Disqus - Latest Comments for Joel Mark Witt

Re: How to Live a Nomadic Lifestyle

Joel Mark Witt — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:48:40 -0000

Great post. I've always loved and tried to live the effecient lifestyle you write about. It is so hard to escape the value placed on things in our culture. But long ago I began to see the value of experience and relationships. Lots of possessions are for the foolish and eternally miserable.

Good solid useful advice too Taylor.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Senate Opens the Door for Web 2.0 Usage

Joel Mark Witt — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:26:54 -0000

So what do you think this will actually mean for us as constituents?

Joel Mark Witt

Re: The Expenses Behind the “Drive-By” Trip

Joel Mark Witt — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:26:57 -0000

I knew this would be possible and you've proven it. This is great. You need to turn this into a book with some tips and challenges for people. Could be the next 4 Hour Workweek lifestyle meme. Or not. Sometimes it's cool just to live life and kick back. But all the work is done (at least the data parts).

This seems cheaper than living in one spot actually.

I'd be interested to hear if you could sustain this long term. Do you crave having your own place (home base) to crash at? Are you working from the road? What are the three big take aways so far as to what's not working?

Joel

Re: Mobile Social Networks Are the Future

Joel Mark Witt — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:32:57 -0000

@Nick - I agree. Look at Apple's new iPhone ad promoting Facebook access while on the go.

@Peter - you are right to say that TODAY is mobile - but there are still a ton of people (including yours truly) that don't have phones connected to the net.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: The Vine has been tagged in real-time

Joel Mark Witt — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:15:21 -0000

Good meeting you Chris. Looking forward to the next Pulver breakfast in DC. I think Jeff is coming back in May.

Re: The Vine has been tagged in real-time

Joel Mark Witt — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:23:25 -0000

Good meeting you Chris. I think Jeff is coming to DC again in May.

Re: Why I asked for your URL

Joel Mark Witt — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:29:03 -0000

What a great idea Colin. It is difficult for me too in twitter to keep up. Sometimes I guess I found a good balance in following back a few hundred people that have valuable things to say.

But I question your solution. How are you going to keep up with potentially hundreds of longer blog posts if twitter at 140 characters is an issue? Seems like even more info that you'll have to wade through.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: The Future of Microcontent and Hyperlocal Media

Joel Mark Witt — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:41:10 -0000

Chris,

Great two points here. I think Starbuck's cups "The Way I See It" are a great example of micro-content.
It is something that I can read while I sip my cup of coffee. They also give a call to action and drive the reader to the website for more of these.

As far as Hyperlocal - I know there is huge money to be made - and great stories to be told. The big question is how do you scale it? If you can't make a living at it - it must be a passion - but passion doesn't put bread on the table.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: The Future of Microcontent and Hyperlocal Media

Joel Mark Witt — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:55:51 -0000

... I also think that Rural areas like the small 6000 person town I lived in for 3 years would love hyperlocal content. Every town (no matter how small) could have their own "nightly news" in a sense.

You've got my wheels turning.

Re: My Family Life

Joel Mark Witt — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:45:15 -0000

You said that before you used to work 60 extra hours a week when you had a day job. Now that you work in the social media / events biz you are able to spend evenings and some weekends with your family.

Had you not started working with Pulver Media - would you have burned out your family life trying to move into this space. I only ask because it applies to me - not because I am judging.

I still have a day job and I feel that the extra hours per week puts a strain on family life. Right now I am making an investment in social media & content creation but not really making a living at it.

Sometimes it seems so hard with little provable or measurable reward. Some close to me even view it as a hobby that seems to over-run my life.

I'd be curious to hear anyone's thoughts on striking a better balance in this realm... ??

Re: My Family Life

Joel Mark Witt — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:45:34 -0000

@Kat

So - was it an end goal you both agreed on (i.e. getting a job as a social media pro) that kept you from killing him while he was investing time away from your family?

Joel Mark Witt

Re: My Family Life

Joel Mark Witt — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:55:18 -0000

@ Dr. Mani

Great point. I guess it is a good thing that we are concerned about not spending enough time. At least I am aware.

I think when people ask Chris if he ever sees his family they are really looking inward at their own family life.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Expand Your Audience

Joel Mark Witt — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 10:48:06 -0000

Great point Chris. I am going to start this immediately with my podcasts - online shows - blogs - and speaking sessions. I think you are right in seeing a need for us all to reach out to the next circle of people.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Five Years From Now

Joel Mark Witt — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:12:12 -0000

Chris,

I agree with you on the whole email as phone number thing. Who types in a web site IP address? We all use the alpha characters. I don't even know my wife's phone number - I dial her name in my contact list.

I too use Google Apps - about 99% of the time. There are rare occasions when I need the formatting power of Word or Power Point offline.

I think the biggest trend in 5 years is devises will become pervasive. We won't realize where our content is coming from. We will turn on our radio and it will be our favorite talkshow. It may come from a radio tower - satalite - or WiFi - and it won't matter. Only the content will matter.

Re: Moving On

Joel Mark Witt — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:29:00 -0000

Chris,

Godspeed.

I am looking forward to the future and how this is all going to play out in a big way.

Peace.

JMW

Re: As PodCamp Evolves

Joel Mark Witt — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:26:14 -0000

Chris,

Podcamp EDU was a success because it was small. I got to meet everyone in the room and we were able to have the entire room in the discussion all at the same time.

Even though I like presenting - I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of moving away from slide decks and more toward a workshop approach. I think this combined with a more specific focus for the day (podcasting, audio, video, blogging, etc) would yield great results.

During one of our sessions we delved into a giant twitter discussion - which was really insightful for people.

