Archive for January, 2010

By, now, you should know Apple has launched their iPad.

It will be out in a few months. And I will be saving up for one.

Why, you might ask?

First, it fills a true need for me. There are quite a few times that I wish I had something smaller and faster than my MacBook, yet with a bigger screen than my phone.

Now, this is normally a tablet or a netbook niche. If the iPad was more expensive, I would not be caring.

However, I am SO willing to pay $500 for a device that really fills a need.

Needs that it will fill:

• Surfing the web while watching TV
• Having an internet device at client meetings without a screen between us
• iBook reader (if they do textbooks on it, I am so in)
• Mobile, computerized whiteboard (I am fairly spacial, so I need this)
• Movies/Pandora (since I dont have a TV, I need something like this for a good movie experience in my dorm)
• Better mobile email (again, smartphones suck at this, and my MacBook is a bit too much when just killing a few

Basically, I want a media consumption device. I feel like the iPad is exactly that for me, with a bit more.

What are your thoughts on it?

p.s. as far as the name, I can see why people hate it, and I can see why Apple did it. iPod, iPhone, iPad…

I will not comment on the name, because it is the thing I care about the LEAST with the device. Really, deciding on it because of the name?

p.p.s. In the future, posts like this will go on my new gadget blog, which will launch next month. I can only handle launching one at a time

Do you ever think that we may be trying too hard to define, catagorize, and box up social media/seo/web design/development?

Are these all not naturally innovative/creative things?

Can you assign ROI to creativity?

Now, you can put ROI on the RESULTS. But, how can you measure MediaTemples ROI when I tweet that I want stickers, and they send me some (Note: MediaTemple is my host, but I pay for it all.)

I am already a client of theirs. So, no new money for them. Maybe they get more loyalty.

If they go down/get hacked, I may have a little less loyalty.

What I get most from my highly social interaction with them is happiness.

The problem with ROI is that we have no way to track happiness. Once we get there, we can start to distill creativity into a number.

So, I am going to focus on the creativity, and deliver results. We can make them into numbers later. For now, are there not enough successful case studies? Do we really need hard and fast ROI numbers at this juncture in implementing social media as part of a companies marketing mix?

Please comment. This may just be misplaced from how I feel about the Vikings loss.

The next big era of innovation will be in 10 years.

At this point, nearly all of the C-Suite will be people who are markedly different from their predicessors.

That difference is that they will not be afraid of, or doubt, technology.

They will consider things other than Microsoft. They may not pick it, but it will have a fighting chance.

They will carry smartphones, and enjoy the connection that they afford.

This new use of technology will enable innovation to take off, since people wont be weighed down by the “how”, as it so often happens now. They will just do it.

10 years out, technology will not be a tool. It will be even more of a natural part of life-not thought about, just leveraged.

(Also, they will finally have their flying cars to go to work in)

So, this was supposed to be my controversial post, the one that would get people to take up arms against me.

However, I then had a drink, and a chat.

I stepped back. And I have a new goal: be seen as an ambassador/welcoming committee. Please read on:

The post was going to be about how much I hate the social media posers. This came from a post I found that concluded “The cream always rises”, talking about how there will be a shakeup in social media and all the posers will get knocked out.

However, after thinking about it more, thats not what it is about. Thats not where my frustration stems from. Its about community among competitors, and those who avoid it.

I work with someone that was my competitor several months ago.

I regurarly have deep, inspirational conversations with people who should be my competition.

Its not the social media posers that deserve our anger-they will eventually either learn social media, or realize that there is no such thing as a get rich quick scheme.

It is the people who are against the social media community. We need to be angry at the toxic, pompous, stuck up people who think that they know everything about social media, and refuse to be a part of the community.

At UnSummit2 back in March of ’09, Don Ball made a comment that was “This is not a zero-sum game. There are more than enough clients for all of us, so we dont need to be at each others throats.”

This really stuck with me. This is why I love the community that we have here-even thought I might be critical of SMBMSP sometimes, and diss MIMA now and again, the truth is that I thrive for this world.

And the people we need to worry about are not the get-rich-quickers, but the “lone wolfs”, the ones that think they are too good for the community.

Without this ecosystem, none of us would be where we are.

Without further ado, I present my new social media creed:

I will accept anyone who wants to be a part of the online community, in any city that I have any pull in. I will not look down on someone who knows less, or claims they know more than they really do, as long as they contribute, want to learn a bit, are not there to just show off, and buy a drink or two.

This is what I will live by. No more making fun of “Social Media Experts” who want to join the community. If they dont join, if they only join to show off, they are fair game.

If you are someone who has been nervous about jumping into the Alphabet Soup of MSP interactive, please have coffee with me. I will do my best to calm your fears, and promise to not leave you hanging at events. I want to be seen as a bit of an ambassador/welcoming committee. I have heard several times that we can get a little exclusive-not anymore.

I urge you all to please think about this, and comment/tweet/facebook/email away. I want your feedback. I am hungry for it.

Within a week, Haiti went from being a little-known island to the focus of the world.

Within that same week, a ton of money has been aimed to the relief of this island.

I want to know why.

I know why it was donated, I want to know what prompted people to donate so much so quickly.

Was it the ease? Just sending a simple text?

Was it the suddenness of the event? A country, one that is not known to many, suddenly being thrust into the limelight and needing help?

Was it the slow news day that the USA was having? All of us in our post holiday stupor getting shocked out of it by a earthquake?

I am not, in any way, saying anything negative. I donated, and I am so proud of the world, and how hard everyone is trying.

I just want to know what we should all take away from this ordeal. What NPOs and causes should learn, to better their fundraising.

Please comment below with your thoughts. I am a huge believer that there is something to learn in every situation, and this is not an exception.

During my daily trip around the internet, I found one of those things that really make my day.

It is called FoursquareX, from CodeButler.

NOTE: This app is pre-alpha, meaning it is buggy as hell. If you are not good with buggy software, I would put this on your “watch” list.

However, being as nuts as I am, I installed it. And I will tell you, I like it.

It is a menubar app for OSX 10.6. meaning you need Snow Leoaprd to run it.

The app shows you a Google map of nearby venues, a Google map of your friends who are checked in (SUPER cool), allows you to check in, and shout, all from the desktop.

The app is not much to look at, but it gives you a TON of functionality that power users need.

I will keep testing it, and post more thoughts soon.

[NOTE: Again, this is pre-alpha. Use at your own risk. If you want to see it, but not install it, I will give you a demo.]

I made a quick and dirty screencast of the app. Find that HERE.

Now that I am co-founding a social media group, I am even more aware of the vast number of events that we have. Tweetcrawl, tweetups, MIMA, SMB, TCSMU, and the myriad more need a home.

So, I am going to provide one.

You can find the TCIM Calendar HERE. I also have it embedded HERE. You should be able to add it to your GCal, or subscribe to it.

If you have an event that you want added to it, please email events[at]mitchellhislop[dot]com

Please spread the word about this. We are having too many cool events on the same night.

If you are planning and event, please check this.

After doing several wordpress installs, I got sick of the repetition.

So, being a geek, I hacked a solution. And I am going to give it to you.

Introducing, the ultimate wordpress starter pack. Has everything that you need to make your new blog your own, including some of the top themes and plugins.

I didn’t include anything that I don’t use on a regular basis, and I have tested it all. All you need to do is upload and get your WordPress on!!

Who this is for:

1. WordPress Pros: Save time by just having to upload once, rather than hunt and upload piece by piece.
2. WordPress Newbies: This pack allows you to make a TON of progress on your own, and gives you enough tools to get you in trouble, and get out.

Like I said, this is free (free as in beer, and free as in speech). Feel free to hack it how you like. It saves me time, and I want to save you time.

You can find it HERE (clicking it will download it automatically)

UPDATE: What it includes:

Plugins:

• Add to Any
• Advanced permalinks
• all in one SEO
• Analytics 360
• Audio-player
• Broken link checker
• Contact form 7
• editorial calendar
• google analyticator
• GA for wordpress
• google sitemap generator
• invisible defender
• live blogging
• maintenance mode
• nextgen-gallery
• podpress
• polldaddy
• search and replace
• twitter tools
• wp-db backup
• wp followme
• wp-optimize
• wp-pagenavi
• wpbook
• wp phone
• YARPP

Themes:

• Arclite
• Atahualpa
• BlackRed
• Classic
• comment-central
• constructor
• cutline 1.1
• depo-clean
• digitalpop
• evidens-white
• fusion
• gear
• inove
• magazine-basic
• mystique
• osmium
• piano-black
• pixel
• pixelated
• typebased
• una
• wp-yoghourt

I have had several discussions recently with people about what I do, and what SMCpros do.

I decided that, for my own sanity and for the sake of explaining it to people, I would just write it down.

• First and foremost, I am a user guy. That is what got me into this field 2 years ago-helping users better interact with online properties
• I also build communities around brands
• I am a thinker. I am constantly jotting down thoughts, ranging on everything from a new meal I want to cook to a new web layout, to new ways to help users
• I am an innovator. I always want a new and better way to do things.
• I am a blogger. I blog about anything and everything. However, this year I am going more focused.
• I lifestream. I overshare.
• I am a communicator, and a connector.
• I do design and development, as well as helping people think about UX and UI stuff
• I am a productivity geek
• I am a tech geek
• I test. I play with every new webapp or plugin that comes my way.

Have you ever taken the time to sit down and write out what you do? Not what your job says, or what you think you should be doing, but what you actually do.

Try it tonight. You may be surprised, or you may just discover something

I have a whole host of beta invites to give you all! Its like a late holiday!!

Here is what I have:

Blippy-purchase sharing service, that is a VERY interesting idea. (25 invites)

Quora-question and answer service, really useful. (10 invites)

Google Voice-SMS/Phone service, really useful for business people. (2 invites)

Google Wave-collaboration/messaging tool (11 invites)

Pop.io-Social OS-I am just playing with it now, but it looks really useful. (10 invites/day)

So, to get one, leave a comment with your wanted invite, and your email (if you dont want to do that, DM me on twitter or find another way to contact me)

I will give you and additional invite if you check out my new undertaking, the TC Social Media Underground. Join the group, let me know, and you can get 2 more invites.