In my quest to better understand why and how we use the term “social media,” I began at Wikipedia:

Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.

I can’t say the above definition is wrong, but it seems too narrow to me. The first questions that come to my head when I read that social media is just about publishing and broadcasting is “But what about Web 2.0 technologies? Where do they fit in? Aren’t they a part of social media?”

The Wikipedia definition of social media continues with:

Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.”

The definition continues to focus on content production, and I say that the narrowness of that definition is wrong. I see social media as being more than just publishing and broadcasting, and I think that the word “media” in social media may be misunderstood or misused.

What is Media?

In our haste to label things — in this case the tools we are using for communication and interaction — someone forgot that “media” has multiple meanings, so some of us took the term “social media” to mean one thing, while the rest of us understood it to mean something completely different.

For consistency’s sake, I went back to Wikipedia to check how it defined “media.” Of the multiple definitions, here are the ones that I thought applied to the word “media” in the term “social media”:

In communications: In communication, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data. It is often referred to as synonymous with mass media or news media, but may refer to a single medium used to communicate any data for any purpose.

A medium (plural media) is a carrier of something. Common things carried by media include information, art, or physical objects. A medium may provide transmission or storage of information or both. The industries which produce news and entertainment content for the mass media are often called “the media” (in much the same way the newspaper industry is called “the press”).

In this light, the limitation of the definition of “social media” to publishing and broadcasting falls apart.

A few years ago, I began using the following diagram to encapsulate the many media — or tools, platforms, channels — that made up social media:

The diagram above reflects the more expansive view of social media; using “media” to mean “the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data.“

So is this wrong? If you are going by the narrow publishing and broadcast definition, then it might be incorrect to say that Cloud Working (by that I mean producing work using cloud-based SaaS tools), for example, is social media. But then again, to work in the cloud, one must publish something on the web that is consumed — or collaborated on — by others, often producing new forms of the original content, right?

And what about widgets and RSS feeds? These are tools for distributing content produced elsewhere, but they aren’t tools for actually producing new content. One could argue that these tools aren’t social. However, they are the conduits of content from social sources such as social networks and blogs. So are they social media tools or not?

How about a content rating site or bookmarking site? While Digg and Delicious aren’t exactly content production sites, they allow users to rate, comment on and aggregate content in a more “social” interactive environment so, in a sense, they are social media tools because there is “social” and “publishing” involved.

The Evolution of the Term “Social Media”

How did the term “social media” evolve, and how can there be different understandings of this globally-used term? I think part of the problem is that some people believe that social media “replaced” Web 2.0 as a term while others believe that social media is a “subset” of Web 2.0.

For clarification, Wikipedia’s definition of Web 2.0 is:

…web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web.

If one believes that social media is a subset of Web 2.0, like this:

Then social media would be the social tools and channels that fall under the broader Web 2.0 landscape of tools. That would mean that we should probably still be using the term Web 2.0 (annoying as it is) to refer to the “not exactly social” tools we’re using on the web.

Alternatively, one could see social media as an evolution of Web 2.0 tools, like this:

But if social media is an evolution of Web 2.0, then what do we call the “less than social” tools we’re using?

So, which is it?

1. Social media is a subset of Web 2.0, so anything “not very social” are still Web 2.0 tools.
2. Social media is an evolution of Web 2.0, so its definition includes peripherally social tools or tools ancillary to social tools.

I continue to gravitate away from the definition that social media tools must involve publishing or broadcasting because it is too narrow.

Who Coined the Term “Social Media?”

In 2007, danah m. boyd of the School of Information at the University of California-Berkeley and Nicole B. Ellison of the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University, published the paper “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.” In it, the first mention of “social media” was in this sentence:

Furthermore, as the social media and user-generated content phenomena grew, websites focused on media sharing began implementing SNS features and becoming SNSs themselves. Examples include Flickr (photo sharing), Last.FM (music listening habits), and YouTube (video sharing).

By their definition in this paper, social media was focused initially and primarily on social networks.

In a February 2009 speech, boyd goes on to say this about social media :

Social media is the latest buzzword in a long line of buzzwords. It is often used to describe the collection of software that enables individuals and communities to gather, communicate, share, and in some cases collaborate or play. In tech circles, social media has replaced the earlier fave “social software.” Academics still tend to prefer terms like “computer-mediated communication” or “computer-supported cooperative work” to describe the practices that emerge from these tools and the old skool academics might even categorize these tools as “groupwork” tools. Social media is driven by another buzzword: “user-generated content” or content that is contributed by participants rather than editors.

What is really telling is when boyd explains how we got from “Web 2.0″ to “social media:”

But for the last few years, everyone’s been a-buzz with the idea of “social media.” Right now, those who want VC backing need to bake the “social” into any Web2.0 app they create. There are many new genres of social media that have gained traction here: blogs, wikis, media-sharing sites, social network sites, social bookmarking, virtual worlds, microblogging sites, etc. These tools are part of a broader notion of “Web2.0.” Yet-another-buzzword, Web2.0 means different things to different people.

