All posts by Shari Weiss

I have been writing and teaching most of my life -- and have enjoyed both vocations. However, the advent of the Social Media Revolution has turned my life around in the most exciting fashion. Rather than think about retirement, I want to help change the world -- particularly the business world -- into a "kinder," more ethical, transparent, and authentic place to help solve people's problems.
Featured, Twitter

What to Tweet to Stand Out from the Masses

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Now that 645,750,000 million Twitter accounts have been set up, it’s a great time to distinguish yourself from the rank & file. Building an online presence — whatever the platform — is, in fact, under your control.  People using the “Global Whiteboard,” i.e. the Internet, must keep in mind that “Whatever you post can and will be held against you.”

So if you want to grow your online reputation by prudent and intelligent use of Twitter’s microblogging technology, you do need to be deliberate: Plan a Tweeting Strategy that will help you build relationships, grow a community of followers, find answers to your own challenges, and become a Go-To Source for information.

What should you Tweet?

Here are ten ideas to help you stand out from the crowd and achieve your communication goals:

1. Be your own unique self: When you have a personal insight that you would like to share, your “microblog” on Twitter helps paint a picture of you as a caring, thinking individual.

e.g. “People are NOT merely numbers. When businesses fully understand this, their strategies and tools will adjust.”

e.g. “The future of advertising is evolving, so take a risk and try something new and different. If it doesn’t work, don’t lose the lesson.”

2. Be a curator: The most valuable information on Twitter for many Tweeple are the links alerting them to useful information. And some of that indispensable wisdom could be your own blog posts, photos, or videos. Of course, you will need to use a URL shortener like bit.ly [http://bit.ly/] or you will not have enough characters to write a context for the link.

e.g. Creating a video resume is only one of the fantastic tips for “Enhancing Your Online Presence Through Video”: http://bit.ly/di2Tmo

e.g. This weekend, it’s time to Tweak that LinkedIn profile: http://bit.ly/ad6Bjr [NOTE: Shameless plug for one of my own popular blog posts.]

3. Reward with Retweets: One of the best ways  to build relationships on Twitter is to RT (ReTweet), i.e., expand the reach of someone else’s Tweet so that it can be read by your followers.

NOTE: It’s fun to see RT’s of your own Twitter updates. There’s even a scientific study that shows the most (and least) RT’d words and phrases:  To earn your own RT’s, try to use any of these Top Ten Retweeted Words: (a) you, (b) Twitter, (c) please, (d) retweet, (e) post, (f) blog, (g) social, (h) free, (i) media, (j) help

4. Search & Reply: Search Twitter for a keyword or phrase in your line of work. Find a Tweet that resonates with you and REPLY, i.e. @twittername with a comment to them.

e.g. Search for “local marketing tips” — Find a Tweeter whose advice you like — Write a comment or tip of your own to that person.

VOILA, you have started a new, possibly productive relationship!

5. Use hashtags: The pound or number sign — # — signifies a particular topic that can be commented upon and easily found by anyone searching Twitter. These “tags” are either created on-the-spot by anyone OR they are regularly used to continue conversation/discussions.

If I am Tweeting at a conference like SocialBiz2010, I would add #SocialBiz2010 to all my Tweets, and other participants could keep track of my notes AND add their own.

Same goes for books. I’m reading Brian Solis Engage, so when I like a certain insight, I can Tweet something like this:

“Brandstreams are fortified content channels dedicated to reinforcing brand personality & value proposition across the Social Web.” #Engage

6. Get personal: People new to Twitter are turned off by such seemingly insignificant and frivolous references to restaurant visits and waiting in lines at airports. However, this type of banter does NOT make Twitter “stupid” as some newbies say.

Rather, Twitter offers a very, very easy way for people to let one another know they are “listening” and that they care. People do business with people, so the more human we are with one another, the easier it is to build trust.

Plus, you may read about that restaurant and want to know more about the food & service OR perhaps your Twitter pal is on his/her way to your city and you hadn’t even known it.

