The reason it was so empowering to me was because I got to see, first hand, my voice being just as loud, if not louder than very prominent people in the social media PR world. The Golden Wall was crumpling right before my eyes. The idea of the Golden Wall as Dr.V explained it to us is that before, corporations were making decisions about our lives with little regard to how those decisions would effect us (with a huge wall around them). They were untouchable. However, social media has broken down that wall. The power lies within the publics. Now, the corporation is never the center of attention because everyone has a voice.

So what do I think that means? People previously in power need to learn to lose control- social media is dispersing the power whether big corporations like it or not. This is touched on in Cluetrain Manifesto in the respect that the way business is being done is changing and people need to change with it or they will be left in the dust.

Hardly anyone understands that better than Laura Fitton. Fitton is known in some circles as the "Queen of Twitter" and honestly, I would agree. While talking to her in class on Thursday she admitted to us that she only began Twitter a year ago and even at the beginning there she did not understand it. That's such an inspiration. To go from confused ot guru in a year is something tangible I can aspire to. I really do want to get good at this, and she gave us many tips on how to be an effective tweeter:

• Be human. Have conversations. The more real you are the more people will be interesting in what you have to say.
• It's not the number of followers you have- with the right five followers you could change the world.
• Find people on Twitter whose interests line up with your own. It makes it more fun and interesting. Relationships and connections can flourish.
• It is very important to LISTEN.

• All of this social media contact is about what people have in common. Make connections and conversations based on what you and others simply like or don't like!
• If you can make connections with the "right people," you can really change the world. It is not about how many friends you have on Twitter, Facebook, etc. It is about WHO your friends are and how productive you make it.
• Do not be selfish and simply market yourself or your company. Engage in strong and interesting conversations and getting your name or your company's name out there will eventually happen.

Laura even mentioned The Cluetrain Manifesto,which we read for class on Thursday! All of this great contact and connection with @pistachio was a great experience! I admire her and all of the amazing things she has done for and with social media!

Background: Laura Fitton is better known as "@pistachio," her twitter account and she has an amazing blog as well. With over 6,500 followers on Twitter she is considered by some to be the "Twitter Queen" but she states that it is not about the amount of followers you have, it is about WHO is following you. She even told our class that you can "freakin' change the world with five good followers." She doesn't teach how to do campaigns. Instead, she teaches and advises on how to integrate these campaigns onto social media networks.

Advise: Just like the "Clue Train Manifesto" states, it is the first time that the consumer and marketer are on communicating together. This refers to sites with products which consumers can comment on and just as well be heard as the marketer. If you search a product you can find all types of ratings and comments which other consumers have talked about. @pistachio says 2 good ways to twitter are to tweet are by using these RSS feeds to generate conversations and to follow thought provoking PR leaders.

The best advise which I think she gives is to be conversational. Instead of inserting a link, you have to ease into the link. For example, ask a question about the topic which the link consists of & then mention the link later on in the conversation. I think this is a very good way to draw attraction to the website because it makes the "tweeter" seem more human. Therefore, you can relate to them & would want to go check out the link if they suggest it.

My favorite thing @pistachio mentioned was the future of social media because I had been thinking that it would be so easy to get wrapped up in all of this twittering and blogging. However, she brought it back down to earth by stating the potential social media has in helping others. Her example is that Angelina Jolie could use her phone to send out messages and pictures to others about what she experiences in the third world countries and enhance the number of people she helps! This reminds me of when my parents were adopting from Guatemala they used blogs geared toward foreign adoption parents to get advise and to help each other with their process. I think the blogs even convinced them to adopt a second baby boy instead of just one :).

Laura Fitton (@pistachio) has evolved her company to focus exclusively on microsharing, and has a great post on Yammer.

"Are you ambiently aware?" is the almost the same as saying "Do You Twitter?" or "Do You Facebook?".  More and more of us have joined the ambient awareness revolution recently, and Clive's article provides some excellent background reading the psychology of Twitter and other social media awareness applications.

