Tag Archives: Twitter

Twitter

Life on Twitter made easier than Life on Mars — Try Tweetdeck

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If you love getting organized, you’ll love Tweetdeck

Untangle your Tweets
Untangle your Tweets

Tweetdeck is the key that not only opens the door to greater accessibility but can make your entire Twitter experience so much fun — especially for those who love easy organization.

How Tweetdeck works:

1. Download Tweetdeck (TweetDeck runs on the Adobe AIR runtime. To use TweetDeck, you will need to install Adobe AIR first.)

2. Login and you will see THREE COLUMNS: One column is a list of the Tweeple you follow [ALL FRIENDS] with the most recent 100 tweets (including your own). The second and third columns are likely to be empty.

3. One of the empty columns is called DIRECT MESSAGES. When you SEND one of your followers a DM [direct message], it will appear in this column.

4. The other empty column is called REPLIES. Here you will see messages that mention your twitter name, i.e., @twittername, e.g., @sharisax. [An “advanced move” is to change this column, but that can wait for a later post from me or you can read about it within a blog called Twittercism.]

5. Now you are ready to take a look at the boxes that run along the top, beginning on the left above your columns. The first box TWEET will open up the text insert line that allows you to write your 140 character message. [The box turns red if your message goes over the limit.] The input line below the tweet line is used for shortening a long URL: simply type in the complete URL, click SHORTEN, and your smaller URL is inserted into your message.  The TWITPIC box next to Shorten allows you to add picture files. When your message is complete, click your enter key and the message will be sent to Twitter.

6.  Tweetdeck has many additional features, but you may want to play with just two of them before you begin further investigation. The sixth box from the left [after the Tweet box] is called GROUP. When you click on Group, another column pops up: ADD A GROUP. You are asked to name the group.

  • Many Tweeple use a column to separate the most interesting and important people they are following from the rest of the pack, so often this column is identified as A-List. You will see a “drop down”  listing of ALL of the people you follow, and you click on those you wish to be in your “A-List” or whatever you choose to call the group.
  • When you are finished selecting group members, simply click on SAVE GROUP at the bottom, and then you will have a separate stream of tweets from group members. This makes it easy for you to “follow” a lot of people and not have to read through all their tweets to get to the ones you want.

7. The final “beginner’s tip” is the box to the right of Group. This is TWITTER SEARCH. When you click here, you will get an input box asking what you are searching for. You can try any topic, even your name. When you hit enter, another column is added with the Tweets mentioning the word or phrase (just as if you had gone to the Twitter Search site.

HINT: When I set up my first additional group and search columns, I thought some had “disappeared” because I couldn’t see them. Then I discovered the movable bar below the columns that allows you to move to the right or left to access all your columns even when they extend past your screen size.

NOTE: Additional sources: Chris Spagnuolo’s EdgeHopper, and here’s a site that answers Tweetdeck FAQ

FINAL SUGGESTION: These tips listed above are just to get you started. The Real Fun begins when you discover some of the functions on your own — So Download Tweetdeck and Enjoy!

Next post:What to Tweet About

Blogging, Twitter

Twitter 101: Be Choosy when selecting first Tweeple to Follow

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Open the door and let the tweets begin
Open the door and let the tweets begin

The REAL, intrinsic, not-so-secret value of social media in general — and Twitter, particularly — is the desire to help others by sharing information.

Expertise, whether in the form of “raw knowledge” or super-research skills, is on the Net for the taking and, of course, the giving.

Lesson TWO: How to find people to “follow” on Twitter

1. Your first step, of course, should be your “plan” for Twitter. Is this platform just another way to text-message friends and family? If that’s the case, you don’t need my help. Simply convince your friends and family to get on Twitter and then you all follow each other.

2. HOWEVER, if your desire is to Explore the Technology and the Web at the same time, you will want to find Tweeple [i.e., Twitter users] who (a) know what they are doing on Twitter, (b) “tweet” about subjects of interest to you, and/or (c) have the kind of celebrity that you want to get close to.

3. WARNING: In the beginning, you ought to be as selective as possible in choosing people to follow. The more people you follow, the more messages you will receive — and, consequently, the more confused you may become. [Stage One of Twitter Use is Confusion. See previous post.]

4. NOW FOR MY FIRST SUGGESTION: Access a Twitter Directory. You can Google “Twitter Directory” and find pages of directory listings, but for starters, why not go to Twellow, the Twitter Yellow Pages.

