Joel-Mark-Witt.com

What do you consider yourself when creating media online? Are you a podcaster, video producer, writer, blogger, photographer, publishers, or developer?

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask questions while standing at the intersection of social media, podcasting, online video, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment in real time follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

I am writing this post from the cabin of an Airtran Air flight to LA. Big deal. People have been taking laptops on airplanes forever.

But I didn’t write this post on a laptop – I used my iPhone.

I also published this from the airplane using the plane’s wifi network.

There are two key points I’d like to make about this.

1) Personal publishing has come of age. Armed only with my mobile phone I can post a message for a global audience. Johannes Gutenberg would be proud.

2) I am always connected. I have wifi seven miles up. My 3g network is available pretty much along any major freeway or in any city. I don’t need a desk – office – company – or computer to publish.

Powerful stuff. How will you and your business adapt? Do you have a plan to deal with an always connected – on demand – mobile customer base?

I have my plan and I’m adding to it by the day. Now if only they could serve more to eat than a 6.25 gram gourmet biscoff on this plane I would be in heaven.

I’ve actually been working on this post since I spoke at Blogworld 2008.  It’s been sitting in my drafts for a while while I noodled around with it.

But this post “Podcasting Isn’t Exactly Dead“  from Chris Brogan prompted me to dust it off – polish it up – and post.

In the beginning there was blogging. Text based posts sometimes accompanied by photos.

Then came audio podcasts.

In 2004-2006 there was a feeding frenzy. It appeared that blogging would be eclipsed by audio.

Then in 2006 YouTube was bought by Google for an obscene amount of money.

Video was on the front lines. People like Jeff Pulver and Chris Brogan were investing time and money into online video. Rocketboom and Wallstrip made big news and it looked like blogging was going to be pushed away even further.

In the midst of all this I can remember saying that blogging would become the stepchild that no one knew what to do with.

Boy was I an idiot.

Video will always be huge online. Audio podcasts will continue to grow. But the folks having the most success in new media are the bloggers.

Blogs are and will continue to be the undercurrent of all online media.

Video is flashy enough to draw a crowd. Audio podcasts can help lend cred and social proof. But blogs will continue to provide the backbone to the others.

Put it this way – audio and video are great tools when used from the platform of blogging.

So I have changed my mind on this one. Partly because I met so many people at Blogworld  making over six figures a month from their blogs. Contrast this to the handful of people squeaking by full-time as podcasters.

So my bets are on blogging as the platform. Podcasts and video are the “plugins” that run on that platform.

So what does this mean for your business?

Here’s my advice. Your company needs to start with blogging. If you already have a blog up and running, and have tweaked it with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) then you should consider adding audio and video content where it makes sense. But start with a blog first.

Join the discussion by posting a comment below or follow me on Twitter and let me know your thoughts.

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This site, Joel-Mark-Witt.com, is where I ask the questions while standing at the intersection of social media, marketing, PR, storytelling, life and leadership…. and what the heck this all means for my business and yours. If you like what you see – please subscribe to it for free. To join the discussion or to comment follow me on Twitter.

Joel Mark Witt

*Photo By Duchamp

The iPhone has changed my life.
I’ve been using my iPhone like crazy to write this blog, post to Twitter, check and respond to emails, jot down thoughts and notes, text message friends, snap photos of my kids and send them to the grandparents, and sometimes (very rarely) hold an old fashioned verbal conversation.

And I’ve only had it for a week.

The iPhone has already changed how I do business and get work done.
It’s not really a phone. It’s more like a communication device. And I use it to communicate constantly. The ease of use and availability of always being connected to the web is incredible. I’ve gotten a lifetime of use out of it in a very short time.

I’ve been able to spend downtime actually doing something.
I am no longer tethered to my computer. I can be productive no matter if I’m waiting in lines – waiting for something to cook – or sitting in bed unable to fall asleep.

My Twitter use has skyrocketed. Before, I had to log onto my computer to engage with the Twitter community. Now with the iPhone app TwitterFon I’m always connected. I feel apart of the wider conversation.

In the past when blog writing ideas came to me during the day I would have to scramble for a scrap of paper to write them on waiting until I got home to blog them. Now with the free Wordpress application for the iPhone I am able to write blog posts all day as they come to me.

If I get a few minutes of downtime I can work on a new post or edit one that is ready to publish.

The iPhone is built for social media, marketing, and PR.
If you are serious about using social media for your business I would suggest you at least consider the iPhone. You can even get them used from Amazon. Now you can use Microsoft Exchange on your phone also to interface with your outlook email.

There are many people who have Blackberrys and other phones too. How has your life and business productivity changed by using a mobile device? I’d love to hear some thoughts.

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Joel-Mark-Witt.com is a blog about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these tools to grow your business, even if you know nothing about computers and the Internet. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free by RSS or eMail.

Joel Mark Witt

*Photo by Nialkennedy

I was very honored to be invited to speak at Blog World Expo 2008 this past weekend. Michael Hoffman and I gave a presentation “New Media From Inside The Organization.”

I talked about my experience helping businesses like the Maryland Zoo develop online content to promote to and grow an online audience. Michael shared his company’s purpose of helping non profits share their vision with quality online video and social media content.

The audience was engaged and we had a great discussion among the attendees.

One thing I like to do when giving a talk is to have everyone take a group self portrait photo or video together in the room. So here is my version of the photo. A little shaky – but you can see in the background everyone else pulled out their cameras and snapped frames of themselves.

So here are the three basic things I learned at Blog World Expo 2008

1) There is a lot of money to be made in blogging but Ads SUCK
David Clark from Copyblogger sat on a panel about making money with a blog. He said he is making over $110k per month (that’s not a typo) with zero advertising. How does he do it? He sells information products directly on his site to help people become better copywriters. The general tone of the conference was: “don’t get stuck serving up ads as your primary source of blog revenue.”

2) Bloggers are much more serious about their craft as a whole than podcasters or online video creators
I spoke at the New Media Expo last month and while it was educational and I got to see some friends – the people in attendance couldn’t be more different from the blogging crowd. It’s like the difference between playing a game of pick up football in the backyard with your cousins and taking a snap on the field of an NFL team.

3) Communication with a niche audience is the recepe for succces
Whatever “brush” you choose to paint with (podcasts, blogs, video, or twitter) it is all about engaging your audience and drawing them into a broader discussion.

So there are my three takeaways from Blog World Expo 2008. Did you attend? If so what did you learn? I’d love to hear your takeaway.

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This blog is about technology, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, and how you can use all these things to grow your business. If you like this blog please subscribe to it for free

Joel Mark Witt

I just set up Wordpress on my iPhone.

Not earth shattering I know. But I’m writing this post from my iPhone. Meaning that I no longer have
to be behind a laptop to blog.

I am able to write and publish from the line at the grocery store, or on the beach during vacation.

I’d like to hear your thoughts about mobile blogging. Do you think it will change the way we write and communicate? Will our content be more timely?