Chasing the Dragon's Tale

With less than a week behind us, the three Belmont University, overseas missions' blogs just passed the 1,000th (cumulative) visitor mark and have already accumulated 115+ comments. I am still tracking the referrals that are coming in from the Facebook Flyers that were launched immediately following the departure of two of the teams....but the results look promising.

One post from Community Matters, Dr. Darrell Gwaltney's team in South Africa, received 35+ comments. By newly-launched-blog standards (of which there really aren't any), receiving that many comments on a freshly launched blog is pretty phenomenal.

The Brazil team, via The Rio Journal 2007, is not gathering as many comments at the Community Matters blog, however, readership from a team that is one third the size of the team in South Africa is very close statistically in total visitors (and is gaining momentum). Personal reflections like Josey's post from last night will likely boost comments and readership from the Belmont family/community.

The Mission to Cambodia blog was launched hurriedly (as compared to the other two blogs) with considerably less time to gather email addresses for notification purposes and no Facebook Flyer ad. Internet access appears to be a challenge for this group and their posting frequency may make it difficult to gain readership over the next week or two. Still, the personal reflections by students, rather than more generic posts, garner the most comments.

Generally, blogs are intended for longer terms than shorter term mission trips and study abroad programs. Defining the success of a short-term blog may require a different definition than visitor counts, page views, and comments. Re-purposing the convenient publishing systems into more traditional, archived HTML web sites may be the way to reap the benefits of these blogs. In the meantime, I'll have my facebook.com flyer alert you to the latest, short-term blog promotion.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is the time of year when students have scattered to anywhere else besides their own college campus. Belmont University is no different...it is just a few days past final exams and graduation and the campus is just about empty.

Communication with students using any sort of official university channel while they are away can be a challenge. So, as an experiment this week, there are two Facebook Flyers running to let students know that some of their friends are blogging their mission trips and study abroad programs. For the uninitiated, Facebook.com, is a social network that connects hundreds of different networks, many of which are university student focused. If you can believe everything that is online here, then Facebook.com is the sixth most visited site in the United States. And the traffic on facebook.com does not cease when classes aren't in session...if anything, the social network site become THE preferred method for univerity students to keep up with their friends...thus the idea for using an ad (Facebook Flyer).

Connecting blogs to social networks that include blog-like (and other) features could easily result in extra traffic to the blogs and perhaps more active commenting on those same blogs. On the other hand, it may not create even the slightest blip on the social networking radar. We shall see.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 06:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you have never heard the name, Eric Volz, it is time you know what he is going through:

Doris Jimenez was killed Tuesday, November 21, 2006, between 11:45 am and 1:00 pm, in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Her body was found at about 2:00 pm inside a clothing store she owned. She was tied, strangled and asphyxiated. Doris was popular and attractive and her murder deeply unsettled this small tourist town.

Eric Volz was two hours away in Managua at the time of the murder. Eric, a 27-year old American, had been living in Nicaragua for some two years. Not only were there 10 witnesses who saw him in Managua during the time of the murder, none of the physical evidence recovered from the scene linked Eric to the crime. Indeed, none of the blood, fluid, hair, or other physical evidence collected at the scene had any tie to Eric.

In spite of the evidence, Eric was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Please read THE FACTS and find a way to take action now. The appeal's process just started a day or so ago. Honest reporting and exposure in the media could do this case some good. There has been a miscarriage of justice. The wrong man is in a Nicaraguan prison.

I do not know Eric personally. I do know some of his relatives. I cannot fathom their pain, neither can I sit idly by and say nothing of their suffering or Eric's incarceration. Some US congressmen are already involved...more need to be.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Dave Winer server on jury duty and shares his reflections on how important amateurs are in the Do It Yourself, American scheme of things...including jounalism:

"It's good that everyone gets a chance to be a journalist. That doesn't mean that everyone will be one, but it's important that everyone can be one if they want to. So teach the kids to be journalists, take the mystique out of it, show them how to vet a source, what integrity means, how to think for themselves."

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I am not one of the early adopters of Twitter but evidently the Mini-blog is the talk of Silicon Valley (Financial Times - MSNBC.com). This was the first reference to Twitter as a "mini-blog" that I have seen, but it is a reference that begins to make some sense in the practical application arena. As far as I can tell students and educators do not yet have Twitter on the radar, however, there is something about the ease of use, mobility, and connectivity that could easy capture the imagination of the facebook and myspace crowd.

