Passing of a Prophet: President Hinckley, 15th Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints passed away on January 27th.

What this means: Its not necessarily what happens now that was so significant, it was the way this news was communicated. At approximately 7pm MST he passed away. At 8pm my husband, Cammon, received a text from his cousin. Not but a few seconds later I received a text from my brother. And then it was interesting because at the time, we were in the middle of a dinner presentation at this conference and when I looked around I saw those who are of the LDS faith checking their phones as well. There are tons of stories circulating about how Facebook groups were created in a few short hours and the message went out to wear your Sunday best that Monday morning.
How fitting for a church leader who stressed Media Relations and is credited with bringing the church out of obscurity. Thousands upon thousands all over the world wore their Sunday best that Monday-and it was all because of the technology we have been blessed with.

The Pulver Show with Jeff Pulver: Today I participated as long as a could in the Pulver TV show with the guys from Qik.com-live broadcast video from your mobile phone.
What it means: One thing I remember is the London Bombings and how a lot of the footage shown were from people’s cell phones. This Washington Post article talks about how immediate we were able to see what was happening. And not even just video, but with the school shootings happening across the country, how people started blogging immediately. And take a look at the political campaign here in the U.S and how things are changing because the power to produce is no longer just with the big media giants.
What it all means: Because you no longer have to pay millions of dollars to have an online presence, people are able to capture live life moments and share them with the world. This ability to broadcast one’s life is huge. I wonder how I will communicate with my son.

I was watching a news report about how the political campaign leaders have been stumbling this year with how much they AREN’T able to control. Take for instance the 1984 Hillary video “Vote Different.”

It was quite a while before anyone even knew who put the video together! Now you’ve got blogs, and wikis and tons of conversations online that can’t be controlled. The report then went into how this is the case for all marketers alike-how they are scrambling because they don’t know how to deal with the influx of conversation that isn’t being channeled THROUGH them.

Richard isn’t freaking out though. His eyes light up when he talks about how cool it is to spread the word about projects, conferences and events. Meetings or conversations with him leave my head hurting-in a good way. He has so many ideas that he wants to try that I have to make sure I record the conversations we have so I can remember everything he has planned!

The difference between Richard and most marketers right now is that he wants to TRACK the conversations, see who is saying what and encourage more, not CONTROL it. I have heard so many people say “but if I put a blog on my company website, I might get negative comments about my company.” I can tell you right now, if you get negative comments on your blog, there are negative comments all over the internet. At least on your blog it is your turf, and you can respond and start putting that PR department to work.

By monitoring the online conversations people are having with each other, we can find out the truth about how people feel about our business/product. And by starting a company blog, a company wiki, and being IN the conversations, you are allowing yourself to be accessible to your client/customer which makes them feel like they can get to know you better, and be more loyal to more than just your brand, but to you yourself. You are also STARTING conversations and provoking thoughts that might have been left otherwise.

Richard is using all outlets of the web to try and spread the word, start conversations and allow people to talk back. His blog: BlissPoint Blog talks about marketing, overcoming fears and what he is up to with GWAVA. His blog allows comments-or I like to call it feedback. The GWAVA TV Channel shares content streaming 24/7 and has a chat room for you to talk about how you feel. He is also on LinkedIn and has dabbled in Twitter and has his own YouTube Channel too. As a client of GWAVA, you would have no problem finding out what is going on with the company on a personal level.

I think this is an excellent example of how companies need to embrace the online world. This doesn’t mean to stop using traditional methods, but adapting new ones and merging the two. Richard understands the importance of using all outlets and taking hold of all opportunities to expand communication to anyone who wants to listen. Way to go dude!

Anyway, when I look at all the email people are sending out to me, I have to shake my head.  In an age where it is very hard NOT to be able to find out SOMETHING about the person you are sending an email to, these spammers really are far behind.

When you look my name up, you find out about this blog, and if you read the last few post on this blog you find out that I’m pregnant and am expecting in May.  Even if you didn’t have my name, just my email address, the second hit that comes up is a comment on a blog talking about a baby travel system because I am expecting.  Its not hard to find out what is really important in my life right now.

Yet, the spam junk mail I have received has been about losing weight.  Taking this pill taking that pill or this program.  Um, I actually am suppose to be gaining weight.  I see the doctor in one day and I haven’t reached my weight gain yet.  So anything about dieting is immediately thrown out.  I have received a few emails about working from home, which is more along the lines of what MIGHT interest me, but I have said in twitter and numerous other places that I am trying to cut back on the amount of “work” I am doing in trying to clean up the house and get the nursery ready and am prepared to fill my role as mom.

And if spammers looked a little deeper-because Amazon certainly knows the latest searches I’ve performed, they would know that I have looked and looked and only recently found a prenatal yoga video I like.  We just got our baby travel system-but my searches are now centered around cribs and bedding and stencils for the nursery.  I’ve done so much research and searches on bassinets vs. cradles and breastfeeding vs formula, swings and bouncers, clothing and tons of other things.

Too bad spammers waste their time sending useless junk my way.  If I received a spam email about a bassinet or a crib or toys it might be something that actually caught my eye.  It is such a pitty they annoy me with such junk when with a single search they might actually send me something that I open.

So this past weekend being the New Years holiday I found myself listening to the “top songs of 2007 countdown” from several radio stations.

