Three Things I Won't Share On Social Media (Unless I Want To)

It's pretty obvious to anyone on any Social Media platform that advertising is still the main business model. And it's pretty obvious to advertisers that the more they know about me, the better a job they can do at predicting what I might want to buy next.

To that end, most Social Media networks ask me to share a lot of my personal information with them. Of course they want me to find people like myself, past work colleagues, alumuni of my college, people with similar interests - and so they tell me how much easier it would be to find these people if only I were part of that network.

In fact, when I first joined Facebook, you had to pick a geographic network. Whether you liked it or not, you were lumped in with people in your relative geographic location. As soon as I was able to remove a geographic network from my FB account, I did.

There are many reasons I might want to share a piece of information with a Social Media platform and there are even more reasons why I might not. When you're asking for personal information, contact information and other market research data, consider that what is best for you, is not always best for your customer.

Here are three things I won't share with you, unless you make me...or unless I want to.

1) My Past Locations
This includes former addresses, places of employment and education.

Maybe it's just me, but I really have very little incentive to speak with the folks I knew in high school. Or college. Or grad school. We were in the same place at the same time, and we did share some experiences but that doesn't mean we're "friends." And if we are, there's a good chance I'll know how to find them without your help. The same is true for former colleagues and neighbors. These are situational relationships and once we're no longer dealing with the same boss, we may in fact have nothing in common.

Before you ask us where we went to school, consider that, for many people, school was *not* the greatest time of their lives and that things that happened in that (perhaps distant) past are not really worth revisiting. And what, really, value is that to you as a social platform or as a business? Consider the analogue version of this question, "Oh, you're from Ohio? My nephew lives there....do you know him?" When you ask me where I went to school, so I can "connect" with other people who went to that school, that's exactly what I hear in my head.

2) My Present Location
I'm not going to propose a scenario here about women, and the consequences of telling perfect strangers where to find them, but let's be realistic here - for ages, companies have asked us to provide our names, addresses, phone numbers and emails if we so much as want to mention that their coupon had a spelling mistake.  WHY? You are not going to call us - we don't want you to call us, it would be intrusive and weird.

Foursquare is a system designed around the idea that reporting our location could be of benefit to us. Check in and get a discount. Check in a lot and get a bigger discount. But...take a step back and tell me that this wouldn't be the most useful tool for a stalker in the known universe. Because it would. And if you have ever written an article, blog post, book or done an interview and had a mailbox full of hate, there is no way this tool is going to look like something you want to participate in.

3) My Future Location
I might be planning a trip. I might even want to share it with my Twitter pals. Does that mean that I want ads telling me about great deals in that location? Maybe...but not unless you ask me first.

Again, imagine an analogue scenario. You're talking to friends on the phone about a trip. Then your local travel agency calls, "We hear you're going to Las Vegas. Call us about a special deal on hotels!" "Targeted advertising" feels remarkably similar to "creepy eavesdropping" for the average person. The fact that you're parsing my status updates doesn't make your business clever....it makes your business a stalker.

Before you ask questions about your consumers, consider the possibility that being intrusive has less value than you think in a building a relationship with them.

Social Media for Crisis Management: Using Your Powers for Your Own Good

Recently, an acquaintance Twittered me about a potential crisis situation at an event they were attending. I checked the event Twitter Feed and found that the event itself was, quite conspicuously, *not* tweeting about situation.

Nearly an hour passed before the event's feed mentioned the crisis - and only to say that it had been handled and nothing important had occurred. In the meantime, thousands of tweets had gone out about the situation. Many people were looking at the official feed for information and finding nothing. Worse, during that time, the official feed was commenting about a photo shoot elsewhere in the event, making the event look clueless and self-absorbed.

What does that say about the event's understanding and use of their own resources?

Whether you're dealing with a unsatisfied customer, or an emergency situation at your office, there are a few things you must use your Social Media presence for at all times:

Know What Is Being Said About You

If you are on the Internet, there is no good reason to not at least have a Google Alert set up to see who is saying what about you where. More advanced listening and monitoring tools are available, many of them are free. This doesn't have to be complicated. Make it part of your morning with-coffee reading.

