Disqus - Latest Comments for RexHammock

Re: 9/11-19

Rex Hammock — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 22:01:46 -0000

Wonderfully said. I miss you, friend.

Re: instantdave.com

Rex Hammock — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 13:22:28 -0000

Wouldn't you know. I'm away from my laptop. (PS: Your friend and I have the same first name.) ; )

Re: My Epitaph

Rex Hammock — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 14:29:25 -0000

I should get co-tweet credit on your tombstone. ; )

Re: Pinboard Acquires Delicious (Yes, it Still Exists)

Rex Hammock — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:09:31 -0000

I'm guessing humor, but humor often doesn't scale on the internet. (I know from personal experience.)

Re: Why we’re dropping the term “content marketing”

Rex Hammock — Sat, 06 May 2017 15:45:50 -0000

Nine years ago when I found my personal blog (RexBlog.com) listed among the top "content marketing" blogs, I posted this response (below )that I appreciated being friends and fans with the folks who were touting the phrase "content marketing," but that I wasn't a fan.

When a term can mean anything to anyone, it means nothing to everyone.

I think the term "content marketing" is headed to wherever terms like "Web 2.0" go to die.

http://www.rexblog.com/2008...

Re: @R eview | STown

Rex Hammock — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 13:37:23 -0000

While it is definitely of the Southern gothic tradition, I don't think it's intended to be an "honest look at the South."

Perhaps I'm wrong (as I am many times), but I think the rural South of the mid 2010s is a backdrop for the story, not the focus of the story.

To me, the focus is the tale of a uniquely talented artist who is also a troubled genius. Why he hates his home and, ultimately, everyone with whom he comes into contact, is the mystery that propels the story.

And because his art is, in both a metaphoric and literal way, related to creating and perfecting time, I was impressed (I'll keep this a non-spoiler version) by the way the story came around to reveal the price that must often be paid to pursue such perfection.

Also, I'd say there's nothing in the podcast that should keep someone from visiting Charleston or Nashville or New Orleans or any number of great food and music and art. We are quite friendly.

All of that said, I'll admit something: The movie and book Deliverance has kept me out of a canoe in north Georgia for a lifetime.

Re: Why Laptops May Be on Their Final Lap

Rex Hammock — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 15:25:23 -0000

With the docking devices, the screens will be large (see photo in the article). It's the computing device that is shrinking.

Re: It’s not about the salt

Rex Hammock — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 09:15:08 -0000

I'm fine with companies doing whatever they want to do with their marketing dollars and I think this video is spectacular. And today is Giving Tuesday so I'm not going to suggest that doing good is bad in any way. I think all the pieces of this are great -- I just don't see anything innovative about the way they are put together. Perhaps it's the only way music acts (even creative ones) can make money these days.

Re: Native advertising: Another false messiah?

Rex Hammock — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 17:52:18 -0000

Jeff,

(1) I don't think Contently would describe themselves as a native advertising company -- or at least they don't on their website. Native advertising implies the service is being provided by the media to appear "native" (i.e. an advertorial w/ less transparency).

(2) I'm not a big fan of what Contently does call themselves, content marketers (a term that means anything ultimately means nothing), but I've at least accepted the label when used to describe what I do. (Call me anything, just call me.)

(3) Help, not hype, is the only marketing that works long-term. It's the only kind of journalism that works long time, also.

(4) Savvy marketers aren't the ones who want to break down the wall between church and state, they are the ones who want to build it higher..

Rex

Re: What Pokemon Go Means for Assignment Editors

Rex Hammock — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 11:54:23 -0000

Shawn, as one of the 12 readers of this blog (and one who goes way, way back), I would expect nothing less than you seeing what I've done. (Now, if only I could figure it out.)

Re: Native Advertising

Rex Hammock — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 13:17:47 -0000

Joe,

You and I started this discussion long before the term "content marketing" was used to describe media and content created to develop and strengthen the bonds between people called marketers and the people called customers.

No doubt, we will continue.

Rex

Re: Native Advertising

Rex Hammock — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:06:23 -0000

QUOTE: "The next time someone uses content marketing or native advertising in the wrong scenario, please correct the person. Help us all speak the same language and be part of positive change for the world."

Are you suggesting that if we use the terms "content marketing" and "native advertising" with your definition we will change the world in a positive way?

I have an idea. Let's encourage people to say "marketing with content" "marketing with native adverting" "marketing with search." That way, you can still have the Content Marketing Institute define what marketing content is ... and those who belong to the Native Advertising Institute can define what native advertising is.

Re: What Acquihire Really Means

Rex Hammock — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 13:56:51 -0000

As a fan, Brad, I'm honored to be included in a FeldThoughts post (although the spelling of my last name is like the rope swing, hammock, not the electric organ).

For those who are into the origin of terms and words, the noted linguist, lexicographer, and language commentator Ben Zimmer took a deep dive into the word(s) acq-hire, acqhire, acquihire, etc. about five years ago.

htttp://www.visualthesaurus...

I used the term "acqhire"on my blog to capture the meaning of what you've explained (and I agree with you, that it should be extended beyond the founders). I also used "acqhire" because it was a pun and despite looking odd to our western eyes, if the spelling acqhire had become the popularized term and had made it into the dictionary, Scrabble players would have loved it.

Another thing: While I used it first in a post, it was tech journalists like Rafat Ali, Staci Kramer and Om Malik who immediately started using the term in their coverage of talent-oriented group hires that were being described in press releases as acquisitions.

Re: Why Small Town Coworking is a Great Idea and How to Get Started

Rex Hammock — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 13:48:13 -0000

Wow. Thanks, Becky. Made me recall that we (Hammock Inc) actually have an employee who works in another city and that we provide her a membership in a cowork space. While not the "entrepreneurship" hub that coworking space is typically touted for, it's a great solution for telecommuting needs.

