Blah Blah Bleric

Calling People Is Rude

Eric Matas — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:52:17 -0600

In the old movies, one phone hung on the wall in the foyer, and when it rang, the whole house bristled with excitement. A phone call! Who could it be?! What do they want to talk about?!

Fastforward to 2010.

Today when a phone rings, people brace themselves, take a deep breath and look to that caller ID. And they aren't looking just to see who it is--they are looking to see who wants a piece of them. They look to prepare for a quick 2-5 second decision.

To be there or not to be there, that is the question.

Well, I'm not here. Don't call me unless you want to hear my voicemail greeting. My voicemail greeting recommends not leaving a message but finding me on Twitter. Go ahead: call me, I won't answer. (Number's on Facebook.)

Calling people is rude. It's like saying, "I need to talk to you and even though I am not with you, I am going to get in your face via phone and demand that you talk to me." It's like driving your car right into my living room. Yeah, I don't think so. Not today.

Here's a short list of tools to use to reach me that are WAY more effective than a phone:

Twitter
Facebook
Text Message
Email
Text Message
Smoke Signal

To be clear, I use the phone everyday. I enjoy talking to people. But if you call me without some heads-up or an appointment, you better be my wife with some updates about my kids.

The new catch phrase: Tweet me to meet me.

Why Did You Start That Blog Anyway?

Eric Matas — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:07:00 -0600

Tommy Lee via last.fm

I'm thinking about tattoos. Tattoos are like blogs. Tattoos and blogs got their start with a limited population like pirates and geeks. Then, tattoos and blogs grew in popularity.

Tattoos found more people ready to get some ink: prisoners, military, basketball players, rock stars, hippies, and drunks. Then tattoos went viral. Now even my mom has one. Still, they're cool.

Blogs found more people too: journalists, businesses, teachers, comedians, moms, dads, tattoo artists, and many, many more geeks. It is difficult to get the exact number, but I think there are 8 gazillion blogs today.

My favorite similarity between tattoos and blogs is that they are changeable. Tattoos can change in appearance. My favorite alteration is bombshell Pamela Anderson's edit on her ring finger after a break from Tommy Lee: Tommy was changed to Mommy after the divorce.

Blogs change too. Blogs often change when the blogger's interests change. A blog that used to be about HTML might now be about CSS; a blog about partying in college might now be a mommy blog. Blogs also change when the purpose of the blog turns a corner.

I think purpose plays a big role in where a blog goes. So why do people start blogs? Here is a short list of reasons why people start blogs:

To Make Money
Because It's So Easy to Start One
Friends Were Doing It
Friends Said, "You Should Start a Blog."
They Like Writing
Boredom
To Connect
Professional Development
To Promote Books, Other Blogs or Business
Because They Have Something to Say

A big gap exists between #2 and #10. Starting a blog because, like Posterous, is it so easy leads to random posts and questions like, "So what do I want this blog to be about?" A blog started by someone with something to say is, obviously, going to be focused on that thing they have to say. Even so, all of these reasons can result in blogs that eventually change when the blogger's purpose changes.

If you are a blogger, especially a newer one or one on the brink of a change, I hope you find a way to represent your best self. That is, I hope your blog gets to be everything you really want and not some compromised version, altered from what you want to conform to the successful blogs out there.

I, for one, am hungry for some good reading. As a writing teacher, I see how anybody can become a good writer. Most often, students become good writers when they find themselves. In particular, I am thinking about a quotation from Marianne Williamson:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

What I am saying is go for it. I think everyone is reason #10--we all have something to say. So, let loose the powerful blogger in you. Make a blog that, like a good tattoo, you can be proud of forever.

And when you do, let me know where to find it!

Experimental Psychology - Change Blindness

Eric Matas — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:53:42 -0600

via youtube.com

Oh snap - you don't need to be blind to be...blind. People are so freaking wacked out. And I absolutely love it.

Posted via web from Eric's Preposterous

Elearning Tools Like Wordle Are Fun

Eric Matas — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:26:48 -0600

Just playing around the internet, researching presentation, training, or elearning tools.

Here's me playing with Wordle, which makes pretty word clouds:

Other interesting sites:

Prezi - web-based presentation that is slide free

Evernote - storage for all your ideas, notes, and even tweets and pics

Dimdim - web conferencing tool for webinars

MyUndutu - online elearning development and hosting

Zen Diagrams Stop Social Media Gurus

Eric Matas — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:24:33 -0600

Are you sick of social media experts? Are you sick of social media gurus? Send the gurus here!

It was that word, guru, that inspired me to transform the traditional Venn diagram into a Zen Diagram. Let me explain how a Zen Diagram can help you. Maybe even you have been twitting around hawking your social media guru-ness, and you are kind of sick of yourself. It happens. On to Zen!

Let's get visual about our lives. Keep in mind that a Zen Diagram can help even if social media is not part of your life. Using the same techniques as Venn diagrams (sorry John Venn, I am stealing your diagram), make a Zen Diagram by drawing circles that represent your main career interests. I have three passionate interests, and where I am most happy is in that intersecting area that I call the Lotus zone:

You might have more than three interests, which can make your Zen diagram complicated. In that case I have two suggestions:

Look deep and find only two or three burning interests, or combine two interests into one broad circle. Face it, we're going Zen here and complicated isn't invited.
Get creative with your visual. There are tips on how to draw four and five interest diagrams here. The mathemetician/artist in you will be challenged. Drink green tea to prepare.

My Zen Diagram shows equal parts of Writing, Elearning and Social Media. That is pretty accurate for me. You might need a more lopsided diagram if one interest dominates. Beware, though, that letting one interest dominate leads you out of the Lotus zone!

Since Social Media is one of my circles, I can explain how an interest can pull you out of your Lotus/Zen and explain why I think so many social media fans think they are social media gurus.

I love to indulge in social media. Mmm, Twitter. Mmm, Facebook. And for dessert? Connect Twitter and Facebook. By participating in and learning about social media sites and social media players, I have become more expert than most at social media. People come to me with questions about using social media for their brand, for marketing and for recruiting. Still, social media is not my focus in life and I do not live or die (or put food on the table) by it. So, I am not hawking myself as a guru. It is not authentic for me to do so.

When I get too into social media, I do imagine a fun and rewarding career kicking butt online and consulting for big bucks--I am tempted to pull out words like expert and guru and start throwing them around to see if they stick. Other people are doing so en masse. I think many, too many, are decieving themselves because they have lost their Zen. Back to the Lotus, people. Be a fan not a guru!

Make your Zen Diagram today and thank me tomorrow. Your Zen Diagram guru, Eric @tweric Matas.

Photo Credit: wasoxygen on flickr