DAILY SLACKR

Sharing Yourself With Others

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:05:00 +0000

One of the best things that has come out of my experiences with the network that I've built over the past year and a half, has definitely been being able to help them in their time of need. I've always been a big believer in collaborations, partnerships, working together to help elevate a project, idea, person, or cause.

I've always welcomed all comers and look forward to the many more people that I am sure to meet online via Internet networks, or in my local community. Understanding this, I gladly accepted when a mentor of mine, Jennifer Navarrete asked me to participate in a NaPodPoMo project she is working on.

This entire month of November, Jennifer is putting together a podcast for the next 30 days, releasing a new segment every single day. Sounds like a daunting task, but with experience, it's a great opportunity to explore your strengths, develop weaknesses, and overcome fears. From Jennifer's perspective she's using this opportunity to highlight people how are doing it right, similar to the section in Chris Brogan's newsletter where he highlights people doing great things in the social space.

I was honored to be among the people interviewed and here's where you can find my interview to learn a little more about Jennifer, NaPodPoMo and a little about me. But be sure to visit her site where you can catch up with others who are podcasting on some pretty amazing topics!

NaPodPoMo 08: Interview with Luis Sandoval, Jr.

Photo Credit zoomar

Internet World Lashes Out Against Web2.0?

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:58:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

A good question.

Growing up I remember there were words we used to describe new things. I'm maybe dating myself, but worlds like "rad", "awesome", "wicked", "gharly", did the job, you get the picture. Yes, I remember the 80's well, but words like that become fads and in time new words replace those descriptives, and so the cycle of human language continues.

Today's modern online communities are more conversational than ever before. Online communication is a staple in all of our lives, and as communities come together to share information new words are bound to turn up. One such word to arrive on the scene some years back was Web2.0.

Many will argue that anything attached to the 2.0 monikor is outdated and annoying. Already we're hearing rumbling of Web3.0 and the many who are predicting what the next web innovation/revolution will be.

So I ask, is there a better way to say something is 2.0? Do we need those types of descriptive words at all? It begs the question, how else do you describe new versions, updated innovations, and changes in technology?

I'm curious to hear what you all have to say, and whether the word is a fad or not, it's obvious that 2.0 has made an impact, for some it's an impact they'd rather avoid hearing mention of.

Social Awareness Online: Part 2

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:58:00 +0000

Becoming socially aware in the social space, and understanding the need to be just as active in the "doing" of life, my wife was handed a great opportunity.

The young girl she will be helping, thanks to the Make A Wish Foundation, has been battling leukemia and has dreamed of a Fairy Tale celebration. My wife is going to work hard to make this happen.

Opportunities like this are attainable for anyone if you understand that even in the social space, maybe even moreso, it's important to be aware of your community and the needs of your network.

I challenge all of you to find something that you can put your network to use for to help elevate another person, or, like in my wife's case, find a way to make their dreams happen.

The social web can be as big or small as we want to make it, but there is no denying the impact of "DOING".

Social Awareness Online: Part 1

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:58:00 +0000

Being a part of the social web is more than just conversation, promoting, networking, and sharing. I think a large part of what we forget is the DOING.

Taking all the conversation, promoting, networking and sharing to the next level and making an impact in your life or someone elses. Becoming socially aware that your community is no longer just your backyard but in essence is the entire world can make "doing" a little intimidating.

What I want to share is a success story of just what "doing" can bring about. My wife has just recently launched two online initiatives, one focusing on couples another on her profession, fashion design. Beyond promoting what she is doing and the networks she is building she is always seeking opportunities to use that network to do something bigger than herself.

Finally today all her diligence has paid off and the Make A Wish Foundation has selected her to fulfill a young girls dream of going to a ball and feeling like Cinderella on her own custom gown.

Microsoft Blunders Family Guy Marketing Partnership

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:12:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

I'm not going to get too deep into this, if you do a Google search you'll surely find enough information from just about anyone in technology, entertainment, social media, traditional media, and marketing/advertising.

I wonder sometimes about the sensibility of the marketing department when a failure like this happens. Microsoft immediately, and embarrasingly, pulls their marketing in a partnership that had been originally established with Fox and Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. This comes just days after Microsoft touted this new collaboration as something that was sure to be a success.

The cause?

Someone actually sat down and watched an episode of Family Guy and realized that the “riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest” were “not a fit with the Windows brand.”

Really? Someone should have just asked the intern what Family Guy was before committing.

I can just imagine how the stuffy board meeting must have gone.

- "We need to market ourselves as cool, hip, and funny."

- "Let's find a popular TV show that our target market will be watching."

- "How about Full House? What about Family Matter? Those are wholesome shows."

- "Those shows aren't on TV anymore, they haven't been for a very long time."

- "WHAT!? Why wasn't I informed."

- "Hey look at this TV guide, there's a show called Family Guy, let's contact Fox and get this partnership going."

- "Yes sir!" (said in unison as the minions run off to make phone calls)

- "Yes, Family Guy sounds like a great show, I wonder if they have that Urkel on there, he's one funny guy."

Note: I swear I didn't have the office bugged...no really I didn't.

The lesson from all this? Be sure to know where your taking your brand BEFORE you commit to a marketing partnership.

Keep It Simple, Never Complicate

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:30:00 +0000

I just felt compelled to share something that bugged me today on three different occasions. I found myself hurredly attempting to complete online tasks that had a definite timeline and in doing so became increasingly frustrated with redesigns or new procedures. I go to do research on a topic and the site I bookmarked a week ago has all of a sudden undergone a major re-design and I now cannot find the information that I had thought would be there when I went back. In my search of it, it turns out that content past a certain date was not brought over to the redesign and I thus had to do further searching for related and relevant content.

Secondly, I go to a bank site to gather information only to find that instead of the original process of logging into an account, I now have to re-verify, wait for an email, authorize, go back to the site, and leap through four, yes I said four, landing pages just to finally get to my information.

A lesson for all companies out there that are considering re-branding, re-designing, or re-doing any of their processes, please keep the end user in mind and keep it simple. Overly complicated processes that keep me or anyone else from getting to what they want only frustrates us and drives us away.

Just because it makes sense to you, does not mean that will translate to the user.

If you've had a similar experience today, this week, or even this year, share that with us. How would you have handled it had you been the company?

Photo Credit Sybren A. Stuvel

New Should Be A Habit

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:39:00 +0000

There's nothing more frustrating than running stagnant in what you're doing. I think something most of us fear is trying something new, or adding something new into our lives. Most of us, just by sheer instincts of human nature, feel comfortable in what is familiar and known.

I say break out of that, be innovative, creative, outspoken, experimental, an early adopter, and change the way you live life. A common rule of thumb I try hard to live by is to never let life happen, but rather make life happen.

It's the little things that can make a big difference.

So as we go into the weekend here's something to consider. Try something new for a change. Try a new food, walk into a different store, pick up a book you would not otherwise read, talk to someone you don't know, watch a movie in a genre you don't normally watch, open yourself up to a new experience. By diversifying life and who you are you can add joy into just about anything.

If you do something new, let me know. Share your story, and I'll share mine next week with all of you.

Under Construction - New Online Look

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:17:00 +0000

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The Daily Slackr is getting a new look online as we work towards developing our brand further. This is just phase one of the changes coming up for the site, and phase II is planned for summer of 2010. So while we have a little time I ask that you "pardon our dust" as changes are being made.

In a time when branding has been on my mind pretty heavily, I'm looking at many of my other projects that have transformed and I quickly realized that this site has remained the same for going on two years, and it didn't really have a look or feel that was identifiable.

The construction of this site should hopefully be done by the weekend, but in the meantime enjoy the posts, feel free to continue to leave comments, and reach me in the following ways:

Twitter: @LuisSandovalJr
Facebook: Daily Slackr
Skype: luissandovaljr
email: luissandovaljr@gmail.com

I'm always looking to hear from you can connect with new people.

So now I ask this, what changes have you made lately to something that perhaps has gotten stagnant in your life? It does not necessarily have to do with tech or business, life changes are just as important.

Media Minute

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:53:00 +0000

Mobile post sent by pandaran using Utterli. Replies. mp3

Focusing on Crowdsourcing

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Just a quick post that I wanted to share with our audience that perhaps has not been watching the Twitter stream. Watching the discussions today and interacting with a few contacts, a leading social engagement professional and key brand builder, Chris Brogan, re-tweeted a message from another leading social engagement professional Tim Hayden regarding the modern state of focus groups.

