Podonomics

Okay, so I’m standing in line at the grocery store. I hate shopping - any type of shopping - so to ease my misery, I think good thoughts. You know, like a plate of food from a Chinese buffet, Battlestar Galactica, chiseled chests, even my future Rottweiler named Tank, anything but the items that burden my arms.

So, I start thinking about movies. Aside from action, comedy and sci fi movies, I just love films that have an end-of-the-world message (upon searching, I discovered that this genre is called apocalyptic fiction). Some disease, alien, force of nature or plague is threatening Earth and it’s left to just 1 or 2 or a small band of people to save all of humanity from the impending destruction.

Films like 28 Days Later, Outbreak, War of the Worlds, The Day After Tomorrow, Deep Impact and Armageddon are just a small sample of films in this genre that keep me on the edge of my seat. Love it!

Which got me thinking…

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There was an article that I wanted to read and unfortunately, the site that it was on is no longer up. As I consumed some more holiday treats, I remembered archive.org. There, I was able to input the URL and voila! The article popped up.

I ended up becoming quite nostalgic and did a search on some of the web properties I used to operate.

Just in case your curiosity is getting the better of you, here they are:

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Every year, Time Magazine selects a person of the year. For 2006, Time’s person of the year is you. Yes, you. Why? Find out by reading their article.

Thank you Time Magazine.

I’m not sure if I blogged about my 13-hour drive to Boston when I attended Podcamp back in September. Well, if I didn’t, just a quick narrative that the drive from Toronto to Boston should’ve taken 9-hours through 1 province (Ontario) and 2 states (New York & Mass).

So why did I see New York state, Pennsylvania, Conneticut and Mass in a span of 13-hours? Don’t ask…

Well, that’s how I felt trying to navigate through Second Life where Toronto’s CaseCamp was held last night. Here’s my story.

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One person who has a new widget on his blog everytime I look is Mathew Ingram. I marvel at how this middle-aged dude can be so much more ahead of me with how quickly he pimps his blog.

So, I’m using Wordpress and I’m looking to pimp my blog. Any suggestions on cool widgets and plug-ins I could be using? Also, should I go to a 3-column format or just stick with 2? And lastly, is there a plug-in I can use so I can add tags to my posts right from Wordpress without having to head over to Technorati and copying and pasting them everytime?

Yes, I could easily look at the list of plug-ins on the Wordpress site, but I’m asking you which ones are you using and why are they your favourites?

Technorati: wordpress, Plugins

Too many times, bloggers and podcasters act like their conversations aren’t being heard. I’ve stumbled upon public spats that started because the author posts something on their blog or says something in their podcast about someone else, then when the target leaves a comment on that person’s blog, suddenly, the “attacker” becomes complacent.

I liken this to elementary school when a classmate talks about you behind your back. Only, you’re hiding around the corner and hearing every ugly word that person is spouting off about you.

Here’s a recent blog post that I found by way of Bryan’s blog. Apparently, the blog’s author didn’t take too kindly to the fact that Podcamp New York is considering paying for some of Robert Scoble’s expenses to attend the event in April. The blogger went as far as to suggest that with all the money Podtech has in their coiffers (Podtech is Robert’s employer), Robert should be able to pay for his own way to New York.

Guess who the very first comment is from? Mr. Scoble himself.

What’s the lesson here kids? Because both blogosphere and podosphere is so tiny, whatever you say “behind someone’s back” will be “overheard” by your target.

Technorati: Robert Scoble, podcamp, podcamp nyc, bryan person, social media

I almost coughed up my coffee through my nose when I read Entrepreneur.com’s Top 10 Marketing Trends to watch in 2007. Three of the 10 trends were listed under Hot Online Trends and what were they?

• Web conferencing
• Online research
• Local search

That’s the reason why I nearly didn’t ingest my coffee the right way this morning. Web conferencing is so 1999, while I don’t believe that local search will be hot. And I can’t believe that online research is considered a hot trend for 2007. I’ve been doing online research ever since I went online in 1994, so how can this be hot?

Why didn’t podcasting make the list? Or even blogs? Or even 3-D marketing through Second Life? Am I missing something here?

Technorati: technology, Internet, Blogs, webinars, Webcasts, Word Of Mouth, Marketing Strategy

I was over at Michael Port’s blog reading a post written by Elizabeth Marshall called Do You Ask Permission? Your Credibility Depends on It. In this post, Elizabeth surmised at the number of times people add her email to their distribution list without asking her permission.

I responded to that post with my list of do nots. And since everyone’s doing ‘em these days, I call this my Ask Me Don’t Spam Me Manifesto.

Here’s my list.

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Scott Ginsberg explains rather eloquently why blogs, podcasts and other social media - in other words, interaction marketing - is way better than buying an ad, cold calling - in other words, interruption marketing.

In fact, Scott says that his business grew in 2006 and he:

1. Never made a cold call.
2. Never ran an advertisement.
3. Never “pitched” the media.

Reminds me of a conversation I had with someone just last week. I got a call from a woman who works for a company that lists experts in a yellow pages type book. For about $500, I would get a listing in this book for 12-months and it’s used by journalists all across Canada.

First, her sales approach was dead wrong. She extolled the virtues of this book instead of finding out what my pain points are. Second, she focused on making the sale instead of listening to the reasons why I would never buy anything in any book at any price.

Here’s how our conversation went:

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I’m a little late with this, but I wanted to share that the boys are at it again. Mark, Mathew, Stuart, Mike & Rob have decided to organize Mesh in 2007.

If you want to meet the guys behind Mesh, they’re having an informal meetup in Toronto on November 15th. I’ll be attending and would love to meet some of you.

Plus, I’ll have my mobile recording gear in tow to do some interviews with those who attend. I mean, Mark asked if I would and of course, I couldn’t refuse. We’re going to turn the recordings into podcasts and feature them (and you) on the Mesh blog. Cool, huh?

I’ll be asking you both intelligent and silly questions. Nothing embarassing, I promise. Just be yourself because someone else is already taken (Mitch, I just love this quote you came up with).

So, if you’re looking for good eats, great company and your 15 MB of fame (thanks for coming up with that one, Michael), come on out and let’s pre-Mesh in the city.

If you plan to attend, leave your comments so I can keep my eye out for you.

Technorati: mesh2007, mark evans, mathew ingram, stuart macdonald, rob hyndman, mitch joel, michael seaton, podcasting, web 2.0, mike mcderment