Debbie Weil's BlogWrite for CEOs http://www.debbieweil.com/index.php en debbie.weil@gmail.com Copyright 2009 2009-11-11T19:57:00-05:00 ChinaBloggingTourhttp://feedburner.google.com The New Measure of Cool: Your Number of Twitter Lists http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/the-new-measure-of-cool-your-number-of-twitter-lists/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/the-new-measure-of-cool-your-number-of-twitter-lists/#When:18:57:00Z I was added to a couple more Twitter Lists today. My total is now 190 200. Small potatoes compared with the likes of Robert Scoble (4,297) or Guy Kawasaki (5,743). But it’s a fascinating new metric. It’s the new measure of cool. How many people are really listening to your tweets? How useful or interesting are you? Do you add any value to the conversation? All those questions are answered, in a way, by the number of Twitter lists you’re on.

And by the topic of those lists. I love being included on Female Geek lists, like Social Media Mavens and Femmes Digitales.

Then there’s the awesome randomness of it. I say awesome because I’m becoming an increasing fan of crowdsourcing and the wisdom of the crowd. Neither are perfect. In fact they are messy and imprecise. But over the long haul crowdsourcing and the wisdom of the crowd are ever so much more revealing than top-down pronouncements. Time’s Person of the Year, for example. Why the heck should the editors at Time sit around a table to select this person? And why do we so dumbly accept their choice? Except for You, in 2006, which was spot on.

This challenges everything I’ve grown up with, BTW. I was trained as a print journalist. Editors made the choices. We knew what was best, what readers should hear about and how the story should be shaped. Well, turns out we don’t.

]]> Twitter 2009-11-11T18:57:00-05:00 Mashing Up Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for the Average Joe/Jill http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/mashing-up-twitter-linkedin-and-facebook/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/mashing-up-twitter-linkedin-and-facebook/#When:17:42:00Z With the announcement yesterday that LinkedIn and Twitter have inked a deal, the gradual meshing of your digital footprints continues. 140-character tweets can now appear as status updates on both LinkedIn and Facebook pages. (Note that you can control which tweets appear on Facebook and LinkedIn by tagging them, respectively, with #fb or #in.) Impressively, an @TwitterName in your tweet is also an active link on LinkedIn, meaning that you can click and go directly to that Twitter page.

That's a bit of technology that's ever so clever, as it makes the language of these different platforms seamless. As you may already know, Facebook now makes a clickable link to a friend's page when you start typing a name with @ in front of it.

If the preceding paragraph is gibberish to you, let me translate: say it once online, and it will appear in multiple places. Keep it concise and interesting (140 characters allows more room than you think). Start on Twitter where an increasing number of solopreneurs, small businesses and brands appear and your digital footprint will magically reappear on your LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

And yes, the days of saying, "but I / we really don't need to be on one of those time-wasting social networking sites" are fast drawing to a close. If you can't provide a link or URL defining yourself online, then you basically don't exist. Another way of saying that is, "If you can't be found on Google, you don't exist." Really.

]]> New New Things, Twitter 2009-11-10T17:42:00-05:00 Cupcakes and… Social Networking: the Two Dirtiest Words in Gov 2.0 http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/cupcakes-and-social-networking-the-two-dirtiest-words-in-gov-20/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/cupcakes-and-social-networking-the-two-dirtiest-words-in-gov-20/#When:21:51:01Z Do you love cupcakes? Groove on social networking? Don’t miss the next Sweets and Tweets on Nov. 17, 2009. I’ve invited the inimitable Mark Drapeau (Washington Life calls him a Social Media Bon Vivant) to talk about social networking, the two dirtiest words in Government 2.0. Social networking on Facebook, Twitter, etc. is not about being social or frivolous or wasting time. Social networking can improve the process of government. 

Mark will talk about why social networking is more than collaboration and how it’s OK that the line between work and play is increasingly blurred. Registration for this private, after-hours event at the very cool Baked & Wired in Georgetown (best cupcakes in America) is limited because of the size of the venue. Don’t wait if you’re interested in attending. And if you’re reading about Sweets and Tweets here, use discount code sweeter3 to get 50% off.

