With each new technological introduction, comes new ways for the public to find ways to make it more efficient. Sometimes, that's a good thing; other times, not so much.
Social media, which traces origins back to the late 1990s (see my previous blog post on this), was perceived by companies as an alternative to traditional marketing -- it was far less expensive; but required an investment of time that traditional advertising didn't demand. However, the impact had far more potential.
Enter Facebook - probably the most famous social media application today. There are, as many of you know, two different types of Facebook 'users' -- individuals (like you and me), and companies (which users like us can "like" and subscribe to their updates).
What I've noticed though, more recently, from both users and entities, is far less of the "social" aspect of social media. Way too many users will post something - maybe something funny - and then, never revisit the original post. This is removing the social from social media.
Why is this? Apart from the usual apathy (which always exists, of course), is the rise in "efficiencies." Accessing Facebook via a mobile device typically doesn't allow the user to view comments made to his/her status. Using applications like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite enable users to make one post from a remote application that posts to all social networks simultaneously. Even more insidious now - there are applications that allow a user to pick (or randomly have chosen) a semi-comical status update that isn't even the user's own words.
I'm not necessarily complaining about the steady stream of applications. Facebook, thankfully, allows you to hide those updates (so I don't need to read about the 55 friends that are using Farmville); but I'm grateful that I see them at least once, as it provides more insight to my friends' interests, and - occasionally - introduces me to something I like (see my recent love affair with Warstorm). I'm referring entirely to the conversations that *should* be prevalent on the site.
All of this threatens the foundation of social media. When you take the social out; when users sign on to be greeted by a steady stream of one-way communication directed *AT* them, and their attempts to engage in conversation are ignored ... well, we're almost right back where we started, aren't we?
It's imperative - as a user - that you not only participate in the conversation by posting new, interesting threads; but that you participate by engaging other users in their conversations, and that you respond to and engage those users who participate in your conversations.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Why You Should Be Using RSS - the addendum
One of my earliest blog posts dealt with Why You Should Be Using RSS to greatly improve your online experience. In that post, I provided the basics of setting up and organizing your RSS reader, as well as 3 "advanced" steps for dealing with situations where an RSS feed is not available.
The trickiest of those situations was mailing lists and items usually sent to email (like LinkedIn discussions and YahooGroups messages). I outlined a method where you could have those messages sent to a blogger.com email address, which would post the messages to a blog and you could subscribe to it in your reader.
Then, a few weeks ago, one of the admins from one of the groups threw a hissy-fit, when he didn't understand what I was doing (and, rather than working with me to find a solution to the problem, he opted to ban me, causing all sorts of difficulties with getting reinstated (and, then, he decided to insult me repeatedly for his unwise, hasty actions - class act he was!)). You can read that whole debacle here.
Nevertheless, I persevered, and have FINALLY found a method by which you can capture those messages withouth having to use your email service - and, it's easier than my initial recommendation!
So, here's the new and improved - how to get email messages (like newsletters) into your RSS reader.
Step 1 - sign up for an email address at www.gmx.com -- other sites may work, as well, but this is the one I tested and worked with.
Step 2- send the emails/newletters you want to read in your RSS reader to that address (change each of your yahoo groups settings, etc.)
Step 3 - head over to www.xfruits.com and access the "mail-to-RSS" brick. You'll need to enter your user name (which is the full email address: xxxxx@gmx.com) and your password, and you'll need to enter the server information (pop.gmx.com). Then, click on the finished box and you should be prompted to subscribe to the feed in your reader (Google Reader, if you've followed what I've prescribed, all along).
And, that's it. The only *bug* I've found, so far, is that it seems to access the mailbox repeatedly and sends the same messages (although, that may have already worked itself out). In the end, that's a tiny speedbump in the grand scheme of things...
This step, along with the others I've suggested, will greatly speed up your ability to scour and read what's new and happening on the Web, in record time....
The trickiest of those situations was mailing lists and items usually sent to email (like LinkedIn discussions and YahooGroups messages). I outlined a method where you could have those messages sent to a blogger.com email address, which would post the messages to a blog and you could subscribe to it in your reader.
Then, a few weeks ago, one of the admins from one of the groups threw a hissy-fit, when he didn't understand what I was doing (and, rather than working with me to find a solution to the problem, he opted to ban me, causing all sorts of difficulties with getting reinstated (and, then, he decided to insult me repeatedly for his unwise, hasty actions - class act he was!)). You can read that whole debacle here.
Nevertheless, I persevered, and have FINALLY found a method by which you can capture those messages withouth having to use your email service - and, it's easier than my initial recommendation!
So, here's the new and improved - how to get email messages (like newsletters) into your RSS reader.
