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My guest lecture on Pitching Bloggers (Simon Fraser University PR program) #sfuPR2011

Raul — Wed, 25 May 2011 21:34:16 +0000

A few weeks back, Natasha N. Davies (whom you may remember was also a guest speaker at the Canadian Public Relations Society Student Chapter last year on Social Media 101) invited me to be a guest lecturer in her class to the Public Relations program at Simon Fraser University. This afternoon I gave a short talk (I would have been able to speak about this for HOURS), and here are (as promised) the slides of my talk. As with anything posted here, the Creative Commons license applies (Attribution, Non-Derivative, Non-Commercial) in case you use any of the materials I post here. Thanks Natasha for inviting me, and thanks to all you guys for asking great questions! I had a great time. If you were at my lecture, please leave a comment on this post and let me know how you liked it.

Pitching bloggers 101 Guest Lecture at Simon Fraser University PR Program

View more presentations from Raul Pacheco-Vega.

Celebrating 5 years of blogging: Happy blogiversary, Hummingbird604.com

Raul — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:00:09 +0000

Photo credit: Gus Fosarolli on Flickr.

Today (well, technically yesterday 5 years ago was when I began blogging – I posted my first post on April 23rd, in fact, as it was past midnight – but I began composing it on the 22nd – hence why I say April 22nd is my blogiversary), 5 years ago I began a little blog that was originally intended to share my academic research on environmental politics in a layman manner.

Not too ironically, Hummingbird604.com has grown to be more than my personal online canvas, but it’s slowly become a lifestyle blog where readers from all parts of the world (and primarily, Canada) come to check out what’s happening in the theatre, dance, performing and fine arts, music, food, cocktail and wine scene in Vancouver, in British Columbia and other parts of Canada where I travel.

I love writing, and I am a storyteller at heart. Blogging has brought me new friends, access to possibilities that I would never have had otherwise, a broad diversity of activities to try and engage in. Thanks to my blog I have been invited to check more theatre, dance, restaurants and places to visit than I could possibly have imagined in a lifetime.

I have often considered whether I should quit blogging. Sometimes, people forget that I am first and foremost an academic, a consultant and an educator, and that this is my unpaid hobby. While the size of my readership is substantial (and I’m quite honored that people want to read my blog), I don’t do this as a job. But the minute I stop blogging I feel that I am no longer able to share my thoughts with the world. And that’s something I thoroughly enjoy.

Through my blog I have been able to enjoy the good and the bad. I met amazing friends, but also have been attacked online, the target of hate emails, blog posts and comments. I often felt overwhelmed with how many pitches I receive to blog about stuff, but I also have have enjoyed pushing events to succeed, events that would not have had the exposure otherwise. I enjoy the sheer power of numbers, knowing that blogging about something may make the difference between red ink and black ink.

Overall, I blog because I like it. Because it gives me a canvas to tell my personal story. And because it allows me to differ, to have an opinion and a voice, and to have that voice heard. And I’m glad people read my blog, quite honestly.

Happy 5 years blogiversary to me!

In memory of Eva Markvoort (65 Red Roses)

Raul — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:16:27 +0000

I blog because I love sharing my thoughts with my world. I don’t purposefully seek to inspire people, but I am always thrilled when I do. But I do know of a New Westminster blogger who passed away exactly one year ago after a long battle with cystic fibrosis, a blogger who inspired thousands of people. Her name was Eva Markvoort. A few months ago, my good friend Kimberley Bowie asked me if I’d be interested in giving away tickets to a (sold-out) concert in memory of Eva (who was a good friend of Kim’s). I was honored that Kim asked me to do this giveaway because I know how much she misses Eva.

Thinking about the fact that Eva passed away at a really young age brings tears to my eyes, as I myself have a very dear friend who is also a blogger, and who is currently battling the late stages of cancer (Derek). It’s hard not to think about the potential for loss when you remember people who have already gone. Just last night, I attended a celebration of life for the late husband of my good friend Cathy Browne, Dave M. Kane. While all these folks will be (and continue to be, those who have gone) missed, their legacy lives on.

Taking blogging as a job

Raul — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:30:51 +0000

I blogged a couple of years ago how I debated considering myself “a professional blogger”. I have a number of good friends who DO blog for individual websites or for blog networks for a living (just a few names thrown there, Lorraine Murphy, Tris Hussey, Arieanna Schweber). On that post, several of my friends including John Biehler and Derek K. Miller made the point that, to be a professional blogger, I would need to make an income out of it.

Yes, that’s me liveblogging in CoverItLive. Photo credit: Tyler Ingram

I don’t actually make money out of writing for Hummingbird604.com. I don’t even do professional web development. Blogging on Hummingbird604.com is a labor of love. But one that is taking discipline for me, and for which I budget my (rather scarce) time. Given that I committed in the past 2 years to have both of my lives full time, I need to schedule myself to the minute. And I most certainly book time for dealing with blog-related matters.

I recently did an exercise where I monitored the time I spend on social media/blogging matters (purely the website, forget about the volunteering activities I do that are related/associated with social media). On a Sunday morning, I spent 1 hour and 15 minutes writing 4 blog posts (I only had Flickr photos available on my own stream for 2 of them, and I had to search my own website to find relevant cross-links). I spent 30 minutes connecting people with each other and crafting emails. I spent 15 minutes checking Twitter and having conversations. And I focused on each of the above tasks individually. On top of that, I have to liaise with PR folks, read press releases, write the post, make it pretty, communicate with winners, promote my posts on Twitter and Facebook. It’s A LOT OF WORK.

Do I expect to be paid for my blogging? You know, almost 5 years into it, I’m not quite sure. I do know for sure I want to continue doing it, and I take it so seriously that I do all the above indicated activities ON TOP of my consulting/academic activities. My friend Derek K. Miller wrote a rather compelling post a few years ago on whether blogging can bring you income. But more importantly, I found what Derek said and what my friend Arieanna Schweber commented on that post extremely applicable to my case (both quotes are taken from the same post I linked above):

Arieanna:

And yes, I can say emphatically that blogging for a living is a LOT of work. You are *never* done your work. Whether it’s finding more stuff to post, checking on comments, promoting, or reading feeds, there is always something more you can do. As your sites grow, they become more work to maintain, and you have more social obligation to update them each and every day. I work way too much – but I do love what I do.

Derek:

If you look at blogs that are popular enough to pay people’s salaries [...] they tend to be very focused and updated many times a day. They often attract lots of comments, which require moderation and feedback, and their posts tend to be well sourced or individually researched, and also well written and concise. In many cases, the words are carefully crafted to attract search engine traffic, and the blogger may spend quite a bit of time writing about things he or she isn’t all that interested in, or at least (as in any job) may have days where the job is just a slog, rather than a joy. Money-generating blogs take a lot of effort, skill, and time to maintain. They’re work.

Blogging on Hummingbird604.com attracts A LOT of traffic and comments, and it’s hard work to maintain a high-quality blog (modesty does not become me, does it now?). But damn, do I ever love it. I absolutely enjoy writing, sharing my story with the world, showcasing food, arts, travel destinations. Even if it’s not direct income, the fact that I take blogging seriously as hard work (and that I put in the long hours that come with it) is giving me A LOT OF SATISFACTION.

That’s why I keep doing it.

Learn some basic coding/HTML if you have a WordPress blog

Raul — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:00:36 +0000

After careful reflection on the fact that I was NOT at WordCamp Victoria 2011, it just occurred to me the kind of talk I *could* have given had I remembered at the time of proposal submission. One of the things that I think facilitates my blogging and allows me to crank as many posts as I do per week is that I learned a little tiny bit of coding and HTML to facilitate my workflow. I know exactly which plugins I want to use, and how a plugin or a theme should be hacked to make it do what I want. I try to write for the web and think for the web (two very useful complementary skills). As Ariane Colenbrander said to me at my WordCamp Fraser Valley talk: “I’m a good art designer”. There’s also a little back story to this, actually two.