Most of the pop songs I didn’t know-I’m a country fan and haven’t listened intensely to anything else for about 7 years. There was one song that I had heard at one point during the year that seems to have made it into the top in most charts though that really caught my attention. It is a John Mayer song titled “Waiting on the World to Change:”

Me and all my friends
We’re all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There’s no way we ever could

Now we see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It’s hard to beat the system
When we’re standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want

That’s why we’re waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It’s not that we don’t care,
We just know that the fight ain’t fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

And we’re still waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnmayer/waitingontheworldtochange.html

Okay so there is a lot I can say about this song and its lyrics-but I’m not going to get into the politics. What actually came to mind is how much sooner the younger generations are embracing information and how fast they are learning-they are definitely going to have to wait for the world to catch up with them.

We have friends who have a 3 year old. She is your average child, who likes to laugh, play, cry, eat and use the iPhone to watch her Sesame Street Podcasts???? Yeah, she knows about computers and gadgets and when she gets fussy at a store or in the car, her dad hands her his iPhone and she knows how to get to the podcast page to watch her show.

How about our nephew who loves to get on with his mom and talk with us through video chat? It was fun to hear and WATCH him play his new harmonica he got for Christmas even though he is across the country. Something like that for me still amazes me, for him, its something that happens in his everyday life.

I consider myself a pretty savvy computer user-not as technical as my husband or either brother-in-laws, but I feel like I’m more ahead than behind. But then when I see the commercials for kids playing these education video games I wonder if it will really help them. I grew up with paper and pencil to learn my numbers, letters and played “I spy” to learn colors and objects. Is this enough for a younger generation who seem to be leaps and bounds further than I was even 5 years ago?

Take a look at people like Christopher Penn, Chris Brogan, Jeff Pulver and CC Chapman who have visions for the future. They were able to adapt to emerging and changing technologies and make something out of them-but I’m sure they were told to “go play outside” many times in their youth.

Is this a good thing, are we doing a disservice? Are we going to be able to keep up with our kids or as the lyrics suggest are they going to have to wait for us “older and less knowledgeable” adults to move out of positions before they can truly reach their potential and change the world?

Its not that I haven’t been blogging.  But for some reason ever since I found out I was pregnant and then going through the changes a first child brings, I kind of took a step back from the internet/technology world for a bit to reflect.

I am not one to be saying that online conversations aren’t important and I do need to be doing more to keep those relationships thriving and excelling, but for some reason, my world changed.  Before, when Cammon would go to the office, I dove into my online world and persona to touch base with friends and would spend hours online-because that was my world.

Now I think of things that need to be done around the house, I do yoga to make sure my body stays fit, I plan good meals to eat so I can get as much nutrition as I can.  I talk with friends who are not online who are outside walking with the stroller.  I still check twitter and facebook and linkedin every day to check in with what is happening, but for some reason, even though this kid isn’t even born yet, those things aren’t the most important even right now.

Like I said before though, I actually have been blogging, just not here.  I write several posts a day.  I have a private blog for my husband where I write him little love notes each day.  I write a post to my mom once a week on another blog.  I also participate in a family blog in which all of us from near and far write daily the things we are grateful for.

I also now have a personal blog called Mom’s Advice. It is like stealing the idea from a good friend Dave who started a podcast with his wife when they were expecting their first called Two Boobs and a Baby.  I have my own journal I am keeping with personal conversation directed toward my kid, but the fears, excitement and ideas I have during this pregnancy as well as in future years I expound and share and ask for your advice on at this blog.

I don’t look or market my consulting any more.  If someone wants help, I’ll be more than glad to help them if they ask, but right now trying to take on more work is probably the wrong way to go.

So really, for right now till January, this blog will probably be silent.  I will pick it back up in January and write a post once a week on here.  I hope this doesn’t offend anyone and if you do want to keep up with personal thoughts and feelings, go follow me at the other blog Mom’s Advice.

Granted I do feel a little like my mother sees it as lounging around-and while my office chair is my couch, I am up and doing and filling my day with worthwhile work-but she said what she envies the most is that if I am hungry, I can go to the pantry and get some food.  If I want to take a day off, I do extra work the day before or the day after so I can take time off.

She then said that she feels like she would want to start a business of her own someday so she can be her own boss.  I told her to be careful though, that most businesses started because they wanted to be able to take time off or just “be their own boss” don’t have a very high chance of making it.  The best reason to start your own company is to fill a niche that no one else is.  I asked her if she had a niche.

“Yes, a very strong niche.  I feel like I can do something on my own and I have this very strong urge to explore that feeling.”

My sister and I tried to hide our giggles as we explained that we weren’t talking about an itch, but a niche-when you see a hole that you can fill, where you see someone doing something and you see a better way to do it.

“Oh. Well I’ll have to think about that,” my mom said.  “But I do still have this urge to do something more fulfilling in life.”

“Thats great, Mom.  That is at least a start.”

Now go find your niche and scratch it!

-You have to send in an application to reserve a room.  But for any dates past Jan 1st you have to wait until November 15th to send the application in.

-I called on November 10th to find out if the rooms I wanted to reserve were taken anyway, and how likely it would be that if I got my application in first, would they be taken.  I was reassured that at that time all the rooms were available and Sat. is not a very high requested day-it was just a matter of jumping through the hoops and submitting the application.

-I got up early on the 15th to fax the application in and then waited.  I just got off the phone today with someone saying that while applications are taken first come first serve, internal employees to the venue are actually really first, and someone had reserved all the rooms for that day.

And here is the kicker.  The phone call was to see if I wanted to change the dates, I asked them if I did change the dates what the details would be.

