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vineri, 8 august 2014

I See Content Everywhere - Whiteboard Friday

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 05:15 PM PDT

Most of us who work in content marketing have felt the strain that scaling puts on our efforts. How on Earth are we supposed to keep coming up with great ideas for new pieces of content? The answer is, in some sense, all around us. In today's Whiteboard Friday, MozCon community speaker Mark Traphagen shows us how to see the world in a different way—a way that's chock full of content ideas.

Heads-up! We're publishing a one-two punch of Whiteboard Fridays from our friends at Stone Temple Consulting today. Stay tuned later in the day for one from Eric Enge!

For reference, here's a still of this week's whiteboard!

Video transcription

Hey, hello. I'm Mark Traphagen from Stone Temple Consulting, and welcome to this week's Whiteboard Friday. I want to talk to you today, starting out, about a movie that I hope you've all seen by now, because this should not be a spoiler alert. I'm not even going to spoil the movie, but it's "The Sixth Sense."

Most of you know that movie. You've seen it and remember it. The little kid who says that creepy thing: "I see dead people."

What I want to give to you today, what I want to try to teach you to do and bring to you is that you see, not dead people, but content and see it everywhere. Most of us realize that these days we've got to be producing content to be effective on the Web, not only for SEO, but to be effective in our marketing, in our branding and building the reputation and trust authority that we need around our brand. That's going to be happening by content.

We're all topically challenged

But if you're the one tasked with coming up with that content and you've got to create it, it's a tough job. Why? Most of us are topically challenged. We come to that moment, "What do I write about? What do I do that video about? What do I make that podcast about? What's the next thing I'm going to write about?" That's going to be the hardest thing.

When I talk to people about this, people who do this, like I do every day for a living, producing, inventing content, they're almost invariably going to put that in the top three and usually number one. What do I do? Where do I get this from?

It's more important now than ever before. It used to be just most companies that did content at all, websites, would hire an SEO copywriter. They'd actually use that term. We need an SEO copywriter. That usually meant that we're looking for somebody who's going to know where to put the keywords in enough times, and we don't really care what else goes on with the content, what they write or how they say it or how good a writer they are as long as they can know the ways to manipulate the search engines.

Well, I think most of us now, if you watch these Whiteboard Friday videos, you know it, that that just doesn't work anymore. That's not going to cut it. Not only does that not really work with the search engines so well anymore, but it's not really using your content effectively. It's not using it to build, again, that reputation, that trust, that authority that you need around your brand and that content can be so powerful to do.

Get yourself some cyborg content eyes

So what I'm going to challenge you to do today is to get content eyes. You've got to get content eyes. You've got to get eyes that see content everywhere. This is what I train myself to do. It's why I'm never out of ideas for that next blog post or that next video. You start to see it everywhere. You've got to get those eyes for it.

You've got to be like that professional photographer. Professional photographers are like this. This is what they have. Some of them, maybe they are born with it, but I think a lot of them have just developed it. They train themselves that everywhere they walk, when they're going down the city street, when they're out in the country, or wherever they are, they see photographs. The rest of us will walk right by it and say, "That's just stuff happening." But they see that old man on the street that has a face that tells a story of long ages. They see the way that shadow falls across the street at that moment, that right time of day. They see that's a photograph. That's a photograph. That's a photograph.

You've got to start looking for that with content. You've got to be like Michelangelo. According to legend anyway, he said that he could look at a block of granite and see the sculpture that was inside it, waiting for him to chisel it out. That's what you've got to train yourself to do.

So what I want to do today with the rest of this time is to give you some ways of doing that, some ways that you can look at the other content that you're reading online, or videos you're watching, conversations that you get into, listening to a conference speaker, wherever you are to start to look for that and get those content eyes. So let's break into what those are.

Like the bumper sticker says, question everything

By questioning everything here, I mean develop a questioning mind. This is a good thing to do anyway when you're reading, especially when you're reading non-fiction content or you're looking at and evaluating things. But for the content producer, this is a great tool.

When I'm looking at a piece of content, when I'm watching one of Rand's Whiteboard Friday videos, I don't just say, "Oh, it's Rand Fishkin. I've got to take everything that he says." I formulate questions in my mind. Why is that true? He just went past that fact there, but how does he know that?

Wait, I'd like to know this, but I'm looking at a Whiteboard video. I could yell at it all day, and Rand's not going to answer me. But maybe instead of just putting that question in the comments, maybe that becomes my next piece of content.

Install a question antenna

So question everything. Get those questions. Related to that -- get a question antenna up. Now what I mean by that is look for questions that are already there, but aren't getting answered. You see a great blog post on something, and then you look in the comments and see somebody has asked this great question, and neither the author of the blog post nor anybody else is really answering it adequately. Chances are, if that's a really great question, that person doesn't have it alone. There are a lot of other people out there with that same question.