As email becomes less and less read (recent statistics say that 90% of email goes unread), Twitter Updates are great ways to send a note to someone simply to keep in touch. When you put the at sign — @ — in front of the name @yourbuddy, the friend can easily find these references in his/her Twitter stream.

7. Don’t forget DM’s: When your personal friend is following you, you can always send a DM, i.e. Direct Message, that only he/she can see. Common Twitter courtesy is NOT to RT DM’s. 🙂 That is, you shouldn’t share private Direct Messages with the rest of the Twitter world.

Given the simplicity of Twitter in comparison with email, DM’s are a great choice for arranging meeting times, sending a personal tip, or just saying HI to a friend.

8. Ask questions: Because Twitter is quickly becoming a popular search tool, you should consider asking for information you need — or would simply — like to know:

e.g. What’s your favorite new movie out now and why did you like it?

e.g. Has anyone else had trouble getting Foursquare to work right on their Droid?

You just may cultivate new friendships as you learn useful new information. People on the Social Web LOVE to help one another . . . and show their expertise.

9. Company promotions: FINALLY, we get to the more business-type uses for Twitter. Common Wisdom suggests that no more than 20% of your Tweets should be strictly business, or you will be considered a spammer.

You certainly Can and Should Tweet about special sales and even discounts for Twitter users:

e.g. Discount prices on adult and child tickets to such-and-such attraction in Orlando. Use coupon link [URL].

e.g. $249.99 for a 1 Year Membership to Fitness Club. Use coupon link [URL].

10. Company news: Why not add short blurbs about people and events as well:

e.g. @lizzywebmart is now offering discounts on website home page videos

e.g. Social Media University class schedule for September is now available. Click link [URL]

Fifty-five million Tweets a day: But how many of those will be worth reading and following through on? Plan and implement your own Tweeting Strategy — and your Tweets will be the OutStanding ones.

What other Twitter Strategy ideas have worked for you?

FURTHER READING:

Twitter does NOT have to be “stupid”

Twitter 101 – What should you Tweet, part ONE

What should you Tweet, part TWO

Twitter Basics “cheat sheet”

What to Tweet so your company becomes a Brand All Star

21 Tips for using Twitter and Facebook for business

Twitter

Tips to Becoming a Twitter Pro – Updated

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Using Twitter is not difficult and could be a “No Brainer” for some of the 135,000 people signing up EVERY DAY. But getting started the right way takes some thought and strategic planning in advance.

Here are your first Pro Steps:

1. Your Twitter name: Authenticity is essential in the practice of journalism, so the name or “handle” you use to post your tweets should be as close to your own identity as possible. With 645,750,000 (March 25, 2015) Tweeple, getting your own exact name is unlikely, but you can add numbers, initials, or something creative to your actual name.

Keep in mind, however, that each Tweet must be limited to 140 characters AND that includes your name [preceded by the “@” sign]; therefore, shorter is better.

2. Your BIO: Credibility and trust can be more easily established when you describe clearly and concisely who you are and why your followers should believe you and want to hear more of what you have to say. When preparing this bio, you should think of the phrase “Personal Brand” and try to write something that you can consistently post throughout the web to establish exactly who you are.

FIVE TIPS

  • Include achievements and background relevant to your published work
  • Avoid overdoing previous works
  • Keep rewards to a minimum
  • Write in third person, AND,
  • Get Personal: Make a connection with your reader.

3. Your first tweets: Before even thinking about gathering a following, you should give serious thought to how to begin your Twitterstream, i.e., what you will say. After all, most people will only want to follow you if they believe you post valuable links and insights.

My own blog has several articles on what to tweet, and here is a link to What to Tweet to Stand out from the Masses. At the close of that post are other links for more what-to-tweet tips.

4. Whom to follow: You can find lists of experts on a host of categories, as well as lists of the oldest Twitter users, most followed Tweeters, etc. My own article Be choosy when selecting Tweeple to follow offers a few more suggestions including links to Twitter directories and a way to find individuals who share your interests by checking search.twitter.com.

PS Twitter has a feature called “Who to Follow” on the top menu board. If you click on the link, you will see a list of recommended tweeple based on whom you already follow, and more.

