Monday, December 27, 2010

Technology at the Margins: also the place I tend to scribble

I recently was part of this three day intense, mind numbing, exhausting, thought provoking, (I'm running out adjectives ) Innovative Engineering session provided by Eureka Ranch very own Doug Hall. If you ever caught the series of American Inventor Doug was one of the judges, he put Simon Cowel to shame if you want a picture of this dude.

I mention this because several times during Doug's presentation he would site how several of the "death treats" to various projects which would have caused derailment of the project was IT. The observation was vague and the venue didn't provide for a chance to drill down on the details of why as I'm sure every IT obstacle has it's roots that could be explored. But what scared me from his statements was how he insinuated that it was OK to proceed without IT. That the big bad wolf for innovation were the block heads running IT - grrrrrr.

For any successful venture to compete in today's market you need tech - it's that simple. And in some organizations the tech NEEDS to be as integrated with the strategies of the organization more now than ever before, not less and no doing an end run of IT, as Doug had suggested in the training, is ever going to help organizations especially NPO's run successful programs. Communications is key, sharing success and failures keeps us moving forward and thinking, dialoging and collaboration happens via tech solutions all the time.

I've always been a believer of breaking down the barriers between tech and non tech - bending the rules is key, being flexible in solutions is key, meeting the needs and partnering on the mission . . . . key. Yes we have to have standards, but built into those standards has to be a means to listen and adapt. IT is not The Borg - assimilation was never the plan.

What drew me to this title and several of the concepts the authors are promoting is how IT doesn't have to be the driver but instead is the glue that holds the book together. IT driven projects have a tendency to fail more often than program sponsored projects - I know this, I have lived this. Partnering with the opps programs is key to a successful tech program, I get that - always have but something has to be sure the programs are in sync with each other . . . could that something be IT?

So Doug Hall - next time you mention IT as being a "Death Threat" to innovative thinking all I have to say is . . . hey nice pad stylus attached to your Mac which was connected to the WiFi along with3 very different projectors - guess all that tech was just laying around. Anybody want fries with their tech?

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Does Twitter Retweets and Replies Infographic Support Gladwell's Argument?

Oct
26
2010


My colleagues recently passed around the infographic below from Gizmodo, In Twitter No One Can Hear You Scream, that questions whether people are really paying attention to what you say on Twitter. It shows that 71% of tweets get no reaction (retweets or replies) at all, while 23% get an @reply, and a tiny 6% actually get retweeted. Of that 6% sliver, 92% of the retweets happen in the first hour, suggesting that the window for you to be heard via your tweet is quite short.

This made me think about the article that Malcolm Gladwell wrote for the New Yorker, Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, published a few weeks ago, that elicited a firestorm of debate online. In short, he asserts that Twitter and Facebook activism doesn't have the power to create real social change due to the "weak ties" between "friends" and "followers" on these social networking sites. As you can imagine, this set bloggers, social media gurus, and especially the social media for social good-ers, a-blaze. The Dragonfly Effect blog, based on the book, which discusses how to use social media to drive social change, has a roundup of just some of the many reactions to Gladwell's article.

As I summarized the slactivism argument in my post, Has Do-Gooding Gone Mainstream, the internet and social media has made it so much easier for people to raise their virtual hands online to support a cause, but as the information depicted in the chart below questions, are those virtual hands really being noticed? Could Gladwell be right?

500x_retweets-replies-v2.jpg

Comments

I found this very interesting . . . or perhaps the coffee hadn't kicked in so my brain wasn't able to form it's own thoughts, but it does seem there's a LOT of noise on Twitter - trying to filter it all is becoming a time challenge for me.

Am I imagining this or has the latest trend on Twitter reporting and blocking spammers? I have seen some of the most hateful and idiotic items tagged to my account recently and I have no idea why or how. I just know I seem to be hitting "block and report as spam" a lot more than ever before.

Bottom line for me is that I find Twitter useful for various functions: conferences, sharing what I am learning at an event, following entertainment - you can always find me tweeting during Top Chef for instance - it's at these moments you further the experience and make connections. Twitter does have it's purpose and can be a useful tool but perhaps the questions we all have to remember to ask is: "Are people really paying attention to what you say on Twitter?" and "Has our ability to share been drowned out by all the noise?"

Gladwell is wrong, there is good if not GREAT stuff happening out in the cloud - we just have to have the patience and tools to find it.

Michael Sola heads up the IT program at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Social Networking Action - Qik Video Droid Apps feeds to Livestream to Facebook

Qik Video Camera

Posted by droidapps
May 6, 2010

Qik is an online live video streaming service that draws live video from thousands of smartphones equipped with the Qik app. It lets you take live video from your Droid and have the video be visible on the Qik website for the world to see. You can also enable privacy controls that enable to confine the viewers to just friends and family. The app is very simple, launch Qik and start shooting live video.

Droid Apps - Qik

The app has been updated since its early release to support high-resolution video. Qik works best over Wi-Fi, and until 4G hits the airways this is probably going to remain the case. Over 3G, the service works pretty well, but can throw up unexpected disconnects and skipping frames every now and then. The app makes it very easy to share live videos, and you can send out links to Twitter and Facebook from within the app itself. If you enjoy broadcasting live video, you’ll love this Droid app.

I started playing with the Qik app last year when I still had my Berry - I got back into the app when I was looking at something unique for the Droid, streaming a mobile video back to a Facebook page.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to sit in on a planning meeting that would have some of our outreach folks engage various government officials to address higher education groups anxious to interact with their representatives. NWF has a plethora of Facebook fan pages such as the Choose Clean Water that helps connect many to our programs, I thought this may be an opportunity to drive some traffic back to the pages, engage and use the social media tools for something really fun especially as the DC Clean Water conference is fast approaching. http://www.facebook.com/choosecleanwater?v=app_142371818162&ref=ts

Last week I had placed the Livestream connector to the Clean Water page in Facebook, it's a cool interface that will feed your Livestream account and when you broadcast feed that content to the Facebook page under a unique tab.

The tools on Qik allow me to register my mobile to the Qik account which I created. Qik allows me to set up feeds to multiple services, which I used to link with Twitter and announce the available media I have collected from the tool. AND the feed I really like . . . . say it with me: Livestream!

So Qik extends the method in which Livestream collects video, Livestream allows an interactive component to Facebook, Facebook becomes the portal with which to engage an already active community of fans and potential new constituents on a different level. Did I mention this was all free?

This could be fun: lights, camera . . . . social networking action!

Michael Sola heads up the IT program at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Why Entertainment Will Drive the Next Checkin Craze

I can see this happening, geo-tagging where you are while out and about like Foursquare services provides is certainly a marketing and sharing tool but the idea of tracking, commenting and providing insight into viewing habits takes those little Nielson services to a whole new level.