-I was asked exactly what group this was that wanted to reserve the rooms.  I told them there were initially 4 of us who want to gather people who were interested in podcasting.  It was open to the public and there would be no charge.

“Well, I am familiar with podcasting,” I was told “and I have to say that it just isn’t a broad enough topic to extend to the general public, so while you aren’t charging to attend, since its for a niche group of people our venue would have to charge you the regular rental rates on everything.”

Um, not for the general public?  Name me one demographic that CAN’T podcast and I’ll find you someone in that demographic who is.  There have been other “camps” similar to this one that has drawn in a crowd of as much as 1,000 plus people.

So apparently I have been misinformed for these past few years!

Anyway, while this is an obstacle that we need to overcome, it will make Jan 26th, when we do have a kick a** event that much sweeter cause we conquered and overcame.  So plan on still attending and having an awesome time learning, sharing and networking.  Just don’t expect to network with anyone from the “general public” there.

This job is going to take a lot of my time-but I am sure I will love every minute of it. I will try to write at least once a week-but you can still reach my through email and I can answer any of your questions-any day of the week.

According to some who also hold this job title, I may become a bit overwhelmed with the job duties and tasks required of me, but I will learn by leaps and bounds and become an overall better person because of it.

My new job title I now hold is: Mother.

I am very excited. I had my third doctor’s visit and he said that I am out of the miscarriage stage. We officially heard the heartbeat yesterday at a strong 159.

I hope that all of my American readers enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving coming up. I know there is plenty for me to be thankful for!!

Thumbing through the pre-Thanksgiving get your Christmas gifts now ads for toys and electronic gadgets, I came across the weekly ad brochure for a local grocery store, Macey’s Food Market. I do have to say that there is some marketing genius behind this because it did catch my eye and stopped me dead in my tracks.

Yes, thats right, cowpies. Natural Juice, Forget the Fork bring the shovel pies, with cows as the characters. Okay, is it me, or what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear “American Original CowPie.” Then you hear “natural juice pies” and your nose crumples up even further. By the time I got to “forget the fork” my husband looked like he was going to toss his cookies! Of course you’ve got the apple and cherry and walnut kind of pies, but even the font type for that is smaller than the rest of the ad.

I just wanted your opinion on what this ad might make you think of and if you would jump at the chance to purchase this at the store?

Thanks to Michael Wesch for this video and letting us share it over the web.

While I enjoyed very much the classes taught at the Blogging 4 Business Conference in Salt Lake City Utah yesterday, it was the afternoon Keynote address by Gary Goldhammer VP of Edelman that really hit home for me.

Let me backtrack a bit and set the situation up for you from my point of view. I went to the Podcast and New Media Expo (2007) in Ontario, California and while I met tons of people I had been networking with online, I have to be brutally honest and say that I left the conference feeling like the sessions were lacking what I had wanted to learn. Don’t get me wrong, the speakers were all very amazing people who are doing great things, but each class felt like it was a “here is what I did, now go see if it works for you” type of pep speech. New media is still too new for anyone to be an “expert” on anything but I wanted to hear the words “this is what you need to be doing-this is where things are going and this is how to get there.”

I was struggling with these thoughts-not trying to say I am any better than those who presented at the conference either-they have implemented what they have learned and I am just beginning, but there was something missing.

Then I had a conversation when I returned, with a friend who said the Internet was still too immature for him. He said that as a whole it is still being used for entertainment. He is friends with me on Twitter and some other communities and he says that when he logs on, he has yet to find anything anyone is saying really helpful to him. He wants information, not just what you’re doing that afternoon, he wants to be educated not entertained-he doesn’t have time for that.

I had a long argument with him and hung up very frustrated with what he was saying.
Then at the conference yesterday-it all collided together with Gary’s address. He said a lot of important things and here are the few that really meant something to me:
(These quotes are very close to what he said-I couldn’t type fast enough to write down word for word)

“We respect what has happened, ignoring what could have happened, but the could have happened is where greater innovation might be.”

“What we know is less significant than what we don’t know.”

We are all amazed at what has happened with technology, but what don’t we know about the technology that we have, or don’t have? This kind of boggles the mind. Even ten years ago were people thinking about text messaging on their cell phones as a mainstream practice? If they were, then what is it that they weren’t thinking about? We are preoccupied with getting video on our cell phones, is there a greater technology that we aren’t thinking about instead?

And can we look at the past to determine the future or even predict the future of social media? We can’t, according to Gary. He gave this story that will stick with me forever:

“There was a turkey farm where lived a specific turkey (he hasn’t named the turkey yet, but I’ll call the turkey Fred).
So Fred the turkey wakes up every morning to the farmer coming out to feed him and patting Fred on the head. Fred enjoys this very much and looks forward to this routine each and every morning.
Like clockwork the farmer always gets up and feeds Fred the turkey and pats Fred on the head. This happens every day rain or shine at the same time for 1000 days.
On day1001 like clockwork the farmer gets up and goes out to feed the turkey named Fred. The turkey eats the food the farmer gives him and then the farmer cuts Fred’s head off and they eat Fred for Thanksgiving. How much of this could Fred have predicted?”

Don’t use the past to predict the future, make the future of how you use the Internet the way you want it to be.

I was so stuck on the fact that no one at the PME told me what they are doing or will be doing, just what they have done-that I lost the idea that it doesn’t matter what others are doing, I need to worry about myself. Thinking about my post “The Internet is Crashing: Permanently”, what am I personally doing to make sure I am flexible if either something horrible goes wrong, or if something wonderfully awesome happens-am I prepared to own it and make it work for me either way?

