BusinessCasualBlog.com

Something new: Where's Mel? What's Up With BusinessCasualBlog.com?

Last week, I launched a new site over at MelAclaro.com.  It's a more niched focus on some of the things I've found myself practicing more and more on this blog over time.  That is, the business applications of social video.  

I've fielded enough questions like those below to know that there's a need for a place for me to do a brain dump about the hard-knocks and learnings I've had in the last decade with video and its effective and efficient use in: blogs, social media and business.  

• How do I get started with video blogging?
• What special equipment do I need?
• What special hosting is required?
• How do I get the crisp-looking video images like you have in your videos?
• What settings should I use for bitrate, dimensions, and file formats?
• What's the process for getting video from my camera, through my computer, and on to the web?
• What if I don't want to host some videos on a public server like YouTube?  What options do I have?  How do set it up?
• What, really, is the difference between a blog and a videoBlog?

And, while that theme itself would still technically fit within the lineup for BCB, I really wanted to focus even more on video blogging, video-based marketing, and basically tracing a roadmap for the process I've gone through for setting up an online presence with a video-based blog.

What's Happening to BusinessCasualBlog?

BCB isn't shutting down.  I'll still be posting about the confluence of social media, business and learning.  The posts here may drop off to about once per week during the time I ramp up MelAclaro.com.  But, overall, both sites will complement each other.  

You can read more about the move by reading my write-up about on the "About" page at MelAclaro.com.  In the meantime, I hope you'll join me there by clicking this link to signup for the Social Media Marketing Tips newsletter.  You'll also get a free copy of my eBook Social Media Marketing Essentials Guide For Small Business Professionals.

Finally, if you have friends, colleagues, agents or office staff who've been wondering about just how to do "that video-thang on their blogs," this is a perfect time for them to join me.  In the coming days, I plan on writing a series over at MelAclaro.com about the steps I went through to set up a new video blog.  It's all part and parcel with the mission of the new site.  So, forward this blog post to them via email, as well.

Thanks in advance.  Here's that link again to signup for my newsletter.  See you over at MelAclaro.com!   

(Photo courtesy: Marco Belluci, Flickr, Creative Commons)

It's a lie to think that you're not good enough!

If you've ever had any doubts about those words (youtube time code 1:38) take a few moments to listen to Nick tell you how it is...

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 (Camtasia? Articulate? Captivate? Final Cut? Yeah, I do that.)

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GOING to thanksgiving or GIVING THANKS?

(Courtesy: Gisella Giardino via Creative Commons.)

Last year at about this time I shared a long-ish memory about another Thanksgiving celebration in the year before last. Though you wouldn't know it as I started the story, but we had a fantastic time with my in-laws. (You kinda had to read my post through to the end.)

I won't recount the whole thing, but as I started telling it, I grumbled -- as I'm prone to do. (I'm akin to a spoiled-stomp-my-feet-on-the-ground-and-walk-in-circles-and-pout-punk-brat sometimes, I really am) -- about missing my side of the family. (See? "me, me, me.")

GOING to Thanksgiving

If I wasn't grumbling about GOING to Thanksgiving to someplace other than with my siblings, I was griping about GOING to Thanksgiving through the traffic, or moaning about GOING to Thanksgiving where the weather was something other than what I had hoped, or just otherwise GOING to Thanksgiving.

The Gift of Time

It wasn't until after we arrived that I actually allowed myself some time. Just...time.

Time to not have any expectations or perceived remorse about "what could have been" and to simply allow things to just "be." That time allowed me to share in the stories from my brother-in-law, gave me time to see how my wife and her sister re-connected after a lengthy time apart, time to share stories with my mother-in-law, and time to laugh, time to reconnect with my niece and nephew.

I remember my niece and nephew challenged me to a race around the corner to the local park. I was game. First we raced to "the corner of the building." Of course, the trick to winning any race is to "make up" which corner marked the winner's line. My niece and nephew were too green to understand why I kept shouting "I win!"... but they're quick studies. (Hmm...or maybe they understood more than they let on.)

