Fun Anymore

The fine line between false praise and encouragment

Image by berbercarpet via FlickrThere exists a fine line between false praise and encouragement.

Encouragement is necessary. It provides a positive support while someone is either exploring their creativity of improving their craft. No one is instantly good at anything, so we all naturally go through a development process in anything that we do.

But unlike encouragement, false praise halts development. It incorrectly leads people to believe that they are at the top of their game, and that no further improvements are necessary.

I see this happen all to often in the new media sphere. It’s as if some special pass is given. Some bar has been lowered. A general understanding that is simply can’t be as good as “traditional” media. And since it can’t, then we should have our own devalued sense of quality.

To speak frankly for a moment: fuck that.

I don’t think new media has anything to prove to anyone. I think there is plenty of room for huge variations in quality. And I fully understand that we’re often examining qualitative aspects. And yes, there is plenty of low quality stuff on the radio, TV, movies, theaters and more. New media shouldn’t strive to be traditional media.

In fact, we need to lose those labels for moment. Let’s talk about media. And let’s use the same scales.

Was the last podcast you were on “one of the finest you’ve ever been on”, or was it simply good? Was that last free book you listened to “better than anything I can buy at the store”, or just a good yarn? Was there nothing worthy of fixing? Did they nail it on all points? And are you being honest?

I hereby dub 2009 The Year of Honest Criticism. Wanna join me? Note that this doesn’t mean I’ll be trashing everything I dislike. I’m not that big of a new media douchebag. But will be giving honest feedback when it’s asked for, and I’ll moderate my own enthusiasm for things, relying less on superlatives and hyperbole. Reality. Whoa.

Sacred Excerement Chili

Image via WikipediaBecause I made so many mouths water via Twitter prior to my New Years Eve party, here’s the recipe for some seriously hot chili. No beans, because that’s a hanging offense.

Sacred Excrement Chili - v 2.0 by Evo Terra

Total cooking time: 6 hours
Serves: 12 - 24, depending on how much they like chili and can handle the heat

Meat

5 lbs pork roast, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 lb pork sausage. If using links, split skin & scrape out filling

Fresh Goodies

4 chipotle peppers, minced
4 large Anaheim peppers, roasted, skinned, seeded & drained. Oh, and chopped.
2 large green bell peppers, seeded & diced
2 large yellow/sweet onions, diced
1 entire bunch of cilantro, chopped. The more, the merrier.
1 bulb (not a clove, the whole bulb) of garlic, crushed or minced
5 stalks of celery, thick cut

Canned Goodies

2 28-oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 15 oz can of beef broth

Seasonings

1/4 teaspoon (no, I’m not kidding) of Habanero chili powder
May substitute for “normal” chili powder @ 8 tablespoons
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried majoram leaves
1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano leaves
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Secret Ingredients

1 cup raisins
2 cups steel cut oats

Directions

Combine Meat (do not brown first), Fresh Goodies & canned tomatoes (not the tomato sauce) into large cooking pot. Mix well & slowly bring mixture to a boil, then quickly reduce heat to a simmer.

Add tomato sauce, broth and all Seasonings to a blender. Blend. Pour over and mix well in the simmering pot.

Cover & stir occasionally, making sure to not allow any burning on the bottom.

After 2 hours, add Secret Ingredients.

Continue cooking & stirring for an additional 4 hours. Add additional oats to increase thickness as necessary.

Serve with whatever else you want in your chili. But I highly recommend tasting it first. Oh, and having a beer handy. ‘Tis a touch warm — of temperature and of spice.

That’s it. And once you have it, you’ll know why it’s called Sacred Excrement Chili. And if you’re still unsure, buy a thesaurus.

This recipe borrows heavily from “The” Chili Recipe (v 1.2) from Russ Kerlin.

7 facts about me that you probably don’t care about

Image by brungrrl via FlickrIt was only matter of time. Dean OUlette (funny name for a Texas fan) tagged me for the most recent reincarnation of this meme. OK. I’ll play.

