Joel-Mark-Witt.com

“This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.”
-Tyler Durden in Fight Club

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Today is my birthday. I have crossed the 30 year mark of life.
It really does get me thinking. I feel like time has blown by in the past few years.

So I’m starting to plan my next 30 years.

Is that even possible?

Actually ummm… no.

Look at it this way. Three years ago we didn’t have Twitter.
I didn’t have a Facebook account. I used RSS, but didn’t get much out of it because I thought it was for nerds. I could never have predicted where I would be today three years ago, let alone 30 years ago. I’m not even going to try and forecast that far into the future.

After all…

My life is more than my online profile.
I existed before I was on Twitter and I will exist when Twitter ceases. Yes I love developing internet shows, helping businesses use online tools to spread their marketing message, making new friends online, and delving into the future of new media. But I’m also an author, producer, speaker, photographer, father, husband, son, friend, and business owner.

As I hit 30 I’m not depressed, but I do feel like I’ve wasted time.
I look back over my life and am shocked at how many opportunities I didn’t take advantage of.

Why?

What was stopping me from moving forward with life decisions that would have moved me toward my goals.

I guess it was too much clutter in life. Not physical clutter around my house - but mind clutter. Not knowing what I truly want from life. Not being prepared to focus on the 20 percent that gives me 80 percent results.

A few years ago I made a conscience decision to re-purpose my life and focus on saying “yes” to opportunities.

Here are some resources I am digging into as I continue this journey:

The Power of Now (a little “new age” feeling but has some useful elements)
Zen Habit Blog
Four Hour Workweek Book and Blog

Here are seven things I’m going to focus on:

1) Connect with more people
2) Look for the ROI (don’t give away myself for free anymore)
3) Look to leave a legacy
4) Take leadership
5) Take control of my future
6) Focus and pick one or two things to accell at - then move to the next
7) Live in the present

These are just starting points.
As I look into the future I have no clue what is in store for me. I can count on my interests, talents, and values to give me some idea of where my life is headed. But just an idea. The rest is an adventure.

And I’m excited for the adventure - assuming I live another 30 years.

What was your most critical age? What day did you say “wow, my life is moving fast!”

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Joel Mark Witt
Photo By: Kimberly* via Flickr

The iPhone has changed my life.
I’ve been using my iPhone like crazy to write this blog, post to Twitter, check and respond to emails, jot down thoughts and notes, text message friends, snap photos of my kids and send them to the grandparents, and sometimes (very rarely) hold an old fashioned verbal conversation.

And I’ve only had it for a week.

The iPhone has already changed how I do business and get work done.
It’s not really a phone. It’s more like a communication device. And I use it to communicate constantly. The ease of use and availability of always being connected to the web is incredible. I’ve gotten a lifetime of use out of it in a very short time.

I’ve been able to spend downtime actually doing something.
I am no longer tethered to my computer. I can be productive no matter if I’m waiting in lines - waiting for something to cook - or sitting in bed unable to fall asleep.

My Twitter use has skyrocketed. Before, I had to log onto my computer to engage with the Twitter community. Now with the iPhone app TwitterFon I’m always connected. I feel apart of the wider conversation.

In the past when blog writing ideas came to me during the day I would have to scramble for a scrap of paper to write them on waiting until I got home to blog them. Now with the free Wordpress application for the iPhone I am able to write blog posts all day as they come to me.

If I get a few minutes of downtime I can work on a new post or edit one that is ready to publish.

The iPhone is built for social media, marketing, and PR.
If you are serious about using social media for your business I would suggest you at least consider the iPhone. You can even get them used from Amazon. Now you can use Microsoft Exchange on your phone also to interface with your outlook email.

There are many people who have Blackberrys and other phones too. How has your life and business productivity changed by using a mobile device? I’d love to hear some thoughts.

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Joel-Mark-Witt.com is a blog about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools to grow your business, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail.

Joel Mark Witt

*Photo by Nialkennedy

Most kids have no clue how to talk on camera.
I’ve spent a lot of time on Zoo grounds with the news media when they are interviewing kids. I’ve even interviewed a lot of kids myself for MarylandZoo.TV. I’ve noticed that kids don’t really know what to do when a camera is pointed at them.

I was working with Channel 2 this morning in developing a story for the station and they interviewed a few children by the elephants. One little girl (about seven) was chatting up a storm with her mother and sister. Once the camera started rolling she froze up.

