Community Guy – Jake McKee

Looking for Silicon Valley Based Ants

I know, I know. At this point I should probably put a permanent header on this blog that says: “Ant’s Eye View is hiring, here’s the list of positions”. But yes, we’re hiring. Again.

The Ant Hill is hard at work this summer and is growing. This past spring, we opened our third office, in Silicon Valley, to support a growing roster of clients including Cisco, Intuit, Wells Fargo, EMC, and more.

As we build our Silicon Valley team, we’re looking to hire a seasoned practitioner who’s built and scaled social media, online community, or influencer efforts within large organizations. Our senior consultant in Silicon Valley will be a critical member of the team helping large organizations transform into fully engaged enterprises.

You can find more information about the position. We’d love to hear from you if you think the position is a match. If not, we’d love your help spreading the word about this excellent position.

Must Have Mac Apps

I recently posted my collection of “Must Have iPad Apps“, and I thought I’d do the same thing for my favorite Mac apps. Here’s a list of the tools, programs, helper apps that I couldn’t make it through a day without.

• Caffeine – This is the first thing I download and install when I rebuild my computer. This small menu item keeps your screen from auto-dimming, no matter how long you are away from your computer. This is really helpful when watching videos, presenting, or generally doing things on your computer where you’re not wanting the auto-dim function to kick in.
• LockTight – One of the most annoying oversights the MacOS has, at least for business users, is the lack of a similar function to the Windows ctrl-alt-delete screen lock function.
• Evernote – As I mentioned in my iPad post, Evernote has gotten a lot of press. All of it is deserved. It’s a fantastic, multi-platform note and content capture app.
• Things – Again, as mentioned in the iPad post, Things is my to-do list keeper. It’s a fantastic Mac program that has has rock solid iPhone and iPad clients.
• Dropbox – OK, one last iPad post reference… Dropbox is fantastic for Finder integrated file syncing to the cloud. Drop a file in your Dropbox folder and it syncs to any other device you want to view your Dropbox from. Great even if you just want to back up important files or access them across multiple computers.
• 1Password – It took me a long time to get into using a program that stores all my passwords for Web sites in one spot, but now I don’t know how I’d live without it. Generally, 1Password allows you to store passwords for all your sites behind a single login password. Visit a Web site, plug in your password to login, and when you submit the login form, 1Password prompts you to save the credentials. Next time you visit, 1Password asks you if you want auto-fill the form. And even better – you can create truly unique, complex passwords for each site you visit and not have to remember them! It’s a program that once you get used to using, it’s impossible to surf without it.
• JumpCut – Like 1Password, I never saw the benefit in using a “multiple clipboard” app until I finally tried out JumpCut on a lark. Now I’m addicted. Very, very helpful.
• Google Chrome – A truly solid, super fast, and nicely designed modern Web browser. I rarely get into Safari any more. While a ton of tabs can be a real drain on the system (Chrome treats each tab as a separate program), overall it’s amazing to see what happens when you build modern software from scratch.
• Adium – If you use Instant Messenger programs at all, you probably have an account on more than one. Adium allows you to use Windows Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, GTalk, and others all through one program. Very handy.
• Postbox – Based on Mozilla Thunderbird, this email app is a fantastic alternative to Mac Mail. I use Postbox for my personal mail so I can turn it off during the work day and ignore it all together.
• ecto – My desktop blogging app of choice. That’s what I’m writing this post in!
• AppZapper – A handy program uninstall program that gets rid of more than just dragging an app to the trash.
• HandBrake – Rip DVDs to Mac/iPhone/iPad friendly format.

And you? What are your must-have Mac apps?

Must Have iPad Apps

As my friends, colleagues, and random strangers have learned, I love apps. I have tested, played, installed/uninstalled a metric ton of apps of various sorts.

With the release of the iPad, several folks have asked me lately for my suggestions of must-have iPad apps. Without further ado, here’s my list of iPad apps I can’t do without.

