Michael Castellon

On social media and the economy

2008-10-18T20:15:00.003-05:00

The economy has a tremendous impact on social media. In fact, the popularity of blogging in the early 2000s was fueled in part by dramatic downturns in the economy. Some of today’s most read and established bloggers were spawned as a result of the layoffs that followed the tech bust of 2000, and later, the terror attacks of 2001. As sharp minds now had more free time, online discussion boomed.

As true today as it was then, workers affected by an unstable economy should leverage online networks and engage the conversations of their profession. Today, we have more tools than ever to do so. Facebook, Twitter and other services mean you’re never without platforms to market yourself. In fact, online discussions now extend far beyond technology. Professional groups as diverse as artists, electricians and bankers have established extensive online networks on social media platforms.

As it is in the workplace, it’s important to read, discuss and analyze trends and innovation in your field even after you’ve been laid off. Doing so will keep you relevant and informed. Not to mention, you may develop new job or consulting offers based on the increased visibility of your professional profile. Best of all, you can get started in social media at no cost at all.

How to get started in social networking

Build a blog. You can do so for free using Google’s Blogger service. It’s what I’ve used for years and it has served me well. On your first post, introduce yourself. Discuss your interests and goals. Edit your posts the best you can, and keep your posts as short and concise as possible.

Use Google Analytics or Sitemeter to measure the number of readers coming to your blog, and more importantly, see who is linking to you. You won’t have much traffic at first, but that will change in time. Don’t worry much about design. Most of the default Blogger templates are fine at this point. Write about challenges you’ve faced on previous projects and how you overcame them (while respecting your previous employers NDA, of course). Publish and discuss ideas and innovations that previously were tampered by the 9 to 5 doldrums of office life. We all have great ideas, and writing and sharing helps bridge these thoughts into reality.

Twitter. Much like your blog will, your Twitter feed will help build your online presence. Post thoughts on interesting and relevant articles. Jump in on other conversations. That’s what they’re there for. Post links to your blog posts as you publish. Twitter is still relatively new and geeky (but simple to use). Using it sends a strong message of your proficiency to future employers.

Facebook. It’s not just for drunk college students, despite what you read in the newspaper (as you become more Web savvy, you will begin to see how embarrassingly uninformed and irrelevant many journalists have become). Sure, you'll buddy up with people you haven't seen since high school, but you'll also meet a lot of key people in your industry. Use Facebook to join groups relevant to your professional interests. Post links to your blog and promote your Twitter feed.

Next steps

So this is your foundation. Your conversation with others will naturally begin to take place once you become familiar with these platforms.

When you’re not blogging and posting on Twitter, read blogs relevant to your career aspirations and leave comments. Include in your comments links to your blog. This is essential in driving traffic to your site. Be careful not to spam comments. Be thoughtful and wise. You’ll soon learn how annoying this is when it starts happening to you. E-mail other bloggers and commend their good content. See if they’ll link to your site if you link to theirs. This is important since it will improve your Google page rank, which makes you more visible in Web searches.

By now, you see that what we’re doing is creating a network for your professional aspirations and experience. You’re essentially cross-pollinating your expertise onto the Web. In addition, you’ve now created an online presence that is searchable by both clients and employers, all at no cost.

Any questions or feedback for me? Let me know in the comments.

On Lockhart, Texas

2008-10-11T13:35:00.002-05:00

We spent this morning in Lockhart, a trip of about 40 minutes to the east of Austin. While I had traveled through this small town of about 11,000 a number of times, I'd never stopped. We ate at the world famous Smitty’s Market after consulting our issue of Texas Monthly that celebrates the state’s best BBQ. Lockhart is home to two of the top 5 BBQ joints in Texas, according to the magazine.

We walk around the downtown square and visit a few antique stores. One, Archway Antiques, is housed in a building that the woman at the counter tells me was built in 1886. Her cat, Alley, takes a liking to us and follows us through the store, which was originally a hardware shop in the time of bandits and law dogs. I examine the creaking planked floors for evidence of spur scars and am not disappointed.