So perhaps we can blame — or credit — those who wanted VC backing on the convoluted use of “social” in everything that was formerly known as Web 2.0. At least we have an explanation for the (over)use of “social” in social media.

What do you think? How do you define “social media” and what tools do we use that are not social media tools?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Social Media in the Enterprise

Photo by stock.xchng user kindhelper

I’ve added social networking features with BuddyPress 1.2 to a couple of my WordPress blogs without any problems. I can safely state that this new version is going to be very popular with bloggers all over the globe. Within minutes your blog will have Twitter-like status updates for your blog readers and writers (called the “activity stream”), who all now become members of your new social network. Also included out of the box are easy to use message boards and groups. Members can either join existing forums and groups or create new ones about any subject matter they’re interested in. They can communicate in the public stream or via private messaging with one another or via their own groups they establish on your social network. There’s also a useful Member Directory that allows members to communicate with other other. Every member has an extended profile they can fill out any way they want.

Here’s a sample of what a BuddyPress install looks like:

One of the things that I like is the option to make your home page either your blog posts or the activity stream. The choice is up to you: do you want to keep your blog as the focal point of your site or do you want the social network to take center stage? If you choose to make the activity stream your home page, then a new tab called “Blog” is added, which is where all blog posts will be available.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that BuddyPress — like WordPress itself — is extensible, which means you can add many new features and functionality via plugins and widgets.You can also change the look and feel of your new social network with themes customized for BuddyPress features.

I’ve been a BuddyPress user since its early beta and release candidate releases. While those early iterations had some minor bugs as you might expect, the BuddyPress support community was extremely helpful and swift with suggestions for fixes or workarounds. I expect the community to continue to be so supportive with this official release of BuddyPress 1.2.

Important: Just in case, it’s always smart to perform a full backup of your WordPress blog and database before experimenting with anything that integrates with your infrastructure, as BuddyPress does. There are many excellent backup plugins you can use. It’s better safe than sorry.

Disclosure: Automattic, maker of WordPress.com, is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True.

The organizers approached me to develop a web site to aggregate these posts in real-time before, during and after the event. In the process, I learned how such a site can reinforce the development of community.

I’m sure that you’ve been to events where good ideas are hatched and projects are planned, but often, despite the best of intentions, activity loses steam after the event is over, and nothing much gets done. It’s too early yet to judge the long-term effectiveness of this particular event, but I’m optimistic that it will make more of a difference than many such gatherings.

The electronic component of the event was relatively simple. We created a content-managed web site that would act as the hub for the many places that participants would post their contributions and reflections. We didn’t require participants to use a specific CMS tool (although they were welcome to use ours). Instead, before, during and after the conference, participants were encouraged to use existing technologies with which they were familiar to document their thoughts, and we then created links to their contributions.

Before the Event

The web site went live a couple of weeks before the event began. By that time, event announcements and registration had already been posted to a section on the sponsoring organization’s web site. Participants had been asked to interview another attendee as a “get-to-know-you” exercise. The results were to have been posted, but very few did so — I suspect because the CMS used by the sponsoring organization has a significant learning curve.

In the future, I would recommend creating the event-specific web site much sooner, and using a simpler CMS-, group-blog, social-network or wiki-based system for posting pre-event discussions and comments.

During the Event

The venue at our local university had limited wired connectivity, but it was sufficient for a video stream, an audio stream, and the web updates that I was doing. The video stream worked fine; the audio stream was less successful because the university had blocked the ports we needed. For the same reason, we had to use a MiFi connection to use FTP. Thankfully, this did not affect access to our CMS.

Participants were able to connect using Wi-Fi, which worked well, aside from some issues with entering passwords. I’m guessing that perhaps fifty people were connected at any one time.

The event web site included the following, all of which was updated frequently:

• An attendee list, with links to participants’ web sites and Twitter feeds.
• The event agenda. Since the event was an “un-conference” using the “open space” approach, much of the agenda was developed on the spot by attendees.
• A Twitter statuses JavaScript badge showing posts from the event. These tweets were mostly done by me on behalf of event organizers, but other committee members also tweeted through the conference account.
• A Twitter search widget showing a real-time feed of all posts using the conference hashtag. A full-screen version of this widget was projected in the room where most discussions took place, and it proved very popular.
• A link to a Twapperkeeper archive of the Twitter hashtag feed.
• A Facebook fan box linking to the event’s Facebook page.
• A Flickr badge and links to tagged photos and videos. Flipcharts and graphs were scanned or photographed, then posted to Flickr and to the web site as JPGs and PDFs. We also put up a Picasa link at the request of attendees, but it didn’t get used.
• A Ustream video feed. Video of many sessions was fed live into the site, then archived.
• A link to YouTube search results tagged with the event’s tag.
• An audio feed. Podcasts of many sessions were made available later.
• Links to blogs of those attendees who were writing about the event.
• A wiki for allowing attendees to post notes from event sessions. We chose to use a wiki rather than giving all users access to the CMS, although I think that in future we might go the other way, as some found editing the wiki difficult.
• An RSS feed for tracking changes to all of the above.