Whoever is charge of Social Media for your company - whether it's you or a hired hand -  should have a command center view of what is being said where about your business. This view allows you to know when a situation is brewing, what questions people are asking about your company and what issues are of importance to them. Paying attention to what's being said about your business online is as key a listening skill as pay attention to your customers when they ask for help.

At this event, clearly there was someone Twittering - and, just as clearly, there was no one monitoring Twitter to see what situations, questions, complaints and issues were arising.
In the meantime, people *were* using Twitter to try and identify the problem and communicate whether the situation was serious or not to other attendees.

It would have been far better for the event to have taken control of the situation instantly to provide information, but they let the moment pass, and the control of their Twitter feed slipped right out of their hands.


Be In Control of Your Own News

We all prefer to learn important news from people involved, rather than second- or third-hand. Obviously, if your child comes home from school with a bad grade, you hope they will tell you, so you don't have to learn it from their teacher.

When your company is facing a crisis, your consumers, followers, fans want to hear from *you.* Not a newspaper, or a third party. And if you aren't breaking your own news, someone else will be glad to break it for you.

No one wants to share bad news, but before a situation spirals out of control is the best time to take control of that news and be seen as reliable and transparent by your stakeholders.



Keep Your Customers Informed

Once a situation occurs, it's already too late to keep the cat in the bag. Your stakeholders will know about it almost as soon as you do.  If they are keyed into Social Media, they may know about *before* you do. They will look to you for guidance and communication. They may want answers, but more than anything else, they want leadership - and they want it from you.

Now is not the time to stay secluded and work on a slick strategy. Now is definitely not the time to ignore the bad news and post happy, shiny news. Now is the time to get in front of the messaging and be visible and present, so stakeholders are reassured that things are not falling apart at the top and the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.


Provide Solutions Before They're Needed

In the case of this event, a few official tweets asking people to stay calm, stay away from the area in question and assurances that inconveniences would be cleared up as quickly as possible, would have gone a long way to keeping the area clear. In the meantime, officials could well be hampered by curious crowds, while rumors spread online.

Even better, if the official feed had provided alternate access routes, meeting points, and communications venues, the message received by attendees would have been that the event had itself completely together. Instead, they received radio silence, as rumors spread.


In Times of Crisis...Have A Plan 

Having a crisis strategy for your Social Media is just as important as having an emergency plan for your office. Of course no one wants to plan for catastrophe, but having a plan in place will, at minimum, save your company's reputation, and could gain your company respect for the way it handles the moment.

Listen to what's being said, stay in control of the situation and on top of the messaging - set a groundwork for social media use in a crisis -  for your own good.

Twitter is not Facebook is not Email is not FourSquare

Remember that birthday? You had friends over for a party, but your parents also invited a few family members, with the result that grandma told that story about you to your school friends and the next day you had the nickname "Monkey Boy?" I'm joking of course. Today we're talking about the awkwardness that occurs when you mix and match your networks.

Whether you are a company trying to grasp how to use Social Media, or you are an individual balancing you time with friends, colleagues and clients, it's important to remember that networks often don't (and shouldn't) mix.

Fellow blogger Sean Gaffney and I were discussing a company we both follow. This was on a day when the company had some fairly big news. They had clearly sent out press releases, because industry news sites were buzzing. But on Twitter? The last post had been almost a week ago, and it was one of those "hey, which of our products do you like best?" kind of tweets.

Which prompted Sean to comment, "Yes, Press releases are good, but really, Twitter is not meant to be composed of your 'buddies' the way Facebook is. You don't friend a company to be their pal. Or if you do, you aren't worth it."

Twitter is not Facebook. Nor is Facebook a Press Release. LinkedIn is not your Mailing List, Foursquare is personal, not public.