  • Look at the categories. Want a newspaper or reporter or blogger who Tweets about current events, for example?  You’ll find hundreds.
  • Find a name that looks familiar or interesting and click the word “follow” on the left side of the listing.
  • The next screen will show you the latest Tweets from this source. If you want to follow this person’s tweets, you will need to be logged on to your Twitter account. If you forgot to log-in first, No Problem, simply go to the login box on the upper right, put in your name and password, and you will be returned to this Tweeter’s page.
  • Then simply click on the word “follow” below the photo or icon. And so forth . . . add as many people as you want, but as I suggested above, you might want to be choosy at first.

One “surprise” is that many people will automatically follow you when you follow them, but not everyone. I got a charge when Barack Obama followed me, but neither Hillary nor Al Gore did. You live and learn.

5) SINCE YOU’VE GOTTEN THIS FAR in today’s post, your next step might be to follow me.

You can see the kind of comments, i.e. “tweets” that I make BUT you can also see whom I follow. In the right sidebar where it tells you how many people I am following [353 today], click on the word following. Your next screen shot will list those Tweeple and you can follow the advice above to see any of the tweet “stream” of any of these people.

6) LAST TIP  OF THE DAY: Try search.twitter.com. When the search box appears, write down a word or phrase like “dogs” or  “future of advertising” or “project manager” or “employee engagement” or “Adam Lambert” — what or whoever interests you. Up will pop ALL the Tweeple who are Tweeting about your topic in Real Time, i.e., who may be posting about that subject right NOW.

If you like what you read, you may click on their icons and check out their tweet stream. If you like the stream, click follow.

POSTSCRIPT: Once you get going with Twitter, you’ll notice daily posts on How to Find Followers, and/or you can check out some of these sources:  14  Twitter directories to find new friends; 5 ways to follow good people on Twitter; Show this to friends who want to get started on Twitter.

Please let me know what works for you — follower-wise. And stay tuned for tomorrow’s lesson on Tweetdeck

Twitter

Twitter does NOT have to be STUPID: Twitter 101 – Lesson ONE

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Stupid is such a loaded word: you never know how someone else will react if they hear the word

It's all in how you look at it
It's all in how you look at it

So let’s begin TWITTER WEEK 101 with an agreement that 10 million+ users can’t be All Wrong. They’ve learned it’s all about How You Choose To Use The Power of Twitter. [BTW, as of Dec 2009, the total Tweeple is now at 68 million!!]

Start by acknowledging that as “simple” as Twitter is to use, to really understand its power will take time and participation. I recently read a post on the Four Stages of the Average Twitter User:

(1) Confusion — and the feelings that it is “stupid” to read about someone going to get a pizza;

(2) The first “AHA moment” when you realize there’s more to this than first meets the eye, e.g., for me, it was when I thought about using the technology to have my English students write something of substance to me in 140 characters AND THEN when I found out how easy it was to gather tons of information on the future of marketing;

(3) Remembering to Tweet was listed as a stage when users simply keep reading and reading without adding their own content. Actually this didn’t happen to me exactly. Rather, I was so excited about the things I was reading, that I immediately “RETWEETED” — in other words, copied the link and broadcast it to my followers.

. . . which reminds me that these “Stages” did not include the All Important Terms: Update, Followers, and Following:

UPDATE: Your Home page begins with the question: “What are you doing?” When new [and old] users simply answer that question, you do find out personal info that may or most probably won’t be the “Best of Twitter.” However, most people do NOT answer that question; they simply disregard it and write about an interesting discovery online, in the news, OR BEST . . . to my mind . . . is a personal insight they want to share.

FOLLOWING: These are the Tweeple [i.e. people who use Twitter] you will choose to follow because you either know them, know of them, or have found out that they like to talk about things of interest to you. More about Who To Follow in next post.

FOLLOWERS: This is “cute.” Either you can invite people you know to receive your Tweets [that was how I first got on Twitter] or people will simply find you in cyberspace, and that can be Really Cool — when absolute strangers all of a sudden start following you, it’s a real charge! You’ll learn that there are myriads of ways to collect 1000’s of followers — but the jury is out on whether that is a good or bad thing.

4) Final of Four Stages: You’re hooked. And I was — to the point that I could barely pull myself away from my Twitter Page, to the point where my husband called me Tweetie Bird.