But for a guy that lives pretty much online and it’s remotely bashful or shy, it’s kinda tough. So I’ll try and pull up seven things that aren’t always visible to those who don’t spend IRL time with me.

1. I’m easily pissed when my integrity is called into question. I have plenty of bad qualities. And I often act in my best interest. But that never involves stepping on or shitting on people. The intrinsic altruistic inclinations of our species got us this far. I see no reason to go against 3.5 billion years of evolution.¹

2. I’m a huge procrastinator. No, seriously. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? It’s my least attractive trait and one that drives The Lovely Wife terribly insane. I’m quite productive, but oftentimes not until the final hour. Stupid, I know.
3. I often times have no idea what the hell I’m doing. Cat’s out of the bag. Guess what? This is how the world operates. We take some skill, some knowledge, and a history of usually doing the right thing — or a right thing — and we push forward. This used to sort of creep me out and led me to believe that the universe was looking out for me or something. Now I realize that I’m probably just good at identifying the bad possible choices and then choosing a non-bad one. Out of many. There may have been — and probably was — a better one. But unless you live in a parallel universe… prove it!
4. I’m the exact opposite of pack rat. I don’t collect anything. I don’t save anything. In fact, I probably throw out something important or possibly valuable at least once a week. I’d be perfectly happy living a completely minimalistic lifestyle. Others who I’ve chosen to share my life with, however…
5. I loath going to the dentist. Seriously. I’d rather visit a proctologist on a daily basis than go to the dentist. Oddly enough, I’ve never had a dentist cause me a huge amount of pain. But I watched my wife get her wisdom teeth pulled by Dr. Marques de Sade some 20 years ago. After that, I’m a total wuss. She’s fine with it. Odd, I tell you.
6. I cannot abide going in circles. Merry-go-rounds make me sick. Spinning around more than once makes me nauseous. Tilt-o-Whril? Are you kidding me? I have to turn my head in the theater when they do a spinning-overhead shot. Yes. It’s that bad.
7. I make really good chili. No beans, thank you very much. It’s called Sacred Excrement chili, because you will say holy shit when you eat it. Not for the faint of heart. In fact, I have to make a batch tomorrow. Looks like a trip to the store is imminent!

But before I go, the rules of this engagement require me to tag seven others:

• Derek P. Gilbert
• Lejon Prime
• Basil Sands
• Steve & Emily Baxter
• Keith T. Garner
• Mandy Garr
• Betsy Smith

(I subscribe to all of your blogs, so I’ll know if you didn’t do it…)

I then am to post the rules for this meme. (The comments in brackets are mine own.)

1. Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post. [check]
2. Share seven facts about yourself in the post. [check]
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs. [check]
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged. [wtf? doesn’t everyone have ego filters?]

^{1 - The earth has been around for 4.5 billion years, true. But it was sterile for the first 1 million years or so.}

Do you tweet… like I do?

Image by CRASH-candy via FlickrNewsflash #1: anyone claiming proficiency in any aspect of social media is making it up as they go along. Present company included.

Resist the temptation to alter your behavior because Social Media Expert suggested you do so. For every gem presented, the schmee (my word, run with it) probably exhibits one or more traits of deplorable activity. That should indicate to you the schmee (or this schmee) isn’t perfect. Which is rather obvious, as this medium is designed imperfection.

But don’t ignore their advice. If something is worth the wadded panties they suffered, it probably bears examination your part. They may not be perfect, but they aren’t stupid.

Case in point: Chris Brogan’s latest rant on “robot behavior”. I’m long-time user of an auto reply for new followers on Twitter. Yet I agree with much of what Chris had to say. Counter-intuitive? Maybe. But I see auto replies as a tool; the difference is made in how you wield it. And just by typing the word difference, it is implied that that difference — a change from state A to state B — can be measured.

Newsflash #2: Yes, social media can be measured. In a myriad of ways.

In my case, the numbers weren’t proving out my intended goal. So I modified my auto reply. I changed how I use the tool. In my case, I abandoned the first goal (not all that important to me).