Here's a few ways companies mis-use the most popular Social Networking platforms:

Twitter - Twitter is not, as Sean points out, the same as a press release, nor is it a bulletin board for your press releases. Twitter is a place where people who follow you expect a mix of news, conversation, customer service and insight. The best Twitter accounts supply all this and mix in a good dollop of contests and fun things on top. Making everything you say pithy and retweetable may not be possible, but keeping yourself open for communications is. Don't become the company ticker, unless you don't care about the people who take time to follow you on Twitter.

Facebook - I've said it before, Facebook is easy. Too easy. Facebook gives you a false sense of engagement when your "Fans" have only to click a button to show how much they "like" you, your news, your newest promotional campaign or product. Even if they are your friends, are you really reaching folks on Facebook? "Likes" are the least effective way to tell. Do your fans/friends respond when you post - if not many, there's a good chance that a large number of those "fans" have hidden your posts. Do they see your page as a place to hold a conversation, or jump in with a comment? Or is it all about you, you, you? Facebook can become a mirror filled with nothing but yourself quite easily. Be careful that you're not adding to the delusion of popularity.

Email - Email is a privileged position. You have personal access to your audience. You have time and space to attract their interest. This is your best opportunity to make your point. How many emails do you delete a day? Why? Think about how many ways email marketing fails to be relevant to you. When you have a chance to send that message - make it count.

FourSquare - Publicly posting Foursquare check-ins is the equivalent of having an intimate conversation with a romantic partner in public. It's all well and good for you and your customer, but those of us who remain uninvolved in that relationship are left feeling awkward, maybe embarrassed. Nuzzling your partner in public is not necessarily the right way to show what a great lover you are and having people check in with you for freebies and discounts doesn't really express how great you are to do business with.

LinkedIn - LinkedIn was designed as a professional networking space. Unless your business is truly Business to Business, the chances of you finding your audience, much less your market, on LinkedIn is small. These are your peers, perhaps your vendors or contractors - not your audience. Treat the people there as you might coworkers, or prospective clients. But don't assume that every Answer is an open invitation for a pitch.


Each platform you choose is different - each network you build is different. It's not impossible to mix and match, but being aware when you're doing so. Treating your Facebook Fans like they are your email list, or your Twitter followers like they are your "Fans," is likely to cause conflict and defection.

Enjoy time with your relatives and enjoy time with your friends, but think carefully before you invite them to the same party.

Memo FR: The "Yr Doing It Wrng" Dept

You remember how to write a business letter, don't you? Your name and address in one corner, the date, then further down, the title, name and address of the person you were addressing.

Your business letter began with an intro - "Hello, my name is...I am writing to in regards to...." It ended with "Sincerely," your name, contact info.

Nowadays, that's all old news, right? No one does that anymore. Email and Twitter means we can jump right in and tell people what we want. Everyone knows that!

Except...that is simply not true. In fact, in this day and age it's even more important than ever before to provide people with context for your communication.

I received an email this week. The person introduced themselves, told me that they were working for an organization I am aligned with and that, because they could see that I was active in Social Media, I should retweet their communications.

I stopped when I got to this line, I admit. Okay, intro, check. In regards to, check. You're getting paid to do a thing, so I should retweet you? I re-read the line a few times, trying to see where the connection was.

Then I backed up. This was an email.

An email from someone hired to do Social Media.

An email from someone who saw that I was active on Social Media.

Telling me to RT their tweets.

I stared at this concatenation and my first thought was to Tweet this response: "Re: Yr email. Yr doing it wrng."

Obviously, I did not. I have not yet replied to the email, either. I probably will not reply, because this person is a professional. You can tell, because they are getting paid for this. I know that because they told me so. This person emailed to tell me that they are being paid by this organization to do their Social Media.

A business letter is more than just a communication - it's a proposal. This person failed in the part three of good business letter writing. There was nothing at all in this for me. Sure, retweeting is a matter of hitting a button, but...why? This is their job, they are getting paid to be the Social Media expert. They were not talking with me on Twitter, building a relationship with me. They aren't even communicating *at* me on Twitter. And like so many people who presume to know what's good for me, they forgot to ask for a favor. They just told me - you like Organization A, so you should Retweet me.

