OrlandoNext

Florida Economy Shifting

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Florida, which had been known as the place to move for retirees, is seeing a shift in its economy. A new report ranks Florida 44th in the nation for long term health care, is a good sign that retirees are considering other states to live out their days. That's not a good sign for a state that has its whole tax structure built on supporting those over retirement age.

Instead of retirees, Florida is attracting young professionals. According to a survey by Careerbliss.com, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale rank #3 and #2 respectively for young professionals to find their happiness.

What does this mean for the economy. Young families are more likely to rent, for one. So it means an economy and tax base built on property taxes and sales tax is probably not going to provide a steady stream of revenue for the state. It also means that more emphasis will be put on the state's natural resources as these young families flock to the beaches, parks, and natural resources that make Florida such a great place to live.

What other changes do you see coming?

Cheat Sheet for Starting a General Partnership in Florida

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Editor: I'm lifting word for word this post from Kevin Yee as I'd love to get some feedback on it (and it's more apropos to OrlandoNext than Ultimate Orlando anyway. Phhhbbbttt!!!!)

Each time I go through the steps in creating a business in Florida, I have to remind myself of the exact tasks, so I thought the world might benefit from the cheat sheet I eventually created for myself.

The first step is ordering the $10 Florida Business Guide: http://www.floridabusinessguide.com/. This will guide you through different kinds of companies, and is much more comprehensive than my little cheat sheet here. It comes in the mail to you.

My cheat sheet below refers to a General Partnership between two individuals living in Orange County, Florida (but not within Orlando city limits), in a book publishing business run out of a personal dwelling. The individual forms YOU need to fill out will be different based on all the variables mentioned in that previous sentence.

That said, here is my cheat sheet. These items are meant to be done in this order:

1. Check http://www.sunbiz.org/ for fictitious name (also corporation name, also partnership name)

2. Check for existing trademarks at http://www.uspto.gov/ (click Search Marks)

3. Get EIN from IRS – http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html

4. Create general partnership on sunbiz: http://form.sunbiz.org/cor_gp.html (form must be printed, signed, then mailed in with check for $50) – only the link for partnership registration statement is needed.

5. After Document Number received from sunbiz, register fictitious name here:https://efile.sunbiz.org/ficregintro.html. Need credit card for another $50.

6. Obtain Occupational license (Orange County; no need for city of Orlando) in person at the Business Tax Department located on the 2nd Floor, 201 South Rosalind Ave. Orlando, Florida. Use the form here:http://www.octaxcol.com/LocalBusinessTax/Forms.aspx) – technically called "application for payment of local business tax." Signatures need to be notarized in advance. See rules here:http://www.octaxcol.com/LocalBusinessTax/ObtainReceipt.aspx

7. Register with the Florida Dept of Revenue (DOR) to pay Florida taxes (such as sales tax). You will need this even if your business is Internet-based; you have to at least file $0 returns quarterly.http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/registration.html (click on “start a new registration”) for the online version of Form DR-1.

Your mileage will definitely vary - do not copy line by line what I did unless your circumstances match mine precisely! But this should give any aspiring business a starting point, at least. I still advise buying the $10 Guide linked at the top - it answered all my questions almost before they occurred to me.

Chime in with comments below if you've got additional tips and tricks!

How Fireworks are like Online Communities

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:52:00 +0000

Since not everyone has access to Google+ yet, I'm cross-posting this here:

I grew up alternating my 4th of July's between very large, city sponsored events and small town Main Street America celebrations. The big city event would involve packing a picnic, blanket, some lawn darts, and staking out a spot in a grassy park with the family. There were easily 15,000 other families in the park, but every family pretty much did their own thing. There would be a concert (Paul Revere and the Raiders, on their perennial comeback tour, was a favorite group) to help the afternoon pass quickly. The toughest part of the day was after sunset when it was too dark to play, but not dark enough to start the fireworks. Those moments were eternities of time for a 9 year old. Finally, at the appointed time, the show would begin. A good display could last for 45 minutes often with stretches of just a few fireworks timed to the music. Then there was the walk to the car, or sometimes the long walk home, and blissful sleep awaiting tired legs at the end of the journey.

The small town celebration was an all day affair too. A parade would be the highlight of the day. Some small towns do the parade better, and the one I attended, at Grass Valley/Nevada City, CA had one of the best. From the Ophir Prison Marching Band, to floats tossing candy to kids, to high school bands who united even after school had been adjourned for weeks. After the parade everyone adjourned to a nearby park for picnics and a fireworks display. These weren't as long or as powerful as the big city shows, but no one cared. For the small town it was all about the community being unified behind a common cause. At the end of the night, the result was the same -- a long journey home for tired legs and feet.

Now that I have my own family, I find us not participating in either option above. Our neighborhood has a number of residents who put on their own smaller displays. Then the neighbors in our cul-de-sac put together a little show of ground level firework. Each 4th of July has become a way of bringing our little corner of the world together. It's a much smaller community, but seems no less important to me.

When I'm looking for new online communities, I keep in mind my experience of different sized community events, like these fireworks displays, and remember that each community has its own attributes, goals, needs, and growth trajectory. Sometimes it's a giant public display, and sometimes it's all about sharing things with those closest to you. It's all good. Just participate and enjoy.