Photo credit: Peregrino Will Reign on Flickr

The first one: I started using computers when I was very little, inspired by the American TV show Whiz Kids. So, I have had a penchant for computer programming. Yeah, this is probably one of the reasons why I enjoy blogging so much, and doing my own stunts. Heck, the computer geekery has stayed with me even as I grew older. When I was deciding what to do a Masters’ degree in, I dipped my feet wet and took 1 semester of courses in a Masters of Science in Computer Science. Yes, I took Boolean Logic, Set Theory, C++ Programming and Visual Basic.

The second story has to do with my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt. When we first met, I was pretty much a newbie. I had blogged for over a year and a bit, but I hadn’t moved to WordPress, I hadn’t really learned much of the code behind it, etc. I was just a writer. I knew nothing about WordPress. Rebecca taught me A LOT of what I know about WordPress and the PHP and HTML behind/underneath it, over coffee, lunches, liveblogging the same events, etc. And she immediately understood what I meant when I said that I liked doing my own stunts: even if I’m not a web developer, I love being able to create my own websites. Basic as they may be, but I just love being able to do some of the basic HTML coding. Rebecca taught me and enabled me to do that with my websites.

Much of the customization you’ve seen here on Hummingbird604.com was done by good friends of mine: Rebecca taught me a lot of the basic inner workings of WordPress, J. Karen Parker adapted the Deviant art WordPress theme for me, and several other good friends have helped me with stuff here and there (Ianiv Schweber with some of the theme issues, Mike Yurechko, Tris Hussey, Andy Peatling and almost every time I scream for help, someone on Twitter is willing to help me.

photo credit: Charles Williams

But still, I code by hand a lot of the HTML tags that make WordPress do the things they do (e.g. embedding my photos and align them to the left or right, change fonts, etc). I *love* doing this basic coding. It makes me feel that I am independent and self-reliant. So, even if you are a blogger or a website copy writer, I would very strongly recommend you to learn some basic HTML and learn a bit more in-depth.

And a fun fact – I wrote by hand all the HTML code around the photo shown to force it to align to the left and provide the photo credit underneath with a link back to Flickr (pretty much the way my PhotoDropper plugin does). How cool is that?

Building an Online Community with WordPress (aka Blogging 101)

Raul — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 06:36:35 +0000

photo credit: shizhao

This past month I gave a talk around how to build an online community with WordPress at WordCamp Fraser Valley 2010. This is a topic I am quite interested in, so I organized a follow up Vancouver Blogger Meetup on How to Build an Online Community Through Blogging, where 3 local blogging superstars (and all dear friends of mine, Rebecca Bollwitt, Arieanna Schweber and Robert Ballantyne).

Thanks so much for sharing your expertise with us!

Normally, I would post my slides on SlideShare, but this time, I think all I’m going to do is post my 20 tips on how to build an online community through blogging on WordPress. Hope they are valuable to my readers.

0. Say thanks. Always.
1. Write your blog in WordPress.
2. Never forget to put the social in social media.
3. Write with pretty visuals.
4. Tell a good story.
5. Link, attribute and thank people.
6. Respond to comments on the blog.
7. Rise above the trolls.
8. Stop worrying about your stats.
9. Meet other bloggers in real life.
10. Cross-link your content through your social platforms.
11. Promote other’s stuff just as much as you do yours.
12. Write for you, before you write for others.
13. Spell-check and good grammar are your friends.
14. Optimize your blog for mobile reading.
15. Re-blog with a purpose.
16. Encourage your readers to stay in your blog and read other posts.
17. Write often, and write well.
18. Remember that content is king.
19. Maximize your use of the minimal number of WordPress plugins.
20. Go self-hosted.

And a key one that I just remembered: Your blog should be your home base. Don’t ever direct people to Facebook. You should have a website or blog, and all of your directionality should point out to the blog.

Longing for the art of commenting on blogs

Raul — Wed, 19 May 2010 08:15:55 +0000

I’ll fully be the first to admit that A LOT of people comment on my blog. But I have the feeling that readers have resorted to NOT commenting and just tweeting quick replies to a full, well-written, well-crafted blog entry. It looks like I’m not alone in feeling this way. What do YOU think? This (the decline in number, and even perhaps quality) of comments on blog entries seems to be the reason why so many people say “Blogging Is Dead” (and of course, those are total link-baiting posts). Thoughts and commentary much appreciated.

A short hiatus

Raul — Mon, 03 May 2010 03:03:55 +0000

Like any human being, I have only a limited amount of time in my day. I’ve tried desperately to keep up the pace with my blogging and all the client work I have, all the marking papers and final exams I’ve accumulated, and still attend theatre shows, dance performances and spend time with my friends. There’s only one Raul and I’ve hit the wall.

I have to hand in grades this coming week and that means, you may not see much of Hummingbird604 until Northern Voice ’10 (where I am speaking at two panels: Government 2.0 – Politics, Policy and Social Media in Canada: A Multi-Level Exploration and Beyond the Hype: Teaching About Social Media and Teaching Using Social Media.

Both panels are on Friday (although Northern Voice takes place all week). So, until then, if you do not see any content here, or do not see me on Twitter, you know why it is.

It is my 4 year blogiversary, and what did blogging bring me?

Raul — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:57:19 +0000

It brought me friends.

Raul, Degan and Terra

Lorraine, Emme and me (credit: Emme Rogers)

Credit: (c) Karen Hamilton

photo credit: farmsteadwines

Stacie and Raul (credit: John Biehler)

Not every friend of mine is pictured in this series of photos, but it’s just a sample of all the fantastic people that blogging brought into my life. For that, I am very grateful.

I am not sure how much longer I will be blogging. As with any other online medium, membership in social networking sites lends itself to the creation of a lot of drama. I eschew drama. It’s been 4 years filled with a variety of things. Good things, bad things and really nasty things. But more than anything, I blog because I love it. And I’ll continue to write on this blog for as long as I continue to love it.

Book signing w @miss604 at @LondonDrugs

Raul — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:27:27 +0000

I have learned a lot about blogging from my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss604), I’ve always said that left, right and center. Whenever I go back on my older posts and I read comments from her, or I remember the times when we’ve just sat down and geeked out at coffee shops, gone for Mexican food for lunch, etc., I always get a really nice, warm and fuzzy feeling.

Recently, I had the chance to swing by very briefly by an event put together by London Drugs where Rebecca signed copies of her recent book “Blogging to Drive Business”.

Unfortunately, I had a previous engagement so I arrived late, but I still caught a few glimpses of Rebecca’s live contests and managed to win a prize! Congratulations Rebecca on your book launch! I am glad that there’ll now be many people who will share in the lessons you gave me while hanging out with me on a regular basis. Truly appreciative of our friendship, and very proud of you.

My 4 years blogaversary party is Thursday April 22nd #4yrsHB604

Raul — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:28:23 +0000

I started this blog (as Random Thoughts of a Student of the Environment) on Earth Day of 2006 (April 22nd – well, technically on the 23rd as I was arriving home after a celebration on the 22nd). Coincidentally, that’s also the birthday of my best friend, who lives here in Vancouver as well and who is also an academic (we did our PhDs under the same supervisor). To be quite honest, if somebody had told me that one day my blog would be read by more than 3 people (which is the number of folks who read my blog at the time, actually 3 of my friends!), I would have never believed it. Four years later, more than 2,600 blog entries and 5,600 comments, I still blog.

Blogging has brought me fantastic friends. Naming each one of them would take me a long, long time. You know who you are. I’m quite happy with what I have accomplished with this blog. I had been thinking about how to celebrate this accomplishment, because to be quite honest, I do think it’s worth throwing a party for. My good friend Minna Van (The Network Hub) thought it would be a good idea to throw a party at the office (3rd floor, 422 Richards Street). I didn’t want to make it a big fuss, personally, but it’s always good to hang out with friends and fellow social media enthusiasts.

