April 2010 – extricate.org

Digital Surrey: Inaugural Meeting

I attended the inaugural meeting of Digital Surrey last night. By way of explanation:

digitalsurrey is a community for like-minded people wanting to stay up-to-date with the ever changing digital landscape, and: meet-up, network, learn, share.

This event has evolved from the original Farnham tweetup and Twestival. It was held at the new Surrey Sports Park which is exceptionally plush! Definitely going to have to visit in a sporting mode. I have refereed at the ‘old’ part of the site which is being retired as part of the new development.

Arriving fashionably late, I missed some of the introductions but did get to see the entirety of Benjamin Ellis giving a speech on the myths of measurement in social media. Benjamin is clearly a confident speaker and has a lot of knowledge and experience to impart in this arena. Although there were three key points referenced in the introduction to this speech, the lines were blurred and the presentation did go on too long. Really, the absolute maximum should be fifteen minutes and I think ten would be better to allow maximum use of networking (Plus reducing the time would allow a greater variety of speakers to get involved in a single meeting).

The most interesting elements touched on were the psychology-oriented ones (parts of the brain involved in decision making, for example) and this tack would have held my attention more. After all, many people talk about the benefits of social media and ROI but I am fascinated by the studies that are going on as to why social media in its various forms is effective. “Humans are sociable” is repeated often but is exceptionally wishy-washy and I suspect Benjamin has the background to really flesh this one out.

It was also curious to see some questions on the floor with the usual maxim of, “Who cares what someone had for breakfast?” with regard to status updates. This is typically over-used attack #1 on the likes of Twitter but it was surprising to see it at an event like this.

It was great to chat to a variety of people after the event to see what they are up to. Of particular interest was how that the most well received presentations given on social media at conferences are STILL the ones along the lines of, “This is what a blog is, here is how you write a post…” – never ever under-estimate just how many people still don’t know about this stuff!

As hinted at above, I feel this event would really benefit from a stronger focus on the networking side and setting a real time limit on the presentations. Force them to be short, sharp and exciting! I’m not convinced the lecture hall format is the best. Let’s get it somewhere more informal and, dare I say it, intimate.

Let’s end on a really positive note though. The organisation courtesy of Abigail and co was excellent and the cake that was provided was absolutely delicious!

Thanks to James Firth for the use of his excellent photos.

Other resources:

Mobile will catch up with the web first

Mobile is huge right now. Particularly hot are applications and there are plenty of examples which elicit the response of, “That is really neat”. It is always very clear when businesses understand how mobile can be used in effective ways.

However, this blog is going to concentrate on web content on mobiles for the moment.

There seems to be a pervasive atmosphere that web sites MUST adapt to mobile or they are going to die. This is the ‘all or nothing’ response to advances in technology which assumes that the next best thing is going to destroy everything that comes before it. This is nonsense, of course. History has shown that sites just evolve to adapt to advances in the internet and when they have failed it has been down to the business model, not that they were a bit slow with social media or the latest whizzy AJAX and jQuery magic.

Do you remember when WAP was hot? Web pages (just about) on your mobile phone! If you don’t have a WAP site you are going to be left behind! I even worked for a startup which specialised in software to rewrite content on the fly for best display on different devices. A bold new era!

Was WAP a panacea? No. It was slow. It was ugly. Mobile displays were small and typically not in colour. Navigation was poor. It was an exercise in frustration. Technically WAP still exists but it is so dated now that using the past tense feels strangely appropriate.

Mobile technology has moved on. We now have large, colourful screens and pretty well featured web browsers. Touch interfaces and/or decent keyboards are present. The underlying communications layer is FAST – be it 3G or Wifi. It is possible, although sometimes a little painful, to navigate ‘normal’ web sites which have not been optimised for mobile.

There is now a land grab to ensure optimised sites. What are you optimising for? Well, the iPhone naturally features heavily and Android is surging strongly forward but there are lots of different devices out there. There are many challenges in optimising a site; it isn’t just about design and putting graphics in the right place. The whole user experience must be considered as certain tasks are just going to be DIFFICULT on a small screen and without a mouse. It is possible to rethink interfaces but there is a limit as to how far you can go.

