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Activism in the Connected Age

2011-06-12T20:34:00.004-04:00

In my other blog, Mind Over Matter, I have recently written about the Connected Age, the age in which we are now living. Not only are we all connected to each other, via the Interwebs, social media, family ties, etc., but we are connected to the Earth, our environment, and to the history and future of our planet.

Communication connects us, and indeed one might say that this is the heyday of communication technology. In the 1960s we were awed at the power of satellites to connect us, and prior to that the Trans-Atlantic Cable, and even the telegraph and mail. Now, with the flick of a finger on an iPhone or iPad, a couple of quick thumb movements, or even a voice command we can be in touch with anyone anywhere.

This near-instant connection should be making us realize how intertwined we all are as well. What affects one inevitably affects another. In any system, adjustment to one part of the system affects all other parts of the system. We are seeing that now with global warming and climate change. Many parts of our Earth system are being affected by the adjustments to air quality and the ozone layer.

More profoundly, however, is how those environmental changes affect the family of Man. With connection comes responsibility: to each other and to our shared environment. Just as we cannot stand idly by while the Earth writhes in pain around us, neither can we do nothing when our fellow human beings are suffering.

There are causes of injustice at home as well as abroad that need our attention. There are diseases of acute nature destroying families elsewhere in the world because of something as simple as the desperate need for clean drinking water.

From s/he to whom much is given, much is required, the adage goes.

If you are blessed with even a little prosperity, some knowledge, some sharable skills, or the means to encourage others to engage in making the world a better place, don't hold back. Among your Tweets and status statements, share news of what you have done lately to improve something or someone. If you haven't got that kind of news, make some.

Let's use our connections to leverage our power to engage in that alchemy spoken of a few posts ago. Let's show each other how easy it is to make something or someone else better. "Be actively engaged in a good cause" no matter what it is or where you are located.

We are all connected, and what benefits one will ultimately benefit all.

Doing the Right Thing

2010-11-28T18:15:00.006-05:00

Every now and then, God/the Universe sends someone into your life to help you make some changes. You may have to learn something. You may have to extend yourself outside your comfort zone on their behalf. You may have to gather up your courage and step forward to say "Something must be done!" And then you may have to look yourself in the mirror and realize that if something must be done, you're the one to do it.

I try to be grateful for the learning opportunities I am sent. I am grateful for this one. During the course of getting to know "Ed Martin", I have been very blessed. He is a brilliant man with a great deal of creativity and humor -- on a good day. But his good days are few and far between. His oppression by police in Canada has rendered him immobile for the most part.

On the rare occasions that Ed can forget the brutality with which he has been treated, he is a delightful person to be around. He is a good conversationalist, a knowledgeable computer expert, a trained scientist, and formerly a very productive individual. His potential to add to society was great -- until he came into contact with the justice system in Canada.

For Ed, there has been no justice. He has tried to get help over the past 20 years, but each effort ends in greater harm to him. He has effectively been isolated and marginalized. Even attempting to contact the authorities that could help him now could result in his death. The threat to his life is very real. Just mentioning his name in justice circles brings the police to his door to "remind" him that he needs to shut up or "You won't be breathing anymore".

This is not what should happen in Canada!

Recently, we have seen brutal actions by police publicized, and politicians outraged. Ed's situation also needs to be brought to the attention of those who can take action on his behalf. The usual channels have not worked and indeed have caused him more grief.

He is at the point now where he cannot do anything himself; he is that disabled and unable to even participate in trying to deal with the situation. He needs help.

So I'm harnessing the power of connections and social media to bring this issue to light. At least we can offer Ed some moral support and maybe come up with some creative ideas to help him get the justice he has been seeking, and so desperately needs.

It may be hard to do the right thing sometimes, but it needs to be done.

Blaise Pascal and the Case for Climate Change

2010-08-23T16:50:00.001-04:00

In recent news, no less a person than Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin mused about whether humankind was to blame for climate change. When world leaders are not convinced, it makes others doubt as well.

There has indeed been a division among scientists about the causes and possible effects of global warming. Although the balance seems to be leaning toward those who do believe that humankind's footprint on the planet is entirely too large, many remain unconvinced.

This may be a good time to remind everyone of Pascal's Wager.

From Wikipedia: "Pascal's Wager (or Pascal's Gambit) is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal that, even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should wager as though God exists, because living life accordingly has everything to gain, and nothing to lose. The possibilities defined by Pascal's Wager can be thought of as a decision under uncertainty..."

The intent is to offer a position that can be held without the normal proofs afforded by reason. While there are many "proofs" for and against climate change as a result of human activity, there is no definitive view. Even the experts disagree.

Therefore, the question of human activity as a cause of global warming is a classic Pascal's Wager situation.

Instead of contemplating belief in God, let's contemplate the consequences of belief in Humankind-as-cause of global warming:

If it is, and we do not stop our destructive behaviour, we are in for serious trouble.
If it is and we DO stop, we may be able to slow, halt, or even reverse the catastrophe.
If it isn't, and we do not stop our destructive behaviour, we will undoubtedly experience other consequences of that recklessness.
If it isn't, and we DO stop, we aren't hurting anything, and in fact are minimizing our impact on the environment, which is in keeping with a more natural way of life, so that has to be good.

Ergo, whether or NOT humankind is the cause of global warming, it makes great good sense to stop the activities that are harmful to climate, wildlife, and the environment. Period.

Of course, those of us with logical minds can see that. The befuddled will continue to argue what doesn't need to be argued.

And if all we look at is the converse -- we just keep trashing the planet no matter what the effects -- one would have to be an imbecile to think that was a good thing to do.

Proving that humankind is the cause of climate change is irrelevant and unnecessary. So scientists, you can stop arguing now. In fact, everyone can stop arguing.

Let's all just be kinder to our planet, whether we're responsible for these warming changes or not. It's the smart thing to do.

Alchemy

2010-07-11T15:29:00.006-04:00

This is a book I just finished: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It's the familiar story of a young man who is seeking his treasure, and travels to a distant place only to learn through his travels that he was looking in the wrong place, for the wrong treasure. I don't think it will spoil the story for you by quoting a bit of it:

"That's why alchemy exists," the boy said. "So that everyone will search for his treasure, find it, and then want to be better than he was in his former life...That's what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too."

And a few moments after that in his conversation with the Sun, the sun says to him, "Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World... It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."

NEAT.

Why I'm So Shocked #G20

2010-07-07T17:48:00.006-04:00

If you've been following any of my activities, you'll have noticed the past two weeks that I've been tweeting and commenting a great deal about the actions of the police during the G20 Summit here in Toronto.

I've seen many of the videos shot by the media and citizen journalists. I've read most of the tweets by others regarding #g20 and #torontopolice. I've watched television news, programs like The Agenda with Steve Paikin, and specials about what happened in Toronto the weekend of June 26 and 27, 2010.

I am still trying to make sense of it.

And I simply cannot get past the shock of seeing peaceful people manhandled by thugs in police uniforms. This is the antithesis of the police force I thought we had. It is the opposite of what should happen in peace-loving and peace-keeping Canada.

It is a betrayal of our national identity.

Up until this weekend, I have been 100% supportive of police, even in the face of knowing about some injustices that have been done to people I know. I wrote those off as aberrations, mistakes made by well-meaning but perhaps ill-advised or uninformed police. Individuals do make mistakes, and it's unfortunate when it happens.

But to see a swarm of riot-gear clad police rush seated ... SEATED!... protestors just as these people sang the final notes to our national anthem, shocked me to my core. I was dumbfounded to think that any on-scene commander could give such a stupid order.

Since then, I have been appalled repeatedly at the multiple instances of police brutality -- there's no other word for it -- and abuse of peaceful citizens. Media handcuffed and beaten. Young and old tackled and forced to the ground, smashed with riot shields and beaten with batons. People kidnapped -- grabbed and shoved into a van. Groups of peaceful people kettled and detained.

The police and the organizers of the G20 forgot that this was Canada. Once known as the World's Peacekeeper, Canada is also known as the nation of the polite and the nice. We're the apologizers, who say "I'm sorry" when someone steps on our toes. This, concurrently, with the well-deserved and rightfully-earned reputation as having some of the most-capable and best-trained soldiers on the planet. I know, I served with many of them.

Thanks, Toronto Police, for showing that in the face of polite, nice, peaceful people, you are willing to show them the error of their ways.

Our police acted like this was some other country where full-scale riots and terrorist tactics were routine. It seems as though they expected hundreds of Canadians to rampage, riot, loot, and destroy.

Apart from a few Black Bloc numbskulls, and the odd looter who was corrected by a passerby, none of that happened. What we DID have during the G20 were scores of calm, peaceful, ordered, and even musical and joyous assemblies intended to draw the attention of whoever was watching to worthy human rights causes.

What those watching saw instead were Canadian police brutalizing our peaceful citizens.

It made me ashamed to be a police supporter. Ashamed of this great city of Toronto. And almost ashamed to be Canadian.

Even though I am shocked at police actions, and still trying to come to terms with it in my mind, still trying to separate the truth from the emotion and rhetoric, and still trying to believe that the police were somehow justified at least in part, I remain proud to be a Canadian precisely because I believe that out of this tragedy will come some good.

I am proud that other moral and concerned Canadians have risen up to tell the police and our politicians that we are collectively angry at these violations of civil rights, we will not stand for it in this country, and we demand a public inquiry.

I am proud that Canada is a place where we can still openly disagree with our leaders. And I am proud that Canadians can recognize injustice when they see it, and are passionate about correcting it.

It will take time for me, for all of us, to get past what happened during the G20 because it was just so shocking to see on our own streets. But get past it we will, and it is my hope that wrongs will be righted, and flawed systems changed.

This country still belongs to Canadians, not to thugs and brutes. We'll make sure it stays that way.

The Queen Rocks!

2010-07-06T20:12:00.006-04:00

I've always liked Queen Elizabeth. I remember as a child seeing her -- I was about 6 I guess, when she came to Canada and visited a special school around the corner from where we lived on Millwood Road. My mom took my sister Keitha and me to stand along the street and watch as the Queen's motorcade passed by after her visit.

At 84, Queen Elizabeth is still something to see. Keitha had the chance to be involved in a 3D demo for the queen, and the royal pair graciously agreed to pose for a photograph with the cast and crew of the film. Oh, and the Mcguintys are in there, too.

That's Keitha, 3 heads to the left of Prince Philip.

Now, what's really cool is Her Majesty. Packed in that trusty handbag she always carries was her very own customized pair of 3D glasses! Note the sparkly Q on the side. How many monarchs do YOU know who travel with their own 3D glasses? Way to go Queen Elizabeth!

Google Chrome Web Browser

2010-07-05T12:35:00.001-04:00

Listen!

via AudioBoo

Posted via email from writingwiz's posterous

Great Headset Buy for Gaming or Audio

2010-07-02T21:42:00.001-04:00

Listen!

via AudioBoo

Posted via email from writingwiz's posterous

7 Rules for Keeping your Business Communication Transparent and Authentic

2010-07-01T19:44:00.001-04:00

Concurrent with the globalization of social media, and perhaps concurrent with the growth of the Web itself, are new demands for transparency and authenticity in business communication. Recent examples highlight how this change in thought and expectation are expressing themselves in a wireless world. British Petroleum (BP) has suffered over the accident on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform that caused 11 deaths and a massive oil spill along the USA's Gulf coast. Toronto police took criticism from all fronts about their actions during Toronto's hosting of the G20 summit. These are just two public relations nightmares that have occurred because these organizations' business communication did not convince the public that they were being transparent and authentic.

In the face of citizen journalism, rabidly competitive mainstream media, public watchdog groups, whistleblowers, every business and organization MUST be seen to be acting transparently and in accordance with the values they purport to hold. Consider, too, a better informed public who have multiple sources of information from Youtube to Twitter for getting up to the minute and unique perspectives on current events. The cognitive dissonance between what a company says and what it does disturbs customers, clients, partners, suppliers, and the public. It disturbs them to the point of costing you credibility and even revenue.

No business can afford to make major miss-steps in this area. And if you DO make a mistake, act quickly to correct the false impression, even if you have to admit your mistake publicly. Far better, in the view of those who are watching -- and believe it, everyone is watching -- to take heat for telling the truth about a problem in the first place. At least then you'll be seen as honest, if wrong-headed at times. Mistakes can be recovered from; deceiving the public and losing credibility may be something that your organization can never live down.

7 New Rules for Business Communication

These 7 rules will help you make your communications more believable and effective.

1. Never forget you are on the world stage.

Tweets and Youtube videos posted to the Web are seen around the world in minutes. Whatever your organization does can be viewed and commented upon almost instantly. And it will be. Guaranteed. If anyone has an axe to grind with your company or organization, or is just vigilant about watching what you're doing, they will be alert for any opportunity to broadly publicize their opinion about it. Not only must you do the right thing, your organization must be seen to do the right thing. Don't do or say anything that you wouldn't want to see posted online before the day is over.

2. Ensure someone in your organization is responsible and accountable for all your communications.

This means much more than having a PR person designated to write press releases, arrange press conferences, and keep track of social media. It means having a communication expert -- one who understands the intricacies and dynamics of public communication and social media, and who has the skill to communicate the nuances of a situation effectively and quickly to those who are watching. Pay that person well and make them fully accountable for your company's persona no matter where it shows up. This is an active role, not a passive one. In addition to handling problems that occur, your Chief Content Officer needs to be able to go toe-to-toe with the CEO, President, Owner, Commander, or Board of Directors when necessary to ensure the authenticity of messages being communicated, and that everything is visible.

3. Remember who you are.

Your company, group, or organization has a persona just as real and valid as that of any individual. It is a composite of your values, your mission, your core competencies, and your people. It is clothed in your technology and animated by your communications. Whenever you deviate from the image others have of your company, or when that persona appears to act contrary to what others expect, you risk losing your audience and consequently your customers. Everything your organization does must be consistent with its persona, even if it is sometimes painful to achieve that.

4. Let individuals do the talking.

Even more important than your organization's persona are the individual voices that are telling your corporate story. Who are the individuals speaking for your company? They should be people who best represent the organization, and are the most knowledgeable about your products and services. Remember that it is much easier to connect with people individually than with a group.

5. Build trust and rapport with dialogue.

The old saying that it takes a long time to gain trust but only a moment to lose it is never more true than on the Web. Trust is built from consistency between words and actions. Trust comes from being genuine and honest. If your company or organization resonates with someone, initial trust follows quickly and continues to deepen as long as you remain consistent with your messages. As you communicate your principles, your intentions, your actions, and your successes, you will gain the trust of those who can contribute to your company as customers or partners. Trust comes from the beginning of rapport -- finding the common ground you share with your audience, and then inviting them to see what else you have to offer. Next, check back with them to find out what they thought of that experience. Building trust and rapport requires listening to your market, and responding to them when they communicate with you. Good two-way communication solidifies relationships.

6. Connect, engage, and inform.

Connecting with others is easy, there are hundreds of technical tools that facilitate connections worldwide. Engaging, however, means catching someone's interest and offering them something of value so that they stay engaged. Information that solves a problem, answers a question, or helps someone perform a task is the most valuable kind of information you can provide. The more you inform your followers, the more loyalty you will enjoy. Engaging people with your business makes them start to care, and you want them to care enough that they tell you first if anything starts to go wrong.

7. Stay meaningful.

What you say, and how you say it, has to be meaningful for your audience. No one has time anymore for the irrelevant, so stick to the core messages. Meaningful communications with your market and others who pay attention to what you do will reap rewards in continued connection and rapport, as well as more business.

The final thing to remember is that everyone is an observer and everyone is connected 24/7 thanks to the worldwide Web. Time and space mean nothing, and even language is no longer a barrier. To do business in such a climate, you absolutely must overhaul your communications so that they work in a connected world. Adaptation is the key trait for survival of the fittest in the 21st century.

Posted via email from writingwiz's posterous

Didn't Take Long...

2010-06-27T18:21:00.004-04:00

It didn't take long for writers to start using the Gulf Oil Spill as a metaphor. Here's an excerpt from Rob Cottingham's post on Read Write Web:

"Anyone building or managing an online community has a responsibility to keep the oil slick of aggression out of the conversational coastal wetlands."

Using something that is in the news or currently top of mind for your readers is a risk. On one hand, it can deliver a punch that immediately evokes emotion. Your phrase taps into the knowledge the reader has about the situation, and a cascade of information and emotion is packed into a very small space. That's great for keeping your writing concise. You can accomplish a lot with just a few words.

The drawback, however, is that over time your metaphor, and consequently your writing, becomes stale and outdated. When people no longer recognize your phrase, or they have to struggle to remember exactly what about your phrase is vaguely familiar, you've lost them for at least a few moments. The farther your writing is distanced in time from the event to which it refers, the weaker it becomes.

