Archive - April, 2006

Reminder: May 1st – Blogtipping Day

By on April 30, 2006 in Blogging with 2 Comments

If you haven’t heard, May 1st is "BlogTipping" Day.

What’s BlogTipping? Quite simple, and everyone benefits. Here’s how:

  • Pick a blog you read,
  • Share three positives about the blog,
  • Offer one tip to improve the blog,
  • Tag it with Blogtipping,

Many reasons to dig this idea:

  1. As the audience, you can share your view with the author.
  2. As the author, you find out what your audience likes/would like.
  3. As fellow blogtippers, we can be introduced to different blogs.
  4. By looking at other blogs and blogtippings, we can learn from each other.
  5. It’s a great way to introduce your audience to other blogs.
  6. It’s a great way to introduce your site to other bloggers.

Hard to decide on just one blog? Do more than one.

Related:
- What’s with the Link Love?

Technorati Tags: blogtipping

Dialing “8″ with Jeff Angus

By on April 30, 2006 in Blogging, Conversations with 0 Comments

Each time I hear objections like the one Shel Holtz wrote about yesterday, I point people to Jeff Angus‘ blog, Management by Baseball. It’s a great example how to blog around heavy-handed regulations and compliance issues.

First, because I’m a baseball fan and a business owner, I enjoy the read and "get" the metaphors.

Second, Jeff will almost always bring the baseball around to business. In a recent post, we witness Joe Maddon’s unorthodox defensive strategy against Boston slugger, David Ortiz. Jeff asks:

"Why wouldn’t a manager do this? The same reason managers beyond baseball don’t — because it’s not standard operating procedure. "

Third, you will usually find more than one take-away from Jeff’s message that translate to your business.

Fourth, If your business is heavily regulated, metaphors can be a great way to begin your blogging adventures. Look, we do business with people, not logos/brands/corporate identity. Talk about your passions and translate that into a business scenario:

  • Skier/Surfer/Skater? – Balance, Precision, Timing…
  • Golfer? – Focus, Patience, Self-Awareness…
  • Hoops? – Teamwork, Endurance, Vision…
  • Quilting? – Using the right tools, Design, Planning Ahead…

People do business with you, not your Yellow Pages ad. So be you, engage in the conversation. Don’t get bogged down by rules, get blogged up for results.

For more on Jeff Angus, read a short piece on his work in Fast Company. Here’s the feed to Management by Baseball

Aside: Did you know that "Dialing ’8′" is a nickname for a Home Run? It used to be standard in hotels that to get long distance on the phone, you first dialed eight. Dialing 8 = Long Distance = Home Run.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Whistle Stops – 04/29/06

By on April 29, 2006 in Whistle Stops with 0 Comments

Whistlestops_23

  • Business Blogs in Regulated Companies by Shel Holtz at a shel of my former self (feed) "This argument against blogging for regulated companies, though, supposes that a company blog has to focus on products and services covered by regulations." Shel makes some great points. In Des Moines, with a plethora of Insurance, Finance and stiff regulations on how Lawyers can market, this is a concern – but it shouldn’t stop all conversations.
  • Strategic Commenting: No Blog is an Island by Amy Gahran at The Right Conversation (feed): View your blog as part of a public conversation, make connections, take in interest in your audience. Don’t miss this post!
  • Stop!  Did you skip over the last post?  Don’t.
  • CoComment Firefox Extension: It’s Aliive! by Easton Ellsworth at Business Blogwire (feed) Easton is excited over the new CoComment Extension. I’ve started using it too. Check out the module on Easton’s blog. Very cool!  Now, aren’t you glad you read Amy’s post too?
  • Understanding Feeds/RSS Might Change Your Life & Business by Tom Vander Well at QAQnA (feed): Tom’s relatively new at blogging (technology) – but not communicating conversations (people). I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Tom on his company blog. Good stuff!

Technorati Tags: , Conversational Media, CoComment, ,

Extreme Leadership

By on April 29, 2006 in Books with 1 Comment

"WOW."*

Thank you, Steve Farber, for another great read with The Radical Edge.

Folks, head to the bookstore and get The Radical Leap and The Radical Edge. Grab a bench and devour ‘em – tomorrow. Comment on this post Monday night. I’d love to hear your story.

*Quote from page 133 of The Radical Edge.

Technorati Tags: Exteme Leadership, Radical Leap, Radical Edge, Steve Farber,

Eavesdropping on JT’s Brain

By on April 29, 2006 in Conversations with 0 Comments

Catch this conversation from JT Winebrenner at AiAlone: Don’t Try, Do.

It’s a conversation between Jon and JT (same guy, directing both sides of the brain) – but tell me you haven’t heard this conversation in your own head.

Good stuff, JT.  Thanks for letting us listen in.

Phew! or Ut-Oh?

By on April 28, 2006 in Blogging, Marketing with 3 Comments

Patrick Dodd at ShadowBox Studios brings up a great point in his example of the Durham Business School. No one in the blogosphere was talking about their MBA program.

Phew! or Ut-Oh?

Do you search the blogoshphere with trepidation that someone may be talking negatively about your company? Do you give yourself a high-five when there are no results?

How Now, Brown Cow, wouldn’t you prefer the color Purple?

Patrick suggests using blogs as a marketing barometer and joining the conversation, and I agree. Even if you don’t publish a blog, engage with your customers. If they talk about your company, comment on the post, link back to your site, send them an email…something.

