Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

Social Media Grill by the Stroutmeister

Filed Under Interviews, Successful Blog | 2 Comments

Where Were You on July 24, 2005?

The Living Web

If you want to get to the intent and motives of the suspect, Aaron Strout, CMO of Powered, Inc, is the guy. CITIZEN MARTKETER 2.1’s 45 in 45 –45 Expert Interviews in the 45 days leading up to SxSW — is grilling 2 score and 5 more social media practitioners on the art of the social web.

It was my turn in the hot seat today. Click through to read what happened.

Experts in the Industry: Liz Strauss (34 of 45)

Perhaps the lights in my eyes were brighter?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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A Weekend Retreat with a Social Media Dream Team!

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Guy Kawasaki Talks About Alltop.com and the Alltop.com Community

Filed Under Interviews, Marketing, Successful Blog | 16 Comments

Featured in Alltop

I work with companies who are watching in the way of new ventures — weight risks against benefits. Lawyers try to keep them conservative, while the “common wisdom” seems to tell them they need a blog. I’m finding that often a blog isn’t the answer, at least not the appropriate first step. User participation has many forms.

One of the best examples of a social media, user-centered endeavor is Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop.com Alltop gets it right in so many ways. FAQ 3 is part of the magic of the Alltop formula, and what we’ve been talking about — let the community help build the barn.

3. Q. How do you decide which sites and blogs are in a topic?
A. We use a patent-pending, semantic computational algorithm derived from the post-doctoral work of Guy at Stanford. Just kidding. We rely on several sources: results of Google searches, review of the sites’ and blogs’ content, researchers, and our “gut” plus the recommendations of the Twitter community, owners of the sites and blogs, and people who care enough to write to us. Let us declare something: The Twitter community has been the single biggest factor in the quality of Alltop. Without this group of mavens and connectors, Alltop would not be what it is today.

You can tell a person wrote that.

I’m lucky to be talking to the man behind Alltop —
Guy Kawasaki — about his thoughts on how businesses
can engage people as they move online. I wondered about low-risk choices that businesses might make when forming new social media businesses and communities online.


Hi Guy! About Alltop, I’ve been through it all in the past few days. I think most folks don’t realize the scope of the accomplishment you’ve built … it’s no wonder you’re always smiling.

Alltop really is more than it seems. What is Alltop really and why does it work?

Alltop is a digital magazine rack. We assemble (”aggregate”) subscriptions by topics, and we have approximately 400 topics ranging from Adoption to Zoology.

It works because there is so much information on the web and search engines are too good at what they do. For any topic, Google would find millions of hits. Most people do not have the time or ability to winnow this down.

For example, try typing “China” into Google then look at


What’s special about Alltop is the way people have taken a personal interest in it — especially the Twitter community. Did the Twitter community come first or did you grow the community as you grew Alltop?

Twitter as a service pre-dates Alltop by several years. Fortunately, the people who follow me have taken a liking to Alltop. They provide suggestions for topic and feeds for topics, and they help us spread the word about topics. Alltop would not be what it is without Twitter.


What was crucial to making it all happen efficiently? What was crucial to getting the community to buy in?

Many factors came into play: I had a large following because of my visibility so Alltop had a jump start; the product is truly useful; and we were more than willing to hear and implement what the community wanted. Twitter was made for Alltop, and Alltop was made for Twitter–you couldn’t have designed a better synergy if you tried.


What advice do you have for companies who worry about the risks of their first steps into the social sphere?

The willingness to open things up and to seemingly lose control is the only way to control social media. If you think you can control social media in the traditional sense, you shouldn’t even try it. Just stick to buying Super Bowl commercials instead.


What sort of projects might you suggest would offer low risk but high profile community relationship value?

The first thing most companies should do is go to search.twitter.com and search for anyone who mentions their products, services, or the company itself. Then it should help those people in any way possible.

To see how it’s done, they should watch @comcastcares on Twitter. That is a Comcast employee who monitors Twitter for people who have issues with Comcast. This is a great example of how to use social media. The cost is $0 and the upside is huge.

Thanks Guy! It was a pleasure, as always.
_________
Look closely and you see that Alltop.com is a magazine rack that draws people into a community. People help choose the topics. They suggest the sites included. People proudly display the badge of the Alltop domain and discuss Alltop blogs with @GuyKawasaki and @NEENZ on Twitter.

Guy let the people help build it, made the site about them and what they’re doing, and now they promote and protect it. It’s a community all right.

What do you think is the magic of Alltop? What bit of it could make work for you and the community you’re building?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Karen Putz on the Chicago Moms Blog Donors Choose Challenge!

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Call to Action

chicago moms donors choose badge

Our friend, Karen Putz, is changing the world again. As part of the Chicago Moms blog, she wrote to let me know about the Donors Choose Challenge. I asked if she’d let me interview her about it. She agreed.

Listen in. It’s very cool!

