What Just Happened Here?

Apparently WordPress doesn't like me.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to move my blog back to Blogger from WordPress overnight.

It will be going back as soon as I can make it happen, but for now we'll be on Blogger.

Unfortunately, during the reconfiguration overnight, I started getting a nice little error from Google.  Apparently something didn't update and my domain name is stuck in an infinite loop of death.

So, I've manually forwarded the domain to the blogger sight, and hopefully the problem will go away today...after the DNS servers update and it trickles down.

If not, it's going to be a long night dealing.

Please be patient with me.

Thank you,

David

Hello, Is Anybody In There?

A phone call with my son tonight reminded me of how technologically different our generations are.

I am a child of the landline era. When the phone rings, I pick it up, and expect to hear voices on the other end. If I don't hear voices when I pick it up I assume one of two things has happened. Either the line is dead, or its a prank call. Either way after a couple of seconds of silence I hang up.

83% Say Social Media Not Essential to their Business!

The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) released their 2013 Technology & Web Usage Report on Tuesday.

The report is 43 pages of information ranging from booking trends to websites utilized by their travel agent members.

My interest is in the Social Media results of the survey.  According to the survey, about 80% of respondents maintain a social media presence of some sort.  However, 39% of users view social media as "not useful or proven."

However, there is a growing percentage (not stated) that see social media as a useful tool.

“Agencies are finding that new technology can be used to their advantage with many using social media to connect with their clients, demonstrate personal expertise, and reach new consumers,” said ASTA CEO Zane Kerby. “Technology changes have always allowed agencies to adapt and grow and better serve the traveling public.”

The ASTA study found that a large percentage of agencies (75%) have passed the "learning" phase and feel that they have a good handle on the technical aspects of social media.

What is lagging behind, and telling, is how many respondents find social media to be useful. Only seventeen percent of those surveyed viewed social media as "essential" to their business, while twenty-two percent felt it was "nice to be there."

Why are these percentages so much different from other business models?

The social media section concludes with the statement that "Primary goals with social media are shifting from general awareness to expanding customer base and communicating with current clients."

If only 17% see a business benefit from social media, somebody has dropped the ball.

The survey was conducted with a research panel of ASTA agencies, the ASTA Research Family. The panel is comprised of a representative sample of ASTA member travel agency owners and managers. The report indicates a 95-percent confidence with an error rate +/- 5 percent.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

The article 83% Say Social Media Not Essential to their Business! first appeared on Confusingly Simple.

Write WHAT?

My blog focus?

Enough!

If I read one more post about "how to write the perfect blog" I'm going to scream!

I understand the dynamics of it. I understand how SEO works, and all that crap.

What I have the hardest time about is the "write what you know and love" blather. My blog doesn't have a defined target, theme or direction. Not that I can determine, at least.

When you know, and enjoy, a little bit of everything, how can you define yourself as someone "in the know" about one particular thing?

I don't feel qualified to bloviate on much of anything, most of the time.

The trick, I guess, is to write when I feel that I know something about something...and don't wait until the "opportune time" to post.  That's what scheduling is for.

Time to keep pressing onward.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Facebook will Eat You ALIVE!

Everywhere you turn online, you'll find a blog posting about the "best times to post on Social Media."

Every expert out there has a formula for when to post to have "maximum impact," like social media is some sort of war game. For the social media marketing person, getting your message in front of your followers, when they are receptive to it, is a major concern. And rightly so, since screwing it up is $$$ out of their pockets.

But what about the average blogger, who just has a story to tell? Oh, and doesn't have 5,000,000 followers all over the world.

• Well, who are your followers?
• Where do they live?
• What do they do?
• When are they active online?

Pretty easy, right.  Yeah, sure.

There are lots of options out there for figuring out when to post on Twitter. Most experts recommend posting several times a 24hr day, taking into effect that your message is not limited to one geographic area. There are websites out there that will evaluate your Twitter accounts and tell you when your followers are active, who is active, and when the best times are to reach them. FollowerWonk is one of these sites.

Facebook

There isn't anything similar for Facebook, though. On Facebook, you have to dig out the pencil and paper, and figure out the best times to post on your own. Post often enough to keep people engaged, but don't post TOO often, or you'll drive people away.

