It's true, I don't really care all that much about my mangy old Klout score (it went back up a few clicks from when I originally posted this); but really, I DO care about this almost 200 year old deceased historical Canadian guy, this project is sucking the wind right outta me, in a great way! (Anyone looking for an intern position? Drop me a note (seriously).

This is an extremely rewarding project, AND one day I hope to write a bit of a review on what we're doing. That's going to have to wait until I tie it all together... In the mean time. Have a look at some of the bits and pieces we're working on... and/or improving...

Start with the Statue Ceremony, updated with pics... Then go to the Sandbox. We're about to send the kids off on a Road Show so, follow the ghost. We're getting the conversation started then taking the pulse, again and again and again. Obviously, we're not after any design awards... We just want to get Canadian's talking about their heritage!

Trust me, this ALL ties together. In the end (hopefully long before then, in a few days)... I'll be able to show you how this thingy, is it a festival? ...a series of events? ...a multilayered happening??? - Trust me, it all fits together like a finely jigged jig saw puzzle (I think) :)

We've almost got the old man back on beam (Jim Beam that is). I expect I will have the time to jump back on top of all this shortly... :-)

Once again this so-called blog of mine becomes that absolute LAST thing on the priority list! - OH well, that was the promise I made myself. I would not let this become "a chore"... definitely not the central chore.

The chore I've recently picked up; over and on top of but not to the exclusion of PlaceSpeak... Is to apply as much energy and idea as is possible to the promotion of Sir John A. Macdonald - (A good chap who happened to establish the country I call home, as a country).

I have a huge roe to hoe with this one, AND I will update you more fully once I get a firm foothold on it. In the meantime, follow along on the dreaded Facebook and visit our site (sign up to our newsletter please, actually, how about rather than please... I beg you! :)

This is going to turn into a TALL-TALE quickly. Told over many channels... Through sites, connections to contacts and through pamphlets, theatrical plays and performance... Lots to do, and very much fun to be had! - Stay tuned friends!

Well now… I've just landed a gig. As the (Insert JOB-TITLE here - S&M something and/or other) at PlaceSpeak; another in a long line of startups I've plied this stock-n-trade of mine at… This one? …this one is, without hesitation more than just jim-dandy, more ultra-special for me. As the (S&M something and/or other) at PlaceSpeak, my overriding role will be "marketing"; in startup terms, obviously, simply this means and includes "all" of that, a little this and whole big bunch of everything else. My focus? …traction & revenue and… of course, revenue! AND, beyond this focus on, revenue? Well, I will be focussing, directing every ounce of effort, in one way or another, towards… did I mention, revenue.

About PlaceSpeak… from PlaceSpeak...

PlaceSpeak is revolutionizing the online public consultation business. Public consultation is required broadly as part of the democratic process. Governments at all levels directly or indirectly require consultation on a range of issues, most of which are geographically defined. PlaceSpeak taps into that need to consult and adds value by generating verifiable data to support public policy development and local decision-making. PlaceSpeak takes the guesswork out of online consultation.

AND…

PlaceSpeak is a Vancouver-based online public consultation platform that uses ‘geo-authentication’ to allow participants to claim their place in the community and become influential contributors to open dialogue on matters of community interest. Municipalities, government and non-government agencies, development companies and consultancies are using PlaceSpeak to offer enriched opportunities for citizens to be involved. 

PlaceSpeak has intellectual & solid business Bona Fide; but Let's let Michael Harcourt tell you more about this.... [56 second youtube video - worth watching, and sharing]

My oh my... here's my opening thoughts...
On a deep and profoundly personal level… PlaceSpeak is far more than just another job placement, more than just a good gig, (oddly enough, I don't believe if I've ever really had "just" another job placement)… PlaceSpeak sits squarely at a major intersection in my life! More accurately, it dances at the intersection of online, interaction, collective community… social influence... at the corner of the power of this medium I've been working in, on, under, over, around and straight on through this entire adult life… and the corner of democracy. (NO, not dreary n' dreadful politics...) ...Democracy that almost broken down lover of ours. The dear old gal who we've let wither and age and deform… I find myself at the corner of Social & Guv... (smiling)

It's not just the new job; It's the... new mission; and quite honestly, it could not be more on plan, nor more… mission critical?

PlaceSpeak… from my mission perspective?
Using the power of these internets, lets involve (the all inclusive) us in the "fixing" of, or better yet, simply "using as we should" this democracy of ours through collaborative contribution. Enabling the "hive" to enrich the honey? Encourage the participation of us swarming masses to influence the decision making process, the outcomes? - Implement, finally, a more participatory democracy… with meaning? 

…drawing from this now (finally, ubiquitous) online community (once and for all) those folks most impacted by a particular issue; empower us through a consistent and easy to use set of tools to contribute on the decisions that impact us directly, geographically, locally... those issues most affecting our lives, in and around the space we most closely occupy, the 'hood. Oh come now… how many million ways are their to describe this… goodness! (obviously PlaceSpeak is not to first, middle nor last to try this... but, why not keep trying? - this one IS it.)

Eh hem (that's a lot of chest-beating)… and my focus? …revenue.

Who doesn't like a good business model? (sigh, most times I ask this, the room does go quiet)… who likes a good business model, I do. 

Unlike most "Social Media" plays I've been drawn to, looked at and or kick the tires of… PlaceSpeak does not (please repeat this)… PlaceSpeak does not draw it's revenue from a veiled marketing scheme in support of and in aid of advertisers, we are quite bluntly, frankly, honestly NOT in the business of selling yours, mine, ours data to marketeers or advertisers… 0% Marketing, none… nada… zilch.

Through a pretty basic and familiar SAAS model, PlaceSpeak offers a system, a mechanism to those mandated to seek public consultation, public input… A system that saves them time, effort and that improves the quality of the input… ease of use, MUCH better data… better results… improved outcomes. simple. 

Reminder... NO revenue derived from MARKETING! 0% (zero%)

So... The new Mission Numero Uno… find and convince "proponents"... municipalities, government and non-government agencies, development companies, advocacy groups… people & businesses, et al. - affect behaviour, drive self-serve sales and deliver leads to our salesforce... entice participation.

...get another big, hefty snowball rolling... here we go again. AS ALWAYS... Smiling!

(...to be continued)

As much as it seems somewhat ridiculous after all these years (to some, not me)... I say hey, why not show a little gratitude on this good Friday, simply because, it is, a good Friday? I've grown to re-dig the whole notion of thanking our new followers n' friends. I'll even thank some old dear ones, each and every Friday (i'll even risk a day or two in twitter prison to do so)...

I've added a little spin to this and extra day, thanking my most engaging(est) interactors the following day on oh good gracious, not good... "Grat-urday" - I get up, caffinate then sit to gather up and grab all those folks on the week's "connect" listing... (I settled on grat-urday as an "own invention", it was an independent thought, but most certainly I know it's NOT a unique notion, nor an original undertaking - in all fairness, and for creative-commons copyrighting purposes, it was as much a guttural reactions to my disdain for cute n' cuddly cats and kittens).

Grat-urday has proven to be an even more risky-business; the folks in logarithmics-gymnaticlike-department like to shake their fists at my thanking people who may not be my followers. I grit my teeth and carry-on, sally forth and charge up the mountain of grateful-goofballed-goodliness, all the same.

