Category: Digital Life

Living La Vida Browser

Carl Setzer

This morning I popped onto my computer to get some work done. After a bit of work (some email, updating social media, zap out a few blog posts) I’m struck the fact that nothing on my computer is open safe Chrome. I also have my task manager open, and a document for my son (for school). My browser has really become the center piece of my computing.

I’ve noticed this coming for some time. Yet, today, it gives me deeper pause: how will this affect us going forward? One obvious piece: tablets & phones. The more tools available via browsers (at least those optimized for HTML 5), the more effective and powerful these devices become. More and more of my work gets done on my tablet. I expect this will drive us more into the world of such tools as Chromebooks as well. Hard-drive space will become less critical for the average user. I expect the demand for laptops will whither, much like desktops have. Don’t get me wrong: there will always be demand for laptops and desktops, but the average home user won’t need the power features. Email, documents, Facebook simply don’t demand the power of your average laptop.

I know, also, that there are affects coming that I can’t predict right now. That’s the thing that excites me. Some right, perhaps right this second, is thinking of a new way to do X with this new reality. And it will change the way we live. This might define a key part of “me”, this excitement. I see change and feel the possibility. Hence, I gaze towards the future and see possibility, delight, wonder. Happiness, then, consumes me. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

The value of Facebook

Carl Setzer

Lately, I’ve been considering all the changes Facebook has blasted out over the years. Particularly, I’ve been wondering about the Facebook pages I manage. In particular, the many changes to the way business pages interact with the general user concern me. I first noticed this with my personal page feed. Business page content gets filtered out, rarely appearing in feeds, even MY pages in MY feed. I’m also noticing a drop in engagement: comments, questions, dialog, et al. This video takes that concern and provides some flesh to its bones.


Now I wonder about Facebook’s value to small businesses in any capacity. If content and connection gets buried, lost, or goes out to irrelevant audiences, there is no value. Well, little. Ok, well, lesser. The value of Facebook is still immense. Facebook is still a key piece to a social media strategy. It’s THE place, with diverse demographics and a truly global reach. Or, as I like to say, it’s the place with the eye-balls. So, there’s still value in the gorilla that is Facebook, but it’s role and impact have just changed.

Expect that, within this perpetually changing landscape, it’s place and value will change yet again. And again…

Celebrity and Personal Branding

Carl Setzer

Just read Tony Hawk’s Media Empire Grows With Help From Complex over at Adage. They talk quite a bit about the brands that celebrities are building. This leaves me wondering when saturation happens, when we have so many celebrity brands that we can’t see find anyone. We already have so much content, so much internet-based activity. Will we ever get to the point of “not being able to see the forest through the trees”?

My first thought is “no, we won’t”. We have tools for sifting through the massive forest of data. I guess the real challenge is how to differentiate yourself, fully connecting to an audience. The world of general is where the blizzard is. Specialization is where one can still be differentiated and engage deeply.

Kaki King: Some Social Media Thoughts From A Fan

Carl Setzer

I discovered Ms. King several years ago. Today, for no obvious reason, I was in the mood for her percussive style. While listening on Reverbnation (her account’s pretty neglected there, fyi) I found this embed code. So I, being me, needed to plug that in and see how it looks.

Just some thoughts, though, on her online presence (that is a key part of “what I do”, after all).

  • Facebook seems to be her main touch-point with her fans.  The page looks great and current.
  • Twitter is pretty solid, much the same. No major points to bring up.
  • Instagram is not too shabby. It’s not that powerful a media player yet, but solid enough to be a great touch-point with fans. A good blend of personal and work. 
  • Now, her website; that’s an area I would invest some time. Very sparse, and not much touch for fans. Other than a few tour dates, and links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Soundcloud, it’s pretty vacant.
  • And, lastly, the aforementioned Soundcloud. Shows album covers, and has links to iTunes and Google Play, and back to her main site. And that’s it. No music on the site at all. I think it would be wise to have something there, perhaps one song from each album. Some kind of sampler. Also, perhaps some more recent experiments. Just to keep engaged. The empty account, that is linked to by her main page, is pretty awkward.

Just some thoughts from someone who spends a lot of time working in this space, loves Kaki King’s music, and would really love to see her grow as a professional artist. 

More of my websites

Carl Setzer

I started a WordPress site some time ago in order to explore the platform. Recently, I relaunched it as my poetry site. I’ve heard so very much about focusing your sites. So, I’m trying to do something with that. Besides that one, I also have NotJustSeattle.com, where I focus on the local. Soon, I’m going to port my tech writing to its own site. This will also, then, be my professional/business presence. I’ll move my portfolio there, too. Trying to find another name besides “Setzer Consulting”. Feels too bidding. I’ll try to have the URL for in to that.

So, please check out my other sites and stay tuned to see how things change.

July Fourth Fun

Carl Setzer

This July Forth, one of the key things I’m doing: cleaning out my inboxes. I’ve been quite over-full with activity, and this was one area sacrificed.

Brings back to the front of mind a continuous quandary: information flow. I have a huge array of interests, thus have subscribed to a huge number of email lists. And, like today, most of what I’m doing is dumping those emails into the trash. Even the ones being saved to “read later”. That’s something happening less and less: “reading later”. Slowly, I continue culling subscriptions. It’s hard, really hard.

Iteratively, I’m defining/refining my interests. And weeding out what I won’t read, or keep the most up-to-date with. This weeding has been the most painful. Even with knowing I can look things up instantly. Perhaps it’s a legacy: I’d keep magazine subscriptions of stuff that I cared about to “read later”. Though it might be weeks or even months later, having access to that knowledge was critical. Throwing them out meant losing ready access to that info. Now I am a simple Google search away. Just need to convince my brain.

I see these elements, struggling with the changes I’ve lived through. It seems, simply, that its mostly about becoming fully aware of the conflict. I view this process as psychic debugging.

Lastly, and don’t worry. I’ll still get out and enjoy US Independence Day. Cheers, all!

TikTok, LunaTik & Social Business

Carl Setzer

This company has interested me, the Apple guy and iPhone user. One of their devices is, in my opinion, the most effective case ever created. Not cheap, but wickedly awesome.

I’ve really not noticed their backstory, though. Watching this video really impressed me with the ways they utilized social media and tools like Kickstarter to get this product created. It really spoke to me about the way business is evolving, and how the world could shake out.
Anyway, it’s worth a few minutes of your time. Business is changing. Behold!

The Story of TikTok+LunaTik from LUNATIK on Vimeo.