2008 January | Social Desire

Archive for January, 2008

26 Reasons Why I Love Twitter - Plus 27 More just in Case

A while back I wrote a post about how I just didn’t get Twitter. At that time, It didn’t make sense to me to hear people rave about Twitter. But, I must say….. Twitter is another Social Media Activity that I am really enjoying. As a matter of fact, it is one of my top three favorite Social Networking Sites.

Yes, I’m aware in my last Twitter post that I complained about the 140 Character limit, but I found that for the most part the 140 characters that I am limited to is perfect. It is just enough space to say what I have to say and I’m done.

On Twitter the major players come out to play. They talk to their followers. Not only do they talk to their followers, but many times they ask their followers questions that will appear on future posts.

You can make Twitter as personal or business like as you would like. But, I must say that I am enjoying the personal side of it. And, frankly, I see nothing wrong with Business being Personal anyway. At least for me. I spend the majority of my waking hours working…. Damn right, it is personal for me. And, being personal with people and learning about them makes me happy. Me being happy makes me a better business person. Blah, blah, blah …. Comes full circle. You get it.

Some of the many, many reasons I love Twitter

Eavesdropping on other Twitters conversation is not only allowed, but it is the norm on Twitter.

Tons of fun & plenty to laugh at.

Website Help.

If someone tries to communicate with me on Twitter I can ignore people until later… they don’t have to know I’m there at that moment.

Plenty of Advice from one Twitter to the Next.

Efficient - Gotta love efficiency.

Blogging Ideas.

Travel Destinations - Great Restaurants, Site seeing Ideas & the best hotels.

Vent - If you are feeling a bit irritated about this or that vent on Twitter. Someone is always willing to listen or offer there own opinion.

140 Character Limit - Because I love short & sweet…. Get to the Point!!

The concept in incredibly simple - Did you ever hear of the saying, "Keep it Simple, Stupid?" Well, it just makes sense.

Life & Death - I have read about baby’s being born and people passing away. Reality, people.

Jobs - People find employment and employment finds people on Twitter.. Including myself. I was contacted by someone on twitter looking for help with Social Media Marketing…. and I was ultimately hired by that person.

Discussing Politics.

Met Twitters in my Region.

Found out about events going on in my area.

Who needs Feed Readers anymore?? I can find out most of my favorite Bloggers updates on Twitter. However, I do still use a Feed Reader, but honestly it’s much less often.

Increase in Traffic.

Application Ideas.

New Blog Readers - Even someone that YOU are a fan of.

Have a question…. any question!! Ask your Twitter followers. You are bound to get many different answers.

So much less interrupting than standard IM’s. - People can send me a quick message that is direct and to the point and I’m good.

Know what your friends are doing. It’s really cool to know what the friends you have been networking with are doing every once and a while. Makes their physical distance from you seen a little less far. And, many of the friends I have been networking with on Twitter live very, very far away.

No popular crowd . Even the "Major Players" on my Twitter Following list seem to participate a lot!! They converse with everyone it seems. I do come across a few that seem to keep to keep to themselves or talk amongst a smaller crowd. But, everyone has their own method of using Twitter, so I won’t judge them. Whatever works for them.

Quick Direct Messages to followers. Direct Messages are perfect if the topic is a bit more private and I don’t want it on the Public Timeline.

Time Management Ideas from Many. All of the Time Management advice has been brilliant. And, once I try to apply them to my life…. they probably even work.

A following in no time - There is something very “Rock Star” about that.

Those are just some of my many reasons I am going to stick with Twitter. I adore it and it is going to be part of my daily Social Media activity for a long time.

Still, unsure about Twitter…

…here are 26 links to fabulous articles and posts that explain in many different and unique ways why you should be using Twitter regularly. And, how to use Twitter in the most productive and lucrative ways possible.

Twitter Guides

How to Use Twitter - Tips for Bloggers - Darren of ProBlogger has been writing a lot about Twitter in the last week…. and it is really amazing stuff. This post Darren gets very detailed in this "How to Use Twitter" post.

Newbie’s guide to Twitter - Rafe Needleman of Webware offers a very basic guide for Newbies on using Twitter.

Mobile Instant Messaging Meets Social Networking: Twitter - A Beginner’s Guide - MasterNewMedia.org puts together a detailed Guide to Twitter for Beginner’s.

Your Guide to Micro-Blogging and Twitter - Mark Glaser at Media Shift writes his guide to Twitter and Micro-Blogging in general.

The 12-Minute Definitive Guide to Twitter - Fred Stutzman of AOL Developer Network writes a general guide to Twitter. The 12-minute part has nothing to do with the Guide’s length or the amount of time to read it. Fred just titled the article using the 12-minute time to coincide with Twitter’s short 140 character limitations… short and sweet. Hence, 12-minute Twitter Guide…. short and sweet.

