Doing Words

Eye-popping web stats

// March 5th, 2010 // 0 Comments // Data, Industry

I hate it when keynote speakers spend the first three minutes of their timeslot making us all watch a snappy video about how amazing the interwebz are, when we’ve all seen it at least twice before and been emailed/life-streamed it several more times. Do your own audience warm-ups, I say.

Promise I’ll never make you watch one of these at the beginning of my presentations but online, you choose to watch, or you don’t. So if you do, cop this.

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

What does Australian web history tell us? The only constant is rapid change

// August 10th, 2009 // 0 Comments // Featured, Industry

With age, comes wisdom. At least, that’s the theory. So far, all I’ve acquired is a tendency to ramble in introductory paragraphs, reading glasses, and arthritis in my left thumb. Actually, that’s not strictly true; I think I’ve also acquired a broader perspective.

For instance, I’m excited that the Australian Interactive Media Association (AIMIA), Nielsen Online, Interaction Consortium and Paul McCarthy have developed this interactive history of the internet in Australia. At the same time, my broader perspective means I draw some different conclusions from the data.

Let’s leave aside for a moment the problem that the time scale starts in 2001, when consumer web activity probably began in earnest about six years prior, meaning this experiment only charts about half Australia’s actual web history. Telstra established a consumer ISP/portal called On Australia circa 1995 and Sean Howard’s OzeMail (which had been providing email services since the early 1980s) started offering web hosting in late 1994 or early 1995, if memory serves me. This is probably because the research industry tracking the internet has itself grown up in the same decade, from no tracking at all in the early days, to laughably inaccurate tracking in the late ’90s, to the arguably-better-than-traditional-media-research-but-still-full-of-holes research we see today.

(more…)

How to love your nerd

// December 12th, 2008 // 0 Comments // people

Rands is a great writer as well as a true nerd so he writes from the heart and with great insight when he describes in The Nerd Handbook how a nerd thinks, what makes a nerd different to you and I, and how the life partner of a nerd can help create a lasting relationship with a nerd.

I love how he details the nerd’s obsession with the latest project, and how a new relationship can be just like a new project. That can be a problem once the nerd believes he’s got you figured out:

As you discovered when you were the project, your nerd’s focus can be deliciously overwhelming, but it will stop. Once a nerd believe he fully knows how a system works, the challenge to understand ceases to exist and he moves on in search of The Next High.

While I don’t know who you are or why in the world you chose a nerd for your companion, I do know that you are not a knowable system. I know that you are messy, just like your nerd. Being your own quirky self will be more than enough to present new and interesting challenges to your nerd.

More great advice in The Nerd Handbook…

[Cool "I like code" tee from Chezza & Scottie @ Molt:n ]

Peace on earth, good reading to all men

// December 12th, 2008 // 0 Comments // people

In addition to world peace, an actual reduction in global carbon emissions in 2009 (versus a promise to do better) and an end to the Econolypse, here’s a list of things that would surprise and delight me.

Just in case you’ve enjoyed Doing Words this year sooo much that you’d like to show me some lurv.

Wishing you peace, love, and good reading.

Giving, getting, and the Three Types of People

// November 3rd, 2008 // 0 Comments // Industry, Startup

Photo by Nite Scape

Whether it’s business or charity, the money almost never comes from where you expected — have you noticed?

Last weekend I took part in the Sydney to The Gong bike ride, a 90km social fund-raising event put on by the MS Society. Participating with 14,000 other cyclists, volunteers and support crews is inspirational. I try to raise some donations from friends and business contacts too.

I’ve been doing a lot of fund-raising lately; for Oxfam, another MS Society event, the Juvenile Diabetes Assocation, GetUp, the Smith Family, and for the Serkong School in the Himalayas. I’ve noticed that my ‘regular’ donors have started drying up as they received repeated requests for just a few dollars more. Fair enough, that’s expected.

