I have been dialoging with some friends who work with Chairman Lamar Smith about SOPA. I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on SOPA and respond to some of their concerns.

If you don’t know what SOPA is this video is a pretty good introduction.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Claim: SOPA only targets foreign websites.

The “inter” part is what makes the internet work. Congress has no idea how DNS servers work or what the technological ramifications of their law would be. Also, what makes a website foreign? My company Castle Media Group has servers all over the world.

SOPA does a lot more than block access to foreign sites. It is part of a very troubling series of laws. The way to stop piracy needs a more nuanced approach. Yet again Congress is trying to do open heart surgery with a chain saw.

Claim: SOPA won’t harm the internet.

I challenge SOPA supporters to find a single founder of the internet who backs this bill. As far as I know, the wizards of the internet reject SOPA to a man. In fact I challenge SOPA supporters to find one person who supports this bill who can accurately articulate what a DNS server is and how the DNS system works. The “Phone book for the web” definition the press uses is unclear and misleading.

Claim: SOPA will reduce online piracy.

SOPA has no solvency. Messing with DNS servers will do nothing to block unique IPs from sending data back and forth. So the result will be an encrypted, underground black market as full of pirated goods as the status quo. If this bill is passed, there would be technological workarounds in place before the bill even took effect. But the harms would persists for decades. Trying to get content off the internet with laws is like trying to get pee out of a pool with a net.

The harms of SOPA are huge. Laws regarding technology inhibit inovation since the laws persist long after the technological landscape has changed. If this bill was harmless, why would so many websites be protesting it?

Claim: 43 “digital piracy” sites generate an estimated 53 billion hits annually.

Be careful anytime anyone uses the phrase “hits” to talk about how much web traffic. A hit is a single server request be it a file, style sheet, a database query, a script, or an image. It is not uncommon for a single page view to generate dozens of hits and for a single website visitor to generate hundreds if not thousands of hits. I would estimate that every minute you spend on Facebook, Facebook gets 250 “hits.” Hits correlate to traffic about as much as RPM correlates with MPH in your car.

A much more valid metric is “page views” or “unique visitors.”

Claim: Online piracy costs America 200 billion dollars and thousands of jobs.

The number about lost revenue is misleading. First it may be based on bad information in the first place. If the estimators are using “hits” as a way of estimating traffic to pirated sites then their conclusions are based on faulty premises. The number is likely made up and not based on any sort of empirical research.

Secondly, the estimators fail to take into account the elasticity of prices. When a commodity is cheaper, people tend to consume more of that thing. Some commodities are more elastic than others. Energy is very inelastic. Entertainment is very elastic. So when entertainment is free, people consume a lot of that entertainment. You probably listen to more Pandora or FM Radio than songs you’ve purchased on iTunes for instance.

The higher prices are the more discriminating people become. Some movies you will wait to rent because you don’t think they are worth the price of a movie ticket, for example.

So to assume that if we could snap our fingers and remove all piracy that people would start paying for all the pirated content the currently consume is false. The money the industry claims to loose are based on growth rates that are completely unrealistic. $200 billion dollars? Really? The entire music industry is only a 20-30 billion dollar industry and the movie industry is not much bigger. There is no way they could have grown that big that fast in a piracy free world. Where on earth do they expect those 100 billion dollars to come from? Would consumers suddenly have more money to spend or would they just consume less media?

The Solution: Fewer Laws & More Innovation

The solution to piracy is technological not legal. Laws lack the flexibility needed to be effective. The Congress chases technology like a two year old child chases a squirrel. Technology adapts too quickly for the laws to do anything but harm law abiding citizens. The most effective enemy to Napster was the Apple iTunes store. Suing Napster (Which did not require SOPA by the way) did nothing the curb piracy. But the iTunes store makes buying legal content so easy that saving $0.99 to pirate a song is not worth the effort. I can listen to a song playing in a coffee shop, use an app to identify that song and then buy it all within three minutes and all on my iPhone.

This sort of inovation is why the music industry just announced growth in sales for the first time since 2004. The movie industry will see similar growth as they embrace “movies as an experience” and make it easier to legally rent internet movies on your TV. If Hollywood put half as much effort into usability as they put into lobbying, we would see a dramatic increase in sales and a decline in piracy. They need to make renting an online movie through your TV easy enough for my grandmother to do it.

Responding to technology should be like our response to speech. The answer to wrong speech is more speech not censorship. The answer to the wrong use of technology is more technology not regulation.

Nerds created the internet, the nerds can manage it. Congressmen should not regulate what they do not understand.

No related posts.

At Patriot Academy this year I gave a talk about how technology has changed the world. While everything has changed, nothing is new under the sun. Everything that is has been before. By studying the past we can predict the future even when it comes to social media. Here are the slides for the talk. I’m sorry if they don’t make much sense if you missed the talk.

Slides

Twitter Tips

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This robot goes with the new website I started to help people use technology to advance the kingdom. It’s targeted at Authors but the tips will be helpful to you as well. Do you have a question about some tech topic? This is the place to ask it.

