Entries Tagged 'Tips' ↓

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

Douglas Adams, 1952-2001

Do you love deadlines? I bet you don’t. In fact, I can’t name anyone who loves them… Except it is in the witty sense that Mr. Adams puts into them. In fact, I hate the sound of them whooshing as they pass, luckily I’ve learnt how to live with them, and you can too.

Dealing with deadlines

Visualise them: This should be a no-brainer, but you’d be amazed at how many people fall in this trap. You need some calendaring system to track your deadlines. It does not matter if it is a fancy iPad application that syncs through Dropbox with your office server or a sheet attached with duct tape to your front door. Anything will work as long as you are consistent and use it.

The best tool should have at least a monthly view, to have a clear map of what waits to be done in the next 30 days. It should also be effortless to add a new task or check what is left to do: if it requires even a little of your energy or time, you’ll end up not doing and the dreared whoosh will come again.

Don’t fret out as they approach: The worse thing you can do when deadlines are looming is enter panic mode. If you think you can make it to the deadline there is no reason to get nervous… And if you don’t think you can make it, try anyway. A missed deadline is not the end of the world, but your boss/client will be happier if he knows you’ve given it everything you got.

Plan ahead of time: Another no-brainer that people tend to miss. As soon as you have a deadline for a project, start planning how you will solve it within this deadline. This can be working every day non-stop for 8 hours (a sign that this deadline was a too harsh) or doing X before Y.

If you don’t have a plan you’ll end up working twice as much as you would with a plan. And probably will add a few sleepless nights due to the anxiety of not knowing exactly what is left. More about this in the next tip.

Break the big into the simple: When you have long-winded deadlines (anything bigger than two weeks should go in this category), you should split the project into smaller sub-projects, and assign each of them their own mini-deadline. This goes together with planning: you turn a big and hairy project into a set of small furry balls you can always keep under control.

Don’t overdo this: there is no point in having a deadline each day for a certain project, but it will help having at least something to finish every 3 or 4 days.

Be flexible: Before agreeing to a deadline, estimate how much time this project will eat… And add half that to the result. In other words, if you think a project will only need one week, try to get a 10 day deadline. This is not to help your slacking, mind you. This is to allow for unplanned emergencies. Everybody has a tendency to underestimate a task’s difficulty, and even if you are just lucky and the deadline is very sharp, life can always get in the way. Very tight deadlines can be broken just by waking up to a strong migraine.

If you always add a small security gap to your deadlines, most of your projects will be delivered before the agreed deadline. This will put you ahead of the competition, nobody ever delivers before a deadline!

Do you know how to deal with your deadlines? Or are you just hanging from them?

So you've set up your small business's Facebook Page. You've even optimized it for search engines. The "likes" are just pouring in. What's next?

If you haven't already, you might try taking Facebook's social advertising offerings for a spin. The ability to target ads to people based on very specific criteria and cap your ad spend at a daily amount of your choosing makes for a very cost-effective way to reach consumers, especially for smaller operations.

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Facebook is poised to become the leader in online display ad sales this year, according to a recent post on All Facebook. Digital marketing consultancy eMarketer recently released data showing that Facebook has surpassed Yahoo in display advertising and is expected to have a 17.7% share of the market this year. That number is expected to rise to 19.4% in 2012.

Facebook's growth in display advertising marketing share comes as the social behemoth approaches 700 million users, a milestone it's expected to reach this summer. Each of these people represents a potential new fan or consumer for any given business on Facebook, assuming ad campaigns are set up effectively.

The power of Facebook ads is not just in their potential reach, but also in the highly granular targeting that's possible. Ads can be scheduled so that they are only shown to Facebook users who meet certain criteria, be it demographics, education level, location or interests.

For example, the owner of a wedding photography business might purchase an ad targeting recently engaged women over 24 years old who live within a certain radius of a given city and who have graduated from college (which may or may not indicate something about their likely income level).

The owner of a uniquely-themed cafe or restaurant in a major city might target ads to users based on their age, education and interests, as expressed by "likes" on Facebook. Of course, the ideal targeting will vary depending on the business, industry and marketing and to some extent, there is always an element of trial and error inherent in the process.

This targeting capability is a big part of what makes Facebook ads a cost-effective option for small businesses. In addition, companies can limit their ad spend according to their budgets, capping campaigns at a certain number of clicks per day.

Have you tried Facebook ads for your small business? Let us about your experience in the comments.

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You would say that after more than 500 articles it’s highly unlikely to hit the writer’s block. Well, think again. Yes, I’ve written more than 500 articles so far in my career, but still, there are times when that white, empty computer screen makes me wanna scream. When all the happy and green pastures where my ideas used to fly from tree to tree, light and playful, are nothing but an empty desert. When words are turning their back on me, leaving behind a dumb smile and foggy eyes. Yes, even after 500 articles, this ugly beast can still makes you shiver.