For example, Clive brings up the topic of the upper limit of the number of people that a person can personally know at one time.  Anthropologist Robin Dunbar was one of the first people to research this phenomena by watching ape social networks and determining that ape groups top out at 55 members.  The number of social connections is now referred to as Dunbar's Number.  Wikipedia describes Dunbar's Number as:

..the supposed cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable social relationships: the kind of relationships that go with knowing who each person is and how each person relates socially to every other person.

Psychological studies have confirmed that human groupings generally top out at around 150 people.

Clive also includes discussions with Twitter celebrities such as Laura Fitton (@pistachio) and social media researchers like Danah Boyd (@zephoria) whose papers are available here.

Several questions are raised by the article including:

• What is it like to never lose touch with anyone?
• How does ambient awareness impact privacy?
• Can technology like Twitter and Facebook increase your Dunbar Number?
• Is the rapid growth of 'weak ties' with fleeting acquaintances a good thing?
• Does constant online contact enrich relationships?

On a personal level, I generally make comments (or tweet) on Twitter about 6 to 8 times per day.  I try to follow the unwritten guidelines of keeping the tweets 60% focused on work-related topics and 40% on non-work-related topics.  I guess I would say I am an active Twitter user, but not a Twitterholic - and that I enjoy using Twitter to keep up with friends and other 'parasocial' contacts.

Clive's article is a must read for anyone interested in social media - and the more than 75 comments to the article on the NYTimes site are definitely worth skimming too as there are people who agree with Clive and many others who "do not get it".

And you can also follow Clive on Twitter (@pomeranian99) and see what he's eating for lunch (which is an inside joke you'll only get if you read the article).

In the meantime, a few articles for your reading pleasure:

Short and sweet article on brand positioning, on Brand Strategy
Starting a social media strategy, on Chris Brogan's blog
How to make your website sticky, from the Conversation Agent blog
A few tips on blogger relations, from Diva Marketing
Seeing opportunity in a down market, by Pamela Slim

And for those of you on Twitter, a quick list of some people to follow for conversation on new media and marketing and doing cool things:

Jeremiah Owyang
Chris Abraham
Steve Garfield (he does some great streams on a pretty regular basis)
Laura Fitton
Tara Hunt

Enjoy!

Related articles

• Smart Social Media Marketing: Caleb Elston and Toluu [via Zemanta]
• Stephanie Booth Rediscovers Social Media Basics [via Zemanta]

I've been hiding.

I've been hiding from reality while convincing myself I was somehow efficient & achieving life balance.

Ego & MO
Realistic or not, something in me thinks I can solve 'the universe'. Yet at the same time, I want to solve the universe my own dang way. I want to solve the universe with community building, social tech, long-term thinking, a chance to join & build teams with optimistic people. Let's solve the world. Let's get results.

But it's gotta be fun.

Let's pile on the fun while I'm saving the universe with fun people. I'm eager - thrilled - to take on tough issues when a sense of fun abounds. Who cares my husband and I have millions to go before we make our millions. If we crack eachother up during the quest, it's all good (why? cuz we're havin' fun!).

I've walked away from projects, from clients, & from a few friends because their lack of fun & joy. Maybe that's rude or short-sighted or relational suicide. Or maybe it means I'm not the Mahatma.

Bottom line, bring on the fun challenges. With them, life is good, balanced, & something I can handle. With this paradigm of fun, I can build, conquer, & transcend.

BRING IT!

When life lacks fun or balance: a jack ass takes a beat
So my fun, high-horse philosophy is not only 'high' but as of late - morally blind.

I do not know what to do with China's earthquake in Sichuan Province. Or Myanmar & their government & starving thousands.

It's not fun. It's one big dose of hard, complex devastation. And I haven't known what to do except ignore it & have fun thinking about my projects, my life, my work, my 401k, my mission, my man, my quest, my bad jokes.

