I am building a new version of the Gardenfork.tv site on WordPress, and needed to drop in a slideshow of recent videos on the front page.

After I messed with it, and messed it up, I sent out on Twitter a request for a WordPress expert:

I’m thinking i’m going to have to set up an FTP account for whoever can help me remotely, but in a few minutes, Rob Blatt, of BlattCave [ who lives down the block from me ] answers back:

Rob’s Twitter page here

Rob Blatt, WordPress Expert http://robblatt.com/

A few DMs later, I’m walking down the block with a six of Summer Wheat beer. Rob fixes the slideshow and I got to watch the Yankees at the same time. What Fun.

So if you are in need a WordPress coding expert & expert Podcast Producer who is also the calmest person you’ve ever met, call Rob Blatt http://www.robblatt.com/.

]]> http://ericrochow.com/2009/09/15/need-a-wordpress-expert-hire-rob-blatt/feed/ 0 http://ericrochow.com/2009/08/29/2010-ford-taurus-nice-ride/ http://ericrochow.com/2009/08/29/2010-ford-taurus-nice-ride/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:16:26 +0000 eric http://ericrochow.com/?p=489 I was invited to meet up with Mark Fields, Pres of Ford North America and check out the new 2010 Ford Taurus.

Getting in the Taurus, the first thing that came to mind was that this was an adult car, super comfortable seats, really nice interior. The second thing that struck me was that this car was, like the Ford Fiesta I’m driving, is not what most people would expect from Ford. It definitely has that European feel to it, it felt like you were sitting in a 700 Series BMW.

I’m not a car review writer, so I’m not able to describe the car as well as car writer would, but this is definitely one to consider if you’re looking for a step up from the regular sedan. Lots of room, really nice ride, advanced dashboard features, and those leg massagers were something i never expected.

I think Ford is doing some smart things here. ( Of course the smartest thing they’ve done is to make Gardenfork.tv part of their media plan )

Here’s a video Jill Hanner and I made of Jill driving the new Ford Taurus

I was interviewed yesterday for the Hey Brooklyn podcast hosted by Amber. I talk about Gardenfork and Real World Green, our viewer forum The Green House, what’s it like being a handyman in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and what I’ve learned about using social media, and my participation in the Ford Fiestamovement.

Check out the show on their blog, or you can listen to it by clicking on the ‘play’ arrow in the orange player console below:

I was at the Tilzy.tv NY Web Meetup last night, listening to Matt Bledsoe and Troy Hitch of You Suck at Photoshop talk about their show.

I’m sitting in a chair and I checked Twitter on my iPhone. Paul of For Your Imagination had just sent out a tweet on the @FYIStudio Twitter account:

I see this tweet, and I’m not sure who this is. I’m thinking this person might be from Justin.tv or some web show.

So I google the name on my iPhone, and click on the link to Wikipedia. Up comes the Justine Bateman listing ( I learned she is a famous actor ) with this picture filling up my iPhone screen:

From a group of women sitting behind me is a voice, coming over my shoulder, “What are you looking at?”

I  didn’t turn to see who it was, I just kinda half turned, ( can’t turn well with a ruptured disc ) and said, “I’m looking at Wikipedia”  and then went on to check my other messages.

After the presentation ends, ( and it was really good BTW ) I ask around to see if someone can point out to me who at the meetup is Justine Bateman. And sure enough, it was the woman who asked me “What are you looking at?”

Thinking that must have been a pretty creepy moment for her, I walked up to her and explained that I had seen the FYIstudio tweet and proceeded to look up her info.

Can’t blame her for the look she gave me, but at least I tried.

I’m not a TV star, but I can empathize a bit, as people know a lot about me from watching Gardenfork.tv.

I just thought it an interesting example that shows how information can fly pretty fast, and how it can cause awkward moments.

Sorry for the weirdness Ms Bateman.

The email shows a avatar-picture or whatever you call it of the person, and how many people they are following and how many are following back.

This doesn’t help me much decide whether to follow the person. Except for if I see they are following 10k+ people, i don’t bother.