I did invite personally my Facebook friends (after a painstakingly long process, as there is no “Invite All” button that really works for Facebook), but I am hereby opening the invitation to everyone who might be interested in dropping by. Most likely, we’ll have some wine, some finger foods and more importantly, we’ll have a chance to mingle and socialize. I didn’t want to hijack the Vancouver Blogger Meetup for this, so there will be a separate event for the VBM (of which I am the organizer).

Do feel free to drop by, but if you do plan to come, please RSVP on the Facebook invite! In good ol’ fashion, I’ll have a live Twitter event on ScribbleLive (you can tag your tweets #4yrsHB604 should you wish to do so!).

In celebration of my 4 years blogaversary here is the manifesto I published when I reached 2 years of blogging:

I believe that there is readership in the blogosphere for everyone. We all blog because we love it.

I believe that this blog wouldn’t be where it is if it weren’t for you, my dearest and loyal readers.

I believe that we can all get along. It’s not easy, and requires hard work, but we most certainly can.

I believe that my future in blogging looks promising. I love blogging and wouldn’t give it up now.

I believe that my social circle has just grown larger and I am very grateful to the Powers-That-Be for that.

I believe that there will be another blogaversary to celebrate next year!

To everyone who has helped me along the way, from reading my posts, to dropping a comment, to re-tweeting them, to those who have sponsored contests, ticket giveaway and freebies for my readers, THANK YOU.

Taking my blogging as a job

Raul — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:45:18 +0000

photo credit: arvindgrover

A few months back I blogged about professional blogging, but I don’t think I made my point very clear. While having lunch this week at Nuba with Erin McConnell, Michael Allison and Trevor Boudreau (all from Wilcox Group PR) and earlier in the week while on a walk along the seawall with Grace Carter (Invoke Media), I commented to all of them that I do book time to blog, even if I do not get paid.

The notion that I treat blogging as part of my work schedule has come up recently, and I don’t think many people understand what I mean by that. I receive a solid 100 emails a day from PR companies, theatre companies, dance companies, restaurants, etc. On top of those companies who have anything to do with environment and want me to profile them on my blog.

Thus, I need to set aside time to (a) read the email pitch, (b) decide whether I want/can write about it, (c) writing the actual blog entry (and sometimes, finding and processing photographs to make the post prettier), (d) in the case of ticket giveaways, I take time out of my day to contact the winners, organize the contest, promote it, etc. So, all in all, I do spend a substantial amount of time dealing with blogging stuff (outside of my social media consulting).

So, do I take blogging as a job? Yes and no. Yes, because I block off time out of my day, every day, to deal with blogging-related stuff. And it DOES take time (just notice that I’m running 5 contests this week!). But no, because I really love blogging and I do continue to blog for myself. And blogging has brought me access to a lot of cool stuff I wouldn’t have had otherwise. And I love giving away stuff to my readers, and honestly I wouldn’t be able to afford those giveaways out of my own money!

De chile, de dulce y de manteca

Raul — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:22:51 +0000

photo credit: *Noema*

I have asked almost everyone who has told me that he/she reads my blog “why do you read my site?”. This may sound like a counter-intuitive and almost stupid question. After all, if (as I argue everywhere on my blog), I write for myself, why would I care to know the reasons behind why people read my blog? Well, the truth is, I am always curious. Every time someone asks me “so, how did you become popular on social media?” or “why do you think people read your site?” I am left almost speechless.

Lately, I have come to realize that my hypothesis as to why people read my blog may be somewhat true. My friends, obviously, I could fathom that they read my blog to keep up-to-date with what I do on an almost everyday basis, particularly if I don’t see them often in person. But people who arrived here through Google or my Twitter account seem to stay hooked because I write “de chile, de dulce y de manteca”.

This expression in Mexican Spanish (chile, sweet and lard) refers to the types of tamales people tend to cook. An assortment of tamales, so to speak. Also, please note – it’s TAMAL, not TAMALE (e.g. tamal is singular, tamales is plural). It’s used as a metaphor for variety. And I think that’s why people read my site. Because I write on a variety of topics. I can write serious, deep and personal entries, like the one I just did on mental health and stigma. I can also write about very inane things. I ask questions about the state of social media, I write restaurant reviews, I cover events, I give away tickets and freebies.

I’m a “de chile, de dulce y de manteca” kind of guy. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. On my birthday of two years ago, my dear friend Derek K. Miller dropped a comment on my post, saying that he wrote about whatever interested him at the moment. And truth be told, I think he’s right. I also write about what interests me whenever I write. Which, I have to admit, writing about tamales has just made me hungry.

Use an offline blogging tool (Blogging 201)

Raul — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:11:26 +0000

photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Today, I saw two of my good friends (Scott Leslie in Victoria and Cathy Browne in Vancouver) lose entire blog entries due to system and/or wireless malfunctions. There is almost nothing that irks me more than losing a really good blog entry because of technical difficulties. So, for the most part, what I do is I use offline blogging tools. I will confess that for all the writing I’ve done, and all the geeky tools I’ve explored, I mostly use BlogDesk for my offline blogging. It’s reliable and it can be hooked up directly to your WordPress.com and WordPress.org blogs.

So, my question to the blogging community out there – which other offline blogging tools can you recommend for my readers? I have only used BlogDesk, and I’m kind of afraid of using Windows LiveWriter. What else? Is there anything else you’d recommend?

On saying please and thank you

Raul — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:13:32 +0000

photo credit: CarbonNYC

I have lived in an English speaking country for more than a third of my life. Thus, I have managed to speak the language fluently. In fact, I teach, publish research and write in English even much more than I do in my own mother tongue (Spanish). To me, English is even sometimes a third language rather than my second. When I first started learning the language and becoming fluent, the first few words that I learned were “please” and “thank you“.

To me, given the cultures where I had been raised (Spanish-speaking), being polite and saying “thanks”, “please”, “I’m sorry” is part of my upbringing. However, as time has gone by, I have been encountering more and more English-speaking people who are unable or unwilling to say “please” or “thank you” or “I appreciate it“. Lack of politeness gets people nowhere with me. Usually it gets their email deleted, their request unapproved or simply ignored.

I think it’s part of the way in which our world is now advancing. Even in social media, with only 140 characters, people on Twitter seem to be reluctant to sacrifice their message being spread, all the while avoiding politeness, good manners and appropriate etiquette. I don’t think I’m taking a “holier than thou” attitude. I am just a bit shocked that some of my business communications and even a few personal interactions have gotten to the point where I have pointedly had to say “please, and thank you”.

Polite writing, good manners and all those pleasantries will get you places with me. Lack thereof will not.

A Vancouver Blogger central directory

Raul — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:36:24 +0000

Last Wednesday, when I was sharing my PR tips with The PR Group, I was asked whether there was a central directory of bloggers in Vancouver. I pointed them out to my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt’s link love page, which is perhaps one of the most comprehensive ones I’ve seen around. I felt really bad because I was going to move my blogroll to a Link Love page and never got around that. So, as you can see on my right hand sidebar, I have resurrected my blogroll while I get around to moving it to a links page.

Furthermore, I would like to create a directory of local Vancouver bloggers. Those of you who can find yourselves on my blogroll, don’t worry about leaving a comment. I already have you there. But those of you who are not, by all means feel free to drop a comment on this blog. I will be creating a directory for Vancouver (and British Columbia) bloggers. I am, after all, the Vancouver Blogger Meetup Organizer.

I also offered my knowledge of the local Vancouver bloggers to any PR people who needed suggestions on which bloggers to pitch (as I know most of them), but to save my time, you can also refer to this resource. I might find a Google Documents way that may make it easier, but for now, commenting is fine. Feel free to re-tweet this post and share with anyone you know who blogs in Vancouver.

And those of you who weren’t on my blogroll, don’t feel slighted – It was mostly defunct! Now I’m resuscitating it.

