Sep 26, 2008 | blog
So it’s been a great day here in Minneapolis this Friday. Got a chance to know a few folks from the office better – that’s a good thing. Got to spend a nice evening as a family this evening – that’s a good thing. Made myself write a little bit – and that too is a good thing.
What will be more interesting is if I can continue to write a bit this weekend. That’s my plan, and I think it’ll be worth the time invested to get back to blogging, which I really do enjoy. It’s bothersome that I ever let myself get off track and worried that I wasn’t writing what people wanted to read. Wrong thing to worry about, I know.
What is or was wrong was to allow myself to get sidetracked by too many side-shows on the social web. It’s a great time-sink to explore the latest & greatest. Fun too! However, it really is a delicate balance of habits, and knowing when you’re spending too much time on any one tool, network or site is key to gaining the strengths of those sites and leaving the weaknesses behind.
What’s the answer to it all? Moderation. Just like enjoying a nice adult beverage, it’s only enjoyable in moderation. Also, you get the chance to explore and learn things more in-depth and find how they can augment your life positively rather than simply taking up time just to update statuses and read walls.
So take a break from Facebook, lighten up on your twittering, take a walk and bring only your thoughts with you. You’ll learn a lot more than what folks are doing right that moment if you can let yourself take a breather.
Sep 26, 2008 | blog
Time for some basic blogging & regrouping this weekend. I’ve been pressing hard on work and letting my writing slide, and this just won’t do. I don’t know what I’ll be writing about in the next 48 hours, but I know that I’m going to go back to the basics of blogging for me.
I guess I’m starting today (so maybe it’s 72 hours – I dunno), and will be simply sharing ideas, stories and such that simply occur to me during this time. It’s more to get back in the writing groove than anything else. Since jumping headfirst into IT consulting more than a year ago, I’ve been distracted from blogging. Not really being able to focus enough attention on writing down those thoughts that keep running through my mind.
So this is the first post of the weekend, I’m starting early and hope in the end, to rediscover the writing habits I’ve neglected for the last many months. While I don’t expect anything grand, I’m sure there’ll be a few fun gems. Well see.
Anyway, get ready to enjoy another great late-summer/early autumn weekend folks.
Sep 17, 2008 | blog
A Twitter friend of mine recently, jokingly, chastised me for a post some time back about not needing Twitter and social media. That caused me to finalize a few thoughts on the topic and inspired this post – thanks DV!
On that topic, lots of folks do it every day, and yeah they do quite well. In fact, most folks live without the Internet every day and do quite well. So what is it about social media that so entices and enthralls the social media mavens out there?
Since late last year, I’ve been struggling with a number of items about social media that don’t seem to have a purpose. The current phenomenon of "social media" is more a reflection of the growing social awareness of generation X & Y than of anything else.
It’s true that the web 2.0 technologies have empowered us in new and exciting ways, allowing us to further explore new ways of doing things, and exploring new opportunities. The growing social awareness is bringing the idea of friendship and community back into lives that may have been spent focusing too much on work or single-minded pursuits.
Personally, I think that the modern urban psyche is longing for more social interaction, and pushing people to explore new methods for interacting. I believe this to be the root cause of the interest in social media, spurred by the ideas, near ubiquitous high-speed Internet connectivity, and cloud computing software technologies that allow for rapid development and deployment.
It’s this combination that makes social media what it is. Mostly the "media" part is the tools; networking, IM, photo hosting, video, podcasting, web conferencing, sharing, bookmarking… these are just things that allow us to connect the way we do – tools our parents and grandparents did not have. The social is what I talked about previously – that the maturing generations that have been exposed to computing and world-wide networking technologies have new ideas of how relationships can be built.
Still there are millions more who simply don’t need these tools and these technologies. The social part for them still exists because they always have been social. Participating & building their community is just part of their lives. Sure the Internet can add value – but not in the ways that social media technorati get value. For them it’s about news or entertainment, or simply ordering something that they can’t find locally. That’s the value for them – and that’s a good value.
Photo credit: AlvarocK!
Sep 11, 2008 | blog
Looking forward to the next Social Media Breakfast? So are we! We’ll be meeting at the Best Buy headquarters in Richfield, MN again this time and will welcome the co-founder of Blue Shirt Nation, Gary Koelling who’s going to share some stories and background on Best Buy social media initiatives like BSN, Gift Tag and so on.
We’ll also talk about social media “Purists” vs. “Corporatists” in the enterprise, take a quick look at the SMBMSP social media site on Ning, and hear from ThreeVolts about web video. We’ll see you there!
Agenda:
- Gary Koelling, co-founder of Best Buy’s BlueShirtNation will talk about BSN and GiftTag
- Group question: Social Media “Purists” vs. the “Corporatists” in the enterprise. What’s your take?
- Three Volts will talk about web video and it’s use by companies
- Conferences – Who’s going and why (BlogWorld Expo, DEMO, Defrag, SXSW)
- Local event/meetup update – what’s coming up & details on SMBMSP8.
- Announcement: We have a bacon sponsor!!!
Breakfast sponsored by:
Chat:
http://www.meebo.com/room/smbmsp/
I’m hoping his works for the remotes and us behind a firewall at SMB – any other ideas or suggestions?
Video:
http://www.mogulus.com/smpmsp
Please note that we’re using the Meebo chat listed above rather than the embedded Mogulus chat. Sorry for any inconvenience!
Social Media Breakfast & Social Media Club
Local conversations, with national connections!
Aug 31, 2008 | blog
So here are my offerings for Blog Day 2008 – a little belatedly I’ll admit. Somehow it always sneaks up on me. This year though, I’m glad to say I have at least five blogs that I highly recommend. Great knowledgeable bloggers writing about interesting and useful topics.
- Small Biz Survival – This great blog is focused on small business and small town businesspeople. Written by blogging friend Becky McCray and her team of small-biz professionals. A must read for any small business in a small town – or a large one!
- WinExtra – Written by longtime blogging pal Steven Hodson, WinExtra covers the technology beat from a great Canadian curmudgeon. Honestly, Steven’s perspective on Web 2.0 and social media makes for fun reading that definitely isn’t the usual cookie-cutter posts you’ll find around the blogosphere.
- The Personal Branding Blog – Fellow columnist for Personal Branding Magazine, Rob Cuesta is a respected authority on personal branding. With new ideas and tips, Rob can help you start and grow the brand that is you.
- Word Sell, Inc. – I met blogger Brad Shorr at SOBCon08 in Chicago this past May. Brad brings his real-world B2B experience and passion for communicating and connecting to his blog.
- Fresh Focus – Blogger Kris Rowlands blogs about productivity, exploring tools and techniques, especially Getting Things Done. Kris shares tips & ideas for enhancing productivity along with with custom designed GTD templates.
I hope you check out these fine folks, and share your own list of 5 bloggers today with your readers and friends with the world..
Thank you to Nir Ofir, "initiator" of Blog Day 2008!
🙂