Step 1 - sign up for an email address at www.gmx.com -- other sites may work, as well, but this is the one I tested and worked with.
Step 2- send the emails/newletters you want to read in your RSS reader to that address (change each of your yahoo groups settings, etc.)
Step 3 - head over to www.xfruits.com and access the "mail-to-RSS" brick. You'll need to enter your user name (which is the full email address: xxxxx@gmx.com) and your password, and you'll need to enter the server information (pop.gmx.com). Then, click on the finished box and you should be prompted to subscribe to the feed in your reader (Google Reader, if you've followed what I've prescribed, all along).
And, that's it. The only *bug* I've found, so far, is that it seems to access the mailbox repeatedly and sends the same messages (although, that may have already worked itself out). In the end, that's a tiny speedbump in the grand scheme of things...
This step, along with the others I've suggested, will greatly speed up your ability to scour and read what's new and happening on the Web, in record time....
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) - #1
And so, we've reached the end of our countdown. This is the top book on my list of books all communicators (and business people) should read.
This book is somewhat of an anomaly: It's a book about social media, written well before any true social media channels even existed. It's a book that *every* book about social media written since then, pays tribute to (in fact, if there's a book about social media that you find that *doesn't* mention this book, just put the other book down - it will be useless to you).
It's a book that every CEO and marketing director should have read; but most likely, most didn't (and, they've probably suffered for it, on some level).
To those who know me, the book will come as no surprise -- I've championed the book for years now. The Cluetrain Manifesto is 10 years old this year, and yet, nearly every word resonates as strongly as it did when it was first released. Written by four authors (Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searsls, David Weinberger), the book foreshadowed the coming of what we term 'social media.'
I think it's important to identify social media -- too many people (including interviewers) ask, "do you know social media? Do you use Facebook and Twitter?" Facebook and Twitter are, in fact, quite useful channels for social media (just like blogs), but they are not all-encompassing of social media. Social media is more of a comprehensive movement -- one that embraces clear, conversational two-way communication over the previous standard jargon-filled, pompous writing of corporate America.
Facebook and Twitter were born out of the need for channels that would enable that type of communication; but it's infinitely more important to understand the concept (and the benefits) social media presents.
The book's name dervies from a quote from a veteran of a firm that free-fell out of the Fortune 500 -- "The clue train stopped there four times a day for ten years and they never took delivery."
Admittedly, the book is not easy to read. In fact, in the foreward, the guest author says, "...this is no feel-good book. Though the broad theme is overwhelmingly optimistic, the details will make you squirm. This is an obituary for business-as-usual. It reveals how the Internet has made your entry-level employees as powerful as your senior vice-president of marketing."
I've said many times the book is hard to get through. It's one of the most audacious, pretentious and condescending books I've ever read. The entire book, I felt annoyed with the authors - almost a feeling of "...who do these guys think they are?" And then, at the end of the book, you realize they really were the smartest guys in the room. It's certainly not a pleasant feeling; but it's one everyone owes to themselves to feel.
And, although you can buy it from Amazon, you can also read the entire book for free online. That's how important the book is, and how strongly the authors believe in what they wrote -- you can access the entire book (in PDF, ASCII or html format) on its website: www.cluetrain.com.
The book opens up with powerful content: "Corporate firewalls have kept smart employees in and smart markets out. It's going to cause real pain to tear those walls down..."
The book then launches into its 95 Theses (I warned you it was arrogant). Here's a sampling of some of the powerful ideas discussed there:
1. Markets are conversations.
2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
16. Companies that speak in the language of the pitch are no longer speaking to anyone.
17. Companies that assume online markets are the same markets that used to watch their ads on television are kidding themselves.
40. Companies that do not belong to a community of discourse will die.
45. Intranets naturally tend to route around boredom.
52. Paranoia kills conversation. But lack of open conversation kills companies.
74. We are immune to advertising. Just forget it.
94. To traditional corporations, networked conversations may appear confused, may sound confusing. But, we are organizing faster than they are. We have better tools, more new ideas, no rules to slow us down.
95. We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting.
The book is about 180 pages long, and each page, basically, begs companies (and marketing professionals) to change the way they communicate -- with their customers and with their colleagues. There are seven LONG chapters that - as stated above - are fairly difficult to get through; but the end result is worth it.
To put the book's impact into perspective, here's a brief list of the services launched AFTER Cluetrain:
Smart companies have already adopted what the authors recommended; for some companies, there may still be time to salvage their operations; for others, it's already too late (something the recent recession probably accelerated).
This book is somewhat of an anomaly: It's a book about social media, written well before any true social media channels even existed. It's a book that *every* book about social media written since then, pays tribute to (in fact, if there's a book about social media that you find that *doesn't* mention this book, just put the other book down - it will be useless to you).
