Social Signal Podcast

Introducing Bedtime with Rob and Alex

info@socialsignal.com (Social Signal) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:01:34 +0000

It's the start of our favourite season here at Social Signal: the run-up to Valentine's Day. For us, it's a celebration of love, togetherness and community.

And what better way to express that togetherness than through a podcast? That's why we're launching a new experiment, Bedtime with Rob and Alex. It's a podcast that captures the knowledge, insights and passions of our online community and Web 2.0 explorations -- whether that involves a new way of looking at online collaboration, or a new piece of software for looking at online pictures.

As partners in both bedroom and boardroom, we get to explore these questions 24/7. (Don't you talk about RSS aggregation after your baby wakes you up at 3 a.m.?) But we've long noticed that our most creative, wide-ranging conversations often happen at the very end of the day, as we're comparing notes or sharing what got us most excited. (Not that kind of excited. Usually.)

And now we're ready to see whether our king-size bed has enough room for two adults, two kids, a dog and an iPod. For the next ten days (just until Valentine's Day!) Bedtime with Rob and Alex will share our conversations as we wind down. Check it out and let us know whether what happens in the bedroom should stay in the bedroom, or whether you're enjoying the chance to eavesdrop.

Our first episode, What's missing from the Web 2.0 menu? (recorded February 4th) asks why there are still unmet needs amidst the overabundance of social web applications. Would Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Yahoo! help fill in these gaps....or erode the quality of existing solutions?

You can subscribe here. Tune in and let us know what you think!

P.S. For those of you who are curious about Alex's solution for menu-planning on the Mac (as discussed in the podcast), it's a program called YummySoup. It lets you import recipes from sites like Epicurious and Martha Stewart, and turn ingredient lists into grocery lists.

Podcast episode #2: Should you test your site for usability?

info@socialsignal.com (Social Signal) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 23:03:21 +0000

Episode #2 of the Social Signal podcast features an interview with design ethnographer Kelly Goto, who explains why testing for usability is a must in the era of the social web. We also list some of the events coming up on the Social Signal calendar.

Some of the links mentioned in the podcast:

Our calendar of upcoming events
Registration for the NTEN webinar series
The Northern Voice blogging conference
Registration for Web 2.0 and Your Organization with Alexandra Samuel and Jason Mogus
Kelly Goto's company, gotomedia
The books Kelly recommends:

Steve Krug, Don't Make Me Think
Karen Donoghue and Michael D Schrage, Built for Use

Kelly's book:

Web ReDesign 2.0: Workflow that Works

Podcast Episode #1: From Org Charts to Sitemaps - How organizational structure affects web strategy and implementation

info@socialsignal.com (Social Signal) — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 23:00:29 +0000

Does your organizational structure support web innovation or inhibit it? Learn how to make the most of your own team's structure from the web strategists at two very different nonprofits: Corrie Frasier, Online Communications Manager for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Jed Miller, Director of Internet programs for the American Civil Liberties Union. In this, the first edition of the Social Signal podcast, Corrie and Jed talk about everything from how to get senior buy-in to your web strategy, to how interdepartmental cooperation helped the ACLU respond effectively to NSA spying.