Relationships in PR – My pitching tips

Raul — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:46:07 +0000

photo credit: Ethan Hein

This past Wednesday, February 3rd, I was invited by Sara Pereira (Pereira PR) to join Jenn Lowther (6S Marketing) and Curt Cherewayko (Business in Vancouver) to share my thoughts and experiences from the blogger perspective to The PR Group (a meetup Sara has been organizing)

This group has been meeting since last summer, and it’s geared towards public relations folks. The idea of Wednesday evening was to engage in a conversation through a question/answer period on how PR folks can conduct better blogger relations campaigns.

I recall 2008 as “the year of blogger relations”. At least, that’s what I saw from my liveblogging of several events where other influential bloggers spoke about how they got pitched (and in some cases, the strategies they used to pitch other bloggers). I have been on both sides of the fence. I’ve conducted blogger relations campaigns AND I have been sent pitches. In the past couple of years, as my readership has increased, I’ve been sent more and more press releases, getting to the point where I receive up to 100 PR-type emails a day (thank you GMail for your filtering and labels features).

I shared a few of my own thoughts/insights and given that I wasn’t feeling all that well (this week has been challenging), it’s kind of difficult for me to re-summarize them. But from what I can recall I said at the event, I spoke about my pitching policies and a recent post I wrote about how to pitch me (and what mistakes to avoid).

One element I emphasized is know your client’s audience – I was making the case that for theatre companies, it is probably more relevant to get a blog mention than it is an ad on a newspaper or a review on a weekly. People go online to find tickets to the events they want to go to. The same applies to restaurants, everyone looks for online reviews. For example, I *know* for a fact many reviewers in traditional media and I disagree on our assessments of restaurants. So, I pretty much never read those reviews.

Another element I emphasized was build a real, offline relationship with bloggers. I told the audience that (as almost everyone knows), I’ve decided to dramatically reduce the volume of my public appearances to focus on my own development (and obviously, my teaching/research/consulting). The reason I accepted to speak at The PR Group meetup was because I knew Sara in person and we’ve had a good working relationship as well. Given my super busy schedule, I could have said no, but the pre-existing relationship I have with Sara mediated my decision.

The third element I touched on was make the blogger’s job easy. I receive dozens of pitches that are so bad I could publish a whole blog with examples of failures. Lack of personalization/customization, PDF versions of press releases, etc. This is particularly true in the case of boutique PR companies, which by definition are based in more client-focused.

I was asked to provide some suggestions as to what to do/what to avoid. From my pitching policies post and my “Pitch Me” post, here’s a compilation (a little bit blended from both posts).

- Read my blog. That means, read at least a few entries (5-8). Realize that I write about a very broad variety of things (restaurants, local businesses, environment, theatre, dance, my personal life, product reviews).

- Don’t pitch me with a generic “Hello” or “Dear Hummingbird604″. My name is Raul. It’s clearly written on every entry. Try to personalize it as much as you can. You may even want to use the first paragraph of your pitching email to customize it and make me feel appreciated and read.

- I have Acrobat Reader, but given the volume of requests I receive to write about stuff, you’d make my life 3 times easier if you provided me with text that I can just cut-and-paste. Easy peasy.

- Photos – it’d be fantastic if you could send me links to Creative-Commons-licensed photos from the get-go. Makes it easier for me to insert in my entry.

- I receive hundreds of emails a day. If I tell you “yeah, I’d love to write about this but I may forget” – please follow up. I won’t get mad if you send me three emails. Trust me, I’m way more understanding than people think. And don’t be disheartened or disappointed if I don’t write about your play/event/dance exhibition/performance/resort/restaurant/etc. I do keep a file of those things I do want to write about and things that I wish I had written about but didn’t have enough time to do so. One of these days, you’ll score a home-run!

- Pitching me via Twitter works only if you send me a personalized email to follow up. I receive hundreds of @ replies every day. I can’t recall everything even if I want to.

- Pitching me usually works well when you email me on a day that I will be having some time to write. For example, Tuesdays are usually my flexible days when I do book time to blog. So, pitches that I receive by Monday night, are usually well received.

- Ticket/freebies/giveaways are great ways to promote your client’s business. I am always more interested in giving tickets away than receiving complimentary tickets myself. Of course, if you invite me to review your play, it does help to set aside tickets for my review, but I find that my readers love freebies, and sponsoring a contest usually is a very good promotional tool within my blog. Full disclosure – I will be disclosing ALWAYS who sponsored the ticket giveaway.

- Make sure that you understand that I’m very transparent and open and keen on disclosure. I write fairly long paragraphs about who pitched me, what I’m giving away, who sponsored the giveaway, etc. (for a couple of examples, see my reviews of the HP Canada printers and my printer giveaway). Even though the FTC regulations only apply to US bloggers, I’m a big overdiscloser, so be aware of this.

EDIT – Another key point I just recalled that I made was to give every blogger you pitch a different angle. This is particularly important if you pitch several influential bloggers who may share a bit of the same audience. So, for example, pitching me environmental stories is a good idea, as that’s what my research and teaching are about. Pitching me new restaurant openings, theatre/dance/arts performances is also good. When a film festival approaches me, I usually pick the environmentally-focused films. That way, I can provide a different angle to my fellow bloggers.

At some point, within the next week or so, I think I will be publishing a refined version of this post as My Pitching Policy. Jenn and Curt also shared very good points from their own perspective, and overall it was a great event. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or drop a comment on this post.

Pitch me

Raul — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:30:57 +0000

This is one of those posts I’ve been thinking about writing for a really long time now (ever since I started running contests, giving away stuff that is sponsored by local and sometimes, not-so-local businesses and highlighting local stuff, from the Metro Vancouver sustainability breakfasts to local theatre productions, to restaurants I have eaten at or bars I’ve had a drink). The problem is that this year I have had way less time to blog than I used to in 2008 and 2009. This year also marks the deadline for many of my current writing projects (including 3 academic books and a lot of journal articles that are in my pipeline).

The above said, I still want to be able to contribute to the promotion of local events, non-profit and charitable causes, businesses, etc. Therefore, here’s a quick, top-of-my-head list of pointers for those of you who are interested in having me attend your event, review your tech gadgets (or iPhone apps), promote your charitable cause, etc. In other words, all of you who pitch me in one way or another.

- Make your promotional materials cut-and-paste-easy. I have an insanely limited amount of time now for my blogging, so the easier you make it for me to craft a blog post based on your email, the better. Pre-shrunk URLs, pre-formatted HTML code also do wonders for me. Creative-commons-licensed photos also make my life easier.

- Try to personalize your message when pitching me. I write about sustainability, social media, restaurants, theatre, tech gadgets, all the while maintaining this blog as primarily personal. So, it doesn’t hurt to read one or two of my “Popular on HB604″ posts to make yourself acquainted with what I write.

- Don’t feel disrespected or disheartened if I didn’t write about your event/cool gadget/online platform. If it doesn’t happen this time, it is likely it will happen some other time. The same applies to whether or not I can attend your event. As I’ve said earlier, my availability this 2010 is extremely limited. That said, I am fully committed to participate in the events I RSVP to.

- Pitch me on the days that I am most likely to write. I teach at the university Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and at the college on Thursdays and some Saturdays. This means, I need to prepare lectures at the very latest 24 hours before my lecture. Usually, Tuesdays are my “I have a day to work on client stuff, research, blogging, social media, so I need to catch up on everything” days. Thursdays are also rather busy in the afternoon, but I do have some time to catch up in the morning. It is rather likely that if you pitch me by Monday or Wednesday nights, I might be able to get to it on Tuesdays or on Thursdays.

I will think of more stuff for my guidelines (if my fellow bloggers or loyal readers have any other ideas, I’d very much welcome them).

No related posts.

