Caching: Making the Web faster

August 25th, 2010

Technology is all about performance and improving the user experience. Pushing the limits of everything, we are consistently attempting to raise the bar. Whether it is for business purposes or just to prove a point, it all comes down to the same thing: make it better, faster and cheaper. Examples can be found everywhere – just take a look around – warfare machinery, aircrafts, multimedia equipment, mobile devices, telecommunications, and last but not least, computers in general.

The Internet, like no other communication medium, is without a doubt another big example of the evolution of technology. In less than two decades the Internet has changed everything from the way we communicate to the way we do business. Since 1995, the number of Internet users has increased more than 10,000%, thus becoming a universal source of information for millions of people (about 1,996 millions of users, according to June 2010 Internet World Stats).

Community Management: It's more than a job

August 19th, 2010

“What do you do for work?” “What’s your job?”

I get asked these questions a lot and I haven’t admitted it before, but I hate them. I don’t hate the curiosity or the intent behind the question, but I really don’t like thinking of what I do as a job. A job just sounds like a means to an end. Call me crazy, or a social media hippie, but this isn’t my job. It’s my passion.

I might not spend my days typing up guides to becoming an internet warlord or scheming up ways to become the most popular tweeter. I’m not planning presentations or slide shows for panels; in fact, I’ve never been on a panel before. But that’s because every day I am getting involved, staying active within the community I’ve built as well as others and, possibly the most important task of a CM, listening.

The Power of Communities

August 17th, 2010

Every day we are influenced by our friends, co-workers, families, celebrities, and even blogs, Twitter or other online forums. Communities, whether online or off are becoming major players in our lives. For example, Jenn, our community manager forced influenced me to write this blog post. Okay, I can’t give her all of the credit. She may be the motivation behind posting, but I have to thank the Reddit community for inspiring the post.

While browsing Reddit’s best section — AMA (Ask Me Anything) — I stumbled upon an article about unicycling. In AMA, people share a random piece of information about themselves and encourage others to ask them anything. After reading Unicyclist level 5, I was intrigued.

Cold Calling: A Warm Up

August 12th, 2010

Recently, I found myself making some cold calls to contact sponsors about a possible event partnership. The process of cold calling is fascinating because, regardless of the purpose of a cold call, there are some key principles that hold true across the board. A good cold caller has a goal, a script, and has done her research prior to the call.

The most important element of cold calling is the goal. Am I calling to introduce myself, introduce a product, get an email address, or generate and close a deal? Knowing the goal is the first step towards effective and efficient preparation. If I’m calling to introduce myself, for instance, I can keep the initial tone of the call more casual than if I’m cold-pitching a product. Once I know my goal, I can begin to plan for the call.