BusinessCasualBlog.com

What online legacy are you leaving?

Ain't this scary?  Well, not so much the fact that most anything you post in the 'net becomes your online legacy for others to find, but that there are a lot of folks out there who still don't get it.  Try this:  google your name in quotes.  See what comes up. 

Orange County Register: Need for privacy going public

“Anything you post online is open season,” says Melissa Bush, a business major at the University of Dayton in Ohio.

Highlights:

• More online users are realizing how accessible their social sites are.
• Hearing more stories like those (in the article) prompted career counselors at the University of Dayton to survey employers in their database about their use of Facebook. They found that 42 percent of the 326 who responded said they would consider factoring a Facebook profile into their hiring decisions. Some of those employers also said they’d already rescinded offers because of things they’d discovered online.
• “If you don’t want people to read it, don’t post it,” Bush says. “If you don’t want people to see a video, don’t post it.”
• Today, the rule of thumb is: If it’s in the public domain, it’s fair game.

Those interviewed for the article above have it right, ya gotta be really conscious of what you put out there.  It's the kind of stuff potential business partners, customers and employers can find.  Which, I'd argue, is the kind of visibility we shouldn't necessarily shy away from. (?!)

Despite the cautionary tone of the article above, I think there's a missed opportunity by removing your public profiles and minimizing -- or even eliminating -- your participation in online social networks.

I'm a member of several online social forums including: ecademy, LinkedIn and Xing (formerly OpenBC).  I'm also a member of various professional associations.  Many of these networks have a professional profile page.  You fill it out for other members in your professional association or online networking group to read in case they're interested in knowing more about you.  And as it turns out, they're not the only ones.  Many of these are also captured by search engines.  And how you start your profile can affect your internet presence. 

The first few lines you place in your profile page is something of an opportunity that many folks miss.  When search engines like Google compile results of their nightly internet crawl, they pull the first few lines of your profile page and present those as a descriptive abstract immediately below the search results line.  I didn't used to pay attention to this until someone forwarded me an article Ron Bates wrote at ecademy.  (Internet Presence...)

It used to be, I'd write something up without paying attention to the opening lines.  I used to get search "hit lines" like this:

Blah, blah, blah... that was the result when I opened with a bullet summary of personal interests.  That's still there, by the way.  It'll eventually move further down the search results page as enough time passes.  But, since having changed my opening lines, I now get results like the ones below which now show as the first three hits on my search results page at Google.

Even if it's not entirely compelling, it at least creates a better internet presence than a bunch of bullets merged together.

As Ron points out, by simply making a small adjustment to your networking profile content on your profile sites, you create a useful hit in Googe that actually has a chance of adding to your internet presence in a way that's supportive of your online legacy.  And how cool is that? 

How cool is that? - Share your PowerPoint presentations

Yeah, yeah, I know.  I push the web video / flash streaming-thing alot.  But give me credit, I'm warming up to podcasting.  (For some things.) 

But if you're not yet ready for web video but still have something to say, then it's worth knowing about the beta that Slideshare is conducting (www.slideshare.net).

It's a free service (for now?) that allows you to upload your PowerPoint, PDF or OpenOffice presentations.  Any animations you've embedded don't carry over. But it does a reasonably good conversion. 

I uploaded the sample presentation below... oh yeah, didn't I mention they also generate code that let's you easily post your presentations on your blog?  (Hmmm... does it work for email?)  The pres-o below has a few slides with transitions and animations in the original file.  But as you click through you can see they convert to the standard 'ol "appear" slide transitions.  Needless to say, embedded ActiveX controls -- such as, dare I say it?... embedded streaming videos in your PowerPoint presentations! ;-)  also won't carry over.

If you know a small business owner or are a real estate agent yourself, and would like help customizing something like the ditty above, just drop me a line from my contact page.  Of course, if you also want to create a little video presentation to embed in your PowerPoint well, you know...  ;-)

And oh yeah, Caution: Slideshare is public space. I understand they're working on features to allow private presentations.  But for now don't think that it's a good idea to upload those top secret NASA presentations just yet.  No, no, no... 

Happy new year.

Streaming vs. Podcasting?

I was in one of those online forums about a week or so ago. This one was for folks interested in talking about trends in business uses for web videos. You know, corporate communications, marketing, training, stuff like that.