Recent Tech Tips:

1. 5 Tips for Getting The Most Out of Twitter
2. What is a Podcast?
3. How to Get Twitter on Your Phone
4. The Best Way to Track Site Statistics
5. How to Get Your Avatar to Show Up Everywhere
6. Does Your Website Pass the Radio Test?
7. 8 Quick Search Engine Optimization Tips
8. How to Get Twitter to Update Your Facebook Status

If you help get the word out about the site I would appreciate it.

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Most emails are badly written. No surprise, perhaps, since we write more emails than anything else. By 2010, the business world will have produced 27,000 billion gigabytes of email . So what goes wrong?

• Not written with the reader in mind
• Not written to be scanned or read quickly
• Too many topics in one email
• Important information or requests buried in verbiage
• Reply in haste, repent at leisure
• Poor grammar, spelling and punctuation
• Using email when some other communication would have been better

So I have drafted ten laws for better email:

1. Email is about the reader, not the writer.
2. Email exists to solve problems, not create them .
3. The headline is the email .
4. Fewer words, greater understanding .
5. Emoticons rule!!
6. Think before you forward .
7. Respect privacy in group emails .
8. Be succinct .
9. Highlight actions and key points . I
10. Wait a minute .

For more information on each of these points visit the Bad Language Blog .
Here are some other posts on topic of email.

• How to process twice the email in half the time – Part 1
• How to process twice the email in half the time – Part 2

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

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You may have already heard of it but Digg is a people’s newspaper. Millions of people add articles to digg and then “digg them” which is a vote of popularity for that article. Instead of an editor picking what is news you pick what is news. Its a great way to find what happening right now on the web.

Read the rest

Click Here to subscribe to Umstattd Media and get each New Media Monday delivered directly to your inbox or RSS reader.

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You will notice a political twist to today’s New Media Monday. I did some media consulting for a local political candidate and I prepared a guide for him on Viral Video. He ignored my advice but I hope you will find it helpful.

Why YouTube is Important

Why did we have no good presidential candidates this year? George Allen was an attractive articulate Reagan conservative who people liked. He probably would have been the best republican presidential candidate if it had not been for YouTube and one word:  Macaca . Right now, Youtube is where conservatives go to die. I hope that will change

Conservatives aren’t the only ones who die on YouTube. Obama’s 1984 add was the begining of the end for the Clinton Dinetsty. That “anonymous” add started Hillary’s long decline from 70% democratic approval down to oblivion.

The temptation for Christians is to flee to GodTube because the content is cleaner. But the people are not at GodTube they are at YouTube. If you want to reach people you need to post your videos to YouTube.

12 Tips For Effective YouTube Videos

1. Keep it Short – The best videos are short no longer than 5 minutes best if under two. The longer the video the more it must change scenes. I have seen effective videos go as long as 8 minutes but they do this by splicing together 15-30 second clips.
2. Low Friction Transfers – Videos must be easy to share. These means embedding and email functions should be built into the video itself. YouTube does this for you. Uploading an .mov or .wmv to your website is not good enough.
3. Be Funny – Funny videos get more views and are remembered well.
4. Offer a service – How-to videos go all over the internet. Help people and they will spread the word about your video.
5. Find a strategic partner – Only political junkies knew who Mike Huckabee was before Church Norris endorsed him. Now that there is a YouTube Video with Chuck and Huck it gets tens of thousands of views a day and Mike is growing in the polls.
6. Be relevant – Videos on current events get lots of hits. On the internet current means less than 24 hours and preferably less than 12. Posting a video response to a presidential debate on YouTube for example will likely get lots of hits but only if it is posted an hour or less after the debate.
7. Pick a Interesting Thumbnail & Title – Make sure the thumbnail is interesting and high quality. There are millions of other videos on YouTube. If you want someone to watch your you must convince them that your video is more interesting than all the other videos on YouTube. Your title and thumbnail will either save you or kill you.
8. Promote Like Crazy – Don’t expect your video to just take off. If you want the video to go viral you need to infect a lot of people all at once. Otherwise the other 100k videos will drowned you out. Get your blogger friends to post your video, get it on Facebook & MySpace. Here is a site with
9. Use a Tripod – If possible use a tripod will give much better quality than handheld. This is particularly true with compressed videos like the ones on YouTube.
10. Good Audio Quality – If there is one thing that kills online videos it is poor audio. If you want a successful video, tear the microphone out of your camera and get creative. Ways of employing good audio include:
    1. Use clips off of the TV – This is considered fair use for short clips.
    2. Consider Using Only Music – Videos that use music, pictures and text can be effective. The key is to have good music, powerful pictures and well worded text.
    3. External Mic – If you want live footage use a handheld mic, shotgun or a lapel mic.
    4. Good Compression Quality – The best way to keep the quality up is to upload directly from Apple iLife 08. If you don’t use a mac for your video editing consider it. The higher the resolution the better.  Use an effective codec (like H.264) if you can’t upload directly from iLife.
11. Use Studio Lights – Video is not as important as audio but is still vital.  The key to good video is good lighting. Investing in some lights and an external mic will do more for you videos than buying that fancy new camera you’ve been eying. It’s probably cheaper too.
12. Advance an Issue not a Candidate – People don’t care about candidates. Unless your candidate used to be a professional wrestler he is boring.  Politicians all have the same haircut and wear the same red tie white shirt blue blazer.But, if you can offer best explanation for why the Trans Texas Corridor is bad for Texas, people passionate about the Trans Texas Corridor will forward your video all over the internet. One of Fred Thompson’s most popular videos was about federalism not Fred Thompson.

    If you champion the causes of the people, the people will champion you.Another benefit of advancing issues over candidates is that even if you loose the issues you stand for have still be advanced which can lead to victories down the road. Ros Perot lost but we did have a more balanced the budget in 1993 because of his advancement of that issue.

Helpfull Recources

• 10 YouTube Promotion Tips More YouTube Tips
  
• YouTube For Dummies Learning the Ins and outs of YouTube takes more than a blog post.
  
• How to Do Everything with YouTube Another YouTube Book
  
• Digital Video For Dummies Shooting video is important.
  
• Izzy Video Free & paid video guides for shooting better video. Best place to learn ninja camera skills.

What Do You Think?

Have you posted a video to YouTube? Share it with us in the comments.

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In this issue of New Media Monday you will learn:

• What is Micro Bloging?
• What is it  good for?
• How to use Twitter
• How to Follow me
• Who I Follow

What is Micro Bloging?

Have you ever asked someone how they knew something only to have them reply that a little bird told them? Well mico blogging is that little bird. It tweets in your ear about what your friends are doing. Micro blog posts are short 140 character posts that go out to your friends and family.

How to use Twitter

Watch the video on YouTube , Blip.tv or Vimeo .

What is Twitter good for?

• Keeping up with friends. This is micro blogging’s first use and it is great at that but twitter goes far beyond keeping up with friends.
• Asking Questions. Twitter is a great way to ask your followers questions. Renae Brumbaugh , a friend of mine, asked how to spell "Ornery"  The best selling author Linda Carlblom twittered the answer.
• News. If an atrocity like September 11th were to happen again, God forbid, the news would hit twitter first.  Twitter can integrate with your cellphone via SMS text message. So, at Virginia Tech, students could have used twitter to announce which room/hall the shooter was in while he was still shooting.
• Networking. Twitter can also be great for networking. Questions like "Does anyone know a good auto mechanic in the Ausin area?" can get fast & good answers.
• Learning to focus. Twitter only gives you 140 chracters and so it forces you to learn how hone your language.

How To Follow Me

1. Click on the bird to follow me on twitter .
2. Signup for twitter
3. Click Follow ThomasUmstattd

Who I Follow

• Michael Hyatt An editor for Thomas Nelson the biggest Christian publisher.
• Max Lucado Famous Christian Author
  
• Renae Brumbaugh a fellow writer
• Complete list of who Thomas follows

How to Integrate Twitter

• You can integrate Twitter with Facebook in two ways:
  • See your friends updates and Update Twitter From Facebook
  • Update your Facebook status from Twitter
• You can use Twitter to update your Plaxo status as well.
• Twitter also Integrates with Friend Feed a site that collects all your blog posts, twits and other shared content.
• The iPhone App Twitterific lets you view twitter updates and update twitter for free on your iPhone.
• You can also have your most recent Tweets appear on your blog via the WordPress Twitter Widget .

Helpful Twitter Links

• Twitter.com
• 12 Reasons to Start Using Twitter
• Some Twitterers Worth Following
• Twitter Tips Blog
• Twitter Etiquette

Do you use Twitter?

Leave me a comment with your Twitter Name so I can follow you. Sorry its not Monday. The death of my grandfather has messed up my blog posting schedule.

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Today we are talking about blogs. What are they? What are they good for? And how to have a great blog.

Filter friendly video link .

What are blogs?
Blog are platforms for you to have your own publication. They started off as journals or weB LOGs but they have become so much more now.

Blogs are better than email for mass communication. Email is plagued by spam filters and by people deleting it before reading it. Blogs don’t face these challenges. Facebook notes and MySpace notes are not real blogs.

Blogs often have comments section after each post allowing for community discussion

What are they good for?

