Ethan Banks

Author Archives: Ethan Banks

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For October 2017

Here’s a catalog of all the media I produced (or helped produce) in October 2017. I’ve decided to add some content summaries so that you have good incentive to give some of the podcasts a listen if they tickle your fancy.

PACKET PUSHERS WEEKLY PODCAST

PRIORITY QUEUE PODCAST

Think Of Your Audience

One of the challenges technical authors face is that of peer respect. That is, technical people who took a lot of time to learn what they know want to be respected by their peers when they write. They want to be recognized for their knowledge, wisdom, and insights.

In that context, there’s often fear before pressing “Publish.” Was every detail correct? Was every scenario considered? Was the very latest information about a topic included?

The fear of hitting publish is well-founded for technical authors, because technical folks have a way of being nit-picky, pedantic, and annoying. One small detail wrong, one badly stated premise, and the angry comment and critical tweet claws come out, slashing at your ego.

Will they like me? I just want everyone to like me.

One solution, of course, is to have a thick skin. If you view criticisms as a way to improve a piece, that’s the best route to go, especially when the commenter has a good point. Being able to ignore critics is another useful skill, because there are plenty of folks who say a lot while adding no value whatsoever.

However, I think the most important point to keep in mind Continue reading

Think Of Your Audience

One of the challenges technical authors face is that of peer respect. That is, technical people who took a lot of time to learn what they know want to be respected by their peers when they write. They want to be recognized for their knowledge, wisdom, and insights.

In that context, there’s often fear before pressing “Publish.” Was every detail correct? Was every scenario considered? Was the very latest information about a topic included?

The fear of hitting publish is well-founded for technical authors, because technical folks have a way of being nit-picky, pedantic, and annoying. One small detail wrong, one badly stated premise, and the angry comment and critical tweet claws come out, slashing at your ego.

Will they like me? I just want everyone to like me.

One solution, of course, is to have a thick skin. If you view criticisms as a way to improve a piece, that’s the best route to go, especially when the commenter has a good point. Being able to ignore critics is another useful skill, because there are plenty of folks who say a lot while adding no value whatsoever.

However, I think the most important point to keep in mind Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For September 2017

Here’s a catalog of all the media I produced (or helped produce) in September 2017.

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Packet Pushers Priority Queue Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

EthanCBanks.com

Newsletters

I closed down the Hot Aisle newsletter after months of struggling to know what to do with it. Originally, the Hot Aisle was a way for me to express my individual voice about networking, design, emerging trends, and the IT industry without necessarily having that opinion attached to Packet Pushers, my company. It was also an unsponsored newsletter, which I felt was a nice thing to be able to Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For September 2017

Here’s a catalog of all the media I produced (or helped produce) in September 2017.

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Packet Pushers Priority Queue Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

EthanCBanks.com

Newsletters

I closed down the Hot Aisle newsletter after months of struggling to know what to do with it. Originally, the Hot Aisle was a way for me to express my individual voice about networking, design, emerging trends, and the IT industry without necessarily having that opinion attached to Packet Pushers, my company. It was also an unsponsored newsletter, which I felt was a nice thing to be able to Continue reading

How Uber Charges You Money, But You Get No Ride

I spent part of last week in Seattle, a city known for its frequent rain. While caught in some weather with my lovely wife, we felt that grabbing an Uber was preferable to walking back to the parking garage. Being on the road, we weren’t prepared to handle a steady downpour.

I fired up the Uber app for the first time in a long time, as I’m not in need of Uber services very often. Hmm. Things had changed since the last time I hailed a ride. Some major GUI changes had happened, along with the app requesting an upfront commitment of a little cash before requesting a pickup. Um…okay. That’s new, but that makes sense. I suppose the cash commitment means that fewer people would cancel their ride after the driver accepts it, and that’s fair enough.

Here’s where it gets ugly, though. We’d hailed a ride during a rush hour in Seattle. There were a lot of cars on the streets. While it wasn’t gridlock, it was busy. An Uber driver accepted my request, and then a few moments later, I get a call. More or less, the driver said, “I’m not that close to you, and it’s Continue reading

How Uber Charges You Money, But You Get No Ride

I spent part of last week in Seattle, a city known for its frequent rain. While caught in some weather with my lovely wife, we felt that grabbing an Uber was preferable to walking back to the parking garage. Being on the road, we weren’t prepared to handle a steady downpour.

I fired up the Uber app for the first time in a long time, as I’m not in need of Uber services very often. Hmm. Things had changed since the last time I hailed a ride. Some major GUI changes had happened, along with the app requesting an upfront commitment of a little cash before requesting a pickup. Um…okay. That’s new, but that makes sense. I suppose the cash commitment means that fewer people would cancel their ride after the driver accepts it, and that’s fair enough.

Here’s where it gets ugly, though. We’d hailed a ride during a rush hour in Seattle. There were a lot of cars on the streets. While it wasn’t gridlock, it was busy. An Uber driver accepted my request, and then a few moments later, I get a call. More or less, the driver said, “I’m not that close to you, and it’s Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For August 2017

Here’s a catalog of all the media I produced (or helped produce) in August 2017.

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Packet Pushers Priority Queue Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

Packet Pushers Articles

EthanCBanks.com

NetIntro Book

  • In August, I finished my contributions to this book. I ended up with roughly 6 (or 7?) chapters out of 30 or so. That’s a little awkward for me as I would have hoped to have done a more or Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For August 2017

Here’s a catalog of all the media I produced (or helped produce) in August 2017.

