Moving Online - GMail - the final frontier

I work from too many computers to be able to successfully keep my email address books on all of them up-to-date. I add an address on this one, then delete an address on another one. Before long, I have several different (and all incomplete) address book.

I tried Plaxo, but could never get it to synchronize.

So, it's time for a Kevin Gamble type experiment. I'm going to try using Google Mail as my only mail client. I've imported my address books and have all of my mail accounts being forwarded to my GMail account. I've been using GMail as a storage place for all of my Sent mail for several months now (BCC all messages to that account and set up a filter to automatically archive messages from my other accounts). I've resisted using GMail as my primary because I felt it just lacked the features I 'needed' in order to work efficiently. But now my frustration from working from different computers has just gotten the best of me - time to make a drastic change in the way I work.

It will be an interesting experiment. I'll let you know how it comes out.

A couple months ago, I stopped saving files to my hard drive (and using the flash memory stick only for backups) and started using Google Docs almost exclusively for my word processing and spreadsheets. There have only been a few features that I've missed. Otherwise, I've been VERY happy with that experiment. I even used ZoHo for creating a presentation.

I have also stopped (mostly) using my browser's bookmarks in favor of del.icio.us and have been THRILLED with that move.

My pictures are going either into my Facebook account or into Flickr.

I'm storing my presentations on Slideshare.

What's left?

Would you like to join me in this experiment? What are you liking or missing?

Making Impacts

Last week I talked to the Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware Associations of County Agricultural Agents about collaborating online, web 2.0 and using wikis (there division between all three of these is very hazy). I had a great time visiting with the agents up there and enjoyed their hospitality (and crabs).

During the presentation on wikis, we created a PACAA wiki using PBwiki. Ken Balliet started the home page with a great introduction. I especially like it where he asks, "Who is the webmaster of the PACAA wiki?" and answers, "YOU ARE!" (referring to the PACAA members).

They have some great agents doing some great things up there.

Presence technologies

Twitter, Jaiku, Facebook, Kyte, Plaxo, Del.icio.us etc.
These are some new applications you might want to learn more about.

The only way to 'grok' these is to get in there and try it for a couple of weeks. Find some friends and do it together.

My id on Twitter, and Delicious is "jdorner".
On Facebook, just search for John Dorner. One of the advantages of having an uncommon name is that there are only two of us on Facebook - so far.

Robert Scoble has a good intro to some of these.

I'll be blogging about these and some others when I have some time to blog. Right now, I've got to go catch my plane.

"My audience doesn't use the internet"

I've heard more educators say - "My audience doesn't use the internet" or they "don't have email". If your audience isn't extremely poor (i.e. living in assisted housing or homeless), maybe you could do them more good by teaching them about the benefits of using the computer and the internet than anything else you can teach them. Teach them how to learn and the best tool to do that with is a computer connected to the internet.

If you are dealing with business people (farmers are business people) and they aren't computer literate - they won't be business people (or your clients) very much longer. In today's world, if you aren't keeping up, you're falling behind.

Diane Ducharme (an Extension Agent who works with vegetable producers) and I were talking about this after lunch today and brainstormed about how becoming computer literate could help a vegetable farmer. Some thoughts we came up with:

• weather info
• pesticide data sheets and labels
  
• access the most current Ag Chem Manual
• comparison shop for equipment and parts - save money by finding the cheapest sources
• buy equipment, parts, anything else - and have it delivered to the farm
• parts manuals (that the hard copy that came with the piece have been lost)
• follow the markets
• reduce accountant costs by using accounting software
• keep field records - production, inputs, pesticide applications, etc.
• keep up to date with the news - including the production magazines
• communicate more easily with the Extension Agent

These are just a few - how many more can you come up with?

Wouldn't some educational programs teaching those who aren't computer literate about these tools be more beneficial than teaching them about the most recent advances in production technology?

Which is going to help them keep the farm or stay in business longer? Teaching them about the latest advance or teaching them how to find out about the latest advances from now on?

Reminds me of the saying about teaching a man to fish.

More thoughts on Twitter

I've been using Twitter for a month or so now and have come to like it. When I start my day, I usually check my Twitbin or Tweetbar, then on to my 'a-list' folder of RSS Reader (currently I'm using Google Reader). If I find something interesting that prompts a post, I'll post a blog article - like I'm doing now. Then I check my e-mail. That reminds me - let me go look at the subject/senders and see if there is anything that can't wait another 5 minutes - nope there isn't.
Slacker Manager put it this way, "Some have called Twitter a form of microblogging and I think that’s a helpful way of looking at it."

