Podcast: How We Got Into Radio
Our ‘summer break’ continues – in a sense – as we sit down and reminisce about our radio days – how we got in and made our mark, however large or small that might have been! We also touch on how you might break into radio if that is your desire.
Podcast: Business Card Communication
What does your business card look like? Is it communicating important information? Or does it lack pizazz? Tim and Roger take a look at a critical piece of your communication.
photo credit: iris_birka
Five or six years ago, to rank high in Google and other search engines, you had to cross your i’s and dot your t’s when it came to metatags, titles, keywords and more. Yes, those are still important – but not as important as one more item. What is that? Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon and Roger Pike discuss SEO.
photo credit: FindYourSearch
From a corporate or business point of view, how do you respond to a negative blog post or comment? Well, of course there are right and wrong ways to do that – and we’re here to tell you the right ways to respond.
Learning About Webinars
I just ran across a new online presentation tool – in a way. It’s called My Brainshark and it allows you to narrate slide shows, make a narrated photo album, post a video demo and more. Yeah, a number of these tools are readily available, but MyBrainshark is attractive because it is easy to use, easy to embed those presentations elsewhere and is oriented mostly towards the business user.
During my tour of the site I came across a short but effective presentation called ’3 Things Presenters Should Know About Webinars‘…let’s take a look:
(if the embedded presentation doesn’t show in your browser, here’s a link to the file…)
What newsletters do you feel compelled to read regularly? Tim and Roger take a look at six newsletters that keep pullin’ ‘em in. Interesting and compelling stories and articles keep us coming back.
In no particular order, they are… (you may click while listening to our podcast: all links open up a new tab or window):
- BNET
- Paul Castain’s Sales Playbook
- Valeria Maltoni’s Conversation Agent
- Michael Stelzner’s Social Media Examiner
- LinkedIn (Groups)
- SpeakerNet News
Where’s the best place to finish your sales pitch and close a deal? Well, for a company looking to sell to Tim and I recently, the “best place” was a classroom; an online classroom.
Tim and I were looking at several tools to help us “datamine” the social media for a new client. We wanted something that would give us a comprehensive look at the clients presence in social media: if and how their company was represented there, what was being said about them, and whether the on-line conversation included talk of a specific area of the clients operation. Later, we would use that tool to track how our efforts were changing that conversation.
The Internet offers a lot of different ways to begin “datamining” for that kind of information. And, some of digging tools are free. But we wanted sophisticated results; and, because of that, were looking at high-end products we’d have to buy or rent. One of those products was a tool called Radian6. Tim’s initial research indicated it might be just what we were looking for. But, we weren’t certain. At least, we weren’t until we sat down in front of our computers; Tim and I across town from each other, and went on a virtual tour together. Radian6 hosted a “webinar” for Tim and I to teach us what their product could do, and how we would use it.
A webinar, short for “web based seminar” would allow a representative of the company to talk to us about the product, show us how it would look on our computer, actually allow us to see it in action and answer our questions. All from the privacy of our own offices.
The day of the webinar arrived and Tim and I were looking forward to the tour. Tim had no problem logging on to the webinar “host.” I had a glitch. It wouldn’t let me in. A phone call to the company fixed it quick though. The rep sent me a new link, via email, that worked perfectly. Once the computers were all logged in, we used our phones to dial into to the audio portion of the presentation. Phones on “conference” and sitting in front of us, and with Ben, from Radian, controlling what we’d see on our screens, we were ready to begin.
The webinar went like clockwork. Ben opened Radian6, showed us how it would look, and how we’d use it to begin to find the information we’d need. Before our eyes, he plugged in our search parameters and search terms, and we sat back while his product began browsing the known cyber-universe for the information we wanted. Seconds later, the results were in, and Ben showed us how his tool would organize the data for analysis.
The on-screen portion of the presentation was slick. What’s more, the webinar format allowed Tim and I to ask questions and get immediate answers since the three of us were “conferenced in” via phone. After about 45 minutes, we’d seen what the tool could do and had our questions answered. And Radian had made a sale.
Of course, not every product can be sold this way. But this experience is a superb example of how the interactive internet can help your company make sales and develop clients. Reaching your prospective customers in their offices, at their convenience, with a representative who can address their questions, is a powerful sales device. Through the “webinar” all the decision makers can be brought together at once.
Radian6 turned out to be just the tool we need to provide a wealth of information, and real value, to our client.
Thanks to a random Google Alert, Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon and Roger Pike track down The Contrary Public Speaker Podcast hosted by LeeAundra Keany (formerly Temescu) is an executive communications coach specializing in public speaking, media training, effective business presentation training and executive presence.
We find that her podcast has decent content, but the online presentation could use some upgrading.
The Instant Speech
Have you ever been called upon to deliver an extemporaneous speech? You know, the kind where you have just a few minutes to prepare?