I was surprised to see that 3 out 4 viewers are already online while watching their fave episode of Mad Men or what ever they are into. What I like about the concept is being able to not only share what you are watching but also comment or even better have a conversation with those that are doing the same.

The worry I have is do I have to build a separate network or can I just tap my existing ones? I find the Foursquare network building to be more self serving then actually something you can celebrate or build on. Perhaps the culture of entertainment as the Mashable piece http://bit.ly/aRweGA suggests will better engage the social networking environment especially with the iPad and mobile options.

It's just a matter of time before it all merges into one big melting pot - I'm just hoping my smart remote can control the new world.

- Michael Sola heads up the IT Dept at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings

Saturday, August 07, 2010

No Fear, Google Wave Decision Shows Strong Innovation and Balls!

I remember when I first saw the Wave promotion, the 90 min video demo'ing the product, it even showed the technical meltdown that happened during the demo which I thought was ballsy - but in the back of my head I kept saying "huh" like Tom Hanks in Big said during board room - "I don't get it" and I didn't get it and I had a few years on the "child like" approach Hanks portrayed in Big.

I tried for about a month to get into Wave but it just didn't click. Evidently I wasn't alone but I'm not commenting about that today, what I am thinking about is how Google, as discussed in this Harvard Business Review, had the gumption to pull the plug and move on.

Innovation is good, failure is part of the formula - we all trip and fall before we walk so why don't we celebrate our failures more often in the tech world? Isn't that how we learn and grow? How many of us have tried to implement or move tech in a direction that utterly failed and we tried to forget or bury it rather then celebrate the attempt and learn from it?

As the Matrix Group http://www.matrixgroup.net so eloquently said on a recent Facebook post: " . . . they ( Google ) have the courage to shut down initiatives that don't quit succeed, without punishing the project owners and learning a lot from the efforts! Impressive, indeed! Is your organization holding on to any dead horses?"

Admitting you have a lame duck software solution in place is a hard pill to swallow, stepping up or rather standing up for change that may go against the culture . . . now that takes balls!

- Michael Sola heads up the IT Dept at NWF, blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings

Saturday, July 31, 2010

HOW do you Promote Video Through Email? or Avoiding the RED X Box of Death

NetWits Think Tank has a very informative piece here related to management and placement of video for email distribution - I recall having this conversation years ago. In fact every so often we run into this same problem today even with something as simple as images and how they get deployed within emails.

In a recent discussion one of our staff members in Montana was trying to distribute a vanity plate image for the state that would help promote the 'No Child Left Inside" legislation. NCLI would put environmental sciences back front and center in our education system as there is a "Nature deficit" that is a real concern to many of us with kids. www.nwf.org/kidsoutside

Getting back to the issue of emailing the image reminded me of the steps NetWits promotes for sharing video. How many times have you waited for a simple image to process because the sender didn't bother to reduce the size? I don't need a 3MB JPG file, I get the same results with a 70KB file. And then the annoying "RED X Box of Death" that Outlook will put out there when trying to protect me from seeing Allysa Milano in a towel . . . stepping out of a shower no less - I think the towel is moist but again I digress.

Sharing video and images via email is a tried and true method of promoting. It polishes up the message and gives that "wow" factor. And while social networking provides even greater means to distribute such material, email still remains as a viable tool. Knowing how to properly use these tools is key to effective messaging.

So let's be careful out there . . . did I mention the towel was moist?

Resources for this post:

- Keith Power / Milano Real Man Challenge: http://bit.ly/awqkdd
- Outlook management of images: http://bit.ly/9RJtqS
- National Wildlife Federation - Reversing Nature Deficit: http://bit.ly/9NikQq
- My brain . . . there isn't a link for that, it's way big

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Has Facebook Fatigue Set In?

Numbers always speak volumes in my world but sometimes it's whats behind the numbers which intrigues me.

While some will look at the May / June new accounts in social networking behemoth Facebook user base as modest you have to factor in the change of seasons, school and graduations, holiday and vacations. But then again as this article from Wired suggests: have we become Facebook fatigued?

With over 41 percent of Americans already using Facebook in some capacity I do see a decline in the interactions and frequency of use. This could translate into less "hype" from those already on it or perhaps it's translated into a "blah" syndrome that isn't exciting newbies from joining.

I don't know if as a culture we have reached a saturation point, certainly you can't seem to escape the media attention, the groups and individuals who are capitalizing on the "fan" and "like" aspects. Calls to action remain specific to what tugs at the heart strings - giving for causes still remains a challenge but that's not surprising given the demographics and generational expectations of how this medium is being used.

Let's not kid ourselves, Facebook / Twitter - none of that is going away as it's now part of the everyday medium, but I do see more niche services using the same approach. Take the UK based service: SkinBook. I'm not kidding, social networking for people who accept nudist as the norm . . . don't worry the link is the Time Magazine article, you can click and be safe! http://bit.ly/cBdSoj

Hey I'm no prude and to each his own as they say but it shows to what levels of connecting we are looking to go when services of this type are popping up all over the net. And here's something else to consider, Full Emersion in the Cyberworld is Coming http://shar.es/mFRJK meaning within 10 years so much of what we do will be virtual that Facebook and Twitter will become folklore.

I wonder who my avatar will be in 10 years?

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Gulf Could be Saved by Oil-Eating Microbes

I've been on a rant lately between my Tweets along with my Facebook posts on what is or rather what ISN'T happening in the Gulf. It breaks my heart when I hear the plight of the families, the waterman, the Americans who on this 4th of July don't have a lot to celebrate as their way of life - their culture has for the most part fallen apart due to greed, mismanagement and a total disregard for the very lives these bastards are making a fortune on.

I originally saw a video from another story about Microbes and how in Texas many many years ago this Gutsy Solution could restore the environment in Just 6 Weeks. Cleaning and saving wildlife is just a small piece, we have to control and destroy what is in the water before the dead zone kills it all. This microbe solution looks promising but here's the kicker, it's NOT being used! http://bit.ly/9yOPJB

I sometimes go back to the premise "what if I was King" - what would I do if I was in charge. For one thing I would put into action every tool, every resource and try anything and everything. I watched the Presidents address a few weeks back about the spill and he mentioned the bringing together of the best minds and I sarcastically said: "you're doing that now? how many weeks has it been and you're bringing great minds together now?"

