Moments of Clarity

Agile Non-Development

I got the call last Friday afternoon from another highly respected destination site in the IT world asking my permission to do an expose on my "Confessions" book.  I decided in that moment that the book deserved its own website where I would:

1. Aggregate a list of subscribers that may enjoy future e-books I write or that may enjoy the expanded version of "Confessions" in the works.
2. Brand the e-book accordingly since before, it was merely linked on a page at my corporate website at RentalMetrics.
3. Provide a survey so readers could offer their feedback on the book and opinions on its expansion worthiness.

I emailed my technology guy and said, "Hey, I'm going to design a static web page with an opt in form built in, can you put it up and host it for me?"  (Sure no problem). 

I began with the usual suspects:  Google page creator, MSFT Publisher, Dream Weaver, NVU, then MSFT Word.  I was leveraging templates and trying to edit them in the WYSIWYG editors but ended up frustrated and flummoxed....as always. 

Then I accessed that part of my brain that I'd tucked away for safekeeping.   It's the part that uses Typepad for EVERYTHING I do (on my own) on the web.  The next 4 hours were a flurry of keystrokes and configuration and I had:

1. Purchased a domain and mapped it to my newly created typepad blog site.
2. Chosen a template and using TypePad's "pages" function, created a "static home page" that will always show when you hit the site (vs. the always updated blog posts).
3. Created an opt-in auto responder in Aweber.  That little gem of a software application is the best auto-renewing $20 I spend a month. This includes 2 follow up messages that get sent at a pre-determined interval, etc.
4. Created custom "thank you" pages on the blog site (again...all easily created in typepad.
5. Added some "right nav" content by sharing some of the TypeLists I have on other blogs here.
6. Configured/laid out the content blocks.
7. Made navigation links to pages in the right navigation at the top right including an Author Bio page (scraped from my company site at RentalMetrics)
8. Created a survey in Wufoo and had embedded this into a page.
9. Used Feedburner to create easy subscribability and pleasant RSS feeds including "Feed flare" to become more easily linkable.

Effectively, within 4 hours I'd created the full circle marketing and PR destination hub for my e-book on my own.  Now, this will not wow anyone in tech circles. In fact, it may seem rather Luddite.  However, for the entrepreneur, consultant, solo-preneur, small business...this power should NOT be underestimated.  A few simple skills will save you big bucks and big headaches (and be more effective than any generic site will be for you). 

This site is findable, link-able, comment-able, sign-up-able, pleasure-able, and functional-(able :)

It cost me exactly 4 hours on a Saturday and since I already use the hosted applications in all of my other businesses, there was zero out of pocket, only opportunity cost.

Invest little bit of your brain power in some simple techniques to build your own sites and for goodness sake, use a BLOG platform to do it!  Blog platforms come chock full of widgets and nifty little code bits that make your site go from zero to hero in minutes.  Well, at least 240 of them.

That's Agile. 

www.enterpriseconfessions.com

Enterprise Confessions e-book gets its own site

My Confessions of an Ex-Enterprise Salesperson e-book is still generating a lot of interest and buzz out there in some pretty exciting IT circles.  So much so, that the book has now earned its own site at:

www.enterpriseconfessions.com

If you're in the business of buying, selling, researching, or recommending solutions for your business...PLEASE grab a copy of the book.  It's informative, fun, and will leave you armed with tools to defeat even the most stunning suited software schlepper!

Use of Video in Company Promotion

Are you using video/rich media in your web/marketing/PR/media execution (notice I didn't say plan) for 2008?  I have turned the corner and have just gone live with my new firm's "Porch Pitch" (Like an elevator pitch but smaller).  The company is RentalMetrics.  Take a look and see if you "get what we do".  If not, it's back to the video drawing board :)

Special thanks to Mike Sansone for pushing/coaching/exposing we business bloggers to the power of the uncomfortable new technologies that await us when we try.  Double secret probation thanks to Chris Punke at Focal Point.  Chris is the uber video studio production genius that makes me look like I'm standing in front of tractors and such using chroma key technology (green screen).  I'd highly recommend both gentlemen who can make some magic for your business.  More thanks to Paul Gratton for key production support.

