Jun 8, 2008 | blog
Awhile back, I’d started a list of "101 Uses for Twitter", but never seemed to get past 27 for some reason. Of course, it had been last autumn since I brainstormed on it. While I don’t think that I personally could come up with 101 uses, I’m sure there are many more than that.
So I thought about this again for awhile this morning and did think of 50 uses that I’ve seen or participated in. So here is a list of 50 uses for Twitter, I’m thinking of more as I write this, so maybe there is a chance at that "101" post sometime.
- Keep in touch with my
Twitter peeps friends - General news item links
- News & links on my industry or area of interest
- Fast answers to quick questions
- Professional networking
- Links to nearly everything
- Marketing
- Personal branding
- Corporate & product branding
- Haiku’s
- Making friends
- Feel "plugged into the web and it’s various personalities"
- Replacement for instant messaging applications
- Chat tool
- Promotional tool for my blog
- Providing new reading opportunities
- Fun stuff!
- Meeting new, interesting people to communicate with
- Collecting links
- Finding sites related to social networking
- "To listen in on my contacts rants"
- A web worker "water cooler"
- Micro-blogging
- A personal "techmeme"
- Lightweight text broadcasting tool
- Easy way to annoy your spouse
- Promotional tool for my brand
- Ranting
- Idea generator
- No-cost non-profit announcement system
- Bring a sense of community to your home office
- Tracking status of friends
- Status message generator for other social networks
- Frustration generator (at least when it is down)
- Thought publisher
- Promotional tool for my organization
- Following public discussions
- Travel guide
- Controlled discussion between friends
- Uncontrolled discussion between friends with viewers
- List generator
- Meeting agenda generator
- Coffee shop locator
- People search
- Promotional tool for my company
- Product reviews
- Trip planner
- Backchannel for events
- Feedback generator
- Authentication mechanism
So what are you uses for Twitter? I’m sure I didn’t capture them all, so add your ideas and things you use Twitter for below.
Jun 4, 2008 | blog
Wow, what a wild ride the last few months have been. I’ve been planning to refine the direction of my blog and revamp the appearance for some time and it’s finally completed!
Well, it’s almost completed – I’ve got a replacement for the About page almost ready to publish, and I’ve got one last page that I’ll add a little later. Seems I just can’t get it to come out quite right in the past week while working on other things – so I’ll get to that real soon.
Direction
The great part is that I’m refining my direction. Since I’ve come out of corporate, with a strong background in information technology, I’m going to focus on helping those organizations with social media. I’ve changed the description of the blog to "social web & the enterprise". I believe that to better describe the direction that I’m going.
Friends
First, I really respect a number of bloggers for their work & influence on me. So, instead of the old blogroll, or a list of links, I created a new Friends page. This page is people I have come to know, respect, learn from, work with, and I wanted to do more than just link to them. You’ll find a description of each blog and a thumbnail of their landing page.
Resume
Also page that can now be found in the top navigation area is the Resume page. I’ve had a variant of this Social Media Resume up for about 9 months, but never advertised it on the blog. I’ve revamped a number of pieces of the page as it used to be a completely custom HTML page forced into a WordPress theme template. Now it fully fits the theme, with a special resume.php template that allows different sidebars and such. Much better. I’ve pulled the video that I had on it, but will replace it with another one to fit the direction of the blog shortly.
Advertisement
You’ll also notice that all advertising save two things have been removed from the blog. While I make enough to pay for hosting, I believe that the ads detracted from what I’m here to accomplish, so they’re gone. The two items I mentioned that remain are badges for Personal Branding Magazine, and for Avatar Consultants. Their of personal interest to me, I’m involved in writing for one, and the other is my consulting firm.
Nowhere But Up
So if the picture in this post didn’t give a hint, my motto as I revise my direction and enter a new phase, is that there is nowhere to go but up. Join me as we bring the benefits of the social web to organizations of all sizes. Come along and help individuals realize the power and strength of their brand. Let’s make each day the best it can be!
I want to give a special thank you to Mykl Roventine for patience, ideas, and a great design – I wouldn’t have gotten this completed without his work. Thank you.
Got feedback? I bet! Don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts in a comment below.
Photo credit: Leo Reynolds
May 19, 2008 | blog
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?
Photo credit: Sumit
Technorati Tags: Personal Brand, Personal Picture, Photo, Logo, Personal Logo, Social Media, Social, Media, Branding, Personal, Rick Mahn
May 14, 2008 | blog
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.
It is fun. It is powerful. It is disruptive.
Photo credit: cybertoad
May 8, 2008 | blog
We live in age when anything is possible, at the touch of a button, or simply for the asking. The modern world is filled with tools and technologies that allow us to do amazing things. From communicating around the world in the blink of an eye, to reporting breaking news by the average person, to creating the perfect latte at home, our world makes things so easy.
It’s Easy
So if things are so easy, why are people not taking advantage of the tools and techniques available for networking themselves and building a better brand? Is the concept of reaching out to connect with like-minded or similarly skilled people that foreign to the average worker? Or is it the tools? Granted social networking and personal branding are not needed by everyone. Some people will, of course, simply shun the idea of publishing anything about themselves on the Internet, and they are welcome to that opinion.
However, if you’re at the foot of that corporate ladder looking up and wondering if it’s even worth it, you need to be thinking of how to position yourself properly. There are dozens if not hundreds of books on the topic that you can buy and use to build your brand. There is also a genuinely easy way to get started building the brand that is you. Be smart.
Beware the slip-up
With all the ways to interact and share your life online, sometimes it’s too easy to slip up. Whether you like using the pre-packaged social networks or you’re more of a DIY person and build your own. You need to make sure you are thinking about what people outside your social circle will see when they view your online presence. You’ve heard the stories of college beer parties being posted, or inside jokes traded with online buddies. These are some of the things that can be found months or years later.
So don’t let your reputation, your brand, be so easily tarnished by easy mistakes. Also, think about the tools you use to network. We are lucky to have so many tools at hand to build that brand and network. Choose the one(s) that best match your goals, message and style. Whatever you do, don’t hesitate to get started. Perversely, that is usually the most difficult step in the process.
Photo credit: spackletoe
