Passion2Publish

Follow me, please!

Hey everyone, I bet maybe a few of you are shocked that 1) you're getting a post from me, and 2) this blog is still in your reader. :)

I just wanted to let all of my subscribers know that I've moved on, and soon this blog will be redirected to my brand spanking new site what consumes me.

If you're a fan of Imagination Publishing (I know you are) you should follow their brand new blog The Minds of Imagination. (hey, and they got a slick new site as well -- new is the new black) I post there from time to time and the incredibly brilliant editors there fire off posts pretty often. Erin J. Shea's posts in particular are worth the click.

You can follow the tale that is Bud at BudCaddell.com and at what consumes me.

Thanks again for your attention and readership over the last two years. My sheer gratitude can't be put into words. So, I'll use a photo!

Merry Christmas from Passion2Publish.com

Hey everyone!

Hopefully this will find you a few days AFTER Christmas, even though it is 1:23 am Christmas Day! I just wanted to take the opportunity to be one of the first to wish you a merry Christmas, or relaxing break, and thank you for taking the time to read my blog this year. I started Passion2Publish.com at the end of January this year, and what a rewarding experience it has been.

I've met so many incredible professionals through comments and back links, and in turn, my own knowledge and communication of social media has steadily grown and improved over these many months. I am truly grateful for your attention. The only way I can see to pay it back is to continue providing relevant research and thoughts through this blog.

As always, please let me know how I can respond better -- every single comment gets my direct attention and reaction, so make your voice heard. There are some amazing events coming soon in January that I can't wait to share with you, so STAY TUNED!

This is Bud in last-minute shopping mode (taken at whole foods in Austin):

The Top 10 Articles Now at Passion2Publish.com

A new feature on the site, below are the top 10, most read, articles on the site over the last month:

For Nov 11-Dec 11:

1. Why I love Twitter, and Introducing Twitter Airlines
   
2. Measuring the Return on Engagement
   
3. Rant: Starbucks, Pass the Cheer, and It's Red Again
   
4. Web Metrics, Are You Missing the Engagement Mark?
   
5. How to Build an Online Community, Our Process Revealed
   
6. It's Statistics Tuesday! Teen Shopping & Multimedia Usage
   
7. Social Media Creates Efficiencies: An Example
   
8. Measuring Participation Inequality in Social Networks
   
9. Driving Traffic with StumbleUpon and Jumping Bunny Rabbits
   
10. How to Launch a Magazine

UPDATE: I used this post as a test to see if presenting content in this fashion would increase page views per visit. The numbers say it didn't. Any comment?

Creativity Annual Awards - Gold Winner, Passion2Publish.com

I don't like to toot my horn -- I just let other people do it for me.

The Creativity Annual Awards gave me the Gold Award for Passion2Publish.com. I'm quite proud of this little blog and everything it has done for me. I can't tell you how much this process itself has accelerated my understanding of digital media, analytics, and outreach.

About The Creativity Awards
Created in conjunction with the pioneering and prestigious Art Direction magazine, the Creativity Awards Annual was one of the first books to showcase leading-edge design not just from New York, but from across America and all points of the globe.

Hopefully now I can get away with getting caught twittering or blogging a few more times a day.

New Title -- Same Bud

I apologize for the decline in posts lately, dear reader.

Lots of goings on in the works here -- lots of good reasons to get out of bed in the morning, it happens.

There's much more to come in the following days, weeks, months, but I think you'll soon be hearing alot more from me (maybe in a different place), and I think you'll be hearing alot more about Imagination Publishing too.

Publishing Jobs: We're Seeking a Web Editor with Passion

Imagination, the company I work for, is currently seeking a web editor, here's the general description:

Imagination is seeking a web editor who will manage features, e-newsletters and rich media for two professional association websites. In this role, the editor will interface with clients to generate and update an editorial calendar, write, assign and edit all necessary content according to Imagination’s quality process, and ensure it meets client approval before posting. In addition, as part of an editorial team, this full-time position will be responsible for two special print publications and assist the team, as needed. The ideal candidate will have a degree in journalism, a B2B writing background and an enthusiasm for web and print publications. Experience is preferred, but not necessary—we will train a go-getter who shows initiative, passion and creativity.

And best of all, you get to work with me!

Your role will really involve interfacing with the client on editorial planning, interviewing sources, identifying opportunities for rich media features and working with our video and production team when necessary. Both of these sites garner an extremely high volume of traffic by themselves, but editorial content is a recent addition -- so its really an exciting time to see what your features can do in terms of generating traffic and engagement. One of the sites already has an incredibly strong print magazine supporting it in our office, so there will be lots of opportunity for synergy in content planning.

If you're interested, go apply (tell em you heard about it from me) - I'd say to just leave a comment, but I'm out all next week.

Shakeups

In our lives, when things get shaken up, we rush to rebuild.

In our haste, we often try to put things back together just as they were -- but we're missing the opportunity. We're missing the opportunity to be radicals, to be pioneers, and to be explorers.

We're missing the opportunity to become better than we were.

Top 10 Things To Do in Austin, TX

Ethan, our web design guru/yogi/ninja, is heading to the Austin City Limits Festival in September, us Austinites just call it ACL Fest -- and he asked about things to do ...

Well, it just so happens that I'm heading back to Austin the first week of September -- so here's my preliminary "things I gotta do" on my trip home:

1) Convince Ian McLagan and the Bump Band to play that Thursday at the Lucky Lounge (Ian was in the Small Faces, then the Faces -- and he wrote some amazing songs -- and he's also played with Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, the Stones, Billy Bragg, and more) He plays a FREE show most Thursdays with a tight little Austin group.
2) Eat some BBQ -- starting with Stubbs, then moving on to Rudy's
3) MILTO'S! Mmm cheap pizza and gyros -- tastes like college
4) End up at Beauty Bar at 1:30am with Britt Daniel of Spoon again
5) Grab a drink at The Peacock lounge on the east side
6) Waterloo Records -- this IS Austin
7) Walk up and down South Congress -- visit Joe's, take the gf to Feather's, maybe buy a new pair of Lucchese boots at the Justin store, enter and never leave the Continental -- especially if Redd Volkaert, Cindy Cashdollar, or Earl Poole Ball are there.
8) Catch up on my honky tonk over at Don's Depot -- cheap beer and real music and more Earl Poole Ball (he was Johnny Cash's piano player, but you knew that, right?)
9) Go back to my home away from home, Little City downtown -- I'll grab an iced mocha, the hummus plate, and sit on the sidewalk staring at the Capital only a block away.
10) Alamo Draft House -- no kids allowed, wide rows with tables for your bucket of beer, your nachos and themed meals to the movie (for Willy Wonka, they served a chocolate dinner)

I can picture the whole town, city limit to city limit. Love Austin? Leave your top ten in the comments.

Coping with Separation Anxiety from your Computer

Jane Copland, over at SEOmoz, will be heading out of town for nine days, sans computer. For her, and many like her, this is a traumatic experience.

I wanted to provide some relief, some tiny bit of comfort to her for this unfortunate event -- after an exhaustive Google blog search, I could only find tips for dogs. But I'm sure you can adapt these, just replace 'dog' with 'yourself' and 'you' with 'computer.'

Let's try it out!

Here are some commonly recommended ways to treat separation anxiety:

• Place yourself in a smaller space, such as a crate, where you can feel secure when your computer leaves. However, if you panic when crated, do not force yourself in (always good advice).

• Leave yourself an article of clothing that smells like your computer, such as an old T-shirt that your computer recently slept in.

• Teach yourself as many commands as possible, especially "sit," "relax" and "stay." The point of teaching anxious people to relax is to give them confidence. Do the exercise in all the rooms of the house and in the yard. Give praise and treats liberally.

I hope these help if you ever find yourself in shoes similar to Jane's (metaphorically). Just a little levity on Friday the 13th!

The New Look of Passion2Publish.com

As you can probably tell, I've redesigned Passion2Publish.com. For my loyal email and RSS subscribers, there are a few perks to seeing the site live.. you should click on through right now.

You've probably also noticed that things have been quiet here for the last week or so -- it's mostly because I have a large project going live sometime this week and clients come before my soapbox.

I want the redesign of the site to be more than a fresh coat of paint. I've stripped the site down and focused more on usability and readability. I've increased the font size, paid more attention to the use and style of links, and I've added an about page for you to learn more about me.

Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury to 'go live' with the blog completely finished -- so you'll continue to see minor tweaks. This blog has so far been an excellent environment to test out different hypotheses in a real setting -- all with the aim to be more usable, more relevant, and more interesting to my readers.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads my blog, from the silent masses that subscribe to my content, to the casual passers by -- I appreciate your attention, however long I may hold it. Thank you.

As always, feel free to leave me a comment and tell me what you think.