After the Event

We had not created a LinkedIn group before the event. However, participants indicated that they wanted to have an electronic venue for continuing the discussion after the conference. We surveyed the room, and discovered that almost everyone was already a LinkedIn user. Since LinkedIn groups and subgroups can be created immediately, we chose to use that service. We could have selected another group conversation service, though, and participants may move to more sophisticated collaborative tools as their discussions continue.

Planning and Setup

If you are ever called upon to provide this sort of support to an event, it can be fun and educational. Here are some tips to make things go smoothly.

• Get involved with the planning committee as soon as possible, and get an event-specific web site posted early.
• Agree on the hashtag for the event, and publicize it.
• Coordinate with the meeting venue to make sure that it has adequate power and bandwidth (both wired and Wi-Fi), and that it does not block ports.
• Plan to bring your own equipment if possible, or make sure that you have everything you’ll need.
• Set up a “tech table” in a convenient location.
• Have a group of volunteers who can cover the full event.
• Give yourself lots of time for setup and breakdown.
• Have a dedicated laptop and projector for displaying the Twitter hashtag feed — participants will love it.
• Consider what you’ll need in the way of cameras, scanners and printers. We had them all, and they were handy to have, but we could probably have done without them.

I found that attendees’ blogging, tweeting, recording and instant posting about the event reinforced what they were thinking and learning. Thus, the effectiveness of the event was increased, along with the potential for new learning and insights to cause change in the wider world.

How do you use social media and the web for events?

Images by Flickr users Choconancy1 and hajush

A good bio shares your experience, builds your credibility, makes a first impression and displays your personality. Having a great Twitter bio is important as it can make or break a person’s decision whether to follow you or not.

Not only do you need to pay attention to what your bio says about you, but also the other fields in your profile including “Web” and “Location.” The Twitter bio may be small, but it’s powerful. Here is a checklist to ensure you your bio passes muster.

Does your bio include relevant keywords? Do you want people to find you by your career, company, industry, location? Why are you using Twitter? Who are the people you want to connect with? Use these to figure out what keywords to use.

The keywords for me include “writer,” “editor” and “games” (I do game reviews.) I built my bio around those and added a personal touch at the end: “Content maven aka writer, editor and bookwormette who plays with words and games (www.thegamezen.com) in between PTA work and refereeing the kids.” Yes, I snuck in a URL, even though it’s not clickable.

Does your bio cover what you do? People who use Twitter for networking and business tend to follow people based on what they do and their topics of interest. The “what you do” part can also get you on people’s lists. For instance, I have lists for writers, marketers, PR peeps and so on; and it’s the bios that helped me with building my Twitter lists.

What do you have under “Location”? While many of us can work with people all over the world, our locations can lead to surprising opportunities. In fact, I had lunch with someone I met in Twitter. Within just a few tweets, we found out that we live within a mile of each other! Again, this can get you on location-based Twitter lists like mine, which covers Dallas-Fort Worth.

Have you seen nonsense numbers for location such as UT: 12.345678, -234.5678? This comes from Twitter applications like Ubertwitter, but these mean nothing to most people. (FYI: you can enter these coordinates in Google Maps to find the person’s location.) Originally, I had “Plano, Texas” and changed it to “Plano, Texas, north of Dallas” so those searching for “Dallas” will find me.

What does your web link look like? This might seem like a strange question, but some people put in short URLs (tinyurl, bit.ly, ow.ly, is.gd, etc.) in this field. Most of us have learned the hard way not to trust this. Twitter doesn’t shorten the links in this field, so don’t use a shortened URL link. It reeks of spam. “Hidden URLs are usually spam sites or MLM marketing,” tweets Suzanne (aka ZeroCattle.)

Where does your web link go? There’s no one single obvious answer. Often I want to go straight to a person’s blog, if they have one. Sometimes I just want to read more about the person. Some people create a landing page specifically for Twitter, which is where my link goes. However, I wonder if pointing to my blog would be a better idea.

Suzanne suggests linking to your business’ web site or to a profile on a social network site, if you don’t have your own site. While it’s easy to set up your own site, not everyone has the need for one especially those in corporate careers. Peggy Dolane (aka FreeRangeMom) likes to see a person’s web link take her where she can learn more about them or their passions.

Don’t worry too much about having the perfect bio. Many of us have tweaked our bios over time while becoming more comfortable and familiar with Twitter. Even my own is probably version 3.3. Remember, be yourself. That’s what makes you stand out.

What do you look for in a Twitter profile?

“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?

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?

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?

Often, we fill out the fields provided by social networking sites like we’re filling out some random form that we don’t intend for anyone else to see, not giving it very much thought. It isn’t until we see how the information is displayed on our profiles that we even take notice.

“About” pages are often even worse. (I know. I build web sites every day, and I see how clients struggle with what to put on them.) They are frequently forced, flat and not at all engaging.