• Harbor Master – a lot of press has been given to Flight Control HD, another line drawing style game. But for my money, Harbor Master is absolutely the more fun of any iPad game, line draw style or otherwise. I’ve been addicted to this game since it was first released on the iPhone. Even non-gamer types seem to love this one.
• Early Edition – This RSS reader turns a random selection of your feeds into a newspaper style daily read. If you have an insane number of RSS feeds in google reader like I do, this is a great way to keep up. Right now the selection of items shown is random, but hopefully in the future they start to add intelligence about article popularity.
• Netflix – It’s amazing to see this app in person. From selection of a video to watching said video is a matter of seconds. In HD quality. Via 3G or WiFi. Truly amazing. If you don’t have a Netflix account, this app is a reason to get one.
• ABC Player & Hulu Plus – Ditto the Netflix awesome. ABC only shows ABC shows, of course. The selection is incredibly limited, but it’s great to catch up if you miss an episode. And Hulu Plus is a subscription service that’s invite only right now, but you can tour it for now. When it opens up, I’m absolutely going to be spending the $9.99 per month.
• Instapaper – This app (and the associated Web service) is fantastic if you find more to read online than you have time for. When you’re surfing in your browser, you can click a bookmarklet to save the page/article/post to Instapaper’s database. Then you can read it on your iPhone or iPad with the app. This is one of those apps that takes a bit of getting used to, but one you get the hang of it, you’ll never live without it.
• Flickpad – This app is pretty straightforward… it shows you the stream of photos posted by your Facebook friends. The unique part is that it visually allows you “flick” through photos, arranging them on screen or flicking them out of the way. It’s a truly revolutionary way to think about content browsing. They’ve claimed Flickr support and I’m counting the days for that.
• Comics (by Comixology) – If you’re a fan of comics, this app is a great way to purchase and consume comics. The days of physical comic collections is largely dead, so these days it’s all about the stories. There are some truly interesting and unique stories in comic (i.e. graphic novel form). Even if you think you wouldn’t like “comic books”, check this out. I’ll bet there’s some stories that will change your mind. Comics these days aren’t quite a movie and they’re not quite a book… they’re something in between and there is some truly great literature out there.
• Photo Transfer – Transfer your iPad (or iPhone) photos to your computer (if your computer and iPad/iPhone are on the same WiFi network) without having to go through iTunes/iPhoto. It’s a one trick pony that’s insanely helpful.
• iThoughtsHD – A mind mapping app that is very well built. I’ve played with mind mapping before, but this app has proven I need to use it a lot more.
• Penultimate – A great hand writing app for capturing hand written notes. I use the Pogo stylus for writing notes in meetings. I’ve tested a number of other handwriting capture apps and this was my favorite. (That said, it should be noted that handwriting, both the stylus and the apps are not at all to the point where you can consider them “solid”. I’m sure it’ll come soon enough, we’re just not there yet.)
• Twittelator – I tried to get excited about TweetDeck on the iPad, but there’s something very smooth about Twittelator’s approach that works right. Just like you’d expect things to work.
• Wired – They’re expanding the app already and there’s been promises of being able to go back into the archives and download them. The extra content, and more interactive browsing is a lot of fun. And this is the Wired team… I’m sure they’ll continue pushing the limits of what the “virtual magazine” means and what it can do.

And a few other apps that I couldn’t live without but that sync with your desktop computer.

• Dropbox – A great backup tool, integrated into the Finder. I’ve created a series of folders that Dropbox monitors for me. Every time anything goes in those folders, it’s backed up to the cloud. Then via the Web, my iPhone, or my iPad, I have access to those files. And when you rebuild your machine, just install Dropbox, login, and wait for the files to backup in a flash. (No not Adobe Flash, the kind of flash that’s awesome and doesn’t crash your Mac every 30 seconds)
• Evernote – A great deal of ink (virtual and otherwise) has been spilled about how great Evernote is. It’s all true. It’s a great way to collect everything from images to notes to data like frequent flier numbers. They have a client for just about every platform you can imagine, including PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
• Things – My all-time favorite to-do list tracker. I use it religiously. It’s a Mac only desktop app, but you can get the app for iPhone and iPad, and can sync amongst all three.

And a few apps to watch as the devs grow them:

• Reeder – Another RSS reader, but with a very interesting way to navigate.
• Sling Player – If you own a Slingbox, the iPad version of this app will be very cool when they release it.
• SpringPad – Install this on your iPhone, snap pics or scan UPC codes when you’re shopping and see something you want to research later. Then pull up the list of saved items on your iPad. Very cool.

And you? What iPad apps do you love?

Ant’s Eye View is hiring again

Ant’s Eye View is growing like mad, and once again we need more we are hiring! AEV is hiring four new positions:

• Senior Consultant in Silicon Valley
• Consultant in Silicon Valley
• Consultant in Seattle or Austin (location will be determined by available, local talent pool)
• Listening Consultant in Austin

Are you the type of person that thrives in a high growth company with multiple responsibilities? Do like when your ideas are heard and you have responsibility for projects and deliverables? Are you ready to show others your full potential? Are you ready to help major brands become more social?

