Category Archives: Blogging

Life before YouTube, Flickr and Mac Book Pro

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I just wasn’t thinking ahead. When I started messing with websites and putting stills and video online, everything was just hard. Almost nobody had fast internet connections. YouTube, Google Video et al were somewhere over the digital rainbow. And hard drives had not become as cheap as they are today, so just “keeping” these big files was a problem.

And I was so intent in putting everything I did online, I didn’t bother to save high resolution still images. I rendered most of my video down to files sizes that could be downloaded.

I’m reminded of my lack of foresight every time I go back and upload a clip to (in this case) Google Video. Like this performance by Daniel “Slick” Ballinger, recorded in March of 2004.

And I should add that the iLife suite (iDVD, iMovie, iPhoto, etc) that ships with OSX just makes it so easy and fun to create. Who knew? Now we save everything. Uncompressed. Best quality. Word to the wise.

Voice-to-text-to-blog?

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Planet Nelson points to Jott: “…is a free service (to the extent that your cell can call anywhere in North America for free) that allows you to dictate a 30-second message into your phone and then have it sent as a text email to a friend/colleague/self/offending politician/anyone whose email address is in your Jott address book.”

From Jott.com: “Using Jott, yoau can either Jott your blog directly or just jott yourself and post later. Better yet, your readers can listen to you too — a great way to connect?”

Blog with Jott

If I understand this correctly… a news reporter could be posting audio and text reports directly from their mobile phone to their blog. And given the evolving definition of “reporter,” this tool could be used by anyone, whether they went to J-School or not.

Update: Jamie at Planet Nelson Jott’ed back on this post. The voice-to-text was close. “Blogroll” became “blog rule” and “Gnomedex” showed up as “noon desk.” But pretty slick all the same.

Five Common Headline Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

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The headline of a blog post is arguably as important as the post itself. Digg points us to this handy list at copyblogger:

1. No Reader Benefit – Ask yourself “what’s in it for them?” If the headline doesn’t tell you, it’s missing a benefit.

2. Lack of Curiosity – Does your headline make you have to know what the promised answer is? Use questions, numbers, challenges and statements that compel the prospective reader to explore the beneficial content you’re offering.

3. Lack of Specificity – Use variations of the “list” headline, use words like “this,” “these,” “here is” and “here are” to refer specifically to your content, and also use hard numbers and exact percentages when appropriate.

4. Lack of Simplicity – Stick to one concept, eliminate unnecessary words, and use familiar language.

5. No Sense of Urgency – Check to see that items 1-4 above are truly present. If so, try reworking the headline to make it more compelling without stepping too far into hyperbole. If all else fails, examine the premise of the content itself. Is it really “need to know” information?

By the time you need a blog, it’s too late

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One of my blogging sermonettes is the importance of having an established blog (and readership) before you need it. Once the shit has hit the fan, you can’t run down the hall to the IT department and shout, “Quick! We need a blog!”

If you have a credible blog in place, you can respond to and comment on topics as they arise. A good example of this is “Your Pet’s Best Friend,” a blog written by my old Kennett buddy Dr. T. Everett Mobley.

Like vets all across the country, his clients are concerned about contaminated pet food. He’s been posting short updates with links to other websites and just generally letting his readers know what’s happening.

Everett is not our vet but I know him and trust him and I’ll be checking his blog to get his take on this situation. As far as I know, none of the Jeff City vets have blogs. Missed opportunity.

Blog lemonade

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VirginaThe “West Virginia” printed on the shirts players wore after winning the NIT title with a 78-73 victory over Clemson on Thursday night is missing the last “i” in “Virginia.” WVU sports information director Shelly Poe said the NIT printed the shirts.

Embarrassing? Maybe a little for the NIT. But certainly not for West Virginia. Their accomplishment is in no way diminished. But it will get a little ink for a day or two.

If I were the Resident Blogger for West Virginia Athletics, I would be having some fun with this.

  • Invite fans to send in videos of themselves wearing the T-shirt and explaining the misspelling.
  • Post an explanation loaded with typos.
  • Have a fake professor (with British accent) explain how the spelling on the shirt is –in fact– the original, “correct” spelling of “Virgina”

Blogging lemonade.

Disclosure: The company I work for handles multi-media marketing for Clemson.

HealthCareFineArt.com

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Henry says I first mentioned blogging to him in 2003. He let the idea percolate for a while and emailed me last weekend to say he was ready to start blogging (he’s a thoughtful guy). I stopped by his office a couple of days later for my Are You Ready to Blog lecture. By the time I left, Henry had lost his blog virginity and had a couple of posts up at HealthCareFineArt.com.

Along with his medical practice, Henry has built a very successful business creating digital images for the health care industry.

Where was I? I remember. While Henry has a beautiful website, he had concluded a blog would be a valuable addition. People he knows and trusts warned him “this blog thing” might be a distraction. And he came to Dr. Steve for a second opinion.

Aside: Have I mentioned smays’ theory that the first 48 hours are critical in the life of a new blog? At the end of two days you’ll wind up with one, sad little “toe in the water” post… or a dozen or so posts.

I’m proud to report Dr. D. comes down solidly in Column B. He is off…and..running. And, like all good blogs, he has focus. He’s writing for and about the health care fine art space (the oxygen is thin up there).

Like all natural bloggers, he didn’t need much help. He came armed with passion, creativity and something to say. And he hasn’t stopped saying it. He is… empowered!

(Throw up the Prediction graphic)

A year from now, a Google search for “health care fine art” will take you to Henry’s blog. Comments are open, so if I’m wrong… I want to hear about it.

If any smays.com readers with blog want to give Henry a little link love, he’ll appreciate it and so will I.

How to improve Google rank? Blog

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Last night I posted about one of the speakers at a statewide child abuse conference that got underway here in Jefferson City on Wednesday.

Jan Hindman has served on the advisory board of the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse, the National Network for Juvenile Sex Offenders, and she is currently a member of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force. She is also the past president of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, as well as being an author of numerous publications and a national trainer, lecturer, and consultant.

Today I had occasion to google “Jan Hindman” and came up with 551 results. As I scanned down the list, I discovered that my post here on smays.com was #48.

I am not all that knowledgable about Google ranking, but that a blog post (on a site with modest traffic) could could show up in the top 10% of the rankings in less than 24 hours says something about the power of blogs.

Update (3/17/07): For some reason my post is no longer showing up in that Google search. As Roseanne Roseannadana used to say, “Never mind.”

Correction courtesy of Bass (3/19/07): Emily Litella said, “Never Mind.” Roseanne Rosannadanna said, “What are you trying to do, make me sick?” Both played by Gilda Radner.

Are blogs the new resumes?

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The folks at Innovation Zen make a good case for this:

“Imagine you are a prospective employer, and you can compare two identical candidates. The first candidate has simply handed you a 2 page resume + 1 page cover letter. The second candidate has done the same, but they have also included a link to their blog. Now, further imagine that although the blog gives a more detailed picture, it does not change your opinion of the second candidate. Which candidate would you choose? My guess is that you would choose the blogger simply because they are a known quantity.”

I like the idea that we are our own “brand” and a blog is THE best tool for promoting same.

Twitter: “microblogging”

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Have you been following the Twitter thing? Ian Curry at frog design describes it better than I can:

Twitter“Twitter is perhaps the best example of a new kind of blog that some are calling a “tumblelog.” The tumblelog is a bit like the old link lists: quick one or two-line entries – sometimes just a picture. Twitter in specific allows you to post, through a variety of means (IM, phone, web), short messages meant to describe what you are doing at any given moment. By establishing contacts on the site, you can also get a collected list of what all of your friends are posting.”

I set up a Twitter page, just to get a feel for the tool and I almost get it. There are times when I’d like to just post something that doesn’t quite fit on smays.com. I can see how this could be even more useful for texting.

And handy for live-blogging something like a basketball game or debate in the state legislature. Some have used the term “microblogging” to describe this. Looks like something to watch.

Running after the Cluetrain

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I spent a lot of energy in the late 90’s trying to convince people I worked with (and anyone I could get to listen) the Internet was a force to be reckoned with. Something that would touch and change every part of our lives and our business. There was plenty of eye-rolling and rib-nudging. Then, one day, I didn’t have to say another word. Anyone with a functioning cortex understood the Internet wasn’t just happening… it had happened.

Five years ago I started blogging and, a couple of years later, listening to podcasts. Again, I tugged at a few sleeves and suggested these tools would be/could be/should be part of what we do. The reactions were very similar.

As I swill Rocket Fuel and surf away another Saturday morning, I come across story after story about how people, company organizations are blogging and podcasting. Out of habit, I started to forward these to those who would (or should) want to know…and I stopped.

No need. If you don’t get it by now, you won’t. I’ll continue to post on these topics (until even that seems pointless), but I won’t spend every evening tip-toeing up and down the hall, sliding these links under co-worker’s doors.

Whew. Glad that’s over.