Social Media Common Wisdom: Take baby steps. Don’t try to do too much too soon. Have fun!

Here’s a “cheat sheet” with twitter jargon and other resources: http://sharisax.com/2009/12/03/twitter-basics-workshop-cheat-sheet/

Blogging, Sharisax Is Out There

To Comment . . . or not to comment

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table piece. . . a blog re-do is similar to a New Year’s Resolution, but in my case, I hope this intention sticks.

My previous post suggested that sincere commenters send me emails, and I received two:

A) Shari, I am glad you are blogging again. Also, I am pleased I signed up for your RSS feed long ago, because this post popped up in my reader. Look forward to future posts.    Hope this comment works, since you seem to think commenting got eliminated? – Leora  Wenger Web Designer and Developer

[Leora was one of the first great people I met online through my blog in 2009]

B)   From: John Hunter

To: sharisax

Sent:Fri, Mar 27, 2015 02:12 AM

Subject: can’t add a comment

I tried to add a comment on   http://sharisax.com/2015/03/22/how-to-re-do-a-blog-and-why/   but I just get a failure message “Requested Range Not Satisfiable”

What I wrote:
 “Good luck. Paying attention to old content is important and something people overlook almost constantly.  I do occasionally make adjustments to categories and occasionally go back and add those to old posts (but most of the time I don’t get around to it, still I think doing it is wise).”

On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 5:45 PM, <sharisax@aol.com> wrote:

John, thanks so much for your comment. I will be adding comments like yours to future blog posts. There are actually TWO things going on regarding comments:

(1) apparently one of my plug-ins has caused a problem and so, in addition to going through my posts and categories and tags, I will need to check all the plug-ins AND figure out which ones I really need.

(2) Secondly, however, is the current conversation about commenting in general. Many bloggers have discontinued comments because they receive too many value-less spam messages AND there is the belief that the online conversation should be broader than simply with one person’s Blog — and if people have deep enough feelings about a topic, they need to post on their own sites and reference the “inciting” article.

Now, in direct reference to what you said — which I will begin my post with — when I do go over those old posts, I plan to re-publish those with particular relevance these days . . .  and make the relevant updates.

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Shari Weiss

John sent a subsequent comment:
 Yes, I certainly see the problem with no-value and spam comments.  Good comments though really add value, I think.

Commenters: BRING THEM ON

simply email me: sharisax@aol.com

BTW: You might want to check out my third post about Blog Commenting and how to get your blog noticed — from six years ago

Blogging, Sharisax Is Out There

How to “re-do” a blog . . . and WHY?

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cats in boxTo: The blogosphere and friends and family

From: Shari

Re: Re-doing . . . and re-newing my blog and my blogging

Date: March 2015

Following the Oxford Sandwich format, I’ll be “telling you what I’m going to do, then telling you, then telling you what I told you.” So this paragraph is my intro and includes a little of the WHY I’m doing this. I started my blog in 2009 and learned while I was doing. After a few years . . . and some significant life changes, I “kinda” stopped. But now I’m restarting and redesigning and rethinking and redoing. Continue reading How to “re-do” a blog . . . and WHY? →

English class

Eng 201 directions for October 30

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run on'sPLEASE READ CAREFULLY and FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS

Comma splices are one of the biggest grammar errors that you’re making this semester. Today’s lesson is an opportunity to TEACH YOURSELF how to avoid them . . . and how to write better sentences.

ALL of your responses need to be posted on the Wikispaces comment page.

 

1) Take this grammar quiz on Run-on Sentences:

http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_smith_english_10/108/27805/7118326.cw/content/index.html

Use the WIKISPACES “Page” that says QUIZ. When there is a multiple choice question, write the number of the question AND the answer   — do not simply write the letter of the answer.

For the final five “rewrites,” be certain to include COMMAS that belong there.

 

2) Access this URL : http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/runons.htm   and WRITE in Wikispaces ” Page” marked READING ABOUT COMMA SPLICES  — the time you begin reading

a) Read the lesson about run-on sentences AND click on the right side to download the power point discussion, which will be particularly helpful to “visual learners.”

b) Take all the practice quizzes, but you will learn the most if you try to “fix” the sentence before the grammar version gives you the right answer.

c) Write down the time you finish reading and practicing corrections. [Again as a “comment” after your beginning time.]

 

3) Final Comma Splice assignment:

a) Read http://www.grammar-worksheets.com/worksheets/Lesson.Comma.Splices.pdf

b) On your Wikispace comment page, find the page that says: Create and fix your own ROS.

Write down a “fused sentence” and FIX it.

Write down a “fragment” and FIX it.

Write down a “comma splice” and FIX it.

 

PART TWO

Spend 15 minutes writing an LPW using this saying:

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
Thomas Jefferson

This will be posted on the page that says DREAMS

 

PART THREE . . . this will be available at 7:15 or 7:30 pm, depending on how many LPW’s have been posted to the Wikispaces page.

 

Take your LPW and find the best line. Start a new paragraph using that line. Write five sentences and proofread carefully.

 

Business Communication

BUS 300 Students gather here Wednesday, Oct 29

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BUS 300 WedHi all:

Please follow all instructions below. Plan to be online from 7 pm – 9:30 pm

1) After viewing the video “What to do with Big Data” [12 minutes]

GO TO BUS300-Comments on Wikispaces.

You should have received an invitation with a link.

Register with YOUR NAME and a password.

Go to the PAGES on the right sidebar.

Each video/assignment has a separate page.

Write TWO comments the Big Data video: one will be what you learned from the “content” of the speech. AND . . .[you may need to watch a second time] describe the structure of the presentation and how well the various stages of the speech worked for you.

Each comment needs to be at least three sentences.

Finally, please choose two comments from classmates and respond to what they say.

Seth Godin2) CHECK OUT Seth Godin’s blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Find 3-5 blog posts to read and think about
Write a comment of at least three sentences about any two of them in Wikispaces site:BUS300-Comments
Topic: Seth Godin
Comment on at least two of your classmates comment.
3)

FINALLY, view this video and list at least THREE things you understand about communications from Kate’s satirical look at Wearable Technology
Write your own comment and comment on one classmate’s comment on Topic: Wearable Tech
English class

Practice Online session: some cool videos

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taylor maliSTUDENTS

 

YOU WILL BE WATCHING AND COMMENTING ON VIDEOS . . . AND THEN LATER ON YOU’LL BE COMMENTING ON YOUR CLASSMATES’ COMMENTS.

 

These comments will ALL be submitted on a special WIKI site called Eng 1A Comments. You will be getting an email inviting you to register for this site.

IF ANY OF THE VIDEOS, DO NOT PLAY, GO ONTO THE NEXT ONE AND THEN COME BACK LATER

Note: Comments need to be at least THREE sentences.

 

1) View this 3-minute video with teacher/slam poet Taylor Mali and then write a comment in the box below:

What teachers make

 

2) View this 2nd video and write another comment:

 

3) THIRD VIDEO:

 

 

4) A longer video about Body Language and POWER POSES

 

NOW, go back to comment section and comment on your classmates’ comments.

Please find THREE comments that you have an opinion about. In your comment, use the student’s name and paraphrase what he or she said before giving your comment.

Sharisax Is Out There

Top Ten Terms to get you Tweeting [redux]

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Follow me on Twitter @sharisax

Sometimes more is more, but often LESS is more.

That’s one of the reasons Twitter is so powerful and popular, and it’s also the reason why this post will include only Ten Twitter vocabulary items.
You can find dozens of twitter words and definitions in the wiki Twictionary, and in my earlier article Twitter Basics — Workshop “Cheat Sheet” where I defined 12 common twitter jargon words. This post, however, is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the terms you really need to “work” Twitter and make Twitter “work” for you.

Here’s your “Annotated” Word Introduction to Twitter

1 – TWEET – The 140-character post on Twitter. It is also called a Microblog, i.e. a condensed and concise statement that often links to blog articles. Live Tweeting is practiced at events — both face-to-face and online — where participants contribute an ongoing report of the proceedings. You can even find Live Tweets at events like actual hospital surgeries.

