Journalist Stalking Wins Business

Drive more business opportunities by developing relationships with journalists. Here are some tips to “properly” stalk them and get referrals.

clipped from www.ducttapemarketing.com In the previous step in this series I asked you to use the conversations you had with your customers to craft your marketing story to help illustrate how your firm was unique. (Click to see the entire series) Today I am going to ask you to take that story to the media. Earning coverage of your company in the publications and shows that your ideal customers consume is one of the most effective ways to build trust. (See my definition of marketing) Be different, stand out by targeting the journalists that write about your industry and build relationships with them Build a very select – five or six at the most – media list for your business. Create email alerts or RSS feeds for each Find out if any of these journalists have a blog Make it a habit to drop notes to each Within the next month (only after completing all the steps above) invite them to coffee and tell them your story. Here’s a short video I did recently called “The Proper Way to Stalk a Journalist.”

Weird Week In Review – Dec. 28

Your one stop to review all this weeks articles on WeirdGuy. Have fun!

Incredible Images Taken At The Perfect Angle (PICS)
Enjoy these creative photos taken at just the right angle. Then think about any issues, projects, or problems you have and try to look at them from a new creative angle. Read more…

“Peach” Open Movie Promotes Collaborative Creativity
Did you hear about Project Orange? How about the end result called Elephants Dream? Not many heard about the animated short movie from a collective of International artists. Now, another effort is in progress. Read more…

NextGen Passionately Pursuing Their Dreams
Are you passionate about what you do? Are you disciplined to “stay the course?” Here are six people under 30 years old pursuing their passions and it is paying off big! Read more…

Understanding The Differences Between A CLO and CIO
The differences are primarily at a strategic level. Certainly, while the CLO and CIO interact, there are three areas of significant distinction. Margaret Driscoll, in her book, Web-based Training, offers a very concise explanation of these three areas. Read more…

Quotable Quote – Calvin and Hobbes
My behavior is addictive functioning in a disease process of toxic co-dependency…. Read more…

Related Links
- Weird Week In Review (Dec. 14)
- Weird Week In Review (Dec. 21)

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Quotable Quote – Calvin and Hobbes

My behavior is addictive functioning in a disease process of toxic co-dependency. I need holistic healing and wellness before I accept any responsibility for my actions.

- Calvin

Understanding The Differences Between A CLO and CIO

By E. Brown

Many Fortune 100 and 500 companies get the difference between a Chief Information Officer (CIO) and a Chief Learning Officer (CLO). However, many smaller companies that are now venturing into the waters on online learning seem to be confused. They seem to understand the need for a CIO or CTO, but when it comes to learning they feel that this position can be occupied by those very same high level positions.

The differences are primarily at a strategic level. Certainly, while the CLO and CIO interact, there are three areas of significant distinction. Margaret Driscoll, in her book, Web-based Training, offers a very concise explanation of these three areas:

1. People skills
2. Technical knowledge
3. Strategic picture

The role of the CIO is designed to provide enterprise-wide directions and business strategies for acquiring, using, and maintaining information technology.

The CLO is responsible for an organization’s overall learning and knowledge initiatives.

People Skills
CLO’s need to be consummate communicators. They often have to reckon with departments with competing needs as related to training. Often a CLO will find they have to communicate between technical, creative, human resource, and C-level personnel. As a liaison, of sorts, they need to know the unique language of each of these areas of discipline. Therefore, the CLO must have excellent people skills in order to reach consensus amongst differing groups.

Technical Knowledge
Unlike the CIO, the technical knowledge of a CLO is the ability to stay abreast of trends within the learning marketplace. In this rapidly changing environment, a CLO must monitor and evaluate new technologies. Also, a fundamental knowledge of networks, databases, security issues, e-commerce, and system integration are crucial. Finally, their knowledge must take into consideration how training applications will impact the organization, training departments, users, and customers.