How about loosening restrictions that allow foreign boats designed for oil extraction to come closer to US coast lines for help or don't restrict access of the press as the Coast Guard is now doing http://bit.ly/9pCbcf or tell BP they can't muzzle the volunteers and groups doing the work as they try with their "non disclosure" agreements forced upon all who work for them and if you don't believe me take a listen to Kindra Arnesen of Venice LA http://bit.ly/c0N06z

You remember the movie Dazed and Confused? There was a line said by a teacher just as school was letting out which in a sense applies: "Okay guys, one more thing, this summer when you're being inundated with all this
American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don't forget what you're celebrating: that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes."

Let's not kid ourselves, this is all about greed. It's not about slavery and not necessarily about taxes but what I'm seeing as the obstacles in making things right and changing our dependency is very much connected to greed. When is that going to change?

- Michael Sola heads up the IT Dept at NWF, blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Crude Awakening: BP Oil Spill/NWF Spec PSA

This video, while highlighting the tragedy in the gulf in a very creative and different way, is a pure example of what happens when a supporter takes the power and creativity of social networking into their own hands. It also shows when organizations like NWF can embrace and promote messaging from outside.

I'm reminded of something I read in the new book Network NonProfits from Beth Kanter and Allison Fine http://amzn.to/c0GrI7 - non profits who branch out and can embrace the messaging tools both from inside and outside are doing it right.

Right on "screamvid" or who ever you are that posted this very engaging PSA, your actions are a shining example of how this can work!

- Michael Sola heads up the IT department at NWF, contributing writer to Internet Management for NonProfits http://amzn.to/b3yxvN, blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings

Saturday, June 12, 2010

How is this year's FIFA World Cup a victory for the Amazon Rainforest?

I'm constantly blown away by how NWF engages at so many levels and so quickly. I have been working with a team at our National Advocacy Center in DC who have been focusing on international efforts, Brazil deforestation is one area in particular as it's impact on Global Climate Change is a critical point.

Now before I start on how Soccer or as they call it abroad "football" is playing a role I have to go on record and say I've never been a soccer enthusiast. Perhaps it was the days of watching my kids play what we called "bunch ball" where they would surround the ball in a bunch and move with the ball. Of course seeing the precision of pros placing the ball from one end to another is a skill I certainly don't have but I can appreciate the intensity they play the game at.

It was about a year ago a friend of mine was trying to convince me Soccer was a sport worth following, that the excitement in the stands makes an American Football game look like a tea party - well maybe a Baseball audience, I've some real fever antics happening at a Ravens game. I guess seeing initiatives like Team Amazon bring attention to deforestation in this way reinforces my appreciation of the sport. Now if I can figure out how this "bunching" thing works and who to root for . . .

So follow along NWF's World Cup web page http://www.nwf.org/worldcup on opening day of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, to raise awareness of the connection between leather products (including soccer balls, cleats, and apparel) and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

Jonathan Spector, Defender on the U.S. National Team, is showing his support for NWF by "rooting for the Amazon rainforest!" Will you?

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings

Saturday, May 15, 2010

NonProfits need Technology like hotdogs need mustard . . . or is it ketchup?

 In my first year now with the National Wildlife Federation as their lead technologist my charge is to manage a rather complex infrastructure while providing a level of service that meets the mission of the organization. I'm a 20 plus year vet in the tech world and I've seen the industry from the start grow and change sometimes at staggering rates.  What I really dig about the NWF gig is how this organization utilizes and isn't afraid of embracing technology.  When you look at our web and social networking presence it's hard to find any other NPO that do it as well. NWF is refreshing but not without it's challenges, for instance . . .

When I began a year ago the group was struggling with the implementation of an internal SharePoint platform - this is a software system that was intended to better share, collaborate and document our workflow within and between departments.  But it became clear to me we had some cultural and software challenges before this system could be embraced by staff to better their outreach and program work in bringing wildlife along with climate causes to the public and to our members.

Complicating matters, our email platform was just a tad behind the times, this needed to be upgraded if we were going to make SharePoint work.  While there was a desire to migrate the email platform before I came on board the cost and cultural change was daunting, but being the new guy on the block I wasn't afraid to try. Knowing the in's and out's of how to manage something as core to any organization as email was, is as natural to me as breathing, it was time to put my geek hat with the little propeller on it aside and start to really listen. The culture change for some was going to be the biggest obstacle as we have some long term staff who hadn't worked with any other email platform. All they knew was GroupWise their entire professional career so moving this core group and doing it well I saw as an opportunity but not without it's perils.  

One of my peers, Peter Campbell from Earth Justice, likes to say "It's not that people are afraid of change, they fear disruption"  and he's right but changing how an organization functions with using email is as big a disruption as you can imagine.  

Addressing the quantity of email and the storage implications was one of the biggest challenges, who to partner with while factoring in a cost effective solution was the other.  We identified 10 different NWF location of mail servers holding a staggering 4 terabytes of mail.  Terabyte is 10 to the 12th power or if you look at the US Library of Congress they have 100 TB of electronic files - our single organization had 4.  We had some serious pack rats in our midst and for an organization that numbered just under 400 that quantity of mail was staggering.

To combat this problem we held our own "Biggest eMail Loser" contest - complete with prizes and "weigh ins" and as a result we trimmed that number down to around 2.5 TB but still large enough to make the migration a painful and time consuming process.  Plus it meant we would have to add to the infrastructure, more servers, more hardware, more systems to manage and that included the need to archive our mail, more time and internal resources.  And let's not forget all of that meant more energy, more cooling, more impact to the climate.

From an implementation perspective I turned to the regions power house tech group System Source based on Hunt Valley MD who for years and years had a positive history in migrating email platforms. These guys and gals were great to partner with.  They kept the consulting time to a minimum, got my tech team on track and we began to implement a well thought out industry standard plan.  To complement and save us from spending a small fortune on archiving and storage hardware we turned to another juggernaut of the industry, Google.  

Google provided an option for us that will be one of the biggest cultural obstacles the organization will face, storing old mail in the cloud and not in your client.  I had repeatedly stated that email was never intended to be a file storage system and yet that is what it became for a great many of us.  Statistically there are a plethora of formulas that documents how much time we all spend on email.  That number I hope is going to fall as more lines of communications like Twitter and Yammer takes messaging in a different direction but for now email is still that "enterprise app" that we all live on and we as technologist take very seriously.

Moving to Google for both mail filtering and archive services was no easy process.  Speaking of taking email serious, Google leads that charge.  Our testing process was extreme, the search functions while robust still has staff yearning for category tags or some folder structure, which Google doesn't provide. 

The other challenge was coming to terms with the "green" impact.  While moving mail storage to Google meant NWF would lessen our own power and cooling needs, what about Google's green commitment.  We effectively would be removing servers and storage from 10 locations, we would NOT have to add more hardware infrastructure to our headquarters, less energy to cool our server rooms - our Carbon Footprint reduction would be considerable.