Re: Why Small Town Coworking is a Great Idea and How to Get Started

Rex Hammock — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 08:15:48 -0000

Bill, as I note from other comments on other sites, you are from Nikolaev Ukraine.

As SmallBusiness.com is U.S.-centric (I wish we had the resources to be more global), I think perhaps you are perceiving that small towns in the U.S. are dust bowl era, abandoned shells of towns out of some cowboy western out in the middle of a wilderness.

But in the U.S., there are thousands of small towns that are at the fringes of huge cities. Even more if you go out 30-50 miles. Perhaps you are not aware that some of the greatest universities in the U.S. are NOT located in major metropolitan centers, but in small towns. The faculty, students and recent graduates of those universities can create hot-beds of innovation. While they have access to resources on campus, their business can often need to be separate.

But for whatever reason, your perception of what a small town is doesn't match up to hundreds of U.S. small towns. Also, in the U.S., the Small Business Administration, through programs called Small Business Development Centers that are found in colleges and universities, provides assistance to those who would like to start small businesses.

Perhaps you are also not aware of the high-tech, internet-centric nature of U.S. agriculture and the need that industry has that can be fulfilled by individuals working in a coworking center.

Last thing: There are coworking possibilities that don't fit conventional perceptions of what coworking means.

On SmallBusiness.com, we've written about coffee shop owners who get together with bakers to open locations where they share the expense. The makerspace movement is another example of coworking that fits every description, but its not office space being shared but workshop equipment.

Re: How to Enable and Use the Gmail Undo Send Feature

Rex Hammock — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 12:39:04 -0000

As the post says, it's only now official. What you've seen is a labs version.

Re: No one listens

Rex Hammock — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 17:27:59 -0000

I think it's yet another version of why silos suck.

Re: What Was GoDaddy Thinking? Small Business Super Bowl Ad Preview

Rex Hammock — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 12:09:56 -0000

Chris, I thought of you while writing this so I appreciate your response. I believe the best thing GoDaddy has going for it are the people who work there. They spend all day talking with small business owners and provide some of the best customer service of any .com company we use (except maybe MyEmma.com, which was started by two SmallBusiness.com alumni so I'm prejudiced).

You and I go way back to the earliest days of blogging, so of course, I believe you. I doubt anyone else could have convinced me no one at GoDaddy who saw this ad before it ran didn't raise their hand and suggest GoDaddy might be insulting their customers in service to a punch line.

Re: 2014 Was the Year Bitcoin Lost Small Business Vote

Rex Hammock — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 23:26:24 -0000

I am the writer and thank you for your comment. I disagree with you, but please don't suggest that just because I disagree or have a different point of view from you means that I don't understand how business operates.

You write: "You do realise that the smart businesses will convert the bitcoin to their local currency asap correct?"

What if the day after the smart business converted bitcoin to their local currency, the value of bitcoin increased by 20%, would you still believe it was a smart business? My understanding of how business operates suggests that missing that 20% upside would have been a bad way to operate a business.

The point of the article is,this: Small merchants aren't predisposed to linking day trading in a highly volatile commodity with their merchant processing system. If bitcoin's success depends on gaining a critical mass of small merchants who accept bitcoin, then 2014 wasn't a good indicator for such a possibility.

Re: Little Pork Chop coming back

Rex Hammock — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 09:29:34 -0000

Dear Mr. Little Porkchop in Chief. May I be put on the "other white meat list"? Not being on it has slowed down my ability to generate twitter spam. ; )

Re: What should TAG Heuer do?

Rex Hammock — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:55:09 -0000

I may be mistaken (I'm not a watch person), but I was under the impression that the market for high-end watches is more like markets for art or haute couture (or, laundered, underground currency) than they are like something for keeping time or monitoring heart rates.

Re: Helpful Translation Tools While Waiting for Skype Translate

Rex Hammock — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:04:26 -0000

Note that in the article, I wrote both of the following statements:

(1) "while not as good as speaking a second language..."
(2) "Do you have a favorite translation tool for when a human translator isn’t available?"

I could not agree more that translating for publication needs to be done by a professional translator. I think any of these tools, even an improved Skype Translate, are an improvement on NO translation, not a substitute for professional translation.

Re: What Apple Watch, Apple Pay and iPhone 6 Plus Mean for Small Business

Rex Hammock — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 18:37:15 -0000

Thanks Chris. I 100% agree. The payment processing fees for small business transactions already get sliced up among various parties. In the way that Apple first saw iTunes as a break-even play to sell iPods, Apple is the only player who can make money even if their part of the processing fee is thin.

Re: The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is Fun(d)raising at its Finest

Rex Hammock — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 08:37:43 -0000

Doug, I think you and I have been watching these things a long time and may bring a little bit of a jaded point of view. I thought about it before doing one and found the ones that made me smile the most were not the famous ones, but the ones with pre-teens dumping water on their parents. I think if a meme can get pre-teens and parents doing something together for any cause or charity is a good thing. That said, your comment "shaming you into doing the same" is precisely why I didn't challenge anyone. (P.S. Ever get to Nashville?)

Re: SmallBusiness.com | Small business information, insight and resources

Rex Hammock — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 09:29:51 -0000

Your link only adds to the confusion. The point of this post is not about how to set up an account. It's about how confusing it is to understand the difference in the name of products that Google offers small businesses. If you have to set up accounts at three different places to make it work, it's obviously a service that people who are not techies should avoid. For those who understand what all this means and have the time to figure out how to hack it, it's a great deal.