Strategic Picture
Of no less importance is the ability of the CLO to see the “big picture.” They must understand how training and knowledge management relate to the bottom line. Responsibilities include:

• Embedding learning in business processes
• Encouraging inter-departmental knowledge sharing
• Creating a culture of innovation
• Providing inside and outside customer training
• Creating informal learning events
• And more…

Do You Need A CLO?
As Driscoll says, the position usually comes about through either a cutting-edge organization creating the CLO position or someone within a company building a case for this post.

Most organizations would benefit from a chief learning officer as either a way to increase profitability or as a means of reducing costs. The emergence of the knowledge economy points to the value of information and knowledge as sources of wealth creation. A CLO can improve the speed at which innovation occurs and increase productivity and profitability. Another line of reasoning that is easier to demonstrate is that a CLO can reduce the costs associated with training. The proliferation of training within most companies suggest that there is room for coast savings by streamlining initiatives, eliminating redundancy, and taking advantage of economies of scale.
(Web-based Training, page 285)

If you are in a company that promotes training (and I hope you are) then I would encourage to look into the need for a CLO. Look at the corporate strategy and culture, crunch the numbers and you may find having a CLO is very profitable.

Tell me if you feel this article has been helpful for you. You can comment in the area below.

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NextGen Passionately Pursuing Their Dreams

Are you passionate about what you do? Are you disciplined to “stay the course?” Here are six people under 30 years old pursuing their passions and it is paying off big!

clipped from www.cnn.com Isha Jain thinks math and science are cool. Recently, 16-year-old Isha used both skill sets to identify what causes growth spurts. Not only did she think her findings were cool, but so did the journal “Developmental Dynamics,” which published her work. The Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology went beyond just the thinking: It gave her a cool $100,000 scholarship. Rissi Palmer was offered a pop record deal with top producers who worked with the likes of Janet Jackson. But Palmer held out, while struggling with odd jobs, for her true passion — country music. When Brittany and Robbie Bergquist of Norwell, Massachusetts, heard of a soldier having to pay almost $8,000 for a phone bill to call his family from Iraq, they wanted to do something. Cecelia Ahern at 21, she received $1 million to write her first novel, “P.S. I Love You.” Alexandra Nechita’s artistic accomplishments are anything but small,

“Peach” Open Movie Promotes Collaborative Creativity

By E. Brown

Did you hear about Project Orange? How about the end result called Elephants Dream? Not many heard about the animated short movie from a collective of International artists.

Elephants Dream is the world’s first open movie, made entirely with open source graphics software such as Blender, and with all production files freely available to use however you please, under a Creative Commons license.

The short film was created by the Orange Open Movie Project studio in Amsterdam during 2005/2006, bringing together a diverse team of artists and developers from all over the world.

I love this idea. Using team work, collaboration, and a creative environment to their maximum potential is what I often write about. Where else does fun learning occur at a rapid rate? Where else does innovation and pushing the envelope occur?

Now, another effort is in progress, called Peach. After a month long “call for entries,” review of portfolios, and putting the final team together, Peach went into production last October. Provided the DVD’s sell well, this is a win-win scenario:

• The software company wins by getting exposure and their product stretched beyond normal use.
• The artists win by getting to work on a project with world-wide exposure.
• The director wins by getting his idea/story created.
• We win by getting to see and learning how it all gets done.

This is truly a “peach” of an idea. I look forward to following this project closely and seeing how it turns out. I also hope this inspires many others inside and outside the creative profession to explore collaborative team environments.

Have fun!

Related Links
- Peach Open Movie
- Elephant Dreams
- Blender

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Incredible Images Taken At The Perfect Angle (PICS)

Photography, like in business can stir up creative and innovative ideas when seen from a different perspective. Be creative in all you do and do not be afraid to think outside the box.Heck, there is no box…Enjoy these creative photos taken at just the right angle. Then think about any issues, projects, or problems you have and try to look at them from a new creative angle.

Have fun!

clipped from www.sawse.com

Weird Week In Review – Dec. 21

Your one stop to review all this weeks articles on WeirdGuy. Have fun!

