Latest posts from Danny Brown

Enjoy the latest posts from Danny Brown, and feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments after the post.

Not Going to TEDx Ottawa? Check the Live Video Feed

This weekend, on Sunday December 6 between 10.00am and 6.00pm, TEDx Ottawa is taking place at bitHeads, Inc. An independently organized event under the main TED banner, it promises to be a weekend of learning, interactivity, thought sharing, music and much more.

I’ve been very lucky to be asked to speak at the event, and I’ll be joining a cast of speakers with amazing stories and ideas to share. Due to the overwhelming response to the event, TEDx Ottawa was sold out in a very short time. However, thanks to the cool technical wizards that have been brought together for the event, there will be a live video feed.

If you can’t make TEDx Ottawa but still want to enjoy, and have some time free between 10.00am and 6.00pm EST this coming Sunday, why not log on to the live TEDx Ottawa video feed and watch as it unfolds? There will also be a chat room to log into to share your views on the topics.

I’ll be on around 11.50am Eastern and there are a host of great people speaking throughout the day – hope to see you there.

Streaming .TV shows by Ustream

The 12 Days of Christmas Homeless Push

This is a cross-posting from the 12for12k blog. Throughout December, the 12for12k focus is on the homeless and how you can help in your own towns and cities.

There’s no donation widget this month – we’re offering a more hands-on challenge. By all means, if you wish to donate cash as well as the time and items we’ll be suggesting, that’d be great as well. So, with that said, let’s get into our streets this month and really help those that need it the most.

Thank you.

Conversation Agent: 50 Ways to Make Limoncello When You’ve Been Laid Off

via conversationagent.com

This is an absolutely awesome resource list from Valeria Maltoni (@ConversationAgent) that you should check out immediately if you’ve lost your job.

Social Media, Honesty and the FTC Guidelines

So the much-vaunted Federal Trade Commission guidelines for social media came into play today. There’s been a lot said about them on both sides of the fence, with plenty bloggers offering their views for and against. Some say it will inhibit free speech, while others applaud the FTC for getting involved.

Whatever your stance, one thing that is abundantly clear is that it’s not that big a deal.

So what if the FTC have turned their gaze towards social media, and bloggers in particular? There’s a key word that everyone should already be adhering to anyway.

Honesty.

No-one likes a liar, and even less so if it’s lies tied around advertising. This is where both publishers and advertisers can take the sting out of the new FTC rulings.

If you’re a blogger and you receive goods for review, or in lieu of a promotional campaign, then be honest and say so. Disclose – don’t assume that every reader already knows you’re worthy of our trust. And have a Disclosure Page with all your current affiliations.
If you’re an advertiser and you offer a blogger a product for review, make sure that it’s part of the agreement that they’re upfront about it. It’s not just the blogger that’ll get crapped on if it comes out your review was paid for and it wasn’t disclosed.

Think of it as your business. Would you lie to your customers? Would you put money over how you treat those that make you successful?

A blogger’s customers are his or her readers. While they might not pay us for our posts, they sure as heck invest more than their value in time when they read, comment and share our posts.

And an advertiser’s customers – well, that’s pretty obvious, but at the end of the day they still need to be treated with the utmost respect and honesty. Just because you can hide behind a blogger doesn’t mean you have carte blanche to shit in the store.

So.

FTC and social media = good thing and nothing to worry about. As long as you’re honest.

Thing is, shouldn’t it already be this way?

photo credit:?arimoore

Give to Get

Giving up is easy. Close our eyes, wait for problems to go away – anyone can do that. The highway of life is full of sleepers and short stay hotels of those that have given up.

Getting back up? That’s the difficult part. But think how many times you’ve been ready to give up in the past, only to keep getting back in the game for more.

No-one likes giving up, but sometimes it’s the only natural thing to do. How, and if, you get up is the separator.

Ready to get?