- by Alena Hitzemann, Associate Web Editor

Sometimes it's hard to practice what you preach.

I, for instance, often preach to other BMC bloggers about blogging best practices. I evangalize on the importance of posting often. I tell them that once a week is a good goal (especially given busy corporate schedules) but more frequently is even better. I talk about the blog as a more casual forum that doesn't require a perfectly crafted essay, but should instead reflect your own voice (with good grammar, of course.) I use the words "brevity" and "succinct" a lot. I say that sharp, brief and original thoughts are often better than long, drawn out treatises, particularly if you can produce them quickly.

And yet here I am: my last post almost a month ago. I'm not doing so well on the brevity front, either.

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this boat. Work gets busy, and the work that you want to do isn't always the work that you need to do. It appears that walking the walk is slighly more challenging than talking the talk. But I'm a Gen Yer, and we're an idealistic bunch. It's very important to me to balance those wants (read, write, think) with the needs (8 million other things.) So I'm buckling down, determined to follow my own advice and heed the recommendations that I so glibly dispense.

That is the What: write more often, be more succinct, practice what you preach. But what about the easier-said-than-done piece? What about the How?

I've been trying to come up with ways to get it done. Here are the steps that I'm hoping to follow for more consistent and efficient blogging.

• Write when your head is clear. Do you think best in the morning or afternoon? When do your ideas hit, when do you feel energetic and articulate? Notice when your brain feels particularly sharp and capitalize on it. It will be easier, faster and more fun to write during those times.

• Block off time. Put it on your calendar, mark the time "busy" and make yourself stick to it. Yes, other things come up. But holding time for blogging sends the message to yourself and your co-workers that this is an important activity. In turn, you will garner more respect for your blog, build it into a more respectable space, and respect yourself for your diligence and brilliance.

• Be spontaneous. This is the flip side to "block off time." If you come across a news article or blog post and really need to express your opinions on it thisverysecond- make it happen. Your passion and enthusiasm will come through, plus timely posts are more naturally viral.

• Use metrics. Following your number of hits, visits, views, comments, etc. can be a great and addicting motivator. High numbers? Awesome, don't want to let down your readers! Low numbers? Better buckle down and build that fan base.

• Repurpose. Take advantage of your other projects. The research that you did for your boss, that report that you just put together, your most recent ppt... they all contain information and ideas that will be valuable to your readers, too. You did the work, make it work for you.
  

• Take notes. I'm a sucker for forgetting great ideas that pop up at random times. To combat this, I've started scribbling down nuggets of insight whenever they strike and keeping all the scribbles in one place. Looking through them reminds me what bulb went off during that last meeting and how it connects to the post I've been writing in my head.

• Step away. If you're struggling to find the right words or clarify an idea, take a break. Have a snack, walk around, do something else. I often find that when I return to the screen, my thoughts fall quickly into place. (This works for crossword puzzles, too.)

• Get inspired. Feeling flat? Spend some time looking for things that set off a spark. Really think about the information you're consuming- your favorite blogs, news sites, podcasts, good music, a chat with a friend, whatever- and what that information means to you.

• Connect work to life. And vice versa. Thinking about concepts through various lenses often effects particularly interesting results. Plus, your readers want to know who you are as a person. Sharing things about your life or your work with your audience will help them understand the many angles of your writing and your personality.

And most importantly...

• Set goals... and it's corollary, keep them. Say you're going to blog twice a week. Write it down. Add it to your other professional objectives. Tell someone about it so you feel accountable. It helps, I promise.

Ok- that's my list.My goal is to blog twice a week, starting next week. This is the part about telling people to make yourself accountable. Let's hope I can keep it up.

What are your tips and tricks for staying on the blogging ball?

Read a story of how a mortifying travel experience of a musician could turn into a handsome charity through a country song and a few clicks along....

Dave Carrol, lead singer and his Canadian band Sons of Maxwell were travelling to Nebraska on tour.

They were flying on United Airlines and Dave sees his guitar being manhandled by baggage handlers right in front of his eyes on the tarmac - A $3500 710 Taylor guitar.
He complains to the crew, they ignore him.
He complains to United Airlines about now broken guitar, they did not take any responsibility.
He follows up consistently, with representatives at various levels in the airline - his claims falling to deaf ears - this goes on for nine months.
He holds fire, manages to hold on to his sense of humour and writes a song about the misery at the end of this gestation period of anger and frustration
This is the incredible step - He makes a video and publishes it on youtube powering one of the most famous social media libel suits in modern times.

The shocking scene of seeing his instrument being manhandled is humorously described by Dave in the lines of his song - United breaks guitars (video).

