keeping it simple swiftly (kiss)

So we all know that simplicity is deceptively harder than it looks, but lets look at how we can help make it easier to keep it simple. (see it is hard :) )
I like to try and pare it back to the following acronym "SIMPLE":

SUGGESTIONS(and ideas) - always get suggestions and ideas from real people. They do not have to be your customers or potential customers, in fact it is often better to listen to people first and then find out what they need. This becomes the basis of your success, that you constantly engage with people to listen to the market and what they want
IMAGINATION/innovation/inspiration - think with an open mind and be aware that what turns out to be simple may not even be the original idea you started with
MOVEMENT - act, do something, now. Start small and just do small things. Those quick wins. Then you have something out there that you can improve on and change over time. And of course when you change things you interact with your audience for more suggestions and ideas.
PURPOSE - what is the problem I'm trying to solve. This becomes your key purpose, goal and outcome.
LEARN - you learn as much if not more from failure as you do from success, and remember its not a failure if you learn from it and don't repeat the same thing. You also learn from success and history. most times you are only ever reusing what someone else thought of, just refining it for a different use.
EXPERIMENT - think of it as an experiment. what do you want to try and do/prove, and then do something so that you get a result. Does the result get you to where you wanted to go.
Yes - does this still fit your goal.
No - does your goal need to change to better define the problem.

If we are honest, achieving simplicity is hard, that's why things are hard to use. Many people have tried to replicate Apple's success, but very few actually achieve it. It's as much a learned skill as it is intuition, and being in the right place at the right time. That magic that only comes along once in a million. But by using the principle SIMPLE, you at least have a greater chance of standing out in the crowd.

Technology and Social Media - will 2010 be the year of networking, connections & relationships, and are they real?

I find it interesting that in our daily life we are becoming so much more connected to technology. Kid's have no idea what a cassette tape is, nor know what a tape deck was. They would not know what a photo slide is, nor would they know maths without a calculator and spelling without a spell checker. The kids of today have grown up with the internet and don't know of life before being online.

The benefits of social media technologies are that it encourages sharing, openness and establishing connections eg podcasts, you-tubing and twittering to so many people in every corner of the globe. However others see technology and social media as a limiting force, stopping real world connections with actual people. There are multiple arguments either way.

So is technology and the ability to connect via social media as real as a friendships in reality?

I think that it comes down to a few areas when you connect into social media and other relationship building technologies:

1. start of with people that you TRUST - this gives you a point of truth, because you know the person, and therefore the people they know and like are also likely to be people who you would get along with too
2. CONNECT with people that seem to have the same interested and passions that you do, so that you have something to talk about with equal and shared knowledge/wisdom, but where you can add value and input into conversations you may not know details about.
3. have an separate online IDENTITY for your professional life and personal life - you can never be too careful about what information you release on social technologies or the web, so have a similar avatar or image of yourself that is enough like you that people could meet you in person and see the resemblance. Also depending if you want to be recognised or not, get a name that you like and use it everywhere. This is especially relevant for PERSONAL BRANDING & networking with professionals in your field. Be consistent in this usage, to develop relationships and trust (yes that word again)
4. INTEGRITY - be sincere and respectful of people you meet. If you wouldn't do something to someone you meet in real life then don't do it online because you have technology as a cover to keep the real you hidden
5. Allow yourself to BE YOU - even in the online world with technology providing a sense of distance/personal space and anonymity, people still get a feel for someone and can determine if they like them or not, the same as in reality
6. BE ACTIVE in your online community - share information and items of value with others and in return they will share information with you

When you think about it, this isn't that far from what you do in normal life, it's just allows you to talk to people globally.

I have met some fantastic people around the world, shared in their lives, knowledge, successes and journeys and hopefully returned the favour. I respect the infinite knowledge that is brought to me via the electronic medium and feel enthusiastic to have connections with such fantastic people on the other side of the world who I will most likely never meet.

Technology enables these connections to be made, and whilst there are bad aspects to it all, this mirrors the real world.

Business Content Strategies - the content u need to remember

So u own a business, have a website, have a vision, dream, goal and action plan to make it happen.
Have u ever asked yourself or your staff how the content on your website, advertising, marketing, and even staff themselves contribute to, enhance and align themselves to your vision.
Words are so important to you and your company's brand. Not only do words communicate with your audience, but they also tie in the business, the website and other mechanisms that u use to talk to your customers.
Points to keep in mind when u are working with words and content:

• Who are u talking to ? if u don't know who your audience is how will you know how to communicate and engage them
• What does your audience want - why do people come to your site and what information do they expect to find on the site
• What do u want to say - what message do you want to try and get across to your audience. Also remember that u don't know who will be visiting your site, reading your ads, coming into your store etc
• what content do u already have, what do u need to create and who will produce it and how will u get it - if u don't know what u need and who will write it, then u really can't deliver to your audience
  
• remember that content also includes images, video and advertising material - make sure you get content in the format u need for your business to re-use in multiple ways eg blogs, videos, podcasts, traditional print media
  
• be consistent and unified - no matter what the content medium, ensure that you communicate the same way to keep it consistent with your brand and what you want to say
  
• look at the content itself - is it current, accurate, timely, on-brand, consistent, does it really say what u want it to say
• use the inverted pyramid - pack the punch up front, then give the audience more content in stages, so that they keep wanting to read more, search your site more, click on your site more
• ensure that you have the metadata, keywords and other aspects about your content correct - your metadata provides rich context to your content and will give it extra focus with your audience, customers and even search engine
• consider your key content messages and highlight these in both your website, content, advertising and SEO strategy
• ensure that your key messages are clearly articulated in every medium that you use to talk to your audience and customers - you must ensure that you are remembered and known for your core values and key value propositions. Knowing what your key messages are and ensuring that they they are clearly communicated can only assist your customers to remember who u are, what u sell and what why they should come back to u
  
• your content must seamlessly integrate with your user experience, personas, user stories and brand - you really must have a strong connection with your audience and customers (ie your users) and know exactly what they want and the words and language they use to really communicate with them.

So I really hope that this gives you a guide as to how a content strategy can help you connect with and maintain your relationship with your audience and customers.