LaLunaBlanca

Seems that there was an announcement to hurry and blast your messaging around the social Web on as many platforms as you could in one click. I see more and more people I’m connected with doing this. There are three social networks (SNs) that I read with some regularity: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I have friends that are connecting all three of these (and possibly more) such that a tweet winds-up automatically producing a Facebook update and a LinkedIn update. I don’t mean selectively either. All of their updates go out to all three networks. The result? I waste my time reading the same thing in triplicate, and the practice trashes the conversation. It’s a form a social network vandalism to me, but probably not if its a widely accepted practice.

In mentioning this problem to some of my friends that do it, they agree that it’s a terrible practice but are compelled to do it for some benefit. I just can’t piece together this benefit.

What makes sense for me at this point is to partially unfollow or hide these friends’ updates. For example, let’s say my hypothetical friend SuzyQ’s tweets also update her Facebook and her LinkedIn and that she’s a connection on all three SNs. LinkedIn and Facebook let me “hide” SuzyQ’s updates from my stream. So then I’ll only see her updates once (or possibly not at all). However, if she puts a unique post up on either LinkedIn or Facebook, I’ll miss it.

Twitter doesn’t allow me to “hide”, only unfollow. If I unfollow, I won’t be able to get dm tweets (which are definitely on the rise).

I don’t see a clear answer. I know plenty of folks that send updates into a network but don’t read the updates of others. What if we all did that? To me, this seems ridiculous. However, it’s happening. People are updating a network they seldom go read. That reminds me of leaflet dropping.  Borrowing from a 2009 Joseph Jaffe podcast with Jeremiah Owyang, “it’s communication, not conversation.”

Do you read updates? Getting tired of the repeats? Suggestions? I’d love to hear other perspectives on this. Do you see it as a form of vandalism, a defacing of the conversation?

In a conversation with a very dynamic sales executive (from the B2B chemical sector) today, we discussed how people are “too busy” and often hard to reach. We agreed that this seems to be ringing even truer these days. One huge reason behind this is that when the economy took a dive, many companies thinned-down the ranks to where most people were marginally over their heads with things to be done.  Now that the economy is (or seems to be) picking up, there is even more to get done. As my sales exec acquantance then pointed out, many companies are too gun-shy to hire people back on the payroll and as such, the “too busy” phenomena will continue to be a problem. Luckily (knock wood), we’ve been able to add 1.5 people to help keep up with the demand at LunaWeb (the half person was a part-timer who’s now full time).

How are the “too busy” gauges looking from your neck of the woods and what are your thoughts on why?

To all my praying friends, you’ll want to spare a moment for Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook) because he’s about to get his ass spanked.

First, the user community is thrashing him over privacy. Essentially, Facebook intentionally reneged on a deal and exposed people without their permission.  This was no techno web hacking accident. They intended to do it and still stand by their decision.

Secondly, the agencies responsible for getting so many people into Facebook have now been insulted by Facebook’s restricting of a fantastic feature to those with only 10,000 fans or a minimum monthly spend of $10,000 (and hence warrant a Facebook rep). Just like the privacy issue, this feature availability is also a back track. It’s not a new feature. It’s a feature agencies have lead clients to, and it often meant business for the agency. Without warning, the feature was ripped away from the masses and made only available to the Facebook affluent (fans or dollars). Facebook spit on the faces of many of its community leaders.
[Update: Link to Mari Smith's post that explains this particular issue]

Thirdly, now people have no faith or expectation of what Facebook will do next. They will trust it less. Not necessarily consciously, people will use it differently. And maybe we should, now that we understand Facebook a little better.

Mark is in for a hard lesson.

If you want to participate in a little boycott, put down the Facebook for a day next Friday: it’s Facebook Free Friday.

What do you think?

Socially responsible businesses won’t oppress their community by exceeding a level of acceptable promotion.

We’ll put up with a little promotion, but there’s a line not to cross.

It’s as basic as someone jabbing their business card in your hand before even getting your name. Yet, there’s an increasing number of businesses with an equivalent approach in the online social realm. A significant portion of these businesses may not even realize it. This Step Zero is totally fundamental.

Further…

One of the problems is that the community doesn’t banish, or notify offenders. In a more passive way either by conscious effort or through a setting, the penalty is to become invisible. “Pay no attention…”

The additional casualty is that this passive penalizing takes extra time to be recognized or detected.

Some of this will result in “social burnout” by means of an unfulfilled social utopia (the hype). These people will be convinced that “social” is neither effective nor worth effort. They’ll be inclined to revert to a traditional approach instead of understanding their community’s perspective.

