Entries Tagged as 'social networks and links'

a linkedin voiceover profile message that was for naught

Peter K. O'Connell Voice Actor at peterkoconnell.comBack in the day, the folks at LinkedIn used to let users post a little video about themselves that you could see in the profile picture.

I was always delaying doing it – mostly because I don’t like being on camera and because the world is absolutely FINE with me not being on camera.

However, this week, I was inspired! I decided I would make a quick :30 second video welcoming the masses to my LinkedIn profile page.

I wrote a little script and practiced it.

I set up my unfancy ring light that has a holder for my phone.

Then I hit record.

I hit record again.

I hit record about 75 times before I read the script (that I rehearsed with) with vocal clarity and the motions of my mouth, head and hands did NOT look like I was having a seizure.

Did I mention how I don’t like being on camera?

Anyway…I edited the video and went on the LinkedIn app to upload it.

Except it wouldn’t upload.

That’s because it couldn’t upload.

A quick search showed LinkedIn stopped adding profile videos this past June.

They must have heard I was coming.

Anyway…now you have to watch it…do not avert your eyes!!! If I had to record it you have to watch it! šŸ™‚

LinkedIn…you are so NOT premium

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Dear LinkedIn,

How kind of you to contact me, your loyal member (your words not mine) to offer me in your email two free months of LinkedIn Premium!

Thank you!

Um, but wait, it seems for this FREE opportunity you want me to give you a credit card number. Specifically MY credit card number. This confuses me.

See, in my country, free is actually free meaning no financial transaction takes place. If the service is free then no money or credit card is needed.

I have the card and I could pay the fee but I don’t know whether I see the value. This is why I’d be willing to try it for free for 2 months.

I’m assuming you want to take my card information so that after the 60 days of free use is over, on the 61st day you can begin charging my card the $40/month LinkedIn premium fee. I say assumed because after you asked for the card, I stopped the process.

I had a credibility gut check on you, LinkedIn. I started to doubt you…I never thought that way about you before.

As a “loyal member” (remember?), couldn’t we trust each other enough that you would pull the plug on the free option on Day 61 unless I contact you (LinkedIn) and said sign me up?

Come on, we’ve been together going on 8 years. I’m loyal, you said it yourself. What’s the need for a free trial with credit card?

That credit card number thing sounds a bit too siding salesman or used car salesman to me. It seems well beneath what I perceive (perceived) the LinkedIn brand to be about.

But hey, LinkedIn, you have over 187 million members (I’m not sure how many of them are “loyal” like me) so you must know what you are doing.

I’m going to pass on the introduction to your so called free trial for your LinkedIn Premium service right now. It just doesn’t feel very premium to me.

And to be honest, neither does your brand at the moment.

Your loyal member,
– Peter

the oversharing voice talent

audio'connell voice over talent_microphone on stage

There are two or three voiceover coaches who post so much on Facebook, Voiceover Universe and Twitter et al about their latest seminars in Tupelo, Mississippi or where ever that Iā€™ve simply unfriended them. Social media for them is an endless informercial, I guess.

Oy.

Evidently so many voice talents have sooo much new business – based on all the Facebinkedinwitter posts I read from them – that there may be no voice over jobs left for me (or you for that matter) so we all should just quit. It’s like an accountant in April posting “I just completed another tax return!” Um, pal, that what you’re supposed to do.

The debate over the best microphone has become so intense that two voiceover talents will duel to the death tomorrow morningĆ¢ā‚¬ā€œ their weapons of choice will be a Neumann TLM 103 and a Sennheiser 416. It begs the question if two voice over talents die in the forest, who will announce it?

And it will surprise you to learn that voxmarketising is NOT the only blog on the topic of voiceover Ć¢ā‚¬ā€œ at last count there were 14 billion voice over blogs, all of them debating whether breaths should or should not be edited out of narrations.

Obviously I’m being silly but the truth is: in the voiceover business, we talk a lot.

When itā€™s not on mic, itā€™s on line.

The trouble is weā€™re ALL talking about the same thingsĆ¢ā‚¬Ā¦over and over. And I think Iā€™m getting burnt out.

Thatā€™s a bad thing because while I thought I was contributing to the conversation, I wondering now if Iā€™ve simply been contributing to the noise.

Paul Strikwerda, my Double Dutch voiceover friend, recently wrote about this issue, which I have been bandying about in my head for a while. Heā€™s felt tad bored by what he’s read.

My concern is not that Iā€™m bored (I know how to fix that – change the channel, hit the off switch) but rather that Iā€™m the one being boring. Iā€™ve actually cut back a bit on my social media and blogging because I didnā€™t feel I had anything interesting to contribute. Iā€™m not sure “my perspective” is always enough.

Thinking about it that way made me feel a little better because at least I was thinking before typing. I think when it comes to Social Media, thatā€™s not done a lot (and itā€™s not an issue exclusive to voice over talents, believe me). Iā€™ve also been guilty as charged so donā€™t think Iā€™m casting aspersions (so please, no emails from aspersions looking for voice work).

It seems weā€™re now all (and that “all” was a lot smaller when I started in Social Media) talking about the same voice over topics and from where I sit (just one manā€™s opinion here) the individual perspectives donā€™t always seem unique enough or even thought-provokingĆ¢ā‚¬Ā¦and again, myself included.

I know we all just want to be heard and we all enjoy freedom of expression and thatā€™s great. I donā€™t want it stifled but shouldnā€™t we all consider a little self-editing? Just a little?

I don’t know about you but I do NOT want to be the “oh not THAT guy again” brand. The line between frequency and obnoxious gets thin fast in social media; brands are now suffering (and not reaping).

SEO and marketing opportunities available through Social Media are so enticing (based on cost) that I think we all forget sometimes that for Social Media to be effective, we have to be maybe less frequent but certainly more interesting. And thatā€™s not always easy.

Nor should it be.

What do you think? Or are you even paying attention anymore? šŸ™‚

community pages on facebook

Iā€™m sure there was some kind of furor about the community pages when they debuted – I guess by my research – about a year ago. I donā€™t remember caring much about the topic then but I do remember hearing about them. I just didnā€™t think it would ever relate to me.

Except now audioā€™connell Voice Over Talent has one and thereā€™s nothing I can do about it.

This actually doesnā€™t make me happy.

This is how Facebook defines Community Pages:

“Community pages Ć¢ā‚¬ā€ the pages that link from fields you fill out in your profile Ć¢ā‚¬ā€ are for general topics and all kinds of unofficial but interesting things. You “like” these pages to connect with them, but they aren’t run by a single author, and they don’t generate News Feed stories.”

So when I saw in a Google Alert that I had this community page (which I immediate thought I had set up some long time ago and just forgot about Ć¢ā‚¬ā€œ Iā€™m getting to that age now) I wanted to make some changes to it. Which let me to this little Facebook provided factoid:

“Can I edit the content on a community page?
No. Community pages display Wikipedia articles about the topics they represent when this information is available, as well as related posts from people on Facebook in real time. At this time, there is no way for you to add your own pictures or edit information on these pages.”

If one uses social media to control branding (as much as possible) this lack of control is not a good thing. I donā€™t think I like it and at this moment it is a pretty negative element of Facebook in my eyes. To be continued, I guess.

welcome mr. whitney wyatt to the blogroll

I got a very nice email from Whitney Wyatt out in California advising me that he’d added me to his blogroll. When I got there, not only was there a link but a nice post about voxmarketising.com.

Certainly that kindness is not required to be considered for the blogroll, but it sure made my day.

knock knock, facebook

Google_Logo_trademark acknowledged

The elephant in the room just subtly kicked off their own social network.

If it smells like competition and looks like competition, Facebook this is your new competition.

Open your Google Reader, click manage my subscriptions and click the tab marked “Friends”.