Some of the people I follow occasionally post useful links or mention topics that will direct my learning. Others I follow for their humorous comments. Some I follow to develop or improve a relationship. Most of the people I'm following now are people I might see or even talk to just once or twice a year. Twitter let's me keep up with what's going on in their lives on a daily basis, so when we do meet, we can have much richer conversations.

I'm looking forward to the day when I have more of my co-workers in my friends & followers lists. Then - we could ask questions and carry on psuedo asynchronous conversations in Twitter space. - sort of like an archived chat room that we could all keep check on - without cluttering email boxes. My biggest frustration is the frequency that twitter is 'down'. I suspect this is the price of success - growing faster than they had imagined.

If you are interested in getting started with Twitter, here's a good read. "The Several Habits of Wildly Successful Twitter Users"

Evaluating Educational Blogs

It's hard to know the impact of your blog. If you're lucky, 1% of the readers leave a comment - maybe more if you are wrong or writing about things based on opinions. How many of my readers actually learn from what I write? How many people read what I write? I can't count page hits or user sessions - they can give me trends and who knows how many bots and spider hits are there as opposed to real eyeballs. Or how many of the real eyeballs landed here and said 'this isn't what I wanted' and left. Another problem is that they don't count the people who read the posts in their RSS reader or have it emailed to them via a service like FeedBurner.

One tool I recently came across (still in beta) is RateItAll. You can get a widget to put on your blog that lets readers (assuming they come to your blog page) rate your blog. Come to this blog's page and rate it. Ideally, something like this would be on every article - so I can get some feedback on each article. But still, I miss all the people who don't come to the blog's site to read the blog.

So, I'm left to judge the effectiveness of this blog by the comments I get from personal conversations with the people I'm writing this for (like Anne Adrian said - "Write to a particular person or a small group with similar interest"). Do I see references to my writings in other's (those for whom I'm writing) blogs? Questions I get related to things I've written about are also another indication of its success.

Based on these measures, it is successful. But, are these measures quantifiable? I guess, theoretically, you could keep count of all those comments and questions, but not realistically. How can you justify to the bean counters that posting to a blog is beneficial to the company?

If your measure of success is the number of widgets sold, then you could use Google Analytics to count how many clicked through to the "Purchase" page. But, if your objective is to change people's behavior through education, how do you measure that?

I'm still searching for answers to these questions. If you have any, PLEASE share them!

Can Blogs Replace Newsletters

For several months I've been thinking about whether hard copy newsletters should be (and could be) replaced or augmented with blogs. Many send out periodic (monthly or quarterly) newsletters with information for their clients. I used to write a monthly newsletter and have abandoned that for a couple of blogs - this one for non-EIT supported topics and I contribute to Tech Talk for EIT supported stuff. Is this the right thing to do for newsletters whose target audience is the general public or a more narrow group such as dairy producers?

Can a blog replace the newsletter? Today, I would say yes and no. There is a part of most audiences that can't or won't read the blog, so you have to continue sending the hard copy newsletter. But, you can start weaning those who receive the hard copy version over to the blog version.

Make your blog better than the hard copy issue - put more in your blog articles than your hard copy articles - because you aren't limited by the size of the piece of paper. Use photographs and links to related information - because you can. In the hard copy newsletter, be sure to mention that there is more in the blog and where to find it. This will encourage your clients to opt for the method that is better, faster, easier and cheaper for you to deliver.

In your blog, post 'Right Now' articles along with the same articles you put in your hard copy newsletter (get all the mileage you can). If they read the same article weeks sooner and more, and better articles, eventually they'll drop the hard copy preference.

I think more of your audience is using these technologies than you think. Technorati is currently tracking 81.2 million blogs. That means that a significant portion of the general public is reading blogs and technologically competent enough to be using tools like RSS readers to get their information. If they aren't, perhaps this is a training opportunity for you to really help your clients learn how to get information.

If they aren't doing so today, they will be soon! Do you want to be 'established' before a critical mass of your audience is ready? Do you want to be seen as 'out of date' with the percentage of your audience that is already using RSS readers and wonders why they can't get your information that way?

If your clients are running a business and aren't capable of using these tools, they won't be in business much longer. Do them a favor and help them learn.

I often hear "My clients prefer hard copy newsletters". I wonder if they were asked 'would they prefer receiving it via email for free or paying $1.00 per issue for hard copy' - (it costs near that or more if you figure postage, copying and staff time printing, labeling, preparing for mail and mailing) how many would still opt for the hard copy?

I also wonder how they would answer if they were informed that the online articles would be delivered as they were written rather than waiting weeks for them to be collected, formatted and mailed?

Another bonus of blogging is that it is easy for multiple people to contribute like Tim and Diane are doing with Master Your Garden.

Using a News Reader

Why use a News Reader (i.e. Google Reader, Newsgator, Netvibes or 100's of others)?

The web is changing. You may have heard the term Web 2.0 - what does this mean? It means that the way you use the web should change. One thing to change is how you get your information. There is so much new information being generated in your field - no matter what your field is - that you can't keep using the old way of browsing to keep up. You have to use the tools that bring what's changing to you. That's where an news reader (aka feed reader, RSS reader, agrigator) comes to your rescue.

Whenever you are looking at a page that changes frequently, check to see if it offers a feed that you can add to your feed reader. In Firefox 2, there will be the familiar feed icon in the location panel. In MSIE 7, there is similar icon on the toolbar.

Clicking on it in Firefox 2 will give you options for subscribing to this feed.

MSIE 7 will add it to your Favorites Center. You can copy the URL from any page where the feed icon turns orange and subscribe to it in your favorite feed reader.

Anne Adrian posted an excellent article "How to use a news reader" that includes step-by-step instructions and examples of Extension blogs that demonstrate how blogs can be used by Extension professionals.

For more information on comparing agrigators go to: http://www.aggcompare.com/

A graphical dictionary

Scouting around, I found this site: Visuwords. It is a graphical dictionary. It's hard to describe, you just have to go there and try it out. Look up a word with multiple meanings like "network" to get the full effect. I can see this easily replacing the thesaurus I use.

Position your pointer over the word to get the definition.

Pretty cool looking - and useful.

Why Twitter???

Anne (aafromaa) asked for a reason to try twitter. Kevin (k1v1n) answered - because it is fun.

Like Anne, I couldn't see a compelling reason to use Twitter. But, after a couple weeks of using it and a late night discussion with Robert Neely, I finally figured it out - at least a reason for me.

I don't have much face-to-face contact or even telephone contact with most of the people that I work with. Usually it is IM, email and I might see them a couple times a year. When we do get together, I don't know much about what's going on in their life - either personal or professional outside of the project or problem we're working on.

Twitter lets me maintain or improve a connection with my friends. It is a social networking tool. It's amazing how nice it is to know what my friends are doing or thinking right now. It's like a little reminder to think about them and make a mental connection. I hope that when they post, they occasionally think of me.

Another neat use of Twitter was when Beth (bnr1) twittered that she was getting ready for an online class she was leading. It reminded me (I hadn't forgotten Beth) that it was almost time to connect. So, this can also be a marketing tool! Beth uses it effectively to remind me that she is working on the next class - a week or so out.

I was trying to explain Twitter to my wife - she looks at me like I've lost my mind. But she works in an office and has that social network in the face-to-face environment, so she doesn't need twitter - yet. When more of her friends that she hasn't seen in years get on, then I'm sure she'll join in too.

Social Computing Graduate Program

Adding to my post of yesterday where I quoted Karl Fisch's statement, "The top 10 jobs that will be in demand in 2010 didn't exist in 2004."

Today, I found this item from the University of Michigan's School of Information:

SI adds six new specializations to master's program

(Mar 2007) The University of Michigan School of Information is responding to fast-paced changes in the information professions by offering students six new specializations, including social computing, incentive-centered design, and community informatics.

They say "Social Computing specialists will be highly qualified to step into positions such as these: Online community manager; Product manager; Social network analyst; Community organizer; Management consultant; User experience analyst; e-Marketing associate; Web analyst". How many of these jobs existed in 2004?

The Future is Coming Fast!

This 6 minute video - Shift Happens - based on a presentation by Karl Fisch is thought provoking and scary! In it he talks about globalization in the information age. Well worth the time to watch.

Some quotes:

The top 10 jobs that will be in demand in 2010 didn't exist in 2004.

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist using technologies that haven't yet been invented in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.

I ate Chinese today and my fortune cookie said "The wise thing to do is to prepare for the unexpected." This was very apropos because during lunch, we were discussing this video and the only way I see to prepare for the unexpected changes that will come from what Karl talks about is to increase your basic knowledge gathering and learning skills. Learn how to stay up-to-date! Learn to use the tools as they come available - one at a time - rather than trying to learn everything after everyone else is already there.

SlideShare

Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/ offers you a way to post your presentations (PowerPoint, PDF, and OpenOffice) - up to 30MB - and share them with the world. Of course, I don't care about sharing with the world, but there are times I want to share my presentations with more than a couple others and this is a great repository for you to use to do just that. Think of it as free web space for hosting your presentations.

It is also a cool place to find presentations on topics you are interested in teaching or learning - (i.e. Teaching Excel or Animals and Disaster). Once you find a presentation in your area, you've also found someone who knows about the topic you are interested. You can see other presentations from that same individual.

PBwiki has gone AD FREE

PBwiki recently made all of their wikis ad free. They are making their money by selling extra features like customizing the design or more file space. The 10MB that comes with the free account is plenty for thousands of pages - you'd want the additional space if you were sharing files or had lots of images.

Their tag line is, “Make a PBwiki as easily as a peanut butter sandwich” and it's true! It's hard to imagine that it could be any easier.

This fits perfectly with all kinds of groups of people working together. There are just so many times a wiki would be the perfect tool for all types of projects. I recently started one for our boy scout troop to be able to post the minutes of all our leader meetings and to develop the agendas for our camping trips - http://troop701.pbwiki.com

RSS for beginners

Lee LeFever posted a video that does an EXCELLENT job of explaining RSS in Plain English

Click To Play

There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.

What not to do with PowerPoint

Start your week with some humor.
Comedian Don McMillan hits the highlights of what not to do with PowerPoint in the video:
Life After Death by PowerPoint

Legal Guide for Bloggers

The Legal Guide for Bloggers by the Electronic Frontier Foundation answers several legal questions that bloggers need to be aware of. Here are just a few of the questions they answer that I found interesting. There are lots more on their site.

• I found something interesting on someone else's blog. May I quote it?
• What is fair use?
• May I freely copy from federal government documents?
• Am I free to copy facts and ideas?
• How does a Creative Commons license help?
• I'd like to let other people copy from my blog. Can I license it?
• If a reader comments on my blog, does she license the rights to me?
• Can I "deep link" to someone else's website or blog post?
• When can I borrow someone's images for my blog post?
• Can I use a trademark in my blog's name or in the title of a blog post?
• What is "Libel Per Se"?
• Can I be sued for publishing somebody else's private facts?
• What is offensive to a reasonable person?

It's a site worth looking at if you blog. The good news is that as a blogger, you are allowed an awful lot of latitude - mostly under the freedom of speech laws.

Guerrilla Gardening

Talk about 'random acts of kindness'. These guys are doing something really nice for communities.

http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

Maybe this is something that might catch on with the Master Gardeners program. Guerrilla MGs???

Blog Readership survey

Vizu and AdAge conducted a "Blog Readership" survey and it had some interesting results.
The report leaves out some important information, such as who was surveyed and how many.

I didn't see any major surprises in their conclusions (some of which I quoted below).

• Community is a primary driver of readership within blogosphere
- search engines are secondary to links and recommendations as a way to find blogs
• Quality of writing is a very important driver of how people perceive blogs
- Personal opinion oriented content is the defining characteristic of blogs
• Personal interest and entertainment drive more readership than business or education

See the complete results.

BackPackIt

http://www.backpackit.com/

Here's another useful tool for collaborating! Amazingly simple to use.

Keep track of a to-do list, notes, writeboards, and links. For a fee, you can share a calendar, upload files and images and have more pages.

I think this could be a pretty simple project management tool.

But, I ask myself "What can you do here that you can't in a wiki?" And I answer myself, "mmm... Maybe it has a better interface for doing what it does - easier for a novice - maybe." Not really sure. I think I'll stick with my wikis for collaborating. I'm sure it's the right tool for something and someone. Certainly worth looking at and creating an account - just to play with for a few minutes.