Neighborhood America, a very interesting company that has been doing things in the Gov 2.0 space before we called it Gov 2.0, is sponsoring this edition of Sweets and Tweets.  Neighborhood America develops enterprise social media solutions for public sector, non-profit and Fortune 1000 clients. One of their private sector projects is the content-rich American Express OpenForum.  Neighborhood America’s CIO Jim Haughwout is flying up from Flordia to attend the event.

More info about the next Sweets and Tweets and register here. 

]]> Events, Social Media 2009-11-09T21:51:01-05:00 What Does “Writing 3.0” Mean to You? (Quick Poll) http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/what-does-writing-30-mean-to-you-quick-poll/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/what-does-writing-30-mean-to-you-quick-poll/#When:16:14:01Z Results of my quick poll, "What does Writing 3.0 mean to you?" suggest that most folks (39% of respondents) assign a 3.0 to the kind of concise writing we do for Twitter or Facebook. Others mention co-creation, collaboration, wikis or "nothing." 22% say Writing 3.0 is "the way to lay down your best digital footprint." And 10% say, "Forget writing, video rules." You can still take the quiz here.


]]> Writing Tips 2009-11-05T16:14:01-05:00 No Punditry: Just Exploring Twitter Lists http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/no-punditry-just-exploring-twitter-lists/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/no-punditry-just-exploring-twitter-lists/#When:23:01:00Z No need for me to wax expert on Twitter's new List feature as Mashable, TechCrunch and many others are doing that. (Here's a video showing how to create a List.) Frankly nobody is an expert yet. We're all curating (creating lists, culling them, joining others, etc.). Here's my round-up of Washington DC tweeps whose 140-character musings I find useful or entertaining.

Women

I will point out that the number of lists featuring smart women in tech or social media is very cool. Examples here and here and here. Listorious notes lists tagged women and social-media-divas and all-the-geeky-ladies.

 

Twitter List Widget

You can grab the Twitter List widget here. Apologies, can't display here. It doesn't seem to work inside Expression Engine, which this site is built on.

 

]]> Twitter 2009-11-03T23:01:00-05:00 Fall Leaves: Stop and Look http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/fall-leaves-stop-and-look/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/fall-leaves-stop-and-look/#When:22:29:00Z I have this thing about trying to get the perfect picture of fall leaves. This was on a rainy day, taken with my Canon G10, a great all-around small camera. Below is another pic I snapped with my iPhone with blue sky behind the trees. Both were taken in my neighborhood from almost the exact same vantage point.

]]> Stuff 2009-10-25T22:29:00-05:00 Sneak Preview: an Updated Site Design and New Logo http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/coming-soon-an-updated-site-design/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/coming-soon-an-updated-site-design/#When:19:58:00Z

If you're not interested in Web site design, stop reading right here. If you are... take a peek at my redesign by the clever folks at Viget, featuring an "illustration" of yours truly as well as my new logo with the @ sign, designed by the talented Erick Anderson. Erick won the logo contest I ran on Genius Rocket. More on that later.

I've gotten positive and negative feedback on the illustration. Mostly negative. So we've decided to put a headshot there instead. (Below is a very rough mock up. We're still fooling with the background colors.) The illustration is an interesting idea. But doesn't feel quite right. One colleague called it "off brand." A Facebook friend called it "playtime." Another longtime colleague said simply, "Away with the avatar; we want to see Debbie." And one of my grown children said, "OMG who is that scary lady. Get rid of her."

We'll also be adjusting the background colors  to make my new logo "pop." The goal of the redesign is to make clearer what I do (i.e. consult and speak) and to de-emphasize my blog.

I'm not a blogger. I'm someone who blogs. According to Technorati's just released State of the Blogosphere 2009, that puts me in good company. "Professional part-timers," as Technorati calls them, are one of the biggest segments of the blogosphere. And of those, 72 percent blog to attract new clients.

