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Posts Tagged ‘blog’

A New Look For DaveFleet.com

09.10.02

I’m re-launching DaveFleet.com today with a new, sleeker look and feel and a whole load of new functionality.

The big changes include:

Professional: The old site was built from a template when one man (me) and his dog read my posts. The new design was created by my colleagues at 76design. I hope you’ll agree it’s a big improvement.
Focus on conversation: I write this blog for the conversation. I learn more from you than you possibly can from me. The new design is based on conversation, and the layout is focused on making that easier – from featuring my latest tweets to the Facebook Connect integration (update: teething problems with this one; disabled for now) to threaded commenting.
Connection: Making it easier for you to connect with me – whether you want to subscribe to this site via RSS or connect through any of the other social networks I inhabit.

What do you think of the new site?

Before:

After:

Posted in: personal

Tags: blog, Dave Fleet

32Comments

Vote in the PR “Readers’ Choice” Blog Awards

09.06.01

Over the last few months I’ve enjoyed getting to know Arik Hanson. Arik’s a communicator from Minneapolis (which, I just realized, is further north than Toronto – go figure…) who’s a smart guy but, just as importantly, is a nice guy too.

A couple of weeks ago, Arik came up with the concept of the PR “Readers’ Choice” Blog Awards after noticing a lack of peer recognition available to PR bloggers. Arik set-up four categories:

Best up-and-coming blog
Most educational blog
Most thought-provoking blog
Blog of the year

After soliciting nominations for the awards, Arik has now posted the official nominations. I’m flattered and pleasantly surprised that this site is nominated under the “Most Educational” category.

Some of my favourite sites are also nominated, including PR Squared, DannyBrown.me, Shannon Paul’s Very Official Blog, David Mullen’s Communications Catalyst and the Bad Pitch Blog.

Voting is now open but closes at midnight on June 3, so what are you waiting for? Head over and vote!

Posted in: miscellaneous

Tags: blog, pr, public relations

2Comments

Disagree With Me

09.05.05

One of the reasons I write so frequently here is that I love reading your take on things.

Sometimes I’ll write about things I know something about; other times I’ll write about things I’m not so sure about. Regardless, the most rewarding part is reading the comments (even if they have been slow recently – Twitter seems to be replacing commenting for a lot of people, but that’s a topic for another day… and I value them both).

Sometimes I get people here who strongly disagree with me. Often, other people tell me to stop interacting with those people as “I’ll never win.”

Here’s the thing: I don’t aim to “win.”

Every day I look forward to seeing comments on my posts so that I can learn. When I respond, I hope that the other person learns something too, even if it’s just a different perspective. I don’t need to “win” each disagreement.

I learn the most when people disagree with me. It makes me reconsider my thinking. It forces me to remember that the world isn’t black and white; it’s shades of grey. As long as the person stays within my commenting policy, I welcome disagreement.

For me, the worst possible reaction to a post is silence.

So please, if you read something on here and you think I’m way off target, please tell me. I’ll learn, maybe you’ll learn, and we both win.

It’s not wrong to disagree here. I welcome it.

Posted in: blogging

Tags: blog, commenting, Twitter

6Comments

Retweets Welcome

09.03.18

Mitch Joel says ““I’ll tweet that” is the ultimate insult.”

The gist of Mitch’s argument is that “tweeting” takes almost zero effort – you push a few buttons, hit enter and it’s done. A few months back, people would perhaps write a blog post about what you said, which took much more commitment and could potentially drive lots of traffic over time.

He also notes that only a small proportion of users are on Twitter at any one time. For the others, “…odds are that piece of content will become nothing more than road kill on the information superhighway.”

This leads Mitch to conclude that tweeting about someone’s content is “almost a cop-out” and to wonder if someone tweeting about you is “the ultimate insult.”

