This really works — I’ve done it before.
1:00 - The two conditions for hacking someone’s mind.
1:28 – Explanation of Delicious.
3:00 - The importance of the ‘Notes’ section.
4:06 - How to get hired through using Delicious.
5:36 – Find smart people and do what I did.
6:00 – How to find smart people.
7:36 – Contact the people who are influential.
To join Delicious bookmarks, click here. To download the Delicious extension for Firefox, click here.
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8/3/11 UPDATE: Chuck Rylant created a “How to Hack Someone’s Mind for Dummies” video, explaining how to find people on Delicious (which I didn’t really cover in the above clip):
Chuck also put together a written explanation of this method, which I was too lazy to write myself. Enter Chuck:
Charlie’s premise is that by paying very close attention to an expert’s actions on Delicious.com, you can understand their thinking on a much deeper level. Since I had never used Delicious, the site was not very intuitive for me. I followed Charlie’s instructions, then proceeded to beat my head against the computer for a couple of hours. The instructions were great for the experienced Delicious user, but if you’ve never used the site, you were bound to be confused.
Charlie used Ramit Sethi as his example in the video, which ended up being the cause for confusion due to the fact that Ramit has no open network that you can view (which was one of Charlie’s major points). [NOTE: Chuck's video above shows how he was able to work out this issue.]
A second part of Charlie’s premise is that what you discover through Delicious can help you infer ways to add value to the expert, and possibly begin the mentor/mentee relationship. Charlie discussed this point at length in his video interview with Lewis Howes on how he has connected and worked with several bestselling authors. In this hour-long interview, Charlie suggests getting to know them from their online presence and then finding a small way to provide value. And the key was, instead of merely offering to do it, just do it. That idea is magic.
To sum up, this part of the post serves two purposes. First, I hope the content provides a little value to the reader. Secondly, it serves as proof that this concept can work. I used Charlie’s blog and Delicious to find a very small place to provide him a little value. I didn’t wait and ask permission, I just created the video and article, sent it to him, and now you’re reading it. So if you want to connect with someone or do a guest post, what are you waiting for? The formula is here.
It’s funny I actually found this article through Tucker’s delicious account. Good explanation for new players though.
By: Mark on January 8, 2009
at 3:22 pm
I had no idea the “Network” section of Delicious exists…this is way more efficient than reviewing blogrolls and RSS subscribers to determine who the influencers are.
I wonder if any one has aggregated the Delicious “Network” data, a la Twitter followers/following, to understand who the true influencers are in a given topic.
By: Matt on January 8, 2009
at 11:05 pm
Delicious networks is, by far, the best way I’ve found for finding great stuff without having to waste a lot of time.
By: charhoehn@gmail.com on January 8, 2009
at 11:13 pm
This is so true. It’s funny, I also found this post through Tucker Max’s delicious account.
The notes section is so key. Because of that I was able to see Tucker commenting on your cadence. If I knew anything about being on camera (which I don’t) I would’ve done exactly the same thing you did with Ramit.
Anyway, I definitely agree with what you’re saying. All around solid post.
By: LYF on January 9, 2009
at 7:29 pm
[...] Start using Delicious to bookmark your favorite content. Then go to your bookmarks page and see who else is tagging the site (I shamefully stole this idea from Charlie Hoehn’s video, here). [...]
By: Finding Great Content: Optimizing your RSS, Google Reader on January 11, 2009
at 11:09 pm
Tucker’s movie is going to be sick! I can’t wait! Found you through his blog
keep up the good work chazza…
By: Slammer on January 12, 2009
at 7:06 pm
[...] thing is that he made a great video blog (a vlog?) a couple of days ago about the best ways to use a social bookmarking site called Delicious. He [...]
By: How to get a massive spike in traffic in one easy step : Writersbloc.co.uk on January 13, 2009
at 9:58 am
[...] My logic went something like this (and was partially revised after viewing Charlie Hoehn’s ‘How to Hack Someone’s Mind‘): [...]