Jonathan Schwartz, chief executive of Sun Microsystems, singled Twitter out at the end of last week as the latest hit from the post-YouTube generation of "viral" internet applications that have the potential to attract massive online audiences..."This is the first application that people have got excited about since Flickr came out," said Ross Mayfield, a Valley entrepreneur, comparing it to a popular photo-sharing site bought by Yahoo in 2005. "I don't think it will be the next YouTube – but I do think it will gain wide adoption," he said.

Stay tuned: Is Twitter a passing fad or is it the next viral tool for connectivity?

Hat tip: Rex Hammock

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Paul has no plans to hang lanterns in the tower or anything, but some of these people are coming to Belmont University's campus on Saturday, October 21st for a demonstration and panel discussion that will focus on podcasting. For now, just save the date and pencil-in 2:00PM-3:30PM for 10/21/2006. The event is sponsored by the university's Information Technology Services department and will be free. Watch for additional details... coming to a blog near you soon.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

TechRepublic.com offers up their article:"10 ways to become a better blogger " (plus user questions/comments). 'Sorry, but it requires a login to read...something that a blog shouldn't do, for sure...but it IS free and I recommend the subscription. If someone ever asks you to define a blog (or blogger), consider the following introduction and advice:

"It's an activity that spans all age groups and occupations. There are personal blogs, social blogs, and professional blogs. Whatever the topic, someone has probably blogged it. Some of us get paid to blog and others pay for the privilege of blogging (on a particular site or with particular software).

The Internet made it possible for anyone to publish content to a worldwide audience. The Web log, or blog format, has made it easier and more convenient. But all blogs are not created equal. Some draw an eager following and others languish in obscurity. Regardless of your reason for blogging, you can make your blog better, more readable and--if it's what you want--more popular."

Of course, I am asking myself, "aren't the readers of this blog already familiar with blogging by now?" So, make it better according to TechRepublic:

• Define your purpose
• Create visual appeal
• Use the proper tools
• Make it easy to navigate
• Stay in one place (one URL/domain name)
• Engage your readers
• Establish a blogging schedule
• Keep it concise
• Proofread before publishing
• Go syndicate yourself

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In spite of the short notice for a meet-up, the turnout and conversation at last evening's WKRN gathering of Nashville bloggers was wonderful. Mix in an opportunity to meet Amanda Congdon of rocketboom.com fame (and more recently AmandaAcrossAmerica) and you have a formula for an interesting experience (not that all meet-ups aren't interesting...this one just seemed especially so).

The AmandaAcrossAmerica site raises the bar for vblogging (video blogging)... it also demonstrates what a team effort can pull together as a model for similar projects. Note to Spring Semester, Electronic Practicum students in Media Studies: start taking notes on AmandaAcrossAmerica now.

The award for making the best of Amanda's Nashville vist goes to Blake Wiley Wylie who spent several minutes of on-camera interview time with the touring video blogger. In spite of appearances in this picture, Amanda was all smiles... and Blake may have to have the grin on his face surgically removed. Blake will probably have his video interviews online before the day is over...it's a tough editing assignment, but someone has to do it *smile*.

Thanks News2, Mike, Mike, and Brittney for hosting the evening! Now that I have confessed to my corporate-blogging-for-money project, maybe I can get back on the Nashville is Talking blogroll again...I might even blog more often here, who knows!? It was good to see the nocturnal branch of the Nashville blogosphere again.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (1)

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am in a classroom this morning on the campus of Belmont University, standing before a convocation-starved crowd of 25 students. We are talking about Blogging for Beginners... a convocation title developed by Nathan Baker of Belmont Vision and Reporting from Honduras fame. I will try to make this session as informative as possible, leaving a large chunk of time for Q&A's.

Social Networking Technologies
I would guess that over 90% of the people in the room already have Facebook accounts and of those, I would guess that less than 20% realize that the old guy standing in front of the room also has a Facebook account (students are taking notes at this point to remember to log on to Facebook and restrict access to their profiles from all faculty and staff). What students may not realize: the same social networking principles that allow facebook users to connect with one another applies in a similar manner to building communities of bloggers. We may not get as far as learning community building (in the Peter Senge sense) in the 50 minutes or so of today's presentation, but it is a seed that is worthy of planting.

