We’ve all heard the horror stories of difficult clients. Anyone offering client services has been there.

No company can function effectively when confronted with clients who operate from a place of fear — which is often at the root of most difficult clients you encounter. You can’t do your job well or be recognized for a job well done when your client contact is inadvertently — or deliberately — standing in your way.

Here are six common “bad client” archetypes that can impede your success. After the definition of each client type, I’ve listed some possible tactics you can use to tame those wild beasts in your client roster.

1. Micro Manager

Description: This person wants to control every aspect of your work. It may feel like they don’t trust what you do or that you can never do your job to their satisfaction, but their obsessive compulsiveness is often driven by fear. They believe that if you make a mistake, it is their neck on the line. So they go through painstaking editing processes, which often delay progress and rack up unexpected expenditures on your part.

Tactics: Understand that the micro manager is operating from a place of fear. Instead of riding their fear wave, have a heart-to-heart and find out what you can do to help them feel more comfortable with your work. Also, express how you weren’t prepared for so many revisions on every aspect of your work and how much it is costing you. Could they train you on how to deliver the work in a way that better suits their needs? In the future, put a clause in your contracts that stipulates the number of revisions included in the deal (say, up to three) with a trigger to charge hourly for each additional round.

2. Panicker

Description: For the Panicker, everything is an emergency. There’s always a fire to put out somewhere, real or imagined. Something is always about to go wrong, and chances are it is all your fault. The Panicker who will suck you into their panic mode if you’re not careful, setting a work tone that can be extremely disconcerting.

Tactics: Panic is also a manifestation of fear. Why is this person so afraid? Maybe there are machinations behind the scenes at their job that you’re not privy to that have set them into panic mode. Your job is to help alleviate their fears. Ask them flat out what can you do to make their job easier, better. What can you empower them with to help them prove to their higher ups that they — and you – are doing a good job. Work with them to bring the panic level down to a minimum so you can all get your work done without raising anybody’s blood pressure.

3. Puppet

Description: The Puppet is not in a power position. Somebody else is pulling the puppet strings, but they have been put out there as your client contact whether they – or you – like it or not. They may be the fall guy for someone else, and if they fall, they’ll inadvertently take you with them. They most likely are inexperienced and may not even understand what you are doing for their company, creating a stream of misunderstandings.

Tactics: If you can’t get to the Puppet Master, then empower the Puppet. They may not even know how their ignorance is undermining your ability to get things done, much less communicate what you’ve accomplished to their boss. Offer to train this person — on your dime — to provide them with enough knowledge so they can play a more productive role as client contact.

4. DIY-er

Description: The DIY-er knows everything, and thinks they can do it all themselves. But somehow you’ve been hired to do what they perceive to be their job. Or perhaps they’ve been charged with cutting corners so they’d rather do some of the work that should be assigned to you in order to save a buck in the short term. Then they proceed to muck things up which could potentially set you up for failure from the start. This person may have backed themselves into a corner by saying they know more than they do, or biting off more than they can chew.

Tactics: There may be a lot of ego involved here — sensitive ego that, in a pinch, will point fingers of blame at you if anything starts to go wrong. It is up to you to make this person look good while not diminishing your own role in a job well done. Give them kudos often — both directly to them and to their team members or boss. Help them shine within their own organization as an important member of your client relationship. Once they view you as an ally and not the enemy, you can actually shift the situation so you can do the work well and everybody wins.

5. Bean Counter

Description: Bean Counters want numbers. They may stand in the way of progress and innovation if they feel they don’t have the numbers they need. Remember that the Bean Counter might have to report to someone else so they feel they need numbers to justify their every move. You’re just caught in the middle of their insecurities.

Tactics: They want numbers? Give them numbers. It may serve you well to do the extra research to find comparable statistics, to develop spreadsheets that calculate growth, to make a few charts to help assuage the fears of the Bean Counter. Yes, this will take you some time to compile the data, so make sure to build that into future contracts. But if it is numbers they want, go the extra mile to get them numbers.

6. Silo-er

Description: Beware the Silo-er. They are the most challenging of bad client types because they are wily creatures. They strategically set themselves up as the conduit by which all of the communications between you and the decision-makers flow. They do this so that if there are successes on a project, they can claim them for themselves. If there are failures, you will be the first one they blame.

Tactics: Without direct and open lines of communications with all the key players on your client’s team, you may become silo’d before you even know what has happened. It is up to you to open up or re-open up those communications channels before it’s too late. Offer to travel to the client’s office — on your dime — to meet with the whole team so you can re-establish key connections. Start requesting that other team members join meetings or calls so that you aren’t at the mercy of a single person. If no amount of overtures on your part work to break down the silo walls, try the last ditch effort of copying other team members on key email correspondence so they are somehow in the loop. Carefully document everything you do and all conversations just in case you’re set up to take the fall at any point.

Every client relationship can be peppered with moments of misunderstandings and disappointments — like any relationship. But without a strategy in place that can help you bring harmony to your client relations, your revenue stream could be negatively impacted by one or more of these bad client types. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to identify and address problems head on because when push comes to shove, you may end up being the one that is most dispensable.

What are some of the bad client types you’ve encountered, and how have you dealt with them?

We at WebWorkerDaily review a lot of web apps. Since many of us — and many of you — have iPhones, I like to keep tabs on web apps we’ve written about, to see whether they get a companion iPhone app. So here’s a list of seven useful iPhone apps for some of the better web apps that we’ve reviewed.

1. Shoeboxed. Organize your receipts and business cards through this service (see our review here). With the web app, you scan in what you want to save and organize or mail in your “shoebox” of items to scan and let Shoeboxed do it for you. The results are searchable and easy to organize. With the iPhone app, you can take a photo to digitize a receipt or card.
2. Evernote. The Evernote browser bookmarklet makes it easy to save all or portions of a web page to categorize content and images (see our review here). The Evenote iPhone app lets you do the same with a snap of your iPhone camera, create notes and record audio memos.
3. Bento. If you’re using the personal FileMaker Pro application (see our review here), you might want to try the iPhone app which can operate as a standalone app or sync with your desktop version. You can get mobile access to your Bento libraries and collections, create new records, edit details, sort data, and modify forms.
4. Freshbooks. If you’re looking for easy invoicing, Freshbooks is a great solution (see our coverage of the app here). You can use the MiniBooks app to sync with your Freshbooks account and manage invoices, time, and other related functionality.
5. Task2Gather. Gather, manage and share your tasks, subtasks and projects for yourself and your team (see our review here). Sync the iPhone app with the free Task2Gather desktop application and manage tasks on the go.
6. SugarSync. Work in the cloud, collaborate, back up and sync important documents across all platforms and key devices with this pervasive application (see our review here). View and share files on your iPhone to keep the work flowing, even if you’re not near your computer.
7. TimeBridge.While TimeBridge sets out to be your meeting and conference call one-stop solution (see our review here), the iPhone app gives you control of your meetings while you’re traveling. Call in and handle business on the go.

And a little something extra: Starbucks has not one but two iPhone apps, so you can find the Starbucks nearest you and even build a perfect drink that you can share with friends. Then use your iPhone and the Starbucks Card Mobile to pay for your java (in selected stores) and manage your account. I’ll take my cuppa joe with extra cream, please.

What is your favorite web application with a companion iPhone app, and why?

File sync and backup service SugarSync (which we’ve blogged about before) just announced new small-business friendly features, including a central admin feature to manage from three to 100 users collaborating and sharing files using the app. The new package also includes flexible group pricing plans starting at $29.99 per month, with no setup fees and free phone support.

While speaking with the CEO of SugarSync, I quickly realized that my post about running a virtual team was missing a critical component: backup. As I listened to the company’s presentation of its product, my mind began working overtime. SugarSync isn’t just about backing up files securely in the cloud. It can also be used for secure file sharing, collaboration and file syncing with cross-platform and mobile device access and compatibility.

How could SugarSync fit into my ever-expanding vision of efficient management of a virtual team? Looking at the diagram below, SugarSync could augment some functionality and replace others as follows:

1. Add secure backups for critical files. While our team does save important files to our 5pm project management tool, finding them can be a bit challenging. Using a project management tool for backup is also a bit shortsighted.
2. Replace Google Docs as a document collaboration tool. A major drawback of Google Docs is its hiccups when trying to open new Microsoft Word or Excel files, and other limitations that make true document collaboration impossible. Google Docs lets you collaborate on content, but SugarSync lets you collaborate on the actual documents without having to email them back and forth.
3. Replace Dropbox as a large file-sharing archive. You can share password protected folders via SugarSync, without having to use a special app on your desktop.

I’m a little wary of the price of SugarSync for my company. Even though it is geared toward small business, and you can start at about $30 per month for three users and 100 Gigs of space, each additional user is $10 per month extra, which adds up quickly. Since we’d be replacing two free solutions (Google Docs and Dropbox) with a paid solution, this really cuts into our apps budget. Still, my company’s team is going to try SugarSync over the next month using the free 30-day trial. I’ll report back on how it is working for us.

How are you collaborating, sharing and backing up your critical files? Are you using multiple applications or an all-in-one solution?

When I heard that the folks at Pressitt in the UK had launched the beta of their social media news release tool, I decided to check it out.

Pressitt says the site’s focus is on providing journalists and bloggers with a primary research tool for stories. PR types can upload releases into the system that should then be available to these journalists and bloggers.

My very first experience with the site wasn’t great. When I first went to sign up (as a PR person) I was faced with these restrictions on the registration page:

“I confirm that the content I am about to publish is not related to adult explicit, alcohol, activism, extremism, petition, prescription or other drugs, religious, ringtones, tobacco or vitamins related themes.”

As a social media consultant with a variety of clients, projects and events to publicize, I was immediately put off by the limitations, namely because the two things I wanted to create social media releases for were a wine branding company (alcohol) and a philanthropic campaign (activism, petition).

Undeterred, I filled out the rest of the registration so I could at least check out the tool’s features. Pressitt is entirely free, compared to the existing social media release tool PitchEngine which I wrote about previously. Here is an example release I created on the PressIt site.

Here’s how Pressitt stacks up as a Social Media Release (SMR) tool:

1. Ease of use. Pressitt has a very straightforward fill-in-the-blanks format. The link to create a release is prominent and obvious. Once you start one, you have the ability to choose which brand to attach to the release to.
2. Content prompting. Pressitt offers basic fields for your release headline, overview, and core facts. It does not accommodate for the main body text, but instead prompts you to build your release with overview, core facts, as well as quotes and links. Unfortunately, Pressit doesn’t prompt you to develop a Twitter-friendly blurb for your release so you can easily tweet a link to it.
3. Multimedia Integration. One of the critical aspect of SMRs is the integration of multimedia into a release. Pressit lets you upload videos and images, as well as document files (.doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .xls, .pdf and a maxiumum filesize of 8MB). While uploading my release to Pressitt, I ran into a technical glitch that I couldn’t get past. First, it would not let me upload .jpg files because it was expecting .jpeg files.  The site specified it could accommodate these files: jpeg, gif, bmp, png and a maximum file size of 4MB. I changed the .jpg to .jpeg and tried again. Pressitt gave me an error message saying .jpeg files were not allowed. So I converted the images in PhotoShop to .bmp. The site then gave me an error message saying .bmp files were not allowed. I gave up, so my test release doesn’t have any extra images.
4. Social Media Options. The second critical aspect of SMRs is social media integration. I was impressed with the extensive array of 16 or so social media posting options on Pressitt, including some that are probably more popular in the UK, such as Bebo and Propeller. Pressitt doesn’t seem to have its own URL shortener. It is also a little confusing to have Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin buttons at the top of page, but instead of being able to share the content using these services, these are meant to be links to the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts for the person sending the release.
5. Enterprise-level features. At this time, Pressitt doesn’t offer more enterprise-level features, or embedded social media newsrooms. While major companies might be using Pressitt, it is more likely for the ease of use and the fact there are fewer SMR tool options overseas than because of robust enterprise solutions.
6. Reach. It is a little too early to see if Pressitt will expand beyond being a UK- or Euro-centric tool. That isn’t a bad thing, but it just might not have the marketing muscle to make a big impact in the States.

The Verdict

If you are looking for a fast, easy solution without a lot of bells and whistles, Pressitt could work well for you. Me? I like the idea of using all the social media release resources available, particularly when I want a more global reach. I’m still disappointed, however, that some of my company’s clients will never be able to use Pressitt because of the site’s legal limitations.

Which SMR tool do you use and what do you like about it?

As my virtual social media marketing firm Conversify grows, my business partner Monique Elwell and I are forced to assess and implement technologies to help us do our work better and faster. Both Monique and I are committed to keeping our company virtual and flexible.

