New Year's Resolution - 52 Blog Posts in 2009

My New Year's resolution to blog regularly. Once a week is good for me and my goal is to write 52 blog posts in 2009. The topics will include leadership, small business growth, and tech. I will stick with these topics and will not venture into writing about religion and politics.

Jay Ehert wrote this great blogging tip, Clearly define your who your reader is. Don't write for a group. Picture an individual in your mind & write for that person. As I write, I will have in mind those whom I work closely with: the CEO, HR Director, Marketnig Director, or business colleagues.

As I write this post, I have about five other posts in draft on my blog. I tend to write in spurts due to a combination of time and inspiration. I may write five blogs in a couple days and the not write again for a week or so. The key is to write when inspired and have the time, but publish on a regular basis. It is a common mistake to start a blog and then publish sporadically.

I also write a lot of blogs that are never posted. Either I just can't get the words to make sense or I read it and I just don't like it. That's OK because it is better to write a lot rather than not at all. Here are a couple of tips I picked up on becoming a better writer:

If one wants to be a good blogger, one must read a lot of blogs. Nicholas Sparks, author of The Notebook and Message In The Bottle, provides sound advice advice on his web site about learning the craft of writing. To become a good writer you must read and read a lot. Did I say A LOT?

One must practice writing to become a better writer. Write, delete, re-write, edit, and write some more. Anne Frank wrote what may be the most memorable diary. She did not just write in one sitting, though. Her goal was to have her journal published so She began editing her writing, removing sections and rewriting others, with the view to publication. That is a great lesson for blogging. Jot your thoughts down. Don't worry about finishing a blog or even a sentences. Get the thoughts down and tweak them later.

Finally, set objectives for your blog and stick with them. Don't blindside followers with a topic or rant that is completely inconsistent with all of your previous blogs. For example, if you are writing a business blog, do not succumb to the hype during a presidential election to all of a sudden blurt out your political opinion. Save that for another blog.

My Twitter Network Pie Chart

My criteria for who I follow on Twitter is basically spelled out in my profile, "Husband, father, CPA, CFO interested in small business growth and tech" and location Louisville, Kentucky. When I find a new twitter profile and glance at their tweets, I look for commonalities using these broad strokes.

Recently, someone charted his followers in a pie graph. I was curious what my pie chart would look like. Using LessFriends.com, I copy/pasted my friends list into Google Docs spreadsheet. I then tagged each person I follow based on my primary reason for following them. My top two criteria are twitters in Louisville and twitters who are CPAs and/or CFOs.

• Louisville - I generally only follow people, not companies or memes. I especially follow those who I would like to meet in-person. And meeting them in person improves my tweeting experience.
  
• CPA/CFO - I originally started Twitter with the goal of enhancing my career by sharing best practice ideas with other financial executives.
  
• Twitter - I follow Twitter tools such as @rtm, @trackthis, @grader, @twitterfon, @gcal, and @twitpic.
• Local - Recently, I started following people who live in a city in which my firm has an office location such as Milwaukee and Nashville.
• No reason - These are persons I started following and I have no idea when or why. They don't fit neatly in one of these categories, but I enjoy following them.
• SMB - These are persons somehow related to small business growth.
• Tech - Programmers, web developers, etc. Wow, there are some brilliant people on Twitter.
  
• Marketing - I love following marketing people because I envy their communication skills and they are typically on the cutting edge of new media.
• News - This category may very well disappear. I use RSS for my news, not twitter.
• Co-workers and family - Man, it's tough to get them on board.
  

Louisville CPA and Google First Page

Earlier this year, I attended a marketing luncheon and had the pleasure of hearing Brian Wallace (@nowsourcing) of NowSourcing.com speak. He introduced me to Twitter and I have been hooked ever since.

He also introduced me to the importance of being on the Google first page. The majority of web surfers never make it past the first page after Googling a search term.

This concept was reinforced by Seth Godin's book, The Dip. In the world of the Google search engine, only the best of the best companies rise to the top.

Being a CPA in Louisville for close to fifteen years and in public accounting for ten of those, I was curious who is on the Google first page. So I Googled 'Louisville CPA' and I was surprised to find only DMLO and Strothman. The remaining search results were a couple smaller firms, job listings, and yellow page listings.

I run into leaders of firms like Chilton & Medley, Crowe, McCauley Nicholas, and my former employer, Mather & Company, at networking events and CPE training. I see their names in trade publications and corporate sponsorship. So why don't I see them on Google's first page?

Excel Macro - Alternating Rows

Sub AddLines()

    UserForm2.Hide

    Cells.Select

    Selection.Borders(xlDiagonalDown).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlDiagonalUp).LineStyle = xlNone

    With Selection.Borders(xlEdgeLeft)

        .LineStyle = xlContinuous

        .Weight = xlThin

        .ColorIndex = 48

    End With

    With Selection.Borders(xlEdgeTop)

        .LineStyle = xlContinuous

        .Weight = xlThin

        .ColorIndex = 48

    End With

    With Selection.Borders(xlEdgeBottom)

        .LineStyle = xlContinuous

        .Weight = xlThin

        .ColorIndex = 48

    End With

    With Selection.Borders(xlEdgeRight)

        .LineStyle = xlContinuous

        .Weight = xlThin

        .ColorIndex = 48

    End With

    With Selection.Borders(xlInsideVertical)

        .LineStyle = xlContinuous

        .Weight = xlThin

        .ColorIndex = 48

    End With

    With Selection.Borders(xlInsideHorizontal)

        .LineStyle = xlContinuous

        .Weight = xlThin

        .ColorIndex = 48

    End With

    Selection.FormatConditions.Delete

    Selection.FormatConditions.Add Type:=xlExpression, Formula1:= _

        "=MOD(ROW(),2)=1"

    Selection.FormatConditions(1).Interior.ColorIndex = 35

    Range("a1").Select

    End

End Sub

Sub RemoveLines()

    UserForm2.Hide

    Cells.Select

    Selection.Borders(xlDiagonalDown).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlDiagonalUp).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlEdgeLeft).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlEdgeTop).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlEdgeBottom).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlEdgeRight).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlInsideVertical).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.Borders(xlInsideHorizontal).LineStyle = xlNone

    Selection.FormatConditions.Delete

    Range("A1").Select

End

End Sub

SQL Script - Auto-fill Calendar Dates

This is one of my first and favorite SQL scripts I have written. The Firm sends invoices daily and our accounting system is not designed to handle that. The workaround is to manually create 360 'periods' that are each one day long. This SQL script eliminates manual entry and reduces the process from about an hour to less than five minutes.

Begin Transaction
declare @caldate datetime
select @caldate=max(enddate) from tkcontrol
set @caldate = @caldate
while @caldate < '2009-12-31'
begin
select @caldate=max(enddate) from tkcontrol
select @caldate=@caldate+1
insert into tkcontrol (company, enddate, startdate, closed)
values (' ',@caldate,@caldate,'N')
end
select max(enddate) as max_enddate from tkcontrol

rollback transaction
commit transaction

My Top Ten Of 2008

I was inspired by Cali Lewis from GeekBrief.tv to create my own top ten list for 2008. My methodology for arriving at this list was simple. I asked it self what tools did I install or purchase this year that I use almost everyday or had a huge impact. The first ten that came to mind made the list.

10. iGoogle - I started using RSS feeds for all my news this year and I like Google homepage the best for managing my those feeds. One of my favorite features is the tabs. I have tabs for news, tech, finance, business, faith, and a sandbox. I have 5-6 feeds in each category. (iGoogle.com)

9. Zoho wiki - I have been following Zoho.com much of the year and have been very impressed with their suite of web products. Zoho is on the leading edge of cloud computing and has the most to offer small businesses. I moved the Firm's intranet to Zoho wiki last month. The security is simple and based on email domain. The interface is user-friendly and intuitive. The search feature is a must and something our previous intranet did not have. I now have other, non-techies that can help me maintain the site. (wiki.zoho.com)

8. Freemind - Your brain does not think linearly, so why force it into a linear outline when brainstorming? This freebie from Sourceforge is the perfect tool for 'putting your thoughts on paper'. It is also the best tool I have found for org charts. (freemind.sourceforge.net)

7. Targus Backpack - OK so my co-workers kid me about carrying a backpack and ask if I'm late for class, but I love my computer backpack. I originally got it for airline travel because it provides tons of room, keeps my hands free, and is better on my back and shoulders. Then I found myself carrying it all the time. (Amazon.com)

6. Zeno - I'm thirty-something and I still get the occasional acne. This electronic gadget literally zaps zits with high heat applied directly to the emerging pimple. It has saved me from numerous
embarrassing meetings by stopping them before they fully appear. (MyZeno.com)

5. CamStudio - With an organization of 120 people spread out over 17 cities in the US, it can be a challenging disseminating new technology, new information, and training. CamStudio records your screen movements and audio as a video. Instead of just teling my team, I can now show them too. (YouTube)

4. Vimeo - So, I discovered this new tool to record a software demo, CamStudio, but did not have a good way to distribute the videos. I tried embedding in HTML, but ran into driver issues. I tried YouTube, but there is no good way to secure the video. Then I saw that Cali Lewis was using Vimeo for GeekBrief.tv. I browsed Vimeo's site and learned that I could password-protect videos. Perfect. I embedded the videos in our Intranet site and put the password right there on the web page. Users have to have a valid email and password to get into the intranet, so posting the password does not disarm the security. (Vimeo.com)

3. iPhone - The Firm purchased three iPhone's when Apple came out with 3G and included support for Exvhange server. I got one for beta testing. At first I felt it was a colossal time-waster , but now I have found some tools I can't live without: Twitterriffic, Remember
the Milk, and GPS maps. (iPhone.com)

2. Remember the Milk - Quite simply the best to do list management tool on the web. I liked it so much, I even paid for the upgrade for the iPhone app. I can create tasks via email, Twitter, SMS, and even voice using Jott.com premium. I can schedule tasks for specific days and times, get reminders via email, Twitter, and SMS, include time estimates, tags, and priorty. I can then access it from my iPhone or PC. (Rmilk.com)

1. Twitter - By far the most fun, informative, and challenging networking tool of the year. I was first interested in how it could benefit the Firm, then learned how it is a great tool for personal
branding and networking. I got hooked because I am a lifelong-learner and I was almost obsessed with learning all the apps, uses, and social rules of Twitter. Now I have a great network of CPAs, CFOs, local folk, tech geniuses, and marketing gurus. (Twitter.com)