Download - Tony blogging-tips-itso30-v1310e
© 2013 IBM Corporation
A dozen blogging tips from an experienced blogger
Tony PearsonIBM Master Inventor, Senior Consulting IT Specialist, Blogger, Chief SME at Tucson EBC, Forward Thinker, Worldwide Center of Competency for Cloud across all 12 STG EBCs, Published Author and Filmmaker
Tony Pearson – IBM Master Inventor and Senior Consulting IT Specialist
October 2013
Source: http://www.webseoanalytics.com/blog/10-tips-for-developing-a-successful-blog/
© 2013 IBM Corporation2
Tony Pearson – The “Kevin Bacon” of IBM System Storage
● Ranked Top 10 Blogger
● Two Liquid Brand awards for IBM System Storage
● Have been invited to blog and/or speak at various conferences and events
● International readership: USA, India, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, France, Russia, China
● Published over 860 blog posts, five books and two films
● Received many compliments from readers
● Helped close over $4B in IBM revenue
© 2013 IBM Corporation3
My Social Profile
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Blog: http://ibm.co/Pearson
Books:http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/99Ø_tony
Diigo:https://www.diigo.com/user/az990tony
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/tony.pearson.16121
LinkedIn:http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=103718598
SlideShare - IBM Expert Network:http://www.slideshare.net/az99Øtony
Twitter:http://twitter.com/az99Øtony
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© 2013 IBM Corporation4
I started blogging September 2006
http://www-07.ibm.com/systems/includes/pdf/SoftwareStrategiesIBMSystemsAgendaFullReport.pdf
eServerTotalStorage2000 - 2005
To raise awareness of newIBM System Storage®
Why? What? How?
Start either a podcast or blog
Initially a joint effort with Jennifer Jones
Launched on 50th Anniversary of Disk Systems
1. Convince management and legal dept
2. Learn audio-editing tools
3. Read books on blogging
4. Find “hosting” website that would be externally visible -- IBM developerWorks
© 2013 IBM Corporation5
Tip #1 – Read the Book “Naked Conversations”
• “Naked Conversations” by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, both experienced bloggers from Microsoft
• Each chapter highlights Do’s and Don’ts illustrated with examples. Consistent with IBM Social Media Guidelines
• Key Lessons:1. A blog is the unedited voice of a single
person2. Blogs can provide a “human face” to an
otherwise faceless company3. Blogs should foster conversations
between IBM, Business Partners, clients, suppliers, prospects, and other bloggers
© 2013 IBM Corporation6
IBM developerWorks – Top 10 Blogs
Rank Blog Author(s) Visits past 36 months
1 Inside System Storage Tony Pearson, Jeff Antley
8,953,681
2 developerWorks Podcasts and Videos Scott Laningham 3,865,347
3 Todd “Turbo” Watson Todd Watson 3,162,925
4 Build your skill on IM Products, DB2 Susan Visser 3,131,857
5 Notes from Rational Support Kelly Puffs 2,615,840
6 iMasters (Spanish Language) Group Blog (36 authors)
2,589,283
7 AIX Down Under Anthony English 2,584,119
8 Smarter Collaboration insights Antony Satyadas 2,423,735
9 Software, Open Source, SOA, Innovation, Open Standards, Trends (Portuguese)
Group Blog (19 authors)
2,120,189
10 Benchmarking and systems performance Elisabeth Stahl 1,840,630
© 2013 IBM Corporation7
Tip #2 – Treat Blog Posts as Works of Art
http://www-07.ibm.com/systems/includes/pdf/SoftwareStrategiesIBMSystemsAgendaFullReport.pdf
Why? What? How?
1. Entertain, Poke Fun Smile, Laugh
2. Inform, Educate Bookmark
3. Warn Prepare
4. Celebrate Congratulate
5. Bleg Contribute
1. A single idea
2. A structure
3. Supporting Details
• Still Life• Portrait• Landscape• Incident• Vision
© 2013 IBM Corporation8
Tip #3: Use Mind Mapping to prepare blog posts like a presentation –
single idea, appropriate structure, and F.L.O.W.
IBM has approved use of “Freemind” open source mind-mapping tool.
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
© 2013 IBM Corporation9
Tip #4 – Use Social Bookmarking to save ideas, facts, and links to other resources for future blog posts
Inspiration for blog ideas Facts, Links,
Opinions, Words
https://www.diigo.com/user/az990tony/to-blog
© 2013 IBM Corporation10
Tip #5 – Choose an appropriate structure for your Blog post
Follow the AIDA formula
A – Attention
Grab attention in title and first paragraph
I – Interest
Identify who should be interested in this
D – Desire
The benefits of buying this product, attending this conference, using this approach, etc.
A – Action
Next steps – call your sales rep, schedule meeting with your boss, etc.
A story includes the following elements:
Setting
When and where does the story take place
Character
Who is involved in this story
Conflict
What challenges do the characters face
Resolution
What did we learn from this?
A list should have an opening to introduce the items on the list, and how they are all related
People to know Products to buy Timeline of events Step-by-Step
instructions Sessions of a
conference Resources Question and Answers
Close your blog post with final thoughts, your perspective and opinions
Profile Story List
© 2013 IBM Corporation11
Tip #6 – Use Snowclones for Titles, Catch Phrases for Introductions
Snowclones are templates based on popular culture
If Eskimos have N words for snow, X surely have Y words for Z.
X is the new Y The X to End All Xs To X or not to X? We’re gonna need a bigger X X, X Everywhere I, for one, welcome our new X Overlords The X is Too Damn High! A few X short of a Y yes Virginia, there is an X
However, ensure your post slug is appropriate
I have adopted some catch phrases of my own, that I repeatedly use:
“It’s Tuesday again, and you know what that means? IBM Announcements!”
I use this to introduce blog posts that summarize IBM announcements
“I am still wiping the coffee off my computer screen after reading …”
I use this to introduce blog posts when I have read something so outrageous that it requires a response
“We are still picking up confetti off the floor from the time when …”
Reminiscing about a fond event
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/InsideSystemStorage/entry/aperi_is_viagra_for_smi
© 2013 IBM Corporation12
Tip #7 -- Write what you know, in a conversational tone
• Blogs are the unedited voice of a single person– Do not go through rounds of
reviews like a Press Release– Are not written by a committee– No deadlines
• Imagine you are sitting next to one of your target readers, explaining a concept, showing how to do something, or retelling a sequence of events
• This is how your blog should read, or podcast should sound
"The murals in restaurants are on par with the food in museums.“--- Peter De Vries
© 2013 IBM Corporation13
Tip #8 – Blogging is like jogging, blog on a regular frequency
Do it often enough to make it count
If you quit for a while, it is hard to get back into it.
Stretch yourself, read other blogs before you write
Try new routes, explore adjacent spaces• 70% Focus topic• 20% Adjacent spaces• 10% Personal
Pace yourself – Limit yourself to 2,000 words per week or less• 20-40 tweets on Twitter• 5-8 short posts (200-300 words each)• 2-3 medium posts (600-800 words each)• 1 long post (1200-1800 words)
Make time for it – a 700-word post takes me about 4-6 hours to write, edit, format and post
© 2013 IBM Corporation14
Tip #9 – As with any conversation, if you cannot add value with something new and different, contribute with your silence
Show Restraint - While the most interesting blog posts are written under the influence of drugs, alcohol, anger, frustration, sadness or depression, don’t post
until you are clean and sober during normal business hours.
Avoid the Echo Chamber
Read the blogs of others in your industry, analysts, competitors,
and clients. Don’t waste time with posts that say “I completely
agree”.
Don’t Let the Wookie WinEveryone is entitled to their own opinions, so agree to
disagree. However, if facts are wrong, set the record
straight.
Be ResponsibleBe the first to admit
being wrong, apologize and correct your own
mistakes
© 2013 IBM Corporation15
Tip #10 -- Identify who you are and your relationship to the people, products and companies mentioned in your blog post
Identify if people you mention in your post are related to you, in your management chain, or have similar job title. Example “Fellow blogger Barry Whyte (IBM) writes…”
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires bloggers in the United States to disclose who they are and if they were paid or compensated in any manner. Example FTC disclosure:
(FTC Disclosure: I am both an employee and shareholder of IBM, so the U.S. Federal Trade Commission may consider this post a paid, celebrity endorsement of the IBM SmartCloud Enterprise service offering. IBM has working relationships with Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft mentioned in this blog post. This blog post is based on my interpretation and opinions of publicly-available information, observations and personal experience. My friends at ENC Security Systems provided me an evaluation license for their latest software release so that I could confirm the use cases posed in this post. I do not have any financial interest in EMC, HDS, HP or Dell mentioned on this blog post, do not endorse any of their products, nor has anyone paid me to mention their company names, brands or offerings.)