From this sunny, peaceful, in-tact-with-plenty-of-food cafe in Northwest DC, I'm realizing my not knowing what to do with these tragedies is irrelevant. What matters is my decision to care and act on a conscious level - even though it's not fun or toward a clear-cut solution for the people in those countries.

I feel compelled, in all my imperfection, to do something more than hide.

What matters is understanding I have the gigantic luxury to decide to act at all. It's a humbling thought that inspires humility & nausea all at once.

Since vomiting on myself out of shame proves useless.

Since social tech is a powerful thing - ready to connect & empower the many.

Since it's never too late to look beyond one's self-absorption.

And out of respect for those who have feared and lost yet still try to recover...this jack ass offers below:

• In China, he drives (10) trips a day;
• On Myanmar, Laura Fitton (@pistachio) shares her ownership & tremendous information;
• On Myanmar farmers, replacing their water buffalo, & CARE's ongoing effort in the region;
• From ReliefWeb, on humanitarian efforts for both countries;
• On underground channels used to transport help.

UPDATE

• For some photoblog beauty & inspiration on how to help relief efforts in China.
  ]]> http://toddjordan.wordpress.com/?p=184 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:20:14 +0000 Todd Jordan http://toddjordan.fr.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/sap-global-survey-pistachio-laura-fitton/ Shel Israel bring it home again with another great interview, Global Neighbourhoods: SAP Global Survey: Pistachio's Laura Fitton.

  My favorite quote?

  All my work now comes from people I know through Twitter. All of it. Not only do all my clients come from Twitter, by the time someone contacts me, they thoroughly understand how my mind works and have already decided I am the one for the project.

  Laura Fitton, @Pistachio on Twitter, is everything this article describes and more.  She's outgoing, and spirited, sharing and engaging; she's one of my most interesting contacts.

  Laura and I became contacts some months ago.  Since then, she's not just someone I've listened to, but had several conversations with. She's me and others with crisis in her life, and the joys as well.  Laura sought those of us in her network out for thoughts about her website, her business, and her blog.

  Nothing fake comes across in those connections. Lively, honest, and fun communication is her way of doing business online. It seems to stand her well offline as well.

  It is my hope to go beyond simple conversations to becoming long time friends, and perhaps business contacts as well.

  Do you know Pistachio?

  ]]> http://denvermediamakers.wordpress.com/?p=9 Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:49:09 +0000 denvermediamakers http://denvermediamakers.fr.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/boulder-2-startupweekend/ This weekend I've been watching this event transpire about 30 minutes north of me in Boulder, CO. Thanks to Mediacasters.tv, they've been blogging, twittering and seesmicing, the event. And also thanks to Jeff Pulver and Pulver.tv, there have been some broadcasts of the event and guest interviews as well.

  A year ago, this sort of coverage of an event, was likely only a dream or maybe an idea on a list. Today, we have coverage, and while it's raw, live T.V., warts and all, they're out in Boulder broadcasting the event to the world.

  I certainly hope that the debrief, on the event, what worked and what didn't, brings an even better product to the next event covered.

  Technorati Tags:
  mediacasters.tv, Jeff Pulver, Pulver.TV, Startupweekend.com, Boulder, CO

  ]]> http://mistressoftheweb.wordpress.com/?p=15 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:27:09 +0000 mistressoftheweb http://mistressoftheweb.fr.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/going-solo/

  Going Solo est une conférence organisée par Stephanie Booth que l'on ne présente plus, puisqu'elle représente à elle seule le web 2.0 ainsi que les blogs en Suisse. Très influente, Stephanie a décidé depuis un peu plus d'un an de démarrer une carrière en free-lance dans le consulting web. Forte de ses multiples expérience en tant que blogueuse, visionnaire et référence sollicitée de toutes parts par les médias helvètes et internationaux, assoiffée de nouveautés et toujours à la pointe de ce qui se fait en ligne, sa conférence promet d'être d'une grande qualité.