. . . two more points in Stage Four:

Tweetdeck – an application that you can download to help you categorize your actions on Twitter [more about this only after you’ve had some initial experience.[ See my Tweetdeck post]

The power of search.twitter.com – where you can look up just about anything whether it is “future of advertising” or “Adam Lambert” or “dog grooming” and find out what people are saying about that subject Right Now — it’s also a good way to find people to follow who like the subjects you like.

5) My Stage Five: I learned that I can still get a lot out of Twitter even if I happen to miss an “important” Tweet. Most of the good ones are Re-Tweeted. And I, personally, am ready to find out how to Use Twitter for Business.

So, if you are a budding Social Media Marketer like me, stay tuned for reports on Hints, Tips,  Tools, and Strategies for using Twitter for Business.

In the meantime, you can check out Novice Primer for getting started in Twitter and  Top Ten Twitter Tips

The REAL SECRET is Just DO it! And if you have any questions and/or good tips for beginners and/or your own great Beginner’s Stories, please add them to this post.

Next post: Whom to Follow

Blogging, Twitter

Personal Branding is Powerful Strategy in Social Media

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One day ends and the world begins anew

The last class of the semester will not be the end of studies for many SFSU marketing students.

What a wild ride –

Jumping off the PR 1.0 trail and on to PR 2.0!

And I’m happy to report that many of my 90+ students will be continuing our trek down Revolutionary Road. Below is a sampling of their semester wrap-ups:

Consumers create the buzz:

“I learned that people are changing the way information is given and received. Today Social Media is influencing all of us in ways never thought possible 5, 10, 20 years ago. Websites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are evolving into powerful tools. And companies are seeing this as consumers are now the ones creating buzz about products and places.

Today we all have the opportunity to use the Web to tell stories, to educate, to entertain, and, most importantly, to engage in conversation. We are only beginning to explore the many ways to communicate.” — Alice Ng

Social Media is our future:

“It is not only a way for people to connect and maintain relationships, but the Future for marketing and business, as well. Most of the population has hit their limit with mass advertising. People have figured out that everything is a selling gimmick and they have become immune. Marketing has become Word of Mouth — and what better way to facilitate the discussions than through social media.

If I am interested in a new TV, I want to hear real-life reviews and opinions — and with just a few clicks I can find them with Twitter. Or, if I want to know more about a person or organization, I simply go to LinkedIn or Facebook. As more people are realizing that everything is available online, more companies and people are adding valuable content to be discovered.” — Natalie Leadbetter

What’s just a fad?

“The number of social media websites id mind-boggling. The question is which ones are here to stay, and which ones will be merely fads. It’s frustrating that more and more aspects of life are moving to the Web. Personally, I find that staring at a computer screen for longer than a couple of hours at a time can induce headaches. Also, social media is killing privacy, and I have always considered myself a private person. I haven’t felt comfortable putting myself on the Internet for anyone to Google.

One of our speakers told us, ‘If I Google your name and nothing comes up, then you can forget about a job1’ I still have a hard time getting myself to put my name out there and start the multiple social networking profiles that are required for this class — and what now seems, required for life in general. Is there another niche out there for me to avoid this whole Web 2.0 thing? I DOUBT IT. I guess it’s time for me to bite the bullet and join the massive conformity that we call Social Media.” — Emilio Siqueiros

Personal Branding 101:

“I’m personally appreciative to have been immersed in the New Rules of PR. Communication has been revolutionalized and one of the most important lessons for me has been about Personal Branding. From everything I post online to my contributions to others’ web conversations, being Proactive is the Key. I now understand the importance of contributing to other people’s blogs as well as creating and maintaining online profiles — to connect with others and to contribute to the Worldview of Knowledge.” –Alvin Lee

Be careful online:

“When I first began this PR class, I hadn’t known what to expect. All I’d ever heard about PR were statements about making a company Look Good. But now my understanding has changed to the view that PR is more of a process of having a company do the kinds of things that will make it look good and earn that good reputation. And I can see how the internet — and everything we post online — can affect our reputation for the bad as well as for the good. Before this class, I’d tried Twitter when it wasn’t all the rage. I thought it was interesting, but it would fade away.

Now, though, I’m surprised that I’m Tweeting on my final — social media has grown so powerful that wherever I look, someone is bombarding me with some sort of advertising cleverly disguised as Tweets. Every action we take, we have to know that a potential client or contact is watching, and what we write online can make or break us in the Business World.” — Victor Atilano

Share your experiences with us. How has your life changed? Most of us believe that ours has improved? How about you?

