The most common concern I hear from clients new to blogging or tweeting is this: What do I have to say that is of interest to people? It's also something they should be least concerned about. What is more important is how you say it. 

What your followers (such a cultish word!) want from you is not earth shattering news on a daily basis, but instead what they really want is your unique perspective on a topic that is of interest to them. If they are following you, chances are you are writing about stuff they care about in the first place. What they get from reading your blog is what YOU think about it and your unique take on that subject. 

No, you are not talking about you (unless the you is so exciting or a A-list celebrity or Kanye West) but using your industry expertise or particular point of view to make a comment on an issue. While you are using the ubiquitous social media channels to get your voice heard, you still need a voice. For better or worse, my voice (and reputation) is "Tell it like it is straight up with no sugar coating." My business advice was once referred to as "...like Buckley's Cough Syrup. Hard to swallow, but it works."  Okay, so it's not dripping with compassion and oozing kindness, but then again, neither I am. I would rather have my clients blogs show some spark of opinion than just rehashing the latest industry news story. 

Marketers, oddly enough, are usually the guiltiest of all in rehashing. In this industry, we have a few "gods" that everyone loves to quote.  Seth Godin is one of them. Guy Kawasaki is another.  Both have a good voice, but people need to stop quoting them endlessly in their own blogs. (Hey, I like Seth. He's smart and any guy who canoes Algonquin Park I can get behind. Guy is great, but I don't know if he canoes.) But we can't live on diet of Seth and Guy only. It'd be like living on steak everyday and nothing else. Make your voice fresh and alive. Be the salad to the steak. Believe me, there are enough readers out there craving fresh stuff that you'll do just fine.  

These days it is almost impossible to get through the week without having to wade through an online registration form for an event you would like to attend. If the online registration is well designed then it goes smoothly and you are done (and happy) in no time.  But if the registration form is confusing, redundant, too vague, assumes too much prior knowledge or uses terms not familiar with the user, it becomes a frustating nightmare, invariably ending in abandoning the attempt (lost dollars!) or an email to the admin person (if they have provided an email address). That's usually a hassle for everyone. 

What makes a good registration form? Lots of explanation of the steps involved would have to be personal favorite. I am constantly stymied by registration forms (for sporting events in particular ) that are vague and make me hit the back button constantly to correct information.  What if you have a promo or discount code? When and where does that go? What if you are registering more than one person? If there is any possiblity of confusion - and you learn this by testing your form with people not familiar with your organization - you add in explanatory detail such as : "if you are registering more than one individual, you can do that on the next page".  Or "if you have a discount or promo code, you will be able to enter it in the check out process." 

For online shopping, make sure you have the Continue Shopping button prominient. Nothing more frustrating than have to back button your way to shopping. Yes, the keep it simple stupid rule along with good explanations. That will make everyone happy. 

I am the marketing lead for TEDxWaterloo 2012, which is an awesome honour and a huge responsibility. Fortunately, I am surrounded by excellent people in the form of 100+ fellow organizers and a seriously talented Executive Committee. (Matt Gorbet, Ramy Nassar, Syd Salmon, David Yoon and Christine Hamon).  No one stands alone and we all share the burden of work - and the sheer joy - of bringing TEDxWaterloo to our community and the world. 

It is a huge investment of time; time that I could be filling with billable hours, which is no small thing for a freelance writer who needs to keep the wolves from the door and the teenage daughters fed. (Most of the time, anyway.) But if I didn't volunteer my time and expertise (which is why they asked me to be marketing lead) I would be a fool.  Only a fool would not realize that TEDxWaterloo is a cultural and intellectual fuel source that is helping to power our community, and my mama did not raise any fools. She did raise children who believed that you had to give back to the community whenever, and however, you can.  In my case, I can take 25+ years of writing, marketing, team leading experience and give it to something that makes a difference in people's lives. Since I am always about ideas, TED, TEDx and TEDxWaterloo are all about (and only about) ideas worth spreading.  It's a natural fit. 

I am pretty jacked about this - and appropriately scared. If I wasn't, I would be a fool... oh, we covered that.  Come back again as I report more on the TEDxWaterloo progress. Right now it's all behind the scenes, but soon it will be launched for public consumption.

