Knock Knock

A-Bot Tells Kaku a Joke

We Love To Find Patterns

Humans love to find patterns - we are pattern finding machines. Don't believe me, sit in front of a vintage television tuned off-station. Watch the television snow - the visual chaos of buzzing color dots. After a surprisingly short time, you will begin to see images emerge from the visual static. Some of these images will be so detailed and so specific that you will become convinced that somehow a nearby channel has shifted frequency and the television is now displaying a partial transmission. Even with no antenna,  no cable, no signal input of any sort, you will not be able to shake the notion that the television is somehow picking up images from some source - they can become that sharp in detail.

You are correct to assume that there is a source of origin for these images. However, do not look to the television or satellite as the source of these images. There is a source. That source is you. Somehow, somewhere lurking amongst the lumps of neural circuitry that passes for your brain is a little something or other responsible for these images emerging.

If you feel inclined to be impressed by your ability to create a detailed image of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco from the stuff of television snow - go ahead, be impressed.  But don't be surprised. After all, are you not able to create amazingly detailed, fully tactile hallucinations at night? The same salt-water bioware  that creates these dreams could easily make a horse and cowboy from television static.

Not only is the human brain eminently capable of finding these patterns, it wants to. 
Humans love to find patterns - patterns in sights, patterns in sounds, patterns in actions, patterns in intentions, patterns in behavior, patterns in movement. patterns in just about everything. In fact, every form of data perceptible by the human is subjected to this pattern finding mania.

How did we come to do this? The answer to this is an interesting study in evolution, and the anthropology of humans.

How do we do this? The answer to this is a thoroughly engrossing adventure in biology, chemistry, neurology, and every other aspect of  human biophysics.

What comes of this pattern finding? The answer to this could lead us into the deeper recesses of human psychology.

Where we do this? The answer to this can provide a handle on the engineering of entertainment and the human environment.

The above questions while full of potential, are beyond the scope of this short discussion - remember it's supposed to be about Jazz Art. For the moment, the fact that this mania for pattern finding exists is enough.

Take it as given that we love to find patterns.

You'll notice that I've said: "we love to find patterns." A simpler formulation of this might be "we find patterns." But that would overlook the essential element - we love to find patterns. Not only are we good at finding patterns, we take pleasure in doing it.

An unexamined life is not worth living

The text below is extracted from a book I'm currently working on.

Perhaps you have heard the quote “An unexamined life is not worth living.” While you may attribute this to Johnny Depp or yet another Hollywood celeb, the quote actually comes to us from a friend of Bill & Ted – Socrates.

It was during the punishment phase of his trial, that Socrates uttered these words: An unexamined life is not worth living. He was convicted of being an interloping old fart – and generally a nuisance to the state. You see, Socrates had this habit of poking and prying and generally seeking after truth. The state took a dim view of this behavior.

When asked during the penalty phase whether he should be killed, exiled, or imprisoned Socrates suggested he should be given a reward for his selfless contributions to Athenian society. For some reason this suggestion did not sit well with the judges. Ultimately, Socrates chose death as a final punctuation mark for his stated view that participation in conversation whose goal is the search for wisdom is essential for the nurturing and growth of a soul as well as for the health and welfare of the state. And this is how a hemlock frappuccino became the exclamation point of Socrates life.

While we certainly aren't suggesting a hemlock frappuccino, we definitely advocate participation in conversation whose goal is the search for wisdom and nurturing the growth of a soul – i.e. living an examined life. There are many ways to go about this. Socratic Debate is one method, journaling is another, and the RPS (Roll Playing Safari) Game is yet another.

Some thoughts on response in communication.

I was reading an article by Jakob Nielsen on Website Response Times, when an odd thought crept into my the edges of my awareness. What if we applied these comments to communication response rather than browser response?

When a user clicks on a link in their browser they expect the browser to respond by fetching the page and rendering it in the browser window. Not only do they have an expectation that this event will occur, they have very definite expectations about how the event will occur.

They expect the returned page to be the one they clicked on. They expect the page to be rendered rapidly. And, they expect the page to be rendered well.

Jakob points out in his excellent article, two of key reasons for the need for speed is: 1) As we wait for response the inevitability of short term memory erasure causes us to suffer the decay of information. 2) We like to feel in control of our destinies rather than subjugated to the whims and control of something else. And when companies make us wait instead of providing responsive service they seem arrogant or incompetent.

These comments work equally well whether talking about response time from clicking a url on a web page or or a customers communication through email, phone, or what have you.


When a customer contacts you it is important to do the following:

• Reply promptly.
• Reply in a fashion they recognize as related to their question.
• Reply well.

It is more important to reply promptly then correctly. If you don't have the answer to a customers question, or if you know you cannot give the customer the answer they want, still reply quickly. Even if it is only to say, we got your question and will answer it soon.

Within the first sentence of the first paragraph you need to say something that tells the customer you "got" their question. If you do not in some way duplicate back to the customer their question, they may think you did not receive the original question. Or, they may think you are too stupid to understand the question. Or, worse yet, they may think you have no regard for their question as written -- and by extension, no regard for the customer. So at best you will look incompetent, and at worst you will look callous and uncaring.


And it is important that your response is rendered well. Start with spell check and grammar check. But, don't stop there. Actually re-read your response to see it from the perspective of the customer. Is the answer well handled. This will reflect significantly on you and your company. Unfortunately you have more opportunity to lose points than to gain points. Customers expect a well formulated response. So if you answer well, that is par for the course -- no extra points for doing your job as expected. But, if you respond poorly, you will lose points big time.

All of these points make sense, and have been covered before separately -- and perhaps even together. The thing which struck me today was a new rationale for why this makes sense. It goes beyond following protocols that have been proven in the past to have good results. It gets right down to the meat of the matter.

These suggestions are made because they 1) Get back to the customer at a time when they still remember why they wanted to contact you in the first place -- while it is still new business. And, 2) It allows to feel in control rather than subjugated to your whim.

When the customer initiates communication they are predisposed to communication -- maybe not purchase, but certainly communication. You have their interest, and you have their attention. Having a customer's attention is paramount. Without it nothing is possible. So act while you have that attention.

Allowing the customer to maintain that sense of control will keep thing flowing. Make the customer feel like they are at your whim and under your control and you lose their willing participation. You might be able to trick them to do what you want in any case. But it is so much better to have a willing participant in any interaction.

If you are the kind of person, or the kind of company, that allows the customer to have a sense of control, you will go much further -- and have a better time getting there.

You will note, however, that I have been careful to say "allow the customer a sense of control. It is possible to control the flow of communication and get your business done while allowing the customer to feel empowered.

And this brings me to the something I was hoping to communicate. I know businesses want to do their business. If they are in the business of selling cars, they want to sell cars. If they are in the business of selling cable services, they want to sell cable service. But, here's the thing. If they just change how they do their business they can contribute to the healing of the world and still do business.

It is totally possible to sell cable service and deliver that service without at the same time making the customers feel powerless and at the whim of uncaring forces over which they have no control and can expect no mercy. I believe there is a model of business that will still get the job done and treat the customers with dignity.

The simple act of treating customers with dignity could go a long way toward healing the deep wounds from which so many suffer. I know this runs counter to the abusive "me: tyrannical feudal lord" and "you: serf" attitude so prevalent amongst power possessors in our corporate culture. Still it would be nice.

Why Go Through All The Effort To Create A Keywords List

On one of my other blogs SEO Made Easy, I have outlined a rather involved and perhaps tedious process to brainstorm, organize, expand, and refine a websites keyword list. Lord have mercy the process looks daunting -- even to me.

Question: So why go through all of this effort to find keywords and keyword phrases?

Answer: Because you are looking for lightning to strike.

You are hoping that somewhere during the process of hunting up keywords you will stumble across those total gems that will completely alter your website and marketing of it.

I'll give you an example. A friend was working on his website devoted to astral projection. When going through the process of creating a list of keywords he was suddenly reminded of the phrase astral travel. This might seem like such an obvious phrase to include. But, for some reason he was temporarily blinded to it. Doesn't matter why. What matters is that through the simple process of gathering keywords he was in fact reminded of it.

This may seem like a small thing. However, when you consider that 30% of the traffic in this niche is generated by interest in astral travel, you realize how important this little reminder was.


Perhaps not the most dramatic example. But, it should give you the idea of what is meant by looking for lightning to strike.

Six Phases / Steps In A Sales Cycle

By my reckoning there are six steps (or phases) in a sale. I know that many folks talk about "The Four Steps To A Sale." I like to consider the full range of six. Yes, these can be broken down even further. But for me these fit the bill.

Below are the six steps to a sale:

1. Need
2. Awareness
3. Consideration/Research
4. Decision
5. Purchase
6. Post Purchase Valuation

1 Need

The first step in the sale is a need. There is always a need first. Even in those mythical sales of snow to an Eskimo there was a need. The need was not for snow. But there was a need for something. You can't make a sale without the interest of your customer. And, you can't get the interest of a customer unless it is of personal interest to them -- in a way they understand. That type of interest comes from need.

2 Awareness

This is not awareness in general, although that might be nice, this is awareness of the possibility of a solution to the need. Walking around with a need is one thing. Walking around with a need and stumbling upon the prospect of handling that need is something all together different.

What if the need is for this gosh darn abscessed tooth to stop hurting. Well, believe it life will be much different the moment that individual learns of the existence of something known as a dentist.

So part of the sales process is communicating the existence of a solution to a need. Yelling the word "dentist" will not really get the point across. It would be better to put the word into context so that the connection between dentist and the blissful release from pounding, agonizing tooth pain was made.

3 Consideration/Research

After the customer is made aware that there is the possibility of solutions to a need, they may go into the consideration and research phase of the sale. This is the time when they find out what options they have, weigh the pluses and minuses of the different options, get advice, seek opinions, you know -- do research and consider.

4 Decision

At some point in the process of consideration and research the customer makes the decision to buy. A little alarm goes off in their head and they transition from thinking about maybe perhaps getting ready to possibly buy to "yeah, let's get this."

5 Purchase

Now we get to the part that sales people like, the purchase. Something that some sales people forget to do is "ask for the sale." What I mean by that is the following: when you can tell that your customer has made the decision to buy speak up and ask for the sale. "Will that be Visa or Master Card?" "Will you be taking that with your or shall we have it delivered?"

6 Post Purchase Valuation

Some folks like to think that the sale is over when the customer walks out the door with the item. This is far from the truth. After the purchase there is the part where the customer figures out whether this was a huge mistake or the greatest purchase they ever made. If they figure it was a huge mistake, they may attempt to return the item. If they figure it was the best purchase they ever made, they may tell their friends and family to go buy one too. This is where word of mouth advertising comes from -- from happy customers, not upset folks that regret the day they heard about the product.

What to do about the above steps

Each of these steps offer unique opportunity for a sales person to move the process along -- influence, help, and guidance can be offered at each step. Just ascertaining which phase a customer is in when you speak with them can help you orient yourself.

For the moment, just start by acknowledging the six steps (or phases) to a sale exist. Then start paying attention. Once you know something exists, you'd be surprised how much you can figure out on your own.

What makes for a good goal?

When I say "good" I am not referring to moral or virtuous. "Good" in this context is more related to functional. Take a look at the list below of characteristics that define a good goal.

• Specific.  
• Realistic.
• Challenging.
• Measurable. 

Specific

If a goal is too general it soon becomes un-realistic and non-measurable. "I want to bring about world peace" is a nice goal but it is not a good goal. It is too general, not specific enough. Start with something a bit more specific. "I want to make the local high school a safe place for learning." This is not as grand a goal. But it is realistic and measurable.

Realistic

Make the goal something that you can actually see yourself (or anyone) accomplishing. "I want to walk on the moon bare-butt naked" is not very realistic. If the goal is too far from possible you will quickly forgive yourself from not making serious efforts and dismiss the goal.

Challenging

When considering challenge, there should be short term challenge in addition to long term challenge. I'll give you an example. Years and years ago I set myself the goal of filling a bound notebook with zeros. In case you are wondering, I wasn't on drugs -- leastwise not at the time. The goal was specific (I knew exactly which notebook I had in mind). The goal was realistic (The notebook had 350 pages and I could easily fill three pages in a sitting.) And the goal was challenging -- in the long run. It was a challenge to sit myself down a couple times a day to make zeros in this notebook. So there was a long term challenge. But, this thing became a total drag after just a few days. Then somewhere along the line I introduced a secondary goal of making the zeros the best zeros I could make. Now I had a long term challenge. But more importantly I also had a short term challenge. Each minute I worked at the notebook I was challenging myself to make the zero I was working on the best zero I could make.

I find it important to have a short term challenge as well.

Measurable

If you can't tell whether you are accomplishing the goal then its not much of a goal. It could still be something you do. But as a goal it will suck. A goal really does imply some kind of yard stick to measure progress and success.  Is it absolutely necessary? Can you have a goal that can not be measured? Yes, you can have a goal that can not be measured. This is not the Department of Fascist Oversight of Goals.

However, be aware of the fact that a goal that can be measured will just function better. Remember "good" is not a measure of moral or virtuous. "Good" in this context is a measure of functionality. There are many goals that we adopt which are not "good" goals.

Take for example the goal "To lead a virtuous life." or "To be a good person." As goals these fail in almost every category. However, they are goals worth having.

If you find yourself with goals that are worth having but that don't happen to be "good" goals in the functional sense, all you need to do is make sub-goals. Make goals that serve the higher goals.

Morphotony -- A Little Of the Story

In my blog SEO: Must #1 Get It Right I used a graphic illustrating a google search. I've pasted the same graphic here for your easy reference.

The google search was on the word morphotony. In that blog I promised to give a little history on this little adventure of mine. So here it is.

One day the band started a hunt for a name. "Hey let's get together and play some music" was a bit too long for fliers and other marketing materials. So we began a hunt for a name.

One of the names we thought (momentarily) about was morphotony. I did a google search on the word. There were zero results. It is hard to come up with zero results in a google search. Even if you type a random array of characters into a search you will come up with some pages that contain the character string.

With billions and billions of web pages there is bound to be someone, somewhere, that somehow at sometime use just about every character string -- except for morphotony. There were zero results.

I found this very bizarre. So given that apparently no one on the planet had ever written morphotony into a single sentence (on purpose, by accident, or as a typo) it seemed only fitting that I should start a website -- morphotony.com.

So now I have morphotony.com and periodically I make dribbles and drabs of effort to get the word into usage. If you want to get in the act, just use the word on your page. Create a username of morphotony on your favorite gaming forum. Create a youtube video and somehow work the word morphotony into the title. Just use the word here and there.

Just think you can be one of the few pages showing up when some non-existent users does a non-likely search for a word they have never seen nor heard of.


Now that's an opportunity.

Typing To Everyone And No One At All

This is not a complaint -- just an observation about the nature of blogging.

As a public posting, the blog is available to anyone that manages to find it. Hence, everyone has the opportunity to read the blog. This means there is a total blending of potential audiences. If you want to say something that you'd rather your parents not overhear, then you will need to disable their browser function, implant a worm that prevents certain website urls from being loaded, or install Net Nanny on their computer without telling them. Otherwise they are among the most likely candidates to actually read whatever mixture of alphabet characters you are typing into the "New Post" window.

Old girl friends and boy friends could be reading your blog. As well as friends from work (that weren't supposed to know about the ahem... er... hobby. Your children, distant relatives, friends of friends, strangers from any and every part of the world. Basically everyone. Not everyone individually. Everyone all at once.

Since everyone is reading the same blog you can't tell the tale a little different depending upon the audience. You can't use the politically correct version at church, the risque version with the boys in the locker room, the well enunciated grammatically correct version for the management team at work, the "honey you know I would never do that" for the misses. It is all the same version for everyone.

You can't blog about winning the lottery when you are still playing duck and hide from the neighbor down the street that lent you the money you don't want to pay back just yet.

You can't talk about the great golf score when the only reason you could get away from the weekend yard work was a little white lie about being totally disabled and needing to soak in the sports sauna at the gym.

It is the same version for everyone.

However, you don't really know who specifically is reading any particular blog. Granted, you can count your followers. But you don't know if they happen to read a specific blog. So, you can't rely upon them having read anything in particular.

In practical terms that would mean that if you post an invite to a lawn party in your blog, you will still need to personally invite everyone you actually want to make sure know about the event. It's worse than email. With email you have no guarantee but you do have a vague notion that the content made it to their inbox (except for the ever present spam box and internet glitches). With a blog you don't even have the imaginary certainty that the content made it to their inbox. They may or may not have even glanced at the page -- let alone actually have read it.

So, in a strange way, even though may people can read the blog it is no one at all -- at least no one in particular.

The only folks that you can know have read the blog are those that comment. And since a mircoscopic percentage of readers actually comment that means in general you can't know, which means in general you are typing to no one at all.

I have developed a simulation of this designed to give a peek into the dynamics of this for anyone curious about the inner effects this type of communication.

I invite psychologists and anyone studying social dynamics to try this out.

Blogging Simulation 101

Set up a room with standard lecture seating.

Have each individual present take a turn telling a joke or story. The joke or story should be two or three minutes long.

As they tell their joke everyone in the audience is sitting with a cloth bag over their head. This should allow them to see out, but not display their expression -- or even whether or not the eyes are open. The members of the audience say nothing, do nothing, make no action that would reveal whether they are listening or not. They could be listening or totally ignoring the speaker.

After each person has taken a turn then discuss the results.

Report back if you dare.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

Heard that expression before?

Lately that's been my experience -- except in addition to be the "caught" I'm also the "rock" and the "hard place."

I can hear the knowing chuckle of a few forest monks wafting through the air. [Note to self: haven't used waft in a decade or so, better look it up.] [Subsequent note: yep it means what we thought -- to float or be carried, esp. through the air. Ah, the wonders of dictionary.com]

As always the trick is in the attitude. Can't change the being caught between a rock and a hard place. Don't really have control over that. But I do have a choice in attitude I adopt.

SEO Made Easy -- My New Blog

Those you watching the past two weeks may have noticed the appearance then sudden disappearance of several blogs on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Well, they are not gone. I've started a new blog: made-easy-seo.blogspot.com

Click on over there if you'd like to find the missing SEO blogs that were here, and several new ones besides.