So that's an opportunity for you to take that and make a piece of content out of it. We're talking here about something that's relevant to the audience that you're after, obviously. So that's another thing is looking for those questions, and not just on other pieces of content, but obviously you should be listening to your customers. What are the questions they're asking? If you don't have direct access to that, talk to your sales staff. Talk to your customer service people. Whoever interfaces with the customers, collect their questions. Those are great sources of content.

Finally, here, not finally. Second to finally, penultimate, do the mash-up. I love mash-ups. I'm totally obsessed with them. It's where somebody, an artist goes and takes two or three or sometimes more pieces of pop music --
they could be from different eras -- and puts them together in a very creative way. It's not just playing one after the other, but finds ways that they sonically match up and they can blend over each other. It might be a Beatles song over Gangster's Paradise. A whole new thing happens when they do that.

Juxtapose this! By which I mean do a mash-up.

Well, you can do mash-ups. When you're reading content or watching videos or wherever you're getting your stimulation, look for things that juxtapose in some way, that you could bring that in, in some way that nobody's done before.

Quickly, there are four kinds of things you should be looking for to do your mash-up. Sometimes you could be writing about things that intersect in some way. You might see two different pieces of content and, because you've got your content eyes out there, you say, "Ah, there's an overlap here that nobody is talking about." So you talk about it. You write about that.

It might be a total contrast. It might be like over here people are saying this, and over here people are saying that. Why is there such a difference?
Maybe you can either resolve that or even just talk about why that difference is there.

It can be just an actual contradiction. There's contradiction in this thing. Why is that contradiction there? Or maybe just where they complement each other. That's supposed to be a bridge between there. Not a very good bridge. The two things, how do they complement each other? The mash-up idea is taking two or more ideas that are out there floating around, that you've been thinking about, and bringing them together in a way that nobody else has.

Before I go on to the last one here, I just want to say "Do you see what we're doing?" We're synthesizing out of other stimulus that's out there to produce something that is unique, but birthed out of other ideas. That's where the best ideas come from. That's a way that you can be getting those ideas.

Let's brand-name-acne-treatment this topic up

Let's go to the last one here. I call it Clearasil because it's clearing things up. This is one I use a lot. Maybe it's because I have a background as a teacher years ago. I've got to make this clear. I've got to explain this. When you see something out there that is interesting or new, somebody presents some new facts, a test result, whatever it is, but they just kind of presented the facts, you could go, if you understand it, and say, "I think I know what that's happening. I think I know the implications of that." You could go and explain that. Now you have cleared that up, and you've created a great new piece of useful content.

A quick example of that kind of thing is I had a chat with Jay Baer recently, of Convince & Convert. Something he said just pinged in my mind and I said, "Yes, that's why some of my content works." He has this thing that he calls "and therefore" content. He says that he's trained his staff and himself that when they go out and they see something where somebody has said like, "This happened out there," kind of reporting of the news, they say, "Let's write about or do a video about or an audio or whatever, and therefore what this means to you, and therefore the next steps you need to take because of that, and therefore what might happen in the future." You see the power of that?

So the whole thing here is getting content eyes. Learning to see content everywhere. Train yourself. Begin to ask those questions. Begin to look at the stimulus that comes in around you. Listen, look, and find out what you can put together in a way that nobody else has before, and you'll never run out of those content ideas. Thanks a lot for joining me today.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

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Seth's Blog : "I don't get it"

"I don't get it"

"I don't like it"

"I don't understand it"

Those are the only responses your new idea can possibly generate from many around you if your new idea is actually a great idea, something ownable, something you can build work around.

The popular, obvious, guaranteed ideas have definitely been taken, or are so small that they're not really worth your blood and tears.

That means if the new title of your book is instantly understood by all, it's generic or descriptive, not something that people will associate with you as a creator or as someone who brings us new insight.

That means if your app does something so predictable that everyone is sure it's going to work, you're not making a big enough leap.

And that means that if your political idea is so palatable that everyone is going to vote for it immediately, it's not going to change anything.

"I'll ask around the office," is shorthand for, "no. Make it more boring. Banal. And less likely to succeed, please."

• Email to a friend •

joi, 7 august 2014

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Fed Study Finds 2 million in "Forced Retirement", 48% Cannot Afford an Unexpected $400 Expense
Meet "McCashier" Your $15.00 Per Hour McDonald's Worker Replacement
Obama Considers Airstrikes or Humanitarian Air Drops in Iraq

Fed Study Finds 2 million in "Forced Retirement", 48% Cannot Afford an Unexpected $400 Expense

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 09:20 PM PDT

I have talked about "forced retirement" 174 times over the course of the past few years.

I defined the term as those who retired because they had to, not because they wanted to.