Getting a Clue

Anyway, after I won the to-the-corner-of-the-building race, they won the to-the-little-tree race; then the to-the-swing-set sprint. By the time we had completed the to-the-slide winner's cup, I was fully engaged. It happened gradually. Somewhere between the laughs and smiles in the living room and the bantering at the swing set, I finally gave up GOING to Thanksgiving.

I can't remember which one of us had our butt firmly planted in our claims to "my swing," but I do remember the "let's do it again" gleam in the eyes of my niece and nephew. And, somewhere in the middle of all that the rest of the family had evidently also found their way to the park. The sisters were engaged in close sibling revelry, my brother-in-law and mother-in-law were laughing (at me?), while I was about to enter another race with the kids.

In the middle of all that, the recognition finally clicked. The whole time I was busily rounding the bases  of GOING to Thanksgiving, I had forgotten to allow the spirit of GIVING THANKS to come to me.

And, again, I took time. Time to look around and think... Thank You.

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Nice Finds From the Week of October 25 to 31, 2009

Here's my list of "nice finds" from last week.

o Google Social Search. From Google Labs, this is an experimental feature that allows you to refine your search results to filter relevant public content from those in your social circle.

o Pandora sharing and gifting integration. Last week TechCrunch reported on Pandora's move to open its music box up a bit more to social sharing. Now, you can not only listen to music according to what it learns about your musical preferences across 400 distinct musical characteristics, but now you can also share some of those results with friends and social connections.

o eLearningLearning. I've had my blog networked through eLearningLearning since Tony Karrer first published the widget for fellow bloggers a year ago (next week). I was reminded again just last week about what a great resource it is for Learning Professionals when I used it to research some topics in eLearning and Social Media.

o Grieving chimps. And, my picture of the week has got to be this one snapped by National Geographic's Monica Szczupider that reminds us, once again, that humans are not alone in experiencing complex emotions.

 

Have you got any "nice finds" you'd care to share?  Please post 'em in the comments below.  

Related post:
Nice finds from Oct 18-24, 2009 (First in the series.)

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Guest post: “What’s New in Human Trafficking”

This is the 3rd in a series on human trafficking by guest blogger Tobi Aclaro.  (See previous articles written by Tobi Aclaro.)

If you’ve been reading my guest blogs, you know what human trafficking is, and ways to identify possible victims or a possible situation.  And, just as important, that modern-day slavery can actually happen right here, in the US, in California…and in any town.  All that’s needed is someone to exploit another person for profit.

Today, we’ll cover two excerpts that highlight recent news:

Recent Convictions.  

There is some good news in the field—an increase in convictions in the US.  Indeed, according to US State Department Luis CdeBaca on October 9, the US succeeded in gaining “five convictions in the past three days in labor trafficking, including California.”  One of the cases is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.  

That day, KRON-TV reported on a human trafficking case involving a real estate agent in Walnut Creek.  The trafficker, herself a female, was convicted of labor trafficking and related charges by falsely promising fair pay and standard working conditions to a nanny in return for childcare services.  Through fraud and psychological coercion, the trafficker confiscated the nanny’s passport and under threats, forced the nanny to work 15 hours per day for two years under substandard conditions.

US Ambassador CdeBaca and US Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez highlight an Orange County “town hall” forum on human trafficking.  

On October 9, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, Rep. Loretta Sanchez and officials from the Westminster Police Department addressed the issue of human trafficking with community groups, human rights organizations, social service providers, law enforcement, students and faith-based leaders at Vanguard University, Costa Mesa.

I attended the event along with many colleagues from Southern California. CdeBaca was appointed by President Obama and serves as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and directs the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP).  Congresswoman Sanchez represents California’s 47th District and serves as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

“The chains of slavery may not always be visible; but it’s up to us to look for them”.  He described indicators similar to those listed on my earlier blog post.  CdeBaca referred to the plight of one his earlier cases, where over 50 Mexican deaf workers were smuggled into the US and forced into involuntary servitude selling trinkets on the streets of New York.  “They can only beg with their eyes,” he said.  (For victims still out here, now, on the streets) “let us be their voices.”

Think about where we inadvertently create demand.