It's a book that every CEO and marketing director should have read; but most likely, most didn't (and, they've probably suffered for it, on some level).
To those who know me, the book will come as no surprise -- I've championed the book for years now. The Cluetrain Manifesto is 10 years old this year, and yet, nearly every word resonates as strongly as it did when it was first released. Written by four authors (Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searsls, David Weinberger), the book foreshadowed the coming of what we term 'social media.'
I think it's important to identify social media -- too many people (including interviewers) ask, "do you know social media? Do you use Facebook and Twitter?" Facebook and Twitter are, in fact, quite useful channels for social media (just like blogs), but they are not all-encompassing of social media. Social media is more of a comprehensive movement -- one that embraces clear, conversational two-way communication over the previous standard jargon-filled, pompous writing of corporate America.
Facebook and Twitter were born out of the need for channels that would enable that type of communication; but it's infinitely more important to understand the concept (and the benefits) social media presents.
The book's name dervies from a quote from a veteran of a firm that free-fell out of the Fortune 500 -- "The clue train stopped there four times a day for ten years and they never took delivery."
Admittedly, the book is not easy to read. In fact, in the foreward, the guest author says, "...this is no feel-good book. Though the broad theme is overwhelmingly optimistic, the details will make you squirm. This is an obituary for business-as-usual. It reveals how the Internet has made your entry-level employees as powerful as your senior vice-president of marketing."
I've said many times the book is hard to get through. It's one of the most audacious, pretentious and condescending books I've ever read. The entire book, I felt annoyed with the authors - almost a feeling of "...who do these guys think they are?" And then, at the end of the book, you realize they really were the smartest guys in the room. It's certainly not a pleasant feeling; but it's one everyone owes to themselves to feel.
And, although you can buy it from Amazon, you can also read the entire book for free online. That's how important the book is, and how strongly the authors believe in what they wrote -- you can access the entire book (in PDF, ASCII or html format) on its website: www.cluetrain.com.
The book opens up with powerful content: "Corporate firewalls have kept smart employees in and smart markets out. It's going to cause real pain to tear those walls down..."
The book then launches into its 95 Theses (I warned you it was arrogant). Here's a sampling of some of the powerful ideas discussed there:
1. Markets are conversations.
2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
16. Companies that speak in the language of the pitch are no longer speaking to anyone.
17. Companies that assume online markets are the same markets that used to watch their ads on television are kidding themselves.
40. Companies that do not belong to a community of discourse will die.
45. Intranets naturally tend to route around boredom.
52. Paranoia kills conversation. But lack of open conversation kills companies.
74. We are immune to advertising. Just forget it.
94. To traditional corporations, networked conversations may appear confused, may sound confusing. But, we are organizing faster than they are. We have better tools, more new ideas, no rules to slow us down.
95. We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting.
The book is about 180 pages long, and each page, basically, begs companies (and marketing professionals) to change the way they communicate -- with their customers and with their colleagues. There are seven LONG chapters that - as stated above - are fairly difficult to get through; but the end result is worth it.
To put the book's impact into perspective, here's a brief list of the services launched AFTER Cluetrain:
- Wikipedia
- Second Life
- MySpace
- iTunes
- Flickr
- World of Warcraft
- YouTube
- Podcasts
Smart companies have already adopted what the authors recommended; for some companies, there may still be time to salvage their operations; for others, it's already too late (something the recent recession probably accelerated).
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) - #2
I know I've prefaced this book countdown by saying these books are must-reads for communicators and business people, but that mantra really holds through for these final two books.
A quick background - when I was younger, in middle school, my career goal was to be a sabermetrician. There's no listing for that position in the Department of Labor. Basically, it was a term coined by Bill James, to reflect interest in baseball statistics and new ways to interpret them.
So, in 9th grade, I was taking an independent study course, and my project was going to be to write a book about sabermetrics. I was unable to reach James, but I did find a willing mentor in Craig Wright, who was a contemporary of James; the main difference being that Wright was working for the Texas Rangers in that capacity.
One day, I asked him, "what courses do I need to focus on to become a sabermetrician?" And, he replied, without hesitating, "English." I was confused. I'd expected to hear something like statistics or algebra or calculus or accounting; why would English be important? I asked him if he'd heard my initial question, since his answer didn't seem to make sense. He said (and, I remember this as if it was yesterday - it may be the most meaningful comment I've ever heard in my life), "If you can't effectively communicate your findings, it's as good as never having done them in the first place."
So - communications matters to everyone - not just communicators. Smart business people know this.
Our #4 book, Made to Stick, is the top-rated writing-focused book on my list. While there are some books that are classics (like the great Elements of Style), this "writing" book is appropriate for all audiences.