What about my friend? Well from our conversation, I see that he will probably wait to see what happens and then try to adapt. What I don’t see happening ever, though, is the Internet, or Twitter or any application turning into an education only outlet. Look at the TV and Print and Radio mediums. If I turn on Nickelodeon or MTV then I will get entertainment. If I turn on The History Channel or The Discovery Channel, then I will be informed. If my friend wanted these applications to work for him, he needs to turn on the right channels. He would join up with programmers and developers and talk with them throughout the day rather than myself-who not only doesn’t know code, but has done some damage trying to figure it out!

So through this mumble jumble I understand now that I can’t rely on anyone to predict what is going to happen to the future of social media because the past isn’t the future-I have to get in the drivers seat and make my own future. Anyone who wants to join me, I won’t get upset if you go down a different road than I go-just make sure we keep in touch, my screen name on Twitter is mediajoltz!

Recent discussions though, have led me to look at those statistics more carefully. In my research I have found that while it seems to be growing, we who are of the “new media” space are a very, very small number.

According to Internet World Stats Website there are 6,574,666,417 people in the world today and 1,244,449,601 people have internet access. Normally I say take a look at this stat and tell me if your company is doing something to reach that amount of people who have internet access. But today I ask you, did you realize that only about 19% of the world has internet access?

Here are some stats and the websites I found the stats on the popular applications people are using:

There are 506,331 users of twitter as of Oct 11th 2007, according to http://www.twitdir.com/. Out of those how many are actually active is still unknown. And only 506K when there are more than a billion people who have access to the internet is not that many.
34 million active members worldwide are using Facebook according to the Wikipedia article on Facebook. Once again I would normally say something like “34 million people, how would you like even a piece of those people to become your friends and get on your mailing list,” or something like that. And yet 34 million is still comparatively small.

Now for something thats still very new, we turn to Second Life. According to the description on their webpage only 9,980,489 people logged into Second Life within the last 60 days.

Noticed how I said only. Believe me, when talking to those outside the fishbowl, I normally talk in an excited voice and act like this is huge! But to those of us in it, how many new people do you continue to talk to on a regular basis, compared to the “handful” of regulars?

If you go to the Pew internet Research Company and type blogging in the search function you get a list of different reports. Report number one and six specifically drew my interest:

From these reports you will find these stats:

Eight percent of internet users, or about 12 million American adults, keep a blog. Thirty-nine percent of internet users, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs – a significant increase since the fall of 2005.

Only 8% keep and 39% read a blog. So if you are reading or writing or doing both, boy are you leaps and bounds above more than half of the population of the U.S. Makes you feel special and lonely all at the same time, huh?

44% of adult American Internet users – more than 53 million people – have contributed material to the online world. Content creation in our definition includes creating a Web site, posting material to another Web site for work, family or another organization, posting materials to a personal or another person’s Weblog or online diary. It also includes posting photos, artwork, writing, or audio and video files to the World Wide Web, to a chat room or discussion or newsgroup. The average number of content creating activities for a content creator is relatively small – 1.7 activities – and that suggests the most Internet users are content for now to find a small number of ways to make their contribution.

This stat is the one that got me. “Content Creation” meaning doing pretty much anything to add to the internet, including creating a website-and only 44% of American Internet Users have done this? Way to go those of you who have bravely gone this far!

Some 13% of Internet users have their own Web site. Most do not refresh the material on their site very often: 10% of Web site owners post to their sites daily or more often, but the plurality (42%) update their site once a month or less often.

Okay, for those 13% of you who have a website, lesson to learn-the people who are online are dynamic. Unless you provide fresh material, they have no reason to come back.
I know that stats are not the end all, and there are so many reports that contradict each other, but come on, we have to understand that no matter what the stats say, 9 million or 20 million, the fishbowl is still very small.

I really like what Tom Webster Vice President of Edison Media Research has to say in his analysis: New Podcasting Statistic-Is the Glass Half-Full, or Half Empty? and encourage you to read the whole thing. One comment he makes I have heard myself in my podcasting seminars:

“Though long-time podcasters are tired of hearing this, and probably rejected it two years ago, there is no question that a good chunk of people who might otherwise be interested in podcasts believe that an MP3 player (and, specifically, an iPod) is required to listen.”

I don’t know how many times people have said in seminars, “but I don’t have an iPod.”   It really is amazing.

So what we need to do to help is make new media easy for the non-tech person to access it. Don’t start talking about how they can subscribe to your podcast through an RSS that automatically downloads the episode to their computer through an aggregator… you’ve lost them already! Tell them to go to the website and hit play to listen to your new show, or to read an article you wrote.

Stop talking about podcasting, blogging and new media like it is some foreign thing that only you understand and start talking about your show, or journal-use words people understand, make it simple.

So CC says we need to break the proverbial fishbowl and let it crash to pieces so we can just simply get a bigger fishbowl.
So what are you doing to break out of the “echo chamber?” Are you talking to friends and family about what is going on? Do they understand? Does it take more than a casual conversation for them to understand?

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now since I was called in to help some friends create a better online presence for their conference-The Wasatch Business Conference. But you see, the people who have been attracted to this conference are not ones who spend much of their time on the Internet. I was told we need to teach them the importance of the online world. This is right within my realm of work-helping business owners create an online presence that kicks butt. The problem is, is that I have found, at least in my area, that the learning curve for those who aren’t ready to be taken into the online world, is VERY high right now. I have narrowed my target audience to those who are interested in learning the importance-not those who really don’t know or care.

