Subscribe
Subscribe via RSS
Studiopress Genesis Framework - Is It worth it?
I was very skeptical about Wordpress Premium Themes. I couldn't see the value in spending 60$ to 400$ for just a theme.
Why should I do that when there are beautiful themes available for free?
Nonetheless I've always looked at the development of Premium themes with interest, even more at Frameworks.
Frameworks make it damn easy for the average user with little confidence in coding. We did not have that option back in 2005 when playing with early versions of the almighty blogging platform. They also help in identifying best practices, which is quite an issue with large open source projects.
I recently saw Chris Brogan introducing the Genesis theme for his blog and I decided to give it a go on a blog I own.
Well after spending the money I must say I am definitely impressed. I particularly liked the Genesis Simple Hooks plugin whcih allows neat and clean customization.
I also joined the Affiliates program so here is the affilialte link if you want to check it out <a href="http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=242694&u=457072&m=28169&urllink=&afftrack=">StudioPress Genesis Theme Framework</a>.
I feel quite confident with it by now and I edited bits and pieces. If you have any questions about it I can definitely help you.
What is your experience with Genesis and Studiopress?
Can We Kill Liveblogging Now!
I was feeding my pop culture need this afternoon while checking this article about Derren Brown on the Guardian.
I was struck by the italics highlighting that they will liveblog the event.
Can you refresh my mind about the use of liveblogging? It may have been cool in 2005, but since twitter, Miso and the likes I see it completely irrelevant.
The Guardians of the Guardian keep promoting it on the homepage as it is a really cool technology.
Maybe I'd give it a go in closed events where there is no streaming available such as Apple events used to be.
In conclusion, dear Guardians instead of liveblogging why don't you aggregate all the tweets (moderated so you provide a service by skimming the noise), pictures coming from flickr and videos coming from Youtube.
Why don't you became part of the discussion and contribute with your Twitter, flickr, Youtube account. Liveblogging puts you on a pedestal which does not fit with the reality of things.
Taking a Twitter Break
A quick one to inform those who care enough that I won't be on Twitter with @tojulius for the next 6 months.
I have a theory in mind and I am willing to prove it.
In the meanwhile I'll try to go back to 2006 and enjoy some focus and blogging. Hopefully you'll get more posts as a result.
Although I am not entirely navigating away from it (as I look after dozens of work related accounts), you won't get live updates, rants, live tweeting, unless automated (Posterous, Foursquare).
If you want to get in touch I am sure you'll find another way.
Julius
Saatchi & Saatchi and The Worst Good Idea of All Times
For some reason I remained kind of a fan of Saatchi and Saatchi.
That reason may be www.theimpossiblebrief.com/
The project is a bit out there and it could have been a bit more focussed (prize vaguely relevant and partnership with some International Government Body would have been cool), but they are dead right this could be a great way to go.
Some nice inputs are already flowing:
Hopefully it won't end up like MTV's TJ.
Photo Credit:Bart Claeys
Why I am considering to buy Android
Backward compatibility of IOS4 with 3GS is ridiculous. Battery flies in half the time as it use to.
Speed is also crap on my 3G as per video here
Steve Jobs is denying the issue which is what makes me really upset.
I love Apple but I am not an idiot. Ready to explore the Android world and go back to the Source!
UPDATE: Apparently I am not the only one
Event Marketing, Technology and Social Media, 10 Trends to Watch
It's been a while I haven't touched on events. 6 months ago I began a full online position and I have been captured by the wonders of Geektown, experimenting, discovering and developing.
I guess that no matter how hard I try, the interest for events is still there and my 'quite strong' opinions (well, maybe strong in 2007 when I started blogging about events) are still there.
I thought it'd be good to throw a post about trends in events marketing to the Interwebs and see what happens. Let me clarify that I haven't been active in the community for a while, therefore some ideas may sound like duplicates, nonetheless I love to feel the freedom to publish them here. Also bear in mind that my focus is social media and technology for events. (BTW There is no need to miss me anyway since you got great advice coming from @Jeffhurt @samueljsmith @ready2spark @MichelMcCurry @ConfBasics @mmcallen and the #eventprofs gang.)
Here it is:
1. More
I want more. One day is not enough. 3 days are not enough either. I want more event series. I want to connect more often to my community offline. One-off is passé. Give me more tweetups, meetups, -Camps and Drinks.