And, in a definite change of pace from the rest of this list, the tips in this book are not dedicated to social media. Then again, good content is good content, regardless of the channel being used.
The authors (brothers Chip and Dan Heath) term content that is memorable as "sticky," and they list six factors that contribute to stickiness:
The book opens, inronically, with a story that is sticky while being completely untrue (but credible, so it qualifies as sticky). The story - the Kidney Heist - has been told time and again, and has preserved its stickiness by adhering to the six factors above (even though it's untrue). Such is the power of creating communication that is sticky.
There's not really a bad example in the book. I'm going to list two here that I have been lucky enough to remember to this day (but, by no means are these the only good examples -- the whole book is chock full of them).
1. (From the "Credible" section): The use of vivid details helps build credibility. An organization - Beyond War - wanted to address the following paradox: When we see a child running with scissors, we wince; but when we read newspaper articles about nuclear weapons, it provokes, at best, a moment of dismay.
To get their point across, the organization would arrange house parties where a representative would speak with guests. One common presentation would involve a metal bucket and BB pellets. At the appropriate point in the presentation, the speaker would take a metal BB out of his pocket and drop it in the empty bucket. "This is the Hiroshima bomb," he'd say, as the BB made a loud clatter. He'd then spend a few minutes describing the devastation of the bomb - the miles of flattened buildings, the tens of thousands killed instantly.
Then, he'd drop 10 BBs into the bucket. This clatter was louder and more chaotic. "This is the firepower of the missiles on one U.S. or Soviet nuclear submarine." Then, he'd ask the attendees to close their eyes. "This is the world's current arsenal of nuclear weapons," he'd say, as he poured 5,000 BBs into the bucket - one for every nuclear warhead in the world. The noise was startling and terrifying. The roar of the BBs went on and on, and then, there was always dead silence.
This is a great example of how to make something abstract more credible -- how to turn a statistic like 5,000 warheads into something meaningful. The demonstration added a sensory dimension to an otherwise abstract concept. It turned an abstract statistic into something sticky.
2. (From the "Unexpected" section): Nora Ephron, a famous screenwriter, started her career as a journalist. Her first day of journalism class in high school, she walked into the class with a sense of what a journalist does - they get the facts and report them. To get the facts, you track down the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why).
The teacher announced the first assignment. They would write the lead of a newspaper story for the school paper. The teacher reeled off the facts, "Kenneth Peters, principal of the high school, announced today that the entire high school faculty will travel to Sacramento next Thursday for a seminar on new teaching methods. Among the speakers will be anthropologist Margaret Mead, college professor Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchins and California governor Edmund "Pat" Brown."
The budding writers sat at their typewriters and pecked out their first leads. According to Ephron, she and most of the other students, produced leads that reordered the facts into one sentence, "Governor Pat Brown, Margaret Mead and Robert Maynard Hutchins will address the High School faculty Thursday in Sacramento ... blah, blah, blah."
The teacher collected the leads and scanned the rapidly. Then, he laid them aside and paused for a moment. Finally, he said, "The lead to the story is, 'There will be no school next Thursday!'"
There are two key points: 1) know your audience and 2) writing is more than just the 5 Ws; it also means figuring out the point and why it matters.
**************************************************
This is - by far - the best book on communicating I've ever read. Each example is powerfully chosen and the concept of "stickiness" is spot-on. If you're responsible for communicating, this is the book for you. But, even if it isn't your primary responsibility, this is a book for everyone to read. There's just too much good information here for the book to be dismissed as a "communications" book.
Next up - the #1 book, and the one that truly revolutionized the world of communications.
A quick background - when I was younger, in middle school, my career goal was to be a sabermetrician. There's no listing for that position in the Department of Labor. Basically, it was a term coined by Bill James, to reflect interest in baseball statistics and new ways to interpret them.
So, in 9th grade, I was taking an independent study course, and my project was going to be to write a book about sabermetrics. I was unable to reach James, but I did find a willing mentor in Craig Wright, who was a contemporary of James; the main difference being that Wright was working for the Texas Rangers in that capacity.
One day, I asked him, "what courses do I need to focus on to become a sabermetrician?" And, he replied, without hesitating, "English." I was confused. I'd expected to hear something like statistics or algebra or calculus or accounting; why would English be important? I asked him if he'd heard my initial question, since his answer didn't seem to make sense. He said (and, I remember this as if it was yesterday - it may be the most meaningful comment I've ever heard in my life), "If you can't effectively communicate your findings, it's as good as never having done them in the first place."
So - communications matters to everyone - not just communicators. Smart business people know this.
Our #4 book, Made to Stick, is the top-rated writing-focused book on my list. While there are some books that are classics (like the great Elements of Style), this "writing" book is appropriate for all audiences.
And, in a definite change of pace from the rest of this list, the tips in this book are not dedicated to social media. Then again, good content is good content, regardless of the channel being used.
The authors (brothers Chip and Dan Heath) term content that is memorable as "sticky," and they list six factors that contribute to stickiness:
- Simplicity (it can't be too complex)
- Unexpectednes (if the audience sees it coming, it won't capture their attention)
- Concreteness (ideas must be explained in human actions to avoid being ambiguous and/or meaningless)
- Credibility (if the information is too unbelievable, it won't be sticky)
- Emotional (you need to connect with the audience)
- Stories (metaphors and anecdotes resonate far more than abstract concepts)
The book opens, inronically, with a story that is sticky while being completely untrue (but credible, so it qualifies as sticky). The story - the Kidney Heist - has been told time and again, and has preserved its stickiness by adhering to the six factors above (even though it's untrue). Such is the power of creating communication that is sticky.
There's not really a bad example in the book. I'm going to list two here that I have been lucky enough to remember to this day (but, by no means are these the only good examples -- the whole book is chock full of them).
1. (From the "Credible" section): The use of vivid details helps build credibility. An organization - Beyond War - wanted to address the following paradox: When we see a child running with scissors, we wince; but when we read newspaper articles about nuclear weapons, it provokes, at best, a moment of dismay.
To get their point across, the organization would arrange house parties where a representative would speak with guests. One common presentation would involve a metal bucket and BB pellets. At the appropriate point in the presentation, the speaker would take a metal BB out of his pocket and drop it in the empty bucket. "This is the Hiroshima bomb," he'd say, as the BB made a loud clatter. He'd then spend a few minutes describing the devastation of the bomb - the miles of flattened buildings, the tens of thousands killed instantly.
Then, he'd drop 10 BBs into the bucket. This clatter was louder and more chaotic. "This is the firepower of the missiles on one U.S. or Soviet nuclear submarine." Then, he'd ask the attendees to close their eyes. "This is the world's current arsenal of nuclear weapons," he'd say, as he poured 5,000 BBs into the bucket - one for every nuclear warhead in the world. The noise was startling and terrifying. The roar of the BBs went on and on, and then, there was always dead silence.
This is a great example of how to make something abstract more credible -- how to turn a statistic like 5,000 warheads into something meaningful. The demonstration added a sensory dimension to an otherwise abstract concept. It turned an abstract statistic into something sticky.
2. (From the "Unexpected" section): Nora Ephron, a famous screenwriter, started her career as a journalist. Her first day of journalism class in high school, she walked into the class with a sense of what a journalist does - they get the facts and report them. To get the facts, you track down the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why).
The teacher announced the first assignment. They would write the lead of a newspaper story for the school paper. The teacher reeled off the facts, "Kenneth Peters, principal of the high school, announced today that the entire high school faculty will travel to Sacramento next Thursday for a seminar on new teaching methods. Among the speakers will be anthropologist Margaret Mead, college professor Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchins and California governor Edmund "Pat" Brown."
The budding writers sat at their typewriters and pecked out their first leads. According to Ephron, she and most of the other students, produced leads that reordered the facts into one sentence, "Governor Pat Brown, Margaret Mead and Robert Maynard Hutchins will address the High School faculty Thursday in Sacramento ... blah, blah, blah."
The teacher collected the leads and scanned the rapidly. Then, he laid them aside and paused for a moment. Finally, he said, "The lead to the story is, 'There will be no school next Thursday!'"
There are two key points: 1) know your audience and 2) writing is more than just the 5 Ws; it also means figuring out the point and why it matters.
**************************************************
This is - by far - the best book on communicating I've ever read. Each example is powerfully chosen and the concept of "stickiness" is spot-on. If you're responsible for communicating, this is the book for you. But, even if it isn't your primary responsibility, this is a book for everyone to read. There's just too much good information here for the book to be dismissed as a "communications" book.
Next up - the #1 book, and the one that truly revolutionized the world of communications.
Monday, May 10, 2010
When the Unemployed Get Some Power ... Watch Out!
When you're unemployed, your ego and self-esteem goes on a bit of a roller-coaster ride. For example, each time I meet someone who *is* employed, and seems to not be doing his/her job particularly well, I find myself wondering to myself, "Yeah...and *I'm* unemployed."
(For example - just today - I was food shopping. One grocery store had an advertised sale on lobster tails (extremely cheap). When I asked for them, the sales associate told me they had none, because, "his manager had ordered very light for the weekend..." Really? On a holiday weekend, with an item that rarely goes on sale and is advertised with a GREAT price on the front page of the flyer, a manager thought it was a 'smart' decision to order light? (Assuming, of course, that they really didn't want to run out of supply...))
A few weeks ago, however, my self-esteem took a boost as I engaged in a small battle with another unemployed job-seeker (and realized, almost certainly, that I will NOT be the last unemployed person in the world, as I now know one other person who should still be there).
As readers of this blog know, I'm a huge fan of efficiency and technology. I'm a champion of using RSS feeds to read more, quicker. Unfortunately, not all websites offer RSS feeds. YahooGroups, in particular, don't make RSS feeds readily available (which is truly damning, since there are an awful lot of YahooGroups).
Since you can only get the messages via email (or, by reading on the web), I had to do some ingenious tricks to secure an RSS feed (and, you can read about that as the #4 option on the blog post listed above).
I saw on one of the groups I belong to, that one of the members was looking to speak with me -- I responded to the poster, and waited to see what he wanted. He responded, saying that he had received concern from other members that their posts were being publicly posted, and that the practice should stop (as though I had maliciously set out to do this...)
I replied back, that this wasn't necessarily accurate -- that the blog these posts were appearing on were not being publicly posted. The blog was not promoted or marketed as a public blog. The only way someone could find these posts was to be searching for them. Nevertheless, I took privacy seriously, so I presented to him (the group administrator) what I was trying to do, and asked him what advice he might have (because, in addition to being the admin, he was also a computer professional).
Here's where the train goes off the rails. By his own admission (later), rather than reading my response (or, even WAITING for a response), he kicked me out of the group as soon as he sent his initial message and banned me from the group. This is akin to a police officer shouting, "Stop, or I'll shoot!" and then blasting away immediately after.
A day later, he deemed me worthy of replying to, and he said, since I had agreed to stop publishing them (not that I'd had any vested interest *in* publishing them, initially), he would reinstate me. I was still miffed, but I accepted it. However, I wasn't actually reinstated. I had no access to the group or messages.
I continued to email him to find out what to do (and told him, this could have all been avoided had he actually read my email before impetuously banning me from the group, for what was not anything intentional or malicious), but he also came up with a dead-end as to why I didn't have access. Finally, he must have realized that I had not been "reinstated"; I needed to reapply for membership, so his last email to me said, "You need to reapply. Jeez, just do that already and stop whining."
This was an impressive string of communication failures. Starting with his initial email (where he'd already assumed I was doing something malicious), to his ignoring of any return email, to his hasty, ill-advised banning, to his final insult because it took him longer to realize what had gone wrong. In my career, I've not really seen anyone so "natural" at committing error after error (without actually trying).
More damning was the fact that this group bears the name of a career counselor/Department of Labor consultant (so, although he doesn't run the group, he's obviously associated with it) - his "weigh-in" on the issue was simply that he supported any protection of privacy. I responded, and explained that I never suggested privacy should be compromised, but that a modicum of decency should always be adhered to -- and I got no response.
As I said, this apparently worked out, although, at the expense of my blood pressure. Still, looking at the group admin's LinkedIn profile, I saw he has not worked, full-time or permanently, since 2007. I'd suggest a combination of his lack of understanding of technology (which, as an IT professional, is basically laughable) and his incredibly poor inter-personal communication skills are almost certainly two reasons contributing to this string of luck.
But, I only do this stuff for a living ... what do I know?
(For example - just today - I was food shopping. One grocery store had an advertised sale on lobster tails (extremely cheap). When I asked for them, the sales associate told me they had none, because, "his manager had ordered very light for the weekend..." Really? On a holiday weekend, with an item that rarely goes on sale and is advertised with a GREAT price on the front page of the flyer, a manager thought it was a 'smart' decision to order light? (Assuming, of course, that they really didn't want to run out of supply...))
A few weeks ago, however, my self-esteem took a boost as I engaged in a small battle with another unemployed job-seeker (and realized, almost certainly, that I will NOT be the last unemployed person in the world, as I now know one other person who should still be there).
As readers of this blog know, I'm a huge fan of efficiency and technology. I'm a champion of using RSS feeds to read more, quicker. Unfortunately, not all websites offer RSS feeds. YahooGroups, in particular, don't make RSS feeds readily available (which is truly damning, since there are an awful lot of YahooGroups).
Since you can only get the messages via email (or, by reading on the web), I had to do some ingenious tricks to secure an RSS feed (and, you can read about that as the #4 option on the blog post listed above).
I saw on one of the groups I belong to, that one of the members was looking to speak with me -- I responded to the poster, and waited to see what he wanted. He responded, saying that he had received concern from other members that their posts were being publicly posted, and that the practice should stop (as though I had maliciously set out to do this...)
I replied back, that this wasn't necessarily accurate -- that the blog these posts were appearing on were not being publicly posted. The blog was not promoted or marketed as a public blog. The only way someone could find these posts was to be searching for them. Nevertheless, I took privacy seriously, so I presented to him (the group administrator) what I was trying to do, and asked him what advice he might have (because, in addition to being the admin, he was also a computer professional).
Here's where the train goes off the rails. By his own admission (later), rather than reading my response (or, even WAITING for a response), he kicked me out of the group as soon as he sent his initial message and banned me from the group. This is akin to a police officer shouting, "Stop, or I'll shoot!" and then blasting away immediately after.
A day later, he deemed me worthy of replying to, and he said, since I had agreed to stop publishing them (not that I'd had any vested interest *in* publishing them, initially), he would reinstate me. I was still miffed, but I accepted it. However, I wasn't actually reinstated. I had no access to the group or messages.
I continued to email him to find out what to do (and told him, this could have all been avoided had he actually read my email before impetuously banning me from the group, for what was not anything intentional or malicious), but he also came up with a dead-end as to why I didn't have access. Finally, he must have realized that I had not been "reinstated"; I needed to reapply for membership, so his last email to me said, "You need to reapply. Jeez, just do that already and stop whining."
This was an impressive string of communication failures. Starting with his initial email (where he'd already assumed I was doing something malicious), to his ignoring of any return email, to his hasty, ill-advised banning, to his final insult because it took him longer to realize what had gone wrong. In my career, I've not really seen anyone so "natural" at committing error after error (without actually trying).
More damning was the fact that this group bears the name of a career counselor/Department of Labor consultant (so, although he doesn't run the group, he's obviously associated with it) - his "weigh-in" on the issue was simply that he supported any protection of privacy. I responded, and explained that I never suggested privacy should be compromised, but that a modicum of decency should always be adhered to -- and I got no response.
As I said, this apparently worked out, although, at the expense of my blood pressure. Still, looking at the group admin's LinkedIn profile, I saw he has not worked, full-time or permanently, since 2007. I'd suggest a combination of his lack of understanding of technology (which, as an IT professional, is basically laughable) and his incredibly poor inter-personal communication skills are almost certainly two reasons contributing to this string of luck.
But, I only do this stuff for a living ... what do I know?
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Top 5 Books for Communicators (and Business People) - #3
So, for the #3 book, we're going to go *way* back to 2006 (seemingly an eternity ago for communications theory). While this isn't the oldest book on the list (we'll actually get to that one when we hit the #1 book next week), the #3 book -- Naked Conversations -- is still a landmark book in the field of social media.
Authored by Robert Scoble (one of the early adopters of social media, and still a frequent blogger at scobleizer.com) and Shel Israel (who penned the #5 book on this list), Naked Conversations is one of the first books to analyze the impact blogging can have on a business.
Two quick asides: First, as you look at Robert Scoble's blog, you're struck by how ... stark ... it is. There's no flash, no intricate designs. It's done (I think) on Wordpress, and it's a great reminder that even today, content is kind. When Scoble posts, people read (most bloggers would kill to get 1/10th his traffic). In the end, it doesn't matter what cool things you have on your website; people are drawn to killer content.
Second, I think an awful lot of people throw the term "social media" around, expecting that it just refers to the channels (Facebook, blogs, etc.). While those channels are certainly included, I think a hallmark of social media is also the transformation from more formal communication to more conversational - and, blogs do that really well. Still, social media includes more than just Facebook, Twitter and blogging. The key word there is "social."
On to Naked Conversations. One of the key messages of the book is that people don't trust big companies. The first company cited is Microsoft, which - for many years - was termed "the Evil Empire." In more recent years, the fervor around that nickname has died down considerably; program manager Joshua Allen, Microsoft's first blogger, attributes blogging as having had the most impact on that shift in perception.
Once Allen began blogging, his boss received an internal email demanding he be fired. This request would continue. All were ignored. When the number of bloggers reached 15, Legal started worrying. By March 2005, there were 1500 active bloggers at Microsoft. "Legal is still worrying," Allen says., "but we haven't had anyone do something so incredibly stupid that it required a blogging policy and none has ever been issued."
This all goes back to primary tenet of blogging -- people will not do stupid things just because they have new tools. Throughout history, new tools have been routinely introduced; smart people don't suddenly do dumb things because of that.
In the book, a total of six characteristics are identified, and referred to as the "Six Pillars of Blogging." Although some communication channels exist that have some of these; none have all, besides blogging (and, probably, micro-blogging, as well):
Like most of the books on my list, this book is chock full of great, real-life examples. You can read about large businesses, small businesses and how they blog and the impact those blogs have had on their success. You get to read about companies that don't do it correctly (and how the impact *that* has). There are no rules to blogging (as of yet), but there are certainly accepted best practices -- and you get to see many of them through this book.
