I was with some friends about this the other day and then saw the notion mentioned on Jeremiah O’s blog. People are reading blogs from a feed reader (ie Google Reader) and totally missing out on all the conversation that is happening in the comments. That sucks.
There should be a way for people to easily read and write comments all from something like Google Reader. How cool would it be if I could comment on a podcast from iTunes or from my iPhone.
We need to allow the conversation to take place even in these aggregated environments.
Maybe the lack of this type of capability is a downfall of feeds and a bonus for a widget. It’d be completely possible to make a widget for a blog that allows you to read and write comments on a post.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Social Rockstar Workshop here in Washington, DC at Busboys & Poets. The workshop was for people or organizations that wanted to utilize social media to become social rockstars.
It was masterfully organized by the Paul Worsham and Kady Chiu. They brought it in other great speakers and friends of mine like Nick O’Neill and Frank Gruber. It was hillarious when Frank spoke. He had had one too many cups of coffee and was CRAZY hyper.
I had a lot of fun at the event. Word on the street is that Paul and Kady will be doing more events soon so stay tuned.
So… I’ve been reading a lot of good books lately and for some reason have forgotten to mention them here. The book that I’m reading now is “Designing for the Social Web” by Joshua Porter.
I’ve been reading Joshua’s blog Bokardo for a while. His insights around the social Web have always been really spot on so I didn’t hesitate to pick up his book.
In the book, he analyzes a lot of examples in the social Web that we are all familiar with while abstracting a lot of high level ideas that everyone can use.
Some of the highlights so far have been things like the intro to the rise of the social web, AOF (Activities, Objects, and Features) method, how to build authentic conversations with your users, and how to communicate the actual benefit of your service in a way that will get your users coming back over and over again.
For me (the consumer) it’s great too. I have yet to really dive in and get into shows like the Sopranos, The Wire, and Rome (I know I’ve been living under a rock). Now with them being on iTunes, its really easy for me to just buy an episode or two and slowly get addicted to the shows, rather then having to lay down the big investment.
Yes I know I could have added the TV shows to my Netflix que but that takes planning and fore thought. This is so much more easy and instantly gratifying.
I guess the lesson here is… make it so easy for people to try your content… to get a taste that it’s easier for them to become hooked.
So are you going to try any of HBOs shows on iTunes?
I have the coolest mom on the face of the earth. She is an inspiration and an angel in my life. She has been there supporting me and cheering me on through every twist and turn.
Happy Mother’s Day Mom! I love you.
If you haven’t yet, call your mom and tell her you love her.
A lot of my friends have been talking about the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games but I haven’t really gotten into them yet.
The other day I found the Guitar Hero Widget over on one of the Wired blogs. Inside the widget, they give a mini version of the game. It includes three songs. It’s really cool. Instead of using a plastic guitar, you’re using your keyboard but none the less it’s fun.
It gives me a taste of the game and would get me potentially excited about buying it.
Making a widget is SOOOO genius for a video game company. If i’m a big fanboy of the video game, I’d send this widget to my friends who were yet to be converted so that they too could get a taste. It empowers word of mouth advertising, which is the most powerful advertising technique.
Anybody wanna buy it for my birthday? Just kidding. I can’t imagine what a lady would think if you brought her back to your apartment to watch a movie and you pulled out a R2-D2 DVD projector.
There is this new trend which has been popping up. Instead of sitting at a desk, people are standing. I noticed this first at Clearspring. There are a handful of guys who work standing up.