  • Reward the Positive
  • Respond to the Negative
  • Indecision is a Decision
  • Not replying sends a message too.

Nobody’s talking about you? Search the blogosphere for sites that focus on your keywords (Technorati’s Blog Finder is great for this type of search). Find some commonality, comment on a post. Don’t talk about your business (your comment can be the link back to your site).

If you do publish a blog, link to other blogs (see Blog Posting Mantra #4) Example: Dr. Ken Davis offered a trackback to my previous post. Curious, I went to his blog and found it a great resource. I’m also going to share it with Dr. Delaney Kirk, a new blogger I’ve been working with, as a resource. (Ken, meet Delaney – Delaney, Ken).

Technorati Tags: , , , , , Blog Awareness

Knock the Cubicles Down

By on April 28, 2006 in Blogging with 1 Comment

Many cubicle cultures have teams or committees designated to build team morale within a department and sometimes across departments.

A popular item is to spotlight a member of a team with photos and a short bio on the company intranet or on a poster board pinned up somewhere.  It’s fun to watch how commonality links people into a new relationship.

Internal blogs can do the same. Especially across departments. Instead of the tech team and customer service team at odds with each other, blogging can bridge gaps and knock down cubicles, developing strong internal relationships.

There are several ways that Internal Blogging can be used:

  • Shift Logs
  • Project Updates
  • Collaboration
  • Knowledge Management
  • Company Events
  • Supervisory Communication

Internal Blogging also gives employees a voice and even a sense of ownership into the company’s direction.

We’ll be talking more about Internal blogging in May, especially during our Business Blog Workshop on May 18th.

There are several conversations on Internal Blogging that are worth looking into:
Gautum Gosh on Management
IABC Employee Communications
RSS Applied: Corporate Communication Feedback
BlogWrite for CEO’s

What are some ways your company/corporate culture could benefit from Internal Blogging?

Technorati Tags: Internal Blogging,

Gift Offer on April 29th Only!

By on April 27, 2006 in Books with 1 Comment

Would you like to:

  • Identify potential barriers to becoming a super achiever and find out how to destroy them?
  • Identify potential accelerants that can propel your career to new heights?
  • Know the three keys to boosting your positive attitude and create great career karma?

In celebration of Dave Lorenzo’s wedding, anyone who orders his Career Intensity book on Saturday will receive a free one-hour coaching session with Dave (after the honeymoon, I’m sure). This offer is good on Saturday, April 29th only.

I was able to give copies of the book to several workshop graduates and better yet, the guys at Children & Families of Iowa. Dave has made a generous offer to gift several books to the young men I work with weekly.

Here’s my review of Career Intensity. Don’t forget, Saturday April 29th. In the mean time, check out Dave’s Career Intensity Blog.

I’ll be out of town celebrating my 18th year of marriage (April 28th).

Technorati Tags:
Career Intensity, David Lorenzo, ,

Price or Time? Tough Call

By on April 27, 2006 in Blogging with 0 Comments

I knew the question would come up, just not this soon.

Price or Time, which is more important? The choice is between raising the cost of my services or extend the time it takes to complete a project.

Here’s some of the thinking behind the decision to raise prices:

  • By raising prices, it allows me to hire out or collaborate with some of the coding work, design, and research (not that I’m very good at the first two to begin with)
  • By raising prices, new bloggers will continue to quickly see the benefits of blogging – wait until you hear the stories of Delaney,  Tim and Mike extending the reach of Race Through the Forest (and one of them will share that soon, yes?).
  • When I first started offering blog service, there really was no market, therefore the price was ridiculously low – not anymore.
  • I’m not a big fan of this answer: "It will take 4-6 weeks."  That’s the answer for a full-blown web site, not a blog site. Want to start a conversation?  Let’s get going.

I’ve engaged in a working relationship with a local developer (they blog too!) who will help create StyleSheets for Six Apart products and another that will do the same for WordPress. This will help keep the time frames short (right, guys?).

So here’s the breakdown of services:

  • Blog Launch & Learn: $1,800 one-time fee. Includes strategy, blog launch, continued design improvements, 30-days of periodic, hands-on training of how to use social tools and become engaged in a conversation.
  • Blog Watch: $500 monthly. Includes weekly reports specifically about your blog posts, traffic patterns, tone and voice.
  • Blog Monitoring: $300 monthly. Includes tracking key words and phrases important to your business.

The last item is one I prefer the blogger to do, but at the outset of the project, it may be too much. Doesn’t mean it can’t/shouldn’t be done, so we offer this service for a short time to each customer.

So the answer to the question of raising prices or extending time is answered with the former. What are your thoughts?  Is Price more important than Time?

Technorati Tags:
, , , Price vs. Time

Five Posts in a Day?

By on April 26, 2006 in Blogging with 0 Comments

If you look at my calendar for today – I was pretty booked. When I wasn’t at an appointment, I was:

  • building a blog for a customer,
  • designing a web page (simple landing page) for another,
  • several follow-up coaching calls,
  • visited with a neighbor this afternoon (I should do more of this),
  • …and wrote two posts (this will be #3). The Whistle Stops post was written as a draft throughout the day.
  • Most of the posts are short.

I wrote the other two last night and scheduled them for a future release. I’ve also got one in the queue for tomorrow and three for this weekend.

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