Author: Kent

Reader, writer, arithmeticer. Proprietor of Newsome.Org, a tech, music and life blog.

Top 5 Lists Galore

Here are the Problogger Top 5 entries for Day 4. Let’s spread a little link love around.

The Top 5 Reasons Darren Rowse is a Marketing Genius

tomsawyerI need to do a Top 5 post so I can get a little link love, and maybe some cash, from Darren Rowse over at Problogger, which for some reason I always read as prob logger.  What better list than the five biggest reasons Darren is the blogosphere’s marketing genius.

So here they are, Letterman style:

5) He founded an emerging church, according to Wikipedia.  I don’t really know what an emerging church is, but it sounds brainy and sorta cool.  As long as he doesn’t start writing science fiction novels and hanging out with Tom Cruise.

4) He also founded a blog network.  I’m not really sure what a blog network is either, but I’ve never belonged to one, so they must have taste and standards.

3) He might be making $1.2M a year from blogging.  That is a pro blogger, by golly.  And even if he doesn’t, he makes at least $120,000.  That’s $108,000 more than Jeff Jarvis (according to the post linked above).  I’m not sure why I find this so funny, but I do.

2) He is the father of multi-level linking via his crafty Group Writing Projects.  He has a lot of juice in the blogosphere, so people crave links from him.  He gives out 2 links each to project participants and gets a zillion links in return, thereby multiplying his juice.  Someone could write a dissertation on the brilliance of this.  And the thing is- it’s a win-win deal.  Anyone can participate.  It’s sort of like the un-blogosphere.

1) I just spent over an hour writing this post, just for a couple of links and a 1 in a zillion chance to win a grand.

While I am poking a little good-natured fun here, let me say for the record that I have been a reader of Problogger for a long time, and Darren strikes me as a good guy.

And a marketing genius.

Bonus question for Darren and everyone else:  If you were a struggling blogger and you had $1,000 to use to increase traffic to your blog, how would you spend it?  Even if I don’t win the contest, I am thinking about budgeting some money to market Newsome.Org.  I’m not going to buy books, or tapes or go to some seminar.  But other than that, anything legal and moral is fair game.

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A Little Perspective Can Set You Free

Empathetic – showing empathy or ready comprehension of others’ states.
– The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

I’ve been thinking some about perspective as it relates to blogging and the blogosphere, in the wake of my Guy Kawasaki post and the resulting discussion in the comments.

perspectiveOne of the things that sometimes discourages me about the blogosphere is the way bloggers talk at, and not to, each other.  It sometimes seems like a room full of people talking to themselves in louder and louder voices.  Once in a while a few of them randomly happen to be talking about the same thing and what appears to be a conversation transpires.  Before long, however, the wave of faux conversation recedes back into the ocean of intrapersonal communication.

It’s an inefficient process, at best.  Driven, at least in part, by the egocentric perspective of thousands of generally remote and often anonymous bloggers.  In this case, when I say egocentric I am using the “viewed or perceived from one’s own mind as a center” definition, and not necessarily the “caring only about oneself” definition.

Upon reflection, I have been as guilty of this as (almost) anyone.  I blog because I like to write, and because I want to participate in conversations about topics that interest me.  It’s easy to assume that others share – or should share- my purposes.  When I try unsuccessfully to engage others in conversation, it’s easy to assume that my failure results from their unfairness, or the fact that I am on the outside of the mythical gate.  To get too caught up in that is to undertake the fool’s errand of trying to change those you don’t know, you can’t reach, and who don’t want to be changed.  And who as Hugh MacLeod points out in a comment here, may not need to change.

This epiphany occurred to me as I drove under a bridge on the way home from work the other day and saw a lone man on the bridge holding up a one-word sign that said “Impeach.”  In wondering what he really hoped to achieve by standing out there with that sign, I began to wonder what I hoped to achieve by holding up a post that says “Talk to Me” while the Scobles, Rubels, Wilsons, etc. hurry by on their way home.

Later that same day, I saw a post by Om Malik about some items he hoped to buy at some point.  I started thinking about Om.  Not in an egocentric “I wish he linked here more” way, but just about him as a person.  I thought about how many of his posts I have read and enjoyed over the years.  I thought about the fact that blogging is his job, and about how stressful jobs can be.  I thought about the fact that I have never once clicked on an online ad on any blog.  Then I bought him a CD at Amazon and had it shipped it to him semi-anonymously.  Just because I felt the need to show my appreciation.  Just because it felt right and good.

It felt even better when I saw that it brightened his day.  Whatever Om got out of it, I promise you I got more.

Today, I saw this post by Ayelet over at Blonde 2.0.  She talks about the borders between our personal and private lives, and the beauty of presenting ourselves to the world- as we are, without the need to treat our online presence as some sort of living billboard.  In other words, to be people.  And to treat each other as people.  Not avatars, and not as some dehumanized screen name.  I like everything she said in that post, but this passage really summed it up for me:

[D]on’t be afraid to show the world who you are. Not just the you during office hours, but the whole you. If a company doesn’t want to hire you based on that, you’re probably better off without them.

Amen.

