Moments of Clarity

Angela Maiers going LIVE with her Interactive Learning Environment (ILE)

Angela Maiers (Maiers Educational Services) just announced that she's going live with her Interactive Learning Environment during her upcoming Midwest Literacy Institute. 

We've been running a bit under the radar with this project while slowly building momentum through a base of knowledge based business owners.  Angela is the second to go live after RentalMetrics.

The Mitchell Group, LLC in coordination with 48 Web is providing the back end platform that enables serious professionals like Angela to share their message, their teaching, and their tools...globally. 

• If you've reached your income cap because you can't possibly travel any more or bill out more days per year, raise your hand.
• If you believe the concept of selling your program, talent, skills, and knowledge to a global audience and waking up to bank deposits each day is a good idea, raise your hand. 
• If when thinking about this topic you immediately saw the need and thought of a few friends that could use it to, raise your hand.
• If you believe that you could do this if only there were an online platform that handled membership, content, and payment management, raise your hand.

It's OK to put your hands down now.  Now please click if you'd like to know more.

On another note.  During this InteractiveLE build out, we at The Mitchell Group, LLC have begun sharing our multimedia presentation creation skills with the Des Moines, Iowa area.  Examples of our work are strewn about RentalMetrics.com and within our subscription ILE. 

As a business owner, you know that the big value isn't just in being able to use the cool software to make presentations.  It's actually in the company's ability to take your ideas, instantly summarize them and get your point, provide new and impactful twists that you never thought of, and produce a far larger WOW factor than you ever thought possible.  That's what we do.  Reduce pain.  Increase value.

To examine our multimedia presentation skills, you can always peek at our video library too.

RentalMetrics Interactive Learning Environment Goes Live

It's been 8 months in the works.  Countless thousands of hours have gone into its creation.  Now, RentalMetrics has officially launched its Interactive Learning Environment (ILE). 

To sign up for a the free trial and poke around, visit http://signup.rentalmetrics.com.  Select the FREE TRIAL subscription.

The business can best be described as "Insourced E-Learning for the Construction and Equipment Rental Sectors".  It's a virtual online consultant.  So...no suits...no flights...expensive dinners.  Just fantastic content delivered in rich media formats (audio, video, screen casts, etc.). 

We're providing the resources, tools, analysis for every equipment rental company to have the kind of personnel firepower to execute technology solution deployments (and get the most out of them) like their well resourced larger cousins.  Of course the big guys will find quite a bit to use as well.  I'm guessing our Marketing & Promotions category will get some attention from the larger companies since they're still contemplating "that whole blog thing" or this new "social media revolution".  We'll see.

The bottom line is that we're open for business.  Most of my readers are probably not associated w/the Construction Equipment Rental sector.  However, if you're a consultant, business coach, or just operate any kind of "Information Based Business", think about how this Interactive Learning Environment platform could work for you.

How would you like to offer your clients rich content for sale?  Maybe you could offer your intellectual property to the world...while you sleep?  Have you ever woken up to new sales and new bank deposits each morning?  Maybe it is time to stop traveling so much and remove your income cap because you're "maxed out".

Lucky for you we built the platform for RentalMetrics so anyone can use it.  If you want to get global overnight, shoot me an email and I'll share more details.  I'd like to put out a special thank you to Andy Brudtkuhl and Paul Gratton for making all of this happen behind the scenes. 

Here's a video tour of the site in case you're interested.  Until we meet again. 

If you're wondering which cell phone carrier to swtich to...consider ATT

ATT is apparently going to invest in the key metro markets of Iowa with technology upgrades.  Des Moines Register article. I'm assuming this means 3G and more phone coverage?

I've been very pleased with ATT in Iowa.  I can understand if you don't have coverage at your house...that would be infuriating.  But I do.  Thus, I'm happy. 

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!

Some nice coverage for "Confessions" book

My "Confessions of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said ___________ " was picked up by the IT Project Failures Blog.  Michael Krigsman characterized the book properly as it's not a "hit piece" on sales people (we're all selling).  Rather, it's a more of a handbook to help cut through the clutter and noise of the enterprise selling process.

Each side of the sales equation (the one with the money and the one trying to separate him/her from it) will be served by the book I think.  If you'd like your copy, simply visit this link and request it.

