Last week I received an email from the gents at MWW group reminding me that the Nikon “Picture This” blogger outreach program was coming to a close, and it was time for me to decide what I preferred to do with the camera. Read my previous post about my involvement from a year ago.

Before I get into what I decided, I wanted to say a few words about the campaign itself- I know that I was chosen because of my interest and support of campaigns just like this one, but it is rare when outreach campaigns of this nature get everything right. In my opinion, the fine folks (especially Chris Thilk and Tom Biro, my contacts during the campaign) of MWW handled it expertly; with a policy of full disclosure and no expectations from participants. From my post a year ago:

The trial period is six months, after which the camera can be purchased (at a discount, with the funds going to charity), sent back or kept for an additional six months.

There is no obligation or even expectation to blog about it, the only rule being that if we choose to, we must disclose that we are part of the program.

Kudos to you for what has to be considered a success- I’d be interested to know how many of the 46 participating bloggers chose to keep the cameras after the fact. View a Flickr Group of photos taken by those 46 bloggers.

And now back to the camera itself. My choices:

• Send back the camera, to be donated to charity.
• Buy the camera for $500, with the cash being donated to charity.

I chose the latter option, and I have no lack of reasons why. Although I was only just getting back into digital SLR photography when I was selected for the program, it took no time for me to decide that I preferred the D80 over my existing Olympus. I took the camera on several photowalks with fellow photogs (learning tons in the process) and had it with me for several tech events over the past year. And when it came to the birth of my son this Spring, I borrowed a 50mm fixed prime lens from Vincent Janelle to get the best possible shots of my little guy during his first few moments of life. The camera came through- the shots are amazing.

There’s a lot to love about the D80. The plastic body, although a mark of more affordable SLRs, helps keep the unit light enough that taking it hiking, boating or to the peak of Whistler Mountain on my snowboard isn’t out of the question. The kit lens (an 18-135mm workhorse) that came with it is extremely versatile and produces terrific shots. Still, it leaves me longing for plenty of other lenses. With the D80, I know I have a solid body that will be with me for some time, so I can confidently start collecting new glass. Plus, the D80’s infrared abilities mean that I can use a remote control with it. My brother-in-law bought me such a device, making family (self) portraits a cinch.

While my knowledge of existing DSLR cameras is limited to my experience within these past two years, I quickly justified the purchase of the D80 (at the reduced “editorial rate”) by using one simple metric: the D80 has made me fall in love with taking pictures again. I keep the manual next to the toilet in my bathroom, and every day I spend a few minutes learning news ways to control light for better and better shots of our son, our neighborhood and our family.

Thanks again to Nikon and MWW Group for introducing me to a great camera, and for conducting a brilliant blogger outreach campaign; one that may have been called into question by a few jealous bloggers, but can’t be faulted for the professionalism and transparency with which it was conducted.

*Photo of me with D80 by Ianiv Schweber*

Tomorrow morning, Strutta.com will launch. It will be the glorious apex of over five months of work (in my case) to prepare for opening the doors to the general public. Not to mention the year or so of prep by our founders and our extremely talented development team.

When I took the job, I promised to publish a few tips about community building here based on my experiences. Two things have prevented me from doing that until now: the fact that the site has been in private beta, and that preparing for a launch like this keeps you pretty busy. Even without a place for us to officially congregate, save for our Facebook Page and our blog, we’ve been busy getting ourselves involved with the people that matter most- the “future” Strutta community. I’ve prepared a list of values that I knew we had to hold near and dear to our hearts before we even began, and examples of how I put those in action. Using our own work as a marketing case study, if you will.

Joining the Community

Taking a page out of Mack Collier’s book, I knew that our staff had to show that we were willing to play our own game, long before it was ever released. In the spirit of that, we started publishing staff videos on YouTube just a few days after I first sat down at my desk, and we haven’t let up since. We made a conscious decision to produce all of our videos with tools that are accessible to most people: consumer quality digital cameras, web cams and iMovie. Since our site is all about video, I’ve used it for lots of purposes: event coverage, outreach, shameless self promotion, recruiting and more. One of our more recent efforts has been something of a hit:

Office Lip Dub - Blister in the Sun, by Strutta.com from Jordan Behan on Vimeo.

Sidebar: Empower Your Best and Brightest

This is where I pat myself on the back for finding the director of the above lip dub video, Mark Freeman- I originally hired him on a very short contract to give us a hand with researching content, but he is now a key member of the product team, handling QA and assisting with community outreach. I’m taking credit where it’s not due though; of the two of us, Mark is the genius.

