends/family they may have told about Parenthood that now love the show.  They might not even be online and chat through old fashioned word of mouth around the kitchen.

Parenthood was recently renewed for a second season and I couldn't be happier.  But I'm wondering how NBC knew the show was liked enough to justify renewing it for a second season.

We all know the traditional Nielsen ratings are a bunch of crap.

So how is NBC (or any television network) supposed to know what shows people are watching?  Television itself is a passive, one-way medium.  We can't click a "Like" button on the TV and notify NBC that we're enjoying one of their shows.

Is it our responsibility then to email NBC or call them up and let them know we love Parenthood and would appreciate a second, third, fourth, and fifth season?  Is it enough if we tweet about the show and Facebook it and Myspace it?

What do you think?

In this recent Ask Summit interview video, Andrew Swenson and I chat about storytelling and how companies these days can use new media to be better storytellers.  

Around 4:21 and 10:58, we chat about how it's important to relate to your audience on a human level.

Earlier today, I asked folks on Twitter a simple, very relatable, human question: Are you over or under with your toilet paper? Why?

Check out the immediate responses:

Sometimes being relatable is as simple as discussing whether you prefer over or under with your TP.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my web series Beyond The Pedway.  I posted the first episode on April 10, 2009.  The show has evolved a lot since that first episode and I couldn't be happier.

One year is a big deal in my mind, mostly because I haven't missed a week yet (and I don't plan on it).  I've posted a new episode every single Friday for the past year, including on my wedding day, Christmas Day, New Years Day and my birthday.

I thought about making tomorrow's episode a big anniversary episode.  Something explosive.  Something flashy.  Something that would scream anniversary celebration.

Then I decided not to.  Because Beyond The Pedway isn't about flashy graphics, fancy equipment, large explosions, or over the top gimmicks.

Beyond The Pedway is about real, creative people who are doing really cool things in Chicago.  It's about you and the amazing community who watches each episode.

So to me, the best way to celebrate the one year anniversary of Beyond The Pedway is to post a new episode tomorrow, like I've done every Friday for the past year.  To share the story of another creative entrepreneur in Chicago doing something that I think is important.

And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

If you enjoy the show, please support it by using some of my exclusive discount codes when you're shopping on GoDaddy or signing up with Angie's List.  Or just continue watching, commenting, and spreading the word.

Thank you!  I'm so excited to share 52 more amazing stories with you. :)

The other day, I asked folks on Twitter why it seemed most people used the medium more on weekdays and less on weekends.

The general response was that most people use Twitter for professional reasons and mostly during the week.  I also heard that weekends are a time for personal activities and family time.

My biggest question, in response, is why?

Why do we center our life around doing personal/family things ONLY on weekends and doing professional/work things ONLY on weekdays?  Who set us up for this and why?

Do you "shut Twitter off" on weekends?  Do you only use Twitter weekdays from 9-5 (while at work)?

Would you do the same for your phone, email or texting?  Are those totally different?

I'm curious how you use these various communication channels.  Let me know below!

We were driving along a street in the suburbs of Chicago and saw a house for sale.  Looked ok from the outside, but we wanted to know what the inside looked like.

Easy schmeezy.  I whipped out my iPhone, found the house listing on the Redfin app, and we instantly looked at pictures of the house.  All while sitting at the curb two minutes after discovering the house.

I'm a first time home buyer, so the whole process is very new to me.  It's also very convenient.

Anywhere I am, I can whip out my iPhone and instantly find homes for sale near me using the Redfin app.  Pictures, details, prices, etc.  I can get it all instantly, without leaving my car.

It sounds so simple, but in my eyes, it's mind blowing.  It might be to you too, and if it's not, show this idea to somebody a bit older who bought homes before the crazy popularity of cell phones.  They'll be totally amazed.

I'm not one to like technology because it's cool.  Instead, I'm all about practicality and efficiency.  And an app like Redfin is extremely practical and efficient.

What about you?  Have you searched for real estate lately?  Or back in the day?  How is it easier now?  How is it harder now?

(It occurred to me just now this whole post might sound like a sponsored post from Redfin or something.  Rest assured it's not.  I'm writing this simply because I was recently searching for houses and by the time I found one, I was using the Redfin app and website only.  Thanks to Tim McDonald for introducing me to Redfin in the first place.)

I hear a lot of talk about how people shouldn't "waste time" watching TV every night.  LOST?  The Office?  Desperate Housewives?  Extreme Makeover Home Edition?

That's all a waste of time, folks.  You should be out doing something "worthwhile".

Wait.

What exactly is worthwhile?  Is reading 65 blog posts instead "worthwhile"?  Is watching movies instead "worthwhile"?  Is reading a book instead "worthwhile"?

I want your opinion.

Is watching TV at night a waste of time?  Or is reading blog posts all day a waste of time?  Or is reading a book before you go to bed at night a waste of time?  Why or why not?

Many of us live in a world where Mondays suck.  They're the start of something horrible - the week.  They're the end of something amazing - the weekend.

I've never understood this (and still don't).  The argument is usually that people hate their jobs.  I don't buy it.  That's the same as looking forward to retirement.

I view Mondays differently.  I view Mondays as a window to opportunity.  We have the entire week ahead of us as a blank slate, ready for us to do what we wish with it.

