by Scott Howard | Apr 9, 2015 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
For #ThrowBackThursday, a reposting of an article I wrote 3 years ago:
It seemed so simple to me.
ScLoHo.
Google it and 99.99% of the time you’ll find some reference to me.
That was the purpose of creating the word scloho.
But yesterday I was reminded that even some very good friends of mine don’t know how to pronounce it.
SCLOHO is a weird word I admit, and it has a unique origin which I’ll share in a moment.
But how do you pronounce scloho, or SCLOHO, or Scloho or ScLoHo?
When you want to say it, just break it into 2 syllables: Sclo and Ho
Start with the Sc sound like the beginning of Scott and add the Low sound, and you have the first syllable: Sclo.
The 2nd syllable is real easy Ho. As in Ho, Ho, Ho, the sound of Santa laughing.
Sclo-Ho Go ahead and say it out loud a couple of times.
And I’ll answer the other questions you have.
If it’s only 2 syllables, then why do you capitalize the L and H?
Why did you chose those letters and put them in that order?
Here’s the background and history:
My given name is Scott Howard.
If you Google Scott Howard, there are plenty of other Scott Howards around ranging from doctors, to attorneys, to criminals.
There used to be a Scott Howard restaurant in California that was at the top of the Google Search Results, but they closed.
The dot com version of Scott Howard belongs to a real estate agent, also in California.
And there is a fictional Scott Howard, the main character from the movie Teen Wolf staring Michael J. Fox.
Back in the 1990’s when I was setting up my first email account I decided to create a unique name instead of something like ScottHoward24 or whatever Yahoo was suggesting.
If you take my first and last names and add my middle name and you get Scott Louis Howard.
Get creative and shorten it by only using the first two letters: Scott Louis Howard.
Throw away those extra letters and you wind up with: ScLoHo.
ScLoHo developed into an online persona.
A personal brand.
When I joined Twitter it was short enough to leave me with 134 more characters to play with when I tweet.
A few years ago when I decided to start my own marketing consulting firm, ScLoHo Marketing Solutions was born.
And I protected myself by registering ScLoHo on a few hundred social media sites and bought a few domains with ScLoHo too.
My wife and kids now call me ScLoHo, and you can too if you want.
Or I answer to Scott too.
by Scott Howard | Feb 26, 2015 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
Let’s share some personal stuff today.
If this is your first time visiting my website, welcome. Feel free to drop me a note and connect.
Just recently I changed a few ways I have been communicating and one of those is to share these articles online more frequently on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even Google+.
But what the heck is a website named ScottHoward.Me? It sounds a bit self centered, I admit, however 4 years ago when my friend Kevin challenged me to make some changes in my online activity and use my given name, Scott Howard, the standard domains for Scott Howard were all taken.
The dot me domain was fresh and new and since this was going be be solely my creation, I bought it and here we are. My online presence however goes back much further under the name ScLoHo. Google ScLoHo and nearly everything you find is related to me. I had several blogs and websites that were branded ScLoHo and recieved some national recognition in the Wall Street Journal and various social media press.
In 2011, it was time to merge the online activity with the other stuff of me, Scott Howard.
(ScLoHo is just the first two letters of my first, middle and last names mashed together. You’ll find my on Twitter as ScLoHo, and my email address is Scott@ScLoHo.net.)
I live and work in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I grew up here from age 6 to 18, returned for awhile in my 20’s and then returned for good at age 38 in 1998. Married with 3 kids who are also married and 2 step-kids with growing families all around. Besides work and family I also am involved with our church doing some volunteer leadership and neighborhood involvement. My Christian faith is part of my core being so I strive to be true to what is honoring God. Strive is an important word in that last sentence, because it doesn’t imply perfection, which is impossible, just a direction.
I’ll occasionally share stuff of a personal nature here, because that is part of keepin’ it real. Most of what I will write about is related to the marketing world I work in or have observed over the last couple of decades.
I don’t get paid to write this stuff. It’s simply something I do. I get paid to work for Federated Media. Specifically radio station WOWO in Fort Wayne. Advertising and marketing sales is one way to put it and along with WOWO I also have the local ESPN radio stations and an ever growing collection of digital media marketing options offered by Federated Media.
Before I joined WOWO, I worked at a couple of other radio station groups in Fort Wayne which has given me an insiders perspective to how they handle things. I also worked on the air for several years and in management. Served on the Board of Directors of the Fort Wayne Advertising Association. Served on a number of marketing boards for non-profits and the like. Took a turn a couple of times getting paid to work for a website development firm and also handled the social media output for a multi-million dollar internet company.
If you want to follow along, I am currently publishing 6 days a week on ScottHoward.me and there are a couple of email subscription options on the right side of this website.
My goal is to keep writing, sharing, reading and helping. Feel free to do the same and connect too.
by Scott Howard | Apr 1, 2012 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
First off this is not an April Fools Prank.
Over the next few days I am going to be making several changes.
This website will have a different layout and design.
The content schedule will be different too.
In October 2011 when I launched this website ( http://www.scotthoward.me/ ) the purpose was:
- To consolidate a number of blogsites that I was updating regularly onto one website. This was to improve the cross promotion of the different blogs.
- To reduce the number to updates I was doing. I went from 5 or more per day, 7 days a week down to 4 (sometimes 5) 5 days a week.
- Merge the online identity and brand of ScLoHo with the offline Scott Howard.
And for the most part it has worked.
But I want to simplify even more.
So I looked at the analytics, the numbers behind the articles to see what was a keeper and what I could change. I also added in a little gut check by asking a few folks and by asking myself what I wanted to do.
First off the Fort Wayne Site of the Day stays as a 5 day a week feature. That much is clear. When I started promoting Fort Wayne area businesses, organizations and people’s websites a few years ago and then stopped I received numerous requests to start it up. I’ve even been asked by folks in other cities and states if I could start doing a similar feature for their town or if it was okay if they “stole” the idea and did it themselves.
My answer was, no I don’t want to do it, but you are more than welcome to copy my idea and promote your hometown.
Other changes are coming and as they occur I’ll be sure to keep you up to date.
As always, I welcome your ideas, comments and input.
Update on April 6, 2012:
The Fort Wayne Website of the Day will be moving to a new home starting Monday April 9th hosted by a friend of mine. More details soon.