Bluesky and Community – Keeping The Social Skies Clear

 
The Chains of The Past

People who have not been in “social media” for more than 30 years often think that anti-social behavior online is relatively new, sparked by /some event/. This is simply not true.

In 2011 I wrote about problem users on social media. I had already been a community manager for 20 years at that point. In OnlineCommunities 103: Problem Users and the Problems They Cause, I explicitly discuss how certain behaviors are common, regardless of the platform.

Social media is…people. People behave in certain ways. Look back to broadsheets in the 18^th century, you see the same kind of pundits railing against social progress and being dismissive and insulting as you do now in the opinion sections of major media outlets. Human nature does not change, only the technology does.

For Bluesky, specifically, this means that many users are coming to the platform from X. Even before it became X, Twitter had always been a bit of a problem child. In 2008 when I joined, it was a curiosity, an IRC channel grown up to be a website. It was messy. It confused people who were not used to asynchronous chat. The majority of users were people like myself – curious about new platforms and their potential for communication, community and, inevitably, marketing.

Changes in moderation and management came with increasing user numbers.  Moderation got better, then worse, then better, then much worse. By the time Twitter devolved into X, it had become the technological equivalent of a hissy fit with flailing arms. People used to the behaviors that were normal on X – sarcastic, bad faith rebuttals, mean-spirited insults, veiled threats in top posts – sometimes find it hard to let go of that.

Because I began my career in online communities when we had no tools at all for moderation, not so much as ‘mute,’ I find it easy to simply ignore people whose unregulated behavior is unhealthy or unpleasant. This is a skill I have developed. Folks joining Bluesky from X, Meta and other platforms that don’t require respectful behavior, often drag their behaviors from platform to platform, like a set of increasingly heavy chains.

Bluesky is a relatively new platform. It has yet to be sold to advertisers or private equity. For many users, this is the first time they have joined a social platform at the beginning of it’s life cycle, when there is still a chance at equity, safety and delight as the platform grows.

The problem, however, is people. So how can Bluesky avoid some of the common lifecycle issues of other platforms?

 

Community Building Tools


Starter Packs:

I have been effusive in my praise of Starter Packs. These are curated lists of up to 150 accounts that can be themed however a user likes. Other users can follow all the accounts on a list with a single click. (You can search for Starter Packs to follow on this unofficial search: https://blueskydirectory.com/starter-packs/all)

Building communities is hard. I’ve written (on this very blog (!) in 2012 Creating an Amazing Social Network on Twitter WithoutSpamming the Universe, a step-by-step guide to how to build your community on a Twitter that did not yet have (and honestly, never has had,) a functioning curation algorithm. Starter Packs on Bluesky short-cut this process. Follow a source you respect, follow the people they respect – with one click. Or one account at a time…

 

Feeds:

…or not at all, with a Feed. When someone curates a Feed on Bluesky, you can scroll through posts that fit the Feed’s criteria without needing to follow any of the users. Of course you can follow from the feed or through an account directly, but Feeds allow you to see folks’ art and writing and news and commentary without having to also see their posts about topics you aren’t interested in.

Speaking of “topics you aren’t interested in,” let’s take a look at some of Bluesky’s useful moderation tools.

You can search for Feeds to follow directly on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/feeds

 

 

Moderation Tools

Moderation on Bluesky comes in several forms, several designed to help you curate your feed pre-emptively.

 
Muted Words & Tags

Ragebait relies on you having key words, concepts and topics that instantly set your blood pressure to overdrive.

For instance, you may dislike a topic – and by “dislike” I mean that you loathe it and wish it did not exist and would burn in fire. With Muted Words & Tags, you can cut down the likelihood that you will see that term (and any synonyms or related terms you add) in your feed. This is an imperfect solution. I cannot find all posts that imply the thing, use conceptual language about the thing, or do not mention the thing when they post pictures. If this seems complicated, it is. Human communication is very complicated. ^_^

As an example, let’s say you try to block something very common – cat pictures.
You can mute common words: cat, kitty, kitten in posts and tags. But if a person you follow posts cat pictures with text like “Look at this fine fellow” those will not be caught. You will see fewer cat pictures, but they will not be eliminated.

Block Lists

Block Lists are another imperfect solution, but can be very useful. Before you subscribe to a block list check the entries, so you know you are muting or blocking people you actually want to mute and block. Yes, this requires you to actually look at some unpleasant stuff for a moment of due diligence. I caution you on block lists because, predictably, bad faith actors are copying lists and regurgitating them in ways design to confuse.  How does that work? Let’s say you created a list of your favorite writers. I despise those writers, so I copy your feed and create a block list of them, encouraging people to not follow. Or I might create a block list of you and your friends and name it something bad, “Puppy kickers who suck,” to encourage people to pre-emptively block you. Why would I do that? Because, as we remember, people are the problem.

When you click on a Block List, you will see a link to “Subscribe” in the top right. If you click that, you’ll see a choice to Mute or Block everyone on the list.

Important Note: Blocked accounts are public on Bluesky. https://docs.bsky.app/blog/block-implementation.

Muting and Blocking Individual Accounts and Posts

Muting and blocking at an account level is easy as clicking an account as on any other platform and clicking the ellipsis on the top right.

Additionally, you can Mute a Thread or Mute Tags and Words in a thread or Hide Post for You – all of these by clicking the ellipsis at the bottom right of a post.