Interested? Know someone that is interested? Drop me a line or check out the job openings above.

Gizmodo and Comments

Comment and content moderation is a much discussed topic amongst our clients. Hell, it’s much discussed across the entire socialsphere. Most moderation systems, sadly, remain pretty analog: A group of people are hired to review content and give it a yes/no status which allows or bars it from being published.

Gizmodo posted recently about how their system works and it’s worth the read.

There are three levels of commenters: Unapproved, Approved and Starred. You basically have to audition for the right to comment, by leaving a smart blurb—if it’s good, you’ll get approved by an editor, one of our moderators, or a starred commenter, and then people can see your comment. Your comment is also approved if you sign in through Facebook Connect, since it’s tied to an identity. Truly excellent commenters earn stars, which grant them moderation powers, and makes all of their comments featured (more on that below).

There are three levels of comments: Unapproved, Approved and Featured. Unapproved are only seen by moderators. Approved can be seen by everybody, but a casual reader will have to work a bit to see them. Comments that moderators think are awesome—as well as comments left by star commenters—become featured, which means they’re in bold, and right up front on every post. Think of it as a super version of the karma scheme that Slashdot’s used forever.

More and more companies are building and launching projects that allow users to post/share/comment/upload. Even “small” projects can generate thousands of pieces of content. You can’t (or at least shouldn’t) hire enough staff to handle everything manually. Creating smart moderation systems isn’t just smart financially. Smart systems help drive site usage and increase overall user satisfaction. The build culture.

So what about your projects? Are you thinking of moderation as a protection mechanism or as an integral part of the success of your project?

Honest Negotiation

A couple months back, I had the pleasure of attending the Online Community Unconference. One thing that really struck me was how many people, many relatively new to community as a job function, struggled to understand how to balance working in social media with a certain desire to keep at least some part of their life private. Being new to the industry, the social media douchebaggery apparently dictates that you can’t be successful in social media unless you open up every aspect of your life and career and personality to the entire world. Anything less is the mark of the uncommitted.

Bullshit.

The answer to the question of privacy vs. openness isn’t about what’s “right” or “wrong” according to the wonks and pundits. The answer is what you and the community work with decide on together. Whether this decision is an open discussion or an unspoken agreement, the answer comes out of Honest Negotiation.

It’s very likely that the community you work with doesn’t expect you to tell them what you had for dinner last night or to give them your bank account number. It’s easy to get caught up in discussions about transparency and openness, only to start to believe that if you don’t share this level of detail you’re somehow failing.

But community work needs to come with boundaries. When my daughter was born, I dialed back on a lot of the personal information sharing I’d done prior to her birth. Never once did anyone say anything about it. I’ve heard many female community managers tell me that that they use a pseudonym rather than their real name because they wanted that level of protection. I’ve know many community builders who purposely don’t live their lives in the public eye.

These aren’t wrong decisions. They’re the right decisions for the people involved. The trick to maintaining a comfortable level of privacy while also being a successful social media/community worker is to be upfront about the decisions you make, when and how you need to be. Using a pseudonym in a community with very little personal sharing (such as a question/answer based tech support forum) probably doesn’t require you to talk about the fact you’re using that pseudonym. While other communities where you know people personally through online and offline activities (such as a crafting community group) may require you to share your boundaries as part of a profile or open discussion.

My point here is simple: Do what’s right for you and your community. Find the place that makes you feel comfortable and safe. If you don’t have those two things, your work as a community manager will absolutely suffer. And giving up comfort and safety in the hopes of being a better community manager rarely works out that way.

The Community Manager Role

Yesterday I wrote about the “LEGO is…” meme that I ran across on Flickr. I actually found this meme thanks to a Google Alert on my name. Much to my own humble satisfaction, I loved seeing this quote:

“LEGO is seeing Jake McKee @ BrickCon and being simultaneously star struck and yet feeling like he is a friend I know well.”

That single quote makes me feel better about my 5+ years as a community manager than anything else. What a great synopsis of the goal of community manager: to be personal while also creating a persona that drives people to work on behalf of the company. It really is that simple.

LEGO is… a fantastic meme

I left LEGO 4 years ago, but I still love it. It was more than a job, it was a life’s dream come true. Not only did I get to work for the company of my childhood dreams, I got to play a small part in helping bring the company back from the brink of disaster.

But it wasn’t the job that so excited me. It was the people I had the pleasure of working with, for, and on behalf of. I noticed this meme a few weeks back and it warmed my heart to see that the adult LEGO community has grown to a size that it has its own history.

