MetaMagazine articles [Blog]: 2008

October 13, 2008

Sales Triggers

Copywriting Persuasive Ads, what's the secret?

Have general knowledge: be creative, experience the world.

Know specific knowledge about the product or service, be an expert.

Practice writing, write a lot, every moment you can, letters, etc.

Copywriting is a mental process, the successful execution of of which reflects the sum total of all your experiences, your specific knowledge and your ability to mentally process that information and eventually transfer this to a piece of paper all for the purpose of communicating an idea.

The purpose is to reach out in your pocket and buy the product.

The format
First line: lead-sentence, a few words, second sentence getting you to read the rest.

Use the next aspects as a checklist for your copy:

What's the best environment to sell the product?

Harmonize with the prospect / reader (rapport, get the prospect to say yes, make compliments, harmonize with the environment and product

Selling books; based on curiosity, suggestion, a secret in the book

Slippery slide in the copy of an ad (over the edge, pitch and tempo)

Seeds of curiosity (later I'll tell you something I never told anyone else, but there's more, wait till you read what I just discovered, getting interest)

Sell with emotion, use logic to justify the purchase (sell the concept with emotion, example: challenging the buyer)

Technical explanation; it shows and proves you're an expert

Service; raise and solve the issue if you're product needs service

Trial period; courteous refund?

Price comparison; good value

Ask for the order, close the deal

Summary

Product explanation

Sexual orientation; be careful not to be too sexist

Raising objections and resolve it

New feature; highlight them

Ease of ordering

Clear copy; write for yourself (bigger for upscale audience

Rhythm in an add (short and long sentences)

Paragraph headings / subheadings (makes the copy look less intimidating; in direct mail: making statements, attention getting)

Type face; legible language, clear Seriff style type

Physical Facts, mention all facts, size, weight, price

Name the price

Testimonials

Avoid saying too much

Conversational tone: First person: I want to..., me, we, our ... to a person individual

Tell a story in the copy

How to structure the content

Inquiry generator: first call then sales or direct sales: test!

Contest in the add: challenge the reader

Branding start up: informative

Copy should be long enough to cause the reader to take the action you request.

Every communication should be a personal one from the writer to the recipient regardless of the medium used

The ideas presented in your copy should flow in a logical fashion as if you were face to face with your prospect anticipating and raising every question and answering them as if these questions were indeed asked

In the editing process you reduce the copy to express exactly to what you want to express with the least amounts of words

Selling the cure is a lot easier than selling a preventative, unless the preventative is perceived as a cure or the cure would have aspects of the preventative or is emphasized.

Telling a story can effectively sell your product, create the environment or get your reader well into your copy as you create an emotional bonding with your prospect.

Use the slippery slide; your reader should be so compelled to read your copy that they cannot stop reading until they read all of it.

Keep the copy interesting and keep the reader interested by the power of curiosity

The incubation process is the power of your subconscious mind to use all of your knowledge and experiences to solve a specific problem the efficiency of which is dedicated or dictated by time orientation, environment and ego. (take a break)

Never sell a product or service, always sell a concept.

The mindstretch-effect; the more the mind must work to reach a conclusion, which it eventually successfully reaches, the more positive, enjoyable and stimulating the experience.

Psychological Triggers

The feeling of involvement and ownership (also visualizing using the product)

Honesty (truthful statements, tell all the good and bad things about the product)

Integrity (trustworthy

Credibility (if price is too low or high)

Prove of value for comparison purposes

Justify the purpose (compare to similar product, for business tax deductible)

Greed

Establish authority

Satisfaction conviction; I'm so convinced that you're going to like this product that I'm offering you... the consumer feels the public is going to rip you off (refund the money not used, not used in two years etc.)

Nature of the product (perceive the need of the product: burglar alarm, insurance)

Current Fads (in the beginning, at peak or slightly past nothing lasts forever) Timing

Desire to belong (to special group who own a ..., the smartest people own ...)

The desire to collect (scarcity, several models

Curiosity (most powerful element in campaign) in retail: immediate gratification go

Sense of urgency; limited supplies (needs prove) (also: example extra offer if the response is within few hours)

Instant gratification

Exclusivity, rarity or uniqueness

Simplicity; is the key to sell any product; test out your ads (dotted line around the coupon)

Human relationships (relate to the human using it, good looking people)

Reciprocity; if you do a favor, they will want to do a favor back (guilt)

This overview is based on Joe Sugarman’s E-book Psychological Triggers

[Reposted from MetaMagazine 2002]

October 12, 2008

Secrets of Sales

1. A tightly scheduled 12-hour day.
2. Have contacting goals.
3. Systematic communication.
4. Know your subject.
5. Learn from questions you are asked: Don't get caught twice.
6. Always have an active prospect list that you contact regularly.
7. Respond fast.
8. Keep your name in front of the customer.
9. Develop innovative strategies for yourself and your customers.
10. Impressive preparation.
11. Finding a niche.
12. Weekly targets.
13. Show people their strengths.
14. Use 80/20 rule.
15. Each day write down 2 things on the job you did that you enjoyed or found satisfying.
16. React to problems promptly.
17. Honesty.
18. It's all or nothing for the customer.
19. Thorough planning.
20. Verify key points after meetings in writing.
21. Start meetings with a review.
22. Bring, show or discuss one positive they are not expecting.
23. Tried and true case studies.
24. Develop a system that allows you to find info in 15 seconds.
25. Respect deadlines on promises made.
26. Use flexibility to break into new markets.
27. Perfect your communication.
28. Mentally walk with them.
29. Put features and benefits into layers of pyramid and focus on best layer.
30. Mind-emptying exercises.
31. Structured follow-up
32. See how success works and copy, copy, copy.
33. Don't get tired of service.
34. Flair
35. Anticipate questions and know the answers.
36. Believe in your product.
37. Know exactly where you're going to start the next day.
38. Have high daily targets and when you achieve them--quit.
39. Set up definite rules to get over each hurdle and on to the next.
40. Know competitors products.
41. Create pride of ownership.
42. Have a structured selling answer to "What do you do? & a handout.
43. State your price as a benefit.
44. Answer, "What do you do?"
45. Spend 90% of your time either prospecting or on appointments.
46. Develop solid closing questions.
47. Know your product--shoot the answer.
48. List the benefits of your product.
49. Look as if you've operated the product all your life.
50 Full-scale mock-up. Prototype.
51. Be there when you're needed.
52. Never, ever forget one single thing you've promised to do,
no matter how trivial it seems.
53. Respect the client for what he is and for what he has accomplished in life.
54. Verbalize respect.
55. Reliability, responsiveness, tangibles, assurance, empathy.
56. Know your case and their case.
57. Put enormous thought and energy into reconfiguring your world so that when emergencies happen you have exactly what you need to do the job.
58. Know their history when you arrive.
59. Always know and communicate the next step.
60. 3 Steps: Previous, Current, Next.
61. Way of the gull: Work like hell and go after every scrap.
62. Leverage time and effort.
63. Analyze, measure, identify my selling, marketing, advertising and operations.
64. In a minute, describe what it is about your business that gives
greater advantage, greater benefit, and greater result to your client.
65. How can I test one way against another?
66. What is my clear, accurate distinct vision of my business?
67. How many better, other additional ways could I be doing?
68. How can I get the highest and best use of my time and opportunity.
69. Who could recommend me?
70. What do my clients pre-do and post-do that I can leverage.
71. Do one good thing consistently well.
72. If something works, experiment with a copy.
73. Never create the same routine twice.
74. Trial and error but debrief.
75. Rise before dawn.
76. Be willing to be consumed by a task as long as it takes.
77. Practice the basics endlessly.
78. Your core investment must be in understanding your customers.
79. Stress high quality relationships
80. Be a perpetual prospecting machine.
81. Lose the no's.
82. Have a strategic plan and a relentless application of the plan.
83. Document everything. Always know what happened.

The above list was taken from Dale Kirby's Meta-Web. Mostly compiled from the book "The Secrets of the World's Top Sales Performers by Christine Harvey" and other sources.

[Reposted from MetaMagazine website 2002]

Exchange Economics

Most ways humans have of organizing are adaptations to scarcity and want. Each way carries with it different ways of gaining social status.

The simplest way is the command hierarchy. In command hierarchies, allocation of scarce goods is done by one central authority and backed up by force. Command hierarchies scale very poorly [Mal]; they become increasingly brutal and inefficient as they get larger. For this reason, command hierarchies above the size of an extended family are almost always parasites on a larger economy of a different type. In command hierarchies, social status is primarily determined by access to coercive power.

Our society is predominantly an exchange economy. This is a sophisticated adaptation to scarcity that, unlike the command model, scales quite well. Allocation of scarce goods is done in a decentralized way through trade and voluntary cooperation (and in fact, the dominating effect of competitive desire is to produce cooperative behavior). In an exchange economy, social status is primarily determined by having control of things (not necessarily material things) to use or trade.

Most people have implicit mental models for both of the above, and how they interact with each other.
Government, the military, and organized crime (for example) are command hierarchies parasitic on the broader exchange economy we call ‘the free market’. There’s a third model, however, that is radically different from either and not generally recognized except by anthropologists; the gift culture.
Gift cultures are adaptations not to scarcity but to abundance. They arise in populations that do not have significant material-scarcity problems with survival goods. We can observe gift cultures in action among aboriginal cultures living in ecozones with mild climates and abundant food. We can also observe them in certain strata of our own society, especially in show business and among the very wealthy.

Abundance makes command relationships difficult to sustain and exchange relationships an almost pointless game. In gift cultures, social status is determined not by what you control but by what you give away.

Used source: Homesteading the Noosphere by Eric Steven Raymond\

[Reposted MetaMagazine 2001]

Local Echange Communities
Local Exchange Economies are formed locally worldwide with a Local Exchange Trading System (LETS) which often use their own local currency unit. It is a barter-like network but not only for businesses; also individuals can join. I am member of Keerkring Groningen which is one of the many LETS groups in the Netherlands. See also Letscontact.nl (Dutch).
Another bartering network I joined (aiming at sustainable economy) is Qoin.com.

Solving Financial Problems & Money Affirmations

Loose the negative associations with Money allowing yourself to own money (see Money Affirmations below)

Practically there are basically only three ways to solve financial problems:

	increase income,
	decrease expenses, or
	adjust credit debt payments.

Several options exist for increasing income but all may not be alternatives for a particular situation. These possibilities include upgrading a present job to one that pays more; switching jobs to a better-paying one; working overtime; having someone additional in the household seek and find employment where more money is made than spent; qualifying for assistance, either public or private such as food stamps, child support, grants or subsidies; and renting or selling assets that are no longer needed and/or used.

Temporary adjustments in expenses may provide temporary income increases. Stop payroll deductions for retirement, savings, or education funds. Adjust tax withholding so that enough is being withheld but a large tax refund will not be coming next spring. Do more home production; garden or sew if you already have the skill and equipment needed. Use community resources for recreation. Pay insurance premiums monthly instead.

To decrease expenses either CUT DOWN or CUT OUT. For most people going "cold turkey" or cutting out entirely may not be possible. Above all, to cut expenses, go to a cash-only basis; put all credit cards out of reach.

Certain expenses cannot be cut out entirely because of health or safety concerns such as utilities, food, health, recreation, and insurance.

[Reference (renewed) source: Solve Financial Problems]

Management Roles

The primary role of management is to make it possible for teams to work. They also provide guidance and direction to work effort.

The role of management in an organization is purely functional. It is not a role any more or less prestigious than any other role in the company. It is similar to the difference between marketing personnel and engineering personnel. The function of management is:

Set up a plan (vision) for the company, group, or team being managed.
Ensure that the management personnel can do their jobs with the up most efficiency.
Resolve any disputes that arise.
Act as an interface between employees and upper management
- Track resource use and report costs to higher management.
- Present new ideas for the company to upper management.
- Track project progress and revise estimates or make adjustments.
- Deal with problems and shield employees from them as much as possible to allow them to concentrate on their jobs.

One important difference between managers and other functional positions in the company lies in the fact that decisions made by the manager will affect more people either in a positive or negative way.

Skills Required

Communication - Learn to listen and be observant.
Experience - At least 10 years working in a field similar to those being managed. A broad background is helpful.
Leadership - Leadership is really a mix of many other skills and in many ways is intangible. A true leader, however, is willing to do any task necessary to complete the job. That means, they are willing to do the same work as other employees and get their hands dirty when required.
Delegation - Good managers must be willing to trust their staff and delegate responsibility and authority.
Organizational - Being able to organize teams, roles and projects is important. Some organizational requirements can be delegated, however. Having a messy desk does not necessarily mean a manager is unorganized.

Not all individuals have all these skills in abundance, but essential skills require communications and getting along with others.

What to do

Trust your team and expect professionalism unless proven otherwise.
Base project estimates using employee estimates times the observed load factor of the team. The load factor can be calculated when iterative development is used. It is calculated based on how long the iteration would have actually taken vs the original time estimated.
Make sure all team members are heard with regard to ideas and project input when applicable.
Make sure all confidential meetings with employees stay confidential.

What not to do

Force schedules upon employees. This is dependent on the project or problem. If there is a major problem such as a network being down it needs to be fixed as soon as possible. For these types of problems or mission critical problems, everything else is stopped until it is fixed. Therefore this is as much a setting of priority, but is normally a short term problem where overtime is justified.
Be bureaucratic with employees that show initiative.
Fail to reward desired behavior.
Fail to resolve problems when they occur.

Management Roles

Management must:

Keep focused on requirements
Shield the team from distractions
Resolve conflicts

Serious project risks that can be caused, allowed, or influenced by management are:

Excessive schedule pressure
Creeping requirements
Poor estimates
Low quality
Low productivity
Inadequate measurement

Source: CTDP Management Guide

Mintzberg's 10 Managerial Roles

INTERPERSONAL	Figurehead	Performs ceremonial and symbolic duties such as greeting visitors, signing legal documents
	Leader	Direct and motivate subordinates, training, counseling, and communicating with subordinates
	Liaison	Maintain information links both inside and outside organization; use mail, phone calls, meetings
INFORMATIONAL	Monitor	Seek and receive information, scan periodicals and reports, maintain personal contacts
	Disseminator	Forward information to other organization members; send memos and reports, make phone calls
	Spokesperson	Transmit information to outsiders through speeches, reports, memos
DECISIONAL	Entrepreneur	Initiate improvement projects, identify new ideas, delegate idea responsibility to others
	Disturbance Handler	Take corrective action during disputes or crises; resolve conflicts among subordinates; adapt to environmental crises
	Resource Allocator	Decide who gets resources, scheduling, budgeting, setting priorities
	Negotiator	Represent department during negotiation of union contracts, sales, purchases, budgets; represent departmental interests

Original source: Henry Mintzberg - The Nature of Managerial Work

September 15, 2008

Visualization Tools

Looking for ways to visualize information and meta-levels I found the following websites:

A visual exploration on mapping complex networks:
http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/
Interactive Knowledge Maps of Tools, Books, Researchers, Success Factors, and Methods in the Visualization Field
http://www.visual-literacy.org/pages/documents.htm
Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
Visualization Methods from the Periodic Table:
http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/xmldb/rest/db/Visualization/showAll.xql
Information Visualization (methods and software)
http://infoviz.pnl.gov/technologies.html
Data Visualization: Modern Approaches
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/02/data-visualization-modern-approaches/

September 01, 2008

Accelerated Learning Techniques

For more than 10 years I have been interested in education and the systems used for education. My primary focus and intention was to satisfy my personal curiosity and because of that I have been a strong supporter of student oriented modular education which is now also known as the ' cafetaria' model, education a la carte or pick and mix education.
As a student I wrote a paper (thesis) about developments and possibilities of education using the Internet. When you study didactic material about learning and teaching you will come across learning preferences in the form of learning styles: auditory (learning by hearing), visual (learning by seeing) and kinesthetic (learning by doing). But also the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) originally developed by Howard Gardner. The intelligences are:

Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
Musical intelligence ("music smart")
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

As a coach and entrepreneur I encourage on the general concept of Life Long Learning: one must continue to improve him or herself, not only because of external force by an employer or professional peer group, but especially because of personal motivation and interest in a changing technological, economical and social environment.

In todays Information Society we also have to look into enhanced forms of literacy, not only the ability to read and write, the conventional or functional Literacy but also Computer Literacy (the ability to use computers for writing and E-mail communication), Information Literacy and Media Literacy.

Accelerated Learning Techniques have been investigated for several years. I found really good resources at Win Wenger's Project Renaissance. Following the recommended links I found a generations overview of Accelerated Learning Techniques:

The First Generation – Tricks And Tools That Really Work

Memory Systems Creativity Strategies	\|

Speed Reading	\|	Math Strategies

The Second Generation – Tapping The Unconscious

Freenoting	\|	Image Streaming

Improvitaping	\|	Photoreading

The Third Generation – Aligning The Unconscious

Hypnosis	\|	Energy

Modeling	\|	Hypnosis

Although this is a preview (dated 2004?) by Matthew Turco; this accelerated learning overview offers me a nice opportunity to combine and position tricks, creativity, NLP, Psychology and Energy work.
Any other overviews on the subject are really welcome.....

August 19, 2008

EFT as complementary Health Powertool

Tapping Techniques
About two years ago someone in my network mailed me about a book he was reading "Tapping The Healer Within" by Roger J. Callahan. In this book Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is introduced as healing technique which uses tapping on specific (meridian) points on the body. When I was investigating this TFT therapy online I came across another 'tapping' therapy named EFT which stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques developed by Gary Graig. The EFT technique is based on the TFT-techniques but is easier and does not use diagnosis. Instead it has a basic tapping routine which is like a total overhaul which can be used for all possible issues. You start by giving your issue a SUD score from 0 to 10 (10 being very strong feelings or emotions) normally after a round or 2 of tapping you have a much lower SUD score on this specific issue or it could even be gone forever.

From the emofree.com FAQ:

[How does EFT differ from Thought Field Therapy (TFT)?]
TFT uses similar principles as EFT but asks the student to learn 10 or 15 different tapping routines (called algorithms), each of which is designed to cover a specific issue such as trauma, phobias, depression, etc . Anything not covered by those individual routines (e.g. insomnia, TMJ, dyslexia, etc.) requires a diagnostic process. EFT, by contrast, uses only one comprehensive tapping routine to cover all issues (not just 10 or 15) and doesn't require diagnosis.

What is EFT?
EFT is a psychological version of acupuncture, EFT is a simple tapping procedure that gently realigns the body’s energy system, without the discomfort of needles.
The EFT Discovery Statement (premise):

"The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's energy system."

And because our physical pains and diseases often appear to be connected with our emotions the following statement has also shown merit...

"Our unresolved negative emotions are major contributors to most physical pains and diseases."

This common sense approach draws its power from (1) time-honored Eastern discoveries that have been around for over 5,000 years and (2) Albert Einstein, who told us back in the 1920's that everything (including our bodies) is composed of energy. These ideas have been largely ignored by Western Healing Practices and that is why EFT can work where nothing else does.

EFT has a very large community and has lots of cases and information available on the website and in the newsletter. The EFT Manual can be downloaded for Free and you can get started immediately. If you are autodidact like me, you can order one or more DVD sets from seminars and live sessions to learn and even become an EFT professional yourself.
You can use EFT as a complementary technique in your practice (Coach, teacher, health-professional). EFT can be applied to just about anything which is also encouraged.

I haven't seen a therapy yet which has such profound and powerful results so quickly.
Why am I convinced about the integrity and positive intentions of Gary Graig? First, the manual is free, and the DVD-sets are very cheap [see EFT Store], especially if you buy more sets. Also, you are allowed to copy and give it away to 100 people.

What really convinced me is that even coaches (like Carol Ann Rowland from ZenSight) who developed their own therapy or intervention style still acknowledge the value of EFT. EFT is highly recommended for personal and professional use. Since this has a lot of potential I'm sure we will see and hear a lot more from these emotional freedom techniques.

In the meantime I have studied most of the EFT series DVD's (it takes some discipline and a long time watching) and I practiced the techniques a lot. Now it feels much more comfortable using and sharing EFT with others. The only remarkable thing is that I fall back to English (instead of Dutch) for the Basic affirmation: 'Even Though I have this [...] I deeply and completely accept myself'.

I am planning to make a compilation DVD with EFT material to watch and learn the basics.
Fortunately even with only 'the basic EFT recipe' most people get results. Just contact me if you have a specific issue you want solved with EFT; EFT can work even if I talk you through it over the phone or with Skype. Great tool for anybody. [Toine Fennis]

August 14, 2008

Libraries and our information society

Libraries are the cornerstones of our information society. It is very important to have accessible independent information resources available to preserve our knowledge. National Libraries like the Dutch Koninklijke Bibiotheek have an important task in the long-term preservation of national cultural heritage. Internationally (for English-oriented resources) does the the US Library of Congress have a good record; for example the facts for 2007:

Total of 138,313,427 items in the collections, including:

20,854,810 cataloged books in the Library of Congress classification system
11,478,022 books in large type and raised characters, incunabula (books printed before 1501), monographs and serials, music, bound newspapers, pamphlets, technical reports, and other printed material
105,980,595 items in the nonclassified (special) collections. These included:
- 2,955,493 audio materials, such as discs, tapes, talking books, and other recorded formats
- 61,432,879 total manuscripts
- 5,317,279 maps
- 14,833,797 microforms
- 5,517,882 pieces of sheet music
- 14,364,982 visual materials, including:
  - 1,204,781 moving images
  - 12,520,442 photographs
  - 92,960 posters
  - 544,142 prints and drawings

The Budget is the largest wordwide (to my knowledge). They operated with a total fiscal 2007 appropriation of $600,417,000, including authority to spend $42,108,000 in receipts. In comparison: The Koninklijke Bibliotheek in the Netherlands spend about €53,871,000 in 2007 according to their annual financial report. Some facts about The Koninklijke Bibliotheek:
Holdings
3,5 million items = more than 68 km of library materials, including 49 km of books (2.5 million), 18 km of periodicals (including 15,000 current periodicals) and more than 1 km of microforms
Acquisition
The deposit collection grows by an average of 40,000 books and 120.000 electronic publications annually. The research collection grows by an average of 19,000 items annually
Special collections
The KB also houses some 30 special collections including: medieval and modern manuscripts, old and rare books, pamphlets, book bindings, marbled papers and books on the history of paper, chess- and draughts, newspapers, cookery books and children's books

Personally I have always had a thing with libraries and bookstores. The wealth of potential information is immense. Knowledge and wisdom stored in all those books and media.
The last 10-15 years Internet has been filled (or better: connected to webservers) with websites containing documents, pages and data from several sources including unreliable ones. The need to find good reliable information becomes higher and higher. Truth and reality becomes popularized and personalized in Blogs as Truthiness ("the quality by which one purports to know something emotionally or instinctively, without regard to evidence or intellectual examination.") and Wikiality ("together we can create a reality that we all agree on — the reality we just agreed on."). See more discussion about the Truth on Internet in the VPRO documentary Wiki's Waarheid (Dutch subtitles).
Besides the trustworthiness issues, strictly speaking, searchengines like Google and Yahoo have taken over the initial information exploration function of conventional libraries and may as such be considered a fully digitized library. In this new situation does not the content itself, but the way this content (within a automatically interpreted context) is linked, indexed and categorized defines how it shows up in search results.

Google also made an effort to scan, OCR and index books from libraries to make full text search possible, this is what conventional libraries until recently couldn't do. This service is called Google Book Search. An extension of that is starting your own Google library.
I already have a selection of my library online as an exported list: Toine Fennis Bookcollection with currently 521 books. I just looked into importing my library into My Google Booklibrary [my example] to enhance searching possibilities within my books which gives many benefits for research.
From the 521 books on my list, 51 were not recognized, so I guess it is safe to say roughly 10% gets lost. This might be due to the fact that a large part of the list is in Dutch but since I can find the info elsewhere on the Internet through library catalog's and my catalog software MyGoogle Library still needs some tweaking.

I made my initial booklist with Collectorz.com Bookcollector Pro which supports the Flic barcode-reader (now sold as ROV) and other barcodereaders, to scan the ISBN on the back of most books. The program automatically searches in online libraries and bookstores and downloads most meta-data including the cover (if you use Amazon as a source). I did have to classify the Categories and Subjects from most books, it would be nice to also have the UDC or other classification or subject oriented keywords (automated) added to these books.

Since information becomes more and more important in our network-economy, online libraries (and of course searchengines) will become our guides in finding reliable data and resources. For the future innovation is to be expected as full-text searching and content-analyzing within books becomes available through services like Google Book Search. Optimizing connections between databases of conventional libraries with loads of meta-data stored and search-engines will not take long. New Internet applications including community created content is to be expected for searching and finding books and documents. Personal reviews, ranking and keywords combined with Web 2.0 namely Tagclouds, semantic webs, and shared booklists within a community setting including data mining (find similar books, related books, and booksuggestions) will become common practice.

Online Bookshelf's
On the low end you will have pure commercial initiatives like Shelfari* which has some nice Gadget-plugins with Networking sites like Hyves with a business model based on Google Ads and Amazon affiliate sales. Shelfari only imported 226 of 521 books, = 43% from my original booklist (due to the fact they only use Amazon [upd. aug. 28 2008 Shelfari was acquired by Amazon] ). Other online bookshelf's are Goodreads.com with only 214 books imported in my Goodreads library (sorry, this is not good enough). I got pleasantly surprized by aNobii.com with 451 imported books [see My Collection] (same number as Google!?). aNobii is more community oriented and does good suggestions about new books to investigate, it is also about what books you are reading at the moment.
On the high-end (very promising) you have Librarything.com which imported 471 books [my Librarything booklist]. Librarything is free till 200 books or membership based; I bought myself a lifetime membership for $25. Librarything is really about the love of books and libraries and it shows: lots of community features like comparing booklists, interestgroups, and lots of external connectivity. There is even a keyword tagmirror based on keywords others gave to the books in my list (it's like a 360 degrees keyword feedback based on my booklist). In the near future I would like to see a combination / connection of the features seen in MyGoogle Library, Google Book Search and of course Librarything, if the full-text search and keyword features of these online library webservices synergize this would make my research library heaven....

Finally some general resources about libraries for librarians or information professionals:

http://www.libraryspot.com/librariesonline.htm
LibWeb Library Servers through WWW http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/
over 30.000 Free Books http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
Resources about Library http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/hum45.00.00/
The European Library Portal http://search.theeuropeanlibrary.org/portal/en/index.html

August 13, 2008

Improve Social Intelligence and Relations

Individual

The quality of your relationships is the quality of your life. This advice is primarily meant for you and the relationship with your Significant Other (SO).

You get into a relationship to give something rather than to go to get something out.
Empowering Question: How can I give more to this relationship?

Avoid anchoring your negative emotions to the people you are with

Keep arguments / discussions short and resolve them as soon as possible

Be playful and adventurous in the growth of your relationship

Show you love and care in the way that fits the need of the person involved. How does this person know someone loves them? Say it, show it, touch in a specific way. (find out the primary representation system) How do you know you are most loved by me? Is is absolutely necessary that I show you that I love you by buying you thing, taking you places or looking a certain way? (visual) Is is absolutely necessary that I say it (auditory) Is it absolutely necessary that I touch you in a certain way (kinesthetic)

Create key-moments that are fun or special

Enjoy where you are right now, do not fear the (possible) end. Act as if the relationship is going to last forever. Mutual commitment is the identity of every lasting relationship.

Identify exactly what you want in a relationship and what you don't want.
What do you want your relationship to be about?
What unique things can you do to enhance the relationship?

Resolving Conflicts

International Online Training Program On Intractable Conflict Many problemcategories and reflections on several wordwide conflicts.
Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA.

General Social Problems

SIMPOS: Netherlands foundation for information on social problems and occult tendencies. A somewhat critical view on social themes related to New Age, religious cults, etc.
Although it may seem contradictory to refer to critics about information I presented earlier in articles and books but I feel it is your personal responsibility to be fully informed about people, systems and methods presented on MetaMagazine. Just keep an open (positive) mind...

[Toine Fennis]

Information problem-solving

Successful information problem-solving encompasses six stages with two sub-stages under each:

1. Task Definition
1.1 Define the information problem
1.2 Identify information needed in order to complete the task (to solve the information problem)

2. Information Seeking Strategies
2.1 Determine the range of possible sources (brainstorm)
2.2 Evaluate the different possible sources to determine priorities (select the best sources)

3. Location and Access
3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch) the information in a source
4.2 Extract relevant information from a source

5. Synthesis
5.1 Organize information from multiple sources
5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation
6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the information problem-solving process (efficiency)

This method is used by Big6™ to teach information literacy in schools.

Applied to Information Literacy: [Virtual Library Source]

	1. Defining your problem and asking the good questions What is my thesis or problem? What information do I need? What do I already know? What more do I need to find out? Remember: Try to make the most out of any research problem. The better your question, the more you will learn. For more information about defining a problem and asking good questions, read http://www.joycevalenza.com/questions.html and Dr. Jamie McKenzie's Questioning.org
	2. Information seeking strategies? Where can I find the information I need? Which are the best possible sources? Which databases are the best choices? Which types of sources will best help me solve my information problem? Which sources do I already have? Do I need help to find the resources or to make sure I haven't overlooked any critical sources? Follow these links more information on searching and appropriate internet search tools and our catalog and licensed databases.
	3. Selecting and evaluating your resources How can I search these sources effectively? After reading, can I identify better keywords or subject headings to refine my electronic search? Do the resources I found really answer my questions or offer evidence to support my thesis? Have I carefully examined my selected sources for significant details and concepts? Have I examined my sources for currency, relevance, accuracy, credibility, appropriateness and and bias? Can I defend all of the resources I am considering for inclusion in my works consulted page? Does the scope, depth and quality of my research meet my teacher's and my own expectations? How will I credit my sources? (For more information about citing sources check out our online MLA stylesheet. For more information on evaluating your sources, take a look at Evaluating Sources of Information and How to Critically Analyze Information Sources)
	4. Organizing and restructuring information How much of the information I collected is truly relevant? Do I see any patterns emerging in the information I collected? How can I organize this information so that it makes sense to myself and others? Do I have a strategy for notetaking? Can I construct a visual tool or written outline to help me structure my work? Have I solved my information problem and answered the related questions? Do I have enough information? (Check out the Graphic Organizer Index, NCREL's Graphic Organizers, and SCORE's Graphic Organizers for ideas on organizing the information you collect.)
	5. Communicating the results of your research Who is my audience? How can I most effectively share this information with this audience? Which would be the best format for communicating the results of my information? PowerPoint? video? essay? debate? speech? traditional paper? What do I need to do this presentation? Equipment? Software? Have I included everything I want to share? Have I proofread, edited and truly finished my project? (Purdue's Online Writing Lab has a variety of resources that will help you create a finished product. Here's a list of sites that will help improve your presentation skills.)
	6. Evaluating your work The product: Am I proud of the product? Was it effective? Did I meet the guidelines or follow the rubric for the project? Am I sure I did not plagiarize from any of my sources? Is the best work I could have done? The process: Did I explore the full scope of available resources and select the best? Did I approach the research process energetically? Did I search electronic resources (the Web and licensed databases) using effective, efficient, strategic search strategies? (Check the research rubric before submitting your final product.)

MetaMagazine Reading Instruction

Exploration and context
	The way these texts and pages of my research-process are presented are more or less a logical construction of following thoughts which may help to understand it better. Your personal way of reading or the hyper textual (non-linear) order might be totally different. Feel free to do so. When you read a text or notice a concept that interests or triggers you, you associate that with your previous experiences. Wandering off in your mind and creatively combining new thoughts creating knowledge, or the eureka-experiences as I like to call them. These pages are intentionally multipurpose: to explain concepts, to share experience and especially to inspire and motivate you in finding your life's goal. What you do in the context could be a personal way of doing research. For example: I usually play some background music or listen to the radio, eat some fruit, or drink some tea. While reading books I sometimes burn flavored candles or incense. When I see a specific word or concept I think is worth looking at I write it down and frequently look for other references through search-engines on the Internet (in a different browser-window) or I might check a dictionary or encyclopedia. This is a personal context-example for doing research which works for me. Just a comfortable chair might be your necessary context-condition for learning. Use and experiment or at least pay attention to context conditions as long as your senses and curiosity are satisfied....
Tools & Sources for exploration
	Life lessons are learned by practice; any mistake you make (or action you classify as mistake) is an opportunity to learn and change habits or behaviors. Sometimes just looking at a situation or position from a different perspective is revealing. Several (science- & labor-) disciplines have techniques for analyzing and solving practical problems. Most disciplines use the conventional systematic approach but creativity- and conceptual solution techniques can also be very resourceful, especially for visualizing unwanted or hidden patterns. The interaction and communication with others makes it possible to reflect upon personal beliefs through dialogues. The pure content of multi-reflected dialogues (sometimes over several generations) and multi-reflected visions results in the form of wisdom-concepts and 'general' rules for life.
Research Procedure
	I started my research with the origin of knowledge. With a philosophical basis researching several subjects: - Education (Learning, E-learning, Open Source education, Information and Communication Technology & higher education) - Development of a vision - Spiritual paths - Classification systems - Problem-Solving (Models, Techniques, Training & Workshops) - Communication The thing most texts have in common is that it is related to empowerment, growth and balance within areas of life. Although some pages are more theoretical and knowledge oriented, I try to keep focused on adding value to you, the reader. Please make suggestions on how to improve this site or give me personal feedback by mail: toine (at) metamagazine.com [NB. Most articles on this blog were originally published in 2001-2002 on MetaMagazine.com]

Meaning of Life - Existential Questions

Life is not making a living, but designing your life

Every problem is a challenge and an opportunity to learn. Do you accept it or leave it?

The meaning of life is a philosophical subject and can be interpreted in many ways. If you ask many people the answers can be classified on a META-level. Look at the existential questions section for the elements and some questions to explore your meaning in life. Using metaphors from nature can be powerful and inspirational for creating a mission or identity.

Having a personal Mission helps setting the course of your life. To help formulate a personal mission statement based on values, qualities and talents visit the Missionbuilder (from Franklin Covey).

Another way to positively investigate possibilities within an organization is by the method's and interviewing techniques of Appreciative Inquiry.

Manifestation Formula
The Manifestation formula is build up as follows:
Purpose +
Thought +
Vision +
Affirmation +
Feeling +
Writing in Time and Space +
Action with Energy on Matter +
Gratitude +
Perseverance =
Manifestation

[Twelve secrets for manifesting your vision, inspiration & purpose: how to make your dreams come true, 1999, by Dr. D. Richard Bellamy]

Meaningful Life
The meaning of life and meaning can be broken down to the following elements:

Relationships; involvement with family, partner or friends.
Work; commitment with a job, school or primary occupation.
Personal well-being; an individualistic orientation with emphasis on experiencing meaning by enjoyment of life, having fun, and maintaining physical and mental health.
Self-realization; an orientation on- and reaching of tangible or non-tangible goals and psychological skills.
Helpfulness; an altruistic orientation on helping people in general.
Faith; dedication and practice of religious-spiritual or social-political beliefs.
Materialism; meaning coming from aiming at materialistic goals and satisfactions.
Future / Hope; focus and expectation.

In essence these above elements should be in balance. Very strong emotions related to one or more of these elements or focused dedication to only one aspect may suggest an imbalance.

Questions to find your meaning in life

RELATIONSHIPS
I belong to ....., When I'm with ... I...., People who are most important to me are.... because... ,I like ... (name person / people) most because ...., people like me because...., I classify myself as ....
WORK
My occupation is.... because..., What I do is.... because ..., What I like about it is..., what I dislike about it is..., What is the importance of these activities?... Things I do well are...., In my work I add value to people's lives by...., My colleagues value me most for....
PERSONAL WELL-BEING
I love to ...., I'm extremely happy when I...., The nicest thing what could happen to me is.... because...., things I enjoy doing are ...., I feel healthy when I ..., things that take much of my energy are... and I prefer.....
SELF REALIZATION
I want to ....because....., My goal in life is...., I know I can ..... , the things I want to be remembered for are...., I'm proud of myself when I ..... because...., things I am good at are...., I feel best when I......
HELPFULNESS
I help .....with.... because....., I gladly give advice to...., people I'd love to help most are ...., When I help I feel...., helping others makes me....., I want to be helped with....because....
FAITH
I believe in...., the best society or system is....because...., when I die ...., I have to...because...., I know my belief is valid because...., I trust....because... ,Things that are most important to me are...
MATERIALISM
I want to have....because...., if I won the jackpot of the lottery I would...., My most valuable possession is...., My life becomes better if I have ....., the first next big thing to buy is...., If I lost everything I would.... The possession which represents me most is....
FUTURE / HOPE
Someday I hope to...., At the end of my life (when I look back) I ...., The future holds...., I wish...., I dream about..., My vision is...., In time I will....., If I could change the future I would....because...., If I could change the past.....

Life's Morality....

In ethics there a three kinds of moral:

Intention of doing (what is the purpose or goal / why?)
Procedure of doing (how or what is the best way of doing it?)
Effect (what are the results of an action?)

Giving meaning to one's life and reflect upon existence on earth means this individual has awareness of the ability to change perspective.

This Meta-awareness with the necessity to constantly classify and put things in new perspective is essential for learning and growth. This thought-process was initiated by use of the senses. This primary philosophy also creates borders between self, matter, others and world. Being in it's most enlightened state all this may be experienced as being one.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

Introduction

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was developed by Dr. David Cooperrider and his colleagues as a new paradigm with the potential to replace the conventional problem-solving methods of organization development.

In everyday life, most people and organizations are constrained by the perception that their resources, and hence their horizons, are limited. This perception -- that we must "face realities" -- is without a doubt the greatest single constraint on human imagination, vision and enterprise.

Appreciative inquiry begins with a different set of assumptions. We begin with the belief that we have a choice -- that we can consciously choose (in the Gestalt sense) what we "see" and act upon. In both the personal and social realms, we can choose to focus on problems, needs and deficits -- the traditional problem-solving approach. Or we can choose to see possibilities, capabilities and assets -- the basis of appreciative inquiry.

By focusing on what's right, rather than what's wrong with an organization, an individual or even a society, AI gives us access to the kind of energy that can be transformative. Having that kind of energy to work with gives us the confidence to develop and pursue a new image of the future.

A key question: If you want to inspire, mobilize and sustain human energy which is the most effective way -- by focusing on problems or pursuing possibilities?

AI is a generative process that gives us a way to bring possibilities to life and develop our capacities. Through a carefully developed set of questions and a process of dialogue, we uncover stories of our "peak experiences" -- those moments in our lives when we felt most effective, most connected, most alive.

These stories provide irrefutable proof of our actual capabilities. They give rise to new images of what the future could be. They raise our sights, energize us and give us the courage to dream and act boldly.

Rather than "accepting reality," we see that what we call "reality" is defined by what we choose to see, what we choose to think and talk about, what we choose to act upon. It follows that we have the capacity to create the kind of future we desire.

Description taken from: http://www.appreciative-inquiry.org/

Problem solving versus appreciative Inquiry

Problem Solving

	What to fix
	Underlying grammar = problem, symptoms, causes, solutions, action plan, intervention
	Breaks things into pieces & specialties, guaranteeing fragmented responses
	Slow! Takes a lot of positive emotion to make real change.
	Assumes organizations are constellations of problems to be overcome

Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

	What to grow
	New grammar of the true, good, better, possible
	“Problem focus” implies that there is an ideal. AI breaks open the box of what the ideal is first.
	Expands vision of preferred future. Creates new energy fast.
	Assumes organizations are sources of infinite capacity and imagination

How does it work?

First, understand the positive core of a living system. What makes it most effective and vital, in economic, ecological and human terms?
- We move in the direction of our deepest and most frequently asked questions.
- Positive guiding images of the future trigger action in the present.
- Images are found in our dialogue with each other.
- Ratio of positive to negative statements is a success factor for change.
Individuals & groups can then weave the best of what is into formal and informal practices. This new approach to change, based on the power of the positive question, has emerged from revolutions in many fields.

Organizations work best when they are vibrant, alive and fun. You know, when the "joint is jumping!" You can sense that the spirit of the organization is vital and healthy and that people feel pride in their work. Everyone builds on each other's successes, a positive can do attitude is infectious and the glow of success is shared. What's more, this positive energy is appreciated and celebrated so it deepens and lasts.

Tell me about a time when you experienced positive energy that was infectious. What was the situation? What created the positive energy? How did it feel to be a part of it? What did you learn?
If positive energy were the flame of the organization, how would you spark it? How would you fuel it to keep it burning bright?

4 Generic Questions to start the process:

Best experience. A time when…
What do you value about… yourself, work, organization.
What do you think is the core life-giving factor or value of your organization –that which if it did not exist would make your organization totally different than it currently is?
If you had three wishes for this organization, what would it be?

Typical Project Start-up

	Choose the topic: combine themes from generic interviews with research questions.
	Agree on desired outcomes & CSF;
	Agree on how to get there
	Develop draft interview protocol
	Practice interviews; develop interview guidelines
	Plan for collecting & “analyzing” the data
	Plan for how the process will drive change.

Why it works

	Doesn’t focus on changing people => Relief that the message isn’t about what they’ve done wrong or have to stop doing.
	Invites people to engage in building the kinds of organizations and communities that they want to live in.
	Helps everyone see the need for change, explore new possibilities, and contribute to solutions.
	Through alignment of formal and informal structures with purpose and principles, it translates shared vision into reality and belief into practice.
	Assumptions => conversation => dominant images => individual acts at both conscious and unconscious levels => organizational infrastructure.
	Organizations manifest human imagination. Learnings that surface through AI shift collective image.
	Process responds to three truths about human nature: * Exceptionality: We’re all exceptions. We respond best when this is noticed & conditions for exceptional performance are enhanced. * Essentiality: We each need to be seen as essential to the group. If we “lift up” meaningful contributions, it creates a compelling guiding image for others * Equality: Creates a way for the organization to be in “full voice” about the true, good, better, possible.

Summary

A high-participation, full-voice process targeted at organizational innovation
A learning process to identify and disseminate best practices
A way of managing and working that fosters positive communication and can result in the formation of deep and meaningful relationships
Can be used to radically redesign the governance structures and processes of an organization.
Mobilizes strategic change by focusing on the core strengths of an organization, then using those strengths to reshape the future.

More tools and resources are found at: http://appreciativeinquiry.cwru.edu/
(Most information on this page is taken from sources available here)

Application Areas

	Leadership & Management Development
	Work Process Redesign
	Team Development
	Organization Culture
	Change Employee Development
	HR Practices: Staffing, Orientation,
	Performance Management
	Communications
	Collaborative alliances & joint ventures
	Community & customer relations
	Diversity initiatives
	Strategic Planning
	Focus Groups
	Benchmarking
	Surveys
	Evaluation to Valuation

MetaMagazine articles [Blog]

October 13, 2008

Sales Triggers

October 12, 2008

Secrets of Sales

Exchange Economics

Solving Financial Problems & Money Affirmations

Management Roles

Skills Required

What to do

What not to do

Management Roles

Mintzberg's 10 Managerial Roles

September 15, 2008

Visualization Tools

September 01, 2008

Accelerated Learning Techniques

August 19, 2008

EFT as complementary Health Powertool

August 14, 2008

Libraries and our information society

August 13, 2008

Improve Social Intelligence and Relations

Individual

Resolving Conflicts

General Social Problems

Information problem-solving

MetaMagazine Reading Instruction

Meaning of Life - Existential Questions

Life is not making a living, but designing your life

Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

Twitter

Twitter Updates

Blog Archive

About Me

GetGlue Addon

EFT Video