Kaden is now two and a half years old and knows that with Daddy’s help, he can find all of his favorite Disney flicks on YouTube.  We actually play games with this in mind.  Kaden picks the subject or movie title and Daddy types the search terms.  In the past few months we’ve found videos on Disney characters, cars, snowboarders, lions and tigers and bears – oh my!

You and I both know that the content is there and it’s ready to be consumed.

That’s crazy and different and astounding all at the same time.  My son is part of a generation that will grow up where uninhibited access to people and information is the standard.  The new web is simply a platform shift to using technology tools that allow us communicate and share information across all boundaries.

It’s incredibly cool watching peer-to-peer communication reshape the world.  Why?  Here’s seven reasons:

1. Our kids will never know a world without mobile phones or text messaging or broadband internet.
2. A good portion of our kids are were born after the launch of Facebook.  Thanks to proud moms and dads everywhere, the next generation of web users is already online in the form of content and images and video.  I had Kaden’s first baby pictures on Facebook hours after he arrived.  In fact, St. Anne’s Hospital actually posts new born pictures on a web sharing platform for parents and families to download.
3. Our kids may never open a hard bound encyclopedia to look for information.  Instead, they’ll grow up using search engines to find whatever information they need.
4. There’s daycare programs out there that teach preschoolers how to type on a keyboard and surf a controlled network.  Most kids start preschool at age three.
5. The percentage of copy our kids will read online will most likely dwarf the amount they read on paper.  This alone is already changing how the education system works.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this project.
6. Our kids will grow up learning how to navigate a website at the same time they are learning to read sentences.  By adult hood, web usability will be redefined because this generation of super users.
7. Someday, our kids will grow up, go to college or get a job and contribute to the economy.  To them, using technology across all facets of life will be as natural as eating lunch.

So what
Artie Isaac taught me that the VERY best parents are teachers and leaders.  In order to be the best for our kids, I believe that we need to follow his advice.

With my son, spending time learning how to use the internet is as strong of a priority as reading books.  Every day I have him, we spend time online surfing social media and blogs.  We look at pictures of friends and family and ourselves on Facebook.  We go to Disney.com and read character stories.  We look up animals on Wikipedia and read about where they live and what they eat.  The list goes on and on.

Then, right before bedtime, we read books.  We always read books because the internet is pretty much useless to those who can’t read or type.  As much as I love the new web, it will NEVER replace importance of sitting down with a good book.

Moral of the story
As parents, it’s our jobs to teach our kids the tools they will use to navigate life and become contributing adults.  It’s our job to boraden their horizons and show them what they can potentially learn.  If you only take one thing from this post – let it be this:

Read to your kids and teach them how to use technology so that they can learn how to learn.  Learning how to learn and what tools to use is MOST important.

But what do you think?  If you have kids, do you make it a point to teach them about the web?  Do you think two years old is too soon to begin lessons Google and YouTube and Facebook?

photo credit:Tony Gigov

Twitter can be addicting.  For people who naturally love to meet new people and receive the most up-to-the minute information, reading and sending Tweets is like a drug feeding an intense craving to connect.

Not that connecting is bad.  It’s a good thing for those who enjoy it.  But like all good things, moderation and control are necessary.  If you’ve been feeling like your having trouble logging off of Tweetdeck or putting down Twirl, here’s a list of signs that might indicate that your on your way to becoming a Twitter addict.

1. You make it a point to Tweet “good morning tweeple” upon getting out of bed.
2. You’ve tweeted something to the extent of  “OMG!  I was just almost in a traffic accident!” less than 1 minute after you’ve actually almost been involved a traffic accident.
3. You’re signing your @name after your signature on checks..
4. You have @reply conversations with your followers about the 10tv Bot.
5. You’ve suddenly started having trouble speaking in sentences that contain more 140 characters.
6. You proudly wear a t-shirt that displays the words “follow me” and has your @name.
7. You’re eliminating vowels and reducing spacing when you write hand written notes to people.
8. Yesterday, you walked into a door because were too busy sending your latest a twitpic.
9. Your spouse has threatened divorce if you send one more tweet from the dinner table.
10. You’ve recently traded DM’s with @mchammer, @barakobama and other celebrities.

If you or a loved one are experiencing any these symptoms, please disconnect your internet connection immediately, walk away from your laptop or phone and legit seek face-to-face interaction as soon as possible.  Maintain direct human contact until the cravings subside and then return to Tweeting only a few short scheduled intervals per day.