But what’s unexpected is who donates. Every time, there have been high-net-worth friends who have the cash but don’t donate, and friends and colleagues of mine who I know are doing it tough, yet they donate generously and often. In between, there’s some noise in the data that ruffles the line on the graph — people I happen to catch on the right day, people who know someone affected by multiple sclerosis when I happen to be raising money for the MS Society. But it’s not hard to remove the noise and see that there’s only three types of people in this world:

1. People who give more than they take;
2. People who take more than they give; and
3. People who believe there are only n types of people in this world

Whether it’s raising funds for a charity, finding time to help refine the idea for a new business, or even the number of days outstanding on your accounts receivable, it’s always the same pattern.

Some believe the winner is the one who dies with the most toys, and every dollar you give away will take twice as much effort to earn back. Bills should never be paid until the last minute. Do unto others before they do unto you. (more…)

Yay, Google indexed my career!

// September 19th, 2008 // 0 Comments // Industry

 

Yay, Google indexed my bigyahu.com site!

Originally uploaded by thatjonesboy

I’ve used the same user ID (bigyahu) for just about everything I’ve signed up for online since 1996. Now you can find out how that happened and why it turned out to be a good thing for me professionally on www.bigyahu.com.

There are links to my personal and professional background and a photo for the curious.

My latest series of business cards from Moo.com are printed with “Just google ‘bigyahu’” underneath the contact details.

Now, when I give someone my card, they can google me (go and try finding me amongst all the other guys called “Alan Jones” if you’re wondering why it had to be “bigyahu.”) Thanks to the indexing power of Google and the archiving power of teh intertubes, anyone who googles “bigyahu” will have clear evidence that (a) I’ve been doing this stuff for a very long time; and (b) I practice what I preach.

My personal brand is coming along nicely. What are you doing to develop your personal brand? Call me if you need some advice.

“I am 3D and more saturated”

// April 29th, 2008 // 0 Comments // people

Sadly these days most new follower notifications on Twitter are from other self-promoters trying to get their own brand out there. My advice would be to first concentrate on offering something of value, and then the audience will find you – that’s what the interweb is all about. I guess some people don’t have the patience for the organic approach.

Someone who can help you with an alternative approach – Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – is Marina Feygelman, who was probably marketing herself when she decided to follow me on Twitter. Never mind, I thought her blog was a useful guide for folks new to SEO, so I’ve added it to my bookmarks for later. We’re even.

In my eternal search for new ways to tell business stories, the About page of Marina’s blog makes a great little case study. I laughed out loud when I read her self-description. It reads, “Marina Feygelman is natural intelligence behind Adpuma. I look approximately like the picture on top of my page, but I am 3D and more saturated (color, that is). I am married and have three homeschooling children. ” That, along with her interesting photo, tells us everything we need to grasp where Marina is in her life and how her work relates to the rest of her life.

Her offer right up front is clear as a bell: get on the first page of Google search results tomorrow, call me now for a free consultation. At least, it would be clear as a bell if it didn’t say that in all upper-case. More than a few words of all upper-case encourages the eye to skip that copy and maybe come back later… if there is a later.

She has her phone number, email address and live chat link right there on the page too. Leaving your phone number and email address accessible on the page may be a problem if you don’t like spam and sales calls, but it sure breaks down the barriers.

There are a couple of minor spelling and grammar mistakes too, but that’s not a major problem, since you wouldn’t be hiring Marina to write for you.

Otherwise she has it all totally right: her offer is straightforward, her profile is memorable and has personality in spades, and her contact details are right there.

…but I’m still not adding her to the people I follow on Twitter!

This morning in da house: Yorke Hinds

// March 11th, 2008 // 0 Comments // people, Products, strategy

What the? I’m an employee again?

// April 20th, 2007 // 0 Comments // Industry

DSC00717
Originally uploaded by thatjonesboy.

SURPRISE! Today I started a new job: Editor and Social Media Manager for CARSguide. A real job, with super and holiday pay, for a real company, where someone else collects the mail and remembers to pay the utility bills. Also a real company with paperwork, with some processes that don’t yet make sense to me, with a payroll dept and an IT dept and a photo ID card.

