I am so excited as Ian Kennedy was so kind to interview with me. Just as the title says...check out the about me widget on my sidebar and look at the last social network on the list...you got it...Activerain!
Are you the Tom (friend on everyone's MySpace) on mybloglog, what exactly is your job title and what do you do?
"I'm the product manager which to me is like the conductor of a very talented group of developers that build and maintain the site. I try and keep my ear to the ground to get a sense of what our audience of users are looking for in the way of features and strike up a beat and tempo to meet their needs."
Can you tell us what you like to do for fun? A little personal info?
"If you look at the tag cloud on my profile (http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/iankennedy/tags/) you'll see a couple of things. I am half-Japanese so enjoy keeping up with trends back home in Tokyo. I also enjoy cycling and once upon a time took six months off between jobs to ride across Europe."
What inspires you?
"Shipping cool features for MyBlogLog users of course! I think we're in a very interesting time where the things we do on-line will allow us to connect in new ways. Social Networks are breaking out of their containers so that what we do on-line spills over from one network to another. MyBlogLog helps enable that. I live for the moments when people meet in real life and connect in a richer, more meaningful way because of how much they have interacted on-line."
A motto you live by?
"While it's important to listen to your customers and ride the wave of where the market is going, in order to build something truly transformational, you sometimes need to stick to your guns. My favorite quote along those lines is from Henry Ford, "If I'd listened to customers, I'd have given them a faster horse"
I keep a collection of quotes and desktop wallpaper images I like over at http://iankennedy.typepad.com
Your avatar....why the sunglasses?
"No reason really. I'm horribly camera shy so this is one of the few pictures I have of myself. It was taken by Todd Sampson, the co-founder of MyBlogLog when we were out for a sail on his boat. I was very happy that day and this avatar reminds me of that day."
Any ideas for SEO on yahoo?
"Write consistently good stuff that people enjoy sharing and linking to. There's no shortcut to a good reputation on-line - it takes time, focus, and patience."
What do you like best about your job?
"The freedom to run a business and engage with my customers to build a great experience with the backing and support of a top-notch infrastructure group that is Yahoo!
What do you like the least about your job?
"Dealing with things that get in the way of the previous point."
I really enjoyed participating in the mybloglog problogger contest, any other contests in the works?
"Not at the moment. We've gone into a period of rapid iteration of the New with Me feature we've recently posted about (http://mybloglogb.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/02/broadcasting-yo.html)
.
. We're also short a Community Manager because Robyn Tippins has left us to work on another project here at Yahoo!
so until we find the right person to step in there, we're a little short on bandwidth for another contest."
The mybloglog contest...I noticed you were out and about and joining communities, what did you think about the top 10 that made the list?
"I loved the fact that winner, Leo Gartsbeyn, shared some of his prizes with people that joined his community. "Sharing the love" is what we like to call it around here.
Successful bloggers are all about shining the spotlight on someone else and I'm really pleased that it worked for Leo. He wrote a great article about how he went about winning the contest which is well worth a read."
Why do you all offer the free version of mybloglog?
"The free version is so that the community can grow organically. Those that want a little more from the service need to pay a little more and that's really to keep a cap on too many people hitting our site with the advanced features which would make it very expensive to run the service."
What are the benefits of the paid version vs. the free version?
"Primarily it's the stats. With a PRO account ($3/month or $25/year per blog) you get intra-day stats and historical reports. There's more detail on our Help site:
If there is one piece of advice you can give bloggers what would it be?
Start out with a couple of things nailed down because it's hard to change course mid-stream.
1. Pick a blogging platform you're comfortable with and can customize as you grow more proficient.2. Pick a domain name so that you can move your blog and readers along with you.3. Pick a topic that's narrowly focused enough so that you can define your target audience.
Sorry, that's three pieces of advice but if you roll it up into one, it's making a choice and sticking with it. Unless you're an excellent writer, no one wants to read the Rambling Musings of. . . type of blogs.
What do you think of this whole social network thing...is it a fad?
It's evolving. Friendster begot MySpace begot Facebook. I think people are starting to realize that no single service can contain someone's varied interest. We all have profiles spread out across the Internet. The next phase will consist of services that bring it all together around the individual, not a service. The internet should be about People, not sites.
Anything new coming up with yahoo or mybloglog you would like to share.
For Real Estate bloggers, be sure to take a look at our email signature
Recent Reader widget which are out now.
We also added fields where you can add pointers to your ActiveRain, Trulia, and Zillow profiles which will show up in your email signature and About Me widget.
As for the future, stay tuned for the New with Me feature which will aggregate your updates from some of the sites you've added to your profile's Services tab making your profile a more dynamic and relevant representation of what you and your contacts on MyBlogLog have been up to.
One more important question Ian I forgot to ask you...can you explain the purpose of tags...and why its important to use them?
Tags are a way to quickly and easily add context to either a community or person you see on MyBlogLog.
We use the tags right now to help surface relevant profiles on MyBlogLog when you use the search box.