190507-apple-ipad — Man posing in coffee shop with Apple product. Yesterday.

The iPad is now with us and bringing tablet computing that bit closer to the masses. It is another step in making it easier to navigate the web when mobile. Large screen! Speed! Looks cool to be using it when in a coffee shop!

The way the technology curve is going, it is clear that mobile devices are going to catch up with the web first. It is not the case that the web must pander to the current crop of mobile devices (although they will in the short term, of course).

Look forward five years. Perhaps less. Imagine an iPhone-sized device than when you press a button magically expands to become iPad sized. Science fiction? In the days of WAP the prevalence of devices such as the iPhone and iPad would have been thought of in the same way.

Businesses should concentrate on their core web sites and products first. It will always be worthwhile considering mobile (particularly the application state) but be very wary of getting caught up in the land-grab without consideration of what the end result will be… especially when the mobile devices are going to evolve and give you what you seek for free later on.

My first cup final

nehyl_u17_cup_final_trophy_2010 — Shiny.

It has been a good season. I’ve been appointed to a few quarter and semi finals at county level and was really pleased to get a league cup final. U17s to be precise and being held at Cove football club. These appointments tend to be based on performance during the season which is naturally a good benchmark.

I ended up as Senior Assistant on the day although the benches were easily managed. The game itself went really well, albeit a little one sided, and in my opinion was excellently controlled by the referee. I was particularly happy with my own performance and especially the feedback I got after the game. I had to suppress a smile when I heard some of the spectators behind me debating whether I was professional or not! Must be doing something right.

One red card: In the dying minutes a defender from the losing team (who were not going to come back at that stage) decided to punch a goal-bound ball away. His own team couldn’t believe that he did it. Certainly one of the easiest to sell dismissal decisions I have ever witnessed!

It was a fun game and of course I got my trophy from officiating on the final, and it was nice to meet the various league officials who were present. It has hopefully also helped raise my profile and will lead to more opportunities in the future.

This was my first cup final. I have my second this weekend and I will be the referee in charge for it! I have worked in many referee teams now and this will be my first opportunity to be leading one…. very exciting!

My first 10k: Clandon Run 2010

clandon_run_2010_us — The happy smiling 'Before' pose!

I would never really class myself as a ‘proper’ runner. I mean, I enjoy running (as long as it is outdoors). I run around a lot when football refereeing. I run around a fair amount in some forms of judo training or circuit training. However, I have always hit some form of mental block when considering entering an actual running event.

My girlfriend gently persuaded me to enter the Clandon Run. I couldn’t really find a legitimate excuse to avoid it, especially considering the start line was within five minutes’ walk of her house! It was also looking to be a beautiful day out in the sunshine.

The most I had ever run in one go was 7k (my typical lunchtime run at work). Most of my recent training had been refereeing oriented. My strategy was to keep a steady pace and not push myself and everything would just work out.

The organisation of the event was absolutely first class. Registration took seconds and included nifty timing chip bands! There was even a fun aerobic-based organised warm-up. Then it was a short walk to the starting line…

A few final stretches and off we went. I probably kept a faster pace than I should have done but I wanted to avoid the early bottlenecks that we had been warned about. This I managed! However, by the first km marker I was aware my heart rate was running at anaerobic levels (182 bpm). It was a warm day and the sun was beating down and I have historically suffered in these conditions when training… but I love a challenge!

Although I shouldn’t have been able to sustain that, my average heart rate stayed at 182 bpm the whole way round. The adrenaline and boost from running with everyone else must have sustained me somehow. I’m used to having to dig deep from judo competition where you pretty much run on your anaerobic system throughout.

The course was beautiful. It took in woodland, green fields, gravel paths and a lake (no swimming required). Some of the narrow paths made the whole event more challenging. That said, I’m used to uncertain footing in my training so this did not cause much of an issue although I noted that about 25% of starters in the 10k did not finish! Heat? Terrain? I wonder…

Now, I started pretty much at the front so I was mentally prepared that I would be overtaken throughout the event. This happened! However, by about the 5k mark this stopped happening and I guess I had found my place. It then became a bit ‘cat and mouse’ with runners I targeted for my own pacing: They might go ahead but then I’d catch up with them later when they had stopped…rinse…repeat!

The last few km were hard but I struggled through and before I knew it I was on the finishing straight! I had enough in the tank left for one final sprint which meant I made up a few places, even if it spiked up my heart rate to perhaps the highest I have ever known it. Oops. Still, I made a time of 54:01 which was faster than my ‘realistic target’ and I got a free banana. [10k PDF results]

Nicky and Tasha successfully completed the 4k and were exceptionally supportive as well which I appreciated more once I regained the ability to speak properly.

It really was a wonderful event. Fantastic organisation, great atmosphere and a challenging course. You know what? I’m already thinking about the next one…

Social Media in Recruitment Conference 2010

I was happy to attend the Social Media in Recruitment Conference 2010. As a declaration of interest, I should point out that this was representing Jobsite who were the Gold Sponsor.

I am excited by the potential of social media and communities but this is always tempered with a degree of practicality. This really comes from having grown up since this has developed from scratch so getting a good view of what works and what definitely does NOT work.

First of all, much credit to the organisers as this was a very deftly run event. It was held at the British Library Conference Centre which was very comfortable with a perfect audio-visual setup and excellent catering. You know when an event is well-run when at no point do you really need to think about how it is being run.

So, let’s turn to the different presentations that were given over the day (Note that I did not see all of them due to other networking that came up!)

Ariel Eckstein: Strategies for using LinkedIn as part of your online recruitment plans.
Ariel is an MD within LinkedIn so understandably this presentation only paid lip-service to other ways of recruiting by social media. LinkedIn see themself as catering exclusively to the professional state (Although lots of job boards used to have this view once before becoming more generalist). It was interesting to see the professional services that LinkedIn offer although I felt that the whole thing felt more like a sales pitch than anything else. It is LinkedIn’s API that personally interests me and their plans for this were not really touched on.
Andy Headworth: Key strategies for using Twitter effectively in recruitment.
Twitter and its potential is of particular interest to me. Far too much talk about Twitter is ‘pie in the sky’ and not backed up with any numbers but Andy impressed me with an excellent and balanced presentation. Not only was a case study demonstrated but he freely admitted its flaws (first stage deployment which did not feature engagement) and published the statistics behind it. I will be keeping a keen eye on Andy and what he is up to in the future as a result.
Lisa Scales: How online communities can play a part in your attraction strategies.
A subject close to my heart and I do really like Lisa. There was some good use of slides and a good introduction detailing how humans have ALWAYS been social (required for survival!) and how social media is really just bringing this back to the Internet as some businesses did lose their way. That said, I felt in general the focus and pacing of this presentation did lose its way a little (nervousness?). I would also have much appreciated some firm examples of good (and bad!) community management rather than just a few slides detailing the principles. Lisa clearly loves this subject and I feel could really excel in presenting on it.
Elkie Holland: 2009 Social Media Success Stories.
I really loved this presentation. Why? Elkie appeared genuinely excited with social media and the work that she has done with it. A lot of presentations can be very dry but as the whole point of social media is to be, well, social its nice to see someone enthusing! I would strongly recommend taking a look at what she has been up to.
Lucian Tarnowski: Social Media strategies for ‘Generation Y’ job seekers.
Lucian was an excellent speaker. He particularly stood out as he was the first presenter of the day to actually step out from behind the lectern and command the stage. ‘Generation Y’ can be a bit buzzword-y but this presentation seemed to sidestep that and be genuinely interesting. I particularly liked the phrasing of it being ‘Generation Why’ (e.g. “Why haven’t I been promoted, I’ve been here six weeks!’). Essentially, the generation are used to being successful from Day 1 and so hitting failure in the job market following graduation can take some getting used to. So how to go about capturing them from social media and bridge the gap? Lucian’s company, BraveNewTalent is predicated around that. That said, there was a little heckling during questions about ROI…
Peter Gold: How to maximise the use of Facebook pages.
Two speakers in a row to actually make use of the stage! A practical presentation which featured some good advice. For example, ensuring that the landing page is particularly relevant! Certainly the Facebook pages which have custom graphics and layouts do stand out and will promote much better engagement.
Adrian Marlowe (Lawspeed): The legal issues surrounding Social Media and employment.
This was another presentation that I was particularly looking forward to. After all, a lot does get said about legal concerns with social media. Employees have been sacked as a result of videos and comments posted on web sites. Sometimes these situations have gone to tribunals and they have won! Lots of good pointers but one aspect I particularly remember was concerning checking out job applicants on, say, Facebook. Even though it may be something relevant that stops you progressing further (say, hate speech) the fact that you may have seen sensitive personal information (for example, sexual preference) could be held against you!

Overall, this was a good conference. Certainly the organisation was excellent. So too were some of the presentations as described above: It was great to see case studies emerging and actual numbers! I would like to have seen stronger showings on community building though: This is one aspect where real case studies are needed.

What were your thoughts on the day?

“It’s not the premiership, ref!”

I am privileged to have been appointed as referee in the main cup final for the Sunday league in which I officiate. It looks to be a challenging game by all accounts: The finalists ended up #1 and #2 in the top division. Thankfully I am to be provided with neutral assistants.

In addition, I am acting as Assistant in another league’s U17 cup final and that in conjunction with my recent county cup quarter an semi appointments means I must be doing SOMETHING right!

By some coincidence, I had two games today: One Sunday league, one U17s. Clear blue skies and the sun beating down meant it was going to be a challenging one from a stamina perspective as well.

The Sunday league game was a little niggly. I’ve had the home side quite a few times this season (“Doesn’t this league have any other refs nowadays?”) and the game ended 2-3 with the deciding goal coming in the final play of the game.

This brings us to the title of this blog entry. Sometimes with this level the players REALLY don’t expect any cautions to be issued and you can get comments like that one along with, “It’s just Sunday morning football”. This is something I don’t ascribe too. The problem is, if you start ‘bending’ (Or let’s be honest here: Blatantly disregarding) Law in this way you are being inconsistent from the very start. I do strongly believe in man management to handle problems but these are more for cutting off dissent and flashpoints between teams.

As an example there was a clear deliberate handball by a defender in the area. No-one disputed the penalty. This was also an absolutely clear caution for me. However, because of the players’ expectations as described above this did damage my match control a little. No such argument with a caution for some ‘afters’ following a challenge later in the game, however. In retrospect I still feel I was in the right for both of those: Players can’t pick and choose which Laws apply and neither should the referee!

Amusingly, I had the comment “This isn’t Sunday football” during the U17s game so let’s talk about that one now…

At this point the sun was at its peak and I was feeling it. I had already grabbed my emergency water from the car and the home team also provided me with some but I was having to dig very deep. It is great how you see a friendly face wherever you go though: One of the players was a fellow assistant referee on a supply league game recently. Great guy with a great attitude. He was also very honest and stated how his team had one of the worst disciplinary records in the league, complete with a recent game being abandoned! Hey, I love a challenge.

The game itself was excellent and reminded me why I love refereeing this age group: The skill level and attitude is typically very good indeed. There were three cautions in this one (Two for tackles, one for aggressive behaviour when retaliating) but all were accepted in good grace. I felt it demonstrated my tolerance level early on with the first two cautions as they came at the same time (tackle then retaliation)… I was thinking at the time, “Yeaaaah, nailed-on match control!”. I’m a little sad like that.

You see, the players at this level accept that the Laws have to be applied so there is no arguing with a card when they know a tackle is dodgy, or if they have just shoved an opponent (I still don’t understand the “This isn’t Sunday league” comment). This is normally when the managers and supporters (parents, girlfriends!) are encouraging a good spirit and you typically do not get that same support network with Sunday league adults.