Don't let that stop you, though, if leveraging terms that are in the news provides the kick your writing needs. Just remember that if your piece is to have longevity, it's best to consider different word choices.

A Good Start

2010-05-19T16:31:00.006-04:00

No, I'm not talking about 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean. I'm talking about this story that showed up in Yahoo! News today: http://bit.ly/9WUGen
McKinney man out to change world, $1 at a time

I applaud him, and think more people should be doing things like this. However, $1 doesn't really go very far these days. It doesn't even buy a pack of gum, a cup of coffee, or a discount burger. It DOES buy air to put in your tires, but only if you have the right coins.

Instead, I propose we each earmark $20.00 to send out into the world to do some real good. I have had my "Magic 20" in my wallet for many years now. I give it away from time to time, and then I replace it. I tuck it away in a pocket of my wallet where I'm not tempted to spend it.

Twenty bucks is a good sum to give someone. It can buy:

A complete meal, and a healthy one at that!
Enough gas to get you somewhere
A shirt or pair of socks
A book that can change your life
Enough groceries for a couple of days if you shop smart
A movie -- a brief respite of entertainment to help you forget your troubles

Twenty dollars is a chunk of money, albeit a small one, that makes a difference. $1 is nice, but it's merely a gesture. $20 is a broader gesture that affirms to the recipient that you really want to help. It also reminds you that you've got the resources to give $20 away without it hurting you.

And you know what? If that happens to be your LAST $20, and it DOES hurt you to give it away, I can promise you that it's like priming the pump -- much more will come back to you in ways you never imagined. Maybe not instantly, but definitely when you need it.

I know, because it happened to me.

Many years ago, when my children were small and I was a poverty-stricken single parent trying to go to school, work, and take care of my children at the same time, I once gave my last $20 to someone. Someone who needed it more than I did at the time.

Since then, sums of money have "magically" turned up in my life when I least expected it, but usually when I really NEEDED it. Often a lot more than $20.

My children have seen me give away $20 on a number of occasions. In return, I have seen them become generous men who give away money, goods, and their time to others as well. That's one heck of a payoff for a small investment of $20!

One time when I gave away my $20 bill, it was at a gas station. The woman in the car in front of me had put $5 of gas in her car because she was broke and just needed to get home. Then she realized she didn't even have that much. I handed her the $20 and she said, "I'll be right back with your change." "No," I said, "Just keep it, and pass it on when you can."

When you give someone $20, it's significant. $100 is overkill, but twenty is a nice little figure that really works. Never underestimate the power of handing someone $20, no strings attached other than "pass it on when you can". I like to think that one small moment of connection between two people bears fruit in ways we cannot imagine. Think of a stone dropped into a calm pond, and the many ripples that spread outward from that one small act.

$1 is nice, and as a gesture it works. The story about Doc Compton says that it's brought tears to people's eyes when they're handed the dollar.

But think of how much more impact you'd have with $20. Take that $100 you want to give away, and bless the lives of FIVE people with a sum of money that each of them can actually use.

Or just take one $20 bill and set it aside for a time when you see a need you can fill. For even more fun, resolve to get that Magic 20 out of your hands today, as soon as possible, whether you see a need or not. We often don't see the hidden needs that people have.

Dr. Wayne Dyer has pointed out that when you do an act of kindness, research has shown that the recipient gets a "feel good" boost, but you get one as well. Not only that, but the research also shows that anyone observing that act of kindness (or being told about it afterward) gets a burst of endorphins too!

$20 is a very small price to pay to affect someone's life. Get a $20 bill right now, and PASS IT ON.

You will never regret it. And you will have done something that really DOES make a difference.

Made for More than This

2010-05-16T03:34:00.002-04:00

Just saw an ad for The Peregrine, "30 user-programmable actions. By simply touching your fingertips with your thumb you can control your game faster than ever before." It's designed for improved gaming.

Sure, I want one for that use. But immediately I though of applications in the assistive technology area. They are already talking about it for spacecraft controls, lol.

And it doesn't take much of a mental leap to think of other applications for this sort of technology. I just think it's very cool to have this in my lifetime. Well, and a whole bunch more, of course. But this is nifty.

Bad Software Should be Penalized

2010-03-10T14:11:00.002-05:00

I have just spent the last hour trying various workarounds and chasing technical support forum posts only to find out that the software I have does not work on 64-bit Vista.

First, Microsoft should be ashamed of Vista -- and I know they are, hence Windows 7.
Second, this other company, which at the moment shall remain nameless even though they don't deserve the protection, should be heavily penalized MONETARILY by some governing body for having released software that purposefully will not run on existing operating systems. "Not designed to run on Vista 64-bit." !!!!!

Come on, kids. This isn't 1980, when personal computers were new and shiny, and we hardly knew what to do with them. Software now should install flawlessly, and not need the user to outsmart the developers. ESPECIALLY something that was released long after Vista was on the market and its source code available to its developer network. And a lackadaisical technical support program which requires the user to pay for a solution to a bad software install is even more objectionable!

Solution: Hire yourselves a technical communicator who won't let you get away with that kind of user contempt. And listen to them when they tell you the product doesn't work. Then dang well FIX IT before you release it.

Now you know why Open Source software is becoming so popular.

EVERYONE is on Facebook, why aren't you?

2010-01-19T19:30:00.002-05:00

This semester I'm teaching a course entitled Communicating with Social Technologies. Yes folks, it's a course about Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and so on. You know I'm a pop culture diva, so this falls in line with my, ahem, research interests.

I mean, if the Muppets can be on Facebook, why can't you?

How parents mess up their kids...

2010-01-18T20:10:00.001-05:00

We're not talking balloon-boy level exploitation here, but just goofy little cultural things that make kids realize not everyone does things the same way. Usually, however, it's an embarrassing incident that reveals to them that their family is just weird.

What my parents did to us:
My parents used to get a craving for Chinese food every now and then, and considering that the kids were pretty little, they thought we wouldn't like to eat anything exotic. Dad had a solution. When he went to pick up the order, he'd get the Chinese food place to include some French fries. French fries not being the restaurant's specialty, and long before the days of fast food, these particular French fries were limp, greasy and barely edible. Certainly not on a par with what we have now come to recognize as French fries. Anyway, we kids ate them and found that if you had enough ketchup, they were fine. Growing up, every time we had Chinese food we also got these Chinese French fries. :-)

It seemed quite normal to me until I went to university. I got a rude awakening on the French fry front when out for the first time with a bunch of friends and we went to a Chinese restaurant. I naturally asked about French fries, and was thoroughly ridiculed. I'm sure they thought I was nuts. No, not nuts. Just twisted by family culture, lol.

What I've done to my kids:
I used to watch the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show on television when I came home from school. I liked the show, especially Mr. Peabody and Sherman, and Fractured Fairytales. I don't quite know how it came about, but one of the episodes, I don't remember which, included the pairing of the gride and the broom. That stuck in my brain -- I like the symmetry of it. Gride and Broom. When my kids were little, instead of calling that thing you scoop up sweepings with a dust pan, I always called it a gride. They are adults now, and know that a dust pan is a dust pan, but maybe it's a gride too. :-)

I can't wait until my kids mention "gride and broom" to someone else and get razzed for it, as I did with the Chinese fries. Somehow I am sure that will amuse me.

Troubleshooting Part II

2010-01-16T20:33:00.001-05:00

Sometimes there are things that aren't precisely technical which still may cause problems. Here's the story of one unusual bug and its solution.

When I worked at a software company they wanted to get golf shirts for the R&D department. So, I guess because they thought I had nothing else to do, i.e., I wasn't a programmer, I got tasked with sourcing the shirts and getting the order.

I had a measly budget but through some clever research and negotiating was able to order 60 very nice shirts with a custom logo. Everyone was pleased with the shirts, and we planned a department photo day where everyone would wear their shirts (original, I know) and get a photo taken.

However, all the people who had ordered Size L shirts were complaining. The sleeves were scratchy. When they wore the shirts, there was something on the sleeve cuffs that was scratchy to the skin and caused red abrasions.

I tested my own shirt and found the same thing. (I'm not in the habit of wearing golf shirts.) I called the supplier and he had no clue about the cause. He did offer to take all the Large shirts back and replace them, but it would take some time and we wouldn't have the shirts by picture day.

I did a little more research, on the web, and could find nothing about scratchy shirt cuffs. Then I had an idea. From quilting and working with other fabrics I thought that maybe there was something the fabric had been treated with that was causing the problem.

Usually washing will remove such a thing, but to ensure the navy and white colors didn't run together, the shirt had to be washed in cold water, which is not the best for dissolving fabric treatments. But it was worth a try, so I tested my own shirt by washing it and putting it in the dryer.

The shirt came out nice and clean but still with the scratchy cuffs. I didn't want to risk washing it in hot water and wrecking the shirt, for 2 reasons -- I would not have been able to return it if damaged (though under the circumstances I probably could have made the case that it was a defective product anyway), and the risk of it shrinking and thus becoming unwearable was also an issue.

But I had an idea. I set up the ironing board and put the sleeve between two sheets of paper towel. I then ironed the sleeve cuff to melt whatever was left in the fabric. (I would like to have put it under a microscope to see if there was something there, but I didn't have one handy. But it was a thought!)

Whatever came off the sleeve cuffs would be transferred to the paper towels and the sleeves should be fine. It worked! We had a simple solution -- just iron the two cuffs between paper towels on a hot enough setting and they were fine.

Next day I called the supplier and gave him the solution. He told me that a whole bunch of shirts had been returned for this same issue from various customers, and they had all come from the same factory in India.

Having the solution to the scratchy cuffs was going to save him thousands of dollars in returned goods from this shipment of shirts. I think he was so gobsmacked by the simplicity of the solution he forgot to thank me.

Even though we had a solution, however, I still didn't know how the shirts had come to have these scratchy cuffs, and in bulk, too. I was somewhat content to have fixed "the shirt bug" but was not completely satisfied until I knew the cause. As you know, if the cause is known, prevention is the next step, and always much better than repair. Ounce, pound, all that.

I was retelling this story in my tech comm class some months later, and one of my students had the answer. He had previously worked in his family's garment business. He had never heard of scratchy cuffs before, but he did know that for knit shirts like golf shirts, the banding on the cuffs is often made on large looms where they knit 1- or 2-inch wide strips in parallel, and the edges are joined with glue. That's why ironing worked -- it melted the glue.

This budget factory had not done the additional step of removing the glue from the finished bindings when they were separated. I thought this was worthy of sharing with my original supplier so called him to explain it. And he didn't care one bit. They had gone with a different factory somewhere else, even though it was more expensive, and just passed the cost along to the customer.

Just goes to show you, that if there's a bug, I can find it and figure out how to get around it. :-)

Troubleshooting Part I

2010-01-15T20:21:00.005-05:00

I am somewhat of a crank about usability and user problem solving. And because I deal with technology day in and day out, I pride myself on being able to deal with technical problems of one sort or another.

Here's a story about one of my trouble-shooting adventures. None of this is classified any longer, btw. It's 35 years later, and the technology long obsolete. My job doesn't even exist anymore.

When I was in the military and worked in telecommunications, we had a tape relay centre -- the communications centre of the very large base in Germany -- that used banks of typing reperforators to punch Murray code onto either chad or chadless tape. (Anyone else out there know Murray code? I can still read most of it.) I worked shifts 24/7 but our techs had cushier jobs and only worked one of 2 8-hour shifts -- either 8 to 4 or 4 to midnight, with no weekends.

The midnighters and weekenders were on their own as far as trying to deal with any technical issues. Usually we just swapped out the offending gear, left a tag on it with a description of the problem, and put it on the techs' bench for dealing with next day.

This particular time, I was on a cycle of a lot of midnights. We had a good crew, and even though we were often busy, there were times of the night when it was quiet enough that we could play cards and just chew the fat. So it was a pretty good time, all things considered. They gave me no sympathy though in this particular struggle with some machinery.

About halfway through the shift on a Friday night, so around 4 a.m., this one particular reperforator started to act up intermittently. It was skipping spots when punching the tape so we'd get garbled messages. I hauled it out of the cabinet, swapped in a spare, and left a detailed description of the problem on the ticket, along with a sample of the garbled tape.

Monday night, I went on duty to find a note from the tech that said he couldn't find anything wrong with the machine, so he swapped it back in. By virtue of working 12-hour mids and weekend shifts, we got 3 days off so the next time I went in to work it was Friday midnight again. Sure enough, half way through the shift, the same machine started to act up again. They're numbered so it was easy to tell. Again, I swapped it out, politely asked the techs to look at it again, and carried on.

Monday night shift, same thing. Big NFF (No Fault Found) on the tag, machine swapped back in, get a clue lady. You know, the old "women aren't technical" accusation. I complained to my team, who advised me to shrug it off -- always good advice. Drat if the next Friday night didn't the same thing happen! This time I got my entire team to look at the machine and verify it was garbling messages. It's always good to have witnesses. The senior NCO signed off on the ticket and we swapped out the machine as usual.

Monday night, a curt message from the tech Sr. NCO: "What are you people on???? Quit wasting our techs' time with machines that are perfectly fine. Next time, I'll charge you." (meaning a disciplinary charge) True, there had always been a bit of a rivalry between operators and technicians, and my team in particular was notorious for playing jokes on people. (This is how one's reputation as a jokester can work against you. Who, ME??? Nah...) But they were tired of having to keep looking at this stupid machine.

Fourth Friday night in a row -- same machine broke down. We debated, should we report it or fix it ourselves permanently with a hammer? I voted for the hammer but was overruled. So we decided to call out the duty tech to come NOW and see the machine for himself. He rolled in about an hour later, not in a good mood, but unable to disobey an order from a superior. :-) He tested the machine, and sure enough, got garbled tape. HAH!! Okay, I see it, I know it's bad, I'll fix it Monday.

Monday night, there was no word at all. We sort of forgot about it, until we came in the NEXT Monday night and found a note -- "Machine permanently FUBAR (F***ed up beyond all repair). Overheats when online too long. Works perfectly after cooldown." After working all week, the thing would get overheated by 4 a.m.-ish on Saturday, start breaking up the code, and causing problems. After sitting for 2 days waiting for the tech to look at it, it had cooled down sufficiently to be back in good working order. Sheesh.

I was vindicated, but never did receive an apology from the techs who disbelieved me. None of us had seen such behaviour from a machine before, but it wasn't to be the last. "Overheating" as a cause was tucked away in my mental inventory in case I ever ran into such a problem again.

It's a really good feeling, though, to be able to solve technical mysteries.

Book Discovery -- The User Illusion

2010-01-08T00:03:00.005-05:00

I found this book through tracking down a quotation:

The universe began when nothing saw itself in the mirror.

Yoiks!! Think about that one for a while and your brain will hurt. Tor Nørretranders writes about consciousness in a scientific and philosophical way. I like the marriage of those two disciplines. Thinking about these concepts takes you into the territory of physics as well as the realm of logic, and even the psychology of the human mind.

As you can imagine, with my interest in technical communication, when I found the original quote was from a book entitled The User Illusion, I had to follow that up. In a way, it is related to how we think about systems from a user's point of view.

Go buy the book, but beforehand read the full book review, which concludes with this quote from Nørretranders:

We have to face the fact we are far more than we believe ourselves to be; that we have far more resources than we perceive; that we leave our mark on more of the world than we notice.

Awesome!

Thoughts to Live By

2010-01-05T13:01:00.002-05:00

Some of these have been co-opted by Courage Wolf, but they are not original. I have been saying most of them for years.

Life getting tough is a sign that God is afraid of your progress.
Seize the day, by the throat.
Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
Don't start fights, finish them instead.
Reach the finish line -- then keep going.
Pain is temporary -- scars are sexy.
If you never give up, you never lose.
Stand up. Fight. Repeat.
Don't make a scene, make a mess.
If you fall on your face, laugh at the ground.
If you're going through hell, don't stop, just keep going.
Better to burn out than rust out.
If life's a bitch -- make it your bitch.
It's better to take a lot of standing eight counts, than get knocked out.
Stare into the abyss -- and when it stares back, make it blink first.
Can't believe in yourself? Then believe in me, who believes in you.

Today's Note from the Universe

2009-12-24T17:05:00.007-05:00

I get these every day. It's nice to have "the universe" telling me how wonderful I am. It's nicer to have other people do that too, but in the absence of such, this works too. Here's the Christmas Eve version:

If it's not yet obvious to you, the real reason for this, and all seasons, is you, Beth.
A more perfect child of the Universe has never lived. Until now, only celebrations cloaked in myth and mystery could hint at your divine heritage and sacred destiny. You are life's prayer of becoming and its answer: the first light at the dawn of eternity, drawn from the ether, so that I might know my own depth, discover new heights, and revel in seas of blessed emotion.
A pioneer into illusion, an adventurer into the unknown, and a lifter of veils. Courageous, heroic, and exalted by legions in the unseen.
To give beyond reason, to care beyond hope, to love without limit; to reach, to stretch, and dream, in spite of your fears.
These are the hallmarks of divinity - traits of the immortal - your badges of honor. May you wear them with a pride as great as the immeasurable pride we feel for you.
Your light has illuminated darkened paths, your gaze has lifted broken spirits, and already your life has changed the course of history.
This is the time of year we celebrate Beth Agnew.
Bowing before Greatness,
The Universe
p.s. Supercoolhappylovething, you are, Beth.

Living every day as best I can to make that all true. Merry Christmas to all (dare I say Merry Bethmas?), and I wish you every blessing in the New Year. May all your dreams come true!

Well, that's one way of looking at it

2009-12-23T01:19:00.004-05:00

There's nothing like an end of year wrap-up of major stories. This one is courtesy of our friends over at The Onion which is one of the more clever sites reporting on issues that you never knew we had.

If the Christmas season is stressing you out, or you're just overwhelmed by the fact that another year is about to come to a close, have a read through some of the material on TheOnion.com. It will have you smiling, laughing, perhaps even sharing.

We may need a little Christmas, but we need a little absurdity more.

Fatal Similarity

2009-12-22T16:03:00.005-05:00

FASHION OF THE DECADE - A rider holds up her yellow Livestrong bracelet during a rally July 26, 2006, in Newton, Iowa. Introduced by Nike in May 2004, the yellow silicone band sells for $1 to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which raises awareness and funds for cancer research. While similar bracelets have been adopted by other charities, some hospitals allegedly have cut the Livestrong wristbands from patients' wrists because of their resemblance to yellow 'do not resuscitate' bands used by some medical facilities.

File under: It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Thought for the Day

2009-11-20T14:24:00.005-05:00

"The world is a dangerous place to live,
not because of all the people who are evil,
but because of the people
who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

Miscellanea

2009-11-18T17:43:00.015-05:00

Random thoughts:

I said to RJ: "I'm thinking that I should have more friends my age. Maybe I'll join the Legion." And he replied: "Foreign?"

I used to have a cat that would wait until I had just fallen asleep, then drop a marble down the hardwood staircase. Klunk, klunk, klunk. Woke me up every time. ... That's how I lost my marbles.

I often find it expedient to appoint myself as Karma's assistant. Let me help you get the Karma you deserve.
Klingons do not procrastinate. It is a "tactical delay".

A short while ago I reunited with some friends from college. Marie said, "Before I left, I made a prediction that Nancy would have a cell phone, with the bank on speed-dial, and Beth will have a Blackberry strapped to her hip." Haven't seen Marie in years, yet she was 2 for 2 correct. How well she knows us!

A friend who worked as an EMT in a remote northern community once told me that fur is great for stopping bleeding. I hope I never have to use that knowledge.

That same friend said he once attended to an accident victim whose down jacket had ripped open during the crash. The down feathers had scattered, blown about in the wind, and landed on the victim, sticking to him wherever he was covered in blood. As my friend loaded him into the ambulance, he thought it looked like his patient had been tarred and feathered. Weird. Just bled a lot but was not seriously injured.

Here's my opinion of Management's imposed offer for our new contract. You can dress it up, but...

Remembrance Day 2009

2009-11-11T11:00:00.009-05:00

November 11, at 11:00 a.m., we take a few moments to reflect on the soldiers who have given their lives in service to their country. As you know, I served in the Canadian Armed Forces. My tour of duty included postings to Europe and the Middle East, as well as out west. My son Devon served in the Canadian Forces, and was deployed to Afghanistan with his unit while in 3 PPCLI. Because I was also married to a serving soldier, the military played a huge part in much of my adult life.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Remembrance Day is a hard one for me. I have friends in the US military who are in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Korea at the moment. I will always feel a connection to those in uniform; I am familiar with the pressures they are under, and I empathize with the problems doing one's duty can often bring about. I experienced some of them myself.

Most of all, I often think of what it really means to volunteer to serve in the Armed Forces. In Canada, we are not at war with anyone, but are involved in peacekeeping -- and increasingly, peaceMAKING -- activities abroad. While building much-needed roads and schools and hospitals, our soldiers risk attack from insurgents, death or injury from land mines and IEDs, and as the British recently experienced, even assault by those who could benefit most from military assistance.

We mourn the loss of each one of our servicemen and servicewomen.

What is rarely publicized are the peacetime deaths of military personnel who are lost in training accidents, vehicle accidents, airplane crashes, suicides, murders, and terminal illnesses. I have lost friends and comrades in all of these ways during my years of service.

For me, Remembrance Day is not only about remembering the sacrifices of all our military personnel in all of the wars, but also about remembering those in uniform who died doing their duty in whatever capacity they were assigned, and remembering all those who have served regardless of time or place.

Today, I remember Claire, Rod, Wayne, Dave S., Jane, Marty, Jerry, Les, Doug C., Alex, Andy, David W., Ron, John A., Derek, Myrna, Don, Laurent, Mike, Dennis, Bud, Greg P., Mick, David G., Pierre, Sybille, Art, Charlie, Marcel, Loretta, Donnie, Ken, Doug W., George L., Andre, Joe G., Geoff, Doug A., Gord K., Val, and others...

Je me souviens. I remember. Then. Now. Forever.

Convocation

2009-10-27T18:10:00.008-04:00

I attended Seneca's convocation ceremony today to celebrate our 2009 graduates, including our Tech Comm grad certificate students. It was great seeing them, and the computer studies students I teach in EAC397 and other courses as well. There is the usual pomp and circumstance one would expect from a college graduation ceremony. It's an energizing day.

One of the things we do at convocation is confer Honorary Degrees on notable personages who merit such recognition. This year's recipients were brothers Craig and Mark Kielburger. You may know about them from their work with Free the Children, a foundation that seeks to educate children and keep them from slavery and sweat shops. This foundation is based on the premise that every child deserves a happy, healthy and safe childhood.

The origins of this foundation came from then-12-year-old Craig`s outrage on reading about a young Pakistani boy named Iqbal Masih who was forced into bonded labour in a carpet factory at the age of four, became an international figurehead for the fight against child labor by 10 years of age, and was brutally murdered in 1995 when he was 12.

Research into child labour, then sharing his findings with schoolmates, family and friends led Craig and his older brother Mark into social activism and contact with many public figures as they fought for rights for children.

Craig`s address to our convocation ceremony was uplifting and meaningful. He spoke about the time that he and his brother worked alongside Mother Theresa in Calcutta some years ago. He shared some advice she had given them. She took their hands into her rough ones ``like sandpaper from her years of service`` and said to them, ``If you cannot do great things, do small things with great love.``

My sons RJ and Devon are about the same age as Craig Kielburger. They didn`t grow up in Thornhill, as he did; they grew up in Fernwood and on armed forces bases, and attended inner city schools. Their parents didn`t have the money to send them to Harvard or to Thailand and India. Their parents barely had the money to keep them housed and clothed most of the time.

Their father overcame an abusive childhood to excel in his profession and rise to the top rank in his specialty, throughout the years influencing many young soldiers and providing an example of leadership and personal triumph. He continues to demonstrate his personal courage day to day, and offers his time to counsel addicts in making positive life changes.

Their mother is known for little except encouraging and inspiring her students, often sharing a kind word and a smile with a beleaguered store clerk, coaching others to get jobs and sort out their lives, leading laughter sessions, and reaching out through her writing and other activities to those who need to be reminded that they are unique, capable, and so very precious.

It was not our branch of the Agnew family that produced David Agnew, formerly head of UNICEF and currently the President of Seneca College.

Still, my Agnews are doing okay. I am not in the least disappointed that neither of my sons has yet achieved the international recognition that Craig Keilburger has deserved. When I think of my sons, I notice their average day-to-day activities just diligently going to work, getting there on time, and giving full value to their employer. They are honest, loyal friends to those who know them. They are compassionate, honourable men who treat women with respect, all people with kindness, and animals with mercy. They each have a good sense of fair play, good sportsmanship, and generosity. They act and speak with integrity. They clearly know right from wrong, and operate on principles of justice, equality, and respect. They can be counted on when times get tough, and they don't take themselves too seriously.

All in all, RJ and Devon may not do the great things that some others do. But I know that the small things they do, they do with great love. I couldn't ask for more, and of that I am very proud indeed.

Cracking ourselves up...

2009-10-25T19:19:00.008-04:00

This is how my son RJ and I crack ourselves up from time to time. It usually starts with an innocent conversation...

So the other night we were just shooting the breeze during dinner. He said something about factoids, and I said I have so much interesting but largely useless knowledge in my head, that it is just full of factoids.

For example, I said, they did a study on sheep that found that because they spend all their lives in a flock, they don't ever like to be alone. And they found that if you have to separate a sheep from the flock, it gets very nervous, so one way to ease its fright is to put a large mirror beside it. That way, the sheep sees another sheep in the mirror and thinks it's not alone. I said, the same thing works for Alpacas (which I owned a few years ago). So if you have to transport a single alpaca, to a show, or when it's sold perhaps, if you put a large mirror in the truck or trailer, it calms down because it thinks it has company.

And what works even better is two mirrors so that the alpacas sees a multitude of alpacas on either side of him and feels he's in a herd again.

RJ said, you know, sheep can actually recognize each other by their faces. There was a Youtube video of where they put a Halloween mask on a sheep and all the other sheep in the flock ran away from it because they didn't know who it was.

I said, well, if sheep can recognize faces, wouldn't they look in the mirror and recognize their own face and think, Hey, that's me?

RJ said, Not in a Halloween mask.

And THAT is when we both started laughing.

See, now, don't you wish you could come to dinner at my house? :-)

Blast from the Past

2009-10-17T03:16:00.006-04:00

Just came across this and thought I'd resurrect it and share it with you. It was posted to a forum in response to comments about the standards of writing we're seeing on web pages and in the popular media. I wrote it in March 2008:

I think it's very much a "you get what you pay for"
situation. Better pay = better writing. As long as
the market continues to accept poor quality
writing, purveyors will provide it at the lowest
possible cost.

We're already victims of the sleeper effect --
you see enough bad writing, you unconsciously
start to write that way yourself and your tolerance
for what is "bad" lowers, unless you maintain
constant vigilance. There are few gatekeepers
anymore. Those print editors who tormented
writers until the prose was perfect aren't around
anymore. Publishers who refused to sacrifice
quality for revenue have been eliminated by their
corporate masters in favor of increased sales.

The gap between the truly literate, meaning those
who have studied literature enough to know
what good writing looks like, and the illiterate is
widening. We're seeing this in our students whose
text messaging style permeates their academic essays.

I choose to believe that good writing and good
communication will always prevail, though fewer
will be able to recognize it.

The "sleeper effect" I'm talking about is the persistence and persuasiveness of something we see even when we give the source no credibility whatsoever. I've even found myself doing it -- typing "they're" instead of "their", and "your" or "it's" instead of the more correct "you're" and "its" in their proper context.

As a professional writer -- and a nit-picky one at that -- I know full well the difference in when to use "they're" versus "their", and so on. But because I've seen the wrong one used so very often, it has lodged in my brain, and unless I'm truly paying attention when I write, I'm just as likely to use the incorrect homonym.

Well, at least I haven't sunk to using "ur" yet...

Best Lecturer?

2009-10-08T08:09:00.003-04:00

Finally some news to report! I have just been nominated for TVO's 2010 Best Lecturer Competition. Woot! This is fun and very rewarding because it means my students think my classes are at least somewhat interesting and worthy of sharing with the rest of the world.

I like to think that I make the crushingly boring topic of Technical Communication compelling, at least for our Tech Comm students. Of course, if you were a technical communicator, you'd see, as I do, the many exciting facets of this broad profession. Techwriters as a group are pretty interesting people. We have often had variegated careers and because the nature of our work requires the ability to grasp other topics quickly, most technical communicators are sharp, well-read, and able to discuss thoughtfully and cogently on a variety of subjects. Our profession is about relationships as well as business, information, technology and communication, so we cover the gamut of things that are important to people day to day.

The competition requires submission of video from one or more of my classes. It won't be the first time a camera has captured me doing what I do, and just about any class could make compelling viewing, even if you don't have a background in the subject matter. I don't say that out of ego, but as a practical reality -- if you don't have something that engages your students each class, how do you expect them to show up, pay attention, and learn anything? It's Teaching 101, really.

Mind you, there are some aspects of technical communication that are a LOT more fun than others. And coupled with my quirky sense of humour, you can imagine -- those of you who know me -- how some of those go...design, usability, dealing with SMEs, overcoming communication challenges and just making life easier for the user are all fodder for my own particular take.

Get me talking about the Segway and you'll see!

Boundaries

2009-09-10T11:11:00.007-04:00

I was talking to a young friend yesterday about relationships. In my position as a college professor, and as an, um, experienced woman who is also a mother and a life coach, I am often asked to share some hard-won wisdom with my friends. The crux of our conversation yesterday was boundaries.

Boundaries are important in any relationship. Boundaries represent the lines each one of us draws to communicate to others what things are acceptable, and what things are not. Mushy or vague boundaries, or the absence of them altogether, spells disaster for any relationship. There are NO relationships where boundaries are unnecessary.

Respecting someone else's boundaries shows care and concern for them.
Disrespecting boundaries, continually crossing the lines that have been drawn, shows contempt and belies any affection or love one might profess.

Relaxing your own boundaries, dropping them completely, or ignoring when they have been crossed takes away your personal power, and leaves you open to being treated in disrespectful fashion by others.

Boundaries can be major: "No drinking alcohol" or minor: "Breaking the spines of our shared paperback books drives me crazy!"

Some examples of boundaries:

I will not date someone who smokes.
I'm not picking up after you; you have to keep your own room neat.
It is not acceptable for you to hit me, EVER.
It's rude to talk on your cell phone during dinner.
I expect you to call me and let me know if you are going to be late or won't be showing up.
I don't like it when you call me "monkey-face".

Crossing of boundaries should result in a talking point. That means, if someone has stepped across the boundary you have drawn, you both need to talk about it.

Mistakes happen. In relationships, they usually happen because the parties involved have never discussed that particular situation or established boundaries around that issue. "You never said you had a problem with me watching the Sunday afternoon football game every week, why are you mad at me?" The crossed boundary? Sunday afternoons are together time for us as a couple.

Boundaries represent values and expected behaviors. Most relationships develop in a way that makes a frank discussion of boundaries an artificial occurrence, something that has to be planned and carried out. However, this formal approach is not necessary. It may not occur to you that you have a boundary in a certain area until you see evidence of it being breached. You react by feeling disrespected or by getting angry. That's the time to talk to the offending party and clear the air.

A helpful approach is to say something like "When you didn't call me to tell me you were working late, I felt worried. I would like you to call me whenever you are going to be later than I expect." Notice the colored words. When you structure your conversation as suggested, you keep the focus neutral, neither accusing nor defending. You state the person's behavior that you didn't like, and state how you felt when that happened. Follow that with the behavior you would like to see instead.

The other person may counter that with words that seek to explain the breach and clarify the boundary. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I wasn't aware of time passing and that client meeting was very important. Sometimes when I'm in afternoon meetings they run long and I can't get away to call you. What if I call you as soon as I get out of the meeting to tell you I'm on my way home?"

This opens the door for negotiating the boundary and making it clear to both sides where it is and what it represents. We don't have time to go into the additional meanings behind boundaries and breaches; that may be the subject of a post some other time. But suffice to say that it is fair for each person in a relationship to establish boundaries around things that are important to them.

Too many boundaries, or boundaries you disagree with, indicate potential trouble spots in the relationship and should be given a serious look.

You can make boundaries for yourself as well: I don't shop on Sundays. In this way, they delineate your own behavior, standards and values. The old saying "Good fences make good neighbours" had to do with physical boundaries around property lines and how they contributed to relationships between people living close together. Intangible, behavioural boundaries are just as good for contributing to good interpersonal relationships.

It is said that we teach people how to treat us. One of the ways we do that is by making our boundaries clear to those with whom we interact.

What are your boundaries?

Why am I here?

2009-09-08T14:36:00.004-04:00

They are the age-old questions that each of us asks at some point as we grow up:

Who am I?
Why am I here?

I tend to believe that the first question is answered by the second. If we know why we are where we are, we can usually figure out what qualities we have as individuals that have brought us to that location at that point in time.

Deep philosophical stuff for a blog that is usually lighter in tone.

This pondering has been prompted by my introductory remarks to our first class of TCN701 -- The Technical Communicator this year. Seneca's 2009/2010 academic year started today, and I'm energized by the new class. They represent not only people from all types of backgrounds but people with all sorts of talents, abilities and experiences. By way of letting them know who they're getting as an instructor (me), I tell them a little about what brought me to Seneca and why I think I have something to offer them.

It behooves each of us to question -- from time to time, not continuously -- who and what we are all about. Often given to introspection, I perhaps question more than most. Of course, asking the question is not what matters; answering it is.

I told the class today that teaching at Seneca is my dream job, and it is. I get to share what I know with up and coming practitioners in my field, and help them navigate the rushing waters that flow around choosing a career direction. On behalf of Seneca I get to reach out into the broader community and network with employers, industry experts, people in related fields and industries, and the general public. And I still get enough free time to enjoy my own company and recreate as I feel inclined.

Why am I here?
Because the universe chose me to stand in this exact spot and do what it is I do.

Tally ho!

I Knew That!

2009-09-01T15:23:00.004-04:00

Some time ago, during executive training at the Niagara Institute, I took the Meyers-Briggs evaluation of personality type. My results are: ENFJ: (Extraversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Judgment)!

ENFJ
You are warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. You are highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. You find potential in everyone, and want to help others fulfill their potential. You may act as a catalyst for individual and group growth. You are loyal, and are responsive to praise and criticism. You are sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership. Famous people with your same ENFJ personality include: Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Dick Van Dyke, Diane Sawyer, Peyton Manning, Pete Sampras, Johnny Depp, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Get Smarter - Play Video Games!

2009-06-09T12:20:00.003-04:00

Guy Kawasaki quoted Dr. Richard Restak on ten tips for improving your brain. See http://adjix.com/35yg. I like the first one, myself:

Take up video-gaming. Action video games improve eye-hand coordination, improve spatial visualization skills, and increase the number of things that you can visually attend to simultaneously.

In my view, video games, especially the immersive MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, should be standard in every seniors facility. Not only do they provide the brain stimulation as mentioned by Restak above, but they are opportunities for social interaction, personal challenge and achievement, and provide a rich virtual environment in which to play and learn.

Players in WoW and other similar games interact with others of all ages, cultures and nationalities through the course of the game. They are continually given problems to solve (quests) and confronted with situations that require collaboration (dungeons) or research (what gear should I choose?). These activities tie into #2 and #8 in the article quoted above.

We didn't really need excuses to play video games, but it's good to have expert support for this fun activity. And if you can't visit great-grandma as often as you like, at least make sure her subscription to WoW is up to date.

Heroic Effort

2009-06-08T03:08:00.002-04:00

Here's something I wrote to help a young man get a job at a very prominent gaming company:

HERO CLASS: Customer Service Rep

Increased strength, stamina, agility and intellect
Arsenal of powers and spells including inspired trouble-shooting, with greater effect against undead technologies such as unliving CPUs, routers and modems
Equipped with unique weapons of mitigation, designed to cleave through service issues, pacify targets, and deal high levels of satisfaction per second (SPS)
Skilled in dual-wielding monitors for greater visibility of issues
Core ability to summon and control electrical energy over wireless and land-based lines
Innate ability to communicate effectively with all factions, races, classes and levels
Intuitive Presence: invoked whenever the CSR encounters mind-numbing issues or immobilizing hardware/software effects – grants the ability to quickly discern solutions and bring swift resolution.

Yeah, it was successful in getting him some attention. He's been working there for a few weeks now. Without his own abilities, he never would have landed this dream job. This blurb simply helped float his resume to the top of the pile of thousands of competitors.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the company copied it and passed it around, or hung it on the wall.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T12:24:00.003-04:00

This is Memorial Day for the US. A similar day for us in Canada is November 11, Remembrance Day, always a hard day for me. Because many of the people I've been talking to in the last few weeks, both for social and business, have been in the US, Memorial Day is at the front of my mind. So today I choose to remember all those I care about who are currently serving in the military. I'm reaching out to each of them to remind them of my love and support.

Perhaps no one knows better what military life is like than someone who has gone through it. While the public sees a portion of it, and our families -- if they want to -- see a little more, only those on the inside know what it's really all about. I have to say that the time I served was one of the best experiences of my life. That's a net gain, because there were parts of it that were simply horrible. But overall, taken as a body of experience and knowledge increase, it was a period of time that I would not trade for anything. I learned lessons about people, organizations, leadership, other countries, cultures, and the world that I could never have learned in any other way. Mostly, I learned a lot about myself, and that was an education that money just can't buy.

I excelled in certain areas of the military, and was abysmally poor at others, but it was a defining period in my life where I learned my limits, and how far I could go in wildly surpassing those limits. I learned that I could take just about anything, and survive just about anything -- and what was needed from within myself to do that. I learned that I had more strength inside me than anyone would have believed -- even me. I learned that there is always a solution to every problem -- sometimes not the solution we would like, but there is one. I learned not to sweat the small stuff, and how to look at big things to realize that they really are just small stuff. I learned that people matter more than anything else, and how we treat other people is the only real goal of our existence.

Sometimes I forget those lessons. I get caught up in day to day life among people whose depth of character resembles a toddler's plastic wading pool, one that is only half full at that. I get distracted by the minutiae that others use to structure their time and their lives, and I get roped into trying to help those who don't want to be helped. I get sidetracked believing that most of the people I encounter day to day have the same level of experience as I do, and when I finally realize that they barely know what life is all about, I feel a sense of loss on their behalf. There is so much more that they don't know!! And still I hope, I believe, and I try -- as futile as that sometimes is. Because that's what we learn in the military -- we learn to deal with all kinds of people to get the job done. We learn to care about our comrades. And we learn to never, NEVER give up.

Thinking of never giving up, my thoughts turn to my serving friends, and I admire them for their courage, their compassion, their persistence in the face of crass stupidity, overwhelming selfishness, and sometimes even collective insanity. I think of my friends in the military and I am grateful to know them, because they are pieces of this crazy quilt that is my life -- integral pieces that remind me that I do have a purpose, and that purpose is to touch the lives of others and to give them whatever I can give. Because, like in the military, we are all in this together, and no one can do it alone.

I think about my friends in uniform, and I send up a prayer to whatever force in the universe handles such things, and I ask for protection and love to always be with those I care about.
To my many friends in the military, wherever you are, be well on this Memorial Day and always. You have a place in my heart where you are always safe, and very much loved.

Where did the Time Go?

2009-05-15T11:21:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe it has been almost two years since I updated this blog! Life certainly has a way of derailing you when you had planned to do other things. A lot has happened in those two years, some of which I'll speak about as I catch up.

Some good. Some bad. Some great! Some utterly devastating.

So my life is a lot like yours then.

Beyond just the passage of time in those two years has been the immense personal growth I've experienced. I'd like to share some of that with you as we go along. Remember, this blog is not just so you can see what I'm up to (as long as I reveal it here!) but what I'm thinking and feeling about it as it unfolds. Never at a loss for an opinion, and freely willing to share it even if no one asks for it, I may occasionally have something valuable for you to take away.

They say that it is worthwhile to learn from your own experience; it is even more worthwhile to learn from the experiences of others. Let's continue to do both.

And to summarize the past two years -- truly, there were multiple projects, always a new idea, and never a dull moment!

Day 31 30DC - Now What?

2007-08-31T23:58:00.000-04:00

Whew! It's over! Or it will be very shortly. Making sure that all participants get every possible in order to qualify for the grand prize trip to Australia, Ed and Co. have determined that the official deadline is midnight Hawaii time.

I think it's so the goddess Kummonayewantmymunni can bless the last efforts of everyone who has been diligently working the plan, mining their niches, and promoting their sites.

My grand total, as of this writing, is $46.45 which I think is pretty fair for what constitutes only a few days of my sites being in operation. Of course, there's a whole MONTH of work behind all that.

The question is, now what? I have tons of work to do for the upcoming semester and a few things happening in my life as well. I want to keep going, using the new skills I've learned. And I know the value of momentum, that forward motion that helps you continue moving in the right direction. It's a lot harder to get started again after a stop. The next few days will dictate how I proceed. Here's hoping that I will have the time and energy to add this to my routine and keep working on my sites. The promise of additional $$ is there; I just have to keep them up to date or at least fresh enough for a respectable showing in the search engines.

In the meantime, I'm taking a bit of a break! Blogging about the challenge has been fun, but I don't want to succumb to the tyranny of the daily blog. When it becomes a grind, and a job, it's no longer fun.

Stay tuned. I am committed to "always a new idea, never a dull moment", and will report back on that shortly.

Day 30 30DC - SO Tempting!

2007-08-30T13:11:00.001-04:00

I am REALLY tempted to haul out one of the other niches I've discovered and put up Site #3. I've got the process down pat -- I think -- and things are working. Neither of the niches so far are the oil wells I thought they could be, but it is early yet. Some continued drilling is obviously necessary.

Knowing that, however, it is still tempting to throw a few more irons into the fire. After all, the gospel according to my friend Robert Allen is to have multiple streams of income. If one or two sites are starting to bear fruit, then why not have a few more?

In practical terms, I cannot maintain that many sites. Not at the moment. And they're not generating enough income yet that I can justify hiring someone to help with the maintenance.

But it is a great idea, and I'll let it incubate a little longer...

Day 29 30DC - Site #2 Rings In!

2007-08-29T13:06:00.000-04:00

I am more than thrilled to report that I have now made some money from the second niche, the one that was put on the back burner when I made the choice of which one to launch first. With a few spare moments, I managed to get Site #2 up and running, posted and ranked.

It has now reciprocated with a small sale that nets me some profit. (Although not a lot if you consider the amount of time I've spent on it, but still...)

So that reinforces for me that the process does indeed work, and more importantly, that **I** can work it. That makes all the difference.

It's fine watching someone else do these activities and make their $$ on the internet, but until you master the process yourself, you don't really become converted to it. Nice to know that what I did with Site #1 has been replicated with Site #2 and it too can generate income for me.

Day 28 30DC - Winding Down in a Way

2007-08-28T13:02:00.000-04:00

With a new semester starting shortly, and the Challenge coming to an end, I definitely need to look at my workload and perhaps start to wind down. I don't want to. Now that I've built up some momentum and started a successful site (or 2) I want to keep going.

But reality is quickly descending. I have more responsibilities this semester, with new courses and plenty of challenges in the academic sector not just on the internet. So I'm going to have to look at how I can keep working on my sites while not neglecting any of my students. In fact, the students are the priority so it will be the other way around -- how to best serve my students while still being able to dabble in the internet marketing.

Now THAT's a challenge!

Day 27 30DC - Not Just a Fluke

2007-08-27T12:58:00.001-04:00

There have been two more sales on my site, so this new niche is working out nicely. As with most internet marketers, I'm being close-mouthed about the niches and key phrases I am using. This is a competitive business and the waters are full of sharks. Especially the kind of sharks who prefer to get something easy than do the work themselves.

As I said yesterday, it IS work. I have been swamped this weekend but still managed to update my content a little. That daily attention is what is necessary to keep the sites lively and interesting.

But at this point, four days days from the end of the Challenge, I am pleased that I've been able to make those first few dollars.

Now, it's just "rinse and repeat".

Day 26 30DC - No Blips Today

2007-08-26T12:53:00.003-04:00

Can't realistically expect every day to be a money maker, but that is the ultimate goal. There were no $$ drops today. :-(

As long as I keep up the momentum, though, I am sure that there will be additional sales. The key is to maintain the work on the sites and the niches, and keep the content fresh. That will keep them being crawled and ranked by the search engines and therefore easily accessible to people who want to buy.

Remember, it's easy to sell someone something if it provides a solution to their problem. They will only know it's their solution when they come across your site. That's why having a top ranking gives you a greater chance in snagging the buyers.

Of course it's work! Like most money-making activities.

Day 25 30DC - Eureka!

2007-08-25T11:50:00.004-04:00

I no sooner posted my new site, completed my social media postings, and checked my rankings in Google and voila! My first $10.00!! So now my name goes into the draw for the trip to Australia. Yay!

To be specific, it was a $24.95 item sale price of which I get 60%, which is $14.97. So I've hit the goal and can now relax. Whew! Did I say "relax"? Not a chance! The point is to keep doing what I've been doing, and keep following the instructions until the challenge ends. Sort of like taking all of the antibiotics your doctor prescribes. When there is a specific route to follow, don't go off track unless you are absolutely sure where you are going. Good advice any time, but especially useful when the goal is to achieve something that very few people have managed to do.

You might think that there are scores of people making money on the internet, thanks to all the spam of which you are aware. Unfortunately, those are just people TRYING, often unsuccessfully, to make money. Most of them are spending much more than they are making, and annoying people in the process.

That's why Ed & Co.'s 30 Day Challenge is so valuable. Not only does it teach correct principles that avoid spam, but it is possible for anyone who follows the instructions to achieve a successful result.

I've just proved it! Thanks, Ed!

Day 24 30DC - Conversion and a New Challenge!

2007-08-24T22:07:00.000-04:00

Here we are, a week from the end of the challenge, and by Gosh, we are starting again! We are now concentrating on conversion, making sure that we have a product that converts visitors into sales. That's really minor compared to the gauntlet Ed just threw down.

Offering a prize of a flight to Australia to attend the next Immediate Edge conference, the challenge is to start from zero on Friday and make that first $10.00 by 9 am. Monday morning. If you succeed, your name goes into a draw for the free flight. (I believe it is a return flight.)

So, what better time to launch another niche than that? I began from a standing start at 6:29 p.m. today, Friday. As of writing this at about 10 pm. I have secured a brand new niche and keyphrase, obtained a platform, created the first few posts, installed my tracking codes, and begun the social posting process. Whew!

I rather wish I didn't have such a busy weekend coming up with other things that have nothing to do with the Thirty Day Challenge.

Day 23 30DC - The Waiting Game

2007-08-23T11:51:00.000-04:00

Well, no, I'm not sitting around waiting. I'm actually working on a second niche and spending quite a bit of time doing the social media thing, generally and for some of my team members. I haven't seen any movement yet on my first site. I have seen competition -- it turns out that key phrase was a little more popular than I thought.

Personally, I think my rendition of the pages about the niche are far better than those of my competitors, but perhaps they are more aggressive at getting the rankings and social bookmarking. I prefer to have it happen a little more naturally, as Ed has suggested.

I think you can also tell who can write, and who cannot. And who knows anything about their subject matter, and who does not. I think readers can tell as well.

So I have every expectation that my site(s) will rise to the top of the quality ladder, but perhaps not in time for completing this challenge within the 30 days.

Still, it is an amazing learning experience. Ed has let us know that it is indeed the largest, by far, online Internet Marketing training ever given. There are some interesting stats as well. In previous years' Thirty Day Challenges, there was an initial boost in traffic as people signed up, but over the course of the month, the number of users dropped off, making a distinct downhill line on the graph.

With this year's Thirty Day Challenge, it has been the opposite. As word spreads about the training and the results we are having, more people are showing up to see what's going on.

In the world of Web 2.0, you can expect people to gather wherever something interesting is occurring. That's a good marketing message any time.

End of Semester

2007-08-22T09:22:00.000-04:00

After the pressure of exams (on both students and professors) it is nice to have a chance to conclude the semester's business and look forward to the next semester, which is imminent. It's enough of a break to allow for some catching of breath, and to take care of some housekeeping to prepare for the new school year.

I just got this from one of my students:

I would like to thank you for what was easily one of the most thought-provoking classes that I've had throughout both college programs that I have been in. I really hope to apply a lot of the ideologies in my future projects.

It's always nice to know that students get something out of the courses I teach. It's even better when they apply what they've learned in their future endeavours and it makes their lives richer for the educational experience they have received.

That's why I do what I do, in the way that I do it. FIGJAM!

Day 22 30DC - Playing in Traffic

2007-08-22T09:09:00.000-04:00

Part two of Ed's magnificent symphony in four parts is all about traffic -- getting it, keeping it, watching what it does. To that end, the folks at Thirty Day Challenge have provided us with a statistics tracker. We know the now-old business adage that you can't manage what you don't measure. Tracking statistics with any business venture, whether online or offline, is vitally important.

The other aspect to tracking -- which is really testing and observing results -- is to make changes only under controlled conditions. Think of it in the same way as doing a laboratory experiment. In order to know for certain which factors affect the outcome of the experiment, you must set up your test design (your experiment design) in such a way that you can control as many of the variables as possible.

Then as you run your test or conduct the experiment, you observe and record -- record -- results. If the outcome is not what you expected (or hypothesized), or to explore the results further, you then make a change in one (only one, if you please) variable and run the experiment again. Observing and recording once more. In this way you build up a body of empirical data that informs your decision-making about what has been going on in your test or experiment, and why these results might be occurring. This is the nature of scientific inquiry.

Remember, too, that you must run the test over a statistically-significant sample, over a reasonable time frame to obtain accurate data, and continually be vigilant for other factors or variables you hadn't accounted for which may be affecting the outcome.

Many marketers skimp on the market research phase of their projects, and suffer the consequences. Even more marketers do not conduct adequate testing of their campaigns and therefore make poorly-informed decisions (guesses, really) and also cannot prove to their clients what works and why, and what doesn't. Many marketers would be flat out of business if they billed based on results.

Once you know how and why you are getting the results you are getting, you can duplicate the test -- it's repeatable. More than that, it's predictable. That is the key for experiments as well, and the crux of the scientific method. Given the same controlled situation and variables, any other researcher should be able to replicate the experiment and get the same results. In business, it means that you can achieve the same successes over and over again, and even predict the outcomes. It doesn't get much better than that.

Day 21 30DC - Regaining Momentum

2007-08-21T16:10:00.000-04:00

Now that we're over Tumblrgate and have regrouped enough to put up our niche pages once again, we can begin to move forward in earnest. Due to end of term and some other concurrent projects needing my attention, I have chosen to focus on just the one niche to get it up and running before working on the second one.

As Ed reminds us, all of this is still market testing. We are testing to see if the visitors to our pages will like what they see enough to convert to sales. Hence the emphasis on quality content.

And just an aside, if you are doing ANYTHING on the internet that does not involve quality content, what are you thinking? Don't we have enough dreck out there without you adding to it? That's not what I taught you at Seneca!!!

I get to say that because it's my job at college to turn out skilled content providers. So they had all better uphold the values I teach about that. And remember, light and fluffy content intended for fun can still be quality content -- and had better be, in a Web 2.0 world.

So, to get back on track, the rules of the game are the same. The venue may have changed, but the core players have not. The goal is still the same -- to generate at least $10.00 from one or more of our niche webpages. Some people are already claiming victory. Good for them. Early success is indeed wonderful -- but so is longevity. I want not only that first $10.00, I want it to be followed by many, many, many of its friends.

Day 20 30DC - Regroup and Go Again

2007-08-20T12:44:00.004-04:00

Okay, the Tumblr thing was unfortunate, but that's life on the Internet. Time to regroup and go again. I have already secured another platform and begun to publish quality content (as I always do) on my niche topic. Let's see how this one fares.

I believe that it will have the same spectacular results if I use the same techniques to get it ranked in the search engines and drawing traffic. We are getting the opportunity to refine the process, and of course, as with anything else, repetition is a good way to ensure you learn what is being taught.

I'll keep you posted.

Day 19 30DC - Tumbled!!

2007-08-19T12:44:00.000-04:00

I suppose it had to happen. When you have thousands of people doing the same thing at the same time, it is going to get someone's attention, even on the Internet. Tumblr has shut down any page created on August 18. This is a knee-jerk reaction to the mass creation of pages on their site. Frankly, it could also be a server problem, and I think all the action scared them.

They may have a legitimate reason from a content standpoint. As we know, the internet marketing field is glutted with scum-sucking bottom-feeding spammers who, instead of following ethical teachings such as in the Thirty Day Challenge, voraciously grasp onto any new technique and pervert it for their own selfish purposes. There were quite a few Tumblr pages that were blatant hard sells instead of providing good quality content. The Tumblr folks didn't want their platform abased and their credibility ruined by hosting illegitimate content. It would very quickly turn off their audience, and drive away their visitors. They have every right to run their shop the way they see fit, since they are footing the bill.

Unfortunately, a fair number of good pages with high quality content, including mine, were axed in the mass suspensions.

The bottom-feeders have always given internet marketing a bad name, and it looks like they are continuing to do so. This is why you must be SO CAREFUL when trying to do business on the Internet.

What is good, however, is that in a Web 2.0 world, social pressure has huge clout. It is the only defence against these kinds of people. If you come across a site that is a blatant sales-only selfish attempt to grab money, Stumble it with a thumbs down, give it a bad review, and if necessary, report it to the hosting provider. Speak loudly and clearly that we don't want this crap on the internet. Google, Squidoo, and other major entities already slap down any offenders, and most platforms have Terms of Service agreements that contain clauses allowing them to do the same.

If you provide quality content, your gentle and organic sales message will be accepted and even welcomed. Bottom line: Give before you get.

Day 18 30DC - Ranked and Glad of it

2007-08-18T12:46:00.000-04:00

I probably wouldn't have believed it possible if I hadn't seen it. Within a day of launching my page, I am ranked position #6 in Google search results for that keyword phrase! Here's the proof:

That's pretty amazing, and proof that the strategies and techniques that we are learning on the Thirty Day Challenge work a treat, as my friends from Oz would say.

Now it just remains to be seen how the traffic shakes out. I have Google Analytics embedded to capture those results.

Day 17 30DC - Time for Launch

2007-08-17T12:43:00.000-04:00

I have been disciplined enough to keep pace with the training rather than running ahead, thinking I knew where I was going. For a go-getter like me, that is difficult. But it's just as well -- learning to follow a process or workflow is one way to ensure you learn exactly what is required. Wish my students realized this sometimes.

Today we've received the go ahead to launch our pages. The intent is to put some quality content on a page, utilize our keyword phrase, and include our affiliate link in case anyone wants to buy product. The key is to have a good site that will attract attention, and gratify the visitors who discover it.

Since mine is about a reasonably popular topic, and I have my own spin on it, this should work very well. The platform we are using for the pages is Tumblr, though any page would do. It will be interesting to see how this actually works.

Day 16 30DC - Start Your Engines!

2007-08-16T18:49:00.000-04:00

Now it's time to rev up the engines that will propel us toward that first $10.00 made online, and perhaps much more. In addition to making sure we have a good niche -- low competition, adequate number of searches per day, a market that pays for product -- we find an affiliate program with a ready-made product to promote on our website as a test.

You might think that we should sell our own products on our sites. Well, yes. But that will come. Right now, before a product is even developed, it's important to crank up the traffic engine and ensure that people with an interest in the topic are finding the web page all right. The gauge of this is in the number of visitors you get, and whether any of them are interested enough in the topic to open their wallets and pay for a product in that niche.

Remember, we still haven't laid out one single penny on any of this so far. And we're not investing development time yet, either. We're taking something that is already successfully selling elsewhere, and offering it on our page as well. In effect, using a proven product, that already converts visitors into buyers. Through affiliate programs, you can begin to make money with other peoples' products before you have any of your own.

It's akin to selling on consignment. You showcase someone's product, and if it's bought, you get a percentage of that sale. You don't have to do anything other than display it and promote it. Since we are using free display and promotion mechanisms, it's a no-risk, no-cost option. My favorite kind.

Day 15 30DC - Playing in Traffic

2007-08-15T21:21:00.000-04:00

Halfway through the Thirty Day Challenge, we have finally reached movement 2 of what Ed calls "A Magnificent Symphony in Four Parts". This part deals with traffic. The first, of course, was market research. If you think that 15 days preparation in a 30-day challenge is somewhat lopsided, you would be wrong. As previously mentioned, there is no skimping on the research and analysis phase if you want to maximize your efforts during development to have an error-free launch.

So maybe there's no such thing as "error-free" launches, but you can certainly reduce the risk. And that's what the Thirty Day Challenge is all about. Minimizing risk means ensuring that you have sufficient traffic to get enough potential buyers to your site that a reasonable percentage of them can be converted, and thus bring you the all important sale. Conversion and Product being the remaining parts of the symphony.

Having done the market research, I know that my niche choices meet or exceed the minimum criteria for number of searches per day. So I can be confident that if I have a top-ranking position in the search engines, I will be getting a certain number of people looking at my web page every day. The trick, of course, is to get to that high ranking position in a search.

Enter Web 2.0 and its social networking tools. By having other people notice, comment, tag, and refer your site, you get additional clout with Google and your page rank goes up. The more attention your site gets, the more searches it gets, and the higher it shows up on the hit list.

If you can get parts I and II right, III and IV are not going to be that difficult. As I tell my students, do what is hard, life is easy; do what is easy, life is hard. Let's make this as easy as possible.

Think About It

2007-08-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

What would Google do?

All online business, e-commerce, and internet marketing is very much influenced by Google. Why? If you don't behave when you put up a website, Google will slap you. Really! Underhanded marketing techniques, inept SEO (search engine optimization) and ignorance of the way the web works all will get you ignored by Google, or at worst, banned.

So perhaps it's wise to remember who carries the big stick, and make them your friend.

Blogging for Business

2007-08-14T11:53:00.000-04:00

Susan Payton of Egg Marketing recently invited me to participate in the week-long online forum for business blogging. All this week we will be talking about why blogs are an important tool for businesses today.

There are some businesses for which a blog is becoming a necessity, and it is an inexpensive way to promote your business on a daily basis. While it does not replace press releases and other forms of PR, it is an important Web 2.0 addition to these traditional ways of getting the word out about your products and services.

From a marketing standpoint, however, check out what Susan is doing with this online forum. It is an updated, online version of the old standby article type called a Roundup Article that we used to do for magazines and newspapers (and still do!).

Instead of physically getting the panel participants together, which would cost a fair bit if you had to gather people from all parts of the globe and put them up in a hotel, you pose the same questions to each person individually and then amalgamate the responses. The writing links each answer to the others in a way that sounds as if there is a true discussion going on.

This is the same technique you see (but don't notice) on the evening news, when the anchor is "interviewing" the foreign correspondent, who replied to a list of questions earlier. The video is sent back to the network and intercut with clips of the anchor asking the questions. "That's a good question, Lloyd, the people here are extremely concerned about their water quality."

This technique allows for "timeshifting" -- capturing information at one point in time and replaying it for effect at another point in time.

Gathering a panel of experts is always impressive, and adds an interesting dimension to your blog or article.

Day 14 30DC - Idol Rambling

2007-08-14T11:18:00.000-04:00

The key to making money online is exactly the same as the key to making money offline (I know that's such a revelation). And that is knowing ahead of time what has the greatest chance of making money. Ed Dale (and others) have called this the American Idol approach. It's a great way to minimize risk and create a hungry market.

All of the Idol shows are superb at building up a following for the artist(s) and creating a pre-sold market for their CD releases. They know the winning artist will be successful at product sales because millions of people are voting for them. It's only a short hop from there to voting with their wallets by buying the winners' music.

Meanwhile, there's promotion and marketing going on in the background -- product licensing, images, blogs, and so on. Quite an amazing marketing machine that funds itself as it goes along. "Juggernaut" is the word for it.

In previous years' Thirty Day Challenges we've used a technique called "fly catching" which is to post a web page that is as compelling (sweet) as you can make it, and then open the windows (promote it with Pay Per Click advertising). The objective was to see how many flies (customers) would land on it and stick, meaning they'd like what they see and enter their e-mail contact info to get on your mailing list for future marketing.

Since people are a lot more discriminating than flies, it was very much a hit-and-miss approach.

This year, we are looking for those raving fans who are already consuming something as proven by our market research into our various niches. This is akin to having a very large group of people asking, "When's the next American Idol tryout?" The audience craves more, so it only makes sense to give it to them.

Makes marketing a whole lot more interesting, don't you think?

Day 13 30DC - Data Mining for Gold

2007-08-13T15:42:00.001-04:00

Marketing guru and all around exceptional human being Gary Halbert used to talk about the Golden Nugget method. This is a way of being an expert at any subject in about 48 hours of work.

The technique, which you can use in analog or digital form, is to survey as many other publications or information sources as you can that are about your topic. Scan these sources for information that is unusual, interesting, or that somehow snags your attention. In other words, you are looking for anything noteworthy.

When you find such snippets or factoids, jot them down, either on a 3.5" file card as Halbert suggests, in a pocket paper notebook, or in a digital notebook, such as WordPad, Google Notebook, EasyNoter (love this, thanks Marlon!), or any text editor.

When you capture this information, be sure to note the source as well, so you can find it again or give proper credit later.

My own recommendation is to make some additional notes to yourself about the context or the interest factor of the information. Why did you think it was interesting? What made you say "Wow!"? Why is it particularly relevant to your topic?

Maybe your note is something like this: "Speed Reading [topic]: The Guardian Newspaper had a champion speed reader read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
so they could print an early review. She read the entire book in 47 minutes." http://books.guardian.co.uk/ [include source URL]

While that is fascinating, what made you write it down in relation to your topic? Those extra bits of info you attach to your note help your brain organize this material, and make it easier for you to use the snippet later when you need something to add to an article, blog or essay.

It aids the brain in correlating the information with what you already know, and helps your memory as well. In the parlance of accelerated learning, it's related to cognitive correlation, and emotional integration.

It's easy to become an expert at anything when you know how to take good notes.

Day 12 30DC - Painless Research

2007-08-12T13:43:00.000-04:00

Market research is a huge, time-consuming effort for anyone who is doing it right. You need to be thorough, and you need to be focused. The Internet provides a huge repository of information, as well as a fast and easy way to gather data for your specific purposes.

A couple of caveats, however:

Some information on the Internet is notoriously flawed.
There are spoof sites masquerading as legitimate sites, usually in the political arena.
When people post answers to questions in forums or elsewhere on the web, they sometimes post incorrect answers.
Your results are only as good as your search paradigm.
Information without context is suspect and needs to be cross-checked.
Always validate your sources!

As long as you are aware of these limitations (and there are more, there isn't space for an exhaustive list), and adopt good research habits, you can get a lot of good information from the Internet faster than browsing the reference section of a physical library.

The Internet makes doing market research painless and quick. There are no more excuses for short-changing your research effort.

Day 11 30DC - Relax, It's Only a Test

2007-08-11T11:43:00.000-04:00

As more of my niches crash and burn during the analysis process I am reminded that this is extremely valuable work and ultimately it is saving me untold dollars as well as considerable heartache down the road.

Testing, testing, and more testing, has to be integrated into every part of your business. If you are not testing, you don't really know what's going on.

And it should be a joyous thing to see your work fail the test. Better it fails now, when you can fix it inexpensively, than in front of the customer, or after you have laid out plenty of money to launch.

While it is disappointing to see potentially interesting and fun niches splat against the wall, it is heartening to know that those that survive will be more likely to generate revenue.

And that's the name of the game.

Day 10 30 DC - The Power of Saying NO

2007-08-10T12:09:00.000-04:00

I'm finding it hard to let go of some of my favorite niches. I chose them in the first place because they are topics I am passionate about, or that I believe others would find compelling. They are, for the most part, highly marketable niches, and I do have some experience and reasonable success in getting things to the right market.

I also liked many of them because I could quite clearly see the related products and services that would generate revenue, and I felt I knew how to attract the target market.

But the numbers just don't hold up. Even though I have run the analysis on my top eliminated favorites a few times (silly girl, the results aren't going to change in a day!), hoping to see potential I missed, they are still "no go".

That's not to say they must be abandoned, only that acting upon them would take certain resources that are beyond the scope of this challenge.

There is a great deal of power in saying "NO". I wish more of my clients would realize that. NO, we're not releasing the product before it has been thoroughly tested. NO, we are not skimping on the manual. NO, we are not spending money on a marketing campaign that doesn't have a specific objective. And so on.

Sometimes, you say NO to gather more data, and that is good. Your decisions will likely be better if based on thorough research. Sometimes, you say NO in order to wait for a more opportune time, thus increasing chances for success. And sometimes, you say NO to a good idea so that you can take advantage of a better idea that is just about to come along.

"NO" creates boundaries. It draws a line that you state you will not cross. And if you cross it you had better know the potential consequences. "NO" clearly establishes your position, without any vacillation or weakness. But you have to mean it.

"NO" is very empowering, in business, in relationships, in life. Try it sometime. Trot it out and give it a go. Let me know how that works for you.

Day 9 30 DC - Coming to Terms

2007-08-09T12:06:00.000-04:00

Ed and Dan weren't kidding when they said that Days 7, 8 and 9 were the most important of the entire Thirty Day Challenge training. Their techniques have revolutionized how Internet Marketers approach their businesses.

I have already mentioned that having benchmarks, or proven criteria against which to evaluate our ideas in the research and analysis stage, is an innovation in this field that previously was a hit or miss game. The fallout, however, is that all the niche ideas that were developed out of interest and enthusiasm have, one after another, been eliminated because they don't hold up in analysis. You might think that's discouraging, and perhaps it is to a point.

But the real value in these techniques is that we are saving untold hours and dollars by NOT going down the wrong path. Information like we're getting at the on-paper stage is

Much of the work I do in the technical communication field, working with software companies and other product development organizations, is to help them solve user issues BEFORE they become coded or manufactured into being and passed to the customer. When you can eliminate most customer support issues by finessing the design (and the other part is rigorous user testing at the earliest stages possible), you save countless dollars and resources, plus your customers are happier with a product that works well. Unfortunately, the bottom line value of these improvements are hard to quantify, except in the omission. We know full well what bad software costs in terms of customer opinion and loyalty. You might see some feedback on tech support forums and in user communities, and customer support staff can certainly attest to how well the product is going over with the users.

When something works like clockwork, however, who notices? Very few people will stop and think, "Wow, that was easy!". Their expectation is always simply that things will work the way they are supposed to. Without a basis for comparison, one doesn't notice the performance difference. That's one of the reasons these Thirty Day Challenge techniques are turning most of us on our heads. We know what it's like to do things the hard way, the trial and error way. Being able to reliably assess each individual niche for its potential for success is HUGE.

So how did my terms fair in the analysis? Out of 103 potential niches that I had listed, so far 2 (TWO!) have survived all of the tests. I have five others which are borderline and are on the "keep watching" list. I am not disappointed by this. Now when I put effort into these two niches I will know that I have a better-than-average chance of succeeding with them. The stats are there to indicate precisely this.

Do I feel chagrined at my niche-picking skill? Not at all. The niches that didn't make the cut are still potentially good, I would just have to use different techniques to make them profitable. The point about this year's Thirty Day Challenge is that it is intended to cost us $0.00, zero, zip, nada, zilch, you know the rest. If that in itself is not a revolution in Internet Marketing, I don't know what is.

Day 8 30DC - X Marks the Spot

2007-08-08T18:03:00.000-04:00

We've all seen those adventure movies where the hero(ine) has a treasure map but the part containing the X is missing, or they have a complete map without any labels so they don't know where to start. It is only by luck that they'll have any chance of finding what they seek.

This is exactly the thing that the Thirty Day Challenge team addressed in today's training. You can't find the treasure if you don't have any indication of where the gold is.

The million-dollar technique demonstrated today gives us all the landmarks we need to zero in on the gold in Internet Marketing. They shared with us a way of comparing the various statistics we've been looking at up to this point, so that we can correctly evaluate the traffic potential for any keyword phrase. More importantly, they showed how to use a baseline or benchmark to validate those statistics.

Baselines and benchmarks represent known, quantifiable, and tested points against which all other results can be compared. These consistent measurements give you a concrete way to prove the worth of your work and research.

In business, medicine, and project management, a baseline is a snapshot of your current situation. Before making any changes, you want to have a baseline against which to compare future results. The baseline is the known, that allows you to venture into the unknown.

Similarly a benchmark is a known, fixed point that gives you confidence in all of your results. Benchmarks are achieved through known and repeatable processes, the key being "repeatable". If you do the same things, you are going to get the same results, consistently and reliably.

In business, this is a valuable lesson. In Internet Marketing, it's revolutionary. Internet marketing has often been trial and error, hit and miss. It seemed that a good deal of range-finding was involved -- taking a shot, seeing where it hit, and readjusting if it missed the target. As Ed has told us, it took 38 tries before his first website was successful at generating revenue. He didn't have these techniques way back then.

That he and his team are sharing them now is a tribute to their generosity and character. They have given us a treasure map, complete with legend and starting point. The only thing left to do is follow it.

Day 7 30DC - Tools of the Trade

2007-08-07T19:40:00.000-04:00

The podcast and videos today in the Thirty Day Challenge demonstrated how to begin to evaluate the niche ideas we have accumulated over the initial days of training. We are beginning the winnowing process, continuing to obtain statistical information about the niches from the various research tools Ed introduced. Our niches will either make it through the gate to the next round of evaluation, or they will prove to be unreliable risks that do not deserve any further effort.

There may be a few that are borderline -- some of the stats don't quite add up to form a perfect picture, but there may be other characteristics that give us reason to keep them in play for the time being. They would certainly involve further market research, and the application of some wisdom gained through our experience with this process.

For now, however, it is more important to focus on the niches that meet all of the stated criteria.

In addition to these techniques, Ed brought up an important point that is relevant to every field of endeavour. If you are planning to make your fortune (and my NAT132 students will know that one's fortune includes not only wealth and prosperity, but destiny and development of character) in any trade or profession, it is vitally important to have the best quality tools for the practice of that trade or profession.

He reminded us that top chefs have sets of knives worth thousands of dollars. If you are going to be making your living (and making a life, too) online, then you deserve and have an imperative for getting the fastest broadband connection you can get as well as the most powerful computer you can afford.

Precision tools allow your genius and your skill to be realized in the things that you create, fashion, repair, or reshape. They allow you to spend your time on the things that matter instead of wrestling with the tools. In the time/money equation (NAT132!) the time you save when you work efficiently goes toward growing your business and building your wealth, instead of cleaning up messes or finding workarounds for inadequate tools. How effective is a carpenter who has a substandard drill and is relegated to turning every screw by hand?

Beyond that are the limitations poor tools place upon your performance in other ways. If a carpenter only has a hammer, then every problem becomes a nail. You've heard that before, I'm sure. What it means is that creative thinking or innovation is not possible; the potential outcomes of all problems are constrained by the tools available for their resolution. This is a death knell for business, because you cannot react adequately to the issues that arise.

It may seem simplistic to state that tradesmen are only as good as their tools. What about knowledge workers? When the product of your brain is more important than the product of your hands, your tools need to be fast and sophisticated to process information effectively. Data gathering and data manipulation are increasingly the way to building one's wealth in the 21st century. Do that faster and better than your competitors and your success is assured.

The Tao of Ed, Take II

2007-08-06T23:34:00.000-04:00

You know I'm a scamp, right? Ed happened to mention that we needed black T-shirts in support of the Tao of Ed movement. So here's what I did:

Ed is too modest to have his face on a T-shirt, so we went to additional iterations, including one with Tao or Yin/Yang symbol, one with the symbols for Knowledge and Prosperity, and one with a guitar, sort of. Consensus is that the guitar is something we all associate with Ed, so it deserves a place in the Tao of Ed graphical reality.

Since the guitar is so representative of Ed, I want to render it better than you see here. Y'all know I'm graphically challenged and that I have zero artistic skills -- but I am a copy/paste mashup maven! And this soon-to-be-a-collector's-item T-shirt deserves a much better image.

I have also been asked for a pic of a combat hamster -- I'm workin' on it!

Day 6 30DC - Don't Judge, Just Notice

2007-08-06T12:23:00.000-04:00

Even with 2 days of rest and catchup, the clock is still ticking, counting down the magical 30 days of the Challenge. In today's training Ed continued his riff on market research and gave us a couple of new ways to go about it. His emphasis continued to be on noticing, not judging.

It's hard not to employ one's critical thinking skills when looking at niche markets. Immediately the brain tries to edit and evaluate what we're seeing, but at this stage of market research, like brainstorming, it is important only to notice what we're seeing. Essentially, it's a data-gathering phase.

By the way, that is one of the first phases of project management, for any project, the research and analysis phase. Note that the word Research comes before Analysis. You need data in order to have something to analyze. The quality of your analysis will only be as good as the quality and thoroughness of your data.

The term "noticing" also implies that you are paying close attention to what you are seeing. Your market research is not just a factoid grab, but an intelligent observation of the data you are gathering. This means taking in the information on the periphery as well as what is directly in front of your face. What else is on the web page you are looking at? Where do links take you from that page? How many people have been looking for that keyword? What related keywords do they search for?

If you only gather the superficial data, i.e., the low-hanging fruit, your market research will be inadequate, and if you later base business decisions on that market research, you put yourself at risk for losing money.

There is no substitute for the research and analysis phase in project management. (And if you've taken any of my classes you know that project management, product management, document development, software development, event planning, and pretty much every other human activity follows the same Development Life Cycle.) You cannot take shortcuts with this. While it's attractive to rush this stage to get into the sexy and fun part of developing a product or project, neglecting the research and analysis phase creates time bombs and traps that you will have to deal with in the latter stages of your project, and then they will be very costly indeed.

So in phase 1, Research -- noticing everything, judging nothing. Then analyze. No doubt we'll be talking about that tomorrow.

Day 5 30DC - A Day of Rest

2007-08-05T10:03:00.000-04:00

Strictly speaking, the 30DC is holding at Day 3 until Monday morning. They are giving us 2 days to catch up with the technology and get our lists of niches filled up so that we have a minimum (or whittled down list) of 7 to begin applying process to next week.

It also gives their tech team a chance to boost the server capacity and make sure everyone is able to download the large video files (often 50MB) for the training. Currently, they are serving 1 terabyte of data a day -- somewhat more than what was anticipated. No worries, however, they are able to scale up so all will be right with the 30DC world momentarily.

This also gives everyone a chance to read the multitude of forum posts and wrap their heads around everything that has happened so far. There has been some awesome training, and the synergy on the forum boards is quite wonderful to see. Veteran marketers and 30DC participants from the past 2 years are generously sharing tips and techniques, both for dealing with the technology and clarifying the concepts. They are also showing admirable restraint in not stealing Ed's thunder by revealing any strategies that they already know he might offer.

There is a true sense of community on the forums, and the teambuilding is proceeding apace. Teams of disparate individuals with the most tenuous of connections ("Looking for anyone warm-blooded for a team.") are coming together to form solid partnerships that will pay off later in the challenge.

We're expecting a great deal of activity this upcoming week, but for now, it's a day (or two) of much-needed rest. If you are not taking a day of rest in your business, or your studies, you cannot hope to be as effective as if you had that time to decompress and re-create.

I guarantee that if you build a day of rest into your week, you will find that on the remaining six days, you will accomplish as much, and probably more, than if you had worked flat knacker* the entire seven. The brain needs a chance to assimilate and integrate input -- cognitive correlation, we call it -- so that it can provide you with more valuable output. I always send my students off with the admonition to get some sleep!

And you know, that's very good advizzzzz zzzz zzz zzz zzz zzz...
See also: Beth Buzz: Day of Rest June 25, 2006

* Flat knacker - Australian for working very hard indeed

Day 4 30DC - What Web 2.0 Means for Business

2007-08-04T19:39:00.000-04:00

In today's podcast Ed talked about what Web 2.0 means for business. It was related to his comments on the feedback he received about his personal style in the videos. Some people were wondering why he doesn't do a slick edit of the videos and instead serves up his genuine character, complete with pauses, ums, and the occasional interruption.

I've known the reason since doing my presentation on Podcasting and Vidcasting at the STC Conference over a year ago. I knew Ed would get around to telling the rest of the 30DC participants why such "casual" video is so important, and today he did. It all ties in with Web 2.0 and what you need to know to be successful in today's changing marketplace.

The key idea here is RAPPORT. Seeing these videos, we are getting to know the real Ed Dale. He is not perfect, he makes mistakes, he gets sidetracked. We see that on the videos. But we also clearly see that he knows what he's talking about as he shares his techniques; we see him speak from his heart about his topics, and we can tell he cares. He makes a connection with his audience.

After seeing an Ed Dale video, you get a good sense of who he is and what he's about. That is very important when you have to decide whether to take his advice, buy his product, learn his techniques, or support his efforts.

Web 2.0 is all about connection and community. In a global marketplace, the way to connect with your customers more powerfully than through an e-mail or web page, is with video (and audio). Today's markets are so competitive, and so spread out, that you can't hope to reach all of your potential customers unless you market the way the Web now works. That means getting referrals from other people -- through Digg, StumbleUpon! and other tools. That means having your customers spread the word about your product, service or company through YouTube, Blogs, and other viral means.

You can't get away with poor customer service anymore, because a dissatisfied customer can now broadcast to the world what they think of your business. Conversely, and more importantly, a happy customer can quickly spread the news about how impressed they have been. When people "let their fingers do the walking" to check out a business or product on the web before making any purchase, having positive ratings, reviews, and recommendations make a great deal of difference. A good problem to have is needing to upgrade your server because it has too much traffic.

We used to talk about High Tech also needing High Touch -- meaning that as we are distanced from each other by technology, we have to find some way of reconnecting with people, our customers, to be able to carry on business. Web 2.0 tools allow us to do just that, and video is a powerful way to build rapport with your market.
Outstanding marketing lessons are coming out of the Thirty Day Challenge. And a lot of fun as well. Thanks to a tip from a fellow participant, I have now been Simpsonized!

Day 3 30DC - Let Go and Let Ed

2007-08-03T19:53:00.000-04:00

There will be many classic phrases, actions, and images to come out of what is now becoming a massive worldwide training opportunity. But perhaps the most memorable has already surfaced.

In a post entitled "The Tao of Ed" in the Thirty Day Challenge forums, PaulS reminds all the participants that it's best to relax and follow Ed's instructions to the letter, rather than jumping ahead, trying to take shortcuts, or getting caught up in customizing the process. He reminds us that doing things Ed's "Way" will be more likely to lead us to the success we are trying to achieve. We are reminded of Mr. Myagi saying "Wax on, wax off" to The Karate Kid.

And PaulS borrows a phrase from the self help movement to put it into perspective: "Let go and let Ed."

When you are studying with a guru, it makes sense to model exactly what they are doing until you understand that one specific way to do things. After you have assimilated the proven system, you can start adapting it to your own talents and interests. But first comes obedience to the teachings of the master.

Don't analyze, don't criticize, and above all don't get hung up on "progress". The progress will come as you follow the steps, one by one, in the order in which they're taught. All will become clear as you turn the teachings into practical actions that will take you to your goal. Wax on, wax off. Let go and let Ed.

$10.00 is not that far away.

Day 2 30DC - Getting Ideas

2007-08-02T19:55:00.000-04:00

You don't have to be a creative genius to get ideas. You just have to do a little bit of research and get your brain thinking along lines of idea generation. Ed's training videos and podcasts today showed a number of places online to scan for ideas. What we're looking for are topics that people are interested in and searching for information on. More importantly, we're looking for things that people are passionate about. If no one cares about your topic area or niche, how can you be successful doing business in it?

This first exercise is really just brainstorming -- searching for idea starters and then jotting them down without editing or evaluation until you get as long a list as you can manage.

Care and Feeding of Ideas
To spark ideas, for whatever it is you need them, it is important to tell both your conscious and your subconscious that you need ideas. As you take steps, consciously, to generate ideas by doing research or "sitting for ideas" which is just being still and pondering your topic, your brain begins to work at coming up with ideas that would be suitable. To get the subconscious mind on board (and this is the one you really need for idea generation), as an idea comes into your mind you need to acknowledge that idea by writing it down.

Acknowledging the idea validates the actions your brain has taken and rewards it for a fruitful search (doesn't matter at this point whether it's a "good" idea, just that an idea has occurred). With that encouragement, your mind begins to look for more ideas, to get more encouragement and acknowledgment. Thus the floodgates begin to open so ideas can stream through.

If you get an idea and you dismiss it, or you fail to write it down, it will go away. The next idea will be more difficult to generate, and if you ignore your ideas long enough, you won't get any new ones.

If your business or academic career depends on the generation of new ideas, don't go anywhere without a notebook and writing instrument to keep track of ideas that come to you. I have a tiny voice recorder that I use while driving because I often get ideas in traffic. (There's a reason for this that I'll explain in a subsequent post, but it has to do with the Theta brain state.)

We've all had that experience of having a great idea, an awesome idea, a million-dollar idea, and then forgetting it a short time afterward. Because we didn't write it down. Take my advice, never be without a means of capturing your ideas, and iif it should happen that the great idea occurs to you while you are completely unarmed for making note of it, figure out some mnemonic that might help you remember it. A rhyme, a string around your finger, a specific phrase. Then jot it down at the first opportunity.

All you need is one good idea to make your fortune.

Day 1 - Thirty Day Challenge Launches!

2007-08-01T23:43:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it? More than 8,000 people have registered to participate in the 30 Day Challenge put on by Ed Dale, Dan Raine, and Nic Messe. That's pretty amazing. When was the last time 8,000 people signed up for something you were doing?

The much-anticipated launch, heralded by a couple of weeks of pre-season A/V mastery, stuttered a bit as much of the 30DC community were stymied by the .mp4 version of the first training video. All along, the organizers had been providing both streamed video and .mp4 versions as particpants were getting up to speed with iTunes, podcasts, and other Web 2.0 social media they had never before encountered. I realize the server demands for streamed video with 8,000+ hungry challengers all trying to access it at once would cause a performance hit, but dropping off the easy-to-use video (basically, just click and play) on day 1 was a bit of a shock to many. The forums lit up with calls for help and echoes of frustration. Too bad. The guys did see this coming, but dropped the ball a little in execution on the first day. Some explanation needed to be provided, or at least some warning. I say this because it's what I'm always advising my clients -- make life easy for the users, even if you think it is already easy. That's what we techwriters do -- anticipate user problems so solutions can be provided ahead of time.