Remember, Twitter addiction is serious condition and can have side effects including blurred vision, loss verbal communications skills, and in extreme cases result in the onset of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.

The first step to recovery is always admitting that you may have a problem…

image source: indocareer.files.wordpress.com

I get asked for my references a lot.  You probably do too.  It’s happens in the interview process and when you’re selling services, and even when you trying to get capital to get your start up off the ground.  It happens all the time.  The traditional delivery method is usually  an email  containing the names, email addresses and phone numbers of the people you know will give you glowing recommendations.

Here’s the thing – this is an ‘old school’ way of doing things.  Historically, it’s worked worked out and people are used to a standard of doing it this way.  But now we have LinkedIn.  Profile-based networks are powerful because over-time, you can build and display an organized history of your personal brand.  And because most profile-based networks are served on a templated system, users learn very quickly how the information is organized and where to find what they need.

The basic pain point with the old school method is this:  In email, your references are simply contact info on a screen.  Whereas, on a profile-based social network like LinkedIn, your references exist as their own personal brands, backed up by the volume and quality of who they are connected with.

Applying LinkedIn References to the Job Interview 
I love LinkedIn and how vast it’s become in recent years.  In 2005, when I used to send out-of-network contacts a email invite, a good portion would reply, asking if I was aware that I was spamming people.  Things have changed.  Today, chances are that the people  you need to back up your  great interview, as well as the interviewer who needs to meet them are on LinkedIn.   The amount of time they spend working the network is a crap shoot, but it’s likely that at very least they’ve stated a profile.

How to Send Your Best References
First, find your interviewer on LinkedIn and connect.  You’ll have the email address you need but you can always look to see if you share any groups.  Then speak with your references.  Make sure they have LinkedIn profiles and if they don’t, coach them on how and why to start one (LinkedWorking by Lewis Howes is a great resource for that).  Then ask them to go into your connections, find the  interviewer and request an introduction through you.  Your references now have the opportunity to write a brief message to the interviewer and you do as well.

4 Ideas on Being a Great Reference

1. Get the background. LinkedIn is also a robust search engine, so use the feature and look up the interviewer.  Remember, LinkedIn profiels can be rich with personal career information so to do the best for your talented candidate, do a little research and arm yourself with as much information as you can.
    
2. Ask about Facebook and Twitter. Most people I’ve come across on LinkedIn also have Facebook profiles.  That makes sense to me.  The interfaces and feature sets are similar resulting in less of a learning curve for the end user. Twitter is a smaller population for the time being, but growing fast.   Search for them on both and if you find them, request to add them as a friend or follow them.  The more places you can connect will increase the amount of information you are delivered on that individual.
    
3. Build a relationship.  Don’t do it just because your candidate needs your help.  Do it because you have the opportunity to meet someone new.  Every connection is valuable and every relationship can lead to opportunity so when you send your request, think of what you can offer the interviewer.  A great place to look for this is in their status updates or questions and answers.  You might find that they need to connect with someone in your network.  When the time is right, you make thge suggestion by sending them that contact by using the forward profile function.
    
4. Locals Can Get Coffee. Yes, this only works if the interviewer is within easy driving distance, but if they are it never hurts to ask.  A good amount of people are looking for an excuse to break away from the office for an hour.  Some may have read Keith Ferrazzi.  And some people will do anything for more coffee so just ask.  If they decline it’s not a big deal.  Just be cordial and play on their terms.  But if the interviewer accepts, now your talented candidate has rewarded your efforts by providing you with an opportunity for a new relationship.

With the economy down and unemployment rates up, job seekers need to find creative ways to stand out from the crowed.  Those of you who innovate and use the new set of communication tools will have an advantage against the sea of applicants out there.

There’s so many other applications of this approach.  Do you have ideas and stories you can comment on?

photo credit: Jane Rahman

Right now, I have about 30 subscribers and I’m grateful for every one of you. In the grand scheme of things, Chasing Change is not a widely read blog just yet – and that’s OK.

Truth be told, it’s taken me some time to figure out what my niche really is.