Now it was up to Google to maintain, store, cool and power these systems.  How green was Google?  There is a lot of talk about that question but the video below below shows a desire and an intent to indeed practice what they preach. Getting them to make that same commitment at their data centers will be critical to taking that last step towards green tech.

Leading the charge for my nonprofit to streamline our carbon footprint is a win win in my book.  To lessen our impact on climate and better connect our infrastructure which in turn means better ways for us to engage and have a positive impact to wildlife, education of children and fight for a climate that we can pass on to the next generation makes my pocket protector glow with pride.  I'm proud of my team and happy with my partners.  

Yes, I like to rock the boat a bit, after all I like mustard and ketchup on my hotdogs. 

- Michael Sola heads up the IT department at NWF, contributing writer to Internet Management for NonProfits http://amzn.to/b3yxvN, blogger, invited presenter and speaker.  Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola

 

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Keeping Your Nonprofit Safe from Spam

It's not a new topic but I am always surprised when I have staff come to me and complain about how they get hit with new waves of Spam. I've been a fan of the "filter at the gate" approach, long time user of the Google filtering services called Postini provides both enterprise controls while allowing staff to manage their own mail.

And isn't that the point? We should each of us be responsible for our own mail and take responsbility for that influx of mail but so many of us just don't think it through.

My friends at Wild Apricot posted a nice piece about some simple steps you can take to reduce the chance of being labeled a "Spammer" which can cause a lot of grief. http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2010/05/10/keep-your-nonpro...

We are in the midst of migrating from GroupWise email platform to Outlook / Exchange environment. Out cut over happens the end of the month, lots of moving parts, but the end is in sight and the planning, testing and training is paying off. Part of the process was to solicit feedback from staff via focus groups in order to gauge how staff use the current system.

One of the uses I am well aware of is staff who select the local / internal email client to circumvent the normal bulk email web distribution process and instead contact their lists via internal channels. This is a concern for many reasons, one of which is you can't put measurements on open rates, click thru or tie that interaction back to a constituents record.

But here is a concern you may not have thought of: what happens if something you send via your client side system like Outlook ends up being flagged as Spam and the organization internal email servers gets flagged as a Spammer? How is that going to fly getting blacklisted?

So while it's an old Hillstreet Blues line to use, it's relevant: "Let's be careful out there." Think, for the love all things digital please think.

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Podcasting: Intimidating? Yesterdays medium? or are you plain scared?

For the record, yes - those are actual turntables behind me, I'm wearing a Blue Oyster Cult T-Shirt that is still in my closet and that production board I have my hands on had actual dials. It's retro all right and it was on the top 10 list of things I did and had a blast doing!

Radio 64, WDTU Delhi - or as we called it "Delaware Counties Leading College Radio Station" The secret was, we were the ONLY SUNY college radio station in Delaware County so that was the joke! Why am I sharing this? For one thing almost ANYBODY could have joined the station (and they did) but all you needed to be successful was have a willingness to be yourself, enjoy your style of music, and have fun.

Not a far stretch for the same requirements to host a podcast!

In Atlanta GA at the 10th annual NonProfit Technology Conference I was extremely fortunate to sit in on an awesome "We Are Media Podcasting Workshop" — As part of the We Are Media Project, my bud and co-presenter Chad Norman, Blackbaud’s Internet marketing manager and host of The Baudcast, let me crash the workshop on podcasting basics for nonprofit.

I found the session to be one of the best hands on experiences at a conference such as NTC - we actually broke into teams of two and using simple, free tools set off to create a pod cast. My co-podcasting partner was Leah Hazard marketing/social media for Mercy Corps, she can be found at http://twitter.com/lhazardous Leah was a natural at conversation, even though she complained of being jet lagged. Having a conversation is half the effort. This concept may scare off some of you but here is the secret: it's easier then you think AND all you have to remember is to be yourself.

One of the DJ training concepts I used while managing the WDTU radio station was to tell potential DJ's to relax and just think of the microphone as a friend you are having a conversation with. I believe people see a microphone and they naturally tense up. I have a friend who says I have an Al Michaels style - not sure I buy that and apologies to Al but if you listen to Michaels style, he's just talking, there is nothing forced when the man speaks and that my friends is the key.

One of the many fine points Chad made during the workshop was to be prepared. If you are taking this medium serious and keep in mind, audio pod casting has an audience and should be one of the many tools you keep in your "how you market / message your brand" toolbox. Know some background of the folks you're talking with, have an outline of talking points related to the topic in order to keep the conversation moving - you want to be able to interject if you feel the person you are interviewing starts rambling and more importantly you want some sort of flow. You are the moderator or Chevy Chase said in Caddyshack, BE the ball!

Conversation is great but in the end, where is the conversation going? Sticking to a theme is typical of what one expects of this medium, you don't want to drone on for too long but don't be afraid to go off message if the talk is engaging or entertaining. Part of this should be fun but for goodness sake don't read a script and keep in mind, the attention span of your listener is SHORT. Play to that concept. The worst thing you can do is have a podcast where it sounds like you're reading prepared script.

The We Are Media wiki has some good talking points and simple directions for getting started.

http://www.wearemedia.org/page/diff/NTC+Podcasting/72286737

Software tools to create, edit and publish are plentiful. Audacity is an awesome free tool for the capturing and editing process and we all know how iTunes can distribute, hosting services is key if you want to make the files available and stored for your program. Skype is another service to use if you plan on doing your interview in different locations. And don't worry about Mac vs PC, there is a solution for everybody.

http://skypetips.internetvisitation.org/articles/record_skype_calls.html

Do you need to spend a small fortune on equipment? NO I'll say that again: NO. Using Amazon you can find M-Audio options along with some very inexpensive microphones to start your audio integration kit and for under $300 I was able to set up a two mic stand system and mixer that connected via USB either for the Mac or Windows platform. Piece of cake. If you want even simpler, just pickup a $40 headset with a mic and earphone jack - now we're talking on the cheap!

So here it is: the tips, suggestions, strategy of the workshop. Hope you have fun and stay tuned, I'm looking forward to saying: "Do you believe in miracles?" or was that Al - I should try something original . . .

Notes from Audio Podcasting at the NTC 2010

Schedule - how often should you do a podcast? bi-weekly may have higher hit rate then weekly, gives them time to catch up

Setting up the software to bit rate of 128 is fine - LAME is the plugin for Audacity that creates the standard MP3 file format. mp3 encoder is necessary for Audacity - search for the right platform of LAME on audacity web site

In the settings of Audacity you can adjust the dynamic range if your recording sounds too tiny - ratio 6:1 threshold -22 db - will change how people sound, play with the settings

Plan on an hour for every 10 min for editing

Do you want to add music to your Podcast? Lots of music requires royalty fees but if you want "safe / free music" - musicalley.com

Recording in Mono allows for smaller file sizes

Using Effects in Audacity - can slow down a fast talker, Noise removal can also be useful if where you are recording has background noise that is distracting but be careful using this as you need a noice sample first,

Fade in and out is your friend

Save your file and save often, Audacity has bad habit of crashing - keep in mind, it's free and you get what you pay for!