Try to search for "aviation" or "real estate" and you'll find that we have a rich community of sites that may get lost in the noise of a search on a more general search engine.
I need to explain why I thought he was the Tom on Mybloglog, he does interact with the members, comments, visits and joins communities...You Rock Ian and love the new updated widget...and to think you remembered to add my Activerain!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by The Activerain Network and it's members and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Midori Miller and CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty. Midori Miller and CENTURY21 Sundance Realty are not responsible for the accuracy or content provided by The Community.
Midori Miller Daytona Real Estate Trainer CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty | Work: 386-756-6800 Mobile: 386-453-3236 midorimiller@yahoo.com  | |
transforming lives one person at a time!                | ||
| Visit MyBlogLog and get a signature like this! | ||
MIDORI - WHAT A SUPER COOL INTERVIEW. Thanks for sharing. What's he camera shy for anyway.... Keep it professional Katrina (bad girl!).
Great post Midori! Useful info!
Hi Midori,
Well, you blew my plans not to get sidetracked first thing this morning! Really enjoyed this post and all the places it led me to. Great info and inspiration and I thank you VERY much!
Midori
What a great read. I learned so much from this I had to take notes
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
nice post...looks like a nice boat too :)
Anne
Hi Missy-I am going to get the paid version. I really like mybloglog and I got so excited when I saw activerain in the mix! Imagine how the Jonathan and Matt feel when they see their baby on places such as mybloglog...very cool!
Brian Block says he likes the paid version too!
Well, now I know what I'll be doing today, as I am stuck in bed with my laptop after being bit by a spider and developing a nasty "bug" from it. I will lie here and utilize everything I learned in your post! Great job, Midori!
Dee
Midori:
Good info. I am new to AR and each day I learn something new from tranforing a doc in PDF form to Jpeg. Many times I feel over whelmed by all this great info. So how do you eat an elephant --- one bit at a time and that is what I am going to do.
Hi Lorraine and Loretta-WELCOME to Activerain....yes there are so many sources of information here...and you are right tackle each task one at a time...if ever you need some assistance or you need help on the rain...I firmly believe in pay it forward..so call or e-mail.
p.s Thanks to the network...its guarenteed that I learn something new every single day...sometimes more! :)
Hi Jan-I have recently started to be much more selective....mybloglog is a real important item to have...see I mainly blog here...and my outside blogs...but I create profiles everywhere...I have a profile on trulia voices but you will never catch me jumping in...answering questions. I put my full name in the search engines and can tell what is working for me.
As a matter of fact its activerain...believe it or not jerichomonster...mybloglog...cre8buzz..my personal blog...I track that we only have so much time....and still need time to sell real estatee!
Midori, what a totally excellent interview and look at the guy behind something so many of us use.
This is one of the things I love most about the net, the people shaping it are so accessible. Thx for sharing it with us, I love your interviews!!!
Hi Gary-Thank you....for one I don't require a lot of sleep...BUT on most sites it's just awesome profiles I try to create. I rarely cut and paste anymore...and if I can't write content for each one I don't...I just get back in the profile page spruce it up and add little things to it!
The mybloglog tools are awesome...I really find them easy and very appealing...also appealing to the eye! I have been stopping by your posts and I am reading...you look like you are busy with your new listings...Hope all is well with you...Are you going to the Century 21 International Convention?
Hi again Midori, re "don't be suprised if I request yet another interview of you!"... I'd love to, just give me a bit of time, my life & schedule are totally insane these days.
I love your niche idea because you do it so well. My new blog(outside of AR) will be bringing together some of my favorite geeks, techies, gurus, marketing junkies as well as newbies... sort of a hub on the wild, wild web where we can all learn from each other.
To me you are one of the ultimate online social butterflies and a good example for anyone on how to get positive attention and build solid relationships on the net.
I'd love to have you as a guest blogger down the road and you're also on my list of people to interview. Consider this to be fair warning! ;-)
Wow! My head is spinning! I'm new to this blog stuff and there is clearly so much more than meets the eye! You've really got to learn how to harness this stuff and grow with it! This is the first time I'm taking more control of my own online marketing. This is good stuff!
You're spot on!
I've been trying to get away from this damned laptop for hours! It is addicting!
How funny!
Midori,
Great interview, thanks so much for sharing!
Gotta go utilize all this new found knowledge...
All the best,
Audrey
Kevin and Monica-I love my signature!
Audrey-its never ending so don't feel pressured!
Randy-Yes, he did offer some great advice.
Midori,
In the piece of advice point he tells anyone planning on starting a blog the foundation that everyone should follow. The most important perhaps being the choice of topic to be focused on a narrow target audience.
Thanks for the helpful hints about Yahoo. I also add a signature to my blogs and it really has helped increase customer readings. I would also suggest adding an RSS feed to that blog from Active Rain. It will keep it updated everytime you blog.
Very nice post. Thank you for sharing the yahoo information.
Jay Skinner
Skinner & Associates Realty