What would be much more helpful AND save people time, is to list the person’s profile in the email. I always read what the person has written about themselves. ( if they’ve written nothing, i don’t follow back )

So, put in some bio info, and it would be a big help here. Just my 2 cents here, but then , it is my blog here…

“Your Handyman Blog was the smartest thing you’ve done” is what yesterday’s client, a PR executive said to me. 

And the blog has worked out really well, I don’t advertise, most everyone finds me on the web here or thru referalls. I participate in the forum section of Brownstoner.com, answering questions people post, and I get a lot of work from that effort. So thank you Brownstoner for that. 

When i get a minute i will go into more detail about how i’ve used social media to grow the biz, but for now go check out the site. 

Today in Liz Strauss’ blog, Succesful Blog, she wrote post, The Real-World Social Media Heroes List. She asks, ” have we lost track of how few of us there are [ in social media ] and how small our conversation really is? ”

Yes.

Liz goes on to ask ” Who are the folks using the tools to make a difference in the world?”

My answer on her blog is The Home Depot, on Twitter known as @TheHomeDepot . Sarah from their Corporate Communications department manages their Twitter account, and I learned about their Twitter account during the Hurrican Gustav.

During Gustav, several Social Media types on Twitter set up a ning.com site to help out, what help it did I don’t know, but I saw a ton of Tweets about the site. I gave it a look and one conversation thread was about whether the site should be a social network or a wiki. Once again, social media people talking to social media people, not the people who really need the info.

But social media did help. We can’t measure the impact in a concrete way, but Sarah at The Home Depot did a brilliant job of sending out relevant information about what stores in the storm’s path were open, what supplies one should have, etc.

I don’t think a ton of people saw these Twitter posts, but some people did, and I’m sure they then passed this information on to friends and neighbors. Which location had generators? Sarah told people.

I am really glad she mentioned the following. While one would think this is obvious, you’d be surprised how each year people die of carbon monoxide poisoning from running a generator indoors.

Sarah’s real person writing style is great, this is not corporate speak, its a real person who works for a real company, but clearly someone who cares. A very smart move by The Home Depot to post this information on Twitter, and a very good example of social media used in the real world.

Reading this email today, I am thinking about several things that could improve this message. In this latest installment of “What Eric Thinks”, here’s what I think.

Like you, I meet many people each month, I sometimes get their business card. We talk a for a minute and move on to the next person.

My problem here is that I don’t recall who Jim XXXX is. I click on the link provided and am brought to a Plaxo page that list a few things about Plaxo, NO picture of who Jim is, [ this isn't Plaxo's fault, its Jim's fault ] and no information about Jim.

I don’t use Plaxo, and Jim has chosen to keep his information private, from what I can tell. Plaxo has a very brief description of what it is, but I’m still not completely sold on the idea. The problem I see here is that there is no link to Learn More about Plaxo, there is only a sign up form.

I think everyone who knows what Plaxo is, the early adopters, the biz networking pros have already signed up. I’ve heard of Plaxo, but I’m reluctant to sign up for yet one more social network when I can’t find out more information about it before handing over my email address and information.

So here is What Eric Thinks:

• Add a link to this invite page to Learn More about Plaxo before signing up.

• Jim XXXX needs to upload a picture

• Jim XXXX needs to make his information available to me, before I buy into this network.

I went to Plaxo.com and on their initial landing page, they have a much better introduction. The have a ‘Take A Tour’ link. Drop that Tour link onto the Invite page and watch your join rate climb.

photo by bullish1974

But nothing really seemed to work, I was trying to use phrases and words that I’ve seen other people use, but they all sound vague, and I want to tell people what I really do do.

I finally just wrote it out in 3 simple sentences. Its a long email signature, but it works better than anything i’ve come up with:

I give presentations about, and consult with companies on social media and social networking.

I create social media and social networking sites.

I am the community manager of the social network The Green House.

I host and produce Gardenfork and Real World Green, web video shows

You can learn more about me here: www.ericrochow.com

Eric Gunnar Rochow eric@ericrochow.com 917 553 3260

I’ll continue to fine-tune it, but this works for me in that gut-feeling way. I’ll come back to it tomorrow and see if it still feels good, but I’ll use it until then as well.