Here are a few of my favorites, but you really should take some time to read the thread.

LEGO is building the worst NASA Space Shuttle ever out of Galaxy Explorer parts and still being proud of it.

LEGO is discovering, as an adult, the box with your old collection in deep storage. LEGO is passing that box on to a younger generation–minus some Classic Space parts that don’t exist anymore.

LEGO is reading posts like this, and realizing that this is what makes the LEGO Community a community…not just a group of people.

LEGO is finding out how deep the rabbit hole goes. Its finding out I’m not the only one. LEGO is a hotel room in Seattle talking about the dream project until the wee hours of the morning with people I admire and am proud to call my peers.

LEGO is dominating my bedroom, living room and dining room and being too busy building to clean it up. LEGO is teaching my roommates the proper way to swoosh a fighter. LEGO is mocs in every room of the house everywhere I look.

LEGO is good friends I’ve never met in different continents with little plastic brick as our common language.

And while you’re reading the thread, ask yourself if your product/service moves your customers to think about it like the LEGO fans think about LEGO. No? Why the hell not?

Social strategy by the numbers

A few weeks back, Jason Falls posted a great article, “Why Social Media Purists Won’t Last“. Here’s the money quote:

As a result, the social media purists have laid down the law and, so, to participate in social media as a business, you must do things like, “participate in the conversation,” “engage your customers,” and “talk with us not to us.”

I’ve got news for you. In the world of business, all that talk will get you exactly nowhere. Conversations do not ring the cash register. Engagement does not sell more product. Talking with people just means you have to take time to listen which prevents you from spending valuable time selling more product.

My business partner, Sean O’Driscoll likes to tell the story about doing research while he was still at Microsoft about what “Joining the conversation” translated to. He found out that he would have to find a way to staff up. Way, way up. His research told him there were more than two billion conversations a year around Microsoft.

Social tools are, without a doubt, powerful in ways we’ve only began to discover. But we have to start thinking (and acting) differently, more considered. Here’s a few questions for you and your business, and some numbers that you should know as you consider your answers.

Are you paying attention to the right social tools?

4 billion – Photos hosted by Flickr (October 2009).

2.5 billion – Photos uploaded each month to Facebook.

Seriously, why aren’t you doing more with Facebook?

350 million – People on Facebook.

50% – Percentage of Facebook users that log in every day.

84% – Percent of social network sites with more women than men.

Are you still putting value in your email campaign?

90 trillion – The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2009.

247 billion – Average number of email messages per day.

27.3 million – Number of tweets on Twitter per day (November, 2009)

Why are you so scared of open source software?

46.6% – Percentage of Web sites run by Apache (open source)

21.0% – Percentage of Web sites run by Apache’s closest competitor, Microsoft IIS

13.9% – The growth of Apache websites in 2009.

-22.1% – The growth of IIS websites in 2009.

Are you remembering the rest of the globe?

57% – Percentage of Twitter’s user base located in the United States.

Are you considering video, and the places people *actually* watch it?

1 billion – The total number of videos YouTube serves in one day.

182 – The number of online videos the average Internet user watches in a month (USA).

Are you properly contextualizing your opportunities?

83 million – The number of active monthly users playing Farmviille on Facebook

75 million – The total number of registered Twitter accounts

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The point here is that there are no easy, obvious answers when engaging in social activity online. We may hear a lot about the latest hot new tool or Web site from the experts, but unless you’re fully researching all of your opportunities (not just the new, cool ones) and unless you’re comparing that activity against your business objectives, it doesn’t matter how cool Plancast or Foursquare or Chatroulette is. While I point out the numbers above about email, check out this chart Morgan Stanley Internet Trends report (via Fred Wilson). We’ve just recently seen social networking activity surpass email.

That said, the issue today isn’t whether or not to engage, it’s where and how. Keeping abreast of the trends is crucial to both growing your business and beating back competition. I doubt I have to convince any businessperson alive that social tools and activities are a big deal. But it is important to remember that this stuff isn’t easy, no matter what anyone tells you.

For more data on how companies are leveraging social media, check out this great infographic.

Social Media ROI Is Meaningless

Social Media ROI is meaningless.

There, I said it.

OK, maybe that’s not entirely true. But if you product or service isn’t relevant or isn’t up to snuff, then concerning yourself with your Social Media ROI is the wrong place to start your planning. More on this point in this video:

Worry Less About ROI – Worry More About Being Relevant from Ross Kimbarovsky on Vimeo.