By: The relevancy of procrastination, part 1 « The Blog of Glenn McLaurin on February 28, 2009
at 11:46 pm
nice video.. i enjoyed it
By: ayman on May 18, 2009
at 11:20 am
Well done video, informative. I was surprised at the lack of ‘um’ and ‘ah’s throughout, for what looked to be a non-scripted video. Nice job!
By: Jenn on May 18, 2009
at 5:51 pm
How about Google Bookmarks as opposed to delicious?
By: Gina on May 21, 2009
at 3:02 pm
Damn that’s insidious – But, thanks for your detailed post. I’m seriously gonna watch my step in Delicious.
By: Naveed on June 20, 2009
at 2:30 pm
[...] could write about myself from a different perspective. And then I remembered reading an article on How to Hack Someone’s Mind. And I thought, hey, why can’t I hack my own [...]
By: About Me – Blaisco on June 25, 2009
at 7:59 pm
Good video. Kudos!
It is great to hear an original idea with huge potential.
We all know that background research is important, but sometimes it is difficult to know how to go about it.
By: John Bardos on June 29, 2009
at 6:54 am
This is was a fun video. I need to get back on delicious.
By: Grant on August 14, 2009
at 7:52 am
Thanks for taking the effort to enlighten us about the benefits & advantages of Delicious. I really think i wanna subscribe to that now; that was a such a very convincing video ..
Thanks once again.
By: Haya on August 20, 2009
at 6:17 pm
[...] inspires us to engage our own passions. It also makes it easier to Mind Hack. Charlie Hoehn’s vlog describes how to use Delicious to Mind Hack (essentially find out the MO of) the people you want [...]
By: Mind Hacking « Life is Physical on August 28, 2009
at 3:30 pm
[...] moments I would most want to fast-forward to, it was very nice that Charlie Hoehn’s video had notes breaking the 9-minute vlog into chapters. So did Ramit Sethi’s post on 5 myths of personal [...]
By: Breaking long vlogs into chapters. Applause. « Life is Physical on August 28, 2009
at 3:39 pm
Thanks for the tips. You are right about doing your research, it takes time but is well worth it in the end.
By: Phil Dunseath on September 22, 2009
at 4:00 pm
this is great, but you don’t explain how to find a user on delicious and they don’t keep an open directory….how do you do it?
By: Robert on October 7, 2009
at 7:36 pm
Pretty sure I implied how I did this, but okay: I look at who is saving great articles (in my opinion) on delicious, glance through certain users’ bookmarks and networks, then add select users to my network who consistently save good articles. There aren’t really any shortcuts on this — it just takes time and effort!
By: charhoehn@gmail.com on October 26, 2009
at 1:56 am
[...] came across an interesting video post from Charlie Hoehn recently titled How to Hack Someones Mind which covers a simple but effective technique that I have been using for a couple of years now. The [...]
By: Learning From The Best | mhoad.com on October 26, 2009
at 12:14 am
Holy Crap! you’ve discovered what a bibliography is ! That’s Brilliant! You should totally tell someone about this, it could completely revolutionise how we evaluate research.
By: Simon on November 10, 2009
at 7:38 pm
[...] Hoehn talked about how to hack into someone’s mind by using Delicious bookmarks in this video. You might want to check it out while you’re here to get more out of Delicious bookmarks. His [...]
By: Harness the Power of the Internet: Delicious Bookmarks | Think Big Think Money on November 20, 2009
at 10:34 pm
Great post. I have been doing something very similar for years but I prefer StumbleUpon, probably because I use it more and was on it first.
Once you figure out how to get to them I find the keyword specific pages at StumbleUpon the fastest way to find both the most brilliant users for any subject and the top content that has been shared.
This strategy may also work on Reddit.
By: Gail - GrowMap on January 15, 2010
at 4:33 pm
[...] How to Hack Someone’s Mind « Hoehn’s Musings how to make use of delicious (tags: web) [...]
By: links for 2010-01-15 « Fantasising Zombies on January 15, 2010
at 7:03 pm
[...] while back I read Charlie Hoehn’s post on How to Hack Someone’s Mind, and was inspired to start using Delicious to figure out what my favorite authors & bloggers [...]