Down the street is a terrific library. I quickly learn why there are so many free range, smiling children scampering up and down the block. The children's section of the library is located in an old Masonic Temple building. The kids' section is actually an old storefront, so until you know better, you might feel as if you were walking into a small town bookseller. It seems much more exciting and eventful than a typical library, and a great way for a kid to spend a Saturday morning.

This downtown area reminds me of the small New England towns I visited as a child while traveling with my grandparents up and down the Massachusetts and Maine coasts. On the way back to the car, we come across a bake sale. The polite and smiling couple at the cake table tells us that they’re donating all the proceeds to a friend whose home burned a couple weeks ago. We pick up a couple cupcakes and a strawberry nut bread that looked promising, and I drop a donation into a large bucket that is filled halfway with $10 and $20 bills. We go to the car and head west again.

It breaks your heart ...

2008-10-06T14:53:00.004-05:00

It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face thefall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

-- A. Bartlett Giamatti, "The Green Fields of the Mind"

How to backup Gmail

2008-10-05T17:07:00.001-05:00

Awhile back I posted a popular tutorial on how to backup your Gmail messages from Google's servers to your computer. Backing up your Gmail messages is a very good way to protect yourself from losing critical data in the event you're ever locked out of your account, or your online messages are accidentally deleted. Here's the tutorial again just in case you're interested in making a backup.

At the top of any Gmail page, click Settings

In the Mail Settings window, click Forwarding and POP

In the POP Download section, select Enable POP or all mail or Enable POP only for mail that arrives from now on

Click Save Settings.

Next, we're going to configure Outlook:

In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts

Click Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next

Click POP3, and then click Next.

Under User Information, do the following:

In the Your Name box, type your full name the way you want it to appear to other people

In the E-mail Address box, type your e-mail user name followed by @gmail.com

Under Server Information, do the following:

In the Incoming mail server (POP3) box, type pop.gmail.com

In the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) box, type smtp.Gmail.com

Under Logon Information, do the following:

In the User Name box, type your full e-mail address, including @gmail.com

In the Password box, type your password

Select the Remember password check box

Click More Settings

On the General tab, under Mail Account, type Gmail

Click the Outgoing Server tab, and then select the My outgoing server (SMTP)

requires authentication check box

Select Use same settings as my incoming mail server

Click the Advanced tab, and then under Server Port Numbers for both Incoming server (POP3) and Outgoing server (SMTP), select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check boxes

Change the Outgoing server (SMTP) port number to 465

The Incoming server (POP3) port number should change automatically to 995 when you select the This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL) check box

Click OK

To verify that your account is working, click Test Account Settings. If there is missing or incorrect information, such as your password, you will be prompted to supply or correct it. Make sure your computer is connected to the Internet.

Click Next, and then click Finish.

Notes

* Do not select the Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) check box.
* Unless specified by Gmail, all server and address entries are typed in lowercase letters.

(via Microsoft)

Now, you'll want to export all those emails you just downloaded into one singly, tidy file:

1. On the File menu, click Import and Export.

2. Click Export to a file, and then click Next.

3. In the list, click Personal Folder File (.pst), and then click Next.

4. Click the folder that contains the messages you want to back up. If the folder contains a subfolder that you want to include, select the Include Subfolders check box, and then click Next.

5. Under Save exported file as, click Browse, and then specify a name and location for your backup file, for example, Mail Backup.

6. If you back up a .pst file that you have backed up to before, click one of the following:

Replace duplicates with items exported Existing data will be overwritten with the information in the file being exported.

Allow duplicate items to be created Existing data will not be overwritten, and duplicate information will be added to the backup file.

Do not export duplicate items Existing data will be kept, and the duplicate information in the folder will not be copied to the backup file.