Google Plus Custom Profile Settings

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 01:09:00 +0000

Learned a few things about how Google+ lets you customize your Google Profile in new ways. First, click on your name in Google+ to get taken to your profile then click edit profile.

Let's start by clicking in the Photos tab. You can now control whose tags of you are automatically approved to link to your Profile. You can choose any circle, all circles, extended circles, or public.

You can now add a button to your Google profile that will allow people to email you from your profile. Click the little globe icon net to the 'Send an email' box. You can click to allow and then choose anyone on the web, or any variety of your circles.

Finally, you can control whether or not you want people in your circles to appear on your profile, or select only people from certain circles to appear. This is useful if you want to hide members of a particular circle (like the members of that bridal party you met in Vegas last year).

I'm sure there will be further controls. But it's interesting to see that you have to look further than just the settings for Google+ to see how it's changing how you interact with Google.

Don't forget I'm also keeping a working list of tips, tricks, FAQs, and troubleshooting issues for Google Plus. Make sure to add anything you find.

Google+ FAQs, Tips, and Tricks (aka Google Plus or G+)

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:18:00 +0000

I'm using this post to collect features, tips, tricks and other frequently asked questions from Google's new social network Google+. This isn't meant to be a basics training of how-to as much as a reference guide. I apologize if it seems disordered. I just want to get the information up there and will be ordering it more usefully later.

First, what do we call it. Google uses Google+, but I've also seen it as GooglePlus (or Google Plus) where a non-alphanumeric letter isn't accepted and just g+ for short.

If you're new to the service and getting a lot of email notifications. You can change those in the settings, even directing some to come as SMS messages or not at all.

Update: There are other settings that have been added to your Google Profile page that appear once you're using Google+. I've added screenshots and some tips for that too..

Circles:

Who you follow is organized by Circles. They're semi-private. You know when someone has added you to a circle, but you don't know which one. That works in reverse too.

The circles has lots of fun animation. Try deleting a circle.

Want to fit more circles onto your screen? Temporarily hit 'ctrl -' to shrink the font size. Then 'ctrl +' to return to normal when you're done. This is just your browser's zoom feature, but it's useful here. Btw, it's cmd- and cmd+ on the Mac.

A couple of suggested strategies for creating circles

Create circles for groups of people who match groups you interact with in real life. (friends, co-workers, bowling team, etc). Add people to multiple circles as it applies. This lets you share directly with those groups, view the streams from just that group, or quickly create a Hangout or Huddle if you're on the mobile app.
Create groups of people you want to follow, even if you don't know them (e.g., writers, celebrities, etc). It's not likely they're following you back, so no reason to share with these circles.
There's no pressure to add any follower you don't know to a circle. They can see your public posts, but your own stream won't get overloaded with posts from strangers. If you do want to check in on your follower behavior, browse the Incoming chip (see below).

Invites:

Google is slowly doling out invites and access to Google+. Keep an eye on the right column of the stream tab to see when you have the ability to send invites. In the meantime, Google has said that if you add someone to your circles, they will eventually get an invitation.

Apparently if you write a post and share it with a Gmail email that person will get an invite. I have yet to test this.

Profiles:

You can click on profile pictures to rotate through them

Mousing over someone's name spawns a modal layer that let's you add them to a circle or click on their name to see their profile.

Joining Google+ changes your Google profile and some parts become incompatible with those who aren't yet on Google+.

If you drag someone's +name into the 'link' section of the share box, it will create nice looking link to that person's profile.

Hangout:

Watching YouTube videos. If everyone in the Hangout activates the Youtube button then you can watch and chat at the same time. Google+ sets your microphone to mute while the video is running, but you can activate it with the "push to talk" button.

Stream:

You can select stream to see everything in all your streams, including public items, and share with extended circle items. Or select individual circles.

Incoming isn't a circle but appears as a 'chip' under Stream in the left column. It shows shared posts from people who are following you, but you haven't added to a circle.

Sparks:

Nothing yet.

Chat:

To enable chat, click on the "Chat with people on Google+" link. That gives you chat similar to gchat in Gmail.

Google+ warns you that it's possible you're sharing your email address when you chat with someone. So choose wisely.

The chatting box can be resized by dragging the top of the box.

You can use the Google Talk app to start a chat and view the chat on Google+

Text Formatting:

There is some basic text formatting
*bold*, _italics_ and -strike-through-

Keyboard shortcuts:

In the stream use 'j' to navigate down to the next item or 'k' to move up to the previous one. (Like Gmail and Google Reader or vi for the real nerds (you know who you are))

Press 'q' twice to add people to your chat list. (Reportedly buggy)

When you're focused on a post, hitting 'Enter' opens up the comment box.

When you're in a post, hitting 'Tab' will shift you through the names and links. Useful for reading comments quickly.

Also when you're commenting, hitting tab and then return (not together) will post your comment.

Posting:

At the top right of each post, click the circle/triangle icon for a menu. You can edit or delete your own posts, disable commenting or sharing. On other people's posts you can use this to link to the post, mute it, block the person, or report abuse.

Similar to Twitter, you can call out anyone you're following by using the +name convention (@name also works) in a post. This works the same as adding them to the 'sharing' field.

If you want to hit the most people you can select 'Extended Circles' which will go to everyone in your circles and all the people in their circles. Obviously, don't abuse this or risk being blocked or kicked out for spam.

