I received this message from Andrew Dechellis on my contact form this week:

Hey man I have a question, I was wondering if you could help me out with. I am going to be interviewing Jordan Romero (youngest person to ever climb Mt Everest – 13yrs old, completed in May 2010). I have writing in my past but never really have interviewed anyone before. Any tips or pointers you could shed light on would be great, or any articles you’ve read would be awesome. Thanks.

Andrew

Tips for Doing Killer Interviews

It seems like the skill of interviewing is becoming more and more important now that every human and business can publish content online.  Do you interview people?  If so (or if no), what would you add?

This is a continuation of my reviews of the Sprint EVO 4G.  I’m now two weeks in and getting more comfortable with my new sidearm.

Organization of Apps

There are some aspects of the Sprint EVO 4G that I really enjoy – the most prominent of which is the general speed of the operating system (and device overall), as compared to the iPhone 3G I was carrying.

Android seems to have bet their chips on the idea that your average smart phone user will typically use the same set of 20 applications (on a regular basis).  The organization of the apps on the Sprint EVO 4G seems to make it very easy to get to your top 20, but makes it’s bit more cumbersome to get to apps outside of that select group in a hurry.

It’s a decent idea, but I still fancy Apple’s new take on folder organization.

3 Downfalls of the Android Market

In buying into the Sprint EVO 4G, I’ve had to completely relearn how my phone operates.  One of the most stark differences lies in the user experience of the Andriod Market and Android Applications, as opposed to Apple’s App Store and iPhone Applications.

Here’s the breakdown of three differences I think are most noticeable:

1)  I’ve noticed a increase in the amount of comment spammers. These folks post comments on specific apps with the intention of driving traffic to third party app directories.  It’s not at all helpful in terms of learning about user perspectives, and, frankly, a bit annoying.

2)  The organization of the Market is cumbersome. Application titles are vague and it seems to take more clicks to get to information, regarding what each app does.  That alone has somewhat turned me off to seeking out new apps.

3)  There’s a noticeable difference in the variety and quality of the apps in the Android Market, as opposed to Apple’s App Store. While that’s not surprising, I am missing some of the apps I used on my iPhone 3G that were specifically tied to some of the back-end applications I use to operate Social Business Strategies.

What’s your experience with the Android Market and, Android apps and the Market?

It seems that almost every company out there is trying to figure out the art of blogging and how to do it right for business.  There are tons of benefits for the organizations that can make it work for the long haul.

We’re starting to see more and more companies take a collaborative approach to corporate blogging.  Rather than naming a dedicated company blogger, or a set of individual bloggers, taking the collaborative approach calls for multiple contributors from various levels within an organization to submit content on a single, company-owned platform.

Most of these blogs will also highlight each individual contributor to take advantage of the essence of humanization that is created in having individual voices present.

Some of my favorite examples of well-focused and consistent business blogs include the following:

• Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing Blog
• Junta42′s Content Marketing Institute (I’m a contributor)
• GSW’s What’s Your Digital IQ
• Incept’s Conversational Marketing Blog (Client)
• Kodak’s A Thousand Words
• What’s the Diff? by QuickenLoans

Collaborative blogs make sense for companies in that the approach spreads the content creation workload across multiple individuals, making it much easier to maintain a higher frequency of posts.  Another benefit of multiple contributors is that your blog’s readers gain a variety of perspectives from within your company.  Each contributor typically has a unique set of experiences and stories to share, which in turn can make the depth of your blog’s content increasingly rich.

So how do you get there?

The most important truth for a company to consider is that no matter what fancy technology you implement, blogs will never write themselves.  That said, a great place to start (even before forming your content strategy) is to build your team of collaborative corporate bloggers.

