Twitter Twelve Step

The Twitter Twelve Steps

• Step 1 – We admitted we were powerless over Twitter – that our Tweeting had become unmanageable

•Step 2 – Came to believe that a Power Surge greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity, by shutting down our computers.

• Step 3 – Made a decision to turn our usernames and passwords over to the care of Open Source as we understood Open Source

• Step 4 – Created a searching and fearless moral inventory of our avatars

• Step 5 – Admitted to Open Source, to ourselves and to all our followers the exact nature of our blogs and businesses.

• Step 6 – Were entirely ready to have Tweetdeck remove all the defects of Twitter

• Step 7 – Humbly asked Friend or Follow to remove our non-Followers

• Step 8 – Made a list of all persons we had not followed and became willing to follow them immediately.

• Step 9 – Made direct amends to our families whenever possible, except when to do so would cut into our Tweetchat time.

• Step 10 – Continued to update our profile, and when we were wrong promptly edited it.

• Step 11 – Sought through Tweeting and Following to improve our conscious contact with others, praying only for relevant links to pass onto others and an URL shortening tool with the power to carry that out

• Step 12 – Having had a Twitteral awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other Tweeple, and to practice these principles in all our communications.

Apologies ahead of time to those I offend.  I do not take lightly the incredible work and sacrifice  of those who are using AA and other programs and have succeeded in regaining their lives through the power of God and Bill’s Twelve Steps.

Social Bookmarking TweetChat

So what the heck is Social Media?  I don’t know – but @FreeRangeMom, @MariSmith and @MikeWitt  do!   Join us Wednesday, February 25th  at 8 Eastern, 6 Mountain and 5 Pacific to find out more!  (And read below)

To join us:

1- Go to Tweetchat.com

2- Enter the “room” #SBN

3 – Start tweeting

Can You Live Without Social Bookmarking?

Social bookmarking. What the heck is it? Why would you want to do it? And how do you make it work for you? Or are you someone who already can’t live without it?

You may or may not have heard of Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, Reddit, Mag.nolia.com, Diigo, Twine or Kirtsy. There are a ton of social bookmarking sites out there. Which one do you use? Did you hear that StumbleUpon recently reached 7 million users – more than Twitter?

Do you feel like a Social Bookmarking Neanderthal? Don’t worry, even active Twitter, LinkedIn and FaceBook users are often not plugged into the power of social bookmarking.

What type of Social Bookmarking User are You?

Confused: Are you like Viveka von Rosenwho’s all over Twitter and LinkedIn but confesses to being confused how to use social bookmarking. Not too long ago she thought Twitter was going to be a waste of time, and now is fully hooked. But she still wonders, “Is social bookmarking going to help promote my business? Get me more clients? Save me time?”

Amateur: Or are you like Peggy Dolanewho uses Digg, StumbleUpon and Del.icio.us but is worried she’s doing it wrong. She’s also not sure about how to build communities on these platforms. And asks, “How often do you share things? Is one platform better than another? Is it true you’ll get banned for tagging your own material? And does it really send people to your site who are going to buy your product or are you just getting empty traffic numbers from these sites?”

Expert: Mike Witt is an avid Digg user and really gets it. When you send him something to digg, he helps you get instant results. Mike has advice about Digg account settings, spam management, digging your own material without getting banned, building community with appropriate “shouts,” and finding and keeping Digg friends. Did you know, for example, that a good friend network on Digg is one important way to get momentum going on a Digg post?

How do you use social bookmarking? What are its strengths and weaknesses? And, bottom line, is it a marketing tool or simply another form of entertainment?

Free Discussion about Social Bookmarking

Join us live on Twitter, Feb 25th at 8 Eastern, 5 Pacific, 7 Centralto share your experience and questions and bring the “Social Bookmark Neanderthals” into the 21st century.

Add #SBN to you Tweets to join the conversation. You can follow #sbn on any Twitter client that streams keywords. A few examples are www.tweetchat.com, http://search.twitter.com, www.tweetgrid.com or www.tweetdeck.com. Look forward to seeing you there!