Think about it. Have you ever gone to an in-person networking event or even a class where the participants were asked to introduce themselves? Every person stands up and works his or her way through an uncomfortable 30 seconds in the spotlight. “Hi, my name is Bob. I’m a coach with Lifeline Consulting. I’ve been in business for nine years. I specialize in helping business professionals, and if you’d like to know more about me or my company, please check out my web site. Blah, blah, blah.”

Every once in a while, though, you’ll hear someone give a very compelling introduction that makes everyone in the room laugh or smile and perk up with enthusiasm and interest. Maybe the person says something about climbing Mount Everest or working alongside his potbelly pig, Mr. Bojangles. Whatever it is, it’s attention-grabbing and memorable, and chances are, he’s the only person you’ll remember from the event. In fact, you’ll probably never forget him.

The Internet is just one big series of personal introductions, except this time, we aren’t dreading it, because we aren’t even thinking about it. Every time someone visits your profile, sees your photo (or lack thereof) within a network, or visits your web site, you’re making an impression (or not), so it’s important to make sure that you’re telling a story that grabs the attention of your ideal client and target audience.

I recently spent time with publicity expert Nancy Juetten of Main Street Media Savvy, and we had several discussions about personal bios and the importance of a compelling story. Nancy had just completed a book on the topic, and I was very interested in learning how it might help my clients with their bios. At the end of our time together, I realized that my own profiles and “About” pages needed some attention.

She gave a few helpful tips. Most importantly, you have to be authentic. She also shared her four cornerstones of an exceptional bio, which include:

1. Stunning results. You have to be able to show how you help people. What have you done for your clients? Do you have several testimonials from satisfied customers to demonstrate your abilities and unique skill set?
2. Succinct stories. Why did you get into your line of work? Is this something you imagined doing when you were a child? Is it something you’ve always had a knack for? Do you have specific stories of how you ended up where you are?
3. Sassy soundbites. Nancy shared a story of Kim Duke, sales trainer and founder of SalesDivas.com, whose personal soundbite is that she believes “cold calling is best left in the freezer,” which is a much more interesting way of saying that she doesn’t believe in the tactic. What soundbites could you share about you, your beliefs, or your business?
4. Social information to help ideal clients connect. Do you love adventure? Are you an artist in your off time? Do you love horses? What about you might be attractive to others and help your ideal clients connect with you?

A big take-away from my time with Nancy was that we shouldn’t just “play it safe and only share facts about our credentials, clients lists and work experience.” Instead, we should “share our passions, our personalities and our unique perspectives that set us apart and make us memorable.” This is what makes people connect with us, and at the end of the day, our businesses come down to the relationships we establish with our customers and clients.

How do you set yourself apart by sharing a unique and memorable story? Have you seen an increase in the number or quality of clients coming your way as a result of being more personal and compelling?

Image from Flickr by Swift Benjamin

1. What are your business goals? What are you trying to achieve?
2. Who are you trying to reach? Where are they talking?
3. Where are the conversations happening around your company or brand? How can you appropriately join the conversation?

In a direct fight between Twitter and Facebook for business — which is challenging, because Facebook and Twitter are two distinctly different kinds of tools with different functionality — I can’t say that Facebook always wins. Let’s take a look.

Community/Size

Yes, Facebook is bigger, while Twitter is getting the media hype right now. But while it is tempting to go for sheer numbers in the hope of engaging consumers, you need to understand that people use each tool differently. The way you accumulate page fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter is different. So even though you might have a larger pool to dip into on Facebook, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll actually reach anyone you really want to reach. You might gain a fan on Facebook just because someone sees someone they know becoming your fan. You gain followers on Twitter — genuine and engaged followers — because they actually want to hear what you have to say.

Sure, Facebook has Facebook Social Ads (which I’d argue are far more effective than the traditional banner and skyscraper ads). However, there is no more direct method of reaching out to the people you want to connect with (potential customers, clients, etc.) as  following them on Twitter, responding to them with an @ message so they know you’re listening to them, or retweeting one of their messages.

Analytics

While I really like Facebook’s Insights statistics tools, I don’t think you can discount the number of third-party applications that are parsing Twitter data in meaningful ways. You can track clicked links from your Twitterstream using Cli.gs or Bit.ly. You can measure Twitter influence with a tool such as Twitter Analyzer, and your growth with Twitter Counter. You can get a sense of sentiment using Tweetfeel, Twendz or Twitrratr. Yes, you have to cobble together disparate tools to get the full picture, but Twitter usage is measurable.

Viral Promotion

Facebook’s news feed turns just about everything a member does into a potentially viral action; there is something so pervasive and easy about it that can make any marketer giddy. Still, Twitter has viral potential, too, and I would argue that it’s actually more powerful. When someone retweets you, they have to think about it and have to take an action to make it happen. They have to take a very deliberate step, unlike the automatic nature of Facebook’s news feed. They are conveying an implied and personal seal of approval of you to their followers. There is intent in Twitter, which is far more powerful than Facebook’s news feed.