We also sponsor a lot of local events in the Vancouver tech community. The founders of Strutta, Danny Robinson and Maura Rodgers are the driving forces behind Launch Party Vancouver, a bimonthly event that helps bring exposure to local tech startups in a social setting. We’re also sponsoring the upcoming Drupal Camp Vancouver, an “unconference” for the open source CMS platform that our site is based on. At Christmas time, we headed up a “Hardware Drive” here in Vancouver, donating the booty to Free Geek, a non-profit that recycles and redistributes used computer hardware. Perhaps most importantly, there is nary a tech event in Vancouver that doesn’t have a strong turnout by members of our staff. My doing? Not at all- again this one should be credited to our founders, who hired a bunch of passionate and talented people that love to get involved and show their support, myself included. Here are just a few of their many blogs and other sites.

Tell the Truth

Until we had all of our ideas for Strutta fleshed out, we were in top secret “stealth” mode, so it wouldn’t be accurate for me to say that we have always told the whole truth. But we have been very upfront with people about everything that we were ready to talk about, and started getting community feedback early. When we launched our Alpha product several weeks back, we invited a group of trusted friends and bloggers to come in and test the product. They may be our friends, but these folks weren’t shy about telling us exactly what they thought needed changing, and what parts they wanted to see more of. We listened and responded, and the new site reflects many of those requests. We’ve had to admit to a small number of mistakes along the way as well, and we’ve done so graciously.

Getting the Word Out

Even before I started this gig, our founders were in talks with Voce Communicatons, the Valley PR firm that is helping to dispatch the message on our behalf. After many talks with Tiffany and Shanee and even some crazy nights at SXSW with VP Matt Podboy, I am quite comfortable saying that these guys “get it,” and have been extremely helpful. More on that later when some of the resulting stories hit the many tech community sites and blogs. For my part, I have done some local outreach- some private video pitches for bloggers that we especially love, and even some video responses to some of the folks we are big fans of on YouTube.

Tomorrow morning, we find out what kind of effect these efforts will begin to have, and personally thank anyone who says a kind word. Where challenges are made or questions asked, we answer with grace and efficiency. After the site is public, our marketing efforts turn to promoting the people that matter most to us: the players of the game. The content creators whose brilliant content are what makes the game so fun to play and vote on. People like Freddie Wong, who proved his status as a Guitar Hero demigod when he demolished our CEO in a head-to-head battle at SXSW this year. Or like Piotr Walczuk, whose celebrity impressions are both plentiful and accurate. Is he the Rich Little of a new generation? First and foremost, we care about these folks, and we will continue to improve the product based on their feedback and suggestions.

If you like what you’ve read and you’d like to give us a little boost in the form of a link or even better yet, by dropping by and checking out the site or commenting on the blog, I for one would be genuinely grateful .

You may recall that a few months back I received a pitch in the form of a comic strip, asking if I’d like to test-drive and review a Brother printer.
I agreed to do so, and the timing was great as I was able to set it up at our new headquarters at Strutta, and let everyone have a chance to try it. What follows is my review of the unit that we chose to have as a guest in our offices. We haven’t really put the MFC-9440cn through its paces per se, but we did run several tests and try most of its features.

Here’s a quick list of pros and cons, followed by a video review as well:

We Liked:

• Scan to network, wirelessly. Options to scan to file, image, directly to email etc. Very handy.
• It does it all: print, scan, fax, copy and the aforementioned scan to email.
• Does all of the work of a much larger unit with a reasonably small footprint.

We Also Noticed:

• Still needs to be hardwired to access network, although it can transmit wirelessly
• Noticeably poorer print quality for color prints when compared to other (more expensive) color laser printers

Thank you again to Darren of Capulet Communications for a great blogger outreach campaign, and to Brother as well for trusting a gaggle of geeks like us with their equipment.

I’ve just finished reading “Getting to First Base; A Social Media Marketing Playbook” by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo. In spite of the fact that I was given a free copy and I know the authors (transparency is a lesson you’ll learn in the book, btw) I think I can truthfully say that it it is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and well-written ebook on the subject of social media marketing that you’ll find anywhere.

That might come across as a little gushy, but consider the fact that it was completed less than two weeks ago and includes some examples, strategies and tools that didn’t even exist before November of this year. With the way the web changes, this is the only way to go of course, staying abreast of changes like the addition of Facebook Pages and Beacon, just to name a few. Plus, the authors have committed to keeping it up to date, with supplementary downloads for purchasers as the ways of the web inevitably change.

Darren and Julie are great (and funny!) writers and have a wealth of experience in the social media space, as co-founders of Capulet Communications, a Vancouver-based PR and marketing firm. What they do well is exactly what they teach in the book; connecting and engaging individuals, using the tools of the web to spread the word on behalf of businesses. Please note the operative term the preceding sentence: individuals. The ebook is intended to teach people how to connect with individuals that will help spread the word on your behalf, a topic that I’m obviously pretty passionate about, if you’ve been following along. If the names sound familiar, yes it is the same Darren that pitched me recently with the unique idea of using a quickly composed comic strip with some of my own photos in it. They cite that campaign in the book of course, and even show another example of one of the funny and (and very successful) comic “pitches.”

