It has taken some motivation to get started, but I have now decided to give running a try. Mind you, I am not running to work, not just yet any way. I have completed 3 runs so far, all have been around 2.5mi in distance. I used to run for fun when I was much younger, during my GCSE’s. There are a number of people at work that run long distance and have either completed or are training to run a marathon. Watching them don their running gear at lunch and heading out for half hour or so has really given me the impetus to try for myself. I am by no means aiming as high as a marathon at the moment but nonetheless in order to maintain some cardiovascular exercise, I have taken to running.

My first run was during a Tuesday lunch hour at work. I didn’t stretch beforehand which was an oversight. I decided to take it easy, naturally, and see how far I could get before having to walk. I had plotted out a route on Google Maps prior to the run which I felt was more than manageable. The run started good, giving my body time to warm up in the first 5mins with a gentle jog before allowing my legs to find their natural rhythm. When I felt I was going too fast I would slow the pace down again, the goal was to complete the distance I had set out to do rather than breaking any land speed records. I managed to complete the distance and was able to add an extra short loop to the end which just pushed me a bit further and brought the distance up to around 2.5mi. When I stopped my legs felt like lead. I gave my calves, hamstrings and quadriceps a good stretch afterwards but sitting back down to the computer meant I was stiffening up, crippling my walking without another good stretch. I continued to stretch out these muscles for the remainder of the day.

The following day I ran at lunch again. The same distance and route, but this time I ensured stretching my calves, hamstrings and quadriceps both before and after. It was much tougher than the previous day. I was obviously still carrying some soreness from the day before so although I was not able to run the extra loop, I did walk it which acted as a good warm down; something I skipped on the first run, as well as a pre run stretch. I had reached my peak for the working week and would not be able to run any more at lunch without overdoing it and possibly causing injury.

My last run was on Saturday evening at around 6pm. It was particularly crisp and dark so the streets were pretty baron. It was a nice atmosphere to run in and I soon warmed up after 5mins. During each of my runs I have worn my cycling tights, long-sleeved cycling top and cycling jacket. They look very similar, if not the same as what the guys at work have been running in so I didn’t feel the need to use anything different. They wick moisture away from your skin and the jacket is windproof yet breathable so pretty perfect for staying warm and dry without overheating. I had plotted the route on Google Maps again prior to the run so I knew I would be running a similar distance to the previous runs. What I hadn’t factored in was that the work route has been on the flat whereas this new run encountered some gradient. You really notice up and downhill increments no matter how small when you start running. I managed to get around without stopping but I had to push the final 1000m as the hills had made an impact on my legs. It is a good circuit though and I certainly won’t be ruling it out as a route to run in the future. I followed the pre run and post run stretches from the book titled Stretching by Bob Anderson which I wholeheartedly recommend. I have owned the book for a number of months now and it has been a great aid for mountain biking and other sports I have competed in, Bob teaches the right way to stretch with progressive stretching and the correct length of time to hold it. Overstretching or bouncing around while stretching can cause tightening of the muscles rather than the opposite. The post run stretch was preceded with a 5mins cool down on my exercise bike. Sunday I had no complaints.

I feel very fortunate that I found a distance from the start that is pushing me but is not too far. I will continue to run for the next few weeks at a 2.5mi distance and then increase gradually from there. I will try and run 3 times a week at the 2.5mi distance which is taking me 30mins. This ties in very well with the advice given on Running for Fun.

I have been wearing astro-turf football boots for these runs which are very slender and tight to the foot. They are very supportive around the ankle but I can feel that I need more supportive cushioning for my feet. I knew I would need to get hold of some dedicated running shoes but thought I would get by with what I had for the first number of runs in case I decided that it was definitely not for me. Apparently I should get some running shoe advice pretty soon or else I could cause some serious damage. Luckily living near Sutton Park which has a large running community the Sutton Runner is just down the road so they should be able to give me some professional advice. I have found running contagious and I keep looking forward to the next run and plotting where I will go on Google Maps. I have also set myself a goal to compete in the Midlands Lung Run at Sutton Park in April. I will probably take part in the 5k run which I feel will be more than manageable. This is a good sign that I will continue.