Why might they have to? Easy. If someone of retirement age wants a job and needs a job and needs income, but does not have a job the choice (after expiring unemployment benefits is to retire).

These people should be considered unemployed, but they are not. Instead they dropped out of the labor force.

We can now put some numbers on "forced retirement" thanks to a Fed study that shows 40% of households show signs of financial stress

Four out of 10 American households were straining financially five years after the Great Recession -- many struggling with tight credit, education debt and retirement issues, according to a new Federal Reserve survey of consumers.

This latest snapshot, which the Fed said was aimed at monitoring the recovery and risks to financial stability, adds to the understanding of the severity of the Great Recession's effect on households and individuals.

The survey found, for example, that 15% of those who had retired since 2008 had retired earlier than planned because of the downturn. Only 4% said they had retired later than expected. Based on demographics, that translates into roughly 2 million more people retiring since 2008 than if the recession had not occurred.

"This suggests that some of the folks who dropped out of the labor force during the recession will not be returning," said Scott Hoyt, an economist at Moody's Analytics.

Study Results

The above is from the LA Times which (as typical of mainstream media) did not bother linking to the study.

Inquiring minds may wish to see the actual study results.

The Fed report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2013, released today, is 200 pages long, but that is no excuse for failing to link to it.

Items in red below are things I found particularly noteworthy.

Key Findings

Over 60 percent of respondents reported that their families are either "doing okay" or "living comfortably" financially; another one-fourth, however, said that they were "just getting by" financially and another 13 percent said they were struggling to do so
The effects of the recession continued to be felt by many: 34 percent reported that they were somewhat worse off or much worse off financially than they had been five years earlier, 34 percent reported that they were about the same, and 30 percent reported that they were somewhat or much better off
42 percent reported that they had delayed a major purchase or expense directly due to the recession, and 18 percent put off what they considered to be a major life decision as a result of the recession
Just over half of respondents were putting some portion of their income away in savings, although about one-fifth were spending more than they earned
61 percent reported that they expected their income to stay the same in the next 12 months, while 21 percent expected it to increase and 16 percent expected it to decline

Renters

The most common reasons cited by renters for renting rather than owning a home were an inability to afford the necessary down payment (45 percent) and an inability to qualify for a mortgage (29 percent)
10 percent of renters reported that they were currently looking to buy a home

Credit experiences and expectations

31 percent of respondents had applied for some type of credit in the prior 12 months
One-third of those who applied for credit were turned down or given less credit than they applied for
19 percent of respondents put off applying for some type of credit because they thought they would be turned down
Just over half of respondents were confident in their ability to obtain a mortgage, were they to apply
Experience with credit appears to vary by race and ethnicity, with non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics disproportionately likely to report being denied credit, to put off applying for credit, and to express a lack of confidence about successfully applying for a mortgage, though these effects are partially explained by other factors correlated with race/ethnicity and credit, such as education

Financing of education

24 percent reported having education debt of some kind, with 16 percent having acquired debt for their own education, 7 percent for their spouse/partner's education, and 6 percent for their child's education
Among those with debt for their own education, those who failed to complete the program they borrowed money for were far more likely to report having to cut back on spending to make their student loan payments (54 percent versus 39 percent for those who completed) and to believe that the costs of the education outweighed any financial benefits they received from the education (56 percent versus 38 percent for those who completed)

Savings

Among those who had savings prior to 2008, 57 percent reported using up some or all of their savings in the Great Recession and its aftermath
Only 48 percent of respondents said that they would completely cover a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 without selling something or borrowing money

Retirement

Almost half of respondents had not planned financially for retirement, with 24 percent saying they had given only a little thought to financial planning for their retirement and another 25 percent saying they had done no planning at all
31 percent of respondents reported having no retirement savings or pension, including 19 percent of those ages 55 to 64, and 25 percent didn't know how they will pay their expenses in retirement
Among those ages 55 to 64 who had not yet retired, only 18 percent planned to follow the traditional retirement model of working full time until a set date and then stop working altogether, while 24 percent expected to keep working as long as possible, 18 percent expected to retire and then work a part-time job, and 9 percent expected to retire and then become self-employed
The Great Recession pushed back the planned date of retirement for two-fifths of those ages 45 and over who had not yet retired
15 percent of those who had retired since 2008 reported that they retired earlier than planned due to the recession, while only 4 percent had retired later than expected

Medical expenses

34 percent of respondents reported going without some form of medical care in the prior 12 months because they could not afford it
43 percent of respondents reported that they could not afford to pay for a major medical expense out of pocket, and 34 percent reported that it is only somewhat likely that they could afford to pay
24 percent of respondents experienced what they described as a major unexpected medical expense that they had to pay out of pocket in the prior 12 months

Interestingly, 60% say they are doing OK or better , yet 48% cannot find a mere $400 for an unexpected emergency.

That suggests to me that nearly half the county is on a paycheck-to-paycheck struggle.

Here's another curiosity: The above report is clearly deflationary, as is "McCashier" Your $15.00 Per Hour McDonald's Worker Replacement, yet people manage to get hyperinflation out of this mix.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Meet "McCashier" Your $15.00 Per Hour McDonald's Worker Replacement

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 12:53 PM PDT

Sure. You can make $15 an hour at McDonald's, at least in Seattle. You just have to perform better than this machine.

But if you are not more cost effective that that machine, then not only do you not make $15, you do not have a job at all.

That machine is the not so distant replacement for cashiers demanding more and more pay.

A Reddit comment says the cashiers at this McDonald's were replaced by machines.

Comments indicate the store is the company owned McDonald's Innovation Center at 1253 N Schmidt Rd, Romeoville, IL 60446, United States.

Any readers care to check that out?

Math, Not Counting Benefits

For a location open 24 hours: The cost of human cashiers, not counting benefits, $15/hour * 24 hours * 365 days/year = $131,400
For a location open 6AM to Midnight: $15/hour * 18 hours * 365 = $98,550.

For the machine to be cost effective, all it needs to do is cost less than $100,000 a year to buy and maintain.

By the way, it won't just be McDonald's that eliminates cashiers. Expect to see machines like that everywhere. Basic cost-accounting math demands that outcome.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Obama Considers Airstrikes or Humanitarian Air Drops in Iraq

Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:04 AM PDT

Iraq is a complete mess thanks to the idiotic actions of president Bush who wasted trillions of dollars removing Sadaam Hussein only to see the country disintegrate into a civil war crisis far worse than leaving Hussein in control.

For his part, Obama gave support to "moderate rebels" in the Syrian civil war, and of course those rebels turned out to be Al Qaeda forces, including the radical Isis group, now capturing huge chunks of Iraq.

Obama Considers Airstrikes

Isis has now taken over so much of Iraq that Obama Weighs Airstrikes or Aid to Help Trapped Iraqis.

President Obama is considering airstrikes or airdrops of food and medicine to address a humanitarian crisis among as many as 40,000 religious minorities in Iraq who have been dying of heat and thirst on a mountaintop after death threats from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, administration officials said on Thursday.

The president, in meetings with his national security team at the White House on Thursday morning, has been weighing a series of options ranging from dropping humanitarian supplies on Mount Sinjar to military strikes on the fighters from ISIS now at the base of the mountain, a senior administration official said.

The administration official said that "the president is weighing both passive and active options," defining passive action as dropping humanitarian supplies. He added, using an alternative name for ISIS, "More active, we could target the ISIL elements that are besieging the base of the mountain."

The administration had been delaying taking any military action against ISIS until there is a new Iraqi government. Both White House and Pentagon officials have said privately that the United States would not intervene militarily until Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki stepped down.

But administration officials said on Thursday that the crisis on Mount Sinjar may be forcing their hand. About 40 children have already died from the heat and dehydration, according to Unicef, while as many as 40,000 people have been sheltering in the bare mountains without food, water or access to supplies.

What Does ISIS Control?

In an infographic, the New York Times asks and answers What Does ISIS Control?

Isis Advances on Kurds

Yesterday the Times reported Sunni Extremists Repel Kurdish Forces in Iraq

Sunni extremists repelled efforts by Kurdish pesh merga forces on Wednesday to push them back in areas east of Mosul in northern Iraq, and shelled a predominantly Christian village there, in what appeared to be a renewed push along the Kurdish border to take ground, control oil fields and water resources and expel minority groups.

As artillery shells landed in the village of Qara Qosh, which is largely Christian, and plumes of smoke from the explosions drifted across the dry Nineveh plain just 25 miles from the Kurdish capital, Erbil, panicked residents fled in cars and pickups piled with their belongings, creating long lines at checkpoints guarded by the Kurdish pesh merga.

"We heard the sound of artillery," said Ahmed, a father of three. "It was very close to us; the windows were shaking, and when I looked at my family's faces, I had to leave."

Rogue State

Inquiring minds may also wish to consider A Rogue State Along Two Rivers ... How ISIS Came to Control Large Portions of Syria and Iraq.

Mission Accomplished

Please recall President Bush parachuting aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003, and giving a "Mission Accomplished Speech" on Iraq.

What Was the Mission?

Some of you may be asking "What the hell was the mission?"

It's a good question too, and I have the answer: To destabilize Iraq thereby insuring perpetual war.

The mission was accomplished so well, that not only is Iraq in a state of civil war with extreme radical groups in control over many populated areas, Obama now considers US military action.

As missions in pure stupidity go, it would tough to find a better example.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

vineri, 8 august 2014

I See Content Everywhere - Whiteboard Friday

I See Content Everywhere - Whiteboard Friday