Re-tweeting is a compliment

I disagree with Mitch’s perspective for four key reasons:

You may not have something useful to add to that excellent post you’ve just written. I think there’s little use in blogging about a topic without adding value.
One of Twitter’s greatest strengths (and issues) is that Twitter exponentially increases the volume of information to which you’re exposed. Blogging takes a long time. I wrote down five topics today alone that I want to write about. Most of those will never see the light of day, because tomorrow I’ll think of or read another five things. As much as I like your content, I don’t have time to write about everything. You’re probably in the same situation.
The argument that “a tweet does drive traffic, but it’s nothing like a Blog post or a position on a Blogroll” implies by extension that comments also have little value, as they only reach the people who are already on your site. However, I value comments highly, as I know most people, including Mitch, do too.
Posting on Twitter about something still requires you to put your name next to it. I may not have written the post, but by tweeting about it I’m saying I agree with it. To me, that’s worth something.

If someone tweets about something I’ve written, I’m delighted. Presumably they’ve read it and they’ve enjoyed it, or it made them think. That alone makes me happy. The fact that they want to tell others is even better.

I get the difference in commitment. I get that tweeting about something takes less effort than a blog post, and has less long-term impact than a blogroll.

I still appreciate it.

The value you put on different forms of interaction will vary by personal. What’s your perspective?

Update: Mitch has commented below and updated his post. I’ll wait while you read it… ok,? So, what do you think?

I’ve disagreed with Mitch on a couple of things recently. I suspect that’s because I consume more of his content than that of almost anyone else – on his blog, on Six Pixels of Separation and on Media Hacks. Mitch rocks. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest you subscribe to all three.

Posted in: blogging, Twitter

Tags: blog, comment, Mitch Joel, retweet, Twitter

23Comments

Blogging vs. Twitter – Commitment and Effort – Another Perspective

09.02.04

I recently received an excellent comment on my recent post Blogging vs. Twitter: A Different Kind of Commitment from Doc Kane (@dockane on Twitter), principal of Chicago-based Roscommon – a ~~marketing, communications and PR~~ professional writing services agency. Thoughtful and insightful, I thought it really drove the discussion forward.

His view: the difference between blogging and Twitter isn’t commitment, it’s effort.

With Doc’s permission, I’m re-publishing his comment here, as a post, for your input. What do you think?

I think there are a few simple reasons why we’re seeing businesses jump into Twitter much more readily than they have blogging, and in my opinion, those reasons are mainly related to the effort required to create a blog; a lack of management’s awareness about how to create and maintain one; and the simplicity and effectiveness of Twitter as a communications tool. Unlike many other forms of new technology, one does not need to be a tech whiz to get up and running on Twitter – and this is a huge advantage over blogging.

Blogs are a lot of work. To really pull it off consistently one has to have a strategy, enough content to write consistently AND the desire to even do it. But before even starting with a blog, blogging itself needs to first be recognized as valuable by upper management (which I think is still not even close to being a reality), controllable by middle management (in terms of helping/guiding the company blogger) and executable by staff willing/able to do it. And this, I think is where everything stalls. . .before it ever even gets started. . .

In my opinion, the perceived TIME it takes to create a blog isn’t a factor…it’s the EFFORT.

A blog requires major planning and concept development on the part of the writer. So the immediate perception of blogging then, isn’t. . “Ugh, this is going to be time-consuming” (ALL work is time-consuming). . .it’s “Ugh, this is going to take a lot of EFFORT”. And effort here, is the key. This is particularly true of course, when the assignment to create a blog falls on an employee who could really care less about what they’re writing about. Trying to be passionate about a company or product that’s not your own, or that you’re not completely in love with, is not easy for any salaried writer/marketer/comms person. Where you see the difference is with blogs written by consultants and business owners. The reason is because they have a passion for, and a vested interest in, getting the word out. They have to blog even if it takes a lot of effort! The salaried writer hardly shares that same spirit or necessity.

So essentially, it becomes a big pain in the butt for everyone involved, making it easier to just shelve the idea until it becomes “necessary”. . .or something comes along that’s simpler: like Twitter.