Take my mother for instance, the one who is scared of mechanical pencils. Is she someone who belongs online, does she deserve the careful continuous education, even though I don’t think she’ll ever get it? And no, I’m not slacking on teaching her because I’m afraid she’ll read my post about her being scared of mechanical pencils…

Seriously though, are there people like that out there you are working with-are you going to continue educating them or is it time to move on to someone else? How do you know it is time to move on?

Photo provided by www.ellie-miller.com/fishbowl.jpg

I had to go check this out. Orbitz, as of September performed an upgrade to their “Traveler Updates” program where now, you get the updates to any selected airport made by real people. Very similar to the set-up twitter has, someone writes about a topic ranging from security line, check-in, traffic-and it gets sent to you as an alert.

Orbitz even called it a community on the commercial. I think this is a great idea and that more companies could follow. You don’t even have to set up a new website or your own alert system. You could simply get an account with twitter.

Now when I mention twitter to some company owner I usually get the weird look like “isn’t that just a social communication thing like IM where people write useless updates about their day?” Well that depends on who you subscribe to. And while Orbitz isn’t using twitter, it is the same idea-and I think it can be useful in several different applications.

The Today Show has joined twitter and posts links to the video segments of their news shows. Thanks to Jim Long because now I only have to find the one that interests me and watch it instead of sitting through a whole show just to get one segment.

A laundry room at a college has a twitter account and updates how many washers and dryers are available.

The Los Angeles Fire Department uses twitter to inform of accidents on the road-which could help you avoid traffic if the radio doesn’t pick it up immediately as well as any other incidents that they are called to respond too. Interesting use of Twitter and they have 300+ people following them.

I use twitter a ton. I use it to keep up with friends, to gather information-it came in very handy when a friend Jesse Stay gave us play by play action on the BYU vs NM game while I was flying back from PME. I wish there was a BYU tweeter on so then all of Jesse’s non-byu fans wouldn’t get mad at him.

Right now I get updates on my phone about the weather in my area. But I only get it once a day. What if I was traveling? Sure I can check online or watch the weather channel, but I think it would be cooler if I got real time updates from people. What if the weather channel allowed for people of their area to post a weather report throughout the day so then I can get real time updates. A 40% chance of rain-well did it rain that day with 40%?

So how can a company use twitter? I want to forward you on to a great post by PR-Squared on an interesting way a Pharmaceutical company can use twitter and hopefully it can get your mind working on ideas too.

PR-Squared’s “Social Media Tactics” Series…Using Twitter to Create & Inform Communities

Max Web made a comment on my blog about how being online has impeded our social skills because now we are so use to “friending” and “unfriending”. He made a really good point stating:

“I think we have avoided or even ditched, “real life” relationships in some ways because of the ease of Internet relations… if I don’t like you on the internet, it’s not too hard to “un-friend” you, but if I screw up my relationship with a neighbor, what do I do, move? The Internet has been the greatest invention for social slackers, it allows us to have great people we might never meet or relate to in real life, as “friends.”

But for some people, being online has helped them go out of their comfort zones. Where in real life they would never approach someone and start talking to them, online they are a popular social bug. But then again, what happens when there is a meet-up? I felt that at the PME where I suddenly got scared that people wouldn’t like me in real life. But I’m the same in real life as I am online, at least I think I am. I have no trouble approaching people in both situations, but that’s me. I know of others who are online who are not as outgoing in real life-but they are comfortable with this almost alter ego online.

Max brought up another good point- are the people you are connecting to online, the same type of people you would hang out with and be friends with in real life? That’s an awesome question. At the PME I overheard a conversation about how there are some people that get on this group’s nerves. I sat there thinking, why are you connected to them then? Well, its because this group saw that there was value in these people’s knowledge. Would any from the group actually hang out and be friends with these people in real life? Probably not.

Do you feel a little more free about whom you connect to online? How many people are you connected to simply because they share good knowledge, vs. those you really would want to be friends with?

Cammon made a comment about how he likes relationships online because he can talk on his own time.

“It’s easy for me because I have the time to connect with people on my own schedule. It’s hard for our neighbors to all get together because we all have different free time. So staying connected with someone online is not hampered as much by time, it’s easy to write a quick note or post a video and you stay connected.”

I bet a lot of us feel that way. We’ve even got voicemail on Facebook! Now I have to be careful because Cammon is my husband, but, playing devils advocate, why not leave a note on your neighbor’s door? Is that not like an email? You are giving them a message that you are thinking of them, they don’t get it until they are ready for it. Why are we so against direct contact?

Are these skills that we are learning online, hurting or helping our real life social skills? Are they making us more lazy, or are they providing us with an extra means to make more friends. Those you are connecting to, online, do you really consider each one a friend? If not, why?

(a note about the comments-my php friend will be fixing the black text on gray box problem tonight!)

Let me take a step back.  This post was inspired by a conversation I had with Chris Brogan yesterday, so the original thought comes directly from him.  But he asked a question that got me thinking deeper.  What if Facebook just crashed one day?  Would you be okay with that?  Would you still be able to keep in touch with the friends/clients  you have made?

And so my mind started turning and the topic got more and more exciting for me.  Just think about it.  I remember when not TOO long ago :0)  I was only allowed to carry a cell phone with me when I ventured the two hours it took to get to my softball travel team practice.  Now, I can’t leave home without it-I don’t even have a landline!