Why would I go and get a real job, after spending the last few years in Web 2.0 startups? And why CARSguide, since it appears to be a very Web 1.0 business? (The ‘Listings 1.0′ model of “take the print content we already have and put it on a web page”?) It may not even be News Digital Media’s highest-profile online business (see if you can find the network distribution CARSguide currently has on news.com.au).

Several related questions, for which there are several related answers (and at this point, if you don’t give a cobbler’s about my career change, I perfectly understand – here’s a more entertaining post from Ben Barren, with bonus eye-candy. You’re excused.)

Here’s my thinking:

I just love database-driven businesses. I love all the goodness you can derive from great big thick wads of data, whether the data is editorial content, user behaviour, shared bookmarks, or classifieds listings. I worked at Sidewalk for the promise of building a massive database of lifestyle reviews. I worked at Yahoo! because of its unique and massive hand-built web directories and all those consumers generating search results. I co-founded HomeScreen because it was a chance to work with big databases of DVD product data, metadata (such as reviews and recommendations) and user behaviour.

Let me count the ways I love big databases. They are usually built with the cooperation of big online audiences, and if they work as they should, they generate network effects, provide 10,000-foot views of online ecosystems, and are one of the few content types that are still worth something when it comes to strike a distribution, licensing or sales deal.

Unfortunately, the Australian market doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for big database-driven online businesses. In online listings, some of the key spaces are already a foregone conclusion – a betting man wouldn’t put his money on your chances of dislodging AdWords, Yellow Pages, Seek, or Realestate.com.au. Largely still under the radar, the car listings market is still very winnable for a business that has a few outside-the-box ideas up their sleeves. Yes, we think we have some outside-the-box ideas at CARSguide; no, I’m not going to tell you what they are.

It’s rather ‘startup-ish’ at CARSguide. More startupish than you’d expect for a big online media company like the parent. It’s not goofy or whacky, (thankfully) and there’s no Aeron chairs (it’s OK, I have my own, salvaged from Web 1.0.) But there’s a new CEO with a fresh perspective, lots of new and open hires, big plans still at the whiteboard stage, and a lot of space between where we are now and where our goals have been set.

Yet, unlike a startup, we also have a major media company backing us; so we have a real marketing budget, great content in the pipes, the ability to hire the people we need, and a network for distribution. It will also be nice to spend some time in a business where there are already other people pick up the mail, pay the bills, and clean out the fridge.

I also love editorial content. I started my career as a writer, and I still love to write (poorly) every day. This role gives me the opportunity to be an editor again. Today, I got to tighten a few paragraphs here and there, craft a caption or two… oooh, it feels so good to whip out my Strunk again.

Social Media is, like, soooo HOT right now. Yes, obviously when you have a buzzphrase like “social media” in your job title it’s like owning a Porsche 911 – even pedestrians catching a glimpse of you assume you’re an utter wanker. But as any 911 driver will go on about for hours and hours if you let him (it’s invariably a him); even when he pops out on a supermarket run, he’s having arguably the best driving experience known to mankind. It eases the pain of appearing to be such a wanker.

I’m prepared to wear the odd raised eyebrow, the occasional snicker out of earshot, and I’m sure those who know me assume I’m already comfortable with being a wanker. As its right there in my job title I’ll need to take the fall if it all goes horribly pear-shaped in the end, but I believe CARSguide has an opportunity to do some innovative things in the social media space.

Oh, boy, do I love cars. I can bore you silly about writing off my first car (a yellow Mini S 1275, since you didn’t ask) on my way back to school after passing my driving test. There was a stop sign, but I was sure I could beat that milk truck, until I didn’t. About the character-building heck of being a Leyland Marina owner, or the joy of owning a custom Bedford van, a Peugeot 306 GTi or a Mini Cooper S Convertible.

What the? I’m an employee again?

// April 20th, 2007 // 0 Comments // Industry

DSC00717
Originally uploaded by thatjonesboy.