2 – FOLLOW – You follow people to read their tweets — to keep up with the latest news, trends, entertainment, and happenings of friends, celebrities, and knowledgeable people. Unlike Facebook where you must be accepted — and where there is a limit to how many friends you can have — you can follow anyone you want to. See previous posts for tips on Whom to Follow.

However, you can block someone from seeing your tweets OR, of course, someone can block you. The difference is that you don’t request permission to follow someone. You just do it. And if you are not a scammer, a robot, or in some other way intrusive, you probably won’t be blocked.

3 – TWITTERSTREAM [or Stream of Tweets] – It you access Twitter via the actual site Twitter.com, then you will see a “stream” of posts from the people you follow. These would be the most recent statements they posted in reverse chronological order, i.e., the newest posts are up at the top. If you select PROFILE from the top menu, you will see your Twitterstream, i.e., what you have posted in reverse chronological order.

This stream of posts is what someone else would see if they searched Twitter for your handle [your Twitter name]. For example, click on twitter.com/sharisax and you will see my twitterstream. If you liked what you saw, then you would follow me by clicking the FOLLOW button below my photo [your photo is also called your avatar].

As stated in the previous post Tips to become a Twitter Pro BEFORE your first post, I suggested that you plan your Twitter strategy before you write your first post: know Why you are on Twitter and What Twitter image you hope to accomplish. Your Twitterstream will be How you accomplish that image, i.e., your “personal brand.”

4 – FOLLOWERS [those who read your Tweets] –  Influence and/or popularity seems to be measured by how many followers one has. You can find out the 200 most followed Tweeple [a person who Tweets] on a site like Twitaholic.com: as of this writing, celebrity Kevin Smith has 1.7+million followers.

“So What?” That is a common question asked by journalists when any extraordinary statistic is thrown at them. If numbers are your sole objective, there are automatic, robotic means of accruing a slew of followers. My suggestion, however, is that you grow your follower list organically. That means the list of people who follow you develops naturally, i.e., people either follow you because they like reading what you Tweet OR, in many cases, they follow you back automatically when you follow them. [Hint: that is one typical way to gather followers.]

5 – DM or Direct Message – Once you follow someone and he or she follows you back, you may DM the person, e.g. D sharisax [by using a Capital “D” and a space and the person’s twitter handle]. This is NOT a Tweet to everyone, but a private text message to one person. Personally, I do not text very often on my cell phone, but I do DM lots of my Twitter friends — and these relationships have grown faster and deeper than others because of the ease of communication. Engagement and building relationships is what the Social Web is all about. More than a few technology/Internet pundits have predicted that Twitter will replace much, if not most, of email in the future. [Who likes to read all the previous messages and other extraneous verbiage on emails.]

6 – RT or ReTweet – This is the action of re-posting someone else’s Tweet with attribution, e.g. RT @sharisax Sometimes more is more, and sometimes less is more. [Use the “RT” and then a space and then the “@” sign in front of the person’s handle — all this in front of what they tweeted.] When someone RT’s what you have posted, you feel recognized and appreciated. Many people make it a practice of Thanking those who RT them. Of course, once you are so popular that 100’s of people RT you, then you might not have time for much else other than thanking people if you stick to this practice.

All that being said, the practice of RT-ing is one of the reasons that you don’t need to worry about missing much of the good stuff on Twitter. If it truly is “good stuff,” then it is surely likely to be RT’d.

7 – SEARCH.TWITTER.COM – Searching Twitter [now integrated on the Twitter interface] offers “real-time” results, i.e., What people are Tweeting at the moment you input your keywords . . . unless your the terms are obscure, i.e., no one but you is interested. This is one of the best methods for finding people to follow — by inputting topics of interest and finding like-minded people. Read their streams and then follow them if you like what they have to say. You might want to reply or retweet, so they will have an additional incentive to follow you back. And you might even find someone who becomes one of your face-to-face friends. [I have 🙂 ]

You can narrow your search through operators like these two examples [complete list]:

news 🙁 —–  search contains word “news” and with a negative attitude

“happy hour” near:”san francisco” —– search contains exact phrase “happy hour” and was sent near “san francisco”

8 – Tweetdeck.com – This is the desktop application I use to more fully engage with my followers and topics I follow. I will post a complete article explaining how to download and use this valuable tool.