9 Essential Rules Of Great Web Design
From the PSDTUTS (PhotoShop Tutorials) blog comes this little article on Wed design. Though loaded with good solid principles, remember in the Web world, many rules can be changed and should be broken. Read more…

Weird Management Tips From Harvard Business Review
Due to the current trends in business, I would not suggest hiring the kinds of individuals mentioned by Harvard Business. I would, however, recommend…. Read more…

5 Tips To Increase Blog Linking
I have tried a few of these and they work pretty well. Give one or all a shot and let me know what worked for you. Read more…

Free SEO And Blog Ranking Tools
Here are listed five tools that can assist you in generating better traffic and help you know the status of your blog ranking. Read more…

Tips For Designing With Typography And Color
Every designer wrestles with the use of good typography. In print, and especially on the Web, type can make or break a design. See the tips and examples below from ColorLovers. Be inspired and have fun! Read more…

Can You Rank With Paris Hilton or Britney Spears?
See for yourself by using the Bloglebrity tool from Kineda. Find out how your blog ranks on the internet. Read more…

Quotable Quote
Wilberforce: “There would be no escape from power once…”. Read more…

Your Virtual Snowglobe
For the holidays, here is your very own virtual snowglobe at AlbinoBlackSheep by E-Tractions. Try it out for yourself. You can shake it and watch the snow and little people inside go swirling about, screaming helplessly! Read more…

Related Links
- Weird Week In Review (Dec. 14)

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Your Virtual Snowglobe

For the holidays, here is your very own virtual snowglobe at AlbinoBlackSheep by E-Tractions. Try it out for yourself. You can shake it and watch the snow and little people in side go swirling about, screaming helplessly! What fun! Or, you can sit and watch what happens as the inhabitants interact within the globe. The music is fun but can become a tidbit annoying. Regardless, here is my gift to you!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Quotable Quote – Amazing Grace (the Movie)

Wilberforce: “There would be no escape from power once I have it. I’d have to see things through.”
Newton: “So, why wouldn’t you?”

- Amazing Grace (the movie)

Can You Rank With Paris Hilton or Britney Spears?

See for yourself by using the Bloglebrity tool from Kineda. Find out how your blog ranks on the internet:

The Low Authority Group [D-List Bloggers]
(3-9 blogs linking in the last 6 months)

The Middle Authority Group [C-List Bloggers]
(10-99 blogs linking in the last 6 months)

The High Authority Group [B-List Bloggers]
(100-499 blogs linking in the last 6 months)

The Very High Authority Group [A-List Bloggers]
(500 or more blogs linking in the last 6 months)

BTW- I never thought I would have Paris Hilton on this blog :)

Tips For Designing With Typography and Color

Every designer wrestles with the use of good typography. In print, and especially on the Web, type can make or break a design. See the tips and examples below from ColorLovers. Be inspired and have fun!

clipped from www.colorlovers.com Font Size, Line Height & Contrast Bad Color Choices and Bad Contrast Example: Example 2: (12pt Font, 13pt Line Height – Low Contrast) The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. Contrast: Visual Appeal Without Pictures: Good Text Design Enhances Your Message: Readability: For web designers, different browsers can also cause readability issues. In Firefox the page displays with no problems, but in IE 6 gray boxes appear behind the text that makes it nearly impossible to read. Here is another page as it appears in Firefox. The same page in IE 6.

Finally, in these days of high-bandwidth and Flash glitz and glamor, remember to think about usability. Proper use of tagging and HTML will do wonders for your audience.