Power of New Media...the Rise of the Citizen Journalist

I came across a quick post from Munir Umrani.  He talks about the fact that at the upcoming CES Show in Las Vegas..that bloggers get their own Lounge.  They're specifically excluding reporters that ALSO blog in that lounge apparently.

Press passes have RFID chips too.  Do you hear the black UN helicopters? Illuminati knocking at the door in black suits?  Oops...gotta run to the Skull and Bones meeting!

I wish I could be out there at CES with you Munir but someone has to run the shadow government.

When the "Not Ready" Have a Blog

I helped somebody out with a blog a while ago.  They liked the traffic generation aspects of "using the blog as the website" but they were skittish about:

1. Posting regularly
2. People commenting

Now I know...warning...red flag, etc...but we pressed forward.  Fast forward to today.  A comment actually came in on a post that was done a year ago.  The post opened the door to be sold and for the company owner to be positioned as the expert.  I connected with blog/website owner and said, "Hey here's an opportunity to reach out and either get a new client, etc."  The response was, "See, that's why I don't want comments on my site."

When someone isn't ready to engage clients in a truly collaborative blog fashion...don't push them.  It will be worse than than existing Front Page '95 site.

I've gotten another article published...

Hello all.  I've written an article that has just been published in Rental Product News.  (I even got special permission in advance to post it on my own blog)

If you don't already know me personally, I do a fair amount of work in the industrial/heavy equipment rental sector helping these companies leverage technology solutions to their fullest potential while accurately measuring and recouping their investment in them.  I've written an article that introduces the often "old school" rental business to blogs and their power.  This article "wrote itself" after I attended a "Guerrilla Marketing" seminar for the rental industry...that didn't mention blogs whatsoever.  Shame.   

Here's the piece:

Ready for a blog?

You've heard of them. Perhaps you read them. You might even be one of the 50-plus million people that have created one. But it's not likely that you've drawn a clear connection between blogs (short for WeB-LOGs) and your rental business. In this article, I will shed some light on business blogging, the often misunderstood marketing tool, and provide some reasons why it might make sense for your rental business. (HINT: Blogging can be the most powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal … and it's free!)

Background on blogs
When all of the hoopla is stripped away, blogs are simply websites that make it easy for non-technical folks like you and me to show the world what we think in words and pictures. Disappointed? Don't be. The simplicity of blogs and the tools used to create them have spawned an entire industry focused on providing tools enabling the rest of us to make very professional looking blogs that complement our corporate websites.

Also, blogging is not just about writing, it's about reading. Although I won't focus on reading blogs in this article, using the power of RSS feeds (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication) and feed readers, your company can search once and subscribe to feeds delivering real-time news and information on your industry and your competition. At least equally important, you can subscribe to what the industry and others are saying about your company, so you can answer.

But I already have a website!
If you ask 100 people on the street where they go first to look up a business, 80 percent will likely say, "I Google it." Have you spent some time searching for your own website using common key words? If you don't come up in the first page and your competitors do, don't feel lonely. Most corporate websites are put up with great intentions and many look great. However, they quickly become stale and stagnate.

Often, business owners are held hostage by the webmaster or design company that created the site. Want to put up a new event, press release, or product information section? Get out your wallet. As a result, most sites transition from "web" to "cob web" in less than six months. Stale websites do not impress search engines.

While there are techniques to make your website rise in rankings, typically called SEO or Search Engine Optimization, you can help your company ascend the ranks by posting quality content to your blog with regularity. Regular blog postings (three to five times per week) are consumed by search engines voraciously. As more people find and link to your quality posts, they become more "relevant" to the search engines and the site rises in the rankings. By linking your blog site to your corporate website, you can complete the circle and drive more people through the front door. Of course, simply posting random thoughts about the weather will not attract the masses.

Business blogging is really two-way communication between a business and its clients or potential clients. Blogs provide the platform for your company to become more findable and for the public at large to comment and link to what they're reading.