De-select "Also email x people not yet using Google+" if you don't want your message to end up in friends email boxes. Of course, that may be a way to get them Google+ invites, so YMMV.

After you've hit share on your post, you can click the 'edit' button and go back and make changes. There's no word if there's a time limit on how long you can return and make edits.

You can post a comment by hitting 'tab' then 'return'

Private Messages:

There is no way to directly send a private message. However you can remove all circles and public from your sharing field, then just use +name convention. After that select 'disable share'. That should work for now. No promises however.

If you add Public, it will go directly to that person, but also appear in your stream for those who are following you. (or you can send it to a person(s) and a circle(s))

Hashtags:

Currently I'm not seeing much use of the #hashtag format or anything similar for keyword tracking. But this maybe because there is no search function on Google+ right now. You can search site:plus.google.com on Google to get some limited results. And the #hashtag format could work as a way to organize by topic outside Sparks.

Commenting:

If you're commenting on a 'limited' post, click on Limited next to the time stamp to see with whom you'll be sharing your comments.

Permalinks:

The permalink for each post is found as part of the timestamp.

Photos:

On a picture page in the gallery, select the 'Actions' button then 'edit photo' to use some fun filters on your photo.

You can drag and drop photos and video from your desktop to the share box for posting.

Bonus: with a Google+ account you get unlimited photo storage on Picasa!

Uploading photos to Google+ from your iPhone. It's a bit of a hack, but it works.

1. Use an iPhone app that uploads your photos to Picasa (Web Albums or ShoZu work).
2. Find your photos via the Google+ mobile interface (check Your Albums -> Photos from posts)
3. Finally, leave a comment on the photo and it will appear in Google+ . Huzzah.

(see techlife for more detailed instructions.)

Feedback

During the early stages of Google+, please use the 'Send feedback' mechanism when you see something wrong or that could be improved. The g+ team is tracking these for future improvements. You can selected 'send feedback' from your 'settings' menu or via the tab in the lower right corner of the g+ screen.

Business Pages:

According to this post on SearchEngineLand, Google is actively discouraging businesses from setting up Google+ accounts. In fact this help file says they're banned, although if you already had a Google Profile for your business you're grandfathered in.. In the same post, a Google employee says that they're coding as fast as they can to have a solution for businesses that want to be on Google+. So Stay tuned.

Troubleshooting:

The Robert Scoble Virus Problem:
Like Kevin Bacon is to the movie industry, so is Robert Scoble to the tech world. Every time a new service starts, people reach to follow him. There's a good reason for this, Scoble is a terrific curator. So if you want to learn the ways of any new service, listening to Scoble and who he talks to, is key. But this creates a signal to noise problem. Scoble's posts and all his commenters will bin to dominate your stream. Right now there is really no cure but to endure or mute his posts.

Stream
Right now your steam is ordered by most-recently commented upon rising to the top. Google has said they're working on providing other ordering options. In the meantime, they recommend using "Mute this post" for anything you consider noise.

+1
The +1 button is not currently feeding to the +1 tab of your profile page. Google is aware of this and says they're working on it for a future update.

Related to this anything you +1 elsewhere on the web shows up on your profile +1 tab, but not Google+.

Sharing

Update 7/1: Google has fixed the sharing problem in such a way that you can't share a limited post with public. However, you can share it with any of your circles, which can get quite large. You're still allowed to disable resharing on posts you don't want shared.

There is currently a privacy issue where you can share any item in your stream to anyone else. This includes taking an item that might have been directed at you privately or as part of a circle, and making it public. There is a debate as to whether this is a feature or a bug at the moment.

However you can disable the ability to reshare on a post by post basis. After the post is live, click the arrow at the top-right o the post and choose "Disable reshare."

RSS Feeds
Currently there is no RSS feed for your stream. Nor is there a way to import RSS or XML feeds.

Aggregating other streams
This is one of the ways Google+ differs from FriendFeed. There is currently very little aggregation. Someone has created a Chrome plugin that makes it easier to send g+ links to Facebook or Twitter. But it's not natively integrated and only works intermittently.

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Of course, this isn't a complete list. So add anything you've found regarding tips, tricks, or FAQs for Google+. Also please feel free to follow me on g+.

Last Chance for Gov. Scott to Approve High Speed Rail Nears

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:32:00 +0000

The Mayors want it, the people want it, the Federal government is ready to write a check and yet Gov. Scott remains steadfast hidden behind his misinformation and tea-party infused dogma. The risk involved in NOT doing high speed rail is so high, I can't understand why Gov. Scott would refuse it.

We risk not attracting tens of thousands of new high paying tech and creative jobs to the state, risk not continuing to grow as a destination for tourism, risk the immediate lost of up to 60,000 jobs that will be created to build and support the HSR system, risk more of our tax payer dollars going to some other state.

If even just a few of these risks panned out with the HSR project, it would be worth it, plus we get the bonus of the beginnings of a transportation infrastructure we can be proud of and build upon as a backbone for additional and much needed light rail and street car projects.

The oppositions expectation that every rail car show a profit is absurd. Proponents expectation that even if it operates at a loss, that loss will be mitigated by private industry and that the additional state tax revenue that the project will bring through growth and development will more than outweigh any initial low ridership numbers.

As more projects are built to feed into the system, ridership numbers will improve as will the quality of life for Florida. Then when you throw in the kicker that HSR is an important part of reducing our dependency on oil, it's the biggest no-brainer of the century and Gov. Scott is too beholden to special interests to see that.

High Speed Rail, Not Dead Yet

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:29:00 +0000

I'm happy to see signs that we might be able to build High Speed Rail in Florida despite the short-sighted and partisan decision by our state's narrowly elected Governor. Apparently there is a veto-proof majority in the legislature to override the Governer's decision and our elected representatives in Washington are positioning to create a separate charter for the rail project and do an end run around his Tea Party vitriol.

I'm hopeful they'll figure out a way to bring those jobs and the economic development that will come with a high speed rail line. However, I'm not holding my breath. This money is going to be spent as part of the effort to drive a sustainable recovery of our national economy. It's money we've already paid in taxes, the last thing we should do is give it to another state.

Sadly there is no way to recall a sitting Governor in Florida. It would take an amendment to the state constitution. Which is a possibility, but also not the subject of this post.

I am a huge advocate for mass transit having seen how it spurred economic growth in Portland and Los Angeles. (Not to mention Japan, France, etc) Communities are lining up to have a rail stop these days rezoning to support an urban livable lifestyle.

That said, I have always been a bit confused by the order in which the two Central Florida rail projects are being funded. Yes, I realize High Speed Rail was chosen in part because it was the most shovel-ready project in the nation. And Sunrail was approved because there would be no cost of laying new track. I am sure both will provide an economic benefit in the long term. However, the overlooked need in Orlando is to funnel tourists from the airport to International drive and Kissimmee and then from those locations to the various amusement parks and attractions.

A well designed mass transit rail network would also move residents from the south to the north and from east to west all crossing just north of Downtown Orlando. From there street-cars would take you to Downtown and up to Winter Park (assuming they ever come down off their high horse). Street cars would also run the length of International Drive going all the way from Celebration on one end to Universal Studios on the other.

I've drawn up a quick suggestion, which I admit is without concern to right away. However, a raised light rail track would take care of most right away and grade/crossing issues. My point is this just illustrates how simple a design it would be.

The yellow, bright green and blue lines should be built immediately. The orange and green lines should be next. Then fill out the dotted lines over time. These lines follow existing traffic patterns and would provide immediate relief to those heavily traveled routes. Not-coincidentally they also convene in areas important to tourism and commerce. I'd wager we could find a way to combine the funds for High Speed Rail and Sunrail to build the first three light rail lines. Make this our highest priority and cut through red-tape and community apathy as we attempt to save Central Florida's economic engines.

Combining the availability of good mass transit with a limit on urban growth (necessary in Central Florida due to limited water and ground transportation resources) is the recipe for a strong vibrant community built around livability and affordability. But since we're not doing any of that, let's at least get started on the shovel-ready projects and help bring in some jobs and economic development.

Social Media Conference in Orlando this Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:04:00 +0000

I'm excited to be a part of this Social Media Conference at Rollins College in Orlando this weekend. It's running concurrent to the popular Drupal Camp, but is really much closer to BlogOrlando in spirit. Lots of great speakers on two tracks and at a price you can afford, especially considering it includes lunch.

See all the speakers and find out where to buy your $10 ticket on the event's facebook page. ( http://on.fb.me/ijALGx )

Hope to see you there.

Social Media Club Orlando November Event - Tweet Up at Monkey Bar on Nov 9th

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:36:00 +0000

Details on the next meeting of the Social Media Club Orlando are up over on the new Social Media Orlando blog. It's a tweet-up instead of the usual educational topic. Hope to see you there.

Social Media Club Orlando - Tuesday Oct 12th - The Mommy Bloggers are coming!

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:23:00 +0000

The next official meeting Social Media Club Orlando is Tuesday Oct 12th and the topic will be Mommy Bloggers. We have three panelists, each with a different take on what it means to be a Mommy Blogger.

Laura Spencer - manager of the Disney World Mom’s Panel
Leigh Caldwell - owner of ThemeParkMom.com
Melanie Edwards - owner of ModernMami.com

Bluntly put, marketers know that moms control the purse strings in most households. Purchasing decisions on everything from groceries to vacations are made by moms every day. So it makes sense that if you want to influence the behavior of moms, you need to reach them where they hang out online. Mommy Bloggers live at that intersection.

As we explore the world of Mommy Bloggers, we will cover a variety of topics including:

What makes a Mommy Blogger a Mommy Blogger?
Why businesses need to listen and engage with this vital group?
How to get a Mommy Blogger to work with you?
Tips for aspiring Mommy Bloggers.
Making money with your blog.
Dealing with FTC Regularions
The influence of conventions like Blissdom, Blogalicious, and Blogher on the field and how brands get involved.

Plus we’ll have time for questions at the end.

Please RSVP then use the facebook event comments to identify any additional topics you'd like covered by our guest speakers. If you're not comfortable putting it the comments, feel free to email Mark at mark.krupinski@gmail.com with the details.

*This event does not currently have a sponsor. If you are interested in sponsoring, please contact mark.krupinski@gmail.com

Photo credit: m-e-c on Flickr

File under: Only in Orlando

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 15:32:00 +0000

Fresh off his 'risque' encounter with Katy Perry on Sesame Street, Elmo was brutally attacked while in a Winter Park, FL Guitar Store. Word on the scene is that Elmo defended himself brilliantly with moves he picked up having to fend for himself as the littlest kid in Pre-school, "I have a black-belt in Karate. I had to do something to stop the other kids from tickling me all the time."