Yes, according to Tim Hayden, "the focus group is dead." As you let that sink in, I'd like you to consider what your company has done. When was the last time you organized a real life focus group to test your product or service?

Online networks allow us to crowdsource these days which gives us access to people of all walks of life, from all corners of the globe, within all demographics, providing a much deeper well of differences than perhaps a real world focus group could be. Not to mention the time spent sifting through applicants just to pick the perfect candidates for your test group which is drastically reduced by tapping your online networks.

So here's the question, what's your company doing to test services and products? Are you still using traditional focus groups? If so why? Have you decided to tap online communities and crowdsource for feedback? How has that worked for you?

New Media Requires New Ideas

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:57:00 +0000

A few days ago I was surfing the net, doing research for a client that I'll soon be working with, and in that time I became frustrated with the sites that I found. One of the things that I talk about when discussing the proper use of new media is how back in the mid-to-late nineties, companies would build websites and walk away. This assumption that a website was a billboard was so prevalent that few spoke out in outrage. Very few actually "got it" when it came to a digital platform to engage a worldwide audience. Those that got it updated their site regularly and provided fresh content that users would find interesting, keeping them returning for the latest updates.

More recently, while browsing my Twitter stream, I was reminded that some of the sites I had recently searched were still stuck in 'billboard mode." At what point did they not get the message? Who thought it would be a good idea to assume that online audiences would keep coming back to a site that remained static throughout it's life?

Here's a piece of advice for all those designing websites, no matter the reason. What worked in the mid-to-late nineties does not work today. Remaining static and unchanging makes you irrelevant. Despite what you think, your audience will not come back, they were not engaged, and their lives were not enriched by the experience. You stand to be quickly forgotten and your competition, if doing this differently, stands to gain greatly by your lack of effort.

Suggestion. Look at your web presence. Make your company interesting, engaging, and interactive. Websites, social profiles, blogs are not billboards, they can be living, breathing pieces of marketing with huge benefits to your company.

Photo Credit mediaboytodd

Deconstructing Society

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:51:00 +0000

In the many interactions I have at networking events, speaking engagements, and other social gatherings, I find it shocking at how prevalent some of the fears people have on social engagement. I can't say that the fears are entirely unfounded, but to allow those fears to keep someone from entering the digital social space concerns me because by severing that opportunity, you sever the chance to expand your voice, extend your brand's influence, and your also sever the ability to learn from others with unique perspectives.

Most recently the one fear that was mentioned by more than one person was the fear of how social media has begun the deconstruction of real life interactions. This perceived change in how we communicate with one another is the crux of why a new generation lacks the socialetiquette to interact in real life professional situations and creates an awkwardness that is hard to overcome for those that lack those social skills. In a sense, real face to face communication is being replaced by constant connectivity to networks like Twitter, instant messaging, video chats, and other supplemental forms of media.

The fear comes from a generation that still remembers what it meant to have a firm handshake, a look in the eye, and the ability to read body language. I'm not that far removed from those days, but for someone who's been involved in media for over 10 years, it's been a clear cut understanding for me on which medium is most appropriate for what I have to communicate. The question I ask is, with all the technology that is introduced in our lives, are we failing to promote face to face interactions, encouraging people to rely on social networks to pass the message along?

I have always been an advocate for using social media to supplement your real life relationships, not to replace it, but I'm a rare breed of my generation that understands the need for both. Do you see us losing ourselves to these networks? Do you see a younger generation deferring to online networks and growing into social awkwardness?

I'd like to hear your thoughts on that. The fear to me seems almost silly, while I understand it, I just don't see it happening. But I'm looking at the issue from my own eyes. Perhaps your eyes see something different.

Photo Credit John H.M. Tsang

Topics and Sponsor Thanks for ActionCampSA

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:58:00 +0000

ActionCampSA was an amazing event, and today's nonprofit community enjoyed coming together for a single common cause, growing as a citywide community as opposed to an individual entity.

With ideas like communication, collaboration, and cooperation being the keywords of the day, San Antonio nonprofits has a few eye opening experiences that truly encouraged them to dig a little deeper by asking the right questions.