Want to learn more about Social Bookmarking? Visit http://myurl.com/bookmarking

What’s the Point of LinkedIn

The following is an amalgam of Guy Kawasaki and Laurie Macomber’s information on why you should use LinkedIn:

So why in the world would you become LinkedIn?

1.  To see who you know in common in the world. You might have worked across the hall from someone for two years not realizing they know the person you have been trying to get a f2f with for months.

2.  Get reacquainted with old colleagues and classmates you had completely forgotten about, (or forgotten their names) but make good contacts for you now. They may very well be working at a company you’ve been targeting.

3.  Get found on Google (Thanks Laurie!) when you make your profile ‘public’. Not only that, but having a highly visible LinkedIn profile will pull up your website rating as well.

4.  Use it as a sales prospecting tool to:

i. Find lead: channel partners, alliances, horizontal markets

ii. Connect to your prospect’s “human” side – emotional marketing

iii. Find out who your prospect is connected to – vertical markets

iv. Change “Unknown to Unknown” to “Known to Known” (AZM)

5.  Get information about your competition in the town you are prospecting, visiting or moving to.

i. Create a “niche or vertical market” and your business story based on what is and is not being offered.

ii. Scope out your competitor’s staff: is there someone you want to head hunt?

iii. Find out their business philosophy – is there room for a partnership or alliance?

6.  Employers use LinkedIn to recruit:

i. Search via keywords for the person/job you’re trying to fill.

ii. Contact your prospect’s referrals and get the low down.

7.  Use LinkedIn to prepare for a job interview

i. Find the person who had the job before you, and get the low down.

ii. Scope out the company and its staff.

iii. Look at the turnover rate at a company.

iv. Integrate more easily in a new job once you’re there!

8.  Use LinkedIn to find vendors.

i. Check out their recommendations.

ii. Contact the people who recommended them and find out if they are a company with whom you want to work.

9.  Get free advice from the top professionals in their field.

10.  Give free advice, become a LinkedIn SME (subject matter expert) AND garner business (I consult for two people on their profiles, have had several people come to my classes because of my “expertise”. IA has been offered several world tours.)

11.  Notify others of changes or upcoming events – much like Twitter, when you update your profile, your contacts (number one’s) are notified.

12.  Gauge the vitality of an industry you wish to invest in or to work for. Connect to the people in you industry of interest and ask! Because they are most likely in a different state or country, they will probably be honest with you.

13.  Find guests for your blogs, forums and roundtables.

New Resource for Small Businesses

As a small business owner, I highly recommend the Small Biz College as an amazing resource location.  Just like they claim, I have found SMB to be  “a one stop complete entrepreneur’s resource center jam packed with hundreds of tools to build your business.”

Check it out by going here – and if you leave the page, they will give you the opportunity to try it on for a buck.

The Small Biz College has over 35 categories of resources -  this is what I am interested  in:

Exact information on capital infusion or loans for your business in this changing economy (like who doesn’t need that!)

The ABC’s to do it yourself  (UGH) or how to hire an expert at a fraction of the cost (YAY!)

The most extensive list of FREE business tools on the net. (Invaaaaaaaaluable!!!)

Massive amount of E-Marketing information for FREE! (Anyone else ready to catch up with the folks making thousand a week this way?)

We’ve already purchased the resale/reprint rights to hundreds of items you can use for FREE! We’ve joined forces with some of the most brilliant internet marketers in the world! If you sell a widget in Bangor, Maine and want to sell it in Los Angeles and the world beyond, let our experts teach you.

A webinar library so vast it would take you months to listen to just a fraction of them. (Including my stuff on LinkedIn)

THE SMALL BIZ COLLEGE takes the mystery out of affiliate marketing. (Oh good!)

Tips on how to use Social Networking to explode your business!

MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube all explained for beginners. Start driving massive amounts of traffic to your business using these invaluable resources that don’t cost you a dime!

Over 100 “How To” Videos. (So now I don’t have to teach it!!!)