My favorite blogs are the ones who show the entire person.  Blogs like Rob Barron‘s, that have made me cry at times and smile at other times.  Like OmegaMom‘s, which makes me wish that her daughter and Delaney could be friends.  Like John Watson, who finds philosophy in conversations with his kids.  Lynnster, whose musical education closely mirrors mine.  The list goes on and on- and it will.

People from my work life have discovered my blog.  I knew it would happen when I started doing it.  It’s always a little scary to put yourself out there.  But as Ayelet says, we are who we are, and there is freedom and efficiency in just letting down your guard and trusting yourself.  Who we really are is the best resume of all.  Other than a few well-meaning jokes about my little online journal, I have never once had a negative reaction to my blog.  And I have had more than a few people tell me that it makes them more comfortable to see who I am away from work.

We can’t change the blogosphere, and we can’t make others embrace our blogging philosophy.  What we can do is try to see things from other points of view.

That’s what I’m going to do.

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Hiding in Plain Sight: Google and Your Name

The Wall Street Journal published an interesting article about names and Google ranking- the importance of being findable via a Google search.  Among other things, the article reminds us that Google is not just about web search.  While I haven’t really thought about it like this before, Google is a multi-purpose tool for me.

It is my spell-checker.  I search for the word, and it either confirms I’m correct or asks me if I meant [correct spelling].

It is my direction finder.  I type in the address and it gives me a map, and a link to Google Maps, for a bigger map and directions.

It is my lyrics finder for the lead ins I sometimes use for my blog posts.

It is my dictionary, leading me to the Free Dictionary.

Sometimes, it’s my people finder.

But it’s not as good at finding people as it is other information.  I search for my old buddy Carter Via, and I get to places named Carter via all sorts of routes.  I look for my cousin and get zip.  A search for my old friend Kevin Morris leads nowhere, unless I add our hometown.  Then it returns my failed friend fishing experiment (which was a rousing success compared to my failed Flickr experiment).  It all comes down to how well your name Googles, as the WSJ puts it.  And to Google well, you need an effective platform, which as Scot Karp points out, is not always easy to come by:

The problem for most people is that they don’t have a platform for influencing their identity in Google or other search engines. Anyone can start a blog, sure, but that may not help if your name is John Smith, or even a less common name if you don’t get any inbound links.

Most bloggers Google well, since they generally have a significant online presence.  Earl Moore is number 2, behind a baseball player nicknamed Big Ebbie.  Mathew Ingram is number 1 for both the way he spells it and the way he doesn’t.  Mike Miller is number 13, behind another hoops player and a couple of clowns.  Tom Morris is number 2, behind an institute for human values.

Ken Yarmosh offers a roadmap for putting your name on the Google map.

My name Googles pretty well.  I’m number 1 for both Kent Newsome and Newsome.  My work bio is number 2 for Kent Newsome.  The benefits of a long online presence and a somewhat uncommon name.  My two oldest kids are number 1.  Raina is number 4.  Some odd blog post that seems to mention her is number 1.  Luke is too young and has too common a name to make the boxscore. Yet.

I certainly wouldn’t change my name to Google better, like someone mentioned in the WSJ article, but I do see the benefit of Googling well.

How well does your name Google?

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This Career Will Self Destruct in 10 Seconds (or "Hey, Let's Close Our Deals in Second Life")

Steve Rubel, whose opinion I respect, says he believes 3D virtual worlds are going to become a place where people will increasingly spend time and conduct business online.

Spend time, probably.  Conduct business?  Depends on what you mean by business.

If by business he means sell virtual land and houses, OK.  If he means maybe sell some real-world books and records, OK.  If he means PR business, which I suspect he does, maybe.  In a let’s build a cool structure, put our flashy logo on it and hire an intern to chat up the people and animals that fly over sort of way.

But if he means business as in the kind of big corporate business run by that gigantic percentage of the population who have never heard of Second Life and/or think it’s some online video game (which largely it is, all the square peg stuffing notwithstanding), he’s smoking crack.

Steve says Nasdaq should start an exchange in Second Life.  It seems they might actually be interested in doing that.  What’s next, NYSE in World of Warcraft?  AMEX in Sims Online?  CME in Webkinz World?

I’m trying to imagine how it would go if I called up one of my clients and told him/her that we should start doing business in Second Life.

[Ripple effect as we fade to a dream sequence, which begins with Kent dialing a phone number from his chaotic office.  Several people stand by nervously, with reams of paper in their hands.]

