ConverStations

Five in the Morning 022509 - A Guest Whistle Stop

I'm a big fan of Steve Woodruff's 5 in the Morning series. It it brings the daily cream of the crop right to the top. This morning, I'm honored to be guest hosting this great series:

• Sean Howard found a great audio/visual presentation on the future of advertising in It's Time for Brands to do Something for People
  
  
• Paula Thornton's Deep Thinking around Search was a great find for me yesterday. And the way I found it is part of what this piece tries to slice. Hat tip to David Armano for sharing it on Twitter.
  
• Speaking of David  Armano, his presentation of Thinking Visually is now a movie (sorta) and I'll be sharing this often.
  
• Amit Argawal offers up a great peek into how smart (or dumb) we are...based on our taste of music?
  
• Yesterday we caught a bit of a blaze in a "two words" tweme (a Twitter meme) as I asked folks to describe what they do in two words. This way I can remember it, then repeat it elsewhere.  Some great responses can be found in the results.

Thanks Steve for letting me guest host this series.  Hope I can do it again sometime. Keep that train rolling.

Subscribe: Mike Sansone's ConverStations blog / Steve Woodruff's StickyFigure blog
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Whistle Stops - 2/22/09

Whistle Stops are conversations, eye-openers, or tools representing the brain train discovered while traveling along the Conversphere.  From business to education, life hacks to giving back, these are the posts and links that have in some way grabbed my attention!

This week's Highlights:

• Introducing the 21st Century - Kim Cofino offers three fantastic presentations on the 21st century education.
• Social Bites- Like Sounds Bites, but Different - Tim Nash offers the strategy and anatomy of a "social bite"  
• Questions about Questions - David Armano answers, nay, asks questions about questioning. Are you building a community or cultivating a community?
• The Science of ReTweets - Dan Zarrella dissects retweeting (a spin on repeating) content published on Twitter.

Next week:

• A series on my findings of Blog Blazers, a great book with advice from 40 top-notch bloggers.
• Tuesday, February 24th: Social Media Lunch n Learn at Connxions in Urbandale
• Wednesday, February 25th: At Atlantic School District with Angela Maiers, and Mrs Durff via Skype
• Friday, Panera U day (hope to see you there)

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Whistle Stops Sunday - The Presentation Edition

Whistle Stops are conversations, eye-openers, or tools representing the brain train discovered while traveling along the Conversphere.  From business to education, life hacks to giving back, these are the posts and links that have in some way grabbed my attention!

• Presentation Design in 2009 by Scott Schwertly at Ethos3 - How to add more storytelling to your PowerPoints this year.
• The Top 7 PowerPoint Slide Designs by Olivia Mitchell at Speaking about Presenting - A look at different styles and designs to emulate
• Nine Steps to PowerPoint Magic by Seth Godin at Seth's Blog - Each (or any) of these steps will make you a better presenter and your audience more engaging.
• Empower Your Point - "A daily source of tips, advice and news to improve your presentation skills"
• How to Embed YouTube Videos in Your PowerPoint at WikiHow

and one of my favorite SlideShare gems (this from Scott Elias):

Taking Your Slide Deck to the Next Level

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: education design)

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Whistle Stops are conversations, eye-openers, or tools representing the brain train discovered while traveling along the Conversphere.  From business to education, life hacks to giving back, these are the posts and links that have in some way grabbed my attention!

Sites Shared - 11/25/08

Sort of a mini-Whistle Stops post, I'll share sites I share in offline meetings in these posts. This will help those I talk with have a reference point, but I also hope it helps those I haven't met with to see what I'm sharing most.

• Twitter - A great way to build community and conversation (but start with a blog!)
• Mr. Tweet - A new way to build a network based on who you are already networking with
• Facebook - We did a few searches for relevant or targeted individuals and groups
• Brightkite - As a location based marketing search tool
• TwitterLocal - Same thing... location based search
• MicroPersuasion - Showing how comment threads can turn into conversations between commentors
• Zane Safrit's Blog - Zane came up first in a relevant keyword search.  Nice job!
• Angela Maiers - Because I'm under strict orders to show her site daily...plus I showed how to use/ how not to use StumbleUpon
• Escape From Cubicle Nation - Because it's a must read for any entrepreneur
• Twemes - Showing what a twitter meme is and how it can add to the conversation/networking
• BlogTalkRadio - Because it's free - and it's easy - and everyone can use it.
• FeedBurner - Every feed should be published through these folks (FULL FEEDS, PLEASE!)
• LibraryThing - A great way to find books via reader tags.

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Whistle Stops: Google Reader Edition

Whistle Stops are conversations, eye-openers, or tools representing the brain train discovered while traveling along the Conversphere. From business to education, lifehack to giving back, these are the posts and links that have in some way grabbed my attention!

This past week, I talked with many "bloggers" active in the conversphere who -- ready for this? -- did not use a RSS reader...of any kind!  Huh?

Many of these folks blog. Most of them read other blogs.  They subscribe to some blogs via email, but not a RSS reader.  Here are some great resources and ideas on how to use Google Reader in business and educational use:

• How I Use RSS To Make My Life Easier by Sue Waters at The Edublogger (RSS feed): Sue does a great job sharing some ways how information she wants comes to her rather than her going after it.
• How to Get Started with Google Reader by Dustin Wax at Stepcase Lifehacker (RSS feed):
• RSS Explained: RSS: How to Set Up RSS Reader (using Google Reader) by MrLewisSmile on Squidoo (RSS feed) Great procedural on the what, why, and how of using Google Reader as your RSS aggregator.
• How to Use Google Reader (a video tutorial series) by Drew Noah at Expert Village (RSS feed) A series of 7 video tutorials on how to use Google Reader smartly.

I also continually share some of my posts on reading RSS feeds such as:

• Search Once & Subscribe
• More Knowledge + Less Time = Smart Infosumption
• Feed Reading Strategy: Skim, Scan & Save
• Get in the Routine of Feed Reading
• Pruning Your RSS Bush
• Hey Blog Coach, How do I Subscribe to a Feed?
• The IF, THEN & NEXT of RSS Feeds

Remember, in yesterday's mini-lesson podcast I mentioned how Google Reader can help save time, gain knowledge AND keep found things found.  A powerful and profitable combination.

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Whistle Stops - 09/07/08

Whistle Stops are conversations, eye-openers, or tools representing the brain train discovered while traveling along the Convers sphere.  From business to education, lifehack to giving back, these are the posts and links that have in some way grabbed my attention!

• How to Write an Article in 20 Minutes by Jim Estill: Take these 8 tips into your blog writing and you'll find you probably end up writing better (and quicker) posts.
• 5 Hacks Just for Writers by Thursday Bram: And here's five more tips in case you're hungry.
• How to Use a Day Plan Without Wanting to Stab Your Eyes Out by Jonathan Mead: It's a just plan...four great tips for stress-free planning.
• Calls to Action - 12 Tips to SNAP Readers Out of Passivity by Darren Rowse: Sometimes wallflowers are your best readers, but here are a few ways to get them more engaged.

Happy surfing

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Whistle Stops - 08/22/08

Whistle Stops are conversations, eye-openers, or tools representing the brain train discovered while traveling along the Convers sphere.  From business to education, lifehack to giving back, these are the posts and links that have in some way grabbed my attention!

• An Open Letter to Teachers by Bud Hunt: There are too many "money-quotes" in here to mention. A must read (not just for teachers!!)
• The Joy of Simply Faffing Around by Tom Hodgkinson: Faffing?  "Yeah, well...sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand."
• Visual Thinking, Logic & Emotion Style by David Armano: A great library of visuals helping to make the complex simple.
• Teaching With Intention - The First 20 Days by Angela "Vitamin" Maiers: Now we're talking! Designing a Classroom and Curriculum we'll call Education Eutopia. Keep that fire burning, Chief!
• The Top 5 Ways to Keep Your Blog Content Fresh by Liz Fulghum: Liz' tips will help you fight any blogging blues for good.
• 8 Essential Skills They Didn't Teach You in School by Brian Armstrong: And they still don't, so read this post and learn 'em yourself
• How to do More With Less Time by Chris Brogan: Chris does us all a favor and shares the tools that get him to bed earlier. Yet, 16 hours later, Chris couldn't sleep and posted this image. G'night, Chris

Great stuff!  Happy Reading.

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Whistle Stops - 08/01/08

It's been awhile since we've done a Whistle Stop tour, but we're gonna get back on track:-)  (Ha, ha - very punny!)

