May 21, 2009 | blog
Funny how many questions have answer that start with those two words. This tends to be exceptionally true of the coporatization of social media.
- What if I call my boss a jerk on Twitter? It depends…
- What if we find bloggers defacing our product images? It depends…
- What if my company finds me posting on Facebook when I’m home sick? It depends…
- How do we monitor the blogosphere for our multiple brands? It depends…
The complexities of the requirements for big business and their employees is not as clear cut as it is for small, aggressive start-ups. In the end, the reality is that discretion is required on both sides; by the people who post or create media, and the people who read or consume media.
Oct 27, 2008 | blog
Guess what, my social media friends in Minneapolis & St. Paul? Jeff Pulver is going to be hosting a Breakfast with Jeff Pulver and Friends here in the Twin Cities on Nov. 20th, courtesy of Best Buy.
In place of our regular Social Media Breakfast – Twin Cities, everyone is invited to join Jeff Pulver for breakfast at the Best Buy headquarters campus in Richfield, MN. We’ve booked space in the large atrium dining & conference area at Best Buy called “Sandy’s Place†and will have room for quite a few more folks than we’ve had in the past.
I’m glad to be able to work with Jeff and Best Buy to bring this opportunity to MSP – our social media community is quite active and has gotten a bit of notice these last few months. Jeff’s version of a social media breakfast will include a number of fun differences from our previous events such as live social tagging, and the personal social networking toolkit.
Registration
Registration for this event is through Facebook, which is probably the easiest way to keep up with Jeff Pulver in any case. This will require a registration process on Facebook if you don’t already have one, but if you’re at all interested in learning more about social media and social networking, you should have one anyway.
Click here to RSVP for the Minneapolis Breakfast on Facebook
Personal Social Networking Toolkit
There are some great things that Jeff does at each of his breakfasts, and has a video primer that will get up up to speed on Facebook, here.
There will be a social networking toolkit for each attendee, so be sure to check out the video above on how it all works.
While this is really Jeff’s breakfast, we’ll chalk this one up as SMB – Twin Cities 9, since this was the original timeframe for our event in November. We’ll have the same opportunities for networking and sharing ideas, and trust me, Jeff is looking forward to meeting folks from Minneapolis & St. Paul and building relationships with the community here.
You can find Jeff Pulver on Facebook and his blog.
Photo credit: Jeff Pulver
Sponsored by Best Buy
Sep 26, 2008 | blog
So it’s been a great day here in Minneapolis this Friday. Got a chance to know a few folks from the office better – that’s a good thing. Got to spend a nice evening as a family this evening – that’s a good thing. Made myself write a little bit – and that too is a good thing.
What will be more interesting is if I can continue to write a bit this weekend. That’s my plan, and I think it’ll be worth the time invested to get back to blogging, which I really do enjoy. It’s bothersome that I ever let myself get off track and worried that I wasn’t writing what people wanted to read. Wrong thing to worry about, I know.
What is or was wrong was to allow myself to get sidetracked by too many side-shows on the social web. It’s a great time-sink to explore the latest & greatest. Fun too! However, it really is a delicate balance of habits, and knowing when you’re spending too much time on any one tool, network or site is key to gaining the strengths of those sites and leaving the weaknesses behind.
What’s the answer to it all? Moderation. Just like enjoying a nice adult beverage, it’s only enjoyable in moderation. Also, you get the chance to explore and learn things more in-depth and find how they can augment your life positively rather than simply taking up time just to update statuses and read walls.
So take a break from Facebook, lighten up on your twittering, take a walk and bring only your thoughts with you. You’ll learn a lot more than what folks are doing right that moment if you can let yourself take a breather.
Feb 7, 2008 | happiness
Not logging into Facebook for weeks and believing that I’ll make a full recovery as a former FB’er.
Jan 24, 2008 | blog
Ok, I’ve meant to do this for awhile, but I can’t see any reason to wait any longer.
I’m abandoning Facebook.
Try as I might, there is just nothing of value in Facebook for me. The groups are the only redeeming item on the system, but you have to put up with tons of senseless “apps”. Apps that would’ve been fun back in college when playing quarters or beer bongs, but not when I’m trying to build serious business connections.
While some have made a pretty good case for Facebook, it doesn’t change how it’s viewed by business, or how useful it is for me. I’m astounded at home much time everything takes and how limited everything is. Not to mention the data-ownership question. Just ask Robert Scoble on that one.
I’ve been coming to the conclusion from using many, many different social tools over summer and fall of last year that “social networking” is just an activity. Yep, that’s a “duh” realization, but it’s more than just that. All these “social network” sites are merely a combination of groups on steroids, or worse – simply customizable “home pages” for the masses.
To build real associations with people on a professional and personal level requires interest, dedication, and tools. Facebook could loosely be called a tool, but I think of it as a toy. Tools are designed to do a specific function, and to it well. Twitter is a tool. Blogging is a tool.
I’ve suggested before that my blog is my social network. While that may be incorrect, it is a key tool in my social networking activities. It’s one of three things that are within my control that will never change. My blog address, my email address and my mobile phone number. These are the key pieces of communicating with me that people will never have to re-learn or worry about changing. On these three things, I can build the rest.
The rest is up to me, after all, and how involved in different communities and organizations I want to be. With a blog I can post my views and opinions. With my email address I can interact with just about anyone I share it with, which is everyone, and the same for my cell phone.
I choose to augment this triangle-foundation of my social networking with tools like Twitter, Utterz, IM, LinkedIn, Technorati, del.icio.us, Clipmarks, and several more. I use each for one or two things – the things they do well. None of these are a one-stop-shop for social networking and social media goodness.
Maybe you can point out where I failed with Facebook. I’m always looking to learn – what should I or others be looking for in Facebook? How to approach it? If there really is something there I’m interested in hearing it.
UPDATE: I just wanted to add that I’m leaving the account in place, but will not be active on Facebook. I am interested in what everyone does with Facebook to gain value from it, so don’t hesitate to give my $.02. My Twitter tweets update the “My Status” every time I tweet and I’m notified of Facebook mail if that is the only way you choose to contact me. Cheers!
Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Networking, Blogging, Robert Scoble, Twitter, Utterz, LinkedIn, del.icio.us, Clipmarks, Rick Mahn