Step by Step videos on how to setup your website, use Microsoft Office for advanced calculations or how to use tools like Photoshop or Gimp.

FREE forms, business letters, business plans and more.

Why buy software that writes a template business letter for you? Should you have to pay for invoicing software? NO! The business tools section of SBC has these things and more that you can download immediately for FREE.

• Video Tutorials
• Business Planning Forms and Templates
• Business Software
• eBooks
• Internet Marketing Training Webinars
• Social Networking Apps
• “Secret” business tips from successful professionals
• Financial Connections

So what is SMB?

THE SMALL BIZ COLLEGE is the most unique, comprehensive, in-depth business resource available to a small business owner today.

Here are three good reasons we can back up what we claim:

Reason one: SBC has been in development for over 3 years. We understand working ON your business is difficult when you are working IN your business. Our staff has scoured the internet and every other source known to man in order to bring you the best time and money saving tools available today.

Reason two: We have over 120 years of combined small business experience. So we know it takes time to find the right resources for your business.

Reason three: Our contributing experts have generated over $500,000,000 in revenue just in the last five years in their very own businesses.

Check it out by going here – and if you leave the page, they will give you the opportunity to try it on for a buck.

Social Media Etiquette

Do you use your real name or a pen name?  When is it OK to ask to connect?  When is it OK to ask for a recommendation?  Do you experience more Social Media Etiquette sanfu’s on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter?  Is swearing OK?  All things to discuss Wednesday night at 8 Eastern, 6 Mountain and 5 Pacific.

To join us:

1- Go to Tweetchat.com

2- Enter the “room” #lion

3 – Start tweeting

How open are you on social media?

What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever said online?  Did it come back to bite you?  Join Peggy, Mari and I every Wed. night on www.tweetchat.com at 8 Eastern, 5 Pacific (which means 6 for all my Colorado followers).  You’ll need to sign in when it asks for a room, type in  #lion.  And then join in the fun.

LION stands for LinkedIn Open Networker in case you were wondering.  Sounded better than TWOG

Re:blogged from Peggy Dolane

Last week on Twitter, @linkedinexpert, @marismith and myself hosted #lion: a tweet-in that asked the question: How open a networker are you on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter?. #lion came from LinkedIn Open Networker — a person who grows their network as broadly as possible.

This week we thought we’d continue the #lion conversation with the question:

Are there limits of what you share about yourself on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?
To get the conversation started, here’s some food for thought:

• Lisa Nova poked fun at the over-tweeters amoung us in her youtube satire Twitter Whore (viewed by over 730,000 to date.) None of us want to be that person, do we?
• Smart businesses know that a real person tweeting will win you more loyal followers. Just ask Scott Monty at Ford, @Zappos’ CEO, or @TypeAMom, Kelby Carr who wrote a great post about this issue last summer.
• On a more serious note, Canadian child protection authorities were contacted by Twitter recently when a mother made comments about how she might get her children to go to sleep.

There are lots of things I might Tweet about, but choose not to. Does your tweeting have any limits? Do you save more personal information for FaceBook and keep LinkedIn strictly business?

Hope you’ll join me the #lion discussion, Wednesday, January 22, 6:00 p.m. Mountain, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

How Personal Should You Get in Social Media?

What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever said online?  Did it come back to bite you?  Join Peggy, Mari and I every Wed. night on www.tweetchat.com at 8 Eastern, 5 Pacific (which means 6 for all my Colorado followers).  You’ll need to sign in when it asks for a room, type in  #lion.  And then join in the fun.

LION stands for LinkedIn Open Networker in case you were wondering.  Sounded better than TWOG

How Open a Networker are You?

OK – I know I said I was a promiscuous networker. And I am. But let’s talk about how “personal” one should get in social networking.

It depends, of course, upon the platform. MySpace lends itself to embarrassing amounts of personal information and revealing pictures that might haunt you for the rest of your life. FaceBook can easily assume the same “personal” touch. LinkedIn is – and should remain – a strictly business platform. And Twitter is ever a hybrid of all of the above.