6 Essential Steps to Build a Collaborative Blog Team

• Start Small - Don’t try to shoot for the moon on your first attempt at launching a collaborative blog.  Selecting a core team of 3-5 dedicated contributors, who will deliver content regularly, is better than a team of 20 contributors who struggle to keep up with the publishing requirements.  Set a goal for each member of the team to produce one post each week to start.  Once your team members get comfortable with that schedule, kick it up a notch.
• Balance the Team – Build your collaborative blog team with individuals from different levels and departments within your organization.  Not everyone needs to come from the marketing or sales departments.  A balanced blog team will include company leaders, customer service representatives, operations folks and maybe even individuals who work in the accounting department.  It’s also a good idea to look for contributors who already understand the blogosphere.  While experience in copywriting is a plus, an understanding of how blogs and social networks operate is much more valuable.  Finding contributors who are avid blog readers and commenters will ensure that your team has, at least, a basic understanding of how blog content is typically formatted.  Pay special attention to employees who already write a personal blog; they can prove to be a very valuable asset to your team.
• Pick Good Administrators – Make sure to select one or two collaborative blog administrators who take on administrative duties as a core part of their responsibilities at your company.  At times, these folks may need to spend a greater amount of time working on blog tasks, since they will act as a bottleneck for final approval on all posts.  For this reason, it’s a good idea to keep the number of administrators to a minimum.  Administrators will have full access to all areas of the blog, so selecting someone with previous technology experience is a good idea.  Finding an administrator with experience in search engine optimization is also a plus.
• Design a Workflow Process – I’m always careful when using the phrase “editorial calendar” in blogging because the blogosphere is very dynamic.  Trends and topics can change on a daily basis and it’s important that your blog content stays relevant to the conversations happening on the web.  Building a high-level content strategy, and assigning focus areas to your contributors, is a good way to stay focused yet agile.  Also, be aware that there are tools available that can help administrators manage the process of post submissions so you don’t have to chase team members around with emails and spreadsheets.
• Subcontract with a Proofreader - This is one of the best decisions a company can make in terms of time management.  In most cases, your blog administrators will have loads of other tasks on their plate while also trying to manage the team and keep content flowing.  While proofreading each post for grammatical and spelling errors is absolutely critical to your success, it’s often a major time suck that can be overlooked.  It’s a good idea to seek out the services of an experienced freelance copywriter who can serve as a proofreader and content flow editor to lift this burden off your admins.  Most of these individuals will offer an affordable price per page model.
• Develop Blog Team Mastermind Groups – Consistent coaching and discussion on what’s working and what’s not is valuable for any blog program.  Setting up weekly or biweekly mastermind sessions – during which your blog team can get together to discuss strategy, challenges and content ideas – will keep the momentum going.  You might consider having these sessions over morning coffee or boxed lunches.  These mastermind sessions are also a good opportunity to bring in outside resources for training, such as SEO consultants, social media specialists or writing coaches.  Making an investment in improving the knowledge base and skill level of your blog team will pay dividends almost immediately.  Always keep in mind that company turnover might effect your collaborative blog team, at some point in the progression.  Accordingly, it is important that team members have the ability to get newbies up to speed quickly.

Are there any steps you feel I’ve missed?  What would you add?

I feel like I haven’t really been keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening at Social Business Strategies.

For the sake of time, I’ll just let the video do the talking.  Okay?

I often struggle with what I write here.  On one hand, I feel like what I’m working on – from a business standpoint, in building out SBS - might not be that interesting to you.  But on the other side, I sometimes feel like there are lessons I’m learning as I go that might be helpful.  Either way, the enveloped is being pushed.  And that won’t change any time soon.

What do you think?  Do you want to hear more stories about Social Business Strategies and what’s happening as this business grows?

This Saturday, I’m going to limp my way through a 13.1 mile race for Lifeline of Ohio’s Dash for Donation.  Things have been busy for me lately and it seems that my training always falls to the bottom of the priority list during such times.

That’s okay.  This isn’t a race for a time.  It’s a race for something much more important: raising awareness about the importance of organ donation in Ohio (and any other state, for that matter). This is something that simply needs support.

