The other issue with writing instructions versus showing someone how to do something is that there is an element of guessing involved in writing down steps to follow. At some point, I have to assume that you know something and stop explaining it. For example, if I were writing an article about using Microsoft Office PowerPoint templates, I might start by writing something like, "Click File and then New."  

This makes some pretty reasonable assumptions, such that you know what a mouse is and that you know what it means to "click" on something. In particular, I did not specify the you click with the left mouse button, instead, I rely upon you knowing that when it comes to computers, "clicking," means to click once with the left mouse button. This is a pretty good assumption because anyone with enough computing knowledge to know about PowerPoint templates, probably knows how to work a mouse.

However, that is not always the case. For example, if I were writing an article about Windows 7 screensavers, I might say, "Open Control Panel and click Display."

This is a bigger assumption. There are many computer users who seldom, if ever, use the Windows Control Panel. Without some guidance on what steps to follow to open and use Control Panel, my instructions may be insufficient. This dilemma is the bane of computer interface designers and technical writers who develop software manuals and instructions. The more information you assume the user already knows, the less useful the manual is to beginners. However, more information you include, the longer and more intimidating the manual seems to beginners and the less useful it is to experienced users who just need some help about how to do something.

With video instruction, assuming the video is clear enough and unobstructed enough, the user can always watch at the level of detail they need, albeit perhaps needing to watch in slow motion or to re-watch a scene several times.

Video Blog Posts and Podcasts

This does not apply to the idea of video blog posts or podcasts or the like.

Essentially what these "multimedia" forms of blogging or content production do is take what would be written, and instead, they just read it, or more specifically, they just say what they would otherwise write.

For example, instead of writing out this post, I could just sit in front of my webcam and say things like, "When writing documentation, you always have to make some assumptions…"

The idea, as far as I can see it, is that this is faster for the content producer because all they have to do is talk for 10 minutes in front of a webcam or video camera and then post it to the website. Theoretically, this is also faster and easier for people who want to receive the content because they don’t have to read it; they can just listen to it or watch it on their computer.

The major flaw in the whole concept, and the reason I quickly abandon websites that have too much of their content in "multimedia" format, is that it simply is not true, for the reader (customer) at least.

I happen to read very fast. I understand that not everyone does, and therefore must make some allowance for that. However, I still content that reading something that is non-demonstrational is faster and more efficient than watching a similar video or listening to a similar podcast.

For starters, if I’m looking for a specific piece of information, I can scan or search text to find it and get it quickly. On a video or podcast I have to listen to the whole thing. The worst thing about that is that there is no guarantee that what I need will be spoken. It’s basically gambling with my time. Contrast this to me quickly scanning a document to realize that it is either too basic, too advanced, or just about something completely different than what I need to know.

Another problem with video blogging or podcasting is the temptation to "wing it."  Publishers who produce clear, concise, information packed articles, become rambling, forgetful, speakers who leave things out. Any content producer worth paying attention to edits their writing. The same cannot be said for videos and podcast that seem to be "fixed" only when something "big enough" happens to warrant it.

Finally, when I read something it is generic, universal text. There are no accents, no fidgeting hands, no voices, no lighting issues, no nothing, just words. With videos and podcasts, there’s background hissing, odd lights, people sitting uncomfortably on stools, people whose words are hard to understand, people who talk too slow, people who talk too fast, people who…

You get the idea.

I’ve decided that unless there is a compelling reason for something to be video content, I will never see it, hear it, or otherwise look at it. If too much of something’s value is locked away in video or audio, then I will find a new source.

It may be easier for you to ramble for 10 minutes in front of your webcam than it is to craft a well-written post or article with the same information, but it is neither easier, nor as pleasurable for me to consume, and what you do, is dead to me.

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My tirades and rants become longer and more self-righteous the less sleep I get. Guess how much sleep I got last night?

I Won’t Watch Your Video Blog Post is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

In the master bedroom there is a ceiling fan. It has a rotating fan switch that allows you to select multiple speed for the fan from the wall switch, High, Medium, and Low.  There is no need to pull the chain. 