Next post: http: Twitter 101

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Blogging

Blogging is New World Pathway

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“Write your own blog post everyday, but spend twice as much time reading other people’s blogs — and comment”

We're Listening

We had Sleepy Blogger, aka Robyn Tippins, come to PR class at San Francisco State, Tuesday, May 12, on the second last day of our exciting adventure into the World of All Things Social Media.

In addition to being a very popular and influential blogger and mother of four children, Robyn is Community Manager for Yahoo Developer Network. I read about her in a chapter of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging by Ted Demopoulos.

Since she lives in the Bay Area AND a student group planned to tell the class about blogging, Sara Peterson (student in the group) and I Tweeted and Emailed. It worked for Jack Dorsey — and it worked for Robyn Tippins.

WOW, did it work!

The students loved her “down home” story — at 21, Robyn started a cloth diaper business from her home in Georgia, and the rest is history for another post. But what impressed Sara and so many of the students is how Robyn decided to make things happen, and she made them happen!

Here are some of the comments students wrote after her presentation:

“It was cool to learn how Robyn created a business on the Internet at such a young age, and now she works for Yahoo.” — Stephanie Mereau

*         *

“Once you get out there, people start to refer to you and this is how you become influential.” — Mita Mahida

*         *

“No job is Too Small!” — Alice Ng

*          *

“It’s important for your blog to create a niche so that the right people can read the right blogs and leave the right comments for the benefit of the overall conversation.” — Stephen Giusti

*          *

“Word of mouth has a lot to do with success in the blogging world as it is for business in general.” — Rafael Silla

*          *

“Paid advertising on your blog can hurt you rather than help you because of all the clutter and distraction.” — Ann Marie Pawlicki

*           *

“Research is essential — it makes you credible and relevant.” — Marie Belhomme

*           *

“Key words and meta tags make it easier to find your blog.” — Gabriela Acevedo

*           *

“Spend more time visiting other blog than writing your own.” — Theresa Rix

*           *

“Moderate comments: know what your strategy will be.” — Brian McGuinn

*           *

“Get your ideas out there and personalize some of your posts to keep yourself real.” — Orly Macabi

*           *

“All in all: One of those classes that makes it all worthwhile.” — Shari Weiss

What works for your blog?

Next post: Personal Branding using Social Media

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Sharisax Is Out There

Wise up on social media: recommended reading

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To Be or Not to Be . . . ahead of the social media curve

Getting from HERE to THERE

Sharing is the Name of the Game

. . .  that’s a Big Reason why “we” blog AND why books get written and read.

Several people recently have asked What I’m reading, and I have to smile . . . laugh, in fact.

The answer is EVERYTHING! Everything I can find to help me “catch up.”

Sometimes it is hard to realize that MOST OF THE WORLD is still in the dark about the power and value of Social Media – especially when I see online, in traditional media, and from the speakers we’ve brought to class that there are so many Experts out there.

Answers:

#1: I check Twitter for blog and article suggestions, and I read them and copy for future reference. In fact, I plan to review some of the best ones for future posts.

#2: Every day my email box is filled with articles from the blogs I’ve subscribed to — as well as group discussions — and I read as many of them as I can.

#3: I go to my local library and look at all the books cataloged 006.7. To name a few of the memorable ones I’ve read: The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging, Blogging for Dummies, Corporate Blogging by John Cass, and What No One Ever Tells you about Blogging and Podcasting edited by Ted Demopoulos.

#4: Open books around me now that I’m taking turns with: (a) Putting the Public Back in Public Relations by Brian Solis, (b) Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, (c) The Google Story by David Vise, (d) WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, and (e) Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.

All of that is why I’ve been getting up at 5 a.m. and some of my SM friends/colleagues are getting up even earlier.

NOTE TO STUDENTS: We’re not even being tested on this . . . or are we?

[Update from Sept: I’ve finished Brian’s book PPBPR and have reviewed it in this blog AND on a Squidoo lens.

Read about Making News in the Digital Era and Twitterville.]

Next post: Blogging as a New World Path

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Social Media Strategies Work in Everyday Life, too

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Writer’s Block?  Rather, so many things to say —

How do you pick one post for the day?

It's all about Being Out There
It's all about Being Out There

This reminds me of one of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever received . . . decades ago, and I am still often sharing it with stressed-out students and friends:

Whenever Life bombards you with more challenges than a human being should have to handle, you pick ONE to focus on, and all the rest will magically and mysteriously fall into place.

