Disqus - Latest Comments for stevenimmons

Re: Twitter Client War: Twhirl vs. TweetDeck

stevenimmons — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:09:24 -0000

It's TweetDeck most of the time for me, although I also use Friendfeed as a 'kind of client'. I hadn't realised Twhirl had gone to Seesmic - interesting.

I'd pay for the tools if they provided inbound semantic filters. The first one I want is a 'platitude blocker' :-)

So I guess given your listening triggers the ultimate Scoble alarm Tweet would be:
"Hi #Ted, read on #TechCrunch that #Scoble aka #Scobleizer is seeding #Google #Cloud? Darn rain-makers!"

Re: Who Should Tweet?

stevenimmons — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:54:18 -0000

@samir
I think on Twitter a persona does need an edge and something slightly differentiated. That's why I claim to be the "Jackson Pollock of IT" - and if space permitted I would also be 'an ice-cream shaman'. It's about standing out, without playing the village fool. I think instead of Tweeting one account from multiple people, it would be better to just have one account per person. This gives wider spread and more chances that someone will have the right mix in terms of 'engaging personality'.

Re: Creators Take Note

stevenimmons — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:01:09 -0000

Cool video - certainly makes you think! I just re-themed my blog, and now I'm wondering if I should try and create a nostalgic carousel template for Drupal! Nostalgic Carousel would also be a great name for a blog.

Re: Fix the Paper Hole

stevenimmons — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:51:55 -0000

It does seem rather unwieldy and archaic. I guess that's many years of legal tradition. In the future - non-repudiation through digital certificates...

Re: Why Yahoo’s announcement today won’t get as much hype as Google’s

stevenimmons — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:30:34 -0000

I just checked out the Yahoo! 'sneak peek' video for Search Pad. It looks pretty good to me, and I could certainly see uses. Maybe the 'availability' of the launch isn't terribly savvy, but I think the "don't care" comment is maybe just a tad harsh? This looks pretty reasonable, so let's not be too quick to kill it off. As for Latitude, I don't think it should scare anyone. It's an opt-in service, and it tracks the phone not the person (i.e. I don't see Latitude location being viable for alibis).

Re: Encouraging Post Development and Links

stevenimmons — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:23:58 -0000

I enjoyed Michael's article and ideas - thanks for sharing. I think there is scope for expansion, and there are some really interesting philosophical questions around the definition of presence. Web2 seems to fragment as well as unite and the ability to over-arch presence across Web2 'silos' is really quite interesting. I also hereby claim the term 'gravitas engineering' :-)

Re: Subscription Drive

stevenimmons — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 04:32:46 -0000

Chris,
This is one of a handful of blogs that I read every day, and advise others to do likewise. For those not using feedreaders as part of their daily life, I would recommend getting one ASAP. Google Reader works great as a Web based client and there are a bunch of others that sit client side. The convenience of pulling all the content 'to you' (a feature of feedreader + RSS subscription) is really something, especially when processing volumes of news and other sources.

@stevenimmons

Re: Serving Suggestions

stevenimmons — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:03:45 -0000

Bring solutions, not problems is a wise approach. I would add a cautionary note however, appearing to 'suggest' too early or 'have an answer' too quickly can play badly in certain cultures. I know it is not the intention, but in the 'stiff upper lip' world of England it can appear somewhat gauche to be presumptuous. I often find that clients want to feel a bespoke solution is coming their way, even though in all other realms of sense a proven 'cookie cutter' solution 'from the menu' is a lot more appropriate (and cost defined!). Understanding global restaurant culture might well be a first step to understanding successful globalisation!

Re: Mike’s mood improves when Paulo Coelho arrives

stevenimmons — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:25:16 -0000

What happened to Mike Arrington is simply unbelievable and certainly unforgivable. Let's hope the lunatics get rounded up and the talented people can get back to work.

Re: The Goal is the Interaction

stevenimmons — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:53:01 -0000

I was talking about Dale Carnegie on Twitter the other day, and I wish he were around now to write a book on modern communications. Oh wait, it probably wouldn't differ much from his existing masterpiece. The focus on others is paramount. 'From the pulpit' communications seems simpler for people though, and I would admit this is a bad habit I fall into more frequently than I would like to. Review of approach and tools is very wise, I recently cut back on quite a number of sites to enrich discussion on sites where I was more active. No point simply having a bigger field if the crops are failing.

Re: Opinions Are Every Bit as Important

stevenimmons — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:20:32 -0000

Opinions are (hopefully) the application of wisdom and are vital. Sadly there are a lot of 'big personalities' (generally rather ignorant ones) that want to brow beat any dissenter into submission. Wise opinion that disassociates from the 'masses' can often be vital - remember when the world was flat! Be right, be wrong, but please don't be on the fence...

Re: Not Just The Web

stevenimmons — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:55:10 -0000

Some of the power of Web2 is removal of hierarchy (although I would also argue a counterpoint that Web2 is creating its own hierarchy). I have something of a theory that the 'Web2' power brokers are becoming the new 'A&R' men spotting and promoting talent in the digital pool.

Back on point :-) - self-belief and availability of 'reinforcing' examples of others' success is a great motivator. This is where Web2 has really revolutionised the 'opportunity space'...

Re: Guest Post - Handling Negative Comments On Your Blog Post

stevenimmons — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:44:27 -0000

I think there are a lot of overlaps with sensible communications approaches to email, face to face conversations, phone calls etc. When someone goes on the offensive I try to deconstruct their motive, usually someone has rattled their cage, or they perhaps feel very emotive on the subject for deeply personal reasons. If their 'acting out' is in someway cathartic, be happy that you have provided the service of an Internet 'punch bag'. It may save them from manifesting their frustration in the direction of 'the cat'.

I'm also sure Oscar Wilde would have preferred any reaction to no reaction!

Re: Guest Post- The SanDisk Story

stevenimmons — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:37:02 -0000

Very interesting narrative. The 'feedback loop' from consumers to producers / manufacturers has never been more vibrant, and the 'smart ones' will be utilising all communications channels for their (and naturally their customers') benefit. It is a sad footnote to read of the loss of Rachel to the company as this hints at a internal conflict as to the true value of quality and 'instant' PR. Hopefully the visionaries will win out.

Re: Guest Post-Want To Catch The Next Big Idea? Use Your Hand As Bait

stevenimmons — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:43:05 -0000

Some lovely metaphors there, I guess you should also ensure you can identify cat fish - i.e. big mistake to confuse cat fish and crocodile.

I was out for a 'pointless drive' this afternoon and the question came to be "are guest posts the Botox of Social Media"? The question is not pejorative, I just think a guest post every now and again removes some of the wrinkles of a 'furrowed blog'. The imagery in this post made me smile...

Re: Interactive blogging experimentation

stevenimmons — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 09:49:38 -0000

Yes, good idea. You could have a scratch-pad version as described, a pro version (where as you say you fully elaborate the article), and perhaps somewhere in the middle a fully-interactive wiki-blog style for collaborative authoring. Attribution for the best contributions to that style might be kind of interesting? You'd want to avoid moderation bun-fights though as that can be a big 'energy sucker'! I shall term it "Wisdom of Crowds Blogging" :-)

Re: Velocity vs Depth

stevenimmons — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 07:50:35 -0000

@Chris Brogan:
I would suggest that velocity and volume is a byproduct of the need (or pressure) to be ever-present in the digital world. You were also writing something similar to this about a week back in terms of communications expectations and when you were expected to reply (i.e. within a minute 24/7, 7 days / wk). Velocity is fine, but if velocity is linked to volume I would be concerned that people would fall into a 'noise trap' - i.e. spending huge amounts of time and energy on simply trying to be seen. Depth is much more enduring, the problem is it takes longer and we feel the pressure of not providing velocity and volume simultaneously. There is also a paradox, as depth providing high-quality signal will be lost in the noise of Web2's detritus unless there is a degree of velocity / volume to accompany it (even the prodigious and precocious child needs to shout "look at me", "look at me").

The Web2 realm seems to me to be gearing towards almost obsessive repetitiveness and with pressure of real-world jobs and relationships I hope sense and balance will be personal goals for all.

I keep 2 charts (simple workflows) on my wall, one for weekdays, one for weekends. I have tasks that I go through (checking news, updating blogs, commenting on blogs, researching topics etc.). Each is time-boxed and when the clock beats me I move on. That way I control volume / velocity and hopefully have some time left to provide useful depth. It is a very difficult balance, and there is a lot of temptation (I'm sure) for the non-pro bloggers (self-included) to spend too much time on repetitive noisy behaviour.

Re: A Crash Course in Comments

stevenimmons — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:53:20 -0000

@Chris Brogan,
Yes I do agree, I tend to write from the Nerd perspective, given this is my penchant :-) I just declared on Twitter that I was Silver Iodide and going to seed the Cloud as the Rainmaker. Everytime I add comments I realise I'm another step further from reality...

Re: A Crash Course in Comments

stevenimmons — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:10:30 -0000

I would also add that Friendfeed's 'liked' function works great for fast social sharing. I've got this linked to Twitter, so with a single click on Friendfeed I can post up that I like the article at the link destination. It occurs to me this can circumvent Retweet, and hence add further complication to the solution to trending and authority tracking.

For 'those what comment' I would recommend getting a gravatar and using the same pic across your web presences and 'comment streams' to have 'brand consistency'.

Re: Social Media is No Place for Robot Behavior

stevenimmons — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:47:33 -0000

Absolutely agree with this post. The problem is people trying to utilise a platform with limited personal input. It comes to 'the scalability' problem as I see it, and a lot of people like short-cuts (hence the emergence of 'robotics')...

Re: What's In a Name?

stevenimmons — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:29:03 -0000

Having tired of the endless assault of 'techno labels' I once described myself as "to technology, what Jackson Pollock was to finger painting". It was a memorable meeting!

Re: Guest Post - What Bloggers Can Learn From Journalists

stevenimmons — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:47:45 -0000

I'm not sure that 'writing lasts forever' (as in point 10). Journalistic output has a rather short half-life in my view. Just to represent the counterpoint, blogging is sometimes more entertaining when it breaks all the rules and is wonderfully amateur.

Re: How to lose friends and uninfluence people

stevenimmons — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:24:03 -0000

Twitterfeed outposts with no value add can be a tad annoying (i.e. why follow when you can RSS subscribe). People that 'masquerade' and then DM me with links to some dodgy eBooks also don't last! Apart from that I'm easy going. If people aren't trying to 'game' the system I'm very relaxed and usually follow back...

<abbr>Steve Nimmons´s last blog post..St George Carol Service</abbr>

Re: Improve Blog SEO With Internal Linking Structure

stevenimmons — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:39:02 -0000

I would also add (as I made the mistake), don't use an 'exotic' blogging platform. Poorly designed templates over which you have no control can lead you into an SEO nightmare from which the only solution is to port out to something mainstream.

Re: Search is Part of Social

stevenimmons — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:09:11 -0000

I like what AMI Software do in this space. They apply intelligence techniques on top of search, what I describe as trying to amplify the signal to noise ratio. They look for quite sophisticated correlations to try and detect emerging trends. This can lead you to the source of the conversation, and help understand where you need to be involved.