ConverStations | Archive | November, 2007

Archive - November, 2007

Marketing Resources for Students

By Mike Sansone on November 28, 2007 in Education, Marketing with 3 Comments

I’ll be speaking during two of Jann Freed’s classes today at Central College. Rather than do handouts (“we don’t need no stinkin’ handouts!”), I thought I’d share and archive the resources here. Even if you are a student of online colleges and universities, these marketing resources can still help you.

Rather than use power point, we used Firefox bookmarks (and I’ve placed them all at Delicious):

http://del.icio.us/mikesansone/JannFreed

And the books:

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

I’ll post updates with some of their questions/answers this afternoon.

Brain Rhythms Beget Blog Rhythms: Let’s Dance!

By Mike Sansone on November 27, 2007 in Blog Coach with 3 Comments

Robyn McMaster at BrainBasedBiz tickled my cranium with her post on Brain Rhythms at Work! Citing a study from Florida Atlantic U., whose findings offer a new brain rhythm distinguishing when we’re socially active or not, Robyn includes in her post a list of Five Tips for More Effective Social Interaction at Work.

Let’s take a look at Robyn’s list with a blog rhythm beat (that’d be eight-to-the-bar, yeah):

Provide well-balanced and relevant links outward: Let’s get right to the point – If our brain “at work” is made up of neurons searching and connecting…and the more connections our brain makes, the smarter we are – then isn’t the same true for the web? The more connections, the smarter “we” become? I dunno. Doctors?
Introduce folks to each other via email or links: I really dig it when I see folks connect and converse. Especially if I had any influence on the connection. Guess what – they dig it too!
Create more conversation in the community:Engage with your community by getting out on the dance floor. Waiting for incoming comments and only commenting back is not engagement. That’s like standing behind the counter and waiting for someone to walk in. Get out from behind the counter
Be the Resource on’t want to link to potential competitors? Gimme a break! What you think by not linking to them I won’t find them? Be the Resource.
Sell the why: When you share a link, tell us why it’s of value to you. If I’m already reading your stuff, I’m interested in not only what – but why you’re finding the resource valuable.

All that, remember Blog Posting Mantra #4 = ____________ (right, At Least One Link Out)

CSS: Cheat Sheets & Sites for Cascading Style Sheets

By Mike Sansone on November 27, 2007 in Cool Tools with 12 Comments

A lot of folks see me with a laptop computer and figure I must be a tech guy (remember, I’m in Iowa). Of course, I smile real big and wonder if they suddenly think I’m also a dentist.

I’m not a tech guy. I’m just unafraid of technology (let’s not talk about the dentist anymore, though). One reason I can be so brave with tech stuff and code is some of the tools available. Here are some I use to modify the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) of sites I work on.

CSS Cheat Sheets and Sites:

Dynamic Drive CSS Library: I use this quite a bit for navigation on blog sites. I especially like the RSS Feed so I know when they add to the library. Copy & Paste the code. Great stuff! (Don’t miss their FavIcon Generator)
MaxDesign’s Listamatic: Another popular one for me – easy-to-use top nav code.
Font Tester: Use the tool box on the right to set the font. If you like what you see in the text area – grab the code. Easy peasy!
CSS Cheat Sheet: This is a true cheat sheet! Print it out and put it somewhere findable. (Here’s one for HTML)
Color Converter: For when you only have RGB (220, 175, 0) and need HEX (#DCAF00)
HTML Playground: Interactive, teach-yourself-how guide.
Web-Developer’s Handbook: You thought I had a big blogroll? Check out this library!

Of course, you could do like I often do – outsource it! PSD2HTML.

Those are a few tools I find useful. Remember, mistakes are tuition.

Oh, and if you see me washing my hands today…that doesn’t make me a plumber:-)

Quotes n Notes: Learn Something

By Mike Sansone on November 26, 2007 in Quotes n Notes with 5 Comments

"You can learn just as much from your TORMENTORS as from your MENTORS."
- Karen Salmansohn (Tip # 60 in Ballsy)

Actually, the quote above is the subtext of Karen’s tip. The point of the arrow reads, "Even A Schmuck Can Teach You Things." My take: If you can’t learn from a schmuck, who’s the schmuck?"