While exploring solutions for a phone system that could help our company appear more cohesive and communicate more effectively, Monique started looking at VoIP switching systems or “virtual PBXs.” She focused specifically on RingCentral and Virtual PBX. We’re sharing some of our findings here because we know that many of you may be in the same situation as us: tying together dispersed teams under one phone system to have a more unified corporate presence.

Monique put the following list of questions together that we had to ask ourselves while researching phone systems for our company.

1. How many lines do we need? Here we mean the number of phone lines that you expect to be speaking on simultaneously.
2. How many extensions do we need? An extension rings to an individual, or to a department (such as sales).
3. How much time do we spend on the phone? While we use a lot of email, we decided to go with unlimited minutes to avoid any surprise costs at the end of the month.
4. Do we need a system that is incoming calling only, or one allowing us to transfer to other coworkers? We would prefer being able to transfer calls for convenience.
5. Do we have to purchase a special phone or use the ones we have? Some virtual PBXs and phone systems do come with hardware while others are entirely online.

RingCentral and Virtual PBX are systems that allow your team members to be in multiple locations and are priced similarly so we’ll talk about those first.

For our team, we each have either a cell phone, a home or work landline or a Skype number that we use as our work numbers. But we lack the consistency of a common greeting messaging tree that instructs, “Thank you for calling Conversify. Press 1 for Aliza, press 2 for Monique, etc.”. While traditional offline PBXs offering this functionality can cost in the tens of thousands dollar range, there are dozens of services offering virtual PBXs and their costs are within reach of even a small startup company,

Ring Central and Virtual PBX use VoIP which these days is nearly indistinguishable from a regular landline, and the quality is far superior to cell phones.

Both Ring Central and Virtual PBX — and many other similar services — offer some standard features:

• Auto attendant. This is the voice that answers company calls and automatically routes them based on caller input.
• Call rules. This allows, for example, “Press 1 for Sales; Press 2 for Marketing.”
• Follow me services. This feature gives you the ability to have your calls forward to the phone number where you’re available.
• Custom greetings. This is the ability to record your own greetings for each person or department.
• Web-based system management. Being able to manage your phone system online means you can handle issues and changes from any Internet-connected computer.
• Virtual fax. This feature is nice for us because we are currently using a virtual fax system, so this can save some monthly fees.
• Dial by name directories. This allows callers to enter the first three letters of a team member’s name to find them easily.

Some virtual PBX systems offer the following options with or without additional costs:

• Integrated conferencing
• Vanity, virtual or toll-free numbers

The big difference between Virtual PBX or Ring Central and some other systems is that these two allow you to transfer calls to internal lines. Both also allow you to purchase a phone from them or use your own phone. Some systems even have a robust set of features to handle call centers but we weren’t looking for that kind of functionality.

Both Ring Central and Virtual PBX were easy to set up. For Ring Central, all we had to do was plug in the pre-programmed Linksys IP phone they sent to us to test. We’d have to buy the phone if we decided to use it along with their service. The phone looks like a regular office phone and includes a power cord and Ethernet cable.

For Virtual PBX, we chose to use our own phone so the set up was slightly more complicated but with this option, we would not have to buy a phone. We inputted our individual local phone numbers into our account on the Virtual PBX’s web site and took a two-minute tutorial on how to use the system.

International Routing

Monique identified a challenge we are struggling with while exploring virtual PBX systems is that we have a UK presence and don’t want it to appear separate from our U.S.-based team. Every service we spoke with charges by the minute for calls to the UK. “For a small company likes ours, that could double our phone expenses,” Monique explained.

We also want a “local” virtual number to be used in the UK although this is less of a priority. We have considered giving our UK guy a US softphone but that means that when calls come from the UK, they are first sent to the PBX and then directed back to the UK so that would most likely degrade the quality of the call. So haven’t forked over any cash to a virtual PBX service just yet. Until we can figure out whether a virtual PBX can solve this international issue, we’re still using a Skype number.

What virtual PBX system do you use — if you use one — and what do you like about it?

Image credit: RingCentral.com

There is never enough time in the day to keep up with the constant barrage of social media. Take Twitter, for example. Almost daily I have clients and colleagues ask me “Isn’t Twitter really a waste of time?” and “I hear Twitter is losing users faster than they’re gaining them, so why should I join?” The rest of us who are on Twitter — even those of us who have been using it for years — are still figuring out how to best fit Twitter into our overall communications toolkit.

So how do you keep from “wasting” time on Twitter? Here’s my advice on how to spend no more than 15 minutes a day on your Twitter account but still reap the rewards, particularly for your work. This is not a good tactic for everyone, but if you or someone you know is very resistant to Twitter and simply needs a manageable plan for tweeting, you can try this at work or home.

First, determine how you’ll most likely access Twitter and interact with others. If you’re old school (like me) and want a large, straightforward interface, use Twitter.com. If you don’t mind downloading, installing and configuring applications on your computer, go for a tool like Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop. If you’re always on the go and love typing on your mobile device, try something like Tweetie for the iPhone or TwitterBerry for the BlackBerry.

Now here’s how to spend your time efficiently and effectively on Twitter:

5 Minutes: Listen, Retweet
Start by “listening” on Twitter to get a sense of what people you’re following are talking about. Scroll down a page or two’s worth of tweets and skim until you see the ones that grab you. Then retweet them by copying their tweet being careful to give them credit. The tweet could be a compelling quote, a useful tip, or a link to a relevant blog post or article.

There are two “accepted” forms of retweeting, and they both seem to be used almost equally. You can put RT in front of the tweet you’ve copied and cite the originator of the tweet like this:

“RT @kellyecrane Great idea: PR consultants, let’s use the #soloprpro hashtag to share information! http://bit.ly/3wkIZu”

or you can credit them at the end of the tweet like this:

“PR consultants, let’s use the #soloprpro hashtag to share information! http://bit.ly/3wkIZu (via @kellyecrane)”

Personally, I much prefer the RT in front because of too many situations where people misread a retweet as a tweet from a person and confusion ensues. For example, one woman retweeted another who said her daughter was in the hospital and was suddenly barraged with messages ranging from “our prayers are with you” to “I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

Retweeting is a way of not only passing along valuable information but also giving kudos to the person tweeting — both great ways of building your following and strengthening Twitter relationships.

5 Minutes: Listen, Respond
Next, listen to see who is speaking about something of interest to you or something you can respond to authoritatively. You should also check who has mentioned you or addressed you in their tweets in your client or by searching for @yourtwittername.

