I really have no idea how big a deal this is, but it sounds like some sort of milestone — my photographs have no been viewed on flickr more than 10,000 times!

Here’s a link to my photostream.  For best viewing of my Clarence Brown Theatre show photos, use the “slideshow” feature to show ‘em big! 

(Of course, you can also access all this from the photo menu item on http://www.uttheatre.org or just going to http://www.uttheatre.org/flickr.php.

Why am I (rogerchoover) now on Twitter?

Because so many of you are, or soon will be.  Plus, of course, it’s kinda cool and fun, but more importantly, allows one to collect and/or disseminate information very very quickly and easily.

There is of course the great possibility of time wasting there, and some who tweet only of what they’re eating and wondering what shampoo to buy, but the key here is choosing who you follow and what you choose to share with others about what you’re doing.

I may share some personal happenings from time to time (yes, I am human), but a lot of what I will likely tweet will be things relating to what I’m doing on the job — relating to our ticket sales at the Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee. 

One of the interesting about this social networking tool is that as you are followed and you follow others, your circle of “friends” expands as those with like interests select each other.  Synergies can happen…

Just in case you don’t know much about Twitter, here are a couple of articles from TechCrunch’s Erick Schenfeld that should shed some light:

It’s Official: Twitter Is More Popular Than Britney

How popular is it? More popular than “britney.” Twitter surpassed “Britney” a few months ago, and has even caught up to “Obama” (actually it is slightly ahead right now), according to Google Trends. That is remarkable, given that Britney was one of the most searched for words of all last year. Still, maybe the switch says more about her than about Twitter. (Obama’s popularity as a search term has come down to more reasonable levels after huge spikes last November and during the inauguration).

Boom! Twitter More Than Doubles Unique U.S. Visitors to 9.3 Million in March

If it seems like Twitter is growing faster and faster each day, that is because it is. ComScore has released its March numbers for the U.S., and it estimates that unique visitors to Twitter.com grew 131 percent between February and March to 9.3 million visitors. No wonder Twitter is more popular than Britney.

Not only did Twitter more than double the number of people that go to its site in a single month, but it accelerated its growth from the 55 percent rate it experienced in February. These numbers do not include international visitors, nor do they include all the usage on desktop and mobile clients, which is significant in Twitter’s case. But it is a useful proxy.

We’ll see how it goes — whether it’s just the latest booming fad, or has a real lasting influence.

If you like, you can follow Roger C. Hoover (that’s me!)

Writer David Mamet has blogged before — some politically-oriented doodling in The Huffington Post, but now he’s blogging in the persona of the lead character of his new play, November. 

You can read the satirical writings on the front page of November’s website under the title “Red, White, and Blog: From the Desk of Charles Smith”.  Charles H. P. Smith is the lead character, the President of the United States, performed by Nathan Lane at Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway.

It looks to be pretty thinly-veiled satire, but the use of the playright contributing daily blog as one of his characters is interesting…

Read more in The New York Times.

I just finished reading Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk With Customers by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, and it makes a powerful case for people in organizations to use blogging as an intentional tool.

[If you came to this post expecting something “spicy” from the post name, I apologize…]

Naked Conversations is THE book about organizational use of blogging.  There are several other great sources about the general subject of blogging, but this book provides detailed arguments why organizations (concentrating on corporations, but applicable to non-profits as well, I think) should encourage their people to blog.  The authors also point out a few exceptions — mainly companies that engage in illegal or deceptive practices.

You have to allow Scoble and Israel a few excessives in their blog-boosting — Scoble in particular is one of the world’s leading proponent of the medium through his primary blog, Scobleizer.  (He writes about everything geeky, not just blogs.)

[I believe I have had some business contact with Scoble in the past — he was at one time editor of BasicPro Magazine (which morphed into Visual Basic Programmer’s Journal), and I wrote a review of the Realizer development platform for the magazine.  I actually got paid for the article, unlike a few others I wrote for other publications of that era — but that’s another story for another time…]

If you work for an organization that doesn’t allow or encourage bloggers, your employer’s long-term future may be endangered, according to the authors.  They see blogging as changing the way that organizations communicate with their stakeholders — not only being a superior method of spreading information, but providing a means of listening to those stakeholders.  The attributes of blogging that make it so important to organizations, such as providing a “human” face, allowing rapid response to crises, providing feedback, and, importantly, RSS “publishing”, are detailed:

A blog is an impressive tool, but most people we talked with insisted it was more than just that.  People called blogs “a new communications channel”, a “credible marketing conduit”, a “disrupter of the status quo”, a “mainstream media murderer”, and a “miracle,” among other terms.

We thought the most appropriate term for this bigger picture was “Conversational Marketing,” but we learned it is more than that.  Blogging impacts marketing but also transcends it.  Blogging is vital not just to outbound communications, but inbound as well.  It is a crisis firefighter, a superior research aggregator, a tool for recruiting, a product builder, and customer service and support enhancement.  It provides two-way executive access and facilitates employee relations, customer evangelism, and interaction between companies and their constituencies.  We have not yet dreamed of some of the ways it will benefit companies in the future.

Traditionally, arts organizations (like our theatre) have been reluctant to show our stuff before we’re ready; we’re afraid that people won’t understand that works in progress are just that, and want reviews not to be made until Opening.  To be quite honest about it, the concept of opening up an organization simultaneously excites me for its potential, but frightens me a little – I’m a little bit of a control freak, and allowing outsiders to watch the sausage being made makes me nervous.  It’s just not tidy.  But I think I’m ready to take a chance, given the possibilities available when more people buy into what we’re doing because they’re part of the process.

There are many resources on the subject of blogging available now, but many are oriented toward “personal” blogging — people from all walks of life who use the medium to comment on whatever strikes their fancy, and who often studiously avoid mention of where they work or issues involving them there.  We have some great bloggers here in Knoxville — Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit is frequently cited as one of the top bloggers in the world; this UT Law School professor concentrates on politics and is frequently quoted and makes appearances on national television shows.  You can follow the life of “Tish” on The Kat House, which is a personal blog.  Her readers know a lot about her, including what she does for a living, but probably not where she works and what issues are affecting her employer.  She also co-authors a blog on blogs, called BlogsWeLuv (we’re listed there!!!) and has recently started an instuctional site for bloggers called Blogging Gal.

But for those interested in seeing their businesses or organizations use the blogging medium effectively, start with Naked Conversations.  The read Robert Scoble’s blog, and Shel’s blog, and from there pursue whatever resources you find that can help you.  That’s how the internet works — one thing leads to another…

Technorati tags: naked conversations, robert scoble, shel israel, blogging, instapundit, tish, blogsweluv, blogging gal