Overall it was a great event, loved my organizers, loved the sponsors, but the attendees were all special, all representing worthwhile causes. Looking forward to getting feedback to make the next one better.

Here's a quick video of some of the topics early on in the day before all slots filled up, and a little thanks to the sponsors with video of the banner.

ActionCampSA: Mission Driven, NonProfit Community Camp

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:02:00 +0000

Nonprofits have an entire day set aside for them as the Barcamp model takes over this sector and merges Web2.0 with the 501(c)(3) specialists. Does all those letters/numbers jumbled up confuse you? No worries, tomorrow's event will be the convergence of the tech community, fundraisers, nonprofits, foundations, and various other donors into a community driven event called ActionCampSA: Mission Driven.

ActionCamp is a day that the unconference model is introduced to nonprofits with the hopes of building a think tank community of highly educated, passionate, socially aware people. The camp model has been used in a variety of scenarios from Barcamps, Podcamps, FreelanceCamp, and the recently TweetCamp in the Alamo City.

ActionCamp will offer non-profits the opportunity to re-evaulate their mission and their goals and how they are achieving them. Disucssions on proper grant writing and research will be discussed along with outreach possibilities utilizing new media to remain relevant.

These are just some of the topics that will be covered at this FREE event:

development of social technology strategies
understanding community management
intro to understanding basics of podcasting - anyone can do it with free tools
incorporating a brand evangelist into your office culture
developing relevant messages to share with your community
grant writing and web 2.0 fundraising ideas
collaboration, think of yourselves as part of a community, not a single entity
online ettiquette, it's not what you think

So far we've got a great line up of attendees, so be sure to come with an open mind, an idea to discuss, bring plenty of business cards, and be prepared to grow together as a community as we explore efforts in collaborations as we think of ourselves as a whole instead of individuals all going for the same piece of pie.

A huge thanks to all of our sponsors who were able to make this possible. Without their support and the support of all of our local community events like this would not have come to San Antonio.

SPONSORS

Jorge Herrera, CPA, CIA

a Professional Corporation

Individual Donation by Debi Pfitzenmaier

San Antonio Social Media Club Turns One Year Old

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:44:00 +0000

As a co-founder of this organization, a task Jennifer and I were blessed with by our San Francisco counterparts, Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells, we're happy to see our community grow as it has in the past year.

We've hit the first of what is sure to be many milestones, our first year in the city of San Antonio and we've had the pleasure of meeting a great many new people and we're honored to have them and all of our regular favorites share in this experience with us.

Can you believe it's been 1 year since San Antonio joined the Social Meda Club family? In that amount of time we've seen our club grow from the early-adopter geek crowd to include business, non-profit and media types.

We've got a great speaker planned for this event who will share with all of you the key points to social conversion. Brian Massey who is otherwise known as the "Conversion Scientist" will be joining us as our amazing guest speaker for this big event and we're hoping that Brian can help you figure a way to turn that community of yours into something big. Brian's topic: “Social Conversion Rate" is sure to be as informative as it is entertaining.

You can also catch Brian's amazing wisdom over on his website The Conversion Scientist, but don't blame us for your success!

Time: September 10, 2009 from 6pm to 8pm
Location: C4 Workspace, 108 King William, San Antonio, TX 78204

Photo Credit hfb

Great Expectations

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:09:00 +0000

No not the Charles Dickens novel. I'm talking about our own heightened desires when it comes to what we expect from one another. I find it easy to get caught up to mistake what we want with what we are actually getting. I'm human, and I think it's one of those things that I find myself working on regularly.

It's easy to be disheartened when you don't get what you expect, but to put someone in an unsuspecting position to fail is unfair.

Look into your own life and figure out if you've placed this burden on others. Whether it's a company or another person, reflect if what you've done aligns with reasonable expectations or your own personal ones.

Something New!

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:52:00 +0000

There's something to be said about finding something new! Today I found Shozu, and already I'm falling in love with this mobile app.

Uploading photos, postings on blogs, and sharing on multiple platforms, are just a few of the offerings Shozu makes possible.

I'm going to try this on the go from time to time, and let you know how it goes. Another chance to try something new!

You can find Shozu at www.shozu.com

Testing Shozu on iPhone

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:17:00 +0000

This is a test! Testing Shozu!