Dave Delaney from Two Boobs and a Baby +  recorded a video about how he felt when twitter went down for maintenance.  At the Podcast and New Media Expo-I went a whole day without being able to get on the internet from my computer, but I was okay because I had the web on my phone/pda.

We are so dependent on the Internet for connections, are we ignoring vital face to face connections that can also help our company, home and lifestyle?

I belong to several networking groups in my local community and I remember at one lunch the director said “I want to make sure you develop deep relationships with the people of this community such that if we close our doors tomorrow and never have another event again, you have no problem continuing those relationships without us.”

So what if the Internet crashed?  Where are all your relationships? Are you speaking to all of your customers through one medium?  If the Internet crashed would you still be able to talk with them?

What if we are talking about a single application like Facebook, or email-what if your customers stopped using an application-are you able to talk to them through another way?  Are you everywhere you ought to be?

What about personally? Do you have people you can turn to right in your own neighborhood?  Do you even know your neighbors?  Not that I’m promoting solicitation in church, but do your fellow friends at church even know what you do?  Why not?

How about the friends you know online.  Do you have a way to get in touch with them?  Do they know how to get in touch with you?  Is it all simply Internet based or have you taken that online relationship and made it real through mail or through the phone?  I’m not saying to broadcast your phone number out to everyone, but those you really are connecting with, what are you doing to make sure there is an ongoing dialogue no matter what.

Are you mixing the medium and/or crossing platforms?

One of the classes I went to helped me to realize something that I learned about myself and my blog. The class was “10 Secret Habits to Podcast Stardom” taught by Franklin McMahon of Franklin McMahon Studio.

What we need to remember is that habits need to be practiced over and over again-so APPLY THEM!! Its not going to be easy, and it is very repetitious, but that’s what makes the difference between succeeding and failing.

I really liked the fact that he brought up the fact that we need to get out of the bubble. I believe Chris Brogan put it: “get out of the fishbowl.” You can read his first posts about this topic here Extend the conversation and 5 ways to extend the conversation.

When you are talking about podcasting with those not familiar with the term, you can very easily scare them off by talking about podcasting and RSS and subscribtion and iTunes. To get someone easily connecting to your show, just tell them you have created a show, send them to your website and make sure you have an easy website that has a play button for them to watch/listen right away.

So for an example instead of saying-“Hey I’ve got a podcast on surfing that is really cool because you can subscribe to it and the code in the subscription will let your computer know when a new episode has been uploaded blah blah blah,” make it about the show.
Say “Hey I’ve got a show that’s about surfing. It gives tips and tricks on how to do some of the most awesome moves-AND some ideas on how to make sure you keep your board in the best shape it can be.”

And don’t just think about new media marketing for your show, you can do press releases, tv and radio interviews. We do need to keep in touch with each other, but we also need to be doing our part to help others understand this technology.

I wanted today to add some of my thoughts. The podcast and new media expo 2007 was my first “new media” conference you could say and I learned a lot. One of the main things I realized (and it was in this class) that those of you reading this blog, probably aren’t my target audience. I’ve been worried that I haven’t been posting good things and that’s why I haven’t hit 30K downloads a month. But, my target audience is probably not reading blogs-beacause they don’t know how.

Those who are my target audience need me to help them get set up online. They are businessmen and women who already have a website but want to do more because they understand the importance of online relationships-but don’t know how to start.

What am I going to do about it? Well I came up with a few ideas and one of those is to start having more seminars. I want to tell people about this technology, I want to make more friends online and I know of so many people who would benefit from making friends with some of the people I know-I want to share it with everyone. So seminars it is-and heck, maybe I’ll get into the speaker/presentation arena. I got a great friend named Laura who consults on presentations. Her company Pistachio Consulting is “helping lots of presentations suck less.” I think I’ll give her a call.

But I also wanted to throw out there a thank you to those of you who are reading my blog as my support group even if you aren’t learning something new everyday.

Wasatch Business Conference Wesbite Link 

The conference is a great day full of education and networking with some of the most awesome business minded people in all of Utah County.

There will be presentations on topics covering marketing, finance, technology and management targeting the small business.

I am on the panel discussion talking about blogging, podcasting and networking.  It should be tons of fun.  Last year I made some new friends and learned some great tips-even some great tips on blogging!

So go check out the website, register and come join me on November 2nd!

1. Because the assignments I have given you so far-find and listen to podcasts to start formulating your own podcast, takes longer than a day to do.  So I want you to continue doing the searching, with a satisfying break in the middle.

2. I wouldn’t be where I am today-however unfamous I might be even still, I wouldn’t be as far as I am today with out these people-so where else to give them love than where I am excelling?!!

So today I give some love to my husband, Cammon Randle.  Cammon was the one who got me into technology.  He is a video guy.  Anything and everything that has to do with video-he knows.  He has his own company, CopperRain Productions and does corporate high definition video.

He was voted Businessweek’s Top 25 Entreprenuer under the age of 25 in October of 2006 and won three national videography awards including the Telly Award.

What has been fun though, is that while normally he is the one explaining how things work to me, lately he has been coming to me with help on social networking.  Asking questions like how to make the best use of Facebook?  He is now even on twitter-and that is how I know he is coming home from work!

He is a great guy-a great husband and will one day make a great dad.  And you can bet every moment is captured and stored on dvd!

So now, what if you found a podcast but it isn’t in the itunes directory? All you need to do if find the RSS feed button.
The orange button is the universal symbol for an RSS feed-or the url you need to add to your podcatcher.
It could also be written out in text. Below is a picture of some of the things you could see to click on.