If you want to learn the do’s and dont’s of online marketing in the current web space, then this ebook is for you. As they point out in the introduction, most of the strategies and tips will cost you little more than time, as most are cheap or free. You won’t learn how to burn through a massive marketing budget, and for that matter you won’t exactly break the bank to afford the book either, as it’s priced at $29 USD. I think that’s a bit pricey for an ebook, but not for the wealth of knowledge contained within.

In my opinion, the best feature of this book is the fact that no tall claims are made and no advice is given without specific and detailed examples, attributed to real people and accompanied by external links (galore). It features some prominent web thinkers of the day, mixed with anecdotes from Darren and Julie’s own experiences, some of which are meant to help the reader learn by their mistakes. They practice what they preach, and aren’t afraid to tell you about the times when they had to falter just to learn some valuable lessons.

If there’s a weakness in the virtual pages of this handy reference guide, it’s that it leaves the reader wanting more. I have read it just once, scanning through the text while chuckling to myself and nodding approvingly, and it seems that a second read is in order, this time following all of the many links they include to support their advice.

If you’re not ready to take my word for it, read some of the other online chatter about it, or even read a few sample chapters to get a feel for it. Better still, check out this word from the authors themselves, from their working vacation on the small island of Gozo in Malta:

Now that you’re sufficiently convinced, get on over to the site and order yourself a copy. Do it. Do it.

The second of my two appearances on G4 TechTV’s The Lab with Leo is now available on Google video, so I’m embedding it here.

Leo and I chat about using sites like Facebook to keep in contact and grow your personal network, and using Apps, Marketplace and Groups to reach a larger audience:

A few months have passed since this aired, and it’s funny to me how dated it already seems, with how quickly things evolve online. It is also very frustrating having to hear myself say “um” and “uh” for six straight minutes. I hope it’s considerably less painful for you.

Many thanks again to the folks at The Lab for having me on!

Step aside Jeff Francis, because Darren Barefoot might be Canada’s best pitcher.

For those of you who have already put two and two together; yes, I am referring to his ability to pitch in the PR sense of the word. See what I did there, with the baseball reference? Sorry Google, but this post ain’t about baseball.

A few months back I referenced Mr. Barefoot’s pitching abilities when he emailed me about a video campaign he had put together. Later I saw that he was using video to pitch bloggers individually (yes, a separate personalized video for each of his chosen publishers) about a photo contest for one of his clients. Obviously he understands that it takes time and care to connect with bloggers and enlist their help when campaigning. And at the moment, he’s doing it all from a quaint villa in Malta on a working vacation.

Well, now he’s outdone himself yet again. And I’m not just saying that because he’s pitching me. Just moments ago I received an email from Darren asking if I’d like to demo a product for one of his clients, Brother Printers. In addition to a short personal message, the email included this comic strip:

Yes, those are a few of my own Flickr photos in the strip, and yes, I did chuckle aloud when I saw it. Nice work Darren.

And now, as an example of pitches gone horribly wrong, I point you to an item published on Darren’s site, where he touches upon the recent Chris Anderson (of Wired magazine and “the Long Tail” fame) dust-up. Anderson published the email addresses of hundreds of PR “professionals” and email newsletters that had (in his opinion) spammed him. I don’t want to get into whether the punishment of such a public outing is fitting of the crime, but I will say this: If you’re on Anderson’s list, you can learn a lot from Darren and Julie at Capulet Communications.

His timing is excellent, because over the past few days I have asked by several small business bloggers about how to make their blog a better business tool.

And who better to impart that kind of wisdom than Mack Collier of the Viral Garden. Better still, you can read Mack’s condensed version of “Eight Easy Ways to Grow Your Blog” on his own site, or read the full monty over at Marketing Profs (freebie article).

A quick excerpt:

#4 - Showcase readers who make special contributions. Do everything you can to make sure that readers that frequently comment, or link to your blog, know that you appreciate them. It’s just common courtesy, and when you have a reader that’s going out of their way to be a faithful community member, you cannot do enough to encourage and reward that behavior.

I for one can attest to the fact that Mack certainly practices what he’s preaching there. Great post Mack, and a great one-stop resource for business bloggers, all.

The episode of The Lab that we taped last month will air on August 7 on G4Tech TV (news about the Google Video “release date” coming soon), and I have been invited back to tape another segment on July 12, on the subject of using social media to promote your business.

So, in the true spirit of community, I’m polling everyone (rather informally, just use the comment form below) to find out what social networking sites you like, and how you use them to promote yourself (or your company, where applicable).

