From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

photo credit: www.timbarcz.com

Here are a few quick blogging tips to keep in mind so you don’t bore your readers stiff:

1. Write for your audience. Not for you. Not for your boss. Write for your readers.
2. Don’t write a book. Booorrring. If your readers want to read multiple pages, they’ll download a new book onto their Kindle.
3. Have a purpose. Don’t just ramble on your blog. You can do that on Twitter, JASEzone or some other microblog platform. Write blog articles that have a point to make or a question to ask. Which leads to the next point …
4. Ask questions. Get your readers involved in the communication.
5. Share information. Don’t fall into the old school mindset that you need to hoard your “mojo”. Believe me, it’s not yours. Someone else has already thought of it.
6. Be Switzerland. This one is hard sometimes. I know. But try to be neutral.
7. Publish your articles on a schedule. Or atleast a semi schedule. Don’t sweat missing a beat or two but try to be considerate and thankful of your readers that are coming back to you for information.
8. Link. Link. Link. Out. Link to your competitors. Link to other ‘experts’. They will appreciate the recognition and do the same back to you. Trackbacks work. I promise.

What are some other tips you can think of?

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Stay tuned for the excitement! New Media Conventions is coming to Virginia Beach this fall. Check the New Media Conventions website for more details. Make sure to sign up for the email list to get details as they are unveiled.

Twitter 101 - Microblogging for Beginners

Download the free seminar on tips and tricks for beginners to drive inbound marketing using social media through the use of Twitter.

Topic: Twitter 101 - Microblogging for Beginners
Event: The Hampton Roads Internet Marketing & Technology Group

What is Twitter and Why Do People Care What I am Doing? Twitter has many uses for both personal and business. It is a microblog that you can use to interact with customers, broadcast news and blogs and easily communicate with friends and family. Twitter is essential to any inbound marketing campaign.

- Why Twitter is Useful
- Networking with Twitter
- Twitter Tips

We will have @parnellk63, @sonnygill, @naomadoriguzzi who will assist you with ALL your twitter FAQ’s. With a combined 10,048 followers and 18,688 tweets(updates) as of 3/13/09 they have shown they have definitely learned how to use Twitter effectively.

Sonny Gill - twitter.com/sonnygill
Keith Parnell - twitter.com/parnellk63
Naoma Doriguzzi - twitter.com/naomadoriguzzi

photo courtesy of MashGet on Flickr

I posted this statement and asked for thoughts through my microblog network late last evening and received a few very quick replies.

The Facts

First, here are the facts. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) took it upon himself to write a personal letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Microsoft has a moral obligation to protect … American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times,” the Senator wrote in the letter on January 22, 2009. The Senator’s letter was prompted by suspicions that Microsoft will be laying off thousands of workers over the next few months.

Computerworld magazine said, “Grassley, a vocal critic of the H-1B program, could have sent the letter to any of the vendors laying off employees — or to corporations with H-1B workers on their IT staffs. He likely singled out Microsoft because its chairman, Bill Gates , has called for an increase in the annual cap on visas during congressional hearings.”

Quick Microblog Responses

Now the quick responses from my network so far -

• dmooney9 on Twitter - i’ve noted on Twitter that it’s ludicrous. How many Americans work overseas and could lose their job in a tit for tat. Vote ploy
• jameshgale on Twitter - Laying off visa holders before citizens is a form of protectionism that, if copied by other states, will undercut any recovery.
• brandonsavage on Twitter - I think it depends on what they do. If the company isn’t laying off in their department they shouldn’t target them just 4 H1-B
• Art Bykonen on Facebook - Basically I think the senator should leave business decisions to business- I vote Libertarian. Not agree w the Party on all things but closest to my views

And you???

What do you think? Do you side with Senator Grassley? This is a tough situation, if you had to fall on one side of the fence or the other, where would you be?

I threw out a comment to my microblogging network this weekend about my challenges with organizing the results of self-brainstorming sessions. And just as reliable as the sun coming up every morning, I received suggestions on resolving my challenges. FreeMind was the consensus recommendation.

I now have FreeMind version 0.8.1 running on an Ubuntu Linux machine and the results of my using the mind mapping software have been positive and productive. This tool gets a solid recommendation from me. The FreeMind software can be downloaded from their website here.

Here is how the conversation went this weekend on JZ / Twitter -

parnellk63 - My marketing self-brainstorming won’t stop. I keep running to the whiteboard to write down new action items for new client. 1/17/2009 1:29 AM

lamarjmorgan - @parnellk63 Ever use mind mapping when brain-storming? 1/17/2009 1:31 AM

parnellk63 - @lamarjmorgan - Absolutely. Mind mapping is a wonderful exercise. I don’t know how many lost ideas have come to light this way. You? 1/17/2009 1:36 AM

lamarjmorgan - @parnellk63 The Free Mind open source software for mind-mapping is awesome. I wish I understood it better than I do. 1/17/2009 1:40 AM

parnellk63 - @lamarjmorgan - Interesting. I’ll check it out. 1/17/2009 1:49 AM

thekid416 - @parnellk63 Free Mind is a great little “free” mind-mapping software. Helps un-tangle ideas! 1/17/2009 1:52 AM

parnellk63 - @thekid416 - I received the same recommendation from @lamarjmorgan. Thanks both of you for the unsolicited suggestion. Love my network! 1/17/2009 1:56 AM

parnellk63 - Enjoyed my first experience with FreeMind, the open source mind-mapping software, earlier today. 1/17/2009 10:52 PM

JeffreyJDavis - @parnellk63 You will find Mindmapping to be a very valuable tool for innovation, organization 1/17/2009 10:56 PM

sscarver - @parnellk63 I’ve been curious about mind-mapping for several months. Just can’t figure it out. Did you like the software? 1/17/2009 10:57 PM

Aboundlessworld - @parnellk63 Really? how was it? I’ve been interested in mind mapping for quite some time. 1/17/2009 10:57 PM

parnellk63 - @JeffreyJDavis @sscarver @Aboundlessworld - I’m looking forward to using it more. My wild self-brainstorming can finally be captured! 1/17/2009 10:59 PM

FreeMind - free mind mapping software
FreeMind is a premier free mind-mapping software written in Java. The recent development has hopefully turned it into high productivity tool. We are proud that the operation and navigation of FreeMind is faster than that of MindManager because of one-click “fold / unfold” and “follow link” operations.

If you’ve ever wondered what the microblogging fad was all about and if your organization should get involved, the answer is yes. Of course, you should.

Here’s validation from Business Week. Here’s another validation from Guy Kawasaki. Here’s another validation from Paul Dunay. And another validation from me.

Paul’s blog post on Brands that Tweet shows a sample list of some very high profile brands in many different verticals that have begun tweeting. Get involved. You should. We did. 

Call our team to find out how this platform can be incorporated into your overall marketing plan.

Related: here is Paul’s list of CEOs that tweet, including yours truly.

At our most recent Entrepreneurs Forum of Hampton Roads meeting earlier this week, we were honored to have Dr. James Koch speak to us on his economic study of entrepreneurial traits. The topic of his presentation was follow-named with his newest book, Born, Not Made.

For those that do not know, Dr. Koch (pronounced like cook) is a world-renowned economist with at least 9 books and over 100 hundred journal artcles published. He is also President Emeritus and the Board of Visitors Professor of Economics at Old Dominion University. You may read more information on Dr. Koch at his website here.

All in all, the presentation was very interesting and intriguing. Personally, I received validations on several fronts that my personality does fit the entrepreneurial model Dr. Koch expresses.

Here are a few scratch notes I took during the meeting -

• Entrepreneurial traits in an individual stem from 60% heredity, 40% environment.
• Heredity: risk taking, behavioral genetics research, uncertainty.
• Environment: education, wealth, training from parents, parental influence is much smaller relative to pier influence.
• Entrepreneurs think more outside the box than managers.
• Entrepreneurs have more innovative ideas than managers.
• Entrepreneurs stir things up more than managers.
• Entrepreneurs encourage less creative thinking and ideas than managers.
• Entrepreneurs do not agree with organizational charts whereas managers do.
• Entrepreneurs violate the chain of command more than managers.
• Entrepreneurs make good employees only if you expect them to do entrepreneurial things.
• Higher wealth does not equate to a greater risk taker.

I’d like to thank Joel Nied for organizing & moderating and Williams Mullen for their sponsorship and hosting the event. Hopefully the next event in March I’ll be able to live blog or live microblog the event.

Amazon.com describes Born, Not Made this way -

Books, magazine articles, and educational programs on entrepreneurship are all based on the idea that anyone can be an entrepreneur–that entrepreneurs are made, not born. Well, maybe not.

In a study of 234 CEOs funded by the Kauffman Foundation, James L. Fisher and James V. Koch came up with a surprising conclusion: Some individuals are simply more naturally fitted to become entrepreneurs than others. They are pre-wired. Because of heredity, some people are much more likely to become successful entrepreneurs or pursue entrepreneurial strategies within a corporate setting profitably.

By recognizing that, this book will significantly improve corporate selection processes, strengthen entrepreneurship programs, and boost the confidence of aspiring entrepreneurs through invaluable insights. Among other things, Fisher and Koch show that true entrepreneurs not only see the world differently–they act differently. Compared with corporate managers, for example, they are more confident, more decisive, more likely to upset the apple cart, and more energetic. They love to compete but are notable for the partnerships they are able to fashion with friend and foe alike. Such conclusions are remarkable. Why? Because they are based on the only empirical comparison study yet conducted on entrepreneurship.

The insights are not based on personal opinion or case studies but on valid and reliable personality indicators. Because the book shows that certain kinds of people will find it much easier to found successful companies than others, it has many practical applications. It will help organizations fit the right people into jobs requiring an entrepreneurial bent. It will challenge corporations to hire entrepreneurial CEOs who will transform businesses rather than maintain the status quo. And it will speak directly to entrepreneurs and those contemplating starting a business, who will learn if they have the right stuff to start and sustain a business. In short, this book provides insights into the entrepreneurial soul that can change the fortunes of individuals and companies for the better.