I am currently celebrating the one year anniversary of View from Valhalla. My, how quickly a year goes, and how much things change. When I first started this blog, I had no idea what I would be doing with it. I knew I had opinions (hence the tagline) and I knew I loved social media. I was also very new to Twitter (well, at least being involved to a large extent) and had no idea that one would help feed the other (strangely, the have helped each other).

Almost a full year ago, I wrote a post entitled Podcast Challenge, in which I challenged my few number of Twitter followers, and many fewer readers of this blog, to spread the word concerning their favorite podcasts. At the time, I was listening to Weather Child and I really wanted to get the word out on what a wonderful story it was and how much I was enjoying it. I was successful in my part of the challenge and got that podcast 5 new subscribers, but unfortunately, the challenge never bore the fruit I had hoped for, so as an anniversary event, I’ve decided to lay down the challenge again.

So, here it is:

Choose your favorite work of podcast fiction. It can be any genre, any style, any cast type. It really doesn’t matter. Pimp that podcast however you choose. Gain five new listeners for it. You can choose more than one podcast if you want, but then you need to gain it an ADDITIONAL five listeners. (Each podcast is independent, five total listeners for five separate podcasts doesn’t count.)

This year I am changing one rule: it can be ANY work of podcast fiction. Last year, I was asking people to choose something currently in production. In retrospect, this was probably a mistake. Choose any work you want. Burn a couple of eps on a CD. Go crazy with a DVD. USB thumb drives are incredibly cheap these days. Spread the word!

Accountability

Now, how do we know how we’re doing? Twitter! Let’s revive the hashtag #podcastchallenge. When you gain a new listener for your favorite podcast, simply post it on Twitter with the aforementioned hashtag. Example: 1 new subscriber for Some Other Scotland!! #podcastchallenge

Timeframe? Well, we can keep it going forever if you want, but i really would like to see who can get their five by the end of April.

Keep a running total letting us know how it is going. Are you an author? Pimp your own book! Spread the word! Don’t worry about giving credit to VFV, I’m really not worried about it. However, if you’re up for a little extra accountability (like me asking how you’re doing), feel free to leave a comment here stating which podcast(s) you’re going to be promoting.

Good luck!

1. All A Twitter was released roughly 10 months ago. Many new Twitter clients have been released since then. What are the ones we should be aware of and what platforms are they being made for?

Many of the new Twitter clients I have seen since the release of All a Twitter have been more web-based as opposed to AIR-based. Their interfaces have been less about the aesthetics and more about performance and stability. While I admire that, they tend to be no more than an extension of the sparse Twitter homepage only with the ability to harvest new tweets automatically.

However…

Only a few weeks ago I have been clocking in time with Hootsuite (http://www.hootsuite.com) and I have been VERY impressed with its capabilities. You can use it in Real Time or pre-schedule tweets in case you need to tend to other deadlines and priorities. Hootsuite is also available for the iPhone and other portable devices, so keep a sharp eye on this application. If you are managing multiple accounts, have tweets already composed, and are using Twitter more as a conversation starter or newswire, I recommend that you look into Hootsuite.

2. You’ve mentioned that you were proud of some of the more oblique cultural references you were able to keep in AAT. What, if any, were cut? Alternatively, what reference would you have loved to have found a use for?

I think this is one (of many) reasons why I love All a Twitter more than my other Twitter title, Sams Teach Yourself Twitter in 10 Minutes. I found that Que allowed me to be “me” in All a Twitter so I was able to get in a lot of pop culture references. They gave me so much freedom, in fact, that all of my geeky references made it through, one in particular being a Young Frankenstein quote.

If I could have made any other references, I think I would have said in response to the variety of phishing scams that infect people’s DM streams “They’re in the FRAKKIN’ SHIP!” (Col. Tigh from BSG) or if I was writing a section on my latest discovery (Hootsuite) I could have said “When you’re a spy, the opposition needs to think you’re somewhere you’re not. This is why Hootsuite is an essential tool as you can load it up with tweets and schedule them to go live. As the opposition think you’re at the computer, you are – in fact – somewhere else.” (Michael Westin from Burn Notice).

