This morning was an eye-opener for me. For the first time I really stuck it to my boss publicly without losing my job.

After attending the AppNation Conference this week, former editor-in-chief at CNET and my current boss at NetShelter Patrick Houston, made the statement that“everything is an app” and that all publishers are software developers.

Clearly he’s dead wrong. And today, in blog battle format, I responded on Netshelter’s company site. It was liberating.

This exercise was refreshing –not just because I’m the clear victor — but because there’s a chance here for me to contribute as an individual rather than as a cog in a machine. Everybody talks about company-wide engagement, employee influence and enacting open leadership, but how many executives are comfortable with getting publicly bested for the transparency and exposure of the company?

Embracing the Truth: Good and Bad

We can talk about all the warm and squishy things social media and blogs can do for us, but when Pat decides to let me taunt him in my own voice, or guys like Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh leave the employee Twitter page up after laying off 8% of his staff –that is open leadership.

Decent leaders aren’t threatened by an employee’s version of the truth. They let them express themselves and look for ways to improve an organization from all levels of the organization.

The best thing about social media is that it cuts through hierarchy and gives everyone from the wage slave to the CEO a chance to creatively decompress. Embracing open discussion, extracting lessons, and finding recommendations create a healthy culture — one where I’m not scouring Linkedin or job boards.

My recommendation to Pat: Keep doing what you’re doing.
His probable recommendation to me: Good job kiddo, but try not to be so smug.

——————————-

Dana Oshiro is the Senior Media Analyst and Publishing Strategist for NetShelter Technology Media – a company that works with more than 180+ mobile, IT and consumer electronics publishers including VentureBeat, IntoMobile and MacRumors. She is also a contributor to ReadWriteWeb’s Startup Channel and she updates her personal blog Villagers With Pitchforks regularly. You can reach her by pinging @suzyperplexus or emailing her at dana@netshelter.net.

Related Articles:

• How to Get Published on a Premium Tech Blog (blogworld.com)

On October 14th, 2010, the worlds largest new media event will take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nv., BlogWorldExpo.

The event will be joined by thousands of bloggers, podcasters, social media pro’s, internet and tv personalities, and more!

And because we like sharing, Bubblicious would like to offer our readers a special 20% discount off of registration by using the code BUBVIP. The code is good for any pass to the BlogWorld and New Media Expo. Published discount pricing ends September 15th at midnight, but don’t stress! This code applies to the pricing all the way up until the event. So register now! By going here for your conference pass and discount prices.

Discount Hotel accomodations are already filling up quickly. So make sure to share this link to the Official Hotels of the event to get your discounted pricing.

Make sure to check out BlogWorldExpo’s Official Blog for the latest announcements!

Source

The blog is now an old entity in the new Internet, the one that is forever evolving and moving forward at breakneck speed. We’re about to see the launch of Wolfram Alpha, the search engine that promises to search the Internet with a brain and offer results that are useful at first glance, unlike the huge lists we have to trawl through to find a semblance of what we’re looking for in the first place. But there’s a reason why the humble blog is still relevant in any setting, be it the present or the future, and that’s because it exists solely for the reader.

A blog is an outpouring of ideas and information that exists to satisfy two needs – the need to express in a blog writer, and the need for information and recreation in a reader. There are various reasons why people read blogs – some of them may search for one blog in particular because they know the author, others may stumble upon one in a random search operation and subscribe to its RSS feed after finding it to their liking, and yet others may be looking for certain information which they find to be factually correct and aesthetically presented in a particular blog. But there are probably just a handful of reasons for people to dislike blogs and shun them – because they are not interesting and because they have been written badly.

While it’s hard to make yourself interesting to a virtually unknown reader or capture the attention of all the people who stop by your blog, you can do something to improve the quality of the content on your blog. Good writing is important to draw repeat visitors because:

- People prefer information that is presented clearly and concisely.

- They are turned off by explicit grammatical and semantic mistakes.

- The quality of the content you provide is diluted if the language you use is not up to scratch.

- Spelling and grammatical mistakes can have disastrous consequences if they are misunderstood.

- If you fill your page with keywords just so you gain a higher ranking on Google and its ilk,
you’re not going to have any repeat visitors.

- Your content must be what the reader is looking for (according to their searches) or they’re likely to feel cheated.

- Your content must be easy to browse through and read at a glance.

If your blog is not doing as well as you expect it to, perhaps it’s time to go back and check the basics. Rather than spend time on the fancy accessories like page design and font selection, rather than obsess over the ads you want to place on your page, it’s best to conduct an analysis of your writing and try to inject the qualities that it lacks. Because, when it boils down to it, a blog is just the power of the written word.

This post was contributed by Kimberly Peterson, who writes about the health care administration. She welcomes your feedback at KimPeterson2006 at gmail.com

words and pictures by Brian Solis

SXSW Interactive is powered by the one thing that binds us together, you.  It is a congregation of wisdom, artistry, and poetry and it is the foundation for why we each make this annual migration to Austin, Texas.

This year we lined up something special for SXSW and you helped it reach epic status. The TechSet Blogger Lounge sponsored by Windows Mobile was the hub for collaboration, networking, and celebration each and everyday during the conference.

The agenda was rich with activities, entertainment, tweetups, and resources, but you made it unforgettable, fun, and also productive.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Miiko Mentz and Alexandra Mokh

Chris Heuer, Jen Myronuk, Stephanie Agresta

Sean McCullough, CEO and Founder of Ping.fm

Kristen Nicole and…

Tara Hunt

Loic Le Meur

Stephanie Agresta

Adam Jackson

Paige Craige

@gapingvoid’s Blue Monster on Windows Mobile

Paul Chaney

Chris Brogan and Corvida

Louis Gray

Ben Metcalfe throwing up the Hashtag sign

Scott Brave, CTO of Baynote

Wesley Faulkner of AMD

Loren Feldman

Meghan Asha

Peter Kim and Jeremiah Owyang

Ilana Arazie

Shannon Paul

Guy Kawasaki

David Karp of Tumblr

Lee Odden

Tony Hsieh of Zappos

Kevin Marks

Sarah Austin

Ziv Gillat of Eye-Fi

Zach Luye and Shira Lazar

Shira Lazar and Julia Allison

Andrew Baron of RocketBoom

Sanford Barr

Laura Fitton @pistachio wins the LOLCat

Sylvie Barak throws up the Hashtag sign

Ben Huh and Brian Solis

Krista Neher

Kurt Daradics

Sarah Townsend @theoneinpink

Paula Nelson performs

Paula Nelson

Jeffrey Kalmikoff of Threadless

Your hosts, TechSet + Microsoft Windows Mobile

Please read:

The Human Network: The Social Economy is Influenced by How We Communicate Online & Offline (My philosophical analysis of what makes SXSW so special)

Which parties did you hit or miss?

Check em off at Diddit: SXSW Interactive Festival 2009 Party List

Pictures:

SXSW – The Calm Before the Storm

SXSW Day One

TechSet + Windows Mobile Rat Pack 2.0 Party

SXSW Day Two

Diggnation Party at Stubbs

We Flashmob the Driskill

AllHat @Allens Boots

Brian Solis Book Signing @SXSW

Are PR Agencies a Dying Breed: Brian Solis joins the panel

Kirtsy, AllTop Party @Allens Boots

Pool 2.0 – SocialMediaClub

SXSW Day Four

Paul Nelson Performs in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Dell Adamo Premiers at SXSW

Power Geek Girl Tweetup in the TechSet + Windows Mobile Blogger Lounge

Rackspace + Scoble Party

Blurb + Mashable Party

SXSW Day Five

WorldSings.com

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook

by Brian Solis

As I was returning from the DEMO09 conference held in Palm Desert, California, I was struck by the beauty of the blue skies I was leaving behind for the rain that would greet me in Silicon Valley.

The flight turned into a photographic journey as the weather transformed along the way. However, I was not welcomed by the showers that were anticipated, instead, I was met with sunshine and parting rain clouds that hovered above Northern California, creating a dramatic backdrop worth sharing.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…

Somewhere between Palm Springs and San Francisco

San Jose, California

San Jose, California

Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley

Moffett Field, Mountain View

Silicon Valley

These pictures are part of my ongoing photographic series, “A Passenger’s View of the World.” Please visit my album on flickr for additional views.

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook

by Brian Solis

LeVar Burton

Steve Broback of the Parnassus Group hosts an incredible party. Now in its third year, the exclusive ItWontStayinVegas blogger party is a must-attend event – if you can get your name on the list.

Hosted at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas, the party boasts a casual and fun environment for connecting with influential and inspiring bloggers form all over the world – while also learning about the history of atomic testing in the United States.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…see you next year!

Sarah Austin, Jennifer Levine, Brooke Brodack

Alexandra Mokh

Robert Scoble

Tom Foremski

Melissa Pierce and Steve Garfield

Drew Olanoff

Phil Wolff of Skype Journal

Scott Carroll of AMD

Krista Neher

Patrick Moorhead of AMD

Sonos

Rohit Barghava

For more pictures, please visit my album on Flickr.

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pownce, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, Jaiku or Facebook

by Brian Solis

Julia Allison, Mary Rambin, Meghan Asha of NonSociety

The Ultimate Blogger Dinner during CES 2009 was a refreshing and enriching opportunity to connect with incredible bloggers, business leaders, social media professionals and everyone in between.

Hosted by Social Media Club and Lenovo at the Aquaknox restaurant in the Venetian during CES, the dinners and the ambiance inspired energizing conversations and fantastic pictures.

Scott Monty and Chris Heuer

Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford

Ford executive team

Sarah Perez of ReadWriteWeb

Tom Foremski

Jeffrey Sass

Wesley Faulkner of AMD

Cheryl Contee

Alan Mulally and and Chris Heuer

For more pictures, please visit my album on Flickr.

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pownce, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, Jaiku or Facebook

by Brian Solis

The Ultimate Blogger Dinner is being hosted by Social Media Club and Lenovo at the Aquaknox restaurant in the Venetian during CES on Wednesday January 8, Thursday January 9 and Friday January 10. We are inviting a limited number of bloggers to join us from 830 pm to 11. You can request your invitation here.

Open Bar…

Open WiFi…

Open Kitchen…

During the day, the space is being used as a Lenovo meeting space, so Lenovo products and signage will be placed throughout the the room. However, there will not be any presentations, just conversations with other bloggers and social media professionals.

UPDATE: We have room for two more sponsors. The fees are extremely affordable and can go towards one, two, or all three nights. Please contact chris [at] socialmediaclub [dot] com . Thanks, we could use your support!

Connect with me on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pownce, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, Jaiku or Facebook