9 – Tweetchat.com – Twitter can be used for chatting real-time. The way it works is that everyone in the chat is using a certain keyword (called a hashtag) in all their tweets. The applications are then grabbing all the tweets with that hashtag (defined below) from Twitter and displaying them for the people who are part of the chat. Be careful though because your tweets are also going out to all the people who are following you.

10-  109 Slang Terms for Tweeters 

PS I just remembered URL shorteners like bit.ly. Most people use a site like bit.ly to reduce the number of characters in the URL. This site also has functionality to track your shortened URLs to report on how many times people click on them.

PPS How could I forget to define Hashtags? Tweeters use the number symbol # in front of a word [e.g., #journ65] to identify a topic that makes it easy for people to (a) search for and (b) contribute to the discussion — whether the discussion is happening real time or just “over” time. One example of a real time hashtag discussion would be live tweeting during a webinar. The hashtag could be as simple as the name of the moderator; George Kao happens to be one of my mentors, and when he holds one of his Q&A sessions, I would tweet using the @georgekao hashtag, so people can follow the discussion and add to it.

Which terms would you add to this list, and what would you say about them?


Sharisax Is Out There

21 Tips for using Facebook and Twitter for Business via Brian Solis

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From Engage by Brian Solis

Here is a list that will help businesses embrace the methods now available for their marketing efforts through social media platforms, especially via Twitter and Facebook. [This was originally posted on my blog How To Do Social Media by the book.] Continue reading 21 Tips for using Facebook and Twitter for Business via Brian Solis →

Sharisax Is Out There

8 Ways to Maximize Business at a Meetup

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From Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Meetups are popular social gatherings usually organized around a particular business topic or hobby or other special interest. There’s a meetup.com site where you can learn if there are any events in your area (though many events happen without being facilitated through that site).

Here’s how you can do business at meetups

1. You can connect your online presence with face-to-face humans.

2. Before an event, research for information about who will be there.

3. Check Flickr.com for photos of attendees, so you can recognize them when you see them.

4. Check Twitter for mention of organizations of attendees.

5. At the event, find the people you most want to meet — earlier, rather than later.

6. It’s not about how many business cards you hand out, but how many useful ones you collect.

7. Be conversational and polite and do not monopolize any one person’s time.

8. After the event, send brief notes to people whom you want to build a relationship.

Don’t forget that you, too, can start a meetup group to gather together like-minded individuals.

FURTHER READING:

Chris Brogan’s  primary blog

Chris Brogan Nails a Universal Truth

Networking DO’S and DON’TS

Beyond the Hype: Roadmap for Social Media

Why social media is like a day at the beach

Sharisax Is Out There

Who’s using Google+ and why? Who should get on now and why? Who ought to wait?

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It’s not like we all need yet another social network site to add to our online plate, right?

That was my first question when I began to hear the buzz surrounding Google+, the new social network platform that’s reportedly aiming to kill Facebook.

If you check out my article on Simple Answers to 6 Basic Social Media Questions, you’ll note I suggest newbies concentrate on five basic places when they are getting their feet wet in a teeming sea of social media sites. [Start here: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and blogging.]

Google is such a huge influence on our online behavior that you have to wonder if the omnipresent search engine could be wrong. Will we soon “wave” goodbye to the latest Google “buzz”?

I read a lot of social media pundits who are devoting time and blog space to their experiments with Google+ and so I have to wonder if it’s time for me to follow suit . . . or wait.

That’s why I relied on my trusted adviser LinkedIn Answers to post the following:

Who’s using Google+ and why? Who should get on now and why? Who ought to wait?