If your auto reply on Twitter is designed to cause someone to take action; measure those actions. If it’s working, great! Keep on keepin’ on. But if it’s not… well then you have some thinking ahead of you. Maybe your audience doesn’t want to take that action. At least not in this environment. Maybe it’s just not how they want to interact with you. Or maybe they really do only care about what you tweet. Not your free ebook. Not your blog. Not the “personal” video you made just for them.

Bottom line: not all auto replies are evil. But most are worthless. Because I said.

Scott Sigler invades Phoenix in January

Image via Wikipedia

He’s coming. And we can’t escape. If we’re lucky, maybe he won’t bring… THE CHICKEN SCISSORS!

Scott Sigler is coming to town. Which is a lot like saying Santa Claus is coming to town, only Sigler actually is and he doesn’t weigh nearly as much.

Mark your calendars for the event, Phoenix. The most popular freaking podcast novelist of all time is coming to Phoenix, and he wants to meet and hang out with you. Funny, huh? The “Sigler Stank CONTAGIOUS Book Tour” will hit Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe AZ on Wednesday, January 14th. Hence the countdown clock.

Hence my imploring you to register to attend the event. Oh, it’s on Upcoming, too.

Hence my imploring you to buy Infected from any bookstore and bring it with you. You can buy Contagious there at the store. He’ll sign both of him. Trust me. He will. I’ll be standing over him watching. Not that standing over him is all that hard.

Don’t miss it. Or I’ll come after you with the chicken scissors…

Free Audio Books for Readers & Sage Advice for Authors

I didn’t write that title. Carrie Runnals did. She was gracious enough to interview me recently on her podcast, Words to Mouth.

As anyone who’s asked me knows, I can go on and on (and on and on) about the topic of new media, especially as it relates to authors. Yeah, I’ve to a soft spot in my heart for them. Plus, I (and others) pour a ton of energy in to Podiobooks.com. I’m please it’s become the largest portal for free serialized audiobooks on the web. And we have some really cool things coming down the pipe for next year.

But I’ll save that for the next interview I’m giving. More on that when I see it out!

Evo spreads the hoppy beer meme

Image by evo_terra via FlickrMy friend Charlie has a beer podcast. It’s called Speaking of Beer. And he… speaks of beer. Lots of different types of beer. And when he wants to speak about hoppy beer… he calls in the pro. Uh, that would be me.

I’m the special guest on Show 54: Hopapalooza 3: International Hop Overthrow.

I’d also been drinking already when Charlie and I decided to do a show. Which means I through pretty much all of my “5 Reasons Why Your Podcast Sucks” rules out the window. Hey, nobody is perfect.

But Charlie obviously wasn’t too offended. He asked me to help with his video contribution the Beer Safari Holiday Beer Exchange Video Special (or whatever it’s called). I don’t think that’s live yet, but you can read Charlie pontificating on the event (and more) here.

Speaking of beer… #evfn is tonight. w00t!

In praise of shortness

Image by noneck via FlickrThere’s something to be said for a short show. My podcast listening enjoyment has increased 10 fold by:

• Brad P. in NJ for A Whole Lot of Nonsense. I wish I cared as much.
• Beatnik Turtle’s Song of the Day. I wish I had been as prolific with my music.
• The Onion Radio News. I wish I was this funny.
• Patrick McLean’s The Seanachai. I wish I wrote this well.
• Christiana Ellis‘ Shallow Thoughts. I don’t wish I had a puppy, but these are the perfect punctuation between longer shows.

All short. All concise. All worthy additions to your podcast playlist. What short shows (less than 10 minutes) do you recommend?

What the heck is an #efvn?

#evfn is a weekly social gathering organized primarily over Twitter.¹ It stands for East Valley Friday Nights and has been going strong for several weeks now², I think we might have reached critical mass of sorts last night.

It’s an interesting off-shoot social media experiment, with roots in various Tweetups, meetups and the like. And it’s a complete violation of the 80/20 rule. Social “friending” tends to not care much about the geography of connections. If I look at the friends list of any of my social network profiles, the vast majority of people aren’t near me. Sure, there are plenty who prefer to keep connected to local people on line, but they (or perhaps you ) are the aberration.