Advertising Platform

There’s no question that Facebook wins here. But so what? Until more traditional marketers realize that social media isn’t about advertising, they aren’t going to use social media appropriately or effectively. Social media is not about placing an ad to capture eyeballs. Social media is about engaging in meaningful and appropriate conversations with consumers, because today’s savvy consumers are no longer passive couch potatoes watching a stream of advertisements. They are empowered with social media tools that provide them with the platforms to have their say about the products they love or the companies they hate.

Facebook Connect API

Hey, I won’t argue that Facebook Connect is cool. But not every brand or company needs that kind of Facebook integration to participate meaningfully in social media. That kind of integration isn’t as impressive — or as useful — as the functionality that is provided by a multitude of Twitter-specific third-party applications that can enhance your use of Twitter. From Twitterfeed to TweetLater to TwtPoll, there are tools that can help better manage your Twitter presence. These tools do not exist for Facebook, which can be more challenging to manage.

Final Thoughts

Facebook is more mature and has a much larger community of members than Twitter, but I’d argue that maturity and size don’t always matter. It’s what you are trying to achieve, who you are trying to reach and which tool or set of tools best serves your needs that really counts. For the record, while I love Twitter, I’m definitely not saying any single social media tool is the be-all and end-all for authentic and effective social media marketing.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to keep up-to-date with social media, the real-time web and how we all consume and create information on the Internet, check out the NewNet section on GigaOM Pro, our subscription research service.

What do you think about the Facebook vs. Twitter face-off?

Image by stock.xchng user andysteel.

Learning How to Participate

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around certain social networks, specifically Twitter and Facebook. I recently visited Twitter in hopes of understanding it a little better. As I scrolled through the conversations, I started feeling overwhelmed and wondered, “How am I going to figure this out? I don’t get these conversations or even want to follow most of them, so how will I ever participate?”

Then I thought, “Let me find some people I know.” I found several people and scrolled through their recent tweets. Immediately, I felt better, and, in some cases, I was actually following the conversations. It occurred to me that the important thing was to find and follow people I knew and supported or who knew and supported me, which immediately took away the intimidation (or fear) factor. All of a sudden, instead of feeling overwhelmed and confused, I could see that we were simply people supporting each other’s endeavors and sharing in friendly conversation.

Learning Who to Follow

The second thing I had to figure out was who to follow, which can also be overwhelming. I decided not to feel obligated to follow anyone simply because the person was popular on the network or because the person followed me. Instead, I would only follow people I was truly interested in following. That way, I would be more likely to engage in the conversation. If someone followed me, great. If I discovered that we had common interests or that I was interested in his or her work, I might follow the person in time, but I didn’t have to decide that right away.

Learning How to Find Followers

The final consideration was how to get people to follow me, and that was the easiest part. I simply had to be myself. I decided to only post information and resources that are relevant to my target audience, and then I’d let the audience find me. I’ve discovered that the more I do this, the more my followers increase. Sure, I lose some followers here and there, but that only means that they were never part of my target audience anyway, which is actually good news.

In the end, all we can be is ourselves, and most of the time, we already have our own set of true fans. Find them, follow them, and communicate with them regularly. Everything else will take care of itself.

How have you figured out ways to participate on social networks without feeling overwhelmed or intimidated? Share your strategies for building your online audience and engaging in conversations.

Image from Flickr by chanchan222

This is an important thing to keep in mind when marketing your business online. There are tons of ways to build a web presence, including a variety of social media and networking sites, but nothing is as important as your blog.

Maintained correctly, your blog is the one tool that will get you the most traffic, and it’s the tool over which you have the most control. If you set out with the intention of posting three to five times per week, within a year, you will begin seeing significant activity around your site. Within two to three years, you could easily be an authority in your particular niche.

So, how can you make sure that you don’t neglect your blog (or your “mothership”)?

1. Spend time there. Visit your site or blog frequently (ideally, several times per day). This helps you stay connected with your vision for your business, and it also helps you stay in tune with the usability of your site, as well as find ways to improve it.
2. Keep it updated.It’s very easy to allow a month to go by without posting a single blog entry. Naturally, the frequency of your posts will depend on a number of factors, most important being your own goals for your site, but you should post on a regular and consistent schedule so that your site content remains fresh.
3. Engage your audience. Ask questions, make thought-provoking posts, and most importantly, monitor the comments on your blog. If someone replies to one of your posts, take the time to respond, and if you really want to impress the person, email him or her with a thoughtful “thank you for following” message.
4. Give it some thought. Don’t just post “filler content” to make an arbitrary quota. Really think about what your audience wants to hear. What do they want to know more about? How can you help them? Find ways to provide greater value for your readers. You’ll know you’re providing benefit when you hear clients and customers say things like, “I’m trying that idea you mentioned on your blog.”
5. Find ways to improve. Organize your archives a little better, add links to your social networking profiles, or spruce up your “About” page. Find ways to regularly improve your site, making it more visually appealing and more user-friendly.

Your blog is the most direct line to you and your business. It’s what new followers and visitors read to determine if you’re someone they’d like to get to know better or if you can provide value to their lives or businesses. Don’t neglect it. Consider it to be your “mothership” and take care of it as such. In what ways do you take care of your blog? How do you make sure that it represents you in the best light possible to visitors of your site?

Image from stock.xchng by zizzy0104

The idea is simple: companies pay Twitter users to mention their products in a favorable light. It’s paid content, not uncommon in the blogging world, brought to micro-blogging for the first time in a concerted, organized and coherent way. It even includes an attempt at transparency, via a “disclosure engine,” use of which is required for Sponsored Tweets posts.

For celebrity bloggers like Jessica Gottlieb, it’s a system that pays admirably. For every sponsored tweet she makes, she’s compensated to the tune of around $22, according to a Fast Company article on the new service by Lydia Dishman. Dishman’s own sponsored tweets would only be worth about $3 by comparison. Sponsored Tweets takes into account your number of followers and the frequency of your posting, among other factors, when determining your rate of compensation.

Arguments in favor of and against the scheme have already been popping up all over the place, with people making good points on both sides. Personally, I like to keep social networking and advertising as separate as possible, and have been known to delete Facebook friends after receiving a pitch message. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about the same sort of thing on Twitter, since a 140-character tweet in my stream is much easier to ignore than a message that triggers an email, but at first blush, it isn’t something that sits well with me. I think the degree to which it becomes popular will end up having a lot to do with how tolerant I am of paid tweeting.

What are your thoughts on Sponsored Tweets? Do you produce paid content as a web worker already, and would you consider moving into this new space? How do you see tweet sponsoring affecting your Twitter usage, if at all?

But social networks can also be great time-wasters, too. However, If you focus on the marketing aspects of the networks, the time spent using them can consist of, as Meryl says, “zero-guilt activities.” Here are some tips for using social networks as effective marketing tools.

Join the active networks. There are literally thousands of social networks to choose from (digFoot lists over 3,700). But most are small, not very active, or of interest only in specific fields or geographic regions. I’ve spent the last month looking at many networks, and have decided that for me, it makes sense to focus on just four.

• LinkedIn. Often described as “Facebook for business,” LinkedIn combines a very large user base, excellent tools for finding connections, and lively discussion groups. Its system for making recommendations is very well-managed. It has so many features that its menu system can be obscure at times, but it’s well worth learning to navigate through the site.
• Facebook. The growth of this network is phenomenal — it’s claiming 700,000 new users every day! Even six months ago, most of my Facebook friends were under 30. Now, even we in the older generation have discovered it: I now have almost as many Facebook friends as I do LinkedIn connections, even though I joined LinkedIn several months before Facebook. Facebook is still a much more informal place than LinkedIn, but it’s becoming a valuable business tool as Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups (see below) evolve.
• Twitter. Technically, Twitter isn’t a social network, but it can be great for business communication and networking with customers, colleagues and friends. Facebook is highlighting its status update functionality to make it more “Twitterish,” so we’ll see how the two services compete.
• Yelp. This review site is new on my radar, but so far, I’m impressed with how active it is (at least in my part of the world). Now that it has a function allowing businesses to provide details of their services, it may become a very useful marketing tool, especially since it is now integrating a way to share reviews on Facebook. It is geographically based, however, and home workers may not want to provide a public street address.

Create pages for your business on LinkedIn, Facebook and Yelp. You may also want to create a Twitter account for your business that is separate from your personal account.

Join groups within the social networks where people you know are likely to hang out. In my opinion, the reason that LinkedIn and Facebook haven’t become unmanageable as they’ve gotten bigger, is that they’ve encouraged the development of small groups where people can talk about shared interests. Increase your credibility and visibility by using your professional expertise to add to these discussions.

Post frequently, but judiciously. Meryl’s comments about Twitter overload applies to the social networks as well. I’ll also add that services allowing one to post simultaneously to multiple networks, such as Ping.fm, are great, but should be used carefully. The networks have different audience demographics, and this should be kept in mind when you’re deciding what and where to post.

Use the networks’ automated tools for finding people you know. The networks can, with your permission, review your address book and see who you know who’s already on their network. They also have a “people you may know” function that recommends possible contacts. LinkedIn’s system has worked well for me; Facebook’s seems to be less accurate. The recommendations presented to you are based on background data (schools attended, former jobs) you provide to the networks, so it’s worth the time to provide complete information in your profiles — assuming you are comfortable with their privacy policies.

Use RSS feeds to follow what the members of your network are doing. The folks who run the social networks want you to visit their web sites, of course, but I find it more convenient to follow the activity of my connections through an RSS reader.

Add your Facebook instant message account to your IM program. Facebook’s instant message system can be added to multi-protocol IM programs. On my Mac, I prefer Adium; the PC users in my company like Pidgin or Digsby.