If you find someone tweeting something to you directly, a response is usually expected so reply to them either publicly using @ and their Twitter name, or privately using a direct message (or DM) if you are “friends” with them (meaning you follow them and they follow you back). If you don’t personally know the Twitterer, but you are following them and want to respond to something they’ve said, you can still @ them. While it is perfectly acceptable to @ strangers, be thoughtful about how you address or respond to someone you don’t know.

Here’s an example of a tweet and a response.

“@alizasherman Most of the Seattle neighborhoods have a Twitter account for the neighborhood blog (e.g., @wallyhood for wallyhood.org)”

“@pathable Oh, totally cool. Seattle is so on it! @wallyhood for wallyhood.org? Thanks for the tip.”

5 Minutes: Promote, with Care
Let’s face it — many of us are using Twitter to promote who we are, what we’re doing, and even what we’re selling. There is nothing wrong with promotion on Twitter, but do it with context — think about how the information fits into your Twitter persona.

If you’re known as an SEO expert, you can promote your blog posts about search engine optimization. If you’re a finance expert, tweet regular personal finance tips with a link to articles you’ve written. If you’re a marketing expert, go ahead and tweet a link to your helpful marketing podcast each week. If your retail store is having a sale, that could be tweet-worthy to your followers.

Keep in mind that often the most effective self-promotion can happen when you promote others. As you promote your own articles, blog posts, products, etc., don’t hesitate to mention others that you’ve found worthy of promoting. By sharing the spotlight, you generate good will while still demonstrating your expertise.

After 15 minutes, walk away from the computer or shut down your Twitter application. Keeping your Twitter time under control doesn’t only mean having a plan. You have to exercise some self-discipline as well.

How do you keep your Twitter usage under control?

I just received an email message about the demise of Projecho, little more than three months after first hearing about the easy conferencing application during its big PR push.

What do you do when an application you’ve adopted and incorporated into your work process suddenly goes under? Nancy recently wrote about why she doesn’t trust the cloud for her work, but when you run a virtual company or are part of a virtual team, it isn’t realistic to keep all of your work on a local computer. Even if you aren’t a virtual worker, there are still apps that die quick deaths every day — their demise can leave you out in the cold.

How do you protect yourself from the pains of losing the functionality of one of your favorite apps? Here are some of my thoughts about making a smoother transition even when there’s a technical bump in the road that you didn’t anticipate.

1. Hold your geeky horses. Did you just get an invite to an app in alpha or beta? Did you just read about the debut of a new app in your favorite news source? Stop, take a breath, and wait a little bit before adopting it as the tool you’ll use at the exclusion of other tried and true offerings. Sure, there are some new apps that come out that fill a big needs gap. However, there is a difference between being an early adopter and changing your processes to accommodate an app that may or may not make it through its first year of business.
2. Back up your options, not just your data. Yes, a cool app like Projecho comes along that offers affordable and super-easy video conferencing, but clearly it isn’t the only game in town. Before you go ditching your more costly option or before you jump on a new app bandwagon for any reason, have a contingency plan — a fallback app — that you can go to immediately if the new one fails. Of course you may save a bundle moving from a WebEx to a Projecho, but look at the unanticipated costs of having to switch back over, retrain staff, and change processes.
3. Inventory your options. Once you determine the backup apps for the ones you currently use, make a list or spreadsheet that clearly spells out the apps you use, your process, and your fallback plan in case an app goes under. This handy list can make for a smoother transition with less scrambling around for new solutions if you lose an app to the bad economy, bad business models or other app destroyers.
4. Get the e-newsletters. Lately, I’ve been opting not to get the e-newsletters from apps I sign up to use because of email overload. But frankly, if I hadn’t been on Projecho’s list, I may not have seen the news of its demise as promptly as I did and would have had to wait to see it in a news source — if I even saw it at all before arriving at the site one day to find the doors had closed. Even if you never read any of the e-newsletters in detail (and in some cases you should, because they are filled with useful tips on using the product), skim the headlines before trashing. I clearly could not miss “Projecho Discontinuation” in my inbox.
5. Buy the backup plan. Clearly not all web apps involve saving your data in the cloud. Projecho is a video conferencing tool, for example, so it is just there to use when you need it. But if you are uploading — or creating — assets purely online, either get in the habit of keeping your own backups (either on a local drive, or using a cloud backup service) or pay for a more premium account that includes additional online backups. You can never back up too much, and if your web app goes kaput, you’ll be glad you did the extra work or paid a few extra bucks.

Keep in mind that some of these tips can work for you whether you’re working with cloud apps or software on your computer (WordStar, anyone?).

How do you plan for the possible demise of your favorite and most-used web apps?

I’m all about gadgets and doodads that have specific functions, are easy to use, and actually help me do something better. I’ve been seeing one gadget in particular at tech conferences lately that really caught my eye.

The telescopic XShot camera extender ($29.95) is a simple but “wow” device that allows you to mount your digital camera and then extend it away from you so you can include yourself in the pictures. At conferences, however, the clever device is being used by attendees to raise their cameras above the heads of a crowd or audience to more easily capture footage of speakers onstage or simply get a more interesting view of the room. The XShot 2.0 gives you as little as 9 inches and up to 3 feet of extension.

XShot has also come out with a new device that is equally as useful in a thump-on-the-head “why didn’t I think of that!” way. The XShot iPhone Case ($29.95 ) fits iPhone 3G and 3GS and features a tripod mount to quickly and easily attach your iPhone to a tripod (such as my favorite Gorillapod) — or the XShot Camera Extender — to get the same added functionality as you would with a regular digital camera. The tripod mount isn’t a separate attachment but already built right into the case, which is perfect for me because I always lose extra attachments and peripherals.

Right now, you can only preorder the iPhone case at XShot.com; the new product will be available starting in November. You can also pre-order an XShot and iPhone Case bundle for $44.95.

And rumor has it XShot is coming out with yet another device in the near future — a micro version of its XShot 2.0 that is smaller and lighter, but still highly functional.

What is your current favorite “must-have” gadget?

Watching Chris Brogan of New Marketing Labs on stage for the first time at Izeafest 2009 made me pause.

“Is this a conference about blogging, or have I been transported to a comedy club on ‘Best of Improv Night’?” I thought to myself.

Even when “trying not to be funny,” Brogan was hilarious, provocative and a little bit profane. Trying to distill his advice in between bon mots can be a challenge, until you realize that the best advice he gives — the meatiest points he makes — are the one-liners and quips.

The vibe on Saturday afternoon in the dimly-lit conference venue was electric. Brogan made some interesting points that really stood out in my mind. I captured them during his presentation while I was live tweeting.

Below I riff on some of his points with my own thoughts; I’m interested in hearing yours as well.

“In the immortal words of the philosopher Vanilla Ice: Stop, collaborate, and listen.”

Great advice for how companies, organizations and individuals should go into and utilize social media.

“If we say ‘we’ more often than we say ‘I,’ things are so much fun … because people like to feel they belong to something.”

“The number one obligation of people who have an inside is to let more people in.”

With these statements, Brogan echoed some of what Liz Strauss had said earlier in the afternoon — the idea of “inclusiveness” and how that really powers and drives participation on blogs and in social media.

“Be self-aware not self-involved. One helps you in life, the other one alienates you”

“Be everywhere: do that with your content and do that with your commenting. Commenting in heartfelt ways to their content, not to your agenda.”

These quotes are great tips for the attitude you should take when participating in social media channels or commenting on someone’s status update or post. Be aware of the other person and not so focused on yourself.

“You can let a blog die. It’s OK. It’s not a kitten.”

This quote cracked me up. How many of us feel so tied to our blogs, that our blogs are so precious that we can never let them go. Now think about how many of us neglect our blogs? If you aren’t feeling it, if you aren’t doing it, just let that neglected blog die.

“Failure is part of success. Failure is on the way to success. But have lots of paths to that goal.”

“Nobody is going to give you permission to do the next thing. Do not wait for the market to come along.”

These quotes were really a powerful statement for many in the audience about the fear of failure and getting off your duff and doing something. We all go out there in the “social mediasphere” hoping to be a big success, hoping our campaigns are a success, that our communications are successful. But just like with life, we have to let go of a fear of failure and realize that if it gets us to where we are going, it’s all good.

“Train your communities. Do not make yourself irreplaceable. You miss opportunities.”

“Content is the bait to make love (to your audience).”

“Oprah trick: Guard your audience. Because they are the asset. If you lose the asset, you lose everything.”

You come away from Brogan’s presentation realizing where his true power comes from — not just from his passion for his topics but for his audience. He knows the real value in the equation is not him but you. That is the way we should all be thinking when engaged in social media conversations.

“This social media stuff makes real things happen,” said Brogan. After hearing him speak, one can see why — and how — Chris Brogan makes things happen.

How is social media making real things happen for you?

Speaking at Izeafest, influential blogger Liz Strauss (@lizstrauss) of Successful Blog said that she considers authenticity her “extreme strategy,” both online and off. Strauss, who is a social media and web strategist based in Chicago and CEO and founder of SOBCon, thinks authenticity is key to being successful online. So, how can you improve your authenticity?

“Be there, be behind the screen,” says Strauss, meaning that you need to be present, you need to be engaged yourself, and you need to care. “Who you are is who you are, all the way down to the cells of your body.”

According to Strauss, some ways to enhance your authenticity — beyond simply being yourself — include:

1. Pay attention. “Be the consummate observer. Be the listener.”

2. Be positive. “Be as positive on the back channel intercom of the Internet as you are on the front channel intercom.” Strauss emphasized that even “private” communications can be quickly made public so, in a way, there really isn’t a back channel online.

3. Use “Thank you.” “If you can’t get to thank someone, you walk around the room until you can,” said Strauss. Even if someone says something terrible, just say “Thank you” and let those two words hang in the room. People will get your point between the lines.

4. Own your passion. Still trying to identify your passion? “What are you always, always talking about? That’s your passion,” said Strauss. “Look where your friends come to you for help. The problems you are solving is what is most dear to you.”

5. Solve problems. Said Strauss, “If you end up solving problems for people, you end up solving it yourself. If you solve a problem for yourself first, be generous about solving that problem for others, too.”

6. Make connections. Strauss explained how much she loves connecting ideas, connecting people. By caring so much about connecting to other people, she has built a real community with conversation via her blog, not just a repository for comments.

7. Start a conversation. Strauss gave a few tips on how to build community on your blog: “Don’t blog too thoroughly. Leave some white space for people to comment…When people comment on your blog, don’t just reinforce what they said. Ask them a question back.”

8. Play for keeps. Strauss asked, “Why play a game if you’re not going to play for keeps?” adding, “Don’t ’sorta blog’ for anything because no one will know you. You’ve got to own it.” Hearing this, I felt it was a key tenet of authenticity: to realize the commitment it takes to be yourself, be real and to be committed to your community.

How are you owning — and reinforcing — your authenticity?

I’ve been a huge fan of Second Life since I first “rezzed” (logged into the virtual 3-D environment) in March 2007, and have previously blogged about my own Second Life. Despite all the limitations and downsides of Second Life (and there are many), it has been one of the most flexible and inspiring proving grounds for virtual worlds for business. Just like with Twitter, I try to cut through the hype and go straight to the core: Using this new platform can introduce you to new ways of thinking and help you hone valuable skills that will put you at a clear advantage as communications and workspace technologies continue to evolve.

According to the new GigaOM Pro report “Virtual Worlds for the Enterprise Market” by Kris Tuttle and Steve Waite of Research 2.0 (subscription required), business use of virtual worlds is a growing market — one that we shouldn’t ignore. Some of the main takeaways from the report that matter to those of us working on the web include:

• Develop a plan. Companies should develop a plan for use of enterprise, private 3-D virtual world environments for both internal and external use.
• Technology continues to evolve. The “in world” experiences of these new virtual environments will be leaps and bounds ahead of that currently offered by Second Life.
• Don’t underestimate the market. The market for enterprise 3-D worlds may seem small today, but according to the report, it’s doubling year over year, with estimated annual revenues of $8-10 billion in 2015.

So how can you make sure that you’re prepared for the virtual worlds of the future? Here are nine skills we can all learn from regular engagement in Second Life that can be applied to any business use of 3-D virtual world environments.

