tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870811477199800752024-02-19T08:07:43.846-08:00Strength, Courage, and WisdomEssays and reviews on technology and books.David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-78737671477848353822010-05-08T09:00:00.000-07:002010-05-08T09:00:01.962-07:00Communication '10 Redux Part ThreeLast Saturday, I attended my first Toastmasters convention. Yesterday and the day before I talked about the keynote speeches and the workshops. Today I would like to talk about the contests.
Why contests?
Toastmasters International states contests provide an opportunity for speakers to improve their
speaking abilities and to recognize the best as encouragement to all. Contests also provide an David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-44406761088801540352010-05-07T12:00:00.000-07:002010-05-07T12:00:03.146-07:00Communication '10 Redux Part TwoYesterday, I started to explain about the Toastmasters convention I attended last Saturday, May 1, 2010. Today, I would like to share with about the workshops I attended.There were 18 workshops along three different tracks: personal development, career development, and business communication.I attended three. Each was about 50 minutes long"Connecting With Your Followers: Leadership and David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-86985979740984893252010-05-06T21:57:00.000-07:002010-05-06T22:24:24.078-07:00Communication '10 Redux Part OneLast Saturday, I had the pleasure of being able to attend Toastmasters International District 7 Spring Convention Communication ‘10Toastmasters International is a organization composed of clubs all over the world where people can practice and improve their speaking and leadership skills.http://www.toastmasters.org/District 7 covers all of Oregon plus part of Northern California and Southwestern David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-85537903622662196942010-04-29T08:30:00.000-07:002010-04-29T08:30:02.834-07:00Five Temptations Forces You to ThinkA review ofThe Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership FableLencioni, PatrickJossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint, San Francisco, CA, 1998The author, Mr. Lencioni, relates the how of Andrew, a CEO experiencing his lowest point of his first year in that position, receives guidance from an unlikely mentor, Charlie, while he dozes on his ride home on the commuter train. The mentor explains to Andrew about David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-44889737052799155932009-10-27T21:00:00.000-07:002009-10-28T10:37:01.621-07:00Google Wave and You Part ThreeThis is the third of three articles about Google Wave.Part one showed how you can collaborate real time.Part two showed how you can work with someone who speaks a different language.Of course, it's not all about work. Sometimes you want to visit your peeps on Facebook or MySpace.You log in and see what updates there are on Facebook and update your status there.You log in and see what updates David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-6544505674914420352009-10-24T21:00:00.000-07:002009-10-24T21:00:02.107-07:00Google Wave and You Part TwoThis is the second of three articles about Google Wave.Part one highlighted the online collaboration.Speaking of collaboration, what if your colleague is in a different country? In France? On the other side of the world?What do you do if you don't speak the same language? Maybe you spend time bugging another co-worker who does."Excuse me, could you translate this for me? It's only 3 pages in 8 David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-50554379291174202322009-10-21T21:34:00.000-07:002009-10-21T22:21:06.767-07:00Google Wave and You Part OneThis is one of three parts about what you can do with Google Wave.In case you have been living under a rock, Google has this new application called Google Wave, currently available as a preview to friends of those who helped out with the beta test.It's called an online collaboration and communication tool.What does that mean, really? Let's break it down.Collaboration is working on something David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-51274302261861121882009-05-28T12:00:00.000-07:002009-05-28T12:00:00.452-07:00Success with Video in Email Part ThreeThis is a three part series regarding video in email.Part One helps determine if this is right for your audience and objectives.Part Two lists products and services available.We would like to address some questions you may have related to execution.What about bandwidth? If we have a video in email, will there be problems with delivering the content?Choosing the right content provider is key David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-74365128016728773652009-05-27T12:00:00.000-07:002009-05-29T07:40:08.818-07:00Success with Video in Email Part TwoThis is the second in a three part series about video in email.In Part One, we help you determine if video in email is right for you.You have your audience, your strategy so what services should you consider to realize your objectives?Unless you have resources in house, you will need a way to create video, host it, manage it and deliver it to your audience.• Goodmail http://David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-27692484661390467012009-05-26T12:00:00.000-07:002009-05-29T07:39:28.708-07:00Success with Video in Email Part OneThis is the first of a three part series regarding video in email.Video isn’t just for the TV set anymore.Audiences can use a multitude of devices such as computers, mobile phones, portable media players to watch content produced not only by TV networks and movie studios, but also independents, amateurs and individuals. James L. McQuivey of Forrester Research predicts that people will watch an David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-54401322454544472892009-05-22T15:03:00.000-07:002009-05-26T10:51:00.841-07:00Best Practices for Integrating an Email Campaign with Social NetworksCutting corners when creating the HTML version of a message may save you time, but do you a disservice if you want to take advantage of social networks.Assuming you have a content that you think is "share-worthy", attention to details such as the basic HTML tags, placements of the link and chiclet, and what will be shared, should remove obstacles and increase the likelihood of something being David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-60503987321648590032009-03-23T09:33:00.000-07:002009-03-25T09:36:52.648-07:00Book Review: Tuned InTuned In: Uncover the Extraordinary Opportunities That Lead to Business BreakthroughsStull, Craig, Phil Myers & David Meerman ScottJohn Wilen & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2008Tuned In provides a six step process for the reader to find opportunities which will lead to the new hot item, termed "resonator." These steps are focused on looking to the outside marketer first to find David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-10167956305046310132009-03-18T13:38:00.000-07:002009-03-18T14:02:49.119-07:00Snippets International Part DeuxSean Mcpheat provides 5 Hot Email Marketing Best Practices to readers of the Fresh Business Thinking.com's newsletter.At first pass one would say it is most useful to someone just starting out in email marketing, with advice such as "Make sure your email isn’t spam" and "Personalise your emails", but it is a good refresher even for the seasoned professional.Once you have that under your belt, David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-84785067735619742412009-03-03T11:09:00.000-08:002009-03-04T12:55:05.879-08:00What does marketing mean to you?Did you all look at the results of this poll at Online Marketing Blog?Readers were asked "What 3 digital marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2009?" Email marketing is fifth on the list after Blogging, Microblogging (Twitter), Search engine optimization, and Social network participation (Facebook, LinkedIn)! Should I be scared?If you look at the rankings one way, you might think David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-9085392698758268822009-03-03T09:10:00.000-08:002009-03-03T09:36:49.962-08:00Did you notice...It is interesting that despite showing tweets that contain their product name on their web site, Skittles and their parent company Mars did not come out of the gate with an account for twitter so they could interact with their customers. Whether that was planned or not, it brought that candy treat to everyone's mind yesterday. As Oscar Wilde said, whom I like to quote frequently, "There is David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-44616231557830211052009-02-24T12:00:00.000-08:002009-02-25T10:00:09.370-08:00SynchronicityWhile reading Scott Bedbury's "A New Brand World," I have become more aware of how little details can influence a person's impression of a brand. Scott gives the example of how travelers judge gasoline stations not just on the price but also on the quality of the restrooms. I was struck by a similar thought, might viewers judge your product by the channels through which you issue press releases.David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-9083644225323442792009-02-23T19:20:00.000-08:002009-02-23T19:21:37.184-08:00What I've Also Been ReadingA New Brand World: 8 Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the 21st CenturyBedbury, Scott with Stephen FenichellViking, New York, 2002This was recommended by a colleague. Each chapter highlights one of the principles with many examples from the author's professional life at some very high profile companies.For the sake of brevity, I will share the three that left the greatest impressionDavid R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-60161584896735547022009-02-18T11:22:00.000-08:002009-02-18T15:06:32.773-08:00Have you started thinking about the time change?It's coming early this year.The US and Canada will turn their clocks at 2:00 am local time on the second Sunday of March, March 08, 2009Most of Europe will do the same at 1:00 GMT on the last Sunday of March, March 29, 2009Here is a web site that not only tells you...when different countries "spring" forward or "fall" back some of the reasons why countries choose to do so or notthe variety of David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-63323402989342855392009-02-16T10:00:00.000-08:002009-02-16T10:20:04.151-08:00Snippets InternationalHere's an interesting article highlighting a New Zealand email marketing company, Jericho, that also explains the industry to a lay person. Best line from it "Email marketing works best by building loyalty."Second, this article caught my eye because it shows how print advertising In Japan has moved past URLs to drive customers to web sites.Basically, the ads show what search terms to input to getDavid R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-4856822449765875292009-02-10T21:54:00.000-08:002009-02-10T22:29:23.716-08:00Agile Estimation and PlanningI had the pleasure of attending a workshop on Agile Estimation and Planning this Monday, presented by Mitch Lacey, author of Adventures in Promiscuous Pairing, at the Executive Center of the Doubletree hotel in Portland, OR. The workshop was organized by the Software Associate of Oregon (SAO) and thankfully subsidized by the government so it cost a tenth of what it normally would.Here are some David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-59505835245756664132009-02-02T16:03:00.000-08:002009-02-03T09:44:41.370-08:00Metrics...Metrics...It's a fact of life. If we don't measure something, we don't know where we are or how well we are doing.And once we start measuring, then we should all use a ruler of the same size, shouldn't we?How many cubits in an ell? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?Now this is not going to turn into a plea for the US to join the rest of the world and start using the metric system.But I am David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-80392497085329690342009-01-27T10:46:00.001-08:002009-01-29T14:42:17.759-08:00What I've Been Reading LatelyAgile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams GreatDerby, Esther and Diana LarsenThe Pragmatic Bookshelf, Raleigh, NC, 2006One of the key events of an agile development process is the retrospective. This is the point at the end of a sprint or an iteration where the team looks back and what went well and what didn't go so great and decide what to do to make things better.The first chapters explain the David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-71535789750299880362009-01-26T08:32:00.000-08:002009-01-26T16:34:04.312-08:00Meeting NotesOne of the skills I found I was lacking after I became a product manager was maintaining and running a meeting. Unfortunately, this was not clear to me until after burning through a lot of good will.To remedy that I decided to join Toastmasters, an organization where the members self organize to fulfill different roles in weekly meetings designed to improve the members' communication and David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-36525862169323541262009-01-20T10:48:00.000-08:002009-01-21T15:25:47.291-08:00The Three C'sThis is one of my guiding principles for workEverything you do should serve one or more of the following groups1) The company2) The clients3) The co-workers1) The companyGenerally, this means the work should serve to keep revenue coming in. After all, if the company doesn't make money, we don't get paid.Make stuff that people will buy.2) The clientsGenerally, this means the work should David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387081147719980075.post-50765405310654602452009-01-15T08:36:00.000-08:002009-01-15T16:06:43.260-08:00Your customers love youThey would love you more if you wouldn’t send so much email to them all them.They would love you more if you sent them email that was more relevant to them.They would love you more if you honor their request to receive no more emails.As we know email marketing practices grew out of the direct marketing industry. Raise your hand if you have ever mailed a reply to a piece of junk mail you did not David R. Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01051158099203559706noreply@blogger.com0