Naked Conversations wasn't groundbreaking - the authors admit as much in the Introduction to the book. They readily admit that, quite a few years earlier, another book had laid much of the groundwork towards this transformation (and that book is still coming on the countdown ...), but this was one of the first books to be written during the rise in popularity of the blog; and when a number of companies were in the process of starting to include blogs in their corporate strategies (for external audiences; even now, many companies don't see the value of blogging internally, regrettably).
For example, here are three images (from 2006, 2007, 2008) that show the rise in popularity of blogs. You can see, clearly, from 2004-2006, there was a marked increase in the number of blogs created daily and the cumulative number of blogs. While there are still a great number being created each day, the rampant increase has slowed slightly.
It's no surprise this book was written when it was - companies were searching for a knowledgeable voice to lead them, and they found it. What's great is that the guidelines and examples presented in this book are still applicable today. There's a reason this is #3 on the list, and it's a must-have for any communicator.
Authored by Robert Scoble (one of the early adopters of social media, and still a frequent blogger at scobleizer.com) and Shel Israel (who penned the #5 book on this list), Naked Conversations is one of the first books to analyze the impact blogging can have on a business.
Two quick asides: First, as you look at Robert Scoble's blog, you're struck by how ... stark ... it is. There's no flash, no intricate designs. It's done (I think) on Wordpress, and it's a great reminder that even today, content is kind. When Scoble posts, people read (most bloggers would kill to get 1/10th his traffic). In the end, it doesn't matter what cool things you have on your website; people are drawn to killer content.
Second, I think an awful lot of people throw the term "social media" around, expecting that it just refers to the channels (Facebook, blogs, etc.). While those channels are certainly included, I think a hallmark of social media is also the transformation from more formal communication to more conversational - and, blogs do that really well. Still, social media includes more than just Facebook, Twitter and blogging. The key word there is "social."
On to Naked Conversations. One of the key messages of the book is that people don't trust big companies. The first company cited is Microsoft, which - for many years - was termed "the Evil Empire." In more recent years, the fervor around that nickname has died down considerably; program manager Joshua Allen, Microsoft's first blogger, attributes blogging as having had the most impact on that shift in perception.
Once Allen began blogging, his boss received an internal email demanding he be fired. This request would continue. All were ignored. When the number of bloggers reached 15, Legal started worrying. By March 2005, there were 1500 active bloggers at Microsoft. "Legal is still worrying," Allen says., "but we haven't had anyone do something so incredibly stupid that it required a blogging policy and none has ever been issued."
This all goes back to primary tenet of blogging -- people will not do stupid things just because they have new tools. Throughout history, new tools have been routinely introduced; smart people don't suddenly do dumb things because of that.
In the book, a total of six characteristics are identified, and referred to as the "Six Pillars of Blogging." Although some communication channels exist that have some of these; none have all, besides blogging (and, probably, micro-blogging, as well):
- Publishable (anyone can publish a blog; for free, even).
- Findable (through search engines, technorati, you can find blogs by subject, author or both).
- Social (as mentioned before - the opportunity to comment and have one-to-one or one-to-many conversations simultaneously).
- Viral (information spreads faster through blogs than through other channels).
- Syndicatable (most/all (?) blogs have RSS enabled, which makes it infinitely easier to stay up to speed on what you're reading (shameless pitch - read my post on RSS)).
- Linkable (most blogs will constantly link to other blogs/sites to keep the information chain going; it's safe to say linking is one of the most important things blogs can do (and that helps with the viral spreading of information)).
Like most of the books on my list, this book is chock full of great, real-life examples. You can read about large businesses, small businesses and how they blog and the impact those blogs have had on their success. You get to read about companies that don't do it correctly (and how the impact *that* has). There are no rules to blogging (as of yet), but there are certainly accepted best practices -- and you get to see many of them through this book.
Naked Conversations wasn't groundbreaking - the authors admit as much in the Introduction to the book. They readily admit that, quite a few years earlier, another book had laid much of the groundwork towards this transformation (and that book is still coming on the countdown ...), but this was one of the first books to be written during the rise in popularity of the blog; and when a number of companies were in the process of starting to include blogs in their corporate strategies (for external audiences; even now, many companies don't see the value of blogging internally, regrettably).
For example, here are three images (from 2006, 2007, 2008) that show the rise in popularity of blogs. You can see, clearly, from 2004-2006, there was a marked increase in the number of blogs created daily and the cumulative number of blogs. While there are still a great number being created each day, the rampant increase has slowed slightly.
It's no surprise this book was written when it was - companies were searching for a knowledgeable voice to lead them, and they found it. What's great is that the guidelines and examples presented in this book are still applicable today. There's a reason this is #3 on the list, and it's a must-have for any communicator.
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