WallyConger.com

Quite a few diehard Sherlockians are bitching about Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the new movie starring Robert Downey Jr. as the great detective.

Two years ago, of course, these same folks were grousing about the first movie in this franchise.

They complain that Downey’s too short, too hairy, too rumpled, and (egad!) too American to be Holmes.

They think there are too many explosions and there’s way too much gunplay.

In general, they grumble that this new Sherlock isn’t the sleuth they love from the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

And they’re right.

But that’s been the case with almost every movie or TV version of Holmes.

For example, the fondly remembered Basil Rathbone movies from the 1940s were set in (then) contemporary England during World War II, not in the beloved Victorian era.

More than 75 percent of the actors who’ve played Holmes have been much too old for the character as fashioned by his creator.

And until a few years ago, poor Watson was always portrayed as an inept fool, not the sharp, stalwart companion he really is.

But Sherlock’s survived all these variations, and revisions, and reworkings. Doyle’s original is as popular as ever.

How come?

Well, it’s because in creating the detective, Doyle built an unforgettable, rock-solid, powerful brand.

It’s a brand that’s still so dominant after more than a century that people can monkey with it forever and the “real thing” remains intact and untarnished.

Wouldn’t it be terrific if you and your business were branded as strongly?

It can happen. And you can make it happen pretty damn quickly as we rocket toward the start of a brand new year.

http://tinyurl.com/7afrpe6

Why not give it a try?

Right this minute, I have 2,542 Facebook friends.

At the risk of causing hurt feelings, maybe that’s just too damn many.

(Don’t fret. If you’re among them, I won’t “unfriend” you suddenly — unless you really provoke me, of course.)

Thing is, Seth Godin got me re-thinking Facebook in a recent blog post about “social media noise.”

What he pointed out was that when we focus on only increasing our numbers, our soapbox may grow quickly but our audience loses its focus and responsiveness.

In social media, he said, more noise ain’t necessarily better noise.

When you have big numbers, Godin wrote, it may look like you’re winning, “but it’s actually a double-edged form of losing. First, you’re polluting a powerful space, turning signals into noise and bringing down the level of discourse for everyone. And second, you’re wasting your time when you could be building a tribe instead, could be earning permission, could be creating a channel where your voice is actually welcomed.”

His advice: “Relentlessly focus. Prune your message and your list and build a reputation that’s worth owning and an audience that cares.”

Makes sense to me. In fact, direct response giants like Gary Halbert and Dan Kennedy told me pretty much the same thing 15 or more years ago. I’d just put their counsel aside when I moved my business onto the internet.

Next time you start accepting friend and follower requests willy-nilly in your social media of choice, ask yourself…

Am I just creating more noise…or am I building a platform for creating better noise?