Here Elmo recreates his defense with help from Tyra Banks and the Kung Fu Cookie Monster.

According to reports from the scene, Elmo was on a break and checking out some guitars when another customer in the store perceived Elmo as a threat. Police reported that it was a very violent fight with Elmo breaking two fingers on the assailant.

The full, not as fun, story is on the Orlando Sentinel.

The Future of Social Media? Chris Heuer free talk on Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:10:00 +0000

Chris Heuer's talks at the first two BlogOrlando events played a large role in my present understanding of Social Media and its processes. Since then Heuer has continued to be at the forefront of thought and analysis in and around Social Media. That's a great reason to make sure you see him speak, but I think you should go because Chris is one of the nicest and most genuine people I've ever met. I hope you'll spend a few minutes to read about the talk and take this as a personal invitation to attend.

On Tuesday September 28th, the founder of Social Media Club, Chris Heuer, will be coming into Orlando to do a special presentation about the future of Social Media, the rise of the social media professional and the future of Social Media Club. Social Media Club currently has over 200 chapters around the world, reaching over 150,000 people and is in the process of transitioning from its grass roots beginnings into a formal non-pr...ofit industry trade association. On November 10-12, right here in Orlando, Social Media Club will be hosting its first ever conference and membership meeting, setting the course for the association and the industry in the year ahead.

Chris will give a 30 minute presentation on what he believes are the keys to social media success and discuss his vision for Social Media Club as the leading organization of professionals from around the world. He will then make his case in support of the need for professional standards, debuting a new initiative of SMC and previewing Social Media University. He will then be answering your questions on a range of topics from asynchronous communications to Zazzle and everything in between. Chris is regarded as one of the most engaging speakers on the business of Social Media and the cultural transformation happening within organizations of every size - he is also known for his straightforward and honest answers to even the most difficult questions. He learned the business of social media and digital marketing by building SoBe.com in 1995 which covered South Beach online as part of Virtual Community Network. He also built the first web sites for the City of Miami Beach and many tourism related businesses across Miami, giving him a unique understanding of the special place Florida has in the world and the needs of our market.

Join us, join him and let's have a great conversation about Social Media and the future that is Social Media Club.

When: Sept. 28th @ 6:00PM

The venue: The Auditorium at the UCF Executive Center - wifi, AV, stadium seating and room for 140 people

The cost: FREE

Bonus: Chris Heuer will be providing food and beverages!

RSVP: You can RSVP for this event here

Digital Marketing Bistro - a Gem of the Orlando Social Media Scene

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:59:00 +0000

On Tuesday night I attended the Digital Marketing Bistro, which, isn't held at a bistro, but rather at the Sonesta Hotel in downtown Orlando. The restaurant menu is available and everyone availed themselves to a few drinks and a light dinner. It was a cordial atmosphere where everyone's opinion was valued and solicited. Nice stuff when it comes to small group behavior.

Digital Marketing Bistro is hosted by Shawn Vincent who has written a noteworthy digital marketing revolution manifesto. DMBistro is a small group of people, from all backgrounds and levels of experience, who meet regularly to discuss digital marketing strategies, trends, and tactics. It's 100% open to the public, just RSVP on Facebook.

This meeting was titled "Unfortunately, Email Still Works" and discussion centered around email marketing, a subject dear to my wallet as it's currently about one-third of my work. One of the major points was how a particuarly email message can become a social object, just like a blog post, facebook status, or tweet. The more an email speaks directly to the recipient the more likely they are to share it in social media space. Shawn has some pretty good thoughts on Email as a Social Object over on his blog.

Someone also pointed out, I believe it was me, that anyone under 21 rarely even thinks about email as a communication tool. It's no where near as immediate as IM, Texting, Twitter, or Facebook (and even Twitter and Facebook can be too slow sometimes). It becomes even more important to develop an e-flow that lets your customer decide, either through direct subscription or just by following one of your social media channels, where, when, and how they want to interact with you. I'm currently investigating a few of the tools on the market that allow a marketing process like this to work while still tracking customers and results.

That's enough about email marketing, there are many expert bloggers on the matter if you want to explore a little more.

I really enjoyed my first encounter with Digital Marketing Bistro and will be sure to attend their events in the future. It's exciting to see Orlando developing its talent base in a groundswell manner via groups like DMBistro and Social Media Club Orlando. The next scheduled meeting is Oct 7th and the subject is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing. Which is a great tool, but you have to watch your conversion and ROI. I'm sure they'll also be discussing Re-Targeting, which is the latest fad in the PPC arena, and one that shows real potential to increase conversions.

I recommend signing up for a FREE MailChimp Account for all of your email marketing needs. They are one of the few service providers that have begun to integrate the social graph into email marketing. I use them. Plus, I'll get a small reward if you convert to a paying MailChimp customer down the line. So thanks in advance.

Social Media Club Orlando

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 17:45:00 +0000

For the last few months I've been attending monthly meetings of Social Media Club's Orlando chapter. Although I've been doing the 'social media' thing for a long time, I can truthfully say I have learned something from every meeting. Usually something I can take back to my blogs or office and put into practice right away.

