Micro Update: Sat, 28 Feb 09 23:03:43 -0700

Just upgraded to iLife ‘09. The new Garageband is AWESOME!

Micro Update: Fri, 27 Feb 09 21:07:25 -0700

Drove by a bar on fire on the way home. Wild stuff. Tons of fire trucks and hoses.

Micro Update: Fri, 27 Feb 09 12:55:38 -0700

Just fixed a bug I’ve been messing with for THREE DAYS! Is it time to go home yet?

Micro Update: Fri, 27 Feb 09 08:19:09 -0700

Is it wrong to WANT twitter to go down so I can see the Fail Whale again?

Micro Update: Thu, 26 Feb 09 22:23:59 -0700

Watching Life on Mars and editing a podcast.

Micro Update: Thu, 26 Feb 09 19:59:10 -0700

Mac users! Come join us! We’re recording a live MacMod podcast: http://ping.fm/jUsEM

Micro Update: Thu, 26 Feb 09 15:10:54 -0700

Nasty storm system coming through. Lots of snow. Time to head home and make CHILI!!!

Worthless SMO

I listened to a webinar today on the topic of Social Media Optimization (SMO). I’d tell you who produced it, but there was a “private and confidential” notice at the bottom of the slide deck…despite the fact that it was free and anyone could register. Go figure.

The person doing the presentation, who works for a marketing firm, had a VERY negative view of SMO and concluded with saying that it should be the very last thing you spend your marketing dollars on, after you’ve done everything else. I couldn’t disagree more strongly, but before I explain why, I want to clarify that the term SMO strikes me as a hollow industry buzz word and makes me feel dirty even typing it.

Now that that’s out of the way, the thing that I really took issue with is they spoke as if the only worthwhile goal for a business in this space would be to try to increase sales, or to improve search engine ranks to, wait for it, increase sales. This is ENTIRELY the wrong kind of thinking, in my view.

While social media certainly CAN be used to increase sales, in the vast majority of cases I think business would be better off to aproach it as either an extension of their customer service department, OR as part of their PR efforts.

Note that I said PR and NOT marketing. Though often tossed together and handled by the same people, Marketing and PR are two VERY different things, and business would do well to remember that. Social Media will allow you to do things like strengthen your branding, get customer feedback quickly, and rapidly respond to public criticism of your products.

If you step into the Social Media space with the intent to sell something to people you will FAIL. Think 1) Brand 2) PR 3) Customer Service (not necessarily in that order). Perhaps even 4) Recruiting. All of these are a vital part of business and improving them WILL increase your sales, but it is NOT a marketing effort. Remember that.

Micro Update: Thu, 26 Feb 09 10:55:53 -0700

Watching a webinar about Social Media, and eating a Jimmy Johns Sub. There’s worse ways to spend a lunch hour.

Micro Update: Thu, 26 Feb 09 08:38:11 -0700

Hey developers, is there a javascript lightbox that can embed a flash video AND actually works in Internet Explorer?

Micro Update: Wed, 25 Feb 09 15:27:01 -0700

Have I mentioned how much I hate Internet Explorer?

Micro Update: Tue, 24 Feb 09 22:10:36 -0700

I has a new blog post, titled “Does Your Job Suck?”. Thankfully, mine does not. http://ping.fm/xjZc4

Micro Update: Tue, 24 Feb 09 15:04:36 -0700

Watching the kids tonight. Should we play Super Mario Bros, or Zelda?

Does Your Job Suck?

I received the news today that a former boss of mine (the only sane manager in that place) has been fired. I had the good sense to get out of that place a while ago, but I feel bad for them. That department has had more than 100% turnover in the last two years so I’m not particularly surprised, but a lot of people have been caught up for the worse with the corporate politics and red tape and found themselves turned out to the streets in this horrible economy.

I present to you a list of warning signs that might help you know in advance that it’s time to spread your resume around, or if you are considering a new job these might be good questions to ask during your interview:

• Are you the last one standing? Take a look at the turnover rate. If the company is well established and your department has been around a while yet everyone there has been there less than a year, there is a good reason for it. There’s only so many people they can fire before it becomes obvious that the problem is NOT the employees.
• How red is the tape? If a task that takes you 30 minutes of actual work takes 4 hours to complete because of the paper work, then you should have alarm bells sounding in your head. It’s not even that bad in the health industry, and they are KNOWN for paperwork!
• Are you qualified to think? If you are not considered qualified enough to think or have ideas, then you need to get out of there. Any organization that has a hostile reaction to new ideas is bound for finantial ruin anyway. Besides, ANYONE can have a good idea, no matter what your pay rate is.
• How many layers to this Fail Cake? The more management layers there are, the harder it is for anything to get done, and the harder it is to get recognition for your hard work. If there used to be only one manager between you and the CEO, but now there’s more bosses than you can shake a stick at then RUN! They are compensating for incompetence by hiring more people, and when they find that the incompetence is still there they fire the little guy, and that’s YOU!
• Shouldn’t this task be outsourced? If you have been in the job market a while and are making significantly more than you did when you were flipping burgers at McD’s, but STILL find yourself being given mindless repetitive work that is not only below your job description but would be better off given to someone working in a Bangladesh call center, then get the crap out of there! Seriously. That kind of ridiculous waste can only turn out bad. It not only shows that they don’t value you or their OWN money, but that will bite you in the butt later when your reviews come up and you didn’t work on anything important.
• How much am I worth again? If you put in notice that you are getting a new job and they offer you a HUGE salary increase to stay put, don’t fall for it! This is bad. If your best hope of getting a good raise is to actually quit and get hired again then there is a SERIOUS problem with this company and you’re better off somewhere else.
• Can we have a meeting to talk about the meeting we had because of that other meeting? Some jobs, especially management, require a lot of meetings. Sad, but true. But if you are NOT in management, and instead have deadlines and tasks to complete, and yet you find that having ONLY 3 meetings in one day to be an improvement…well, there’s no hope. Get out now while you can still get a good reference.

I could write more, but this is too depressing. So, go think hard about your job, and don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Micro Update: Tue, 24 Feb 09 08:23:05 -0700

The key to success in life is to know what you want and just go for it. For me, it’s breakfast.