Before you jump in with both feet, it's important to establish the reasons why your business should blog in the first place. After all, you're probably not looking for more workload to fill the day. Let's not forget that your goal in creating this business blog is most likely increasing revenues and differentiating yourself from the competition.

Blogging tools
The most common blogging software platforms today are Blogger(www.blogger.com), WordPress ( www.wordpress.com), and Typepad (www.typepad.com). Each has strengths and weaknesses but all allow the author to create a blog site and start posting with zero upfront expense. If your company outgrows the software or desires more technical tools, they're readily available. These products allow even the most technically challenged among us to put a blog up and post entries in minutes.

Eventually, you might want to employ someone to match the look and feel of your blog to your website. Or, you might even go so far as transitioning your entire corporate site into a blog site. Remember, "findability" is what you're after and a blog's freshness of content provides the fresh new treats that search engines love to eat.

Be different, honest, informative
Your company blog is a platform to highlight what makes your rental operation special. Here are some blog post topics that come to mind if I were posting to your blog:

Share stories that highlight interesting customer service experiences. Share your unique ability to resolve problems and satisfy customer demands.

Share times that things went wrong and what you learned from them. Sometimes I get bored with hearing about how well things go. Tell me about some times when you messed up and how you made them right. These tales get my attention.

Discuss specialized solutions your company provides the industry. I love hearing out-of-the-box solutions to complex situations. If your firm has innovated, tell the world! If you think the competition won't find out eventually, think twice. Share with the industry.

Mention specials or other unique promotions your company is offering. A blog is not merely a site for your electronic sales pitches, but it can be a place to strategically share your specials. If you offer your clientele something they need, they'll likely forward the deal to their friends.

Expose the unique talents of your employees. It's really cool to see that your sales coordinator is a drummer in a rock band and that your shop foreman is a gourmet cook, specializing in French cuisine. Expose a little bit more of what makes up your company's unique personality. These details give outsiders a glimpse of what it's like to deal with you before they walk through the door and might provide "instant rapport" when the potential client walks in the door.

Your unique blogging voice
Your company's "blogging voice" and flare will evolve over time. You should encourage many in your organization to write for the blog and see where they take it. Of course, the software makes it easy to moderate and edit the posts in case someone decides to post a rant about your management style. Also, don't forget that there might be a budding writer out there operating your equipment.

Engage your organization in blogging passion and watch the results!   

Doug Mitchell is the vice president of business development at Dispatching Solutions Inc., a provider of logistics software and GPS tracking solutions to the equipment rental industry.

Click here for copyright permissions!
Copyright 2007 Cygnus Business Media

A special thank you goes out to the Godfather, Mike Sansone who ignited the business blogging gene in me almost 2 years ago.

Blogging Metaphor: Why blogging is like a Mommy

I'm diving into the Liz Strauss Blogging Metaphor project with my own take.  Substitute the appropriate blogging words if you'd like.  Here we go:

Blogging is like a Mommy:
Mommies are patient and sometimes don't get the feedback they desire.  Sometimes mommies get all dressed up and look for positive comments from the family...and they don't exactly come rolling in, but mommy presses on...contributing and adding to the family and community.

Other times, mommies get a quick note completely out of the blue saying, "I love you mommy" and it makes all of her efforts worthwhile.

Mommies have a tough schedule and it's often difficult juggle the needs of the family and mommy's needs.  In the end, Mommy's needs are often sacrificed first.

Mommies need a break every now and again to recharge, refresh, and come up with new ideas on how to be a better mommy.

Mommy's job garners no salary...rather provides immeasurable relationship and family riches.

Sometimes, mommy gives herself a makeover and adds new highlights, wardrobe, and jewelry to make herself feel and look better.  Then, sometimes, she backs off from the bling after discovering it cluttered who she really was.

Finally if mommy needs help, she can call upon her family for support and guidance.

   

Feed Reader Decisions

A while ago I talked about authenticated RSS feeds (those that require a user name and password so the world cannot grab them) and readers that can handle them.  Newsgator is a popular reader that can handle them...and deliver feeds via email by the way.

