May 2011
1 post
jasonmkey.com →
January 2011
7 posts
3,768,523 Reasons You Should Be Blogging
Everyone wave hi to Pete. “HI PETE!” *note this is not a picture of Pete, but it made me laugh so I had to go with it*
Pete started a blog recently and I’m celebrating. Months ago I told Pete that he was a born writer and should get one started. It looks like my influence won out this time.
Why should you blog?
1. It’s the funnest thing in the world. 2. You’ll...
A New Chapter
It’s time to make the news official. I’ve made the jump from freelance community guy to full on agency guy. Most of my client work moving forward will fall under the entity of Convo Group. It’s a switch I’ve been looking forward to and anticipating for a long time now. There will be a lot of new and exciting challenges, but the benefits greatly outweigh the costs. I love...
Get in the Shed
What have you been putting off that needs to get done?
Dizzy Gillespie, one of the greatest trumpet players, band leaders, and jazz legends of all time was once asked how he achieved his level of mastery at his craft. Dizzy responded by saying that he wasn’t the best player, he just practiced more than the next guy.
An old teacher of mine use to refer to the act of practice as...
Does Your Business do This?
I’ve always been more of a BMW guy than a Lexus fan, but major props to Lexus for answering a question via Twitter. I wanted to know where a certain model was built and they answered promptly. Thanks for taking the time.
Why doesn’t this happen more often?
A Look Inside the Toolbox
photo © 2009 Erich Stüssi
What I use on a day to day basis.
Analytics
Google - I use Google Analytics across all my sites.
Twitalyzer - for Twitter analytics.
Viralheat - a low cost solution for monitoring customer sentiment.
Blogging
Tumblr - only for this site.
Wordpress - I build everything on Wordpress.org. Most often I’ll use the Headway or Thesis theme.
Browser
...
Very Cool
You either get it or you don’t.
Hot Mama’s Pizza makes the BEST pesto pizza in Seattle, but today they really won me over. I walked in and look what I found. They’re using a service called SPARQCode (which is 100% free to download) to send their in store users to their Facebook page via QR codes. Smart move Hot Mama’s. Another example of an easy to use tool to promote...
Don't Let me Down Quora
I’ve written enough 2011 prediction posts already for various outlets, so I’m going to spare both of us and not put one up here. Instead I’d like direct some attention towards Quora. It’s a community worth getting excited about.
Peter over at Ideas Bubble had some thought’s on Quora that I’m in agreement with. I’m taking a bet that in 2011 Quora will...
December 2010
8 posts
A Salute to the Doers.
Everyone is genius to some extent or another. We’ve all got good ideas, creative bursts, and energy to spare (no matter what your particularly environment is).
However not enough of us are capitalizing on our talents often enough.
We sit and think and think and think and think some more. We hesitate to push a product, leave the comfort zone, or bring an idea from thought to fruition.
If...
Moving Etiquette
Thinking about online relocation?
A little over a month ago I redesigned my online home (the site that this article is hosted on) and now I’m considering a relocation. Nothing big, but Tumblr is making me upset and enough is enough.
Whether you’re moving a large or small online community odds are that you’ll want to keep at least a portion of it intact.
Give advance...
Create Something Today
What can you create today?
1. Take some photos 2. Brainstorm with the team 3. Interview someone 4. Construct a physical model 5. Send a personalized email to 10 people 6. Conduct a survey. Report the findings 7. Review a product 8. Build a chart 9. Make a Powerpoint presentation 10. Record a song 11. Write handwritten letters 12. Hold a Livestream session 13. Find a whiteboard. Find some dry...
2 tags
Why Giving Away is the Only Way
Thoughts on content marketing.
The ask is super super super important. Those who don’t ask, don’t receive. However it’s a big mistake to ask without giving something of value at the same time.
Give give give give and GIVE some more. And then you may receive.
Smart content marketing is about giving the audience something to chew on, while at the same time offering...
Stumbling for Tumbling
Is it time to kick Tumblr to the curb? I surveyed the community.
We all stumble from time to time, but Tumblr’s recent behavior has been unexcusable. For those out of the loop, Tumblr took a sick day and stopped serving it’s millions of users for about 30+ hours. Something to do with database clusters. (Please don’t ask me what a database cluster is)
I’ve defended...
Castles Made of Sand
A community built on a lousy foundation won’t support itself for long.
Before you start…
1. Build a quality website or pay someone who can do it for you. This is important. Poor design will sink your ship before it’s even left the harbor.
2. Encourage share-ability (AKA social media optimization). Make it easy for us to share what we like.
3. Have a strategy. How can you...
Step it Up
Community building is not a passive activity. It takes action. Lots of it.
Wakeup! What are your online community goals?
More members More conversations More contributions More traffic More subscribers More donations
How are you going to reach them? One fool proof way is to take more action. No matter what the goal, more action will get you there in time. Even if you temporarily fail or get...
Rules for Fools
Trying to unlock the secret to mastering your favorite social network? Two words of advice: GIVE UP
Rule #1: There are no rules
Each online social network is different (one reason why I think it’s a crummy idea to push updates to multiple networks at once). Online channels are so different and change so often that you’re going to run around like a chicken with its head cut off if...
November 2010
6 posts
It's Not About the Channel
It’s time to start thinking big picture.
Do you want the secret?
Are you ready?
……
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..
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Start caring about other people and show it often
It’s not about x channel or y channel. It’s not about using the newspaper less and using Groupon more.
Stop debating HootSuite vs TweetDeck.
...
No Thanks to Thanks
photo via YASRSLY
Do we really have to go through the motions?
Here it is again. That time of the year. Surround yourself with family members and give yourself an excuse to eat way more than you probably should. For some (myself included) it’s just another excuse to watch football. For others it’s a much needed 4 day weekend.
I don’t give enough thanks throughout the year....
Beware the Quacks
Every group has them. Those who are loud, proud, and yelling over the crowd. It’s time to keep the quacks in check.
Do you know “that” guy? The one who is always piping up. Talking a lot, but contributing very little. The person whose own voice is music to their ears and intolerable noise to others?
These individuals are mocked and unwelcome at parties and networking events....
Narrowing In
Being pulled 100 different ways? It’s time to cut out the excess and write with a sense of direction.
I want to talk about everything. I want to blog about pescatarian cooking, Green Bay Packers football, startups that I love, tech topics, and my personal life. Fortunately or unfortunately, I don’t have the time nor the energy to start a handful of blogs. For the sake of the reader...
Non Negotiable
Everything is negotiable, except for the things that aren’t.
The fact is you can try to negotiate just about anything. You may or may not succeed depending on your skill level, determination, the environment you’re in or what’s at stake. But you may try try try with all your might.
I’ve seen friends negotiate parking tickets, dates with very attractive partners, and high priced...
Cleaning House
I’ve been doing some heavy renovations to my apartment. I’m talking extreme makeover type of work. New paint, furniture, cookware, blinds, and art. It’s a complete transformation.
This got me thinking… Does my home online need a makeover?
Jason mKey.com has been my place of residence this past year and using Tumblr as a platform has been rewarding, but I’m not...
October 2010
5 posts
Is it time for a change?
I’m making some...
The System
If you think that…
A) A college degree B) Long term employment with a company C) the government
is going to save you when **** hits the fan, think again. This is the reality of the world that we live in today. Life owes you nothing. That includes a job, a house, and security. All those are extras and nothing is a given. Spend time learning how to make income and less time learning how to...
September 2010
2 posts
Junk Junk Junk
Have you ever worked in an office with a fax machine?
My first experience was just after high school when I worked at a packing/shipping outlet. Call it a less fancy UPS store.
We would receive junk faxes over the fax machine. Cleaners, movers, and other service providers would just send us faxes promoting their services. I thought it was incredibly annoying, however I knew that it was...
I Need Your Attention
Have you ever sat through a really bad movie?
Stupid question. I think everyone has at one point or another.
With a movie we are invested. We subconsciously say “I’m going to dedicate 2 hours of my life to watch this and pay attention.”
After 30 minutes or so if the movie hasn’t sparked your interest then impatience settles in. Eventually you’ll reach the...