Media Minute

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:56:00 +0000

Mobile post sent by pandaran using Utterli. Replies. mp3

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:07:00 +0000

Being married to an amazing woman with a heart of gold who has dedicated a lot of her professional life working for nonprofits, I've seen the good, the bad, and uglly of the internal processes of how these nonprofits function. I'm a huge supporter of this initiative and I think you should be too. Netsquared is a multi-city initiative, and it can happen in your city!

Netsquared is an initiative and organization started by Techsoup to bring solutions for technology professionals and nonprofits with IT/web technology gaps. What started as a community meetup in the Bay Area, California eventually migrated to Houston, Texas and now has several local chapters, one of the latest is San Antonio, Texas.

NetSquared, or NetTuesday, San Antonio is a community forum that aims to address community issues and provide solutions on a regular basis. Other Netsquared Chapters have used this monthly meeting to showcase different nonprofit organizations, plan the next series of Barcamps and organizations, from grassroots meetups to 501(c)(3) corporations. The San Antonio chapter is seeking several representatives from nonprofit organizations, branding agencies, and corporations to volunteer and/or attend our regular meetings, which will be held on the second Tuesday of the month at the C4 Workspace (address below) in the King William District. In order to keep the cost of admission minimal or free, we are asking for donations, currently for food and drinks. Any promotion of your company/job is encouraged.

Our first Netsquared will be Tuesday, September 8, 2009—the day after Labor Day. It will last from 5:30 – 7:30pm. Do not worry too much about being late—we'll probably get started at 6pm. Parking on the street is ample, and parking restrictions are only in effect between the hours of 8am and 6pm. Registration can be done at our Eventbrite page: http://net2sa.eventbrite.com.

If you'd like to volunteer your time, we are looking for regular bloggers for our site http://www.net2sa.com. For more information, please contact Donald Wilcox at (313)478-6323 or dwilcox@neonnightrider.com

Additionally, the Netsquared community has been offered the opportunity to participate in One Web Day—a day devoted to making a difference locally. Net2SA is looking for ideas or ways to provide service to our community on this day, and we'd love to have you join us in volunteering your time to provide a service to the community who needs it. Whether you want to show people how to start a blog or train beginners on using social networks, we'd love to have you join us for OWD, Tuesday, September 22, 2009. If you're on Ning, you can join our Ning group at: http://my.onewebday.org/group/sanantonioowd.

We hope to see you at our first ever San Antonio NetSquared!

Partnerships Mean Saying You F'd Up

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Yep, I said it, I "f'd" up. Let's just say the "F" stands for fudge, everyone likes fudge right?

In any case, valuable lesson learned today, and proof again that none of us are free of making mistakes, even with the ones we care for. Sometimes even with the best of intentions, things don't always go right, and a lot of it comes from not thinking things through.

In life you'll go through many partnerships, marriage, friendships, and business related ones. All of them have their differences but all of them have their baseline similarities that make them all connect. Sometimes we forget that there's someone on the other end waiting for you to take a step, so that they can take a step too, and thus, working in tandem you make something succeed.

The one thing that I've always based my partnerships on is friendships. Many say you can't mix business with pleasure, I say you can. In a world where we practice openness, transparency, and honesty, why would the two not be able to mix together?

When you forget to practice those key factors, even if you mean no ill will, just forgetting can still cause disruption, hurting those you care for, and causing you both to misstep. It'll happen from time to time, no one is immune from it ever happening, the goal is to reduce the chances of it happening. Even in our busy lives, as we move from project to project, place to place, we must always keep our partners in mind, no matter how little of a thing you might think something is.

I say this as an open apology to my partner, someone who's been in my life for what seems like a long time, someone with whom I've established great synergy with, and in turn highly respect and care for. I'm sorry, I f'd up!

I also encourage those in existing partnerships, where you both have agreed to move together, that you remember one another as you each take your steps. The seeds of disruption are easy to plant, difficult to remove. We're all human, mistakes, happen, but in dealing with them you find that happy place again.

Photo Credit Florian

Stop, Dig A Little Deeper

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:06:00 +0000

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There's nothing like receiving newsletters from people and brands you trust. Tonight I received the newsletter from THE Trust Agent himself, Chris Brogan. If you're reading my blog for the first time, Chris Brogan is someone you must follow, either on Twitter, or his blog, those are two good spots to find him. His words are simple, his message priceless. I've admired how he takes the time to observer the simple things that we so often overlook and call attention to them.

