Barry's Biz Talk posts

Larger event space in Seattle or Bellevue?

Back in December I took up a role as program director for Social Media Club Seattle. Our January event sold out with 175 and our February event just sold out with 100.

Unfortunately being a popular social media event comes with some issues, one of them is finding new and unique places that fit in with the culture.

For March and April I am looking for an location to host our next events that is A) quiet and B) has either a presentation area or C) is part of a business involved in social media/technology. It also needs to hold at least a hundred people. I would suspect we can fill a room with 100 to 200 people consistently.

Our events are switching back and forth each month between networking and education.

We are also planning to hold smaller events that are less formal and for 20-30 in a classroom setting.

If you know of any businesses or event locations that would like to get some immediate press coverage, please let me know. Our first meeting had dozens of tweets and news/PR folk at it, and they are more than happy to support the businesses involved.

What are your new tools for 2009?

As a professional I am constantly looking at new ways of doing things and trying out more effective tools.

I wanted to see what other new tools people are using:

To start the list:

Colaab.com: really is the "smarter, easier, more effective way to collaborate on all your content. Work in real time with your project team and clients, whether they’re across the office or around the world" I have tested many online team sharing platforms and this one has a bunch of useful features.

Sliderocket.com: is a pretty useful online presentation creation platform. It has many different effects and features that are $10 a month (which is a steal compared to constantly upgrading Powerpoint and other software)

iGoogle: This isn't new to me, but I do recommend it. Anyone who uses the internet for business should have an iGoogle page setup to consolidate daily information. I have some Biznik RSS feeds coming into mine, along with some basic event information from other sites to make sure I am keeping on top of things.

What are your new tools for 2009?

Business Things to Never Do Again in 2009

The new year is quickly coming around... and with it I am sure we are all looking around and figuring out what changes we need to make in 2009 to have a happy and prosperous year.

What lesson did you learn in 2008 for your business that will improve things in 2009?

I'll start:

The problem: I decided to change the business structure of my operation, moving two developers out and adopting a sales cycle that was more flexible for growth spikes that are found in my industry.

The effect in 2008: Streamlined workflow, better product options, more scalable results, and happier clients.

What I'll never do again: second guess my gut. I am usually very "on target" with my judgments right out of the gate and I'm going to be a little more resistant in shifting those decisions (someone is going to have to prove me wrong!)

So what about you? Any changes or ideas moving around to start 2009?

Interested in Social Media? Want to co-host?

I am holding a event on Thursday 12/11 from 4:00 to 8:00 at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park (North Seattle) It is still awaiting approval, but we'll get something going ASAP.

The whole point of this event is to invite anyone interested in social media to learn, network, and exchange ideas: I want several people involved as hosts. If you are in social media (niche expert, understand the ideas, etc) please contact me about being a co-host.

It will be an informal event filled with a lot of conversation as the group gets off the ground. You don't have to make it for the entire four hours, but I can (and have) ended up talking about social media learning for much longer.

Social Media Charity- Giving thanks

Every year I try to do something interesting for the people less fortunate than myself. This year I am giving thanks for many things, including some wonderful new changes to my life.

As a social media expert here on Biznik I have given a lot to various community members, hoping for the best, seeing the bright light at the end of the tunnel, and charting a course for success.

Thursday is a day that many of us will be surrounded by loved ones, but unfortunately some will not have that opportunity.

I wrote a longer piece on my main blog, which I hope you will pass along. If you have ever received a bit of wisdom from me, my writing, my conversation: turn around and take action on the following article http://twurl.nl/4yqm8p

Pass some love around.

Happy Soon-To-Be-Thanksgiving everyone.

Black Friday – Thrifty Business 101

I hate commercialization. But if you are a business owner, it can help manage one of the hardest things to do during the holidays: maintain a healthy budget for the entire “big picture”

You have personal items: Christmas gifts, holiday parties, etc and you have your business items: new tools, marketing, and accounting 101. A lot of times these simply do not fit together.