Continue reading "I'm Blogging This" »

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The Philidelphia Enquirer article was the first I found to recognize the recent EduBlog Awards...and I do believe they 'get it':

"When I look for vision and new direction in the educational technology community, I look to professional blogs. The cutting edge exists on the part of the Web that is living, unpolished, free of word limits, and not always beautifully edited."

Last year about this time, I was celebrating the Newcomer of the Year recognition (my 15 minutes of fame and increased blog traffic). This year I am celebrating the increase in quality of the 2005 EduBlogs that made the short list and am impressed/inspired by the winners:

Kudos to All (and a list of favorites)
• Best Newcomer: Blog of Proximal Development
• Best Teacher's Blog: (tie) Blog of Proximal Development (see above) and Anne Davis' Edublog Insights I count myself as one of Anne's biggest fans.
• Best Audio/Video Blog: Ed Tech Talk
• Best example/case study of use of Weblogs within teaching and learning: The Polar Science Project
• Best Individual Blog - Runner-up: Will Richardson's Weblogg-Ed I would personally grant Will the Blogvangelist Award for his work in promoting blogging in education
• Most innovative edublogging project, service or program: Edublogs - James Farmer's project removes many of the excuses for educators who want a stab at blogging, it is a free service.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

According to Red Herring:

These “spam blogs” now comprise 10 to 20 percent of all blogs, according to Umbria, a Boulder, Colorado-based intelligence company that monitors blogs for its clients. The blend term “splogs” was popularized by Mark Cuban, the outspoken entrepreneur and investor. He is intimately familiar with splogs from his work running a blog search engine called IceRocket.

“We are killing off thousands a day, but they keep on coming. Like Zombies,” wrote Mr. Cuban in an August blog post. “It’s straight from Night of the Living Dead. Brain dead splogs. Coming at us by the thousands.”

While the number of blogs has risen exponentially in the last 18 months, with 23.9 million by Technorati’s count, the amount of spam blogs has grown even faster. Only 2 percent of blogs were splogs in March 2005, according to Umbria.

I rate sploggers right up there with the casino, P*o*r*n, and pharma idiots who seem to believe that propagating volumes of electronic ilk is a constructive practice. Are people actually influenced to buy products or services from mindless splogs? If search ranking is driving the onslaught of splogs will this not eventually negate the effectiveness of internet and blog search engines?...and then what? When the blogosphere is splog-clogged, will the next big thing be a Draino-like backlash? Or will the epitaph read: blogs came, blogs were effective for an age, but were eventually conquered by splog. It is comforting to know that some are figuring out ways to fight back...cheer them on, please!

You may return to your regularly scheduled (positive) programming...

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A recent question of the week at techlearning.com may provide some insight into attitudes toward blog use in schools. Blog use may be growing, but as a tool for educators and school communicators, it does not appear to be the tool of choice. The "unnoficial' use of blogs by teachers may be the most promising statistic on the chart below...I am guessing that many of these teachers see the benefits and are simply figuring out how to make appropriate use of the technology in spite of school/district leadership.
From the comment section following the poll, I found the following general thoughts to be interesting:

• I wonder if the 44-48% who aren't using blogs are still asking themselves, "What'a a blog??"
• There may be resistance to adding comments to a blog, in part, because people are more comfortable with email.
• Fear of predators was given by one person as the reason for not using blogs.
• Personal privacy and privacy of academic exercises is a concern.
• Some feel that it is a good tool for administrators and teachers to use for school communications

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

This is news from Monday that I somehow missed: Six Apart and Yahoo! partner to provide blogging platform.

This morning (Monday) SixApart and Yahoo! announced a deal integrating the popular MovableType blogging software into Yahoo's Web Hosting service. By bundling MovableType and web hosting, Yahoo! is targeting businesses and independent professionals "seeking to maintain high-traffic blogs on a scalable, reliable platform".

Interesting. From the article, it sounds like SixApart may get a B12-financial shot in the arm. Yahoo, on the other hand, may benefit from hanging around with some first class blog supporters.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let's assume that the war between journalists and bloggers (citizen/volunteer journalists) will end some day. Electronic media delivery will evolve into something that we may not yet understand...but some students in higher education are preparing themselves for the work force every semester without a clue as to real world expectations.

In terms of technology, what kinds of skills do you believe will be most important for the next generation of professional journalists? Should they know, understand, and actively engage the blogosphere? Will they be expected to capture and deliver digital images? Do they need experience in audio recording for podcasting purposes? Will video capture and editing become something that is needed in a journalist's tool box? Is there a need for understanding online discussion ( interviewing) whether that be synchronous or asynchronous? What role will the technologies of social networking systems play?

This is not a quiz. Your answers will not affect your final grade. Your responses will not be held against you in journalism court. Relax, tell me what you think, please.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Jonathan Weinberg's Wackiest web names ever article raises a few eyebrows, offers a touch of humor, and includes a word of caution in your choice of domain name:

"Ever done something then instantly regretted you didn't check things out a little bit more closely! First there is "Who Represents?" - a database for agencies to the rich and famous: http://www.whorepresents.com

Second is the Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views:
http://www.expertsexchange.com

Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island:
http://www.penisland.net

Need a therapist? Try:
http://www.therapistfinder.com

Finally we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
http://www.molestationnursery.com "

A wag of the tail to Cog for his What's in a (Domain) Name post.

Another late entry comes from BusyMom : loanus.com...as they say "every body has one (a US loan, that is)".

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1)

Yes, it is Saturday. Right now, you are probably siiting at your desk or hooked up with a w-fi connection somewhere comfortably...and, of course, you are reading this. It IS the Geekend, after all...and I know who some of you are. You are either lurking over at Nashville is Talking...or posting as the weekend blogger. You may be looking at that list of draft posts sitting in the background of your blog wondering what to post or who might be interested in that stuff. You may just be surfing the blogosphere in search of some gem of wisdom, humor, or signs of life. At any rate, it is the end of the week and many of us are (still) attached to our computers.

So, my burning question: How do you spend your Geekends? (Don't be shy, you know that you want to answer that one.)

As for me, I'm off to a long, geeky, video editing session...sitting in front of a computer, of course.

LATE UPDATE: Video editing session was indeed longgggg...who'da figured that a 15 second intro could take three hours to (over) produce.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I just finished reading Anonymous Blogging :: SOA Zimbabwe Guide. The read gave me cold chills. Considering all of the normal problems with infrastructure, training, and accesibility that frequently define the digital divide, adding layers of governmental restrictions, monitoring, and threats of incarceration should send chills across the blogosphere. I am not certain of the blogger's credibility, but the following description of conditions in Zimbabwe should raise freedom of speech concerns in any country:

Anyone in Zimbabwe who seeks to express himself or herself must be acutely aware of the level of oppression in the country. The dictatorship of President Robert Mugabe has grown more and more tyrannical over the years to a point where, currently, the most benign criticism of the regime is likely to land one in a jail cell, or at least earn one a visit with the gentlemen of the Central Intelligence Organization.

Zimbabwe is one of the most wired countries in Africa. That is just one indication of the surfeit of “raw materials” for democracy that the country contains. No longer the “breadbasket of Southern Africa” Zimbabwe teeters on the edge of famine. Likewise, the brain drain has weakened the country intellectually. However, enough of the vigorous minds have remained that Mugabe has felt it necessary to increase restrictions on free speech to include the electronic realm.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It should be no surprise that American teens devour and feed Web's content.

"Frankly, in my opinion, it's quite healthy and [adults should] not to be discouraged. Teens have always had opinions. They have rarely had a voice. The Internet gives them a place to be heard," said Jim Lenkner, the education technology coordinator for 3 Rivers Connect, a tech nonprofit Downtown (Pittsburg).

Just because the writing is blasting off into cyberspace, it does not mean they are meant to have a worldwide audience -- they mostly use the Net as a new way to communicate with existing friends. Sixty-two percent of blog-reading teens said they only read blogs written by people they know.

Reading blogs written by friends sounds like a good sign, perhaps that phenomena is an indication that there are seeds of 'community' being planted. People with something in common, connecting via the technology most familiar to their particular generation, and using that technology to share thoughts, ideas, and to build relationships. Yes. I take that to be an encouraging sign.