Social Media Club Vancouver launch

Raul — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:31:48 +0000

I recently attended the first organizational meeting for the new re-incarnation/launch of the Social Media Club Vancouver. Social Media Club, founded by Kristie Wells and Chris Heuer (whom I consider a good friend) is an organization (completely non-profit and volunteer-run, none of us actually makes anything out of sitting on the SMC organizing committee) that attempts to achieve the following four goals:

1. Expand Media Literacy
2. Share Lessons Learned Among Practitioners
3. Encourage Adoption of Industry Standards
4. Promote Ethical Practices through Discussion and Actions

There are several reasons why I accepted Mitch Baldwin and Eric Weaver‘s invite to be part of the organizing committee of Social Media Club Vancouver. The first one, quite obviously, is because I really like both Eric and Mitch. The second one, quite obvious as well, is that I knew I’d be joined by a bunch of very talented social media folks who work in a variety of areas.

My involvement with Social Media Clubs isn’t new. I spoke at Social Media Club Victoria in April of 2009 (almost a year ago now!) thanks to an invite by Catherine Novak and Paul Holmes (both of whom have grown to be good friends of mine). My intent was to galvanize the Victoria social media community to move and effect change, and I shared my experience of co-organizing Mental Health Camp with my dear friend Isabella Mori (my highest achievement of 2009, hands down).

For the past couple of years, I given numerous talks about social media for public policy, sustainability, marketing and non-profits. I’ve explored the use of social media in politics and public policy and in non-profit & health. But more importantly, I pride myself in having challenged my readers, the attendees of my talks and my fellow social media practitioners to think beyond the use of social media tools. To explore the high-level discussions on social media, the Internet and its impact on the composition of the social fabric we are embedded within.

I know I have asked the tough questions and I want to continue to do so. I am, after all, an academic. I’m slowly moving from educating ON social media to educating WITH/USING social media. That is precisely the reason why I am involved in the Social Media Club Vancouver. I want to continue to challenge my peers to think beyond “how do I use Twitter” or “how do we create a Facebook fan page” to questions of privacy vs publicness, of the challenges to achieving diversity in social media, to the realities of crowdsourced rules within social networking sites to the evolution of norms and etiquette in social media.

I am delighted to be joined by the talented group of people who are participating, and more importantly, I’m delighted that the group is inclusive. So if you want to change the way social media is done in Vancouver, be part of the change. Join us. Feel free to contact Eric, Mitch or even me should you want to get involved.

Ads on my personal blog

Raul — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:42:10 +0000

I know a lot of people are going to say “SELLOUT!” when I say that I’m considering adding ads to my blog. In the past, I have written sponsored posts (which were in fact sponsored posts FOR CHARITY), but this is the first time I’ve considered adding ad space to my site. The way I have thought about it would include shifting my theme to an ad-friendly theme (I’ve used this customization for a long time now, and I’m kind of used to it, but I’ve also been thinking about changing the theme lately).

Ads on this space (e.g. ads on Hummingbird604.com) would have to come from companies I trust/believe in, who do stuff that I think is not only relevant but also of value to my readers. So, for example, I’d consider adding ad space say, for a month, for a company in Vancouver who donates a certain amount of money to Haiti reconstruction efforts. Or a company that is doing socially responsible stuff.

I haven’t fully formulated this yet in my head, so I am just putting the thought out there. Remember, I write on this blog for fun, not for the money. But on the other hand, I don’t see why can’t I give exposure to companies that are relevant. Since I’m all the time talking about, you know, authenticity in social media, transparency and disclosure, I think the best thing I can do is to be transparent and disclose that I am considering adding ad space on my site.

Have at it in the comments section.

Happy birthday Rebecca Bollwitt @miss604

Raul — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 08:15:06 +0000

Once upon a time, more than three years ago or so (good heavens, was it that long ago!?) I started blogging (yes, actually it was more than 3.5 years ago). I did it because it was sort of the one thing that kept me sane from being entirely immersed in academic life. At this point, and more than 40 months later, I blog because it gives me an outlet to express my thoughts, and because it’s a lot of fun.

photo credit: jenniferlstoddart

There is one person in the Vancouver social media/tech scene who has been extremely influential in my own development and growth as a blogger. Someone who taught me A LOT about blogging (you can read pretty much a summary of what she taught me the first year we became friends in my recap of her talk at Third Tuesday). It’s been well over two years that I’ve known my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt ( Miss604).

Every time I hang out with Rebecca again it feels as though we’ve been friends for decades. While we became really good friends in 2008, this past year (2009) saw the both of us get incredibly busy. Both of our businesses flourished (Rebecca’s company which she co-founded with her husband and also good friend of mine John Bollwitt, Sixty4Media, has grown a lot, as has my own consultancy), we got busy, attended many events and we ended up not having as much time as we used to in 2008.

But even if we don’t spend as much time offline hanging out, as we used to, Rebecca always supports my efforts. She wrote about Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2009, helped connect me with sponsors for the social media release, and in general, gave me a hand whenever I have needed it.

Rebecca, as I have told you in private many a time, during the good (and the sometimes bad), our friendship is one I treasure and value. To me, your success is one that I’m happy to share and relish on, and I know you are happy about mine. More importantly, as I have said to you before, your friendship to me is way more important than the blogosphere. It is irrelevant to me that you are the popular, uber-blogger Miss604. It’s MUCH more important to me that you are my friend Rebecca.

Credit: Miss604 on Flickr (this is the first photo we took of the two of us)

The great thing is that blogging what brought us together, and we’ve kept the friendship alive and well. Today, and every day, and in particular as you enter your 30s, I want to wish you a very, very, very happy birthday. And I look forward to having an opportunity to celebrate with you.

Much love as always from the Padawan

Happy birthday @ChrisWalts

Raul — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:58:03 +0000

Credit: Jules Morgan

I met Chris Walts (host of the podcast The 49th Parallel) through the social media community in Vancouver, and we’ve grown to become good friends. I have told Chris that in a way, I see him as my ‘heir to the throne‘. Chris is social, a kind-hearted guy and has been working hard to master the online social networking tools that will position him in a solid place.

Chris is someone that really cares for the community in the social media world in Vancouver. He is also extremely generous with his time, contributing to worthy causes as Global Agents of Change and Education Generation. And he is a dear friend of mine. I am so sorry I missed his birthday party but hey, here I am celebrating his birthday in the geekiest form of them all, and one he will definitely appreciate – writing him a blog post for his birthday.

Many hugs, much love and all the best my friend. Here’s to many more!

Happy New Year – To a wonderful 2010

Raul — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 03:28:06 +0000

I was writing a Year In Review blog post. On top of having four work meetings, sending a project proposal, talk to my family and do a heck of a lot of other stuff. Didn’t happen. So I am just bailing on my Year In Review post and leaving it to tomorrow afternoon(ish) and will now just publish a “Happy New Year”.

Thank you everyone who read my blog, talked to me on Twitter, joined me at social media events and in general, everyone with whom I have interacted. Everyone who supported my efforts and have walked the walk along with me.

Here’s to a wonderful 2010.

Listen to the last regular podcast of Lip Gloss and Laptops

Raul — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:39:40 +0000

A couple of years ago, I started listening to podcasts, and one of the first (and most popular ones) that I ever listened to was Lip Gloss and Laptops, which was at the time hosted by two wonderful women who then became very close friends of mine, Kerry Anne and Airdrie (pictured below with another good friend of ours, who actually has guest-hosted as well with Airdrie, J. Karen Parker).

The 150th episode of Lip Gloss and Laptops has just been released, with Kerry Anne (one of the two original hosts) coming back for an appearance. The podcast is going on indefinite hiatus.

I have guest-hosted on the podcast twice (episodes 135 and 124) and have contributed some reviews of colognes (most recently, a review of Kenzo Power).

I feel very honored because I have been part of the Lip Gloss and Laptops guest host crowd and I look forward to reading the blog (as L&L will be continuing as a blog). I may contribute occasionally with a few cologne reviews.