The biggest issue I saw was the fact that we had a very polarized audience. We had about 40% complete geeks that knew everything - 40% complete newbies that had never heard of twitter - and about 10% in the middle. So sometimes the geeky crowd would begin talking a mile a minute about stuff that the new crowd was sitting there saying "huh?"

Anyway - to sum it up - it would be helpful to have a couple moderator type personalities that could keep the meetings and pod(focused)camps moving along to meet everyone's needs and goals for the day.

Just some thoughts...

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Consider Your Media-as-Business Strategy

Joel Mark Witt — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:44:17 -0000

Chris,

Great post. I definitely agree with you on having a plan.

But sometimes you don't even know how to start. This was me a year ago. I had no idea where to start. But I started doing something anyway and I am finding my voice and building my plan as I go.

Just a thought for those people who feel they have to have everything planned out and perfect before they start.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Snake Oil In Social Media

Joel Mark Witt — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 23:30:49 -0000

I agree with Kat. Leave the term Expert on your site.

You are an expert dang it! Don't defend it - just let it be and move on. Not sure I'm willing to slap you though.

Think of it this way... An expert knows what questions to ask and where to go to find the answers. A lot of people really don't have this skill.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Five Things to Do at a Social Networking Meetup

Joel Mark Witt — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 08:41:19 -0000

I recently attended two Jeff Pulver Social Media Breakfasts in Philly and DC. Very interesting.

When you arrive Jeff gives everyone piles of sticky notes and tells you to go around and "real time social tag" people that you meet.

It was a great tool in opening up conversation and breaking down the formality of the breakfast.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Thoughts for Future PodCamps

Joel Mark Witt — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:33:51 -0000

I would like to see Podcamps become even more decentralized and smaller. I think that we as a Podcamp community need to preserve the "camp" aspect of the experience.

For example - we seem to want to draw in large numbers of people as our gage of success. I think just the opposite needs to be explored.

In November 2007, Podcamp EDU, Washington, DC drew in about 70 people in the same room. We got to know each other and spend an entire "camp" day together.

I think that this size group or even 20 people smaller is a good size for really learning and growing in our social/new media craft.

Thoughts?

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Thoughts for Future PodCamps

Joel Mark Witt — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:00:34 -0000

@Whitney - You are right. Big metro areas will always be big. But down here in Baltimore there are a handful of social media people. A small regional/local podcamp would work great.

@Mark - I think it is important not to have Podcamps become glorified "teetups." Not saying that yours did - just worried that they will become too informal.

Enough leadership needs to be in place to help move collective knowledge and ideas forward. Hanging out is cool - but not the true purpose of a Podcamp. I like your idea of taking a couple days to plan a podcamp and get it going now - rather than waiting months to plan for the "big event."

Final Note about groups.

I really enjoyed Podcamp EDU and Southern California because everyone was together the entire day. There were no separate sessions - we all got to hear and see and experience the same thing as one. I believe this also adds to the "camp" experience.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: How I Will Win

Joel Mark Witt — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:34:08 -0000

I think social media isn't going to be an end in itself like we all thought a few years ago (heck a few months in some cases).

But it is still a powerful TOOLSET that will empower the marketing, PR, and networking PRINCIPLES that have stood the test of time to new heights. I wouldn't want to be a marketer without it.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Podcasting Isn't Exactly Dead

Joel Mark Witt — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:13:50 -0000

Couldn't agree more Chris.

Joel mark witt

Re: Podcasting Isn't Exactly Dead

Joel Mark Witt — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:01:52 -0000

@Mignon there are always exceptions. Q&D Network is a success yes. But my question is this - after 2 years why don't we have more examples besides your network to look at? Maybe the network itself is the answer... Or the how-to content... Or it could be that you are just really good at what you do. But most podcasters haven't had the success that you and a very select few have had.

- Joel Mark Witt

Re: Podcasting Isn't Exactly Dead

Joel Mark Witt — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:09:41 -0000

@Frankie Johnson

That "damned text" you speak of drives everything online. Text is the best compression technology of info. Text is scannable - searchable - and can be consumed offline after being printed on actual paper. Text was here before podcasting and will be here after.

I do see your point about snack vs dinner though - and I agree.

- Joel Mark Witt

Re: Podcasting Isn't Exactly Dead

Joel Mark Witt — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:23:46 -0000

@Frankie Johnson

No war - just comments. I see that tongue - and you're right it is firmly placed in the side of your cheek. :-)

- Joel Mark Witt

Re: Podcasting Isn't Exactly Dead

Joel Mark Witt — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:26:49 -0000

By the way - how do I get a nifty photo on here like all the rest of the cool people?

- Joel Mark Witt

Re: Cultivating a Writing Habit

Joel Mark Witt — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:14:24 -0000

Chris,

Why is it that New England / Boston has produced some of America's finest writers? Is it truly in the DNA?

Joel Mark Witt

Re: Why companies move to San Francisco…

Joel Mark Witt — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:50:47 -0000

Not sure I would move my company to SF. The costs are way too high! I agree with @Harry Bovik. Pittsburgh and other cities that have a tech culture are better from a business standpoint. Keep costs low - profits high.

If we are talking culture and personal reasons - then SF all the way.

Joel Mark Witt

Re: 10 Take-Aways From the O’Reilly TOC Conference

Joel Mark Witt — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:31:15 -0000

Hi Debbie,

I'm disapointed that I didn't get to make it to TOC this time around. But you did a great job highlighting the things you took away from the conference. Would you be willing to elaborate on point #3 and #5. I think I get the idea of curation still mattering. After all publishers are like a filter for content. But what do you mean by confer status?

Also by having an IT department ready the next day - are you talking about social media content or actual technical aspects of the website? Are you meaning that an app should be developed the next day or someone should be able to install a new server? Just curious what context this is in.

Thanks for a great post.

Joel Mark Witt