On behalf of all people who have been subject to this kind of ham-handed misuse of Social Media, I would like to offer advice to companies who hire "professionals" who can't be bothered to talk with people and build relationships, who obsess about quantity rather than quality, who build metrics, rather than relationships:

You Are Doing It Wrong.

The Pros and Cons of Being a TwitterFace

You've been asked by your company or a client to do their Tweeting or Facebooking for them and, for better or for worse, you've said yes.

Here are some really good - and really bad - things to know about being someone else's Social Media mouthpiece.

Pro

Direct Interaction - You get to be the one who makes a difference. You get to set the tone, talk with people the way you want others to talk to you. Set the bar high, be the example other people use - this is your chance to shine and make a Social Media presence you'd want to engage with.

Influence - Everyone knows the adage "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." When your squeak has the weight of customers' opinion behind it, grease is sure to follow. Do the customers love the color green, want larger sizes, need more information? As the Twitterface of the company, you get to hear it first. Conversely, when the company shares good news, it's you who shares it. The customers will come to see you as their go-to, you as their voice and their inside man. The company will see you as being in touch with their market.

Promotion/Messaging - You know how it is. A company comes up with an idea that everyone kind of wonders..."yeah, but who is it for?" or "why?" You can be the person who shapes the messaging on both sides - let the company know what their customer base wants and let the customer know that the company is listening. If there's a promotional campaign, you get to make sure that it's relevant to the consumers and totally authentic from beginning to end. Every message and every campaign is a chance to show the consumers that the company "gets it."


Con

Decision Making - The biggest downside to being someone else's mouthpiece is that you don't get to chose what you say. Or when. If you're an outside consultant, you may even have to scratch at doors to find something *to* say.

When the decision-making is out of your hands, you have to hope that you've got critical support at the company, or you may inadvertently say the wrong thing at the wrong time or have nothing to say at the right time.

Reporting Facts - There is nothing more truly awful than being the person to deliver bad news. The higher-ups want you to tell them that you got 10,000 followers in a week for their high-end watch business Facebook page and they don't want to hear that the people who buy custom watches in the 6-figure range aren't *on* Facebook. Likewise the fans of that popular kids series of novels don't want to hear that the author is ending it with her next novel. The truth hurts, and unfortunately, you may be doing the hurting.

Customer Service - Putting a company out there means that that company becomes visible, perhaps vulnerable. Reasonable or not, there will be complaints. And those people will expect - perhaps demand - attention. There *has* to be a policy in place or you will be fielding angry fastballs with no help. Make sure you have a contact or a customer service number to direct people to - and hope that they can handle the pressure, or you'll be getting the rebounds.

Being the Twitterface of a company means that you can build great relationships from the ground up....as long as the company has got its own priorities straight.

Twitter 102, aka You Are Your Twitter Stream

Today I had the pleasure of reading a ridiculously sensible post about Twitter use by Christine Pilch of Grow My Company. Ironically, the post was inspired by something I said on Twitter, and today's post is inspired by something Christine says on her blog:

Go ahead and take a look at your own twitter stream. If you don't see any @s, RTs and DMs to your followers, chances are you're missing the point

That line really resonated. I had just found a Twitter account that was >this< close to being the single best business use of Twitter I have ever seen. It had humor, it had relevant, unique content, was personal and fun. The only thing it was missing? Talking with people. There were no @s, RTs or, I'm betting, DMs in their stream. How frustrating, because otherwise it was a gold standard of the platform. The simple truth is You are your Twitter stream.

It's not just what you do (or don't) talk about on Twitter - what your contacts talk about also affect how you look. In a sense, your Twitter stream is what you wear in public. You might be dressed in a nice suit to go the office, but if your friends are wearing ripped jeans, it'll surely affect people's opinion of you and your choices.

Before you start RTing every quote or link that floats by, you might want to consider what that Retweet says about you and your business. Inspirational quotes can be inspirational, but what does a never-ending stream of platitudes express about your business? And those tips and news links - check 'em out before you RT them, because they might not reflect what you actually think.