Said something you don’t want to deal with? You can Hide Reply for or Hide Reply For Everyone by clicking the bottom right ellipsis on your reply.

 

By selectively using all of these tools, you can curate your feed on Bluesky up front and as you follow people to create an experience that works for you. 

Reporting and Community Standards

In addition to the tools on Bluesky that help community-building and functional moderation that allow you to curate your feed,  we have Community Standards, that shape best pratices.

The main Community Standard on Bluesky is: Do Not Engage With Trolls. Full stop. Don’t reply, don’t screencap and top post  nasty stuff (we’ll get to that in a bit). Just mute, block, report and ignore. Starve trolls of air and attention.

After X, many people find it almost impossible to just not, because the culture there was based around mass harassment campaigns who decided that being blocked was a “win”.

Bluesky moderation is, at the time of writing, aggressive about blocking accounts that harass, or align themselves with groups that engage in bias and harassment. When you see a post or account that is harassing, disparaging, performing harassment regalia or symbols or any other passive form of aggressive bias, prejudice or hatred – click that ellipsis and Report Post or Report Account.

Earlier I said, "don’t screencap and top post nasty stuff." On X ragebait economics makes it profitable to find something anger-inducing, screencap it, then same something snarky or passively threatening and let hordes of followers mob some person. The behavior is sometime used by famously unpleasant folks to drive harassment campaigns of often completely innocent people. On Bluesky that behavior is not appropriate, obvious and should be reported immediately. But there is also another Community Standard: Do Not Subject Your Followers To Crap from X. We left there, please don't bring it with you.Don't dig up terrible people for us to be angry about. Bluesky is about building communities and keeping them safe - that includes your own followers!

Another important Community Standard on Bluesky is that the platform is Active Accessibility. This issue deserves a whole post of its own, you can start with Veroniiiica’s Post about BlueSky Accessibility Features For Low Vision. In account settings, there is an Accessibility tab on which you can Require Alt Text Before Posting to remind you to do so or Display Larger Alt Text Badges.  

The Community Standard on Blue Sky is to include Alt Text with images. Images that are added without alt text are often not shared by community members and may not be seen by some users. This was not decided as a policy, nor was there a decision by any one human or group. It is simply a generally agreed-upon community standard.  The Bluesky community has generally agreed that active accessibility accommodation is the right way to post on Bluesky.
 

Because Social Media is people, the problem with social media is also people. Lucky for us, the joy of social media is also people! Bluesky understands that and, at this moment in its lifecycle gives us tools and standards to help us build the communities we want and need. It's up to us to leave the chins of the past where they belong and take flight.


Find Erica on Bluesky at okazu.bsky.social

Monetizing Your Blog in 2015: Getting Ready for the New Year

"How Do I Monetize My Blog?"

We've all seen this question a million times. And the people who answer it seem so confident - these easy steps are all they ever needed to monetize their blog.  It seems so easy, but why isn't it working for you?

Today's post include four steps, but each of these steps are pretty big ones. We're not talking fairytales - if you want to make money in 2015 with your blog, you need to do some real work on it right now. So let's get started!

Giving Your Blog a Winter Tune-Up

When cold weather comes around, you tune-up your car, recaulk the windows. When the weather warms up, you take to the garden to prettify your yard. Seasonally, you do maintenance on your house and yard.....

...so how long has that blog looked exactly the same?

As time changes, technology changes, and expected levels of technology use changes, as well. Layouts that were great in 1998 are embarrassingly painful now. It's time to shake that blog out and give it a look-over. Great big embedded files aren't important, what's important is that your blog is lithe enough to be shared and commented on. No wants dancing hamsters any more. What you want and need are a core audience of engaged, passionate readers.

Ask yourself,  Is My Blog Sociable?

Every corporate site has sharing links, but there's nothing sociable about them. You can share company news for years and no one from the company will thank you, unless you have a massive readership. If you have sharing tools on your blog, can you track the shares, know what people are saying and where they are saying it? Monitor who you top sharers are and be able to thank them where they spread the word. Being sociable will build a strong brand and a strong bond with your readers. Reward them with your time and attention when they engage and they'll be back for more.


Have Realistic Expectations

Whether you're writing about a niche topic or trends in technology, your audience size will be the key factor in what you can reasonably expect from monetization. The demographics of your audience will also be key. 250 readers everyday is significant to you, but even if each one clicks on those ads and affiliate links, it's not going to add up to much. The halcyon years of affiliate income is long gone, as retailers and ad networks are squeezing down hard on rates.

Audience size and readership demographics will affect potential income - but it's your readers engagement that will ultimately decide whether you succeed.  If your posts get high engagement - more than just a like, but actual conversation, people ready and willing to engage with your content by sharing their thoughts about it, you'll have a better chance to successfully monetize.


Don't Be Afraid to Talk About It

The very personal relationship you build with your audience is the real draw for your blog. Unless you're working with a major magazine site, readers are reading your blog because of you - your stories, your perspective.

When you launch your monetization campaign,don't slide it in when no one's looking, don't be subtle - tell folks about it! If you've done everything right, your readers will jump at the chance to be part of the team, and make your blog an income-generator for you. They want you to succeed, so help them to help you. 

Get your blog tuned up, ramp up on being Sociable, and come back next time for some good options for monetizing your blog in 2015!

