Second post on ConventionNext

After listening to a few of the questions, it's obvious the platform is going to be a success. There are some initial problems, like running around the room with a mic instead of having two so the people live can have their own.

I'm not a big Chris Cannon fan. I've never thought he has done a whole lot for the state of Utah. He answers like a politician though. I'm sure it can't be easy to throw yourself into a room of people taking shots at your policies and voting record.

Oh look, Pete Ashdown is in the room. Hey Pete! Pete ran against Senator Orin Hatch. It was a valiant effort. I voted for Pete. I voted for him because I think we need some new blood. I think Hatch has been in there long enough. I don't even know what Hatch does. He doesn't even have to work at his job any more.

The question at hand is Disabled American Veterans and the Walter Reed Army Hospital that was recently under fire for poor conditions. Cannon is accused of having a poor record when it comes to Military issues. He claims he doesn't and that you can hire anyone to give a poor performance review. He does have a point, but side steps the real question, what are you going to do about it?

Well, my video feed just tanked. I guess I'll end this post now and hope it comes back online soon.

read more...

First post on ConventionNext

Just getting started, logging into the website (conventionnext.politic20.com). There are a lot more questions now than there were at 11PM last night.

The really cool thing about this website and the questions that should be asked on the guest, in this case Congressman Chris Cannon from Utah's 3rd District, are ranked similar to Digg. So, a question is posted, everyone votes on it, and the ranking can go up showing the level of importance.

After looking at the questions, I can see there is a level of detail being asked for and I'm just not sure it will happen. With the amount of time available, it seems like we will only get superficial answers.

My question seems to be getting some good votes, hopefully the Congressman will have an opportunity to respond to it. Oh, the question, "how does giving illegal aliens be given a special exemption benefit our country?". It will be fun to see the response.

Ok, questions are starting, mines not first, but I'll end for now and follow up.

read more...

My participation in ConventionNext

I have the opportunity to participate in a a first of its kind political event on Wednesday April 11th, 2007, called ConventionNext. You can read all the information about the event here.

I don't really know what to expect. I'm going in with my eyes open and will look at it as an opportunity to meet other bloggers who are interested in the political arena.

One of the actions of this gathering will be the real time blog posts by attendees on the topics being discussed. I will probably have an elevated number of posts tomorrow which may be politically centered. It will be the first time I have shown my political views in this forum.

This should be an interesting event and I appreciate the opportunity to participate. Thanks to Phil Burns and those at Politic2.0.

read more...

The benefits of networking; will you tell me again?

First let me start out by saying this is a little off topic for me, but I've wanted to write on it for a while. Personal networking. It's something I've used for years. Here is my take on personal networks, branding and all the you/me/we mantra that has been floating around.

I've been building my network of people and companies since 1988. Yes, I was building a network of people since before there was even a name for it. While I was in the service I found out that at times it was who you knew rather than who you were. I understood that if I wanted something I had to know the right people and they had to know me. So I started making note of the key players; what they liked, what they disliked, who could be trusted and who couldn't.

Once I got out of the military the technique stayed with me as I started to build may career. That network has served me well as I moved up the ladder in the technology field. But this is where the story becomes frustrating for me.

For all of you who are experts at social networking, what's the problem here? If you are steadfast in keeping your network up to date and in tune, why does this happen?

When I call you or we meet, and I casually ask for your business and you tell me it's not the right time or maybe down the road; to then find out you actually used a competitor when you needed to make a purchase, did you forget about me? Were you embarrassed? Did you think I would gouge you? Did you think I lacked the proper skills? The most common excuse is "oh yeah, I forgot!" It's even worse when it's a family member or close friend.

So how do we eliminate this problem? When someone thinks "I need to buy a home", or "I need to buy a car", or "I need to buy xxx", what has HAD to happen in order for the person in your network to pick up the phone and call YOU instead of someone else? Do we need tools, and if so what kinds? Do we need more face to face contact? Can it depend on your product or service? Can a network cultivated while engaged in one profession be used after engaging in a new profession?

I am conducing research with this post. I want to send a link out inviting several "players" to give me their answers. What are your thoughts? Have you truly had success networking? Here is a link to a post on JibberJobber about a similar subject. The comments of this post are pretty positive about networking. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I think networking has huge advantages over not networking. But there are some fundamental problems in what is happening and I want to know what it is.

Here are a few sites that discuss this topic often; I hope they respond and share their thoughts.

• JibberJobber


• Matt's Idea Blog


• Pamela Sim


• Business Pundit

Let me hear what you have to say. Next up: Personal Branding.

read more...

The Dell Axim has seen its last day

Engadget is reporting that Dell has removed links for its Axim series PDA. I admit, I've owned two models, the x5 and x51v. Both were great. The x51v was a monster amongst its competitors. If the x51v would have had a smart phone I would never have given it up. So long Axim. What will the the AximSite do?

read more...