That last one would have been WIN. (Ed. Yes, yes it would have been.)

3. Since AAT was released, Twitter has continued to grow and evolve. What are your favorite areas of growth, and areas that you wish weren’t being explored?

I’m watching educators use Twitter more and more, and I feel that Twitter – and Social Media, on a whole – is the underused tool that should be utilized. There is so much that can be done with these various outlets – Twitter, FB, podcasting, etc.. I think educators need to explore the possibilities. Resource exchanges. Quick communication. Reference checks. If you are into education, you can reach an audience wide and diverse with Twitter.

As for where and how Twitter is evolving, I find that the Social Media Experts (a/k/a Evangelists, Mavens, Enthusiasts, Oracles, etc. a/k/a Social Media Douchebags a/k/a SMDs) are becoming less and less tolerated. Some of these self-proclaimed Twitter Messiahs are preaching their gospel to a flock in the hundreds of thousands, but tend to follow back less than a thousand or even less than a hundred.

What’s up with that?

I’m just going to call it like I see it: Everybody wants to be Chris Brogan (@ChrisBrogan)(respectful [ding]) but so few are achieving the balance between pro and personal. Chris isn’t perfect, but he is maintaining the genuine while managing the massive numbers. (One of many reasons I got that trust agent to write the AAT Foreword.) There are others like Jeff Sass (@sass) and CC Chapman (@cc_chapman) who are putting forward that effort to stay honest on Twitter. Between 2008-2009 there were SMDs left and right who nurtured the numbers and then stopped participating in their feeds. Oh sure, they would preach how they used Twitter to “connect” but look at their feeds and it would be RTs, quotes, and questions that linked back to their own site.

The tolerance for the Social Media Snake Oil Salesmen is dropping, I see. That is a beautiful thing.

4. If you could point Twitter development in a certain direction, what would it be?

I think Twitter needs to start taking _themselves_ more seriously.

For example, did you know there is an account you can follow that will keep you in the know of Twitter scams, viruses, and other hazards? It’s @safety. I had NO IDEA this account existed until Twitter “got hacked” back in February only to find it a false alarm (http://www.idguardian.com/phishing-attack-twitter/). @safety was one of the best kept and least publicized accounts in Twitter’s arsenal, and I’d like to know why? Sadly, @safety is managed by Del Harvey (@delbius) where she…retweets @safety. So who should you follow? One? Both? Beats me.

Twitter is still running itself like a “Wow-Ain’t-This-Keen” business and they need to get on the ball, straighten up, and fly right. Otherwise they will never be taken as the communication revolution TIME Magazine called them in June 2009.

5. How do you see Google’s Wave and Buzz products as competitors to Twitter?

I see Wave, Buzz, and Facebook as trying to be more like Twitter but they tend to twist your arm to make you volunteer information, including information you really don’t want to volunteer. What makes Twitter  the choice for me in Social Media communication and networking tools is that Twitter surrenders control to you. Nowhere are you asked to fill in information and reveal said information without consent. You’re in control. There are third-party add-on’s that are built on that sharing principal but unless you say clearly “No, don’t share that…” these applications share, share, share.

Twitter is about user control and what you want to share. That’s why I like it. in the end, I have the final word.

6. When asked why Tweet, what would you respond?

Actually, I ask people that question: Why are you on Twitter? If they say “To sell stuff” or “To make money” I find a majority of those people have short lifespans on the perch. To get into Twitter you need to either have a desire to communicate across a vast network, or you have a need to circulate resources and contacts ala LinkedIn. Twitter is about connection and participation. If you don’t want to do either, people will tune you out.

7. Bird House Rules is a fantastic companion for AAT. I’m unaware of any other non-fiction book with a podcast tie-in to keep it pertinent. Are you aware of any other?

Yes, it was me and “Podcasting for Dummies: The Companion Podcast” for Podcasting for Dummies from Wiley Publishing.  ;^)  We went for two seasons, but time and resources didn’t keep up with us. Still, it was a fantastic run. I’m hoping one of my partners in Season Two, Chuck Tomasi (@ctomasi)(courtesy [ding]), decides to do a companion podcast for his own Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes (with Kreg Steppe, @steppek(courtesy [ding])). I’ll lean on him about that.