AND... here's a whole-hearted key to all this. Regardless of how pat-silly, contrived or alteriorly-motivated it appears to be; undertake these tasks with a genuine-osity in your heart! Breath in once or twice AND fear not to be seriously gratuitously goofy when going about the task of thanking your new friends for following along and/or interacting with even the remotest of seeming interest in what you just said... Be happily thankful for each new-old buddy a pals and even our oh-so-serious business connections.

If done properly, well then you've just sealed a bit of your own friendly-fate. You've assigned two days of these seven were, for even just the mere minutes it takes to undertake... you've put some real thoughtful effort towards that most contagious of wonderful human... is it an emotion (?) - genuine gratitude... goes along way and is an extra-essential part of being well... social! - Happy Follow Friday, and we'll see you tomorrow at the Grat-urday picnic... good folks! :-)

OK, forget for a moment your (and mine) conspiracy theorist conjectures that Google is an arm of the CIA, apparatchik of US Government Inc, Suspend this disbelief and simply ask yourself, does Google ever get anything wrong (don't answer that, not enough time)? I'm simply floored by how right they get so many things; be them gmail, youtube and currently, Google+. That they seemingly let G+ sit in the weeds so long… by design (spooky)? 

At the risk of sounding totally gushing, I sometimes forget that they essentially re-invented search AND defined how one advertises over the internet… I forget this, even as a fella who has at times sat in front of google adwords for months, years at a stretch…

It's without any bravado, nor fools pride that I mention my having sat in front of and been submersed in all this stuff for some better or worse part of 20 plus years; in many ways this has hurts my approach to "earning" in this space as a market as much as it's helped. Many times I've lost an edge, simply as I could not understand how anyone could not see these (now called) social networks simply being analogous with what we used to call, the "real world."

By no means are these networks my entire "real world", I enjoy touching and breathing on people as much as the next fella, but they are so ingrained and imprinted on me that simply, they are as integral a part of my own "real world" as any "place" else. I've stopped making a distinction, stopped explaining myself and apologizing for my involvement… they've simply become as fundamental as… any "thing" else. Perhaps this begs the question, could I survive without these networks, the inputs and the relationships I've developed over them? Certainly. I also believe that given the right vollyball, I would likely survive for a time alone on a desert island somewhere out there in the (real)-"real world" (actually, I've always told people I'd need a volleyball, a copy of excel and a copy of illustrator, all set)…

Get on with it and how about that first review of Google+ already, and admittedly about a year or two after any review of Google+ warrants any attention at all…

Each and every one of these networking tools, these successful implementations of "community" over the internets have a valid purpose for me; both as an internet business person (I've been called too many things, by way too many groups of young people over the ions)… AND as a human (there is a difference apparently). MySpace and Fark were able to draw what, at the time were relative hordes of "real" people into these online communities I'd been involved in for years. - For those who were not there, honestly this was all in motion within these little walled enclaves called BBSs for about a decade or more before you arrived and/or were born. No judgement, just context. MySpace and Fark were not giant leaps forward in anything other than design and, how you say "comfortable-invited-ness". Obviously you cannot deny that they appeared just as the IPs were loosening up cost of full-on hard-core high-speed access for about the third iteration… The migration to, and explosion of Facebook was no big surprise, Facebook is… a world changing success story. When the folks at Facebook finally sorted out how they were gonna manage my pictures, even a fifth as well as Flickr, the die was cast, my you know what's were simply in their tight little grip…

…this isn't a history lesson. We all know what happened; the explosion of tools, 3rd party features, some rolled into Facebook, others made to work through the exquisite development of APIs that allowed these separate tools to interact, enhance each of the other through this… inter-functional-connectivity-suite. AND herein lay a big part of the frightening wonderfulness of Google+.

We all sat there staring at G+, alone, for years, waiting for it something, to happen. Every time Mr. Zuckerberg erred on the side of "he's such a baby goof-tard" we clicked open G+, pouted and lamented, where are my friends? OR, we spent an afternoon bitching to everyone and no one on twitter, or looked at pictures (or, egads, worked). Then…

Then... about just over two years ago, totally frustrated with the solid brick walls of Apple's closed garden closing further and further in upon me; I switched… Jumped headlong into gmail AND Google Enterprise as a foundation for my oh-so-mini-micro-enterprise solution. Total sweetness this; plus zero learning curve given its invention by the folks whose adwords system I'd sat in front of for months, years at time…

Then… I changed my attitude slightly, lamented the days of MySpace's wonderful emphasis on meeting new people over Facebook's dogged requirements not to bug people you do not know… I forced myself back onto to twitter (for the umpteenth time) in search of… New people (I also did some naughty things with one of my, hmmm... dum dee dum alternate Facebook accounts) that got me back into full swing of "damn I love this place"… (yes, I admit it has been love vs hate for years; isn't that the sign of a healthy…)

Then… almost in gang-style unison, my whole new-crew jumped headlong, two feet first onto G+

Google+ is frightening because… and remember, this is a first review folks; here is the skinny. Applying basic ancient attitudes and the attraction of meeting new people; you find yourself in the seemingly ever growing universe of Google, forget for the fact it so seamlessly integrates with the Google/Chrome/Android world we may already be living in… As the API system seems to implode upon itself in the Post social-IPO world of separate entities who need to constantly stroke the penisis over at Goldman Sachs; Google+ simply offers up all the elements of twitter, pinterest, instagram and… all an integrated tools, incorporating all useful methodologies for doing business, all this, simply built in (still no check from Google in my mailbox)… And, I guess that's why it's frightening.

After this last year, I find myself using my other networks less and less. At times it feels the only reason I'm posting on these other networks is to half-heartedly maintain a decent Klout Score (first rule of Klouts Score… oops)…

So upon first, late, better tardy than ever review; I only have one more opening slavo-esq question to ask (myself)… Do I really want to dive headlong into a system that encompasses so much of my "real world" that is wholly owned and operated by one company that may very well be the CIA, the NSA or simply apparatchik of US Government Inc.? - I guess, this raises the speculation… do I have any choice in this matter at all?

Until next time, next review (wherein I may actually describe how I use the damned thing)... Hey, Edward are those Soviet pierogi all they're cracked up 'n better than Polish pierogi I've been told they'd be? AND Can you help me out here, toss me some insights into you-know-who here?

OR, ...your content marketing monster is at the door, and she looks mighty peckish… 

The other day, one of my more favorite bloggers, Joey DeVilla, an old (and dear) associate of mine posted another of his more clever blog posts to his… blog. Joey is definitely adept at keeping his various content feeds fresh n' lively and well, un-self-conscientiously comedic. I find myself chuckling along with at least more than half of the blog posts he post and often re-post them as content for my own feeds. I've been reading his particular schtick for close to 20 years now, and doubt I'll ever grow absolutely tired of it… 

Joey's post was a well deserved back-handed slap at some, likely well meaning adver-twitterer who'd decided he'd simply up and break "The first rule of…" the social media marketeers own version of "…Fight Club"… FIRST RULE OF Klout Score… you get the picture…

Joey's post can be found here…

Now on with my own not-so-private project mayhem…
Joey's blog post focuses primarily on the central issue of "how utterly silly does one have to be to break the first rule of Klout Score."… What momentarily-mental hiccup of good sense must one suffer, not only speak of this score, but decide that a press release would be the appropriate mechanism for announcing that his score simply went from XX to XX+1 (pardon me for just a moment but I feel rather than eat my own words, I'll abide strictly to the rules already stated)… I immediately felt the twinge, a cringe similar to that Joey must have felt... then saw the whole affair for something it so obviously was; you know… This poor fella simply… ran out of somethings to say.

