I’m no longer a blogger

Posted on January 30, 2008 Written by 26 Comments

I’ve had it. I’m done. Don’t want to deal with it any longer.

As of this day, I am no longer a blogger.

I’m tired of the hassles of “coming up with something for the blog.”

I’m tired of explaining to people what a “blog” is.

I’m tired of others jumping to conclusions about what I write, or how it should be written, or whether I should have comments, or a list of pretty blogroll links.

So today forward, I’m no longer blogging.

I am Isaac Pigott, but you can call me Ike. Lots of people do.

I am a communicator who likes to figure things out, and share what I’ve learned. Sometimes, that involves “writing.” But I am not a professional writer.

I will continue writing for a website called “Occam’s RazR”. Just for fun, I will also be the site administrator. But I will not be a “blogger.” Not sure what that word means anymore, because it either has no relevant context or too much baggage. I will also continue contributing regular essays over at a website called “Now Is Gone,” at least as long as they will have me. I may write about blogging sometimes, but I’m not a blogger. (I spend more of my day sending e-mails, but that doesn’t make me an eMailer now, does it?)

Because I am open to ideas and opinions, I will allow some of you to contribute to this website. You can comment on the various essays I write here. I will be happy to facilitate the publishing of most of them.

What I won’t do is continue using the word “blogger” as a noun. A “blogger” is a writer. Well, some are. The standard isn’t necessarily a high one. I also won’t use the word “blogger” as an adjective. “Blogger” ethics, “blogger” relations; most of the time, it is a useless modifier that either demeans, demotes, or lowers the expectations thereof. Like people with websites are somehow in need of a different set of ethics than anyone else. It’s a little condescending, if you ask me.

There. I feel better. I hope that clears away any lingering expectations you might have as to what this website is, who I am, or why I write.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, blogging, writing, communication, language[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Language, Personal Tagged:

Social Media Power Suit

Posted on January 29, 2008 Written by Leave a Comment

“Social Media is like a power suit: either get it tailored just for you, or look like everyone else who bought off the rack.”

- Ike Pigott

(from a post at Now Is Gone)

Filed Under: Communication, Marketing, My Quotes, Philosophy Tagged: ,

Rush to be First

Posted on January 17, 2008 Written by 3 Comments

Jeremy Pepper wrote a great post about “Truth and Blog Truth“, dealing with the rush to judgment that leads to publishing before proper examination. There is a great human desire to be first with information. Those who position themselves as brokers of information are more valued – and that’s human nature. It explains why the prophet, the Grand Vizier (or the Rasputin) has such a secure job… as long as their information is good.

So I ran a little test.

It involved a non-existent Firefox plugin, that ironically is designed to provide a level of security for people who don’t want to see Rick Astley pop up on their screen. Rick-rolling is silly, but I just as easily could have used antivirus scares or an anti-phishing tool. It wouldn’t have mattered much.

I disguised the Google Video link with a PHP link tracker. For the non-tech inclined, it is a link that re-directs to another destination, and triggers a counter.

Within minutes of posting my bogus plugin, social networking users had posted my link to both Digg and Reddit. I can’t speak for the motive… maybe they got snared and wanted to share the misery. Or maybe they wanted to earn the credibility of being “first” with this new exciting information.

It has made me pause, and think about the very plugins I have used on this site, and have installed for other people. I can’t code in PHP, but I’m fairly certain I can slog my way through the code and make sure I’m not passing malicious information on to a greedy plugin designer. Fortunately, the WordPress community is large enough and talented enough to sniff those sorts of things out in a hurry, but really… how many people using the software bother with the geek news?

Remember… 90% of phishing and internet scammery is not technical. It is human engineering. And in an internet culture where we have a rush to be first, we’re all ripe for the taking.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: , ,

Old School Canon Reads Them Too

Posted on January 11, 2008 Written by Leave a Comment
Canon Japan

Canon reads the blogs from their New York headquarters.

So does the corporate mothership in Japan:

Canon Japan

Their blog monitor clicked in on the most recent post, and tracked it to the original congrats on the good customer service.

Hey Canon-Japan… how about checking on that raise for Devin now?

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occams’s RazR, Social Media, marketing, blogger relations, blog monitoring, Canon, Canon USA, cameras, customer service[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Marketing, Personal Tagged: ,

Canon Reads the Blogs

Posted on January 11, 2008 Written by 1 Comment
Canon site visit

Score one for corporate America, when it comes to listening to customers.

Canon logoCanon, which I previously lauded for their excellent customer service, has at least read about my positive encounter. Evidence below:

Canon site visit

The Scorecard

No e-mail yet, but that’s really not even necessary at this point. That was a failsafe to make sure I didn’t miss the hit in my IP logs. Canon PR — send me an e-mail if you’d like, but I know you’re listening. And so does everyone else who finds this page months from now on a Googhoo! search.  (There is a 3-day and 15-hour delay in the original post and their visit to my site, which is minuscule in the grand scheme.)