7b. Was it a hard sell with your publisher?

Not at all. Que has loved the idea and thinks the podcast and companion blog is yet another avenue for promoting both titles. Listenership has been steadily climbing and I’m hoping it will continue to do so. The challenge of keeping the podcast under ten minutes has been just that – a challenge – but BHR has really become a labor of love for me. My favorite episode so far has been the oh-so-hard-to-produce “TweetDeck Update” episode, complete with video companion. Good fun!

8. How hard was it let your editor have the last word in AAT (or did you)?

The editorial staff, from the Technical (@PhilippaJane)(courtesy [ding]) to the line editors, were all professionals. They kept me honest and they kept me on my toes. It is one reason I am crossing my fingers that somewhere down the road, I’m asked to do a second edition (or another book) for Que. I really, really enjoyed working with them, and it has been a positive experience since AAT’s release last summer.

9. What can we expect from Tee Morris in the remainder of 2010?

You can expect more episodes of Bird House Rules, hopefully with a few interviews of my own from Twitter users. I’m also trying to get a video series with Que started, but with the start of the year being as it was (and you can read teemorris.com [ding] for more on that), it’s hard to say when I will be ready. BHR has gotten me to turn my attention back to podcasting, something I genuinely missed, and I look forward to blogging and podcasting from birdhouserules.com [ding]. Finally, there is Twitter itself. Currently I am managing both my @TeeMonster [ding]and @ITStudios[ding] accounts, along with @IDGuardian[ding] (my day job)[ding] and @createsouth[ding] (a volunteer gig in support of a fantastic one-day creative think tank happening every April in Myrtle Beach, SC). You have many ways of keeping up with me and what I do with Twitter, both from a corporate, non-profit, and simply personal point-of-view.

2010 offers many possibilities for me, and I hope you follow me on Twitter to keep up with them.

–

There ends the interview. I would like to thank Tee again for making himself available and putting in some serious thought on answering those questions. The [ding]‘s were added by the editor (me), and if you’re unaware of the reference, find a audio interview of Tee’s. It will then all make sense.

Growing up in the 70′s and 80′s might not have been the Norman Rockwell montage stereotype our parents had, but mine was still pretty ideal.

I grew up in a small town. We knew all of our neighbors and if anyone moved away, they were written to, and visited if possible. All the kids in the neighborhood would play at the park or at the high school football field on many summer evenings. We were safe and we knew it. We went home when the street lights came on, and not a minute sooner. I remember it was around the time I turned ten that we began locking our doors when we were away from home.

I spent many nights of my teenage years walking the streets of my small town or sitting on my best friends porch watching some of the other teenagers “cruise”.

I’m sure many of you had similar childhoods (at least I hope so) and I’m afraid some of you did not.

Well, we all know times have changed. Today, we would never leave our homes unlocked while we were out, and many of us keep the doors locked in the middle of the afternoon when everyone is home.

I have lived in the house I currently reside in now for over 8 years. I can’t tell you the last names of either of my next door neighbors. I don’t know their phone numbers. I don’t know their stories.

Although I’ve tried on several occassions to change this, I’ll take as much resposibility for this as anyone else could. I could have tried harder.

Recently, my son fell ill. He might have had the swine flu. We’ll find out when the test results come back.

After I had called my parents, I turned to my friends in the community for solace and reassurance.

“Wait a minute, I thought you said you don’t feel a sense of community with your neighborhood,” I can hear a few of you thinking. You’re right, the community I’m referring to is twitter.

You see, I’m a twitterholic. I tweet regularly. In fact, in my twitter neighborhood, I’m probably the village idiot, LOL. At the very least I’m one of the comedians.

If you’re not part of this kind of social network, you might ask if it is real. Well, it is to me. Maybe my Mac does have multiple personality disorder and all of these “friends” are figments of it’s imagination. If so, at least my Mac has good taste. (If I used a PC, I would probably be stuck following Ashton and his rifraf.) [yes Val, I am expecting a solid rejoinder on that remark. LOL]

During the past year, these virtual friends have helped me through some tough times. (These are documented in the blog post Perspective.)