1. Maneuvering. On your first day in a virtual world, you may feel like a stranger in a strange land. Unless you are well-versed with video games, chances are moving your avatar around will be frustrating and inefficient. Using Second Life on a regular basis for an extended period of time can help you get your “virtual world legs.”
2. Interacting. When you encounter others in a virtual world, even knowing when and how to approach them and address them can be awkward and downright intimidating. Participating in Second Life social events can help you learn the how to interact with both strangers and colleagues using your virtual self.
3. Communicating. Because Second Life supports both text and voice communications, you have more than one way to communicate with others. Knowing how to communicate clearly and thoroughly in both ways gives you an advantage. Plus knowing how to use gestures to your advantage can make a big difference in how others respond to you.
4. Presenting. By making presentations in Second Life, you learn how to add a new dimension to your presentations. You may currently know how to give a virtual presentation with a software such as GoToMeeting or DimDim, however, what do you do if you also have an avatar — a 3-D virtual representation of yourself — in the mix? And what about the ability to create “larger than life” presentation environments where your audience can walk through to get a richer experience? Presenting in Second Life helps you master these additional features to help make a more interactive and immersive presentation. From basic team or board meetings to more involved presentations, 3-D environments gives a whole new meaning to “being there.”
5. Teaching. Universities around the world make extensive use of Second Life, offering classes and even campus social events and interactions, taking full advantage of the 3-D environment to augment their “real world” offerings. Businesses and professionals can take advantage of this environment to offer seminars, workshops, panel discussions and full conferences — either standalone, or as an extension of a “real world” event.
6. Collaborating. Any enterprise or virtual team can benefit from the collaborative environments one can create in 3-D worlds. In Second Life, companies don’t only have meetings but also participate in team-building exercises, go on virtual retreats and hold social events to create stronger bonds between team members.
7. Branding. Companies can build their brands in 3-D environments such as Second Life — knowing how to do it well is a useful skill. Individuals can also build their brands via their 3-D avatars. Even in Second Life, you can purchase your own name (as long as it isn’t already taken) and use the environment as another social network in your social media toolkit. See my post “Second Life is Social Media.”
8. Promoting. Learning to market in a 3-D space is a challenge but enhances your marketing skills in exciting new ways.Finding ways to actually reach people in meaningful and engaging ways in a virtual world can help foster fresh ideas.
9. Building. Because every resident has the ability to build, even a non-artist or non-architect can gain skills to make objects, create art and construct buildings, spaces and environments that push the envelope of what is possible in the “real world.” This kind of creativity — especially in the hands of more linear thinkers — is a great source of inspiration and innovation. And another aspect of “building” in Second Life and other 3-D environments that should not be overlooked is the art of building community and organizing people.

How are you using 3-D virtual world environments for business?

Aaron Brazell, aka @technosailor and founder and lead editor of Technosailor.com, when he spoke at Izeafest 2009, shared his thoughts on what makes someone an “influencer.” The difference between being a celebrity and an influencer, he said, is that, “Being a celebrity gets you attention now; being an influencer gets you attention over the long term.”

A few of the characteristics of an influencer, according to Brazell, are:

1. Quality. Says Brazell, “It’s not numbers. It isn’t the number of followers you have. You can be the best marketer in the world but nobody cares if you don’t have quality.”

I agree with Brazell’s statements about quality over quantity, but if you’re working with clients or trying to convince a decision-maker  — such as your boss — about social media, they still expect numbers. I may argue with my business partner every time she is looking to find the numbers to show our clients that “it is not about the numbers,” but I know I have to understand that when the person holding the purse strings demands those numbers, we’re just between a rock and a hard place.

But for those who are chasing the big numbers like thousands of Facebook friends and Twitter followers at the expense of quality content and engagement, they are in for a very rude awakening as the marketing and advertising landscape continues to change. It isn’t how many eyeballs you get in front of, but how engaged the people behind those eyeballs are with you that matters.

2. Transparency. “With an influencer you know what they are thinking, what they are going to do, why they are doing it — because they’re transparent. You do what you say, you say what you do. Transparency builds trust,” says Brazell.

I couldn’t agree more. Whether you’re a blogger or other kind of content producer — even if you’re just commenting in someone’s else’s forum — be transparent about who you are, what you do and why you do it. People appreciate that honesty. And they resent it when you hide your identity or intentions; trust is broken. Don’t go there.

Brazell also mentioned two other qualities of influencers: they have charisma and are inspiring. He says that there is a motivational aspect to what influencers do. “Know how to talk to people. When you motivate people, you start building people up, and you give somebody something that is worthwhile.”

What do you think makes someone an “influencer?“

I love my iPhone and am practically obsessed with downloading new apps every week. I gravitate toward communications and publishing applications, but if it helps me be more productive, access my work tools remotely, or connect to news and information, chances are I have it on my phone.

As a big fan of iPhone apps and a reviewer of applications of all kinds, I’m constantly trying to come up with a “big idea” that will be a runaway App Store sensation — and bring in some passive revenue on the side — and so have been pondering the question “What does it take to make an iPhone app?”

To answer this, I interviewed Jeremiah Dunham, a programmer at Design-PT, Inc., an Anchorage-based technology solutions company, which recently came out with the latest version of its iPhone app Here Say. The premise of Here Say is that you can be in a location, take notes digitally through the Here Say app and post them. These notes can be viewed by others who are close by. Your notes could be a quick restaurant review, a mention of road conditions, a particularly scenic view, whatever you’d like to remember next time you are in an area or that you’d like to share with anyone else using the same application when they pass through the same area.

The early impetus for creating Here Say came from the way Design-PT’s principal, Orion Matthews, carried a notepad around everywhere taking notes about anything and everything. In speaking with Dunham, the idea for a digital version of this analog location-based note-taking seemed like the start of a promising application.

Version Evolution

Like any software product, Here Say has gone through several iterations so far. v1.0 users had the basic ability to post geo-coded notes; browse notes posted nearby up to 500 miles away (there is a slider where you can adjust your perimeter); and choose private or public posting. v2.0 added the ability to post photos; comment on other people’s posts; view everything posted in the world; see a compass heading, and the ability to report abuse. Dunham also moved the “My Notes/All Notes” filter from the settings page to a button on the main view.

As with any development process, feedback from users can initiate changes although the developer stands firm that Here Say will never become another community building app. With v2.0.1, the radius of nearby notes was increased to 2,500 miles away; the ability to ban abusive users was added; and due to user feedback, Dunham moved the My Notes/All Notes filter back to the settings page — the button on the main view caused too much confusion.

iPhone App Development Challenges

Dunham says learning Objective-C and the Cocoa framework was challenging, since he had never developed a Mac or iPhone application before.

“The example apps are great, and Apple’s documentation is very good, but there were a few subtle aspects of developing Here Say that could only be discovered empirically,” Dunham explains. “One good example of this is the trade-off between speed and accuracy when accessing the GPS in the iPhone.”

In order to provide the maximum accuracy with acceptable speed for Here Say, Dunham had to come up with an algorithm that allows the user to see something relevant quickly, but then refine what they are seeing as more accurate GPS coordinates came in.