Free SEO and Blog Rank Tools

I especially like the blog ranking tools — very nice.

clipped from www.techipedia.com SEO for Firefox: An excellent Firefox addon that provides users market data from Google and Yahoo search results, including PR, age of domain, links from external pages (and types), type of domain, Technorati data, Alexa ranking, DMOZ listing, number of cached pages, Bloglines subscriptions, Yahoo directory listing, and whois information. Top Ten Analysis SEO Tool: Released by Jim Boykin and company last week, this tool allows you to see a number of stats based on a domain name and a search phrase, including top 10 sites for that phrase on Google/Yahoo/MSN, number of pages in the index, backlinks, .edu/.gov site links, Alexa ranking, Google’s allinanchor rank, whois age of URL, Wayback machine age, and how often the keywords were used on this page. BlogJuice calculator is fairly new. It’s a great little tool that enables you to see how your blog is doing compared to others in your niche, or in general. Bloglebrity Tool Rank right up there with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. “How much is my blog worth?” Tool Want to sell your blog? Find out how to price it here.

5 Tips To Increase Blog Linking

I have tried a few of these and they work pretty well. Give one or all a shot and let me know what worked for you in the comment section below.

clipped from www.linkbuildingblog.com

1) Ensure you pick up all pages that mention your site but don’t link to you. So how do you go about finding these pages which mention you but don’t link to you? The manual way is to run searches such as:http://www.sitename.com “www.sitename.com”

2) Gain links from people trying to hot-link your images. If you run a site of any size or any worth then you will almost certainly have plenty of images on your site which people will want to steal, borrow, pilfer or just blog about. Patrick Altoft has written a fantastic script which allows you to gain links from anyone who is looking to use your images.

3) Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. So how about creating a competition, or award and handing it out to the top ranking sites in your sector? Everyone loves awards and the chances are that people will then link back to the source of the awards.

4) Flamebait – like linkbait only flame grilled. Working on the any PR is good PR (and equivalently, any links are good links) Andy Beal blogs about the subject in more depth here. The holy-grail for this tactic is to get sued by a company who no-one likes, that way you can get the social media crowd on your side!

5) Keep it funny schmuck. I’ll leave you on a high note with a little bit of humor. Next time someone famous in your industry makes a big announcement spend 30 mins with your favorite photo-manipulation software (mine is the gimp) and come up with (something funny) .

Weird Management From Harvard Business Review

Harvard Business recently published an article on creating innovation in your organization by:

Hiring people you don’t like, then promoting them when they defy you. Wholeheartedly committing to risky projects. Getting your happiest workers arguing, and keeping your innovators away from customers.

Now, many of you know I am all for being weird and creative. At the same time I have written extensively about common sense in management and in the workplace. While I might agree with some of these ideas, I would disagree with hiring these kinds of individuals.

Robert Sutton picked up the story at BNet and related the following:

When new hires at a toy company pointed out current products’ flaws, their behavior made senior executives “hate them.” But the complainers kept generating great new-toy ideas. The lesson? Intentionally hire unlikable, creative people.

Company culture is the big player here. If your senior brass is not open to this kind of discovery or feedback, for get it. Often, the voices from within hold less sway than a contractor’s input. Sad, but true.

Design Continuum hires engineers who have moonlighted as sculptors, carpenters, graffiti artists, and rock musicians. Their offbeat backgrounds provide a broad palette of product-design ideas to try in new ways.

I am a big advocate of learning and growing outside of your job description. The environment a”creative” employ is hired into and setting the proper expectations are keys to keeping this kind of person on staff. Unfortunately, when one or both of these is lacking, the creative hire gets frustrated and bails out. No good for either side.

Ballard Power Systems hired chemistry professor Keith Prater to develop batteries, though he lacked related experience. Prater proceeded to generate breakthroughs in fuel-cell technology that may replace internal combustion.

I love this idea, yet many in leadership see this as impractical and cannot make a business case for this kind of hire. Once again, using a contractor may be more appropriate. Bring them on staff after they have proved their worth.

Keep creative types away from customers, critics–and anyone focused only on money. Sequestered in basement offices, Data General’s “MicroKids” designed a minicomputer better and faster than if they had worked under critics’ and bosses’ eyes.

