I met Andy Sernovitz on my USS Nimitz Trip and I was so impressed with his thoughts on word of mouth marketing. He is truly a WOM expert. This podcast talks about the four most relevant points for WOM: be interesting, make people happy, make it easy and earn trust. Andy talked to me on the show about how he does this for big brands. Find his book on Amazon, or check out his blog: Damn I wish I’d Thought of that.

I recently met Pam Slim, a successful author and blogger on the USS Nimitz trip in late May 2009. I was so impressed with her ability to speak four languages, juggle two kids and write a successful blog and now a new book that I had to interview her. Her book Escape From Cubicle Nation is gaining momentum and is found in bookstores and on Amazon.com. Check it out. In the meantime, listen to how Pam tells me what she did to launch her new book with social media tools. She especially loves Twitter. Who doesn’t these days?

One night while on board the USS Nimitz, and sitting in Read Admiral John Miller’s “office”, the bloggers and I listened while he explained the important role the USS Nimitz, the strike group and the Navy play. Admiral Miller explained to the group how the Nimitz was ready to go on a deployment, and he describes where they could go and the role of the Navy in other parts of the world. The sounds of the fighter jets taking off and landing provides interesting background audio. The podcast is 12 minutes.

It’s 7:30AM on our second day on the USS Nimitz and the 15 bloggers and I joined lots of the enlists for breakfast. After eating eggs, bacon and juice, I captured Petty Officer John Hardy for a short conversation. Petty Officer Hardy has been in the navy 10 years, and is a maintenance worker repairing guns and the aircraft. From Grand Rapids Michigan, Hardy joined the Navy to get a college education and grow up with more opportunities. He talks to me about the challenges of his work as well as his travel to Dubai. Photo credit of mess hall: Guy Kawasaki

At midnight while on board of the USS Nimitz, I caught up with Lia Reynolds, the Corporate Staff Judge Advocate. She’s been in the Navy for 12 years, and her “primary client” is the US Navy. She’s in love with her work, and is happy to not work in the world of corporate law. She sees herself with the Navy for at least another 8 years.

With amazing candor, Luis Delgado, talked to me about his most intense thoughts as a F-18 pilot. Flying off the USS Nimitz at night into a pitch blackness that can scare him so much he screams into his mask, Delgado admitted to me that he feels like he “dies a little death every day”. Delgado loves his work, but has such tension that he suffers from insomnia. He admits that these feelings are not unusual for fighter pilots, and that the Navy cannot really train the pilots to deal with the fear, but can only hope that they can learn the skills to get the job done. Talking to him made me happy to have pilots like Delgado protecting our country.

This video is also on YouTube in the TallSky Channel, a great source of Navy content.

U.S. based bloggers including Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, and Charlene Li among many others joined an expedition sponsored by the Navy to view the USS Nimitz and its operations. On May 29-30th, these bloggers met many of the 5000 person Nimitz crew and were treated to tours of the ship and conversations with the officers and pilots. The goal of the Navy was to expose these bloggers to the real-life situations faced by many of the crew and to learn more about social media.

Blogger’s Embark photos from the USS Nimitz are available on Flickr.

What an incredible 24 hours I had on the USS Nimitz. I have many podcasts that I am editing that I will post over the next week, but here is one short video clip taken by Guy Kawasaki of what it was like standing on the flight deck of the Nimitz. Guy invited me on this trip which was just the most exciting adventure I had. It also began on my birthday, May 28 so what a present!

In preparation for the embark for the USS Nimitz trip, I was sent the following terms to learn by Dennis Hall. Dennis is the man in the middle of the picture here along with Guy Kawasaki and Bill Reichert of Garage Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Guy. We embark on Thursday May 29th from San Diego and return May 30th. I am a bit nervous as I don’t know what to expect despite having been well prepared by the Navy and Dennis Hall.

Navy & Marine Corps terms:
Activity = Evolution
Arresting Cable
Arresting Hook
Back of Ship = Stern
Bed = Berth
Bed = Rack
Blue Angels = Navy Air Demonstration Squadron fly F-18s
Bolter = Pilot missed arresting cable on landing attempt
Bow = Front of Ship
Bridge = Commanding Officers’ station
Brig = Jail
Call sign, e.g. “Daddy”, “Garage”, “Slick”, “Woz”
Carrier Onboard Delivery = COD aircraft or C-2 Greyhound
Catapult Launch = “Cat launch”
Commander, Naval Air Forces – Pacific = COMNAVAIRPAC
Commanding Officer = CO
CO = Commanding Officer
CVN = “aircraft carrier, fixed wing, nuclear powered”
Executive Officer = XO
Dining = Mess
Dining Area = Mess Deck
Distinguished Visitor = “DV”
Drink = Pacific Ocean’s water
DV = Distinguished Visitor
Food = Chow
Front of Ship = Bow
General Quarters
Hallway = Passageway
Jail = Brig
Landing = “Trap”
Landing = Recovery
Left = Port
Left side of ship = Portside
Manifest = Boarding Pass
Marines or Marine
Meal = Chow
Mess = Dining
Mess Deck = Dining Area
Military Occupational Specialty (military job) = MOS
MOS = Military Occupational Specialty (military job)
Pace = Operational Tempo or “Ops Tempo”
PAO = Public Affairs Officer
Personnel … Enlisted … Petty Officer … Officer
Public Affairs Officer = PAO
Right side of ship = Starboard side
Sailor = Warrior
Semper fi = Semper fidelis
Stack
Starboard = Right
Stern = Back of ship
Training Officer = TO
Take-off = Catapult Launch if fixed-wing aircraft
Tired = Beat
Window = Porthole
Windshield = Wind screen
XO = Executive Officer
You = Distinguished Visitor or “DV”

On May 29th, 2009 a group of bloggers including Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, and Charlene Li (in addition to me) will be flying via a navy plane to the USS Nimitz. The ship holds 5,000 people and will be out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Bloggers and I will join the crew and captain for 20 hours of “ship bonding”. Why is the Navy doing this? I asked Dennis Hall, the group’s organizer and volunteer who nominates civilians to the Public Affairs Officers of the 7 military services. They are doing it to have the Navy get better “word of mouth” marketing among the world. Dennis also explains the entire trip to the Marketing Voices audience which will include a fast stop of the airplane as it lands and moves from 140 mph to 0 mph in just one second. Dennis says the people’s bodies on the plane will feel like a pufferfish.

To contact Dennis Hall, who is featured in this podcast, please go to AvereGroup.Wordpress.com or call: 916-541-1992