So here’s the challenge for you today (and for every day for the rest of your time)…

If you find yourself ready to complain, gripe, moan, whine, gossip, whuddevah!…ask a few genius-type questions and excavate your learning experience.

What’s a genius-type question?

What if…?
How is _____ like ____?
What would it take to _____?
How would people respond to _____?
What would it look like if we turned this so?

So c’mon brainy-hacks, bring on the life lessons, yeah? Remember, begin with a beginner’s mindset and learn sump’n'-sump’n’.

Social Network Add: Karen has put together a Facebook Group: I Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 Happy People (Dammit). I’m addicted to Happy People and lately, my middle name seems to be dammit…so…join us!

Tracking Your Comments

By Mike Sansone on November 25, 2007 in Blogging with 6 Comments

Andy C has an in-depth review of three comment tracking services: CoComment; Co.Mments; and Commentful. I’ve used the first two, sticking with CoComment for the most part.

All three offer an RSS feed to your comments, and I especially like how CoComment allows you to track conversations you don’t comment on – very useful for heavy-regulated industries (or those too scared to engage).

I’ve watched others try to track their comments via their feed aggregator (by flagging posts they comment on) or via del.icio.us. How do you track your comments?

Hat tip to Kyle and KylesCove for pointing out this resource.

More Changes

By Mike Sansone on November 25, 2007 in Brain Stew with 4 Comments

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Over the next several weeks, I’ll be making some changes here – some noticeable in your feed, some only by visiting the site.

Categories: I’ve been creating categories as I go since I started this site. That’s not even how I coach others to do it. I’ve whittled some and added some. You may notice some posts republished in your feeds – but that’s okay. They’re probably worth a review.
Contents: I’ll be replacing the Top Posts page with a Table of Contents. Not necessarily a site map, but more like a glance at the most recent posts in each category. Thanks to Art Dinkin for the idea. (PS – Art, Once it works here, we’ll implement there.)
Entry: I’ve been toying with this idea…well, for almost a year. The first two sections of Break Your Blog… got my juices running again. My goal is to have the three most recent posts front-and-center, some static blurbs always available (though below the fold) and a few of the Contents archives. We’ll see how this one goes.

So, pardon the mess. While we’re digging for signal, there may be some noise ahead.

Your Blogging Territories

By Mike Sansone on November 4, 2007 in Blog Coach, Conversations with 11 Comments

Some teachers use a technique with young writers on examining their Writing Territories. Three columns of discovery: WHAT I WRITE ABOUT, WHO I WRITE TO, and WHY I WRITE.

As I watch them demonstrate this in a workshop, it strikes me how this exercise can be used with business blogging to help provide a compass. I’ve already begun using Blogging Territories in coaching sessions.

As an example, and being the blogger I want my bloggers to become, here are my Blogging Territories:

WHAT	WHO	WHY
Blogging Conversations Community RSS Feeds Social Media Leadership Marketing Blog Software Writing Inspiration Customer Service Web Tools	Business Owners Educators Consultants Bloggers Salespeople Writers Colleagues Strangers Family Friends Search Engines (not!)	Teach Share Learn Think Aloud Test Ideas Inspire Ignite Conversation Give Examples Compel Action Introduce People Marketing

Take some time and write out your "blogging territories" — a great way to compass your blog writing.

What Interests or Inspires You?

By Mike Sansone on November 2, 2007 in Blog Coach, Conversations with 4 Comments

So, here’s a question for you: What interests or inspires You?

Thinking of ourselves as a reader (blogs, books, whatever), we read what interests us and discard that which fails to interest or inspire. We all do it to some degree. Realizing this, we should pay attention to what holds our interest…and share it.

Repeat after me:

If it interests or inspires me, it will do the same for others.

We often find ways to fit the odds, ends, and anecdotal into our conversations. With a business blog post, you can always have a "bottom line" that brings your anecdote back to your core message.