Use privacy settings to minimize email notifications. For Facebook, the AllFacebook blog has an excellent privacy primer; note, though, that Facebook is in the process of updating its privacy settings. And check out PC World’s discussion of privacy settings for LinkedIn. You’ll want to use these settings to control how and when the social networks email you. I find that since I follow the networks’ RSS feeds, I can turn off most of their emails.

It’s exciting to watch as the social media landscape changes every day. In the near future, it’s likely that some social networks will become important business tools, while others will fade away. In the meantime, we can learn how best to use these tools to increase the success of our endeavors.

What techniques do you use to manage social networks effectively?

Finding Gigs

The key to landing clients through Twitter is to build relationships with the right audience. Jon Phillips of Spyre Studios has many followers who are small business owners, freelancers, designers and developers. “Being active on Twitter, replying to people and retweeting helps a lot. Also I’ve been included on many lists of ‘Tweeple to follow if you’re into…’ which has made my followers count increase significantly. It’s like a vote of confidence from the owners of those blogs,” says Phillips.

Design by Reese’s Reese Spykerman, web designer, finds that Twitter leverages and expands her existing network. “I had some clients who were early adopters of Twitter, and their networks started following me. It was a very accessible and quick way for referrals to build without necessarily needing an introduction. Like six degrees of separation, but with fewer degrees,” she says.

Gaining New Clients

DJ Waldow of Bronto met a prospect through Twitter who knew of the company and valued the company’s industry insight. When it came time for the prospect to find a new vendor, he went to Waldow and turned into a client. Bronto built a relationship with the prospect through Twitter, which helped the company stay in the prospect’s mind.

Hiring New Employees

Ben Kunz of Mediassociates hired an assistant media planner he first met on Twitter. Of course, he didn’t hire her solely because they connected on Twitter, but Twitter made the introduction. “I think the real lesson is there is value in connecting personally when searching for a job, and Twitter can help with that,” Kunz says.

Kristen Beireis watches for potential team members on Twitter. When she sees tweets from the right people in her Twitter stream, she follows them and listens to their tweets. “I get to know them and I get to know what kind of work they do that way. Twitter allows me the opportunity to see what’s going on in their brains when it comes to the type of work we do,” Beireis says.

Selling Products

Author Christina Katz sold at least one book with a tweet. I interviewed her for my blog and tweeted a link to the interview with a short introduction to the topic. Several of my followers read the post, with one claiming he was off to buy the book.

Several software companies found me through Twitter. They knew I did software reviews, so they tweeted asking if I wanted to look at their products; they then received publicity from the published reviews.

Many journalists have quoted people they’ve met on Twitter, which makes sense to me considering via Twitter I’ve met intelligent people and participated in chats about public relations, writing, editing, small business and social media networking. To help you use Twitter effectively, you might want to read 10 Golden Rules of Social Media, why people don’t follow back in Twitter and how to network with Twitter.

How has Twitter helped your business?

Photo credit: aldo cavini benedetti

Thus, there are a number of sites that are intended to help put all of your online presences in one place. I’ve tried a few of these aggregators. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, so check them out, and see which options might work for you.

DandyID

Of the services I discuss here, DandyID is the easiest to set up, because it doesn’t try to do too much. This is a simple service that creates an online profile showing your name, bio, contact information, web links, and your online identities. You can specify your online identity for over 330 social networks, including sites from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and Poland. Plus, you can add sites not on its list.

When you first sign up, DandyID has an option for importing contacts from services like Gmail, although the import failed for me, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to try again. I’m not sure what advantage you get from importing your contacts, anyway.

The profile page DandyID creates is very basic and not very customizable. But Facebook users may choose DandyID because it offers a very nice app that allows you to embed your online presences into your Facebook page.

Retaggr

Retaggr bills itself as “the modern day equivalent of a business card.” Aliza wrote about this service last year, and noted how it had improved a few months later.

When you sign up, you’re taken to a well-designed form where you provide Retaggr with information about yourself, and about the places you have online presences. I counted over 180 different social networks, and you can add sites not listed. (Apparently, you can import some of this information if you have a FriendFeed account, but that option didn’t work for me.) You can also add information about groups with which you are affiliated, and widgets allowing people to IM you directly.

You get three ways of displaying the information you’ve entered:

• A profile page on the Retaggr site (and which can be used with a custom domain name if you buy its premium service). The page can be set to display your status from Twitter and Facebook, blog entries and even pictures from Flickr.
• A virtual “business card” that can be embedded almost anywhere on the web, and in email signatures.
• An “add me” button that can be used to encourage others to connect with you.

ClaimID

While you can use ClaimID to list your profiles on social networks, the site is really about aggregating any web page or site that you wish to “claim,” either as author or subject. This is done by adding MicroID code to the web pages in question to show you have access to them.

So instead of offering you a list of social networks, as DandyID and Retaggr do, ClaimID offers a “Post to ClaimID” bookmarklet that you install in your browser, then click it whenever you want to add a site to your ClaimID page. You can then organize the links into categories and annotate them as you wish.

