To Understand, Don't Be So Smart

Over the past several months, I have immersed myself into the specifics of online communication, email, e-marketing, interactive advertising, blogging, search strategy, optimization, SMS, collaboration, RSS, Podcasts, social applications, lenses, tags, Internet trends and forecasts. It's easy to become overwhelmed by it all with the frantic pace of (r)evolution.

This morning I deviated from my routine of reading every breaking news article about industry happenings and just sat at the computer with a cup of standard black (with some milk of course) and took a breath. The fact is, ordinary people don't do this. Most Internet users don't take the time to look beyond the image on their screen. They aren't interested in the strategic alliances between Time Warner, MSN, Yahoo! and AOL. They don't give a hoot about click through rates, deliverability, key words, organic content, sample rates, optimization or strategy. They just log on to get the information that they need.

You see, the majority of Internet users are normal. They're not like me. They don't want to know where the Internet is heading or who will own what part of it next year. They just want it to work so that they can find that recipe or job or product or friend.

In the lead up to the launch of messagingtimes.com, I placed an introduction to the site on the domain and invited people to advise me if they were interested in receiving notification of its launch. For a while, I was frustrated by the amount of people who failed to insert their email address before clicking "notify". Last night, I realized that this is the reality of the Internet today. The majority of Internet users don't understand how things work. But that same majority of users are also the majority of subscribers, buyers and community members online today.

Understanding this is very important for anyone who wishes to communicate effectively with people online today. It's important to step back every now and then from the whirling merry-go-round and think of the Internet in terms of the normal user. They're language is different. Their routines are different. They have other interests and motivations.

To really understand the big picture, don't be so smart.

Messaging Overload?

Via The New York Times

In interviews and surveys many parents say that their children spend too much time in front of computers and on cellphones. Some parents worry that long, sedentary hours spent at a computer may lead to weight gain, or that an excess of instant and text messaging comes at the expense of learning face-to-face social skills. Some complain of having to compete for their childrens' attention more than ever.

A report on teenagers and technology released this summer by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that teenagers' use of computers has increased significantly. More than half of teenage Internet users go online daily, up from 42 percent in 2000, the report said; 81 percent of those users play video games, up from 52 percent.

Instant messaging has become "the digital communication backbone of teens' daily lives," used by 75 percent of online teenagers, according to the Pew report. "Parents are really struggling with this," said David Walsh, the president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, a nonprofit educational organization in Minneapolis that began a program this year to help families reduce screen time and increase physical activity. "As the gadgets keep evolving, they keep consuming more and more of our kids' time. Our kids need a balanced diet of activity, and the problem is that it's getting out of balance. I don't think as a society we're dealing with it yet."

Read Parents Fret That Dialing Up Interferes With Growing Up
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Email: Still the 'Killer App' for Online Communication

Several years ago, email was considered the killer app. Even with the emergence of RSS and other automated content delivery mechanisms available today, it still is. Why? Because marketers understand the importance of controlling the distribution of their message. Successful marketing involves targeting market segments; and new content-delivery technologies, like RSS, fail to wow many online marketers because it puts control of content into the customers' hands. That's not to say that RSS, podcasting, blogging and other modern vehicles aren't valuable. They provide additional channels for marketers to get their message across; and they provide a great value-added service to customers. They don't, however, allow online marketers to control who receives their message or when they receive it. Email remains invaluable to online marketers, because it enables them to communicate their message one-to-one with targeted prospects and existing customers.

The fact is, email software has evolved over the years in pace with emerging applications like RSS, podcasting, and blogging. Today's email marketing software is not like anything that was available years ago. Remember the Stone Age, when we used the "Bcc" field to distribute our message to groups? Take a look at some of the features that make today's email marketing software the killer app for online communicators today by visiting one of the leaders in the email marketing field: Infacta's GroupMail

Communicate: efficiently, effectively, affordably!

Collaboration: The Small Business Vaccine for Loneliness

According to a recent poll, small business leaders feel that they are [on their own] when making important business decisions; with 43 percent confessing to loneliness and two-fifths reporting feelings of detachment. With my history of of start-ups and small business experiences over the years, this doesn't necessarily surprise me. At the same time, the solution seems clear. As small business operators, it is essential to collaborate with other professionals with similar agendas to ours.

Perhaps this is a perfect time to invite everyone to visit The Messaging Times website, which will be launched in the not-too-distant future. At the moment, you can provide your e-mail address on the site and will be notified when the community goes live. The Messaging Times will be a collaborative online community for small business professionals and anyone else who communicates online.

Don't be lonely. Collaborate, communicate and innovate!

For more about the study, read: Clearly Business: Small Firms Crave Advice

People Power: Back on Track

It's been a while since I posted to HR Success. I have been busy developing other projects at The Messaging Times and E-Marketing Today, and I'm afraid that like so many other business bozos, have managed to leave human resources behind. I'm also in the process of launching a small business resource site at The Messaging Times; which will include a blog, articles, stats/research, interviews, and resources for those of us who communicate online. I'll post a note here when the site goes live.

Interestingly, these new pursuits deal with communicating efficently and effectively online; and are, in that regard, HR related. But, alas, like so many efforts today, they deal more with the processes than the people.

I will make a serious effort to keep this space alive to balance the equation and provide a home for those of us who advocate people power!