One way to be pretty sure is to ask the community (and get helpful feedback, not complacency).  Because people are more comfortable giving “feedback privately” (as we’re all schooled), and “praise in public”, if you only regard your public comments, you’re getting a glazed-over view in many cases.  No doubt, company size and volume is a factor. The more of a face on the business, the more people are inclined to be “polite”. Bottom-line, to get a good view of your community’s perception, get it privately as you’re more likely to get the negative edges of something you can actually improve.

Last week we tossed the idea around at the office and collectively wrote this post on Step Zero on the LunaWeb blog. We had it out in our preparation for a Lunch & Learn event I’m giving on Social for the Greater Memphis Chamber.

What’s your take on this?

(This is the second in series of posts inspired by a couple of weeks of mowcasting.)

The last couple of weeks also represents the release of the iPad and there’s no shortage of discussion about the device in podcasts.  I purchased on about a week ago and absolutely love it.

Quick notes: It won’t replace your computer. The battery life is amazing. It’s heavy if you’re a wicked lightweight. It sets a bar of greater devices to come. Yes, it’s a bummer that it doesn’t support Flash. It fits wonderfully on the console of an elliptical machine to consume stuff while sweating. The kids fight over it, and two nights ago, Alice for iPad was an interactive family storytime experience that will evolve a new genre of publications we’ve yet to image.

In the last 24 hours, I configured email on it and will be undoing it soon. It’s nice to have a computing device that doesn’t have my email bleeping at me while I’m enjoying a good read. Problem is, I can’t summon a config screen.

The latest app the whole family has enjoyed is Smule’s Magic Piano app. I actually tapped myself to sleep the first night we had it. An amazing duet feature lets you play anonymously with someone else on the planet.

On the notes of podcasting, I wanted to elaborate more on a few:

Geoff Livingston: I have great respect for Geoff and first came to know of him back in 2007 when he authored Now is Gone. He was gracious enough to take time from his busy schedule and share himself with us here in Memphis in 2008. I admire the hell out the fact that Geoff is in a position to cap his blog and move on (Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow). He states, “I have run out of things to say”.  One of things I love about Geoff is his willingness to be wrong. He goes to write, “Though the pioneering phase is done or may be near done…”. I’m confident he’ll revisit that statement later.  His ultimate post Many Roads Lead to Rome briefly gets into the fact that there is no “right way”, but many. If you don’t follow Geoff, you should consider it. He’s one of those guys way out in front. What the hell did this have to do with PodCasts? A couple of things: The El Show for one (see above), and I didn’t get a clear notion about what Geoff was up to until hearing about on FIR (For Immediate Release by Hobson & Holtz).

iPad: This period of time also represents the release of the iPad and there’s no shortage of discussion about the device.  I purchased on about a week ago and absolutely love it.  Quick notes: It won’t replace your computer. The battery life is amazing. It’s heavy if you’re a wicked lightweight. It sets a bar of greater devices to come. Yes, it’s a bummer that it doesn’t support Flash. It fits wonderfully on the console of an elliptical machine to consume stuff while sweating. The kids fight over it, and two nights ago, Alice for iPad was an interactive family storytime experience that will evolve a new genre of publications we’ve yet to image.

James Andrews: I came to know of James as @KeyInfluencer during the whole FedEx/Memphis debacle. I was admittedly steamed about his comments about Memphis, but then couldn’t hold it against him for airing his thoughts either.  Fast forward to SxSW 2010 where I found myself talking to an interesting guy about shared experiences of elementary schools in the Bay Area during the whole Patty Hearst kidnapping and the “white van” paranoia. It wasn’t until later when sifting through business cards that I saw the twitter handle “keyinfluencer”. His hair now much longer and braided ala Stevie Wonder style. Oh, and James is an African-American.  Wow, I thought, what a nice guy. Fast forward again to the Dishymix episode and hear his side of the story regarding his Memphis comment. It happens that James was reacting to a racist episode he had just experienced in Memphis which led to his comment (which contained nothing about race at all). He’s a co-founder at Be Everywhere and I look forward to my next conversations with him.

The warmer seasons mean, amongst other things, lots of time outside cutting the grass (about 4 hours each mow) and my weapons of choice are a riding mower, Droid packed with podcasts, and earbuds that attenuate ambient noise.

The mower is a John Deere because I watched my dad go through multiple brands before settling on a “Deere”. I put the blades and transmission through high-speed hell every time with gumballs, branches, pine cones, and the occasional exposed root. I always brake for critters. I’m allergic to the local grass and am physically miserable every time I mow. The only payoff, is listening to podcasts.