I’ve never had to make the decision to give life, and frankly, I feel very fortunate.  I have, however, had the chance to hear the stories of people who’ve been faced with such a difficult and untimely decision.

One of those stories came from Kathy Harrington.  On Saturday, I’ll be running as a member of Team Lindsay to honor her, her family and the lives that Lindsay was able to save.

Closer Than I Thought

In helping to share these stories, I never thought one of them would come from a personal friend.

Most of you Columbus locals who read my blog will probably know Rocky VanBrimmer.  He’s a power social media user, a community activist and has had his hand in founding initiatives like the Central Ohio Network, the Connector podcast and a variety of other events, groups and businesses.  Simply put, Rocky is everywhere.

But, here’s something you may have not known about Rocky.

Rocky, for the record, you’re brave as hell and I thank you.  Shooting this video took some serious guts and was obviously not easy for you.  I appreciate that you are willing to share such a personal story with an unparalleled message.

Listen to Rocky’s Message

I want to make sure that we reiterate the main point Rocky is trying to teach all of us.

Whatever your choice is regarding organ and tissue donation, please make sure that your loved ones are absolutely clear on the choice you’ve made.  Should something happen to you, it will at the very least give them the piece of mind that they are making the best decision to respect your wishes.

Like Rocky mentioned, Lifeline of Ohio provides a variety of resources and facts on organ donation in Ohio, as well as detailed steps on the process to become an organ donor.

And if you want to run with me on Saturday to help raise awareness in the Dash for Donation, you can still register here.

As a blogger, sometimes new ideas for posts flow like a river.  At other times, however, your brain can run dry for days.

Part of blogging is realizing and accepting the fact that, on occasion, you will get stuck.  Another part of being a blogger is finding ways to get yourself unstuck and continuing to feed the system with your content.

Stuck or not, your audience awaits.  They read and subscribe and tell other people because they want to read what you will type next.  Attention spans, however, keep shrinking. If you keep them waiting too long, they will simply move on.

One of the tricks I use to get unstuck revolves around LinkedIn.  As a community and a communication tool, LinkedIn allows me to get directly to the humans that make up my target readers.  LinkedIn is now up to 70 million members across the globe, and is typically used by professionals of all shapes and sizes.  In terms of finding my audience, it’s a pretty safe bet that they are users.  Here are some of the things I do when I get stuck:

5 Tips for Using LinkedIn to Develop Blog Content Ideas

• Ask questions and get answers to seed questions around your topic areas and gather qualitative feedback.  Pay attention to the comments that folks leave.  There’s oftentimes golden-nugget ideas that can easily be turned into entire posts.
• Build and launch polls for more targeted questions, or for current topics of debate, around your focus area.  Not only does this give you a good feel for where potential readers stand on any given issue, but it will also deliver you a list of new readers to send your finished post.  The graphics that LinkedIn produces (with results) also make great images to include in your post.
• Launch a discussion on specific groups around the topic you want to write about.  In doing this you will be the facilitator of that conversation.  This approach will take some time, but also give you the chance to connect one-on-one with new, potential readers.
• Send InMail or use Introductions to connect with people who might make interesting interviewees for your blog.  This is also a great way to get the ball rolling in relationship development with interesting people by using the social graph.
• Use TripIt to set up video interviews with interesting people who will be within a cab ride of your next distance meeting.  This also doubles as a great way to build relationships with the folks who fit your business’s customer profile.  Why?  Most people will say yes to giving you 30 minutes to interview them on their business and what’s important to them, before they will give you time to pitch them on what’s important to yours.  Don’t ever cheat this one.  Get the first meeting for the interview and a relationship.  Ask for the pitch well after you’ve had time to get to know the human.

How else do you use LinkedIn to come up blog content ideas?

Photocredit: the talented Becky Johns

In the past two days, I’ve been a part of two very powerful hugs.

