Effective Blogging

I have included the title and highlights from the blog post:

Nine Signs of an Effective Blog Post

Written on 7/10/2008 at 6:00 am by Darren Rowse

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/07/10/nine-signs-of-an-effective-blog-post/ 

and applied them to the following blog post by tim@altsolarandwind.com. Here's the URL for the blog I reviewed:

http://www.altsolarandwind.com/?p=4232#respond

Darren Rowse suggests the following nine "must haves" to effective blogging.  I've interjected my comments regarding the Alternative Power blog.

1. The headline draws the reader in.

The headline is interesting but doesn't really address what the body of the blog is about.

2. A concrete detail or visual illustrates the benefit promised in the headline.

There is no visual illustration which would be helpful to those that are not familiar with PV or CSP. Maybe you don't know what PV or CSP mean either...

3. The lead expands the theme of the heading

It talks a lot about what’s going on with solar power in South Africa and sources of partial financing but doesn’t clearly expand on them.

4. The layout is clear and skim-able.

It is one big paragraph with not delineation of important sub-topics by using ALL CAPS, BOLD, underlining, OR LARGER TEXT.

5. The post covers the topic in a logical sequence.

Similar to #3 above.  All over the place with no logical sequence.  The blog talks about funding, Siemens’ interest in the CSP project, South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan, but doesn’t really tie them together in a logical manner.  There are topics for 3 or 4 blogs wrapped into this one blog.

6. The post is persuasive.

Doesn’t persuade me to do anything.  The author does not get to a point.  I’m more confused about alternative power in South Africa and because it is so far away and he’s made no social case, I don’t really care to investigate further.

7. The post is interesting to read.

No in the least.  I think (she) tries but misses the “hook” several times.

8. The post is believable.

Nope.  There are no credentials for the original post author (authors Sandy and/or Phil Smulian) and the credentials for the re-poster are not very impressive.  He sounds like an avid solar / wind power enthusiast that has collected a lot of links in resources.  I may hold onto the site just for the resources

9. The post asks for some action.

Nope.  Don’t really understand the intent of the post.  I’m not moved to do anything but maybe check out some of the resource links that are on the site.

I’d say that is 0 for 9 in the Effective Blogging category…what baseball would call a “no hitter”.

The Value of a Linked In Profile

I think that LinkedIn is an excellent tool to network with other professionals and create a site to promote your abilities and strengths for potential employers or business partners to see.  Although I'm relatively new to using the site I have had some difficulties in navigating the site.  I have had a LI profile for at least 2 or 3 years now but I have not used it to the full extent of its potential. I am currently updating to reflect my Graduate School work with regard to sustainability as well as other profile changes.  I also received a request from a classmate to network with him and when I logged in LinkedIn actually created a duplicate account because the email that my classmate sent the request to is differnt than the one I used to originally set up my account.  It was a nuisance to have to figure out how to close the dulicate account and then try to reconnect with my classmate from my other account.  I had to do a search for him that didn't take too long but if I hadn't had the issue with the duplicate account I wouldn't have to do the search in the first place.  The only downside I can see for me personally is that I have such a varied background and work history that it may be difficult for potential employers to determine what type of job I may be looking for.  I do not belong to a LI group but do have a network of about eight people.  This year I have been better about developing connections to others.  LinkedIn is the only professional networking site that I have registered with.

Purpose Driven Campaign

Many corporations as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts have developed purpose driven campaigns that are designed to help others, help the planet or make things better.  Molson-Coors in Canada has partnered with Artist Raising Consciousness (ARC) to create public service announcements type videos that are hosted by the website The Message In The Bottle to raise awareness of alcohol related accidents and death.   www.tmitb.com
Molson also helps fund a collge campus based non-profit organization called The Student Life Education Company that promotes responsible drinking especially with youth.  The benefits are that their efforts educate young college students about the dangers of drinking too much alcohol and prevent unnecessary accidents, injuries or deaths.  Since the effort is being funded by Molson it is also perceived as a corporation trying to do something good for the community.  The downside is that the public may perceive it as a way for big business, in this case the alcohol industry, to try pacify those that have issues with the use of alcohol, like MADD for example or to save face.  I have to admit I'm a little sketical.  I'd need to see some hard statistics that prove that it really is working.  The director of the Student Life Education Company said, "you don't know if it is working, you only know when it doesn't and theirs a tragedy...."  It's a tough topic for me since my father died due to complication from alcoholism so their going to have a hard time convincing me that they're doing it for the greater good.  In my mind they are doing it as a gimmick to pacify the mainstream consumers so they can continue to sell beer and reap healthy profits.

Twitters to Follow

Here are some twitter feeds that I'm following

http://twitter.com/#!/TreeHugger
Treehugger.com offers a wide variety of topics all with a eye toward green and sustainable living

http://twitter.com/#!/SustainableJobs
Sustainablejobs.com  Not hard to figure out why I'm following this feed.

http://twitter.com/#!/Greenpeace
Greenpeace has been around as long as I can remember.  They are an icon of factual information regarding how we can do a better job with how we treat our planet and each other.

Multi-Generational Interview

I developed a survey about social media usage and sent it to four of my younger Dallas cohort classmates to get their take on social media and get an idea of how their use of social media differs from mine.  I want to identify the reasons behind their social media use to try to understand how it might be used to reach them.  Based on my findings, and my own personal thoughts about social media I also want to ascertain potential challenges in using social media to reach multiple generations.  I’m a late or “young” baby-boomer, being born in 1962.  Those that I interviewed are Generation Y “Millennials”, born between 1977 and 1990.

Until this class I was really not a social media user.  I had a LinkedIn account that was outdated and a Facebook page that I had created providing the minimum required information so that I could view pictures posted by a friend on their fan page.  I grew up in a time where personal information was just that “personal”.  I prefer not to share information with phone solicitors or others I don’t know on a close personal basis.  I do my banking and bill paying online for the convenience and only have to send two payments by “snail mail” because the vendor doesn’t have a system for online payments…yet.  I prefer to use email while at work and correspond in the same fashion with friends when at home unless it’s important and then I call them.  I do “text from my cell phone when a phone call is not possible.  But for quick, direct communication I still prefer a good old phone call.

My younger classmates grew up with cell phones and I know that at least three of the four carry some type of smart phone.  (I have what I guess they would consider a “dumb” phone.)  Their technology allows them quick access to their friends, family and fans through phone, text and email but more importantly via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.  All of my Millennial friends have a Facebook fan page either for work or personal use and for the majority Facebook is the social media that they use most.   The youngest of the four is the only one using Twitter but “tweets” for both work and personal use.  The amount of social media use varies from less than one hour per day to more than three with the younger ones spending more time on social media.   The younger users also tend to spend more time on YouTube with one of them actually having uploaded a few videos.  The reverse is true about email.  Even though they all have email accounts and use them for both personal and work related reasons the older Millennials use it more consistently throughout the day for work and personal activities while the younger ones rarely use it for personal communication.  They may interact at work using up to twenty emails but only correspond on a personal level with five or less.  The same is true with web logs (blogs).  Only one reads blogs on a consistent daily basis even though they all have set up a blog and rarely do they monitor their blogs, post to them or comment on other’s blogs.

Only one of the Millennials reported a single incident where they clicked on an advertiser’s link while using social media.  However, another has purchased items elsewhere that were advertised on a social media site, as well as, purchasing something that was recommended by a friend on a social media site.  They use social media to keep up with technology, as a source of entertainment, to keep up with friends and family, to network and to gain knowledge.  If they are being marketed to, it doesn't show with these four.

                My small sample really isn’t adequate to provide a clear statistically supportable view of social media but based on just the shear variety of usage styles among these few it appears that reaching multiple generations with social media may be very challenging.  From my small sample of people of the same generation the usage styles vary greatly.  When you add in the attitudes and comfort levels of other generations it becomes a nightmare for someone like me and the fodder for the statisticians, analysts and writers of algorithms to tackle.