So here’s my niche. Going forward, I’ll be focusing the laser on tow things that are very important to me and are hopefully interesting and helpful to you:

1. Entrepreneurs. I live in Columbus, OH where entrepreneurs are driving change. In 2008, Forbes published a list of the Top 10 Up and Coming Tech Cities. While this was mostly in medical technology and driven by Battelle Memorial Institute’s contributions to the market place, Columbus topped the list at number one. With available resources like TechColumbus and the Ohio TechAngels working to create an environment and culture that helps entrepreneurs bring their ideas to reality. I’ll be the one tapping into that scene, bringing video interviews with the best and brightest members of Columbus’s innovators. You’ll also see case studies on how business owners are leveraging new web technology to drive results to their door.
2. The New Web. Just my opinion – but terms like social media and web 2.0 are going out of style. They no longer work because they are too limiting in terms of their description of how the Internet has changed in recent years. I like New Web as a term because it’s all encompassing – it’s a reflection of how the web is viewed as a result of people being able to connect with people AND information. That said, ‘ll talk about things like how Search is changing because of platforms like Twitter and blogs. I’ll talk about social networking strategies and ideas for how we can use these new communications tools.My goal is 4 E’s:

• Expose - Keep you up to speed on how and what New Web tools are available
• Educate - Teach you how you can use these new communication tools and how they can work together for the best results.
• Engage – Share ideas and strategies with you so you can find creative ways to adapt them to match your objectives and talk with you about the application.
• Examples – Provide you with a platform to post your case studies on what worked, what didn’t with your new approach and why. (Guest bloggers are always welcome. Just contact me.)

So there you have it. That’s what Chasing Change will be about from now on.

Are you still interested in reading? Is there anything you would suggest as an interesting topic I could write on?

PS. I’m already in process of moving Chasing Change to a WordPress platform. This is a good move that will provide me with more of the tools I need to make this the best it can be.

I’ll let you know when that’s official. If you’re still on board, you’ll need to re-subscribe to that feed to get your updates.

I can’t stress enough – I really appreciate you reading…

At any rate, it’s entertaining and will get you fired up about all the possibilities that lie ahead. I especially like the shots of the interactive print news paper. I hope that happens sooner rather than later.

Have any favorites? Anything in the video that you would like to see happen?

Produced by Canadian company SelfBankMobile (a unique approach to mobile-based banking might I add), this montage entitled “The Future of Technology” is a detailed summary of emerging technology and projections on future growth – all laid over a brilliant music bed from Fatboy Slim.

Check it out:

So did they miss anything? What do you think the technology landscape will look like in 2014 and in 2019 and in 2024?

Dear Jessi Hempel of Fortune Magazine:

With all due respect to your achievements and ability to write thought provoking content for one of the largest and most respected business publications today, I feel that you’ve completely missed the point with your recent article, Web 2.0 is so over. Welcome to Web 3.0.

To me, your article demonstrates a clear lack of clear understanding as to the purpose and relevancy of Web 2.0. While I agree with your perspective on the lag of profitable revenue models related to social media companies such as MySpace and Facebook, here’s how I would challenge your perspective:

Have You Shown Up to the Party, Jessi?

First and foremost, I always find it interesting to read articles on social media platforms produced by technology experts who have not yet engaged in the social media universe.

Please correct me if I’m mistaken, but a quick search for your name on search.twitter.com shows me that you have not yet created a Twitter profile. Not one single Tweet!?! How then may I ask is it that you feel compelled to offer your opinions on something you obviously have not taken the time to really understand?

Likewise, running a search on Facebook produces the same results. Again, you have no presence, at least none that is visible to the broader network. While it may be your preference to keep profile private, I would argue that doing such limits your understand of the full functionality and capabilities that the platform delivers.

To your defense, I did find your profile in my extended network on MySpace, which is connecting you to a whopping 76 other users. Really? That’s all?

And what about Jessi on LinkedIn? I’ve found you there too, boasting 141 connections and with no relevant content on your professional track record, no recommendations regarding your work, no history – frankly, there’s nothing there at all. This is not to say that it doesn’t exist. I am certain that you are a sharp, able journalist who has achieved great success in your career. You’ve simply chosen to not show up to the social media cocktail party.

My point is this: Being a trained journalist, you should know better. How can you begin to offer your readers a perspective on something that you, by your own choice, have not invested the time to fully understand?

Web 2.0 is Not Necessarily About a Revenue Model

In the article, you site and abridged version of Tim O’Reilly’s 2004 coining the term “Web 2.0″. I would ask you then: What in his statement or definition makes mention of any focus on directly relating the web as a platform to a profitable revenue model?

