Juno Awards' Melanie Berry's Top 10 for 2010

In a recent presentation to the members of NLOWE at a breakfast session, CARAS CEO Melanie Berry shared her top ten entrepreneurial priorities for 2010 while in St. John's for final arrangements for the 2010 Juno Music Awards.

Expressing the value of mentorship in her career, Ms. Berry cited these as her important entrepreneurship and life lessons:

1. Always treat others as you would like to be treated.
2. Do what is RIGHT, not what is EASIEST.
3. Pick your battles - don't waste time with unimportant issues
4. Think about the big picture and do not be distracted by the little issues
5. Value your friends
6. It is what it is - realize what you can change and what you cannot
7. Take time to learn from your mistakes
8. Celebrate successes
9. Always admit when you're wrong
10. Love what you do - you have to love your job.

Melanie also emphasized the importance of having a strong support system you can rely on - and cited her parents as playing this important role in her success. This video that was taken at the event, lets you share in her positivity and enthusiasm for what she does.

11 Hot Tips for Techknowledgeable Writing

Well... they were hot when I wrote them originally 4 years ago. But I think it is still valid for creators of website content - layout and presentation can make or break the deal...

1. Put yourself in the reader's position
What is the most important thing on your website or in our email, newsletter or blog for users? (Use your web statistics to form and opinion on this.) In each and every article, try to pinpoint what users will find to be most interesting or useful, and focus on this.

2. Use the right trigger words (key word)
When users come to your website, they have a mental picture of what they seek, often a so-called "trigger word". If they come from a search engine, is is the word that they used in their search query.

If a user is searching for "glasses" , he (read "she" if you prefer) will not automatically click on the word "visual aids". It is for this reason that it is counter-productive to use the jargon in articles or navigation bars.

Jargon fails because the user is looking for his trigger word, and does not find it. Therefore; fine out which words your users like to use and to describe their search. Use these words and not your own internal jargon!

3. Write meaningful headlines
In order for a reader to get interested in an article, web page, long email, blog or newsletter, he has to know what the article or page is about. After that, the reader will determine whether it is relevant and interesting and whether it answers his current question.

Therefore: A good headline uses relevant trigger words (see above) and is descriptive - telling what the article is about. If you have a web page about offshore oil exploration off the coast of Newfoundland, "Newfoundland offshore oil exploration" would be a good title, and "Newfoundland economy" would not.

Remember that headlines can end up being the entire story (when the article is placed lower on the screen, or when another site quotes your content). Then the headline will have to stand alone - with neither picture or sub-header to support it - and still be able to convey the news.

4. Write the article as a teaser
A "teaser" consisting of a headline, sub-headline and picture, should be able to inform the user of an event to such a degree that a user that is in a hurry (or who is only reading superficially) does not need to read the whole story. Those who are interested in reading more about the topic can click in on the entire story, while those who aren't, will still get the basic information.

5. Use the most appropriate presentation method
Information can be presented in many different ways. By analyzing and organizing your content you will be in a good position to select the best presentation method. Choose from:

• bullet and numbered lists,
• tables,
• graphs,
• flowcharts and
• diagrams.

6. Help readers down the page
Let the reader get a quick grasp of the article by simply glancing at the page. Techniques to help readers down the page, are:

• SUB-HEADERS
• Bullet Points
• Hyperlinks
• Bold words (preferably trigger words)

Remember that these elements must give a complete description of the article when the reader simply looks down the page (seeing only the headlines, links, points and bold or underlined words). Pay attention to the fact that you can spin or twist a whole article by choosing to make one word bold, so be careful.

7. Create space on the screen
Few things kill a reader's desire to read, like a massive and visually impenetrable block of letters. Only the most motivated readers will dare to read such an article (basically fewer than 5 per cent - check your website statistics if you do not believe me!

Therefore: Create space! Break text up into paragraphs, sub-titles, pictures, lists and bold words so that the page doesn't appear like a fortress.

8. A picture is worth more than a 1000 words...
Text is not the best medium to convey all types of information. So, consider whether your information can be conveyed better via pictures, numbers, models, diagrams etc.

9. Say it as simply as possible
Write simply and directly. To achieve this, think "How would I explain this to a grade 4 student?" or "What would I have said if this were a classified advertisement?"

The intention is not to underestimate the reader, but to write in an inclusive way. If you need to write an extensive and complex article (a research report, a medical analysis etc.) consider breaking it into smaller parts (see Tip 7).

10. Layer it
If you must convey a demanding text, consider doing it over two different pages: Make one simple article, which explains where the content can be obtained, or which presents the main points of the larger article.

Set up a link to the entire report/text/evaluation for those who are particularly interested in it, from where it can also be printed.