Getting great recorded interview quality using Skype

Over at RentalMetrics...we believe we've turned a corner with regard to quality of audio production...not to mention our screen casting production.  We've figured out how to successfully use skype to execute digital interviews:  we use the studio microphone in the office and the caller calls in using our "skype in" phone number. 

We use a great piece of software called "CallBurner" that records the conversation.  Both sides of the call (me and the inbound caller) are recorded on separate channels allowing for great editing options (we use Audacity which is free also).  If the caller and I talk over each other, we can fix that is post production by simply moving tracks around. 

We've also raised the bar on the video screen casts (We're now using the free CamStudio).  It seems that after investing maybe 40 hours in learning and tweaking, we've found the right settings and resolution to make things look very appealing.

We're also now using Viddler to host our videos.  Much better quality and flexibility than YouTube or Google Video.  We can even make video's "private" for example if they're related to specific clients or part of our subscription service.

I say "We" when I really mean Paul.  Paul has tirelessly futzed with things and has become a great producer.  I keep telling him that if we're not careful, RentalMetrics will get asked to execute on social media/marketing projects for companies in our industry.  That wouldn't be so bad :)

Bottom Line
Here's the latest and certainly greatest Product Showcase on an industry leading Fleet Management GPS Solution.  Please watch it and let us know what you think.

From Flyover to Tech Hotspot: How Global Warming Has Shifted the Where of Cool

Let's assume for a moment that global warming is happening on some scale, man-made or otherwise. 

**FOR IMMEDIATE FICTITIOUS RELEASE** February 15, 2008

Global warming today has been credited with making the Midwest "cool".    Now that the Western half of the U.S. and the Northeast are plagued with the inability to reliably produce electricity and severe drought...places like Iowa have become highly desirable.  An unnamed Iowa legislator said under the condition of anonymity that, "It's about time that global calamity worked in our favor.  I'm not sure if global warming is real or not...but for now, I'm loving it."

It's been almost a year now since Google (GOOG) announced that it was building a data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Now we  find that Microsoft (MSFT) is getting close to deciding on an Iowa location for a similar data center operation. Local and state governing bodies are scrambling to put together incentive packages that sweeten the deal.  It seems that Iowa has become cool.  Or more accurately, Iowa is hot.

Iowa's Paris Hilton "hot" stems from its abundant water and ability to produce massive amounts of electricity.   "Look, we know that the public thinks that we're bending over for Microsoft, and we are," said a confidential city source.  "But look, we have rain, snow, and land free of aging hippies so we can build more electrical plants.  Those few key elements put us in a great position  to get on the news...and that's what we need to do.  Hi mom."

So it seems that for now, Global Warming has turned Iowa into the technology and biofuel capital of the world.  For these humble Midwesterners, used to news coverage only every 4 years, time are a changin'.  Now everyone seems to want a little piece of their globally warmed pie. 

**

If you record interviews with callers for Podcasts

I'm proud to say that I've come a long way in a short time with regard to recording audio, podcasting, and post-production.  We've discovered recently that it's not always good to use free tools...and that blogospherical experts can be extremely generous with their knowledge. 

1. We have been using www.FreeConferenceCall.com to record live interviews.  This service provides a conference call phone in number and records each call if you'd like for download.  Our results were OK maybe 1 or 2 times.  Then, I started having serious audio call quality issues.  Additionally, when I tried to begin recording the call, I'd get "Not authorized" or "Not Available" type error messages.  Sometimes it would take me 10 tries to start the recording...while my client was on the other line.  Not good.  Also, it's completely my fault for not reading the details...but they don't "store calls" for you.  After you make the call, you MUST download it before doing another.  I found out the hard way since we're doing 2-5 interviews a day right now.  (Can we do that perfect interview one more time?) I have now leveraged the pay service from our friends in Fairfield, Iowa Conference Calls Unlimited.  $.07 for each caller that calls in on a normal toll phone number.  They store calls for XX days as well, have a "pay per use" model with no contracts, and leverage real phone lines. 
2. Ideally, I'd be using Skype to digitally record calls right?  Even if the inbound caller doesn't have Skype, they can call my "Skype In" phone number.  My side of the conversation should be fantastic (as good as digital studio at the office can get) and the caller will be slightly better than the typical phone call.  Also, this medium allows you to independently record each side of the phone call making for much better whiz bang editing on the back end using free software like CallBurner.  The price is right (only a few cents per minute for the inbound Skype in call) and I'd have total flexibility. 
   I could not get my studio mics and mixer to work with Skype for the life of me and asked for assistance from Russ Turley over at The Podcast Studio.  After some email exchanges, Russ dedicated a post to my issue.  Apparently, Skype doesn't yet understand Firewire devices and my FCA-202 Behringer Podcast rig is exactly that...Firewire (not USB).
3. One of the most informative screen-casts I've ever seen is embedded below.  If you've wanted to leverage Skype for podcasting or business interviews...this is a MUST see.  It gets into specifics about how to maximize the quality of your calls, record them, and produce them.  This is really the Cadillac of Skype call recording explanations.