Despite the range in “touchiness”, here is my opinion: if it’s public – be professional. As Jeffrey Gitomer says in his “Little black Book of Connections” You have to more than classy – you have to be first class.

Let us not forget that everything we put on the web – from blogs, to tweets, to updates, to profiles – are archived and searchable. There is a paper I wrote for a Canadian University Intranet group on “Native Canadians Folklore” posted way back in 1992, and it is still out there. That’s not so embarrassing. But let’s take into account the secretary I didn’t hire because her MySpace personal statement was “I want to throw sharp things at your face.”

Don’t assume that just because your social media platform is private, strategic or protected that the information is not there to stay. Someone will find it some day – and you might live to regret that. So when it comes to social media – “keep your shirt on, your pants zipped and your information professional and relevant.”

Having said all that – I met my fiancé because of LinkedIn (I took one of his classes – and I was “sold”). So keep it professional online – and do whatever you want offline J

Network Size and Recommendations

Recommendations and network size are two completely different things. (Although the bigger your network, the more choice you have in asking for recommendations.)

I like recommendations for several reasons:

• They differentiate you from your competitor.
• They are rich fodder for building business testimonials (to transfer to your website).
• They give your reader a sense of your abilities and diverse talents.
• They can qualify you as an expert.

Now do you need a hundred testimonials all saying the same thing? God no. But enough recommendations from a diverse range of people for each position can’t hurt.

Onto networks. I’m a LION who understand the LaMB (check out my blog to see what I am talking about: http://linkedinexpert.wordpress.com/ ). The simple truth is, the bigger the network, the more access you have. And while not everyone in your network will be a diamond in your business tiara, you’ll have a wider range to pick from. And just because I have 4000 direct connections, doesn’t mean I don’t know 400 of those people well enough (strategically) to pick up the phone. But if I kept my network at 200 people, well – that’s all I’d have access too.

I know LIONs aren’t popular because some people really abuse the system and bulk email their list ad nauseum verging on SPAM. I agree that is an abuse of the LinkedIn system and I immediately block those folks in my Outlook filter. Being a LION, I have to be very careful and honorable with my list – using it strategically. I don’t do bulk mailings. I try not to infringe upon the privacy of a complete stranger.

I’m hoping that one day LinkedIn has a rating system that will allow us to grade our connections as friends or acquaintances – but until then, I’ll continue to be a LION that acts like a LaMB.

How do you use your social networks?

Whether you are a wide-open networker, like Viveka or Mari, or a strategic networker, like Peggy, you’ve probably had to spend a little time deciding who you will befriend and who you will ignore on your various social networks.

Note: This blog jointly written by Viveka von Rosen, Mari Smith and Peggy Dolane and is an example of the power of social marketing.

Viveka von Rosen, @linkedinexpert

Viveka Von Rosen is the CSMO (Chief Social Media Officer) of Integrated Alliances, and the Social Media and Marketing Director for The Executive Center. A victim of expensive and ineffective traditional marketing, Viveka was able to double TEC’s business through social and F2F networking. It is now her passion in life to help others build their businesses through social media strategies.

I am what you might call a promiscuous networker. In fact, I never say no to anyone (on LinkedIn that is.) Folks like me are known in LinkedIn as LIONS (LinkedIn Open Networkers). And to be completely transparent, LinkedIn doesn’t like us much.

Since I am in the field of social media strategy and marketing, I feel I need a giant network as a service to my clients. In numbers this means I have 4200+ direct connections and 17+ million in my LinkedIn Network (and growing). Both my Twitter and Facebook networks are significantly smaller only because I am a late-comer to both. It has been my experience, that the larger the network, the bigger the portal into the LinkedIn world, and the more likely I am to find the diamond amongst the gravel that my clients are looking for. It’s true that I might not be able to give the warmest introduction to someone I don’t know well, (unless I do) but I am at least able to give an introduction. A large network is most useful for Job Seekers and people in Sales and Recruiting where it is a numbers game.