These days, running out of somethings to say is far more a tongue twisted problem than ever… How big the crisis…? How utterly unimaginable and horrible it must be knowing that your feeds have hit empty, your stream has run dry. You've momentarily been excluded from the cacophony... your clients and customers lost solely in the menacing grip of the messaging of your more crafty competitors… You have, all but... disappeared.

I do try to tread lightly around the content component of any social media marketing proposals I've chucked out there from time to time. It is certainly an important component, AND most certainly, if you can sell it properly, can be a beautifully blank check that can self-generate dozens of additional zeroes and create dozens of jobs simply on anxiety alone. But honestly, and experientially, we all know that this only blows back upon us. Even the most smartly budgeted, scheduled and paced content strategy is going to run out of steam one day; maybe two days or even more days in a row. Let's not even touch the numbers of likes, shares & plusses, needed to validate even the flushest of day when our clients have topped up the babble-pipes properly… that day when it dawns on our client that even the steadiest of streams is being read no less than by half of the folks than the number of the good people in their employ who they can see if they just glance out of their glass office door…

…pace and persistency may be a fool heartedly dangerous pitch to propose except for those courageous enough to trade perhaps quality for quantity, but hopefully not meaning and purpose, for... Meaningfulness of message… Quality of voice… Substance AND style wrapped in an evergreen package… Should work.

Of course "filler" is fine, but if filler is all that there is, that'll get noticed right off the bat. Is your customer's business even suited? If mom and pops haven't done something different for 25 years, is there anything there (outside a possibly epic episodic recounting and retelling of how wondrous these 25 years have been and why they've not had to change… a thing.) Indeed, there's good and bad content everywhere, but forcing it upon them is like force feeding the monster no? As it's quite well known that an over-forced fed monster can only want… more, and then some.

-------------------30?---------------------

OH AND speaking of more... As always (if not recently), there will be more on this from little old me! You should know this by now… after all, It's an old horse I like flogging AND I do have my own content monster to be fed, and more story-time sales nightmares of my own to be shared...

A NOTE ON (my own embarrassing) GAP in this n' that stream of contentedness…

Hello dear friend(s)

Please don't mistake the complete lack of content rolling off these pages these last few months as my having nothing to say. I got busy with a project, then went away, then got hit with sad news then got busy again… I simply fell out of my own slow-paced sync. No worries over "nothing to see here, lets move along"... we're now into the fall and my own little squirrel cheeks feel full enough to start spitting these last few months of nutty notions and ideas back at you. 

Wish me luck, as there is always a chance of further distractions… But I'm banking on a most recent moment of inspiration to get me over any future humps n bumps and stinky old burps from (you know who…)

Whether this is a good thing or not… well, we'll let the monster decide.

Once again I find myself apologizing for not updating a blog I swore I would not keep up to date; BUT... it's been well over a month. So...

Along sides scrambling to land a gig with what easily could become the most important social platform EVER created (hyperbol justified)... I've been completely re-jigging my own social networking strategy. Changes are afoot.

Certainly, nothings going away; I'm not walking in circles carrying the "I'm leaving Facebook" placard... What's happened really is G+ has finally found it's legs. This has demanded a re-think how I approach, not only Facebook but Twitter (the stalwart), Linkedin and Scoop.it. (amongst et al)

I had a little system going; had everything all synced and geared up on hootsuite and was able to broadcast my "words of encouragement" quite effortlessly and effectively.

G+ demands it be the center on this universe of mine.

I'm quite happy with this as its a vastly more rich system; brilliant tools. Seamless integration with my mobile device AND most importantly, 100% integrated with my google-enterprise operating system; ie, no separation between email, contact listings, goggle drive and the plethora of apps I've found (once again), indispensable.

SO, blogging... it's all taken a back seat once again... Wish me luck on the new gig; AND.... next you hear from me my name will most certainly be Gordon "google-borg" Gower. Resistance is not only futile, its f'n stupid :) CHEERS.

(NOTE: I'll get back to my irregular commentary on saving the world with social media shortly, I have so many more tales to tell. I just have to get something off my chest first...)









Mr. Hooper’s Handy Dandy General Store
(..a tall tale told too often these days)

Hey there mom and dad became so distraught one day when they found that their little loveable Larry had been hangin’ 'round and playing with Bobby, that brat from down the block. Bobby was one of those nasty little boys, not so much a bully but always up to something, you know bad. You’d told your little loveable Larry to steer clear of the likes of Bobby, but Bobby, that brat from down the block was you know, fun Bobby.

One day Bobby told Larry about a little game he’d been playing. He’d found the keys to the backdoor of Mr. Hooper’s Handy Dandy General Store. On Sundays when the folks were at church he’d go in, play with the hardware and leave with a handful of candies that would last him the whole week long. At first Larry didn’t like the sounds of this but you know, after a while, boys will be boys and boy it sure was nice havin’ all that candy.

Hey there mom and dad were so happy to hear one day that Bobby, that brat from down the block had moved out to Brooklyn. Little loveable Larry had made new friends and seemed a whole lot happier; oh how we love our little loveable Larry.

One day while picking up a lightbulb from Mr, Hooper’s Handy Dandy General Store, we noticed the likeable old coot was almost crying; “they’re stealing all my stuff” he sniffed ...oh that sad ol’ Mr. Hooper. He’d likely been hallucinating again as the old men do, thinking of the good ol' days when this used to be a bad bad neighbourhood, you know before the likes of all these hey there moms and dads had moved in and made the place their own, spruced it up a notch, or two.

Later that evening, while putting away the laundry you stumbled upon a secret stash. It would seem that little loveable Larry had himself a closet full of candy (and a whole chest full of hardware) too. “LARRY” you yelled but Larry was too busy flying & fighting the flickering images on the video-game box you’d bought him last Christmas… “LARRY, YOU GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW” you yelled again, and Larry came in a bounding ‘n a leaping in shock when he’d realized that you’d found… his stash.

After a lot of lying and a little crying you finally got the straight story of the keys that Bobby, the brat who used to live down the block had given up to your little loveable Larry… “it’s not my fault” cried Larry meekly; “it’s not my fault, I mean fun Bobby gave me the keys!”… Sigh… You looked your little loveable Larry in the eye, your little pride and joy; he trembled with fear as you struggled to make the decision how to punish the little wee one… And low and behold, just about when you were ready to make the call, ready to bring down judgement, the verdict, a versions of your dad’s ancient ‘n calamitous punishment upon your little Larry’s head, the thought occurred… 

“...Larry…” “ya dad…”…you wouldn’t happen to have a Snickers Bar in there, you know, would you?”

“The internet is on principle a system that you reveal yourself to in order to fully enjoy, which differentiates it from, say, a music player,”

“...The majority of people in developed countries spend at least some time interacting with the Internet, and Governments are abusing that necessity in secret to extend their powers beyond what is necessary and appropriate.”