By: Using Delicious and Google Reader to Find New Content « The General Specific on May 25, 2010
at 11:20 pm
Can’t really say whether these tips will really help me hack some one’s mind or not, but the video certainly inspires me to do so. Great piece of work and thanks for sharing it here.
By: Job Career on June 21, 2010
at 12:07 am
Hey Charlie, just came across this from Ramit’s guest posting page. BRILLIANT deep research strategy. Been using delicious more and more lately, and decoding the value of this. Huge help. – Thanks.
p.s. did you survive the Tucker Max tour…? :)
By: Satya | Fierce Wisdom on September 21, 2010
at 2:34 pm
Glad you enjoyed! Yes, I’m still alive, but just barely.
By: charhoehn@gmail.com on September 22, 2010
at 6:52 pm
Fantastic. Thank you very much that you shared a noble concept. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. You have given ur best in this video. I mean it. Thanks once again. Take Care. :)
By: Pankaj on October 15, 2010
at 4:06 am
[...] Resources: How to Hack Someone’s Mind « Hoehn’s Musings [...]
By: Life Designed | 537 Days In, What Has Worked – The Life Design Project on December 15, 2010
at 5:17 pm
Hi Charlie!
Written a year ago and this post still doesn’t fail to amuse and amaze me.
I found you through Ramit’s guest posting page too. Oh man, the wonders of getting backlinks for INFLUENTIAL people ;-)
By: Jonha Revesencio | iJustDid.org on January 7, 2011
at 2:57 am
[...] Here’s a great specific case study of how working for free pays. If you’re wondering who they’re talking about, it’s this guy – Charlie Hoehn – and he outlines a great how-to strategy here. [...]
By: Networking F-ups and Missed Opportunities | ApplyMate Blog on January 11, 2011
at 6:53 pm
[...] This is a somewhat dated video, especially given Delicious’ somewhat uncertain fate, but it is the best example I’ve seen on how to stalk [...]
By: Being a Stalker Has its Perks | ApplyMate Blog on January 11, 2011
at 6:54 pm
Good stuff Charlie, you just added a swiss army knife to my internet stalking toolkit. ;-)
I just started adding some blogs I like, and tracked down some of the guest posts I’ve written on other sites to my delicious account. I’ll be doing more creative things with it, as per you suggestions, and putting on some of my favorite articles as well.
By: Alex Shalman on January 27, 2011
at 4:37 pm
[...] is a somewhat dated video, especially given Delicious’ somewhat uncertain fate, but it is the best example I’ve seen on how to use new networking and [...]
By: How to Optimize Your Job Search - New Networking | ApplyMate Blog on February 4, 2011
at 10:06 am
[...] then led me back to another post on Charlie Hoehn site about how to hacking into someones mind to find smart people who you respect and can learn from via [...]
By: Link trails and why they are good « Phil Dunseath on February 22, 2011
at 9:01 pm
I just discovered this video Charlie and it is brilliant. I really mean that. Here is a similar idea, but perhaps not as immediate, is looking at people’s Kindle pages and notes. I don’t think it is yet as popular, but I suspect it will be soon. Thanks for this excellent idea.
By: Chuck Rylant on July 30, 2011
at 6:52 pm
this is a great video. Delicious has always been my favourite bookmarking site.
By: advertising agency on August 12, 2011
at 1:13 am
What happened to the network feature of Delicious? If/when will it be back?
Thanks for the article and Chuck for the delicious help.
By: Bo Sun (@bosun120) on October 20, 2011
at 11:35 pm
[...] Delicious – This is my personal favorite. I use delicious to follow influencers and thought leaders to see the articles that they personally find interesting and valuable. Most often, they even include personal notes attached to each article shared, or parts they specifically highlighted. It’s a great way to “hack a person’s mind,” so to speak. Read this for more. [...]
By: Harnessing the Power of Network Intelligence on March 23, 2012
at 3:27 pm