Eeeeny meeny miny mo. I picked this topic:

Do’s and Don’ts I learned through my social media “research” this week:

DO’S

1. LISTEN very, very, very carefully. You never will learn if you don’t. And you will learn so much more than you ever thought if you do.

2. ENGAGE with an open mind. If you are going “out there” — whether on the Web, in the classroom, at a meeting, or in a gym — expect to give and take, which means you may actually change your mind about something.

3. THINK things through. Knee Jerk reactions are for “jerks” — be deliberate and responsible and know that if someone is really listening to you, he or she will appreciate words that are carefully considered.

4. SINCERITY can never be overrated. Genuine passion wins friends and influences all sorts of people.

5. LOVE what you do and do what you love, and as my mom always said: “The money will come” =D

DON’TS

1. This one is easier than I thought it would be: Do NOT do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.

PS Now I’m thinking of dozens and dozens more DO’s [and maybe a few DON’TS] but I’d rather share the stage:  What social media strategies work in your day-to-day lives?

Next post: Social Media Reading List

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Twitter

Facebook is a Waste of Time

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Faces for posterity

. . .  and Twitter is for Dummies, and Friendfeed, well, that’s way over the top!

Just how is one supposed to counter .  . . and even live with . . . people who just don’t “get it” i.e., that the world has changed dramatically?

“Everything never changes. Something has changed and it impacts everything else.” [Quoting John Naisbitt in Robert Scoble’s Naked Conversation]

SOCIAL MEDIA impacts everything . . . now and in our future. So back to my original question, What do we say to anyone — particularly from my BabyBoomer generation and older? How do we share our enormous excitement about the possibilities for the world, for our friends and family, and for ourselves as individuals?

Personally, I believe I have a distinct advantage when it comes to answering the question, mainly because just three months ago, I was telling a friend that his use of Facebook three hours a day was a huge waste of his life.

What has happened to me?

First off, I have remembered that Open Minded-ness is key to Critical Thinking and as such I needed to check out the BUZZ before categorically dismissing a phenomenon that has captured the attention of millions in one way or another: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, YouTube, and countless numbers of blogs.

What helped me most was Twitter, which surprisingly still is a mystery to so many people I talk with — but, of course, not to the vast majority of people who will read this blog post.

I’m not a cellphone texter, so that particular use of Twitter didn’t seem relevant. Initially I wondered if this great new technology could be molded into a teaching tool, i.e., to force my students to write something of substance in only 140 characters. The essence of good writing is clarity and conciseness.

Playing with Twitter

While I liked developing that “writing with Twitter” idea, however, I began playing with Twitter, i.e., following people, reading their updates, posting some of my own — especially “retweeting,” re-posting a particularly good update. Most of all, though, I was reading on a daily basis just what all this social media was about and the great benefits it has to offer.

And now I’m hooked.

In a nutshell, social media is allowing us all to share our research and our thoughts and, yes, our products/services with a community of like-minded individuals whose lives can be enriched by being connected to us through the Internet.

Like most knowledge, the more you learn, the more you realize there is so much more “out there” and that’s the primary reason for this blog — to help me learn more and to answer the question, “Why Social Media is NOT a waste of our time.”

Please let me know about any conversations you’ve had when people have told you that blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are all “a waste of time.”

Next post: Facebook for Business

Guest Post, Twitter

The Original TWEETER — Jack Dorsey — comes to SFSU

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Hawks can TWEET, can't they?
Hawks can TWEET, can

Jack Dorsey is a REGULAR GUY whose idea is revolutionizing the way the world communicates

**GUEST POST** Cody Ramlan is a San Francisco State senior whose taken several courses with me and has, like me, caught the Social Media Fever. Agreeing to guest “host,” he told me that he now intends to take his future into his own hands through the many resources available on the Internet.

Twitter is only as valuable as you make it

Jack Dorsey created Twitter in 2006 and remains dedicated to continually refining it, but he took some time from his busy schedule Thursday, April 30, to talk to Shari Weiss’ PR class at San Francisco State.

“Twitter sparks interaction”

“The Future of Advertising is all about discovery.”

The class spent well over an hour asking questions and gaining inside knowledge from the currently most talked about entrepreneur on the planet.

My favorite fact was that it only took $10,000 of marketing expenses to create the word-of-mouth that has made Twitter today’s Sensation. This is a testament to the culture Jack encourages in his company — making a product that sells itself.

