Blogs Archives

I haven't been able to log in to my blog software for a long time (OK, not so long that I can claim that as my excuse for not updating my blog in a while, but at least it explains the past few weeks).

One quick email to the BEST blog/web/social media guru I've ever known Josh Hallett and voila'...problem solved.

Thanks, Josh!!

My photo of Jimmy Kelly's steakhouse, taken during the EDC Mission Trip to Nashville this summer, has been selected by Schmap for inclusion in their Schmap Nashville second edition.

Download a copy of the Nashville guide or one for any of your favorite cities:

Josh Hallett is blogging from the America Marketing Association's Mplanet conference going on right now in Orlando.

In a recap of Brian Kardon's presentation yesterday, he pulled this interesting definition:

Social computing: A social structure in which technology puts powers in communities and not corporations.

Josh is doing a great job covering the conference. I almost feel like I'm there (except I haven't had my shower and I'm still in my t-shirt and sweat pants).

Josh is joining me at the PRSA Sunshine District board meeting this afternoon. I invited him to meet with my board and talk about the logistics for PRSA Blog Week that will kick off in January.

Congratulations to FPRA's Orlando chapter on the success of FPRA Blog Week. Kudos to Bob O'Malley and Josh Hallett for their tireless efforts in putting it all together and updating the blog all week. A big "thank you" to all the participants who took time out of their busy schedules to share their wisdom and insight in a variety of entertaining and educational posts.

My post on adding pizzazz to events kicked off this final day of FPRA Blog Week (special thanks to Josh for the extra fast assistance this morning on he-knows-what). My post on power networking was featured on Wednesday.

The Orlando chapter of FPRA has always been an association leader in launching new initiatives (think Roast & Toast) so it's no surprise they were the first to the table, er, blog, on this one. I've enjoyed being part of it all and am honored to have been included on the list of esteemed professionals who were asked to participate.

Within just a few hours of launching, FPRA's Orlando chapter had over 160 unique visitors stop by to check out FPRA Blog Week. For a complete list of who will be posting and what topics will be covered, see the schedule .

My web guru, Josh Hallett, is featured in Chris Cobbs' article on blogging in The Orlando Sentinel today. The article includes some of Josh's sage advice for companies facing negative commentary on their business:

"The power of the blogosphere is in allowing the community to comment...If a company finds a blogger complaining about its customer service, the firm must be willing to reply with more than a noncommittal response, like 'We're working on it'...A company must be willing to 'lead with the truth' to be effective in the blogging world."

It's a quick read packed with lots of useful information.

At first glance, those who eschew blogging as a waste of time will find a seeming validation on Guy Kawasaki's (ahem) blog. The header on Let the Good Times Roll defines a blogger:

Blogger. n. Someone who has nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do.

However, even the most cursory of glances through his postings will reveal this guy as an accomplished author who understands business...and the business of blogging.

A columnist for Forbes magazine, Guy is one of the people responsible for the success of Apple's Macintosh computer. It's worth the read.

7:30 p.m. at Dexter's in Thornton Park. Dexter's is my favorite casual dining/wine bar spot.

Unfortunately, I'm going to miss it. The Apopka Chamber Christmas party is tonight and since I'm on the board of directors, I need to be there.

Josh is organizing another blogger meetup in Orlando, probably December 15.

I've been thinking a lot about my inlaw's comment last week about the relevance of blogs. Actually, I've been contemplating the true usefulness (value) of my own blog for several weeks while updating our business plan and setting 2006 objectives.

There is a lot of truth to what my inlaw said. Most of the blogs I read offer a mix of useful information with a lot of editorial content, this blog included.

Josh Hallett validates my concern, observing "most blogs contain a mixture of substantial pieces mixed in with short bits and meta-blogging...Finding the good though-provoking content requires some sifting."

This has long been a fundamental challenge for public relations, marketing and advertising professionals: How do you get your message heard in the midst of so much noise? Blog readers don't want to sift through multiple posts to find one or two nuggets of useful info.

My goal this year was to get my blog up and running then get in the habit of posting on a regular basis. That goal was achieved. However, in reviewing my posts over this past year, I have to admit there are not as many as I had hoped that offer good, helpful info.

Fortunately for my subscribers, that will change in 2006. I will still post random thoughts and observations, but I will also be posting a lot more tactical ("how to") information. Otherwise, for business reasons, what is the point of blogging?

Technorati has reached its third birthday. David Sifry notes a 50/50 track record in terms of what they thought would work and what actually did. He even admits some of things they tried were "outright failures."

Successful business development depends on your willingness to try new things and embrace failure for the lessons it brings, rather than throwing in the towel every time something goes off course.

Holidays with extended family are always enlightening.

Over breakfast with the extended family this morning, the subject of blogs came up in a discussion about Panera's free wireless internet access. Almost on que, one of the senior members at the table asked what blogs are.

One of the less senior men at the table piped up "Oh, they're just a bunch of junk done by people that have too much time on their hands and not enough to do."

What is surprising about this response is the person from whom it came - an educated man in his mid-40s who has spent his entire career in the media industry! He's a sports director for one of the big three television networks.

On the one hand, my inlaw's response illustrates how little - still - the majority of our population knows, let alone understands, about blogging (my brief attempt to convert a member of the "uneducated" population was unsuccessful this morning).

On the other hand, it appears some in my extended family think I have too much time on my hands and not enough to do. Ah, if only...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Josh shares my biggest complaint about bloggers on RSS feeds - bloggers who repeatedly update their posts - correcting typos, adding content to previous posts, completely "rebuilding" - without updating their content.

One of my favorite bloggers hasn't had a new post since September 28, yet at least once a week, her blog appears in my RSS feeder with several "unread" posts. Unsubscribed! She lost me as a loyal reader and reader referral source.

I wonder if some bloggers use this as a tactic to get visitors to their blog because they are too lazy to keep their content fresh?

Another blogger, who publishes a high quality, content-rich ezine, simply posts articles from her free ezine each week. Lazy? No, she's a hard working business woman with valuable information to share. Is she missing a tremendous opportunity to expand her paid subscriber base and increase her online sales? Absolutely! I don't always have time to read ezines and online newsletters, but I do scan my RSS feeds every day. If I came across a one line post noting her new book is available today, I'd probably click through and order. But if it's a busy week and this notice is buried in a newsletter, even if it's online, chances are it will be a few weeks before I read it, if at all.

If I want to update a previous post, (say I find a typo or have new info), I add a reminder to my blog file then take care of it the next time I post new content. For updates, I add the date of the update and italicize the text, so it is readily identifiable as an update. That way, when subscribers to my RSS feed see "unread" show up in their reader, they get new fresh content and it doesn't annoy RSS feed subscribers.

Think about your readers, your audience. RSS subscribers are pretty savvy people. Tease them long enough and you too will see your subscriber base diminish.

Results from the Technorati/Edelman blogging PR survey I mentioned last week are already posted on Edelman's site. An email I received from Richard Edelman this evening reiterates their purpose in conducting this survey:

We conducted this study to:

- Better understand bloggers’ attitudes towards corporations and PR firms
- Help clients understand why and how they should engage the blogosphere

Technorati contacted tens of thousands of active bloggers via email, blog posts and the networks of discussion and links those posts generated. The survey generated 821 responses during the week of September 26, 2005.

The survey results are a must read for anyone using, or contemplating the use of, blogs, but business professionals in general will also find the survey provides some good, useful information.

Of particular value (PR folks, listen up) are the responses to the open ended questions. The answers are in response to a blog question, but many would do well to heed their answers in their daily PR, marketing and even business dealings. In response to question 5: "How do companies and their firm’s PR representatives generally interact with you?" I particularly enjoyed response #645:

"Get to the point. Yeah, yeah, we all know you have the latest, greatest, best-ever product/service on the planet (in YOUR mind), but instead of telling us how many awards you've won and cranking that MBA-speak word generator multiple times to produce your pitch, try telling us what's in it for us. How will your product or service make our life easier? How will it increase our bottom line? Why should we care? You've got to make the pitches appeal to the reader/listener. Why is it still so hard for otherwise intelligent and competent PR people to understand this?"

It's what I've been saying all along. If you can't get your message across in a clear, compelling and concise manner, you lose your audience. Of course, if you can't respond to the question being asked, that may ding your credibility a notch, too (note #645 seems to be in response to a different question).

Results from the Technorati/Edelman blogging PR survey I mentioned last week are already posted on Edelman's site. An email I received from Richard Edelman this evening reiterates their purpose in conducting this survey:

We conducted this study to:

- Better understand bloggers’ attitudes towards corporations and PR firms
- Help clients understand why and how they should engage the blogosphere

Technorati contacted tens of thousands of active bloggers via email, blog posts and the networks of discussion and links those posts generated. The survey generated 821 responses during the week of September 26, 2005.

The survey results are a must read for anyone using, or contemplating the use of, blogs, but business professionals in general will also find the survey provides some good, useful information.

Of particular value (PR folks, listen up) are the responses to the open ended questions. The answers are in response to a blog question, but many would do well to heed their answers in their daily PR, marketing and even business dealings. In response to question 5: "How do companies and their firm’s PR representatives generally interact with you?" I particularly enjoyed response #645:

"Get to the point. Yeah, yeah, we all know you have the latest, greatest, best-ever product/service on the planet (in YOUR mind), but instead of telling us how many awards you've won and cranking that MBA-speak word generator multiple times to produce your pitch, try telling us what's in it for us. How will your product or service make our life easier? How will it increase our bottom line? Why should we care? You've got to make the pitches appeal to the reader/listener. Why is it still so hard for otherwise intelligent and competent PR people to understand this?"

It's what I've been saying all along. If you can't get your message across in a clear, compelling and concise manner, you lose your audience. Of course, if you can't respond to the question being asked, that may ding your credibility a notch, too (note #645 seems to be in response to a different question).

Earlier this month, we videotaped Josh Hallett's blogging seminar. We're using parts of the footage to create a demo tape for Josh and the rest of the material to create a good training video that Josh could ultimately sell on his website. It may be a while before we have the training part done, so until then, here are some highlights from the seminar:

Some of Josh's General Rules of Blogging:
Note the word "some" (in case you're wondering about the numbering)

1. Blogs are written by people, not corporations.
2. Good blogs are updated frequently.
6. Never, ever delete a blog post.
8. Treat readers and your fellow bloggers as well as you would a Wall Street Journal reporter - they may have more influence [can you say Dan Rather?]!
9. Learn how to use RSS...and use it.

Want to see if your name is mentioned in someone's blog? Check out PubSub.

Need an RSS that integrates with Outlook? Try NewsGator. [Editorial note: Josh also recommended FeedDemon when I was starting out. I liked the free trial so when it expired, I paid the nominal $30-ish purchase price.]

Looking for a summary of recent activity, trends, personalities and issues in the blogosphere? Blogpulse.

Josh's presentations always incorporate a great mix of humor, information and interaction. If you need a great speaker to talk about blogging at your next meeting, seminar or conference, let me know and I'll hook you up.

David Sifry pointed me to Technorati's new blogging survey designed "to better understand how blogging and traditional PR intersect, and what bloggers think about communication from mainstream companies."

Learn more about the survey.

I took the survey and am very interested in the results, so against my normal practice, I provided my name and email address so they can send me a copy of the completed white paper. They promise my info will only be used to send me the white paper:

Thank you for your input! Edelman and Technorati will analyze the data you provided and include aggregated information in its white paper on Corporate Blogging Communications scheduled for a late October release. Would you like to receive a copy of the completed white paper? Please enter your name and e-mail address below and we will be sure to let you know once the white paper is available. Your name and email is not associated with your survey response. Your name and email will only be used for the purpose of sending you the white paper.

It was a little creepy, though, when I later tried to click on the survey link again to copy and paste in this post...I was transferred to a "Thank you" page that says the following:

You have already replied to this survey. Thank you.

Found this great article about creating successful blogs on blogger.com.

Yesterday I received an email from an entrepreneur (who will remain nameless) promoting an upcoming teleconference he is hosting. Within the body of the email, he notes "next Tuesday evening, July 19 I'm going to hold a tele-conference..." and provides a link to register for the call.

Unfortunately, this entrepreneur has committed a major faux pas: he did not bother to update the landing page for the link.

The headline on the landing page says "Don't miss the [John Smith] Experience Tele-conference calls May 10, May 17, and May 24." The dates are in bold red type.

If he is that careless with his own materials, how careless was he in preparing the info products for sale on his web site? How careless will he be as my consultant if I hire him? These are the questions your prospects will ask before buying your products or hiring you, so why not answer those questions in advance - by making sure your work is proofread, up-to-date, and accurate BEFORE you hit the send button.

Always do a "run-through" before you launch your promotional campaign. Even better, have a couple associates run through it for you. Test the links to make sure they work, proofread your copy (email as well as web pages), and double check your day/date combinations. I had the bad habit of putting the wrong day with a date (for instance, "Friday, July 16" instead of the correct "Saturday, July 16"), but once I enlisted the help of an editor to proofread critical announcements, that habit was broken.

It only takes a moment and the result can be monumental. Skip this critical step and the results can be devastating.

(UPDATE: 7/21/05 9:30 p.m.) When I dialed in to the call, an automatic recording directed me to a new number, which I called about 10 minutes after the published start time (I hate listening to all the pre-call chit chat and the opening sales pitches). I was surprised to hear two women talking about network marketing and one's vacation in Cancun...I held out a few short minutes but at 15 minutes after the hour, the call still had not officially started so I hung up. I don't think this entrepreneur will be building a successful business any time soon if he keeps this up.)

I have a new blog, thanks to the blog guru (Josh Hallett at Hyku).

Now I have to transfer my posts from Blogger but that can wait. Right now, I want to play around with the new Movable Type publishing platform and learn how to use it.

That's it. I just spent the last hour working on a great article about core messages but while switching from preview to compose mode, the entire post disappeared for no reason and I can't get it back. I've tried.

That's twice in less than 24 hours that going the free route has cost me (see my post about Yahoo Groups June 16). You get what you pay for.

Yes, I should have created the article in Word, but when I started, my intention was only to do a short post on the importance of keeping your self-introduction at a networking event short. Once I started typing, the post grew to include tips and examples, so I decided to expand it into an article. And now I have to start over.

I will finish the article in Word, copy and paste it here, then move over to TypePad (which my blog guru, Josh Hallett suggested over a week ago) and start transferring my blog to a more user-friendly service (or idiot-proof service, I should say).

Technorati Profile

Technorati is a real-time search engine that tracks what's going on in the blogosphere. Thanks to Josh Hallett for introducing me to this cool tool..

That's the headline of the cover story in this week's issue of BusinessWeek. The cover text goes on to note "Our advice: Catch up...or catch you later."

The article includes some fascinating statistics:

27% of American Internet users read blogs
9 million blogs
40,000 new blogs appearing daily

A very good point to remember when blogging was brought up in the article: "If it's something you wouldn't e-mail to a long list of strangers, don't blog it."

Today's USA Today has an article about blogging: "Publishers put bloggers between the covers" (Life section, front page, below the fold).

According to the article's author, Carol Memmott, bloggers are "jumping on the publishing bandwagon in a trend that industry insiders say benefits both writers and publishers."

Having just spent another incredible weekend with my friend and mentor Mark Victor Hansen at his annual MEGA Book Marketing University conference, this information is not news to me, but I did find it interesting.

Tom Antion, always one of my favorites at these conferences, gave another great presentation on websites and included a segment on blogs.

If you haven't started your blog yet, what are you waiting for? Go to www.blogger.com right now and have your very own blog set up in less than five minutes. C'mon...I dare you!

One of my fears in setting up this blog was that I would go "live," and later find a typo in one of my posts, or even worse, one of my readers would find a typo. But I decided to ignore that fear and get going anyway.

Well, last night it happened. I found a typo in my blog. And guess what? I'm still alive to tell about it. The sky hasn't fallen and my error wasn't the leading headline in this morning's news. There are no picketers outside my house and I'm not receiving hate mail from around the world. I have already fixed the typo, and you wouldn't even know about it if I weren't telling you.

Most of our fears are the same way. We work ourselves up into a frenzy of self-limiting beliefs and immobility by playing the "What if?" game. But then, on the rare occasion an "if" comes to fruition, it's nowhere near as life-threatening or career-ending as we initially imagined. We survive, we learn, we grow and we move on.

That being said, if you do happen to find a typo, let me know asap so I may humbly correct it.

eMarketer.com has a great article today, Ages of the Blog, summarizing recent stats from a CNN survey.

Disclaimer: I don't represent or endorse eMarketer, I just stumbled across their article while doing some research on blogs; however, before posting this link, I did check CNN and found an article from March 3 highlighting the survey results.

Six months to publish my first posting and less than four hours to post the second! Actually, I just received an email from PRSA (a great organization of which I am a member) promoting a teleseminar that recognizes the significance blogs are having on PR. Reading the email, I had to congratulate myself for finally entering the blogosphere. PRSA notes that "PR pros need to adapt" - and I have.

Details on the teleseminar:

"How Blogs Are Changing Public Relations - And How You Can Adapt."
Date: Thursday, April 14, 2005 Time: 2:00pm ET (1:00pm CT, 12:00pm MT, 11:00am PT) Duration: 75 minutes

As the public relations industry enters the second major wave of change of the Internet era, a seismic shift is underway. The consumers of news now are generating news of their own! Weblogs - popularly known as "blogs" - are having a significant impact on PR. The whole definition of media has changed and PR pros need to adapt. In this teleseminar, you will learn how you can adapt and apply blogs in traditional public relations campaigns and how you can thrive in the new world of blogs and influence audiences and the media. You will hear from Steve Rubel, VP, CooperKatz & Co. and author of "MicroPersuasion Weblog."

For more information or to register, visit www.corporate.prsa.org.

I set this blog up six months ago but I'm just now writing my first post. Why wait so long? Fear. Plain and Simple. Sure, I have dozens of explanations (and even more excuses) for waiting so long, but who cares?

The reality is that I was afraid to get started. I was afraid to pick a topic. What if noone is interested in my posts? I was afraid to hit the "publish" button. What if I post something and it has typos? I was afraid of the feedback. What if someone disagrees with me and replies with something negative? I was afraid of the commitment. What if people start reading my blog and I run out of things to post? This last one wins best self-limiting, fear-based thought here because, seriously, when has a public relations person EVER runs out of things to say?

What if, what if, what if! These two little words have profound consequences, limiting ourselves, our dreams, even our profit. I've spent most of my career in marketing and public relations so blogging should be something I embraced immediately. Instead, I spent six months playing the what if game.

So, this afternoon I decided to end the game. I reframed my self-talk. I thought about my blog and started asking myself very different questions: What IF I start my blog and someone likes what I say? What if someone finds humor in one of my rantings about typos in People magazine? What if I get really good feedback? What if I had started posting last fall when I actually set this blog up and now how hundreds of regular readers and lots of new friends and blogger buddies? The possibilities are endless.

So, my friends and fellow bloggers, it's official. I have felt the fear and done it anyway. I can now join the thousands who have gone before me and say "Yes, I blog. Do you?"