LOLcats live on Facebook. Grumpy Cat reigns supreme. Recipes, family photos, and memes will scroll your news feed faster than you ever thought possible.

Take a look at your FB news feed, spinning like a slot machine wheel, and see when your target audience is active online. Mid-day for stay-at-home types, and early/late evenings for people who work all day? And this is only during the week.

Belle Beth Cooper (@bellebcooper), over at the Buffer Blog, found that the most interaction was seen in the later part of the week, and weekend.  Sorta makes sense, when you think about it. The weekend is in sight!

Weekend postings on Facebook can be a bit elusive to pin down. The data shows that there is a spike in Facebook "Sharing" on Saturdays. But that may not hold true for you.  A lot depends on weekend schedules. Sports, family events, and yard work play a roll in messing up any sort of matrix for weekend postings.  Your target audience might not be there one weekend, but will be for the next two weekends. Or not at all. And your "Shares" may come later in the night than during the week.

So...?

I use Buffer to schedule most of my postings on Social Media. But I space them apart enough so that I can post topically current stuff in between the scheduled posts, and not overwhelm the average follower.

The folks over at the Buffer Blog have put a LOT of thought into posting schedules. For more insight into Facebook postings, check out this article from July, 2013. While it is targeted toward the Facebook Page user (normally businesses), the data holds true for the average user, also.

"While the best time to post is definitely important, there are some other things to keep in mind. I had a look at what kind of updates work best for Facebook pages to increase interaction and found 7 interesting statistics that you’ll probably find useful if you’re trying to make your page more engaging."

They base their recommendations on statistics, science, and psychology. And with over a three million posts processed per week (on average), they have the statistical data to back it up.

Scheduling posts for Facebook was/is a challenge. But I spent a couple of weeks studying the posting habits of others, and set my schedule based on their usage.  I work nights, so I would set up my laptop beside me at work, and leave FB up to scroll.  After a couple of days, I had an idea of when my friends are active.  This might not work for a business page, though.

If I want something to be seen, I post it early in the evening, or right around lunchtime.  Or post the same thing at both times, but a day apart. (Wednesday noon and Thursday evening, for example.)

Make It Work, or adjust it until it does

OK, you set up scheduled post times for Facebook, but they don't seem to be hitting the mark. Um, play with them? This is not "Set in Stone" scheduling.

Feel free to play with your posting times, and let me know if your personal experience differs from what the "recommended times" are.


Photos courtesy of ePublicist(CC) & Buffer(Used with permission).

Cyber Kids, Cyber Pranks & CyberBullying

Three blog posts crossed my desk this week, almost back to back. All three were from McAfee.com, and were related to family safety.

In the first blog posting, titled "So Are You ‘Hot or Not?’ App Rates Appearance," author Toni Birdsong talks about the plethora of Apps that are of questionable virtue. It seems there is a app out there called "Hot or Not." This app allows girls (or guys) to upload their photos and have thousands of other users rate their physical appearance. Now that's a wonderful idea.

Blue Lights Flashing

There are really only three times you gather a lot of First Responders in one location.  The first is when there is a major incident (terrorist attack).

A "Line of Duty Death" is the second event that brings the First Responder family together.

We in Phoenix are dealing with the loss of another officer, killed in the line of duty.

It started with a simple Tweet from the Phoenix Police account at 4:11pm on March 3rd: "43rd Ave and Bethany shut down by #PhxPD. It will be shut down for several hours for police incident. Please choose alternate route."

Reporting Live from the Red Tape.

Are you a user, or a reporter?

That all depends. Do you just consume social media content, or do you contribute?  And what do you contribute?

The Smart Phone has made each one of us a reporter.  Gone are the days of Jimmy Olsen running around with a camera slung around his neck and a duffle-bag of lenses, looking for the next big story.

Every user of Social Media is now a potential reporter. We influence news on a daily basis. In fact, this aspect of the social media game has been embraced by the average user, as well as media outlets around the world.

How not to write a blog post

Generate original content!

It'll be easy!

Everybody does it!

Blah, blah, blah.  Everywhere you go online, there is a self-styled Social Media Guru telling you how to write the perfect blog posting, or twitter post, or (fill in the blank) link.