It worked when we moved in and worked for years afterwards.  Shortly after having our kitchen and bathroom remodeled it started acting a little funny.  The ceiling fan would turn on by using the wall switch, but it would only work on one speed, Low speed.  Turning the knob to High or Medium did nothing.

Because it occurred within a few months of the remodel and because our house’s wiring has always been a little bit flakey anyway, I figured that there must be some sort of electrical problem.

I checked the wiring in the switch box.  All good.

I checked the wiring in the ceiling fan box.  All good.

I checked the fuse box (which is actually a circuit breaker box, who knew?).  Good as far as I could tell.

I boned up on electricity and how home electrical systems work.  I did Internet research.  I read books.  I checked out more books from the library.  I read How To websites.  I read forums for electricians, homeowners, contractors, and do it yourselfers.

I bought a Voltmeter to test with.  All good.

I bought an electrical outlet tester to make sure no outlets were miswired, or missing their ground connection, or whatever.

Finally, for whatever reason, I bought a new ceiling fan switch.  I knew it wouldn’t work, but it was cheap and I figured what the heck.

I changed the ceiling fan switch out, and rewired it exactly like it was before.

Guess what?

IT WORKED!

I fixed the ceiling fan by doing the most obvious thing there was.  I would have started there in our last house which was a new construction house in the suburbs, but because our house was older, with some quirks and because we had recently remodeled, I assumed it was something to do with the house, not something obvious.

Today’s Life Lesson

Don’t make things harder than they are.

The simplest answer is usually the right one.

Everyone already knows this.  Don’t let the circumstances or current situation distract you from this truth.  Whether it’s a problem at work, at home, with your car, or with your house, always start at the easiest possible thing to try and then work your way up to the harder stuff.  It will save you a lot of trouble.

Talk to your boss or your spouse.  Fill up your car’s gas tank and check the oil and other fluids. Do these things before moving on to elaborate schemes, carefully crafted letters or emails, or changing things like the serpentine belt.

Start easy.  It will work most of the time, and that means that more of your problems will be easier to solve instead of more of your problems being harder to solve.

Troubleshooting Ceiling Fan Problem – Fan Works But Only On One Speed Low is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

The definition of a three-alarm fire or the definition of a 3-alarm fire is not set thing across all fire departments.  The term three-alarm fire simply means that 3 different sets of units were requested to handle a particular fire.

In fact, it appears to be one of those terms repeatedly thrown around in the media because it is an official sounding term that carries a lot of “zip” for the average reader. 

What is a 3-Alarm Fire or Multiple-Alarm Fire Really?

Firefighters, of course, respond to many different kinds of emergency calls ranging from false alarms from a building’s alarm system, to car accidents, and in most cities, as medical support as well.  The purpose for which firefighters are most known is fighting fires, particularly those in buildings.

A fire in a building is referred to generically as a structural fire.

When a structural fire is reported, a single unit is dispatched to the scene, unless there are special factors like being a large or multi-story building, or chemicals, and so on.  For a regular run of the mill fire though, a single unit responds.

How big a unit is, and what kind of trucks and equipment are in it depends upon the fire department and the type of fire.  Bigger fire departments have bigger units.  Fire departments like those in Manhattan have completely different units because almost every fire will be a multi-story fire, and they need to have the proper personnel and equipment.

This first response, however large that is, is termed Initial Full Alarm by the NPFA, or National Fire Protection Association.  The NPFA publishes NFPA 1710 which is a guide for standard fire department organization and deployment.

Once that first unit arrives on scene it begins to assess the fire situation.  If the fire is big enough, or if there are going to rescue operations, or some other factor makes the situation more dangerous or volatile than a small house fire, they will put out a call for more help.  This call is the second alarm and turns that particular fire into a two alarm fire.

Ironically, two-alarm fires are often more rare than three-alarm fires because if help is needed, then you usually need more than just a little help. Thus, multiple-alarm fires are almost always at least 3-alarm fires except in the biggest cities or in rural areas where a third alarm mean getting firefighters from another town.

