RemainComm

Ahead in the Cloud

Whenever I find myself getting caught up in the verbiage of an industry, I feel compelled to look at it from the "average Joe" point of view. Simply put, "Cool word, what does it mean to me?"

Much has been made about "Cloud" computing recently. The term refers to computing done via the internet. Think using software or a service that doesn't reside on your computer. (Perhaps you use Google Docs) But is this buzzword really the same s#@t in a different shovel?

This little bit of video featuring Frank Gillett from Forrester Research addresses it well.

I readily admit that I still get a bit of the heebie-jeebies whenever I think about creating a document, modifying an image, or even backing up my data on a platform that isn't sitting right next to me in a fan cooled box. But most of that is based purely on security and privacy issues. Afterall, it's not really a cloud, ya know. It's sitting on a server somewhere...yeah, I'm a bit paranoid.

But the fact is, "cloud" computing has been around for years and, because we Americans love to be mobile (now think cell phones, laptops, even portable radios and cars) it only stands to reason there is more interest in the "cloud". We also need to chalk it up to marketing. Cloud Computing...I feel hipper just saying it.

So, all of us will be spending more time working and playing in the "cloud". If you aren't, many of those younger than you are. So keep thinking beyond your desktop...at maybe get a faster internet connection.

Drowning In Information

Help! Between my endless stream of traditional media info and my new “I can find you anywhere.” media information hydrant I feel like I’m treading water just trying to keep up.

(Cue the dun-ta-dah ‘to the rescue’ music.) I’m here to help ma’am (said in my most Dudley Do-right voice). It’s so easy to get carried away in trying to suck up all the info you really want. But c’mon, you have a life, or at least you should. Since Tivo, and podcasting have helped you tame the radio and TV info management issue, allowing you to watch and listen on your terms, I though it might be helpful to share some tips from some interactive friends for taming your online world.

Greg Swan points out that there are “Information Hoarders”, the junkies that can’t seem to get enough info. If that’s you this should be of some real help.

We’ll get to the web in a bit. Let’s start with your own little slice of info heaven, your computer. After years of e-mails, documents, downloaded photos, applications, widgets and what not, you have a treasure trove of info that caters to your interests both personal and professional. Now, if you could only find it…

First, from the makers of online search (and possible owners of the free world), try Google Desktop search. This bad boy brings the Big G’s search capability to your entire hard drive and your MS Outlook sent and received. To bad it can’t do the same for your kitchen junk drawer. Swan shares his ‘word of the day’; taxonomy to point out that it’s a good idea, if you haven’t already, to start tagging your files with the words that will make you remember them. Put that word in the file name or on the document itself.

Word of Mouth 2.0

In an article published in the New York Times there is evidence that, despite what your father or grandfather mumbles (from under his hat while his turn signal continues to blink…for miles), young people do give a crap! They just go about it differently.

The internet and all of its social elements have driven those under 30 to sources other than TV, radio, or newspapers for that in-depth information. I’ll leave it to you to decide if their version of “in-depth” is good or bad. 

The focus of the piece was on politics but it underscores the overall trend towards “…replacing the professional filter — reading The Washington Post, clicking on CNN.com — with a social one.” when it comes to news and current events. More specifically, “According to interviews and recent surveys, younger voters tend to not just be consumers of news and current events but conduits as well — sending out e-mailed links and videos to friends and their social networks. And in turn, they rely on friends and online connections for news to come to them.”

This point was echoed at a recent media forum I attended that pointed to the trend of going straight to the source, bypassing the context and analysis that journalists provide.

This is the part that needs a bit of attention. As with any word of mouth activity, there is always the chance of the correct information becoming distorted or deleted as it travels. Remember the old telephone game where you would whisper a phrase to someone next you and they would in turn do the same to the person next to them and by the time it got to the last person in the line it would make no sense. (We would laugh and laugh…ah…good times.)

For better or worse, journalists, commentators, editors, etc. do serve as the gatekeepers of the information. We have come to count on them. That’s not to say that these gatekeepers always use the best judgment in getting info to the masses. We liberals point to Fox News and Rush Limbaugh while conservatives point to…well…everybody else in media.

With out any kind of oversight, will the news and information be correct? Is word of mouth always the best way to get that information? Is this good or bad? The statement from an Intelligence Group focus study subject saying, “If the news is that important, it will find me.” is, you have to admit, just a bit troubling, if for no other reason than incredibly  myopic.   

The debate will continue (and be the basis of many more forums) but, as it does, Word of Mouth 2.0 is happening. People younger than I are looking to their peers for information. And I kind of like it. If nothing else, it’s healthy and it’s good for “traditional” communicators and media. The crowd is getting the chance to have much more input and it makes those that thrive on the “one to many” paradigm to rethink it.

Just be sure the facts are correct before you send the message to the next recipient….and tell your grandpa to shut off his turn signal.

Life at GhandiCon One

I’m working on a presentation for a new business venture and came across this little bit of jargon…those of you have been in the new media/technology world have probably heard of this phrase…”GandhiCon”.

What is Ghandicon? According to this FAQS.org jargon file it relates to a quote from Mohandas Gandhi, describing the stages of establishment resistance to a winning strategy of nonviolent activism. First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.

The open source world has adopted it to describe what they see when they to get corporations and other large institutions to take new ways of doing things seriously. Together with the U.S. military’s degrees of war alert, known as DefCon, the levels of GhandiCon were born.

At GhandiCon One, you're being ignored.

At GhandiCon Two, opponents are laughing at you and dismissing the idea that you could ever be a threat.

At GhandiCon Three, they're fighting you on the merits and/or attempting to discredit you.

At GhandiCon Four, you're winning and they are arguing to save face or stave off complete collapse of their position.

There are so many places you can relate GhandiCon. Apply it to negotiating for anew car, finding a job, pitching a new idea at work, or launching you own blog or website. How about dating? I remember the years of therapy that came from GhandiCon Two…sheesh.   

No matter what you’re pursuing where this might apply remember that the satisfaction of being at GhandiCon Three and the sheer jubilation of GhandiCon Four are worth the trip

When Should You Be Social?

I want to share something that happened at a recent board meeting for an organization I have participated in for years. We’re a “working board” meaning the organization doesn’t have much dough to pay a huge staff. The two we do pay are exceptional but we still need to put on a conference every year and there is a lot to be done.

During the course of our rather long meeting we started talking about our plans for a new website. One of our members suggested we start a social network in conjunction with our new site roll out. Well, the little voice inside my head started screaming…I hate when that happens. You know I’m a big fan of everything online and Web 2.0 but we were getting close to jumping into something for the sake of it doing the “cool thing”.

There are many social network resources out there from Ning to Onesite. You could also set up a profile on Facebook or Myspace for your group or organization. Needless to say it's fairly easy to set up, the question is; will it work and will it be worth your time? Will it be social or will it be just one more thing someone might sign up for…a glorified database?

With some help from Brett Bonfield at Idealware and this post at Techsoup along with some common sense here are some signs that social networks aren’t for you.

1. You're still trying to get a handle on your basic software infrastructure. There are plenty of “new media” tools to use to make your organization better and your communication with your audience easier. Social networking should not be the first to use.
2. Your target audiences aren't using social networking tools. This relates to knowing your audience. Social networks tend to work best for younger users. There is a new definition of what privacy is among the younger demographic and they are more prone to actually use these tools. So to simplify…hunt where the ducks are.
3. You don't have time to experiment with something that might not work. No matter what you think or have heard, social networks don’t run themselves. You’ll need someone to oversee and maintain the site.
4. You're not ready to invest in gaining a real understanding of the medium. Making social networks effective means you need to understand the culture and communities you’re joining or serving.
   
5. You want clear editorial control over your brand and message. Social networks are not all about your message. You may find yourself trying to understand why the users don’t look at your brand the way you want it to be looked at. You can’t set up rules regarding that message and expect users to follow them. You’ll need to be able to let the users have their own voice…positive or negative.
6. Mission and Purpose. Whether it's organizational or personal, does using a social network further your mission?

In our case, we decided to put the idea on hold until we overcome some other technical and organizational items. I’m confident that when we do enter into the world of social networking we’ll do it right and take advantage of the opportunities it offers.

More on those opportunities next week. 

Sunday Morning with Skype

After quite some time, a recent business venture led me to dust off my Skype account. I actually got the account a long time back but really had little cause to use it. That and the built-in mic I use sounded like poop. In reality, I was intrigued by the whole VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) thing when I started down the “new media”. (If the yellow brick road had the munchkins, imagine what this road has. Yikes) 

Anyway, I have the need to speak with my partner on this venture regularly so we decided to use Skype for our regular chats and it was interesting to get up and running on this rather social media offering. So I’m thinking, “Phil, you’re sooo cutting edge.”

Then the family and I are at church when in the middle of the weekly announcements, our Pastor introduces one of the other Pastors “live” from India via Skype. We’ve all become accustom to those video phone interviews on CNN. Seeing an embedded reporter’s jerky and sometime out of sync updates is a fairly normal occurrence these days, but having your worship leader give you the scoop on a mission trip at three in the morning where he was took me by surprise. (OK, we went to church on Saturday night. The title just didn’t seem as snappy.) There it was…all main-stream and stuff.

I started thinking about all the uses for Skype beyond me talking to a colleague and getting reports from India. There are many: Have you got a conference with the suits coming up and you want to include others around the company? Skype it. Interview for your podcast or website? Skype it. Talking with Uncle Chutney in London and the phone card is tapped? You get the idea.

The Skype site can give you the complete skinny on the service. My point is that it’s one of the tools that can help you in your efforts to communicate. Remember, that to really get the most out of it, you and the person you’re talking with will need a high speed internet connection. Also, don’t skimp on a microphone or headset. We found that a Bluetooth headset and a wireless network is quite dicey…at best.

If you’re going to use Skype for a professional reason and the technical things aren’t in place. Don’t do it. Remember, know the audience and the level of technology they have access to.

Time to call Uncle Chutney….