“C” level folks will probably want to remain “LaMBs” (“Look at My Buds”) LaMBs (like Peggy) know everyone in their network, and if you are lucky enough to connect with one, you will find their network much more useful than a LION network. LIONs love LaMBs. I can contact Peggy and I know she knows everyone in her network and could, should she choose, give me a very warm written, perhaps even verbal recommendation.

Mari Smith @marismith:

Mari Smith is a Relationship Marketing Specialist and Social Media Business Coach. Dubbed the Pied Piper of the Facebook by Fast Company, Mari helps entrepreneurs to grow their business profits using an integrated social marketing strategy.

For Facebook®, I would call myself a strategic networker more than an open networker. My strategy from the get go (July 2007) was to reach out to all the big name influential people I could find in my industry: authors, speakers, trainers, internet marketers, even celebrity actors, etc. If certain people were not yet on Facebook, I would find a way to contact them and help them get set up (which is why Fast Company calls me “the Pied Piper of Facebook®!”)

Then, what I endeavor to do consistently is what I call “Radical Strategic Visibility.” Because of the News Feed feature of Facebook®, by deliberately and strategically choosing all my activities, I can show up in the feeds of these highly influential friends to the point they contact me.

I like to say “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know… and *who knows you.*” Facebook® provides an unprecedented opportunity to position yourself consistently as THE go-to person in your niche/industry.

Peggy Dolane, @freerangemom

Peggy Dolane, principal at Provient Marketing, designs affordable marketing programs and writes engaging copy that turns your audience into customers.

My strategic network isn’t huge – it’s somewhere around 300 people. That includes about 100 people I follow closely on Twitter, about 100 LinkedIn contacts (all of whom I have worked with or know personally), about 100 Outlook contacts, and perhaps 50 friends on Facebook. I’m not counting the hundreds of families I know through my kid’s school, church or community service projects I’ve been involved in – but I probably should!

What it doesn’t have in numbers, it makes up in relationships. I define my strategic network as my community – people I know well enough to ask for a favor. My goal is to build relationships, not numbers of contacts. I don’t accept every invitation I get on LinkedIn, for example, because every one of my LinkedIn contacts are people I’d feel confident in recommending their work and having it reflect back on me. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t actively mine LinkedIn via participating in groups and answering questions as opportunities to connect to new people. (Just email me for free copy of my LinkedIn Marketing Checklist.)

I am an open networker on StumbleUpon, Digg, and BizNik. I use these networks to reaching out to new and broader audiences. Frankly, I’m still growing into my open network strategy. I believe open networking has great value, but I’m still cautiously opening my network doors. I’m fairly open on Twitter – following back nearly anyone who looks like I have something in common with and who isn’t just amassing followers.

People to Follow

One of the great things about networking is meeting new people. With that in mind we thought we’d introduce our readers to people we think you might be interested in following:

Twitter:

• Kelby Carr, http://twitter.com/typamom, Kelby is the founder of a revenue-sharing website focused towards work at home moms. She’s always generous with retweets and stumbles, plus she’s a pleasure to interact with.
• Lucretia Pruitt, http://twitter.com/geekmommy, she’s always in the know. Dedicated to having real relationships with real people. Great to follow on BackType as well.
• Jessica Smith, http://twitter.com/jessicaknows, Jessica doesn’t just follow people she creates networks such as MomForce, a marketing temp agency.
• Patrick Byers, http://twitter.com/patrickbyers, Patrick is marketer exploring responsible marketing practices.
• Joel Postman, http://twitter.com/jpostman, smart, friendly and funny to boot.
• Alex de Carvalho, http://twitter.com/alexdc, savvy social media marketer and teacher at UMiami.
• Dave Taylor, http://twitter.com/DaveTaylor, Dave is a local Social Media, Blogging and SEM guru with an international following.
• Joel Comm, http://twitter.com/JoelComm, besides being a friend and author of many SEM book, Joel created iFart – the #1 iPhone app.
• Deb Frey, http://twitter.com/DaVinciDeb, Got Viveka started on Twitter and her company “The DaVinci Institute” offers amazing classes and networking ops.
• Thomas Frey, http://twitter.com/ThomasFrey, Deb’s husband, huge thought leader & futurist and the founder of DaVinci.
• David Meerman Scott, http://twitter.com/DMScott, author of great social media sales books, and a very helpful Tweeter.
• Kevin Houchin, http://twitter.com/KevinHouchin, great WordPress “go to” guy.
• Ellie Mirman, http://twitter.com/Ellieeille, delightful Tweeter – and an integral member of Hubspot.