We typically meet every second Tuesday of the month (changes to that schedule are announced on the Facebook page). The next official meeting is Oct 12th and the topic will be Mommy Bloggers. We have three panelists, each with a different take on what it means to be a Mommy Blogger and how they can become partners in your company's success.

All the meetings are FREE (as in beer) and open to the public. Lately meetings have been taking place at the UCF extension in Downtown Orlando. We're always looking for sponsors to help defray the costs of renting the room.

Don't wait for the next meeting, however. Dive in and follow the #SMCOrl and #SMCOrlando hashtags on twitter.

TEDxOrlando November 13th

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 16:56:00 +0000

I've been a fan of the TED conference for a long time. They're close to the modern equivalent of a liberal arts education. I've often thought that Orlando could support its own version of TED and now it will. You can now purchase tickets for TEDxOrlando taking place on November 13th.

The 'x' indicates that this is an independently organized TED event, but it follows the rules set up by the TED conference organizers to make it a very similar style event. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $62.50 and they're expecting about 250 attendees. There are a limited number of scholarships available.

Right now they have 9 presenters signed up. Everything from a nuclear physicist to an artist, historian, and musician. I most definitely plan to attend, just have to scrape up the fee. I'm digging in the couch folds right now. How about you?

The Fox and the Hound

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:22:00 +0000

There's a lot of debate about who is right in the matter of FOX vs. Brighthouse and Warner Bros cable. I'm interested to see how it's resolved. But really it's symptomatic of a much larger matter our country will have to resolve shortly.

Cable companies are granted limited monopolies by local agencies over the limited resource of public access for stringing cable to homes and businesses. This is a public good. The granting of this monopoly confers certain rights and responsibilities in their execution of this public good. The business model that made this public good workable is fading because the need for the monopoly is fading.

Content is now available for delivery in many more formats than when the monopoly was established. In the air via HD broadcast and Satellite TV, both of which have some technical issues that make them unworkable for large portions of the nation or via bad weather. Via wire, phone lines and cable are merging to become the same technology each capable of delivering the others content with equal quality and for approximately the same cost. Whether you're watching LOST on ABC.com or on ABC, it was probably delivered via the same wire, either as a download/stream or cable broadcast. This is the reality that both sides of the FOX vs. Warner Cable/Brighthouse are trying to deny.

At this point there are a lot of options for the country to take. But direction has to come from the FCC. Myself, I believe that if network neutrality is a goal, which I think it should be, than we need networks that are truly neutral. So either tighten their grip on monopoly and increase regulations in exchange for granting any and all content for delivery, or get ride of the monopoly all together and open up the wires by nationalizing them.

Of course none of that resolves the problem we're facing today. Both sides have come to their position by looking at the current set of regulations and crunching the numbers. I think Fox has acted too soon. If technology was a little bit further along and products like Apple TV were more widely adopted than I would say that Fox has made the right decision here. They could still get their content out by using wire for download instead of broadcast.

But for now they need cable for broadcast. This is because the cable subscribers are not going to switch to delivery via air or they already would have. They need the wire for their phone and internet systems. They don't want the air delivery because it is unreliable in storms or simply not available to them (as they're in an apartment or area where HD just isn't working very well).

Fox needs to be fighting a different fight if they really want to win this battle. The sooner they realize this, the sooner we can all get on with the next generation of content delivery.

Living in the Poverty Trap

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:33:00 +0000

This blog isn't normally for self-confession. But I read an article that I know applies to more people than me, so I had to share it. When you earn less than $25,000 a year you fall near enough the federal poverty level that there are a lot of safety nets you can take advantage of. Sure, it's no picnic living that close to poverty and most are trying their best to climb up the economic ladder. But what happens to your earning power as your income rises? Turns out that between $25,000 and about $45,000 there are a couple 'dips' where tax increases and loss of those safety nets actually means you are effectively bringing home less income than when you were earning $25,000. (This varies by cost of living in your area and a few other factors, of course.)

Megan Cottrell pulls together a few reports to paint a clearer picture of the Poverty Trap. As she says, don't fall in, you may never get out. What Megan describes is so familiar to me. As someone who spent a lot of his career as a 'coordinator', 'specialist', or entry level manager my earnings have been right around that part of the dip where it's just impossible to get out. Everytime you earn a little raise you actually fall farther into debt.

I'm not complaining, I know what I need to do to make it over the hump. I'm working on it. But someone does really need to look closely at the tax and support structure and make sure it no longer penalizes those in the poverty trap. Also, the actual cost of living for a metro area needs to be taken into account.

Go read the original post from an Obama administration economic official to see your government policy makers in action.

Signs of life in Orlando's Tech Scene

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:35:00 +0000

Voxeo, an Orlando firm that works in VOIP and mobile internet technology area, is reportedly ready to expand their presence in Central Florida. That's a good sign for the Orlando Tech Scene which has been understandably a bit stagnant during the recession. The Orlando Sentinel and Tech Crunch both covered the deal.

WordCamp Orlando December 5th 2009

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:58:00 +0000

WordCamp Orlando is rolling up in less than a month. For just $15 you get a master's course in furthering your business, blog, or CMS website using the wordpress software.