Am I crazy?  Or is hating the week and loving the weekends just pointless? Why do you live for the weekends?

I started Beyond The Pedway with a Flip Cam, a laptop, Final Cut Express
and knowledge of video production.  (Those are Amazon affiliate links by the way.  Which means if you're starting your own web series, you can get all this cheaper than anywhere else).

While Beyond The Pedway isn't exactly Charlie Rose (yet), it's grown into more than I could have imagined when I started it 10 months ago.

That's pretty cool.

This post isn't about me, though.  And I'm definitely not saying Beyond The Pedway is crap.

This post is about us.  It's about you.

We have the opportunity today to become media creators and have very little stand in our way.  Whether you're Kevin Pollak or a sketch comedy group in Chicago, you can launch your own web series.

Or start your own podcast.

Or write your own book.

But if the tools are more accessible to everybody, and everybody can create anything now, does that mean more crap starts popping up?  Does the simplicity of creation result in more media that just sucks?

Our kids will grow up with the ability to stream hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows instantly in their living room.

Our kids will grow up with the ability to hear a song in the theater before Jim Gaffigan comes on stage, open up the Shazam app on their iPhone, find out what song is playing, and instantly download the song on their phone.

Our kids will grow up in a world where meeting a person who doesn't have a cell phone is totally weird.

Our kids will grow up with access to all the information of the world at their fingertips - literally.

Our kids will grow up paying all their bills online and buying stamps only for those rare instances where they have to send a paper check - in the mail.

It's mind blowing, really.

What excites you most for our kids as they grow up?

Are you my friend?

How exactly are you supposed to answer that question?  What if your definition of friend is different than my idea of a friend?

Have we exchanged cell numbers?
Have we ever played pool together?
Do we text regularly?
Have we gone bowling?
Do we chat on Gchat ever?
Do we ever email each other?
Are we Facebook friends?
Do we say "my brother" or use his actual name?
Do we chat on Twitter ever?
Do we both like the Ninja Turtles?

Does any of this matter?  Should we just say we're friends?  Is that too much of a commitment?

What does being friends mean to you?

Jacob loves cooking and has always wanted to open his own restaurant.  He prepared by working at a variety of restaurants all around town in various positions, read lots of entrepreneurial blogs and books, and met with those he considered great mentors.

Two and a half years later, Jacob opened his own restaurant.  After six months, Jacob's restaurant became the go to place in town.  The place was busy, always.  The more people that came, the more the word spread.

Jacob loved it.  His dream was becoming reality day by day.  He worked for himself, was pulling in a handsome income, and loved "working" as much as he did.

Five and a half years later, Jacob woke up one morning confused.  Something was off.  He was still pulling in a great income, he still worked for himself, and he still loved "working" so much.

Or did he?  That was it, Jacob thought to himself.  His passion was no longer passion; it was routine.

At what point does passion become routine?  When does doing what you love so much become just another pattern in your everyday life?  Is it possible for passion to always remain passion and not become routine?

Imagine you own a music production firm.  You create jingles for clients of all sizes for radio and television.

In fact, your composers create the best jingles anybody has ever heard.  There's nobody as talented as the composers at your firm.

But your sales team sucks.  You've had zero clients in the past six months and only two clients in the six months before that.  Your composers are now just as good at twiddling their thumbs as they are writing music.

On the flip side, your biggest competitor has the best sales team any firm could ask for.  They're signing clients faster than Starbucks is building stores.

But their composers are terrible.  You're convinced a cat dies every time a jingle these guys create is played.  Actually, probably two cats.

What's more important - the talent or the sales team?  Is one more important than the other or are they equally important?

As the saying goes, keep plenty of irons in the fire.  The more you've reached out, the more chance for opportunity.

On the flip side, you could instead concentrate on keeping the right irons in the fire, and not worrying about the irons that have little chance of generating opportunity.

How do you know which irons are the right ones and which are the wrong ones?  Does it help to throw'em all in at once and figure out which work the best over time?

When we're young, we experiment.  We explore the unknown world around us by trying new things and learning from what happens.

If we touch the stove and burn our finger, we learn not to touch the stove again.

If we start walking and fall, we remember what helped us walk and concentrate on that.

When we're young, we fail before learning how to succeed.  That's just human nature, right?

A lot of people criticize those who advocate this idea of failing a bunch before succeeding.  They think we should concentrate on succeeding, not failing.

I don't think we're concentrating on failing in these situations.  I think it's just natural that we fail and learn from our mistakes.

What do you think?  Is it natural to fail a lot in order to learn to succeed?

Things have been slow here, mostly due to an increasing focus on my Chicago web series Beyond The Pedway.  That focus continues with the launch of the Beyond The Pedway newsletter on January 7.

I'm going to be exercising my writing skills more with the newsletter, so if you enjoy my writing/style here, I encourage you to subscribe to the newsletter.

Also, if you're simply looking to get your company more involved with web video, I invite you to subscribe.  Every Thursday morning, you'll get tips, ideas, and techniques on how to tell your company's story with video on the web.  My goal is to share my knowledge and what I do through Beyond The Pedway with you every week to equip you to use online video for your company.

If you're a small business looking to get creative, web video is a great place to start.

Ready to join in the fun?