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Talk Story

Learning is fundamentally… different

March 1st, 2010

When we are thinking about developing content we naturally want it to be clear and concise. But often, our content is a reflection of who we are and our particular learning style. If we are indeed creating content for a broad spectrum of users, then it makes sense to look at various learning styles to be sure there is a bit of something for everyone.

There are three basic learning styles:

Visual
Visual learners are just that, they use imagery to store information. They will have a good sense of color and design. They may not do well with large blocks of words, such as a lecture or large blocks of text (they do well with lists).

Auditory
Auditory learners are very good at sorting words. What they hear and read is easy for them to  assimilate. Pictures and other visuals not so much.

Kinesthetic
These tactile learners gain knowledge via experience. I am most like this. When we play games with our buddy Dave, he will take time to describe rules of the game. Not being an audio learner I tune out after a few moments. “Let’s just start and I’ll learn as I go.”

Naturally, most of us are a combination of these styles. For example, I am a strong kinesthetic learner, pretty good with visual, and poor with auditory (a long lecture is kiss of death for me).

It’s interesting that when we were creating e-learning programs the instructional designers would present chunks of information using a three-part method. They would describe the idea (auditory), show an example the idea (visual), then have an exercise for the learner to interact with the idea (kinesthetic).

In developing content for our own projects it’s helpful to think about these different learning styles. If we are auditory learners we might easily write way too much content for one of the other learning styles to absorb. So being conscious of breaking content into smaller chunks and using more lists will make it more readable. Now, it is also important to know your audience. Technical information is usually pretty dense, and those who are attracted to that field probably tend to be auditory learners.

Another example is the photographer or artist who wants no words on their web site. “Let my images speak for themselves.” Well, yes, to a visual learner they will, but to an auditory or kinesthetic learner it will be foreign territory. They may need some verbal clues to understand what they are looking at.

How can you use this when developing content? Try to think of a balance. Include pictures and “visual” block of text (short paragraphs and lists) for the visual learner, provide drill-down information for the auditory learner who wants greater spans of words to absorb, and include demonstrations either with text, pictures or video. If there is a way the user can interact with the content, this will be of benefit to the kinesthetic learner.

What experiences have you had with developing content for diverse learning styles? Kinesthetic minds want to know.

[image by Jens Langner]

Welcome to the Jungle

February 15th, 2010

The jungle is place of great beauty and wonder, life is created en masse. There are many possibilities. And there is danger. A novice in the jungle encounters peril at every turn, to the point where the beauty and wonder is a mockery. It is an ironic reminder of the danger, the last insect bite, the muddy trail, the stealthy predator, the poisonous viper.

Welcome to the world of web design, 2010.

Two incidents recently reminded me of the jungle. Both remind me how the naivete of the web design client can have perilous results.

The Money Tiger Chases His Tail

A client approached us to take on management for a site that was built by another developer. Not uncommon, clients move from one developer to another for a variety of reasons. Typically the receiving developer will contact the original developer and request whatever they need to make the site run; web site docs, database backups, source files. Developers tend to be pretty cordial with each other and it isn’t uncommon for those in a geographic region to play a bit of client musical chairs. They may even be friends and have discussions about various clients they have all shared (this is addressed a bit more in the second story).

What many clients don’t understand is that the web design industry has become more fragmented and specialized. Larger firms are not as common, instead being replaced by smaller shops of one or very few people. Often there is a specialty, such as interface design, or content management development. What this means is that when you hire a developer to build a web project for you, he/she may then go out and hire subcontractors to handle those areas that are not the primary developer’s specialty.

Back to the client. They hired a firm to build this site (let’s call them firm A), who then hired another firm (B) to do part or maybe even all of the work. The site is finished. In good faith firm B releases the materials for launch. Client pays firm A. Firm A does not pay firm B and does not make acceptable arrangements to do so. Firm B is naturally hesitant to now hand over source files to an unknown company (us) without getting paid by firm B.

The client is naturally frustrated by all this since it delays their objectives. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending. Firm A paid firm B, files were delivered and the client left the jungle with just a few thorny scrapes. It could have unfolded into a long drama.

Moral: Know the arrangements your developer has with his vendors. These relationships are common and useful. They are also often casual.

Secrets in the Jungle

A developer colleague told me a story of a new prospect he was speaking with on the phone. This was an initial conversation. During the course of the conversation the prospect offered FTP access to his web site so my pal could see how it was done. FTP access is pretty much keys to the kingdom for web site design. Being the good guy that he is, my pal told the prospect that this was a bad idea, and that someone of lesser character could use that information to really mess things up.

