Author Archives: Rene

Hashtag v mots-diese

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It seems that cultural boundaries are being carved out on the internet.  The French government is putting its pied down to insist that the use of Anglicised internet terms, such as “hashtag”, don’t invade their language.  But it might be a case of the power of the people as to what ones retain dominance.

France says ‘non’ to hashtags”LE NEWS dans mon e-mail ce week-end? C’est cool, yes?” C’est definitely not cool, if you’re the French government department charged with keeping the language pure. This country with an unhappy history of invasion now has to defend its mother tongue on a new front: social media.

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The devil is in the detail

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Like everything to do with computers and the internet, the devil is in the detail. And in this case it’s one space or two.  In terms of code if you miss one semi colon or one forward slash or angle bracket it all breaks, right?  Similarly when there is one too many of something problems can arise. And in this case we’re talking about one too many spaces after a full stop.

I chuckled when I read “The rule stands: One space after a period. Period.”, because I recognised right away that I was in error and I now know why. It talks about whether to use one space or two after the period at the end of a sentence. Like the author, I grew up on the two-space principle and right up until writing this blog post, I would actually track back through my copy and put a second space if there wasn’t one. Now I’m actually making a conscious effort to only put one space. After years of habit, it’s actually taking some focused concentration to ensure that I don’t automatically type that second space.

And why have I realised the error of my ways? In terms of web copy, one too many spaces can cause havoc when a sentence ends at the edge of the article because the new sentence on the next line is indented by one space. Not a pretty look!

I found it interesting to discover the two-space convention stems from out of date technology. It now seems ludicrous that it’s continued for so many years since.

It looks like I will have some relearning to do at the end of each sentence I write from now on.

The rule stands: One space after a period. Period. | Articles | MainAbout six years ago, an editor at Ragan sent me an e-mail asking me to stop using two spaces after my periods when submitting my columns to The Ragan Report. In a “voice” dripping with superiority, I sent him a reply that said I was following the rule for proper spacing after a period, which is to put two spaces, thank you very much.

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Do you have what it takes to build business relationships?

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A community manager's job is never done

A cartoon from get satisfaction.com that appears in 10 Qualities of an Effective Community Manager

This article on the 10 Qualities of an Effective Community Manager is a very pertinent  follow on from the previous one on the Obamas by Judith Ireland, that I shared in the previous post.

Qualities such as empathy, dedication and passion ring true.

What is the connection to the Obama story you might ask?  It’s the notion that Obama presents as a living example of an empathetic and dedicated spouse – qualities the US citizens clearly appreciate in their leader.  Perhaps they subconsciously think “If he can be like that to her, he will be empathetic and dedicated to us”.  I would add to this mix that through his love for Michelle, he embodies passion – and therefore perhaps by extension a passion for the brand he’s commissioned to uphold, which is brand USA.

On a personal note, I found it heartening to read this article because it talks about a good community manager being dedicated.  Such dedication is like parenting, it’s all consuming.  “When you’re a community manager, you’re on 24/7”.  The reason I appreciated reading this is that I’m constantly given a hard time by my family and friends for “not switching off” from work. It’s hard to explain to them that not being able to switch off isn’t so much a function of being bludgeoned into it by a uncaring boss – rather that community (or relationship) management is instinctual and requires 24/7 vigilance. Much like one cares for a child one doesn’t do parenting in only one section of the day – as any parent would testify, even if your child isn’t with you, it’s constant vigilance.  I therefore whole heartedly agree with the article author, Scott Monty, this type of work is a lifestyle – “If you want to check in at 9 a.m. and out at 5 p.m., you’re in the wrong field.”

10 Qualities of an Effective Community ManagerAs more companies and more industries buy into the benefits of social media and community development, the number of job opportunities available for professionals with community-building skills also continue to grow.

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Leadership and social engagement

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I was really taken with this story on social engagement because it sheds light on a dimension of leadership that isn’t often written about, if at all.  Judith Ireland makes an interesting observation about the enduring love the Obamas have for each other and the positive impact it has on the President’s ability to inspire his constituents.

So what place does this story have in this blog – especially one that has been focussed of late on internet security?  It’s to do with a display of truthful engagement and how we might live this in our own social encounters and communications: that is to say to engage successfully through any social media by starting from an honest grounding.

Now it’s personal: loved-up Obamas win our affectionOf all the iconic images of the United States presidential inauguration this week – the red, white and blue banners, the marching bands and stylish array of winter coats – one will be remembered above all else: the President and First Lady having the first dance at the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball.

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The naked truth about our online identity

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Here is an interesting article about our online identity and ‘anonymous’ genomic data being used to identify people from freely available information they’ve posted on the internet.  It leaves one to wonder whether it’s best to withdraw from the internet altogether and hide under a rock or go all out and share your identity with the world.  I think what it all comes down to is being fully aware of what you post online.

Study reveals why many are now no longer anonymous onlineOn the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog – but it is getting increasingly easy for someone to figure it out. As more and more of our personal data – and those of the people we know and are related to – gets posted online, the anonymity promised by being behind a computer screen gets more and more elusive, according to a new study out Thursday in the US journal Science.

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Take note – copyright rules, OK?

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It’s become easy for us to grab pictures here there and everywhere on the net and use them for our blog posts, Facebook posts and Twitter feeds.  Sometimes people even use images they find for products they make and sell (remember the story about Ben Ali Ong, the Sydney artist who used someone else’s images he found on a stock photo website in the production of his own art).  But take note of copyright rules – they rule!  Below is a sobering story about a photographer justifiably taking on a retail chain for using one of her images without permission.

Following on from this is a cautionary note around the terms of service provided by Instagram, Google and Flikr.  The moral of the story is to be aware of what images you can and can’t use, when and how.

Photographer sues over ‘stolen’ photoYOU could call it the quintessential Newcastle summer snapshot: a lone surfer walking across the rocks near Merewether beach in search of a wave. In fact, it was such a good shot that the photographer, Gateshead’s Naomi Frost, believes someone stole the image, printed it on thousands of T-shirts and sold them through menswear giant Lowes.

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Education goes social

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School’s in for social mediaEncouraged to tweet … students. Campbell Walsh was sick of waiting for his NAPLAN test results. ”I wanted to know how I’d done. It had already been about four months and I still hadn’t got the results,” says the year 5 student from Aitken Creek Primary in the outer Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn.

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Social media and job hunting

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If you’re looking for a job then this article will be of interest. Those into Social Media, in particular, take note. Any activity on the Internet leaves a permanent footprint. Here’s how you can make it a positive situation.

Job seekers: think like a search engineRecruitment experts predict that social media will become the foundation of all hiring strategies. Social-media savvy job seekers who can think like a search engine are most likely to succeed in the future world of job hunting, say recruitment experts.

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Time to get serious about Internet security

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Are you someone who’s a bit relaxed about Internet security? You know: one simple password that you use everywhere, for example? This article should give you good reason to change your ways.

When passwords fail: How to make yourself hack-proofMat Honan … his digital life was erased by hackers. Last week, a hacker got into Mat Honan’s Apple account, remotely erased the data on his iPhone, iPad and MacBook, deleted his Google account, commandeered his Twitter account, and then posted a string of nasty stuff under Honan’s name.

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