Jul 10, 2008 | blog
Join us to network and chat about using social media and social networking tools in your business and careers.
Our fifth gathering will be at the beautiful Minneapolis Central Library in the Doty Board Room. They’ll be plenty of room, Wi-Fi, and lots of coffee and pastries (thanks to our generous sponsors!). What a perfect opportunity to show off your new 3G iPod!
Agenda:
- Special guest speaker: Jon Gordon (@jongordon onTwitter, Public Radio Tech Reporter and host of “Future Tense“)
- Special guest speaker: Paul Saarinen (@taulpaul on Twitter – talking about “How online gaming taught me everything about social mediaâ€)
- Presentation on how Hennepin County Library uses social media by Meg Canada and Jody Wurl (@MegCanada & @Jodyth on Twitter)
- Review of PublicRadioCamp
- SMBMSP logo reviewOpen discussion (Anything left over from last time, or things you want to see addressed, or things you had heard in conversations on Twitter, Plurk, Friendfeed, Identi.ca etc.)
Visit & join our own social networking site: http://smbmsp.ning.com
RSVP Here: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/872412/?ps=7
Maps, Buses, Rail, Bikes, Parking, Directions: http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/centralmap.asp
See you there!
A special thank-you to @myklroventine and @megcanada for their work on putting this event together!
Jun 17, 2008 | happiness
Seeing Twitter approach 99.9% uptime.
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
Feb 8, 2008 | blog
So I was sitting at my local coffee shop this morning reading feeds, Twittering and writing. Not an unusual morning, but like other times a person gets inspired, it came from a comment from someone. This time from Jeremiah Owyang via Twitter. While talking about a the new Egos site created by Guy Kawasaki he Tweeted:
My recommendations to you: somewhere in the middle, develop your own feedreader of high value blogs and alerts everyone is unique
What occurred to me is that I didn’t think much about the a-list much any longer. While the semi-annual meme of beating on the a-list being a favorite sport for many bloggers, something any committed blogger will realize after awhile is that they develop their own a-list. This is simply the list of bloggers that they read and are influenced by.
It becomes less about the celebrity status of the blogger and more about the value of their content. I think it was Chris Brogan who started calling his personal list of favorites “Rockstars“, and it’s an apt title for a list of people who continually influence you on a daily basis. Hey I know good ‘ol Diamond Dave did that back in the ’80s for a heck of a lot of people. 😉
I’m sure a number of people are sitting back saying that I’ve missed the point of “The A-List”. They’d point out that this group of high-profile bloggers control the topics on Techmeme, Tailrank, et al. I don’t see that – I see a *lot* of great bloggers moving that conversation all over the place. At any rate, that’s not the point of this post. I’m really just talking about building your own list of blogs and bloggers that influence you.
Here are some opinions I’ve developed (though some are obvious 😉 )
- There is no one definition of the A-List – everyone’s a list is different
- “The A-List” everyone talks about are just bloggers – albeit with industry insight
- The more time you spend reading in the blogosphere, the more important the content and less the celebrity status of the blogger
- Your A-List will include high-profile bloggers, because of the value they bring to you, just like the lower-profile bloggers you read
I guess I just want to people to keep exploring and finding that content that has value to you. Don’t worry about if they are part of “The A-List”, there really are some great bloggers among them and many of their observations are relevant to the conversation that we’re looking for.
So, the A-List stops being “The A-List” when the reader realizes that each blogger brings value to the conversation and you start looking beyond who they are and more at what they say. What’s your take on this?
Photo credit: jzawodin
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