It’s Thursday, Must Be Radio: My week with Nabbit

Today you’ll find both radio (see why I talk radio each Thursday here.) and a new mobile application to go with it. A new media blogger’s double-play, sweet!

Back in early November Jumptech launched its beta version of Nabbit. This mobile application allows you to "tag" songs and commercials while listening to your favorite radio stations. I’m all about finding ways to build on the relationship between radio stations and their listeners so I was anxious to get up and running with this, especially since Jumptech is a company located right here in the Twin Cities. Hey, let’s here it for the home team. (Wow, two baseball references in one post.)

So, I head to the Nabbit website and sign up. Please keep in mind, though I do have pretty good knowledge of computers and cell phones I would not consider myself much better at installing software than the average user. Anyway, now that I’m registered, I go to set up my cell phone. Nabbit works with many of the new web-enabled “smart” phones. They have a list of models that the application has been configured to work with that provides an easy install…at least that would be the impression you would get. Of course, just my luck, my Treo 650 is not “easily” supported. Here is where the first "needs an easy button.” warning goes off. That’s cool though, remember, this is a “beta” version so the Jumptech guys are still shaking it out. After some surfing, downloading, installing and a few more e-mails to Nabbit, I’m up and running. This has become a 2 day experience. “Easy button.”

To Blog or Not to Blog?

If you follow this blog regularly, and as you’ll find out later in this post, regularly is a term I use loosely, you’ll note that it’s been awhile since I’ve commented on anything. 

Don’t get me wrong, as many of my closest friends know, I’m never at a loss for “topics” that must be commented on (He says with just the right amount of sarcasm.). It’s just that lately; I’ve been wrestling with what topics are “worth” commenting or reporting on. 

For example, I noticed that shortly after the conclusion of the Podcasting and New Media Expo, known by it’s acronym as PNME, the organizers decided to drop the “P” or podcasting from the name. Ok, now the acronym for the New Media Expo is NME. NME…en-em-ee…enemy! Oops! I’m not sure this is what needs to be communicated by “new media.” So I’m thinking a post titled something like “When Acronyms Attack” could be good, but is it? 

Another example…Recently the National Association of Broadcasters (Yep, radio again) announced that it was launching the Radio 2020 initiative. The idea is to focus on keeping radio relevant for years to come. I don’t think the window is that wide, let’s go with Radio 2010. Clearing that hurtle is tough enough. Nah…that topic just seems so…well…done. Besides, it’s too easy to be cynical and that’s been way, way over done.   

So, I’ve shied away from posting because I want to provide content that is much more actionable as well as entertaining and not just musings. I’ve found, with all of the information that pours down on us every day it’s difficult enough to keep up without me adding to it. And yes, in addition, I now know the meaning of “writer’s block”. 

The problem is that if I want to fulfill the goal of RemainComm, which is to keep communicating, I need to…well keep communicating. In order to build relationships we all need to keep talking to each other. In my case, one way I do that is through this blog. If I’m ever going to build a relationship with you, I’m going to need to share more of me in the hopes of you sharing more with me. 

So, here’s the deal. I’ll keep striving to post real actionable content but at the same time I’ll keep posting “regularly”. That may mean shorter posts, posts that are a bit out of left field, or posts that are insightful, thought provoking, and life changing (yeah…well…maybe). In the end though, let’s keep talking… 

Now about this whole Ellen crying on TV deal…

Timing + Technology + Marketing = Milestones

I think we’d all agree the YouTube/CNN debate was a milestone. While having little impact on the answers the candidates gave, the introduction of video questions via YouTube brought a much more personal and emotional intensity to the process, more so even than the “town hall” versions. It also showed us “real” Americans…warts and all in the privacy and security of their own homes. I think there were even more milestones.
 
Of course we could have done it years ago. Heck, Bob Saget made a great career out of showing us personal video…warts (not to mention skating parrots) and all. We could record video on our VHS cameras and send it in a box to a TV show. Why didn’t this happen until now? It’s simple…timing, technology and, frankly, marketing. 

Back in the tape days, video was all about special events and entertainment. The only time we busted out the camera was to save that wedding, that first bike ride, or that shot of Grandma taking a header into her birthday cake. Now, video is with us everywhere. Take a look at your cell phone. Years ago, the technical pieces weren’t in place. (A concept not wasted on the founders of YouTube themselves.) Now anyone can capture a moment and, through the magic of inexpensive or free video editing software, can inject all the emotion and artistry they care to. Then just upload it on the computer for the entire world to see. It just doesn’t take much of our time to be part of the video universe. 

Also, through outlets like CNN, that new technology is all the buzz. Video is not just about entertaining ourselves anymore. It’s about communicating. Hey, this is serious stuff. (Sorry Bob.) That’s the marketing piece. 

Look, not everyone is producing videos. Just note the fact that there were only 1500-3000 videos submitted (depending on the source you use), kind of a small number in the great scheme of the World Wide Web, let alone YouTube. These forays into the Web world won’t change the way we elect our public officials, at least not yet. But if the marketing of video debates, all the talk and all the hype will get more people to participate in the process that’s truly a milestone to be grateful for.