Using Export as MP3 starts a dialog box, this where you put in a title for tagging purposes, metadata is stored at this level - descriptions feeds into the iTunes library

Once the file is opened in iTunes - right click and select Get Info
144 x 144 are safe deminsions for artwork logo

Keep in mind, iTunes points to files, they don't host it, you still need a hosting service. Libsyn for $5 a month great source for holding the files. They will also produce the RSS feeds automatically. RSS drives every podcast and used for subcription -

If you go for your own hosting this is where a little know how comes into play as tweaking the XML file is what will drive subscriptions and notify your followers of new additions to your podcast library.

Measuring the success of your listeners will be important for showing that all important metrics or ROI. Using Feedburner to get Metrics or Google reader is another option, you won't get metrics with just iTunes

Another hosting service http://archive.org/details/audio is a free hosting service

Know the audiance - ask questions based on knowledge, do homework - don't be afraid to let control go - moderate, sometimes you can prep your guests and ask questions ahead of time, as a moderator keep the flow going

Have permission that you are going to post / publish before the interview - remind those on the show you will be recording the session and make sure you capture that in your original raw MP3 file. Your finished product should always have a different name then the raw file you capture during your "conversation".

Have FUN - relax, it's not brain surgery - it's Podcasting.

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Yes #10NTC, I do blog, is there a support group for that?

The official opening day of the 10th Nonprofit Technical Conference coordinated by NTEN was an amazing experience.  The connections you make, the friends you reconnect with, extending the friendships from digital to personal all makes for a rousing experience.  Sharing, StoryTelling, Learning and Teaching - it all happens in small places and under one roof and I am so greatful to be part of this group - NTEN is like family.
 
Ok -  Now let me tell you my impression of the sessions of the official Day 1. 
 
First session I attended I was actualy part of a panel that focused on pure tech, these were my peeps.  Organizations struggling with mobile device proliferation, security of data, policy enforcement, culture adoption and how to manage the gadget overload.  My bud Peter who leads the tech for Earth Justice in San Fran spearheaded the team who put the T back in Technical and my hats off to him.  He's an innovator and has an awesome network which I am proud to be part of.  In this session I was glad to see I wasn't alone in my struggles and feel better now that I can bring back some of the inspiring and shared solutions.
 
The other speakers I was able to see was the opening session from Andrew Sullivan.  Andrew had a story to tell, the buzz though from my tech peeps was they didn't learn anything new.  And in fact Andrew focused soley on his rise from author to blogger.
 
What I found so gratifying from Andrew was he reaffirmed why we in the industry connect and build our tribes.  We learn from each other, we share with each other, we make change happen with each other.  Yes, it wasn't the next new widget but he was still an well gifted speaker and I grabbed some great quotes from him AND he managed to quote Cartman from South Park - instant points in my book.
 
The next speaker session was the dynamid duo Beth Kantler and Allison Fine - seeing these two social networking diva's together was like an old Abbott and Costello act - they played off each other to a standing room only audience and talked about what their new book "the Networked Nonprofit" was about and how it got to print

Again, not necessarily teaching the eager crowd anything new but reaffirned what and how to engage.  Using social media to drive change was the clear message and I managed to actually put a face to Allison and Beth who before that I only knew online - and I snagged an autograph plus NWF's diva @starfocus got a nice shout out as an example of who's doing it right.
.
 
My main take away was simple - as all my tech peers and I have had to do these past few years, we make do with what we have - we harness the tools we got and make the most of them to help our front line do their thing.  We are in a place right now where the "tackle box" is overflowing with bait, lures, hooks - none of us should be woried about where we fish, but OMGeeeeee get out there and fish!
 
If you're not following my tweets - and why aren't you?  here are a few highlights from Andrew Sullivan.  One more day and looking forward to some rack time back home.  Till then . . . Peace out!
  • The human experience can & does happen live and all the time even via blogs. the emotions can change you Andrew Sullivan
  • Manning up, owning up to posting a mistake which happens over 10 yrs of blogs is a morale building moment Andrew Sullivan
  • People are more grown up then you think - not every post has to be on message. Far more rewards being personal Andrew Sullivan #10NTC
  • Andrew Sullivan quietly quoted Eric Cartman of South Park - I caught it, who else did? #10NTC.AS #10NTC
  • Moving from writer w/ distance w/ followers to having a conversation meant letting go barriers, welcome the challenge Andrew Sullivan #10NTC
  • The human experience can & does happen live and all the time even via blogs. the emotions can change you Andrew Sullivan #10NTC.AS #10NTC

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Thursday, April 08, 2010

It's Day 2 of 10NTC in PollenLanta - can't call it HOT

Arrived in Atlanta for the 10th NTEN sponsored Nonprofit Technology Conference 2010 yesterday where the Delta airline pilot indicated the haze we saw in the sky was all Pollen, yes, green pollen, it was nasty but soon forgotten as we made our way to the conference session at CNN Omni.
 
Nice diggs, although the $6 bottle of water seemed pricy and who puts a scale in the bathroom anymore?  Really, you want me to weigh myself?  I think not, save your scale money, lower the water costs.
 
Moving on the first order of biz was to pop over to the NWF Atlanta office - riding the MARTA we had an awesome afternoon meeting with the staff and checking out their work space.  10th floor view of a very nice section of the town, minus the pollen fog of course.  Sharing how the tech program at NWF was playing out first hand went over very well.  There is something for making that personal touch, the face to face that I think goes a long way.  Even did a little troubleshooting and expedited some help desk issues.  So yes, NWF Atlanta visit - huge success.
 
Now it's early morning Day 2 - I'm off to crash a Podcasting workshop my good friend Chad Norman from Blackbaud is hosting.   The morning workshops were special ordered for members which I somehow missed but Chad was most accommodating as always.  Hope to soak it all in and learn, share and learn - it's what makes #10NTC such a success.
 
More to come . . .

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Monday, April 05, 2010

National Wildlife Photo Contest 2009 Winners

and the NWF photo contest winners are . . . .

Being part of the staff I know the painstaking time my fellow work-mates go through selecting the pics. Enjoy, some awesome pics.

The contest link can be found at http://www.nwf.org/photocontest

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Saturday, March 27, 2010

damaged wing . . .

it's true, typing with one hand is worst then the "executive typing" method.