I tried to use it for 30 days and have found the following compared to Bloglines and even Google Reader:

1. Newsgator seems slow. It's refreshes are at least double the time that it takes for Bloglines to do the same.  When your used to Ferrari, it's hard to go Yugo.
2. Newsgator's user interface just seems more difficult to read.  Maybe it's smaller font size...but I don't prefer how it breaks apart let's say 100+ entries into multiple "pages" that one must click through.  Since I had it set to "mark all as read" when I entered the category, it took me a few times of missing more than half the posts to realize that I hadn't clicked over to "page 2". 
3. I have never really gotten the email delivery to just "work".  It worked a few times but when I set up newsgator the first time, it defaulted everything to arrive via email too...thus I received 1000+ emails over a 1 hour period.  This is probably user error on set up but it happened.
4. The "settings" tab is not so intuitive.  It took a long time for me to extract the method for exporting the OPML file.  I'm comparing this to Bloglines where the export function is clearly exposed on the home screen.
5. I think Newsgator is well positioned as an enterprise RSS tool, but even as a paying subscriber, I've gone back to Bloglines for now and I'm reading and getting through my RSS feeds as fast as I used to.

The key decision point for me came when I realized I was AVOIDING feed reading because I knew it would take so long.

Blog Fitness

I just had a "get to know you" session with Steve Reese from Fitness Together in Clive.   

We talked about everything from my fitness desires to blogging.  The most interesting part of the session was when I began to describe my "emotional triggers" for food.  (Steve seemed a little impressed)

I think most folks don't do a deep enough dive into themselves to figure this part out.  Find out when you eat more and how your feeling when you do and you'll be well on your way to modifying the behavior.  I'm not suggesting that I have solved the problem yet...rather that it's actually quite simpler than we make it.

Overcoming the problem for life is my goal. I've made strides over the last few months in making better choices with food more often and being more active with my family.  However, you know there are a litany of excuses that enable me to remain under my maximum potential.

My triggers fire off subconsciously and the next thing I know, I'm gobbling down 3x the amount of food that I need to feel full.  I'm not a "junk food junkie" but I am addicted to food.  I'm not an "eat to feel better" person...but I associate eating a lot with pleasure, not with being fat or feeling bloated.  Those are the items that I need coaching to change.  Personal training is not cheap, but it's an area of life that I have determined needs fixing and that I have not been able to fix for about 15 years (when pant sizes began their annual incremental inch expansion).  I'm all for paying for coaching to break through barriers that limit us. 

Something tells me that Steve will be looking for the same coaching in his marketing efforts for Fitness Together.   I let him know that I'd received his 3 letters introducing his services to me via mail.  They were actually very effective direct mail pieces and I really wanted to respond.  BUT...
Not one of those direct mail pieces had his email address on them.  I'd have emailed him and potentially become a client 6 months earlier, but I did NOT want to pick up the phone and chat.  I expected the "hard sell" gym type membership phone call.  It turns out, that's not what would have happened as their approach is very consultative and partnership based...but my preferred method of communication was not available.  Thus, it went to the circular file.  I really considered calling him to tell him this back then but just didn't find the time.

A referral from a fellow blogger brought me to Steve.  Now, after our chat this morning, I think Steve is thinking about his blogging goals while he's helping his clients attain their fitness goals.   

You're Invited: First Annual BlogBQ!

WRITERS & READERS!

You are formally invited to attend the first ever global blogging BBQ (held in Iowa...the center of the blogouniverse)!  Details, RSVP form, and all the particulars can be found by clicking this link but it's being held on March 17 starting at 3PM.  I encourage you to spread the word and I'll do my part by spreading the Mexican BBQ fiesta!  Kids welcome, etc.

I'd like to share in fellowship with you all so please come by and grab some tacos at the very least.

Get A LIFE Bloggers!

I hope the headline has captured you and left you wanting more.  When you read this post, please keep in mind that I'm not attempting to discredit the internationally known author and speaker involved...rather I'm trying to make some observations about the fit of blogging into marketing tactics for any business. 

