Jan 29, 2008 | blog
As the size of my Twitter Village has grown, the volume of traffic has also had a dramatic increase. There are literally dozens of conversations going on at any one moment. So how does one leverage the strengths of Twitter while being doused with the minutia that makes up a Twitter stream?
Simple. By realizing that you can only participate in relevant conversations. Kind of like walking down a street and hearing random bits of conversations. You don’t always make sense of everything, and most often, you don’t need to. It’s really about being able to join in when you want, or when your wanted. It’s not about “keeping up” at all.
Yes, I tend to skim a bit, maybe one page back at most. All I’m really looking to do is understand what the current conversations are before jumping in. Odds are that my contribution may have already been brought to the conversation and I just like to understand where it’s going before committing some random thought.
Having a larger and larger number of Twitter followers, and following a large number isn’t as hard as I had thought it would be. Moreover, I’m learning a lot more about the community that I’m a part of there. Over the past year, I’ve met a lot of people, and have gotten perspectives that I otherwise would not have had a chance to learn.
Twitter is one of those tools that you really can get value from. It doesn’t replace the blog, or special-interest social networks. Instead it’s an essential tool for the social media explorer’s kit – one that offers much more than it’s simple interface lets on.
What’s your experience as your Twitterverse expands?
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
Jan 11, 2008 | blog
Sometimes it’s hard to find the balance in things. Social media networking is one of these. It takes an enormous amount of effort and time to participate in the social fields, and this can conflict with our primary responsibility of our day jobs. You know, the one we get paid for? 😉
It’s hard, especially when you start to become part of the community. As you get to know the people you’re networking with, and as you have those “aha!” moments that redefine the value of a given social networking tool, it becomes more important to participate. But what of work? How do you stay connected with your online friends when you have limited or monitored access?
Or forget about access to your online social resources, how about the workload that you have? What about priorities? These may sound like ridiculous questions to some, but for those trying to forge a new career and life goals from social media, it is paramount.
I have no profound wisdom, and fewer hard-won examples to go with this question. I’ve only a few ideas that I’m working on in order to find my own way through this difficult portion of social media. Here are some of the ideas, tools, and techniques I’m trying, in order to help me GTD and still network.
- “Twitter Scope: down” Many fellow Twitters will recognize that one. Simply logging off the social tools we use is the best start. Schedule a time during the day to log in and check/update status.
- Reduce the number of sites/tools Another tip would be to reduce the number of social networking or social media sites that you visit or try to keep up with.
- Groom that RSS reader Seriously pare down the number of feeds you read. How many tech feeds do you have? How many times do you see the same post in each? ‘Nuf said. Find the bloggers and sites that simply adhere to your ideas, themes, beliefs, etc… and follow those. News is everywhere and easy to find. Intelligent posts that are relevant to you are not. For those Google Reader users out there, check out the Trends feature and use it to identify abandoned or otherwise seldom-updated feeds.
- GTD Find the organization tool that works for you. For many it’s the Seven Habits, or GTD that work wonders. For others, it’s a simple Moleskine, notebook, or other simple list. Maybe leadership training, or project management skills help drill in the needed organization lessons. Whatever it is, give it a try and stick with what works.
- Schedule Social Time Here is another simple but effective technique. Just like having a girls or boys night out – schedule your social networking time to fit your day. Breaks, lunch, before/after work. All these are simple to do, and your social network will adapt to your participation.
- Integrate If your employer or job permits, maybe you simply integrate your social networking with your job. Got your favorite email & IM client open all day? Why not have a good Twitter Client open all day as well? Leave yourself logged into Facebook for all the special interest groups. Use some time during the day and answer questions on LinkedIn. Keep it business focused, not “Saturday night” focused.
Obviously number 6 is for folks who work in an industry that has direct tie-ins to social networking or media in some way. There may also be some environments that simply don’t care what you do as long as you get the tasks you are responsible for done as expected. Kudos to those who do.
Now, I really want to learn more, because I’ve only mentioned the really obvious ones. What tips do you have? What other techniques and tools are there to help manage being an active social participant and not getting in trouble?
Dec 21, 2007 | blog
Twitter is one of those tools that you either "get it" or not. It’s really that simple. With that in mind there are ways for you to learn how Twitter can be a tool for success for you, you & your peers, or your organization.
While I dislike the "why Twitter is bad" articles that pop up around the net, this post by Michael Krigsman over at ZDNet does bring up a good point. Like all social networking and media tools, it can be used for improper uses as well as productive ones. Had to get that out of the way before we continue – I do recommend you read Michael’s post though.
So, how do you get value from Twitter? Easy: participate.
Ok, it’s more than that. You’ll not only need to participate, but have people on Twitter that you want or need to participate with. The key to Twitter is to recognize that it is an unfiltered conversation stream. Having people to converse with, whether that’s special interest groups, friends, coworkers, project teams, departmental groups, or an entire enterprise – it’s having the people there that brings the value.
Imagine having geographically diverse project team in a live conversation outside of a conference room during the entire business day. Set aside the "time waster" argument for a minute (it is valid) and look at the communication and thought-sharing aspects.
Additional features of Twitter, help enhance communication and build community. Here are a few;
- Public – It is, in essence, a public forum so a person needs to think more about things before committing them. Or at least realize that what you "tweet" can be transmitted to as many followers as you have, and optionally to the public Twitter stream.
- Brevity – This is my favorite one. Twitter imposes a 140 character limit for each post. What this does is keep interactions short and quick. It also encourages you to (again) think about what you are trying to say. It really helps a person become a better communicator and writer.
- Unstructured – Your "Twitter stream" will have tweets from everyone that you follow (your friends list) that can sometimes appear out of order. There are also no "threading" tools (though many request these) to sort conversations into manageable threads. Also, there are usually several conversations going on at once. It can be a bit overwhelming.
Overall, if you find the reason to give Twitter a try, you will likely find value in the tool. If you just want to see what the hype is all about, you may not. However, if you do jump in – use the search tool to look for people you know – that helps the learning curve a bit. Also, look for your favorite bloggers – they may already be there! There is also some great search tools as well.
Finally, you can find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rickmahn – I’m on every day and am happy to answer any questions or help find people on Twitter if you like.
Dec 17, 2007 | blog
It’s perfectly natural, and something that we’ve wanted for some time. Using the Google login for their online properties was the first step (and not finished mind you), but integrating the GMail address book, and adding basic sharing options is a huge step.
When we talk about social networks connecting people, we rarely take a close look at the tools in question. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Pownce, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Plaxo… these are all tools – and so are the Google services. Having some best-of-breed, and some adequate online tools be able to provide sharing capabilities is a huge improvement. It’s much better to add sharing tools to these apps rather than try to build new one’s in someone else’s sandbox.
For me, using Google apps (and Yahoo and MSN/Live apps) every day, I’m looking forward to finding ways to enhance communication and productivity because of these new features. In my opinion, it’s this type of evolution of “social networking” that will become more useful to businesses as well as individuals.
As business-relevant social networking tools become incorporated into the software that businesses use, that’s when you’ll see perceptions of social networking change.
Via: Steve Rubel – Reader Integrates Google’s Stealth Social Net: The Address Book