Early March I ended up having rotator cup surgery, it's a long story but I tried to be Andre Agassi but with more hair and a far worst overhead lob, and tear was the result.  Recoup has been difficult - in the process they pinched a nerve in my back during the procedure and now my sciatic is acting up making sitting or sleeping near impossible, fun ( not )

So in conclusion, limited typing and little time to collect my thoughts but pondering is all I seem to do.  

April will be a busy month for me so expect more posts in case you were having withdrawal . . . I'm looking forward to traveling to Hotlanta for the annual NTEN conference http://www.nten.org/  - I'm also on a panel because I opened up my big mouth and said yes, but I'm happy to share as that is what this conference is all about, sharing our stories.

April will also see the release of Internet for NonProfits where I was a chapter contributor, before the loss of my right wing.   I don't make any money but will be happy to sign autographs!

Till next time . . . 

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Drawing a Facebook line - this far no further

Call me loco but am I getting more Facebook friend requests from total strangers then ever before?  Not talking about "friend recommendations" or a "friends in common" request but total strangers. I am, I'm not crazy.

I've been writing recently about how email clients and the act of emailing has evolved thanks to social networking tools.  Earlier this year it was reported that texting, IMing, Tweets and social networking has outpaced the actual "phone call" or voice interactions we once had with each other.  It's far more efficient to send out blast messages and inform dozens or hundreds at a time rather then making one phone call to one person at a time.  Yes, I agree we loose that personal touch unless of course the blast can relay our creative or our persona.  We all know how well our emotions and charisma can be translated into the digital stream - or not.

I recently had a conversation with my good friend and co-worker Danielle aka @starfocus about the increased number of friend requests I have seen since opening up my Gmail profile and the Buzz bizz.  I think we are in two different camps on this one.  Where Danielle sees Facebook as a tool to connect to as many people who relate or respond to her passionate love for wildlife, I have struggled over the years as to who I should be friending in Facebook and why.

Originally it was connecting to folks I had met or interacted with on a professional level before I had gotten started with LinkeIn.  The professional people I wanted to stay connected with on a personal level who went beyond LinkedIn made the FaceBook list.  Then of course co-workers started to jump on the list - this was good and bad.  Of course came the eventual class mates, old friends, distant friends requests.  Eventually family who ventured into the Digital Immigrant land, but even that was met with resistance.  Do I really want to mix this menagerie of friends in one place?  I know folks who actually keep separate Facebook accounts for this very reason - talk about going Loco, I would be bonkers keeping it all straight.  

But it's too late, Facebook has become the mechanism to communicate for everything.  I have seen spouses sitting in the same room having conversations on their mobiles . . . with each other!  It's cute and it's bizarre all at the same time.

Recently my wife who teaches high school students overheard her kids stating to each other at various times in the day: "oh just Facebook me"  or "no, don't email me, send it my face".  Is this possibly why Google has transposed it's Gmail client to be more socially interactive?  Why Microsoft Outlook will be placing Social network gadgets into the mix like the OSC? ( Outlook Social Connector - yes, another acronym to learn ) They already have some plug-in's like with Yammer and LinkedIn - Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are logical next step progressions, yet I have to ask: Where is the line now?

For those of us charged with infrastructure and security concerns of our respective organizations the hair on the back of your neck should be standing at attention, mine is.  That line in the sand is quickly fading and that English chick who I don't know but wants to be my Facebook friend is looking awfully tempting . . . 

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Google Buzz, the biz is buzzin

Pardon the pun but there has been a lot of buzz about Buzz. I know, it's not original but what do you want for nothing? :)

I see a lot of potential in this little add-on as Google makes another attempt at bringing the social networking concepts more integrated and more intertwined. They took a page right out of my very own playbook on a recent SharePoint project - people manage and live via their email client.

When I started at NWF my first project was launching an upgrade to the SharePoint platform that had been put in place but had slow adoption by the staff. I made the case that unless our organization was on Outlook and using Exchange as opposed to Groupwise we would never fully harness the integration services that the SharePoint platform has to offer. This sounds familiar, yes?

It was agreed, the application for email management was the key to bringing these tools together and hence I started an Exchange / Outlook migration because I wanted integration beyond plain email.

So no surprise at all to see the Google designed gadgets and new Buzz features which totally integrate with Gmail. But it has not been without some worry and pain.

I can't say that their claim to privacy and notification restraints are there yet, in fact when I was getting flooded with updates from total strangers tweet feeds via Buzz, my patience wore thin. To complicate matters I have my Gmail set up to notify me on my Blackberry when new mail arrives - - - that now includes Buzz whether I want it or not and I can't seem to stop it.

And another pet peeve I have is there seems to be no rhyme or reason when the updates to Buzz are delivered. I see them hitting the account in waves, not in real time.

And then of course lets not forget how Google totally forgot that eMail services has a perception of privacy - that went out the door with Buzz, oops. ZDNet goes into the legal aspects of this little flub but it says a lot about the maturity of the interface. http://government.zdnet.com/?p=7216

There are a lot of folks already jumping on the Buzz-wagon and rightfully so, it has tremendous potential and could become yet another easy tool and stomping ground for people in the Non Profit world to collaborate and share their causes.

My concern is centered around the time aspects - do I have time to scroll through yet another tool that collects and distributes observations, thoughts, comments, pictures, links . . . isn't that what Twitter is for? Is Buzz the new Twitter, the new light at the end of the tunnel? Or is the light yet another on coming train?

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Monday, February 15, 2010

Facebook - aka the new Pen Pal, self expression optional

This past week I was introduced to a piece from Andrew Sullivan titled "Facebookistan" where he shared a contributors comments on what I will tag as the "evils of Facebook" Katja Grace opened the first paragraph, and I quote:

. . . while Katja Grace considers Facebook social conventions:

People who talk about themselves a lot are generally disliked. A likable person will instead subtly direct conversation to where others request the information they want to reveal. Revealing good news about yourself is a good sign, but wanting to reveal good news about yourself is a bad sign.

Best to do it without wanting to. This appears true of most human interaction, but apparently not of that on Facebook.

There is a sense of truth to this, I have in the past taken shots at how people use Facebook. My exception to this line of thinking is, I think the bigger point is being missed. Now before I state my point I want to go on record as I do have this yen to not only being likable but as factual as possible: I have no scientific proof or any case studies to make this claim, only observations, conversations and actual participation.

People can get lost in the genre if they let themselves, they tend to feel empowered by the keyboard and expectation of having an audience, they want to express themselves in an area that reaches a far greater range then their network could ever reach face to face. They connect with people they would never ever normally have reached without the platforms social networking offers.