Let me digress a moment here and explain my twitter rationale. For me, friends have never been about the numbers. I have a fairly small number of followers, and a signifcantly smaller group I follow. However, my rules are simple. Talk to me and I’ll follow you. Continue to try to engage me even occassionally, and I’ll continue to follow you. Ignore me when I try to engage you in a conversation, possibly even one you’ve begun, and I’ll forgive you a couple of times. Continue the behavior, and you’re dropped. That is why I no longer follow any celebs.

As I’ve previously mentioned, my network is small, but there isn’t a single one I wouldn’t like to meet in the meat world and share a cup of coffee and a story with.

Here’s the role call:
Tee Morris – @teemonster
Dude, I had listened to you bring Billi to life in 2006. It was now 2008, I was out of work and heard you give out your twitter address during the wonderful broadcast of Morevi Remastered. You were the first person I followed that I didn’t know. I now call you friend. I regard you as an exemplary author, podcaster, person and father. Twitter is your drug of choice and you’ve got me hooked.

Philippa Ballantine – @philippajane
Your voicing Askana led me to your own podcast novel, Chasing the Bard. I purchased both halves of Double Trouble and was astounded by the most original sequel I’d EVER read. This encouraged me to send you a tweet, and I discovered that, not only are you one of my favorite authors ever, you’re one of my favorite people. You’re witty, snarky, intelligent and kind hearted to a fault. And you wrote Weather Child just for me (I know I wasn’t supposed to tell, but I couldn’t keep it quiet any longer). Just a reminder everyone- I AM WC’s biggest fan, I claimed it. It’s mine.

Val Griswold-Ford (she has an author site, but this is where she lives) - @vg_ford
You’re a newer addition to my list, but one of the best. I love your books, Not Your Father’s Horsemen and Dark Moon Seasons, but even more so, I appreciate your easy going but sincere approach to life. I’m a fan, but I am your friend. Thank you so much for your encouragement with my silly little stories. Go Sox! (Now, if I could just talk you into buying a Mac, you would be so very happy!)

Alex White – @alruff
You’re the first, and to this point, only one that has approached me from having read something on this blog. That means a lot to me. You are extremely talented in many areas. You have my envy and admiration. The Gearheart is rocking and sure to be a hit. I have enjoyed our communications to this point and look forward to many, many more. Thank you. I look forward to the day when I’ll be telling my boys, “I knew Alex when…” Big things are coming for you, I believe it.

Charlie – @quonundrum
One of my most recent additions to the list. Your sincerity and comraderie put you on this list automatically. I look forward to getting to know you better.

@urgentcoffeenow
Finding an old friend in a new environment has been exceedingly cool.

@emilyofnewmoon
She doesn’t really tweet, and I think I’m her only follower. (and she’ll probably have me remove her from this list) She is also the most beautiful woman in the world, the most wonderful mother in the world and the person I respect most in the world. Just don’t tell my wife, okay?

If you’re not mentioned here, but I follow you, you’re still an important part of my day. Thank you.

And thank you all for being my neighbors!

(This was typed on my iPhone in it’s entirety between 11:00 and midnight. Links, spelling and grammer will be updated tomorrow.)

[Links applied, but still not sure about the spelling and grammer, lol]

You see, I am a huge fan of technology. I love the iPod. Including my iPhone, I have five. I discovered, and fell in love with, podcasts about six years ago. My how the market has grown during that time.

I also have a daily commute that leaves me alone in the car for a minimum of an hour a day. Due to all of these factors, I have become a huge fan of serialized fiction.

As a way to thank these authors that give so freely of their efforts, I try to donate to them directly when I can and purchase their books that are in print whenever possible.

However, I’ve been thinking lately that I’d like to do more. Since starting this blog, I’ve found that I have a previously umdiscovered joy, knowing that people are actually reading the thoughts that I’m electronically making available. That thought led me to the obvious realization that listeners are probably what the authors would appreciate most.

So, the challenge…

I want everyone to pick their favorite (or two, or six or however many) podcast(s) and somehow get that podcast five or more new subscribers.

Rules are simple: the podcast should be one that is currently in production. If we want to do one with legacy ‘casts, that would be cool too, but let’s keep them separate. I am going with Weather Child, because as I’m sure you’ve guessed from reading the first ever post on this blog, for some reason I seem to have an emotional investment in this story (Thanks Pip) (Tee, I’m REALLY trying to be patient for Legacy). I’m going to download and burn the first nine episodes to cd and hand them out to people at work, then follow up with them and see if they’re enjoying it. If so, I’ll ask if I can help set them up to subscribe.

Now here’s the catch. Accountability. I created a hashtag on twitter for everyone to keep tally. As you get someone to subscribe just tweet to #podcastchallenge the podcast you’re fighting for and the number of new subscriptions you’ve garnered for it. I would love to see one hundred or more subscriptions, for all ‘casts combined, come out of this.

If you don’t twitter, feel free to post your efforts here and I will tweet them on your behalf. Please feel free to post your comments or lay down your own challenge as well.

You’ve been challenged.

Are you up to it?

The topic of this post is not the Twilight series of books. You probably all ready have your opinion of them anyway. I am going to try to examine, however, an inadequacy (as I see it) in the publishing industry, and I will be using Twilight to try and make the point.

Ms. Meyer’s books have become a world wide phenomenon. There are four books in the series with the first all ready made into a hit movie and the second in production. Great for Ms. Meyer’s and her copious fans.

I am really not trying to lambast Ms. Meyer’s or her work in any way. However, now we’re getting to the meat of the issue. I am not a publisher, nor am I an editor or a literary agent. I am a voracious reader and will get new story content any (legal) way I can. I have long been a subscriber to podiobooks.com (and you should be too) and regularly haunt the literature category over at iTunes. I have heard some great stuff and some not so great stuff. I have many of my new favorite authors due to podcast novels. (Just an aside, but if you have similar patterns, see if your favorite podcasting author has any books in print, possibly from a small publisher, and consider making a purchase. You can also donate over at Podiobooks and you might consider doing so if you can.) I am always anxiously awaiting anything new from Tee Morris (Morevi- also my favorite hardcopy novel right now, you’ve got to read these books- and Billibub Baddings novels), Scott Sigler (Ancestor, Earthcore, The Rookie, Nocturnal, Infected, and Contagious) Phil Rossi (Cresent and Eden), Mur Lafferty (too many to mention, but check out the Heaven series and Playing for Keeps) and Philippa Ballantine (Chasing the Bard, Digital Magic – in print only so far – and, the reason for this posting, Weather Child). Most, if not all, of these authors will be happy to talk to you on twitter.

If I were a publisher, whatever my reasons might have been, Twilight never would have seen the light of day. (And before you ask, yes, I did read it and all of the sequels.) Now, from a publishing standpoint, this would have been a nightmare. These books have caught the attention of a generation of readers whether I appreciated them or not. And more importantly, whether I thought they would have sold or not. If I had passed on these books with the comment to the author along the lines of “There are enough vampire love stories in the world all ready,” I definitely would have missed out on the paycheck of a lifetime.

I have questioned time and again how books I feel are poorly written, have rehashed story lines, weak one and two dimensional characters and holes in the plots large enough for a whole pack of werewolves to trot through end up with publishing deals while works such as Weather Child, which through seven episodes (as of this moment) are deemed as unlikely to be able to garner an American audience as we are too nationalistic to enjoy a tail that takes place in New Zealand. (Yes, that is the reason Ms. Ballantine was given for the manuscript’s rejection.) Why does this happen? Do certain authors “make it” because they have more agressive agents, etc. or do they impress that one publisher that is going to champion their cause? I don’t know.

I seriously have no answers, I just see injustices. Why do I care? Well that’s simple: because it is keeping books like Weather Child from gracing my nightstand.

If you haven’t been listening to Weather Child, I strongly suggest you give it a listen. Ms. Ballantine and her minimal cast are doing a wonderful job keeping me entertained with a wonderfully dark story of magic, possession, intrigue and I sense romance in the first quarter of twentieth century New Zealand. You can find Weather Child at http://www.weatherchild.com,
http://www.pjballantine.com, iTunes or Podiobooks. After the first episode, I bet you’ll be thinking, “Sweet bacon! I need more!”