Hi Karen! I hear you’re up to something special. Can you tell me In five sentences, what’s this spectacular challenge I’ve been hearing about?

The Chicago Moms Blog is joining with our sister sites in promoting the Bloggers Challenge for the month of October. We are raising money for schools through DonorsChoose.org, an organization that has been featured on Oprah and Fortune magazine: It Takes a Blogosphere. Last year, the Challenge made Internet history and raised $420,000 in one month. With the collective efforts of bloggers all over, it’s possible to break that record this year and raise even more money for school projects all over the world. This project has a special place in my heart because there are projects aimed at deaf and hard of hearing children.

Oprah and Fortune! How cool is that?!! When does it start? How long does it last?

The DonorsChoose Bloggers Challenge is for the entire month of October. Throughout the month of October, Chicago Moms Blogs and our sister sites will be featuring different projects and highlighting this important fundraiser. We know that teachers often dip into their own pockets to support classroom activities or that students go without basic supplies–this is our annual chance to make a difference in the lives of students all over.

How does it work?

Each time you visit the Chicago Moms Blog or our sister sites, you’ll find a donation button in the top left corner. Clicking on the button will take you to a list of projects that are set up by teachers all over the world. Each of our sites is highlighting different projects which cover different schools. For example, on the Chicago Moms Blog, we’re highlighting projects such as the Writer’s Workshop for Students with Diverse Needs and Bugs, Crystals and More for Deaf Scientists. You can donate to any of these projects by clicking on the DonorsChoose button and donating any amount, from a dollar to a few million.

Is it only in Chicago?

The Bloggers Challenge is taking place all over the web and covers projects that are worldwide.

Are there hands-on ways we can participate?

You can set up your own Bloggers Challenge, pick a few projects and promote this fundraiser on your blog or website. Check out the DonorsChoose.org blog for instructions on how to participate. Of course, the easiest hands on way to participate is to make a donation through the Chicago Moms Blog and help the Mom Bloggers kick some butt!

Are there ways we can spread the word?

Help spread the word by blogging about this event, setting up your own fundraising challenge or posting the links to current blogging challenges via social media sites. You can also encourage teachers to go to DonorsChoose.org and post a project that they would like to see funded. Thousands of dollars have been raised in the first two days– I can’t wait to see how much more we can raise in the upcoming days. Come and be a part of making a change for education. Together, we can impact the lives of children all over.

One last question . . .

How do we support our favorite Mom Blogger (you) the most?
Oh that’s easy, give me some link love! Help me spread the word about this fundraiser. And of course, one of the best ways to show support is to make a donation using this link and help Chicago Moms Blog rocket to the top of the Mom Bloggers list!

Last year during the 2007 Blogger Challenge, they made Internet history. More than 100 bloggers raised $420,000 for school projects on DonorsChoose.org. This year, they’re aiming to do Internet history again.

Bet we could make that goal happen . . . just like that.

C’mon let’s change the world!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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All Voices and Being Seen and Heard in the Noise

Filed Under Interviews, Successful Blog | 14 Comments

A Few Words from Blog World Expo

relationships button

On Saturday morning, I had the humbling experience of an interview with Kathy Jacobs, Community Guru of All Voice and a Microsoft MVP, known on Twitter as @CallKathy. We took a few minutes to talk about whatever we wanted.

The primary topic was citizen journalism, but she also challenged me to do some on the spot thinking. hmmm. If you’ve not yet discovered allvoices.com, co stop to see what we’re talking about. It’s a chance to raise your voice above the noise.


As social media connects us online in offline situations, video is becoming a way we get to know each other. Often we first say more into the camera than we have said to each other face to face.

Among all of us, online and off, cameras are no longer reserved for special events. They capture our faces in elevators and on security monitors. We change our routes on sidewalks to avoid cameras pointed where we might walk. We’re using them to mark moments and memories that once might have been fleeting or lost in the passing of time.

Cameras are in backdrop and the foreground. They’re changing the way that we record our lives.

How have cameras changing how you’re being seen and heard in the noise?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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A Conversation about Life in Perpetual Beta

Filed Under Interviews, Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 10 Comments

Thank You, Melissa

I met Melissa Pierce at SOBcon. She’s an attractive and focused woman with a wonderful project called “Life in Perpetual Beta.” It’s going to be an interactive movie made from, around, and through interviews with people who live their lives by embracing positive change.

This conversation with Melissa was filmed out by Belmont Harbor in Chicago. We talked about life online, leadership, and how things come together.

I’m thrilled to be a part of this project. I’m also honored by what she wrote about the video on her blog.

Paradox Found - Liz Strauss Bridges the Gap



Paradox Found - Liz Strauss Bridges the Gap.


Head over to read the blog about it. Then watch a few more interviews. You’ll be glad you did. Daniel Pink, author of “A Whole New Mind” is supposed to go up today. I can’t wait for that one.

Thanks, Melissa! It’s going to be some movie, when to put all of this together!

No doubt.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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