SURPRISE! Today I started a new job: Editor and Social Media Manager for CARSguide. A real job, with super and holiday pay, for a real company, where someone else collects the mail and remembers to pay the utility bills. Also a real company with paperwork, with some processes that don’t yet make sense to me, with a payroll dept and an IT dept and a photo ID card.

Why would I go and get a real job, after spending the last few years in Web 2.0 startups? And why CARSguide, since it appears to be a very Web 1.0 business? (The ‘Listings 1.0′ model of “take the print content we already have and put it on a web page”?) It may not even be News Digital Media’s highest-profile online business (see if you can find the network distribution CARSguide currently has on news.com.au).

Several related questions, for which there are several related answers (and at this point, if you don’t give a cobbler’s about my career change, I perfectly understand – here’s a more entertaining post from Ben Barren, with bonus eye-candy. You’re excused.)

Here’s my thinking:

I just love database-driven businesses. I love all the goodness you can derive from great big thick wads of data, whether the data is editorial content, user behaviour, shared bookmarks, or classifieds listings. I worked at Sidewalk for the promise of building a massive database of lifestyle reviews. I worked at Yahoo! because of its unique and massive hand-built web directories and all those consumers generating search results. I co-founded HomeScreen because it was a chance to work with big databases of DVD product data, metadata (such as reviews and recommendations) and user behaviour.

Let me count the ways I love big databases. They are usually built with the cooperation of big online audiences, and if they work as they should, they generate network effects, provide 10,000-foot views of online ecosystems, and are one of the few content types that are still worth something when it comes to strike a distribution, licensing or sales deal.

Unfortunately, the Australian market doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for big database-driven online businesses. In online listings, some of the key spaces are already a foregone conclusion – a betting man wouldn’t put his money on your chances of dislodging AdWords, Yellow Pages, Seek, or Realestate.com.au. Largely still under the radar, the car listings market is still very winnable for a business that has a few outside-the-box ideas up their sleeves. Yes, we think we have some outside-the-box ideas at CARSguide; no, I’m not going to tell you what they are.

It’s rather ‘startup-ish’ at CARSguide. More startupish than you’d expect for a big online media company like the parent. It’s not goofy or whacky, (thankfully) and there’s no Aeron chairs (it’s OK, I have my own, salvaged from Web 1.0.) But there’s a new CEO with a fresh perspective, lots of new and open hires, big plans still at the whiteboard stage, and a lot of space between where we are now and where our goals have been set.

Yet, unlike a startup, we also have a major media company backing us; so we have a real marketing budget, great content in the pipes, the ability to hire the people we need, and a network for distribution. It will also be nice to spend some time in a business where there are already other people pick up the mail, pay the bills, and clean out the fridge.

I also love editorial content. I started my career as a writer, and I still love to write (poorly) every day. This role gives me the opportunity to be an editor again. Today, I got to tighten a few paragraphs here and there, craft a caption or two… oooh, it feels so good to whip out my Strunk again.

Social Media is, like, soooo HOT right now. Yes, obviously when you have a buzzphrase like “social media” in your job title it’s like owning a Porsche 911 – even pedestrians catching a glimpse of you assume you’re an utter wanker. But as any 911 driver will go on about for hours and hours if you let him (it’s invariably a him); even when he pops out on a supermarket run, he’s having arguably the best driving experience known to mankind. It eases the pain of appearing to be such a wanker.

I’m prepared to wear the odd raised eyebrow, the occasional snicker out of earshot, and I’m sure those who know me assume I’m already comfortable with being a wanker. As its right there in my job title I’ll need to take the fall if it all goes horribly pear-shaped in the end, but I believe CARSguide has an opportunity to do some innovative things in the social media space.

Oh, boy, do I love cars. I can bore you silly about writing off my first car (a yellow Mini S 1275, since you didn’t ask) on my way back to school after passing my driving test. There was a stop sign, but I was sure I could beat that milk truck, until I didn’t. About the character-building heck of being a Leyland Marina owner, or the joy of owning a custom Bedford van, a Peugeot 306 GTi or a Mini Cooper S Convertible.