Too much information

Facebook, Twitter, blogging--social media channels like these are opening doors all over the world.

Unfortunately, uninvited guests are starting to step through those doors. Literally.

Articles like this one, in which a man and his family were robbed after an innocent post on Twitter, are starting to pop up all over the Internet.

Mashable recently posted an article in which a "reformed burglar" calls Facebook and Twitter a "Burglar's goldmine."

There are two problems here: We, as social media users, are all too willing to share every bit of information about our lives, and we also tend to accept friend/follow requests from complete strangers without thinking twice.

A good rule of thumb: Don't accept a Facebook friend request from anyone you don't personally know. If you use Facebook for business or promotion consider building a Facebook page rather than using your own personal account.

As far as Twitter is concerned, expect total strangers to start following you. 99% of the time it's completely innocent--people follow you because of your content. Just make sure to remember that your followers aren't just your close, personal friends. Don't reveal any personal information that could put you or your family in jeopardy.

I know the only reason we go on vacation is so we can talk about it (at least it seems that way sometimes), but just try and refrain until you're safely back in your home.

(Sorry)

I'm going to try and get this thing humming again. A thousand apologies for not writing anything meaningful in such a long time. Forgiveness, please.

Ashton and his 3 million followers

I just read the news, hot off the presses, that Ashton Kutcher has reached 3 million followers on Twitter.

Kutcher, the former "Dude, Where's My Car" star, is Twitter's most popular user.

Forgive me, but... why?

Why are people flocking to Ashton Kutcher? What is he tweeting that's so dang interesting? (You can see for yourself at Twitter.com/aplusk.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's an interesting guy. There's a lot of interesting people out there. But 3 million? Was "That '70s Show" really that popular?

Maybe he's just riding Demi Moore's coattails. Maybe his step-daughter, Tallulah Belle Willis, is texting all her friends and telling them that Ashton is the coolest.

Whatever the case, congratulations to Ashton Kutcher. You've given hope to obscure, b-list celebrities everywhere. Even if people don't like you in movies, they might still like you in Social Media.

HOW TO: Connect your Twitter feed and Facebook Status

Are you on Facebook, constantly updating your status?

Are you on Twitter, constantly telling everyone what you're doing?

Sick of doing basically the same thing on two different platforms?

Then you sound like someone who needs to make a little connection. You may not know it, but your Twitter feed and your Facebook status can be one and the same--inseparably connected. When you update one, the other follows suit without question.

All you have to do is add the "Twitter" application to your Facebook account.

Here's how: Simply log in to Facebook, search for Twitter and click on the application (Make sure it's the application, not a group or a page). When you land on the application page, click on the button to add it to your profile. You'll be prompted to give your Twitter username and password.

Follow the instructions until the application has been successfully added, and then you'll never have to bounce from site to site again. Just post something to Twitter, and the same message will appear on Facebook.

Pretty sweet, eh? How do you like it?

Unplug

You may have noticed I haven’t updated this blog for a while. This is simply because I was nowhere near a computer. I was completely unplugged, disconnected and isolated.

It was great.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been out on the open road, then hiking through beautiful slot canyons and most recently diving through waves at the beach.

And I never even considered Tweeting, updating my Facebook Status or blogging about it. I just enjoyed the moment.

And therein lay an important message: Learn when (and how) to unplug. Not only that, but make a conscious effort to unplug. Online communities are growing exponentially every day, but never let social media destroy your personal social life.

You may not believe me, but I promise you can live without Twitter for a few hours… or days. Enjoy the people who can speak to you face-to-face, and the conversations that can last more than 140 characters.

Comment with caution

The best part of Web 2.0: Everyone has a voice.

The worst part of Web 2.0: Everyone has a voice.

Tell me if you’ve ever had this experience. You’re browsing your favorite newspaper’s Web site and you find an interesting article. So you read, and then you notice a link at the end of the article to an entire section devoted to reader comments. Thinking it would be interesting to browse through others’ thoughts on the story, you click.

Thirty seconds later you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake. The personal attacks, ignorance, hatred and profanity make reading comments unbearable.

After a few experiences like this, level-headed readers might come to the conclusion that comments are at best meaningless, and at worst bigoted, destructive and hateful.

These awful comments can be found everywhere, and it’s unfortunate that a vocal minority has the power to shed an ugly light on any group, person or belief simply by leaving a comment at the end of a story or video.

Therefore, it’s up to reasonable people like you and me to set things right. Here’s an assignment: Leave a constructive comment on something you view on the Web this week. Be thoughtful, say something useful and avoid personal attacks and profanity at all costs. Remember the three rules of commenting:

Only cowards leave anonymous comments

Only simpletons use profanity

Never say anything in a comment you wouldn’t say to a person’s face

Also, remember this: Usually it’s only the really passionate people who leave comments. The people with strong opinions. Comments do not represent the feeling of the general public… even though it might seem that way.

Make it exclusive

I had a great meeting yesterday with some representitives from TxtWire, a mobile marketing company.

They made a comment about mobile marketing that I thought applied well to social media marketing.

When an organization is sending mass texts to all the cell numbers they've collected, the number one priority for those organizations is to make those text messages compelling and exclusive. Otherwise your customers will drop like flies.

Likewise, if your company is on Twitter and is simply sending shorter versions of the boring emails people already delete, you can bet you're going to lose some followers.

Go write a message on Facebook, Twitter or your blog and make it exclusive! Give them a reason to follow!

Social media marketing according to Seinfeld

I’m fascinated with social media. I love the connections we make with each other, and I love what it’s doing to businesses in every industry.

I’m also a huge Seinfeld fan. Bordering on obsessive. I know virtually everything there is to know about Seinfeld.

So I thought I’d use the greatest television sitcom of all time to help me answer this question: Why are companies around the globe devoting more and more money to social media marketing? Let’s take a look at quotes from two episodes of Seinfeld (courtesy of SeinfeldScripts.com) to see if we can’t shed a little light on our question.

First, from “The Yada Yada”:

Elaine: Guess what? Beth Lookner called me.

Jerry: Ooh, Beth Lookner. Still waitin' out that marriage.

Elaine: What are you talking about? That marriage ended six months ago. She's already remarried.

Jerry: I gotta get on that Internet. I'm late on everything!

Jerry is like any business in our social media world. His frustration represents the frustration of any industry which believes the same formula that worked for businesses in the past will work in this new era of communication. Those who won’t change with the times will constantly find themselves a few steps behind.

Social Media is changing the way businesses communicate—it doesn’t matter if they’re trying to reach a customer, the media or even the government. Social media marketing means embracing a new way of communicating with your stakeholders. It means it’s time to kill off your old antiquated notions of advertising and public relations, and start moving toward true two-way interaction with your publics.

Now, quote number two from “The Butter Shave”:

Kramer: Did you see Bania's set last night? 'Cause I read on the Internet he killed.

Since social media has given us the power to create, humans everywhere are discovering the joy they find in sharing their opinions on the Internet. They meet together and chat, and, as Kramer noted, they’re very good at sharing information.

An increased emphasis on social media marketing means an increased effort to be where your customers are. Millions and millions of people are conversing with each other every single day on the Internet. Many of them are talking about your industry. Some of them are even talking about your products.

Are you going to ignore that conversation?

The era of cold corporations disseminating information to mindless consumers is dead. It’s time go to where the people are and join the conversation. It’s time to listen.

If you’re still not sold, I urge you to visit Technorati.com, Google Blog Search or Twitter Search and type in your company name, your industry or your product. See what I mean? People are talking.

Take it from Jerry. Don’t get left behind.

The three "C"s of blogging

Quick story: I was talking business with my wife last night. We both have jobs in Social Media, so we often talk business. Anyway, she was telling me about a presentation she would be giving soon entitled “The three Cs of Social Media.”

I smiled, but it was the nervous kind of smile one might flash while in the presence of a mind-reader… or a plagiarist (just kidding, dear).

Anyway, I told her about my idea for a post entitled “The three Cs of blogging,” and she flashed the same smile.

Great minds think alike, I guess.

Blogging is a hobby of mine. I enjoy expressing myself, and I operate under the assumption that someone, somewhere (probably in Malaysia) likes what I write.

During the course of all this blogging, I’ve picked up a few principles I try to live by when I write. I call them the three Cs of blogging.

1. Content. If blogging were Lincoln Logs, content would be the long fat pieces you use for the foundation. You can’t build a good cabin without long fat Lincoln Logs, and you can’t build a good blog without compelling content.

Before you even begin blogging, identify your area of focus. What will you write about, and who is your audience? Start by filling in the blanks of this “Focus Statement”: My blog will be where ______________ come to learn about _______________.

Once you identify your theme and your audience, write passionately. You probably wouldn’t be blogging at all if you didn’t have a little passion, so let it shine through your writing. Write with emotion, and keep it light. I got a great piece of advice once: Write like you’re trying to make your two best friends laugh.

2. Consistency. Nothing kills off readers like inconsistency. One post to your blog every third month just won’t cut it. Before you start your blog, figure out a schedule and stick to it.

You don’t have to post every day, but your readers should know when they can expect a new post. And they should start to get antsy when that post doesn’t come.

I have a good friend, for example, who posts to his blog just once a week. One post a week isn’t much, but we all know that post will be there every week.

3. Communication. So you’ve created a new blog and you’re extremely proud of your work. The writing is crisp, the sidebars are filled with crazy widgets and ideas are buzzing all the time.

Problem: no one knows about it.

Now it’s time to promote yourself. Remember that audience you identified earlier? Well, find those people and tell them about your new project! Send emails, encourage people to subscribe to your posts and be your own publicity agent.

Promote your blog (in an authentic and not-annoying way) in other forums. Tweet about it, Send links through Facebook, leave comments on related blogs and otherwise keep your friends updated. No one will read your blog if they don’t know it exists.

So what do you think? Feel a little better about starting your own blog? I hope so. Please leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to follow my own advice and tell everyone about what I’m doing here.

Care enough to create

I wish I could claim ownership of that title, but I actually read it first on a blog I follow called PR Squared.

The post I'm referring to broke audiences into three categories: Passionates, Influencers and Ad-hocs. The passionate people, according to that post, are the original bloggers, Twitterers, social media marketers and adopters. They are passionate about their subject. They care enough to create.

That phrase sums up what social media means to me. Social media puts the power in our hands. It lets us speak freely about the issues and subjects we feel strongly about. No longer are we simply subject to a mass media agenda--now we create our own agenda.

Social media means we are no longer merely media consumers, we are now producers.

We don't just let stories and opinions wash over us, we create our own stories. We formulate our own opinions. We publish them for all to see.

I love it. Now go create something!