Merry Christmas to all my listeners and readers.

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Last night I talked a little about BlogTalkRadio. One of the shows I like is The Rundown with Luke Armour. Last week he interviewed corporate communications guru Shel Holtz about a campaign he started last fall to stop employers from blocking employees' access to some or all parts of the Web.



This campaign is an effort to rebut "studies" (often by entities with vested interest in selling blocking solutions) that blame frivolous surfing for business "losses."



Treating employees with trust that recognizes their commitment in a world where "company time" is often logged at home or on the road is an important way to foster employee engagement, loyalty and productivity.



Listen to the interview and read the Stop Blocking blog (links below) to learn more.



Links:



Stop Blocking Campaign Site:

http://www.stopblocking.org/



(Be sure to check out the Wiki and the Petition.)





Luke Armour interview with Shel Holtz (12/11) on BlogTalkRadio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/…Shel-Holtz



Stop Blocking Facebook Group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php



Stop Blocking Campaign announcement 9/18 from Shel Holtz:

http://blog.holtz.com/…_campaign/

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

BlogTalkRadio Rocks!



Look for my new show on BlogTalkRadio, which will be about using social media in business and marketing, and about cool news related to technology.



I won't be abandoning my Utterz, just complementing them with a lengthier discussion that will support call-ins and guest interviews.



I'll also be looking for guests and inviting you to call in live when the show airs, so stay tuned to learn more.



Links:



Sheywood on BlogTalkRadio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sheywood



BlogTalkRadio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/



Now is the Time show on BlogTalkRadio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/…wistheTime

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Today I received a beta invite from Hulu.com, a site that streams a wide variety of television content with "limited commercial interruptions."



Hulu is rolling out betas on a limited basis, and my wait for an invite after requesting one was about two weeks. (You can sign up for an invite from Hulu using the link below.)



Content that is available for viewing on the site ranges from old stuff (like the pilot for Dogie Howser) and new stuff (like Family Guy, The Office and Roswell) conveniently identified by season and episode number.



There is a social media component included, as users create a profile and can make comments about the shows and clips.



Because the site collects demographic information like birthdate and zip code for its users, this type of delivery format should be attractive to advertisers who like to measure such things about viewers.



Ads are served at the beginning and the end of the shows and clips, and the run times reflect the limits of the interruptions (21:48 for a 30 minute TV show, for instance.) The ads are current, not those that would have appeared in the original airing.



The site touts its ability to allow users to embed the content as well as to view it anywhere, although on first look, I haven't made the embedding or the RSS subscription feed for my playlist work yet.



So far, Hulu is an interesting alternative for those (increasingly frequent) times when there is nothing good on regular or cable TV.



It also appears to prove what the writers have been pointing out since beginning their strike -- that there is value and profit in Online content delivery.



Look for more posts about Hulu as I test it further.



Links:



http://www.hulu.com/

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Pictured: Marcia Canady of V:Social



This evening, Marcia Canady, VP of marketing and sales for Tempe-based V:Social discussed the use of "white label" video at the December meeting of the Phoenix Social Media Club.



V:Social offers a platform that businesses can use to produce and distribute video on their Web sites and to share the video on sites like YouTube. Unlike YouTube itself, or other free video distribution sites, V:Social offers its clients the ability to brand the look and feel of the video player with customization consistent with the rest of a company's brand identity.



One of the most common ways that V:Social clients use the platform is to run promotions where users upload their own videos to a company Web site to compete for a prize. She shared examples of such contests from Vespa, UPS and Foster's.



Links:



V:Social:

http://www.vsocial.com/



UPS Delivery Intercept Challenge:

http://challenge.ups.com/…ontest.php



Foster's Laid Back Legends (UK):

http://www.fosters.co.uk/…index.aspx



Vespa Go Green Video Challenge:

http://gogreenchallenge.vespausa.com/



Social Media Club:

http://www.socialmediaclub.org/

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

MediaPost's OMMA magazine shares ten things about ten things related to Online media and marketing in its December, 2007 issue.

MediaPost's print publication OMMA - The Magazine of Online Media, Marketing & Advertising identified ten key areas Online marketers need to manage to survive in 2008 in its December, 2007 cover story.

Hear the ten areas necessary for survival in 2008, and use the link to find out ten things about each that Online marketers need to know.

Link:
OMMA's Ten Things stories
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Archives.showArchive&art_type=101&archive_year=2007

Miriam-Webster names W00t word of the year
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071211/ap_on_re_us/word_of_the_year

p.s. Happy Birthday to Sue in Houston!

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

A government study released on Monday based on sample data for the first six months of 2007 shows that one in eight US households have cell phone service but not traditional landlines.

While the growth of 1% in this group versus 2% growth in the second half of 2006, it's unclear whether the results were affected by changes in the way the survey was worded and organized.

Significant findings include significantly higher proportions of people ages 18-29 rely solely on mobile phones, which is double the percentage of people ages 30 and over who do.

While 59% of respondents used both land and cell lines, only 24% relied only on landlines.

These findings have implications for emergency responders and political pollsters.

What do you do? Do you have both mobile and landlines?



Links:

Yahoo news story on wireless cell phone use study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071210/ap_on_hi_te/cell_phones_only

CDC report on wireless phone usage (PDF file)
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless200712.pdf

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Links:

Thinking a lot today about how businesses outside the existing social media community can use these new tools effectively.

Chris Brogan's Social Media Starter Pack post
http://chrisbrogan.com/social-media-starter-pack/

Arizona Twitter Meetup Info:
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/379597/

Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/sheywood

p.s. Happy Birthday, Ben!

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

This holiday season, look for local sources for food and gifts. You'll be helping sustain independent businesses in your local economy, find unique gift items. Plus, when you shop at local farmers' markets, you know where your food came from!

In Phoenix, there are a number of local farmers' markets across the metro area. The Downtown Phoenix Public Market is open Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. A store featuring local merchandise is slated to open in Spring, 2008.

Links:
Downtown Phoenix Public Market:
http://www.foodconnect.org/phoenixmarket/

Local First Arizona /Arizona Chain Reaction:
http://www.localfirstaz.com/

Local First Arizona Links to other Local Shopping Advocacy Organizations:
http://www.localfirstaz.com/links/

American Independent Business Alliance:
http://www.amiba.net/

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Opting out of Facebook's Beacon

The latest news on Facebook's Beacon feed is that it will be opt-in only. This is true when it works. Here's how to opt-out of all Beacon feeds.

Links:

Facebook Help page - Actions from External Websites:
http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=57

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Today's Utterz topic of the day is stress-free travel, so I thought it would be a good time to share one of my favorite travel tip -- Take the train!

Long distance train travel is a fun and low-stress way to see the USA. Plus, it is more environmentally-friendly than air or car travel, and gives you plenty of time to relax or even work using wi-fi connections. (And you can take your whole bottle of shampoo, too!)

Some other travel tips:

* Travel light (For long trips, remember that there are often laundry facilities available, so you can take fewer clothes. Doing a load before you leave can make your return less stressful, too.)
* Use travel SpaceBags to keep your outfits organized and neat
* Allow enough time (Be realistic about how much stuff you can really do on the trip.)
* Use lists to stay organized (FlyLady has a great packing list you can use to start.)
* Keep separate toiletries packed (Replenish as necessary after each trip.)
* Unpack as soon as you return from your trip


Links:

Amtrak - Travel America by Train -
my Squidoo lens about Amtrak train travel:
http://www.squidoo.com/amtrak_travel/

Sunset Un-Limited Google Group - Advocating restoration of Amtrak's cross-country Sunset Limited route east of New Orleans:
http://groups.google.com/group/sunset-un-limited

FlyLady's travel control journal - PDF file:
http://www.flylady.net/images/PackingCJ.pdf

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Iowa is Purple

The Iowa caucuses are different than other primaries.

Links:
Squidoo Lens: Iowa is Purple:
http://www.squidoo.com/iowa_is_purple/

USA Today on Latest Iowa polls:
In unsettled GOP field, Huckabee finds footing:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-02-huckabee_N.htm

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

As traditional universities deal with larger class sizes, Online Education looks more attractive.

Link:

Huge class sizes unavoidable on MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21951104/

Mobile post sent by sheywood using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3