7. Click Finish.

(via Microsoft)

On David Byrne

2008-09-27T17:40:00.000-05:00

On Friday Lauren and I caught the David Byrne show at the Paramount theatre in downtown Austin, one of my favorite venues mainly because it’s a very intimate and tasteful environment that reminds me of a theatre in my hometown of Champaign-Urbana that's very special to me.

The show started almost 30 minutes late, but Byrne treated everyone to a nice mix of his new material and Talking Heads classics, though no Psycho Killer, sadly. Byrne played the next day down the street at the Austin City Limits festival to a crowd of many tens of thousands of people. In some regards, the Paramount almost felt like a warm-up show. At one point Byrne found himself in the achingly painful position of twice borking the beginning of a song, prompting he and his band to start over each time.

Still, the Paramount show was a hot ticket this weekend with ticket prices being driven by people who wanted to see a longtime music genius in a smaller venue. I think ultimately no one was disappointed. We stuck around after the show to compliment David, only to find out he took off on a bicycle into downtown. A pretty mysterious and brilliant exit fitting of a musical master.

Thanks, Nike

2008-08-31T09:50:00.003-05:00

This is my Nike race jersey. I'll wear it later today as I participate in the Nike Human Race 10K, a Nike-branded charity run of 1 million particpants all over the world all running together to raise money for the human condition. Because the shirts display your race number, Nike mandates all participants wear the race jersey on race day. It serves as your entry pass to the race and the after-race party.

My shirt was made at a Nike factory in Malaysia, possibly by a child. So today I'll be running in a Nike jersey, made in a third world country in a Nike race to benefit the human condition.

Austin to be cornerstone of dollar coin promotion

2008-08-20T09:04:00.003-05:00

Austin has been chosen by the U.S. Mint to be one of the promotional centers of the one dollar coin:

Austin joins Portland, Ore., Charlotte, N.C., and Grand Rapids, Mich. – all known for their younger population and cool reputation – in the push for the hip new version of the tired old dollar bill that's cooler, edgier and better looking.

Expect to see lots of promotion and advertising in Austin. The U.S. Mint is trying to tap Austin's trendy vibe and reputation for all things progressive in order to boost awareness and circulation of the gold dollars, which oddly, contain no actual gold.

Can marketing the dollar coin in Austin actually change the lackluster perception of the coin nationwide? Speak up in the comments.

Tickets for David Byrne's show at the Paramount sell out fast

2008-08-18T15:58:00.001-05:00

Austinites who chose to sleep in Saturday rather than make the 10 a.m. bugle call for tickets to David Byrne's much anticipated performance at the Paramount Theatre in September are out of luck. I logged in a little after 10:20 a.m. Saturday and saw that all tickets were sold out. Some folks (myself included) were able to get presale access by signing up as a friend of the theatre, which required a donation of about $100 or more ... If you were subscribed to my Twitter feed you got the heads up early, and hopefully got tickets.

Tickets are popping up on eBay and Craigslist, but expect to pay around $200 or more each. I expect this price to rise as the date approaches. Byrne's new album, Big Love: Hymnal, debuts tomorrow.

Lance Armstrong estate is Austin's largest consumer of water

2008-08-15T09:27:00.005-05:00

In a city of more than 700,000 people, cyclist Lance Armstrong is the top consumer of water. The needs of his estate have apparently overshadowed his view on environmentalism, though he has committed to resolving the problem. C'mon Lance. Practice what you preach.

The bad news:

A total of 222,900 gallons of water was used at Armstrong's home, according to the most recent city records available. That's about what 26 average Austin households use in a month.

The good news:

"I'm a little shocked," he said when told about the water use at his 1.1-acre home, which has a pool and expansive lawns. "There's no justification for using that much water."
...
In June, his water bill, which does not include wastewater or other utilities, was $1,630.23, according to Austin Water Utility.
"I need to fix this," Armstrong said. "To use that much more water (than most residents) is unacceptable. I have no interest in being the top water user in Austin, Texas."

The city's top commercial user of water was Samsung, which consumed almost 110 million gallons of water in June, more than twice the volume of the second-largest commercial consumer of water.