1. Gaining accesses to famous people: Having a blog has allowed me to interview and interrogate a state representative, congressmen and even the Texas Land Commissioner.
2. Gaining local influence: Local political blogs are one of the most powerful weapons in the modern political arsenal. If you have a good blog on Podunk Texas politics you can become just as influential as the Podunk Texas newspaper. All politics is local.
3. Communicating with the press: I have had major news magazines contact me about blog posts. As a candidate it is a great way to communicate with the media in between press releases. There is really no reason to be a candidate and not have a blog.
4. Advocating Issues: Sometimes the best way to take on the local school board is to blog about them. If you blog each school board meeting you will become the source of information about the school board.  You will become the expert and able to influence change.
5. Fact Checking the Media: It is a lot harder for the liberal media to get away with lying now with bloggers watching. Rick Green may have one in 2002 if he or some of his supporters had active blogs and could have held the press accountable for their deceptions. If you don’t believe me I have two words for you. Dan Rather.
6. Search Engine Optimization: Google likes blogs. Just google “Abolition of Abortion” and see what comes up.

Blog Tips:

1. Have something to say. People have no patience for parrots. If you don’t have something original and why should someone read you?
2. Practice . The first 2 years of my blog were awful. Getting the hang of writing something other people want to read takes practice.
3. Read other blogs. Google reader is the best blog reader and it is free! reader.google.com for more info. ProBlogger and CopyBlogger are some great blogs on blogging. The key to reading blogs is to understand and use RSS feeds .
4. Be interesting. Boring blogs don’t get read.
5. Be Original. Touting the party line is boring. So is repeating Rush Limbaugh or Shaun Hanity.
6. Study Blogging. I recomend reading and applying: 50 Way to Take Your Blog to the Next Level

My Favorite Blogs

News & Business Blogs

• AppleInsider
• Seth Godin’s Blog
• Good URL Bad URL

Public Speaking/Presentation Blogs

• Presentation Zen
• Create Your Communications Experience
• Beyond Bullet Points

Fun Blogs

• Homestar Runner
• The Joy of Tech
• Calvin and Hobbes (Unofficial)
• Dilbert Daily Strip
• Pearls Before Swine
• indexed

Political Blogs

• The Patriot Academy Blog
• Lessig Blog
• Right in Texas

Friends Blogs

• The O’Brian FACTor!
• Renae Brumbaugh
• David Umstattd
• Paul Hastings

Educational Blogs

• Common Craft – Explanations In Plain English
• Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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• What are Podcasts?
• What are they good for?
• How to find and listen to a podcast.
• How to start your own podcast.
• A list of my favorite podcasts

What are Podcasts?
A podcast is an online radio show that delivers new episodes to people’s computers and iPods automatically. You don’t need an iPod to listen to a Podcast.

Podcasts In Plain English (video)

Watch the video on: blip.tv , YouTube , TeacherTube .

What are they good for?

Learning. Many podcasts are informative. They provide a great alternative to the dribble of talk radio. I have learned more from podcasts than in many of the classes I took in college.

Podcasts can also be an easy way to get the word out.  There are over 50 million blogs which makes it hard to get a following. But there are less than 100k podcasts in the iTunes Store. Podcasting is newer than blogging and so it is easier to get a following for your podcast.

How to Listen to a podcast.
The easiest way to listen to a podcast is to download iTunes .  The iTunes store has one of the most complete podcast directories on the web.

How to start your own podcast.
The easiest way to start your own podcast is to sign up for a podcast at MyPodcast.com which will host your podcast for free. All you need to do is record your voice using Audacity or Garageband and then upload the mp3 to MyPodcast.com .

Helpful Podcasting Links:

• How to start a podcast (wikihow.com)
• Podcasting for Dummies (amazon.com)

Podcast Tips

• List your podcast in the iTunes music store. Most podcasts listeners use iTunes.
• Be interesting. Boring podcasts don’t get heard.
• Listen to other podcasts to learn how its done.

My Favorite Podcasts

• Get it Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More. This guy is funny and I have been more efficient because of his advice.
• The Public Speaker’s Tips for Improving Your Commuication Skills. Good communication tips.
• Paul Washer Podcast . I have never heard a man preach like this man does.
• Cranky Geeks . John C Dvorák hosts a show where geeks argue about tech news. I love this show.
• Ask a Ninja . This podcast has no point other than the fact that it is insanely funny. Listen as a ninja tries to answer all of life’s most difficult questions.
• cGames Podcast . I host this podcast about the dangers of digital gaming.

I listen to almost all the Quick and Dirty Tips Podcasts . They are short helpfull and funny.

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So what is wikipedia? Why is it so important? How can you use a wiki and even wikipedia? These questions and more will be answered in today’s New Media Monday.

Wikis in Plain English

• Wiki Tutorial Video 3m
• Filter Friendly Video Link

What is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is the source of truth for many people. When they look for the facts they ask google and google sends them to Wikipedia. Anyone can edit wikipedia. That means YOU can edit wikipedia. Each wiki page has a discussion page where users debate what the content should be.

At one time the 3 page Wikipedia post on abortion had over 80 pages of discussion. Every word has been a struggle. Is it a fetus or a baby? Pro Life or Anti-Abortion? The Wikipedia discussion page is on the front lines of the abortion debate.

Disagreements on wikipedia are settled democratically so the side with the most people wins. Wikipedia leans left because conservatives don’t edit it.

