So I was working on some planning for various things when I ran across this post by fellow blogger Joanna Young. It really got my attention on planning and generating ideas.
I’d heard a lot about mind-mapping and the great results that many accomplish by using the technique, but for some reason over the years, I’d never tried it out. Sure the odd brainstorming session at work, but nothing to promote my own agenda. Aha! Another tool to use for my own purposes!
So being the typical geek I am, off I went to find a simple, inexpensive (read: free) tool to do this with. I’ve found a few to try and will do a roundup of what I found – but won’t try to do a review by any means. However, the consensus from my Twitter friends is that pen & paper rules the day.
With that said, here are some mind-mapping sites & software that my Twitter query came up with:
I happened to work through two mind maps in an hour or so that got a great start on direction on business plans, and some post ideas. Have you tried mind-mapping? What were your results? What tools did you find that work best?
So, sitting outside during lunch today led me to think again about the opportunities presented to each of us for improving our working conditions. It’s not entirely our employer’s responsibility to improve things.
Ok, maybe you don’t have the kind of job where you can walk away from the desk and still get work done. Maybe you should look for one! Regardless, many businesses have remote work opportunities via remote access technologies. Take advantage of them when you get a chance.
There is nothing worse than having the opportunities in front of you and not using them. Get out there! Take your laptop, a notepad, your phone or whatever the minimal toolset you need to do some work for an hour and just GO.
Grab an iced latte, take 15 minutes to unwind, and 30 minutes to brainstorm, organize, think, ponder, work, or whatever. You’ll be refreshed and the 2nd half of the day will go much smoother because of it. Trust me.
Chris Garrett had a great post about Gravatars last week that got me thinking. While we talk about branding, one of the easiest way to remind people of you is your image. For consumer products, it’d be called a logo. For those of us that are marketing ourselves, our image really is our logo and an important integral piece of our brand.
Clear Message
When you think about it a bit, it’s quite clear. How better to promote your brand than putting a face to it? If we associate stylized imagery with consumer products & brands, wouldn’t it be wise to do the same with your brand? Putting your image forward gives people an easier way to associate with you and the specialty or service that you offer.
When you start using your image as part of your brand, it needs to be consistently applied when possible. Most all sites of the social web have the ability to upload a profile picture. Using the same picture for all services helps promote your brand and is easier than somehow putting a link or your tagline there.
Brand Association
People will associate your picture with your comments and your words. More easily remembering what value you would bring to their efforts or solve their problem. Helping prospective clients or simply online friends remember who we are across the Internet, from one site to another helps build the consistency you want in your brand as well. The other, bigger part of consistency, of course, is your message and how you deliver it across the various tools you use of the social web.
The Real You
I think it’s very important to use a picture of you rather than a logo. Yes, you may have a nice logo designed for your website or blog, but it isn’t as true a representation of you then you are. Sure, you may have an aversion to having your picture taken, and may dislike every single one ever taken of you. However, you need to remember that other people won’t be looking for flaws in your picture, but will be looking to associate it with that great person they know in you.
So go get a professional “head shot” done, just like executives would do. Or, have a talented photographer friend help by taking a few picture so choose from. If you really hate having your picture taken, find backgrounds to shoot in front of that help you relax, or are also representative of you. While “professional” photo’s may be nice, it’s probably more important to simply make sure it’s a clear, positive reflection of you. It doesn’t have to be perfect, so don’t make it. Often, some spontaneous, candid shots work out to be very nice indeed. I’ve taken to using pictures that I capture through my webcam, and change them up when I have a notion to. Rather than some schedule or plan, it’s more often because I want a current picture of myself than any other reason.
Your Turn
I’m finding more people who once used an avatar or graphic design are switching to a personal picture on many services that I use. I welcome this greatly as it let’s me see who I’m talking to and further develops the relationship with my friends and contacts. What’s your take on personal logo’s? Have you tried a logo, or stick with your pic? What do you use & where else should we use it?
You want in don’t you? To know the secrets of social media and how to use them to your advantage. If only someone would share the secret handshake to that awesome tree-house where all the cool kids hang out. To unlock the secrets and use them for your business – how could you do that and how can you get them into your marketing department. Right?
Well, obviously there isn’t any. However, I do want to share a few secrets with you, so sharpen those pencils and grab a notepad.. here we go.
There are no social media experts
Social media is a metaphor
There is no actual definition of social media
There that’s a good start.
Experts of What?
No matter what you hear from people, there are no experts in social media. There are people who understand what’s going on and can help advise tools & techniques to use. The techniques of social media are not secret and not hidden away.
A Metaphor
Social media is a metaphor in that it’s a catch-all paradigm shift in the way we create, share, interact and communicate. Clay Shirky has a great post and video that talks about the impact to the cognitive surplus in society that is driven by social media. While his numbers and math may be suspect, the concept he talks about are as true as they are obvious. The truth is that social media is a marker in the evolution of social interaction of our society, but is made up of totally ad-hoc tools and techniques. Usually to facilitate creation and distribution of media by different digital, non-traditional communications channels.
No Definition
Well… there isn’t, even though it seems like I tried to write one in the paragraph above. Social media is about tools, technologies, ideas, resources, and above all – people.
Reality
Of course the reality of social media is the ability for anyone to create and share content with anyone, anywhere. It crosses the boundaries of print, video, and audio. It brings the publishing and broadcasting tools of various establishments to anyone with an inexpensive computer and a decent Internet connection. It gives you a voice in the world, a platform to use it on, and the access to resources to back you up.
This past Saturday (May 10th) I had a chance to facilitate an unconference session with Peter Fleck (@pfhyper on Twitter) at MinneBar on the University of Minnesota campus. While Peter and I hadn’t planned it out long in advance, and we had technical difficulties at the beginning, namely to overhead equipment, it went pretty well.
The part I really enjoyed was the interaction. Peter and I both wanted to start a group discussion, and that’s exactly what happened. There were a lot of great questions from both experienced and new Twitter users, and many people shared their perspectives and ideas on using Twitter. It reinforced the idea that Twitter is just at it’s earliest stages of uptake.
What I really want to do from Saturday is to thank everyone that stopped by and joined the conversation. It was great to meet so many people here in the Minneapolis Web2 scene, and I look forward to talking more with you on Twitter and elsewhere. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have questions or ideas to talk about – you can find me on Twitter as @RickMahn.
Also, since I didn’t grab the names off the board in the room, I’d like to invite anyone who was there to share their Twitter name. Just leave them in the comments and others from the session can find them and connect with you. Any other questions or interest in social web tools that you’d be interested in talking about? It might be worth putting something together if enough people are interested.
I was at MinneBar 2008 on Saturday and had another great experience. Good people talking about Web2 development & design. Peter Fleck and I also were able to present a session on “This Think Called Twitter” where we got the group talking about some of the social web. Lots of great new Twitter friends to talk and work with in my hometown of Minneapolis!
For all the great organizational efforts of everyone at MinneBar, the U of M did a money grab and kept the WiFi closed. It was the only negative of the entire unconference. Too bad – I could have done more live-blogging of the sessions and the great vibe of the people attending.
Still, I came away very enthused because of the interest and excitement everyone seemed to have. I’m looking forward to continuing to connect and build relationships in the social web with these folks. We have a lot of great talent here in the Minneapolis & St. Paul area, so I know there is some great potential.