2. I don't care about you
You being the event planner. The fact that you are dressing in a fancier than average, eclectic way does not make you a star. I want you to hand over the event control to the me. I want you to enable me to organize your event tweetup, meetup, -Camp and Drinks. So that when we meet at the main event I'll feel greatly involved.
3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Over-Twitter, Over-Facebook, Over-Ning. Step back and relax. I don't want you to be hypertech, I want you to know what social networks I am on and I want you to invest in creating channels for me at the event. That's it. I don't want to be submerged with ad-hoc communities, 300 hashtags and 15 streaming services. Choose wisely.
4. Your Database Sucks
In 2 years time, if you rely on a polished email database, you'll be in serious trouble. Why don't you start your social networking database and nurture relationships on Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook? Social CRM FTW!
5. Twitter is for PR, Linkedin is for Business, Facebook is for Personal
Keep thinking like that and you'llbe in the pond where everyone else is fishing. I use Facebook for Business, Twitter for Personal and Linkedin for PR. You'll be amazed at the results. Think Different.
6. Video for All
Give it away. There is no way that secluding video content is going to help your event being more profitable or successful.
7. Touching is the New Black
We watch and read so much online that touching real people is becoming rare. Touching my heroes (being them artists or speakers) and my true peers is what I want to pay for. Make it exclusive (i.e. TED) and you'll be able to retire young.
8. Mobilize
Give me some mobile juice. Make me watch your live video and feed from my mobile, so I can feel part of it. Next time I will be available, I will make sure I pay full price to be there.
9. I want to be the Mayor
I'll do whatever it takes to become the Mayor. I'll enter competitions, I'll give you my email address, my demographics, I'll authorize you to stream promotions to my updates and much more. How can I become mayor of your event?
10. How can I Make Your Event Better?
How can I help? Can I shoot video for you? Can I take pictures? Can I blog about it? Can I let my thousands of followers know? I am sure you have a system in place to support my needs and benefits from them.
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/grafixer/ via Flickr
Mark Zuckerberg hits London
I was lucky enough to attend the Facebook Developer Garage in London today.
I listened to Zuckerberg highlighting the developments of the OpenGraph, which is rocking social networks and the way we consume websites.
With 300K websites already adopting the technology, it is already rocking the WWW.
Here are two videos from his talk:
Key Takeaways from Google's Think eCommerce
I attended Google's Think eCommerce conference and decided to make a small post summing up key takeaways.
The emphasis was on mobile. It was a fil rouge of the event.
Interesting stuff from the talks:
- Best buy hires social media savvy people on all levels of the company to foster engagement.
- They are integrating Facebook social plugins on their transactional website to allow comments, Likes and recommendations (Levi's just did the same-but this remark is my copyright)
- They are investing heavily in mobile working hand by hand with Google on customized search results ie find the stores in the first dialog box you get on sponsored results
- Mobile has grown more in the last 18 months than PC has in the past 13 years.
- Major takeaway was to have separate Google campaigns for mobile as they tend to deliver more ROI (average 5% more) and to give valuable insights on mobile behaviour.
The emphasis was on mobile. It was a fil rouge of the event.
Interesting stuff from the talks:
- Best buy hires social media savvy people on all levels of the company to foster engagement.
- They are integrating Facebook social plugins on their transactional website to allow comments, Likes and recommendations (Levi's just did the same-but this remark is my copyright)
- They are investing heavily in mobile working hand by hand with Google on customized search results ie find the stores in the first dialog box you get on sponsored results
- Mobile has grown more in the last 18 months than PC has in the past 13 years.
- Major takeaway was to have separate Google campaigns for mobile as they tend to deliver more ROI (average 5% more) and to give valuable insights on mobile behaviour.
Actions:
- Get on mobile now
- Integrate Facebook Social Plugins
Keywords to Avoid in Linkedin Profiles
Title/Headline:
- Futurist
- Guru
- Ninja
- Master
- Expert
- Lion (Linkedin Open Networker)
- Open Networker
- MBA, CMP, PMP, BA, MD, etc (it's so 1978)
- #Connection+ (eg 2000+, 1M+)
- "Accept all invites"
- Your email
- Your telephone number
- Vice president of a two person company (get a better title) Profile Summary
- I love cats and the like (either you are smart with it or who cares!) Websites:
- My Company (put your actual company name)
- My blog (put your blog name instead) Invitation:
- "I'd like to add you to my professional network on Linkedin" (state reason) Why?
Few of them I've done and proved hideous. Some had negative connotation backlash. Some more penalize your SEO. Others are linked to people who constantly send spam and add no value. As a rule of thumb, what works for you is best. Disregard all of the above if your way works in a qualitative, value oriented fashion.
- Futurist
- Guru
- Ninja
- Master
- Expert
- Lion (Linkedin Open Networker)
- Open Networker
- MBA, CMP, PMP, BA, MD, etc (it's so 1978)
- #Connection+ (eg 2000+, 1M+)
- "Accept all invites"
- Your email
- Your telephone number
- Vice president of a two person company (get a better title) Profile Summary
- I love cats and the like (either you are smart with it or who cares!) Websites:
- My Company (put your actual company name)
- My blog (put your blog name instead) Invitation:
- "I'd like to add you to my professional network on Linkedin" (state reason) Why?
Few of them I've done and proved hideous. Some had negative connotation backlash. Some more penalize your SEO. Others are linked to people who constantly send spam and add no value. As a rule of thumb, what works for you is best. Disregard all of the above if your way works in a qualitative, value oriented fashion.
10 Things Linkedin Needs to Change Now
I am very demanding when it gets to Linkedin. I have been using it since 2006. I know what I am talking about. Through the years I have benefited from Linkedin networking. I also landed a job with it. I think about myself as a heavy user. I am sold on it, it works.
It doesn't mean that it couldn't be better, much better. Here are ten things Linkedin should have changed in 2007 but it is still tiring us with: 10. Answers Some new level of rating is needed. Some people are replying to hideous questions just to get an extra best answer. They become experts by having replied to questions such as this one. Please Linkedin: Rethink the section! 9. Spam I own a group of 16K people. We moderate it lightly with 3 more peeps. We are increasingly getting coordinated attacks of people with fake profiles posting links to Viagra related products. Please Linkedin: Get better spam filters/rules. 8. Non Existent Support As per the above we filed tons of requests. In some instances we did not even get an answer, most of the time we just got acknowledgement but no action followed. Please Linkedin: Hire a community manager. 7. Nonsense Premium Services Unless you are a recruiter, there is no real reason to pay for premium. Period. Please Linkedin: Introduce new functionalities. 6. Profiles I get the fact Linkedin is supposedly your online CV, blah blah blah. Very little has been done to improve the way a profile looks. It's a mess of information and you need to scroll for hours to get a grasp of what someone is about. Please Linkedin: Hire a UX expert. 5. Flawed Applications The platform sucks at talking to other services. It's a buggy, frustrating experience. I tried to change my Blog Link for over an hour of my time yesterday with no success. Since I used to charge £40 an hour when I was a consultant, you owe me big bucks Reid Hoffman. Please Linkedin: Get rid of or fix them! 4. Removing Connections I think it takes less time to code a large project in C++ than removing someone you hate from your network. At some stage I was expecting to sign a form and fax it back to Reid, with a copy of my passport. Please Linkedin: Learn from Facebook. It is so easy to satisfy your emotional rollercoaster and get rid of people you don't like anymore. 3. Inbox I can't think of anything messier. Well probably the #hastags chats over Twitter are, but hey no blame on Twitter for that. My Linkedin Inbox has 637 unread messages. I have struggled to find them. I went through the 200+ pages of Inbox to find them, no sign of them.
I have to mark read items twice, I get a flag which I don't know what it means but sometimes disappear. Lotus Notes in 1989 was a much better experience and I wasn't even 15 by then.
Please Linkedin: Learn from Gmail. 2. Status Update One good thing LI did was to add status updates and sync with Twitter. The current way of visualizing your network status updates sucks. And that is an euphemism. Please Linkedin: Learn from Facebook and enable @'s 1. People Who Viewed My Profile
This one upsets me as much as being Italian with the current government.
"Someone in the Business Administration function from North Carolina has viewed your profile". Come on, seriously! Who are you trying to fool here. What is it a Cluedo game? I am not a private investigator. Why do other services tell me Name, Surname, Where did they come from, sometimes even the external referrer link.
I remember asking support about this. They told me it is against the T&Cs. Please Linkedin: Change them, now!
0 Comments