Yet local events like #evfn work, even though most people in my circle (and the circles of others tweeting about the event) can’t make it without hopping on a plane. Yet it prevails. Nifty.

Obviously, local groups have been meeting well before Twitter came along. They’ve even been using the webbernets to organize. But I don’t think that something like #evfn could have arisen without a tool like Twitter. Why? Because Twitter is what #evfn attendees have in common, yet the gathering isn’t focused around Twitter. I counted no less than four different and distinct “niches” of people last night. And yes, they by and large clustered together. But there was plenty of flow and interaction among groups. It didn’t feel like there were four different parties taking place under the same roof. We were all quite obviously together. That’s very different from knitting circles, play dates, book clubs, or fan gatherings. There the organizing principle is what you are there to talk about, do, support or watch. And more power to them.

I think we’re to the point where I need to create a home base for #evfn. It’s fun enough. Next week we’ll meet at Whole Foods in Chandler. In the Tapas Bar. And if you think it’s odd that a grocery store is the place we’re meeting for an event that’s largely about tossing back a few good beers, I direct your attention the “Tapas Bar” again. My grocery store can beat up your grocery store.

How are you using social media to generate a localized action of some kind?

^{1 - Best definition I’ve heard so far. Thanks to Charlie the Beer Guy for tweeting that out.
2 - Thanks to Tyson Crosbie for starting #pfn (Phoenix Friday Nights), which I went to once and enjoyed immensely. I took that inspiration and some Derek Neighbors-style “I’m just gonna do it myself” attitude to put this together. Kudos to both!}

Launching Social Media Triage™ - Bite-sized Evo Terra goodness

Image via WikipediaIf you’ve seen a M*A*S*H re-run, you know what triage is. It’s providing quick and immediate aid to those who need it the most. It’s patching a hole, fixing something that is broken, or getting something working that has stopped.

Social Media Triage™ is no different. Just with less icky stuff.

SMT assumes you’re already in the thick of things in the social media sphere, but those things are not going according to plan. Or perhaps you didn’t have a plan in the first place. SMT is all about quick and immediate tactical changes to fix what you could be doing better.

SMT is focused. While there is an evaluation of everything you are doing in the social space, it’s applied systematically. It’s not a re-work of your strategy. It’s making sure that your tactics match said strategy. One social media site at a time.

SMT is tough love, with actionable outcomes that are implemented by you on-the-spot. It’s about shifting your perspective and getting you focused back on why you started doing this stuff in the first place.

Perhaps best of all, SMT is get-in-get-out. It’s an hour and a half of one-on-one consulting time (flat fee of $225) with no required follow-ups or pre-defined retainer arrangements. You pay for what you need, and you move on smarter and wiser for the experience.

Sound interesting? Let’s do it.

Tip of the hat to CC Chapman for hearing me out on this a week ago. And to Marcus Nelson for tweeting about unstick.me on Monday. And to Luanne Mattson for being my first client.

Would you recommend me as a speaker?

Image by EricaLucci via FlickrWere you in attendance for one of my recent speaking engagements? Did you find the information I gave valuable? If so, can I get a favor from you?

To be blunt: I want more speaking engagements. They are a LOT of fun for me and I genuinely enjoy sharing what I know with a receptive audience. Plus, there is some business upside in it for me, too. Altruistic? Sure. But I’m not above making some contacts or getting covered for my time/travels either.

I’ve just updated my LinkedIn profile to include my “work” as a public speaker^*. I’d really appreciate it if I could get a recommendation or twenty from any of you who may have found this site after hearing me speak at a various event. I know my Twitter following has blossomed as a result. So this is my attempt to harness some of that groundswell and further my career as a speaker.

Thanks in advance for your help. Oh, and if you’d like me to speak at your next event, let’s chat!

^{* - I put that in quotes because sometimes I’m paid to speak and sometime I’m not. And sometimes, it sure doesn’t feel like work.}

I’m Speaking on a Travel and Tourism Panel

Image via WikipediaI’ve been invited to participate in a panel discussion next Wednesday. The event goes by the lengthy name of “Promoting AZ Travel with Social Media & Interactive Marketing“.

