My first Android post

It's funny how technology evolves so quickly and many people make a living talking about tech trends, but few talk about the emerging skills that follow those trends.

Now, i've had a smartphone for a while now, but I have resisted the urge to blog from it simply because my swyping skills are no match for my 90wpm typing skills. Why use a platform that takes twice as long to get the job done, I say. Then I realized, it's not the software or hardware; it's the operator!

While i've been using my phone for everything BUT document creation, the generation behind me is learning to swype at 90wpm. And while i've been neglecting my laptop (and by extention, my blog), recent grads are pumping out content while waiting for business meetings to begin.

Knowing how the tech works is just one piece of the puzzle... mastering the related core skills is the elephant in the room. It's about time we acknowledged that.

The Group Administrators' Lament

Forlorn! the very act is living hell

To toll for hours for thee by my sole self!

New! the fancy cannot post so well

As we are told to do, digital shelf.

New! new! thy informative anthem fades

Past the near forums, over the data stream,

Up the server-side; and now ’tis archived deep

In the fray, a search-bot wades:

Was it a calling, or a pipe-smokers dream?

Gone is that drive:—Do I drift to sleep?

 -Original satiric poem, adapted from "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats

 

I feel it. The desperation. The loathing. The brewing hatred for all you consumers. You consume my sweat. My searching. My intellect.

Shame on you.

Every forum admin, group founder and blogger has his or her own version of this lament.  You feel what I feel. That dirty, sweaty sock under-the-bed feeling.  The feeling of being used.  You created a blog, a forum or a group to share. All you have to show for it is Take. 

Nine members, 50 members, 100 members strong; few give.  Few share. Most take.

They take your insights with every, "Great post. Informative."  They take your side with every, "I agree. Good post."  They take offense with every, "How dare you!? Moron."  But it's worse when they take your time.

"Nice topic you posted, admin. We'd have more to say about it if you take some more time to post more of your opinions."

Okay.

Two hours later, their request has been assuaged.  You wait. Two more hours, two more days and maybe even two more weeks.  Nothing. They took your time.  You sucker.  You fell for it, again.

Take heed, users. Takers. We're growing wise.  We're seeing through the mock concern, the faux interest and the self-righteous criticism.  We're not service providers. We're not here to make a digital storehouse of information for you to pillage.  You must share. You will share.  You will stop asking questions when you don't care about the answer.  You will stop reading and start discussing. You will back up your criticisms with facts from more than just Wikipedia.

Why?

'Cause the jig is up! We're on to you. We're watching you.  We have our clicker finger hovering over the ban-stick and we're not afraid to use it.

You've been warned.

Big Shot Blogger

Top-Shelf Personal Blogging Tips
A guest post by John Moore

Amanda, I wanted to start off by thanking you for the invitation to write a post for Strategic Fox.  I enjoy having the opportunity to engage people anywhere, anytime, and it was a pleasure writing this piece.

 

When it comes to the blogging process, I must remind you that there is no right approach.  However, if your goal is to engage in a dialog to share opinions and discussions, here is what I recommend:

 

• Determine what you are excited about.  Your passions; what you are interested in discussing with other users.  I have chatted with a lot of people who recommend a laser-like focus on one or two topics, if this is your passion, follow it.   I enjoy engaging on a fairly wide-range of topics and it has been successful, thus far.
• Define goals for your blog. Personal blogs, like corporate blogs, are often a means to an end.  My goals for social media usage are defined here.  A similar outline may help you measure the results of  your own social media efforts.
  
• Give yourself a target number of posts per week. I strongly urge you not to write a daily blog update, as you will burn out.  On the other hand, don't write a post once every two weeks.  Readers will not come back.  If feasible, try to write 2 or 3 times a week for your first couple of months.  As you enter the flow of blogging and begin to find your social voice, you will be able to determine a frequency that suits your life.
• Please, please, please....  Do not write a one-way blog. Comments are critical for engagement and engagement, in my opinion, is the only reason to develop a blog.  Unless you are an all-knowing being, keep comments open. Actively review and respond to your readers.  As you do this, people will return to your blog, both to agree and disagree with your opinions.  This is one of the most critical components for a new blogger, do not forget this please.
• Decide what PR channels you will utilize.  I recommend starting off with Twitter, LinkedIn Groups, Facebook, and Technorati.  You will get big bang for buck with LinkedIn Groups and Twitter in the short-term, while Technorati will provide longer term payback.

If your goal is to create a platform for social engagement, these tips will get you going in the right direction.  Do not get too discouraged when your posts get few views and do not get too excited when you write a post that produces a lot of discussion.  I have had a day with fewer than 50 views and a day with over 4600 views.  Remain calm with the Tao of blogging and follow the advice above.  Maybe one day you and I will be at the head of the virtual blogging classroom.

 

John Moore

http://johnfmoore.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/JohnFMoore

Things I Adore: Part 3

Blogs of Note:
Great blogs and how you can have one.