While trying to manage all your budgets, this is a good time to write down a top ten list of your bigger items you will need in the next few months and save a pretty hefty margin.

Sites like TheBlackFriday.com allow you to browse black Friday deals early: and present some of the “online only” deals that you can get while sipping cocoa and wearing fuzzy slippers with your family.

If for some reason you miss getting a deal during Black Friday, sites like FatWallet.com run on-going analysis of deals happening around the country and help you locate the best price on things you may need.

What are your tips and strategies for managing a healthy and happy holiday season while trying to meet all of your "big picture" goals?

Nov 6th- Social Media and Business Tactics.

Nov 6: 5:00 pm - 07:00 pm Location: Mpulse Lounge at the Tulalip Casino

Don't miss our November Snohomish County Young Professionals Network (SCYPN) event, hosted by Mpulse Lounge at the Tulalip Casino.

Social media is driving more and more of what we do, including Myspace, blogging, Facebook, Wifi, YouTube and more. Come listen to Barry Hurd from 123 Social Media who will talk about the impact of social media on business and campaigns and how to utilize it to drive business and awareness to your organization.

Attendees are encouraged to be between the ages of 21-39 years old.

Admission fee: $10 if you or your company are a member of any Chamber of Commerce or $20 if you are a non-member.

SCYPN is where you belong! Get involved with like minded young professionals that care about their community and want to build strong connections.

Why get involved with SCYPN?

• Build your business network with other young professionals - Get invovled in your local community and support local businesses

If you have questions, please contact Natasha Jaksich at the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce at 425-257-3222 ext. 210 or email Natasha@everettchamber.com.

Cirumlocution? How do you describe yourself?

I've been pondering changing a variety of the terms used to describe several different client projects I am involved with and wanted to ask the question: How do you describe yourself?

As a "social media guy" my industry is cluttered by technical, marketing, and social terminology. I know other business folk here have like-minded problems. I often have to be very simple with statements "I help businesses online" or "I increase bottom line profits with online business development" I often hear a lot of people lose connection by using fancy terms or industry jargon.

For kicks, this is the most complex way I can describe what I do:

Cirumlocution: "autodidact social media bailiwick métier"

Circumlocution \sir-kuhm-loh-KYOO-shuhn\: The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few; indirect or roundabout language.

Autodidact \aw-toh-DY-dakt\: One who is self-taught.

Bailiwick \BAY-luh-wik\: A person's specific area of knowledge, authority, interest, skill, or work.

Metier \met-YAY; MET-yay\: An area in which one excels; an occupation for which one is especially well suited.

How do you best describe yourself without being lost in technical jargon? Do they even know the words you are using?

I have a question?

I was noting as I read through several longer article and comment streams that one of the things "sticking out" was there are dozens (hundreds, maybe thousands) of questions in the commentary that have never been answered.

I know there is a Q&A here, but would anyone else like to see a function to "ask a question" on a category so that niche professionals can answer it?

Perhaps the current area needs to be promoted more: with a link above the posting area saying "Have a question? - Ask here."

Sometimes I let questions go by without addressing them because I don't want to hijack the thread, while other times I answer them and try to trim them down to size without taking over the conversation. In either case, I feel like I'm doing an injustice to the question.

Thoughts and comments?

Professional Debate or Fighting?

There is an article on SEO that is driving some interesting conversation. One of the threads of that article conversation is that the article is wrong / right.

That hasn't happened a lot on Biznik. There are relatively few artists or massage therapists who have come out and said "hey buddy, thats wrong", but in the SEO world you find a lot of personalities that are often fine with detailing the technicality of what is / isn't wrong. Firing a shot or two at another SEO is often the way business is done.

If I was an artist instead of an SEO expert, perhaps no one would argue with me (perhaps they would). Yet as an artist everyone listening to the conversation would equate my debate with intangible feelings and ideas.

