The most scaryist time of the year

Well 2007 is on the way out. And as usual in Ireland, all things come to a halt for a while. Christmas is a scary time of the year because, usually, everything gets changed this week. This is probably the reason why resolutions are saved for this time of the year in this part of the world. You've just survived one week of changes intact. Why not make more...

For some people, this is a time of the year when they are handed responsibilities that they normally don't look after. (Some even learned new skills this way). These people (of which I'm one) have their lives thrown a little off kilter for a while. And they have to consider what's important and what needs to change.

For others everything comes to a stop. Work stops. The life of the office stops (and some people try to hide the evidence of what happened at the office party... ah flickr and facebook) and the news cycle slows. For them this comes as a chance to think. And they have to consider what's important and what needs to change.

So the adverts change from "buy this" to "stop smoking" or "start a new hobby with this magazine" and of course "sale now on..." since the Christmas stock costs too much to store.

And so the resolutions begin. The "I'll never rush in to a sale again" is heartfelt but unheeded within a week. So I'll ignore that one.

Yup... resolutions.

What do I want to do or change? Trust me I've had a while to think about these things so...

1) Be master of my own domain...
I don't mean tidy the house (but now that you mention it, the bathroom mirror does need to b put in the bathroom. I mean it's time that WillKnott.net and WillKnott.ie actually got used as something more than a redirect. Part of this is to do with changes that seem to be afoot. The "cork" in "cork-host" may need to change.
All advice gratefully accepted.

2) On your bike...
Personally, I need to get out more. I've used every excuse not to cycle this year. 2008 will see a saddle put under strain. Regularly. That and go back to Capoeira again. Things sort of stopped over December.

3) Learn (or relearn) a language...
I've always been more a OnLamppp man than an AJAX man. So I'm going to refresh and perfect my Perl, python and PHP. I do intend to get Ruby (and maybe rails) in my head. Sort of useful with a domain eh? Somehow I just know that Java will need something more formal than a commitment by me. Any pointer to classes or tutorials would be appreciated.

What, you assumed French? (Actually Portuguese would be useful for Capoeira but that's another story.)

4) Take time to smell the roses...
Or actually plant them. Simply put, my garden is a mess. Actually that not true. I was careful. My garden is black. Black weed-proof plastic. I need to do some things. Lay a patio. Do "something" with a terrace. I genuinely don't know what should happen out there. I do know I need the hardscaping finished. Help?

5) Give voice...
This is neither a resolution nor a commitment. But my attendance at PodCamp Ireland and the forthcoming Creative Camp gave me an idea... which I'll post later.

I think that is enough. You can't make yourself too many resolutions simply because putting too much pressure on yourself almost guarantees that you won't do any.

Any resolutions or advice?

take care,
Will Knott


tags : 2007, 2008, change, resolution, domain, WillKnott.net, WillKnott.ie, cycle, capoeira, onlamp, garden, PodCamp, PodCamp Ireland, Creative Camp, podcasting

Podcamp Ireland - the gift that keeps giving

Well Podcamp Ireland 2007 is over (and Podcamp Ireland 2008 is already being talked about. I'd like to thank everyone who made it possible.

And I'd like to thank those who couldn't make it, but joined in on the Edgecast Media uStream feed chat and kept things interesting... even contributing in some of the panels.

Just when you thought it was all over, more come out. Like this John McGuinness TD, Irish Minister for Trade and Commerce interview he gave at Podcamp which is part of the Intruders.TV series

take care,
and thanks,
Will

tags : podcampireland, podcamp, John McGuinness, Edgecast Media, uStream, intruders.tv

Live blogging Podcamp

Thankfully things started a little late, I'm convinced that the road signs around Kilkenny are designed to stop people finding the city centre. Anyway, currently watching the "social Media and business" panel.

Keith Bohanna Pure Play "Most businesses have no use for microblogging"

Michael Byrne QBC "Conn is my neighbour" which explains how he got dragged in there, despite how suitable it was for his business.

Tom Murphy Microsoft "Social media to me is a whole range of tools to allow people to talk together"
"The blog was the first social media tool"
It was passive, you sat down and watched TV. Now people are making content and watching each others" ... but there is life in old media yet.

Neville Hobson
"It's now called mainstream media" - there is a big back channel

Ellybabes
"its as techie as you want it to be".. "It's about finding your level"

Neville
"You can be online in 10 minutes if you want"

Keith
"Rss goes way over their heads"
"For non-techies, RSS doesn't come in to it at all"
RSS feeds "is exactly the same list as your favourites"... "but you see the new content"

Neville
"How I explain it yo my mother... If you visit 20 websites a day... to see if there is anything new posted... if you ever do think is there a better way of doing this? ... with RSS... All the content is on one screen"
"Does anyone really care what its called?"

Krishna
on RSS "It comes to your door"

Keith
"Over the last year, there is much lower resistance for blogging with small businesses".. after talking to Mulley "its much easier since they have been converted"

Tom
"Its all about your audience"
Neville
"The platform ... automatically generate the feeds"

How do you make money (no consulting fees allowed)

QBC "Value is in the eye of the beholder"... "One company we work with has a rep in Donegal... and another in Munster. If you are a sales manager with a diverse workforce... what do you do? There are lot of books about motivating people ... the number one postulate is 'do not demotivate them'
If the guy in Dingle has a great day, he doesn't get the praise, and if you fall in to a puddle and have a bad day, you want to share that. So I get them to call in to a conference call... That call is tuned in to a podcast internal in the company and everyone hears it"... "The power of this stuff is that it's now and it's instant" ..." and it's heard in the whole internation comany" "when [the marketing people] hear the real stories on the ground are shocked since the perception does not match"
"Adding the value and making money .. means setting up quite strict structures [so the value of the content can be seen] and then you can be creative"

Tom
On companies blogging
"It puts a human face on the company" "Blogs ... give a much more colourful insight to the internals of a company.. and allows you to go much broader. ... Allows the [blogger] to go in to features. ... There are issues and dangers ... people can get

marketing was 'we control the message and you have to take what we tell you' social media is a loss of control to them. ... They 'buy' the value of social media, but they are nervous.

Neville
"What all companies should be doing is paying attention to what others are saying about them out there" ... "you will write about your experience with them"

QBC
"Usually when a customer goes nuts its because of the gap between their expectations and what they got." ... "Send them a twitter before they visit your hotel and ask 'What were you expecting' and another 'what did you get' and let the people in the organization see this" -- Finally a business use for social media!

Directed soundbytes
If you're in the area of business and you are looking at lead generation, what is the one thing (social media) you would engourage
Tom
"Know your audience. If your audience is using this, then use it"

Neville .. PR
"Sign up for google alerts for yourself competitors what ever and technorati (ice rocket, (some are paid for) custom scoop, and the other 4 or 5 places so you have the ways and means to tell what people are saying about you. And the conversations are exponentially growing

Micro/small business
One of the things behind successful blogging is time. Credibility can't come from a well developed website by itself. e.b Worldwide cycling, and they blog about the races for over a year on the pro-am circuit... that gives them credibility

internal
"Mind the gap"... "the experience that the product makes IS your brand"

overheard, podcamp, podcamp Ireland