Defog1

I'm Not Saying You Have a Face Made for Radio but I am Saying ...

GET OUT OF MY FACE

What? What? Me? Yes you. This is DefogMyBlog speaking. I follow your blog religiously, hang on your every word and you are my idol till you fill the video screen with your face and and keep it there for the duration of your broadcast.

Simply you are too in my face. Surely it is possible to sit back a bit and not fill the screen with your face? It is really uncomfortable to watch. Sit back a bit or focus the camera on the sleeping cat, the flowers in your garden, birds on a neigbours chimney pot, washing on the clothes line or you washing the dishes. The last one may require some editing since you can hardly talk to me while you rattle the crockery.

Put on the television or watch a film and study it for a while. Is the screen continuously full of one face? The television is several feet away and your film comes up about a foot away. Have a look at these short films. I made them for BarryVat in Tony Blair/Gordon Brown YouTube style. There is a serious version and a more light hearted one. In both versions you will see that he is sitting well back from the camera and it is comfortable to watch. In the less serious version note that we do not see Barry all the way through the film. There are other images on screen which in my opinion are more relaxing to watch.

Do we need to see him at all? No it could be a radio piece. However, I don't like listening to podcasts while just watching a white screen. Sometimes I will make a cup of tea while I listen but quite often I will sit at my desk and a bit of visual variety is welcome. So experiment. Try a series of random photographs. Remember the blogging mantra "Content is King".

Defogging SpinVox and Finding Surprising Blogging Uses

I have had a Spinvox account since the time the company started. I pay a basic charge of £5 per month which is automatically added to my mobile bill. It is the most wonderful invention which enables me to read a text version of voicemails left on my mobile. Having decided to give it a defogging for you I went to the Spinvox website and was amazed to discover that there are other enhancements and more in the pipeline. The service has expanded from the UK to many European countries, USA, Canada and South Africa.

What are the services and how do they work?

• Voicemail: Someone leaves a voicemail and it gets translated to text and you read it as a text message. Great for receiving messages while you are at meetings.

• Memos: Need to make a note of something in a hurry. Just phone a number, speak your message and an email whizzes off to your in box. I tested it out and this was the result:You've received a new memo:
  
  ----------
  "Testing this memo system hope that it works. Bye bye."
  
  - spoken through SpinVox.
  ----------
  
  Message received at 2007-11-25 19:50:08.00000
  
  For assistance, see www.spinvox.com or call 448700337300
  
  Thank you,
  SpinVox

• Blast: Need to send some good news to a large group of people then use this. You can share your news by text or email or both.

• Social Networks: You can change your status and update your wall on Facebook  by speaking into your mobile. Likewise for micro blogging on Twitter  and Jaiku . Micro-blog a moment, as it happens.

• Text: This is coming soon. Sometimes you want to give information to someone and you don't have time for a conversation. Instead of typing in your text you will just speak it and Spinvox  will translate your voice to text.

• Blogging: Speak to your readers from any phone, any network, at any time. The Times newspaper uses Spinvox as part of the BMW ‘Your World’ campaign. Users share their travel experiences, tips and recommendations 'in the moment' with people using the site simply by speaking their contribution from any phone to a number published on the site. Click here for the full story.

I know that there are other emerging technologies for doing similar things. I am not a Spinvox affiliate by the way. One that I will look at in another post is Utterz. What do you use? I would love to hear from you. Just leave a comment. Thank you.

Can You Afford Lofty Disdain or Is No Comment an Option?

Of course you can afford lofty disdain and no comment is absolutely an option if your blog is just for you.

However, disdain and no comment have no place in a successful blog. Lofty disdain in relation to your readers and people leaving comments will not build rapport. These people are taking their time to engage with you and must be treated as your most valuable asset. Acknowledge them by responding to them. If they are new then welcome them. If you have written a piece that really engages people the commenting people may start a debate amongst themselves and return to your blog to respond on the same issue several times.

No comment is I think a stance a lot of us take, maybe unconsciously, when we start blogging. We are busy tweaking and fixing our blogs as we launch out on the blogosphere. We need to get out there and explore. It is not such a chore. If you go exploring you will find blogs you like to follow. So get reading and start commenting and give your 2 cents worth. Make it interesting and add to the conversation. Don't leave lots of one or two line comments in the vain hope that people will go to your blog. The blog owner and other people reading comments will only remember you if you make an impression. So put thought and effort into this work. Find four or five blogs, keep up with them and write quality comments.Most blogging software allows you to leave the URL of your site. If people want to know more about you they can click on your name which takes them straight to your blog. They may like what they find and subscribe to your blog and maybe even leave a comment.