My own experience as a Web professional has matured over the years that I have been working Online. From a budding web designer building with table based layout to adoption of standards compliant style sheets and XHTML followed by a sensibility to accessible and usable graphical interfaces. The latest adoption over the last few years has of course been everything mentioned within Web 2.0. The lines blur further as Web professionals are required to know how to market clients Web sites with improved ferocity. I for one am reading up on PR 2.0 and increasing my knowledge and skill set. The PR 2.0 and Web 2.0 professional cross over will require both parties to work much closer together within an agency environment. This is already being witnessed with companies such as McCaan Erickson appointing London’s Bite PR digital services and campaign arm—Robin Wilson, who was also on Bite’s board of directors—to bulster their own direction towards PR 2.0. However early adoption doesn’t seem to of taken place in the UK like seen in the US. A heartfelt and entertaining rant by Will McInnes highlights the problems being seen throughout PR professionals in the UK. There are a handful of digital PR agencies that do get it and probably one of my favourite websites for getting the message across is Diffusion.

The third camp are the self taught. They have learnt HTML and CSS off their own backs and not content with this they are hungry for more teaching themselves around graphic packages such as Photoshop and Illustrator while also dabbling in the server side programming. This is the camp I established myself in. I am in this camp at the moment. I do not wish to leave this camp for another.

There are of course some cross over and lines get blurred. I for one studied graphic communication but self taught everything web related.

We have here a wide spectrum of people that work with the web. Those that have logical minds and those that have creative minds with everything else in between. Is it possible to develop your mindset from a far more creative side to both a logical side too? This is currently what I am trying to do. To further my progression I wish to learn an object orientated language, my weapon of choice is C#. I have attempted this before but found the books I tried to learn from too much of a learning curve and demanded some prior knowledge of programming. I have now found a book that I would recommend for fledgling programmers with no previous knowledge. Visual C# Step by step, Microsoft Press. It has eased me in with the makeup of the language and familiarised the syntax in easy to understand examples. However, approaching the third section of the book I found that with the shear amount of information that I was taking in with the read so far I was unable to remember everything and then trying to look up how a particular method conducted itself quickly while following the later chapters became difficult. Instead of plodding on I began searching around the web for cheat sheets. There are some decent cheat sheets out there, but with such a sheet not everything will be detailed and of course it is all very cut down. Next I tried printing off the summaries of each chapter in the book. This wasn’t particularly manageable either. Instead, now I have begun rereading parts of the chapters and writing up C# documents with my own commenting and examples of how each method/function/whatever works. Each item is given it’s own document and saved under the name of the element I am describing. This has built up a library of easily referable documents I can call upon while reading the book and following examples.

This will be of use to others in my position so I will be making this library readily available once completed. It should be a good alternative to cheat sheets and provide just that little bit more scope when trying to learn not only a new programming language, but a new way of thinking.

I just wish to thank Nick Booth for organising and promoting the evening again and for whoever put Nick onto using the Dragon Inn for its social space, cheap booze and wifi access but also to everyone who attended and made it what it was. Everyone was up for it, everyone had exciting stuff to say and we all had a good laugh mainly and it felt more like a party night rather than anything stuffy. If you live in the midlands (or can get to Birmingham for that matter) and you own a blog, or even thinking about creating a blog, come along to the next one as I am sure you will make a lot of new friends and have a great time. There was nothing geeky about this bunch of folks.

Tonight is the second Birmingham Bloggers Meet or we may call it the first Birmingham Social Media Cafe (yet to be decided). It is taking place at 7pm onwards at the Dragon Inn, Hurst Street, Birmingham with an open invitation for all that wish to attend. I will be giving a rundown of what is discussed tomorrow. Until then…

Get yourselves over to New Media Junkie and subscribe to this light-hearted and comical podcast, I know it is going to grow from strength to strength with Marks’ ambition and drive.

Welcome to digiJet ladies and gentleman, my name is DigiBot and I am the big chief cabin crew drone. My fellow cabin crew and I will now take you through the safety procedures should we happen to make an emergency stop. In the event of an emergency, off site hyperlinks will be illuminated at floor level and can be found at the front, rear and centre of the plane. Linking to other websites that relate to your blog post will improve search engine rankings and credibility with readers as it shows you have researched thoroughly and are happy to provide links to third party websites where further information can be found.

During takeoff and landing we must insist that you remember that writing a blog post should be above all else a pleasurable experience for both you and your readership. Make sure that you are providing a quality service with good content. Making money or gaining fame and popularity from your blog are second to the enjoyment of writing and providing quality material. Above all else blog writing is the act of engaging in social media and conversing; making a quick bob or two is secondary. If it is seen that you are more driven by the money than by the passion for writing and providing good content, the blog may be too heavy for the overhead lockers and come crashing down, injuring you or a fellow passenger.

Should the oxygen masks be deployed during the flight please pull towards you and place over your mouth and nose, placing the elastic band over your head. This will ensure that when you write, it is in a style that is open and warm. Writing in your natural voice will come across to those that read your articles as welcoming and conversational. This is unlike the robotic drone voice you are hearing from me at this moment. Take note. Ensure you go to length in providing a full in-depth analysis of whatever the subject is you are talking about; gather and provide fully researched information before helping others with there masks.

If we must land on water, lifejackets are provided under your seat allowing you to create a joint blog post. Do not inflate your jacket until you are outside of the aircraft as it may impede your exit. Joint blogging is a technique that I have only seen before by Lee and Rhett. By inflating your lifejacket with a fellow blogger you could take it in turn to write alternate paragraphs or sign off your part of the blog and handover the next section to your fellow blogger. This is provided to attract attention. Should you need to top up with air or the jacket fails to inflate, blow through the tube at the top.

Thank you all for your full attention, we would like to leave you now on a final note that you can further make your writing interesting by using a characterised style or theme such as used in this particular demo. You may even use a dialogue conversation or interview. This list is far from exhausted and adding a personal touch or spice will keep visitors to your blog entertained, informed and returning readers. The captain has now turned off the seatbelt light, you are free to release your buckle and leave your seats.

So what is the point of this article? Well mainly just to try out a touch of blogging outside of the comfort zone, try new techniques, inspire you, my readers to try different writing styles for your own musings and with any luck produce an interesting article in it’s own right. The idea that popped into my head when I began this was to try and produce a post which takes on the feel of being on an aeroplane, perhaps using the run-down of safety procedures that we receive on flights from the cabin crew/flight attendants. Alternatively maybe the captain’s tannoy announcement. So far you and I both know this hasn’t happened!

I felt it worthy to set the scene beforehand. This surprisingly now has developed into a two-part article. In the next there will be none of this faffing; straight into the style. And it will be written on my return journey so I can detail another snapshot of the cabin crew and captain doing what they do best. Until then, Ciao! In the meantime I am off to slide down some snow covered mountains with on a laminated board that my feet are strapped bound to.

DigiKev:
“This is not a very sound thing to do, in doing so and repeatedly being the ‘valued customer’ you will be rumbled. It hardly takes a lot to know that the so called valued customer is a representative of your company. The community you are trying to embrace will ignore you, or worse you will be flamed and spammed and bad-mouthed until you are so buried you won’t be able to see above ground. The press will likely catch on and your good name will be dragged through the dirt.”

Client:
“…Okay, granted but this is the only way that we are prepared to communicate with our public as we do not want to lose control of the company pr. Having an individual or individuals representing our company and taking our stand point on our behalf could go badly in our favour. What if they get it wrong? What if they get bombarded with off topic questions? What if? What if?”

DigiKev:
“There is a great opportunity here to get down to the grassroots. Yes you will have to let go of the control. Social media is all about human communication. You don’t need to get sucked into off topic questions; if they are irrelevant say so, if the information is contained in your site then direct them to that information. Don’t be worried about losing control and if someone makes a mistake they just tell the community, look sorry I am human, I made a mistake and this is what it should have been. Finding out where your company is lacking from those that you are selling to is golden information; giving that up is just business suicide and your competitors (who are or will be employing a public figure to the company) will succeed. If you can’t trust whoever you have employed to be the voice of your company to speak to your public then I am afraid you have employed the wrong people.”

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Plenty of businesses are yet to jump on what the web can offer at the detriment of sales and popularity. Hiding behind thickly built walls of pr and controlling every element of how the company is seen and portrayed isn’t going to cut the mustard. The trends section of Marketing Week 17.01.08 notes “two thirds of social networkers are likely to buy a product as a result of a referral by a friend or online acquaintance – equating to £750m in online sales”. I am not saying that the only method is to deploy public speaking figures of the company in forum websites. Embracing social networking and the new age of digital media by conversing, allowing comments and feedback on a blog or by whatever other means you feel fit is key to business survival online. Non-communicative businesses that turn there back on social media, or worse try to control and fake in the social playground as described in the opening dialogue, in my opinion will begin to lose out to competitors that fully embrace and get social media.

What experiences have you had with clients and there perception of social media? How have you dealt with and explained the subject to them? Do you agree that businesses embracing social media and engaging conversations with the public will prosper?