This site might be a good way for, say, writers or web developers to put together a portfolio, although if you don’t need ownership verification, it would be easy to produce a similar-looking site with basic web page editing tools.

GizaPage

As Scott discussed recently, GizaPage’s concept is simple: One URL displays a series of tabs showing the social network sites you select. Web developers will recognize that this is essentially a “Web 2.0″ version of HTML frames, with options that allow the GizaPage owner to select who gets to see what. I like the concept, but the site seems often to be slow and buggy for me. But it has potential, and is definitely worth watching.

Chi.mp

By far the most comprehensive option for managing online identities is Chi.mp, which Darrell recently wrote about. Read his review for details; I’ll just say that Chi.mp offers many options that none of the above services do, notably:

• A custom domain name as a standard feature (optional with Retaggr).
• The ability to show different information to public, work and home groups.
• Some customization of the site’s template.
• Twitter-like posting of status and images.
• Contact management (Chi.mp calls it the “Ultimate Black Book”).

Because Chi.mp has so many features, it takes more setting up than the other options, and, I suspect, more maintenance. But it may be an attractive option for those who need a hub for their web presences, and are willing to spend the time to use its features to the fullest.

Conclusion

There are a number of other services for aggregating social network identities. Many of these products are in beta, or just don’t seem to work very well. I’ve tried a few, and will hold my opinions until we see how they develop. Like the social networking field itself, I’m sure that the best services will survive, and others will fade away.

For now, though, I found Retaggr to be the most useful service for managing online identities, although signing up for DandyID may be worth it just for the Facebook app.

How do you manage your social identities?

We’ve all learned that good news travels fast online, but bad news travels faster. Now, with social networks, blogs and microblogs, the speed with which bad news can travel online is staggering, as everyone can get in on the conversation almost instantly. What can any of us — individuals, organizations and companies — do to handle a social media communications crisis?

After publishing my 10 Golden Rules of Social Media, I’ve been asked by a number of people what to do when things go wrong in the social mediasphere. Anyone who is putting themselves out there using social media tools is bound to encounter moments of crisis — some as large as the Domino’s fiasco, others as small as an old-fashioned person-to-person flame war.

My advice is to plan now. Don’t wait for that communications crisis to take place before planning for how you’ll handle the fallout when something bad (inevitably) happens. Here’s a blueprint you can use for your own plan.

1. Pay attention. Whether you are using Google Alerts or Twilert or any other monitoring service to see when your name or brand name is mentioned, setting up “digital listening posts” is essential to help learn about not just the good things people are saying about you, but the bad things as well. Getting an early “heads up” can make all the difference in the world between crisis and total disaster.

2. Review context. Before you panic and jump the gun to respond to what might appear to be a crisis, dig a little deeper to make sure you understand what is being said and why. You don’t want to enter the conversation until you have a firm grasp on the issues being raised.

3. Address promptly. Timeliness is everything when dealing with and defusing the crisis. Every day, every hour, every minute you agonize over what to do — or ignore the situation altogether — is time wasted.

4. Acknowledge first. Once you figure out what has happened and what some of the emotions are behind it, make sure to address these issues or emotions in your responses. Like any good interpersonal communications, start with statements like “I understand you’re frustrated” or “We realize this is a confusing situation.” Give credence to the other party’s feelings and perceptions. They may not be correct, but they are valid in that they’re what they believe and feel.

5. Don’t overthink. Running through committees, endless drafts and approval processes to get a response out there can cause far more damage than good. As long as you have taken the time to assess the situation and can take a rational, respectful tone in your response, even an awkward response is OK to start with, and buys you time to continue to respond to the problem.

6. Be open. If you’re upset, nervous, worried, shocked — don’t be afraid to express that as well. People want to see a human response to a crisis, not an overproduced, formulaic or canned reply. When there is a crisis, there are people involved. Pretending there are no emotions mixed in the mess is a surefire way to lose credibility with others. Domino’s CEO responded pretty quickly and openly. However, check out his response to the crisis. The CEO never once looks at the camera. If you are going to be open and forthcoming in your response, at least look straight at the camera at some point. Even when reading from a teleprompter, you can set it up so your eyes are directed at the camera. Otherwise, you’ll look shifty and untrustworthy.

7. Fix the problem. If the crisis is bringing a problem to your attention, admit it, address it and fix it. If something is wrong and you can make it right, do it. If something isn’t really wrong but someone perceives that it is wrong, don’t dismiss their concerns. Take every exchange seriously, and do your best. That is all anyone can really expect. If you make sincere efforts and consistently take the high road, you stand to gain some goodwill, even if the problem is not entirely resolved.

8. Tell your story. Telling your own story throughout the “fixing” process is another good way of helping defuse the issue. Giving updates such as “We’re still looking into that bug that caused your data loss,” and “Please contact us privately so we can make amends to this situation” lets anyone paying attention to the situation see something is being done, even some of it has to happen “behind-the-scenes.”

What other things should we think about when it comes to crisis communications in a social media-powered world?