RSS and Information and Blogs

RSS and Information and Blogs

I get much of my news through RSS feed. That may sound archaic, but it works. Originally I used Google Reader some 20 years ago or so. But that was detracting from Google’s business model, so they killed it. And I went with NetNewsWire. It was great. They sold it. Like almost all cool little startups now part of big companies, the product languished. I switched to Feedly, which I am still using.

The cool thing about RSS is that you get the news feed with just an option of going to the Website. With some feeds, you can see the entire article. With others, you scan and then go to the Website if you want more. I have a few subscriptions, such as The New York Times, where I have access. Many of my feeds are blogs that have no paywall.

The thriving blogosphere of the early 2000s (my blog began in 2003, I’m approaching 16 years) has lost some fervor, but it’s still around.

I started first in the control and automation space. Walt Boyes followed, but soon took it under the cover of Putman Media. The way all the blogs grew in the early years was through linking with each other. I would see a post and link to it with my take. They would link back. But when companies got involved, they didn’t want links to “competitors”. So much for growth for either of us.

Jim Cahill was next with his Emerson Process Experts blog. In the early days we would also cross link, but like everything that faded with marketing. His blog is still going and is still the best example of a corporate blog building a community. I tell people about it on all my trips.

The Apple computer community supports many independent bloggers and podcasters. They cross link and even appear on each other’s podcasts. The net result is that the entire community grows and thrives. So far, I have not found another independent blogger / influencer / analyst to interact with.

I bring this up while listening to The Talk Show with John Gruber of the Daring Fireball blog. He and his guest Brent Simmons (developer of NetNewsWire) are discussing the state of RSS, blogging, podcasting, and media. Brent worked at Userland and its blogging platform Radio which I used from 2003 to about 2007 when I switched to SquareSpace. In 2013 I switched to WordPress.

While commiserating about the state of trying to read articles on the Web, they miss the point of the business. Media is run by sales people. Salespeople think that long term thinking is 60 days out. They really don’t care about user experience. They look for one more idea that will sell one more piece of screen real estate and that maybe is obnoxious and the reader mistakenly clicks the ad instead of the close button and they sell a click. I’m not being cynical about that. It is the natural order of things when sales people (and I was one once) are scrambling to increase income through any non-illegal method they can find.

I still like RSS feeds. I no longer trust Google to uncover the Websites I want. And I’ve never liked the idea of having a list of Websites to methodically go visit just in case something new was added.

RSS and Information and Blogs

Google Ad Shakedown

Google and Other Misdemeanors

I have noticed that over the past few months, the number of people coming to my site via search engines, principally Google, has dropped by something like 40%. Curious, last weekend I took a little time and searched on about a dozen keywords that would be used in the industry.

Media sites just don’t come up in the searches. But what does come up are a ton of ads. The bulk of the rest of the links are suppliers. This is a big change over this time period.

Then I came across a tweet from Jason Fried, founder and CEO of Basecamp. He noticed that when he searched for his company, Basecamp, he came up number 4. The first three were ads from competitors who had worked the words base camp into their URLs or name in some ingenious way. And they had purchased the adwords that placed their ad above the real organic result. He explains all this in a podcast on Rework.

Back to my observation. I appeared seldom, except for my own domain name, and I never saw the major trade journals in the industry. Even ones named IIoT in a search of IIoT. Automation got three hits a couple of pages back on the keyword automation. But it should have had a bunch.

But suppliers are the most prone to buy adwords from Google.

If you think that searches are not biased and show you the most relevant to you, then you are years behind times.

I have noticed a similar effect in Facebook. Of course, its ad strategy came from Google in the person of Sheryl Sandberg. I did marketing for a small retail startup coffee house in Sidney, Ohio. Being local, I went to Facebook. I also spent a few dollars a month on ads.

When I ended the ad campaign, I was pestered with several notices per day about boosting a post for only $10, then for only $5. And our reach started dropping. Suddenly not everyone saw all the posts. The algorithm ensured that. When you’re in a small town with only about 1,000 person reach, you get pretty quick feedback.

Once upon a time, I mostly trusted Google search results. I use it for research constantly. Now, I’m not so sure about where to go for better results. Everyone is in such a rush to maximize ad dollars that they manipulate anything, including us, in the quest for eyes on ads.

OSIsoft Appoints New Senior Management

OSIsoft Appoints New Senior Management

Short take: OSIsoft appoints Michael Siemer President and Wolfgang Kuchen Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing revamping the senior management ranks.

OSIsoft, a leader in data technology for critical operations, recently announced these new appointments. I had thought that the transition from founder Pat Kennedy to his daughter running the operations was well under way. But Kennedy took on some VC investments a couple of years ago [https://themanufacturingconnection.com/2017/06/osisoft-announces-softbank-investment-fund-internet-things-infrastructure-growth/]and I’m betting that the investors were looking for experienced leadership to grow their investment.