Tweet

I just got back from a weekend at Hillside Music Festival in Guelph, Ontario.  Hillside is legendary for being an amazing musical event, as well as attracting immense amounts of rain. But not this weekend. Noooooo...we Hillsiders were treated to Mother Nature's largesse and enjoyed massive amounts of sunshine that required folks to stay well hydrated and covered in sunblock as they got their groove on to the many awesome muscial talents that graced the three stages. The music, of course, was simply stellar.

Part of what makes Hillside so much fun is that it has a definite "hippy" vibe to it but without any of the drawbacks. Wait, maybe there are no drawbacks to being a hippy?  What we always experience at Hillside is a well organized musical event that respects the environment and respects your wallet.  From the reuasable beer mugs (note to self for next year: figure out your carabiner system so you can manage your beer mugs more efficiently!) to the plastic plates and forks that are washed not thrown away, you know that your good time is not causing any harm.  The food tent at Hillside is outstanding. I ate better at Hillside than I do at home (and I am no slouch in the kitchen). The vindaloo lentil curry was divine as was the African peanut stew. Yup, and the prices are ridiculously reasonable. No one has to go broke at Hillside. (At $5/beer it can add up though. But you can always show restraint - if you must!)

Now the music is what it is all about.  And there was some musical talent there that was mind blowing.  Ganga Giri is an Australian band that mixes electronica with Didjeridu ...yeah baby.  You cannot stop dancing to them.  Or the macabre stylings of Graveyard Train. They have a guy with a hammer and chain...that's what he plays. It's like something out of Pulp Fiction.  The Sheepdogs tore down the Island Stage and Hollerado did the same later.  So many bands, so many fun people.

And, by the way, there is nothing wrong with table dancing. Just saying....

What makes Hillside extra special? The people.  I was camping with a group of old and new friends and much to my delight they brought their teenagers along. This group of kids had their guitars and every night after the last band played, we returned to our campsite and these kids jammed for hours.  Up and coming Hillside talent? For sure.  Next year, I am bringing my own teen along - this is her scene!

I love the fact that Hillside exists.  Put happy people and great music together and what do you have? The Best Time Ever.  (Until next year, when we get to do it all over again.)

For the last few months I have had the pleasure of working with some young and exciting people in Kitchener-Waterloo. KDub as it's known. These youngsters (okay, in their twenties and early thirties) are real movers and shakers. They are engaged and excited about expanding culture to the community. They are the moving force behind Ignite Waterloo and TEDxWaterloo. Both amazing events that bring together interesting and interested people. They are the "farmers" of ideas. They help to cultivate the intellectual landscape and sow the seeds of imagination, ideation and creation. And, like all farmers, they have to work incredibly long hours to see the fruition of their work.

They inspire me. They are connected via technology and through the old fahioned and time-honoured method of meeting for drinks at the pub. They are silly and serious. And all are incredibly beautiful (I wish I had known 20 years ago that every young person is just naturally beautiful because of their youth!). And they are smart. Wickedly smart. They wrangle technnology like they breathe air. 

And they are fun. Why they let me be a small part of their community is a mystery. Sure, it helps to have some old school experience when it comes time to do certain things (everyone loves a writer when something needs to be written well) and, frankly, I am of an age where I know a lot of people. People that can be useful.  Occasionally.   I try and repay their kindness for letting me play with them by doing what I can to help their causes. A press release here, a letter there, a phone call or two to someone I know. It's all small potatoes but I enjoy it thoroughly.

Truthfully, the very best part of this is that I now know a whole group of amazing young folks who are making a difference. And shortly, I will be introducing my teenage daughters to this group of young leaders - and fun people. These are kinds of people I want my daughters to know - and become. (And they are definitely on their way.)

TEDxWaterloo is coming up in March 2011. Be there. Or Be Sorry.

As I was having lunch at my kitchen table, I felt a sudden odd tremor...yes, the table was actually shaking for several seconds. Hmmm...an earth tremor? Of course no one expects them, especially in our neck of the woods (although the last one happened a couple of years back).  To confirm that I was not going nuts, I went to the most reliable instant news source I could find. My computer to check my Twitter and Facebook updates. Yes, within 20 seconds of it happening, people were posting on their Facebook and Twittering.

Just now, I received an Instant News Alert from the local radio station (20 minutes after the fact). The Globe and Mail Twitter feed had it about 10 minutes after the fact.

So, there you go. The people report the news as it happens.

Oh, by the way, Reuters is reporting that the #earthquake was a magnitude 5.5.

And that is how my world was rocked today.

For years we have known that people are motivated by many things other than money. In fact, the only time you should be rewarding people with money (incentivising is the buzz word) is when you are only asking them to perform rudimentary tasks.  Such as following simple rules like observing the company's safety precautions or filling out forms correctly. Basic stuff. For anything else more complicated (like rewarding high performance), money is a poor motivator. In fact, it actually causes performance to suffer.

Of course, don't take my word for it: watch the following video and you will be both captivated (the illustrator is amazing) and the content is impressive.

12 Expert Google Search Tips

Who doesn't want to find things faster (like where did I leave my BlackBerry THIS time.) Here are 12 handy tips for better Google searches.

1. Explicit Phrase:
   Lets say you are looking for content about internet marketing.  Instead of just typing internet marketing into the Google search box, you will likely be better off searching explicitly for the phrase.  To do this, simply enclose the search phrase within double quotes.

   Example: "internet marketing"

2. Exclude Words:
   Lets say you want to search for content about internet marketing, but you want to exclude any results that contain the term advertising.  To do this, simply use the "-" sign in front of the word you want to exclude.

   Example Search: internet marketing -advertising

3. Site Specific Search:
   Often, you want to search a specific website for content that matches a certain phrase.  Even if the site doesn’t support a built-in search feature, you can use Google to search the site for your term. Simply use the "site:somesite.com" modifier.

   Example: "internet marketing" site:www.smallbusinesshub.com

4. Similar Words and Synonyms:
   Let’s say you are want to include a word in your search, but want to include results that contain similar words or synonyms.  To do this, use the "~" in front of the word.

   Example: "internet marketing" ~professional

5. Specific Document Types:
   If you’re looking to find results that are of a specific type, you can use the modifier "filetype:".  For example, you might want to find only PowerPoint presentations related to internet marketing.

   Example: "internet marketing" filetype:ppt

6. This OR That:
   By default, when you do a search, Google will include all the terms specified in the search.  If you are looking for any one of one or more terms to match, then you can use the OR operator.  (Note:  The OR has to be capitalized).

   Example: internet marketing OR advertising

7. Phone Listing:
   Let’s say someone calls you on your mobile number and you don’t know how it is.  If all you have is a phone number, you can look it up on Google using the phonebook feature.

   Example: phonebook:617-555-1212 (note:  the provided number does not work – you’ll have to use a real number to get any results).

8. Area Code Lookup:
   If all you need to do is to look-up the area code for a phone number, just enter the 3-digit area code and Google will tell you where it’s from.

   Example: 617

9. Numeric Ranges:
   This is a rarely used, but highly useful tip.  Let’s say you want to find results that contain any of a range of numbers.  You can do this by using the X..Y modifier (in case this is hard to read, what’s between the X and Y are two periods.  This type of search is useful for years (as shown below), prices or anywhere where you want to provide a series of numbers.

   Example: president 1940..1950

10. Stock (Ticker Symbol):
    Just enter a valid ticker symbol as your search term and Google will give you the current financials and a quick thumb-nail chart for the stock.

    Example: GOOG

11. Calculator:
    The next time you need to do a quick calculation, instead of bringing up the Calculator applet, you can just type your expression in to Google.

    Example: 48512 * 1.02

12. Word Definitions:
    If you need to quickly look up the definition of a word or phrase, simply use the "define:" command.

    Example: define:plethora

Angela Pause: The Evolution Of Sex from Ignite Waterloo on Vimeo.

Ramy Nassar: A Reverse History Of Pranks from Ignite Waterloo on Vimeo.

Alex Matan: How To Solve An Accordion In 45 Seconds from Ignite Waterloo on Vimeo.

Erica Waugh: In A Roundabout Way from Ignite Waterloo on Vimeo.