The first was with a childhood friend when she and her husband came for a visit to Columbus and Community Fest.  At the end of a wonderful (and much needed) evening, one final hug goodbye reminded me of how and why we’ve stayed friends after all these years.  The second hug was with my mom.  Just before dinner one evening, I could tell by the expression on her face that some of the health issues she’s been facing recently were wearing on her spirits.  Without knowing what else to do, I hugged her.

Both of these hugs were real hugs – not simply the “pat on the back” type of hugs that we have all become so used to giving and receiving.  In that moment of real hug, a small chemical reaction occurs in the brain of each human involved.  The chemical emitted produces certain emotions and, with it, a sense of behavior.

Powerful Hugs

One of the most fascinating things I’ve read yet this year was a Fast Company story documenting the work of  Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak, a professor at Claremont Graduate University.  Paul so believes in power of a hug that he makes a point to hug just about everyone he meets.  That behavior is one of the many things that has led to his Claremont campus nickname, Dr. Love.

Zak is responsible for popularizing the term “neuroeconomics,” an emerging field that combines economics with biology, neuroscience and psychology.

With an eloquent writing style and a good sense of storytelling, Fast Company’s contributing writer Adam Penenberg details his time working as one of Zak’s test subjects in three-part experiments.  Why is this important?  Dr. Zak has discovered, for the first time, that social networking triggers the release of the hormone Oxytocin, the chemical present in our brains that produces emotions of generosity and trust.

This is a video clip from the article, but I also suggest you go back and read it for yourself.  It’s truly amazing thinking and research to follow.

Future of Social Media

I believe that Zak is on to something bigger than we can fully see right now.

Decades ago, the media of the time (television, radio, and print) changed the way that we humans consumed information.  With that, the way we processed information also changed.  Our paradigms, our culture and maybe even our sense of societal norms shifted, as humans spent more and more time in front of the TV, or with the car stereo tuned to to their favorite station.  Over time, the business landscape, and how humans conducted business, changed too.

In the early 1980s, primitive computers and BOD modems started that shift yet again.  Humans started using more technology to communicate.  Communication led to the formation and maintenance of mass amounts of human relationships, developed across geographic and socioeconomic boundaries.

Is This Evolution?

Zak’s work, and maybe even others like Dan Zarella, always leave me with this one question on my mind:

As humans continue to evolve the interwebz, are the interwebz also evolving us as human beings?

What’s your take?

I’ve been a HootSuite user for some time now, and while I won’t be signing up for the HootSuite Certified Professionals program anytime soon, I’m digging the new release of HootSuite5.

I’ve been playing around since about 6 a.m. this morning when I received the notification of the update.  This post is purely an initial review of HootSuite5 and only my first reaction, as well as the reactions of some of my Twitter followers.  I’m pleased to feature some of their opinions.  Thanks for the insight, folks!

What’s Different about HootSuite5

You don’t have to write code to know that Google’s HTML5 is creating a ton of buzz across the web.  It seems like a good move that HootSuite has invested time and energy into building on the new web standard. Geo-search capabilities aside, I think the most promising ability that innovation offers is an improved ability to drag and drop various media objects, much like how Apple products work.  Improved refresh speed is a plus, as well.

Review of HootSuite 5 – My Initial Reactions

• Redesigned Interface – I like the aesthetics of the new release much better.  To be clear, I’m accessing HootSuite 5 from Google Chrome, so I’m not sure how it operates from other browsers.  Amanda L. Sage also seems to be a fan of the new design and themes and speed:
  
  

  Mike Bowers also has an interesting take on the new design:
  
  I agree with both points.  With Amanda, it is nice to have the ability to customize the look and feel of the dashboard.  I think that some aspects of the functionality are faster and some are still a bit clunky.  I’ll attribute that to the usual bugs that happen in early releases of a new version of software, coupled by exploration into HTML5.  From a product standpoint, HootSuite has always been good with releasing fixes fairly quickly.