Thanks to EVERYONE out there helping us to get better at what we do.

| View | Upload your own

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.

The hack for using feedburner animated headlines (or simply html) in Outlook 2007 signatures

I've finally spent the time to discover this hack.  I won't bother explaining since Ed Buford does a far better job. After some playing, I got this to work just fine.  So, if you've loathed the fact that you upgraded to Outlook 2007 because it too away some coolness...breathe easy.  Ed is here.

Take a look.

If you blog...are you saying "Get to know me?"

I've tried numerous times to reach out to a few regional business and venture capital bloggers.  Just introductions, comments, etc..and in some cases have never received a response. 

As a blogger, I feel like I'm hanging a sign that says, "Hi there, if you join the conversation with me (after all not that many really do), I'm going to reciprocate...or at least say "Roger that.  10-4.  Over and out".

I'm not needy and don't take it personally (wiping the tears away), just curious to see what the impression is out there.  I can see that an uber blog receiving 100 comments  a day may not respond to a folksy "hello" email.  But honestly, I do get responses from nearly every A-List blogger I've ever emailed.  I've even gotten a voice mail from Seth Godin in response to a comment I made. 

When regional bloggers don't seem to have time to say hello and make a connection on related topics after multiple attempts, it just makes you think about the purpose of a blog anyway.

Judge your current Technology Term IQ

Over the at WSJ, Katherine Boehret provides some of today's top tech terms you need to know to navigate the landscape of "stuff" being displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  I'm happy to report I was 100% on these.  That's rare these these days as I pay less and less attention to the "hot items" and try to just do with what I have.

Blackberry Pearl 8100: Wow did they get this right!

Perhaps you read my recent post on how to unlock your Blackberry Pearl 8100...with AT&T's help!  Or, perhaps you're considering which phone you'd like to buy.  Let me encourage you to purchase the Pearl for the following reasons.

1. It's quad-band gsm for max global usage (if you ever intend to use a phone overseas...this is a must)
2. It's the most business friendly phone I've ever encountered.  It's the ONLY phone...let me repeat ONLY phone that has ever been able to simply open a .WAV file out of the box.  I get my voice mails from my office Vonage line delivered to my email (and thus my phone).  One click and I'm listening to the voice mail on my Pearl.  Not so with ANY windows mobile device I owned (various PDA style windows mobile phones, Q, etc.  I'm sure the windows phones will open the file with some kind of patch or download...but I'm not interested in playing.
3. Google now makes a "Google Synch" tool that automatically synchs your google calendar w/the native blackberry calendar.  Nice.  This seems new but is just excellent.
4. The entire suite of GOOGLE mobile apps works flawlessly on the phone.
5. The phone is very business savvy with the ability to copy and paste and move between applications.  windows mobile phones were always very clunky at doing what I thought was a windows thing. 
6. The phone seems to send/receive/construct voice memos and MMS messages better than I ever could with my Q phone. 
7. They've crammed a QWERTY keyboard into a much smaller keypad.  Bottom line.  It's weird at first but the software figures out what you're doing and makes sense of it all.  Trust me.  Just type the words you want and after a few weeks, about 98% of what you want to come out...does.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the keypad and notice the lack of all those little thumb buttons. 

The Blackberry Pearl 8100 is just a great device and provides a powerful business tool for those that who need it...all tucked into a nice little form factor that still fits in the pocket.