Great, I can do this!  When I'm not at the computer, I feel like Harvey Korman's character in Blazing Saddles.

Clarity and Continuity

I have been reading a lot about Social Media lately.  Most of it is directed toward making your business presence on SM more noticeable.

One particular blog posting has focused my attention on my Social Media presence.  Courtney Seiter (@CourtneySeiter), a Content Creator with Buffer, wrote about creating a professional bio for your four major Social Media platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook & Google+). She packs a lot of excellent info into her article.

Some of the tips do not translate well to the casual user's personal profile pages, unfortunately.  However, the one thing that most social media sites have in common is the usage of profile pictures, or header/background pictures.

Grammatically Correct Confusion

I read a lot of blog articles about Social Media in Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, First Response, etc.

Lately, there have been conflicting lines of thought regarding grammar in Social Media posts.

The Advanced Public Information Officer training, at FEMA's Emergency Management Institute, stresses "Flawless Grammar" in Social Media releases.

However, Cheryl Bledsoe (@CherylBle), at the SM4EM Blog responds with,

"...The Twitter community will ask you to provide timely, relevant and interesting information. Accuracy is good, too, although in dynamic situations may be a little tricky. I've heard it said that you can be timely or accurate, but rarely both at the same time. Your community will forgive you for inaccuracies as long as you quickly correct misinformation and communicate regularly."

How can we do it better?

I have determined that there are roughly 35,000 Facebook groups devoted to the city of Maricopa, where I reside. There are 7,000 that are solely devoted to selling, buying, giving away and hoarding stuff. And then, every development in town has their own community group (or 10-12).

There are groups for crime prevention, crime rumor proliferation, and there are probably a few secret ones for crime planning, as well.

All of this data to sift through, and that's only one Social Media platform.  The PD has one person dedicated as the Public Information Officer.  It is physically impossible for him to do his PIO job, as well as keep an eye on what's happened digitally in town.

The Block Watch coordinator is trying to get a handle on some of the rumors, but it's too much for her, too.

I think it's time to go to the Chief with a proposal for the VIP volunteers. Maybe some of us could help the PIO with the "connecting with the people" details online.

Something has to be done, and failure is not an option. We cannot afford to not engage our customer in their desired mode.

The answer to, "Is that the best you can do..." ...is always no.
A better question is, "what resource would enable you to do even better?"

We have the technology, the volunteers and the desire to get it right.  We just need to take the next step.

(Hat tip to Seth Godin's blog. Also, group count might be slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect.)

Falling From The Sky

I walked outside this morning, and found moisture falling from the sky!  I don't think much of it will fall, but it should be enough.  Someone washed their car this weekend, and jinxed us!

I sure hope we get more of it, and soon.

100 Years of ARRL

This year, the American Radio Relay League celebrates it's 100th birthday.

They're celebrating all year long. Here is a PDF document with information.

What will the next 100 years bring us? Even smaller radios? More options in the palm of your hand?

Maybe now is the time for you to get your License, if you're not already a ham.  If you are a Ham, are you active?  Need a new radio?

HamUniverse.com wrote a neat little article about purchasing your first radio.  Here it is.

Tips for Choosing your First Radio for Your Ham Station and getting on the AIR! By N4UJW

Maybe join a ARRL Affiliated Club in your area, too. Become active in your community.

Become Radio Active in 2014!

73, de n7fan

Oh Boy!

1999 Toyota Sienna, a set on Flickr.

On Monday, I purchased a new vehicle. Well, new to me, at least.

It's a 1999 Toyota Sienna CE, with 190,000 miles. Now I get to figure out what to do with all the space inside. I'm thinking pile carpeting, fuzzy dice, and a bar in the back.

It has some bumps and bruises, but no leaks so far!

Via Flickr:
Photos of our new/used Toyota Sienna.

Chained to the computer

Since we put our youngest son in K12 home-based schooling, I serve as his Learning Coach, and have to keep an eye on him while he works.

So, I'm chained to the computer next to him most of the time.  It's terrible...but I'm actually getting stuff done that I've "meant to do" for the longest time now.

