#378 tangible

I wrote yesterday about my friends who were in town.  As if their visit alone wasn't enough, they brought me a present -- one of the greatest gifts I have ever received.  They took the first 365 entries of this blog, had a student designer format them and make them beautiful, and then they printed it into a spiral bound book!  It even has a QR code on the back to allow you to access the more recent entries.  It is AWESOME.

Somehow seeing all these entries in one place makes it seem much more tangible and substantial than "just" writing a blog every day.  It feels like when I hit publish it goes off into cyberspace and is gone, rather than accumulated.  But the printed version has that sense of permanence and tactile wonder.

I know that the electronic world is where it's at for messaging, branding and the like.  But just as a handwritten note has a different level of meaning, so does holding something in print.  

How can you give your clients a tangible element of who you are?  What can you provide that can last more than a fleeting moment on a Twitter feed or Facebook post?  What portion of your messaging is worthy of being printed and shared?

Instantaneous has its place, but so does longevity.  I am so glad that I was the lucky recipient of the legacy in print.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com