• Site Analytics – It’s going to take me a few more days to wrap my head completely around where HootSuite5 is heading with these updated features.  I will say this, though: the addition of Google Analytics seems to be a win for me, simply from a convenience standpoint.  Integration was also a two-click breeze and the display dashboard is pleasing.  I’ve not yet played with the Tweet overlay, but it’s in the foreground of my immediate radar of experimentation.
  
• GeoSearch – This feature does require an HTML5-ready browser, but I can see some relevant applications of geo-sourcing conversations and mentions of specific keywords.  This could be a helpful feature in a variety of front-end research projects for strategy development or even marketing campaign planning, especially for companies at the local level with franchises, dealers, retail locations and even small business.  For the league JetSetters (you know who you are), what will be interesting to see is how traveling users apply this feature using mobile devices.  The HootSuite iPhone app has become one of my mobile weapons of choice.
• Drag & Drop Upload – This works beautifully from what I’ve experience thus far and was voted a favorite feature by my friend, Christian Adams.  Drag-and-drop functionality simply makes things easier and less time-consuming.  Enough said.  Well done, HootSuite5.
• Enhanced FaceBook – This is one of my personal favorites thus far.  From a consumption angle, the new display is much more pleasing.  At some points, it changes my display when I submit a status update, but at this point, I can’t say for certain what triggers that change.  I’ll be digging into this more as well.
  
• New ReTweets – I’m not much of a fan about how the ReTweet function works as is on Hootsuite5, in that it automatically sends the message without allowing me to add my own text into the message.  However, the savvy Traci Knoppe shared a work-around that she has discovered.  It works nicely!
  
• Localization – This is not new to social media aggregators in the same category.  In fact, Tweetdeck has had this functionality for months.  While it’s a great idea, it does typically require a more specialized user to take advantage of this feature.  As is, I can see it being applicable in terms of individuals tasked with global and international business development, or even in the European market where folks speaking a different language may only be a short train ride away.  In the US, not so much. Also, I want to be able to change my geographic location.  For instance, talking with Mike Brown today, I learned that Twitter was abuzz with talks of a new social media club in Kansas City, MO.  From a research standpoint, I might want to then search for the terms “Social Media Club” and geo-target that search to the appropriate zip code (per Mike’s suggestion).  Do you see where I’m going with this?
• Instaload – I’m not entirely sure I notice a difference on this just yet and need some more time to play.  That said, the real issue in my mind is with Twitter itself.  It seems that recently, I’ve been receiving the ever-popular “Twitter API is down” message across the top of my columns.  What’s that all about, Twitter?
• Themes – I like that I can now personalize my dashboard with themes.  Users can pick from any of the three current options available!  Hmmmm. One suggestion would be to release additional themes or give users the ability to brand the application to their business or even their own personal liking.  Jason Velliquette, for instance, fancies seeing HootSuite5 “Zoolander inspired themes!” Who knows?  Maybe custom HootSuite5 themes will provide an additional quick and easy market opportunity for freelance designers.  It did for Twitter backgrounds.

This is round one for me.  If you are using HootSuite5, I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on feature sets, design, and anything else you are experiencing.

What’s your take?

It’s been interesting to see how the economy of the past two years has caused paradigm shifts in the way business is working.

Even two years ago, companies seemed focused on merely surviving in the sandbox, full of staunch competitors.  Entrepreneurs, account folks and business developers were forced to wear smiles, sign NDAs and keep secrets from one another, all the while planning how they would capitalize on the first failure of their sandbox playmates.  Some of us called these business folks “opportunists.” Others called them “back-stabbers.”

Enter the idea of the Happy Sandbox.

Driven by limited client budgets, fallen shingles and the pressures of a race-paced, complex, adaptive business environment, learning how to play nicely together in the Happy Sandbox has become a crucial element of business survival.  Simply put, the Happy Sandbox is synergy defined: a group of entrepreneurs all realizing that the sum of the whole will always be greater than the value of each individual part.

