tech ronin

Social Networking Made Easy, Part 8

Helping Each Other: Type 1 - Reciprocity

Besides the social aspects and enjoyment of meeting new people or the intrinsic value and importance of forming personal and business relationships, a major aspect of networking has to do with helping each other. At first glance, you might think of reciprocity or the, more primitive, old saw "I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine".

There is an implied score-keeping to this. If person A does some special favors for person B, then B owes A some favors in return. Ordinary good manners might dictate this. For example, if someone invites you over to dinner, it is considered good etiquette to invite them over to dinner in return. Tit for tat.

When someone I know asks me for a favor and it's not ultra easy and something that seems immediately appealing, I might in a split second consult or construct a mental ledger and consider, has this person done favors for me already so I really owe them this favor in return or not? If they haven't done me a favor, and I don't feel like helping or it seems inconvenient, I might just decline or "beg off" with some excuse or another. I can "with good conscience" and without undue concern, just do what I want and figure my needs are important too and I don't want to help right now in the way I'm being asked to help. I'm good.

Then, there is a darker side of reciprocity. Someone asks me for a favor or I spontaneously think of something I could do that would be helpful to another person but, before I offer to help, I consult the ledger. I want to make sure that I'm not going to wind up being taken advantage of. I don't want to be so generous that it makes my intended benefactor uncomfortable (I'm so considerate you see) and, further, it would be nice if this person has the wherewithal to pay me back later.

I think reciprocity is a good minimum standard to follow in networking but it is short-sighted and doesn't create anything beyond the ordinary. It doesn't generate a virtuous circle. I'm not providing leadership in the situation. I'm still contributing to a status quo of scarcity and selfishness.

I would like to see a different kind of reciprocity that is more generous and more inspired. It wouldn't involve the ledger as a standard. The ledger might still pop into mind, it could still be there in our considerations, but what I would like to see is for us to (1) get in touch with, own and get enthused about our own deep desire to contribute to others, (2) stay in touch with our own needs and keep them in the equation when we decide whether or not to contribute and (3) ask for what we would like from others around us, so that they can experience the satisfaction and self-expression of contributing to us.

Creating Trust by Trusting

There's an important little story over on Kotte.org. It's called Business lessons from the donut and coffee guy. It seems that *Ralph* lets his customers make their own change. As a result, he probably loses a little change each day and he is able to serve more customers and has a really loyal following. Jason Kotte aces the breakdown of the dynamics of trust in the situation and how it makes Ralph's business successful. It's worth reading and pondering for my business and maybe yours...

Panther Address Book helps social networking

I am thrilled to hear that by the end of this year when Mac OS X Panther is released, I will be able to note connections between my contacts in my address book. The screenshot I saw showed fields for friends and assistants. It tells me who people know (at least who they know that I know they know). The new Address book will also have a Scripts menu which will hopefully spawn the writing of lots of AppleScripts to extract value out of the Address book.

Even though I'm no AppleScript programmer, if someone else doesn't do it, I will undertake to write a script that will quickly find all the address book records named in the friends field of a particular record or group of records. That would be step one... I'm hoping that some AppleScript geek will seek to chart the relationships in a scriptable drawing program like Omnigraffle after that. I would very much like to see such a chart of my own address book once these fields are filled in. [via Interconnected, write-up and screenshot at MacMegasite]

Branding Yourself Online

If you want to become known or better known in your field, read this book! The full title is: Poor Richard's Branding Yourself Online: How to Use the Internet to Become a Celebrity or Expert in Your Field. The author is Bob Baker and he's a good writer and a great nuts and bolts personal branding thinker. Branding Yourself Online was written in 2001, after the dotcom bust, so Bob knows that the internet is not the answer to everything.

Given the economic doldrums we've been going through, a very appealing aspect of Bob's advice is that it is geared to get you amazing results on the cheap. It's either do-it-yourself, here's a free resource or here's an inexpensive resource. This guy did his homework!

Now that we are free agents, personal branding is where it's at. But we've not yet switched gears and fully taken this into account in our marketing. At least, I haven't. But I'm learning quick! Some of my favorite parts are about "the brand called you", using email and designing your website. My absolute favorite part is about making your website interactive - once again - without spending a lot of money. I'm excited right now because there's so many things I haven't been doing that will be clearly beneficial to building my reputation and selling my product.