My personal blogs are evenly split between Blogger and Wordpress (self-hosted). I'll be using what I learn at WordCamp Orlando to move this blog over to Wordpress and to set up a few websites using Wordpress as a CMS.

If anyone wants to ask about my experiences moving The Disney Blog from Typepad to Wordpress or my experience with BBpress for The Disney Blog's Townsquare forums, I'm happy to chat.

See you on the 15th, meanwhile be sure to follow WordCamp Orlando on twitter.

Twitter rolls out new ReTweet feature(?)

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:24:00 +0000

There has been a lot of angst in the Twitter community about the new retweet feature ever since Twitter rolled out the specs to its developer community. Many people didn't even see the need for a feature that can be so easily subverted. But Twitter obviously saw a demand for verifiable retweets.

This brings us to today when Twitter in their fallible wisdom decided to make me (specifically the @TheDisneyBlog account) an early adopter. I wonder if I got this honor because I previously spoke out against the idea.

In any event, here are a few screen shots of how it all works.

This is what you see when you log in after you've been selected to use the new feature.

When you rest your cursor over the Retweet link or icon this bubble now pops up.

The other thing that has been added is a new 'Retweet' option in the right column

Clicking it takes you to a new page with three tabs. Retweets by others appears to be popular retweets from other users that you may or may not be following. Retweets by you is self-explanatory. As is, I assume, Your tweets, retweeted.

I did notice that one of the retweets I tried appeared in my tweetstream, while the other one didn't. Not sure if that is a feature or a bug.

Now that I've tried the feature, I want to take back my earlier comments. I like it. You can take it or leave it as a user; but if you do use it, I think it will become immensely powerful for finding new people to follow as well as knowing what you're reading is an authentic retweet. If you have to comment on a person's tweet, you can still retweet the old fashioned way, excerpt it, shorten it, whatever.

One shortcoming I see is that like lists this takes the user off the main page of twitter into a new page. So they're missing out on the primary stream while these secondary streams run past them. It would be nice if there was some way it could all track on one page. But I suspect some developer will figure that out shortly.

I suspect this is going to kick up the volume of retweets as authenticity will add to their currency. Someone who is retweeted a lot will gain more followers even faster. And your original content, if worthy, can travel a lot farther via the Retweets by others tab.

Strategies for Continuing Your Education

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:09:00 +0000

If there is one thing that's true about the modern day workforce, its that technology is changing so fast that you have to be continually learning to keep up with it. This is not so much a strategy for what to do while one is between jobs, although it definitely applies, as it is a life strategy. The traditional strategy for this has been to enroll in classes and attend conferences where new products and visions are discussed. But what do you do if you can't afford to enroll in those expensive seminars (which are probably teaching last year's skills anyway) or travel to that hot conference? Welcome to the world of GoogleU.

These days, I meet more young people, those who are high school or college age, who tell me for some subjects they never even crack open their text books. Instead they do most of their learning online. If they can do it so can you.

For instance, I'm working on my PHP skills in order to be a better Wordpress blogger. A quick search on Google almost always finds me the answer I need. If not, there is likely a forum with a helpful soul, or even better, someone who has already asked the same question. This is how I learned CSS as well. Call it situational learning.

The other big segment in online learning is video/presentation recordings. If you're taking art history at Podunk University, shouldn't you also be watching the Harvard Art History Professor's lectures on the same thing online? You can, and they're free. Checkout Education Portal as a great starting point to find more lectures.

Can't make it to that important industry conference? There's a good chance that someone either live blogged the session you're interested, a video of it was posted on YouTube or Vimeo, the slides are on slideshare, the author posted their notes on their blog, or even all over the above. I've been taking a crash course on Affiliate Marketing and found some great lectures from a conference I didn't even know existed two weeks ago. Now, I'm much more likely to attend in person in the future if I find work as an affiliate manager.

So what are the take aways here? If you're not yet in the workforce, the most important thing you can learn is how to learn. This will set you up for a lifetime of continued learning as the world changes around you. If you are in the work force, maybe you can talk your boss into devoting a few hours a week to this sort of virtual learning. If not, it's quite simple to do at home. If you're between jobs, devote some time each week to keeping up with the skills you use in your career, and learn as much about that job you are interviewing for, sometimes based on lectures from the very company you're hiring into.

Chris Brogan offers free ebook on using Social Media to find a job

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Chris Brogan has put together a 19 page pamphlet, to borrow a revolutionary era term, on using Social Media to find a job. Which is a lot of what I've been discussing around here recently. I respect Chris and he's definitely someone who walks the talk. So I thought I'd take a look.

The first portion of the booklet focuses on LinkedIn, a tool I discussed previously. Chris is concerned more with the strategy of using LinkedIn for networking. That is definitely one of LinkedIn's many strengths. He also makes the very interesting point that the work experience section of your LinkedIn profile does not necessarily have to match that of your resume. Instead, you could craft it to focus on the skills, achievements, and experiences that will take you to that position you're searching for.

The second section goes into even more strategy on how to form a modern social network that you can then apply to your job search. He suggests building a small, but powerful, network focused on helping you achieve your goals, while you help others achieve theirs. To me this is the essence of social media, removing mediation between goals and just helping each other achieve them. Whether your goal is pushing for adoption of solar panels or finding a new position, the networking skills are the same.

There's plenty more to chew on and great actions you can take immediately to help in your job search in the rest of the ebook. I hope you'll go check it out.

