A Case For The Blogging Dentist

I'm more convinced than ever that a blog is for every organization in some form or fashion. Just yesterday I was talking to a friend who's a pediatric dentist. I was telling her that a blog will allow her to differentiate her practice from the others here in town. Whereas the other guys will give the standard "here's what we do" and "here's why we're different" and "here's where we're located" information, a blog can say all of those things with personality. In fact, that's exactly what sets blogs apart from standard websites...they have personality.

So, back to my friend...if she blogs on her site (and still says all the same things the other guys are saying) then she'll be introducing herself (and therefore injecting her personality) to all those parents looking to find a dentist for their kids. This is the same thing as trying to sell something to someone in person rather than with a brochure or direct mail piece. If I get the chance to meet a person and try to sell to them while the competition only sent a brochure I really like my chances of success. Her blog is the closest thing she can get to being able to meet all these potential clients in person. Every other website is just putting out a digital brochure.

By the way, my friend doesn't even have to be an avid blogger to win either. In her case she'll be fine updating the blog every other week...just enough to keep it current, but more importantly to give that extra nudge to a person comparing information with the other guy's brochure sites. Oh, and in no time her blog will be the top one in a Google search for dentist offices of any kind in this area. After all, Google does love blogs!

Apple Owners Code of Silence?

I've been chewing on the idea for this post for quite a while now and have been hesitant to ask this question...it's a bit off topic but here it is: are Macs really that much better than PCs? Not software wise, that's not really what I'm thinking about. I'm talking about the inherent components of the computers.

Here's why I'm even thinking about this, I know several people(I'm thinking of four specific situations) where Mac owners have had trouble with their computers. Two of the situations were hard drives dying, one was a case of a bad processor, and one was a laptop that broke and the screen would no longer stand up on its own. But here's the thing I noticed in these cases...the Mac owners were at most apologetic and at least hesitant to complain or say anything negative about their computers. Are Mac owners just more optimistic about the woes of computer hardware or have they taken a code of silence the rest of us don't know about?

The Mac problems mentioned above represent a third of the people I know who use Macs, so in my world, one in three Mac users have had significant problems...and in three of the four cases the Macs were only a year old.

Let me state for the record (anyone keeping a record?) that I'm not against Macs by any means. I use one (iMac) at work every day and Apples were the first computers my family ever had...so I've been around them for 15 years and have always thought they're good products. My question is simply this: do Mac owners defend their computers (or other Apple products for that matter) more than PC owners? If so, why?

I hope to get some good comments on this post but here's my answer to these questions:
Yes, Mac owners defend their computers more than PC owners for three reasons...

Macs are cool: Macs are considered cool products. It's not cool to say bad things about Macs. If Macs are what all the cool kids play with, then to say something against a Mac would be to stand against the cool (and be, therefore, uncool)...and who wants to be uncool?
Macs are chosen: Mac users choose their computers whereas PC users may just take what they can get (whether because they had no choice in the matter or went for the cheapest option their budget would allow). I think anyone who chooses a product on purpose will be more apt to defend the product even when it doesn't work properly because it's a reflection on their own decision making process.
Macs are work horses: One of the common denominators in all four cases of broken Macs I am aware of were on computers that were heavily used on a daily basis. I don't know what the average PC user's time spent on the computer is but would guess Mac users use their computers much more than PC users...leading to more wear and tear on the computer and the higher likelihood for problems.

Note: I bounced the idea for this post off two of the four Mac owners I mentioned in my broken computer sample and they both affirmed the fact that there is something to Mac defense. One was more quick to defend the Macs than the other but each felt at least some hesitation to really blame the computers. What did Apple do to get this kind of loyalty?

Excellent Tips for 'Naked Conversations'

I'm about to finish Robert Scoble and Shel Israel's book, Naked Conversations, and it's been outstanding to read. Don't let the name fool you...it's about blogging with authenticity...not in the nude. I've already gotten five other people to order it (four at a church and a family member). Here's a great list of tips from the book on from the chapter "Doing It (blogging) right."

1. What's in a name? Search engine results. - Your blog's name can and should say a lot about who you are and will go a long way toward good Google juice.
2. Read a bunch of blogs before you start. - There was a great line in this section: "If you read 50 blogs for about two weeks and you still don't feel you have something to write about, you probably aren't going to be a good blogger."
3. Keep it simple. Keep it focused. - Most people want McPosts, not Four Course Posts...keep that general idea in mind when you blog.
4. Demonstrate passion.
   
5. Show your authority.
   
6. Add comments.
   
7. Be accessible. - They recommend putting a phone number on your blog in addition to your email address...note my phone number now in my profile. Maybe Scoble will call me!
8. Tell a story. - Just tell your story. Tell the truth, but tell a story doing it.
9. Be linky. - Link to other blogs so you'll have more hooks in the Google waters. Good quote in this one too..."Be the absolute best resource you can be for your readers, and they will reward you with lots of inbound links."
10. Get out into the real world. - "If the only way people know you is through your blog, you become one-dimensional."
11. Use your referrer log. - Check your stats tools to see how people are getting to your blog.

3 Things That Make Video a Blog

Today I had the chance to talk with some church staff guys about web 2.0 strategy...specifically online video and blogging (and the resulting combination of the two...video blogging). This church already spends significant effort on video work and weekly communications to their church members and community. Many churches these days are spending more time with video production but might not be thinking through making the most use of their efforts. The guys I spoke to today now realize that with a little more planning and about ten more minutes of video shooting each week they've got all the pieces for a video blog for extended outreach. I informed them about three things they'll need to make sure are included to make it a full fledged blog:

• RSS feed to let people subscribe to the video blog
• Permanent link so it can be referred to by itself and referenced directly in the future
• Comments to get feedback from viewers

I recommended they set up a free blog on Blogger or Wordpress (both of which automatically give you the above components) and load their video to Vimeo as it's done. The code provided Vimeo can be quickly loaded into either blog tool and they have an instant video blog!

Three Reasons Why TiVo May Survive Online Video

I recently posted about three reasons TiVo is dying and doesn't know it yet. I feel strongly that the influx of online video could do significant damage to TiVo's business model, but my friend Chris is a big TiVo advocate and recently made me aware of some factors that play to TiVo's advantage:

• High Definition – The quality of content on the web is still a step or two behind what's available on your TiVo hard drive, thanks to the introduction of their new Series 3 recorder. Sure, watching 4 minute clips of The Killers performing on Jimmy Kimmel is one thing, but would anyone seriously want to sit through a 42 minute episode of Lost while enduring the quality of an online video clip?
• It's Legal – It's going to be especially interesting to see how online video is treated by the music/television/film companies that haven't already given their blessing for usage of copyrighted material in user generated content. TiVo's business is much cleaner, and that allows them to focus. These legal distractions may spell trouble for would be competitors.
• The Interface – No one disputes that TiVo's user interface is the best in the business, but everyone knows that broadband content delivery is the future. Right now you can share photos, listen to podcasts or Internet radio and even check Yahoo traffic and weather, all from your TiVo box with a broadband connection, either wired or wireless. If TiVo can prove to be a forward thinking provider of broadband content, I believe their intuitive user interface gives them a slight advantage moving forward.

Has Seth Godin Adopted My Term?

I sure hope so...check it out in the "What's This All About?" section of the Day With Seth Godin lens on Squidoo. Ok, I know he's using a hyphen between "micro" and "explosions" but somehow I got to think there's a connection...especially since I was just on his blog back on October 4. At any rate I hope he runs with it and uses it every day for a week. That would be just fine with me.

Why the Google/You Tube Story Matters To You

By now you've seen and heard numerous stories about the Google acquisition of You Tube this week. You know technology news is big when it's the leading story on all the major news outlets. It's so big, in fact, that I'm hearing people talk about You Tube who I suspect didn't know what You Tube was this time last week. The fact of the matter is if someone hadn't heard of You Tube before this week, they know who they are now...even if they don't understand what it is.

Does this matter to your organization?
Yes, and here's why: This acquisition is a major step toward the adoption and mainstream knowledge of online video. This story is bigger than Google or You Tube. What it really signifies is that online video is moving out from the fringes and into the mainstream.

All the hype around this acquisition has just put online video on the radar screens of an entirely new segment of the population that knew little or nothing about it just a few days ago. It's raised awareness to a new level. After awareness comes adoption and in time those who don't adopt will find themselves on the outside looking in.

So now what?
Any organization that was already using online video now has the opportunity to establish itself as a leader and trendsetter. Any organization that was considering using online video may very well pursue it more actively with this new level of attention, and for the people who had never thought of using online video for their organization...well, they will be jumping on board soon enough.

I believe conversations will move from "do you use online video?" to "how do you use online video?" The difference between these questions is dramatic. The first one is solely about using the technology and whether you're "in" on it or not (awareness). The second question assumes you're already doing it and takes the conversation to a deeper level of use, quality, messages, technology, influences, strategies, etc. (adoption).

Where's Your Investment?
So what are you doing about online video? Where's your investment in online video? Don't have a billion dollars handy...ok, try investing in some time learning more about how online video can work for you. Maybe you know enough to get started and just need to make an investment in some equipment. Maybe your organization needs to invest in some personnel (even on a contractual basis) to get online video up and running for your site. Google saw enough long term potential to invest a load of money in this technology (and they even had their own competing service too!) so where are you investing in online video? Google just took care of the big investment...now take care of yours.