ConverStations

Whistle Stops - 03/31/06

Some of my favorite blogs come out of the Know More Media team. In addition to 'Jam' Mayer's Call Center Script, Rich Ottum's Marketing Blurb and Dan Tudor's Landing The Deal, I'm a dedicated reader of Easton Ellsworth at Business Blog Wire. I found each of today's stops there first:

• Harnessing the Marketing Power of Blogs at Entrepreneur.com
• Seven Rules for Corporate Blogging by Nicholas Carr at Rough Type
• A Quick Taxonomy of Business Blogs by Mark Nash at GiftDock
• Four Ways to Optimize Your Business Blog
• Five Excellent Links for Any Business Blogger

My suggestion? Subscribe the the Business Blog Wire feed.

Technorati Tags: Business Blogging, Know More Media, Whistle Stops

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Navigatiing the Legalities of Blogging

Playing catch up after two days on the road, I find that Munir Umrani at The Blogging Journalist highly recommends an article by Jennifer L. Patterson, The Shifting Legal Landscape of Blogging.

"By their nature, blogs may not fit within the private/public framework that the U.S. Supreme Court constructed for defamation law more than 30 years ago. Unlike traditional means of publication and broadcast - newspapers, magazines, television, and radio - blogs can help level the playing field for private and public figures. The distinguishing feature of many blogs is the interactive ability of readers to post comments in response to blog entries. Since anyone can start a blog - or respond to a blog posting with his or her own comment when the blog gives readers that opportunity - the private/public figure distinction may no longer be as meaningful for defamatory blogs. Indeed, both private and public figures have the same means and access, at least on the Internet, to counter false statements."

As the title of the article suggests, this topic is still in a state of flux. We don't have control over what others say (and never have had it), but do have control over our own response. Equal and ample opportunity to counter with ones own side/opinion.

This will be discussed more in a future Fears of Blogging posting.

This is an article you should read and bookmark. Follow the topic. One way to do that is by subscribing to The Blogging Journalist (feed).

Here are Munir's thoughts on the article.

Technorati Tags: Defamation, Blog Laws, Business Blogging, Fears of Blogging

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Fears of Blogging: Control

WARNING: If you think you're in complete control of your brand message...or have the power to stifle the conversations taking place about your business - think again.

Last week's Fears of Blogging:Time post drew some ire offline. I wonder if this one will as well.

I recently engaged in a conversation with a marketing rep from one of Des Moines' largest companies. Their biggest fear of blogging was having an irate customer make comments on their site. They didn't want others to see that kind of stuff.

For me, I'd rather have that "stuff" in a place where I have influence (my company's blog) than somewhere I have no opportunity to respond (the local coffee shop). 

Not having a blog doesn't stifle the conversation - it will just takes place elsewhere. And your customers are talking - that's what we human beings do. Frankly, if your concerned so much about negative talk - maybe your problems are bigger than whether to blog or not.

If you think you alone own your brand - think again. Your customers deliver a message about you quite often. Why? Because they can. Whether you think they should or not is beside this point. By engaging in a conversation with them - on your blog or theirs - you have influence in the conversation. Your brand and your business practice improves. You gain customer loyalty.

At Viaspire, Heather's recent post, Much Ado About Blogging got me to thinking about Blogging Fears. I've subscribed to Heather's feed and encourage you to do likewise. Also, Debbie Weil at BlogWrite for CEOs has a category dedicated to Fear of Blogging.

Technorati Tags: Fears of Blogging, Control, Customer Relations, Business Blogging

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Whistle Stops - 03/28/06

All aboard for the dining car edition. The social bookmarking tool del.icio.us is great for research. If you want to search on a certain tag, just type in 'del.icio.us/tags/search term' into your address bar. Then scroll to the bottom of the page for the feed.

Here are some that may interest you:

• http://del.icio.us/tag/rss
• http://del.icio.us/tag/feeds
• http://del.icio.us/tag/blogging+strategy
• http://del.icio.us/tag/blogging+tips

Del.icio.us Tags: del.icio.us, social bookmarks, business blogging
Technorati Tags: del.icio.us, social bookmarks, business blogging, Whistle Stops

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TypePad Titles SEO Friendly?

Rich Brooks at the Flyte Blog suggest that a few tweaks in your Typepad Page Titles may be beneficial. The experiment starts with his own blog.  I think it's good advice and may implement this myself.

If you'd like to get these changes, Rich is offering to assist for a small fee. If you take advantage of the offer, make sure you ask for your titles to be links in your Main, Datebased and Category pages. This is also a simple fix:

In your entry-list template, change this:

<h3 class="entry-header"><$MTEntryTitle$></h3>

to this:

<h3 class="entry-header"><a href="<$MTEntryPermalink$>"><$MTEntryTitle$></a></h3>

UPDATE: You'll need to also change one line of code in your Main Index Template, Datebased Archives and Category Archives - very simple. Change this:

<$MTWeblogIncludeModule module="entry-list"$>

to this...

<$MTInclude module="entry-list"$>

Though I could do this, I'm just one person - Flyte has a team. They look like kids, but I'm sure they have a fine crew.

technorati tags: SEO Flyte Typepad

Tags Generated with KeoTag

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Whistle Stops - 03/27/06

BAM - Three abilities to make you stronger in business and life:

• Buzz-ability -  What's Your Buzz Impact Score? by Ron McDaniel at Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing (feed): If you score 40+, you'll be talked about. I scored 43 (I dress plainly).
• Approach-ability - The Single Most Important Personal Attribute by Rachel Cunliffe at cre8ed design (feed): None of us came into the world full of knowledge. Help others as others have helped you.
• Market-ability - Your Resume - The Brand YOU Brochure by ME 'Liz' Strauss at Successful Blog (feed): Good tips and I'll add this...put your resume on your blog site. HR pros know that resumes are a lot of fluff and often written by copywriters. A resume/blog will give your prospective employer a pre- and post-interview glimpse into who you are. Nice idea now - a standard practice in the future.

Technorati Tags: Whistle Stops, Success-Abilities, Buzz, Resume Blog

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Blogging Has Two Roles...

...and every business should take part in at least one of them.

Is your company still deciding whether or not to start a blog? Glad to hear you're considering it. It's not going to be tomorrow? That's fine too. But...you can still start blogging today.

If blogging is a form of conversation - and it is - remember there are two roles. Talking and Listening. And frankly, if you're not at least listening - you're standing on the tracks and the train is headed your way. As Ted Demopoulos recently asked, "Are you Insane?"

Quick Tips:

1. Go to Technorati.com and sign up for a free account.
2. Find the Watchlist link at the top of the screen.
3. Type in the name of you or your client in quotes (ex. "Mike Sansone")
4. Subscribe to the feed (Search Once and Subscribe)
5. Type in the URL of your business or your client/prospect.
6. Subscribe to the feed.
7. Whenever something comes up for your client - send them a link.

They'll know you care. It's better than 'touching base' with a call, "Just seeing how business is." Which is really saying, "Don't forget about me, I'd really like to sell you something soon." If your business depends on long sales cycles, you're all to familiar with this type of contact.

Rich Brooks at Flyte Blog shares a video tutorial on how to subscribe to a Technorati Watchlist.

Did I mention Search Once and Subscribe? Are you still paying for a new clipping service?

Technorati tags: Technorati Watchlists News Clipping Sales Cycle Blog Marketing

Note: Tags generated with KeoTag.com

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Whistle Stops - 03/25/06

There are many great series and themes around the blogosphere. Here are some worth bookmarking subscribing to:

• Distinguish Yourself by Rajesh Setty at Life Beyond Code (feed) There are 116 of them thus far, each one a gem.
• InBox Zero by Merlin Mann at 43 Folders (feed) It's helped keep my e-mail down. Wish I practiced this stuff years ago.
• Finding Ideas Outside the Box by ME 'Liz' Strauss at Successful Blog (feed) Great Eye-deas, keen insight. Tap into all your (common) senses.
• Money-Quotes by David Lorenzo at SOHO Savvy (feed) I forget who said (Churchill?) that a person will become smarter by reading quotes over anything else.

Technorati Tags: Whistle Stops, Quotes, Ideas, Self-Improvement, e-mail

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Small Business Blogs

Just as I was reading some of the cool sties that Brian Brown has been posting about in the new Pajama Market: Small Business Blogging, Shel Israel mentions that Brian's looking for small business blogs to write about.

There are several in the Small Biz Blog Examples on the right, and I'll alert Brian about those. If you're a blog consultant or publishing a small business blog, let Brian know about it.

Better yet, if you're considering launching a small business blog, subscribe to the Pajama Market feed and keep up with all the Small Business Blog of the Day postings. I wonder if they get awarded that cool button.

I gather that the focus is on businesses that blog, rather than those blogging as a business - something like Two Maids and a Mop.

Technorati Tags: Small Biz Blog, Business Blogging, Pajama Market, Blog Reviews

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WDM City Manager Blog

From the desk of West Des Moines City Manager Jeff Pomeranz, the WDM Blog extends gratitude to the EMS Public Access Defibrillation program.

I'd like to join Jeff in extending thanks. About a year ago, my mother-in-law passed away. She lived with us for over two years. Five times in that last year, we called on the WDM EMS teams - and each time they seemed to arrive before we got off the line. Each instance we called, they arrived in time. Mom passed away peacefully in her sleep in April last year.

I'd also like to extend thanks to Jeff Pomeranz. It's great to see a leader step up and engage in a conversation with the community. Here's the feed to subscribe to Jeff's blog. Here's a one-page primer on RSS and feeds.

Technorati Tags: EMS, Jeff Pomeranz, West Des Moines, Iowa, Gratitude

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