She began to stammer and stutter. Her mind went blank. All the expression left her face.

It was painful to watch.

We need to prepare kids to grow up in a media rich world.
Talking on camera should be something that kids learn from parents, teachers, and society at an early age. We teach children proper phone etiquette and how not to sound like a buffoon on the phone. We teach speech class in High School and College. Why not prepare students for talking on camera or behind a microphone?

At the Zoo, the animal staff gets formal media training. They learn how to talk on camera – what to do when given tough questions – and how to present themselves in a professional manner. This training works and has helped the animal staff and the Zoo look good to the community and television audience.

I am also working on preparing some of the Zoo staff to blog and communicate using social media tools. This is the next wave of media training and all companies and organizations should be focused on it.

Forget speech class - we should offer media training in school.
As modern day communicators, our kids will need to learn how to answer questions on the fly when the cameras roll. Why do High School speech classes still focus on giving a speech from a stage? Why don’t they focus on the little camera in the MacBook instead? Why a stage or the front of the class? Is this real world training?

Journalists, Hollywood, and the industrial media have created an aura around people who stand behind microphones and speak on camera.
Because media has traditionally been a one-way medium, no one felt like they had the skills to communicate like the “professionals.”

What happens when media is no longer a one-way medium? What if media became social and a two-way conversation? How would that change the way we present and speak on camera?

Welcome to the new millennium. The game has changed. Media is now a conversation.
Today’s currency is information. But with all the information in the world, the ones who know how to present themselves will be successful.

I am planning on preparing my sons to be fully functional in a digital media world.
I want my two sons to be well prepared to speak behind a microphone and on camera. I think it is important that they understand how to present themselves when presented with the opportunity. Just like we show them the proper phone etiquette or the way they should speak with a friend or someone they disagree with, we should also help them speak well using new media tools.

Leave the kids out of it for a minute. Are you and your organization prepared to communicate in a 24/7 media environment?
I’ve written this article about children. But children aren’t the only ones who need preparation for social media. Business leaders also need to be prepared to communicate using these new tools like Twitter, podcasts, online video, Facebook, MySpace, Linked-In, and blogs.

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard about these tools before. That’s what this blog is for.

Are you ready?

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Joel-Mark-Witt.com is a blog about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools to grow your business, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail.

Joel Mark Witt

I see a lot of people in the new media space referring to themselves and others as new media experts. Or social media experts. I have done the same.

I used to call myself an expert in new media.

But then I thought about it and realized I really wasn’t an expert. Before you think I am shooting myself in the foot by denying my expert status, hear me out.

Experts have all the answers.

I don’t have all the answers. New media is so new that no one has all the answers. I would even say only about 1% of the people involved in this space are even on the right track. Most are fumbling in the dark.

I like to use the analogy of hiking a trail.

An expert of the trail has a map. They have hiked the trail enough times that they know the steep slopes and the trouble areas. Experts know exactly where to cross the streams as to not get wet.

Experts have done it before.

We need experts in every field of life. Experts help us save time and money. Experts are brain surgeons, lawyers, bankers, and pilots.

But I am not an expert.

I have never hiked this trail called new media before. I don’t have a Google map laying out the route. I know where I want to go – but I don’t know exactly how to get there. So instead of a new media expert - I prefer to say that I am a new media leader.

Leaders blaze new trails.

Leaders are risk takers. They stand out in front of a group with a machete and begin cutting into the brush. They see a mountain in the distance that they want to reach but they don’t know the exact path through the jungle to get there. Leaders ask the right questions.

Sometimes leaders get a little lost and have to climb a tree to see the mountain again.

I find that when I get bogged down in my life with the daily “brush cutting” I have to stop, take a good look at the mountain I am trying to reach, and then start again going in the right direction.

This happened with my blogging and use of Twitter over the past few months.

I didn’t know why I was using new media tools. I was just fumbling in the dark. I had to stop – reevaluate and then start again after focusing on my goals. I was getting off on a side trail and needed to refocus on the mountain again.

Leaders are the ones who become experts.

Well – let me rephrase that. Some leaders become experts. True leaders – once they reach the big mountain and climb it – will look out over the horizon and see entire mountain ranges to reach. Expert leaders will walk back the path they charted and then bring more people to the first mountain with them.

