It’s Sunday night and I am getting myself in order for the week ahead. The dishwasher is on and some bread is baking. How domesticated, mum would be proud.

The only thing left to do is put the washing machine on, which I’ve now done.

All fascinating I’m sure.

While loading the washing machine I was pleased to see my favourite pair of socks (yes I have a favourite pair of socks, deal with it) and was looking forward to perhaps wearing them later in the week. To my horror I found a hole in the heal of one of them.

Aghast at this discovery I felt incredibly disappointed but remembered my mum telling me to  ‘just chuck them away’ (I’m not sure of the circumstances in which she has previously had to tell me to throw away socks but as you can tell I do get fairly attached to them) so they’re in the bin.

So what did I learn from this? Yes, socks can teach me things.

If something you are attached to and really like fundamentaly breaks beyond repair, get rid of it. Don’t try and fix it. It will be a waste of time and effort, ultimately resulting in having a second rate version of something you previously loved for being perfect.

Sometimes you’re infinitely better off finding yourself a new pair of favourite socks because they’ll probably be even better than the last ones.

If their environment changes colour certain species of Flounder change colour with it. They adapt and blend in with the background so their predators can’t see them, but they are most certainly still there.

The birds and seals that hunt them will most likely eat a Flounder that doesn’t change colour and can’t adapt to its surroundings fast enough. The Flounders that do adapt will be left with fewer competitors, more food and live a longer life.

Flounders are evolved to meet the requirements of their rapidly changeable environment. If we can learn anything from the Flounder it is that we have to adapt and change to tackle the specific environment we find ourselves in, without change the hawks will swoop while our camouflaged competitors look on in glee.

At the start of a New Year it is natural to set one’s self targets to achieve but the way we set a path to our goals is the key to making them a reality.

If one sets an ambiguous target such as wanting to run a mile faster then by the end of the year you may well reach your target but by setting smaller targets the ultimate target will be easier to reach and your time will be even lower.

Target 1: Improve one’s diet so more energy is in one’s meals. The more energy one has the faster one can run.

Target 2: Drop one’s weight by 12 lbs. The less weight one carries the faster one can run.

Target 3: Save up for some better running shoes. The better one’s grip to the road the faster one can run.

Target 4: Run a mile 1 minute faster than one’s current personal best. An exact target gives an exact aim, succeed or fail one has an aim.

We all want to run faster, jump higher and some of us even want to sing louder, but without working out the exact steps we need to take to make that happen we wont reach out goals as quickly as we can.

It is just worth remembering that every plan has to have the details covered, which will provide the stepping stones to success.

Motivation as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is the reason behind one’s actions or behaviour and secondly as enthusiasm.

In order to fuel that enthusiasm and give users the reasons they need to be motivated enough to return to use digital products again, tell others about them and form a lasting bond with them they must always be put first and treated as a publishers number one priority. Be this though presenting them with fresh new content or providing an easy to use product.

Far too often we forget or are forced to forget about what is best for the user. Without their motivation to engage with and love the media products we deliver them we are nothing.

I haven’t been actively blogging much of late but have just finished refreshing my blog in preparation for a very active ’09!

I’m now fully tooled up with iPhone in hand ready to head on into the new year like a bull through the streets of Pamplona.

In the final run up to ’09 I have a few more tweaks to make on my blog and some fine tuning to my network of social sites which should hopefully help me connect and share thoughts and ideas with like minded people around the world.

- Image created on wordle.net using my atom feed

The book it written by Jeff Howe a contributing editor at Wired.

But what is Crowdsourcing? Mr Howe likes to define it in two ways.

The White Paper Version: Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.

The Soundbyte Version: The application of Open Source principles to fields outside of software.”

crowdsourcing.typepad.com

I am only half-way through the introduction and already finding it a really enjoyable and informative read.

I will report back on the concepts discussed in this book when I have finished reading it.

For now watch Jeff Howe’s trailer for this new book. It’s great.

I received my copy of Groundswell today. The book is written by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff from Forrester Research who define ‘the groundswell’ as a social structure in which technology puts power into the hands of individuals and communities, not institutions.

It’s a book by two Forrester analysts with practical, data-based strategies for companies that want to harness the power of social technologies like blogs, social networks, and YouTube. Featuring 25 full case studies, a complete road map for social strategy, and data from around the world.”

forrester.com/Groundswell

I am very interested to read about this as deals with the result of the engagement users have with digital media and how that is transforming the way business is done and content is delivered on the Internet.

I will report back when I have finished reading the book.

- I sometimes find myself unwilling to sign up to yet another website in order access their inner workings. This is because of a lack of time and the fact it is a repeated process that is boring and frustrating.

- If I had one account in which I had all the information necessary for a site sign up and I could sign up to that site automatically by entering my universal login information then I would be more likely to use that site.

- This is very reliant on the sites all taking up this system. If their is a clear benefit then why would they not.

- Sites would see a benefit from having more users able to access their full offering and cutting down registration time thus boosting the initial AET the user has with a site.

- How much a users gets from a site on their first visit ultimately set the agenda for how much time and how often they will visit that site.

- Who would own the universal login information? Should it be based on an open source set of standards which many can then replicate. Probably.

- One publishers group of websites should be accessible through one login. As Yahoo have done with Flickr for example.

You can also send videos and pictures of news events directly to the BBC or ITV if you are near a major news event when it happens. It’s really easy to set up and is a really great way for users to actively engage themselves in citizen journalism.

The biggest motivation for users to take part in citizen journalism is perhaps that they can earn money from the clips they send in. Scoopt are ShoZu and looking to pay users for their efforts. Big Pictures are also bound to get on board with their ever unquenched thirst for celeb spot pics.

Systems like this will be pivotal in delivering the news in the future especially as camera phones become more developed with higher quality video cameras. Content providers will potentially have millions of citizen journalist in every corner of every country on the planet.

If news agencies and content providers can can leverage the potential of citizen journalism successfully tapping into this sort of technology then the possibilities to build large user groups who regularly submit content is massive especially if they have a monetary motivation.

Here is a video I uploaded directly from Nokia 6500 Classic to my YouTube account via ShoZu. Although this example is a bit dull it was done in no time and was really easy.

From my experience of ShoZu so far it’s going to make the process of being involved in citizen journalism and sharing content made on your mobile very easy which will no doubt get more people involved.

- How can we actively engage a web 3.0 audience with the increasingly sporadic behaviour of online audiences.

• - Is brand loyalty low on the web? Maybe, Maybe not.
• - Traffic is actively shared and exchanged too much?
• - Does this breed a more or less engaged user?
• - Are Google really looking on this unfavourably?
• - How does this help if it only drives US traffic higher?

– Will the web be accessed solely through customisable portals like net vibes?

• – Yes. This is without doubt the future of shared information.

- Will users have to access the web through these portals?

• - Users should not be forced to do anything it is their space they can do what they want with it. This is the simplistic beauty on Netvibes. It allows user to collect what they what in what order they ant and show people what they like and don’t like

- How will the portals generate revenue and develop in a market place that is developing because of commercial activity.

• – Will dynamic digital spaces make money from the loyalty they buid with users?
• - Will this then be seen as deceitful?
• - Do users expect that money is made from their activity?
  • - Users sign up to facebook applications knowing their profile is accessed by the provider of that service.
  • - Rather than monetary exchanges users are partaking in information exchanges in order to access services and partake in online communities. Users are aware of this.

• – Do users understand that adverts are targeted to them based on information collected in their profiles?
  • - I think they do.
  • - This is good. Users benefit from relevant commercial messages. They help user make informed decisions based on their current situation, beliefs, location etc.

- Will online laws develop to prohibit bias activity by companies like Google, net vibes on yahoo showing favour on certain publishing groups?

- Net vibes is a customised online magazine.

- Traditional publishers point in their publications to other forms of media other channels and companies who make money from the same advertisers.