Where the idea of Twitter first started in Jack’s mind:

Twitter’s 40 employees do this by listening to users and building a platform that supports what people want. However, Jack emphasized that it is important to know when to say NO in order to make a successful product because some requests may be too specific to benefit enough of an audience.

Is Twitter merely a fad? Jack’s response was that it is only as valuable as you make it. He believes that it was created with the flexibility to become a utility of life and that one day people will take it for granted like email.

Since Twitter doesn’t currently turn a profit, we wondered about the business model for the future. Many ideas are being considered including “verifications” involving companies and celebrities. No matter how they will monetize, Jack made it clear that his goal was to never force advertising on users.

Friendfeed an aggregator, and Twitter is not. It’s more of a communication tool:

In fact, he said that the future of advertising is all about discovery and introductions. “If you start with that and lead to a conversation, you will have the respect and attention of your audience, which is a much more productive form of relaying a message,” he said.

How Twitter has grown . . . since Jack was 16:


Twitter’s vision includes evolution through listening to users, and after hearing Jack’s discussion with us, I have no doubt that his company will be around for a long time to come.

by Cody Ramlan

Videos embedded by Shari — once I found out how to do it.

Next post: Is Facebook a WASTE OF TIME?

Sharisax Is Out There

Robert Scoble lets us know: We’re All Connected

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And those valuable ties are growing deeper and wider . . . as we TWEET and BLOG and “FRIENDFEED“

According to CrunchBase, “Robert Scoble is an American blogger, technical evangelist, and author. He is best known for his popular blog,  Scobleizer which came to prominence during his tenure as a technical evangelist at Microsoft.

According to my Public Relations students at San Francisco State, who were able to engage with him firsthand when he spoke with us Thursday, April 28, he is a true visionary who is leading the exploration of the Social Media Universe.

Here are some of the student comments after Robert’s visit:

  • Mita Mahida: “The more stories are repeated, the more this world becomes important. In order to be noticed, you have to be able to create a buzz in your niche market and be able to start conversations because the new form of advertising is engagement.”
  • Jeanette Barlow: “I feel that Robert’s main point was to help us feel better about graduating in a recession — not to try so hard to understand the past, but rather to be incorporated into the future. We are in the White Pages, but we need to think about how to get to the Yellow Pages.”
  • Theresa Rix: “Robert was a wakeup call. It was mind-blowing that he uses six computer screens, has 90,000 followers on Twitter, and has maxed out on Facebook Friends. He also told us about another blogger who attends every event around the world to build his brand. I have to wonder, What is to come? If this is what it takes to be on top in the social media hierarchy, we need to find new solutions to stay connected to each other. For myself, I can’t imagine building my entire life on the internet without actually meeting and inspiring people IRI. Are we pushing social media in the wrong direction?”
  • Ann Marie Pawlicki: “Being a blogger with your status, how do you deal with false information that comes your way and how do you facilitate what you validate as important enough to be on your site, knowing perfectly well of the misleading possibilities that are ever so present in the cyberworld?”
  • Chris Gleason: “A blog is the foundation — or home — for a writer. It is a place for followers of one’s Twitter account to get the full story.” -pictured in video
  • Alvin Lee: “Until Robert’s discussion, I was unaware of FriendFeed, which is fascinating because of its real-time platform. What amazed me was how many people were commenting and aggregated every second; the cascading comments were surreal to watch. One important utility of FriendFeed is how reoccurring posts jump back to the top of the real-time feed. This feature makes it easy for someone to identify important or newsbreaking topics.”
  • Krista McClellan: “The most important idea I gathered was the concept of filters. Robert made it very clear that we should all be focusing on creating filters on our FaceBook, FriendFeed, and Twitter accounts. And that prospective employers would like to see how we organize all this information. He also emphasized the importance of engaging in a niche where we had a real interest and where we could build network, knowledge and reputation within that market.
  • James Armfield: “The ability to network can be the key success factor to channeling news and information through the virtual world. After a credible network has been established, then one’s quality of engagement with others in the social media world will bring exponential growth to your current network and lead to a greater network of information.”

In closing this post, I’d like to leave you with a John Naisbitt quote Robert used in his 2006 book co-authored with Shel Israel, Naked Conversations: how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers:

“Everything never changes.

Something has changed and it impacts everything else.”

[Disclaimer: That video above was my first “sad” attempt at using the Flip camera. “I am always doing that which I do not know how to do in order to learn to do it.”]


Next post: Jack Dorsey, Twitter creator visits SFSU

Sharisax Is Out There

When Communication Adds Up to a Big Fat Zero

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All the latest and greatest tools mean nothing anyone can learn to be an active listener— if you aren’t listening

I read several great blogs today — and would still be reading — if I didn’t want to share my own understanding of one important topic:

Effective social media marketing —  aka REAL CONVERSATION — cannot happen without someone to LISTEN.

Let’s get personal for a moment.

Stop and think about the last time you thought you were having a conversation with a friend or significant other . . . and words later, the other person said something that clearly showed you she wasn’t really listening – no how, no way.

Frustrating, maddening, really.

Want to listen?

Stop Talking . . . both aloud

. . . and in your head

So now step ahead to someone in a business setting who says he or she wants to be of service, and you say, “Great, here’s what I want” and then that person just keeps on talking — and keeps on ignoring you.

Frustrating, maddening, really.

Businesses today want employees with Great Communication Skills. But many times they don’t even consider Listening to be one of the most important communication skills. Too bad. Without these critical skills, “the best laid plans of mice and men . . .” are all for naught.

In my Business Communication class, we actually have a few lessons on Active Listening. In addition to a great videotape where participants engage in activities like (a) continuing dialogues with the last words spoken and (b) carrying on conversations without using the word I, we discuss some important tips for becoming an Active Listener.

Some of these include the following:

1. STOP TALKING: Forget about what you want to get across and focus on the person speaking to you.

2. KEEP AN OPEN MIND: One sign of a critical thinker is being able to remain objective so that you neither hear what you want to hear nor dismiss the remarks of someone because you don’t like him.

3. LISTEN BETWEEN THE LINES: I love this one. As a former reporter, I got used to hearing propaganda; you really need to dig deep sometimes. Additionally, in our global society, the words of one culture may have different meanings than we are used to.

4. HOLD YOUR FIRE: This is a particular problem in a classroom where some people are always feeling the need to take the stage. You can’t listen to someone else when you are preparing your next lines.

5. PROVIDE FEEDBACK: This is KEY in business communication. It shows your degree of understanding of a problem or situation. This is the stimulus for the back-and-forth conversations that build relationships and communities.

So your job now is to Provide Some Feedback.

I know I’ve left out dozens of other Good Listening Tips. Have at me. I’m listening.

Next post: Robert Scoble discusses social media tools with SFSU students

Archive, Blogging, Facebook, Sharisax Is Out There, Twitter

Follow Me Along Revolutionary Road

To: My friends in the Blogosphere

From: Shari Weiss @sharisax on Twitter

Date: ThursdaySharisax is Out There, April 23, 2009

Re: My First Ten Things Memo Blog Post

FOLLOW ME . . . ALONG REVOLUTIONARY ROAD: Ten of the 1000’s of things I’ve learned in two months studying the Social Media Revolution/Evolution

How does one tell a story from the middle of a raging river [i.e., in medias res]? You just jump in the boat, I suspect, and start paddling.

As a journalist for more than thirty years and a marketing instructor for more than a decade, I’ve had a variety of valuable experiences learning to write, to sell, and to teach. But nothing has so excited and energized me as what is happening TODAY in what I refer to as the Social Media Revolution/Evolution.

The following is merely a place to start:

1. Social Media: After two months of talking about this social media phenomenon in my classes, one student was brave enough to ask, “So what is this thing, Social Media, that we’ve been spending so much time discussing?” Of course, anyone can go look up the phrase on Wikipedia and learn the consumer-generated definitions that are shaping how many of us are understanding the world.

My simplistic, starting-place answer is to take the word “media,” i.e., the vehicles we use to send a message from a sender to a receiver AND combine it with “social,” i.e., the environment in which people are living and working together. This is a New phrase/label, so what I believe we are talking about includes the New Methods being used and developed to have enhanced conversations with one another via enhanced technology, most specifically the Internet. Examples would include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, StumbledUpon, Flickr, Yelp, and a whole host of others. Check out Brian Solis’ Conversation Prism: http://www.briansolis.com/2008/08/introducing-conversation-prism.html

2. Web 2.0 vs. Web 1.0: The term Web 2.0 was coined to describe all those extensions and further uses we have found for our technological connections via our computers. Where Web 1.0 allowed us to search for information and begin communicating via email, Web 2.0 has become a platform for community building and business growth. Web 2.0 marks the start of Social Media. So what will Web 3.0 look like?