I windup looking forward to mowing because of the podcasts. It becomes a little uninterrupted “me time” where I can get into numerous amazing productions. I don’t use iTunes anymore to get podcasts. I use Google’s “Listen” app which works wonderfully on my Android phone (Droid).

The playlist from the last two weeks:

• DishyMix Episode 144: Cory Trefiletti of Catalyst S+F on Rethinking Agency Inefficiencies, Digital Influentials and The Pyramids of Egypt
• DishyMix Episode 145: James Andrews, BeEverywhere.tv on Monetizing Passionistas, Hashtag Streams and In-Flight DJing
• DishyMix Episode 146: John Federico on 7 Habits, iPad Gamechanger and Mob Seen Generators
• DishyMix Episode 147: Wil Reynolds on Universal Search, Keyword Research and Gangsta Rap
• Inside HP Software Social Media from Albert Maruggi
• The El Show Episode 28: Social Media’s Ills | Geoff Livingston’s Blog
• The El Show Episode 27: Embedded Journalism
• Edge Theory Conversation 8: Twitter breaks into iPhone and Blackberry market, Risks developer relations
• FIR Interview: Christian Gunning, Boingo
• FIR goes weekly, introduces format changes
• The Hobson & Holtz Report – Podcast #542: April 12, 2010
• The Hobson & Holtz Report – Podcast #541: April 8, 2010
• Engadget Podcast 191 – 04.11.2010

To boil all that down to a few items is a huge injustice, but here’s what sticks out in my mind: Geoff Livingston, iPad, and James Andrews.  Each deserving of their own post in the coming days.

As I type this, the list looks insanely long. However, we’re talking about 8 hours worth of mowing the grass here. I don’t understand the roots of my appreciation for podcasts. Maybe it stems from a passion my dad shared for radio shows, or the few years we spent in Japan when I was in middle school where Armed Forces radio was a principle source of entertainment. What I do know is that there is a wealth of information and perspectives on said information available via great and poor podcasts.

Podcasts are still on the obscure fringes of popularity and likely always will be.  Most people I speak to about podcasts won’t engage them (even knowing the wealth of knowledge obtainable).  I enjoy the fact that I can multitask physical, or other sense occupying activity with podcasts.  I seldom (like most people) have time to sit down and just listen to a podcast. I’m compelled to still tout the awesomeness of podcasts and maybe affect someone in a very positive way.

I have followed Chris Brogan on Twitter at least a couple of times since 2007. He’s thought provoking and I’ve paid attention to at least one of them resulting in my company’s use of Strengths Finders 2.0. At the last three SxSW’s, I’ve seen him speak solo, speak on a panel, and chatted briefly.  My conflict is in the $75 to hear him (or any one person) speak these days and the billing as “Powering the Conversation”. I may have paid years ago, but then again, it’d have never been billed as “Powering the Conversation” (nor would there be such a fee). He’s obviously meeting a definition of success, and I wish him ultimate happiness with it.

The next time I see Chris will be at a conference of many ideas and people.

If you’re still wondering about Chris, visit his blog at ChrisBrogan.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisBrogan. I also encourage you to search videos via Google.

I had the pleasure of being the guest speaker at the E-Learning Network attended by training & learning professionals from organizations ranging from Service Master, St.Jude /ALSAC, and local universities to those currently in doctoral studies at the University of Memphis. Their experiences and perspectives made for a great meeting led by Dr. Trey Martindale.  What I brought to the table were social media tools that can be used to accelerate the speed to competence challenge facing the learning industry.

Major Issue: Training Churn due to reduced shelf life and amount of new items requiring formal training.

The challenge we’re facing as individual professionals extends to Training Departments: There’s so much new information with a limited viability that we’re having a hard time keeping up.

In looking at the application of social tools, it’s helpful to break the classic learning process down into Before / During / After.

Training Development (the Before)

The development phase includes the huge undertakings of needs analysis, and curricula development.  The opportunities for social tools in this phase are primarily centered on gaining the insights of constituents and crowdsourcing development:

Surveying: Using tools such as Survey Monkey, Google Forms, and other online survey sites to gain insight on needs, content sources, and curricula. Although these tools enable acquisition of exceptional insight for quantified data, they do have a shortcoming in that they’re not very “social” because the responses are privately relayed directly back to the surveyor. To gain a social edge, tools like discussion boards and wikis provide constituents with an opportunity to openly collaborate in a purely qualitative manner. This can provide Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) great structure, but care should be considered where strong SME personalities may dominate the conversation. Good facilitation skills should always be considered an ingredient of crowdsourcing.   A few respected tools in wiki / discussion board space are: WetPaint, PB Wiki. Please read more about a Wiki for Your Team. You can also establish private discussions in LinkedIn, and Facebook groups. Another idea is to use the realtime podcast / talkshow format enabled by BlogTalkRadio where participants can “call in” via phone to participate or merely listen-in via web stream.  This option also records the conversation for later .mp3 download.

Bookmarking: Crowdsource your organization’s favorite professional sites via social bookmarking with tools such as Delicious, StumbleUpon.  Additionally, consider using a private enterprise collaboration tool such as SocialCast.

Blogging: Leveraging blogs  for training development provides an individual constant platform for constituents and SME’s.  Where a bulldozing SME may rule out the possibility of a successful discussion board, blogs can provide normally tempered individuals a platform to share without being plowed over.  Traditional blog specific platforms such as WordPress / BuddyPress and Posterous are great, but private social networks such as Ning, KickApps, and SocialGo contain blog features may also be suitable.

File Sharing: The private social networks also provide the ability to share files. A popular file sharing site specifically for presentations is SlideShare.

Training Administration/Delivery (the During)

Realtime Feedback: The major opportunity for social tools during training lie in the backchannel for feedback and episodic community development (camaraderie). Although there are audience response systems, by taping into socially driven backchannel, the same or even better feedback can be garnered in realtime situations. Popular examples include Twitter, MeeboChat, and PollEverywhere.

Online Training Feedback: Google has an interesting product called Sidewiki that can enable learners to directly on the training piece via a special sidebar. While this may be uncomfortable from a control standpoint, it provides learners to comment immediately instead of afterwards.

Post Episodic (the After)

Following training, there exists a group of learners with a common experience. There is a camaraderie, or as referred to in more academic circles, an “episodic community”.  The opportunity for social tools here is a loop-closing mechanism for feedback, participation, and (assuming feedback is employed back into future training episodes) ownership.  The specific tools are those mentioned above for Training Development.  In fact, the line between Post Episodic and Development blurs here as the use of social tools for continuous improvement and development becomes apparent.  Additionally, retention of the material is much greater as learners participate in discussions afterwards regarding the subject matter itself or via providing  improvement/updating suggestions. These online conversations may require monitoring for facilitation purposes as well as adherence to the organization’s compliance policy (should someone convey something incorrectly).

Concluding

Traditional training processes can not sustain the demand imposed by contemporary organizations. Waiting for the sphere of social media options to plateau is not an option since a plateau is not fathomable. As such, learning professionals are driven to adopt new tools and leverage the knowledge of their constituents with social tools not only to accelerate the classic training process, but also to evolve the training mechanism itself into the social sphere of the constituents.   In this, the role of learning professionals will continue to evolve more into that of connector and facilitator versus the classic course developer/administrator.

Sites Consulted:

• http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2010/01/free-webinar-trainers-social-media-bag-of-tricks.html
• http://www.xyleme.com/podcasts/
• http://www.clomedia.com/features/2009/December/2812/index.php?pt=a&aid=2812&start=0&page=1
• http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/22/blending-learning-with-social-technology-components/
• http://c4lpt.co.uk/ReadingLists/sociallearning.html
• http://www.sharingatwork.com/

The #blogchat conversation on Twitter has always been good (I’m no regular by any means), but tonight it was screaming! MackCollier layed it out there:  ”Ok let’s go ahead and start tonite’s #blogchat discussing how the new Twitter & Facebook search deals w Google could impact your SM plan” and we were off!

The speed of the tweets is a rush all it’s own.  Many perspectives. All interesting.

Being a full service web design agency here in Memphis, we do a fair amount of Search Engine Optimization work and Google’s news took our wheels into high gear earlier this week.  Not in a totally positive light either.

After tonight’s #blogchat, I was prepping a tweet with the other cool, related posts and found that 140 wasn’t cutting it.

So, I’ve read;

Shannon Paul’s “An Open Letter to Companies on Facebook“
On being a Fan of a business on Facebook: “… This does not mean we are friends. It just means that I like your products or services enough to admit it in public.”

Mandy Vavrinacks “Real Time Relevance, the New SEO“
One of her points: ““Buzz” has another dimension now. Real time matters because it gives the whole world (well, the whole Google-ized world, anyway) a snapshot of what’s important to EVERYONE, right now.”

James Ball’s “Real Time Search & Social Media: Time Waits For No Man“
Favorite line: “…We can’t afford not to have a finger on the pulse here. There will be no playing catch-up with real-time search.”

and our post, LunaWeb’s “Google’s real-time search could turn up the noise on social sites“
speaks to how Google enhancement will cause the conversation within social networks to deteriorate.

These are the early days of a very big change that’s going to expand like an explosion happening in slow motion.

Here is Google’s original post “Relevance meets the real-time web“.