the webthinking blog

This year I have the privilege of being one of the PodCamp Toronto 2010 co-organizers. Being a PodCamp junkie since 2007 I was more than happy to help! My role as a member of the web team? Making sure we have a brand new, shiny web site under the new domain name – podcamptoronto.com, that is.

Let me tell ya – working together with talented folks like Daniele Rossi, John Leschinski and Tommy Vallier has been an exciting, “open-source” experience!

Go check out the PodCamp Toronto 2010 site! Subscribe to our feed or grab the podcast.

I am looking forward to seeing you there on February 20 and 21. It will be fun! If you are new to PodCamp Toronto, here is the elevator pitch:

PodCamp Toronto 2010 is a FREE “unconference” bringing together professionals and hobbyists from Toronto and the surrounding area to explore the cutting edge of new and social media. If you are an online content creator – hobbist and professionals – who are building communities online in a variety of ways, then PodCamp Toronto 2010 is for you. Share ideas, discuss theories and learn lessons from an audience of experts. Network, network, network. All are welcome. Join us!

The official hash tag is #pcto2010

I have almost finished reading Ahead Of The Curve by Philip Broughton. Since “change” was an important buzzword in 2008, I want to capture an interesting definition mentioned in Broughton’s book:
Change = function (Dissatisfaction * New Model * Implementation Process) + Error

I have pulled out some interesting usage charts of the two main social networking tools – LinkedIn and Facebook.

Turns out most active day of the week among my LinkedIn connections is Monday. Makes sense for a business tool.

Everyone needs some fun and relaxation by Wednesday, which seems to be the most active day on Facebook.

Good. Folks, just don’t let Facebook take over your week-end. Or entire week. Please :)

I’m not a big fan of widgets, but I’ll take the compliment: Chris Brogan says I’m a Rockstar!

Chris, you are the star – some of us are just rocking along. I know, I owe you big. Thank you again!

I have spent a great deal of time over the past week scouting for prospects on LinkedIn, to backfill a newly created position on my team, at work. I need someone really good, with a large set of skills, a “hybrid” if you will.

What really struck me was more than a dozen of good profiles with absolutely no contact information: no email, no website, no portfolio, nothing. I was looking for a web savvy person, not a doctor.

How can that be? Why bother creating a detailed online resume if you provide no means of contact what so ever?

If you have created your profile just because you have received ten invites from your colleagues and people you know or if you are just trying to “score” connections, set some time aside and update your profile. Be real and transparent, you have nothing to hide or to loose.

As a side note, other questions came to mind: how can you improve your keyword search results, so that your personal profile shows up on top of the list? What does “keyword relevance” actually mean for LinkedIn?

So I walk into Indigo the other day, looking to buy Godin’s Tribes. I look it up on the computer to find its locations in the store: 20 items in “Business General” and I find the proper shelf, but guess what? No “Tribes” there. Well, the computer said there are still 20 items available. I go ask for help – the fella was pretty quick – ah, they are still in the back, we just got them today. Bingo, I was happy and lucky, I still had a chance to walk out the store with my own copy. $22 later, I was part of the “tribe”.

Later that day, I find out the “book” is available over in iTunes, as an audio book. Narrated by Seth Godin himself. For less than $1. Genius! And a Kindle version is in the works with Amazon, too.

So, I paid $23 for the book – paper and audio. Now I want to consume it as soon as possible. Where do I start?

The little one was napping in the his stroller for about an hour now, in the park, while I found myself noting my head several times *listening* to Godin reading the book for me!

I got home and could not wait to pick up the “book” and continue “reading” it, starting directly on page 52.

Knowing my limited time, I hope to be able to finish reading or listening to it over the next couple of days. I can do that while I’m driving or sitting on the train.

Seth, thanks for making me feel part of your “tribe”, I consider myself being lucky. On the same note, I have met *in person* at least three of the sneezers (have you read Purple Cow?) that got their picture printed on the back cover. After all, I have learned about this amazing book through a podcast I’m subscribed to. That’s another “tribe”.

55 minutes on new means of expression. Enjoy!

Michael Dell: Today there are about 1bn people attached to the Internet. Everyday, about 500,000 new ones come on the Internet for the very first time in their lives. So that means, the Internet population in 3-4 years is roughly gonna double. About 85% of the growth comes from emerging countries.