Your web site name and the files and content that make up the web site itself are your intellectual property! It should be protected with the same vigilance as you would your car. It is a good idea to check periodically (annually is great) to be sure the WHOIS information (check your info) on your site registration has your current contact information. You should know who your domain is registered with and your credentials for accessing that registration. Think of this as your car’s title.

This makes FTP info your car keys. This information allows access to all the files on your web server. Information can be changed and files can even be deleted completely (or even replaced with something less… desirable).

You wouldn’t leave your car with just any mechanic. A good developer will understand if you request a Non-Disclosure Agreement or some other such document before proceeding with sensitive data. An NDA will also help protect you from the natural gab that happens between web development colleagues in the course of business.  Ask the developer how they protect sensitive data.

Moral: Be aware of what is valuable and take steps to protect it. Seek out those who can provide disinterested advice.

What’s Your Jungle Like?

What’s been your experience, either as a client or a developer? As always, your shared stories and comments enhance the conversation.

It Complements the Room

February 8th, 2010

I’ve never been a big football fan, and doubt I have ever watched a Superbowl all the way through (came close in 2002 with the Patriots). I suppose it is too direct and frenetic. I prefer the subtle bizarreness of baseball (really, what was Doubleday smoking?). But unless you live under a rock, you can’t help but be bombarded by the hype surrounding the cult of the game. And the one aspect of the game that gets as much attention as the teams playing is the advertising. Every year pundits line up to project who will have the best/most clever/most effective/most memorable $3 million 30-second spot (sorry, they may have been a bit cheaper this year, $2.5M?).

Part of my post-game day ritual is to pour through the ads (thank you Internet) and see what strikes me. If you haven’t seen them all and need to waste a bit of your life, Time has a complete list with reviews. My overall impression was that this was a mediocre year for SB ads. Yes, there were some laugh-out-loud moments (Abe Vigoda, chickens in space, Letterman/Leno, milkaholic, “It complements the room, it isn’t free”) but many of the ads were sophomoric and some a bit misogynous.

When Google makes you cry

The one ad that moved me was Google. Using the simple search window and some carefully crafted sound effects, they crafted a love story unfolding one search at a time. Did I feel a bit of a tug? OK, I admit it. It caught me off guard. Whenever I am suddenly pulled in a surprise direction, I have to ask… why?

Google gets it. The tools we use online now are an integrated part of our lives and help us be human with each other. They give us the ability to have a small village relationship with our fellow villagers regardless of location. The boundaries of geographic demarcation are no longer a factor. We travel in multiple circles of family, career, personal interest and  belief. Our fellow villagers can as easily be in Stockholm as in Scranton.

It makes a village…

It takes perspective to see how others see you, whether it is a friend or a customer. Google got the perspective from some very bright creatives not about what they are, but about the impact they make in our lives. That is the real story. The human story. So the question is, how does what we do professionally (and personally for that matter) impact others’ lives? The more we can understand that, the better equipped we will be to tell our story effectively. The more effective our story, the more likely the right customers will find us, relate and respond. And when they experience what you have to offer (assuming you deliver!), they become a fellow villager.

Your thoughts?

Please participate in the conversation. Your feedback and comments always complement our village.

I joined LinkedIn, now what…

January 18th, 2010

If you’ve just joined LinkedIn, or maybe you did some time ago, and wonder just how is it useful, these tips from LinkedIntelligence may provide insight.

Clients from Hell

January 14th, 2010

Those of you in the design industry (graphic design, web design) have no doubt spent some time on the blog, Clients from Hell. From a designer’s standpoint it is amusing and most of us can relate to the scenarios that populate its pages. I’ve read it. Chuckled. Shared. But I also felt a bit guilty in a doing so. It seemed that most of the posts were about clients who were uninformed. And isn’t that part of our job, to educate?

The guys at time tracking/billing software company Harvest wrote a thoughtful post on their blog about Clients from Hell. I enjoyed their perspective and the comments that followed. I was motivated to comment myself, which is quoted here:

I, too, have browsed (OK, obsessed) on the CfH site. With 15 years as a web designer I could appreciate and relate to many of the stories. But there are some great points not only in the article but some of the comments. It is cathartic to talk about the issues. We do it internally in our organization (though I always tried to maintain a “regardless the client is paying our bills” attitude) and it happens amongst my peers.

My impression of CfH, after LMAO, was that most of these clients were simply ignorant of the process. I have had a mantra for the past ten years – Manage Expectations. The more a client can be educated and informed up front, the more smoothly the relationship will unfold.

Granted some people are simply adversarial. Regardless of your industry, they will occasionally crop up and try to ruin your day.