See also The Protocol of the Comment

Bringing Clarity to The Protocol of the Comment

When you turn up at another blog you are in effect on someone else's territory. Just as you would not turf up unannounced on their drive and set up a hot dog stall you must observe a certain protocol when on their blog and leaving a comment.

Here is some clarity on the protocol of commenting:

• Read the post and the other comments

• Decide if you have something interesting you can add to the discussion.

• Stick to the topic.

• Do not do a pitch for your own site or products. Such behaviour is frowned upon and is not good for your brand.

• Make sure to include the URL of your own site.  If someone wants to look at your site they can do and remember they are more likely to do so if your comment is interesting.

• Sometimes you may want to say that you like the site and that is fine but don't make a habit of leaving it as your only contribution.

• Be polite in expressing a contra argument to that expressed in the post or other comments.

• Always making sure to be the first to leave a comment on a particular blog may show you in a particular light and not necessarily a favourable one.

• Your comments will turn up in internet searches and so maybe a read of Aargh! What Will That Future Employer Find On Facebook? might be useful.
  

A Blog Has Many Uses and Will I See Bizet's Carmen This Friday?

A blog has many uses and what has that got to do with me seeing Bizet's Carmen this Friday?

In April this year I went to London for the Blogging4Business Conference and was delighted to find out that companies are using blogs in a myriad of ways. A City law firm uses blogs for case management because it makes it easier for everyone to keep up to speed as the blog is a repository of all the information on a case. Parts of the blog are shared with the client and used for communication instead of emails. The blog is archived for future reference and is a resource for trainees. They can study how cases progressed, how and why decisions were arrived at and the case conclusion.

Quite a few conference delegates attended because they were thinking of starting company blogs. Microsoft staff were there in force and reported that they encourage all their staff to blog with the one stipulation of "Don't do anything stupid." They found blog useful for keeping the world up to date on what they are doing and planning and responding to problems.  Other companies suggested that it was best to treat blogging in the same way as other public communication e.g. press releases, speaking at conferences or writing papers. The idea being that staff whom you could trust to  participate in these activities will apply the normal common sense rules in relation to company business when blogging. However, they also cautioned that to have a successful blog, responsibility for it should be given to those who have a real passion for carrying it forward.

Since then I have seen blogs used to organise weddings and family events. They are terrific for project management. One of the plus points on using a blog in  this way is that it is obvious who is making a contribution or submitting good ideas. Trawling the blogs may become the thing to do prior to pitching for a pay rise or doing staff evaluations. Tagging will render that an easy thing to do.

On PR Blog Jots I learned that PRSA Internationaland UGA-Connect conferences successfully used blogs to manage their events and kept people at home informed by updating the blogs and included tweets from Twitter and pictures from Flickrs. During a conference a blog is an information hub for a conference delegates and afterwards great for posting podcasts of debates and speeches.

Last Saturday, I read Arts Reporter Ben Hoyle's piece in The Times on the ENO Carmen blog. This production has received some bad reviews. Sally Potter, the Director wrote on her blog
"The truth must be faced: my production of Carmen has infuriated many of the established opera critics. There have been some very positive exceptions, but nevertheless, there is a group who have responded negatively, with varying degrees of derision and nastiness, and in some cases, a willful misinterpretation of the concept, design and staging."
Through the blog, which is written by cast and crew, they believe they have reached out to the paying public.

I am impressed with this blog, beautifully designed and so many contributors and the fact that people can write their own reviews. This is very brave thing to do as Tenor Julian Gavin points out on his blog
"Sure! there have been a range of audience views expressed on the web site which is great, but I do suspect that an opportunity to feed back such as this is more likely to provide a forum for negative views. I suspect that the majority that have enjoyed the show are more likely to go away and tell their friends. Well at least I hope that they do!" 
It is possible to listen to the music from the blog. I am so taken with the whole story of this production that I feel the urge to go and see it. Checking on the tickets for the last night I see that there is one little pink space and two blue ones still available. The two blue ones are not together and are in fact on either side of the audience. So will I see Bizet's Carmen on Friday? I'm not sure. Maybe I will meet you HERE.

How Barry Vat Started Me on The Road to Business Blogging

If you read my post  Why did I start Defog My Blog?  you will know that I likeTypepad for business blogging because it is easy to learn, flexible and adaptable. When I first discovered Typepad I scanned lots of other blogs to see what other people were doing. A lot of them were personal or for hobbies but some stood out because they had a very different look and feel and people were clearly using them for business.

An opportunity to experiment with Typepad arrived in tandem with a new neighbour. He had a week long radio advertising campaign organised and lacked a website. He wanted something very straight forward for his VAT business and I set to work one morning. Later that day Barry Harman was launched into the blogosphere. Barry is not keen on blogging and apart from adding a film on You Tube under the name Barry Vat it has changed little since it was first created. For him it serves its purpose.