LinkedIn:

• Mike O’Neil, http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoneil , CEO of Integrated Alliances – premier LinkedIn training site
• Lori Ruff, http://www.linkedin.com/in/loriruff, CAO of Integrated Alliances
• Stan Relihan, http://www.linkedin.com/in/stanrelihan — Great blogs on LinkedIn – LinkedIntelligence
• Shally Steckerl, http://www.linkedin.com/in/shally, another LinkedIn Expert
• Dawn Todd, www.linkedin.com/in/executivelifecoach , Excellent Networking Maven

Digg:

• Mike Witt, http://digg.com/users/wittmc — Mike’s passion is helping people grow their at-home businesses. He’s got a network of 750+ friends on Digg that he uses judiciously, without spamming.

Facebook:

• Chris Brogan, President, New Marketing Labs, a social media agency and education company. Facebook Fan Page – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Brogan/47204195263 -
• Jeremiah Owyang, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research and popular web strategist. Web Strategy Facebook Group – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2591582686
• Ali Brown, Founder & CEO of Alexandria Brown International, leading women worldwide to create amazing lives for themselves via entrepreneurship. http://www.facebook.com/people/Ali-Brown/1014936080
• Kevin Nations, Specialist in Big Ticket profits. Facebook® Fan Page – http://www.facebook.com/people/Kevin-Nations/515800345

Next month
We plan to explore how we grow our networks. But in the meantime, what type of networker are you? Lion, Lamb or something else all together?

We hope you’ll leave a comment here about your networking style, then join us LIVE on Twitter on Wednesday, January, 14, 2009, 8 – 9 p.m. Eastern Time to explore more about the pros and cons of open vs. strategic networking. You’ll have a chance to meet a great group of people, and who knows, even learn something!

LinkedIn seems to be combining and deleteing profiles…

I have heard now from two clients who say that LinkedIn has taken it upon themselves to combine profiles.  One client – admittedly – had two profiles up – one directed as a personal profile and one for her business.  LinkedIn doesn’t like that much.  It appears that they have deleted her personal profile and have only her business’s profile active.

My other client’s story is worse:  apparently LinkedIn deleted her profile, but gave her access to another person’s profile.  Same name – different person.  They changed the other person’s password so my client could access that profile.

It has been several weeks and they are both still exchanging emails with customer service.

So – IF you have two profiles up – or have a common name, may I make these suggestions:

Make a word doc copy of your entire profile.  To do this simply “view profile”,  select all, than copy to a word doc.  You should always have a copy of your profile anyway, as if mkaes it much easier to create profiles in other social media platforms.

The other thing you will want to do on a weekly basis is download your contacts list.  That way if LinkedIn should ever “lose” your profile (or shut you down which they might do to me after I write this blog) you can simply create your new profile using your word doc and upload your contact list and re-invite everyone.  (of course – this works only if you have less than 3000 first contacts).  Make sure you personalize your invitation explaining that “you used to be contected on LinekdIn, but due to a LinekdIn glitch,I must re-invite all my contacts.  Please re-accept my invitation (and archive this message if you no longer want to be connected). “

So – this might be a pain in  the ass, and a couple hours more of work,  but trust me, it’s better than several weeks of dealing with customer service and/or being out of touch with your LinkedIn connections.

Once you have your new profile up and running, make sure to add all your email addresses under accounts/setting!

IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS – FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME.