Scott Moroney

Ebook - Twitter Basics

Twitter – www.twitter.com , http://search.twitter.com

Twitter, in simple terms, is a bit like instant messaging on steroids.  Twitter is not a toy.  It is not aimless as is frequently reported.  It is a powerful tool to build a community of followers and share targeted information.  It is not all business.  It is a social tool of course.  Many people use it to create networks of like-minded or similarly interested people.  Dell recently shared that they attribute $1 million in revenue through their Twitter accounts.  It is for real.

How does it work?  Create an account at www.twitter.com and then visit http://search.twitter.com to start searching for topics, people or keywords.  The results will show you “tweets”, 140 character topics shared by users.  If you like someone or something they are “tweeting”, you simply hit the follow button.  No approval, confirmation or review.  Click follow and they are broadcasting to you and all other followers about whatever they like.  Most people on Twitter stick to some small range of topics to keep their followers interested, and to ensure their own relevance to their followers.

There are few rules outside of the good etiquette that is expected if you wish to keep these followers.  Burn a bridge and it is unlikely you will be very successful.  You are only one click away from being blocked or “un-followed” in Twiter speak.

Back to the Dell example.  This will help you understand how/why Twitter is something more than sharing what you are cooking, where you are taking the kids on a Saturday or what you are pondering in your navel.  These topics are fine if you have followers interested.  For business, Twitter takes a few forms: straight push marketing of information a company wants interested followers to see, and community building with no direct “buy” model.  Both work, both are great examples of how Twitter is growing as an effective business tool.

These are the basics.  Here are some experts who you can learn a great deal from by following them. Some are social media experts and some are just celebrities that have big followings.

 Chris Brogan.  Robert Scoble.  Shaq.  Ashton Kutcher.  Tony Robbins.

Don’t be discouraged by everyone who you follow, not following you.  Notice that the examples I provided in some cases have a few thousand followers.  It is impossible to follow everyone.  There are tools such as TweetDeck that allow you to sort who you will follow more closely and by topic.  This makes it reasonable to really use Twitter in its potential.

AS with all topics in this ebook, I will share with you how it all ties together at the end of the book.  Read on.

That "Social Network" Called Twitter

Annie Slater gave me a new perspective today on Twitter.  It is in fact a social network.  We talk more about "social media" as a generic item.  There are actually at least three "social" things out there for marketers to use.

Social media - the use of new tools to promote and share information in a two-way dialog (vs. the one way traditional print and Web 1.0 methods)

Social marketing - how marketers use social media and networks to promote and research markets and customers

Social networks - tools or meeting places that bring people together.  Ning, Facebook, Twitter, etc...

Take a quick read through Annie's article.  It demonstrates how a social network like Twitter can work in some potentially unexpected ways.  Thanks Annie.

It's Not All Free...For Good Reason

I believe the next wave of discussion/activity will be around how we all take the sea of social media/marketing/network tools and integrate those that will meet our business objectives. Social Smart is one company that is on the tip of this trend. It won't be free, but many things that are truly free aren't always worth what you put into them.

"We are increasingly seeing  companies and marketing agencies looking at ways of leveraging social media for themselves or their clients. A lot of companies are both looking at, and asking questions about, how to monitor the conversation, or how to measure results, how to avoid bad PR, should they be using this tool or that tool – how, what, why, when, where – that is what everyone wants to know. There is also a lot of confusion out there. They all know they should be ‘doing something with social media’, a few dabble with it if it doesn’t cost them anything – like ‘being on Twitter’. But few are prepared to spend money on a properly planned out, strategically integrated social media presence – which of course is what they really need to do if they want to successfully engage with social media. I know – its the economy. That’s fine – we’re all in the same boat. In the meantime though, companies looking at social media need to understand one thing – every company’s requirements will be different – there are no ‘off-the-shelf’ answers – you are always going to need a solution that is customized to your own particular needs."

To read the full post visit the Social Smart Blog

via socialsmart.wordpress.com

Reaching 2000 page views - Persistence When You are not a Superstar

This blog is about to hit 2000 page views.  For many blogs this is not a big deal.  Commercial blogs do this in hours or days.  So why mention it here?  I started this blog in November as a way to share what I am learning about social media.  I started with nothing in terms of credibility and no history of drawing in visitors to a blog of any type.  Having had 2000 people read the information I have shared is a pretty cool thing in my eyes.  I am not Seth Godin or Chris Brogan or Robert Scoble.  These are blogger's bloggers who live it and live it and live it some more for all of us that are interested in their every move. 

So Thank you to the folks that have visited and I hope you have taken something away from the time you spend on this blog.  I have learned a great deal so far and expect to continue learning.  Be Persistent.  Hard work pays off.  Persistence is one of the main ingredients.  Thanks again.

The Secret Behind Online Quizzes and Facebook "You Are"

Although I am not alerting anyone to something to be terribly scared of, it is worth noting that there are some motives behind online quizzes and those "You Are" applications on Facebook.  The thing to be aware of is that marketers are collecting info based on your answers.  Most people know this so I am not revealing any major secret.  Based on how many of these I see on Facebook, I believe many people don't care or they don't realize that at some point all this data will culminate in a serious load of junk mail or spam if those collecting the info are in fact who we suspect they are...marketers looking to qualify who you are and direct some products to you.

Is this so bad on the part of marketers?  Maybe not, but you don't know who is collecting this info in most cases.  It makes me wonder.  I hope it at least makes you think before taking a quiz or seeing what you Mafia name is online.  Good luck.

Read on.

Link it Forward - Social Media is Sharing

For those of you familiar with the movie "Pay it Forward" with Kevin Spacey, this concept may be simple.  You do something for someone, and they in turn "pay it forward" by doing something for another person.  The idea is that a series of good deeds are done over and over, creating a mass movement of good will.  You don't expect anything directly in return for it, but are contributing to the overall good of society.

This is principally the concept fueling social media and networks.  People don't expect something in return for sharing information.  So you may ask where is the business model in this idea.  How can it work?  The answer is simple, but not immediate. 

We live in an information rich and dependent culture.  People, yes people, are seeking and requiring more information to do their jobs and be successful in their lives.  Those that have information and expertise are valuable.    Sharing this information or expertise is an asset to the holder, a need for the seeker.  In past generations the idea was to protect at all cost and only reveal or share when you have a purchase order, non-compete agreement and pinky swear presided over by a religious leader on a holiest day of the month.  Maybe I am exaggerating on the last part a bit, but you get the point.

What is wrong with this model you may ask?  It is not personable.  It is not the way you would treat people you want to do business with at all.  It is also not the way you would treat a person who walked up to you and asked for directions in a strange city.  Imagine this exchange:

"Excuse me young man, I am new to Boston.  Could you tell me how to get to Harvard Square?"
"You me Hahvad Square.  Give me ten bucks and I will tell you where it is."
"Ten bucks!  All I am asking is for you to share some basic information to help me.  It won't take anything away from you or from your pocket.  I don't have much energy to find it alone."
"If I tell you, then I am out some cash.  This is a pay for play world Gramps."
"Whatever.  I will ask someone else."
"Good luck, and don't fuget to have some chowda at Legal's.  I will be working until 10pm."

The comparison I am making here is between the old web and the new web, and the fundamental goodness that we have been loosing over generations.  The older man in my example would be horrified and confused to ge this reaction from a young man.  It was expected that people would help people.  The new web, social media and network based, is all about sharing and building relationships.  There is a carrot out there for all those that share.  We hope that our sharing will come back to us in some form.  It could be positive word of mouth recommendations about what great service I provided, someone coming back to me for more information and sharing to me, or building a relationship that we each can draw upon now that we established a simple willingness to help each other. 

People want to have relationships with other people that act like friends, not like business partners.  Go ahead, pay something forward today...or in terms of social media Link it forward.  In the end, it all comes back to you one way or another.  In today's economic world, helping out another person whether you know them or not is one step in getting back to the basic principles of society that we have lost along the way.

One Way Media - RIP

I am reading (after having in my office for over a year) Citizen Marketers. So far it is worth it.  A particular line stands out.  If I don't read another page, it is worth it.

"One way media avoids interaction, engagement and conversation".

Social media is ALL about interaction, engagement and conversation.  If you learn one thing about social media as you get started, this is it.

Check the book out if you want a solid explanation of what this "thing" is and why it is not a fad. 

A Delicious Idea for 2009

As you may have noticed (how could you miss it), everyone who can spell "social media" is putting out a predictions list.  This is great, as long as you have time to read them.

Here is how I am saving them for a later date.  I just can't read them all in real time.

Use a social bookmarking tool such as Delicious.  It is has all the ingredients for all us to get started:

• Easy
• Free
• Sharable (is that a word?)
• Expandable

Use the search features to find topics and be willing to experiment with terms and hunt a bit for just about anything you can imagine.

In my upcoming "Social 101" series and ebook, I will talk in more detail on this tool and many others to help folks new to social media get a faster start to enjoying this fantastic revolution in information and social skills.

Check out Delicious in general.  Check out how I am getting started to use it.

Social 101

It seems appropriate for a social media learning project to uhm, teach people about social media.  I have been doing this for a few months now and want to offer something more.  I have created a set of basic lessons for social media.  Right now there are about 10 topics: including topics on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and others.  At the conclusion of the series there will be an e-Book available for download. 

Tell me what you would like to see in the series and e-book, and I will try to include it.  The goal is to teach people what I have learned, will learn and to of course learn more.