My lovely wife, Sheila Dee, spent a number of years in the travel industry. A good portion of Arizona’s economy comes from travel & tourism, as we are a vacation destination. I spent six years running an interactive advertising agency. And I do dabble in social media. Yep. I guess I qualify.

As you might imagine, attendees to this event and panel will be looking for recipes. They want easy-to-implement answers that will bring in an immediate return. The troubled economy has lead to a reduction in personal travel, and that hurts here at home. And while I don’t think that a well planned (if that is even possible) social media campaign will get people to start spending more on travel. I also don’t think that social media is a quick fix to cause revenues to jump up to previous levels.

My role (self-appointed) on the panel will be to carry the flag of reality. I do think that there are some valuable lessons and best practices that can be applied to hotels, resorts and other destinations. If adopted, they will have a positive influence for the companies that implement and execute them properly. But it takes a LOT of work. It takes dedication. It takes a clear vision and strategy. And it takes a willingness to be flexible in tactics.

Should be a lot of fun. Thanks to Fionn from Elixir Interactive for inviting me to participate.

Do you have any insight on this topic? Leave me a comment. I’ll try and work in as many relevant comments into my answers as possible.

Why wait for a conference?

Image by sheiladeeisme via FlickrNew Media unshackles the notion of a broadcast schedule. Traditional media is waking up to this fact (hello, Hulu). Audiences have been there for a while (hello, TiVo). Conferences and conventions are getting into the act, albeit from their tech-savvy attendees (hello, uStream).

So what am I waiting for?

On the plane back from NAR2008, I sketched out an outline for 5 MORE Reasons Your Podcast SUCKS, and 5 Reasons You Suck on Twitter. My first two talks in this vein (Podcast & iTunes suckage) met with rave reviews when I presented them at Podcamp AZ. I just need a venue to give the talks.

But I already have one. I don’t need to wait for a “live” event, attract 100 or so folks to show up at a specific time and place, and hope someone catches it on video. I can produce the talks as new media files and use the Four Corners of New Media (I’ll define that in a future presentation/post) to give even more people a chance to see it.

(Of course, I’ll not turn down a live speaking invitation. If you’re looking for a dynamic speaker, give me a call!)

I am cognizant of diminishing value. You should be, too. That’s why when I give a live talk, I try my best to make it interactive. Interactivity is difficult to do with new media. At least, it’s not as seamless and efficient as it is when you are live with a crowd. And I think that’s the key difference. Yes, you may contract with me to come speak at your event. Yes, there may be an archived media file of me speaking on that topic right on my website, if not all over the webbernets. And yes, you could project said media file up on the Jumbo-Tron rather than fly me in. But people could only shout questions at the screen… and I doubt they’d get a response.

Props to Podcasting News for posting the article that got me thinking about this. It looks like I have some work to do.

Taking a mulligan on Twitter

Image via CrunchBaseI’ve been an active user of Twitter for close to two years now. And like any useful social media or new media tool, I’ve changed how I interact with it multiple times. The only constant in life is change, and a tool that accommodates my changing needs will always have a place in my metaphorical tool kit.

Thanks to TweetDeck, I’m changing behaviors once again. Previously, I was very selective of who I followed. That strategy fit me well, as I couldn’t abide the constant stream of tweets from people who either A) tweeted too much for my tastes, or B) I had no idea really who they were. Neither Twitterific or Twhirl helped stem that tide (though I still use Twhirl since it allows you to be logged into multiple accounts), and obviously neither did the web-interface for Twitter itself. But TweetDeck changes things.

The trouble is this: Now that I’m taking a much more liberal approach¹ to who I chose to follow, I’m not following many of the people who currently follow me. And as I’ve learned from my recent “growth spurts” of followers at Podcamp AZ and the NAR 2008 National conference, not following people hinders their ability to communicate with me via direct message (DM). Instead, they have to use the @ reply feature, cluttering up the Twitter stream with context-less updates. I hate that, and want to work to change it.