So while blogging is an integral part of my public face on the Web, it's no longer the only way I lay down a digital footprint. I Twitter more than I blog, I post regularly to Facebook and I've recently become a much bigger fan of LinkedIn (which has a new set of interactive features).

Stay tuned. The new site won't be up for several more weeks.

 

Useful Links

Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2009

Technorati CEO Richard Jalichandra's slidedeck on the 2009 findings

]]> New New Things 2009-10-21T19:58:00-05:00 Next Best Thing to Attending BlogWorld Is Visiting the Home Page http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/next-best-thing-to-attending-blogworld-is-visiting-home-page/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/next-best-thing-to-attending-blogworld-is-visiting-home-page/#When:12:14:00Z 150px

You've heard about live blogging, video streaming and live tweeting from an event. Don't forget a good old-fashioned home page crammed with content to make you wish you were there. I can't attend BlogWorld this week in Las Vegas (I spoke at BlogWorld '07) but anyone can learn a ton about this high octane event by visiting www.blogworldexpo.com.

On the home page are preview video interviews with keynote speakers like Guy Kawasaki, Kara Swisher and Scott Monty, links to the Twitter page (transparently written by conference organizer Rick Calvert), an active Facebook event page and Flickr photos from BlogWorld 2008. There are also clearly labeled hashtags.

 

Hashtags are a way of aggregating everyone's tweets about a similar topic or event so they can be more easily found. This year it's #bwe09 on Twitter and #blogworld09 for Flickr photos.

There's also the obvious content for those interested in attending: an easy-to-spot register button and a button for hotel info (always a consideration in Vegas).

One quibble

One quibble with the page design: the full conference agenda is hard to find. You have to scroll way down. And I don't see a Twitter stream, either from @BlogWorld or using an app like TwitterFall that aggregates tweets using #bwe09.

]]> Events 2009-10-13T12:14:00-05:00 On Garbage Cans and Writing For Facebook, Twitter and Blogs http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/on-garbage-cans-and-writing-for-facebook-twitter-and-blogs/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/on-garbage-cans-and-writing-for-facebook-twitter-and-blogs/#When:18:17:00Z The subtle differences between how one uses Facebook, Twitter and a blog are very interesting. I'm continually trying to explain this to clients. Strategy aside, there are distinct differences in how you talk or write for the different platforms.

Simply put, you write in a different "voice" and, generally, talk about different topics. So while I posted an "endorsement" of trash can liners on Facebook this morning, I probably wouldn't tweet about trash cans - or garbage bags. FWIW I'm buying the special trash can liners from SimpleHuman.com. This socially media savvy company (they also have a blog) places a "Share via Facebook" link on the checkout page. Clever.

Now I am writing about this on my blog, but only as an illustration of how these platforms are different. And yes, the different audiences are key to what makes me change my message and voice.

On Facebook, I have enough family members and friends that I figure they won't be too surprised to learn that I have garbage in my house, I must dispose of it and that I've discovered a cool new garbage can and special liners for it.
 
 
]]> Corporate Blogging, Social Media, Twitter, Writing Tips 2009-10-09T18:17:00-05:00 When Gmail & Twitter Go Down: “I Thought It Was Just Me” http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/when-gmail-twitter-are-down-i-thought-it-was-just-me/ http://www.debbieweil.com/blog/when-gmail-twitter-are-down-i-thought-it-was-just-me/#When:16:54:00Z Have you noticed this? Although we're all "connected" 24X7 through our fave social networks, when the services go down we somehow think we're ALL ALONE and that it's only happening to us. That was my reaction along with many others this morning when Twitter became frozen in time. Ditto when Gmail went down recently.

Psychologists have had a field day with this phenomenon, speculating on whether the Internet makes us more lonely or disconnected, instead of the reverse (see here and also here from Lee Rainie of the Pew Internet Project). Usability guru Jakob Nielsen wrote about Internet loneliness in 2000.

Just sayin'.

]]> In the News, Social Media, Twitter 2009-10-08T16:54:00-05:00