One of the values, I think, of CfH is an exposé of the issues designers face. If approached from an attitude of “this is amusing, now what can I learn from it”, it is useful.

It’s easy to become jaded as we mature in our work. The stories mount. But it’s important to remember that our job is not simply to design, but interpret. And that requires skill sets that go beyond design.

If you are a client of a designer, do not be embarrassed or angry about Clients from Hell. It is, as one commenter noted, the water cooler for designers to blow off steam. If you were to approach it from a “what can I learn from this” attitude (as I suggest designers do) then it can only help the relationship between designers and clients.

A Social Commitment

January 11th, 2010

You’ve heard the buzz about social media and you feel the time is right to jump in and start making something happen for your organization. Success with social media requires several elements to come together, such as developing appropriate content. But one element that will make or break your success is consistency. And in order to be consistent, you need a commitment.

Woody Allen once said that 80% of success was just showing up. The same percentage may not hold true for social media endeavors, but I suspect it is pretty close. Many of us have jumped into the social media pool, but there is usually a lot of initial splashing about until we lose interest (we lose interest because we are not getting results). An important point to realize about social media is that it will take time. It will take time blocked out of your schedule, and it will take time to build up enough critical mass to start becoming effective. Rick Burns at Hubspot likens this to investment. A regular, consistent deposit will in time lead to a significant nest egg.

For the purposes of this article we’ll assume that you have a passing familiarity with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and photo sharing sites like Flickr or Picassa.

First step is to allocate some time each week to your social media efforts. I know it is hard to carve out time from what is likely an already packed schedule. But it won’t work if you leave it to “when I have time”. And don’t leave tasks that involve thought and attention (like writing a blog entry) to 3 PM on Friday afternoon. It makes it way too easy to  blow off to another time (been there, done that). I now make my weekly blog article a task for first thing Monday morning, when I am fresh for the week and I have had the weekend to think about what I will write. We are early in the year, but so far so good.

These are some of the activities you may be doing as part of your social media schedule. Not everything will apply to you (what does and doesn’t is the subject for another conversation), but for those tasks that do, it is important to have a plan:

  • Periodic blog article (weekly is good)
  • Participating on other blogs written by your colleagues or complementary contemporaries
  • More frequent blog note entries (links to interesting articles, videos, etc. Short one-thought observations).
  • Posts to Twitter and Facebook
  • New video uploads
  • New image uploads

Your schedule might look something like this…

  • Mon 1 PM, 1 hr: Write and post a blog article (may take more or less time, depending on how easily you organize thoughts and write)
  • Tue 1 PM, 1 hr: Seek out other blogs complementary to your work, establish comment accounts and comment regularly
  • M-F, 3 PM, 1/2 hr: Review Twitter and Facebook accounts, share good info from others, announce your blog post or other events
  • Wed 1 PM, 1 hr: If you generate video or still images of any kind as part of your work or marketing, post to YouTube and/or Flickr/Picassa and share across all your social media outlets
  • Thu 1 PM, 1/2 hr: Add some tidbits of info to your blog, links of interest, single thoughts
  • Fri 1PM, 1/2 hr: Make some notes about what you have experienced in the past week that may be appropriate to share on your blog or other outlets during the coming week.

So there you have a busy schedule, 6 1/2 hours of time committed every week. Most likely, not everything will apply to your situation so the time spent will be somewhat less. Think about the time you spend on marketing now, whether it be networking events or preparing ads for print. Like all resources in business, time is something that needs to be budgeted. Your commitment to success with social media should dictate how you budget the time for its execution.

I hope you found this helpful and I encourage you to continue the conversation.

I am Human

January 4th, 2010

Mac PlusThere was a time when it was said that technology divided us, isolated us. I was there, hunched over my Mac Plus while creating layouts or spreadsheets, or even playing NetTrek. Where did the time come from to do that? Time I spent with other people. So while I may have been learning the skills that would define my career for the next two decades, I was becoming more isolated (and larger!).

The Internet started to change that, initially we could email each other and as bandwidth increased even share photos via email. There was hope that other life existed out there, though evidence came only at the ring of the email alert, or, egads, “You’ve got mail.”

Fast forward to 2010 (twenty-ten according to some, not two thousand ten—I’m on board with that). We are now a social beehive of activity online, between Facebook and Twitter, and the countless other more specialized social media sites available. Our humanity is catching up with us.

Most people enjoy gathering and sharing stories. Some like larger groups, others prefer more intimacy. We learn about life from these stories. When people get together, information is exchanged back in forth in small nuggets, or chunks. This explains the success of social media.

For the first time since the dawn of communications technology (which dates back to whenever humans started scratching messages on stone) we can interact with each other in a way that more closely parallels our nature as social primates. Our village or tribe is no longer defined by physical boundaries or locale, but by familial relations and shared experiences. Many Facebookers have Facebook friends from the other side of the globe and exchange chunks of information as easily those living a short drive away from each other. Our “tribes” intermingle and overlap each other.

The wild success of social media is not due, therefore, to a clever application of technology. It is more due to technology becoming more closely in tune with our humanity. Facebook was designed primarily as a way for college students to keep track of each other. Humanity discovered it and now approximately 300 million people are on board. Twitter works the way we think, in small nuggets of info. It allows single thoughts to be shared instantly. Self-published blogs allow anyone to share thoughts and experiences on a regular basis to a global audience.

So here is the wake-up call for those that use communications technology for commercial purposes. Technology is allowing us to interact with each other at a more human level, in ways which reflect our social, tribal selves. Humans want to engage (and be engaged) with business at a human level. Many businesses go to great lengths to promote “customer service”, training staff to be more helpful, being open longer hours, etc. But your human customers are now accustomed to interacting in human and social ways online. Business cannot afford to rely on standing behind a wall of corporate-speak on their web sites anymore. Those companies that engage their prospects and customers in an open, transparent manner will have the advantage. Those that understand that we, as humans, like to gather and share and “talk story” will jump in and become part of the conversation. It’s a bit scary at times and the “message” can’t always be controlled. But in the end, the company is recognized as its own tribe, whose circles intersect with those of other tribes.

It becomes part of the human community.

Koa Lecture Series: Business with Intention & Integrity: How to Thrive on Uncertainty & Chaos

October 20th, 2009

Presented by Brad Glass
Sponsored by Koa Media
Hosted by Venture Hyannis

Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 6-7:30 PM
Cost: Free
Location: Venture Hyannis, 500 Main Street, Hyannis, MA

We live in a complex, uncertain and chaotic world. In our quest for being “in control” of our lives, workplaces and relationships, we’ve come to look to the external world for all our answers; they don’t live there. Learn how to re-connect with your own truth, using intention and integrity as your source of personal power. Learn how to embrace life’s inherent chaos and uncertainty as opportunities for creative genius, not as problems to be solved.

About Brad Glass
For over 30 years, instructor Brad Glass has provided leadership for individuals, teams and businesses – as a manager, as an educator, and as a coach. He offers a unique perspective on life, one that opens up a vast new territory of possibility for how you might live more meaningfully. Brad holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) designation from the International Coach Federation (ICF) and master’s degrees in both Engineering and Environmental Studies. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at Antioch University’s Graduate School, and as a member of the board of directors of the Community Leadership Institute of Cape Cod, the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, and the New England chapter of the International Coach Federation.

www.roadnottaken.com

A Personal Note
I have been a client of Brad’s for over a year. His insights on personal and business leadership have, simply put, changed my life. He is 180° from typical and his ideas will challenge your way of thinking. Someone once said that solving one’s problems requires a different thought pattern than the one that led to the problems. Open your mind and prepare for a paradigm shift…

Register Now! Free!

Twitterhawk- Ultimate Twitter Marketing Tool or Spam?

May 31st, 2009

I suppose it depends. If you’ve wondered how to use Twitter in your marketing campaign, here is a concept that has potential. Here’s an insightful article from Guy Kawasaki : TwitterHawk: No Guts, No Story

Analyze This!

March 1st, 2009

Dave Caolo pointed out this neat little tool that analyzes your personality type based on the content of your blog. Or so they say. Regardless of accuracy, it is still certainly fun. And me? I’m the Scientist, which is just about right…

The long-range thinking and individualistic type. They are especially good at looking at almost anything and figuring out a way of improving it – often with a highly creative and imaginative touch. They are intellectually curious and daring, but might be physically hesitant to try new things.

The Scientists enjoy theoretical work that allows them to use their strong minds and bold creativity. Since they tend to be so abstract and theoretical in their communication they often have a problem communicating their visions to other people and need to learn patience and use concrete examples. Since they are extremely good at concentrating they often have no trouble working alone.

Go to the Typealyzer and get the skinny or your favorite blogger.

Talk Story ('olelo Kama'ilio) is the Hawai’an phrase for shooting the breeze, sharing ideas, stories, and opinions. Good friends get together and “Talk Story”. The purpose of our blog, Talk Story, is to share some of our ideas and observations about elements of web communications, particularly strategic planning. And for a bit of shameless self promotion. Please enjoy and give us some talk story back!

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