So if I’m not following you and you’d like to be able to DM me, follow these simple steps:

1. Make sure your profile is complete. I still want to know who I’m following. Having a name I recognize, a bio that tells me who you are and a URL where I can get additional information helps when your recent Tweets don’t give me much of a clue.
2. Stop following me. By the way, the command is “leave” to stop following, not “unfollow”. Or you can just visit my profile and uncheck “following” under my image.
3. Follow me again. That will send me a new notification, so I can take a second look at your profile. I still have some standards¹, but I’d like to consider you again.

Let’s try that again!

^{1 - I don’t auto-follow. Something has to look interesting, and I’ll never follow bots or those who don’t understand the toolset. It’s about a conversation, not about selling. Updates are fine, but post something of value. Look for a “5 Reasons You Suck on Twitter” post soon.}

New Media Strategies for Real Estate Professionals

I spoke at NAR 2008 (National Association of Realtors) today. It was their national convention, held in Orlando Florida. My topic was “digital business strategies”, but the presentation I created was really new media strategies. I tailored the topic specific to the needs of real estate professionals brand new to the ideas and concepts behind new media.

Mad props to Steve Belt, Jay Thompson, D. Patrick Lewis, Nick Bastian & Justin McHood for their sage advice on the kinds of things the audience would be interested in. I think it was a rousing success!

5 Reasons Why Your Podcast SUCKS on iTunes preso

More from my talks at Podcamp AZ last weekend!

No, this isn’t the same as the previously posted slidshow. Pay close attention to the title. This one is all about things you are (probably) doing wrong on iTunes.

I make plenty of examples out of plenty of my friends here. I hope none of them take it personally. Just pointing out errors. Might as well use friends, right?

There’s also some video that Queen Geek captured. If you can find a way to sync them together, have at it!

5 Reasons Why Your Podcast SUCKS preso

I know not everyone could watch me present this topic in person at Podcamp AZ over the weekend. So I’m posting it here. There isn’t any audio, so you may have to struggle to grasp the concept of some of the slides. Someone with more time would have recorded an audio track to go along with it. in fact, you may find such a recording of me giving this talk online. Search for it. If you find it, let me know and I’ll link to it.

UPDATE: Dani recorded the session and has made it available, so now you can listen while you watch!

Note The Law of Two Feet applies to viewing this presentation. If it’s not for you — as in you aren’t looking to increase your audience size or to improve it’s attractiveness to sponsors, advertisers, critics or whoever — then don’t watch. I’m happy to have you tell me why I’m incorrect on some assumptions, but also remember that you’re only watching. You don’t have my words to back up these slides.

With that, enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Mom

Image by mrsonion42 via Flickr60 years ago today, the Chicago Tribune printed their famous “DEWEY BEATS TRUMAN” gaff. OOPS! And according to history reported on Google, not a godsdamned thing else happened that day.

I posit to you that a great travesty of justice occurred when those few hundred errant copies captured the attention of a nation. For that event overshadowed something far more important to me.

My mom was born.

Happy birthday, Mom. Sixty years. Seven hundred twenty months. Twenty one thousand, nine hundred fourteen days. Well over half of a million hours. But who’s counting?

I love you, Mom. Here’s to another 60 more.

Market Perspective

I’ve discovered the joy of slideshare this morning. I’ve been watching them for a while now, but finally decided to do one on my own.

I threw this together in a matter of minutes because the mood took me. I’ll eventually make it more “official” and include it as part of my “Big” offerings. Or maybe I’ll change the name of those all to “Perspective”, since that’s what they are all about.

For now, here it is. Subject to change as I dink around. But it’s nice to see how fast you can do something when an idea strikes.

Obligatory Halloween post

Image by evo_terra via FlickrHalloween is my favorite holiday. Well, truth be told, it’s really the only holiday I still celebrate. Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing against celebration. I just sorta forget about the rest of them.

But there won’t be much to this year’s Halloween. My entire family has been packed with things to do recently, and none of us bothered to think too much about the holiday this year. Or last year… or the year before that.

Hrm. Guess I don’t really celebrate this one, either. I need new holidays.

See you at PodcampAZ tomorrow, RIGHT?