What is wikipedia good for?

• Arena of Ideas: The debate pages on wikipedia are some of the most important on the internet.
• Candidate Information: Some candidates have lots of accurate information about them on wikipedia. Some do not. This is where the press will goes to look for details and sources. Google any politician and their wikipedia page will in the top three sites on that politician.
• Driving Traffic to Conservative Sites: Each wikipedia page has a links section at the bottom. You may find it useful.

How to Edit Wikipedia

Editing wikipedia, or any wiki for that matter, is not as hard as you might think. Belive it or not wikipedia has a great article on how to edit wikipedia .

Careful:
Wikipeida does not look kindly on vanity pages. Unless you are running for a major office (State rep and up) and a party nominee a page on you will likely be deleted. It is better to edit other pages than to create one about yourself.

Wikipedia is not the place to fight for your point of view. Wikipedia is your place to fight for fairness.

How & Where to find time to edit Wikipedia

How to Use a Wiki for a Debate Clup
The Austin Rhetoric Club has started using a wiki to handle all our research. So far it has saved us a tun of time and the students seem to enjoy editing it. We tried Wet Paint but found that it was lacking several important features (such as an easy way to print) to work well for a debate club.

We settled on Deki Wiki which is also free and powerful. It lacks a to-do feature but we bypassed our need for it by having a to do page that the students themselves can edit.

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Chances are you’ve heard someone talking about Skype . But what is it anyway? In short, Skype is a way to call anyone in the world for free.

How Skype Works
Skype uses a technology called VOIP that uses the Internet to place a phone call instead of a traditional land line.  This cuts the cost of the call down to virtually nothing for the VOIP provider. The most famous VOIP provider is Skype but there are others such as Gizmo.

Skype lets you call any land line in the world for pennies a minute but it also lets you call any computer for free. This is the best way to communicate with your missionary friends over seas. All you need is to download Skype and have your friend do the same and then you can call each other. It’s about as easy as instant messenger.

How to Use Skype

1. Go to Skype.com
2. Download Skype
3. Install Skype
4. Pick a username and password (don’t forget these!)
5. Add your friend’s skype usernames to your friends list.
6. Add me. My skype name is ThomasUmstattd

What You Need

1. A Windows XP or OS X Computer. You don’t need much of a computer, just one with a sound card.
2. A Microphone Headset. A traditional mic is not enough since your computer speakers will feed back into the microphone. They have some good headsets at the Skype Store.
3. A Webcam (optional). Skype doesn’t just let you talk it also lets you to video chat like they do in Star Trek. If you don’t have a webcam already Logitech is a great brand.
4. A broadband connection (for video) .

Tips for Hosting a VOIP Debate Match
Skype Matches are the new big thing in NCFCA. Since homeschoolers live so far apart having practice roudns on Skype is a great way to save money. Here are some tips for pulling off a great practice round:

1. Plan ahead. It’s a lot easier to have a Skype Match when all competitors have a few days notice.
2. Dry Run. Test everything before the round starts. That means connecting to the other teams computer and making sure you can hear each other.
3. Join your partner. Even though Skype lets you have up to 9 different computers all in the same conversation being at the table with your partner helps you learn how to prep like a team.
4. Use video. Using a web cam can help you get much better feedback particularly if your judge is not in the room with you.
5. Use a Good Mic. This Polycom Skype Mic sits nicely on a podium/sturdy music stand, filters out background noise and provides a way for both team members to be a part of the Skype call without passing the headset back and forth (or having two headsets).  This microphone is comparable in quality but much less expensive than most phones that Polycom makes. Remember this mic will save you gas money. (Thanks to Mrs. Jumes for tip #5)

Skype Video Tutorial

I found this video on YouTube that gives a detailed guide to using Skype. Sorry for those of you behind filters the only videos I could find were on YouTube.

Other Cool Uses for Skype

1. Record a conversation as an mp3 (great for podcast interviews)
2. Schedule a Skype Wakeup Call
3. Setup a Skype Home Security System
4. Switch to high resolution skype video chats .
5. Send a Text Message to a regular phone.
6. Replace you landline phone with a Skype WiFi Phone .
7. Hold a 9 member research brainstorming session using Skype’s free phone conference feature.

What do you think?
Do you use Skype? Do you like it? Do you have any Skype tips I’m missing?

You can subscribe to this blog to get new posts automatically delivered either by email or rss feed .

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Technology helped Luther change the world.

As Christians it is important for us to do the same. We must embrace new technologies to help spread the Good News. Learning new tech can be intimidating. So, for the next several weeks I will present a new technology every Monday.

You will learn:

• What it is
• How it works
• How to use it to change the world

My goal is to use clear simple English and videos that I have found on the web. If you don’t understand the technology after 5 minutes I will consider that post a failure as far as you are concerned.

Before we get started, I want to share a preview video about Social Media. This is the big picture and the individual technologies are like the puzzle pieces that fit into that picture. In short, social media gives the power to the people.

Social Media in Plain English

Social Media in Plain English on blip.tv . Please leave me a comment if Blip.tv is blocked by your filter so I can find a better video site.

You can subscribe to my blog to get new posts automatically delivered either by email or rss feed .

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If perfectionism is not the answer what is? Skill. A man skilled in his work will stand before kings. Here are the 5 steps to master any skill.

5 Steps to Skill:

1. Study/Train
Excellent people read everything they can about the task at hand. They listen to advice and ask questions. They take every opportunity to practice even if it means working without pay. They submit to the scoldings of a master. Perfectionists do not.

2. Plan
Perfectionists fall pray to the temptation is to just jump right into a task. This makes the task take twice as long. There is a saying among programmers who hate to plan they say that “weeks of coding can save you from hours of planing.”

3. Execute
It is a joy to watch a skillful person perform a task. They don’t guess. They focus. It is as if the world around them blurs and all that remains is a worker and the work to be done. This is what kings love to watch.

4. Evaluate
Skillful people evaluate themselves and seeking feedback from others often. My best professors had their students fill out evaluations for them several times a semester. The best businesses solicit and then listen to feedback from their customers. Perfectionists keep working until they have pleased themselves. They evaluate themselves by their own standard. Perfectionists ignorant of the needs of the task focus on unimportant and ignore the important.

5. Study/Train
Skillful people take their evaluations and then study more. They never stop learning. They never stop experimenting with better methods. They continue to improve when everyone else thinks they have arrived.

What do you think?

Ok, you have heard what I think about skill & perfectionism . What do you think?

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Why are skillful people rare? Because most of us fall pray to perfectionism.

“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”
-Proverbs 22:29

Every time I read this verse I think of Benjamin Franklin. In his autobiography he attests to the truth of this verse stating that he had stood before many kings and even had dinner with the king of Denmark. He claimed his mad printer skills caused his fame and success. Franklin was not a perfectionist he was skillful. Yes there is a difference.

4 Problems with Perfectionism:

1. Perfectionism is Pride
Some people are unwilling to admit they are not good at something so they spend unreasonable amounts of time trying to get their work to match their self image. They fail to admit their inadequacy. They refuse to submit to the instruction of a master. This is vanity. Instead of asking for help they just keep working, blind to their inefficiencies and lack of skill .

2. Perfectionism Poisons Efficiency
Perfectionists feel that they do a good job when they just take longer. They feel that taking this extra time makes their results “perfect.” Anyone can complete a task given enough time. Skill determines how much time a person needs. They will not be able to stand before kings. Perfectionism is what separates starving artists from thriving artists. Skilled artists can do a good job quickly. Other artists make excuses for their slowness and their lack of ambition.

3. Perfectionism Wastes Money
As an employer I am always hesitant to hire a perfectionist. I know it can take them twice as long to do a job 20% better than a non perfectionist. The reason Master Electricians charge twice as much for electrical work is because it takes them half the time to do the job. And they do it right the first time. No one wants to spend 2x money on the same quality job.

4. Perfectionism Cheapens Excellence
There are times when excellence is needed. But if you can’t do it correctly in an hour what makes you think the second hour will make it correct? The key to excellence is practice. Do your task a dozen different ways till you find the best way to do it. Experiment, evaluate execute repeat.

What do you think?

Ok, you have heard what I think about perfectionism. What do you think?

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Here are seven reasons why I think sarcasm is unhealthy and wrong. I would love to hear what you think by leaving a comment .

1. Sarcasm is a lie and not the language of the Kingdom.

When I make a sarcastic comment I lie, assuming my listener knows my words to be untrue. What a trick of the devil to put lies in the mouths of Christians! It is only when we are honest with ourselves and with others that we can speak the language of the Kingdom. If we cannot speak the language of the Kingdom, how can we expect to live at peace with its residents?

Who speaks lies as his native language? Hint: not Jesus.

Lies are the language of Satan. “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44

2. Sarcasm fosters insecurity.
Sarcasm often comes either out of a place of insecurity or into a place of insecurity. Think of it like a bank, people deposit their insecurities into sarcasm and then get them back with interest.

3. Sarcasm interferes with authentic community.
The things we say sarcastically are often things we are unable to say seriously but still feel. True intimacy and community are hard to find because of this. It can often be a challenge to sort out the truth from lies when a sarcastic person speaks. The people making sarcastic comments sometimes are unsure of the truth themselves.

Buried within many sarcastic comments hides a small nugget of truth. Sometimes people say what they feel sarcastically so they can’t be held responsible for their true feelings. Their sarcasm allows them to maintain their mask of hypocrisy. This hinders both communication and authentic community.

4. Sarcasm discourages inquisitiveness.
In my experience sarcasm is often used to deride people for asking simple questions. It causes some people to be cautious to talk at all, particularly to strangers. I ask simple questions. When I reveal my ignorance on a topic I often must brace for the sarcastic blow that may or may not fall. My confidence is in Christ and not myself so these comments do not destroy me but are nevertheless unappreciated. I think we would all learn a lot more if we were a lot less sarcastic.

