It’s February. Time for a New Year change!
I have been blogging as The Human Element for three years now, posting reasonably regularly if not all that frequently. Over the last few months, I’ve been thinking hard about what I want to do with my online presence here, and indeed with my future business. And it’s time for a change, dammit. The conventional wisdom is to focus intensely on a particular niche. I find it hard to focus. My work is spread across different subjects, all of which I love immoderately. I began my career as a baby academic. Then I worked as a market researcher who loved qualitative methods and...
Read MoreThat thing I do
I act as a one-person R&D department, helping organisations to research and develop communications, training and new products that their audiences will love. I specialise in online communication – websites, communities, digital engagement and e-learning. Why do you do it? Do you love it, or do you just have one of those creepy knacks? I love it. I believe that great conversation design is the foundation for success, however you want to measure it; I love to see communities that hum with discussion, or retail sites that are a pleasure to shop. I’m constantly looking at good stuff...
Read MoreOver to you
Pro tip: Never advertise something as part of a two-part series unless you have both parts already written. Sigh. You can triple this if Thing 2 is slightly harder to dash off than Thing 1. (It will come, but I’m in lockdown at the moment what with project deadlines and the upcoming End of Term). I’m reviewing the blog and what I write here as part of a massive review of my online er, empire and so I’m interested: who are you? why do you read this blog? Are there things you’d like me to write about more? I could write more: - anguished personal insights -...
Read MoreTeleclasses and online workshops: the next revolution
In the midst of all the loud talk about the latest trends in social media - like the ongoing obsession with location-based services – it’s interesting to notice a quiet business revolution taking place in other corners of the net. You may already be aware of services in say, marketing coaching or personal growth, often offered as teleclasses linked to highly successful business blogs. So, for example, you can sign up for a marketing teleclass with Naomi Dunford of Ittybiz, or go for the rather wonderfully-named Virtual Retreat offered by Jennifer Louden. I do believe...
Read MoreManifesto
Some of us find it quite simple to put our real organisations and authentic selves online.
Others - well, let's just say that some of us can't bear to look at our own websites.
My mission is to help you transform your online presence so that other people understand and appreciate what you really have to offer. So that you can achieve what you want - whether that's better engagement, more readers, or more sales.