It’s enough to shake most people to their core.
Of course, it depends on a number of things: your experience, the audience and the knowledge you have about the subject.
But in most cases, you should be able to come up with a coherent speech, one that not only sounds great (and prepared) but impresses.
Here’s how:
First, know WHAT you will talk about. Let’s say you’ve been called upon to update the board of directors on the new product release next week. You’re in charge of the development.
So that’s easy. That’s the topic: the new product development.
Next move on to the WHY of the presentation. In your case, the ‘why’ may be the fact that you’re in charge. You can outline the development. In fact, even though most of the audience may be aware of a lot of the backstory, it doesn’t hurt to go into a quick re-cap. You may still be able to provide insight into the topic.
HOW does it all come together? With the example of the quick speech to the board of directors, explain how it will wrap up, what the next move is, etc.
If you can come up with an EXAMPLE or STORY of the product development in action, add it it. It helps illustrate your points, makes the process real, and puts a human face on it.
So there’s your Instant Speech: just cook up the ingredients in the recipe and you have your speech.
I thought I knew a lot about social media. I’m Facebooked, MySpaced, and LinkedIn. I Tweet. I blog. I YouTube. I post and I podcast. I aggregate, datamine, and research. I even teach other people how to do it. But, despite that extensive social media resume, I hadn’t done it all. Not nearly. Not until a friend told me I should visit Second Life.
Second Life is a social media site. People go there to interact in real time. But it’s social media with a difference. Instead of being a photo album, a profile and a series of chat boxes, users of Second Life appear to each other as avatars; which can move, walk, gesture, change their hairdo, and shoot each other with bows. You can choose who, and what, you will be in Second Life. If you’ve ever played “The Sims” you’ll know more or less what your basic appearance will be…though you can get much more sophisticated in Second Life.
When you get your account (the basic account is free) you will be asked to choose a name. Be careful…it’s yours forever. You will also choose a sex for your avatar (though that need not be forever). You then download the viewer. When you log on for the first time, your computer screens fills with the image of some newbie information center. It’s unlikely you’ll be alone. Not only will there be other “noobs,” but there will also be experienced Second Lifers who just like to help. You learn quickly how to control your avatars movement; how to dress it, and how to change it’s appearance. You’re also given a tutorial on a lot of other things you’ll need; how to move your camera (your point of view) for example. Finally, you’re offered links to some fun places to link too, and you’re off on your own.
The Second Life environment is huge and rich. There are apartments, night clubs, fantasy environments, environments based on television shows and adult themed locations. There are modern environments, future environments, and medieval environments. You can visit and interact extensively with the people you meet there.
And there’s an economy. The currency is “Linden Dollars” (Linden Labs controls and operates the Second Life environment) which you can purchase for regular dollars in your account. Second Life allows its residents to design and build virtually at will. So, some will purchase land, build apartments and rent you a place to live. Others will design custom clothing. Still others will “script” (write little programs that will animate an object or your avatar) gestures you can use or devices (auto’s, motorcycles, dances, furniture and, literally, a world of other things). Linden dollars can also be exchanged for real currency; meaning that entrepreneurs selling their designs in Second Life can earn a real living.
Most of the interaction in Second Life is, to some greater or lesser extent, roleplaying. You adopt a character, and those around you expect you will stay in character. Good role players are respected in Second Life. Poor ones can be reviled. There are many giant environments inside Second Life where role playing is law. The prime example is a land called Gor.
Gor is a medieval environment in which men are dominant. It covers a huge territory. There are cities and there is vast countryside. And, there is combat in Gor. Residents wear a meter that registers when they take damage from a bow, sword or other weapon. When sufficient damage is registered, the victim lapses into unconsciousness. Be careful, if you are taken prisoner you might be killed (though a shaman can resurrect you) or damaged (anything can be healed and customarily takes three days). Or you might be taken captive and made a slave. Second Life users have designed devices, most often a collar, which, when worn by an avatar, gives the collar’s owner control. In other words, somebody else can force your avatar to wear certain clothes, behave in certain ways, bow, kneel and, literally hundreds of other things.
It’s wild.
I can also see how it could be addictive. As social media sites go, I’ve never seen one as emotionally involving, wrenching even, as Second Life. One friend told me they don’t “play” Second Life…they live it. That friend is not alone. Almost everyone you meet is “invested” in the game and responds to it on a deep, visceral, emotional level. There are attachments, weddings, in Second Life, that do not exist in RL (real life) but which have endured for years. I started playing one afternoon…and my session went deep into the night. I did not even register the passage of time.
I work on the computer and social media analysis and consulting makes up a large part of my enterprise. So, it’s nice for me to find a place where I can play. For a different kind of interactive experience you might take a look at Second Life. Just don’t blame me if you are hooked.