When people ask me to explain to them what Twitter is, I tell them it’s like “public texting.” They get it right away. Okay, so now imagine you’re a manager, and you tell your colleague you want them to hang out on Twitter for a while and text people. Do you think they’ll be more open to that than all the work that comes with creating a blog post? You bet. One can sit down and rattle off Tweets to different people machine-gun style, one after another, without much thought. . .or at least until they really get strapped for characters, or are trying paste a link, etc. Not so with a blog: think, write, edit, give to boss, re-edit, post in CMS, catch typo, re-edit, etc.

Then factor in the time to train, and the software and IT costs, and you’re looking a behemoth of a project just to have an employee create what many still think is a series of ego pieces. Blogging’s early function as public diaries for quirky personalities still haunts the platform to this day. CEOs don’t dig public diaries. Especially when they’re public companies.

So, in my opinion. . .it’s the hassle-factor and a lack of knowledge, not the time-factor that keeps the blogging at bay. Video/Podcasting? Good luck. Ask someone to upload a video to any video sharing service and they’ll look at you like you’re nuts!

Isn’t that something IT does?????

Posted in: blogging, trends, Twitter

Tags: blog, commitment, effort, time, Twitter

21Comments

Blogging vs. Twitter: A Different Kind of Commitment

09.02.02

Talking with Michael O’Connor Clarke the other day, we both commented on a trend we’ve both observed recently:

Corporations seem to be much more willing to sign-up for Twitter than they are to set up blogs.

We’re seeing companies big and small signing up for Twitter; from Ford, General Motors, Southwest Airlines and Dell to smaller companies like Natura Mattresses and Freshbooks (check out this list of organizations on Twitter).

This isn’t always intuitive. While some companies see the inherent value and potential in communicating directly with their customers, many others are are afraid of it. It’s unpredictable, it’s often not on the topics that you want to talk about and, well, it’s something new for many organizations. So, something must be making the difference.

Of course, we have to remember that social media as a genre of tools is much more advanced, high-profile and, to an extent, accepted than it was a few years ago when blogging first broke. However, that hasn’t helped podcasting become mainstream news the way that Twitter has over the last few months.

Is something else making the difference?

Commitment

Is Twitter less of a time commitment than blogging?

As with so many things, it depends.

If you, or your organization, uses Twitter extensively, it may not be less of a time commitment than blogging. However, it certainly is a different type of commitment.

Writing a blog post takes a solid block of time – you need to set aside anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple of hours for the process, depending on the kind of post you’re writing. Many of my posts here take upwards of 90 minutes to pull together. That can turn blogging into a big black hole for your time.

Twitter is a different kind of commitment. Each post takes just little time. That can give Twitter the appearance of requiring much less of a commitment than writing a “traditional” blog.

In reality that’s not necessarily the case. Many people post multiple times per day. What’s more, as a company representative on Twitter, you need to put a little more thought into what you write. That can make it just as time consuming over the course of a day as blogging.

Still, is the perception that Twitter takes less of a time commitment leading to companies engaging more readily through it?

What’s your take?

Posted in: blogging, trends, Twitter

Tags: blog, commitment, time, Twitter

47Comments

Blogs Aren’t Inherently Trustworthy

09.01.22

Back in December, Forrester set off a bit of a blog storm when Josh Bernoff reported that consumers trust company blogs less than any channel.

I paid attention to it at the time, but decided not to weigh-in at the time. Today, however, I listened to the latest episode of the Shill podcast where, amidst the tomfoolery, Dave Jones and Doug Walker made the excellent point that blogs by themselves aren’t inherently trustworthy.

I agree.

Blogs are a tool. From a communicator’s perspective, blogs sit alongside news releases, pitches, events, media advisories and all other sorts of communications products. Is a speech inherently trustworthy? No, but the person behind it might be.

It’s the people that are behind the blogs that build trust – not the blogs themselves.