Read more

Rumor: Harry Knowles retracts negative Star Wars: The Clone Wars review following studio pressure

2008-08-13T08:25:00.001-05:00

Via Valleywag:

Harry Knowles, the founder of fan-driven movie site Ain't It Cool News, published an unabashedly negative review ("hated the score, the animation, the shots, the characters and most of all the retarded ******** idiot story") of the upcoming animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars a few days ago. Over the weekend, Knowles's post was unpublished, as we now say. Another Ain't It Cool regular claims Lucasfilm got Knowles to yank the review — most likely by threatening to bar him from all future advance viewings.

Read story and the original review here.

It would be a shame to discover that Lucasfilms was strong arming bloggers and journalists who write negative reviews of their movies. In recent years, blogs and other alternative media have gone great lengths to promote projects not always covered by more traditional media.

Why women aren't funny

2008-08-07T11:15:00.002-05:00

Christopher Hitchens via Vanity Fair:

Why are men, taken on average and as a whole, funnier than women? Well, for one thing, they had damn well better be. The chief task in life that a man has to perform is that of impressing the opposite sex, and Mother Nature (as we laughingly call her) is not so kind to men. In fact, she equips many fellows with very little armament for the struggle. An average man has just one, outside chance: he had better be able to make the lady laugh. Making them laugh has been one of the crucial preoccupations of my life. If you can stimulate her to laughter—I am talking about that real, out-loud, head-back, mouth-open-to-expose-the-full-horseshoe-of-lovely-teeth, involuntary, full, and deep-throated mirth; the kind that is accompanied by a shocked surprise and a slight (no, make that a loud) peal of delight—well, then, you have at least caused her to loosen up and to change her expression. I shall not elaborate further.

Women have no corresponding need to appeal to men in this way. They already appeal to men, if you catch my drift.

10 mispronunciations that make you sound stupid

2008-08-07T09:31:00.001-05:00

via techrepublic:

#8: February/Febuary
As much as it galls me, there is an r between the b and the u. When you pronounce the word correctly it should sound like you're trying to talk with a mouthful of marbles — FEB broo ary.

#9: Recur/reoccur
Though the latter is tempting, it's not a word. And again, why add another syllable if you don't need it?

Marriage proposal caught on Google Street View [image]

2008-08-05T10:19:00.003-05:00

When Google took some Google Street View images outside of the Googleplex in Mountain View, California, one employee seized the moment:

Link

More on Blackberry Pearl not receiving sms text messages

2008-08-04T13:44:00.000-05:00

I recently offered a very short tutorial about how to correct the Blackberry Pearl's (inexplicable) tendency to stop receiving text messages. The problem has become pretty frustrating to a lot of new Pearl owners. My previous post on the Pearl's sms text problems has become somewhat popular and well-trafficked, apparently due to a shortage of documentation on the issue elsewhere.

A few people have written in to ask for clarification on the steps needed to get their devices to resume receiving messages. In light of that, I'm going to offer a slightly more accurate fix to the problem –– this time a little more universal, depending on your device's software:

1. Click on 'options' from your home screen
2. From options, click on 'Mobile Network'
3. From 'Mobile Network' (or the Data Services screen), open the Menu.
4. Select 'Start Provisioning' and wait a few moments for the process to complete.
5. Test this solution by sending yourself a text message.

By now, the problem should be resolved. Did it work for you? If so, let me know in the comments.

Brilliant: Tired of being badgered? Check out Johnson Automotive's ad campaign [video]

2008-08-03T22:50:00.001-05:00

via Consumerist:

If you've ever wished that a local car dealership would hire the same agency that does the ads for GEICO, your prayers have been answered by Johnson Automotive of Raleigh, NC.

Creepy Soviet-era meat commercial [video]

2008-07-26T18:24:00.001-05:00

Six junk foods that may not really be junk foods

2008-07-22T09:08:00.001-05:00

PORK RINDS
WHY YOU THINK THEY'RE BAD: These puffy snacks are literally cut from pigskin. Then they're deep-fried.