3. Blogging: According to recent statistics, Technorati [Internet search engine for blogs], tracks 133 million blogs, and more are being produced each second – just as I’m doing here. Blogging has flattened the communication landscape. No longer do a few publishers, editors, and journalists control the flow of information to the public. Any one with an Internet connection can post his or her thoughts, opinions, and activities “out there” for everyone to read and comment upon.

4. Bloggers: Bloggers are the new influencers . . . or they can be. Many online writers simply post diary narratives on the Web for a host of reasons, which likely include the human need to be acknowledged. But hundreds, if not thousands, of bloggers are posting online content that gets read and spread – and what they say matters. Business organizations, both profit and nonprofit, have recognized the power of bloggers to market messages about products and services.

5. Micro-blogging and Twitter: Twitter has changed my life. Two months ago, a business acquaintance asked me to follow him on Twitter. Initially I didn’t get it. What did I care about what someone had for breakfast or what the traffic was like on the freeway. Then I discovered that “there are no rules” and that Twitter can be a host of different experiences, depending on how one chooses to use the technology.

During my first fumblings, I decided to use Twitter as a platform for my English students to send me substantive messages in only 140 characters – to teach lessons of clarity and conciseness. I was soon pleased to see a link to 100 Tips, Apps, and Resources for Teachers on Twitter: http://onlinecollegedegree.org/2009/03/19/100-tips-apps-and-resources-for-teachers-on-twitter/

Where did I find that link? On Twitter, of course, after I learned to use Twitter in a way that works well for me: I follow “Tweeple” [i.e. people with Twitter accounts] who are interested in topics of interest to me, e.g., future of marketing, future of PR, future of journalism, future of advertising, etc. My husband now calls me Tweetie Bird, since I’m so often online reading the blogs that offer more indepth facts, observations, and opinions on these subjects and more.

6. The New Rules of Marketing: It was on Twitter, of course, that I first learned of David Meerman Scott’s book The New Rules of Marketing & PR. As a marketing lecturer at San Francisco State University, I have felt compelled to address, acknowledge, and learn about Why? there need to be New Rules and Why? The Old Ones do not work any more.

One quote from DMS’s book: “Marketers must shift their thinking from the short head of mainstream marketing to the masses to a strategy targeting vast numbers of underserved audiences via the Web.” Brian Solis and Deidre Breakenridge expand on this in their recent book Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: “PR has begun to look less like a typical broadcast machine and more like a living, breathing entity capable of also participating in conversations with publics.”

7. The Future of Advertising: The death knell for newspapers has been sounded; young people don’t read them, and advertisers are pulling away. And that is only one medium suffering. Selling radio spots is not getting easier although radio listenership may be expanding because of Internet and satellite radio. The biggest changes are likely to be on Network TV. There is no longer a need for “mass marketing” on a “mass medium.” Large advertisers like Pepsi have admitted to misspending hundreds of millions of marketing dollars, and that probably indicates too much expense for TV commercials that are zapped via channel changing or TIVO fast-forwarding. Traditional forms of advertising will still be necessary to reach the large numbers of people who aren’t yet online [or not online very often], but figuring out how to successfully advertise online is where future strategies must be aimed.

8. Reverse-Engineering: This is a fascinating process to contemplate. Think about your goal and work backwards to make it happen. I’m reminded of the Silicon Valley slogan of the ‘90s: “You imagine it and we will build it.” I read a recent post by noted blogger Seth Godin whose paragraph for the day was titled “Imminent” and he began with this quote: “The one thing that will allow your business to get funded, or to get a business to business buyer to buy from you or a college to admit you is the sense that your success is imminent.” This is my understanding of the theory of “intention” in which you focus on the result you want – and it will come about.

9. Creativity: Amidst sea tides of change, the need for creative thinking remains constant. That requires recognizing that new ideas are healthy and need to be encouraged and embraced, not feared and dismissed. What has worked in the past can be twisted and turned and looked at in new ways, while brainstormers stay open to totally different thoughts that emerge and can provide exciting new solutions. Picasso said, “I am always doing that which I do not know how to do in order to learn how to do it.”

10. We do not go out to find ourselves; rather, we go out creating ourselves: Why am I starting this blog? Let me count the ways. First of all, I have learned so much in the last few months that I am compelled to share that knowledge and hear what others have to say. Second, I believe in the power of the individual to make significant contributions to the betterment of society. And third, as I’ve told some of my students and my new blogging buddies, my “intention” is to join the A-list bloggers.

Next post: Future of marketing