I think Grace's comments miss the mark. People who talk about themselves are NOT disliked, some of the most outgoing, charismatic people I know break the very rule Grace seems to think is bad about Facebook which I find to be not only endearing but expected of the personalities.

We are looking at the change our next generations is in the process of - there will soon be no more "pen pal" experience. Our means of connecting is now digital and if I WANT to reveal news about myself or talk about myself and what I'm doing with myself ( in a PG family way of course ) then I will as that's what we now can do.

Get your head out of your butt Katja and tell us what you had for breakfast - I had a bowl of oatmeal topped with blueberries a sprinkling of organic cinnamon and a touch of honey . . . . mmmmm

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/02/facebookistan.html

http://michaelsola.posterous.com/time-drain-or-time-savings-your-call-but-face

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Daily Show takes "Unusually Large Snow" and "Global Warming" to new heights

Love this piece from Jon Stewart - I often get mocked about Global Warming every time it snows but this cracks me up. Global darkening and Dingos - how else to you make the point that "oddball winter weather" is a result of global warming.

NWF recently posted a piece called "Global Warming Bringing More Oddball Winter Weather" There's a lot of truth to this and the reality is there may not be enough snow blowers to go around - especially electric ones!

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Global-Warming/2010/01-28-10-Global-Warming-Bringing-More-Oddball-Winter-Weather.aspx

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Monday, February 08, 2010

Time drain or Time savings - your call but Facebook is here to stay

I have been seeing some friends and family start turning off of Facebook and justifiably so.  

My 17 year old son for the longest time has been avoiding it, he keeps calling it evil.  A few weeks back he announces he joined but would keep a very limited friend list, limited family and more importantly a very guarded account.  All that came crashing down when a family member asked to be friends, he graciously declined trying to explain his desire for NOT using Facebook as an open door into his life and he then got blasted for his action.  He got so frustrated that he quit the program as it did exactly what he expected, caused friction and drama within the family.

It reminded me of the dinner table during a holiday meal where all members of the family are present and when conversations can get heated or combative but in this case it was with a keyboard and those pesky unemotional words.

We all know how our words without the one on one facial and tonal delivery can have different meaning.  For some it's a challenge to be "PC" with what they write and for others there is little filtering between brain and keyboard.   Others get so wrapped up in the social aspects they get lost in the games, the posts or just can't NOT comment on everything they see.  Now before anybody I know get's their panties in a knot, I'm not judging nor am I being critical.  

I am as many of you know a big fan of self expression.  I celebrate how easy it is for all of us to share our opinions and have a voice.  It's the story telling I am most interested in and whether it's Facebook or Twitter or any of the social networking genres it's the writing, listening, reading of the stories that enriches us all.  At least that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.

I know how this can be a time drain, I know how frustrated and hurt people can get and I know how much time being online can take away from the day to day living that many of us did before this Web 2.0 world took off.  I have strict rules about using Facebook during the day - never on my work PC or during work hours.  Occasionally on the Berry but only in the "reading room" will I reply or contribute to FB.  Twitter on the other hand . . . all bets are off.  It's a huge time saving tool for me as I use it for research and getting fast and accurate news about the industry I work in.  But here too, the urge to get personable and comment is strong, I find myself falling into that "relationship" mode way to easy.

It's the personality aspect that I think drives how we use these tools.  I like to think I'm outgoing even though I spend a lot more time  behind the keyboard then in front.  But than again, I have so little time to get out and mingle or engage that the keyboard saves me time. Plus I like how when I do actually get face time I feel like all the small talk or catch up is over as I've been online and stalked your profile.

Multitasking has a whole new meaning when it comes to Web 2.0 . . . now if I could just master those little symbols for laughing, winking and sticking my tongue out without it looking like I'm giving the bird.  That was a joke, in case you didn't hear my tone!  :-0

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Signs, the dashboard of life . . .

Ok, that title is a bit reaching but let me first off start with observations of my "hot chocolate cup smiley face light dusting miracle" : after finishing a hard afternoon of shoveling of what was suppose to be light dusting of snow I was amused at this as it made me smile and totally changed my mood. I mean who's happy at chipping away at packed snow in 20 degree cold wind and with crisp white snow blinding you in the face?

But this isn't what was on my mind, what I really want to talk about is my Toyota Hybrid Camry - I think it's on the recall list but not sure now. Either way the whole pedal think is scaring the crap out of me. But it's not the gas pedal issue that pisses me off - I mean this happens from time to time, kudos to Toyota for taking the high road and doing what's right except for the maintenance light . . .

About 3K miles ago my maintenance light came on and wouldn't go off. When I finally got to taking it in thinking this was important, it's a hybrid after all, I was told what was part of this process: I got the typical Oil change, top off of fluids, replaced filters, tire rotation which didn't include the alignment, PVC valve and some additive put in that is suppose to coat the fuel injection system which you can't buy in an auto store. All this for the low low price of $300.

But wait, I'm suppose to be getting free oil changes for the life of my car - I said this. Oh, we can knock off $20. Serious? I thought the normal cost of that service was closer to $35? It took 3 more phone calls to 3 different people before I finally had the price down to $200 all because of this stupid dashboard light. I really need a light to tell me it's time to rotate my tires? I mean hello? I'm getting signs in my hot chocolate cup I don't need Toyota dashboard warning lights to give up more dough.

I hate warning lights that really don't have anything to do with something that's wrong but instead are a means to get me to pay the dealership for overpriced items I could get for half price at Track Auto. But this is what I did get for my money . . . the process to turn off the warning light.

After repeated requests one of the techs came out and showed me how to deal with the warning light. So here is the process if you own a Toyota Camry Hybrid to turn off the maintenance light and it won't cost you a dime:

Hit the power on button once without starting the car
Press the odometer stick on the dash until it says Odo A
Hit the power button again until the cars electrical accessories are off
Press and hold the odometer stick while pressing the power button twice and wait till you see the screen say "resetting maint mode"
When the flashing indicator lights finish let go and now start the car as normal.

Ahh yes, the dashboard of life - did I ever tell you how much I miss a tachometer? The gauge they have on the Hybrids that show my fuel efficiency doesn't do it for me. It's the most useless gauge I have ever seen, bring back my tach, let me know how hard those chipmunks are turning in there before I inadvertently accelerate into the poor schmuck in front of me on the DC beltway!

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

It's not easy being green . . . NTEN proves it

Right before I headed off for vacation I had worked a solid 10 days straight. So when I was asked to present a 20 min session on how NWF was implementing green technology into the program I must have been giddy or high when I said yes.

Now I have to actually put something relevant together. My friend Peter Campbell, http://techcafeteria.com/blog/ who dreams this stuff up and can do this in his sleep - see his blog for proof, amazes me with how he speaks to the level of detail and scope that the "green IT" movement plays with the NPO's we all support.

