Peter Shankman
Founder of HARO, public speaker & best-selling author
Discussion
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
Hey guys! I'm Peter Shankman, the guy who founded Help a Reporter, the site that changed how journalists find sources and people find PR. I'm an author, (including two bestsellers on the customer economy), and I spend most of my time nowadays speaking to corporations around the world about the customer economy, being a talking head on news programs, and running ShankMinds, an online business mastermind community for a few hundred brilliant entrepreneurs. I'm also an Ironman Triathlete, Dad, and "B" licensed skydiver. Thrilled to be here, ask me anything!
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Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Peter! PR and news/media in general, has changed so much in the past decade. What will it look like in a decade?
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@rrhoover You tell me, superstar! You first came to me with the idea for PH, and I remember telling you you had something, and were going to change the game, just like I did with HARO. And you did. I'm proud of you. Re: News: Much more on-demand - I see reporters/journalists writing/reporting in an on-demand world, rather than assigned times/places.
Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
@petershankman that feels so long ago now. 😀
To your point, information and news is traveling faster (and from more people with Twitter, Snapchat, live video streaming) than ever before. It makes me wonder, what won't be documented and reported in the future?
casie millhouse
@casielane · Singapore Director, SheWorx
Hi Peter, Would love to know what hobbies or sports you did as a kid. What skills or lessons from them had the biggest impact on your life?
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@casielane I was big into computers - Got my first Apple iiE, and worked on a TRS-80 in school. I was heavy into music and performing arts, (Went to LaGuardia HS,) and that saved me more than once. Didn't get into sports until I turned 25, started running.
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
Hi Peter, what were your biggest challenges when you first set up HARO? How did you overcome these?
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@ems_hodge Explaining to people that we existed and they needed to use us. The hardest thing to do is to get people to understand there's a need for what you do, when they don't know what you do exists. Once they found out, it was easy. So for me, the biggest challenge was constantly promoting HARO.
Harry Stebbings
@harrystebbings · Podcast Host @ The Twenty Minute VC
@petershankman awesome to speak again having had you on the podcast. My question is how have you seen you decision making change when it comes to investing in startups? Always great to speak and hope you are well.
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@harrystebbings Thanks, Harry! For me, it's all about the team - How well they've done their homework for our first meeting usually sets the tone for whether I'll invest.
Andrew Ettinger
@andrewett · Product Marketing, Twitter (ex-PH)
What are you most excited about in the next five years?
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@andrewett The customer economy - That's everything from the Internet of Things to Uber, from Automation to lack of actually "owning." I've gotten rid of about 65% of the stuff I own over the past two years, and it's been SO DAMN FREEING! Of course, my wife and kid have more than made up for what space I reclaimed, but... yeah. Where we are now will seem like ancient history in five years. Could you have told me in 2002 that we'd be ordering food from our phones while waiting for a car to pick us up and tracking it in real-time as it approached?? Awesomeness. I love what's coming down the pike. I'm an investor in @namely, and they're reinventing HR - Imagine businesses not having to have an HR department anymore, because it's all in the cloud? Just awesome.
Ross Currie
@ross_currie
Happy Monday, Peter! With as crazy a professional and personal schedule as you keep, what are your favorite tips and tools (apps or otherwise) for keeping your life organized and running efficiently?
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@ross_currie Hi, Ross! :D I live and die by Wunderlist, Google Maps, Samsung Smart Things, an app called Productive, TripIt, the @United app, and the @spg app. My house is entirely Z-Waved, so that helps. Of course, my life is dictated by @runkeeper, @withings, and @myfitnesspal - Without those last three, I'd be on the couch, soaking in pizza grease all the time.
Jacqueline von Tesmar
@jacqvon · Community, Product Hunt ✌️😻
What's one piece of advice you constantly find yourself giving?
Craig App Man Caruso
@craigcaruso · CarusoApps.com
Is the Instagram feed change a good or bad thing?
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@craigcaruso If you create good content, people will see it. That's always the case. If not enough people are seeing your content, CREATE BETTER CONTENT. Don't waste your time blaming the app.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
If you had a billion dollars what would you do with it?
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Peter Shankman
@peter_shankman
@bentossell Put $10mm in tax free bonds and live off the interest, give away $800mm to good, well managed charities, and give the last $195mm to my investment guy at Oppenheimer and let him take care of it. I don't need a lot to survive. Quite the opposite, in fact. The majority of my investments are for my kid.