Background
I recently participated on a panel discussion and presentation on heavy equipment GPS monitoring and tracking at the American Rental Association show in Atlanta.  My session immediately followed one on Guerrilla Marketing for the Rental Industry presented by Orvel Ray Wilson.  Mr. Wilson has authored many books and his "hit hard and hit fast and be different" approach is awesome.  His company is called the Guerrilla Group and I recommend you explore what his company could do for your business.  His seminar was by far the best I saw, full of energy, humor, and valuable marketing advice.

The equipment rental industry is somewhat old school...but the perfect playing field to stand out and be different right?  Mr. Wilson's discussion had included only a mention of email marketing...but had zero mention of social media or blogging.  Anytime someone stands in front of me and ignores something that I believe to be incredibly powerful, I feel obligated to discover the big "why".   

I approached and asked the question below and I'm paraphrasing the best I can recall based on notes taken immediately afterward.

The Chat
Doug:  "I didn't hear you mention anything about blogging during your discussion, what role do you believe it plays in the guerrilla marketing equation?"
Mr. Wilson:  "Ahhhh blogging...well I don't blog...basically because I have a life...(chuckling)...I mean there's a million blogs out there and there's a lot of garbage.  You have to know how to write...write editorial copy...and write well....(he got busy and began doing some other tasks).
Doug:  "Interesting...I really wanted to see your take since blogging is a powerful tool for some."

Mr. Wilson was busy cleaning up his laptop, etc. from his speaking session and was interacting with many of the A/V staff so I stopped asking questions and tried to take in what I'd just heard.  Of course, the first thing that fired off in my brain was, "This is going to be a good post for discussion among my readers". 

So I'll leave you with a few observations and questions that are still resonating in my travel fogged head.

The Takeaways

1. The belief that blogging is something for only good copy writers is a serious miscalculation.  Blogging exposes the writer's true voice and reveals their style, tone, and method doing business very often.  Anyone that reads my blog "already knows me".  They know my positions, my pauses, my emphasis and my passions.   Many of my top 10 marketing blogger friends around the U.S. often use "real language" to communicate their vision/passion/point.   Editorial blogging is typically as boring as "mainstream media"...you know the media that folks are paying less attention to.  Although many bloggers write well and with clarity, others destroy the English language and its grammar and do just dandy.  Should everyone blog?  I'm sure there are reasons why some shouldn't...but one of those reasons should not purely be the editorial quality of the writing.  Should everyone read blogs or have searches automated to see what folks are saying about them?  Yes.  In fact, Mike McLaughlin who wrote Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants,  blogged on this same topic a while ago.  Interesting.  Mike says, "If the purpose of a business blog is to reach your targeted audience, it’s best to know someone out there would want to read your stuff. Any one of us could rattle off a number of industries where blogs are still an oddity, not a fixture."  No and Yes.  How would I have ever known that finding a certain part number for an internal air card on my Dell laptop could help so many people around the world?  Well...it happened, because I blogged on it.  I had absolutely no idea that anyone would find that valuable...but they did, by the boat load.  In the heavy equipment rental space, I bet there are few blogs if any.  If yours was the first and you blogged with even a modicum of skill in tagging or linking, you'd be found.  Trust me.  Why must the only value in your blog come from your direct industry?  I've achieved higher search engine rankings and first page results on many key topics that I blog about often like customer service and relocation.  In many cases, my more popular blog entries show up well ahead of the company's intended marketing message.  Old school business models may benefit from a blog more than more high tech businesses.  There's more cutting edge technology and marketing taking place in some seemingly old school segments than one would imagine.  GPS technologies and telematics are taking this industry by storm and allowing equipment rental companies to provide an unparalleled level of service. I'd bet that within 90 days, I could place higher than most when searching for "equipment rental" if I put my blogging efforts toward it.
2. The belief that blogging is relegated to those that don't "have a life", is putting it lightly...ignorant.  AUTHOR'S NOTE:  I received a phone call from someone that knows Mr. Wilson suggesting that his comment about "not having a life" was likely geared towards his own personal schedule...meaning that "He'd not have a life if he were to try and blog". I have updated my post to reflect that I can see this point of view.  I had been quite fair that the comment was probably just a passing commentary lacking much context, but the rest of my post stands on its own and I hope the larger point is still the overriding one)  I'm pretty sure that Mr. Wilson's comment wasn't meant as a direct derogatory commentary on me, Seth Godin, Brad Feld, Tom Peters, Mark Cuban, and Guy Kawasaki.  Likely it was a humorous off the cuff remark that we all make from time to time.  I could list a thousand other blogs written by not so known names but the point holds.  We have a life.  In fact, we've taken on blogging as a means to communicate in an unfiltered way with our customers, potential customers, and casual observers.  We're using our real mojo and experiences in the life-business ecosystem to provide value for others.  We've all simply put a priority on understanding a new technology and new media platform.  It's the platform that our future employees are very familiar with.  It's the platform that can bring thousands of visitors scrambling to see what you think about the business trends and emerging issues.  Undoubtedly, this post will reach Mr. Wilson because of linking and tagging, and will probably be forwarded to him by a blogger with a life. 
3. At the very least, interpret "blogging" as maintaining automated blog searches and tag searches to find out what people are saying about you when you're sleeping.  Nothing is more powerful than receiving an unsolicited "Thanks" or "Ooops" from the CEO of a company because they were paying attention.  If you're paying attention you have a serious competitive advantage vs. those who aren't.  Leverage that and odds are, you'll do better than "the rest".  Period.