Speaking of which… if you look at the top 10 results on Google for “Canon customer service” (as of this writing):

  • 2 official Canon sites
  • 3 blogs (all good or glowing)
  • 2 forums
  • a retailer’s site
  • comments to a New York Times review
  • an Amazon.com review (negative)

On Yahoo!, the blog entries aren’t prominent at all. Eight out of the top ten results belong to Canon’s worldwide properties, one is a Careerbuilder jobs page, and the other is an entry in The Consumerist… for companies that are good.

Might there be a correlation between companies that put customers first, and those that listen to what their customers are saying?

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occams’s RazR, Social Media, marketing, blogger relations, blog monitoring, Canon, Canon USA, cameras, customer service[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Marketing, Personal Tagged: , ,

On this date

Posted on January 10, 2008 Written by 6 Comments
Calendar clip art

Calendar clip artOn this date, one year ago, I was kicking along with a brand-spanking new blog and still trying to discover my voice. I had a lot I wanted to say, but still wasn’t sure how much of it would gel into coherence, or fit in the same box.

On this date four years ago, I was embarking on my final week of television. Sixteen-plus years of broadcasting and accolades, and I was walking away for something different. I left the only career I knew for health reasons, taking a public affairs job with a non-profit. The December prior, my wife and I prayed over the decision, and calculated that we could afford the pay cut since she was still working part-time.

After committing to the switch, we found out we were expecting again. The DINKs (Double-Income, No Kids) were becoming SITCOMs (Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage.) On this date four years ago, I was leaving everything I knew. For less money. With more responsibility than ever. Venturing into a field where many looked on ex-journalists with more than mild disdain.

I’ve never sold myself as something I am not. My best shot is to be what I am – a communicator. Working with different tools and different challenges, it’s still about finding a core of truth and telling it in a way that resonates with people. Thanks to each and every one of you who find my blathering meaningful or valuable – you keep my compass pointing true. And thanks to Michael Sebastian at Ragan Communications, for recognizing this blog as “The Best Read of 2007.” It’s not the best PR blog, not the best marketing blog by a long shot. Those niches are taken by people with far more expertise and experience, and I read many of them myself.

Four years ago today, I had never heard of Ragan Communications, and was scared as hell.

One year ago, my readership didn’t extend far beyond immediate family.

Today is a good day.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, communication, blogs[/tags]

Filed Under: Communication, Marketing, Personal Tagged:

Picture Perfect Service

Posted on January 8, 2008 Written by 5 Comments

After four good years of service, our digital camera died, about a week before Christmas. Of course, the fiscally prudent thing would have been to wait for the post-holiday sales to buy the replacement. But if you have kids, you know that the fiscally prudent answer is not the same as the “these kids will only be 5 and 3 for Christmas once” answer. So we bought a new digital camera.

Canon logoMy wife picked it out, and did a great job nailing down a good value in a short period of time. After all, she uses it more than I do, and needs to be comfortable with it. We got a Canon PowerShot A-570. My job is to make sure it syncs to the computers. Which was not as easy as we’d hoped.

I installed the Canon CameraWindow and ZoomBrowsers, but the computer was not “seeing” the camera for automatic synchronization. We got through Christmas alright – I’m perfectly capable of creating folders and dragging and dropping pictures. But the point of having a camera that syncs is so my wife can do it without an annoying lecture from me about how it ought to be done. Simplicity is implicit.

Looking for answers

I searched through the Canon forums, and found the online support tips less than helpful. The questions in the FAQ weren’t even close to describing my problem, and several iterations Search terms weren’t bearing fruit. I broke down and sent in an e-mail inquiry, late on the afternoon of the 30th.

Before lunch on the 31st, New Year’s Eve, I had a response from Devin. (I don’t have a last name, he didn’t give me one.) The note was polite, and full of information in multiple levels. He explained what the likely problem was, as well as a more detailed step-by-step solution. And it worked.

So, kudos to Canon for getting me back on track. It was timely, professional, accurate, and on a holiday. (And if you’re a Canon PR rep monitoring the blogs, shoot me an e-mail. I am not asking for free merchandise or services, nor will I accept them. I offer my endorsement for your customer service. Just shoot me an e-mail and let me know that Devin got a gold star on his report card.)

Thanks…

Ike.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occams’s RazR, Social Media, marketing, blogger relations, blog monitoring, Canon, Canon USA, CameraWindow, ZoomBrowser, cameras, customer service[/tags]

Filed Under: Marketing, Personal Tagged:
«Older Posts
Newer Posts»