At the end of his newsletter he discusses the importance of bookstores and libraries, words that have almost lost meaning in today's digital world. I, like him, spent hours and hours of my days in a library, either at school or the public one in my neighborhood. I still get goosebumps walking into a bookstore as that is where I love to curl up and catch up on the volumes of knowledge held within.

It begs the question, do you still read? When was the last time you sought true knowledge for the sake of expanding your mind, broadening the depth of your knowledge? I'm saddened, at time, at how information has become bastardized and turned out to the fast food mentality. I'm not talking about everyone, for there are still a good many that take what they learn online and dig deeper on their own time. Traits like this I admire, but I wonder how many of us have actually stopped to do this.

Chris brings up some good points and if you've not subscribed to his newsletter, be sure to visit his site and get it as fast as you can. It's one of the few newsletters that shouldn't hit your spam box.

Fashion Show Success

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:04:00 +0000

On a personal note, last night I attended a fashion show that my wife participated in. She's currently in fashion design school and will be wrapping her program early next year. The show as amazing, in that all the designers did an amazing job putting their pieces together and the models did a great job bringing the pieces to life.

The "MJ On the Runway" show was the first show for my wife, but my third fashion show overall that I've attended. It was unfortunate to see a lack of any kind of media coverage for this event that had partnered with the Make A Wish Foundation to raise money to make dreams happen. There was a great turnout, but so little coverage. Even more disheartening was the lack of online media coverage that was allowed into the venue, simply due to lack of understanding what new media was and the fear of what would happen if something happened at the venue while there was a live recording.

Nevertheless, here is a video that I recorded with my FlipCam of my wife's designs, inspired by the song, "Smooth Criminal".

Social Enagement Is Long Term Return

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:08:00 +0000

I forget sometimes how much social engagement has not quite reached some of the more niche industries and professions. Perhaps sometimes I take it for granted that people just know what I'm talking about. Call it "tech talk" or "geek speak" it's the language that those of us in the industry sometimes get caught up in.

Nevertheless, even breaking it down, the overall purpose when you engage an audience online are still very fundamental. As such, I'm turned off somewhat by the brands whose first response is "why don't I advertise every time I post a message?" Even after explaining the humanistic approach to building relationships, it's still an issue.

Breaking trends of traditional advertising is typically the first step in grasping online engagement. With traditional advertising, you post your content, send you your message, and walk away; billboards, tv ads, radio ads, newspaper ads. Online engagement will actually demand conversation from the brand itself, and in building relationships it'll be key to discover what YOUR audience wants, not assume you know what they want.

I use the example of them talking with their friends. Before they became friends I ask if they approached these people to only speak about their business. Did you talk to them about your specials, your statistics, your tag lines, etc. Chances are you didn't you found a common bond and used that as a jump off point to build the relationship. That is exactly what social engagement is, no different, except you're doing it with a much bigger audience.

It's the long term return folks. Not an overnight, flip the switch return. Take the time to learn, take the time to understand and don't be afraid to ask questions with the community at large, you'll be surprised how helpful they can be.

Photo Credit DraconisVH

Channel Surfing

luissandovaljr@gmail.com (Luis Sandoval) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Today after hosting a bi-weekly podcast, Tech in Twenty, I spent some time online to explore some topics that came to mind during the day. I get this influx of "need to know" syndrome from time to time and I was using the few moments I had to surf, which I rarely do anymore.

It was then that I realized that surfing the net has gone the way of surfing the TV. It's just not something we do as much anymore. Most of us either already know of a website we wish to view or a topic that we are focused on, but surfing for the sake of surfing seems like a thing of the past for the most part.

So while I was net surfing, I realized that so much content out there is never found because it's not relevant, interesting, or relayed in an unique way to capture the audiences attention. Much like channel surfing, you're looking for something to hook you, make you stop, and spend a little time there. Even using an application like StumbleUpon where I can hit random sites based on my interests, few sites actually capture my attention.

So what have you done to your site to stop your audience from "surfing" by your site? Don't forget that your website is an extension of your brand, if it's stagnant, so is your brand's image.