During one long thread, a few of us got into a nice little exchange about podcasting vs. streaming video. Now, I was expecting that there'd be some consensus that podcasting and streaming video would each have their place depending on the situation and the audience. Surprisingly, there were those who'd swear only to podcasts as the solution for all things video over the web. (??!!)

I couldn't figure that. I mean, even though I'm a big supporter of streaming video and all (it is, after all, a mainstay for videoHomeStories), I'd be the first to raise my hand and say that streaming isn't the solution for all web-based video. Similarly, I certainly don't believe podcasting is the singular solution either.

In the real estate market, for example, my server logs show that the typical consumer views a web video, on average, about two to three minutes before moving on. The 'ol AIDA principle (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) applies -- especially here. Ya gotta get their attention and interest in the first 15 seconds. Now, the property video they see will either make it's mark with any given viewer or not. But, the idea is to continue to capture their interest for another minute or two, so if the property itself doesn't float their boat, then at least multimedia information about the community and the neighborhood (which you don't get in traditional virtual tours and photo-based "videos") will be of continuing interest for them to take some action. This action might include contacting the agent about other properties in the same community, or by forwarding a link to the property's web video to someone they know.

Some interesting reading: Podzinger's summary of research they conducted in online advertising seems to bear some of this out:

Consumers typically play only 15 percent of an entire online video or audio. The average run time for video is 7.5 minutes (shorter, depending on the topic category)... Consumers are more likely to play content online than they are to download it by a factor of 6 to 1...

You can read more here:
http://www.blogzinger.com/2006/11/20/market-research-on-online-advertising/

A search engine with an attitude

I came across this link (http://msdewey.com/) from an experimental search engine.  It's owned by Microsoft.  (Wikipedia article: Ms Dewey).  It features a character dubbed "Ms. Dewey," played by actress Janina Gavankar.  You'll need Macomedia Flash player.  And, hint:  it's actually more fun not search anything.

Writin' it like you'd say it.

Link: STRAIGHT TALK IN WASHINGTON.

(Orange County Register,  Sunday December 10, 2006.)  In the 18 months since Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered all state agencies to adopt “plain talk” principles, more than 2,000 state employees have attended classes on writing letters, announcements and documents in everyday language... When citizens know what the government wants from them, there’s a better chance they’ll comply, officials have found. For example, by rewriting one letter, the Department of Revenue tripled the number of businesses paying the “use tax,” the widely ignored equivalent of sales tax on products bought out of state. That meant an extra $800,000 collected over two years... “Simple changes can have profound results,”...

This is long overdue.  And not just in government.  But in business, too.  I know I have a tendency to get verbose, er, garrulous, uh effusive... (grrr!)... wordy.

It used to be whenever I started a sentence with "and" or "but," I got a little memory of my grade school teacher telling our class that we should never start sentences with "and" or "but".  And that seemed to be at the heart of my loquaciousness, er, long-winded bantering.  Rather than just writing it like I'd say it, I found myself having to think about "better" words.  So I used more of them just so I could appease the ghost of teachers past.

But you know, here I am a few decades later and I'm thinking, hey it works.  And when I read an article that says they actually made money just by rewriting business docs and legalese to be more prosey, well, how cool is that?  A 300% bump in businesses participating in something that used to be ignored while increasing revenue by over three-quarters of a million dollars in must two years by just rewriting text?  I'm all over that.

Here are some "before" and "after" shots of Washington state's Straight Talk initiative:

BEFORE	AFTER
"We have been notified that you did not receive the State of Washington warrant listed on the attached Affidavit of Lost or Destroyed Warrant Request for Replacement, form F242."	"Have you cashed your L&I check yet? The state Treasurer’s Office has informed us that a check we sent you has not been cashed."
"If you do not wish to purchase 1 2 month gross weight at the time of renewal, please contact your license agent to determine the fees due for the number of months you wish to purchase. If you are not sure that purchasing 1 2 months is a good choice for you, please discuss the options with your license agent before purchasing your tabs."	"To license for less than 1 2 months, contact a vehicle licensing office to determine the amount due."
"Specific to the CO2 mitigation program, Ecology recommends that the reviewing authority assure compliance with the approved mitigation plan on an annual basis, unless project circumstances indicate that a more or less frequent compliance review is appropriate."	"Reviewing authorities conduct annual reviews to assure compliance with the mitigation plan."

Elegant Solutions

Slaying dragons and storming castles isn't for the faint of heart.  In a world run by powerful bosses and inflexible systems, rarely if ever is creative license granted freely.  It's taken.

How cool is that?  That's my quote of the day.  Matthew May, a Toyota business partner authored "The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Forumula for Mastering Innovation." (More here.)

The quote struck a cord.  I mean, how many of us find limitations in the places we work and then either rack our brains trying to make some thing of organizational excellence happen?  With limited resources and not enough hours in the day, how many times have we each found ourselves saying "choose your battles." (More...)

Six elements of a High Performing Organization

Ken Blanchard has another book out on leadership.  This one's called "Leading at a Higher Level." 

Key points include:

• Leaders can be successful in the short term if they primarily focus on goal accomplishment. But...
• Leaders focusing on long-term results and human satisfaction can get longer-term success.
• High-performing organizations (HPOs) are enterprises that over time continue to produce outstanding results with the highest level of human satisfaction and commitment to success.
• A group of researchers identified six scorable elements of HPOs:
  - Shared information.  That is, information needed to make informed decisions is readily available to people and is openly communicated.
  - Compelling vision.  When everyone supports an organization's vision -- assuming for a moment a well thought-out and clearly articulated vision exists -- it creates a deliberate, highly focused culture that drives desired business goals.
  - Ongoing learning.  Everyone is always striving to get better, both individually and as an organization.
  - Relentless focus on customer results.  What's unique is that in HPOs it's the way they focus on those results: from the viewpoint of the customer.
  - Energizing systems and structures.  Systems, processes, structures and practices in HPOs are aligned to support the vision, strategic direction and goals.
  - Shared power and high involvement.  When people feel valued and respected for their contributions, are allowed to make decisions that affect their lives, and have access to information to make good decisions, they can and will function as valuable contributors.
• Leadership is the engine.

I'd be interested to see how some of the organizations I've come in contact with over the past, say, 5 years come out on the score.  More interesting still: if there are organizations today with low market share and/or book value that score relatively high on the scale.  And, while we're at it, what the relative weight-factors, if any, are assigned to each of the elements.

Hmmm... I haven't read the book yet.  It's on my wish list.  Well no, not yet... okay... now it is.  (Gotta love that wi-fi internet-thing.) 

So, since I haven't read it yet, I don't know how the scoring is actually done in the model.  But, I thought it might be fun to just take a qualitative stab at it.  Using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Low; 5 = High) to do a little Q&D scoring (quick-and-dirty), here's how I'd apply it to an organization on my mind:

WASTM Project Update: Conflict and Confusion - finally, progress!

The "official" launch of the "We Are Smarter Than Me" (WASTM) project was on November 16, 2006. About a week following that, I joined the group.  Within a few days, chaos was beginning to rear its (ugly?) head.  Just in the last few days it finally got to the point where we all had to pause and think about group dynamics, structure and governance issues.  My comments at the time were that I was actually encouraged to see the chaos and confusion; I saw it all as the natural progression of groups.

Bruce Tuckman's 4-stage model (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/tuckman.htm) came to mind when I initially joined the group which, at the time had about 1500 folks and climbing.  I read someplace that they were hoping to recruit upwards of 10,000 people over the internet to help and write this book.  (Imagine that!)

The Tuckman model suggests a 4-stage progression coined "Forming," "Storming," "Norming," and "Performing."  The gist of it is that a few people (or thousands) come together to "form" a group.  After a period of time, group members find they have to grapple with conflicting personalities, behaviors, goals, etc.  This conflict basicallly describes the "Storming" stage.  Unless the group implodes (and some die in the norming stage), they enter into a stage where they begin to reconcile the differences and begin "Norming."  And, it's only after they normalize into roles and responsibilities do they actually begin "Performing."

Things finally came to a head yesterday with Jon Spector, one of the founders of the project and the Vice Dean of The Wharton School, coming online in one of the discussion forums to address the issue directly.  He'll be hosting a meeting with his colleagues on Friday to discuss the situation and see what a new path forward might look like.  In the meantime, Jon wanted to solicit input from the group so he can take that to the meeting.  I remember thinking what a courageous thing to do.  And, after seeing the maturity of responses despite the frustration that had been evident, I was encouraged that our very large (and growing) chaotic community was likely going to survive the Storming stage.

If you subscribe to the idea, as I guess I do, that each of the Tuckman stages is a sort of progress check, then it's hard not to look forward to the chaos and confusion that marks the stage our community finds itself in at the moment. 

Happily, this story isn't done yet.  I'll keep posting updates here...