The Science of Communicating & Marketing Your Business

<UPDATE>
That blog no longer exists in its original form. The blog name is still there and it's no longer what I'd hoped it would be. All of my FutureOf contributions can now be found on TheAnalyticsEcology.
</UPDATE>. 

I've received lots of feedback about that blog. Fascinating stuff, in my opinion. I told Eric Peterson that the feedback I've received would be excellent fodder for social cognition researchers and psycho-linguists.

The differences in the feedback are demonstrations of something that falls out of NextStage's research into blogs (there are links below for those with an interest). One of the things we learned about blogs reminds me of the Biblical adage "Thou shalt not yoke the ox and the ass together" (Deut 22:10). I often used this piece of wisdom when people came to me asking marital advice. Never occurred to me it would apply to so many other disciplines and that demonstrates my lack of understanding more than anything else.

The Ox&Ass aspect came out of our blog research is another aspect of the Holmes&Watson concept (and my thanks to everyone in the blogosphere who's picked that up and run with it). Quite simply (and probably obvious to everyone out there), Blogs among peers propagate far faster than cross demographic blogs. Conversely, blogs that cross demographic boundaries tend to be "evergreen" although they are much slower to propagate. Fascinating stuff, that.

Just so we're clear on the concept, I don't consider myself Eric Peterson's peer. For that matter, I don't consider myself Jim Novo's peer, Ian Thomas', Rene Otamendi's, Jeff Chasin, Joseph James Geertz and if I've left anybody out please forgive me. Nor do I consider myself an authority or expert on anything.

My self-concept hasn't changed much in a very long time; I'm a student. A researcher (that's a student who gets paid). To quote Einstein, "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research." I'm on TheFutureOf to learn. Specifically about web analytics and where the disciplines involved therein merge with those I'm more familiar with. Stephane Hamel tells me that I already know web analytics very well, just not using the tools web analysts are familiar with. Hmm...we'll see...

The rest of this post are my responses to suggestions about my comments on TheFutureOf.

I'd prefer to think they are well reasoned and rigorously thought out while retaining a conversational tone. However, I won't deny that my comments are longer than most others I see being offered. Probably has to do with my wanting to build a case for what I'm suggesting, giving causes and effects, inputs and outcomes, and wanting to use as neutral language as possible so that the ideas come across rather than any emotional biasing I have for the ideas. Also, long posts are demonstrative of the Holmsian mindset and I've already noted in my newsletter (you can sign up for it below) that I've come to recognize I'm a Holmes, not a Watson.

More amusingly, readers should see what I pull out of my posts and comments before I make them. Woosh!

I probably use too many links in my comments. It may appear that I'm link farming and trying to game SEO.

Okay. First I need to find out what "link farming" and "trying to game SEO" mean. Hang on a second...Okay. Link farming: "...a link farm is any group of web sites that all hyperlink to every other page in the group."

Ah, well, that everything should have so simple a solution. No more linking to other pages within the WebAnalyticsDemystified system.

Trying to game SEO...I couldn't find anything that directly stated what "trying to game SEO" is. Based on reading several posts (ah, there I go again, researching what I don't know before attempting any response. Dang me!), comments and articles, I come away with some methodology by which things are done to bypass the usual SEOish search engine indexing methodologies. I did ask Stephane Hamel what it meant and he offered "trying to game SEO is using technical tricks to get better ranking in natural search engine results". Stephane is far more eloquent than I.

Again, "Ah, well..." First, I'm flattered that someone would think me capable of trying to game SEO. I'm always amazed at the abilities people attribute to me. I did some experimentation with writing for high search engine placement and that had to do with intentionally crafting content so that search engines would suck it up, not about using links. That experimentation is something I plan on getting back to, by the way.

Brad Berens also asked me once if I use links for search engine purposes and IMedia's Mario Sgambelluri once told me that a game in the IMedia offices is to place bets on the number of links I'll have in a column prior to my sending one in.