5. Sarcasm interferes with good leadership.
Secure people make good leaders. If sarcasm is a symptom of insecurity then the better a leader you are the less sarcastic you will be. Can you Imagen Moses, Jesus or William Wilberforce being sarcastic? Sarcasm is like a false save that temporarily numbs our pain of our insecurities but ultimately makes the root problem worse. One of the things I admire about John Moore, our college pastor, is how authentic he is. John is a speaker of the truth and I appreciate that.

The false save of sarcasm keeps dells our pain and keeps us from taking our insecurities to Christ. Sarcasm hinders communication and undermines trust. Vital elements of good leadership.

6. Sarcasm undermines true humor.
Some people are naturally funny. They put those around them at ease by finding the lighter side of life. Others, myself included, try to compensate for their lack of humor through sarcasm. Yet sarcastic “jokes” are rarely funny and they rarely put people at ease.

Sarcastic remarks are easy to make and keep us from cracking jokes that are actually funny. How many times have you ever belly laughed to a sarcastic comment? The best you can hope for from sarcasm is snicker.

7. Sarcasm is the language of bullies.

Sarcasm can be used as a way to attack other people without given them a chance to respond. It is like a kid with a bat in one hand and a trash can lid in the other. When he says a biting sarcastic comment (bat) he defends himself (lid) by saying he was only joking. He can then take a second swing with the bat by accusing the listener of having no sense of humor.

The only way the other children could play with such a bully is if they too get bats and lids. This is how sarcasm like a virus infects a community.

Do you ever remember coming home from school crying because a bully said something mean. What did he tell the teacher? “I was only joking.” I contend that sarcasm is still a subtle form of bullying, regardless of age.

Conclusion

There is a difference between sarcasm and hyperbole. Hyperbole is the contrasting of extremes to make a point. So when God tells Job to tell him how the world was formed since “Job was there” God is using hyperbole to emphasize the fact that Job was not there and does not know. While like sarcasm hyperbole is different in the fact that it makes the truth clear instead of cloudy.

Do I make sarcastic remarks? Yes. In my insecurity I still speak lies instead of truth. But it bothers me. My conscience bugs me about it though and I try to apologize. I am a poor standard. But I ask that you keep me accountable to only speak the truth from now on.

Do you agree/disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think .

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They go into more detail on each point. Here is the cliff notes of a recent Lifehacker article. Their advice is bold My comments are not

1. “Batch” email at set times. This is huge. I process my inbox to zero and then when I get a chance I batch reply to the emails in the “Need Reply” folder. I would spend even less time on email if I checked it less often but I am a bit compulsive.
2. Send and read email at different times. – This is hard to do if you use a web based email program like gmail. If you use Outlook it also helps to turn off automatic send and receive. This allows you to batch your email (see point #1)
3. Don’t scan email if you can’t immediately fix problems encountered – Employing this trick is what saves me so much time. I used to read and re read emails over and over without doing anything about them. Now I put them into one of my folders and don’t worry about it again until I get a chance to act or reply.
4. Don’t BIF people during off-hours. BIF stands for Before I Forget.
5. Don’t use the inbox for reminders or as a to-do list. I put my actionable emails together in a “Need Action” folder. This way they don’t clog my inbox and I can keep track of them.
6. Set rules for email-to-phone escalation. Sometimes a 3 minute phone call can save you from 30 minutes of email. A good rule of thumb I learned from my dad is this:

   If emotions are involved use the phone instead.

   Emotionally charged emails need too much proofing to be worth it. Too often even after spending 30 minutes on drafting an email the recipient still misinterprets it. If you are too angry to make a phone call you are too angry to send an email.

7. Before writing an email, ask yourself: “what problem am I trying to solve?” or “what is my ideal outcome?” Don’t send purposeless emails. They waste everyone’s time.
8. Learn to make suggestions instead of asking questions. The “where do you want to eat? I donno where do you want to eat?” passive question asking mindset does not make for efficient email processing.

How do you handle your email load? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

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After years of digital coaching I have realized that most people stink at email. Here are the two people I most often encounter:

Person A: This person spends hours checking email each week sending and receiving dozens of emails every day. Yet, Person A seems to be always behind in email regardless of how much time he or she invests in it. If you work a white collar job you probably can relate to Person A.

Person B: Person B doesn’t care much about email and so he never checks it. You never know if this person gets your emails or not because he rarely responds and when he does it’s days later. If you go to UMHB you are probably like Person B.

So how do you stay on top of you email without it consuming your life?

The following video has changed my life when it comes to email. I now spend half the time doing email and I am always able to leave my inbox empty. How do I do it? I follow Merlin Man’s advice.

I had a folder for each activity and a folder for each person who sent me a lot of email. The problem of this system was that it was inefficient. Instead of having one inbox I had a dozen. Now all important mail comes to one place from which I send it to one of the following 6 folders/labels.

1. Encouragement – These are nice emails people have sent me. I don’t use this folder much (it only has 7 emails right now) but it is nice to set aside encouragement for a rainy day.
2. Need Action – These are my action related emails. If you email me and ask me to do something it will end up in this folder before I do it.
3. Need Read – These are emails I need to read when I get a chance
4. Need Reply – These are emails I need to reply to.
5. Reference – These are emails I will need later. This folder is mostly full of book related emails I need to keep track of.
6. Unimportant – I have setup so that anything unimportant (facebook etc) goes to this folder. This is my only folder that has mail rules related to it.

Most emails I scan and then archive. Only a few make it to one of these folders. Gmail lets me search through my archive which is helpful in finding an email I need when I need it. I don’t need to file school email in a school folder. I just search for the exact email I need and it comes up.
Inbox Zero by Merlin Man

In this video Merlin Mann, productivity guru and creator of the popular 43 folders website, shares his secret to keeping his email inbox at zero. I know its an hour long… But if you invest an hour into learning how to “do” email more efficiantly it will come back to you many times over.Does your inbox overwhelm you? Leave a comment and tell me what do you think.

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When I gave a talk at a Rotary Club I could just see everyone cringe as I pulled out my projector. As soon as a presenter shows their first slide riddled with text we know we are in for a long boring talk.

But PowerPoint does not need to be boring.

A guy named Cliff Atkinson author of the book Beyond Bullet Points opened my eyes to a radical new way to present using Power Point. I used his approach and the Rotarians thanked me for not boring them. I’m not a great presenter but I have sat through hundreds of hours of bad presentations, so I know some things to avoid. Here are some tips I hope you find helpful.

Tip #1 – Use Graphics Instead of Text

A clever graphic not only catches and keeps your audience’s attention but it can add to your credibility and their understanding. Which of the following two slides do you think is more effective?

When people see the photo in the first slide they can think of that drugged feeling they get from a long time on the computer. The photo to sells the concept.

Remember the goal for Keynote slides is not to present the information. It is to help you present the information.

Some great sites that have free photos are:

• sxc.hu (my favorite),
• EveryStockPhoto.com ,
• Flickr Creative Commons Photos
• Microsoft Office Clip Art Gallery .

If you are wiling to spend a little dough I recommend:

• iStockPhoto.com
• StockXpert.com

When searching for clip art it is important to register for the site and in order to avoid any adult only images. The best sites wont give you that trash but it’s safe to make sure.

Tip #2 – Don’t Let Your Underwear Show

Your notes are important and private. You are not Madonna. You’re underwear is not for public display. Don’t show the audience your notes.

If you blast your audience with bullets they will read them ahead of you, zone out and get bored. It keeps you from having any surprises any secrets. It ruins your comic timing. When people get bored they whip out their iPhone or Blackbarry and totally stop listening until you say "in conclusion."

People will respect you more if you stay modest.

Tip #3 Kiss Your Audience

Steve Jobs , one of the best modern communicators, knows how to make things simple. He has made a fortune making complex things like mp3 players iPod easy. He presents in the same way. He often will use only a simple photo or a singe word on a black background.

(photos from presentation zen)

There is a reason that millions of people download and watch his keynotes while Bill Gates who also talks about cool gadgets gets ignored. The book Presentation Zen has a great comparison of these two styles as embodied by these two men.

Tip #4 – 1 Minute Max

Don’t use one slide for 3 minutes when you can break it up into three one minute slides.

An easy way to do this is keep your slides to one concept. Try not to ever spend more than a minute on any given slide. Keep the audience’s attention by keeping the slide fresh.

Are you telling a story that takes longer than a minute? Switch to a blank screen or tell the story with photos.

You are talking to a crowd that used to watching commercials that show a new shot every 4 seconds. Once you pass the ten second mark the clock starts ticking and once you hit sixty seconds the iPhones start popping out of pockets.

Another way to get invited back is to finish early. Leave time for questions. People love asking questions and you might find the most interesting part of your presentation is the dialog at the end. If no one has any questions bait the audience by asking one of your own. Answer it and the questions will come.

Tip #5 – Keep your Bullets in Your Concealed Firearm

PowerPoint and Keynote both have excellent "presenter notes" sections that you can print or display on your laptop as you present.

Like real bullets, digital bullets are ineffective and dangerous when they are out of place. Hitting a rifle round with a hammer might make a lot of noise but you wont hit your target unless you "hide" your bullets in your gun. Keep your bullets out of site and you will find your presentations will become more interesting.

To learn how to go bullet free I would recommend that you watch the following video. This video is what caused me to join the bullet free revolution.

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We have all seen this orange icon and likely just ignored it. But this little icon can transform your internet experience. Clicking this icon causes good things to happen. To explain those good things I have found a short 2 minute YoouTube video.

RSS in Plain English

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Yahoo RSS Faq

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