Dirkmonster

Photostream: U2 in Nashville 7.2.2011

Fans attending the U2 concert at Vanderbilt have uploaded illustrious images to Flickr.  Here is a link to the slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com//search/show/?q=u2+nashville&s=rec

My first time to see the band in concert turned out to be more than a show.  It was the most stunning multimedia display I ever experienced.  And the experience was more than a display.  It was intensely spiritual. These boys from Dublin remind me that nothing is more cool than peace, love and one-ness.

Google’s Six-Front War

Google’s Six-Front War

Excellent analysis of the digital battlefield Google is deploying its forces across. I get the feeling we are about to experience an exciting disruption in the web experience we are used to.

Clash of the Social Networking Titans

It's on, folks.

With the announcement today of Google+, the search giant is mounting a full frontal assault on Facebook. Google+ is re-entering the social networking space, but this time it's all-in.

Google's announcement takes a number of shots at Facebook, without ever needing to mention it by name:

Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools.

In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it.

Google's blog post does the best job at describing the Google+ project, which is currently by invitation only.  And I remember that Gmail started that way as well - if "+" works out that well...well...this will be extremely disruptive to the online social networking landscape.  In an early indication that this is real, the web is burning up gurus bragging about their invitation.  How could I have been left out??

I'm watching whether Facebook will immediately react with new features.  And if they react with features that mimic what Google thinks was "broken" with online sharing, that will be significant. Facebook hasn't played defense much in the last 5 years or so.  Facebook has dictated the innovations, not reacted to them.  Facebook may have lost the ability to compete without serious competition.  The resulting disruption will ultimately benefit users of social networking tools.  Of course, Facebook has a several hundred million user headstart on Google and could conceivably make the whole thing irrelevant in short order.  I'm not betting on it though.

Read up on Google+'s "Circles", "Sparks" and "+1" and see if you don't think we are about to see a battle that will be a "Clash of the Social Networking Titans".

What Comes After Facebook (for Brands)

What Comes After Facebook (for Brands)

An excellent post sizing up where we are in the life cycle of Facebook and what implication that has for your business. If you're "late to the game" don't hesitate to jump in with both feet...right now.

Your web site's home page is where?

When it comes to your home page, think outside the box.

You obsess over the design, positioning and content that is presented on your company's home page.  Of course, all the care and strategic thought that goes into it is well worth it.  But does that level of focus go far enough?

In today's socially connected world, a potential customer's first online impression is not likely to be that home page.  It is almost assured to be your presence on Google, and increasingly, Facebook that introduces new and returning visitors to what you have to offer.  That's because the vast majority of the eyeballs fixed to browsers start with Google, or camp out on Facebook.  Unless you have generated enough affinity to be a bookmark (congratulations!), I am not likely to key your domain straight into the address bar.  Direct traffic can come from your email marketing or display advertising, but take a peek at your web analytics and see who your top "referrers" are.

So I recommend that my clients invest in their presence on Google and Facebook and not as an afterthought.  Google, of course, gets attention through SEO and Paid Search.  Everyone gets the need for SEO even if the implementation is a mystery.  You simply can't afford to have your organic listing #fail.  Paid Search is targeted rocket fuel for SEO and not enough small to mid-sized businesses are willing to spend money that could very well return a profit margin.  And with Paid Search, the results are more quantifiable.

Facebook pages for businesses are also a widely known and accepted tool.  But it's still wild out there in terms of best practices.  Do you just syndicate your web site content on your page?  Or are you offering something extra for those who "like" your page?  That may be a contest, an app or even exclusive images.  It just may be that you can do almost everything you need to do on Facebook that you do on your web site.  And the results I see strongly suggest it is easier and cheaper to use Facebook Ads to drive traffic to your Facebook Page.  I think that's because all those Facebook-ers are in their Facebook world and they don't want to leave.  They are addicted to the look and feel.  They don't have to work hard to understand the page.  The threshold to getting a "Like" is much lower than getting some personal information on your site.  And you still have a way to reach them, build a relationship and hopefully ride a viral wave to millions of others.  All that happens on Facebook because that's where the eyeballs on the browsers are.

There are excellent resources and social media experts out there that can guide you if you're not sure what to do next.  Your next move may well be to give your presence on Google and Facebook some love and attention. 

 

Facebook gives Ad Manager Facelift

Log in to your Facebook Ad Manager and you'll see a facelift that adds new metrics, graphs and features.

Facebook offers a comprehensive guide to the changes here.

Interestingly, the top level Campaigns & Ads page remains the same.  Click through to study one of your campaigns and you'll immediately see the difference.

While the new metrics, such as Social Reach and Connections are interesting, Facebook finally made segmenting performace by common date ranges easier.  I can now take a look at performace from the last 28 days easily through a drop-down menu on a specific campaign page.

I cannot understand why the Campaigns & Ads page does not offer the same date ranges.  It still defaults to "Lifetime" stats, a metric that is virtually meaningless when I am managing current performance.  I would also love to see "Last Month" and "This Month" options.

Facebook's Ad Manager is not a elegant tool.  It will get better as Facebook's advertising offering matures.  Even without a powerful tool to manage campaigns, Facebook Ads now rival AdWords in reach and click volume.   I recommend Facebook Ads as part of the mix to almost all my clients today.

Hope or Futility?

It is tough for me to admit that at one time I thought life was basically a futile pursuit and God was unable to help someone like me.  I had very little hope.  I am grateful that I don't feel that way most of the time, although I still have my moments.

The little strip of paper I picked up as I left the YMCA this morning had this verse:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The first part of that verse caught my eye; "the God of hope".  When I looked at life through glasses which made everything look futile and dreadful, I was not open to "the God of hope".  I was dealing with a "god of futility and dread".

But I desparately needed to try and lose those eye glasses.  I needed to open up my eyes and heart to the possibility that maybe I had more to learn about who God was, and back that up with action in community with others with similar struggles.

In time, I began to discover "the God of hope" that verse talks about.  And that gives me a different perspective on life.

And maybe, just maybe, I still don't fully understand God.  Who does?  I have to continually challenge beliefs about God's direction for my life that don't appear to be consistent with being "filled with all joy and peace..."  For example, I admit that it seems impossible, certainly unlikely, that I could be filled with "all joy and peace".  That I could "overflow with hope".  So I have to ask myself, what does that say about the god I am relying on?

So for me it is a process that simply involves being open and willing to develop spiritually.  How cool would it be to tap into the power of a Holy Spirit that I fills me with "all joy and peace"?  I want to be open to a path that leads me closer and closer to something like that. 

 

Roughing it (not) at the Gracepointe camp-out

It's been 10 years since I last slept in a tent.  I remember why I wasn't in a rush to go campaign again.  Pre-kids, Lyn and I went camping in the middle of the summer and spent the night sweating and as the main course for every kind of bug in the woods.

But that was just a tactical error because there really is something spiritual about a campfire, hot dogs, smores, a tent, sleeping bags and an 8 year old son.  That's why, I imagine, the leaders of the men's ministry at Gracepointe Church in Franklin, TN held a father-son camp-out Friday night.  And this was the best way to get back into it, because this was anything but roughing it.  We were on the church property along side a creek and big firepit.  The indoor bathrooms were open.  The air is still cool at night.

This one night suburban adventure compelled me to acquire some gear.  A new tent, sleeping bag for Ross, air mattresses with battery powered pump for inflation and deflation and, of course, tiki torches with fuel that burns in different colors.  Add to that my standard tailgate set-up and we were better off than in a Super 8 Motel.

My friends Joel and his son Jacob plus Devin and his son Campbell joined us.  About 50 other fathers and sons pitched tents scattered around the field with the large fire pit at the center.  Before igniting the bonfire, our fearless leader Steven set up smaller piles of charcoal around the edge of the pit to roast hot dogs and marshmellows.  After dinner, the fire was lit and the kids broke out a couple cases of glow sticks. 

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CAMP-OUT PHOTO ALBUM

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Ross and a lot of the other boys ran and played hard until after 11pm.  The guys had a lot of laughs and tried not to be too concerned about the Lord of the Flies dynamic that was taking shape amongst the boys.  Finally we crashed in the tent.  Once we fell asleep, it was very very peaceful.

Roosters at a neighboring farm started making noise about 4.  It got light outside a couple hours later.  We got up, made coffee, fried up some bacon and broke down the tent.  Ross and I were back home before 9am.

The experience has me surfing State Parks web sites this morning looking for another opportunity to camp.  As summer approaches, this time around I am looking for camp sites at a higher elevation.

Good, good times.

Acceptance is the key to playoff hockey

I only think I know what I need.  I need to lose weight.  I need a new car.  And, I really really need the Predators to win their playoff hockey game tonight.

But my spiritual side gently reminds me what I really need is acceptance.  Acceptance of the way things are, given the fact I don't control people, places or things.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..."

When I accept the way things are, I am at peace.  I trust God has things well in hand.  I know there's a redemptive plan. When I don't accept the way things are, what I'm really saying is that my way is the only way.  I am leaning on my own understanding.  I tend to get angry, say things I regret and hold grudges.

When I'm on my game, another "a" word follows acceptance.  That's action.  I accept the way things are and realize the only thing I control is my active response.  I cannot change the situation that is at hand.  The only thing I can change is me through action.  

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can..."  

What is the best active response to the situation that backs up my trust that God has things well in hand?

Of course, I have a short memory about where lack of acceptance leads me.  Often I find myself in fear of my problems, my obligations and other people. That's where maintaining my spiritual condition allows me to stop, take a breath and lean not on my own understanding.  

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Tonight's playoff hockey game will test how well I have maintained my spiritual condition.  I "need" my team to win so bad, that I am challenged to accept any other outcome.  The only thing I will control is my response to the outcome, win or lose.  

That being said, "Go Predators"!

 

OBL photo release options

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama has decided not to release a photo of Osama bin Laden's body as evidence of his death, the White House said Wednesday.

via www.cnn.com

I respect the President's decision not to release the photo of Osama bin Laden's dead body to the public.

However, I am wondering whether there is a middle ground which brings non-governmental verification into play. Why not assemble a limited pool of international media, bring them in, and allow them to view (not record) the photographs? Then independent sources could tell the story.

We never see what happens in a Federal courtroom, but members of the media (and the public) are allowed in and can verify what took place.

As the President pointed out, conspiracy nuts would not be silenced even if the photo were released. However, an independent viewing would be better than none at all.

In time, maybe decades, the evidence will be released widely. Less than a week after may not be the right timing.