Whistle Stops are conversations, eye-openers, or tools representing the brain train discovered while traveling along the Convers sphere.  From business to education, lifehack to giving back, these are the posts and links that have in some way grabbed my attention!

• 50 Cheap Mini-Lessons by Mr. D: Nothing cheap about 'em, Mr D. has this series coming in digestable bits of 10 in each post (the series itself is delivered in mini-lessons). See bottom of his posts for links to previous. Don't miss this if you're in marketing. SCAMPER 'em instead.
• 10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything by Dustin Wax: For many, No. 9 should be No. 1. These are really not outsource-able.
• 26 Life Lessons from Sports by David Zinger: Being a former P.E. & Baseball Coach, I could use and re-purpose sports-metaphors without ever tiring. This list will challenge you to find a metaphor for 26 grappling situations. Not a sports fan? SCAMPER this into a different team theme (dance, music, ant farms...)
• Use TwitterFeed to Promote Your Blog Tips by Denise Wakeman: Good overview of why and how to use Twitter and TwitterFeed to promote your work. Remember the 80-10-10 rule though. 80% sharing resources, 10% chit-chat-how's-yer-cat, 10% pimp your stuff.

All aboard!

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March Reflections and Gratitude

Reflections on March this and past:

Top Posts: March 2008

- Twitter + Yahoo! Pipes = Signal
- What Time do You (RSS) Feed Your Audience?
- Why I Use Twitter - Increase Infosumption Without a Headache
- Do You Talk Write?
* Special Thanks to those who sent well-wishes during my Long Walk on a Short Pier

Top Posts: March 2007

- Are Your Links Getting Clicked?
- Twitter as a Business App? Create a Plugin Panel
- Hey Blog Coach: What About SEO?
- Brand You with a Blog

Top Posts: March 2006

- Search Once and Subscribe
- A Blog Posting Mantra
- Blogging Has Two Roles
- The Fear of Business Blogging

Commenters: Angela Maiers (3), Search Engine Optimization Journal (3), Brick Marketing (2), Joanna Young (2), Ted Demopoulos (2), Chris Brown (2), Sherry Borzo (2), Valeria Maltoni (2), Chris Punke (2), Orgawell (2), Land Projects UK (2), Gavin Heaton, Drew McLellan, Ryan Karpeles, Dan Schawbel, Michael Martine, Larry Hendrick, Jay Ehret, JD Lasica, Robyn McMaster, Ellen Weber, Ike Pigott,  Debra Helwig, Tom Green, Teresa, Andrew Clark, Ken Burbary, Sue Waters, Delaney Kirk, Cherice Montgomery, Steve Roesler, Heather D, Phil Gerbyshak, Whitney Hess, Scott Phillips, Mack Collier, Mike Wagner, Douglas Karr, Janet Green, Webster Jorgensen, Barbara Ling, Geoff Livingston, Allan Jenkins, Toby Bloomberg, Terry Starbucker,  Elizabeth Helfant, Debra Murphy, Lisa Neal, C.B. Whittemore, Becky Carroll, Joe Tech, Mark True, Anil Wadguhle, Tony Hirst, Mike Templeton, Patricia Donaghy, Andraz, Blog Marketing Journal, Pay Per Click Journal, Sembach, Jim Lyons, Joyce Paisley, Martin, Tom, Alexina, Pat, Lisa.

 

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Whistle Stops - 03/28/08

Some sites I've Stumbled Upon, Twittered about or found Delicious this week:

• What's Next: The Experts' Guide: Predictions from 50 of America's Most Compelling People - Sneak peek (pdf) at a new Harper Collins book. Several chapters on Education. Worth a look-see before you buy (bet I'll buy). H/T @steverubel
• Blog Me Up! by Zemanta - A neat little tool that will appear alongside your blogging software (Blogger, Typepad or WordPress) within your Firefox browser, suggesting photos, tags and relevant links.
• Three Ways to Maximize Your Twitter Time for Networking, Marketing and Fun - Three great ways to get the most of that Twascally Twhabit you've got.
• 8 ways to use Social Media in Church - Some great ideas on how Churches might use social media tools (Youth Pastors could really tap into some of these ideas - but any church, subgroup, para-church org can do likewise). H/T @conniereece

Message to Douglass Karr: please post about how you "fixed" your delicious links. It didn't work for me.

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