Online - Offline Media Integration

I just reviewed the following case studies to evaluate the effectiveness of their Online/Offline marketing efforts:

Charleston Parks Conservancy (CPC)- http://www.charlestonparksconservancy.org/home/
Randomhouse Buzzers (RB) - http://www.randombuzzers.com/
Sea World - http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/2008/04/case-study-roi-of-social-media-campaign.html
Charleston Parks Conservancy (CPC) is a non-profit organization in Charleston, SC established to engage volunteer caretakers for the city's many parks and recreational lands.  They used standard news media outlets (Television, News Papers) as well as a well orchestrated social media campaign including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, FourSquare and Flicker to get the word out and generate interest in their cause and to help develop a corps of volunteers.  CPC was founded in 2007-2008 and is therefore a relatively young organization but based on the amount of local and national press received their campaign appears to be successful thus far.  They also provide helpful how-to videos about gardening on YouTube.  They have 1230 fans on Facebook but most of the post on their fan page are by CPC so it's hard to tell how much direct interest there is on that particular site.

Random Buzzers (RB) is a social media and blog site established in 2007 by Random House Publishing geared toward teen readers and generating interest in this demographic to help drive sales of books.  They won a 2010 Gold Wommy Award, (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) and a 2010 Davey award for their social media driven marketing program.  RB used blogs, Facebook posts and Tweets to generate interest in books and disseminate information regarding featured books and authors as well as offering the ability to earn "Buzzer Bucks" as incentives to purchase books.  It appears to be very well put together but might benefit from links on the websites of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. to help spread the word.

Sea World San Antonio (SWSA) is a for-profit theme park based around aquatic animals but also includes a water park and thrill rides amusement park.  The case study presented was in relation to a social media campaign created to develop interest in a new thrill ride.  Initial announcements were sent to bloggers with a common interest in thrill rides to generate "buzz" about the ride.  Based on surveys taken after the ride opened by using social media they were able to generate gate sales at about one fifth the cost of their standard TV ad campaigns.  Through the blogs they were targeting only thrill ride enthusiasts while their park offers a much wider range of attractions.  I think it would be good to use the same type of social media campaign on future offerings and compare metrics between them and this baseline case study.

All three case studies showed the use of Web logs (blogs) to generate interest and discussion about their specific goal.  The Sea World case study did not specifically mention and specific social media sites like Facebook and Twitter but it's pretty safe to assume that they did as did CPC and RB.  CPC and RB used enticements like a free bike or discount incentives to increase participation in their cause.  These could all be used for the basis of other social media efforts.

Video Statement

I recently heard a quote that I think is very appropriate at times...

"No ONE of us is as smart as ALL of us."

This leads me to the following statement:

Social Media is bigger than one person.         -James Ryan

I believe this to be true because social media reaches far beyond the individual and begins the creation of synergistic ideas, beliefs, thoughts and actions.  Through connecting with others we can move mountains and solve social problems and help determine history.  The slogan, "Yes We Can!" comes to mind.  The 2008 Obama presidential campain used the power of social media to garner support, raise funds and disseminate information about progress and issues.  When ever two or more people are engaged (not in the marital sense) with each other the outcome is normally greater that what the two could do individually.  This combined effect will only come into question in the instance of total anarchy or the extinction of the human race.  I guess if we all became zombies too.

Videos about SM Synergy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Bh5QtaibY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73MWWRTVCWs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrczoLm7Es


Other links about SM Synergy:
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/11/03/snapshot-of-presidential-candidate-social-networking-stats-nov-2-2008/

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2076195,00.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/11/japan-tsunami-earthquake-reactions_n_834593.html#s252468&title=Conan_OBrien

Assignment 1

Well the first assignment is over...
Technology can be a b#$%h some days.  I had to rework the visual presentation 3 times to get it to work.  It looked good once it was finished but what a beating.
Well on to assignment #2

Social Media Webinar

Wow!  The first webinar for our social media class was very cool.  Over 30 attendees.  We have a diverse group with various backgrounds and I'm excited about the possibilities.  I'm also a little intimidated by the speed with which social media technology is advancing.   We're using Blackboard through UTA's website.  I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of that.  More to read and do so for now, TTYL.

Welcome

Well, the new BLOG is up and running.