Okay, now I know a lot of you didn't really believe
me when I said that I was pretty much a writer and that when it comes
to Journals, I just push words around.
"Just who are these mysterious 'tech folks' he keeps punting questions off to, anyway?"
Well, one of them has just started a new blog, which will focus more on the technical side
of Journals (which will free me up to talk more about cool stuff that's
going on in the AOL Journals space and in the big sphere-o'-blogs), so
I thought I'd introduce a few folks who are involved in Journals and
have blogs (that I know about), and explain what we do.
First off, there's me, Joe Loong, of course. I'm Senior Programming Manager in the Community Programming Group. I program the AOL Blogs main page.
"Program" as we use it over here is more like a television programmer
than a computer programmer -- I pick things I want to promote or write
about, publish content, and of course, write this blog. I also gave
myself the title of "Journals Editor", though it doesn't really mean
anything. And I'm involved in helping folks at AOL integrate blogs into
their programming, especially starting their own blogs.
Blog: AOL Journals: Magic Smoke
Susan is the Journals Product Manager.
That is to say, she's in the Community Product Management group. A
product manager helps manage the process behind the product -- keeping
detailed requirements for enhancements to the product; translating the
requests from the business team, programming team, and members into
solid requirements for features; and generally working with a lot of
other different groups within the company.
Blog: In the Know
Yoel Crane is a Technical Project Manager
out in California. He helps ride herd on all the developers, QA
(Quality Assurance) testers, UI (User Interface) designers, systems
admins, database admins, etc...he also keeps product development
schedules, and lots of other fun stuff. [Edit: I don't know if he thinks it's "fun" stuff. I know I sure don't.]
Blog: The Daily Grind
John Panzer is a Senior Technical Manager,
also out in California. In addition to knowing a lot about the
technical side of Journals -- all the different components, both
hardware and software -- he manages all the developers who do the
actual work on Journals. He also knows a lot about stuff that's going
on in the blog world, including the various technologies and protocols
(past, present and future), that tie the Internet together.
Blog: Abstractioneer
(John is the larger of the two.)
Oh, and of course, there's the blogfather himself, John Scalzi. He's a contractor,
which means that he gets to work from his home in Ohio, and we pretty
much just pay him to do his thing. (This also means that he doesn't
have much to say in the day-to-day Journals product or programming
decisions, though we do get his feedback on stuff and run ideas by
him.)
Blog: By the Way
These
are just the AOL Journals people with blogs that I know about. My blog
and Susan's are pretty much "official" AOL Blogs; Yoel's and John's
are, strictly speaking, non-official, though I guess that distinction
means less and less nowadays.
I hadn't really pimped Yoel's and John's blogs to date, mostly because they run to the more technical side;
also, to be honest, I was kind of afraid they'd start getting a lot of
Journals tech support questions that they wouldn't be able to answer in
a timely fashion.
Frankly, I'd prefer that Susan and I act as a go-between
for that kind of stuff (since I think their time is a lot better spent
working on the upcoming releases, instead of dealing with questions
about how to use the add picture to your blog with File Manager or figuring out what's making your blog toowide, which Susan or I can handle pretty easily.)
(From
my perspective, I can always point to John & Yoel's blogs whenever
someone gives me static by saying that my entries are too technical and
hard to understand....)
Anyway, for technical questions about Journals, including feedback on current features and requests for new ones, Susan will be your best bet; if you've got a blog you want featured, or maybe you want to be a Guest Editor, you can keep telling me.
Thanks -- Joe
29 comments:
Sorry, Joe.
Nobody cares.
REALLY.
MAryanne
http://journals.aol.com/globetrotter2u/Myfeelingsarereal/
http://insidethegildedcage.blogspot.com/
When I see AOL "official" blogs say to us, "the ads are staying" -- What I hear is that AOL doesn't care what the members think, that AOL is not listening to us at all and the only customers important to them is the advertisers, not the actual members who have supported the company for years.
The disclaimer isn't good enough. AOL screwed up royally with this whole brouhaha. The ads should be gone from paying member account journals and the members are owed an apology for the lack of consideration.
Sorry, MAryann, I really do care! Thanks, Joe for all the work you do and for introducing us to those behind the scenes. As much as I hate the ads, I love AOL-J and won't be chased away by a few angry people who have nothing better to do than harrass you guys. Blessings, Penny http://journals.aol.com/firestormkids04/FromHeretoThere
thanks Joe for the great intros to these wonderful new people!