  Touchant à un sujet basique qu'est la situation de l'indépendant sur le marché, Going Solo s'adresse ainsi à une vaste palette de spectateurs. Les indépendants de tous les horizons de nos jours ont, à mon sens, besoin d'être présents sur le web, ne serait-ce que pour se faire connaître, créer des réseaux, trouver des associés ou des clients. Le programme définitif n'est pas encore disponible, mais des grands noms sont d'ores et déjà confirmés : Stowe Boyd, Suw Charman, Martin Roell et Laura Fitton. Pour des informations plus complètes, se référer au site officiel de Going Solo, ou suivre going solo sur twitter.

  Et si vous êtes intéressés, n'hésitez pas à promouvoir Going Solo sur vos blogs, et à vous inscrire le plus vite possible pour bénéficier du tarif "early bird" qui prend fin le 17 février!

  Je conclus ce message promotionnel pour un événement d'envergure qui se tiendra dans ma ville natale pour inviter tous les seesmiceurs à venir nous retrouver, puisqu'une seesmeetup pendant Going Solo est en train de se tramer et de se répandre sur la timeline francophone.

  ]]> http://everythingcu.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/great-sessions-at-podcampboston/ Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:42:13 +0000 Morriss Partee http://everythingcu.fr.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/great-sessions-at-podcampboston/ One of the wonderful things about a PodCamp is that it gets recorded, blogged, and twittered about. While I was there, I heard about some great sessions that I missed (with 6 or 7 tracks going on, it was often hard to choose among excellent ones.)

  Sessions I attended: Dan York did one on best practices for conducting interviews for your podcast using VoIP. While he explained how using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), yields a much higher audio quality, I wished he would have covered how to get the best quality out of a simple set-up. The rig he talked about involved a mixer, headset, and two computers running simulataneously. Now don't get me wrong, I am an audiophile and have a background in music engineering. But I'm not going to rig up a mixer, and two computers (one running Skype, the other recording) to conduct an interview for podcast. That stuff is all well and good, but I also want to know how I can do it with a PowerBook, Skype, and say, GarageBand. Or perhaps all I need is to conference in someone using Utterz.

  David Maister is a fascinating British chap. He is a B2B consultant, and made some great points about how to achieve success in business. He gave fresh interpretations on "it's not about you, it's about them". David on how to win business: Don't tell the other person how great you are, instead start helping them right away. He gave away copies of his latest book at the end, but he gave away his last copy when I was next in line. :( Here is a link to a great blog post that he mentioned: Do you really want relationships? Another great quote: The route to business success may be fairly obvious, but that doesn't mean it's easy.

  Jeff Pulver did a session that talked about his pioneering efforts in VoIP. Essentially, he is one of the people who changed the face of how telecoms work, and talked about some interesting moments being grilled for info in an unmarked building in DC with interviewers who wouldn't identify themselves. Jeff talked about the importance of following your dreams and passions as an entrepreneur. Jeff was one of the major sponsors of the event, and sponsored part of the space in the convention center as well as the Saturday night party. Right now, he's still in Boston, being a part of the VON conference, also in the BCEC. Best quote from Jeff during PodCampBoston: "We do most of our best thinking in the shower. Then why are there no showers in offices?"

  Two other sessions that I missed, that there was positive buzz about: Laura Fitton's Killer Presentations session, and Neil Gorman's session that was originally titled Your Podcast is not a f***ing toaster. The link is to a video of this session given at a conference earlier this summer. This presentation is long, and starts with an excellent overview of the state of media/broadcasting/podcasting today. It then goes into some humor that only seasoned podcasters will find funny. Interestingly, I think podcaster burnout is probably caused by the one-way nature of podcasting. It is hard to always be speaking into a "vacuum", i.e. speaking without an audience in front of you. Thus the popularity of interviews in the podcasting realm.

  Another cool aspect of today's networking technology, such as Facebook, and the wiki of this event, is that before the event, I saw that a Baltimorean, Greg Cangalosi, was coming north to be there. So I met him at the camp, along with another Baltimorean, David Beaudouin, who also created some good Utterz about the PodCamp.

  photo courtesy Jeff O'Hara (blog)

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