The limited resources of the iPhone were also tricky. “As developers, we always try to write applications that perform well, but the iPhone raises the performance requirement pretty substantially. When compared to a standard laptop or desktop machine, it has a limited amount of computing resources on it and the usage pattern is totally different,” says Dunham, adding, “Apple’s philosophy on this is that you maximize the usage of the iPhone’s limited resources and hence the user experience by only allowing one app to run at a time. That is a blessing and a curse to developers. It’s a blessing because you don’t have to worry about another app hogging all of the resources behind the scenes, ruining the user experience. It’s a curse because you have to do a lot of caching and other performance optimization tricks, since you have the user starting and stopping your app all the time.”

Business Reasons Behind Developing iPhone Apps

There were a couple of reasons for Design-PT to develop an iPhone app.

• To get experience with iPhone app development. Says Dunham, “I believe that mobile application development will continue to be a growth area for many years to come and the demand for skilled mobile application developers will increase substantially. As someone who writes applications for a living, getting this experience is an exercise in survival as much as it is fun or cool. I experimented with developing for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, but the iPhone is miles ahead of those platforms, so that’s why I got serious about writing an iPhone app as opposed to something else.”
• Business diversification. Dunham says that as an IT services firm, all of the company’s revenue comes from contracting,
  consulting and IT support services. “It’s only natural that we would want to use the software development capability that we already have to create a product that offers a revenue stream that is entirely uncorrelated from our other lines of business.”

Reaching “Critical Mass”

Some reviews of Here Say note that the user base for the app is still small and to work well, there needs to be a higher adoption rate. However, according to Dunham, it really depends on how and why you are using Here Say. The most common use for the app today is informal polls and discussions, like a traditional web forum or message board. The current user base — a few hundred users per day — seems to be using Here Say effectively in this manner.

In terms of the application’s potential for news and reviews, Here Say could achieve a critical mass in individual markets — cities or regions — with only a few hundred or a thousand users in that market. Dunham says the ultimate goal is to create a global community so that you could pick up Here Say and get the buzz on every major city or landmark in the world. “That would require maybe a thousand users in every major city or region — probably a few million users in total.”

The Pay Off

Because Here Say is free, I asked Dunham where he sees revenues coming in. Dunham speaks of an “augmented reality” with the possibility of leasing every acre of land in the world as an advertising space.

“Let’s say that you wanted to advertise to people in Times Square. That would probably be prohibitively expensive in the physical world,” says Dunham. “In the augmented world of Here Say, anyone who wants to lease that space can put their message at the top of the app. This is, of course, predicated on the idea that the app is getting a lot of eyeballs in Times Square and that advertisers really want location-based advertising. The critical mass for this is, like most things for Here Say, location specific. A bunch of users in a small area would make that area valuable to advertisers.”

Besides dollars, Here Say has helped to establish the firm as a player in the mobile application space in Alaska. The company has also received inquiries from existing and potential clients because of it, and gained PR opportunities related to the app.

“It has also been a great morale booster for our organization,” Dunham admits. “Most people in our office have iPhones. and there was a lot of excitement about the fact that we were going put our own stamp on it. This was one small way for us to reassert our focus on innovation.”

Have you developed an iPhone app? What has it done for you and your company?

I’ve been working on the web — in one form or another — since 1994, and on the Internet since 1987, so I’ve had a number of years to learn some very tough lessons along the way. In trying to summarize my best advice to someone who is interested in web working, I distilled my learning into five specific tips. All these lessons were learned in the School of Hard Knocks, with a little Murphy’s Law thrown in for good measure.

Save yourself a lot of headaches; please follow this list. If you are a veteran web worker, I’d also advise reading this, printing it, and pasting it up on your wall. Why? Because I’ve made these mistakes more than once, and some of them even recently; none of us are infallible.

On with the list, in no particular order.

1. Email is imperfect. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve over-relied on email for communications with a co-worker, team member, client or vendor and nothing but disaster resulted. Miscommunication via email is rampant, and not just misunderstandings, but bad feelings too. I am trying to practice the art of in-person discussions, video conferencing or phone calls as my first options for contact, and then using email as a follow-up, to make sure everyone understands one another through a summary or recap. The more you rely on email, the more time you will spend explaining yourself, or apologizing.

2. There is not one right way to do anything. We each have our own way that we like to do things, but our way can differ vastly from the next person’s. This poses a big challenge when you are trying to get a team or clients on the same page and process as you. If you’re the boss, of course you can enforce a certain process or a particular application or tool, however, you should understand that others may have a very difficult time adjusting. I’m trying to be more accepting of the fact that as long as things get done on time, under budget and are properly documented, then all is well with the world. Just because others don’t do things exactly like me doesn’t mean the results won’t be OK.

3. It is hard to delegate, but you must. If you have someone to delegate to, do it. Learn to let go now, today, immediately. There is nothing worse than being the wrench in the process or the spanner in the works because you are hoarding work that someone else could be doing to free you up for more important things, or the things that you are good at and should be doing instead. If your time is being consumed by busy work, hire an assistant, even part-time, even virtual, even an intern to start with. Just bring on an additional person who can help you streamline processes and to whom you can unload the work that is keeping you from true productivity.

4. If you think you’ll need to access it from anywhere later, save it in the cloud. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought “maybe I should save this online somwhere” like my Google Docs or 5pm, my project management system, or Dropbox. And I don’t, which ends up with me away from my computer and unable to access it when I need it. If you don’t already have one, get a secure account with a cloud storage service and use it to save those documents that you just might need later. Or make saving all archival documents part of your internal team process, as my team is now doing on 5pm.

5. Back up obsessively, like your life depends on it. If you have been reading my posts for a while, you know that I experienced a devastating computer crash over a year ago. Haven’t we all at some point? Read my lips: Back. Up. Now.

What are your biggest web working lessons?

How many times are you hearing the question, “Why should I engage in social media?” during your work week? I’m hearing it often, and it’s reminding me of 1995 and 1996, when clients — and colleagues — were asking “Why should I have a web site?” And who remembers when the question was “Why should I have email/a cellphone/a computer/a typewriter/a telephone?” OK, maybe none of you remember the old telephone question, but I heard that when the telephone was first introduced as a consumer product, most families were appalled with the concept of putting a phone into their homes and saw it as an invasion of their privacy. Yes, the telephone.

Here is how I try to explain to people who may not be convinced that they — or their company — should be using social media for business. Hopefully, this proves helpful to those of you in the position of reaching the decision makers who are ignoring social media outright and consider it a fad.

While this decision tree may seem a bit simplistic, it’s meant to illustrate that when using social media tactics and tools, you must:

1. Start with a deep understanding of your business goals; and
2. Make them part of an overall marketing strategy.

A good phrase to use with clients is: “Social media is not a silver bullet.”  Make sure they aren’t looking to social media — or any set of tools or tactics, for that matter — as the one thing that will catapult them toward business success. That’s reckless. But also let them know that putting their heads in the sand hoping this social media thing will just go away will put them at a disadvantage, especially if they don’t at least try to understand what it is and what it could potentially do for their business.

Those of us who engage in social media understand that it is first and foremost about conversations and connections, so if one isn’t prepared to engage closely, frequently and almost intimately with one’s customers or potential customers, then jumping feet first into social media may not be a wise business move. We need to communicate this to our clients without scaring the heck out of them. Anything different can be scary, and social media is vastly different from what most traditional marketers are used to, so it’s up to us to shine a little light down that dark tunnel of the unknown.

Not everyone who is dragging their heels about social media is being unreasonable. Try to pinpoint why they’re avoiding it. Is it a knee-jerk reaction or a reasonable decision based on the limited information they have at hand?

If you’ve ever been at the forefront of any adoption of new technologies, you’ll know that there’s an advantage to waiting out something newfangled: You can learn from other people’s mistakes. The flip side to putting something like social media on the backburner, as you know, is that your clients will probably miss out on first-mover advantages, and they may lose market share to companies that understand that today’s consumer is empowered through social media.

If a client is unwilling — or unable — to interact with their customers in new ways, those customers may turn to companies that have a presence where they like to communicate (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter). They may favor companies that listen, respond, engage, interact and respect this new breed of customers.

You know all this. It’s just up to you to responsibly communicate this to your clients. This isn’t about hype and hyperbole. This is about making sound, rational, strategic business decisions to identify market and communications shifts and to adapt sensibly to them in order to stay in touch with one’s customers.

Social media is a tool, just like email is a tool, and just like a web site is a tool. Guide your clients to at least consider the new tools that are out there and that are probably having a major impact on their companies today, not to mention the effects they’re going to have tomorrow. I pity the fool who doesn’t at least pull their head out of the sand and ask the right questions in an attempt to make sound business decisions. If you understand this and have clients who don’t, it’s up to you to do some gentle pulling so they can see the new landscape around them.

Why do you engage in social media? What do you tell people who don’t or won’t?

Photo credit: stock.xchng user kavitha

I’ve been a little caught off-guard lately with some of the presumptions people seem to be making now on Twitter. Where did all these expectations, such as an expectation for a response to a retweet or a “follow back,” come from? Why are people coming to Twitter with the belief that others should act and react just the way they expect? That isn’t how the real world works. Why should it be any different on Twitter?

Why Don’t You Respond to Me on Twitter?

The other day I received a message from someone I like (but hardly know) asking me why I’m not responding to their messages to me on Twitter. In a momentary panic, I clicked around to look at all of my recent @ messages and my DMs (direct messages) and couldn’t find any addressed to me from this person.

When I asked them about their message to me that I failed to address, I was pointed to a retweet of one of my tweets they had put out to their followers. It appeared that this person retweeted me with an expectation that I would respond to that retweet as if it were a personal message to me warranting a response. Maybe they were expecting me to thank them for the retweet, and because I didn’t do it within 24 hours I’ve broken some new unwritten rule. Why didn’t I get the memo?

My theory on conversing on Twitter is that you:

1. Do the best you can.
2. Try to use the Golden Rule (as with all social media).
3. Respond and thank people when you can, but you shouldn’t be held accountable for thanking every person every single time they mention you.
4. Regularly tweet a general “thanks to everyone who retweeted me this week” or “thank you to everyone who mentioned me for #followfriday today” rather than naming each person by Twittername (and that should be okay).
5. Try to retweet or give kudos to others when you can, and as appropriate, just because it is a nice thing to do.

Yes, I believe in being courteous, but I’m getting a sinking feeling that many people are now doing “nice and generous” things on Twitter for the kudos, public thanks and @ mentions they expect to get. Some people’s thinking now seems to be “that person has 5000 followers, so if I retweet them, they will thank me — their followers will see my Twittername and maybe even link over to my Twitter page.” They are co-opting nice gestures and turning them into strategic ploys. My skin is crawling at the thought. No wonder that, increasingly, the kudos I get from popular Twitterers is by DM instead of publicly.

Why Don’t You Follow Me Back on Twitter?

When it comes to expectations on Twitter, I think an unrealistic one is expecting people to follow you back if you follow them. Sure, it would be nice, but my advice is to follow people because you are truly interested in what they have to say, or are truly interested in connecting with them in some way and cultivating a relationship, or both. What could you possibly gain by following random people purely in the hope that they will follow you back? Here’s what you gain: Noise! The dilution of your Twitterstream with worthless noise. Why use Twitter that way?

If you really want to know why somebody might not follow you back, I’ve come up with a little guide to different types of Twitterers who probably won’t follow you and the reasons why. Hopefully, this list will save you some disappointment and heartache.

1. The Celeb — If they’re famous and actually using Twitter, chances are they just won’t follow you back. Unless they are @britneyspears.
2. The Frugal Follower – If they are really good at time management and controlling their impulses, chances are they are only following people they know or who they truly admire, and you’re just not one of them.
3. The Snob – They might not know who you are and therefore you are not worthy of a follow back. Or maybe they don’t like you.
4. The Chooser — They only follow their friends.
   
5. The Novice — They may not know how to follow you back.
6. The Overwhelmed — They haven’t noticed that you’ve followed them, and just haven’t gotten around to seeing who is following them to determine who they want to follow back.

If someone doesn’t follow you back, that’s okay. Yes, there may be moments where your emotions get the best of you. I’ve personally seen people who I do know — who I’ve known for years — who have not followed me back. I admit that for a moment now and then I do think “Oh no, they don’t like me.” But then I let it go, because I realize that I’m probably guilty of doing the exact same thing to others. And I don’t mean any offense; I’m just #6.

So the next time you’re interacting on Twitter with some expectations, realize that not everyone is on Twitter for the same reasons as you, and not everyone uses Twitter in the same way you do. There are actually no written rules on Twitter, and that’s okay. There won’t be anarchy on the streets because of that. There may be some hurt feelings along the way, but as long as we each do the best we can, what else can anyone ask for?

What are your expectations when using Twitter?