I’ve already drafted some notes on:

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Virb
• Flickr
• and Bebo (which I actually know very little about. Erno? Can you help?)

Any tips or hints you want to share? Any others that deserve top billing in a lightning-fast, six minute talk on social networks? Linda, I’m counting on your input here.

I welcome any and all comments and suggestions.

I’ve been pretty silent about it until now, but I was selected as one of the 50 bloggers to receive a Nikon D80 DSLR camera for a review period of six months. The camera arrived yesterday ( coincidentally on the same day as a scheduled Gastown Photowalk- photos below), and now I’m finally going public about my involvement.

I suppose it’s likely that I was chosen because of my photography hobby in part, but I assure you that nobody is expecting any photographic magic from me. It’s more likely that I was selected because I’ll take an active interest as much in the campaign as in the camera itself. Or maybe they just didn’t want the list too heavily stacked with talent .

I’ll go into my take on all of this in a second, but to avoid any confusion, here are the facts, as I understand them:

Nikon hired the MWW Group to create a blogger relations program that they’ve called “Picture This.”

50 bloggers were chosen, 48 (To date, 46) of whom opted to participate

The trial period is six months, after which the camera can be purchased (at a discount, with the funds going to charity), sent back or kept for an additional six months.

There is no obligation or even expectation to blog about it, the only rule being that if we choose to, we must disclose that we are part of the program. Already, there’s some controversy over the program, which critics say is unethical. They wonder how a blogger could possibly be objective with such a generous loan in the equation?

It’s possible that sending me a camera will make me go ga-ga and cause me to start singing the virtues of Nikon, sure. But that is why there is only one rule: that I disclose my involvement, so the reader can take my opinions and feedback with the proverbial grain of salt. This mandated transparency is what separates this campaign from many of the others that have been under fire for avoiding this extremely important factor. As always, it’s up to the readers as to whether anything that I write rings true for them, and as long as they have all the facts they can make an informed decision one way or another.

I suspect that the dissenters share this one in common with me; we both wish we’d thought of this campaign first. But whether I had been selected or not, I would agree that it is a great way to spread the word online and is perfectly legal and ethical. The only thing that is different in this case of this campaign is the middle man has been cut out. The middle man in this case being the MSM (main stream media).

This time, the consumers are having their say, and have been contacted directly for their opinion. This has rattled the feathers of a few PR types, mostly because the model that they’ve “always used” has been abandoned. After all, what kind of future is there for the PR industry if there’s no need to kowtow to the media anymore? We’ll have to address that one another day, but for an example of how to adapt, start reading this post again from the beginning.

Now that I have been completely up front about my involvement and my feelings about all of this, I can move on to why we’re here; the camera in question. But first, a few more short words about the campaign. The box arrived via courier, accompanied by a hand-written letter on Nikon letterhead from a Senior Director at MWW. In the letter, they offered to give me a walk through of the camera’s features at my convenience. Even if I were being extremely critical (which I often am of attempts at blogger outreach) I have yet to find fault with the way they’ve conducted themselves.

Now, the camera. As I mentioned, I am a bit of a hobbyist photographer, and I used to shoot sports on the weekends while still in high school and between semesters of college. Since getting a new Olympus Evolt E-500 for Christmas, I’ve been trying to relearn the art, this time in digital. So although I’m not completely uninformed, running out on a Photowalk with nary a clue as to how to use this new tool was an interesting adventure. I took a bunch of shots, and I published them in their unedited form, in a set made specifically for my involvement in the program (equal parts disclosure and evangelism). Check out my first attempts with the D80 on our Photowalk by clicking this image:

I will continue to disclose my involvement each time I blog about this subject, and the meta data on my Flickr photos is all the disclosure I feel is necessary as to what camera took what shots (including my webcam, we now have four cameras in the house).

I welcome all feedback in the comments below. There are obviously a number of differences of opinion on all of this, and I’d like to hear them all.

That is the question asked by a new series of funny videos from Elastic Path, a local e-commerce software developer here in Vancouver. Here’s a sample:

Full disclosure: I am an acquaintance of a few of the Elastic Pathers, and the firm that produced the spots as well. That being the case, it should be noted that the email I received containing the link was a terrific example of blogger relations. Here’s an excerpt from the email from Darren Barefoot:

Hi Jordan,

How goes the Barcamp organizing? If that date is secure, I’m optimistic that I’ll stick around for a week after Gnomedex to attend.

I’ll spare you the usual pitch, but I thought you might be interested in these videos we made for Elastic Path.

We’ve done our best to make ecommerce funny (a tall order, I think). There’s a nifty jingle, and the second video prominently features a turnip. I have a bit part as the search engine in the first video–I apologize in advance for my dodgy performance.

Doesn’t sound anything at all like the emails that one usually sees from PR companies pitching bloggers does it? Exactly.