The question obviously struck a chord. In less than two days, I have received 16 answers. Here are some of them:

Depends on your business industry and marketing model. Does every business need a Facebook page? Does a HVAC systems integrator need a Twitter account? Customer demand will lead businesses to the technology. If there are no customers using the feature, a business is not going to spend the time investing in it.

Your early adopters are going to be personal blogs and tech-savvy businesses first who need to adopt every piece of new marketing technology in its infancy because its niche customers are primarily early adopters already. —Matt Rygelski

I’m just starting to experiment with Google+ and like it so far. Of course, one reason I like it is that it’s still in the “early adopter, just us geeks here” phase. The main reason I like it is that it’s NOT FACEBOOK, and I detest Facebook.

If you’re not a geek, wait a bit until Google has worked out some of the kinks. If you are a geek and want to help with the beta testing, come on in.

Oh, and if you are a company or brand, your employees can join, but Google hasn’t finished setting up its brand pages yet, so you should wait.

It’s nice to be able to organize connections. The group video feature is a little buggy yet, but it’s free, whereas someone has to pay for Skype’s group video. The ability to decide which of your circles a chat post goes to is nice. And chat in as many characters as you want is also nice.

As with Twitter, I suspect it will take some time before people discover all the things they can use it for–the uses that the creators never imagined. There will always be people who have to wait until those uses appear to use a tool. And people for whom a tool is just not the right tool, because it doesn’t help them accomplish their goals. If you aren’t someone who likes playing with new tools for fun and can’t see a business application yet, then wait until you DO see a practical use. — Sallie Goetsch

There is very little there TBH…I got invited, signed up and 5 mins later had seen the whole thing and left.

That’s not to say it isn’t going to be good….just way to early to tell yet. If you haven’t seen it, you are not missing anything i assure you. — Scott Linklater

I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks and overall it’s very good, but I’d caution businesses or ‘collecetive entities’ in general from doing too much on the platform just yet. Google has said that branded pages will be available soon, and has taken steps to remove some early branded accounts that have sprung up. I’d reccomend signing up for personal use and exploring, possibly publishing some content there and beginning to build contacts, but I wouldn’t throw too much investment at it just yet – the platform will eveolve as more gmail users get involved, and it’s nly then that the usage norms will start to appear and make it a truly valuable channel.
I wrote an article on Econsultancy recently about this, if you’re interested, I’ve added a link below.
http://ecly.co/q5ErI9 — Matt Owen

Glad you asked this question, because I’m curious why I should blithely hand over even more personal information to Google. That Google is facing a major FTC investigation indicates a wait and see attitude to me. Overall, I think they’ve devolved from search engine to omniscience. — Elektrish Media

People who are involved in Marketing, Promotion, Social Media, Advertising, and Technology related fields should jump onto Google + immediately in order to establish their credibility in speaking about it, and other current trends, and also to become “experts” before anyone else.

This of course adds value to them as individuals and companies, and also means that they will be in a position to influence others about this product/technology.

Who should wait? Everyone else. There is no business or monetary value to being involved with Google+ yet for anyone who isn’t in the industries I stated above. They can wait to get involved with this.– Roberto Blake

I’m currently using Google+, but I don’t think it really compares to other social networking platforms (at least not yet). I think it will be much more innovative when a Google+ app is available for the iPhone or Blackberry. Right now I’m really only associating with business contacts, friends, and blogger connections. Some of it seems to be a bit of a spam; lots of Asian dialect and inappropriate pictures. I’m not too sold on the idea of switching over to it and haven’t used any of the functions yet (group chat/video), but I think once it’s available via mobile devices it might just be a game changer! — Molly Dixon

I think Google+ is worth watching because Google seems to have finally moved away from knee-jerk efforts at “social” to thinking through how “social” might work within the context of Google’s core business and the Google-sphere.

While it is far too early to tell how successful Google+ will be (or which elements will really take off), I like the concept of Circles, the serendipity of Sparks, and the potential of the Hangouts. Plus the fact that (hopefully shortly) there will be integration with Google Reader. — Daria Steigman

Seems “clear” to me: If you’re an SM geek and/or techie early adopter, then you need to be there, i.e. Google+

To Google+ it OR To wait.   — Which is it for you?