Updating social media channels.
Consolidating social media accounts.
Linking accounts together via IFTTT
And spend time working on Travel Agency stuff that I had almost given up on.

The other benefit is that I get to spend time with my son that I would be missing if he was at a brick-and-mortar school.

Invasion of the Tamale Makers

It was a overwhelming invasion.  I woke up yesterday to a house full of people making tamales. When I left for work, they were working hard.

When I got home this morning, everyone was asleep, but the results were plain to see:

It appears to have been a successful party.  Apparently bed time was somewhere around 2am.

WordPress or Tumblr...or Blogger

After a LOT of thought, I've decided to go back to the same blog platform I started out with.  

WordPress wants to charge me for subdomain redirects.  Tumblr isn't a good platform for traditional blog posts (text), and it didn't deal with multiple media very well, either.

So, I've moved back to Blogger.  We'll see how everything goes. 

Wordpress or Tumblr?

I have played with WordPress once in the past.  It was very newbie-unfriendly.  So I used Tumblr. I’ve been happy with it.  But, recently someone recommended that WP was “the best.”

Once again, I’m looking at WordPress. There are a lot of options that I would possibly use, but the big sticking point is custom domain mapping. I currently have my blog set as a subdomain on my home website. (blog.frenchdiaz.com) Tumblr does this for free.

WordPress wants $12/yr for the same thing. I don’t think so.

Too Much "Reality" in our lives?

Can someone please tell me why I should care about Kim Kardashian (sp), Denise Richards or any number of other bimbos who grace the channels of our TV sets?

Who made these people interesting? Is this the final (hopefully) evolved state of the old “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” TV show with Robin Leach?

Are our lives so superficially shallow that we need to watch “Real Orange County Housewives” or NY Housewives, or Army Wives, or…well, you get the point. It seems that there is nothing on TV worth watching anymore. There are so many channels on cable now, that they have to contract pure filth and crap to show to viewers or all you would see is a test pattern all day.

If I have to hear more commercials about another singing, plastic surgery performing, OB/GYN tattoo artist in Beverly Hills, I’m going to scream.

Of course, then I could turn on Dr Phil, or Dr Laura, or Oprah, or….

Where’s my prozac?

Sometimes the Good Guys win.

On my way to work tonight, I found myself behind a Lincoln Town Car that seemed to want to share everyone else’s lane.

After following the vehicle for a mile, during which time he managed to not sideswipe any cars in either of the lanes he was occupying, I dialed 911 on my phone.

During the 3 mile conversation with the Call Taker, and Dispatcher on the side, the driver managed to cut off two other vehicles, brake check about a dozen times, and swerve from lane to lane. When they finally decided to actually change into a lane, as opposed to just taking half of it, they used their turn signal! (hurray for small victories!)

After 3 miles of weaving and braking, the car suddenly darted into the left turn lane and took off Westbound on Lower Buckeye Rd. Apparently there was another driver on 911 also, because they were able to follow them West.

I left my number with the Call Taker, told them the officers could contact me if they wished, and continued on my way to a gas station and then work.

About 10 minutes later, I received a call from an officer stating that they had stopped the vehicle, and they wanted a brief, verbal statement. I gave it, and he said he would be back in touch with me in a little bit.

30 minutes after that, I received a call from another officer, who asked me all kinds of questions (how many people did I see in the car; could I tell if the driver was male or female, etc). He stated that the driver was a female, and she had admitted to drinking.  He took my address, name, DOB and a more complete statement, and asked if I would be willing to testify as a witness, since my 911 call had formed part of the “probable cause” basis for stopping her.

I said YES!  I can’t stand drunk drivers and the destruction they cause.

I’ll be watching the mail for a subpoena , or a phone call from the Prosecutor’s office.

Sometimes the good guys win.

Thank you Phoenix PD, for a job well done!

PS: This makes up for the 911 call I made on a vehicle, in the same area, who was driving 20MPH in a 40, in the rain.  PPD stopped the car, and then came back to tell me that it was a little grandma who was terrified of driving in the rain, so she was being extra careful.  I felt horrible.

This stretch of roadway is the sole access road to a Indian casino/resort, so there is a lot of “questionable” driving that goes on down there in the evenings and early morning hours. DF