Synergistic and friendly relationships that produce real mutual benefit is what I believe to be one of the core foundations in this whole Human Business movement.

I like it this way.  Are you with me?

A Happy Sandbox Example to Watch

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you probably know I’m into SaaS tools.  As an independent consultant, I have to be.  Without good-working and cheap tools, my overhead goes up and available time goes down.  Both ends of that equation lead directly to my bottom line.  It’s a mission-critical situation.

Now, thinking about that, take a look at this:

What you see is a screenshot from inside my BatchBook SCRM account.  I’ve written about some of these tools before, but what’s most impressive to me is how well each SaaS company plays together with each other in the partners in same Sandbox.  Playing nice equals a Happy Sandbox.

From the customer end, open API’s allow me select the services I need, click a few times and enter a few passwords.  The Happy Sandbox destroys any information silos that limit my productivity.  And guess what?  Each individual SaaS makes their fair cut, with my monthly cost staying relatively low.

Advantages of Playing in a Happy Sandbox

The advantages of playing nice in the Happy Sandbox are so simple that the explanation only requires a couple brief bullet points:

• Increased lead generation opportunities through complimentary partnerships
• Each business stays focused on their core niche
• Each business becomes more valuable in terms of offering
• Very happy customers stay on board and tell their friends
• Strategically-combined marketing platforms generate greater audience and community reach

Neal Roberts can see this type of application in co-working spaces.  I agree with him.  What complimentary services could inhabit a co-working space, play nice and offer compliments to the members?

Some of my clients and a few other folks in Columbus can see how the Happy Sandbox might apply to our work.  It’s worth looking into a bit deeper.

What about your business?  Who could play in your Happy Sandbox?

A lot of folks give me service about doing so many locally-focused blog posts.  I get that.  I’m supposed to “think global.”

Whatever.  For some posts, I’ll continue to “think local.”  That’s me.  That’s my blog.  Okay?

I live in and love Columbus, Ohio.  My town and the people in it are important to me.  What they do is important to me too.  Community, right?

This week, our friends at Columbus’s Available Light Theatre Company are putting on something special in honor of the 50th year of Harper Lee’s great American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, on crisis in a Southern community.

My friends, Artie Isaac and Ian Short, as well as the many talented folks at Available Light have adapted this classic story to the stage.  I’m going on Sunday and I think YOU should come too.

Here are 15 reasons why I think you need a night at the show:

• You’ll be in good company with both the performers and the audience
• Ian Short and Matt Slaybaugh are some of the most creative, theatrical minds in Columbus
• The play’s language may make you uncomfortable.  Good.  We learn better when we are out of our comfort zone.
• You may get to see Artie with out the bowtie.  That will be out of his comfort zone.
• It will be a stark reminder of some of the mistakes in our country’s history
• If you really want to dig in, there are talkbacks every day (except Sunday)
• 614 Magazine thinks it’s a good idea
• You might get to meet my mom.  She and Sarah are coming with me on Sunday.
• Most of you probably haven’t picked up To Kill A Mockingbird since childhood.  Think of this as a hearty refresher.
• You don’t have to read anything at all.  The cast has that part covered.
• These folks at Available Light do things for the right reasons.  They are trying to teach us about important lessons.  Listen to them and learn.
• Consolidated Amalgamated’s Annual Christmas Spectacular with Artie and Available Light was hilarious and had good lessons
• Theatre makes for a much more romantic date than a movie, every time.  (Brownie points, guys.  Brownie points…)
• Available Light is a part of our Columbus Arts community.  Support them.  Buy local.
• Artie Isaac has given back more to this community than I even have time to write about.  He still is.  Every day.  Support him.

Want more background than that?  Sure.  I’ll let Artie, Matt and Ian tell you more about why To Kill a Mockingbird is important.

AVLT’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” Pre-show talk from Available Light on Vimeo.

Who’s coming with me? You can get your tickets here.