 

Blogging

Why do YOU blog?

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My college English students are all experimenting with blogging, and many of them want to know why. Here is guidance from previous posts on this blog:

What is a blog and WHY should I do one?

Why do people read blogs?

What should your first blog post be about?

Should you set up your own blog?

What do I blog about?

Use your blog to become the GO-TO source for information

To blog . . . or not to blog: that’s a good first question

For some briefer opinions, check out the responses contributed to the community of bloggers on LinkedIn’s group: THE BLOG ZONE.

Brittney Wilson posted this question to the group:

Why Did you Start Blogging?

I am interested to know what made each of you decide to get online and start blogging?

For me it was lateral violence, or bullying, which is a terrible phenomena in the nursing profession in which “nurses eat their young”. I needed to share my experiences with someone other than my husband, and blogging allowed me that outlet.

Here are some of the reasons offered by group members:

Ilias Chelidonis • For me was to put my thoughts and experiences in order, you need to express yourself about all the things you’ve been through, your mistakes and successes,blogging is probably the only mean to do that.

Hao Nguyen • I’m a PR student and I started up a blog quite recently (February this year) and for me, I guess it was a way to keep in touch with the industry by connecting with fellow PR students / professionals.  So far I’m very pleased with the direction my blog’s headed and I’ve learnt so much more about PR just through reading and blogging.

Rebecca Barth • After Extreme Couponing aired, I was suddenly the most popular gal around. You see, I had been couponing for years, and suddenly, when friends saw the money that they could save, they wanted to know how to do it, especially since they know I don’t spend more than about 15 minutes a week (unlike the folks on the show, though I am sure they are super passionate about what they do!). I was starting to sound like a broken record (if you are old enough to know what one of those is!), so I put it all together on a blog. I am loving it!  — The Undercover Couponer

Nicole Nixen • I recently started a blog (seriously – it’s not even a month old) to keep me motivated in writing both fiction and non-fiction pieces. It is my way of applying pressure on myself to carve out time each day to this endeavor. I use the blogs to bounce off ideas I have for current projects and in the coming weeks, to post pieces of current drafts in progress.

Robyn Davis • My blog may be a bit different from others listed here, as it is a “business” blog instead of a personal blog. I started my blog to highlight my work experiences (for potential clients, etc) but, this year, I’ve expanded my blogging to include weekly article-style posts about sales, marketing, and exhibiting as a whole. It has been a great experience that, I hope, has been helpful to other professionals and I am currently in the process of moving my blog from Blogger to a self-hosted Word Press blog. This has been a challenge, but I’m looking forward to coming through on the other side even better off 🙂

Jayna Locke • Thanks for launching this topic, Brittney. It’s so interesting to see all the different reasons people start a blog.

I have had several blogs, but I started my main business blog to share what I have learned about content marketing, and also to give current and potential clients confidence in my expertise. It has been very worthwhile. I have several new clients for whom I write keyword enhanced press releases and blogs, which are my among my favorite projects.

One of the unsung benefits of blogging, in my opinion, is the self-discovery. It’s what you learn along the way. If I had the time, I would write a blog about each of my areas of interest.

Sandy McDonald • My passion for blogging started with a conviction that the world could be changed after we started an online grassroots charity aimed at warming and comforting children made vulnerable and orphaned by HIV/AIDS and poverty in South Africa. This was more a site than a blog (http://www.knit-a-square.com). Just a simple idea, ask the world’s knitters to send 8″ squares to SA to made into blankets. The response was truly amazing and took over our lives. My husband and I had to learn about the orphan crisis and this lead to http://allfororphans.com

Then reality slapped a caveat on our full time unpaid work and we had to get back to earning a living. So I started http://whyyoumustblog.com wanting to pass on what I had learned in creating community online. That morphed into working with small business or owner businesses to build their businesses online. I do have a great interest in helping people move quickly through the learnings it took me ages to understand and to save them time, money and effort.

So do any of these reasons resonate with you? Or are yours completely different? If so, please give my students more to consider.