If you’re not paying close attention to it, that is. Because, and that’s the good news, you can (and you should) fight it with very good chances to win, each and every time you see those empty spaces around you. You cannot make it disappear, it will still be there, but, if you’re carefully planning your moves, if you do a little bit of trickery, mixed with some mild discipline, all combined into just 5 simple principles, well, you can say an honest and vigorous “bye-bye” to the most hated enemy of the professional blogger (or writer, let’s not start a debate here, ok?).

1. Don’t Let It Happen

They say is far more easily to prevent an illness than to cure it. And they say that for a good reason. Don’t let your ideas well go dry. Keep close some capturing device and, each and every time you see an idea (I don’t think we’re having ideas, we’re more like seeing them) stop whatever you’re doing and write that thing down. Use a notebook, a notepad on your smartphone, an audio recorder, or whatever works for you.

There aren’t really any rules for this capturing device, as long as you’re going to actually use what you’re writing down. I’m kinda of techie guy so I use my own iPhone app (iAdd) for this, but you can use whatever you like. Pen and paper is great. Sending yourself emails with your Blackberry is also good. Whatever works for you.

I have an incredible feeling of relief every time when, some solitary morning, almost sensing the writer’s block jumping at me, immobilizing my hands on the keyboard with a short and unbeatable: “there’s nothing more to write about, Dragos!”, I just fire up my app and randomly pick one idea out of the dozens already saved there.

2. Write For Somebody Else

Believe it or not, we’re wired to act and perform in a group. We’re social animals, hence, our constant need for support and encouragement. If you keep writing only for your own projects (being it blogs, or books or columns), at some point, something will stop inside. You’re gonna run out of power.

This “stop” may come in the form of a writer’s block. Sometimes it may come in the form of a depression, but we’re not going there now. If it’s about a writer’s block, though, try to do this: write for somebody else. If you’re a journalist, do a favor to a colleague. If you’re a blogger, do a guest post. A genuine guest post, like giving the best of you for somebody else.

Magically, the words will start flowing. The inspiration will hit you like a Newtonian apple and fantabulous images and ideas will literally explode from your brain. Deep down, you’re seeking a form of validation. Sometimes, all you have to do in order to unblock your path is to first unblock somebody else path.

3. Free Form Writing

A very common source of writer’s block is the constant need of a “meaning”, or a “form”, or some sort of constraint, like the size (1000 words by noon, ok?). This can be really pressuring. My articles are usually between 1000  and 1200 words. But sometimes I can express everything I need to in just 30 words.

When I hit this wall, I usually put that specific project aside and start doing what I call free form writing. No constraints. No limits. Just writing whatever comes into my mind. I never keep those free form writing sessions. Because, of course, everything is so dull, or boring or ridiculous, that I just couldn’t stand reading it.

But the effect of this short exercise is amazing. After all the small pieces of garbage from all the corners of my conscious mind have been dumped into a disposable recipient, something that I know I will throw away immediately after, my normal, organized mind takes the lead. Paragraphs are forming naturally, structure is created on the fly and my project is finished in minutes.

4. From A To B In 5 Semantic Fractures

That’s a serious one. Although I used to play this game when I was a child, I only use it now when none of the above can be applied (namely, when I have nothing jotted down in my app, when I can’t write for somebody else or when no free form writing will produce the expected results).

I pick a random word (usually by opening a book at a random page), write it down, then pick another one using the same technique. Then I try to create 5 semantic structures (or fractures) from the word A to the word B. Going from “skyscraper” to “cabbage” may look like this: skyscraper – sky – birds – planes – wings – leaves – cabbage.

You can do this even when you’re not having the writer’s block. It will work like a sort of “brain muscle fitness”, forcing you to make unexpected connections. And unexpected connections will always lead to unexpected ideas, strategies or approaches. Unexpected is good. Go for it.

5. Silence Your Mind

If you could turn your mind into some kind of a radio, I’m sure you’d be completely blown away by the number of stations you’re listening simultaneously. Even if you “think” you’re not thinking at anything, you’re in fact thinking at something. Yup, you guessed it, this last tip is in fact just a form of meditation. I call it “silence your mind” because it makes me look smart, but in fact, is just a form of meditation.

Sometimes, our focus is hijacked by all these thousands of thoughts we’re continuously fostering, modifying, adjusting and we simply don’t have any focus left to finish that bloody page. The only solution here is to silence your mind. But don’t do it with violence, it will only make the noise higher.

Gently follow each and every thought until it’s no longer there, witness your visions and memories, look at the show put up on your brain scene by somebody you think it was you. If you do this long enough, if you resist the temptation to unfold all those stubs into independent scenes, the characters will eventually turn to you with obedience. You will be able to commend them. And only then you will be able to make them stop that gibberish you thought it’s yourself.

***

Writer’s block is more often than not just another form of life imbalance. Those tips here are not really just for writers. Or, if you really understand that we’re really the authors of our own lives, then, yes, we’re all writers of some sort.

So, plan carefully, don’t be selfish, empty your mind from time to time, play with your words and don’t take yourself too seriously.

You’ll be amazed how many people will start to enjoy your book of life.

 

Our society puts a lot of emphasis on the college degree as a key step towards job readiness. In doing so, we tend to overlook the other ways in which knowledge and expertise can be shared. These can include internships and mentorships, both of which place student-learners in situations where they can hands-on experience and advice from actual practitioners in their field. And these may be particularly important for those wanting to become tech entrepreneurs as, arguably, a college degree might not be the best preparation.

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Internships, Mentorships, and Tech Startups

We've written here before about the importance of making sure that internships place college students with startups. As Andrew Maguire, co-founder of InternMatch, once told me, "The college recruiting experience is broken," and many internship programs are dominated by large corporations. That makes it difficult for startups to recruit interns and making it difficult too for students who might be interested in the startup world to find companies with which to work.

InternMatch helps tackle that problem by - as the name suggests - helping to match students with internships at startups, non-profits and small businesses. But the company is launching a contest now that highlights that other important element of career prep: mentorship.

InternMatch is giving you the opportunity to win a mentorship lunch with Robert Scoble." The contest is open to anyone (you needn't be a college intern to apply).

The winner will get the opportunity to turn the tables on the influential video blogger and tech evangelist and interview him - with a video camera, of course - about how he got his start in the tech world.

Most notably, says Scoble, that start was actually in part due to a college internship, something that he describes as "the most important thing I did in college." As a journalism student, Scoble took an internship with Fawcette Technical Publications, which was itself a startup at the time. "If it wasn't for the internship, I would have never imagined working at a startup," says Scoble.

How to Enter

In addition to Scoble's work as a videographer, he's known as a prolific user of both Twitter and Quora. So the folks at InternMatch are asking you to engage with some of the questions that Scoble has posted on Quora. The finalists will be chosen from those with the most upvotes as well as those selected with the best overall responses:

1. What interview question are you most excited to ask Robert and why?
2. What technology company do you think will spur the biggest innovation in 2012?
3. What technology trends do you think will most dramatically change the world by 2015?

In order to show that you're entering the contest (and not just asking questions on Quora to share your insights), you'll need to tweet your answer: "Check out my answer on why I want to interview Robert Scoble [link to answer] @scobleizer @internmatch #killthecoverletter"

The competition will run through July 15th.

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Real-time analytics company Mixpanel is rolling out a new feature today to give Web administrators a better sense of what's happening on their sites.

Like many analytics companies, such as Chartbeat, Mixpanel offers analytics that give people a macro view of what's happening on websites. But the new feature, launching today, gives insight at a micro-scale.

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The feature, called Streams, lets Web administrators see how individual people interact with a website. Streams tracks real-time events and actions on pages - what people click - but does so at an individual level. To install, it's simply a line of JavaScript.

The new feature auto-generates names for each visitor, making it easier to then track that person's actions. There are also a number of filters that you can toggle, so that you can view individuals as they interact with a particular link or button.

According to Mixpanel co-founder Suhail Doshi, this new feature is something that the startup's customers have frequently requested. Even better, Streams is free.

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The cost of converting people to sign-up for events, purchase products and register for services decreases considerably when businesses run Facebook advertisements that target existing fans, as opposed to non-fans. Registration acquisition costs can be 44% cheaper, while event sign-ups cost 33% less and purchases are 15% cheaper to achieve.

This is according to a recent blog post on Inside Facebook, who was privvy to data from the social advertising agency TBG showing these results. Over the course of a thirteen-client, 4.1 billion ad impression study, TBG found that targeting Facebook fans was more effective than targeting non-fans when it comes to these specific types of conversions.

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It makes sense that consumers who have already declared their appreciation for a brand are more likely to purchase their products or sign up with that company. If I'm not yet acquainted with a given brand, I'm probably going to be far less inclined to spend my time or money with them.

To get consumers to that point, these data suggest, businesses would be wise to invest more effort in acquiring Facebook Fans, since these people appear to be so much more inclined to act.

Thanks to studies like this, we can begin to see the answer to that ever-elusive question: Does all this social media stuff actually offer any ROI to businesses?

Explains Josh Constine on Inside Facebook:

For instance, if a health care company planned on acquiring 1 million registrations over a year via Facebook ads at $10 per registration, it could save $4.4 million by advertising to its Facebook fans instead of the general Facebook population. This means if the cost of attaining enough fans from which to secure 1 million health care registrations is less than $4.4 million, the company has produced a direct return on investment on its Facebook fan acquisition strategy without even counting the value of being able to communicate directly with the fans through Page updates.

Results may of course vary depending on industry, market and the nature of the ad campaign. But by analyzing billions of ad impressions TBG is able to provide a pretty solid and reliable sample size.

What have you been seeing with your Facebook ad campaigns? Do fans or non-fans seem to offer greater value? Any other take-aways?

Discuss