Free PowerPoint
templates →
backgrounds →
presentations →
downloads →
blog →
Friday, February 06, 2009
Presentation V. Working the Room
The marvelous social media sommelier Gary Vaynerchuk gives us an excellent 3 minute video outlining the necessity of "working the room" versus "giving a presentation."
If you're still "giving presentations" -- note the distinction. For years, brands became accustomed to "giving presentations" and "controlling" the message. In the age of social media, with blogs and sites like Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube -- merely giving a presentation is less effective than "working the room".
The video you see above is also a fine example of how an audience can talk back. Note the comments that bubble up from the audience as you watch the video. Mr. Vaynerchuk puts himself out there -- inviting feedback and criticism. He's working the room.
How will social media change the way you present your brand?
And when will you stop "giving presentations?"
The marvelous social media sommelier Gary Vaynerchuk gives us an excellent 3 minute video outlining the necessity of "working the room" versus "giving a presentation."
If you're still "giving presentations" -- note the distinction. For years, brands became accustomed to "giving presentations" and "controlling" the message. In the age of social media, with blogs and sites like Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube -- merely giving a presentation is less effective than "working the room".
The video you see above is also a fine example of how an audience can talk back. Note the comments that bubble up from the audience as you watch the video. Mr. Vaynerchuk puts himself out there -- inviting feedback and criticism. He's working the room.
How will social media change the way you present your brand?
And when will you stop "giving presentations?"
Labels: Blogging, Presentation, social media, video
¶ 2/06/2009 03:32:00 PM 1 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The First Social Media President
Barack Obama became the US president today. An estimated 2 million+ people came to Washington DC to witness the historic inauguration.
But those who followed the DC event online are also a part of history. We are among the first to watch an inauguration while following the back channel chatter of millions of other viewers. As I watched video coverage on CNN online, I simultaneously followed the running commentary of friends on FaceBook.
Listening to professional commentators cover the event became less powerful or interesting than noting the comments of friends and family. Similarly, on Twitter, many tagged Tweets with #inaug09 to mark their thoughts as they watched the historical event.
What does all this back channel commenting mean? It means that, like always, people bond over events and interesting content. Major events give people something to talk about with each other. Thoughts that spring to mind leap instantly to screen, where they can be noticed, monitored, and tracked. In a way, this inauguration marks the dawning of the age of our first social media president.
Obama's team appears to have embraced social media. FDR was our first radio president. Truman was likely the first president to tentatively harness the power of TV. Clinton may have been our first internet-ready president. We already know that the nation's new president plans weekly online video addresses. His team launched the Barack Obama YouTube Channel. A Barack Obama FaceBook page. A Twitter presence. Within hours of his presidency, we also saw a blog spring up at WhiteHouse.gov. Old content at WhiteHouse.gov was not archived - it was demolished.
Open and accessible communication. It's one thing to have a blog, a YouTube Channel, a FaceBook Page, a Twitter presence. It's quite another to keep it thriving with fresh content. And it's yet another to listen to the many diverse voices that will be springing up with comments and criticism. How well will the new president and his team listen and respond to millions of voices that cry out on these new social media channels?
Perhaps the answer lies in the inaugural address. "What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them..." President Obama seems to have captured the imagination of his public with his ever-present theme of change. He acknowledges change. And it's not just the economic and political landscape that is experiencing radical change. Technology and communication styles are changing rapidly, as well.
How well will the new US president continue to embrace an open and accessible communication style? In what ways will the new administration use social media to listen and communicate with various constituencies throughout the world?
And how do you like following major events online? Were the FaceBook-powered updates on CNN helpful -- or distracting?
Barack Obama became the US president today. An estimated 2 million+ people came to Washington DC to witness the historic inauguration.
But those who followed the DC event online are also a part of history. We are among the first to watch an inauguration while following the back channel chatter of millions of other viewers. As I watched video coverage on CNN online, I simultaneously followed the running commentary of friends on FaceBook.
Listening to professional commentators cover the event became less powerful or interesting than noting the comments of friends and family. Similarly, on Twitter, many tagged Tweets with #inaug09 to mark their thoughts as they watched the historical event.
What does all this back channel commenting mean? It means that, like always, people bond over events and interesting content. Major events give people something to talk about with each other. Thoughts that spring to mind leap instantly to screen, where they can be noticed, monitored, and tracked. In a way, this inauguration marks the dawning of the age of our first social media president.
Obama's team appears to have embraced social media. FDR was our first radio president. Truman was likely the first president to tentatively harness the power of TV. Clinton may have been our first internet-ready president. We already know that the nation's new president plans weekly online video addresses. His team launched the Barack Obama YouTube Channel. A Barack Obama FaceBook page. A Twitter presence. Within hours of his presidency, we also saw a blog spring up at WhiteHouse.gov. Old content at WhiteHouse.gov was not archived - it was demolished.
Open and accessible communication. It's one thing to have a blog, a YouTube Channel, a FaceBook Page, a Twitter presence. It's quite another to keep it thriving with fresh content. And it's yet another to listen to the many diverse voices that will be springing up with comments and criticism. How well will the new president and his team listen and respond to millions of voices that cry out on these new social media channels?
Perhaps the answer lies in the inaugural address. "What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them..." President Obama seems to have captured the imagination of his public with his ever-present theme of change. He acknowledges change. And it's not just the economic and political landscape that is experiencing radical change. Technology and communication styles are changing rapidly, as well.
How well will the new US president continue to embrace an open and accessible communication style? In what ways will the new administration use social media to listen and communicate with various constituencies throughout the world?
And how do you like following major events online? Were the FaceBook-powered updates on CNN helpful -- or distracting?
Labels: Blogging, social media
¶ 1/20/2009 05:37:00 PM 1 Comments Links to this post
Friday, June 15, 2007
New Gmail PowerPoint Viewer is Weak
So Gmail has a new PowerPoint Viewer. If you send a PowerPoint attachment to a Google Gmail client, they see something like this at the bottom of their email:
When your Gmail recipient clicks on the "View as slideshow" link, a browser window pops up with forward and backward buttons. This lets those with Gmail clients click through the slide portion your ppt file -- without using PowerPoint or other viewing software.
And while that's kind of nice -- here's the downside. Sorry, no pptx files -- only ppt. And no sound, animations, or show notes either. Gotta Mac? Sorry, the new presentation feature does not work for Mac users.
The visual quality of the Gmail slide presentation is weak. In my test, the fonts ran completely amok.
If you'll recall, back in February the blogosphere was breathless with rumors of a Google "PowerPoint Killer". Four months later, this is all Google delivers (so far).
Let's see if Google can soon deliver a presentation product that really lives up to the hype!
So Gmail has a new PowerPoint Viewer. If you send a PowerPoint attachment to a Google Gmail client, they see something like this at the bottom of their email:
When your Gmail recipient clicks on the "View as slideshow" link, a browser window pops up with forward and backward buttons. This lets those with Gmail clients click through the slide portion your ppt file -- without using PowerPoint or other viewing software.And while that's kind of nice -- here's the downside. Sorry, no pptx files -- only ppt. And no sound, animations, or show notes either. Gotta Mac? Sorry, the new presentation feature does not work for Mac users.
The visual quality of the Gmail slide presentation is weak. In my test, the fonts ran completely amok.
If you'll recall, back in February the blogosphere was breathless with rumors of a Google "PowerPoint Killer". Four months later, this is all Google delivers (so far).
Let's see if Google can soon deliver a presentation product that really lives up to the hype!
Labels: Blogging, PowerPoint, Presentation Applications
¶ 6/15/2007 05:13:00 PM 6 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Presentation Contest - Part 2
Yesterday, I posted that I would wait to upload a PowerPoint file at Slideshare until after their presentation contest was over. I thought that by uploading a file, I would be automatically entered into their "World's Best" presentation contest -- which is judged by an all-male panel.
Turns out I am mistaken (not about the all-male judging panel, that's still in play). But I did not see this rather obvious instruction at Slideshare:
Turns out I am mistaken (not about the all-male judging panel, that's still in play). But I did not see this rather obvious instruction at Slideshare:
Rashmi at the Slideshare team assures me that you can upload your presentations at Slideshare without entering their presentation contest. Merely uploading doesn't enter your presentation into the contest -- you actually have to follow the above instructions to opt-in.
So, you can go ahead and upload your presentations and share them with the world -- without the risk of subjecting your work or organization to a gender-biased panel review. That's a relief!
I tested this by uploading a short presentation that would stand no chance of winning a presentation contest! (Except for maybe in a Sanjaya "Vote for the Worst" kind of way.)
Sure enough, this uploaded presentation about gender bias in technology marketing is definitely not in the running! ;)
I tested this by uploading a short presentation that would stand no chance of winning a presentation contest! (Except for maybe in a Sanjaya "Vote for the Worst" kind of way.)
Sure enough, this uploaded presentation about gender bias in technology marketing is definitely not in the running! ;)
Anyway, some cool stuff is being rolled out at Slideshare. Not only can you upload your presentations, but Slideshare has now added a feature where you can download the presentation, too.
That can be a big bandwidth saver. For example, instead of emailing a PowerPoint file, you can upload it to Slideshare and point to the link in your email. Your recipient can choose to view or download your file -- when they are ready. This sure beats clogging up their email inbox with a huge PowerPoint attachment, no?
That's part of the beauty of Slideshare. It lets you share ideas. More easily.
That can be a big bandwidth saver. For example, instead of emailing a PowerPoint file, you can upload it to Slideshare and point to the link in your email. Your recipient can choose to view or download your file -- when they are ready. This sure beats clogging up their email inbox with a huge PowerPoint attachment, no?
That's part of the beauty of Slideshare. It lets you share ideas. More easily.
Labels: Blogging, PowerPoint, Presentation
¶ 4/19/2007 09:17:00 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Presently Puffery
This week, I am reading much hullabaloo in the blogosphere over Presently, a proposed online presentation application from Google.
Every blog post I read makes me simultaneously shrug while rolling my eyes.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I would actually get excited if there was actually something concrete to report. And sure, it absolutely makes sense that Google is working on a presentation app to round out its suite of online apps at Google Spreadsheets and Documents. The rumor even has a timely, provacative news hook, what with MS releasing an update to its Office Suite last week.
But every blog post I've read this week breathlessly posts that "someone" at Google posted a header file from a Google app at Google Spreadsheets and Documents (nee Writely)...and then whoever that "someone" was quickly took it down. And that the header text made reference to "Presently"...and because Writely was the former name of the Google online word processor, it would stand to reason that Presently would be the new code name for a proposed online presentation tool.
So let's break this rumor down into classic who, what, where, when, and why reporting;
WHO: Google
WHAT: New, free online presentation application code name Presently
WHERE: At Google Docs and Spreadsheets
WHY: Because MS released a new Office last week, it make sense to start a timely, competitive rumor
WHEN: No official word from Google "we won't confirm or deny"....so, ummm....presently?
It appears that bloggers are easy to manipulate. All someone at Google had to do was put up an intriguing file and take it down -- without ever saying a word. An army of bloggers will fill in all the details...without even asking Google to comment.
You will note that there is no press release or statement from Google on the subject. You can do a search at Google News today and get a handful of non-specific news stories that talk about all the web and blog speculation.
But do a blogsearch at Google Blogsearch and boy-oh-boy: hundreds of posts!
Blogs are terrific for spreading rumors.
Just because it's a rumor that everyone wants to be true doesn't mean that we shouldn't put on our critical thinking hats!
This week, I am reading much hullabaloo in the blogosphere over Presently, a proposed online presentation application from Google.
Every blog post I read makes me simultaneously shrug while rolling my eyes.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I would actually get excited if there was actually something concrete to report. And sure, it absolutely makes sense that Google is working on a presentation app to round out its suite of online apps at Google Spreadsheets and Documents. The rumor even has a timely, provacative news hook, what with MS releasing an update to its Office Suite last week.
But every blog post I've read this week breathlessly posts that "someone" at Google posted a header file from a Google app at Google Spreadsheets and Documents (nee Writely)...and then whoever that "someone" was quickly took it down. And that the header text made reference to "Presently"...and because Writely was the former name of the Google online word processor, it would stand to reason that Presently would be the new code name for a proposed online presentation tool.
So let's break this rumor down into classic who, what, where, when, and why reporting;
WHO: Google
WHAT: New, free online presentation application code name Presently
WHERE: At Google Docs and Spreadsheets
WHY: Because MS released a new Office last week, it make sense to start a timely, competitive rumor
WHEN: No official word from Google "we won't confirm or deny"....so, ummm....presently?
It appears that bloggers are easy to manipulate. All someone at Google had to do was put up an intriguing file and take it down -- without ever saying a word. An army of bloggers will fill in all the details...without even asking Google to comment.
You will note that there is no press release or statement from Google on the subject. You can do a search at Google News today and get a handful of non-specific news stories that talk about all the web and blog speculation.
But do a blogsearch at Google Blogsearch and boy-oh-boy: hundreds of posts!
Blogs are terrific for spreading rumors.
Just because it's a rumor that everyone wants to be true doesn't mean that we shouldn't put on our critical thinking hats!
Labels: Blogging
¶ 2/06/2007 05:57:00 PM 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, January 29, 2007
PowerPoint Parade or Pioneer?
Years ago, Seth Godin wrote and distributed a short, snazzy, superficial ebook called "Really Bad PowerPoint."
On the eve of the worldwide release of PowerPoint 2007, Mr. Godin says PowerPoint presentations have gotten worse. So he re-posts ebook highlights in his blog, with the "vain hope" it might work this time.
Mr. Godin is just kidding. He knows that reposting a glib remix of old advice that admittedly didn't work in 2003 is not really going to make corporate PowerPoint presentations any better in 2007.
Follow the PowerPoint parade. On the eve of a major new software release, Mr. Godin saw an easy opportunity to safely get behind the PowerPoint publicity parade. So he took it. His latest post follows the bandwagon beat of bashing OPP - Other People's PowerPoint.
(Do a Google search for Death by PowerPoint today -- and the engine will dredge up over 1.5 million pages. And every page will tout very similar advice.)
Mr. Godin likely knows that many new media communication platforms, including:
You are a Pioneer! And if you use any of these power-to-the-people media to deliver your messages -- you are a communication pioneer.
(It's why Time Magazine made you the person of the year in 2006.)
But as a pioneer: you will likely make a few mistakes.
Learn from them.
Forgive yourself.
And move on.
Continue to grow the medium.
As long as there are communication pioneers, really bad PowerPoint is not going to go away any time soon.
My predictions:
Power to the Pioneers: With today's release of PowerPoint 2007, I predict that PowerPoint presentation design is going to get a lot worse this year!
Power to the Parade Followers: I also predict that Google will serve up an additional quarter million "Death by PowerPoint" pages by the end of 2008. Very few authors will discuss their own failings with the medium: rather, blog pundits will continue to critique the failings of OPP.
Power to the People! And like Mr. Godin, you can be a new media pioneer and a successful parade-follower at the same time! People who deliver pioneering presentations will also find fault with the PowerPoint designs of others... and write all about it on their blogs or chat it up in their podcasts.
How's that for closing the new media feedback loop?
Or increasing the noise-to-signal ratio? ;)
Years ago, Seth Godin wrote and distributed a short, snazzy, superficial ebook called "Really Bad PowerPoint."
On the eve of the worldwide release of PowerPoint 2007, Mr. Godin says PowerPoint presentations have gotten worse. So he re-posts ebook highlights in his blog, with the "vain hope" it might work this time.
Mr. Godin is just kidding. He knows that reposting a glib remix of old advice that admittedly didn't work in 2003 is not really going to make corporate PowerPoint presentations any better in 2007.
Follow the PowerPoint parade. On the eve of a major new software release, Mr. Godin saw an easy opportunity to safely get behind the PowerPoint publicity parade. So he took it. His latest post follows the bandwagon beat of bashing OPP - Other People's PowerPoint.
(Do a Google search for Death by PowerPoint today -- and the engine will dredge up over 1.5 million pages. And every page will tout very similar advice.)
Mr. Godin likely knows that many new media communication platforms, including:
- PowerPoint Presentations
- Cell Phone Conversations
- Online videos
- Podcasts
- Blogs
You are a Pioneer! And if you use any of these power-to-the-people media to deliver your messages -- you are a communication pioneer.
(It's why Time Magazine made you the person of the year in 2006.)
But as a pioneer: you will likely make a few mistakes.
Learn from them.
Forgive yourself.
And move on.
Continue to grow the medium.
As long as there are communication pioneers, really bad PowerPoint is not going to go away any time soon.
My predictions:
Power to the Pioneers: With today's release of PowerPoint 2007, I predict that PowerPoint presentation design is going to get a lot worse this year!
Power to the Parade Followers: I also predict that Google will serve up an additional quarter million "Death by PowerPoint" pages by the end of 2008. Very few authors will discuss their own failings with the medium: rather, blog pundits will continue to critique the failings of OPP.
Power to the People! And like Mr. Godin, you can be a new media pioneer and a successful parade-follower at the same time! People who deliver pioneering presentations will also find fault with the PowerPoint designs of others... and write all about it on their blogs or chat it up in their podcasts.
How's that for closing the new media feedback loop?
Or increasing the noise-to-signal ratio? ;)
Labels: Blogging, PowerPoint Presentation
¶ 1/29/2007 06:44:00 PM 3 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
New Blogger or Old Blogger?
I use Old Blogger to maintain this blog. Google wants me to press the button and switch to New Blogger. I might as well do it, Google contends. More reliable, new post labels, better template editing, and privacy controls.
And then the kicker -- within a few months, they will force me to switch, anyway.
Two clients of mine are using New Blogger: and all is well. However, they have brand new blogs with few posts. I have over 300 posts in this blog.
I tested New Blogger in Beta in November -- boy was it buggy! I'd hate to push that "switch" button and have it all go haywire: because apparently, there is no going back once you switch.
So: what should I do?
Go ahead and push that button? Or wait until I am forced? Or something else?
I use Old Blogger to maintain this blog. Google wants me to press the button and switch to New Blogger. I might as well do it, Google contends. More reliable, new post labels, better template editing, and privacy controls.And then the kicker -- within a few months, they will force me to switch, anyway.
Two clients of mine are using New Blogger: and all is well. However, they have brand new blogs with few posts. I have over 300 posts in this blog.
I tested New Blogger in Beta in November -- boy was it buggy! I'd hate to push that "switch" button and have it all go haywire: because apparently, there is no going back once you switch.
So: what should I do?
Go ahead and push that button? Or wait until I am forced? Or something else?
Labels: Blogging
¶ 1/23/2007 10:56:00 AM 0 Comments Links to this post