Direct Messages (DMs) are a great way to initiate private business, or conduct a sidebar conversation away from the public eye. They aren't really a good way to initiate a conversation with a stranger, or to introduce yourself. Imagine yourself at a cocktail party, talking with a bunch of people, when someone drags you off to a quiet, private corner just to say, "Hi, I'm Barb! How can I help your business today?" Save the DMs for people you really need to talk to privately.

And then there's @. "@" on Twitter means you're talking with someone. They said something and you've replied, or you are saying something to them. It's the first thing I look for in someone else's Twitter stream. Why? Because a lack of "@" means a lack of conversation. I know that Twitter started as a microblogging tool, but it's more of a chat tool now. No "@" means that person is talking to themselves. And who wants to listen to someone talking to themselves?

In conclusion, I hope you'll be inspired by Christine's comment and take a look at your own Twitter Stream - because that's truly who you are on Twitter.

Creating an Amazing Social Network on Twitter Without Spamming the Universe

I recently volunteered to help out an organization I work with from time to time with their Social Media initiatives. When I logged in for the first time, their Twitter account had three followers - one of them was me. After a day, that had increased ten-fold - still small potatoes in the numbers game, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. And more importantly, we had a lead for a headliner guest, a sponsor and a few great panelists. In one day.

As the follower gauge crept slowly up, I was thinking about how easy it is to create a truly *amazing* network on Twitter. And I thought I'd write it up and share it with you today.

1) Start by Following Someone/Something You Know

I've mentioned this before. A new classroom or new job doesn't seem as scary when you know someone there before you start. It gives you a person to sanity check with, a guide and a mentor.

Talk to the people you know who are on Twitter. Learn from them, emulate them. Use them as references for behaviors, acronyms, abbreviations and actions.

Read what they say and notice how they say it. Take note of their balance between work and life, personal and professional.

Use all of this as a guideline for your own interactions. When you get a little freaked out, shoot a Tweet over to that colleague or friend and just have a nice irrelevant chat. It's great for the soul and you'll be blown away by how many people follow you once you relax and just have a conversation.


2) Follow The People The People You Follow Follow

You follow people you respect, information sources you trust, peers and colleagues and people against whom you benchmark your business. Take a look at who these people follow. Who do they get their news from? Who do they consider valuable members of their network? You don't have to follow all - or any - of these people, but the people you follow are a great resource to find more people to follow.


3) Don't Follow Everyone Just Because They Use A Keyword Or Phrase

There's nothing stranger than noticing you've got a dozen new followers and they all seem to have the word "soap" in their names. Suddenly, you realize that you mentioned the lovely new soap you bought last weekend. These people have created a search for a single keyword and automatically follow anyone who mentions that word. It seems like a good idea, but you already *bought* soap. You don't need or want more.

Having a keyword search set up is a great idea. It might net you a few new folks to talk with, a conversation about your business to track, some new contacts - but it's not a catchall basin. Pick and choose your connections so that there's some meaning in it for both you and the person you're following.


4) Follow People You Want in Your Stream

Everyone you follow will pop up on your home page. This and your own posts are your "Twitter stream." It could seem like a great idea to follow your cousin, because she knows a lot about Twitter, but when she starts late-night or drunk Tweeting, is that what you want showing up in your *public* stream?

Follow people who provide your stream with the level of quality and professionalism you want your business to express to the world at large.


5) Talk to People!

It may seem weird at first, just jumping in and asking a question, or introducing yourself to someone online without context, but, really, it's okay. That's normal on Twitter, where the conversations are public, so anyone can join in.

There's even specialized chats that use hashtags so you can follow the conversation with a simple search. Feel free to join in on a chat and learn what people have to say about topics of interest to you. Chats are another great way to find new people to follow.

These are all pretty basic things, but if you keep them in your mind as you get to know Twitter, you'll be well on your way to building an Amazing Network!

Follow Me! Follow Me!

I've noted before the problem with "easy" numbers. Easy numbers are any quantitative measurement that can be gleaned without difficulty from a basic analysis of a marketing strategy. These numbers provide little to no real value, but are simple to measure. For instance, the number of people who registered on your website, or how many downloads of the online coupon there were, are easy numbers.

How many fans or followers your company has on your Social Media platforms are easy numbers.

Social Media is in right now and your business looks cooler if you have a lot of fans or followers - or so many businesses think. And it is so easy to say, "Our biggest competitior has 1000 fans, but we have 2000!"

A Twitter pal who shall remain anonymous points out that, "It's a battle to explain to higher ups that our dedicated fans are more valuable than XXXXX random followers."

Traditional marketing dictates that more numbers equals more audience. As a result, I see a lot of companies who spend their Twitter time telling me to follow them on Facebook. As rpguy_ad says, "It's like being told "hear what we have to say, but drive to our office across town first!" There's only one point in asking Twitter followers to fan you on Facebook - to bump your numbers up and make you look cooler.

Don't waste your precious time and your tenuous connection to your audience by talking about somewhere else they need to be. You have their attention, right now, wherever they and you are, in that very moment. Don't ask them to contact you by email with the details, or join you somewhere else.

Your audience is not a tool.

Your business is probably not the Pied Piper. (Exceptions to this do exist, but aren't as common as ou might believe.)

Social Media is not a flute to be played across the Internet to create a line of followers that drag behind you wherever you go.

Social Media should be used to connect to the market you have and the audience you'd like to reach. Don't make "Follow Me! Follow me!" your message. In fact, forget your message altogether, and just talk to your audience.

Talk to people where you and they already are.

Make the interaction on each Social Media site authentic and unique.

If you make that your primary strategy, then you won't just look cool - you'll be cool. And then you might even have that string of followers after all.

The Challenge of Social Media Naiveté

Previously, we've discussed basic Social Media terminology, so we can all mean the same thing when we talk *about* Social Media. Today I'm going to try and do the same for how we *use* Social Media.

With the rising use of computer and mobile technology, it seems almost a given that anyone using Social Media is computer literate. One needs to have access to a computer or mobile device to text, to engage in email or on Social Media networking sites.

Computer literacy is variably defined within different contexts and by different groups but, for the purpose of today's discussion, we'll call it "familiarity and comfort level with the use of computer hardware and software."

There are many levels of computer literacy. A person may use a computer, but not know any of the names of the tools they are using. A person may understand "click that big blue 'E' picture on the screen," but not "fire up your browser on the desktop."

Typically, the more a person uses hardware and software, the more comfortable they are with it. I know many seniors that are as comfortable on a computer as I am. I also know people who are not seniors who, no matter how many times email (or Social media, or whatever) is explained to them, they really don't get it.

We all know people who, when you tell them what a thing is called, i.e., "This is called a profile," will respond with "Well no one ever told me that." Of course - you just told them, and so now they know, but what they really mean is, "No one ever told me that *before today* and I cannot learn something the first time I am introduced to the concept. I will need to be reminded before I internalize this and may never really do so, because I think of it as alien and too complicated for me to learn."

One of the worst assumptions we, as Social Media professionals, make is that a person online must somehow be computer literate. This may be true, but it is not a given. Also dangerous is the assumption that a person who uses one online technology is capable of understanding other technologies.

Which leads me to what I call the "Naiveté" factor.

I had a conversation this week with someone who uses online technology quite a bit. This person is in every way Computer Literate but, when faced with a new system that is not something they have previously used, does not make any connection between the way one system and another works. This person is Literate, intelligent, and also "Naive" about Social Media.

This conversation led me to a second conversation, this time about Twitter. It took me (and I dare say most Social Media-minded folks) about 30 seconds to figure Twitter out. Home, Profile, Retweeting, using the @ and # symbols - all seemed really straightforward to me. But, then, I have been on BBSs, Chats and the like for ages, and so it all was all of a muchness to me.

Two people this week commented that the initial Twitter page befuddled them - they had no idea what they were looking at.