                                                                              Edward Snowden, June, 7th, 2013

I find it rather trite, a bit sad and kinda tired that there are still a few people who deride and ignore an image simply because of the technology used to capture, create or enhance it. An image is an image, is the image, no?

That it was captured over the "phone" rather than a D4; drawn or painted with hoghair or sable, crayola or Sennelier... filtered at the point of capture, the darkroom, photoshop or... instagram. How can this matter?

Some protest, there are just SO SO many images being flung upon theses streams; they all look the same! I simply say to this... Well, I'm having a hoot re-imaging all my old images into filtered little squares; AND isn't it nice that maybe 10, 12 or 24 people out there are getting a little enjoyment along with me, even if just for an instant, rather than these images laying buried under 60,000 shots of my son in some long forgotten folder in iPhoto?

Sharing an image, a moment a thought, even an odd feeling... I do believe that's what André Breton and Ansel had in mind; I mean, they weren't selling cameras.

NOW the instagram as an Ad-platform? For Pete's Sake! (we'll get around to that later :)

@mashygogo over there on instagram if you have any interest at all

If any of you had plans to call my 647-920-5445 number today... forget it. Do what you always do, email me, DM me on Twitter, msg or call me on Skype, or simply reach out over any of the other multiple option you have to reach me.

I have embarked on the final herculean battle in the ongoing war with my "phone" provider. I'll show them! (ya, right... like that'll get me anywhere :)

Voice has quite simply become the least used app on this communications thingy I carry around in my pocket. Calling this thing a "phone" has become completely anachronistic...

Why I pay for the privilege of Roger's dreadful reception and sound quality, has become well, beyond me; Who do I ever talk to over the "phone", my wife and my son mostly... Easily, 90% of my business VOICE communication is pre-arranged and takes place over Skype, Viper or Google "Phone".

So... I'm going to take this opportunity to simplify... SIMPLIFY. The battle has been over the cost and combination of services I thought I needed, don't use but pay for. Seeing how my provider doesn't wan't to sell me X without Y to carry the Z... I think I'll reduce them to X, or less... all I really need from them is access to their tower for those rare moments I'm away from my own or some kind souls WiFi connection.

Going to use these next few days to beef up my VOIP accounts... Organize a voice service for myself with a cost in relation to how seldom I use it. The REAL concern and what I will pay most attention to is ensuring this system of mine is transparant to those who still maintain that "phone" is important. Any help from brave pioneers who have blazed this trail before me, mucho appreciado!

• WISH me luck and, talk to you shortly.  Oh, and if you'd like to know where to reach me (click below)

The other day I found myself playing the part of the man in the conversation I truly have no time for. I found the need to just say to myself; who cares that you can so easily see Facebook as nothing more than MySpace and Friendster which were nothing much more than well worn out but well working old BBSes. Who gives a darn that from one angel Pinterest is merely a beautifully visual bookmarking system and that Tumblr is just a well connected blogger that tweets. Who minds at all that each and everyone of these facilities, functions, platforms and apps can so easily be traced back to the origins of that very first web page or email or further... back? I just shook my head and said shut up to myself …and gave myself that simple reminder, this really is all so bloody wonderous!

So what if 75% of the things we don't remember that Facebook has ever tried never worked… They're trying, and in so doing have only done what? Well, only teach 1 billion people how to use these tools we've adored for what seems like forever! What the heck if each and every one of these companies struggles to stretch things to add another ad-dollar-opportunity to make that first dollar; even if it's at the expense of some little thing we thought was quite cool. They're convincing the money that the billions that's been thrown onto this beautiful bonfire is worth billions more.

I've had a monstrous love affair since I linked my first hyper link on HyperCard and made my screen shout out "ping" about 4 million years ago… When I first made that link link to something outside, across the room or the  continent, I was locked in this wedlock for what will most likely be the rest of my life. So what if it's all just a sometimes justs fanciful variations on tired old theme; if this is merely an updated and more polished version of that? It's been update after all. The plain fact It's being polished at all, day in and day out by bright minded people with brains full of great ideas and an eye to making it better (and work).

There's so much good work that's been done and so much more left to do; radical changes unexpected advances as it all becomes more used and more useful. There are 5,000 ways to skin each of theses cats and I think it's become obvious …there are just so many cats left to be skinned (on Facebook alone). I have no advantage in all this other than knowing that this once wasn't there… Well and perhaps witnessing to the proof of these improvements allows me more confidence in the knowledge that it can and will always be better. 

Good work people.

READ THE ORIGINATING ARTICLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TODAY: We’re constantly assessing the impact our of various marketing channels. • One thing has become painfully clear: Facebook is not worth the time and effort. • Today I’m going to tell you why we decided to stop wasting time on Facebook.

BY: Jeff Gibbard from True Voice Media via Social Media Today connect with Jeff on Twitter: @jgibbard

...I just had a wonderful morning read, maybe even a minor epiphany really... Jeff Gibbard's article (linked above) has so succinctly expressed what we suspected...

Indeed, I've long been suspect of the "Facebook Page"... I don't know how many times I've had to plead with a client that it is NOT a page, NOT another site and that outside the cover image, a profile picture, and a few apps; it isn't to be... designed.

History 2.0

MySpace became Facbook because MySpace lost it. It lost it's own notion of "the stream" and let us go nutz and attempt "page" personalization. Suddenly it was suggested that we create our own funky MySpace experience, color up and put doo-dads all over our "page". Well, we all know where that gif induced blinkity-blink nightmare ended up; right in the hands of a man who'd made billions in the "old world" selling, pages. We didn't know it but we didn't want MySpace pages; we wanted MORE and more of the steady STREAM of good greeting from old pals.

A steady stream of hello, how ya doing, here's what I'm getting up to. MySpace did this very well, Facebook originally did it better simply because; Facebook forced us to do it. Facebook provided the same stream in a tight and directed fashion, even gave us a methodology for kicking the thought off, IS.

We left the blinkety-blink "pages" in droves; and invited all our friends along at exactly the right moment in the history of the inter-webs for Facebook to blossom (expand and explode). Did anyone ever to thank Tom? I have, I thanked him for my renewed friendships, my new friendships, the love of my life and the son we now have because of... MySpace.

SO... Facebook = Blossom... MySpace Blinkety-Blink Pages not so much... Good Business... this. is. simply. not. going. to. work.

In search of the money-machine...

Now, who doesn't like money... Does anyone recall where Facebook didn't try to put advertising? Does anyone recall each revolting revolt each time Facebook re-jigged the template to accomodate us marketers and our retched cousins, the Ad-man? All applause due and kudos to these good folks who built a billion person following made up primarily of whiners, screamers and cry babies.

The addition of the Facebook Business Page and to a lesser extent the attempted formalization of our timeline was nothing more than an attempt by Facebook to add a THERE, there. A place to post and sell ads onto... I recall the New York Times no less announcing that they would be adding the entier editorial history, ever last single article ever written to their timeline; my goodnees (hands rubbing together) This was almost the second coming of the Louisiana land grab; think of the Ad-real-estate! Somebody quick, we're going to need a bigger drool bucket!