My next project was helping my niece, Aoife, to develop a blog for her partner's floor screeding business which is  O.C.Screeding. Aoife, a trained artist, was keen to learn and worked hard tweaking the site to achieve the look she wanted. On completion of a new screeding project a new page is added with photographs which gives potential customers a clear idea of the quality of the work.

As well as building up a portfolio of work, adding new information keeps their site fresh in the Google rankings which in such a competitive line of business is very important.

I continue to work with other people on their blogs. I learn all I can about search engine optimization, keywords, writing titles, writing copy and the importance of optimizing pictures. I read books and follow other sites and listened to telephone seminars and podcasts. I enjoy keeping up to date with new developments in blogging, the social networks, software and hardware and it is important for my clients at Defog My Blog.

Aargh! What Will That Future Employer Find On Facebook?

If you really want the job they will find a smart and well designed blog, your Facebook ready for inspection and aligned with all other social networks, message boards  or forums that have your name.

Last Friday I spent most of the afternoon dipping in and out of seminars on A Brand You World, a 2007 global telesummit. I learned that if you are serious about your career you need to manage and communicate your personal brand. So here is what I took in on the subject.

• People are behaving like commercial brands and brands are sharp, portable and unique.

• They are about performances and perceptions and can make promises.

• A brand enables people to distinguish you from the herd.

• It must tell what excites you and what gives passion and meaning to your work.

• It is your bundle of experiences and not a rehash of your CV/resume.

People who champion your brand are your Brand Ambassadors. You must be careful not to appear too self centered and that your values are aligned with those of your organisation and not overshadowing it. Ponder the following:

• In the context in which you operate how do people perceive you?

• What do you stand for, what are your values and what drives you?

• What are your skills and experience?

• How do you project yourself? Are you reflecting visually what you feel inside?

• Do you network on social and work fronts?

• How are you going to promote yourself?

• Do you possess Charm, Confidence and Belief?

Having reflected on these points the first practical thing you need to do is claim your name as a domain name. If your name is already taken or identical to that of someone else then add your middle initial or differentiate it in some way so that you have a name you are comfortable with and that will not cause confusion or problems in the future.

We at Defog My Blog can work with you on your blog design and strategy. When complete you can align the contents across all networks. You are then ready to sally forth.

Or have you been digitally dissed and are you in need of deep cleaning? If you have then hotfoot across to A Brand You World and listen to those seminars. Even if you are in the clear those seminars are well worth a listen.

Before you go tell us what you think. We at Defog My Blog are 'all ears'.

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How Many Categories Do You Need?

Start with a few and over time the blog will develop and the interaction with your readership will dictate how many. A quick glance at your categories will enable people to quickly find information. The question of how many is possibly less important than whether your choices in terms of headings in this area are found useful by your readers.

Retain at least one for your area of expertise. Place here information that will not date too quickly. These may well be more lengthy pieces that you have worked on long and hard to give them real polish. It may become a database of knowledge that people come back to time and again.

Have another that is more rooted in the moment e.g conferences, business events and what you are involved in right now.

Aim to link to previous postings regardless of category. This is known as deep linking and will encourage your readers to explore other areas of your blog. If you have an eye on increasing your Google ranking it is a good idea to encourage your readers to stay longer and deep linking is an effective way of getting this to happen. Google really is focused on giving their customer, the searcher, a good and interesting experience and are not too concerned with your dreams and aspirations.

20 Tips and Tricks of the Post by Defog My Blog

• Provide interesting content that your audience will appreciate.

• Post in the morning. Write it in advance and set the timer on the blog.

• If your market is on the other side of the globe then post in line with their morning.

• The best days for getting post read are Mondays and Fridays.

• Decide on a posting plan that is manageable and avoid feast or famine.

• Use capitals on the first letter of all important words in the title.

• Only the first 65 characters will appear in the the title on a Google search.

• Remember the goal of the search engine is to satisfy the searcher and not you.

• Vary the wording of your post titles.

• Write titles that promise something relevant, ask a question or evoke a response.

• Include your keywords in the post title.

• Vary the position of your keywords in your post titles.

• Avoid placing keywords at the very beginning of the title.

• Why? Keywords are more likely to catch the eye if placed a bit further in.

• Include your keywords in the post body a maximum of three times.

• If possible have your keywords appear towards the beginning and end of your post.

• Encourage readership of your posts by responding to comments.

• Send a welcome email the first time someone comments.

• Include links in posts to other parts of your own blog.

• Use bulleted and numbered lists within lengthy posts and as complete posts.

• Include pictures, audio or video from time to time.

So what did I say first? Above and beyond all else, providing interesting content really is the most important point. Have you got other suggestions on creating posts? Defog My Blog welcomes your comments.