Kent: Hey Bob, how ya’ doing?
Client: Fine, how ’bout you?  Are we ready to close the acquisition of that office building portfolio?
Kent: Just about, that’s why I’m calling.  I think we should call the seller’s representatives and see if they want to have the closing in Second Life.
Client: What?
Kent: You know, that virtual world that was on the cover of Business Week a few months ago.  We could all create some avatars.  I think I’ll use a zebra head.  Then we could meet over at this castle I built and shake virtual hands.  Then maybe we could take a spin on my dance pads.  I found this great 80’s station that streams to my parcel.
Client: What in the world are you talking about?
Kent: It’s the new thing.  All of the A-List bloggers are talking about it.
Client: What’s a blogger?
Kent: It doesn’t matter.  Look, just get on the internet.  It’s that little blue “e” at the bottom of your computer screen.  Click over to Second Life and register.  I have to wait until I get home to do it, because our corporate firewall blocks Second Life.  They don’t realize it’s a business tool.
Client: Stop messing around.  Do we have wiring instructions from the seller?
Kent: No, I told them we’d pay with Linden Dollars.
Client: Have you been drinking? C’mon, man, we’ve got a big deal to close.
Kent: Look, I’m just trying to drag you into the 21st century.  Remember when you said email was too hard?  Now you can send emails even when your secretary is at lunch.  Second Life is the same way…only you have to ignore all those XXX rated stores on every corner.  Just pretend you’re in Houston and walk right past ’em.
Client:  Look, I need you to stop goofing around and get my deal closed.
Kent: Did I mention that you can fly in Second Life?
Client: [click]
Kent: Bob…hello…Bob…are you there?

Somehow, I don’t see it happening.  Sure, 3D worlds tap into the human need to fantasize and socialize.  A need that likely arises due to the real world stresses of real world jobs.  Jobs that, for most of us, are about as far away from Second Life as possible.

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All These Rumors Surrounding Me

Look at all these rumors
Surrounding me every day
I iust need some time
Some time to get away from
From all these rumors
I can’t take it no more
– Timex Social Club

TechCrunch has a screenshot and some information about my blogging buddy Guy Kawasaki‘s pending Web 2.0 entry- Truemors, which is apparently a rumor reporting bulletin board with Twitter and Digg-like capabilities.

Where to start….

First of all, I suspect they are going to have an epic spam problem.  Sure, they can approve entries, but I bet that’s not their plan.  It would be a ton of work and would delay publication of what they probably hope will be time sensitive scoops.  There will be the traditional spammers, and the disruptors who just want to post absurd things and make trouble.

I also wonder how many people are going to happily populate Guy’s site with juicy content they could post on their own blogs, web sites, etc.

Finally, I wonder how many people are going to choose to get their gossip news at Truemors, as opposed to other news and quasi-news sites?

The screen shot shows rumors about Phil Mickelson switching golf instructors, Paris Hilton whining about jail, Scarlett Johansson visiting Austin and the Spurs winning a basketball game.  Not exactly edge of your seat stuff.

Based on the screen shot, it looks to me like a Digg clone more than anything else.

We have to wait for the public launch to see what Truemors is made of.  But based on what little I know right now, I’d have to say the early line is leaning towards a yawner.

Hey Guy, my private beta invite must have gotten lost in the mail.  Want to hook me up?

Thanks to Earl for linking to my last post.

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DRM: Dumbass Restrictions Maintenance

Everyone is talking about crime
Tell me who are the criminals
I said everybody’s talking about crime, crime
Tell me who, who are the criminals
– Peter Tosh

I can’t believe what I just read in a Forbes article about DRM.

Here is a quote from the article explaining why other members of the record label cartel are unlikely to follow EMI and Apple’s lead and start selling music online that is not infested with DRM:

Other online music retailers say they’re worried that following Apple’s lead will confuse customers who may already be baffled by a crazy quilt of restrictions that envelop the industry.

Isn’t that sort of like saying that poor people would be confused by having money?  Or at least like saying renters would be confused by ownership.

Anyone who’s lettered enough to make it through the registration process at some online music store will be able to distinguish between “restricted” and “unrestricted” and “$.99” and “$1.29.”  And even if some people automatically click on the cheaper DRM-infested option- so what?  People buy crappy stuff all the time because it’s cheaper.  The confusion argument is a canard.  As Forbes points out, rocket science is less confusing than the myriad of subscription plans these online stores offer.

Meanwhile, executives of other cartel members said at some OPEC, I mean record industry, event that getting rid of DRM is not a priority for them.

Really?  I’m shocked.

There’s no confusion there, only greed and shortsightedness.  It’s about trying like mad to protect a monopoly built on a dying business model.  It’s about the nominal cost of manufacturing a CD and the not so nominal cost the cartel charges to the buyer and the artist for doing so.  And it’s about how little respect the music industry has for its customers.  “We don’t want the whole world to be a college dorm.”  Are you kidding me?

It’s not about whether it’s good for the cartel.  It’s about what customers are entitled to and what they are disciplined enough to demand.  And sometimes, as Larry Borsato points out, what they are promised.

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Morning Reading: 5/5/07

Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Here are 12 U.S. laws every blogger should know.

I think those Geico cavemen commercials are hilarious.  This one is my favorite.  When I heard they were making a sitcom with them, I was excited.  Until now.  Why in the world would they not use the same actors!?

Adam Messinger has a great post on web design and the lack thereof on the new ABCNews.com page.

Gotham Gal has a good review of Wesabe, a personal finance and financial goal tracking application.  I have played around with Wesabe a little bit, and I have to say that it is a very well designed application.  It has a social networking feature that is actually designed to be useful.  In sum, I am pretty impressed with what I’ve seen so far.

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