I was really pleased to see that Technorati is introducing new features to their indexing service – specifically in the domain of microformat indexing. Today, Tantek has announced two new services that are in the testing phase:

• Microformats Search
• Pingerati

Tantek also has a nice description of why this move is important (for everyone):

Microformats enable any site to easily publish common data types such as tags, licenses, contacts, events, reviews, listings, etc. on any page on the Web, with only minor edits to their HTML. For me personally, this has meant enabling millions of people to take control of their own data, publish and update it wherever they want, whenever they want, and move it freely among services, without having it locked up behind a walled garden or trapped in a “roach motel”.

Technorati believes in the voice of the individual, and their right to own and control their data.

Source: Technorati Weblog, “Introducing Microformats Search and Pingerati”

You can say that again! We haven’t unveiled our plans for microformats too widely yet, though I’ll tell anyone that asks me directly. I can definitely say we’ll be doing quite a bit of pinging in the very near future – we were just working on our microformat parser last night ;)

There’s quite a bit of noise out in the blogoshpere today regarding some new research done by the Pew Internet Group in their Home Broadband Adoption 2006 study. Here’s a quick snippet:

Forty-eight million American adults have contributed some form of user-generated content on the Internet, it found. That’s 35 percent of Internet users. Of those adults who have posted content on the Web, 73 percent, or 31 million, have a broadband connection at home.

“[The Web is] shifting now to user-generated content; it shows people engaging with the Internet in a number of different ways in their lives,” said John Horrigan, associate director of research at Pew Internet & American Life Project. “It shows that people are pretty interested in using the technology to put something of themselves on the Internet, not just pull down information from the Internet.”

Source: Clickz News, “Pew: Nearly 50 MM Americans Create Web Content”

This paragraph was also interesting:

In looking across the different kinds of user-generated content that we probed, there is an element of the internet being the medium for creativity and the internet being an outlet for creativity people bring to worldwide web. Blogging and, perhaps to a somewhat lesser extent, maintaining one’s own web page, are creative undertakings that take place mainly at the keyboard. For the 36 million Americans who share their own creations online, several of the topics we queried, such as artwork, photos, or videos, start offline, and then people use the internet as a tool of distribution.

Source: Pew, “Home Broadband Adoption 2006″

A few days ago, I discovered and mentioned Crowdsourcing on a ZD Net blog. I was immediately inspired to go out in search of the article.

The day after, I picked up the magazine and read through the article, quoting bits of it as I read it to friends via IM. Today, the article is online at Wired. Here’s one of the brief passages I quoted:

Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Hobbyists, part-timers, and dabblers suddenly have a market for their efforts, as smart companies in industries as disparate as pharmaceuticals and television discover ways to tap the latent talent of the crowd. The labor isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.

Source: The Rise of Crowdsourcing , Wired

I’m happy to say that we’ll be releasing the first layer in our “crowdsourcing platform” in two weeks, just before Vloggercon!

It’s time I spill some beans on what’s been happening here with myself and my “company”. The last two weeks were filled with tremendous amounts of change – mostly in ways that I never hoped to see but can’t say I didn’t see on the horizon either.

As of last week, both Duane Johnson and Pete Lasko, my partners in this adventure, have decided that the startup environment is, perhaps, not the best environment (at least that’s what I am hoping). The other potential answer is that I am a crazed, maniacal tyrant and pushed them to within inches of their life. Only they can speak the truth, but I know they’re both too nice to ever say something to the negative publicly. I can admit when I’ve screwed up and my previous arrangements are no exception.

Also last week, sensing the end was near, I began my search for new team members to pick up where Duane and Pete had left off. I sent out messages to those I knew were connected in the community and posted to a board or two. I’ve received some very qualified responses and we’re already writing code, if you can believe that. I’m still amazed myself.

As Duane and Pete went on their own, choosing life as consultants, they both sought out a little advice and I offered more than my share. I contrast this with the opening stages of a relationship with my new developers. It struck me that there was some good advice in there and thought I would share it.

What makes me qualified? Consider this. In the past 3 weeks I’ve managed to sell my time as a strategist, marketer, podcaster, designer, and developer. I have no formal training in any of these segments but I’ve got the burn marks to prove my experience. I’ve also been doing it in one way, shape or form since I was 16. (P.S. If you think I should be more focused and working on my own thing, cut me a check). I recall talking to Jimmie on the elevator Monday (he’s always telling me “If you can sell anything, it’s yourself”) and I realized that I had sold almost every skill I had in the last few weeks and thought it was pretty great just how diverse that really was.