11. Watch out for typing errors!
It is hard to catch your own mistakes, so set up routines whereby a colleague double-checks your work, if possible. Spell-check your own work. Remember that a misspelled word not only looks unprofessional, but can also confuse a search engine. A user looking for "Canada" on your web site will not get a hit for an article that mentions "Caanada".

What Twitter Can Do For You

There is often Much A-twitter About Nothing, as Shakespeare no doubt would have said today. But hard to dispute is that Twitter is being used to deliver results, and here are some suggestions how...

A business acquaintance of mine manages a hotel in a scenic travel destination that is somewhat off the beaten track. Every morning he searches Twitter, using a few key words that include the name of his region, his town, the nearest airport and ferry terminal. By responding to the tweets of travelers looking for travel information ("Heading to Gros Morne - any travel tips?") or a place to stay he builds goodwill, is a great tourism ambassador for his region and attracts business. How long does it take? Not more than an hour every morning during his peak tourism season, he says.

This blog post on Dosh Dosh has another 17 ways to use Twitter:

1. Personal Branding

2. Getting Feedback

3. Hire People

4. Direct Traffic to Websites

5. Read News

6. Make New Friends

7. Network for Benefits

8. Use it as a To Do List

9. Business Management

10. Notify Your Customers

11. Take Notes

12. Event Updates

13. Find Prospects

14. Provide Live Coverage

15. Time Management and Analysis

16. Set Up Meetings

17. Acquire Votes

18. This one is not included on their list but works for me:)! Shorten the time in the doctor's waiting room

For more information and ideas, head over the the Dosh Dosh blog. Would love to hear if you have any other ideas.

Managing the Conversation in Social Media

Here is an interesting high level discussion about the conversation in social media - how businesses can use them, what can be gleaned from being a part of the conversation and how social media conversation is becoming the way consumers are expected to be treated. Marketers have always dreamed of engagement with their brand and suddenly social media has dropped the opportunity in our laps. The challenge is to use it effectively. Check Ralph Wilson's video out:

More Tehnology Perspectives

I read Rohit Bhargava's blog post this week with his perspective on the iPad - I thought he captured the main points quite well. Interested in internet marketing perspectives, leading edge thought and such... check out Rohit's Influential Marketing Blog.

Earlier the week I attended the local release of Deloitte's TMT (Technology, Media $ Telecommunications) 2010 Predictions - see the full document on their website - and while it confirmed a few trends it also shed light on a few others. (Important to note that Deloitte also admits to have slightly missed the mark in previous years!). So following from the Ipad posts - Deloitte predicts that eReaders like the Kindle and the iPad will claim its niche and revolutionize publication, adapting its distribution channels to micropayments like the 99c songs on iTunes.

Confirmed:

• Advertising continues to social and mobile at the cost of traditional channels.

"Online only makes up about 10% of global ad sales at $80 billion. That said, online sales will continue to steal share from traditional media in 2010 and disrupt the ad market, causing prices to fall. Although this shift will likely impact traditional media across the country, the good news is that it will become less expensive for Canadian companies to place ads in both traditional and online media."

• Cloud computing continues to grow with computers getting "thinner" and the grunt work and storage happening on the Internet.
• Growth in mobile and Internet use continues to challenge the ability to move the growing volume of data, creating opportunities for solution providers that can help to decongest mobile networks.

What I found interesting:

• Users will start to determine which technologies make them most productive, providing headaches to procurement and support departments - however, this inevitable trend will not be stalled.

For other trends like Clean Technology, decreasing mobile costs with lower reliability and more, check out the pdf.

I took another look at my own list of tech predictions for 2010 and ... sigh... there is a lot we agree on.

iPad - Creating Space on My Bookshelf

Steve Jobs unveiled the next Apple super child yesterday and questions that prevail range from "is this an oversized iPhone?" or "is it the next-bigger-thing?"

Now that we have become used to the iPhone wunderkind, the iPad does not wow to the same extent. However, like the iPod took over the music market, the iPad is certainly the key that unlocks the reign in the world of publishing. String in a visit to the iTunes store, the Apple App store and the iBook store and what more do you need for your week at the cottage? Books, music and games all in a neat lightweight device in the handbag or satchel. Of course, for family entertainment it quickly turns into a movie screen. This Apple sounds like a pretty green thing to me.

The call for App developers for the iPad is out - and we all know the device is only as good as the things we can do with it. So the gold rush is on once again for app supremacy.

If I were spending an hour on the train and bus to work every morning and night this is certainly a way site better than elbowing your neighbour with the daily paper and getting black fingerprints over everything. I like it and I like the price point but for now, my iPhone is still keeping me fascinated.

2009 in Social Media In Cartoons

Rob Cottingham's very funny take on what happened in the world of Social Media in 2009: