A Message To Those In Traditional Media: Evolve Or Die

lessons in marketing and media, with Renzie Baluyut.

a former colleague of mine in the FM radio industry in Metro Manila shared this video he found on YouTube (thanks Vince!). It's a video by Holland Cooke, and it serves as a wake-up call to anyone who's worked in radio.

I suppose I was fortunate to have left the radio industry early enough to make a transition elsewhere. The Philippine radio industry has been in decline for quite some time now (let's not mince words here), and for many reasons. Sure a few stations are still able to turn out a profit, but the vast majority have been performing poorly for years.

And it just isn't radio. Print media has also been hard hit (do you remember the last time you actually bought a newspaper or magazine?). TV is even more cutthroat than ever. Heck, people hardly even use their TV anymore for the purpose of JUST watching TV (think downloaded content, DVDs, live streaming, DVRs, XBox, etc).

The Situation, For Real.

Times have changed. More than ever, advertising budgets are going towards internet spending. Everyone has the latest in portable music players, or at least wants to get that shiny new iPhone. Social media usage is off-the-charts. The shift has gone from radio-controlled content, to content users decide to put together.

And let's talk about user-generated content more a bit: with so many resources and tools readily available online, anyone with a little imagination and a great desire to share can have a podcast, a blog, or a video channel, and all kinds of people from all over the world can have access to it.

Anyone can be a DJ, announcer or commentator, from anywhere, anytime. Now that's on-demand, user-generated content for you.

The business of traditional media is in the toilet right now. Of course, traditional media companies will streamline, and some will even embrace the whole new media approach, but things will definitely get worse before they get better.

So when Holland Cooke says "Prepare to get fired."? He's actually right.

The Good News Is...

If any user anywhere has the power to get in on blogging, podcasting or viral video production, then that means you, as a media professional, can get into it as well.

In fact, while others are struggling to put out a piece of work online, you already have the skillsets to come up with something so much better. After all, you are a professional.

• Radio folk are not only great at public speaking, they can also write for an audience, and put digital editing skills to use as well. This can easily translate into podcasts, or blogs filled with lots of interesting content.
• Newspaper and magazine folk are even better at coming up with all kinds of stories and articles, and usually have access to information or personalities regular people can't get to. This definitely makes for even better content.
• TV folk look great in front of a camera, or can at least handle a camera so much better than most people. Add to that great storyboarding and editing, and you can easily make top-notch videos than anyone else can.
  

If you want a tip from me, I'd say look for opportunities to synergize and collaborate with others. You're probably kickass all by yourself, but think of how much more ass you'll all be kicking if you work together?

In Closing...

This is a new and exciting time, particularly for us traditional media folk. Holland Cooke has already pointed out how radio people can carve out a niche for themselves in this brave new world of new media and Web 2.0. And this pretty much applies to all our other colleagues in print and TV.

Take time to look for opportunites to learn and collaborate. Holland has even gone so far as to recommend some books to read, even gear you can plug into your PC/laptop to get you started.

All you have to do, really, is take a more active role in your evolution as a media professional.

On a personal note, consider this as an invitation to all of you, my colleagues in radio, print and TV. If for some reason you need my help or advice in anything related to blogging, podcasting, social media or internet marketing, I'll make myself readily available. If I can't help you, at least I'm sure I know people who can.

So are you ready to evolve for your own good?

Cheers, everyone!

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Keyboard Monkeys, with Renzie Baluyut

about this blog, and the blog author- Renzie Baluyut.

Hello, and welcome to my latest project, Keyboard Monkeys: Tips, Tricks and Advice for the digital entrepreneur.

The concept for Keyboard Monkeys first came about almost two years ago, when I was working as a copy writer/ researcher and SEO peon for an Australian-based e-commerce company.

I was part of the content development team (that's the rest of them, shown above). Search Engine Optimization was (at the time) a brand new concept for us all, and all these new and exciting concepts in Search Marketing and Social Media were definitely on the rise.

I had just left the local FM radio scene at the time (after seeing some 14 years of action), and I felt like I stumbled upon a completely new passion. Blogging, since then, has been my life.

I was a casual blogger at first- wrote about pretty much whatever I felt like and posted them all online without any system or regularity. Then after putting together a blogging workshop, I realized that blogging can be a legitimate money-making opportunity. Meeting several other local professional bloggers later on only made a bigger impact on me later on.

It was then that I found out that being a professional blogger also meant several things.

• You have to be exceptional at developing content, no matter what your blog is all about. Copy writing and editing, podcasting, even the production of viral videos all make for great content if executed well.
  
• You have to know how to market your blog, which means you need to know at the very least, some search engine optimization, how to use all kinds of social networks, etc.
• A knowledge of digital photography and blogging goes hand-in-hand.
  
• Even better: you add more market value to yourself if you actually know some programming.

• Serious bloggers are also knowledgeable about technology: at the very least, laptops, PCs and mobile devices, as well as removable storage media, peripherals and accessories- whatever helps with their blogging pursuits.
  
• A professional blogger actually knows how to make money online, or at least use his skills to make money off the internet, balancing their blogging efforts with work, or even working from home.

• Even more serious bloggers synergize their blogging and internet marketing savvy with other entrepreneurial endeavors- online or otherwise.
• Being an entrepreneur, in turn, entails a familiarity in running your own business, and so small business management and personal finance comes into play as well.
  

With those realizations came this blog. What I actually did at first was compile most of my entrepreneurial-related content from all my other earlier (read: amateurish) blogs, and put them all here.

While I would need to re-tag and re-categorize most of these earlier posts, new content will definitely be the priority. I have figured out that topics for KeyboardMonkeys.com will play around the following subject matters:

• Building a Better Blog.
  
• Buzz Marketing.
  
• Copy Writing.
  
• Digital Photography.
• Freelancing.
• Guerilla Marketing.
• Guides and How-To's.
• Internet Marketing.
• Making Money Online.
• Online Entrepreneurship.
• Personal Finance.
• Small Business Management.
• Social Media.
• Tech for Entrepreneurs and Small Business.
• The Business of Blogging.
• Working from Home.
• Writing Guides and Tips.

With that, I bid you all welcome to KeyboardMonkeys.com. I hope you find something useful within these pages, and I urge you to share what you can and even drop a comment, or join a discussion or two.

Cheers, everyone.

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Renzie Builds a Better Blog in 31 Days

blog-building techniques with Renzie Baluyut.

I have recently set out to get a few references to help me out with my blogging. I already have the books from The Huffington Post and the first Problogger book- which are both great, by the way, but I thought I needed a more structured, step-by-step approach on how to get things done with my blogs.

I decided to take Problogger.net's 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge. I've been a fan of Darren Rowse ever since I started blogging a few years back. You can read more about him, as well as all his great advice on all things blogging on the very popular Problogger.net.

You can get your very own copy of Darren Rowse's 31 Days To Build a Better Blog by checking it out right on Problogger.net. At the time I got it, it set me back roughly USD 40 (plus S+H), as it was bundled with Online Marketing Inside Out (by Brandon Eley and Shayne Tilley).

By itself though, the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog workbook costs USD 19.95 (and can be purchased via PayPal). Darren's got a few bonuses tied in with the book, so go check out Problogger.net now.

Cheers, everyone.

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I Call It Social Media Overload

I didn't quite realize it at first, but it seems that you can actually have way too much social media on your hands.

I was recently updating my profile on MyBlogLog, a great tool for bloggers like myself, and there was a tab that was, harmlessly enough, asking you to enter all your other profiles on other social media sites, supposedly for the purpose of letting other bloggers know where you are online.

Looking at all the social media services to the left part of the screen, however, you can't help but feel overwhelmed by all the social media services present, or realize how far behind you lag in the social media scene, and therefore feel pressured to sign up for ALL those damned services.

At least, that's how I felt.

Taking a step back, however, it occurred to me that getting myself involved in each and every single social media service is a near-impossibility. Sure you can sign up for all of them, but can you nurture, develop and maintain communities in each and every single one?

The reality is, we probably have a few favorites- like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, for example. Two to three might actually be enough for most at any given time, I would imagine.

Then you probably have five to ten others you might visit in a week or a month: Flickr or Photobucket to upload and share new photos, read a few of your favorite blogs on Blogger or Wordpress, and listen to some music on Blip.fm.

And then you also have to consider the fact that more social networks, online communities and other social media services are being created every day (some would turn out to be more popular or useful than others, you might guess).

So don't get overwhelmed. Try out several services, if you like. But ultimately, stick to a few, particularly those you find most useful to your line of work, or your general lifestyle. Spread the word, and tell others all about it- as social media is really more fun with a lot more friends involved.

My Personal Favorites:

• Facebook.
• MyBlogLog.
• FriendFeed.
• Ning.
• Pageflakes.
  

Here is my attempt to keep track of, as well as categorize, the many social media services available online (at least, those that I know of).

Online Photo Services:

• Flickr.
• Picasa Web Albums.
• Photobucket.
• Snapfish.
  
• Shutterfly.
• SmugMug.
• Webshots.
• Zooomr.

Social Bookmarking:

• delicious.
• Digg.
  
• Furl.
• Ma.gnolia.
• StumbleUpon.
• Technorati.
  

Blogging Services:

• Blogger.
• Bloglines.
• Livejournal.
• TravelPod.
• Tumblr.
• Vox.
• Wordpress.
• Xanga.
  

Status Updates and Microblogging:

• Plurk
• Twitter

Music-Oriented Social Networking:

• Last.fm.
• Blip.fm
• Pandora

Video Services (video hosting and sharing):

• Vimeo.
• YouTube.

Reviews:

• Yelp

Other Sites and Communities, many of which I haven't even checked out yet:

• ActiveRain. A good site for those in the business of real estate.
• Bebo.
• Brightkite.
• Disqus
• DOPPLR
• deviantART.
• eBay.
• Evite.
• Friendster. Particularly popular in the Philippines as well as the rest of Asia.
  
• Goodreads.
• Google Reader.
• IntenseDebate.
• Jaiku.
• Jumpcut.
• Kiva.
  
• LinkedIn. A good site to do networking with other professionals.
• Multiply.
  
• MySpace. Very popular in the United States, particularly among younger users.
  
• Netflix.
• OpenID.
• Plaxo.
• reddit.
• Second Life.
• Seesmic.
• Shelfari.
• Slideshare.
• The DJ List.
• 30 Boxes.
• ThisNext.
• Trulia.
• TypeKey.
• Upcoming.
• Wakoopa.
• Wink.
• Yahoo Answers.
• Yahoo Updates.
• Zillow.
• Zorpia.

I'd sure love to hear what your favorite social networks are, or which social networks you find most useful. Do you feel overwhelmed with all the social media services available online?

Cheers, everyone.

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Beware of Phishing

advice on avoiding online scams, with Renzie Baluyut.

Despite our best efforts to keep our mailboxes secure and spam-free, we still get the occasional phishing email that slips through the cracks once in a while.

According to the guys over at Google, phishing is a form of fraud in which a message sender pretends to be a representative of a legitimate organization in an attempt to trick the recipient into divulging important personal information like a password or bank account number.

Sometimes these fraudulent individuals don't ask for your passwords or bank account numbers or social security numbers right away; the usual tactic it would seem is to send out a mailblast (like the ones we provided below) in order to goad some seemingly harmless information about you.

But if you're gullible enough to fall for that crap, what's to stop them from, say, impersonating someone else and conning your passwords/account numbers from you?

Here are a couple of examples of phishing scams done via email:

Good Day,
I am contacting you for a business transaction involving GBP £17,000,000 (Seventeen Million Pounds Sterling) hoping that you will
contact me at your earliest convenience for a possible business deal.

I am presently the External Auditor of Bank Of Scotland Plc, with your sincere assistant and co-operation, I am determined to work this deal with you if you can do the business.

At the moment, I am constrained to issue more details about this business until your positive response is received. Please take a
moment of your time to read this and send your response. I assure you that this deal is worth taking and highly profitable.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Warmest regards,
Leith Fraser
External Auditor,
Bank Of Scotland Plc.

Here's another example of a phishing attack via email:

FROM: Mr. Gordon Russell
E-MAIL:gordonrussellll@gmail.com

Dear Partner,

I am Gordon J.L Russell, an attorney at law. A deceased client of mine that shares the same last name as yours, who here in after shall be referred to as my client, died as the result of a heart-related condition on the 1st October 2004. His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the Gulf Air Flight Crashes in Persian Gulf Near Bahrain Aired August 23, 2000 -2:50 p.m. ET as reported on: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0008/23/bn.08.html

I have contacted you to assist in distributing the money left behind by my client before it is confiscated or declared unserviceable by the Finance company where this deposit valued at Twenty Seven million Two hundred Thousand sterling British pounds (GBP£27.2 million pounds) is lodged. This Finance company has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin, or the account will be confiscated.

My proposition to you is to seek your consent to present you as the next-of-kin and beneficiary of my named client, since you have the same last name, so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you. Then we can share the amount on a mutually agreed-upon Percentage. All legal documents to back up your claim as my client's next-of-kin will be provided. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this transaction through.

This will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from many breach of the law. If this business proposition offends your moral values, do accept my apology. I must use this opportunity to implore you to exercise the utmost indulgence to keep this matter extraordinary confidential, whatever your decision, while I await your prompt response.

I will like you to acknowledge the receipt of this e-mail: gordonrussellll@gmail.com as soon as possible and as well treat with absolute confidentiality and sincerity.

I await the pleasure of your response.

Best regards,
Mr. Gordon Russell.

If you think you've received a similar phishing email, the best thing you can do is report it as a phishing attack (Gmail has this feature), or marking it as spam or junk mail. Usually, alerting your mail server will make them watch out for similar messages, and so you help do your part in keeping everybody's mailbox a little more spam-free.

Remember that while you might be savvy about scams and online schemes, some of your friends and loved ones might not be as cautious or as tech-savvy as you are. So watch out for them too, as much you can.

Cheers, everyone.

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