Joe Hackman

Joe Hackman

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Internet Radio Mashup Episode 2 [Podcast]

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Internet Radio Mashup LogoThree great guests joined me  for the second Internet Radio Mashup episode on my Blog Talk Radio program:

Listen

[audio:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joehackman/2011/11/02/internet-radio-mashup-episode-2.mp3?localembed=download]

Summary

The interactions between the panelists provided for a very enjoyable discussion. Vacations, books, leadership and vocations were among the main discoveries.

Quotable

“I have a passion around helping people see how powerful they are.” – Erna Grasz

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 11/2/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Is the Rise of Word Press Killing off Jobs?

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Is Word Press killing of jobs? That’s what a new connection of mine on Twitter suggested to me just last week:

Wordpress Kills JobsThe minute I read Monica’s Tweet, the wheels in my head started spinning. One of them was wondering if it was true, and the second was what can (or should) be done about it. Before we go there, I learned that Monica’s opinion is an informed one, she started writing about WordPress in 2009, about the same time I started working with it (we share that too, she’s done WordPress web development too).

Is it True the WordPress is Killing Jobs?

This would be hard to prove, because during the rise of WordPress there was a corresponding fall in the economy that appears to be unrelated. WordPress does make web development and website maintenance easier and more available to more people to both develop and maintain with less technical skills however. Almost anyone can setup and maintain a WordPress based website. One thing is certain it’s still progress and it must be creating opportunities elsewhere. WordPress actually got me excited about web development after a very long hiatus.

What should we do about it?

It’s never fun to end up on the disrupted end of disruptive technology but the fact remains that innovation and value are important qualities in any business. If people are losing jobs from the rise of Word Press, they probably have some marketable skills that can be re-purposed. Web development takes a mix of creativity, technical and business skills, and there is always room for people with these skills. The challenge might have more to do with the discomfort of the disruption and the change that might be involved.

Do you think WordPress is really putting web firms out of business?

The Ins and Outs of Blogging: Episode 2 Building Community [Podcast]

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Ins and Outs of Blogging LogoThinking about starting a blog? Want to get more out of your current one? Check out episode 2 of 3 “Building Community” on the ins and outs of blogging with my featured guest Gini Dietrich of Arment Dietrich and the Spinsucks blog.

Listen

[audio:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joehackman/2011/10/26/the-ins-and-outs-of-blogging–building-community.mp3?localembed=download]

Summary

This episode helps you evaluate the value of a community for your blogging objectives and provides you with some guidance on how to do it effectively if you do determine it’s important for your mission. You may also want to read this Resource of the Day feature by my friend and past guest @Tinu who honored us by doing a great review of this episode. You might also want to check out Episode 1, “Getting Started“.

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 10/26/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Yelp Doesn’t Understand Your Small Business

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understanding my businessI received an Email this week from Yelp reminding me that they do not understand my business. The first thing in bold red header images I read was:

Don't ask your customers for Yelp reviews.

What Yelp continues to fail to understand is that many small businesses and self employed professionals don’t have a massive amount of customers. To put it bluntly if we did not ask our customers to review us, there probably wouldn’t be any reviews and we think that is a shame because we’ve worked hard to build up our reputation. The message went on to talk about one of the more frustrating aspects of Yelp:

Another reason to avoid asking for reviews: solicited reviews may get filtered, and that will drive you crazy.

This is Yelps story and they are sticking to it. Every time I’ve gotten a call from their sales reps I complain about the fact that the limited reviews from legitimate customers that I have received over the years ALWAYS seem to get filtered. So unless you fall under a couple of key criteria:

  1. Pay to play (advertise on Yelp)
  2. Drive a lot of traffic to their site (read: have a lot of customers, are more Business to Consumer Oriented)
  3. Get reviewed by people contributing frequently to Yelp (their reviews don’t seem to get pulled)

It is easy to conclude that Yelp does not really want you. I think the real answer is to focus on Yahoo Local, Google Places and LinkedIn recommendations. At least none of them are calling me asking for money, yanking legitimate reviews or otherwise gaming me to try to get me to do things “their way”.

Rocky Past

Yelp has a bit of a rocky past, a lot of business owners have felt extorted by the tactics Yelp has used to try to encourage advertising. I know I get a bad feeling every time they solicit me. I bring up the issue of the positive reviews being removed and they do their dance then call me back again in a few months. The whole thing seems like a classroom full of kindergartners in charge of a candy store.

What do you think? Have you experienced similar frustrations with Yelp?

This article originally appeared as a guest post on Danny Brown’s blog.

Expand your content sharing with Print Friendly and PDF

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As bloggers we’re always looking for ways to make our content more friendly, encourage conversation and encouraging distribution of the content to amplify our voice. I recall seeing the Print Friendly plugin for the first time over at Waxing Unlyrical. I thought it was interesting but didn’t connect the dots until yesterday that is.

Why some of your readers will love this plugin

Think for a moment about your less tech savvy readers, the ones who may not even have a Twitter account or won’t bother to click the LinkedIn share because they rarely log in. Or think about the friends and connections of your tech savvy readers that won’t want content delivered anywhere but the old tried and true – Email. This is where the true power of Print Friendly lies. In this video I demonstrate how the plugin works and describe in more detail why I think it is great for the web 1.0/Email crowd.

Video not showing up? Try this direct link.