Advanced Twitter: Don’t Tweet Like A n00b - Brian Oberkirch offers some friendly usage guidelines:

Twitter for Professionals (Marketing, Business)

Twitter: More Than Messaging, It Can Generate Traffic - Neil Patel shows you how Twitter can be used to generate traffic to your site.

Guide to Twitter as a Tool for Marketing and PR - Lee Odden puts together some thoughts on using Twitter as a Marketing Tools. Plus, Lee includes Tips from Twitters themselves.

17 Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owner - You can always count on Maki of DoshDosh to put together an amazing Guide…. and here he doesn’t let me down Check out Maki’s Twitter Guide to use Twitter for Marketing.

The Big Juicy Twitter Guide - Caroline Middlebrook put together this amazing Twitter Guide….. This guide is well known all over the Blogosphere for explaining how to use Twitter successfully for Marketing purposes.

Eight Ways Twitter is Useful Professionally - Anne Zelenka of WebWorkerDaily explains 8 ways that you can use Twitter Professionally.

Web Strategy: What the Web Strategist should know about Twitter - Jeremiah Owyang of Web-Strategist.com wrote this amazing post that will serve as a guide to come up with a Web Strategy using Twitter.

A Few Non-boring Ways to Use Twitter For Marketing - Rohit of Influential Marketing Blog comes up with some non-boring ways to use Twitter for Marketing.

7 Ways Marketers Can Use Twitter - Ann Handley writes this post for Marketing Profs Daily Fix in regards to how Twitter has a real use for media companies and social-media-savvy brands.

Using Twitter as a Marketing Tool - Carlos Granier-Phelps explains how you can immediately reach your clients with breaking news at zero cost by using Twitter.

Twitter Tips

Twitter: Use it Productively - Sometimes it can be difficult to see how to use Twitter productively. Here Craig Childs gives you tips how to be productive using Twitter.

The Several Habits of Wildly Successful Twitter Users - Bren from SlackerManager offers some Twitter tips and advice.

The 10 ways I learned to use Twitter in 2007… (aka Why and How I use Twitter) - Dan York of Disruptive Conversations gives 10 of his best tips he learned in 2007…. trust me, they will still work in 2008.

10 Ways Twitter Can Boost Your Social News Profile - Dan Zarrella writes a Guest Post for ReadWriteWeb about the 10 ways you can boost Social Networking Profiles using Twitter.

5 Ways to Use Twitter for Good - Chris Brogran writes this great post on LifeHack.org on different ways to productively use Twitter.

Confessions of a Twitter Convert - Adam C. Engst of TidBits Networking writes a post confessing his feelings on Twittter and tips on how it works.

Twitter is Paying My Rent - Marshall Kirkpatrick writes this post giving you pointers on using Twitter…. keep in mind that Marshall states that Twitter pays his rent. So, I would totally recommend you follow these tips!!

How Twitter Made My Website Better - Guy Kawasaki answer’s Chris Brogan’s Request by writing this post on how Twitter made his Website Better.

Using Twitter to Help Communities - Nate Ritter explains how non-profits could best put Twitter to good use. Very Cool!!

Twitter Me This: Brainstorming Potential Educational Uses for Twitter - Christopher D. Sessums comes up with uses for Twitter in Educational Settings.

35 Twitter Tips from 35 Twitter Users - Darren asks he Twitter Followers for Twitter tips and he was now let down. Here are 35 Twitter Tips from 35 of his Twitter Followers.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter.

Added after Post was Published:

200+ Internet Marketing Gurus on Twitter - Brian Chappell wrote this post for MarketingPilgrim where he put together a comprehensive list of Internet Marketers that use Twitter.

Technorati Tags:twitter, social media, blogging, social networking, web 2.0, social media marketing, online marketing, internet marketing

Posted in Blogging, Link Love, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 Basics | 29 Comments »

I confess… I used to be an Uptight Control Freak!!

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

Photo by KoAn

I wrote a post on Collective-Thoughts yesterday, "What if Social Media were a Disorder?" And, even though it was meant to be a humorous post playing on the fact that many, myself included, are obsessed with Social Media. I got to thinking that maybe for some it actually might be thought of as a disease that they are afraid to catch. It was not that long ago that I felt that Social Media was “The Leper”.

I remember a couple of years ago before I had accepted Social Media I was a stubborn Webmaster. I enjoyed my silent World. I enjoyed having total control over my Websites….. control over my business. I felt that keeping out other opinions would be the best thing for me. After all, nothing good could come from opening up the doors to communication between the world and me. I am a control freak when it comes to my business. I think that I have been successful in part because of my need for control. But, what I didn’t realize was that much of my fear of Social Media was keeping me from more success.

There were two Big things I hated….. two things standing in the way between me and Social Media.

Change - I hate change. Adding a Blog to my websites meant a lot of change. Change is very frightening for me because it makes me feel a loss of Control…. which brings me to my next big problem with accepting Social Media.
Loss of Control - I am a total control feak. I felt that adding conversations to my business was going to ruin everything I worked so hard to achieve. I had a huge fear of negative feedback from customers, negative comments from competitors and spam.

There were other fears (as Rachel of BehindTheBuzz points out in her post), but these two were the biggies for me. And, these two fears were not only holding me back from Social Media, but from bigger success. I never imagined all I was missing until I took a good look back on how far I’ve come since I entered its world. But, once I added a blog to my Preschool Curriculum eCommerce site (my 1st taste of social media) good things began to happen. Good things like:

Increased traffic
Increase in incoming Links
Moving up the Serps
Branding of my Business name & Products
Wonderful Conversations with People in my Niche.
Increase in Friendships
I enjoy what I do so much more

As a Webmaster I felt that as long as I didn’t allow Social Media in to my Business then I could keep all other opinions (other than my own) out of my business. But, the fact is that whether I liked it or not my readers, customers and potential customers would be talking online about my products. These people would be discussing my products online in Message Boards, Social Networks, Blogs, etc…. whether I was participating or not. At least if I participated I could respond to their comments whether good or bad. And, if I received Spam as comments I would have a chance to monitor the comments before they went live. So, at least I felt that ultimately I was still in control. And, this sense of control put me at ease.

I am not that great at taking constructive criticism, so the thought of negative comments on the Preschool Products that I designed and created myself makes me a bit nauseated. But, I’m dealing with it…. quite well actually. All comments on my eCommerce site have of all been pretty positive and proactive. I have actually enjoyed the interaction with my customers. I had forgotten how much I had missed social interaction. I think that communication between myself and customers have made my company more approachable and human. And, when the time comes that I have to deal with a truly negative comment in the public eye I will respond the best way I know how…. with honesty and sincerity.

Technorati Tags:social media, social media marketing, blogging, social networking, web 2.0, websites, webmasters

Posted in Blogging, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Websites | 10 Comments »

The Uncanny Broadcasting Brain Caught my Brainwaves!!

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008

(The following story is a teeny tiny made up)

This morning as I was surfing my usual Social Media sites I took notice to something that was very familiar. It was my avatar. The avatar I use on all of my Social Networking sites. But, it wasn’t on one of my usual Social Networking sites. Then I took a closer look and I saw that the Title of this particular post was called, "Q&A With TheNanny612". What?! I didn’t agree to any interview!! I didn’t answer any questions!! Oh, Wait! Did I? Oh, no….. wasn’t last night just a nightmare?!

As I was sitting quietly Sphinning and Stumbling as usual. This crazy, freaky looking brain guy kept popping up on my laptop asking me questions. I was nice to him the first few times he appeared. I simply said, "No thank you", "Not interested", "Don’t want any". Finally, I screamed, "Leave me the F**K alone and get the H**L off of my computer!!!". I thought that did the trick because I hadn’t heard anymore from him, until……my computer crashed!!

"Damn it!!" I hate when this happens right when I’m trying to Sphinn this Rock’n Search Engine Journal post!! UGH, now Marty is going to get it first!! He’s always up my butt to sphinn things before me!!"

As I was working on trying to get my laptop back online it appeared to be juicing itself to come back up again, but instead that freaky brain guy is back on my computer again. This time I couldn’t get rid of him or turn the computer off at all. And, he kept chanting, "I’m going to catch your brainwaves, Nanny. And, there is nothing you can do to stop me!! I’m going to catch your brainwaves."

The next thing I remember was waking up the morning with a huge headache and feeling a bit violated. But, for the life of me…. I couldn’t figure out why. That is until now……

Mark Dykeman of The Uncanny Broadcasting Brain Blog caught my brainwaves and has plastered my thoughts all over the front page of his Blog.

Okay, okay…. maybe this story is a bit of an exaggeration and maybe I even changed the story a teensy tiny bit. But, I got you reading, huh?!

Anyway, Mark at The Uncanny Broadcasting Brain Blog Interviewed me and the entire Q&A With TheNanny612 is over at his Blog. So, please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for the great interview, Mark.

Technorati Tags:mark dykeman, shana albert, thenanny612, interviews, humor, blogging, social media, sphinn, social networking

Posted in Blogging, Humor, Interviews, Social Media, Social Networking, Sphinn, Web 2.0 | 6 Comments »

5 Reasons my StumbleUpon Profile Stands Out

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

This past Friday Darren Rowse of ProBlogger wrote a post, Using StumbleUpon to Get on the Radar of Other Bloggers . In this post Darren wrote how he had taken notice of me and my work due to my stumbling his posts a few times. He mentioned in this post that he recognized me as a person who had stumbled his work more than once and he landed up taking a closer look at my StumbleUpon profile where he noticed my many sites and even subscribed to this Blog’s feed.

Darren Rowse mentioning me on his blog has got to be a definite high point in my Blogging career so far. However, after taking 24 hours to sit back and just think about how wonderful it was to be mentioned by Darren on ProBlogger….. something occurred to me. What if my StumbleUpon profile was different? What if I hadn’t taken the time to add clickable links on my Profile? If I hadn’t taken the time to make my StumbleUpon profile stand out would this amazing high point in my Blogging career have past me by??!! Jeeze, the thought makes me shudder.

So, I wanted to take a moment and post a few things that I did with my StumbleUpon profile that might have made a difference between Darren taken notice of my work or not.

Why my StumbleUpon Profile Might Have Stood Out to Darren

Avatar - I chose the same Avatar that I use on all my other Social Networking Sites. This way people would recognize me from one Social Networking Site to the next. I used an image of myself, but many people use other things such as their company’s logo, cartoon characters or any other graphic that makes them stand out. For me, it was just a basic picture of myself.
Profile Name - Again, just like with the avatar, I chose the same profile name for my StumbleUpon profile as I use on all of my other Social Networking Sites…. TheNanny612. However, I have to say, TheNanny612 is not a very good Profile Name at all. It has nothing to do with what I do for a living….. It is actually more of an Inside Family Joke that no one would understand unless I explained it to them. But, now that people already recognize me as TheNanny612 it wouldn’t be very prudent for me to change it now. However, this might have worked in my favor as well… I haven’t run into another Profile Name that is even similar. So, it probably does stand out quite well.
Profile Details - Choose a well thought out description of yourself. It shouldn’t be very long as readers probably won’t stick around very long. Get right to the point. Write your details well, spell correctly and be descriptive.
Clickable Links - Make sure that any website links that you would like to mention on your Profile Details are clickable. Your StumbleUpon profile is a great place to promote your sites. When people of the SU Community arrive to your profile page and want to learn more about you the chances of these readers checking out your website are so much greater if your links are clickable. I’m not sure if Darren of ProBlogger would have copied and pasted my link into a browser had I not made my links clickable. So, this is very, very important.

This is what my StumbleUpon profile page would have looked like had I not made the links clickable:

This is what my StumbleUpon profile page appears like now with all the links:

It’s really simple to make a link on your StumbleUpon profile clickable. Let’s say you have a site called My Site and it was located at www.MySite.com. This is how you would make that link clickable on your SU profile.

Go to your StumbleUpon’s profile page and Click on the Link that says, "Preferences". Once this page opens up click on the link that says, "Public Profile". This is where you are going to edit your Public Profile. You will see a box below where it says, "Introduce yourself to Everyone".In this box is where you are going to enter your Profile details.

In the spot of your details that you want to be a clickable link you use the following code (changing mysite to your site’s info): <a href="http://www.mysite.com/">my site</a>. (Don’t be alarmed, the StumbleUpon system will automatically add a "No Follow" to the coding.)

Click Save Profile and when others take a look at your profile the phrase "my site" should look like: my site.

There is an area on the edit Public Profile page that you can enter your website…. it will look like this:

However, oddly enough, your website’s link does not appear on the first page of your StumbleUpon Profile. Your viewers will have to click on the tab that says "About Her/Him". And, then they will come to a page that they will see the link of your website.

This is an extra click that the viewers of StumbleUpon have to make to find your website’s link. This is another reason why I decided to make clickable links on my SU profile page.
Multiple Website Links - When I first opened my StumbleUpon account 6 months ago I had 8 Websites that I wanted to list on my StumbleUpon profile page, but not only did it look funny… it looked almost Spammy as well. I had a discussion with Todd Mintz of SEMPortland who suggested that I purchase my name, Shana Albert, as a domain for other reasons than StumbleUpon. His suggestion was a good one for so many reasons. And, having the domain ShanaAlbert.com worked out on my StumbleUpon profile as well. The ShanaAlbert website is a simple static web page with all of my websites and blogs listed on that page. With a simple click on the link on my SU profile page a reader will be sent to my website that has images and links to all of my sites. This way my StumbleUpon profile will not be inundated with outgoing links. I don’t want a reader to feel overwhelmed when they are reading about me….. I just want them to get a sense of what I’m passionate about. And, I believe that Darren got all of that from a simple look at my StumbleUpon profile.