I write a lot about team work and it’s value to an organization. A team-based organization utilizes a lot of the ideas listed from this HBR article. In this instance, a team, out from under the micromanagement of their boss, was able to be more innovative, creative, and productive. Go figure.

Risky projects’ odds of succeeding increase with wholehearted commitment. Therefore, back projects that have the most dedicated, persuasive heretics on board. You can’t eliminate risk entirely, but you can ensure new ideas aren’t biased by knowledge of past successes.

Here is a huge cultural issue in many companies. Because of protecting the bottom line, business after business will shy away from perceived risky projects. They see it as a loss. The reality is, every project is risky. What may have been your bread-and-butter products and services can change very quickly in today’s business world. Embrace change.

Due to the current trends in business, I would not suggest hiring the kinds of individuals mentioned by Harvard Business. I would, however, recommend contracting them. This generation of contractors likes the flexibility and change of environments. Company leaders will like the idea of not having to commit to these weird ideas while they “test the waters” of change. In the long run, hiring may prove itself to be the best decision. Time will tell.

Related Articles
- Common Sense Management
- You Might Be A Micromanager
- Common Sense Carrots

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9 Essential Rules Of Great Web Design

From the PSDTUTS (PhotoShop Tutorials) blog comes this little article on Wed design. Though loaded with good solid principles, remember in the Web world, many rules can be changed and should be broken. Have fun!

clipped from psdtuts.com 1. Precedence (Guiding the Eye) When using a good design, the user should be led around the screen by the designer.� I call this precedence and it’s about how much visual weight different parts of your design have.To achieve precedence you have many tools at your disposal: Position Color Contrast Size Design Elements 2. Spacing Line Spacing Padding White Space 3. Navigation Navigation – Where can you go? Orientation – Where are you now? 4. Design to Build Can it actually be done? What happens when a screen is resizes? Are you doing anything which is technically difficult? Could small changes in your design greatly simplify how you build it? For large sites particularly, can you simplify things? 5. Typography Font Choices Font sizes Spacing Line Length Color Paragraphing 6. Usability Adhering to Standards Think about what users will actually do Think about user tasks 7. Alignment 8. Clarity (Sharpness) 9. Consistency – Having a good set of CSS stylesheets can also go a long way to making a consistent design.

Weird Week In Review – Dec. 14

Your one stop to review all this weeks articles on WeirdGuy. Have fun!

Stop Putting Your Audience To Sleep — Engage Them!
Edutainment. In some circles this is a dirty word. Some may respond, “I am not here to entertain, I am here to teach!” Well, let me ask you, have you ever looked out over your audience and seen people asleep? Have you ever felt like you were the only one interested in the topic you were speaking on? Read more…

Profile In Creative Learning Games – Timez Attack
Big Brainz has created a game that engages learners on multiple levels. Timez Attack is fun to play and explore! This game has an excellent blend of teaching and game play. Read more…

Attacks On Social Networks Rising
Social networks such as Facebook were one of the main targets of cybercriminals this year, according to security experts. Read more…

Quotable Quotes
Wilberforce: “No one of our age has taken power.” Pitt: “Which is why we’re too young to…. Read more…

The Superest Cartoons: Building On Creativity
I recently came across a fun blog called, The Superest. Created by friends, Kevin Cornell and Matthew Sutter, these guys take turns trying to outdo the other in creating super heroes. Read more…

WireTap Studio By Ambrosia Software
WireTap Studio from Ambrosia Software is an entirely new audio application with a broader range and appeal for Mac users everywhere. Read more…

Voyeuristic or Imaginistic?
Why is there a loss of wonder and imagination amongst many today? Could it be we are bombarded by the “real world” so much we lose the ability and turn to coping mechanisms because of stress? Read more…

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Voyeuristic vs. Imaginistic

By E. Brown

I have an ongoing debate with my best friend. We tend to disagree about some television programs. She likes Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, and Desperate Housewives, while I like shows such as LOST, Heroes, and Battlestar Galactica.