The huge number of newly-initiated users may have been underestimated. As mentioned, challenge participants include people on dialup and those who have only ever used the default tools installed with Windows. Throwing Skype, Twitter, Firefox extensions, Facebook, and iTunes .mp4s at them all within hours of each other caused information overload and technical overload to boot.

I'm sensitized to user frustrations because of my job, so I see all the people running into walls. And I see walls people haven't hit yet. I also see the gaps.

But when you think about it, a little frustration is a teensie, weensie price to pay for the awesome value being provided -- FOR FREE -- in this training the lads are giving. Nothing comes without a cost. Learning, for sure, doesn't come without effort, sometimes pain, and yes, plenty of frustration. On the Scale of Value, the flea on one side is easily outweighed by the elephant on the other. No contest.

In today's broadcast alone, Ed gave the marketer's 4-part formula for success, and if you learn only that, you will improve your business efforts immensely. Register for the Thirty Day Challenge to get access to all of the valuable training.

Speed of Light vs. Speed of Sound

2007-07-31T07:43:00.000-04:00

A few of the 30DC challengers tell us they are still on dialup. When my students admit that, I tell them, "People! Get into the 21st century!". For my students, and clients, being on high speed broadband is a necessity, for their studies and to conduct business.

For my 30DC friends in that situation, however, such a statement is unfair. There are still parts of the world where bandwidth is at a premium. We're not talking Third World here either. These are neighborhoods that have had running water, indoor plumbing, and fire for quite a long time, thank you very much. What they haven't had are enlightened community leadership and adequate funding for infrastructure. Neo-Luddite thinking has hobbled communities that are most in need of access to information outside their local boundaries.

With fibre optics and satellite technology the technorati are operating at the speed of light. Anyone still on dialup is waiting for the beep beep beep, rushahh, rushahh, squeal, boing, boing of a modem laboriously connecting to a much-constricted electronic pipeline. The speed of sound never felt so slow.

The good news is that today's web tools can accommodate downloading files overnight, and working offline with e-mail. Still, the Digital Divide persists.

Choose which side of that chasm you want to be on.

BTW, I used to work at a switchboard very much like that. I told you I was old.

What does Facebook have to do with Business?

2007-07-30T16:23:00.000-04:00

We have been talking about Facebook, Digg and Del.icio.us, among other tools, in the Thirty Day Challenge. It occurred to me today, that these are the Web 2.0 equivalent of the business networking we used to do when we went to networking meetings at the Chamber of Commerce.

You young'uns have just digitized what we old fogies did in person. And of course, now that we have a global marketplace and a 24/7 information overload always-on environment, it makes sense to use these tools to conduct that aspect of business. Of course, they are great for your lifestyle applications too!

Getting an endorsement from someone else for your business was always extremely valuable. Now, in Web 2.0 style, you get a thumbs up or a 5-star rating from people anywhere in the world who thought your stuff has merit.

I almost hate to see those dots connected. Many business colleagues were flummoxed by Facebook and MySpace. That kept the competition out and we early adopters in. Trust the juggernaut that is internet marketing to find a way to almost spoil it in the process (to wit: many fake MySpace pages). But the pendulum has only begun to swing.

Legitimate marketers and business people are using the same leverage, with the same social media tools, to create authentic business opportunities and get that first dollar (or ten) while doing a lot of good in the process.

I haven't even begun to tap the potential of some of these tools, but by working through the material in the Thirty Day Challenge, I'm getting new ideas for how they could be used to help my students and clients immensely. The next month is going to be very exciting!

Ramping Up for the Challenge

2007-07-28T22:36:00.000-04:00

With everything else I have going on, you would think that one more thing would be too much. On the contrary. Getting involved in the 30 Day Challenge is just the boost I need at this point in the summer doldrums. Nothing dull at Seneca, with marking and final projects for our graduating class coming due shortly, as well as exams; clients with marketing needs that continue to arise; and a personal project that is hitting its stride.

But I couldn't pass up the chance to join Ed and the gang again for another kick at the 30 Day Challenge. The energy and instruction is phenomenal. It's a rare opportunity to get a walkthrough of a proven internet marketing business. As I tell my NAT132 students, everyone should have their own business. And for many of us, that means a home-based business that can bring us passive and residual income. It's the same philosophy taught by Robert Kiyosaki, and other financially smart people. (Yes, I got it from them.)

What is so compelling about this particular Internet Marketing approach is that:

They are giving the complete training and support away for FREE, with no strings attached. As Ed said, he'll gladly take your money during the other 11 months of the year, but during the 30 Day Challenge, it's all free. And there are no hidden agendas, either.
You do not need any money at all to participate. Obviously you must have the time and computer resources to do it, but beyond that there are no funds required for special equipment, autoresponders, design, or anything like that.
The training is by experts, who have proven that they know how to make money online without running scams or ripping people off. When you find people you can trust to give you the straight facts, especially with regard to Internet marketing, that's rare. The folks involved with the 30 Day Challenge are honest and trustworthy, and its clear they are practising the "give before you get" philosophy.
The training is simple and straightfoward -- you don't need to be a tech guru to follow the methodology they are going to lay out. If you have basic Web skills such as surfing and blogging, you will be able to succeed at this challenge.
The goal is realistic. The objective is to make $10.00 online within the 30 days. And once you learn what it takes to make that $10.00, you can repeat the process and ramp it up to make even more.
Finally, you have nothing to lose but a bit of time. Your ROI for your investment of time will be a new understanding of the social media that have become part of Web 2.0. Just getting up to speed on these technologies will give you an advantage in the marketplace, whether you choose to do business online or off. Up to date technical skills are always valuable.

If you want to participate, go to the Thirty Day Challenge website and sign up. If you only watch from the sidelines, you will still get a great education over the next month, but if you really want to learn how to make money online (who doesn't??) then join in.

Wish me luck -- Team Zero (as in, zero limits) is going to lead the field!

Postcard Spam

2007-07-25T13:00:00.000-04:00

I suppose, like me, you have been getting these messages that say you have a new postcard from a Schoolmate or a Friend. There is no way I click a link in an e-mail anymore, or respond to something I don't know for sure is legit. Besides, 50 postcards a day is a little over the top anyway.

However, today one got my attention: "You have a postcard from a Worshipper!".

Yes, worship me. Send money, not postcards. :-)

30 Days has August...

2007-07-19T21:35:00.000-04:00

It's an Aussie thing, folks. But we're going to make it a Canadian thing.

I'm at it again -- signed up for the famous Thirty Day Challenge put on by Ed Dale and cohorts, this year Dan Raine and Nic Messe. In case you haven't heard and are too lazy to do the research, it's an Internet Marketing instructional challenge that teaches you, over the course of the 30 days (plus pre-season, which is now) how to make your first $10.00 on the Internet.

If that doesn't immediately grab your attention, the goal this year is to achieve it without laying out ONE CENT of money. Now that's a good deal, right?

I participated in last year's 30 Day Challenge, starting late and then due to life events unable to finish. This year I've got a great team (go Team Zero!!) and we'll make it across the finish line no matter what. Zero limits, zero excuses!

You'll see some changes in this blog as I share my adventures with you, so stay tuned! And for my NAT132 students -- this is what I was talking about!!!!!

http://www.thirtydaychallenge.com - Check it out!

Meet me at the Fair!

2006-11-04T12:34:00.000-05:00

It's not in St. Louis, Louis, it's right here in downtown Toronto. This time of year, we enjoy the venerable Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, an 80-year tradition of bringing the country to the city. It's the largest indoor combined agricultural, horticultural, canine and equestrian event in the world.

This year Seneca College has a booth in the Exhibition Hall of the fair. We are located near the Hall B Food Court (how convenient!) directly opposite the impossible-to-miss black and yellow Caterpillar (CAT) machines exhibit. I am there on Friday Nov 3, and Sunday Nov 5. If you're at the Fair, come by and say hello.

PWR Lunch

2006-10-16T01:42:00.000-04:00

As I may have mentioned, I teach in the York University Professional Writing Program under an agreement between York and Seneca College. The course is "Digesting Technical Information" -- probably a candidate for the worst course title ever written. But I make it work. In class we talk about the process of breaking down technical information into more palatable form for consumption by a variety of readers, many of whom have no technical background. The course is part of the Institutional Writing stream of the PWR program. We have Seneca instructors also teaching in the Magazine, and Book Publishing streams.

On Saturday, I attended the Professional Writing Program Retreat which was designed to get instructors and administrators talking about what we're currently doing, how well we're doing it, and how we can make the program even better.

Normally, giving up one's Saturday to talk about an educational program would be somewhat of a pain. Heaven knows, I have a score of other ways to spend my time. This day was far from wasted, however, and it actually ignited a spark in me that deserves some additional fanning. It was great to meet with my colleagues and talk about our shared passions for writing and teaching writing.

I realized that what I have missed is the sense of being part of a writers' community. Since coming back to Toronto in 1997, I have not had the opportunity to talk about creative writing or that side of the profession of writing. The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Writer, if you will. Sure, I'm solidly a part of the community of Technical Writers. I am immersed in technical and marketing writing every day. But it's been a long time since I had the luxury of writing some fiction, or even some literary non-fiction. (I've given up writing bad poetry, as a service to humanity, cue the applause.)

It's my own fault. I have been concentrating so much on practical, applied, informative writing that I have neglected the equally important impractical, frivolous, inspired writing. Like research, writing sometimes needs to be done simply for writing's sake.

A community of Writers (with a capital W) reminds us that the reasons we write include expressing the inexpressible, and affecting the emotions, the conscience, and the spirit, as well as the mind and the body of our readers.

While there's a great deal of personal satisfaction in completing a 300-page User Guide that makes life easier for everyone who tries to use a particular software program, there just isn't the same impact as having written a short story that makes someone weep in empathy. To use a marketing term, technical writing is a one-to-many exercise; creative writing is a one-to-one exercise.

Lunch conversation at the retreat was interesting and inspiring. I have a new appreciation for my responsibility as a writer, and as a teacher of writing. As a writer, and as a teacher, I've always had the best job on the planet. After Saturday, it's going to be even better.

Pure Joy

2006-09-21T12:55:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, after a late summer rain, I saw something that for me epitomizes pure joy. The morning rain had given way to a bright, sunny day. Coming home from school I passed a patch of broken concrete near the entrance to our underground parking garage.

The broken concrete had a dip in it that had collected about an inch of clean water from the rain. In the pool, splashing, chirping, and exhibiting pure joy, were about twenty common house sparrows. They were totally in the moment, enjoying their bath.

I didn't have my camera with me, and am disappointed that I could not permanently capture that moment of joy. Seeing it was rare and precious, and not likely to be a repeat event. I like how God tips His hand every now and then to show us the wonders of this world. So there's no photo, but I found this one which gives a little of the flavor of the moment.

Do you have moments of joy like that in your life? Don't you wish you did?

Automation

2006-09-06T08:28:00.000-04:00

As we get into a new school year, and a new semester for our Technical Communications program, we have the inevitable flurry of administrative details that occupy both faculty and students during the first few days of classes.

Seneca is better at this than most colleges -- some I could name are abysmal at handling student processing on many levels. But as an entrepeneur, you always wonder how these systems could be more automated to reduce the stress on the individual.

As Dan Sullivan has said, there are three things that cannot be automated:
1. Creativity
2. Leadership
3. Relationship

Institutions that realize they are building relationships with their target market attempt to minimize the pain involved in dealing with the institution. Leadership provides good role models for how departments and institutions handle day to day tasks and the inevitable crises. Creativity allows for unique and different solutions that still meet the goals of the institution while serving the needs of the customer.

Changing an institution like a college is akin to turning an aircraft carrier on a dime. Seneca at least has a firm grip on its direction; getting there is part of the challenge. In the meantime, great people who care about what they're doing help students negotiate the maze that is college intake. It makes all the difference.

Keep on Cracking!

2006-08-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

It's back to school time so Metro News ran a supplement that included profiles of popular professors. Somebody thought I should be in that group. Check it out!

Feardom of the Press

2006-08-12T17:06:00.000-04:00

It's not a typo. News of recent days has focused around the exposure of yet another plot by zealous terrorist factions to cause massive destruction and loss of human life. Such disregard for one's fellow human beings is uncivilized and it must stop. The most drastic measures necessary should be taken to make it stop. Every one -- EVERY ONE -- of the world's religions promotes peaceable co-existence with one's fellows. There is NO TRUE TENET of ANY religion that advocates killing others to get right with God.

Terrorism is evil, and against all credos. There are other ways to make one's point.

However, the swift global broadcast of the details of terrorist intentions presents another problem. The Main Stream Media are the primary purveyors of the terror that accompanies these plots. Within seconds, everyone within broadcast reach who is paying attention is informed of the threat. The climate of fear is once again aggravated, and the message of hate is spread far and wide.

A few misguided zealots with a low-budget video camera can reap millions of dollars of free publicity simply by sending their tape to Al Jazeera, Reuters, or CNN. They don't even have to actually blow anything up to scare people. All they have to do is look threatening on camera.

We crave sensationalism. Watching videos of bombings is as attractive today as watching wild beasts in the Roman Circus was a couple millennia ago. Drivers rubberneck at crash scenes, not looking to see the possible cause but hoping for a glimpse of blood.

Shouldn't the media be more responsible? We have some mild precedents. Television broadcasters stopped showing hockey fights to suppress the bloodlust in the onlookers, and in hopes that players would stop performing for the crowd. Fights had been getting out of hand.

It's a thorny issue. The Viet Nam War was brought to an end because of public pressure -- chiefly in response to the images we were seeing of that war. We realized that the war wasn't thousands of miles away in a foreign country, it was in our living rooms, and the combatants included our sons.

If we start asking the media to broadcast only those stories that promote unity instead of fear, we hand them the power to judge what is good and what is not. Very bad idea. While I firmly believe that there are some stories that should NOT be splayed across the media on the excuse that "The people have a right to know", freedom of the press is one of our most precious privileges.

There is no easy solution. You can stay informed without being at the mercy of the fearmongers. If we cannot stop the spread of hate or fear at the global level, we can certainly do something at the personal level. I choose to use the OFF button generously, and simply not read materials that promote hate or fear, no matter where they come from.

Vindicated Yet Again!

2006-08-10T11:54:00.000-04:00

I am a technical communicator (among other things). Our motto is "no nit too small to pick". Especially when it comes to documentation. I am also an English teacher. Therefore, I'm a double whammy for any student, client, or unsuspecting text maker who plays fast and loose with punctuation, grammar and usage.

Rather heartening recently to hear that precise comma placement has been upheld in the courts. Much to Rogers Communications dismay, an unfortunate comma in a contract may cost them more than 2 million dollars. The punctuation question was sufficient reason for the other party in the contract, Aliant, to test it in court, and win.

Page 7 of the contract states: The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.”

Rogers thought it had locked in the deal for five years. Aliant disagreed, saying the second comma lends meaning to the sentence such that the clause "unless and until..." applies to the first part of the sentence AS WELL AS the second part. The regulator upheld this reading, according to the rules of punctuation.

Next time a techwriter or an English teacher tells you where to put (or NOT put) your comma, believe her. Especially if you're a lawyer.

The Superior Species

2006-07-21T13:20:00.000-04:00

After 4 years of living with us, our recalcitrant calico cat (criticized elsewhere in this blog) has developed a new trick. She has figured out how to roll the paper off the toilet paper roll in the bathroom.

Why this has just now occurred to her, I do not know. Personally, I never thought she was that smart. She was a rescued cat, who spent her first year in the company of 80 other cats in deplorable circumstances. For that, I have excused much of her uncivilized behavior.

She is not a cuddly cat. She doesn't particularly like to be touched, except on HER very specific terms. She will just as soon rake you as rub against your leg. She is vindictive -- if she doesn't get her way she will lie in wait, to pounce at you later, and heaven help you if you have bare feet.

But she is also one of the most beautiful cats I have ever seen. She is always elegant and clean. She does have some endearing traits, and she is otherwise fairly low maintenance.

Now about this toilet paper thing.

As a persnickety technical writer, I know that there is only one right way to hang a roll of toilet paper on the holder, and that is with the leading edge forward for greater usability. I have trained everyone in my household to restock the holder in the appropriate fashion.

I take exception, in principle, to having to hang the roll backward just to keep the cat from unrolling it. Actually, I tried it and she still managed to get it all unrolled. I'm quite astounded that she figured out she had to paw at it the OTHER way to accomplish this.

You have to know that a battle of wills ensued. Making use of my superior mental capacity (yes, I'm smarter than a cat) and my fortuitous possession of flexible digits and opposable thumbs, I discovered that all I had to do was squeeze the full roll so that the cardboard became an ellipse. This makes it much more difficult to roll the thing once it is on the holder. Difficult for a cat; doable for a human.

I think I win!

How Do You Think?

2006-07-17T20:32:00.000-04:00

I've always been a bit of a contrary thinker. This is no revelation to any of you who know me. I look at things from a different angle, much of the time.

A friend was looking for a cooling device for his notebook computer. He searched the web, and found a number of options. There's one with fans in it on eBay. There's an aluminium rectangle with rubber feet that sits under the notebook and conducts heat away from the bottom of the computer. There's a ridged support stand that allows air to circulate under the notebook, and a thick wire artsy-shapey thing that looks like a glorified plate stand, but for your notebook. Prices ranged from $90 down to about $12.00.

It would be a good purchase. Apparently, overheating is a major notebook killer.

He finally decided on the aluminium plate because it was lightweight. Cost, about US$30.00.

Me, I would have gone with a 14" x 9" wire cake cooling rack, about $3.00 in the housewares aisle at Wal-Mart or Zellers.

Product idea: Put them in a fancy box and sell them as notebook coolers for $20.00 each.

New Grad Poll

2006-07-12T09:43:00.000-04:00

One of my current projects (you know I have many!) involves assistance for my newly-graduated students and others who are recent grads. Please help me by contributing your opinion to the following poll.

If you are not a recent grad, please speak of your experience when you graduated, whenever that was. Thanks! I appreciate your input and your assistance.

Just Because I Can

2006-07-06T23:23:00.000-04:00

Is it better to look like a million dollars, or feel like a million dollars?

My Favorite Class

2006-07-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

I am fortunate to be able to teach all the things I love. Technical communication, interpersonal communication, business communication, and of course technology. I am most fortunate to teach my favorite subjects to classes of top notch students.

But I have to say that one of my favorite assignments is teaching the students of the Bachelor of Software Development program. This is a hands-on applied degree program. They are VERY dedicated students. That's part of what makes it fun.

And because of my experience working in software development, and managing software development teams, I can share real-world knowledge with them. It makes our classes more meaningful for them, and a lot more interesting for me. When I talk about team conflict, I have true stories and actual solutions to give them. Sure, there's a lot of academic stuff we have to get through as well. But the real learning comes when they can see how the theory gets applied in a work situation.

These students ask great questions, too. The principle we were talking about yesterday was that to be successful in a team, individuals must put aside their personal agendas and focus on the team's agenda. A student asked, "What would happen if a team member couldn't let go of their position for the benefit of the team?"

A good example would be an individual who is absolutely committed to their personal belief that one should not work on the Sabbath. That is a worthy position and one to be respected in the workplace. However, software development teams might sometimes need to work on a day that is considered a Sabbath, in order to meet a critical deadline. How can you reconcile those two positions for the good of the team, and the good of the company?

Ideally, the manager who is on top of her game foresees this potential problem and provides options. Good project management is supposed to keep people from having to work on weekends, when they would normally enjoy their Sabbath day of rest. A team member who, for whatever reason -- religious, health, family, etc. -- cannot be present on certain days of work, may make up that time in other ways. Telecommuting. Working extra hours during the week. Creative solutions can be applied in advance. I know, because I've done this with my staff.

It is also possible for the team to willingly (or even grudgingly) accept the reduced participation of one or more of its members, and remain committed to achieving the goal. Great teams get the job done, no matter what happens. I have been part of such teams.

But the bottom line is that sometimes it comes down to having to make a choice. If the company cannot accommodate a worker's individual situation, the choice may have to be made that the company and the individual part ways. I have had to deliver this unhappy news to more than one employee, over the years.

It's important for my students to know what to expect when they get into the workplace. That's part of my job in preparing them for their careers. I like to think that my focus on communication demonstrates to them that most problems can be solved if we can just communicate with each other.

Super!

2006-06-29T09:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was treated to an IMAX 3D Experience and the premiere of Superman Returns. Definitely worth seeing anywhere, but the 3D aspects of the movie that were part of the IMAX show added just that much more interest.

Today's 3D technology is sophisticated and precise. Not at all like the schlocky B-list horror films of the '50s where you had to wear those wonky red/blue lens glasses. Remember Creature from the Black Lagoon? You still get glasses but they're cool.

For me, of course, as a technical writer, I was just as thrilled by the explanation of the IMAX technology as by the movie itself. "Light from the 15,000-watt lamp of some IMAX projectors is so bright that, if one were operated on the moon, people on Earth could see it with the naked eye."

And this is Canadian technology. I remember seeing it first at Expo '67 in Montreal.

About half the installed IMAX theatres are within museums, planetariums, and maritime centres. The other half are in commercial venues.

If you haven't seen an IMAX 3D film, put that on your list of things to do. Near the top.

Virtual Economies

2006-06-28T12:25:00.000-04:00

Continuing the theme of multiple universes and alternate realities, I was speaking with my son RJ about the state of the gaming industry. One of the persistent topics of conversation on game forums is "gold farming", the practice of marathon play to build up in-game money, status, attributes, and artifacts, and then selling these accounts in the real world for real currency.

The media have given some notoriety to Chinese gold farmers but I suspect that this is not a purely localized phenomenon. This could occur anywhere there are players willing to spend the hundreds of hours necessary to evolve an account, and others willing to exploit them.

The exposés talk about sweatshops where players spend 10-12 hours or more a day playing games such as World of Warcraft and Lineage to build up the accounts. They are paid on the order of sweatshop workers anywhere else, but also may get room and board -- the better to keep them close to the computer so they can spend the maximum amount of time playing.

The word "playing" is not entirely accurate in this context. While those working the game may have been attracted to the idea of being able to make money doing something they both love and are good at, when it becomes a horrendous job, there's nothing of "play" left about it. For those who exploit them, it is definitely not a game.

All the MMORPG games prohibit such sales of accounts between gamers. Enforcing it, now that's a challenge.

For young people who want the cachet of being able to play at the upper levels in a game, with enhanced weapons or magic, large purses of gold, and advanced talents such as sorcery, healing, and strength, it's much easier to buy the fully-developed character than spend the time putting experience on it in the game.

One wonders at the logic of that, but it doesn't matter. Wherever there is a new frontier, there are new forms of trade, as well as enterprising, if not ethical, shopkeepers who will attempt to make a buck any way they can. And yes, even the oldest profession is represented in the virtual world of gaming -- again, not legally, but nevertheless lucratively for those who engage in it.

In-game economies are a vital part of game play. Virtual characters need to be resupplied for every mission or task, just as real world adventurers always have been. Learning to manage those resources is half the fun. But even in alternate realities and virtual worlds, there can be a dark underside.

Alternate Realities

2006-06-27T06:20:00.000-04:00

I am a fan of good science fiction. I don't read it as much as I used to, simply because I am too busy with other things, and my pile of books-to-read is already high enough without adding any to it. But in my youth, which wasn't that long ago really, I used to escape into other worlds on a regular basis. Listening to Shoutcast radio last night, to Larry Niven's The Integral Trees story about the Smoke Ring reminded me of this.

It strikes me that our favorite SF writers, and many scientists too, have long pondered the idea of multiple universes and alternate realities. As a writer, I can create a new world any time I want by applying fingers to keyboard to manifest my thoughts. Artists, potters, musicians, architects, programmers, all have the ability to create and bring their inner vision into outer being.

Real estate developers can look at a parcel of land -- beyond the price tag -- and envision a new neighborhood, an office building, or a mall.

Now look at the Internet. If that is not another universe and an alternate reality, I don't know what is. There is real estate being developed there all the time. Billions of web pages currently exist and more are being established every minute.

In effect, we, those of us who are involved in creating on the Internet, have fashioned our own universe, and make our own worlds.

As I ramp up my online businesses I think about this vast territory in which I am a digital pioneer.

So it's all true. When we run out of room on our beloved Earth, we look for new worlds to inhabit. They just don't have to be millions of miles away.

World Cup City

2006-06-26T19:35:00.000-04:00

Toronto is one of those multiculturally-rich cosmopolitan cities where the variety of foods and languages is matched only by the diversity of our leisure time pursuits. This makes it the ideal place to experience the World Cup of soccer, or more properly football. (It's only Canada and the US that one must distinguish between soccer and football; soccer IS football everywhere else in the world.)

During World Cup play, the flag sellers are out in force, and automobiles throughout the region sport flags in support of their favorite team nation. No flags for Canada Day yet, which is July 1st, but we don't mind. There is enthusiasm in the air. We're somewhat disappointed that Korea didn't make it a bit farther, but we're rooting just as strongly for Germany, Portugal, Ghana, England, Spain, France, and Brazil, the same way we supported Angola, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, and the Netherlands.

Today both Italy and Ukraine teams won their matches. Toronto's Italian and Ukrainian communities celebrated boisterously. Many of us were Italian or Ukrainian for at least a few moments so we could cheer, too. And there are still matches to go. Ultimately, it doesn't really, really matter which team wins the World Cup. It will be a great excuse for a celebration in a city that needs no excuses. There are Torontonians and Canadians from every one of the nations represented in the World Cup.

Germany and other locations might HAVE the World Cup; in Toronto we ARE the World Cup.

BTW, isn't it cool that the final match will be in Berlin?

Day of Rest

2006-06-25T13:54:00.000-04:00

Good idea, isn't it?

Value of Video Games

2006-06-24T23:02:00.000-04:00

As someone who is guilty of giving my opinion liberally, even when I don't have all the facts, I can't completely condemn those who make assumptions about video game violence and then publish those opinions. However, I have learned the value of getting the right information and then spouting off, in that order. Our elected representatives should always strive to do the same, of course.

But I am also someone who loves a good comedy moment. So I appreciated The Daily Show with Jon Stewart's take on the current US Congressional hearings on video games.

I am fairly well-informed on the topic. I am a parent of two sons who grew up with video games (supervised by me); I am a teacher of students who game; I am a gamer myself (Fate, Neverwinter Nights, Myst way back when, Puzzle Pirates lately, Black and White, Populous, etc.). I have also worked as Story Editor for an interactive game company, in the early '90s. We dealt with precisely these issues of story quality, level of violence, and effect on young players.

What the critics usually fail to point out, are the real-world skills gamers develop by playing. Most games these days require a significant ability to manage resources. Role playing games require the player to manage time, equipment, consumables, transportation, time limits, and often other people. The massively-multiplayer games (MMORPG) involve teamwork, negotiation, problem-solving, collective attainment of objectives, communication, and conflict resolution. Gamers learn to work together regardless of the absolute age of the player, as a competent player may have a higher in-game status than an older but less-experienced player.

What CEO would not want an employee who has all those skills?

We don't yet have real-world certification for game-taught skills. Well, perhaps only in the military...target simulation, anyone?

Remember that today's fighting forces grew up developing hand/eye co-ordination and reaction skills using the same joysticks and display panels that are integral in today's technology, such as Harrier jets, the Space Shuttle, Navy ships, and tanks.

Why do we think the games are the problem?

Critters I Have Known

2006-06-23T12:38:00.000-04:00

I am a confessed critter lover. Dogs, cats, gerbils, horses, ferrets, and alpacas have all enriched my life. I've had my encounters with bears, elephants, killer whales, dolphins, an assortment of birds, and other critters, too.

I thought the stories of some of these critters would be interesting, particularly in audio form. I'm no James Herriot, but I can tell a decent story, and speak warmly about the critters I have known. I learned something from each of them.

So that's one of the new projects. I will be creating podcasts of each of the 20 or so critter stories I have, and at some point there will be a CD. These are stories that are meant to be shared.

I might even talk about this wicked calico cat.

Fun with Video

2006-06-22T01:09:00.000-04:00

As you know, I have been working more with multimedia, especially since the STC Conference. I recently took some training with a local filmmaker, Mike Cecotka, who has been helping me tune up the quality of my video output. I am still working my way up the learning curve, but there is a great deal more I want to do with multimedia from an education standpoint.

Podcast and vidcast lectures or teaching materials interest me greatly. While I am continuing to put course materials together in a format suitable for audio and video, I use my laugh practice vlog as the content for experimentation.

Here's one of my earlier laughs from the vlog, updated with music and titles. Let me know what you think. At the very least, it should give you a chuckle or two.

And yes, I do know many things that are green, including frogs, broccoli, and chroma key. I just couldn't think of anything when I was laughing. Nice to have a break every now and then, don't you think?

Tolerance for Ambiguity

2006-06-21T14:13:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I share with my students is this phrase from many job postings: "Candidate must have a tolerance for ambiguity." What this means is that the 21st century workplace tends to be a place where you won't find the specific direction and precise instructions that were hallmarks of Industrial Age workplaces.

In the Information Age, fewer people have to do more, with fewer resources, than ever before. Supervisors are more likely to say "There's a target off there somewhere, go and hit it" rather than "I want you to do this, in this way."

Instructions are more vague; outcomes less defined. They may not care exactly HOW you get to the objective, only that you reach it within a reasonable time and within budget. Workers are expected to think for themselves, problem-solve, and take initiative rather than having everything spelled out for them.

This is a key skill for our graduates. Yet it is anathema to an academic setting. By definition, school requires specific actions, with identifiable, measurable results, taken by a specific deadline. There is no room for ambiguity. And very little tolerance for lack of precision.

So does that mean that our educational system is still in the Industrial Age? Hmmmm.

Smart Quotes

2006-06-20T10:19:00.000-04:00

Perhaps you have to BE a technical writer to understand. We care deeply about things like punctuation, typography, page layout, navigation, and usability. It keeps us up at night. We can have endless discussions on whether there should be two spaces or just one after a period. (One, people, ONE! The computer is NOT a typewriter!!) And on that particular issue the camps are divided and never the twain shall meet. (Don't even go there!)

Colleague Dick Margulis has an excellent blog on typography and had encountered a problem where the curly or "smart" quotes he was using in his posts were not showing up in the burned RSS feed summaries. Not only were they absent, they were behaving like delimiters and allowing parts of the text between them to drop out. In the end, he did two very technical-writer-ish things: he reported it as a bug to Feedburner, the folks who create the RSS feed, and he posted the problem to a list of other techwriters to garner collective wisdom on the subject.

That's what technical writers do, among other things. We try to solve problems and then explain them so other people won't have them, we get solutions from other experts, and if necessary we report the bugs so that they can be fixed.

In record time, i.e., overnight, Feedburner twiddled with something so that the smart quotes problem has disappeared. This swift response from technicians is something most techwriters only dream of. Therefore, Feedburner has gone up a few notches in my estimation! They have made the world a little safer for typographers, techwriters, and readers.

You may not have noticed, nor cared, that there is a difference between "these quotes" and “these quotes” but some of us do notice, and we do care. Someone has to.

Community in Bloom

2006-06-20T04:12:00.000-04:00

Ya gotta love the Communities in Bloom initiative throughout the country. What better way to inspire and motivate local municipalities to beautify the streets and public places with flowers? Their stated objective: "Communities in Bloom is a Canadian organization committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community participation and the challenge of national competition."

My neighborhood in Thornhill is no exception. We have yet to trounce our closest neighbor, Richmond Hill, which whom we share an administrative border. They have won in 2003 (National Champtions) and 2005. But I'm sure we're good contenders. I am an enthusiastic supporter -- I appreciate the flowers every day.

Last year at this time, I stopped to take this video, and have a good laugh. Laughing -- that's what I do. If you haven't seen
Laugh Practice yet, you are missing something! It's a good counterbalance to the Adversity blog, and was one of the reasons I ended up coaching a candidate on Style by Jury.

One thing leads to another you know. Enjoy the laugh. And the flowers.

New Baby!

2006-06-19T10:43:00.000-04:00

My sweet, smart niece Rebecca and her clever, talented husband David have just added Graeme to the family, born on June 15. He is the youngest brother now to Noah and Cameron. Labour went quickly and easily enough, with Mom, baby, siblings and Papa all fine. We're very blessed to have this little guy as part of the family.

I love little boys. Big boys, too, but I just seem to have a motherly affinitiy to the little ones. My own two boys were quite a handful. And I only had two hands -- that's why I stopped at two. Had things been somewhat different, perhaps I would have gone on to have a baseball team. Ah, well.

No pictures yet of the wee one, but here are RJ and Devon, each taken at the age of 5, just as they started school. They are both now over 6 feet tall, and definitely something to be proud of. Devon served a tour in Afghanistan with 1 PPCLI; RJ is attending college. Yes, boys are super.