Happy feet: If you’re a runner (or, like me, a really, really slow jogger) who already owns an iPod nano, the announcement of the Nike+iPod concept is one of those things you look at and say, “My lovemarks are mashing up.” (The real dream product, however, would not only mashup Nike and an iPod Nano, but it would throw in the GPS function of my Garmin Forerunner 301.) I may be slow, but geeky toys make jogging more fun.

New Nashville business blog: Dirk Plantinga sure knows how to get a link from me. He says he started blogging after hearing me speak at the Nashville Technology Council (although it was Brittney or Nick who inspired him, no doubt). And today, he helped launch a blog for the company he works for, the direct maketing firm, Acxiom-direct. (And talk about link-magnet: One of the first posts recommends Robert Scoble and Shel Israel’s book, Naked Conversations — which, by the way, I also recommend.) Also, Dirk: I know Jay Graves.

Technorati Tags: businessblogging, nashville

Top ten lies of Guy Kawasaki: Guy lists ten things not to believe when he says them — answering an obvious question from Dave Winer. He came close to using my suggestion with his “I don’t care about my Technorati ranking” lie.

Management by conversation: A lot has been written during the “blog era” (I don’t know exactly when that is — sometime after 2000 through today?) about “citizen’s journalism,” the emphasis being on real people “reporting” on what they see, experience and think about events, big and small. Related, but perhaps not as analyzed, is what I guess could be called citizen’s management — or, perhaps, “management by conversation.” Perhaps, one could apply the term — or at least the trend — to any business or project or activity where the person in charge uses their blog to invite collaboration on its planning and management. It’s a process well known in some corners of the tech-world, for example, to those who collaborate on putting on barcamps or a Dave Winer style “unconference.” Smart product developers like Nick Bradbury have long-used their weblogs to bounce product ideas back-and-forth with customers.

But it’s especially interesting to see non-technology company executives begin to use their blogs for instant feedback regarding an idea or situation. And not just for faux “marketing research” hooey, but for actual dialog and legitimate requests for ideas, guidance and suggestions.

For example (okay — it’s not earth-shattering, but it’s an example) the other day Mike Sechrist, the GM of Nashville’s ABC affiliate, was trying to figure out what to do about scheduling a pre-season Titans game after receiving notification that the Greenbay Packers have decided to move up to 3 p.m. the start-time of a Friday football game, so as not to conflict with local high school football. (Frankly, that sounds like a southern town decision, so I’m pleased to learn folks in Wisconsin also have their priorities in order.) Sechrist and the station’s other managers had decided to tape the game and run it at its original start time of 7 p.m. But before making an announcement (and, I suppose, sending out his advertising sales staff to market the game), he used his blog to ask for ideas. And lots of ideas poured in, including one from friend-of-rexblog Roger Abramson, who made the common-sense suggestion: “Why not just show it live and then repeat it immediately after? Show it twice. Would you be allowed to do that?” Mike & Co. had the wisdom to not only give thumbs up to the idea, but to make a follow-up post thanking Roger and others for their suggestions.

Technorati Tags: blogging, nashville, businessblogging

Topix.net on the Tennessean (and a nitpik): Here’s an obscure note for a few of you. In the last few days, I’ve begun to see a feature on the Tennessean’s website that integrates a search feature provided by Topix.net, a company that Tennessean parent-company Gannett is part-owner. The service is likely a part of the deal announced today between AP and Topix.net. In short, the feature (as shown on left) suggests you click for related stories from the web. That leads you to search results from the topix.net database, which as I said many times, is a great alternative to Google news. Topix.net is a service owned and operated by a company that has several newspaper companies (in addition to Gannett) as investors.

The screen grab above compares the Tennessean version vs. the generic Topix.net version of current “small business” stories. If you scroll to the bottom of both pages, you will note a subtle (but significant to a few folks like me) difference: On the Tennessean page, you cannot subscribe to an RSS feed of future stories in the way you can using the Topix.net version. Same results — one without the RSS feature. For those who don’t know what this means, set up an RSS newsreader. That nitpik aside. I think adding the topix.net feature to the Tennessean is a smart move for all involved.

Technorati Tags: nashville, tennessean, topix.net