Check out these two free articles on his site to get some immediate value: (1) 10 Writing Tips for E-mail Branding Power and (2) 9 Ways to Create a Rock-Solid Identity Online. You can also get a free download of the first two chapters of the book if you are willing to sign up for his free Branding Yourself Online ezine - I just did even though I already have the book and don't need the free chapters - I want his ezine! If you want the book now, here's the Amazon link.

I signed up for T-mobile wi-fi

Although I occasionally seem to have trouble logging on, I'm liking it a lot once I get on. Their T1 internet access is faster than my home DSL. And usually I have it all to myself. Only $20/month on a month by month basis - no long contract to worry about. The $20/month price is only available if you are a T-mobile customer already. Otherwise it is $30/mo. I could deal with $20/month thinking of it as $1 per day. Since part of my daily routine is a morning walk to Starbucks, I'll actually get my money's worth. So, I'm trying this wi-fi deal for a month. I take my 5.4 lb Powerbook with me in a good backpack on my 1 mile out, 1 mile back walk. In a backpack, the weight is no problem at all. I'm a happy camper! Get it? I've tried it at Borders too. Now I'm really not going anywhere without my Powerbook. Well, at least not until I get a wi-fi handheld...

Sony Wireless Handheld due Friday

Brighthand reported today that Sony is announcing a new Clie PDA: 300 mhz, Palm OS 5.2, wi-fi, bluetooth, camera, nice keyboard. The press briefing is to be in San Francisco! The cute factor on this little guy is up there. It's got a landscape-oriented 480x320 screen - I immediately like the landscape orientation better for this device. It's believed that it will be called the Clie PEG-UX50 . Dimensions are 4" long x 3.4" wide x .7" thick and it weighs 6.17 oz. Not particularly light but oh so sexy! I know, I know. It's that darned techno lust again.

Ominous P800 Story

Bummer. I thought I was safe on this issue when I bought the P800. If you'll recall, I cited Dan Gillmor's post about Cory Doctorow's post saying that T-mobile was refusing to support Sidekicks that had unauthorized software put on them. I just assumed that this wouldn't be a problem with the P800 as there's a third-party software market out there. People routinely buy additional software for the P800 - as I said before, it is definitely a computer, not just a cell phone. So this latest comes as a surprise.

Mobitopia has a post about it and this month's Your Symbian ezine (I like this ezine - get their 9 back issues if you have a Symbian device) article is called "A lesson in 'warranty' replacement - Jordan". This is a well-written little story if you are interested.

Jim Hughes at Mobitopia summarizes:

Jordan's P800 crashed and wouldn't reboot so he took it to a SonyEricsson service centre, who eventually returned it to him unfixed because he'd installed unauthorised software on it.

Yes? Hello? It's a computer! That's what people do with computers, they install software on them and use them, but not in SonyEricsson's world it seems....

Here's hoping community wi-fi turns out to be more than a pipedream - and fast. These cellular carriers are for the birds! One last note, I just googled for Community Wi-Fi and up came Marin Community Wi-Fi Network. That pointed me to a hilarious war driving Doonesbury cartoon you gotta see.

Better Screen keyboard for Pocket PC

You know me. I want a keyboard. Here we have another creative response. The Spb keyboard is an on-screen input device in software. That way, when I don't need it, I can use the full available screen space as, well, screen space. And the price is right for a change - $10.

Of course, it would help immensely if this software worked on my new Symbian 7-based P800 cell phone. Oh well - another price I pay for choosing the cool but, not as dominant, Symbian OS for my new cell phone... Maybe, per chance, there will be a version for Symbian? Please. (Diego Doval has a lot to say about about Symbian's lack of appeal for developers and what to do about it over at Mobitopia - Symbian's Achilles' Heel.)

When finances improve a little, I'm thinking of getting a more powerful, more pixels, wi-fi handheld as my P800's portable companion. The Palm Tungsten C is still a serious contender. But, I don't rule out a Pocket PC. I like the slim and light HP iPAQ h2210 with the new Windows Mobile 2003 for PocketPC (couldn't they find a little shorter name?).

Back to the Spb keyboard. This could work. The keys are big enough for thumbs on the touch screen. I usually try to get by with my fingers on a touch screen rather than pulling out the stylus and putting it away and pulling it out and putting it away, over and over. This is a 2.0 release and it looks like it covers most of the essential bases. Way to go, Spb!

High Tech, High Touch

As much of a geek and technology enthusiast as I am, I feel the need to balance all this with a post about the rest of the picture that makes up my "good life". The phrase, Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch, hasn't gone away since it was coined by John Naisbitt in his book Megatrends in 1982. That book stayed on the best seller lists for 2 years! It was based on ten years of social research. With his eye on as much social and trend data as he could find, Naisbitt could see, even then, that as the world was getting more technological, malled and McDonaldized, people were reacting and seeking "high touch" to compensate.

I admit I'm a technology nut - a geek. I'm not much of a camper even. Too many living things all in one place, kind of unsettle me. I'm not a gardener. I love my computers and books. But, I go for walks every day. Usually twice a day. I get outside in nature. I couldn't be so techno without it.

I moved out of the city (beautiful San Francisco) to live ten miles North in a tree-filled and hilly hinterland suburb called Mill Valley thirteen years ago. It doesn't take much to get into the city via the Golden Gate bridge, but since I work from home, there's not much reason to expose myself to the smog and concrete of the city every day. It's more relaxing and life-sustaining here.

Don't worry. You don't have to move to the boring burbs! Notice I live only ten miles away from SF, first of all. Secondly, some prefer to live in the city with all its culture, diversity, resources and work. They get their nature hits by spending time in parks when they can, getting out of the city on weekends, skiing, camping, backpacking and adventure travel. That works too.

Some forward-thinking people live in the further out burbs and figure they're that much nearer to the real outback, countryside, etc. And some even live in tiny little towns in Idaho or Colorado or Wyoming. There are still a few traditional jobs out there and there's always working at a distance with the amazing Net as your vehicle. SF-area real estate prices being what they are and internet coverage and speed getting better all the time, these more remote options look pretty darned good sometimes. I gotta have my broadband, though, and satellite wouldn't hurt either.

Our techno-driven 24/7 lifestyles cry out for compensations like getting physical - quietly as in walking, hiking, yoga, gardening and exuberantly as in extreme sports, mountain climbing, backpacking, cycling, skiing and dancing. For many of us, pets can be comforting and delightful. Massage, saunas, hot tubs, showers, baths and physical and emotional intimacy are just a few of the ways we keep ourselves grounded, refreshed, healthy and happy.

Social Networking Made Easy, Part 7

Things have at least ostensibly become a bit difficult of late for our workingman and workingwoman heroes. We no longer have the 20th century luxury of being kept employees trading our freedom in for a secure job. That's really what the bargain was and still is when you can get it. And lots of people want that deal just so that they can follow the customary path to security.

We don't grow up safe and snug in our communities and families anymore knowing we'll be taken care of by our kin if worse comes to worse. So, this new heroic undertaking, is truly heroic. Being human is no doubt potentially heroic to begin with, but now many of us are thrust into the breach, perhaps without realizing it. A breach that calls for sustained courage and ingenuity.

It used to be that if you were born into or managed to gain the advantage in life, you could probably keep it. And that's certainly not all gone away, for those who have wads of money and aren't foolish with it. But promises can't be made for those lucky few anymore - because, the truth is, we're not sure what's gonna happen next.

Consider those poor souls in the World Trade center buildings. Quite a few of these people were hotshots. And I think you would agree, we didn't imagine that the twin towers would ever collapse. Sure we had some fears lurking about terrorism - we'd certainly seen some scary flicks - some which seemed possible - but not like that!

During the dot com boom, lots of people quit more conventional jobs and either started their own businesses or threw their lot in with a start-up. The cautionary tale here is that a few got rich and many more were worked almost to death without much reward and are now scraping by looking for a job or freelance work.

So, what's the answer? How do we do this 21st century hero deal and come out smelling like a rose? I hate to say it, but it sure looks like we are knee deep in shit. Did I mention navigating muddy waters earlier? Yeah. We - you and me - are going to have to dig down and find what it takes to get through this transitional or perhaps long-term period of uncertainty.

These are some of the trends that are emerging right now. The internet stubbed its toe in the dot com crash, but rolls on becoming even more entrenched and ubiquitous - globally. There are droves of free agents in the economy. Smartness, information, creativity and individuality rule, trumping natural resources, industry, and even cheap labor. Computers are now firmly established as tools for communication, not computation.

All I can say is, fire up that website. Get and keep yourself connected and in communication with your buddies and your not-yet-known but nearby friends of friends. Your colleagues and former colleagues. The people you've found in your life that you can trust, who help you move forward, who are on your side and bring out the best in you. And all those kindred spirits around the globe who share your values and interests. Open your eyes. Face up to the fact that this isn't the past - it's the future! [To be Continued].