LinkedIn - Tools for the Social Media Job Search

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:25:00 +0000

If your job involves connecting with other professionals or businesses, then you're probably already using LinkedIn to help manage your professional network. If not, there's no time like the present. LinkedIn is the ultimate social networking tool for professionals.

Since networking is one of the most important elements of any job search, it therefore follows that LinkedIn is a tremendous job searching tool as well. It allows you to see profiles of anyone else on LinkedIn, and gives you ways to connect with them. If you'd like to join my network, you can view my profile here.

Set up your profile then reach out via all channels (twitter, your blog, import email contacts, etc). Once you're connected to the people you know, you can then ask them to introduce you to others in their network. That's a powerful tool if that job opening is at a company in your network.

Other ways to use LinkedIn in your job search:

Job Postings - The most obvious way to use LinkedIn is to search their job openings. LinkedIn has its own postings, most of which are usually high quality, professional jobs. Then it also allows you to expand your search into SimplyHired's aggregated search results. Tip: use LinkedIn's advanced search function to do a zip code radius search.

Company Search - You can use LinkedIn to do research on a company you are interested in. Search for the company, and find people you know who are connected to other who work at the company. Then ask your personal contact to connect you.

Email - Use LinkedIn's email system to keep your network informed of your job search status. Send an email with links to your profile, personal website, portfolio, etc to your network when you're first laid off. Ask them for help or people they could put you in touch with. This has resulted in good leads for me.

Applications - A relatively new feature in LinkedIn is the ability to add 'widgets' or applications to your profile. Have a presentation on Google Documents or Slideshare? Add that. Use the Box.net application to post example documents or white-papers that would aid in showing your expertise.

Blog Link - One of the more powerful aplications on LinkedIn provies the ability to link your blog posts to your profile. Every time you post a new blog post, it will update on your profile. This is a great way to showcase your expertise.

Answers - If you have experience in an area, there are likely others on LinkedIn who can benefit from it. Answers let's you ask and answer questions to help others. Another great way to showcase your expertise.

Groups - Last but not least, is Groups. Join some active groups that relate to your career and industry. Even better, join inactive groups and make them active again with your contribution. There are also regional groups that will allow you to keep an eye on events and networking opportunities in your area.

Tags: linkedin, social+media, socialmedia, job, career, resume, online+cv, job+search, social+networking

So you want a Social Media job?

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Jeramiah Owyang is a business analyst with a strong grip on what it takes to make online marketing work for your company or brand. Last month he wrote about three essential qualities any candidate for a corporate social media position must have to be seriously considered.

1) Fulfill Meaningful Business Objectives
2) Bridge Both Internal Stakeholders and Customers
3) Show Credibility With The Technology

In truth, these are common sense realities. In the modern economy a company can't afford to carry a position unless it's contributing to the business objectives. Companies are becoming more and more dis-intermediated, in part because the way social media is changing internal and external communications, that's an opportunity for someone able to be the connection point. Finally, the proof is always in the pudding. You must be able to produce measurable results from predetermined objectives and strategies. Set goals and achieve them.

In short, you can't be web 2.0 unless you understand Business 101.

These are the modern day business rules and social media is no exception. If you're a job applicant, you need to be prepared to talk about how your skills and experience help you meet those essential qualities.

If I could, I'd like to add a fourth point to Jeremiah's excellent summary. You must exhibit trust and authenticity. Those are your currency online. The dis-intermediation of markets means that more than ever it will be human beings dealing with human beings. Your online reputation plays a large role in how effective you are in the new market. What you've done in the past will affect how people view you in the present.

Tags: social+media, socialmedia, web+marketing, online+marketing, career, job, job+search, internet, web2.0,

Social Media Cover Letter

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:33:00 +0000

When I was blogging about resumes and job searches back in 2005, I envisioned the perfect cover letter as a sandwich. The opening and closing remained the same, but what goes in the middle depends on what type of details you think will land you the job. I think most of that advice still holds up today.

Since 2005, a whole new world of Social Networking has arisen. Do you include your Social Media Network profile in your resume or cover letter? If so, how?

The answer, of course, is "it depends." If being a capable internet user is important to the job, then yes. But if your online example would be a distraction to the job, then you'll probably want to leave it off. In any event, you should scrub your virtual foot print as best you can when you're looking for a job, but that's another post.

Your cover letter is still your sales piece and a chance to use those 10-20 seconds a human resources person will use to direct you into a pile. You want to be in the 'look at further' pile. In 20 seconds, or even a minute or two, the HR person isn't going to check your entire online footprint. But they may be interested in your virtual CV, especially if you're sending your resume and cover letter via email.

LinkedIn is a great place to host your virtual CV and do some networking. But you can also use other services, such as Emurse (which includes some neat features like the virtual job interview), or set up a stand alone CV on your own domain.

I would probably include a link to my virtual CV either in the final paragraph or after the accomplishments list that reads something like "You can learn more about how my skills and accomplishments will help me make an immediate impact in this position at my LinkedIn page - http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsfrost "

A full Social Media Cover Letter could get really involved. Links to portfolio projects, work samples from previous jobs, and a video introduction. But don't let that distract from the cover letter's primary purpose, to quickly put your resume in context to the companies need to fill a position and as an introduction to your resume.

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