Why is trust in corporate blogs low? Because people don’t trust corporations (as a whole – yes, I know there are some companies that some people do trust).

Who do people trust? People like them. How do you build trust in your blog? You show the people behind the page.

Blogs don’t build trust. Genuine people, writing like themselves rather than machines, writing useful, authentic content rather than just messages, build trust.

Oh, and while I’m at it I should point out that this stuff won’t work in a vacuum, either. You can have the best people in the world on your blog but if your company’s actions don’t match the words, the words are hollow. Social media outreach won’t work for everyone.

What do you think? How can corporate blogs build trust?

Posted in: blogging, social media

Tags: blog, Dave Jones, Doug Walker, Forrester, Josh Bernoff, Shill podcast, trust

9Comments

5 Lessons About Self-Promotion In Social Media

08.12.03

A little storm-in-a-teacup erupted online today around a press release issued by Matt Bacak. The release was almost comically self-promotional, evidenced by the headline:

"The Powerful Promoter Promotes Himself Straight to the Top of Twitter – Matt Bacak Achieves Another Social Networking Milestone"

Quoting the release:

"Anyone can call their promotional abilities ‘powerful’ but I actually prove that mine are," says Matt Bacak of his most recent accomplishment.

Unsurprisingly, once a few people noticed the release the reaction in the social media sphere was rapid and negative. Plenty of people have ~~piled on~~ commented on this including Scott Baird, Warren Sukernek, Chris Lower and Tris Hussey. The release has garnered over 310 votes under the title "The. Biggest. Douche. In. Social. Media" and there’s already a site entitled doiknowmattbacak.com, elevating him alongside the large hadron collider in the geek world.

I had my own little chuckle at the release earlier, but I have a feeling people don’t come here to read cheap shots (although I am tempted). Instead, let’s take some positives away – what can we learn from this little blip? What should people looking to promote themselves in social media learn take away from it?

As I mentioned earlier, I have little doubt that Matt Bacak is an extremely smart and successful guy. He may in fact be rubbing his hands in glee at all the free publicity (however negative) this is getting him.

However, if you take a step back and look at the tactic used alongside the reaction it received, these five lessons stand out for me.

People react badly to over-self promotion – Matt Bacak may be a smart, nice guy. If you dig back into the records before today, people have plenty of good things to say about him (Scott Stamper did so to his great credit in the comments on this post) and I’m in no position to argue otherwise. They key in this medium, though, is to let other people realize that themselves. Chris Brogan is a great example of this. He’s a smart guy – he does his fair share of self promotion, but you will never see him stand up and proclaim his goodness, and he promotes himself by helping others. There’s no mystery behind why he has such a large group of people that look to him for advice.
Base your claims on solid facts – Bacak’s claims of entering "the Twitter elite" led to several posts mocking this statement from heavy Twitter users like Ike Pigott and Michael O’Connor Clarke who had never heard of him until today. It also led others like Jamie Scheu to delve into the claim, discovering that on closer inspection it wasn’t true.
Back-up your words with action – The subject of all this controversy has been noticeably absent from this debate. Now, he may have made a conscious decision to not dive into the shark tank, but a simple indication of that might have headed some of the criticism off.
It’s not about you; it’s about others – Adding fuel to the fire today was the realization by some that the vast majority of Bacak’s Digg submissions were for his own material. This is considered pretty poor form by most people in the fishbowl. Some promotion of your own material, sure, but if it’s only your own then what value are you adding?
Help others and they’ll help you – Some of the old-school approaches that today and the recent Mumbai spam episode highlighted may work in other forms of Internet or mainstream marketing. Let’s face it, Bacak’s release was no worse than the majority of press releases that companies put out every day. The difference here is that the release proclaims ‘elite’ status in a forum that the release shows the issuer doesn’t understand. Tactics like that are unlikely to work here. If you’re going to engage using social media tools, instead engage, participate, help others, add something of value. Other people will realise it and will say good things. Let other people help you with your promotion.