As the owner of a freshly-launched personal blog, I am vastly interested in top web publishers and their methods.  According to Technorati, the following is an accurate list of the five most popular blogs to date:


1. Boing Boing : A brain-child of Mark Frauenfelder and his wife Carla, Boing Boing started off as a magazine before it became a group blog in January 2000.  Together with four co-editors, Boing Boing promises to be a "directory of wonderful things" and delivers 'weird' to a Technorati fan-base of over 4,300 people.  Boing Boing works because it highlights strange and unique content on a consistent basis via staff and guest posts.

2. Problogger:  Darren Rowse launched his personal blog about life, faith and his hobby long before he ever thought he'd make money doing so.  Today, Problogger boasts a #2 ranking on Technorati with over 3, 800 fans.  Darren has lots to say about his journey, but  his most important lesson is 'slow and steady wins the race.'  Since 2002, Darren has brought his hobby from fun to profit through niche subject matter and genius marketing.

3. TechCrunch: This commercial blog is new in comparison to the top two, but it boasts over 3,600 fans on Technorati and profiles all things technology and business.  Started by Michael Arrington in 2005, TechCrunch has a dozen staff members working to keep the content fresh.  Their success stems from loyalty to their niche and expanded content offerings through The Crunch Network; several sub-blogs that target different tech genres.

4.  Lifehacker:  With just over 3,080 Technorati fans, Lifehacker has provided a steady stream of 'life-simplification tips' via web since 2005.  With over 18 updates per weekday, visitors can always find ways to streamline their routine.  Lifehacker is one of many blogs owned by Gawker Media founded by Nick Denton.  The corporate blogs' popularity is attributed to a steady stream of updates about new products and services that improve quality-of-life.


5. Engadget:  Just barely behind Lifehacker is Engadget, a corporate blog dedicated to consumer electronics that has over 3,040 fans on Technorati.  Engadget sets itself apart by offering geek-speak in seven different languages through sub-sites.  Peter Rojas created Engadget in 2004, which was recently acquired by AOL.  The blog is successful because it makes a general topic personalized through translation and news leads posted from readers.


Now, most of these blogs are owned by companies, but they didn't all start that way.  The top two blogs began as personal platforms dedicated to the writers 'niche of choice.'  Since personal blogs are the most common variety, the next post will feature a 'guide to personal blogging' from John Moore, VP of Engineering of Swimfish, Inc.  John's blog was created on February 3rd, 2009, it averages six comments per post and over 180 unique visitors a day.  You can follow him on Twitter at JohnFMoore.

I'll be posting his article as soon as I get it, so watch my twitter feed at @foxystrategy for update status.

Faux Online Experts

Blogging Should Require a License
The information age is thriving, but are we really learning anything of value?

I am not an expert. To be an expert, I figure one has to be immersed in a field for many years. While I may not have decades of work experience, I am schooled enough to easily determine whether a resource is credible.

The blog post titled "17 Strategies to Killer Ads" has been RT'd as an authority enough to grab my attention, and when I read it I threw up a little. Poor grammar and spelling aside, what are these gentlemen talking about?

Here's an excerpt:
"In the Advertising world, the creative process look like this: Strategy > Concept/Idea > Campaign & Tagline > Executions. You can see, the Strategy is in the most beginning of an entire idea and it is an approach, based on market research and insights, as to how a product or service will be positioned/repositioned. After reading The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry, we have an overall look at 17 different strategy for killer ads."

First off, the creative process as proposed by Roger von Oech (which is used by many Fortune 100 companies) looks nothing like what Harman and Penter (the minds behind 17 Strategies) outlined. Creative process; within the advertising industry, is the procedure used to find unique ideas or re-imagine old concepts. According to Oech, it consists of Research (Explorers)> Visualization (Artists)> Evaluation (Judges)> Presentation (Warriors).

Secondly, strategy is a plan-of-attack. This list doesn't show strategy, it shows the attention getting device/style. It shows HOW the message can be presented to pique interest and capture attention. Simply choosing one of these examples is not strategy and if the wrong device is selected the ad will fall flat with the target audience.

Finally, I feel obligated to caution fellow advertising professionals from distributing poor information. I saw this article (and others that are just as questionable) pop up on the feeds of some very sharp minds and that tells me that either:
A. People are not really reading these articles before forwarding them.
-or-
B. People are not fact-checking these articles for credibility.

In summation, as a basis for this post I used one hard-cover book and two online dictionaries to verify my conclusions before rebuking the authors of "17 Strategies to Killer Ads." Merriam-Webster, MAANZ Glossary and the textbook "Contemporary Advertising" by Willaim F. Arens are legitimate and credible sources. While I am only joking about blog licenses, I do feel that writers need to have more than one source when 'blogging to instruct' and making information up is not a good way to establish your expertise.

Welcome to My BlogFolio

Before I graduated, my professor told me that within a few years everyone would have online resumes'. I believed him. So, since November of 2008, this blog has served as a simple online portfolio.

Hiring managers loved it! Their only critique was that they didn't get a very in-depth sense of who I am. I realised that I was ONLY using Blogspot for something other than its intended purpose. I was not leveraging its full potential. So, consider this posting my introduction to 'the well-rounded view of my professional self.'

Enjoy!