But... we don't want a Facebook Page, blinkety blink or no blibkety blink. Facebook and Twitter provide us, the steady stream; AND, who the heck amongst us whiners & cry babies wants to add more Ad-real estate into our stream? Who the heck wants to stop, midstream to read about shoes... now buying shoes; better yet, buying shoes with my friends in the stream... that's whole other tall tale...

For certain I may have a passing interest in a page from time to time; I even stop for long enough to "like" some companies offering, but... that's that, that's done... I've already moved on... why on earth would I ever go back to a Facebook page when, if I really liked what I liked, I'd go where there's even more of what I liked, ie that companies site, that places, their blog, better yet, their store?

Putting on my marketing guy hat; my justification for selling my most valued clients on the idea of a Facebook Business is, it is a place to capture and collect a passing interest. To store the warm not yet cooling bodies. But what mechanisms does Facebook offer me to move these bodies to my customers site/store... What, I just keep clogging their feed, keep tapping into their stream, keep interrupting the conversations they are having with friends? How can that work well? - Most often, it doesn't; even if it could... maybe.

Once again, the AND being mightier than the OR...

The more brilliant amongst us have realized that this remains a grand experiment, long ago let themselves realize that locking oneself in the idea that this is right and you are wrong usually leave you, well... locked out.

There is no reason NOT to have a Facebook Business Page as long as you and your client have reasonable expectations. If you have the cash-ola to buy what Facebook is selling to push that page, it might even work for you, for a while. Maybe, just maybe, in their continuous search for a "done is better than perfect" solution the good folks at Facebook may even make another mistake that allows for a momentary explosion of success (watch for these, there have been many).

In the end I find myself less and less interested in struggling with a Facebook Business Page mainly because, that's Facebook's struggle. To find the money machine in their own business model is their own business issue. My concern is NOT making my own our my clients "page" the best Facebook Business Page, ever... It's my business to move the customer from the "stream"; or simply from what ever other activity... to our display window, show case; through the door. It's my business to allow my client the opportunity to engage with their customer, have him try on that pair of those shoes, talk the attribute talk, "...corinthian leather-etter!". Fawn over the benefits .. "you look smashing" in those...

And... it's my business to focus on the only "digital-social-business-metric" that matters most to my client. that is, add at least one dollar more into their till than is taken out...

The stream is a wonderful busy sidewalk... your ad in the stream? Is it a homeless man in a sandwich board or a handbill pasted on the telephone poll? Your window is dressed in a lovely display, with all your product Pinetrested into it's proper place... the Marketer can only do as much as he can to get those folks through your door... But take a cue from the Italian waiter on Lower Mulberry Street... There's little harm in hitting the sidewalk and asking someone in the street and/or stream... "Do you like Penné Aribiata?" Oh and... I like your shoes.

(this ain't over)

Similar to the music, movie & publishing industries, the news industry appears to be well, done and quite over...

Just as entertainment industry is now locked in it's decades long and agonizing rebirth, and has long lost its grip over production and distribution... what makes the news industry believe it can maintain its hold over our airwaves, Facebook or Twitter feeds let alone maintain editorial control in this post-blog-o-sphere world? The "newsies" now finds themselves either colluding with their subjects or pathetically griping over lost market share to the plethora of all our other new news sources. 

In this delusional state "the press" lays licking the wounds it can no longer admit are, nor even perceive as fatal.

C'mon you good people of these inner-nets of ours. There has to be a business model, No? Perhaps these ancient old mastheads simply become the new news verification service; maybe they simply provide us a rubbery-stamp of validity, perhaps even just help us paint this din of opinion in colors that help us mix 'n match our favorite flavors to compliment the mad choices in our morning bean.

Of course this would not allow for the billion-dollar publishing houses NOR the rock-star journalist (sorry Wolf Anderson)... but maybe, just maybe there is a business model out there that can help stitch this together and aid in our cutting through the crap and put a few pennies into the pockets of the last of the very few people who, thankfully, are still out there and ready to give us "the story" - at least their sound interpretation of it.

Ideas?

...it's fun not being a "professional blogger" (see sidebar for more on that). Fun until you've collected too many things you'd like to say... Finding the time to grind open the "big trap" has become a real chore of late. No worries, it doesn't seem like the things I really want to wax and wane on about are going anywhere.

There'll be more on this and/or that sooner or later; in the meantime, I'll be keeping it to the tweets... I'll let you know when something "makes a splat" onto these pages..." All, six (?) of you.

A good buddy just reminded me... 'Tis so easy to cynically believe that these Facebookie hippity-happy birthday wishes have no meaning what-so-ever; that they're forced, that you were reminded of my birthday by nothing more than a robotically-marketing driven must-be-friendly brain-scrubbing "system"… in-genuine. 

But, why look at it that way? Why not say hey-ho and be happy that we now have these systems that attach us and keep us a little more together than we were that point in time some 10+ years before Fark-ster, My-Face and Space-twit… before I met the love of my life on MySpace and started raising our love-child right in front of mine & your faze...Book. After all, is it not human to be bitchin' over each others opinions; civilized to be keeping up with the doings of those we like to see do… is it not good to be friendly and sharing our happy hellos on vacation while in the midst of a somewhat bad not-quite-working-workday… Isn't it really quite nifty to be poking & peeking and seeing how well we're'll doin' and shouting out odd bits and pieces of helpful encouragements. I honestly think this shctuff is pretty damned, cool.

You've just been and/or are about to be hit with a bigger pile of gord-lovin', so I better preface this digital-hugin' & snugglin' with the legal pre-amble to my soon to be patently-traditional and oh-so-hopefully expected jack-assed sized bucket of cold icy water…

After recently reading some smart-assed old pun-dent ask: "...is social media making us stupid?"… The thought occurred, that's like asking why the grumpy-assed old and mad (internet) cat killed the (virtual) tweet-wordy-birdie; WE ALREADY WERE STUPID.

...if some see it as idiotically-robotic, well so be it. After 20+ years of workin' our asses polishing off this big mess Al Gore left us, my buddies, you and I, albeit not totally satisfied with it, should be wholy encouraged by how many gosh darn golly good folks are actually using it… AND it may only be the tinee-tiniest act of kindness to wish a hippy happy birthday, but as many, too many a meme after meme has reminded me here day after day… "all these simple little acts of kindness DO add up to a happier day" maybe even a month, quite possibly a year and hopefully, a more wonderful lifetime (no?)

Sigh... yet another meme tells me, that my being a young-man of fifty, oh my, goodness gracious, affords me an opportunity to not care what I say or worry at all what you think; Well quite honestly, I do, I just don't bloody well HAVE to and there in lay the difference…

And I do think it's swell that we're pals…

So, I thank you for your wishes; truly I do… thank you new-old buddy. Thank you I do :-) 

(now… lets get back at it and make this a bit better).

I do know a little bit about content and please don't take any of this the wrong way. I do adore content. I spent the better part of my early childhood career, ages 20 through 30 and then some, creating content, building platforms and/or outlets for the dissemination of content. I have made numerous now proven to be apparently meagre attempts to package content, re-purpose content and re-vitalize content across multiple content driven channels and have on many many occasions used my own particular takes on a form of a sort of content marketing strategy, mostly for the purpose of selling… more content. 

So it may be bit odd that at a well known-to-myself risk of being labelled some sort of a curmudgeon; I've recently found myself saying somewhat nasty sounding things about content and/or this whole "content marketing strategy" again. And again, trust me I know the value of content. I applaud the creation of content and I understand the use of content as an underlay this so-called social, search and search-social marketing... Strat-ortunity? It's just... this current particular search and search-social marketing content strategy seems one dimensionally focussed. AND, the sheer and brutal loudness of the current clarion call for more and more content, well folks, it kinda frightens me, ok, at least when I'm in a more melo-dramatic mood (merely worries me on most other days).

Like any english language word said three times in a row, content, content, content quickly looses it's meaning… I mean, are we happily satisfied yet?

We were each given the tools to create our own content at birth; given the tools to publish & distribute this content of ours in a more or less unfettered by "the powers that be" fashion, a mere 20 years ago. Many of us (present company excepted) have made very good use of the unfettered-ness of content publication & distribution and have littered the world with noble notions, solid opinions, good advice and well thought out thinkenings. So many more of us have helped get these noble notions out and about by posting, re-posting and re-tweeting them on and along through each and ever channel made available to us re-twee-posters. Listen, it's not really a fear of more content; it's just "more" (and then more) content for the sake of… and it is always for the sake of, with respect to content, which has me… worried, you? no?

Really? ...you want me to tell my most cherished clients that they need to shift their focus and begin putting herculean efforts and costly time toward creating publishing & distributing content for the sake of their edge-ranked-SEO rankings? Really? Is this my new pitch? Let me show you how to cut through all the clutter by creating our own… clutter? Am I to drag them to their doom, again? Can any one of us not see the inherent trouble-sums in this? Can we not extrapolate, whip out the spreadsheets at calculate how this all ends… up (ranked).

Backtracking for backlinks…

I do get it; and in all likelihood will be swept up and into it, with a half painted on smile no less (at least on those days I'm not focussed on other things; things like actually, you know, trying to sell sh…stuff)... I already do do content; am a part of this content renaissance and have been so since (not to brag or anything), since the first days of content-upon-the-nets. It is after all our content that defines us; it is the content we create, adore, promote and re-post that ties us to the tags the labels folks use to slot us, catalog us and file us under "will work with" (when the supply of peanuts is topped up). AND perhaps I am making too much of my own content over these worries of what we are doing with all this content. I'd really rather content end up as sullied as dare I say...

Perhaps we'll continue to find ways to filter all this content maybe even one day find ways to filter without filters that demand the need for even more content, and more filters. Maybe we'll reach a happily balanced stand-off… perhaps content will not go the way of, shall I say it so obviously… email marketing. Did I just lump social-search driven optimized content in with... dare I?

If I apear to be on some slow trotting high horse here, pay no heed. I'm just exercising my right to use this content venue of mine to express concern over something I truly believe in (again I do believe in content as a major component in all this), AND to generate more of my own content. That we will "blow it" once again, I have no doubt… but we've blown it before, and here we are, again.

My only request; may I ask your politely, before committing your content to this ever faster flowing spigot; ask yourself, does this content of yours have any meaning? Does it even have the slightest fragmented bits or piece of useful purpose beyond increasing a ranking. In that brief millisecond your content obtains it's presence upon the pinnacle of the ever growing pile; will that one person who half sees it go… aha (before re-posting it)? By all means, don't sweat over the question, goodness knows, you'll have no time for that… there is more content to be made. After all...

Sigh... all that content, just to say, I'm worried, or... keep your content meaningful folks. And for those content creators who view content as something to be counted... 50


                          Coming soon... maybe next. Let me tell you a... funny (er) story.

I came across this great article on "voice" over at our good pal Anna Rydne's site this morning; it implies an important question: How do I sound? - Although the article is specifically focussed on voice talent, it begs another question; how do I sound over social?

Social is, or more importantly, should be viewed as a conversational medium; more 'story-telling' than dictating. I believe the most successful engagements are those where one can feel themselves drifting into a room with the person they are interacting with… rather than being preached to from the pamphlet. This being said, the written english language (perhaps more so than many other languages) is pretty loosey-goosey, it is fraught with pit-holes and boobie traps...

...how does one sound authoritative without out coming off as arrogant; positive withouts sounding childlike; encouraging without sounding fake or hackneyed...

I've found myself blithely adding the line "...will maintain your corporate voice." into all my proposals of late; with the full knowledge that most folks haven't once considered what they sound like when they post to their "conversations" over social.

While I cannot claim to have all the answers… let's hijack Anna's article and see how the advice on hiring voice talent for ones answering machine, corporate videos et al may apply to the place and point where one should expect to have the most significant perhaps even the most intimate interaction with one's customers:

1. Match the voice with your brand

"A voice that sounds overly energetic might not be the correct choice for a quiet professional office building. The sound of the voice should match the tone and demographics of the business."

Indeed, do you want to be humorous, carefree or sardonic when your product is say… high end stereos? Likely no more so than coming off as a know-it-all. If you've done your brand-homework, you likely know your demographic, but do you speak to them like you would in the "showroom"; OR like you would over a glass of wine, in your living room, marvelling over the fidelity of your long lost favourite jazz standards?

2. Choose a dynamic vocal range

"The vocal abilities for each person are different and many people do not have a dynamic range that could carry a very varied video production for an hour or more."

There's a "dynamic of character" at play here… perhaps this goes beyond simply voice. Are you hiring an actor? If so, is your social voice wooden and one dimensional. Is it the voice of the sales-toad who reads the pitch script line by line day after day? Does your voice have mood swings, bad days and a bias towards that "certain type" of customer that just really gets his goat up? …the trap here of course is that all conversations are being eavesdropped upon; finding a social voice with "range" yet whose banter remains attractive across a wide spectrum of buyers. I'll defer… who is your best salesman (you?), he might just be the model for this "actor" who becomes your voice. Quick, someone call Stanislavsky!

3. Look at the voice talent’s experience

"Not all voice talent is the result of professional training. Some actors have a natural ability and ear for the work." 

Maybe this person is already in your office? Perhaps it's that guy or gal whose been toiling away on your ting for ten years now; has put up with your crap but who has so thoroughly "bought in(to)" (your crap). The person most definitely must love your product/service, not be taught & sold on doing so. We're making this up as we go along here folks (at least most of us appear to be)… There is not yet a CAA agent with a tape deck and a book of head shots (that I'm aware of) (of course, I'm not aware of many things… suggestions?).

Clone yourself, or at least, that part of yourself that is the passion behind what you're doing… (Oh and, unlike some folks who shall remain un-mentioned (um, me), perhaps stick with one fewer soap box, or two… :-)

4. Check the voice talent’s availability 

"Customers will respond to that one familiar voice favorably whenever the actor is heard."

Of course, I'm available! - And, I'll work for air-fare and a plate of "the veal" most days, But I doubt you'd really want to saddle yourself with, what is does this voice of mine sound like, "sardonic jack-assed-ness" is that my tone? (Honestly, I have little clue how this voice of mine sounds most days, and that may be a 5th tip, get a 2nd opinion on your voice)…

AND, see #3 with respect to long term familiarity. This is an important (likely becoming fulltime) job... OK, hire me, and I'll hire you a voice, deal?

