Storm Williams is the founder of Books for Soldiers (BooksForSoldiers.com) and today, Veterans Day 2009, is a great time to recognize this cause.

After the first Gulf War, Williams founded this 501(c)(3), realizing how much the paperback books he and his friends had sent to deployed military men and women had meant to soldiers under a lot of stress and with little to occupy their free time.

Books for Soldiers works on a very simple business model by requiring volunteers to register in order to gain access to the “wish list” of books provided by American service men and women. First, go to http://booksforsoldiers.com and click at the top of page on a link marked, “Volunteer Forum.”

Select a soldier or military unit that has requested books you would like to share. All branches of the US Military are listed and all of the soldiers who participate have been deployed. Books for Soldiers is a Not-For-Profit corporation registered in North Carolina. It is operated by a non-denominational, interfaith outreach ministry and is a 501(c)(3) charity recognized by the IRS, which means all donations are tax deductible.

For shipping the books, Books for Soldiers suggests FLAT RATE BOXES, available from the US Postal Service. Fill the box with books, CDs, and DVDs. You can ship them for only $8.10, no matter where they are going. Some volunteers use other much appreciated items like candy as packing material.

Isn’t this an amazing social/philanthropic/for-the-good-of-another-human effort? Nearly $3 MILLION in books, DVDs, and CDs were distributed last year alone.

And as a business model, isn’t it equally amazing? It’s a database with a social media marketing effort behind it. As Storm Williams says, “We were using Social Media Marketing before anyone was calling it that.”

Books for Soldiers on Facebook

Books for Soldiers on MySpace

Books for Soldiers on Twitter

If you are not overworked, overwhelmed, or just plain “over it!” (and don’t know anyone who is) then Kevin Hogan’s new book, The 168 Hour Week, may not be such a treasure for you.

BUT, who does that really apply to? Most people long for more balance in their life; they strive to work more time-efficiently, making more money, and yet still carving out a viable personal space for themselves. And no one seems to feel the pressure of this more than consultants, solopreneurs, small business people, the self employed and everyone who works for a company that expects them to be “all things to all people”.

Here’s what Kevin Hogan says about his newest book, The 168 Hour Week:

“If you are tired of other people running your life and want to call your own plays, you will find this book to have the answers no one else will ever talk about. Controversial? You bet. And I promise the book doesn’t let you go. There’s no B.S. airy fairy stuff here. It’s the real nuts and bolts of life. Beating procrastination in ways you’ve never considered. Becoming productive, today. Getting stuff done. Throwing out the old Time Management Planners that didn’t work…at all…for anyone…and living a life you can be proud of. And perhaps most importantly….to have fun!”

And now is the perfect time to buy, during Kevin’s “Amazon run”. Everyone who buys the book in the next few day, from Amazon, receives hundreds (actually, it may be thousands) of dollars in downloadable gifts from leading authors and top professionals in related fields.

Here’s what to do to take advantage of this special offer (and if you are not familiar with the concept of an “Amazon Run” this is a great insight into how to use this technique to reward your clients and increase your own book sales):

The 168 Hour Week: Living Life Your Way 24-7

Pick up the book at amazon.com  and then take your pick of any or all of many really nice gifts. Right now, do this…

Step 1) Get The 168 Hour Week from Amazon.com.

Step 2) You will immediately receive your receipt from Amazon in your e-mail box. You’ll forward that receipt to Kevin at this e-mail address: mytime@kevinhogan.com

Step 3) Upon validation, you will receive, immediately via e-mail, your access to your secret web page where you will find downloads and links to all of your gifts!

Imagine a tiny camera, designed to be worn around the neck, that photographs your life as it happens, automatically clicking away, as often as once every 30 seconds.

If the idea wasn’t so creepy, it just might be compelling. But get used to it, because Microsoft is already involved, which means that the consumer life camera (scheduled for release in 2010) is realistically just around the corner.

According to the New Scientist,

Schedule this live event into your day— today—if you possibly can. First, it will be coming to you from the very exciting BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Las Vegas. Second, and most importantly, Mari Smith and Mark Eldridge will be sharing information about important opportunities for anyone who uses, tries to use, or just wonders about social media as a viable tool for engagement and relationship building.

International Social Media Association

FRIDAY, October 16, 1:30 PM EST; 10:30 AM PST.  Click on this link to RSVP: http://ustre.am/6RkX

Click here to view the embedded video.

Join Mari Smith and learn more about the:

International Social Media Association

FRIDAY, October 16, 1:30 PM EST; 10:30 AM PST.  Click on this link to RSVP: http://ustre.am/6RkX

International Social Media Association

What are you doing Friday? … this Friday October 16?

Interested in learning more about an exceptional new experience in social media? Be sure you tune in to a very special “Meet and Greet” with the President of the International Social Media Association, Mari Smith.

Mari will be LIVE on a UStream broadcast direct from Blogworld Expo. She’ll be sharing exciting information about the International Social Media Association, and what it means to you as a consultant, coach, entrepreneur, businessperson, social media junkie, or even social media rookie.

Want to know more about becoming a Social Media Professional? A Social Media Consultant? Social Media Specialist? Social Media Strategist? Or just interested in learning more in general?

Save the date: FRIDAY, October 16, 1:30 PM EST; 10:30 AM PST.

Click on this link to RSVP: http://ustre.am/6RkX

Have you wondered where the thoughts and energies of young entrepreneurs are focused, during these challenging economic times? Ernst & Young recently conducted a global survey, which included 95 US participants, all of whom have been winners or finalists in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

The results are very interesting, but before we tell you more, try this simple litmus test for yourself. It may reveal a lot about whether you are best suited for the corporate community or are more geared to handle an entrepreneurial future.

• In today’s challenging economy, are you more concerned about pursuing new markets/new clients or are you more focused on finding ways to cut costs?

We love simple, easy-to-follow instructions and resources that make it pleasurable to understand concepts or learn new material. In fact, everything about learning should be fun, but as a teaching strategy, this hasn’t necessarily caught on. Not all educators have figured this out, nor would they necessarily have the confidence to apply “fun” to their curriculum and lesson plan.

So with no additional fanfare to distract from its simplicity and effectiveness, we give you Google’s own video explaining the difference between search engines and browsers. (And even if you already know the difference, watch the video anyway … it’s short but extremely well done.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Randy Block is a career transition coach and consultant—an Obvious Expert in his field. He has an interesting article, “10 Ways To Blow An Interview” that you can find on his website www.randyblock.com.

While his advice is very helpful for face-to-face encounters, we think it carries just as much relevance for social media marketing. So we applied his 10 strategies, but instead of including his explanations for what these strategies mean in a job interview, we looked at them from a different perspective.

Here’s a social media marketer’s spin on Randy’s 10 tips for blowing that all important job interview, and remember, this is what NOT to do:

Stop juggling. You need a social media plan.

You can’t just Twitter occasionally or upload a YouTube video and expect it to work for you. A blog post or two each month won’t improve your business nor will a Facebook page that you update sporadically. Let’s face it, you really can’t ‘dabble’ in social media marketing and expect to see meaningful results.

Just as importantly, there is no single magic bullet among the social media platforms that will quickly and consistently turn consumers into clients or help you deepen your existing client relationships. You have to do it all and you have to do it with some measure of regularity.

So what do we mean by all?