My challenge is that no matter where you look these days there is an onslaught of material and experts talking about Green IT, originality is out the proverbial window. The game is now trying to make sense of it all and find a niche that works for you.

Perhaps that will be my approach during my 20 min of fame, explaining how we are trying to use what we have and be smart when it comes to being green. I may be out in left field as I don't consider what we do to be groundbreaking - don't get me wrong, I love the opportunity to be part of NTEN in any way possible and to share what we are doing, I'm all for sharing our stories as it's how we learn.

What NTEN provides is a pool of some of the most inspiring folks who give their life blood to help promote the use of technology in our non profit world. They in fact are the ones that inspired me many many years ago to realize when it comes to tech there is more to just keeping the lights on or the concept of having the most toys wins. What "wins" is how we use the toys, selecting the right "toys". While we do have to keep the lights we also need to once in a while get into the sandbox and play.

Has anybody seen my rake or shovel?

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Purple Cow - I've seen one, have you?

As I wrap up the last few days in a very relaxing setting aka Palm Springs, CA we took the opportunity to visit Joshua Tree National Park - first time for that. If you've never been there before as you first drive in one can't help but be wow'ed by all the rocks.

ROCKS - all shapes, sizes, formations - even people climbing rocks. After the first twenty minutes of being enamored by the rocks we quickly started to mock the rocks. "oh look, rocks" one of my kids would say and I quickly thought back to Seth Godin's Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. In this case I was looking for that remarkable rock, the stand out, the one that makes me stop, get out and want to climb. The one thing that struck me about Godin's book was how it's all been done before, to be noticed, even for a short time, you have to stand out.

It's like having that one awesome or stand on its' edge idea that can take your organization to new places. I had this very same discussion last week at the Choose Clean Water conference where I had engaged with folks who were asking about my former organizations attempt to run the Captain John Smith for President campaign. It was out attempt at resurrecting a 400 years old dead guy and bring attention to clean water, hence the connection. When asked what I thought had failed the campaign a slew of thoughts went thru my head but the primary one was front and center in Godin's Purple Cow, and I quote:

I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I thing your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's missing isn't the ideas. Its the will to execute them.

At this stage in my career I feel hopeful in knowing the leadership at NWF is open to the execution of new ideas, it's what keeps us at the leading edge of our industry. Next week we send representation of the organization to Doug Halls Eureka Ranch: www.eurekaranch.com The idea, learn how to think and execute that Purple cow and prepare us for the changes we expect as the culture changes in how we connect and communicate.

So transforming business or rocks - I think there's a correlation, don't you?

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Thursday, January 14, 2010

You are the army!

I'm slowly recovering from what was for me an exhausting yet rewarding couple of days. I had the opportunity, actually the privilege of being a member of the team that put together the very first Annual Clean Water Coalition Conference. This was over 250 people, which I swear peaked at one point to close to 350 when EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson addressed the crowd, of like minded groups and individuals who wanted to make a difference for clean water and a clean bay in our region.

For me it was a bitter sweet moment - at times it reminded me of an "alumni reunion" as so many of the folks in attendance I had worked with in some capacity while I was with my former NPO the CBF. In fact, as I was reminded on more then one occasion, they were also in the same "alumni club" being as many of them were also ex-CBF, sort of like a breeding ground of sorts! What touched me the most though, besides the reconnecting and the long hours committed to support of my new NWF team, who BTW were amazing to work, had to have been the opening keynote address by Congressman Elijah Cummings.

I had never heard the Congressman speak before and while he passionately addressed the crowded ballroom at the Renaissance M Street Hotel for almost 40 min, what I share with you here is just a small part of what he said that touched and reached me. In this video at the 1min 40 second part his passion and intonation sent shivers down my spine - here are just a few of the quotes which got me, I hope they do the same for you.

The hopelessness that exists, expectations are so low they don't expect to accomplish anything
That's why we are so important . . . making the world a better place
Do not be distracted, we are about effectiveness and efficiency
I've got too much to do and so little time to do it
Make a difference for children
We can do better
You are the army

Till next time . . . peace out.

www.choosecleanwater.org
www.nclicoalition.org/
www.beoutthere.org/

See all of Congressman Cummings address at http://www.youtube.com/choosecleanwater

Posted via web from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Friday, January 08, 2010

Clean Water - it's more then a passion

Starting on Saturday I'll be part of a team that will embark on a mission to bring together a coalition of organizations and individuals for 3 days to focus on the issues of the Chesapeake Bay and how we will keep or rather restore it to the point that it's clean.

The agenda is packed and I mean packed - lot's of amazing speakers with tremendous stories to share.  All of which I get an opportunity to participate in.  I'm indeed fortunate to indulge my passion for the Bay in a unique way, in this sense of providing technology to support the messaging, ideas to engage an audience, and keep the folks I'm charged to support connected and in constant communications with their peers and supporters.

I'm so excited to be once again working, dare I say playing in this arena again.  Being able to introduce streaming video services, VoIP in the mobile office, video blogs - yes, I'm very geeked to be part of this.  What I really love about my gig at NWF was how much I was encouraged to participate.  There was no questions asked and that for me was indeed the icing on the cake.

If you get a chance, please follow along - make sure you check out the twitter hashtag:  CleanH2O  or CleanH20 - some folks have used a Zero and not an Oh.  Of course there's the web page http://www.choosecleanwater.org/cms/conference - maybe you'll see or hear me online!

A little about the conference:

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Coalition is excited to announce the first annual Choose Clean Water Conference!  Join several hundred key leaders of non- governmental organizations, the philanthropic community, elected officials, federal and state partners and green industry in three days of discussion about policy strategies to restore the hundreds of streams and rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay.

 

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings . . .

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Visiting family, friends and don't forget the snow

It's the "palindrome" day - where the day and month in reverse is the same as the year: 0102, 2010 I didn't actually know that I had to read about that in my brand spankin new Kindle.  It's also the last day of our trek upstate NY to visit friends and family.  I love upstate NY after a light snow, it's so picturesque.

Besides misplacing a few brain cells along the way ( if you find them, please send back pronto ) it was fun catching up with friends and family that we have seen in years.  I think what made it went so well was how we now keep up via social networking platforms.  Because are so connected in the digital age we didn't have to spend a lot of time rehashing any back stories.  Instead it was as if the conversation had been continuing all this time.

I was surprised in a recent study that found our culture is actually using texting, IM, email, Facebook, Twitter more then actual phone calls.  Looking back at this past year I would agree with that study, which just reinforces my commitment this year to do more face to face. 

So here's to a new year!

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings . . .