Disqus - Latest Comments for Jeremie

Re: Small Talk: How is the Nexus 6P treating you?

Jeremie — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 14:17:44 -0000

For those of you with the phone: what is call quality like using a headset? I use my cell phone as my main business phone and am on it all the time, so call clarity/quality is still a top requirement for me.

I have a Note 3 right now for comparison (if any of you can compare).

I have heard that the call quality isn't great, but would love to hear some real life experience.

Thanks.

Re: Google Play lists new Nexus 4 accessories up for sale

Jeremie — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:52:40 -0000

Does the mic on these actually work with the Nexus 4? So far every other headset I have tried has such low mic volume that no one can understand me.

Re: Lessons from Seth Godin’s Kickstarter Project

Jeremie — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 09:50:44 -0000

Thanks for putting these thoughts "on paper" so clearly Dan. I have been struggling with my feelings about this all week and tried to write about it a few times, but it never came out right.

My big concern is that unknown or little known authors are going to jump on this and think that it will work for them because it worked for Seth. Some of his strategies that he talks about may be valid, but I don't think his success provides proof that those strategies worked. The campaign worked because he is Seth Godin. I can see Kickstarter getting flooded with author campaigns over the next little while, and some frustrated people when they follow "what Seth said" and it didn't work.

I am also interested to see if a longer term strategy with this will be Seth writing a book or at least a few chapters in a book about crowd sourcing/funding, so he needed to do it, so he could write about it.

What would have been more powerful to me is if Seth had of picked an unknown author, helped them with their campaign with his strategies, and then once that campaign was successful announce that he helped, the lessons he learned, the strategies that worked, etc.

See, I start to sound a bit bitter and critical as I write this, you did a much better job! I have just worked with and been around a lot of struggling authors, and I just don't know if this really has any meaning for them and their own work in the end.

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:23:24 -0000

Glad you joined in at the end Shannon! I totally understand the closet gamer feeling. Back when I was dating my online gaming wasn't mentioned until we were past the casual dating period, and my Dungeons&Dragons tendencies were only revealed to long term girlfriends after I felt it was safe to "reveal my dark secret".

The ability of online games, and online communities in general, to allow shy people to interact and express themselves is one of my favorite parts about these communities. I have met some great people online that would never think of attending live events, or networking. Without these games/communities I would have missed out on those relationships.

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:19:36 -0000

I think that is a great point you make at the end, and this is how I interpret it:

You don't necessarily try to create or force the lingo, you let the lingo develop naturally as the community grows and makes some of that lingo their own. I think this would help make that lingo not only unique, but important to the community, instead of feeling forced into it.

Of course, as new people enter the community they won't be part of the development process, so that lingo will be brand new for them. But maybe because the community helped develop it, new arrivals will become part of that lingo more naturally.

Thanks Janet!

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:20:43 -0000

I could definitely add years of Dungeons&Dragons and other strategy and role-playing games to that list as I have spent many, many hours at the table. Interestingly, my two best friends I have known since grade 7 and our common bond was gaming. The friends I stayed in touch with the most from university were the people I played games with. Those bonds are super strong for me.

As much as I think you need freedom within a community, I agree, you need to have that common foundation to build the community upon. Once you have brought those people together then the magic of all of the differing points of view and ideas can take over and allow the community to grow. But, in the end it is that foundation that brings them back to whichever conversation they are currently having.

Your mention of evolution hits home the most for me as it is a big part of my philosophy around community and business offerings in general. I believe it is important not only to evolve your community/business but also to strategically plan some of that evolution. Map out some of the ways you will grow, and leave some to surprise and chance, but definitely have a vision for what things will turn into over time.

If you start your community off with all the bells and whistles then it is harder to offer more, make changes, or grow, so I suggest that you start somewhere less than what you know you can do, and then grow and evolve into that bigger picture. It helps keep both you and your community engaged if they can see how the joint effort is growing and evolving.

Thanks Annette!

Jeremie

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:30:18 -0000

Hello everyone! You can check out a replay of the live broadcast here: http://livestre.am/1jjDU

Let me know what you think of some of the ideas I shared,

Jeremie

Thank you to Sherrie and JPeter for joining me live!

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:27:15 -0000

A great point Kathryn! Language has a lot to do with building online community, and we need to be careful about the language assumptions we make when engaging people new to our community, or in a blog post like this.

How much has my use of "lingo" affected people replying and joining this conversation?

On the flip side, how important is that lingo to bringing your community together and creating a special bond?

There seems to be a fine line between a low level of lingo so new people engage, enough lingo that people feel like they are in community, and too much lingo so you scare people away.

For me, I may have made the final mistake, and used too much lingo in my post.

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:24:29 -0000

So enough structure to give the community some direction, but enough freedom to take that community in different, possibly surprising directions.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what the critical number is to get a community off the ground and living. I know it is not as simple as just a number, but I think it is helpful to think about, and I think you touched on it in your reply Mark.

Are 10 people enough to maintain a living, online community? 50? 100?

At what point does that number get too big so things move to fast for people to stay engaged with each other?