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Packet Pushers Priority Queue Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

Packet Pushers Articles

EthanCBanks.com

NetIntro Book

  • In August, I finished my contributions to this book. I ended up with roughly 6 (or 7?) chapters out of 30 or so. That’s a little awkward for me as I would have hoped to have done a more or Continue reading

Beware n1wireless.com: Bait & Switch

Over the weekend, I ordered an Apple Airport Extreme wireless router from n1wireless.com. The price was great, and their site stated they had 90 in stock. This afternoon, I received from them via e-mail one of the oldest sales tricks there is–the bait and switch.

With the bait and switch technique, the victim is lured by a low price on a desirable product (the bait). The vendor of the low-priced product claims to be out of the bait, offering a different product at a higher price (the switch). N1Wireless suggested that instead of what I had ordered, I spend $50 more on an Apple Time Capsule product.

I applaud n1wireless.com for their bold ethical choices, but respectfully decline the opportunity to spend more money on a product I don’t want.

The lesson is not a new one. If something is too good to be true, then it probably is. Really, I should know better. I had a similar experience with a different vendor several months back selling a TV at a surprisingly low price. After two weeks of waiting for the order to ship, I had to call support to find out that the TV was on backorder, Continue reading

Beware n1wireless.com: Bait & Switch

Over the weekend, I ordered an Apple Airport Extreme wireless router from n1wireless.com. The price was great, and their site stated they had 90 in stock. This afternoon, I received from them via e-mail one of the oldest sales tricks there is–the bait and switch.

With the bait and switch technique, the victim is lured by a low price on a desirable product (the bait). The vendor of the low-priced product claims to be out of the bait, offering a different product at a higher price (the switch). N1Wireless suggested that instead of what I had ordered, I spend $50 more on an Apple Time Capsule product.

I applaud n1wireless.com for their bold ethical choices, but respectfully decline the opportunity to spend more money on a product I don’t want.

The lesson is not a new one. If something is too good to be true, then it probably is. Really, I should know better. I had a similar experience with a different vendor several months back selling a TV at a surprisingly low price. After two weeks of waiting for the order to ship, I had to call support to find out that the TV was on backorder, Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For July 2017

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Packet Pushers Network Break Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

Priority Queue Podcast

Citizens of Tech Podcast

  • Eric and I are having a long think about this show. Still. Not sure where we’re going to land. We like making it, but we also like having time in our lives without stress. Making this show is fun, but is also stressful.

Video

NetIntro Book

  • I finished a chapter on the Internet of Things and began a chapter on Cloud Computing. This project is wrapping up. Russ White has been writing up a storm. A couple of other contributors stepped up to the plate and Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For July 2017

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Packet Pushers Network Break Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

Priority Queue Podcast

Citizens of Tech Podcast

  • Eric and I are having a long think about this show. Still. Not sure where we’re going to land. We like making it, but we also like having time in our lives without stress. Making this show is fun, but is also stressful.

Video

NetIntro Book

  • I finished a chapter on the Internet of Things and began a chapter on Cloud Computing. This project is wrapping up. Russ White has been writing up a storm. A couple of other contributors stepped up to the plate and Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For June 2017

Packet Pushers Community Blog

Packet Pushers News

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

Priority Queue Podcast

Citizens of Tech Podcast

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For May 2017

Packet Pushers Community Blog

Packet Pushers News

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

Priority Queue Podcast

Citizens of Tech Podcast

Video

Value Constrains Us. At Least, It Should.

A friend of mine asked me, “How do you manage the billions of chat messages, chat apps, social media, etc.? I’m becoming so inefficient it isn’t funny.”

TL;DR

The short answer is that I don’t manage them. I mostly ignore them. I don’t view most of these apps, especially social media, as something to be kept up with. I declared permanent amnesty (some would say bankruptcy) some time ago. I have a different viewpoint on these tools than I once did.

See also the post I wrote on Cal Newport’s book, Deep Work in May 2016.

I limit active participation.

I only take part in a few services, and I’m not consistently active on any of them. Despite however many followers I might have on a given platform, the world doesn’t care what I have to say on those services so much that my contributions especially matter. Therefore, stepping back isn’t harming anyone, nor is it disappointing someone that I’m not saying something or participating in every conversation that I might. No one notices.

Conversely, I don’t pay attention to everything everyone else is saying on all the platforms where things are being said. The Internet allows everyone to talk Continue reading

All Of Ethan’s Podcasts And Articles For April 2017

Packet Pushers Community Blog

Packet Pushers News

Packet Pushers Weekly Podcast

Datanauts Podcast

Priority Queue Podcast

Citizens of Tech Podcast

Video

  • None this month – too focused on Interop session prep. However, much of Continue reading

RESPONSE: 3 Hidden Lessons Behind Top Podcasts to Help Yours Stand Out

Thoughts from the Content Marketing Institute for budding podcasters were shared here. Here’s my response to the points that stood out to me.

CMI’s big idea #1.

“At first, format trumps talent.” And then later…“Avoid the race to the bottom of simply booking the biggest guests in your niche and meandering through an unplanned episode. Instead, find your format.”

Response. To record an effective show people will listen to, you need a plan, agreed. However, the article cites an example of a 15 minute long episode carved into blocks of minutes and seconds.

Perhaps that’s what you need when working against an ultra-tight timeline. However, an outline that provides structure should be adequate. Overly structuring a podcast is burdensome and can serve to stifle interesting conversation. Freedom is one of the benefits of podcasting.

Podcasting is NOT a digital regurgitation of radio, although many try to shoehorn podcasts into a radio format, because the radio business is what they understand. However, podcast content is different. Distribution is different. Listener consumption is different. Monetization is different.

And perhaps most importantly, timelines are fluid. 15 minute long podcasts are being created under an artificial time constraint that begs the question…why?

On the other hand, Continue reading

1 … 34 35 36 37 38 … 52