Another point was to focus on demand.  “We don’t know, in the last four hours, what we’ve done to inadvertently contribute to slavery,” said the Ambassador.  “We don’t ask the questions ‘The shirt that I’m wearing-- The coffee that I drank this morning—where did these come from, and were they made by slave labor?”  

He also pointed out slave labor throughout places around the world rich in minerals and resources, but brutal in oppression of women, children and those caught in the midst of civil wars or violence spilling across borders.  Congo, for instance, is the key country where tantalum is mined—critical in the production of cell phones.  “It’s not ‘their’ supply chain, CdeBaca said of goods bought and sold worldwide.  “It’s MY supply chain, because we buy it.” 

He also advocated to “look for root causes:  poverty, gender imbalance, organized crime...”

According to the State Department, approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked across international borders worldwide each year.  An alarming 14,500 to 17,500 of those victims are being trafficked annually into the United States.  (http://www.state.gov/g/tip/)  And this estimate doesn’t include victims already in the US, or US citizens such as teens or runaways lured into forced prostitution. 

According to the United Nations, "an estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labour (including sexual exploitation) at any given time is a result of trafficking.  People are reported to be trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries, affecting every continent and every type of economy."  (Download a pdf fact sheet.)

What you can do.

If you see a possible trafficking situation or to learn more about human trafficking resources, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (24/7) at:  888-3737-888. 

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Find out more about Tobi and the opportunities she's considering...

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Google's Picasa desktop app adds facial recognition

Google's release this week of Picasa 3.5 now adds facial recognition functionality to its desktop application. 

Tag a photo with the name of the subject and the application will scan your photo library to try and identify other photos with the same face to apply the tag to. 

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4 Things I didn't know about treating a common cold

After having played "dodge ball" with a cold that I could feel was trying to take me earlier this week, it finally caught up with me yesterday afternoon. My usual remedy of sweating it out with a short run or a brisk walk right at the onset helped stave it off initially. But, I'll be darned if it didn't finally do its smack down yesterday.

Needless to say, today I'll be sitting around at home doing all the traditional after-it-hits-you cold remedies I know about. These include:

• Lots of rest
• Orange juice
• Lots of fluids
• Vitamin C
• Chicken soup
• NyQuil
• Throat lozenges
• Oh, and lots and lots of Kleenex

I've also heard about, but never tried, the following home remedies:

• Garlic
• Ginger tea
• Echinacea
• Eucalyptus steam inhalation
• Zinc

After having trawled the web a bit this morning researching common Cold remedies (I think I'm psychologically seeking solace among fallen brethren), I'm thinking of trying some of those in the list above. After all, what else have I got to do today, right?

Also, those above seem to be some of the home remedies that came up most often across the five or six articles I Googled, Stumbled or Digg'd up this morning. Here's a list of some of the articles I visited and found either helpful or at least interesting in some way:

• Mayo clinic - What works, what doesn't, what can't hurt
• WebMD - Cold remedies
  
• WebMD - 12 Tips to Treat Colds and Flu the Natural Way
• About.com - Alternative Medecine: Common Cold Remedies
• Your life regained - Natural Remedies for Common Cold and Flu
• Cold Remedies That Really Work - Chris Gupta

Then there are these 4 things I didn't know.

As often happens when I read other blogs and the experiences and insights of others, I come across little nuggets that I didn't know before. Here are a few. Have you heard of these?

• Cold viruses may enter through your ear?? I mean, I don't know. It sounds plausible. In the article, Chris Gupta shares an interesting snippet (see also the comments) about a 1928 hypothesis positing that cold and flu viruses enter through the ear canal. Though diss'd by the medical community at the time, it set the stage a decade later for a remedy suggesting a few diluted drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide in each ear a few times each day.

• There's a "wrong way" to blow your nose. (See Cold Remedy #3 of this webmd article.) Evidently, if you have poor, uh, technique, you could end up blowing germs into your ear passages. (Hmm... another case for the hydrogen peroxide approach?)

• Make your own salt water rinse to irrigate your nose. (See Cold Remedy #4 of the webmd article in the previous bullet.) Apparently, it helps to break up the congestion while also removing virus particles and bacteria. Hmm... makes sense.