I flew United Airlines on my way to Nebraska
The plane departed, Halifax, connecting in Chicago's "O'Hare".
While on the ground, a passenger said from the seat behind me,
"My God, they're throwing guitars out there"

The band and I exchanged a look, best described as terror
At the action on the tarmac, and knowing whose projectiles these would be
So before I left Chicago, I alerted three employees
Who showed complete indifference towards me

Dave replies to United Airlines's continual denial to his claims in his blog:

"In my final reply to Ms. Irlweg I told her that I would be writing three songs about United Airlines and my experience in the whole matter. I would then make videos for these songs and offer them for free download online, inviting viewers to vote on their favorite United song. My goal: to get one million hits in one year."

Here is a social media savvy musician who absolutely is sure of what he is talking about; however United Airlines again didn't take that seriously - Only to be forced to respond after the video gets 50,000 hits in 1 week of its launch and over 2,000,000 hits since the video was published this July 11th, 2009.

The song became a rage and provided a voice for similar United/other airline negligence inflicted audience in a cool country groove.

Moreover the song has kicked off a major branding trade and you have forums filled with people talking, millions of subscribers on youtube, Downloads available. Also available "United Breaks Guitars" printed T-shirts on sale.

The movement got massive PR coverage and is reported to have taken a blow to the share price - for damage control they've agreed to contribute to a charity of their choice - Dave says on his message.
"United will donate $3,000 to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz for music education for kids," a spokeswoman said from the airline.
The airline has also asked Dave to use his video for internally training staff for better customer service - can you beat that?

We've all faced indifferent attitude and denial from service providers in our life often resulting in frustration and anger. If big fish like United is thick skinned to our claims and outcries, Suddenly you are not just a helpless guy with a laptop - The next door blogger just got bolder. Coverage can run wild though clicks and there has never been a more powerful tool to raise voice. With a little bit of creativity to channelise our juices the web offers powerful ways to move petitions, which could wrap the world over over-night such as this.

Communication is universal and very fast if we use the proper tools.

Check out Twitter's petition tool and many more online petition tools.

The 'United breaks guitars' wave gives us another strong reason to renew our faith on social media and reassess our understanding of its reach and scope. Now we have a strong citation on how video sharing, collaboration and such viral social media activities can really take marketing campaigns way over full throttle!

Social media can achieve in weeks what conventional media and forms of advertisement can achieve in years. Right here we have a measurable case study.

I feel doubly proud of this, firstly as a Social Media activist I can't bridle my excitement of being in the trade and secondly, being a guitar player myself, I would second the fight for a broken Taylor guitar - I'm happy Dave could get even.

- by Alena Hitzemann, Associate Web Editor

A few months ago, when Anirban and I were batting around the idea of a joint blog about being young professionals in IT, I came up with the name “IT for Gen Y: Social Media and the Net Generation.” I was pretty darn proud of it. I’ve never been good with titles and it seemed like one of my better efforts. I was *pretty sure* that we both fell under the “Gen Y” and “Net Generation” umbrellas, we work for an IT organization and we’re interested in how social media fits into the IT world. Check, check, double check.

When I sat down to write this morning, I realized that I wasn't entirely sure what “Gen Y” and “Net Generation” actually meant. Hmm. Somehow it seems like understanding the implicit themes of a blog, particularly my own, may engender its success.

So I looked it up. According to Wikipedia:

Wait a second. Mid 1980s? That’s a little late- I’m not that young. This definition puts me in the same bucket as kids still in high school… I can’t be accountable for their actions! No wonder a Google search for “Gen Y” features such laudatory terms as “self-absorbed,” “brash,” “slackers, whiners and praise-junkies.” Kids these days!

So I looked up “Net Generation.” This time the definition came from the Boston Globe, and puts the timespan from 1974-1983:

Ok, wow. First of all, that’s a lot of generation-jibber-jabber (check out the whole article- it’s intense.) But I do feel vindicated. It makes sense to me that my peers and I fall into a no-man’s-land between the famous Gen X and this newly-defined Gen Y. We understand angst and irony, but we grew up in the ‘90s when things were rosy. We were adults for 9/11, but we’re still idealistic. And from the same article, most applicable to the world of IT:

There you have it. The definition I was waiting for. The one that ties together the times in which we grew up with their technological implications. Although I will take issue with the claim that we “don’t remember life before fast computers and internet service.” I certainly do, and I think that’s a key factor in differentiating us from Gen Y: we know what it was like Before.

So what does “IT for Gen Y: Social Media and the Net Generation” really mean? I think it’s less about the year we were born and more about where the wired mentality meets traditional business. It’s that intersection that largely defines my job and my interests, and it's that realm that I hope to explore.