Now the add to iTunes will open up your iTunes. But it is possible, because it could be a podcast and blog mixed that you will be directed to a window that looks like this:

You can see the option to add to other web-based podcatchers, iTunes, as well as a url for the feed.

Take that URL and head on over to your podcatcher, mine being iTunes and add it:

And you can see that it is being added to my iTunes Podcast selection:

Happy listening!

What are your favorite podcasts??? comment in the field below so that we can all check out some awesome shows!

Here is a short version of the list:

1 How I Use Facebook
2 Ways I Embrace My Audience
3 Should My Town Use Social Media?
4 A Community I Love
5 Technology That Empowers Me
6 How Flickr Did it Right
7 How Best to Comment on a Corporate Blog
8 Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference
9 How I Find Blogging Ideas
10 Somebody Has to Say It
11 My Children Will Do it Differently
12 How Schools Could Use Social Media
13 The Best Parts of Marketing
14 Presentation Skills for a New Conversation
15 How I Find Time to Make Media
16 Empower Your Best Customers
17 After the Event- Carrying the Conversation Forward
18 Just Jump Into Podcasting- Heres How
19 My Community and How You Can Engage It
20 Twitter Jaiku Pownce Facebook- And Then What
21 Making a Miniseries
22 If I Were an Advertiser Today
23 My Mother is On Facebook
24 Does a Big Brand Need You
25 Books I Want to Write

check out Brogan’s site for the rest of the topics!

Just like we went and explored other blogs, we need to also explore other podcasts to decide what things we like including:

-the length

-the format

-the intro music

And so here is part one of the Step by Step on how to find and listen to podcasts.

When you subscribe to a podcast you are actually subscribing to what is called the RSS feed. RSS stands for “really simple syndication.” What RSS does is attatch a piece of code to your podcast to let the computers belonging to those people who are subscribed to your podcast know that there is a new episode.
Having all the RSS do all the download work for you is great when you have nine or ten or more podcasts that you like to listen to on a regular basis.

The last thing you need in order to listen to a podcast is something that I have
just barely touched on, it’s called a podcatcher. In other words, some kind of program that will read the RSS feed and then allow you to watch or listen to a show after it is downloaded. A favorite seems to be iTunes and it is available on both Mac and PC. One nice feature about iTunes is that it has a built in Podcast directory.
You can go to www.apple.com and downloading iTunes if you don’t already have
it and taking a look at all the podcasts that are ready to be consumed.
Download itunes.

Once you have downloaded iTunes go ahead and open it up. It will ask you a
few questions like “do you want to make this program your media player?” Get past all those options we just want to get to the podcasts.

When the program opens up click on the “iTunes Store” it’s to the left of the
screen.

Next, find the Podcast section just to the right.

You are now ready to start browsing the thousands of podcasts from all over.

You can also browse to find podcasts that interest you:

Or you can search for specific podcasts

So now you can start listening to some of your favorite podcasts and see what you like about them. Write that down. Keep track of how often they produce an episode. Pay attention to the topic and if they stick to it or wonder on the show. How about the quality, is it good, bad, does it bother you if it isn’t radio quality? Start formulating what you like and don’t like and try to implement that into what you want for your own podcast.

I have a Treo. I’ve only had it since May. The phone I had before that was a regular Samsong camera phone which did nothing for me but take and send phone calls. And for those of you new to the blog, I really am not a phone person. For some reason I like email way better. And now, I can get email on my phone. If someone calls, I also can just hit “respond through text” button that sends them a text message telling them why I didn’t pick up.

This is a great device-and yes there are lots others out there like it, ie the Blackberry and the iphone, being the biggest two I have heard of. I use this piece of equipment that fits in my pocket as a calendar, a camera, a video camera, my email station, my web browsing device and countless other things. There have been several times where I’m out and about and wanted to get a picture of something and thank goodness I had the camera built into my phone.

Take this picture for example. A homeless man sitting out in front of a Uncle Sam decoration that says “Proud to be an American.” I just couldn’t pass this up:

I even got a picture of a goat in the backseat of a car once, but my phone died and I never got to transfer that picture to a computer before it did.

Anyway, don’t be afraid of a device that can do more than make that phone call. Your life story is being played out everyday-take some pictures and video to remember it!

(What are some of the best situations you were in when you wished you had a camera?)

Think about when you are podcasting, the people you would otherwise never reach or get to know.

Christopher Penn on social networks

The past few weeks I have gotten to know Thom Allen a little better.  He is an awesome dude with many talents.  He is into NASCAR and Galactica as well as anything technology.  He and I have had some awesome ideas and plans we are meeting to work on.  If you EVER have anything you want some honest positive feedback on, he is the man to ask.

I’ve begun reading the very short and very excellent book called “Age of Conversation” by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan. In this book they have 100 experts write one page on the topic of conversations. In the book Roger Anderson writes about the message and uses an example I’d like to spin off of the way he presented it.

Have you heard of the telephone game where someone starts with a phrase and then that person whispers it in someone else’s ear and so on. Usually at the end of the game that final phrase is no where near the original. Roger applies this to the listening vs. hearing concept-where it takes effort to actually listen to what is being said. I would like to apply this game a little differently to new media. Through blogging and podcasting and being in these social networks, you are there WITH your audience. They are getting the message directly from you-without you having to sit down and meet with everyone of them. The passion and the message is being directed clearly just as you want it to be.