Thought: An expert has been – a leader will be.

Warning!

Most businesses don’t want to hire or work with true leaders. Too much risk. No guaranteed answers. No measurable ROI. If you are a consultant, or professional craftsman – please consider the ramifications before calling yourself a leader. Businesses want to hire experts. They want predictable results. They want to follow.

Do you consider yourself an expert or leader?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. After all, I am asking the questions – I don’t have all the answers.

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Joel Mark Witt

Photo by: The Wandering Angel

My friend and designer Joel Glovier (great name huh?) gave me this T-shirt today. He actually called yesterday around 3pm asking if I’d like a shirt. I said yes and he overnighted it to me.

If you are looking for a guy with a great design style at reasonable prices check out: www.jagdesignideas.com.

He’s done work for me and I can vouch for him.

Which made me think about his technique.

Joel reached out to me knowing that I have an audience of business and professional people who read my blog and watch my content. But he didn’t ask me to promote his design business. He simply connected with me and offered me something of value for free.

We can all learn a lot from this approach. It worked for Joel. I am mentioning him and his work.

What can you do for your business or clients that will get them talking about you to others?

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This blog is about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these things to grow your business. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free

Joel Mark Witt

I was very honored to be invited to speak at Blog World Expo 2008 this past weekend. Michael Hoffman and I gave a presentation “New Media From Inside The Organization.”

I talked about my experience helping businesses like the Maryland Zoo develop online content to promote to and grow an online audience. Michael shared his company’s purpose of helping non profits share their vision with quality online video and social media content.

The audience was engaged and we had a great discussion among the attendees.

One thing I like to do when giving a talk is to have everyone take a group self portrait photo or video together in the room. So here is my version of the photo. A little shaky - but you can see in the background everyone else pulled out their cameras and snapped frames of themselves.

So here are the three basic things I learned at Blog World Expo 2008

1) There is a lot of money to be made in blogging but Ads SUCK
David Clark from Copyblogger sat on a panel about making money with a blog. He said he is making over $110k per month (that’s not a typo) with zero advertising. How does he do it? He sells information products directly on his site to help people become better copywriters. The general tone of the conference was: “don’t get stuck serving up ads as your primary source of blog revenue.”

2) Bloggers are much more serious about their craft as a whole than podcasters or online video creators
I spoke at the New Media Expo last month and while it was educational and I got to see some friends - the people in attendance couldn’t be more different from the blogging crowd. It’s like the difference between playing a game of pick up football in the backyard with your cousins and taking a snap on the field of an NFL team.

3) Communication with a niche audience is the recepe for succces
Whatever “brush” you choose to paint with (podcasts, blogs, video, or twitter) it is all about engaging your audience and drawing them into a broader discussion.

So there are my three takeaways from Blog World Expo 2008. Did you attend? If so what did you learn? I’d love to hear your takeaway.

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This blog is about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these things to grow your business. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free

Joel Mark Witt

I just set up Wordpress on my iPhone.

Not earth shattering I know. But I’m writing this post from my iPhone. Meaning that I no longer have
to be behind a laptop to blog.

I am able to write and publish from the line at the grocery store, or on the beach during vacation.

I’d like to hear your thoughts about mobile blogging. Do you think it will change the way we write and communicate? Will our content be more timely?

I hate calling tech support for computer problems. I’m sure you can relate. It is a frustrating experience sitting on the phone waiting forever and then when someone does emerge to help you language barriers often prevent a free flow of quality information.

While sitting on the phone today I began to think about the process of tech support and how it relates to leadership.

Fast forward.

Fixing the issue is the easy part. The guy on the other end of the phone says press this button – turn this knob – cha ching it works!

Takes about 2 minutes.

Rewind.

But getting to that 2 minute fix is worse than enduring a root canal without Novocain. It takes sometimes hours of communication and testing to locate the problem.

As a leader – most of your time is spent communicating with your team and isolating the true problems and challenges. The “fixes” are most often simple solutions. The biggest challenge you will face as a leader is not finding the correct answer – it is asking the right questions.

Ask better questions.
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If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free

Joel Mark Witt

Colin from Viddler interviewed me at the New Media Expo 2008.

Here is a quick video I made when speaking at the New Media Expo, Las Vegas 2008.

If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free

Joel Mark Witt