It is little wonder that facebook.com has such a huge following on college campuses...and I do mean huge. The freshmen and sophomores in my Spanish class this semester invited me to create an account just to see what it was all about (and probably as a dare, thinking that the 'old dude' wouldn't actually create a profile...an alien in unchartered territory). There are 'connections' in facebook.com of all sizes, shapes, and descriptions...some good, some that are troublesome. To say the least, this is one tool that the Digital Natives know how to use. How long will it be before new student orientation includes a session called Facebook (or MySpace) 101...with an expert, 18 year-old, leading the session?

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

For the last several weeks, I have noticed a growing trend when linking to online magazine articles published by MSM. Articles that are just a few days old tend to be more active and articles that I have linked to that are a little older may re-direct a readers to a login page. Such was the case this moring when I wanted to link to an article on the technology that ex-cons face who have been in prison for ten years or longer. The New London, CT TheDay.com site posted he following instead of the original article:

"Please Note:
Registration is now required to access articles on TheDay.com that are one (1) day old to one (1) week. News articles written by Day staff after one (1) week will require purchasing....If you have not created a FREE TheDay.com account, you may do so by clicking here. Registration gives you access to many new tools and features, and unlimited access to the past one (1) week of articles online."

I fully understand that the MSM print sector is struggling to make ends meet and I do not blame them for trying to make a buck from their online investment. The situation does make it more difficult in the academic environment when attempting to provide proper attribution to an article in a research paper. It also makes it more difficult for bloggers to provide source material when quoting something from an online magazine source.

Continue reading "Is MSM fighting back against blog links?" »

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I do not know of anyone who started blogging with the expectation or objective of meeting other bloggers, but when it happens it is an amazing thing to observe. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that there is something Baptist in the heritage of most who showed up for a Nashville bloggers' night of free pizza...confirming the old adage, "If you feed them, they will come". Many thanks to Rex for paying the pizza bill and to Mr. Roboto and Brittany (sans Tootie) for getting the word out. Good conversation seemed to be the order of the evening and introductions were frequent. I now have a face to place with Ain't No Rodeo Queen, Salem's Lots, Big Orange Michael, The Monroe Doctrine and others...whose names have already slipped my mind ('sorry). Many of the other 30 or so I already knew and tried to get around to at least say hello. I understand that Sharon Cobb was not feeling well enough to attend....note to Sharon: be well and be there next time so we can hear your side of the family history *grin*.

Aunt B was...well, Aunt B! ...keeper of the coolest blog t-shirt on the planet and the most adept person present for generating substantive and off-the-wall conversation. For those who read her rants... she posseses neither horns, pitchfork, or claws (although I am not sure about the claws).

Busy Mom endured my interview well. I am intrigued/amazed/jealous of the amount of attention that a mom sharing (well wriitten) anecdotes about her family attracts each day. If you are not already a reader, add BusyMom to your blog diet. And no, I was not actually hitting on BusyMom...at my age, that would require a user's manual with large print instructions.

I am anticipating many pictures of smiling faces to appear across Nashville blogs later today...links or a snagged image may be added here later.

UPDATE: Image added 1 Nov 2005 - thanks to rugdesigner

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (2)

I tried out the What is your Blog worth site this morning. Humbling comes to mind. Give it a try, go to the site and type-in the URL for your blog.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are a ton of draft posts sitting in reserve here, so what do I do? I remodel the place. It was just time to look a little more like Belmont (only blue-er *grin*)...and besides, I need the practice playing with CSS. And if this design looks awful in Safari, don't tell me. I'm already suffering enough from browser burnout.

Since I am not doing anything particularly productive in the way of writing, take a look at Hebonics...perhaps there's a chuckle in it for you. I'm outa here.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Bill Hobb's announcement that he is re-adjusting his blogging priorities away from his personal blog to focus on family, career, and other consulting opportunities is both encouraging and perspicacious (and I do like that word). It is encouraging because I have wondered how in the world one stops blogging, particularly if there is an audience...and Bill has quite a large following. I suspect that Bill will neither abandon blogging nor will he actually stop blogging. He understands that there are people who value his skills and keen understanding of what blogs can do and (hopefully) he will demonstrate to the rest of us how to cash in on that experience and expertise. A Hobbs' book on blogs wouldn't surprise me in the least...I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Continue reading "When this becomes work...what next?" »

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Finally. There is a Bloggers Anonymous (BA) support group. I should be relieved. The next time that I see a new college grad's name with a BA extension, I will know that I am among friends.

Let's hope than anonymity doesn't make us an endangered species.

Now, all the group needs is a logo.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I love my blogrolling application for simplifying access to the blogs that I tend to read more frequently. If a blog appears on my blogroll, there is a good chance that the blogger has something interesting to say...when I decide that the content is no longer interesting (to me), I do a little housekeeping and remove blogs from my list. It is that simple.

Recently, I noticed that some bloggers are being judged (condemned) for having links to other blogs that contain hate messages, racial slurs, and material not necessarily suited for public audiences (whoever it is that makes that decision is a little beyond me...I generally trust my conscience on such matters, not someone else's conscience). I do find "guilt by linkages" to be a disturbing phenomena.

When I started out in this experiment, my blogroll was pretty much a birds-of-a-feather list...recognizing only a small minority of dissenting voices. Over the last year, I have included blogs written by what I would classify as ultra-conservatives, ultra-liberals, gays, wonks, members of non-Christian groups, the elderly (80+) and the young (anyone under 20). Personally, none of those classifications fit me, N.O.N.E. But I want to hear what they have to say...and I tend to comment (agree or disagree) more frequently to those on my list.

To some, evidently, a blogroll represents an endorsement, and I understand that may be the case particularly among the political party pundits. But to others, myself included, I consider my blogroll to be more of a community of conversations. I do not ask that you agree with my choices...but I do ask that you judge me by what I write instead of what I might read...Please do not judge me by the people whom I engage in conversations. Conversation does not (always) result in some sort of ideology contagion or conversion...the lack of conversation on the other hand results in ignorance and polarization.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Of course this is way off topic, but the American Airlines Debacle affects Jake McKee, a blogger who shares an interest in online and offline community building...he also works for LEGO Company, which instantly grants him elevated status in the eyes of an old LEGO fan. The long and short of it: American Airlines has made a customer service blunder. The blunder may send several thousand dollars of AA tickets to a competing airline. To salvage the situation, Jake has asked for a reasonable response and as of this writing has received NOTHING.

Jake has a counter running on his site indicating the time elapsed since he requested a response. He is offering (undefined) prizes (I'm hoping for LEGO's) to the individual who comes closest to guessing the correct duration of time that it takes American Airlines to respond. Go. Add your two cents worth and guess. Let's take this blogosphere-community-thing out for a ride and see what it can do.

And, in my best inflight-PA voice, "attention American Airlines, other customers are watching to see how you respond...in the meantime our seats will remain in their unlocked positions and our tray tables will be down."

UPDATE: Doug Petch has joined the frey (early Saturday morning bloggers...a rare breed, indeed).

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Following an interesting post on the asynchronous nature of blog readership from Jackson Miller, it struck me that writing/posting and reading habits are different. That is not exactly an earth shattering thesis, but I wonder if there is a relationship between one's blog posting habits and one's readership...more specifically, one's intended/targeted readership? Aggregators like the one at Nashville is Talking (NIT) garner significant traffic throughout the normal business day and aggregated posts probably receive traffic from top level exposure as the right-hand column listings are periodically updated, but the aggregator continues to post blog feeds even when the NIT blog host isn't there and reader traffic slows down. (yes, there is plenty of conjecture in all of that). All of that to ask, Is anyone intentionally timimg their posts to correspond with higher traffic periods on NIT or any other aggregator? Does NIT traffic make some of the comment-traffic/converstaions more syncronous in nature rather than asynchronous? How important is a community-type aggregator to driving traffic to your blog?

For now, I will settle for identifying any sort of patterns in posting habits...it is not all that scientific, but may provide more fodder for questions. When you respond to this poll, please select the time period based upon your particular time zone. And if anyone has all of this 'figured out'...we need to talk!

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In light of my previous post on job applicant bloggers, I want to extend that conversation via the Neanderthals post and comments at YP plus a noteworthy post on Pith in the Wind. The PITW post includes several comments to "The Muzzled Life". This part, I found a little disturbing:

Keeping work issues off your personal blog does not mean that your employer won't hold the blog against you. "It doesn't matter if you blog about skydiving or pornography," said Daniel M. Klein, a partner at the Atlanta law firm Buckley & Klein. "If your employer feels the blog makes you a poor representative of their corporate values, the executives have the freedom to disassociate themselves from you."(my emphasis)

I wonder how many bloggers started blogging with the intent of making their employer look bad? If an employee has a complaint (or crit