Doing Less - How to Unlock Amazing Customer Service

Can doing less satisfy customers more?

There have been many studies about how small rewards create less pressure and instill more creativity and receptiveness. The Candle Problem is the one I refer to the most. But for today, as I so often do, I'll resort to parable to answer this question.

 Parable 1: On my other blog, which deals with an extremely narrow niche of a niche, I created the "Hero program," in which people who buy an item off my Wish List for me to review get the least of all possible rewards - a jpeg image of a badge. This program took off so quickly that there are times I'm often pressed to keep items on my list...and I had to create a premium tier for people who wouldn't stop giving me things! The point here wasn't that I was giving them meaningful physical rewards, but that I was giving them recognition. I'll come back to that in a moment.

Parable 2: I recently called up an airline to request an upgrade for my upcoming trip. I am flying with my wife and while I have barely-elite status, she has none. The CSR said, "You'll be upgraded first, then she will, if there's room." I replied, very slowly and calmly, "But you're going to do *everything* in your power to make sure we both get upgraded, right?" And I kept on her until she actually said those words back to me.

Which brings me to my actual point.

Customer Service has two key components:

  What you do for people

and

  How you do it

What you give people is the actual reward. Whether it is a little gesture of thanks, or a new car, the reward itself is only as important as the feeling of "seriously, we appreciate you" that the customer gets from it.

Truly frequent fliers probably don't notice anymore when they get upgraded...they expect it, demand it, feel that they've earned it. It's their due, not a gesture of appreciation for their business. 

How you do a thing is 99% of the impact of excellent Customer Service. Is what you're giving a true expression of gratitude for the customer's business and support? Or is your loyalty program instead of a true expression of gratitude?

My Heroes know that I appreciate them...from the bottom of my heart. The badge is worthless, my sincere and heartfelt appreciation is priceless. And they know that. In Parable 2, had the CSR said those words - even if she was lying - to me the first time, I would have felt much more appreciated than when she responded with "Well,I don't know...there's not much I can do."

When I call a business that I've supported for years and say, hey, can I get a coupon or something, the wrong response is "Well, we don't have anything like that." The right response is to offer something, anything. "Of course, ma'am! If you come in today, we'll give you...." It absolutely doesn't matter how small the thing is, it's not the the thing I care about. It's the way the thing is presented. What I'm actually asking for is that you recognize and appreciate me and my business.
So, if an airline says, "We see that you've flown with us three times this month and we just wanted to say 'thanks,' so here's a free drink coupon for you." It's worth, what, $6? But it would make me feel good. Like someone noticed me. I feel that my contribution is recognized.

 Providing customers with a pleasant feeling of recognition for their business is the very least thing and the most effective thing you can and should do for good customer service.

Landing Pages, The Herpes of Social Media

You click on a link that interests you; an article or a whitepaper that seems interesting. As your eyes cross the title, the page blurs and your line of sight is obstructed. All you need to do to read this article is SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER! or give us all your contact info and we'll email you the whitepaper.What is this madness? Give up your name, email, address and phone number just to read an article? Click it away and seconds later it's back like a virus. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

You have encountered the herpes of Social Media - the Landing Page.

It is absolutely true that Landing Pages increase conversion. It is also true that they help qualify leads. They also annoy most of the people who will ever come across your site and drive them away instantly. "I like you, but you should know...I have a landing page."

Landing pages are pernicious. They break visitor concentration, they refocus their interest from content (or product or service) to the ugly business of buying and selling. How serious are you about getting subscribers? So serious that you will interrupt your own message to bring your reader this important message about you.

It's perfectly fine to ask for someone's phone number, but usually we do it after we've talked a bit. Landing Pages may be great for your business, but they are even better for letting people know you have no time or interest in anyone who isn't doing something for you.

You're Not the Pied Piper, Part 2: "One Too Many"

In Follow Me! Follow Me!, we discussed companies that ask you to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, sign up for their newsletter...all so they can give you the same press release in 5 fabulous formats!

Today, we're going to look at other side of this bad social media practice - the "One Too Many" syndrome.

Company A offers a reward: Like them on Facebook! (Okay, no prob!) Then follow them on Twitter. (Um, okay...) Now, tweet this canned response with a hashtag! (All right...) Now, take the code you receive as a DM to their website to get your reward! (Too late, I've moved on.)

Company B offers a contest: Like Us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, then scan this QR code, go to that website and register, to be entered into this contest for a free something worth about $10!

It's a classic case of "one too many."

Followers should have to do one thing. Either they scan in the QR code or they give a FB like or Twitter follow. Then give them the reward. Customers are not toddlers, they are not dogs. Ask them to do too much, they'll wander off, bored.

Every additional step a company requires from consumers, leeches their interest in whatever contest, or junky reward. No, they will not scan a QR code, then like your FB page to get...what? A few bucks off? A free soda when they spend $50?  A free sticker? The "reward" is rarely worth the time and effort

Consumers are not following your company to bump up your numbers. They expect value from you.

Exclusives, special deals and good content will bring in loyal followers. And loyal customers is what you want, not people who sign up for contests.

How to Leave A Social Platform: The Dos and Dont’s of Saying “Goodbye”

It’s easy enough to join a new social platform. Fill out the registration form — or just sign in through another platform, such as Twitter or Facebook. Perhaps click a verification link in an email. Maybe a friend introduces you, shows you around. That first date is easy. It feels comfortable to spend time together.

You’re enjoy your time with this new platform. You’ve developed a new peer group, you share good times — you laugh at new in-jokes. It’s all fun for a while…but eventually the thrill is gone and feels more like a chore to check in.

You can’t help it — you feel like the platform let you down. You were such good friends, but now this friend is still complaining about the same stuff, full of the same questions over and over and it’s annoying you. You stop coming by so often — and when you do, it’s often to tell folks how much less often you’ll be dropping in.

You wake up one day and think — “I’m done here. It’s time to move on.” But…how does one go about leaving a social platform? It’s easy to join, shouldn’t it be easy to leave too?

It should be — but it isn’t. A community is more than just a place to chat with other people. When you joined, you only had yourself to answer to. When you leave, it’s going to affect others.If you’ve been granted any cognitive authority, your absence will create ripples. If you have real authority on the platform, those ripples will be bigger. Either way, the ripples will subside, but for a while it’ll be hard on you and on the community.

What to Do When You Are Leaving A Platform
Take a Break — As you would with any relationship, you’ve been spending a lot of time together with your new platform. Being attached at the hips takes a lot of work and it cuts you off from other relationships. After a while, you might just need some time off . Separate yourself from the drama for perspective. Take yourself offline for a bit, quietly, and see if you miss the community. If find yourself saving items to share or stories to tell to your community — come back. You don’t need to apologize to the community, we’re all human.

Update Your Profile — If you intend on leaving your account active, write a note on your profile with links where you can be found while you’re away. People who want to will be able to find you. You might be surprised how much of your community follows along.

Let People You Care About Know You’re Leaving — You’ve made real friends and your absence will be noted. Do you have a blog, a forum, a thread or a group? If there are any warrens on the site (or offsite, but related such “Platform Users” group on a different platform) where people expect you to be, value your contribution or desire your company, let folks know where your contributions will be (if that is of interest) or where they can find you (if you want them to be able to do so.) Knowing who your real friends are makes any kind of breakup easier.

What Not To Do When Leaving A Platform
Come Back Repeatedly To See If Anyone Noticed — This is called a “Flounce.” Flounces are commonly enacted by people who never really quite fit in in the first place. When you walk out the door of a community, there is nothing at all that will kill your credibility faster than looking over your shoulder to see if anyone is watching you. “I’m really leaving this time!”

Complain About How Things Have Changed — Yes, things change. Old users get worn out or just move on, some new users don’t get the Sitegeist (the general culture and etiquette of a site. ) You change, too — the topic/format just doesn't interest you any more. It’s perfectly natural that your relationship with the platform will change and it’s really okay for you to simply move on.

How to Leave a Social Platform
Leave — Walk away. Say your goodbyes, delete your account, move on with your life. Maintain your dignity.

That platform will move on as well and, after a short period of grieving, you’ll remember the good times, you’ll grow from the experience and you’ll find a new relationship.

How It All Went Wrong, A Social Media Love Story

You used to come home and find her so sexy, waiting by the door, her seductress self available for your every whim. Now, you find her to be work. Your experience on Social isn't giving you the same thrill it previously did. What changed?

Do you remember what she wore the first day you joined? She was gloriously nude, a blank page to be written on, then read. She took a little effort, needed a little pursuing, but it was worth it. Part of what made Social so exciting was the thrill of the chase - the hunt for followers and re-posts. Teasing her until she gave up those important things to you was a total rush.

She knows your likes and dislikes now, and anticipates your needs, brings you comfortable topics and people...but the thrill is gone. What changed? 

You changed. 

You're not trying any more. You're tired when you check your feed, disengaged when you read statuses. Your posts are memes and jokes. You're muting people - you don't listen to Social anymore. 

You're bored with Social and are treating her badly. She's as interesting as ever to those of us who spend a little time paying attention to and taking care of her.

Social is not a thrill ride, she's not a hussy, here for a roll in the hay, so long, see ya. Social is a fine lady with a salon full of fascinating people and objet, worth every moment you spend to cultivate her company. Don't blame her if you're not fun anymore. 

Originally posted on Quora

Attack of the Serial Commenters (How to Manage Fans Who Don't *Get* The Rules)

Comments, likes, upvotes, shares - these are all signs that someone is engaged with your community. You use these marks of engagement to measure how well you are connecting with your audience and which members are converting their loyalty or interest into action.

So when you notice that a member of your community always comments on every post, it doesn't seem like it's a problem. Comments are *good*. Then you notice that this person comments on everything whether they have something to say or not. You're reluctant to tell them to stop, because People Talking About This is good, right? You can always pull the conversation back on track if it starts to slide or correct mistakes. This is your job as community manager.

Then one day, you notice that more than 15 minutes of your day is spent managing this one person. They've hijacked so many conversations you start to doubt that anything they've posted has value. And you start to doubt your own ability to manage your community - after all this person is a *fan.* So what if they keep mentioning this other site, or get annoyed with you for correcting them? And why do they annoy you so much anyway?

You have just met the Serial Commenter.

Serial Commenters come in several forms:

New fans who discover your community and spend the next week reading, liking/voting and commenting on everything you've posted for the last month, or in a particular topic.