I'm looking forawrd to reading their blogs
nat
h
Jason must have a lot of pull, because one of those blogs started about a week or two ago, and another had three entries before November (and six since then).... all after he urged AOL tech folks to start blogging.
How much pull will he have overall? Should we start getting used to WebBlogs style?
Keep in mind that this isn't an angry question... just a curious question.
You must be getting tired of dodging online IED's. That's a big group of people you just threw under the bus.
Sorry, MAryann, I really do care! Also, Jackie, I think you've pretty much nailed it. And Remo, What?
-Paul
"He did it. He did it. He did it!"
Joke!
Thanks for the word push, Joe. How thoughtful of you,
This seems to be a tad late. I guess you had to wait til the product had her journal up and running for at least a week. Still sad and pathetic. Maybe we can all go out on a street corner now and ho it up for our journal ads since when you just showed us some more of our pimps.
Pimps up, ho's down.
Paul - I also care. I think Joe realizes I care about my blogging here. I actually think Susan, the products manager, knows I care, too. I know from the hit counter fiasco that she likes my show blogs. I've been an AOL Member on this account for ten years come Saturday (according to the date AOL has in my profile) and for a few years before that on another account. I was a volunteer Community Leader for AOL for most of the ten years on this account providing content and hosting message boards and chat rooms. I have cared a lot about AOL over the years. I know Joe, Susan and others work for the company and have to follow the company line. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes trying to calm the remnants of J-Land.
However, it's only if we speak up that our voices will be heard... if they're heard at all. The company has made a wrong-minded decision with little consideration for the paying members of the service. It isn't the first time, probably won't be the last. I know the decision wasn't made by any of the folks we "see" here. But it's through them that we have our avenue to express our thoughts where they might be passed on.
I don't disrespect Joe or John or Susan or Nancie, etc. They're all just stuck in the middle with us. (Which reminds me of an old song, but some might take that as disrespect if I quote it.) I'm not angry at any of them. I'm angry at AOL for making a decision which takes its members for granted.
I hate to say it, but I feel like I am getting more smoke blown up my butt... once again.
Ever since the blog entry with Jason Calacanis saying that AOL should be in touch with the journaling community, now all of a sudden AOL thinks they need to get out there with the journalers and rub shoulders??? They think that if they flash a few official journals around saying things like "we are doing the best we can", or "please be patient" that we are all going to roll over and expose our tender under-bellies and wait for AOL to poke us again? It's just too little too late in my estimation. When all hell broke loose on the 15th, we had yours and John's journal to turn to, and what good that do for us? What we really needed to hear from you and John, we didn't hear... and what we wound up with was just more *MAGIC SMOKE*! (Makes me wonder, what are the execs up in the boardroom smoking?) Now, all of a sudden we are getting more journals with more AOL techs to spout off more of the same dribble. (BTW, Susan's journal was just started after all the sh_t hit the fan so to speak, and from what I can see, it's just more smoke.)
I feel as if I have been betrayed by AOL, and I am expected to take it with a smile and ask for more. I just can't do that any longer. I moved my journal to blogspot (http://lyndaslullaby2.blogspot.com) when this all started, and closed my AOL account after 8½ years this past Saturday. AOL just doesn't get it and is proving to us all that they just don't care. Some day it will bite them square on the ass, and they will be the first ones to ask, "What happened? What did we ever do to deserve this?" Exactly how many of us feel about what has happened here.
Lynda a.k.a. Auntie Lyn
Formerly of http://journals.aol.com/lab2401/lyndaslullaby.
Great to see you've debuted the rest of J-folks.
Welcome, even though they've been here all along.
There's alot of negative crap still flying around because of the AOL execs' insensitivity & uncaring attitude towards bloggers' complaints lately.
I appreciate this intro. It is a bit late, but I suppose better late than never. It's a good start introducing the people behind the scenes to the people in front of scenes (us). Especially since we are pimped all the time and used for advertising purposes.
I also can appreciate the fact that you showed them as such warm, friendly, family types. Makes them more human, and not some faceless uncaring people that we all hate.
This is a beginning, although a very solid 2 way communication needs to be established between what the bloggers want & what the execs will do. None of us likes surprises flung on us. And none of us likes our opinions, thoughts and feelings ignored and/ or stomped on with a blase "I don't care what you think, Just deal with it" kind of attitude.
I can only hope that somehow, someway MUCH better communication, AS WELL AS concern for the bloggers opinions will be established. Not just concern, BUT ACTION as well.
Thanks for this entry, Joe. It is appreciated.