Thanks for the good times!

Blogging 201 Reconnect with old blogging friends

Raul — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:48:02 +0000

When I began blogging in April of 2006, I thought it was just like an online journal. A repository of my thoughts and an escape in many ways from the stresses of academic life. But as time went by, I wrote more, participated in Blogathon, started to meet people, joined the Vancouver Blogger Meetup (which I am currently the Organizer of) and consolidated a visible position in the Vancouver blogosphere. But I’ve never forgotten how I started nor have I forgotten my blogging buddies, those whose sites I began reading and whose leadership I followed.

The other day, I took some time to go and visit my long-time friends’ blogs. And as I was reflecting on “what will I write next for the Blogger 201 series” I figured that I would remind myself and others that yes, even though my blog is now a bit more popular, I never forget how important my friends are in my mind, and I do make a concerted effort to go and drop a comment, just to say “hey, I’m still here, even if I haven’t seen you in months… you’re still in my thoughts”.

Of course, bear in mind that I now count my blogging friends by the dozens, so it takes me a while to go and visit everyone. But I’ll definitely get to everyone. So my Blogging 201 advice this week is … remember to make an effort to reconnect with old blogging friends. I found it cathartic and extremely positive. Seeing what my good friends are up to gave me again the energy to continue blogging. Because as I said before “blogging is what brought us together… it’s up to us to keep the relationship alive”.

Win a Reading is Sexy Calendar!

Raul — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:55:16 +0000

As many of you know, I am Mr. April in the 2010 Reading is Sexy Calendar (produced by Ahimsa Media for the lovely Emme Rogers). I wanted to run a contest, and I like crowdsourcing things.

I like asking questions. And I like hearing from my readers, as well as giving away stuff to my readers. So, I’m asking you – what would YOU like to see on my blog in 2010? More contests and tickets giveaways? More restaurant reviews? More geeky/tech posts? More personal writing? More music?

You have until Friday at 4pm, when I will be drawing a winner. Contest, quite obviously, is open to anyone as I’m more than happy to pay for shipping the calendar to wherever you may be living (I know I have readers from New Zealand, South Africa, etc.)

P.S. – I will be showing up today at 5:00pm at Lion’s Pub (on West Cordova, near the Waterfront Skytrain station) to participate in the book signing. I’m staying for exactly 25 minutes, so if you want me to sign your calendar, show up early! Bonuses – you get to see some amazing people, including Monica Hamburg, Ian Alexander Martin and Monique Trottier, all of whom are in the calendar. And of course, the lovely Emme Rogers.

QuitNow and Win Contest

Raul — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:49:42 +0000

photo credit: DRB62

My parents were both smokers up until about 15 years ago or so. They started at an extremely young age (in my view) and continued into their adulthood (even for a period while we were very young). Then one day, my Dad said he would quit cold turkey and he took up swimming. As expected, the cardiovascular activity required to sustain aerobic exercise like this required him to stay away from smoking cigarettes.

My Mom took up yoga, and she went the same kind of adaptive process. To continue doing yoga, Mom needed to stay away from tobacco. The brief story I shared above tells you how my parents quit smoking. My brothers and I decided to never smoke, simply because when we were young, we were programmed by our parents that “smoking is stupid”. Since we didn’t want to be stupid, we decided never to try it. But we are all very aware of the addictive nature of smoking. Moreover, my aunt passed away in 1999 of lung cancer, and she was a heavy smoker (smoking has been linked to lung cancer prevalence).

So, when I was approached by the BC Lung Association informing me QuitNow & Win contest, I decided that I was going to write about it. The QuitNow Facebook page offers some more information on the contest, including a box to share fans’ stories of quitting. I know that the contest has some substantial monetary rewards as incentives, but I think the best one is simply living a healthier lifestyle.

My policies

Raul — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:36:39 +0000

Even though my primary field of research and teaching is public policy analysis (mostly focused on environment – water/solid waste/urban sustainability), I have very rarely thought of writing explicit policies. In this case, I’m not referring to public policies (which I have written, and/or advised governments on how to best design an effective policy). I am talking about a pitching policy (e.g. what should people who want me to write about their stuff on my blog do or how should they contact me) or a Twitter policy (e.g. who should follow me, who shouldn’t, why people shouldn’t expect that I will follow everyone back).

I have recently began thinking about posting my policies, but I’m really conflicted. First, I recognize that publishing a Twitter or a pitching policy might detract rather than contribute to the dialog. Second, I realize that sometimes I don’t even follow my policies so closely (e.g. by the book). Third, it takes time to write these policies.

There are positive elements to policies. I find, for example, that Ike Piggott’s Twitter policy is very similar to what mine would be. I don’t really have the brain space to follow everyone back and I would feel very disappointed if people expected me by definition to follow back. I engage with everyone, but I don’t have the brain space to follow everyone. Not even with the Twitter lists or the TweetDeck/HootSuite columns.

I find as well that I enjoy the pitching policy that my friend Kate Trgovac has on her site. I find that some folks pitch me but then fail to follow up. Or I forget to write about their stuff and they simply write me off for the next event (for which, most likely, I may actually have time and/or want to write about).

As with anything I do, and with social media itself, my policies will probably evolve, but there are a few elements that I have begun to firm up with regards to my Twitter policy and my pitching policy.

Twitter (e.g. following me)

- I’m a noisy Tweeter. Follow me at your own risk. I won’t be upset if you unfollow me (and this is particularly true if we are friends – since, most likely, we are already connected via other social networking sites).
- I don’t respond well to pressure (of any kind). More often than not, I might actually decide NOT to do whatever I’m being pressured to do.
- Don’t take it personally. I don’t have the brain capacity to follow everyone back.
- I do engage with just about everyone who sends me an @ reply. So, feel free to @ reply me even if you don’t follow me (lots of people do that).
- I am incredibly appreciative of Follow Fridays and Twitter Lists. I just don’t do them. Rest assured, I really appreciate any gestures of kindness.

Pitching me

- Read my blog. That means, read at least a few entries. Realize that I write about a very broad variety of things.
- Don’t pitch me with a generic “Hello”. My name is Raul. It’s clearly written on every entry. Try to personalize it as much as you can.
- I have Acrobat Reader, but given the volume of requests I receive to write about stuff, you’d make my life 3 times easier if you provided me with text that I can just cut-and-paste. Easy peasy.
- Photos – it’d be fantastic if you could send me links to Creative-Commons-licensed photos from the get-go. Makes it easier for me to insert in my entry.
- I receive hundreds of emails a day. If I tell you “yeah, I’d love to write about this but I may forget” – please follow up. I won’t get mad if you send me three emails. Trust me, I’m way more understanding than people think.
- Pitching me via Twitter works only if you send me a personalized email to follow up. I receive hundreds of @ replies every day. I can’t recall everything even if I want to.

So, these are working drafts – feedback, as usual, is always appreciated.

On being a jack of all trades

Raul — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:46:03 +0000

photo credit: See-ming Lee 李思明 SML

Human beings like classifying things. It’s in our nature. I, unfortunately, defy classification and/or “pigeon-hole”-ing. So, I did take issue when I read a tweet that said “wow, you’re a Jack of All Trades!” Uh, no… I’m NOT a Jack of All Trades. I’m someone who has been blessed with opportunities for work, research, teaching and consulting in a very broad variety of industries. I have been lucky. Very lucky.

I have been involved with and surrounded by extremely bright minds, from my birth (my parents are amazingly smart and my brothers are incredible, seriously outstanding) to when I did my undergraduate, my Masters and my PhD. I have had a very broad education (undergraduate in chemical engineering, Masters in Business Administration with a focus on strategic management and technology management, and doctorate in resource management and environmental studies), a largely eclectic work life (I’ve worked in the soft drinks industry, in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology, I’ve done consulting projects for leather and footwear, and I’ve been involved with the work of my parents as lawyers). And yes, recently I’ve done a lot of social media work, including consulting. Heck, I’m collaborating in a project on mental health!