Old fans who believe that "LOL" is a valuable comment on every single post.

Time-outs who seek to cull favor by adding content, whether or not it is relevant, helpful or legal. These often become the hardest to deal with, those people who simply Need to Stop Posting for a bit, but won't.

Serial Commenters are extremely difficult to deal with. They are often highly, deeply and passionately engaged, but cannot manage to play by the rules. They never take kindly to being gently warned. And more often than not, they have no self-awareness of what you mean when you ask them to stop.

So how do you deal with a Serial Commenter?

First, Time-Out: This is an incredibly important step. Give yourself a Time Out. Take a few days to decide if the comments are harmless, if they might add value to someone who isn't you, or if they stimulate productive conversation in the comments. If any of these are true, bite your lip and ignore whatever it is that rubs you the wrong way. They may simply be new and excited. Give them time to calm down. This person is not a problem.

Second, Etiquette Reminder: Some people are not used to community rules. They may have been hanging out somewhere with less rules, or simply never been socialized. Do your best to surface unwritten rules somewhere. Write down in plain words what you expect of community members. I keep my rules relatively simple, but my expectations high.

Do not be coy, if a Serial Commenter is breaking an unwritten rule, write it out. Some people are not subtle. Don't be rude, but be blunt.

Third, Warning: By the time you have gotten to this stage, you should have already given all the gentle guidance you have to give. At this point you are merely handing the SC rope with with they can hang themselves.  Warnings should be simple. If you choose to enforce a Time-Out for your SC, state the time period, expectations upon their return and the factors you will weigh against them.

Fourth and Final, Escort Them Out the Door: At this point, you have decided that their absence will free the community up. No one need talk around them, explain things to them or help them with a seemingly un-ending list of confusions and problems. Time and energy can be spent on fun things again.

Do not second guess yourself.  Whether it is your personal or professional community you have every right to control it. As we all must sometimes remember, every site/platform/network online is owned by *somebody.* It is a privilege, not a right to post on these. Sometimes we must remind someone of this.

Serial Commenters are not always a problem, but be ready for those that become one with a fair, actionable plan. You owe it to your community.

Sharing Content vs Sharing Activity

If you've been anywhere near a social platform, you've seen messages like this: "Friend A likes this update" or "Friend B" has read this article" (and, clicking on the article title seems to always require you to hand all your information to the publisher before you can see the content.)

Facebook, in particular is very keen on you seeing your friends' activity. LinkedIn, too, wants you to know that a connection has followed a company, connected with someone else, answered a question, joined a group.

The problem with that is exactly the same problem as talking to a friend who walks you through every step of their day, without degree or distinction; waking up, brushing teeth, eating breakfast, commute, meetings at work, home, etc... no one wants every single detail of your day. What we'd like to hear is the juicy bits, the good stuff. ^_^

Each social platform is a different conversation. Even when you have the same people talking about the same thing in the same place, there's subtle differences in audience, tone, attention, and acceptable length. Posting Twitter conversations on LI is meaningless to anyone not already in that conversation.

Be mindful of the difference between "activity" and "content." 


Facebook wants us to know all our friends' activities. What they read, what they commented on, what games they played, etc.

If your Twitter feed is automatically sent to LinkedIn, all your contacts are getting all of your activity, your RTs, your @s, your replies. The only thing that will be meaningful to many of those people in all of that is any content you share. And how patient do you think your contacts will be when they have to wade through 3 dozen chatty posts to get to a brilliant piece of content?

Quora, a platform I adore, yesterday launched a new feature that shared your Quora activity on your Facebook Timeline. I enabled it and ten minutes later, disabled it. I have no doubt my friends on FB would be interested in some of the answers I post to questions there, but equally, I have no doubt at all that no one not already on Quora cares which other answers I upvote. While the content I generate there may be of interest, my activity on Quora is entirely irrelevant to the folks on FB.

Small and medium sized businesses on Twitter, and individuals whose expertise is their business, often have only one Twitter account. To be authentic and real, these people tend to chat as well as share good content from this same account. This works really well on Twitter, where each tweet is viewed individually but, when it becomes a stream of half the conversation on a Twitter feed embedded on a web page, it simply makes no sense at all. Like sitting next to a person on the train who talks loudly enough that you can't not listen, you're getting an intrusive half a conversation you don't really want to hear.

Worse, when companies keep their Twitter account for purely professional contacts, that embedded stream becomes an obsessively narcissistic stream of "me me me." Again - it works fine on Twitter, but watch where else it gets shared or you can seem like you are incapable of listening to others.

So, by all means, share content! Just be mindful that your not drowning it out with all of your activity.

Three Reasons Why You *Really* Shouldn't Automate Social Media

One of the unwritten rules of excellent Social Media is  - don't automate your Social Media. When a so-called Social Media Expert tries to convince you that a piece of software can make your Social Media a snap, it's a good bet that they have no idea what they are doing.

It's very apparent, however, that it is possible to automate Social Media - Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and even Empire Avenue, provide ways of doing just that. So....where's the disconnect? If you can make Social Media simpler through automation, why not just do it? Here's three critical reasons why you should make each and every connection personal:

Lack of Customization Looks Insincere

When you format a Tweet, you have 140 characters total. There needs to be no preamble, no sign-off. Everyone knows this, and no one considers it inappropriate. On your mailing list, however, this would be seen as terse - at best - and really just plain rude by most people. You're missing a chance to be approachable and human with a simple greeting and sign-off or, if you have the kind of list that uses customized images and formats, a slick-looking message. What works best for Facebook might be a short intro to the link, the link and a personal comment about the link. On LinkedIn, you'll probably want to add a line or two of insight or application.

When you boilerplate your communications, it signals insincerity. Take the time to make each communication count for maximum impact on that platform.

It Puts A Barrier Between You and Your Message

Let's say you have a blog, a Mailing List and Facebook. When you automate your Social Media, on the one hand it shows consistency, but on the other, it begins to take on a corporate slickness that makes it less human. There's one message there, and no real person behind that message. How long does it really take to email your List and let them know something terrific is happening? That personal touch gives your message a voice - and a face.

Taking a moment to write authentic communications gives your audience a voice to hear, and a person to respond to.


Closes You Off To Response

Once you've begun to automate Social Media, you'll save a lot of time. That's the rationalization, but is it true? Aside from the obvious point that taking 5-10 minutes a day to connect with people isn't really asking all that much; when you save those seconds, what are you planning on doing with them? Because you've automated your communications with your audience, the barrier you've placed between them and you goes both ways -  are you going to take the time needed to respond to people?

+1ing a comment on Google+ takes mere seconds. Responding to a tweet or a comment, perhaps a minute. If the issue is complex, you might need to take it off-platform, through mail or phone. Once the audience you're addressing with your standardized messages become faceless number counts in your stats, are you going to make that time? These people are your audience, your market - your customers. Automating communications with them may give you a few more minutes in the day, but it's unlikely to give you a few more sales at the end of that day.

Keep your Social Media real - talk with, not at people. Time invested in communicating always brings about a better ROI.

How To Not Be *That* Client

There's an infographic making its way around the Internets right now. Called the "Anatomy of a Web Design Client" from Top Web Design Schools, it's pretty clear about the pain points designers run into with clients. (Click image for full-size)

But how can you avoid being that client? After all, you aren't a designer yourself, you just know what you want. Here's a few simple steps to do before you end up having a terrible web design experience and being *that* client.

Know What You Want To Do

The initial reaction to the question of web design is very similar to the initial reaction to art, "I know what I like."

But...do you?

Name three qualities about a web site you use often that you like. Color should not be among those three things. Saying you like the color of a website is exceedingly similar to saying you like a car for the color.

If you're reaching desperately for a vocabulary to describe the things you like, you probably need to start further back in the concept of websites than you may think. Yes, sure, you use them all the time, but if you don't know what you want yours to do, you might not be able to adequately describe what you like. Designfestival has a really simple description of what a webpage is. These words listed each describe a feature of the webpage.

Until you know what the purpose of your website actually is, you're going to have a hard time knowing what features to focus on. Most business websites feature:

Information about the company/store/products or services

E-commerce - links to purchase those products/services or to follow up for more information

Demonstrations of expertise - product demos, presentations, expert articles

Not every website needs to have all of these, but business websites without any of these, end up being confusing or unfocused.

In addition, it's smart to provide Sharing capabilities, so your customers can get the word out for you.

Navigation is the unsung hero of websites. Few people pay any mind to the navigation within a site, but if you've ever been caught in a website where you couldn't find what you wanted, or get back to where you started, you know how critical good navigation is.

Take a look at sites you use often, and sites you find aesthetically pleasing. Note down what you like about each site. Pay attention to the difference between good site structure and good content. Your designer can make the first shine, but the second bit is going to be up to you.


Know What You Definitely Do Not Want and Why

The other common phrase from *that* client is, "I don't know why, but it just doesn't work for me." There's pretty much no faster way to sour a client/designer relationship. It's absolutely critical that you know exactly why a thing does not work for you.

For instance, Web Pages That Suck coined a term - Mystery Meat Navigation. These are sites that are so clever and visual that you have no idea what anything does. There's not a pop-up or a roll-over hint, either. These sites have jettisoned utility for style (or sometimes, just plain delusion.) Visit the link to Mystery Meat navigation to understand the levels of frustration this can cause a new visitor - or a returning one. In fact, bookmark Web Pages That Suck and check out what they have to say about web design. You'll learn a lot, quickly and with a few laughs. They've been doing this since the days of Tripod and Angelfire, they've seen it all.

Once you know what you can't stand about other sites, give your designer a short list: No flashing, scrolling, spinning things, no background music, no automatically downloading *anything*, etc....


Be Realistic About Your Contributions

Nothing is eternal. Even your perfect nice new website will need to be refreshed once in a while. It might have a server issue or a feature may not work the way you want it to on an upgraded browser. There is nothing you can do to make a site with 100% uptime and no errors ever. Everything on the Internet is changing, all the time.

If you are truly put off by the idea of spending any time on the phone with your internet host, and can't figure out how to add a Facebook 'Like' button to a WordPress page (or are too stressed by the idea to try,) let your designer know upfront. They may know a website manager you can hire to check in periodically to update, upgrade and clean up the back end. This is exactly as important as having someone straighten your shelves and vacuum your store at the end of the night - you do that every day, to make sure the store looks clean and organized. You'll need to have someone do that for your site regularly, too. Your designer is not a website manager. Don't expect to be able to call them at 2AM with a panicked "The site crashed!" message. The moment you do, you've become *that* client.

Vague ideas and unreasonable requirements lead directly to you being *that* client. The more you know about what you do want, don't want and why, the more likely you'll get a website that suits you.

(Unsolicited plug for three designers I use: Bonnie Wasielweski, May Young and Lissa Patillo. If you're looking for stellar design work, check them out. Bonnie and Lissa also do implementation.)

Social Media is the Vehicle, not the Destination

In the welter of tools to help you focus your Social Media strategy and tactics, to measure the results, and to increase your audience, there is an unfortunate tendency to act like Social Media is a single thing.

"Which is best for my company, Facebook or Twitter?" is a question I see all too often on professional networking platforms, as if there could be a single answer that covers all needs.

We don't presume there are only one or two models of car that fits all needs. Social Media is the vehicle - the means by which you communicate with your audience, engage them and reward them when they go to bat for you. Picking the right vehicle to communicate with your audience is critical to effective use of Social Media.

You might be targeting casual users of Social Media, people who share birthday greetings and jokes and life events and photos. Facebook, Groupon and Email Marketing is the way to go to reach out to these people. It's not that these users object to learning technology, but they don't want it presented *as* technology. Your Social Media tactics need to focus on saving these people time and money.  It's not about ad aesthetics, design or engagement...it's about rewards and convenience.

Perhaps your audience is on the go. They are tethered to their phone and their phone is tethered to their computer. These people want speed, simplicity and convenience. Twitter, mobile marketing, a proprietary app that gets them in touch with you quickly, is perfect for this crowd. This Social Media strategy needs to be about compelling, targeted content, plain and simple.

If your audience is hands on, with their fingers in a lot of Social Media platforms, you need to be ultra-responsive. These people will know if you don't understand Social Media, and have 15 layers of decision-making before a simple "yes" can be tweeted. These people also bring with them a large audience of their own on multiple platforms. Obfuscating or delaying will end up in one way - with egg on your face. If you get a comment on Twitter from someone with 15,000 followers, think twice before you blow them off.

If your audience is minimalist, they have one or two platforms they rely on and no more. They live off their phone, but don't necessarily like mobile marketing. Build in privacy controls so that you're not facing negative feedback when your cool new ad sends itself to their phones.

Luxury users are rarely cutting edge and want big rewards for their involvement. High-end shopping means high-end privacy and one-on-one personal connection. These people are not communicating with you on Facebook.

Just as there's a vehicle for every personality, there's a vehicle for every message. The medium *does* matter, but in the end, the message had better be what your audience wants to hear. Get the right Social Media vehicle to drive that message home.

Facebook's Social Media Makeover - The Good and the Bad and the Not So Ugly

How often do you redecorate your living room? Once a decade? Maybe a little more? The reasons why you don't are self-evident - makeovers cost money, they are a pain, they take up time.

It's not hard to imagine, although we are not those people, that there are people who constantly tweak and move their furniture to give the room a new look, to keep it fresh and exciting.

Now imagine if those people were your parents. Every time you drop by, they seem to have moved stuff around. Sometimes you like the changes better than others, but it does make things hard to find - and it unsetttles you. This is the real problem of course - it's not that you don't like the new furniture, it's just that these are your parents and they aren't supposed to change!

Welcome to Facebook, the comfy chair of Social Media. Facebook is Social Media your Mom can use. You smile at it, you use it, but you don't respect it because, well, your Mom can use it. Even so, when Facebook switches the furniture around, it's unsettling.

Today we'll cover a very few points of some good and bad things Facebook did with their site switcheroo and the one or two things that are most up for debate as "that goddamn" feature.

The BAD

1) They changed our settings, again.

This is tantamount to your parents changing the lock, leaving the new key under the mat with a note that they've given a bunch of other people the keys, too, so if you're in the shower and hear noise, it's probably just one of those other people.  Wait, what?

Facebook has an appalling habit of "helping" you with your notifications and privacy settings. This time they turned all notifications OFF, except the ones that they turned ON.

How to Handle This: Don't wait for Facebook to change - make it a habit of visiting your Notifications, Privacy and App settings every three months. Clean out Apps you don't know, don't use, don't want. Make sure the Privacy is set the way you want it, that you can share with the people you want. Turn off or on notifications. Do this as a regular course of matter, so you remain in as much control of your account as possible.


2) They rolled all the changes out all at once.

Go back to the your parent's house metaphor. When they get a new chair, it's a nice change. If they had the entire house stripped and redecorated, it would be jarring. And, yes, the Facebook makeover was jarring.

How to Handle This: Don't Panic. Take a look at the popups and read them, so you know what you're looking at. Find a Social Media person on Facebook such as myself, (yes, I know I don't have an account name, all the sensible versions of my name were taken and I would just rather have a random character set that EricaFriedman1897. That sounds horribly AOL to me) or Christine Pilch who can talk you through fixing and changing settings.


The last and worst Bad thing is an ongoing problem with Facebook.

3) They made changes to our accounts without our permission.


Facebook does this continually and for me, it's the single biggest problem with Facebook security and privacy. I did not want to make Lists, so they made them for me! Um, no, see, I did not want to make any Lists. (See Below for more Lists comments.)

How to Handle This: Tell Facebook. We all must make it clear that, while we understand change is inevitable, we would very much prefer to be asked if we want a new feature, rather than having it thrust upon us. Some parents never change their living rooms, ever. And that's really all right. Our Mom's Facebook and ours don't have to look the same.


The Good

Now for the one really Good thing they did.

1) The biggest and best new thing they did was force Business Pages to let people post on their Wall, even if they have not "Liked" the page. There truly was nothing more galling than having to "like" a page before telling them they suck.


The (Not-So) Ugly

This leaves us with some of the new features, which are liked and disliked in equal measure.

Lists

Lists are an attempt to be more like Google+. This is misguided thinking. Facebook's market is you and your Mom. Not immersed Social Media users who are going to have a number of profiles on sites around the Internet. For most Facebook users, sharing with friends and family is one and the same.

I also call into question the premise that Segmentation = Privacy. Keeping your Friends in separate rooms is not the same thing as Privacy.

Worse, they did a terrible job of it. (^_^); My Family List had my wife's niece on it, but not my wife. Or any of my immediate family.

How to Handle This: Luckily Lists are easily removable. Scroll to the left of the List name until you see the pencil icon. Click "Hide." (I find, however, that my Lists have reappeared this AM, despite removing them yesterday. That could be very annoying.) Once Lists were removed, I found my Feed returning to a format I was more comfortable with.


The Update Ticker

I like this, although this wins as the number one "Turn this damn thing off!" that I see in comments. In the right sidebar, the top now is a ticker of comments by friends or on friends' posts.

How to Handle This: Lifehacker has posted an article on how to kill the Update ticker.

Scrolling Top Toolbar

A colleague of mine and long-time friend, Bonnie Wasilewski, pointed out the neat new feature of the top Toolbar scrolling down the page with you. Now you don't have to scroll back to the top to see notifications or get back to your home. I hadn't even noticed this, until she pointed it out, but dang! it's useful!

How to Handle This: Use it. No matter where you are on the site, you'll see what's going on in your world, without having to jump up and down the page.


Subscribe Button

For those of us with public lives, this is a welcome feature. Now people can read our posts, without us having to "Friend" them.

You can read status updates, see links and feel part of the life of your favorite celebrities and thinkiner, without having the right to communicate with them. Think of Subscribe like reading a newspaper in your home used to be. You get to read, but there's no real way to comment in real-time.

How to Handle This: Each post you make can be marked Friends, Public or Custom. You default to Friends, but if you don't mind your Subscribers reading something, mark it Public.


Conclusion 

The biggest problem in all these changes is Facebook's misunderstanding of their audience. In their desperate attempt to stay relevant and cutting edge, they are losing people from both edges of their usage curve.

People who wanted Google+-like features are already on Google+. I see many comments to the effect that people are "done" with Facebook and can be found exclusively at G+ now. (This is an issue I want to write about at length later, because in Social Media, you can't take your ball and go home.)

On the other end of the curve, are Mom and Pop users who really only wanted to see their kids and grandkids and share some pictures. The new changes will alienate and confuse these people, and over-complicate the site needlessly for them.

In the end, when the kerfuffle has settled, and everyone has gotten used to the Good, Bad and Ugly of the new format, Facebook will change it all around again. (Update: Facebook has already announced more changes to come, starting off with Facebook Timelines. Stay tuned!)

This is what happens when Facebook changes its layout - The Oatmeal

On Social Media and the Quantification of the Qualitative

One of the biggest movements in Social Media Marketing right now is the search for numbers. Marketers and and companies are flailing to find a way to drive business through Social Media efforts...and failing horribly. Earlier this year, Practical Matters reported that few sales are generated through Social Media.

Klout, EmpireAvenue, Twtrland, and a million other tools, both free and paid, promote themselves as ways to understand the influence your Social Media use has. In the end, few of these have value beyond garnering how many people see a thing and, perhaps, how many people reacted to it in the least possible way (Retweet, Like, Share, +1.)

Our response to all of this should be "Well, duh~." On Quora a number of people have put their finger squarely on the problem of "measuring influence."  Influence is not a number.

I love Klout, I really do. But there is a huge flaw at the center of Klout - and at the center of all influence measuring tools - they are measuring something that isn't quantitative. Klout tells me that they measure engagement - how likely a comment I make somewhere is likely to be responded to. But they don't (and can't) measure the quality of that engagement.

At the heart of Influence is human interaction. This is not a numbers game. Any marketer that talks to you about likes and votes and other quantitative measures, is missing the key point of Social Media being Social.

Social Media is about you reaching past your own self-interests. It's not as complicated as creating a "vote for your favorite charity to get some money (that we will claim on our taxes)" and it's not "for every $$ you spend, we will give ten cents to charity (that we will claim on our taxes.)" There's nothing social in corporate philanthropy, or telling the world how much your employees gave to charity. These are entirely self-serving numbers.

Social Media is about building relationships based on trust, credibility and from that, building influence. There are no numbers here. Your spouse is not a 72 (although this week, the number has been going up.) The friend who was there to help you move in is not a 60.

Set aside the numbers for a day, a week, a month. Don't check your Klout score. Don't look at your Radian6 dashboard. Ask a question and see what kind of response you get. Praise someone for their support and see who else chimes in. Reach out to help someone and see how many other hands reach with you. That's the measure of your Influence.

It's time to stop quantifying the qualitative. It's time for Social Media to be about people, not numbers.