Posting in a Suck-Up World?
I have to say that I am beginning to think that moderators of lists and meet up groups might be on their way (if they are not already there) to becoming little Dictators or Tyrants of their own domains.
Recently I posted on a blog and didn't agree with the Blog Author's position. I had signed up for email delivery of the Blog. I got it once, posted once, and have not seen another email come in from that blog.
Next, I wrote to a Meet Up leader for his presentation he gave at the last meeting and he replied that the audio was not properly captured and that he had to re-do it and thanked me for wanting to pass his material on to others. I wrote back that it would be a good idea to get better equipment or a new audio guy - in a private email. The next thing I received, via private email, was that I had been removed from this Meet Up list.
Wow!! These "leaders" have such thin skins. Their egos are very large maybe as long as the long tail of the Web. It frightens me to think, then, what am I seeing on all these blogs? The sound of one hand typing? Goody-two shoe behavior? No real dissension permitted. No criticism of the leader. Off with your email? An Alice in Cyberland kind of world?
Are we all yes men puffing up our algorithms on Google with our number of friends and followers with no rebels in the ranks? The blogpsphere may proport to be a world of Free Speech. After these two experiences I'd have to say it's seems more like a tecno-tyrannical realm. The censorship is so subtle it parades itself as Free Speech for only those who agree.
Struggling With The Blog Software
I had this idea today to post a lot of research updates I had blasted out to my clients via email. I had trouble getting one to fit into the post window and I've stored what I did somewhere and I can't find it.
I peaked into the documentation for some clues. I hate reading documentation, never mind that I wrote it professionally for five years for behemoths like Time Inc and the NY Times for industrial software installations back in the Eighties.
I've made a commitment to spend some time with this WordPress software over the holidays. This quiet time hasn't started for me yet. Or maybe I'm forever a techno-ruin here wasted by nanosecond inpatience.
If something takes longer than 30 seconds (gosh, even that's long!!) I have to switch windows do something else. How am I ever going to self-tutor myself with an attention bandwidth like that? Maybe using Twitter is driving me to micro everything.
I have to master this space. If you've struggled like this too - send me to a good place! I really would rather have a mentor and not use a book or online documentation.
Writing I know how to do. Blogging is something else. I hope you'll notice my progress ad I move along here.
A World After Venture
I've been going to several Entrepreneurial meetups where startups present their businesses to a crowd of folks standing around a fairly beat up bar in New York with drinks in hand listening to these brave new pioneers seeking impact in the Web 3.0 world.
Everything has to do with social media and networking in the virtual space. Actually I think these small companies I've listened to do have a round of financing and are in "late Alpha" or moving ahead to "early Beta." They might need another round soon some say, others have had offers to be acquired but are fighting to stay independent.
I'm not a VC, can't really make much sense of some of this eco-babble about venture capital. I'm all marketing, let's get those users to that site. I think in terms of marketing budgets, unique twists for a campaign hook. I talk more cpms, ctr, cpa, ROI not about bridge financing.
The meeting I went to tonight was particularly friendly and I met a lot of good people. I learned about Thrive, a site that helps people manage their money with more insight, another company has a product that backs up your cell phone. The group is run by Peter Verkooijen and you can find out more about future meetings at Web2NewYork.
I have to say that I found it quite stimulating to socialize with people with a focus on what is new and what is emerging and finding out what each person does. It's a creative crowd of people that comes to these gatherings and high energy. You couldn't meet and greet folks in this manner after spending 10 months online really. I'm a F2F person (face 2face) - still believe in human contact as primary ignitor of the spark that fires new relationships.
So maybe I should be more the voyeur for my blog reader and tell you more about who I meet in my wanderings and I search for my next best project.
Fighting for mental bandwidth
I'm just starting up this blog -so allow me to meander my way to my best blogging vantage point. I've been an online marketer for over 25 years. Started email campaigns before the Web even existed. But I'm not going to play the Old Timer card out in this space. It actually brings nothing of relevance to the table now.
Between scarce money sources these days and mini mental bandwidths - I reference here the rise of Twitter and micro blogging. Just how, as marketers, are we supposed to achieve market share when we're dealing with market slithers?
It's probably too early in my blog's life to expect commentary but as the posts roll along and I find a way to reach more people, perhaps a dialog will begin.
I invite any of you who drop by to join me here.