Unlocking GSM Cell Phones: ATT Blackberry Pearl 8100

In days gone by it was nearly impossible to get AT&T (Cingular) to unlock a phone for you.  Unlocking of course means that you can use your quad-band GSM cell phone on the other global networks you may encounter while traveling abroad by purchasing local SIM cards.  Rates on these SIMS can be very low (sub $.10/min) and include a local phone number. Also, inbound calls are free of charge.

Of course this has always been something AT&T did NOT want to happen because they'd miss out on their often usurious international rates.  Rates have been coming down and $.99/min is not uncommon these days but you'll pay $.99/min inbound and outbound while likely paying some sort of monthly fee to get the rate down to that level. 

But I have great news.  I've just received my UNLOCK CODE and instructions on how to activate it on my Blackberry Pearl 8100 from AT&T's customer service department with one simple call to 611!

I asked the guys at the local store and they said, "We can't do it, but customer service will handle that for you".  I was shocked to even hear that much support.  Imagine my surprise when  I call, I ask, I get. 

Bravo AT&T.  I'm more loyal now that ever.  You know odds are, that if I'm traveling for a short period of time, I'll probably STILL use your service/SIM and pay you the rates you ask for.  I'm simply into have the option to do otherwise. 

No more paying $20 for a code from someone on ebay.  Have at it y'all.

Who will own your personal information cloud?

Here's some non-technical, peripheral understanding only, commentary on what I think is happening to the state of personal information management.

Like many of you, I'm a bit hesitant to let my entire life be run under the GOOGleplex.  Honestly, these guys are owning our lives, only so they can monetize it for the benefit of their shareholders.  (I use more and more of their services too).  But they get it.  They get that the ultimate destiny of computing is that users will simply "jack into the net" using a device.  They also get that "life is one big filing cabinet" and that today's computing world doesn't really create efficiencies when it comes to finding things, re-finding things, noting what's actually important, and doing so without unnecessary replication or time waste.  Don't you have things saved on hard drives, remote hosted environments, laptops, cds, dvds, usb keys, portable devices...and gasp...paper?

William Jones in his new book (not a business buzz book...a real meaty academic book) called, "Keeping Found Things Found" talks about a PSI (personal space of information), i.e. the mega life filing cabinet with no end.  Like Jones, Google understands that the required space and computing power to search, tag and manage all of the "stuff" life throws at one today are simply too great to "own".  Heck GOOG is even building its own network of bandwidth, power, and perhaps wireless infrastructure.  They know the drill.

GOOG also gets that this big personal filing cabinet in the sky should be a universal safe source of information that we allow others to have access to.   The recent Google Open Social announcements seem to indicate that they're headed this direction. Although we're far from that today.  Thankfully, GOOG still breaks things out into products so we don't get overwhelmed (reader, notebook, gmail, docs, blogger) just yet.

Is it really efficient to create 200+ profiles on social networking, travel, wiki, hosted application, portal, blogging,  and shopping sites?  Why don't we own our own medical records and simply allow our new doctor to hop into that file using an ultra secure API or biometric access medium?  I'm sure we'd all be better off creating one master profile with all of our preferences and frequent flier numbers, etc. inside.

The computing/software world is not ready for this reality. But when it is, should we give the power of owning and securing our life to a company like Google that is simply monetizing it for their gain along the way?  Should the GOOG machine be able to troll our medical records, buying habits, and stored documents for targeted ads delivered to your googlephone let's say?  (They already do most of this).  In the most extreme example, the google machine could read your recently updated medical records that contain the diagnoses that you have 3 months to live, then begin pummeling your phone and other mediums you've subscribed to with funeral home, attorney, and financial planner ads. Think that's over the top? You gave permission when you accepted the user agreement that you never read.)

But who else out there will construct this world for us if not GOOG?  I'd lay some money on Amazon. 

Although Amazon appears to be a shopping site to the average consumer, they've been working on search technology and an open platform for some time now.  Today we  find that Amazon has released an open database platform.  Hum, are things taking shape?  They have a trusted brand and have built a massive IT infrastructure. 

Since I've embraced this idea of the universal filing cabinet, I find it harder to put value on the "pieces" of the solution that ask me to house bookmarks, documents, and notes.  Why should I social bookmark at X different places when I can bookmark to my own personal filing cabinet...then choose to "socialize" those? Why should I store a contract in a contact record in salesforce.com...when I'd have to search within salesforce.com to find it again someday?  In fact, why should I use Salesforce.com to manage contacts?  Why don't programs simply access my "life's phone book" and let me do what I want with it?  It seems everyday that I'm confronted with "where to save or bookmark or store" things in their proper context.  I keep resorting to Google products to accomplish this and that generally worries me for the long term.   (Mainly due to mobility vs. functionality)

I want to own my life's information and let you see what I want you all to see.  I want to type this entry into my text editor screen...then select "post to blog"...then select which one (personal, business, etc.), what tags I want, etc.  You may say that I can do this already..and I can...but this blog entry is stored on TypePad's servers not in my PSI. 

I'm willing to pay for this.....if for no other reason that to disallow GOOG from charging others for ads that feed on my life's work like algorithmic parasites.

I'm sure the digerati out there have some other start up going that support the "new new" model.  Perhaps it's the World Beam.  Want to be blown away?  Read the article and see the future. 

 

Hey, they're not my words...but I find them incredibly entertaining

Have you ever heard of Loren Feldman of 1938 Media?  If not, and if you choose to click on the link to hear/see his perceptions, opinions, and uplifting commentary on Twitter, please be prepared to experience the no bull approach to passionate video blogging.  It's a short video and Loren minces no words in describing Twitter's place in the world. 

*If you're listening at work or there are kids around, please be advised there is salty language of the f-bomb aura.

Hottest New Marketing Strategy For the Social Media Era: Kitchen Magnets

In our current world of facebooking your twitterlog and burning your flickrmeme, I find it very refreshing that the only marketing effort a few local businesses I deal with undertake....is delivering me a new kitchen magnet each year. 

I buy firewood from "The Woodman" (no extra charge for the attached little calendar) and I call the same garage door fixer guys if I have issues.

Don't underestimate the power of simplicity, a handshake, and magnetism.

Now go Fark a Widget.

Blogging can help you OWN a search term: Geographic Arbitrage

When you have passion for something, and blog about it, you just may author a definitive post defining that topic. 

Just recently, GOOGLE search results for "Geographic Arbitrage" have yielded me 1st and 6th place results.  The milestone that makes me most proud, is that I've surpassed the links from FORBES magazine, who's publisher...and author Rich Karlgaard, gave me the term in the first place in his book, Life2.0:  Finding the Where of Your Happiness. This book played a major part in my decision to execute geographic arbitrage in 2005.

In the last month, I've been linked to in various articles by some great writers.  This morning, I noticed traffic coming from this piece by uber author and blogger Anya Kamenetz

Her site and book are called Generation Debt

What's even more amazing to me is that I've been linked right next to author Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Work Week) one of my favorite works.  Ferriss is a big advocate of Geographic Arbitrage...or Taking a position of monetary power like cashing in a coastal house and moving to a more affordable area, working remotely with your larger coastal income while living somewhere inexpensive, or using currency differences to live like a king in foreign lands, etc.

Takeaway
Let this be an example to all business bloggers out there just getting started.  Are you ready to offer the world the defining post or two on a topic that you're passionate about?  Writing with regularity and passion may grant you "Pole Position"...and along with it, many more unique visitors, potential new customers, and implied authority that propel your business to its next level.

Stand Up Desk: Up, Running, & Productive

The stand up desk is in full effect now.  An additional bonus that was really not thought through was the under desk storage/platform for my printers/tower, etc.  There's even 12 inches of available space under the shelf for box storage or otherwise.

Let me summarize.

1. I used a Mayline drafting table procured via Craigslist for $150.
2. Paid about $8.00 for a box of "bed stands" from Target that raised each desk leg 6 inches to get the proper height (for me).
3. I'm finding the productivity great.  However, the day after the 3x per week triathlon workouts, it's a bit tough to stand in the early AM.
4. It took me over 2 years to think about this and finally make the move.  I'll report on progress/feeling/posture, etc. along the way

Giving Away the Collective Iowa "Farm" for the Google Server Farm

There's a googolplex of reasons why the state of Iowa is gushing over a new Googleplex being built within its borders. There are about 100 articles/posts hitting the wires every hour about it.  Here's a post at InfoWorld on it.

But has anyone done the math on this project with the tax credits, sales tax exemptions, and alleged jobs this facility will produce?  Does Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) have so much "star power" that legislators are willing to sell their souls to the "do no evil" Googolopoly?  I wonder if some GAAP accounting applied properly would yield that the cost to operate and build this facility is net zero for the next 20 years...just in time for an exit? 

I'm going to head out to Council Bluffs and do some investigative reporting a la Stone Phillips to get real resident reactions, etc. 

Are you nervous about Google and their continuing global domination...or are you concerned with them terraforming (or Googleforming) another colony here in the heartland?  Or are you just happy to have your city in the paper in a positive way?  More reports from the field to come.

New Godaddy E-mail feature

If you use the free godaddy.com email service like I do (forwarded to gmail), then you might find this interesting.  I've forgotten twice now to check that email box only to have it fill up and start rejecting messages.  There's no reason to check it if you're living in gmail of course...but until now, there was no easy way to remind oneself that I knew about at least.

Well, now there's a new "auto-purge" feature that will dump messages older than XX.  You simply right click on the INBOX, select AUTO PURGE, and select the frequency.  I don't really need them to be saved at all but I feel that it's a fail safe against some kind of non-delivery by gmail.  One never knows.

Anyway, I know that a few of you use this and it can sure save some missed emails and technical faux pas.

FYI   

RSS Made Simple

I actually expected some claymation in this video :)

Click To Play

There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.

Posting From Word 2007

I just read the Typepad blog and they have just highlighted the fact that one can post directly to a blog from within MS WORD 2007.  I had just finished typing a post in that program so I gave it a try.  It's VERY clean except the TAGGING boxes that most of us have set up (technorati, typepad key word, etc.) are not there.  Thus, a visit back to the post on typepad is required to execute on this.  I usually find my self using word to create posts when I'm on a plane only.  In general, it's probably good practice since I've lost numerous killer posts to a "time out" or something that cannot be explained while using typepad on line.

Twitter Dee Twitter's Dumb?

I still haven't signed up at the Twitter site.  I guess I'm not looking for what I feel (at this early stage) to be yet another distraction. Maybe I'm just not getting it yet...but I really don't have much interest in hearing a constant blow by blow of what a world of others are doing in that instant.  Is it that I feel connected to the "real" people enough that I don't need the random community friends?  It's probably a great tool to build yet more awareness for one's personal brand, (is it?)...but at what cost for interruptions,etc.

I find it very difficult to get into the "zone" of creative "flow" type thinking where I can crank out quality content, think through multi-layer issues, and really produce with the interruptions that I have now.  I'm still attempting to scale back the things I do (number of feeds that I read, projects in the air at once, periodicals I read, etc.) so on the surface, Twitter offers me nothing I'm seeking.

As we keep building tools, widgets, and disruptors that sap our analytical "long term" thinking, I think it may become very easy to stand out in the crowd say for jobs or in school.  I'm already skeptical of what our education system could become if we abandon writing entirely for example...since after all, who uses a pen anymore?  Will the good writers be hailed as intellectual goddesses and luminaries because they can put a 1500 word opinion piece together with non-wikipedia evidence? 

I already find myself skipping punctuation on emails to "save time".   I also use w/John to communicate "With John" in emails to save 2 strokes.   Add in the 2500+ marketing messages that bombard us daily  and what will result?  I'm not suggesting that we squelch development of these technologies...but I am commenting on their long term affect on human mental development.  Short term thinking which I like to call "Media Crisis" thinking, breeds panic, wild eyed solutions to complicated problems, and the kind of politicians and electorate we seem to have cultured today.

Perhaps the human brain will adapt and become more powerful that we can possibly imagine.  Or, we may just atrophy the parts of our brains that let the skin on our knuckles heal.

RSS Primer

This fantastic introduction to RSS feeds is well produced and digestible for novices as well.  Odds are, if you're reading this in a feed reader, you may be past this "grade level".  This has been linked so many times that giving credit is impossible so thanks all for pointing me to it.  Viral marketing at work in blogLand.  I'd suggest a subscription to the blog to get the future training episodes if you're at all interested in RSS and what it means to you and your business (tip:  you should be interested).

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.

My telecom nightmare

I moved to Iowa about 13 months ago. Upon arrival, I was welcomed and really hooked up by Mediacom, the cable company presently embroiled in a battle with Sinclair Communications. I've posted on that deal before.  At the end of the day, I'm at the nexus of the perfect storm regarding my whole telecom infrastructure:

1. I no longer have Fox (24 being the main issue) so I cannot DVR it and must switch over to rabbit ears to see it in scratchy low def.
2. All of my discounts just expired.  I now have a $180/mo bill for internet, phone, and cable.  That does include a $20 discount on phone.  Mediacom seems to have no interest thus far in keeping me as a customer.  They must be trained with shock therapy to not even flinch when you say, "I'm going to take all of my services elsewhere unless you sharpen this pencil."
3. My wife wants to keep a local 515 Des Moines, Iowa phone number (now with Mediacom using their excellent unlimited VOIP.  I'm in favor of ditching regular phone all together.  Our cell phones are CA area codes and must remain that way for another reason not worth explaining.
4. I have Vonage for business already in the house
5. I have a skype account and skype IN phone number but they don't even offer 515 area code for that nor does Yahoo Phone.

My buddy forwarded me a link to Grand Central where you can use one 515 phone number and it will ring to any phone you want it to ring on (cell, office, etc.)  It's free right now but probably wont be forever and it's a bit clunky.

Anyway, I'm anxious to hear someone's suggestions if they have them..but I'm pretty sure I've covered every conceivable way of doing this..and that I'm left with bending over for Mediacom and living with rabbit ears, or going the DirecTV / Qwest phone/DSL route.      

Mediacom Subscribers: Prepare to Get Jack Bauer On Someone's #$%#@$%

Mediacom (our humble Midwestern cable company) has been in a lasting dispute with Sinclair Broadcasting Group)  Apparently, Sinclair wants more money than Mediacom is willing to pay to get the content.  A full article appearing in USA today about the subject is here.  The bottom line is that in Iowa, that means that Fox (NFL, American Idol, 24, etc.) will be gone. 

In an effort to keep customers, Mediacom is offering customers rabbit ears!  Granted, you CAN get the signal...but in our TIVO on demand world, rabbit ears don't help me.  VCR?  Yeah right.  What a ridiculous situation.  DirecTV is offering mega rebates that make it even MORE worthwhile to switch to satellite.  I'm entrenched so far because they're giving me 5MB upload and 10MB download Internet for $30/mo and I have my local phone and obviously TV through them.  I really only care about 24 and will probably end up buying them on itunes or something...but I'm still blown away by being offered something I haven't used since...ummm...??? to tune in my favorite show.  I know you can pull in HD via the airwaves these days...but I don't pay $$$$ for metal bits protruding up the back of a 52 inch DLP HDTV.  Figure it out Mediacom/Sinclair.  Or I will become frustrated and jettison your services...and tell the world about how I was welcomed by the competition.   

Results from collaboration software case study

On December 14th I posted this entry stating my intent to take a "cob web" page and give it some life.  I focused on the PRESS AND MEDIA and PRODUCT SUPPORT pages.  My intent was to use Central Desktop wiki pages to enable quick changes, uploads, and "edit-ability" to the marketing staff.  You wont be impressed since there's really nothing new there...but the infrastructure is completely different. Instead of static pages requiring someone to upload them when they can, etc. this is a fully rights controlled wiki page that can be edited in a snap.  I'm using a custom template within Central Desktop that allows my wiki's or workspaces to look and feel exactly like my web presence.  They helped me with this and it took about 30 minutes.

My biggest source of pride is the impact of spending about 15 minutes on the PRODUCT SUPPORT page.  This page used to have a list of phone numbers of people to contact...that's all.  Now, it has a searchable knowledge base, case submission screen, and of course, the relic phone number page.

The main point that I'm trying to convey here is that I (non tech head) was able to use "auto-generated html code" from salesforce.com, plug it directly into a wiki page, and have these items live and operational in less than 60 minutes. The company went from having  phone only support to self help  and self submit in no time flat.  I don't know about you, but my first attempt at getting answers to questions or support issues is ALWAYS to hit the web first.  99% of the time I can be satisfied by seeking the answers on my own time and on my schedule.

I'd like to reiterate that I've not attacked and solved a tech support infrastructure issue here.  What I've done is solve a chronic problem for SMB's...that is:  Setting up a website that gives you a "presence" on the web that dies a slow and painful death due to inattention.  See most companies set up a site and give the ability to update it to those who created it, usually a web master or IT staffer, or God forbid...the outsourced company that created the site that charges you for each word, color, or font change! I've given the power to update, maintain and freshen a web site to anyone in the company who 1) has permission and 2) who has the skill to use email.

The net net:  60 minutes total time spent between me and the support staff at Central Desktop.  Anyone in the company with permission can add press releases or announcements on the fly.  The company now has a support infrastructure (case management and knowledge base) if they should decide to use it.  Of course more time would be needed to customize, paste in existing content, set up the rules and work flow for tech support, etc...but now it can be executed by far more people in the company and on a moment's notice. 

This is the empowerment and immediate results that SMB's must have to compete today and what I derive great passion from delivering.

Next step:  Get the company's blog (brand new) to look and feel like the website using typepad advanced templates.  Mike, your phone is about to ring. 

A case study in collaboration technology usage

Alrighty.  I'm am going to embark on a small case study and report the results here in the blog.  I am going to take a company's "cob web page" and literally plug in powerful case management (issue tracking or tech support software) , RSS feeds, and wiki pages to allow full power and control in record time. 

The test pages are this product support page and this press release/news page.  Notice the the product support page doesn't allow any knowledge base searching or issue submission? Also, where's the press?  Does anyone even know how to post something to this site without "doing a favor for the developer?"

Each page will get a dosage of affordable web hosted power products from salesforce.com and a pinch of wiki/RSS/collaboration technology from Central Desktop.  My hope is that we'll all take away how easy this is...knowing very little about HTML, WIKI, RSS, etc...

I'll track the time spent on this by all parties and we'll learn how to supercharge your website with tools that will make the big web development houses cringe.  This stuff is NOT hard and shouldn't be the first big investment your company makes. 

CTU 24 Ring Tone

Here we go again!  As reported by the Madison Avenue West Blog, Phonezoo.com is offering free ringtones.  I don't play around with ring tones very much...but I have sought out a few KEY tones that really change my mood when the phone rings in a positive way.

What do you think is the number one ringtone downloaded?  Of course, it's the CTU 24 Ring tone that I've posted about before. 

This is your true geekdom entry point.  The CTU 24 ringtone used to be very difficult to find and to get working.  I've posted a version of the ringtone here that thousands of people have hit.  However, you can simply sign up for Phonezoo.com's service since for now, it's free.

I've just added the X-Files theme for a change.   Phonezoo.com gives you the html to embed the tone into a page like this below.

This service seems easy to use and everything happened the way they said it would when I downloaded and set up my latest ringtone.  Thus, without further chatter...here is the holy grail of Jack Bauer vicarious living. (Drum roll please).

Wikipedia & Google: Antibacterial soap for historical cleansing

I'm getting nervous.  It's not over the climate or human rights or the safety of our universe.  It's over Wikipedia and Google.  Nick Carr at Rough Type has written about this and much better than I, but think about how Google is gathering the collective knowledge of the world (books too) into a historical record...a record that is only as "valuable" as its component's relevance or "click frequency". 

Wikipedia editors are passing judgment daily over what's important or not.  Our children are using what's "out there" as the gospel truth and the foundation of all historical knowledge.  Heck...why do we even have libraries anymore right?  In a few more years, once all old books have been cataloged...we're home free since everything new is electronic first.

Can you remember something that has "become truth" or the common story after so many years of misinformation being published? 

Today the "truth" has become a subjective relevance quotient...with it's own CPM rating.

At our current pace, is it unreasonable to believe that within 50 years our history will be rewritten and edited...cleansed by the Illuminati and Google-ati...in a Bradburian fashion until we have no real history (who would know anyway since we all use the same source) or that it will be ripped from us by the wiki-police? 

I hear the fire trucks coming now...gotta run.