People Are People

I got an email yesterday from someone who had sifted through previous posts here and found one I did last May about taking the social media experience to the human level. It was inspired by CC Chapman who suggested that once you establish a new relationship perhaps you should just grab coffee and get to know someone better. That is the essence of all this online chatter.

Tools vs. Humans

We have websites and profiles, friendfeeds and tweets, followers and connections, microblogs and status updates; but those are simply the ways in which we reach each other.

Mitch Joel suggests that Twitter may become the next Google. Jeff Pulver thinks that it will be sold to Microsoft or Google in the next 18 months for $2-4 Billion. All could be true, all could be irrelevant. Those are tools and without the human element, we’re right back to the dot com bust.

We Are The Change

The point is we are the ones creating change; we are the ones connecting with each other across different industries from far off locations. Mitch and I had lost touch for 15 years and frankly he’s the one who pushed me in the deep end in the first place. Then he walked away to let me figure it out. Glad he did.

The Web of Social Connections

From geek dinners to podcamps, blog comments to phone calls, tweetups to webinars, the world really is a lot friendlier and a lot smaller than you think.

We all have the opportunity to gain new connections, contacts, colleagues, friends and perspective. There may be a dimension missing from some business plans and that is a better understanding of human behavior. And most of all it means we are just people trying to figure it all out and if we share more often we can help each other do just that.

Whether you meet someone in a coffee shop or through contacts in a social networking site, it’s up to you how much you want to pitch in. If you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much we will appreciate it. #followfriday

@knealemann

It's A Jungle Out There!

As the worldwide markets continue to slide, we are all nervous. Most are more cautious, less creative, and frankly unsure how far this will go.

Jeff Pulver has reached out to the community for a helping hand. He is calling it "The Social Media Jungle: Leveraging Social Media for You And Your Business." Click here for more.

Companies are looking for ways to better tell their story. The best way to do that is to reflect life and not wedge their product in somewhere out of context. When you walk in to a grocery store and the first thing you notice is not the Coke on sale for $2.99 but rather the delicious smell coming from the bakery section. You will buy a pie and spend more time and money in the space.

Blogs, podcasts, and social media profiles allow others to see our creations being created instead of being force fed our logos and company slogans.

The key word is "social". We aren't selling drills; we are providing a way for people to put a hole in their wall to hang that picture.

In order to embrace the power of social networking, companies need at least one corporate champion in the space. This is not to market company attributes, but rather to offer more insight into the people involved.

I don't know about you, but I will buy-in to a person long before I buy-in to another empty sales' pitch.

The corporate champion must commit to the social network and be sincere. Many feel it won't lead to making money. If you put money before community, few will buy into you.

And the most important element is that we must admit we need to solve this together. No one person has the answer and we are all feeling the pinch.

Good luck with the event, Jeff!

km

Six Degrees? Try Two or Three

As you know, it is not a theory but a fact that every person on the face of planet earth can be linked to every other person in six steps or less. If you can disprove it, you’ll be up for a Pulitzer.

Proximity is probably the biggest factor in how we know who we know. But with electronic social networking, we can make true connections a lot faster. We can pinpoint specific regions and industries to reach.

We often forget that we are all just people. I have sent direct messages to complete strangers who may share similar interests and the responses have been surprising and wonderful. If you haven’t tried it, do so.

I have connected directly with people I have been introduced to by my growing network via Twitter. I have met wonderful people all over the world - people I would never have met any other way. The naysayers dismiss sites like this as merely another chat room for people to sprout off their incoherent musings. If you follow me, perhaps that theory is strengthened?

I've often wondered if hieroglyphics were ancient Egypt's version of Facebook.

Jeff Pulver wrote an excellent blog post the other day about how to more efficiently network your business via social media. It’s worth the read.

In 2008, I think we all need to be connectors, mavens and salesmen. I look forward to more.

km

Preparing The Preparation

A friend was lamenting the other day that she had nothing to add to the social media discussion. She raises her family and posts insightful and hilarious updates on Twitter and she doesn't even realize it. What I reminded her was, she is adding to the discussion!

If all we do is talk about talking about talking with each other and share stories of how we should share – we are what my dad always calls “preparing for your preparation”. If you've ever been through a meeting where nothing is resolved, where every item is pushed to next meeting, and no one knows who does what by when, that is talking about talking.

I love Chris Brogan's blog entitled Share Share Share or as Jeff Parks says; there are no secrets, just information you don’t know yet. I think most of us had to get our heads around truly sharing because someone in our past stole an idea and took credit for it.

I wrote a media industry article last year that was published in the U.S. and Canada. A former colleague called the day it was published to give me praise. I mentioned that I had included some of the discussions he and I had had over the years and I guess I had stolen some content. He reminded me that he shared stuff he had picked up from others over the years - that's how it works.

James Cridland, Mitch Joel, Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, Jeff Parks, Robert Scoble, Seth Godin, Jeff Pulver, Joseph Jaffe, Leigh Himel, Jeremiah Owyang and countless others share with me every day.

I received an email yesterday from a great friend who reminded me that I need to do my part. I am always better at boasting about my partners and my colleagues all the while they are complaining that I need to share more about me. So here goes ...ahem

...more tomorrow

km