Hypothetically, if only one extra unit responded to the scene and then more help was needed, that third call would be the third-alarm and would make it a 3-alarm fire.

Additional units responding would be the 4th alarm, and 5th alarm and so on.

An article at Slate recounts a 10-alarm fire in New York.  In New York, a two-alarm fire means that 25 units and 106 firefighters are dispatched, while a three-alarm fire would send 33 units and 138 firefighters.

In Broward County, FL, the first-alarm response to a residential fire is three engines, an aerial unit, a rescue unit, and a battalion chief, which works out to about 15 firefighters for the initial response.

Now, you know what a three-alarm fire means and what it doesn’t mean.  If you are really curious about what it means it in your home town, contact your local fire department and ask.  Tell them you are doing research and they’ll be happy to tell you.

What Is A 3-Alarm Fire is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Recently I came across something called binaural beats which are two different beats, or sounds, played simultaneously to each ear that differ in frequency by some amount.  The theory is that the brain perceives this stimulus in a specific manner and that this brain response can be used to create or improve certain mood states.  Some sites claim an ability to mimic illegal drug affects by essentially making your brain feel like it is on cocaine through these beats.  Less far-fetched claims include the ability to sleep better, improve mood, and give you more energy and alertness.

A quick Google search turns up two red flags.  Red flag number one is that the only sites popping up are those from ardent proponents who are, of course, selling the secret to these beats.  Red flag number two is that the Wikipedia entry is littered with those this section needs actual data type messages.

In cases like these, I turn to PubMed, the government’s online database of published research studies.  At PubMed you can read the actual research and not just the pull quotes supporters use to make it sound like their science is a foregone conclusion.

It didn’t take long to find a slew of “No effect” conclusions from the research studies undertaken.  This is where the pushers jump in with their “Yeah, but…”.  Ironically, the “Yeah, but…” to everyone of their points is, “Yeah, but, no one actually has even the slightest proof that what you are saying is true, except for one scientist whose research is at least fifty years old.”

The newer and more current the research gets (the better the technology and methodology used) the worse the results get.

The real shocker about these beats was this binaural beat technology research study which found that there was an increase in depression and worse memory recall after using the binaural beats.  Yikes!

I guess you can tell, this one is not something I’ll be getting into.

Binaural Beats the True Scientific Results is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

From DealNews.com:

Amazon.com offers its 5 Hours of Classical Favorites, an assortment of 49 DRM-free classical music MP3 tracks, for $3.99. That’s easily the best total price we could find for such a collection. You may not recognize the individual names, but if you’ve watched a handful of Bugs Bunny cartoons, you’ve probably heard most of these. Amazon MP3 Downloader is required.

Bugs Bunny Cartoons Teach Classical Music Appreciation is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Or is it?

Sometimes, it seems as though bloggers and other semi-media types have a vested interest in Twitter being a big deal.  Actually, they have a very big interest in Twitter being a big deal because they have spent valuable time and resources developing and “perfecting” a Twitter strategy that includes getting tons of followers, pitching their articles via links to their Twitter followers, and so on.

What Can Twitter Do For You Today

I follow Starbucks Coffee on Twitter.  I don’t have any idea what any of their tweets have said.  I simply don’t have time to read all of the Tweets every day, and the first ones I skip are the corporate ones, and I’m not alone.  The thing is, I’m very Internet savvy and spend almost my entire work day online and at a PC.  But, I’m busy.  Chatting, PMing, webcams, and so on, don’t have a big place in my schedule.

What the echo chamber that has become the blogosphere or Web 2.0, or whatever you want to call it has forgotten is that the vast majority of life and business in this country is not done via the Internet. While online shopping has become a big point of commerce, that is less about people shopping BECAUSE of the Internet, and more about people USING the Internet to do a specific task.  The average guy heading to Amazon.com doesn’t necessarily stop by Twitter first.

Just because a freelance designer spends 14 hours a day in front of a computer screen doesn’t mean everyone does.  In fact, there are millions of people who spend less than an hour a day at a computer (GASP!).  Do they bother to Tweet and Twitter?  Do they have Facebook accounts?  The reality is that they do email, news, shopping, and maybe porn.  The rest, they don’t know or care about.

And, while it may seem that everyone does Twitter and that Twitter is everywhere, it is still, for the most part, a community of younger people and technology people.  Ask yourself, how many new accounts come from Oprah announcing that she would be starting Twitter.  The number will be huge, and most of those people will never end up following anyone but Oprah. 

What that should show you, is that no matter how big you think Twitter is right now, it is nothing compared to the truly big media out there. 

What would a similar list look like for the top 100 law firms, the top 100 agricultural companies, or the top 100 manufacturing companies?  Would even 20% of those companies have a Twitter account?

The point that Blog Herald and Pingdom are trying to make is that Twitter is a big up-and-coming technology right now, and that as tech companies, these particular entities should be out in front with their own Twitter accounts.  But, the question is, to what end?

In the non-Internet based media, articles about Twitter focus on how it can be an effective tool for customer service, with everyone finding some case study where an employee defended his company’s brand via Tweets and responses to critical Tweets.  This is a good thing and can be considered a good effort.

On the other hand, companies spend millions of dollars a year on customer service departments, dedicated phone lines, and numerous other types of dedicated support infrastructure.  Is chasing down every unflattering Tweet the best use of a company’s resources?

Certainly, some level of monitoring and responding is desirable, but where does it end?  Should there also be someone monitoring Facebook?  What about LinkedIn?  Google Groups? Yahoo Buzz? Digg?

The list is practically endless.  While the authors of these articles can point to the large number of Twitter users to justify their arguments, the fact remains that the majority of Twitter users do attempt to create mass-follower lists, nor do they follow corporations or pseudo-celebrities of the Internet.  They have 5, 10, or even 25 followers representing, wait for it…their actual friends!

Can a company be blamed then for not spending any resources on the latest Internet phenomenon?  Actually, shouldn’t they be commended?  Don’t forget, it wasn’t long ago when all of the same Internet influenced media and money people were convinced that content was worthless and portals would be king.  That kind of thinking led Time Warner to sell itself to AOL, perhaps one of the most disastrous corporate deals in history.

The authors at Pingdom raise the specter of Twitter name squatting as though that were a critical motivator.  IF Twitter were to ever become something important on that large of scale, there would obviously be ways to worry about that when the time came.  Look no further than the former domain name squatters who were kicked off via copyrights, trademarks, new policies, and even new laws when the Internet itself actually became big enough to be truly important to business.  The same can be expected if Twitter rises to such a level.

In the meantime, there is little a major company can hope to achieve on Twitter other than some positive PR and with most companies already waging all out assaults on many fronts in the name of public relations would can only wonder how incremental any improvement made via Twitter would be. Considering the many loud mouthed hot air factories that insist their way is the only way and deride any comments made to the contrary, ESPECIALLY those from an official company account, Twitter might actually only be able to hurt a company’s image, not help it.

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Twitter – Critical Social Networking App or Next Big Nothing? is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Getting the Answers Right For Job Interview Questions

I’ll have to cover the whole topic over several posts, but lets jump right in with both feet for now.

The questions is Why do you want this job?

First, recognize the variations of this question:

• Why do you think this is the right fit for you?
• What made you go into <insert field or career>?
• Why do you want to be a <insert job title>?
• And so on…

Second, here is how to nail the answer.

1. Start with "I always have been interested in…"  This makes you sound dedicated.  It also makes you sound like someone who knows what they want and won’t be quitting in 6 months. 
2. Move on to the Gandhi part of the answer – This is where you come off as a saint.  No matter what the job, work in something like this:  "I really enjoy helping people and sharing the knowledge I have gained with others."  Obviously, some tweaking is required depending upon the job.  If applying for a server position in the cafeteria, maybe something like, “I really enjoy working with people, and being a server lets me interact with lots of different people.”
3. Politely say "I gotta get paid" -  "There aren’t many opportunities out there where someone can provide real value and have that value appreciated."
4. Bring it home – "This seems like a great place to work, and I would really like to contribute to that."

Works for every job interview.  For example, a job within schools:

I’ve always been interested in education, both from a traditional schooling perspective as well as the general concepts of how knowledge is passed on to others.  I am working on my teaching certificate now because I have always enjoyed helping people, and this gives me an opportunity to work with young people.  However, I would also like to share what I have learned with adults who might be able to benefit as well as pass those benefits along to others they might encounter in an educational environment.  I’ve read a lot about this institution and it seems like a great community, and I would really like an opportunity to be a part of it.

The Wrong Answer to Job Interview Questions

Wrong answers will involve anything resembling these real world answers:

• Well, I this isn’t really what I want to be doing, but I can’t find anything else right now.
• I wanted to be a <whatever> but I didn’t have good enough grades, so I’m doing this now.
• I am the greatest <job title> there is, and I want this job.  (Um…what was the question again?  Did you answer it?)
• I need the money.
• My parents said I have to move out of the house by the end of the year.

Remember, confidence (but not arrogance), genuine (sounding) desire, and a willing attitude are the ways to get a job.

How To Answer Job Interview Questions and Ace Them is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Secondly, I have long felt that Twitter wasn’t much of a way to build traffic for sites, and that even if it were, that traffic wouldn’t necessarily be the kind of traffic that would stick around for long enough to become anything other than a blip on my Google Analytics graph.

Nonetheless, I have clients, online friends, contacts, and so on who either swear by Twitter, require Twitter, or just plain accept Twitter as one of those things everyone is doing right now, whether or not it will ever amount to anything. 

So, I post regular Tweets which are both personal and professional, and I have a small amount of followers, but enough that no one hassles me about not being down with “social media.” 

But, today I accidentally discovered something.  Last night while setting up some Twuffer Twitters for the day, I noticed someone with a Starbucks logo as their Twitter profile picture.  Naturally, I clicked on it.  Turns out, it is THE Starbucks.  I decided to follow them.

This morning I awoke to an email.  Turns out, Starbucks is FOLLOWING ME!

Actually, this is apparently considered a “best practice” for corporations on Twitter.  Now that I know that, I can have another 50 or 100 friends in no time.  All I have to do is follow the companies that Twitter.

My real friends will be so jealous…not.

Get More Twitter Followers – Double Your Count In 10 Minutes is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

The “orientation” is an 18 minute video with a local news anchor providing the narration. After spending way too much time studying and analyzing various training techniques, I can’t help but notice them in the video. Although there are no explicit directions as to what you have to do as a jury or juror (there can’t be, by law), the “examples” from former jurors are carefully structured to “suggest” some rules. No less than four people come on the screen to metion how they “were impressed with their fellow jurors” and came to realize that each of them “deserved their respect.” Translation: You are getting sleepy…You should respect the other jurors even if they look like scumbags or seem stupid.

Then, there are the seemingly unrelated yet repeated by each person on the screen topics of “everyone has their say”, “we made sure everyone said something”, and “we went around the table by juror number and everyone said at least one thing about each point,” and my personal favorite: “I think it is important to speak up and at least say something even if you are introverted like I am.” Translation: You are getting sleepy…You will go around the room and make sure everyone says something. You will say something even if you are shy.

I can’t decide whether to mess with the system by pointing out in the juror room that none of those ideas are things we actually have to do, and maybe we would be better off by only listening to the people who feel strongly enough about something to speak up themselves without being called on.

I would post live from here, but I can’t get Internet access despite having connect to a strong signal from wireless network named: “Free Internet Access”. I’m not getting a default gateway and I think that is the problem, so I don’t get name resolution and can’t seem to ping or tracert to anything. I don’t see any signs or handouts regarding access and the people working the window don’t strike me as the kind who’s forte is wireless hotspots. When we get a break I’ll pop down to the cafe. I bet the access is from there and they may have instructions. For now, I’ll type into Blog Desk and mass post when I get access.

Jury Duty is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Dont Save the Good Stuff is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC