Between Zappa and R.E.M. I was torn for this title - neither tune has nothing to do with the picture. This shot is the aftermath of yet another heavy dumping we got here in MD this past week BUT it does tie nicely in with a theme I wish to share - presenting to an audience is all about being on the same frequency.
This past week I got my speaker feedback from a conference I did back in November. I scored an overall 3.9 which when I round up is actually a 4 out of 5 rating - I like the 4 better then the 3.9 part but what really got my attention was a participant comment which I take real serious.
"I felt like Mike assumed we knew what he was talking about . . . " - ouch, I thought I did a good job at translating techenese into english, maybe I'm missing something.
Recently at a day workshop where I co-presented for a room full of EPA folks who focus on the Chesapeake Bay region I was again reminded of the importance in breaking down the terminology of the tools we sometimes take for granted. Seeing the review brought it all together for me.
I recently saw the following analogy on a tweet and it seemed to fit so well in breaking down what these social networking tools do to an action. We assume everybody now knows what Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, Quora, YouTube and LinkedIn are used for - but what I was reminded of is that these tools still remain foreign enough that many just don't get WHAT they are. They've heard of them, but if pressed to put them into action or define their purpose in the proverbial tool shed . . . well now we got problems in Rivercity.
Let me use this example and tell me if it makes sense - this is where the yellow snow part comes in - here goes:
Twitter = I need to pee.
FaceBook = I peed!
FourSquare = I'm peeing here.
Quora = Why am I peeing?
YouTube = Watch me pee!
LinkedIn = I pee well.
So now that we got that going for us it's still a good rule of thumb to NOT eat the yellow snow and I'm hoping for my next conference speaking engagement I will be more understanding and appreciative of the silent majority who don't wish to acknowledge their gap in understanding what the new tools of engagement are used for. I now have a new analogy in my tool box, as do you.
I have this sudden urge to tinkle . . . .
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
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