Archive for January, 2008
Screencast of Google Reader
Google Reader is my often-touted RSS reader of choice. I’ve really not put the reason for that into words very well, so here, instead, is a screencast with voiceover. It’s a full screen experience.
**UPDATE: I ran out of bandwidth where it was, so I put a copy on Blip.tv (a great video host), and if you want to download the native file (better quality), it’s here.
That’s how we roll at [chrisbrogan.com]
Prologue is More Than We Are Considering
“Twitter for Wordpress” is what people have been calling Matt Mullenweg’s latest project, and lots of great folks have weighed in on this. But I have a different opinion.
Prologue is (almost) Twitter BEHIND the Firewall
It’s actually spelled out by Mullenweg a little further down the page:
As a completely virtual company with no two people in the same place every day, we often have trouble keeping up with each other, so we’re going to be using a password-protected Prologue that only Automattic employees can access as one of our methods of communication, much like some other companies use Basecamp.
Install WordPress on a web server inside the firewall, build accounts for your colleagues, and you’ve solved the “private implementation” of Twitter. Almost.
Multi-Modal
Twitter can be accessed by a mobile browser (maybe Prologue is nicely formatted for mobile?). Twitter is accessible via SMS. (Is there a hack for that yet?) Twitter is accessible by IM client and/or 3rd party apps.
So, one little piece is missing.
Will Enterprises Go With It Anyway?
I would. In a heartbeat. I think it’s a great implementation for short messages like status and the like inside the firewall. I think it’s a great step in that direction, and as WordPress has tons of other extensions and hacks, it’s the kind of thing you can imagine getting to the other missing parts of Twitter.
Without Hype
Remember, this is just a blog theme. Nothing under the hood is much different than blogging. And yet, it’s something that gives us a new perspective, and a potential something to offer clients who want short status messaging inside the workplace.
What do YOU think?
Social Media Changes Lives Directly
Understanding where to give donations is always tricky. There’s overhead to consider. There are worries about where the best good can be done. And we often don’t realize the impact we make in other people’s lives.
Last October, we helped send a Cambodian woman to college. Superstar nonprofit cause driver Beth Kanter raised half the money in a day, so I asked Twitter to raise the other half in two hours.
Beth has a similar goal in mind here. Read that article and come back, if you want. Essentially, Beth is asking YOU (and I mean you) for $10 (USD) to help another great cause. If you’re sold already, donate here. If not, consider this:
$10 is two latte drinks at Starbucks.
$10 is an appetizer at a restaurant.
$10 is six or seven sodas out of an office vending machine.
$10 is part of someone’s future in your hands today.
Ready to feel good? Donate here.
Why I Support Social Causes
Besides the obvious “it’s the right thing to do” type of answer, my other reasons are as follows: It’s something way more interesting thank talking about Twitter and Facebook (meaning it’s using the tools instead of talking about them). It’s a way to prove that we have power beyond what we tend to believe about ourselves. It’s a way to demonstrate to other parts of the world that those of us with the privilege of technology can do something meaningful elsewhere.
No fuss. No hullabaloo. Let’s just give $10 and go from there. Cool?
Yahoo Should Buy Twitter- Yes or No
Beloved social presence platform Twitter is down again today. Yahoo doesn’t know what to do with itself. Last night, at one point, we were talking about Yahoo’s best advantage is in their choice of acquisitions (like Flickr, Upcoming.org, del.icio.us, and plenty more).
Twitter needs to change their infrastructure and stop flipping that bird upside down. Yahoo needs a reason for people to love them again (Groups, by the way is a great product and I think that and Finance are probably their hidden gems).
Should the bird go purple? What’s your take?
Performance and Your Audience- Blogging Tips
Performance. When you blog or podcast or record a video, it is an opportunity for a performance, a presentation, a distilled and distinct package of information. It is your chance to connect with your audience and deliver something of value. It is an obligation and a pact.
It’s fine to use these tools for conversation, but consider your audience. Think about how little time they have in a day. Think about the places where they will be spending their time.
Be Brief
Can you say it faster? Do so.
Appeal to Their Sense of Self
Can you tell a story? Will the story help your audience think of themselves? Will your words bring THEIR minds awake?
Be Prepared
It’s not pressure to write good posts. It’s not hell to come up with topics for your podcast. It’s your choice as a producer of good content. Think ahead on that. Keep a notepad file somewhere for ideas when you’re stuck. Record a few extra “evergreen” bits to dispense when you’re not ready.
Be Respectful
Your audience is brilliant. You sometimes know something they don’t. But treat them like they are masterful and brilliant, and as if you’re just sharing this information, in case they want to brush up. You’re not a god. You’re a communicator.
Be Conversational (and yet Concise)
You can talk as if you’re addressing humans. I write as if you and I are having a conversation. And yet, I try to keep things tight. I don’t fret over it. I practice by posting once or twice a day. You can do the same.
Performance
You’re on a stage. You are creating stories. No matter how you view your blogging and podcasting, that’s what you’re doing. When you cook up that next PowerPoint deck for a meeting, think about that, too. It’s the same thing, sliced differently. There’s no reason to treat it differently.
What are some of your tips and advice? How do you treat your audience? When has it worked best for you?
The Social Media 100 is a project by Chris Brogan dedicated to writing 100 useful blog posts in a row about the tools, techniques, and strategies behind using social media for your business, your organization, or your own personal interests. Swing by [chrisbrogan.com] for more posts in the series, and if you have topic ideas, feel free to share them, as this is a group project, and your opinion matters.
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Photo credit, Kevin Dooley
Greasemonkey Script Adds In-Line Site Rendering for Google Reader
Turns out I was completely wrong. I reported earlier today (deleted to avoid confusion) that Google Reader added some new functionality. Whoops. It was a Greasemonkey script Firefox add-on called Better GReader.
Google Reader’s engineer commented below saying I’m wrong. He’s right.
Reminds me of something I say often: how WE see the Web isn’t always how everyone sees the web.
Sorry for crying wolf.
What Dataportability.org Wont Fix
Humans. If you want to save the read, the answer is: humans. Systems and software and all the sluices we build in the data stream won’t change the way humans see themselves, the way they construct their own feelings, the way they form groups, alliances, arguments, disagreements and then reform new versions of the same. As we are, so shall we always be. Humans, frail, flawed, and on a crazy path towards success just the same.
Fears and Concerns
While people were reconsidering other things, I checked in on the Twitter stream at large to see them responding to the State of the Union speech. What I saw were tons of angry, disillusioned, frustrated voices. (I don’t discuss my politics, but at this point, who’s on the President’s side, really?) I saw people talking about the pending US Presidential election. I saw them talking about which candidates might do a better job, and which ones might win, given all the crazy vectors human nature will take.
One theme I see/saw during this all was the sense that other people had the power, and that we are watching others take it. I worry that people believe they don’t possess power.
Another theme I saw was accusations all around of elitism. I worry about that all the time, personally, because as the people who read my words and follow my communication see only the abstraction of me, and haven’t met me, don’t know me, they might form a different opinion. (If you’ve met me and think I’m elitist, that’s another whole thing). I do worry about what people think about me to some extent. I know it’s a fool’s errand. Dr. McKay’s book on self esteem tells me that. But it’s there.
I Believe In Humans
For any of you who feel unheard, who feel like someone else has the power, who feel that others are between you and your greatness, I want to share one of the videos I’ve watched recently. It’s from the TED conference, held yearly in Monterrey, California, and featuring some of the most interesting thinkers in the world (my opinion). Ben Dunlap is a powerful storyteller. I think he could read a cereal box to me, and I’d listen.
I’m glad projects like Dataportability.org won’t fix how social networks impact humans. I think we can figure it all out ourselves. These tools have empowered us beyond what has come before. We’ll see even better tools in the future.
With that, here’s Ben Dunlap:
Photo credit, Andre Gustavo
Twitter Packs Goes off the Rails Quick
Wow. I don’t think I’ve seen something go from interesting and collaborative to reviled so quickly. Less than 16 hours after its beginnings, there are villagers with pitchforks at the gates of the Twitter Packs project.
First, PACK
The word “pack” was questioned by GeekMommy here. She thought wolves and alpha males.
Meanwhile, I was thinking about geek starter packs, like from Magic: the Gathering.
(by the way, get this: my blog post about a social media starter pack beats Wikipedia for “starter pack” in Google):
Next, Lists
So lists are bad? I guess if someone puts someone else on a list with which they disagree, that could be bad. If I’m on the “boring guy” list, I’ll probably feel sad. But I’m not selecting the groupings. I did ask that people try to be objective on the main page.
One list on there has spooked a few people: Identity. On that list, are races and sexual preferences and religions. I’m not sure about that page, but then, I didn’t put it up. I looked and saw that MOST of the edits for that page were done by j.brotherlove. I don’t know him well, but I’ve heard good things about him. I imagine it was done with good intentions.
Wikis and Community
This has become even more interesting, however. People got angry pretty quick, talking about the clique-ish nature of Twitter, of the lists being a clique, of them being exclusionary.
Think about this: ANYONE has the password, ANYONE can edit the list. (Same with Wikipedia, though there are more people there to patrol). That’s the opposite of exclusionary. Anyone can be part of any list they choose to identify with.
I remember a woman getting upset at PodCamp Pittsburgh. She was mad about the glass ceiling in videoblogging. I couldn’t tell whether or not I should laugh, because in this space, anyone with a camera and the Internet can videoblog. No one’s holding anyone back. That came to me today.
To the plus, people came in and organized the data. They came in and reorganized it. They came in and organized it some more. There have been HUNDREDS of edits. For a while today, the flow of my twitterstream was “Can’t get the lock on the wiki” over and over. I made something like 5 edits total, including doing one for Steve Garfield, who tweeted that he couldn’t get the lock.
So What Went Wrong?
Are lists bad? Is the idea itself bad? Is giving a pile of newcomers a sense of who people are a bad thing?
Believe me when I tell you that I’ve no vested interest in the list working or not working, because the social media experience OUTSIDE it was wayyyyyyyyy more interesting than the list itself could ever be for me at this time. But I’d love your thoughts and ideas. What’s your take?
Web Side Sales Application for Small Business
Eventually, a good chunk of what we do will be on the web. For me, it already is. So, as applications come available that might be useful for one’s day to day, I like to peek at them and see the state of things.
One such application is Oprius. If you are a solo practitioner, or work in a small organization, and need to figure out how to build a sales/marketing practice, dOprius might be the right scale marketing campaign platform for you. It does a variety of things in a very integrated fashion, including letting you build call scripts for folks who have to hit the phones.
My favorite part of the application is contained in the graphic above, the “Phone Assistant.” Upon bringing up someone’s contact, there are some other fields for more information, a lot of ways to capture other data about the conversation.
The company is working towards engaging in conversations with their prospective community, so if you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments.
Twitter Packs- a Way to Share Interests
Twitter is quite a strange beast to understand, but it’s easier if you follow a few people who immediately make sense to you, insofar as your shared interests or geography. To that end, I started a project this morning and immediately turned it over to the universe to build and maintain, called Twitter Packs.
The premise is simple: list areas of interest or locales, and self-select people you know who would be (in your estimation) someone others might follow.
So what do you think? Who or what can you add to Twitter Packs?