I'm also not the only person to notice that many people do not automatically identify sponsored information versus unsponsored links - Google counts on that for income. I asked one of the people why they did not go to "Help" for help, and was told they did - they clicked a sponsored link that not only did not offer any help, it was worse than nothing.

No one likes to feel dumb and the smarter a person is the more annoyed they are about feeling dumb. Help screens that don't help make people feel worse, not better.

So, I spent a few moments creating this 1-page Introduction to the Twitter Home Page (click to get the full size):

This is a view of my Twitter Home Page, with explanation of some of the basic functions of Twitter. It may seem "obvious" to you that @ before a name means that that person will see your tweet, but to someone who is Social Media Naive, this is not at *all* obvious.

When I say "Naive" I do not mean they are a simpleton. I mean that previous use of other systems does not guarantee that they will apply similar skills to new systems. Each system, each technology, each platform is something new, and therefore, confusing.

On LinkedIn - nearly every day - someone asks "How do I change my email address here?" There is an easily visible "Account & Settings" button in the same place as most systems - upper right hand corner. If a user clicks that link, there is, among the many other Account settings, a link header that reads, "Change Email Address." It's that simple. And yet, nearly every day, someone is confused enough that they don't ever think to look on their Account to see if that is there. This is Social Media Naiveté. These people might be programmers, engineers, CEOs, artists, whatever. Intelligence and Computer Literacy have nothing to do with the issue.

Here are three questions to ask yourself or a client to help you decide if Social Media Naiveté is an issue:

1) When I get onto a new Social Media Network, Gaming Site or other Online Community, I customize my profile, then click around to see what the settings do and what applications are available? Y/N

2) When I get onto a new website, I expect the functionality to be simple, obvious and explained somewhere easy for me to find. Y/N

3) When I get confused or don't know what to do on a website I:

A) Go to the site's Help section
B) Ask someone
C) Try to figure it out and give up if I can't after a few minutes.
D) Don't bother.

If the answers look like this: No, Yes, C or D, then you or your client may be Social Media Naive. It doesn't mean that you/they don't want to be involved, or can't be involved. It means that you can't suggest Twitter, then walk away assuming they know what you mean. Social Media Naive people will need a little more training, a little tutorial in the "obvious," before you can work with them to develop a strategy.

If you are a SMN person, don't worry! Keep your eyes here and we'll walk through the various platforms from the *very* beginning. Yes, there are a hundred "How to Twitter" tutorials. I'll help you figure out "What is Twitter?" then let you move on to that next step. Feel free to save that picture above - that'll walk you through the "what the heck are you looking at?" part of the conversation. I'll do the same for the "Profile" page soon as well.

If you have questions regarding Twitter or any other Social Media - if you are confused by *anything,* ask in the comments field and I'll do my best to get you an answer in plain, simple words, without any jargon or delusion. Promise.

The Prodigal Twitterer

This is the first of a series looking at specific social networking platforms...without the delusion created by confusion or hype.

What *is* Twitter?

Is Twitter worth the effort?

Is Twitter good for my business?

How do I get a big following quickly on Twitter?

I don't *get* Twitter.

Over and over and over, the same questions. On LinkedIn, on Facebook, in conversation, everywhere. There are, at last count, something like 35 billion articles on how to use Twitter and how not to use Twitter and why to use Twitter and how to make a million dollars on Twitter.

They all fail at one thing - explaining anything about Twitter.

Let's start from the beginning.

Blogging is what I'm doing right now. It's writing an entry in text that can be as long or short as I want, about anything I want it to be about. You can read it, you can comment on it, you can email me about it. It's two-way communication, but in a sort of stilted way. Much like a lecture, during which the audience can ask questions. It is two-way, but there are some limits on the conversation.

Twitter was designed as a "micro-blogging" tool. Like the status on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, a million other Social Network sites, you are given 140 characters in which to convey a thought. The idea was to throw a thought out into the forest and see if it hit a tree. Those trees would be "following" you, i.e., people who wanted to know that you were in the airport, drinking an Irish coffee, or talking to a client about something.