So you can use new media to get the exact same message out without taking up tons of time. AND unlike a print, television or radio ad-you can actually see who is listening or seeing your message.

Here are some questions that the authors pose about podcasting to help you begin formulating the proper podcast that you’ll enjoy producing:

Who are you and why should we listen?
You want to talk on a topic that people can connect too. More than no commercials or the quality of the podcast, people say the number one thing they like about the podcasts they listen to is that they can connect with them.

Be straight up with who you are, the intentions of the podcast-don’t try to sell anything on your podcast episode after episode.

While its easy enough to listen to podcasts, it does take some effort-and they are listening to YOU not someone else, so give them some honest information-get to the meat of the matter on your podcast.

What is your podcast about?
You need to decided exactly what your podcast is about. The more niche the better. What are you trying to accomplish with your podcast and make sure each episode stays on that track.
When your listeners download or subscribe to your podcast, its because the liked what they heard in the first few episodes. They expect each episode to be new and fresh but familiar to the previous shows…
Narrowcasting-or making programs that only appeal to a very tight group of people is something that is talked about today. If your show is too general people might subscribe, but are they really loyal. If you have a show on unicycling, you are going to reach a small percentage of the audience, but the impact and appeal of the show to that group is immeasurable

How consistent do you want to be?
When your listeners subscribe, its almost like entering into an agreement-they will download your podcast on a regular basis, in belief that you will be podcasting on a regular basis.
Set a consistent time and stick with it. Inconsistency is one of the points that can kill a podcast listener loyalty quickly. But also keep in mind the law of diminishing returns…everyday might be way too much. I know some that are once a week, others are once every two weeks

How long should your show be?
I like to listen to shows that are 10-20 min long while Cammon listens to some that are an hour and a half… you know the audience you are trying to reach better than I, what are they like, are they busy or do they sit at the computer for long lengths of time able to listen to an hour or so?

Start strong and finish big-no one has to be perfect, but make sure you jump out of the gate with energy and enthusiasm. A floundering presenter has the luxury of being able to bring the audience back, but a podcaster loses his audience for good with a click of a button. Make them feel like they are in good hands right from the beginning. Lead with your strength. Make sure the opening of the show reflects the tone and pace of the rest of the show. Choose an appropriate theme song…Relax and have fun with it, don’t be nervous!

Well I got up around 7am and had a bowl of cereal, but out of the portable cartons cereal comes in when all the dishes are packed away. Then I packed. I hauled 10X cans full of sugar, flour and beans from the basement-my mom’s food storage was coming with her. I took all the sheets from the linen closet and wrapped all the fine glasses and plates from the hutch. I helped dismantle beds and furniture.

I worked with the rest of the family until about 7pm that night getting everything ready for the moving truck that was coming the next day. Up the stairs down the stairs, we packed a 3 story house basically in one day.

But you know, it was one of the best birthday’s ever. I have never received so many happy birthday wishes in all of my previous birthdays than I did this past year. All through the day my phone buzzed with an alert that another friend has wished me a good day-and that made all the difference.

The reason for this is because I have a Facebook account. I use this account to keep in touch socially with those who are important to me. You’ll fined close friends from highschool and college on there. I’m connected to family around the nation. I have business friends whom I want to get to know on a personal basis that I’m connected to. And Facebook has this wonderful tool that posts your friend’s upcoming birthdays for that week.

Happy Birthday to Jeff Pulver on Wed!!!

Now, some may argue that none of the people who sent me a note would have even remembered my birthday so it doesn’t really count. My argument for that is, if you’re someone who isn’t good a remembering dates, like myself, then why not use technology to help you solidify relationships. I was important enough for those people to invite me to be their friend. I was important enough for them to see that it was my birthday and DO something about it. None of them HAD to send me a note.

So, while my birthday consisted of backbreaking work, throughout the day I was reminded again and again that I mattered to someone. Thats what social networking is all about. The technology is just the means to find more people to connect with, the human relationship is the end goal.

Thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday, it meant more to me than you probably thought!

So we headed over to Blogger  to create a website for the Randle Stadium where everyone has a front row seat.  This blog is an excellent example of using pictures and video in a blogger account if you’d like to see a real life evolving example.

So do you have a party coming up?  Are you a sports fan?  How about an event someone across the country can’t come to?  Use some video and a blog to share with others.  Create a little fun and introduce your family and friends to a little technology in their everyday life!

For $65 USD a month with a minimum 3 month contract I am offering:-One 10 min podcast (although 2-4 a month is recommended)
-2 hour phone/Instant Messenger/Email consultation
-Weekly Tip about New Media
-Instant friend link into all the communities I already belong including: access to over 2 million on Linkedin, Facebook, etc
-Reminder notifications for Blog, Podcasts Updates
-8 proofs of your blog/podcast

What do you think, sound interesting? I’ve already got a few who are interested in this deal and its been lots of fun! My purpose is a 3 month contract and if you want to work more with me after that its another 3 months. I will work for you up to a year, but my purpose is to get you on your feet and running an online presence for yourself within 6 months.

This is just a part of a big picture that could mean tons of fun things happening. In the meantime, continue to work on your blogs and build your relationships. While you are writing your posts, don’t forget to comment on someone else’s blog….

It is a way for a business to interact with the world.  Whether you agree with or even like it or not, there is a movement online where successful marketing campaigns and connections are real.

Start thinking today why you blog?  And then take it one step further to: “Are you going to stop at blogging?”

And my question to Jeff is What IS your social media strategy?

I use this process to embed videos onto this site. I also use this to post videos ont