I will make fun of the drama and dysfunction of the shows she watches and she will give me a hard time about the geeky sci-fi make-believe shows I watch. Granted, we watch some of each others shows, but the tell tale sign is that I can busy myself with others things while Brothers & Sisters is on (heck, I can skip it all together) and she can do likewise with my enjoyed programming.

Yet, it occurred to me the other day….

The Difference
The shows I like are make-believe and that is why they are compelling to me. I do not want to watch “real to life” drama because I get enough real world drama every day. Through the news I read, or watch, I understand there is a great amount of hurt, brokenness, and dysfunction within the world without having to watch it. This is voyeurism.

Does this mean I am trying to escape reality? No, there is no way to accomplish that outside of mind altering prescriptions. Call me optimistic, but I like shows were the characters are pitted against challenges that I can relate to, set in creative and imaginative “worlds” where they rise above the pains and sorrows they face. Better to stimulate imagination.

Loss Of Imagination
I have tried to instill in my children the joy of reading. Taking the descriptive language of the author and using their imaginations to create the characters and worlds within their minds-eye. We have been reading such classics as:

• Journey To The Center Of The Earth
• Around The World In 80 Days
• Moby Dick
• 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
  
• The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
• The Swiss Family Robinson
• The Silver Chair, and others.

Why is there a loss of wonder and imagination amongst many today? Could it be we are bombarded by the “real world” so much we lose the ability and turn to coping mechanisms because of stress?

Imagine
Imagination is defined as:

the action of forming new ideas and concepts or images; the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.

Imagination reduces stress. It breeds innovation across vocational fields. It stimulates mental activity. Imagination is fun. It breaks new ground. It looks at issues and problems in a creative new way.

So, how about you? Are you voyeuristic or imaginistic? Let me know in the comments area below.

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WireTap Studio By Ambrosia

By E. Brown

WireTap Studio from Ambrosia Software is an entirely new audio application with a broader range and appeal for Mac users everywhere. The major feature of the original WireTap Pro application was the ability to selectively record and format audio from any Mac application. Uses ranged from recording Internet radio to ripping audio from DVDs. WireTap Studio provides a more complete solution with tools to preview, record, edit, and manage your audio.

My friend, Dalen, recently turned me onto WireTap Studio, and for only $69 that rivals most other competitors. A few standout features highlighted on the Web site:

After recording, edit your clips with WireTap Studio’s revolutionary and completely lossless editor. Lossless master recording technology enables you to edit your recorded audio without any loss of quality or content. Come back days, months, or even years later and undo the changes you’ve made. You can even take a file you mistakenly recorded at a lower quality and increase the quality at any time, without the need to re-record!

Even better, patent-pending LivePreview™ technology enables you to preview your audio before you capture it, saving you lots of time and stress. No longer will you need to record multiple bitrates and formats and then compare them side by side. Change the bitrate, compression format, or even add Audio Unit effects, and hear the changes in real time – before you record!

You can also set up a timer to record and format audio while you’re away from your computer. Also, exporting files is drag-and-drop easy. You can even export to your iPhone — cool!

After you watch the short series of tutorial videos you’ll want your own copy of WireTap Studio or you’ll want to try the free trial version. System requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or later, QuickTime 7.0 or later, 1GHz G4 or faster, or any Intel Mac

Tell me what you think in the comments section below. Have fun!

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The Superest: Building On Creativity

I recently came across a fun blog called, The Superest. Created by friends, Kevin Cornell and Matthew Sutter, these guys take turns trying to outdo the other in creating super heroes.

The Superest is a continually running game of My Team, Your Team. The rules are simple:
Player 1 draws a character with a power. Player 2 then draws a character whose power cancels the power of that previous character. Repeat.

Credit: Illustration by Kevin Cornell 2007

This is a fabulous site for exploring brainstorming and seeing the evolving ideas of two artists as they creatively seek to match wits and supers. If you visit the blog, be sure to take the link to the first hero then scroll up to see how each bests (or cancels out) the other.

Have fun!

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