At what number do you need to support sub-communities within your larger community so thigns don't get to unruly? (in MMOs I am thinking things like friend lists, and Guilds.) Is there a point where not segmenting your community a bit leads to it failing?

I have no idea what the answers are, and I know I have oversimplified this with just a number, but it is at least a conversation starter. What does everyone think?

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:30:40 -0000

Agree, how it is built and strategized is so important. Many people think they are going to start a facebook group or a forum and think the community will just magically form, but there is a lot of thinking that needs to go into the structure to make sure the community can be healthy.

It is interesting, earlier MMOs like Everquest and WoW (I mostly avoided WoW as I didn't want to get drawn in) provided more of a framework for people to play in, and so quite often you had to be social and form community to have things to do.

Right now I am playing Star Wars The Old Republic and it is very story rich, and there are a lot of things to do. The community seems to be a bit less connected, so I am starting to wonder if there is too much structure and too much to do in the game, so people don't have to connect.

It may be that there is too little structure, too much structure, and a "just right" amount of structure for making communities flourish. What do you think?

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:26:34 -0000

I hope you can make it Peter!

Cell phone to smartphone... a huge technology change that is affecting all of us in real time, and allows communities to stay even more connected. Many online games actually have apps that allow you to interact with the game from your phone so that you don't even need to log in to stay connected with your gaming community.

There are huge opportunities to use smartphone technology to help build community.

Re: Learning about Community from Online Games [Day 28 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:23:46 -0000

I love that you brought up the tech piece Lori and you put it so nicely. It isn't that you have to have the latest technology, you just have to have the latest technology for your community. If you fall behind on the latest tech that your community uses then that is going to make it more difficult to connect. What that tech looks like is going to be different for each of us and our communities.

The other important piece that I think we need to start realizing is that online communities can be very strong communities, sometimes stronger than real life communities. Many people discount virtual communities as "less important" and for many that just isn't true.

Re: Building Fierce Loyalty: It’s Not about You [Day 8 – 28 Days to BFL]

Jeremie — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:56:56 -0000

I have recently had some interesting pushback from some people because when I write community emails I use "we" instead of "you". Marketing stats have shown how powerful using "you" can be in reaching people, but for me, if I am trying to build community I want people reading the email to know I am talking to a whole group of people not just to "you".

I want all of my communications to remind people that they are part of a bigger community and not alone. Even if they never meet each other or talk directly there is power in knowing that others are around. I believe Jane McGonical calls this "ambient sociability" or the importance of being solo within a group. I really like the concept and have seen how powerful it can be in my life and my work.

So, "we" replaces both "me" and "you" in community I think.

Jeremie

Re: The Secret to Building Fierce Loyalty? Be Human [Day 6- 28 BFL]

Jeremie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:08:54 -0000

I think one of the keys that makes being vulnerable less of a struggle is working with people who are understanding of what it takes to "go out on a limb" and appreciate your humanity. If you can find this "right community" they are willing to go out on the limb with you and forgive if things don't go perfect.

My favorite clients are willing to take risks and deal with the consequences of those risks with a smile. When I know they are in that head space, then I am willing to go further out on the limb, and I do better work which we all benefit and grow from.

Maybe a hesitancy to be vulnerable and human is a sign that the person or community isn't quite the right fit? I will have to reflect on that.

Jeremie

Re: The Secret to Building Fierce Loyalty? Be Human [Day 6- 28 BFL]

Jeremie — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:05:22 -0000

It helps me to think of humility more in the light of "not having a huge ego" and less about the actual meaning of being lower or meek. That way I can still promote my work and my expertise without feeling like I have to be completely silent about what I am good at.

Another thing that goes closely with being humble I think is having a large amount of gratitude for the people I work with and the people I help. Being thankful that they put their trust in me helps me feel great about what I do without having to expand my ego. And the gratitude that they show back to me does a great amount of promotion so that I don't have to worry about always tooting my own horn.

Jeremie

Re: If You Want Fierce Loyalty, You Need To Be Fiercely Loyal First [Day 3- 28 BFL]

Jeremie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:56:25 -0000

My fierce loyalty for the people I work with has been a big part of my success, so this post makes total sense. However, where I struggle as a business person is finding the fine line between being fiercely loyal to my clients and giving too much away without charging them.

I want their work to be so successful that I often find myself signing them up for a service package, and then to make sure everything is a great success I end up going way beyond that package. I always plan to give some extra value as part of my own belief about helping my clients, but finding the boundary between extra value and giving too much away eludes me more often than not.

Re: If You Want Fierce Loyalty, You Need To Be Fiercely Loyal First [Day 3- 28 BFL]

Jeremie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:52:26 -0000

Your comment made me laugh out loud, I relate to it so much,

I taught at a private school for five years. I can't even count how many conversations I had with parents whose child could do no wrong!

The thing is, it does nothing but harm the child, or in the broader sense of this post, the community and your business.

Re: Building Fierce Loyalty: A Choreography [Day 2- 28 BFL]

Jeremie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:33:58 -0000

C and E stick out in this post for me.

When I was teaching high school so many old school teachers would tell me to never let my students know when I had made a mistake, and to cover it up. The thing is, you couldn't, the students knew you made a mistake, and covering it up just made them trust you less. Plus, some of the best learning occurred for the whole class in figuring out how to fix the mistake.

Experimenting is another huge one I think for keeping your community interested and engaged. Your community wants to see you grow and evolve not just stay the same. They don't get to benefit from all the cool new stuff you come up with if you don't experiment. And if you don't experiment you don't get to learn from all the great stuff your community creates.

If you are comfortable with admitting when you screw up, then experimenting and screwing up isn't nearly as big of an issue or as stressful. One of the keys to building community is to not just say things, but to model them. People want to see you do, not just talk about doing, so if you can get comfortable with "C" and "E" it will be a fabulous start to building your community.

"O", "Y", and "A" can then be a great addition. Experiement, admit when you screw up, let your community see this, let your community have great ideas not just you, and ask your community for help.

Great acronym Les! Those are the letters that stand out for me.

Re: 28 Days to Building Fierce Loyalty – Let’s Kick It!! [Day 1- 28 BFL]

Jeremie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:19:36 -0000

Hello everyone!

My name is Jeremie Miller and I am the owner of "Your Event Without Borders" where I help innovative business owners who want to expand the reach and impact of their work navigate the strategy, technology, and costs of engaging global communities.

So, I LOVE the topic for the next 28 days and know I will learn a new trick or two from everyone to add to my quiver.

Oh, and:

Great Post

Jeremie

Re: Start Your Journey by Clearly Defining What Your Sh*t Is [Day 2 – 28 Days to GYST]

Jeremie — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:07:22 -0000

Les,

Get lot's of sleep! Fionn's Papa is one of his most favorite people in the world. When my Dad is around he doesn't get much rest because Fionn just wants to be doing anything with him.

Congratulations!

Jeremie

Re: The Most Important Decision Most People Never Make (Day 24 – 28 Days to GYST]

Jeremie — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:42:03 -0000

I am really sad that I missed this post yesterday, as this decision of where to live has had a huge impact on my life.

Four years ago my wife and I were living in a city of a million people, both with good paying jobs. We weren't miserable, but we were not happy, and we kept on telling each other that we needed to make just a bit more money before we could move to our dream home of Rossland, BC.

Then my wife got pregnant and our views of everything changed. We did not want to raise our son in a big city where we would both have to commute and work. We wanted to be able to spend time with our new family. With changed perspective we quit our jobs, sold our home, bought a home in Rossland, and moved without a job between us.

It has been a struggle the last four years financially as we build roots, and find ways to make money. We have made less than 1/4 of the income we used to make in Calgary. But you know what, because we are now in tune with our location, and living where we truly want to be, the money hasn't phased us. We are so happy with our location that money becomes secondary.

This decision was huge and has had the biggest impact on how we live.

So, two thumbs up for the post Jonathan! And if you are ready for the move I can do nothing but highly recommend the experience.

Jeremie

Re: How Much Should You Charge? Pricing Is Relative [Day 25 – 28 Days to GYST]

Jeremie — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:24:26 -0000

This is a key point you brought up David:

"The problem with that "strategy" is that you often draw the wrong kind of customer or client to you"

My company provides livestreaming services for events and we charge people to attend the stream of the event. Which some people have issue with because there are other people out there streaming for free. However, I attended a free streaming event and the truth of what you said was so clear.

People in the event chat were working together to purchase products from the speakers and then divide the cost amongst themselves and share the material. Wrong type of customer you want at your event!

By charging for our streaming events we get a qualified group of people that work together to build an online community during the event and really want to make some connections and get something out of the event.

Charging helps us filter out thos other customers for our clients.

Great point!

Jeremie

Re: How Much Should You Charge? Pricing Is Relative [Day 25 – 28 Days to GYST]

Jeremie — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:20:31 -0000

I think the way customers often react to our services is very interesting sometimes. They talk about the amazing value, tell me I should be charging more, then quickly say "but raise your prices after I am done working with you".

Which makes me wonder how much client feedback about higher pricing is an empty compliment versus a real feel for how much value my service holds for them.

Some of them I know are very honest when they say it, but I am always hesitant to make decisions when no actual money is on the line. I won't really know if I can price my services higher until I make that higher price public and see if anyone buys.

Then if it doesn't sell well, I know I need to adapt.

Jeremie

Re: How Much Should You Charge? Pricing Is Relative [Day 25 – 28 Days to GYST]

Jeremie — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:41:26 -0000

Hey David,

I am wondering what your thoughts are on different pricing for those different subsets?

Some of the webinar and simulcasting work I do is a great fit for the solopreneur, but also works great for big names in the business, and even corporations. Obviously the corps have huge budgets and are going to get a way bigger return on investment (maybe not always, but stats are in their favor) than someone with a smaller audience.

So, my thought is, can you have different prices based on the same service but for different audiences?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Jeremie

Re: Just Ask [Day 22 - 28 Days to GYST]

Jeremie — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:30:30 -0000

You are not the only sci-fi fan, I will put my hand up for that group!

I won't put my hand up for the Drama-Star-Galactica group though.

Jeremie