Making it through my pile again. Actually, I think this is older than that. But Fast Company has this really fascinating article on "generation debt." The article features online money-management applications, mainly mint, which it calls the "Axe Bodyspray of personal finance." Yucky image. But interesting statistics in the article, e.g. "Americans under 35 spend 16% more than they earn, on average." That is depressing. They quote Ramit Sethi, saying "there's this dull throbbing sense of guilt that we should be doing something, but where do we start?" The problem is it's not an easy answer, it's one that comes with hard work, discipline and knowing oneself. Read more »
The TSA has a blog, and it appears to be interesting and useful. Now, if THEY can figure out how to get involved in the blogosphere, there's no reason why any association can't do it.
I've been dark here for a little while, but still busy, busy!
Lots of travel (work-related). Plus, a real vacation! I also started the graduate certificate in leadership coaching at The George Washington University. Had my first class and it was great fun. Also, I had a telephone interview with one of those SF-based community-building places. It seemed pretty interesting, but not a fit for my life right now, so I'm going to keep on keepin' on. Read more »
David Armano, from Logic+Emotion, has a terrific piece in Business Week that's worth a read.
"Consider the example of a typical creative brief template, which usually says something like, 'What are we trying to communicate?' Can you see the old-world residue in the word 'communicate'? It lacks the dimensions of experiencing something and having an ongoing two-way dialogue. 'What are we trying to communicate?' implies a one-way conversation. Maybe we should ask ourselves: 'How can we facilitate?'
I don't usually read Seth Godin's Blog. I've read his books, and I agree with him generally, but a steady diet of Seth becomes a little Messianic for my liking. But I listen to him when he bubbles up through the other blogs I like.
Today, Bokardo quotes him, saying:
"What if you want to hire someone to build an online community? Somebody to create and maintain a virtual world in which all the players in an industry feel like they need to be part of it? Like being the head of a big trade association, but without the bureaucracy and tedium… Read more »
So I have an announcement. This has been going down for a little while now, but I get to spill the beans today. I am officially a writer for the authoritative web 2.0 resource eHub. eHub is the brainchild of a one Ms. Emily Chang, principal of Ideacodes, which is a strategic web design and consulting firm based in San Francisco. They are the team behind Twitterverse and have designed sites including StyleHive, GigaOm, and lots more. You'll see my first feature tomorrow. Read more »
FWIW. I think the technology is phenomenal though. Pretty scary actually...
I'm reading a book called Blog Marketing, by Jeremy Wright, and it's been a very good read and has really helped me think about what I see out in the blogosphere.
The book is aimed really at businesspeople (or association executives, ha!) who are considering the blog as it relates to their particular organization. Targeting the book at this audience makes him be really clear about what a blog is and what types of blogs--and bloggers--you see out there. So I would really recommend this book to someone who's asking what's up with blogs (assuming they really want to know). Read more »
Thanks to BMart, I found out that blogger Shel Holtz, a marketing exec, has had the aha moment when it comes to associations. Read more »