What can I say? I’m a versatile individual, not a Jack-of-All-Trades. I take issue with anyone who can assume that I’m the kind of guy who is not a master of any kind of job. I prefer the Princeton Dictionary definition “a person who does a number of jobs reasonably well” than the aphorism “Jack of all trades, master of none” describing a person with multiple skills, but no expert proficiency.

Jack O’Lantern’s post-Halloween disposal – Greening your celebrations

Who is responsible for blog comments

Raul — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:19:01 +0000

photo credit: Tom T

I was looking through some comments on the CBC News website on a recent story on the cost of mental illness. Anybody who has ever read my blog or knows my blogging history will know that anything related to mental health touches a nerve with me. I have a stake in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. Full disclosure – I co-organized with Isabella Mori the first-ever Mental Health Camp.

So, my blood boiled when I saw the quality of some of the comments (trivializing mental illness, etc). As I was thinking about it, I questioned the double-standards we seem to have vis-a-vis news outlets. Apparently, as bloggers, we are responsible for the comments left on our site. But shouldn’t be traditional media measured by the same standards? Same as with the discussion on disclosure when freebies are given.

What are your thoughts on this matter? And remember, I moderate ALL comments but I’m not responsible for them!

Upgrades to HootSuite include multiple social platforms

Raul — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:38:08 +0000

I’m a very big user of HootSuite (and as I told my friend from Invoke, Paul Donnelly I probably would have ditched TweetDeck ages ago if I could simply have a reply-all function and an adding-users-on feature like the ones that TweetDeck has). I went to the Movember Tweetup but they hadn’t released these upgrades yet and so now that I see them I wanted to announce it to the world. The crew at Invoke Media are good friends of mine, and I support them in their endeavours. Also, I *love* HootSuite. The multiple accounts and scheduling updates (now you can do this with LinkedIn, Ping.fm and Facebook) is fantastic. Congrats to Invoke for a job well done!

Blogging 201 – Leave meaningful comments

Raul — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:54:13 +0000

photo credit: BLW Photography

A few weeks back, I asked on Twitter whether people would appreciate if I wrote a series of blog posts on blogging for beginners. Paul Rickett suggested that everyone and their mother had already written that kind of series of posts. A couple of my good friends have books on blogging coming out. And I figured “well, what can I write that can be useful to my readers who want to blog, once they’ve actually begun blogging, but that can be sort of a refresher course or a way to move forward along with their blogs” – and so this will be on “now that I have a blog”.

I have been pondering about what would be the content I would share on the Blogging 201 series, and I figure that the first tip is one that people (even some fairly well seasoned bloggers) seem to forget relatively easily. When you choose to comment on a site, drop a meaningful comment. This doesn’t mean that it has to be perfect.

Sometimes, you can feel that you can’t really add to the conversation, but you want to still express support or care for the blogger. For example, there are times when I feel overwhelmed and I tweet “I need a hug right about now”. And I get several responses just saying “virtual hug for you“. That alone helps. In the case of a blog post, even if you don’t feel like you can contribute much to the conversation, it doesn’t hurt if you say “not sure what to say, but just want you to know I’m here”.

I, personally, appreciate all the comments. I know that many people read blogs and don’t feel like commenting, but even if you feel that you can’t really give add much on to the conversation, you can still say “I’m here, I’m listening, appreciate what you are writing”.

On being a professional blogger

Raul — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:12:55 +0000

photo credit: hr.icio

In recent months, I’ve been meeting with a number of people who don’t actually know who I am from the get-go. This is actually not surprising, as the interactions have been in person, face-to-face, mostly first-time meetups. These people don’t know the broad range of activities I engage in (from teaching to research to freelance writing to consulting) so they look at me through only one lens.

The question I most often get asked is not whether I make money from blogging (a topic my friend Derek K. Miller wrote about last year) but whether do I do it as a professional activity or whether I am a professional blogger.

I told my friend Lorraine Murphy about being this question a few weeks back, and she asked me point blank – “do you get paid for blogging?” – I answered – “well, only for the freelance writing I do for other websites“. And then she concluded “well, then you ARE a professional blogger“. But the thing is, I don’t get paid to blog on either this (my personal blog) nor on my research blog. Lorraine does consider herself a professional blogger and so she should, as she blogs for a number of sites as well (and does get paid)

I do have friends (like my good friend Arieanna Schweber) who ARE indeed professional bloggers. And as she said in an interview, it IS hard work. The last time I had this question posed to me I thought of a really short answer, but I couldn’t, so I ended up giving the long-winded answer.

If you ask me whether I take blogging seriously and in a professional manner, the answer is – yes, I do. While this is my personal blog and nobody pays me to write here (nor on my research blog), I do treat my blogging as a job and interweave it within my daily time allocation process. If I am running a contest to give away tickets for theatre, films, etc. I contact the sponsor of the tickets, the winner, do the draw, promote the contest. I take time out of my day to write content, not only for myself (whenever I want to write about something) but also when I think of stuff that can be useful to my readers, like my productivity tips, or something cool about Vancouver, or a restaurant review.

I respond to readers’ comments, I talk to people on Twitter, I promote the stuff of my peers online, and I do all of that within my daily time budget. I respond to questions from the community, I connect people over Twitter or through our blogs, I reach out to the community, etc. Of course, I give priority to my client work and I try to balance my freelance writing, as well as my teaching and my research, but broadly speaking, I would say that yes, I treat blogging as one more of my gigs, and I treat it with respect, ethics and with a genuine interest in my audience (my readers). Even attending social media gatherings, events, etc. are part of my daily allocation of work time.

I’ve had a few conversations with my friend Rebecca Bollwitt on this topic as well, and while her and John’s company Sixty4Media primarily builds sites, she does treat her personal blogging with the same degree of professionalism as I do.

I wrote this post mostly to clarify how I think of blogging and to express how seriously I take blogging, even if it continues to be my personal blog. It’s just enjoyable, and I think that work should be enjoyable, so I just take it as part of my job.

Happy birthday @johnbiehler!

Raul — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:07:36 +0000

photo credit: jenniferlstoddart

I first met John Biehler in January of 2008. However, as you know, months in geek time are equivalent to years. I do feel as though I’ve been friends with John for years. He is a very talented photographer, a really solid Apple geek (I know, I’m still a PC-slave) and more than anything, a really good human being. Many a time (and this is an anecdote I tell everyone in the tech community) I have asked John for advice on how my blogging career should develop. From moving to a self-hosted install of WordPress, to issues of anonymity, to issues of ethics, I’ve always believed in John’s ability to provide me with a very smart, analytical viewpoint that would solidify my decisions in regards to the tech world. I still check back from time to time on a comment he posted on an entry of mine of early 2008 where he gave me lots of sage advice.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and look forward to hanging out with you (and Stacie) for many years to come! Enjoy your day, my friend!

Get a new haircut with Toni & Guy by donation to David Suzuki Foundation

Raul — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:12:14 +0000

It is a reality that I need a new haircut. I actually probably also need a new hair style. So, when Ray informed me about Toni & Guy offering their services on Sunday September 27th, on a “Pay What You Can” basis (a model that organic, local Rhizome restaurant popularized with their lentil soup) I couldn’t help but start thinking “um, what should my new hair style look like?

As if it wasn’t good enough with this crazy deal (only valid for in-person bookings at their Vancouver salon, from 11:00am to 5:00pm), all proceeds go to the David Suzuki Foundation (a sustainability-related cause that, as you know, is near and dear to my heart – quite obviously, since I hold a PhD in Environmental Studies). So, I would recommend that you show up early. You might find me standing in line to get an appointment for a new hair style!

GMail is down… again! On the dependency on tech tools

Raul — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:31:10 +0000

I woke up this morning to find that GMail was down. First, let me clarify that I didn’t have any problems accessing my own email, but I couldn’t talk via Google Chat with any of my contacts. Then, I checked on Twitter and noticed that everyone, from Adam Ostrow (Mashable) to my friend Tris Hussey (M2O) was complaining about GMail and reminding themselves of alternative modes of backup.

I have several Hotmail accounts, a Yahoo and a UBC IMAP account that I have never connected to GMail. Why? Precisely because of this. The minute I become 100% dependent on GMail, the minute I won’t be able to do my work. Of course, I know that there are things that I have on my GMail that are client-associated, and that’s a bit scary. Yet, I feel completely confident that if I need to clarify anything, I can just simply send a tweet, or pick up the phone and call.

Sometimes, it helps NOT to be so tech-dependent.

Wakali Wa Downtown CD Release Party (Thurs Sep 24th, 2009)

Raul — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:35:38 +0000

My friends Jay Grandin and Leah Nelson from Giant Ant Media traveled to Dar es Salaam to help a youth group record a hip hop album. The CD release party is on Thursday September 24th, from 6-10pm. It’ll be really hard for me to attend since I’m also going to Timeraiser and to the AmuseConsulting tweetup, but I’ll try to make it. You can even win a free CD if you enter a contest! Details on the party are here.

Building Your Brand with Your Company Blog (liveblog)

Raul — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:38:03 +0000

Jonathon Narvey and I were on a panel along with Yu-Kai Chou on how you can build your brand with your company blog. I had originally assumed that we’d be giving a talk (however short) but I’m quite ok with not offering a formal speech. This was part of the Internet Marketing Mastermind on Thursday September 10th, 2009.

Yu-Kai Chou gave a formal talk with Q&A and then Jonathon and I sat on the panel along with Yu-Kai to speak about our own experiences with corporate blogging and branding.

Building Your Brand with Your Company Blog

(09/10/2009)

7:35	Customers don’t trust everyone on the internet. They want it free, and share. That’s the nature of social media. They’re trusted by the customers.

7:36	Word of “Text” – brand reaches out to “Joe” – shares with 1200 friends on Facebook, 900 followers on Twitter, 500 followers on FriendFeed, 3000 readers on blog, 300 subscribers on YouTube.

7:37	*Keys to Success* MUST engage Have a focus Be interesting Be different, even controversial Be helpful Be personal and authentic

7:37	It doesn’t matter if people follow you and they don’t actually care about what you really do.

7:40	People like people. If you feel like it`s a person behind a company brand, sharing his or her frustration, his or her happiness, it works better.

7:41	Yu-Kai recommends WordPress – lots of plugins that can work with it.

7:42	As a company, incorporate your own blog on your own website (WordPress.org) vs. hosted on WP servers (WordPress.com)

7:43	Advantages of having a blog SEO boost for your site Engages your community Builds trust Establishes thought leadership in your field Becomes a go-to place for your niche Eventually leads to higher sales and lastin brand

7:44	Well, I have been doing this for a couple of months and it`s not working. We aren`t selling anything yet.

7:46

When people actually need your services, or when they have friends who need the services, they`ll do it.

Blogging for your company

Blog about news and info in your industry
Become the go0-to place for related knowledge
DO NOT just talk about your company
Don`t be overly professional. Show personality
Listen to your market by asking questions.

7:47	There are blogs with lots of traffic but no engagement, or blogs with not so much traffic and LOTS of engagement.

7:48

Promote your site

Build relationships with bloggers through comments
Use social media sites like Twitter & Facebook
Use content discover sites like Digg and StumbleUpon
Don’t use SEM (unless for direct sales), use SEO
Put your blog URL in yoru email signature and business card
Interlink between articles and other pages

7:51	Yu-Kai is recommending not using SEM (he says that you’re paying for traffic, buying visitors, buying friends) and you should go with SEO (which is more organic). Unless you have a direct selling method. There’s a conversion rate that is measurable.

7:53	SEO TIPS Identify your keywords Include the right meta-info populate the keywords with H1, H2, H3 or bold Update regularly (ideally twice a week) Use text-friendly URLs Host the blog on the same domain Solicit links from other sites

7:53	[Though I have to say that I thoroughly disagree with soliciting links from other sites - RPV]

7:54	Google Page Rank – build link-backs to your website, etc. Google Rank that are high (5) are relevant.

7:59	Keys to Success Stay consistent on a theme for focus Update regularly Be persistent Keep SEO in mind Write timeless posts Build relationships with other bloggers through Twitter and commenting Respond to every comment

8:00	[Those of you interested in what I wrote as my Top 5 Tips for Blogging for Business, you should read this post of mine] http://hummingbird604.com/2009/07/25/rauls-top-5-tips-for-blogging-for-small-businesses-sponsored-by-small-business-bc/

8:05

Analytics

Every audience is different, optimize for your own
Useful stats: unique visitors, time on site, returning vs new visitors, sources of traffic, popular posts
Don’t be fooled by the sheer numbers
Goal is to increase direct traffic and time on site
See what works and focus on those
Set analytics goals for blog-led leads

8:09	Social media marketing through blogs Locate the influencers in your niche Advertise on their blogs Have them write product reviews Sweet spot – 7,000-50,000 in traffic Find blogs with no other banner competition High ROI if done right

8:11	Media Temple (every advertiser wants to target them)

8:13

7,000 to 5,000 unique views a month [Raul - I had to ask for the actual measure if it was page views or uniques and the range time-wise]

Good company blogs

37 Signals (http://37signals.com/svn)
Wine Library Blog (http://tv.winelibrary.com)
Zappos.com (http://blogs.zappos.com/blogs)
Alice.com (http://company.alice.com)
Viralogy (http://viralogy.com) [uh - self-promoting your own corporate blog, not my style - Yu-Kai did it, I did not! so I'm just copying the actual slide]

8:15	Monetizing your blog Generally need very high amount of traffic a month to earn “sizable” income Affiliate ads Banner ads Consulting Product reviews Sell products (such as eBooks)

8:18

Rally to Protest Arts Funding Cuts in British Columbia (upcoming event)

Raul — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:25:23 +0000

I was raised in a family of artists, scientists, sportspeople and humanitarians. My parents insisted that our lives would NEVER be complete without artistry. We all learned to play piano, and I am a trained dancer and have been a stage actor as well. I’m a very strong supporter of local theatre troupes and frequently promote local shows (and very frequently, I am able to give away free tickets to my readers thanks to the generosity of the theatre companies).

Via my friend Monique Trottier, I found out today that there will be a rally to protest arts fundings cuts in British Columbia tomorrow (Wednesday September 9th, 2009). After some digging and searching I was able to find a Facebook event for the protest. I was able to retrieve some information from a recent interview of Spencer Herbert with The Georgia Straight discussing the provincial government’s cuts to arts groups’ funding, and hat tips to the Straight as it was through their website that I found the URL for the Facebook event.

WHAT: Silent protest against arts’ groups funding cuts
WHERE: The Vancouver Art Gallery
WHEN: 11:30am to 2:00pm (the actual grey circle happens from 12:00 to 12:30pm)
NOTES: People in support should wear grey (a colour to represent what life would be without arts).

If you are interested in showing your support for the cause, this seems like a worthy event.

What True Blood character are you? (quiz)

Raul — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:03:28 +0000

I’m not a True Blood fiend, but I do know a bit about the plot, and hey who isn’t interested in falling in love with a vampire these days? So, from the BlogThings archive, here is a quiz for your Tuesday morning… what character of True Blood are you? Apparently, I am Bill…

You Are Bill

You are a complex and often misunderstood person. You have a bit of a tortured soul.
You are extremely old fashioned, well-mannered, and polite. In many ways, you are a fish out of water.

You have many people in your life pulling you in different directions. You try to do the right thing, no matter what.
You’d like to live a simple, uncomplicated life with the person you love – but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

Who Are You on True Blood?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything