2008 July — Michelle's Blog

Jul 29

Yahoo’s Losing? Well then, So Are You

July 29, 2008 • View Comments • Meet People in Austin

The Yahoo stock price hit $20.50 a share today. Last week, Microsoft CFO Christopher Liddell said Thursday that Yahoo is a “declining asset” and that the chances of a full-on acquisition are now “negligible.”

This sucks.

It doesn’t suck that Microsoft is choosing not to acquire Yahoo. It sucks because Yahoo has an open source initiative that no one in the press seems to be paying attention to. A good example is Search Monkey. If you can’t compete with Google, just open it up and let others improve the search engine.

Who ultimately is the loser in all of this? We are. People are afraid of Google for a reason. They have their hands on a lot of different industries and have the power to shut a lot of people down. When Yahoo struggles with a good idea, Google gains strength in market share. Google can therefore charge more money to us as advertisers so it can further improve its reaches in other arenas. It’s a slippery slope.

I was with a lawyer who is a client of mine and showed a simple demonstration. I Googled “criminal lawyer Houston” and clicked the first ad. I said, “That just cost that guy $20″. With Yahoo struggling, that same ClickAd will go to $30 before you know it. Perhaps the biggest spenders on AdWords should get a clue and throw some developers Search Monkey’s way.

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Jul 24

Why Not Downloading TweetDeck Could Be Hazardous

July 24, 2008 • View Comments • Twitter

Twitter users are as unique as they come. Sometimes you’ll follow someone only to find out that this person tweets any time he or she eats a brownie or goes for a walk outside. Other Twitter users are pseudo politicos out to change the world. What unifies them all?

When they see you in person, they expect that you’ve read their Tweets.

TweetDeck helps you organize your tweets into segmented lists so you can better keep track of the people you follow. Here’s why it’s important that you use TweetDeck if you follow a lot of people:

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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Jul 20

No More Whuffie Please. Just the Kind That Pays My Bills

July 20, 2008 • View Comments • Meet People in Austin

whuffie:
A slang term coined by Corey Doctorow in his book Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom to describe reputation-based capital.

This is also described by Tara Hunt as “social capital” (i.e. cred that isn’t money).

At Volusion, I never felt like I could use my talent. I wasn’t writing with my voice. It’s a very hollow feeling to come home and feel like your work isn’t really your own.

Lynn at GeekAustin suggested I write for him. He’d had the site “in the garage” for a while and had had some success with the GeekAustin Happy Hours. We decided we’d do some interviews of geeks in the Austin area. Although I never felt I could write in a way that appealed to geeks, Lynn watched as the RSS subscriptions went up.

Lynn felt that writing for GeekAustin was a way for me to show people my talents and build my “whuffie” so that I could get a better job. Although I wasn’t happy at Volusion, I couldn’t be aggressively looking elsewhere because my boss told another employee that if we were caught, we could get fired. It was the best shot I had at establishing myself.

What ensued? I wasn’t pummeled with job offers I wanted. I was pummeled with people asking me to write for their own organizations for free.

Since writing for GeekAustin, I’ve been asked to write for or help with:
1.) RefreshAustin
2.) Green Technology Alliance
3.) SharingHope.tv’s blog
4.) AIR
5.) Conjunctured’s blog
6.) League of Technical Voters
7.) NetSquared
8.) Practical Ecommerce
9.) TakesAllTypes

I know I’m missing some here.

I’ve been asked to head up NetSquared Austin. I’ve been asked to be more active in Austin Social Media Club. People remind me of their events completely out of the blue. I’ve been asked to “pimp” a design firm who said they’d swing work my way, but never did. I’ve had random startups calling to pitch me their product ideas, saying, “Yeah, we could use you later on”. I’ve been told my face is on every Facebook event in the Austin area.

I don’t have health insurance right now. I haven’t been on a vacation in over a year. I’m worried about paying my bills.

Man, whuffie sucks.

I lost one client already which I blame on my extracurricular Web 2.0 activities. I have others lined up which may or may not fall through. I will not volunteer for anything again until I know I can take care of myself. Whether this is with a series of clients I help freelance or at a company that actually understands that I work well with little supervision and with adequate compensation, that’s up in the air.

I’m even looking at two positions in Houston. Houston, people!

I love the Austin 2.0 community. I love Austin period. That’s why I take pictures and write posts with tons of link juice and throw people’s resumes around. But I have to learn to say no, and this post is my first step to saying no.

I’m revising this blog complete with all my services this week. If you know someone who needs help with website branding, copywriting, press releases, blogging or social media, have them contact me at michelle(at)michellesblog.net. Just make sure they pay me in dollars and not whuffie, because I don’t think my landlord takes that yet…

Michelle Greer michelle greer blog Michellesblog tech community austin web 2.0 austin web community austin whuffie whuffie austin View Comments

Jul 18

Set the Tone for How Washington Communicates. Email Congress an Invite to Twitter

July 18, 2008 • View Comments • Twitter

This anti-Twitter stuff coming from House Democrats is absolutely ridiculous. This is a perfect example of politicians playing politics instead of actually acknowledging someone’s freedom of speech.