Still a joke.
NOT FUNNY!
In your "who's who" list, please provide the name and address of the person responsible for breaking the promise to paying AOL customers and putting unwanted (obnoxious offensive) advertising in our paid journals.
We, the little people, would really like to talk to that person. He/she has some 'splainin' to do.
Virginia
who can only be found at blogspot but who will continue to protest AOL
THis just seems like a lame attempt to put the negative comments on to someone elses journals. Honestly Joe, could you not have picked the pictures w/the kids. Thats just wrong. But, no, I dont feel bad for leaving negative comments on the journals even IF there are pics of them w/their children. They might be loving people at home and have a family, but they still dont care about us.
I've read one of those for a few weeks. Panzerjohn is really good. But I have to say... if I were you, I would take down your product manager's link. She's a blithering idiot. She's over at her journal being all condescending and trying to be cute. It ain't working for her. If I were you, I'd be trying to cover up the fact that you too work at the same place.
Her attitude is EXACTLY why so many people are upset with the treatment we members have gotten from AOL. She's completely oblivious to our concerns.
Ari
Hi folks -- a few things:
* John's Journal has been around since last year; Yoel's is relatively new. Susan's is brand-new, though it had been on the list for a while -- the ads debacle and the R2 problems have required a lot of additional posting, so to spread the work and to also make sure all the product info is right, Susan on the Product team is stepping in on the technical issues. It just makes more sense for Susan to post directly about the tech stuff, instead of me having to ask her or the other folks.
* We haven't asked (and I wouldn't expect) John or Yoel to change their posting style or frequency just because I'm linking to their blogs now. As noted, John's blog is gets pretty deep into the technical nitty-gritty, so it's more of an FYI.
* Regarding pictures, John's pic is his new All About Me photo -- his previous pic was a pretty scary headshot. (It was more like a mugshot, actually.) Yoel's pic is from Thanksgiving, and when I saw it I just laughed and laughed, so I used that one.
Thanks -- Joe
"As America Online turns more toward advertising dollars to offset the shrinking number of subscribers who pay a monthly fee, the company may be upsetting the longtime customers who have remained faithful over the years."
The lesson here? The best way to save a floundering business model is to alienate your remaining consumer base.
When your mass-marketing strategy for delivering 1025 free hours of AOL into the hands of every man, woman, child, orangutan and flying squirrel on the planet fails...DON'T think to update your marketing strategy. NEVER adapt. REFUSE to change -- all while the amorphous internet continually reshapes itself.
Cheers to you, AOL. If the Cretaceous era taught us anything, it's that adaptation is overrated."
http://beyondmediatv.com/
Susan is a winner w/her "WOW! Doesn't it look just great!" entry. Ummm, a total winner.
Honestly, I can't help wonder why you didn't promote her journal sooner. Oh, yeah, it's a recent thing.
Joe,
Have you SEEN Susan's latest entry?
Please look at the entry titled, "Hey Look Mine Matches" and then answer this simple question: Is that REALLY the message AOL wants to send its PAYING customers??
Patrick
I have reviewed other J-Landers comments before mine on this post. They range from blithering idiots - pathetic. I say I must agree with the masses in this case.
Gabreael
http://gabreaelsbodymindandspirit.blogspot.com/
h
Ah, now we can visit the blogs of MORE people who apparently have no influence about the ads. You guys talk a pretty good game, but all of you have completely blown it when it comes to the ad situation.
Thanks Joe for the introductions and well, your usual good natured post.
I think Stetsonboy summed it up the best. Why bother? No one at AOL wants to take accountability for these ads. People keep getting shoved at us and when we complain, we are told "oh it's not my fault, I didn't make the decision."
What a copout, man.
Ari
Hello,
I am a Blirgin (a Blog Virgin). I ventured into the Land of Blog, seeking to find a public forum where I could scream the tragedy of Education in America . Scream a truth from an insiders prospective.
I wanted to create a discussion and share the realities about education, educators and Boards of Education, that the majority of Americans never get to see or understand.
What really is our nations agenda pertaining to the educating of our children, all children.
So, I have no complaints and no questions, just lots of gratitude for this awesome opportunity.
http://journals.aol.com/rviorla1/PLANTATIONEDUCATIONFORAMERISMI/
Thank you
ok i think its just the sleepiness talking but .. did you say you gave yourself a title or do you really work for aol .... i have a blog http://journals.aol.com/liyh2/bipolarbaby
and i would like some help getting it read and getting it to do something neat if possible. any suggestions
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