Siemer, an energy industry veteran with extensive experience in leveraging software technologies to transform complex industrial operations, comes to OSIsoft from Devon Energy Corporation, a North American oil exploration and production company, where he served as Vice President of Engineering, Exploration and Production, Data and Analytics. Siemer led many enterprise-wide digital transformation efforts at Devon, including initiatives around field automation, data management, advanced analytics, decision support and strategic innovation. Prior to Devon, Siemer worked at SandRidge Energy, a startup E&P energy company, and prior to SandRidge he was employed for 18 years with 3M/Imation.

Kuchen, meanwhile, brings more than 20 years of experience providing financial, strategic and operational leadership in challenging business environments. Most recently, he served as President of Allergy Research Group (ARG), a Kikkoman portfolio company in the healthcare professional market. Prior to ARG, he was responsible for the growth and acquisition strategy at Soho Flordis International, a global healthcare company based in Australia.

Both Siemer and Kuchen will also serve on OSIsoft’s newly formed Executive Committee. Siemer will officially begin on September 1, 2019 while Kuchen will begin on August 1, 2019.

“Customer satisfaction has always been one of our most important principles at OSIsoft so we are very excited to bring in executives like Michael and Wolfgang who have experience in the type of digital transformation initiatives that many of our customers are starting to implement,” said Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy, CEO and founder of OSIsoft. “They will play a pivotal role in our growth as we enter a new decade.”

39 Years of Digital Transformation

Founded in 1980, OSIsoft has consistently been focused on software that lets people collect, understand and use data from critical operations, i.e. data generated by the production lines, safety equipment, power grids, and other systems that are at the foundation of their success. OSIsoft’s PI Systems acts as a data infrastructure, enabling individuals from across an organization to quickly obtain real-time insights into operations to save costs, increase productivity, develop new products or extend their capital investments.

OSIsoft customers have used PI System technology to predict wind turbine failures, increase output at a mine site by $120 million, reduce the power consumption of a supercomputer center at a national laboratory, deliver water services to millions of new customers in a major metropolitan city, boost the fuel efficiency of cruise ships and improve the quality and consistency of beer, among other accomplishments.

Over 1,000 leading utilities, 80% of the world’s largest oil and gas companies and 65% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 rely the PI System in their operations. Worldwide, over 2 billion sensor-based data streams are managed by the PI System.

“It is an honor to join OSIsoft. The company has long been recognized as a leader in industrial innovation and a critical partner for improving the performance of real-time operations,” Siemer said. “OSIsoft has earned an admirable level of trust with its customer base through technology-leading software and a genuine and consistent emphasis on service and support. My own experiences as a customer of OSIsoft are a big part of why I’m here. I look forward to working with the team and expanding upon the success they’ve achieved.”

“Data is the foundation of digital transformation and OSIsoft’s PI System is the gold standard for turning system data into an asset that people can use to make better decisions, improve their competitiveness and get the most out of their operations,” said Kuchen. “The impact of the PI System is set to expand rapidly.”

Houston, Marketing, and Einstein

Houston, Marketing, and Einstein

Happy Labor Day

Monday is a holiday in the US. We’re supposed to take the day off and have a “last day of summer.”

I wound up being like a European and took about half of August off. Almost two weeks pretty much off the grid. Then a trip to Foxboro. And as always in August and September, I am up to my ears trying to find referees for soccer matches.

Houston

I’m having difficulty digesting all the devastation in Houston and the Texas coast. As I write this, the remnants of Harvey are beginning to reach Ohio. Looks like where I live it too far north. There are years we’ve been drenched by hurricane leftovers.

But 50 inches (1.27 meters) of rain?

I was helping organize a meeting at the end of September in Houston at BP. Needless to say, that meeting will now be November or December.

Marketing

Bruce McDuffee wrote recently about a new ebook he has published for all you marketing types reading this blog. He specializes on helping companies market in the manufacturing space. This is a difficult proposition because people come into marketing from different paths in manufacturing than in consumer goods. (And yes, I owe him a long overdue guest post.)

Check out this free eBook.

A company’s website is its virtual storefront. Whether you’re looking to build your first website, or if your existing site just isn’t getting the traffic or leads you were hoping for, you may wonder what it really takes to have a great website.

This eBook offers 25 tactics to drive traffic, increase leads, and get more sales.

Here’s what’s covered in this 53 page eBook:

  • Get found online with SEO and a strong underlying website structure
  • Design for usability
  • Content that engages, brings people back, and gives your firm credibility
  • Bottom line conversion tactics

Thinking like Einstein

I subscribe to a site called “Big Think.” Lots of interesting ideas served daily.

Perhaps you knew that Einstein figured out the principles of Special Relativity and General Relativity and gravitation through the use of “thought experiments.” It was an exercise in imagination. After his insights, he was able to go back and work out the math (which is fascinating).

In this recent article appeared this thought:

How can you utilize Einstein’s approach to thinking in your own life? For one – allow yourself time for introspection and meditation. It’s equally important to be open to insight wherever or whenever it might come. Many of Einstein’s key ideas occurred to him while he was working in a boring job at the patent office. The elegance and the scientific impact of the scenarios he proposed also show the importance of imagination not just in creative pursuits but in endeavors requiring the utmost rationality. By precisely yet inventively formulating the questions within the situations he conjured up, the man who once said “imagination is more important than knowledge” laid the groundwork for the emergence of brilliant solutions, even if it would come as a result of confronting paradoxes.

Houston, Marketing, and Einstein

7 Characteristics of a good spokesperson

Would you be a good company spokesperson?

It is hard to believe, but I’m closing in on 20 years in this writing gig. Four different companies, but the same me. Media people have connected me with a variety of company spokespeople during those years. Some of them are CEOs, while some of them are technical people.

Sort of like my friend Jim Cahill of Emerson Automation introduced me to an “extroverted engineer—one who looks at your shoes when he talks”. I sympathize with that description.

Still, media relations people probably live in fear of the person who stumbles over words, forgets points, makes silly or offensive asides, and generally embarrasses them.

My friends at TREW Marketing wrote a handy blog post on the subject. I recommend reading it whether you are choosing your next spokesperson or whether you are preparing for the next step in your career.

https://www.trewmarketing.com/smartmarketingblog/seven-characteristics-great-spokesperson?utm_campaign=Smart%20Marketing%20Blog&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=51050421&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Y95tl8n658Azre1Vpzx-CvnaGEg5JqDIpSO9bSybZCI_DcXvE0iLeSZdZnG0YEXMv8ydeLlUSBhNEPIG6OOfBPaH15s7eLi3Q1xnLffTYM69WdTQ&_hsmi=51050421

Here is a taste of what you’ll see in the blog. I hope it’s enough to make you read the whole thing. It’s short and not painful.

1. Knows the Audience
When speaking to products, technologies and your expertise, it is important that you keep the audience in mind. While your wealth of knowledge is a key strength, it must be communicated effectively to be impactful.
2. Captures Attention
Companies (including your competitors) approach editors every day with coverage ideas, and editors must choose which ideas appeal most to their readers. To receive coverage in a publication, effective technical spokespeople must first capture the attention of the editor and draw them in to the story you’d like to tell.
3. Helps the Editor Draft His or Her Article
As an editor conducts a press meeting, they’re gathering information and often deciding if and how they’d like to cover it. Because of this, the way that you present information can have a huge impact on what is written, and how your story is presented. A great spokesperson crafts and presents his or her story in a way so the editor has written the headline and outlined the article by the end of the meeting.
4. Adjusts
As much as you think your story is great, sometimes people aren’t interested. At TREW, we have had editors be so uninterested, they have fall asleep! In this case, it is your challenge to adjust to make it even more interesting.
5. Speaks to the Industry
Editors serve as a trusted, third-party source of information to their readers, and they take this seriously. They want to create content that is helpful and impactful to their readers, and this often means addressing industry challenges from a broad viewpoint.
6. Use Real-World Examples
One of the best ways to validate your main message is by providing real-world examples. An example can be used as a bullet point in a story or as the meat. A great spokesperson comes prepared with real-world examples that support their key messages and are relevant to the audience.
7. Closes
Finally, a great spokesperson closes. After you’ve captured the attention of your press audience, outlined the article, provided examples and proven yourself to be a trusted resource, you should restate your key messages and secure interest.

[Back to Gary]

TREW adds several tips for each point. They are valuable.

A couple of my points:

If you are briefing the press, discover expertise. I devoted seven years to selling automation. I went into plants with customers, climbed over machines, suggested solutions. When someone came in to talk to me, they could have asked about experience and jumped to the meat. I tried to get a CEO of a smaller company to skip to about slide 45 in his deck because he was covering stuff I knew. This was not making me feel like he was an expert; it made me feel like he was a jerk.

Software people especially—forget the vague “benefits” discussion rather than telling me what it is you’re pitching. Yes, I’m sure you improve Total Cost of Ownership. How? Tell me when the customer takes delivery, what does she get? How does she install it?

Tell me something about the industry I probably don’t know. You look prepared and you help me look smart. And I need all the help I can get.

I hope when I meet you next time that you’re prepared, smooth, and informative!

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