What do you think? What other lessons can we learn here?

(Image source: Wikimedia)

Posted in: public relations, social media

Tags: blog, Matt Bacak, self-promotion, Twitter

21Comments

How To Set Up A Simple Online Monitoring System

08.06.25

Before your organization launches a blog, before you start playing with Facebook, before you even think about Twitter, you should be listening to what people are saying about you.

I did this recently for my last employer in preparation for a high-profile event and received a lot of questions afterwards about how I went about it. My answer: it’s not that hard.

In this post I’ll walk you through three simple steps to setting up a basic system to monitor your online world. Note: There are professional tools available to do all of this and more – Radian6 for example – which you may want to check out if you have the budget for it.

You’ll need six free tools (+1 more for a bonus) to mimic the setup I used:

There are three simple steps to setting-up your system (plus the bonus if you choose):

Define your keywords
Create your searches
Plug the results into your RSS reader
Bonus: Filter your searches through AideRSS

Step 1: Define your keywords

Before you even switch on your computer, think about the different words and phrases you want to track. These could be brands, executives, spokespeople, competitors, stakeholders, products, programs or whatever else you want to monitor.

Some of your terms may initially be a little broad; you may want to narrow them down by adding creating ‘boolean’ queries, for example:

Executive name AND company name
Competitor name OR competitor product name

Step 2: Create your searches

(Note: this step happens at the same time as step 3 – as you create each of your searches you’ll plug them into your RSS reader.)

I used five different search tools for my system:

Google News for mainstream news coverage
Google Blogsearch, Technorati and Blogpulse for blog searches
Summize for Twitter coverage (Tweetscan would also suffice)

Plug each of your keywords and phrases into each of these search engines.

A couple of pointers:

Google lets you use parentheses to structure your search, so you could do:
(brand name OR product name OR executive name) AND company name
Use the advanced searches in Technorati and Blogpulse to give yourself more options

You don’t need to use all three blog search tools – I used all three to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks. If, however, you want to just use one tool, use Google Blogsearch as the ability to use parentheses in your searches can let you create one query for all your searches – much more manageable if you decide to use the bonus step later.

Step 3: Plug the results into your RSS reader

Each of the search engines I’ve mentioned here provides search results in RSS form. As you run the queries for each search term you came up with, click the “RSS” or “Subscribe” links on the results page and subscribe to the results in your RSS reader of choice.

Note: Blogpulse can be a little flaky – you may need to try importing feeds from there a few times before it will work.

Bonus – Step 4: Filter your searches through AideRSS

AideRSS is a free online tool that helps you to filter through your RSS feeds and filter out “the noise,” leaving you able to focus on the important posts.

You may not need to use this if you don’t anticipate a lot of coverage. If, however, you expect to find a lot of online conversations about your organization, this may be worth exploring. It does take a little time to set up but it’s very easy to do so. What’s more, AideRSS’ technical support is superb – very responsive and helpful.

To run all of your searches through AideRSS, use your RSS reader to export an OPML file of your feeds

Then go to AideRSS.com and create a free account. Go to the ‘Settings’ tab and import your OPML file. Once the site has imported all of your feeds (this may take some time) you can set the level of filtering you want for each of them.

The last step is then to subscribe to the RSS feed that AideRSS creates for you, et voila! You have an RSS feed of your coverage, filtered for you!

(You can then unsubscribe from your original searches if you like, or archive them for future reference)

Suggestions?

I used this approach to set up a quick and dirty monitoring service for a high-profile issue and provided an update & analysis every 90 minutes to executives. Still, this isn’t a comprehensive solution and it certainly doesn’t offer the functionality of a professional product. However, for those just starting out or those without the budget for a paid solution, it should suffice.

What do you think about this approach? What would you change here?

Posted in: 201, how to, social media, tools

Tags: blog, monitoring, RSS, search, social media, tools

15Comments