In online promotion, many of the things I can talk about are intangible quantities - trends, forecasts, situational. A single period in my technical statement may make me algorithmically wrong.

I thought it was somewhat ironic that someone asked for "street cred" on SEO in the article conversation. I think that conversation is better suited for Sphinn, as 95% of the audience here wouldn't know the 73 different acronyms the SEO nuts are throwing around. (How many people even know what Sphinn is?)

If you can get 1000 SEO people to argue about what works... then I can only imagine the debate here would be entertaining to say the least. Without breaking into exact technical specifics of situational problems, then most of the debate is simply pointless! (Everyone is right... and everyone is wrong...) Just like art, there are a lot of colors.

As far as community goes- it right or wrong to tell another person that they are doing something wrong? Should it be done in public? Is it constructive or debilitating?

Does it matter if it is an artist, lawyer, real estate agent, or SEO?

Biznik Ambassador?

I had realized a while ago there was a new badge floating around... but haven't been able to find a post or description about what it is or who they are? Anyone point me to the right info?

Being Rude: How to Hi-Jack an Article Thread

I have been asked by a good number of people why I don't post more articles on the Biznik site that are like the educational pieces I write elsewhere. I am opening this up for discussion and commentary because I would like to see a workable solution to the problem.

The answer: Unfortunately I've been seeing an increasing trend to "thread hi-jack" articles and commentary with purely commercial pitches.

Someone writes an amazing and informational piece about legal issues, and then one or two people comment and say "me, me, me!"

I am not against someone having a different point of view, but to see someone just say "now that you've read article X,Y,Z - come see my business profile and buy from me" is just annoying, slightly aggravating, and usually just distasteful.

As a professional service provider- the articles that most of us share are intended to relate our professional knowledge and expertise in our industry.

Here are some basic rules I've kept over the years of moderating community forums:

1- If you are not having a discussion or conversation about the article topic, you are not commenting. You are pitching.

2- If you would like to pitch yourself, take the time to actually provide something worthwhile to the community. DO NOT pretend that adding your contact information to the conversation thread is worthwhile.

3- If you have nothing worthwhile to add to the conversation, please remain silent.

I would like to add that I encourage and support different points of view. In the world of professional expertise, someone has the ability to "win me over" if they can defend the point of view they are sharing with the community.

How do other members here feel about this?

Happy 4th of July

Today, I will blow something up in the name of Freedom and independence. I will enjoy it, with a few good friends and the knowledge that I am having my hot dog just the way I like it.

I hope everyone enjoys the lights this evening, finds a reason for celebration and unification, and is surrounded by people who love them.

The Birthday Thread

Yep, I'm overly self-promotional on this one.

Wednesday (June 11th) is my birthday. Wonderful people will sing my praise and show appreciation towards my existence with brightly wrapped gifts and undeniably good food.

Some Questions about Event?

I am hosting my Never Market Alone - Online Answers Over Pizza event Thursday and decided to limit the number of people who want to attend every single time by limiting the RSVPs to new attendees as a first priority.

I know that many people would like to attend events 2 to 5 times and network intensively- but how does everyone here feel about just having the chance to meet new people and have a conversation?

Due to the nature of the event (trying to answer questions), there obviously isn't a way to have 25 people at the event and give anyone the proper amount of time to answer a question thoughtfully.

Any ideas on better ways to give new attendees a chance to ask a question or distribute the time more effectively?

Feedburner and RSS problem on profile

I have noticed that my profile area seems to accept my RSS feed fine for a short while (it pulls data and reposts it fine immediately) but then it apparently errors out after a day or so and just lists the direct link to my RSS feed.

I use feedburner for the RSS service and haven' t had problems republishing content anywhere else.

MIT Panel - June 4th - The Business of Personal Information.

If you are a business professional looking to be "in the know" of how different online technologies are interacting and creating new opportunities, I encourage you to drop by a June 4th event for the MIT Forums on "The Business of Personal Data" that I am on the planning committee for, it should be a great event.

Check out this article for more information - MIT Forum Information panel

What Bizniks have a daily blog?

I have been looking at various members blogs trying to locate some worthwhile reading and was interested in what Binziks have a frequently updated blog as part of what they do?

If you go through the effort of posting 3-5 times a week, please drop a comment here.

I am also interested in newer blogs that have launched that are also updated frequently. I am interested in putting together a report on the statistical relevance of how readership and traffic produces growth.

The original thought was inspired by launching a new blog myself, which is doing very well (100+ daily readers first week) and I'm tracking those numbers. I just wrote about the first week on this article - the importance of social media for entrepreneurs.

I would like to find some "other industry" blogs that adhere to frequent posted and a committed attempt to use it as a promotional tool for the business.

So to sum up the request:

1- Comment here if you have a frequently updated blog. 2- Let me know if it is a recently launched project.

My coffee time / Promotional Charity Event- :)

A bunch of my coffee time lately has been doing web work for a charity I am helping with. It has been an interesting voyage of meeting with a bunch of world class artists and assembling the pieces of a larger event.

I would love to coordinate/communicate with any Bizniks who want to become involved, sponsor guests, or attend. It is an amazing show.

www.seattlemusiccharity.com (Youtube of 07 show on the site)

(FYI- as independent professionals we all have the opportunity to influence those less fortunate than ourselves. Keep that in mind when making your own business decisions and keep a thought with those groups who understand and value your beliefs)

The Who: TEN GRANDS…ten phenomenal pianists…ten grand pianos…jazz, classical, pop, boogie woogie, new age and more!

• Michael Allen Harrison (composer, producer, contemporary-classical recording artist. Founder of Ten Grands/Snowman Foundation.
• David Lanz (Internationally known New Age Artist)
• Tom Grant (N.W.’s Jazz Cat)
• Regina Yeh (Classical Master)
• Barbara Roberts (The Artistic Ambassador)
• Janice Scroggins (Blues Legend)
• Deems Tsutakawa (Smooth Jazz)
• John Nilsen (Pop Dynamo)
• Michael Lee (13 Year Old Classical Child Prodigy)
• Bogey Vujkov (Legendary Jazz Stylist)

The What: One of a Kind Event…Ten Grands…Ten Grand pianos…ten amazing pianists…on one stage performing individually and as a group! Enchanting and inspirational evening! Ten Grands benefits Poncho.

The Where and When: Benaroya Hall, May 17th, 2008 at 7 p.m.

The Why: Ten Grands/Snowman Foundation are proud partner with PONCHO to promote the performing arts and make them accessible to all through Washington State…ensuring “at risk” and underprivileged schools and children have music in their lives.

The How: Thank you to our presenting sponsor RBC DAIN RAUSCHER and ESCALA. Other fine sponsors/supporters include: Seattle Weekly, Sherman Clay, Steinway and Sons, Zino Society, 98.9 KWJZ, Seattle Homes & Lifestyles Magazine, Seattle Symphony, The Rainier Club, Zino Society, Seattle Youth Symphony, Barry Hurd/ 123SocialMedia.com. Thank you to our many supporters: Melinda & Bob Hord, Lyndsey & Bjarne Rasmussen, Kathy & Steve Dewalt, Kelly & Eric Fahlman, Barry and Nancy Otterholt, Jeanne Ehrlichman Bluechel, Judy Feinerman, the Minehan family, the Mar family, Friends Cara LLC and the Bellevue Overlake Rotary, Bellevue Rotary Club.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT and help by purchasing tickets and filling Benaroya Hall on May 17th, 2008! We are half way there… Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com 206-292-ARTS
Ticket prices $36.00-$120.00

Promotions broken on my profile

I've tried both IE and Firefox, but something on my profile doesn't allow the "post your promotion" button to carry out an action. The little animation wheel pops on for a brief second, then nothing happens.