The essence of guerrilla marketing for me is doing what isn't normally done, doing it cheap(er), doing it different.  Blogging is the pinnacle of cheap, different, and REAL.  It's worth an hour long workshop to understand the basics.  Then, if the CEO can't seem to put a coherent thought together, then find someone in the organization who can or hire someone. 

I think next year, you'll see a seminar by Doug called, "Social Media and the Heavy Equipment Rental Industry:  How To Get A Life Through Blogging!".   I invite your commentary.

Feed Pruning - Required for Growth

I've gotten into the habit of pruning my feeds (eliminating those that bother me, annoy me, provide too much information that's repetitive), etc.once every couple of weeks.  This topic was brought up at the latest blog workshop put on by Mike Sansone.

Someone asked about "accumulating many feeds and overload of information".  I proudly proclaimed that I subscribe to (or have created) over 175 feeds and that it doesn't take me long to get through them daily.  Between skimming headlines and doing quick scans, I can see what's important to me.  Then, over time, as I find that day after day I'm skipping a feed, I cut it.  Here's some tips.

1. Don't OD on National, International, or other headline news feeds.  The same junk usually pops up in 50 places 50X per day.  Be selective.
2. Do subscribe to feeds that you find in your areas of interest.  As you read them through the weeks, you'll know if the relevance is still there.  If not, cut them.    I used to have all the 'buzz" blogs on technology only to find that they were meaningless to me.
3. Refine your feeds that you create.  My search for "Midwest New Business" provided nothing but junk.  I had to refine the language and ultimate some I've had to delete entirely.

Trimming the fat will help you maintain focus and be more effective in your connectedness and conversation continuations...say that three times!  Have a wonderful day.   

The Long & Short of Posting

There are many that recommend as a general rule that "shorter posts" are best for blogs...giving the reader the chance to "get in and get out".  That's probably a good basic guideline.  However, I believe that the length of your posts is automatically determined by the voice of your blog, the topics you cover, your personality, and the skill with which you lay out the prose.  Maybe folks hit my posts and say, "here we go again" and move on.  I'm not so sure I'll ever know.  But my writing style lends itself to deeper explanations and more words, whether I'm talking about steak or branding.  Ooops...this is a short post! 

Blog Wars: The Sundance Channel Documentary

I just watched the movie Blog Wars, a 2006 documentary chronicling the power of bloggers in the Lieberman - Lamont Senate race in Connecticut.  After watching it, I'm pretty sure that any outsider could easily dismiss bloggers as digital vigilantes exacting mob lynchings of their enemies. 

The bloggers, toting video cameras, would hound Lieberman asking tough and some might say volatile questions hoping to fluster him into saying something improper knowing that minutes later...the VLOG (video blog) would be up and linked to by thousands of supporters of the cause.

No matter the color of the sword you fall on: red or blue, the power of blogs in elections is undeniable.  Some accredit Bush's Ohio victory in 2004 to evangelical right bloggers getting people out to vote.  In the Lieberman/Lamont race, the bloggers got behind Lamont (even though they admittedly didn't care for him all that much) to prove a point, and they did.  Lamont emerged victorious from the primary that was targeted. 

2008 may prove to be the most digitally influenced election yet.  I'm not so sure this kind of blogging is undesirable really.  If you feel like many (especially twenty and thirty-somethings) do that politicians from both parties aren't even listening anymore, blogging may be the flintlock of the digital revolutionary militia.

Wiki - Collaboration Acceptance

Zane Safrit, CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited, posted about his company's time line for acceptance of wiki technology.  It's taken them over a year.  As a principal at a small dynamic company, I can relate.  While I use Central Desktop vs. Basecamp, I know what his company is up against.  He says,

"We have a fairly small company. Even so, open and efficient communication is critical. We don't have the inertia that carries a large corporation forward. We also don't have any hiding spots for malcontents, non producers, rear-guard experts or those who can't cooperate and collaborate. We can't tolerate feifdoms, kingdoms of secrets and jealously guarded expertise. Wikis, the requirement to use them, helped flush all that out into the open and show how open and honest and constructive interactions made everyone's lives smoother."

Very accurate.  In my business, it took some authoritative top down management to break up the "fall back information silos" that cropped up when something didn't go exactly to plan or there was a feature that someone wanted but it didn't exist...even if it was a "two percenter" (a feature that only 2% of the human population would ever even dream up and thus can be jettisoned as unreasonable and not economically viable to ask for or even look for in another package).

I posted a short time ago on my case study in which I was going to use wikis to make a company's actual corporate web site easier to update and maintain.  I think I've taken the wiki idea to its extreme...literally replacing corporate web page and content management infrastructure with wiki pages that are instantly editable by the designated person(s).  I achieved the goal in my case which was to stir the pot and cause a bit of short term trauma to get my point across.  It worked, and the pages are still live. 

Personal vs. Business: A blogging conundrum

I blend personal experiences, business bits, and other things I'm interested in (ethanol) on this blog.  Some like to separate those things out into separate blogs...not me.  Time will only allow me to maintain 1 feed, 1 set of widgets, etc.  Besides, my blog is a tool for me to communicate with the world at large and share my Moments of Clarity wherever they show up in my life.  This blog gives readers an indication of who I am, what makes me tick, and what it would be like to sit down and have a conversation with me...whether it's business or just because. 

Today Fred Wilson posted a cool piece on what blogging means to him.  Fred is the real deal and he shows his readers what his life is like as A VC (A venture capitalist and rather good one at that) by blending personal, business, music, and other things that fancy him into blog topics. 

Fred says, "At first, I really didn’t know what to write about. So I wrote about the things I was passionate about; my work, my family, music, politics, new york city."

Exactly.  Share your passions...contribute!...and if others find them interesting...well...they'll read what you have to say. 

Domain Mapping

With the help of Mike Sansone, I was able to map my blog domain to my main company URL for The Mitchell Group, LLC.  Of course, I toiled about starting over in Technorati and wish I'd have understood some of these technical issues regarding consolidation of links and traffic some time ago...but it's done.

I'm taking the approach of having my corporate presence...BE THE BLOG.  I've generated more traffic and more first page google results for my name and various topics I post on frequently than I would have ever imagined.  And...all the while, my "corporate site" sits there and collects web dust.  After all, why do people want me to work with them/for them? It's not because my website is so brilliantly constructed that they can't say no.  (most have never seen it)

Rather they have a sense of who I am and what I can do...and the way in which I'll probably communicate with them...because of this blog.  I'm migrating some of the typical corporate stuff over and making design tweaks but it's live and official now.