Am I link happy? I suppose. I'll accept that compliment. It's the researcher in me. "Any questions about what I've written? Here's the paper trail. I got this from here, that from there, these things from those things", so on and so forth. One of the most amusing statements I've ever heard is "If I've seen further than other men, it's because I've stood on the shoulders of giants" and is from Isaac Newton's Principia. There are two variations on that theme that always make me laugh; 1) "If I've seen further than other men, it's because I pushed all those morons, dolts, idiots and fools who were blocking my view out of the way" and "If I've stood on the shoulders of giants, it's because they didn't get out of my way". In any case, if I am link happy it's because I want others to follow where my ideas come from so they can make up their own minds and form their own opinions.

The conversation needs to pick up the pace. People have stopped paying attention to what is being written. My researching each comment before writing and posting is taking too long.

My feeling is that the conversation needs to be more thought out and metered if conclusions/determinations are to be made. I'm honestly thinking of asking someone with the technical know-how to get a bunch of people around a table and record the conversation as I think it would be a killer (shades of A Meeting of Minds and A Glorious Accident, two tv shows I hope to base TheFutureOf discussions on.

It's nice that people have opinions, and is anyone supplying documentable evidence of what they're writing about? I think people need to defend their statements (Beware! Joseph "The Link Beast" Carrabis Rides Again!)

Until they do we're just ... well, that's the point. I don't know what we're doing. It might be fun and is it useful? Aside from the "oh, look at how smart we all are" value, what's the point of the conversation? And I have nothing against fun so long as we all accept that's the intent of what we're doing. Me? I've discovered that my best learning experiences are those in which I both laugh and learn. Lordy, knowledge embedded into deep consciousness via emotional bonding? Whoa!

This brings me directly to the length of time it takes me to respond to something. I'm actually right quick responding to comments on TheFutureOf (right quick for me, anyway). I can offer an opinion in seconds if that's preferred and (in truth) I don't value my opinion much. I've researched psychology, neuroscience, sociology, anthropology, ..., way too much and know where opinions come from. At least where my opinions come from.

How am I suppose to expect others to care what my opinion is when I don't care what my opinion is? Ah, but my research? My ability to take information from here and there and make an informed decision? That I do find valuable and am quite willing to share. Takes time, though. And in my opinion, something well researched is far more valuable ROIwise than an opinion. (laugh, darn it!)

Keeping all things in perspective, I've had phone conversations with readers of my post asking why everybody left before anything was decided and emails from others stating they'd like to meet face-to-face to continue the conversation. Happy to meet and definitely prefer that things get decided even if the final conclusion is "we've agreed to disagree".

As one reader told me during a phone conversation, nothing seems to be getting accomplished. People stand up, say their piece then move on to something else before resolution takes place. That brings us back to "Oh, here's my opinion. Tell me yours quick because I'll be gone in a minute and never know your thoughts." Perhaps that's the nature of the internet and it kind of reminds me of crows. Fascinated by bright, shiny things. And their own reflections (remind me to tell you about "The dwarves are for the dwarves" sometime).

And there you have it. That's why I'm responding to comments with new blog posts on TheFutureOf. Dear god, don't ask me questions about this. It'll take me a while to respond. Unless you have the time. That's just my opinion, of course.

Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.

Links for this post:

• Bloggers, influence and your brand
• Controlling a brand conversation
• Mr. Engineer? Facebook is on line 1
• Moving Your Brand into New Markets
• A New Branding Paradigm, Online and Off (Page 2 of 2)
• 
  

• Know How Someone's Thinking in 10 Seconds or Less Half-day training at Toronto Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 3 April 08
• Know How Someone's Thinking in 10 Seconds or Less Half-day training at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 13 June 08

• Toronto Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 31 March - 2 April 08
• New Communications Forum 2008, 22-25 April 08 at The Vineyard Creek Inn & Spa, Sonoma County CA
• San Francisco Emetrics Marketing Optimzation Summit, 4-7 May 08
• SUNY Marketing Professionals Conference at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, 11-13 June 08

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