Is The Blog Dead?

Posted on December 23, 2013 by networkingnerd

I couldn’t help but notice an article that kept getting tweeted about and linked all over the place last week. It was a piece by Jason Kottke titled “R.I.P. The Blog, 1997-2013“. It’s actually a bit of commentary on a longer piece he wrote for the Nieman Journalism Lab called “The Blog Is Dead, Long Live The Blog“. Kottke talks about how people today are more likely to turn to the various social media channels to spread their message rather than the tried-and-true arena of the blog.

Kottke admits in both pieces that blogging isn’t going away. He even admits that blogging is going to be his go-to written form for a long time to come. But the fact that the article spread around like wildfire got me to thinking about why blogging is so important to me. I didn’t start out as a blogger. My foray into the greater online world first came through Facebook. Later, as I decided to make it more professional I turned to Twitter to interact with people. Blogging wasn’t even the first thing on my mind. As I started writing though, I realized how important it is to the greater community. The reason? Blogging is thought without restriction.

Automatic Filtration

Social media is wonderful for interaction. It allows you to talk to friends and followers around the world. I’m still amazed when I have conversations in real time with Aussies and Belgians. However, social media facilitates these conversations through an immense filtering system. Sometimes, we aren’t aware of the filters and restrictions placed on our communications.

Twitter forces users to think in 140-ish characters. Ideas must be small enough to digest and easily recirculate. I’ve even caught myself cutting down on thoughts in order to hit the smaller target of being about to put “RT: @networkingnerd” at the begging for tweet attribution. Part of the reason I started a blog was because I had thoughts that were more than 140 characters long. The words just flow for some ideas. There’s no way I could really express myself if I had to make ten or more tweets to express what I was thinking on a subject. Not to mention that most people on Twitter are conditioned to unfollow prolific tweeters when they start firing off tweet after tweet in rapid succession.

Facebook is better for longer discussion, but they are worse from the filtering department. The changes to their news feed algorithm this year weren’t the first time that Facebook has tweaked the way that users view their firehose of updates. They believe in curating a given users feed to display what they think is relevant. At best this smacks of arrogance. Why does Facebook think they know what’s more important to me that I do? Why must my Facebook app always default to Most Important rather than my preferred Most Recent? Facebook has been searching for a way to monetize their product even before their rocky IPO. By offering advertisers a prime spot in a user’s news feed, they can guarantee that the ad will be viewed thanks to the heavy handed way that they curate the feed. As much reach as Facebook has, I can’t trust them to put my posts and articles where they belong for people that want to read what I have to say.

Other social platforms suffer from artificial restriction. Pinterest is great for those that post with picture and captions or comments. It’s not the best for me to write long pieces, especially when they aren’t about a craft or a wish list for gifts. Tumblr is more suited for blogging, but the comment system is geared toward sharing and not constructive discussion. Add in the fact that Tumblr is blocked in many enterprise networks due to questionable content and you can see how limiting the reach of a single person can be when it comes to corporate policy. I had to fight this battle in my old job more than once in order to read some very smart people that blogged on Tumblr.

Blogging for me is about unrestricted freedom to pour out my thoughts. I don’t want to worry about who will see it or how it will be read. I want people to digest my thoughts and words and have a reaction. Whether they choose to share it via numerous social media channels or leave a comment makes no difference to me. I like seeing people share what I’ve committed to virtual paper. A blog gives me an avenue to write and write without worry. Sometimes that means it’s just a few paragraphs about something humorous. Other times it’s an activist rant about something I find abhorrent. The key is that those thoughts can co-exist without fear of being pigeonholed or categorized by an algorithm or other artificial filter.

Tom’s Take

Sometimes, people make sensationalist posts to call attention to things. I’ve done it before and will likely do it again in the future. The key is to read what’s offered and make your own conclusion. For some, that will be via retweeting or liking. For others, it will be adding a +1 or a heart. For me, it’s about collecting my thoughts and pouring them out via a well-worn keyboard on WordPress. It’s about sharing everything rattling around in my head and offering up analysis and opinion for all to see. That part isn’t going away any time soon, despite what others might say about blogging in general. So long as we continue to express ourselves without restriction, the blog will never really die no matter how we choose to share it.

The blog isn’t dead. It is just sleeping. (colin.getbarley.com)
The Death of the Blog, Again, Again (whatever.scalzi.com)

Under the Influencers

Posted on July 22, 2013 by networkingnerd

I’ve never really been one for titles or labels. Pejorative terms like geek or nerd never bothered me growing up. I never really quibbled over being called a technician or an engineer (or rock star). And when the time came to define what it was that I did in my spare time in front of a monitor and keyboard I just settled on blogger because that was the most specific term that described what I did. All that changed this year.

When I went to VMware Partner Exchange, I spent a lot of time hanging out with Amy Lewis (@CommsNinja) from Cisco. Part of this was due to my filming of an IPv6-focused episode of Engineers Unplugged. Afterwards, I spent a lot of time as a fly on the wall listening to conversations among the assembled folks. I saw how they interacted with each other. I took copious notes and tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. Not that Amy made that easy at all. She went out of her way to pull me out of the shadows and introduce me to people that mattered and made decisions on a much grander scale than I was used to. What struck me is not that she did that. What made me think was how she introduced me. Not as a nerd or an engineer or even as a blogger. She used a very specific word.

Influencer

It took some time before the enormity of what Amy was doing sank in. Influencers are more than just a blog or a Facebook page or a Twitter handle. They take all of those things and wrap them into a package that is greater than the sum of its parts. They say things that other people listen to and consider. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

I think of influencers as people like Stephen Foskett (@SFoskett), Greg Ferro (@etherealmind), or Ivan Pepelnjak (@IOSHints). When those guys speak, people listen. When the publish a podcast or write a product review that turns heads. Every field has influencers. Wizened people that have been there and done just about everything. Those people then spend their time educating the greater whole to avoid making the same mistakes all over again or to help those with ability to find the vision needed to do great things. They don’t hold that knowledge to themselves and use it as capital to fight political battles or profit from those that don’t know any better. Being a blogger or technical person on the various social media outlets invovles a bit of give and take. It requires a selfless type of attitude. Too many analyst firms live by the maxim “Don’t give away the farm” when it comes to social media interaction. Those firms don’t want their people giving away advice that could be locked into a report and assigned a price. In my mind, true influencers are the exact opposite.

It struck me funny when Amy referred to me in the same way that thought of others in the industry. What had I done to earn that moniker? Who in their right mind would listen to me? I’m some kid with a keyboard and a WordPress account. However, the truth of things was a little beyond what I was initially thinking. It didn’t really hit me until my trip to Cisco Live.

Everyone is an influencer.

Influencers aren’t just luminaries in the industry. They aren’t the wise old owls that dispense advice like a fortune cookie. Instead, influencers are people that offer knowledge without reservation for the sole purpose of making the world better off than it was. You don’t have to have a blog or a Twitter handle to be an influencer. Those things just make it easy to identify the chatty types. To really be an influencer, you only need have the desire to speak up when someone asks a question that you have insight into. If two people are having a conversation about the “best” way to configure something, an influencer will share their opinion freely without reservation. It might not be much. A simple caution about a technology or an opinion about where the industry is headed. But the influence comes because those people take what you’ve said and incorporate it into their thinking.

I’ve been trying to champion people when it comes to writing and speaking out on social media. I want more bloggers and Tweeters and Facebookers. I’ve taken to collectively calling them influencers because of what that term really represents. I want more influencers in the world. I want intelligent people giving freely of themselves to advance the industry. I want to recognize them and tell others to listen what these people are saying. Sure, having a blog or a Twitter handle makes it easier to point them out. But I’m not above telling someone “Go talk to Bob. He knows a lot about what’s troubling you”.

Tom’s Take

It doesn’t take a lot to be an influencer. Helping someone decide between detergent at the grocery store makes you an influencer. What’s important is taking the next step to make it bigger and better. Make your opinions and analysis heard. Be public. Sure, you’re going to be wrong sometimes. But when you’re right people will start to listen. Not just people wanting to know the difference between Tide and Gain. People that have C-level titles. Product managers. People that want to know what the industry is thinking. When you see that something you’ve said or done has a a real impact on a tangible thing, like a website or a product look, you can rest easy at night knowing that you have influence.

Cisco Live 2013 Tweetup

Posted on May 23, 2013 by networkingnerd

It’s down to one month until Cisco Live 2013! As usual, this is the time when the breakneck pace of updates starts coming out. Whether it be about discount Disney World tickets from Teren Bryson (@SomeClown) or the comprehensive update from Jeff Fry (@fryguy_pa), you’ve got your bases covered. One of the events that I’m most excited about is the official Cisco Live Tweetup.

Twitter has become a powerful medium in the IT industry. It allows people from all around the world to communicate almost in real time about an increasingly broad list of subjects. Professionals that take advantage of Twitter to build contacts and solve problems find themselves in a very advantageous position in relation to those that “just don’t get it.” When a large group of IT professionals gets together in real life, it’s almost inevitable that they all want to get together and hang out to discuss things face-to-face instead of face-to-screen. That’s the real magic behind a tweetup – putting a living, breathing face to a Twitter handle or odd avatar.

The 2012 Cisco Live Tweetup was a huge success. Many of us got to catch up with old friends, make some new friends, and generally spend time with awesome folks all over the industry. The social corner was the place to watch keynotes, troubleshoot problems and even talk about non-nerdy stuff. After the end of the event, I couldn’t wait to try and top it in 2013. Thanks to some help from the Cisco Live Social Team, I think we’ve got a great chance.

The 2013 Cisco Live Tweetup will be held on Sunday, June 23rd at 5:00 p.m. at the Social Media Hub. It’s on the first floor of the convention center right across from registration. We’ve got some prime real estate this year to check out all the happenings at Cisco Live! That also means there will be curious people that want to check out what this whole “social” thing is about. That means more people tweeting and sharing, which is always a win in my book. Jeff and I will also have a limited supply of the coveted Twitter flags for your Cisco Live name badge. While there may be a printed version on the main badge itself, nothing shows your social media plumage quite like a piece of name badge flair.

The 5:00 p.m. start time was chosen by popular vote in an online poll. I know that there are lots of events that typically run during Sunday, like labs and Techtorials. In particular, there is a Cisco Empowered Women’s Network event that starts at 4:00. I don’t want anyone to feel slighted or left out of all the fun at Cisco Live from the need to leave an event just to run to another one. To that end, I plan on being at the Social Media Hub starting around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday and staying as long as it takes to meet people and welcome them to the Twitter family at Cisco Live. I want everyone to feel like they’ve had an opportunity to meet and greet as many people as possible, especially if they have to leave to attend a reception or are just coming out of an 8-hour brain draining class.

Remember that the fun at Cisco Live doesn’t just end with the Tweetup. We’re planning on having all kinds of fun all week long. I’m working on the plans to get a 5k run going with Amy Lewis (@CommsNinja) and Colin McNamara (@colinmcnamara) for those out there that want to stretch their legs for some great charities. There are also a couple more surprises in store that I can’t wait to see. I’ll drop a few hints once those plans come closer to fruition. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the people on the Cisco Live 2013 Twitter list as well as meeting some new people. See you there!