Humans being what they are, followers have a habit of talking back. Microblogging quickly became terse conversations. Then they became longer conversations, with lines continuing to two or three "tweets" worth of 140 characters.

The next thing you know, these micro-blogs became a chat.

Like chat, the idea is that you enter a room made up of other people who have some interest in common with you. These people are the people who "follow" you or whom you "follow."

Here's a chat I own (click on the picture for a larger version):

This chat lives on IRC. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat, it's way older than the web, or Twitter or anything that most people think of as "The Internet."

On IRC, you have to use line commands to do what you want, because it was created before graphic user interfaces and buttons to click. In short, to be on IRC, you find a server, then a group on that server, that is talking about stuff you care about.

The people in that group - the groups on IRC are called "channels"- presumably also care about the same stuff. The conversation goes along in text lines, with links out to other media.

Now here's a shot of Twitter as seen on my Tweetdeck screen. Tweetdeck is a third-party application that allows me to create groups and manage my conversations a bit. It's not the only one, it just happens to be the one I use. (click on the picture for a larger version):

Fundamentally, Twitter is a gigantic "channel". Instead of predetermining your interests, you walk into the world's biggest cocktail party. You find people who are interesting to listen to, you talk with them and, hopefully, people find you interesting to listen to in return. Soon, your "channel" is built of people you follow and people who follow you.

And this is where it all starts to fall apart.

Let's return to the cocktail party metaphor for a second. Say you're invited to a cocktail party by an acquaintance. You know they are at the cocktail party, but they are not the host and you don't see them at first. How do you enter the party?

1) You stand in the door and scream "I'm here! Someone talk to me!"

2) You lurk around the edges of the party never conversing with anyone, mumble a few lines than no one else can hear, then leave, annoyed.

3) You turn to the person next to you, introduce yourself and ask them how they are related to the party.

4) You get yourself a drink and listen to a few of the conversations that are already going on, then comment when you have something to add to one of them.

There have been studies that confirm that most people on Twitter follow the first path and tweet once, then leave when no one replies to their "tweet."

The second technique seems to be the most common among otherwise social media literate people and most companies. They don't have a plan, just join, don't tell anyone they are there, seek no one out and call it a loss when no one comes running to follow them.

The third option is hard for most normal people. Unless you're used to sales or public speaking, it's just difficult to know what to say and when to say it.

The fourth is so amazingly rude it makes most people cringe - and yet, on Twitter, it's *exactly* what you should do.

Despite the fact that articles say that most of Twitter is babble, I want you to think once more about that cocktail party metaphor. Walk around the room and you'll hear conversations about kids, business, sports, art, illness...a veritable Babel of babble. Because other people's conversations are mostly not relevant to *you.* It's not babble to them. It is to you, because it is not your kids, you business, your bum knee.

So, what should you do to make Twitter more conversation and less babble? (In the geek world, we refer to that as "signal to noise ratio.") Exactly what you should do at a cocktail party. Find the person who invited you first, and listen to the people s/he talks to. Then introduce yourself and start a conversation.

The more you talk with people, the more will talk with you.

You can follow them, the people they follow and the people they talk with, when it intersects your interests. Use Twitter Search and Google to find people to Twitter with who have similar interests, and don't be afraid to jump into a conversation - that's how your network grows.

The last point here has got to be this - you canNOT game the system. You cannot build a useful, relevant network by doing anything that guarantees 10,000 followers a day. Yes, you can get 10,000 followers a day - it's very easy. Just follow 11,000 people and about 10,000 will follow you back. What, exactly, will you have gained? The same thing if you walked around that fictitious cocktail party handing out business cards indiscriminately to every single person there. A lot of people will know who you are - but they won't know *why* they should know you. In the end, that's no better than standing in the door of the room screaming "I'm here!" There's next to zero value in that.

People who think Twitter is a game changer, people lured by the hype, are playing the wrong game - talking with people is the game and it has *never* changed. Not since the snake sold Eve an apple.

Talk with people, not at them and soon enough you'll *get* Twitter. Start with me, I'll be glad to talk with you! You can find me at http://twitter.com/yuricon