What’s the point? The point is that in selling to those different audiences, I’ve had to engage many different types of customers and learned to prepare my words to make the process quick, easy, and successful. So…

Today I offer my advice to dledgling consultants (end well-entrenched ones as well):

Trust Your Gut

It’s important that you actually like the client you’re about to work with. If you’ve got misgivings or trust issues with the client, you’re going to have lots of problems going forward. It’s not much different than not trusting your boyfriend or girlfriend in that regard.

Do your research. Find out about them, who they are, what they’ve done before, who they’ve worked with. Find out anything you can. Don’t be paranoid about looking behind the scenes, it’s better than being offensive to their face.

If you feel that you don’t trust the client, you’re going to be quite inclined to “lawyer up” from the beginning and that will quickly make most conversations very difficult to complete.

Make The First Move

I’m always blown away, as a client, when a consultant takes the initiative to prove their indispensiblity to me. I’m not suggesting you should build applications or design full interfaces (unless it’s really that easy for you).

Consider the pack. The rest of them are floating around the ring waiting for the client to push out an offer. They often say that whoever offers first loses. That’s often true, when you view it as a one-time opportunity. If you’re seeking to build retainerships, you’ve got to think beyond the first day.

Avoid Microbilling

Nothing annoys me more as a client than someone micro-billing. Unless you’re a lawyer and the industry norm is to bill in 6-minute increments, try to avoid staring down the clock on every encounter. Besides the perception of the client, it’s quite frankly, really annoying to manage.

When planning your rates, account for the conversation ahead of time. It’s a universal, omnipresent truth that your clients will need to talk to you about what they’re doing. You’re not working yet, you’re actually trying to figure out the work. Once you start contributing your expertise, it’s more than fair to start the clock.

Once again, the goal of this is to not create an environment where your client feels pressured or rushed to tell you things. Them skimping on explanations or assurance-checks will only bite you in the arse in the long run.

Always Over Deliver

It is often said, “Under Promise, Over Deliver”. Personally, I try to avoid downplaying what I will do for a client or how I will ultimately help them. I don’t under promise, I tell them what I’m doing.

When it comes to over delivery, you have many different ways to accomplish this. Sometimes it’s the small flourishes, other times it’s alternative models and methods. Find some way to give more than just what you talked about initially. It’s a wonderful mental challenge for yourself and ultimately establishes yourself as a solution provider, not just a service provider.

Solution providers get referrals.

Build Retainerships

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that you always need to be building relationships (networking is just the beginning of this process). The majority of the clients I have had over the years have come back to me for assistance over and over again – sometimes with years in between calls. Why? I make an effort to keep in touch.

The truest sign that you’ve made yourself indispensible is a retained relationship with your client. It’s not about the cash, it’s about the committment. It means you’ve proven that you provide solutions – the kind that really make a difference in a business. Of course, there’s the other meaning – that they need a lot of stuff done and want a better deal – but focus on getting it for both reasons, ideally.

I repeat – seek relationships as often as possible.

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So that’s it for my unsantioned advice for now. Your mileage may vary. No guarantees. Use at your own risk.

Do you have your own experiences and approaches worth sharing? Let me know.

I wish I could count back the path that took me to this particular ZDNet Blog, which I’ve never seen before either, but it was worth the time.

Unlike many who hate the word Web 2.0, I tend to approve of it as it has a certain implied, though not rigid, definition that allows us to engage in a conversation on the matter. Sure it’s not perfect, but what is?

Today I heard, for the first time, a buzzword that actually seems to adequately describe what we’re doing with Social Roots: crowdsourcing. I wasn’t sure at first either but the explanation rings true:

What is crowdsourcing? According to Howe’s “Crowdsourcing, A billion amateurs want your job”:

Remember outsourcing? Sending jobs to India and China is so 2003. The new pool of cheap labor: everyday people using their spare cycles to create content, solve problems, even do corporate R & D.M.

Crowds cited: garage scientists, amateur videographers, micro-freelancers, photo enthusiasts.

Source: crowdsourcing.com, “the rise of the amateur”

Will crowdsourcing eclipse long tail? Join the conversation: “Talk Back” below and share your buzz thoughts.

Source: Crowdsourcing: New buzzword?

I know I’ve yet to truly reveal what I’m working on – with the exception of it annoying my friends deeply, but we’re working on releasing more than talking so it’s gonna be a little while longer.

I’ll be sharing some additional insights this week though – just need to get 50 blogs launched for a client first :)

Pappoe sent me a link to a WSJ article that talks about a Norelco campaign that’s been running to sell their new body shaver.

You can see it here:
http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/

The article is really interesting in that it talks about how a campaign was created and some of the key segments in its growth. My favorite part is this:

The campaign has the benefit of being extremely inexpensive: Philips’s initial spending on the effort is less than $500,000, Mr. Kratky says. In contrast, buying a single spot on prime-time television alone can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I’m not waiting for the spoofs to come out.