This online social phenomenon is about a shift in the way we as humans connect and communicate with each other. It’s the idea of using the web as a platform in an infinite number of ways to reach more audiences, create new opportunities and change the way we as professionals, consumers, and organizations interact. More traditional communication tools are now forced to take a back seat to the Web. I would even project that the more traditional mediums may someday fade into the history books to sit along side tools like the telegraph and Morse Code.

Further, Web 2.0 is still in it’s infancy. There is not a right or wrong approach – there are only different ideas and trial and error at this stage of the game.

Because of Web 2.0, We Now Have More Access Than Ever Before

So why on earth do Web 2.0 companies need to go public? I will argue that a result of this new mindset of viewing the web as a platform, the reach and access it delivers significantly reduces the need for companies to grow via IPO. It’s typical that a successful IPO also brings with it a certain loss of control over the strategic direction of a company. Process and operations can often grind to a halt while management spends valuable time seeking stock holder approval, rather than focusing on driving innovation and efficiency. Is this what has happened with YouTube? Maybe and maybe not?

I believe that the dawn of Web 2.0 has spawned a change in what determines a successful business model. Old stogy organizations that depended on hierarchy and huge overhead (some of which are now approaching Washington with open hands and begging for bail out dollars, might I add) are being replaced with organizations that operate lean, and focus on speed and agility in a dynamic market place. The old models simply cannot keep up.

In your article, you state: “MySpace’s projected $600 million revenue in 2008 falls far short of parent News Corp.’s (NWS, Fortune 500) billion-dollar sales target for the site.” That is absolutely true. But I challenge you to find a business that in one year, can produce $600 million dollars of annual revenue with a staff of roughly 300 employees.

Further, MySpace now boasts network volume of more than 185 Million users world wide, with an average growth rate of 230 Million users daily. Would you disagree that when Tom Anderson and Chris Dewolfe do figure out a more profitable revenue model (and I believe they will), will they not have a clear marketing advantage as a result of their network’s sheer volume?

And further, Web 2.0 is much more vast than the two social platforms you so eloquently mention in your article. What about the influx of personal and company blogs in the past 5 years? What affect on the market place do you believe that has had? What about Wikipedia and it’s growing relevance as a research tool populated by the people, for the people? What about social bookmarking sites like Digg and Technorati? Do you use photo sharing sites like Flickr and Shutterfly? How many Niche Networks do you hold profiles on? And what are your perspectives on Open Source application development?

I’m curious, and believe that your readers have a right to know your thoughts on the broader perspective of Web 2.0…

What do You Define as Web 3.0?

And finally, not once in your article do you ever take a stab at really offering an opinion as to what the concept of Web 3.0 really is (which is also being called the Semantic Web) .

The truth is that it is all merely speculation at this point. No one really knows what this will entail and how Web 3.0 will shake out. There’s no time line and there is certainly no set date as to when and if this the transition from 2.0 to 3.0 will actually happen. All we know to date is that the programming languages and technology that will make this concept a reality “have yet to be implemented or realized.”

Again Jessi, I mean you absolutely no disrespect in posting this on Chasing Change, and I welcome you to comment in your defense so that my readers will have an unbiased perspective.

We all welcome your articles and I’ve found many positive comments on Twitter related to your writing. But in the future, I would caution you to fully investigate what you plan to write about and make sure you cover all the bases.

Respectfully,

Nate Riggs

Social Media Strategist

More heads cover more ground, and the result is that you end up with a click of people who collectively know an application, website or gadget that helps with just about anything you might need.

That’s how I learned about Mojo, a grand slam of a file sharing application developed by Deusty Designs.

Watch this:

Mojo is Genius
This sharp little application brings back the music sharing nostalgia of the late 90′s when the original Napster was in it’s prime. With full visibility to your friends’ shared iTunes libraries, the program plugs itself into your iTunes and delivers fast and seamless functionality.

Installation is simple, and there is little to no configuration needed. The default setting allows you to connect with other shared iTunes libraries that live on your server. Unfortunately, this is a killer if you’re company doesn’t allow that type of sharing at work. However, if you do have the luxury of file sharing in the office, Mojo really does run quietly in the background while you go about your daily list of tasks.

Making Money
If you want to venture outside of your local network for music downloads, you’ll need to upgrade to a pay for play license. This seems to be a smart revenue model in my opinion. Stellar performance by the free version makes the upgraded product absolutely worth paying for.

The cost for Mojo Pro is nominal with the highest number of user licenses available at $26.95. However, what you get for the price is not well detailed on the site.

You can find a screen cast on subscriptions here, but I think that Deutsy could be more clear as to whether this is an annual fee, monthly charge, or a one-time license fee.

I bring this up because as a raving fan who would like to purchase the upgrade, this lack of description has caused a delay in my purchase. I’m willing to bet there are other potential buyers caught in the same dilemma. Bummer for me and for Mojo.

Feature Wish List

1. More Social Access. More detail is needed that outlines the social networking aspect of Mojo and allows you to connect with users outside your network through their Deutsy.com email address. So how do you find other Mojo users in the first place? A possible opportunity for enhancement then, lies in providing paid users visibility to other paid Mojo subscribers. One idea might be to create a Facebook page or group, and allow a catalog of users to be built virally.

2. Stay Logged On. We have three users in the office today and more on the way soon. Actually, this application is spreading like the flu at PTMS. The only annoying catch is that in order to rip from shared libraries, that user needs to manually activate Mojo on their machine, whether or not their iTunes library is already being shared. It would be nice if Mojo had a setting that would enable automatic start up when iTunes was shared.

3. Downloading iTunes Purchases. When downloading, you’ll notice certain shared songs or albums that appear in bright red font. As far as I can tell, Mojo will not touch any files that have been directly downloaded. While I’m guessing this is for legal reasons, negotiating some type of arrangement with iTunes to allow this functionality (even if it was provided at an additional cost to each user) would be icing on the Mojo cake.
   

Overall though, I highly recommend Mojo to anyone who uses iTunes. In one week, I’m up six gigs of shared music and, as I sit listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong chime through “I’ve got My Love To Keep Me Warm”, I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Look next week for an email interview with Deutsy Designs President and Mojo creator Luke Steffan. Luke’s been kind enough to offer to share his thoughts on next steps in the development road map for Mojo.

photocredit: mathewingram.com/work

The question of a potential dot com bust 2.0 has been on my mind for some time. Today you can’t throw a stone without hitting some type of new niche social network or start up SaaS.

An example would be Artie Isaac’s SpeakerSite. This network recently launched and already almost 700 members who have bought into a platform to connect speakers with audiences at events.

And if you’re so inclined, you can do even visit Ning and start your own niche community without too much trouble at all.

Anyone can build groups on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter. We can start blogs on any topic we choose. And what’s more? There’s enough people on the web today that you can find readers who will be interested in just about any fancy you choose to write on.

All this is too cool. But I wonder – will web 2.0 come crashing down similar to the dot com bust almost a decade ago?

In a conversation this week with @DanHarris, a tenured technology guru, I posed the question: So do you think we’ll see a dot com bust 2.0?

Dan didn’t think so and commented that a major component in the dot com bust of the 90′s was related to a lack of infrastructure to support the boom. There simply was just not enough bandwidth to keep up the exponential growth of start web companies and the high demand drove the cost of starting up through the roof. The risk associated with failure was high and extremely costly.

Today we’ve become much wiser and have more resources available at a fraction of the cost. Failure happens every day, and then new concepts are born again, and the ball keeps rolling.

But Seth Godin writes an interesting perspective, warning us that the internet is almost full. And by almost full he means that we are so bombarded by so many messages online – from social networks to blogs to email et. al. – that in a sense we, as consumers of the content are full.

This Happend to TV
How many times do you watch a commercial during your favorite tv show, and not two minutes after the spot has aired, you can’t seem to remember the brand or product that the ad was pushing?

We’ve been bombarded by so many messages over the years via traditional media like television, print and radio that, while these outlets can still be effective means of persuasion when integrated as part of a larger strategy, a huge majority of the messages just don’t stick. We stare at the box, glazed over as the content bounces off of our face.

But will history repeat itself? Will the social web (and the web in general for that matter) follow the same pattern of over saturation. Maybe we’re already there or getting close. It’s tough to keep up with all your favorite blogs. Just keeping tabs on your facebook friends can take hours, even if you only have a few hundred connections.

What do you think?

Worst case scenario: If there were to be a dot com bust 2.0, what would it look like? Would it be challenges with the technology or our ability to consume the messages it delivers?