These politicians raise millions of dollars just to get a bunch of cheesy 30 second TV spots and conduct polls. Who the hell actually listens to those worthless ads anyway? How genuine are those user surveys? Here is a medium that is TOTALLY FREE, that gives them direct access to a user base that is educated and votes, and they want to turn it off? I say, get them all on there and let them duke it out for the hearts and minds of voters. I’d love to interact with Congresspeople. It will tell me who’s sincere and who’s smart, and who would be better off selling life insurance somewhere.

Let Congress Tweet? I say, bring it! You can’t hide from the internet, so you might as well embrace the tools that better allow you to leverage it.

Here are ways you can help:
1.) Email your Representative and tell them how you feel about this issue. Find out who to contact and how here.

2.) Contact the Franking Commission regarding this issue. The Franking Commission determines how Congress communicates with constituents. Since you cannot obtain House members’ emails (to prevent spam), I’ve included a link with each Franking Commission member’s contact form. Please let them know that we want to follow our Congresspeople on Twitter, in blogs, on Qik and Utterz, so that we may be more involved in our political process.

If you are busy and want just a pre-filled message, you can use this one if you wish:

Communication between Congresspeople and constituents is a natural part of every healthy democracy. Social media tools such as Twitter, Qik, Facebook, and blogs facilitate this communication better than any other tool throughout history. Twitter has saved people from forest fires, bailed a man who was unlawfully thrown in an Egyptian jail, organized blood drives and raised money against cancer, and spread the word about natural disaster relief efforts. It is a powerful tool that can help you make strong decisions for our nation. I would like to invite you and other Congresspeople to use these tools to more effectively serve your constituents.

You can sign up for some these services here:
http://www.twitter.com
http://www.qik.com
http://www.utterz.com
http://www.plurk.com

Here are the people on the Franking Commission. Just click on their name and it will take you to their contact page.:
Michael Capuano
Robert A. Brady
Zoe Lofgren Zoe does not allow for emails outside her district, so here is her phone number: (202) 225-3072.
Charles Gonzalez (no contact form. What a bum!)
Susan Davis
Artur Davis. He also requires you to be a constituent, so you might want to call at (202) 225-2665.
Vern Ehlers
Dan Lungren
Kevin McCarthy

Let’s let Congress know that it is more communication and not less that will improve our democracy.

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Jul 14

Are We the Generation to Form the Next Renaissance?

July 14, 2008 • View Comments • Social Media and Society

Jim Kukral recently wrote a rather entitled “The Death of the A-List”. The article by Jim Kukral, an online marketer, postulates that people are now seeing that Web 2.0 celebrities are just normal people who became very good at self-promotion. This will open the doors up to what Clay Shirky would call “everybody”. Apparently, Hugh MacLeod discussed this matter with Clay and you can read their thoughts on Hugh’s blog.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve known some web 2.0 “celebrities”, and some of them I really like. What I think people are realizing though is that many of these celebrities often become this way because 1.) they have an absolute focus on obtaining as many followers as possible and 2.) these followers believe that knowing or being associated with that person will also earn them a status of fame. It’s like hanging out with that boring, popular girl in high school. It gets you noticed, but it probably won’t accomplish much.

Why do I think the “A-List” will and should disappear?

The online space has the power to equalize the entire world. The barriers for entry in terms of exposure have never been lower. We have a medium allows us to present information in an interactive way. There is no soap box. There is no corporate entity telling us what to do. Information is delivered not from the powerful leaders who can afford to push out information, but from a cloud of people with different perspectives, experiences, and skill sets.

The web 2.0 early adopters showed us how to use the tools so we have to give them credit for opening the door. However, the sooner we encourage people to go beyond the simple vanity of new media, the sooner we can attract the vast numbers of people who are actually set to improve our world by communicating with these advanced tools.

What would this look like? Imagine the following scenarios:
1.) Instead of just Robert Scoble Qiking everything, victims of natural disasters like Katrina Qik what is happening during and after a storm. How much easier would it be to mobilize people?
2.) Imagine all the world’s major AIDS researchers forming a Ning group with AIDS victims and others involved in the fight against AIDS.
3.) Imagine watching an world renown economist Jeffrey Sachs giving a lecture to anyone who wants to see it using Viddler. Watchers could leave comments on the timestream that Sachs would actually answer. Watchers could also engage in a discussion in comments, or could chat about the discussion using Oovoo or a chat room.

The possibilities are limitless. I say, let the 21st century Renaissance begin.

21st century renaissance cheapeasyglobal clay shirky Meet People in Austin Michelle Greer Michellesblog new media power ngo 2.0 non-profit 2.0 social media power social networking power View Comments

Jul 13

Quit Complaining About Society. Support Non-Profits and Volunteer.

July 13, 2008 • View Comments • Social Media for Social Good

I am amazed at how many pats on the back I get for trying to support Elaine Allan’s efforts to help Burmese refugees here in town. All these people, all Obama supporters. All clamoring for change. Few choose to step up and actually help out.

Awareness is great. People willing to “get their hands dirty” are so much more useful though.

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I suppose awareness is better than indifference. But when I see a kid who is a year old who isn’t wearing a diaper because his mother can’t afford them, and I meet a man who doesn’t have a job, can’t speak English, and has sought political asylum here in the States, I have a hard time settling with awareness. I met a family that was down to six eggs to eat right here in Austin, Texas.

How excited should I really be about the new iPhone apps? Why should I follow your dogs on Twitter? I love geeky people and feel they want nothing but the best for this world. I just don’t think they quite get the disparity in our world, and how little effort it takes from each individual to fix it.

So please support Obama. Support change. Just appreciate that you, and not your government, are responsible for the change that this world needs. Whether you believe that we need to find the cure for cancer, or bridge the digital divide, or solve world hunger, you cannot rely on your government to fix these problems. It doesn’t matter how many tax dollars you throw at it. Anyone who’s dealt with the government knows that their programs are wasteful, inconvenient, and run by people who are rewarded for being tenured rather than competent. Try this on for size: I am still dealing with crime victim’s compensation paperwork A YEAR AFTER the the situation that warranted it. When I asked a woman who worked for this division to just email me a fax number, she said she was unable to do this. EVERYTHING IS PAPERWORK WITH THE GOVERNMENT, AND THIS IS A WASTE OF YOUR TIME AND MONEY.

Change isn’t just a buzzword. It is an action that we all have to take to make society better.

BTW, if you want to improve the Burmese people’s situation here in Austin, please email Elaine at borntohelp(at)earthlink.net. She will tell you everything they need.

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Jul 10

Calling All Bloggers: Your Support is Needed to Support a Child with Leukemia

July 10, 2008 • View Comments • Social Media for Social Good

Blogging doesn’t have to be self indulgent drivel. You don’t have to post and post and think, “Eh, no one is going to read this”. Blogging allows you to spread information, and information is power. We can make change spread faster than any other time in history because we don’t have to wait for a printing press or an editor. We can be more accurate than publishers because we offer firsthand information instead of filtering it through the corporate sponsored machines that are magazines and newspapers.

So bloggers, I’m asking you to show your power for a cause that is truly worthwhile.

A man named Phil Burns found out about the Austin Blood Drive Tweetup and decided

that bloggers everywhere should organize blood drives on July 30th.

It’s called National Bloggers Blood Drive. Phil’s daughter Serenity has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the same form of leukemia my sister had. He’s calling bloggers everywhere to blog, organize, tweet, and muster as much support for blood banks everywhere. Don’t just blog it though. Sign up to give blood and as well as for takesalltypes.org, a service that sends you text messages anytime your blood type is needed in your area. Let’s show Phil and Serenity that people do care about those in need by creating and building blood drives around the country on this day.

For more information, please visit Phil’s blog. Learn more about Serenity and her situation on her site.

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Jul 04

Austin Blood Drive Tweetup More than Doubles Traffic at Austin Blood and Tissue Center

July 4, 2008 • View Comments • Events I've Attended, Social Media for Social Good

I am so happy at how many people showed up today at the first inaugural Austin Blood Drive Tweetup. I spoke with many staff members at the Blood and Tissue Center, and they all agreed that the Tweetup more doubled their traffic that day and brought in more first time donors than they had seen in a long time. They were also happy because there is a need for blood July 4th weekend and it would have been incredibly slow had we not showed up. Considering the first blog post with the instructions for donating didn’t go up until Sunday and we also managed to get a raffle, a sammichometer, a birthday cake for Mike Chapman, a visit by Erica at KUT, a mention in the Austin American Statesman, and custom stickers for the event, I’d consider this event a huge success.

For future events, I will have an official sign up as per the suggestion of Alex Jones so we can know who is coming, when, and get a better headcount.

There were so many good people involved in this Tweetup. The best part? Everyone who came in took part to make a difference. It wasn’t about self-promotion or networking. There is something very refreshing about that and I intend to duplicate this result when Grant Hutchins and I take a bunch of Burmese refugees to “Blues on the Green” on July 9th.

I feel like a broken record sometimes, but social media is a communication tool. Just like a cell phone. Communication facilitates action and we now have the tools to make things happen so much faster and easier than before. Quit Twittering about the donuts you eat in the morning. Stop throwing up post after post about the Fail Whale. DO SOMETHING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA. This will facilitate the inevitable cultural shift towards a society that rewards those with a message rather than merely those who can afford to push their message out. If you don’t do something with social media, people will ultimately see it as a waste of time.

I have to thank sharinghope.tv superstud David J. Neff for organizing this event with me. Props should go to Mike Chapman for delivering some killer posts on the Austin Social Media Club website, as well as the countless others who took time out of their days to blog about the event. If you didn’t come by, you missed out on the cool stickers and the sammichometer designed by Cesar Torres. My thanks to Tarus Balog at the OpenNMS Group for sponsoring the totally awesome sammichometer.

Check out the photos by visiting our Austin Blood Drive Tweetup Flickr pool.

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Yahoo’s Losing? Well then, So Are You

Why Not Downloading TweetDeck Could Be Hazardous

No More Whuffie Please. Just the Kind That Pays My Bills

Set the Tone for How Washington Communicates. Email Congress an Invite to Twitter

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