A True Twitter Story

Here’s a true story to demonstrate how Twitter works as a networking tool:

I posted a link to my company's blog on Twitter, using a hashtag (means search-able keyword on Twitter) with the initials of an industry association conference that one of our corporate leaders is attending.   A Hashtag looks like this: #ABC.

I did a search on Twitter for #ABC to see who was tweeting from the conference and noticed that one of my social media Twitter friends from Nashville was Tweeting using that hashtag, too. She and I got into a Twitter conversation, and as it turns out-she is at the conference and works for a supplier to my company's industry.

She Tweeted to everyone at the conference (using the hashtag #ABC), mentioning my company and how we’re doing a good job using social media! This is great recognition and awareness for our brand AT the conference---and I'm not even there!

She and I plan to connect when she gets back to Nashville. I realize I may be speaking “geek”, but trust me…this is really cool to make these kinds of connections online and take them offline via networking! Gotta love Twitter!

Connect Four! My Unofficial Explanation of @Foursquare

A Facebook friend asked me what Foursquare is and my reply was so long and detailed that I thought it would make for a good blog post. So...here it is...my unofficial explanation: 

Foursquare is a location-based social media platform that connects your friends with your busy life. You can "check in" on the mobile version of foursquare anywhere you go. Foursquare has the capability of updating your Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Just sign up, add friends, and tell it where you are.

Foursquare is also a game: It works off of a point system. As you "check in" to more and more places, Foursquare will unlock "badges"- kinda like game tokens for using the service. If you are competitive at all- you may enjoy FourSquare's Mayorships- Whoever has "checked in" at a particular location the most times is the "mayor" of that place.

The quest for BigFoot in Social Marketing

Does BigFoot exist? Well, in the digital world it exists in the term: Digital Footprint.

Wikipedia defines "Digital Footprints" as traces left by someone's activity in a digital environment. In social media/ social marketing, "digital footprint" can refer to the size of one's online presence as it relates to the number of individuals he or she is interacting with. How many followers on Twitter, How many friends on Facebook, How many connections on LinkedIn, etc. – these all make up your digital footprint.

The topic of “personal brand” in social marketing has become more and more popular, as a career tool in growing and establishing one's expertise and digital following. Every blogger, Tweeter, and online marketer is competing for their share of YOUR attention. Lucky for me, at this moment I have it!

The Anti-Social Truth

Staying active on social networking sites can be exhausting! There are so many places to network online, and they all require time and attention. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ning, Foursquare, Flickr, and more are popping up every day. I have found it difficult to be everywhere at once.

Some people become obsessed with updating statuses and checking responses. (Yes, I admit I am guilty of this!) Most people are connected to at least one social networking site on their mobile phones. We tend to always want to be seen and heard by the masses of followers that we have collected.

There are tools that are helpful in managing multiple social sites, and most of them connect to each other in one form or another. Personally, I am a fan of HootSuite, where I can check and update Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook all in one place.

The New A,B,C’s

Imagine you are in pre-school in 2010. What would you relate the A,B,C’s to? They certainly have changed since I was a kid. Here’s my idea of the new A,B,C’s:

A is for Apple (as in the computer most graphic artists, website developers, and techie people use)

B is for Blog (where anyone can share their thoughts about anything with anyone anywhere)
 
C is for Content (what every information sharing thing needs to survive)
 
D is for Digg (where fascinating, funny, informative, etc. articles, videos, pics, etc. are shared)
 
E is for ebay (where you can sell/bid on/buy anything form anyone, anywhere)
 
F is for Facebook (our own personalized, digital scrapbook that can be shared with your own personally selected group of friends)
 
G is for Google (the search engine and internet tools mecca)