It's a wrap... This voice must be constantly consistent, albeit with range. This voice must love your product without being fawning and trite. It's so easy to sound fake when talking through the tippy-tapping of ones keyboard. The voice should wander into "these room" with your customer, chat, but not simply txt msg them… It's funny how something as simple as how you sound can be so incredibly un-easy, how the wrong voice can so un-easily make one cringe. You can spend millions buying copy-writing services to draft the script. The "guy", person, actor you hire to interpret and improvise this script, day in day out, on the fly, adhoc and without a net may be worth… billions. At least should be worthy of strongly considered, consideration.

At the risk of sounding melo-dramatically over the top… May the forth be with you. (Oh, and hire someone who can spell (he say's while immediately ruling himself, out.))

You know, applying for the full-time gigs on the LinkedIns really is a bit of a game. I guess it's really not that different than how it used to be, whenever that used to be, was. Truthfully though, even after well over a year, I'm not convinced there is an appropriate way to conduct a search here; playing a game while the rules are being written, a worthwhile challenge none-the-less.

I've tried four approaches which can be divided into two categories… The thoughtful, contextually relevant approach which can be subdivided into the "laboriously personal" and "insertionally relational" hardcore cover letter tactics; AND then, scatter-shot approach which takes on two easy-breezy forms… blasting out the not so cleverly crafted formulaic cover-note and the, eh, what the heck, you get NO note at all click, click send methods.

Now… Always know your market.

I do know that 90% of the applications I submit are headed directly to the assistant to the the intern whose job it is to sort through all this before passing them along to the person responsible for making sure the hiring manager has the time they need to do their job today… The HR person or… (hey there HR person, thought I'd take this moment to say, I love you; oh and you there, hiring manager, been there, I know your pain) ...I am well aware of the insta-vetting tactics required to sort through the pulp, rind and CV bombs tossed so freely by the CV tossers (such as myself). But, this is after all... social (content) and really, I make no excuses. AND… here's why.

Belabouring over a cover letter, speaking to each and every salient point in order as they appear on your three page job posting has indeed netted me some coveted traction; I've spent whole days crafting a response to describe how I understand the needs as expressed, have the experience and skill-set to contribute AND… allude to that extra special something that may be of value and up for further discussion.

Results: 3% success, 97%... in the can they go!
(obviously these results are skewed by my inability to spell and my lack of understanding of basic english grammar; two requirements they always forget to post on these damned job postings.)

Now, firing out 10, 20, 30 (I think my record is 50) one, two, three liners + my oh so cleverly canned intro to myself, in a day. You know... this gets results as well, honestly way more than 3% when the intended result is simply… a response.

And… it is this response we're after after all… response is engagement, engagement is traction and you're a lot easier to catch up to when you're sliding away from me on a sand-papered floor.

Now, I'm not talking about those responses that include "given the number of applicants we will likely…" (be pitching your application into an armageddon sized bucket of flaming red hot burning coals). I'm talking about, they "hey there now, you sound kinda interesting tell us a bit more about yourself" style responses... The response that get the preverbal foot in the door. The opportunity to reply further and seek that next response ...the opportunity to meet.

Really, all joking aside (for at least a split second). It's a tough game out here. There are thousands upon thousands of great things to be done for good people on behalf of great clients in search of good customers. There is a non-equal, over-in-abundance pile of bright and brilliantly talented folks to fill these thousand upon thousands of… jobs. So, that just makes this tough for everyone along the food chain… eh, I guess it's called work for a reason.

So I'll continue to fling my facts out in every and each of the ways I've described above; Trust me, I only apply for jobs I could envision myself doing, jobs for companies in which I could see myself contributing to in a positive fashion, but really… that I've sat and thought it through enough to spend an afternoon writing volumes proves no more or less my interest in the position I've submitted with a mere flick of the "send' button.

…and you'll never know how much I'd like to be there for you if you don't give me "traction" Furthermore, trust me, I know this traction is a precious possession, in short supply and, will you look what time it's become. TY

Inspired by a great article, CUI BONO…TO WHOSE BENEFIT? by @StaceyHood

Salient bits... "Currently, I believe that marketing is at another set of crossroads. We saw it a few years ago when social media was the darling of marketing. Now we’ve come to realize that it is just another tool to use. We also saw it recently when the talk of “content is king” was the talk of the town."

...out there and ahead, are we? 

Sadly it's almost all I'm still hearing today is that "content is (still) king" - it's just so bloody loud. Even more sadly I've been hearing and seeing these same things for, well, decades now. The ad-man grabs the shiniest "trick in the playbook" the easiest methodology and exploits it until over-exploitation renders it nearly worthless. Turns our simplicity into meaningless noise...

It seems as though and I'e gotten used to "The Ad-Man Cometh"(ing) over from time to time to over-use our craft; exploit the tools we've created incorrectly, become disillusioned, burnt out (as some say), announce our overly-precious ideas "dead" (again) and go traipsing off to find the next shiny-easy thingy we're making-over again.

But, here's the good part, of benefit (to all). These moments when they burst down our doors serve a purpose of enormously worthwhile goodness. The hype and intensity in which these tools are overused is the cauldron in which we hone our craft (and improve our tools); they force our hand and better judgement as we add ingredient after ingredient, more "spice" 'n turn up the heat 'n stir, stir... stir...

Social is not an island nor a new invention on it's own; it did not appear on the mythological vacant plains of digital a decade after the bubble bursted and last banner-ad was pushed. Social has lineage a heritage and is the direct result of the heat and the stirring of the pot we've been boiling ourselves in for... years. Oh for certain we've added new ingredients, some fresh young minds have added some fresh newish ideas but, what I'm doing right now is nothing more than a more perfected version of what I was trying to, wanting to and, well doing already... years ago.

(Your grand-daddies) Digital's ability to connect is so well documented it has become obvious. Our ability to turn connect to connection, effect behaviour... make the sale; that never has and never will come easy, AND it has been shown, if so obviously not proven that simply burying those we've connected to under a pile of message... well; you get the picture.

What works? Content, message, being connected are instrumental, and of course it's never either/or more usually both/and... but, and these are fundamental principles of mine; we ad-men, us marketing guys have never once made the sale... who has? Really, does your ad agency own the relationship with your customer? Who does? Does your customer care that you're the best or even how well you know your own shit OR does he simply want what works for him... ?

We've given you the connected, and far more than just their eye-balls... now, go out and sell your shit; you know, like you know how to... : Perhaps it's time to tell them a story rather than read them a book... perhaps.

(always evolving)

related to... ARE WE TO... SEND THEM TO THEIR DOOM… AGAIN? and loosely related to...  SPEAK TO THE SALESFORCE(.COM) TM

...but, I have just so damned much I want to share! Sigh, between this that and the fence post it's been a busy busy month.

I laid out a series of personal ground rules when I launched this old site six, seven or so months ago. Rule number 1, don't let it get on top of me. Don't sweat it being a mess. I put it up incomplete for the sole purpose of never finishing it and definitely not finishing it "on time". - So far these tactics are working brilliantly; unfortunately strategically... It's bloody well annoying.

Truth be told I am very anxious over the yet un-started portions of the main body of the site (that place where I plan to place more solidified notions on these topics of interest)... I've put myself in a position where a major overhaul is in strong order.

I'm frustrated that I haven't had time to wrap up serial blog topics; and post new blithering blather that I currently find immediately interesting. My excuses?

Well the noble excuse is that I've been doing it rather than writing about it. <-But that's just not good enough. The sad truth is that like most people I've but off more than I can chew, put a few to many pucks in play and over estimated my ability to manage the 22nd, 23rd and 24th hour in the day effectively.

The solution... why, write this blog post of course. Re-focus YOUR expectations on what you may or may not find here; all six or seven of you. We'll not get it done; but with a little luck the efforts I've put into other things over the last month will spring up a hole in the schedule to fill with... All this.

Don't get me wrong... I'm having a blast!

One more for the "Glad I switched to Android files..."

So, after a few days of use, I've found Facebook Home to be the nice simple  (iPhone-esq) launcher I was hunting for when I first switched to Android a few months back. I can certainly understand why it's getting such poor reviews on the Playstore; simple, it runs counter to the typical, gee-gosh-golly look what I can get my Android phone to do crowd.

Really though, why not. I no longer have to choose my home or background images, I let my pals do that for me. It does guide you twoards using Facebook more, but I use Facebook all the time so, who cares. Access to other important apps is ready and easy; easier actually as the layout is far more simplified (I'm happy to abandoned widgets). One bit of weirdness, the lack of a "tray" for most my used apps... this is either typical confounding FB hootspa (or stupidity, you pick).

"... signalling another step by the massive professional network toward becoming an online content powerhouse."
                                         (click to read article at All Things D)

I'm not so certain that I (me, personally, me, as an avid and passionate Linked USER...) That is USER, not READER of Linkedin. Am I really all that happy with this development? Oh, I'm sure the ad sales team is happy, but honestly, over the last few months it has become harder and harder (OK, not really that hard) to find what it is I adore(d) about Linkedin...

For me and my daily, hourly constant USAGE of social, Linkedin has always been more than just a job board... "...move by LinkedIn to expand beyond being just a static resume service for recruiters and professionals." - Sure I scour the job posting, but just as much so to get a sense of what companies are planning by who they are looking to hire... But really, and most importantly, Linkedin is the nuance behind my contact management system.

How many times have you studied the profiles of the folks you were just about to step into a meeting with; when was the last time you didn't?

“We believe LinkedIn can be the definitive professional publishing platform — where all professionals come to consume content and where publishers come to share their content,”
                                                     LinkedIn SVP of product and user experience, Deep Nishar

Do I need another "definitive professional publishing platform"... Do I need Linkedin to consolidate all the things I'm already reading easily finding and consolidating on Scoop.it, Paper.li and Flipboard? - OR do I need a place to store and interact with... nuances?

Drama aside... the sky is not falling, and I guess Linkedin needs the revenue that this content (content, content and MORE content play) will generate; (over and above the fiddy bucks I give 'em each month). Have at it ad-boys, but I'll be gone if you bury the treasure I feel is/(was) Linkedin...

Simply the most focussed, useful, practical and tactical social site I almost cannot live without... (sniff) I hope I'm not going to miss you guys! 

First we tell 'em, "You gotta have a website"… Then we say, "you gotta keep it fresh"… Then we tell 'em your website sucks… Then we tell them, gotta be ON social, you gotta have a Facebook (page?), Twitter, Pinterest, whats NEXT?… OMG where is your blog? You don't have a blog?. Then we scream, where is your stream? If you're not there... No one will care!

Isn't this just the YELLOW PAGE inbound marketing consultant wet dream sales pitch 5 or 6 generations onward… ?

You gotta have a listing, everyone has a listing…
No one sees your listing, you have to take a quarter…
Your quarter isn't getting noticed, talk to our designer.

Everyone has a quarter, do you want to be an everyone; lets talk about a half.
A half is for the timid, is that how you want to be seen?
Take a page, show 'em you mean business!
Your page isn't being noticed… let's add more color!

The cost of doing business? If you spend it they will come?

I'm not being contrarian here, and I am in total agreement that using these marketing tools, in a fashion that softens up that hardened lead, is essential; honestly… But truly, honestly the buzz and emphasis on content marketing is getting downright worrisome. Of course our clients need to establish a presence in these forums, the arenas, streams, feeds and pin boards… but to what end. Do we really want to see a sea of disappointed, disillusioned business people floating facedown awash in the flotsam and jetsam of long forgotten social media stra… schemes? ( ...sch...rategies that could have worked)

How will they find you?
What do you say?
You got to be on it!
Right now, EVERY day!

They manufacture egg cartons…

Maybe their website really is JUST a static brochure, a leave behind, send to. The place to go if you want to know a little bit more. Maybe they don't need a damned blog; or only just need one to let the CEO wax poetically about the qualities of his business from time to time, add a little persona. Or maybe it's just a forum to let the sales guys hone their pitch from time to time (?) Maybe their Face-twit-pin feeds are paced a few clicks slower than the guy next door, but each post-tweet-pin is that much more, meaningful? Perhaps they should listen to social; a little more' listening to what their customers are saying rather than droning on and drowning oiut the voices of the folks they're listening for?

When seeking to rise above the clutter, does adding to this clutter define a strategy of any real logic?
Who owns the relationship with your customer?
That's for you to answer, but, last I looked… it wasn't the marketing department.

Who's the most social person in your organization? Build your social strategy around… that guy. No?

There's a great social tool out there for organizing and managing one's time/calendar and new-learning budget… Learning at a pace that can be managed is key to "good learning". I call this tool "Other People's Calendar" (OPC). I'm sure I'm not the only one using it; so I'm reaching out for any advice on how I might use it better.

I love a good sales pitch. Some of my best ah-ha moments have come via some sales guy or gal pushing some this or that under my nose at exactly the right time. I have zero problem being pitched at; this wonderful world now provides me insanely useful tools to filter out and file pitches (almost automatically)… 

Now here's the human part....

Let's say perhaps one in a hundred pitches (or less) hit me at that "exactly the right ah-ha moment"; another 56, 60, 70 are irrelevant and are immediately chucked into the cold as cold can get cold storage locker… the others; I rely on OPC. If you've ever pitched to me, (pitched me something that make my eyes sparkle) you likely have received one of the following replies:

• Cool, please set up a meeting
• I really like this, but now is not the time, put me in your rotation
• I really like this, but can't see a use at this time
        ...(or variations on the theme)

PLEASE, Sales guy! …live up to my expectation that you've been given use of one of the many good sales tools out there. Trust my honesty; IF you've not been filtered, please follow my instruction and put me on YOUR calendar for reconnection, I AM RELYING ON YOU. I may not be your hottest lead, but if you remind me to have… that, "another look", I likely will. You know, even better, remind me that I reminded you to remind me; contextual "touch 'n tag back" is a very powerful persuader.

NOW… if you get no reply, assume that chill you're feeling IS indeed the high powered refrigeration unit firing up in my coldest of cold storage locker, BUT don't give up. Keep trying… you never ever know, AND I never ever know when I might just start hankering for something I wasn't hankering for today.

I (heart) salespeople!!! <-- It's true.
(who else is gonna go out there and find me all this cool Schtuff!)