• Miso soup. Apparently, it's an old Japanese remedy. No quibbling here. This one's a no-brainer. I looove miso soup.

Have you heard of the remedies above? Have you tried them? Do they work? Let me know in the comments below. And, if you have other things you'd recommend I try (short of drilling a hole in my head) let me know. I'm pretty much gonna be cooped up all weekend. I'm willing to try anything.

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Quick follow up to the Kanye West chapter - Bravo Mr. President!

A couple of days ago, I posted a small digression/rant about Kanye's bad behavior, and how I am so happy that this time, bad behavior wasn't rewarded. 

Then this...

Oh, and don't miss Mashable's Top 10 Kanye West Interruption Parodies.

What can I say?  To our esteemed President... bravo!  Bravo! (Don't sweat it.  More people agree with you than would disagree on this point.)

To Mr. West: Hubris, Kanye.  Look it up.

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Rant: Kanye West's bad behavior not rewarded - thank God!

Caution:  I'm digressing.  This one's a rant.  (I do that every now and then.)

Like many of you, I was absolutely appalled at Kanye West's extreme dissing of Taylor Swift's moment during this year's MTV Video Music Awards.  More than rude, it was totally classless.

But, I gotta say, just as my opinion of the celebrity world was about to take another nose dive by about ten orders of magnitude, the rest of 'em stepped up.  This is one of those times when I'm so glad that bad behavior just wasn't tolerated.  I mean, Pink labeled him a "toolbox", Taylor's mom went off on him back stage, 50 Cent wants to give him a black eye and I absolutely applaud Katy Perry's response...

For once, the bad guy gets crucified. 

Final thought:  Kudos to Beyonce--and her dad, whom I understand put the seed in her mind to--later share the spotlight with Taylor during her acceptance for video of the year. 

And, of course, I'm throwing roses to  Taylor Swift for her very generous stance of choosing not to hold a grudge--especially when this blogger believes she would have been well within her rights to have slapped Kanye across the face on stage for taking that moment away from her. 

These girls each exhibited the grace and class that Kanye so lacked.  Bravo!

Happy 40th Birthday Internet! Woot!

(Photo from www.old-computers.com. This is one of the "baby pictures" of the type of computer used (Honeywell DDP-516) in the very first networked environment.)

Depending on your perspective, we should either be wishing the Internet a happy (belated) 40th birthday today, or we would do so next month on October 29.

"If Sept. 2 was the day the Internet took its first breath, we like to say Oct. 29 was the first day the infant Internet said its first words...

~ Leonard Kleinrock, UCLA Distinguished Professor of Computer Science

This article from Computerworld about "The Internet at 40..." is worth a read. Most interesting to me are the quotes from Dr. Kleinrock, aka "Father of the Internet." I lifted those that jumped out at me below. But, the whole article is interesting for its historical perspective. (Oh, and in case you're wondering about the birthday of the World Wide Web? March 13, 1989. Check it out... I actually have baby pictures here.)

Quotes from Leonard Kleinrock article in Computerworld, Sept 3, 2009

"I saw how it could affect business. I saw that business data, financial data, accounting data, orders, files would be moved back and forth... But... the social as opposed to the business use, was not there in my mind. I'd never imagined that my 99-year-old mother would be on the Internet. And she was until she passed away two years ago..."

""I love the fact that we are constantly being surprised by new applications that just come along and take over the network," he noted. "E-mail was unpredicted and it came in and, whoosh, it just took over. Then there was Napster, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, all the social networks... whoosh, they just took over. Nobody saw these things coming. What I love about the Internet is that it's an innovation engine. You see things come out of nowhere and they'll just catch fire."

But, about having foreseen the "dark side" of the internet...?

"When we started this network, we knew everybody in the community that was using it... We trusted everybody. We had a sense of openness and sharing. Everybody could participate and share with others. We did not build in limitations and restrictions. We did not add something we should have and that's strong user authentication and file authentication. If someone said they were Joe Smith, there would be a way to prove it.... I would build in the ability to enforce strong user and file authentications and then I would have turned it off immediately so we could have this free, open access to allow the network to catch fire and grow. Then, I would have introduced it once it was needed."

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