© 2013 IBM Corporation16
Tip #11 – Live a life worth writing about! Incorporate Rich Media
• Photos– Post pictures you take yourself, or have
someone take picture of you– Get permission -- “May I take a photo
for my blog?”– Do NOT link to other websites– Store my photos on Flickr.com– First photo left-justified, then alternating
right and left– Use GIMP tool to crop, fix photos
• Slides – Use Slideshare.net• Pie/Bar Charts – Use Google Chart• Audio – Native HTML or link to MP3• Video
– Native HTML– Screenshot image plus hot-link
© 2013 IBM Corporation17
Tip #12 – Well-behaved bloggers seldom make history
Pink it and Shrink itThe new SVC Entry Edition, available in Flamingo Pink* or traditional Raven Black. (*RPQ required. Default color is Raven Black.)
IBM Watson - How to build your own “Watson Jr.” in your basement104,209 downloads!
EMC Electrocutes the Elephant If you thought fear mongering like this was unique to the IT industry, consider that 105 years ago, [Edison electrocuted an elephant]. In an effort to show that A/C was too dangerous to have in homes and businesses, Thomas Edison held a press conference in front of 1500 witnesses, electrocuting an elephant named Topsy with 6600 volts.
© 2013 IBM Corporation18
2012 IBM Global CEO Study
Employees who connect more with each other and with the outside world to innovate continuously reinvent themselves.
By learning from each other, they stay ahead of the skills curve, open to change, and in effect become "future-proof."
Source: 2012 IBM Global CEO Study
Employees who connect more with each other and with the outside world to innovate continuously reinvent themselves.
By learning from each other, they stay ahead of the skills curve, open to change, and in effect become "future-proof."
Source: 2012 IBM Global CEO Study
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© 2013 IBM Corporation19
© 2013 IBM Corporation20
The “Four R’s”
• Relevance– Identify yourself by name, and
when relevant: your role and employer
– Ensure your profile and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself with colleagues and clients
– Add value. Provide worthwhile information and perspective
• Responsibility– Be personally responsible for your
content– Be the first to admit and correct
your own mistakes
• Respect– Respect copyright, fair use and
financial disclosure laws. – Use disclaimers like…
“My views are my own, and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer.”
• Restraint– Don't use ethnic slurs, personal
insults, obscenity– Don't pick fights, but set the
record straight as needed– Don't provide confidential or
proprietary information– Don't cite or reference clients,
partners or suppliers without their approval
Source: http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.htmlSource: http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html
© 2013 IBM Corporation21
About the Speaker
Mr. Tony Pearson IBM System Storage
Tony Pearson is a Master Inventor and Senior managing consultant for the IBM System Storage™ product line. Tony joined IBM Corporation in 1986 in Tucson, Arizona, USA, and has lived there ever since. In his current role, Tony presents briefings on storage topics covering the entire System Storage product line, Tivoli storage software products, and topics related to Cloud Computing. He interacts with clients, speaks at conferences and events, and leads client workshops to help clients with strategic planning for IBM’s integrated set of storage management software, hardware, and virtualization products.
Tony writes the “Inside System Storage” blog, which is read by hundreds of clients, IBM sales reps and IBM Business Partners every week. This blog was rated one of the top 10 blogs for the IT storage industry by “Networking World” magazine, and #1 most read IBM blog on IBM’s developerWorks. The blog has been published in series of books, Inside System Storage: Volume I through IV.
Over the past years, Tony has worked in development, marketing and customer care positions for various storage hardware and software products. Tony has a Bachelor of Science degree in Software Engineering, and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Arizona. Tony holds 19 IBM patents for inventions on storage hardware and software products.
9000 S. Rita RoadBldg 9032 Floor 1Tucson, AZ 85744
+1 520-799-4309 (Office)
Tony Pearson
Master Inventor, Senior Consulting IT Specialist
IBM System Storage™
© 2013 IBM Corporation22
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