2013 Race Calendar
These are events that I’ve committed to for the 2013 calendar year. I’ll likely add some more events, such as 5Ks and half-marathons, but these are the events I’m focused on. My ‘A’ race this year is definitely the Vineman in July, but I plan to put in a strong showing for the Austin half-ironman. Last year I finished the Austin HIM in 5:45, I’d like to be under 5 hours this year. Photo taken at the 2012 Austin Half Ironman April 2013 PlayTri King Tut Sprint – April 14,...
read moreTop 10 Twitter 101 tips & tricks
Recently I’ve had quite a few friends ask me how to get started on Twitter. Below is a list of basic Twitter tips and tricks that I use: 1. Build an audience: Follow People It’s not fun talking to yourself … the good news is that building an audience on Twitter is pretty straight-forward: be relevant, focus on specific topics, but most importantly follow other people. Typically, if you follow someone on Twitter, they will follow you back. Not always, but typically. This is a quick way to build an audience and Twitter...
read moreKindle Fire … not for me
I’ve carried both an iPad (1st generation) and an Amazon Kindle (3rd generation). I really like both. The iPad was like a mini-laptop and the Kindle was great to travel with, especially with its amazing battery life. About 6 months ago my first generation iPad was stolen. The plan was to wait for the iPad 3, but along comes the Amazon Kindle Fire in September at a paltry $200. I couldn’t wait, the Fire looked like it would be the perfect replacement for the iPad: smaller, many of the same apps, integrated with my Amazon...
read moreIt’s on the Internet, so it must be true
A bit tongue-in-cheek, but here is a recent statistic I saw quoted on Twitter: “90% of txts are open w/in 14 seconds of receipt.” I’m always looking for great new statistics to quote, but I also always research them — if they are not linked to research — to figure out where the statistic originated. I started with the above quote in Google. Not much came back so I refined the search to “90% of texts are opened.” This uncovered: “90% of texts are opened within 3 minutes...
read moreTop 10 best travel tools
A quick list of some of my favorite travel tools (not in any particular order). 1.Seatguru If you travel frequently Seatguru will help you find the best seat on the flight. I use this all the time to figure out which seat has power so I can run my laptop on those long international flights. 2. Room77.com Kind of like Seatguru.com but for hotel rooms. I don’t use this as frequently because generally I don’t care about the view, but if I’m staying more than a few nights… 3. Hipmunk.com Trying to get from point A to...
read moreWorld Class Communities
The past few months I’ve spent a lot of my time working on our research for what it takes to build a world class community. This morning I posted an article about setting a clear business objective. Below I’ve included a few links and images to material we’ve created — and this is just the start! The first is a white paper, World Class Communities: The Characteristics of Community Excellence white paper, an on-demand webinar, and a series of blog posts detailing the findings of our research. We’ve also created...
read moreDo you magnify efficiency?
When you think about designing [something] using technology, do you magnify the efficiency or the inefficiency? I came across this quote from Bill Gates in The 4-Hour Workweek: “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applies to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” — Bill...
read morePick one
Recently I’ve been thinking more about simplicity in software: how limited choices create better results. Photography is quickly becoming one of my passions and I have a healthy collection of digital picture frames. Before digital frames I was be forced choose one great photo to put into a frame, but now, since the digital frame can carousel 50+ photos, I load the maximum into it. Sure I could pick just one, but I don’t. Instead I rotate through a collection at random. This is marketed as a benefit, but is it really a...
read moreTelligent customer Dell receives award
I added some more details here on the Telligent blog, but it’s really exciting to see the continued recognition of Dell in the market for all the great work they have done. Dell received an Altimeter Open Leadership award for Dell: A Company Built on Direct and Open Communications. Here is what Altimeter had to say “Dell has been an active participant in social media but what continues to impress us is that they are committed to continually pushing the boundaries of social business by pushing engagement into all areas of ...
read moreSecrets to building sustainable online communities
This past week I gave a talk on building sustainable online communities. You can access the presentation on slideshare and register on telligent.com to view the full webinar.
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