WHY THEY'RE NOT: A 1-ounce serving contains zero carbohydrates, 17 grams (g) of protein, and 9 g fat. That's nine times the protein and less fat than you'll find in a serving of carb-packed potato chips. Even better, 43 percent of a pork rind's fat is unsaturated, and most of that is oleic acid--the same healthy fat found in olive oil. Another 13 percent of its fat content is stearic acid, a type of saturated fat that's considered harmless, because it doesn't raise cholesterol levels.

via Huffington Post

Alex Rodriguez probably doesn't like Toronto Blue Jays fans [picture]

2008-07-13T18:27:00.000-05:00

Video: the old fake a heart attack in court routine

2008-07-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

Egyptian youth arrested, tortured for starting Facebook group

2008-07-08T14:10:00.001-05:00

via Christian Science Monitor:

In an interview last week, Ahmed Maher says he was shackled, blindfolded, and stripped. He says the police dragged him across the floor and beat him for almost 12 hours. They demanded to know the password to his Facebook account and asked for information about the 60,000 people in the group, then threatened to rape him if he would not comply, he says.

Average age of TV viewers increases

2008-06-30T08:01:00.001-05:00

Fueling the graying of the networks: the rapid aging of ABC, NBC and Fox. The three nets continue to grow older, while CBS -- the oldest-skewing network -- has remained fairly steady.

"The median ages of the broadcast networks keep rising, as traditional television is no longer necessarily the first screen for the younger set," Sternberg wrote.

For the just-completed 2007-08 TV season, CBS was oldest in live viewing with a median age of 54. ABC clocked in at 50, followed by NBC (49), Fox (44), CW (34) and Univision (34).

2008-06-28T03:46:00.001-05:00

link

Blackberry Pearl not receiving text messages? Try this ...

2008-06-27T15:57:00.002-05:00

Update: If the below procedure doesn't work, try this method if your Blackberry Pearl doesn't receive sms text messages.

Last week my Blackberry Pearl began randomly deleting text messages and call logs. If I missed a call, I would have no way of knowing whose call I missed. The phone numbers of incoming calls would also go missing.

But the biggest problem was that it would randomly and completely stop receiving text messages. A day or two would go by before I realized I wasn't receiving SMS text messages. This was an extremely frustrating issue and I see now that a lot of people are complaining about it in various forums.

Solutions I tried included everything from removing the battery each night to freeing up memory. None of these steps provided a successful long-term solution.

Long story short, I finally found a solution that works:

1.Confirm that the subscription is set up correctly
2.Click on the Options on the home screen.
3.Select Network.
4.Highlight and select Start Provisioning.
5.A provisioning status message will display: Provisioning in progress.
6.If successful, then the following message will display: Provisioning
completed successfully.
7.Click OK.

The device is now ready for data, then power cycle your device for this action to take effect.

Six truths about the Web 2.0 and social media revolution

2008-06-27T11:49:00.001-05:00

1. Web 2.0 is over-marketed and over-hyped.

2. Overall, there is a slow adoption rate. Stop asking people on the Internet if they've adopted, and start asking your boss, your parents and your neighbors about RSS feeds, tagging and Digg to get an idea of this.

3. Those who trumpet the web 2.0 revolution are largely marketers who are trying to sell it.

4. Web 2.0 integration is being held back because those who make decisions about new technology are those who understand it the least –– senior managers and politicians.

5. Web 2.0 innovation appeals to a very small, albeit loyal and passionate, user base.

6. The solution to integration will be found at some halfway point. For example, blogs haven't made mainstream media obsolete, as many Web 2.0 gurus claimed it woul 5 years ago. Rather, mainstream media have dedicated a portion of their business model to using Web 2.0 technologies.

2008-06-27T07:48:00.001-05:00

How to effectively hide an airplane factory.