I am learning to be ‘firm yet fair’ with cautions. The players may need a little educating in some leagues to fully accept them but I must keep up the self-confidence to issue them rather than back down in order to appear to be a nice guy. The youth games really help me realise when my approach is ultimately the right one: It’s a great training ground for open age.

Getting in the zone: Mental preparation starts earlier than you think

You’ve a big event coming up where you really want to do well. It might be a sporting event. Perhaps you are presenting to a large number of people? Either way, you start to get a little nervous. A fear of failure starts to set in and you start thinking about the consequences of that failure. In fact, wouldn’t it be easier to just pull out of the event? Anything to take this anxiety away!

A well-discussed strategy here is ‘getting in the zone’. Essentially, focusing the mind and setting out with the best mental attitude and a ‘will win’ strategy. A key here is to visualise the event going amazingly well and any opposition doing amazingly badly.. hey, YOU are the winner!

I’ve certainly had to dig deep with this when competing in judo competitions. It can be a very lonely place when ultimately it is you versus one other and there is nobody else to ‘blame’. So the sorts of visualisation which apply would be along the lines of:

Sequence of gripping up, everything going well, being able to move my opponent wherever I wanted to.
Being able to execute any of my techniques really easily.
The techniques being successful!
Clever avoidance of anything my opponent would be trying to do.

For public speaking? Why, could be you confidently standing on the stage, no “umms” or “ahhs” and your speech being incredibly well received. Lots of quality feedback afterwards: Just see their happy faces!

You can apply this technique to pretty much anything: Try it!

However the above examples are REALLY MISSING A TRICK and I cannot emphasise this enough!

Where has the above process started? At the time the activity itself begins. In my personal example this was the start of a judo contest. The thing is, this is the exact point those fears vanish and your body starts to run on adrenaline anyway.

What about earlier in the day? Waking up? Having breakfast? Driving to the venue? Weighing in? Meeting up with friends and quite possibly competitors who have beaten you before? Are you ready to see someone who you will be competing against who looks particularly ‘scary’?

The most stressful time will be BEFORE the event, not during it.

There should be no surprises. In any mental preparation strategy you need to be considering the whole. This means including how you are calm and controlled from the moment you arrive at the venue up to the moments immediately before it is your turn.

In anything competitive, how you project yourself not just beneficial to your own confidence: If you give the impression of ‘knowing no fear’ then that will have a negative effect on your competitors who have not prepared as well as you have!

Get in the zone. Just remember that the zone starts earlier than you might originally have thought.

Bonding the referee team: Tasty treats, T-shirts and Timekeeping

I was happy to be assessed when acting as Senior Assistant Referee on the Combined Counties Football League at the weekend. This is a supply league and I am picking up a lot (good and bad) from working with the various referees.

The results of the assessment were extremely positive, especially with regard to my speed and fitness which is something I have always been keen on improving.

However, like a good breakfast sets you up for the day, so does bonding with the rest of the referee team at the beginning. If this doesn’t happen then it will drag people down leading to a spiral of decay which we really don’t want to happen! In other words, the quality of the team was linked strongly to the my performance and therefore the eventual assessment.

I have posted before on this sort of bonding but now have some further thoughts to share:

BE ON TIME: If anything sows ‘invisible dissent’ in a team it is one member arriving late, especially if they are not particularly apologetic for doing so. The others have made an effort to get there early or on time and there has typically been at least five days notice of the location and timings. If it starts to get close to the wire this will also cause nervousness in the team as they know they will be below full strength and have to call in a club-nominated official which will reduce match control effectiveness.
WARM-UP TOGETHER: It surprises me how often this does NOT happen (typically when older referees are leading the team). This is KEY in my opinion and I would ALWAYS do it. Not only is it important for bonding but it is vital for injury prevention and gives the right message to the players (“We take this game seriously”).
LOOK THE SAME: I liked this one: The referee had a collection of t-shirts with him that he gave us to warm-up in. The result? Looked like a team! Was a good feeling as well. You can also apply this to making sure you arrive in similar dress and even the same brand of refereeing kit if feasible.
SWEETS: Sometimes the changing room can resemble a buffet party. It’s nice when each member has brought along their own snacks (jaffa cakes? Sports drinks?) and make an effort to share them. You can extend this if acting as Senior Assistant by having boiled sweets with you and offering them to the benches if they are getting angsty… or perhaps if they are well behaved?! I’ve not tried this one myself yet but will report back on the results.
CARE ABOUT THE GAME: Blindingly obvious but if you want to gain the respect of the players then make the effort. Warm-up leads into this. From the moment you are leading the players onto the pitch be focused yet friendly and full of smiles. If the atmosphere is appropriate then take this into the bar afterwards as well!

I would love to hear about any other tricks and tips you have found to help with this! Horror stories also permitted!

Coming back from the brink: Avoiding the negative feedback loop trap

First impressions count in refereeing. The first few minutes of a game are when it is particularly essential to be bold, confident and get the decisions right. It establishes your credibility and then allows you to slip into the background again. In fact, a good start will let a referee ‘get away with’ any minor complaints such as disputed throw-ins or little trips without too much harm to match control.

However, things can and will go wrong.

Firstly, a big mistake can be made. A contentious penalty shout where the referee’s angle is not the best one? An off-the-ball incident which everyone else has seen? An incorrect restart of play? Actually, it may not even be a mistake: If a team has perceived it to be wrong or blatantly unfair then the same negative comments will come at the referee and may well be enough to make him or her THINK an error has been made.

Thirdly, a game may be starting to severely heat up: A few flash-point tackles (even if correctly called and misconduct given for) can still bring about reprisals from the other team and suddenly the game has switched in temperament and not in a very nice way.

Recognise when you are starting to get caught in ‘the trap’. The symptoms are:

Starting to generally feel not in control of what is going on.
Feeling of anxiety (despite the endorphins being released from all the exercise!)
Delayed physical reactions: Not switching positions to changes in play as quickly as normal.
Delayed decision making: Not calling throw-in direction etc as quickly as normal.
Loss of confidence in decision making: Greater reliability on assistants, waiting to see what the teams do first.
Weaker body language: Signals and posture ‘show fear’.
Weaker positioning on the field of play: Not as close to the action, putting in distance but for the wrong reasons!
Stopping any ‘banter’ with players.

The results? If you start to referee with the traits above you are just inviting further mistakes, further negative feedback and certainly your match control will start to slide into the abyss.

The key after a bad incident is to TAKE CONTROL. You are in control by default as the match referee so assert it! The incident has gone and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it now (other than tear yourself to bits over it). You have the rest of the match to get PERFECT. If you are close to the end of the match, think the 80 preceding minutes that have gone great for you! In fact, how about all those other games that have been great?

If anything, you need to be more assertive if the atmosphere has become charged. Tighten up the game: Perhaps play less advantage, be RIGHT on top of play (perhaps closer than normal), give those decisions QUICKLY and firmly. Handle dissent properly, be it from players or team officials: Certainly don’t just ignore it or it will eat away at both you and your match control.

If at the end of the game players want to talk to you about the incident, well, I’ve found it useful to be human and do this and BE HONEST. If they’ve clearly seen you make a mistake don’t try and deny it. Had the wrong position? Admit it. Players make mistakes too. You should value their feedback. Naturally, if this feedback turns into abuse territory then take action and make your exit as appropriate.

Remember you may well be refereeing any ‘problem’ team again in the not too distant future so you want to do your best to ‘soothe the savage beast’. Making a mistake is one thing, but making out you have not is going to particularly give you a bad start next time around.

Following a tough game, I would recommend following the advice given in Nicky Kriel’s 5 ways to reject the feeling of rejection – You can’t please everyone and you need to ensure that the negative feedback loop trap doesn’t continue onto your next game. It needs to be a confident and bold new start.

Good luck out there!